Tag: Publishers

The First 500 are the Hardest

The First 500 are the Hardest

I had a litte moan about 200 followers ago about the fact that after the big 2-oh-0h that WordPress didn’t give you any sort of fanfare for the 300 or the 400 follower mark. Little did I know that they wait until the 500 mark to say a big, “Well done!”

I cannot say that it got here all too quickly, because that would be a lie. It seemed to take no time at all to get to the 200 point and then?

It felt like time stood still for  awhile. But it didn’t, not really.

It was just that things had changed, the way I wrote changed, the amount I wrote changed…my  life changed.

I won’t go through everything that has changed in my life, I did that in my previous post. But I will say this, I cannot begin to express how grateful I am about everything.

But first I have to thank two very, very special people (Actually it’s three, but who’s counting?)

I have to do a huge shout out to Marilyn over at Serendipity she and her other half, Garry, have been enormously supportive ever since I first made their acquaintance on WordPress. She has a wonderful blog and if you haven’t strolled over there yet, just take a second to click on the above link and have a look. You’ll be impressed, I promise you. Then, if you’ve a mind to, hit that follow button. You won’t regret it.

The second person I have to give a singular shout out to is Natasha over at Films and Things. Natasha is a media student, writer, director and producer all rolled into one person. She has given me, perhaps the greatest gift ever, she has cast me in the lead role in her first professional short film, Once Bitten, Twice Shy. As those of you who have been following me for awhile, I’ve written about my love of acting and my frustration at having to turn my back on it, several times. Now I have a chance to get back in front of the camera after a long absence. Thanks Tasha!

I also, have to thank Natasha for putting me up for an award, a loooong time ago, and I still haven’t responded to it! Sorry Tasha, it means loads that you thought of me when it came time for dishing that one out, I will make it up to you, I promise…

But I also need to thank all the other folks who have stuck with me since I started on WordPress. If I thanked all of you separately, I wouldn’t get anything done as the Deputy Managing Editor for The Guardian Express. If you haven’t had a look at our great site, have a look now by clicking on the link. I’ve already been linking articles that I write that have a special place in my heart, either because of content or just because I think I’ve written something particularly well. But I don’t link them all, as we have a lot of writers who all bring something special to the table.

I’m not going to get back on the “apology train” again, but I will get back to something that resembles “normality” on here pretty soon. I’m running around like a headless chicken at the moment, trying to develop a schedule that allows me to donate a little time to everything. I’m getting closer to that goal and you will soon see more “daily” postings of articles.

Until then, I want to say thank you to all my new followers! I haven’t had time to thank you all personally yet, but I will! I’m not so far up my own nether-regions that I don’t think I need to. I’ve just not had the time.

It takes a lot of hard work to do a daily blog. You all know that, I don’t want you to think I am “teaching you how to suck eggs,” but I did want to mention it.   I was doing up to three, if not four, posts a day, now I don’t have the time. But I will get back to at least one per day.

So, in essence, I started writing this about how it really feels like getting the first 500 followers is the hardest part about blogging and, like my life at the moment, it has evolved into something different than what  I had planned.

Thanks to my very special two bloggers (friends) and thanks to the folks that are too numerous to personally shout out. But you guys know who you are, until recently, I always tried to talk to you folks daily if possible. I’ll get back to that soon as well, I promise.

So until I can get on here again, may all you very special folks have the best of today and an even better tomorrow.  I mean that, because you’ve all got a very special place in my heart.

Ciao

Cheers!
Cheers!
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The BIG THREE-OH-OH or 300 (for Purists)

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So I lay my head down to take a nap (I’ve been very busy lately and damned if it’s not tiring) and when I wake up, all fuzzy headed and wondering where the hell am I and what just happened. I pass the 300 follower point on my blog!

(How’s that for one long-assed opening sentence? Well I’ve got plenty more where that came from.)

Seriously though, I am pleased, excited, happy, (You like me, you really like me! Sorry Sally Field, I couldn’t resist.) and surprised. When I started blogging seriously back in 2011 I never dreamed that it would become such a huge part of my life.

Mind you I never knew that I was going to have two heath issues in one year (one of which was kind of critical) and have all that extra time to write. I did pretty good while I was working full-time at a real job, but my “not-real” job is a lot more fun and the lunch breaks are better.

You will all be happy to know that this is a short post. It will not be one of my 1000 word plus Margaret Mitchell length rants or reviews.

No, this is a quick 0410 in the morning shout of “Hurrah!” and thanks. Thanks to all you great folks out there who have made the ultimate show of interest and followed little old me.

I am eternally grateful and pleased to make your acquaintance.

Now go out and get your friends to follow.

Now.

Just kidding! I love you all for reading, following, commenting, and “liking” my stuff. Gee, it seems like I’ve said that before. The only fly in this honeyed ointment is that WordPress obviously do not give an award for the big 300!

So… what? Is 300 not as amazing as 200 was?

Still complaining aside, I’ll leave you all with one thought; this is how a blog post from moi looks when written at 0400 hours in the morning…after a nap!

Thanks guys! I raise my coffee cup in toast and say, “You’re the best!”

Cheers!
Cheers!
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50,000 Plus! Thanks Guys!

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Literally the day after I posted about my 1 year anniversary on WordPress, I passed the 50 thousand mark. To add to the excitement of that landmark, I also got 673 views yesterday which obviously helped to move my view totals up. While still surfing this wave of excitement, I thought I’d do a short post of gratitude…again.

I still haven’t figured out what drove all that extra activity to my site. It certainly wasn’t any of the regular search engines or terms. It is baffling to say the least. But not unappreciated at all. I mentioned to my friend Tyson over at Head In A Vice and he assured me it was not down to the “FACE OFF” that we’re doing at the moment over on his blog. *How’s that for a plug, Tyson?*

Still, wonderment aside, I have to say thanks again for all the folks who take the time to stop by my little blog. Your views are what keep me going. Sure I like the “sound” of my own voice, even if it’s only in my head while I read my ramblings, but it is nice that other folks seem to like it as well.

I don’t want to jump on the “I appreciate you guys so much train” again after just doing it in my Happy Anniversary to Me post I just did, but, doggone it! I am pretty excited to hit two milestones so close together. So you’ll have to excuse me if I get too carried away.

I know that I am still not a “successful” blogger yet (whatever that means) as in I have tens of thousands of followers who hang on my every word, but, I do love all the folks who have obligated themselves to following my words and images. It means a lot, so much in fact that I kind of feel like you guys have been instrumental in my recovery from my heart attack last August.

My writing has helped me keep my mind off the negative connotations of almost dying and your interaction with me through the auspices of my blog posts has given me more ammunition for the old grey cells to ruminate on instead of my own fractured mortality. In other words, you all have given me a new lease on life. And for that I am grateful.

I do follow folks back (at least I try, although it may take me some time to do it) and I try to read as many of your blog posts possible. I just wanted to take another minute or two to thank everyone once again for helping to make my blogging experience a fun one.

On a final note (see I told you this was a short one) I’d like to thank WordPress! You guys so totally rock as a weblog site!

Believe it or not this is my happy face!
Believe it or not this is my happy face!
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Happy One Year Anniversary to My WordPress Blog!

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The 1 year anniversary logo.

It has taken me all day to decide on what to write after WordPress told me of my one year anniversary this morning. I will admit a certain amount of astonishment. I thought I’d been with WordPress much longer than a year. But after looking at my old posts and remembering that a goodly number of them had been first posted with Blogspot.com my amazement diminished pretty rapidly.

I have written before about how much I like the WordPress set up and the fact that I have loads more views per post and followers here than I ever managed to get on the old Blogspot site. I’ve been accused of being a “view” junkie and I will admit that I am hooked on my view numbers and also pretty excitable about my follower figures. Aren’t we all, to some degree?

But the nicest thing about having been on WordPress for a year is the great folks I’ve met and interacted with. Folks (aka fellow bloggers) that I never would have met on my old blog site. These are people who I, rightly or wrongly, feel are friends; some more so than others, but friends nonetheless. My daily interaction with them has been a boon, especially since my heart attack last August.

Of course, view counts and followers aside, the very visibility of WordPress is what has made this such a great ride. I actually started blogging in 2010.  A short timid two sentence entry that laid dormant for an entire year. Then in 2011, I began in earnest and tried to pretty much write every day. This wasn’t possible at that time, but as my input (or output) became more frequent and I discovered Tumblr and then WordPress I kept leapfrogging to each site looking for a blogging home.

It did not take me long to discover that here was where I wanted to be. The support from the staff is phenomenal and the themes are fantastic. I guess that the reason that I thought I’d been here longer than a year was twofold. Firstly, I manage to upload two or more posts a day. I have also managed to get 254 followers on this blog alone. I guess in my mind the culmination of blog posts plus followers equals a long time, i.e. much longer than a year.

Still, I’ve had fun here and as I start to reach more people I feel like I’ve been blessed to find so many folks who feel like I do and not just about films and books, but life as well.

After being “ill-health” retired from my job at an obscenely early age I had a lot of time on my hands (I still do actually) where the days could have stretched into a depressingly long time period of too much inner reflection and fears about health. The people who I’ve met via my little blog have made my days interesting and (in some cases) challenging.

I am not much of a “joiner” preferring instead to be on the outside of the social circle instead of actually being part of it. For the first time that I can remember, I’ve enjoyed being part of a community. One that shares kudos and publicity and awards with one another.

The other great thing about WordPress’s visibility is the contact that I’ve had with people in the entertainment and literature business that I never had with my other blogs. I have directors, actors, producers and authors who comment on my reviews and I can honestly say that I’m “blown away” each and every time it happens.

As my blog continues to evolve and grow (I’ve just done my first ever interview!) I look at the fruits of my labour and the community that I’m a part of and I think how lucky I am to have discovered this world of blogging and the folks who inhabit it. It is the people who I’ve met and interacted with combined with those  who have paid me the ultimate compliment of following my blog who make this so worthwhile.

So I raise my glass high and I’ll make a toast to you all: “Thanks WordPress for making this a great first year and thanks to you all who stop by and read, like, comment and follow. You guys are great!”

Happy anniversary to me and my blog!

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The Dragon’s Loyalty Award: Mouthwash Not Required

Awarded from Marilyn from Serendipity!
Awarded from Marilyn over at Serendipity!

When I first saw that Marilyn over at Serendipity had graced me with this award, my first thought was, “Dragon’s breath?” But, no, it turns out that this “new” award is an amalgamation of the  Versatile Blogger Award  and the Very Inspiring Blogger Award.

Katrina Perkins came up with this wonderful idea and hence it is she who is ultimately responsible for this new and pretty cool looking award! I have left the links on the names of the site and the lady who started and passed this auspicious award along. Please feel free to click on these links and check these incredible and erudite sites out.

Now!

Just kidding…

But check em out…okay?

And just for information purposes, Katrina was the one who designed the logo for this cool new award. So giving credit to where it is due, I’ve made sure I mentioned it.

Now like every other “award” out there that we bloggers like to bestow willy-nilly to our fellow bloggers in an attempt to show our appreciation to those who follow, inspire, and other-wise move us; there are rules. I know, I know, no-one likes the rules bit, but really; what did you expect? Freebies?

So, on to the rules:

  1. Display the Award Certificate on your website
  2. Announce your win with a post and link to whoever presented your award
  3. Present 15 awards to deserving bloggers
  4. Drop them a comment to tip them off after you’ve linked them in the post
  5. Post 7 interesting things about yourself.

I’ve displayed the Certificate, announced my win (via this post) and linked to the presenter.

Now I just have to present the award 15 times to “deserving” bloggers. I honestly, really, hate this part. I have tried pulling names randomly, picking the last (insert number here) followers, and picking those who comment or like the most on my posts. I think I’ll try a combination of the above and do my usual cry of, “If I missed you out, I’m sorry!”

All the nominees are folks that I follow and appreciate what they bring to the blogging world:

  1. http://vinnieh.wordpress.com
  2. http://lastroadreviews.wordpress.com
  3. http://claratsi.wordpress.com
  4. http://natashaharmeryr1.wordpress.com
  5. http://robbinsrealm.wordpress.com
  6. http://foxxiecinnamon.wordpress.com
  7. http://Www.hagiographic.com
  8. http://table9mutant.wordpress.com
  9. http://imalazyboy.wordpress.com
  10. http://terry1954.wordpress.com
  11. http://jackieeatworld.wordpress.com
  12. http://ckckred.wordpress.com
  13. http://www.filmhipster.com
  14. http://hardtickettohomevideo.com
  15. http://jmountswritteninblood.com

All the above listed folks have great blogs and they interact with the blogging community on a regular basis, check em out. You’ll be glad you did! I will be informing them as soon as I’ve posted this blog.

Now for the last part. I’ve been disclosing X amount of personal facts for quite some time now and I think I’m running out of things to disclose (at least things that won’t get me in trouble) so I’m going to borrow a page from Marilyn’s blog and share some pictures instead. It’s actually been on my blogger’s list of things to try for some time now and her post that nominated me and a slew of other blogger’s just jiggled my old memory box.

So here we go, just think of this as a Little Photo History of Mike:

My first Easter with my Dad!
My first Easter with my Dad!
Christmas 1965 me and my new brother. The one I took to show-and-tell a year or so later.
Christmas 1965 me and my new brother. The one I took to show-and-tell a year or so later.
Another Christmas, year unknown, smoking an Avon pipe dispenser of aftershave.
Another Christmas, year unknown, smoking an Avon pipe dispenser of aftershave.
My dad's horse, a part Tennessee Walker and huge! Great temperament.
My dad’s horse, a part Tennessee Walker and huge! Great temperament.
The 1975 Fayetteville High School Talent Show, I got honourable mention.
The 1975 Fayetteville High School Talent Show, I got honourable mention.
The 1976 Ice Cream Social I was the villain and wrote my own lines...we all did. Great show and great experience.
The 1976 Ice Cream Social I was the villain and wrote my own lines…we all did. Great show and great experience.
My first cowboy hat that went mysteriously missing a year later. I loved that hat! Circa 1975.
My first cowboy hat that went mysteriously missing a year later. I loved that hat! Circa 1975.
One of my John Robert Powers pictures - 1979.
One of my John Robert Powers pictures – 1979.

So there you have it. A very tiny pictorial history of me. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed digging through the old stack of pictures that I have scattered here and there. I do apologise for the rather random way that the photo’s have been arranged, I’m not really very of-ay with the picture side of these blogs!

Thanks Marilyn for thinking of me for this neat new award!!

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