#AtoZChallenge: week one is done, so I thought I’d check up on How you’re doing for my post for the letter H today. Do leave a comment below to tell me how it’s going for you.
How am I doing…
As far as my own posts go, it’s so far, so good on the basis of posting; hit and miss on whether I get to the AtoZ post of the day and add a link, but I think having the hashtag in the title is doing some good, at least. I’m happy to be doing what I normally blog about; I read a really good post the other week on why authors should ignore most of the blogging ‘rules’, since they are written to attract people to the adverts, not to the author’s books. You can read the whole article here, but in brief, for authors it’s all about networking and letting readers get to know you. That’s why I like the #AtoZChallenge – it gives me a chance to meet people I’d never have found otherwise.
I am getting to visit some new people – hi to…
- Jazz Feathers at The Old Shelter
- Kristin at Finding Eliza
- Shalini at Indian Dishes at Something’s Cooking
- Emily at My Life in Ecuador
- Debbie at My Random Musings
- Nick at Scattergun Scribblings
- C D Gallant-King at Stories I Found
- Lady In Read at MyRandRSpace
and more…
I’m definitely being visited by people I haven’t met before, or not for a long time (i.e. I apologise for forgetting we’ve met before). But only if I get my links up early on the daily post. I find visiting easiest if I visit someone who has commented on a blog I’ve also commented on… it creates a sort of chain!
Have you visited my guinea pigs?
While I’m here I’ll give a shout-out to my guinea pigs, Kevin and Percy. They are doing a splendid job of their A to Z Challenge over at George’s Guinea Pig World. Good work, boys – have an extra carrot, I’ll see you here on Thursday.
Come back for an interview with them for the letter K!
Hi Jemima – it’s-a going fine! well done for linking across to ‘new’ and ‘remembered’ fellow A-Zers … wish I was social media friendly … but I just blog and get around … and I will see Kevin later on – cheers Hilary
http://positiveletters.blogspot.co.uk/2017/04/h-is-for-horse.html
That’s good to know, Hilary… keep it up!
Hi Jemima. It’s going well. I’m teaching myself new stuff and learning lots from other posts.
Good news, Kim. I wish I was getting round as many blogs as I’d like – I have a backlog of your posts to go through at the moment.
I think this year is going fairly well. I have seen a lot less inactive blogs, and people are getting the hang of posting their links and directing traffic from social media. I’m having fun! 🙂
The Multicolored Diary: WTF – Weird Things in Folktales
The list-free A to Z Challenge leaves me with much more time to visit other blogs, and I’m actually getting more visitors this year. It was an adjustment, to be sure, but I think it’s gone well.
That’s really good news, John. I’m not doing so well, but that’s partly because life events are pressing me at the moment. I hope I’ll catch up next week!
I am completely missing out via the lists, I think, as by the time my post goes up I’m in bed, and by the time I’m up, the list is hundreds of blogs long. I’m trying to combat that natural bias for the early-posters by visiting the blogs just above mine. But mostly, like you, I’m visiting people who visit the blogs I visit, creating a chain. Most of the visits on my blog seem to be return calls, from the people I’ve let comments on. So I’d say I’ll get out of this what I put in, and once again I’m wondering if it’s worth the time it takes away from my actual writing. So far it doesn’t look like it’s done a thing for my sales, and that leads me to think my time would be better put in revising my keywords and setting up a marketing campaign. But I do like finding new blogs 🙂
I’m starting to think that creating the chain may be more productive in the long term, since we get to know each other and may keep visiting each other longer. Yes, we may miss out on other things that might have interested us, but we would do that anyway.
So, I think blog visits are down… but just look at the quality of the comments!
And the paperback proof of Willoughby the Narrator arrived this morning. Cover needs adjusting….
I’ve enjoyed visiting you too and also seeing my name on your list. I haven’t been using the lists. I visit people who visited me and people who visit people I visit and people I met in earlier A to Zs. It’s working ok for me. It had gotten me writing up the information I found in my 2X great uncle’s Civil War Pension File. And that is something I could not seem to do before the Challenge.
Finding Eliza
That’s great news. A job that seems to be forever put off is a great challenge anyway – and I think with family history you have to be ready for the findings, since they are personal. It took me five years to start listening to the memoirs my father taped, and then five years to move forward via transcripts to a website, and then to a book!
I’m finding your *great* uncle’s information interesting, too.
Nice to meet you too, although I think we might have met before the Challenge. I will be a regular follower now though. So far, I’m having fun with the Challenge. I’ve met a fair few new bloggers and loving following their themes. The “no list” thing is working for me; at least with having to post your comment on the A-Z blog, every post there will be up to date.
I remember you from previous years, Nick, but again, we didn’t meet enough to make the connection. I hope we stay connected now. For me the problem of having to post your link up is that if you don’t get in early, it definitely leaves you with a drop-off, and here I am posting lunchtime on Tuesday and didn’t get the I post linked up, so not much point now. And I’m in the UK, so I understand poor Rebecca’s frustration.
I didn’t know about the guinea pigs! Will have to pay them a visit. 🙂 I’m glad things are going well for you with this A to Z, Jemima. I’m frankly having trouble keeping up with comment responses and still have the last few entries to write. Feeling a bit of internet fatigue as there are offline matters to take care of, like income tax filing. 😛 That said, I have met some interesting new people and that’s ultimately what it’s all about, yes? Wishing you a good second week!
Kevin is honoured that you’ve visited him! He’s been poorly for the last ten days, which is another reason my posts have been difficult to get on the lists in time (taking extra time for his meds etc). Today the poor guineas had to go with their veggie breakfast since I needed to dash out for a dentist appointment. They seemed to enjoy it as a veggie lunch instead, though!
Thanks for visiting us both, Debbie!
I’m a day behind and I’m not even doing the Challenge! Just trying to keep up with my friends who are.
Very glad you are, Anabel. I know I’ve said this before, but next year I really must do the visiting and not worry about my own posts!
I’m glad the challenge is going well for you. It’s been fine for me. I’ve been managing to visit those I’m subscribed to every other day, but I need to spend a day and visit back to those who visited me.
~Patricia Lynne aka Patricia Josephine~
Story Dam
Patricia Lynne, Indie Author
Finding the commenting time is hard at the moment. But then, I’ll catch up later 🙂
I only decided to do the challenge on H and, via checking on #AtoZchallenge on twitter, saw a link to yours and have popped over. We have ‘met’ before, here and in tweetsville. Great to catch up with your posts. Love the K interview. Like others I’m visiting those who comment on blogs I visit.
Trying to visit some late to the web page or FB list and since my ancient computer’s still so slow posting a link on the web page comment’s is taking me forever. FB and Twitter are better places for me to be and find others.