Half Tartiversary To ME!

I had a fairly lengthy debate on what to call it..

Tartiversary
Tartday
Tart Bloggiversary?
Blogday.

I mean CLEARLY a Tartiversary is the best WORD, but does it convey the MEANING? And... as it's only the half...

Six months ago today I began blogging in a mad effort to...erm... what was I doing again? Get my name out there? I suppose the maxim 'the only bad press is no press' is what I was going by... 'Better Infamy than nofamy'? Anyway... at this special (to me anyway) date I wanted to take notice of what has been accomplished so far.

Have I got an agent yet? Erm. No. But I know a whole lot more about the process of GETTING an agent? Or maybe not... If I knew so much, I'd have one. I think though, what I need is to finish my POLISH (again) but then a rewrite of my beginning of CONFLUENCE so it dives in faster. In this skeptical market the powers that be aren't recognizing that it is the TRUE READERS who are still buying books—they want mass appeal for the short attention spanners... my start is too slow. So knowing the problem is half the battle, right? Okay, no... but it is a good 2% of the battle, and I am all over it.

Am I a Household Name? Well... maybe in a house or two, though I suspect those are the people I knew already and most of them are swearing when they say it. But a couple more people think of me when they hear the word Tart. That is something.

Have I taken over the world? THERE, I can solidly say... part of it... Australia is MINE. Well, okay, maybe not mine if you were to ask the average person on the street, but I managed a moment of fame... I'm rather pleased with that. I THINK all I really did was highly praise a highly popular book in a fresh way, but I am STILL getting hits for being quoted on John Marsden's 'Tomorrow When the War Began' sight... granted, I've been recommending this book series for YEARS now (READ THEM!), but the blog is what got me some fame over the matter. I also managed to become the ONLY hit if you put “Naked World Domination Tour” into google—keep the quotes... which proves if ANYBODY is going to be taking the world over through nudity, it is OBVIOUSLY me.

But Seriously

Smear yourselves in Chocolate while we contemplate...

Okay, so maybe only a little seriously... I started, as most do, with NO CLUE. I wrote something. I invited my actual Friends and part of the small network I had on Facebook at the time. I learned a little and began FOLLOWING a few blogs... where I found blogs of successful agents or writers I added TONS of the blogs THEY followed... Commented a little more...


It seems to be working.

My followers are growing-- granted, the JUMPS have corresponded with me doing things like inviting friends, but now and then I spot an unsolicited newbie... each time, I do a naked dance (that is just what a happy nudist does).

The Greater Evidence?

I can follow and add and comment on those I add... but I've discovered a NETWORK... organically developing under the surface... I started blogging, my friends started blogging, we added each other's finds... then 'finds' start finding us (I fell in love just yesterday with a man in touch with his inner princess! You KNOW how I love that! He was a new follower who I then followed and explored what he was writing)... it is the STRANGEST thing. It's like friendship ought to work if we weren't all these weird writer/socially awkward people... Okay, maybe I'm projecting... My online persona... being naked and all... isn't so much awkward as.... erm... screening. People I offend go away--pretty sure of that. Since all my nudity and innuendo eventually finds a lot of silliness, I can only conclude these offended people are NOT my kind of people anyway. (prudes tend to report me to the authorities sooner or later... best just make it clear I AM NOT their people from the start). I think I somehow stay PG most of the time, but... some people are so touchy...

But I feel like the blog progress... hasn't been bad. I'm rather pleased at having my 50+ regular followers and 100+ FB followers at my 6 month anniversary... Sure, it isn't some famous author stumbling upon me and insisting his agent pick me up.  It isn't an agent stumbling across me thinking "what  GENIUS!  I have to read her book!", but it's pretty good progress.

So I am offering cake for all!  And MANY thanks to all my new friends!