I’ve been experimenting with my blog this August. Have committed to posting every day to see if that increases my site traffic.
I really don’t care, since I blog for my own satisfaction. But I also want to get some other work published, and agents seemed preoccupied with an author’s “platform.” Translation for this is: How many people come to the hoping-to-be-famous author’s website. Translation for that is: How many people does the author know who will buy her work?
The answer is a moving target. If I allow only serious readers, then my work is hiding in some corner of the universe. BUT if I allow Spammers in my statistics, I am one serious blogger. Most days I get more than five hundred spam messages. Many start with a compliment such as: “Your website is just what I’ve been looking for.” It makes me feel good. Like I’m special.
But then, I see that the rest of the message is an advertisement for what the Spammer is selling. It ranges from Ray Ban and Louis Vuitton to Kate Spade and Calvin Klein. They all want a part of me. They all want me to “approve” their message and put it up on my site.
Which is why I’m vigilant about real comments. And which is also why I probably won’t meet an agent’s criteria for a great platform either.
Leave a Reply