I was looking through some of my old posts today and I happened upon one from my earlier days with the Examiner - where I was having a massive anxiety attack in written form, basically. I felt like that post needed a follow up since I've begun to find my own groove since then.
At the end of that piece I stated I would take a break from the forums for awhile since it was only breeding anxiety for me. I did take a break and only occasionally wander in there to make sure I'm not missing any important updates, words of wisdom, etc. In the mean time, I found another place to go filled with fellow Examiner writers. It's a Facebook group and the premise of the page is no whining and a place where we can share ideas and post our articles to use as another source of promotion. In short, I found the place to be for me. The atmosphere in this group is overwhelmingly supportive and I've had the privilege of learning from people who are really making this work - let me tell you, they work their behinds off. I am in awe over the volume of articles they get written in a day for several topics. Good, quality articles at that. In addition to those seasoned Examiner writers, I've "met" newbies like me who are also finding their way; other moms writing similar topics to mine, yet we take different approaches to how we run our pages.
The panic post stemmed from somebody's wondering if Examiner was a detriment to a person's writing career and from watching the success of some of the people I've met via the Facebook page prove the ponderments I raised, right. (Yes, that was definite Becca speak, you should probably get used to it). It is about the quality of writing a person does. In the word Abby and I share so sassily these days, "du-uh!" So here I am at four, nearing on five months of writing for Examiner and I definitely feel like I'm finding my groove. Surely I wish I could magically find some way to expand my readership, but I know it's not something that happens overnight. When I think of where I was when I started and the only page views I was rocking were ones from my family to where I am now...Vast improvement! Still, there's room for lots of growth and finding the stories that really bring the readers, but I have to recognize that the stories I write that bring in the most numbers aren't pieces that are going to get written every day. Meanwhile, in between those definite hits, I've just got to keep plugging along, doing my thing.
Not knowing who actually reads this, I'm still going to send out a thank you to Examiner for allowing me this opportunity to write about a topic I love, to my fellow Examiners who have made me feel oddly at home in a group of people I've never even had the chance to meet face-to-face, and finally to my faithful readers I have earned to this point - I love your comments and appreciate your stopping by my page and checking out my work.
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