Jul
8
I think I’m doing this wrong.
Oh, hello. Long time no see. Just an update on where I’ve been the past couple weeks… I’ve been here, still mired in a computer dilemma with no immediate resolution. Basically I’m at the mercy of the availability of my wife’s computer (which is slower than frozen pudding) and using the computer at the local library. A new desktop might be in my future depending on available funds, which at the moment are unavailable, allocated towards more pressing matters (food, gas, etc). There are signs of hope on the horizon concerning the availability of funds for a new computer, but nothing for the next couple of weeks. The new computer will have to wait for one or more of the following to happen: my wife returning to work (middle of August), a potential bonus check at work (maybe at the end of the month), or the sale of one of the horses (???).
The sale of the horse isn’t due to fund issues but her temperament. Sassy is just that, Sassy, and we have neither the time or experience to give her the direction she needs. The vet recommended someone who was in the market for a pony who just so happens to specialize in pony boot camp. She came out to look at Sassy last week and is quite interested. She has a sale pending on one of her herd, so once that is finalized odds are good that she will buy Sassy from us. Our only stipulation for selling any of our animals is contingent upon them going to a good home and not being put down (which is why we still have the Prozac cat, who seems to be doing much better on his meds).
One thing my time away from the computer has given me is some time to reflect. I’ve been thinking a lot about the approach I’ve taken when it comes to my writing and whether or not I’m doing this correctly. It all has to do with getting noticed. Before I had the blog or website, I didn’t have much of a writing footprint, and now almost three years later, I’m not sure if it’s really any bigger than when I started.
I’ll be the first to admit that my approach has been rather unorthodox. My goal is to land a job as a humor columnist, but without any writing credentials to my name I knew that would be next to impossible. So since no one would give me a column, I decided to just write one, so that I could show potential editors that yes, I can be funny, and yes, I can come up with material consistently. With over 100 columns in the bank I feel that I’ve got a large enough body of work to prove my point, I just don’t know how to get the hogs to market. In the end basically I’m still where I was three years ago, with nary a writing credential to my name.
I blame myself for a lot of this, mostly because of how I am. I’m not very outgoing, and I don’t network well. Or at all, to be honest. I’ve had a very “go it alone” strategy from the beginning, basically leaving my success to random chance. Simply putting stuff out on the internet with the hopes of being discovered is highly improbable; it’s like throwing your mail into the air and trusting the wind to deliver it (have I used that before? I think I have). But that’s been my business model for the past three years: minimal effort, minimal return.
To illustrate my “go it alone strategy”, consider this little nugget of information: most of my relatives and friends don’t even know about my writing or that I have a website. My wife and parents know; my brothers are somewhat aware, but that’s about it. I still try to keep a barrier between the online me vs. the real world me, and I don’t really know why. It’s not like I spill all sorts of juicy gossip on here. I guess it has to do with wanting to find success on my own, do it my way, and then return home the conquering hero. But the more I think about it, the more stupid it sounds.
I get this way every time I try to get published: I start with a base of optimism, then mix in two cups of self doubt, fold in three tablespoons of second guessing, top it all off with a big dollop of self fulfilling prophecy by not even bothering with the attempt to get published, bake at 350 for two months and viola! Dinner is served. The taste? Quite bitter. And there’s always plenty of leftovers.
No, I’m not giving up. Although I am rethinking my approach, and the blog may be a casualty as a result, I haven’t decided yet. Even if I do allow the blog to wither and die on the vine I still intend to keep at The Dimmer Switch for the time being. So there’s one bright spot.
I just went through and re-read what I just wrote, wow. And I thought trout were self-centered. Well, that should be enough for now. Thanks again for reading, see you tomorrow.
Everybody around my orbit thinks you should get published. Consistently funny, clever and all that other stuff.
I don’t know what avenues you are pursuing to get into the papers, but it’s a crying shame that you ain’t there yet.
My vote is that if the blog has to die, then may it rest in peace. I like reading some of the day-to-day stuff, but the Dimmer Switch is really the meat. Blog is gravy. Cream gravy. And cream gravy is my favorite, especially over a gigantic, tender chicken-fried steak.
But I digress. As usual, you analogies are spot-on and really funny. Love the cooking thing.
Far be it from me to offer unsolicited advice, but have you tried the “local paper humor column for nothing” angle. I know that there are writing contests, too. A friend of mine got me to enter one about 2 years ago, and that made me start my blog. It might get you out there. I don’t know. Are you thinking of self-publishing?
What am I doing? I have the same recipe that I use for my freelance illustration racket.
And you are not as self-centered as a trout; it’s YOUR BLOG!
dang trouts.
Problem w/ the column for free angle is all of the local papers are owned by the same outfit and they share content. Basically, each local paper has one writer on staff and they pull in peripheral content from the mothership. I sorta already do the self publish thing over at Gather, but it’s not panning out into anything more. Then again, I haven’t exactly done much panning either.
I blame myself. I’ve been too lazy about it. Time to get crackin.