It may be declasse to talk about this, but I think my reputation can handle the hit.
Last Friday, after over three years of blogging, my humble little blog was Freshly Pressed. There I was, on the front page of WordPress.com. I was shocked.
- Maybe they figured “Posts about zombies” wouldn’t be a big draw?
I was more shocked at how many people played along. Almost everyone who commented posted a haiku. Really good haikus! It was so fun reading them all. Everyone was so nice, too. I don’t know why, but I was worried about trolls commenting just to be contrary. I was also worried about tons of people commenting just to plug their own blogs. No one asked me to read their blog unless it directly related to zombies or horror movies. Everyone was very nice and polite. One exception.
It was very exciting, but it was also very stressful. Stressful, because I have an obsessive compulsion to reply to each and every comment. I also had to visit all the blogs that linked to my post, read them and comment there as well. I was grateful for all the exposure, but holy hell. That’s a lot of pressure. Heaven forbid I neglect to reply to a comment or thank someone for linking to my blog and they think I’m an asshole. I couldn’t handle that. Literally, it would keep me up at night. Yes, I care if complete strangers think I’m a bitch. Is that endearing or psychotic? Actually, I don’t want to know.
Well, I didn’t have to stress for long.
Yep. There’s the ugly truth. It’s a helluva ride, but it’s a short one. I am grateful, however. I don’t think I’m cut out for fame. Too nerve-wracking. Relative obscurity is more my speed.
I would like to take the opportunity to give a shout out to Doug and his blog: We make it all better. Not only is Doug a super nice guy who took time out of his day to give me words of encouragement, but he also plugged my blog like my mom paid him. Doug is with Copeland Communications (how cute is the bike-riding dog banner?) and his blog is smart and funny and also has zombies. What’s not to like? I have my brief handshake with fame to thank for introducing me to him.
And to everyone else who commented on my zombie haiku post: I promise that I will try to visit your blogs soon. I may have to quit my job and stop showering, but I will try. I will also try to leave a meaningful and complimentary comment. I swear. Please don’t hate me!
You’ll always be like Lady Gaga to me….
Aw! Thanks, hon!
EMIT SOULFUL KARMA=RECEIVE SOULFUL KARMA. ARE ITALIAN SONNETS NEXT? HOW ABOUT FRACTURED NURSERY RHYMES? “Jack and Jill went up the hill. They each had a quarter. Jill came down with fifty cents….”
Ha! I hadn’t heard that version of Jack and Jill before. I do believe in karma or at least “what comes aroind goes around.” I figure it’s better to be safe than sorry.
What I like best about you as a blogger Amy – and I’m sure you are like this away from the computer too – is that you’re humble. You didn’t go all Gaga on yourself when the blogosphere was parading you around on a sedan chair. And you replied to all the comments – which is way, way too rare.
What’s not to like about your blog? It’s about scary things: zombies, Halloween, alcoholism, honesty.
I’m glad we’re in touch now. Thank you for the nice comments about me and Copeland.
I don’t think I could go Gaga on myself if I tried! It was luck, not talent, that landed me on the front page. I’ll be happy and say “yea! this is awesome” but not “yea! I am awesome!”
You, however, are awesome! Thank you!
I did pay him. Twice.
Money well spent. Thanks mom!!
The cheque just arrived mom!
This seems to be a common theme amongst the Freshly Pressees in the days following the FP. Definitely enjoyed your take on the whole thing…
I had always wondered how it would change my life and now I know.
I’ve seen those stats before. It’s like poison to the system. You’ve got to wait until that mountain moves off to the left before you feel normal again. You look at it and think, how am I supposed to compete with that? You can’t, not unless you want to post your URL on the sides of city transit and offer something free to go there.
You do meet some interesting individuals though. People who would normally never comment drop in to do so. Most (I hope) are commenting because they actually have something to say about the topic. Some (as you’ve experienced) are commenting because they always comment on anything freshly pressed. And some are commenting because they always comment on freshly pressed because they hope people will click their comment to find out who they are, thus netting them some traffic.
Personally, I’ve already raised the shield of apathy to the entire thing. I write because I write. If I start writing because I need people to visit my site, then my writing would suck. So if you’re going to dance like nobody’s watching, and sing like nobody’s listing, then I recommend blogging like nobody’s reading.
Keep up the good work!
For most of my blogging career I blogged like no one was reading, because they weren’t. I’ve gone back and read a lot of those posts and I don’t think I’ve changed my style any to accomodate my small, but loyal, fan base. I really do write for me and I really hope that I never lose sight of that. If I had 2000 people visiting on a daily basis, I fear that I would.
Yes, I can’t wait until that mountain moves off the left edge of that graph!
One more thing Amy. That’s not a dog on the bike in our banner. It’s a pig-dog-goat thing. Thank you.
I almost thought it was a sheep, but it didn’t have hooves and everyone knows that goats can’t ride bikes, so I went with dog.
Good thinking. Even our designed doesn’t know what it is. It’s cute though. And it lifts its hands off the handlebars!
It is very cute and I did notice it went “handsless” at one point. Whatver it is, it’s a keeper!
Love your blog and the way it’s written. Now I am bugging people at work with off the cuff Zombie Haiku.
I did also subscribe to your lovely piece O’ the net, so plan on having me as a reader for a long time.
Cheers
Bob
Thank you, Bob! I’m very glad to have you as a reader.
Gaga for four days
Is totally better than
Me for twenty years.
Oh, I don’t know. That raw meat dress gets rank after day two.
I left a comment here yesterday but it’s not here.
Being Freshly Pressed was nice for me as well. My comments and stats went through the roof but it was surprising that the numbers didn’t stay up. I guess it’s only when people find you who are looking for what you do that they stick around and keep coming back.
Thank God for friends, huh!
That’s weird. I swear I didn’t block you!
I did get a few more subscribers so I’ll probably have a few more regular readers which is nice, but I’ll never forget my loyal friends before I was “famous”
And of course my mom.
No worries!
After reading your Freshly-Pressed post — congrats BTW, I’m still pining for a spot on FPed but I suspect bad-mouthing it at one point (http://paulbeforeswine.wordpress.com/2010/08/12/how-i-knew-it-was-a-hoax/) and being scolded by the moderator is a bad sign! — I subscribed to your blog and will read it regularly!
I have also suggested it to my wife, who is an artsy-craftsy aficionado, complete with blog if you’re interested: http://www.lotustreecrafts.com/
Keep up the good work!
I never thought it was a hoax, but I did think they only choose new bloggers, so I was nice that they picked me after I’ve been doing this for years.
After a couple crazy days, everything pretty much goes back to normal, so I wouldn’t sweat not being FPed. I swear the best way to get traffic to your blog is to read other people’s blogs and comment on them. You’ll get loyal readers that way, too.
Thanks!
Oh Amy. I know exactly how you feel about responding to every comment. I can’t imagine how hectic that must have been sifting through the multitude of ones you got that day. I thankfully will never have to worry about that. I’ve bashed “the powers that be” well enough to pretty much guarantee I’ll never get pressed.
But that works out for me. I’d lose my mind if I had to respond to more than 3 comments in a day. XD
I can’t complain too much because it was fun, but it could have been a full-time job for two days. I didn’t mind responding, I just didn’t want to accidentally forget someone and get slapped with that bad karma.
So that’s what it’s like to get FP’d. Big Boom, sizzle, sizzle, whew! Wipe sweat from forehead.
I think you’re a saint for replying to all. I’d have done the same thing. I mean I will do the same thing, soon as I get noticed. Blog on!
Yep, that’s pretty much it. You could be next!
My blog’s a couple months old, so I have a long way to go before mine shows up on the front page. That would be cool, but like you said, I could see the stress involved.
Don’t worry, I don’t think you’re a jerk if you don’t comment. Though, I know if I ever make a popular post, I’ll be rushing to reply to everyone, too. I was so excited when 11 people looked at my blog a few days ago. I was so famous that day!
Normally, new blogs show up on the front page, so that’s why I was so surprised. If you are young, I think you have a better chance. It could happen to you!
What a coincidence that We Make It All Better just got Freshly Pressed Amy. I mean, what are the chances, given all the WordPress blogs in the world, that our would be pressed the week you wrote this post. Mind you, Yellow Pages apps ain’t quite as sexy as Zombie Haiku!
My mom sent WordPress a check.
I did just see that you were on the front page! They picked a post that is a few days old. I thought that was weird. It’s a great post, but I would have chosen the Janet Jackson one. More of an opportunity for public discussion with that one.
Congrats! I hope it brings a lot of new readers to your site.
Yeah that was odd. The Zombie post would have been fun, or the one today about the lack of etiquette in offline social media contact.
Odder still was that I learned of it via a comment on our blog that lead to an Italian site. There was the Copeland blog post authored by someone else. I left a message on the site saying “Hey, wtf” etc. Then learned that it was FP notification.
By the way, the second biggest click-thru on the day the Janet Jackson post went up was her photo.
Well, I hope you went back to that poor Italian site and apologized!
And I can’t imagine why that Janet pic was sooo popular.
And thank your Mom for me please.
Will do!
LMAO, first of all Congratulations!! I get it now, next time WP comes telling me that I am FPed, if they ever do that is, I won’t bother, right?!
They don’t tell you! I just logged on and there I was. I don’t know if they give you the option to opt-out of being FPed or not. It’s a neat experience, just don’t expect it to change your life for the better in every possible way cause it won’t.
Hmmm, interesting fact that they don’t intimate people who are in the FP spotlight..
Thanks!
Damn those stats sometimes. I’m telling you, there are days when I would look at them twenty times in an hour. It feels good when people appreciate what you do and the thing is, when you put who you really are out there, if even just to write because you enjoy it, it leaves you open and a little vulnerable. Does that sound silly? I don’t know. What I do know is that I really enjoy what you have to say and although I’m afraid of zombies and the dark and ET, I read your stuff regularly. It has become a familiar part of my week that I look forward to. Congrats on FP. I say it’s about time they took notice
.
It doesn’t sound silly at all. I know just what you mean. I try to write like no one is reading, but it is good to see that people do check out my stuff and appreciate it. The fact that you are reading and actually look forward to my posts is completely awesome. Thank you!!
Congratulations on being FP! I had exactly the same experience this week. I too felt compelled to read and thank everyone for their comments and read everyone else’s blogs. I know the fame is fleeting, but deserved and appreciated.
I did appreciate it, but was very glad when things returned to normal. Congrats on being FP’ed yourself!