Ten years of blogging – and a big thank you to my readers

WordPress reminded me that I’ve been blogging for ten years this week. I don’t know where the time has gone.

It’s been a tumultous decade. In that time I have made some wonderful blogging friends, some of whom have been around since early in my blogging career, and who I’m still in contact with, including in many cases outside the blog-o-sphere – variously by email and in several cases in person. That is very, very cool.

Yes, this IS my typewriter. What’s it doing on the Wellington Writers Walk? Er – introductions…

Aside from that, over the decade I’ve been blogging, I’ve also:

written 19 books (for a total of 61 so far);
retrieved 33 of my back-list publishing licenses from Penguin Random House;
organised the re-release of 10 titles from that back-list, by other publishers;
published 2,085 blog posts;
published a lot of feature articles and literary book reviews, which are listed on my website: http://matthewwright.net/?page_id=13 – and I can’t be bothered counting.
And I had to cope with the fact that WordPress produced what seem to be about 3,995,202 interface changes (including one as I write this), making blogging a constant learning curve relative to the tools. I know it’s well-intentioned, but I have to confess to a certain annoyance over the loss of productivity.

Where to now? Of late I’ve been hard-pressed to get in more than a single blog post a week. Time is a scarce commodity these days. All of which suggests it’s time to say goodbye. But actually, the information age and technology of social media – of which blogging is a part – has opened up ways for humanity to engage with each other, globally, in new ways. It’s important as a vehicle of expression.

I’m wondering about switching to a premium package – getting rid of the ads and opening up some other design options. I’m wondering about starting podcasts. Because, hey, I had voice training upon a time. All of it has to be wedged in and around the demands of full-time writing. We’ll see. Any thoughts?

Meanwhile, it’s been ten years of blogging. And that’s due to you, my friends. Thank you! So here’s to the next decade, and more good discussions.

11 thoughts on “Ten years of blogging – and a big thank you to my readers”

Congratulations! Looking forward to ten more.

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Happy Anniversary, Matthew! The list of your productivity left me breathless. lol Where on earth do you get the energy?

Re changes to your blog. Most of us are used to, and tune out, the ads so not sure an ad-free upgrade is worth it. Podcasts seem to be the ‘thing’ these days, but please please please! Provide a transcript as well for those of us who read fast and loathe w.a.i.t.i.n.g. f.o.r. a. s.p.o.k.e.n. s.e.n.t.e.n.c.e…..to finish!

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That’s quite an achievement. Congratulations. I’ve only been around, in one form or another, for about six years. I, too, am considering premium, but mostly for the wider variety of design options. You certainly are prolific. Well done!

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Good for you, Matthew! Ten years of blogging is only a fraction of what you’ve achieved, it seems. I like the idea of podcasts, but to tell you the truth, I haven’t figured out how to squeeze listening to them into my day (and my brain). Most evenings I listen to a radio current affairs program, music in the background, and read blog posts. All at the same time. Needless to say, I don’t absorb 100% of that stuff. (True “multitasking” is impossible.) Your blog posts are short and informative, exactly right for my situation. I hope you keep blogging.

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Congratulations on 10 years! I’m still partial to blogs and though I’m hearing from a lot of directions that blogging isn’t as important as it once was, it’s still by far where I interact with the most readers on a regular basis. I’m still finding is rewarding, but I’ve only been at it for about eight years. Perhaps I’ll feel differently after year 10.

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