Sunday 31 January 2010

I am following you

I think.

Nicola Morgan over on Help I need a Publisher has just made me think about this bloggy thingy again. Nicola has about 400 'followers'. I have a vision of Nicola as a sort of Pied Piper who is being followed by a long line of would-be authors with a notebook in one hand and a pencil in the other. They are being led off to some publishing nirvana by way of baobobs of agents.

Some of Nicola's followers have followers and, no doubt, these followers also have followers. The lines of followers are clearly not tidy. People keep jostling each other. Some leap ahead and others lag behind.

It all sounds terribly untidy and rather competitive. I am not much good at keeping up with a mob either. I get diverted. I like to stop and look at the scenery. (Er, yes it does give me a chance to catch my breath. My writing fitness has a long way to go...almost as far as my general state of fitness.)

I like to wander in to the blogs I follow of course. If I did not I would not follow them. I like to think of it as a visit to a friend who has said, "I know we are both busy but drop in for a quick cuppa." It is also a little like the two cats who reside in our street prowling in to check up occasionally. They come through the cat door, do a quick tour of the house and then depart. "Just checking to see you are okay." I do not always hear them but I know they have been.

Somewhere far ahead there is Nicola, there is the Awfully Big Blog Adventure, there is This Itch of Writing and there are other worthy writing blogs, publishing blogs, editing blogs, self-publishing blogs (thankyou Dan - your shoes are amazing works of art) and endless other blogs.

They all have much to say. I read. I listen. I go my own way. I get lost. I am conscious of the light that blinks the occasional warning, "I know you think you understood what I said but I am not sure you realise that what you heard is not what I meant."

Do I need to develop my tracking skills?

9 comments:

Nicola Morgan said...

Hi Cat - I am following you too! But, I notice that you've still got my very old blog address on your blog roll. If you put the new address, you'll find that the blog posts appear properly on your lovely blogroll!

I don't really know what "following" means - but I'm happy to do it and I'm sorry I wasn't before. I still did visit your blog for a cup of tea every now and then and am very happy to see you on mine.

Colette Martin said...

Catdownunder, I couldn't agree with you more!

catdownunder said...

Oh! I was not expecting you. Thankyou. Please make yourself at home and I will endeavour to declutter the blogroll! (I think I have mentioned I am not a technoc(r)at.

Karen Jones Gowen said...

Really enjoyed this post, Cat. I too noticed Nicola's 400 followers today (probably about 405 by now)and you put it so well--those like Nicola and others who do this thing so well that people just flock to them. It's pretty amazing. I decided once I started my blog that I wouldn't worry about followers and/or commenters, but you just kinda get sucked in regardless. I can't imagine 400. And she did that in a year, pretty amazing!

Rachel Fenton said...

You made me smile....it took me a while to work out that when I popped my picture on another blog as a follower I could see their posts by clicking on the link on my blog dashboard! For ages I was following blogs I had no recollection of, or only a brief memory of having read a blog I liked somewhere and not realising how easily I could return!

catdownunder said...

Well Nicola says a lot people should listen to Karen. Trying to keep up close enough to listen is an effort, but well worth it!
And honestly Rachel, I have to be one of the least technically minded people around - as you can see Nicola reminded me about the blogroll (I had not even noticed because I was looking on the dashboard) and it took me half an hour to work out what to do. Just as well I have never been allowed to have a licence to drive!

Anonymous said...

I've only just worked out how to use the dashboard - which is a very handy little tool.

There is quite a lot of cross-over on blogs now, but that merely reinforces my opinion that the online publishing world is actually quite a small one.

Holly said...

Actually, you need to track over to Holly Lisle (35 novels of various sorts published) who does practical and sensible blogging about writing, discipline and dealing with the world.

catdownunder said...

I did take a look at her once. Think I will stick with Nicola, Emma and Jane though because the British/Australian scene is very different - and that is where I am coming from!