When I began blogging, I began it for solely selfish reasons. I admit it. It was all about me; heck, I am even in the title of the site: “The Musings & Artful Blunders of Scott D. Southard” (sdsouthard.com).
Let me back up a minute and explain. See, after graduating with my MFA in writing from the University of Southern California I was immediately snapped up by a big literary agency in New York City. The author dream! At least it felt like it for a little while.
To say I was invisible for those five years may seem odd, but it was very true. I kept writing (writing like a fiend), but no one outside that agency and my house would know this stuff was going down. My agent had bigger fish to take care of; I was always on the backburner. When my agent and I finally went our separate ways (think of it like a high school breakup with a lot less shouting, but definitely that lingering feeling of embarrassment and disappointment), I was in a bad situation career-wise. Who wants an author that an agent like that couldn’t do anything with? For five years!?!
What was lost for me during the experience was, simply, the joy of writing. I love to write! It taps into that part of my psyche that I love to disappear into and all of the business and worry concerns and stagnation had separated me from the writing love for too long. Screw business, I just wanted to write again! This blog started around a demanding New Year’s resolution and I began with the intense commitment to write five posts a week. That was over two years ago.
I never considered building an audience or marketing, I was just writing. And I was writing about anything that captured my fancy at the moment. Video games? Sure. Books and authors? Definitely. The art of writing? Bring it on. The funny parts of life? All of the time.
While I am not writing five posts a week still (I average about two to three), I feel a lot more in control of my writing career. I had a book published last year (A Jane Austen Daydream) by Madison Street Publishing, I have a new book coming out in October (Permanent Spring Showers) with 5 Prince Books, and I am preparing a book of my most popular blogposts entitled Me Stuff.
I can never guarantee what a person will find up on my site when they visit it. One of the things I love about having my own blog is that there are no rules, unless I decide to make them. It’s very fluid. I think many of my readers enjoy that, plus I don’t hold anything back really. I hear from a lot that they enjoy my honesty, but why would I make up anything? Remember, this is all a selfish endeavor to me.
I hope you will check out “The Musings & Artful Blunders of Scott D. Southard” at sdsouthard.com.
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