Changes in The Last Two Years

We’re coming up fast on the two year anniversary of Paper Beats World. It’s amazing to think I’ve stuck with it that long, but I have. I’ve got to say, I’m pretty impressed with me. If you knew my history, you’d be pretty impressed with me, too.

Of course, it probably helps that PBW is nothing like it was when I first started out. I basically don’t write any of the columns that I started out writing, and I do so many things I never thought I was going to be doing here. But that’s one of the great things about a blog format. It can be a living, breathing entity in ways that other mediums just can’t. Here are just a few of the things that have changed in the last two years as PBW has grown.

The background, a lot

I am, far too often, changing the form from one thing to another. If I had the time I would change the theme every week. I think that would irritate people, so it’s probably a good thing that I can’t do that. It took me awhile to find a theme that looked professional, and also showed off my newfound love of images to good effect. I think I’ll stick with this one for a while, though. It’s working for me.

The content

I have tossed and added a lot of columns over the last two years. I used to write columns about websites for writers, poetry columns, charities in need of help and markets that you could send your work to. These dropped off for numerous reasons. No one was reading them, I was bored writing them. I wanted more flexibility in what I was presenting to you guys.

In this, I got a pretty big surprise. Since I’ve been posting my stories here, I’ve been getting a huge response from all of you. I can’t tell you how touched I am by the response. I have some awesome things planned for you guys because of it.

The schedule

I was a little stupid, starting out. I used to write literally five columns a week, most of which were time consuming and frustrating. I didn’t like what I was writing, it was taking time from my fiction work and stressing me the hell out. None of that was good for me or you. I figured that my website hits would go way down when I dropped two days. I was wrong, they went up. I think it’s because the content got better, even as the quantity went down. It probably helped that I wasn’t dreading writing my weekly posts. Just saying.

Me

Finally, I’m a different person than I was two years ago. Back then I was clinging to my book for dear life, praying that I could stay afloat. Now, I have hope for the future. I have two published books (that you can buy right here) I’ve written three novels, one novella, and a ton of short fiction. I have a game plan for my book if it gets traditionally published, or if it doesn’t. I have confidence that I can make it on my own if I need to.

One thing that hasn’t changed is how awesome I feel about this blog. I love reading your blogs, and I love it when you all give me feedback here. It reminds me, as I’ve said before, that I’m a citizen of Planet Earth, in all of it’s crappy, shiny glory.

Thank you.