Toiling in obscurity

16 comments on Toiling in obscurity
2 minutes

If you’re reading today because you found my blog through Freshly Pressed last week, I’m glad you decided to give Down the Road a whirl. I’ve been writing this blog for almost four years to very little notice from the world. Each new post gets maybe 20 or 30 visits in its first few days. I don’t mind; my meager readership’s comments reward me richly. I’ve been perfectly happy to toil in obscurity.

Someone who commented on my Freshly Pressed post about grammar supposed that I would now have a massively large readership. I certainly did for two days! Watching the hits pile up was exhilarating and responding to all the comments was a hoot. Check out the stats; it’s not hard to figure out which two days it was.

I do write about writing once in a while here on Down the Road, but as you can see from my tag cloud at right my blog is much more about other things. Lately, my favorite topics have been:

If you enjoy what you see here, I hope you’ll keep reading and commenting! Upcoming posts include a reflection on the value of Christmas, a photograph from the site of a famous American Indian battle, and my annual look at the most popular posts of the year. (Guess which one wins.)


Comments

16 responses to “Toiling in obscurity”

  1. Megha Avatar
    Megha

    Well, you certainly have got more readers, and I’m one of them.

    1. Jim Avatar

      Thanks, Megha! I hope you enjoy it.

  2. Lone Primate Avatar
    Lone Primate

    Where would we be without you, Jim. :)

    1. Jim Avatar

      Somewhat less amused?

  3. jonballphoto Avatar

    Always enjoy reading your blog. Thanks for keeping with it even though you were you’re “toiling in obscurity”.

    1. Jim Avatar

      I’m quite used to being obscure! :-)

  4. Snoring Dog Studio Avatar

    I don’t really understand the Freshly Pressed selection process, but once in a while it does point people to some very good posts. I certainly enjoyed the grammar one and obviously it struck a chord in others. I’m going to read about your humiliation on live radio now. I love a good story about humiliation.

    1. Jim Avatar

      I hope my story met your expectations!

  5. jannatwrites Avatar

    Wow, love the screen shot of your page views during Freshly Pressed. That’s crazy! I’ve read many posts lately concerning readership and stats (or lack thereof) so I liked reading that you were content toiling in obscurity :)

    I haven’t read the grammar post yet (I was intrigued by the cat picture) but I will do so now. And I’ll have to see if I can find that humiliation storymentioned by the previous commenter…

    1. Jim Avatar

      Crazy, but fun! The humiliation story is linked in the post above; click on “humiliated live on the radio.”

  6. Michael Avatar
    Michael

    I had to unsub from the grammar post because it was filling my inbox! You certainly struck a chord with it. Must be part of your 15 minutes of fame, which in this case stretched out to 2 days. LOL. Merry Christmas!

    1. Jim Avatar

      I have a policy of responding to comments, well, almost all of them anyway. The grammar post really had me on the ropes!!

  7. Scott Palmer Avatar

    Holy mackerel! Over 5,000 hits in one day?!

    You deserve it, but gosh. I am in awe.

    1. Jim Avatar

      It’s the Freshly Pressed Effect.

  8. gooseberrybush Avatar
    gooseberrybush

    I also toil in obscurity. You’re talented. Sometimes someone wins Freshly Pressed, and I think, “Why?” I agree with your comments about grammar, and the post today about faith was even better.

    1. Jim Avatar

      Thanks for saying such nice things about my work. I’m glad you’re reading!

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