More Moaning for the Muse

They say that to get readers for a blog, the author has to offer something. The agents who drop hints about how to approach them, what not to put in a query letter, the salesmen pitching consumer merchandise, the teacher expounding--all these offer something. It seems to me, though, that some of the most intriguing blogs are those that supply some kind of insight either into the authors, or the work of other writers.

My old blog said it was about writing and aging, and this is too. Since it's supposed to put me in some tiny way on some huge map, I'm willing to give it a try, but the reason is that I want some readers. The old blog provided some, of course (not many), but they read the blog. I wanted them to read my books and the essays and reviews and poems published online.

On a bad day (of which there are a great many, since I read a lot ) I wonder why I should spend any effort on my own stuff. I've just read a novel, an essay, a poem that puts my best efforts in a shadow so deep, even by groveling figuratively,  I know I'll never be able to be seen. You have to ask yourself how those authors managed with such apparent ease to put something so perfectly in precisely the way you've been struggling to do for the past five or ten years. In my case, for a good many more than that!

Still, I can't make myself feel satisfied with the thought that some day my children will run across all those pages.
I've given them copies of my books, and only by asking have I ever elicited a comment from any of them. It was acceptably non-committal--something to the effect of, "I enjoyed it," or more likely, "I haven't read it yet." Hence the drive to find someone who will. As time marches on, I'm becoming cynically convinced that if you don't have pull in the right places, there's no way to get into print with a traditional house or even a small press. That leaves the alternative of self-publishing, and there we are, back again to that demon dollar.

If I put a short poem on this blog, it will be considered published, and therefore be automatically disqualified for publication in 99% of places I might find to offer it to. So, I guess I'll just plug along like this, trying to think of something, anything that might catch the eye of someone looking for manuscripts. Unfortunately, half the places I check out are overloaded and not accepting anything new for the time being.

C'est la vie.

 NEW NOTES from the HILLTOP

 

 Will the Lion Lie Down with the Lamb?

I live in a retirement community with a monthly newsletter. This month, the editor is seeking opinion pieces "about something - anything non-controversial." (Underline is his.)

A friend perused the list of possible topics and frowned. "There’s nothing non-controversial on this list," she said.

  

Here’s the list:  "Your opinion

                        about (town’s name’s) weather,

                        about the anticipated demise of newspapers,

                        about computers,

                        about seniors having pets,

                        about the impact of television on society,

                        or any subject about which you are passionate."

Initially I thought the first item was probably safe, but my friend pointed out the opening for discussions of global warming. I confess that this friend is a specialist at detecting opportunities for argument, but still... The last three defy any excuse I can imagine to say they're free of controversy.

As it happens, our community forbids pets in apartments. Some people agree ferociously with this policy, and others think it cruel and unnecessary, and point out statistics to prove increased longevity for the humans, and repeatedly refer to how they miss their pets. Non-controversial?

How many Luddites and how many geeks are among your friends and relatives? You can almost see neon lights around the word COMPUTER. Very few people are on the fence; most either love and depend on computers or hate and mistrust them.

Impact of television? Where’s the foregone conclusion there? From polluting public morals to assisting with early reading and informing the public, the arguments would take up volumes.

Finally, the very descriptive adjective "passionate" almost guarantees conflict. How passionate is the human animal about something (if there is anything) about which everyone agrees? Unanimity almost guarantees lack of passion.

Writing what my English teacher used to call “personal” essays is something I do often, not just on this blog. Except for the weather, in every one of these I see a subject for, if not a rant, at least a statement, complete with all kinds of qualifiers on varying sides of each of these non-controversial topics. I can’t wait to see what turns up in the newsletter’s In box!

                         

                         

When at first...

I  know four months have passed, but not how many attempts I've made to regain access to my old blog as its author, but Google finally beat me. Just because I changed my e-mail! Everything was fine until then, or seemed to be.

Because I've had some more poetry published, and some more articles on Senior Women Web, and because I'm trying to follow the advice of the pros, I gave in, struggled to find another title, and an acceptable address (what a job that is!) so I could begin to make a remark once in a while.

This post (if it works) will be by way of a test--a sort of cyber "testing, 1, 2, 3" to find out if there will be any point.