Tuesday, December 26, 2006

Second bloggiversary of NRJW

Two years ago today, I took a deep breath and plunged into the blogisphere. I didn't start counting visitors until five months after that, but in the past 19 months NRJW has seen over 70,500 visitors, which works out (in my head, anyway--your mileage may vary) to somewhere around 120 visitors a day.

Those numbers prove I'm no big noise in the blogisphere, but I've been thrilled again and again by the big-name bloggers who not only visit my blog, but talk about it on their blogs. My blogging hero Terry Teachout, who has quoted me three times at About Last Night, lists NRJW in his sidebar under "Sites to See." Michael Allen, otherwise known as The Grumpy Old Bookman, has written an entire (and wildly complimentary) post about NRJW and my website. I've been quoted by Slate Magazine (in "Today's Blogs"), both Ron Hogan and Sarah Weinman over at MediaBistro's GalleyCat, Lee Goldberg of A Writer's Life, M.J. Rose at Buzz, Balls & Hype, MSNBC's Clicked, Edward Champion's Return of the Reluctant, Miss Snark, The Moleskinerie, and a bunch of other blogs you've actually heard of, including Booksquare, to whom I'm indebted because she was my very first blog pal. And last year The Internet Writing Journal named NRJW one of their Best Author Blogs, putting me on the same list with Dave Barry, Jayne Ann Krentz, and Neil Gaiman, if you can believe that.

But even more fun than seeing my name and words on so many of the blogs I admire is reading the comments people leave right here on my little blog. Some of them have really tickled my funnybone, and others have challenged me to think. If you're not reading the comments here at NRJW, you're missing out. As I've said before, the comments are often far more entertaining and informative than the posts.

At the end of my second blogging year, I'm feeling blessed. Although this endeavor has turned out to be much more difficult and time-consuming than I expected, it has also been far more rewarding than I ever dreamed. Blogging has given my brain and my writing muscles a good workout and it has helped me become more disciplined. It has been a creative outlet, a platform for sharing my photographs and jokes. It has broadened my reading and sharpened my critical-thinking skills. And it has brought me many, many new friends; people of all ages and walks of life from all over the world.

Thanks so much, everyone, for reading NRJW. I plan to keep this up for a while longer, so I hope you'll stick around.


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11 comments:

Laura Vivanco said...

I plan to keep this up for a while longer

I'm glad!

so I hope you'll stick around

Of course I will.

Anonymous said...

Absolutely. Stick at it. Blogging often leads you into entirely unexpected but nonetheless extremely pleasant developments.

Anonymous said...

Congratulations! I just realized I'd never put you on my blogroll; that oversight has been rectified...

Julie Carobini said...

Hey, You're welcome! Looking forward to reading more...

jel said...

Congrat! has it been 2 years, time flys !

hope you have a Great New Year!

janice

Anonymous said...

Your blog is a must read for me. Thanks for the time and effort you give to make it so interesting. :o)

Brenda Coulter said...

Aww. Thanks for the warm fuzzies, everyone. You people rock.
<3<3<3

Anonymous said...

Okay, Blogger hates me! Take two...

Has it really been two years? Time flies when you're, well, you know, blogging. Nothing like meeting a regular deadline to make the blood run fast and caffeine flow freely. Was I really your first? I'm honored!

The third year will be even better. It's a great time to be a tastemaker...and we are indeed tastemakers!

By the way, Ed knows from the unexpected. Someday I'll recount the story of him, me, a bat, and the husband. At least I think the husband was there. It was a wild night!

Brenda Coulter said...

Ed knows from the unexpected. Someday I'll recount the story of him, me, a bat, and the husband.

I'll look forward to that.
;-)

Lisa Jordan said...

Happy Anniversary, NRJW! Here's to many more! ~raises tea cup~

I love the coincidences we find in the blogging world. I have a sweet online friend I met through another writing site. Even after the site folded, we stay in touch via IM. One day I visited her blog and saw your link in her blogroll. I was so surprised at how small the cybersphere can be. I told her you were in my two writing orgs and I've read your wonderful books. Silly thing, but I enjoyed it. :)

Brenda Coulter said...

Warmest thanks, Lisa. I hope you have a great writing year.