Blogging into the void

          For much of my life I've written on sheer speculation.  Doggedly cranking out articles and short stories as a sideline to my regular day jobs and mailing them around the circuit, hoping some would be accepted, and quite a few have been, even by several top magazines.  But it’s always been an inefficient and frustrating and time-consuming process, accumulating vastly more rejections than acceptances. 

          I’m working on a fourth novel in my thriller series, once again only on the thin hope the finished book will attract a flicker of interest from an agent and then win over a publisher with more resources and far wider distribution than the small publisher that bought the first three books in the series could manage.  (I do have a tenuous agent contact gleaned from a Nashville writer’s conference last year. )  People seem to like my fiction and that’s gratifying, but my new book will have to somehow fight its way to the surface of the absolute avalanche of books now available to have any chance of reaching a significant number of readers.

          I began this blog in the hope of stimulating discussions about writing, and perhaps helping a few talented but struggling writers out there, maybe saving them from many learning pains I've gone through for decades.  It’s also a way to pass on a little of the generous help and support I've received from many kind people over the years.  And of course it’s one more way to promote my books.

          But once again I’m working on sheer speculation.  I’m blogging into the great void.

          So.  A simple plea.

          If you’re  enjoying this blog and perhaps gleaning useful tips on writing from it, would you please take a minute or two and let others know about it?

Phil