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3:03 pm - Mon 9.08.2008
Capital-W \"Writing\"

Capital-W "Writing"

(Ahhhh...there's nothing quite like working for hours on an entry, then, in a heartbeat, accidentally deleting it. Good times. But anyway...)

Still wrestling with the "at loose ends", nothing-interesting-happening, "Where have all my #$@! auditions gone?" feeling I've had with for awhile now.

But within this vast wasteland, the great, yawning abyss of my life right now, the weekend was an oasis of fun - I had dinner with Cary on Saturday night, and dinner at Jen & Molly's last night (Jen wasn't there - I only saw her in passing as she headed out to The Magic Castle with her boyfriend - but the other "Usual Suspects" were all in attendance).

I particularly enjoyed the outing with Cary on Saturday; we don't get the chance to just "hang out" too often, and I always have fun (Which isn't always the case in larger social settings. But more on that later).

We met up in North Hollywood - I like when we're able to do that, cause I can just hop on the Metro - eating at Big Boy, and chatting about this & that for the better part of two hours.

He loaned me a book I'd seen at his house last time I was there (Bonk, by Mary Roach), which I'd expressed interest in (And which I've already started reading), and a good chunk of our conversation centered around our writing.

I feel a little silly referring to "our" writing, equating the two, because they don't really equate at all - He's a capital-W "Writer" (Or to be more precise, a capital-S "Screenwriter"), who has the very real chance of making a living through his writing.

And I do this.

But any time I start bleating about being interested in capital-W "Writing" myself, he's always been very supportive.

We talked a bit about my new blog, and particularly about my interest in making more money from it/"growing my audience".

Because it would be fun to make more money from it, and it would just be cool to have a lot of people reading it.

(What can I say? I like money, and I like attention.)

One way it could be more profitable is if I could persuade more people who already visit the site to click on my ad - As of this writing, I've had 1,388 "page impressions", but only 327 "clicks"; while it seems unlikely I'll ever get every visitor to click on the ad, if I could get half of them to clickety-click...well, that would be nice.

Of course, the other way to increase profit would be to draw more people to the site. Which, as I said before, would be kind of "cool" all by itself.

Right now, when I post there, I let people know on my MySpace and Facebook pages, and in here (Speaking of which - I have a new post up on my new blog, so go check it out at some point. And remember to click on that ad, cause that's how we makes the big money. Thanks!).

So anyway, something in the neighborhood of 100-plus people probably get the word whenever I post.

I don't really, at this point, know how to expand that reach. But I think that's enough of a "base" to work with...if I also start writing interesting enough things for people to "talk up" with their friends.

And at this point, I'm pretty sure I'm not really doing that (Though I have "moments" here and there).

Right now, I've got something that is primarily a personal journal - focused on my acting career and "acting related stuff" (Movies, tv, etc). And for the most part, until and unless I become famous, it's only going to be of interest to people who know me.

(Though I know there are some people - a few at least - who read Diaryland, and only know me through reading Diaryland. Which I find...intriguing. And somewhat mystifying.)

Cary thinks, to "grow my audience", I need to "abstract things out" (I think that's the phrase he used) - to segue from "Dear Diary"-type entries to something more essay-like.

I think there's something to that, and it's something I've given a great deal of thought to, particularly since starting this new blog - if I want an audience beyond my core group of friends and general well-wishers, I'm going to have to give people something more than "Dear Diary - Here's what I did today...".

But I'm not sure if the answer is to "abstract things out"...or to actually get more personal.

Or maybe to "mix-and-match"...?

Whatever the case may be, I know if I want to reap the rewards - of making more money, attracting a bigger readership, etc. - I'm going to have to start taking more chances. To venture outside my "comfort zone", in both directions, and risk the potential failure and rejection.

Nothing interesting happens if you never "put yourself out there".

And a lifetime spent "hedging my bets" has gotten me shit, so why not try something new?

And speaking of "putting myself out there"...I've now officially been doing this all day, so I'm cease and desist, and after dinner, see what things look like outside my apartment.

See ya later...

 

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