Ch-Ch-Changes!

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Writability has been going strong with three posts a week since 2011, which I'm pretty damn proud of. We're nearing the 1,200 post mark, which is more blog posts than I ever expect any one person to read, which means a pretty extensive archive of topics covered, often more than once.

Unsurprisingly, though, a lot has changed in six years.

When I started this blog, I was 19-year-old community college student reaching out on the internet, trying to connect with other writers, become more knowledgeable about publishing, and continue to improve my writing skills. I was a year away from being diagnosed with a degenerative autoimmune disease, studying film, unagented, and hadn't yet written the book that would be my debut.

I started Writability, not really sure anything would come of it, and definitely not imagining I would be here six years later with over 2,000,000 lifetime page views, a growing YouTube channel with nearly 15,000 subscribers, and imminent plans to move to a city to start grad school and get my MFA.

Yeah, a lot has changed in six years. And honestly, what I've listed here barely begins to cover it.

My life looks pretty different now from what it used to, and that divide from what was to what is is only going to widen in the fall. I'm now a published writer with deadlines to meet and projects to write, while juggling freelancing and a part time job to pay the bills, and I'll soon be adding school back into the mix. Which is a long way of saying my limited time is becoming more limited as the months pass.

So I've finally reached a point where I've realized something has to give. I need to be monetizing my time as much as I can—that means spending most of my time on things that will help me pay the bills. But I don't want to give up this wonderful blog, which I know has become such a big resource for so many, either.

As much as I hate to say it though, I do need to cut back. Because to be super transparent, this blog is quickly burning me out, and as I spend sometimes hours trying to figure out what to write about that I haven't already written about, it's increasingly cutting into time I need to be spending on my deadlines.

So starting today, I'm changing Writability's posting schedule. Instead of four days a week (including the vlogs), I'll be posting twice a week: vlogs on Tuesdays and blog posts on Fridays. There will be some exceptions to that—giveaway posts won't be a Friday post and guest posts may or may not be a Friday post depending on what I have going on that week. But for the most part, Tuesdays and Fridays will become Writability's new schedule.

But that's not the only change. I'll soon be announcing a new facet of Writability, on a new platform, that I'm very excited about. I hope you guise like it too. :)

Thank you all for your support over the years—it has, and continues to mean, so, so much. Here's to many more years of awesomeness all over the internet.

Discussion: Your Favorite Posts

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Short post today! So as I've recently hit the 1,000 blog post milestone (for which a giveaway is still running, by the way), I thought now was as good a time as ever to take stock of what you guys have enjoyed and would like to see more of.

My blog posts generally fall into one of many categories: book reviews, how to, writing life, writing tips, character development, social media, editing, publishing, and miscellaneous. Both because I'm curious and because I'd like to gear future posts toward what you guys would like to see most, I'd like to know: what blog posts have been your favorite (or what types of blog posts have been your favorite)? And what would you like to see more of?

Similarly, if there are any topics or questions you'd like me to cover, let me know in the comments and I'll add them to my list of possibilities. :)

Thanks!

Twitter-sized bite: 

Have a publishing or writing question you'd like answered? Author @Ava_Jae is taking blog post suggestions. (Click to tweet)

Discussion: What Would You Like to See More Of?

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So as of this moment, including this post, Writability has 832 posts (and they are all organized in the directory). From writing tips, to social media, to publishing, editing, the writing life, character development and more, this blog has had a LOT of posts. A lot a lot. Like, assuming each post is roughly 400 words, that's over 300,000 words worth of posts.

And so, as the year is ending and we're looking toward 2016, I'm curious about what topics you guys have found the most useful. What would you like to see more of? Are there any topics I've neglected that you have questions about? Anything you'd like some clarification on, or a different spin on an existing post you'd like to see? Do you have a writing/publishing/blogging-related question that I haven't answered? Now's the time to let me know!

My ears are open. Let me know what you'd like to see more of, and I will do my best to accommodate. :)

So today I'm putting the spotlight on you: what should I write more about going forward? 

Twitter-sized bite:

Have a writing, publishing, or book-related question? @Ava_Jae is taking blog topic suggestions! (Click to tweet)

Writability Turns Two!

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Well it’s official, guys: Writability is two years old. The actual two-year date was on the 6th, but I was silly and forgot to check the calendar when working out my posts, so it’s a belated blogoversary celebration.

Nevertheless, it’s somewhat incredible to me to think that I’ve been blogging for two years. I mean, I remember when the blog was a weird tan and red color and had a tiled book background. I remember being terrified when I put up that first post two years ago and I remember thinking well, it’ll be worth it if one person likes it.

I never imagined this. I wasn’t sure that the blog would last a couple months—let alone two full years. I never thought that I’d have wonderful discussions in the comments or that I’d get nice e-mails from people that I will save forever. I never thought I’d meet some wonderful people or that’d I’d learn just as much from writing the posts as I do from discussing the ideas behind them.

And it’s thanks to you. Really.

Whether you’ve read one post or you’ve been here since May 6, 2011—every comment, every page view, e-mail, Facebook like, Twitter follow and tumblr reblog is a vote of support. Every kind word and virtual high-five is a reminder of why I continue to do this. Of why I wrack my brain three times a week for a post to write.

In a way, nothing has changed—I’m still an unagented writer dreaming of publication. I’m still a person who loves to write and read and gets excited about Harry Potter fandom and Marvel movies, and occasionally I’ll write a post that scares me just as much as that first ever post did.

But in a way, everything has changed—I’ve shared an excerpt from my novel here for the first time, I have people regularly sharing my posts with others and I’ve had truly incredible conversations about why writers must read and whether or not cursing is acceptable in YA novels, and I’m proud to say that I have an awesome community right here at Writability.

So thank you. All of you. You have truly made this experience worthwhile and wonderful and I cannot thank you enough.