Blogging

A Blogging Confession: Sometimes I Cheat

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Daily posting can be a challenge at times, and that’s why it’s time I offer a blogging confession!

I received a very nice email from a longtime reader the other day. This reader had noticed that a few posts hadn’t yet appeared on my daily schedule and wanted to reach out:

I hope all is well with you and you’re just busy or taking a break. I’m thinking of you!

It was a sweet message and a very kind gesture. And somewhat sobering when a blogger realizes that the audience does notice if a few posts are late; it’s so easy to assume as we toil away, trying to create content we hope others will want to read that there are people who actually do read it.

The fact is I had a work conference and had scheduled a couple of posts to appear the first couple of days of that. My intention had been to complete a few other drafts over the course of the week. Unfortunately, a bad cold and the need for rest took away a good chunk of the time I had planned to devote to updating those drafts. To top it off, someone walked into a church in downtown Charleston and opened fire Wednesday night, killing nine people.

Needless to say, my focus shifted to the “main job”&nbsp at that point.

Had things gone as planned, had I not come down with the cold that dictated more sleep than writing, you probably wouldn’t have noticed a change here at my blog.

Once in a while, I cheat.

For a couple of years now, I’ve been posting daily. What I’ve realized over those years is the timing of the posts isn’t as important to me as the quality of them. This is to say that once in a while, I may miss my own internal deadline for a post. (I try to shoot for 10:00am each day.)

Once in a rare occasion, a post might be a day late in showing up.

It’s not that I’m trying to pull a fast one; it’s just that if the post I really want to post happens to not be “good enough”&nbsp until Monday night or even Tuesday morning, I might just post it Tuesday and backdate the post date by a day.

I don’t do it to pull a fast one, honestly. I do it to fill a slot. I feel like the bigger commitment I’ve made to my readers here is to post 365 posts per day and that certain days will receive certain topics. (I’m not rigid on those topics every day of the week, but I try to make sure certain days do have their intended content categories observed.)

The most delayed I’ve been, in fact, was this past week, when, at one point, I was about three days’ behind. I’ve since made up for that delay and will try harder to write further ahead because, as we all know, sometimes, life does happen.

But in the meantime, I want to sincerely thank the reader who reached out to me and anyone else who may have taken notice of the delays and wondered about me or sent a positive thought my way.

Thank you for reading and for your patience when things don’t go just as planned.

the authorPatrick
Patrick is a Christian with more than 30 years experience in professional writing, producing and marketing. His professional background also includes social media, reporting for broadcast television and the web, directing, videography and photography. He enjoys getting to know people over coffee and spending time with his dog.

2 Comments

  • I did notice and I admit to the temptation to send you a query asking if all was well. That I had noticed with regret that a few days had passed without something from you. Then I thought that something must have come up to preclude you from writing – for what ever reason. And finally I thought to wait…again, with the thinking that I shouldn’t’t want you to think I was a pest or just thinking of me: where is a post for ME to read! It has to be for about you. I’m always amazed at how much comes from you about all kinds of topics.

    As for post dating or ore dating, not to worry – I suspect we have all done it at one time or another.

    • That last sentence should have read predating, not ore dating. Daffy spellchecker…

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