Dear Blog: Happy Birthday!

Posted byhannahkarenaPosted inWritingTags:, , , , , ,

I can’t believe it’s been a whole year since I graduated from college. It feels like a huge margin of time since I reluctantly rolled out of bed for afternoon classes, had late-night caffeine runs at Dunkin’ with my roomies, and checked out over one hundred books from the university library (true story!) for a thesis paper. It’s kind of weird to think of myself as a young professional; an editor, homeowner, soon-to-be published author, and blogger. When I graduated, I suddenly had gobs of time available, but I was also already missing my creative writing workshop classes and all the writer friends I got to see on a daily basis. So I started this blog.

And oh, the places this blog has taken me! Over 15,000 views, 450 followers–180 of them WordPress followers–140 posts, membership to a great community of enthusiastic, encouraging writers, and a blog-to-book deal. I still can’t believe I’m going to be a published author someday soon. [eeeek!]

There’s actually even more good news pending, but I don’t want to jinx it, so you’ll just have to wait until we’ve crossed the t’s and dotted the i’s. At this year milestone, I can say with absolute certainty that blogging was the best decision I ever made for my writing career. It’s totally worth the effort of every single post. As Jennifer Weiner recently said in her extremely informative instructions for how, exactly, to go about becoming a published novelist:

Even if your day job has you clearing dishes, or washing dogs, or asking if people want you to leave room for cream in their coffee, if you’ve got a blog, you can be a writer, and hone your skills, and build your audience.

For your birthday, blog, I got you a fancy new outfit and, if I may say so, the design is flattering on you. It was time for a stylish upgrade. Look forward to some matching accessories in the coming weeks!

And for the grand birthday blog candle-blowout wish . . . I wish that next year is full of blogging awesomeness: a slew of great posts, a growing network of blogging pals, and ever-more exciting news.

(Image)

Published by hannahkarena

author & book publishing person.

17 thoughts on “Dear Blog: Happy Birthday!”

    1. Haha, thank you! Sounds like you have a pretty busy awesome life, too, making it big in the city! NYC, I decided, isn’t really my thing, but the way you depict London…it just sounds amazing!

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    1. Thanks! Yes, I totally agree. I love mile stones because they give the opportunity to look back and really take stock of everything. I’m always so pleasantly surprised by everything that can be crammed in a year! So much good stuff :] And this year, for me at least, SO MUCH change. Good change, too.

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  7. I love the new theme!

    You’ve certainly made great use of your first year out of school. You make me tired just thinking about all that you have on your plate! Congrats!

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    1. So glad you like the theme! I literally agonized over each option before deciding on this one. Everybody keeps telling me I exhaust them…but I feel like I don’t actually get very much done on a daily basis, and I still have so much to do! Maybe it just sounds like a lot when I list it…

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  8. HAAAAAPPY BIIIIIRTHDAAAAY TOOO YOOOOOOOUUUU!!

    What a co-inky-dink! My blog turns 1 in a couple of days! They grow up so fast…

    Congrats on the milestone — and I’m lovin’ the new look.

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    1. Hehe, thank you for the birthday link!

      They do grow up fast…We should set up a playdate for our blogs, haha!

      I’m really enjoying the new look too. It’s just so much cleaner/organized. It’s refreshing to blog on!

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  9. Pingback: Book Releases, Blog Birthdays, and Graduation Anniversaries | The (Writer's) Waiting Room

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