It’s official. My blog is an adult now. In blog years, it’s practically ancient.
When I started writing on this blog eighteen years ago, writing was a pastime for me, like any other. Blogs were not yet out of fashion in 2008, and I needed the writing practice.
Three published (and several unpublished) books and dozens of published short stories later, I can now laugh at the number of daily words I considered good: two hundred and fifty. At five hundred I wanted to pat my back. After a thousand I needed to go lie down. Last year, I drafted two novels, and they both took about 2 months each. There was a month of what I call pre-writing (getting to know the characters) before that and the edits, of course, are still ongoing, but the first drafts (Hemingway famously called them shit) are way faster now. A lot of my literary writing (mostly short stories) is way slower, but that’s because that takes the time it takes.
Writing is no longer a pastime. I’ve recognized it as my calling.
Over these years of (slow, irregular, often painful) growth as a writer, this blog has borne witness to my journey from A to Z stories where I wrote 24 stories in a month, to my Amazon bestselling Blue Mumbai series. Like I said in my previous post, this blog has been scraped up and down the ladder, so I’ve been slow in updating it: it feels terrible to have my voice stolen, but this AI-driven new age is what it is. Communication has become all about speed and not quality, and that’s a tragicomic affair.
I keep this space open because it’s the only way to retain the blog friends I’ve made over the years: friendships I treasure but have been too lax with given the challenges of the past years. I’ve recently started off a letter-writing project, and have sent off a few letters. Being a luddite in the internet age is its own sort of joy (and hardship?). I need to write about that experience, I think. (I’ve got space for more penpals, so if you want to exchange handwritten notes, drop me an email at damyanti at damyantiwrites dot com.)
At a crossroads now: should I take this blog further into adulthood, or declare it a good run and shut it down? I can write on, of course, but I don’t know if I can make the blog difficult to scrape and still receive visitors and comments. Some of my friends have moved on to Substack, but I don’t think I have the energy to build an audience from scratch.
To those who I’ve been friends with for years on this blog: what advice do you have for me? Keep it on, or shut it down? I’ve wanted to do four posts a month, but it often boils down to just one. What are you doing with your blogs? Is blogging bringing you the same returns in terms of satisfaction and interaction as before? To newer readers: what keeps you reading, blogging? Do you think there’s value in continuing an old blog?
This post is part of an event held each first Wednesday of the month: Insecure Writer’s Support Group. Founded by the Ninja Cap’n Alex J. Cavanaugh, the purpose of the group is to offer a safe space where writers can share their fears and insecurities without being judged.
The awesome co-hosts for the Jan 7 posting of the IWSG are Shannon Lawrence, Olga Godim, Jean Davis, and Jacqui Murray! Please go and visit them if you like.
———————————————————————————————————
My Amazon-bestselling literary crime novels, The Blue Bar and The Blue Monsoon are on Kindle Unlimited. Add to Goodreads or snag a copy to make my day ! And if you’d like to read a book outside the series, you can check out You Beneath Your Skin. Find all info about my books on my Amazon page or Linktree.
————————————————————————–
If you liked this post, you can receive posts in your inbox, or keep updated on my writing by clicking on any or all of the following buttons:
GET CURATED PUBLISHING RESOURCES SUBSCRIBE TO BLOG JOIN DAILY(W)RITE ON FB FOLLOW ON BOOKBUB
Discover more from Damyanti Biswas
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Happy belated blogging anniversary, Damyanti! It will be 13 years blogging as MaryJMelange this month. Where did the time go?
Considering your fulltime job is writing novels and short stories, posting something new once a month is perfectly fine. I say keep your blog and write here when you can. I’ve been retired five and a half years and my busy life keeps me from consistent blog schedule. I write when I can and try not to feel guilty. I thought about giving it up last year, felt like I was losing some of my writing mojo, but can’t bear the thought of losing touch with so many writers and friends on WP. And recently I’ve committed to writing more and scrolling the darkness of social media a lot less. We’ll see how that goes!
First, congrats on 18 years of blogging. That is amazing. I’m not sure how long I blogged before jumping that ship, but it was a long time. While Substack has some drawbacks, I like it, and it allows me a lot more time to do what I enjoy most, which is to write and interact with writers and readers. I don’t think I have any advice for you, except to do what you enjoy doing.
Congratulations and may you continue for many more blogversaries!
That’s a nice stretch. Keep it going, one way or another.
I started back in 2006 and ran out steam by 2017 when other things took up the time I previously devoted to the website. Later, the site was hacked, and I didn’t seem bothered enough to wrestle it back from the crypto hackers in Thailand who snatched it. So clearly, I reached the end of that particular road. But I missed it – the writing, sharing photos and the community that formed. I decided to give it another go last summer and for now am treating it more as an archive, both looking back and moving forward, a collection of micro memoirs.
Find a schedule that fits for you. That will keep it going and keep you connected.
That’s an incredible journey, indeed. 18 years of blogging shows your commitment and consistent approach towards writing.
Hope you will continue this journey and will continue to inspire others including me.
Many congratulations 🎉👏👏. Wishing you many more successful years ahead.
18 years is amazing! Well done!
First, congratulations. 18 years is a great accomplishment. Now, I’m going to try to answer your questions.
Keeping the blog or shutting it down depends on your purpose. If you want to continue practicing and experimenting with writing and storytelling, then you should keep it. I have seen bloggers successfully post once a week, and once a month could also work. I’m posting twice a week, but I think more than that is exhausting.
My purpose with my blog is to share what I’m learning and to exchange ideas with those who want to connect with me. I know that my posts are being seen by a lot of people outside of the WordPress community, and that meets part of my purpose. Once in a while, I receive a comment from someone who is not part of WordPress, and that gives me joy. So far, I’m having fun blogging, so I’m going to continue until it’s not fun anymore.
I try to read at least the latest post from each of the bloggers I follow on a weekly basis. I like to read their content and learn from different perspectives. There is definitely value in keeping old blog posts, but of course deleting or updating some of them could be beneficial. I’ve thought about Substack, but that platform is similar to blogging on WordPress unless you want followers to start paying for your content; then Substack is good for that.
Well, hopefully I did okay answering your questions, and again, congratulations.
Wow! I started blogging in 2013, which means I’ve only got 12 years compared to your 18! That’s just awesome! You are an inspiration to me. And I like that line…. it has become your calling. I am able to blog at least once a week because I have a sports column in a local paper, hence the material I use for the paper, I use ofr the blog. If I’ve got something that interests me that’s not sports-related, then I’ll get 2-3 blogs for the week.
I’ve moved from blogging once a week to once a month, and that feels like a pace I can sustain and still keep connected with my fellow bloggers (especially IWSG folks). It also helps with search rankings, because my website regularly has fresh content. I also find the longer form of a blog post more meaningful than social media (though I’m active there too).
Your letter came last week. I hope to answer it today. Happy New Year!
Hi Damyanti – thank you for reminding me – I’m a week behind you … I’ll pop up next week into my eighteenth year … amazing. Please, pretty please, continue – even once a month – I’d miss you, and I don’t ‘do’ FB or any other social media. I know the numbers have reduced – but everyone’s still around … if they enjoy your content they’ll find you – or come across you via another site … people still find me – I’m always surprised: and my blog is not nearly as good or useful as yours.
I was thinking … if the content had images or photos in it … could that be scraped? I see others have noted other ideas … and Alex has suggested once a month – or when you feel like it – no fixed regime, as I do: and I’m such a generalist … no genre … just stuff that interests me and I think might interest my readers. Don’t give up please!! Cheers Hilary
Hilary, that’s warm and inspiring, as usual. You’ve been such a kind friend and support over the years. If the blog continues, it will mainly be for friends like you.
I would concur with the comments you have already. Don’t give up, but reduce the number of posts. Much as I like reading your blog, you post too frequently for me to give it as much attention as I’d like – there’s only so much time I’m prepared to spend keeping up with the blogs I follow, before it eats into the time I need to spend doing other things (writing, reading,.. living!). With regard to the scraping issue, would it be possible to change to nature of your posts, so that they’re more chatty, or functional, with links to more serious, creative writing elsewhere (in locations that can be protected from scraping)? Apologies if this is a daft suggestion – I’m no expert on either AI, or social media (and I don’t want to be)!
There’s no way to stop AI scraping stuff other than a tech barrier, and so far as I’ve seen, it makes the site less responsive. I end up posting once a month, so that might remain the frequency should I choose to continue.
You ask a LOT of the same questions I have been asking myself lately about my blog. I do not always comment/like, but I enjoy your work, along with your style and voice. To quote you “Writing is no longer a pastime. I’ve recognized it as my calling.” Allow that wisdom to guide your decision making!
Thanks for that. I’m hoping the decision finds me.
❤️
After all this time and effort, why shut it down? You have so many friends here and it is one other place readers can find you. It’s still a friendly place while I find Substack very unfriendly. I only post once a month and I think that’s enough. Hope you don’t give it up, Damy!!
I would miss you if you didnt post at all. Once a month would be fine, because I’m so swamped with blogs I follow there’s only a few that I really follow back. That’s part of being in the blogoverse for so long. I’m not really counting, but I think my first post was in 2012.
Have you tried googling yourself? Do so ready to laugh. Go over to Chuck Wending’s blog and skip the apple reviews, which is what he’s resorted to to confound the beasts, but check out the ones where he looked at what AI was saying about him. The question ‘Does Chuck Wendig have a dog’ yields a huge number of definitive statements about the dogs he does, had and is going to own. He’s never met any of them, and that’s one reason the post is worth reading. Language NSFW, but he really got me started on short stories on my blog, with his weekly prompts, so I owe him. And you, of course 🙂
Happy new year, Damyanti.
I’ve only been ten years here, but the few times I’ve thought about closing it down I’ve always backtracked. I don’t think I’d want to lose it partly, as you say, because of the blog friends I’ve made, but partly because it does still serve my purpose, if not to the extent it once did. It’s a guaranteed, if fluctuating, audience for the writing or photographs I choose to share there, and somewhere to occasionally test the waters with something new. I’ve learned there’s no need to have a timetable or blog regularly (or even to visit others regularly, although it certainly helps to maintain contact). Certainly, fewer people blog these days, but I think it still worthwhile.
I can’t tell you what you should do, but I’ll tell you where I’m at in the hopes that you find it useful.
I restarted my blog last year partly because I wanted to track some things in my life. One of those things was drawing, and I restarted learning to draw partly because of ai.
In a world where people can create ‘art’ at the push of a button, I craved the satisfaction of crafting by hand. The idea that I have worked hard to make things I will hopefully be proud of. I’m keeping my blog this year again, for me. To hone my craft, to keep myself accountable. Perhaps interaction will follow. I hope so.
As for people scraping my stuff, at this point I seem to be in a place of quiet resistance: they can churn out my art and my words in whatever form they like, but they can’t be me. They can’t stop me creating, and I won’t let them steal my enjoyment of it.
I had thought I could revamp my blog and do it more frequently, but there isn’t as much interaction as there used to be, which is what I think made it easier to do. (Also, you know, time). Unfortunately, we can’t answer what would be best for you, but I hope you figure it out. I’m game to exchange a written letter, but I like to send goofy cards with notes inside versus a full letter.
Shannon, you’ve been a wonderful voice on my FB timeline, and I follow you there just as I do on your blog. It would be so lovely to receive a goofy card from you–would you like to drop me a line at damyanti at damyantiwrites dot com so we can exchange addresses?
I placed my comments on your Damyanti Biswas page 🙂
Blogging was your way to discover yourself as a writer and now writing is your life. A writer is totally immersed in that so its quite understandable that’s where your energies will go now and you have a multitude of friends you’ve made along the way who cheer you on as you cement your position as a writer of excellence and note. We are proud to have watched you succeed in your quest for fulfillment and want for you what will give you the maximum satisfaction in life. If you decide to give us a glimpse of your life from time to time we will welcome that and rejoice in that communication. As for the rest of us who are just bloggers its a hobby that keeps our minds occupied as we research and express the story that appears in our minds from time to time. Essentially we write to express what we see and feel and its primarily for our own enjoyment and if someone happens to like what we write that surprises us and makes us happy to have given pleasure to a reader. Being an author is quite different. It is a compulsion but one that can be a health hazard as there’s enormous stress involved in getting it first on paper or cyberspace, countless edits, back and forth with publishers and of course your omnipresence in promoting your work. It takes money and time and it needs to produce money to make it worthwhile as a profession. Be very careful to balance your health with your career.
Thank you, Ian, for being such a good friend and reader through the years. I’ve always appreciated the thoughtful way you engage with what I write–it means more to me than you might realize. All bloggers are also authors in their own right, and you more than most. I’ve enjoyed your work over the years. Your insights, your perspective, the way you capture moments and ideas in your writing resonate with me. Your advice on health is particularly relevant, and I need to follow it more diligently than I currently do.
Damyanti, after living in Bharat Mata twenty wonderful years and fellowshipping and working with some of the most wonderful people I look on you as a younger sister so am delighted whenever you produce one of your masterpieces. Travelling the countries around Southern Asia auditing, teaching, handling international finances was such a joy and my children were raised there and look on that as home. I even added to my string of qualifications by doing an MBA with marketing emphasis at IMDR Pune and was probably the only foreigner with membership in the Institute of Company Secretaries of India Delhi. So I was immersed in the classical writings of Bharat and some of my favourite current authors included Radhakrishnan at the intellectual level and Khushwant Singh for the fun stuff. Your novels reveal the real India I experienced the good and the bad and have always resonated with me. Thank you for including me in your reading list over the years.
I find my blog great for staying in touch with like-minded readers, sharing news of my writing, and marketing. If not that, you might not need what blogging offers?
I did all three (to various degrees) for a while, but I don’t know if I have the juice to keep it going, especially given how regularly my blog is scraped. I haven’t really marketed a lot on this blog, but I’ve for sure had a community of blog friends support me in my publishing journey.
I vote for doing what you feel you need to do. I have enjoyed your blog over the years, but change is part of life. Living things need to grow and change; it’s part of the nature of being alive. I moved my blog to Substack late last year because I wasn’t getting an audience on WordPress. Of course, that doesn’t mean Substack will do any better — nothing is guaranteed. But the previous blog felt stale and empty, so I had two choices: keep writing to an empty room to hear my own voice, or try a different platform. I opted to see if I could meet new readers (and writers) on a new platform. But also, I understand your hesitation to leave because my online friends are the ONLY reason I still have a Facebook account. Still, even that platform has changed, so I don’t know how much longer I will be there either.
The internet used to be fun and light. Now, it’s full of fake news, misinformation, disinformation, click-bait, op-eds, ads, and scams galore. And now AI deep-fake slop is joining the sludge. It’s getting harder to enjoy being online these days. 🙁 If writing is our calling, we have to accept this for the sake of marketing to some degree. But we all deserve better — to be able to do what’s right for us in a way that meets our needs. You’re the only one who really knows whether doing the same thing is still working for you, or whether it’s time to shift toward something different. <3
A long and thoughtful, well-considered answer as usual from you, Melody. And this is the reason I’m loth to leave–blog comments can be places for meaningful exchanges, and I’ve learned so much from you over the past decade we’ve known each other online. If I closed down this space, I’d lose it, and I’d probably lose friends like you. I never blogged for returns, but my own dwindling spare time and the lowered number of interactions sometimes makes me question why I keep on keeping on.
Congratulations on your 18th Blogiversary! 🎉 Do whatever suits you best, Damyanti. Blogging interactions have definitely declined in recent years, but for me, it’s still an excellent way to connect with creative people all over the globe, and I think you should keep it going. Substack is mostly “pay for view” these days, and the aesthetics for post creation are extremely limited. Fine for straight writing, but for those of us into graphic arts, not so great. It all boils down to what your needs and wants are.
I’ve been toying with the idea of a free version of substack, so your take gives me a lot to think about. Thanks, Debbie, and I hope to do better about visiting you back this year.
Don’t shut it down, please. After frustration of finding an agent over two years, after following every advice on how to query, how to prepare sample chapters, I made a decision to publish it on my blog. I am very happy. I get daily updates on who is reading from where. This is not possible when a book is published. So, keep doing what you’re doing.
Thanks, Ashok, and congratulations on taking the jump into serial publication.
I’m not going to pretend to know what you should do, but I can tell you that Substack is a great place. I have another, different blog over there. It’s like WordPress and Twitter combined, so even if you don’t write anything long form, there’s still plenty to interact with.
Thanks, that’s good to know if I ever make a jump to substack.
Congratulations on having blogged so long! 💐
Thank you!
🙏🤗🙏
I’m still writing my blog because I enjoy it, and I enjoy the interactions it generates. Many of my readers are in the blogosphere. I guess the question you could ask is where do your readers hang out?
I don’t know for sure who my readers would be this year. Good thing to think about though, thanks Liz.
You’re welcome, Damyanti.
Love the initiative of handwritten notes in this beyond Internet age!
The idea is to slow down as the world speeds up, and create meaningful, possibly slightly less ephemeral exchanges. I hope to document the process, let’s see how it goes.
Wow, congrats on having blogged so long! Honestly, my blog brings in most of my new readers for my books (especially my folklore blog posts). I have a version of those posts as podcast episodes and I’m even sharing it on YouTube and Substack. Different formats to draw in different readers… My IWSG posts are to keep up with my writing friends as social media is what it is (though I do use Instagram and Pinterest). I guess it’s about what you aim to accomplish with your blog. Likes and subscribes on other platforms don’t belong to you, but on your own website they do.
Hope that helps 🙂
Ronel visiting for IWSG day <a href="https://www.ronelthemythmaker.com/an-authors-goals-for-2026/" An Author’s Goals for 2026
Thanks for the kind advice, Ronel. I’m doing a bit of a pivot in my writing, and might have to build a new audience anyway so I’m not sure till things settle for me this year. I love your idea of sharing your blog on Substack–I could maybe experiment with that a little and see if I can catch a community there.
Good luck!
This is what I’m currently doing with my reviews there: https://roneltheraconteur.substack.com/p/book-review-blue-mumbai-series
Blogging has changed now. It’s not what it used to be when I began to blog. The lovely people I met are thankfully in touch with me, so even if we are not blogging as before, I am glad I have these blogging friends. I too was not blogging or writing for quite a long time and I did consider deleting my blog. But this year, I decided to start writing again. It feels good, and I hope I keep up with this habit.
I love your blog, although I haven’t been a regular visitor like earlier. I learned to write reading your posts and your short stories. On days when I need some inspiration, I visit your blog and reread your flash fiction. So, if you do scrap your blog, I will miss it for sure. But you must do what you think you need to do for your blog and your peace of mind, dear Damyanti.
Hugs, dear. 🤗🤗
The fact that you keep coming back to this blog is reason enough to keep it going, Shilpa. I’ll always be grateful to this blog for finding me friends like you. I hope our letter exchanges take off– I can’t wait for you to receive my note.
I’ll do my best to visit your blog and cheer you on as you create works of art in sketches and writing. Huge hugs!
You must do what is best for you, but I hope you will keep the blog up and write occasionally. As a fellow novelist, I know how hard it is to do what other people say you must do to grow your readers, your supporters, etc. I tried to do a blog years ago, but couldn’t find the time or interest to write fluffy stuff when I had a story waiting to be crafted. I still struggle to write pieces for social media. This past fall I committed to writing one piece a week and posting it on LinkedIn. I stopped in November. My advice for you is to do what feels right, is not stressful, and keeps you producing books for others to enjoy. I realized a few years ago that the people who buy my books are not always the people who read my SM posts. I also know the best writers stay focused on crafting a story, not growing followers.
I would love to be part of your pen pal group. My email address is jlcanfield@yahoo.com, and physical address is 4819 Long Shadow Drive, Midlothian, VA 23112. I love the idea. Letter writing is a lost art, and writers, of all people, should keep it alive.
I believe friends are people to whom you can reveal your inner fears and doubts to, ones you can trust to tell whether or not a writing idea is working for them and why. They are also the people you can share quirky bits about your life and the interesting things that happen in your world. Focus on your friendships and let your followers stay outside. Occasionally, give them something to feed on.
Yeah, I’ve stayed focused on my writing, and even in its heydeys never used this blog to gain a ton of followers–it was all about having a community I enjoyed, and writing as often as I could. I love your advice about friendships and followers–thank you.
I’ll drop you a note on your address soon. Look forward to our snail mail exchanges!
Except for God, no one cares more about your calling than you. With that in mind, if continuing your blog progresses your calling, go for it. If not, stop. Take joy and peace in the clarity of a simple GO / NO GO.
That’s the clarity I lack right now. It will find me this year, I guess.
Continue!
Thank you. I might.
It would be a shame to shut it down… keep going I say 🙂
I’d love to, but I’m having a big think about it at the moment.
That’s the key thing driving it for you?