We are not Entitled to Readers
Not getting read? It’s not on anyone but ourselves.
I get it. I do it, too. Blame everything around me for the ongoing fact that I can reliably count on eight people to read anything I write online. Ok, fifteen on a good day.
Here are my go-to theories about why I’m “failing” at this online writing dance:
- The algorithm
- That my smart, intelligent, thought-provoking writing loses out to listicles and lame retreads of dumb advice
- People are stupid
- That the editors bury my work because, well just because
- Planetary alignment
- It’s Monday
Or Wednesday or whatever.
What I don’t want to admit is that no matter how hard I work on a piece, no matter how good it reads to me, no matter how many places I promote it, I am not entitled to having loads of readers show up with garlands of peonies and thunderous applause.
That sucks.
I’m a real if-then kinda writer. If I do this and do it really well then I can sit back and watch the stats skyrocket. Yeah. No. That’s not how this dance works and the sooner I resign myself to that unwelcome fact the sooner I can just, well, dance. And really that’s…
