There's something about a byline

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There’s something about a byline I simply and truly love. There it is: my name at the top of a bunch of words that I’ve put together in a way that makes them worthy of being read. Of course, a self-published blog is a bit of a cheat, as I’m in charge of the words and the publishing of them. (But, then, we know that the power of the press sits with she who owns it, right?)

In any event, I’ve been thinking about bylines recently and reviewing the ones I have had over the past few decades.

My byline has appeared in numerous community-level newsletters, a few regional publications, a national magazine, and one national newspaper. I particularly love that last one – my byline on the Facts & Arguments essay in the Globe and Mail. Oh boy, was that an exciting day for me. But it was an exciting day more than eight years ago now, and I’m still trying to produce a second essay worthy of getting my byline into that national newspaper. I’ve made several attempts, but none of them successful yet. However, the hope keeps me going.

And it’s that same hope that has brought me to this blog, here, today. This blog gives me a place to put my words. And this place connects me with readers – or at least viewers. The blog’s background tools show me how many ‘views’ each post has had, which, of course, has nothing to do with any actual reading or appreciating that may (or may not) be going on. But at least my words are out of my head, onto the virtual page and out into the world via the internet.

Persistence will get me, over time, to a point when I can devote more time to not only the writing but also the managing of what I produce. So much information is created every minute in these days of tech tools and online presence that it’s hard to figure out how to connect with one’s potential readers. But that’s a challenge I want to take on and wrestle with. I just don’t yet have the time necessary to dig in and strategically cast my contact net wider than my email address book, Facebook friends and Twitter connections. That is my long-term plan – to go beyond friendly contacts and to persuade strangers that my words are worth reading. That’s the power of a byline, after all. 

In the meantime, I am determined to persevere with my writing and with my hopes that my words will find readers through serendipity and loyalty. All comments welcome, all the time.

Stay tuned. Who knows where my next batch of words will take me. And you! 

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