What is it like starting a blog?

Starting a blog is stupid-hard. It’s kind of like cooking an elaborate meal every week, hoping someone will show up to join you, but then no one does. It’s always just you eating that food you worked so hard to make—alone.

Slaving over a piece of writing doesn’t mean anyone will ever read it. And you have to be a glutton for punishment to do that over and over and over, again. It’s not surprising that over ninety percent of blogs fail after their first year.

When I posted my first few articles, it wasn’t too bad for me. Some people actually liked them on WordPress and Facebook. I have to admit that it gave me an extra bounce in my step. Then I released more posts, and no one liked them. That bounce in my step sagged. It felt like no one liked me. I felt deep loneliness, the kind you might feel when your boyfriend breaks up with you over text while you were in the middle of a bustling city: People surround you, but you are drowning in the feeling of being utterly alone. Now, I might sound a touch melodramatic (I probably am). But the feeling was, and is, real.

After that, my fingers didn’t want to touch a keyboard. Weeks and months passed, and I didn’t post. Fear gripped me. I started feeling like a quitter, and it ate away at me. I always loved words, but they didn’t seem to love me. You see, I was always a terrible writer, even though I was fascinated by writing.

Then my perspective changed. I stopped making it about me and started focusing on writing pieces that would inspire or delight one reader—just one. And it worked. I felt better, and at least one other person seemed positively affected each time I posted. And after reading this article, I stopped focusing (or tried not to focus) on the number of likes I was getting, or not. And I started posting once a week. And that turned into twice a week. Consistency is vital, so I hear. So I vowed to consistent the crap out of my writing.

To avoid becoming a part of that ninety plus percent, I’m launching this series on starting my blog from the ground up. And it’s not just about the business side of it but the human one as well. It’s where I give an account of what it is like to write and publish consistently online, the fears I face and overcome and the ones I don’t, how I grow my audience (or not), monetize my content (or not), and so on. I will pour it all out here, leaving no stone unturned; my blog and I will be buck-naked. Ok, maybe not that naked; I’ll don a loincloth or speedo. Anyway, the point is to expect transparency.

This post is the first one of the journey. Thanks for tuning in.

I’ll be cooking up something consistently, and I look forward to feasting with you (in my loincloth).