Hello to my 9,000 WordPress Subscribers!

I never thought we would get here, but somehow, over the last three and a half years, this little blog has made 9,000 friends along the way! As always, thank you so much for sticking around and having so much faith in me, even during the (many) times I disappear for extended blog siestas!

That number, besides being absolutely mind-shattering, also generates a considerable amount of… apprehension? Throwing blogs out into the blogosphere without much thought has traditionally been my modus operandi. Don’t get me wrong, I do put a bit of brainwork into composing my posts, just not into how many people are actually reading.

Not unsurprisingly, my ‘throwing’ has stalled to some degree. When 9,000 people are reading your words (okay, more like 10% of that number), it makes for a tough time pressing the ‘publish’ button!

It’s like… stage fright.

animal-animal-photography-cat-96938.jpg

But let’s not get into all that right now, instead, I thought I’d highlight some other bloggers, in particular, my top commenters – because you guys deserve an award for investing so much time and energy into not only encouraging me but also genuinely making me laugh.

I would much rather celebrate the friends I’ve made here, as opposed to bragging about a milestone that really shouldn’t matter in the first place, but which still makes me super excited. No use lying about it and acting ingenuine – this should be a word, why is this not a word?? Disingenuous just doesn’t do it for me…

Please note, I think the list WordPress gives me is not quite correct, so I apologise to those of you who I know leave lots of comments, but for some reason didn’t show up with a number!

1. Mum

This spot goes to my mum, but unfortunately half her comments are posted anonymously. You may come across her one day, like a ghost, leaving little pieces of gold as ‘Someone’ (I can guarantee she will be in this comment section at some point, keep an eye out).

2. Today’s Perfect Moment

The theme today seems to be ‘positive blogs’ all round, and Anthony’s blog is no different. His tagline for Today’s Perfect Moment reads: “Using a little bit of perfection found by sifting through the day to brighten my mood and hopefully yours.” As I usually say to you Anthony, thank you!

2. Floating Gold

One of my dearest blogging friends, I can’t even remember a time when Goldie wasn’t around (how long has it been, 2 years now?) Goldie runs an anonymous blog, so no one really has any clue what gender he/she/they really is. The mystery just makes her blog all the more alluring!

3. Abitsa

Tom Austin blogs about ‘ pretty well anything and everything’. I think the name of his blog is very fitting! He’s also always hanging around, offering advice, finding hilarious grammar mistakes and pointing me in the right direction. Danke!!

4. Sonia Bellhouse

Sonia is a pretty impressive woman, so I think it’s wonderful that she takes the time out of her day to come and visit my blog. She’s actually had some work published by Serenity Press (an anthology called Writing the Dream). We do have one thing in common, we are both from a city with the same name, just different spelling!

4. The Sanguine Woods

I sometimes feel like Mick A. Quinn is way too cool to be hanging around my blog. If you check out his about page, you’ll see he mentions the words ‘literary’ and ‘blog in the same sentence. Yes, his blog is cooler than mine (or is the word cooler itself not good enough to describe his blog?? What about… voguish, cultured or recherché??)

5. Dead Deer

Another blog with a recherché collection of articles and an interesting blog title to boot. Tagline: “The stupid thoughts that spin through my head as I spin the pedals”. Thanks so much for all of your lovely comments! P.s how many of my top commenters ride bicycles??

6. A Dude Abikes

I’m surprised Andrew McKenna isn’t higher up on my list. He is always leaving kind, thoughtful and funny comments. Interesting story, Andrew has had an article written about his crazy amount of bicycle riding (as I said, lots of bike riders here!) You can read the article here: Can a regular guy pedal 10,000 miles in two years? This dude did.

7. A Crack in the Pavement

A fellow cat parent and writer, Bryan Fagan also blogs with an eclectic flair. Case in point, his latest blog post is called Spontaneous Friday, in which he talks about a common enemy to us all – cheeseburgers, and then offers up a tasty picture for us all to drool over and dream about – because you know, diet.

8. The Land Manatee

Sean D. Layton is a starving writer compatriot and I love, love, LOVE the name he came up with for his blog! And if you decided to check his blog out, stop by his about page first, where you can read all about the story behind the name (if you are as curious as I am!)

Thanks a million, you adorable literary fiends! There are also so many more of you, and to those of you who have even left just the one comment, like or follow –  you’ve all helped me get through some really shitty times. Never underestimate the power of kindness, aka. spreading the love by leaving snippets of sunshine on other people’s blogs! Ahhhh… the feels.

I’ll try and think of something more exciting to do when I reach 10,000 subscribers (end of the year??) Perhaps I’ll do a giveaway of those books I haven’t yet published? Seriously, I could throw in an adynaton right now, but I’m trying my best to avoid clichés, even if depressively apt!

Here’s to achieving our dreams by year’s end!

#LongLiveTheStarbucksCup

 

58 thoughts

  1. Pingback: Dribs and Drabs About My Biking and Blogging | A Dude Abikes

  3. Gratz on the milestone! it is wonderful when stuff one make, makes a mark in the world!… I do not write a lot but read everything. count my support to your progress! carry on!

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  5. Thank you so much for Including me in the celebration of your blog. It means an awful lot to me. I appreciate your blog and you as well. I’ll be here when you reach 10,000 and probably reach 20,000.
    Thank you for everything you’ve written.

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  9. Great achievement Milly! And thanks for the links to some great blogs to check out! PS. Aren’t mum’s great – you can fall face first into a cow pat and they will still be proud and supportive. 🙂

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  18. Whoa number one that makes me
    Smile – wait till I tell dad!! Ha ha Millie the reason I am Anonymous is because I haven’t a clue how to insert my name and photo. I need a session with you. I wonder if your blogger friends know you are related to Rudyard Kipling 😊

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  22. Thank you for recommending some great new blogs to follow! Also, I think it’s really sweet of you to make your post about your blog reaching 9,000 subscribers about other bloggers with whom you interact regularly. Amazingly selfless. 😻

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  23. …OK, I’m back. Milly, you have achieved a milestone few bloggers get to. Having nine thousand subscribers is a feat few can talk about. But you did it! (I’m willing to bet you thought you wouldn’t). Don’t let the numbers go to your head, and for heaven’s sake don’t take a blog siesta. I’m not a cat loving person (Your readers already know why) but your illustrations are purrfect…hmmm, Grammarly seems to think that’s a real word…

    Congrats Milly, you deserve it.

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  28. My, how time has flown! I’ve been following you for a while and, though I might not comment on all of your blogs, I do read all of them! I am inspired by, happy for, and so proud of you! I’ve loved watching your growth as a writer over the past year.

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  30. I’m in Canada so you’re probably asleep as I write this. Congrats Milly, take a bow or have a cigar. nine thousand subscribers are fantastic. As I’ve just been called to lunch I shall return…

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  33. It’s the cats, right? That’s how to grow a blog. Alligators and spiders don’t provide the draw like felines. To be expected I suppose. Maybe you could perform so psychological experiments. Blog five and five, five cat image based posts and five not-cat posts. And count the responses. The results would be anecdotal but interesting nonetheless.

    Oh, and Starbucks? Make your own coffee. Corporate Coffee is bad for everyone — except their shareholders. They claim they pay FairTrade prices, but it’s impossible to know. And who would trust a corporation?

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  35. I was so excited to see a new post from you. And about 9 THOUSAND followers? Honey bunches of cats, that’s impressive. Congratz!

    You make a very valid point regarding the blogging equivalent of “stage fright”. It just shows how genuine and dedicated you are. Instead of just producing more content that is mediocre, you keep on putting your best foot forward. No worries. The stage light might be bright, but we are here to see you.

    When I realized what the post was about, I wondered if I would sneak in there somewhere. But then I realized that you have SO many phenomenal supporters that I did not stand a chance.

    And then I read my name. Time paused. A tear ran down my cheek. I re-read your paragraph about me again. It felt like I could touch the sky. Thank you for your kind words.

    I hope life’s been alright while you’ve been away. I am off to visit all these bloggers mentioned in this post.

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    2. floating gold I felt the same, it was both a shock and a thrill to see my name. I wondered where those few new post likes had come from and now I know! Like you I plan to visit all the blogs and I sincerely;y thank Milly for the shout out.

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      1. Btw, do you know that the website associated with your name (the one I see at the top of your reply to me) is probably of your old blog? It’s unedited, etc. You might want to change the address so that when people click on your name they are taken to the actual blog of yours. Just a thought.

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  36. This was a fun read! The thing about your mom made me laugh… my mom reads my blog but doesn’t comment. If she has something to say, which is once very 10 blog posts or so, she will…get this….EMAIL ME. lol 🙂

    I looked at your recommendations and smiled at the cyclists followers. I have a couple too, one guy is English (I think) but living in France and cycles like a maniac. 🙂 The other one is British living in England and cycles to work every day. 🙂

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      1. She doesn’t want to be online, is worried about all the usual things (privacy, etc). I’m the opposite, open book. But I respect it so I don’t reference her when she does make an appearance (which is not on the blog, although she admits she reads the comments too, not just the blog posts).

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  38. Congrats, Milly. Don’t sweat the “stage fright”. You weren’t afraid as you were gathering your followers. Why should you be afraid now? Just keep doing what you do, and maybe 9000 more will come along.

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