More Dark Tower, Blogging About Blogging Is A Sin, some links, Cage vs. Elektra, and more Green Arrow Big Party Action-Time!
Well, “don’t post when you’re tired” is the lesson I learned with yesterday’s entry, what with the typos and link errors and the rambling and the totally gratuitous use of the word “incongruously.” For a little insight into how I do this weblog: I generally write up the next day’s entry the night before, post-date it (which is why my daily posts all have time stamps of a minute past midnight), publish it and go to bed, waking early the next morning to see what you folks have been getting up to in my comments sections. Wednesday night, though, I got in late, and I was beat, and thus along with the errors I also forgot to mention a couple things about the Dark Tower release, such as
- the new customers who balked at purchasing the comic when they discovered that it was a monthly (hopefully) series that they’d have to follow
- the fact that we didn’t do the special “Midnight Release Party” because 1) our town rolls up the sidewalks at night, especially midweek, 2) I need my beauty sleep, so that I may become even more gorgeously radiant, and 3) well, I don’t really have a 3, other than wanting something to draw attention from the dumb joke in #2. But, like Tom, I did think it was a good idea and a welcome effort on Marvel’s part for promoting the book. However, we didn’t think we’d have sufficient turnout for a midnight event, so we passed. Maybe we were wrong, I don’t know, but it didn’t seem to hurt sales as, after two days, we’ve nearly sold out of it.
I also wanted to point out Dirk’s link to my post about Dark Tower yesterday, which read “Mike Sterling comments on how his shop handled the debut of a new Peter David comic.” I laughed out loud when I read that.
For more thoughts on the Dark Tower release, may I recommend Tim O’Neil?
I mentioned in that first segment a bit of the process I go through in slapping together this weblog. Well, since giving advice on weblogging seems to be going around (see also Kevin’s and Laura’s excellent notes on the subject), let me butt into the discussion with my own unasked-for advice:
First, like Kev and Laura, I recommend that you post regularly in order to build an audience. Early on, I read that same recommendation, and apparently I took it to heart since I’ve posted every day since then. Get people used to the idea that you’ll have new content on a regular basis, and they’ll come back. ‘Course, once you’re established, you can probably safely take a day or week off once in a while without losing your readers, but I’m too obsessive/compulsive to do so. I’m gonna have to be forced to not post, I think.
Second, if all you do is post about once every few weeks or months with a message that begins “Sorry I haven’t posted lately” and follow with a promise to do better in the future…perhaps you need to let the blogging thing go for now.
Third, those online quizzes (you know, like “Which Herman’s Head Character Are You,” that sort of thing) are fun once in a while, but if all your weblog consists of is one quiz after another…NOBODY CARES.
Fourth, don’t hotlink images. It’s rude. Get your own image host, you cheap, lazy bastards.
Fifth, warn folks if you’re linking to something that’s Not Safe For Work, whether it contains nakedtivity or if it just makes an ungodly, and unexpected, loud noise. It’s only the nice thing to do.
Sixth, have fun. If it gets to be a burden, if it feels like a chore more than a pastime, then stop.
And that’s all the real advice I have for you. Well, that and “don’t be a dick,” but I realize some people can’t help that.
BATFATTY RETURNS with an image that will both delight and terrify.
I’m sorry, did I just see Luke Cage kick Elektra square in the crotch?
Oh dear. “Friends Of Ol’ Marvel,” indeed.
For more details, if you must know, Caleb covers the whole sordid story.
The Rack should have a new strip up for Friday (remember, I’m writing this the night before), so keep refreshing this page until it shows up. Until it does update, you’ll see the new strip from last Monday which I forgot to link to. But read, enjoy.
I had a leftover image from Wednesday’s Green Arrow post, so please feel free to make up your own caption in the “badly-translated English” style I was using:
Difficulty: no “goatse.” If, perhaps, you are new to the internet and don’t know what that means…don’t look it up. Trust me on this.
