I Was Lost

It's time to get back to work. Ok, I admit that I "work" a bit everyday as a mother, homeowner, volunteer, and freelancer, but now I mean that it's time I got back into the groove of driving cars and writing about them. I took a year off from blogging because I got discouraged and was lost. Ironic that a person who loves to drive got lost. 





There were some benefits to stepping away from my daily writing for a year, like a smaller waist, a more committed yoga practice, and some kickass Pinterest boards. But I could have made the same advances in my health while continuing to grow my blog readership (although all that pinning took work). The real benefit of my time off is acknowledging (yet again) that I'm still afraid of criticism and I'm still afraid to take some very valuable risks. That realization totally contradicts a few of my favorite quotes that I like to say to my kids, "Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best." (Henry Van Dyke) As well as, "And the trouble is, if you don't risk anything, you risk even more."

So how risky is writing a blog about cars? Not very risky. But the more I put out

Found at http://youngfrankk.tumblr.com/
via Pinterest.

there into the blogosphere, and the more exposure I get, then the more opportunity for a challenge to come my way, or a disagreement from a reader. It's a very basic avoidance of confrontation. And now that I'm typing all this, it's also very embarrassing. Geez. Me and my first-world problems!

Back in March 2013 I got discouraged because I felt pressure to write a full car review every day, which I simply can't do. I can write something else every day, but not the thorough, thoughtful reviews that I like/want to write. So I threw a little tantrum, stomped my foot, and grabbed my laptop and went home. That's me, Miss Maturity. In the year off of regular writing, I started helping car dealerships with their social media efforts on a freelance basis, and I work weekends in marketing at my favorite ski resort near Lake Tahoe, but I haven't come up with any better plan for my work life than the one I designed four years ago with Car Mama. Imagine that, I actually had a good thing going and I got in my own way and tripped. Fortunately, this is my own blog of my own design, so I can tweak and come back just as easily as I quit.

There are many blogs and articles available on other sites that are devoted to showing how easy it is to make money with a blog, to have success, and be a professional blogger. I love all those ideas! But that isn't the reality of many writers and bloggers. It's time to be honest and share how I didn't make money with my blog. And I'll still drive cars and write about my experiences.

For now, I'm happy to be back on Car Mama. I'm excited and terrified to stick my neck out there, albeit a little bit at a time. Please join me on the next leg of my journey. I'll be posting more frequently to my Car Mama Facebook page, on Twitter (@car_mama), and here. I may need to back off on my Pinterest obsession, but do visit my boards - I have a great Quote Board.



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