Okay, I've been on the Interwebs for a while now. I "know" lots of you. I read your blogs. You read mine. We comment, discuss, trade emails. I see some of you lurking around other people's blogs, like you know them better/longer/whatever. I see some of their blogs in the sidebars of your blogs.
And me, being the nosy one, I want to know: Where did you meet them? Trolling? A specific website? A sidebar link on another blog? A forum link? A crit group? WHERE?
Oh, and how did you find this blog?
Just wondering. I find the whole thing interesting, because some of you talk more intimately with each other like there's some behind-the-scenes stuff going on. And I know there is, cuz I do it too with a few of you. So yeah. Spill.
You can imagine it to be a "Remember this bridge? This is where I first asked you out." type of thing if you want. Like, "Remember the first time you read The Innocent Flower? *sigh* That's a great blog." and let me know how you "met" your blogging buddies.
I started off trolling Nathan Bransford and Rachelle Gardners' blogs. Through there some of the comments caught my eye and I started following those blogs, who started following my blog, then started exchanging other blog followers. Same goes for a few mommy blogs I've found. A few I've met through Networked Blogs on Facebook and one or two from Blogher.
ReplyDeleteIt's kinda just a snowballing effect isn't it? I found you through Query Tracker...but I can't remember how I found Query Tracker....
Very interesting...I have almost an identical answer to Marybeth Poppins. Started with a google search of literary agents which brought me to Nathan and Rachelle's blogs, QT...you!
ReplyDeleteThe other blogs I follow came about from writing buddies I met on forums, people who started following me, followers from friends blogs I started following because they were writers too. What a tangled and crazy web of networking fun. I love the chaos of it all!
Like a thief in the night I lurked in the shadows, reading blog after blog, but rarely commenting.
ReplyDeleteOkay, so it really wasn't that prosaic. I think it all started with The Swivet and clicking on the links Colleen had on her blog. At some point, I began to click on the commenters and . . . voila, a gazillion and two blogs to follow.
I'm not sure where/when I found your blog, but it was obviously interesting enough to grab/keep my attention and . . . here I am!
As far as the intimacy, I think, after a while, that (oh, no!) begins to develop. You get a sense of people through both their blogs and comments. I'm more likely to be a tad bit more snarky on your blog versus other blogs, and the same with a few of the other people who have become my blog friends.
S
Hey girlie - I usually look at comments on blogs i follow and go through there :)
ReplyDeleteI found you by way of Query Tracker, which I found by way of Suzette Saxton, who I found by way of an old high school friend/writer named Stephanie Boman who blogs on livejournal. It's just another game of six degrees of separation, out here in Internet-land.
ReplyDeleteI started off at AW. I made a few friends, started clicking over to some blogs, and then made my own. From there, I found people through comments on the blogs I read, and then people starting commenting on my blog. Generally, if someone comments on my blog more than a couple times, I'll start reading their blog and commenting if I have something to say.
ReplyDeleteSimilarly, you found my blog first, I beleive (I'm not sure where!) and after you commented a couple times, I clicked over and found you had quite the awesome blog going on over here!
Absolute write. I was looking into Agents who requested my partials and fulls as I submitted and I noticed comments I thought were WONDERFUL and clicked on the blogs listed at the bottom. The rest is history ;)
ReplyDeleteWhen a blogger I follow refers to another persons blog, I usually make the jump. If I like the style, I add them to my list.
ReplyDeleteI very rarely look at people from the comments, unless it bowls me over. Or I'm really bored...
I got all my friends by seeing who my current friends were following, and then I checked out their follower's followers and then . . . lol.
ReplyDeleteHey! For me, it all started with Angie. She introduced me to Suzette and i started following QueryTracker from there. The rest, as they say, is history. Interesting question! I wish we could meet rl while I'm in UT. My weekends kind of fill up for me while I'm here... Just come with Angie and Suzette to the Bahamas! ;)
ReplyDeleteI love your new blog look! It's great!
I find myself following the followers of others. LoL. Sounds kind of silly to say it that way, but it's true. I would start off trolling the agent boards, then reading comments. If a particular comment hit home, I might check out that person's blog and so on and so forth. I do quite a bit of lurking. There is just so much good information out there.
ReplyDeleteI used to troll for followers on other writer's blogs, but mostly, I just look up people with good comments and check out their blog. If you sound intelligent and writerly in a comment, I check out the blog--if it's up my alley, I start following.
ReplyDeleteBut I have gotten closer to some bloggrs more than others. I think it's a combination of being in similar mindsets/attitudes, having the same interests, and being at the same stage of writing (not WIP vs. completed draft, but experience-wise).
This is so interesting!
ReplyDeleteFor me, it all started with QueryTracker. I found you and a few other people's blogs, started following agent blogs, then started following blogs that you and others were following.
Scott--did you find me through The Swivet? :D I love your blog, and that would be wild if that were the thing we had in common--thinking Colleen Lindsay is cool and hilarious.
Fun times!
I've found most of my writer buddies through QueryTracker. Which has been awesome, since I don't know anyone else who writes. I don't remember how I found QT.
ReplyDeleteAnd the blogs,well, I'm a lurker. Didn't really start following anyone until recently. I'm a recluse by nature. :) Took me a while to come out of hiding.
Found you through QT, of course. I'll be forever envious of your query writing/critiquing abilities. :)
I click links from forums, blog comments, twitter...anywhere people are discussing something I'm interested in. If I like the look of the blog, I follow it (or link it, for those on other platforms).
ReplyDeleteOccasionally, random people will "follow" my blog from who-knows-where (you were one of those), and then I check out those blogs and follow back if I'm interested.
So my answer is...I meet people all over the place. I "found" one of my best blog-buddies on the Absolute Write forums - commented on her blog, she commented on mine, and that was that. :-)
Wow, so many places! The whole six degrees of separation is interesting to me. This is proof of that, I guess! Woot!
ReplyDeleteI started off with basically zero followers on my blog and still have only a precious few, but do have a small following on FaceBook and Twitter. Most of the people I've found on FaceBook and Twitter are relatives, and old friends and class mates I haven't seen in years. I'm finding them in order to build my platform. Most of the people in my blog's sidebar are critique group friends and people who have either found me, or I found and like from some of my blog surfing. I often find people on some of the major blog sites like Query Tracker, Kristin Nelson's site, Nathan Bransfield's site, Book Ends, Rachelle Gardener, etc. I've gone to some of the commenter's blogs and left comments. Some of them (all 2 or 3 of them) have in turn visited my blog site.
ReplyDeleteLet's see. I found you through Kate and following the chain. For the life of me, I can't remember how I found Kate. Perhaps through Lady Glam. I will come across blogs enjoy reading and then check out all their bloggy links and find new friends, people to follow. I think that's how I came across Lady Glam.
ReplyDeleteI have a tendency to stumble a lot from blog to blog. In the beginning I would be looking for advice about writing and just end up strolling along until lost my way in blog land, forgetting where I started. You meet the nicest folks that way.
Awesome awesome post, Elana! And not just because you mentioned my blog, haha. I'm glad you like it!
ReplyDeleteMy blogging story is so dear to my heart. I found Nathan's blog through my old high school friend that I found through Facebook right after I signed up. I signed up for Facebook because I was curious what all the hype was about in my writer's group on Critique Circle.
Anyway, through Nathan's blog I won that first paragraph thing, and people started following my blog. It was so exciting! So then I found people through them. LOTS of people. And now it has just grown exponentially. So I thank Facebook and Nathan. :)
I found you, though, through Suzette, whom I found through Query Tracker, which I found through... I can't remember what! I should have written these things down. Either way, it's been a wonderful journey so far.
Yes, I do maintain a lot of relationships with blogging friends. This is mostly because I chat with them online. Chatting is the number one friend-making tool that I have. If I didn't have Google Chat I'd die!
I really can't wait to meet you tomorrow!!!
I met Michelle after reading that she won second place in a contest of Nathan's. Most of my behind-the-scenes stuff happens via e-mails and phone calls to Scott Bailey.
ReplyDeleteAh, so Nathan Bransford seems to be a key person. Yeah, I don't get over there as much as I obviously should. Thanks for sharing your blogging journey!
ReplyDeleteIt started with NaNoWriMo in 2007. It was there I was introduced to excitement of blogging and the community of writers who blogged. It intrigued me so much that I started clicking on the blog links that they kept in their sidebars.
ReplyDeleteWhile I've always read blog posts and comments since then, I've never really been one to leave comments. I'm trying to get better at it though :).
As for your particular blog, Elana, I know that I stumbled across it via another blogger (whose name escapes me at the moment! I'm not usually the best at keeping track :) ).
Hmmm. The first blog I followed was Authoress' (Miss Snark's First Victim). Then I just creeped on other commenters. I think I found yours from someone else I stalked who linked to you. KLo maybe?
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I'm glad I found yours! It's one of my favorites. Obviously. :-)
The people whose blogs are in my list (besides the agent ones of course...) are all my friends from one of my favorite writing websites, Absolute Write. :)
ReplyDeleteHow did I find this blog...Um...I honestly can't remember.
Dude, you totally saved our query from certain rejection AND your beta reading was crucial in helping us land our agent. Thank god for the Query Tracker boards!
ReplyDeleteAs for all of our other blog friends, they just sort of started commenting on our blog and then we commented on theirs. Guess it's one of those "If you write it, they will come" type deals.
I met Archy in real life through NaNoWriMo, and she told me about QT and all this blogging stuff and invited me to your chain, so I followed all of you. And I kept noticing repeat commenters, and I began following the ones who had something interesting to say, and on their blogs found more commenters to follow...
ReplyDeleteIt really snowballs.
And I'm starting to branch out with emails and chatting, and it's been the greatest thing ever.
Hi Elena,
ReplyDeleteGood question - I found you on When We listen Blog, and found that via SassyMamas.
Claire McFee
Organize Your Life
What a great question!
ReplyDeleteI've clicked through to people's blogs when I like their comments, I always click through when people comment on my blog, and I sometimes follow the links that people have on their blogs.
But the people I'm closest to I've emailed off-blog and our friendships have grown. It's pretty amazing to have so many "virtual" friends :) I really love the writing community I've found online.