Office Birdwatching - Ho Hum
Oct. 21st, 2020 06:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hrjIf the birds want me to post more about them, they need to up their game. So far we've established a solid set of regulars. The chesnut-backed chickadees, the house finches, the gray titmouses (titmice?), and the Anna's hummingbirds (plural, I had two at once at least one time). I know there are scrub jays and mourning doves in the yard, because I hear them regularly (and see them when I'm out in the garden) but they aren't interested in the feeder.
On the other hand, the numbers are increasing, so word is getting around. They even squabble about access sometimes, though rather unnecessarily since I've never seen more birds than there are access points.
The cats have been interested but not excited. The outdoor visiting cat (presumably belonging to a neighbor since it doesn't look scrubby enough to be a stray) is similarly interested but not excited. The squirrels have not yet discovered the feeder, but they're working hard on the acorns and walnuts at the moment.
In other news, I've been spending my morning pre-work time getting my notes and outlines together for a regency romance I've been noodling on for years. I have my timelines all set, the characters all have names and full backstories, and the chapters and scenes are roughed out, though they need another pass before I figure I have everything aligned properly. This means that the timing is such that I'm thinking about using it for a NaNoWriMo project (which I've never done before). That's assuming that I don't spend most of November in a nihilistic funk because the election goes the wrong way.
My other major project this month has been getting the podcast moved over to the new site. Doing it on a gradual basis has not only prevented burnout but means I could plug each day's work on twitter and build up a rhythm of promotion. I need to re-activate my regular promo posts through Hootsuite, especially now that the LHMP has its own twitter account and I won't feel like I'm spamming my friends quite so much. All the existing podcast episodes will be up no the new site as of tomorrow, so then comes the work of convincing listeners to subscribe to the new show. When I first started, it was hard to tell how many people were listening because of my content and how many were simply there for the podcast-group as a whole. Now that the old channel is down to just me and one other show, it's a bit easier to estimate what a successful transition might look like.
As always, I wish that the blog/podcast didn't feel like talking to myself in a dark empty room. Chatting with other podcasters recently, I've been sounding people out on what kept them going during the "building an audience" phase, and the times when there was no audience feedback. They were pretty much unanimous that the only thing that kept them going was being part of a team so that the show felt like a conversation even when it was just them talking to each other. That...was not a comforting answer.
On the other hand, the numbers are increasing, so word is getting around. They even squabble about access sometimes, though rather unnecessarily since I've never seen more birds than there are access points.
The cats have been interested but not excited. The outdoor visiting cat (presumably belonging to a neighbor since it doesn't look scrubby enough to be a stray) is similarly interested but not excited. The squirrels have not yet discovered the feeder, but they're working hard on the acorns and walnuts at the moment.
In other news, I've been spending my morning pre-work time getting my notes and outlines together for a regency romance I've been noodling on for years. I have my timelines all set, the characters all have names and full backstories, and the chapters and scenes are roughed out, though they need another pass before I figure I have everything aligned properly. This means that the timing is such that I'm thinking about using it for a NaNoWriMo project (which I've never done before). That's assuming that I don't spend most of November in a nihilistic funk because the election goes the wrong way.
My other major project this month has been getting the podcast moved over to the new site. Doing it on a gradual basis has not only prevented burnout but means I could plug each day's work on twitter and build up a rhythm of promotion. I need to re-activate my regular promo posts through Hootsuite, especially now that the LHMP has its own twitter account and I won't feel like I'm spamming my friends quite so much. All the existing podcast episodes will be up no the new site as of tomorrow, so then comes the work of convincing listeners to subscribe to the new show. When I first started, it was hard to tell how many people were listening because of my content and how many were simply there for the podcast-group as a whole. Now that the old channel is down to just me and one other show, it's a bit easier to estimate what a successful transition might look like.
As always, I wish that the blog/podcast didn't feel like talking to myself in a dark empty room. Chatting with other podcasters recently, I've been sounding people out on what kept them going during the "building an audience" phase, and the times when there was no audience feedback. They were pretty much unanimous that the only thing that kept them going was being part of a team so that the show felt like a conversation even when it was just them talking to each other. That...was not a comforting answer.
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