Would you like to read one of my most popular blog posts here on wordpress? It received seventy five likes in a few hours, at a time when I had only a handful of followers and even less readers. I wrote it in a moment but it seemed to resonate with many. I was new to blogging at the time, but obviously knew enough to put a picture of a cute kitten on it to lure people in. Since then I have had posts which got a much larger number of views or likes, but this was the first and I still enjoy reading it.
Hello, I’ve posted, anyone out there?
I finish typing and re read my post.
“Wow this one is, if I may say it, Good!”.
I press publish.
Big smile.
Dare I hope “freshly pressed material?”.
Moments later.
Hello? I’ve posted,
Anyone out there?
I have quite a few followers.
Hello, where are you?
Its been ten minutes.
No star.
Oh dear God I forgot to check,
have I over tagged?
Am I not available on freshly pressed topics?
Oh no. Worse again. I have tagged correctly.
What is the problem?
What time is it?
Maybe everyone is busy.
What time is it in America?
Or India?
“Feck”, they are not asleep.
Maybe it is a special holiday,
or the day after a holiday?
(Here in Ireland we understand,
what it is like to wake up the day after a holiday!)
Nope not a holiday.
Time is marching on.
No star.
No comment.
No follower ( not even someone promoting their blog!)
Quickly re check stats.
Heart sinks.
People have read it.
No one “likes” it.
I re read my awesome post.
Somehow it doesn’t seem so clever now.
In fact it is really bad.
What a rubbish post.
An embarrassment.
What was I thinking?
I close the laptop,
and try to carry on with normal life.
Thoughts such as walking away from blogging,
never writing again,
or quickly posting something better,
spring to mind.
I avoid my blog for another half hour.
Then, unable to resist,
I check in for a hypothetical two minutes.
I don’t even sit down,
in order to prove to myself, I am uninterested,
and not heartbroken by my followers lack of love.
Then I see it.
A star.
With a comment, “I liked your post etc”.
My heart lifts.
I smile.
Somebody “likes” me.
I knew it was a good post all along.
I am a great writer.
I hum to myself,
and bask in the glory of my own genius.
photo credit: miguelavg via photopin cc
photo credit: fazen via photopin cc
****If anyone would like to link their most successful post, or a post they are most proud of please feel free to do so in the comments, I’d love to read them as I’m sure would others.
My thoughts on a page. 
Great post!Enjoyed it just as much second time round.
Thanks Aedin. Yet we keep on writing and posting. 🙂
Great writing keep up the good writing
Thank you, glad you enjoyed it.
Your welcome
So funny! I think you nailed it for all the new bloggers out there!
This is so true, what a great post! The irony is that the post I think won’t do well are the ones that do, and vise versa. Here is a blog I wrote recently about what my blogging experience has been like: https://lorirensink.wordpress.com/2015/06/30/what-it-means-to-be-a-writer/
Thank you. Yes it is so strange what others see in our posts which we disregarded. Thanks so much for your link, that is a really well written and I could so identify with it.
I hope you follow your dreams.
Fun to read again! I think you have captured how we all feel after hitting publish. Then when you see there was someone who read it and don’t star it, or comment, the panic sets in that the post is awful and maybe should be deleted. We may be different and from different countries, but we are more alike than we realize! Love reading your work, Tric!
Thanks Deb we are all in this together.
I found this post sweet and endearing, and your writing is exceptionally captivating. However I could not relate so much to this as my blogging experience has been very different! I started out not expecting anybody to read any of my posts, just writing to express my feelings about life and people, and when I did receive a like or a comment I used to get very embarrassed and delete my post immediately. I guess I was very naive, and used this website more like an online diary more than anything. Now however I have learnt how to interact more with other online bloggers, and have learnt that this blogging business is highly enjoyable and teaches one lots of lessons in life and humanity. 🙂
Tric, this is the first post I’ve seen of yours in over a month – about May when my PC crashed. I’m going to check my spam folder.
Oh dear Jackie, but spam or trash is probably a good place for me. 🙂 I follow you on FB so have seen you around and wasn’t overly conscious of you missing from here until you said it. The mystery of wordpress. I know I’ve ‘unfollowed’ a few people without ever unfollowing them
You haven’t seen me in over a month. My old PC died a horrible death and now, since I was not able to do my work, I am so far behind and have not posted anything.
I hear you! WordPress has done the same thing to me as well. I changed my URL to “Parent Rap” dot org and support said everything would be moved to the new name – and support was wrong it didn’t.
This is a great post. It cracked me up because its so familiar. 🙂
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
You nailed that hesitant confidence and watchful hope that what we have to say is valid and the sense of validation simple acknowledgement gives us. Loved the humorous touch!!!
Thank you. It’s funny to imagine so many posting everyday and feeling like this.
But nice to know lol
I love this. I too, thrive on feedback! Here’s one of my favorites, and most well read ones: http://luminousblue5.com/2015/01/12/what-would-be-elizabeths-25th-birthday/
How lovely to go back to your blog and read your beautiful words. It’s been so long. I have read that post a number of times and loved it, I cannot imagine why I didn’t comment. Your love for Elizabeth blue always shines in your writing of her. I’ll give a moment to herself and young Daniel today. xx
I am grinning like a fool reading this. I’m SO relieved it isn’t/wasn’t just me like that!!!!
Haha. One eejit to another!
Tric, this is a wonderful post, one which I am sure many of us can relate to.
Thank you. Judging by the comments I think you are right. Glad you enjoyed it.
Your post prompted me to actually look at my stats and figure out what post had the most views, although I admit it is hard to tell because some people use my home page or email to read my posts without clicking through so that it shows up as a view. https://topofjcsmind.wordpress.com/2015/02/19/a-valentines-funeral/
Thanks for sharing this post, I had not read it before. I feel this way with all my posts. I have looked at my stats and November 11, 2013 was my best viewing day ever, but I can’t figure it out. I didn’t post anything that day so I have no clue what was being viewed. My best post ever was also in 2013: https://mrscharmcd.wordpress.com/2013/07/19/oh-my-gosh-moments/
Stats are mad. I look at them but they rarely do anything exciting. I blog for me, and the interactions happy to never be someone who will be a mega blogger. I read that post, Yeuk is all I can say. Did it help you conquer your fears?
No, it made them worse. I don’t know where these fears came from either, I used to play with Daddy Longleg Spiders when I was little. I thought they were fun.
keep saying must put up more blogs but am way too busy for it but when see others that follow think how simple it and then when turn off laptop forget about it till see and read blog. right now what going on in head is not worth reading so fair play to putting it up how you feel about when put up post as feel that mine wont be read and am ok with that at the moment
If you want to write them go ahead, what does it matter if they are read as long as you get something out of it.
so funny, and it is the process i think we all go through a bit with each post, if we are honest )
Yes I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it. Glad to know it’s not just me.
Did you find my mind laying around somewhere and discover exactly how i feel whenever I post lol what are we like eh 🙂 xx
Haha. Even though I wrote this a while ago I still feel it every time. I don’t think it will ever go away.
This made me smile 🙂
Oh and my most popular blog is actually my most recent 🙂 They never told me THAT at diagnosis! | faithmummy
https://faithmummy.wordpress.com/2015/07/16/they-never-told-me-that-at-diagnosis/