It’s been a while now since I’ve written a blog. In fact, although my memory isn’t what it used to be (which is probably the result of sleep deprivation coupled with too much wine), I seem to recall that my last blog was posted at the beginning of the New Year when I shared my rather depressing predictions for 2009 (Some of which, by the way, have already been proven accurate). Hmm, that’s been over two months now, hasn’t it? Time sure flies when you’re having fun, doesn’t it?

Anyway, since it’s been such a long time since I bored you with my thoughts, I decided that I would take time tonight to share my reasons with you, dear reader, for not having inflicted my blog upon you for over two months now. Not that I think you give a whit, but it’s something I need to share, if only for my own benefit.

The first reason for my silence is because, in all honesty, I have grown quite tired of receiving no monetary compensation in return for my work. Think about it: they (whoever “they” might be) argue that these fat-cat, overpaid CEOs need “incentive” in order to produce, but shouldn’t everyone receive incentive to produce, even writers? Contrary to what anyone may think, after all, writing is work, even writing a blog; that is, if the writer actually puts some thought into what he or she intends to say and then bothers to proofread and correct the errors once he or she has said it.

So, as a result of my capitalist-society-induced hankering for “incentive,” I have begun concentrating on writing for websites that recompense writers, namely Suite 101 and Associated Content, although, in reality, I have yet to make enough to phone home about, as the saying goes, and may not ever make enough to phone home about (And, yes, I just ended a sentence with a preposition, so call the Grammar Police). However, at least the potential is there for me to earn at least a little something for my writing, and something is a heck of a lot better than nothing.

“What about your novels?” you ask. “Aren’t you receiving big royalty checks?”

Big royalty checks? Yeah, right, in my dreams, where my novels have both been huge successes. In fact, in my dreams, I have appeared on Oprah after she read my novels and promoted them as “must-read books” on her book club’s Web page. However, the truth is, I have made literally next to nothing from my novels. Why? Well, because one was released through a non-traditional-publishing-house-of-last-resort and the other as an e-book because I could not find an agent. And why does having an agent make a difference? It makes a difference because without an agent, writers do not stand an ice-cube’s chance in you-know-where of having a major publishing house handle their work; and without a major publisher behind them, their novels will not be promoted, that is, except for the promotion the writers themselves do, which is really quite limited and means that, in reality, the only people who will probably learn about the novels are the writers’ friends and family members, some of whom will purchase the novels, others of whom will not.

At the risk of digressing, I have concluded that writing is the most heartbreaking profession in the world; and I understand why some writers get so despondent they commit suicide. After all, it’s demoralizing, debilitating, and depressing (three “D” words—perhaps there’s some symbolism there, but don’t ask me what it means) to give birth to an article, a poem, a story, or a novel only to see it fade away into eternal oblivion without ever being recognized at all.

Oh, well, enough digression, so now on to my second reason for not writing a blog since January 1, 2009.

My second reason is because I experienced an epiphany, you know, one of those sudden “a-ha” moments of profound insight during which you realize something that perhaps you already knew but had simply refused to acknowledge for various reasons, including vanity and self-delusion. And what I realized is that I don’t have anything worth saying in a blog. Plus, even if I did, who the heck would care to read it? I’m not some celebrity. Neither am I rich, nor I’m a famous. I’m not even brilliant. I’m nobody. Heck, even I don’t care what I have to say; and since that’s the case, then why on earth should I be so foolish and egotistical as to think, even for one nanosecond, that anyone out there in cyberspace cares to hear what I have to say about anything at all?

And those, dear reader, are my reasons for discontinuing my blog, at least for the foreseeable future. As Bud, Vicki, and I used to say when we were kids growing up in rural Georgia, “It’s been nice; it’s been fun; but it hasn’t been real fun.”  Then again, I am grateful to those of you who bothered to read my blog and occasionally make comments. You made it all worthwhile.