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	<title>Collected Miscellany &#187; navel gazing</title>
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	<link>http://collectedmiscellany.com</link>
	<description>seemingly random thoughts on books</description>
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		<title>Blog Fail</title>
		<link>http://collectedmiscellany.com/2009/08/blog-fail/</link>
		<comments>http://collectedmiscellany.com/2009/08/blog-fail/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 28 Aug 2009 15:52:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kevin Holtsberry</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Site news]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Blogosphere]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Google]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[navel gazing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Twitter]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://collectedmiscellany.com/?p=2968</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Remember me?  I am the guy who used to post here.  Sure, I didn&#8217;t exactly light up the literary blogosphere (do they still call it that?) but I posted three of four times a week. This site &#8211; when Jeff isn&#8217;t on a post binge &#8211; has turned into a Twitter Digest page and an [...]]]></description>
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<div class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 193px"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/21789669@N00/3828641533/"><img class="  " title="I just like this picture so I stuck it in the post" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2448/3828641533_a063b08944_m.jpg" alt="Airborne" width="183" height="240" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Airborne by Professor Bop via Flickr</p></div>
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<p>Remember me?  I am the guy who used to post here.  Sure, I didn&#8217;t exactly light up the literary blogosphere (do they still call it that?) but I posted three of four times a week.</p>
<p>This site &#8211; when Jeff isn&#8217;t on a post binge &#8211; has turned into a Twitter Digest page and an archive for old reviews destined for lonely Google searches.  I think the kids would call this Blog Fail or something like that.</p>
<p>So.  Now that I have added my contractually required quarterly navel gazing post what does this even mean?  Good question.</p>
<p>I don&#8217;t see my schedule allowing for posting two or three times a day any time soon.  Most likely we are looking at occasional reviews and commentary.</p>
<p>I think what is needed is for me to scale back my ambitions and apply KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid).  Less clutter; quality over quantity; etc.</p>
<p>Easier said than done of course, and I have said it more times than I care to remember, but it is the truth.</p>
<p>Here ends the lame site update &#8220;what should I do&#8221; post.  Feel the need to mock me?  Got a smart aleck remark?  Have a strong opinion?  Leave it in the comments &#8230;</p>
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		<title>End of the year thoughts</title>
		<link>http://collectedmiscellany.com/2008/12/end-of-the-year-thoughts/</link>
		<comments>http://collectedmiscellany.com/2008/12/end-of-the-year-thoughts/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 16 Dec 2008 17:31:27 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kevin Holtsberry</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Site news]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[navel gazing]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[I have been thinking about this blog a bit lately.Â  I feel like it has drifted and gotten off track. My career is really in flux, and with two young kids my schedule has changed a lot, and I think all of this has contributed to a lack of focus.Â  I don&#8217;t feel like I [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I have been thinking about this blog a bit lately.Â  I feel like it has drifted and gotten off track.</p>
<p>My career is really in flux, and with two young kids my schedule has changed a lot, and I think all of this has contributed to a lack of focus.Â  I don&#8217;t feel like I have written enough or well enough lately to make this site worth reading regularly.</p>
<p>The end of the year seems like a good time to think about things moving forward.Â  Getting ready for New Year&#8217;s resolutions and whatnot.</p>
<p>My one idea so far is to try and connect some themes in both my fiction and non-fiction reading.Â  Read more than one book by a given author.Â  Read a couple of books on a given subject, etc.Â  I want to focus less on reading the latest releases but connect some newer books with older ones that I have always wanted to read.Â  How this will work in practice remains to be seen.</p>
<p>So I am going to continue to spend some time thinking about what my focus should be and how I can make this a site worth reading given my work and family constraints.Â  Part of working on being a better writer &#8211; which has always been a rationale for this site &#8211; is knowing and developing an audience.Â  I think this is something I need to work on.</p>
<p>As always, I appreciate feedback.Â  What do you think CM does well?Â  What kind of things should I focus on and what things should I ignore?Â  In other words: What do you want more of and what could you do without?Â  If you have ideas or opinions send them my way.</p>
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