So Much Happening!

I am not dead! But I feel like I’ve mostly disappeared from a lot of social media, though I do talk on Twitter and Facebook regularly. I have news, though. And this is something I’ve been hoping for since returning to Canada from Japan.

I won’t be mysterious about this. I’ve returned to teaching English! I taught English for 11 years in Japan, and now I’m starting again in Canada. The focus is on business people this time, and I’ll have to help develop a lot of the curriculum, so it’s going to be an interesting challenge.

Due to the hours of this job, I have less opportunity to record videos, unfortunately. And since I got a new car last month, my commute isn’t a one hour bus ride. Unfortunately, I get less time for reading, because I often read on my commute. I’ll figure out ways to get reading in, and I might do it during lunch breaks.

I still have so much I want to do: write, read, make videos. I’ll find the time for them all. And this blog, too. When I was living in Japan, this was my big project. This was my baby (other than my daughter). I devoted a lot of time on this blog, and there is absolutely no way I would let it die. While I’m settling into my new job, I’ll probably be busy with preparations, but once everything is routine, I’ll have time to get back to everything I enjoy doing. I know I’ve said I’d be back to blogging earlier this year, but I found I was getting tired and unmotivated about so many things. Now, I feel energy again. I’m definitely back, and soon!

Writing and Editing Services on Fiverr

Has anyone ever used Fiverr for anything? It’s a great way to find cheap and quick services for just about anything, from creating logos to getting voiceovers to editing services. Well, I’ve joined Fiverr.

I’m now offering a couple of services. One is blog and article writing. With my experience in blogging and writing articles, if you’d like my services, then please check out my gig on writing.

The other service is proofreading and editing. I will track edits, correct grammar, spelling, punctuation, and smooth out those awkward sentences. I will not change content or tone, though. I’ve had plenty of experience editing and proofreading in my time as an English teacher, as we offered those services. I have edited a book (and parts of other books), magazine articles, and even scientific papers. My offers are for 1000, 2000, or 5000 word documents, though it can be customized. And since I’m familiar with both American and British spelling, I can adapt to either one. So, if you’re interested in my proofreading and editing services, check out that gig.

I’m dedicated to doing these jobs accurately and with a quick turnaround time.

Our Time in Japan Comes to an End

We’re leaving Japan soon, but I have a lot of work to do related to Japan over the next couple weeks. I’ve recorded a lot of video, and there will be videos uploaded to YouTube for almost every day we’ve been here in Japan. But that’s not all. There are some other things I have planned (not related to work, that is):

1. Edit and upload all Japan vlogs.
2. Catch up on comments on this blog.
3. Star a Star Trek blog for my episode reviews.
4. Write and record science videos.
5. Read!
6. Write!
7. Resume the Read the World series.
8. Resume Worldbuilding blog posts and videos.
9. And play SimCity 4. Just because I really want to.

There are a lot of other things to do, but these are the big things. I probably forgot some things, though. They’ll come to mind!

Canada, here we come!

You Can’t Please Everyone – Comments

Over the last couple months, I’ve been receiving a lot of comments on two posts which talk about things that bring a lot of controversy. One is about politics, the other is about climate change.

I’m better at talking about climate change, so I don’t have a problem rebutting climate change deniers’ claims. One comment questioned what I said in the post and provided some information about Mt. Etna’s CO2 output, thinking he won the “debate.” Well, the information he told me matches what was said on Snopes, as well as scientific sources. It only confirmed what I’d said. That backfired.

And about Snopes, if I refer to a Snopes article, don’t say it’s not a legitimate source. You know why? The information they give references scientific journals, government research, and other legitimate sources.

But then, we get to the political post. The topic doesn’t matter, but what does matter is how people comment. I was insulted in a rather crude manner. The first rule on this blog for comments is this: Do not insult anyone. The second rule: Be civil. These people broke those rules.

If you want to have a constructive conversation, then behave. Use intelligent arguments, not reactionary ones. Don’t use all caps on random words. Whenever I see comments like that, I can pretty safely assume that the person is irrational and illogical. All caps don’t make an argument stronger, it makes the person look like they’re shouting. Don’t call me or other commenters idiots. Behaviour like this makes a person less credible. It’s not worth my time to debate with people like this.

Now that I got this off my chest, I’ll return this blog to normal.

Month in Review – April 2017

A bad cold and a lot of work resulted in a terrible month for blogging. The A to Z Challenge sputtered out at the letter D (I did record E, though!). So, how did it affect the stats? Surprisingly, it was better than expected. The month ended with 1,730 followers, an increase of just 9.

April Stats

April’s numbers were the lowest in a very long time. The average number of views per day is slightly lower than March. The average number of views per day was 63, the lowest in the past year. Despite that, 5 out of 30 days reached 100 views, which is better than expected. The best day was April 30th with 213 views. The total number of views in April was 1,896, ending the streak with months of more than 2,000 views at 30 months. April ended with 106,184 views. There were 14 posts in April, bringing it to a total of 2,271.

In April, there were 80 comments, which was extremely low thanks to a lack of posts. That brings it to a total of 17,212.

The top ten countries were:

1. United States (786 views)
2. Canada (578 views)
3. United Kingdom (81 views)
4. India (75 views)
5. Australia (38 views)
6. Japan (34 views)
7. Jamaica (19 views)
8. Philippines (18 views)
9. Norway (17 views)
10. France (14 views)

Top Posts

The top five posts of April were:

1. Authors Answer 127 – Writing Novels for TV Series and Movies (32 views)
2. Authors Answer 128 – Ghostwriting (31 views)
3. I’m Back! (30 views)
4. Authors Answer 129 – Genres Helping Other Genres (29 views)
5. C Is for Canada Goose (23 views)

The most popular post made before April was To Those Who Blame Justin Trudeau for CPP Investment in Mumbai with 483 views.

Wow. The Justin Trudeau post I made more than a year ago exploded, receiving a quarter of all views on this blog in April. As for April’s posts, Authors Answer has been the leader again. Here are some posts that didn’t do as well, but you should read.

• Everything Derailed! The Jay Dee Show 27
• Week in Review – April 2, 2017
• A to Z Challenge Begins! The Jay Dee Show 26

Social Media

On Twitter, I have 3,620 followers, which is a decrease of 32.  I follow 3,684, which is a decrease of 3. I haven’t been particularly active with following on Twitter. I finished with 10,463 tweets, with 55 coming in April.

On YouTube, I uploaded 1 video in April. It was a terrible month for videos, as I was extremely busy. I have 420 subscribers, which is an increase of 18 from last month.  The month ended with 29,298 views, which is an increase of 1,599, which was actually higher than March. More regular uploading should happen in May.

On Facebook, my author page has 87 followers, which is up by 1.

On Patreon, I have 0 patrons contributing $0 per month. I’ll be promoting it more this month.

Looking Ahead to May

I have a lot to do in May. I plan on catching up on the A to Z Challenge for the blog, as well as my science channel on YouTube. Catching up on comments is a priority, as well. I’m hoping May will be a complete turnaround from the last couple months. I shouldn’t be getting sick again. Work is quiet for the month, so I have a lot more free time than I’d like.

May should be a good month for the blog!

Month in Review – March 2017

Another month of less work on the blog. That should change for April, because I’ve started the A to Z Challenge. I had my slowest month in posting for a long time, but the numbers weren’t very different than the previous month. The month ended with 1,721 followers, an increase of 25, which is an improvement.

March Stats

March’s numbers weren’t very good. The average number of views per day is the lowest since September 2014. The average number of views per day was 65, the lowest in the past year.. Only 1 out of 31 days reached 100 views, which is pretty bad. The best day was March 13th with 153 views. The total number of views in March was 2,001, the 30th month in a row over 2,000. March ended with 104,288 views. There were 22 posts in February, bringing it to a total of 2,257.

In February, there were 129 comments, which was pretty low, but that’s my fault. That brings it to a total of 17,132.

The top ten countries were:

1. United States (1,034 views)
2. Canada (181 views)
3. United Kingdom (149 views)
4. India (126 views)
5. Australia (55 views)
6. Philippines (44 views)
7. Jamaica (41 views)
8. Japan (31 views)
9. Netherlands (26 views)
10. France (21 views)

Top Posts

The top five posts of March were:

1. Authors Answer 122 – Should You Write Every Day? (47 views)
2. Authors Answer 124 – Should You Write With Plain Language? (34 views)
3. Authors Answer 125 – Is Short Better? (33 views)
4. Authors Answer 123 – Should You Write What You Know? (27 views)
5. I Want to Live in Another World! The Jay Dee Show 24 (24 views)

The most popular post made before March was Don’t Believe the Mt. Etna CO2 Meme with 214 views.

Yet again, Authors Answer was the most popular type of post in March. But there were a lot of people who wanted to see my post about that meme. Here are some posts that didn’t do as well, but I think you should check out.

• Week in Review – March 13, 2017
• Where’s the Science?! The Jay Dee Show 25
• The Edmonton Oilers Are Going to the Playoffs!
• Here Comes the Science! The Jay Dee Show 22
• A to Z Challenge Video Format
• Week in Review – March 5, 2017

Reviews

I’ve come to the decision to discontinue doing reviews, as I’m not particularly interested in doing them anymore, and they tend to be my least popular posts.

Social Media

On Twitter, I have 3,652 followers, which is a decrease of 15.  I follow 3,687, which hasn’t changed from the previous month. I haven’t been particularly active with following on Twitter. I finished with 10,408 tweets, with 87 coming in March.

On YouTube, I uploaded 6 videos in March. It was the slowest month in a while, but I was busy again. I have 402 subscribers, which is an increase of 19 from last month.  The month ended with 27,699 views, which is an increase of 1,559, which is higher than February despite the lack of videos. More regular uploading should happen in March.

On Facebook, my author page has 86 followers, which is up by 1.

On Patreon, I have 0 patrons contributing $0 per month. I’ll be promoting it more this month.

Looking Ahead to April

There’s a lot to expect in April. I’ll be doing the A to Z Challenge, which will account for 26 posts. Each one will feature a video, though they’ll be on my science channel. I also expect to do a lot more with social media, keeping up with comments, and visiting other blogs.

I’m definitely looking forward to a major rebound in April.

Month in Review – February 2017

I was busy this month. Too many things going on, and my blogging suffered. I didn’t actually post every day. I still made an average of a post a day, though. The month ended with 1,696 followers, which is a small increase of 10. And I know why. I haven’t been reading blogs as much as I used to. I should get back into that.

February Stats

February’s numbers went down again. But the average per day isn’t the lowest in the last few months. The average number of views per day was 72, the second lowest in the past year.. Only 2 out of 28 days reached 100 views, which is pretty low. The best day was February 1st with 111 views. The total number of views in February was 2,003, the 29th month in a row over 2,000. February ended with 102,246 views. There were 29 posts in February, bringing it to a total of 2,235.

In February, there were 119 comments, which was pretty low, but that’s my fault. That brings it to a total of 17,003.

The top ten countries were:

1. United States (969 views)
2. Canada (155 views)
3. United Kingdom (150 views)
4. India (125 views)
5. Jamaica (80 views)
6. Australia (58 views)
7. Japan (49 views)
8. Germany (35 views)
9. France (26 views)
10. Netherlands (22 views)

Top Posts

The top five posts of February were:

1. Authors Answer 118 – Bonbon Journey (54 views)
2. Authors Answer 119 – Fender Slander (51 views)
3. Authors Answer 121 – The Parting of New Shores (40 views)
4. Authors Answer 120 – Dodecahedron (39 views)
5. Commentition Funny February 2017 (29 views)

The most popular post made before February was What is an advanced society? It had 136 views.

Authors Answer was the most popular in February by a long way. But again, a lot of the older posts were carrying the blog’s stats. Here are some of the posts that didn’t perform well, but I think deserve a second look.

• A New Beginning! The Jay Dee Show 21
• And Then I Catch a Cold! The Jay Dee Show 18
• Looking for Science News
• Here Comes the Science!
• Science Channel – What’s Going On?
• Week in Review – February 5, 2017
• Big A to Z Challenge Idea
• New Thumbnails! The Jay Dee Show 20

Reviews

Nothing reviewed. Again, I need to get back to doing this. This was the basis for this blog in the beginning.

Social Media

On Twitter, I have 3,667 followers, which is a decrease of 4.  I follow 3,687, a small increase of 3. I haven’t been particularly active with following on Twitter. I finished with 10,321 tweets, with 141 coming in February.

On YouTube, I uploaded 11 videos in February. It was a slow month again, but I was quite busy. I have 383 subscribers, which is an increase of 17 from last month.  The month ended with 26,140 views, which is an increase of 1,513, which is lower. But then, I hadn’t been uploading much. That should change this month.

On Facebook, my author page has 85 followers, which is up by 1.

On Patreon, I have 0 patrons contributing $0 per month. I’m starting to promote it, but for my new science channel.

Looking Ahead to March

My promises for February didn’t really come true. I got a lot busier than expected. I will reiterate my goal to keep up with comments, use social media a lot more, work on both booktube and science videos, post at least once a day, and read some blogs.

I’m looking forward to seeing what March brings, especially now that I’ve started the science channel.

Joining the A to Z April Challenge

April means the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge! Last year, I didn’t participate, as I was in the process of moving and settling in during the month of April, so I was very busy. However, I did the challenge in 2015.

When I did the challenge before, I wrote 26 short stories related to Ariadne, and it turned into a kind of story. You can read all 26 parts here. You’ll even learn a little bit about the main character of my debute novel, Solona Knight.

So, what am I going to do for this year’s challenge? I’m not sure. They haven’t announced the theme yet, but we don’t have to follow the theme. We can do our own. I won’t be doing the same thing I did two years ago. I may do something about science, or I might do something about writing. Or I may do flash fiction based on words that begin with each letter of the alphabet. I don’t know yet.

So, I’d like to ask you. Do you have any suggestions for what I could write about? Also, are you participating? Let me know in the comments below.

Month in Review – January 2017

The first month of the year was a decent one. But it wasn’t what I expected. What was supposed to be a two post a day month turned into a post a day again. But despite that, the numbers have increased. And the blog reached a major milestone. January ended with 1,686 followers, an increase of 27.

January Stats

January’s numbers saw an improvement over the previous three months. That was nice to see. The average number of views per day was 78, which was better than the last three months of the year. Only 5 out of 31 days reached 100 views, which is better than December. The best day was January 4th with 127 views. The total number of views in January was 2,426, the 28th month in a row over 2,000. January ended with 100,243 views, passing 100,000 views. There were 34 posts in January, bringing it to a total of 2,206.

In December, there were 198 comments, which was slightly higher than December. That brings it to a total of 16,884.

The top ten countries were:

1. United States (1,285 views)
2. Canada (220 views)
3. United Kingdom (124 views)
4. India (110 views)
5. Australia (105 views)
6. Japan (94 views)
7. Germany (42 views)
8. France (30 views)
9. Jamaica (26 views)
10. Netherlands (24 views)

Top Posts

The top five posts of January were:

1. Authors Answer 116 – Writing the Opposite Sex (54 views)
2. Hit By the YouTube Subscriber Glitch (51 views)
3. Authors Answer 115 – Common Mistakes by New Authors (35 views)
4. Authors Answer 114 – 2017 Writing Plans (29 views)
5. Authors Answer 117 – Difficult and Easy Scenes to Write (26 views)

The most popular post written before January was once again, INTJ – An Analysis of My Personality. It had 122 views.

Older posts remain popular, especially reviews of Shakespearean plays. The newer posts were slow again, thanks to my inability to keep up on social media again. My fault. The beginning of the month was actually quite strong, but it slowed down as I fell behind. As a result, several posts had fewer views than normal. Here are the ones which underperformed and I think you should check out.

• Week in Review – January 22, 2017
• Passenger of One! The Jay Dee Show 16
• I’m a Rogue One! The Jay Dee Show 15
• Month in Review – December 2016
• Would You Move to Another Planet?
• Week in Review – January 29, 2017
• Doing Some Testing
• Week in Review – January 8, 2017
• I Have to Watch That!
• I’m Back, But…! The Jay Dee Show 17
• Star Trek S1E10 – The Corbomite Maneuver
• A Look to the Future! The Jay Dee Show 14
• Week in Review – January 1, 2017
• Back to World Building
• I’m an Edmonton Oilers Fan
• Schedule Disruptions Continue

Reviews

Nothing, except movie and TV reviews. Must get the book reviews done!

Social Media

On Twitter, I have 3,671 followers, which is a decrease of 3.  I follow 3,684, which is unchanged from last month. I haven’t been particularly active with following on Twitter. I finished with 10,180 tweets, with 149 coming in January. I was actually most active in the second half of the month.

On YouTube, I uploaded 12 videos in January. Very slow month. I have 366 subscribers, which is an increase of 24 from last month.  The month ended with 24,627 views, which is an increase of 1,912, despite the lower number of videos. Some of my older videos are actually remaining popular and ranking well in searches.

On Facebook, my author page has 84 followers, which is unchanged

On Patreon, I have 0 patrons contributing $0 per month. I don’t expect much until I really start to promote it.

Looking Ahead to February

I expect a better month in terms of blog posts, social media, and videos. I felt less motivation during the weeks after Christmas. I’ve been feeling a lot more motivation recently, so I’m hoping to get a lot done, including:

• World Building posts and videos
• Keeping up on social media
• Keeping up with comments
• New channel trailers for both of my videos
• Science videos coming up!
• Book reviews
• More movie and TV reviews
• More Star Trek!

There’s a lot to do, but I think I can do it. I’m looking forward to seeing what February brings!

Month in Review – December 2016

Happy New Year!

December slowed down. That was expected. I wasn’t planning on keeping the twice a day posting schedule I stopped doing three months ago. I even missed a day! However, the numbers aren’t that bad. With the holidays at the end of the month, a slowdown was expected. December ended with 1,659 followers, an increase of 26.

December Stats

December ended up being the second slowest month of the year in terms of views. It was better than October, but worse than November. The average number of views per day was 73, which is the second worst of the year. Only 3 out of 31 days reached 100 views, which is the same as November. The best day was December 29th with 121 views. The total number of views in December was 2,254, the 27th month in a row over 2,000. December ended with 97,817 views. There were 30 posts in December, bringing it to a total of 2,172.

In December, there were 187 comments, which was the worst in a while. That brings it to a total of 16,686.

The top ten countries were:

1. United States (1,126 views)
2. Canada (250 views)
3. Japan (142 views)
4. United Kingdom (140 views)
5. Australia (81 views)
6. India (71 views)
7. Germany (31 views)
8. Philippines (28 views)
9. Croatia (23 views)
10. Argentina (22 views)

Top Posts

The top five posts of December were:

1. WordPress Changes Things Again (55 views)
2. Authors Answer 111 – Killing Off Main Characters (37 views)
3. Authors Answer 113 – Writing in 2016 (28 views)
4. Authors Answer 112 – Characters Celebrating Christmas (24 views)
5. The Multilingual Desire (23 views)

The most popular post written before December was an old favourite, INTJ – An Analysis of My Personality. It had 109 views.

Following the same trend from last month, older posts are remaining popular. That’s a good thing. However, since I’ve been falling behind on social media again, it the newer posts haven’t been receiving the benefits of publicizing. Despite that, there were some good performances. As for posts that didn’t perform well, and I think deserve a look, check out these:

• Star Trek  S1E09 – Dagger of the Mind
• Read the World – Antigua and Barbuda Literature
• Week in Review – December 11, 2016
• Where’s the Vlog?! The Jay Dee Show 11
• A Big 300! The Jay Dee Show 9
• Merry Christmas!
• Week in Review – December 19, 2016
• Merry Tagmas! The Jay Dee Show 12
• Week in Review – December 4, 2016
• An Authors Answer Week! The Jay Dee Show 10
• Commentition Decadent December 2016
• A Completely Impulsive Change
• 2016, What the Hell?
• TV Review – The Walking Dead Season 1
• Month in Review – November 2016
• The Final Two Weeks of 2016
• Week in Review – December 25, 2016

Reviews

Nothing, despite what I promised. Next week, I have a lot of free time. Expect several reviews.

Social Media

On Twitter, I have 3,674 followers, which is a decrease of 10.  I follow 3,684, which is a decrease of 3. I actually followed a lot. I think Twitter did a big purge of dead accounts. I finished with 10,031 tweets, with 159 coming in December. That’s less, but I was busier last month.

On YouTube, I uploaded 30 videos in December.  I have 342 subscribers, which is an increase of 40 from last month.  The month ended with 22,715 views, which is an increase of 2,052. It was another improved performance. The channel is growing.

On Facebook, my author page has 84 followers, which is a decrease of 1.

On Patreon, I have 0 patrons contributing $0 per month. I don’t expect much until I really start to promote it.

Looking Ahead to January

With a new year comes new goals. I have plans to improve not only the blog, but also my booktube channel, get the science channel going, and have a stronger presence on social media. My specific goals are:

• Resume twice a day posts on the blog.
• Read other blogs for 15 minutes a day, including commenting and following.
• Keep up on comments on this blog.
• Post book reviews!
• Keep up to date on social media regarding this blog.
• Maintain a 5-7 video a week schedule for my booktube channel
• Start my science channel and post 2 videos a week.
• Make a new channel trailer for my booktube channel and another for the science channel.
• Speed up my viewing of Star Trek and finish watching Attack on Titan, ending with a review.
• Write at least 15 minutes a day.

As you can see, there’s plenty to do this month. There are other things I want to do, and I hope to get these things done. I really need to make sure I’ve got social media up to date and am active on it. I’m looking forward to the new year, because it has to be better than 2016!