End of Year Review

So, we’re coming to the end of 2022, and it’s been a very long year. I think we’re all feeling tired and worn out. Things are, mostly, back to normal from the pandemic, but I’m not sure life will ever be exactly the way it was before.

Readjusting to doing things out of the house again, has been stressful for a lot of us, especially since we know Covid is still around.

I’m sure we are all far too aware of how things have changed, how hard everything has been the past couple years, so it’s not something I really want to write about. Instead, I want to talk the fun stuff and my goals for 2023.

Looking back at the year and how I’ve been in survival mode, rushing from one project to the next, put me in an introspective mood and it’s made me realize a few things.

The main thing is how grateful I am for all my readers. Whether you’re just here for the educational articles, or for the book updates, or both, I appreciate you. In 2021 with everyone home, online, and bored, my blog nearly doubled in numbers and a lot of those readers have stayed around. I can’t tell you how happy it makes me.

Being a writer is hard sometimes. It can feel isolating especially this kind of writing. I hear a lot about my books because people talk about what they buy. They leave reviews, and my readers groups on Facebook, where I’m very active, focuses on books.

But when it comes to the blog, I don’t always hear much. I don’t get a lot of public comments here. I think the nature of the topic makes people shy away from announcing their presence publicly and while that’s sad, I do get it.

I do hear from readers in email, or on social media. A few times a month I’ll get emails asking for specific topics, or telling me about a problem they are having, in the hope that I might have some ideas for them– but sometimes they just want to tell me how much this blog has helped.

And all of that is wonderful, but it can still feel a little like I’m talking to myself over here. So, now and then, I check the page stats just to see how I’m doing. It’s always a really wonderful mood boost because whenever I think no one is listening I can go and remind myself that some months this blog has almost ten thousand visitors, and almost twenty thousand views, because most visitors seem to read more than one post while they are here.

Since we’re coming up on the end of the year, I thought I would look at the stats for 2022 and here are a few fun bits, for those interested.

I made 32 posts this year.
The best month was June with 9,758 visitors!
2022 had a total of 141,377 views with an average of 400 per day.
My best day this year was June 28th with 741 views.
The Long Distance D/s Series posts are consistently in my top views. Part 2 (punishments) is the top of all time at 82,933 views.
Most of my readers are American, with other English-speaking countries right behind, but I seem to have at least one or two readers in almost every country. (Seriously thank you to the single readers in Guana, Ethiopia, Syria, Peru, and more!)

Overall, I’d call it a success. I’m proud and happy that my words help people. Entertainment is one thing, and I like to think I’m good at it. My books are well-read and enjoyed. But writing non-fiction that makes a difference in people’s lives is entirely different and it brings a whole other set of emotions to know I’m doing that.

So, my goal for next year is to post more often and more consistently. 32 posts is my lowest since I started this blog in 2018, and that’s probably because my book schedule is gradually getting busier, but I want to try to be more consistent here if I can.

Books, of course, are what pay the bills, so I have to put them first, but there are some topics I’d love to revisit, and others I’ve wanted to cover and haven’t gotten around to yet. So I’ll be working on that in the new year.

If you’ve got some ideas, questions, or things you’d like to see more of, please suggest them. That would help!

And for those who are curious about my other writing stats for 2022: Five books and four anthology novellas. Next year is not going to be less busy either, but I find I’m looking forward to it. And in that vein… my 2022 Holiday card

I wish us ALL the best of luck for 2023 and I’ll see you all back here on January 6th for: Exploring a Kink Relationship Safely— Part One