Now that I have been working on the blog steadily since October 1, 2007, I want to say a couple things I have learned about writing, and I want to note a few decisions I have made about blogging.

Repetitive Information
I often repeat things I have stated in prior posts.  I am going to continue this practice; albeit, I will attempt to put the repetitive information in a clearly marked section at the top of each post so regular readers can skip it.  I restate information so that each post / article can stand on it’s own.  Over 50% of the visitors to this blog each day are new visitors.  My goal is to help each new reader understand the evolving assumptions I operate under.  

My Target Audience   
My target audience is people operating or working in businesses where their incentives are aligned with artists.  If your incentives are not generally aligned with artists, or if you are in a business that consciously or unconsciously takes advantage of artists, you probably will not like this blog.  

Not Writing For RSS
I don’t write to make my RSS feeds short or concise.  My posts are occasionally long.  As I said to a friend last month - If I were advising you on how to remove a kidney from your horse, you wouldn’t want the information delivered in short, tidy bursts over several weeks; you probably need the entire chapter delivered in one click.  

Personally, I appreciate finding detailed articles written by others that I can print and read anywhere.  I believe when you are writing to be informative, you should supply all of the information needed (using minimal hyperlinks).  When you are writing to be entertaining, then perhaps you should consider writing in short bursts.  

Breaking Posts Apart
However, while I am on the subject of long posts… I am learning to logically break things apart.  When you realize that you are going to write something tomorrow or next week, it makes sense to split things into separate presentations.  Up until recently, I heaped everything into a single post like it was the last supper.  Now that I am sure that I will be writing tomorrow, I am realizing that I can save some for another day.

Non-Condescension
I have been a father for 14 years.  I have to remember not to write like I am talking to my kids.  I am going to try to substitute phrases like “you should” or “you must” with “you may try” or “I would consider”.  This may take a while to get a handle on.

Advertising
This entire blog is about helping unsprung artists.  I look into and write about business models, and I look into and write about everything I learn about things like Google ads, advertising in general, Amazon and other affiliate programs.  Trust me, I don’t make my income from my ads.  If one of them starts to generate a lot of revenue, you will know about it.

Bullshit
I keep my bullshit to a minimum.  If I have not done it, experienced it, or if I am not attempting to do it soon, I will not make a claim about it.  When I write about things I have no experience doing I will introduce an obvious disclaimer. I will though, reserve my right to evolve and change direction.  If I intend to do something, it doesn’t mean it will always get done.  The expression “shit happens” applies here.  The best intentions are sometimes derailed by life.