10 Years of Blogging

Ten years in the blogging world is a major achievement—so congratulations to everyone who has contributed to this blog over the past decade. Blogs come and go with wild abandon, so to consistently create content for ten years is an event worth celebrating.

I've been an avid blogger for years. I have multiple blogs (too many to admit too). And although I dabbled with publishing words online in 2008, I didn't become a consistent content creator until 2011. I looked back at my posts from ten years ago and in May 2011 I was living a fortune cookie lifestyle.

I was blogging in stealth mode back then. I didn't have my photo or identifying information on my blog, and my website and social media accounts were all set up using my pen name - Roving Jay. I had a corporate job, and "blogger" didn't fit with the all-business facade I was trying to maintain.

I've come a long way in ten years. I not only share my words in blog posts, but I've also published multiple travel guides and books about writing and self-publishing, and a couple of poetic memoirs. I look back at my writing adventure and see that it was a series of building blocks—with my blog as the spark that fanned a flame.

I wasn't thinking long term, I just wanted to explore the process of writing. I never dreamed of being an author. I just loved writing and decided a blog would be a good idea. I dabbled with writing about a variety of different topics, and my writing style was all over the place.

I began blogging about buying a house in Turkey, and each time we visited our holiday home I collected information about the local vicinity  Back then there weren't any English language travel websites for this area in Turkey, and tourist information was thin on the ground. I carried a little notebook around with me, and used it to collect travel tips and recommendations from locals and expats, as reminders for the next time we visited. I launched another blog to organise my travel tips online, so I could access them wherever I was. After a couple of years I realised I had enough information for a book, and this year the 4th edition of that travel guide was published.

I don't think I would have written and published a book if I hadn't started blogging. I might still be in my corporate job, feeling unfulfilled—a frustrated writer with no confidence, and no creative outlet. That initial decision to start a blog has led me down a path I never imagined.

So if you love to write and have been contemplating starting a blog, take the bull by the horns and start it today. Who knows where you'll be in ten years, and what you will have achieved in the interim.

About Jay Artale

Jay Artale abandoned her corporate career to become a digital nomad and full-time writer. She’s an avid blogger, podcaster, and nonfiction author helping travel writers and travel bloggers achieve their self-publishing goals. She shares tips, advice, and inspiration to writers with an independent spirit at Birds of a Feather Press, and documents her travels and artistic endeavours at Roving Jay. Follow her on Instagram or Facebook or Twitter.