What happens when you stop updating your blog

Uncategorized

In the book I published this month, I emphasized the importance of regular blog updates.

And then… I took an unexpected hiatus. Blame a combination of health problems and trouble at work. I don’t want to get into the details, but when I was feeling down it was way easier to look at anime as a solace than as source material.

However, taking time off really turned a lot of what I’ve always believed about the necessity of regular updates on its head. Here is how it went for me.

Traffic levels out

I assumed that when I stopped blogging for the better part of a month, I could expect my daily visits to plummet to zero. I checked every couple of days, but that never happened.

Instead, traffic has simply leveled out. Gone are the MWF traffic spikes I grew to expect following regular updates on those same days. I’ve been pretty vocal about not updating, so regular readers aren’t checking. What remains is search traffic for terms like “my little monster,” “romantic anime,” and “anime is dead,” to name three of the top 10 this month. As long as I have a relevant archive, that traffic will never die.

The ideas come back after you stop worrying

At first, I felt extremely guilty about not blogging. My schedule hadn’t exactly been accurate when I was writing Build Your Anime Blog, but now it was nonexistent. I panicked and tried to think of things I could write, but that just made me more resistant to the idea of writing at all.

Finally, after days of finding anything and everything to procrastinate on blog writing, I decided to end the madness. I blog for fun, and if blogging wasn’t fun anymore, I just would stop. I spent some time doing other stuff… and found myself continuously jotting down ideas for future blog posts. When I stopped treating blogging like a job and more like a hobby again, I knew I was ready to go back. Now instead of feeling reluctant about writing, I’m excited to share all the ideas I’ve thought of while I’ve been away.

But really, nothing happens

So I broke my updating streak. So I lost some regular readers. The world didn’t end. My blog is still here where I left it.

This is really good news for bloggers, I think. If you need that hiatus, take it. A few weeks off doesn’t spell the end of everything.

My experience taught me that the biggest enemy to a productive blog was my own feeling of inadequacy and guilt. Nothing else held me back so much. So let me make that mistake for you. In an age of distraction, falling off course sometimes is inevitable. It just means that any time you decide to post in spite of everything is itself a success.

Otaku Links: Podcast hour

Otaku Links

stagbeetle

Bet you didn’t expect to see any Otaku Links this week.

  • I was on CrunchyCast with @SailorBee and @VamptVo talking about Yowamushi Pedal, lyrics for a Death Note musical, and my book. Join scores of listeners in saying, “Her voice does NOT sound how she looks.”
  • I was ALSO on The Cockpit, talking about Gundam Build Fighters Try and its strengths and weaknesses and seriously meeting my match in terms of GBFT love. And also talking about my book.
  • Did I mention my book yet? Honestly I am so proud of this thing. It’s about an extremely niche topic, but it’s still sold almost 100 copies in less than a month. This is the kind of response that convinces a girl to write more books.
  • I don’t know of anyone but Guardian Enzo who is reviewing Baby Steps right now, and I really recommend his reviews. Baby Steps is very different from other sports anime because it focuses on the individual and the fundamentals of the game, but still does so in a very entertaining way.
  • Now that we’re more than halfway through the season, what’s still worth watching? Dee from Josei Next Door has the right idea.
  • Much to the CrunchyRoll staff’s dismay, I really do love discovering new memes. Right now, I am cracking up about British lad culture, especially the “cheeky Nandos” variety.

Happy long weekend, fellow Americans, and happy weekend to all. I look forward to sharing the results of my blogging hiatus when we get back.

Screenshot via Assassination Classroom. 

Whatever happened to “Girugamesh Guy?”

Fandom

girugamesh_guy

“Girugamesh!”

It’s the most quoted line in an oft-quoted commercial. Directed by one voice actor (Vic Mignogna) and starring others, this promotional video for Sakura-con that took on a life of its own. Today, it’s hard to find an anime fan who doesn’t respond to the phrase “I love sushi” with an automatic, “I love Japan, period!”

Like it or lump it, this low-budget commercial has become a cult classic with fans. And at the epicenter, there’s the actor who says “Girugamesh.” His black lipstick, contrasted with his sheer enthusiasm, has had a significant impact on fan culture.

In the past few weeks, as I mentioned in my Anime Herald podcast appearance, I have made it my mission to meet and interview Girugamesh Guy. I think it’s worth stating that I am totally earnest about this. While I realize the commercial got its fair share of critique as well as praise, I’m not looking to pass judgement, but simply to revisit this moment in anime culture. Once you become Girugamesh Guy, what happens to your life after that?

The search began with some promising leads. I found some apparent clips from Girugamesh Guy’s film reel. As you can see by this scene at the beach and this scene at a party, this black-lipsticked actor has become pretty typecast as the jerk that gets his deadly due. From there, I found two possible identities, complete with names and emails. I found a Facebook page that belongs to a man who looks suspiciously like Girugamesh Guy. I contacted all these people (and Vic Mignogna, and the Sakura-con staff), but it’s been over a week and I haven’t received a single reply. At least to me, Girugamesh Guy remains an enigma.

I wrote this blog post as a eulogy to this and all the other articles I’ve attempted and failed to report. There are so many threads of curiosity I’ve attempted to explore. Some get scrapped early when I don’t have any sources. Others get spiked by my editors, when there isn’t enough evidence to ensure I’ve found the truth, not just a rumor. For every story that gets told, there’s another just waiting in the wings for anything to give it legs.

If you see this, Girugamesh Guy, please contact me. I’m still hoping.

Otaku Links: What is this deliciousness?

Otaku Links

oremono

  • This My Love Story!! cosplay from TuxTeam is incredible. They were also behind that viral Big Hero 6 cosplay a few months back.
  • Anime Vice was one of the news sites that shaped my concept of reporting about fandom in the beginning. Nigorimasen eulogizes it in its final days.
  • Jisho, my favorite resource for looking up kanji, got a major redesign. Now if you remember a kanji’s pronunciation but not how it looks, you can use voice search. Paired with Lexilogos Hiragana and Katakana keyboards, there’s nothing else I need for writing in Japanese.
  • Yoshiyuki Tomino, the father of Gundam, has really opened up about the flaws he perceives in his latest show, Reconguista in G. This show recently became legally available and I need to watch, but so far it looks like fans are divided.
  • In my book, I interviewed Ink of Ani-Gamers about his Drunken Otaku column, which is fairly unique as columns go but pretty self-explanatory. You’ll be surprised at how often alcohol is a theme in anime.

Photo via TuxTeam

Frequently Asked Questions about Build Your Anime Blog

Writing

There’s nothing like the high that comes after a book launch. After having my nose to the grindstone for two months, I can finally celebrate and look ahead to a schedule full of exciting and diverse new projects that aren’t the book. No joke, I had a fantasy list of to-do items I would let myself start once the book was out—and am cheerfully doing those now.

However, I know from my friend, self publishing guru Nathan Meunier, that launching the book is just half of the work; after that comes promotion. The majority of my promotion fell on the same day as the launch—just look at all this press—but there’s still a little more to be said. I have been getting repeated questions about the book, and I’d like to take a moment to address them.

Q. I don’t have a Kindle. Does that mean I can’t buy your book?

A. This is so very far from the truth. I do not even own a Kindle myself. You can get the free Kindle app for your computer, tablet, or mobile device running Windows or iOS. It is a one click installation, and you can get it on the Amazon sales page for my book.

Here is a handy illustration showing you how to get the Kindle app instantly:

kindle_app

Q. I don’t want to use the Kindle App. Can I get an EPUB version for iBooks?

A. Buddy, I will give you whatever version you want. Just PayPal me $5.99 and put the format you’d like in an email to me or the PayPal comment line.

The reason I have made my books available exclusively in the Kindle store is so they will be entered into the Kindle Unlimited program, which means Amazon Prime members can read my book for free. I think that’s pretty cool, but as more and more people ask me for different formats, I am going to have to make some tough decisions soon.

Q: If I entered your contest last week, should I wait to buy the book in case I win?

A: Sorry, I already gave out three free copies to the winners, whom I notified on Friday when the book came out. That brings my total of book giveaways to 18, since I gave copies away to each of the bloggers I interviewed for the book, too, and one to a beta reader.

And yet, after all of those free copies, the book is still selling better than Otaku Journalism did at first. “If you love something, set it free” and all that!

Q. I really liked the book! How can I completely make your day in return?

A. You are the sweetest, hypothetical question asker! If you liked the book, the absolute kindest thing you could do for me is leave a review about it on the sales page.

Amazon’s algorithm kicks into gear and starts seriously promoting a book after it receives 10 reviews from readers. So if just nine more people review my book, Amazon will make it so the book gets a heck of a lot more visibility, which will ideally lead to more people discovering Build Your Anime Blog, and that’s my only goal as an author, really.

Thanks for humoring me while I prattle on about my book baby for just a bit longer. I’ll be back and writing your regularly scheduled otaku journalism soon.