I used to work with someone who was disgusted at those who Google themselves. She felt it was unseemly and a waste of time. I disagree. As a writer trying to build a platform, you’ve got to know if you’re making an impact. In the days before, say, the 1980s, you sent your material to a print publisher and they did the work. They advertised, distributed, and tried to make sure it would sell. It is no longer so. Today a writer must promote their own material, even with big publishers. You must make yourself known. And so I Google myself. And there is a kind of logic to it. I’ve published with six different journals. To my limited imagination, that means six places have, on occasion, liked what I produce. When I want to submit something for publication, I wonder which of the six might like it. I also wonder which of the six will get viewed. Google tends to put the pages with the most hits at the top. B...
Blog of a struggling writer.