Master List of Progress Reports - 2011

2011: Year In Review

No new chapters posted again.

This was not a great year for writing, even though it started off on a high note.

I found out my site was listed in the #2 slot on Google for the keywords "lesbian fiction" (I still have no idea how that happened and it only lasted a few months).

I posted the revised version of Assassin, which while not being a new chapter still made me feel good that at least I'd finished revisions on something.

Then I decided I really needed to buckle down and get the site done, so there went my writing. But the site was so close and had been lingering near the finish line for so long. I felt like if I could just get it done, then I could focus on my writing without having the site hanging over my head.

Then my back threw a fit and I ended up on drugs that pretty much knocked me out or left me feeling like a zombie. I had to stay off the computer, so there went my writing again (and the site), though I did do a little research by watching documentaries and taking notes (for as long as I could stay awake, anyway).

There was more medical fun when I passed a couple kidney stones and ended up in the ER because the pain was so intense. That put me on even more drugs.

Then came the problems with my hosting provider. They kept changing things on the server that would make my site break, or rather would break the membership software I was using. They cost me weeks (months, really) of troubleshooting time, since it always took me so long to trace the problem back to them and get them to fix it. Finally, I'd had enough when they refused to fix what they'd broken, which made the membership software unable to accept PayPal payments (when it had worked fine the week before when I'd tested it). So I switched to HostGator and haven't really had any problems since (a few issues here and there, but they've fixed everything and even those issues never caused my site to stop working).

Unfortunately, switching servers meant I had to retest everything all over again, delaying the opening of the site yet again. I was originally going to open the site on August 1st, then the PayPal glitch happened, which now that I think about it, I'm so glad it happened when it did (and that I'm so thorough in my double-checking). It would've been a nightmare if it had happened after I'd opened the site. Talk about a bad first impression.

Oh, and while all that was going on, my wife's family pulled their usual crap, but this time my wife decided to stand up for herself, which got her the silent treatment. That was finally going too far for her and she formally severed ties with them, but instead of more silent treatment, she received harassing phone calls and a letter that was clearly intended to make her feel bad (put her in her place was my assessment). Thankfully, it didn't work, though it was extremely painful for her and a very stressful time for both of us, since we kept running into them at the chiropractor's office.

Moral of the Story

Change might be difficult and scary, but sometimes it's a good thing.

I'd been struggling with my hosting provider for years, trying to make it work because I was afraid of switching to something else and having it be worse. But when it finally got to the breaking point and I was forced to switch (or else give up on the idea of having a paid membership site), I ended up in a much better situation and getting what I'd wanted in the first place, which was a stable server that hosted my site properly.

And I know it was difficult for my wife to break away from her family after over fifty years of putting up with their crap (more like abuse), but I think taking that step to stand up for herself was one of the best things she's ever done for herself, and I'm very proud of her.