Looking Back and Looking Forward - 5 Years of Blogging

Five years ago I was querying my first manuscript, feeling lost and like I would never amount to anything as a writer. I was desperately seeking acceptance and validation that I wasn't wasting my time. I looked for feedback and entered contests whenever I could trying to improve and learn. And while all of this was important to my writing journey, there was one thing that was missing that I didn't know I desperately needed.

Community

When I entered contests in 2013, there was a strong kidlit community, but it's primary focus was on young adult literature. And while I love young adult and frequently write it, I have always had a soft spot for middle grade. It's the time where you're trying to find your way and find your people. And coincidentally there wasn't a lot of avenues or organized communities for middle grade writers at the time.

So a group of us middle grade writers entering contests found each other decided we wanted to share our journey, our advice, and create a community for middle grade. And thus Middle Grade Minded was born. When we started this journey five years ago, I never imagined that this blog would still be here, let alone have the traction it has.

In five years we've had 17 different regular blog contributors, and countless guest bloggers, who have generated nearly 450 posts including interviews, cover reveals, reviews, and so much more. But we wouldn't be here without our readers, so checkout the stats below that you all have directly contributed to.

• Over 175 blog followers
• Readers from over 80 countries
• Over 230,000 page views
• Thousands of comments
• Over 3,000 Twitter followers

But the numbers while impressive, aren't the most important thing. The most amazing thing is the strong community of enthusiasm that has formed around middle grade literature. The stories and books we've shared with other writers, teachers, librarians, and most importantly kids. And none of it would have been possible without Middle Grade Minded.

While in a lot of ways my personal journey is in the same spot it was five years ago, back in the query trenches after my agent left agenting for another publishing job, I have something now that I didn't have when this blog began... A strong middle grade focused community that is passionate about the things that really matter, making great books happen and getting them into the hands of kids who deserve them. And for that support system I am eternally grateful. I wouldn't know where I would be today without each and every one of you.