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It’s always nice to see my hit count spike when I post something people connect with. So, first of all, welcome to all the new visitors who’ve been coming to this blog. I hope you’ll stay and check out some of my other stuff. The best place to start is on one of the pages linked above — Best O’Blog (for my favorite posts from this blog) or Other Writing (for pieces published on other sites). You might also want to check out the About Me page for some background about the site and me in particular.

Because so many new people have been coming, I owe a big thank you to my regular visitors, who have obviously been kicking some serious tushie (that’s right – “tushie” – it’s a family blog) getting the word out. I don’t always see who’s sharing my posts on Twitter and Facebook or I’d thank you all individually (and if we’re not FB friends, I probably didn’t see your share at all). However, I do see how many people are sharing, and it’s more than just the friends I’m quietly bribing to link me, so I know some of you are doing it because you actually like my posts. Wow.

That being said, to the rest of you, I ask you to please join in and help spread the word. If you see something here that you find interesting/funny/informative/infuriating, please click the links at the end of each post that let you share the post easily on Facebook and Twitter. If you’re on Digg, Reddit StumbleUpon or some other site so hip I haven’t even heard of it yet, then link me there, too. (Reddit has been particularly kind to me lately.) Link me on your own blog, if you have one. Send out an email to your friends who you think might appreciate this blog. Most of my readers have found me through referrals from their social networks, so I really rely on that word of mouth to help my readership grow.

Please also like me on Facebook, follow me on Twitter and subscribe to the blog by providing your email in the right column where it says “Follow Blog Via Email”. (You’ll only get emails about new blog posts, no spam.)

And most of all, comment! I love hearing from readers, especially if they have nice things to say (but even sometimes if they don’t), and it helps me understand what people like and dislike about the posts so I can figure out what kind of content works best here.

Sorry for the hard sell. I promise not to do this too often, but as I’ve said before, I’m trying to get my memoir published, and the more hits and subscribers I get, the more interested publishers become. I don’t advertise on the site, and I don’t make any money from it, so when people help me bring in more readers, that’s all the payment I ask for.

I’ll be back soon with another regular post… and eventually, that redesign I’ve been teasing.

Thanks again for reading!

Here’s the deal. I’m not doing this to make money. I won’t be putting any ads on this site or asking for donations or anything like that. I’m doing this because I enjoy writing about myself and my life…

… OK, you caught me… and to promote the book I’m writing.

It’s a memoir, a funnyish look at the wacky, unpredictable path Drew and I took to parenthood. It may or may not end up being called Where Do Gaybies Come From? I have an awesome literary agent, and I’m hoping to have a manuscript she can shop around by next spring. It’s a lot of work, but it’s also the most gratifying and fun thing I’ve ever written.

But here’s the thing. Unless you’re someone big and important, like Snooki, it’s hard to get publishers to notice you. All they know of you is what they can find online. The best way to get published is to build up an online following. Twitter, Facebook, blog hits. They really look at those things.

So it’s not just out of pure narcissism that I’m asking you, if you like my blog, to help spread the word. You don’t even have to do much. As many of the following things as you’re comfortable doing, I would be extremely grateful for.

1. Like the Where Do Gaybies Come From? page on Facebook, if you haven’t already. There’s a button right here on this page. Over there, at the top right corner. See it? Please click it. Then you’ll hear about new posts in your Facebook timeline. There, that was easy, right?

2. Follow my Twitter account, Why Jerry Why. (90% fresh snark, 10% blog promotion!)

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3. Comment on my posts. I’ll read everything anyone writes, I’ll try to respond, and other people will be more likely to join in the conversation when they see your comments.

4. If you read something here you really like, please share it on Facebook. If it makes you laugh or you think your friends will appreciate it, then pass it on. This is the easiest and most effective way for me to get exposed to new people. If you haven’t seen something here yet that you like enough to share, then just you wait. Your favorite post will be coming soon.

5. Subscribe to the blog by entering your email address under where it says “Follow Blog Via Email”. You won’t get spammed, I promise. You will just be notified automatically via email every time I post something new here.

Many of you probably know more about the internet than I do, so if you’re on other social networking sites, then feel free to +1 me or Digg me or whatever, too. Go for it.

I can’t tell you how much I appreciate everyone coming here and checking the site out, and if that’s all you feel comfortable doing, then I thank you for that. Believe me, I feel as awkward writing this post as you might feel reading it. Just consider it like an NPR pledge drive, only nothing costs you money and I’m not giving out tote bags.

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