mindpollution.org

March 1 marked the end of my first full month on the job at ComicMix, and though I worry about the jinx of saying so, it seems as if things are going well thus far. Traffic has nearly doubled, the pool of contributors is expanding, and the word from friends and professional colleagues is that they enjoy what they’re seeing on the site.

My first month was dominated by blogging - both on my own and by bringing new contributors into the ‘Mix. There’s a satisfying momentum that’s developed with that aspect of the site now, so it feels like we’re on the right track. I’m devoting the next month to getting the ball rolling on interviews, reviews and more expanded editorial content of that nature. There’s a lot of work going on behind the scenes, too, so I’m hoping that the redesigned elements of the site and all of the editorial momentum we establish will intersect around the same time and create a very, very nice package.

As I mentioned earlier, blogging was a big part of last month’s to-do list. Part of that responsibility continues to involve building a reliable stable of contributors. I’m terribly biased, of course, but I feel like I’ve assembled a pretty darn good crew at the ‘Mix thus far. In fact, I’ve discovered (or, in some cases, re-discovered) some writers that regularly impress the hell out of me in one way or another. Sometimes it’s their writing that I admire, sometimes it’s their work ethic and sometimes it’s just their ability to learn on the fly and adapt to an evolving site and the pace I’m trying to keep with it.

Like always, I set a few goals for myself with respect to the pool of contributors. I gave myself 30 days to establish a good, basic foundation of 4-6 contributors, and a 60-day goal to bring in enough contributors to feel confident that, if I decide to take a week off, everything will end up on the site that should be there. With 30 days down, I feel like I’m right on target. Hoo-rah for goals, eh? I’m still looking to bring in more contributors, so if you know someone who fits the bill, put them in touch with me.

Of course (and I’m going to digress here a bit), the process of finding new contributors is made a bit easier when Wizard keeps making bone-headed decisions regarding freelancers. In recent weeks, I’ve heard from a number of contributors who are pretty annoyed with having all of their work “disappeared” from the Wizard website there without any explanation or response to their questions. While it’s always nice to hear from them (and be able to offer them more reliable work, in some cases) it bugs me to no end that they’ve lost all of their interviews, columns and other clips they accumulated prior to the redesign. Since I’m one of the editors who initially recruited many of these contributors and worked with them to develop their writing, it’s especially frustrating.

It’s amazing how much your frame of reference can change over time, though. During my time with Wizard, there were questions hovering over the heads of everyone around me, every single day. Who would be “let go” today? Would I still have a job at the end of the day? If I can’t stay late to finish this, will I be fired? As you might expect, that constant pressure often affected relationships with fellow employees, creators, publishers and, quite often, the contributors. To be honest, I had forgotten what it was like not to have the constant pit in one’s stomach that this type of environment creates.

Now, however, one of the aspects of the ComicMix position I appreciate the most is that I end up putting in long hours because I enjoy what I’m doing - not because I’m being psychologically whipped or afraid I’ll be fired if I take a lunch break. Thankfully, these days I feel like I’m planting a massive, Internet-sized garden instead of building a better bomb.

And so, with that last analogy in mind, here’s the part where I hope for a good harvest, folks. As always, thanks for all of your support along the way.