I’m not normally someone who likes change, but sometimes change can be great.
Some of you have known this for a couple of weeks now (if you follow me on Twitter): I was promoted to an Associate Editorial Director position within the children’s publishing company I’ve worked for since I graduated from college. This is an incredibly exciting (and just a little bit anxiety-inducing) change in my life, allowing me to take on new responsibilities and grow not just as an editor but as a leader, which is what I’ve always wanted from a job.
What does that mean for NGN? Hopefully not much. But I do want to prepare you for the fact that it might mean posts showing up later than usual as I deal with my new workload. However, I promise to keep producing the kind of content that’s brought you to this site in the first place. It might just take a little longer than before for that content to be produced.
For a long time I wrestled with the idea of doing what I do here at NGN professionally, but over the last week or so I’ve done a lot of soul-searching. And I’ve come to the conclusion that I like things the way they are now. Would it be great to get paid for running NGN? Of course. Who wouldn’t like making money writing exactly what they want to write how they want to write it. But I’m not sure I’d love it this much if it were my actual job. So for now, I’m going to enjoy the fact that I have a paying job doing something I like and a website I run for my own enjoyment that by some miracle of the Internet has become something other people enjoy, too.
As such, I’m going to continue to focus on doing the kind of writing I want to do here (because I do my best writing when I really love and believe in what I’m writing about), and that might mean content that doesn’t look the same as it had previously. For example, I think we can all agree that I’m not really a reviewer. I don’t like giving things grades or numbers of stars. I’m much happier analyzing the media I consume without really judging it in that way. This means there’s going to be a change in how I handle season finales. The “Grading the Season Finales” style of posting will be gone, and in its place will be my typical posting format for that show. And if a finale of a show that I don’t typically write about moves me to put my fingers to the keyboard, then I’ll be writing about it in whatever way I think makes the most sense.
And what do these changes mean for The Fan Mail Project? Nothing as of right now. I’m still working my way through editing and organizing all your wonderful letters in the best possible way to make this project shine for potential publishers. And while we’re talking about this project, if any of you would still like to write a letter or finish a letter you’ve started, I’d like to have everything in by Monday, May 9, so I can really start piecing the final product together on my road trip to Florida that week. So please let me know if you’re still interested in writing!
With big changes come big moments of gratitude, and I’m so thankful to all of you who’ve sent lovely messages my way after learning about my new job and to all of you who’ve stuck with me through all the changes NGN has gone through already. Thanks for coming along with me on this journey so far, and I’m excited to see what’s in store as I start a new adventure with all of you by my side!
Nerdy Girl Notes 
Congratulations on your promotion and good luck again with your Fan Mail Project!
Thank you so much!
That’s great news for you Katie! I think you made the right decision. It will make your writing on NGN so much better without the added stress of worrying about how it could make money for you. It’s not to say it couldn’t get to that point some day but for now it will hopefully take the pressure off. Congrats!!!
Thank you! I think you’re right about taking the pressure off. There’s a freedom that comes from writing how I want to write without thinking about how it could lead to (or get in the way of) future career options. For now, I want to put my energy into The Fan Mail Project and into being the best I can be at my new job, and in order for me to do that, NGN has to be a source of joy and not added stress. And I think this is the best way for me to keep it a place of positivity not just for others but for me too. 🙂
Congrats Katie, I’m so proud of you!! You absolutely deserve everything that is coming your way. I finally found a female character that I want to write a letter to so I’m hoping that writing that will be a fun way to get some creativity for the next few weeks! This community is one of the warmest most intelligent places on the internet and much of that is credit to the amazing creator.
Thank you so much for the kind words! I’m so glad you’ve found NGN to be such a warm place—we’re so happy to have you here! And I can’t wait to read your letter; I’m sure it’s going to be wonderful. 🙂
Katie:
I missed your announcement on Twitter. Congratulations!
Thank you! 😀
(I’ve been trying to post this since yesterday — hopefully it will go through this time . . .)
Katie!!! Congratulations, sweetie!
*throws confetti*
There shall be happy dancing and celebratory chocolate! We shall don our virtual Peggy hats and drink from virtual Doctoberfest mugs. The chocolate will be really, though. Completely, totally real chocolate.
Seriously, friend, sooooo happy for you.
On a purely selfish note, I’m glad you’re continuing NGN. Being paid for running NGN could mean some loss of creative control, and I love the creativity that you bring to this — which is evidenced by your decisions here. You’ve identified how your responses and analyses are different from others and focused on developing what makes your writing and your approach unique. The blog should evolve. You shouldn’t feel obligated to write certain types of posts because that’s what everyone else does or because you wrote those types of posts in the past. I loved what you did with Peggy Carter this year. You should have a space to play and try things out. There’s no need to duplicate what others are doing — do your own Katie thing.
Congrats again. Thanks for letting us share the ride!
Congrats again on the promotion Katie! Its nice when hard work does pay off and good things happen to good people ❤
I am with you in whatever form NGN takes. As someone with an embarrassing number of abandoned blogs, I have an incredible amount of respect for you that you have created the amount of content you have over the years. I think the key to any hobby blog is to make sure you are making yourself happy with what you are doing first.
Best wishes for the work and site transition! I am always here to help in anyway you need. We are your team!