Dear Readers:

On Oct. 19, 2006, I began my adventure in online writing with a short post via which I informed readers I would use this space to “share bits of my unique brand of humor and touch on a variety of subjects including — but not limited to — politics, shopping carts, sports and women.”  Today, I think I can say I’ve done just that.  Now, it’s time to move on.

Among the more than 4,500 posts I’ve published, more than 400 fell under the humor banner.  They ranged from an early effort about products that make scrapbooking easy to a recent effort via which I introduced readers to a new Barack Obama-inspired board game, SPREAD THE WEALTH AROUND.

On the subject of politics, I published more than 3,500 posts.  The first noteworthy effort in this category highlighted the fictitious “Apostrophe T” that many Americans probably wish would have really happened.  A more-recent piece, President Obama’s ‘Brownshirts’ May Be Closer to Smashing Down Your Front Door Than You Think, focused on the unintended consequences of voters not getting behind the fictitious anti-McCain effort.

Though online articles about shopping carts are rare, my long-time readers know I’ve published more than one.  I published the first, Racing Technology Makes Grocery Shopping Fun Again, on my first day of operation.  Almost 17 months later, I published the second one, ‘Cart Whisperer’ Next in Great Line of Whisperers, that included the video below.

When it comes to sports, my coverage began in March 2007 with news about a sportswriter joining the GLOBULL WARMING crowd.  It concluded a few weeks ago with a post about one of my favorite sports teams, the Oklahoma Sooners, being ranked #1 in a preseason college football poll.  Though I ended up publishing more than 150 sports-related posts, I must admit that most of them were published for purely-selfish reasons.

Finally, I have no idea why I wrote that I would include “women” as one of the topics about which I would report.  Nevertheless, I did report on the activities of some women, including Sarah Palin (166 posts), Hillary Clinton (134 posts) and Michelle Obama (18 posts).  My favorite headline ever about a woman was published May 13, 2008:  Online Poll: ‘Is Michelle Obama a Nagger?’

Did I learn anything while writing and publishing approximately 2.5 posts per day, seven days a week, 365 days per year?  Yes, I did!  For instance:

I learned a lot about the behind-the-scenes work involved in running a website.  When I began this process, I knew next to nothing about any kind of code (i.e., html, keywords, plugins, tags, widgets, etc.).  Compared to many folks, however, I still know nothing.

I learned a lot about branding.  Specifically, I learned that “The Ultimate Blogging Machine” tagline in my banner connected well with BMW, the three-letter acronym for Bob McCarty Writes, but did little to help my credibility in the new media marketplace.  Neither did the caricature that helped promote the stereotype of a blogger being someone who sits in the basement of his parents’ house with a laptop on his lap.  [Note: Unlike the folks who make the blogger stereotype a reality, however, I have a journalism degree, decades of professional writing experience and own my own home. Where I write while inside my home is nobody's business!]

I learned that, despite seeing this site rank among the Top 100 Conservative websites on more than a few occasions, converting traffic into revenue is an art and science unto itself.  Those who can make their living online and without being subsidized by a corporate sugar daddy have my respect.

Most importantly, I learned my real passion lies in writing novel-length nonfiction. During the past 18 months, I’ve spent an ever-increasing amount of time conducting interviews, doing research and, finally, writing a nonfiction book about Sergeant First Class Kelly A. Stewart, an Army Special Forces soldier, and his fight for military justice.

On Oct. 18, the adventure known as Bob McCarty Writes will end.  Soon after, my next big adventure will begin.  I hope you’ll come along for the ride.

More details soon.

UPDATE 9/29/11 at 8:18 p.m. Central:  Three Days In August.

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