It's no secret I am always striving to be a better person. Both personally and professionally. Someone I have long admired is Ree Drummond, who seems to balance many demands of her life exceedingly well. Her blog and website is in short, amazing. According to Federated Media her website has 22 million page views monthly.
For those of you who may not know Ree her bio on her blog reads:
"I'm the wife of a rugged cowboy. I'm the mother of four spirited children. I have horse poop on my porch. I'm Ree Drummond, also known as The Pioneer Woman. You can read more about my adventures, my cooking, and my photography on my crazy website”
She very kindly agreed to be interviewed on my blog and I am delighted to welcome her here today.Given everything you juggle, including homeschooling 4 gorgeous kids, photographing MM in his chaps, as well as your recipes and blogging itself, can you please, please tell us how you manage your time?
This is a multi-faceted answer. First, I think our life in the country (and our life as a homeschooling family) actually helps me maintain a certain momentum at home. Sometimes days go by without my getting in the car and going anywhere, and that leaves a lot more time at home for the things I want and need to do.
Second, since my husband's a rancher and doesn't leave "for the office" all day, we're together---off and on---pretty much 24 hours a day. He helps me in innumerable ways, taking the kids to soccer practice, taking them to work with him, picking up things on his way back through town, etc. I couldn't do what I do without him.
Another factor---one I'm always eager to point out---is that I'm not much of a "Type A" personality. I don't follow a set schedule, and I don't come unglued if I don't get everything done on any given day. And in fact, I never get everything done. On the contrary, I usually go to bed with no fewer than twenty significant loose ends I've left untied. But I'm so ready for bed, I don't let it bother me!
Let’s talk about your cookbook. You’ve likened writing it to the process of childbirth. Tell us a bit about the steps that went into putting it together.
The cookbook really came about as a result of a chance phone meeting with an editor at William Morrow. We had a mutual friend who introduced us, and we intended just to have a brief conversation about a possible cookbook idea, then stay in touch after that. Instead, we hit it off right away and very quickly struck a deal (with no agent involved!) to do a cookbook together. She understood from the get-go what I was trying to do (a fun, slice-of-life cookbook) and what I was not trying to do (be a serious culinary personality) and she really let me put together the cookbook I had in mind.
Writing the cookbook while also trying to maintain my cooking website was very difficult, as I had a hard time keeping things exclusive---"saving recipes" in other words---for the cookbook. I would make something for the cookbook, then save it for a couple of weeks...then, invariably, I couldn't stand not sharing it and I'd put it online. In addition, I had a bit of a learning curve with the publishing world in general---there are more space limitations, cost considerations, and other things that you have to fight in order for it not to affect your content and voice. But that's true with any published author, I'm sure.
Aside from that, it was such a fun experience and I was proud of my cookbook. And now that I have that experience under my belt, the process of doing my second cookbook has been very smooth and enjoyable. It's not all so new this time.
Clearly you have a phenomenal readership. Do you have a particular reader (real or imagined) in mind when you write?
I've said this time and time again, but I really do feel like I'm still writing to a close, intimate group of people. I don't necessarily have one reader in mind---more of an amalgam. I feel a relationship with the people who read my site. I always have.
Is there a downside to having such a large readership?
I think if you're on the internet at all---whether your site is large or small---most of the internet-related downsides are the same. But again, since I feel such a kinship with my readership, I don't really feel like I have a large audience. That's the honest-to-goodness truth!
Do you have any other social media open when you write, or is your focus completely on your blog or recipe section, depending on your focus at the time?
No, I always have forty thousand tabs open at once! I'll work on a long cooking post while occasionally answering an email. Then I'll get up and do a school subject with the kids. Then I'll remember the unfinished cooking post and go work on that, but before I start, I'll tweet about something weird the kids did while we were homeschooling. Then I'll remember the email I forgot to answer earlier, then I'll post on Home & Garden about a pair of earrings. Then I'll get up and chase a cow out of my yard. Then I'll write a Facebook status that I just chased a cow out of my yard. Sometime around midnight, I'll remember to finish my cooking post.
You wrote a list “Ten Important Things you’ve learned about blogging.” Blogging is really taking off here in Australia. What advice would you give to us here about blogging, based on your experience?
I think that list still reflects the advice I'd give new (or even seasoned) bloggers. Blogging is a muscle, and you need to exercise it regularly in order to become stronger. Blogging is a precious flower, and you need to water it frequently in order for it to live.
(I'll stop with the metaphors now!)
Thank you so much Ree for your time.
