Lessons Learned

Posted by Saluki in Stray Thoughts with Saluki | 3 comments

I can hardly believe that MVF is approaching its year anniversary.   In some ways it seems like we launched just yesterday, and in some ways it feels like we’ve went 12 rounds in the boxing ring.  Co-owning a website isn’t glamorous and it takes hard work, dedication, and a thick skin to keep grinding away every week.  But, despite the frustrations, being a part of MVF has been one of the best experiences of my life.

When Meesh, Sarah, Susan and I decided to launch MVF it was a spur of the moment decision.  While we each might have been thinking about starting our own site, we never really spoke about it until the site we had been working for folded.  At that point, we knew we wanted to go out on our own and start a website dedicated to the vampire genre.  We saw what went wrong and right at our previous site and knew we could take those lessons and create a dynamic, open, fun place to discuss the books and movies we love so much.  We also knew we wanted a platform for each of us to talk about what was on our minds and create an atmosphere where our readers could be free to agree or disagree with us without fear of being mocked or ridiculed.  So, Meesh and Sue started working furiously to get the site set up and looking pretty, while we all brainstormed on our vision for MVF.   It all came together so quickly that I think we were all a bit stunned when the first blog post went up.  We all kind of figuratively looked at each other and said, “WTF have we gotten ourselves into”.  I think I can speak for all of the co-owners when I say that we’ve gotten ourselves involved in a project that is truly a labor of love for each of us.

Since that first blog post, we have had our ups and downs navigating waters that haven’t always been smooth.  We are all very different – and opinionated – women.   But, when push comes to shove, we all support each other 100%.  I might not always agree with my fellow co-owners, but I’ve got their backs no questions asked because I believe what makes us work is our differences.  If we all agreed all the time…well, MVF would be a pretty boring place to be.

That being said, we have made mistakes.  We’ve said things that have been misinterpreted and made decisions that have been questioned.  Those are the times when we’ve really relied on our friendships to push on and not get discouraged.  It’s really hard to put your heart and soul into a project and hit those potholes without wondering if it is all worth it.  We’re five women with lives, careers and families outside of MVF.  We dedicate our free time to the site because we believe it brings value and a sense of belonging to the people that have joined us on this journey.  We don’t make any money off the site and we certainly aren’t doing it for popularities sake.  We do it because we love the freedom that reading and writing bring to each of our lives and we want to share it with anyone willing to stop by and spend a few minutes with us.

I say all of this to let you know that we all really do care about this site and about you, our readers.  We want to know what you like about MVF.  We want to know your ideas about how we can make the site better.  And, when we fumble, we want you to know it’s because we’re human, not because there is some greater scheme involved.  There is nothing we want more than to make MVF a site where everyone is welcome, ideas are exchanged, and our love of books is shared with the masses.   We want to be around for a long time – none of us would ever do anything intentionally to harm the reputation we have tried so hard to build.

So, thank you to all of our readers.  Some of you comment on our posts and contact us by twitter; many of you we don’t know yet, but hope to in the future.  In fact, we are going to be launching our own chat room as a way to bring all of our readers together and provide a venue for us to expand our friendships and continue discussions sparked on the blog.  Stay tuned for the official announcement.

Don’t be strangers!  Comment on the blog, our FB page, or on twitter.  We’re excited about the community we are building and encourage all of you to be an active part of it.  We don’t bite…I promise ;)