"she was amazed that I am — for all intents and purposes — a complete nobody... in spite of the amount of time and effort I put into it."

That would be me too. I spend at least an hour and often 2 or 3, composing a post each day and I have a small following. But I don't do it for income (though that would be nice) but because I like having the reference of what I do each day. A memory because mine is in the Bermuda Triangle...