Reading and Writing

The Anson County Writers' Club in Wadesboro, NC sponsored their fourth annual writers' conference April 13th-14th with storytellers, authors, and writers as presenters throughout the two days. Authors Marjorie Hudson, Hope Clark, and Gary Carden were just three of the many who presented. I felt honored I too was a speaker. More info about the conference is available on the website http://www.ansoncountywritersclub.org/.

The topic I chose for my presentation was "A Writer's Journey." My writer's journey began in 2006 after the death of my dad, at which time I began writing poetry as a way of dealing with grief. That eventually led to writing a human interest column for a local newspaper, the Salisbury Post. Writing workshops, critique groups, networking on sites such as Linkedin.com., Twitter, and Facebook have helped me grow as a writer and develop my craft.

In 2010 I published my first book, Tired of My Bath. It didn't take long for me to realize publishing a book was not the end of the process, but only the beginning. Marketing must go hand in hand with publishing in order to be successful.

I have shared my books at schools, churches, organizations, book signings, and festivals. It's really fun to visit schools because you never know what children are going to say. I generally end my presentations with a motivational message, although I find I'm often the one motivated because of the energy I get from the audience.

Although marketing can be scary, it's well worth the effort. You never know who you might meet or what life you may have touched by sharing a little of yourself with others.

My Head Can't Hold All this Social Media Stuff

You probably think I've lost it. Well, I guess in a sense I have. I've lost all sense of balance in my life and wonder if I'll ever get it back. Learning how to facebook, twitter, hyperlink and blog all in a short period of time can cause anxiety.
I've been fortunate to have people in my life willing to help me, but unfortunately, many of the lessons mysteriously disappear in my brain shortly after. While it's true the info is supposed to still be there, I just don't know where.
One recent lesson that did stick was due to the patience of a wonderful teacher, Stacy Jones, during a Social Media Workshop at Press 53 in Winston-Salem, NC. Stacy is the Director of the Center for Creative Writing at Press 53, and she's also a talented writer who has had various experiences working with publishers throughout the United States. At the workshop she taught me how to hyperlink. After a couple of weeks of experimenting, some of my blogs are now color coded in black and blue.
Writers have opportunities to come to the Center for Creative Writing at Press 53 to learn, grow and share experiences through workshops and critiquing groups. Last month I took advantage of one of these opportunities and enjoyed a meal with two Press 53 authors, Valerie Nieman, author of Blood Clay, and Marjorie Hudson, author of Accidental Birds of the Carolinas. Listening to their excitement about their new novels, it was obvious that they not only enjoy the process of writing, but also enjoy seeing a story as it develops on the page waiting for others to read. It was a wonderful night of interaction shared by all.
I also learned from Stacy when writing a blog get to the point and keep it short. How did I do?

The Journey Continues

My journey through the social media continues, with updates and new gadgets I never knew existed before just a couple of weeks ago. I am grateful to all my friends for their help and have listed some of them in previous blogs. My latest appreciation goes to a young lady who's in business for herself and doing quite well because of her savvy on the internet.

She's in the Avon business and has give aways quite frequently on her Avon page. This young lady's name is Rebecca Chobalt. Check her out on facebook, and you might even win some Avon products. She was kind enough to help me set up my giveaway for my first children's book,Tired of My Bath, suggesting the giveaway should last for two weeks. At the end of the contest the computer will choose the winner, with my responsibility being only to notify the person. The giveaway for my bookpage is a free children's book about a little boy who doesn't want to take a bath. Most families can relate to this story. Anyone recommending the bookpage, Tired of My Bath, wins if their friend wins.

Well, I thought surely I needed to add a gas card or something to this free giveaway. Rebecca in our wisdom, said, "No, the book is enough." She was right because I began having people go to the bookpage and liking it. I couldn't believe I was seeing people from as far away as Alaska and Hawaii. I became like a kid in a candy store because I couldn't wait until the next day to see how many more likes I would get on that day.

I plan to have another give-away as soon as this one ends. Even though the social media is an exciting place to be, I have to remember balance and moderation are key. Facebook, twitter, and blogging only promote my books and writing. They don't write them for me. Maybe one day....

Starting Over: Part Three

This is the third blog on my journey through the social media maze. Along the way, I've had friends who've given me suggestions of things to do that would make this journey a little easier. I used the metaphor of riding a bicycle in part one of starting over, and how comforting it is to have training wheels. I have the same feeling with this ride, only now, my friends are the training wheels. They have kept me from falling off. There are friends like Donna Hogue, owner of On Second Thought Consignment, who helped me navigate facebook, and coachpeg who gave me advice on what to include in my script.

I'm starting to feel a little more self assured, but know I have a long way to go. My newest adventure has been twitter, and through twitter I've found blogs that have been helpful. One of those is Derek Haines' blog, which includes tips for writers.

It seems reasonable that most people have blogs because they want to market something. In the early days, that may not have been true, but today most are marketing something. One of Derek's suggestions was to make sure to write a professional bio. After reading that suggestion, I took another look at mine, and saw places I could improve.

Another suggestion was to be patient. That for me is probably the hardest. I guess I'm trying to learn, in just a few short weeks, what most writers have been learning over many years. I recently published a children's book, "Tired of My Bath," and know a part of the writing process has to be marketing. I feel like because the internet is so big, and I'm so little, I've been spinning my bicycle in the sand. Taking Derek's suggestion to heart, I thought of the story of the turtle and the hare. Slow and steady wins the race. If I burn myself out before the race even starts, then I'm no good to anyone.

There have been some rewards along the way that have been pretty cool and unexpected. Just in the last week, I've made connections with a singer-songwriter of country-music, Billy Sidwell. He has just released a CD, and can be found on facebook and twitter. I also made connections with a novelist, Jay Squires. He's working on a novel, "Death in the Dimension of Solstice," which should be out by the end of the year.

Twitter, facebook, and blogging all require time and hard work. In order to get to where I want to be, though, I have to get on this bicycle and ride. Along the way, if I can stop and help anyone, as others have helped me, just let me know. Maybe I can include you in the next blog.