See Jane Write Archives

Archive of ‘See Jane Write’ category

My FOCUS for the Week

You can do it all, but not all at once.

That’s a lesson I’ve been learning the hard way through the years.

Today I sent a message to the members of See Jane Write encouraging them to get focused. I encouraged them to get focused on just one goal for the week and not feel guilty for putting all others on hold.

I’m going to practice what I preach. My goal for this week is to sell out the upcoming See Jane Write Bloganista Mini-Con presented by Laura Vincent Printing & Design.

If you’d like to follow along to see what I’m doing to promote the conference, visit SeeJaneWriteBham.com/blog for daily posts. I’ll also be posting conference-related stuff on my personal Instagram account at @writeousbabe.

What is your focus this week?

branding See Jane Write

Tips for Your First TV Appearance

From my latest TV appearance. If you’d like to see me in action, you can view the segment here for a limited time.

I always encourage the writers and bloggers I coach to pitch a segment idea to local TV media. And, not to brag or anything but… after using the tips I give them on how to pitch their idea they usually email me saying “I’M GOING TO BE ON TV!” (Click here to check out those tips.)

But about five minutes after sending that email they send another that reads something like this: “OMG! I’M GOING TO BE ON TV! WHAT WAS I THINKING?!?! I CAN’T DO THIS! I’M FREAKING OUT!”

If you’re a few days away from your first TV appearance and you’re having similar anxious thoughts, here are a few tips to help things go smoothly:

Practice, but not too much. Write down five questions you think a reporter might ask based on the topics you presented in your pitch. Now write down your answers to these questions. (Some TV stations will actually request that you do this and ask that you send your questions and answers to their producers.) Read over what you wrote a few times. Now get your spouse, significant other, best friend or blogging or business buddy to interview you using the questions you wrote, but also get them to throw in a few questions that aren’t on your list so you’ll have practice responding to questions off the cuff. WARNING: Don’t try to memorize every word you’ll say. If you do that you’ll sound too rehearsed and come off as inauthentic.

Choose your outfit the night before. You don’t want to feel rushed and frazzled the morning of your big television debut because you couldn’t figure out what to wear. So be sure you have your entire outfit prepped and ready to go the night before your segment. Not sure what to wear? Bright colors are best, but avoid white. Wear something that makes you feel both comfortable and confident. And remember — you have to look the part to get the role. So if you’re going on TV to give tips to aspiring entrepreneurs because you want to be a business coach, you need to look like you run something! If you’re giving fashion tips, that should be obvious the moment you walk on set and you better be the most stylish person in the room.

Arrive early, but not too early. Leave your home and head to the station early enough that you will be on time even if there’s a wreck on the road and you get stuck in traffic. But don’t get there so early that you have 90 minutes to stew in your nervousness before your segment begins.

Make small talk… or not. I’m an extrovert so talking to other people at the station — whether folks who work there or other people waiting to be interviewed — calms me. But the idea of talking to even more strangers may make you want to puke. If that’s the case, head to the restroom for some alone time before your segment. Figure out what works best for you based on your personality. And if you’re a spiritual person be sure to wake up early enough that you can get in your daily spiritual practice. This will also help you feel more centered and calm.

Forget about the cameras. OK, stop laughing. I know this sounds impossible. But try your best to just pretend you’re having a conversation with the person interviewing you and forget that you’re on TV. Most likely your segment is on something that you’re very passionate about, something you probably talk to people about all the time. Just pretend this is another one of those times when someone has shown interest in this passion of yours and wants to know more because actually that’s exactly what this is!

What tips would you offer to folks preparing for their first TV appearance?

PS – Today I was on a show called Talk of Alabama to promote some upcoming See Jane Write events. Click here to see the segment and if you’re in Birmingham I hope you’ll join us for the Bloganista Mini-Con presented by Laura Vincent Printing and Design and the Bloganista Mixer presented by Collage Designer Consignment.

blogging See Jane Write The Writeous Babe Project

Are You a Goal Digger?

Are you a goal digger? I am.

Lately, many people have adopted a too cool for school attitude about New Year’s resolutions. Some folks think setting goals at the start of the year is a waste of time. You won’t accomplish them anyway, right?

WRONG!

I think it’s a great idea to set goals at the start of the year. It’s such a great way to get motivated and re-energized.

Earlier this month on WriteousBabe.com, I shared some of my resolutions in the blog post “Resolutions for Writeous Babes.”

I also shared my feminist New Year’s resolutions in my January column for B-Metro magazine.

I must confess, though, that there was a time when every December I would compile a list of 99 things — yes, 99 things! — that I wanted to achieve the following year. As you might have guessed, I didn’t accomplish most of these. Many were forgotten by April!

But I have finally developed an efficient and effective goal-setting process that has helped me accomplish so many of my personal and professional aspirations.

Last week on WriteousBabe.com, I shared five mistakes that you might be making when setting goals. These are five mistakes I often made until recently.

This week I had the honor of hosting a goal-setting workshop for some members of See Jane Write, the network for women writers, bloggers and entrepreneurs that I run in Birmingham. I had a blast walking these ladies through my personal goal-setting process. It was such a joy to see them establish lofty aspirations of their own.

If you need help setting your goals for 2015, consider enrolling in my time management e-course How to Write and Have a Life. This course features lessons on goal-setting and drafting vision statements because having clear and specific goals is one of the best ways to make the most of your time.

Write on, goal diggers!

B-Metro blogging freelancing See Jane Write WBHM Write Like a Girl

Currently: The Writer’s Edition

Currently is a feature Dani Hampton of Sometimes Sweet and several other bloggers I follow occasionally post on their sites. Currently is essentially a list of what you’re into at the moment and is a great way for your readers to get to know you better. Earlier this year I decided to start doing Currently posts with a twist — Currently:The Writer’s Edition.

Freelancing for Birmingham Magazine. Be sure to check out this month’s issue which includes a profile I wrote on Shella Sylla, the founder of SisterGolf. SisterGolf is an amazing program that teaches women how to play golf and how to use golf to network and enhance their business relationships.

Brainstorming ideas for business. I haven’t been doing much personal blogging lately because much because most of my attention has been growing See Jane Write. I even have a business coach now. That sounds so fancy! I’m working hard to build See Jane Write into a profitable, but meaningful business that truly empowers women who write.

Pitching to WBHM. Each month I’m pitching story ideas to my city’s NPR affiliate. Each month you can find a new blog post by yours truly on WBHM.org. And on the last Friday of each month you can catch me on the air at 90.3 FM (or on the website if you don’t live in Birmingham) discussing my latest post. Last month I wrote about how despite the fact that I’m 33, the women who inspire me most are under the age of 21. For this piece I interviewed one of my former students who recently launched her own magazine. Color me proud!

And speaking of being proud, I must say that out of all my writing endeavors the one that makes me most proud right now is my column for B-Metro magazine — Write Like a Girl. Each month I write a personal essay on women’s empowerment and through this column I feel I’ve produced some of my best work. In this month’s column I examine the intersection of feminism and faith.

Blogging about #bloglikecrazy. Every year I challenge the ladies of See Jane Write to publish a new blog post every day for 30 days in November. I call this challenge #bloglikecrazy. This year, for the first time, I’ll be publishing my #bloglikecrazy posts at the See Jane Write blog and I’m hosting a #bloglikecrazy kick-off workshop on November 1. To learn more visit the #bloglikecrazy page at SeeJaneWriteBham.com.

What’s going on in your writing life?

*Originally posted at WriteousBabe.com.

See Jane Write

Hear Jane Speak on Biz Talk Radio

In the WAGG studio with Roy Williams recording my segment for Biz Talk

Be sure to tune in to WAGG Heaven 610 AM today from 3 to 3:30 p.m. I’ll be on Roy Williams’ radio show Biz Talk discussing blogging, See Jane Write and the upcoming Bloganista Mini-Conference.

You can also stream the show at http://www.610wagg.com.

If you haven’t registered for the conference yet, don’t delay. We have less than 20 tickets remaining.

You can get your tickets today at thebloganistaconference.eventbrite.com.

Check out Meet the Bloganistas to learn more about our speakers and read about our sponsors to learn what door prizes you could win at the event.

Originally posted at SeeJaneWriteBham.com.

See Jane Write See Jane Write Magazine speaking

Join See Jane Write at the Birmingham Authors Expo

Birmingham writers, mark your calendars for Saturday, Feb. 1. On this day the Birmingham Public Library will present its annual Local Authors Expo. This expo gives local authors an opportunity to sell their books, network with other writers, and attend free workshops. This year, See Jane Write will present a workshop on how authors can use social media to reach readers and promote their work.

The See Jane Write social media workshop, set for 1 p.m., will be led by yours truly and authors Stephanie Naman and Kathryn Lang. Naman, author of the novel Murder on the First Day of Christmas, has not only had great success with social media networks such as Twitter and Pinterest but she also blogs as the main character of her book at Chloe Gets a Clue. Naman will discuss best practices for blogging and using social media. Lang, who has published ten books, has a knack for helping people develop self-marketing plans that get to the heart of their writing goals. She will share her writing wisdom at the session, too.

I’m also quite excited about the morning workshop “How to Write While Having a Life.” This session is set for 10 a.m. and will be led by young adult author and full-time teacher Anne Riley. Riley will explain how to make writing a book a manageable task when you also have a job and a family.

See Jane Write Magazine contributor Chanda Temple had a chat with Riley and the prolific author shared that one of the best pieces of writing advice she’s ever received is “Write the book you want to read.”

Saturday she’ll share tips on how to actually find time to do so.

You can read Temple’s entire interview with Riley at See Jane Write Magazine.

The Birmingham Public Library Local Authors Expo will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 1 at the Central branch of the Birmingham Public Library, located at 2100 Park Place in downtown Birmingham. Nearly 100 authors will be on site selling their books. This event is free and open to the public. For more information visit bplonline.org.

*Originally published at SeeJaneWriteBham.com on January 27, 2014.