What do you want for Christmas?

It’s that time of year again when my close family and friends ask me what I want for Christmas and that time of year when I annoy them all by answering “December 26.”

Those who know me best know I’m not a huge fan of Christmas — a holiday that I believe drives individuals into debt and families into arguments — but I digress. I won’t bore you with my Bah! Humbug! routine.

Each year I appease my loved ones who are patient enough to actually want to buy gifts for a Scrooge like me by writing a blog post that I typically call the Writeous Babe Wish List. My hope is that it will give my family and friends some guidance on how to shop for me and give my readers some ideas of how to shop for the writeous babes in their lives.

Rookie Yearbook One, Two and Three

Rookie Yearbook 3

Even though I’m 33 years old one of the women I admire most in life isn’t old enough to drink. Eighteen-year-old Tavi Gevinson is the young woman behind Rookie Mag, an online magazine for teen girls. Each year, she publishes in book form a collection of the website’s best pieces from the past 12 months. She calls the collection the Rookie Yearbook. Because I’m still a girl at heart, I would like Santa to bring me all three editions.

Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay

bad-feminist-roxane-gay

This collection of essays by Roxane Gay has been on my “must read” list since it was published back in August. I’d love to kick off 2015 reading Bad Feminist.

Kate Spade iPad Case

kate spade ipad case

I need a new iPad case and this Kate Spade iPad case needs a new home.

Gift Cards

You can never go wrong with gift cards.

In 2015 I’m going to attempt to run 1200 miles. This means 100 miles a month. This also means I’ll be giving Fleet Feet half my paycheck as I replace running shoes and gear throughout the year. Help a sister out with some Fleet Feet gift cards.

teaching classy

And speaking of gift cards, I plan to revamp my wardrobe in 2015, too. Support the cause with gift cards from The Limited so I can snag some Olivia Pope inspired couture and gift certificates from ModCloth so I can get some fabulous frocks like the one pictured above.

What’s on your holiday wish list?

Did I hear you on NPR yesterday?

mynameisjavacia

For about a year and a half now I’ve had the honor of writing a monthly column for WBHM 90.3 FM, Birmingham’s NPR station. And for the past year, in addition to writing for WBHM.org I also discuss my post for the month on air.

This month’s essay is about learning to love my name and learning to be proud of where I’m from.

Having a name like Javacia isn’t easy. When I introduce myself to people they typically look at me as if I’m a green girl from Mars. And there was a time when I worried that my unique name could be a liability. One look at my name and you know I’m black and I’ve been told that some potential employers might not hire me because of that. In my WBHM post I discuss how becoming a writer changed how I viewed my name.

Being from Birmingham isn’t easy either. People who’ve never stepped foot in the state of Alabama think they know what Birmingham is all about and criticize my Magic City. And to make matters worse, some Birmingham residents are ashamed of their home. But just as I had to respect my name before I could expect other people to do so, we must be proud of our city if we ever want perceptions of Birmingham to improve.

Visit WBHM.org to read my post and listen to my radio segment.

 

Each day in November for #bloglikecrazy I’ll be publishing a blog post that answers your questions about blogging, social media, writing, wellness or women’s empowerment. Send your questions to javacia@seejanewritebham.com.

 

Have you heard the new Beyonce songs?

Beyonce Ring Off
Image by Caroline Delaney via Flickr/Creative Commons

If you know me well you know I am a huge Beyonce fan. So I felt like a kid on Christmas morning when I heard that two new songs from her upcoming platinum edition of Beyoncé  had leaked.

Initially, I was rather underwhelmed by “7/11,” an unremarkable club track that just reminded me why I no longer go clubbing.

But I must admit that the video is ridiculously fun and makes me want to plan a girls trip ASAP.  The more I watch the video, the more “7/11” grows on me. Beyonce, what kind of spell do you have on me?!

The better of the two songs, by far, is “Ring Off.” In this loving lyric to her mother, Bey sings about how she now understands the struggles of being in a failing marriage and acknowledges the sacrifices her mother made through the years:

You used to dress and fix your hair/ then you’d smile through your tears/ In the mirror you would stare and say a prayer/ like I wish he said I’m beautiful/ I wish it didn’t hurt at all/ I don’t know how I got here/ I was once the one who had his heart…

But this is no sad love song. Beyonce declares that that Ms. Tina has taken that “ring off” and now “the fun begins” and she “can love again” and now she’s happier than ever.

Click here to check out both songs for yourself.

 

Each day in November for #bloglikecrazy I’ll be publishing a blog post that answers your questions about blogging, social media, writing, wellness or women’s empowerment. Send your questions to javacia@seejanewritebham.com.

How can I get more involved with See Jane Write?

Christina-J.-Wade

How can I get more involved with See Jane Write? — that is a question I love to hear!

Being a part of See Jane Write is quite simple. Here are 3 easy things you can do:

1) Sign up for our weekly newsletter. This is the best way to stay up-to-date about upcoming events and other opportunities. If you’re not receiving the weekly newsletter click here to sign up now.

2) Actually read the newsletters. Look, I get it. You probably receive hundreds of email messages a day and so those messages in the “Promotions” folder of your Gmall account are often ignored. But missing a newsletter could mean missing an event (or even an announcement about a job opportunity). For example, at the beginning of the month I hosted a four-hour blogging workshop to kick off #bloglikecrazy. Because I wanted to give the workshop attendees hands-on, one-on-one help, there were only 10 spaces available. See Jane Write members were informed of this workshop first and then those who subscribe to the See Jane Write newsletter. The workshop sold out in less than 48 hours. Afterwards, I received several emails from women who wanted to attend the workshop but said they didn’t find out about the event until after all the tickets were gone. And some of these women subscribe to the newsletter. I felt awful that I couldn’t make room for them. But this story illustrates why it’s important to not only subscribe to the newsletter, but to make time to read it, too.

members only jacket
Image by Jessica Quirk via Flickr/Creative Commons

3) Become an official member. Currently, membership is $25 per year but membership rates will increase beginning December 31. Advantages to membership include an opportunity for early registration for limited seating events, invitations to special members-only events and workshops, and discounted tickets to See Jane Write conferences. Additionally, perks such as job opportunity announcements, discounts to local blogging and social media conferences, and other special offers frequently extended to See Jane Write are available to members. Right now I’m also offering premium membership for $100 per year which will get you all the benefits of basic membership plus four one-on-one consultations with me about blogging, freelance writing, or social media. I will not longer offer premium memberships beginning December 31. Click here to apply for basic or premium membership.

 

Each day in November for #bloglikecrazy I’ll be publishing a blog post that answers your questions about blogging, social media, writing, wellness or women’s empowerment. Send your questions to javacia@seejanewritebham.com.

 

What is Bloglovin’?

bloglovin

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Guess what, gals! See Jane Write is now on Bloglovin’. I signed up my personal blog, The Writeous Babe Project, for Bloglovin’ years ago and forgot about it. But today decided to add this site as well and to pay more attention to my ranking and feed.

Bloglovin’ is a website (and mobile app) that helps you keep up with your favorite blogs. It aggregates feeds from the sites you want to follow and can help you discover new blogs to check out as well. Tonight I had to wait for a half hour between appointments and didn’t have a computer in front of me. So I pulled out my phone, pulled up my Bloglovin’ app and used that time to catch up on some of my favorite blogs.

Bloglovin’ is a great way to spread the word about your blog as well and a good way to encourage people to read your posts. Sign up for a Bloglovin account to get started. (Chances are, your blog already exists on Bloglovin’. Click here to learn how to claim your blog.)

In addition to signing up See Jane Write for Bloglovin’ I’ve also decided to get serious about improving my personal blog’s Bloglovin’ ranking (which is based on the number of Bloglovin’ followers you have). Why? The higher your ranking the higher the chances of your blog being featured on the Bloglovin’ homepage, which will obviously increase your exposure.

Here are three things I plan to do to increase my personal blog’s ranking:

1) Add a Bloglovin follow button to my blog. Most bloggers add their follow button to their site’s sidebar. You can create your own follow button or you can use one of Bloglovin’s standard follow widgets found here. Also try adding a Bloglovin link to your header as seen on the blog Fashion Squad. Be sure to add a Bloglovin link to the bottom of your posts as well. According to Bloglovin, bloggers who add a link at the bottom of every post grow their followers and ranking five times faster than those that don’t.

2) Connect my blog’s Bloglovin account to Facebook and / or Twitter. According to Bloglovin, bloggers who do get on average 120 more visitors per post than bloggers that don’t.

3) Finally, I’m going to invite my friends to follow my blog on Bloglovin’. So, friend, if you want to follow The Writeous Babe Project on Bloglovin’ click here. If you want to follow See Jane Write, click here.

 

Each day in November for #bloglikecrazy I’ll be publishing a blog post that answers your questions about blogging, social media, writing, wellness or women’s empowerment. Send your questions to javacia@seejanewritebham.com.