22 Reasons Women Writers Should Love Birmingham

Birmingham's skyline from it's highest point
Image by Andre Natta via Flickr/Creative Commons

Monday morning I received an email that made my day. Actually, it made my week.

The message was from a young woman who is a senior at Harvard University interested in journalism. She contacted me because after she graduates she wants to move to… wait for it… Birmingham!

She came across my name and contact information via the See Jane Write blog and said that she’s eager to get involved in See Jane Write once she moves to the Magic City.

The fact that a student at Harvard (who’s originally from the D.C. area) wants to move to Birmingham may come to a shock to some, but not to me. This young woman has figured out something that, unfortunately, took me three decades to learn — Birmingham is a good place for writers.

This month’s issue of Birmingham Magazine features a list of 22 reasons to love the city. This list, along with the aforementioned email, inspired me to create a list of my own — 22 reasons women writers should love Birmingham.

Read on to see if your favorite things about Birmingham made this list.

Snapshot from the See Jane Write event Blogging and the Future of Community Journalism
Photo Credit: Sherri Davidson Ross





Writers in Birmingham believe in building community. Some local organizations for writers,
journalists, and bloggers include:

1. See Jane Write (Of course, I had to include this group!)
2. Alabama Bloggers
3. Alabama Media Professionals
4. Write Club
5. Birmingham Association of Black Journalists





Believe it or not, Birmingham has a thriving magazine scene. If you want to break into the world of glossy publications but don’t want to deal with shoveling snow or living in a studio apartment that costs you more than $1,000 a month, the Magic City is the place for you.

6. Southern Progress Corporation (home to magazines such as Southern Living, Health, and Cooking Light)

7. Birmingham Magazine

8. B-Metro

Most writers know that one of the best ways to improve your work is to spend time reading the works of others. Birmingham is for lovers — book lovers, that is. Some of our best bookstores include:

9. Jim Reed Books
10. Little Professor
11. 2nd & Charles

Studies have shown that crowded coffee shops can actually help fire up your creativity. Birmingham has plenty of great coffeehouses to get your mojo going. 

12. Church Street Coffee and Books
13. Urban Standard
14. O’Henry’s Coffees
15. The Red Cat Coffee House

In Birmingham writers don’t just sit home alone writing behind closed doors. In our city writers take the stage with spoken word nights and storytelling events.

16. Bards and Brews, presented by the Birmingham Public Library
17. Arc Light Stories

Smart writers know it’s good to get inspiration from all of the arts, including the culinary arts . In Birmingham we have a great art museum and wonderful performing arts centers such as the Alys Stephens Center, but we also have grassroots festivals and conferences and locally owned galleries to set our imaginations to work too.

18. Naked Art Gallery
19. FoodBlogSouth
20. Sidewalk Film Festival
21. Eat Drink Read Write Festival

We creative types typically don’t do well working a traditional 9 to 5 job and we tend to want to strike out on our own. If you’re ready to set your entrepreneurial spirit free, Birmingham is eager to help you do just that.

22. REV Birmingham

What do you love about Birmingham?


Cross-posted at The Writeous Babe Project. 

Alabama Media Professionals & See Jane Write Birmingham — The Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship



Guest Post by Jeanie McLean, vice president of Alabama Media Professionals
It’s good to have friends. That’s what I thought when I found See Jane Write while scouting like-minded writing groups in my role as program VP for Alabama Media Professionals. Although some of Birmingham’s writers’ groups seem to have withered with the journalism job market, See Jane Write – like AMP – continues to thrive.
That intrigued me. So I contacted Javacia to see how our groups might connect. She promised to speak to AMP during her summer sabbatical. She also kindly offered me this guest post. Although our groups are different, we have some commonalities. See Jane Write offers a platform for writers, especially those striving to master the blogging arts. AMP takes a somewhat broader approach, as our professionals work in both traditional and new media.
Our leadership thinks there may be ways we could explore mutual interests and share strengths. We’d like to hear your partnering ideas – maybe a project, program or party.
To start you thinking, here’s some information about Alabama Media Professionals – who we are and what we do to help members develop their careers.
  • Our typical monthly meetings are the second Thursday of each month at 11:30 a.m. at the Homewood  Public Library. Occasionally we have special events at other times. Our members attend for free. Guests must pay $5.00 per meeting, but may apply the fee toward membership dues, should they decide to join.
  • Our focus is professional development. AMP is the local chapter of the National Federation of Press Women (our membership includes men, too). We enlist highly-qualified speakers for meetings and workshops.
  • We enjoy networking. AMP includes a diverse network of colleagues (PR representatives, broadcasters, freelance journalists, corporate writers, bloggers, etc.) throughout Alabama.
  • We maintain an AMP Website providing meeting information/activities. It includes a public listing of members’ professional profiles, which has resulted in job leads and assignments.

Want to learn more, or connect with us? Visit our website at alabamamediaprofessionals.com, email me at jeanmclean2000@yahoo.com, or visit a meeting. Our next meeting is this Thursday at 11:30 a.m. at the Homewood Public Library and will feature Greg Powell, president and CEO of Birmingham-based  fi-Plan Partners. Just in time for tax season, he’ll be sharing some financial insights for the self-employed.  

Let us know if you have ideas on how AMP and See Jane Write can complement each other.
After all, it’s good to have friends.

Local Authors Expo set for Feb. 2


Birmingham writers, mark your calendars for Sat., Feb. 2. Next Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., the annual Local Authors Expo will be held at the Central branch of the Birmingham Public Library. Up to 100 authors, many from the Birmingham area, will be on site to not only sell and autograph their books, but to discuss their writing process as well.
“One of the main missions of the library is to connect authors and readers and this event does exactly that,” said Jared Millet, the Authors Expo organizer and library department head of acquisitions. “It gives authors an opportunity to promote themselves to the public. If you are a self-published author, it’s hard to get into brick and mortar stores. You have to use events like this to get your name out there.” 
Whether you’re interested in cooking, sports, or fishing, or you’re looking for an inspirational book or just a great novel, the 2013 Authors Expo will have something for you.
As the city commemorates the 50th anniversary of Birmingham’s civil rights movement this year, there will also be a special section of civil rights authors. At 1 p.m. Carolyn Maull McKinstry, Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing survivor and author of the book While the World Watched: A Birmingham Bombing Survivor Comes of Age During the Civil Rights Movement, will talk about Birmingham’s civil rights movement, the bombing and her life.
This event isn’t just for people who like to read a good book, but also for those looking to write one.
“If you are thinking of writing a book, you need to be at the Birmingham Public Library on Feb. 2,” said Chanda Temple, director of public relations for the Birmingham Public Library.
At 10:30 a.m. Millet, who is also a published author, will hold a workshop on how to breathe life into your writing. Furthermore, writers will have the opportunity to network with other authors and potential fans.
“A lot of times, writers or beginner writers wonder how an author got his or her book published or how they make their story flow in a certain manner. This expo will give writers a chance to talk to authors, many of them self-published, to find out how they did it,” Temple said. “It’s all about making connections, gaining inspiration and building support. We hope this expo will spark networking opportunities for everyone and continue to build the literary community.”
For more information about this event visit http://www.bplonline.org/programs/LocalAuthors/.

Cross-posted at The Writeous Babe Project. 

Tweets & Sweets: A See Jane Write Tweet-Up



Next month See Jane Write will host its second big event of the year — Tweets & Sweets: A See Jane Write Tweet-Up. This event will be held Friday, Feb. 8 at 7 p.m. at The Wine Loft, 2200 1st Ave. North. The evening will feature drink specials and sweet treats from Birmingham-area shops and bakeries.

There is no cover, but cash donations to See Jane Write will be much appreciated.

Please click here to RSVP or if you’re not on Facebook just let me know in the comments section of this post that you’ll be there.

And here are three reason you should be there:

  1. You love networking. Well, maybe you don’t love networking, but you’re smart enough to know it’s an important thing to do. Tweets & Sweets will give you the chance to meet and mingle with other writers in Birmingham, some of whom you may have only previously chatted with on Twitter. Maybe you’ll meet your future writing partner — someone you can meet occasionally for writing sessions, someone to hold you accountable for writing regularly, and someone to critique your work. Because this tweet-up is also a birthday party for yours truly, there will also be folks at this event who aren’t writers. Bloggers, these people could become your newest followers and fans. So don’t forget to bring your business cards!
  2. You love cake. It’s the beginning of the year, so you’re probably on a diet. You’re trying to lose weight and get in shape. I am too. But it’s my party, I’ll eat cake if I want to. And I give you permission to do the same. We can go running together the next day to burn off those calories. 
  3. You love me! Okay, there’s a chance you have no idea who I am and this is your first time ever visiting this site, but hear me out. As I mentioned before, this event is also my birthday party. I’d love to celebrate my special day with fellow writers and bloggers. 


Hope to see you on Feb. 8!

Blogging and the Future of Community Journalism Recap

Photo by Sherri Davidson Ross


On Thursday, Jan. 10, See Jane Write hosted Blogging and the Future of Community Journalism. This panel discussion featured: 

  • Staci Brown Brooks, Community News Director for the Birmingham Hub of  Alabama Media Group
  • Emily Lowrey, founder of Magic City Post, a web publication that offers a daily posts on the Birmingham metro area and shows off the best the region has to offer.
  • Andre Natta, founder of The Terminal, a critically acclaimed web publication about Birmingham.
  • Erin Shaw Street, travel editor for Southern Living magazine and editorial content manager for the magazine’s social media including its blog, The Daily South 

The panel discussion was moderated by Edward T. Bowser, community engagement specialist for the Birmingham Hub of Alabama Media Group, author of the blog Soul In Stereo, and husband to yours truly. 

On a rainy weeknight we packed out the conference room of Innovation Depot with about 40 people in attendance. And that night our hashtag, #sjwbhm, was the number 2 Twitter trending topic for Birmingham.

From left: Emily Lowrey, Staci Brown Brooks, Erin Shaw Street,
Andre Natta and Edward T. Bowser
The night began with a discussion about what bloggers must do to be respected as journalists. 

Build up your source list and quote experts in your posts to help establish credibility,  Lowrey said. And this goes for all bloggers, even those not covering hard news. If you’re a fashion blogger in Birmingham, she said, you need to know the people behind Birmingham Fashion Week.

If you are a blogger hoping to be taken seriously as a journalist there are three words you should live by, Brooks said: accuracy, ethics, and truth. Natta said he would also add to that list transparency. 

Don’t feel you need a journalism degree to be a serious blogger. Natta does not have a journalism degree and neither did his hero – the late, great Ed Bradley. Journalism is less about a degree and more about doing the right thing for your community, Natta said. 

Can bloggers and journalists work together? Absolutely.

Erin Shaw Street and Andre Natta
“There’s room for everyone,” Brooks said. Street offered this great tip: in this digital age many “old school” journalists want to learn from bloggers. Find a reporter that can show you how to be a good journalist while you teach him or her how to be a good blogger. 

When it comes to how best to promote your blog, the advice given really boiled down to this – talk to people! That could mean networking face-to-face at events or on Twitter. Participating in Twitter chats, for example, can be quite beneficial. 


Natta says people looking promote their blogs also need to get involved in groups like See Jane Write (two points for Andre!). 

Natta got the word out about The Terminal in part through MySpace (remember that site?) where he wished followers happy birthday and sent out links to posts that hadn’t previously received much attention. He also promoted the website with events and with merchandise such as T-shirts. 

And speaking of social media, for those of you still holding out on Twitter, you need to get with it. Lowrey said that if you’re interested in working for Magic City Post they won’t even consider you if you don’t have a Twitter account. Publications want to know that you’re bringing an audience with you, she said.

That said, be sure your tweets and your Facebook account properly represent you as a professional, Brooks added.

For those of you still struggling to find your niche, just be sure to blog about your passions. You must be excited about your topics to have a successful blog. “Blogging should be fun!” Street reminded us. 

If you’re covering a topic or a community that you feel isn’t getting adequate attention from mainstream media take advantage of this opportunity. Look for those gaps. Figure out what’s missing and fill the holes. “Learn as much as you can,” Natta said. “You may become a source for the mainstream media on this topic.”

 
And don’t worry about blogging in a niche that feels a bit crowded.

“A little competition can be healthy,” Brooks said. And remember, Street added, your voice and your perspective will set you apart from the rest. 

One audience member wanted to know how often one should blog.

As often as you can, our panelists said. Readers want fresh content. But be realistic about how often you can post. Set a realistic schedule and stick with it.  

Whether you’re a blogger, a journalist, or both, it’s all about “strategic agility,” Street said, as several people in the room quickly jotted down and tweeted out this term. She summed it up this way — be prolific, be able to hustle, be able to adapt.  

For more photos from this event visit us on Facebook. 

Resources for Bloggers and Journalists: