Blogging

How to Catch Your Writerpreneur Dreams

Natalie McMyler, founder of Dream Catchers South // Photo Credit: Anna Conn Photography

I am a writer but I also proudly call myself a “writerpreneur,” a woman who wants to use her writing to make an impact and an income. So in addition to reading and working on the craft of writing, I also learn all I can from business-minded people. This is why I attend events like the Dream Catchers South conference, a one-day seminar for female entrepreneurs hosted in Birmingham each spring. Natalie McMyler, the founder of Dream Catchers South, is the owner of the clothing company 11th Thread, which she launched in 2014 because she wanted to be able to stay home with her son and pursue her passion of owning her own business.

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Is your blog GDPR ready?

A few weeks ago I set aside a couple hours to work on getting the See Jane Write website ready for the General Data Protection Regulation (or GDPR) set to go into effect May 25. I figured it would take me about an hour to read up on GDPR and figure out exactly what it is and another hour to make whatever changes were necessary.

Three hours later I found myself in tears, drowning in legal information I didn’t understand and declaring that I was going to shut down See Jane Write LLC so I wouldn’t have to deal with this mess!

So if you’ve been wondering exactly what GDPR is and how it affects you I’m going to try to explain but first a quick disclaimer: I AM NOT A LAWYER and this is not legal advice. I’m just going to share some of what I’ve learned and point you toward some resources that might help you.

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Content Creation Tips I Learned from the GlamTwinz at the 2018 Natural Hair & Health Expo

Saturday I attended the 7th annual Visions Natural Hair and Health Expo in Birmingham where natural hair and beauty vloggers The GlamTwinz were special guests.

I attend the expo regularly as it always proves to be a great time and an opportunity to try out new hair care products and learn new hair care tips. But because the event draws influencers like The GlamTwinz I also often learn how to be a better content creator, too.

Here are three tips I picked up from the talk that GlamTwinz Kendra and Kelsey Murrell gave during the expo.

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Why You Should Attend Black Writers Weekend 2018

Tamika Newhouse

When Tamika Newhouse started the African Americans on the Move Book Club (AAMBC) in 2008 she had no idea it would eventually lead to her hosting Black Writers Weekend, an annual event that is not to be missed by African American writers and bloggers.

“I stumbled into creating the online community,” Newhouse says. “I wanted to be part of a book club but I was in a new city, I didn’t have any friends, and I thought it would be pretty weird for a grown woman to walk up to other grown women and say ‘Hey, I like to read books. Do you like to read books? Let’s read books together.’”

So she started a MySpace page and created an online book club of her own, one that focused on reading and discussing the work of African American authors. She quickly realized that there were many black writers out there not getting the attention they deserved. So, in 2009 Newhouse launched the AAMBC Literary Awards in San Antonio, Texas to recognize and honor black writers. In the years following awards ceremonies were also held in Chicago and Baltimore. In 2015 the event grew to include a red carpet ceremony and was held in Atlanta. This marked the beginning of Black Writers Weekend.

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How to Start a Blog

I love blogging and blogging has loved me back. I’ve been offered paid freelance writing gigs and paid speaking engagements because of my blogs and I’ve used the See Jane Write blog to grow a small women’s writing group into an award-winning business. A blog can also be a great way to build an audience for the book you want to write.

Make 2018 the year you finally launch (or relaunch) your website and blog. Here’s a guide to get you started.

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