Writing

How to Be a Confident Writer

be a confident writer

Last month I asked the ladies of See Jane Write what they were struggling with most regarding writing and blogging. The same word came up again and again: confidence.

One member told me, “I need help with building writing confidence. I seem to have lost mine!”

A member of the See Jane Write Facebook group said, “Some days I swear a brilliant, authentic writer lives inside me and is waiting to be born. I keep suffocating her by not writing. Can I get a session for writers that lack confidence?”

Here’s the thing: there’s no magic potion for writing confidence. Is there a session, seminar, or workshop that I could host that will boost your confidence? Maybe. But it’s probably not what you had in mind.

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Why Self-Promotion Isn’t Selfish

selfpromotion

Most days I pose a question to the ladies of the See Jane Write Facebook group designed to help us get to know one another better. Recently, I asked, “What are your superpowers?”

For mine I listed “teaching, writing, inspiring people, connecting people and cultivating community.” One superpower I failed to mention, though, is my knack for building buzz.

Earlier this year when Southern Living magazine included me in its list of Innovators Changing the South, I wrote a blog post about how I believe I’ve received recognition such as this and a number of other awards and opportunities because I’m good at self-promotion.

I know that for many people, especially women and especially writers, self-promotion feels dirty. Perhaps it even feels selfish. But you’ve got it all wrong.

If you have something truly valuable to offer others, you’re actually being selfish if you don’t promote it!

If your blog post could make someone’s day, if your book could change someone’s life, if your business could solve someone’s biggest problem, why would you keep that to yourself?

Self-promotion seems dirty because it’s usually done in a pushy, forceful, and slimy way. But despite how it sounds, “self-promotion” shouldn’t be simply about promoting yourself. It should be about letting someone know that you have something they need and that you want to help.

Perhaps you’ve gone so long shunning self-promotion that now you’re not even sure where to start. No worries. I got you, girl!

On Saturday, July 23 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. I’ll be hosting a FREE workshop at DISCO on how to build buzz.

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To Understand the World: Why Ashley M. Jones Writes Poetry

Ashley Jones
Photo by Katherine Webb

I have a confession: I am jealous of poet and educator Ashley M. Jones.

I don’t envy Jones because last year, at the ripe old age of 25, she was one of only six winners of the 2015 Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers’ Award, a prestigious award given annually to support emerging women writers with exceptional talent. I don’t envy her because she landed a dream creative writing teaching job at the Alabama School of Fine Arts (ASFA) as soon as she finished her graduate work at Florida International University. I’m not jealous of Jones’s book deal (her first full-length poetry collection will hit bookshelves in November) and I don’t envy her because last yearB-Metro gave Jones their Fusion Award, an honor given to Birmingham residents who champion diversity, inclusion, and acceptance.

I am jealous of Jones because she is in love—with poetry.

Read complete article at B-Metro.com. 

Meet Joi Miner

joi miner

If you’re coming to the See Jane Write 5th Anniversary Party tomorrow you should prepare yourself to meet a host of interesting female writers and bloggers. One of the most interesting women in the room will be poet, author, editor, and motivational speaker Joi Miner.

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I Contain Multitudes

i contain multitudes
Image via B-Metro.com

Sometimes I feel as if I’m caught in a love triangle—writing and teaching both tugging at my heart. I was born to teach, but I didn’t realize this until after working in education for seven years. When I was a girl, I named all my dolls and other toys, arranged them in nice, neat rows in alphabetical order, and then launched into a lecture on whatever struck my fancy at the time. The classroom called me early in life, but I didn’t know it.

But I was also born to write. This I’ve known since the day I wrote my first poem. I was only 7 or 8 years old, so it was terrible, and I’m sure it included the line “Roses are red, violets are blue.” But it was the beginning of a lifelong love affair with the written word. And it was this love that led me to study journalism. I had dreams of working for Essence magazine and one day starting a print magazine of my own.

But a career in education was still whispering in my ear, flirting with my future plans. In graduate school at UC Berkeley, I was a graduate student instructor, or GSI, and taught a communications class for undergraduate students. I was charged with breaking down the complicated concepts and theories the professor discussed in her lectures. I did such a good job that students assigned to other GSIs would ask to come to my class, willing to sit on the floor or stand in the back if there weren’t enough desks.

I applied for Teach for America. I was accepted by Teach for America. I turned down Teach for America. I had also been offered a job as a features reporter in a city that I loved with the man whom I love. Writing won my heart again…

Read the entire article at B-Metro.com.