First, I need to draft, draft, draft my personal essays! So far I have been able to do two, but I have a tentative date to be semi finished with them by December 1st so I can get on to the digital aspect of them and create my eBook. I've been a terrible perfectionist lately, and Dr. Burton had to talk me off the ledge and let me know that I should be sending him stuff early on in the process. Personal essays are just so vulnerable, and I think that it is scary! I'm overcoming that though. It should be a good exercise in general to stop editing like mad, especially if I am going in the wrong direction.
I also learned that as I am drafting these essays, I need to be thinking about audience and basically market my essays- sell my product before it is finished.
To do this I need to first, believe it is possible, and second, figure out how to do it.
That is the tricky part. Joining online discussions like goodreads.com (exploring the different aspects of the site instead of just reviewing books, getting literary friends, etc) and other author communities were options we talked about. Even women blogger communities have a lot I can learn from (the importance of regularly posting and commenting, etc.). I've also created a little writing group of 7 writers I know to do weekly workshops, so that will help. In general I just need to figure out the way to do this networking thing. I did a lot of general exploration with connecting in the field, but now I need to learn the ways and target more of a specific audience.
Instead of being so academic, this blog is going to be more of a way to develop connections to develop my writing. It will be a way to think about my audience and interact with people. It is a way to explore the nitty gritty in the middle of the writing process.
And now, ready, get set, go!
(Photo credit peacockandpaisley.com)
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