Changes are a-comin! The Business of Art, Writing Fellowship, a Facebook page and MY domain.

March 10, 2013 at 8:09 am (Uncategorized)
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How fast can I write a blog post that’s interesting with links and good information?  Start timing – 7:48 am.

Okay,

(Excuse me, have to go peanut butter my raisin toast, back in a minute.)

As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted by the beaping of the toaster, (it’s a good thing I can still type with peanut butter toast in my mouth) lots of great things going on this week!

I went to submit my novel, Biomalware, to the James Jones Fellowship Contest last Friday and found out that they had pushed back the deadline two whole weeks!  There’s still time if you want to enter.  I’ve been slacking a bit but I worked on the book Friday and will continue to do so until the deadline comes back around.

I’ve been attending a Business of Art workshop at the Community Arts in Elmira in Upstate NY through the ARTS Council of the Southern Finger Lakes and there’s been some really interesting info. shared. 

The workshop prompted me to go purchase my own domain name through https://www.godaddy.com/.  It was quick and easy.  It did start out being 9.99 for the year but then you add on the cost of keeping it private (so that your personal contact information isn’t used for registering the domain name so everybody can see it on the Internet) and the cost of registering a dot com and it quickly came up to about $23.00.  Still, a solid investment.  This blog will soon be www.melorajohnson.com. 

Anyway, I now have a Facebook page where I will be posting a daily note on something interesting or inspiring about writing or life in general.  Come like my page and I promise not to flood you with junk!  Just click here -> Melora Johnson’s Facebook page.

It was really easy.  I just went to my Facebook profile and clicked on “Add a page” down the left hand side.  They asked what type of page I wanted to create and let me upload a picture then I posted something on my new page and asked my personal friends to like it.  Woo hoo!

A couple things I found out yesterday about using Facebook to promote yourself or your business – the first time you post each day people will look but the second time your looks/likes will go down about 57%.  Also, once I have an event or book trailer, or something, to promote, I can do that through Facebook and pick the types of people I want to promote it to.  Cool! 

Okay, it is now 8:08 am.  I need to add a pic and go put something interesting on my new Facebook page.  Hope to see you there!

Oh, gotta eat that toast too.

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An Auspicious Start to the Year

January 6, 2012 at 5:17 pm (Uncategorized)
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This past week has been a busy one on the writing front.  It started on Sunday, New Year’s Day.  I had gotten up to put the chicken in the slow cooker and feed the cats then found myself with a little time all alone while my husband and the munchkin slept in.  I could clean the bathroom?  Or start vacuuming the downstairs?  Nah.

I sat down on the couch with my lap top and the notes from my writer’s group about the essay I had been working on.  It took me longer than I expected to edit but I got it submitted to the Yahoo! Contributor Network.  It seemed an auspicious way to start a new year that I hoped to fill with writing.

I waited impatiently for word on whether it was accepted.

Our writer’s group met Wednesday evening at the library.  (If you’re not a member of a writer’s group, I highly recommend it.  I’ll post about that soon.)  There were only three of us that night but we had an interesting discussion about online publishing and I went into my account to check on the essay.  It had been declined.  I wasn’t crushed, just slightly demoralized.  A fellow writer explained that when that happens to him he re-submits for non-exclusive publication then starts submitting it to other sites.  I decided to do the same with this essay and see how it works out. 

When I got home that night I posted it as a non-exclusive story and was met with a suggestion to submit it to Reddit, Dig and StumbleUpon, if I felt it was some of my best work.  Why not?  I went in and created accounts with each of them but have only figured out how to submit it to Reddit so far.  I’ll have to do a little more looking at the others.    

A short story had been germinating in my brain all week and as I read Folly Beach by Dorothea Benton Frank the past few days, little snippets helped inspire my thinking.  I expect it will take a little time but I think it will work and, if it does, it will be the first piece of fiction I’ve written since November and the first I’ve completed in it’s entirety for even longer.  I finally started typing up the thoughts last night.

WordPress is offering to make this blog http://melorajohnson.com for a nominal fee.  I think I’m going to take them up on the offer. I like the idea of having my own web site, after a fashion.

I feel like I’ve accomplished a lot this week and yet there is so much I want to do.  The week isn’t quite over yet so we’ll see how far I get.  It just feels nice to be able to find the time to write and promote my writing.

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Writer’s group and application preparation

September 14, 2009 at 10:34 pm (Marketing, Writing Contests/Grants)
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I spent a good part of today preparing for the writer’s group I facilitate this Thursday night.  I had decided to focus on online resources but my latest Writer’s Digest arrived recently so I had a look through that and was pleasantly surprised to find lots of useful info on websites.  One that really caught my attention was http://www.authonomy.com.  It looks like a great resource for self promotion, sort of like an online writer’s group that agents and editors can eavesdrop on to find new talent.  You can post material there then read other’s work and give feedback.  I’ve bookmarked and intend to give it some more attention.

I also spent a bit of time gathering together my materials for the workshop Friday that will help me prepare my application to NYFA for a fellowship.  I created a folder and put in my artistic statement and artist’s resume from the last grant I applied for.  I’m wondering if it would be better to do the resume format or a biographical format?  I don’t have a lot that is truly about writing for the resume.  I think I’ll write the biography and see which looks better.  I could be more persuasive in a biography than the resume.

I also gathered what I’ve written in the past five years into the folder so I could review it and try to pick out only the best.  I still have to grab some items I posted online then I can start the selection process.  It seems a little daunting right now.  Is anything I’ve written good enough to even really have a chance at a fellowship?  I hope so.

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