Tuesday, February 25, 2014

My Conundrum

But first, I’m taking the plunge: this is my very first blog post. Woohoo!

Why today? Because last Sunday I went to my first event at The Writers' Loft in Sherborn. I wish I had heard about them earlier. What a homey place, filled with an extremely welcoming writerly community. (Thank you, founder Heather Kelly!) As I entered the building, it was so nice to be greeted by Josh Funk, who oozed good vibes, gave me a tour and showed me the ropes.

The workshop was “Creating an Author Website” given by techie extraordinaire, Ray Brierly. (A top-notch class for a nominal fee? Ridiculous in this day and age but very much appreciated.) I took this workshop because, as a pre-published children’s picture book author, my fear is that I won’t be credible without a website. But what kind of amazing content do I have to put on a website? No colorful book covers, no accolades to tout, no MFA title…

Anna Staniszewski, author and writing professor at Simmons College, was there with encouraging words of wisdom. Even though everyone often blogs about the same types of things, just write about your journey, from beginning writer to professional author. Your journey is unique to you. Write about the workshops you take (I take many), the conferences you go to (I go to many), and anything else you experience along your writing path.

Now I’ve been taking classes and writing for years. And years. And going to conferences. And reading other people’s bogs. But I guess all the pieces have finally come together. So I’m finally jumping in and blogging. Which is pretty big for me.

Now back to my conundrum: as a pre-published author, do I take the bigger plunge and make a website – which I totally believe I could do, thanks to Ray’s class. Well, I’ve given it much thought and, for now, my first toe in the water will be a blog. All of my info will fit, with room to spare, on a blog. Down the road, a website... 

So one step at a time, as long as I keep taking them. And since I’ve been at this writing stuff for a long time, I might be running sooner than I think.





6 comments:

  1. woo hoo! congrats on starting your blog! this is just the beginning!

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  2. I've learned from the best...

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  3. I love the step-by-step attitude! Thanks for the links! What a great first post--you're a pro!

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    1. Thanks for the encouragement -- and The Loft!

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  4. Keep blogging! Love the blog! Blog, blog, blog ... otherwise we get lonely in our little home spaces at our little desks with our little laptops ... We need your voice! <3

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  5. And you have a wonderful blog. You had me at your intro.

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