Category: Articles

When Did You Fall in Love with Writing?

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No. Not when you started writing, but when you fell in love with it. I’ll go first.

Freshman year, High School, Survey Literature. Mr. Clark didn’t know it, but his vocabulary list had me open. He thought I’d look up definitions. He was wrong. I devoured them. I tried using every new word in a sentence and like most people in love for the first time, I sounded like an idiot.

I became obsessed with their meanings, their pronunciations, how they looked on the page and, most importantly, how they made me feel.  Seduced by the euphoria of getting words off my chest, letting the emotions ooze from my heart and out of my flesh; stitching my soul into the page one heartbeat at a time, and riding the wave of stillness while traveling through books. I fantasized about how words would pair; how they would rhyme, mix and match. The smells of metaphor, and the taste of simile calling out to me from the words of healing written in a language I didn’t quite understand and yet, knew it was a necessary part of my sanity. For if I could not depend on writing to be my stepping stone to mental clarity, then I was truly lost. Forgotten in a world without meaning. No explanation for the question mark of our existence. No saving grace. No salvation to play just the right scripture to guide us back to the music sheet. Writing. It was my music sheet and goodness, how I loved him.

What about you? Are you in love with writing? When did you fall for it?

Not in love yet? Here’s a post about how to get there! 6 Ways to Fall in Love with Writing

4 Reasons Why I Won’t Change The Name of My Blog

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Branding logic says that my blog should be called after my name. Had I thought of this before starting this blog, perhaps I would have (maybe) gone with logic. However, because I’m a tad bit crazy, even being aware of this hasn’t moved me to change the name of this blog (even after much suggestion).

#1: Connected To My Name

My blog is already connected to my name. What this mean is that many people are already aware that The PBS Blog is the blog of Yecheilyah Ysrayl. Branding in one sentence, as defined by Kristen Lamb is:

“A brand is when your name alone has the power to drive sales.”

I think this is the most clear and simplest definition of branding. Taking this into consideration, Author Branding is just the same “when an author’s name is strong enough to drive sales”, or in this case, drive views. I believe The PBS Blog is strong enough to hold its own as the blog home of Yecheilyah without me having to make that my blog title.

#2: Introversion

I’m shy! I’m not sure I’m comfortable naming my blog after me! “Welcome to the wonderful world of Author and Blogger Yecheilyah Ysrayl!” Just writing that made my skin crawl. I’ve always hated bringing attention to myself. Remember those days in High School where everyone wanted to show off their name brands but you were too poor to afford the Jordan’s? Good, now go back to that one time in forever you actually got a pair, and that one person who annoys everyone called you out and you knew it was just to mock you? Yea, that. The worst. Anyway, I digress. Long story short, I’m really shy even though I’ve come to notice people don’t believe I’m as shy as I am. I always get the side look when I say I’m an introvert, but it’s true. I am very laid back. I have the potential to sit in a room all day and not say anything and be completely fine with it.

#3: Not Just an Author Blog

I’m passionate about sooo much more than writing! For this reason, this is not just an author blog, even if I do talk about writing 85% of the time. OK 90%, whatever.

#4: Mission, Purpose, Goal

I named my blog Pearls Before Swine with the subtitle Truth is Stranger Than Fiction because it embodies my mission for this blog. That is, I will always prefer the truth (pearls) over the lie (swine) no matter the color, shade, or persona it’s packaged in and I will never force the truth down anyone’s throat. You see the truth is very precious, delicate and fragile like a pair of your mother’s most elegant pearls. She’s not going to give these over to anyone, let alone a pig who will rip them open and tear them apart.  A reference to Matthew Chapter 7, Verse 6 of the bible, Pearls Before Swine keeps me focused, and reminds me that truth is to be given only to those who want it. To those who will take it into their hands and protect it, use it, and wear it like sacred garments. Looking up at my blog name ALWAYS keeps me focused on my primary objective. I am to use my writing and skill set as a way to bring truth in the most creative and effective way possible. I am not to force, debate, or argue the truth because truth speaks for itself, and I am to never compromise my personal integrity because someone says so. Pearls Before Swine, because I’d rather die on my feet, than live on my knees.

Effective Re-blogging – Getting The Most Out of Them

It’s so easy to like and re-blog a post, but is there a way to do so effectively? Is there a way to get the most out of your re-blog?

First, why do you re-blog? I’ll go first. I re-blog because:

  • I really enjoyed the article / post. This means I found value in the post in some way
  • Not only did I enjoy the article / post but I think its worthy of being seen
  • Not only do I think it’s worthy of being seen, I think the original blog deserves the attention

My purpose of the re-blog is first to share valuable information with my readers. This is especially true if the post has something to do with something I’m passionate about: Scripture and Identity, History, Poetry, Self-Publishing, Blogging, or Writing in general. My secondary purpose of re-blogging is to give esteem to the person who took the time to produce content that is not only worth reading, but also worth sharing. For this reason, I believe it is important to make the most of the re-blog. If I am trying to help the writer to get attention, I have to make sure that they will actually get the attention. To do this, I make sure my re-blog include a couple things.

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  • Commentary

I think this is a very important thing in the world of Scams, Hackers, and Plagiarizers. When I prepare to re-blog a post, I think it’s important to add my own commentary to it. If I don’t have much to say, I quote something said in the article using quotations marks and ended with the author’s name. Why is this important? It gives others a sneak peek into what the article is  about. It’s also much more genuine, in my opinion, to the person who you’re re-blogging from. It shows you actually read the article and got something from it. When I re-blog, I want the person to know why I’m doing it. This also, as stated, helps others to ascertain what’s so special about the post. I think everyone should always add a little commentary to their re-blogs. Chances are the post is so good its been re-blogged dozens of times already. That said, I add commentary to let you know why it was so special to me personally knowing it will show up in your comments). People are also very sensitive. We have to keep in mind that not everyone wants their posts re-blogged (in which case they should have a disclaimer somewhere on their blog outlining this fact) or may be very suspicious as to why someone is doing so. It’s even more suspicious if your blog is only made up of re-blogs. I mean nothing against blogs made of re-blogs st all, but it is difficult to get to know you though as a person. What are your thoughts? Experiences? Insights? Every once in awhile, it may be a good idea (especially if you’re an author) to post something from scratch that represents your personal self. A list, a poem, a book excerpt. Something that is not re-shared or re-hashed so that we get to know you. No, quotes don’t count.

  • Tags

I also tag my re-blogs. This means that after I re-blog the post, I go into my WordPress dashboard and I add tags that are relevant to the article. I am also sure to tag it “re-blogs”. Even though it is obvious it’s a re-post, I think its important to my integrity that my readers know this is not my article but a re-blog from another blogger. This also sets my tags for re-blogs apart from my traditional tags. Re-blog tags will always have re-blog in there somewhere. Since tags help people to find your blog, this will also help people to find their way to the post. They’ll click on view more of this post and be led to the other person’s blog. Mission accomplished.

  • Re-blog no no’s

One thing I absolutely do not do is change the headline of a re-blogged post. Again, that transgresses my integrity and is crossing the thin line between sharing and plagiarizing. If the person headlines a post a certain way and I am sharing it, it is my duty to share it as is. I feel the same way about editing comments. I’m not sure why the ability to do so is even relevant. Why do we need to edit comments?? You can’t do that in real life! Imagine, “You suck. Wait, no, I take that back.” Lol.

The only reason I’ve edited a comment was when my main website changed from a time where I gave the person the other one. I edited it to the updated site just in case someone else came along later, I wouldn’t want them to have the wrong website. However, editing other peoples comments? That’s just wrong (and weird).

  • I Wish I Could

It was only recently that I understood that not everyone wants their posts re-blogged (Yes, it’s OK if you re-blog my posts! Credit me of course though). So, I wish I could disable comments for some of my re-blogs! Unless of course its my guest post from another blog. In that case, comment on! Does anyone know how to do that? Disable comments so that people will comment on the original page instead of your post? I think that helps the blogger gain more attention for their work and, most importantly, the credit they deserve.

Why Authors Need To Know About Book Sales Cycles

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Very insightful article. I’ll also add:

Release your books strategically. Launch those books during high reading cycles (Around Holidays, Black History Month if you’re a Black Lit / Historical Author, Weekends, and Summer).
Real Life Example: I released The Road to Freedom in February for two reasons:

Black History Month – My book is a work of Historical Fiction, Black History, and deals with identity and nationality.

Target Audience – My Target Audience were going to be in Atlanta for a Black History Stage Play. That’s when I decided to release it at The Metropolitan Library in ATL.

*Steps off soapbox*

Now to the expert lol:

Article Excerpt:

“A book is a product. Just like with most products there is a sales cycle on a year-to-year basis. Readers are still buying books in the same cycle as they always have. Just on a different medium.”

Keep Reading:

Why Authors Need to Know about Book Sales Cycles

How To Blog In Your Sleep

 

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  • Go to your WordPress dashboard
  • Draft a post
  • Schedule the post for 2am

Scheduling posts can be helpful for many reasons. Here are mine:

A World of Difference

The people who read your blogs literally come from different parts of the world. While the sun is shining where you are, the moon is glowing where they are. While you are bedding down, someone is getting up. While you are making coffee, someone else is pouring a goodnight scotch….we get the point. Scheduling posts to publish all hours of the night (OK, maybe not all hours) gives others an opportunity to see them early on who live in a different country. You may say, “They’ll see them anyway won’t they?” Not necessarily. It depends on how many blogs they already follow. We’ll all see it at some point, but there’s no guarantee. Keep your posts fresh by considering those who are not where you are.

Consistency

Consistency is difficult when you first start to blog. Even if you manage to go ahead full steam, at some point there’s going to be a burn-out. At the same time, you know that consistency is something that is needed to grow a blog and to keep it running. If you’re super busy, it helps if you create a schedule where you’ll have posts being published even on those days when you’re not at home. You can blog when you’re sleeping, when you’re driving, or when you’re flipping burgers! Plus, people will think your a superman or woman, which is somehow relevant.

Vacations / Breaks

If your addicted to updating your blog and you really don’t want to miss your regular posting days, schedule posts to go out during your breaks and vacation times. For instance, I enjoy writing / blogging, but it’s not the most important thing in my life. I, like many of you, actually have one outside of this blog. That said, I don’t blog on Saturdays. This doesn’t mean there’s nothing being published on Saturdays! If there’s something that needs to go out on Saturday, I schedule my Saturday posts so I don’t have to log in and focus on that during my break time.

Backfire – Of course, all things come with a fine print don’t they? If you’re really trying to break, stay away from the blog. The reason is because though you scheduled a post, you’re still likely to get feedback such as comments that will draw you back into the blogosphere. Though, if your really smart, you’ll just turn off your phone.

Goals

It may be good to schedule posts when you’re seeking to establish yourself as a blogger. When you first start a blog, you may have a goal that is different than when you have been blogging awhile. For instance, when I started The PBS Blog, my goal was to publish at least 3 posts a day. This was because I was, as a newbie, seeking to reach a certain goal. Right away I knew I wanted variety so my schedule went something like this:

  • Article
  • Poetry
  • Inspirational Quote

Every night I’ll draft my articles for the day (which ranged from Self-Publishing stuff to general life stuff), my poem, and an inspiring quote. My goal was that though I love writing, I didn’t want this to be a strict writing blog which means I wanted to attract readers beyond that niche. I have a life outside of writing and things to share outside of it too. Right away I wanted to showcase variety to build a readership that included a wide range of people. Yes, weird people need love too.

When you first start to blog, you may also have a certain goal that, after blogging for awhile, may indeed change. After blogging for about a year, I didn’t schedule posts in this way anymore but it did help me to:

a. Get into the habit of blogging

b. Reach my goals

I wanted to exceed the 300 follower mark in the beginning at a nice pace. By nice pace, I mean within the first 3 months so I was reaching for 100 new followers a month. It sounds like a lot now but it really wasn’t hard thanks to scheduling posts! After reaching your goal, you may not have to post so much because your foundation is under you. For me it was important to reach that follower mark to establish myself as a serious blogger and it was something I obligated myself to. I thought, as someone no one knows anything about, I have to get a good foundation under me. After this it was important to create new goals because obviously, I wasn’t trying to stop there. So I started to incorporate special themes into my blog (Like Movie Night Friday and Black History Fun Fact Friday) and participate in blog challenges (Like Writers Quote Wednesday and Writing 101). All in all, like starting anything new, it’s going to take work in the beginning but afterwards you’ll find your groove and settle into a more natural schedule.

Ultimate Guide: How To Write A Series

Excellent Article on whether or not you should turn your masterpiece into a series. I definitely think it’s something you’ll notice right away though. I knew before I finished Stella that it was going to be a Trilogy. I mean like, before I’d written the books.

Excerpt:

The word ‘series’ conjures up different emotions in different writers. Some might grin at the thought of spending multiple books exploring the world and story they’ve created. Others might rub their hands together at the potentially lucrative benefits of a long-running series. And still more might simply cry in horror, ‘A series? Writing one book is hard enough!’

No matter which of these camps you fall into, there’s no questioning the fact that the series as a literary concept is here to stay.

From Arthur Conan Doyle, Enid Blyton and Agatha Christie to J. K. Rowling, Terry Pratchett and Patricia Cornwell, writers of all genres and styles have made the series work for them.

So how can you do the same? KEEP READING

A Love Letter To Some of the Black Women Writers Who Inspired Me

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Image Credit: Black Girl Lost – Sunday Kinfolk

Mildred D. Taylor

Just so you know, I fell for you first. Maybe it’s because that Logan boy and I shared the same name I was birthed with. I mean, back then I had never been to the deep south and I’m sure Stacey Logan knows more about the land than I do. Anyway, I was in 6th grade when we met. You didn’t know it then but you introduced me to black literature and I’m not afraid to claim that title or to separate black writer’s into a category of their own. How could our experiences not be likened to the Roll of Thunder? You were that seed planter for the rooted passion I now carry with me.

Sista Souljah

You always kept it real so Imma return the favor. You see my eyes hypnotized every young man who lusted for my lil sweet self. All fresh and new and walking all lady like. And then you came knocking at my consciousness like the Coldest Winter Ever but claimed No Disrespect. I’m sure we connected by way of the struggle. You see I was brought up in the Robert Taylor projects on Chicago’s south side so crack heads, rats, and hunger didn’t alarm me. I fell in love with the way you never sugar coated the truth and anyone whose been where we’ve been knows just how real your words are.

Maya Angelou

How long must the caged bird write before she sings? I can’t credit myself for coming up with that line. You showed me how a poet can use metaphors to write fiction too. Even though your memoir is all truth, your talent transformed it into something that can be considered just as poetic as phenomenal women. Your voice was passionate and strong and thundered like waves of air across the sky. Even in death is your memory, still that uplifting arm rising like dust and written down in history.

Ntozake Shange

Speaking of poetry, ever since I heard you speak I wanted to write for colored girls. You brought me back to those Souljah days with your raw tongue. How it unfolded from the very bottom of your gut and lifted the skirt to every pain black women have endured since the days their slave masters told them that rainbows weren’t enough. You didn’t write the way that I was taught in school, you wrote the way that I spoke. Like when my friends and I crowded around de front porch and ma boyfriend waz whispering quite literally, sweet nothin’s in my ear. And I laughed stupid like “You pretty” was something revolutionary enough to show my privates for.

Toni Morrison

By the time I got to you my thoughts started to evolve into a wanting I couldn’t put my finger on. My mind had gone from reading for entertainment to studying the books I read. I was on a search for something deeper than cotton fields, magnolia trees, and project rats. By the time you came along I was reading in-between the lines and trying to find that thing called freedom. And I wondered just how deep I had to look for that Tar Baby.

Gwendolyn Brooks

As soon as I found out you were from my home town we bonded. Was real cool like besties from the low end on the South Side. Bonded like 47th Street and State, Bronzeville, or Englewood. You see your lyrics had depth like the deep south you was born in, but had that look about it that screamed Chi-Town. Simple poetry that spoke volumes. You taught me that if I loved him the right way, saw him the way I was supposed to, that a man became more than just a body.

Terry McMillian

This relationship of ours! I can read you anytime and Lewis will always seem like the same Ray Ray and Pookie we all know. You perfected the art of black family life and character development. Every book I read of yours sends me into that world and I’m just laughing and shaking hands with your people like they my people because they are. I have stayed up plenty of nights turning pages and laughing and trying to figure out just what it means to be A Day Late and Dolla Short.

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A Love Letter to the Black Women Writers Who Liberated Me Read the title of an article written by Ashley Gail Terrell, a freelance writer from Michigan working on her first novel. Her post was inspiration for this piece.

I believe there are stepping stones to everything in life. That something that leads and guides us from one place to another so that we can reach the place we’re supposed to be. It can be anything from music, movies, television, people, places, things, and even books. Now, because of choice we do not always see these stepping stones for what they are; do not always notice the impact they are having in the moment in which we experience it and for some of us, perhaps we never will. But when I read this title, I thought back to the writers who I have come to love over the course of time and I began to meditate on how they have influenced my writing. When I was not yet where I am, spiritually, mentally, and physically, these writers (although not just these writers) became valuable launchpads on behalf of my writing today, sparking a flame of passion for the art that I still carry with me.