Category: General Topics

To Schedule or Not to Schedule Posts

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OK, I just did something really awkward. The post that just came through was supposed to be for tomorrow (Friday). But it appears that WordPress timing is on accord with original time. That is, a new day begins when the sun sets. This is historical fact. In the beginning, people did not always have clocks and time zones. They did however have the sun, the moon, and the stars. But I am noticing a trend with WordPress that mimics this same thing in my Stats section. Have anyone else noticed this? If you go into your dashboard when the sun goes down on any given day, you’ll already begin to see the views come in under the next days date in your stats. For instance: The views you are all getting now will fall under April 10th although according to our current measurement of time, April 10th is not here yet (I’m writing this at 8:40pm CST on Apr 9th). I decided to schedule tomorrows post (today for those of you reading in the future hee hee, funny)because I know I will not have the time to manually log on so I scheduled that last post for April 10th. I thought I was being smart by using military time just in case WordPress isn’t on my time zone and so scheduled it for 0:00 hours to reflect 12am. The jokes on me though because I’m seeing likes from a post that’s supposed to come through tomorrow!

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Oh well, maybe I’m just exhibiting my amateur blogging skills and the rest of you are having a good laugh. At least those of you in other countries are enjoying the post on time huh? I would appreciate however some wisdom from some of you blogging veterans though. I plan to schedule posts a lot more in the future and this is just not going to work. Are there any adjustments I need to make in the settings? Right now every thing pretty much falls under my time zone (USA, Central Standard Time). Thanks in advance for anyone who can offer assistance.

The Stella Trilogy – An update

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As many of you know, I have a few projects that I am putting out this year. One of them is The Stella Trilogy. It began years ago when I was helping a student with a creative writing assignment. I am not sure what it was exactly, but it had to do with descriptive writing. To make a very long story short, I wrote the first scene to Book #1 which was at the time not a book at all. It wasn’t until years later, after the paper had collected enough dust on my computer, that I realized how much I adored the layout of the scene and how I wanted to make it better. I wanted to expand it and to add to it. But what I enjoyed most about it was how short it was. I noticed then how writing the short had made me so content. It was basic, sweet, and engaging. I decided then that I would try my hand at writing short stories, and The Stella Trilogy was born.

As I prepare to send Book #2 in for editing, I would like to share some of it (unedited) with you. Because of the length of this series, it is broken down into Parts instead of Chapters. And I intend to release the first 4 Parts  to Book #2 right here on The PBS blog. As I do so, I would love your feedback. 🙂

About Stella:

The Book:

Stella is a work of Historical fiction, and is distinctive in its focus on one woman’s road to self-discovery against the backdrop of the African American fight for justice, racial equality, and freedom. The 3-Part series focuses on the history of one family in their struggle for racial identity. Discover in this Trilogy how 3 individuals living in separate time periods strive to overcome the same struggle, carefully knit together by one blood. Book #1 is Available Now in Print and E-Book. 

The Character:

Just barely two generations from slavery, Stella is the daughter of Judith May. Mother and daughter share the blood of a black woman and her white slave owner. Unable to cope with the teasing and bullying from both the white and black kids, Stella struggles with identity and a place to belong. She does not feel she can find her rightful place among the blacks and neither among the whites. That is except on Saturdays. Stella loves Saturdays! Where her and mother take occasional walks on the town and enjoy all of the privileges that come with a light skin tone. Eventually, after a discussion with her Aunt persuades her to pass, Stella decides to live her life as Sidney McNair, a white woman. But living Saturdays isn’t as easy as visiting them.

I’m giving these parts away for free because one of the things I enjoy about blogging is the direct feedback at our fingertips. So before I publish this second part, I would like to broaden my platform and make it easier to connect with my readers. I am scheduling the post now and the first Part to Book #2 will post next Thursday, April 16, 2015. I will then proceed with the following Parts over the next 3 weeks:

Beyond The Colored Line:

Part #1: 4/16/2015
Part #2: 4/23/2015
Part #3: 4/30/2015
Part #4: 5/7/2015

“That’s the story of my life: Was I white? Was I Negro? Race wars always concerned these two groups of people, and there ain’t seemed to be much place for a mulatto” – Stella May

Dear Young People, how NOT to use Twitter

File photo of a Twitter logo in this photo illustration taken in the central Bosnian town of Zenica

Today in Indie Author News, I found some great Twitter Tips. There are tons of Social Media outlets to use for your Self-Publishing business (or any business) but that doesn’t mean all of them will prove effective for you. For some Facebook is more effective, for some Instagram and for others maybe its YouTube. Despite your chosen outlet, we are all seeking to enhance our social media skills to be of service to the online community. So for all of my twitter people out there, I have the perfect link filled with all of the twitter tips you need to get started, but first I have a tip of my own for Young Twitter Users venturing to build businesses:

Tip: Create a separate business account for your business

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Throughout our life we will learn new lessons, take part in new things, and overall become gradually different people. The older we get the more wisdom we will acquire (some of us). Experience will show us far more than words ever could and pain will become a great teacher in our lives. Needless to say, today we may not be the same person we were yesterday. Sure at 18 you probably loved to party and hang out with the home girls (or guys). But the truth is that you won’t always be that person. After turning 25 and witnessing some things you may in fact decide that the party life is just not for you anymore. Perhaps now you’ll desire to start your own business. If so, here’s the thing with social media:

If you’re going to use the same Twitter account for your new business as you used when you were rambling about your drunk friend at the club, I’m not here to judge. It’s just that you should probably take down some of the tweets that are not associated with the business itself. You are using Twitter obviously so that you can make new connections and to network with professionals and non-professionals alike. As a result, you want to project a certain professional image. Of course you have to be yourself, but you also want to be a proper representation of the new direction in your life as well.

It’s not that you want to necessarily be the physical manifestation of the business itself, (then you’ll just be boring. People will feel like they’re talking to a computer), you want to allow people the opportunity to see who you are as a person so you should definitely be yourself (as specified in one of the tips). For example, one thing that I’ve come to learn is this: People often want to feel themselves a part of something. They want to see that what you have to offer is of substance, and that it will be of benefit to their lives in some way. They want to see that you are offering more than just the product itself, or that the product itself offers more than a good price.

For this reason, it’s very important to build persona when networking online (this includes blogging). However, that persona should be a reflection, not just of who you are personally, but also your business sense and skill set. You don’t want the owner of The Best Company Ever to see pictures of you doing something wild and then you lose that connection. This same thing can actually also apply to Facebook most especially. Social Media is not a small thing anymore, it is practically everything. Employers and professionals alike do check out social media pages. I know many young people just don’t want to give the impression of being phony or fake, but that’s beside the point. It’s not about not being who you are, its about being of service to the people, and to therefore navigate both the online and offline community accordingly. You wouldn’t walk into a job interview wearing pajamas, so you probably shouldn’t portray the same nonchalant behavior online either.

Whatever you do, just keep it professional, and keep it you.

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Psst: Also, if you’re switching your personal account to a business account, please also change your Twitter name. SexyChick_5 just isn’t gonna work.

Check out more twitter tips here:
http://www.indieauthornews.com/2012/07/twitter-tips-for-authors.html

The Body Language of Writing

I love simplicity, what a lovely analogy.

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*Don’t Forget: I’m doing free #Book #Reviews from now until whenever. If you would like me to review your book for free, send me an email at ahouseofpoetry@gmail.com for details.*

Discouragement

Close-up of an English Bulldog Puppy, 2 months old, in a wicker basket, isolated on white I am not a robot for one. I have feelings and every now and again I do get discouraged. For me personally, these moments arrive during times I find it hard to measure my improvement or lack thereof. Especially when I know I have done all that I could do to ensure the proper outcome. It is always a good thing, in general,  to notice every little bit of advancement in our lives. To be able to recognize every step in the right direction, but  sometimes it’s just hard to see where that is exactly. “Did I take a step forward or backward?”  Despite the rising of the sun, every waking moment is not complete with rainbows and lollypops. As a result, you begin to feel that your work is not of value, that it is hopeless and brought forth in vain because despite talk of inspiration and encouragement, everyday ain’t beautiful. Sometimes I ask myself, “Why did I do that? Why do I do this? It doesn’t really matter anyway. No one listens and no one cares.”

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While we have all had (and have) our moments, discouragement can lead to different things. On the one hand, it can lead to a path of giving up, giving in to something of far lesser value, or not trying hard enough. But on a more positive note, it can help keep us humble in areas where we need to get over ourselves. It can help us to see what mistakes we’ve made and what flaws exist. Here’s a fun quote to help you to push back that first impulse to quit, push down that initial fear, push through feelings of helplessness and push ahead. It is then that you are less likely to find someone (or something) to blame, and to instead find a way through.

“Never say that you can’t do something, or that something seems impossible, or that something can’t be done, no matter how discouraging or harrowing it may be; human beings are limited only by what we allow ourselves to be limited by: our own minds” – Mike Norton

Need a Book Review? – Free Resource

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I happen to be in a reading mood and as a result I am extending my hand to get into some good Indie reads. I am not the CEO of The Best Company Ever and the blog I run is small, but every little bit helps, and I am willing to read your book for free and offer my opinion. I am not charging anything except you send me a copy of the book. You will receive in return promotion through this blog and my social networks.

 
As not to overwhelm myself, I’ll be accepting only 2 books a month (so that’s two authors a month). If you’re interested in letting me read your book in exchange for an honest review and some added promotion, please send me an email and I will give you the details on how to qualify.

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Why am I doing this? Because as a Self-Publisher, I know that every little bit helps. I have some time to read and would love to see what you have to offer.

Email:
ahouseofpoetry@gmail.com