IWSG: March 4, 2015 ~ Start with One Bite

It's the first Wednesday 
of the month ~ 
the day when members of the
Insecure Writer's Support Group
share their writing struggles
and offer their encouragement
and support to other members.




To visit the IWSG, click here.

To become a member of the IWSG, click here.

Our wonderful co-hosts who are stepping up to help 
IWSG founder Alex J. Cavanaugh today are
Chemist Ken, Suzanne Sapseed, and Shannon Lawrence.

Visit them, thank them, and follow them (if you haven't yet).

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"You should really write a book!"

Have you had that said to you?

I've heard that, 
but it's intimidating.
How do you write a book?

Intimidating!

When I retired, I decided to write that memoir 
that's hounded me most of my life.

So I went to my favorite bookstore,

got a big cup of coffee,

and tackled the reference shelves.

A title jumped out at me:

You Should Really Write A Book:

How to Write, Sell, and Market Your Memoir

by Regina Brooks and Brenda Lane Richardson.

Amazon

The universe spoke!

I bought it and read it
from cover to cover.

The book has lots of useful information,

but one piece really took hold:

Build an online platform.

Now that was a first bite 
of the elephant I could chew.

A Manageable Bite

It's not enough to write well
and have compelling memories.
Publishers looks for writers 
with an established online audience:
a platform.

I didn't let my gift

for screwing up royally 
with computers stop me.
I waded in and started a blog.

Go for it!

It took effort and time

to figure out how to blog,

but it was worth it.

Blogging let me experiment 
with my writing
and led me to the IWSG.

When you blog, 
you put yourself out there

exactly as you choose.

Summoning the Nerve

You can try different things.
You stand or fall on your own.

As people read your blog, 
you get feedback, 
and you discover what works and what doesn't.

You find your voice and direction.

Blogging takes courage.
persistence, and a thick skin.

Take a Chance!
Ride # 3 ~ The Biggest Male

When I fail, 
I get up and keep going.

On that rare occasion 
when somebody posts a nasty comment, 
I pop out my lethal velociraptor claws 
and zap it into blogger oblivion.

By some good fortune, 
I stumbled across the IWSG.

and that has been awesome!

A Yummy Bite

It helps to have a supportive group 
that understands your struggles.

Just hearing what others experience,

and knowing that they got to where 
you want to go

keeps you slogging.

You learn from their experiences,

and they encourage you.

So tackle that book hounding you ~
Experiment with your writing in a blog.
Develop an online platform.
Connect with the IWSG.

Write that elephant bite by bite.
I'm chomping along!