Jun 3, 2016 |
You know that old phrase, “When life throws you lemons, make lemonade”?
Lemons
I’m not sure who coined that phrase, but I’m pretty sure he must have been pelted by a few lemons when he said it.
But then he probably made enough lemonade that the throwers decided it wasn’t all bad and they probably drank some of it.
Everything works out in the end, yah?
I’m in between the getting-hit-by-lemons and making-lemonade-out-of-it stages.
Babycakes, my precious MacBook Pro of over eight years, is beginning to fail me. She no longer has the software or capacity needed to do what I need her to do for my social media clients and my writing/editing.
She overheats more than she used to, and it ain’t the California desert that’s doing it to her.
And you thought I wasn’t blogging just because I was too busy. I’m never too busy for you, my Swarm!
But Babycakes, well, I have to be gentle with her. Gone are the days of easy newslettering, fast posts, and faster photos.
And I don’t mind telling you, business has picked up since Blue Ridge. I can’t afford to have my computer slow down.
So after much prayer, and nudges from several people unaware (“You should start a GoFundMe!”), here I am.
I’ve made a list, ran the numbers, and I think I’ve come up with a decent game plan.
My goal is incremental:
- Replace laptop
- Purchase external optical drive
- Purchase office software
- Replace mic/headphones
- Purchase carrying case/backpack
- Purchase protective sleeve/skin
In just four days, I’m nearly 25% funded, which is very exciting. It’s so exciting, in fact, that I want to give something back.
But what to do?
Lo and behold, my Swarm has the answer. What would I use a laptop for? Writing, editing, social media, and photography.
How would you like a sampling of all of the above?
You would? That’s awesome!
NOLA, Chapter One and Other Writings
I just put together a 64-page digital download that includes
- NOLA, Chapter 1
- Four short stories
- Ninja Bee Social Media Tips
- Two poems on Faith
- Three recipes from The Unemployment Cookbook
- A dissection of Jeremiah 29:11, NIV
- A few photos
- My thank you letter
This is a free offering to everyone who donates to my Molly Needs a Mac campaign.
Here’s the kicker. I just spent a good two hours inserting hyperlinks into the document and saving it, only to find my Word software isn’t updated and the links won’t work. There’s no small irony in the fact it’s 2:30 am PST and I’ve been working on the download and this blog post for over six hours. Which just proves my point that I need a new computer as soon as possible.
If you would like to receive your free copy of NOLA, Chapter One and Other Writings, just visit my GoFundMe campaign and make a donation of any amount. Once I receive notice of your donation, I’ll email you the PDF within 24 hours.
And please share this post and the campaign with anyone you think might enjoy a good read.
With warm wishes and cold sweet tea,
~Molly Jo
Apr 7, 2016 |
Building a Social Media Swarm takes more than just constant posting. You need to know your audience, and let them know you. Read on to learn how to create a positive social media buzz.
To Bee and Not To Bee
Don’t Be That Person.
You know who I’m talking about. There are certain cyber-people who make you want to use Facebook’s Unfriend button more often than not. Am I right? We’ve all been in that person’s skin one time or another. The thing is, you shouldn’t stay there.
Here’s a quick run down of five social media personalities you should try to avoid becoming:
- The One Who Only Wants to Sell. You know these people. They ask “How are you?” but don’t wait for the response. They don’t care. While you’re telling them about your day, they’re just waiting for you to catch your breath so they can interrupt and suggest how your – or any – situation relates to their newest title. Everything they post turns back to the product they have to offer. It’s as though their only vocabulary is “Buy my book! Buy my book!” If this is your goal for using social media, I suggest you simply open an online store.
Social Media isn’t just Squawking.
- The Self-Focused One. This is similar to No. 1 except these people know how to personalize everything – toward themselves. Instead of mandating that you purchase their wares, they manipulate every conversation back to “Me, Myself, and I.” They’re not really interested in hearing about your writing adventures. They’ll often interrupt the conversation to be the center of attention. Now, if you notice a fire behind the person you’re talking to, this is a good skill. If you’re trying to be a good friend, notsomuch.
- The Silent Streamers. These are the people who see everything online but do nothing about it. Sure, having a new “like” on your page or a new follower on Twitter is equivalent to Internet cash, but only a penny or so. It’s the interactions that keep you going. Right? In the Internet world, if you’re not going to support someone, don’t offer your likes and follows and then disappear. That’s like being the child in room who covers their eyes and says “You can’t see me!” You really do know they’re there, but they want to pretend they’re not. What’s the point?
- The Streaming Stalker. Similar to No. 3 except creepier. This is the person who gives a like to everything you do, on all platforms, the moment you do it. It’s like they wait online just for you. If you post a photo your donut-and-coffee breakfast, the Streaming Stalker will like it, suggest ways to eat and drink, and share it nine ways to Sunday. The Internet is designed for interacting, not creeping someone out. It’s okay to show your support, but don’t do it in a manner that resonates something off a crime drama. Let the person you’re following know you support them. Help promote them by liking, following, sharing, and commenting on their posts. Just not everything all at once. And don’t hijack their posts. Remember, you’re there to support them, not steal their thunder.
Drama, drama, drama!
- The Overly Emotional One. These are the people who are either happy-happy-happy, or woe-is-me. All. The. Time. Let’s face it. Life is full of a little bit of everything. It’s okay to be real online. Don’t be so cheerful that people want to put on blinders when they read your posts, but don’t be a chaos junkie either. We all have our up’s and down’s. So share bits and pieces of what’s going on in your world and by all means interact with your followers. But if you want more likes, the trick is to be likeable. Find a balance between Pollyanna and Eeyore and you’ll do just fine.
Next week I’ll fly by with some positive activity for you and your Swarm.
Until then, with some sweet tea and a big smile,
Happy writing and keep on Buzzing.
~Molly Jo
And Frankly, My Dear . . . That’s all she wrote!
Aug 23, 2015 |
Aaron D. Gansky’s Hand of Adonai: The Book of Things to Come
It’s a bit surreal to announce, but Tuesday, Aaron D. Gansky’s newest book, Hand of Adonai: The Book of Things To Come is finally available.
The first in a series, Hand of Adonai is a Young Adult Fantasy novel that starts in North Chester, Minnesota and ends in Alrujah, a video game kingdom created by best friends Lauren Knowles and Oliver Shaw.
Don’t be fooled by the genre. This book has been read and enjoyed by all ages.
Being Aaron’s social media manager has its perks. I was also one of his beta readers. That just means a few pre-release books were printed for people like me to review and edit. Since I took the task while we were at Blue Ridge, I opted to make comments via stickie notes instead of a computer file.
My HoA Beta Notes
Don’t worry. Most of those are “Way to go, Gansky” cheers. I fell in love with Lauren and Oliver.
They’re not perfect characters. They have real struggles. Like weight gain and bullies and broken families and high school awkward genes. So they create a perfect world. Lauren writes out her ideas in her journals and Oliver transforms them into computer code that results in a game.
After a particularly hard day for both of them, they wake up. Or do they? Lauren doesn’t know if she’s dreaming or dead. Oliver doesn’t know what to do. Together, they play along with the game only to find there’s more to it than they invented.
Dark creatures like the Nar’esh and Beresus are not easy to conquer. And worse, Lauren and Oliver are in the roles of a Princess and a Monk ~ not easily deniable. Their traveling companions swear to protect them. But would they still, if they knew they were frauds? Or are they gods?
Soon they are joined by Erica Hall and Aiden Prince ~ the objects of their real-life affections. It’s hard enough to navigate through high school emotions in this world. Setting aside teen angst and popularity contests, the four must work together to return home from a place that shouldn’t even exist. Will the demon Belphegor win the game by destroying Alrujah?
I’ve been helping Aaron and his publisher spread the word on social media, and Tuesday, we’re having an online party! Starting at 6:30 pm (Pacific Time) you can join our Aaron D Gansky’s Hand of Adonai Launch Party event on Facebook where we’ll be interacting and sharing trivia questions. And if you can’t meet us on Facebook, at the same time we’ll be streaming live with his weekly Firsts in Fiction Podcast. This week’s theme is How to Launch a Book and I’ll be the guest caster.
Of course, what’s a party without presents?
What’s a party without presents?
As we talk about inspiration, social media, what it takes to write a book, and all things from first thought to final print, Aaron, Al, and I will be giving away copies of books, a packet or two of Magic: The Gathering cards, and I’m not sure what else.
If you’d like a preview of the book, you can view the Hand of Adonai pre-release with your BookGrabbr app (download it to your computer or smart phone).
If you like what you read, you can buy Hand of Adonai at Amazon. It’s now available both in print and Kindle editions.
So we hope you’ll join us for the fun. You can check in to either event (or both) ahead of time. In fact, we’d be super glad if you did, and share them with your peeps. Because what’s a party without guests, right?
And Frankly, My Dear . . . that’s all she wrote!
You may also enjoy reading:
MoJo Book Review and Giveaway: The Bargain by Aaron D. Gansky
“What’s the Word?” Wednesday: Aaron Gansky on Magic and Writing
May 23, 2015 |
There’s Nothing Like Coming Home. . .
North Carolina is full of rocking chairs and a Mayberry-esque lifestyle. There are rocking chairs in the airports, and there are rocking chairs in the restaurants. In the restaurants, people! I ain’t making this stuff up.
North Carolina Rocking Chairs are Everywhere!
I want to live there. I want to drink more sweet tea and say “y’all” and “honey, sugar” to strangers and call my friends “Sweet Potato” and rock on a front porch as the rain patters down. I want to live in Blue Ridge.
Unfortunately, Blue Ridge is an event, not a place. Well, it’s both, but when it’s not an event, it can get kind of lonely. Kind of, this-hallway-belongs-in-Stephen-King’s-The-Shining lonely (thanks for that thought process, Beckie).
Which could be pretty hard on This Girl who fills the love-tank with social interaction. I do not care (said with my newly adopted Southe’n accent) I do not care if you are male, female, black, white, cat, dog (scratch that. I care. I don’t like dogs). . . my point is, people is people, people! And when you’re in a place surrounded not only by people, but by people who understand, who help, who encourage, who laugh, cry, scream, giggle, play games, eat dinner . . . People who get you. . . how can it not be home?
In my life, I have felt alone, abandoned, worthless, a failure, confused, out of place, neglected, misunderstood, incomplete.
When I set foot on Ridgecrest, those insecurities left me. Completely, for six whole days, I was pushed smack-dab into what I can only describe as an immersion program for Christian writers.
Attending Blue Ridge wasn’t about making new friends.
It was about finding family I didn’t know I had.
Is it no surprise how I cried from loneliness when the plane landed in Las Vegas? Or when I thought of Sweet Cara and how it will be a year before I see my new sister again? Or (better), when I claim my place into this family of God’s children?
I’m sitting in my recliner at Bedford Manor now. Everything’s the way I left it. The cats are dozing. The house is quiet. But my soul is restless.
I long to go back to Blue Ridge. To find my own little parcel of land and put a rocking chair on it and say, “This is mine! This corner of the world, these people, this experience. . . This is mine.”
But I also long to stay here. To work at making Bedford Manor my home for as long as the Lord wants me to. I’m ready to get moving for the Lord, but that doesn’t mean I have to move.
In fact, through Blue Ridge, He has called me to be a spring in the desert. [Isaiah 43:19]. And I’m ready to do that, because that’s what He’s asking.
![My Little Plot of Desert, Where I Will Be a Spring [Isaiah 43:19]](https://i0.wp.com/franklymydearmojo.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/IMG_7809.jpg?resize=584%2C778)
My Little Plot of Desert, Where I Will Be a Spring [Isaiah 43:19]
I am about to do a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert.
[Isaiah 43:19, NRSV]
I imagine as the days take me further from my first Blue Ridge experience, this painful longing to go back will lesson, but only for a short time. Because then I’ll be filled with the drive to return next year, and this desire will push me to do all I can to accomplish that goal. I’ll work harder than I have at becoming the writer and speaker He has made me to be.
I’m okay with this kind of pain: The pain that pushes me forward, the longing that makes me reach beyond myself.
I am not perfect. But at Blue Ridge, I am perfectly me.
I can’t wait to go back, and move forward.
And Frankly, My Dear . . . that’s all she wrote!
You may also enjoy reading:
And They Say Getting There is Half the Fun . . .
My Two-Inch Peacock
Stop Fighting and Be Still.
Apr 26, 2015 |
Yesterday I attended the Orange County Christian Writers Conference for the first time. It was nice to meet up with current friends and make new ones.
I’m deeply indebted to my mentor, Aaron D Gansky, for inspiring me to attend the conference and for praying faithfully for my writing in the time we’ve been working together. His friendship, work ethic, example (not to mention his being married to my good friend) are all invaluable.
I surround myself on a daily basis with writers and the writing environment. Whether I’m reading craft books, novels, sending out texts or making phone calls, I connect as often as possible with others who understand why I see dragons in the trees and how my cats are really just very furry humans.
Sparkles
When I stepped into the auditorium yesterday morning, there was an added element. This is a Christian writers conference. Everyone there from the committees to the faculty to the volunteers to the attendees has prayed and been prayed for. Often. And for quite some time.
It was exhilarating to know that my teachers are filled with wanting the best for my writing career, and are willing to share their knowledge freely. They weren’t trying to sell me anything. Of course they had books and resources for sale. But they didn’t push it. Rather, they pushed their experiences and their journeys in such ways that it made us attendees want to take the same road.
OCCWF Program Cover
The plethora of information I received, the affirmations, the you-can-do-it’s was overflowing. The schedule was parceled into workshops. Each workshop ran for an hour, and each hour presented several workshops to choose from. I was a little disappointed to learn that cloning capabilities haven’t been perfected yet, so instead of attending each and every session, I chose the ones I felt would most benefit my novel.
If I had a sidebar for this post, it would at this point read
“Kudos to Lindsay Reine for tagging me in several posts and keeping me connected to New Orleans.”
and
“Thanks Lisa for sharing a photo of your Cafe DuMonde goodies.”
I’m not sure if they knew how Kismet it was for me to be plotting out my book’s topic and receive a text about a cat playing with a crawfish. Or when I was learning how to supplement my current income with magazine and online articles, only to be tagged in a news story relating how traffic stops to let alligators cross the road . . . only in New Orleans. Those little nudges from and about the city I’m featuring were magical.
Yes, yesterday was not only about writing, it was about New Orleans. And being Christian. And finishing what I start. And sharing. So much sharing!
I was able to share the story of how I wrote The Unemployment Cookbook, why I still pick up pennies, and how I drew deeper to God through the Ten Commandments. [By the way, each of these books will be either on reduced price or free at Amazon over the next two weeks. Check out my Amazon Author Page for more information and to order your own copy!]
The Unemployment Cookbook, Second Edition
I was also overly blessed when, during one of my fifteen-minute consultations with a faculty member, I discovered the woman was the director of the conference! I had chosen to meet one-on-one with Kathy Ide, as I’d hoped to pick her brain on freelance editing jobs and other tidbits of go-get-’em-now encouragements. Within a very short time I knew her role was much bigger than a fifteen-minute mentor. Especially when she offered me the opportunity to work social media for the conference.
Kathy Ide and Molly Jo Realy at #OCCWC
Several passing-in-the-hall conversations later, I was invited to draft a proposal to become a faculty member for next year, specializing in social media publicity. I share this not to blow my own horn, as Lisa says, but rather to encourage several simple truths:
- Stay the course. Whatever it takes to get you where you need to be, do it. Don’t give up. No matter how long it takes, if you know you’re on the right path, you know you need to persevere.
- Do what you can to gain experience and a good reputation. Volunteer. Learn. Network. Connect. Communicate. Don’t just go for the “bottom line”. Enjoy the journey!
- God will bless your attempts. When you say “yes”, it doesn’t always mean “now”. It just means you’re willing to let Him lead you. And He will honor your commitment.
Although large and busy, conferences are an intimately personal experience. It’s a chance to meet mentors, get your questions answered, socialize, find like-minded friends. At the least, it’s an opportunity to squirrel yourself away from the distractions of home and everyday life, and allow the day to be just about you and your writing.
You can sit on the steps and journal in quiet. You can join the lunch crowd and talk shop. Attend the different workshops. Whatever your writing goals are, I strongly recommend you meet regularly with other writers. Don’t know any? Check out local colleges and school groups. Put an ad on the local library bulletin board. Tack a card up in Starbucks.
Starbucks: Best Writing Partner EVER.
If you’re serious about writing, attend a conference. If you’re serious about writing for God, attend a Christian conference.
If you have questions about conferences, how to sign up for #OCCWC, or social media publicity, please send me a message.
You can reach me on Facebook, twitter, Google+, and LinkedIn.
And Frankly, My Dear . . . that’s all she wrote!
You may also enjoy reading:
Stop Fighting and Be Still.
Before You Pray
But I’m not good enough to attend a Christian writers conference. . .
My Interview with Ms. New Orleans 2014, Lindsay Reine
![My Little Plot of Desert, Where I Will Be a Spring [Isaiah 43:19]](https://i0.wp.com/franklymydearmojo.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/IMG_7809.jpg)
