Yeah, I’m a dork.
Happy New Year. 
Holly Jahangiri has decades of experience in tech writing, freelancing, fiction, poetry, and editing. Writer, wife, and mother, Holly is the creator of Trockle and instigator of the Puppy-Guppy Rebellion.
There’s only ONE thing to stop doing in 2009:
Stop expressing your goals and aspirations in negative terms.
Learn to phrase your goals and aspirations in positive terms. Focus on the result you want, rather than the one you don’t want. Here are a few things to START doing in 2009:
Chris Brogan says, "it’s hard to actually remember 12 things, let’s just do 6 things in the to do list." I like Chris’s list. I spent some time, this morning, reviewing my own list and revising it for 2009. I’d accomplished even more than I remembered! It didn’t take constant focus, but it did help to write it down.
I’ve managed to pare down my 43Things to 20-something things, but it’s a fluid, ever-changing list. Tomorrow, it could have ten things, or thirty. I don’t care if the site’s called 43Things, I can only juggle so many plates at one time. I’ve added them to the sidebar on my blog, though, to keep them visible. Feel free to join me if any of them appeal to you as things to focus on in 2009.
Holly Jahangiri has decades of experience in tech writing, freelancing, fiction, poetry, and editing. Writer, wife, and mother, Holly is the creator of Trockle and instigator of the Puppy-Guppy Rebellion.
Match the pictures (by rows, left to right: A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2) to the following choices:
Holly Jahangiri has decades of experience in tech writing, freelancing, fiction, poetry, and editing. Writer, wife, and mother, Holly is the creator of Trockle and instigator of the Puppy-Guppy Rebellion.
Carolyn Howard-Johnson of How to Do It Frugally has created a monster. I vaguely remember having some panicked conversations with her, months ago, when I realized that writing the book was easy – and so was totally ignoring the fact that the flip side of "getting published" meant "getting out there" and indulging in shameless self-promotion. Carolyn’s mentoring is something akin to guerilla warfare training wrapped in a warm velvet blankie. You’re contentedly sucking your thumb, trying to ignore things like "sales" and "marketing" and "promotional" whatever – and you don’t know what hit you, until you find yourself eyeing the Amazon sales rankings and comparing Twitter stats with the likes of Problogger.
Carolyn thanked me for featuring her site in my blogroll, but subtly pointed out that a change of URL was in order. She might’ve said, "Dummy, I sent you an email weeks ago informing you of the name change and the new URL, now get off your tush and update that puppy!" but no, Carolyn writes:
"I love that you are promoting to help me help your fellow writers, Holly, but I keep getting alerts that you’re using [the old site name and domain] and and that entity no longer exists, though certainly many of the benefits do (like the LA Times Fair and the newsletter and the blog). The blog is now called www.sizzlingbookfairbooths.blogspot.com. So, if you know where [that old, obsolete stuff] is on your gorgeous black blog and can substitute my www.howtodoitfrugally.com site for the link, I would appreciate it. Also, I don’t want you to have dead links on my account."
See what a class act she is?
The conversation shifted to how Google Alerts sometimes appear to recycle old material, as if to say, "Hey, look! Your blog was mentioned in 1996! Blast from the past! Cool, huh?" Carolyn observed that those random, untimely alerts could be a bit annoying and time-consuming, when you’re trying to keep up with visiting and thanking bloggers for mentioning you. (I wish I were so popular!)
At some point, I realized that the only time I see Carolyn on my blog is when I mention her. ("Carolyn, Carolyn, Carolyn!") Ironically, this is how we met: I mentioned sending my spies to check up on her and make sure she was really promoting Trockle at the L.A. Times Book Festival like she’d said she would. I mean, I didn’t know her from Adam, and she had my "baby" halfway across the country. I wanted to make sure my little monster was in good hands.
As it turned out, he couldn’t have been in better hands. My "spies" (family and friends in L.A.) liked Carolyn and sent back wonderful pictures of themselves – with Carolyn and Trockle. Of course, she dropped by my blog and thanked me. I emailed and thanked her, and we got to talking. And somewhere between helping to promote my little monster and helping me figure out how to do some of that for myself, she created a little monster of her own.
We had a chat about how I liked her new domain better than her old domain, because it offered so many possibilities for spin-offs, and because, you know, "How to Do It Frugally" really resonates with all of us as we move into a fiscally abysmal and uncertain future in which books might be bought as fuel before they’ll be bought as reading material. I have to admit, "How to Do It Frugally" doesn’t automatically make my brain leap to book promotions. I think of things like "Finding the Best Bargains in Whipped Cream" and "Plucking Your Own Feathers," and "Make Sure You Pull the Bees Out of that Home-Grown Honey Before You Spread It on Your Hoo-Ha" and I remarked, "Have you noticed my brain is being sucked out with a bendy straw by the Dark Side – Marketing? Disturbing. Terribly…disturbing."
And totally dodging the obvious (which is that she’s largely to blame for this alarming state of affairs), she replied, "No, I try not to notice those things because my brain is always like that. I need to cut a break for others!"
I remarked, "Y’know, if you ever come to my blog (and I know you don’t), don’t do it out of a sense of obligation, even if I mention you. Because I have this fantasy, wherein I have thousands of loyal readers who are all there simply because they can’t leave – they’re so mesmerized by my writing – and they’re all compelled to comment just because they want to join in the conversation. Don’t shatter my illusions. 
Yes, the reality is that out of ~30 new, unique visitors per day, I get FIVE who come back on a semi-regular basis. It’s okay, because I’ve found my niche – I’m the anti-Martha. And it’s a fun creative outlet. I’d hate to bog it down with an excess of commercialism, unless the spirit truly moves me and there’s a certain amusing passion in it. The folks with the bendy straws? They apparently live in Malaysia, Indonesia, Romania, and the Ukraine. Save me, Carolyn, save me! I keep finding little cans of Spam on my doorstep. I think they know where I live…"
I was (mostly) joking. But she responded with, "You really need to publish this ON your blog. Include my name so I can come leave a comment and piss you off. (-: "
Yeah? Bring it, Carolyn Howard-Johnson. And make sure "it" brings friends. Because I could really use a few more readers who will comment, even if it’s just to piss me off. Y’know, commenting costs nothing, after all – how much more frugal can you get? I think Carolyn should mention me in her next book…
Holly Jahangiri has decades of experience in tech writing, freelancing, fiction, poetry, and editing. Writer, wife, and mother, Holly is the creator of Trockle and instigator of the Puppy-Guppy Rebellion.
Making progress…
Mmmm. Yummy. Dinner looks good, too! After days of "baking therapy," it’s good to get out of the kitchen and let someone else do the cooking. And what a talented chef my husband is – lamb chops marinated in yogurt, saffron, and onions, grilled with fresh tomatoes; green beans; mashed potatoes; and a fresh, crisp tossed salad. Perfect! (Yes, dinner turned out pretty good, too.) He served it with a nice red wine on a festive table decorated by Katie:
I’m one of the few women who could – technically – get by with using the Lenox Holiday pattern year round. I call it my "signature china."
Aren’t I lucky? It has been a lovely Christmas. I’m thankful for my family; they are my greatest gift.
Merry Christmas to you all.
Holly Jahangiri has decades of experience in tech writing, freelancing, fiction, poetry, and editing. Writer, wife, and mother, Holly is the creator of Trockle and instigator of the Puppy-Guppy Rebellion.
James gives away the $497 secret to writing killer blog posts here - for FREE.
4 Good Reasons to Join Topical Facebook Groups
What Is Important?
|  |
|  |
© 2012 - It's All a Matter of Perspective is proudly powered by WordPress
Top Commentluvvers