Back to Normal with Q2 Social Media Intensive for Writers

It’s been a crazy five months! I can’t believe my last post was in October of 2020. I know this is unacceptable. I teach and preach that blogging is one of the best tools for building your tribe and engaging with your people. Your website, blog, and email list are the only cyber real estate you own, so take care of those first. Think of all the other social media platforms as rental property at best, or where you squat at worse. And yet…

I used to hate when my dad would tell me to “do what I say, not what I do” because it just never seemed fair. So, here I am asking for forgiveness and recommitting to do better.

What have I been up to during these last five months? Thanks for asking!

October and most of November saw me chugging along with my writing groups, posting to social media for myself and a few small clients, prepping for NaNoWriMo, and then working on a complete rewrite of my mystery for NaNoWriMo. I was on pace and rather pleased with myself. I was doing all the social distancing and a lot of self-isolating. My husband was an essential employee, though, a counselor for a maximum security youth detention center, and they had a COVID outbreak. Good news and bad news: only one-third of the staff and inmates tested positive for COVID, but Steve was one of them, and he brought it home to me. He had a light case, and was back to work on day 11. I had a more severe case, and was sick and running fever for four weeks. I’m allergic to acetaminophen, so the fever was an out of control rollercoaster ride. I had other symptoms, too, but I’ll spare you the details. It was Christmas Eve before I left the house again, and a few weeks later when I started feeling human again.

January was all about recovery and getting back to “normal.” (Is normal even a thing anymore?) February in Texas brought #Snovid2021, also known here as #Snomageddon. We lost water for that week, and then on boil alert for two more weeks. Our electricity was intermittent. Thankfully we have friends who live by the hospital and never lost power or water, and they invited us to stay with them. The worst part of February for me was that most of my hair fell out. (Post-covid hair loss is a thing, y’all. I am now sporting super-short hair and a new collection of hats.)

March brought my birthday, spring weather, fundraising for my next service dog, new social media management and marketing clients, a request for a short story, and preparation for launching a new course.

I’m excited to tell you about the 90-day Social Media Intensive Course for Writers that is going to run April, May, and June. So many writers are frustrated with social media, lack of engagement, the perceived time-suck, or just not knowing what to do or how to do it effectively. I’ve been teaching classes and workshops about many aspects of social media for years, and based on feedback from those classes, I’ve created a 12-week course just for writers.

Twelve weeks of instruction, small group activities, and practice on various platforms for only $30. Registration deadline is Sunday, March 28. Spaces are limited. If you would like to know more, here’s the link to all the details. If you are already a social media expert, please share this information among your writer friends who can use this course.

As it’s been a hot minute (five months!) since we last chatted, I’d love to hear back from you. Let me know about your current WIP, an upcoming book launch, or new babies/pets/hobbies. (I’m growing my houseplant collection, and am always happy to talk about plants over a cup of tea.)