I’m The Little Engine that Could of bloggers. At least that’s the positive spin I choose to put on it. I started this WordPress blog eight months ago and 150 entries later, I think I’ve finally found my blogging niche!
When I first got started, I posted the following lament:
JeriWB: A blog without a tagline. Or a niche.
Since that time I’ve changed my blog’s title from JeriWB Teacher Writer Traveler to JeriWB What do I know? With the name change comes the end of my teaching and traveling posts. Awhile back, I stopped posting restaurant reviews mainly because re-sizing and placing the images took too much time away from drafting my first novel. I now depart from my travel posts for much the same reason. My photography will still live on via Facebook and Google+ status images with quotes.
Child And Train by Jiri Hodan
As for the teaching posts? While I may have a ton of great stuff to share, I must be honest with myself. I left the classroom to follow my writing dreams, and rehashing all my hard work on a weekly basis just isn’t floating my boat. So while those posts have generated the most organic traffic to my blog, I just don’t want to do them anymore. It’s time to move on.
So now I give you a blog with a tagline and a niche:
JeriWB What do I know? Indie Author | Book Reviewer | Writing Instructor | Editor | Let’s learn together!
My posts will now be focused on the following:
- Lit Maven Monday: Critical book reviews of traditional and indie authors.
- Book Art Tuesday: Cool covers and art inspired by literature.
- Writer Wednesday: Indie author advice, exercises, review etiquette, etc.
- Film Thursday: Commentary on adaptations of books w/ video clips.
- Author Friday: Updates, musings, notes on craft, and interviews.
For now I will continue to post five days a week since the new additions to my posting schedule should be less time-consuming. Is my niche perfect? I don’t know. It is more focused and I’m pretty enthusiastic regarding my new approach. Now if I could only feel as confident about the progress I am making on Lost Girl Road.
This past year has been a writing journey of magnificent proportions. Because of my wonderful husband I can take one more year to see where I’ll end up. Requests have been coming in for book reviews and I’m currently editing my first manuscript, in addition to slowly eeking out Lost Girl Road. I’ve learned about web design, video production, and social media. My mind feels engaged and alive.
The classroom keeps fading away and with that waning I find myself waking up to the possibilities I should have been pursuing for the past decade. I am healthier and happier and closer to living the life I’ve dreamed. That is sweet indeed.
Thanks for visiting. Share the blog love and leave a comment below or post this entry on your favorite social media website!
Sign-up via the email or RSS option in the sidebar to receive JeriWB’s latest posts. You can also follow JeriWB via the various social media platforms listed on this website. Let’s learn together!
Quote of the Day: Why not spread some words of wisdom and copy the image below to your Facebook or Google+ page?
Jeri — How wonderful that you are living your dream. It helps to have a loving and supportive husband. as I had. Plus, you put in the work. Congratulations and fly!
Jeannette Paladino recently posted..Why You Need to Raise Your Clout With Klout
I really like the new format you have planned for your blog, Jeri. Will look forward to your posts … and your insights!
Doreen Pendgracs recently posted..self-publishing = empowerment
I came across your blog this afternoon while researching a bit about niche choices for writers and found so much here in this post that I can relate to and am currently experiencing myself.
I soon will also be leaving teaching behind me and since I currently have my mind very much on teaching (especially thinking critically about all the reasons education isn’t working), I was considering having this as one of a few possible niche areas.
As you noted here, teaching is fading away because you are giving it the chance to do so and with that your need to write about it is fading also. This has given me a glimpse into my future, and I can see I will feel the same if I would only give myself the chance to leave it behind – not easy to envisage when you introduce yourself as a teacher so often.
Thanks for writing this, it’s had a real impact on me.
Mirella recently posted..How to get closer to finding what you want to do with your life
That’s been one of my favorite things about blogging! There are so many of us in the same boat, but at times it can feel like a lonely and confusing endeavor indeed. Thanks for stopping by and I’ll be sure to check out your blog too real soon (I’m traveling this week). It seems we have quite a lot in common.
Your comments and experiences, and those of Mirella, mirror my own. In the two years since I’ve left and tangentially re-entered teaching, my biggest struggle was how to reconcile what I knew I was good at with what I knew I wanted, needed, to be doing and to support myself. It’s a balance and requires more digging within than I was anticipating. Thanks for sharing!
Victoria, it’s great to hear from you. Even in the months that have passed since this post, I’m still constantly evolving as a writer and blogger. I’ve even started to take on freelance editing projects as a result of this blog. I never thought I could be a freelancer, but it’s starting to look that way. Best of luck in your journey as well!
Yeah, you know you are doing what’s right for you when you’re literally healthier. I remember when I quit grad school being like, ‘oh? THIS is what it feels like not to have panic attacks all the time.’
Glad to hear you’re doing well. And congrats on being able to post 5x a week! I’m lucky if I do one post a fortnight.
Jenny M Herrera recently posted..Five Tips on How to Start Writing Your Book
Jenny, I managed to keep up with five posts a week for quite a while, but have since found three is a much better fit. In the future, I may even go down to one or two posts a week since I may start blogs related to food and travel in the future. For some reason, I love to blog. It never feels like the chore that drafting my novel can sometimes feel like.