Hello my fellow creative spirit!
I have a story and a few points that should help you, all of which are inspired by a recent conversation with my little boy Scotty. Scotty (eleven years old) is struggling with a three, yes, three subjects. Note: He gave me permission to tell this story. He loves the limelight. We'd been working for a couple of hours one WEDNESDAY evening. Wait, that's not true. We actually argued for thirty minutes and then worked for ninety.
Anyway, the phone rang. I had to answer it because I'm trying to get an appointment with a child psychologist. Scotty, sadly, is one of the many American children suffering severe anxiety and major academic setbacks as a result of Covid shutdowns and masking. I'm not taking any side except my child's. The psychologist was calling to talk to me. As one might imagine, he is extraordinarily busy right now, so I jumped at the chance to actually speak with him.
Every day, according to Scotty's fifth-grade teachers, I am supposed to log into Aspen.com to see his grades and check each subject to see what assignments are late/missing (he tends to "accidentally" leave homework on the bus). Mr. Robert the bus driver must often do homework sweeps under the pleather seats, which is one of the reasons we mothers collect a big cash gift for him each December and May. After I log into Aspen.com, I must go to Canvas.com to search for said assignments. The titles don't always match up, so I have to rely on Scotty's memory to figure out what in Aspen is what in Canvas. Fortunately, we can usually dig through his grimy backpack to find at least one of the assignments. Mama loves PAPER. After I iron those dittos and have him put his name at the tops, we are ready to work. If the assignment is in Canvas.com, we must complete it on Google (slides/docs/sheets) and then go back to Canvas.com to submit it by using a little box to search, you guessed it, Google. We click submit and pray a green checkmark appears. Then we go to the next assignment by clicking dashboard, courses, one of eight courses, modules, unit, assignment. THIS IS WHY I GO TO YOGA. I may not look like a yogi, but I am a dedicated practitioner.
Author, be clear and obvious about what you want people to do when they see your social media posts, read your emails, or visit your website. If you want them to join your email list, ask them at least twice in the message. Limit your posts/emails to one subject and always write as though you are speaking to only one reader. Test the links and clearly label them. Examples:
Stay in the Crippled Beagle Publishing loop by joining my e-newsletter list HERE. (I hyperlinked this sentence to a form that allows folks to EASILY register for my email list.)
BUY MY BOOKS HERE. (This takes readers straight to my Amazon Author Central Page---which you need.)
If you'd like to [match to the subject of your message], just reply to this email and say [whatever you want readers to say]. (For extra example, if I were writing an email to you about using Amazon Author Central to promote your work, I would end the email with: "If you'd like to know how to set up your Amazon Author Central Page, reply to this email and write, 'Jody, help me set up my author page on Amazon.'"
Back to our story ... I spoke with the psychologist and made a plan to help Scotty. Scotty asked me to let him work on his own, so I went to yoga to "ring out the stress" from a hard day. The next afternoon, Scotty told me that his teacher was mad at him for not finishing enough late work. He told me, "My teacher said that you should focus more on helping me than answering phone calls and going to yoga." Ummmm. First, I got mad at the teacher. Second, I realized that Scotty threw me under the bus. Third, I laughed at the whole situation. The teacher has been extraordinarily patient with Scotty and with ME. She's wonderful, but she's human. She's young, unmarried, and not a mother. My bet is she doesn't understand that children fib when it's convenient to do so. It likely hasn't occurred to her that children go straight home and tell their parents everything, but they also SPIN their stories as they tell them. I value her frustration. Scotty was in survival mode. His quick thinking (blaming me) got him out of trouble. As a mother and former teacher, I know that whatever I say to Scotty about his teachers will be delivered to them, with spin, the next day. I am careful. He admitted to throwing me under the bus and apologized. My guess is that she didn't speak so harshly and he spun her words, too.
My little angel and I worked for an hour on his 5th Grade Reading and Language Arts, Narrative Writing Module, Narrative Writing Task #2 - Changing Point of View, a five-paragraph essay in which he was to select a character from a short story and rewrite the story from that character's point of view. Whew! We plodded through the assignment on a Google Doc. When we tried to submit the essay on Canvas.com, we got this lovely response (NOT the teacher's fault):
During Covid, if our school system had sent home worksheets and workbooks or even emailed parents assignment instructions and allowed students to use (crazy idea) notebook paper, more students would have completed more work during our six-month spring break from March to August in 2020. More relatives and friends could have helped our children. Paper is a soft, less intimidating, tried and true tool.
Could I host a podcast? Sure! Do I know how? Do I have time to learn the technology? Do I want to spend that kind of money? Nope. Do what works. Don't let the world's obsession with technology guilt you into using a device, platform, or tool that pushes your focus off content and communication. Just write.
Know your talents. Hire help when you need it. Don't procrastinate. Progress is perfection! Make doing business with you EASY. Keep your process simple so you can focus on what matters—your message and your audience.
Remember, I'm a writing, editing, publishing, and marketing coach. At any time, you can set a one-on-one appointment with me. If you need help, just reply to this email and say, "Jody, I'd like to set a coaching appointment with you."
xoxoxoxo
Jody
