Category: Archive (Page 1 of 41)

Older, not entirely relevant posts

New! Writing Coach & Mentoring Program

September 2, 2015 / Jean / 0 Comments

A while back, God planted the seeds of a new dream in my heart, and it’s been slowly growing and taking form ever since. That dream? To use all of the writing, editing and publishing skills and knowledge I’ve built up over the years to help women who feel called to minister and share their stories via the written word discover their voice, hone their writing skills, choose their publishing path and accomplish their dreams.

I’ve built up a considerable knowledge-base and skill set over the years. I’ve been writing since I was a kid and helping others make their writing better for the past 15 years. Since launching my professional editing services last year, I targeted primarily secular fiction writers, but then God surprised me by sending me one Christian non-fiction project after another.

I was already beginning to wonder whether I should make that the primary focus of my services, when I was led to a comment section on an inspirational blog in which women were talking about how they wanted to write their testimonies or start a ministry blog but didn’t feel their writing was up to par.

That’s when this dream really started to take hold and grow.

Today I’m stepping out and launching what I hope is the first step in achieving that vision: a writing coach program geared specifically toward helping Christian women grow as writers.

For those who feel the nudge to minister via fiction or non-fiction, via book or blog, to share their testimonies or encourage and exhort others through devotionals or teach and instruct, this monthly program can help you get started and provide guidance for as long as you need it.

Click here to read more about it.

And if you know someone who might be helped by this program, help us both achieve our dreams by spreading the word!

In love,

PS – Has God planted any new dreams in your heart? What steps are you taking to make those dreams reality? Tell me how I can pray for you in the comments!

JMBauhaus.com is not me.

May 29, 2015 / Jean / 0 Comments

So apparently someone has taken over one of my old domains and used the Wayback Machine to pull up one of my old website layouts and are using them both to impersonate me for some reason that only God can fathom.

Not only that, but they’re using my picture and they’ve scraped old blog posts of mine and changed wording in an apparent attempt to avoid (further) copyright infractions and made the writing terrible in the process. Just compare this blog post I wrote in 2011 to the one of the same title on the imposter site.

Even worse, until about 20 minutes ago they were also displaying photos from my Flickr stream. I went and made that private as soon as I discovered this site.

Here’s the imposter site. I hate to send them more traffic (or help their SEO rankings), but I’m hoping that if they’re tracking stats they’ll see this and know that I’m on to them and I’m going to shut them down. I’ve already reported them to both their web host and their domain registrar and if that doesn’t get it done I’ll get a C&D. And if THAT doesn’t get it done I’ll see about getting a lawyer because, seeing as how I make part of my living as a professional writer, this site could do a lot to damage my professional reputation and I may very well have a case for damages.

In the meantime, hopefully anyone who stumbles across that site will click through the link to my LiveJournal and see this post and know what’s up.

… to blog, I guess.

May 23, 2015 / Jean / 0 Comments

I’ve been thinking and praying a lot over the question of whether to continue my blog, and suddenly I’ve been flooded with ideas for stuff I want to blog about. So I guess there’s my answer.

So instead of doing anything drastic like eliminating my author blog or putting it on indefinite hiatus, I’m just going to relax and give myself permission to only post when I have both the time and the energy as well as something to say that’s worth spending those resources on.

It’s the first two things that are the most difficult to come by, of course. Or rather, the problem is that when I think of something I want to write a post about–which actually occurs pretty frequently–I don’t have the time or the mental energy to do it at that moment. I’ve tried jotting down notes about what I want to say for times when I do have more free time, but that just hasn’t been working. By the time I finally sit down to write the post, I read over my notes and just can’t get back my train of thought. So I still need to figure out what to do about that. But it’s not something I’m going to stress myself out over.

There will still be greater changes coming. My web hosting account expires this year and I hate my current host, so I won’t be renewing with them. And since my past experiences with other inexpensive web hosts haven’t really been much better, and I can’t afford a better quality of hosting services, I’m just going to move my site to WordPress.com, which has everything I need at this point for free.

At that point I ~~may~~ probably will go ahead and separate out my blog from my author site. I think part of what I struggle with here is that much of what I want to write about isn’t the sort of things one might expect or want to read from a paranormal romance and dark fantasy author, and that’s hanging me up. So when the time comes I will probably cease having an “author blog” and just set up a static author website with a link to my personal blog, which is a separate entity.

Where to host this personal blog (which will really still be this here blog, just with a different name at a new location) is the big question. The simplest thing would just be to make my LiveJournal my main blog, seeing as how I’ve been cross-posting there this whole time and everything is already archived there, and then I wouldn’t have to worry about cross-posting from another platform. LJ has its drawbacks, though, not the least of which is the difficulty of commenting for non-members (or their willingness to do so).

I had long been a proponent of Blogger/Blogspot–that was the first blog engine I ever used, back when it was a wee startup run out of Ev Williams’ garage, and I stayed loyal to it for much longer than common sense dictated (I’m even at this moment wearing a Blogger hoodie I received as a reward for my loyalty after Google bought them out)–but the fact that Google treats it like a forgotten step-child and the customer service is terrible to non-existent has cured me of said loyalty. Still, I’ve already got this old blog archived there, so starting that up again is an option.

I think the most attractive option is moving it to its own url on WordPress.com. By now I’m used to the WordPress interface, they make commenting pretty easy for everybody, and they also make it really simple for other WP.com users to follow you, which would make it easier to build the community I long for. Of course, I would still have to work out the problem of cross-posting to LJ for the benefit of the small community I’ve already established there.

Also there’s the problem of LiveJournal constantly getting hacked by angry Russians who take the whole site down for long stretches of time. So….

At any rate, these are the things I will be pondering as I gear up to move this site. In the meantime, you can expect posting here to continue, albeit sporadically.

What about you guys? Do you have a vote as to where I should park my blog? This isn’t necessarily a democracy, but feedback will definitely help my decision, and I always love to hear from my readers. So leave a comment and give me your two cents!

To blog or not to blog?

May 19, 2015 / Jean / 3 Comments

Well, when I said I was going to get back to a regular blogging pattern this month, I guess I kind of underestimated how many other demands would be placed on my time. It’s been a pretty hectic couple of weeks. On the bright side, things are starting to settle down, and it’s looking like I’ll get to take that long Memorial Day weekend like I was hoping.

Of course, when you’re a freelancer, “things settling down” usually is code for “I have no more work lined up so I’d better start hustling to find some before this latest infusion of money runs out.” Incidentally, if you need to have a book critiqued, edited or formatted, my schedule’s wide open after the holiday.

Sooooo…

I’m kind of at a crossroads as far as this blog goes. I’m writing this book about self-publishing, and yesterday I was writing about author platforms and how all you really need is a mailing list and a website where you can have people sign up to it. You don’t really need a blog, although it does have certain advantages, the biggest of which are that it gives people a reason to keep coming back to your site and it keeps your website relevant to the search engines.

And I stopped and asked myself: do I really need this blog?

And then I answered myself: I’m not sure.

Really, those last two reasons I mentioned are the main reasons I’ve been concerned about carving out time to update this space. But really, the only things I’m getting out of it at this point are guilt and stress. I’m certainly not getting a ton of traffic or a grounded community of loyal readers. I get a little interaction, but only from people I already interact with regularly on Facebook. For that matter, anyone who really cares about what’s going on in my life follows me on Facebook or Twitter and are kept fully abreast of how things are going, and anyone who cares about my writing and when I will finally get around to finishing and publishing another book is presumably signed up to my mailing list.

So exactly what purpose is this here blog serving in my life at this point?

I’m going to be pondering that question over the next few days, and what the alternatives are. I’m pretty sure I don’t actually know how not to be a blogger, at least long-term, so we’re probably not looking at a complete shut-down. At the very least, I may leave a link to the archives on a static author website, and update it sporadically when I’ve got news or just need to get something off my chest. But as far as spending the time and energy to blog on a regular basis, that time and energy would probably be better spent on my writing and publishing blog, where it’s a little more crucial to get some traffic flowing.

So, that’s on my mind. What say you, readers? If there’s anyone who would really miss it if I stopped blogging here regularly, now’s your time to speak up.

Catching Up and Looking Forward

May 1, 2015 / Jean / 0 Comments

As you might have guessed, April turned into a pretty hectic month. In order to keep up with things (and to keep my sanity), I had to put the blog on the back burner for a while.

But it’s a new month, and I’m turning over a new leaf; although, so far, the freelance editing & publishing biz is continuing to bring in a steady flow of work (incidentally, I’ve still got openings for May), which, while it’s something to be grateful for, it’s not leaving me a lot of room for non-paying projects.

Unfortunately, I had not only back-burnered both this blog and my nascent writing and publishing blog, but also any real attempt at trying to make any progress on my current novel. That simply cannot stand. I’ve got to make the novel a priority again, but in order to do so, something’s got to give, which is why, though I fully intend to start blogging consistently again, it’s going to be at a slower pace. So while I’m in the throes of drafting my novel, I’ll be aiming to post here at least once a week, as well as once a week at the other blog, although if work stays busy it may turn out to be twice a month over there.

And what about that novel? I’m talking about Ghost of a Chance, the sequel to Restless Spirits that I’ve already been writing off and on for the last six months or so. That might sound like it should be close to done, but I’m sorry to tell you otherwise. The short version is that I tried to pants it (seeing as how i pantsed Restless Spirits and that turned out just fine, albeit it’s also the only book I’ve ever successfully written without an outline) and it totally went off the rails. So I’ve had to go back to the drawing board and start over from the beginning with an outline.

Trouble is, finding time to sit and think about the story as a whole and break it down into a working outline has been harder than finding time to sit down and just write. I’ve got act one sorted out and pieced together, but there’s still a lot more to go.

It’s growing. #outlining #amwriting #RestlessSpirits2

A photo posted by Jean Bauhaus (@jmbauhaus) on May 1, 2015 at 12:56pm PDT

I think another part of the problem is that there’s a murder mystery aspect to this one that keeps psyching me out. I’m not really big into the mystery genre, so I’m kind of afraid of botching it. It’s the B plot, but it’s integral to the main plot, so I can’t scrap it. I guess I’ll just have to muscle through and hope it doesn’t suck.

At any rate, this is setting my publishing schedule way, way behind. The first attempted draft isn’t a total loss, though. I should be able to salvage quite a few of those scenes, so that’s good news.

Besides getting my writing and blogging back on track, my other goals for the month of May include making more time for fun. These last few weeks I’ve been so bogged down with stuff I have to do or need to do that there hasn’t been nearly enough of doing stuff I simply want to do, which hasn’t made life very enjoyable. So I’m trying to work in more breaks just to play or doodle or daydream and just enjoy life. To that end, I’m also planning (read: hoping to be able) to take a long weekend around Memorial Day. It would be super-awesome if we could fit in a camping trip that weekend, but that’s not looking likely; still, if I have anything to say about it, that weekend is going to be devoted to fun and relaxation and to not even one iota of productivity.

I was also going to talk about the stuff I’ve been into during my scant amounts of free time lately, but this is already getting pretty long, so I’ll save that for next week’s post.

In the mean time, what about you guys? What have I missed? What are your plans for the merry month of May? Tell me all about it in the comments!

April 14, 2015 / Jean / 0 Comments

There’s this thing I have to deal with this week and it’s kind of urgent and time-consuming and overwhelming and I can’t really talk about it and that’s making me not want to talk much at all.

So here, watch this parrot shake its tail feather.

Blah.

A quick update from infirmity land

April 7, 2015 / Jean / 1 Comment

I was feeling kind of hermity in the week leading up to my birthday. It wasn’t so much the getting older, but I got some bad news that kind of threw me for a loop and, well, the getting older part wasn’t helping. But then I had a long weekend, which was productive as far as spring cleaning goes, and a nice Easter, and a lovely birthday spent over-eating on cheap sushi and Chinese food followed by makeup shopping with my mom, and I was feeling well sorted and kind of gung-ho about digging back into everything today.

And then I managed to hurt myself in my sleep. Not just sleep in the wrong position, wake up with a crick in your neck hurt, but actually managing to severely strain a muscle hard enough to wake yourself up with the pain while turning over. And now just sitting here propped up with a heating pad and holding my head just so to avoid mind-numbing pain is using up quite a lot of my energy, and I’m back to not feeling so great about this whole getting older experience.

I haven’t done my bullet journal yet for the week, but I’ve still got two book critiques on my plate, and a freelance blog post, and a bunch of client e-mails that I’m trying to psych myself up to answer. I’d hoped to get some walking in this week, and to make more progress on the spring cleaning, but as much as it hurts to move right now I’m thinking those things are going to have to wait.

At least there isn’t any pressing yard work that needs to be done. There is no big loss without some small gain…

So how are you guys doing this week? Better than I am, I hope.

Cancer sucks. So do tornadoes.

March 26, 2015 / Jean / 1 Comment

Yesterday, I opened up my laptop to be greeted with the news that a family member of a family member lost her battle with melanoma. As a writer, words are usually my strong suit, but in this instance I’m kind of at a loss. There’s really nothing you can say that feels adequate. “Cancer sucks” only scratches the surface.

I knew this brave lady from kids’ birthday parties, but I’m sad and ashamed to say that I never got to know her well because I was always too shy to have a real conversation with her. The last time I saw her was in November at my great niece’s third birthday, where she was anxiously awaiting the results of a liver biopsy. She asked my mother to pray with her, and they stepped aside to pray while the cake was being served. Not long after, she and her husband excused themselves to leave, and on the way out the door she stopped and patted me on the shoulder. I was extremely touched that she felt enough familial warmth toward me to do that, despite my quiet tendencies, and I resolved to make more of an effort to talk to her at the next birthday party.

Except there won’t be any more birthday parties, at least not with her in attendance. She received her test results, and her diagnosis, later that week. Now, just five months later, she’s gone.

Our hearts and prayers go out to her husband and kids. As much as it pained me to watch from a distance as things took a bad turn, I can only imagine how hard all of this is, and has been, and will continue to be for them. If you’re the praying type, please remember the Rohde family as they go through this.

***

As if that wasn’t enough to ruin a day, yesterday evening we got hit with a tornadic thunderstorm. Once the tornado sirens started blasting, I shoved the cats (and the turtle) in a pet carrier and placed them in a central hallway, then held Pete, ready to dash for cover as I kept one eye on the TV weather coverage and another on the skies.

In true Okie fashion (which is funny considering how much of his formative years he spent in California), Matt kept going outside to see if he could see anything. Thankfully, the rain arrived and forced him back inside mere minutes before a gust of wind blew the tops of a couple of dead trees down into the yard right where he’d been standing.

Other than the tree parts scattered all over our back yard, we didn’t sustain any damage, thank goodness. Sand Springs, a suburb to the northwest of us, was hit the hardest, and the funnel cloud stayed about a mile north of us as it moved through Tulsa.

Last year, Oklahoma mostly got a break from the really scary storms, like after that awful spring of 2013 nature said, “Okay, Oklahoma, I’mma lay off you guys for a while.” But I guess we’re back on the hit list. I really hope last night wasn’t just a sneak preview of how the rest of this season’s going to go.

Local folks, how badly were you hit? Did you take cover when you heard the sirens, or head outside like my husband?

This Week’s Plan plus Launching a New Freelance Endeavor

March 23, 2015 / Jean / 0 Comments

First things first: This week I’m (re)launching the new Daydreamer Publishing website, where I’m offering all of my editing, book formatting and other self-publishing services (all of the editing services links here now point there). I’m also planning to launch an instructional blog over there dedicated to writing and publishing topics.

“But Jeanie, what about that whole thing about you having multiple blog personality disorder and needing to simplify and streamline and have everything in one place?”

That’s actually a great question. I thought (and prayed) long and hard before putting this new website up, and I concluded that, if I want editing and helping and instructing indie authors to become my primary day job (at least until those darn book sales start paying all the bills), then I need to have a professional web space for that stuff, and a single page on this here blog wasn’t cutting it.

Also, the main purpose of this blog is to let readers get to know me as a human being and grow my community. If I turn this into a writing and publishing blog, then all who will show up here is other writers, and while I love my writer friends (and love it when y’all chime in), they’re not my target audience over here.

So anyway, putting that site together was pretty much how I spent my weekend.

Onward to this week’s bullet journal…

Word of the week: “Patience” – I keep feeling like I’m on the verge of some kind of breakthrough. I’m not sure what that is or what it will look like, but this is to remind myself not to try and force it, but to relax and trust that God is working stuff out behind the scenes, and it’ll happen on His timetable.

Verse of the week: James 1:4 (NKJV) – “But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”

Because, patience.

I finished the big book edit on Friday, so this week is mainly about catching up on all the stuff I neglected in order to meet that deadline. I also need to start exercising regularly (last week’s attempt was a bust). I had planned to walk at least a mile this morning, but instead I ended up having to get dressed and run to Super Target to buy a new toilet seat, because ours decided to break late last night for no apparent reason whatsoever. At least this time we sprang for a padded one. Oh the luxury!

We went all over the store so Matt could price a bunch of stuff while we were there, so that was some exercise, at least. Except we also picked up a box of Sarah Lee donuts that was on sale, and I caved in and ate one when we got home, in violation of my “no gluten on weekdays” rule. So basically both my fitness and diet goals for the week were a bust before I even made it to lunch. Eh, I can start over tomorrow, I guess.

In all fairness, I vacuumed the house before I ate the donut, so you can’t say I didn’t earn it.

Anyway, here’s what my bullet list for the week looks like:

2 client critiques
Fiverr edit (a quick ESL polishing job on a short piece)
Go over Matt’s edits on another book edit and deliver that to the client
Sit my butt down and outline Ghost of a Chance
Invoice another client for a post-Easter-weekend ghost blog post
30 min. walk at least three times this week
At least two posts for this blog
Launch my Publishing School blog
Start a Daydreamer Publishing mailing list and create a free gift for signing up
Trim my hair and henna my roots
A couple of other time-intensive tasks that are too personal to mention here

So that’s going to be a pretty full week. I guess I’d better get started.

What’s going on with you guys this week?

Quick look at this week’s goals (March 16-22, 2015)

March 16, 2015 / Jean / 0 Comments

I’m still racing deadlines this week, so posting here is probably going to be sporadic, if it gets done at all. My only real goal this week is to finish this client’s book copy edit, and to make good headway on a couple of manuscript critiques. I also need to get on the stick and take care of some financial paperwork I keep putting off.

I’m also trying this week to get back into the habit of walking at least three days a week. Although, looking at the weather forecast, it looks like we’ve got some more rain and a few more chilly days on the way, so this might not’ve been the best week to start. At any rate, today the weather is gorgeous and I kicked it off with a 20 minute walk around the neighborhood this morning, so at least that’s a start.

Word of the Week: Focus. Because deadlines.

Verse of the Week: Joshua 1:9 (emphasis mine) – “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

What about you guys? Anything big on your agenda this week? Tell us about your goals in the comments!