August 3, 2011

Interview with Shannon Milholland!

What is your name?
Shannon Milholland

What part of the world are you located?
Memphis, Tennessee

What is your company name, website, FB page name, twitter name and anything else you use?

I have two “odd” jobs:
2)    Speaker and Writer


Are you a SAHM/WAHM? Tell us about you (mini-bio!)
I am both a SAHM and a WAHM.  I attempt to create spaces in my life where my kids feel like I stay-at-home even though I am working two jobs plus volunteering in the community.  Like is a juggle but isn’t life more interesting when things fly through the air?

When did you start your blog/online/at home business?
Southern Writers Magazine – Was conceived by Susan Reichert in March, 2011 and brought to first issue in just three months.  I have never heard of a magazine created so quickly.  Clearly God was helping pave the way.

Speaking/Writing – I really began in earnest in late April 2010.  I’m a bit stubborn and even though I’d had this dream in my heart for several years, time was required to work on lining my head up with my heart.  I had to come to a place where I believed I could begin regardless of whether I failed.

How did you find yourself getting started with your business/venture?
Southern Writers Magazine – Susan Reichert asked me to coffee one day and asked me to join the team.  This didn’t happen overnight though.  I had invested nine months in cultivating a relationship with her and serving her in another organization prior to this.  Put other’s needs first and your investment in them will pay-off.

Speaking/Writing – I had a dear friend who’s actually a bit shy dare to boldly look me in the eye and ask when I was going to stop running from God and start living out of my passion.  I figured if she’s bold enough to stand up to me, I’m bold enough to begin this venture.

How did you go about seeking your information?
Southern Writers Magazine – We surveyed the market to see what other magazines for writers were out there.  There were magazines teaching the technical aspects of writing but not one equipping writers to actually market and sell their books, get a contract, etc.  Then we poked around to see how other magazines were formatted and sold and made sure ours was a value-added, above-the-competition proposition.  The result is a stunning, informative and inspiring magazine that is propelling authors to success.

Speaking/Writing – I looked at the platform of others in this field and determined what social media they were using, how they were using it and what was most effective.  Initially I just blogged but slowly I added various social media platforms to build on this.

Do you have a mentor? Yes I do-several actually.  The editor of Southern Writers to start.  She mentors me in networking, writing and life in general.  Having a mentor is an invaluable resource.  Would you consider mentoring someone who wanted to start a similar business?  Absolutely!

What mistakes did you endure to figure out the right path?
I had to learn to ask for what I wanted and not just sit back and assume my audience would come to me.  What I finally realized is that when you’re adding real value to someone’s life, you are marketing, you’re offering a better life.

Moments of brilliance?
When I selected the name of my blog I wanted to portray how refreshing living a life empowered by the Word of God can be.  I also desired to imply I spent time developing my relationship with God every morning.  The name Jesus and My Orange Juice was born and through God’s providence alone is the number one Google hit combining those words.  I accidentally learned how important it is to have a unique combination of words in the title of your blog.

Advice to others that are considering an online business?
Start slow.  Excellence matters.  It’s more important to do one thing well than twelve things haphazardly.  Be certain your online image reflects the heart of who you are.  Authenticity in any venture attracts; salesmanship repels.

How do you balance mommyhood and online work?
I try to capture spaces of time that don’t detract from my kids – early morning, naptime, when they’re tired and ready to veg out for some TV time, when they are engaged playing with each other.  I also have learned the importance of saying “no” to anything that’s not in line with God’s priorities for me that day.  Many great opportunities come my way to which I say “no” because more important work is already at hand.

What are some of your favorite “mommy sites” to visit?
I love the practicality of Lori Fairchild’s blog – Everyday Truth.  I also find Lysa TerKeurst’s blog insightful and inspiring.  When I really need encouragement I run to the oasis of Encouragement Café – they are always serving up something that feeds my soul.

Are there any aspects of your business/life that aren’t covered here that you want to share?
Don’t start a business unless it is first your passion.  Passion is the secret ingredient to success.  Passion keeps you going when the results don’t just role in.  Passion frees you to enjoy what you’re doing.  Passion turns a job into an adventure.

What else can you share with us?
I started speaking and writing because I realized I found joy in the ordinary of my day – piles of laundry and miles and carpools but few women shared my enthusiasm.  I wanted to give them the gift I’d been given.  The gift was extended to writers through my involvement with Southern Writers Magazine.  Giving away my heart to encourage others has been the most satisfying decision of my life.

Posted by ~Wendie at 6:32 AM 10 comments

August 1, 2011

Interview with Stacy Juba


What is your name?  Stacy Juba
What part of the world are you located? I'm from New England.
What is your company name, website, FB page name, twitter name and anything else you use?

Mysteries, Murder & More blog http://stacyjuba.com/blog/blog/    
Twitter: https://twitter.com/stacyjuba  @stacyjuba


Are you a SAHM/WAHM?  Tell us about you (mini-bio!)
Yes, I stay at home and work out of my home office. I've always been a writer and had my first book, Face-Off, published with Avon Books when I was a teenager, followed by many years of rejection. After college, I worked as a newspaper reporter and as an administrative assistant/publicist. I stopped working full-time after having my first child, and for awhile did freelance writing for a parenting magazine and freelance newsletter-writing and press releases for non-profit wellness clients, in addition to pursuing publication for my latest novels. I was fortunate to finally get my books published a couple of years ago, and now I focus on writing books and marketing them. I mainly focus on writing adult mystery novels with a touch of romance, and have two published by Mainly Murder Press, titled Twenty-Five Years Ago Today and Sink or Swim.  Mainly Murder Press will also publish my paranormal young adult thriller Dark Before Dawn in January 2012.  I independently published my children's picture books The Flag Keeper and Victoria Rose and the Big Bad Noise, (illustrated by my father) and I also self-publish the e-book versions of my novels as I hold the e-book rights.

When did you start your blog/online/at home business?
I started my web site in the summer of 2009, a few months before Twenty-Five Years Ago Today was published in trade paperback by Mainly Murder Press. About a year later, I launched the Mysteries, Murder & More blog to enhance my web site and keep getting the word out about my books. It really became a business after I started self-publishing my books into e-book format for Kindle, Nook and Smashwords and after I self-published my children's picture book The Flag Keeper in both paperback and e-book formats. It was exciting to  have royalties coming in from different places and to have money coming in every month, after all those years of rejection.  I have five books out now, in various genres and formats, and should have four more out by the middle of 2012.  

How did you find yourself getting started with your business/venture?
I launched my web site after receiving a contract from Mainly Murder Press for my first mystery novel, Twenty-Five Years Ago Today. I started out just promoting that one paperback, then with the whole e-book revolution and the popularity of devices like the Kindle, I realized that I could use my entrepreneurial skills to carve out a real niche for myself. I now have three kinds of books published for three different audiences -- for adults, children, and a few upcoming young adult books.   

How did you go about seeking your information?
The first couple years was a lot of research and trial and error. I read numerous books about web sites, blogging, Twitter, marketing, and book promotion. I joined author book promotion groups and book blogger forums to network and exchange tips.  It took a lot of time to find out what worked and what didn't, and to lay the groundwork.


Do you have a mentor?  Would you consider mentoring someone who wanted to start a similar business?
My publisher at Mainly Murder Press, Judith K. Ivie, has been a mentor to me. I've learned a lot about the book business from her. She is a talented author who penned the Kate Lawrence mystery series among other books, and she also has a keen business sense.  I admire how she has succeeded in combining her creativity and business sense to launch a publishing company that has introduced many talented new authors to readers. 

As far as mentoring others, I've had several authors email me asking for advice on topics such as marketing, uploading to Kindle, and self publishing, and I'm always happy to answer a few questions to help someone get pointed in the right direction. I don't have time to read manuscripts or coach someone through the whole process due to my own time constraints, but I'm always happy to direct them to some resources that might be helpful. I've asked my own share of questions of authors over the years and I still do from time to time. 

What mistakes did you endure to figure out the right path?
I hired someone to design my web site, and it was a beautiful design, but the problem was that it was done in Dreamweaver and I couldn't update it myself.  I tried to learn it, but it was a disaster. My mistake was looking at the short-term of having one book to promote, rather than looking at one and two years down the road when I might need constant updates to add more books, reviews, and events. Last December, I realized that for my career to grow, I needed the ability to update my web site myself so that I wasn't putting anymore money into maintenance. I switched the whole thing over to Wordpress and now handle the maintenance myself. I also spent a lot of time doing guest blogging on other sites and hosting guest bloggers on my own site, but I found these weren't effective marketing strategies - they took up too much time for not enough sales. I very rarely write guest blog articles now unless it's a real niche audience that I'm trying to reach, preferring interviews as they are much easier to complete than writing a full-fledged article. I no longer host guest bloggers on my blog on a weekly basis - I might host someone once in awhile, but in general, I am cutting back on my blogging. I realized that a blog is important for an author, but that less is more.

Moments of brilliance?
Revamping my web site so that I could maintain it myself was one of the smartest decisions I've ever made. Spending less time on Facebook and really working to build my Twitter followers and take advantage of Twitter networking was a smart move.  I've made a lot of contacts on Twitter and find it much better than Facebook for interacting with readers, writers, reviewers and bloggers.

Giving away a couple of e-books for free has also been helpful. I have a free mystery short story Laundry Day which also contains excerpts from my adult novels and an author interview, and I've arranged for that to be free from a variety of retailers including Amazon and B&N. You can access all the links on my web site. It gives people a flavor of my writing through a short story, and they can also sample my novels. It has had thousands of downloads on Amazon and some of those readers have gone on to buy my books. I wouldn't feel comfortable charging for it as the story itself is short, but I think it's a nice download for free. On a shorter-term basis, I've also been offering my children's picture book Victoria Rose and the Big Bad Noise for free from various retailers including Amazon.  Thousands of readers have downloaded it for free to share with their young children - over 5100 downloads on Amazon in the past 4 weeks. It includes an excerpt of my picture book The Flag Keeper, a book that I'm trying to build word of mouth about, as it teaches children about U.S. flag etiquette in a fun way. This has led to an increase in sales for The Flag Keeper, and once people hear about that book, many buy multiple copies for their troops, schools, or for children in a family that have a parent or close relative in the military.

Advice to others that are considering an online business?
Don't expect to make a profit immediately as there is a lot of trial and error involved. It took me about a year and a half before I started making a profit and spending my money more wisely. I'd recommend spending some time on Twitter as that is a valuable resource.  Start a business page on Facebook. I'd recommend using a resource such as Hootsuite to manage your social networking - you can easily view columns of lists and can schedule tweets/posts. I recently switched over my email newsletter to TinyLetter as I was looking for a simple (one-click) and free way of sending out a newsletter a few times per year.  I subscribe to HARO (Help A Reporter Out) so if a reporter is seeking an interview source on a certain subject, I can respond to pitches that fit my background. Lastly, be sure to determine who your target market is and then make a plan for how you can find them online.

How do you balance mommyhood and online work?
I try to stay as organized as possible. I have one weekly planner calendar which focuses on our family schedule, and another that is just devoted to book marketing with my schedule of radio interviews, blog interviews, on-line chat dates, dates paid ads are running, dates of blog or Twitter hops to check in, and the schedule for my own blog. I have a big dry erase board in the kitchen that combines all of our family dates and my really important marketing dates - things I absolutely need to make sure I remember! That way I can look at my board when I'm walking by and what's coming up sticks in my mind. I update my dry erase board every month. I work in the early mornings and for an hour or so at night, and on days when my parents or in-laws babysit. I'm fortunate to have a very supportive husband who gives me time to work on the weekends and during his time off, and who does tasks around the house like laundry. I also set realistic goals for myself. I haven't been at a place in my life the past few years where I can pull off writing new books and marketing my published books at the same time, so I've taken a long break from the actual act of writing fiction. Now that I have a good handle on marketing, I'm editing some completed books that have been sitting in my drawer and getting those ready for release. Once those are done, and launched, I'll be able to focus more on writing new material.  You can't do everything at once and have a balanced life. You have to chip away at it in smaller, manageable chunks.

What are some of your favorite “mommy sites” to visit?
My favorites are voiceBoks (The Voice of Motherhood) http://www.voiceboks.com/and
The Mom Bloggers Club. www.mombloggersclub.com/ I've met lots of women that share common interests or are trying to balance family with a career or an interest such as blogging.

Are there any aspects of your business/life that aren’t covered here that you want to share?
I am a big believer in the power of positive thinking and I'm also trained in energy healing/Reiki. I believe in energy and "good vibes" as I've sensed these things myself.  I have a vision board in my office which blends my personal life and career goals, and I keep it updated. Basically, I have a very clear picture in my mind of what I want and I ask the universe for help.  I want a thriving career where I make substantial money for my books, but I also want balance as career isn't as important as the people we love. Being on grueling book tours, having constant deadline pressure, and not being able to go on vacation or have time to read a book isn't for me, yet I'm very ambitious and driven in accomplishing the goals that I have set.   Whether you believe in positive thinking and the Law of Attraction or not, at the very least, having clear cut goals that you reevaluate from time-to-time helps you to trust your intuition, make better decisions and stay true to yourself.    

What else can you share with us?
I think it's good for moms to take time for themselves, whether it's following a career dream or making room in their life for a special hobby or pastime. It sets a good example for children if they see that you make room in your life for what speaks to your heart and fuels your passion. With day-to-day life so busy for all of us, it can be easy to let your own goals and interests slide, but you can accomplish a lot by having a weekly list of five or six goals, crossing those off, and then having new goals the next week.

Posted by ~Wendie at 6:59 AM 12 comments
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