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The SITS Girls

The Secret to Success is Support

Want to Publish Your Blog? Tips from DeNae Handy

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Psst! Come close. We’ve got a special surprise for you…

Our featured blogger is none other than DeNae Handy, blogger at My Real Life Was Backordered, published author, speaker at this weekend’s Bloggy Boot Camp in San Diego, and all-around funny lady. Read on to learn about her passion for music and how you might get a book in print too!

Your blog title is laugh out loud funny.  Tell us about the ways your “real life was backordered”?
It can be summed up with one quick story.  I married an accounting and finance major, who, instead of becoming an accountant or a finance specialist, became an FBI agent.  We were transferred to Seattle in November of what would be the rainiest, snowiest winter on record to date, and at the time King County owned exactly 16 snowplows. The final head-slapper came when, a week before we were supposed to move into our apartment on Mercer Island, the floating bridge that connected the island to Seattle sank to the bottom of Lake Washington.  It was then that I tossed the question to the universe, “Is this REALLY the life I signed up for?!”  And the cosmos hollered back, “Uh, no.  It seems that we’re completely out of ‘calm and predictable’ lives, but we’ll gladly place your request on backorder.”  I’ve been waiting for more than 20 years, but so far, my real life has yet to be delivered.

write a book

You’re speaking at Bloggy Boot Camp this week on writing.  What can attendees expect from your session with Mama Kat?
Well, I don’t want to spill Mama Kat’s beans, but for my part I’ll be teaching bloggers how to be writers – to be all right with telling the story YOU want to tell, in YOUR voice, to YOUR audience.  I think sometimes we forget that whatever your reasons for blogging – whether to keep a journal or run a business or to make money in some other way – you have to be able to convey your message in a way that is engaging and interesting to your readers.  I’m a humor essayist, and blogging has made me a much, much better writer.

Being a published author, what advice do you have for other bloggers who are considering doing the same?
I can’t say enough good things about the publishing options available for writers these days. As an essayist and memoirist, I find the world of self-publishing and e-publishing to be very friendly and inviting.  As a novelist, I still think conventional publishing paths are best, but it’s great to know that we have so many other paths from which to choose.  The best advice I could give bloggers who are looking toward a writing career would be:

  1. Always, always run your writing past by at least one proofreader before sending it for publication, even if you are self-publishing.  Often we bloggers fire off a blog post in a few minutes or even a couple of hours, and think, “Wow!  That was really great!” only to find that in purely literary terms it had a lot of room for improvement.
  2. Be prepared to play by a different set of rules.  The professional writing world is a wonderful place to be, but it’s around the corner, down the street, and up several flights of stairs from the blogging world.  Do your homework.
  3. Attend conferences!  I can honestly say I learn more about my strengths as a writer- as well as ways to identify and overcome my weaknesses – in a weekend writers’ conference than I could learn in months of writing, proofreading, and editing.

write a book

What instrument do you play and how long have you been teaching music?  Also, in what ways has music helped shape your world?
Although I “sang my way through college” – thus disproving at least one of my mother’s prophecies that unless I learned how to type I’d wind up selling pencils out of a tin cup – I’ve spent most of my professional life as a pianist.  I also love to have a baton in my hand, and spent five years directing a community symphony and chorus.  I still do a lot of teaching, as well as free-lance arranging and orchestrating, but more and more I find myself wearing my writer’s hat.  However, there is no question that the subjects of voice, range, phrase, pitch, and dynamics have been effective tools in both my own writing and in teaching others to write.  I’m amazed at how many writers are also performing artists in one medium or another; there seems to be a common need for self-expression – the desire to be heard.  Music infuses every aspect of my life; without wanting to sound melodramatic, I can’t imagine an existence without music.  Also, teaching piano lessons pays the bills, so, you know, woot woot for music!

Other posts you’re not going to want to miss on My Real Life Was Backordered:
The Cat’s Out of the Bag(pipe): A warning against combining indoor weddings and musical instruments of mass destruction.
The Great Sheet Surprise of 1999: The sad correlation between the improper use of bedding and the steady decline of ACT scores.
Something for Everyone: Explaining DeNae’s tendency to become attached to, well, everything.

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Don’t miss the sign ups for this week’s #CommentHour.  We’ve posted a new string in the discussion forum for you to get involved.  Spending an hour with us on Twitter is a great way to meet new bloggy friends AND get traffic to your blog.  Join us!

About Francesca

Francesca has an extensive background in content marketing, public relations, and social outreach. She oversees all Operations at Sway Group, including our robust metrics capabilities. Prior to joining the online world, Francesca oversaw viticulture and oenology at various wineries in both California and Italy, and managed regulatory affairs and facility approvals at the biotech company, Genentech. Francesca has been featured on CBS Sacramento and Food Blogger Pro’s podcast. She has also hosted an AMA webinar and spoken at Social Media World.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. ManWifeDog says

    The Wife from Man Wife and Dog Blog here!

    “By the way, this answer is brought to you by the phrase, I try…”

    LOVE IT!

    Heading over to leave some comment love!

  4. Practical Parenting says

    Great advice…especially about the editing! I also like the reminder of staying true to your own voice. It’s easy to get caught up in wanting to be something else, but authenticity is important.

  8. She'sWrite says

    Happy SITS day! I love writing, always have and love reading well-written blogs. I’m newish to this blogging thing, but keep up the good work, very inspiring! 🙂

  11. Jessica Smith says

    CRACKING UP right now!! It is so true about a calm & predictable life. If our expectations are too high in life, we are constantly disappointed! I like to learn to roll with the unpredictable and just accept it. That way, when something AWESOME happens, it’s especially awesome 🙂 Great blog lady!

    -Jess

  26. OMG! Yummy says

    I would SITS by todays FB anytime! She gave me a much-needed comedic break from my torturously dull online traffic school. Hugs and kisses for that. Sorry I won’t be in San Diego for the writer’s workshop with her and Kat. I’m sure it will be a good one.

    Taking my life one hour at a time and making slow and steady progress, I think.

  27. Simone says

    Ooh I am dreaming of being a published writer (yeah, me and all th rest of the blogworld) but I am doing a little dance here because I have a regular writing spot in New Zealand’s top parenting magazine! wahoo! So now when i clear customs i feel justified to put “writer” as my profession. Even if it is just one (large feature) article per issue.
    I am off to go meet Denae. She might just be my new role model.

    PS I missed commenting here on the last feature blogger – but i visited and commented on her blog – a really nice comment too. So i’m hoping that even tho my role calling has been a little sporadic lately due to family drama, I’m hoping I haven’t missed my FB turn??

  31. Anna-Elizabeth says

    She’s a great resource for any writer or blogger, no matter how casually they create. Clearly, I have yet to take her advice on outside proofer readers, choosing to view my typos as endearing to the masses. … right?

  33. Karen V. says

    I had no idea that the floating bridge had sunk into Lake Washington!! I am originally from Washington myself but transplanted to California many years ago. Very excited to look at DeNae’s blog and learn a lot from this very successful and wise woman!

  41. Amber says

    I love everything you write. It’s like Christmas morning when I see a new post from you. I’m so happy for you with all of this. You truly deserve it! I can’t tell you how bad I wish I could be in the front row of your class this weekend and cheer the loudest for you. You’re going to have so much fun! And those BBCers are in for a real treat!

    Love you, sister! Happy SITS day! (Now that I know what it is!)

  42. Adryon says

    Wonderful advice. #1 cracks me up. I always have two people read my stuff, and there’s always at least one glaring thing that I never notice at first!

  46. Melody @ Lifestwistedstitches.com says

    I love the analogy of blogging being down the street, around the corner, and up a few flights of stairs from the professional literary writing world. 🙂 It is liberating to one’s spirit though to be able to have blogging as writing outlet. For most of us it is likely “enough”.

  47. Michelle says

    Very straight forward advice – especially for bloggers who are seriously considering other avenues for writing. Sorry I missed DeNae at Bloggy Boot Camp but her comments about the importance of attending conferences ensures I’ll be at BlogHer|bet ’11!

  48. le chef says

    I too moved to the Seattle area just before another grand afore mentioned northwest winter. This year they had 15 snowplows, as one was either on the bridge when it went down, or was abducted by aliens somewhere around Rainier.
    I also like music. I have a cello to prove this theory, though all I have ever done is stare at it in awe.

  49. Katy says

    Still giggling over your title! Great tips-I should have my sister look over mine before I post-she is so much better at grammar and all that fun stuff than I am!