Reboot

Whew! Well, here I am. Here we are. New page, new start.  The last month and a half have been, well, let’s just call it challenging.  November and December are traditionally pretty stressful times for many people because of the added pressure to get all the things done you normally do, plus prep for family events, buy all the perfect gifts, and keep a smile on your face.  It’s exhausting.  Then something pops up out of nowhere and derails everything.  Well, at least in your mind it does. 

For me that looked like waking up the Saturday after Thanksgiving to multiple fraud alerts on my credit card. EEEK!  After a pulse-elevating phone call with an extremely kind and patient rep at Amex, the issue was resolved enough that I felt good about how the rest of the day would go. I probably said something out loud about being glad I got the bad stuff out of the way early. And the Universe laughed and laughed…

Because not long after breathing a sigh of relief about my almost-derailed day I started getting messages from friends that they couldn’t see my Instagram account. And they thought maybe I’d been hacked.  Double EEEK!  I logged in figuring I would find that my password had been compromised and I would reset things and move on.  And… that didn’t happen. Then friends started messaging that something was up with my Brayzen FB page. Ok, deep breaths, log-in, probably a glitch, right?  FB & IG are connected, so if something was up with one, it was probably impacting the other.  And yep, there was a problem, but not what I thought it would be. Long story short… at some point someone reported multiple posts on my personal timeline, and most likely my Brayzen page, as spam. And those reports triggered a violation of community standards block on my blog website from all platforms associated with FB. And that caused every post with a live link to the blog website to be removed from FB. Everything with a live link. Every review. Every post about new blog posts on the website. Every photo. Everything. From my personal timeline and the Brayzen Bookwyrm FB page.  And apparently also everything anyone shared on their pages and in their groups.  And I couldn’t post anything to my FB or IG pages until I removed the live link from the page information.   *sigh*… no, wait…. *SIGH*

My frustration got the better of me. All of that work was gone! And it wasn’t even the actual posts being deleted that upset me the most.  All of the comments and discussions on those posts were gone. All of the accolades and mutual appreciation for the authors of the books I reviewed were gone. So many good conversations, so much valued and valuable sharing- all gone.  And I wallowed in my frustration.  I wallowed hard, y’all.  (newsflash… I may still be wallowing just a little bit)

Then the romance novel moment happened. You know the one. The Grand Gesture. The moment when everyone rallies around the MCs to make sure the problem they’re facing gets solved.  And damn, y’all. Can I just tell you how freaking amazing the Romancelandia community is?  I mean, if you’re reading this, I think you know how amazing it is already, but I have to tell you anyway. The support I felt in the comments on my frustration post and the messages from friends and family who saw my post was seriously incredible. Several close friends held my hand (figuratively, because, you know, they’re all on-line) while I threw a tantrum about how unfair it all was. They commiserated with me about the injustice of it all, then asked me what I was going to do about it?  And they understood when I said I really didn’t know and I just needed to be fussy and upset for a bit. But they didn’t let me sit in my upset for long; rather they helped me think of ways to move forward. And they listened when I regressed to my angry place when I still couldn’t get answers as to why it all happened, and then they pulled me forward again. 

One friend basically pulled me aside (figuratively again, because, online) and said, “hey, this is a chance to reflect and refresh. The Universe is telling you something. Listen.”  And yes, I put that in quotes, but it’s probably more paraphrased than actually quoted, but the message was clear.  I was nearly 6 months into my blogging & reviewer journey and it was a perfect time to see if I was going in the direction I really wanted to be. The perfect time to look back and evaluate how to move forward. The perfect time, in the rush of the holidays, to consider where I wanted to go in the next 6 months.

So I took a step back from writing. I left the 9 unfinished blog posts untouched.  I started researching other blog platforms. I reached out to other bloggers, reviewers, and authors and asked them what platforms they used. And what they loved about them. The Hubster grabbed a bunch of relevant domain names and started doing some more research on what might have happened to bring down the banhammer on the current site. And how we could possibly reverse it.  We submitted a few things based on recommendations from people who experienced similar issues. But, like them, no response.

So we moved forward. We grabbed a good price on a new platform through a Cyber Monday deal. I started learning the platform. Bad words were spoken. The Hubster hugged me and did his magical tech thing and taught me how to make it work. I started moving all of my content to the new site. And I love it.  It looks sleek, and professional. I slimmed it down to 3 pages, eliminating elements from the old platform that weren’t utilized. And I added a new page for a new endeavor. I’ve decided to kick my imposter syndrome to the curb and accept my place as a reliable and effective proofreader and editor. Look Ma, I’m using my degree!!  Check out that new page!  I’m offering proofreading and editing services, specializing in guiding new authors through finding their characters’ voices and bringing their novels to the next level.  But, I digress… there’s actually a separate blog post coming along about this decision and new adventure…

So what does this mean for the blog?  Well, instead of posts every 3 or 4 days, they will likely be once a week.  That’s partially because more of my time will be spent reading and reviewing, and hopefully editing and proofreading, so that leaves less time for writing. I also think I set too harsh of a standard for myself, and my expectations of what the blog would be were different from what the reality is. I don’t know why I didn’t consider the reviews I was writing as “writing.”  But I know better now. And more time proofing and editing may mean reading fewer books each week, but I’m dedicated to giving my full time and attention to what’s in front of me. Writing is still a major element of joy for me, and I need to give myself grace to write when it strikes me, rather than forcing something onto the page just to have something to post on the blog.  And yes, part of that reality hit me hard when multiple authors delayed book launches because they wanted to give their characters and their stories the time they were demanding and the attention they deserved. Damn the deadlines, they’re more like guidelines anyway, right?

So here we are, at a new beginning. A reboot. It’s another deep breath. Another plunge into uncharted territory. But I know I’m not starting from scratch here. I’m starting from experience. With a powerfully present and incredibly supportive group of people surrounding me.  For everyone who has stuck with me while I hit reset, you are all amazeballs and I cannot thank you enough. But I do have one favor to ask.  Talk to me! Send me topics you want me to write about. Send me books you know I have to read. Give me feedback about the reviews and blog posts I write. And share them. Ok, that’s more than one favor. But if I don’t make the big ask, I can’t be upset when people don’t know how to support me, right?