A picture I snapped in Central Park over the weekend.
I just started a new project for CentralPark.com. I am curating 20 essays about Central Park written by college students. Essays will be roughly 500 words and can be about any aspect of Central Park. The essays can be from a wide variety of angles – a treasured memory of the park, the meaning of Central Park to the student, a recent event or experience the student had in Central Park, the history of the park, etc. Do you know a college student who is a good writer and interested in submitting a piece for consideration? Please send them my way – christa.avampato@gmail.com. Thank you!
Yesterday I sat up in bed before my early alarm, grabbed by iPad, and wrote down this post as it gushed into my brain:
“Snap your pictures. Get down these lines of text. Record history as it happens. Some day you’ll need this to see how far you’ve come, to bring you comfort when you feel like you still have so far to go, when you feel like everything is lost.
Time is a plastic surgeon. It does funny things to us, to our memory of yesterday. And all the yesterdays that came before. It covers the bumps and bruises and scrapes. It dulls the pain. It sands the rough edges and rounds out the sharp and jagged corners that were so hard to navigate. It makes everything soft. When we record our days as they happen, when we literally chart our experience, we get the real story.
And we need the real story. We need to remember what we’ve been through so we can fully appreciate where we are and all of the people who made the journey possible.”
I’m not sure where this came from, but I’m sure glad these words and the ideas they convey arrived.
As promised, my first blog post in this social media strategy series is about how I use my blogs – Christa in New York: Curating a Creative Life and Compass Yoga. I started blogging daily at Christa in New York: Curating a Creative Life on 5/31/07. To date, I’ve written 2,291 blog posts that have collectively received 250,000+ unique visitors across 60+ countries. It’s given me a way to learn, share, help, and celebrate. This blog has been a gift to me, personally and professionally, and there is no way to express how incredibly grateful I am to everyone who’s ever read it.
Blogging helps me connect with people even when we are separated by geography
My friend, Alice, was the editor of our school newspaper and she kindly published a few pieces I had written during our second year. My friend, Stephen, asked me if I planned to keep writing after we graduated. He said I should start a blog. I asked him who would ever read my blog and he simply replied, “I’d read it.” I remember that conversation as if it happened yesterday. That conversation changed the course of my life. I didn’t know it yet, and I don’t think Stephen did either. Some of our most poignant life moments happen that way – they come and go and it’s only upon reflection that we realize how very important they are.
My first blog I got started blogging on Blogger.com exactly 9 years ago to the day on October 15, 2004 while I lived in Washington DC. My first blog was Eyes and Ears Wide Open and it was on blogger. My first post began: “I’ve been journaling for almost 20 years, and the time has finally arrived for me to get some of these thoughts out of my head, off the closed pages of my diaries, and out into the world. I hope that someone reads them and gets something out of them.” I published a total of 26 posts.
Blogging has shaped my career and my life
On May 31, 2007 I sat down on my couch and started my current blogging adventure. That simple site was largely responsible for helping me secure my first job out of business school at Toys R Us. My boss, Bob G., became my mentor and supporter. During my interview, we chatted about my blog – I had put the URL on my resume. Bob loves a good story, and I told him I was trying to figure out how to become a good storyteller. Today, we’re still trading stories…on Facebook.
Once the recession hit in 2008, I knew I needed to jump to a new job. Like all specialty retail, Toys R Us was heading for the cliff and I didn’t want to go with it. My blog helped me to secure a new role at American Express because my daily posting showed I was disciplined and committed. The job itself was great in terms of the work, but my bosses were the worst I have ever had in my career. Additionally, the company was about to go through one of the most frightening times in its 150+ year history. Lehman Brothers failed 5 weeks after I started my job, and I had a choice: I could be scared and keep my head down or I could pick my head up, sit at the front of the class every day, and learn as much as I could for as long as I was there. I chose the latter and wrote about many of my experiences, without naming American Express, on my blog. The posts are all there, as are the many lessons I learned along the way. *Blogging gives me a way to process what I learn and archive those learnings for myself and others.*
I stayed in that role for 16 months and when a friend told me about a new job in product development, I sold my story like never before. The competition for the role was fierce. I put everything on the line, including my growing interest in blogging and social media. That key point – that I blogged every day about my life and hit “publish” – helped me secure the role and that began my journey as a product developer in technology in a deep way. My blog gave interviewers a way to get to know me on a highly personal level. I also made a lot of dear friends in that role who taught me so much, many of whom are still a wonderful part of my life. I will always be grateful for their presence, acceptance, and support.
Finally, my blog led me to connect with so many people around the world who care about things I care about. Some of my favorite friends found me through my online writing, and to this day their support has never wavered. It is that support that helped me believe I could make a go of writing full-time, or at least give it a healthy shot. On June 15, 2012, I took the plunge to freelance and start my own content development business, Chasing Down the Muse, and in 16 months, I’ve never looked back. It’s been a wild ride; one I am grateful for every day.
The Compass Yoga blog
In March 2010, I started Compass Yoga, a nonprofit to get more yoga to more people in more places. When I published the Compass website, I had no idea how my idea would develop, nor all of the incredible people I would meet on the journey. This blog has 270 posts though I now publish much more regularly on it than I did at the start. Most of the posts are re-posts of content from other sites that discuss the therapeutic benefits of yoga and meditation. Occasionally, I publish a product review and world yoga news.
Through the incredible efforts of so many people, the Compass Yoga blog has been named one of the top 100 yoga blogs and one of the top 10 yoga blogs on Twitter. These kinds of tributes are humbling, shocking, and motivating. What began as one small class at my local library has become a source of comfort for so many people, and most of that credit goes to the amazing teachers, students, board members, donors, supporters, and volunteers who make Compass Yoga what it is – a place online and off that welcomes and accepts all voices in pursuit of a healthy, happy existence.
Blogging helps me find kindred spirits
She who does not howl will never find her pack. For me, blogging has been a way for me to shout about things that inspire me and are important to me, and connect with people who share those interests. Through my blogs, I have been able to create a living, breathing tapestry of my own personal history and the many fantastic characters who have played a part in making me the person I am. It is a deeply satisfying endeavor, something that helps me carve a life I love. It’s been a tool to discover who I am, and it’s given me a way to contribute and pay tribute to the lives of others.
Tomorrow’s social media strategy topic: How I use Facebook.
Today I’m kicking off a series of blog posts about how I used different social media channels. I’m writing this series for a few reasons:
1.) To let people know all of the ways we can connect online
2.) To help people who are interested in building / enhancing their own social media presence
3.) To crystallize the strategy and value of my own use of different social media channels
Social media has been an important part of my life because it’s allowed me to stay connected with people, even if they reside on the other side of the world. It’s largely responsible for being my partner in crime as I carve my own professional path as a writer. I’ve made so many friends through social media that I’ve lost count; I’ve actually become so close to some of them that I often forget that social media is what initially brought us together.
Tomorrow I’ll “chat” about this blog, as well as Compass Yoga’s blog, and how I use blogging on a daily basis in my personal and professional life. Because it bears repeating, I’ll also recount my story of how I got started blogging and the friends who inspired my blog writing.
Yesterday I went back through the play I wrote over the summer to make some additional edits as I prep it for playwriting fellowship applications. It is a deeply personal work that is layered with lots of bits and pieces of me inside all of the characters.
Many are pieces I am not especially proud of. They are bits that often feel like microscopic shards of glass that I step on over and over again. The hardest part of writing it has been to see the light, the humor, and the release, even in the moments of the play that portray incredible pain and sadness.
People have asked me if it’s a comedy or a tragedy. There are bright spots, and dark spots. It’s happy and sad and happy again. It’s a roller coaster. It’s a different ride for each character because they all know something different. Want something different. Feel something different. They each live the same set of circumstances and yet each has a different lens on them. They’re all trying to heal. They’re all trying to survive the plot and emerge from the other side a better person. It’s a lot like real life. It’s messy, and beautiful, all at once.
A good editor can make all the difference between a quality piece of writing and a stellar piece of writing. An editor is a jeweler: she needs the raw material with high potential that she can cut, buff, and shine into brilliance. The Mötley Fool taught me a critical editing lesson that I am afraid I have long missed and plan to remedy.
Every editor I’ve ever had has told me about the importance of a strong lead to grab a reader’s attention. The Mötley Fool taught me the importance of a strong close but for a different reason than I ever considered. A strong close is a reward to a reader for sticking with a piece. I’ve spent so much time shining up my leads that I fear I’ve neglected the humble and critical close, and I plan to fix that.
A solid piece of writing leaves the door open for consideration and discussion. It takes a reader off the page and into the world with the ideas and opinions that the writer is compelled to share through his or her words. The opening is what draws a reader in, though the ending is largely what remains when it’s all over. It doesn’t need to be pretty or neat, but it does need to be powerful. It does need to be satisfying while also stirring intrigue. It has to make readers glad that they stuck around and cause them to seek out more from the author. Ending well ensures that there will be new beginnings down the line. Many thanks to the Fools for this lesson. I am better for it.
Last night I sent off my first playwriting fellowship application. The fellowship is with one of the theater companies I admire most in the world, right here in New York City. I have been inspired by many of their productions, philosophy, and leadership. I am quite certain they get inundated with applications and that landing even an interview is a long shot. No matter. I feel drawn to them and what they do so I’m tossing my hat in the ring.
While the play itself that I wrote this summer came pouring out of me, the personal statement didn’t flow as easily at first. The 2 questions for the personal statement were very straight forward: 1.) What kind of work do I want to make? and 2.) Why do I feel that this theatre company is the right place for me? I made a lot of notes and tossed around a lot of ideas. I’d like to think I did this in order to create a meaningful, concise statement. After a couple of weeks, I realized what I was doing. I was procrastinating. I was afraid to put my artist statement in writing and have it stare back at me. It felt like such a heavy, daunting task. What kind of work do I want to make, and why, and how, and with whom? In 750 words or less.
I would stare at a blank screen, unable to start, and then close my laptop. Last week, I put the fear aside. What’s the worst that would happen? I’d write a horrible artist statement that’s whiny and arrogant and lifeless. That’s all. And then I’d throw it in the trash having gotten all the rotten stuff out.
My artist statement wasn’t anything like that. I just answered as honestly as I could. I want to make work that has a lasting impact on how people see themselves and their contributions to humanity in a place that celebrates and supports artists. I expounded on that idea in multiple ways, but that’s the gist of it. And it felt good, really good, to say it aloud, on paper, for someone to read.
Everyone stumps for authenticity but no one tells you how hard it is to discover it, admit it, and live it. It opens us up for criticism of the very deepest part of our hearts. We give it over to someone to judge and critique and analyze. Someone peers into our essence and says, “Yes, you’re one of us” or “No, you’re not one of us.” “I get you” or “I don’t get you.” And that can be frightening. It certainly is for me, but I do it anyway because I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t. I couldn’t get up everyday if I didn’t feel like I was giving the world they very best that I’ve got.
Ultimately, we have to do it. We have to be frightened and stand up anyway and say, “This is who I am, what I care about, and I want to know if we can work on this whole business of building a better world together.” It’s an invitation, and it might be accepted and it might be rejected. As artists, that is our path no matter what our medium. We have to invite people in. Some will stick around and some will stay. It’s the only way to find our pack and to help one another. This is the way forward, and it feels good to be on the path.
It’s with a rather ridiculous amount of excitement that I announce I am officially part of The Motley Fool. I’ve been a fan of the Fools for many years and last week found out that I was accepted as a freelance writer for their new section, The Business.
My first post is about the viral video Dove Real Beauty Sketches and how inspired I am that corporations, finally, are joining Team Human. I hope you’ll click-through and read my post – How to Make a Viral Video: Dove Beauty Sketches.
When I first started out as a writer, I wrote two pieces for The Well Daily as a ghost writer. While I love The Well Daily, I couldn’t stomach being a ghost writer. I couldn’t do the hard work of developing content and have someone else slap her name on it. It irked me right down to my bones, so I decided then and there, even though I was a very new professional writer, that I would never do it again.
Yesterday, I made the hard decision to walk away from a client project I was very excited about because when I inquired about a byline, they came clean about the fact that all of their blog content is ghost written under the CEO’s name. My heart sank.
I understand that this is a common practice. I understand that a lot of writers make very good money as ghost writers. Let me be clear: I would never in a million years tell anyone else how to run their writing career. We all have values and we all make judgements that are right for us based on those values. If you’re a ghost writer, and you love being one, then by all means continue.
I’ve been offered very good money (though not in this particular instance with this client) to be a ghost writer. For a moment, and I mean just one single moment, I thought about going to this client and asking for more money to be a ghost writer for the CEO. And the next moment I decided against it because no amount of money would ever be enough. I just personally can’t do it, and here’s why:
The reasons why I don’t ghost write 1.) I am building a brand and a company that relies on my voice and expertise. Tossing away a byline in my areas of expertise (which is the only kind of writing I create) would mean ceding the future value of my content, and no amount of money in the world is worth that to me.
2.) I am me. I can’t write in someone else’s voice because it’s not mine. I can’t embody someone else’s point-of-view over an extended period of time in an authentic way because I haven’t lived his or her life. I have lived mine, and all of my experiences contribute to each piece of writing that I do. If the content is so important to someone who wants to put his or her name on my content, then why can’t he or she make time to write it themselves? It begs the question, “Does this content really matter to you?”
3.) Writing is difficult work, and for me a byline is the biggest benefit for all of the blood, sweat, and tears that go into my content development.
4.) I want to help. Most of my writing tends toward the inspirational side of life. I write to be of service to others. If no one knows I wrote a piece, then a reader of that piece can’t connect with me. They can’t ask me questions. I can’t build a relationship with readers if they don’t know I’m the writer. I’ve developed incredible friendships based upon this blog and other writing I’ve done. Those relationships are invaluable to me. I wouldn’t trade them for anything.
5.) My name is not for sale, and neither are my thoughts. They are priceless.
6.) Credit is not a scarce resource. What’s wrong with giving credit to everyone for all of the work they put into a piece of writing? A byline feels like an awfully small ask when good content is on the line.
Some words of advice if you choose to ghost write 1.) Know why you’re doing it. Maybe you’re just getting started as a writer. Maybe it’s a very lucrative way to enable you to do other things that matter to you. Maybe you want the freedom to write anonymously because you are worried about what people in your life might think if you really shared how you felt. Maybe you want to build a new area of knowledge on someone else’s dime. Perhaps it’s a way for you to work with someone whom you truly respect, and writing is just the avenue to learn from that person and be a part of his or her team and mission. The exact reason is unimportant, but having a clear reason that’s of extreme value to you is critical so that you don’t end up resenting the work.
2.) Don’t let the client take advantage of you, nor treat you like hired help. You can avoid this by getting permission to put the posts into your portfolio, having them write you an open recommendation letter that describes your responsibilities, directly asking them for referrals, and / or having them agree to be a reference for your other potential clients. And make sure you are well compensated financially and / or are afforded flexibility that makes your other personal and professional objectives possible.
3.) If your goal is to eventually be a writer in your own name, continue to do other work in your name. Don’t let that goal fall by the wayside for the sake of your ghost writing unless that goal is no longer a priority for you. Work on your other writing projects, the ones that do have your name on them, with as much gusto as the ghost writing.
I do these 5 things every day without fail:
1.) I brush my teeth 2.) I walk Phin 3.) I eat breakfast 4.) I meditate 5.) I write
If we are to make a-go of our art, any art, it has to be as important as anything else we do every day. When I think of all the artists I admire, each one goes after it full-time with their full hearts. Once I saw that glaring similarity between them, I realized I had to do the same thing. I had to give myself as shot at being a full-time writer by choosing to write full-time. There was nothing else to do but that. Eventually we must decide – is this who we are or is this a hobby? Either answer is completely fine. I knew what I wanted mine to be, so I went for it.
I lived in artistic limbo for a long time. I made a lot of excuses. Now, it was time to commit, one way or the other. I’d been a writer on the side for 6 years, diligently plugging away every day, doing everything possible to improve the skills I had and build the new skills I needed. That incubation period was vital; it paved the way to today.
I still work on my skills every day. I hope I wake up every morning a better writer than I was the day before. That’s my only professional goal, and I’ll keep right on working for that as long as I have words.
Christa Avampato 