Posts by Joy Held

AUGUST 2023 NEWSLETTER

Posted on by Joy Held

AUGUST 2023 NEWSLETTER

From the Joy Desk

Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023

In this issue:

My WriteDay Focus Group Concludes

Writer Wellness WORKBOOK Shipping

Where’s Joy?

Books By My Friends Returns

Podcast Interview

Music I’m Listening To

My WriteDay Focus Group was formed and met online in August. Seven book friends answered questions for me about products, promotions, and more. I found the comments extremely helpful and useful to my business plan for My WriteDay subscription box. Heartfelt thanks to

Fran H.

Louise M.

Susan I.

Diana R.

Amber M.

Sherry P.

Kaye D.

for their amazing insights and generous sharing of time and thoughts. For their efforts, everyone received a set of free downloads including a fitness planner. I held a drawing for a signed copy of Writer Wellness WORKBOOK. The winner was Kaye D.

YOU are now getting the first opportunity to subscribe to My WriteDay! Readers who join by September 6 at 11:59 p.m. will receive a free gift in the September-October “Back to the Books” box. It will initially ship on Sept. 20. The price is $59.00 plus tax, includes free shipping, and the free early bird gift. Feel free to share the link with your writer/reader friends. Details are on the new website

https://www.mywriteday.com

The Writer Wellness WORKBOOK is now shipping from my publisher, ME, and wherever books are sold. It’s packed with additional activities and includes a guided journal for 31 days of Writer Wellness practice and reflection. If you’d like a signed copy, email me at

Writerwellness at gmail dot com.

Where’s Joy, you ask? I had a ball leading an online workshop on July 15 for the In Your Write Mind conference. Then I thoroughly enjoyed myself at the “Author Meet and Greet” July 26 at the Dunbar Public Library in Dunbar, WV.

September is packed with appearances. Will I meet and greet you in person at one of them? Hope so! Contact me for details.

September 8: Marietta, Ohio, Sternwheeler Festival

September 23: Parkersburg, WV, Arc Fall Craft & Vendor mart

September 29: Kingwood, WV, Buckwheat Festival

September 30: Vienna, WV, Wayside UMC Vendor Fair

Books By My Friends, my weekly series highlighting authors and their books, returns in September. The format will be a little different as I will offer books in multiple genres each week. Up to five books/authors will be featured per post. Would you like to be a featured author on BBMF? Complete this Google doc with your information.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1AOI8r9TSpunHwNbZ-BJHmvi76DFMVBwKMAoYb55MrdA/edit

BBMF now offers book advertisements. For a reasonable cost of $10.00 per ad or three ads for $25.00, authors may promote their work. Email me for more information.

I co-hosted the Authoring Onward podcast with Connie B. Dowell for the last year, and it was a pleasurable experience. I loved talking to other writers and getting behind-the-scenes info on their processes, life, and work. Connie is taking a break from AO to work on other projects. Here is the latest podcast where I was featured. I’ll be sharing other links of past productions in future newsletters.

AO link

Music I’m listening to right now:

Writer’s Retreat by Lloyd Cole

Be well, write well!

Joy

writerwellness@gmail.com

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Everyday Hurdlers

Posted on by Joy Held
Photo by Quino Al on Unsplash

Track and Field is one of my favorite sports. It relies on individual talent as well as a team effort. I loved running because of the freedom and the rhythmic sensation of repetitive movement. I always felt like a new person after a good run. Spent but invigorated if that makes sense.

Hurdle jumping was never my thing. It looked a little like flying to me, but I never quite got the hang of it. My back foot kept clipping the top bar of the hurdle sending me and the barrier into a heap. Since my track and field days, I’ve recognized that the sport of hurdle jumping is good practice for everyday life. I mean, who doesn’t have some kind of obstacle, big or small, to overcome on a daily basis?

Writers face a number of challenges specific to the work such as finding ideas, making time to write, shitty first drafts, marketing, and competition for the eyes and money of readers. It’s great that lots of people write, but not so great that self-publishing has allowed quite a few stinker books into the ether and burned many readers as a result.

Readers are even more cautious about buying books, which is Economics 101, but poorly written and edited books have created another obstacle for writers/authors. Readers do not think that authors should be paid very much for their work. In my mind, the only way over (or around) this barrier is to produce good work, get professional editing, stay positive, and be persistent. A good attitude is sometimes the only thing that will get one over a hurdle.

I can think of two moments in my adult life that threatened to derail my forward momentum as an author, editor, book coach, and educator. One was the C-word. Cancer certainly sucks, but I overcame it with the help of an amazing team of family, friends, co-workers, doctors, amaze-ball nurses, and natural healers all working together.

The experience changed my dreams in a way. It made them bigger and brighter, and I might be a little more driven to overachieve as a result of the “lost” time required to heal. I say “thank you” more than before, and I mean it. I became more appreciative of everything from the tiniest to the grandest.

The other event involved the traumatic loss of my dad. In that instance, another team of incredible, selfless, smart, kick-ass people helped me through it. I learned something from both situations that I apply to the life hurdles I have encountered ever since.

What have you learned, Grasshopper?

I’m a Scorpio. That means my motto is “I’d rather do it myself, thank you very much, even though I’m sure you’re quite capable and all that, but I’d rather do it myself.” The lesson I learned in both instances was to inhale deeply, exhale slowly, and trust someone else with the expertise to take the lead. I couldn’t do my own surgery. I couldn’t argue a case in a court of law, although I might like to try it someday. I had to put all my trust into complete strangers (another difficult thing for Scorps) and believe that the best would happen. And it did.

The one tool that enables me to examine my anxieties is journaling. I have relied on it for years, and it helps me see my life hurdles clearly and to know when I need to reach out for help. There is strength and power in knowing when to get help. Kind of like flying over a hurdle in the middle of a running track without clipping your toe on the barrier. Sometimes I grew wings and sailed over the hurdle leaving it behind me but still standing. My hubris and I did a high-five, and I kept on running. Just like you, I come upon different sizes of obstacles every day. Journaling gets me over them.

My WRITEDAY is a subscription box program that delivers curated products from authors, creators, and small businesses to writers and readers in the US. It’s unique in that many products are sourced from writers who are also crafters and artisans. Each box delivers a writing craft book of the month and 3-7 items associated with the key concepts (journaling, fitness, relaxation, nutrition, and creative play) of Writer Wellness, my flagship program and book (Headline Books, Inc. 2020.)

Each box is inspired by literary themes, genres, and holidays. Every month includes access to My WRITEDAY digital magazine filled with writing and publishing tips, writer wellness ideas, fiction excerpts, poetry, special offers, social media options such as live virtual meetings, and more.

The idea behind My WRITEDAY is to help writers spend more time creating stories, engaging with like-minded book friends, and enjoying the juicy, creative life you deserve. From craft books to office supplies to fun, writing/reading inspired décor, subscribers will discover an experience designed to offer a healthful plan for living your best writing life.

My WRITEDAY subscription box launches in August! Stay tuned for your opportunity to be an Early Bird subscriber and receive a special gift in your first box.

I hope your WRITEDAY is fantastic.

Joy

Women with clean houses do not have finished books. ~Joy E. Held

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Noodles, Winners, & Workshops

Posted on by Joy Held

Wednesday, October 13, 2021

From the Joy desk

Hi,

Congratulations to Christy E of Ohio who won the newsletter subscriber’s September drawing for a signed copy of Writer Wellness: A Writer’s Path to Health and Creativity (Headline Books, Inc., 2020.) Watch for an announcement about the October contest in a couple of weeks.

If you’d like a chance to win the next drawing, please sign up for my newsletter here:

https://artisanal-musician-5007.ck.page/016aec7954

On to the news…

Online workshops I’m leading that anyone can sign up for include:

October

50 Ways to Leave Your Muse: Creativity Hacks

Sponsor: Northeast Ohio Romance Writers

Link to register https://www.neorwa.com/online-workshops/upcoming-meetings/

November

Mindset, Motivation, and Wellbeing A to Z for Writers

Sponsor: Aged to Perfection Romance Writers

Link to registerhttps://agedtoperfectionromancewriters.com/workshops/

December

50 Ways to Leave Your Muse: Creativity Hacks

Sponsor: Romance Writers of America Online

Link to register

https://rwaonlinechapter.org/workshops-3/

Reflective Writing: A Journal Workshop for Writers

Sponsor: Fantasy, Futuristic, and Paranormal Romance Writers

Link to register

https://ffprwa.com/reflective-writing/

The workshop descriptions and registration links to the sponsors are also on my updated website

http://www.joyeheld.com

Nutrition note

NATIONAL NOODLE DAY – October 6

You may already know that am a fan of the blood type diet as explained by homeopathic physician Dr. Peter J. D’Adamo in his book Eat Right 4 Your Type. My blood type is O negative, and wheat products are hard for me to digest. D’Adamo suggests trying the ancient grain granddaddy of wheat called spelt. Less processing and high in B vitamins.

https://www.berlinnaturalbakery.com/

It was tough to find spelt bread and pasta when I first looked for it. It’s more available today thanks to my absolute favorite bakery located in Amish country in Berlin, Ohio. Give them a try. They are a small, family owned, multi-generational company that makes great products, and the customer service is awesome. Tell Nicole that Joy sent you!

All good things,

Joy

Women with clean houses do not have finished books.

Questions? Love ‘em!

writerwellness@gmail.com

Let’s connect!

https://www.facebook.com/joy.e.held

Writer Wellness: A Writer’s Path to Health and Creativity (Headline Books, Inc., 2020)

Who is your writing champion?

Posted on by Joy Held

Wednesday, September 29, 2021

From the Joy desk

Hi, sweet reader!

This is our moment. Yours and mine. And as my fifth-grade teacher, Mrs. Mary Young, was very fond of repeating, “You can’t get this moment back, so don’t waste it.”

Many years later, I think about Mrs. Young using this call-to-action to teach eleven-year-olds the value of time. I believed and followed everything Mrs. Young said. She was the first teacher to encourage my writing and tell me that I could and should follow the path of a writer. Even though she knew that I was the heir apparent to my mother’s thriving ballet school, (Mrs. Young’s granddaughter took ballet from my mother,) Mrs. Young let me know that I was a writer. She was also the first person to impress the importance and meaning of a deadline. She is why I became a writer, got a journalism degree, and have pursued the craft and publishing for fifty (yep) years.

The point of this vignette is that everyone must have a champion, someone who sees their potential and supports them in every way, even when the going is tough, and the champion falls off the horse. Who is that person for you? Who first voiced, “You can do this” convincingly enough to motivate you to pursue it? This person is due your thanks.

I often thank Mrs. Young in my journal and sometimes I complain to her that being an author isn’t a piece of cake. Those are the moments when I’ve fallen off the horse and am looking up from the dirt searching for someone to blame. That’s when the query letter doesn’t hit the mark. When a reviewer says something less than adoring (they’re allowed, but it still stings.) Simply dumping my frustrations into the journal helps clear away the doubt, and I’m able to remind myself that writing and teaching it is what I do. I get up, dust off my cheeks, get back into the office chair, and start typing or researching or whatever again. It’s what I do.

I write, publish, and teach to reach out, to connect with other people. Thanks to Mrs. Young, I have the belief (not always the confidence because I’m just human) that my words and ideas may help someone else.

This support notion applies to everything, every field, and every person. Who first pointed out that you make a fabulous fill-in-the-blank and drove you to be better at it? Send this wonderful soul an unsent letter of thanks by writing to them in your journal. Unsend the letter. Keep it in your journal, unless you want to send it in some way-message in a bottle, email, snail mail. It’s all good.

All good things,

Joy

Women with clean houses do not have finished books.

If you’d like to receive a free download YOGA FOR WRITERS exercise routine click the link below to sign-up for my newsletter.

https://artisanal-musician-5007.ck.page/016aec7954

https://artisanal-musician-5007.ck.page/016aec7954

Online Workshop: Writer Wellness

Posted on by Joy Held
“Be well, write well.”

WRITER WELLNESS ONLINE WORKSHOP

STARTS: Monday, October 4

ENDS: Friday, October 29

COST: $29.00

DETAILS: Lessons, activities, and discussion covering the five key WW concepts

*Journaling

*Fitness

*Relaxation

*Nutrition

*Creative play

Taught in private Groups.io forum

12 lessons

REGISTER: Email writerwellness at gmail dot com

WRITER WELLNESS & FIVE THINGS FOR YOUR WRITING

By Joy E. Held

The idea for my book and workshop Writer Wellness: A Writer’s Path to Health and Creativity (Headline Books, Inc., 2020) came to me when some of my critique partners asked how they could be my clones. They wanted to shadow me for a week to see what I did every day that led to my prolific publishing (over 500 articles and counting,) life as a homeschooling mom, and part-time hatha yoga teacher. Up to that point, I hadn’t done any self-examination of my processes, but when they asked, I stepped back and watched myself for a month while documenting my doings and beings in a journal. This article is a peek into what I learned.

Please take out a pen and paper (or your phone or computer) and list five things you’ve done in the last thirty days to promote/support your writing.

Now list five challenges or obstacles that you believe are standing in the way of accomplishing your writing goals.

Next, list five writing wishes or desires you want to come true.

Following the Writer Wellness plan will help you to always have five things on those lists.  It will also allow you to maintain a level of health and creativity that some writers are missing.

Are you happy with your writing in general?

Are you happy with your health?

Do you ever notice a direct relationship to the productivity and quality of your writing and quality of your life?

A physically, mentally, and emotionally healthy individual is by far a more productive, creative, and pleasant person.  This is evidenced by the fact that many corporations have implemented programs to keep employees happy and healthy.  Programs range from day care centers in the workplace to personal trainers for every ten employees.  A healthy, happy employee is more productive, misses less work, and is a more cost-effective employee.

As a writer, you are the employer and the employed.  Happiness, productivity, and health are definite factors in the quality of work you produce.  It is therefore in your best interest as a writer to do everything you can to stay healthy and be the best writer you can be.

But where are you supposed to get the time?  Let’s not jump ahead of ourselves to the time factor.  Hopefully, you will instinctively see that working these ideas into your life will make positive use of your time while adding to the quality of your life and the productivity of your work.

The whole premise of Writer Wellness is that creativity and productivity are crucially dependent upon an overall quality of life.  This includes the physical, mental, emotional, communal, and spiritual aspects of life.

To serve the purposes of Writer Wellness, I’ve broken down a writer’s quality of life into five interdependent components necessary to sustain a healthful, creative life. 

The five key concepts of Writer Wellness are JOURNALING, EXERCISE, RELAXATION, PROPER NUTRITION, AND CREATIVE PLAY.  These areas contribute to an overall wellness way of living and working.

I was raised in my mother’s dancing school.  Before she retired after 52 years, she kept the books, wrote the grants and publicity announcements, directed weekly rehearsals, and taught five ballet classes a week. Thanks to her excellent example, the principles of physical fitness and eating right were pounded into me from an early age.  At age fourteen, I began the Writer Wellness life (even though I hadn’t labeled it yet,) when a local newspaper carried a weekly column I wrote about my junior high school.  I saw my name in print.  I was hooked. From then on, I was a dancer and a writer. 

I discovered yoga, meditation, and modern dance in college, and everything fell into place for me.  Thirty plus years later, I still journal almost daily unless I’m working intensely on a writing project, exercise five to six times a week, follow a strict eating plan with supplements, practice daily meditation, and engage in creative play through art journaling, crafting, and scrapbooking.

When other writers in my critique group asked me how I published so much, I reviewed my life and named the process “Writer Wellness.”  Now I teach other writers the basic principles and encourage them to find their own versions of the five concepts.

Today I maintain myself as a writer by incorporating each of the five key concepts of Writer Wellness into my day. Depending on obligations and scheduling, I’m able to journal, exercise, follow a prescribed food program, and meditate seven days a week. The creative play happens more on the weekends when I’m not writing, editing, promoting, or teaching online. I have two new book releases in 2020,  a two-book contract with an independent publisher, teach college English composition online, teach hatha yoga three times a week, and run online workshops for various writing associations. I’m also on the board of directors for my RWA chapters.

You can do this as well.

Looking back to the lists of five things you made at the beginning of this article, make a pact with yourself to create a new way of life that will support your goals as a writer and a healthy, productive person. My book and workshop will show you the way so that you’ll always have five things done every month to help you live the writing dream.

The workshop I’m leading October 4-29, 2021 is a detailed look at the five key concepts of Writer Wellness and an exploration of how you can incorporate the practice into your life. With Writer Wellness as the foundation, you can achieve the writing dreams and personal goals you desire.

Be well, write well. See you in workshop!

All good things,

Joy

WRITER WELLNESS ONLINE WORKSHOP

STARTS: Monday, October 4

ENDS: Friday, October 29

COST: $29.00

DETAILS: Lessons, activities, and discussion covering the five key WW concepts

*Journaling

*Fitness

*Relaxation

*Nutrition

*Creative play

Taught in private Groups.io forum

12 lessons

REGISTER: Email writerwellness at gmail dot com

Change your writing life for the better with this online workshop

Posted on by Joy Held

Imagine being a creative, healthy, writing machine 365 days a year. Regardless of your genre, the tips in my online workshop Writer Wellness: A Writer’s Path to Health and Creativity will guide you to realizing your potential as a creative person.

I have been sustaining good health and mountains of creative energy for many years by following this program, and I can help you learn the tricks then customize the program to suit your needs.

Writer Wellness centers around five fundamental practices:

  • Journaling
  • Physical exercise
  • Relaxation/meditation
  • Sound nutritional choices
  • Creative play

These components are already helping hundreds of past students who learned the particulars then organized each one around their needs and lifestyles. You can do this as well!

For the first time ever, I’m leading small-group online workshops that include all of the following:

  • Private online forum in Groups.io
  • Self-paced lessons (12)
  • Live chats (weekly)
  • Discussions (online)
  • 24/7 access to the course and
  • One-year access to the online content
  • Print copy of the book* (signed 😊)
  • Bookmark
  • Membership in a private “graduates” forum when you finish the program
  • AND
  • Personal one-on-one 30-minute coaching session via Zoom with me at the conclusion of the course!

There are strict start dates for the upcoming Fall 2021 sessions. The next workshop begins on

13 September 2021

When you sign up, you’ll receive full access on the start date to the course content to read at your convenience. The workshop runs for four weeks with new lessons and suggested activities posted three times a week in one of the main areas (journaling, exercise, relaxation, nutrition, and creative play.)

This workshop has never been available to the public until now. Only private writing organizations and their members have experienced this course.

The special introductory price is $97.00 which covers the online course, a print copy of the companion book, everything listed above, and the private coaching session!

Registration is limited to 15 persons, and you can register by contacting me at writerwellness at gmail dot com. You will receive a response from me with instructions on how to pay for the course.

The price will go up after this session! Alert your creative friends.

It’s more important than ever to maintain sound physical, mental, and emotional health so that you can reap the rewards of good health and being able to write the stories you want to share with the world.

From the beginning of time, stories have served to bind us together. Your story matters. Tell it. But if you don’t feel good or your health isn’t what it should be, you don’t feel like putting words on the page. Writer Wellness is an individualized approach to keeping you happy, healthy, and creatively productive.

If you have any questions, send an email to writerwellness at gmail dot com, and I’ll respond as quickly as possible.

I look forward to opening the door to your better life and awesome writing.

Be well, write well,

Joy

P.S. This offer expires on Wednesday, September 8, 2021. Please register before that date and feel free to share this offer with friends.

*Currently available to ship in the continental US only.

https://headlinebooks.com/product/writer-wellness-a-writers-path-to-health-and-creativity/

Online workshop in September

Posted on by Joy Held

REFLECTIVE WRITING: A JOURNAL WORKSHOP FOR WRITERS

Looking forward to leading this month-long, self-paced online workshop for Hearts Through History Romance Writers. We’ll discover different styles of journaling and how published authors have relied on reflective writing to support their careers and so can you! Starts Sept. 6. Join us!

Go here to register.

Writer Wellness: A Writer’s Path to Health and Creativity https://headlinebooks.com/product/writer-wellness-a-writers-path-to-health-and-creativity/

50 Ways to Leave Your Muse is about staying creative

Posted on by Joy Held

I grew up in my mother’s ballet school, so, of course, I’m familiar with the image of the flowy, beautiful Terpsichore, the Greek muse of dance. I believe in the mythology of the muses, and I can easily play along with the notion when it comes to creativity, but if I sat around and waited on ideas to be gifted to me by some ethereal being, I wouldn’t have published as much or as long as I have.

From my love for studying history and literature, I have learned that the Greeks sought ways to explain their world and themselves. True, this ancient culture contributed a great deal to philosophy, government, education, and so on, but anything they couldn’t exactly touch, eat, or screw didn’t qualify to their norms of rationality and were obviously gifts from the gods who ruled their lives.

We’ve progressed a little farther from that perspective, but the image of the muse bestowing genius and inspiration upon a poet, writer, and others is still with us. For example, in between his writing advice to “work your ass off” and read, author Steven King claims that, “There is a muse*, but he’s not going to come fluttering down into your writing room and scatter creative fairy-dust all over your typewriter or computer station. He lives in the ground.” (144-145)

As I see it, the problem with depending on a mythical character to do the grunt work is irrational and risky. And since my Scorpio roots ground me to at least listening to my intuition, I’m in between a rock and a hard place that are both falling in on me unless I take a pragmatic approach to things so I can get $h!t done. Because if I don’t, I don’t get paid, and I doubt if I need to explain the avalanche of problems that results from that precarious place. I actually have worked for food writing and posting social media for a local restaurant, so I know what it feels like to sell my ideas in exchange for a sandwich because that’s how they paid me—in calories.

The point is that inspiration most often comes from motivation. Even King explains that he wanted out of a distasteful, go-nowhere teaching job and that compelled him to write and submit until the strike hit the mark for him. He was motivated by survival despite his tongue-in-cheek nod to his muse which he describes as a “basement guy” who smokes cigars while admiring his bowling trophies but has wings and a bag of magic. The muse may have the magic, but the writer must have the motivation. Besides needing to pay bills, where do motivation and ideas come from?

The idea for my online workshop “50 Ways to Leave Your Muse: Creativity Hacks” was originally motivated by an assignment in graduate school. I was motivated by getting a grade and inspired by the work of college English teacher and author Wendy Bishop. Her book Released Into Language: Options for Teaching Creative Writing has a delicious chapter on how she teaches her students to always be inspired to write and not dependent on the muse. She calls it “getting in motion” to write. I like that imagery, not only because of my dance background but because I really do feel like whizzing, whirring, buzzing, clunking, clanking, cranking writing machine when I’m in the flow.

Bishop has students write to and about their personal muses. Those examples in Bishop’s book inspired me to make a list of all the things that can, do, and have contributed to my life as a writer. A writer who is constantly on the run from writer’s block because it doesn’t have a place at my writing table. There’s a place for my lovely muse who eats daintily and quietly with a constant twinkle in her eyes no matter what I’m serving. She’s polite and inspiring, but like King, I always do the dishes, which is the hard work of procuring, pounding out, and proofreading the sentences. We have a lovely relationship, my muse and I, because I stay open to EVERYTHING. That’s what the workshop “50 Ways to Leave Your Muse: Creativity Hacks” is about: staying open to the world so you never miss the whisper of the muse. And fun.

The next online workshop of “50 Ways to Leave Your Muse: Creativity Hacks for Writers” is a self-paced course hosted by Hearts Through History Romance Writers of America. It runs June 1-25, 2021. You can register here:

https://www.heartsthroughhistory.com/event/50-ways-to-leave-your-muse-creativity-hacks/#register

Be well, write well!

Joy

Bishop, Wendy. Released Into Language, 2nd ed. Portland, ME: Calendar Islands Publishers, 1998.

King, Stephen. On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. Scribner, 2000.

Cover of the Month Nominee!

Posted on by Joy Held

They say not to judge a book by its cover but I need you to do just that. If you liked the cover of my book, Writer Wellness: A Writer’s Path to Health and Creativity, please vote for it for the Cover of the Month contest on AllAuthor.com!

I’m getting closer to clinch the “Cover of the Month” contest on AllAuthor! I’d need as much support from you guys as possible. Please take a short moment to vote for my book cover here:

https://allauthor.com/cover-of-the-month/9298/

Thanks!

All good things,

Joy

Writer Wellness: A Writer’s Path to Health and Creativity Joy E. Held https://headlinebooks.com/product/writer-wellness-a-writers-path-to-health-and-creativity/