Armchair BEA 2012: Beyond Your Blog

Today is day 4 at Armchair BEA and here’s the prompt for the day:

Today we’d love you to share your top
tips for getting beyond your blog! Have you done any freelance writing?
Are you monetizing your blog and how so? How do you make connections
outside the book blog community on the internet? If none of these apply
we’d love for you to share a fun aspect about your blog or life that may
be completely separate from books!

I don’t do any freelance writing, and while I do dream of writing children’s books one day, I really don’t do anything to get there. As for monetizing my blog, I have no interest in this although my husband would love it if I did. So, I am going to share a little about my life outside of books.

I love public speaking…isn’t that strange? I know this is something that most people have a huge fear of and yet, I jump at opportunities for it. I think it all started when I was working for a work/life balance company, called LifeCare, and I became a trainer/presenter. I would work with all the new employees of our company and also give presentations both internal and to external clients.  When I was teaching, I loved giving staff development workshops to my fellow teachers and then took on a position as a Literacy Coach where that’s all I did. And now, I work for Literacy Volunteers of Rockland/Westchester Counties and I am a trainer for the new tutors. I love getting up and speaking to all audiences, and with my job now, I get to talk about a passion – literacy!

I am also a data freak, which works well with my position at Literacy Volunteers. Besides being a trainer, I also help with data entry. As with everything related to education these days, we have to test our students and this involves keeping track of hours met, making sure our students get the appropriate tests and that gains are met. Because I’m so anal about this, I had to create my own spreadsheets so I know exactly who is meeting with who, where they meet and how many hours they have accumulated in addition to what tests they have been given.

A few other things – I am a huge General Hospital Fan. I’ve been watching the show since I was in 3rd grade (I’m now 37!). I also enjoy watching Dancing with the Stars – and oh how I wish I could dance like those pros!!! I’m also a crocheter – though I only tend to make baby blankets and scarves. Recently I got hooked on Pinterest and have been trying out a few things on there – I’m thinking I should create a board called “I Did It” or something like that to highlight those pins that I have tried to do myself. 

Anyway, that’s a little about me beyond my blogging. What about you? What is your life like beyond blogging?

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14 Comments

  1. Liviania
    June 7, 2012 / 6:54 pm

    I like public speaking too! No one expects that since I'm kind of shy.

    • Kristin
      June 9, 2012 / 12:38 pm

      I find I tend to be in the minority so it's nice to find others that enjoy it, too!

  2. Vikk @ Down the Writer's Path
    June 7, 2012 / 6:54 pm

    Enjoyed learning more about you. You have quite a few varied interests.

    • Kristin
      June 9, 2012 / 12:38 pm

      Thank you.

  3. Amanda
    June 7, 2012 / 7:07 pm

    I love that you work in literacy! That is the sort of job I dream of.

    • Kristin
      June 9, 2012 / 12:38 pm

      I happened to fall into it, but I love it just the same.

  4. Rachel R.
    June 7, 2012 / 9:57 pm

    I love that you work in literacy too! I love the header and the fact that you always have a book with you. That's a good way to go! Have a good day, and come check out my blog at rachelrmrblog.blogspot.com

    • Kristin
      June 9, 2012 / 12:39 pm

      Thank you…I recently got stuck in my car in the middle of a terrible storm and luckily I had a book with me to wait out the storm.

  5. Nise'
    June 8, 2012 / 12:47 am

    My daughter loves public speaking and is very gifted. We don't know where she got it from as her parents avoid it.

    • Kristin
      June 9, 2012 / 12:41 pm

      I think part of it came from being one of seven and having a hard time getting a word in.

  6. loreleimarsh
    June 8, 2012 / 1:53 am

    I love to crochet too & Pinterest is addicting. Watch out because soon you'll have way more projects than you could ever manage! Tattooed Books

    • Kristin
      June 9, 2012 / 12:41 pm

      I already do!

  7. Heidenkind
    June 8, 2012 / 5:36 am

    I do not like public speaking at all, even though I used to do things like speech club and debate club. It gets less nerve-racking the more I do it, but I'm pretty out practice.

    • Kristin
      June 9, 2012 / 12:44 pm

      That's what everyone finds so strange – I never get nervous talking in front of people. Oh well, it works for me!