Platforms and Platanos

A lesson in marketing, life and margaritas at noon

I manage, develop, ideate, and write for other clients’ social media pages ( and other copywriting tasks). Not a day goes by when I am not, “engaging”, posting, developing content, blocking the editorial calendar, and researching for someone else and their big idea. I partner with their business coaches and marketing managers to craft web copy that will sell their product. I draft email campaigns that are free of puns but still full of wit. I provide developmental editing and ghostwriting services anywhere from blogs to online courses to event ideas to full-on white pages, case studies, and 60,000-word books (fiction and non-fiction). I believe wholeheartedly in the mission of each of my clients- if I didn’t, I wouldn’t work with them. That’s how I feel confident in promoting their work.

But it’s really hard for me to do it for myself.

Becoming a writer full-time has been an interesting lesson in self-worth. One that I am still grappling with. One that women like me, ones who were brought up in a patriarchial infrastructure that taught us to be subservient, domestic, meek, and second class citizens, still struggle with in 2023.

And yet here I am-trying to do the damn thing anyway.

What has been the best the last year and a half are the messages I receive about how something I said really resonated with someone in a way they found to be helpful or simply lovely. I love that you’re here because I am learning to eat my words ( and sometimes the words that were given to me, without my consent) about most of the things I believed to be certain about and that process has been encouraging, thought-provoking, and nourishing to you.

I have eaten so many words, in fact, I wrote a book about it. A book most of the agents and publishers that I’ve sent the proposal to have really loved- but have rejected each and every time for one, solitary reason:

My platform isn’t big enough.

That’s it.

It’s an odd thing to be told that not enough people “follow you” online to be published, traditionally. But, here is the truth of it.

I want you to know how to eat your words when the time comes (and it will come). I want you to know how to face something you’ve always believed ( about yourself, about the world, about others) and be brave enough to say, “I’m not so sure about that anymore”. I want you to feel free in a space that doesn’t require you to denounce or deny where you came from but acknowledge the pivotal moment when you’ve started to change your mind. I want you to be surrounded by things that nourish you as you consider what eating your words looks like for you- books, music, community, and of course, food are the nourishing elements you’ll find here. We hold the both/and as sacred in this space: if we must go through the uncomfortable process of eating our words, I believe we should make them as delicious as possible.

So I’ve decided to throw my weight behind my own message. It’s the most important one I’ve known. If that sounds good to you- share it. If you know someone who is starting out on the long journey of re-constructing their life after it fell apart, bring her over. A like, a share, a save, or a follow may seem simple and innocuous but they will enable me to continue reaching people with my words- and I can’t imagine anything better.

This is what I want for your life and mine.

Now, on to the delicious things that have flavored my week:

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1. My go-to breakfast this week is so ridiculously simple, I can’t call it a recipe. Toast a pita, slather it with hummus, top with chopped cucumbers and kalamata olives, sprinkle some feta and fresh dill and drizzle some lemon juice and olive oil on it. Serve it with an HB egg or two and maybe you won’t pine so hard for a Mediterreanean cruise so hard. It’s worth a shot.

2. I had some feelings about Ash Wednesday. I wrote them down here. It felt healing to do so.

   jennyvanderbergshannon

   

   A post shared by Jenny Vanderberg Shannon (@jennyvanderbergshannon)

3. Grapefruit. Amaretto. Sours. Go peep Molly Yeh’s new cookbook because I’m on week two of loving these frilly cocktails and I don’t see it stopping anytime soon.

4. While I’m out of the classroom- I still tutor a little, here and there. Preparing to teach The Odyssey to my home-schooled freshman student gave me SO much joy this week. So much. I cannot wait to do all the Joseph Campbell-Hero’s Journey-Epic poetry thing for the next few weeks. I’m sure he’s less excited than I am.

5. I threw my back out this past week and have been forced to consider productivity from different angles. I’m hoping this is something I can eat my words about someday but the worth/productivity link is strong. While I’m still in a deal of pain, I’ve also been grateful for the reminder that I am not a machine.

6. R and I took a day off last week and got tacos and margaritas at noon. 10/10. Highly recommend. While tacos al pastor is the ONLY acceptable choice (I said what I said), the platanos were out of this world. If your weeks have blended into themselves, may we suggest a midtrip to a Mexican restaurant? I think it might be a cure-all.

   

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