Best Life Ever TESOL

I've been under a rock, so I just found out yesterday.

This hurts. A lot.

I didn't always agree with Nikki Giovanni, but I always understood her. In reading her work, it felt like she was that favorite auntie who also didn't always agree with what I did, but who would always understand & support me as her Black niece (or us nieces/nephews) navigating this world.

While she was first & foremost a poet, her prose deserves recognition, too. This collection begins with "400 Mulvaney Street," & when I took a moment to reread it yesterday, I cried throughout. Not just at the loss of the writer, but because I now know the various forms of loss she references: my grandparents' home was taken for a renewal project, & now I've lost both my grandparents too. It's been years, but the grief & loss of both the people & the place hurts the same as if it just happened. To me, "400 Mulvaney Street" might as well be called "500 56th Street," because Nikki Giovanni described my experience better than I could have done it.

I tried to find the pictures from this reading, but it was pre-smart phone life & not in the first photo album I searched. But at least I have the autograph & memory-- memory of Nikki Giovanni & 500 56th Street.

Thanks to & for housing the Charlotte Author Conversation this morning! It was helpful to hear from local authors published by both large NY publishing houses & small independent presses. I met new contacts & people to follow here, plus got ideas for marketing. We all got really cute notebooks & I was a winner in the drawing for a free book. I'm looking forward to implementing my notes & ideas from the event! 📚✍🏾📖

I have dozens of on my shelf, ranging from Maya Angelou to Richard Wright, from Bibles to Spanish novels, and everything in between.

This year's recognition of banned books is a display from my local library branch. My favorite part? Coloring pages, a word search, and a crossword puzzle! I'm glad there's a word bank on the crossword, though, as I'm not familiar with all of the books. 😅

Some of my favorite books have been banned; has your favorite book been banned?

I'm sure your mother is a wonderful person. She's the perfect cheerleader and alpha reader for you. But please don't leave it at that. Work with a beta reader, sensitivity reader, copy editor, proofreader, and maybe even multiple people in these roles. You'll be glad you did, and the process may not cost as much time or money as you think. Let's start a conversation and pick up where your mom ended. 😄

Comic credit:

"Psst," I whisper to you. "You want some help? I've got you."
*gestures to post and imitates swiping motion*

Let's have a conversation about your work in progress. Send me a message about your work in progress and I'll be happy to help you make your project the best it can be.

If you're in the Charlotte area, join Jones Wilson CPA, PLLC​ and me at the Silent Book Club on October 5 from 6-8pm. It's hosted by That's Novel Books in Camp North End. I enjoyed my first time there a few weeks ago and plan to make it a regular part of my schedule, so join us! It's super chill and no pressure: it actually is *silent* so you don't have to talk unless you choose to chat/network with people at the end. You also get the Camp North End​ vibe in the background, so that's always a plus.

I used Silent Book Club as a reason to start my professional TBR list, and I hate that I waited so long to finally start The Subversive Copy Editor. Carol Fisher Saller's book has been on my shelf for ages, and she had me chuckling and making notes from the beginning. I'm excited to put Saller's suggestions into practice for my next project so that the writer— and ultimately the reader— can benefit.

If you're in the Charlotte area, join @joneswilson_cpa and me at the Silent Book Club on October 5 from 6-8pm. It's hosted by @thatsnovelbooks in Camp North End. I visited for the first time a few weeks ago and enjoyed it so much that I plan to make it a regular part of my schedule. It's super chill and no pressure: it actually is *silent* so you don't have to talk unless you choose to chat/network with people at the end. You also get the @campnorthend vibe in the background, so that's always a plus. I used Silent Book Club as a reason to catch up on my professional TBR list, and I hate that I waited so long to finally start The Subversive Copy Editor. Carol Fisher Saller's book has been on my shelf for ages, and she had me chuckling and making notes. I'm excited to put Saller's suggestions into practice for my next project so that the writer— and ultimately the reader— can benefit. . . . . #whatimreading #amreading #silentbookclub #thesubversivecopyeditor #carolfishersaller #cmos #chicagostyle #book #books #bookstagram #bookworm #booknerd #read #reading #readingaboutwriting #editor #editors #amediting #editing #editorlife #copyedit #copyeditor #proofreader #booksaboutwriting #writer #writing #editorforhire

My book nook is my happy place. In a world of extroverts, anyone who is a booktrovert is welcome in my book nook. It's where my first reads happen and a lot of my reading for fun happens in this corner of my office. Where is your favorite place to read?

We can't let the errorists win. 😬 I'm hoping Pen doesn't want people taking the pens, so it's labeled as Pen's Pens. Hopefully.

Take a moment to reread that text and avoid an apostrophe catastrophe; no one wants to see apostrophe gore. We can provide a second opinion for your article or work in progress, and make sure you don't end up as someone's social media post.

You don't want to be an errorist.

Take a moment to read that email again. Go steep a cup of tea and come back to your work in progress. Or better yet, get a second pair of eyes to look at what you've written. When you do, you win and people don't think of you as an errorist.