Sunshine Blogger Award!

I was touched to awake Sunday morning before church and discover that the lovely Rio from Reveries and Revisions had nominated me for the Sunshine Blogger Award! Rio is a wonderful blogger and I strongly encourage you to check out her work.

I’m still very new to the world of blogging. I started in early October as a way to share my passions and to connect with diverse people from throughout the world. The blogging community has been wonderfully warm and supportive. It has been a delight to get to know so many wonderful people.

The four rules of receiving the Sunshine Blogger Award are simple. They are:

1. Thank the blogger who nominated you and link to the original post!

2. Answer the 11 questions they’ve asked you.

3. Nominate 11 other bloggers and ask them 11 questions.

4. HAVE FUN!

1. What is your blog all about?

The name of my blog is “Rev. Rebecca Writes: Read, Write, Pray.” I feel that the essence of my blog is really summed up in that title. My name is Rebecca. I’m an ordained minister in the United Methodist Church. I love God, books, and writing. I’m a voracious reader (I’ve read over 103 books so far this year alone!) and I love to talk about books. I also enjoy connecting with diverse people from around the world.

2. What inspired you to blog?

First and foremost, I had something that I felt I needed to say to the world. I want to be a voice for those who have been traditionally marginalized by society. My goal is to empower diverse people from a variety of backgrounds to share their stories.

I also want to provide a positive representation for Christianity. I’m so tired of seeing angry and hateful people who claim to be Christians receiving media attention. I want to show the world through my writing and my actions that Christianity is rooted in love.

3. What makes your content unique?

I am a woman of minority descent with a disability in a profession dominated by white able bodied men. Female clergy are rare (we make up only about 11% of all ordained clergy, but female clergy of minority descent that have a disability such as myself are even rarer. Women have been silenced for too long. The time has come for all of us on the margins to pick up our pens (or sit down at our keyboards) and write.

4. How do you plan your posts?

I try to plan my posts about a week in advance. I create a draft on my computer and then revise it multiple times before I post the final product. I also try to consider my blog’s overall “theme.” I want my blog to include a healthy mix of the topics about which I am most passionate such as faith, preaching, disability awareness, books, and womanist issues.

5. Can you share your strategies?

I usually try to post at least twice a week and to have the posts evenly spaced. I promote my posts on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Linked In. I promote my posts on different social media accounts based on the different readership I connect with through each source. For example, only my “professional,” posts get posted to my Linked IN profile

6. Are you learning new skills to improve your craft?

I have learned that writing for a blog is different than writing for print. People read blogs differently than they read print. It’s important to break up text into smaller and more digestible chunks. It is also key to use appropriate images and block quotes because people tend to skim blog posts instead of thoroughly reading them.

Having a blogging schedule has also helped me to be more committed to my writing because I know that I must have a certain article completed in time to make my deadline. I view it as a fun and exciting challenge.

7. How do you grow your following?

I find a lot of people on Twitter. I’ve been delighted to discover that the blogging community is full of wonderful and supportive people. I also use Facebook groups as a way to connect to people with similar interests.

I promote my posts based on their targeted readership. I would post an article about church leadership in a Facebook group dedicated to female clergy; however, I would promote a review of a poetry book on Twitter to fellow book lovers and the poetry community.

8. If you’re not blogging, what do you think you will be doing instead?

If I’m not blogging, you can find me serving my beloved church or reading (I am a voracious reader!), or spending time with my family. I love my furry babies.

9. What’s your favourite part about blogging?

My favorite part about blogging is being able to connect with new people from around the world. I love learning about the daily lives of people from diverse walks of life.

10. What do you hate about it?

I thoroughly enjoy blogging, but I think the most negative part of blogging is the emphasis on numbers and statistics instead of on the quality of content. It’s very easy to fall prey to the temptation of comparing ourselves to others.

In the end, it doesn’t matter how many followers you have or how many clicks you get- what matters is that you are doing what you love.

11. What piece of advice can you say to struggling bloggers, who are feeling demotivated?

I would encourage any blogger who is struggling to check out the book Blogging for Authors by Barbara Drozdowich. I’m still very new to the world of blogging and I have found the advice in the little eBook to be truly invaluable.