I Get By with a Little Help from My Friends, Including Testimonials
Some solicited and some delightful surprises — all appreciated
Writing is such a shot in the dark.
Especially the publication side of things.
Here’s how I look at it. If I just write for myself, without sharing, I’ll never know who might have enjoyed, delighted in, or hated my offerings. I’ll never know what kind of impact I make or have the potential to make.
So while a lot of my writing is still written to please me primarily, I share it publicly. Mostly on Medium. But not only.
Published Author R Me
I’ve published two books. The first one, Creative Blogging: Ninja Writers Guide to Character Development is part of Shaunta Grimes’ Ninja Writers Guide series.
It’s about blogging as your fictional characters, going deeper into their heads, accessing their unique voices, and discovering their well-hidden, but novelishously delicious secrets. Exemplary posts flowed out of me daily for a month. Then I wrote about what they revealed and how I used them in my forthcoming novel, Man Pregnant!
Bucket Listers, Get Your Brave On I published myself. It also started out as blog posts on the publication, Middle-Pause, which I write and edit for. I’m also in two of our recently released Menopause Anthologies.
Along Came Substack
I’d been curious about it, but shy.
Then Coffee Times threw down yet another challenge gantlet–an opportunity for us writers to get started on Substack and enjoy its pleasures.
One of which is how easy it is to create newsletters in a personally branded magazine format. The whole newsletter can be read in your email. You don’t have to click away. Not even to like them. You do have to for commenting or subscribing, but it’s still easy.
So, voila! ‘Sacred Foolishness’ was born!
I promoted the heck out of it up down and sideways for Coffee Times Challenge #3. I didn’t get to the required 100 likes to win, place, or show, but hustling on several platforms got me 71! A record for me.
Folks actually subscribed to Sacred Foolishness. They wanted my biweekly newsletter in their inboxes.
They read. They liked. They left comments.
Just when my subscriber rate plateaued, along came Yana and Coffee Times Challenge #6. See how well we’re taken care of here? Like all the challenges, this one was designed to help us reach beyond our current levels.
In this case, letting others sing our praises.
I’ve received compliments and compelling comments for specific posts.
This time, we were invited–well required actually–for the challenge, to round up and share testimonies for our whole kit and caboodle.
So I invited some of my dearest fans to tell me what they like about and/or get from subscribing.
And they did! Starting with Meg
Meg Stewart, a fountain of information for getting started in freelance writing and the technical aspects of the writing life, answered my invite readily. Imagine how good it felt to read this:
As a busy freelancer, teacher, and coach as well as a mom of four and “grammi” to ten, I can get pretty blurry-eyed and sleep-deprived. When I can grab free time, I love to relax reading Marlyn Flower’s Sacred Foolishness.
I’ve also heard her read some of her issues out loud on occasion and I always find them hysterical.
She’s not just a hilarious writer, and consummate clown, she’s got heart and compassion. Her writing can make you laugh or cry–within seconds of each other. She’s mastered the sacred soul of the sad clown. This one’s well worth checking out.
Then Debbie
To my delight, Debbie Walker, Creator of the Middle-Pause, the podcast, STOMP!, and the Menopause Anthologies, took time out of her uber-busy day to pen these words:
Marilyn Flower doesn’t just w rite about the Sacred Fool. She is the Sacred Fool. How she manages to embody both the melancholy clown Duddles and the Commedia bumpkin Zanni is beyond me. But she not only does, she documents the how’s, why’s, and wherefores in her sad-sack Substack newsletter, Sacred Foolishness.
Between the sacred on one end and the foolish on the other, this newsletter captures the many brilliant hues of Marilyn’s inspiring rainbow. You’ll find poetry, book lore, and inspiration as well as satire and silliness.
When you need to laugh to keep from crying, or along with crying, look no further.
And finally, Rev. Nancy Joy Gordon
Rev. Nancy’s an ordained interfaith minister and the longest-standing active member of my church. But she doesn’t stand around. She’s on the go a mile a minute even though semi-retired.
While she gives talks, her ministry mainly takes place on sidewalks and in Safeway. She goes up to people who look like they need a smile, a prayer, or a hug and gives them one. Or, in most cases, all three. She has the chutzpah to approach and bless strangers with her loving Joie de Vivre.
And she does this without hiding behind a red nose!
Every time I send out a new Sacred Foolishness post, I get an email back from Nancy telling me how much she enjoyed it. No surprise she sent this back in response to my invitation:
Receiving Marilyn Flower’s unique and intriguing writing is a special treat for me.
I always look forward to enjoying all the ways she’s able to express herself through her original stories! Her humor abounds, along with the depth of her knowledge about various styles of writing — from parodies, to spoofs, to informative insights on other writers, and most of all, the incredible ways she uses the English language!
Her biweekly Sacred Foolishness newsletters provide insight into her spiritual depth as well as entertainment from the fun-loving, silly part of her personality. I mainly know Marilyn as a Prayer Chaplain and longtime member of our church, and continue to marvel at all the ways she serves others and still makes time for her writing passion!
Laughter is said to heal the soul, and her antics as both Duddles and Zanni address life’s challenges–getting through its ups and downs with levity and humor. So if you’re looking for uplifting humor, grace-filled healing, or a well-deserved dose of zaniness, Sacred Foolishness is sure to satisfy.
Warning: asking for testimony can be scary. Like publishing, it can feel like pissing into the wind. You might get some blowback.
But then again, you just might be blown away!
Marilyn Flower writes humor to laugh the changes she wants to see and make. She’s the author of Creative Blogging: Ninja Writers Guide to Character Development and Bucket Listers, Get Your Brave On. Clowning and improvisation strengthen her resolve during these crazy times. Stay in touch!