A LITTLE BIT MORE “ABOUT JO-ANNE VANDERMEULEN”

Women-in-Charge: Jo-Anne Vandermeulen

Today’s blog is by Ms. Jo-Anne Vandermeulen,
Internet Promotional Manager, Professional Support Network for Writers, and Prolific Writer of Romantic Fiction

I saunter through open doors. Wide open doors. When an opportunity comes forth and there are no obstacles in the way, there are no fears. There’s nothing to lose.

Since April of 2006, three separate doors opened in my life. I’ve journeyed into three different rooms. Wasn’t searching, just roaming free. More curious rather than desperate to explore and discover what was inside.

In the spring of 2006, I was sent home after spending twenty years teaching full-time. No one plans to get sick; an illness that flicks flames, scorching abilities to die. Yet like any tragedy, a change of perspectives can convert devastations into opportunities. All it takes is the right attitude. So I had to be home all day. Now what do I do?

The first door flew open…

The cloud lifted, moisture disappeared, and my vision came clear. I’ve always wanted to write a book, but never have had the time. So write I did. Seventeen days, after sitting at my computer, I had the rough copy of my first 100,000 word manuscript complete.

By 2008, I had two polished novels ready to be published. Through near a hundred workshops, a few pitching sessions with editors, submission responses by nearly a thousand agents, I soon discovered they all voiced the same concern… “How are you going to promote yourself? Please provide me with information about your author platform.” My first response was: “What? You mean I can’t just write?” There was no where to turn. All doors remained shut.

I set forth to research the area of promotion. I learned I needed to target an audience, build friendships through networks, and provide my followers with a platform they loved. I started my first blog, “Conquer All Obstacles”, providing assistance to fellow writers. After a few posts, the comments started pouring in.

The second door flew open…

Immediately, I discovered my niche. Authors from all over the world cried help, requesting promotional services. Through many hours of studying the promotional business and connecting with professionals, I produced templates for author platforms, explored strategies to target an audience and generated a buzz of massive activity, and discovered techniques to climb to the top of the world wide search engines. And there, I performed my services to over a billion viewers on the Internet. No longer was I invisible. I did it! The large number of hits, responses, and dashboard stats proved I had successfully promoted myself.

The third door flew open…

No fog, with my vision never being so clear, I ran through to the third room. On March 2, 2009 my new business launched into production. With the help of my partner, Brian Knight, Premium Promotional Services opened its doors to serve writers in search of promotional services. Premium Promotional Services is a writer’s solution to all promotional and marketing needs. What a better way for me to share my wealth of knowledge and help my fellow writers. Finally, I can successfully provide a requested service so they can continue to write.

Life is filled with unexpected changes. Quite often a person is forced to exit their comfortable domain. The cliché: ‘When one door closes another one opens’ will expose new rooms. See changes as opportunities. Don’t be afraid to venture into the next room, especially when the door is wide open.

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