The Speak 2B Free blog explores the emotional and practical factors that hold writers back from achieving their dreams, and offers insights and advice.
The history behind Speak 2B Free
When I started out as a writer and as a blogger I had no clue what the hell I was doing and how to build a career as a writer. My finance degree and my MBA did not really help me much either because I had my own internal demons to fight. I discovered that there were 3 things that were holding me back from being successful as a writer:
1) My inner critic (emotional) which resulted in self doubt and lack of faith in my own voice
2) How to make a living as a writer which tied into my finances and my relationship with money which essentially stemmed from my belief in scarcity and the idea of the starving artist this is something my degree in finance could not help me with because even my lecturers believed that being a writer = starvation
3) Building a career and marketing myself online which really came from naivete and ignorance about the various careers available for writers online and how to capitalize on those career options
Why Speak 2B Free
Speak 2B Free would like to impact the careers of writers as they launch their careers or further their writing careers and help them reach their career goals. We believe that anyone can be successful or extremely good at what they do given the right resources and tools and it is these tools that we want to give to writers.
We want to share the knowledge that colleges and traditional institutions forget to teach writers: nurturing creativity, finding confidence in your work, the law of attraction, building a fan base online and offline, managing emotions tied to finances etc.
The internet and all the new technology that is coming out is creating a new demand for writers and spoken word poets in terms of new careers, innovative ways of publishing, marketing and performing. The new ways of thinking, such as law of attraction and positive thinking, are valuable for writers whose thoughts are keeping them stuck and from getting to the next level.
How do we plan to fulfill our mission?
Speak 2B Free is working to give writers the practical tools to help them establish themselves in their careers and in turn is also establishing mentoring programs for writers and poets that are starting out. We believe that everyone can be successful and part of being free is being free of all our self imposed limitations and acknowledging our own value and the value of our work so that we can make a living from our talents and continue to innovate.
Our tag line says everything we believe in: “we begin to live our lives, when we start to share our stories”.
I would go further and say that we cannot share our stories unless we have found our voices. Speak 2B Free’s mission is to bring together bloggers and faculty to create tools that will help professional and beginning writers to find their voice and develop their careers as professional writers, storytellers and spoken word poets. We are creating Speak 2B Free academy on our website - a place where bloggers and faculty can create paid courses in entrepreneurship, writing, technology, marketing and performance specifically for spoken word poets and writers so that they can launch their careers or take them to the next level.
The Speak 2B Free blog gives slam poets, storytellers and writers the practical, emotional and spiritual tools to find their voices, go deeper in their writing and also become financially free. Writing is a journey, not a destination; your style will change with your life. Sometimes the things you want to express just pour out of you and at other times the well runs dry and at others it is a slow and steady drip.
Join our mentoring program in 2011
Our aim for 2011 and 2012 is to get 500 spoken word poets and writers to launch their performance careers or writing careers by getting mentors to work with them and help them build a fan base of 1000 people online either through a blog, facebook fan page or twitter. This is based on the theory of a thousand true fans, which states that if any artist can build a relationship with a thousand true fans, they will be able to make a living from their art. We are interested in mentors from all different walks of life who can help us test this idea and concept using visualization, law of attraction, marketing etc and also help people change their lives in the process. If you can help someone visualize a thousand fans true fans and make it a reality then we would love to work with you, if you can help someone get a thousand true fans through your experience as a social media marketer then we also want you…
Wanna get involved? Email us at: speak2bfree@gmail.com or email Van at: vangile@speak2bfree.com
Please feel free to visit our website: www.speak2bfree.com
Sincerely,
Vangile Makwakwa
