Opportunity can be a funny old creature. It often hides in the shadows out of reach or lurks where you least expect to find it. It can disguise itself as a closed door or sheer cliff-face drop destined to destroy you. It can seem to offer itself to everyone else except you, then laugh at you with them behind your back.
At the same time, if you risk those shadows or that cliff-face, if you pause to peer closer at that closed door, and the gold glimmering under its black paintwork, it can give you exactly what you want or need.
Last month I had my 8-year Twitter anniversary. Last November I had my 10-year Facebook anniversary. I love social media! In fact, I wish I had more time to spend chatting on there. My new favourite is Instagram. I first got online when I was a recently-immigrated stay-at-home mum of two children under two, trying to find my way in a country where I had no friends or family who could help me through the tough times, and I simply needed to talk to people. It was a lifeline. Not only could I connect with real live adults, but I found story-loving tribes who wanted to talk about stories. Amazing!
Once the kids were old enough, I joined a face-to-face writing group and, on discovering my love of social media, they asked me to teach them about it – and they’d pay me! I had cut down on my work as a freelance editor and copywriter to have children, working only from home while the kids had their day-naps and then at weekends, so it had been years since I’d prepared or given a presentation. I was petrified!
My husband helped with my nerves. “Do you know more than those listening, Zena?” he asked me.
“Yes, I think so. Yes.”
“Then you’ve got nothing to worry about.”
So I prepared my talk, gave it and got paid.
Then another group asked me. Then another. It wasn’t exactly what I wanted to get known for among writers, as all throughout this time I was also writing creatively and trying to sell and promote my stories. But you never know where opportunity will lead you, so I kept going and ended up teaching social media regularly at Mosman Community College, blogging and website-building too. I began to joke with students that I was part-cyber.
After a while, once I’d won several writing competitions, the college then invited me to teach an introductory writing course. Yes, please! Naturally, I was nervous at first.
“Do you know more than those listening, Zena?” my husband asked again.
“Not everyone, but most, probably, yes. Yes.”
“Then you’ve got nothing to worry about.”
It was such a success I began offering all kinds of writing classes. Soon libraries, writing groups, schools and even retirement villages were all asking me to teach creative writing classes, so I did. Not only that, but my students wanted to know about my own writing – I could finally sell and promote my stories! That’s what I’d wanted all along! And then, when my debut novel came out last year (Towards White, IFWG), I already had an established readership and fans.
Opportunity can indeed be a surprising creature. I now teach so many classes (check them out here if you’re interested) that I also mentor writers and tutor primary and high school students, judge writing competitions, and help publishers and authors publish print books and ebooks (check out my creative support services!). All of which pays well enough for me to still work from home, so I get time each day to write too. All from getting on social media.
Well, I’m sure if I were to analyse it more closely, there would be way more to my lifestyle than grabbing opportunities as they arise. But still, it’s helped.
Do you welcome opportunities when you find them, or look away because they’re not exactly what you want?
Did you know: you can get an idea of how much time you spend on social media on your phone? If you go into your phone’s ‘Settings’ and go to ‘Battery’, there’s often a usage table showing you which applications you use the most.
Did you know: if you turn off ‘locked-screen notifications’ on your phone it won’t bleep and distract you while working or, most importantly, writing. I often leave my phone in another part of the house too, so it takes effort to unlock that screen!
Thank you for connecting with me on social media – here on my blog, on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn or anywhere else where our social paths cross!
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