I Am My Brand, Inc.

One of the more difficult tasks as a freelance writer is marketing. Don't get me wrong, this is not a task I find loathsome in any way. I've never had the fabled artist/primadonna mindset. There is no wall between my writing and my business. That is a luxury for writers or journalists backed by giant publishing conglomerates.

Marketing myself, while time consuming can be fun. My brand is me - DFC Communications. And it has to be promoted through what else, writing. Whether I am writing an ad, a brochure, updating my web site, writing blog comments, writing blog posts, pitching stories via email to editors, sending a Tweet, fooling around on Facebook or Squidoo, my writing skill is on display. Simple missives demand dilligence, and any demand eventually begets fatigue.

You can't seriously judge the quality of a surgeon's O.R. skills by how she blogs about sports [or can you?], or decide if a lawyer is competent by her foodie posts on Facebook. But my writing, any time it is on display makes a comment about my competence, skill, and creativity.

Luckily, I love to write; always have. Yakking in print comes naturally to me, and most of the time it comes out pretty good - or at the very least, coherent. Errors in short emails I've fired off in a hurry may make me cringe upon later review, but beyond that I usually take care with [the written] word and try to take my time. However, I'm a writer so no matter how seemingly frivolous the venue, my words are my brand. Thus, I repeatedly remind myself: everything counts.

The trip to Oregon

It is good to be home. This was a our first full family trip - everyone went - Grandma, kids, my husband and me. If you've ever had to travel with a toddler my heart goes out to you. The first half of the trip must have seemed like a novelty to Cole because his behavior was a little restless, but great overall. The return trip was a different story. He's almost two and demands to be treated as an adult. Of course, he wants to be an adult who sits in his mom's lap, climbs across her chest and must pull her window shade up and down at least 100 times. Other than that slight quirk, he's a big boy.

Portland was like a tonic. It was soooo good to be on the west coast again - haven't been since 2001. It's definitely my preferred coast, and I love the Pacific Northwest, especially. Eight years in San Francisco instilled a love of the geography and of coffee! I had to get java at every opportunity, luckily out there (unlike my resident state of Maryland] there are plenty of drive-by java shacks, coffee houses and Peets Coffee (a favorite). The best coffee we had though, was at a coffee house in Tillamook, Oregon, just down from the Tillamook cheese factory. We had spent the morning touring the cheese factory and (unintentionally) playing in the surf at beautiful nearby Rockaway Beach. Before the long drive back to Portland, we stopped at this totally hippy, second-hand furnished, completely charming coffee house. The proprietor really took his time pulling the espresso shots. But it was worth it. It was just long enough to get a sweet and tasty brew. Fred and I agreed it was easily the best lattes we'd had in a very long time. Unfortunately, the name of the place escapes me - it took awhile to get the coffee and we took off as soon as they were ready. But if you're listening , big thanks!

Oregon geography is still sticking with me. I love it. How about you...any particular world spot haunt you (in a good way, only)? Let me know.

First post - finally!

It feels great to start a blog - like joining a revolution. My hopes for this blog? Posting my opinions on random events and people, sure, but also publicizing other cool blogs, and hopefully, showcasing my writing to potential customers. Blog as marketing tool...yep, it's a good thing.

More later...
Cheers!