writer | Jordan's Jargon

Friends, Family, and Supporters today is a special day! It has been ONE FULL YEAR since I’ve been a PUBLISHED AUTHOR. I cannot thank you, to whomever is reading this, how much I appreciate all the love and support I’ve had thus far. Being published has had it’s ups and down…. mainly ups!

I’d like to start off by saying I have been able to come out of my comfort zone which is a big thing for me, but don’t worry I’m not stopping just yet. This post will highlight all I’ve done this year, and to encourage anyone who has ever thought about publishing a book or whatever it is to follow your dream. I’m always a call, text, DM, or comment away. I will also be highlighting things I did once I became published. Being new to this I had to think about what would make my brand different, what would make people want to buy my book, or any future merchandise I may have.

So, in this year I’ve gone to numerous open mics and poetry readings. I was able to perform at some, or simply just listen to the greatness on stage. I have learned the power of Networking. The one plus to having social media when being a millennial is having contact with those you may not have exchanged numbers with. I have also been part of a Podcast episode. A good friend of mine from high school and her co-host interviewed me to discuss my journey to becoming published, and it was so much fun! (Shout out to “The BlackStreet Podcasts). During this year I have been part of a panel discussion for the FEMININE ENERGY event. Thank you to Natasha and Zee for the opportunity. What better way to empower women than by having two great women to host how to be fierce and how to uplift one another. To feel all the genuine love in a room full of women was magical. I was also a vendor at the #QueenswithHoney event. Another important day where women were empowering and uplifting each other.

If it’s one thing I’ve learned in this year, not only being published but just as a woman is that there’s a shift happening. It could just be the women I’ve encountered, but it feels great. To know that there are women out there who don’t succumb to the stereotypes and truly support others and want to see everyone win. A comedian (@lalamilan) I follow on Instagram once said, and I’m paraphrasing, “Women are so caught up on only feeding themselves but if they stopped and realized that what set of skills one woman has, another woman could obtain, we could all EAT.” Someone’s going to miss that gem, but it’s okay.

In this year I have grown as a writer. To be honest, I haven’t written anything in months, how ironic huh? Life, stress, just adult-ing takes over sometimes. It feels good to know that I have the support from friends, followers, family, etc. that when I do post something, somebody is always watching. At least I’d like to think so. I’ve also realized that just because I wear many hats doesn’t mean that I need to have them on all at once…whew! That was a gem right there! *pats self on back* I’ve learned that when I do pick up a pen, or click the keys on my keyboard that something amazing is going to come from it, and I have a fire ignited that takes a while to dim. I can say that writing, and being published is a great accomplishment, and I do plan on publishing more books.

If there is one thing I want to change about being published, it’s utilizing my social media more. Doing more live videos, talking about my journey (and not just to those who ask me directly). I’m sure I follow plenty of people who aren’t quite sure what to do. So I do plan on utilizing my resources more. I also need and want to start memorizing my poems more. Figuring out how to market myself better. If there is one thing I can suggest for anyone who has a hustle, or considers themselves an entrepreneur, whatever it is… make your IG a business page. Having a business page has plenty of tweaks and cool features a regular IG doesn’t.

I also designed two sets of business cards; why two you ask? The first set was because I didn’t have any for the longest time, so I felt totally unofficial lol and they were a basic design. Although I loved them, I quickly ordered a new set and these are so much better. So, business cards are a plus if you don’t already have them. I created a website, which hasn’t had that much traffic but on there you can purchase my books as well as some bracelets I had designed for a spoken word event I went to a while back.

To end, Thank you again to anyone who has purchased, shared, commented, or written a review on any of my platforms! I hope the followers I do have continue to grow and increase. I want to #spreadlovewithwriting and show the world that being able to express how you feel through writing is sometimes the best medicine.

Below are some pictures from some of the events I mentioned and others are things I’ve done this year. Feel free to if you’re not already, follow my handles! I’ll leave those down below too.

bday book signing — My book signing 7.28. to celebrate me being published 5.22.18.

game night raffle book — I enjoyed a game night with friends and raffled off my book.

honey merchandise qwhe — The ‘Honey’ T-shirt I purchased from the “Queens with Honey” Event

queens with honey event — Queens with Honey Event.

karlous miller — I met Karlous Miller and gave him a copy of my book.

vendor at a church event — This was my first ‘Vending’ Event if I’m not mistaken after my book signing. One of my kids moms (from my second job when I had two) asked me to be a vendor at her Church’s annual Women’s Weekend.

qwh vision board — My vision board from “Queens with Honey.”

femine energy 2 — Myself, LeAnn and Sam, from the “Feminine Energy” Event.

My second poetry night, I performed here as well.

My first spoken word event. I performed that night for the first time!

Business IG: @jordan_freels

Facebook Business Page: Jordan Freels

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When I was younger I use to always write little short stories or poems and my mother, being the proud mother she is would always put them on our refrigerator. Writing was something that always came natural to me, I guess you could say it is my first true love, as cliche as it sounds. Writing down my thoughts were always easier than verbally speaking on things I was not strong enough to say, and even sometimes now I write things down when my voice is sometimes weaker. But, as I have grown and matured my writing has too, along with my voice, and I am no longer afraid to voice my opinion. I write poems mainly based on experiences I have, or sometimes I step outside the box and write about things that others can relate too. Being a writer, I have grown to understand that criticism is good, and sometimes I forget that. My biggest fears are someone reading something I have written and not liking it, giving me negative feed-back, or not being able to relate too it. And as far as my first point of someone not liking it I know that, that too is okay, because it is just one persons opinion. As long as someone, just one person, can relate to anything I write I feel like I have conquered the world! It makes me feel good knowing that something I have written has helped, or changed someones day/life/mood.

Going back to my point of knowing that all criticism is good really hit me hard my senior year of undergrad in my Capstone class. For any alumnus of NJCU you would know that “Professor James” was probably the toughest professor but he was only tough because he wanted the best work from you. He was always reasonable and told you what you needed to hear, not what you wanted, but man… I wanted to really hurt him this particular day. For this Capstone class we each had to pick a particular topic and write about it(the type of papers we were writing were called Long form), along with two sidebars( two pieces that added to your bigger story but were two separate topics that connected still to the bigger picture). After showing Professor James my paper although not entirely finished I was super proud of my accomplishments, and was ready for his praises but he proceeded to give me feedback, AND IT WAS NOT what I wanted to hear. Mhm! When I tell you I was so angry at him and he knew it too. I know what he told me would only help my paper in the long run but I was so crushed by what he said I couldn’t even edit my paper for at least twenty minutes. Everything I wrote after I hated, and I was really struggling because every week we were supposed to have a different, more completed draft. All semester the only thing we did was work on our Long Form/Side Bar Stories. I wanted to scream I was so angry. All of my classmates were laughing at me because they never saw me upset before, and because he tore me a new one I wanted to rip everyone’s head off in the process. Afterwards of course, I calmed down and my professor did give me more feedback, this I appreciated too, but it made me feel proud all over again to be an English major and subsequently follow my dreams.

He told me, “Jordan, I know I was rough on you tonight, but in all honesty your writing has improved over the years being my student. It really has.” I will never forget what he told me because that helped me grow as well.

It is my dream to write children’s books, and with all the poems I have written and the few short stories I have done I feel like I am getting closer to my dream. Writing is something that calms me, and although sometimes I do not write as much as I need too, when I do write I fall in love with it all over again. I write sometimes until my fingers start to hurt, and I know when that happens I have nothing else to say. All my thoughts are on paper, or in this case, a screen.

I say all of this to say, do what you love! If it makes you happy do it!

Jordan's Jargon

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