Reminder: Joan's New Blog Title

Time for another singalong with David Bowie crooning Ch-Ch-Changes. Today, I'm reminding you that SlingWords is assuming a new identity on August 1. The title changes to JoanReeves.

The look changes to something more in keeping with sitting around with a cup of coffee or a glass of wine and talking about what's going on in our respective worlds.

What books we're reading... what we're watching on TV... what movies we're seeing... what we like about today's world... what we hate about today's world... and how we're all coping with the changes Life throws at us.

Keywords

I guess the Keywords or Tags for the blog's new lifestyle, in no particular order, are these:

humor, pop culture, books, music, movies, TV, writing, friendship, family, inspiration, and fun. Yep. Definitely fun because life is too often grim when you're coping with kids, family problems, medical issues, economic reality, and all that other depressing stuff. I truly believe my motto: "It's never too late to live happily ever after."

Changes

How do you change a blog that's been in existence since 2005 and has a great reputation and a faithful following? Quoting myself: "Very carefully."


When one is an author seeking to grow an audience, name recognition is extremely important. My name is part of my brand -- it is my brand for all practical purposes -- so it should be the title, or URL, associated with all my websites. That's why I'm doing this. If you blog, and your blog title isn't your name, heed this advice. Change it before it gets big.

Backstory

I started this blog, SlingWords, in 2005 when I was primarily freelance writing for Internet clients. The blog had a faithful following by 2011 when I published my first ebook, Just One Look, a sassy, sexy romantic comedy. The blog's followers helped make my book a bestseller in its second month.

That's why I've resisted abandoning this blog and creating one that is titled JoanReeves. I've put my heart and soul into this blog, and SlingWords has almost 2,000 posts now. I published a compilation of the Sunday posts, Written Wisdom that will continue to be available at all ebook sellers.

Back to the David Bowie Song

This is a year of change for me. This week brings to a close our time in the Richmond home. As you read this, I'm moving out. I'm tempted to sing the theme song from the old TV show The Jeffersons. *g* "Moving on up... not to the East Side, but to the Hill Country. For now.

All kinds of moving going on. Moving furniture into storage until our new townhome in Houston is ready. Moving me up to our weekend home. Moving hubby into a hotel downtown since he has to be at the office. I'll be having morning coffee on the porch and watching the deer graze while he will still be fighting the traffic downtown. I definitely got the better end of this deal.

Changes. Big ones. So now is the perfect time to change the blog over, consolidate newsletters, update websites and profiles -- as soon as my temp office is set up. When that's all done, I plan to dive into finishing Cinderella Blue, the second book in my San Antone Two-Step series.

New Joan Reeves Blog Address = http://JoanReeves.blogspot.com

Simple to remember. It was SlingWords -- now it's JoanReeves. Easy-peasy.

I have loved the writing journal template that I've used on SlingWords, but the new blog name deserves a new look. I hope you like the new template I've been customizing. The image above is from the template and represents the friendly, casual way I live my life -- coffee or wine with family and friends, good conversation and word slinging about books, writing, romance, love, sex, life, and whatever else strikes my fancy.

The new template also is easy to navigate and flexible enough to expand. I like that. Change is good. The transition should be seamless. If you are a Follower, you should still be signed up to Follow. RSS feed should work the same, etc.

Grand Opening Prizes

I'll have a Grand Opening on August 1 and there is a bundle of prizes to win. Details will be given in the post on August 1.

1. Visit the blog on August 1, leave a comment with your email address, and be entered to win a prize.

2. All Followers Receive Prizes so sign up to Follow, joining my other faithful Followers, and receive a prize.

3. If you're a writer, sign up for Writing Hacks, my free subscription newsletter, and win a prize.

4. If you're a reader, sign up for Wordplay, my free subscription newsletter, and win a prize.


Remember

SlingWords is just changing to a new URL and design. All the posts will remain intact -- I hope. *LOL* I'll always be here unless Blogger or Google decides to kick me out.

http://JoanReeves.blogspot.com opens August 1. I hope to see you there.

Takeaway Truth

Change is good. Change means you're growing. That's what I keep telling myself so I don't focus on the sheer work involved.