Jo Parfitt - Writer, Mentor, Teacher, Speaker, Publisher
  • Home
  • About
  • Writer
  • Mentor
  • Teacher
  • Speaker
  • Publisher
  • Online Writing Courses & Masterclasses
  • Tools for Writers
  • Inspirer Blog

The connecting bit

25/11/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture

Reach out on LinkedIn

 
I’m increasingly fond of LinkedIn, finding it a rich resource of folk I needed to meet. Margaret Ghielmetti is one of them. She reached out to me on LinkedIn with a connection request a few weeks ago. Now, just in case you wanted to connect with me, I never agree to connect with a complete stranger unless they send me a private note with their request. Why would I want someone in my network who I didn’t know at all? What use can I be to them and what use can they be to me? It’s pointless. So, when Margaret reached out we ended up in conversation via the LinkedIn message tool during which she told me she was a) an expat, albeit a repatriated one and b) the author of a new memoir called Brave(ish) a memoir of a recovering perfectionist. Of course, I wanted to read her book and so I asked for a review copy, telling her that I would post a review on our www.expatbookshop.com website if I liked it. She agreed. Of course she did. New authors need to hand out review copies if they want more people to find out about their books. These days it’s easier than ever because we can send a PDF or Kindle version without it costing us anything.
 
Anyway, I received the book and after a few weeks it reached the top of my reading pile. I teach people to write memoir and often work with authors of memoir on their manuscripts. I read other memoirs to keep myself sharp. I also like to meet people who, later, if I like them, I can introduce to you via my Monthly Inspirer. 
 
I enjoyed the book not only because I could relate to its theme of living abroad in multiple countries but also because I could see how Margaret had worked hard to find the themes and story arc I knew were needed for a memoir to work. She made herself vulnerable and was wholly authentic, which I liked. Margaret was inspiring too, because by sharing her story she could help similarly perfectionist readers to shed their people-pleasing chains too.
 
Successful memoir should resonate with the reader and though many readers may not have the good fortune to be married to someone who works for the luxury Four Seasons hotel chain, many will be familiar with parts of her story. This is why it works.
 
A good piece of writing should either inspire, support, inform or entertain. Brave(ish) is a super example of a memoir that does all four. 
 
Not only did I post that review on Expatbookshop as promised, but I have also asked Margaret if I can interview her for one of my In Conversation events next year. Further, I’m writing about her here. I’m glad she reached out and I expect she’s pretty glad too.
 
You can meet Margaret too when she is part of my In Conversation panel of new memoirists on February 4th 2021 at 2pm UK time. You can register here, for free. Find out about more of my Virtual Events at www.joparfitt.com/virtual-events.html 
 
Of course, you could also reach out to her and send her a message via LinkedIn.
Picture
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Jo Parfitt's Monthly Inspirer

    Picture
    Sign up to my Monthly Inspirer and receive a complimentary copy of my Inspirer Collection. ​Your email will only ever be used to send you my Inspirer and you can unsubscribe at any time. See my privacy policy for more information.
    Subscribe

    Archives

    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019

    Categories

    All
    A Career In Your Suitcase
    Cath Brew
    Description
    Drawn To A Story
    Inspiring Bit
    Learn With Jo
    Life Story Jar
    Lindsay De Feliz
    Lockdown Poems
    Mariam Ottimofiori
    Memoirs
    Mind Soup
    Muse Motivator
    Olga Mecking
    SPICE
    Sunshine Soup
    The Connecting Bit
    The Power Of Writing A Journal
    Vulnerability
    Writers' Circle
    Write To Heal
    Writing-holidays
    Writing-magazines
    Writing Me Treats
    Writing Me-Treats
    Writing Prompt

Sign up to my Monthly Inspirer for writers and receive a complimentary copy of my Inspirer Collection.
Sign Up
Summertime Publishing | Career in Your Suitcase | Springtime Books | Writing Me-Treats | Expat Bookshop
jo@joparfitt.com

© Jo Parfitt 2020 All Rights Reserved | Website by author2author
  • Home
  • About
  • Writer
  • Mentor
  • Teacher
  • Speaker
  • Publisher
  • Online Writing Courses & Masterclasses
  • Tools for Writers
  • Inspirer Blog