Judith’s Room

All Change in 2010

Posted by cafebebemama on Jan 11, 2010 in Blogger Love, Judith's Room, Motherhood | 16 comments

Time for a change

Well, we are two weeks into 2010 and already I’m rearranging!  Friends and family who know me well, know that I can’t stand to look at anything the same for too long.  I frequently change the furniture arrangement in our lounge, particularly for the seasons.  In the Spring and Summer it’s all about the out of doors so the furniture shifts to the back of the lounge by the patio doors.  In the Autumn and Winter it’s all about the HEAT from the only heat source in our lounge, the fireplace.  Every three months or so, I dutifully shuffle everything to different places, reorganise and enjoy the change of view.  Hubby comes home from work and says “Oh no!”  It’s a good thing that no one in our immediate family is visually impaired; I’d be messing with their minds on a regular basis.

I started blogging in June of 2009 and quickly got involved in product reviewing in addition to blogging.  Never satisfied, I finally ended up with Café Bébé as it is today- a self-hosted, WordPress blog about my life as a Mummy and some of the brilliant things we have been fortunate enough to do and receive.  The product reviewing quickly took over as the primary focus for me which is why the main address site (www.cafebebe.co.uk) became Reviews at Café Bébé.  However, recently, I’ve begun to regret that decision.  Joining groups like Judith’s Room and focusing more on my dream of freelance writing has allowed me to see that the most important aspect of Café Bébé is the writing.  My writing has slowed down because I have overstretched myself…I need to focus on what I do best.

I’ve also seen a turn in the way that product reviewing is going in the blogging world.  I want to be seen as a Mummy Blogger and Freelance Writer, not a product reviewer.  I won’t claim to be perfect, by any means, however.  I have used my Just Ask philosophy to get a lot of things that we never would have had access to.  Little Miss’ clothing and belongings have increased dramatically this past year and that’s lovely as we are on a very limited income.  But, I’ve come to realise that if people want me to review their products, they’ll come to me (If I build it, they will come).  I shouldn’t need to be knocking down anyone else’s doors.  I don’t want to give Mummy Blogging a bad name and for me, I’ve never wanted to make a career out of product reviewing; I’ve wanted to make a career out of writing.

So, hopefully, as of Tuesday 12 January (if my host technical support team can sort me out), Café Bébé will become a solo blog with a few pages, multiple categories and will primarily be about the writing.  I have integrated my product reviews into the blog under the PRODUCT REVIEWS category (strangely enough) so they are still there in their original form.  I have a few reviews yet to publish for products that I have received in the last few months and I will continue to review products if I am approached or if something happens to fall in my lap.  I have the joy of continuing to review products at The Great Toy Guide , Living with Kids, and Mummy Reviews in addition to my commissioned reviews for MadeForMums website (as long as all of them continue to have me).  Let me know your thoughts about product reviews?  Do you do them?  Are you regularly approached?  If you don’t do them, why not?  I’ve really enjoyed the fun of receiving products and the challenge of writing about them in a constructive way but I really think it’s time for a fresh start in 2010.

I welcome your comments as well as critiques.  And of course, please let me know if you have any problems accessing anything on Café Bébé.  Thank you for your support and here’s to a brilliant year!

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Judith’s Room

Posted by cafebebemama on Jan 8, 2010 in Judith's Room | 5 comments

Virginia Woolf

I’ve become part of a brilliant new Writing Community called, “Judith’s Room“.  The Fair Josie of Sleep is for the Weak fame has created a Ning community of Women Writers after a flurry of Tweets about needing “A Place of Our Own” in which to write.  Josie grabbed the bull by the horns and within 2 days, has the group up and flourishing.  Day One, yesterday (7/1/10), there were over 80 women who joined the group!

Why is this exciting?  Well, through blogging, I’ve realised that WRITING is what I want to do.  I’ve been given the opportunity to write about my life as a Mummy and all of the happiness and pain that it brings; I’ve been given the opportunity to write about products that every parent needs and wants; I’ve been given the opportunity to write about my experiences as an American Expat.  Some of this writing has even been COMMISSIONED ( = £££)!  Mind you, my commissions aren’t much and some of the work has been for free, but the key is, I’m being published.  I was considering taking a local college Creative Writing course (I may still do this) as I do need to LEARN more about writing well but just as I was considering this, Judith’s Room has come to the rescue.  There are some brilliant women on board, some of whom have been published and can offer great advice.  I’m a bit worried as I’m no Virginia Woolf (I haven’t even read her…I’m more of a Chick Lit/Mummy Lit kind of person) but it’s very exciting to be in on the ground floor of what I believe will be a brilliant resource for women writers.  Now I just have to get down to work…by finding my lost mojo!

If you are a woman writer, check out Judith’s Room for inspiration, support and a community with whom to share.  Thank you Josie for making it happen.  Oh, wait, are you wondering how the name “Judith’s Room” came about?  Well, the more literary of you will appreciate this one!  Here is some copy from the Judith’s Room community:

Our name takes its inspiration from the Virginia Woolf essay ‘A Room of One’s Own’, in which she suggests that “a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction”. In her essay, Virginia uses the fictional character of Shakespeare’s sister Judith to explore issues surrounding the talent and potential of women writers and the difficulties they have faced. Judith may have been as equally gifted as her brother but as a woman of the time would not have been allowed to write or be published. She left for London to try her luck, but ended up dead on a roadside, just another Anon: another forgotten female literary giant that never was.

Quite inspirational I think…here’s to some great writing!  Watch this space!