Amateur to Ace: We Made Magic
"It's no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then." - Alice in Wonderland
Tea-time at last, after dreaming for months that I might be an author of worth. All art by Cori Bren & Bing Image Creator.
**Warning, you won’t be able to read all of this in email.** You can view the entire post online or in the Substack app, when prompted in the email.
When I started ‘going pro on Substack’, I never imagined what a luscious, immersive experience it would be. Like the tedious process of putting a room together after the fun of designing it and choosing colors, materials, textures, and finishing touches; I thought rolling up my sleeves and doing the real work to professionalize my author image would be boring - a drudgery of elbow grease that would take all the fun out of the dream I had about who Cori Bren is and why Bren’s Buzz is worth a look. I was wrong! I found much of the process enchanting, clearly a snazzy word now that all the toil and trouble are finished. LOL. But seriously. Here I am a first time social media user and only a 7-month old author on Substack. A mere toddler in comparison to the greats who have given me a hand up. I can only say with certainty, looking back, that if I can do it anyone can. And if you want a simply wonderful side kick as you make your own magic happen, please contact
who is officially a Digital Assistant Extraordinaire! Xoxoxo Kristi. Without you, none of this would be possible!
Kristi Keller techno-wizardess and graphic artist to the stars.
I will hold the mundane facts such as my before and after photo gallery and performance metrics till the end of this article. That way readers who are easily bored, like
, can skip them in hopes of getting to their next big story faster. LOL. You’re welcome.
Since this is the last in a 3-post series about Going Pro on Substack, I encourage you to read the first 2 articles to get a feel for what we’re up against as new authors on this platform. They are each conveniently located in both the Series and the Substack tabs at the top of my new website, thanks to the miracle of Tags. Tags are your friends, the ones in the cool clothes with the ultrabright, cinnamon-fresh Closeup-toothpaste-smile from the 70’s. You find tags in Dashboard/Settings. You create them and then, in the navigation section of settings, you put them in the order you wish them to appear on your website. It’s that simple!
Substack pro tip - Get to know your Settings, like your super-special tool belt, and you too will become a superhero!
After you add and organize your tags, simply Edit each of your existing posts and use the Settings button in the lower right corner of the post screen, to add tags. No need to republish. They now show up in the so-named tabs across the top of your website. Shazam! I love this country!
On to the carpeting and drapes. My color scheme is deep purple, pale green, deep green, and orange. What can I say? I’m into jewel tones (yes that’s a thing). You will see my monotone light/dark green’ before’ scheme against my jewel tone ‘after’ in the photo gallery at the end of this post. Suffice it to say, the new Bren’s Buzz is magazine-cover worthy without losing touch with the semi-romantic, cottagey vibe I write from. I am not a polished person, so Bren’s Buzz is still a little rough around the edges too.
It doesn’t get much more memorable than purple, orange, and green.
And now, the hard part. Yes, I know, I said the hex codes were the hard part in the second post. I was wrong. The hard part is developing a carnival hawkers call that’s enticing. Something that makes the visitors want to step inside the lovely ‘hobbit’ cottage on my Welcome page and nose around. And, once inside, to have my website compel them to sit for a spell and get lost in the stacks. It’s my fervent hope that the words that took me weeks to pry from my heart (no empty slogans here) are interesting to readers. That they invite you in and that upon reading my work, you feel something. Something insightful, illuminating, comforting. Something that makes it difficult to turn away. I’ve done all I can with these words because now my success is in the eyes and the hearts of each beholder.
My words are wishes from my heart, to connect with readers
The door is open. The tea is ready, or the coffee, or the bourbon. However, I have some work to do on my About page before I can retire my renovation tool belt. This will take some concentration and research. According to Kristi, the Welcome is about your newsletter and the About is about you. Most of the authors to whom I subscribe by and large retained the canned verbiage Substack provides. But through my early research I’ve found a few that I admire as strong examples including
and and and and . They are personal and compelling. They make me want to read on.I look forward to putting this last ribbon on the Bren’s Buzz package, and in so doing step across the threshold toward my future. Thank you for walking alongside me on this journey.
Credit: Kristi Keller. Welcome to the new Bren’s Buzz. Take a load off, stay a while. I’m happy you’re here.
Below is my gallery of before and after Welcome and website with Hero post. I also created a new email header and profile blurb. Beyond that are some before and after performance metrics because, hello, nerd here.
One final thought - As addictive as I’ve found the AI image generator to be, I wish to use it sparingly thus keeping the real human image creators in business.
These numbers don’t lie. Since I published the first ‘Going Pro on Substack’ article, my subscription rate has risen from an average of 15 per month to 49 in August already, with the month only half over. Now, Demi from
would say that I am manifesting - making true the vision of a professional writer I’ve seen in my head. This may well be the case, because I’m writing more frequently, consistently, and popularly of late. However, there is absolutely NO denying the profound increase in subscribers since I made the decision to Go Pro. I want to thank EVERYONE - who reads Bren’s Buzz, who bumps into me on Notes, and who stumbles drunk through the wrong door into the hobbit cottage that is Bren’s Buzz. Without you, I’m nothing.
I'm absolutely loving your AI generated creations! Awesome Cori! ✨💖🤗
Congratulations Cori 🥳