Have you ever trusted the wrong person? Ate that third slice of pizza you shouldn’t have? Or just simply overcomplicated a thing because it seemed like the right thing to do? Yes? Then you know what I’m talking about.
You live and learn, right?
And don’t pretend you’ve never been there! Nobody likes a show-off 😛 . Well, this will come as no surprise to you (given the title and all), but I’ve made my share of mistakes. I’m here to talk about one specifically, but I’ll give you a few others first because . . . why not? Yes, I’m aware I may regret oversharing someday, but today is not that day.
1- Using a pen name.
Say whahhhh? Yeah, there’s a confusing conundrum here. A while back I wrote ALL about the pros and cons of using a pen name and explained my situation. I’m a private person and didn’t want family and friends to know I was out in the world writing books, but now they know. Did it affect me in the way I thought it would? Yes. I wasn’t wrong about that. I’m too caught up in my head to not feel pressured or judged. That’s a whole other issue.
Today, however, I feel like sticking to my own name would have been easier. Shanny Seewald is pretty darn unique . . . I think. But also? There’s another S.K. Anthony out there who stole my name and I don’t really think she’s doing me any favors. Either way, not an entirely huge deal, I just kinda sort of feel if I was going to “come out as an author” anyway, why keep it a secret? We have a whole official intro on our podcast Wit Without Wisdom that makes a big deal about S.K. Anthony, but then we go onto the whole show with me being called Shanny. Sometimes it makes me lose sleep at night, because issues.
2- The way I drink water.
Now, I don’t know if this is true or not, but I read it and it’s messing with my head. I drink a lot of water. A LOT. And I pride myself in being super-hydrated all day long. Well, I read a thing that says that drinking too much in one shot doesn’t actually help the body as much as you think, because it goes right through and you end up peeing most of the benefits out.
Great. The last thing I needed was to feel like I’m peeing out all my hydration. I don’t overdrink in one shot, but I do drink a big glass at a time. What I read is probably not true . . . and I certainly don’t try to fit all my water in one shot, but still. I kinda regret reading that article because now I feel weird drinking my water and feel even weirder when I have to say goodbye to it.
3- I dyed my hair purple.
Well, I got purple highlights. Did it look awesome and did I feel sassy? YES.
But I didn’t know it would bleed purple every time my hair got wet. It was “fun” in the rain though. I mean . . . I now have some extra house clothes that match each other in purple, but okay.
Did I learn from this mistake? I don’t know. I almost did it again yesterday, but remembered the nightmare . . .
And finally, what we’re actually here for:
4- The podcast.
The podcast itself isn’t the mistake, but the way we wanted to keep it “all in one basket” because “brand this and brand that.” I’m going back to what I said at the top . . . Raymond and I simply overcomplicated a thing because it seemed like the right thing to do.
Here’s what happened: we have our podcast on the hosting site that does everything a podcast hosting site should do. Then, we decided to post there (because it has to go there), and then create a whole other post on our site (this one) and embed the file here for our followers.
Well, that was dumb.
We aren’t doing anyone any favors. Yes it works, but there’s nothing wrong with our actual podcast site either, especially since we were paying extra here to embed the episodes. Also, the saddest part, maybe? Is that we gained a lot of followers yes, but we gained them here (I mean that’s awesome), but now that site looks lonely and sad. In honor of simplifying our to-dos and honoring the sites for what they are, we’re not double posting going forward. We’ll probably still share some links here, but the podcast stays there. So if you’d like to follow it (I’ll love you if you do), please do so on Spreaker:
Although, if you’d rather, you can also follow us on Apple or Spotify 🙂 .
And don’t panic if you don’t see any new episodes in the next few weeks, I’m going away on vacation. Because all work and no play is also a big mistake!
Now it’s your turn:
Are you also peeing out all your hydration?
What are some mistakes you’ve made?
Writers After Dark 
I regret that this comment box is so far down the post and after so much stuff that people will not even know it is here lol. Pen name – I’m a big fan of author Shanny Seewald although I will regret having to have the podcast intro redone. But it’s like you said to me (and my various sub-branding stuff) you are your brand so own it! BTW the water thing . . . total BS. I’ll tell you why in my upcoming article. But to summarize with the greatest tat error ever to grace social media: No Regerts!
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So when you say “me” . . . do you mean me or SK me? O_O
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I’m not sure I’d even be brave enough to list the numerous mistakes I’ve made, so you’re way ahead already.
The water thing . . . I’m tired of people telling me one thing is good and then the next day that it’s bad. I say, do your own thing! Drink that water and pee it out whenever you want to. It’s your bladder, your choice, lol. And I’ll be peeing right along with you. Um, figuratively, of course. But it’s the spirit of the thing, really.
I’m not sure I’d ever be able to write under a different name unless I’d be writing something completely contrary to my character, like our retirement plan of writing terrible, awkward erotica under a pen name so we can make billions of dollars for our golden years lifestyle. Even then, I’m fairly certain I’d regret it (and not just the plan, but the name).
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On reflection, I feel maybe “coming out” as an author was the mistake lol. At the moment I’d like to create yet a whole other persona and do my thing with no worries or pressure. And hey, if I wanted to write erotica to make billions of dollars I wouldn’t have to change it lol.
Also, now I’m curious to hear a couple of your mistakes lol
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I think my biggest mistake (something I’m continually looking for ways to tweak and rectify) was to just start a blog and choose a name for it without actually thinking about all the future ramifications. I love the name of my business, but that’s just a happy coincidence that the name of my original blog worked out that way. It never occurred to me to grab the domain name (so there’s another happy thing—that it wasn’t already taken when I wanted to set up a website) and to coordinate all my social media around it.
A little (a lot? haha) more thought into what I wanted to do with my business and how to go about it would have been nice. At the time, all I knew was that I was editing a book for someone and should get myself on Goodreads and start a blog. I’ve learned SO much since those early days about online presence, social media, SEO, and editing itself. I kind of cringe a little when I look at my earliest stuff, even on my old blog.
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