My New Now

"Life is what happens to you when you're busy making other plans." - John Lennon 

Much like the famous quote by John Lennon, I've been delayed in updating my post from July because life has a way of taking you on new and unexpected journeys. I won't call where I'm at now my new normal because...Well, my life has never, ever been what I would call "normal." So instead I'm thinking about all the recent changes as my new now.

First though, a quick follow-up to my July post about the Midwest Writers conference. The most amazing and wonderful thing happened when I pitched to the NY literary agent at the conference. The agent asked to see the first HALF of my book! Just because I was so humbled and thrilled, I'll say it again: The agent asked to see the first HALF of my book! 

Most people left their pitch sessions disappointed (if not a little wiser) or with offers to submit a query and their first three chapters. So I was stunned by her request! I'm still riding that emotional high even a little bit now even though I still have yet to send it to her. I hope she doesn't forget who I am when I send it off to her within the next few weeks!!! So I promise to post an update about where my journey goes with my book...even if that journey results in a dead end. Of course, I'm hoping for a much more exciting trip down the road of representation and then onto publication :)

So...the reason why I haven't been able to polish up that first half of my manuscript before sending it off to the literary agents is because of major changes happening in my professional life (a.k.a. my day job.)

After working in marketing and communications at Ball State University for over seven years, I decided this summer that I couldn't pass up an exciting job opportunity to work at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology as their senior director of interactive marketing. My new job means I'm the cheif web architect, and I'll lead the institute's strategic interactive marketing efforts including social media.

My new and exciting job at Rose-Hulman comes with several logistical challenges, the biggest being that the campus is about 3 hours away from my home, my husband, my kids, and our dog. Since my family isn't moving here, at least not anytime soon, I'm renting an apartment where I'm living during the week. Then on weekends I'm going home. So instead of getting that book manuscript squeaky clean, I spent most of my "spare" time this summer following the writer's conference getting things ready for my move to my new apartment to start my new job in a new city. My husband and I have only owned our house for barely two years, so leaving that world behind during the week has been very challenging. So far though, I really love my new job!

Then another amazing thing happened after I was making the transition to my new job, I was invited to be the keynote communications track speaker at the CASE Indiana conference. Again, thrilling news but it has become one more thing I've needed to work on in my "spare" time to make sure my presentation goes well. Here's the blurb for my topic:

Your Social Media Isn't Getting Any Younger - It's Time for a Checkup!
Julie Tuttle Davis, Senior Director of Interactive Marketing, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

Conducting a social media audit will help you determine what’s working well, what isn’t, and where adjustments can be made to help it work better. Whether you manage a departmental account or your school’s main institutional accounts, keeping content relevant and fresh can sometimes feel like a daunting task. Is your content engaging your audience? What do all these analytics figures really mean? Can you make a case for getting more help and resources to manage your social media? In addition to accessing your own social media accounts, do you know what other departments on campus are posting? These are all questions that an audit can help you to answer.

Now I must be getting back to my new now where the roads are winding and sometimes steep, but it is always an interesting ride!