Not too long ago, Lela Davidson was in the neighborhood (visiting San Francisco on business) and stopped by HubPages headquarters to say hello! Paul and Robin Edmondson, Jason Menayan, Pia Chatterjee, and myself got to catch up with her over lunch, and really enjoyed meeting this long-time Hubber in person- not to mention hearing about all of the exciting things she is working on!
Because Lela Davidson is such an inspiring HubPages community member, we thought it would be fun to share some of her advice and projects with you in a short blog interview. Enjoy!
Lela Davidson, it was so much fun to see you at HubPages headquarters, especially because you’re one of our top Hubbers! With four years of experience on the site, not to mention over 650 Hubs, do you have any simple words of advice you would like to share with the community?
Setting and meeting a goal at HubPages–whether independently or by participating in a contest–is a great way to strengthen your writerly discipline, which we all need to develop! Write what interests you, keep it simple, and don’t spend too much time on the whole keyword thing. (But if you figure it out, please let me know!)
In addition to being a mother and published author, you’re incredibly active online. In addition to your own website, you maintain a wonderful, humorous blog, are the Managing Editor of Parenting Squad, and maintain an active Twitter feed. How do you do it all?
I have no idea how I do it! And what you mentioned isn’t even the half of it. I used to make a big list every week and then beat myself up when I didn’t accomplish everything. Then it got to be too many items for one list. Now, it’s all about priorities. I make a list of just 5 must-do items each day, and those items make the list based on their ability to generate income, advance my platform, or if they are just creatively fun. And, after 41 years of tracking my days with pen and paper, I have recently become addicted Google calendar.
Your book, Blacklisted from the PTA, just made its debut. What inspired it you to physically publish your work, and do you plan on publishing more?
I decided to publish the essay collection because I was tired of feeling bad about myself every time I received a rejection letter for my novel. I’d been selling the essays to magazines for a few years and I knew readers liked them. I also knew I had built enough of a presence online that we could generate some word of mouth buzz, and that’s what sells books. I’m proud that my tiny little “indie” published book ranks right along with the heavy hitters of its genre on the Amazon charts. (Even if they did terminate my affiliate contract!) The response has been wonderful, so yes, I predict there will be more!
HubPages Blog 
This was so fun! Thrilled I got to meet you all — finally — in person.
It’s always great to see these kind of blog posts! I love that team members take time to meet dedicated hubbers. Lela, the title of your book is enough to make any parent chuckle. I took a peek, love the cover art. I’ve read many of your very helpful, insightful hubs. Thanks for sharing!
An inspiring interview. May be that will help me to come out of that peculiar fear and apprehension that I am facing for the last several months. Not that I have a great social standing , but yes at times I feel I have a lot to say.
I will try.
Thanks,
Sulabha Dhavalikar
So cool for a hubber to meet at the HubPages headquarters !So awesome. Way to go, Lela!