Interview With Susi Bocks- Editor Of The Short Of It

Dear readers,

I am happy to announce that I have once more interviewed an interesting personality. She is an author, poet, blogger and editor. I love her blog so much and I would be leaving a link to it so you can visit and read her amazing posts. Here’s how my interview with her went. Read and enjoy.

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1. Please introduce yourself briefly. (This is my current BIO with all links)
Susi Bocks, writer/author/poet, has self-published two books – Feeling Human and Every Day I Pause. She is the Editor of The Short of It which recently produced its first anthology – The Sound of Brilliance. Bocks’ has works published in the anthologies Through The Looking Glass – Reflecting on Madness and Chaos Within, As The World Burns, SMITTEN: This Is What Love Looks Like: Poetry by Women for Women and in VitaBrevis, Spillwords, Literary Yard, and other literary magazines. She was a Pushcart Prize Nominee in 2021. You can find her work at IWriteHer.com or follow on Twitter or Facebook.

2. When did you begin your writing career?
My first blog – Susi’s Soap Box, started in December 2010, was where I began writing opinion pieces, usually rants and venting about whatever current event needed review and discussion. PhiloSusi, my next blog, launched in December 2013, introduced my poetry to the readers. I continued to maintain both blogs until December 2017, focusing primarily on PhiloSusi. My first book was a collection of poetry and essays accompanied by art done by my best friend, Terry Susi. It was called Feeling Human. One year to the day in 2018, I published book number two – Every Day I Pause. During 2018, my goal was to produce one poem per day as I discovered various types of poetry. It became apparent that I enjoyed the structured and short forms of poetry such as haiku, tanka, tetractys, etc. The month following the second book being published, I created The Short of It on my blog to feature others who had a natural talent to express deep emotions or thoughts through their micro-poetry and writing. Many people submitted their work, and I was able to feature 41 poets and writers online. In April 2021, I published The Sound of Brilliance, the “best of the best,” featured on The Short of It.

3. What was your best blog post? Why do you think it’s appealing?

If I look at the numbers, the ones with the most views and likes were Perpetual Pain and Love is Love. The first dealt with grief and loss, the second with love and acceptance. I believe both spoke to what we humans experience deeply, and therefore, people could relate. 

4. Describe your writing process. From writing to publishing.
Well, below in my email, my process is described as Read, Think, Write and that is pretty much how I approach creating a piece. Once I am inspired, then it must be written and of course, published. I do that once a week but I will generate a post a day. One day a week, I will reblog something of mine which is older, and on another day, I will reblog two pieces of others’ work that I feel my readers would appreciate. The other four days of the week, I will create a post initiated by a prompt or challenge. As to publishing another book, I’m not sure when that will happen but I’m working on a series of chapbooks I’d like to get up on Amazon. One of these days, in between projects! Of course, the goal is also to publish Volume 2 of The Short of It features, but that won’t happen until 2023.

5. How do you stay motivated?
This year, in August, I took the whole month off writing and reading blogs completely. It did help a lot to get “re-inspired.” But I don’t think I ever lost my motivation, just needed a break as I’d been running this blog for four years straight, posting daily. Well, actually, I’ve been blogging since 2010, so yeah, I was due to take a break!

6. How do you attract new readers?
I don’t know that I do very much to attract new readers other than putting content out that people like. I’ve not been an aggressive marketer but I think most people who do find me, like the honesty I express.

7. What motivated you to begin your project “The short of it?”
The biggest motivation was the talent I was seeing in the WordPress Community. I enjoyed reading their work, and I wanted to share them with my audience. There are so many good writers out there who may not have a lot of followers, so I thought it might help them if more people could read their thoughts. 

8. How would you describe your first anthology?
The Sound of Brilliance was titled that because I picked the most brilliant pieces from those which had been featured online. It was a labor of love, and I enjoyed showcasing their work.

9. What would you do to support other writers if they needed help?
It really depends on what kind of help they need. If someone reached out to me for information, guidance, advice, or my opinion, I would help the best I could to send them on the right path. I’ve reposted or helped promote books, readings, or other writing opportunities for people. This is definitely one of the great things about the WordPress Community!

10. Would you like to improve your book titled “feeling human”? Or do you think it’s perfect?
LOL Nothing is perfect! But no, I don’t think there is a need to improve it because it is representative of what my thoughts and feelings were at the time. 

11. What are your inspirations?
I’m inspired by people with interesting life stories, intricate or riveting images, the calming influences of nature, and chaos. Basically, anything that is exciting or nurturing because what is life, if not a dichotomy to be explained and understood?

12. Do you think your anthology this year would be better than the last?
The next anthology will be published in 2023, and those pieces selected will be from the features in 2022. From what I’ve read so far, I’m impressed! It’s good to see a lot of the original writers submit again but there are some interesting new faces too.

13. Who are your favorite bloggers? And what do you do to support them?
Oh, gosh, there are so many! And I don’t want to mention some and not all because I follow hundreds of blogs. The biggest way I feel I can support them is to read as many of their posts as I can. While I would like to comment on each and everyone, realistically I just don’t have that much time. But if I read it, I will acknowledge that I have by liking it. And if it blows me away, I will comment and perhaps reblog it in the future.

14. Have you ever regretted writing? 
Never!

15. What words of advice do you have for other authors and bloggers? 
Read other people’s work as much as you can, be generous with your praise if something others have written moves you, and always carry a pen and paper or your phone for those moments when a brilliant line crosses your mind.
I hope that works for you, Anna! 

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That is the end of our interview. I hope you loved reading. Working with susi was very interesting as I got to learn a lot about her and projects. If you wish to submit original contents for the anthology next year, you can head over to her blog to register.

There are a lot of talented people on WordPress. And if you believe you’re of them, and wish to request an interview session with me, do leave an email. I would be glad to work with you. Thank you.

annasstylescollaboration@gmail.com

+2348080592089

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