Jennie S. Bev

Our Father prayer

Our Father, Who art in heaven
Hallowed be Thy Name;
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.

Amen.

Why psychology and social justice psychology

Learning psychology is calming beause it teaches understanding and tolerance  by acknowledging differences as both natural and nurtured phenomena. Some aspects of peace are inherent, but others must be understood with consciousness.

Psychology with social justice emphasis attempts to change conditions that affect people, not just change people who are affected.

Endorsement from Father Andalas

For Indonesian readers, Jennie raises the writing bar, regardless currently living as a Chinese Indonesian intellectual in diaspora. Her writings blend efforlessly with her sense of humanity and passion in scholarly works in today's globalized world. Instead of paralyzing her, Jennie who was triple oppressed in Indonesia, values it as a "site of struggle," as envisioned in Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak's In Other Words. (P. Mutiara Andalas SJ, PhD)

A simple life

Let me not pray

Let me not pray to be sheltered from dangers but to be fearless in facing them.

Let me not beg for the stilling of my pain but for the heart to conquer it.

Let me not look for allies in life's battlefield but to my own strength.

Let me not crave in anxious fear to be saved but hope for the patience to win my freedom.

Grant me that I may not be a coward, feeling your mercy in my success alone; but let me find the grasp of your hand in my failure.
(Rabindranath Tagore)

Merry Christmas

Christmas time

Merry Christmas and peace on earth

Authors thriving in the digital age

For those who aren't sure on how a writer can make a living in this downwardly spiralling economy (but robust digitally), without being a JK Rowling or a Jodie Picoult or a Malcolm Gladwell or a Robert Kiyosaki or a Seth Godin, read this post carefully with eyes widely opened.

Here is one for you: the greatest article ever written about how authors really make money in this digital age by Tim Ferris. If you're an aspiring writer, consider to be a multidisciplinarian. It means you should have proper knowledge of several fields, at least up to college level (or Master's level). Read and review as many books on the topics that interest you. This way, you can leverage with more credibility and authority.

You also need to familiarize yourself with various Web 2.0 and electronic book platforms. Use them as a reader and be familiar with the pros and cons. Formats, layouts, structures and contents should be analyzed beforehand and carefully considered.

The latest hype is Kindle Singles. Wired magazine writer Tim Carmody wrote it well. You can publish short ebooks of 30 pages and sell them on Amazon for a couple of bucks per download.

More importantly, you have much more opportunities now, without having to wait for a New York hot-shot literary agent to call you up. In fact, literary agency is a probably dying industry. Sarah Glazer of Shewrites.com wrote it well.

So, as a writer, can you really make a good living out of writing today? You betcha, Sarah Palin would say.

First, diversify the topics. Write a good balance of evergreen topics with trending topics. Evergreen topics are like how-to and feature pieces that can be enjoyed for a long time, if not forever. Trending topics include current affairs and "gossipy" or fad topics.

Second, be both a sprinter and a marathoner. Write a good balance of columns/articles, short books/novellas, and full-length books. Use your time wisely, write for 8-10 hours per day, rain or shine, inspired or not, motivated or not, even when the Muse Fairy doesn't come to work that day. Better yet, have your columns syndicated. You can self syndicate by buying a list of trade magazines to begin with.

Third, publish with traditional publishers and by yourself. Being published by a NY publishing house is great, but so is publishing by yourself. Seth Godin has bid farewell to traditional publishing. While tooting your own horn can be quite a challenge, sometimes tweaking SEO keywords and simply paying Adwords ads would work. Ride the wave of iPhone and BlackBerry apps as well, if you have the budget.

Fourth, don't worry about all kinds of labeling. Some "purist" academics wouldn't even dream writing a how-to book or a popular column, but there are top-notch professors out there like UC Berkeley economist Robert Reich who writes "for laypeople" books and columns. Rosa Brooks, a former LA Times columnist was a serious law professor and still is. And there are tons of other examples.

Realistically speaking, if Jane Yolen can publish 300 books, Isaac Asimov 500 books, and Barbara Cartland 732 books, publishing 200-300 long and short books both in print and electronically is not a faraway thing. If you can manage to produce 500 words per hour, you can finish up 4,000-5,000 words per day. Per month, you would have produced 150,000 words or 3 books! In one year, you would have produced 30 to 36 books.

I would say your path to become a truly well-fed thriving author is completely attainable. And I speak it based on experience. Yes, I did earn a six-figure income per year and the IRS is my witness.

Mobile syndicated columns

With mobile gadgets, I'm fully equipped to write from anywhere. Books (both print and electronic), syndicated columns and book reviews. Just like working from a permanent office, it's very easy to communicate and keep in contact with fellow writers, editors and professors. Yup, I'm working on another doctorate. :)

Enjoy these iPhone cupcakes!

Teenage suicide in my hometown

Watch on KTVU.com

My mom's graduation

Congratulations, Mom!

The most prolific authors in history

The list of 20 Most Prolific Authors in Literary History can be found here. I would add another: Barbara Cartland, who wrote 732 books in her lifetime.

Not affected by mortgage crisis

This townhome isn't affected by mortgage crisis apparently, since the pre and post crisis market values stay the same.

Cupcakes

Yummy and cute cupcakes to brighten your days.

   

Double vision

Pomeranian twins. :)