Farewell for Now, Updates, and What’s to Come in 2013

Posted by on Dec 21, 2012 in General, Interpersonal Communication | 10 comments

Those who know me will smile when they see this image. I am very likely to say “thank you” by bringing someone a good bread or pastry from my local French bakery. Challah is a favorite and customary in my home. So it feels like a fitting image for this final 2012 appreciation post to you!

To my incredible blog audience,

I finally concluded my term and then realized that I was in some pretty big need of decompression. I wanted to write a note to say farewell for 2012 and to express my tremendous appreciation to you for being with me through this past year.

I started The Chatty Professor in April 2011. During 2012, particularly in recent months, 3,000 – 4,000 visitors per month seemed to be finding their way over. I have no idea from any kind of analytics perspective if that is good, bad, or indifferent, but the thought that my niche blog could possibly be reaching that many people astounds and humbles me. I am thankful to each and every one of you who share, tweet, comment, Facebook, Stumble, (I’m sure I’m missing others), and support my message of communication that I will continue to champion into next year. More on that in just a second, but first, some major news that I have not shared here just yet:

After an incredibly strong start and phenomenal national/word-of-mouth press (and that is in large, large part thanks to you!), Say This, NOT That to Your Professor is graduating! My publisher, NorLights Press, has entered into a distribution agreement with Pearson Education. Pearson will be distributing #STNT in all channels, trade and college, which is extremely exciting. With Pearson’s mammoth sales force, my little book will now have the chance to reach its full potential and get into the hands of students everywhere. I just couldn’t be happier to see my little book fly. I will keep you posted on its development next year.

With respect to what’s coming for you in 2013 in this blog space, I am hardly short of content based on the write-in requests I’ve received over the past month or so. My feedback for a lot of these challenges may be equally supportive to some of you. Here’s a sneak peek:

-What to say if you didn’t get that ‘A’ (in other words, if you got the 3.8, not the 4.0)

-What to say if you end up in multiple-choice test hell (and those tests make up your entire grade)

-What to say if you are a grad student teaching on your campus, but also struggling in a class, and afraid to tell on one of your own

-What to say if you are a non-traditional student in your 50s and feel like you are losing your dream of being in school

-What to say if you feel you are being discriminated against because of race

-What to say if you are failing a class by 1 point

-What to say if you and your friend had the exact same study guide for a major exam, but your friend’s in-class test followed the study guide… and your online class test did not

Phew! That’s just a start… And, yes, all of these are driven by student inquiries except the first one about the ‘A’s (that one is my idea based on some experiences over my last term)

I look forward to interacting with all of you again in 2013. Abundant and peaceful wishes to you and your families during this holiday season.

Ellen

10 Comments

  1. Happy Holidays to you and your family Ellen!

    Thank you for all the support you have given a social media novice like me. I have learned so much and look forward to learning even more in 2013.

    Congratulations on your book deal with Pearson Education. It is a great book and needs to be on every college campus.

    I look forward to more of your great blog posts in the new year.

    • Claire,
      I am so happy I was able to connect with you this year. I look forward to more connection in 2013. I am still taking a much needed break, but decided to sneak on while my daughter has a playdate for a few hours today :-) .

      I wish you a wonderful season. You’ve been such a champion for me and I can’t thank you enough!!!
      Ellen

  2. Happy Holidays Ellen!

    I am so glad that I “met” you this year. I am over the moon excited about your success. You deserve it. Your blog is a wonderful resource for students and professors alike.

    I look forward to getting to know you more in 2013. We have to meet up for Greek food!

    • Michelle,

      We are long overdue for Greek! I am still in Fremont once a month and my schedule will be slightly lighter next term. I am so glad that I was able to connect with you via Lisa Braithwaite and 12Most and in our other channels. Lucky me that you are in my backyard!

      I love your blog and hope we can meet up in the first quarter!
      Ellen

  3. Bread – wonderful bread! It has been wonderful to connect and “Tribe” with you during these past months. – Happy Break – and almost – Happy New Year! David of the Student Caring Project.

    • Hi, David,

      I feel really lucky that we (you, Daniel, and myself) found each other. We are tribed and connected and it’s awesome! Our messages deserve to be shared since they are so like-minded.

      I look forward to moving our voices forward for students in 2013!
      Ellen

  4. Ellen – Congratulations on the book distribution! It is well deserved. I’m so glad that it will be “making the rounds” more broadly.

    Best wishes for the holiday season and for the New Year! I look forward to reading more and connecting in 2013!

    • Vicki,

      Thank you for everything in 2012 and I feel really fortunate that I have you as the parent voice for my student readers. You can help me connect in very unique ways and I appreciate that so much.

      I look forward to our continued messaging in 2013!
      Ellen

  5. It was wonderful to read your blogs which were so inspirational. It was also a nice experience sitting in a class and listening to you teach. Waiting to read the blogs come next year…….. Happy Holidays!!!!

    • Andrew,
      I am so glad to see you continuing on with me through the blog! I would love to stay connected with me. You could give fellow students some fantastic advice based on the quality of student that you are. Also, your interpersonal skills are stellar :-) .

      I wish you a fabulous season. Please comment and maybe you’d even consider guest blogging, too?
      Ellen

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