Today we’d like to introduce you to Angela Washington.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Angela. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I am like many artistic people, expressing my most inner emotions through God-given talent. Pain, sadness and hurt can take people to their lowest place. As they wallowing down in the dirt of their emptiness they develop a way to cope with what they cannot express in any other way. They develop their gift. That’s exactly what happened to me. I pretended to be independent and all the time I desperately needed someone to look out for me. I pretended to not to feel the residue of life’s unspoken family issues that I could not wash away with tears and so I began to write poetry.
Poetry that was more sad than happy because I was more sad than happy. Webster’s Dictionary defines poetry as writing that formulates a concentrated imaginative awareness of experience in language chosen and arranged to create a specific emotional response through meaning, sound and rhythm. I must agree that my poetry expresses every feeling I’ve ever had. Sometimes just reading the words puts my mind in the exact place I was when the event happens and I’m saddened by how wrong I was treated and how lonely I felt.
It’s like listening to a particular song that puts you in that melancholy mood. You remember where you were, who you were with, the good and the bad about your life when the song came out. My poems make me feel that way. Amazingly, I have found out that my poems make other people feel the same way. Paul Engle said, “Poetry is ordinary language raised to the Nth power…” As an elementary student, I couldn’t comprehend everything I saw and felt but in the 7th grade my emotions took me to the Nth power and I wrote my first poem. For decades I would experience sexual assault, fear of not being good enough, loneliness, confusion and abandonment.
My coping mechanism was to put my feelings into words. Life has a way of opening our eyes and teaching us about who we really are. When I turned forty my life changed drastically and like always I put my feelings in poems but unlike all the others times, the poems took on another meaning. It was like each poem was taking another layer from my eyes and I finally saw the real me and understood my real pain. That pain would be the bricks that formed the foundation of what I do and why.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The obstacles were too many to count to get me to the place where I am today. My company, Angel of Words was born out of the ugly side of life, the side of life I could have lived without if I had my way. I shared poems with other people and they identified so deeply with my expression of life and the moment I was in, they began to ask me to write specialty poems for their loved ones that were deceased, battling cancer, getting married, obituaries or just needed words of encouragement. I struggled emotionally because unlike what many people think, writing is emotionally draining.
At times God allows me to feel the emotion of the other person, so I could express their pain in words. The feeling doesn’t end when the poem is concluded. It can be like a dark cloud lingering over my spirit. Marketing and networking has been challenging as well. My website and the domain name is to be financed annually.
Social media posts must be maintained consistently to remain relevant. I have struggled with consistency, although all the experts say consistency is a key factor for an audience.
Other times, having the money in the bank when it’s time to renew my domain name and website has been an issue. There have been one person I could count on for emotional and financial support at all the times. Most people have been verbally supportive but I can’t pay for a hotel room or attend a speaking event with verbal support.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Angel of Words – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
I am not an angel nor do I play one on TV, but my company is named Angel of Words. A few select people began to label me “Angel” because of the spirit God gave me and the way the words made them feel after reading my poems. The title just seemed to fit.
Writing poetry and motivational material for individuals and sharing words of hope with organizations that serve the underprivileged is what I do and what I love. Women of domestic violence have already been broken. I give them poems of hope. Some people I know have co-workers fighting a tough battle with cancer and other illnesses. God has given me words to uplift their spirits and others around them. My biggest item of demand is poems for obituaries.
People like personalized poems. Poems that talk about what they did regularly, funny events in their lives and things that made them laugh. It is my pleasure to create a product blessed by God and that will bring a tear and smile to the family.
For over a year, I was a ghostwriter of the motivational post for a retired NFL player. His Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram audience not only looked forward to daily words of hope, they shared and commented on how most of the post were exactly what they needed at that time in their lives. I was so honored to be able to reach an audience of almost a thousand people daily, as his ghostwriter. Life got so busy for me I had to let him go as a client and decline offers from some of his other NFL friends.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
My vision is to have a contract with DaySpring Christian Card company or Lifeway Christian Products company, one day. Years ago I attended a Christian Vendors conference and analyzed the products ordered by many different companies. I got a feel for what people were making, what companies were buying and how the marketing strategies were individualized. The words God has given were not meant to be sold in a few states, They are meant to be sold globally.
To make my vision a reality, I must downsize my expenses, be more accessible for my agent to book more events for met to be exposed to a better audience, finish my book and then market, market, market. I was once told a book is just a more expensive business card. I want my expensive business card to be a best seller.
I had big problems. I have a big gift and I have a big God that I will allow me to serve a big world. Look out. Here I come!!!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.angelofwords.com
- Email: arniaa1963@gmail.com
- Instagram: angelawashington9555
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AngelaWashingtonAngelofWords
- Twitter: @AngelaW30568276
Image Credit:
Alejandra Arriaga
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