Journaling: A Writer's Best Friend

Whenever someone asks me how to get unstuck - and believe me, I get this question a lot - my immediate response is journaling.

Whenever someone asks me how to improve their writing, I tell them to start journaling.

Whenever someone asks me how to develop a new idea, I say - you guessed it - journaling.

The concept of journaling typically conjures memories of a tiny book, which harbors your deepest thoughts and secrets, and is locked up with a small key. However, whether you call it journaling, brainstorming, or free-writing, the process of getting words out of your head and onto the page can be cathartic, practice, or solve any number of problems. 

Here's how to use journaling to improve your writing, as well as your quality of life.

1. Problem-Solving. It is nearly impossible to solve a problem - writing or other - solely inside your head. Yet, when you write things out and look at them objectively, it helps with clarity and direction.

For example, let's say you don't know what you want your character to do next. Put yourself in your character's shoes and start journaling from their point of view. This will help you take a deeper dive into their background ... and enable them (your characters) to give you a suitable direction. 

Let's say you are having trouble with your outline. Journal several scenarios, set them aside, and look at them fresh the next day.

Stream-of-consciousness writing, whether it's as the author of the character, can help you solve a multitude of problems.

2. Practicing. The best way to improve you writing is by writing. The more you do it (practice), the better you become. It's like any sport of form of exercise.

What's a better way to practice writing than journaling. You are writing for yourself, and so you can pretty much put anything you want down on paper ... no audience, no judgement. It also helps you to develop your style and tone. When you write about the things you observe and experience, you don't need to think about it. You can just write, explore, and improve.

Note: Beginning writers, especially, may want to read their journal entries out loud (in private, of course), since that's the best way to catch any mistakes.

3. Pondering. Whether you are deciding the next step in a writing project, or trying to determine what to work on next, take it to your journal. Schedule a little bit of time each day to brainstorm on paper, as a way to explore your options. When you hit on something exciting, you'll know, because that will be all you will be able to journal about. It can also serve as a repository for ideas for future projects. Next time you are ready to start something new, turn to any page in your journal, and see if what you have written ignites a spark.

However you choose to use the practice of journaling is fine. And, remember, you don't only need to use it when you are stuck, need to practice, or explore what's next. It can be used on an ongoing basis to track ideas, observations, and adventures.

How do you use journaling? Please share in the comments.

* * *

Debra Eckerling is a writer, editor and project catalyst, as well as founder of Write On Online, a live and online writers’ support group. Like the Write On Online Facebook Page and join the Facebook Group.  She is author of Write On Blogging: 51 Tips to Create, Write & Promote Your Blog and Purple Pencil Adventures: Writing Prompts for Kids of All Ages, and host of the Guided Goals Podcast and the #GoalChat Twitter Chat. Debra is an editor at Social Media Examiner and a speaker/moderator on the subjects of writing, networking, goal-setting, and social media.

Submissions and Working with Editors

Every writer, at least hopefully, will work with an editor from time to time. While we’d all like it to be on a regular basis, time to time is better than nothing.

When in the joyous situation (you’ve gotten something accepted for publication), there are some tips that will help you in your working relationship with an editor.

The first thing, even before you think of submitting your work, is to have your manuscript or article in the best shape possible.

Getting to the Point of Submissions
1. Be part of a critique group. Every writer needs the extra eyes of writers working in the same genre. Their insights and critiques will prove to be invaluable to you.

2. Revise and self-edit . . .  repeat and repeat . . .

3. When you think your manuscript is in perfect shape, send it to a freelance editor. You may think this isn’t necessary, but it is. Ask around for one that comes with recommendations.

Now you’re set; off you go on your submissions fishing trip. But don’t just drop the line randomly; be sure you do research and find the best spot – one where you know the fish are biting.
What this means is to look for publishing houses that are best suited to your manuscript, and ones that are accepting submissions.

After you’ve found a few publishing houses suitable. Read their submission guidelines CAREFULLY, and follow them just as carefully. Now it’s time for the infamous query letter. If you’re unfamiliar with queries, do some research.

Okay, you’ve done everything you needed to, and now you cast off. AND, you get a bite.

Working with Editors

Once you’re accepted by a publishing house, you will be assigned an editor. And don’t be alarmed, but that manuscript you meticulously slaved over, and even paid an editor to go over, will end up with revisions. This is just the nature of the beast—each publishing house has their own way of doing things. They will want you’re manuscript to fit their standards.

Note: the purpose of those long hours of writing work and hiring an editor is to give your manuscript the best shot of making it past the acquisition editor’s trash pile, and actually getting accepted.

Now on to 4 tips that will help make your editor/author experience a pleasant one:

1. Always be professional.

2. Don’t get insulted when the editor requests revisions. They are not trying to hurt your feelings; they are hired by the publishing house to get your manuscript in the best possible saleable state. They want your book to sell as much as you do.

3. Keep the lines of communication open. If you have a question, ask. If you disagree with an edit, respectfully discuss it. Editors are not infallible. Sometimes your gut feeling is right.

4. Take note of deadlines and be on time. This is your career, and in some cases your livelihood.

Karen Cioffi is an award-winning children's author and children’s ghostwriter as well as the founder and editor-in-chief of Writers on the Move. You can find out more about writing for children and her services at: Writing for Children with Karen Cioffi.

While you're there, sign up for the Newsletter - it has great monthly writing and book marketing tips. And, check out Walking Through Walls (a middle-grade fantasy adventure set in 16th century China. Honored with the Children’s Literary Classics Silver Award.

MORE ON WRITING

Writing: Getting past the first blank page

Finding Writing Ideas

Plot or Character?

Items to Bring for Your In-Person Book Events

When I first started going to in-person book events, I would invariably not have something I needed. I didn’t always know I was going to need a particular item either. But now, after doing a fair number of events, I have a list of things I need to take and I take this one ‘Must-Have’ item every time.

First, my list includes:

Books (but, of course!) You won’t believe this but yes, one time I forgot my books.

Banner (I have a banner made that just says, “Meet the Author and Book Signing.” I kept it generic to be able to fit any event. Mine hangs for tent events but I’ve seen the ones that stand. That’s my next investment.)

Tablecloth (I invested in a large rectangular—maybe 120 inches long--no-iron tablecloth. You can always make a longer cloth fit a smaller table but you can’t stretch it to fit longer one.)

Book stands (to stand my books up for more visibility)

Business cards and Holders (obvious)

Signs and Plastic Holders (these are signs I’ve created and printed at home that say something like “Book Sale and Price” and I place them inside plastic holders that stand up. You need a sign that says you are selling books and for how much. It just makes sense if you’re selling anything to have a sign saying what you’re selling and the price.)

Bookmarks (I use them as promo items but I also give one to everyone who purchases a book.)

Newslettes Sign-Up Sheets (I also have a plastic sign promoting the Free Ebook they receive for signing up.)

Pens (for that exciting time when you get to sign your book to a buyer/reader!)

Glasses (I need them to see! You can omit these from your list if you don’t need them.)

Table Decorations (For me, I have toys because I’m a children’s author, but I’ve seen people have all sorts of items related to their books.)

Credit Card Scanner (Don’t miss a sale because you can only take cash.)

Ipad/Phone (to run the credit card scanner)

Candy dish and candy (because everybody likes food)

Money Bag (To keep all the money you’ll need when you sell your books and to make change)

Now, for the ‘Must Have’ Item—it’s a clear rectangular box that keeps all my “must have’s.” It is invaluable, did I say it’s something you really gotta have?!

Anyway, here’s what’s inside my box:

You can expand on my items adding more or taking less depending on what you think you’ll need but these things, man, I’ve been so glad I had them.

A folder with my Newsletter Sign Up Sheets (I have a bunch in my folder, just in case I run out. In fact, at one event, another author borrowed one because they forgot theirs.)

Pens (Lots of them in different colors because I like to sign my children’s books in fun, matching colors to the cover)

More Glasses (just in case I forget the ones I usually wear)

Scissors (heavy duty ones that’ll cut through anything)

Clothespins (You just never know when you’re going to need to clip something)

Tape (both clear and painters tape—for times when you don’t want the tape to stick to something)

Stapler

Nametag (it’s important to wear a nametag. It shouldn’t just have your name, but also indicate that you’re an author. I can’t tell you how many times people are surprised when they find out I’m the author of the books I’m selling)

Square Reader with Sign that says I accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover

Clips to hold your tablecloth down (like picnic table clips—these are fabulous when you’re at an outdoor event and it’s windy)

Zipties (you gotta have these—invaluable, I say!)

Ziptie cutters (my heavy duty scissors don’t quite cut it, haha!)

Extra business cards

Baggies (you’d be surprised, but sometimes you need to put something in a baggie)

Hand sanitizer (you shake a lot of hands, just saying)

And last but not least, I have a rock (this came from a particularly windy day and everything was blowing everywhere and some kind soul handed me a rock, it was a lifesaver!)

This box is probably 12 x 9 x 3 or 4 inches high

It’s one of those things that keeps all my small items in one place and I can just grab it and go knowing that I have everything I need in it!

Another note: I always pack up the night before by going over my list.

And one more thing: I graduated from a rolling bin to a wagon just because I had to stack everything up in a rolly bin and in a wagon, I have more space to spread out and keep things only 2 items high. It’s easier to keep organized and find what I need.

Sometimes when I’m setting up my table and I’ve stacked things 4 high, the very thing I need first is at the bottom. But, my new wagon, the table cloth is on the side and I can grab it first without having to move anything else. Plus, it has great wheels which makes it easy to turn in tight places (which is usually is behind tables and up against a wall or another table).

Hope this helps you be prepared for your next in-person event. And if you have something else you’d like to add, I’d love to hear it!

Wanda Luthman has her Masters of Arts in both Mental Health Counseling and Guidance Counseling from Rollins College located in beautiful Winter Park, Florida. She has worked as a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, Adjunct Professor, and Hospice Counselor for teens. She’s currently a Guidance Counselor at a local High School. She is an award-winning, best-selling, international author who has self-published 5 children’s books (The Lilac Princess, A Turtle’s Magical Adventure, Gloria and the Unicorn, Little Birdie, and Franky the Finicky Flamingo). She belongs to the National Pen Women Organization in Cape Canaveral; the Florida’s Writers Association; Space Coast Authors; and Brevard Authors Forum. She presently resides in Brevard County Florida with her husband of 22 years and 2 dogs. Her daughter is away at college, like Little Birdie, she has left the nest. To download a free ebook, visit Wanda Luthman’s website at www.wandaluthmanwordpress.com and follow her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/wluthman.

Importance of Email Signatures with Award-Winning Author

Your Email Signature: Choosing Courteous and Great Marketing

By Carolyn Howard-Johnson

Borrowed from Carolyn’s free #SharingwithWriters newsletter that has been helping writers succeed since 2003.

In a public e-mail to her clients, someone near and dear to me (an expert) said most people look at the first two lines of an email. That’s it. They aren’t interested in fishing through pages of post-signature blather. People need to have ways to learn about you, not reasons to put up shields.” She advised three or four lines, tops.

Boy, did that set me off. So, these people we send mail to are in such a hurry that they’d rather spend time looking in dozens of places for the information that could just as easily have been in the contact’s e-mail signature?

Here’s my rant—er . . . rebuttal:

My old friend, I so disagree with this.

For one thing, there are no fast rules. Much depends on a writer’s preferred genre. Another depends on the author’s personality. But more than that, I view a signature as a courtesy. Put that word in caps! COURTESY!

There is nothing more annoying than getting an e-mail from someone who doesn't have proper contact information in it. And the trouble is, depending on what the recipient plans to do with the email, it is difficult for the sender to know exactly what will make the life of that contact easier.

Will she need your website address? Will including your Twitter moniker help her in some way? Won't the repeated visual of your book cover to your contacts help your branding? And if your contact has seen your cover before, will it hurt her that much to see it again? Especially considering that old marketing advice based on research that people need to see something seven times before they act on it.

And don't you––as an author or someone whose business it is to help authors--want to sell as many books as possible and to get as much media attention as possible?

In the PR world the winner is the person who makes it easiest on the gatekeeper to do her job. It is a busy world. She doesn't need to be searching for information, especially information that could easily go into a signature.

To arbitrarily tell anyone how to sign their emails without any idea of the tone or purpose of the email seems presumptuous to me. When signatures eliminate something that will help me help them, I may get annoyed. Depending on how busy I am, I may move on to greener fields (meaning a source that understands this gatekeeper’s needs and respects her time!)

I hope you will consider this alternative view. Many authors are already far too reluctant to get the word about their books out there. Having agents, publishers or even fellow authors tell them to arbitrarily limit information in their signatures may encourage their reluctance to do right by their books—and their own careers.

Here is the signature (with permission) used by an author and director of several South Florida book fairs. It could be flashier (maybe include some social network addresses), but it is also quiet enough for most authors to feel comfortable with a similar one:

Hugs, [Yes, hugs. Even rants are mostly designed to help and make enemies!]

CHJ

Carolyn Howard-Johnson is a former journalist, retailer, and marketer who started publishing how-to books for writers for the classes she taught for UCLA Extension’s renowned Writers’ Program. Members of the California Legislature named her Woman of the Year in Arts and Entertainment. Learn more about her how-to books and her creative writing at http://howtodoitfrugally.com. Learn more about book promotion (and avoiding being the reluctant book promoter!) in her The Frugal Book Promoter and the rest of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for write http://bit.ly/HowToDoItFrugally.com. Subscribe to her #SharingwithWriters newsletter at http://bit.ly/SWWNewsletter where you’ll find a great free Writers’ Resource section, too. The newsletter subscription form is at the top right of almost every page.

What You Need to Start a Business Online

I was thinking how I got started in my professional career as a Virtual Assistant and decided this might be a good article for those thinking about starting up their own business.

So, here are 10 tips to help you get started:

1. You need a place where you are happy and can concentrate without interruptions. Someplace with lots of light and connections for your computer and printer.

2. Desk: It can be a simple lap desk to a fancy height-adjustable desk. Whatever makes you content. Don’t forget that comfortable chair. You might be in it for hours at a time.

3. Computers: I like a laptop that you can take anywhere you want or need. If the weather is nice you might want to set up a place outside where birds are singing.

4. Put some peaceful pictures all around you. It might be of your husband and kids to pictures of nature. Maybe you like certain collectibles. Whatever it is, make sure it makes you smile.

5. I’ve heard that green plants are important for your health. So, try to arrange a few around you: Spider plants, Indoor Pothos (indoor air purifier), Lady Palm and Bamboo Palm are all air purifiers.

6. What business are you interested in doing? Selling, marketing, promotions, graphic designing, etc.

7. What’s your Name going to be? Think hard about this because you’ll want it to reflect what you do. For instance: Selling. If you are going to sell online, you need a catchy name. If you were selling ocean products - Sea Sell

8. Don’t forget you’ll need that most important Website. There are many to choose from. Here are a few: Wordpress, Homestead, GoDaddy, Weebly and many more. Just Google it.

9. Rates: What are you going to charge? Are you going to charge hourly, monthly, or by the project? Maybe a combination of all three. Figure out the best potential for your business ability.

10. How are you going to collect the money? I like PayPal.

I hope this has given you plenty to think about.

If you are an author, then writing is your business. Whatever you decide, make sure it’s something you’re going to enjoy doing every day.

Linda Barnett-Johnson, is a Virtual Assistant for authors and enjoys writing poetry, short stories, articles about writing and making up quotes. Many of her articles and poetry have been published. She’s a former editor, former assistant editor of Long Story Short ezine, former administrative director of Long Story Short School of Writing. You can locate her website here: www.lindabarnett-johnson.com She also posts new books, writing articles and author interviews on her blog: http://lindabarnett-johnson.blogspot.com/ Always looking for guest bloggers that would post writing tips, articles and anything to do with writing.

SEO for Authors Part5: Marketing Trends to Be Aware Of

We're back with more SEO for Authors. Part 5 goes over the marketing trends you should be aware of.


- Did you know that 75% of searchers will NOT go past the first page of the search results?

- Did you know that up to 80% of searchers ignore paid ads. They go right to the organic results.

- Did you know that traffic from search engines is more likely to result in conversion?

This information is from Marketo (1) and their blog offered what marketers should be paying attention to. And, if you're an author and have a book for sale, you're a marketer . . . a book marketer.

So, let's go over the 3 tips Marketo offered:

1. Video is taking over the rankings.

Studies show that 60% of people rather watch video than read text.

Fifty-five percent of current Google search results has a minimum of one video.

That's just over half of all search results has a video embedded in the blog post or webpage.

Keep in mind that YouTube is owned by Google, so is it any wonder why this will be the case? Google is favoring video.

This is something I'm not thrilled about as I prefer text over video. But as a marketer, you have to go with the flow.

Bonus tip: Create descriptions.

Randy Fishkin (2) recommends taking advantage of ‘rich snippets’.

These are the descriptions you can give to your videos, images, and other content on most CMSs (content management systems), like WordPress.

If you’re on Blogger.com, you don’t have the option of optimizing your images or video with keywords or descriptions. There are other ‘free’ website hosting platforms that don’t have this capability also.

This is one of the HUGE benefits of using a CMS like WordPress.

What does this mean for you, the author?

If you're not using video already, start incorporating it into your blogposts and on your webpages. The sooner the better.

And, be sure to create a transcript of your video.

Along with the importance of using video for visitors to your site, Fishkin highly recommends that you provide a transcript of the videos within the blog post.

The reason for this is SEO is text oriented. This means while people love video, search engines still use text to gather information from your content.

This for me won’t be difficult as I start with an article or some form of content before I create an animation or video.

2. Google is working on voice searches.

Just like you ask Alexa or Siri questions by talking, Google intends to have voice searches.

This means it will be important to use phrases that people will be saying for searches rather than simply keywords.

Marketo suggests using long-tail-keywords, but it’d probably be a good idea to include LSI keywords (synonyms for the topic) as well. 

What does this mean for you, the author?

When writing your content think how people might actually ask a search question about your topic. Then try to write with that in mind. Use long-tail-keywords and LSI keywords to give a broader target.

3. You will need to have a 'mobile-responsive website.

A mobile-friendly or mobile-responsive website is one that can be navigated via a mobile device, like an iPhone.

This means that if someone lands on your website via their mobile devise, they will be able to get to all your pages through a visible menu. While it won’t look exactly like it will on your laptop or computer, it’s able to be navigated.

This is super-important as the results from searchers using mobile devises will take priority over desktops and laptops.

What's this mean for you, the author?

It's simple, make sure your website is mobile-responsive – Google will be more likely to use sites that are mobile-friendly than not.

If you're not sure, look up your site on your mobile phone. If it’s easy to navigate to the different pages, it’s good to go. If it’s not, then look for another theme.

Or, you can check if your site is mobile friendly by using:
https://search.google.com/test/mobile-friendly

Now it’s on to more SEO tips from Neil Patel.

In an article over at Patel’s (3), it notes that Google makes around 500+ algorithm updates a year.

While most of these updates don’t have real significance to authors and bloggers, a couple of them do.

4. Fluff or thin content is out.

According to Search Engine Land (4), if you want to show ads or promote affiliate links on your blog post, MAKE SURE the post is full of useful and 'relevant to your site' information.

In other words, don't write a blog post just to promote an affiliate link or your product. Write an informative post for the reader and naturally add the promo if it works smoothly.

This has been done a lot in the past. Affiliate bloggers would write posts just to promote their affiliate link. The content wasn’t very helpful to the reader, but the blogger didn’t care. They simply wanted the opportunity to get a click on their link and hopefully make a sale.

Those days are over.

Google is watching and sites with 'thin content' or what I like to call ‘fluff content’ will be penalized. This means Google won't send traffic to their site.

While most, if not all, of Writers on the Move’s readers don’t use this blogging strategy, I thought I should include it . . . just in case.

5. Google boosted its 'rich snippets'.

A rich snippet or featured snippet is Google’s answer to a searcher’s query.

Supposedly this was done to eliminate linking to fluff content. In other words, Google is trying to answer the search query with what it thinks is the most relevant answer.

This often makes it unnecessary for the searcher to scroll down to look for different answers to their query. This in turn means less organic search traffic for most of us.

Below is an example of a snippet using the search query: what is a laptop:

For this one I searched for: How do fish breathe?

If you notice, Google highlights the best answer, putting it at the top of the search results and on the first SERP (search engine results page). It’s giving the searcher what it thinks is the best answer.

And often, the searcher will get what he needs from that quick snippet or click on the rich snippet link without looking at the other results.

Why I mention this is to get you to think about your blog post description. If Google happens to choose your blog post as the answer to a searcher’s query, they’ll pick up your description with it.

If you don’t use a description, they’ll most likely use the beginning of your first paragraph.

Creating an effective description can matter. It’s what will help motivate the searcher to choose your blog post to click on.

Below is an example of using descriptions from Writers on the Move (WOTM).

I input a search for “SEO and Authors”. While WOTM wasn’t on page one or two of the SERPs for that keyword, we were on page three.

Considering there were almost 15 million results, being at the very top of page 3 is darn good:

Unfortunately though, it's not good enough as most people never go past page one.

But aside from that, look at the description. It’s got the keywords in it and it gives a clear message of what the article is about.

If I didn’t include a description to optimize the post, Google would have picked up the beginning of the post:

Writers on the Move will be giving some basic tips on using SEO to get more visibility and build authority in your niche . . . and hopefully sell more books. Part 2's topic is keywords and descriptions.

Not as appealing, is it?

What's this mean for you, the author:

Simple: Adding descriptions to your blog posts matters.

6. Deep and lengthy content, that’s what Google is looking for.

It seems that blog posts under 500 words are getting poor results from search engines. Even under 1,000 words aren’t doing so well.

Studies show that Google wants well over 1,000 words, closer to 2,000. Again, it's about digging deep down into a topic.

Neil Patel noted that bloggers (content writers) are taking 1-4 hours to write just ONE blog post.

For most of us, this doesn’t make sense. We write posts to be helpful, to shed some light on a topic we think our readers are interested in or should know.

I think my average posts are somewhere between 600 and 1,000 words. And, I have no intention of upping that.

I write to get the point across and while I’d love to be in Google’s rich snippet or even on its first SERP, I don’t have the time or inclination to write just to appease the giant.

What's this mean for you, the author?

Keep in mind that Google wants in depth content. It wants content that will be of real help to your readers. So, as the article marketing king, Jeff Herring, says, go an inch wide and a mile deep when giving information.

7. Another aspect of this deep content is the use of LSI keywords.

I discussed this topic in Part 4 of the SEO for Authors Series.

Basically, it's about using words/phrases that are broader than specific keywords and longtail keywords, but are still relevant to the topic.

According to Patel, "LSI keywords add context to your content and expand its reach beyond just the original topic." (2)

How it can work to create longer blog posts is that each of the LSI keywords can be used as a subheading for your topic.

I tried this with the keyword ‘book marketing’ using LSI Keyword Generator and this is the results I got:

It does give great ideas for not only subheadings, but for topics under that keyword.

You can use the free LSI Keyword Generator to find words that will work for your topic: https://lsigraph.com/

You can read the full article on LSI Keywords at:
http://www.writersonthemove.com/2018/02/seo-for-authors-part4-lsi-keywords.html

Summing it up.

It's all about the reader experience. Google wants your blog posts to actually help, entertain, or enlighten the reader.

While I’m not going to write 2,000 words articles, unless I’m writing and that’s where it ends up, I do write for the reader.

This post is close to or around 1800 words. I didn’t do that intentionally, it’s just how it turned out to include all the information I thought would be helpful to our readers.

You need strong content - content readers will value. Content they’ll be willing to share.

TO READ ALL THE ARTICLES IN THIS SEO FOR AUTHORS SERIES, GO TO OUR WORKSHOPS PAGE:
http://www.writersonthemove.com/p/workshops.html

References:

(1) https://blog.marketo.com/2018/01/3-ways-seo-rankings-changing-2018.html

(2) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXOfyii1ECY

(3) https://neilpatel.com/blog/algorithm-seo-updates/

(4) https://searchengineland.com/unconfirmed-google-algorithm-update-may-better-discounting-links-spam-268637

Other article of interest:
SEO Trends in 2018 - What the Experts Think

Karen Cioffi is an award-winning children’s author and children’s ghostwriter/ rewriter. She is also the founder and editor-in-chief of Writers on the Move and author online platform instructor with WOW! Women on Writing.

If you need help with your author platform, check out Karen's e-class through WOW:
http://www.articlewritingdoctor.com/content-marketing-tools/

3 Tips to Help Launch your Writing Career

Your story begins with an idea, an idea that has come from one of your own experiences or someone’s experience that you’ve observed. 

To write your story, you first need to do your homework: read up on writing for children, read other authors’ books in your genre, take courses, go to conferences, join a critique group, etc. Write on a regular schedule and you will learn, through trial and error, what works and what doesn’t work on your road to publication.

Sounds easy, doesn’t it? 

Oh, but there’s so much more. My own writing journey is a lot like a discovery I made when I became a Girl Scout leader. I went through the training, read the manual, and prepared myself to do whatever I could for the girls in my troop. 

What I didn’t realize until later was how much the Girl Scouts would do for me! I learned many crafts and how much work goes into making lasting, worthwhile crafts. Our troop spent a lot of time outdoors, and together we acquired a lifelong knowledge of skills and a love of nature. I could go on. The same happened when I started writing: becoming a writer has done so much for me I could fill volumes. 

Here in a nutshell, are the hallmarks of what I have learned.

Tip #1: Decide Where to Begin

When the urge to write takes hold of you, take some time to decide the direction you will take. 

• Nonfiction is an excellent place to start. You can learn the ropes while finding an easier path to publication than fiction. Editors are always on the lookout for good, solid nonfiction articles.
• Fiction is a world unto itself and much needs to be learned. Resources abound in your local area and online. Take advantage of them and soon you will be on your way.
• Exploring your feelings and beliefs, I have found, goes hand-in-hand with your writing journey.

Tip #2: Decide What You Care About

Build your stories around the things you care about the most. You will be doing three things:

• Bringing out what you’re interested in passing on to the next generation.
• Giving yourself activities to share during school, library and organization visits.
• Promoting what you stand for as a person.

Here is my list of what I care about most, and how I’ve strived to incorporate the topics on my list into my stories.

• Family: Every children’s story is a family story—the type of family determined by you, the author.
• Friendship: So important in childhood, my stories reflect what being a friend means.
• Nature and the Outdoors: Much of the setting in my stories takes place outdoors. I strive to make this appear a natural, integral part without giving away my desire to spark an interest in my readers to get outside to play and explore.
• Athletics and Staying Fit: Lots of running, biking, and sports are in my stories, showing some characters as fit, while showing others struggle who are not so good at athletics.
• Music: A few references to music are made—really, snuck in.
• Hobbies: Also shown as an integral part of my stories. Learning the importance of having a hobby is a gift I received from my dad, who had several serious hobbies. I would like to pass on the place a hobby can have in a person’s life.
• These last two go without saying: Appearance and the Importance of Surrounding Oneself with Positive Friends, snuck in as part of the story.

Tip #3: Sure-Fire Ways to Become a Success

If anyone had told me how much goes into writing for children before I started, I wouldn’t have believed them. I have learned that there are certain qualities that will help you succeed:

• Desire: Essential to keep going through the ups and downs of your writing journey. I let writing go for a few years to go back to teaching. As soon as I left teaching, BOING, up popped that writing desire, a part of me that I know now will never die.
• Perseverance: An editor once told me she has observed that the way to succeed in writing is to persevere. The writers she knows who have stuck it out are the ones who get published.
• Write for Yourself while Thinking of Others: Ask yourself what your reader wants: a good mystery, a story that reflects a need, an exciting adventure. Then write that story for him or her.
• Above all: Have Fun! Have you ever heard that when you go to a party, if the hostess is having fun, the guests will have fun, too? The fun you have writing your story will electrify your readers and keep them coming back for more.

Image courtesy of: clipart-library.com/clipart/rcnrAGgLi.htm.

Linda Wilson, a former elementary teacher and ICL graduate, has published over 100 articles for adults and children, and six short stories for children. Recently, she has completed her first book, a mystery/ghost story for children 7-11 years old, and is hard at work on Book Two in the series.  Follow Linda at www.lindawilsonauthor.com.

What is Writer’s Voice?

We often hear “writer’s voice” mentioned in writing craft books and courses, and are told to be true to it. However, I have found this notion confusing. What is my writer’s voice? How can I recognize it?  What do I do to use it in a consistent way? This post is for sharing with you what I’ve learned so far.

The attribute of a writers' voice is as natural as their speaking voice. It is recognizable, authentic and gives flavor to your writing. Readers pick up your distinct personality, know you are real, and speak directly to them.

How can we develop our writer’s voice?

- Use your natural pattern of word choice for each sentence.
- Write the way you speak, then revise and edit for grammar problems.

You might value family, courage, and caring for others most or you might want to write about issues of poverty, crime, or loneliness. Give yourself the freedom to express the things important to you, in your own unique way.

A writer’s voice is not style. Your voice is your own; style is much broader than voice. A writing style can be long and complex, or sparse, simple and straightforward. Style might vary according to topic.

Writer’s voice is:

•    Our author fingerprint, it makes our writing authentic. Authenticity has a great impact on our readers sensing we are real and speaking to them.
•    It distinguishes our speech from others.
•    The way we string words together shows it is uniquely mine, or yours.
•    We are the only ones that can express our thoughts the way we do.

How do we know, how do we develop our voice? 

Write, write and write more. Then follow these tips:

•    It takes a writing practice. Write something every day. Create a workable schedule for longer projects with daily commitments of a certain number of words or for a specific amount of time.
•    Write what compels and intrigues you.
•    If you write to someone who knows you well, that you trust, you will write without pretenses.
•    Your natural voice comes through when you write something you care about deeply.

Deborah Lyn Stanley is a writer, artist, and editor.  She is a retired project manager who now devotes her time to writing, art and caring for mentally impaired seniors. Deborah writes articles, essays and stories.  Visit her web-blog: My Writer's Life Blog/  
      “Write your best, in your voice, your way!”

How to Use the Power of Asking

By W. Terry Whalin

Mega-promoter P.T. Barnum said, “Without promotion, something terrible happens. Nothing.” This statement is true for promotion and marketing but it is also true for almost every aspect of the publishing business. 

If you are not tapping into the power of asking, you are not having opportunities for your writing to be published and sold.

For example, if you want more reviews on Amazon for your books, are you consistently asking people if they are willing to read your book and write a review? 

It's been proven that a steady stream of reviews on Amazon (even if your book has been out a while) helps your book to sell even more copies. I understand it is important to get over 20 Amazon reviews (if possible) and 50 reviews is another benchmark. And when it comes to these reviews, I've often found willing people—but they haven't posted their review. 

Part of the process is to return to these individuals and make sure they have the book and remind them about the review. I get the challenges in this situation. There is a lot to read and write about since new books are being released into the market every day.

If you want to do more publishing in the world of print magazines, are you creating article ideas and pitching them to editors? I'm not talking about doing it once but over and over on a regular basis. 

You need to learn how to write a query letter then write your ideas and send them out to editors. I'd love for more editors to approach me with their ideas—but that is not my reality—even though I've written for over 50 magazines. Instead I have to ask editors to write for their publication.

If you want to get a literary agent, are you crafting your proposals then consistently pitching agents? Every agent receives numerous pitches every day and you have to be part of those pitches. 

As another strategy, are you going to conferences to meet agents and editors face to face and make your pitches? As editors (and a former literary agent), we work with people that we know, like and trust. Nothing happens if you sit back and do not actively pitch editors and agent.

Are you writing a book and need someone with a high profile to write the foreword for the book? Or does your book need some endorsements? 

Readers buy books every day because of endorsements and the foreword for the book—even if behind the scenes you had to write these endorsements. You will have to ask others for these endorsements, then probably give them a deadline, follow-up and even offer to write them a “draft” endorsement for it to happen. See how you have to be actively involved in this process and be asking for something to transpire?

While we depend on email, know that email can often not deliver—so make sure your pitch is reaching the right person and they are able to read it—even with a quick follow-up call or follow-up email to see if they got it.

If you don't have enough writing work or your books aren't selling, then I encourage you to become more active in asking others to buy your book or publish your work. Every writer (including me) would love to not have to ask others and have editors and agents clamor for their writing and work. In an extreme few cases, these writers exist—but for the bulk of us, we have to continue to pitch our work, promote our writing and get in front of new audiences.

How are you using the power of asking in your writing work? Let me know in the comments below.

Tweetable:

Are you using the power of asking? Get ideas here from a prolific writer and editor.  (ClickToTweet)

References:

World of Print Magazines
http://www.right-writing.com/magazine.html

Writing a Query Letter
http://www.right-writing.com/nationals.html

Why Writers' Conferences are Important
http://www.right-writing.com/conference.html

Free list of Literary Agents
http://terrylinks.com/agents

Crafting Your Proposal
http://bookproposalsthatsell.com/

Connect with Terry Whalin on Twitter: https://twitter.com/terrywhalin

--------------
W. Terry Whalin has been an acquisitions editor at three publishers and is a former literary agent. For the last five and half years, Terry has been acquiring books for Morgan James Publishing, a New York publisher doing about 150 books a year. His contact information is on the bottom of the second page. Terry has written for more than 50 print magazine and published more than 60 books including his classic Book Proposals That $ell, 21 Secrets to Speed Your Success. He has over 220,000 followers on Twitter and lives in Colorado.
 

Internet Distraction

I heard a quote by author Jonathan Franzen today:

"It's doubtful that anyone with an internet connection at his workplace is writing good fiction."

Do you agree?

I think it's a bit strong, but there's certainly truth behind his words.

I admit I can be prone to distraction and the internet is a huge one. I sometime use a computer program to block all websites for a certain amount of time to help me focus on writing.

If you're interested, I use Stay Focussed, a Google Chrome add-on. You can also use it to block only certain websites, to block everything but certain websites, or to give yourself only 5 or 10 minutes per day on time-suckers.

When I'm suffering from writer's block, I like to work on paper. Sometimes I'll send my current document to my Kindle, where I can read it for reference if I need to but can't edit. I have to do everything by hand and though it takes longer, it often gets me unstuck.

As for being influenced by other people, other ideas, other opinions...today's constant flood of input can dilute your own style and make you doubt what is your own idea and what is not, but you can also use it to gain inspiration and deeper understanding of the human race and the world we live in. Just try to be aware of which way you're using the information overload that is the internet.

I think the most important thing is to analyze how resistant you are to internet distraction and negative influence and plan accordingly.

Melinda Brasher's most recent sale is a twist on Rumpelstiltskin, appearing in Timeless Tales. You can also find her fiction in Nous, Electric Spec, Intergalactic Medicine Show, and others. If you're dreaming about traveling to Alaska, check out her guide book, Cruising Alaska on a Budget; a Cruise and Port Guide. Visit her online at http://www.melindabrasher.com

Practice Creating Strong Story Settings with Visual Writing Prompts

Setting plays a big part in any novel or short story.

And the best way to create a strong sense of setting is to "show" your readers where your characters are living out your story.

But how do you do this?

Well, it takes practice.

Generally, you will want to weave in details about your setting within the dialogue and action provided by your characters rather than include paragraph after paragraph of description.

To do this, you'll want to use strong sensory details that bring your setting—and your entire story—to life.

Here's a way to practice creating a strong setting.

Use each of these photos, below, as visual writing prompts and describe each setting using a variety of sensory details.

In other words, describe how each scene looks, the sounds you would hear there, the smells you would smell, what things you could feel there, and even the tastes you might experience there.

It might feel awkward at first to include details for each of the five senses, but, if you keep practicing this, it will get easier.

After you've created sensory details for each of the above photos (or settings), now create some characters to live in each setting.

Next, have these characters interact through dialogue.

Also, have them take action and move through the setting for some reason important to your storyline.

If nothing else, this little exercise should help you see and understand the importance of sensory details in setting.

Try it!

Suzanne Lieurance is a full time freelance writer, the author of 35 published books (at last count) and a writing coach.

She lives and writes by the sea in Jensen Beach, Florida.

Learn more about her books and her coaching services at www.writebythesea.com and sign up for her free email, The Morning Nudge, with tips and resources for writers delivered to your mailbox every weekday morning.

Build a Successful Online Business: 5 Must-Know Steps

As an author / writer, you sell your books and/or services. This means you are in business.

You may not think of yourself as a business person or solopreneur, but you are.

So, now that you realize you are in business, how do you make your online business successful?

Below are the top 5 steps to building a successful online business.

1. You’ve got to plan your way there. And, you’ve got to have vision.

2. I’ve been talking about this one for years now. You’ve got to have a website.

3. You’ve got to build authority. People need to believe you’re the ‘go to’ person for information or engagement.

4. You’ve got to build social proof. Show others that other people see your value.

5. You need to be involved in social media.

6. Bonus Tip: Focus is key.

To read what’s involved in each step, go on over to my in-depth article at WOW! Women on Writing:

5 Steps to Building an Online Business

Please SHARE and comment when you’re there!

Self-Publishing - Main Tips and Worst Mistakes

Guest Post by Chris Mercer

What are the main tips and worst mistakes of self-publishing with no money?

Self-publishing has become a huge business, with it having grown by about 400% between 2010 and 2015 alone. Some even manage to make it big.

According to a story in the New York Times from 2016 there are 40 authors who have sold a million copies on Amazon.

Okay, that’s not a lot, particularly considering that in the same year 700,000 books were self-published. But it does mean it’s possible.

And besides, to begin with, we don’t have to publish a million books.

Most of us are happy with selling some multiple of a thousand (okay, a high multiple of a thousand). That fortunately, is far more achievable.

But to do so, you do have to do a few things and avoid doing some others.

Below are a couple of DON'Ts and a couple of DOs

Don’t think that when you’ve published your book you’re done.

Yes, writing that book was incredibly hard. It took a lot out of you. And really, you’d like to move on to the next one now that it’s finished.

The truth is, however, that you’ve barely gotten started.

Now that you’ve written the book what you need to do next is market it. And that is just as much work as actually getting to that last page.

In fact, it’s probably more work because if you’re anything like me, the writing is what you enjoyed and the marketing is something you really don’t want to do.

But if you don’t do it, your book will never climb the rankings. Your book won't sell.

There are just too many books out there and most of us use the shorthand that we only buy books we’ve heard about and we’ve heard good things about.

Very few people go through the dark corners of the self-published books to decide on what book they’ll buy.

Don’t use one of the self-publishing companies

Most of these companies make their money off the money you pay to publish your book. That’s their main source of income.

While some of them, like hybrid publishing companies, do make money if they sell copies of your book, the truth is most self-published books don’t sell. And so, on average they won’t recoup the money they invested in publishing your book.

In fact, often self-publishing companies have a conflict of interest.

These companies make their money from you. And to boost their profits, they may also be looking to cut corners.

They may not hire the best editors or illustrators, or other workers.

The less they spend on making your book look good, the more of your investment they have left over. So, what you want and what they want are at odds. Hence why I mentioned the conflict of interests.

My suggestion is to research book designers, book publishers, and distributors carefully.

It might be wiser to hire individuals or separate companies to work on the different elements of production.

Build a following

The best way to be successful as a self-published author is to already have people who you can sell your product to.

To do that, you should build a following.

After all, you don’t have money and you do have words, so use the words to push your product, be it a book, an AMA citation generator, or anything else.

You might be tempted to write the book first and then push up your platform. That’s fine if you’re alright with waiting a few years with your sales.

If you would like to start getting some sales immediately, however, then you should definitely start building up that following now.

Build a page. Share some excerpts, insights and ideas from your book.

Build a following on social media and push it relentlessly.

Yes, again, it will be a lot of work.

There is one big advantage of doing it this way, though. Once you’ve got that following you don’t just get to push the first book, you also get to push everything else you’re going to write in the future as well. In fact, each new book builds on the success of the last.

Keep at it

You hear about people who get famous in a day all the time.

But the truth is, most people get famous over a lifetime (yes, even those people who get famous in a day have often been building towards that for decades).

So keep going. Don’t get discouraged if that first book doesn’t sell immediately (or ever) it is still your property.

What’s more, you’ve learned some vital lessons writing it, which you can apply to the next one and the one after, building a reputation all the while.

Another thing to remember is that while it might seem like famous people walked a road that led straight from being unknown to being famous, they didn’t know they were on it when they weren’t famous yet. They, just like you, didn’t know where their big break would come from (or if it would come).

So keep at it. The biggest difference between those who make it and those who don’t is that the ones who do didn’t quit. 

References

https://publishingperspectives.com/2016/09/bowker-isbn-self-published-us/
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/31/business/media/meredith-wild-a-self-publisher-making-an-imprint.html


Chris Mercer, pro writer, developer and founder of Citatior, a powerful academic formatting tool for the students.


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Your Networking Challenge

Last month, I challenged you to try a new marketing initiative. Now, I have a networking challenge for you. This networking blitz is a great way to expand your network, find prospects, and gain new business.

Here are five days of options. However, you don't need to do everything. Pick two or three things to do regularly, and choose the day that works best for each task.

1. Message. You may be connected with lots of peers and friends on social media, but when was the last time you had a one-on-one communication? Send a Facebook or LinkedIn message to three people you haven’t heard from in a while. These should be simple, “Hi. How are you?” notes, and see where the conversation leads.

2. Meet. Do a different IRL (in real life) outreach each week. Meet an old colleague for lunch, go to a networking event, have dinner out with a friend, attend an event where you know no one … except for perhaps a friend who is acting as wing-man/wing-woman. You won't meet new people unless you put yourself in a position to do so.

3. Post. Share an update on LinkedIn. It could be your own image and link, letting people know what you have been up to, or a link to a resource your network might find valuable. Be sure to add a comment to anything you post, in order to personalize it. The idea is to show up in the news feed of others, and remind them of you and your business.

4. Comment. Another way to show up in the feed on LinkedIn is to comment on the posts and milestones of friends. This is another opportunity to reconnect with someone with whom you've lost touch.

5. Plan. I know I said you can move these dates around, but Friday is a great day for planning. You can also consider it as a day off of networking for good behavior. Go through your friends’ list on Facebook and LinkedIn, and target who to reach out to the next week. When you do the prep-work, it makes options 1 through 4 much easier.

Use this networking experiment to shake things up, reconnect with old friends, and meet new people,. Then see what comes from it, because you never know ... Good luck and remember to have fun!

What is your favorite way to network, either in person or online? Please share what works for you in the comments.

* * *

Debra Eckerling is a writer, editor and project catalyst, as well as founder of Write On Online, a live and online writers’ support group. Like the Write On Online Facebook Page and join the Facebook Group.  She is author of Write On Blogging: 51 Tips to Create, Write & Promote Your Blog and Purple Pencil Adventures: Writing Prompts for Kids of All Ages, and host of the Guided Goals Podcast and the #GoalChat Twitter Chat. Debra is an editor at Social Media Examiner and a speaker/moderator on the subjects of writing, networking, goal-setting, and social media.

How To Be A Success At A Book Event

Have you ever done an in-person event and felt like it flopped? Don’t worry. This happens to all of us. I have done several different types of in-person events from Craft Fairs to School Visits to Book Fairs. My first attempts were flops, but eventually I got the hang of it. And you will too with a few simple tips.

When I first started out, I used to sit behind my table and hope someone would come over and talk to me. I had my children’s book, a “For Sale” Sign, and some crafts for kids to make. Since my first events were at Craft Fairs, people just assumed I was offering a free craft. Sometimes they would pick up a book and realize I was the author.

You guessed it, it was a flop.

Learning the ropes.

Then, I went to a Book Fair and was seated beside two dynamic authors. I learned very quickly that you had to stand up and engage everyone that walked by.

Now, I don’t know about you, but I personally don’t like when people are too aggressive or assertive when I’m at events as a shopper. So, I wasn’t too sure about this method. But, they sold WAY more books than I did. Yes, I flopped again. But, I learned to stand up and engage with people who came to my table.

For my next craft fair, I made a sign to hang at the back of my tent that said, “Meet the Author and Book Signing” to make it more obvious who I was and what I was doing there. Then, I started engaging people as they walked by asking them if their child wanted to make a craft.

It was easy to ask and kids always wanted to make something, so that got the parent over to my table. I would talk to them about my book and usually the child would like it and the parent would make a purchase. Much better, but I was missing the people who were there but didn’t have their kids with them.

So, I started engaging people not too aggressively, but with a “Hi,” or “I like your shirt,” kind of interaction. Sometimes people would come over and I could talk to them more about my books and I had to just let it go when people didn’t come over.

If they had a child with them, I would offer to let them make a craft, but I would engage the adult. This produced a lot of sales and I no longer flopped at events.

If you are shy, like me, it can be hard to learn the skills necessary to make a sale. But, here are 4 tips that should definitely help you.

Tip #1 stand-up. This puts you at eye level and people are more likely to interact with you.

Tip #2 talk to people as they walk by. It doesn’t have to be overly aggressive, but just a nice “hello” will do as if you are making a friend for the first time.

Tip #3 introduce yourself, tell them you are the author of these books, and begin telling them about your books. More often than not, people will listen politely. If the books pique their interest, great, and if not, that’s okay. You’ve done your best to connect with them. Who knows? They may know someone who would be interested in your books and tell them about you.

Tip #4 always stay positive. This is hard to do, but believe in yourself and your books. You love your book, otherwise you wouldn’t have put all the time and effort into writing it and publishing it.

Go on out there to an in-person event and by following these simple tips, you’ll be a success and not a flop!

Wanda Luthman has her Masters of Arts in both Mental Health Counseling and Guidance Counseling from Rollins College located in beautiful Winter Park, Florida. She has worked as a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, Adjunct Professor, and Hospice Counselor for teens. She’s currently a Guidance Counselor at a local High School. She is an award-winning, best-selling, international author who has self-published 5 children’s books (The Lilac Princess, A Turtle’s Magical Adventure, Gloria and the Unicorn, Little Birdie, and Franky the Finicky Flamingo). She belongs to the National Pen Women Organization in Cape Canaveral; the Florida’s Writers Association; Space Coast Authors; and Brevard Authors Forum. She presently resides in Brevard County Florida with her husband of 22 years and 2 dogs. Her daughter is away at college, like Little Birdie, she has left the nest. To download a free ebook, visit Wanda Luthman’s website at www.wandaluthmanwordpress.com and follow her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/wluthman.