SEO for Authors Part3 - Outbound Links in Your Blog Posts

Outbound or external links are clickable links you have on your website and in your blog posts that link to other websites.

And, it’s a good practice to use outbound links within your articles.

For instance:

Suppose I’m writing a post for Writers on the Move and it’s on self-publishing. I find a relevant article over at Kindlepreneur that will give my readers more information on the topic or reinforce what I’m saying.

#1 Doing it right by linking properly

There are a few ways to link to the Kindlepreneur article (I added yellow highlight to show which words or phrases would be hyperlinked):

1. I can use the keyword SELF-PUBLISHING as an anchor text. The word would be hyperlinked to the outbound article.

Example: Kindlepreneur has a great article on creating your own book publishing company if you’re self-publishing.

2. I can link to the article using the site’s name.

Example: There’s a great article over at Kindlepreneur that says . . .

3. I can include the URL and hyperlink it.

Example: There’s a great article over at Kindlepreneur (https://kindlepreneur.com/how-to-start-a-publishing-company/) that says . . .

4. I can create a MORE READING section at the end of the article and include the Kindlepreneur article title and link to it: How to Start a Book Publishing Company.

Which strategy is the most SEO effective?

Numbers 1 and 4 are the way to go. But if you had to choose between the two, go with #1.

The reason is it offers Keyword-Power that’s highly relevant to your article. Google and the other search engines like this practice.

Okay, that’s pretty easy. Use anchor text to link to outbound links whenever possible.

NOTE: If you notice, I hyperlinked in Example #2. This was a mistake, but since outbound links are involved, I'm leaving it as is. Moral to the story: don't do things in haste.

#2 Linking when using quotes

Suppose that in the article I’m also quoting from The Article Writing Doctor. I must give the URL to the article I’m quoting from.

There are a couple of ways to do this also:

1. Hyperlink a keyword within the quote, if applicable.

Example: “If you want to self-publish, you must edit your manuscript before moving forward.”

Since I already hyperlinked to Kindlepreneur using the keyword Self-Publishing, I wouldn’t want to use that word again as a hyperlink. So, I’d use Edit Your Manuscript.

2. Tag the quote and hyperlink the article title at the end of the article in a References section.

Example: “If you want to self-publish, you must edit your manuscript before moving forward.” (1)

Then at the bottom of the article you link to the article via the title:

References:

(1) Self-Publishing – You’ve Got to Edit First

The benefit of using outbound links:

Using outbound links effectively produces two benefits:

It’s good to link to HIGH-RANKING sites. It reinforces what your site is about to Google. And, if the site you’re linking to pays attention to its Pings or Trackbacks, they’ll notice you linked to them.

So, you make Google happy which makes them like your site better and you get noticed by a high-ranking site.

This is all good.

Now, let’s move on to the Don’ts.

#1 Warning: Try to keep the visitor on your site

While outbound links within the body of your article can be good SEO, those links are taking the reader away from your website. So use them sparingly, especially if you manage your own site.

Suppose I had that Kindlepreneur outbound link in the first paragraph of my article. The reader sees it and clicks on it.

Off he goes – off of my site.

This does two things:

It drastically shortens the visit length of that reader and if he hops off too quick, you just added to your bounce rate.

Google tracks the length of time a visitor stays on your site. The longer the better.

Google also tracks if the visitor is there 5 seconds or less. This is considered a bounce and it’s terrible for your website ranking.

If you have a high bounce rate, Google will assume your site is very poor quality. It will assume your content isn't measuring up to your linkbait. This is not good.

So, be careful using outbound links within the body of your article. And, definitely limit the number of outbound links you use.

One way around this problem:

When you’re creating the outbound link, make sure it will open in a NEW WINDOW. This will keep the reader on your site while he’s reading the article at the other site.

#2 Don’t use too many outbound links.

Google has its hands in everything. It keeps track of your outbound links and inbound links (sites linking in to your site).

If you have a lot of outbound links compared to inbound links, Google will think it’s suspicious and black-hat (unethical) behavior. It could think you’re getting paid for those outbound links. 

You could get penalized. At the very least, you’ll lose ranking power.

#3 Warning – They’re distracting

If you’re article is littered with outbound links, they’re distracting to the reader. Even if they don’t click on them, they cause distraction.

#4 Don’t outbound link to the same URL more than once within your article.

This is considered suspicious activity.

#5 Warning – Broken links are a NO-NO

The more hyperlinks you have on your website, the more chance there is of having broken links. Google frowns upon broken links.

If you manage your own website, it can become burdensome having to check on whether your links are broken.

While WordPress has plugins to help with the process of checking for broken links, Blogger does NOT.

This means, if you have a Blogger site and want to check for them, you’ll have to go into every post and check the links.

As of the writing of this post, Writers on the Move has around 1500 blog posts. That’s a lot of checking.


Summing it up

As mentioned, using outbound links can be a useful SEO strategy. But, you generally don’t want to overdo it.

There are exceptions to this rule as when you have a resource page with links to valuable tools for your readers.

Or, you have a media page with links to all that’s going on with you.

Or, if you’re creating a blog post that offers links to say, The Best Writing Sites or Best Books of 2017, or other.

As with all guidelines, they’re guidelines and should be thought of when creating and posting your articles.

Definitions:

Pingbacks and trackbacks are very similar functions using different protocols/systems. Their purpose is to make a referenced site aware that it’s been referenced to by another blog/website, and allow that site to link back. Both the pingback and trackback go to the referenced website’s pending comments, awaiting approval or rejection.

Not all websites have this feature. If it does, you usually need to enable it.

Linkbait  is content (usually titles) designed to attract attention and encourage those viewing it to click on its hyperlink to the site.The purpose is to improve the site's position on the list of results returned by a search engine. But, if it's done unethically, if the title is a tease and doesn't provide what it promises, Google won't be happy and neither will the people who click on the link.

If you have any comments or questions, please put them in comments!

IF YOU'D LIKE TO FOLLOW THE SEO FOR AUTHORS SERIES, CHECK OUT OUR WORKSHOPS PAGE:
http://www.writersonthemove.com/p/workshops.html

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. She is also an author/writer online platform instructor with WOW! Women on Writing.

If you'd like to learn more about building a powerful author platform, check out Build Your Author/Writer Platform.

MORE ON BOOK MARKETING 

SEO for Authors Part 2 – Keywords and Descriptions

Help for Second Edition Blues

Reasons Why to Self-Publish Your Nonfiction Book

5 Marketing Initiatives for the New Year

The beginning of the year is the perfect time to start a new project. While you may have great ideas for a new fiction or non-fiction work - and that’s great. you should definitely work on them - you may want to take the time to amp up your marketing.

Visibility is so important in this day and age. You need to make yourself known online, so potential readers and clients can find you. There’s plenty you can do from the simple to more intricate efforts. Here are some ideas.

1. Update Your LinkedIn Profile. LinkedIn is the business social network, so it’s a great platform to showcase your work and make connections. As with your bio and resume, take a look at your LInkedIn profile at least once a year … tho ideally once a quarter. Make sure all of your experience is up to date. You can also refresh your profile by uploading new links and media. When you are looking to meet new people, put your best foot forward, so people who want to connect get a better idea of your experience and accomplishments.

2. Try a New Social Network. When you get started with social media, it’s helpful to have a presence on the main platforms - Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram - but master one at a time. Once you’re comfortable on one social network, take the time to increase your activity on another. Start small. Do research to learn more about your beta network. Then, jump on in.

3. Host a Contest. Want to drive more people to your business? Create a contest. You can do a raffle or accept submissions for a more intricate contest. For instance, I ran a query contest on my website for many years. I currently I raffle off a book each month; everyone who posts goals on my Facebook page or in my group is entered to win. See what fits your brand or business and come up with something good.

4. Amp Up Your Blog. A blog is a wonderful way to share your expertise and set yourself apart from everyone else in your field. Consistency and continuity are the most important. But if you have hit your comfort level, amp up your blog. This could mean posting more content (if you post one day a week, try two), longer (or shorter) content, or different content (add interviews, trivia, news). Play with the different types and see where it takes you.

5. Test Something New. What is the one thing you have been meaning to try but can’t seem to going? Want to start a podcast? Do video updates? Launch a Twitter chat? What’s stopping you? Nothing. Take a leap. You never know what the results will be unless you try. Note: I recently launch the #GoalChat Twitter Chat on Sunday nights. This is something I’ve been noodling for years, and am very excited about the possibilities.

Regardless of your strategy, you need to allow for ample time for marketing each week. Add something new to the mix. If it doesn’t work, you can move on. If it does, you never know where it may propel you, your writing, and your business. Good luck and have fun!

What new marketing initiate will you try this year? Please share what you are working on 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.

Ingredients for a Perfect Picture Book

Writing for young children can be tricky. It’s not as straight forward as writing for adults. You can’t use your own vocabulary and you need to be careful of age appropriate storylines. You also need to introduce your main character immediately.

It’s also important to keep in mind that children don’t have the same comprehension level as an adult, so all aspects of the story need to be clear and geared toward the age group you’re writing for.

So, what exactly does a children’s writer need to include in a picture book?

Let’s go over the basic ingredients of picture books:

1.    The story should include: a surface level, an underlying meaning level, and a take-away level. This means young children should be engaged by it; older children should get a little deeper meaning or realization from it; and parents or the reader should be able to see the take-away value.

2.    The story should be written with a 50/50 formula. Be sure to allow for 15 or 16 illustrations (a picture book usually has 32 pages). And, allow the illustrator to tell part of the story. Picture books are a partnership between the author and illustrator. For example: Instead of telling the reader that John grabbed his favorite blue shirt with red and yellow footballs on it, just write that John grabbed his favorite shirt. Your illustrator will know how to show the scene.

3.    Children love action and need to be engaged so be sure to include action. As children are used to TV, videos, and movies, writers need to account for their waning attention spans.

4.    Show rather than tell. The ‘powers that be’ in the children’s publishing world frown upon telling a story.

5.    The story should have a flow or rhythm and structure to it.

6.    The story should have predictability. This pulls children in. They think they know what’s going to happen next based on what’s happened before in the story.

For example: In the story Caps For Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina, a group of monkeys took a peddler’s caps and put them on their heads. The peddler tried to coax the monkeys to give back the caps, but every action the peddler took, the monkeys mimicked. They stomped their feet, shook their hands, but they wouldn’t give the peddler back his caps. Finally, in anger, the peddler threw his own hat from his head to the ground.

Can you see a child's mind working and thinking each time the peddler does something else? She is going to guess that the monkeys will mimic each action.

7.    Finally, the story should have an unexpected ending relating to something that happened in the story. We'll go back to Caps for Sale. The peddler tried everything and finally, in anger and not realizing, he threw his hat to the ground. What do you think the monkeys did? Down came all the caps.

"Ah," the reader will say, "he should have done that in the first place."

Along with these basic ingredients, there are a couple of toppings needed:

1.    Use age appropriate words.
2.    Use age appropriate storylines.
3.    Be sure to have your main character (point of view) speak first so the child/reader will quickly know who the protagonist is.
4.    Use proper grammar and punctuation.
5. Have only ONE point of view.

Now you can cook up a top-notch picture book!

Originally published at:
http://karencioffiwritingforchildren.com/2015/11/22/ingredients-for-the-perfect-picture-book/

Karen Cioffi is an award-winning children's ghostwriter. You can find out more about writing for children and her services at: Karen Cioffi Writing for Children. 



  



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5 Ways to Annoy an Editor

New Year, New Possibilities

As we begin 2018, I don’t know about you, but I hate resolutions! I know that’s not right to say, but I think I don’t like them because it feels like a farce. I know I’m not going to lose 50 lbs this year, so why make that my goal?! LOL

But, what I do like is the feeling of a fresh start. Now, any day, and actually every day, is a fresh start but do we really perceive it that way? I don’t know about you but I know I don’t. I forget. I have so much to do and there are pressures and deadlines and I just get up and do the next thing. And that’s okay. Sometimes we just have to do the next thing.

But, when a new year starts we all seem to collectively take a deep, cleansing breathe and think, “Okay, here’s my do-over.”

That’s what I like.

The year stretches before me like a blank canvas or blank sheet of paper for us, writers. Last year, there were struggles and wins and this year, I’m sure there will be the same. But, for right now, let’s breathe in that fresh air and close our eyes and dream.

I would love to win the lottery. I would love for one of my books to make it to Amazon’s top 100 list. I would love to invent something that every shark on shark tank is clamoring to invest in. Those are my big dreams. But, I also want to connect with my family members in deep, meaningful ways. I want to make a difference at my job. I want to give the best of me to the world.

I read a book once and it said, ‘you can have anything you want as long as you give it away’ or something like that.

The idea was that you can have anything you want, not just for you to solely have it but in order for you to use it to bless the world. And maybe you’ve seen the post on Facebook that was a church sign that originally said God Bless America but the “d” had fallen off so it now reads ‘Go Bless America.’ I would challenge you to “Go Bless the World.” Use your gifts and talents and make the world a better place and I guarantee you will get your dreams. Maybe not the ones you think you want, but the ones you get will be ones you love.

Happy New Year!

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 4 children’s books (The Lilac Princess, A Turtle’s Magical Adventure, Gloria and the Unicorn, and Little Birdie). She belongs to the National Pen Women Organization in Cape Canaveral; the Florida’s Writers Association; Space Coast Authors; and Brevard Authors Forum. 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.

Help for Second Edition Blues

I sometimes run Q and A a la Ann Landers columns in my SharingwithWriters newsletter using questions that my clients ask me or that subscribers send to me. This is one of my favorites because involves two subjects that seem to interest authors most--Amazon sales and getting reviews.

QUESTION:

Do you lose your Amazon reviews when you publish a second edition of your book?

ANSWER:

You can get Amazon to post reviews from the first edition to the second through Author Connect. And you can get Amazon to put a referral widget from the first edition to the second. They tend to move this widget around, but it's always been near the top of the first edition buy page (though not as prominent as I'd like to see it!).

Please note: Amazon will not remove the first edition from their site.

But please don't buy the first edition! The second edition is expanded by at least 100 pages, updated, and, if I do say so, lots prettier! (-:

Do know that when Amazon does this they transfer all of the reviews from old edition to New; you can't pick and choose. So if something in the first edition has been criticized and you fixed it in the second edition, they won’t discard that earlier review. A recourse is to use the comment feature that is found at the end of each review to dispute the claim—maybe with a thank you to the reviewer for helping you correct that in the second edition. There are some other ways to help fix Review problems in the newest of the #HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers, How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically.

Just an extra here: If you just update your old edition rather than publish a new one, you may be losing more marketing opportunities than you ever dreamed of. Of course, a second edition should have something new about the cover like the words second edition or a whole new cover and at least 10% new content.

Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and how to books for writers including the award-winning second edition of, The Frugal Book Promoter: How to get nearly free
publicity on your own or by partnering with your publisher; The multi award-winning second edition of The Frugal Editor; and Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers. Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews free. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor . And, be sure to sign up for SharingwithWriters newsletter.

Social Media Part 2

This is a new year to think about what goals you want to set for your book(s). How do you start? What media should I consider? How do I get the word out about my book?

As a virtual assistant for authors, I think it’s a good way to get the word out while you continue writing your next book. Virtual assistants are your right, or, left-hand person. They are the thinkers of your book. They have a personal plan for your genre. My Goal is Your Goal, is my Motto. I want to see you succeed.

On Twitter, there is a software that will make it easier to build your account and have your genre of followers, follow it. This is a monthly paying software that I use to help my clients. I also use automatic tweets that are set up to post every two days. It will post a picture of your book and a link and message too.

Posting on twitter should be set up to go directly to your Facebook account. You are killing two birds with one stone, so-to-speak.

Don’t forget to post an article about your book on LinkedIn. You can post a picture of the book, and share your link. Posting your links is very important to people wanting to buy or at least, look at it. They may consider it for the future.

Make sure you have your book information link under your email signature. Anytime you send a message, you should have all links under your signature.

You should also be sure you have a blog and update it often. I advertise new book launches, guest bloggers, writing articles and interviews. Sometimes, I’ll use my blog for book tours.

There are places you can publish your book for a nominal fee, like Kirkus Reviews. Search Google. You will find an overwhelming bunch of links to anything you are looking for. I do research, so I know.

I try to get blog interviews for my clients. That’s always a good way to get the word out about your book. Even radio is good to try. Go to blogradio.com and see if you can find the right host for your genre.

It’s my intention to help the author in any way possible. I like to learn new things so I can be a better assistant to my clients.

Make sure you do the right promotions for your book. Make this year THE year you sell more and write to your heart's content. Whatever your goals, a Virtual Assistant can help promote while you write. We can take away that burden and stress.

Your writing friend,
Linda

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 at: www.lindabarnett-johnson.com. She also posts new books, writing articles and author interviews on her BLOG.  Always looking for guest bloggers that would post writing tips, articles and anything to do with writing.

SEO for Authors Part2: Keywords and Descriptions

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.

KEYWORDS

If you want to be a savvy book marketer, every thing you do online should have keywords in it. This goes for your webpages and your blog posts.

With that said, you definitely don't want to overdo them.

Keywords are simply words or phrases that people use to search for things online and help search engines to determine what your website and/or post is about. And as an author, you should know the basics for your book marketing journey.

As an example, let's look at the title of this blog post:
SEO for Authors Series: Keywords and Descriptions

This is a heavy keyword title. I didn't do this for search engine optimization in particular, I just wanted to make the article's intent clear to the reader.

Google and the other search engines have come a LONG way. You don't need high-handed antics to get them to know what you're talking about.

But, let's go over the keywords in the title: SEO, authors, keywords, and descriptions.

Since 'descriptions' is kind of a generic term, it really doesn't help searchers. But Google, from the rest of the title and from the article itself, will know that it means in regard to SEO and book marketing. Because of this, they may very well use if for a searcher looking for information on descriptions for search engines.

I wouldn't advise using a lot of keywords in your articles or webpages. This article is full of them because it's the topic and I really couldn't avoid them.

Ordinarily, you only want two or three uses of a particular keyword. In fact, with Google's advancements in their algorithms, they can get the gist of your article without any keywords. That's how advanced it's become.

Other places to use keywords is in the sidebar when you're creating your blog post. You have  areas where you can input keywords. This further helps the search engines index and categorize your article. And, it's a quicker way for them to find them.

Here's an picture of the area in Blogger - the Labels section is where your keywords go:

Here's what it looks like in WordPress:

DESCRIPTIONS

Now it's on to descriptions. As you can see in the Blogger picture above, there's a separate area to input a brief description of what your article is about.

Unfortunately, most authors don't take advantage of this feature and it's a mistake.

When Google looks for the answer to a searcher's query, it looks at everything, including titles,  keywords, the article itself, the description, and even the optimization of photos. And, if it decides to use your article as the results of a search query, it will use the description along with the link.

If you don't provide a description, Google will, it seems, take the beginning of your blog post.

Now, if your post doesn't jump into a motivating pitch to get the searcher to click on YOUR link, then s/he will  click on another results supplied by Google.

On the other hand, if you create an effective description, you'll have a better chance of getting that click back to your website.


Below is the results for a search for 'book marketing.'

This is what the searcher will see when the results of his query comes up. It's the description that will be a determining factor if that searcher clicks on your link.

And in the Blogger picture above, you can see how I filled in the 'search description' area for this blog post.

So, where ever you have the ability to input information to make it easier for the search engines to use your link and people to find and be motivated to click on your link, DO SO.

SOCIAL MEDIA

The same goes for using social media. Make your posts keyword effective and ALWAYS include a description.

Here's an example from Twitter:

It's an effective, motivating description that will encourage searchers or readers to click on your link.

The next article in the series will be on Outbound Links in your blog posts.

IF YOU'D LIKE TO FOLLOW THE SEO FOR AUTHORS SERIES, CHECK OUT OUR WORKSHOPS PAGE:
http://www.writersonthemove.com/p/workshops.html

Karen Cioffi is an award-winning children's author and ghostwriter. She is also an author/writer online platform instructor with WOW! Women on Writing.

To find out more about Karen's online platform classes, visit:
http://www.articlewritingdoctor.com/content-marketing-tools/



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Happy New Year

We wish you all a healthy, happy, 

and prosperous New Year!

To start the year off right, here is a gift to help you create your own success in 2018:

7 Steps to Writing Success Through Positive Thinking

Stop on back and let me know what you think in the comments!

How to Make 2018 Your Best Year Ever with Jack Canfield

With 2017 winding down quickly, I came across a great 5 minute video by Jack Canfield (Chicken Soup for the Soul) that tells how you can make 2018 a great year. There are simple steps that will make a difference - it's worth watching.



Here's a breakdown of what I got from the video. See if you get the same thing. If not, please let me know your take on it in the comments!

1. Review 2017 - it will give you a map of your ups and downs and what needs improvement. Use a journal - what were the biggest accomplishments. What were your ups, downs, obstacles.

2. What was the overall recurring theme of 2017.

3. Don't make New Year resolutions. Set goals instead. A resolution is a promise you keep indefinitely. A goal is an objective that's achieved by a certain date. It's a measurable achievement.

4 Create a breakthrough goal for the year. It must quantify something and have a deadline. Write a book. Lose 35 pounds. Eliminate a medication. A breakthrough goal has the power to change your life. It's powerful.

5. Your goals should be specific, measurable, actionable, realistic, and time-bound.

HAVE A HAPPY (AND SAFE) NEW YEAR'S EVE!

Karen

Writers - 4 Powerful Steps to Breaking Bad Habits

Habits are pretty much who you are.

Are you a positive thinker? Are you ambitious? Do you work hard at your writing? Are you a compulsive cleaner? Do you procrastinate? Do you fear jumping in?

Some of the items above are traits, but they are also habits created – they reflect your actions and reactions. They are part of the things you do each and every day, consciously or subconsciously.

Have a habit you don’t like? Or, one that is getting in the way of your writing success?

Well, you’re in luck.

According to WebMD, you can break bad habits in three easy steps.

1. Analyze the habit you’d like (need) to break.

Maybe, you spend too much time on social media, even if it’s to work it. If you’re not getting the ROI on your efforts, you need to change things.

Maybe, you don’t get enough writing in.

That story that’s been on the back burner is still there. You keep saying you’re going to get to it, but you keep procrastinating.

Or, maybe you need to write two articles a week for your blog, but barely manage to write one. Not for a real lack of time, more because you’re not prioritizing your work.

Maybe, you’re not using video as much as you should in your content marketing, simply because it’s easier not to.

Figure out what it is – put it in front of you. This strategy may help you change things for the better.

2. Write it down.

Actually writing things down adds another element or layer to the consciousness of the habit.

Psychologist James Claiborn, PhD, and the co-author of The Habit Change Workbook, explains, “Write out a list of the pros and cons of this behavior and keep a record of when you do it. Measurement of anything tends to change it and makes people much more aware in the first place."

This is similar to number 1, in that it allows you to analyze the habit.

3. Put a temp in.

Once you realize the’ whens and whys’ of a habit you want to break, try substituting another action in its place.

Suppose you drink two cans of soda day. Substitute one of the cans for a cup of water or naturally flavored seltzer. Once that’s working well, substitute the other can of soda with something healthier.

Or, suppose you spend 2 hours a day on social media. Time yourself. Stop at one hour. Then jump into writing something, whether it's your story or a blog post.

4. Realize it may take a bit of time to break a habit.
This one isn’t from WebMD, but it’s powerful.

According to Mark Twain, "A habit cannot be tossed out the window; it must be coaxed down the stairs a step at a time."

I love this quote. In one sentence, it lets you know that habits can be broken, but it won’t be overnight. You need to persevere.

All of us have some habits we know we should overcome. Try these four tips and see if you can’t break at least one of your bad habits.

Make it a New Year's Resolution to break those bad habits!

Source:
(1) http://www.webmd.com/balance/features/3-easy-steps-to-breaking-bad-habits

Karen Cioffi is an award-winning children’s author and ghostwriter. She is also an author/writer online platform instructor with WOW! Women on Writing.

You can check out Karen’s e-classes through WOW:
http://www.articlewritingdoctor.com/content-marketing-tools/

And, be sure to connect with Karen at:
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Do Not Give Up: Seek Inspiration

"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another
with no loss of enthusiasm." Winston Churchill

All writers experience it: low times. A low time can rear its ugly head after a particularly painful rejection, a bad case of writer's block, or in my current challenge, a serious case of lack of writing time. At times like these there is only one thing to do: Seek inspiration.

So before you make those New Year's resolutions, spend a little time filling your well with inspiration. Jot down inspirational sayings and thoughts that speak to you—tack them onto your bulletin board and read them periodically throughout the New Year.

Read the Tea Leaves

During a recent visit with one of my daughters, I delighted in sharing a quiet moment with her sipping a cup of tea at the end of the day. Our favorite? Yogi Bedtime Tea (Yogi tea in its many varieties is sold at most major grocery and natural food stores). My daughter would read her saying to me and ask me what mine said, and we would revel in the simple yet profound sayings before taking our first sip.

I keep an envelope with some of my favorite inspirational sayings, many snipped from the strings on my teabags, and am considering using one of the Yogi sayings in the front pages of my WIP book. Enjoy a few from my collection:

• “Oneness is achieved by recognizing your self.”
• "Happiness comes from contentment.”
• “Your intuition is your best friend.”
• “Love, compassion and kindness are the anchors of life.”
• “Let things come to you.”
• “Live from your heart, you will be most effective.”
• “I pay no attention whatever to anybody’s praise or blame. I simply follow my own feelings. “ - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) A saying from a Good Earth teabag.

Inspirational sayings Tacked onto My Bulletin Board

• “I began to wonder if this was why I’m not afraid of the work it takes to write a novel. For me, writing isn’t work. It’s fun. It’s a creative exploration into my characters, their world, the possible points of view the story could be written in, or the possible scenes that could exist. It’s about exploring how wide and deep and wonderful a story can be, rather than seeing it as a straight shot from beginning to end. It’s not time to work on this revision. It’s time to play with this revision. I’m going to open my manuscript and not work, but play.” -  Ingrid’s Notes
• A note about Ingrid Sundberg:  I’ve been following Ingrid Sundberg’s blog for years and gain a great deal of inspiration from her. She is the author of the YA novel all we left behind, critiques manuscripts, and has recently begun teaching high school. If you don’t know her, I recommend visiting her blog. I think you’ll be glad you did.
• “Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.” -  Anton Chekhov, known to be one of the greatest short fiction writers in history.
• “Art can heal anything and everything. Go and give and give and give. And when you give it all, it comes back to you.” -  Ben Vereen  
• A note about Ben Vereen: Ben Vereen, an “accomplished and versatile” entertainer has appeared on Broadway, performed many one-man shows in the US and abroad, played Chicken George in Roots and Louis Armstrong in Louis Armstrong, has had many appearances on TV and has accomplished much more. Vereen holds a special place in my heart because of his courage in keeping his terrific attitude after losing his 16-year-old daughter in an auto accident, and suffering critical injuries from three accidents in one day.
• “You’re dealt a hand of cards. You can choose to play it out—or not. I think the game is worthwhile, I really do.”  Christopher Reeve, the actor who suffered a spinal cord injury after being thrown from a  horse. 
• Do the work. Do the work. Do the work. Bryan Cranston of Breaking Bad fame. I’m an audiobook fan and became inspired by Cranston’s story and advice in his autobiography audiobook, read by him,:A Life in Parts.
• "Learning never exhausts the mind," Leonardo daVinci, heard on CNN Fareed Zakaria's GPS show on Sunday morning.

Benefit from Other Writers’ Wisdom

• “Show up, show up, show up, and after a while, the muse shows up too.” - Isabel Allende, the Chilean-American author of The House of the Spirits.
• “Kill your darlings. Even when it breaks your egocentric little scribbler’s heart, kill your darlings.” Stephen King. One of the main inspirations I draw from Stephen King, and there are many, is how he gave up on his first book, Carrie, and threw it in the trash. His wife found it and advised him that it was good—keep going. When he finally finished it, it was rejected 30 times!
• “Start telling the stories that only you can tell.” - Neil Gaiman, celebrated English author of American Gods, Coraline, and Sandman comics.
• "Be daring, take on anything. Don't labor over little cameo works in which every word is to be perfect. Technique holds a reader from sentence to sentence, but only content will stay in his mind." - Joyce Carol Oates, author of over 40 novels, plays and novellas, and many volumes of poetry, short stories, and nonfiction.

As you begin the New Year, take heart. Inspiration can be found in likely places, and hidden in places you might least expect. You will feel renewed and ready to best any battle that should come along.

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.

Time Management Tips

First off, I want to wish you a very Joyous Holiday Season from all of us at WOTM ! We appreciate you all and wish you the best!  

Time Management is a hot topic periodically. Today I want to offer you two ideas to consider if you haven’t already done so. We juggle meetings and deadlines, step-out goal plans, and handle a myriad of correspondence tasks each day. How do we keep track of all of this? It takes experimenting until we find the best system that fits for each of us. Almost every system requires modification to work well. So, we need a flexible system.

I set up a color highlighted Goal Plan spreadsheet on Excel to list my: 

•    Year End Completion Goals
•    Monthly Deadlines
•    Meeting Commitments
•    Weekly Progress
•    Columns for notes

Does it work well? Yes, as a birds-eye view for the year. I keep it on my desk but only refer to it periodically. But, does it help guide my work day by day? No. I need something more.

Two writing friends referred me to the Best Self Journal goal and scheduling strategy. (Check it out: https://bestself.co/products/self-journal ) It’s an interesting and effective way to stay on top of your schedule and increase your efficiency. 

My schedule has several areas of repetition each day. Because of this, the daily log didn’t work for me. I used a spreadsheet to adapt a weekly schedule.  The graphic above is what I set up to incorporate several areas of the Best Self Journal plan. After a few weeks, I found I wasn’t relying on my plan but rather continued to scratch notes here and there.

Talking about the Best Self Journal with another writer brought up her scheduling strategy—The Bullet Journal. She showed me how she was successful in using the Bullet Journal over several months. So, I tried it. I set up my Index, Future Log for the next 6 months, Monthly Log and Daily logs (as a ‘week at a glance’). I liked how it flowed for a month and have continued. It’s working! 

It is hand written, but I find that setting up my pages at the beginning of each month helps me re-focus and doesn’t take long. I use a dot grid notebook (~5.75” X 8.25”) and insert tabs for the Index and active Month. Check out the Bullet Journal: http://bulletjournal.com/ .

I’d appreciate hearing about your time management strategies. Please comment. Thanks much.

Deborah Lyn Stanley is a writer, artist, and editor. She is a retired project manager who now devotes her time to writing, art and caregiving mentally impaired seniors. Deborah writes articles, essays and stories. She has published a collection of 24 artists’ interviews entitled the Artists Interview Series. Careful editing preserves each artist’s voice as they share their journey. The series published as monthly articles for an online news network, can also be found on her web-blog: Deborah Lyn Stanley : My Writer's Life . Her “How-To” articles have appeared in magazines.

“Write your best, in your voice, your way!”

Season's Greetings

Wishing everyone a healthy and safe 

holiday season!

Six Writer Actions For the Holidays

By W. Terry Whalin

Each year I can see the shift in publishing communication. This shift arrives right about Thanksgiving and carries through New Year's Day. Emails and submissions do not get answered and it is like your communication with editors and agents comes to a screeching halt. Why does this happen and what can you as a writer do about it? For a few minutes, I want to help you with this topic.

Admittedly a lot of publishing is slow to communicate. From my experience, it often takes weeks to hear from an editor or agent. This process is even slower during the holidays. Instead of processing submissions, these publishing professionals are focused on holiday shopping, spending time with family and other events. 

As an acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing, I'm still processing manuscripts with authors and contracts.  While our publication board meets weekly (instead of the typical once a month) in a long-standing tradition, Morgan James will be closed from the end of business today (December 22^nd)  until January 2^nd .

With this silence from the publishing community, how can you be productive with your writing? It is possible for you to be active during this silent period of publishing. About two weeks ago I had the opportunity to drive to Denver and do an in-studio radio interview about my book, Billy Graham, A Biography of America's Greatest Evangelist. 

Most of these types of interviews are 20 to 30 minutes and I “thought” that was what I was doing. As I settled into my place in the studio, they thanked me for co-hosting the program (which I learned was two hours). I loved the opportunity to talk for two hours about Billy Graham—even if unexpected. You can catch seven minutes of that time on this little video. Use this link to download it and watch.

Here’s six different ways to make the most of your writing during the holidays:

1. Rework or update your website.  It has been some time since I reworked my own website and I'm going to use this time to update some of my websites.


2. Work on building your platform and presence in the marketplace. Use my Ebook, Platform Building Ideas for Every Writer on this topic or something else for some idea starters. Can you take some actions to increase your twitter followers or add to the number of people who are reading your newsletter?

3. Write a free ebook for a list generator. Can you take a series of blog posts or articles and turn them into a free ebook that you offer to your mailing list? Use this time to create such an ebook.

4. Create your own event in January. Your new ebook (#3) could be the ethical bribe that you use with this new event. Now is the time to be planning the details of such an event. 

5. Read a book on marketing such as 5–Minute Book Marketing for Authors or Online Marketing for Busy Authors. Follow the links of those books because I wrote in detail about each of these books. When you read the book, apply some of the lessons to your books and writing.

6. Begin a new income stream. Writing has multiple paths and income possibilities. During this quiet time, select a path that you are not currently using such as affiliate marketing, then begin to develop a new income stream. I have a list of writing possibilities in the free sample of Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams. Follow this link to get this free resource.

You may not want to tackle all six of these ideas but hopefully several of them help you. Notice each of them are something you can do without a connection to an editor or agent.
As a seventh way,I encourage you to polish or create a book proposal. Even if you are going to self publish, you will still need a proposal. The proposal is the blueprint for your book—especially if you are writing nonfiction. If you are writing fiction, you will still need this information for the platform and marketing section. A free resource to learn more insights about proposal creation is at: AskAboutProposals.com.

I understand this time of year has many things pulling for your attention. It is a matter of commitment and focus to get these actions for your writing in motion. You can move forward with your writing even during the holidays.

How do you keep your writing life going during the holidays? Or do you put it on hold for these weeks?  Tell me in the comments.

Tweetable:

Take action on these six or seven ideas to boost your writing life during the holidays.  (ClickToTweet)
--
W. Terry Whalin has written more than 60 books for traditional publishers and his magazine work has appeared in more than 50 publications. He is an acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing and always looking for great books to publish. Terry is a book proposal expert and the author of Book Proposals That $ell, 21 Secrets To Speed Your Sucess. He has over 200,000 followers on Twitter.
 

Holiday Cheer

This is our yearly Season's Greetings video to our subscribers, followers and visitors - in other words, our online family!

I created this short animation (60 seconds) in 2014. Each year I go back to it to revise, tweak, or change it in some way, but never do. I just love it. So, all I do is change the year. LOL

Hope you like it!

Is Your Protagonist Multidimensional?

Between your characters and the plot, you develop a story. If the mix is right, and the characters are believable, you can create a story worthy of publication.

While there are many articles about creating believable characters, it's an important topic and reminders are always in order since your characters are a crucial aspect of your story.

So, which is your protagonist?

1. Is your protagonist flat...lacks any type of emotion and action. Like the simple and safe kiddy rides at a children's amusement park...the carousel horse that goes round and round, but does nothing else? Then you have a one- dimensional character on your hands.

2. Is your protagonist a little bumpy...he has some quirks, life and emotion, but no real depth of character or history. Like the carousel horse that goes round and round and up and down at a steady easy pace? Then you have a two-dimensional character struggling to break into the world of believability.

3. Is your protagonist a full-blown amusement park...a roller coaster, full of ups and downs, knowledge, emotion, character, quirks...life and history? Now you have it—you have a believable three-dimensional character that is strong enough to bring your story through to the end.

Now the question is: how do you create a wonderful, believable life-like three-dimensional character?

There are a number of methods you can use that will help create a believable character, here are two:

1. Create a character sheet or use an index card before you begin.
On your sheet, list all the characteristics, quirks, moods, mannerisms, physical attributes, artistic attributes...you get the idea. Keep this sheet handy as you're writing your story. If you tell the reader Pete has blonde hair in the beginning of the story, and then you describe it as black, unless he dyed his hair as part of the storyline, stay true to the character. Readers pick up on errors very quickly.

The more detail you add to your character sheet the easier it will be to know what your protagonist will do in any given circumstance. This will take the element of wondering out of your writing process and save time...Pete finds a bag of money next to his neighbor's car. Hmm . . . will he keep it or try to find out if it's his neighbor's? Oh, wait a minute, on your character sheet you wrote he's an honest guy! Simple.

2. Add characteristics and attributes to your protagonist as you write your story.

Write your protagonist's characteristics, quirks, moods, mannerisms, and so on, on a character sheet as your story evolves.

There are some writers who use different methods to create a story. Maybe you're using the 'seat-of-the-pants-method' and your character evolves as your story does. With this method, you want to be sure to note each new development in your protagonist's character or being.

Let's go back to Pete again. Pete scratches a car as with his bicycle. Does he leave a note on the car he damaged? Does he quickly leave the scene? Does he just ignore the incident and goes about his business?

While he's usually honest, he could have a moment of weakness? Maybe he's worried about the consequences.

Whichever one of these actions he chooses will establish another element to his character - be sure to make note of it.

No matter what process you use, remember to add life-like qualities to your character. Readers need to develop a relationship with the protagonist. If they feel Pete is three dimensional and they are drawn to him, they'll be sure to read to the end of your book.

Karen Cioffi is an award-winning children’s author and children's ghostwriter. She is also an author/writer online platform instructor with WOW! Women on Writing. Get monthly must-know writing and marketing tips with The Writing World newsletter.

And, be sure to connect with Karen at:

Twitter: http://twitter.com/KarenCV

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A Few Reasons to Self-Publish Your Nonfiction Book

If you're writing a nonfiction book—or even just thinking of writing a nonfiction book—you're probably trying to decide between self-publishing and traditional publishing.

Here are just a few reasons why self-publishing might be the better choice for you:

1. Your book will appeal to a very small niche market.

If you think your book will only sell a few thousand, or maybe even a few hundred, copies it might be tough to find a traditional publisher.

But you can create a small print run (or publish through a print-on-demand publisher) and establish yourself as a credible expert among your niche market.

2. You want or need more control over the finished product.

With a traditional publisher, the finished book can be quite a bit different from your initial manuscript.

Many authors prefer the control they have with self-publishing.

3. You want to publish your book quickly.

Generally, it takes time to find an agent and/or publisher for your manuscript.

And, once you find a publisher, it can take a year or longer before the finished book is released.

But when you self-publish your book can be ready almost immediately.

4. You want to be able to set your own royalties and make more money per book.

With self-publishing you can usually set your own royalties and typically earn 20 to 30 percent of the cover price of the book.

5. You do a lot of paid speaking engagements and you need something for back-of-the-room sales.

Most speakers will tell you that even when they are paid to speak at special events, the real money is made from back-of-the-room sales.

But you have to have something to sell.

A book of your own is perfect for this, which is another reason to get it published quickly if you have many upcoming speaking engagements.

6. You want to use the success of a self-published book to attract the attention of a traditional publisher.

This doesn’t happen often, but it does happen.

A writer self-publishes and creates a demand for his nonfiction book.

A traditional publisher gets wind of this through the author’s blog, social media presence, etc. and offers the author a publishing contract, with wider distribution and more extensive marketing than the author can do on his own.

These are just a few reasons to self-publish your nonfiction book.

If one or more of these reasons is right for you, then finish writing your book and self-publish it.

Try it!

Suzanne Lieurance is the author of over 35 published books and a book coach.

Visit her website at www.writebythesea.com to learn more about her books and her coaching programs.