End of Year Wrap Up

In January we tend to focus on goals and resolutions for the new year, but have you taken the time to review 2014? Just as important as establishing new goals is the process of evaluating where you are now, in fact, this will help you when the time comes to think about 2015.

Some questions to help you:

1. What is the most important thing you've learned this year? 

           Is it a grammar rule that you previously found confusing?

           Is it a marketing tool that helped you to expand your audience?

           Is it a way to develop good writing habits?

           

Any of these will help you move forward with your writing. Assessing and prioritizing the lessons learned will help you to determine where to focus your attention in the future.

2. What was the most difficult thing you had to overcome?

          Was it balancing work, family and writing?

          Was it budgeting for a writer's conference or other retreat?

          Or perhaps it was just getting past writer's block.

We may not have finished the book in the time we thought we would, or perhaps the editing process was more challenging than we had anticipated. Stuff happens, but focusing on our achievements is important to encouraging us to keep moving ahead with our work.

3. Where do you feel you could use the most improvement?

           In grammar?

           In plot or character development?

           In marketing?

           In editing?

Knowing where your weaknesses are can lead to many choices. You can choose to get a book, take a class and get better, or you can begin to search for others to do the things that come hard for you so you can focus on the areas where you are the most proficient. 

4. Finally, if you were to update your writer's resume from last year, what are you adding?

   

Take the time to acknowledge your large and small triumphs - and celebrate these. Assess your strengths and weaknesses - and determine the direction you'd like to go next. Be honest with yourself. Then update your writer's resume and begin thinking about 2015.

____________________________________

D. Jean Quarles is a writer of Women's Fiction and a co-author of a Young Adult Science Fiction Series. Her latest book, House of Glass, Book 2 of The Exodus Series was written with coauthor, Austine Etcheverry.

D. Jean loves to tell stories of personal growth – where success has nothing to do with money or fame, but of living life to the fullest. She is also the author of the novels: Rocky's Mountains, Fire in the Hole, and Perception. The Mermaid, an award winning short story was published in the anthology, Tales from a Sweltering City.

She is a wife, mother, grandmother and business coach. In her free time . . . ha! ha! ha! Anyway, you can find more about D. Jean Quarles, her writing and her books at her website at www.djeanquarles.com

You can also follower her at www.djeanquarles.blogspot.com or on Facebook.

  

What It Takes to Get Started as a Freelance Writer: A Top 10 List

Since I'm a writing coach and a freelance writer myself, people are always asking me what it takes to get started as a freelancer. Other than some basic writing skills, here is my top ten list of essentials every writer needs to start a freelance career.

1. A Professional Resume - Your resume might not include much when you're just getting started, still you need to have something to show potential clients, editors, and publishers that lists your education, writing experience, and publication credits (if any).

2. A Professional Bio - A bio is more simple than a resume. It should be written in third person and give an overview of your education and experience, the type of writing you do and the services you offer.

3. Some Writing Samples - These don't have to be published clips. They can be unpublished samples of the different types of writing you like to do. When responding to advertisements for freelance writing jobs, many times writing samples and a professional resume will be required.

4. Three Major Writing or Career Goals for the Year - I advise writers to stick to only three major goals for the year. Then, everything they do during the year should serve to help them reach one or more of these three major goals. Working toward one or more of these major goals at all times really helps any writer keep from feeling overwhelmed, overworked, or unfocused.

5. A Weekly Marketing Plan - Every Sunday evening or Monday morning, it's important to create a marketing plan and writing schedule for the coming work week. When you have a clear plan, all you have to do each week is "work your plan."

6. A Method or Means of Accountability - Every writer needs to have someone or something that will hold them accountable for maintaining their focus and working toward their 3 major goals all year long. A writing coach, a writer's group, or even another friend who is also a writer can be used for this purpose.

7. A Professional Website or blog - Editors and clients expect any serious freelance writer to have an online presence, which includes a website or blog with information about the writer, his/her education and experience, and the types of writing services offered.

8. Business Cards - These should be simple and inexpensive. Include your name, business name (if you create one for your freelance writing business) or a tagline that tells people you're a freelance writer, telephone number, and email address. Don't include your home address. If you think a mailing address is essential for your business, invest in a post office box and include that address on your business card.

9. A Success Journal - This can be nothing more than a spiral notebook used to record daily or weekly progress. A Success Journal is one more way to help any freelance writer stay on track with a weekly marketing plan, weekly writing goals, and stay focused on just three major goals for the year.

10. Total Commitment - A freelance writing career can be difficult to establish because, generally, people who start freelance writing do so when they still have a regular day job and/or dozens of other professional and personal responsibilities. Then, when things get too stressful, the freelance writing is the first thing that gets pushed to the wayside. Before any writer decides to start a freelance writing career, he/she must totally commit to making this career happen.

If your goal is to become a successful freelance writer, get these 10 essentials in place right now and it will be much easier to get your career established.

Suzanne Lieurance is an author, freelance writer, certified professional life coach and writing coach, speaker and workshop presenter. She has written over two dozen published books and hundreds of articles for newspapers, magazines, and other publications. She offers The Morning Nudge, for writers every weekday morning. Get your free subscription at www.morningnudge.com.

December Blogging Prompts: List Posts

I realize the last thing you have time for is blogging … Between extra holiday commitments and wrapping things up at the end of the year, there’s little time for anything else. But, still, you want to keep your blog active, so your visitors have new posts to read.

An easy type of post is a list post. Choose a topic and then compile a list of items with a best, worst, or unique slant. Write a few lines or a paragraph, add links and/or images, whatever works for you and is in line with your tone, perspective, and area of expertise.

Here are 10 easy lists posts you can write for your blog in December. 

1. Books: fiction, non-fiction, or a mix of both.

2. Tools for writing, productivity, and/or business.

3. Moments of the year in your industry.

4. Food holidays. Food writers, also consider writing a recipe post either under a theme or a list of favorite.

5. Top blogs in a specific industry or all-around favorites.

6. Notable writers, marketers, consultants, or something else, depending on your niche.

7. Most popular (or favorite) posts on your blog.

8. Outstanding customer service (traditional businesses, indys or both)

9. Characters. These can be fictional (from books, film, TV or games) or people you met throughout the year.

10. Non-Traditional holidays. Some of these are kind of ridiculous, but many bring awareness to an issue or are just plain fun.

Although these may seem end-of-year specific, many can be written for any time of year.

The key with list-posts, as with all blog posts, is to infuse your personality and experience into recommendations. There may be similar items covered, but for the most part, lists are like snowflakes: no two are alike.

Happy Holidays!

***

Debra Eckerling is the author of Purple Pencil Adventures: Writing Prompts for Kids of All Ages. She's a writer, editor and project manager/goal coach, as well as founder of Guided Goals and Write On Online, a live and online writers’ support group. She is an editor at Social Media Examiner. Debra is also a speaker/moderator on the subjects of writing, networking, goal-setting and social media.

Those Pesky Extras

(This post originally ran Feb, 8, 2012)

I recently learned a new term: Pleonasm. Is it a murder suspect? A graffiti artist? A practical joker?

Turns out, it’s nothing quite so mysterious. A pleonasm is a word or phrase, which can be removed from a sentence without changing its meaning. For example, John walked to the chair and sat down. “Down” is a pleonasm and can be removed without changing the meaning of the sentence.

Although I was not familiar with the term, I did know them when I saw them. In fact, part of my editing advice revolves around deleting extraneous words. Words such as “that,” “very,” “both,” and “there was.” Others might include “began,” “started,” or “continued.”

Here’s another phrase that nearly everyone is guilty of: “The sky held a myriad of stars.” Myriad means “countless.” So the correct use is “The sky held myriad stars.” (Simply substitute the word countless for myriad.) That eliminates two extraneous words.

And then there is the word “unique.” We are inundated with varying degrees of “uniqueness” every day: “That was a rather unique movie.” “Your story is very unique.” What’s next—uniquely unique? Unique means “the only one of its kind.” Unique is unique. It doesn’t need any modifiers

I also caution to watch use of “ly” words. These words are often used to prop up weak verbs. For example: “She walked quickly” can be stronger if written “She strode” (or bounded or rushed). Likewise with the “to be” verbs (was, were, had been, etc.) especially when used with an “ing” verb. “She was walking” is better as “She walked.”

Some authors like to use taglines (he said, she said) plus an action: “…she said, taking a sip of coffee.” The simple action is sufficient: “She took a sip of coffee.”
You also don’t need to describe two actions at once: She nodded and smiled. He puffed himself up and took a swig...

A writer friend of mine is looking at every sentence in her manuscript and challenging herself to remove at least one word from each. She has cut 14,000 words from a 400-page manuscript.

I challenge you to go one step farther: see if you can delete an entire phrase from a sentence, an entire sentence from a paragraph, a paragraph from a scene.
Hunt down and exterminate those “Pesky Pleonasms.”

----------------------------

A native Montanan, Heidi M. Thomas now lives in North-central Arizona.

Her first novel, Cowgirl Dreams, is based on her grandmother, the sequel, Follow the Dream,  won the national WILLA Award, and Dare to Dream rounds out the trilogy. In addition a non-fiction book, Cowgirl Up! A History of Rodeo Women has just been released. Heidi has a degree in journalism, a certificate in fiction writing, and is a member of the Independent Editors Guild. She teaches writing, edits, and blogs. 

Never Write an Unnecessary Scene Again

Thank you to longtime writing friend K. M. Weiland for sharing her essay that helps you identify unnnecessary scenes in your fiction. 

By K. M. Wieland

When you think of the important moments in a story, you probably think about the big scenes in which stuff happens. Characters are taking action—or having action taken against them. Somebody’s doing something that matters. There’s conflict; there’s nail-biting; there’s huge stakes on the line.

But what if I told you these are not the most important moments in your story?

The most important moments are always those that take place after the big scenes. Yes, you heard right. As crucial as character actions may be, they pale in comparison to the importance of character reactions. This is because character reactions are the measuring stick readers use to determine the true importance of a big scene

Consider this: Let’s say the volcano under Yellowstone erupts. That’s big, gosh darn it. So of course it’s important to your story. ’Nuff said. Especially if, say, your protagonist’s brother is missing in the disaster area. But then, let’s say, your protagonist hears the news and then just goes about his daily life as a mailman. He doesn’t do anything about his missing brother. He doesn’t even seem that concerned beyond his initial, Oh my, that’s horrible. Poor Samson.

Suddenly, readers are confused. Maybe Yellowstone blowing up wasn’t such a big deal after all. Maybe the missing brother isn’t important. Maybe we misread all the signs. Maybe the author just stuck in this seemingly “big” scene for kicks, even though it obviously isn’t going to have any impact on the story.

Every big action in your story needs to garner an equally big reaction from your characters. Otherwise the action, no matter how impressive, simply doesn’t matter.Readers will always look to your characters to gauge the importance of any scene—and if the characters aren’t reacting in appropriate measure, the readers will, at best, count that big scene as inconsequential. At worst, the jarring disharmony between their understanding of events and the characters’ response will frustrate them to the point of abandoning your book. Now just think how you’d react to that!

-------

K.M. Weiland lives in make-believe worlds, talks to imaginary friends, and survives primarily on chocolate truffles and espresso. She is the IPPY and NIEA Award-winning and internationally published author of the Amazon bestsellers Outlining Your Novel and Structuring Your Novel, as well as Jane Eyre: The Writer’s Digest Annotated Classic. She writes historical and speculative fiction from her home in western Nebraska and mentors authors on her award-winning website Helping Writers Become Authors.

The Story that Needs to be Told--Patrick Ness

In A Monster Calls, by Patrick Ness, a monster tells young Conor three stories and then demands that Conor tell him a fourth story--his own story.

The monster's first tale is about a regent (a witch who wants to marry her own step-son to keep herself in power) and the rightful heir (a good ruler who we later discover committed a heinous and unnecessary act to assure himself the throne).

But Conor is confused.

"I don't understand.  Who's the good guy here?"

There is not always a good guy.  Nor is there always a bad one.  Most people are somewhere in between. 

Conor shook his head.  "That's a terrible story.  And a cheat." 

It is a true story, the monster said.  Many things that are true feel like a cheat.  Kingdoms get the princes they deserve, farmers' daughters die for no reason, and sometimes witches merit saving.  Quite often, actually.  You'd be surprised.

-From A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness 

inspired by an idea from Siobhan Dowd

The story is a good one.  It's the one Conor needs to hear, even if he doesn't understand yet.

Sometimes we as writers have to tell the story that demands to be told--even if it doesn't fit the patterns.  Even if it blurs lines and breaks rules.  Even if some people will call it a terrible story and a cheat.  

Because sometimes these are the most powerful.

Melinda Brasher loves visiting alternate worlds through books and exploring this world through travel. Check out her newest article on Go Nomad:  “Hunting Mushrooms in Wallachia.”  For some free short fiction, read “Stalked” on On the Premises or “A Learned Man” on Electric Spec.. Visit her online at melindabrasher.com

Blogging and Google Rankings – Do You Really Want to Use that Content in Your Blog Post?

Blogging is a major marketing tool. Everyone is doing it and for good reason, it’s powerful. But, where do they get their content and is all content acceptable?

Everyone is working to keep their blogs regularly updated with content. Content is a must. It’s all about content, content, content.

Because of this, everyone does whatever they can to post to their websites on a regular basis:

• People write their own posts
• People buy content from freelancers or content mills
• People buy PLRs (Private Label Rights)
• People accept guest posts
• People reprint the content of others from article directories
• People use content curation
• People use newsjacking
• So on and so on

But, again, is all content the same? Is all content acceptable?

In other words, whether it’s your own content or you’re accepting a guest post, if the article is NOT useful and quality content, if it’s poorly written, if it’s linking back to a spam site, should you use it?

For example: Maybe you agreed to be a hosting site for a service that provides virtual book tours. The content provided by the service’s authors is poorly written and is primarily promotional. Is it okay to use?

The simple answer is to these questions is NO.

In case you’re wondering what constitutes fluff or ‘poor quality’ content, you need to determine if your content is valuable.

To determine if your content is valuable, you need to answer a few questions:

• Does the content offer the reader useful information?
• Is it engaging or thought provoking?
• Is it controversial (the good kind)?
• Is it entertaining?
• Is it shareable?
• Do you think the content is ‘quality’ enough to appear in the results of a Google search query?

If your content doesn’t hit one of those targets, then it’s most likely fluff or poor quality.

Okay, what if the content is fluff, but it has ‘good’ keywords in it? Is it okay to publish it then?

Well, it depends on five things:

• Are you blogging to sell something?
• Are you blogging to increase website traffic?
• Are you blogging to increase your mailing list?
• Are you blogging to increase your authority in your niche/industry?
• Are you looking to ‘please’ Google and improve your ranking?

With Google’s latest algorithms, keywords don’t pack the same punch they used to. Search engines spiders can get the gist of the entire content. They base ranking and ‘whether they’ll use that post’s link in the results of a search query’ on the overall content, not just the keywords.

In other words, Google can detect fluff and garbage, even if you have great keywords.

So, back to the title question: Do you really want to publish that content on your website?
If you’re blogging to sell something, increase your mailing list, gain authority, and boost your ranking, then you should definitely AVOID posting fluff or poor quality content to your site.

Poor quality content can easily lower your Google ranking, which will reduce your authority, which will make people think twice about signing up for your mailing list, which in turn will put a damper on your sales.

LIKE THIS POST? PLEASE SHARE IT!

~~~~~
MORE ON CONTENT MARKETING

Blogging – 5 Popular Blog Post and Article Formats
Book Marketing – Increasing Visibility on Amazon
Blogging - 4 Major Mistakes to Avoid When Writing Blog Posts

Tips from Gail Sheehy's New Memoir, Daring: My Passages

Strike out on your own; Photo by Linda Wilson

Gail Sheehy's memoir, Daring: My Passages, is a delicate blend of personal experience and view, anecdotes illuminating some of the most fascinating people of our time; framed in historic context; and as always with Sheehy's books, a fascinating read. An acclaimed  Literary Lion, one of twenty celebrated authors recognized at the New York Public Library's annual gala in the early '90s, along with such literary luminaries as William Styron and Maya Angelou; this year held on November 3rd celebrating five authors, including Margaret Atwood; Sheehy's own story is told in intimate detail with warmth and honesty. Nestled within is the tender story of the love of her life, Clay Felker, her beloved late husband, the creator of New York magazine, a fearlessly creative editor and mentor to Sheehy and many other gifted writers.

For Gail Sheehy, daring became a way of life. From as early as twelve, she began sneaking on the train to Central Station in New York to watch humanity in all its shapes and variety. She dared to apply for a job at JC Penney from Mr. Penney himself at a time in the pre-feminist '60s when men occupied the jobs. Male reporters at New York's Herald Tribune had to step aside as she strode past them to "pitch my best story to the hottest editor there."

Anyone familiar with Sheehy's bestselling book Passages, named by the Library of Congress as one of the ten most influential books of our times, knows the lengths she will go to unearth truths hidden in life's shadows, bring them to light and by so doing, change lives. As one of the early experimenters with New Journalism in nonfiction, the practice of borrowing the novelist's dramatic techniques-- storytelling, scenes, dialogue--Gail dared to help turn the tide. Soon to grow into a movement, New Journalism developed into methods utilized as a matter of course today.

Daring Destiny
Summer of 1971: Dressed in blue suede hot pants and white vinyl go-go boots, Gail hit the streets of New York with an off-duty cop playing the part of her pimp, to uncover the lengths prostitutes went to "maximize their profits by swindling, mugging, robbing, knifing, and occasionally even murdering their patrons." Result, called "saturation reporting": Cover story for New York magazine, "Redpants and Sugarman." In January 1972, Sheehy recognized that New York City had "the largest number of Irish Americans of any city in the country" and in view of her own Irish ancestry, she wanted to go to Northern Ireland to write about the women and children who had joined the fight after their Catholic husbands and fathers had been  jailed "without charge or trial, as suspected terrorists." Up until arriving in Ireland and watching the peaceful civil rights march with a crowd of thousands in the Bogside area of Derry, she thought everything in her life could be mended. But within minutes she got caught up in the violence of Bloody Sunday. After living through it she wrote that she has relived the scene "maybe thousands of times . . . wrote about it in the opening of Passages . . . described it in lectures and interviews . . . [and yet] it is engraved on [her] brain as if on a gravestone."

When Passages shot to #1 on the New York Times Book Review, Sheehy was "dumbstruck: I had expected Passages to sink with little trace." Sheehy points out that the book's concept, that stages of development don't end with childhood, had earlier been sketched out by Erik Erikson. His idea was that there were three stages during adulthood. Sheehy expanded on that through her research, which began with reading the entire works of Freud, and "the antidote, Carl Jung." She interviewed men and women of all ages, and began to see common themes. "None of my subjects had actually experienced a life-threatening event . . . like Bloody Sunday in Northern Ireland. Yet I found evidence in every one of them of discontent." Her theory became clear one night while watching a tank full of lobsters at a seafood shack. "Lobsters grow . . . by developing and shedding a series of hard, protective shells . . . until the lobster is left exposed and embryonic again, until it grows stronger and develops a new shell to replace the old. In that tank was a perfect analogy! We, too, shed an old self as we grow." From these early explorations, Sheehy came up with the idea that adults continue to grow in multiple, common stages of development.

The rest, as we say, is history.

Daring Writing Tips
Though Daring is not a how-to primer on writing, a writer can come away with good solid advice or for the more experienced, reminders. The following is a sampling.

A la Clay:

• What are you trying to say? Force yourself to find out.
• Have a point of view.

 Ask yourself several key questions:

•     Why are things the way they are? (Sniff out the latest trend.)
•     What led up to this? (Give us the historical background.)
•     How do things work? (Who is pulling the strings or making the magic or making fools of      us?)
•     How is the power game played in your story?
•    "Don't be so careful."  
•    Clay told writers: "Take me inside the world you know, where readers don't have any access,  and tell me a great story."
•  Clay didn't want a lead paragraph that sums up what the story is about. He wanted to "tantalize the reader with a compelling opening scene--but don't give the story away."

Gail's Book Tour Advice:

•  Approach your role like an actress opening out of town.
•  Take two great costume changes and a spiral notebook filled with your best anecdotes.

 Speech coach Dorothy Sarnoff gave Gail this advice:

•      Stand on both feet--don't shift weight
•      90% is eye contact--lock on eyes--talk to an imagined audience of one--engage her,  persuade her, make her laugh and think
•      Smile nicely, but don't overuse
•      Give the vibe of authority
•      Record yourself--lose the "ums," ahs," and "you knows"
•      "The secret is all in one's imagination

Dare Yourself
Daring is how Gail conquered her fears. "When I feel fear . . . I dare. Fear immobilizes. Daring is action. It changes the conditions. It startles people into different reactions . . . it can be the catalyst to empowering oneself."

More Works by Gail Sheehy

• Biographies and character studies of Hillary Clinton, both Presidents Bush, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev
• Passages; New Passages: Mapping your Life across Time; The Silent Passage: Menopause; Understanding Men's Passages; Sex and the Seasoned Woman: Pursuing the Passionate Life; Passages in Caregiving

    

L

Linda Wilson, a former elementary teacher and ICL graduate, recently completed Joyce Sweeney's online fiction and picture book courses. She has published over 40 articles for children and adults, six short stories for children, and is currently developing several works for children. Follow Linda on Facebook.

 

  

Gratitude: it helps you to be a better writer

Photo credit: Infrogmation of New Orleans / Foter / CC BY-SA

Is gratitude scheduled into your calendar?

University of California Davis psychology professor Robert Emmons says:

"Gratitude research is beginning to suggest that feelings of thankfulness have tremendous positive   value in helping people cope with daily problems, especially stress."

Deadlines, rejection letters, revising, and writer's block makes writing a stressful undertaking. We may have learned to develop a positive outlook through prayer, meditation, diet and exercise. But there is something more we can do. We can develop a routine of gratitude.

Quotes to inspire you:

• No one who achieves success does so without acknowledging the help of others. The wise and confident acknowledge this help with gratitude. - Alfred North Whitehead

• Rest and be thankful. - William Wordsworth

• The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts. No Americans have been more impoverished than these who, nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving.- H. U. Westermayer

• God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say "thank you?"-William A. Ward

• He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has. - Epictetus

Scheduling to guide you: 

• Keep a journal. Research has shown that people who kept a journal of what they were grateful for were optimistic about the future. 

• Design a mood board. A collage of images you are grateful for is a great visual to boost a healthy outlook. Hang it up by your desk.

• Designate a time each day. I know someone who set their timer to go off each day to stop what she was doing and be thankful for something. She soon got into a routine.

• Write a note. Imagine getting an email, a note in the mail, or a text with a few words of gratitude? It would make your day. Why not take a minute to send words of gratitude to someone and make their day?

The great thing about gratitude is when you show gratitude toward someone else, you feel better yourself. Matt Richardson, co-founder of Gramr Gratitude says:

"You can actually be happier than you've ever been if you practice gratitude. It just keeps building you up."

That sounds like a plan!

Thank-you, Karen, for the opportunity to be a part of Writer's On The Move. And thank-you to all the fellow contributors here who I've gotten to know. I have learned so much from everyone.

Happy Thanksgiving!

                                                                        ~~~

 

 After raising and homeschooling her 8 children and teaching art classes for 10 years, Kathy has found time to pursue freelance writing. She enjoys writing magazine articles and more recently had her story, "One of a Kind", published in The Kids' Ark. You can find her passion to bring encouragement and hope to people of all ages at When It Hurts - http://kathleenmoulton.com

How to Increase Your Freelance Income

Books to Add to Your Library

The Freelance Writer's Guide to Making $1000 More This Month.

Mridu Khullar Relph is a successful and highly respected freelance features writer and reporter. Her blog is a must-read not only for her successes but for her honesty in sharing her failures when it comes to earning a living as a freelance. 

Now a book written as a result of her experiences is available on Amazon: The Freelance Writer's Guide to Making $1000 More This Month. As a subscriber to an earlier free course, I was lucky enough to be asked to review it when it came out earlier in November. And although no one can say you'll make that much more a month after reading the book, if you do the work, follow the advice, there is no doubt you could increase your income in leaps and bounds.

From the Oliver Twist scenario in the first chapter--Ask for More--to the sharing of useful markets, Mridu gives tip after tip on how to increase your income. The book is written for those of us who are already freelancing but could also serve as a handbook with ideas to help the keen beginner.

The bonus material, exclusively for readers of the book, provides useful tip sheets, guides and samples of successful pitches. Although I have not yet had time to surf through it all, I have in the past used some of Mridu's query letter suggestions to apply for and get well-paid assignments.

It's easy to follow and written in a relaxed, conversational style. So if you're aiming to up your income in the coming year, start reading, planning and putting ideas into practice now.

The Indie Author Power Pack

This bundle includes updated versions of three classics which should be on every self-publisher's and book marketer's shelf--again at a bargain price. Following any of the tips from Joanna Penn, David Gaughran, Sean Platt, Johnny B. Truant should easily boost your marketing and lead to more sales.

It's not a quick read but the initial table of contents makes this a great reference book for writers, editors and book marketers.

The Indie Author Power Pack iincludes Write, Publish, Repeat, by Sean Platt and Johnny B. Truant; Let's Get Digital by David Gaughran; How to Market a Book by Joanna Penn. Obviously there's a load of new material and helpful freebies included in the bundle.

This is, for me, a go-to book when I feel the impetus flagging and need encouragement and advice on boosting the writing and book sales.

Which books do you find essential on your writer's bookshelf? Let us know in the comments below and give us ideas for a list of Christmas gifts for writers.

P.S. on Autoresponders

I am still checking out the best of the free autoresponders and should be ready with a report early in the New Year. 

Happy Thanksgiving,
Annie

 Anne Duguid is a freelance content editor with MuseItUp Publishing and she passes on helpful writing,editing and publishing tips from time to time at Slow and Steady Writers 

Thanksgiving in the USA is Here Again

Thanksgiving is this week in the USA. One of our traditions is to give thanks for what we have.

Following is a list of things I am thankful for.

I am thankful for being able to attend writing conferences.
I am thankful for my local writers group.
I am thankful for having enough chocolate to get through whatever it is I am trying to write!

What are you thankful for?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Debbie A. Byrne has a B.S. in Mass Communication with a minor in History.She is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) and is working on her first children’s book.

Understand Your International Friends ~ International English #2

Last month we looked at Making Friends Across the Globe as the first article in a series on International English. Today we're going to look at some different countries and a few of the varieties of English interpretations there are.

POINT #2: Understand Your International Friends

When in doubt—find out! Perhaps you read the sentence, "She placed her hand-held mirror carefully down on her Dolly Varden." You screw up your face and re-read the sentence. If you live in North America you wonder why on earth she would place a mirror on top of a piece of trout. Or if you're in England, you are baffled why she wants to wear a mirror on top of her fancy, flower-decked hat. As an Australian you will find it strange that she places a mirror on a doll-shaped cake! But of course if you're a South African it makes sense. Where else would she place her hand-held mirror but on her dressing-table?

• If you know the author, write and ask him or her. "I'm puzzled where she placed her mirror. I suspect your use of Dolly Varden is different to mine." That way you both learn.
• Ask an international group. It doesn't need to be a writing group either. As long as the members speak English, quote the sentence and ask, "Can anyone throw a light on the meaning of this?" It will stimulate some interesting conversation between members; a group-leader's delight!
• Look it up! I have had the free version of WordWeb installed on my computer for many years. If I come across a word I don't understand I simply hit Alt, Ctrl and W - and it gives me the meaning. On Kindle, I hover the cursor before the word and it gives me a definition. If all else fails you can always Google it, or (gasp!) turn to a traditional dictionary.   

Before submitting an article, check international scenes with someone from that country. In South Africa or England it is customary for people to go for a brisk walk along the pavement. In America I have learned that can prove fatal as that is the paved area where the cars drive!

I once was enjoying a book by a popular author who shall remain nameless, set in Rhodesia (now known as Zimbabwe). Suddenly the hero and his group made their way to an area that was an extinct volcano. Hello? I spent most of my childhood in that country. There is no volcano in the land, extinct or otherwise. That ruined the story for me. I felt I couldn't trust the author any more. He clearly had not done his research—or checked his facts with someone "on the ground".

One final example: Here in South Africa many of the rural population live in rondawels, thatched round huts buildings built of mud and wattle. The Australian nation floral emblem is the Golden Wattle which makes a beautiful display when grown closely together. And in Britain a common site is a fence made of upright stakes around which green branches of wattle are woven.

Allow for different words. Because the other country uses a different word, it doesn't meant it's wrong!  When I started my first Website I naively asked the question, "What English should I use?" The majority told me to use American English. Some told me to use British English (as I was born in Britain), and others told me to use my own South African variant of British English but to put a disclaimer on every page! Why would I do that? I may have a different accent to most of my readers, and I may use different words for some things, but my language is not wrong! Nor is yours. (Unless of course you speak or write badly!)

Obviously, if I am writing for an American market, I must write in American English. But on my own website? (Although I have to confess I tend to slip between the one and the other as I'm so used to using American English!) The important thing about a personal website (or my author page on Facebook) is, do you understand me? (And if you don't? Please ask!) 

In closing here are a few common differences you will find when reading American English (AE) or British English (BE):

BE: Babies wear nappies; AE: Babies wear diapers.

BE: The bathroom contains a bath, not necessarily a toilet; AE: The bathroom always contains a toilet, not necessarily a bathtub.

BE: You walk on the pavement and drive in the road; AE: You drive on the pavement and walk on the sidewalk.

BE: Biscuits are crisp snacks, similar to the AE cookies.

AE: Biscuits are a type of bread served with savoury foods, rather like the BE scones.

BE: A trunk is a large metal box, which you might put into the boot (storage section) of your car;

AE: The trunk is the storage section of your car.

BE: The engine is under the bonnet; AE: It’s under the hood.

BE: You go to hospital for an operation in theatre; AE: You go to the hospital for surgery in the operating room. (Oh and in BE you go to hospital. In AE you go to the hospital!)

BE: The kids may play in the garden, avoiding the flower beds of course; AE: They play in the yard.

BE: We may go on holiday in our caravan; AE: You go on vacation in your travel trailer.

And finally, one that I keep forgetting much to the frustration of my American critique group:

BE: Ladies fall pregnant AE: They get pregnant!

So next time you come across a word you don't understand in a book or on a blog, don't automatically condemn the author. Rather attempt to understand your international friends!

NEXT MONTH: We will look at International English at Christmas.

OVER TO YOU: Do you have other terms you can add to the above? Especially if you are from a different country to America or Britain. Leave a comment below.

FURTHER READING:  
What in the World Do You Mean? 
Making Friends Across the Globe.

SHIRLEY CORDER lives on the coast in South Africa with her husband, Rob. Her book, Strength Renewed: Meditations for your Journey through Breast Cancer has created a multitude of friends and contacts across the world.

Please visit Shirley through ShirleyCorder.com, where she encourages writers, or at  RiseAndSoar.com, where she encourages those in the cancer valley. You can also meet with her on Twitter or FaceBook.

Narrowing Your Focus... Yay or Nay

Most of us can agree that writers everywhere write... must write, live to write.  And if you are like me, you have thousands of ideas floating around in your head, ideas that need to get on the page. But trying to balance those ideas with what you know and what your target audience needs to read can be a real challenge.

The question for even the most experienced writer is how to decide on a focus for the writing and marketing to keep inspired, to  keep loving what you do and to be productive? Do writers actually need to narrow their focus as is recommended by books and instructors everywhere or can a writer  successfully write about absolutely everything swirling around in their head and reach a marketable audience?

First, decide what success means to you. Success may be keeping some of those tidbits of ideas in a journal while working on other projects. Success may be being on the New York Best seller list. Success may be in the form of self-publishing and for others success may be writing only for the catharsis of the process and not for public view. Ask yourself what success means for you as the writer to help to determine the focus and purpose of your work?

Next, list the ideas that you love, the topics that you know something about, and the subjects that your reader or audience longs for. This is where you start on any new project or new idea and where you decide what your focus should be. Explore these ideas and how many ways you can use this list to develop your product, story, or article idea. Within the focus of a topic there may be numerous ways to expand that focus for more than one product.

Narrowing your focus now becomes important for each project. Narrowing the focus helps you to hone in on the subject and the audience allowing you to meet the needs of your reader but it also assists you with targeting your audience specifically for this project in regards to marketing to them.

Narrowing your focus is important for stories, articles and specific writing projects so that your points can be clear and the topic remains specific. Facts and research can be used again in other products with the same topic so no information is wasted.  But the question still lingers for the writer... Does a writer need to narrow the focus in general when working on a lucrative writing career? Can an author be successful writing in more than one specific area? Can a writer who has done medical writing branch out to mystery or suspense? Can a financial guru write books for children? Or must you stay within your narrow focus of expertise to be successful?

I have found that there are many authors very successful at writing in many genres and avenues. I think the key to success is to hone your skills, narrow the focus of each project, and know how to market to the target audience with each written work. Being an expert in a field is very lucrative and increases the chances of success. For me narrowing a focus can apply to each individual piece of work but doesn't have to limit your ability to succeed with those other ideas swirling in your head. Your writing focus narrows with each project as does your marketing and audience but the types of writing you do can be wide open. What is your experience and opinion about narrowing your focus?

Terri Forehand writes from her home in Nashville Indiana. She writes health related material, stories for children and is currently writing and designing small quilt patterns based on fictional characters. She is the author of The ABC's of Cancer According to Lilly Isabella Lane and The Cancer Prayer book for adults newly diagnosed. http://terri-forehand.blogspot.com , www.terriforehand.webnode.com

Writing is Good for Your Soul & Your Health

For as long as I can remember, I have written. In fact I remember asking how to spell 'tear' for my first poem when I was 5 or so. I wrote through my teen angst years, I wrote during an unhappy marriage and through years of happiness while I finally discovered who I was. Writing just seemed to be a way in which I could take down my thoughts and feelings to create something much bigger than myself. I considered the process healthy and I found it somehow kept me grounded. Now it turns out, others agree that writing can make you feel better and keep you well. Psychologists say that the process of writing through difficult periods can help people feel better, not only mentally but also physically.

Wow! And here I thought my great constitution had something to do with good genes. It turns out that when people wrote about their feelings and concerns prior to surgery and after - they healed faster. Young people who write tend to miss fewer days of school and some studies show that over all wellness is created by the process of writing - lower blood pressure, better liver function, and fewer asthma attacks.

What has been realized is that the process of writing is somewhat similar to that of meditation. In meditation you find yourself in a zone of calm. Writing can also induce these feelings when you enter what is called a flow state. In many disciplines there is what is called flow. Basketball players get into the flow and they score points. Runners get into the flow and they go longer distances. When writers get into the flow they leave many of their cares and worries behind them. This flow takes them away and actually allows them to reduce the stress they feel in their lives - one of the greatest reasons for ill health.

According to experts, even the act of writing before bed can create better health. Writing in a journal about those things you are grateful for improves sleep. And it doesn't even take much to reap the benefits - 15-20 minutes three to five times over 4 months is all it takes to make a difference.

Writing has other benefits:
1. Writers tend to pay more attention to being in the now. They listen better - I know it's just so we can quote the person later, but still.
2. Writing takes focus and concentration. Two things that are more and more difficult to acquire in this fast paced world where we live.
3. It allows us to tell our stories and to tell those of others, preserving history.
4. Writing lets our imagination soar, our creativity to flourish and our words create emotions that can impact others. Writing is good for the soul!

So what is holding you back from sitting down and getting your words on paper?

___________________________________

D. Jean Quarles is a writer of Women's Fiction and a co-author of a Young Adult Science Fiction Series. Her latest book, House of Glass, Book 2 of The Exodus Series was written with coauthor, Austine Etcheverry.

D. Jean loves to tell stories of personal growth – where success has nothing to do with money or fame, but of living life to the fullest. She is also the author of the novels: Rocky's Mountains, Fire in the Hole, and Perception. The Mermaid, an award winning short story was published in the anthology, Tales from a Sweltering City.

She is a wife, mother, grandmother and business coach. In her free time . . . ha! ha! ha! Anyway, you can find more about D. Jean Quarles, her writing and her books at her website at www.djeanquarles.com

You can also follower her at www.djeanquarles.blogspot.com or on Facebook.

The First Step to Writing a Nonfiction Book

by Suzanne Lieurance, the Working Writer's Coach

Okay, so you think you're ready to write a nonfiction book.

But unlike so many people who jump right in and start writing – only to never finish the book OR they end up with a book that no one wants to buy – you’ve decided to learn more about the process so you’ll have the best chance for success.

The First Step

So here’s the first step. Simply copy and answer the 12 questions that follow:

1. Why do you want to write this book? (what will the book do for YOU)

2. What is the intended purpose of your book? (what will the book do for readers)

3. Who is your target audience for your book? Be as specific as possible - give as many details about your readers as you can.

4. What qualifies you to write this book?

5. What competition exists for your book? (If you don’t know, look in bookstores and online for books like the one you wish to write. There should be some books similar to yours already on the market. If not, then there may not BE a market for your book.)

6. Do you want to self-publish your book or try to find a traditional publisher for it? Please thoroughly explain your reasons for your choice.

7. How much time will have you available each week for writing your book? Please describe the type of writing schedule you hope to establish for yourself.

8. What kinds of materials do you already have that you can use for your book – notes, speeches, articles, etc? Also, how would you describe your current nonfiction writing style and voice/tone? Is this the same style and voice/tone you hope to use for this book? Explain.

9. Do you know other experts in your field who would be willing to write a foreward for your book? Explain.

10. Have you already conducted interviews, done much of the research, etc. for your book, or will you be starting from the very beginning? Explain in detail.

11. How will you promote and market your book?

12. In what ways do you want to financially benefit from your book? Explain in detail.

If you take the time to answer these 12 questions, you'll be much more likely to finish writing your nonfiction book, and you'll also be more likely to write a nonfiction book people will want to buy.

Good luck!

Suzanne Lieurance is an author, freelance writer, certified professional life coach and writing coach, speaker and workshop presenter. She has written over two dozen published books and hundreds of articles for newspapers, magazines, and other publications. Let her help you launch your career as a romance author - at the beach. Find out more at www.beachbookblowoutflorida.com.

November Blogging Prompts

Just because the year is winding down, doesn’t mean you can slack off on your blog posts, even if you really don’t have the time. Consistency is a huge part of blogging, so even if you have to write a little shorter the next couple months, just keep to your blogging schedule as best as you can. 

Here’s some seasonal content ideas to get you through November. (I am U.S.-based, so for those in other parts of the world, adapt as appropriate.) 

Shopping: We have Black Friday (shopping day after Thanksgiving), Small Business Saturday (day after that), and Cyber Monday (the Monday after Thanksgiving). However, holiday shopping starts sooner each year.

If you offer a product or service, and you have a holiday deal, post about it on your blog. Most of what you blog about shouldn’t be about selling, but it’s fine to make an exception every now and then. If you have an opinion on peoples obsession with shopping holidays, that’s another way to go. It could be serious, sarcastic or funny, but whatever you write, keep it honest. Stay relatable - that’s how you gain and maintain fans.

Food: November has an abundance of food holidays to blog about, whether you write about food or just enjoy eating. Among others, it’s Good Nutrition Month and Vegan Month. (Funny, it was just Vegetarian Awareness Month in October – I guess November takes it up a notch.) Healthy eating is a great topic to write about as we approach the holidays, even when you write about writing. For example, “5 Food-Related Advantages of Working and/ Writing from Home.” 

On the other end of the spectrum, November 16 is National Fast Food Day. And then there’s National Espresso Day on November 23. Talk about a great stereotypical writer holiday. The majority of writers I know have an opinion on coffee. And I know a lot of writers!

Thanksgiving: There’s a ton to write about regards to Thanksgiving. There’s the history, the food, and of course, the theme of being thankful. The best way to write about a holiday is to flip it on its side. Think outside the box. Brainstorm. Make a list of 10 or 15 things that you can write about in regards to Thanksgiving (or any of these ideas for that matter) and how it relates to your blog or business. Then, take a fun, original approach and run with it!

Bonus: Fiction writers and bloggers, November is National Novel Writing Month. If you are participating, consider writing posts on your progress. If you are not, offer advice and encouragement for those who are. You don’t have to write a novel in November to post about this fun International event.

As previously noted, November starts shopping season. Especially if you have a business website, keep your blog active, so potential customers can find you. 

*** 

Debra Eckerling is a writer, editor and project manager, and the author of Purple Pencil Adventures: Writing Prompts for Kids of All Ages.  She founded Guided Goals, as well as Write On Online, a live and online writers’ support group. She is an editor at Social Media Examiner. Debra is in demand as a national speaker addressing writing, networking, goal-setting and social media.