Making Those Tough Choices to Boost Your Writing Career

We make choices everyday. And choosing to make tough choices about our writing life can be more painful, influence our health, and tear at our hearts similar to making tough food choices and giving up those snacks we love. Bad food choices, bad health. Bad writing choices can lead to being overwhelmed, discouraged, unproductive, and hopeless as we compare how others are more successful than ourselves. When that happens, it is time for a change.

Bad writing choices may be an over-statment of the word "bad", but sometimes a writer must take a look at the actions being taken to promote a writing career versus the busy activities that maybe associated with a writing career, and I am at just that place.... I need more actions to move my writing forward and less activities that take up my time but don't advance my personal goals. Where do you stand with actions vs. activities?

It is important to analyze where you want the rest of the year to end up as far as those writing goals that were set in January. For me, I had to bow out of a writing group that I love ( tears at the heartstrings) but that was not really helping me to write. I have bowed out of two other monthly writing groups as well that required a monthly fee and were full of good advice but did not help me to write more.(It is similar to decreasing the chocolate and adding the fruit for a more healthy diet. A kind of discipline that will bring health back to your body and more pages to your next book. ) I need to socialize less, promote the businesses of others a little less, and write my own products more. It is not selfish, it is business. Without more pages of work, I would have nothing to promote.

Don't get me wrong, promoting others and networking is essential to a writing career and to getting your name out there and noticed especially on the sites of other successful authors. And I love promoting great new authors, good books, and established authors releasing new work.  But if networking and promoting others is taking up all the time of a writer and the writer no longer has new products or material to send out to publishers, what good does it do to have your name splashed on those sites? "Author such and such..... oh yea, what does she write?  Oh that's right, she stalks other author sites but doesn't write, has no expertise, and sure doesn't have a platform....." You get the idea.

At the risk of becoming more unknown than I am already, I have taken an action step. Less socializing and more writing. A unique idea? Maybe. A good choice for me? That remains to be seen and will be re-evaluated in September and again in December before I make my 2013 goals. But this much I know. It isn't healthy for me if I am not writing and I am just thinking about writing. It also doesn't pay the bills.

How healthy is your writing life? If it is not in tip top shape with submissions polished and ready or a steady paycheck coming in from previous work  then maybe it is time to make some tough choices to boost the writing career of your dreams.


Terri Forehand writes from her rural home in Indiana. She writes for several online blogs for actual money and continues to work on several projects including picture books for children. Visit her website at http://www.terriforehand.webnode.com for more information. She blogs for  children's writers at http://terri-forehand.blogspot.com

Blog Posting, Keywords, Anchor Text, Tags, and Website Statistics Part1

Every marketer knows the importance of article marketing – it’s an effective visibility tool and increases the user’s expert status. For individual websites, this is in the form of blog posting.

But, you can write an article that’s properly formatted, has a great title and amazing information and if you don’t use keywords, include tags, SHARE and Promote that article, you won’t get optimized traffic to your site. This can’t be stressed enough.

I did an analysis of two of my sites. Both are focused on writing and marketing. My individual site, Karen Cioffi Writing and Marketing (KCWM) usually has three posts per week. The Writers on the Move (WOTM) site usually has one article per day.

Take note though that when getting website statistics, numbers will vary significantly depending on the source of the information. Blogger’s Stats tool was used for this analysis.

According to the Blogger Stats, which site do you think gets more traffic?

Since the marketing philosophy is’ content is king,’ you’d think the WOTM site would get tons more traffic, because it provides quality information on a daily basis.

Well, if that’s the site you chose, you’d be wrong. The KCWM site gets more traffic than WOTM does.

Another interesting tidbit is that the majority of traffic from both sites comes from:

Google searches
Yahoo searches and yahoo mail
StumbleUpon
Facebook
Twitter

Google is by far the leader of the traffic sources with Twitter holding up the rear.

So, the question to ask is WHY does the KCWM site get more traffic?

The answer has to be keywords, anchor text, tags, and promotion. Let’s take a look at each factor.

Keywords

If you notice above, the leader of the traffic sources is Google searches, which is driven by keywords.

Every post on my site is keyword focused. What this means is that I do a keyword search before posting the article. I start with a focused word, say “blog posts.” If the article focus words don’t pull their search weight, I change them to more effective keywords.

And, as it has been stated before in other articles, your keywords should be in your title,  subtitle (if you have one), and within the content of your article. Be sure to add the keyword in the first paragraph and last paragraph, and here and there throughout. Just be careful not to overdo it.


Come back on June July 1st for Part 2 of Blog Posting, Keywords, Anchor Text, Tags, and Website Statistics. It talks about Anchor Text, Tags, and Promotion.

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More on Marketing

Article Content Formatted and Search Engine Ready
Creating Content: 10 Online Repurposing Formats

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CHECK OUT Design Your Own eBook Cover in 10 Easy Steps Using Microsoft Office 2010

Ignite your writing and marketing efforts with Karen Cioffi and A Writer’s World ezine. Get weekly tips and guidance, plus updates on free webinars, and TWO FREE ebooks! Sign-up today.

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Mono Vision

After years of wearing glasses and contacts, this past week I made the decision to have Lasik surgery for my eyes. At my age, which I don't really keep track of, my eyes now have the challenge of seeing both distance and close up. Such a struggle. Years ago, with contacts, I was introduced to what is called Mono vision. Mono vision is where one eye is adjusted to see distance and the other to see up close. 

For some people this can create challenges, for me it is heaven. So when the time came for my Lasik procedure, it was exactly what I wanted. 

In writing too, I have the same desire. That of seeing up close and distant at the same time. Up close means writing from the beginning taking all the room necessary to give the nuances and details time to develop. Yet, for me, I must also have the vision of the end. Not all the details of what will happen, but a final scene. A picture in my head that I write toward. 

One of my favorite quotes is: "If you don't know where you are going, any road will take you there." -Lewis Carroll. 

Many times when I finally get to the end of a piece, when I am on that road, so to speak, I change course at the last minute. That is also fine, because I know I'm still in the right vicinity. 

Whether writing non fiction or an article, knowing where you are headed will help you to draw your readers to the right conclusions. And try writing a novel with just that one end scene in mind. See if knowing where you're headed will also help you find direction. 

See you all on the road.

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D. Jean Quarles is a writer of Women's Fiction and Young Adult Science Fiction. Her latest book, Flight from the Water Planet, Book 1 of The Exodus Series was written with her 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

Her novels are available in electronic format here, or print format here. You can also follower her at www.djeanquarles.blogspot.com or on Facebook

Office Organization Tips: How to Get and Stay Organized for Your Freelance Writing Career

HOW TO GET AND STAY ORGANIZED FOR

YOUR FREELANCE WRITING CAREER

by Donna M. McDine

 You’re in the process of taking a writer’s course and the abundance of information thrown your way is filed neatly in your brain. You wish you could say the same for your work space. While all your notes, research, writer’s books, etc., are valuable for your writing career it’s a miracle you can even find your desk under the sea of paper.  It’s imperative that you have the best filing system for your needs! 

1.                  Analyze and Purchase Supplies: First make a visit to your local office supply store and purchase hanging folders, manila folders and folder labels. If you don’t have a file cabinet now would be a good time to purchase one. You could purchase the good old standard metal filing cabinet or a file cabinet on wheels. The file cabinet on wheels would come in handy if you are limited on space and need to remove it from your work area when entertaining.

2.                  Identify Categories: Upon your return tackle the job of sorting your mounds (hope it’s not too deep) of paper into categories. File names:

ü  Agent Info

ü  Character Development

ü  Critique Groups Dialogue

ü  Editing

ü  Commas & Punctuation

ü  Grammar

ü  Point of View; Plotting & Outlining Your MS

ü  Scene & Story Structure, Sensory Details. 

The list is endless. Your filing system will grow over time. While reading articles on writing that you find helpful clip and file the article immediately. This makes for easy referral later.

3.                  Create Your Files: Place all your pertinent papers in the appropriate file. Each manila folder should be inserted into an individual hanging file in alphabetical order for easy retrieval and filing.

4.                  Desktop File: Jan Jasper, author of Take Back Your Time: How to Regain Control of Work, Information, and Technology (St. Martin’s Press) states: “Action files must always be within easy reach – ideally in a small desktop file holder that holds the file folders upright so the tabs are clearly visible. For added peace of mind, make a note in your calendar or scheduling software to remind you of important dates. This combats the “out-of-sight, out of mind” worry and lets you clear your desk without fearing you’ll forget something important”*

[*Conquer Desktop Clutter with Action Files © Jan Jasper; 2001-2007

About the Author: Jan Jasper has been training busy people to work smarter, not harder since 1988. She helps clients streamline work procedures, manage information overload, and use technology efficiently. Her specialty is helping people who've already worked with professional organizers and coaches and are still not able to get it all done. Jan is the author of Take Back Your Time: How to Regain Control of Work, Information, & Technology (St. Martin's Press). She recently completed a North American media tour as the national efficiency spokesperson for IKON Office Solutions, Inc. She has appeared on radio and TV all over North America and is quoted regularly in print. Jan is an adjunct professor at New York University.]

Suggested important files to maintain to keep in your line of sight on your desktop are:

ü  Writing – Follow-up

ü  Writing – Reading

ü  Writing – Research

ü  Writing – To Do

ü  Writing – Work-in Progress

Each file then contains an inventory sheet of what tasks need to be accomplished.  You know your files and needs best, please feel free to revamp the categories to suit your needs.

5.                  Follow-through: Lastly, it is important that you maintain your new filing system daily or at least weekly. This way you will not get piled under the dreaded mounds of paper.

By following these five tips on an ongoing basis your tidal wave of papers will surely cease to exist.

Bio: Donna McDine is an award-winning children's author. Her stories, articles, and book reviews have been published in over 100 print and online publications. Her interest in American History resulted in writing and publishing The Golden Pathway. Donna has four more books under contract with Guardian Angel Publishing, Hockey Agony, Powder Monkey, A Sandy Grave, and Dee and Deb, Off They Go. She writes, moms and is the Editor-in-Chief for Guardian Angel Kids and owner of Author PR Services www.authorprservices.com from her home in the historical hamlet Tappan, NY. McDine is a member of the SCBWI. Visit www.donnamcdine.com.

What's Your Best Advice?

I am at heart a devotional writer. It's been my "calling" for quite a while. But when I'm not writing you will most likely find me with my nose in a piece of fiction. I love to read. My husband has been telling me for years I should write fiction since I read so much of it. I just never felt the nudge toward doing that. Well, that is until three weeks ago.

This one character from the Bible kept cropping up all over the place. I started to think about her story. What were the parts and pieces of it? What if it was a modern day story? How would it play out? Who would be involved in the story? The questions kept coming. I couldn't get away from them, so I started jotting them down and eventually started answering some of them. For a brief moment, I thought about trying my hand at actually writing the story. But I squashed that idea because "I don't write fiction". That worked until the character woke me up from a dream, giving me the same phrase over and over. I realized it was the answer to one of my questions and possibly the opening line of the book. I used to think authors who said their characters talked to them were crazy or kidding. Not anymore!

So, I've decided to take the plunge and write the book. I'm not new to writing, but I am new to fiction. And even though I've been reading it for years, I still feel ill-equipped to write it well. What is one piece of advice you would give to me or any writer venturing into this arena for the first time. I've got my pen ready to take notes. 

About the Author:

Marietta "Mari" Taylor is the the author of Surviving Unemployment Devotions To Go. Find out more about Mari at her blog or her website, www.mariettataylor.net.

Carpe Diem

Last Monday morning (June 4) when I was about to get out of bed and hit the day running, the words "carpe diem; seize the day" kept flashing in my mind or in my face. I was probably in that last bit of sleep state so can't really tell you if I was dreaming the phrases or why my mind kept repeating these phrases.

Monday was a pretty casual day, nothing to really seize. Tuesday was my birthday and I took full advantage of seizing the day by kind of rebelling against working, only to make up for it Wednesday.

I had been thinking of my story, Imogene and now wonder if this phrase "carpe diem" or "seize the day" was meant for my main character, Sarah Beth. She is definitely on a quest and every moment is crucial to finding her daughter, Imogene, so maybe she needs to seize a certain day in her quest and make the absolute most of it.

When you here the term 'carpe diem', what do you think of? Do you seize the moment or day and make the most of every minute? Do you kind of not think about it? Is this is a familiar phrase or had you not heard of it before today? Leave a comment and let me know how you tend to carpe diem.

As part of my 50-day birthday giveaway blitz, I will give one lucky person a signed copy of my first ever written story, "Train of Clues" (a mystery destination story). Just leave a comment and a valid emaiil or some way to for me to contact you if you are the winner. See you all in the postings. E :)

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Writing From The Heart: Laura Smith author of “In All Things; Giving Thanks When Hope Seems Lost”

Writing came easily for me because it came from my own personal experiences and a deep place within me. I write very honestly and hold nothing back. I believe that by the power of our testimony others will find healing. I believe sugar coating things makes for a nice story but has no impact. Of course this depends on the type of books that are being written. Creativity plays in more in some writing genre’s than others.

When I was very young, I remember sitting in my grandmother’s kitchen on the floor while my grandparents and their friends sat at the table playing cards. They would play for hours and hours and often times into the night. While I would sit there on the floor, I was very content in doing so because I was in my own little world doing what I never imagined would be my heart’s desire later in life. I was writing stories and songs, and reading them or singing them out loud for my card playing family to adore. Now, thinking back to that time and the fact I was only about 4 years old and had no idea how to even write my name let alone a story or a song, I’ve concluded it had to be God planting within me the inspiration and desire to write.

Fast forward to my teen years, I remember wondering why I was even on this earth or why would God put me in a family that didn’t seem to even want me. I was always called a mistake and they would tease me when I was younger that they found me on the streets of St. Paul. It’s no wonder I married the town rebel two weeks after my high school graduation! Finally someone loved me and I wasn’t going to let that go.

Again, fast forward 18 years and two daughters later, I’m re-married. My youngest daughter was molested by her biological dad, is diagnosed with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) and Bipolar disorder, my oldest daughter diagnosed with neurofibromatosis and going through numerous back surgeries, many other trials and then being told my husband and I will never have a child of our own. But wait! After weeks of being sick a random pregnancy test to rule out that possibility, I’m PREGNANT! A miracle! It took us weeks to absorb this miracle and with growing excitement from our entire family, I lost the baby 3 months into the pregnancy.

While some write to entertain, I found the writing process was very healing for me. Journaling through trials helped me to empty the pain of the day from my heart onto paper so I could start fresh the next day. As was the case when I initially started writing “In All Things”, it was simply in a journal and a way for me to try and process the grief of going through miscarriage. Later, my original intent was not to publish a book, however; when I had one person read it and then another, and another, the feedback was amazing! It was like a sense of urgency that the message within was something people needed to hear. And even the men who have read it have been profoundly affected. 

Since the publishing of this book, I have had inspiration for another book to be a second in the “In All Things” series. The next one will be “In all things; Expect A Miracle” which is about an amazing two years going through my dad’s cancer journey with him. Also since publishing, I have been asked to speak at a few local events and my desire is to be able to do that more. I feel when you can share your story in person, it can touch people more deeply.   

At one of events where I shared my story, there was a lady in the audience that was healed instantly from the pain she was suffering for two years! I would love the opportunity to see others find that same healing and freedom to live again. I encourage others with a personal story to get it out there, the reward, and I don’t mean monetary, is far greater than the fear.  

Author Bio: Laura works as a medical coding and reimbursement specialist in Northern Minnesota. In All Things is a witty and raw account of an otherwise normal life filled with incredible challenges that will make you laugh out loud and cry tears of joy and tears of sorrow. Her little family had no idea that the life experiences they walked through early on and one life altering event would prepare them for the near death of her oldest daughter.

Author’s Contact: tnlsmith90@yahoo.com

Author’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/InAllThings
Author’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/LauraMStorrs

Book Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4KBlLlBXhQ

Link to Purchase:  http://www.halopublishing.com/bookstore/Laura-Smith also available at all major online book sellers.

Halo Publishing and the World of Ink Network are currently touring author Laura Smith’s, In All Things: Giving Thanks When Hope Seems Lost published by Halo Publishing Int.

About the Book:

Experience an incredible journey that will make you laugh out loud and cry tears of joy and sorrow. Learn how one miraculous encounter with God created an unshakeable faith that would later give Laura Smith the strength to face the near death of her oldest daughter.

Get a sneak peek of the book at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4KBlLlBXhQ

Today on The Writing Mama show at BTR's World of Ink Network, Laura Smith will be sharing about her book and the experience of sharing her life story. Come listen live or on demand at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/worldofinknetwork/2012/06/11/the-writing-mama-show-with-vs-grenier

  

You can find out more about Laura Smiths’s World of Ink Author/Book Tour at http://tinyurl.com/77nwvdt

 
To learn more about the World of Ink Tours visit http://worldofinknetwork.com