Cleaning Out Email is Like Cleaning the Fridge

It recently occurred to me that cleaning out my unwieldy email inbox is like cleaning out the refrigerator. I manage to get hundreds of emails a week, and having taken a year-long online class added dozens of more messages for each lesson. It becomes necessary to do a more thorough cleaning beyond deleting a few now and then.

Cleaning Out Email is Like Cleaning the Fridge
Use "search" to find emails with the same name, such as news or donate. Then check all or those that need to be moved to trash. 

The door is first. When I clean out the fridge, first the outdated bottles in the door are discarded. They are all lined up nicely and waiting for their turn to be used up, but having missed the opportunity they are in line for the chopping block, so to speak. I take that approach with sale and coupon emails that ended some time ago and delete those first. There went the sales ending in February, March, April, and May — tossed much like I would toss expired mayonnaise. My nicely organized email folder labeled “coupons to use” had a few more even older messages —- select the group, and delete. Oh, well, sales, I missed you.

The bottom refrigerator drawer has things I rarely look at, so those are probably old. The drawer decisions are somehow easier than shelf decisions. How long has that been there? I look at the end (bottom) of my email list to delete the oldest, except for the ones that were saved from previous cleanings because I might read them someday. Delete, delete, delete. Wait, not that, I really might read it now.

The shelves! You know how those smaller food containers make their way to the back of the refrigerator shelves? If they have been there a long time, who even wants to look and possibly have to smell? Those are like my email folders. Why is it what I  am most likely to delete is nicely saved in folders? Because I don’t look in the folders as that would require clicking twice. That would take so much effort, you see. I like to work quickly when I clean the fridge, too. I hate to admit it but sometimes those little containers that should be reused make their way to the trash.

Now for the produce drawers that are the most frequently used. Bits of lettuce and other unwanted stuff needs to be removed, just like newsletters to which I am subscribed. Why do I have all these newsletters? Maybe it was a subscription in exchange for a free PDF, to get 10% off my first order, or perhaps it was from one of my rare contest entries. Another fairly easy decision, In the search box, I type in the name of the newsletters I never read, select all, delete. That reminds me of my good intention to use the kale or Swiss chard I bought but somehow didn’t seem to have a recipe. What was I going to do with the Swiss chard?

About now I need to empty the trash. For the fridge, I might have to take out the trash twice. Well, hubby does anyway. So back on my computer I go to trash, empty trash, and look at that . . . 524 mails are being deleted. Please wait. Oh, I remember past messages I have sent, find sent, and delete all those too. About 150 more are gone, gone, gone. Well, at least it isn’t as bad as the time I had 10,000 emails to go through because I wasn’t checking my all mail. (Be sure to check all mail from time to time.) 

There still messages sitting there. It occurs to me my refrigerator has a much better spam filter than my computer as I get no insurance or annuity offers when I look inside. I don’t need McAfee or Norton protection for the fridge. So now I block the creepy emails from Nigerian princes and foreign banks. No, we might not finish a leftover I didn’t even realize was in the fridge, but at least it isn’t trying to sell me anything. How do those strange foods get in there, anyway? If I don’t even remember it or perhaps want to remember it, out it goes, out, out, out.

If have discovered a food that is still good and I remember some recipes I wanted to make and still can as it is within the freshness dates. I surprise myself as I have a plan for dinner! I thought I had to go to the store. This reminds me of messages I might actually want to read: the fun ones, the new ones, the ones from friends, the ones I really want to read, the ones from the writing group! Do I apply the KonMari decluttering goddess cleaning method? If I print it and hold it in my hand and it gives me joy do I keep the message?

What will I learn from my email cleaning? Unsubscribe, do not sign up, delete immediately if I am going to do so eventually. Do not let it stack up, focus on the email I want to read, and maybe clean out Gmail more often. About once a week like a refrigerator? And try not to delete emails so fast the good ones somehow disappear which does happen despite my best intentions. Does Gmail have a mind of its own?

Some people have a different approach. Gmail will delete messages in the trash after 30 days. But unwanted messages do have to be moved to trash. 

OK, that was ONE of my several email accounts . . .  next! At least I have only one refrigerator.

You know what would make cleaning more fun? A maid. Are there any maid services that also handle email?

Thanks for reading, Carolyn Wilhelm, Wise Owl Factory

Carolyn Wilhelm is the curriculum writer and sole owner of The Wise Owl Factory site and blog. She has a BS in Elementary Education, an MS in Gifted Education, and an MA in Curriculum and Instruction K-12. As a retired teacher of 28 years, she now makes mostly free educational resources for teachers and parents. Her course about Self-Publishing from the Very, Very Beginning is available on UDEMY. Her children’s books are available on Amazon and Barnes and Nobel sites.

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5 Things that Stop Authors from Blogging ... And the Easy Fixes



Are you an author? Well, why aren't you blogging? 

Before I debunk the top-tier excuses for a lack of blog presence, let me cover the reasons why blogging is essential for authors.

Blogging is a great way to: 

1. Develop your Platform. Whether you hope to be published traditionally or self-publish, you need to develop your platform. A publisher will look at your online presence, along with the material for your book, while evaluating your potential.  And if you publish yourself, you need that web presence. 

2. Set Yourself Up as an Expert. You are an author. You know things. This is true for non-fiction and fiction, no matter what genre. Show that you know of what you speak via your blog.

3. Share the Work of Others. You can interview other authors, share news and articles from your peers. This is another way to add value ... and keep your readers coming back for more.

4. Communicate with Your Audience. When you have exciting news and upcoming events, a blog is one of the best ways to share the deets with your readers. Yes, you can and should post on social media. Just direct people back to your blog, as it;s the hub for everything that's going on in your author-life.

5. Develop Your Voice and/or Content. Test out material. Blog a book. Share ideas. Use your blog to tease upcoming content, while seeing what resonates with your audience. 

Now that you have all these great reasons to blog, I have to ask the question: So why not blog?

Here are some common excuses ... along with easy fixes.

1. No Time. If someone tells me they have no time to blog, I simply say, "Schedule the time. "  You can blog weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, twice a week. The solution to the time problem is to look at your schedule, see what is feasible, and do that. 

Only have an hour a week to blog. Write short posts (300 words). Have a little more time, batch your content (write a few posts ahead of time), so you can take a week off when you need to. Stop overthinking. Don't spend hours on a short post. Commit the time. And start blogging.

2. No Energy. This one is a little more challenging, but also has a simple solution: blog on subjects you are passionate about. When you work on things that excite you, you'll find the energy. Besides, the more you love what you blog about, the more it will ooze out of you and engage your readers.  

3. Too Expensive. There are plenty of low and no-cost blogging platforms. You can use Medium or LinkedIn Publisher for free. Yet that is blogging on a social media, and it's best to give your content its own platform. While Blogger and WordPress have free blog options, they will put .blogger.com and .wordpress.com after your blog title, I believe it's worth the investment to upgrade to a more professional-looking custom URL. 

4. Not Enough/Too Many Ideas. Before you start your blog, take time for a little D*E*B Method introspection. Determine the Mission for your blog. What do you hope your blog accomplishes? What is your expertise? And how do they fit together in creating a mission for your blog? 

Next, Explore your Options. What can you write about? What types of posts, length, etc. Once you start brainstorming the ideas will keep flowing. As long as your ideas align with your mission, your blog will keep going in the right direction.

5. Who Cares What I Have to Say? You are an author. Your audience should care. Give your unique spin on your genre, topic, experience, etc. Engage your readers and they will keep coming back.

The bottom line is this... you need to blog. You owe it to yourself and your readers. So create the best home you can for your author blog!

* * *

So, what is your blog link? Why are - or aren't - you blogging? Please share your advice in the comments.


Debra Eckerling is the author of Your Goal Guide: A Roadmap for Setting, Planning and Achieving Your Goals. A writer, editor, and project catalyst, as well as founder of the D*E*B METHOD and Write On Online, Deb works with individuals and businesses to set goals and manage their projects through one-on-one coaching, workshops, and online support. She is also the author of Write On Blogging: 51 Tips to Create, Write & Promote Your Blog and Purple Pencil Adventures: Writing Prompts for Kids of All Ages, host of the #GoalChat Twitter Chat and #GoalChatLive on Facebook, and a speaker/moderator on the subjects of writing, networking, goal-setting, and social media.

Book Review || On Being A Writer

 


Book Review || On Being A Writer by Ann Kroeker & Charity Singleton Craig,
reviewed by Deborah Lyn Stanley

 
From time to time, we search for a particular writing coach who says the things that inspire us to keep moving forward. It’s not just teaching it’s something more, which resonates and calls us onward. I found Ann Kroeker online a couple of years ago and joined her mailing list. She became the writing coach I had been looking for. One of her posts included a note about “On Being a Writer” she and Charity Singleton Craig co-authored. They are an impressive team, and I highly recommend the book.

“On Being a Writer” is 12 chapters with 164 pages of powerful inspiration for the writer’s life. Its intent is to equip writers for a sustainable life of productivity and publication. And, along the way to help us understand ourselves better, learn to set limits and find rest.

Each chapter topic presents a habit of the writing life. The chapters start with a story, opportunities to consider, a journal prompt, a writing prompt, a bonus and a few questions for personal reflection or for group discussion.

I did as suggested; I used the book as my personal writing coach, encouraging me to make tangible progress in practical ways. It’s a powerful and helpful book that I am set to re-read.

I recommend this book. It is refreshing with insights to embrace for the journey.

Thank you Ann & Charity!

Links:
http://annkroeker.com/
https://charitysingletoncraig.com/

Deborah Lyn Stanley is an author of Creative Non-Fiction. She writes articles, essays and stories. She is passionate about caring for the mentally impaired through creative arts.
Visit her My Writer’s Life website at: https://deborahlynwriter.com/   
Visit her caregiver’s website: https://deborahlyncaregiver.com/

Facebook: Deborah Lyn Stanley, Writer    https://www.facebook.com/deborahlynwriter/?modal=admin_todo_tour

www.goodreads.com/goodreadscomdeborahlyn
www.amazon.com/Deborah-Lyn-Stanley/
 

 

 

Share on LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/
And more via the icon bar below:





On Time Magazine, Women Authors and Equality


 

Trust Time Magazine for Ruining my Day!
Women’s Collectible Books Selling for Pennies on the Dollar from Men’s

By Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the
multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers

As crappy as Time magazine sometimes makes me feel, I admit I love them for it. I have been subscribing for decades without a single year missed and admit they may have spoiled me by fostering expectations of journalistic excellence.

Still, one of their stories made me wonder. Could this piece published on April 1 be an April’s Fool joke? I am hoping so, but I’m gullible (read that trusting!) enough of their quality to believe an impossible truth.

It seems “American Writer A. N. Devers was at a rare-book fair when she noticed an old Joan Didion title selling for $25.” She also “noticed a Cormac McCarthy novel was selling for $600.” Ahem. McCarthy is a contemporary writer just like Didion. Both are recognizable names by large segments of the population. (Just in case you didn’t notice, McCarthy is a guy and, well, Didion is not!)

I am not pretending this is a scientific comparison, study, treatise, dissertation, or anything else that shouts “intelligent” or “trusted resource.” I don’t need to do that to let you know I was immediately disgusted. Honestly, I was ticked with Time, too. The headline read, “A bookstore that’s turning a page for women in literature.” Good news indeed, but it seemed a tad too mild under the circumstances.  

Of course, I was glad to hear that the experience inspired Devers to open her own bookstore. It’s called the Second Shelf and is “tucked away in a quiet courtyard off the busy streets of London’s Soho.” Another slight? It sounds tired. It sounds lonesome. It sounds anything but high-powered. And the supposition is, women (and the owners) should be satisfied with that. I mean, it isn’t as highly trafficked as any retailer or feminist might like, but it carries women’s work—almost exclusively. I’m trying not to be “hysterical” here. Devers is “trying to correct a historical imbalance that has allowed women’s literary achievements to be eclipsed.” Devers says that, like other artistic and news media, this history of literature is similar—that the men who lead most any industry “focus on themselves.”

What Devers says is true. But it doesn’t make it right. And it doesn’t mean I shouldn’t rant a bit—or a lot! Am I the only one who cares? Am I the only one who thinks on new bookstore dedicated to women’s work isn’t enough. Time reports that titles by women published in 2018 are priced 45% lower than books by men.  

To take this one step further, I am a constant consumer of a certain kind of media that should be the most likely to do more on this topic, but I haven’t heard a peep from NBC, National Geographic, Smithsonian…sigh!

That is in spite of the fact the Women’s History Month made March a time to project the idea that greater attention should be paid to women in literature (and other arenas) with the likes of reading lists focused on women, etc.  

Well, yeah!

The lessons here? Never get lax about equality. Discrimination won't just go away on its own. Maybe even, "Keep taking baby steps. They'll eventually add up."  

PS: It is amazing that Time published obituaries on the opposite page from this article on a women’s bookstore. W.S. Merwine, a renowned poet, was featured, and Birch Bayh, a politician I remember from long ago were eulogized on that page (no women!). Time did mention that Bayh called for gender equality even back then. See, that’s one of the reasons that I keep forgiving Time. It’s not much, but it’s a gesture. And…like everyone else, I have been trained to be grateful for even the gentlest nod . . .


MORE ON TODAY'S CONTRIBUTOR

Carolyn Howard-Johnson brings her experience as a publicist, journalist, marketer, and retailer to the advice she gives in her HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers and the many classes she taught for nearly a decade as instructor for UCLA Extension’s world-renown Writers’ Program. All her books for writers are multi award winners including The Frugal Book Promoter and The Frugal Editor including awards from USA Book News, Readers’ Views Literary Award, the marketing award from Next Generation Indie Books and others including the coveted Irwin award. The newest in the series, How to Get Great Reviews Frugally and Ethically, was launched as part of a promotional program to more than 20,000 new readers. All are available in print or as e-book. Learn more at https://howtodoitfrugally.com .






Self-Publishing a Children’s Book - 4 Realities


I self-published a children’s picture book back in 2008 when self-publishing wasn’t like it is today. And, as a newbie to self-publishing, I made a couple of mistakes. The first of which was that I didn’t hire an illustrator – I did the illustrations and cover for the book myself. 

I can hear all the gasps. It's okay though, I did correct this super-major error about four years later. 

But I didn’t self-publish to become rich or famous as some new authors aspire to. My book was created from a lullaby I wrote when my first child wouldn’t sleep. I’d walk the hallway every night with my daughter in my arms and sing the lullaby … and pray for her to go to sleep. 

 It became a family lullaby and my children thought it’d be a great idea to make it into a bedtime story. At the time, I thought self-publishing was the way to go. 

Back then, I used Booksurge which became CreateSpace which is now Amazon, and I was very pleased with the support and results. 

Then a few years ago, I self-published a nonfiction book on writing for children: Fiction Writing for Children. Although I knew a lot more than I did when I self-published my first book, but I still made a few of mistakes: 

1. I hired someone from Fiverr.com to format and upload my book to Kindle and Createspace. And, I hit the ‘publish’ button without previewing the book first. The margins were off. 

 2. I wasn't crazy about the title I created, but used it anyway. 

 3. I wasn't crazy about the book cover, but used it anyway. I used someone on Fiverr for that also. 

 4. I didn’t give it to Beta readers or an editor before publishing. 

But, again, my purpose for the book wasn’t to make money. It was to provide answers to questions I keep getting about writing for children. It ended up being over 170 pages of all information – no illustrations – no fluff. 

This year, I took the time to revise, update, and add more content to the original book and titled it How to Write a Fiction Children's Book. I also made sure to avoid the same mistakes.

So, let’s go back to the title question: Is self-publishing a young children’s book the way to go? 

 Well, based on an information-packed article at Jane Friedman’s site, you should think twice and even three times before deciding to jump in. 

Why Self-Publishing a Children’s Book May Not Be Right For You

 It seems everyone is self-publishing today. And, there’s nothing wrong with that if your expectations are in check. 

Here are a 4 reality-check reasons you may want to stop and think before self-publishing: 

1. The stigma. 

While it’s better than before, there is still some stigma attached to self-published books. The reason for this is there are NO gatekeepers for self-publishing. If you have an idea, write it down, get a book cover, and get it formatted for publishing, you have a book.

- Don’t know how to write? Doesn’t matter.
- Didn’t bother with editing or proofing? Doesn’t matter.
- Didn’t bother with a professional cover? Doesn’t matter.
- Didn’t bother to hire a good illustrator? Doesn't matter.

Self-publishing does open the arena to everyone and makes the playing field more even, but it also allows for a lot of less than professional and less than quality books. This is why there’s still a stigma attached to self-published books.

2. You’ve got to do it right.

As mentioned in #1, anyone can self-publish a book.

But YOU don’t want to be anyone; you want to do it right and that takes work especially if you’re publishing a book for young children.

- Do you know that the story must be told from one point-of-view?    
- Do you know that there should be only one protagonist?
- Do you know the proper format and punctuation for dialogue?
- Do you know about present tense and past tense?
- Do you know about showing vs. telling?
- More and more and more.

If you don’t want to learn how to write for children, then you definitely shouldn’t be self-publishing a children’s book. Or, you should hire a children’s ghostwriter to do it for you.

In the article at Jane Friedman's site, Brent Hartinger noted that “the Gold Rush is definitely over. There is now an absolute deluge of content, and the market has become extremely competitive. Your idea needs to be really, really marketable, or your book needs to be really, really good, and preferably both.” 

3. It can be very expensive.

Illustrations - If you’re self-publishing a children’s picture book (or even a chapter book with illustrations), you’ll need to hire an illustrator. If you want a good one, s/he won’t come cheap.

One of my clients hired someone for over $12,000 USD a book. This included is the interior illustrations, design, text layout, front cover, and back cover. And, this client did a six-book series.

Another client hired a subsidiary self-publishing company of a major publishing house. He paid $10,000 for illustrations and to have it designed and formatted for published. AND, at least half the illustrations stunk! He had the service do them over and over.

Granted most authors can’t afford these kind of fees, but if you want someone who WON’T make your book look like a total amateur job, then you’re looking at spending around $100 to $200 per interior illustration.

And, you’ll need around 12-14 interior illustrations. The front cover is usually more money unless you use one of the interior illustrations for the cover. And, then there’s the backcover design.

Publishing service – Once you have your story complete, with illustrations and text layout, you’ll need a service to format it and upload it to distributors like BookBaby, 1106 Designs, Smashwords, etc. This is an additional fee.

Some of these companies can be worth their cost, but be super-careful. Most of them will try to sell you everything and anything: editing, rewriting, illustrations, design, layout, formatting, distribution, and marketing.

Keep in mind they make their money from you and only you.

4. You’re one author in an ocean teeming with authors.

The market is swamped. If you’re looking to reach lots of people, become famous, or make a boat load of money, don’t hold your breath.

Most self-published children’s authors don’t recoup their publishing investment.

While there are exceptions to the rule, they are far and few between.

5. You’re not willing to actively market your book.

Okay, even if you know how to write and have the money to hire a pretty good illustrator, if you don’t actively market your book, you most probably won’t sell any.

Before you even get to the publishing decision, create a marketing plan and include an author website in those plans.

With thousands and thousands of books vying for a reader’s attention, you’ll need all the help you can get.

One note here: Most self-publishing services offer marketing as part of a package deal or separately. Don’t waste your money. These companies don’t bother with effective, ongoing marketing.

I’ve seen the results of marketing from these services numerous times. Again, don’t waste your money.

Ask around. Do research. Ask exactly what you'll get for your money. Make sure you're working with a professional company. 

The original title to this article was: Is Self-Publishing a Children’s Book the Way to Go? 4 Realities


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.

You can connect with Karen at:
LinkedIn  http://www.linkedin.com/in/karencioffiventrice
Twitter http://twitter.com/KarenCV
Pinterest  http://pinterest.com/KarenCioffi/

MORE ON WRITING AND MARKETING

Everyone Starts Small So Get Started

Getting Press

Writing Fiction for Children - 4 Simple Tips

 




 

Indie Authors : Sell your Books Face-to-Face

RJ Mirabal's New Children's Adventure Series

Last year, pre-pandemic, I was gearing up to arrange a book signing, school visits, and gather materials to sell my books in a booth at local events. At the same time, I was working on creating a viable platform that would introduce the world to MOI.

All that changed, of course, but we indie authors are forever optimists. I’m glad I had to wait. Now, another year smarter, I’ve come up with a much better plan than I ever could have had a year ago, one that I think will be attractive enough to interest local librarians, teachers and parents, and online readers.

Find your Platform: Explore your Deepest Desire

If you need to create a plan and a platform on how to present yourself as a tour-de-force author, here is an idea. Explore what you’ve done in the past, what you’re doing now, or a skill you’d like to develop; use it as your focus and expand on it.

My focus has turned out to be puppets—a project I pursued when my two daughters were very young, under five years old. My idea at the time stemmed from my elementary-teaching background. I wanted to enhance my children’s creativity. That, and being involved in my children’s lives, worked. My daughters, now in their 30s, are both very creative.

The reason this idea of focusing on puppets hadn’t occurred to me until now is because my first book project was a mystery/ghost series for 7-10-year-olds. Puppets never occurred to me as perhaps in the back of my mind I must have thought that children that age wouldn't be interested in puppets. Rather, I devised a way to present myself in the classroom and at libraries by doing a science experiment, which would illuminate part of the Secret in the Stars story. The ghost in the story appears to Abi Wunder in a cloud. I would create a cloud. I thought of other types of presentations I could come up with, such as a presentation about honey bees, which is a prominent subject in the story. However, I didn’t have much confidence that these ideas would be attractive enough for me to be invited into schools and libraries.

Enter the realization that the one project, the Abi Wunder mystery trilogy, needed more. More book projects. I looked through my files one day and found several stories suitable for possible picture books. Two of these stories have now turned into completed picture books, currently being illustrated, and planned to be published sometime this year.

Expanding into picture books turned out to be key. I have collected the puppet plays and materials I saved from those past puppet presentations, and am creating a plan to write puppet plays from my picture book stories, create the puppets and materials (without a stage, rather the plan is to keep the presentations simple), and make a short list of the first places I would present these puppet plays, with the hope that requests for more presentations would follow. Of course, the Abi Wunder series would become an integral part of these presentations, both in person and online.

Selling Books Face-to-Face, by RJ Mirabal

RJ Mirabal, an adult and children’s author, and member of our SCBWI chapter in New Mexico, gave a terrific presentation on the ins-and-outs of selling our books locally.

After publishing an adult fantasy trilogy, the Rio Grande Parallax Series, a finalist in the NM/AZ Book Awards, in the science fiction category, RJ burst onto the children’s literature scene with the award-winning first book in a series for children, Trixie Finds her People, a story based on his rescue dog. One of five finalists in The Next Generation Indie Book Awards, an international contest honoring independent and self-published books, Trixie Finds her People won first place in the Animal/Pets category; and the book was also a finalist in the New Mexico Press Women’s Writing awards, a regional contest. The next Trixie book will be coming out sometime this year.

RJ’s new children’s series, Dragon Train, is about a dragon who makes an unscheduled stop in a small village because this dragon towing a train is dying of exhaustion. A curious young farmer runs down to the tracks to help her, which sets the young man and dragon on an epic adventure to gain freedom and happiness. Learn more about Dragon Train and RJ’s other books: 

https://rjthestoryguy.com; adult books: https://rjmirabal.wordpress.com; and to order books: https://rjm-creative-arts.square.site/ 

 Open up for Business in your State 

To open for business in your state, there are certain things you need to do. Here are a few examples from RJ’s presentation:

  • Register your business with the state; you will have to pay gross receipts tax for your sales.
  • You may need to register in your town or city, which might require a business license. RJ registered in Albuquerque, NM. Cost: $35.
  • Register your business as a sole proprietorship; you don’t need to register as an LLC.
  • Report your income on personal tax forms.
  • Create a name for your business. RJ's is RJM Creative Arts.
  • Obtain a PO box, a good idea to use as your professional address.

Create your Display:

  • Purchase a portable table and tablecloth to match the mood of your books.
  • Decide how you want to display your books, author swag, a bowl of candy, etc.
  • Have a full-color poster (11 X 17 is an economical size that can be printed at Staples) made to use as a table display.
  • Have a banner made, a long sheet of plasticized paper, to match the banner on your website.
  • Have pictures from yours books, characters, book covers made to display.

RJ has graciously agreed to provide a PDF from his presentation for anyone interested. You can contact him at rjmcreativearts@gmail.com. Learn more about RJ’s children’s books: https://rjthestoryguy.com; adult books: https://rjmirabal.wordpress.com; and to order books: https://rjm-creative-arts.square.site/. To see an insightful interview with John Hoffsis at Treasure House Books & Gifts in Old Town, Albuquerque, NM, go tohttps://www.facebook.com/100003819340/videos/1288478417989098

Linda's younger daughter in a
puppet show at two years old
Linda Wilson lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She has two daughters, who inspired her stories when they were younger. Linda is the editor of the New Mexico Society of Children’s Writers and Illustrators newsletter, and has written posts for the Writers on the Move blog since 2013. She is a classical pianist and loves to go to the gym. But what Linda loves most is to make up stories and connect with her readers. Find out more by visiting Linda’s website at https://www.lindawilsonauthor.com.

Writers - Make Your Blog a Powerful Marketing Tool

Unlike personal blogs that simply convey information about the writer's day, or thoughts about life or certain issues, a blog created to promote your writing and writing services can be a powerful marketing tool.

In that case, the blog doesn't need to be ALL ABOUT YOU.

In fact, the more you post about other writers, writing opportunities, and writing services, the better FOR YOU.

Why is that, you ask?

Well, for one thing, as a writer you want to attract other writers to your blog as well as people who are looking for a writer to write something for them.

Use your blog to show off your writing skills and talents, of course.

But also stop and think about this—How can you best SERVE the people who read your blog?

Many times, you can best serve your readers by directing them to information written by and/or about someone else.

Still your readers will consider you a valuable resource because you provide them with the kinds of information they need, even if you don't write, or directly provide, all of that information yourself.

And that will cause readers to come back to your blog time and time again because they know you'll always have helpful resources and information for them.

Another big plus for you is—since you don't have to write every single post for your blog yourself—you'll actually have more time to do other writing assignments.

The other big payback to you for giving information from, and about, other sites and writers will be that those other sites and writers you direct your readers to will be thankful that you sent traffic to their sites, so they'll likely send traffic to your site(s), too, from time to time.

It's a win-win-win situation.

You win, your readers win, and the other writers you direct your readers to win.

It's just one way to make your blog a powerful marketing tool.

Try it!

Oh, and with all this in mind, since I'm predominately a children's writer, I'd like to share some of my favorite sites for children's writers with you:

underdown.org

www.kidlit411.com

www.evelynchristensen.com

www.scbwi.org

www.nancyisanders.com

www.taralazar.com

www.karencioffiwritingforchildren.com

Enjoy!


For more writing tips, be sure to visit writebythesea.com and get your free subscription to The Morning Nudge.

Once you're a subscriber, you'll also have access to a Private Resource Library for Writers.

Suzanne Lieurance is the author of over 35 published books, a freelance writer, and a writing coach.

10 Common Challenges Many New Novelists Face

by Suzanne Lieurance New novelists often encounter a range of challenges as they begin writing their book.  Here are 10 of the most common p...