Answer to website questions

Hello,

For those of you who have gone to the site and encountered a couple of problems I want you to know they're corrected:

The free article is no longer in a .docx form. It is a .doc

The price for the special subscriber area is $5 for the first month, $10 each month after. It is NOT $25. That was a mistake.

The formatting that cuts off part of the right...not sure how to fix that. It depends on the computer. I have two laptops. On one I can see the whole thing just fine, on the other part of the right column is cut off. So be sure to scroll right.

Make sure you're checking out the Writer Savvy Quiz. It is for fun. This should take you straight to it. You are welcome to share this link on your blogs and websites.
http://www.writingcoachanswers.com/element.php?varset=s:433-pm:p-se:16585-e:38932&SessId=

Okay, my blog is coming but I wanted to answer these questions.

And for everyone else, I'll announce the website officially in the next blog which is coming up in a few mintues.

The importance of little things

Hello everyone and HAPPY MONDAY!!!

Today we are going to talk about the little things that make a big difference in our writing [craft], writing [selling your book] and your overall business plan. Along the path to publication there will be little mistakes that can teach you a great deal. I learned that AGAIN this weekend.

It was not the first lesson though.

Consider the little things in your own writing life that steal your time. Writing or reading just ONE more email rather than calling that person you need to interview for an article. What if that 3 minute delay means missing them before they left the office for the next 10 days? And what if that means they won't be in the office until the DAY your article is due--or later? Lesson, don't put off until tomorrow what can be done today.

Then there was the time that I had an editor ask me to send them a full manuscript [those of you who have been keeping up on my HIGH (How I Got Here) series will remember I had only a few weeks to finish it]. As I was still writing the manuscript I sent it off to a friend to read through. We decided the name "Chuck" wouldn't work. I clicked "Find" on my editing bar and selected to replace every "Chuch" with "Charles".

I was quite proud of myself and my mastery of MS Word...until I scanned the Manuscript I'd sent off to the editor and found one of my characters had "Charlesled" instead of "chuckled". I was embarrased...and I'm sure the editor could tell I was still a green writer. [Feel free to laugh about this example. I do.]

And then there is the issue of my website delay. Friday Ron Ruiz of Memberstar.com spent over 13 hours emailing back and forth with me, then spent considerable money, to find the reason the website didn't work was I'd capitalized my email address. Since it was transferred in to the program code it messed up the whole system of my website. I learned that NOT ONLY do I need to pay attention to the smallest detail, but I ALSO realized the importance of excellent customer service and rolling with problems.

I didn't get mad ONCE with Ron or badmouth his software. I acted like a professional. There will be setbacks in even the BEST laid plans. I'm glad I followed his advice to do a test run before announcing it to all of you. And I'm glad he is professional enough to stand behind his product.

When you're writing books, articles, websites, or anything else...be professional. Stand behind your work and be willing to exceed expectations. That is what will separate YOU as a true professional. And even if someone gets nasty with you or doesn't appreciate your hard work-you will haven integrity and THAT is the kind of reputation you want to have.

For those of you who are members of this blog [through feedblitz] you will receive your special link to the new website tonight. I'll send it out around 5:30pm EST. This website will also have the new Writing Career Coach product about building a strong platform. We'll talk about platforms more this week.

If you'd like to get the announcement, subscribe before 5:30pm est. Watch for it in your inbox.

For the rest of you, I will make the announcement in a few days so all of you can go too.

I'm super excited about the mentorship website and hope you will all see it as a useful tool in your writing business. Have a great Monday. I must now go type up that article so I get it in on deadline. [see first lesson above :-) ]

It's my party and I'll cry if I want to

Hi Guys,

This is mainly for those of you who are members of my blog. The link for my new, super-cool site was supposed to go out last night but there is a technical glitch of some kind and the MAIN feature isn't working. I was emailing back and forth with the guy who owns the company where my site is from 10am-11:15pm Friday [no joke, I lost almost a full day's work after being up until 2am Thursday night to be sure we were ready to launch].

He is even baffled but he's sent it on to his techies and will get back with me. I saw he's been running tests on my system [they've appeared in my mail box] but the problem isn't solved at the moment.

SOOO as soon as that problem is worked out I will send all of you who are subscribed through FeedBlitz the special link. You will have access days before I announce the site on my blog.

Thank you for your patience.

And I'm not crying. In fact, I have been so impressed with the customer service of the company who is helping me that I'll be blogging about it some time soon. They've really gone above and beyond.

See you all Monday.

Being ready for success OR failure

Things are changing in publishing

There are still some things that have remained constant but observers will note that there are many things that are new and signal a major shift that could be on the horizon.

There are devices like Kindle by Amazon. While not mainstream yet...I've heard a good number of benefits to this product and I think that with some improvements it could become for books what the ipod has been for music.

There has also been the increase in E-books. While these are still not anywhere near the norm [nor do I expect them to be for QUITE some time] these have become a great way for individuals to spread information. I also know people who have seen substantial financial success using E-books or online downloads to supplement their career.

But how can a writer of fiction or non-fiction really use these? And will these hurt their career?

There is SOME debate to these questions. For me, I use the E-books feature and digital downloads for my WritingCareerCoach system. Previously I had done this all manually. When each new student would apply I'd be notified via paypal and I would send them the file attached in an email.

When my business really started to take off I found myself bogged down.

Let this be a lesson for you, always plan for success AND failure in your writing business.

Here is what I mean. You must look for ways to build your business and have a system in place if you succeed beyond your wildest expectation. I hadn't done that because everything had to be done BY ME.

BUT you also need to plan to fail. That means don't spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars on a system. Don't sign up to spend $400/week or month on employees, designers, software, etc RIGHT AWAY. In the beginning expect you'll have to do a little more than you'd expect.

So, for your writing you might have to be your OWN Virtual Assistant to manage all the emails, blogs, and correspondence. That is why my day starts before 9am and end around 2am. I am running, writing, teaching, prepping, planning, wife-ing, mommy-ing ALL DAY. That is 6 days a week. On Sundays I TRY not to spend more than a couple of hours on work [but I DO have to catch up on housework on that day usually].

However, I have a plan in place. When I reach a certain number of apprentices I will start my Mentorship website....check.

When I have a certain number of subscribers to my website I'll hire an assistant...[plan to check that this month]

When I have a certain amount of business income I can afford to do phase two of the program...

See, if I were to run out and try to do this all at once I'd over commit myself and stress. Don't try to go from not writing to writing 6 hours a day, 6 days a week. Don't expect to have 100 subscribers to your blog on day two [unless you already have a large sphere of influence or credibility in your industry]. Don't expect ONE book give away contest to bring in all the people you had ever HOPED to reach.

You WILL be disappointed.

Instead, set up long term goals and benchmarks. Know what you want to do next because sometimes things happen faster than you expect. When I suddenly started to see my mentorship numbers going up I already knew what I was going to do when I reached the threshold of double. I had expected it to happen by March but it happened the last week of January.

What would you do if suddenly you got a request for a full manuscript? What if you got a multi-book deal? Do you have the time management skills necessary to follow through?

What if you got 5 rejections in a row? Do you have a plan for your next project?

By planning for success or failure [which is really about LEARNING how to do it for next time] you can capitalize on every opportunity that presents itself to you.

HIGH 19

As I told you on Wednesday, things really start to speed up for me around this time. I finally had the opportunity to go to a writer's conference. I had been writing for years, been published in national magazines, and semi-finaled in a completed novel contest.

When I arrived at conference I was ready to finally sell my first book. I had learned from many writers, from lessons, and from online communities. I had an agent send me a lovely rejection letter that said "You're ALMOST there. Keep at it."

I won't go through all I learned at conference that year, I will discuss that over the next few months through my blog, but something that changed my writing business happened while I was there.

First, backtrack to when my husband had cancer. Since he was a paramedic, and on VERY strong chemo, he was completely unable to work for almost 6 full months. Whenever he wasn't sick from the treatment he would spend time reading books on business and marketing. He devoured every book he could get his hands on . Sometimes he'd be reading 2 or 3 books simultaneously. Then he'd suggest I read them. I read as many as I could but I was super busy keeping the house running. So in the evenings after the kids went to bed Chris would sit down and summarize what he'd learned from the day's reading.

So, fast forward to conference. Chris was only a 10 weeks cancer free when I attended my first Writer's Conference. As I listened to hundreds of writers, and dozens of editors and agents, I started to see a real need for a business approach to writing.

And then all I'd learned crashed with what I saw of writers, the needs of publishing houses, and the needs of agents.

Before I left conference I'd sketched out the entire program of what is now known as the Writing Career Coach. A plan to help writers sell themselves better and a way for editors and agents to find people who were not only strong on craft but able to market their published books effectively.

But more on that next week.

Over 100 hours later...

Wow,

I can hardly believe it but it has taken over 100 hours of work and my new mentorship website is DONE. Either Friday or Saturday I will send the discount coupon and "Pre-opening access" email to everyone who subscribes to this blog [sign up on right through feedblitz]. I will open it up to everyone else by announcing the domain next week. I do ask that those of you who get the "pre-opening access" not give out the domain name until I've announced it on this blog.

Now, something that might help you.

I know some of you are interested in subsidy publishing. This is where you pay the cost of printing your book [and also keep the profits]. This can be a much tougher road to publication.

I know you're saying "No it isn't. It's easier."

Well yes, while it is TRUE that you get published easier, actually SELLING your book CAN be more difficult. However, if you already have an established readership on from your blog or website there are e-book options and instant downloads available. I am familiar with Kunaki.com for disks. I've heard great reviews from them and when I've purchased products from others using Kunaki I've been happy with the quality of their work and the speed.

They did raise their prices January 1 but they are still quite reasonable. I have released my Writing Career Coach Course Part 1: Creating a Platform CD using them. I was impressed with how quickly I could upload and design my case. [I will talk more about that experience next week when I release the website and product].

If you DO decide that you want to self-publish you will need to be SURE you pay to have your work edited. It will likely cost a few hundred dollars to get a line edit done but if you are going to publish yourself...do it.

Tomorrow we will talk more about HIGH and we'll talk about marketing your own E-books or E-products.

Even I was surprised.

Hello Everyone,

Today is Wednesday. I cannot believe how quickly this week is flying. I'm busy teaching, mentoring, building the new coaching site, and finishing up the articles that are due end of the month.

I LOVE IT!!

Also, I'm sliding toward my birthday this weekend so I'm trying to make sure I get everything done so I can spend a little extra time with the family.

Here is why I titled this blog "Even I was surprised."

I was spending some time last night researching in preparation for today's blog. Since Friday starts a new month already I thought I'd look over the January numbers for this blog.

I was STUNNED.

My daily readership has DOUBLED between January 1 and January 29 as compared to the period from Thanksgiving through Dec 31st. Now you could say holidays were down but during that time this blog was experiencing a surge in readership.

So we doubled our surge!

Not only that but I had set the goal to double our blog subscribers in the first 3 months of 2008. As of yesterday our membership is 110% what it was on December 31st.

Do you want to see that kind of increase in your traffic? Of course you do. And I want you to.

I first checked to see if this could be entirely attributed to James Brausch mentioning me on his blog. While that did give me a boost, when I looked at sources of traffic this was actually fairly small in the overall growth. People came, and some stayed, but the vast majority found me another way.

I have found that there are two major ways people are finding me: Blog Carnivals and Blog tours.

If you found me another way PLEASE post a comment. I want everyone to learn how to get traffic to their site.

I did see some traffic come through the Blogrush, and it was enough to keep the widget on my site, but it seems the vast number of people who are writing and linking are traced back to blog carnivals.

I have also found in the month of January there have been a consistently picked up on google. I'm trying a new way of locating where I appear online. As soon as I'm able to actually UNDERSTAND all it is telling me I will report back to all of you so that you can use it as well.

I have to tell you, I'm ending January very pleased with the growth we've experienced. I will continue to capitalize on what I've learned and focus my efforts on what is most effective. I'd suggest you do the same.

Oh, and if you'd like to know more about blog carnivals search my previous posts. Here is one I did back in November: http://writingcareercoach.blogspot.com/2007/11/reaching-more-people-with-your-blog.html

And again, if you found me another way let us know in the comments section. If you found me on someone else's blog post the link in the comments.

I hope you will all apply this to help growth on your own blogs. Now I'll share a bit on HIGH and then get this website finished up!!

HIGH 18

Wow, we're already to part 18 on this story. We're about to enter Feb. and we're still talking. :-)

When I left off I had told you about sending my story off to a second publishing house. Actually I sent the query, only a few weeks later I had the SECOND request for the manuscript. I revved up the suspense, packaged it up and shipped it off.

wow was I excited.

But I had another story beginning to brew inside me. The publishing house that had rejected my work said I was a little too intense for their line of cozy mysteries. I had never thought of myself as suspense but here I was, submitting a Romantic suspense.

The book that I saw, the voice in my head, was NOT a nice person at all. He was a killer. But I could hear him clearly.

Pause-for anyone who is NOT a writer reading this blog...we writers actually DO hear voices in our head. Our characters become a part of us, for a season, and we experience what they do. If you are not feeling the anger, joy, fear, love, hope, despair of your characters...odds are you're not quite ready to be published. Your readers won't feel it if you don't.

I had learned a great deal on my previous MS. I now knew that I needed to start typing and when the entire story was laid out in front of me I would sketch it out.

That happened around Father's Day 2006 when the A/C line went in my van. I had to spend an entire afternoon [about 5 hours] alone in a repair shop. I started by typing on my laptop [a refurbished one that had been a 30th b-day gift from my mentor]. But the battery was starting to die so I turned that off and pulled out my spiral notebook. By the time I left the AC was back in my car and my entire book was outlined.

I'd also made another great decision that would change the way I did my writing. I hired a freelance editor to read thorough my MS and make comments. Since I knew there was someone following behind to help me when I made a mess of my story, the creative juices flowed. I began typing in late June and by mid July I had a 50,000 first draft.

Things were good and they were about to start moving at light speed! Not only was my fiction going but the marketing ideas and time management strategies I'd shared with other writers were taking on a life of their own. The Writing Career Coach was forming. We'll talk more about that tomorrow.

No matter who you are, be consistent

Are you consistent in your writing goals?

This is an important to ask yourself. Equally important is how honest you are in answering it.

Do you have a time set aside to write on a REGULAR basis?

Some people think that means they need to write every day. I have a good friend who has a super busy life. She is only able to write on Saturdays. She's a multi-published author.

She is consistent.

I remember in college [that was BEFORE I had 4 kids, 2 dogs, 2 businesses and a part-time job] I consistently spent 3-6 hours every day [except Thursday] studying. I had a schedule and I kept to it.

And I graduated college with a 3.9 GPA from the honors college despite working part-time, serving on committees, getting married and getting pregnant with my 1st.

For me the most difficult part of learning to be consistent AFTER children was the idea that being consistent meant working constantly. It doesn't.

It means doing something on a regular basis.

I used to work on my writing consistently in the evenings when my husband was at work. Then when we had our third and adopted our fourth my evenings were too chaotic with the kids to do anything but collapse in the evenings. I watched TV for an hour or two and then fell asleep. I created that habit.

Then when Chris was going through Chemo for Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma [those of you reading my story of "How I got here" know about my husband's cancer battle] I spent evenings with him talking or watching movies together on the couch.

And now I've had to break those habits. Chris works at night a few nights a week and the kids are grown up enough that I don't have to keep going upstairs. I've had to break old habits and create new ones.

I have a to-do list [I write one every evening, consistently]
In the morning I start going through my to-do list as soon as my kids start their school work. [They start at the same time, consistently]
I use a calendar to schedule activities so I don't feel I have to run and do something because I just remembered it. [I schedule consistently]
I stay on task; I do what I can; I go to bed guilt free because I know I did all I could.

It is a process you go through. Find the things that are wasting your time, eliminate them, focus on your goals [remember last week], and be consistent. This Writing Career Coaching and Mentorship program was created by little pieces that I did consistently. They added up and suddenly I realize I have something that has taken on a life of its own...and that's what you want.

I will pick up HIGH tomorrow. I want you to spend those three minutes today writing out your to-do list for today or tomorrow and move forward.

And if you haven't yet subscribed using the feedblitz box to the right, do it now. The Mentorship site will be up soon. Even if YOU don't need a mentor the link I send out will be transferable and you can pass it along to anyone you know who could benefit.