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Forgive me if I come across as unAmerican, but I think we all—each one of us—have our personal boundaries (or lack of) when it comes to freedom of speech. As with so many rules, laws, regulations and rights, we tend to interpret them to suit ourselves. Sometimes it seems to me that those bellowing the loudest about freedom of speech are those who want to push the envelope with their language or message—venture into controversial territory. Some use the freedom of speech concept to infringe on the rights of others.

It appears that the original concept for freedom of speech and freedom of the press was related to government and religion. I doubt that its intent was to make it okay to defame someone or spew or write pornography or other distasteful (and even illegal) material.

I’ve known people who were staunch proponents and supporters of freedom of speech, until someone stepped on their toes with insulting or embarrassing words. Oh they still believe firmly in the original concept, but not when it becomes personal.

The Internet, which brings us so many wonderful gifts, has also created an even greater arena for freedom of speech. How do you feel about this? Is it a good thing or are we in serious trouble with this well-meant first amendment right?

Many mornings, when I face my blank blog page, I don’t have any idea what I will write. Generally within minutes, however, something comes to me. Today, I became aware of my topic while reading one of my many morning emails. The topic has to do with writer reliability and responsibility.

Here’s the deal. When you agree to write a piece for the local newspaper, a magazine or a weekly/monthly newsletter, the editor is counting on you to fill that space. When you go on vacation and decide you can’t pull together your column, you get a bee in your bonnet and choose to no longer contribute or you got busy and just didn’t get it together, you’re letting your editor (and your readers) down.

On the other hand, writers can be flakey. Editors, it is a good idea to always, always have backup material designed to fill space just in case an expected article or column doesn’t show up. You’re the one who is responsible for the publication, after all.

It’s not easy running or managing a newspaper, magazine or even newsletter. Those deadlines can be killers. Just like with the airlines and rental car agencies, a good editor will often overbook. Then, if someone doesn’t meet deadline, they are covered. Of course, then you risk one of your writers being angry because her piece wasn’t used.

It’s not easy being on either end of the writing/editorial spectrum for many reasons. This is just one of them. But it would be easier for everyone involved if writers would take responsibility and be reliable no matter what. When you are getting paid to write something and/or you have committed to contributing a column piece for every issue, it is not fair or ethical to suddenly feign writer’s block. It isn’t cool to claim that you are not inspired to write this week or even to report that you were just too busy to follow through. When you do this, you are letting someone down. You are breaking a promise.

If you know that you can’t write on demand or you don’t want to be tied down to a monthly gig, don’t make any promises. Tell the editor upfront that you may not be able to contribute every month. Of course, this isn’t a very good way to establish a reputation as a reliable freelance writer.

Rather, I’d like to see you:

• write several columns ahead when you do have the time so you are prepared when something comes up.

• set yourself some strict deadlines weeks ahead of the actual deadline so you are always ready with something to submit.

• learn how to quickly transform articles and other material that you have on hand (such as your blog posts) into appropriate columns.

If you are the editor of a newsletter or magazine, be prepared for flaking.

• Double book.
• Get something in writing from your writers.
• Give them a heads up 10 days or so before deadline.

Here’s the deal: it takes a whole heck of a lot more work to create and maintain a good reputation as a writer. But only one sloppy act of undependable behavior could flush it all down the toilet.

This is just one of the points I teach in my Article-Writing course. http://www.matilijapress.com/course_magarticles.htm

We all experience milestones in our lives and in our writing careers and projects. Do you recognize yours? Do you celebrate them? Some of you may ask, “What’s the point?”

Let’s examine the concept of the milestone. What is it, anyway? I consider a milestone as a high point in one’s life or career. Most writers and authors have many and I think it is a good idea to celebrate them—at least to acknowledge them.

What could be considered a milestone? When you get a highly sought-after writing assignment, sell a piece you worked really hard on, get published in a prestigious magazine, get your book reviewed by one of the pre-publication reviewers, land a publishing contract, get a 5-star review, sell your first 1,000 books, etc. Even the act of starting a book and finishing a book should be celebrated.

I believe that if we give ourselves pats on the back—if we openly acknowledge our accomplishments and achievements—we are more apt to value the work that we do, the effort we put in and the strides we make. When we value what we are doing—take it seriously—we are more encouraged to continue in our quest for success.

How do you acknowledge or celebrate your milestones? Do you follow a ritual of any kind or do you just make a mental note of congratulations to yourself and maybe share the news with your writing buddy or group? I sometimes treat myself to a nice long walk. Or I’ll actually take a mocha break with a friend. When I go back to work, I do so with a greater sense of confidence and enthusiasm.

Time is running out. Sign up today for one of 6 online courses at a 20% discount. Learn more about the courses here:
http://www.matilijapress.com/courses.htm

So you’ve established a blog related to the theme of your book. Now what? As you understand it, you’re supposed to post something on a fairly regular basis. Yes, everything you read and hear indicates that the more often you post, the more attention you’ll attract to your blog—thus, your book.

But what do you write? How will you come up with interesting, useful material every day or even once a week? As you know, I post to this blog every day. I’ve developed a habit of writing a blog post first thing in the morning after I’ve checked and responded to my email. Here are some of the prompts I use:

1: Pick broad topics from your table of contents. For a book on cat care you can write about bringing a kitten home, items you need for a cat, veterinary care for cats, feeding a cat, cat behavior problems, etc.

2: Use your index to come up with more refined ideas. Should you feed wet or dry food, for example, which cat toys could present a danger, when is it okay to stop getting your cat inoculated, how to kitten-proof your home, which litter is best and why, should your cat go outside, grooming a cat, etc.

3: Cultivate each idea—breaking them into even smaller idea fragments. Cat food recalls, why do cats like feather toys, the 5 most dangerous items for cats that are found in most homes, why choose a natural litter, how to remove a tick from a cat, how to keep your cat off of the counter, which grooming tool is best for your particular cat’s fur and so forth.

4: Write from your research. Continue researching all aspects of cat care. Subscribe to appropriate magazines and newsletters, join cat-related organizations and frequent cat websites and other blogs. Report on breaking news (40 cats rescued from abandoned home), new research findings (cats found to have been domesticated as early as 130,000 years ago), your experiences (my cat survives horrendous accident), your thoughts (why some cats can’t jump) or pop culture (cats of the stars).

5: Share some of your writing/publishing knowledge. You might write about the challenge of promoting a book about cats, book promotion ideas for animal books or resources for animal writers.

In order to continue a blog for months and even years, you have to think pretty much like a freelance article writer. You have to train yourself to see ideas everywhere. Perhaps you see a cat sitting in the back window of a passing car. That ought to spark an idea for a post on traveling with your cat, moving with a cat or how to make your cat more car-friendly.

You’ll want to listen more intently. The story your neighbor tells about dressing her childhood cat and pushing her down the street in a buggy might make the beginnings of a charming blog post. You might overhear someone in the grocery store talking about feeding stray cats. This may prompt you to write a piece on how to start or manage a cat colony.

There really are ideas everywhere. It’s up to you to discover them, dissect them, spin them appropriately, conduct additional research where necessary and use them to entertain, inform and educate your blog followers.

Confession: After over 800 blog posts, I do sometimes stare at a blank screen for a few minutes on some mornings. I wonder what I will write about today. So how do I break through my bloggers’ block? I use these 5 tips, of course. But I might also get a spark of an idea from my daily Google Alerts (sign up at: http://www.google.com/alerts). I sometime scan through old posts for prompts. I think about recent conversations or experiences I’ve had with other authors. I refer to articles that caught my eye in newsletters I’ve received. Occasionally, I flesh out a topic I’ve been writing about for a book or an article. And sometimes, I just meditate for a few minutes and an idea pops into my mind.

What tricks and tools do you use to stay on top of your game and come up with ideas for your blog and for the articles you submit?

You have 10 more days to sign up for one of my six online courses at a discount. Read the May 24, 2010 blog post for more information. Visit this site to learn more about each course: http://www.matilijapress.com/courses.htm

Do you write at home? Has the Internet become your social life as well as your writing prompt and avenue for book marketing activities?

If you stay holed up in your house and office most of the time, you could be missing out on some important opportunities—opportunities to experience, learn and grow. Think about it, without life experiences, would you have come as far as you have with your writing? What do you think will happen if you cut these off at the pass—if you stop collecting experiences and perspective?

I believe that our writing suffers when we neglect our social life and our sense of adventure. When we are participating, we are experiencing life, thus we are gathering perspective, information, new thought and scads of ideas to bring back to our writing. Living and doing is what keeps our writing from becoming stale.

Getting out into the world can also enhance our book marketing efforts. The Internet is certainly a wonderful tool for promoting our books. There are many avenues we can pursue right at our fingertips. But I believe that we can bring more success to our projects when we also show up outside of our domains—when we mingle and participate. There are important things we can learn from others in social settings and from just being away from our comfort zones.

This weekend consider leaving the house or office with an open mind. Take in ideas, consider the opportunities that come before you. Try saying “yes” more often and see what happens—how your writing is enhanced and/or your book sale increase. Consider the possibilities.

• Take a walk or bike ride around the neighborhood.
• Attend a local event.
• Stop in at a coffee shop and sit for a while with a latte.
• Show up at a meeting of your old organization or club.
• Take a picnic lunch to the park, lakeside or beach.
• Go shopping.
• Volunteer.
• Take friends to lunch.
• Visit a retirement home.
• Join a writers’ group.
• Take a hike.
• Do a book signing.
• Interview someone for an article.
• Set up a speaking engagement.
• Do a little gardening.

The key is to involve yourself in these activities. Engage all of your senses. Experience every aspect of each of them.

• Observe.
• Engage.
• Study.
• Explore.
• Scrutinize.
• Question.
• Dissect.
• Analyze.

Do this and a couple of things will happen. You may actually enjoy yourself. Most likely, you will return to your home office/your writing room with some valuable gifts that can only be found when you get out of the house.

I had an email conversation with a writer friend this morning who has changed direction with her writing career—not an easy thing to do. She has been doing freelance work for years. But decided to leave it behind her and write a novel. She’s courageous, I say.

Are you a freelance writer who is suffering from burnout? Are you fed up with the stress of book promotion? I have experienced temporary bouts with burn out often over the years. Usually, I can cure it by taking time away from whatever project I’m working on at the time—spending more time gardening, doing needlework projects, walking on the beach or writing in a different vein. Soon I am eager to resume my work.

Additionally, every year or so for many years, I have reevaluated my career path and that’s when I decide to make slight adjustments (or not). It doesn’t matter what I decide—but the evaluation process is important because it forces/allows me to make a decision. Once the decision is made, whether it is to continue along the same path or make a detour, I can easily commit to it.

Finally, however, after many years of freelancing, like my friend, I suffered burnout one last time and, when I did my annual evaluation, I made new decisions and made new commitments. I’m not courageous enough to turn to novel-writing—not yet, anyway. I stayed more within my comfort zone. I turned my attention to the needs of other writers and authors by taking on more editing and consulting work, by offering online courses as a sort of mentorship program, by spending more time and energy writing books, by speaking personally to writers through conferences, etc. and, of course, running SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network).

It is difficult to decide to change your lifestyle in order to accommodate a writing career. And the shifts and transitions that occur amidst a writing career—sometimes naturally and sometimes through choices—can be tough. But, if you’ve been in this field for any length of time, you’ve probably learned that change is inevitable and usually, if we don’t fight it, a good thing.

I’d like to hear about your writing/publishing career shifts—were they by choice or circumstance? Did you allow them and navigate them gracefully or did you go kicking and screaming all the way? What were the results of your actions/decisions?

Don’t forget, I’m offering all of my online, on-demand courses—even my two new ones—at a discount during the month of June—my birthday month. Check them out at: http://www.matilijapress.com/courses.htm Contact Patricia Fry with your questions. PLFry620@yahoo.com

Do you blog? Why? Many authors do so as a means to help bring attention to their books and services. But are you using your blog to the fullest capacity? You want to promote your books and services, sure! But you won’t get many followers unless you also provide information, resources, ideas, techniques and tips that they can use.

Mix it Up
By this, I mean try to use variety when choosing your topic and style of presenting it. Your readers would tire of seeing the same material presented in the same format every time they click over to your blog site.

Keep it Up
Likewise, if the terrain doesn’t change very often, visitors won’t be hiking those trails. So post often at your blog site to keep people coming back for something new.

Here are some ideas for blog posts:

• Essay-style posts are always popular. They’re easy to write and read. Just make sure you are presenting information and material that is pertinent to the theme of your blog.

• Bulleted blogs keep things neat and tidy. I like to provide bits and pieces of information or instructions using bullets. It makes for a quick and organized read.

• Give a generous dose of resources. Everyone who is interested in your topic will welcome more information in different forms. If you learn about a site that would be useful to your readers, share it. List some of the best books on the subject. Talk about conferences and other programs for folks interested in this topic. My readers particularly like it when I list directories of book review sites, directories of freelance writing jobs, etc.

• Interview other experts for your blog. Or invite a guest blogger in.

• Provide a Q and A format occasionally. Simply feature the questions you get most often—these are the same questions your readers have.

• Review a product or book related to your topic.

• Play devil’s advocate using a controversial subject within your industry or the topic of your book.

• Provide lessons for your followers. It’s easy to do. Just give a one-through ten list of steps on how to bathe a dog, make a latte at home, start a recycling hobby, make a low-fat brownie, write a resume, etc.

• Revise an article to use as a blog post.

• Relay your thoughts/activities. Probably way too many people do this as a way of maintaining their blog sites. But it isn’t something you would want to do every day. It is okay, however, and it can be interesting to your readers, if you let a little of who you are and how you actually operate trickle into your blog posts. I enjoy reading how other writers manage their work days, what they do for fun, how they refresh their creativity and so forth. If your book features how to create curb appeal when selling your house, you may want to include some personal stories, your thoughts/opinions about some of the sellers you’ve met and some of their attempts at creating curb appeal, etc.

If you’ve been following my blog for any length of time, you know that I’m a fan of mixing it up and keeping it up. I hope that this post will give you some ideas about how to spruce up your blog.

Remember, I’m offering a discount on my online courses on memoir writing, self-editing, book promotion, self-publishing, writing a book proposal and article-writing during the month of June. Check my May 24, 2010 entry. Learn more about the courses I offer here: http://www.matilijapress.com/courses.htm

Fiction and nonfiction writers often fret about their beginnings and their endings. Most writers know what they want to present in their articles. They have a storyline in mind. But some are weak when it comes to creating their openings and others may struggle to end their stories or articles appropriately.

I like the full-circle approach.

First, you MUST ease or jump into your piece using some sort of hook that will attract the attention of your audience—something that will make him/her keep reading. It might be a shocking statement or statistic, a fascinating concept or an intriguing scenario. We’ve all read great beginnings. We know what they consist of. Writing one can be challenging. But your amazing story or tantalizing article is certainly worth the effort.

One author I know, starts her memoir with the raunchiest escapade she remembers occurring when she was a child. It’s a rather unbelievable episode. But you know it could be true and you want to know more about the people who would behave in this manner. It’s a great hook.

Some article-writers open with a worst case scenario to make a point and to keep people reading. This works for many article topics, including childcare, eldercare, relationship issues, animal rescue, pet care and so many others.

But how do you end stories and articles like these? As I said, I like the full-circle approach. What does this mean? I like to end with something that relates to the beginning—something that serves to tie the piece up nicely with a pretty bow. It’s neat, crisp and usually effective.

In the case of the memoir, the author may introduce the fact that she never had a birthday—she was the only girl she knew without a birthday. She might relate that her birthday was never celebrated as a child—there were no presents, no cake, no acknowledgement at all. She could tell how this made her feel—to see other children celebrate their special days—maybe even her brothers and sisters. She might end this memoir by describing the birthday parties she throws for herself now that she is an adult and how valued she feels when surrounded by her friends, husband and children.

If the animal rescue article begins with a story about a cat living on the streets, end it by sharing the story of that cat now living more successfully in a cat colony or having been rescued and domesticated.

If there’s anything that readers like better than happy endings, it’s any ending. We want to know what happened. There was a time when it was the fad to leave a story or a movie unfinished. Writers thought that readers and viewers enjoyed imagining their own endings. But I believe that era is over. We like to know what happened, what happened next and what the end result was. One way to provide this is to bring your story full circle.

Read more about writing a good story, self-editing, your publishing options, your responsibility as a published author and lots more in my book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book. http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html

Be sure to sign up for one of my 6 online courses this month at a discount. See my May 24 blog entry for details.

There’s more to compiling, writing and editing a book. After the research is completed and the writing is done, there’s something else to consider—the organization of the project.

Writers go about the process of organizing their books in a variety of ways. I’ve had books fall into place almost automatically as I wrote them. Some of my books, I organized long before the writing started using bunches of file folders and hanging files in large boxes. The book I’m working on now is being organized as we speak.

The writing is pretty much completed, except for a few additions and enhancements I plan to include. But the organization isn’t quite right, yet. And I’m working to make the book more reader/researcher-friendly and so that it is presented in the most logical, easy-to-use form possible.

How does one organize an informational, self-help, how-to or educational book? What’s the secret to organizing a memoir? I suggest to my students and clients to always keep their audience/readers in mind.

We have talked many times about defining the purpose of your book and identifying your target audience. Now, as you organize and write the book, focus on the purpose—make sure your book is living up to that promise—and direct the book toward your target audience. Continue asking yourself, “Will the material I’m including be of value or interest to my audience?” “Is it presented in a way that is logical and easy-to-follow.” “Could someone from Mars understand the concept and the process I am introducing?”

Often, we clump similar topics together in sections or chapters. You’ll want to go over each section or chapter several times with your audience in mind to determine if you’re on target or need to make adjustments. Check your chapters—are they all about the same size or are some ten pages long while others fill only three? Try to organize your chapters so they are approximately the same size.

Chapter heads are another consideration. Do your chapter titles conform or do some of them seem out of place in your book? You might adopt chapter heads that read, “Plant the Right Seeds,” “Watch Your Garden Grow,” “Learn More About Transplants,” “Water When Needed,” etc. Keep to the active way of labeling your chapters. Avoid throwing in a heading like the following: “Running Over a Hose With a Tractor,” “How About Growing Chard?” or “Beans and Other Veggie Crops.” You can use the chapter titles in a book, if you wish. But make sure all of the titles in that particular book are in the same style.

Organizing a book is personal with each author. But that author needs to use logic in the process. Study other books similar to yours and see how they are organized. What do you like/dislike about the way these books are put together? What is your main message, secondary message and the points that you want to make? Which aspects of your book serve to support your message and reinforce the purpose?

You might want to define your main chapters—featuring your main message. Follow with strong supporting information/resources and then fill in with the various incidental points.

A memoir or a historical account, for example, should flow from one point to others using segues you’ve created to maintain that flow. Organize these stories so that the reader feels as though he is a part of it and not an outsider peering in at a confusing array of scenes.

Read more about organizing your book by reading my book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book.
http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html

Sign up for one of my online courses at a discount this month. See the May 24, 2010 blog post for details.