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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.