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Tag: writing

7 Easy Things You Can Do Right Now to Get More Blog Traffic
This article is excerpted from Chuck’s book, Create Your Writer Platform.

GIVEAWAY: Chuck is giving away a copy of his book, Create Your Writer Platform, to a random commenter. Comment within two weeks to enter! (Must live in US or Canada to win.) (Update: Williesha won!)

So you’ve been blogging for a while, you post on a regular schedule for a budding readership, and you’re sharing valuable content. Now what?

Once you have an established blog with consistent posts, it’s time to examine how to get maximum impact from your site. Make the most of the eyeballs that land on your blog to draw attention to your work. After all, the goal of blogging is to showcase your writing abilities and other services, right?

Here are seven easy ways to make sure each of your posts gets as much exposure as possible.

1. Don’t let readers get away easily

Have links at the end of each post for related reading. If someone is reading your latest post called “How to Price Your Watercolor Paintings,” they obviously have some interest in the subject matter, so guide them to related content on your site to collect more page views.

At the end of each post, point out and link to past posts on similar subject matter. The goal is to have a visitor bounce from post to post, ping-ponging around your site. The longer they stay and look around, the more they get to your know you, your ideas, your thoughts and your brand.

Remember that it’s very tough to attract new readers. When one stops by, entice them to stay as long as possible.

[bctt tweet=”It’s tough to attract new readers. Entice them to stick around, says @ChuckSambuchino”]

2. Go back and optimize old posts

When you’re several months in and are starting to get the hang of what works for your blog, you’re going to notice how messy and poor your old posts are. When you have blogging downtime, look through past posts and improve them.

If there’s no image, add one. If there are no links at the end, include some. If you think a column could be even better with a simple sidebar, add it. There’s a good chance that your current posts have a newer, more visually pleasing format. Make sure to alter older posts to match this improved layout.

3. While you’re at it, straight up recycle old posts

It’s likely that some of your early blog writing is excellent, but virtually no eyes saw it because your site had little traffic. So feel free to recycle and reuse that content.

One option is to repost the content at the top of your blog again. I’ve done this several times and called it a new series named “Blast From the Past.” You could also tweak an older column into a guest post for another site.

[twl_reusable_block post_id=41455]

4. Make your most popular posts easy to access

If it’s possible and you have some impressive posts to share, think about listing your “greatest hits” down the side of your blog. That way, any new visitors can easily move through your best content and quickly see you’re an expert with great information.

5. Invite quality guest content

Why do you have to be the only one writing for your blog? Other writers who don’t have a blog of their own are looking for places to share their thoughts. Accept their quality posts with pleasure. It’s free content! You get to run it with hardly any work on your part, rather than composing another column of your own from scratch.

Try to find a few recurring guest contributors who can consistently provide you with quality columns to run. The more content you have on the site, whether by you or others, the more you’ll turn up in Google search results and draw people to you.

6. Speaking of Google, do yourself a huge favor and learn about SEO

Go to Google right now and search for something — anything. Google will display the top 10 search results on the first page. But do you ever wonder why Google displays these 10 first rather than any of the thousands or millions of other results?

The reason is called SEO: search engine optimization. Search engines such as Google are looking for different things when they report search results back to you. SEO is a vast topic, and plenty of it can get technical if you really want to dig deep, but here are three quick tips to getting more page views through search engines:

a) Make sure you have a clear, straightforward headline rather than something generic or a pun. If your post is all about how to change a tire, simply call it “How to Change a Tire.” After all, isn’t that exactly what people will search for when they need help? If you title your post with a pun (“Tired Days Are Here Again!”), it’s no surprise that people won’t find it in a search. Consider which of these following two titles will get more hits: “Meet Mollie the Agent,” or “Literary Agent Interview: Mollie Glick of Foundry Literary.” Obviously the second one is a better choice because it contains more key terms people will use in their searches.

b) Use keywords in your title, subheads and text. If people want to attend a writing event, imagine what they will search for when using Google: “writing conference,” “writing event,” “writing retreat,” “writer’s conference,” etc. The terms are all similar yet slightly different, so try to use as many as you can in your text. That way, Google will see you’re using a variety of relevant terms and process that your post is likely of value, moving it up in the results.

c) Add images to your post. While they make a post look more pleasing to the eye, they also help with SEO. For example, in a post on how to change a tire, titling the images How-to-Change-a-tire.jpg and Changing-a-tire-fast.jpg, adds more elements and words for Google to scan when it incorporates you into its results.

7. Use numbers, subheads and bullet points

Yes, you want your post to have great writing and provide value. But how you present said good material matters, too. People will have a greater impulsive desire to read your writing if you make it visually pleasing and present information in bite-sized, easy-to-process chunks.

A quick, obvious tip is to use numbers. Everyone loves posts with numbers, such as “The 10 Best Quarterbacks of All Time” or “44 Crazy Facts About Disneyland.” If your post doesn’t have numbers, break up the text using subheads and bullet points to give people different places that they can jump to around the column. If your post is just one big block of text, then a reader who becomes disinterested will have no choice but to leave your site.

Let us know in the comments: How do you help more readers see your blog posts?

Don’t forget to comment to be in the running for Chuck’s book giveaway! You could win a free copy of his latest book, Create Your Writer Platform. (Update: Williesha won!)

Other TWL Guest Posts by Chuck Sambuchino:
July 7, 2014
Cliches to Avoid: 4 Story Endings Your Readers Will Hate

Writing a book is difficult, but crafting an ending that is both impactful and wraps the plot up beautifully is even more so.

You worked hard to create a beginning that grabbed your readers, so make sure to write an ending that lives up to the rest of your story. Relying on clichés will only leave your readers feeling disappointed and dissatisfied.

Stay away from these four cliché endings:

1. The happily ever after

What it is: All of the characters in your book live happily ever, with no hardships to bear. The hero defeats his foes and all of the plot twists are nicely tied up – perhaps a little unrealistically.

Why to avoid it: Life doesn’t necessarily end happily ever after, which makes this type of ending feel disingenuous. You want your readers to feel enthralled with your book so that they’ll want to share it with friends, read more of your work or even re-read your story. Real life isn’t perfect, so make sure that your book stays in the realm of realism.

2. The drawn-out dream

What it is: The drawn-out dream ending involves the main character waking up safe and sound in their bed, realizing that the entire plot has just been a dream.

Why to avoid it: This type of ending typically annoys readers, who feel that the author has copped out. A book should be emotional to everyone involved, and an author who uses this ending seems to betray readers’ trust and cheapen the emotions they’ve felt throughout the book.

3. The guilty hero’s monologue

What it is: When the hero finally defeats the bad guy or force, the reader is privy to her internal thoughts of regret or remorse. The monologue is supposed to show the character’s guilt at what she’s had to do and how it’s eating away at her. Even though the ending is happy, our hero must now live with the blood on her hands.

Why to avoid it: In general, writers should strive to show, not tell, readers what is happening in the book. By strongarming readers into feeling specific, manufactured emotions, you are taking away their freedom to experience the story in a way that is reflective of their background and experiences. Readers may feel they are being led to specific conclusions, and few enjoy the feeling of an author holding their hand throughout a book — especially the ending.

4. The lover’s life

What it is: This is a special twist on the happily ever after ending, in which the main character falls in love, sometimes for an unexplained or random reason. It shows that true love makes the world go ‘round and that all that happened in the course of the story was worth it.

Why to avoid it: Unrealistic endings tend to annoy readers. If a love interest is too sudden, it isn’t all that real. If it is unexplained, it leaves your characters lacking depth. The truth is that not everyone falls in love and lives happily ever after. The best endings are unique, somewhat realistic, and really make your readers think.

Set the text aside, brainstorm some unique possibilities, and pick up your manuscript again when you have a more interesting picture of what could be.

If you want to learn how to finish a story the right way, check out our guide here.

What other cliché endings did we miss? What frustrates you at the end of a great story?

July 1, 2014
How Too Much Knowledge Can Hurt Your Writing Career
“The curse of knowledge” may sound like something out of a cheesy movie, but it’s as real as it gets — and if you’re not able to avoid it in your writing, it could hurt your business.

The curse of knowledge is the inability to see yourself in a novice’s shoes.

No matter how brilliant your writing is, it won’t matter if you don’t give your audience a chance to understand it. Your expertise allows you to speak with authority, but using jargon and advanced language will alienate readers with less experience.

Right about now, you may think this problem doesn’t concern you, that you know your stuff, that you’re great at explaining your subject. So did I — before I realized how my knowledge affected my writing career.

The curse of knowledge: A case study

Most of my writing career revolves around WordPress. I have a number of WordPress-related articles on the web, and I published a book called WordPress 3.7 Complete. I know WordPress.

Most of the time, this helps me because I don’t have to look too deeply to find an idea or an angle when writing a new article. But other times it stabs me right in the back.

Eventually, I realized that because of my experience with WordPress, I was often failing to address those readers who don’t have the same experience — which alienates them from my writing.

How did I find out? I took a look at the comments readers were leaving. In complex posts, readers left fewer comments and only referred to the simplest elements of the article. The easier to grasp the language, the more in-depth and detailed the comments were. In other words, people understood and enjoyed the simple approach more than the complex one. It’s similar to Derek Halpern’s analysis of the research showing that using longer, complex words actually makes people think you’re less intelligent.

If I’m not careful, my knowledge of WordPress could actually prevent me from effectively conveying my ideas. And as a person building my reputation based on my skill in the WordPress niche, this could be a serious obstacle in my career path.

Does your writing pass the grandma test?

Not sure if you’re suffering from the curse of knowledge or not? Here’s a simple way to find out.

Call your grandma and give her a piece of your writing. After she reads it, ask her to share her understanding of the core message. How close are her impressions to the message you wanted to share? [bctt tweet=”Does your grandma understand your writing? If not, you need to revise.”]

This simple test gives you a quick indication of whether you need to elaborate on a concept or give a little more background explanation.

Introducing new concepts without drowning in jargon

Ok, so your grandma should be able to grasp the basic message you’re trying to convey. But what if you need to explain industry jargon?

Using a bit of jargon in your writing is okay, even necessary, to fully introduce someone to a new topic. But if you use too much of it, you’ll lose your message — and your audience’s interest — in the process.

Here’s a prime example of the curse of knowledge. Both of these videos attempt to explain gravity to the layperson; which one is more successful?

This video features slick footage and well-known scientists, but it’s 44 minutes long and addresses additional concepts related to gravity. It’s interesting, but isn’t going to hold most people’s attention for very long.

Contrast that video with this high school teacher’s workshop, in which he manages to explain the complicated idea of gravity in less than 10 minutes. He’s not using any difficult or technical language. He’s illustrating the concept instead of blasting the audience with scientific jargon, which makes his demonstration engaging and interesting.

Aim for your writing to be like the second video. Here are two simple steps to help you avoid the curse of knowledge.

Step 1: Be aware

You can’t cure yourself of a bad habit if you don’t know you have one, right?

Being aware is half the battle.

Now that you know the curse of knowledge exists, keep an eye out for it as you edit your work. Whenever you finish writing a piece, read through it and try to identify the parts that could potentially be hard to understand for the average reader. If you’re not sure, have a less-experienced friend or colleague take a look — or give your grandma a call.

Step 2: Better yourself

A famous saying often attributed to Albert Einstein goes, “If you can’t explain something simply, you don’t understand it well enough.”

This is a bit confusing, since by definition, the curse of knowledge affects people with knowledge. So a lack of thereof shouldn’t be among the causes, right?

The explanation is in our usual learning patterns. Regardless of the topic you want to master, you’ll go through the same phases:
1. You start by acknowledging that you know nothing about the topic
2. You devour all the information you can find, and after a short period of time you think that you know everything there is to know on the topic
3. You realize how many gaps there are in your understanding and experience a letdown
4. You begin growing your knowledge, conscious of all there is left to discover
The curse of knowledge is something that tends to appear between the know-it-all phase and the letdown phase. This usually the time you can’t convey your ideas — not because you are too advanced, but because you aren’t knowledgeable enough yet.

Admitting that we don’t fully know our subject matter can be tough. However, it’s something that affects us all, and once we make peace with it, we can find solutions. Learning more about your niche frees you from sitting in front of a blank piece of paper for hours trying to figure out how to explain an idea that you don’t fully grasp, and allows you to connect with a larger, more diverse audience.

So, what does your grandma have to say about your writing?
June 25, 2014
6 Embarrassing Grammar Mistakes You Simply Don’t Want to Make
Nothing stops a reader in his tracks as quickly as a poorly worded headline, sentence or paragraph. Think about it: if the title or first few lines of a post are awkward or incorrect, do you continue reading or move on to another option?

Quality writing demonstrates that you take your work seriously and want to be perceived as credible and professional. Even the most valuable content will be dismissed if it’s riddled with errors.

Brush up on these six common grammar mistakes so you can avoid them and keep your readers’ attention where it belongs: on the information you have to share.

1. Too many pronouns

Including an overabundance of pronouns in a single sentence may confuse your readers: Who is doing the action? Who said that? For clarity, begin a paragraph or a sentence with the name of the character you are writing about, then use pronouns to refer back to that person.

Example: Here’s a sentence that uses too many pronouns, making the meaning unclear: “He went there to do that, but she didn’t know where he was.”

2. Misused apostrophes

Generally, an apostrophe is used to indicate possession — not plural — and to mark missing letters in contractions (for example: you are = you’re). Many writers use apostrophes incorrectly when denoting plurals. Take some time to get familiar with the correct use of apostrophes so you don’t fall into this trap.

Example: A sign at the office should read, “Only managers should use copiers,” not “Only manager’s should use copiers.”

3. Comma confusion

Writers often misuse commas. They’re meant to let the reader know to take a pause before moving on. Some writers use too many commas, and some don’t use enough, so do your best to be consistent with your usage.

As you’re writing, scan your sentences to see if you have two sentences strung together with a comma. Can the sentences stand alone? If so, split them up or use a semi-colon.

Example: This situation is known as a comma splice: “I went to bed late last night, I couldn’t stop watching a movie on TV.” This could be better said in any of the following ways:
- “I went to bed late last night. I couldn’t stop watching a movie on TV.”
- “I went to bed late last night; I couldn’t stop watching a movie on TV.”
- “I went to bed late last night because I couldn’t stop watching a movie on TV.”
As you read books and well-edited blogs, take note of comma use. You can learn a lot from reading professional work.

4. Incorrect capitalization

Many writers take it upon themselves to capitalize anything they want, and other writers may not capitalize anything at all. This rule is one of the more flexible ones on this list, since capitalization is often used for emphasis. However, according to grammar rules, only capitalize proper nouns such as the name of a person, place or business.

Example: A business writer creating a sales page might want to write “The Writing Handbook Will Launch on Saturday,” but this is not grammatically correct. Instead, ~~they~~ he should write, “The Writing Handbook will launch on Saturday.”

5. Fragments

A fragment is an incomplete sentence, and many writers are unaware they include these sentence fragments in their writing. If you’re writing informally on a personal blog, you may consciously choose to use fragments. However, in more formal writing or on assignment, make sure to replace them with full sentences.

Example: “Or take it home.” This is not a complete sentence and should be rewritten as, “Keep it here or take it home.”

6. Wordiness

Have you ever written an article, then checked the word count and found you’ve fallen short? Perhaps you have to add 200 words in order to meet your goal, so you throw in some fluff.

Wordiness means including extra words or phrases simply for the sake of word count — or that you’re just long-winded. While not strictly a grammar infraction, wordiness affects the structure and composition of your writing, taking away from its quality. Do your best to keep your writing succinct for clear communication.

Example: “Due to the fact that access to internet resources are actually at the present time very easy to access in many places, the vast majority of users seek to have those kinds of devices that are most easy to carry around with them wherever they go.” (46 words)

Here’s how Professor G. Kim Blank suggests making this sentence more concise: “Because the Internet is available most places, users often prefer portable devices.” (12 words)

What grammar mistakes do you see your fellow writers making?

Photo by Jason Rosenberg on Flickr under Creative Commons
June 18, 2014
Make a Living as a Writer: A Simple Strategy That Works

There is no one way to be a writer, you know. And there is no wrong way that will handicap you forever.

Writers are usually thrilled at the beginning, eager to dive in and earn a living from their writing skills. Two weeks later, a niggling worry creeps in: how does someone earn a living doing this?

How to earn money as a writer

My career began with visions of a novel, a mystery I spent two years writing at night after work. When I could not land an agent, I tossed it on the shelf. However, the writing bug had bit me hard. I set out to write, come hell or high water, using whatever talents I had, for whoever would hire me.

This mentality helped me develop a formula I use to organize and prioritize my writing work, making sure I maximize my earnings and challenge myself to connect with new markets and clients. Here’s how to put this formula to work for you.

The 25/50/25 rule

To make a decent living from your writing and make the most of your time, look at your clients and projects from a new angle. Break your work up into these categories: 25, 50 and another 25 percent blocks of your writing time. (Like this idea? Click to tweet it.)Here’s what that looks like:

The first 25

What can you write easily and earn a few dollars doing? The first 25 percent of the formula comprises these projects: the small magazine that loves local writers, the paid blog post, the filler piece, even the writing mill stuff.

This sort of material isn’t great, but hey, it brings in a check, income you can bank on, as tiny as it may be. It validates you — you are indeed earning a living writing. We all like to succeed, and this is where you feel safe.

However, you don’t want to get stuck in this rut. Limit this kind of work to 25 percent of your writing time to encourage yourself to stretch further.

The 50

These markets challenge your skills and experience. Whether you’re writing newsletters for area businesses, magazine articles, resumes, grants, white papers, or a company’s blog, you’ll figure out your sweet spot after a few months.

Spend half your writing time seeking and performing for these markets, and expect to land about half the clients you pitch. These venues keep you on your writing game, they pay and many of them become returning clients and markets.

The second 25

These markets fall into the “almost impossible” category. You dream of breaking into these babies. You drool over those dollar per word pieces in glossy magazines. You’d love to be a regular blog contributor for a national site or the go-to person for a local business’ copywriting work. These markets scare you to pieces, and you feel you’ll never reach that bar.

Keep seeking them: the more you study these opportunities, and the more you pitch them, the more you understand them. If you stick around long enough in this business, you’ll reach one. Then two.

How to put the formula to work for you

Make sure not to distort these percentages by second-guessing your abilities. There’s a reason for the 25/50/25 rule. It requires you to continually reach up, and as a result, your writing matures.

Soon your markets in the 50 category are paying more than when you started. Your lower 25 consists of a higher-caliber stable of gigs. And that upper 25, your dream jobs, assumes an even higher status because what you used to put in that category is now in your 50.

Apply the 25/50/25 rule to more than your markets. Use it for your advertising. Use it for time spent on social media. Use it for your speaking engagements, as I did, growing from online chats, to coffeehouse book clubs to conference keynotes.

Or let your upper 25 consist of time on your novel, your highest level income dream. After four years of freelancing, I pulled my book off the shelf and dedicated my upper 25 to its future since I’d grown my lower 25 and my 50 to support myself. Lowcountry Bribe was ultimately published, the first in the Carolina Slade Mystery Series.

Creating a writing business that supports you full time and earns a decent income will not happen overnight. It might take several years.

But between the 25/50/25 rule and keeping 13 pitches in play at all times, you’ll find yourself earning a living at this craft. Be diligent, and you’re on your way to realizing your writing dreams.

How do you divide your writing time?

June 16, 2014
Point of View: How Writers Can Master This Crucial Story Element

Once you decide on the point of view for your book — whether first person or third, omniscient or limited — the hard part follows: staying consistent.

Falling out of the selected point of view (POV) can abruptly interrupt the story. Readers no longer connect with the main character, and they have a hard time following the plot.

Avoid these fatal flaws by maintaining a steady point of view.

It’s best to be mindful of POV as you write, because fixing errors requires combing through each and every scene! It’s doable, just not very fun. And most literary agents won’t want to do it for you.

Here are six tips to ensure you keep a steady POV in your story:

1. Only include setting elements your POV character would notice

When your POV character first walks into a room, they’re not going to notice every detail — the color of the curtains, the shape of the table, the type of tile on the floor. While you want to describe the setting accurately, you have to keep POV in mind. Maybe all your character will notice is the delicious aroma of food cooking in the kitchen.

One of literary agents’ pet peeves is when writers go beyond what is necessary in setting the scene. Be natural in introducing pertinent details, or even have another character who has been in the room awhile point it out.

2. Don’t let characters describe themselves

Your character likely isn’t going to realize what facial expressions they’re making as another character relays the day’s gossip. And they’re probably not going to notice the food in their teeth unless someone else comments on it or looks at them funny. Be mindful of how you describe characters: What would they really have noticed?

3. Don’t include anything your POV character wouldn’t have known at that time

Unless they’re a fortune teller.

But this rule applies to your POV character’s knowledge of facts, not just future events. Would they really know the specific brand of clothing a friend was wearing? If so, how they knew that should be apparent to the reader as well.

4. Make sure the characters’ judgments are based on signs noticeable to the reader

If one character believes another is a two-faced liar, this judgment should also be apparent to the reader. All the signs the character saw to reach that decision, the reader should have seen, too.

5. Don’t jump from head to head

Each chapter or section should be in a single character’s point of view. When the POV switches, make sure it’s obvious in the first sentence.

6. Eliminate every “he thought” and “she saw”

These attributions are jarring when readers already feel that they’re in the POV character’s thoughts. People don’t think using phrases like “I’m seeing this” or “I’m thinking that.” Those are phrases we use to express to someone outside of our mind what we’ve thought or experienced. In using these phrases, you ban readers from your character’s head.

A major red flag pops up when these attributions refer to other characters, since your POV character wouldn’t be able to know what another character was looking at or thinking about.

Readers want to get lost in a story. They want to think and feel right along with the main character. When you tell a story from a character’s point of view you have the privilege of writing from inside that character’s head. The bottom line is for you to get inside your main character — to think like him, to see like her — and to tell the story as if you were living it.

If point of view still seems an overwhelming skill to master, get help from other writers by putting together a writing group or even hiring an editor. The more aware of point of view you are, the easier it will be to catch yourself from falling out of it.

How do you ensure a consistent POV in your writing?

May 5, 2014
How the Ups and Downs of Writing Can Improve Your Craft
“There is no rule on how to write. Sometimes it comes easily and perfectly; sometimes it’s like drilling rock and then blasting it out with charges.”

– Ernest Hemingway

As a writer, you know all about the highs and lows.

When the words spill off your fingertips as quickly as you can type them, when you’re full of confidence and certain of impending success – it’s probably safe to say you’re experiencing a high. These highs can last weeks, months or, sadly, minutes.

They’re often followed by days clouded in panic and uncertainty. Suddenly, the challenge is too overwhelming. You doubt the same scenes you wrote so proudly only yesterday. Your word flow slows or dries up altogether, and you begin to question what the point of it all is.

Writers experience both highs and lows

Author Jodi Hedlund describes her descent into a low in a guest post on literary agent Rachelle Gardner’s blog:

“In a matter of a few seconds, I plummeted off the high peak I’d been standing upon. And I crash-landed into a deep cavern. Darkness swept away the bright joy I’d felt only moments earlier… My experience is fairly typical, isn’t it? We’ve all had those really high moments where we’re feeling on top of the world. Then something happens that topples us into the pit.”

I empathize with Jodi; a positive review or an acceptance letter can catapult me into the euphoric state of a high. The future is positive! My writing makes perfect sense! I believe! Yet a rejection letter can just as quickly strip away that confidence, plunging me into a dark state of doubt and instability.

This is a natural part of any writer’s life… and here’s the secret: The lows are just as important as the highs. The two moods complement one another, and you can exploit each of them to improve your writing and further your career. (Like this idea? Click to tweet it.)Here’s how.

Your highs are…
- Productive: they enable you to increase your word count and make progress on your project. This is a time to write freely and without judgment.
- Social: Use this confident period to make connections. Submit articles for publication or propose a guest post to a well-known blog site. You’ll represent yourself best when you believe in your writing.
- Fun: Enjoy the process of writing and your positive state of mind. Allow yourself to dream. Dreams encourage ambition.
Your lows…
- Bring you down to earth: Don’t panic – the lows are your leveler, your dose of reality. Question what you’ve written: how can you improve it? Be your best critic.
- Enable you to be realistic: Use these periods to identify your challenges. How can you overcome them? Set some goals and make a plan.
- Make you determined: When you’re at rock bottom, there’s only one direction available to you – upward. Identify what’s making you feel down and do something about it.
Use your highs and lows to your advantage

If you understand the two moods, you have no reason to fear them. Instead, recognize their importance in furthering your career and improving your craft.

If you’re on a constant high, you may have an overinflated opinion of your work. On the other hand, if all you experience are the lows, where’s the pleasure? The secret is to have a healthy mix of both and to adjust your strategy accordingly.

How do you use your highs and lows in your writing?
April 8, 2014
Your Last Chance: Grab The Writer’s Bundle Before Midnight

Haven’t yet downloaded The Writer’s Bundle?

Today’s your last chance! At midnight EST tonight, The Writer’s Bundle disappears forever. Grab it now while you can!

Get your hands on these incredible resources from well-known writers like Chris Guillebeau, Jenny Blake, Jeff Goins and Sophie Lizard today for only $79. If you bought them each separately, it would cost you well over $700!

Every resource – all nine of the ebooks and courses – is dedicated to helping you improve your writing skills, publish your work and grow your writing business.

What are you waiting for?

March 19, 2014
You Won’t Believe What We’re Offering Writers Today
We are SO excited to finally announce a project we’ve been working on for months: The Writer’s Bundle.

Have you ever seen those amazing bundles where you can get a handful of valuable resources at a low price?

Ever wish someone would put together a fabulous bundle deal specifically for writers?

We’ve done it! We’ve bundled nine ebooks and courses — many of which you’ve likely heard about and wished you could afford — that together retail for more than $700. Resources from popular writers who are truly living the life many of us crave, bloggers like Chris Guillebeau, Jeff Goins, Jenny Blake, Tom Ewer, Danny Iny and more.

These ebooks and courses cover topics every writer needs to understand to make a living in this industry, including freelancing, publishing, blogging and more.

The best part? We’re making this bundle available for just $79, an incredible deal.

The catch? It’s available for three days ONLY; the offer expires Wednesday, March 19 at midnight EST. That means if you’re interested, you’ve gotta act now!

Click here for more details!

Here’s what you’ll get:
- Chris Guillebeau’s Unconventional Guide to Publishing (ebook and audio, retails for $129)
- Jeff Goins’ How to Start Publishing for Kindle (ebook and audio, retails for $47)
- Kristi Hines’ The Ultimate Blog Post Promotion Course (course, retails for $197)
- Jenny Blake’s Build Your Business (course, retails for $75)
- Tom Ewer’s Paid to Blog (course, retails for $29)
- Sophie Lizard’s The Freelance Blogger’s Client Hunting Masterclass (course, retails for $98)
- Alexis Grant’s Social Media for Writers (course, retails for $99)
- Danny Iny’s Interview on Building an Engaged Community (audio + transcript, exclusive)
- Ali Luke’s The Blogger’s Guide to Irresistible Ebooks, plus Publishing an Ebook Audio Seminar (ebook and audio, retails for $29 + $19.99)
What are you waiting for? Go grab your bundle!
March 17, 2014
4 Ways to Become a Better Writer, Even If You’re Low on Time

Freelancing takes many forms, and although you may consider yourself a writer, there’s a slew of related work that comes with it: researching, editing, conference calls, invoicing. Let’s face it, being a writer involves a lot of not-writing — and all that not-writing takes time.

Even when you are writing, you might find that your daily gig of expressing a brand’s mission in 140 characters or less, or keeping a blog post to 300 words, can be stifling.

When you have a million and one tasks to accomplish and work guidelines to respect, what’s a busy writer to do?

Try these exercises to stay sharp and stretch your writer’s limbs — all while moving through your daily tasks.

Challenge yourself with a “banned” words list

You can improve your writing skills even if you’re just keeping up with emails. Keep a list of three to five “banned” words and hit that backspace key each time you see one crop up in your daily tasks.

For example, I’m striving to ban “awesome” as a go-to adjective. If I spy a sentence in an email that starts with “so,” I revise immediately. Pat yourself on the back when you catch a correction before you hit “send.”

Set a mental timer

How quickly can you respond to those daily emails? Can your project update notes be more concise? Challenge yourself to complete emails and other updates in record time — while still excelling in grammar, clarity, and authenticity.

Take note of when you feel comfortable breezing through these tasks, and consider working this strategy into your daily routine. Maybe you cruise through emails before breakfast but only after that first cup of coffee. Know thyself, writer.

Go back to basics with a notebook

Our tech tools have plenty of perks, but consider the simplicity of pen and paper. A notebook can thrive despite drained phone batteries, bad reception, and device sharing. I keep one next to my bed for capturing bits of dialogue or ideas that float to the surface during those pre-alarm moments.

Read, even if you have no time to read

When you’re busy, it’s hard to fit in any extracurricular activities, let alone “reading for pleasure.” Make it happen, though: squeeze in a newspaper article, short story, or even a blog post whenever you can. Use a tool like Pocket to save longer reads to your phone for when you’re eating lunch or waiting for a train.

Writers notice others’ writing. The best way to stay sharp is to keep a steady stream of content flowing.

What’s your favorite way to sneak writing practice into your day?

February 11, 2014