Want to warm up? Think of us down under where it’s hot, hot, hot. As well as the traditional Santa depiction, we’re also likely to see cards with Santa in board shorts on a surfboard riding the waves, to reflect fun in the sun at Christmas time in Australia.

Because of the heat, Christmas lunch or dinner might be salads, seafood and tropical fruit or maybe a picnic at the beach. Mangoes are juicy and ripe now and stone fruit such as cherries, apricots and plums are in season. Have you tried pavlova for dessert? It’s a light fluffy meringue conconction topped with cream and fruit. Australians and our neighboring New Zealanders vie to lay claim to the pavlolva as their own creation.

Check out the Australian version of Jingle Bells about an Australian Christmas… no dashing through the snow here at Christmas time. Six White Boomers is another popular Australian carol. Boomers are kangaroos.

Aussie’s have added their own unique spin to the English language, so if you want a “translation” of some of the more unusual words of these uniquely Australian Christmas Carols, just ask me.

Do you have any special Christmas traditions in your part of the world?

Warmest wishes for a Merry Christmas to all and thanks for all your support through the year.
I can’t tell you how much I’ve appreciated it.

5 Tips For Cheesing Off Your Fellow Planet Dwellers With A Cell Phone

1. Talk loudly so you don’t deprive the strangers around you of being up to date with the latest happenings in your life.
2. In a restaurant, make sure you always have the cell phone on, so everyone knows you’re too important to be out of contact for even a millisecond.
3. When you answer, make sure you speak loudly so that other diners know how busy and important you are.
4. Take your cell phone with you when bushwalking or camping out. If you can’t have peace and quiet, why should others?
5. If the bus driver has an announcement, make sure you raise your voice so that fellow passengers will know who is the most important.

Ah… that feels better. Thanks Brad. Good luck with the launch of Cell Hell: 55 Cell Phone Users You’d Like To Silence

My operation recovery has been a prolonged affair. Your emails and comments have really given me a boost. While I haven’t been writing, I’ve been calling in unannounced (yes, I’ve become a lurker) at many of your blogs and kept up to date with the happenings.

My good friend, Joanna Young at Confident Writing encouraged me to get back online and let you all know how I’m traveling wellness wise. Thanks for the push, Joanna. I’ve really missed being here.

I’ve drawn inspiration and energy from the positive writings of another dear friend, Karen Swim and the consistently interesting work of Lillie Ammann. Someone I think of as my unofficial mentor, Easton Ellsworth was concerned enough about me to put out a call on Twitter to see if anyone knew how I was faring. How lucky am I?

Thanks also for the much treasured support of my other wonderful online friends and colleagues. You don’t know how much your good wishes, kind words, prayers and encouragement mean to me.

Brad Shorr

Graham Strong

Michael W. Jones

Robert Hruzek

Michaela Lica

Easton Ellsworth

Kimberly Ben

Jeanne Dininni

Sharon Hurley Hall

Princess

Denise Olsen

Alina Popescu

Genesis

Meryl K. Evans

Tom Lindstrom

Amy Huang

Robyn McMaster

Rach

Laura Spencer

Mary Emma Allen

Ellen Weber

TZ

Lori Widmer

Suzanne Wells

Thank you all. I’m lucky indeed.

He also asked if blogs can bring business, saying -

… Although it is certainly social and helps us all develop our writing/business skills, I’m not sure it is useful for attracting new clients.

Copywriter, Tom Chandler added one of the many interesting comments to the conversation.

I’m afraid too many new writers are using a blog to avoid the more stressful aspects of self promotion (cold calls, direct marketing, pitches, etc). Putting yourself in front of a prospect - and suffering the rejection - is never fun, but in most cases, it is necessary.

Ouch! But I agree totally for many experienced writers too. It all depends on the purpose of your blog, of course. But if you are a business owner (blogger, writer etc.) hoping/wanting/needing to get business via your blog directly or indirectly, you need to market yourself.

The conversation spilled over to Men With Pens and Business & Blogging and now I’m throwing it open to Writers Cafe visitors.

For my part, I’ve had work through Grow Your Writing Business, including referrals from other writers. But I’ve never seriously used this blog for marketing. I’ve recently decided to keep this as my personal blog and am in the process of developing a separate blog with a slightly different focus specifically for marketing my business. And no, I can’t reveal all… not just yet, anyway.

To many writers, marketing is something they’re not comfortable with. How about you?

SOME DISCUSSION STARTERS - (or anything else blogging, writing or business related also goes).

• How has your blog worked for your writing business?
• What other online or offline methods do you use or recommend for marketing?
• What do you like/dislike about marketing?
• Any questions for others? There are lots of talented writers and marketers here who’d be happy to offer some thoughts, I’m sure.

Grab a comfortable chair and the beverage of your choice… (and chocolate cake)…. Let’s chat!

8th Blog Birthday Bash
The party raged throughout June, and it’s still going strong. Meryl invited others to join in the fun. I wrote one of the guest posts - The Power Of Story In The Digital Age. Readers were invited to comment at Meryl’s blog and go into the lucky draw. Meryl even jumped out of a plane.

It was a ton of fun, but it’s almost time to take down the balloons and put away the party food.

The level of respect that Meryl commands in the blogosphere is reflected in the fabulous range of prizes she has been able to gather and the people who have donated them, including some of the big names of the blogosphere.

And it’s not too late to join in the fun and help Meryl wind up the celebrations with a blast. But you need to head on over there straight away.

Final Blog Birthday Bash Prizes
There are heaps of great prizes in the final draw, including 2 I wouldn’t mind myself - AWAI Nick Usborne’s Million Dollar Secrets For Online Copywriting (looks fabulous!!) and Darren Rowse’s Problogger book (a good read, I’ve heard).

For full details of how to win and be part of the blog birthday bash finale, go to Meryl’s post - Final Blog Birthday Bash Prizes. It’s one prize per person so there are plenty to go round. Help Meryl spread the word.

Good luck everyone and Congratulations Meryl!

• Do you know of Social Media ROI (Return on Investment) (or other) social media success stories?
• If you are a small business owner wanting to try social media, what do you see as the main stumbling blocks?

Karen Swim of Words For Hire summed up the social media counterpoint of dilemma and opportunity beautifully, with her comment on my post -


Yvonne, I believe one of the perceived obstacles to utilizing social media in small business is resources. People believe it will be time intensive with little to no return. Another issue arises with the sometimes narrow definition of social media. Social media is not simply twitter, FaceBook or a blog.

Every business of every size can gain value from creating a community around their products and services. The methods and tools may vary but in that regard all share the same end goal.

Brad Shorr sparked an interesting discussion on return on investment for social media and business blogging in particular at his blog, WordSell. Check the comment thread for some informative insights.

Whether for your own social media explorations or when speaking with clients, let’s throw this around.

Let’s add two more questions to those above.

• What is social media success and how do you measure it?
• What are the social media stumbling blocks you have or clients talk about and how do you approach or address these?

Over to you. I’d love to hear your thoughts. Grab a chair, some yummy food and let’s talk!

I love the tangents the internet takes me along, but sometimes I just need more structured, in depth information on the one topic in the one place.

Blogs vs Books - I’d like to share some snippets of conversation of this from other bloggers.

David Zinger at Slacker Manager urges us to read at least one book this (Northern Hemisphere) Summer. David shares the results of an American Booksellers Assocation report which says

the average business person with 6 or more direct reports above the age 40 reads .7 business books every 5 years!

Robin Capper, a commenter on David’s post says

Yikes! How many blogs equal a book? I do read both but blogs are getting more of my attention these days.

David responds

Blogs are nice and bite size so that seems darn good to me.

I like “bite size” as a description of how blogs serve up information.

DISCUSSION STARTERS

• Do you find you read less business books these days or how do you manage the web info, book info mix?

• Tell us about your must read business books, and why we should read them too.

• Let’s talk books vs blogs, books and blogs, books or blogs or books plus blogs plus whatever else.

And of course, as always, throw your own writing, blogging and business related topics into the mix too.

It’s a Writers Cafe with a difference. Gather together any questions you have for Well Fed Writer & Well Fed Self Publisher author, Peter Bowerman, coming soon to a Writers Cafe near you.

I’ve just read Peter Bowerman’s latest book - The Well Fed Self Publisher: How To Turn One Book Into A Full Time Living. I know a lot of you want to, are writing or have written books, reports, ebooks and so on - self publishing or mainstream.

Peter Bowerman is an inspiration. I was so motivated after reading this book. The good news is that Peter has agreed to be interviewed for an upcoming Writers Cafe. I’m throwing it open, so I can ask some of the questions YOU want answered. Let me know what you want to know about writing, self publishing, marketing and publicizing your book.

I thought we could use this weekend’s Writers Cafe to talk self publishing and writing and to gather your questions for my interview… We can discuss them here, but I’ll get Peter’s perspective as well.

The Well Fed Writer and The Well Fed Writer: Back Again For Seconds.

I was approached to review The Well Fed Self Publisher and heard from Peter. His approach is a recipe that has been perfected and works well. I learned a lot just from how he conducted the book review process. This is all outlined in the book, so it was interesting to see it in action.

Communication & Co-ordination

• Communication was friendly, personalized but to the point with publicity information
• He invited further contact if he could help further
• He emailed a copy of the book ahead of mailing out the hard copy
• He exceeded expectations by emailing me his Well Fed Self Publishing Biz In A Box Ebook as well as the book
• He told me exactly when he would be posting the book so I knew roughly when to expect it

Receiving The Review Copy of The Well Fed Self Publisher

• Used flat rate mailing envelope
• Used brightly mailing label with his book pictured, website details and a space for addressee
• Very savvy - Mailing label clearly states “As requested”, to jog your memory if you get lots of books to review
• Contained the Well Fed Self Publisher
• Stamped Review Copy Not For Sale - Book Personally Autographed
• Included 3 Business Cards (marketing tools in themselves - well designed with book information on the reverse)
• Included a Press Kit (flyers, press release, business cards & a personalized note inserted into book cover of a previous book)

Now To The Book

As well as the process above, he covers

• Why Self Publshing?
• Learning To Love Sales & Marketing
• How To Build A Book
• Targeting Buyers & Building Demand
• Your Website
• Getting Books Into & Dealing With Bookstores
• Hacking Through The Amazon Jungle
• Publicity & Marketing Opportunities (various chapters)
• Print On Demand
• Using The Book As A Platform For Other Spin Off Products, Ebooks, Workshops etc.
• Self Publishing Resources
• Foreign Rights

While the book is packed solid with great, practical information, Bowerman’s writing style is engaging and lighthearted, with lots of practical examples - a good combination. As a (now ex) bookseller, I used to have a set against self published books as they just didn’t look professional… and please don’t get me started on the lack of editing.

Now in the process of writing a book myself, I’ve become a fan of self publishing as a viable option. This book offers more information than many mainstream books on a similar topic, and is professionallly edited, typeset and presented. For the marketing aspects alone, I can highly recommend The Well Fed Self Publisher.

A Stroke Of Brilliance

A stroke of brilliance in The Well Fed Self Publisher is a symbol on various pages which directs readers to Well Fed Self Publishing Biz In A Box. (available in hard copy, ebook or CD). The information stands on its own, but for the forms and materials that go with it, you go to the Biz In A Box.

This is a separate book, so is an extra sale for the author, by sharing materials he already had developed and uses. Peter already had all his marketing materials, forms, biz card tips, promo materials, book blurbs, pitch letters, discount vouchers, review copy mailouts and email templates etc. etc..

Both these books are must haves for anyone serious about self publishing.

Well, questions anyone? Fire away….

Check it out - The Power Of Story In The Digital Age… about our personal and business stories on the net. I hope you enjoy it.
If you stop by and comment, you’ll be in the running for some great prizes. I won Seth Godin’s DVD set from a random draw of comments.

Happy 8th Blog Birthday, Meryl.

They were the words that greeted me when I opened my email from Meryl K Evans at Meryl.net putting me in touch with Seth to arrange delivery of the $800 Seth Godin DVD set I won at Meryl’s 8th Blog Birthday Celebrations.

She’s invited guest authors to post, and any comment over 30 words goes into a random draw for prizes. I commented on Joanna Young’s wonderful article, How To Add Colour To A Grey Day.

Well, I have to tell you that writing does pay. $800 for 30 words isn’t a bad payout. Seriously, though - thanks so much to Meryl and Seth Godin for the prize.

Happy 8th Blog Birthday Meryl. Head on over to Meryl’s blog and be part of the birthday fun all through June. Keep an eye out there for a guest post from me on The Power Of Story In The Digital Age coming soon.

I’ve been taking some time to reflect lately about my business direction, and have reaffirmed that my passion for writing is about connecting words and people, and in helping people reach their personal and business potential. But yes, I write for myself too. I can’t not write. It’s a passion and a form of self expression.

Heck, I even like writing shopping lists and to do lists. I’ve been reading an interesting book Write It Down Make It Happen by Henriette Klauser, author of Writing On Both Sides Of The Brain. I can identify with her premise. Writing things down for me is a way of processing my thoughts and learnings. How about you?

Take a moment and join me in exploring why we writers write (apart from the motivation of not starving.)

• What got you started with writing professionally (or for your own enjoyment)?
• What do you enjoy (or not enjoy) about writing?
• Do you write things down to process your thoughts?

Anything about writing, blogging or business is fair game. I look forward to the discussion.

As an aside, one nice thing about writing and blogging is that others enjoy your work. So I’m uncharacteristically tooting my own horn here, but I got a real buzz about my Small Biz Mentor blog being named in the top 41 Absolute Best Blogs About Entrepreneurship & Small Business Blogs list.

A Writers Cafe Invitation - Do You Have A Question To Ask For A Future Cafe?
Also - one thought that cropped up in last weekend’s Writers Cafe was opening the hosting of the Writers Cafe open from time to time to our community members to pose a question or discussion starter. If you would like to pose a question, please let me know. You don’t need to do anything other than to send me a brief intro to set the scene, pose your question or discussion sparks and follow the conversation.

I’ll still be involved in the discussion. This might be a good opportunity if you have a question or issue you’re interested in feedback on - or perhaps a project you’d like to brainstorm.

Writers Cafe Skype Meetup
Can anyone who is interested in the proposed Skype meetup let me know times that suit you, as I’d like to finalize this.

Okay, back to the Writers Cafe discussion. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

This weekend I’m going to throw it completely open - Open Mic style.

No specific discussion starters from me this week.
Let’s all talk to each other… ask questions… get feedback… muse… vent… network… share…

anything writing, business or blogging related.

Who’s going to get us started?

If you get stuck and need some brain sparks, here are a few stimulating recent discussions you might like to dip into.

• Is the word blog on the way out? How do you explain a blog to non bloggers? and last week
• Does RSS impact on the community aspect of blogging? Let’s explore community building and also
• You know your article is finished when… A perfectcionist’s dilemma

Is this good business sense? Yes and no. You want to give the client your best work, but if you set yourself a high standard, you want to be happy with it yourself too. Your name and work is your credibility and your calling card.

But where do you draw the line? When does striving for perfection get in the way of practicality and business outcomes? How do you know when your article is finished?

As a Myers Briggs Trainer, I’ve found the exploration of perfectionism interesting. Perfectionism can be a limiting factor and is sometimes not far removed from its cousin procrastination. This is probably a topic to explore further another time.

Designers, it seems, have the same dilemma. I came across this article… A Design Is Finished When… 230 Pro Designers’ Opinions

Chuck Anderson says

One of the most important and hardest things to overcome when designing is to understand when the piece you are designing on is actually finished. While creativity is sometime boundless the end result should always be the result of a clear objective, the end result. I often get caught between creativity and completion…

Some commenters make the distinction between art and design, creativity and business. The stunning graphics in the post are worth checking out in their own right. Enjoying the graphics highlights that to the untrained eye, they look great already. I was interested in the many parallels with freelance writing.

Some things to think about -

As writers, do we make things unecessarily hard on ourselves? Or is it personal pride in our work? Many clients want things rapid fire… now (preferably yesterday). I sometimes get the impression that freelance writers and editors often value our own work more highly than some clients who really just want it “done”.

So, does the client, the type of work and the pay impact on when you decide the article is finished? Does having a byline on your work affect when you’re ready to say “I’m happy with that”?

And yes… in the interests of full disclosure, I did go back and tweak this post a few times…

You know your article is finished when…

I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Please consider Stumbling this post if you found it useful.

Catch me on the web - Yvonne Russell
www.growyourwritingbusiness.com
www.smallbizmentor.com
www.homebiznotes.com

Last weekend’s Writers Cafe was a lively discussion on Is The Word Blog On The Way Out? And How Do You Explain A Blog To Non Bloggers? If you missed it, it’s well worth checking out - lots of great ideas and links shared.

This week, I’d like to use that discussion as a jumping off point for this week’s Writers Cafe about building blog communities.

The great response and stimulating conversation got me thinking about a blog’s community. In the comment thread, I observed

The richness of all the descriptions shared here lies in the fact that each speaks as much of the person explaining it, as about the blogging process itself. It’s also about the purpose of the particular blog and the nature of the client’s business…

I think the most successful blogs (not just traffic wise) involve their communities, work with them, respond to them and support each other. This is when genuine networking happens.

Lillie Ammann commented -

This discussion is a perfect example of blogging at its best: thoughtful and thought-provoking comments and links to other ideas - an online conversation.

And from Karen Swim

Hi Yvonne! It is always great to be a part of the community here…

Joanna Young shared

… comments and community and conversation - it is vitally important to me, and I wouldn’t / couldn’t blog in the way that I do without them.

Joanna also pointed out that Seth Godin has a very strong following without allowing blog comments at all.

• Would you say he has a community?
• So what constitutes a community?

We talked about different blogs having different purposes, so there’s no need to impose “shoulds”.

RSS
I know some bloggers read (or at least scan) up to 200 or more RSS feeds per day.
When so many blogs are followed by RSS only, does this impact on the community aspect of those blogs?
How important is the headline when reading from RSS?
Are you more likely to read the whole article if you specfically visit the blog?

On the other hand, sometimes even though I visit a blog and read excellent information there, I don’t feel I’m part of the community. If the information is interesting enough, I will still visit (or maybe subscribe), but tend not to get involved in the community aspect.
>

SOME JUMPING OFF POINTS FOR DISCUSSION
COMMUNITY BUILDING

• What is it about a blog that makes you want to join the community (or not)?
• Why do you stay? Why do you move on from one community and look for another?
• Can a blog/blogger have a community without comments
• RSS & COMMUNITY -
• Do you prefer to visit a blog or to use RSS (or both)?
• Does RSS impact on the community aspect of blogging? If so, how?
• How important is the headline in RSS reading for clickthroughs to the actual blog?
• With RSS, do you only click through if you want to comment? Or are there other reasons?
  

Writers Cafe Open Topics
Any topic goes - not just this one. Feel free to throw open any writing, blogging or business related topic or to ask questions, network etc.

Great Grow Your Writing Business Meetup
I’m running into a few stumbling blocks with trying to settle on a day/time for our proposed Skype Call (approx 1 hour). If you are interested in this, can you please email me or use the Contact Form, to indicate when it suits you best.

Be sure to tell me which time zone you are in. We won’t be able to meet everyone’s needs, but with different time zones and countries, it’s a bit of a juggling act.

Please consider Stumbling this post if you found it useful.