Life of a Writer

My NaNoWriMo Novel -- Christian Fiction Series

2009-11-02T05:21:00.004-06:00

This is my first year as a NaNoWriMo participant, and I'm really excited! My NaNoWriMo novel is one I've had outlined for about a year now but hadn't started the writing process. I've kept busy writing for clients and working on a few of my other personal projects that I hadn't found the time to start writing the novel I outlined a year ago. This novel, Spiritual Journey, is the first book in my first Christian fiction series. Yep, more novels will follow, and they'll have the same heroine.

I figured NaNoWriMo would be the best time to start writing the first book in my upcoming Christian Fiction Series. NaNoWriMo is giving me the motivation I need, and I'm happy to announce that I've already written almost 2000 words, and it's only the second day.

Would you like a sneak peek of Spiritual Journey? No problem, just head to my NaNoWriMo profile now to read a short description and excerpt of my NaNoWriMo novel. Keep in mind, the excerpt is my first draft. Right now I'm more worried about writing as much as I can the best I can, and then I'll worry about the editing later. I do, however, welcome your comments and suggestions on the excerpt. Did it keep your attention? What could I do later to make it better? I'm open to all your feedback and suggestions, and don't worry about hurting my feelings. If you're not honest with me, then I can't correct my mistakes.

Enjoy the sneak peak into my NaNoWriMo novel and God bless!

You Know You're a Writer When …

2009-10-23T04:06:00.001-05:00

… you sound like an English teacher correcting everyone's grammar.
… you can't enjoy a book, because you spend more time editing it.
… you carry a notebook and pen with you at all times.
… you dream about your novels.
… you get revenge on your enemies by making them a character in your novel.
… the letters on your keyboard fade within a year of owning your laptop.
… you have paper, pen and a flashlight on your nightstand.
… you pay close attention to the people and conversations around you.
… you need a bigger mailbox to hold day's worth of mail.
… your favorite store is an office supply store instead of WalMart.
… you have a desk full of notebooks and napkins with all your ideas.
… your desk is cleaner than your house.
... your family wonders if you know how to fold the laundry.
… the couch you bought years ago still looks new.
… your mom calls to check on you, because you haven't called or visited her in a while.
… you stop writing and realize everyone in the house is gone. Later, they return and tell you they went out to eat because they got tired of waiting on you to fix dinner.
… the majority of your laundry consists of gowns and flannel pajamas.
… coffee becomes your best friend.
… you read everything in sight.
… you'd rather be home writing instead of shopping.
… your dog brings you the empty food dish and barks.
… you're getting the most use out of your son or daughter's English book.
… you're nodding your head to all these things.

Now it's your turn.

Missing Writing the Genre I Love Most... and What I Plan to do About It

2009-10-06T04:47:00.009-05:00

My way of "giving a little love every day" is through words. When I first starting writing years ago, my main focus was Christian fiction. Through Christian fiction, I could create characters that would inspire my readers and warm their souls.

Although I still write Christian fiction, I don't write it as often as I did in the beginning, because my other writing -- writing I do to keep the bills paid -- keeps me busy. While I do my best to help and inspire through non-fiction as well, I really miss writing Christian fiction stories and novels. So how can I focus more on this genre and still pay the bills?

Possible Solutions

1. Decrease my clientele. While that would free up some of my time, I still have to pay the bills, and Lord knows I can't write without electricity. Well, I can, but turning in assignments would be hard to do since 95% of my communication and work is done through the Internet.

2. Cut down on my social networking. In addition to writing for clients, I also spend a lot of time building my brand and building relationships through social networks. Now that I think about it, the best solution would be to cut down on my social networking time. I figure I could use some of my social networking time to write Christian fiction stories and submit them to paying fiction markets. That sounds like the perfect plan, and I wouldn't lose money! However, I have done some searching for paying fiction markets, and although I've come across a few, I haven't found many. That said, I'm going to have to spend a little time searching for paying fiction markets, and then I'll begin writing and submitting short Christian fiction stories once I've built a list of decent paying fiction markets.

Planning Ahead for Future Christian Fiction Assignments

Since I've discovered the solution to my problem, I'd like to make plans for a future of Christian fiction assignments. Instead of writing lots of non-fiction, I'd love to be able to work for people who pay for Christian fiction stories. If I could find blogs, magazines and electronic publications that wanted a writer to write weekly or monthly fiction columns that would inspire their readers, then I'd be much happier. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy writing non-fiction, but my biggest passion is Christian fiction. The market, though, doesn't seem to be as big as my passion. I guess I'll work my hardest to find those type clients, and if it's meant to be, the Lord will make sure I get the gigs I really want. In fact, I pray that one day the Lord will bless me with enough book sales that all of my time will be spent writing novels for my readers and the publishers who want my Christian fiction novels. This is not only my prayer, it's a dream, and one dream that I will continue to work towards.

Have you ever missed writing a genre that you love because a great deal of your time was spent making money to pay the bills, and if so, what solution did you come up with?

Do you know of any paying fiction markets?

Discuss and share your answer(s) in the comments section.

Photo credit: Angel Ina

Free Read: Help From Above (Second Edition)

2009-09-18T03:00:00.000-05:00

I'm excited to announce that so far I have completed five chapters in my rewrite of Help From Above. Although I've not finished the entire novel, the first five chapters are available for you to read without charge. I've made them available at Authonomy. If you sign up for a free membership there, you'll be able to comment on my novel and add it to your bookshelf so you can keep watching for more chapters, which I'll be adding as I finish writing them. To add Help From Above to your bookshelf at Authonomy, just click "Back the Book."

When I first starting rewriting Help From Above, I thought about re-publishing the second edition. However, because I wanted to share some of my inspiring words with my readers and fans, I later decided that the second edition of Help From Above would be free. I was going to wait until I'd completed the entire novel, but today I decided to go ahead and make the finished chapters available to readers, and then I'll add the additional chapters as each of them become available.

If you enjoy Christian fiction, head over to read the first five chapters of Help From Above today! Again, there's no charge, so for those of you who haven't yet purchased the first edition or were unable to come up with the money to make the investment, you can now read it free. If you did purchase the first edition, you may enjoy this one as well. While the plot remains the same, I have add new text, cut text and the location was also changed.

After you've read the first five chapters, please leave a comment here or at Authonomy with your feedback and/or comments. Nothing you say will hurt my feelings. I love to hear from my readers and criticism only makes me better. After all, I can't learn from my mistakes and make things better if you don't let me know what I did wrong.

Enjoy, spread the word and God bless!

Update on My Speaking Engagement at John A Logan College

2009-09-17T07:21:00.003-05:00

If you're a fan of my Facebook page and have been watching my updates there, then you know for the past three weeks I've been sick. I'm doing better than I was the first week, but I still have a cough, stuffy nose and I lost my voice on Monday. Because of all this, I've had to cancel my speaking engagement at John A Logan College in Southern Illinois. Although I hated this and was looking forward to sharing my advice with the Southern Illinois Writers Guild and guests, I am happy to report that it will be rescheduled for next year. I'll be sure to let you know when the date and time has been set.

I'm finally able to hold my head up again, so starting today I have a lot of work to catch up on. In addition to getting back to work, I'll continue nursing my cough and stuffy nose, and of course, I'll pray that my voice returns to normal real soon.

The Writer Within

2009-08-20T23:20:00.006-05:00

The writer within me has a BIG passion for creating stories and articles that will inspire and warm souls. I've had this passion since I was 8-years-old. In addition to writing words that I hope will inspire my readers and fans, I enjoy reading. I love to read Christian fiction and a variety of magazines, but the problem is I have to force the writer within me to stop and enjoy what I'm reading instead of wanting to correct every little thing. Yes, I'm guilty of what I'll call visual editing. While reading an article or story, I have a bad habit of picking out all the grammar and spelling mistakes... and even looking for them. I have to stop myself so I can enjoy the message being conveyed, but sometimes it's hard to stop.

I know. I know. Everyone makes mistakes. Heck even I make grammar and spelling mistakes that I don't catch after re-reading what I write a hundred times, but I just can't help myself. Come on, admit it. You, as a writer, do the same thing, right? Of course you do, because like me, you just can't help yourself. But it's okay. Why? Because that's the writer within us.

Since I'm rambling about my habit of editing everything I read, I'll tell you about the last thing I read and edited that surprised me: Last night, as I was assisting my 16-year-old daughter with her homework, she read a sentence to me from her health book, and the sentence had a grammar error. Then as she continued with her homework, we discovered two grammar errors on the worksheet. Yes, even the schools make mistakes, but I was proud of my daughter, because she was also able to spot the mistakes. I didn't show them to her, we both caught them at the same time. Maybe she has a writer within her, too.

Photo credit: Markus Rodder

Little Known Ways to Build Buzz

2009-08-13T14:47:00.000-05:00

Send press releases, write great content, do something outrageous, hold a contest, become a source and share your expertise, pay others a commission to sell your product or service through an affiliate program… these are just a few of the most talked about ways to build buzz. How would you like to learn four new ways to build buzz? Well, today's you're lucky day. Just keep reading and I'm almost certain you'll learn something new today -- something you can include in your next buzz marketing campaign.

1. Give back with free advertising. Instruct your blog and/or website visitors to recommend your product or service through social networking or with a link on a relevant website or blog. Then let them know you'll thank them with some free advertising for their blog, website, product or service on a website or blog you manage that's relevant to what they're advertising. Here's an example of what I'm talking about.

2. Return the favor. Let others know if they'll write and publish an article or profile about you, your product or service, or if they interview you and publish the interview, you'll be happy to return the favor by writing and publishing an article or profile about them or publishing your interview with them on a relevant website, blog or in a print publication.

3. Share your story. How did you get to where you are today? What inspired the idea for the product you're trying to sell? Write your story and publish it on your website, blog and social network accounts. Then if your stories fascinating enough, it will draw attention that, of course, will build buzz.
4. Donate to a worthy cause. Give away your product or service to help charities. Not only will the charities and people you help appreciate your kindness, but they'll say good things about you as well. Here are a few examples to give you a better idea:

Donate your parenting book to a non-profit organization for parents.

Give your non-fiction or fiction book about domestic violence to women in a non-profit group for survivors and victims. You could also speak to the group on the topic or share your own personal story (if you're a survivor).

If you've written and published a book for children, visit hospitals for children and foster homes. While you're there, hand out copies of your book to the children. Also, visit with the children and offer to read your book to them.

Are you trying to build buzz for your writing services? Like the books, donate your services to help charities. This is the only time I recommend writing for free.

Feel free to utilize one, two, three or all four methods to build buzz. Don't stop there, though, every so often follow up with the charities you helped to find out how your product or service helped them. If the reports are good, send a press release to share the news. Be sure your press release mentions the charity and what you did for that charity.

Feel free to use the comments section to share your unique ideas on how to build buzz. Furthermore, if you utilize any of the four ideas I shared and earn buzz for your product or service, please return here and leave a comment to let me know which ideas you used and what the results were.

Answer to Last Week's Balderdash Question

2009-08-04T22:07:00.005-05:00

Last week I told you about Balderdash, a great board game for writers. After I discussed the game, I gave you a question from the Marvelous Movies category, so you could play along. Those who decided to play had to tell what they thought the movie, Mr. Peek-A-Boo, was about. Sue Glasco from Woodsong Notes was the only one who decided to play along, and her answer was a good one. In fact, if she had been playing the game with family or a group of writers, her answer may have fooled quite a few people, which would've been a good thing for her.

Sue's answer: "A bachelor somehow becomes guardian of a baby and plays peek-a-boo and other games with the little one."

Although Sue's answer was a great one, the correct answer is: "Mr. P realizes he can walk through walls and uses his talents to help a girl who is being blackmailed." Remember, Mr. Peek-A-Boo really is a movie, and that's exactly what it's about.

Once again, if you believe your family and/or writer friends would enjoy Balderdash, get it today for less than $30. It truly is a fun and hilarious game!

In my next blog post, I plan to tell you how to gain buzz through a few methods that you may not know about.

Exercise Your Mind With a Great Board Game for Writers!

2009-07-23T21:19:00.020-05:00

My time on the weekends is dedicated to hubby and the kids, so my writing takes a back seat then. We enjoy fishing, camping, nature walks and croquet, but when we're having fun inside, we also gather around the dining room table to play board games. One of our favorite board games is Balderdash, and although I don't work on the weekends, I exercise my mind when we play Balderdash.

When we first bought the game and quickly learned how to play, I thought to myself, "This is an excellent game for writers!" Truly, it is. It's a game writers can enjoy with their family or even take along with them to a writer's meeting. The game can be hilarious at times, but it also allows a writer to show off their talent, and if your mind's really creative -- and I know it is -- you could become the undefeated player of Balderdash. Well, undefeated with your family, because if you play this exciting game with a group of writers, then you can bet you'll have some tough competition. Either way, I'm 99% sure you'll fall in love with Balderdash!

What makes Balderdash a great choice for writers? Without trying to go into too much detail, I'll explain a bit about how you play.

First, it's better to play with a minimum of four people. Once you have your group of players, the fun begins!

Someone rolls the dice, and the number will determine which category on the card is read. The cards have five categories: Weird Words - What is the definition of this word?; Peculiar People - Who is this Person?; Incredible Initials - What does this stand for?; Marvelous Movies - What is the movie about?; and finally, Laughable Laws - What is the law?. (One side of the card has the question, which the person who rolled the dice will read to the group, and the answer is on the other side.)

After the question is read, the group must write down what they believe the actual answer is, and then they hand their slip of paper to the person who read the question. Once that person collects everyone's answers, he or she will read all the answers aloud without revealing who wrote it (including the correct answer). Then you go around the group and each person says which answer they believe is the true answer, and believe it or not, the actual answer is a fact. Let me give you an example of a question with the correct answer:

Category: Laughable Laws

Question: "In the country of Andorra, upon discovering a corpse, the sheriff must...

Correct answer: Ask "Are you dead?" three times.

The object of the game is to try to fool as many people as you can. In other words, you want them to think you're answer is the correct answer, so you can move your game piece forward more spaces on the game board. The person who makes it to the finish line first wins.

Okay, I just can't resist. I'm going to use another one of the questions from the Marvelous Movies category, but this time, I'm not going to reveal the correct answer until next week. Instead, I'm going to let you play along, so leave a comment with your best answer to the question. Then when I reveal the true answer here next week, I'll include your response and even link to your writing-related website, blog, product or service (if you enter one).

Ready? Here's the movie: Mr. Peek-A-Boo.

Now, leave a comment and let me know what you think the movie is about. Remember, in the actual game, you'd be trying to fool the other players into thinking yours is the actual answer, so let the brainstorming session begin.

Photo credit: Amazon

Special Prayer Request for Death in Family

2009-07-16T16:23:00.003-05:00

Just a quick post today to ask for your prayers.

This morning my second cousin's three month old baby boy (Kale Eugene Jeffords) passed away from SIDs. Please pray for my family, and pray that God will give the parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and everyone the strength to get through this hard time.

A death is always hard on everyone, but it's especially heartbreaking when a child or baby is involved. I guess God needed another little angel in Heaven.

Again, please keep us in your prayers, and the ones who will need the most prayer are Kale's mom, dad, little sister and the grandparents.

Juggling Projects

2009-07-10T20:06:00.008-05:00

For those of you wondering where the writer behind this blog disappeared to, rest assured, I'm still alive and kicking... just extremely busy these past few months.

As the title states, I've been juggling projects -- personal projects and clients' projects. When I'm not writing content and link building for clients, I'm working on several of my own personal projects, which I hope to complete real soon. Honestly, I've not been neglecting y'all. In fact, all this work on my personal projects will benefit you, and then you may be glad that I didn't blog as often as usual.

So, what's the personal projects? Two niche websites and one blog. Actually, one of the niche websites is for writers, and it's one many of you are already familiar with, so brace yourselves for this surprise. Keep in mind that the news is exclusive. Yes, that's right, you're the first to hear about this announcement! Ready for the big news? Read on...

As you may have already noticed, the Coffee Break for Writers (CBFW) e-zine hasn't been published for the past two months. Seems my busy schedule delayed another existing project, but so many writers e-mail me to tell me how much they enjoy every issue of CBFW, and that's why I can't just let it go. Therefore, I've decided to turn CBFW into a niche website for writers. The site will consist of past articles, resources for writers and past Cafe Fun quizzes, word searches, crosswords and word scrambles. In addition to all that, I'll still add new writing-related articles and continue to pay writers for these. The only change is it won't be a monthly e-zine anymore. Instead, it will be a website packed with free information for new and veteran writers, and subscribers will be e-mailed when new information is added, and they'll also still be the first to receive our new calls for writers.

Aside from the CBFW niche site, I've still been building Best Online Savings and working on a blog that will remain a surprise for now, but I can tell you the secret blog will be inspirational.

Now that you know where I've been for the past two months, please stayed tuned to Life of a Writer for more news about my writing life, as well as more of my tips for writers. I promise I'll try not to stay away for so long this time.

Photo credit: Jaynie Bell

More on My oDesk Experience

2009-05-30T02:01:00.012-05:00

I promised I'd keep you updated on my oDesk experience, so here it goes...

Since my latest post about oDesk, I've been so busy that I've neglected this blog and put my first niche website on hold. But that's okay, because my income is increasing. The better news is the Lord answered another prayer of mine. Read on for more of the story... and again, oDesk is to thank!

You see, hubby and I -- like many others during these tough times -- have been struggling financially. As you all know, my dad has been battling two types of cancer (Lymphoma and Leukemia). Well, a couple weeks ago he came in really sick and his blood pressure kept dropping. My guess is he wasn't eating well living on his own, so I ended up fixing him something to eat and he began to feel better. Since then, he's moved in with us so I can make sure he's taken care of and eats well. In addition to dad living with us, my 22-year-old stepson is still living with us, and I have my three teenagers when they're not at their dads. The trouble is with just Kevin and me working, it has been hard with an increase on the grocery bill and utilities. Dad's retired and now on Social Security -- all he had for retirement was 401K, which isn't much. As for my stepson, well, he's still unemployed.

Dad does offer to help us with bills and groceries, and Kevin and I appreciate it, but I hate even asking him to help when he's on a fixed income and still has to pay a portion of his medical bills, so I try not to accept his offer for help unless we really have to. Anyway, I've spent night after night praying for God to bless us with more income so we can take care of everyone and at least have just a little left over to treat ourselves to something nice every now and then.

Just a few weeks after I posted Seven Ways to Increase Clients With oDesk, God answered my prayer! He blessed me with two more clients from oDesk, and His blessing allowed me to earn an additional $91.29 this month through oDesk alone, and that income should be more by the end of next month! To some that may not sound like much, but to me, it's a wonderful blessing! A blessing Kevin and I both needed, and I'm still praying for more.

I'm confident that oDesk will continue to increase my clients and income. Honestly, friends, if you're also struggling financially and looking to increase your clients and writing income, I highly recommend you give oDesk a try. It will work for you if you spend each day searching through the jobs and apply the advice I shared in my latest post. The advice I shared is exactly what I've done since I joined oDesk in July of 2008. Since that time, I've earned over $500 already, and that doesn't even include the income I earn outside of oDesk.

I'll continue to keep you informed about my oDesk experience here, but if you'd like to know more or want to interview me for your writing-related publication, website or blog, feel free to contact me; please send all interview requests to media@mistisandefur.com and put "Interview Request for Misti Sandefur" in the subject line. I'd be honored to share my experience and/or advice with your readers, or even talk about how I use faith and prayer throughout my writing career!

Until my next post, take care and may all your prayers receive an answer!

Photo credit: Mike

Increasing Experience With My First Niche Website

2009-05-06T21:54:00.010-05:00

Before I continue on with my actual topic today, I'd like to send a big cyber hug to Michelle Kafka. While I was searching the Web for one of my previously published articles yesterday (to use as a clip for a writing job I applied to), I came across a blog post on Wow! Women on Writing that had a comment from Michelle. I was pleased when I read that her inspiration to start a portfolio came from me, so thank you so much for the mention, Michelle!

Before I go to sleep, I always say my prayers. As I'm praying, I ask God to bless me with words that will inspire my readers when I sit down to write an article, short story or novel. That said, when I stumble upon kind words expressed about me from my readers and read how I've inspired or helped them, it shows me that the Lord answered my prayer once again. Just reading that I'm an inspiration to Michelle and others motivates me and lifts my spirits! I know I'm doing my job right when someone such as Michelle sees me as an inspiration and/or emails me to let me know how I've helped or inspired them through my writing.

Thanks again, Michelle! You made my night, and I'm so glad that I was able to inspire you. I hope that my writing and blog will continue to encourage you throughout the years. May the Lord answer all your prayers and bless you with an abundance of success!

Moving on to the original topic…

How to Increase Experience on a Topic You Want to Write About

Submit articles to trade magazines, start a blog, create and distribute a free e-zine… those are just a few of the ways writers can increase their experience on an area of expertise. Another way is to create a niche website in the area of expertise they want to build upon. Not only will a niche website help you gain knowledge on the topic you wish to write about, but it could bring in more income for you if you implement Adsense and experiment with affiliate marketing. While you're creating fresh content for your niche website and earning income, too, you'll also be gaining clips to show to potential clients who need a writer on that topic. Just link to a few of your clips, and if they click on the links to view your writing style and voice on the topic, they'll also discover your entire website, and it could land you the writing job.

Announcing My First Niche Website

I've managed to gain several clips related to a few of my specialties, but I don't have very many clips on some of the topics I write about. The downfall to this is I'm unable to show potential clients and editors my true knowledge on the topic if I've not written on it much. Well, no more! I've had plans to build a niche website on one of the topics I enjoy writing on for a while now. However, I have been so busy with other things that I've not found the time to begin work on that site. That is until a few days ago, and I've devoted so much time to that project within the past week that it's almost ready to make its way into Cyberville for everyone to admire.

What's the topic? Shopping! And through Best Online Savings, I'll keep shopaholics updated on the latest bargains. In addition to helping you save money, I'll offer some advice through the online shopping guides that I'll be writing and publishing on my new niche website.

I'm excited about this project, and, of course, I invite you to check it out once it's born. I'll be announcing the site's birth here, on Twitter and in my Christian author newsletter. If you love shopping for bargains on the Internet, then I'll bet you will enjoy Best Online Savings!

Do you have a niche website you update with content to increase your experience on an area of expertise that you've neglected? If so, what's the topic, how has the website helped you and do you have any advice to share on building and/or marketing your writing services with niche websites?

Photo credit: Gideon Strauss

Seven Ways to Increase Clients With oDesk

2009-04-23T23:51:00.003-05:00

Back when I first signed up for oDesk I didn't know if they'd really help me gain new clients, but today I'm happy to report that thanks to oDesk I've been able to increase my clients. Not only have I gained new clients through oDesk, but I've gained friendly clients who have been great to work for. The clients that oDesk has blessed me with have been very helpful and provide great instructions, and this, my fellow writer friends, is something we all want with clients.

I'm sure you're wondering how you, too, can increase your clients, and since I enjoy helping others, I'm going to share a few tips with you. These are the things I do to increase clients with oDesk. Remember, oDesk guarantees payment on all hourly jobs!

Seven Simple Ways to Increase Clients With oDesk

1. Check writing job listings daily. If you don't want to visit the oDesk site on a daily basis, you can subscribe to be notified of new listings via e-mail, or use the search feature on your left to search for the jobs you want, and then subscribe to the RSS feeds for each search you perform.

2. Apply for jobs that only pay by the hour. This guarantees that you'll be paid for your time and work.

3. Create and save a pre-written cover letter on your hard or flash drive. Then when you run across a writing job you want to apply for, edit your pre-written cover letter to match the writing job your applying for, and then follow oDesk's steps to submit that cover letter to the potential client.

4. Use your best clips on your oDesk profile,and update every so often with more recent clips.

5. Post your resume on your oDesk profile, along with any client testimonials.

6. Follow up with potential clients who requested an interview but never got back to you.

7. Take the free oDesk skills tests, and when you score high, make the results public so potential clients can see you really do have the experience you say you have.

Disadvantages

While oDesk has been making improvements, there are still a few things I believe they could improve. For one, if you're writing in Microsoft Word or researching (reading through information), the software that tracks providers' hours doesn't always log the time as "online." Instead, it logs it as "offline," and pay for "offline" time is not guaranteed. I guess it logs it as "offline" time because it considers you idle since you're just reading and not typing. That said, if oDesk could improve this, it would be great!

Finally, there's no guaranteed payment for fixed-price jobs. Personally, I don't understand how oDesk can guarantee their providers payment on hourly jobs and not fixed-price jobs. Although I'm already grateful to oDesk, they would earn my respect more if they'd change this policy.

Rest assured that this won't be my last post about my success with oDesk, because I plan to continue sharing my oDesk experience with you. To stay up-to-date with my oDesk experience, subscribe to my full RSS feeds or opt-in to receive free updates via e-mail.

Do you use oDesk to increase clients? Feel free to share your oDesk experience in the comments area.

Giveaway Ideas Related to Public Speaking Topics

2009-04-15T02:54:00.004-05:00

Following are a few giveaway ideas related to public speaking topics. I know there are numerous topics that you may discuss at your upcoming public speaking events, so all of the following topics may not be in your plans, but when they are, here's a few giveaway ideas related to the topic.

Public Speaking Topic: Marketing Writing Services

Some tips you may share when talking about marketing writing services are to create a portfolio to keep track of clips and show to potential clients. That said, a binder and tab dividers are great to use for creating a portfolio and keeping clips organized, so this would make a great giveaway when you talk about marketing writing services.

If you'll be speaking to a small group and can afford it, another excellent giveaway idea related to your public speaking topic on marketing writing services could be a free one-year subscription to the online edition of Writer's Market.

Public Speaking Topic: Writing Fiction or Non-fiction

Whether you plan to discuss how to write fiction or non-fiction or share a few writing tips, there are at least three giveaway ideas that relate to this topic and would make wonderful gifts:

1. Pens with your logo and website imprinted on them.
2. Most all writers love to jot down story, character and article ideas. That said, your audience would appreciate a small journal that they could carry with them.
3. Handouts of novel and character outlines.

Public Speaking Topic: Beauty

Are you a beauty writer or author who enjoys sharing beauty tips and information to promote your beauty expertise and/or beauty-related book(s)? Well then, next time you're invited to give a presentation about beauty why not consider the following giveaway ideas:

1. bath oils;
2. aromatherapy candles;
3. a gift basket filled with beauty products such as creams, makeup, lotions and etc.;
4. or any beauty products you plan to mention in your presentation.

Giveaway Ideas for Any Public Speaking Topic

Your books, any book you've had published that relates to the topic you'll be discussing, desk calendars, and/or coffee mugs with your logo and website imprinted on them.

Have you spoke on a topic I didn't mention and were able to brainstorm a few giveaway ideas that fit well with your public speaking topic? Then I encourage you to share your topic(s) and giveaway idea(s) by leaving a comment.

Photo credit: Marlon De Jesus

Writers Depend on the Internet

2009-03-17T17:35:00.003-05:00

Continue reading to discover what happens when a writer loses access to the Internet (through no fault of her own), and you'll also learn why I've been absent.

It all began toward the end of last month. That evening I sat down in front of my laptop to begin work, but when I opened my Firefox browser, I discovered a "Page cannot be found" message. I called tech support to see if my ISP (Internet Service Provider) was having trouble with the DSL in my local area. The gentleman reported no problems in my area. He went on to say the problem was that my Internet had been temporarily disconnected. Huh? I knew I'd recently paid the bill, so why did they disconnect me? I couldn't call the local office to find out the answer to that question until the next morning (it was after business hours).

I called the local office the following afternoon for answers. When the lady answered, I explained the situation and let her know what tech support had told me. She said the reason my DSL had been disconnected was because I didn't have a landline with their company. I told them when they installed my DSL and turned it on over two years ago they knew I didn't have a landline. The lady then informed me that the FCC guidelines now state that they can't run naked DSL without the customer having a landline as well. I proceeded to let her know that my job requires me to have Internet access and without it I'm losing a lot of money. When she refused to reconnect me, I said, "That's just not right," and then I hung up.

Soon after I ended my call as a VERY unsatisfied customer, I spent the rest of the afternoon phoning other ISP providers with the hopes of finding access within 24 hours, because I had a deadline approaching that I needed to meet. I found two providers who could help me: Verizon and Alltel. Since my husband and I have cell phone service through Verizon, I called them first Unfortunately, Verizon only offered limited Internet access, and since I spend several hours a day on the Internet, I needed unlimited access. My next call was to Alltel. Alltel was able to help, but it cost me over $400 and once I gained access to the Internet that night with their wireless Internet, I was unable to stay connected, and when it did stay online for a few minutes, it was VERY slow. I ended up having to cancel Alltel and couldn't find another ISP in my area. I even called DirectTV and Dish Network, but they couldn't get service to my area either (I live in a rural area, which is 14 miles South of the nearest town). Honestly, if anyone would have been able to successfully connect me that day, they would have gained a possible customer for life and a glowing review that I would have given them permission to use in all their promotional materials and on their website.

On the fourth day, I gave in and called my previous ISP back. I wasn't a happy customer and didn't want to take them back, but at the time I needed to pay my bills, so I had no other choice. I gritted my teeth as I called back and told the lady who answered that if they'd just turn my DSL back on so I could meet my deadline that was approaching and get back to work I'd take their landline, and they could install it whenever they get to it. To make an already long story short, I was told I had to drive over 14 miles to the phone office to fill out the application and pay the activation fee, and then after they installed my phone, they would turn my DSL back on. Yes, she said "AFTER" they install the landline my DSL would be turned back on!

Despite everything, I did as instructed and approximately one week later my landline was installed and they reconnected my DSL. From what I understood, they turned my DSL back on sooner then they usually do after installing a phone, so I did thank them for giving me Internet access back on the same day as they installed my landline.

I guess you're wondering if I was able to meet my deadline and what I did without Internet. Well, I drove to my mom's and borrowed her computer and Internet so I could meet the deadline I was worried about. After I met the deadline, I checked my e-mail and discovered that I had a couple of e-mails from companies who wanted to hire me to write for them. I wasted no time in responding to them, but they hired another writer because I responded late. I understood why they had to hire someone else, but I could have had two new clients if my ISP knew the definition of true customer service.

Finally, I was able to catch up on some personal projects, and one of those projects was an affordable writing course that I've had plans to launch for a while now. That said, if you'd like to learn how to write for profit, check out my first writing course entitled Freelance Writing for Beginners.

There is one big lesson I learned from this whole mess: we writers don't realize just how much we really do need the Internet until it's gone. I hope you never have to go through what I just did.

Photo credit: Lane Erickson

The Secret of Raising Freelance Writing Rates Without Losing Financial Security

2009-02-18T18:40:00.001-06:00

Many writers avoid raising their freelance writing rates because they're afraid they'll lose their current clients and have to find new ones to hold on to the financial security they're accustomed to. Yes, you may lose clients because they can't pay you the higher rate and still profit from their business, publication, website or blog. Then if that happens, you will have to search for another client who is willing to pay you your new freelance writing rates. Of course we all know finding clients can take time, but finding clients willing to pay what we're truly worth may take more time than seeking out clients who pay mediocre rates.

Don't let any of that discourage you, though. Why? Because there is a secret that will help you give yourself a raise without losing your financial security and starting at the bottom.

The Secret to Raising Freelance Writing Rates Without Losing Financial Security

Dedicate a few hours each day to searching for clients who will pay what you plan to charge... or more. Once you find those clients, apply for the writing gigs and wait for a response. As you're doing this, continue to work for your current clients at the usual rate. Then when you gain new clients who are willing to pay you at your new freelance writing rates, work for them a while to ensure things are going to work out. Finally, after you've gained new clients and built a solid relationship with them, send notice to your older clients, the ones who are paying you less than your new rates. If the older clients agree to the raise, great! If they don't agree and you have to let them go, rest assured that loosing that client won't take away your financial security.

How to Drop a Client Without Hurting Your Good Reputation and Writer-Client Relationship

If you have to let a client go because he or she can't pay you the new freelance writing rates you asked for, apologize and let them know you have to let them go. But before you let them go, tell them you'll continue working at the usual rate for one month; this should give your client enough time to find a replacement. Furthermore, they'll appreciate you not leaving them in a bind without a writer, and your good relationship with that client should remain intact.

If you found this post helpful, please share the link to the post with your fellow writers, so they too can discover the secret of raising freelance writing rates without losing financial security. If you share the link with your blog, newsletter, magazine or e-zine readers, feel free to discuss my post and add a few tips of your own before sending your readers here.

P.S.: Yes, there was a change in plans for today's post. I was going to share giveaway ideas related to public speaking topics, but I decided to go with this topic instead. But don't worry, I'm still going to share the giveaway ideas in an upcoming post, so subscribe to my RSS feed or sign up to receive my blog updates via e-mail.

Photo credit: Borman818

Tips on Public Speaking: How to Prepare for Your Speaking Event

2009-02-04T01:18:00.011-06:00

Although my first public speaking event is over five months away, I don't want to make preparations at the last minute. In order to be ready to speak to the Southern Illinois Writers Guild in September, I'm already preparing, and I'd like to share my first step of preparation with you. This step involves asking questions, so in order to prepare for your speaking event, you should ask questions immediately after being invited. The questions I asked, will help me decide on a topic, what handouts I need to create, what freebies I can giveaway that relates to the topic and much more. Here's an example of some of the questions I asked. Feel free to make a note of them and ask them the next time you're invited to speak to a group. I think these are some great questions, and I'll explain why as I share my list.

Tips on Public Speaking -- Great Questions to Help You Prepare

1. Which topic do you think the group would most enjoy hearing about: (insert a couple topics you have in mind) or something else? Your suggestions are welcome. In fact, feel free to discuss this with the group and let me know what the majority would enjoy hearing about. Maybe there's something they have in mind that most of your guest speakers haven't discussed. Then if it's a topic that I have expertise in, I'd be glad to discuss it.

This question allows you to prepare a speech that you know the majority of the group you'll be speaking to wants to hear about. It will also allow you to prepare your free handouts and decide on giveaways related to your topic (if you plan to give away freebies). Speaking of giveaways, in my next post I'll list some giveaway ideas related to topics that you might discuss at your next speaking event, so stay tuned or subscribe to my RSS feed or via e-mail to be notified once this post is live.

2. Could I bring another guest along to take pictures? I would use the pictures in my media kits, brochures and post them on my website and blog, of course.

As the question states, pictures are great to use in your promotional materials, on your website and to share with your blog readers when you let them know how your speaking event went. By asking this question, you'll also let the event organizer know where the photos will be used.

3. Will the speech be taped? If so, could I get a copy?

Many authors and writers like to have their speaking events taped so they can share them on YouTube and with others. If the organizer tells you the event will be taped and you can get a copy, make sure to ask permission to share the video on the Internet.

4. Could a table be set up at the back of the room so I can sell copies of book(s)?

If you've published any books, this is an opportunity to gain additional sales. Most places will allow their guest speakers to sell copies of their book(s), so it shouldn't be a problem, but you'll want to check first. Then if they give you the go-ahead, you'll know that you need to have copies of your book on hand.

5.Approximately how many usually attend when a guest is scheduled to speak?

The organizer's answer to this question will help you decide how many handouts, gifts and copies of your book you'll need to purchase. Be sure to invest in extras just in case the turnout is bigger than usual.

6. Would you need me there early to get set up? If so, how early would you like for me to arrive?

Some places like their guest speakers to arrive a little early so they can help them set up.

7. What kind of promotion do you do for your guest speakers (e.g., press releases, newsletter announcements, etc.)?

This question will help you with your own marketing plans. You can also let the organizer know some of your plans and offer to share your list of media contacts so the two of you don't contact the same newspapers, publications and etc..

What questions do you ask to prepare for your speaking events? Feel free to share your questions and/or tips on public speaking in the comments area.

Photo by: Brad Harrison

Planning My First Speaking Engagement in Southern Illinois

2009-02-04T00:53:00.005-06:00

A while back I talked about how my shyness has kept me from marketing my books locally. Well, I'm excited to let you know that I've decided to step outside of my shell this year. This decision came about when the Vice President and Program Chair of the Southern Illinois Writers Guild contacted me a few days ago and invited me to come speak at their September meeting. This is a writers guild in my local area that I'm familiar with. In fact, I've talked via e-mail to a couple of their members. That said, I look forward to meeting the writers I've talked with as well as more writers from my local area. The drive for me is approximately one hour, but I think it would be a perfect opportunity to market my books, myself and get a jump-start on my goal to start speaking to groups in my community.

Although this will be my first speaking engagement, I plan to speak from my heart. Yep, I'm diving in head first, without preparing a speech. Why? Because I want to sound natural and connect with my audience, some of whom I know have been following my accomplishments for a while. Furthermore, while the event is still a few months away, I'm already preparing the materials and freebies to give away, as well as the press releases and my media contact list. I began by sending a list of questions to the lady who contacted me so that I could get better organized for the big day.

I'll be sure to let you know how things go, and you can bet I'll have some advice to share as well. Speaking of sharing what I'll learn, I'll share the first piece of writing advice related to speaking engagements in my next post. At that time, you'll learn what questions you can ask to help you prepare for an upcoming speaking engagement. Just subscribe to my full RSS feed or via e-mail to be notified when this post is live.

If you're a writer from the Southern Illinois area or plan on being in the area on September 17, then I'd like to invite you to come and hear me speak at the Southern Illinois Writers Guild meeting on that date at 7:00pm (CST). The meeting will take place in the Terrace Dining Room (room C113A) at John A Logan College. The college is located on 700 Logan College Rd. in Carterville, Illinois. The topic that I'll be speaking about will be announced soon.

Working on a New Blog

2009-01-27T23:38:00.006-06:00

This past week I've been busy juggling my time between clients and a new blog. When I've not been writing articles, blog posts and television recaps for clients, I've been spending my free time searching through Wordpress themes for a new blog that I'm getting ready to launch.

After two days of searching for just the right theme -- which I never really discovered (I found one to modify instead) -- I headed to my Web host to install Wordpress. Then I spent the last two days (including this afternoon) learning Wordpress 2.7, downloading and editing Wordpress plugins for my theme, and getting the blog ready to launch. I must say, I'm really enjoying Wordpress. I've worked with older versions of Wordpress for clients, but this was my first time experimenting with Wordpress 2.7. In fact, I'm seriously considering moving Life of a Writer over to Wordpress. Yes, I've said this in the past and then stewed about it, but this time I think I'm going to make the move, once things slow down a bit. I really love the plugins and features that Wordpress has to offer, and I'm ready to give Life of a Writer its own domain anyway. Furthermore, having my blog on Wordpress will allow me to optimize it better for search engines. I tell ya, Wordpress is a lot like Twitter: very addictive.

How would you like to be the first to get a sneak peek at my upcoming blog? No, you won't actually get to head over and view it, because it's not ready for that yet, but I will share a screenshot of the theme I finally decided on -- and I'd love to hear your thoughts about the theme (below). Oh, one last thing, For Better or Worse (the title of my upcoming blog), will be about married life -- my married life, of course. I'll be rambling about my life as a wife, work-at-home mom and stepmom. I'll also share relationship advice for men and women, plus a whole lot more. Yep, through this blog, you get a glimpse into my life as a writer and learn from my mistakes, and once For Better or Worse is live, you'll get a glimpse of my married life, too. It should be interesting, especially when I rant about my husband's annoying habits, my teenagers' attitudes and more.

A sneak peek just for you!

I think I'll head back over to Wordpress to do some more work on For Better or Worse. Until next time, may God bless you with an abundance of engaging words!

Free Fiction by Misti Sandefur (Me) for Your Reading Pleasure

2009-01-13T18:28:00.003-06:00

I entered a short story competition at Daily Writing Tips. While the prize is not money, they're giving away two full licenses to an executive edition of WhiteSmoke's writing software, which has a value of $310 each.

When I enter free writing contests, I usually enter the ones for a cash prize, but I'm familiar with the WhiteSmoke writing software, and my budget hasn't allowed me to purchase any of the software yet. Therefore, I knew I'd be extremely satisfied with the prize offered by Daily Writing Tips -- that is if my fiction piece is engaging enough to gain readers' votes and win this short story competition. In fact, if I win, I plan to write a review about the writing software here at Life of a Writer. I've heard good things about WhiteSmoke's writing software, so I'm anxious to try it.

That said, I'd love it if you'd head over to the Daily Writing Tips short story competition and read my fiction piece entitled Last Words. Then, if you enjoyed my short fiction piece and believe it deserves to move on to the next round, please vote for it using the poll that follows the entries. My entry is number 7.

Thank you in advance! Happy reading!

Debating With Myself

2009-01-07T06:04:00.002-06:00

Right now I'm debating with myself about planning a little time off from my hectic writing schedule. Mind you, I just finished the last task on my aforementioned writing schedule, so I haven't had any sleep yet. Nevertheless, what good would it do to cuddle up next to hubby on this cold winter night and try to sleep? Honestly, none whatsoever, because I would just gaze at the ceiling as I try to decide if it would be a good idea to clear my hectic schedule so I can complete and launch a couple personal projects that I have planned for this new year. Oh yes, did I forget to mention that one of those personal projects was among my writing goals for 2008 that I never got around to working on. Okay, I confess, I believe I wrote a few pages of the fiction story I was working on for that project, but it ended up on the back burner with everything else due to time constraints.

Anyway, I'd love to finish and launch the project I started last year, and then I'd like to finish up my plans for the new blog that I promised myself I'd launch this year. However, in order to do all of this, I've determined that I'm going to need to devote all of my time to these projects. Moreover, if I decide to clear my writing schedule, I need to decide how much time I need for both projects.

Okay, I've decided that I will take some time off from my hectic writing schedule, but how much time will I need. I figure I can complete and launch both projects in a month's time, but I wonder if that will be too long to put everything else aside. Maybe I should go with two weeks instead, but I'm not one-hundred percent sure if that would give me enough time to complete the projects. One month or two weeks? I guess I'll ponder that question a while longer and let you know my decision when I figure it out.

In case you're wondering -- especially if you're one of my clients and reading this right now -- I will NOT, I repeat, will NOT leave my clients unsatisfied and risk my entire writing career for these personal projects. Once I decide how long I'll need to tackle the projects, I'll write all the content for my clients in advance. As for my blogs, I'll write that content in advance as well, and then I'll schedule it for advance publication. Since I do have one client whom I write a recap for, my schedule won't be totally clear. The two television shows I write the recaps on airs a day apart, so I'll watch those shows and write the recaps for the client. Once I've submitted the recaps, I'll return to the personal projects. That shouldn't be so bad, should it?

Have you ever had a personal project or two that was long overdue, but you couldn't seem to complete them because of a hectic writing schedule? If so, how did you solve the dilemma?

Photo credit: Doug88888

See How Easily You Can Sell Your Book to Locals

2009-01-06T02:45:00.002-06:00

Just the other day I was brainstorming unique ways I could sell books to locals. I tried to think of all the events that have taken place in my community -- events put on by politicians, store owners and others. I wondered how I could tweak their marketing ideas to sell my books to folks in my area. Then I had my "light bulb moment!" I remembered an annual event that most towns host. I knew this event would be perfect all authors. What event am I referring to? A parade of course! And just how easily can you sell your books to locals through your town's local parade? Decorate a float for the parades in your hometown and/or nearby towns. You could design a float related to your book and even have others dress up as characters from your book. In addition to the theme, your float will need a sign letting parade goers know who you are. When you create that sign for your float, include text such as local author, your name, your tag line and your website address. For example, my sign would read "Local Christian author Misti Sandefur. Inspiring With Words to Warm Your Soul. Find out more at www.mistisandefur.com."

On the day of the parade, join many of the others who throw out candy, but be different. While you'll still be keeping with the tradition by giving out candy, you could also include a bookmark, your business card and a brochure about your book. What you need to do is fill a plastic bag with candy, your bookmark, business card and the brochure. Once you've placed all of these items in the plastic bag, tie the bag so that nothing falls out when you throw it during the parade. Another idea would be to figure out a book marketing budget -- and remember, you can always write this off as a business expense on your taxes.

Now that you have a book marketing budget in mind, fill more bags, but this time fill these bags and set them aside on your float to throw to adults who don't have children with them, unless, of course, your book is a children's book, and then you'd want to throw the bag to adults with children. These bags will each include one copy of your book, and since they're for adults, instead of candy place a bookmark, your business card and a promotional item of your choice in the bag with your book. Again, if it's a book for children, substitute candy for the promotional item. By giving away a few free copies of your book, you could gain word-of-mouth advertising, which is more beneficial than any other form of advertising.

There you have it, my "light bulb moment," the one I chose to share with you, my loyal reader, so that you, too could see how easy it really is to sell your books to locals. Do you have any other bright ideas on what to include in the bags authors can throw out during a parade? How about other ideas for decorating an author float? Please share all your ideas in the comments area below.

Photo credit: Euthman

Procrastinating With Video Games

2008-12-30T02:12:00.005-06:00

It's no secret that we all tend to procrastinate to take our minds off writing for a few hours. Usually when I delayed my writing to give my brain a rest, I read my favorite writing blogs, took a shower or went for walk, but these past few days I procrastinated way too long as I entertained myself with a new video game that the kids received for Christmas. Yes, I'll admit it, I've spent several hours on my kids' Play Station 2 (another Christmas gift) playing Thrillville: Off The Rails. I made the mistake of watching the kids play the video game after opening their gifts Christmas morning, and I thought it was interesting. Then, before I knew it, I joined in the fun and became addicted to the game. I should have left it alone. I knew better, but I just couldn't resist, and now the kids laugh at me.

"Mom's addicted to the Playstation," they say.
"It looks like you'll have to take turns with your mom now," my husband told them.

It's been years since I've sat down and played video games, so it's actually been fun and refreshing. Problem is I have to pull myself away in order to get back to my writing. This isn't as hard to do when all the kids are here, though, because when everyone wants to play, we each get an hour. Once my hour's up, I go back to writing. What happens when the kids aren't here or don't want to play? Well, let's just say I need some strong super glue to keep me in front of my work and away from the video game.

The good news: once I return to my laptop, I'm ready to write again. Who knows, I may become addicted to more of their video games and end up writing about video games, too. Of course, then I'd be paid for my time spent procrastinating.

Back to Writing

2008-12-22T14:25:00.002-06:00

Dad was released from the hospital Saturday and spent the night with us. Although he was still a bit weak, he looked 100% better and said he felt great. I can't begin to tell you what a blessing it is to see dad back to his old self again. So thanks to everyone who prayed and we ask that you continue to pray.

In the coming weeks and new year, Dad will undergo chemotherapy and radiation treatments for the Lymphoma and Leukemia, but he's assured us he'll be around for a while to still "pester" us. In fact, he said the Lord had His reasons for keeping him here on Earth for a while longer, and I'm so glad the Lord has given us more time with dad, especially during the holidays.

The cancer has spread throughout dad's body, but the latest test results revealed that it had not spread to his brain. We're thankful for this bit of good news and pray that the cancer won't reach his brain. The confusion and hallucinations came from lack of oxygen and not what everyone feared, so again, we're thankful.

Since dad's back home and doing better, I'll be back to writing and blogging. There will be times when I have to take dad to the doctor as well as to his treatments, but I'm pretty certain I can manage that and write too. Besides, I've missed writing and look forward to getting back to it. I had dusted off some personal projects that I was working on before dad's illness, so I'll be returning to those as well. It seems like everytime I dust off the personal projects and start planning more projects for the future to launch, something always goes wrong that causes a bigger delay. However, I'm thankful this delay didn't last as long as I feared it would.

I'll let you go now so I can get back to writing, and no matter what your resolutions and goals are for the New Year, make your number one resolution or goal to tell your loved ones how much you love them and what they mean to you, and then top it off with a gigantic hug! You never know what tomorrow will bring, so make this the number one priority on your list of New Year's resolutions and/or goals.

May you and yours have a wonderful holidays and a blessed New Year!