The Best Video I Have Seen Recently

In his classic style, "Weird Al" Yankovic has taken an over-played pop song and turned it into something truly awesome. This time, it happened to be right up my grammar-loving alley. Take a minute and listen to "Word Crimes" and you will laugh too!

The Most Important Part of Social Media Marketing

Many articles and blog posts will tell you that having a presence on social media is important. Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and (for writers) Goodreads are highlighted as the tools to success for any creative professional. Just published your book? Trying to sell your first painting? Your band released their debut album? Everyone tells you to go straight to social media to find your buyers.

But, that advice is incomplete. What they sometimes forget to tell you is that making an account on one or more of these sites is just the beginning. Next, you need to show people that you are worth their time. Sure, you are an author, so are thousands of other people on Twitter, all promoting their newest novel or short story. What makes you different? Why should other people care?

The key to making them actually want to pay attention is to establish a relationship with your followers. Don't  just shamelessly self-promote with every post. Post links to articles that relate to your work, reference other people's blog posts that you find interesting, and make yourself interesting to your target audience.

For example, say you just released a sci-fi novel set in outer space. Browse scientific articles about space debris and share it with your audience. Read and promote a blog post from a fellow writer about how they came up with a new alien race in their work-in-progress. Tweet quotes from well-known Area 51 researchers. Make your page all about your story and your reader will already be itching to know what you have in store for them.

Don't forget to reach out, beyond just posting and moving on. Interact with other people in the field on an active level, having public discussions and asking questions. Take an interest in the individuals within your audience and don't forget to respond to them. If they post a comment on your Facebook Fan Page and you get back to them with an answer, you just built a relationship that will leave a lasting impression. And things like that spread quickly in the the age of digital technology, so soon enough they will have told their friends about the positive encounter and more people will show an interest.

The bottom line is, if you want to succeed on the internet by using social media, you can't just log in, post, and log back out. You have to spend some time making your presence known and getting to know your followers. Put in the effort and it will pay you back.

My book is written...Now what?

You have finally finished writing, editing, and (if you are epublishing) formatting your book. Now what? The next step, and one of the most essential to hooking in readers, is getting a knock-out book cover!

Some authors make the mistake of trying to make their own book cover when they have no idea what they are doing. Some authors also try to pay a friend or find an artist on the cheap to do it for them. Either way could end in success, but this is rare. Most of the time, it ends up with a mess that will, at best, push readers away. At worst, it could make your book into a joke and end up with the wrong kind of attention. Just check out some of the dozens of websites dedicated to these monstrosities and you will know what I mean. Go ahead and Google "bad book covers," you'll be shocked at what you find!

Now, how do you avoid this embarrassment and make sure you have a book cover that will draw the right kind of attention? You need to hire a professional who will either use top-of-the-line stock images or create a cover from scratch to fit your theme and your plot. You need someone who will take the highlights of your story and use them to bring your story to life. You want the reader to take one look and not only have an idea of what is contained within the pages, but will instantly want to buy your book and dive right in.

If you are looking for just such an artist, you should consider checking out the Pittsburgh Writer website. For a discounted price that you won't find anywhere else, a highly-skilled, experienced designer will put together a book cover to draw in traffic, not laughs. The best part? They have a 100% money back guarantee if you aren't completely satisfied with what your artist produces. You can choose between a stock image design or a completely custom illustration. Also, if you are publishing in print, they can help you with full front and back covers, along with a spine.

Don't let your book become the butt of potential readers' jokes, get a professional cover!

Updates to the "Editing Services" tab

At the top of my blog, there is a tab called "Freelance Editing Services." Besides describing the services I offer, from proofreading to developmental editing, I have updated the page to include my price list!

Proofreading

Up to 5 pages - $10

Up to 25 pages - $40

Up to 50 pages - $75

Up to 100 pages - $125

Up to 200 pages - $240

200 pages and up - $360

Developmental Editing

Up to 5 pages - $30

Up to 25 pages - $125

Up to 50 pages - $225

Up to 100 pages - $425

Up to 200 pages - $825

200 pages and up - $1,200

A specific due date can be requested.

Looking for some top-notch creative services?

Do you need an editor or proofreader? A ghostwriter? A custom-designed cover for your book? Do you need help formatting your eBook for publication? After publication, would you like someone to help market your book? Want to draw more traffic to your Facebook fan page, blog, and Twitter account? Do you need someone to write technical content for you?

If your answer to any of these questions was "Yes!", then you need to head on over to the Pittsburgh Writer website. Despite the name, this website is a gold mine for more than just Western Pennsylvania writers. These new services are offered by professionals that want to help you succeed. And with the discounted prices that you won't find anywhere else, you will get more for your money.

The website also offers tips for writing fiction and recommends other top-notch websites to help you truly succeed in the writing world. Plus, the blog covers the nuisances of the everyday life of a writer, sharing the successes, frustrations, and obstacles that you probably encounter in your own struggle to create.

If you have been looking for a website that not only offers you the tools you need to publish your book but shows you how to make money off of it too, then you need to check out the Pittsburgh Writer's new Creative Services pages.

Happy New Year!

Before all of the festivities get started, I wanted to wish everyone a Happy New Year! Do you have any goals or resolutions for 2014? Have you made resolutions in the past? If so, have you stuck with them? Let me know what you think!

If you are like me and don't have cable, here is a link to a live feed to watch the ball drop in New York City. The live feed will begin at 5:55PM Eastern Time, so tune in to enjoy the celebration!

http://www.latintimes.com/new-years-eve-ball-drop-2013-live-stream-when-and-where-watch-times-square-event-141379

A Good Christmas Read

Are you looking for a new Christmas story to read this season? A Gitmo Nation Christmas Carol, inspired by Charles Dickens' classic and based on the No Agenda series, is a thrilling tale of the mistake-filled life of President Ebenezer Scrooge. This twist on the traditional holiday story will keep you on your toes!

The best part? It is FREE for the next 5 days in the Kindle store!
In the US, get your copy at http://www.amazon.com/Gitmo-Nation-Christmas-Carol-ebook/dp/B00A8Z3OH8.
In the UK, get your copy at http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gitmo-Nation-Christmas-Carol-ebook/dp/B00A8Z3OH8/.

Oh, and it also happens to be edited by me!

A Christmas Message

If you are alive and well on social media, you have probably seen this cartoon floating about. With the holidays quickly approaching, I think it is a good time to remember that books can be a great Christmas gift! Don't forget that giving someone, child or adult, the gift of a good book can open new worlds, let them learn something new, and expand their universe. Happy holidays, everyone!

Developing our Language

Have you heard and/or seen this speech by Stephen Fry? If not, you need to watch and listen to this video. In it, Stephen Fry talks about the "correct" use of language and how, if you will excuse the term, "grammar Nazis" need to reevaluate their motives.

As an editor, I find this video very interesting. I started to contemplate the difference between cleaning up a manuscript and squashing an author's creativity. It seems that we have entered an era where people are fighting the development of language. Any slip of a comma or misuse of a word is immediately attacked by the mass of the Internet. Everyone is enforcing the idea that the English language needs to be static, that the rules are the rules and that's just the way it is. What if, however, we allowed people to start making up words? I don't mean "YOLO" and "swag", but more along the lines of what many people have done in our past. What if we allowed our language to keep moving forward and develop? Our language is vastly different from the German language it is said to have come from. It has added and subtracted words, meanings, spellings, usages, and other rules as time has gone on. We have stolen from other languages and we have allowed our own words to shift to become other things. You just have to look at the differences between American and British English to see how things have been growing. Instead of fighting this evolution, I think we should try to embrace it and give new words and meanings a try. Who knows where we could end up?

What are your thoughts?

An Internet Funny

What do you think?

Times are Changing

"I write a story as if it were a letter to someone and essentially, that’s what you do."
-Theodore Sturgeon

I came across this quote today and it made me start to think. I feel like this has hit the basic idea of writing on the head. When you are writing down a story, it can sometimes seem like you are recounting an event or series of actions that happened in your own life. You put yourself in the place of the main character. You can choose to either recite past actions or narrate as the story moves in time. You can comment on the experience or present it point-blank. All in all, you are expressing what has happened to the reader.

Then, I was struck by the idea that some of the younger generation may not completely understand this quote. Besides the occasional school exercise or required essay, a letter has become a lost form of communication. Emails and text messages don't quite convey the same thoughtfulness, consideration, and detail as a letter. In a world of instant gratification, where you can tell the whole world each moment of every day, how do you apply this theory to today? As a series of Facebook statuses and tweets? It just doesn't convey the same meaning.

Instead of mourning this change, however, I prefer to look at it as a chance to become more creative. With more and more stories becoming popular that utilize an alternative writing style, this could be a chance for the next generation to come up with their own way of telling the stories in their heads.

What do you think, opportunity for new ideas or tragic loss of an art? Leave your ideas in the comments.

Hello again, World!

Wow, it has certainly been awhile. This is my first blog post as a married woman. This past summer has been a whirlwind and I can't believe the time has gone so fast! Here's my question: How are YOU doing today?

From a Book to a Movie

Which book-turned-movie do you wish would have been done this way?
I vote for the Harry Potter series! (Yes, I know, not exactly a classic. But I can't help but love some of the "popular" lit too!)

I never fail to be amazed

Having THAT kind of night?

Get Thee to the Internet

Lately I have become extra aware that there are still many places of business that are neglecting their online presence. Recently, I was trying to find a place to meet my mother for lunch. We live a little over an hour apart, so we were looking for somewhere to meet in the middle. Not knowing the area very well, I relied on the internet to research potential restaurants. There were many names that I came across that had no web presence whatsoever, not even a basic Facebook page. There were some places that had a web presence, but it was so outdated or jumbled that I couldn't garner any information from it. In the end, I picked a place that had a decent website and featured their full menu online.

What does this story mean to you? It points out the importance of having a web presence for your business. It doesn't have to be glamorous and full of multiple links and pages. It does need, however, to have the important information on it. You will have to identify your consumer and what they are looking for. If you are a restaurant, you need to highlight what atmosphere you have to offer and what type of food you serve. If you are an amusement park, you need to highlight your prices and what makes you different from any other amusement park. If you are a freelance writer, you need to showcase your talent and tell your audience how you stand out from other writers.

If you want to succeed as a business, one of the most important things is to build yourself a web presence. Give your potential customers a place to come to for research. Let them learn more about you, what you have to offer, and how you are different. Give them a way to find out more from the safety of their computer and you will be rewarded with more customers and, more importantly, loyal customers.

The Importance of Interest

As a writer, illustrator, or other artist, you know how important it is to get your work out to the public. Marketing is key in drawing in potential customers and gaining sales. Some people seem to magically have the "gift" for doing this, where every marketing tweet or blog post just oozes with "the right stuff." You read what they have to say and automatically think you need this product. For some, however, it's not so easy. The marketing copy falls flat, feeling more like a cheesy infomercial than something with true power. So, what makes them feel so different?

Part of the problem is the definition of "importance." The good marketers know that it isn't about whether or not the creator finds the work important. Of course you do, or you wouldn't be making it! The real test is making the potential client believe that it is important to them. In order to really convince them that they need what you are offering, they need to know why. How will it impact their life? What void will it fill? Will it completely change an aspect of their daily tasks? Will it change their mood?

The key to success when marketing your creative products is to see your marketing strategy from the customer's point of view. While it's nice to think that every single one will want to buy your book just because it's unique, that's not enough. They won't buy it just because of that. They need a personal reason. If you approach your work from this angle, you will be able to convince them that it is worth the money to reap the benefits.

Ready to Publish?

You have been working hard on your story, novel, or manuscript for a long time. It has been weeks, months, or even years of dedication and determination. Now, as you reread your latest draft, you think it might finally be ready to enter the public domain. STOP RIGHT THERE! Don't go any further before you can answer these questions:

1. Have you edited it thoroughly by yourself? Check your facts. Check for consistency. Check for grammar, sentence structure, and spelling issues. Physically go through and verify that it as good as it can get. And never ever rely on a spell checker or grammar checker! While they can help, they are notorious for missing things or correcting things that don't need corrected. They are a great place to start, but you need to be independent too.
2. Have you developed a title? You had a working title, sure, but is it what you really want to call it on the open market? Does it capture the point of your story? Will it attract the right type of reader? Carefully examine the reasons why you are picking this particular title and, if it doesn't work, don't be afraid to scrap it and start finding a new one. It can be scary to have an untitled manuscript this close to completion, but it will benefit you in the future if you take the time to know it is a 100% perfect fit.
3. Does your book have a blurb? Not only does this paragraph or two of information need to contain a summary of your work, it needs to pack a punch. It needs to be more aggressive than just "drawing" your reader in; it needs to grab them by the wrist with an iron grip and yank them into it! This can be difficult, especially since you are so close to the work, so make sure you have plenty of honest reader friends look it over. If they wouldn't buy the book immediately after reading your blurb, then it isn't doing it's job.
4. Do you have a good cover? If you are epublishing, then a cover is one of the most important things you will develop in this stage. The phrase "Don't judge a book by it's cover" is irrelevant in the ebook world. Trust me, your potential readers will take one glance at the thumbnail of your cover and, from that information alone, decide if they want to continue or click away to other things. If needs to not only represent your book well, but it needs to be well done. No cruddy artwork, no blurriness, no hard-to-read wording. It needs to be good, solid art. Not an artist yourself? Expect to find someone that is to do it for you.
5. Has a professional editor looked it over? Even if you are an editor as well as a writer, you still need a fresh set of eyes. And no, your friend from down the street doesn't count (well, unless they really are a professional editor, but for the sake of argument let's say they aren't). Most people in your life will take it easy on you or will miss something important, like a fact being different on page 101 from when it was mentioned on page 1. Find someone willing to give it the attention it deserves.
6. Have you made yourself visible online? Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, your own blog, your own website, forums, Google+, and many more websites and networks can help make you more accessible to your future readers. When you finally publish, people will want to research you. Give them places to go where they can find out more about you, your work as an author, other things you have published, and any other information you are willing to share. The more they know you, the stronger the connection, and the more likely they are to purchase what you have to offer. And don't forget to interact!

All done? Now, you may continue!

To a degree...

To a degree, I agree with this! If you are a professional and you are sending me an email, a letter, or other correspondence, then I believe you should have the ability to proofread your own work. If it comes in garbled and jumbled, then why should I think that you are competent in other areas? Why should I trust your expertise?
Obviously, there are many people out there who are intelligent and spectacular at their jobs but still don't have a great grasp on writing. However, it just doesn't make a good impression if you can't follow the rules of English. If you struggle in this area, you can always reach out to someone else for help. Taking the time to correct your mistakes makes your correspondence seem more coherent and professional.

Do You Believe in Luck?

Dictionary.com defines luck as "the force that seems to operate for good or ill in a person's life, as in shaping circumstances, events, or opportunities."

Merriam-Webster.com defines luck as "a force that brings good fortune or adversity; the events or circumstances that operate for or against an individual."

MacmillianDictionary.com defines luck as "success that you have by chance and not because of anything that you do."

OxfordDictionaries.com defines luck as "success or failure apparently brought by chance rather than through one’s own actions."

Except for the Merriam-Webster definition, each source seems to phrase it in such a way that dismisses the concept of luck. Dictionary.com emphasizes that luck is a force that seems to operate... Macmillian's phrasing is decidedly negative, not because of.... And Oxford uses the word apparently in such a way that suggests luck is a myth.

Personally, I allow for the idea that luck can influence the smaller things in our lives. Your bag of cereal ripped, making your breakfast fall all over the floor? That is rotten luck! As for the bigger stuff, however, I believe that there is some greater force at work. I am not suggesting that God or Fate has a hand in these matters (though if that is what you believe, more power to you!). I have come to believe that we each have a part in the major things. If I want to be a famous writer some day, I am not going to wait for luck to come around and make it so. I am going to work my butt off towards my goal and, when I achieve it, it will be because of hard work and dedication instead of by chance. Even the big things that seem like luck are a combination of individual choices. The wreck that destroys your rear bumper? It may not have been because of a conscious choice you made, but the combination of choices that you and the other driver made led to that point.

Now, what is your viewpoint on luck? Does it influence your life?