Category Archives: Business

Blogging for Writers: Ten Tips for Beginners

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by  @AnnieDaylon 

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Blogging for Writers: The Sequel 🙂
(10 Tips for Beginners)

 

My last post about Blogging for Writers dealt with value: What’s In It for Me? What’s in it for Us?  This one deals with content. Here are 10 Tips for Beginners:

 

1.  Get Started. Don’t wait until you have the exact area of interest or until you have perfected your style. These will come. Choose a topic and go.

2.  Keep it Short. Write enough to cover your topic. Stop. I set time limits for reading blog posts (busy!) and, out of respect for other readers, I set word limits for writing them. My writing goal/post? Fewer than 500 words. More to say? Write a sequel!

 3.  Keep it Simple. Get to the point. Tell your readers what you are going to write about, write about it, and tell them what you have written.

4.  Use White Space (or, in my case, blue. 🙂 White space is simply that, the leftover space around the words. White space around content actually draws readers toward content. To create white space, use short paragraphs. Get rid of unnecessary words. Use Point Form.

5.  Include a Question to Encourage Readers to Comment. E.g. What are your best blogging tips?

6.  Use a Call to Action. Ask people to subscribe or follow.

7.  Share, and Ask Others to Share. Use Twitter, Facebook, Linked In, Google+, whatever works for you. Make sharing easy for your readers by including Share Buttons. A blog is a tool.  It is useless if people don’t know it is there. Share. Share. Share.

8.  Use your Twitter Handle in the Byline of your Post. When I read a good post, I share it via Twitter. I schedule my Tweets using Tweetdeck. If I can find the Twitter handle of the author, I add it to the Tweet. Why? If someone at-mentions you (e.g. @AnnieDaylon) it will show up on your Twitter stream; you can favorite it, retweet it, reply to it. Your post will gain more ground.

9.  Always Check your Work. I just checked this post and realized that I had 9 tips, not the promised 10. I added this one. 🙂

10. Invest in a Good Resource about Blogging. Try Blog It  by Molly Greene. It contains information on everything from Set Up to SEO. It saved me a lot of time and energy. Highly recommend!

 

If you are on the verge of blogging, as I was a while back, try the above Ten Tips for Beginners.

If you are already a blogger, what tips do you have for beginners?

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Writing Resources: My Current Favorites

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by @AnnieDaylon 

Looking for Writing Resources? Here, categorized by Story, Style, and Sell are my current favorites.

shutterstock_107880212Story:

  1. Wired for Story: The Writer’s Guide to Using Brain Science to Hook Readers from the Very First Sentence  by Lisa Cron

  2. How to Write a Damn Good Thriller  by James N. Frey

  3. The Art and Craft of Writing Historical Fiction  by James Alexander Thom

  4. The Writer’s Journey  by Christopher Vogler

Style:

  1.  Finding Your Writer’s Voice: A Guide to Creative Fiction  by Thaisa Frank & Dorothy Wall

  2. The Deluxe Transitive Vampire: The Ultimate Handbook of Grammar for the Innocent, the Eager, and the Doomed  by Karen Elizabeth Gordon

  3. Eats, Shoots and Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation  by Lynne Truss

  4. The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Expression   by Angela Ackerman

Sell:

  1. The Frugal Book Promoter   by Carolyn Howard-Johnson

  2. Blog It! The Author’s Guide to Building a Successful Online Brand  by Molly Greene

 

There you have it, my current Top Ten writing resources. Am always looking to update; any suggestions as to resources I can add?

 

My best to you,

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My Goodreads Giveaway Experience

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by @ AnnieDaylon

 

CASTLES-IN-THE-SAND (2) brag medallion

 

 

Indie authors have a lot of work to do in terms of marketing. If you are considering a paperback giveaway (as I did for Castles in the Sand), consider doing it through Goodreads. Here’s my experience:

 

 

  • In July, I

    • Checked the details on Goodreads:
    • Contacted Goodreads with minor questions (got quick response)
    • Chose the dates (August 1-31).
    • Elected to give away 10 books.
    • Filled in, submitted the Form. Goodreads published the Giveaway almost immediately. (Super efficient!)

  • During August, I

    • promoted through Twitter, Linked In and Email List.
    • set aside a box labeled “Goodreads Giveaway. Into it, I put 10 books, each with a bookmark, 10 mailing envelopes, 10 handwritten notes which congratulated winners and asked if they would rate/review the book on Goodreads.
      • Note: I left space for individual name on each note.

  • On August 31st , I

    • checked Goodreads and discovered that there were 428 entries in the Giveaway.
    • checked my email. The list of winners was there, 5 in Canada, 5 in the USA. (Did I mention that Goodreads is efficient?)
    • made address labels for the winners
    • packaged the books
      • Note: If possible, keep size within post office limits. (In earlier attempts at mailing, I slipped books into corrugated covers. Mistake! Way too expensive! Use paper!)  Each of my books fit through the standard postal slots so regular mail fees applied. Fortunately, I live very close to the U.S. border, so I mailed books bound for the United States in the United States. Mailing costs? In Canada, $3.75/book. In the U.S., $2.53/book.

  • In September, I

    • Read a wonderful email from an excited winner.
    • Received (to date) three reviews on Goodreads, one of which also appears on that reviewer’s website Book Reads and Reviews. (Many thanks to all who took time to rate/review the book!)
    • Emailed Goodreads to thank them for their support and efficiency.
Goodreads: Author's Guide to Giveaways

Goodreads: Author’s Guide to Giveaways

For me the Goodreads Giveaway was an excellent marketing experience, one that I wish I had known about sooner. That’s the thing with going indie; so much to do! As I wrote to a helpful staff member at Goodreads, ‘I wish that I could assemble the minions! Alas, there is only me.’

But, then again, there is Goodreads!

My best to you,

Annie Signature Light Blue

 

 

My ‘Write’ Space

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by @AnnieDaylon

office 001If you live in a small place and want to work at home, you need a designated space, one that can accommodate your work without commandeering your life.  Here’s a suggestion: an armoire.

We downsized a few years back and planned the move in great detail. The fact that there would be less floor space in our new home inspired us to take wall space into consideration. I sold my old computer desk which sprawled the wall at chair rail height and replaced it with an armoire.

Open, the armoire is a complete office, with space for computer, printer, paper and storage containers.Office (2)It also has a file drawer and a desktop for plain old handwriting. I can open the doors to 180 degrees or angle them so that everything is at arm’s length.

Closed, the armoire is an attractive, unassuming piece of furniture, six feet high and three-and-a-half feet wide. Not only does it fit almost any small space scenario, it also masks the detritus of the workaday world.

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Anyone working from home needs to ‘get away from the office’ occasionally. What better way than to use an armoire?  One of my favorite things about my ‘Write’ Space is that I can lock the doors and hang my Closed sign. This is my reminder to disconnect. Later, I can return, refreshed and ready to create.

My armoire has proven to be an ideal writing space for me. What is your ideal ‘Write’ Space?

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My best to you,

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What’s in a Pen Name?

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by @AnnieDaylon

shutterstock_163039295My legal name is Angela Day. A perfectly good name but, as I discovered in my quest for a domain name, a ubiquitous one. Chefs, writers, real-estate agents, doctoral candidates… so many Angela Days. I even located and angel-a-day website: all angels, all the time.
My choice then? A nom de plume.
I opted for the surname Daylon (a combination of my maiden name and married name) and chose Annie in lieu of Angela/Angie. Why Annie? My middle name is Ann, the middle of my surname contains the name Ann, and, years ago, I was influenced by three extraordinary women named Annie:

  • Annie Sullivan,  Helen Keller’s lifelong teacher, a.k.a. The Miracle Worker. I admired her dedication and perseverance.

    “Keep on beginning and failing… you will grow stronger until you have accomplished a purpose.” ~Annie Sullivan

  • Annie Oakley, sharpshooter, star of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show, egalitarian. I admired her confidence, her belief in the equality of women, and above all, her persistence.

    “Aim at a high mark and you will hit it. No, not the first time, not the second, and maybe not the third. But keep on aiming and keep on shooting for only practice will make you perfect. Finally, you’ll hit the bull’s-eye of success.” ~ Annie Oakley

  • Annie Murphy, my eighth-grade teacher, lover of poetry and prose. I admired her dogged determination and over-the-top optimism.

    Today we are starting ‘The Rime of the ancient Mariner’ by Samuel Taylor Coleridge and… you will memorize it. ~ Annie Murphy (paraphrased)

All of the above quotes relate to setting high goals and hammering away at them. I’m working on mine. Did I ever memorize Coleridge’s classic? Not a chance. My teen-rebellion years kicked in as soon as I realized that The Rime of the Ancient Mariner contained more than one hundred verses. However, I did memorize a lot of poetry in grade eight; to this day, I can recite Magee’s High Flight and McCrae’s Flanders Fields. And I will be forever grateful to Annie Murphy because it is she who taught me to love literature.

So, there it is. The Annie Daylon story. I have had no second thoughts about the choice of surname but I have, on occasion, questioned the choice of the first name simply because there are instances when people are at odds over whether to call me Angie or Annie. (Annie will do just fine, by the way.) Other than that, no regrets: the use of a pen name works well for me. With regard to submissions, I sign Annie Daylon (ndp) and beneath that Angela Day (legal name). As for copyright? Legal name only.

Do you have a pen name? If so, what’s your story?

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