Category Archives: blogging

She was a pushy dame with an appetite for the limelight…

SpillaneAs a freelancer, I wear two hats: one as a writer, the other as a publication layout artist. The season for my publication layout work runs from August through February, which leaves about five months of unscheduled time to pursue my own projects. Some years I get assigned to write a book, others I go scrounging for piece-work. Last year, I had neither to fill the gap, so I set several of my own ideas in motion: a series of Kindle cookbooks, a line of spice blends, an apron design, a collection of short stories, and a self-published children’s book that had been shelved and forgotten for nearly twenty years.

In the spring and summer of 2012, I managed to lay the foundations, to begin production on all of these projects, and to design a website for each one. But that’s as far as I was able to progress before it was time for the publication layout season to begin again. And now that I’m finished with this year’s edition, I’m once again presented with another five months of unscheduled time to pick up where I left off last August.

The first thing I realized is that I now have to find the most effective way to market what I’ve created. And I know I’m not alone when I say that marketing has never been my forte. I’m sure there are lots of ‘creatives’ out there who would much rather spend their time writing a novel, creating a work of art, composing a song, or in my case…developing a new recipe and photographing the finished dish!

But market I must.

On my very first day of freelancing freedom, while pondering the possibilities for introducing my creations to the world, as if manna from heaven, I happened upon a quote from steamy, noir detective novelist Mickey Spillane, who said: “Wherever I go everybody knows me, but here’s why … I’m a merchandiser, I’m not just a writer. I stay in every avenue you can think of.”

His career spanned more than sixty years, from his early stories in DC Comics and the publication of his first novel, I, the Jury, in 1947, to his death in 2006. He appeared in every medium, from comic books, magazines, and pulp fiction, to movies and television. Several of his novels have been published posthumously, and he now has a presence on the Internet that yields more than 700,000 search results.

Mickey Spillane’s words lit a fuse that sparked fireworks in my imagination, and over the course of a single week, I have explored the promotion of my products via Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, Vimeo, Tumblr, LinkedIn, Wikipedia, Amazon, eBay, Goodreads, Twitter, Google, and Groupon, not to mention the thousands of bloggers who write about the very things that I’ve created. Suddenly there aren’t enough hours in a day, a week, or even five months to pursue them all…but I’m gonna give it my best shot.

 

CelesteHeiterFZBioCeleste Heiter is the author of Turn Your PC into a Lean Mean Freelancing Machine, the creator of the LoveBites Cookbook Series for Kindle Fire, and the author of Potty Pals , a potty-training book for children. She has also written ten books published by ThingsAsian Press; and spent eight years posting her recipes, food photographs, and film reviews on ChopstickCinema .

Visit her website, and her Amazon Author Page.

 

Multitasking – Does It Help or Hinder Writing?

I used to play music when I wrote letters, short stories, and articles. Then when I became an editor, and started proofreading or evaluating manuscripts, I continued this practice. Big mistake. When it comes to editing, I definitely need to focus on one thing at a time.

Now I turn off the TV, ignore incoming text messages, and close my Facebook page in my browser; the only windows I leave open are dictionary.com and a search engine if it’s related to what I’m researching.

Some people feel more creative writing with music playing in the background, and aren’t distracted by answering the occasional text or e-mail. That’s fine, but know yourself and try it both ways. If you’ve been accustomed to doing three or four things at one time while you write, try eliminating them all and just write.

Conversely, if you sit in total silence, experiment with playing something soothing, stimulating, or edgy and see if it improves your story. But definitely downplay your distractions when you’re proofreading your work.

Sigrid Macdonald is an editor and the author of three books, including Be Your Own Editor. You can find her at http://sigridmacdonald.blogspot.com/ .

When and How To Find Freelance Jobs

By Amanda Smyth Connor

social-media

By now, you’ve come to learn that I have a deeply passionate fondness for social media – bordering on unhealthy obsession – and this week we’ll explore one more reason why I believe  social media is the greatest invention since #slicedbread.

Now that you are on Twitter (you are, aren’t you?) and you’re fully entrenched into following, conversing with, and RTing your favorite freelancers, writers, authors, etc, you should also be following all of the companies you are most interested in working with.

Nearly every major company has a social media presence, and the smartest of the bunch have Twitter feeds/Facebook accounts/LinkedIn pages dedicated to talent acquisition, i.e. job postings. Companies are currently in their first quarter (Q1) during which the majority of hiring takes place for the year, as Q1 occurs directly following budget approvals. What does this all mean? It means that you have the best chance of getting hired for awesome freelance gigs during Q1, and maybe Q2. Chances are also low that you’ll get hired during Q3 and most hiring is NOT done during Q4, since this is the time of year that companies have expended their budgets and need to wait for new budget approval (Q1.) And thus we come full circle.

Pop Quiz!

1. When do you have the highest chance of finding a freelance gig with a company? (A. Q1)

2. Where should you look for company jobs? (A. Aside from freelance job boards, follow the company talent acquisition Twitter feeds, Facebook pages, LinkedIn pages and RSS feeds on the career pages of their websites.)

3. When are you least likely to get a call back about that awesome freelance gig you applied for? (A. Q4)


Amanda Smyth Connor is a social media manager for a major publishing company and has managed online communities and content development for many start-up and Fortune 500 companies.  She has been a professional editor for more years than she can remember.

How Not To Get Fired From Your Social Media Job

Screen Shot 2013-01-24 at 9.37.09 PMBy Amanda Smyth Connor

It’s incredibly easy to get fired/downsized from a social media position. Very few C-level executives have a working understanding of social media, and even fewer understand how it equates to dollars and cents in their business. So when the going gets tough, the tough cut the jobs they believe are unnecessary.

But you’re NOT unnecessary. You know EXACTLY how necessary you are to the company! You know that your social media efforts have increased the company’s public exposure and brand messaging awareness. You know that you’ve tackled your share of customer service inquiries, you’ve identified potential sales leads and you’re tracking all of your competitors online marketing efforts in order to keep your company one step ahead.

So how can you prove your worth to the C-suite? Here are three handy-dandy tips to live by in order to keep your social media job.

1. Set real and measurable goals for yourself. Don’t leave it up to your manager to set goals for you. You know the growth rate of your community. You understand the level of feedback you can expect and you know what numbers and goals are realistic. Allowing a manager to set unrealistic goals for community growth, clicks or feedback sets you up for failure.

2. Track your analytics. Because no one else will, and the day will come when someone (“The Bobs”) will ask you “What would you say you do here?” All you have to do is pull out your analytics tracking sheets, with all of the wonderful numbers and charts (that you can pull FOR FREE from Hootsuite and Facebook) and you can hand it over and say “Here you go, Bob. I handle your social media. I handle the HECK out of your social media. Look at how those numbers have climbed….”

3. Be Present – Both in your social media community (answering posts, commenting back and keeping all of your social sites alive with activity,) and with your higher-ups. It’s tempting to fly under the radar, particularly if you work alone, remotely or work under a boss who doesn’t quite know what you do so they just let you manage yourself. You have to take it upon yourself to stay on the radar. If they don’t know about your achievements online, they can’t reward your efforts. Be the squeaky wheel who sends analytics updates without being asked. Volunteer to train upper management in social media best practices. Make yourself invaluable to your company.

If you follow these three basic rules, you might just NOT get fired when the chips are down and heads are on the chopping block. You’ll have made yourself an invaluable asset to your company and to your higher-ups.

Good luck. God speed. Don’t screw it up.

Amanda Smyth Connor is a social media manager for a major publishing company and has managed online communities and content development for many start-up and Fortune 500 companies.  She has been a professional editor for more years than she can remember.

Today’s Writing Tip: Going to My Parents’ House

sig2010Apostrophes can be tricky and, as a manuscript editor, one of the most common errors I see is the misspelling of the term “my parents’ house.” Most of the writers that I work with are apt to spell the term “my parent’s house.” Why is that usually wrong? And when is it right?

It’s wrong because most of the time, but certainly not always, we have two parents. Therefore the apostrophe goes after the term “parents” because the house belongs to the parents. It’s like saying, “I’m going to the squirrels’ hideout.” If there is only one squirrel, we can say, “the squirrel’s hideout”; otherwise, we use the plural.

Likewise for parents. If our parents are divorced, separated, widowed or otherwise reduced from two to one, it’s appropriate and absolutely correct to write, “I went over to my parent’s house.”

But chances are you’re not going to say that because it’s pretty formal. When you’re referring to both your mother and father, you’re likely to say, “parents” whereas if you’re talking about one parent, you’ll probably say “my mom,” “my stepmom,” or “my dad.” For example, “I went to my mom’s house.”

One way to catch this mistake is to keyword your manuscript or article at the end and look for the word “parent’s.” Then you can tell if the context is correct.

Sigrid Macdonald is the author of three books, including Be Your Own Editor (http://tinyurl.com/7wnk5se), and is both a line-by-line and a content editor for books, articles, magazines, and essays. Visit her at http://sigridmacdonald.blogspot.com/

Goal Setting and the Daruma Doll

DarumaDollIt’s hard to believe it was nearly twenty-five years ago that I took the plunge and moved to Tokyo to teach English: a decision that has shaped my life in immeasurable ways. Among the many Japanese traditions that have since become a part of my personal ethos is the dedication of a daruma doll whenever I set an important and meaningful goal for myself.

A daruma doll is a traditional Japanese icon modeled after a legendary Buddhist monk who spent nine years in devout meditation. A typical daruma doll is made of wood or papier-mâché, and has no arms or legs…only an ovoid torso and head, and a face with blank eyes. To dedicate a daruma doll, the left eye is filled in to signify one’s devotion to the resolution. When the task is complete or the goal achieved, the right eye is filled in to celebrate the accomplishment. Many Japanese people celebrate the New Year or commemorate significant resolutions with the dedication of daruma dolls, and each year, soon after the New Year celebration, festivals called Dondo Yaki are held throughout Japan, during which bonfires are kindled with cast off New Year decorations and fulfilled daruma dolls.

Goal-setting plays a major role in my everyday life; so much so that I begin each day with a list of goals, both miniscule and monumental, that I vow to complete before I lay my head on my pillow at day’s end. My list of daily goals might include something as simple as sewing on a missing button, or something as significant as booking my next vacation. But when it comes to major goals, I always dedicate a daruma doll to the cause and place it on my desk. There’s nothing quite so compelling as a daruma doll, staring at me day after day with that one good eye, reminding me to stay the course; and nothing quite so fulfilling as coloring in the other one to celebrate a triumphant fait accompli.

This year, I’m dedicating three: one for my career and financial goals, one for my health and fitness goals, and one for that dream house with the ocean view!

Akemashite omedeto gozaimasu!

CelesteHeiterFZBioCeleste Heiter is the author of Turn Your PC into a Lean Mean Freelancing Machine, the creator of the LoveBites Cookbook Series for Kindle Fire, and the author of Potty Pals , a potty-training book for children. She has also written ten books published by ThingsAsian Press; and spent eight years posting her recipes, food photographs, and film reviews on ChopstickCinema .

Visit her website, and her Amazon Author Page.