What is content marketing? Simply put, it's marketing your content....putting your content, the information you produce, out in the world for potential readers to see. You are marketing your content. This can be easier said than done. I briefly cover content marketing in my ebook, Writing for Publicaation , available here . In the ebook, I share that it's important to not only market your content, but brand yourself in your market. You are giving content to sell a brand....and that brand is you, but you're marketing your content, not yourself. Market your writing, not your personality. Use your personality as a marketing tool, but don't market it as the brand. People can get tired of you, but they will never tire of relevant, consistent information which helps them succeed. For more, be sure to read the ebook so you can be on your way to e-publishing success.  You can do this! Write often. Write well. Just write. ~Tricia

In my e-book, Writing for Publication , I list my top five editing tips. If you have not read the book and you want to earn money writing, read the book today. It's available on Amazon, here , and on Fiverr, here . Editing is vital to writing success, but I do understand that not everyone can afford to hire an editor; some have to edit their own work. I never recommend this, but I know finances require it at times. Here are my top five editing tips: Get rid of "that" whenever you can Use both "very" and "really" in a very limited way. Really. Be careful of repetition. Don't repeat yourself repeatedly. Keep your tense consistent.  Don't start a sentence or paragraph in past tense,  then time travel to the present tense by the end. Do not write the same way you talk. These tips will help you a great deal. Memorize them and learn to mentally use them as you write or as you review your writing. I tend to e...

I used to think, as a freelancer, that I could not "afford" to turn jobs down, so I took everything that came my way. Lately, though, I've learned it's better to sometimes say a resounding, "No" to potential jobs. Fiverr has taught me this recently. I have turned down a good number of jobs on Fiverr and have no regrets. I wanted to show you a glimpse of the jobs I've turned down and tell you why I turned them down. I turned down a gig worth $120.00 because the client wanted me to edit a 12,000 word document in two days, over the weekend. Nope. I've had to nearly always put myself on "vacation" mode for weekends in order to spend time with my family. I was not going to compromise an entire weekend for one job, even if it did pay well. I turned down a job that paid $130.00 because the client was sarcastic, rude and didn't follow the rules laid out in the gig. They wanted exceptions at every turn. I'm very specific about...

I am a wife. I am a mom. I am a writer. I am a crafter. My favorite craft is paper crafting. My second favorite is drawing. Even that involves paper. As does my writing. When I craft, I think.  When I think, I write.  When I write, I get published.  When I get published, I earn money.  It nearly always starts with crafting for me.  As I've taught my writing students, thinking is a huge part of writing. I've spent weeks thinking about things I've written before I finally sat down and wrote them. Funny thing is, when I spend so much time thinking about writing, before I even write, when it's time to write those thoughts down, they are usually written within 20 minutes and these are the ones most purchased by a publisher. So, whenever I'm in my studio making pretty paper crafts, I'm actually working on a writing project. Write often. Write well. Just write. ~Tricia

Every writer fails, no matter how successful they are. In my book, Writing for Publication , I talk about failure, how it's inevitable and how to overcome it as a writer. Today, I'm sharing my second point on how to overcome failure and rejection as a writer. I think of this point as logic at work. Don't let rejection slow you down. Realize and accept that rejection is part of the job of writing for publication. If you accept this, it will not surprise you when it happens. It's a given, par for the course. It truly cannot be avoided. What you need to do is file the rejection away.... then keep writing without missing a beat. There will more on this in my next post and point 3 goes along with this point very well. I have been a regular writer for one publishing house for over 27 years, yet I still get rejected by them from time to time. I don't care. If one article is rejected by one arm of the company, I submit it to anothe...

Every writer has failures. Without exception. Dr. Seuss was rejected 27 times before he was finally able to get And to Think I Saw it on Mulberry Street published by Vanguard Press in 1937.  Search other famous authors and you will find they were all rejected at some point. Famed author Amanda Hocking came to my writing class with a thick folder full of rejection letters. When she, in class, learned about self-publishing and Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing , she published her own work. Soon, after selling over 1 million copies, she got the attention of some of the largest publishing houses. Then they fought for her. They could fight for you one day. In my book, Writing for Publication , I give 6 ways to overcome rejection and failure in your writing. My next 6 blog posts will each highlight one of these techniques. Appreciate your Own Talent If you know you are a good writer  and  if you have something valid to say,  appreciate that in yourself...

I love my laptop and modern technology. Most of my writing is actually done in my head so by the time I get to the process of writing it down, I simply start with my laptop and type it out. I love the convenience of being able to see exactly how many words and pages I have. But, there are times when only pencil and paper will do. I recently fractured my thumb, making typing challenging. When a writing idea recently struck, I had no choice but to go to pencil and paper to write it down. Now, this writing project has become larger than I first anticipated and because I started it with pencil and paper, that's how I have to continue. And it has to be in pencil, not pen. And it has to be a mechanical pencil. And it has to be on a white legal pad. And it has to be in longhand, not printed. And it has to be on my giant, old wooden desk. As a writer, I guess this shows I have a few idiosyncrasies. What about you? Write often. Write well. Just write. ~Tricia

I didn't mean to take a break from this blog, it just happened because we were moving, I developed frozen shoulder, life got too hectic and I couldn't focus. I'm not sure I'm focusing any better than I was, but when I realized I had not posted anything on my writer's blog since Jan 2, I felt a bit of panic. I write nearly every day, regardless of what I post. My personal blog about how my theology shapes my everyday decisions, The Priscilla Principle Blog , has been more active than this writing blog. If you click on that blog link, you'll find there no pictures to represent the content of the blog. I was recently warned about using Google images for blogging and advised not to. I had just started doing that, and had used a Google image for that post, but I took the picture down. Apparently, a blogger was sued and had to pay over $5,000 for using a Google image. Ok. Lesson learned - from them. I will use my own photography or stock photos I've eith...

Happy New Year! It's always exciting to begin a new year. With the anticipation of all that 2016 can hold for you, make this the year you finally write that novel, memoir, short story, poem or e-book. This is your year to get published and I wrote a book designed to help you do just that. Writing for Publication is now available in paperback, in addition to the e-book. Writing for Publication is a simple, easy-to-read, comprehensive handbook on how to write for publication. In it, you'll learn why you shouldn't write the same way you talk, how to keep your audience in mind while writing, why grammar is so important and much, much more. My writing style is to the point with no frills. Just the facts. Just the plan. Just the way you like it. My students get published. As a personal writing coach, I've helped an 87-year-old great grandmother get published for the first time. I coached a 14-year-old girl who won the school writing contest she entered. I coach...

I started writing early in life. As a child, I wrote long, elaborate stories while sitting in a hollow tree down by the creek and it was an absolute escape for me. But, it never occurred to me to share that writing with anyone else. I did writing assignments in school with gusto and always got good grades on them, but it still didn't occur to me to write something that anyone else would want to read. My teachers had assigned the writing, so it was their demand I wrote for. I didn't write anything for anyone other than my teachers and myself to read. Then I got to college and a professor at Summit University (then Baptist Bible College of PA), Glenn Crabb, changed my life. I wrote a paper for his class and I not only got an A on the paper, he wrote a note in red at the top. He simply said, "Reading your writing is just like talking to you. You should write." I was not used to receiving compliments. His words astounded me, but it took years before I had the ner...

I read a few tips on writing from J.R.R. Tolkien today and this one, "Keep writing, even through adversity," really spoke to me because our family is facing a time of great adversity. 19 days ago, a large tumor was discovered at the base of my husband's spine. It turned out to be cancer and quickly turned our lives upside down. You can read more of that story here , on another one of my blogs. Yesterday, I posted on The Total Writer's Facebook page that I'm taking a hiatus from writing in order to deal with my husband's cancer. Well, today, I'm discovering that I can't keep to that. I can't not write. I need to write and was feeling very much like I needed to write, but felt guilty as though, somehow, my writing was an invalid distraction to the cancer and all it entails. But, today, I no longer feel that way. I realized, through reading J.R.R. Tolkien's tip to write through adversity, that writing through his cancer is actually a good,...

STOP right there in your tracks! You've written a great piece, whether it's a blog post or the next great American novel, and you're ready to publish. STOP! Don't do it! Have your work edited first. While many writers feel this step is bothersome, it's the most worthwhile step, next to your actual writing, that you can take. An independent editor is best because they bring an objective eye to your writing. Where can you find an independent editor? One of the best ways to find your editor is through Fiverr . Fiverr is a great no-commitment way to find your best editor. Test a few editors out on small jobs before you hire any for a bigger one. This will give you a chance to gauge their work to see if you're compatible. Not every editor is compatible with every writer. Test the waters before you plunge too deeply to make a change. So, this is your tip for today....STOP in your tracks and hire an independent editor. Your readers will thank you. Write oft...

I'm not only a writer, I am also a professional editor. As an editor, I often warn my clients about my frequent brutality when it comes to editing their work. I tell them they can't take it personally when I turn their lovingly slaved-over documents into marked-up-with-red, messy works that need fixing. But, I do it all in their best interest. I do it for them so they don't publish something that makes them look like an idiot. The public isn't very forgiving when it comes to bad writing. People just move on and don't read bad writing. I read this article today on The Writer's Circle and I find this to be solid, good advice. I use all these filters, and more, when I write and when I edit. I like all the points in this article and they would be helpful for any writer. Enjoy! For the love of writing on this Valentine's Day, ~Tricia

There are many ways to improve as a writer. I've taught many ways myself. You can read to write better. You can write to write better. Did you know you can also edit to write better? Yep, it's true. I recently joined Fiverr as an editor and as I have gotten more and more gigs, I realized that what I'm learning by editing other people's work is actually helping my writing. That's a bonus I did not expect or plan on, but I am pleasantly surprised that it's making such a difference. Have you considered editing as a tool to improve your own writing? I recently blogged about how I like editing because I get to fix what's wrong. Today, I found another reason to like editing: it improves my own writing skill! I highly recommend editing as a tool to improve your writing. Happy Writing! ~Tricia

Now is the time to learn. Now is the time to write. Now is the time to self-publish. I love the tips in this article . Quick, to the point, helpful. Learn. Write. Publish. ~Tricia

I'm on a vacation of sorts. I'm in GA with one of my daughters. She's about to have a baby, it's #2 for her, and I came down to help. But, I've been here a week and no baby yet. I have another week till I need to go home, so I'm hoping baby makes an appearance today or tomorrow so that I get some quality time with the new wee one. In the meantime, I'm not posting much since I'm spending my days with my daughter and her little girl, an active and delightful 2-year-old. But, I'm still writing! I've made written notes and made plans for future projects as I take a break from my normal routine. Also, I wrote a successful pitch this past week for an idea I've had floating around in my head for a few months. It was a successful pitch because it got enough attention where I sent it to garner a direct, personal response, which prompted a meeting. My first response was an automated response. My second, because I sent a second pitch to get their ...

This morning, while preparing some paperwork (a brochure) for an upcoming workshop I'm teaching on blogging, I had to stop working, set the work aside, and run an errand. While stopping work in the middle of a project may seem frustrating at the time, this turned out to be a great thing for me. When I came back to the project, I noticed a mistake I had missed before. Fresh eyes help us see things more clearly, things we might otherwise miss in our writing. So, advice for the day: Go away......but come back to a more productive experience. Happy Writing, ~Tricia

Write daily. Publish if you want, but write regardless of whether you publish or not. I write daily. I publish periodically. Whether you write a chapter to a novel or a clever tweet on Twitter, it's important to write daily. Writing daily keeps your mind fresh. Writing daily helps ideas flow. Writing daily helps your writer's focus. Writing daily is fun. Writing daily is good discipline. So, write. Daily. See what happens. ~Tricia

It is no secret that blogging helps sell books. Even the most prolific authors of our day have blogs, including  Amanda Hocking ,  Danielle Steele , Stephenie Meyer and many others. I recently met a young woman who said she was a writer. Immediately, I asked her for her blog address and she said she did not have a blog. It turned out she was afraid to blog because she was afraid of criticism. She was afraid that someone might read the blog, disagree with her about something, then criticize. I tried to tell her that she can control all comments on her blog and that if someone posts a negative comment, she can simply remove it. But, the idea of being criticized was too much for her and she shrugged it off. I felt bad for her and encouraged her to think about blogging, even if it's just about a hobby she has. Blogging is becoming necessary to writing success. It's a fearful thing even for some established authors, but, most take the plunge and are always so very glad they ...

These are wise words: You have to write it. I was recently reading this article by Ellen Rohr about starting a business and her first words of advice are, "You have to write it." She was referring to people who attempt to start a business but have all their plans in their head. She says that writing it down makes it real. I have been giving this advice to my writing students for years! When you write it down, it changes it. Writing it down makes it official. Picture yourself being chosen for a committee. You love what the committee is about and you pour your time and energy coming up with a plan for the committee. At your first committee meeting, you pass your plans out to the others...the plans you have written down. Because it's highly unlikely anyone else wrote down a plan, it's equally likely that your plan will be used. Why? Because it was written down. Official looking. Official sounding. Written down. Writing it down helps you be objective because you ...