Some people say that if you love what you do for a living, you won't work a day in your life. I don't agree with that statement 100%. I love being a mom, but when I had three kids in diapers at once, three different kids on three different sports teams at the same time and another one or two learning to drive, I worked. When all eight kids lived at home, I worked. I loved it, but it was still work. I only have three left at home now and I work and work and work. I love it still, but it's work. Work that I love. Writing is also work that I love. Maria Murnane, CreateSpace blogger hits the nail on the head with this article on the discipline of writing. I love being a writer. The thrill of selling one of my frequent articles or getting tons of hits on my blogs or checking my e-book sales to find them up higher and higher is beyond exciting for me. But, writing those articles and e-books is work, even though I love it. So, work. And write. And love it. ~Tricia

If you take a look at this article by Nina Amir, you might think I'm guilty of plagiarism even by the title of this blog post. In the article, titled Blog an eBook So You'll Get Read As You Write , Nina quotes a speaker from the New Media Expo as saying just that...."Every blogger is a published author." This is not new information to me. I have been telling my writing students this for several years now. Publishing is easier today than ever before. I tell my students that if they've so much as written a Facebook status update, they have published. Their update might be read more than a long article in the New York Times. Smart writers have learned to use Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, blogging and other social media outlets to advance their writing, their product or service and generate not only business, but a following. If you are not blogging, what are you waiting for? It's easy, quick and can have a huge positive impact on your writing. ~Tricia

If you're like me, you have a variety of resources you use for your writing. I thought today I would highlight a few of my favorites. Grammar Girl is first on my favorites list. She tackles every day grammar issues that all writers face and you can search her site for answers to all your grammar questions. Love Grammar Girl (Mignon Fogarty )! Find her on Facebook so you don't miss out on the best grammar tips around. LinkedIn is another favorite resource of mine. I have joined several writer's groups on LinkedIn and have found the conversations to be worthwhile, stimulating and very advantageous to my writing. There's nothing like having others read your writing or reading others' writing to add fuel to your own writing. SEO News is another of my favorites. I learn something every single time I go to their website. If you're going to write and publish on the internet, SEO News can help you learn the best way to use and optimize search engines for the b...

Are you doing the happy dance when it comes to your writing? I am doing the happy dance because I have sold more Amazon Kindle books . I love it when I'm out and about, busy living my life, and I come home and find that I have sold more books ! I realized a long time ago that I would not sell any Amazon Kindle books if I did not publish those books on Amazon. This is not so profound, it's obvious, yet many writers can't do the happy dance because they are not selling books and they are not selling books because they have not published their books! E-publishing is here to stay and even well-known, accomplished authors are seeing the need to e-publish in some form or another. Write. Publish. Today. And you will be doing the happy dance, too! ~Tricia

The three little words in this blog title perfectly sum up the start to my writing career. I was in college and had just turned in yet another research paper. I did my best work on the paper, turned it in on time and sighed with relief as I went on to my next class. I had no idea that the paper I'd just finished would change my life. Upon getting the graded paper back from my professor, I noted that he'd written a note at the top. It said, "Reading your writing is just like talking to you. You should write." The words were simple, their impact far-reaching. Three little words. I took them to heart for a number of reasons. First of all, I was not used to hearing positive feedback or any sort of compliment. Being raised in an abusive situation didn't lend itself to my siblings and I being built up in any way. I simply had never heard much positive reinforcement in my life, thus it was incredibly pleasant. Secondly, the professor was a professional, giving his ...

Today, I'm reviewing a book for you and making the suggestion that you buy it. This book, Rainbows in the Storms , is by a friend of mine and it's the poignant story of a young wife and mother of four who faces the terminal illness and subsequent death of her beloved husband and father of her children. The author, Ann Asprey Erdmann, tells how each and every step of his illness affected her and their family as they journeyed through the storms that rolled over them again and again. I was privileged to be one of her first editors and, let me tell you, this young woman is the real deal. Any time I told her that the message of God's power in seeing them through was not coming out in her writing, she was willing to change it up until it told the story right. The story is heart-wrenching, yet filled with hope. This hope is only found through God and His saving grace through Jesus Christ. That is the author's clear message and clearly the message of her husband, even as h...

I read a few blogs regularly and those blogs often introduce me to new blogs. Today, a Facebook post led me to a fashion blog and it looked interesting and informative enough to click on. Fashion is important, to a point - the point where I don't go around looking like an idiot or dressing too young, etc. That can be challenging, though, since clothes in the junior department fit me best. It's not always convenient to be short. The fashion blog held a lot of useful information, but this young blogger desperately needs an editor. We can certainly look past a few typos, but this gal had no clue how to use the English language. She needs an editor. We all need an editor. I can't tell you how many times I've written a blog post, reread it several times, posted it, then came back and found typos or other errors! It happens to everyone. I'm not just irritated at poor, unedited writing. I'm also frustrated for the writer because, in the long run, it will affect ...