The LAST Word

  I often hear first-time authors worry about the publishing process. Because it's Halloween, I want you to know that it doesn't have to be scary. Whether you write horror, fantasy, self-help or cookbooks, the process is not difficult. If you trust your abilities and your instincts, you could create the perfect book without being frightened. Here are tips on publishing. What to Say If you feel like you need to write a book, you also will know what to say. For example, you want to inform readers of a new technique and believe you need to write a short book about the technique. After you have done your research, your mind will help you organize your thoughts into the book. If you are writing fiction, you will hear the characters' voices in your head as you sit down to write. Your writing coach will guide you on what is important to say and what you should eliminate.  What Art to Use All books, fiction and nonfiction, print and electronic, must have ...

    When writing blogs , you can stick to business-related text that will give you the right keywords and focus on the right audience. You also can write themes because people are searching for those things. Writing these theme-related blogs will not alter your rankings in search engine optimization , but they could bring you new customers. Some people searching these themes might be your target audience, but you won't know if you stick to business-related blogs.  For example, if you want to write blogs about autumn themes, you can do that. I would recommend, though, that you connect the fall theme to your business in some way. Otherwise, it might not help you rank or be considered fresh relevant content by Google.   Here are some tips for writing content in the fall.   Relate to Fall Holidays. If you want people to search for your company, you can try writing blogs that connect a fall holiday to your business. For example, a home improvement company could w...

I am a firm believer that all business owners must take time away from their work and go on vacation. Many workaholics do not take time off from work, which usually leads to stress and heart problems. Getting away from stress and worries for a time allows you to recharge your batteries and refocus on work. Here are ways vacations can help business owners and writers. See New Things Going on vacation means you can see new things and eat different foods. In South Dakota, I ate bison burgers. They were not as fatty as regular burgers and had exceptional flavor. In Wyoming, I had yak burger from a local farm. In Montana, I ate bison lasagna. I enjoy trying new foods. My parents always wanted us to try something different. My mom loves to cook different foods when she entertains and likes to try new recipes regularly. On my trip, I saw several parks, mountains, tribal museums and history. I climbed areas that I thought I couldn't. I saw cultures, cities and vasts amounts of hills and pl...

  In addition to my editing , writing and marketing , I also coach writing for fiction and nonfiction . Many people are unsure how to start. I like to start with characters and setting. When you begin a novel, you have to decide on a setting. It is more than a place. Settings also include time of day, seasons and the year a novel takes place. Settings also could be a state of mind. For example, sometimes, novels are set in people's minds where the main character has created a world. Sci-Fi and Fantasy use people's minds as a setting a lot. Inception or Ready Player 1 are two movies that are primarily in people's minds.  All my novels take place in Philadelphia in modern day. The times and seasons fluctuate depending on what the story is. Many are near the Delaware River, which is the above picture. In my latest book, The 1776 Soldier , I have two settings, one set in fall of 1776 and one in fall of 2023. This was my first time using two different settings. It was a ...

    Everywhere you look, people are told to embrace technology to make our lives more efficient, help with marketing and automate mundane tasks. While I agree that writers do need to embrace technology, there should be caution. Here are some pitfalls that technology can cause. E-mail Marketing -- Due to changes in policy at Google and Yahoo, e-mail marketing software companies are having to change their system to be in line with Google and Yahoo's rules. Unfortunately, writers , such as myself, do not know how to update their websites or e-mail addresses to add in the special coding that is required to authenticate my website domain. When I added coding to where I thought it was supposed to go, I no longer can send simple e-mails from Thunderbird. I use Thunderbird because I have many e-mail accounts that I need to track. Thunderbird puts them all in one place. It's annoying that I can't use louise@lastresearchandediting.com to send via Thunderbird because of changes I ma...

  Happy new year, fellow writers. I am often told by new authors that they think writing a book is too much work or too daunting a task, yet they always tell me that they think they should write a book. To start the new year, I thought it would be good to give some tips on reducing your stress over writing fiction. 1. Set Goals -- January is the perfect time to set goals for the year. This applies to all writers and business owners. You want the goals to be realistic. For example, "I will write every day." Set a date for when you want it completed. Set another date for editing and marketing . 2. Break Down the Project -- Before you start your work, break down the big project (a completed book) into smaller parts: outline, 10 pages a day or one chapter a week, first draft completed, edited draft, completed manuscript and published. This helps to make it not so daunting a task. Remember, a book is either 6x9 or 8.5x5.5, which means those 10 pages are really half ...

 I wrote a series of posts for a writers' group. I am rehashing some of them here. Fantasy Plotting There are tips to be gained about plotting. This month, we focus on fantasy genre. Here are some rules to keep in mind when writing fantasy. 1. Medieval Times -- Even though you create a new world or a fantasy world attached to our current world as in Harry Potter books, you usually set it in medieval times. That means clothes and weapons of that era. If you choose to use modern day, you can add medieval elements. 2. Swords, Wands, Magic -- Most fantasy novels involve sword play, wands and some magic. How much you use these things is up to you. Some books are full of them. Others put in a little here or there. 3. Relatable World -- Make sure the world you create is relatable to your audience and is understandable. If you create a language, make sure you define words. If you create laws and rules, make sure you tell the reader what those are. In every book, magic has cert...

  We are coming up on the spring season. This is a wonderful season. It is as colorful as fall, but plants, trees and animals are coming alive, not dying. You will see purple, pinks, white, yellow, light green, blues, red, orange and lavender. Spring is a time of renewal on the Earth and in your soul.  But, with spring also comes the dreaded Daylight Savings Time. This is a system we do not need and should outlaw. First, the name is incorrect. We aren't "saving" daylight. We are moving it to be later in the day, but the number of hours that are bright is the same in EST or EDT. During June, it is about 12-14 hours of daylight whether that day starts at 4 a.m. or 5 a.m. Second, it was started for farmers and to save energy, but most of us live at our computers inside an office instead of on the farm. I would also argue that farmers would prefer light in the morning when they have to get up to milk the cows. I would also argue that we use the same amount of energy by turnin...

  It started when libraries banned Dr. Seuss . This is violating the 14th Amendment. Now, "Sensitivity Committees" want to rewrite Roald Dahl's books to make them "sensitive" to today's audiences. How can they know what Dahl wanted his characters to be. They are his characters. Only he knows what they are thinking and doing. No one can say, "It was meant to say this." That is the first problem.  The second problem is that if "Sensitivity Committees" rewrite characters and books, they are making everyone the same. That will read quite boring. In the real world, people say negative things, do negative things, do not care about being sensitive or politically correct, and act whatever way they want. Most people know what is right and wrong. Therefore, fiction should reflect life. That is why these stories stand the test of time. They reflect life, and readers can relate because they know people like the characters. The third problem is rewri...

When you are looking for ideas for stories, blogs, poems or press releases, you should consider holidays, such as Valentine's Day or Presidents Day. You can find ways to use them in your writing or business marketing.  You might be surprised to know that I write romance novels but hate Valentine's Day. This might seem odd. I write about love, but I don't like the day dedicated to love. The reason I don't like Valentine's Day stems from being alone in high school and college. In high school, one of the fundraisers was to sell heart-shaped lollipops with messages on them. It was hard to watch many of my friends get messages and I didn't. In college, everyone on my floor was given something for Valentine's Day except me.  To me, Valentine's Day is set aside to make those without a significant other feel bad about himself or herself. Even after I met my future husband, I asked him not to give me anything on Valentine's Day. To this day, he will give me ...

    People who know me, know that I love football. I went to Eagles games as a kid with my grandfather and father. I still support my Eagles. I supported them when they didn't win games, and now, they head to divisional playoff round. However, I think we can pull some ideas from football to improve your business marketing and your writing . 1. Get First Downs -- In football, the goal is to get into the End Zone for a touchdown, but before that, you need to march down field 10 yards at a time. This relates to business. You have keep moving, being consistent with your marketing and being patient to trust your marketing will work in the long-term. Nothing happens overnight. Many people think they can get a quick score. Sometimes, in football, that happens, but usually it doesn't. Same is true in business. You can't expect people to know you and buy from you immediately. This is also true in writing. Your main goal is to finish a book, but you need to remember to break down...

      January is a great time to start fresh on the year. I like to clean out my files on the computer that I no longer need, and I also move the file folders I don't need going forward in the new year. That gives me a new beginning for my writing and my business. I also re-evaluate what I do for marketing for the year. You can decide where to focus your marketing and what you can do differently. It always is a good idea to try something different in the new year. This is true whether you are an author, small business owner or employee. Although employees are told what to do every day, they do have to market themselves to land the job in the first place and to keep their job. Here are my tips for your market plans this year. 1. Do Video Marketing -- Authors often don't like being in front of the camera, but they should do some videos about their books. Having someone interview you on their podcast or YouTube channel would be great. Creating your own YouTube chan...

Writers are always looking for inspiration. They will use art, nature, family life and quotes. They even get inspired from other writers. Marketers also are looking for inspiration for blog ideas or places to sell your products or services. My favorite way to get inspired is through watching television or movies. Here are my favorites. Year Without a Santa Claus – This will inspire you to do whatever it takes to reach a goal. If you don't know the movie, Santa is sick and doesn't want to travel around the world to deliver the gifts. He thinks no one cares about him. Two elves, Jingle and Jangle, go to Southtown USA to find children who care about Santa. They have to get their reindeer from the pound, talk to the mayor and deal with the Miser brothers, but they are successful. The mayors declare a holiday for Santa and show him that children still care about him. They kept trying new ideas until they got what they needed. You can keep trying new things to be succ...

  I spent much of my journalism career studying and writing about the environment. Because Earth Day was on April 22, I thought I would share some of the myths associated with saving the environment. While I am in favor of saving our natural resources , I save the environment with balance, prayer and patience . You might not agree with me. That is fine. This country was founded on the principle that everyone is entitled to his or her opinion. Here are some environmental myths. 1. Go Solar -- While it is a good idea to get solar for your home and generate renewable energy, solar power is not as simple as everyone thinks. Adding solar to your home could cost you $15,000 to $50,000 up front. There are tax credits and rebates available from the states and federal government, but those programs almost always require you to shell out the money and then get reimbursed. Also, solar panels are manufactured in plants fueled with fossil fuels. They also cost a lot of money to make one pane...

 This week is Holy Week. It is the week we walk with Jesus as He goes to the cross to die and save us from our sins. It is more important than Christmas week. As business owners, we can learn from this walk to Calvary. Here are some ways you can reflect this week and improve your writing or business marketing . 1. Add Prayer to Your Routine -- This week and every week, you should include prayers in your routine. This week is more important, but you should be doing it anyway. When you invite God into your business life, it becomes easier to get through the daily crises. God will direct you on how to market your business too. In addition, adding prayer to your routine allows your writing to come alive . You will get inspiration that you didn't already have. You might move your characters into a new direction. If you are struggling with something, God will help you through your troubles if you ask Him. This is a resource you don't want to forget. 2. Walk the Path -- Look at th...

  Business owners and writers all have to market their products or services. Often, they throw mud against a wall hoping something will stick. This strategy works when you are trying to find new opportunities that you did not know previously. However, if you are trying to get your message across to potential clients, then you might be throwing money at a problem without knowing what the solution is. Writers know that they have to write to the person who is likely to read the book or novel. They are not writing for everyone. They are picking a person or type of person and writing to him or her. Business owners should adopt that strategy too and be persistent about it. They should define their message before they post on social media, in blogs or in printed materials. Here are some tips to help you define your message and earn more profits . 1. Know Your Potential Client -- So much is said about avatars and narrowing the demographics to figure out who is likely to buy from you. An ...

 I noticed that I have not been posting a regular blog. This has made me think about being persistent in marketing . Whether you are marketing books , a writing business or another business, if you are not persistent in how you market , you are probably going to not be successful. You want to use all your resources available to you , including blogs. I have been remiss in keeping up my blogs, which has been hurting my business. Sometimes, it is hard for writers to promote their own business when they are helping other companies and authors . This year, I plan to write my blogs more often even when I go on vacation . Here are reasons why you want to be persistent in your marketing. 1. Google Rankings -- When you are persistent in your marketing, you will consistently be on top of Google in search results. Regular and fresh content on your Web site is one of the criteria used to establish who comes up when people search. Without regular and fresh content on your Web site, you mig...

 I did a video last night about fall colors and change . It is important that in business you change your thinking and do something new. When you change your plans, it puts new life and new energy into your business. Fall is perfect time to think about changing how you market your writing business for the next year. It is the last quarter. You know what was successful and what might need tweaking. So, I was thinking about my blog topic . To emphasize that change is never scary, I decided to write something new this time. By my calculations, my church needs about $200,000. I might be underestimating the amount, but that is a good number for now. The church needs a new air conditioning system, a new roof, a new sound system, a new sprinkler system and a new refrigerator. These are not things the church can pay with its weekly gifts . So I asked myself, "How can I help raise money for my church?" The answer was sell my books. Between now and Christmas, I am setting a goal to ...