The LAST Word

Writers and business owners all have their wish lists.  Here are things I want this Christmas. I put it in the 12 days of Christmas song. On the first day of Christmas, my colleagues gave to me: a contract for editing On the second day of Christmas, my colleagues gave to me: two press releases On the third day of Christmas, my colleagues gave to me: three blogs to write On the fourth day of Christmas, my sports stars gave to me: four #Eagles wins On the fifth day of Christmas, my company gave to me: five thousand dollars On the sixth day of Christmas, my colleagues gave to me: six ways to market On the seventh day of Christmas, my customers gave to me: seven times the pay On the eighth day of Christmas, my dentist gave to me: no more procedures On the ninth day of Christmas, my family gave to me: nine days of laughter On the 10th day of Christmas, my customers gave to me: 10 book reviews On the 11th day of Christmas, my family gave to me: 11 hugs and kisses On the 12th day of Chris...

  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...

  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...

    I am going to have some fun with my blog today. Here are things I want this Christmas. I put it in the 12 days of Christmas song. On the first day of Christmas, my colleagues gave to me: a contract for editing On the second day of Christmas, my colleagues gave to me: two press releases On the third day of Christmas, my colleagues gave to me: three blogs to write On the fourth day of Christmas, my sports stars gave to me: four #Eagles wins On the fifth day of Christmas, my company gave to me: five thousand dollars On the sixth day of Christmas, my colleagues gave to me: six ways to market On the seventh day of Christmas, my customers gave to me: seven times the pay On the eighth day of Christmas, my dentist gave to me: no more procedures On the ninth day of Christmas, my family gave to me: nine days of laughter On the 10th day of Christmas, my customers gave to me: 10 book reviews On the 11th day of Christmas, my family gave to me: 11 hugs and kisses On the 12th day of Chri...

 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...

    In June, rainbows are used for ugly references to people who do things they shouldn't. Instead of using rainbows as symbols for that, try using rainbows for inspiration for your writing. 1. Beautiful Colors -- If you have ever seen rainbows after a storm in the sky, the colors are vivid against a dark stormy sky . These can make you think of colorful descriptions for your settings. Everyone knows the seven colors of a rainbow (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple and indigo). However, the colors of the sky can range from a bluish gray to a deep charcoal when a rainbow appears. Those bright colors against the deep charcoal can be impactful.  2. Resilience -- They also can represent resilience of your characters. When a rainbow appears, it is usually after much destruction has happened. In your stories , the characters might have had to endure something similar and came through the problem with stronger life. They are shown to be resilient. In addition to fiction,...

  I love spring . It has beautiful colors, lots of sunlight and warmer weather. Earth Day is part of spring too. Throughout my journalism career , I studied and wrote writing about the environment. Because Earth Day is coming, 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. ...

    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...

Whether you write horror, fantasy, self-help or cookbooks, the process doesn't have to scare you. If you trust your abilities and your instincts, you could create the perfect book without being frightened. Here are tips on publishing so you are not scared this Halloween when writing. 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 a professionally designed cover. In your mind, you know what art would ...

  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...

  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 ...

  Authors are sometimes afraid of video. They don't like being in front of the camera. They don't know what to say. They don't understand why it matters. They don't understand technology or simple actions relating to video. Despite these obstacles, authors should use video marketing for their books. Businesses also should use video marketing. Here are some reasons why. Building a Brand – You have to distinguish your book from so many others on the market. A good way to create a brand for your book is through video. You can hire video marketers or you could do it yourself with YouTube. When you create a YouTube channel and making it look like your books, you start to build your brand. While video is important, you also need to send press releases , use social media and do digital marketing to create a brand. Ranking Higher – YouTube videos rank higher than print content on Google. If you create a channel and post them to your Amazon author page and you...

  Many people like the colors of autumn. They enjoy the vivid reds, yellows and oranges. Some people also like the purple and black associated with Halloween. I am not one of those people. I don't like fall for two reasons. It means that we are at the end of the year, and the vivid colors means things are dying. I prefer the colors of spring: yellows, light purple, white, pink, light green, etc. They are the colors of new life. However, I do know that things have to die to produce new life. And, you should use this metaphor in your writing. Let it die to bring the work to life again. What do I mean? Continue reading. Characters – Sometimes, characters have to die even if you like them. To move the story and make it flow, you might have to kill a character. In my first novel, The 1776 Scroll of Secrets , no one was killed even the villain. However, in The 1776 Bed and Breakfast , the villains were killed, but I also killed Buck's (the main character) mother. She had...

  I often from people that they want to write a book, but most of them never will publish anything. They aren't committed to creating a book. They think that some day, they might get something together. To author a book, you have to be committed to the project with your heart and soul. You have to be willing to follow through on the steps: idea, outline, research, compiling, book cover design, editing and marketing. Often, people are overwhelmed and think writing a book is daunting. It doesn't have to be that hard. Break up the project in to smaller pieces to make it less overwhelming. This is exactly what teachers tell their students who feel overwhelmed. The same is true with writing. Idea – Whether you want to write about ministry or persecution , think about your idea. Brainstorm how you can fertilize the idea. Write down the key points you want to make and determine whether your idea has merit. Pray about it.  Write about it in a journal . Eventually, you will s...

Because of the pandemic , the media's panic-inducing headlines and the lack of in-person social connections, the number of mental health cases has already increased and is expected to jump even more. Students are feeling the pressures. They are not able to learn they way they like. For example, my daughter does better in a classroom setting than with online classes. My son is just the opposite. He thrives in online classes. Writers, who usually work from home, worked alone before the pandemic, but now, so many of them are afraid to leave their personal space. This can lead to panic attacks, stress, anxiety and depression. They will begin to doubt their abilities in writing and editing their books. Here are some ways to address mental health issues. Write as Therapy – I have discussed this previously. If you have emotions, you would want to get it on paper or on the computer. I always use writing a therapy when I am sad or lonely or joyous. I write poems, storie...