Help! I can't Edit to Save My Life!

By: Stephanie Burkhart

How many times have you heard that? How many times have you said it yourself? I know I’ve said it. I realize it’s important to edit my first draft, but I had no idea how to go about it. I’d try to do it all at once. That can be overwhelming. Then I discovered layers. It’s a much more rewarding technique.

 When you try to edit all at once, you’re bound to miss something. The work can be time consuming and mentally draining. By using the layered technique, the work has a tendency to go quicker since you’re focusing your attention on only one aspect of editing.

 Layer #1: Narration

This involves the voice of the narrator and the point of view in which the story is told. It’s important because this is how the reader is going to experience the story. You need to ensure the tense is consistent and the voice is authentic.

Layer #2 Characterization

Characters tell the story so it’s important to ensure you’ve done the following: What does the character want, how does the character change in pursuit of what he wants, and what happens if he fails? If you don’t understand your character, try writing a short story outside of the story you’re writing so you can get to know the character better. You can always put yourself in the character’s head and “method” write, which is similar to method acting. Don’t neglect your supporting cast. It’s important to have them resonate with readers, but don’t let them take over the story.

Layer #3 The Plot

Understanding what motivates a character drives the plot. I tend to think of a plot like a play. In act one, you meet the characters and come to understand the conflict. Act two involves rising action along with the climax. The main character must make an important decision. In act three, you have falling action and the main character has to deal with the repercussions of his choice. What works best is simplicity. Don’t throw too much stuff at your character, and have an outline that allows for flexibility. Characters are dynamic and changing. A rigid outline might not allow the character to grow in the way the story requires.

Layer #4  Scenes

Examine your scenes and see if they need tweaking. Consider items like your description, dialogue, world building, and theme. With description, touch on the five senses and use just enough to place the reader in the scene. Their imagination will do the rest. Keep dialogue to a minimum. Remember that how we talk doesn’t translate well on the page, so saying less and being concise is best.

Layer #5 – Proofing

In this read through, you’re looking for spelling errors to include grammar and punctuation mistakes.

Question: How many of you use a layered approach to your editing? Does it work for you? is there a layer you add?

Reference for this blog: Writer’s Digest, Sep 2015, “The Great Revision Pyramid,” by Gabrela Pereira, pages 28-32.

 Stephanie Burkhart’s Bio: Stephanie Burkhart is a 911 dispatcher for LAPD. She grew up in New Hampshire but now lives in California. Her books with 4RV Publishing include: The Giving Meadow, First Flag of New Hampshire, and Brady’s Lost Blanket. She likes chocolate, adores coffee, and enjoys walking. She’s also a den leader for her son’s cub scout den.

Content Marketing - Shareability, Sharing, and Paying-it-Forward in the Writing and Marketing Arena

By Karen Cioffi

Blogging is part of the content marketing strategy. To blog effectively you need to write for the reader and you need to share that content in order to create visibility and authority.

But, there’s more to it.

An effective marketing strategy, along with sharing your own content, is to share the content of others. In fact, it’s so effective that Google uses the sharing you do via social networks (Twitter, Linkedin, Facebook, etc.) in its ranking system.

In other words, your content’s shareability influences your search engine ranking and increases traffic to your website. This exposure helps increase your business and sales.

An example of this is: I’ve gotten emails and even phone calls from clients who found me via an online search. This means one or more of my links are being made available on the search results page for a query.

So, it’s easy to see that creating shareable content is well worth the effort.

Along with creating engaging content that readers want to share, as mentioned above, it’s also important to share the content of others. Just be sure the content you share is relevant to your niche. For instance, if you are in the children’s writing niche, you wouldn’t want to share content that might be consider questionable or unrelated to your niche.

Blogging and sharing the content of others has a number of benefits, including:

1. Visibility - You help another writer/blogger/marketer get her content out there. You help make it go viral and broaden her visibility. This will make her happy and she will take note of you, especially if you do this on a regular basis. This in turn, will motivate her to do the same for you. This is a win-win situation.

2. Being a resource - You become a valued source in your community/tribe/online neighborhood. When you share helpful information with your audience, whether it’s your content or that of others, they appreciate it. This helps establish you as trustworthy and an authority. It’s another win-win situation.

3. Creating connections - Sharing the content of others creates a connection and broadens your own visibility/exposure. And, you never know where that connection will lead to – it may develop into a profitable business opportunity.

4. Ranking - You gain search engine visibility. There is a definite correlation between Tweets, Likes, Shares, Connections and so on, and Google’s search results. This means Google tracks those shares, which means you’re playing in Google’s playground. This activity is noticed by Google.

As the founder and manager of an online marketing group, I always encourage members and visitors to click on the blog’s available social links (Twitter, G+, FB, LinkedIn, Pinterest, StumbleUpon, and so on) and leave comments.

It’s those comments and shares that gives blogposts their marketing juice.

Paying-it-forward is another aspect of being in the writing and marketing arena.

Paying it forward is like a smile. You never know how or ‘how much’ it will help someone in that particular moment.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re an author, freelance writer or marketer, paying-it-forward is simply the right thing to do.

According to Wikipedia, pay-it-forward “is a term describing the beneficiary of a good deed repaying it to others instead of to the original benefactor.”

So, how do you and I pay-it-forward to other authors, writers, and marketers?
 
Here are 15 strategies that you can try out:

•    Share the content of others on social media networks
•    Say YES if you’re asked to help in a launch or promotion
•    Be a host for an author’s blog tour
•    Offer free helpful – this may be in the form of a podcast, video, webinar, article, ebook, etc.
•    Provide a recommendation if you’re familiar with another’s work or product
•    Accept invitations to connect – just check out the person/business first
•    Reach out and connect to others
•    Like the Facebook page of someone you know
•    Like comments and ‘shared posts’ of others
•    If you read a book and like it, write and share a review
•    Share your knowledge by answering questions and offering advice, if it’s requested
•    Offer encouragement
•    Offer motivation
•    Be patient
•    Be kind

Aside from being good for you as a writer and marketer, giving back is good for the universe.

I’m sure there are many other ways to pay-it-forward in your niche, please share your ideas with us!

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References:

http://www.copyblogger.com/content-marketing/
http://www.socialsteamr.com/benefits-of-the-sharing-economy/
http://www.business2community.com/google-plus/google-plus-seo-business-benefits-0608800
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pay_it_forward

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Karen Cioffi is a content writing and inbound marketing instructor. To check out how she can help you take your marketing to the next level, visit:
Get Traffic to Your Website with Inbound Marketing
Become an SEO Writer in Just 4 Weeks

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Book Marketing - 3 Elements to an Effective Author Platform

By Karen Cioffi

Building a writing career can be a long, and at times, difficult road. And, many new authors think writing itself is the tough part, but that’s not really the case.

Writing a story that you intend to publish traditionally or self-publish has a beginning, a middle, and an end. You can create an outline as kind of a GPS to get you from point A to point B. There are steadfast rules and tricks to help you complete your writing journey.

There is an end to that particular writing journey.

With marketing, that’s not the way it works. Marketing your book is the roll-up-your-sleeves part of a writing career. It’s the ongoing job of creating and building your online presence, your author platform. And, the rules and tricks of the game are in constant motion, always changing.

While many of the rules may change, there is one constant in your author platform, and that’s visibility.

It should be noted that the definition of an author platform encompasses multiple genres and freelance writers, and even marketers who create and sell information products, so it may vary, depending on who is providing the definition. But, in regard to your author platform, web editor for the Virginia Quarterly Review Jane Friedman notes that editors and agents are “looking for someone with visibility and authority who has proven reach to a target audience.”

So, the bare-bottom basics of an author platform are: visibility, authority, and proven reach.

Breaking Down the Three Basic Elements of an Author Platform

1. Visibility

This is the promotional aspect of marketing. It’s the element of becoming known in your particular niche and building on that presence.

With online marketing strategies and Google’s updates always on the move, the face of creating visibility has changed. Today, visibility is created through ongoing connections and relationships with your target market, your audience.

It’s also about creating engagement on your blog site and your social networks. This means Likes, Follows, Shares, Retweets, Favorites, and so on.

2. Authority

Authority is built through ongoing communication. As an author you need to provide valuable information to your readers. Providing this information on a regular basis establishes you as an authority in your niche.

Another newer factor in the mix is social proof. Numbers and engagement speak. 

3. Your Reach

Elements one and two of your author platform help take care of number three, your reach. By using effective marketing strategies to create an online presence, such as building a website and creating your authority through ongoing information/article marketing, your reach is automatically broadened.

Other strategies you can use to further broaden your reach include:

• Guest blogging
• Article marketing
• Joint ventures
• Presenting webinars
• Presenting workshops
• Offering ecourses

And, of course you must use social media marketing!

Today, your author platform is about what you can offer your audience. It's about how many people find your content interesting and/or valuable enough to share it. It’s not about what you’re selling.

Providing ongoing ‘wanted or needed’ information builds a relationship. In the marketing arena a general rule of thumb was to offer 80 percent free, valuable information and 20 percent promotion. Now, it’s recommended to offer 90 percent free, valuable information and 10 percent promotion.

It’s this ongoing author/reader relationship that will build your author platform and help sell your books, other products, and services.

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Source:
http://janefriedman.com/2012/03/13/author-platform-definition/

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The Importance of Writing Short Stories

By Stephanie Burkhart 

Break out the thesaurus and find an hour or two this month to get the juices flowing on that short story you always wanted to write – May is National Short Story Month. 

There are several different kinds of shorts. Flash Fiction shorts are usually 1,000 words or less, and depict a “telling” moment. 1 or 2 characters may be involved. 

A short story usually falls between 1,000 – 7,000 words and again, is centered on a “revealing” moment. With a short story, you can place that revealing moment in the beginning and play out the consequences, or at the end after a strong build up. 

A novelette comes in between 7,000 – 20,000 words. This length allows a writer to focus on one main character and the story. 

A novella is between 20,000 – 50,000 words. Like a novelette, the story is most effective when the focus is on one main character and one plot. 

Parables and fables are some of the earliest known “shorts.” Going back about 150-200 years, Washington Irving, Nathanial Hawthorne, and Edgar Allen Poe not only mastered the craft of short story telling, but defined the era of writing a short story focusing on plot, character, and consequences. 

In the early 20^th Century, magazines like Atlantic Monthly, Harper’s, and Saturday Evening Post, created a demand for short stories and paid well – so well that F. Scott Fitzgerald took to writing short stories to pay the bills. 

The popularity of the short story tapered off a bit in the past 50-60 years, but has recently resurged after finding a new audience.

With the introduction of ereaders, downloading stories has never been easier. What short stories provide is a quick read with a satisfying ending. - at least, most are satisfying, but ereaders totally invigorated the market for short stories. How? Short stories usually command a lower price point making then a good impulse buy. Sites such as Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, are popular places for readers to feed their ereaders.  

Strategies employed by authors using short stories include using the stories as a “free” giveaway when readers sign up for e-newsletters or as a reward for winning a contest. Shorts can be used to promote a novel, or written to help keep the joy of writing alive. An author might consider using the Kindle Select Program. While you do give Kindle exclusive access to publish the short for 90 days, the 5 free days offered can help get sales off the ground. Due to their length, short stories have proven to wet a reader’s appetite for more works from an author. They’re a great way for authors to break out in a very competitive publishing world. 

Question: As an author, do you write short stories? Why or Why not? Do you find them helpful in promoting/marketing efforts? 

Reference for this blog: “Writer’s Digest,” May/June 2015, “Short Strategic,” by James Scott Bell, pages 23-27.

Author Bio: Stephanie Burkhart is a 911 Dispatcher for LAPD. She served 11 years in the US Army and 7 years overseas in Germany. She adores coffee, enjoys coffee and likes taking walks.  She's also the den leader for her son's cub scouts den.  Her published children's stories include "The Giving Meadow," "First Flag of New Hampshire," and "Brady's Lost Blanket." 

FIND ME ON THE WEB AT:

WEBSITE:

http://www.stephanieburkhart.com

TWITTER:

http://twitter.com/StephBurkhart

FACEBOOK: 
https://www.facebook.com/StephanieBurkhartAuthor

GOOD READS:

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4031660.Stephanie_Burkhart

YOU TUBE CHANNEL:
http://www.youtube.com/user/botrina?feature=mhee

PINTEREST:
http://pinterest.com/sgburkhart/

OWFI Writing Contest Winners from 4RV

Cynthia Henzel with new release and Vivian Zabel, publisher

     The Oklahoma Writers Federation Inc (OWFI) holds a writing contest and a conference each year. During the Saturday night banquet at the conference, the 1st Vice-president announces the winners. With that background, let's visit the 2015 OWFI Conference.

     Several of us arrived at Embassy Suites in Oklahoma City beginning April 30, with others following May 1, when actual sessions began. We had staff  and authors attend from Texas, Arizona, and Oklahoma. I'm not sure who traveled the farther, Holly Jahangiri from Houston or Cynthia Henzel from Tucson. Jacque Graham, Renee' LaViness, Vickey Malone, Jen Nipps (our new assistant to the editor-in-chief), Nikola Marshall (a new acquisition editor) and I represented the editorial staff and board. Authors attending included Janet K. Brown, Jim Laughter, Tony LoPresti, Cynthia Henzel (whose first novel with 4RV made its debute), and Holly Jahangiri, as well as me.

     When winners were announced at Saturday's banquet, some 4RV authors received awards.

Cynthia Henzel with her 1st place certificate and check

Cynthia Henzel took first place in Middle Grade Unpublished Book . Hopefully she will give 4RV the opportunity to publish the book some day. She participated in the author autograph party for Young Adult books with her new release Myth Rider.

Holly Jahangiri with her 2nd place

Holly Jahangiri received 2nd place in Flash Fiction with her story "#2 Pencil." She also participated in the author autograph party for children's books with Trockle and A Puppy, Not a Guppy.

Vivian Zabel with her 2nd place award

Vivian Zabel took 2nd place in Blog/Column with her blog entry "How to Describe Deep Emotional Pain" and Honorable Mention for her Memoir/Nostalgia Article "I Don't Want to Know."

     We had an enjoyable time, learned much to help with our writing and publishing business. Hopefully, next year we'll have more 4RV people enter the contest, attend the conference, and bring home awards.

Back up your data

A couple of weeks ago my laptop died. It refused to power up. No warning -- suddenly there was a message about the battery being low, even though the power cord was plugged in at the time. Then the machine switched itself off and refused to come back on.

There was nothing wrong with the power cord  -- I have another laptop that belongs to my day job, and it uses the same one -- but there it was -- dead.

This was the laptop that I used for my writing. I used a tool called Scrivener. I love it, but using it means that whatever I'm writing pretty much exists only on my laptop.

However, I'm paranoid about data loss, so I regularly compile (produced a .doc or .rtf version of my novel) and save it somewhere. I had a  onedrive disk mapped onto my laptop, and thus it's accessible from anywhere. I did this regularly, about once a day.

I had two novels I was working  on in scrivener, and thus I have current .doc versions of both of them. When I replace my laptop, I can import them back into scrivener, which will be something of a pain, but doable. In the mean time, I can turn on track changes and continue to work on them.

So what should you take away from this? Back up your data. Use Onedrive, or Dropbox, or something else, but make sure you have copies of your work. You never know when you're going to need it. 

Selling Online - Ecommerce Shopping Cart Basics

If you’re selling anything online, you’re considered part of the ecommerce business arena, and you absolutely need an electronic shopping cart. But, how does it work and what type of cart do you need?

An electronic shopping cart is simply a software program or code from a shopping cart provider that you can use on your website. This program or code allows visitors to select products and make purchases directly from you.

If you’re selling anything online, you’re considered part of the ecommerce business arena, and you absolutely need an electronic shopping cart.

Webopedia explains that there are two basic forms of shopping carts. “Shopping carts can be sold as independent pieces of software so companies can integrate them into their own unique online solution, or they can be offered as a feature from a service that will create and host a company's e-commerce site.”

So, you can either use a standalone piece of software on your own Web server or you can use code from an e-commerce shopping cart provider/service. Either way, you’ll be able to sell from your website.

Along with its convenience, allowing you to sell digital and tangible products from your website, research shows that using an ecommerce shopping cart increases sales.

In 2009, PayPal conducted an internal study of 79,000 small merchants. It was discovered that adding a shopping cart increased their PayPal volume an average of 19% over a two-year period.

That’s a pretty nice sales increase.

It’s important though to realize that the shopping carts themselves don’t process payments. It’s the service you use that allows the payment process to go through.

The Simplest and One of the Cheapest Ways to Sell from Your Own Website

I’ve used PayPal for quite a while now and can attest that it’s easy and effective.

With the PayPal ecommerce shopping cart process, you create the shopping cart yourself. The instructions are simple to follow and you have a choice of using a single item Buy Button or a Drop-down Menu for multiple products or services. And, as with all services, there is a fee. PayPal charges 2.9% and .30 cents per transaction. That’s not bad for all you can do with this service.

 The PayPal system also has everything you need to customize your cart:

•    Tax
•    Shipping
•    Discount and coupon codes
•    Payment options
•    Tracking
•    Invoicing
•    Testing before you go live
•    And, more

In fact, PayPal is so popular a number of ecommerce shopping cart services have partnered with PayPal for their payment process. And, you can accept payments with your mobile device through another of PayPal’s services.

If you’re a WordPress user and want a plugin that uses PayPal, you can checkout:
http://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-e-commerce-shopping-cart/

Other Options

If you like the PayPal system, but would rather not have your customers sent to its site during the purchasing process, you have options.

PayPal has partnered with several shopping cart services, such as Cashie Commerce and 3D Cart. Using another service has its benefits, one of which is keeping the buyer on your site through the purchasing process, but there’s a drawback to it, an additional cost.

These services charge a monthly fee, along with a percentage of each transaction. This is on top of the PayPal fees. So, be careful when looking into this process. Be sure you’re making enough sales to warrant the additional costs involved.

Keeping it Simple

No matter which ecommerce shopping cart system you use, simple is the way to go online. You want the essential features in a shopping cart without making it too complicated to use. The process needs to be easy to use with clear instructions.

If you haven’t yet taken the ‘sell on your own website’ move, get started now. Simply do an online search for carts or you can check out PayPal.

Remember, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Karen Cioffi is a writer and online platform instructor. Her latest e-class is Get Website Traffic with Inbound Marketing. It's 4-weeks and is through WOW! Women on Writing. Click the link for details.

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