One American Writer

You CAN work for yourself

    

Available now!

Click the book's image above, or click here to read more and order your copy.

Thank you, and stay encouraged!

Regards,
Donna D. Buskirk
One American Writer

 

 

 

I could write. There's a novel idea!

Waiting for a call-back on a story for The Alamance News*, making corrections to my book, and talking with an artist about a new cover, I am working.  But am I writing?

My 14-year-old is sick so my 28-year-old wants me to watch my grand-baby at her apartment.  "But, what can I do there with no Internet?" I asked.  "Oh," I answered myself doubtfully, "I could write."

Keeping up with Facebook, LinkedIn, and blogs is important to friendships, careers and book sales, but it is NOT writing.

How much time are you actually writing?  Keep track.  The zeros might scare you into productivity.  Go write something!

* Publisher of The Alamance News in the news!  The Alamance News, the paper I write for, is a weekly newspaper exclusively covering Alamance County, NC, USA.  They/we don't have a Web site yet (time for hard news only) so looking for a reference, I found this story (link above).  Cool.  The media at work.

Writer Regards,
Donna D. Buskirk
One American Writer

The courage to write Ralph Keyes

I am reading the final pages of "The Courage to Write" by Ralph Keyes, and I want to teach a workshop using that book as the text.

Teaching is what I love best.  When my articles have been published on-line or in print, I never get to see the "AHA" or correct the "HUH?" in readers' faces.

So, now that I have the courage to write (I'm writing features and covering town meetings for The Alamance News here in North Carolina, doing some freelance tech writing...does that count?, and working on a book proposal), I need the courage to ask the author and/or his publisher if I can conduct workshops based on that book.

I need the courage to e-mail Ralph Keyes.  Here goes (popping over to do that now).  There.  Not so hard.  Now all I need, all WE need, is the courage to stick with it.  What is IT?  Whatever we are doing to stay encouraged and be brave in the face of our current challenges.

Up one road and down another,
Donna D. Buskirk
One American Writer

Ant Massacre at Divinity Vines

The scene of the mayhem is my kitchen, Divinity Vines being the name of our property, where we are using bottled coyote pee pee to keep the deer from nibbling our new vines.  Grapes next year, and perhaps wine the year after that!

Meanwhile, back in the kitchen, where it was 92 degrees yesterday (the AC is working today, thank GOD), ant corpses litter the counter edges where my sponge swiped a path through water-melon juice and the tiny, feasting army.

It was good to wake at a normal hour, seven A.M. being a bit later than I like to get up.  The night before, however, I went to bed at midnight but couldn't sleep.  I got up at 1 A.M. to work a bit, and then the sun came up! 

Eight hours later, I had FINALLY updated my book (How to Make Money While You Look for a Job) with the really great content Chuck wrote for me, and with my interview with Peter Prestipino, Editor in Chief at Website Magazine.

When I was laid off in November I said, "The first thing I have to do is update my book."  But I did everything except that.

Here's what happened: My chicken-self went to bed and my writer-self got out of bed.  I snuck up on myself.

Here's what's happening now: I am completing the update and writing the press release, but first, I must more thoroughly cleanse the kitchen of my slain enemy's corpses, and never leave water-melon rind on my counter overnight again!

Ants, 37,289,983,883

Humans, 1.  

My Fellow Chickens

My Fellow Chickens,

Like water washing over my parched nervous system, I read these words moments ago.  "He rewrote pieces twenty times or more and sometimes pleaded with the postmaster of North Brooklin, Maine, to return a just-mailed manuscript so he could punch up its ending or rewrite the lead. 

"In addition to being a consummate rewriter, White was a gifted procrastinator."  E. B. White, of course.  Woo hoo!  I already know I'm not alone in my fear, but it feels SO GOOD to  know I am in such good company.

And you?  How chicken are you? This might help.

This recent post from copyblogger, 5 Reasons Why Trying to Be Successful Will Keep You Poor, is really about fear, too, and overcoming it.

I especially like this from #5 in his post: "If success is achieved by taking repeated, meaningful action, then what happens if you’re not confident enough to take the actions that scare the crap out of you?"

YEAH.  The message I took away from this is RELAX INTO IT.  You can't do it (write, publish, start a business) to be successful.  You have to do it because it is meaningful to you. 

And DON'T LET FEAR STOP YOU.

The E.B. White quote above is from a book I serendipitously found in a used bookstore today, "The Courage to Write; How Writers Transcend Fear" by Ralph Keyes.  I can't wait to read the rest of the book to find out!

Mr. White is further quoted as considering himself, "....the second most inactive writer living, and the third most discouraged."

Let's be BRAVE, shall we?  If he did it, we can do it.  Good. Now, I'm going to bed.  I'll be brave in the morning.

Ggggood Night,
Donna, One American Writer

Summer Publishing Project

It's the first day of summer vacation. The kids are in bed but the cat woke me up so I am up at six thirty in the morning, blogging.  I could have gone back to sleep but if I want to work for myself, I have to work for myself.  (The job search can wait until after breakfast.)

If you have kids on your hands for the summer, or your have yourself on your hands (like my remaining coworkers who were laid off last Friday -- happy first week of freedom!), why not try a publishing project?

Last summer when my friend Ruth Anne invited us to her beach house on Harker's Island, I told her about Lulu and Create Space and I suggested that her kids write and publish a guide to the island from a kid's perspective.  I'll best it would sell alongside the homemade fudge in the gift shop.

Here's how it works:

1. Pick a fun topic to write about.
2. Write the book (see other posts for tips in that).
3. Edit the book or ask a friend who is nuts about grammar to help you.
4. Go to Lulu.com or CreateSpace.com to get the template and format the manuscript in Microsoft Word or another word-processing program.
5. PDF the book and submit it per their instructions.
6. Order a proof copy for under $10.

Tada! You have your book in your hands.  

For more serious book projects,there are many, many services that will charge you hundreds of dollars for a similar process, but I recommend starting with a free service because it helps you learn what it feels like to have your published book in your hands.  It makes you ask, "Now what?" The answer is, "Now you have to market your book!"

For more on publicizing your book, see Linda's great information at lindarohrbough.com. She taught an excellent seminar at a North Carolina Writers' Network conference and I'm still trying to work up the nerve to do what she suggests.

Of course, you could pick a depressing topic, too.  Seriously.  People who are looking for work and considering downsizing need to hear from other people who are also going through those transitions.  I remember how much it helped when I read about women going through a mid-life crisis when I felt like I was on the wrong planet.  Those of us who are in career transition at the same time that our parents are failing can be especially vulnerable to a crisis, so share what you're going through.  It helps.

Or, a publishing project like, "How To Start a Lawn-Mowing Service" could help you and the kids.  You can relax while they are out of the house, or you can step it up a notch and start a landscape service yourself.  It can be a lot more fun than sitting in an office cubicle doing someone else's work.

Happy Writing!
One American Writer Up Early on the First Day of Summer

Pounce when you find the right publisher

When you happen upon a publisher that publishes titles similar to the one you are working on, do quick research to learn how to submit your book idea.

Listening to National Public Radio (NPR.org) in the car just now, I decided to add the following item to the book I'm working on, "One Hundred Reasons to Work for Yourself:"

#26. You can stay in the car and listen when NPR is in the middle of a great story like the Diane Rehm Show interview with William Alexander, author of “52 Loaves; One Man's Relentless Pursuit of Truth, Meaning, and a Perfect Crust.”

I clicked the publisher's link instead of the Amazon.com link and saw titles that would look very natural next to "100 Reasons to Work for Yourself," so I poked around for submission guidelines.  They do accept unsolicited submissions!

I subscribe to Writer's Market on-line, so I will also look there to research them further, but you can do the same by reading the guidelines on-line. 

Your book proposal is supposed to contain a paragraph describing where on the bookstore shelf your book would be placed, so do this.  Go to the bookstore and find the spot where your book should sit when it is published.  Look up the publishers of the books on that shelf and research their submission guidelines.  Start seriously thinking about getting your own book published.

Don't be nervous!  Well, OK, you can't help it, but put that nervous energy to work!  Anyone have any spare courage lying around?

One American writer begets more American writers...YOU.

Hello, I am Donna D. Buskirk and I will KICK YOU IN THE COMPUTER TO GET YOU MOTIVATED. 

I know you've got it in you.  Your book.  The trick is to get it out of you.  Let's write eBooks.  Let's save trees, time, and money and help readers hang onto your words online.

So two things --

1. Join my once-a-day writer-motivating and how-to list.
2. Buy my eBook (I'm on deadline now for this title: 730 e-Book; Seven Steps & 30 Days to Write and Publish Your e-Book.)

I'll see you via email if you sign up, and readers will see YOU online, too, if you QUIT READING AND START WRITING!

Hard Regards,*
Donna D. Buskirk
One American Writer

* "Hard regards" instead of "warm regards" because life is hard and I'm going to be hard on you (and me).  Merciless, in fact.  Can you take it? -ddb

Sell Your Stock and Start Mowing Lawns NOW

He was right about the first mess, and he is predicting a second one that could be worse.  Many readers who are currently employed may find themselves having to provide a local service to earn an income, and it is much easier to start a family business when you are secure than when you are in panic mode.

So start now.  Rearrange your stock portfolio as you see fit (read the article linked below), and start figuring out what you and your family will do if one or both of you loses your current job.

Who is "he," you may ask?  Who is this prognosticator of doom?  Robert A. Wiedemer, CEO and president of The Foresight Group (TheForesightGroup.com) in Herndon, Virginia, in the Washington, D.C. area not far from where my mom and sister live in Fairfax.

The March 15, 2010 issue of Bottom Line Personal (subscription info online at BottomLinePersonal.com) leads with a story titled, "Another Financial Meltdown is Headed Our Way; How to Protect Yourself And Profit."  

Mr. Wiedemer speculates that in the next three to five years, foreign investors like China may decide to invest less in the U.S., and that others will then, "stampede for the exits."  He says the resulting slump (including more job losses, of course) could be worse than the first.  This stuff is really putting a dent in my usually-optimistic outlook!

So gird your loins, quit going to the movies, turn off your TV and have a family meeting to brainstorm ideas for your family business.  My book, How to Make Money While You Look for a Job includes worksheets to help you get started.

We can be realistic about the world economies, and optimistic about reinvigorating our local economies.  Let's get started, one family at a time.

Publish Your Book

Got a book in your head?  The book itself may not make you a lot of money, but when you consider your book as your brochure, it can give your business a real boost.

If you are a:

• Photographer, write a guide to digital photography.
• Writer, write a how-to book on tech-writing, or writing for the Web.
• Store owner, write about your primary product, or about starting and running a successful store.

You can use Lulu.com or CreateSpace.com (go to the bottom of the page at Amazon.com and click Publish) to publish for almost no investment at all, but what you put in is what you get out.  You should pay for someone to edit the book, and to design a cover.

But what I am interested in today is e-book publishing.  I want to offer e-books (the PDF version of my book, in this case, not something that requires a reader) in two ways:

1. I want to offer a free worksheet edition, and
2. I want to sell the longer edition (same content as the paperback with added content for e-book readers only).

Currently, I can let site visitors (MyTinyBiz.com) pay via PayPal and then I email the e-book to them.  I want to avoid the email step.  I want folks who order the book to have immediate access to a secure download of the PDF.

I found this site just now, and I will investigate this and other related offers as soon as I run a few errands. (That's one BIG challenge when you work for yourself...disciplining yourself to WORK more than you RUN.)

• I found and will investigate FastSpring,
• I learned that Blogger.com does not support what I want to do,
• I will also learn more about this provider (TypePad) and I'll bet I can do it here.

By the way, TypePad for Dummies is out!  If they can provide the service I need, I'll be buying that book.