Thursday, January 26, 2017

How Often Should I Post—Keys to a Reasonable Blog Schedule

by Edie Melson +Edie Melson


There is lots of information about blogging around, some of it good and some of it not so good. One of the biggest misconceptions I see is in regard to how often you should post your blog. The common misconception seems to be that daily is always best. While this may be true for some, it’s definitely NOT for the majority and here’s why. 
  • Daily blog posts don’t always get read. People are busy and few (if any) have time to read every blog every day. If you post once or twice a week I’m much more likely to read every post than if you post every day. For the sites I follow that post every day I pick and choose what I read by the title of the post (which is a whole nuther subject!).
  • A daily schedule can cause burnout. For many people, a blog is something they do in addition to their regular writing. If you have to work too hard at it you may be tempted to quit.
  • Frequently the posts are better when they’re spaced further apart. Let’s face it, it’s hard to be great day-in and day-out. This definitely holds true with blogging.

So what is a reasonable blogging schedule? Truthfully it depends. But here are some things to think about to help you find that magic number for you. 
  • Your personality – are you easily discouraged when you don’t live up to expectations? If so, I’d start slowly. Once a week is a good goal and then, if that’s manageable you can add another day. But keep the schedule in line with what you can accomplish. If you’re like me, when I fail at something too often I give up and quit.
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  •  Your goals – think about what you want the blog to accomplish. Are you trying to connect with your readers or start a network? That will entail posting more often and replying to comments in a timely fashion. Do you want to build a platform? With that, a regular schedule of two to three times a week, with focused articles and posts should do the trick.
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  •  Your lifestyle – what does your home life look like? Do you have a full-time job or are you a full-time writer? I have a friend who writes and she homeschools five kids. Believe me, posting four or five times a week just isn’t a reasonable goal for her. 

So what’s the answer? Mainly, I think we need to be flexible. We need to give ourselves the time and space we need to figure out what works best for us and our readers. When we do that, we’ll be well on the road to excellence.
So what have you found? I’m curious, how often do you post and what feedback have you received about your posting schedule?
Don’t forget to join the conversation!
Blessings,
Edie

Edie Melson is the author of numerous books, as well as a freelance writer and editor. Her blog, The Write Conversation, reaches thousands each month. She’s the co-director of the Blue Ridge Mountains ChristianWriters Conference and the Social Media Mentor at My Book Therapy. She’s also the Military Family Blogger at Guideposts. Com, Social Media Director for SouthernWriters Magazine and the Senior Editor for NovelRocket.com. Connect with her on Twitter and Facebook. Don't miss her new book from Worthy Inspired, WHILE MY SOLDIER SERVES.

Thursday, January 19, 2017

Tips to Streamline Your Writing Life

by Edie Melson @EdieMelson


10 Tips to streamline your writing life.
So often we make things harder than they have to be. Sometimes we do it because we’re used to doing things a certain way, or because it’s the only way we know how. But things change quickly these days, and it’s always a good thing to take a look at your routine with a fresh eye. Today I’m going to share some tips to streamline your writing life. Some you may already do, some you may not have ever considered. Just take a look at the list with an open mind and see if there’s anything on it that can make your life easier.

Tips to Streamline Your Writing Life
1. Take a look at your goals. It’s important to have goals—and it’s important to have written goals. It’s easy to just float along, taking things as they come. But when we do that, it’s hard to make progress—and it’s even harder to evaluate progress. Beyond that, there’s something almost magical about writing down your goals. Having them recorded somewhere gives them weight and makes it easier to make them a priority.
2. Evaluate how much time you’re spending on social media. If it’s more than thirty minutes a day, it’s time to re-evaluate. After thirty minutes, your return on investment takes a severe nosedive in the downward direction. 
Let go of your expectations—for yourself & others.
3. Let go of your expectations. No this isn’t  a contradiction of #1 above. There is a huge difference between goals and expectations. I bet if you’re honest with yourself you have quite a few expectations—from what you expect from yourself, to what you expect from others. For me, when I took a hard look, a lot of those expectations were totally unreasonable. So spend some time and take a hard look at your expectations. The ones that are reasonable, make into goals and priorities. The rest of them . . . well . . . just throw them away. 
4. Determine when, in a 24-hour period, you are most creative. Some of us are night people, some are morning people, and some of us work best in the afternoon. But we each have a specific time when the words and ideas tend to flow easier. Look at your internal clock and figure out when that time is. Then, guard it like you’re guarding gold. Really that’s what you’re doing. Our income and dreams are locked up tight with our ability to create. When we figure out the time that work best for creative work, it’s like someone has handed us pure gold.
Come up with a way to schedule your time.
5. Come up with a way to schedule your time. I know not everyone can have a detailed schedule. But truthfully, if you’re trying to carve out time to write (and who isn’t?), you need to schedule that time. There are lots of methods to help with time management from an old fashioned spread sheet to the Pomodoro Technique. Do some research and find something that works for you.
6. Commit to quit talking negative to and about yourself. When someone bashes our ability and/or our manuscript, it takes time to recover. The same holds true when we do it to ourselves. So take a page from my author friend, Alton Gansky, and QUIT IT!
7. Take care of yourself physically. This means getting enough sleep, eating well, and especially exercising. The sedentary lifestyle of a writer can quickly take its toll on us physically and mentally. Sure these things take time—often time we don’t feel we can spare. But even though this may seem counterintuitive, it will streamline your writing life. You can accomplish so much more when you are physically healthy and mentally alert.
8. Build in regular breaks. Especially when I’m on a deadline, I’ve found that taking regular breaks greatly improves my productivity. A good friend and spiritual mentor of mine Kent Pate has a saying, “Divert daily, withdraw weekly, abandon annually.”
Surround yourself with encouraging writers.
9. Surround yourself with encouraging writers. You don’t just need encouraging friends, but also encouraging writers. We writers are an odd lot, and we need others around us who understand our thought process, our struggles and our quirky joys. These writers should be active and growing—not those who just talk about writing, but those who spend time writing.
10. Engage a prayer team. This may seem odd, especially if you’re fairly new to even calling yourself a writer, much less having something published. But the truth is, this life is hard. When we answer God’s call to step out and share His message, we’re going to encounter spiritual warfare. For that, you need people to pray for you. If you’re also building a ministry, trying to grow an income and/or beginning to speak, that’s even more of a reason to surround yourself with prayer. These folks don’t have to be writers, but they should have a connection to you. 
These are just some of the things that do to help my writing life stay manageable. I’m sure there are lots of other things that would help as well. Be sure to chime in with your suggestions in the comments section below.  
Don’t forget to join the conversation!
Blessings,
Edie

Edie Melson is the author of numerous books, as well as a freelance writer and editor. Her blog, The Write Conversation, reaches thousands each month. She’s the co-director of the Blue Ridge Mountains ChristianWriters Conference and the Social Media Mentor at My Book Therapy. She’s also the Military Family Blogger at Guideposts. Com, Social Media Director for SouthernWriters Magazine and the Senior Editor for NovelRocket.com. Connect with her on Twitter and Facebook. Don't miss her new book from Worthy Inspired, WHILE MY SOLDIER SERVES.

Thursday, January 12, 2017

Evaluate Your Progress on the Writing Path

by Edie Melson @EdieMelson
The writer’s path is a journey of a lifetime—one fraught with discovery and discouragement. We can avoid some of its pitfalls if we define that path early on. Today, I want to share some insights into my writing journey and the markers I look for to help me stay at least in the vicinity of the path.
This time of year, with Christmas and New Year's still looming close behind, my thoughts turn backward. I use this time to evaluate the past year and prepare for the next one. I've given up New Year's Resolutions completely and find the freedom from those expectations (and failures) a major relief. 
But I have implemented something else instead. My husband and I spend some time looking back at our spiritual markers for the past year. We evaluate them individually, as a couple and as a family. I also look at them in regard to my past year as a writer.

This is particularly helpful, because staying on the writer's path is difficult because each of our paths are so unique and varied. In the past I've had trouble evaluating my progress because I was comparing my journey to someone else's. I’ve come up with some questions to help me process where I’ve been and where I’m headed. 
Questions to Get Me Started
  • What were some of my writing successes this past year? (Not necessarily the most lucrative, but the most rewarding)
  • What were some of my writing setbacks this past year?
  • What writing advice stands out in my mind because it seemed to have been aimed directly at me?
  • What brought me the most joy? (Writing related) 

As I map out these spiritual markers, the path God has had me on becomes quite clear. And, by knowing where I've been, it becomes clearer where to go next. 
I'd love to hear some of your answers to these questions. I'll be posting mine later in the comments section.
Don’t forget to join the conversation!
Blessings,

Edie

Edie Melson is the author of numerous books, as well as a freelance writer and editor. Her blog, The Write Conversation, reaches thousands each month. She’s the co-director of the Blue Ridge Mountains ChristianWriters Conference and the Social Media Mentor at My Book Therapy. She’s also the Military Family Blogger at Guideposts. Com, Social Media Director for SouthernWriters Magazine and the Senior Editor for NovelRocket.com. Connect with her on Twitter and Facebook. Don't miss her new book from Worthy Inspired, WHILE MY SOLDIER SERVES.

Thursday, January 5, 2017

Calendar Days—Holidays, Special Days & Downright Crazy Days in January

by Edie Melson +Edie Melson 


It's that time again—Calendar Days. I sure hope you all are enjoying this column as much as me. It's funny, as I research these each month, I think of so many of you.
And I can't help but giggle at the holidays that fall on or near the same date, like National Humiliation Day falls within the Someday We’ll Laugh About This Week.  And how National Pie Day is the same day as Women’s Healthy Weight Day. Did they even research this stuff?
I’m late this month because of the holidays, but I usually share this info on the last Thursday of every month. So be sure to drop by. Today I’m going to continue with the upcoming crazy and normal holidays in the month of January.

Using the calendar for blog post or even article ideas is a great way to jumpstart your creativity. It's also a fun writing prompt idea. 

Calendar days are also great conversation starters for social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.
January Holidays, Special Days & Downright Crazy Days
January is:
January is National Oatmeal Month—who knew?
National Oatmeal Month
National Be On-purpose Month
International Brain Teaser Month
National Bath Safety Month
Hot Tea Month
National Blood Donor Month
National Braille Literacy Month
Be Kind to Servers Month
Brainteaser Month
Get Organized Month
Celebration of Life Month
Creativity Month
National Soup Month
Weekly Celebrations
Week 1:
Week 1 is Diet Resolution Week
Celebration of Life Week
Diet Resolution Week
Someday We’ll Laugh About This Week
Week 2:
Letter Writing Week
International 3-D Week
Week 3:
National Fresh Squeezed Juice Week
Week 4:
Clean Out Your inbox Week
No Name Calling Week
National Cowboy Poetry Gathering Week
Daily Celebrations
January 1
Bloody Mary Day
New Year’s Day
Z Day
Commitment Day
Polar Bar Swim Day
January 2 is Science Fiction Day!
January 2
Happy Mew Year Day for Cats Day
Personal Trainer Awareness Day
Run Up the Flagpole and See if Anyone Salutes Day
Science Fiction Day
National Motivation and Inspiration Day
Buffet Day
Cream Puff Day
January 3
Humiliation Day
Drinking Straw Day
J.R.R. Tolkein Day
Festival of Sleep day
Chocolate Covered Cherry Day
Fruitcake Toss Day
January 4
World Braille Day
Hypnotism Day
Pop Music Chart Day
Spaghetti Day
Tom Thumb Day
Trivia Day
January 5
Whipped Cream Day
National Bird Day
January 6 is Bean Day
January 6
Bean Day
Shortbread Day
Epiphany or Twelfth Night or Three Kings Day
Cuddle Up Day
Apple Tree Day
January 7
I’m Not Going to Take It Anymore Day
Old Rock Day
Harlem Globetrotter’s Day
National Tempura Day
January 8
Bubble Bath Day
Argyle Day
National English Toffee Day
Show & Tell at Work Day
Joy Germ Day
January 9 is National Static Electricity Day
January 9
Apricot Day
Play God Day
National Static Electricity Day
January 10
National Cut Your Energy Cost Day
League of Nations Day
Houseplant Appreciation Day
Bittersweet Chocolate Day
Peculiar People Day
January 11
Milk Day
Learn Your Name in Morse Code Day
National Human Trafficking Awareness Day
Fruitcake Toss Day
Step in a Puddle and Splash Your Friends Day
January 12
Marzipan Day
National Pharmacist Day
January 13 is National Clean Off Your Desk Day
January 13
Peach Melba Day
National Clean Off Your Desk Day
Public Radio Broadcasting Day
Stephen Foster Day
International Skeptics Day
Make Your Dream Come True Day
Rubber Duckie Day
January 14
Dress Up Your Pet Day
Poetry at Work Day
Organize Your Home Day
Hot Pastrami Sandwich Day
January 15
Strawberry Ice Cream Day
National Hat Day
January 16
International Hot and Spicy Food Day
Get to Know Your Customers Day
Appreciate a Dragon Day
National Nothing Day
January 17
Ditch New Year’s Resolutions Day
Kid Inventors Day
January 18 is Winnie the Pooh Day
In honor of A.A. Milne's Birthday
January 18
Winnie the Pooh Day (Birthday of A.A. Milne)
Thesaurus Day
National Sanctity of Human Life Day
January 19
Tin Can Day
National Popcorn Day
January 20
Disc Jockey Day
Robert E Lee Day
National Buttercrunch Day
Cheese Lover Day
Day of Acceptance
Penguin Awareness Day
National Day of Service
Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday (Third Monday of January)
January 21
Granola Bar Day
National Hugging Day
Squirrel Appreciation Day
January 22
Celebration of Life Day
National Blonde Brownie Day
Answer Your Cat’s Questions Day
January 23 is Measure Your Feet Day
January 23
National Pie Day
National Handwriting Day
Women’s Healthy Weight Day
Measure Your Feet Day
January 24
National Peanut Butter Day
Belly Laugh Day
Beer Can Appreciation Day
National Compliment Day
Talk Like a Grizzled Prospector Day
January 25
Robert Burns Day
Irish Coffee Day
Macintosh Computer Day
A Room of One’s Own Day
Visit Your Local Quilt Shop Day
National Seed Swap Day
Opposite Day
January 26
Spouse’s Day
National Peanut Brittle Day
World Leprosy Day
January 27 is Thomas Crapper Day . . . YES that
Thomas Crapper
January 27
Chocolate Cake Day
Holocaust Memorial Day
Thomas Crapper Day
Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day
Punch the Clock Day
January 28
Data Privacy Day
Blueberry Pancake Day
Fun at Work Day
National Kazoo Day
January 29
National Puzzle Day
National Cornchip Day
Free Thinkers Day
Curmudgeons Day
January 30
National Inane Answering Message Day
Croissant Day
January 31
Backward Day
Inspire Your Heart with Art Day
Now let's do a little brainstorming for next month. What are some of your favorite days from the list and how do you propose using them?
Don't forget to join the conversation!
Blessings,

Edie

Edie Melson is the author of numerous books, as well as a freelance writer and editor. Her blog, The Write Conversation, reaches thousands each month. She’s the co-director of the Blue Ridge Mountains ChristianWriters Conference and the Social Media Mentor at My Book Therapy. She’s also the Military Family Blogger at Guideposts. Com, Social Media Director for SouthernWriters Magazine and the Senior Editor for NovelRocket.com. Connect with her on Twitter and Facebook. Don't miss her new book from Worthy Inspired, WHILE MY SOLDIER SERVES.