Archive for July 2010

A little LOST tribute there with wishes for my only bro. Tuesday, August 3, is older brother’s birthday. (I’m the youngest of three. Yes, I rub it in. Yes, he’s the father of the gal I mentioned last week.) Sending good vibes his way for another great year and many more.

Excited to wave good-bye to July as we enter the month that school starts up again! Was that too enthusiastic? I can’t help it — I like having a schedule and of course, I work better with the kids in school all day.

Anyhoo, back to work. Lots to do… so keeping this short.

Brain food…

• Create the Perfect Author Facebook Page: Captioned video! Just two minutes of your time.
• Think Small to Go Big: Sales for the Small Business Professional: Don’t overwhelm yourself. Great book on topic of starting small for all aspects of our lives: One Small Step Can Change Your Life: The Kaizen Way. Short, fast read. More short fast reads? Check out Short, Powerful and Favorite Books.
• How to Take Great People Photos When You Travel: Need all the help I can get before headin’ to Boston — the first new place I’ve traveled to in too many years. Hope I can capture good memories of Boston. When? Like I’m going to give burglars a heads up. P.S. Burglars, my family will be home. It’s just me doing the traveling.
• Book Bloggers: Oh my gosh… long list! Great for authors looking to find the right audience for book reviews or interviews.
• Five Personal Projects That Will Help You Find Clients: I often recommend to new freelancers to work with nonprofit as a way to start up business.

For fun because we’re allowed…

• World Record for Most T-Shirts Worn at Once: My daughter did this for a video in honor of a friend’s birthday where she put on ALL of her shirts, but it was more like 25 shirts.
• 13 Hilarious Headline Fails: I still wonder how such headlines make it pass the editors. I do placeholders like the “Think of a headline” one — but my editor catches me when I forget to fill it in.
• Google’s broken spell checker credit: Mark Hurst.
• A Pen Mightier Than Any Sword: I love a good pen that writes smooth leaving the right amount of ink behind.

PC Catch of the Week: Help Steve The Sheriff recover missing treasures in this hidden object game that was second runner-up best hidden object game of 2008. Search the town and speak with citizens to uncover the location of Neptuneville’s stolen artifacts. Scour a multitude of levels for the pilfered prizes and sharpen your sleuthing skills with exciting mini-games. Can you decipher the clues and solve the mystery of the vanishing statue, key, and streetlight? Play Steve The Sheriff today and find out!

Catch the deal for your PC! Use coupon code CATCH299

Mac Catch of the Week: Help Steve The Sheriff recover missing treasures in this hidden object game that was second runner-up best hidden object game of 2008. Search the town and speak with citizens to uncover the location of Neptuneville’s stolen artifacts. Scour a multitude of levels for the pilfered prizes and sharpen your sleuthing skills with exciting mini-games. Can you decipher the clues and solve the mystery of the vanishing statue, key, and streetlight? Play Steve The Sheriff today and find out!

Catch the deal for your Mac! Use coupon code CATCH299.

This $2.99 Catch of the Week runs through Sunday, August 1 at 11:59pm.

Remember Big Fish Games has a Daily Deal offering a different game for $2.99 every day.

Another teen hits my family. My daughter went first. My brother’s daughter turns 13 today.  She’s the only niece/nephew (Always wondered if there was one word to describe this relative category — also for aunt/uncle, too) I watch grow up because the husband’s brothers’ children are older and don’t live in the area. First cousins close in age living nearby doesn’t happen much in my family. I appreciate having her sweet self nearby to give my kids a cool first cousin they hang with at family events.

Even though my work environment in the summer isn’t the same as during the school year, I enjoy watching the Food Networks, TNTs, USA Networks and Bravos on cable TV. It’s about time someone figured out to offer first run shows in the summer. Even if some of us take vacations, few take vacations that last the entire summer or from watching TV.

Of course, I’m not saying watching lots of TV is a good thing. It’s about moderation and choosing what interests you rather than just watch anything that airs. Anyway, thanks to history lover hubby, I discovered Pawn Stars (I love the banter and learning about the history of the items brought in the shop). I also watch Top Chef (Nice to see a chef from Dallas: Tiffany Derry of Go Fish Ocean Club) and The Next Food Network Star, Psych (love the ’80s references) and decided to record The Closer’s new season rather than waiting for the show to come out on DVDs. (I record everything to watch while doing laundry or working out.)

Brain food…

• A Four Paragraph Approach to Cover Letters: Important information that goes beyond what the book is about.
• No More Mattress: Where to Put Your Retirement Money: Finance information overwhelms many of us. LaToya Irby does a nice job of explaining the different options so you can at least narrow down the list.
• Promote Your Book on Facebook with a Fan Page: Of course, make it about them not you — just like successful social media users do.
• How to Choose a Domain Name That Works: Great advice except I don’t recommend Sedo. I used the service once and very disappointing plus they automatically put you on mailing list and I had trouble getting off.
• Super-Powered Book Proposals Secret #1: There Is No Try. Do! Tell ‘em, Jane!

And for fun because we’re allowed…

• 10 Most Exotic Fruits: Wow, I’ve heard of some of these thanks to Food Network. In fact, the magosteen appeared on Chopped. I tasted my first pomegranate at age eight. I remembered it as sweet, but have yet to taste as good a pomegranate as my first one. Besides, that stuff stains easily if you’re not careful.
• 15 Funniest Accidentally Naughty Headlines: Are they all really accidental or Freudian slips? As a writer, I know how you get wrapped up in content that you don’t realize you have a typo (as in too vs to) or write a sentence that has another meaning.
• 115 Movies About Writers, Writing and/or the Writing Life: Excellent list … sometimes a good movie revolving around writing can inspire and renew. I picked up a couple tips from The Shipping News.
• Motivational Posters from the Movies: Love, love Office Space. Seen the James T. Kirk before — makes me laugh every time.
• Keyboard Quiz: No peeking!! Eyes on the monitor.

Affiliate Big Fish Games celebrating milestone of ONE Billion downloads with its Big Fish Games Collection on SALE from July 24 through 26, 2010. Enter coupon code ONEBILLION into the coupon code box when you check out to apply the discount.

• PC Games
• Mac Games

What’s your favorite TV show and why?

I admit it. Summer break messes with my writing work that I work shorter hours, blog less and write fewer online articles. While I have one kid old enough to fend for herself (driving) and another going to day camp, summer still disrupts my schedule. For one, the day camp doesn’t start until 9am. By that time, I’ve worked at least two hours during the school year.

Between breakfast and the two younger kids talking to each other, it affects the quiet time I love during the school year. Although I’ve adjusted to start my morning with administrative work and social media catching up, how I start my day sets the tone for the rest of the day. Plus, one kid stays home all day and interrupts me at unexpected times.

Here are the rules I’ve set to be as efficient as possible:

1. No TV downstairs. The noise distracts me. Sure, I can turn off my cochlear implant — but that silence differs from room silence. Plus, turning it off prevents me from hearing the door, the dog or hurt children.
2. Make your own lunch. If I am in the kitchen making my lunch and I’m good about eating at the standard lunch hour, I offer to make lunch for the kids. But if they’re hungry before then, they can make their own.
3. Do interrupt when it’s health-related. I want them to know that getting hurt or not feeling well is important and I need to know ASAP — not at the end of the day.
4. Schedule afternoon appointments. I’m most effective in the morning, so I make all non-work appointments in the afternoon — when I have the choice.

The rules work, but I still get a few interruptions daily that aren’t important. But I won’t impose more rules on the kids. So that’s why I limit blogging and social media time in the summer. I use that time to get client work done. (Heh. Just interrupted because son said he can’t remember how to write a couple of cursive letters.)

Whether you have children at home, there may be other times of the year that become more disruptive than the usual. How do you manage during those times of the year?

PC Catch of the Week: Help the celebrated novelist, Cate West, find a dangerous murderer in this exciting hidden object game. This sequel to Cate West: The Vanishing Files, follows Cate to Damasca, where she discovers a new mystery. Gather the items required to forge the enigmatic Velvet Keys and crack the case in Cate West: The Velvet Keys.

Catch the deal for your PC! Use coupon code CATCH299

Mac Catch of the Week: Help private detective Vicki Nelson solve a series of unexplained missing persons cases that appear to be connected to a secret society. Is the connection real? Vicki thinks so, and its up to you to help her, along with her friend Henry (a 450-year-old vampire) and assistant Coreen, to investigate the crime scenes and solve the mystery. Unearth hundreds of items in locations throughout the city to discover the dark secrets behind this mysterious cabal in Blood Ties.

Catch the deal for  your Mac! Use coupon code CATCH299.

This $2.99 Catch of the Week runs through Sunday, July 25 at 11:59pm.

I debated whether to attend this annual sale after ridding my house of 300+ books. George Angus convinced me. I survived the sale and walked away with just FOUR books! It’s amazing when you find a book that you have on your “to read” list.

My youngest went to see the new Dallas Cowboy Stadium. I have yet to get there myself. He also met former Cowboy receiver Michael Irvin. For non-sports fan, Irvin was a former Dancing with the Stars contestant.

Brain food…

• 9 Expert Tips for Better Writing: Love the quotes that accompany each tip.
• A Good Edit Would’ve Fixed That: April Hamilton, judge for self-published book awards, shares common problems she sees in the submissions — not your basic typos. [Link: BubbleCow]
• Best WordPress plugins for writers: Got some of these loaded already… need to check out AP Style Dates and Times. I tend to follow AP Style. However, I prefer am/pm to a.m./p.m., but I understand AP’s thinking behind this.
• A Novel’s Setting Can Be Your Marketing & Promotion Linchpin: How a self-published author sold almost 50,000 books. Inspiring success story!
• Unmask Parasites: I hope we never need this, but might be worth saving. If you think your site has been hacked, run this. [Link: Alan K'necht]
• 18 Things I’ve Learned About Book Marketing: Very detailed tips that includes a script for calling book stores. [Link: Debbie Ohi]
• Social Media Content Worksheet: Although from Jay Baer, I’m sending you to Georganna Hancock’s Posterous as she has great stuff and she’s worth following. [Link: Lori Widmer]

For fun because we’re allowed…

• Lego Movie Posters: I gave my son a cool LEGO Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary (affiliate). (Even I liked browsing it.) It’s incredible how Lego spun off a whole new world with its movie versions of the toys. I enjoy building them with my sons, but I don’t like that they fall apart easily.
• Funky and Fun Keyboards to Brighten Your Day: Browsing these cool keyboards will put a smile on your face unless you don’t like Star Trek, Garfield, The Simpsons, etc. etc.
• 80+ Creative Geek T-Shirts: I recognized a bunch (I love looking at geeky things) and discovered a few newbies. Always loved the “There’s no place like 127.0.0.0.” Also love the typographic tees.
• 7 Ridiculous Products Licensed by Major League Baseball: Hey, what’s wrong with Mr. Potato Head? [Link: Blair Semenoff]

PC Catch of the Week: Help Autumn find her grandfather’s treasures in this hidden object adventure game. After receiving her inheritance, Autumn finds a mysterious journal page in Gramps’ antique store, and follows his clues across the globe to recover priceless antiques. Autumn’s Treasures contain ancient secrets, that only you can discover (unless you play with a friend). Can you help Autumn recover the mysterious relics of her grandfather’s past?

Catch the deal for your PC! Use coupon code CATCH299

Mac Catch of the Week: Autumn’s Treasures: The Jade Coin.

Catch the deal for  your Mac! Use coupon code CATCH299.

This $2.99 Catch of the Week runs through Sunday, July 18 at 11:59pm.

Y’all know I love my books. They’re cheaper than gadgets (I love them, too) and reveal all kinds of wonderful stuff. My seven-year-old’s book shelves overflowed that I couldn’t straighten it anymore. His shelves were the culmination of Mom’s pre-children collection, big sister’s outgrown collection and big brother’s dumped collection.

He let go of many picture books (Aw, I’m proud since it means he wants to challenge himself with harder reading material) and then I reviewed his 250+ books to see what I wanted to keep. This task scared me as I feared I would hold on to too many. Well, I managed to select no more than 20. Proud of myself. Repeat with older son’s books. Survived again.

Plus it’s summer time. You know what that means? It means I start watching Style, Food Network, Bravo type stuff with shows like Clean House and Hoarders. These also motivated me to dump a lot of stuff. I’m even trying to find a home for my precious Theatre World Annual collectible books. These I won’t just give away.

The local Friends of the Public Library is having its annual book sale this month. Debating whether to go. Do I really need to haul in more books? Of course, it won’t be 100 books — I don’t think I’ve ever bought more than 10 (used much restraint!).

Another openin’, another set of links…

Brain food…

• How to Simplify When You Love Your Stuff: When I came across this the day after the great Snave (read it backwards) book clean of 2010, I knew what to write about in this post.
• “No!” Is a Complete Sentence: Fabulous post from Anne Wayman. Y’all know how it is to say, “No.” But Do you continue on with an explanation or do you stop there? Lori Widmer refers to Anne’s post and adds another important factor — the client’s reaction. Put these two together and you’re golden the next time you need that n-o.
• Winners of Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest: “A whimsical literary competition that challenges entrants to compose the opening sentence to the worst of all possible novels.”
• 5 Reasons to Title Your Art: While focused on artwork, it can apply to many things. When I see “Untitled,” I move on and don’t waste my time with it.  [Link: Marcia Yudkin]
• Ultimate iPhone Apps for Writers: 30+ Productivity and Creativity Boosts: I still use a BlackBerry, but own an iPod Touch. I don’t know that I’d ever want to make the switch to an iPhone because (1) I type faster on hard keyboard than on screen keyboard, and (2) iPhone / iPod Touch has addicting time-wasting apps that having it with me all the time could be harmful to my time management efforts. (I don’t have iPod Touch with me very often.)

And for fun because we’re allowed…

• 12 Unbelievable Mosaics: These artists have unbelievable patience.
• Clients from Hell: Hope you don’t recognize anyone here.
• Over 15 Very Funny Posts and Other Links to Make You Laugh About Freelancing: See comments for a few more.
• Time’s Best Blogs of 2010: Lists a few that I love like Cake Wrecks, The Oatmeal and GeekDad. I discovered a few cool ones I hadn’t met like PostSecret, S___ My Kids Ruined, Information Is Beautiful (How did I miss this one when I have this info visualization collection?), Shorpy (Reminds me of browsing through my grandparents’ photo albums… just something about black and white photos from the early 1900s) and more.
• 28 Minimalist Movie Posters: I used to collect Broadway show posters. Actually, having the posters paid off as I held a Broadway-themed party and put them to use. Anyway, enjoy the neat tour of these minimalist movie posters — some excellent and some eh? Love Shawhank Redemption’s poster.
• Login is not a verb: What do you think?
• Re-imagining four common products from 2010 as if they were designed in 1977: An MP3 player, laptop, mobile phone and handheld video game system. Geeks will love this tour of what a flash from the past would look like had these existed in the ’70s.
• Dream Chronicles: Book of Air (affiliate): Dream Chronicles games consist of breathtaking scenes and lots of challenging puzzles. The cheaper standard edition is out. This could be how I’ll spend some of my weekend especially since it looks like a rainy one.

How do you manage your book collection?

Lori Widmer of Words on the Page tells the story of running into a fellow freelancer and playing catch up. The freelancer reported an empty client pot and that “no one’s calling.” I’d love to know how many businesses thrive by sitting back and expecting everyone to come rushing in to hire the business.

Waiting for Clients

If I waited for people to call, I’d be in her situation, too. Marketing isn’t a passive activity or one that we do when we have more time on our hands. Successful freelancers make marketing part of the job. Picturing cold calls? Cold calls work well for many freelancers while others don’t touch that. Networking without Walls or Boundaries lists a few ways to do marketing and they work for me.

Wondering why I have a picture of my son doing archery? Marketing is like archery. If you don’t do it at all, you have no chance of landing anything. If you shoot 10 arrows without aiming, at least one is bound to hit the target. It may not be the bull’s eye, but it’s something. Don’t just sit there, do marketing.

Finding the Right Marketing Activities

Maybe you feel overwhelmed by the many options we have available to us for networking and marketing. Start with one thing. Ignore the rest. Just pick one. Don’t make yourself crazy. Need some ideas? Here are 40+ Easy Marketing Activities for Freelancers.

After you find two or three activities that work for you, then proceed with the next step on How to Manage Your Time with Social Networks.

I’m busier now than two years ago. I used to do book and game reviews all the time. Now, I hardly do them because I have more writing and other work to do. That’s on top of managing my family of five (and doing all the appointments), exercising daily for at least one hour and getting my seven to eight hours of sleep. In spite of this, marketing remains a consistent part of my job.

In writing for several business newsletters, one message keeps repeating itself. When a business needs to cut back on spending, successful ones never cut the budget or time spent on marketing. Those that do eventually lose momentum that by the time things improve, they’re behind their competitors who kept on marketing.

How do you make marketing part of your work? What activities do you do?

Wow! The game is the same for both PC and Macs. This week’s game has a recently-released sequel. If you end up liking Flux Family Secrets: The Ripple Effect, check out Flux Family Secrets: The Rabbit Hole Collector’s Edition. Note this is the more expensive edition. The cheaper one will come out sometime soon — date unknown.

PC Catch of the Week: A mysterious family has contacted you and holds the secrets of your past! Fix the errors in time in this exciting Hidden Object game and take your rightful place in the Flux family! Explore famous historical sites like Hatshepsut’s tomb, the Wright Brothers’ workshop, Benjamin Franklin’s study and many more. Flux Family Secrets: The Ripple Effect has you realign the timeline by finding misplaced objects scattered through time and solving clever puzzles.

Catch the deal for your PC! Use coupon code CATCH299

Mac Catch of the Week: Flux Family Secrets: The Ripple Effect.

Catch the deal for  your Mac! Use coupon code CATCH299.

This $2.99 Catch of the Week runs through Sunday, July 11 at 11:59pm.