Lillie Ammann's Blog, page 37

Pray for the Security of Our Country

September 11, 2018 Prayer Video from Cross Church on Vimeo.

Featured Image on Blog Page: © Depositphotos.com/halfpoint

International Literacy Day

September 8 is International Literacy Day. As a reader, I can’t imagine life without reading—I read at least five books a week on average, and reading is my favorite kind of entertainment. As a lifelong learner, I know reading is essential to learning for self-improvement and economic advancement. As a writer, I want everyone to be able to read my books!

I encourage everyone to support literacy around the world.

Image: © Depositphotos.com/monkeybusiness

It Starts with a Good Mattress—How Sleep Can Make You Happier: Guest Post from Michael Denton

The current hustler mindset has everyone interested in making a good living clocking out late every night. The underlying idea is that, if you don’t go to bed dead-tired from the efforts during the day, you didn’t try enough.

From a freelancer’s perspective, I completely understand the mindset. After all, we spend half of our time looking for new customers and half of it working on current projects. It’s a never-ending cycle of which you can easily lose sight because time never seems to be enough!

Therefore, I decided to talk about the effects lack of sleep can have on your life, how to combat them, and how to be more productive and happier even when you’re hustling (but the right way).

Lack of Sleep: Symptoms and Impact on Life

When you forgo sleep, the most important asset in your toolkit will suffer. The negative impact on your overall mental wellbeing and physical health will be so great that you’ll have trouble concentrating and your energy levels will be on the floor. You’ll feel tired all the time and even the easiest tasks will seem extremely difficult, which will not sit well with the hustler mindset.

As a result, you’ll feel frustrated, anxious and easily irritable. You may also notice physical stiffness (especially in the morning) and a change in your motor skills (usually balance and coordination). Kamil Spark from Mattress Matchers says that these symptoms can be aggravated by a bad sleeping surface, which can also be one of the reasons why you’re not getting enough sleep.

Finally, if you do not address the problem, sleep deprivation can lead to serious health problems such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and even cardiovascular issues.

How to Improve Sleep

Better doesn’t always mean more. So, if you’re getting the necessary amount of sleep for a fully-grown adult (about seven to eight hours) you should seek ways to improve the quality of your slumber.

According to specialists, we go through several sleep cycles during the night, moving from light to deep and REM (which is the most important). Each complete cycle of sleep lasts for about 90 minutes, and it goes on repeat until we wake up. But, if the sleep conditions aren’t ideal, you may wake up when you enter a light sleep phase, or you may not even get to REM. As a result, you might wake up feeling more tired than when you went to bed.

To avoid such a dire situation, make sure to follow these rules:

Lighting in the bedroom should be dim (you may want to invest in thick curtains); No electronics around the bed area (not even your phone); The bedroom temperature should be around 19 to 20 degrees Celsius (60 to 67 Fahrenheit); Use special sleep-inducing fragrances or tunes.

But, before you do all that, have a look at your mattress. Is it older than eight years? Does it have lumps or feel too hard/soft when you lie on it? Do you constantly wake up with lower back pain? If you answered yes to at least one of these questions, it’s time for a new bed.

Modern mattresses are a lot more comfort-oriented (they even have designs to alleviate fibromyalgia sufferers now) and most products are affordable nowadays. So, have a look online and choose a bed that suits your needs.

In Conclusion

Living the life of a hustler is not a bad thing, but you must understand we are not built to be up and running at all times. Our brain and our body need rest to work on tissue regeneration, to create new neuronal pathways, or to strengthen the existent ones.

Sleep is not a luxury, it is a necessity if you want to live a healthy and happy life!

Review of Time Flies

Time Flies: Memories of One of the Last Veterans of World War II by Raymond F. Schaaf

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was impressed with Ray Schaaf on our first meeting. Although he was ninety-three years old, he looked, sounded, and acted decades younger. He came to me for help publishing his memoir.

I love to help people tell their personal stories—everyone has a story and should tell it. Although I don’t usually expect these personal stories to appeal to a wide audience, I believe each story creates a great legacy and should be shared with family and friends.

This book is an exception to my expectation that a general audience wouldn’t be interested in the memoir of someone who is not famous or infamous. Ray Schaaf served on thirty-five bombing missions in World War II, and amazingly, he remembers details (including the rest of the crew members, the targets and missions, even the serial numbers of the planes!) of nineteen of those missions. In a time when so many people, especially young people, know little about our history, this book will draw readers into life before, during, and after World War II. Just reading how life was in Ray’s early years compared to how it is today will be eye-opening to people who can’t imagine life before cellphones, computers, and social media.

Of course, you would expect to see a high rating from the editor of a book, but it’s the story—not my polishing—that merits a 5-star rating. Whether you’re a history buff, a World War II aficionado, or clueless about history, I think you’ll enjoy the book—and maybe learn something as well.

View all my reviews

Review of Texas Wept

Texas Wept: A Tale of Love, Hate, and Courage by William E Maxwell

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I will say upfront that I edited this book, so naturally you would expect me to love it. But I loved it when I first read the few pages the author submitted for a sample edit. The book was great before I started on it—I hope that my tweaking and fine-tuning made it even better, but my polishing isn’t why I love the book.

Texas Wept is filled with heroes, villains, and villains who think they are heroes. It is set in Texas in the tumultuous time at the end of the Civil War and early years of Reconstruction, and emotions—love, hate, and fear—run high. Ben Loch is a Confederate veteran who regrets fighting to preserve slavery, even though his motives were honorable. After the war, he returns to his hometown to marry his love, Annie Kingsley, only to discover they can’t legally marry because Annie is the daughter of the plantation owner/slave master and the upstairs maid/slave. Although she is only one-eighth African, that part legally defines Annie’s race, and it is illegal for a white person to marry a black person.

Prejudice and discrimination still exist today, but it’s hard to envision the absolute evil of the plantation system, the Ku Klux Klan, and the people who used the Bible to justify enslaving and mistreating fellow human beings.

Some parts of this book are hard to read because the hate is so powerful and the acts are so evil, but Ben and Annie manage to make a life together in spite of the challenges.

There’s plenty of action—almost another war as the KKK and others like them try to hold on to their old way of life, plenty of history—the ugly facts of a bygone era, and plenty of love and courage in the main characters.

View all my reviews

Overcoming Writer’s Block with Automatic Transcription: Guest Post

If you’re a writer — of books, essays, scripts, blog posts, whatever — you’re familiar with the phenomenon: the blank screen, a looming deadline, and a sinking feeling in your gut that pairs poorly with the jug of coffee you drank earlier.

If you know that rumble all too well: this post is for you. Maybe it’ll help you get out of a rut; at the very least, it’s good for a few minutes of procrastination.

Here’s the core idea: thinking out loud is often less arduous than writing. And it’s now easier than ever to combine the two, thanks to recent advances in speech recognition technology.

Of course, dictation is nothing new — and plenty of writers have taken advantage of it. Carl Sagan’s voluminous output was facilitated by his process of speaking into an audio recorder, to be transcribed later by an assistant (you can listen to some of his dictations in the Library of Congress!) And software like Dragon’s Naturally Speaking has offered automated transcription for people with the patience and budget to pursue it.

But it’s only in the last couple of years that automated transcription has reached a sweet spot — of convenience, affordability and accuracy—that makes it practical to use it more casually. And I’ve found it increasingly useful for generating a sort of proto-first draft: an alternative approach to the painful process of converting the nebulous wisps inside your head into something you can actually work with.

I call this process idea extraction (though these ideas may be more accurately dubbed brain droppings).

Part I: Extraction

Here’s how my process works. Borrow what works for you and forget the rest — and let me know how it goes!

Pick a voice recorder. Start talking. Try it with a topic you’ve been chewing on for weeks — or when an idea flits your head. Don’t overthink it. Just start blabbing. The goal is to tug on as many threads as you come across, and to follow them as far as they go. These threads may lead to meandering tangents— and you may discover new ideas along the way. A lot of those new ideas will probably be embarrassingly bad. That’s fine. You’re already talking about the next thing! And unlike with text, your bad ideas aren’t staring you in the face. Consider leaving comments to yourself as you go — e.g. “Maybe that’d work for the intro”. These will come in handy later. For me, these recordings run anywhere from 20–80 minutes. Sometimes they’re much shorter, in quick succession. Whatever works.

Part II: Transcription

Once I’ve finished recording, it’s time to harness The Power of Technology

A little background: over the last couple of years there’s been an explosion of tools related to automatic speech recognition (ASR) thanks to huge steps forward in the underlying technologies.

Here’s how ASR works: you import your audio into the software, the software uses state-of-the-art machine learning to spit back a text transcript a few minutes later. That transcript won’t be perfect—the robots are currently in the ‘Write drunk’ phase of their careers. But for our purposes that’s fine: you just need it to be accurate enough that you can recognize your ideas.

Once you have your text transcript, your next step is up to you: maybe you’re exporting your transcript as a Word doc and revising from there. Maybe you’re firing up your voice recorder again to dictate a more polished take. Maybe only a few words in your audio journey are worth keeping — but that’s fine too. It probably didn’t cost you much (and good news: the price for this tech will continue to fall in the years ahead).

A few more tips:

Use a recorder/app that you trust. Losing a recording is painful — and the anxiety of losing another can derail your most exciting creative moments (“I hope this recorder is working. Good, it is… @#*! where was I?”) Audio quality matters when it comes to automatic transcription. If your recording has a lot of background noise or you’re speaking far away from the mic, the accuracy is going to drop. Consider using earbuds (better yet: Airpods) so you can worry less about where you’re holding the recorder. Find a comfortable space. Eventually you may get used to having people overhear your musings, but it’s a lot easier to let your mind “go for a walk” when you’re comfortable in your environment. Speaking of walking: why not go for a stroll? The pains of writing can have just as much to do with being stationary and hunched over. Walking gets your blood flowing — and your ideas too. I have a lot of ideas, good and bad, while I’m thinking out loud and playing music at the same time (in my case, guitar — but I suspect it applies more broadly). There’s something about playing the same four-chord song on auto pilot for the thousandth time that keeps my hands busy and leaves my mind free to wander.

The old ways of doing things — whether it’s with a keyboard or pen — still have their advantages. Putting words to a page can force a sort of linear thinking that is otherwise difficult to maintain. And when it comes to editing, it’s no contest: QWERTY or bust.

But for getting those first crucial paragraphs down (and maybe a few keystone ideas to build towards)? Consider talking to yourself. Even if you wind up with a transcript full of nothing but profanity — well, have you ever seen a transcript full of profanity? You could do a lot worse.

This article is originally published by Descript.

Business Tips for New & Aspiring Freelance Writers: Guest Post from Avery Phillips

So you want to be a writer? The easiest way to get started in the writing and blogging industry is often to go into business for yourself. But how? Starting a business requires all sorts of forms and paperwork and confusing jargon.

Fear not—here are some tips and tools to help you realize your entrepreneurial dreams of enjoying a career as a successful freelance writer:

Find Your Niche

Before you can start a business, you have to decide what your business will offer. What kind of writing do you enjoy most? What are you best at? Will you offer editing services as well as writing? What makes you stand out in a sea of other eager writers looking to get started in this competitive industry?

Spend time thinking deeply about these questions, as they will make up the foundation of the business you do in the future. And remember—you’re not alone. There’s a vast network of seasoned freelance writers and bloggers  who can offer tips and advice and help you get your questions answered.

Get Your Ducks in a Row

The nitty-gritty of how to start a business may not be the part of being a freelance writer that you’re most looking forward to. That’s okay. The great thing is that you’ll most likely only need to do it once, and there are excellent resources available to help you get your business started in an organized and stress-free way.

Starting a small business involves several major steps, according to The Hartford’s Small Biz Ahead. In order to get things rolling, you’ll need to choose a business structure, register a business name, gather the licenses and permits you need, register with the IRS for an Employer Identification Number (EIN), and register for state and local taxes.

Once those ducks are neatly lined up, you can pat yourself on the back. Although paperwork and IRS forms can be confusing and frustrating, they’re necessary to ensure that you don’t get caught up in a legal battle because you didn’t dot your i’s and cross your t’s.

Market Yourself

You’ve started your business, and you have a great product or service to offer. Now what? There’s no use having a great product or skill to share if no one knows about it. That’s where marketing comes into play. Marketing can be your best friend when it’s done right.

A great starting point for freelancers is to create a business website. It doesn’t have to be dense or complex, but it should absolutely have a few website staples, including “about,” “contact,” “products/services,” and “disclaimer” pages. Having a professional-looking website that’s easy to navigate makes it easier for potential clients to learn about your business and see examples of your work.

Additionally, having a social media presence and utilizing email marketing are great ways to reach a large number of people, especially when you’re first starting out.

As your business grows, you might want to take advantage of the many small business management tools that exist to help you track data, manage projects, and organize passwords. Why not let a tool that someone else created do the work for you?

Embrace Failure as Learning

Rejection is part of being a writer, no matter how good you are. Freelancers know this very well—it’s just part of the job. If you can look at every rejection letter or failed attempt at publication as a learning opportunity, you’re sure to find success one way or another.

Follow these startup tips and you’ll be well on your way to having a long and illustrious career as a freelancer. Who knows—maybe one day you’ll be the expert that new freelancers are reaching out to and trying to emulate!

About the Author:

Avery T. Phillips is a freelance human being with too much to say. She loves nature and examining human interactions with the world. Find her on Twitter; comment or tweet her at @a_taylorian with any questions or suggestions.

Image: © Depositphotos.com/AlexBrylov

I’m Back

My apologies for the long delay in posting. I haven’t been feeling the best, and I’ve been working on a number of projects. I’ll share some of them in upcoming blog posts. Now that I’m feeling better and getting caught up on work, I will update my blog more often. 

Image: © Depositphotos.com/anyaberkut

PTSD Awareness Day

June 27 is PTSD Awareness Day. While I don’t have any personal experience with PTSD, I learned a tremendous amount about the subject when I edited I Always Sit with My Back to the Wall: Managing Traumatic Stress and Combat PTSD.

This book explains the physiological basis of PTSD, which is a result of severe trauma and is common among sexual victims and combat veterans as well as individuals who have undergone other kinds of trauma. People sometimes they are going crazy or they are weak, but neither is true. Their body is reacting to the extreme trauma they have experienced.

Another common belief is that nothing can be done about PTSD. While there isn’t a magic cure, the condition can be managed. I Always Sit with My Back to the Wall gives lots of practical advice on dealing with PTSD, and I highly recommend this book to anyone who has PTSD or who is dealing with someone with the disorder.

 

5 Ways to Improve Brand Recognition: Guest Post from Avery Phillips

Gaining brand recognition is vital to small businesses, self-employed workers, and freelancers to secure consistent cash flow and loyal clients. The truth is, the world of brand marketing is vast and potentially expensive if it is not navigated properly.

Selecting the most appropriate marketing channels requires knowledge far beyond the basics of your target audience. Here are the top five marketing channels to focus on to improve brand recognition:

1. Content Marketing

Building a branded blog full of relevant content for your company is a great way to improve overall brand recognition. Content-driven blogging is one of the best ways to establish a voice of authority in your market or niche. Not only must you write engaging content that is highly relevant to your business, but you must also work on developing and expanding your audience.

Within your posts, be sure to format a metadata description. Metadata provides both structure and details to content and is the summary of a web page that shows up in a search result. Metadata is valuable to getting more click-throughs on your content. The more shareable and relatable content you create, the more opportunities you gain to introduce your brand to potential customers. Focus on creating content that answers your customers’ questions or gives them advice on specific topics related to your brand.

If you are an author or freelance writer, this can come second nature to you. However, consider the efforts that you are putting into your content pieces and try not to overdo it. Remember, content marketing is specific to the audience and their needs, so it should provide them with the appropriate useful information in regards to you brand.

2. Events

A great way to build brand recognition is to get involved with local companies and individuals, forming local partnerships. By partnering with local businesses to hold Q&As or festivals, you embrace the “power in numbers” theory. This gives you the opportunity to reach consumers that you may have not been introduced to in the past, and vice versa.

No matter what type of business you are running, holding a life event is a perfect way to get prospective customers and loyal consumers in the door. These events can be a simple picnic or a community holiday party. If you want to aim for a more professional approach, you can structure your event around a specific topic to your industry.

Running a workshop is a great way to share you knowledge of your industry while connecting you with potential consumers or other writers. Holding a live event can prove to be valuable for you by presenting the opportunity to have a real face-to-face.

3. Social Media

In the digital age of e-commerce, a brand cannot be successful without harnessing the power of social media. It’s invaluable to have a presence on social media platforms, because it allows for open conversation between your brand and those who follow you.

When launching a social media campaign, it’s important to make sure you choose the appropriate platform. Consider which social media audience best represents your target audience. Create a social media action plan that ensures you present the values of your business correctly while delivering customer-oriented content.

Building up your following is just the foundation of a successful social media marketing channel. Once established, you must commit to making your presence known. Regularly generating content is arguably the most important aspect of a successful social media brand awareness campaign. Social media is also a great way to bring consumers into the daily duties of your brand.

4. Pay-Per-Click Advertising

With the realm of SEO marketing becoming more and more competitive every day, pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is important to ensure your brand is seen on the first page of a search. This is a great way to increase brand awareness. Even if a person doesn’t click on your ppc ad, they will see your name at the top of the google results, making an impression.

Pay per click advertising can be very competitive, so it is vital that you commit to getting and staying within budget, but also stay committed to measuring its effectiveness on your branding. Winning with a PPC marketing campaign gives you the opportunity to present your brand to targeted customers.

The return on investment (ROI) of PPC ads is getting easier to quantify thanks to Google AdWords and customized reporting. This shows advertisers the conversions, click-through rate, and bounce rates of the PPC campaign. Companies or freelancers can take these reports and apply adjustments accordingly.

5. Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing can be very valuable to building brand recognition. This type of marketing focuses on how an influencer person feels about a product or service instead of focusing on the target market as a whole. In doing this, writers can place their product or services in front of tailored audiences, with reputable spokespeople vouching for your brand.

Influencers allow a brand to reach individuals in every industry. Start leveraging them by starting conversations with them. Repost or reply to their Tweets, tag them in important industry updates, or direct message them with the latest content piece you’ve written when it is published. They may ignore you, but they also may be interested. If they like the content, they are more likely to share with their audience, increasing the number of eyes on your brand.

If you are looking to boost brand awareness for any reason—to improve sales, to advance the success of your endeavors, or meet partners—these five tips will help you get and stay ahead of the competition.

About the Author:

Avery T. Phillips is a freelance human being with too much to say. She loves nature and examining human interactions with the world. Find her on Twitter; comment or tweet her at @a_taylorian with any questions or suggestions.

Photo by Daniele Riggi on Unsplash