Jody Cantrell Dyer's Blog: What's your story? Maybe I can help you write it., page 2

Don’t blow the creative flow with self-harming self-editing.

 Enjoy this short, encouraging tutorial on how self-editing while you write hurts your project and you. These are a few ways that self-editing hurts the creative process:

Self-editing invites imposter syndrome. 

Self-editing AS you write slows the creative flow of ideas.

Self-editing is a negative, self-critical experience. 

Self-editing is critical, and writing is creative. When you go from creative writing to editing your writing, your brain switches gears, so you lose efficiency. To understand more about this, research “context transition” or “work batching.”

I have GOOD NEWS, TOO! You absolutely should self-edit your work when you finish something substantial, like a scene, a chapter, or a section of a book. You may also wait until you’ve written the first draft. Many authors do. Actually, many authors write their first drafts on PAPER so that the temptation to self-edit is reduced. 

MORE GOOD NEWS: When you revise (self-edit) a large piece of work, you train your brain to avoid those mistakes in the future, so you do improve your writing skills while you improve your written work.

Remember, nothing beats a professional editor. That is the best money a writer can spend. BUT, send your editor your best work. Write freely, get into the flow, fearlessly enjoy the creative process. Then go back to word one and self-edit to “The End.” That order of operations will help you present your best work to a professional editor and keep negativity out of your writing journey.

Don’t blow the creative flow!

We have beautiful, sturdy notebooks that travel well and are great for brainstorming, book planning, free-writing, and journaling. Visit the Crippled Beagle Publishing Bookstore to browse.

Happy fearless writing!

Xoxoxo

Jody

Write to be happier!

When I talk to people about what and why my clients write, I often bring up the topic of happiness. Writing is a physical, mental, emotional, and often spiritual exercise that brings about countless benefits to the writer, even if there is NO reader. Recently, I encouraged members of the Regal Beagles Writing Club (most of whom are busy professionals with endless domestic to-do lists) to actually put their writing projects FIRST every day. Why? Because procrastinating a creative task that brings you joy can not only stall that project but also create sadness and resentment. If you meet your needs, you are better able to meet the needs of others. And we, my creative friend, NEED to write!

Even if you write for only 15 minutes in the morning before you "take on the day," you are giving your soul a sliver of joy that may carry you through to the next time you sit down to write. Why should something as important as telling your story be put on hold? Also, why should you neglect the opportunity to be happier all day long? 

I recently listened to a Mel Robbins podcast episode featuring Shawn Achor, a research genius whose information will delight you! He presents four methods for increasing happiness, and TWO of them involve writing. Are you surprised? I'm not. 

You can listen to the episode here: "Happiness is an Option for You: 4 Easy Habits That Make Your Life Better, Based on Research"

 If you want to write a book but don't know how to get started, I have a great tool. Click HERE to download my quick guide "5 Steps to Start and Keep Writing Your Book."

 Happy writing for happiness!

xoxoxo

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Facebook Insights Cheat Sheet - See what posts are working for you and grow your audience!

Who is paying attention to your posts? Which posts are working to build your audience? You may be surprised by the truth. Facebook offers Insights to show you what’s working. Let’s go to the source. Any text that is quoted or italicized came from Facebook. Facebook explains, “Insights provide information about your Page's performance, like demographic data about your audience and how people are responding to your posts.”

To see Page Insights:

 1.      From your Feed, click Pages in the left menu.

 

 2.      Go to your Page.

 

 3.      Click Insights in the left menu.

 

About Insights: Insights provide information about your Page's performance, like demographic data about your audience and how people are responding to your posts.

 

Keep in mind that you can only access data in Page Insights for the last 2 years, and demographic data, such as age, gender and location, are available in Page Insights once there is data for 100 or more people. Pages categorized as a Community Page don't have Insights.

 

You can use Insights to:

 

Understand how people are engaging with your Page.

 

V iew metrics about your Page's performance.

 

Learn which posts have the most engagement and see when your audience is on Facebook.

 

  
 In the Top Post section, I like to click on See All to drill down on which recent posts got the most attention and engagement. You can sort the results to further analyze your media outreach. 

 

The goal is to do MORE of what’s working and less of what is not working. Today, visit your Facebook page to see what’s working for your book business. I included a few screenshots to help you see what you can see. Remember to think about where your audience spends time online, build platforms and pages that engage that audience, and grow your readership and royalties!

 

The Crippled Beagle Publishing team and I can help you:

 

Set up pages on most social media platforms

 

Create a Facebook group

 

Create and schedule social media postsLearn how to find and use Insights

 

For help with anything related to social media, please reach out to me, or book an appointment directly on my calendar using the booking link below that matches you 😊.

 

 

If we’ve never spoken, choose Next Steps Call.

 

If you are a Regal Beagles Author Club member, you enjoy 50% off individual consultations, so choose the “Regal Beagles Only” option to book a phone or Zoom meeting.

 

Otherwise, choose Private Session with Jody. 

 

Then, make a huge list of questions. The team and I look forward to helping you any way we can.

 

Xoxoxo

 

 P.S. Instagram offers the same data. Just go to the app, then click Professional Dashboard, then click See all. 

 

What do you love most about being an author? What's holding you back?

 Writing a book is a huge undertaking. I liken the process to through hiking the Appalachian Trail. Every year, about 4,000 hikers start in Springer Mountain, Georgia, or Mount Katahdin in Maine. The goal is to hike the 2,190 miles before dangerous winter weather strikes. The entire process can cost over $7,000 and take several months. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy estimates that only 1 of every 5 hikers actually completes the journey each year. 

Did you know that only 3% of people who set out to write books actually finish the process? Like the Appalachian Trail, the writing wilderness can torment us with all kinds of obstacles. 

Imposter syndromeExcessive self-editingLack of supportBackburner mentality (leaving something important to you to the end of the exhausting day, thus never getting to it)Lack of direction or guidance/mentorshipFear of legal issuesFear of judgement/anger from family or friendsLack of clarityConfusion and overwhelm regarding the publishing industryWriter's block (a myth, in this girl's opinion)

Now, let's compare the two. Wouldn't you rather have the issues above verses blisters, broken bones, frostbite, hunger, lightning, falling trees, copperheads, spiders, cliffs, shelter mates with body odor, worn-out shoes, bug bites, ... need I continue?

All this is to say that if 20% of AT through hikers can make it, so can you! 

If you HAVE finished a book, CONGRATULATIONS! Tell me what you love most about being an author. I will use your comment to not only promote you but also to encourage the 97% who want to be where you are.

Sometimes, we just need a little trail magic. For an AT hiker, that may be a soft drink and a bag of potato chips. For a writer, that may be encouragement from someone farther up the trail. If you haven't finished a book, let me know what's holding you back so I can help you. Schedule a "Next Steps" call with me by replying to this email or click this link: Schedule a Next Steps Call with Jody. Then make a list of questions, and let's get you moving up that trail!

xoxoxoxo 

In this photo, I'm standing in the "blue smoke" of the Great Smoky Mountains on Rich Mountain Loop Trail. My friend Sally took the photo. She packs gourmet snacks and is a wonderfully encouraging hiking buddy. The Crippled Beagle Publishing team is excited and thankful to help you, no matter where you are on the path today. Schedule a Next Steps Call with Jody.

What are your literary pet peeves?

Hello creative friend,

Last week, my colleague Debbie Patrick and I taught “Structure Your Story”—a two-hour workshop in the Professional Learning and Personal Development at the University of Tennessee. At one point, we jotted down a list of editors’ pet peeves. I hope the list helps you, too.

Print/save this list and grab your most recent piece of writing to see if you can fine-tune your work by addressing these issues.

• Sentences that start with the word “It” - I DARE you to use the Find tool to see how many sentences start with that tiny and nondescript word.

• Dead words - Dump them all!

• Gerunds – These drive me bonkers! Do the research and learn when to use them (sparingly, please).

• Overuse of pronouns - Help readers know who is doing/saying what by tossing the characters’ names in here and there. 

• People are human, so call them “who” not “that.” People WHO, police officers WHO, men WHO, teachers WHO.

• Pronoun agreement, generally - They, their, theirs, and them are plural pronouns. While these words are culturally accepted as replacements for singular pronouns in order encourage inclusion, the practice is grammatically incorrect. If in doubt, write in plural.

Each student should bring their pencil to class. WRONG.

Students must bring their pencils to class. RIGHT (and easier to read).

• Ellipses – Most people use them incorrectly or overuse them. The same goes for semicolons, em dashes, hyphens, and exclamation points. As my mother, the retired English teacher says, “If in doubt, don’t.”

• Quotation marks AND italics at once – There are rules. If you aren’t sure which to use, look this up. 

• Double spaces between sentences - The modern rule is to use only one.

• Modal verbs when regular verbs are appropriate – If you write, “The doctor could see,” that means that the doctor was able to see or had the potential to see but didn’t necessarily see. If the doctor did see, write, “The doctor saw.”

 

Give editors your best work, and they will produce their best work for you!

What are your pet peeves? 

I encourage you to create your own cheat sheet or use Crippled Beagle Publishing’s "Proofread Like a Pro Checklist," which also includes our submissions guidelines, a list of dead words, and many other tips. This invaluable tool can be found in the Author Shop at www.crippledbeaglepublishing.com. 

Happy revising! 

Xoxoxo

 

SYNTAX SINS – Hard to spot but easy to fix.

Listen for my old teacher voice asyou read. Ha! Routinely, I find a certain error throughout manuscripts. If youmake this mistake, you are not alone.

Often, when a writer makes thismistake, he/she makes it hundreds of times in a manuscript. Stop now tomake sure you understand this common issue and eliminate it from your writing.

The issue? MISPLACED MODIFIERS 

Here’s the rule. Descriptivewords and phrases (modifiers) need to be as close as possible in the sentenceto whatever they are describing. If they are misplaced, the sentence’s meaningchanges.

Your writing goals deserveattention to detail. This article explains the types of misplaced modifiers andincludes examples. If you have to read this article a few times, do it. Keep acheat sheet handy while you write.

https://www.blinn.edu/writing-centers/pdfs/Misplaced-Interrupting-and-Dangling-Modifiers.pdf

Misplaced modifiers can be hard tospot in your own writing, but try to pay attention and correct these before yousend them to your editor, who should be getting your best draft. You don’t wantto pay a chef to wash dishes. Start scrubbing those manuscripts so that the editorcan focus on word choice, pacing, authentic and consistent characterization,story arc, tone, mood, voice, conflict, dialogue, clarity, and other issuesthat will make your book excellent.

If you are committed to creating thebest possible book, you should routinely review grammar, mechanics, and syntax.Crippled Beagle Publishing has created an easy-to-follow cheat sheet to helpyou. Download our Proofread Like a Pro Checklist, which also includes oursubmissions guidelines, a list of dead words, and many tips. This invaluabletool can be found in the Author Shop at www.crippledbeaglepublishing.com.Here is the direct link: ProofreadLike a Pro Checklist

Happy writing and revising!

Xoxoxo

Jody

 

Speaking Topics for Authors, Expanded

Hello from Crippled Beagle PublishingHeadquarters! Last week, I encouraged you to think beyond your book whenseeking speaking opportunities or guest blog/podcast appearances. One of myclients asked me to expand that message to include speaking topic ideas forchildren’s book authors.

To recap, one of the best ways to makemoney on your book is to sell it in person. Your profit margin is significantlybetter, and the experience is fulfilling. Readers who meet you in person willalso promote you to other readers, and they are more likely to write reviews.

The best way to sell a book in personis to NOT talk about your book! Potential audiences come with questions, sothink about what your target audience may be asking. What do your buyers/readers(parents/children) type into search engines? What problems do they face? Whatinterests do they have?

Think of it this way. No one is as passionateabout your book as you are, but people are passionate about a multitude of topics.For example, your neighbor may design handcrafted jewelry. She is passionateabout this art and attends dozens of festivals, owns an Etsy shop, and does custompieces on commission. Are you as passionate about her art as she is? Could youever be? No, but you may be passionate about having an online business,visiting festivals to sell your work, finding a joyful and profitable pursuitas a side hustle or as retirement work, creating an heirloom doing somethingyou love, and so on. If she were hosting an event to talk about her products,would you be interested? If she were teaching one of the topics that interestsyou, would you be more likely to attend?

Last week, I shared the following topicsfrom a 10-minute brainstorm I did as I scanned my website bookstore and looked CrippledBeagle Publishing clients’ work. I have now added ideas for children’s bookauthors. Enjoy, and good luck!

How to Change a Law

Traditional vs.Modern-Day Adoption

Finding Christ Latein Life

How to Cope When aLoved One is in Addiction

Foster Parenting 101

Writing inRetirement

How to Write AboutYour Life

Cross-Country Moves:What I Learned

What Happens When aCity-Slicker Moves to a Ranch

Answering God’s Callto Share Your Story

Tips for Parents andTeachers

What Parents Need toKnow About Education Today

Surviving andThriving Post-Divorce

How to Get BusinessUsing Facebook

Book MarketingBasics

How to Write a BookWhen You Work Full-Time

Fantasy WritingBasics

What I Learned WhileWriting my First Book

How to IncorporateChristian Values Into Characters and Stories

The Most CreativeAge? 80+!

Cathartic Artistry –Writing to Heal and Help Others

Lessons from theGreatest Writers

How to Hear God

Ways to Pray and Why

The Gifts ofGratitude Journaling

Brainstorming Basics

How to Be Funny onPaper

What I Learned as aFoodie Lawyer

 

***NEW IDEAS FROMOUR LIST OF CHILDREN’S BOOKS***

 

Create Your OwnColoring Book

Writing with anIllustrator

Illustrating with aWriter

The Benefits ofJournaling

The Benefits ofColoring at Any Age

Timestamp Your Lifethrough Literature

How to Write for Grandchildren

Teaching ThroughLiterature

Fiction EqualsEmpathy and Enlightenment

Create a Family Photo-Storybook

Safety Basics for Scouts,Hikers, and Campers

Write for Someone YouLove

Dogs Can Write, Too!

Turn an Imaginary FamilyStory into a Real Book

Witness ThroughWords

How to Build a BookBusiness

I hope you find this helpful! Reachout to me any time if you need assistance. I love to brainstorm with othercreative people. ALSO, if you don’t have a media sheet/sell sheet that helpsyou promote your book to organizations, podcasters, and bloggers, my team and Ican produce one for you. Contact me for details and pricing. (Regal BeagleAuthor Club members enjoy a BIG discount, so ask about membership, too!)

Email: jody@crippledbeaglepublishing.com

Call: 865-414-4017

If you’d like to schedule a 1-hour coachingsession on marketing, writing, editing, or publishing, book directly on mycalendar here: https://calendly.com/jodydyer/private_consultation

Regal Beagles Author Club members,use this link to enjoy your 1-hour consultation at a big discount: https://calendly.com/jodydyer/regal-beagles-only-discounted-private-session

Happy thinking outside the book!

Xoxoxo

Jody

I have an idea waiting just for you!!!

 

Author, to secure a speaking gig, talk about anything BUT your book! Here's an explanation with a list of ideas:)

 Creative Friend,

One of the best ways to make money onyour book is to sell it in person. The best way to sell a book in person is toNOT talk about your book! How do I know? I learned from the Knox County Librarymany years ago. I asked the library manager if I could do a book signing. Shekindly agreed and coached me on how to have good attendance.

She said, “Don’t talk about the book.”

What?

She said, “Talk about something thatwill interest anyone who may come.”

We discussed my experience, and sheloved that I taught myself how to publish books. She said, “Let’s call theprogram ‘Adventures in Self-Publishing.’”

My first book, the one I wanted tosell at the library event, is about domestic infant adoption.

I followed the librarian's advice,wrote up a short, engaging talk about the process of publishing today, and ourcollaborative marketing efforts (her email list and flyers and my social mediaposts and my social media posts) got me a decent turnout of around 20 people. Ithink I sold about 10 copies of the book, which was GREAT! The audience lovedthe topic and asks LOTS of questions, which made my work much easier and theirexperience better.

I challenge you to brainstorm ideasfor topics that are NOT about your book. To demonstrate, I set a timer for 10minutes and opened up my website to look at the Bookstore. There, I scanned myclients’ book covers and jotted down as many ideas as I could for topics theycan use for podcasts, guest blogs, speaking gigs, and freelance articles. Here's my list.

RANDOM, BRAINSTORMRESULTS - POTENTIAL SPEAKING/WRITING TOPICS

How to Change a Law

Traditional vs.Modern-Day Adoption

Finding Christ Latein Life

How to Cope When aLoved One is in Addiction

Foster Parenting 101

Writing inRetirement

How to Write AboutYour Life

Cross-Country Moves:What I Learned

What Happens When aCity-Slicker Moves to a Ranch

Answering God’s Callto Share Your Story

Tips for Parents andTeachers

What Parents Need toKnow About Education Today

Surviving andThriving Post-Divorce

How to Get BusinessUsing Facebook

Book MarketingBasics

How to Write a BookWhen You Work Full-Time

Fantasy WritingBasics

What I Learned WhileWriting my First Book

How to IncorporateChristian Values Into Characters and Stories

The Most CreativeAge? 80+!

Cathartic Artistry –Writing to Heal and Help Others

Lesson from theGreatest Writers

How to Hear God

Ways to Pray and Why

The Gifts ofGratitude Journaling

Brainstorming Basics

How to Be Funny onPaper

What I Learned as aFoodie Lawyer

 

Whew! I didn’t evenmake it to the children’s books section. 

I challenge you to think beyond your book and actually BOOK some opportunities. Get it? Ha! I hope you find this helpful! Reachout to me any time if you need assistance. I love to brainstorm with othercreative people.

Happy thinking outside the book!

Xoxoxo

Jody

BIG BIG BIG BIG BIG!!!!!!!! Are you a writer with lots of questions about writing, editing, publishing, and marketing? Join the club and join the club!

 

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BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!

REGAL BEAGLES AUTHOR CLUB

IS NOW  OPEN FOR ENROLLMENT!

This weekend, I bumped into fellow author Lin Stepp, and she introduced me to new author Stanford Johnson. They were hosting simultaneous book signings at adjacent gift shops in Townsend, Tennessee. We talked about the challenges and privileges of marketing our work, the questions that aspiring and published authors ask us, and how we can all help each other reach our goals. What a joy it was to spend time with folks who “get it.” Being an entrepreneur can be lonely. Writing is a task most often accomplished in total solitude. I am both, so talking with other authors is crucial to my success and to my sanity! I urge you to find and join groups of people who share your experiences, have been where you are, are following in your footsteps, and can support your work. Writers can be introverts, but we can also be incredibly generous. Because such collaboration is profoundly beneficial and, to be honest, FUN, I created a new writing group called Regal Beagles Author Club.

I would love for you to join as a founding member!

Members may be at any stage of the publishing process (you do not have to be a published author to join the club).  

You will benefit exponentially from fellow group members’ input, feedback, ideas, wins, losses, bloopers, and successes. My team and I will provide high quality, well researched information and assistance with as much detail as possible, including downloadable tools and real-life examples from my 10+ years in the business. Regal Beagles Author Club is the perfect place to ask questions, share your experiences, and enjoy tremendous support from other writers who understand what you are trying to do. 

Membership currently includes the following:  

Monthly live Zoom calls with the group (Zoom meetings will be recorded and emailed to members.) The Zoom calls happen on the 1st Monday of the month at 2:00 PM Eastern Standard Time A members-only, private Facebook Group 25% off private sessions (phone or Zoom) with me or a Crippled Beagle Publishing team member who specializes in your area of need 25% off all Crippled Beagle Publishing online courses Free templates, checklists, guides, tip sheets, ideas, resources, and more A FREE copy of my new 260-page marketing book, The Big Book of Book Marketing: Tips, Lists, and Tools for Authors The Crippled Beagle Publishing e-Newsletter MORE: Send me ideas! 

For more details or to join the club, visit: https://www.crippledbeaglepublishing.com/regal-beagles-author-club-landing-page 

If you have questions, email me (jody@crippledbeaglepublishing.com) or call me (865-414-4017). Obviously, I love talking to writers!

HAPPY WRITING, EDITING, PUBLISHING, AND MARKETING! 

Xoxoxo 

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Why write? Why not? Be sure to advertise on my website for free:)))))

Recently, I’ve talked to afinancial consultant with a fantastic children’s book idea, a 90-year-old retiredpainter with a multi-generational family story, and other people who haveawesome ideas but little understanding of the publishing industry because theyoperate, professionally, in totally different industries. We aren’t bornwriters any more than a man is born a banker or a woman is born a scientist. Weall have stories to tell, and my #1 job as a writing instructor, editor,publisher, and book marketer is to encourage people to actually tell (WRITE) theirstories. Only then can I help them with editing, publishing, and marketing. Thepandemic opened up countless hours of free time for many people, and those bookideas floating around in heads across the world started FINALLY leaving headsand landing on screens and paper. In this video, a young lady shares herexperience as a writer. Even better, she explains how writing generally helps us.If you have an idea, write!

Here's the link: https://www.ted.com/talks/lucy_whichelo_free_therapy_why_you_should_write_a_book?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare

ON A MARKETING NOTE: My huge,insanely detailed, exciting website “relocation” is almost complete. A big partof the new site is the Bookstore, where I want to highlight clients’ work. Ifyou are a previous/current Crippled Beagle Publishing author, check the site.If you do not see your book, let me know. If you do see your book, click the purchaselink to make sure the link takes potential readers to the right place. I canlink to your Amazon.com buying page, your website, or some other address. Iknow that some of the images aren’t ideal (size, clarity, etc.). Please pointout or send any helpful information, links, or images. Email me at dyer.cbpublishing@gmail.com or jody@crippledbeaglepublishing.comwith your suggestions or requests. If everything looks good and works well, youdo not need to email me. My hope is that folks who visit my website will alsovisit the bookstore and buy your book!

Go to Crippled Beagle Publishing(plain test URL is https://www.crippledbeaglepublishing.com/).Then go to the top of the page and click Bookstore. Be sure to also visit theAuthor Shop, where you can find a growing list of free and inexpensive tools tohelp you reach your goals.

HAPPY WRITING AND MARKETING!

Xoxoxo

Jody