I wonder often how anyone could have coined the phrase

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me

when we’ve all been at the hurtful end of prejudicial words that cut deep, and sometimes leave wounds that last longer than a bruise. Especially when I have also seen words inspire and start movements. And, for me, there has been nothing more powerful than the first time I said my son’s name allowed to him moments after his birth. That kind of power is staggering…humbling.

I believe in words and the roots of words. I was the kid who looked forward to that section of the SATs where I had to match a word to its meaning by dissecting its Latin root and hoping I got it right. Maybe if I’d actually ever truly prepared for those tests, I would have even done well at… [Read More]

Sounds like I’m asking you to say something profound like “My child’s laughter” or “Kittens,” but what I’m really asking is, what does it or will it take to get you to write? Do you need a cheerleader? Theme music? A deadline? Time?

If you are looking for the “write” motivation, sometimes you need a mentor — someone who’s been through writer’s block, who’s done time looking for agents and publishers, someone who knows the joys of being a published author, someone who also enjoys sharing that journey in a one-on-one educational environment.

There are amazing folks on Twitter, like @Wordstrumpet, @RabbiRami, @AveryOslo, @PlanetAlvina, @NathanBransford, @Copyblogger, @thecreativepenn. However, before this becomes a #FollowFriday post, my point is that even though al lof these amazing writers and agents can be found giving… [Read More]

I have a minor crush on Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos.com. He is so inspirational, and I love reading all the interviews and tweets I can by him. His whole mantra is learning about that which makes people happy, and basing his business around it.

Hsieh just recently came out with a book called Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose. It is an incredibly quick read – not at all like a typical business book might be. The preface itself is enough to buy the book. Then again, I love reading about other people’s successes to become inspired!

He starts off in chronological order, starting with his early childhood and talking about his first business idea: a burgeoning worm empire. He discovers after 30 days or caring for his earth worms, that they were no longer there and had escaped… [Read More]

One of the hardest things we are all faced with in the digital age is the eternal “contact me here” plight. How many appointments or leads have you missed because you were contacted the wrong way at the wrong time?  This quote from the movie “He’s Just Not That Into You” sums up my frustration with the digital age:

“I had this guy leave me a voicemail at work, so I called him at home, and then he emailed me to my BlackBerry, and so I texted to his cell, and now you just have to go around checking all these different portals just to get rejected by seven different technologies. It’s exhausting.”

How do we fix it?

There are a couple of ways to do it. The easiest way to do it is to simply tell all your contacts how you want to be contacted. For example,… [Read More]

Earlier this month I was asked by the good people at Scarritt-Bennett Center to host a conversation on social media for writers during their Room to Write retreat. Having had the privilege of attending one such retreat myself in December, I was honored to accept.
The familiarity with social media ranged from “What’s Twitter?” to network-savvy folks who just haven’t quite figured out how to get all the cogs in the wheel working together.

The biggest questions concerning most of the group were these:
1. “Which social networks do I need and why?” This question consisted of everything from, “Do I really need a Blog” to “Why do I need a Facebook page if I already have a Profile?” and more.

ANSWER: The first step in knowing what social networks you need, is defining your goal or goals. Are you trying to get an agent, editor… [Read More]