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Friday, October 27, 2017

#MeToo: What Comes Next for Those Who Come Forward?


 

When it comes to the current “#MeToo” movement that is going on, it is heartwarming to see and hear about all the voices who are speaking up and speaking out. By that same token, it is heartbreaking to realize how prevalent an issue this really is, as well as how far-reaching. It may have taken the sexual assault involving well-known Hollywood figures like: Mira Sorvino, Rosanna Arquette, Ashley Judd, Alyssa Milano (and others) to bring the issue to light. The ongoing Harvey Weinstein sex-related cases involving hundreds of names is truly shocking, but by far, nothing new! It is most definitely time for something to be done, and #MeToo is helping. 
 
Many Faces of Sexual Assault

With so many WOMEN coming forward recently, thanks to the #MeToo movement, let us not forget that sexual assault has many faces. It’s not just happening with women, but with men, and even more sadly, with little girls and boys. The problem, nor the ideal for a movement is not new by any means. This is brought out in an an article titled: An activist, a little girl and the heartbreaking origin of 'Me too' In this disturbing report, it states: “the seeds for the movement were planted earlier than that -- in 1996, when Burke was a youth camp director. After an all-girl bonding session, a young girl asked to speak to Burke privately.” The article goes on to discuss the horrific story of a child who was being abused. "For the next several minutes this child ... struggled to tell me about her 'stepdaddy' or rather her mother's boyfriend who was doing all sorts of monstrous things to her developing body.”

For some people, it’s almost unbelievable to hear such stories, and others like it, but for those of us who know the truth first-hand, it’s almost the norm. But thanks to #MeToo and similar movements, victims are showing themselves to be true SURVIVORS by finally taking the dreaded and difficult step of coming forward. They are saying YES! IT REALLY DID HAPPEN TO ME! No more denial, to self, or anyone else. Only someone who’s ever had to live with the memory of sexual assault can fully understand what that means. This is the first step (in the right direction) towards freeing yourself from the weight of a burden you never should have had to bear.

What Comes Next

Is the #metoo movement a temporary, trending thing? According to one CBS news report: “#MeToo reaches 85 countries with 1.7 million tweets”. One day following that report, the New York Times wrote about: “A #MeToo Moment for the European Parliament”. With thousands of victims coming out of the shadows and sharing bits, pieces, and all of their stories; it appears that this movement is NOT just a fly-by-night online trend. But what comes next on your own individual path back to empowerment? Do you feel like you want to do more or has your pain truly been healed?

Coming forward (even anonymously) and speaking out is a HUGE step, speaking from personal experience. But what comes next if you feel the need to do more? You may need to find a healthy way to continue the dialogue until it hurts a little less and less. In my own case, I’ve been able to use something that I love (writing), as a tool in healing my own pain. For a better understanding of this point, please take a moment to read the following blog post titled: Survivors: Finding Ways to Assert Your Power

The above-mentioned post is taken from a blog I specifically created as a companion to my book: “Skipping Childhood: A Novel ” This book centers on the life of a young girl who is the victim of sexual assault. The child has a history of abuse, just like the author who wrote the story. Although no murders were ever really committed in real life, being able to kill the predators off in the book was extremely therapeutic.

If you are a #metoo survivor and want to read about creative paths to empowerment, be sure to check out some of the blog entries on the Skipping Childhood (Ramblings) blog. And don’t forget, if there is someone else you know of who may benefit from this information, be sure to pass it on.

 


Monday, July 24, 2017

Cultivating the Right Attitude Can Help Overcome Hurdles

 
Being a new ONLINE writer or entrepreneur means you had better be prepared to grow some very thick skin!  In fact it might be wise if you were to put on a figurative suit of armor.  There are times that you will feel defeated in every single way, due to the many emotional highs and lows that can affect your productivity.  You will need to rely on everything you possibly can to help keep you focused on your online objectives and goals.  There are lots and lots of tangible resources available online to help you stay the course.  But the most important resource that will help you overcome online challenges is to have a positive attitude whenever you can.  Consider the following information, whether you’re a new writer, an entrepreneur, or simply someone who could use some good advice.  Read and see why cultivating the right attitude can help you overcome whatever your hurdles happen to be.

Genuine Smiles

No one is happy all the time, so I’m not saying you should walk around with a fake smile or a phony grin. Having a positive attitude about things doesn’t mean you have to be unrealistic and pretend that problems don’t exist. Having a positive attitude means accepting things as they are, until you can realistically find a way to make changes for the better. It is this type of acceptance that can cause you to wear a genuine smile in spite of problems and adversity. This attitude of acceptance stems from being positive that nothing stays the same including the current problem you may be facing.

The Write Attitude

There is such a strong correlation between your writing attitude and writing success. Cultivating the right attitude is what helped me to forge ahead and complete multiple publications. Even now, I continue trying to adjust my attitude even more, so as to become a more successful author. For me, a positive attitude equals the "write" attitude (pun intended).

The key to attitude adjustment, with respect to your writing and online activities, means that your attitude is constantly changing to fit the circumstances. This makes sense you think about it because obviously, you could not expect to handle every situation the same. In fact, this is actually true of any situation, whether it is writing related or not.  So even though the focus is on positivity, don’t be surprised if your attitude needs adjusting frequently.

Online Success

The need for frequent attitude adjustments is normal because positivity doesn’t always come natural to some of us.  Failing to do proper attitude assessments can be counterproductive to your online success.  I can personally relate to this point whenever I think back on the different hurdles that I encountered it while I was trying to finish writing each of my books. I had to do an attitude adjustment many times, but not necessarily about the writing itself or anything related to the book I was working on. My issues often dealt with outside influences that affected my writing progress. So my attitude adjustments were specific to the people and circumstances that affected my ability to write.

Personal issues, family relationships, work and co-workers, and a host of other situations all have a negative or positive impact on our writing and online success. That is why my book:  How to Be Happy Without Hardly Trying, sheds light on smart ways to handle day to day feelings that are common to us all.   The book is currently available on Amazon.  To learn more about how to start creating a positive mental environment so your writing can thrive:



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3 Important Ways to Introduce and Promote Your Brand



Self-branding is something that can come very natural to some people.  If you’re a smart writer, you can find creative ways to promote your brand, without annoying your readers or listening audience.  As was previously mentioned in an earlier post, having your own website is considered to be essential to self-branding (at least in most people’s eyes).  Of course, there are plenty of profitable things you can do online, without having your own website. But on the other hand, there is a whole lot of stuff that you can do on your own website that you can’t do in other places.

Websites

Obviously, one of the biggest advantages to having your own website and paying to host your domain is the fact that the website belongs to you.  In a sense, you can compare it to owning your home, versus renting.  When you rely on free hosting and someone else’s domain name, you have to put up with the “owners” just like you would have to put up with a bossy landlord that you rent to.  If you buy your own domain name, and don’t rely on free hosting, you don’t have to worry about what the owner’s think or want you to do (or not do).

If you’re anything like most people, not having a boss over you is a big plus!  But even aside from being the boss of your own domain, there are many other benefits that you won’t realize until you actually start being interactive with your site.  Until then, just know that you are doing what you need to do to establish a solid foundation for your brand.  No matter what else you do, and where else you go online, when you have your own website, you will always have a home as your base of operation.  You can still multitask, and be as diverse as you want to be, just get used to utilizing your website effectively, so that you are always announcing and promoting your brand.

There is something else you should keep in mind about owning a website.  Just like real estate, the website’s value tends to increase with age.  If you keep things simple, and just add good content on a regular basis, visitors will come over time, and your site will begin to mature.  You could actually build up some Google and Alexa clout without realizing it, easily making your page rank go up to a 2, 3, or 4.  This is really a good thing.

 YouTube Videos

Well once again, I can’t seem to say enough about taking full advantage of using YouTube videos to help announce and promote your brand.  Once you actually break out of your fear of public speaking (either in front or behind the camera), you’ll discover how much fun making YouTube videos can actually be.  Writer, author, affiliate marketer, online entrepreneur; no matter what you happen to be branding yourself as, you can find creative ways to do it in a video.  You can make video presentations as a way to introduce a book, a product, or even a good blog or website article. 

Your video (nor your website for that matter), doesn’t need to have bells and whistles in order to be worth watching.  You do, however, need to make sure that videos at least have one of the following elements:  Informative, profitable, entertaining, thought provoking, funny, and/or unique.  Any one or more of these elements will give the viewer a reason to keep watching, and hopefully, come back and view other videos.  Once you have an audience who enjoys hearing what you have to say, they will eventually follow you to your website, blog, social media posts, and other online activities.

Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing kind of speaks for itself, when you think of digital marketing and promotion.  Never underestimate the value of a well-written post, published in the right place.  There are numerous social networks to choose from, although Twitter, Facebook and Instagram seem to be the most popular ones these days.  Twitter is actually one of my favorite forms of self-promotion, and I highly recommend using it to anyone in business or who has a product or service to offer. Keep in mind that you don’t have to have to be glued to your computer and posting tweets every minute, especially when you use a service like my YourBusyBody “TWITTER BLAST” on the Fiverr™ website.  I can set up an outstanding Twitter marketing campaign to help promote whatever you offer.

But whether you enlist the help of someone else, or you do-it-yourself; using Twitter as a form of social media marketing can prove to be more advantageous than you ever realized.  So be sure to take time and make time to start taking advantage of these 3 important ways to help introduce and promote your brand online.  The sooner you start, the sooner your brand will start to grow and develop.



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New EBook Authors: Why Create PDF Documents to Sell From Your Website



New eBook authors don’t always appreciate the need to create PDF documents to sell from their own websites.  Your newly published eBook is being distributed at Smashwords, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble, therefore, eBook sales are off and running, right?  Wrong!  If you think that all you have to do is sit back and watch the cash from your book sales roll in, you’re sadly mistaken!  New indie authors should not automatically expect their eBook to start selling like hot cakes.  In fact, in the beginning, you should be happy and count your blessings for every single sale that you get, if you get any.  

In the beginning stages of your eBooks’ release, it is not unusual to have little to no sales from week to week.  If you become fixated on all the sales that you are not getting, you won’t have time to do the activities that can help you to get sales.  Aside from writing more books, those activities include promoting your eBook via blog posts, social networks, bookmark links and related websites.  Before your eBook even gets to this point, there are also things you can do to help optimize the book’s chances of success.  Some of those tips can be found in a previous blog post titled: How New eBook authors Can Make Their Titles More Searchable 

Your EBooks’ Accessibility

There are lots and lots of ways for potential readers to access all the great eBook titles that are available, including instant downloads in PDF format.  Companies like:  PDF Online and WordtoPdf.com are online resources that will allow authors to convert their word documents (or original eBook manuscripts) into PDF format.  These two websites are among the many that offer this kind of document conversion for free.  This enables the author to make their eBook available directly to potential customers, without the use of a middle-man (like Smashwords, Amazon, Nook Press, etc.).  

These particular sites, and others just like them, do not distribute the new PDF version of the eBook for you.  That means that the author is responsible for the actual delivery of the eBook.  This is one of the drawbacks of selling your eBook from your blog or website, without using one of the popular eBook distributors.  But just like most problems or challenges that exist on the internet, there is a “work around”.  If you are an author with a newly published eBook, you can choose to use a service like Pulleyapp.com and they will not only convert, but also deliver your PDF eBook.   

Readers Give Author Support

Using a document conversion and delivery service will make the author’s eBook available immediately after the reader makes a purchase. Secure credit card payments via PayPal is usually the standard payment option that customers are given.  Many readers are more than happy to give their favorite author support by making an eBook purchase directly from the author’s website or blog.  The cost for this type of eBook delivery service varies, but can be as low as $6.00 a month, for countless deliveries of a limited number of products.     

Maximize Your EBook Distribution

While your objective is to maximize your eBooks’ distribution and sales, doing this from your website or blog is also a way of having a backup plan.  What would you do if any disputes ever arose, or something went wrong with your eBook distributor accounts?  When your eBook sales finally start to accumulate, you will be receiving your earnings via Smashwords, Amazon, Barnes and Noble and other distributors.  Those payments will not be made available to you if there is some type of issue or discrepancy with your account, whether justifiable or not.  On the other hand, payments made directly to you, as a result of a website or blog sale will instantly go to your PayPal or bank account.  There is no waiting period to get paid, unlike the eBook payments resulting from major distributors.

Selling your newly published eBook from your website as a PDF is just one way to help maximize sales and distribution.  It is important to keep in mind, that while this is a smart marketing move and can increase book sales, it should not replace other eBook distribution methods.  Do not take all those popular eBook distribution websites for granted.  In order to fully monopolize on your potential eBook sales, you have to rely on promotional and sales efforts, in addition to the top distributors like Amazon, Nook Press and Smashwords.  

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