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Blog Action Day Coincides with Ongoing Age of Conversation 3 Effort
October 15th is Blog Action Day – a day when bloggers all over the world join together to talk about the critical need for safe, clean water around the globe. And each of the bloggers who contributed a chapter to Age of Conversation 3 (among them, yours truly) is doubly excited about the effort to point the spotlight on this need. Why is that? Let me explain.
What Does Age of Conversation 3 Have to Do with Blog Action Day?
Everything! Age of Conversation is an annual collaborative book project specifically designed to raise funds for charity. Since the first book was published in 2008, the Age of Conversation books have raised tens of thousands of dollars for charity. In 2008 and 2009, Age of Conversation and Age of Conversation 2 raised $15,000 and $10,000, respectively, for Variety Children's Charity. What does that have to do with water? Glad you asked!
This Year's AOC 3 Charity is charity: water
In 2010, all funds raised through the sale of Age of Conversation 3 have been earmarked for donation to charity: water, an organization that's already doing incredible work implementing over 2,900 different water- and sanitation-related projects in numerous parts of the developing world. Charity: water uses 100% of all public donations to directly fund water projects. How can they do this? A group of private donors covers the charity's other expenses.
AOC 3 Authors Are Happy to Help charity: water and Blog Action Day
I'm sure I speak for all AOC 3 authors when I say that I'm honored to be involved in raising funds for this fine charity that is making such a difference in the lives of so many people. (Please note that no AOC 3 author and no AOC 3 editor receives a penny for our contributions to the book. All proceeds raised, after printing costs are covered, go directly to charity: water.) All AOC 3 authors welcome the opportunity to join together with Change.org in pointing to the worldwide need for clean water on Blog Action Day 2010.
Help Fund Clean Water Projects: Buy a Copy of Age of Conversation 3
One way you can help provide clean water for people around the world is by purchasing a copy of Age of Conversation 3 at one of the Amazon.com links below. While every purchase will help, no matter when it's made, if you make your purchase on Blog Action Day, along with everyone else who responds today, you'll help push AOC 3 up higher in Amazon's rankings, making it more visible to Amazon visitors, which will encourage even more people to purchase it and raise even more funds for charity: water. For more information about the Amazon.com Bum Rush, visit this post on the Age of Conversation 3 blog.
Here are the links to make your AOC 3 purchase(s):
AOC 3 Paperback Edition
AOC 3 Hardcover Edition
AOC 3 Kindle Edition
A Few Other Things You Can Do to Help
• Write a post about Blog Action Day. (Be sure to register at Change.org first.)
• Tell your friends and readers to buy AOC 3 and help charity: water. (Tell them to buy each copy separately, since Amazon counts each purchase only once -- even if they buy multiple copies.)
• Visit the Blog Action Day web page for other ideas.
Let's see how much money we can help raise for charity: water and other great charities that are working so hard to make a difference!
Thanks for doing your part to help!
Jeanne
Calling All Bloggers
October 15th is Blog Action Day, and this year's theme is a critical one: Water. So many people in our world lack access to safe, clean drinking water that this topic is a timely one to highlight this Blog Action Day.
Most of us turn on the tap and take it for granted that the water that comes out will be safe to drink. And if we don't prefer tap water for one reason or another, we have easy access to an endless variety of bottled waters. But, in many countries, drinking water is a serious health issue, with contaminated water causing serious illness and even death in large numbers of people. Many organizations are working to turn this around, and Blog Action Day 2010 is the perfect time to highlight their efforts.
Please check out the following Blog Action Day video and consider joining other bloggers all over the world on October 15th in publicizing the serious need for clean drinking water in every country of the world.
Let's make a difference!
Jeanne
Please visit my post, Age of Conversation 3 Joins Blog Action Day to Highlight Global Need for Clean Water, and find out how you can help fund clean water projects by purchasing a fascinating book that can help spark your business success.
Haven't Forgotten You!
Just wanted to let my readers know that I haven't forgotten my blog--or you! Lately, I've been kept quite busy battling a wicked PC Antispyware 2010 infection, contracted on August 8th; and though I managed to rid myself of the active infection about a week later, many problems lingered, including an inaccessible Windows Security Center (a problem I finally managed to correct just the other day, to my immense relief).
As you can imagine, I've spent a huge amount of time simply researching this malware online to learn all I can about its characteristics and how to correct the multitude of problems it creates on a PC--not to mention experimenting with and implementing various fixes--and it's been a fascinating, albeit often-frustrating education!
What Is PC Antispyware 2010?
PC Antispyware 2010 is a rogue antispyware program that causes alarming pop-ups to appear on your desktop (and even in front of web pages you visit) warning you of threats it has supposedly found on your PC and urging you to visit its website and register its "antispyware program," which you of course must pay for. The program claims to be scanning your computer, and to "prove" it, displays a status bar which shows the progress of the so-called scan. It's quite an alarming occurrence to see these windows continually popping up when you least expect them.
Characteristics of This Malware
PC Antispyware 2010 infiltrates so many different parts of your PC that it's extremely difficult to remove fully. It disables your antivirus and antispyware programs so they can't detect and remove it (or partly disables them so they appear to be doing something when in fact they are ineffective at removing the main infection). It can also prevent other anti-malware programs from being downloaded and/or run or disable access to their help files, which makes it difficult to replace your non-functioning programs to fight the malware infection.
It continually regenerates itself when you delete its files and places its main program into your PC's Startup menu so that every time you boot up, the malicious program reloads. PC Antispyware 2010 is caused by the Braviax virus (also called cru629) and is downloaded via several Trojans/Trojan downloaders. It also places rootkits (collections of hidden files that enable the program to do its dirty deeds) in various places on your PC, making it difficult to track down and fully remove this cyber menace.
Tips for Avoiding the Infection
This program is so persistent and so insidious that, once contracted, you have a real fight on your hands. So, please make every effort to avoid it! Be very careful what you download from the Internet, being sure it's from a trusted source. And never allow a Java (or other) program update to proceed when the update window suddenly pops up while you're surfing the Internet! (I've read that this is the way--or perhaps one way--PC Antispyware 2010 is downloaded, and I can easily believe this because I allowed a Java update while online at about the same time I contracted the infection.)
Be sure your Windows Firewall is turned on and your antivirus and antispyware programs are up-to-date--and use them to do periodic full scans of your PC fairly regularly, as well as regular quick scans--and be sure to run boot-time scans periodically as well, because PC Antispyware 2010 regenerates itself during bootup, and, of course, scans performed after bootup are ineffective at removing it from your boot menu.
More Info About PC Antispyware 2010 from K and Me at ShanKrila
For further information about PC Antispyware 2010, its symptoms, tips for its removal, and information specific to my experiences with it, visit my blogging buddy K-IntheHouse's post at ShanKrila, How to Remove PC AntiSpyware 2010? In this post, K--whose tagline for ShanKrila is "a blog where technology meets daily life"--answers my question about how to remove the malware, providing links to many helpful tools and resources.
I've also provided a great deal of information about my own experiences with the infection, as well as my discoveries, techniques, and triumphs in removing it, which you'll find in the Comments section of K's post. If you have contracted this infection, you may find some of this information helpful in resolving the multitude of issues you'll face in fully eradicating it. It's an ongoing process, and each time I discover something new about the malware or overcome another issue related to it, I update the info in a new comment at ShanKrila, with the object of helping others who may be struggling with this devious program (or who may simply want to learn more about it).
So, check out K's post and my associated comments, and arm yourself against PC Antispyware 2010!
To your PC's health!
Jeanne
A Fun Tool for the Guilt-Ridden Overworked Blogger
Karen Swim, at Words for Hire, recently penned an entertaining post, in which she introduced a fantastic tool for lazy…er, busy…bloggers who are willing to refrain (for at least a little while) from taking themselves—and life—too seriously. (To be perfectly accurate, she has partly penned and partly generated this post.) To see what I mean, check out Lazy or Creative? and prepare to smile.
Karen's post introduces an eminently—OK, amusingly—helpful standby for the blogger who may be having trouble keeping up. It's an automatic blog post generator that can help you easily (and often quite humorously) explain/apologize to your readers for your inexcusable blogging lapses. (It's about time someone thought of this!) With my own practically non-existent blogging schedule lately, I feel eminently qualified to take full advantage of this tool. (In fact, I thought that two apology posts created with this software would be the least I should offer my loyal, longsuffering readers, who certainly deserve two posts—and, at the absolute minimum, two apologies—for dealing with the dearth of content here at Writer's Notes lately). So, here goes!
This Lazy Busy Blogger's Automatically Generated Posts:
My first, more down-to earth, conservative version follows:
Goodness Gracious I just discovered I have not updated this since they invented sliced bread...You would not believe I spend all my time in front of a computer. I hope you still love me!*
I am absolutely consumed with work, personal projects, (and) just generally being a slave to society in general. (M)y day is full to overflowing from dawn to sundown and beyond. I am not complaining though. (But) I need a nap.
I won't promise anything to you, but I will make more of an effort to blog more often. Well, I'll try. What do you mean you don't believe me?
And here's my slightly zanier, or rather far more literary [cough, cough], version:
Abject apologies! I just opened mine eyes, and lo! I have not updated this since long before Shakespeare wast a boy...You would not believe my anguish at my misdoings. I prostrate myself in sorrow and beg thy forgiveness.
I am absolutely consumed with discovering time doesn't stand still, hoping you haven't found other blogs, (and) just generally being a doormat to my cats. (M)y day is passing in a blur from (the time) the light through yonder window breaks to whenever (I get finished). I am not complaining though. (L)ife is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you're going to get.
I declare solemnly I will try to remember my blog password more often in future. Truly! Unless of course the pool with the cocktail bar is heated!
Why not drop whatever you're doing and drop by The Lazy Bloggers Post Generator, where you can turn your blogging guilt into blogging fun!
Enjoy!
Jeanne
*In the interests of proper usage, I've made slight grammatical and punctuation changes to the two posts generated by the above tool. Added words and capitalizations are enclosed in parentheses, though I've taken the liberty of not indicating punctuation changes (which would have been awfully cumbersome--not to mention downright boring).
Did you enjoy this post? What do you think of such all-in-fun lapses in serious content posting? Do you consider this tool a dream-come-true for the busy (or lazy) blogger, or simply a way of letting off steam, eliciting a smile from readers, or assuaging a blogger's guilt when circumstances conspire against a regular blogging schedule? Perhaps a bit of all of the above? I'd love to hear your thoughts!
Please note: If the StumbleUpon and other social bookmarking buttons aren't visible, please click the "Add Comments" link beneath this post. Thanks!
Two Big Moves: a Domain and a Domicile!
Confident Writing coach Joanna Young has been very busy of late. First, she moved her Confident Writing blog to WordPress--a big enough job in itself! Then, she took on the Herculean task of moving her residence, as well. Some Internet connection problems right before her move only added to the stress, but I'm happy to report that Joanna's move is complete, she's happily tucked away in her new home, her Internet connection issues have been resolved, and she's raring to resume her activities coaching wordsmiths like you to become "confident writers."
Confident Writing: A Blog You Don't Want to Miss!
If you're not familiar with Joanna's blog, you don't know what you've been missing! And if you've been looking for a place where you could learn the secrets of writing with confidence, you're in luck! Joanna's blog is chock-full of tips, techniques, encouragement, advice, and inspiration to help you become the writer you've always known you could be.
One Confident Writing post I think you'll love as much as I did is The Secret: 20 Ways To Attract More Comments On Your Blog. And this is just one of many, many excellent posts Joanna has written to help you become a more confident writer (and blogger). Do yourself a favor and mine her archives--after you've read all her recent posts, that is.
You'll Feel Right at Home at Joanna's New Home!
One of the best things about Confident Writing is that Joanna will welcome you with open arms! Please make it a point to visit and let her know you're glad she's back. (When you do, you'll see what a gracious hostess she is.) And while you're at it, why not bookmark her site? You'll be glad you did!
Welcome Back, Joanna!
You have many friends in the blogosphere, all of whom wish you well. Please accept our heartfelt wishes for a wonderful life in your brand new home, a prosperous season on your new domain, and a glorious sense of the warmth with which we welcome you back to your rightful place among those of us who care so much about you!
Many good wishes for the future!
Jeanne
Did you enjoy this post? Have any thoughts to share about writing with confidence--or about your visit to Confident Writing? I'd love to hear them!
Please note: If the StumbleUpon and other social bookmarking buttons aren't visible, please click the "Add Comments" link beneath this post. Thanks!
A Nice Matters Award Version I Wasn't Aware Of
A little while back, I awarded the Nice Matters badge to a number of bloggers whom I considered to be some of the more friendly and kind bloggers I'd "met" during the past year that I've been blogging. (See my earlier post, Nice Matters Award: A Blogger's Gift.) At the time, I was aware of only one version of the award--the very feminine-looking version which I have in my blog's sidebar. I therefore made my apologies to the fellas and offered it to them anyway. However, I'm now happy to report that, thanks to Krissy Knox of Sometimes I Think, I now have the masculine version to offer the guys I nominated for the award back then.
The Guys' ReAward, If You Will
I'll repost the list of guys to whom I gave the award, so they can come on by and pick up the new (to me, at least) "Gentlemen's version" of the Nice Matters Award badge.
Here they are, in no particular order:
Dan, at dcr Blogs
Brad Shorr, at Word Sell, Inc.
Robert Hruzek, at Middle Zone Musings
Michael Martin, at Pro Blog Design
K-IntheHouse, at ShanKri-la
Raven, at Alaska Chronicle
Tom Colvin, at Becoming a Writer Seriously
The "New" Badge
Here's the new badge, fellas. Hope you'll like it better than the other one--and hopefully this will mean that those of you who didn't post it to your blogs because of the feminine style/color will be inclined to do so now that you've got a more gentlemanly version.
The Guys' Badge:
Here you go, guys!
A Note to My Readers
Be sure to check out the blogs of the above Nice Matters Award recipients. You'll find much to like there--not the least of which will be the bloggers themselves! Also, check out my original Nice Matters post, where you'll find links to the female bloggers to whom I presented this award, as well as those to whom I would have presented it, had they not already received it. Like the guys, these women will make you feel welcome whenever you visit--and also offer you a great deal of "food for thought" to make your visit a pleasant one.
Always remember: Nice Matters!
Jeanne
Did you enjoy this post? Have anything to add? Know of any other similar awards? Have you received them? We'd love to hear about it!
A True Honor!
Liz Strauss, of Successful Blog has made it official: I'm an SOB! (See Thanks to Week 117 SOBs.)
Now, normally, when people call you an SOB, it isn't a compliment; but when Liz calls you that, you know that a very high honor has been bestowed; because at Successful Blog, SOB stands for Successful and Outstanding Blogger!
The SOB Award
You've no doubt already noticed the SOB badge in my sidebar. Nevertheless I'll reproduce it here, because, to be honest, you can never display this award too often!
Here it is:
You may have even been a bit curious about the newest badge to appear in my sidebar, if you aren't familiar with it or with Liz's blog. I'll let Liz herself explain the purpose of the SOB award in her own words.
A Few Words From Liz About the Award
Here are a few things Liz has to say about those bloggers who have, as she puts it, "earned this official badge of achievement":
They take the conversation to their readers, contribute great ideas, challenge us, make us better, and make our businesses stronger.
I thank all of our SOBs for thinking what we say is worth passing on. Good conversation shared can only improve the blogging community.
How I Shared Liz's Blog Conversation
My own manner of passing on Liz's blog conversation was through my post, My Journey to Becoming Positively Me, which I prepared back in November, 2007, in response to Liz's own Positively Me post.
I also flung this conversation a bit farther out into the blogosphere more recently by making it part of my What I Learned From 2007 post, which I entered into Robert Hruzek's Blogapalooza group writing project at Middle Zone Musings.
Do Yourself a Favor: Visit Successful Blog
If you've never visited Successful Blog--and even if you have--do yourself a favor and drop by. You'll be glad you did! (You'll find links in the first paragraph of this post and in my bottom left sidebar.) Liz's blog is loaded with helpful information to make your blog successful--amazing wisdom from a truly successful and highly respected blogger! This is one reason I'm truly honored to have received this award! (The other is that I'm definitely in good company! Liz's extensive list of SOB's is a veritable Who's Who of bloggers--and an excellent resource if you happen to be seeking some excellent blogs to read and learn from! Check out her SOB Hall of Fame--A-Z Directory.)
Happy reading!
Jeanne
Did you enjoy this post? Care to share your thoughts? Have you checked out Successful Blog--or do you plan to? Please feel free to comment!
The Contest
Wanted to share a gift, of sorts, given to me by Dan at dcrBlogs. Actually it's more of a consolation prize for my non-winning entry to his recent What is This Blog All About? contest. In this contest, Dan asked his writer-readers to write a description of his blog and offered a $10 prize to the blogger whose description he chose as most accurate and well-written. (Entries were left in comments and may be read at the above post.)
The Winner
In a later post, What You Think This Blog is All About, Dan reveals his choice for the winning entry: the one submitted by my blogging friend, Lillie Ammann of A Writer's Words, An Editor's Eye. (Congrats, Lillie on a job well-done!)
The Consolation Prize
In the above post Dan generously offers the Good Buzzz Blog Award to the non-winners:
Good Buzzz Blog Award
This award is “for blogs that have generated a happy hum in the blogosphere. Whether it be for their blog in general, one outstanding, unusual or controversial post, or for something cool the blogger has done. Or even for recognizing some promising, brand-new blogs.†Dan received it back in November, and he's kindly decided to pass it on to us, because he considers our taking the time to submit our entries to the contest to be "cool."
Thanks, Dan!
I'd like to thank Dan for the consolation prize, as well as the lesson learned through my submission of an overly lengthy entry--despite what my intuition tried to tell me! Nevertheless, like Dan, I, too, love Lillie's description and readily concede that the best entry did indeed win! Many congratulations to Lillie Ammann on an excellent description of an excellent blog: dcrBlogs!
Till next time,
Jeanne
How much thought have you given to your blog's description? If your blog is listed on Technorati or anywhere else, that description represents your blog. Does it make people want to visit? Any thoughts to share about this topic?
A Nice Surprise!
You may have noticed the Nice Matters Award badge which appeared in my sidebar recently. I was very honored to be presented with this award by Lillie Ammann in her recent post, Nice Matters (12/7/07). This was a very sweet gesture on Lillie’s part, and I truly appreciate her very kind assessment of me!
Kindness Counts: It's as Critical as Content
As most bloggers know, creating a place where our readers feel welcome and appreciated--by doing such things as responding to comments and treating them with friendliness, kindness, and respect--goes a long way toward turning casual readers into loyal ones, making them want to return to our blogs again and again. Our readers are every bit as important as our ability to write engaging content or our expertise in our chosen niche; because, after all, it is they who make our blogs successful.
Bloggers Who Epitomize Kindness
Many bloggers have a real knack for making their readers feel appreciated, and I’d like to let you know who some of them are. My list is rather long; but there’s a reason for this: There are just so many wonderful people in the blogosphere! In fact, my list would have been even longer if several other bloggers to whom I would have presented the award hadn’t already received it. (They will be listed at the end of my post.)
My Nominees for the Nice Matters Award
My list of bloggers who fit the “especially nice†category—and therefore my list of those to whom I’d like to present the Nice Matters Award--follows, in no particular order:
Dan, at dcr Blogs
Brad Shorr, at Word Sell, Inc.
Robert Hruzek, at Middle Zone Musings
Michele Tune, at Writing the Cyber Highway
Lis Garrett, at A Writer’s Woolgatherings
Amy Derby, at Write from Home Blog
Michael Martin, at Pro Blog Design
K-IntheHouse, at ShanKri-la
Krissy Knox, at Sometimes I Think
Cindy Nichols, at Kaleidoscope
Danielle, at The BiPolar Diaries
Kerith Collins, at Freelancing, My Road Less Traveled
Sharon Hurley Hall, at Get Paid to Write Online
Courtney Ramirez, at Web Writing Info
Amy Huang, at Travel String
Raven, at Shifting Realities
Sylvia C, at Sylvia's Insight
Tom Colvin, at Becoming a Writer Seriously
To each of the above nominees: Feel free to grab the Nice Matters Award badge* before heading back over to your blog to do what you do best: engage your readers in your own inimitable way! Then, please consider carrying on this noble tradition by passing this award on to some of your favorite bloggers. (My apologies to the guys: This is not the most masculine-looking badge in the world! Nevertheless, I didn't want to leave you fellas out. You are, after all, some of the nicest bloggers I know.)
Bloggers I Would Have Nominated Had Someone Else Not Beaten Me To It
Bloggers to whom I would have presented the award, had they not already received it, follow:
Lillie Ammann, at A Writer’s Words, An Editor’s Eye
Laura Spencer, at Writing Thoughts
Yvonne Russell, at Grow Your Writing Business
Joanna Young, at Confident Writing
A Note To Those Who Are Also Worthy Of This Award
There are, of course, many other fantastic bloggers out there, in addition to these, who undoubtedly deserve this award—so please forgive me if I’ve left you out! But I can’t hog up all the best bloggers; I have to leave some of you for someone else to present the award to! However, let me say a hearty “Thanks†to each of you--You know who you are!--from all of us for being the kind of blogger who makes your readers feel at home and loved! I’m sure it will only be a matter of time before you, too, are nominated for this award!
A Note to All My Readers
Please take the time to visit these blogs, read their fascinating content, and show these excellent bloggers how much they are appreciated. Connect with them via comments. I can assure you that you won’t regret it!
And, once again, let me thank each of you for taking the time to visit Writer’s Notes, read my posts, and share your thoughts, ideas, and insights with us! You’re the best!
With gratitude,
Jeanne
* If you don't have enough room in your sidebar for the badge--or don't prefer to put it there for whatever reason--consider placing it inside the post in which you nominate your chosen bloggers for the award. Others have done this, but I've chosen to use my sidebar instead.
This is not a sponsored post.
Did you enjoy this post? Have anything to add? Please feel free to share in comments!
Grow Your Writing Business Writers Cafe Back in Business
I'm very happy to report that, after a few-week break due to family health issues, Yvonne Russell's Writers Cafe will be reopening this weekend at Grow Your Writing Business. (See Yvonne's post about the reopening, at the following link: Writers Cafe Reopening This Weekend - Spread The Word. Many writers have missed this friendly forum where they could freely share their thoughts, ideas, experiences, and feelings about their writing lives, their successes and setbacks, their tips, tricks, and advice--this peaceful but professional place where they could take a little time out from their busy lives to simply visit--and have a grand time interacting with--their fellow writers.
Writers Cafe Reopens This Friday
Be sure to visit the Writers Cafe this weekend, from Friday to Sunday, and welcome Yvonne back! You'll learn a lot and really enjoy the interaction with other likeminded people! And don't forget to visit Grow Your Writing Business on a regular basis for a wealth of helpful information about writing and earning a living doing it!
See you at the Cafe!
Jeanne
Did you enjoy this post? Have any questions? Anything to add? Please feel free to comment!
Remembering My Commenters
Last month, I started a tradition here at Writer's Notes of writing a post on the first of each month listing the names of all the previous month's commenters, complete with links to their blogs, and I want to welcome you to Volume 2!
September Link Love
It's that time again: time to send some link love out to everyone who commented at Writer's Notes during the month of September. Thanks, everyone! I truly appreciate your feedback!
Here's the list of September commenters, in no particular order:
Yvonne Russell, Grow Your Writing Business
Laura Spencer, Writing Thoughts
Lillie Ammann, A Writer's Words, An Editor's Eye
Calvin Warr, CalvinWarr.Com
James Rickard, Angling Fish
AmyHuang, Travel String
Louie, Climate Red
Jon, Tech News
Tracy, Movies and Life
Lilla, Enviro Warrior
Danielle, The Bipolar Diaries
Brad Shorr, Word Sell, Inc.
Bob, Every Every Minute
Michael Martin, Pro Blog Design
Sharon Hurley Hall, Get Paid to Write Online
Rosemary, Alpaca Notes
Julee Ann, Write of Passage
JoH, Persistent Parent
PetulaW, It's a Woman's World
AdTracker, AdSense Tracker
Keep Spreading Your Comments Far and Wide!
Thanks for your comments, everyone! Each one is greatly appreciated, and each has helped to make Writer's Notes just that much more interesting for its readers! You've all added so much to the Writer's Notes conversation, and your generosity in doing so is hereby recognized! Thanks again!
You're welcome at Writer's Notes anytime! So be sure to stop by again very soon! And remember to keep visiting as many other blogs as you can and passing along the comment-kindness--not to mention the link love! You'll enjoy it as much as the other blogger will!
Keep those comments coming!
Jeanne
Did you enjoy this post? You know what to do!
September 13th 2007 21:34
Join Yvonne and Other Fellow Writers for a Great Time of Sharing Each Weekend!
On Friday, September 7th, Yvonne Russell, at Grow Your Writing Business, kicked off her new Writers (and Bloggers) Cafe. In her own words, her purpose for instituting this writers' gathering every Friday through Sunday is to share "marvellous mini milestones and super successes," as well as links to writing- or blogging-related articles or websites that might be helpful to your fellow writers, your plans and goals for your writing/blogging--in short, anything relevant to writing or blogging.
For Further Info About the Cafe, Visit Grow Your Writing Business
You may read more about Yvonne's new weekend gathering in her Writers and Bloggers Cafe--Now Open at Grow Your Writing Business post. (Also, check out Share Your Marvellous Mini Milestones and Super Successes, the post in which she first introduces the Writers and Bloggers Cafe.) Sharing these small and large successes will be the focus of the Writers Cafe during the month of September.
Visit Yvonne's Site During the Week, As Well, for Other Helpful Writing-Related Content
There are many other reasons to visit Yvonne's blog, in addition to the Writers and Bloggers Cafe. At Grow Your Writing Business, Yvonne offers a great deal of valuable info and many helpful resources for writers and bloggers that can move you closer to the realization of your writing goals.
What Are You Doing This Weekend?
Why not drop by Grow Your Writing Business this weekend and check out the Writers and Bloggers Cafe? (It starts tomorrow, Friday.) Pull up a chair, grab a muffin and a cup of coffee, and enjoy a great time of fellowship with other likeminded creative people, as you share your own goals, aspirations, and accomplishments, relate to, celebrate, and learn from theirs.
I think you'll enjoy it!
See you there!
Jeanne
Did you enjoy this post? Have any thoughts? Don't leave me lonely--Please comment!
Love Thy Commenter
Mark, at ProBloggers Matrix, penned a post recently, which asked the following question:
How Do You REWARD Your COMMENTERS and Those Who Have BACKLINKED to Your Blog?
August Link Love
In the spirit of giving--and the spirit of Blog Day (which, as many of you may know, was yesterday)--I thought I'd designate today, September 1st, Comment Appreciation Day and send some link love out to everyone who commented at Writer's Notes during the month of August. Thanks, guys and gals! Love you all!
Here's the list of August commenters, in no particular order:
Yvonne Russel, Grow Your Writing Business
Laura Spencer, Writing Thoughts
Lillie Ammann, A Writer's Words, An Editor's Eye
John Doe, Film & TV on DVD
AmyHuang, Travel String
Kleonaptra, Kalikapsychosis
Fiar, Radioactive Liberty
BigMike, N.A.D.S.
Louie, Climate Red
Jon, Tech News
K-IntheHouse, ShanKri-la
Tracy, Movies and Life
Mandy, Pop! In the Name of Love
Charles Young, Top Site of the Day
Danielle, Musings of a Middle Aged Woman
David, Mind Orgasms
Phil, Contest Blogger
Chic Critique, Fashion.org.au
Brad Shorr, Word Sell, Inc.
Bob, Every Every Minute
Loz, Written Life
Joanna Young, Confident Writing
Chris Kitamura, Dude Check Out My Site
Sylvia C, Sylvia's Insight
Melissa Garrett, A Writer's Woolgatherings
Malathy, Blog Avenues
Lily, Ars Poetica
Ash, Australian Traveller
Faisca, Faisca's Corner
Michael Martin, Pro Blog Design
Sharon, Get Paid to Write Online
Mark-Blogger, ProBloggers Matrix
Mark Goodyear, Good Word Editing
Tavi Nemet, Loop 44
Rosemary, Alpaca Notes
Robert Hruzek, Middle Zone Musings
Keep Spreading the Magic!
Thanks so much for your comments, everyone! They've all been greatly appreciated; and they've helped make Writer's Notes a much more interesting--and far less lonely--place than it would have been otherwise!
Stop back by again to chat anytime! And remember to visit lots of other blogs and continue to pass on the comment-kindness! You'll get as much out of it as the other blogger will!
Keep those comments coming,
Jeanne
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A Virtual Trip Around the Blogosphere
In my latest travels around the blogosphere, I've uncovered some excellent content that can truly be a boon to any writer interested in a fresh approach, a new inspiration--in short, any writer seeking the motivation to write with renewed vigor and vitality.
Confident Writing: Posts to Both Inspire and Get You Thinking
Please check out Joanna Young's excellent post, When Writing Means Spirit Spilling, at Confident Writing. This piece explores the process of writing from the deepest parts of ourselves and, through quoting the wisdom of several knowledgeable bloggers, links out to other blogs you'll find most helpful in your quest to grow your own writing.
Two of Joanna's other pieces, The Ingredients of Confident Writing, and How to Learn from Your Writing, are also insightful looks into the components that help make our writing fresh and engaging. They also link to other related posts on her own blog and/or elsewhere in the blogosphere.
The Golden Pencil: Pieces on Perfectionism, Freelancing Dos and Don'ts, and Marketing Your Work Objectively
Anne Wayman, at The Golden Pencil, has written a succinct, yet very helpful post called, Don't Worry About Perfection--Go for Effective, reminding us that perfectionism is a trap and wisely counseling us to let it go.
Anne has also posted two guest pieces that offer practical guidance to help writers more effectively run their writing business. Top Dos and Don'ts for Freelancers, by Lori Widmer, offers 14 basic tips to help writers "make a go of freelancing," and Sending Out Ships, by Charlotte Rains Dixon, counsels us to write personally but submit our work objectively.
Passionate Blogger: Giving and Receiving Series to Help You Reap the Same Recognition You Sow, and How to Avoid Information Overload in Research
Wild Bill, at Passionate Blogger, has posted the first two parts of his excellent and informative multi-part series on giving and receiving: Give and Receive Series - Part 1 - Technorati Favorites and Give and Receive Series - Part 2 - StumbleUpon. These two posts explore the importance of giving lavish recognition to other writers/bloggers and letting the "getting" take care of itself, specifically covering how to do so through Technorati Favorites and StumbleUpon. The upcoming third post in the series will explore how to do this using Alexa.
Another excellent post on Wild Bill's site, about avoiding information overload when researching and writing blog posts (and which could also apply to other types of writing), is Stop Cramming for a Post! This insightful piece is an apt reminder that focusing on what we do know (known, in blogging, as our niche), can help us steer clear of excessive and unnecessary research, saving us valuable time and making us more productive.
A Writer's Words, An Editor's Eye: Customer Service and Productivity for Freelance Writers
Lillie Ammann, at A Writer's Words, An Editor's Eye, has written a brief but inspiring post, called The Simple Truths of Service: Will You Be a Johnny Today? that points us to a helpful video and serves to remind all freelance writers how important good "customer service" is to writer-client relations--despite the fact that, as freelancers, we have no "Customer Service Department." This piece--along with the video it introduces--tells us, in effect, that we must be our own "Customer Service Department."
A second great post, entitled How Do You Stack Up Against the Average Worker in America? asks us, as homeworkers/freelancers, to weigh our own productivity level against that of the average American working outside the home, providing an interesting comparison of the two, and hopefully providing writers with a little incentive to work on becoming more productive.
Four Great Blogs to Bookmark and Return to Again and Again!
It is my hope that the above posts will help you become more effective at both the craft, and the business, of writing. Why not bookmark these four great blogs, so you can return to them later to check out the other valuable content they are certain to post in the future! (You may also want to search their archives for buried treasure!)
Until next time,
Jeanne
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Just thought I'd tell my readers about the latest group writing project, slated to begin on Monday, August 6th, at Middle Zone Musings. To read more about the project, follow this link to Robert Hruzek's post, entitled, Get Those Little Gray Cells Ready!
While Robert is keeping the precise nature of the project somewhat under wraps at this point, I can tell you this much: It will be built around the phrase, "What I Learned From..." Though Robert is currently keeping all of us in suspense as to the actual topic we'll be expected to expound upon, his latest group writing project promises to be every bit as interesting as previous projects at MZM have been.
Which brings me to another project that Robert is running concurrently with his As-Yet-Unknown-Topic group writing project: his latest meme, entitled My Home Town. If you love the town you live in, if you live in an unusual place, or if there are one or more unique characteristics, idiosyncrasies, or unusual tourist attractions in your town, and if you'd enjoy writing about them, you might just want to submit a post to the meme.
Your post should answer the following question, expressed In Robert's own words: "What, in your opinion, is or are the most amazing, unusual, strange or just plain weird things about where you live?"
While he has tagged a few specific folks for this meme, Robert invites anyone who is interested to join in on the fun, stating, "but if you aren’t tagged and feel like jumping in, by all means, go for it!"
So, there's your invitation! Check out Robert's blog for all the specifics for both the My Home Town meme and the upcoming What I Learned From... group writing project.
You may just find that you're having a great time writing your entry, while at the same time creating more widespread exposure for your writing--and perhaps even some valuable links to your website or blog!
Chances are extremely good that you'll also meet a lot of great people and create many online friendships as a result of these projects.
So, why not join the conversation at Middle Zone Musings!
Happy writing!
Jeanne
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Yvonne Russell, at Grow Your Writing Business, mentioned Blog Carnival in a recent post. Thanks to Yvonne, I checked out this site and found many fascinating opportunities there for bloggers who enjoy writing about almost any topic. So, I thought I'd pass on some info about this site to my readers, so you'll have the opportunity to participate in upcoming--or ongoing--blog carnivals currently being hosted on a number of different blogs.
The above Blog Carnival link should help you keep abreast of the latest carnivals happening around the blogosphere at any given time. So, check the site often, if you'd like to participate in any of these community- and traffic-building projects hosted by various blogs. You may choose the blog carnival categories and topics you prefer to blog, or write, or simply submit previously published posts about, of which there are quite a few different categories. (And, yes, writing is one of them.)
Some of the carnivals listed on this site are outdated, as is so often the case on any site, with the speed of change occurring on the internet today. But many appear to be valid and either current and/or ongoing and have the potential to provide fascinating vehicles through which our creative energies may be channeled, our fondest interests indulged, and our literary labors of love recognized by other likeminded individuals--which sounds like a fairly good deal for all concerned!
Hope you'll find some blog carnivals here that will keep you on the edge of your seat!
Happy hunting!
Jeanne
P.S. If you scroll down a bit in my blog's sidebar, you'll find a feed listing some of the recent blog carnivals that can be found on the website. (Blog categories in the feed are random.) NOTE: FEED HAS SINCE BEEN MOVED OUT OF SIDEBAR AND INTO POST ENTITLED BLOG CARNIVAL FEED: FIND BLOG CARNIVALS HERE.
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Another blog I ran across at BlogCave (via MyBlogLog), which looks as if it might prove pretty helpful to bloggers is called Blog Smart Resources. With posts on free backlink builder script, trackback tools, Blogsvertise, various social networking sites and different SEO tools, info on the 2007 Blogging to Fame Awards, and more, there's a great deal that's of interest to bloggers here.
If you're a blogger, you'll want to make it a point to visit this blog when you have a bit of time to check out the many resources it offers to help make your blogging experience an easier, happier, and more productive one.
Happy reading!
Jeanne
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I've just discovered a blog that appears to have quite a bit of helpful information for avoiding internet scams of many different types. While browsing MyBlogLog, I decided to check out BlogCave and found this blog listed among the membership of that blogging community. It's a blog that could prove very beneficial to those of us who seek opportunities of various types online, so just thought I'd pass on the link to my readers.
The blog is called Scamtypes, and it covers such scams as Internet, Lottery, Work at Home, Charity, Link Trade, and Affiliate Marketing scams, as well as many other types of fraudulent activities. Click on over and take a look! The hide you save may be your own!
Stay safe!
Jeanne
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Back in March, I penned a post called, A Salute to My Fellow Writers--With Links! One of the links I included in that post pointed to the Funds For Writers website, which I felt at the time--and still feel today--to be a very valuable resource for writers.
One of my blogging buddies has confirmed my belief in the significance of Funds for Writers in the freelance writing marketplace by including an article containing some info about the site in a recent post. So I felt this would be the perfect time to write a post centered solely around the site and what it has to offer the aspiring, developing, or practicing writer.
(For more info about Yvonne Russell's Freelance Writing Rates post, mentioned in the previous paragraph, see my June 14th post, entitled, Buzz from the BlogVine: WritersWeekly Raising Rates--or go directly to her post by using the recent post link, above.)
Funds for Writers, generously presented to you by Hope Clark, offers multiple resources that can help writers in a number of different ways. Some of the site's highlights:
-A list of grants for writers
-A list of writing contests (containing competitions both with and without entry fees)
-A (limited) list of writing markets, with more offered in the site's free newsletters
-Several free newsletters
-An annual writing contest
-A list of other beneficial links (including organizations that can help writers in various ways)
-Lists of books and e-books for reference and/or study
-Publication of--and payment for--your articles about the craft or business of writing
Check out the Funds for Writers site! You'll find a great deal there that can help you reach your writing goals!
Happy Reading!
Jeanne
PS. For your convenience, should you later return to my blog and desire to access the site, a link to Funds for Writers can always be found in my Helpful Sites for Writers list, located in the sidebar on the left side of this web page.
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I learned, a few days ago, from reading my friend Yvonne Russell's Grow Your Writing Business blog, that WritersWeekly.Com is raising the rates it pays writers for their work. According to an article, written by Angela Hoy and reproduced in its entirety (with permission) by Yvonne, WritersWeekly is raising its rates 20% for features and 33% for success stories. This is great news for freelancers!
According to Ms. Hoy's article, the 20% increase for feature articles figures to "$60 for around 600 words for non-exclusive electronic rights only," and she adds, "For freelance success stories, we now pay $40 for around 300 words."
Her article is exceptionally interesting reading for freelancers, as it also contains an explanation of the payment history of several other major online publishers of freelance material, as well as several print publishers, giving us a glimpse into their going rates, and letting us know just how long it's been since each has raised its own rates.
Check out this great article on Yvonne's site! You'll find it in her post, entitled, Freelance Writing Rates. The article, entitled, We're Raising Our Freelance Rates, by Angela Hoy, is also posted on the WritersWeekly website.
Thanks, Yvonne for this fascinating and thoroughly helpful info! We can only hope that all the other publishers of freelance material will follow WritersWeekly.Com's shining example of adopting fairer freelance payment rates and thereby engaging in more responsible business practices!
Happy writing!
Jeanne
P.S. You'll want to visit Yvonne's blog often! Through it, she provides lots of great info and many helpful resources for writers! For your convenience, a link to Grow Your Writing Business can always be found in my blog's sidebar in the Helpful Sites for Writers list.
You'll also want to visit WritersWeekly.Com. Their site is packed with articles, market listings, and other resources that will help you reach your writing goals!
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