Monthly Archives: September 2013

You’re a Masterpiece

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By Denise Turney

Even if you don’t realize it now, you’re a masterpiece. You’re one of a kind. The fact that you have a unique set of fingerprints is only one indicator that you’re absolutely distinct. No one can take your place. No one can be you . . . ever.

Life experiences you’ve had might have convinced you that you’re only one of many, a mass produced being. But, you’re not. Depending on specific experiences you had as a child, teen or/and adult, you also might think that your worth is below that of other people or below that of people you admire. Nothing could be further from the truth.

You’ve probably seen people who reminded you of someone else, perhaps yourself. All about you, it’s possible that you’ve seen or experienced things that are propelling you to think that you’re a limited being whose value and existence end (absolutely shut off) at the end of your physical experience. That’s something that might happen each time you look at life through the ego’s eyes.

But, are you ever so much more than you’ve ever imagined. You’re a wonderful masterpiece.

The sooner you get this truth down into your being, the sooner your life will start to change. After all, your behavior is directly impacted by your repetitive thoughts (also referred to as beliefs). Start believing, not just verbally repeating, the truth about yourself, until you reach your core, the part of you where truth resides.  You’ll feel this truth echoed back to you, and what a joy!

But, first you have to start at the beginning. Start accepting the truth (something that never changes) that you’re a masterpiece. Look or watch for changes in your life.  They should appear, as, again, your beliefs impact your behavior. Your beliefs also impact experiences that show up in your life. For example, as humans, we don’t see what we don’t believe at either the conscious or subconscious level. Start believing the truth about yourself (so you can start seeing evidence of it) — you’re remarkable, an absolute masterpiece!

Thank you for reading my blog. To learn what happens to Raymond, Brenda and the other characters in Love Pour Over Me, hop over to Amazon.com, B&N.com, Ebookit.com, or any other online or offline bookseller and get your copy of Love Pour Over Me today. And again I say – Thank You! Consider Love.

What every writer needs to be successful

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By Denise Turney

ben franklin quote

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You’re right to think that being a new writer’s tough. It’s kind of like being a new high school or college graduate who’s trying to land her first job. Similar to employers, editors and publishers often won’t hire you unless you have the training (or education) and the experience to complete their writing needs. Talk about a Catch-22.

It’s tough, but you have to start somewhere. The good news is that the Internet has made it easier to not only research writing styles and techniques, it has also made it easier to search for writing jobs. However, if you’re just starting out, you’re going to have to start building a writing portfolio.

Editors and publishers will review your portfolio as your writing career advances, taking note of specific types of assignments (i.e. copywriting, technical writing, medical writing) you’ve completed. They’ll also look at the types of clients you’ve written for (i.e. universities, magazines, newspapers, B2B websites).

To start building your writing portfolio, set aside time each day to look for writing jobs. If you decide to take on a few non-paying gigs, make sure you don’t make working for free a habit. After all, there’s no limit to the numbers of clients who’ll let you research, write and edit content for them for free. Hint – these clients will generally tell you that they’ll give you writing exposure and maybe even be nice enough to include your byline with your work (gee, thanks!). Don’t get sucked down this tunnel.

Other steps you can take to start building your writing portfolio include:

  • Applying for junior writer jobs (especially jobs at reputable firms, jobs that provide sufficient training to help you get up-to-speed)
  • Staying open to taking on a variety of writing assignments (this step alone could open you up to dozens of writing gigs)
  • Enrolling in online or offline courses (there are plenty of free writing courses) to develop your technical writing, medical writing, copywriting, novel writing, editing, etc. skills
  • Creating writing job alerts at websites like Indeed, CareerBuilder and Monster
  • Visiting job boards like Morning Coffee, Freelance Writing Jobs, Blogging Pro, Journalism Jobs, Online Writing Jobs, Media Bistro, Mandy, etc. every day
  • Keeping a spreadsheet to list each writing job you apply for, including specific jobs you gain
  • Storing copies of writing assignments you’ve completed on your computer or a removable disks, so you can easily use these past assignments as writing samples when applying for new jobs (If clients ask you to create brand new writing samples for this, be careful. Some people use writing samples to build a database of free content.)
  • Designing an effective cover letter
  • Adding training, certifications, etc. data to build out your writer resume
  • Reaching out to businesses, asking if you can write content for them
  • Checking company career boards for jobs you could apply for
  • Following up on jobs you’ve already applied for
  • Building your confidence, especially if you notice that you’re only applying for no-paying or low-paying jobs

At first glance, landing paying writing gigs might look darn near impossible. Commit to your goal of being a published writer. Start taking effective steps to build a respectable portfolio, a portfolio editors and publishers can’t possible ignore.

Thank you for reading my blog. To learn what happens to Raymond, Brenda and the other characters in Love Pour Over Me, hop over to Amazon.com, B&N.com, Ebookit.com, or any other online or offline bookseller and get your copy of Love Pour Over Me today. And again I say – Thank You! Consider Love.

Successful novelists wear multiple hats

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By Denise Turney

For many novelists the days of only writing great stories is over. Not only do novelists work hard to get their manuscripts in front of literary agents and publishing house editors, they also have to market their novels to readers. It makes the process of creating spellbinding books harder and harder.

Challenges today’s fiction writers face

Let novelists work full-time from home and they might also write non-fiction content for business clients. Types of content they might develop include press releases, blog posts, product descriptions, white papers, case studies, radio and television ads and magazine articles. During slow book sale months, it’s not surprising to see novelists spend more time creating non-fiction content than they do working on a new novel chapter.

As Suzannah Freeman shares at Writer Unboxed, novelists also juggle families. Suzannah says, “But, just because I’m ‘staying-at-home’ doesn’t mean I don’t work. In addition to all my normal mommy duties, I run a blog and regularly write for other blogs, write short fiction (some published) and novels (not published yet), and dabble in freelancing.” Pat Rice shares at Novelists Inc., “Stop the Promo, I want to get off!”

Another novelist says, “And in this whirlwind of busy-ness, while I am damn thankful to have two fine, well-respected editors requesting me to write these two Amish series…I really wonder sometimes if I’ll just STOP one day.”

To keep pushing forward, creating page turners, and generate enough money to pay the bills, novelists can work part-time jobs. They could also work marketing jobs, something that gives them sharper skills to advance their writing careers. Selling ads on their websites or blogs and interviewing book industry specialists for a fee are other ways novelists can start generating enough money to keep the hawk away from the door without totally abandoning their artistic passions.

So they don’t get off track and stop writing novels altogether, novelists should develop a schedule and stick to it. For example, they could write on a new novel chapter early in the mornings, before they start tackling other work, or they could knock out novel writing at night. One day a weekend, novelists can write for three or more hours on a new book. If they stick to their schedule, they should be able to write a new novel once a year.

Thank you for reading my blog. To learn what happens to Raymond, Brenda and the other characters in Love Pour Over Me, hop over to Amazon.com, B&N.com, Ebookit.com, or any other online or offline bookseller and get your copy of Love Pour Over Me today. And again I say – Thank You! Consider Love.

Sources:

http://writerunboxed.com/2012/01/08/8-busy-moms-who-published-novels/

http://www.ninc.com/blog/index.php/archives/2-busy-2-write

Great Ohio athletes and coaches

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By Denise Turney
Ohio is one of the larger populated states in America. Known as the Buckeye State, Ohio is home to more than 11 million people. People born and/or raised in Ohio know that outside of Cleveland and Cincinnati, many cities in the state are small. Surprisingly, these small towns have produced some of the country’s and world’s greatest athletes.

Ohio is home to some of the world’s best athletes

Chief amongst Ohio’s great athletes, people who went to the top of their sport on a global scale, are Dayton’s Edwin Moses and Akron’s LeBron James. Edwin earned top honors in track and field for the 400 meter hurdles. He won gold medals in the 1976 and 1984 Olympics. Edwin also ran his way to a remarkable 107 consecutive finals. You’ll be hard pressed to find another athlete in any other sport who’s won more than 100 competitions in a row!

LeBron James started out with the Cleveland Cavaliers then went to play for the Miami
Heat. As an active athlete, LeBron James has won two NBA championships (both win the Miami Heat) so far. He has won four NBA MVP titles. Lebron James has also won an Olympic gold medal. The way he’s been playing, there are more to come: both for MVP titles and Olympic medals. LeBron’s star continues to rise. It remains to be seen how far this athletic phenom will go.

Jesse Owens was born on September 12, 1913 in Oakville, Alabama. However, Jesse Owens would later claim Ohio as his home. This track and field phenom’s nickname was the “Buckeye Bullet.” It was at the 1936 Olympics that Jesse Owens won an impressive four gold medals (100 meters, 200 meters, long jump and 4 by 100 meter relay). Carl Lewis is the only other men’s track and field athlete who has medaled in sprints and a field event.

Cleveland, Ohio native, Madeline Manning, won an Olympic gold medal in 1968. She is the first woman to break the two minute barrier in the 800 meters. Four years after winning the gold medal, Madeline returned to the 1972 Olympics and took home the silver medal.
Other great Ohio athletes include Pittsburgh Steelers’ quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, another Ohioan who grew up in a small town. Born in Lima, Ohio, Ben Roethlisberger has led the Steelers to two Super Bowl Championships. He’s also led the Steelers to three AFC Championships and played in two NFL Pro Bowls.

  • Former Pittsburgh Steelers coach, Chuck Noll, is also from Ohio, namely Cleveland. Coach Chuck Noll guided the Pittsburgh Steelers to four Super Bowl Championships.
  • NFL analyst and former NFL wide receiver, Cris Carter, was born in Middleton, Ohio.
  • Archie Griffin, Ohio State University running back and winner of two Heisman trophies, was born in Columbus, Ohio.
  • Baseball great, Pete Rose, earned National League MVP in 1973. He went on to win a World Series two years later in 1975. Not only was Pete Rose born in Cincinnati, Ohio, he also played baseball for the Cincinnati Reds.
  • Mike Schmidt is another MLB great who’s from Ohio. Born in Dayton, Ohio, Mike was a phenom for the Philadelphia Phillies. He was a monster at third base!
  • John Havlicek, born in Lansing, Ohio, led the Boston Celtics to eight NBA titles. He was elected to the NBA all-star team an impressive 13 times.
  • Don Shula is another winning coach from Ohio. Born in Plainesville, Ohio, Don Shula led the Miami Dolphins to the winningest season in the NFL. He also won two Super Bowl Championships.

Bobby Knight and Woody Hayes are two other great coaches from Ohio. Home for Bobby is Orryville, Ohio. Woody Hayes was born in Clifton, Ohio. These cities are so small, many people have never heard of them. Yet, these men’s passion for basketball (Bobby Knight) and football (Woody Hayes) propelled them to the top. Bobby Knight got his recognition coaching at Indiana University (not to mention his postgame interviews), while Woody Hayes took the Ohio State Buckeyes to 238 wins and 10 championships.

Get your copy of “Love Pour Over Me” Now at –

http://www.ebookit.com/books/0000001582/Love-Pour-Over-Me.html

Sources:

Amazon.com – http://www.amazon.com/Love-Pour-Over-Me-ebook/dp/B007MC0Z2C

Barnes & Noble – http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/love-pour-over-me-denise-turney/1109600654