Monthly Archives: November 2020

11 Signs You Need a Break

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By Freelance Writer and Books Author Denise Turney

photo of man in need of a break sleeping on sofa
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Signs you need a break can be hard to spot, especially if you’re a hard charger. My hand is raised high on this one. Often, I’m on the go-go-go cycle. It’s a rare day when I sit down. Hopefully, you’re better than me in this area. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t times when you don’t feel like you need a break from social, family or work responsibilities.

In fact, whether you’re a hard charger or live a life at a more balanced pace, you might feel as if nothing has changed even as you’re starting to exhaust. Also, if you’re generally relaxed and accept experiences without a lot of resistance, you may not notice that your emotions are shifting. But that doesn’t mean that you aren’t tired and need a break.

Practice Awareness to Spot When You’re in Need of a Break

This is a reason why it’s important to practice awareness. Yet don’t just pay attention to how you’re feeling.  Pay attention to your thoughts. And be honest about emotions that you’re experiencing and thoughts, including troubling thoughts, that you’re having.

For example, if you feel anger, be honest and admit that’s the emotion you’re feeling. Avoid searching for someone to blame for why you feel the emotion “anger”. Just acknowledge that it’s the emotion you’re experiencing. Anger, like all emotions, will come and go.

Or you could feel peace, happiness, jealousy, frustration or tired and in need of a break. Emotions that you feel do not define you. No one owns an emotion. In fact, as you continue to practice awareness, you’ll see how emotions and thoughts come and go. It’s when emotions get stuck or keep returning with short intervals that you could be receiving signs that you need to take a mental break.

11 Signs You Need a Break

Here are 11 signs that you may be in need of a break, mentally and/or physically. Love yourself, engage in rest best practices (which will be covered later in this article) and be patient with yourself.

  1. After sleeping 8 or more hours, you still feel tired or sleepy
  2. Thoughts feel like they’re racing or coming at you way too fast
  3. Appetite changes find you wanting to eat a lot or not wanting to eat at all
  4. Sleep is hard to come by no matter how long you lay in bed
  5. Nearly everything irritates you
  6. Desire to go outdoors starts to wane
  7. Exercise is the last thing you want to do even if you have a history of exercising every day
  8. Emotions feel charged or stronger than normal
  9. Sugars and fattening foods seem like the cure all for everything
  10. Emotional outbursts are becoming a daily event for you
  11. Focusing seems to take way too much energy

Rest Best Practices

Now, how to keep advancing when you’re tired and need a break. The best practice is to rest in God or to rest in the Creator and to accept that you’re always and only loved. Other rest best practices to take include:

  • Raise your hands in the morning and stretch, allowing appreciation
  • Speak with someone in the morning. You could do this in-person, over the telephone, via video or text.
  • Perform cardio at your desk at least once a day
  • Get outdoors and enjoy a walk
  • Drink plenty of water
  • Avoid drinking sugary and/or caffeinated beverages (or minimize the amount of sugary, caffeinated beverages that you drink)
  • Practice awareness
  • Rest an hour before retiring to bed
  • Sleep at least 6 sound hours a night
  • Reach out to family and friends – stay connected
  • Do at least three things that you love every day (for me, writing novels is on that list!)
  • Write down 3 good things that you do each day (you just might surprise yourself)
  • Meditate 5 to 10 minutes a day
  • Pick a day and focus on having fun and relaxing
  • Let other people help you
  • Open your windows and blinds and let loads of natural sunlight into your home
  • Seek help when you know you could use support

Sure. You could ignore the signs that you’re in need of a break. But that may not improve your situation. Instead, add rest best practices to your daily patterns. Also, acknowledge how you’re feeling and thinking. And rest in God and know that you are always and only loved.

Why You Should Use Book Marketing Analytics

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By African American Books Writer Denise Turney

cool trendy african american man with dreadlocks reading book about book marketing on street
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Book marketing analytics are a writer’s best friend. Why? Book marketing can be a challenge for authors. This is due, in part, to the fact that authors, particularly novelists, rely on imagination and creativity, not hard facts, to develop their works. While writing, creativity, imagination and relying on the muse are blessings. They aren’t necessarily blessings during the book marketing process.

Book Marketing Options

In fact, novelists can sink into magical thinking after their books are published. Fortunately, there are doors that lead from fiction writing to book marketing to book sales. The first door sees fiction writers handing the job of marketing books to publicists, marketing specialists and content marketing writers. But those options cost money.

As a fiction writer, you could go through the second door and use marketing analytics to steer your book marketing efforts. Time may be your greatest investment. It takes time, consistent time, to market books. For example, if you use Barnes and Noble, social media, Kobo, Google or Amazon sponsored ads to market your books, download marketing analytics twice a month. But don’t just download the reports.

Content Marketing Analytics

Review the reports. Pay attention to which keywords are getting clicks that turn into book sales. Lower bids on keywords that receive clicks but, no sales. Also, attend free social media and book retailer ad webinars. Keep learning. Book marketing tools and platforms change. Attending webinars can keep you abreast of these changes.

If you use eBook marketing tools like social media automated marketing platforms (e.g. HootSuite, Buffer, Marketo, InfusionSoft), review marketing analytics associated with those platforms. And make changes based on what the analytics show. Do the same with content marketing analytics.

Also, set up a Google Search Console account. Bing is another search engine it’s good to have a search console account with. Submit your author website sitemaps and ensure they are indexed by major search engines. You can check this through your search console accounts.

Content Management Systems

Additionally, you may want to work with content management systems (CMS) that have robust content marketing analytics. SEO keyword analytics, meta tag description analytics, paragraph length, image alt text, excerpt features and keyword headings are a few features to look for in content marketing analytics.

Another thing, when doing content marketing, perform keyword planning before you start writing landing pages and blog articles. Make sure your writing flows, is conversational and reads naturally. Also, focus on providing tips, insight, guidance and entertainment more than focusing on adding SEO keywords to blog articles.

About Digital Marketing Analytics

Digital marketing analytics can keep you from slipping into magical thinking as a novelist. This is an advantage. Why? Magical thinking could find you believing that your novels are going to sell loads of copies simply because you wrote the books.

If you don’t think you’re doing this, ask yourself why you’re not marketing books that you write. And, if you are marketing your books but not receiving lots of book sales, ask yourself why you aren’t doing what it takes to increase your book sales — even while you keep expecting your book sales to suddenly (somehow) pick up.

Marketing analytics can help you to steer clear of magical thinking. The length and depth of this advantage may be unknown. In fact, this advantage, can save you thousands of dollars. Also, it can save you countless hours, frustration and heartache. Really. It can.

But you can’t just have digital marketing analytics. You have to review the analytics. See what you need to change and make adjustments. This is an ongoing process. As you start to understand what works for you and take the right book marketing actions, you should see your book sales increase.

7 Smart Self-Care Choices to Flip into Good Habits

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By Books Author Denise Turney

smart self care isn't selfish signage
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Smart self-care choices could protect you from burnout, frustration or depression. Selfcare is more than a buzzword. In fact, if you grew up taking care of yourself because one or more of your parents was missing or chronically ill, you know that no one is going to look out for you better than you can. It’s not just that you know your thoughts, emotions, fears and passions best, you’re the only one who’s always with you.

Putting Smart Self-Care Choices in Action

Today’s busy, at times downright hectic, world requires self care at home and self care at work. But, how can you find the time to practice daily self care? A good start is to be honest with yourself.

Be honest about how you feel. For example, as part of daily self-care acknowledge when you feel tired, exhausted, confused, disillusioned, afraid, alone, helpless or outraged. Also, acknowledge when you feel peace, joy, love, safe, hopeful, encouraged, motivated and inspired.

It’s hard to take action on what you don’t acknowledge. Other examples of self-care include:

  • Slowing down and resting before you go to bed so you can restore yourself with a good night of deep sleep. Meditating before bed, ending work at least an hour prior to bed and reading a good, light book can inspire deep sleep.
  • Trusting inner guidance and opening yourself to healthy relationships, not abusive relationships.
  • Getting outdoors in natural sunlight every day for at least 45 straight minutes. Use sunscreen to protect your skin. Vitamin D from natural sunlight may improve mood. In fact, getting outdoors may be one of the easiest things to do for self-care.

More Smart Self-Care Choices

  • Connect with family and friends every day for emotional self-care.
  • Eat a healthy diet of green, leafy vegetables and fresh fruit. After all, taking care of yourself involves your whole self.
  • Express your thoughts and emotions in a safe place. Examples of self-care expression include writing feelings, thoughts and dreams in a journal, singing, dancing and painting.
  • Set clear boundaries to practice self-care in the workplace. For instance, you can set clear work start and end times. Also, to practice self-care at work, take regular breaks, enjoy your lunch away from your desk and speak up if you experience bullying or abuse of any kind.
  • Spend time with friends during lunch at least once a month to practice self-care at work. It’s good to be alone. But you don’t want to overdo it.
  • Listen to encouraging, uplifting music, podcast and radio shows. The same goes for books.

Above all, treat yourself like you’re the best friend you have. Remove yourself from verbal, physical, sexual or any other form of abuse. For emotional self-care, speak love to yourself.

For example, you could state kind facts about yourself in front of a mirror in the morning. You could also write down one good thing that you do each day and list it in your appreciation or gratitude journal. These are just a few self-care ideas that you could flip into healthy habits.