Physical Fitness – How Busy Freelance Writers & Novelists Can Stay Healthy

Posted on by

By African American Books Writer Denise Turney

healthy woman doing gymnastic exercise with physical fitness ball
Photo by Marta Wave on Pexels.com

Busy freelance writers and novelists can stay healthy, even while juggling hectic schedules. Admittedly, it’s going to take focus and commitment, but it can be done. By focusing on good health, these creatives will have more energy to produce better writing.

Good Physical Health Challenges for Freelance Writers and Novelists

After all, good physical health leads to improved emotional and mental health. It’s also linked to better mental clarity, energy, motivation, inspiration and creativity. Additionally, writers might enjoy more patience and find themselves becoming better, more flexible, communicators.

Benefits aside, the path to maintaining good physical fitness can present challenges. Furthermore, challenges associated with maintaining good health may be numerous for writers. To begin, there is stress associated with meeting tight deadlines, nailing feature interviews and polishing work on short notice.

Doesn’t matter if writers are knocking out web content writing jobs from home, remote freelance technical writing on the road or content marketing writing at an office. The temptation to keep plugging away in effort to get “caught up” or to “get ahead” with writing projects is stressful.

Stay Healthy Completing Online Writing Jobs From Home

I learned this lesson the hard way while I freelanced full-time during the Great Recession. As fast as I wrote, before I knew it, I had slipped into the habit of spending 12 to 16 hours a day zoning in on remote writing jobs. I mean, I didn’t take a day off. Instead, I worked long hours seven days a week. If you’re like me, you may not fully realize that you are actually working because you’re writing from home. Fact is, you’re working even if the television is on, or you’ve got the radio turned to your favorite station.

Also, not having to commute to work could deceive you into thinking that your work schedule is somehow easier than it would be if you drove into an office. Slip into these habits and before you know it, you might start to feel stressed. Even more, you might start to burn out. And, burn out can sneak up on you.

Fortunately, there are methods to steering clear of these challenges. For starters, set clear start and end times when you will focus on writing jobs. As an example, you might complete freelance writing projects from 8am until 5pm, Monday through Friday. Instead of working seven days a week, you might only write two to three hours on Saturday and none on Sunday or vice versa.

How About Superfoods, Probiotics and Health Products

woman in purple collared shirt holding silver round coin
Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com

As a hidden gem, eating superfoods like green leafy vegetables, papaya and guava are other ways freelance writers and novelists can stay healthy. Probiotics (I love Kombucha beverages!) could support digestion, soothing writers’ stomachs as they make healthy food choices. This single choice could help writers avoid stomach pain or heartburn.

Here are more ways freelance writers and novelists can stay healthy, even with demanding schedules. To get the most out of these tips, consider adding three or more of the tips to your daily routine.

  • Eat a breakfast of green leafy vegetables, superfoods like fruit and/or eggs
  • Try healthy shakes for lunch
  • Drink plenty of water whether you’re looking to maintain your weight or seeking healthy living weight loss results
  • Practice safety when using physical fitness equipment
  • Get up from your computer or laptop once an hour. Doing so could relieve stress and promote healthy living weight loss

Check Out These Easy Ways Freelancers and Novelists Can Stay Healthy

  • At least once a day, get outdoors for a walk, run or swim (this is such a benefit!)
  • Connect with family and friends. Don’t fall into the trap of writing to the point that you isolate yourself.
  • Take a lunch break. During lunch break, enjoy healthy shakes, salads and other health products rich in vitamins and minerals.
  • Admit when you’re feeling stressed and overwhelmed. Again, step away. Take breaks.
  • Build vacation time into your schedule, and don’t work while you’re on vacation.
  • Stop thinking about work when your workday ends. Otherwise, you may never fully leave the job.
  • Ask for help when you feel you’d benefit from assistance.

Just as writing stellar novels, technical guides, e-books and marketing content takes effort, maintaining overall good mental and physical health as a freelance writer and novelist takes work too. Therefore, commit to making rest, healthy eating and clear boundaries part of your daily routine. In a few months, you may be very glad that you did.

Commitment to Good Health

Writing from home might look like light work, but it’s not. There are client intake meetings, email marketing campaigns, web page copy, blog articles, press releases and business e-books to tackle. And that’s just the start. Depending on your writing range, you might also write technical guides, annual reports, product descriptions and video, radio or television scripts.

Don’t fool yourself. Despite what you may think, you’re working hard. That’s why finding healthy snacks, taking effective joint supplements and adding a garlic supplement to your diet can be beneficial. Other choices you could make to support your mental, emotional and physical health include choosing healthy shakes over high calorie, low energy foods and beverages.

It’s not always easy. In fact, it may take focus, effort and commitment. But it’s worth it. Regular exercise, superfoods, a garlic supplement and other organic, non-GMO health products could help keep your cortisol levels down, preventing stiffness and joint pain.

The right food and exercise choices could also keep you from experiencing sugar highs and lows. The only downside may be around drinking lots of fresh water. Drink a lot of water and you might have to take more bathroom breaks. But, then again, those breaks could be just what you need to step away from writing projects long enough to avoid burn out.

Living a Blessed Life You Love

Posted on by

By Books Writer Denise Turney

woman focused on living a blessed life soaring mid-air while blowing huge balloon in sky
Photo by Gelatin on Pexels.com

Living a blessed life is natural. But, in this world, living a blessed life takes courage. Perhaps, this is why it’s tempting to cash life in for playing it safe and doing what it takes to gain the approval of someone you admire, even if these choices force you away from joy.

At first glance, giving in to safe choices is easier, better. It’s easier to say “yes” to an invitation when you really want to say “no”. And it’s easier to agree to do a friend, manager or colleague a favor than it is to tell them “no” and risk incurring their disappointment or anger. But there’s a price to pay for so much yielding.

Start Living a Blessed Life Now

If you’re serious about living your best life now, prepare to face resistance. After all, not everyone thinks the way you do. Furthermore, not everyone should think the same. The one commonality that allows for freedom with grace is a commitment to love. This commitment is at the core of living your best life.

This means that you commit to only love.

As you work at this, should you feel tempted to hold a grievance and get blocked, forgive. There’s power in forgiveness. Why? Forgiveness keeps the flow of love open. And it’s these that offer access to light for inner vision, guidance and the courage to forge ahead as you deepen and expand your life.

Pursue Living Learning Loving

Living your best life also requires that you get clear about what you really want. To do this, sit still for 15 minutes. Simply sit still in a quiet, peaceful place. Make it a habit. Notice if you don’t receive more inner guidance, love-based promptings.

woman sitting and smiling
Photo by Guilherme Almeida on Pexels.com

After you get clear about what you really want, map out a path to fulfill those goals. And these goals may not involve gaining material things. These goals may center around experiences like traveling to a new country, learning to speak a different language or dancing for the first time in years.

For example, in addition to sitting still and/or meditating, the path to living a blessed life might find you researching facts about your goals. Prior to traveling to a new country, you might research what you need to do to get a passport. You also might research key places to visit in the country, tour guide options, hotels and flight deals. As you live your best life now, you also might study the language in the country, learning enough lingo to be able to enjoy time that you spend in the country.

Go Confidently in the Direction of Your Dreams

Here are other actions that could help you as you go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Create or cut out pictures of experiences you want, experiences that will open the door to joy. Other choices that could help you to go confidently in the direction of your dreams include:

  • Writing down actions you will take to achieve your goals
  • List out specific steps required to fulfill these goals
  • Identify financial, time and legal resources needed to fulfill your goals
  • Clearly outline where you will get these resources
  • Schedule events that put you in contact with the right buyers, supporters and influencers

While you go confidently in the direction of your dreams, stay on high moral ground. Remain ethical. Avoid thinking that doing the wrong thing will pay off. After all, even if cutting corners lends you short term benefits, doing the wrong thing will cost you big in the long term. Why? You have a conscience. At your core, you always want to do what’s right.

Art of Living a Blessed Life

Fortunately, you can do what’s right and do what it takes to start living a blessed life. Just be prepared to face resistance, including inner resistance. For example, there may be times when you have to learn the art of living alone and loving it. This could happen after your children reach adulthood and leave home.

Or it could happen should your spouse transition, you divorce or relocate to an area miles away from family. Business shifts, market changes, physical challenges and/or mental or emotional changes are types of resistance and setbacks that you could face. Despite the challenges, when you go after what you’re Higher Self wants, it’s always worth it.

Steer Clear of These Regrets to Keep Living a Blessed Life

Consider this should you feel tempted to quit, throw in the towel and take the easy route, striving to make others happy instead of yourself. These are five things that people often regret when they reach the end of their physical experience. Choices that you make now could keep you from experiencing these regrets.

  • Living a life that others want you to live instead of living the life that you want
  • Not resting and enjoying experiences more fully
  • Choosing to avoid communicating with friends. Opting to busy yourself with work and family over maintaining healthy friendships.
  • Keeping your authentic thoughts secret, and, instead agreeing with others just to go along
  • Putting everything ahead of your goal of living a blessed life.

To start loving your life, you’re going to have to take one to three actions each day that support the belief that “you love yourself’. Looking for ideas? Try a relaxing bubble bath, walk in nature, listening to relaxing music that you love or dancing. Yes, dancing. After all, enjoying life and living a blessed life are about loving your Real, True Self more and more.

Looking for more support? Here’s to hoping that Love Pour Over Me proves helpful to you as you go confidently in the direction of your dreams, especially if yours was a troubled beginning.

These 3 Keys Lead to Book Marketing Sales Success

Posted on by

By Novelist and Books Writer Denise Turney

man standing inside library with rows of books holding and reading book
Photo by Mark Cruzat on Pexels.com

Congratulations on your new book! Considering the work that goes into writing a good book, your achievement is worth celebrating! A meal at your favorite restaurant, a visit to your favorite jazz club, an afternoon at the beach or an evening enjoying a live stage play — wonderful ways to celebrate writing a new novel. And celebrate you should, because soon focus on book marketing sales success goes into full swing!

Book Marketing Sales Success Resources

If you’re an experienced novelist, you already know that selling books is not magic. In fact, as part of your book marketing efforts, you may have already started contacting book clubs, bookstore book buyers, librarians and book bloggers, sharing details about your new book.

Good digital marketing companies that focus on books you could use as a marketing resource include sites like Book Bub, AALBC.com, Reedsy, Goodreads and Bargain Booksy. Pinterest, Facebook and TikTok are other resources you could use to introduce your books to more readers and book buyers.

Book marketing software resources range from Storiad, Bublish, Publish Wide, Book Buzzr, Book Baby to Publish Drive. To save yourself time, use social media schedulers.

Book Marketing Schedulers

Among the social media schedulers there’s Loomly, Buffer, Hootsuite, VistaPrint Digital Marketing, SproutSocial and CoSchedule. Strengthen social media marketing by using Net Galley and other resources to get book reviews, going so far as to email family, friends and beta book readers, asking them to write a review for your new book.

Give reviewers an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of your new copyrighted manuscript. If they love your new book, they may be great first-person book marketers, sharing details about your book with their colleagues, neighbors and friends.

Admittedly, even with schedulers and other resources, consistently selling lots of books is work. This is where the three keys that can lead to book sales success are important. Simply put, even if you get book reviews, engage in direct book marketing strategies by mailing postcards, print newsletters and book catalogs to book buyers, it may not be enough.

Road To More Book Marketing Sales Success

You still might not generate enough sales for your book to hit a bestseller list. Put in 10 or more hours a week marketing your book only to yield low sales and, after six months, you could wonder if it’s worth it. You might even wonder if you should keep writing and selling books at all.

This is the time to exercise the 3 keys that lead to book sales success. It’s now that you need to call on creativity, tenacity and perseverance. You need to create new book marketing strategies. And, you need to tweak existing book marketing actions. Examples of this include analyzing Amazon book sale reports, social media posts engagement and connections between book reviews and book sale spikes.

Additionally, it means that you try different direct marketing strategies. For instance, you might start your own literary podcast. Or you might design and use a car magnet on an older vehicle. Sending book buyers holiday greetings, blogging and paying for ads on influential book blogger websites are other choices that you could take.

Examining 3 Keys That Lead to Book Marketing Sales Success

In fact, creativity goes beyond writing books. Creativity is a huge part of the book marketing process. Throughout your writing career, you’re going to have to shift, pivot and make creative changes.

Tenacity is another must in order to experience a rewarding book writing career. This applies whether you write fiction or nonfiction books. If you’re tenacious and confident, you won’t abandon creative marketing ideas too soon. You’ll know when to hang in there and when to step away.

Even more, you’ll be persistent. But you’ll be persistent with your book marketing strategies in smart ways. In other words, you won’t hammer book buyers with one book ad after another. While using social media schedulers and good digital marketing companies, you’ll take time to actually engage with book readers and book buyers, and you will consistently measure the results of your book marketing efforts.

Engaging Book Buyers

For example, to introduce your books to more readers, you might post motivational quotes, questions and polls in literary newsletters or on social media. Other actions you might take include responding to visitors’ comments and thanking followers for Likes. To generate interest in your new book, you might run giveaways. This doesn’t just work with Amazon book sale efforts.

In fact, you can run book giveaways at your author website. And you can run book giveaways as part of online radio interviews. Book conferences and book festivals are other places where you can run book giveaways, particularly as part of contests.

Another key that leads to book sales success is perseverance. If you’re aim is to write books full-time, perseverance is a must. Book writing and book marketing are not for the feeble of mind. As a book writer, you’re entering a field that calls for toughness.

There’s a lot of competition. More than 1 million books are published each year, according to BK Connection. Then, there are the more than 12 million books already in print (or in audio book or e-book form). Even with the numbers of avid book buyers, that’s a lot of books to sale.

Keep Advancing Smartly

If you don’t persevere, you could throw in the towel just before your big break arrives. You could also start to believe the way your book sales are currently going is the way they will always go. And that doesn’t have to be the case, especially if you keep monitoring your results, pivoting and making smart changes. So, believe in your creative abilities, research book marketing tools and book marketing strategies.

Also, attend free marketing webinars offered by companies like Constant Contact, Amazon Marketplace, LinkedIn and Social Butterfly. Attending these free webinars is a great way to get up to speed on online marketing for beginners. Local chamber of commerce’s also hosts free online marketing webinars.

As you persevere, you can grow your book catalog. This alone can attract new book buyers, netting you more book sales. Readers will start to become familiar with your writing style and your personal brand. Don’t be surprised if your reader base grows, especially if you continue to sharpen your craft.

Then, you may start to generate book sales from your backlist. As your catalog grows, keep marketing your backlist. There’s a market of readers who look for used books for sale and old books for sale. Marketing your backlist is also an effective way to maintain interest in you, as a writer, allowing you to create traction for each new book that you release.

7 Podcasts Marketing Tips to Help You Grow Your Podcast Audience

Posted on by

By African American Books Writer Denise Turney

photo of gold colored podcast microphone
Photo by Jean Balzan on Pexels.com

Want to grow your literary podcast listener base? Check out these 7 podcasts marketing tips. These marketing tips can work whether your aim is to create audio only or video podcast shows. Even more, these marketing tips work if you’re promoting books, book marketing services or publishing products during podcasts interviews. Just know that you have to distinguish yourself from a growing crowd. Why?

Early Podcast Days

Gone are the days when you could attract hundreds, if not thousands, of listeners simply by firing up a microphone, switching on video and starting a podcast. Celebrities, entertainers, news stations, media outlets and radio stations are launching podcasts today, some pulling in millions of daily and weekly listeners.

To stand out, attracting attention calls for more than a good interview, humor and sharing valuable information. It’s not the way it was in 2004, when Adam Curry and Dave Winer started their podcast “iPodder”. Their background, one a VJ and the other a technologist, made for a successful launch.

If you want to build your listener audience, you’re going to have to get the word out about your podcast. With this goal in mind, start by finding a good podcast directory.

Podcast Directories are a Must for Podcasts Marketing Tips

iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn and RadioGuesList.com are podcasts directories. Other podcasts directories include iHeartRadio, Overcast, Pocket Casts and Google Play. Of course, you could start a YouTube podcast. Podcast directories are great places to distribute your show episodes. More about that later in this article.

Also, have a focus for each show. For example, if you’re interviewing an author about her nonfiction books, focus on the specific points you want to share with listeners. What do you want listeners to walk away thinking after they catch your podcast interviews?

How do you want listeners to feel and what do you want them to focus on? Not sure? Here are interview focus ideas:

  1. Kick off the interview by asking guests to share their name and the titles of their books, book marketing products or publishing services.
  2. Build rapport by asking guests where they are from and what inspired them to do what they do, including write the books they write.
  3. Tell listeners what your guest’s website URL is. This way, listeners can visit the website and learn more about your guests.
  4. Share a funny or insightful fact about yourself. Even more, you could share insight on how or why you created your podcast, one or more of your books, products or services.
  5. Repeat customer testimonials that focus on specific elements of your podcast you want listeners to pay attention to.
  6. Be natural. Remember, you’re about to share valuable information with podcast listeners.

Recording Audio Matters

Relax, and remember you can edit and polish the show after it ends. But do make sure you and your guests use a good microphone. Fortunately, a computer mic is generally sufficient.

Regarding your responsibilities as a podcast host, have back-up questions on hand should you need to fill empty space or brief instances of silence. Here are seven more podcast marketing tips that are good to remember:

  1. Use a good sound system while recording audio for podcast shows. As a tip, if you’re using a telephone, consider going with a land line phone. Why? A land line phone may come in clearer than a cell phone. And you can get a podcast recording system like a USB microphone for a computer. Take this route, and you won’t need a telephone.
  2. Before you start recording audio, do a walk-thru with guests. Let guests know how the podcast intro will go. For instance, tell guests if there are ads or music at the top of the show. Also, let guests know if there will be breaks during the show and how long breaks are. Whether or not there is live Q&A with listeners is another area to cover with guests before the show starts.
  3. Sounds simple, but this is important among the podcast marketing tips. Slip up here and you could spend hours editing each show. Conduct podcast interviews in a quiet place. Tell everyone in recording space that you’re recording audio. Let them know you can’t be disturbed while interviewing. If you’ve ever seen someone bomb a Zoom recording, you know how distracting it can be to hear an unexpected voice cross the line.
  4. Even if you use exciting background visuals, you have to make the interview interesting. Relax and be conversational. Coach guests to expand on their answers, steering them away from one-word answers. Also, interject humor into the interview. As an example, you could read a funny excerpt from a guest’s book.

More Podcasts Marketing Tips

As an extra tip, listen to popular podcasts to pick up intro, closing, background and Q&A ideas. Here are additional tips to produce better podcasts, potentially attracting more listeners:

  • For added visual appeal, if in addition to being a podcast host, you’re also a book author, sit in front of a background that highlights your books. Regardless of the recording system you use, test the camera. Make sure you come across clearly on the video from your shoulders up. (If you’re short like me, you might have to sit on a pillow.)
  • Allow sufficient light inside the space where you’re recording video podcasts.
  • Repeat the titles of guests’ books, book marketing products or publishing services at the end of the podcast, especially if guests paid to be on your show.
  • Edit shows and send a downloadable link to each guest. But don’t just share the link with guests, encourage guests to promote the show at their social media accounts. Also, share the link with your supporters via email, etc. The more traffic your podcast gets, the better. Traffic is a good way to attract advertisers and great podcast guests.

Professional Podcast Production

If you’re recording audio for podcast as a show host, familiarize yourself with video podcast hosting companies like Vimeo, Wistia, Burbrry, Simplecast and Wave before you create video podcast shows. Check out professional podcast production features like distribution channels, web player analytics, pricing, number of downloads you get each month, demographics and other listener metrics.

Also, see if you can get professional podcast production features free of charge, especially if you are only going to create video podcast once a month. Keep promoting and marketing your literary podcast shows. As with other items in this article, this applies whether you interview on podcasts or host your own podcast.

If you’re looking for another way to market your podcasts, create a website for your literary podcast show. Ways to increase the website traffic includes writing blogs that link to topics your guests cover during their interviews. Additionally, you could write and distribute press releases.

What’s at the Heart of Healthy Romantic Relationships – Is It Love?

Posted on by

By Freelance Writer and Books Author Denise Turney

man and woman in love and happy romantic relationship holding hands and running on a field
Photo by Maksim Goncharenok on Pexels.com

What if much of what you believe about love, especially as it regards healthy romantic relationships, is wrong? Could the core of what you believe about healthy romantic relationships apply to something else, not to romance at all?

Healthy Romantic Relationships Rooted in Personal Experience

Based on personal experiences, you may believe that love is kind. You also might believe that love is patient. Foundation for this belief is 1 Corinthians 13:1. The scripture states that, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.”

Whether or not you grew up in a religious home, for you, love might have to prove itself. Transfer this to a romantic relationship, and you might push your partner to go to extremes to prove that they love you.

Should you have spent years witnessing your parents argue or inflict psychological or physical harm on each other when their emotions were strong, you might think that people get loud and violent when they love each other a lot. Try as you may, it’s impossible to make a complete break from what your childhood taught you about healthy romantic relationships.

Love Quotes and Healthy Romantic Relationships

On top of that, we all want love, especially to feel loved. But no one is always kind, always patient? No one is only one-way. Sometimes you and your lover are frustrated, angry, discouraged. This is where love appears to come up short. And this is when relationships can seem like too much of an investment.

Statements about love, including the oft spoken “love you to the moon and back” and inspirational love quotes like “Love takes off masks that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within” by James Baldwin and “The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let it come in” by Morrie Schwrtz, require action.

Uttering love quotes doesn’t create magic. Love itself isn’t a form of magic.

Creating and sustaining healthy romantic relationships is not easy. It’s not a snap. Perhaps part of the reluctance to take the actions necessary to give and to receive love consistently has to do with how you define love. It’s these definitions that are explored in the 5 love languages. (https://www.5lovelanguages.com/)

Impact of Your 5 Love Languages on Your Healthy Romantic Relationships

For this reason, it may be worth exploring your particular love language. Just know, the results of your 5 love languages survey may surprise you.

But those surprises can be good, especially if you’re open to exploring new ways to give and receive what you believe to be love. Additionally, results of your 5 love languages survey might reveal why you feel frustrated, unheard or unappreciated by your romantic partner, even as they work to express their love for you.

Knowing how you define or see love could help you to get to the heart of what’s keeping you away from good relationships, including healthy romantic relationships. Also, the way that your parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles defined love could be a key factor in how you try to get (or stay away from) to love.

Advice on Love and Relationships

Their relationships could also be impacting whether or not you believe that love is even at the heart of good relationships. Admittedly, a childhood filled with parental unkindness, impatience and cruelty can serve like a roadblock to love.

Yet, childhood trauma doesn’t shut off the desire for love. To recover, you might make an illusion of love. You might end the person you care about (and who you want to love you) flowers, love quotes and love letters, hoping it will spark a sustainable romance.

Or you might convince yourself that this give and take means you’re in a healthy romantic relationship when, in actuality, you’re not. If this happens, years could pass before you recognize that you’re in a troubled relationship.

Knowing What Love Is

This is why it takes at least one person who has truly experienced love to be in the relationship. Experience real love firsthand, and you will know what love is. You’ll also know when love is missing from romance.

If you think about couples who have given and received love from each other for years, you witnessed this happening. This witnessing is beautiful. Yet, it doesn’t mean you’ll convince your partner to release their trauma and let love in.

couple facing each other
Photo by RODNAE Productions on Pexels.com

Love in Action as Part of Healthy Romantic Relationships

Yet, patience and kindness are more than ideas. They are a choice, an action. And, as with all choices and actions, you have to believe that the reward you’ll receive for taking an action is equal to or more than what you think you give up (invest) by taking that very action, by making that very choice. Which brings us back to childhood.

Isn’t that the best place to witness love? If not in childhood, definitely during early adulthood.

Considering this, imagine what life would be like if each person made witnessing love a priority. You’d turn away from abuse, not investing a second in rationalizing as you tried to convince yourself that witnessing love’s opposite was a good way for you to learn about love. Instead, you’d feel attracted to those who are patient, kind, caring, loving and working to awaken. And you’d want to be empowered by witnessing true love in action.

Witnessing Love In Action

Raymond doesn’t make witnessing love a priority. Like you, especially if you had a challenging childhood, he makes surviving a priority. After he gets to college, this changes. It’s at college where he meets Brenda, someone who truly loves him. Theirs is a complicated romantic relationship. Yet, despite its complications, their love truly does take them to the heart of a very good romantic relationship.

It’s not sudden. It happens over time, a long time. But, once you arrive at the heart of love, there’s no turning back. As happens with Raymond and Brenda, you won’t want to go back.

Researching love is not enough. Talking about love is not enough. Knowing your 5 love languages can’t fully prepare you for this experience.

Getting to love from where you are right now is the point. At times, reaching true love may seem impossible, like too difficult a task. Yet, giving up on getting to love is the one thing that you don’t want to do. After all, getting to love is getting to the real you. As it is for Raymond, there are many people and many experiences to help you get there.



3 Ways Authors Land Book Marketing Radio Interviews to Discuss Their Books

Posted on by

By Books Writer Denise Turney

marketing radio interview silver and black microphones
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Performing book marketing radio interviews is an effective way for authors to introduce their rare books, print on demand books and contemporary fiction to more book buyers. Yet, success with radio interviews for writers isn’t always a slam dunk. Of course, the larger a radio station’s listening audience, the better. But, even then, authors may have to conduct five or more interviews on the same radio station before they see their book sales increase.

Highlighting Benefits of Book Marketing Radio Interviews

This brings up the first way that authors can land radio interviews to get more book sales. First, writers can listen to their favorite radio stations. Get to know which radio stations and radio DJs appreciate the types of books they write. It’s these radio stations authors should seek interviews on, as these radio stations attract the demographic that buys the types of books the authors write.

Then, authors can reach out to those DJs. But they shouldn’t just request a radio interview. Instead, they should outline specific ways that their books benefit readers. For instance, does the book teach readers about financial investments, how to save for college or save thousands when buying a house? Or perhaps, the book inspires or features strong women who demonstrate the worth embedded in breaking longstanding societal rules?

If the book is fictional, does the story focus on a real-life event or does the novel share a story that parallels a popular real-life romance? It’s these elements that offer history, education and entertainment, all which could interest radio listeners and book buyers.

Authors Serious About Landing Book Marketing Radio Interviews

Authors shouldn’t go light on highlighting benefits their books offer readers. In fact, they should make these benefits the centerpiece of their requests for book marketing radio interviews.

Next, create a request template for book marketing radio interviews. This is a time saver, especially for authors serious about landing a dozen or more radio interviews a month.

A plus about developing a radio interview request template is that the most authors should have to do before they email out interview requests, is to change the radio station call numbers and the DJ’s or radio station owner’s name. Use a spreadsheet to track radio stations that are contacted, including DJ and station owner names, radio station website URLs, telephone numbers and the dates that stations are contacted.

In addition to tracking progress, this spreadsheet creates a contact list. It’s this list that authors can return to after they finish writing and publishing more books, reaching out to radio stations to schedule new radio interviews. To continually grow book sales, authors should keep reaching out to more radio stations, landing even more radio interviews.

Working With Radio Directories

Here are two more ways authors land book marketing radio interviews. Both ways require tenacity and persistence. Follow radio station influencers on social media. After developing relationships with these influencers, authors can send a private message to radio station DJs, again sharing benefits that their books offer readers.

A third way that authors land radio interviews is to subscribe to directories like RadioGuestList.com. Directories like iTunes Radio, Tune In, Filter Music and Radio Tower also list radio stations, with contact details, that authors can contact to land more interviews.

During actual interviews, authors should prepare to respond to questions with more than yes and no answers. They are encouraged to share an intriguing bio with DJs after they land interviews.

Include tidbits in author bios that could evolve into engaging questions about children’s books, motivational books, rare books and coffee table books that radio listeners may want to buy and read. Another tip for writers, is simply – do not hold back. Once on the radio, authors benefit from being open and candid.

Getting More from Author Book Marketing Radio Interviews

Here are a few more tips for authors who are ready for radio:

  • Focus on offline and online radio stations
  • Seek out nonpaying radio interviews to introduce book buyers to your titles (there are lots of online radio stations that interview authors for free)
  • Post links from the interviews at social media accounts

Keep at it. After all, the more authors talk about their books, the more book buyers will learn about the books, a necessary step toward increasing book sales.

How Historical Fiction Offers Great Education

Posted on by

By African American Fiction Writer Denise Turney

woman in black crew neck t shirt sitting on historical fiction books
Photo by Ichad Windhiagiri on Pexels.com

Historical fiction offers more than reading entertainment. Due to the depth of research authors invest in historical novels, these books offer a brief history of time. They educate, introducing bits of history that readers might otherwise not explore. If you’re an avid book reader, you may have noticed how much you’ve learned from reading fictional history books.

Much to Learn from Historical Fiction

No wonder historical fiction is popular. As host of the literary radio show, Off The Shelf Books Talk Radio, I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing dozens of historical fiction authors. These interviews are among the most listened to Off The Shelf Books Talk Radio shows. When I ask these writers how much time they devote to researching material for their historical fiction, I’m almost always surprised at the amount of time the authors devote to gathering material for these novels.

In fact, it’s not uncommon for these writers to spend weeks, sometimes months, at the library researching fashion, business trends, dietary choices, social behaviors, religious practices, gender roles and lifestyle habits that occurred during periods their books are set in.

And, if they’re not scouring through books, newspaper articles and magazines at the library, they’re digging through history facts online at home. This is what I did before I started writing on the suspenseful historical fiction novel, Spiral.

Spiral as Historical Fiction

Did I ever learn a lot about Memphis, Tennessee while researching for Spiral. I definitely learned how influential Beale Street was to the city, talk about a happening place. From being the home of the blues to Southern politics to nightlife to old time religion — it’s all in Memphis. Who knows? Maybe even authors gain when we research and write books that lean on real life events, rich history.

And, there are so many great historical fiction books. Among the best historical fiction are books like The Book Thief, Little Women, The Book of Negroes, The Red Tent and The Tutor.

It’s through these books that you can learn what it was like to live as far back as the 1600s. Other historical novels take you back to a pivotal time in world history. For instance, books like The German Midwife, The Secret Orphan and All We Left Behind take you to the heart of the unimaginable struggle children and adults experienced during the vicious war.

Skillful Fiction Authors

Also, the skillful way that authors of historical fiction weave humor, faith and personality into their characters keeps you turning the pages, keeps you learning. And it might not be until you reach the final page and put the book down that you realize just how much you learned about family traditions practiced during the period the story took place.

In fact, you could pull out key facts buried within historical fiction, including historical romance, and place those facts alongside dates, analytics and trends noted in nonfiction history books and see clear parallels. This brings up an interesting point. Are writers of historical fiction unsuspected history buffs?

Think about your favorite novels. How many of them share rich history? How many of your favorite novels, including books that don’t center around key history events, teach you about modern history as well as ancient history? Don’t you love reading these books? After all, there’s so much to gain and learn from these stories, not to mention the entertainment that you can walk away with.

7 Habits of Successful People Who Love Their Life

Posted on by

By African American Books Author Denise Turney

success habits motivational quote
Photo by Gerd Altmann on Pexels.com

The 7 habits of successful people who love their life are practical actions, surprisingly easy steps you could incorporate into your daily life. To start, successful people understand that success is never owned. When you think about it, pursuing success is similar to pursuing happiness. Both goals keep you pressing, moving forward.

Success Is Not Final

Yet, you will never reach a point where you can hold onto success. You will never have “enough success stockpiled”. So, it’s important to accept that success is not final. Also, as part of the psychology of achievement, know the specific type of success that you want. For example, do you want to reduce your sugar consumption until your body is inflammation free?

Or perhaps you want to increase your small business revenues by 25% over the next 12 months. Starting a community arts education center, graduating with a degree that sets you up for a promotion and writing books that land on the New York Times bestseller list are other types of success you may want. As a tip, breakdown the steps you will take to achieve these goals. In fact, steps-to-goal-achievement is an integral part of the success mindset.

Developing a Success Mindset

Don’t rush this process. And consider setting goal deadlines. After all, each fulfilled goal serves as a success motivation. Each time you achieve a goal, your confidence builds. You show yourself that you can go from failure to success or from success to success. Other aspects of the success mindset include:

  • Relationships are your top priority. In other words, you’re not willing to ignore family, friends, colleagues, etc. so you can complete a goal step. If you do take that route, you may have a fulfilled goal and no one close to share your success with long term or, perhaps, even short term. And it’s amazing how much sweeter success is when you share it with people you trust and love.
  • Not only do you know what you want to succeed at, you know why you want to accomplish something.
  • You’re at peace with your goal and the actions needed to achieve the goal.
  • As it regards your health, you accept that success is a choice. Therefore, you make smart diet choices. You definitely understand that good health and high energy levels are going to play a key role in your success motivation and your belief that you can achieve the goals you set for yourself.

7 Habits of Successful People Who Love Their Life

Now, let’s look at the 7 habits of successful people who love their life. This first habit is one that I continue to practice. Even more, the first of the 7 habits of successful people saved me loads of money when I published my first book, Portia. Check out the habits. See how many you already have. Also, notice which of the 7 habits you want to develop:

  1. Research the industry you want to work in. As previously mentioned, before I published Portia, I researched and studied the book publishing industry. That research helped me to quickly spot good printing prices, how to get the most out of book signings and speaking events, which book printers to work with and book marketing actions that yield results.
  2. Map out the actions and decisions you need to make to get what you say that you want.
  3. Forgive and let go of past mistakes. I’ve never met a person who thinks that she/he has never failed. In fact, you might have a perception that you have stumbled more than you have succeeded. Therefore, it’s very important that you forgive yourself for past mistakes you have made. In this forgiveness, you can start to go from failure to success.

More Habits of Successful People Who Love Their Life

  • Keep learning. Oh, is this habit important. Think about it. The world, including technology, how we relate to each other as humans, societal laws, etc. change. So, you need to keep learning to stay aware of technological advances, revised industry  regulations, changing communication styles, new marketing opportunities and more.
  • Count your blessings. Appreciation fuels a success mindset. In fact, there may be no better success motivation than to count your blessings which shifts your focus to the good in your life.
  • Start your day by completing one action that you’ve been feeling nervous about. For example, you might set up meetings with three major retailer book buyers by 10am or you might submit your 501c3 paperwork if you operate a nonprofit.
  • Never quit. Of the 7 habits of successful people, this one is a must. The good news is, if you did your research and got clear about what you want and why you want what you want, you should easily have the success motivation to keep going until your experience your goal fulfilled.

Daily Success Habits

As with the success mindset and the psychology of achievement, to live a peaceful, joyous and rewarding life, you need to practice the 7 habits of successful people who love their life every day. Consider making the habits part of your daily lifestyle.

Also, try new things. Why? You don’t want to get bored. Challenge yourself. If you start to feel stuck or overwhelmed by the emotion of fear, add affirmations for success to your morning and before bed routines. For instance, positive affirmations for success that you could speak to yourself while you’re standing in front of a mirror include “success is a choice that I am making today,” “I deserve success,” “I am an extension of love and I deserve the best” and “It is my will to live a victorious life”.

Book Authors Gain Big from Attending Virtual Book Events

Posted on by

By African American Writer Denise Turney

writer attending virtual book events showing face on laptop screen
Photo by Julia M Cameron on Pexels.com

To grow their reader base, authors might want to start attending more virtual book events. After all, virtual events are growing in popularity, thanks to advancing technology and more people working from home. In May 2021 alone, there were more than a dozen virtual book events. The next month’s numbers were higher with June having more than 14 virtual events.

Authors Networking at Virtual Events

While attending virtual book events, new writers as well as seasoned authors, can network absent travel time constraints and pricey booth costs (you can easily shell out $250 for a booth at an in-person book festival). Even more, writers who speak at virtual literary events can showcase their books, introducing their titles to new readers. They can also get their websites in front of book buyers.

Yet, it’s not all upside. In fact, as with offline book events, actually selling books at virtual events takes work, commitment, patience and tenacity. As an author, you might have to get creative to get your name and your book titles in front of readers, literary agents, publishers and editors who attend virtual events.

For starters, get the word out about virtual events you plan to attend, especially if you’re a panelist or feature presenter. As an example, you could post the date, starting times and URL for the event at each of your social media accounts. Another step you could take is to boost a social media post.

Virtual Book Events Success

You could also email book clubs, letting them know you’re speaking at an upcoming virtual event. And don’t forget to invite neighbors and relatives who appreciate books. Let me tell you, as a podcast host (Off The Shelf Books Talk Radio), it shows when authors actively promote events they attend.

Other actions you can take to turn your attendance at virtual book events into success follow:

  • Ask event hosts if you can sit on a panel or serve as a keynote speaker (add the link to your website in your bio and highlight your book titles in your bio)
  • Post comments in private Twitter Rooms, Facebook Live events, etc.
  • Publish and answer questions
  • Also, respond to polls posted during the events
  • Message editors, publishers, literary agents and authors you want to keep in touch with
  • Conduct live book readings if it’s allowed
  • Upload images of your books with comments
  • Add links to your book order pages if coordinators allow links

Also, consider attending small, local book events to complement your virtual book marketing efforts. After all, combining in-person and virtual events helps keep you in front of book lovers which can, in turn, increase your book sales.

Deepen Literary Relationships

If you’ve attended six or more book festivals, you know that sitting behind a booth watching hundreds of people pass generally won’t get you book sales. The same goes for virtual events. So, instead of simply showing up at virtual events, take steps that will get you seen.

Post comments. Ask questions. Also, make sure that your author website URL is listed on your social media profiles.

Event coordinators may fields questions and take note of comments. If you’re posting questions, answering questions and adding comments, coordinators might notice you. And, you may find out soon, especially if coordinators of virtual book events reach out to you after the event. That, or you might start receiving messages from the organization’s Twitter feed.

Keep these conversations going and you could strike up a rewarding business venture. You could also tap into someone (e.g. influential book bloggers, book TV talk show host, writing magazine editor) who could open the door for you to enter a whole new world of readers who love the types of books that you write.

How To Land Book Marketing Radio Interviews

Posted on by

By Books Author Denise Turney

bookstore building facade in city seeking book sales and retail sales
Photo by Maria Orlova on Pexels.com

Book marketing radio interviews are a path forward for authors. Conducting radio interviews, especially on the right stations, can differentiate new and seasoned books from the pack. See an increase in book sales and the effects extend beyond book rankings. For starters, it can take a lot of the struggle out of marketing books. It can also keep you encouraged.

After all, if you think writing a great book is tough, wait until you start the book marketing process. Part of the challenge has to do with the number of books published each year. It’s sobering. Each year, between 600,000 and 1,000,000 books are published. And this is in the United States alone.

Book Marketing Plan Ideas

Yet, as tough as it is, there are ways to distinguish your books from the crowd. To start, develop an effective book marketing plan. Here are items you could include in your book marketing plan:

  • Author biography – Include a professional photo with your biography. Also, add key public speaking events that you headlined, published articles and feature interviews.
  • Professional Website – Partner with an experienced website designer to design and build out your author website. Keep it simple, adding book excerpts and ways for visitors to easily purchase your books. Avoid adding too many links that lead away from your books and your book order pages.
  • Book catalog – Brief summaries or overviews of your books as well as ways to order your books are must-haves to add to your book catalog.
  • Book Blog – This may sound surprising. But a book blog is an effective way to attract readers. As a tip, add a new article or interview to your book blog at least once a week.
  • Social Media Book Marketing Strategies – Also, create a social media presence. This includes adding social media links at your author website and book blog.

Book Marketing Radio Interviews

But don’t just set up social media accounts as part of your book marketing plan. Post comments, questions, polls and upcoming book events at your social media accounts. Also, post information about a radio interview, including a live radio interview, that you’re scheduled to discuss your book on.

That’s right, radio interviews should be part of your book marketing strategy. If you’ve never done a live radio interview, the idea of doing a radio interview might seem intimidating. Fortunately, it’s not. In fact, you might end up loving doing radio interviews. But first you need to land a radio interview.

Here’s how you can do that. Save yourself time with a radio directory. There are online and print radio directories. Some of these directories include newspaper, magazine and television media contacts. If you’re book marketing locally, consider focusing on setting up radio interviews with local radio stations.

Track Live Book Marketing Radio Interviews Results

To track your results, set up a spreadsheet. On the spreadsheet, add the radio station call name, DJ at the radio station you want to interview with, website URL, telephone number and email address. Also, add three to four columns to track the dates that you reach out to a DJ to schedule a live radio interview.

Other steps you can take to land radio interviews are:

  • Email 5 to 10 radio stations a week – add the link to your website in your email signature
  • Send your author biography with the radio interview requests
  • Highlight specific benefits the radio station listeners will gain during your interview. It’s important that you let the DJ know how your book can improve the lives of the radio station’s listeners.
  • Follow up on radio interview requests within 5 to 7 days
  • Track each outreach and follow-up on the spreadsheet
  • Extend your radio interview book marketing plan to online and offline radio stations

Book Marketing Requires Ongoing Action

After you land your first radio interview, schedule another interview. To keep interviews engaging, expand your answers. Make radio interviews a lively conversation with the DJ. Yet, keep listeners in mind, continually offering tips, insight and entertainment as you respond to questions DJs ask you.

Another step you can take is to list radio interviews you’ve already done at your book blog and author website. Also, list upcoming radio interviews at your book blog and author website.

To continue to market and sell more copies of your books, consider reading manuals on eBook marketing, attending free book marketing webinars and taking advantage of guidance in content marketing books. Also, remember that book marketing, including landing radio interviews, is ongoing work. I’m rooting for you!