Writer’s Cafe at Grow Your Writing Business

The Writer’s Cafe is open over at Yvonne Russell’s Grow Your Writing Business. The cafe is a great place for writers to wind down after a busy week, enjoy some of the scrumptious goodies on the menu, and network with other writers. The cafe has only been open a couple of weekends, but it’s already a great success. Last week’s comments were almost a tutorial on podcasting. If you’re a writer, stop by for a cup of coffee and some great conversation.

[tags]Writer’s Cafe, networking for writers[/tags]

Blogging for a Great Cause: Bloggers Against Abuse

Today is Blog Catalog’s Blogging for a Great Cause Challenge: Bloggers Against Abuse.

None of my family or close friends has ever been the victim of spousal or child abuse – at least if anyone close to me has been abused, I haven’t known about it. Yet I am passionate about stopping violence against women and children and will always regret not recognizing probable abuse when I encountered it.

Way back in the late ’60s or early ’70s, I was teaching a third grade Sunday School class. The church we attended was near a military installation, and most of the parishioners were military families.

One Sunday morning, I had a cup of coffee sitting on the table in front of me. A little boy knocked the cup over, and I reached out to catch it. The child recoiled when I reached for the cup. At the time, I thought it was a strange reaction, but I just assumed he was afraid the coffee would spill on him. I didn’t catch the cup in time, and hot coffee spilled on my dress. Fortunately, it didn’t touch me, so the only damage done was a coffee stain. But the child kept apologizing over and over. I tried to reassure him I wasn’t hurt, and I told him I was the one at fault for having a hot cup of coffee on a low table in a room full of children. His insistence on continuing to apologize mystified me.

I don’t know if I’d ever heard of child abuse at the time. If I had, it was some abstract concept that I didn’t relate to real life. I never forgot the little boy’s reaction – the jerk back, the fear in his eyes, and his excessive apologies. Years later, when I learned more about abuse, I realized that he had expected me to hit him. I’ve always regretted that I didn’t recognize his reaction as a sign of abuse – were there more signs I missed?

I’ve tried to be more alert since I’ve learned more about abuse. I’ve never had a similar experience, but if I did, I would recognize the signs and take action. If it happened at church, I would most likely meet with the priest to advise him of what I’d seen so he could provide counseling. If that didn’t achieve results, I would report the situation to the authorities. My sister is a social worker, and she has reported abuse of the elderly several times at nursing homes where she has worked. She jeopardizes her job by doing so because the management of the nursing home usually wants to take care of the problem themselves without getting the authorities involved. But anyone who suspects abuse is both morally and legally obligated to report it.

False reports can be devastating. That I know from family experience. I’ve seen the mother of a handicapped child investigated for child abuse because she insisted on teaching her daughter to be as independent as possible. A neighbor thought it was cruel to make a child in a wheelchair do small household chores and reported that the child was being abused. The investigation exonerated the family, but only after they were observed for some period of time. Even so, I think it is better for an innocent family to be investigated than for suspected abuse to go unreported.

The subject of abuse intrigued me so much I made it an integral part of the plot of my soon-to-be-published novel, Dream or Destiny. In my research, I learned that a high percentage of children who are abused tend to become abusers themselves. The cycle can last for generations. Women who are abused in one relationship often go on to other abusive relationships because they have come to believe they deserve the abuse.

Abuse knows no racial, ethnic, educational, religious, or economic barriers. If I’d even heard of abuse back in that third-grade Sunday School room, I would never have thought that child could be abused. His father was a military officer, and both of his parents were active in the church and were always pleasant in public.

Although far more men abuse women and children, some women do abuse their husbands, and some mothers abuse – even kill – their children.

In Dream or Destiny, the abuse victims finally escape from their abuse and break out of the cycle. I pray that for every victim of domestic violence around the world.

St. Paul says in Ephesians 25, 28-29:

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her….In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church.

And in Colossians 3:21:

Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.

Spouses are to love and care for each other. Parents are to love and nurture their children. Spousal and child abuse can cause serious physical and emotional damages and destroy the bond of love and care that is critical to healthy family life.

[tags]domestic violence, spousal abuse, child abuse, Blog Catalog’s Blogging for a Great Cause, Bloggers Against Abuse[/tags]

Setting Boundaries in Freelance Writing: Just Say No, Re-Negotiate, or Fire the Client?

Writing blogs have offered a lot of advice recently about dealing with difficult clients, setting boundaries, turning down jobs, and firing clients.

Here are a few helpful posts and a snippet of wisdom from each:

Setting Priorities For Writing Work at Get Paid to Write Online – “Another key issue for freelancers is knowing when to say no. Sometimes it is better to say that you’re fully booked than to say yes and find that you’re overstretched.”

10 Reasons to Turn Down Freelance Writing Jobs at WriteFromHome.com – “There are some very legitimate situations where turning down certain freelance writing gigs is a good move.”

Are Your Clients Hanging by a Thread? at Freelance Switch – “Don’t burn bridges.”

How to Breakaway from a Difficult Freelance Writing Client at ChrisBlogging – “Sometimes breaking away from a freelance writing client is easy, but other times you will be up against some resistance. But no matter what, make sure that you stay professional.”

Top 10 Ways to Fire the Client From Hell at Inside CRM – “Some clients are so bad that your business, not to mention your personal sanity, is better off without them.”

When It’s Over at Words on the Page – “While there are a few things you may want to handle that are not part of the original agreement, watch yourself. Don’t set a precedent.”

Ideally, we would never have to face situations in which we have to decide whether to just say no, re-negotiate, or fire the client. However, when we encounter these situations in the real world, the advice in the linked posts can help us make wise decisions.

If you have read – or written – a post that should be included in this list or if you have other advice about client relationships for freelancers, share it in a comment.

[tags]freelance writing, client relationships[/tags]

Inspiration: Two Heroes to Admire and Emulate

Stephen Hopson recently posted a powerful video on his blog Adversity University. Read what Stephen has to say about the video or just watch it below. I guarantee you will be touched, inspired, and motivated by Stephen’s story and his tribute to the teacher who changed his life.

Stephen reminds me of one of my clients. Richard Turner, aka The Cheat, has been called “the greatest card mechanic in the world.” He amazes audiences around the world with his feats – and often they don’t even realize he is totally blind! You can be amazed and inspired by watching a short video about Richard.

Richard wasn’t satisfied with being a world-renowned performer, an in-demand motivational speaker, a Black Belt in karate, and the recipient of a list of honors and awards as long as your arm. So he decided to become a writer. You can read a sample of his novel Re-Deal: A Miss Guided Adventure, for which he is currently seeking publication, on his Web site.

Thank you, Stephen and Richard, for inspiring us all.

[tags]inspiration, motivation, Stephen Hopson, Richard Turner[/tags]

My Top Picks in the Tips & Tricks Group Writing Project

The list of entries – all 122 of them! – in the Tips & Tricks Group Writing Project is posted at Daily Blog Tips.

Now it’s time to post my list of favorite entries – and what a challenge that is! The contest drew so many excellent entries that I had to figure out a way to determine my favorites.

The criterion I chose was simply this: did I learn something that I will put into use? That means I chose posts that filled gap in my knowledge. You may have other favorites, depending on what you find most useful.

The posts are listed in the order in which they appear on the master list.

Tips on Gaining Page Views and Returning Visitors Using Post Series by Sarah caught my interest because I like to write series – I was delighted to learn about a plug-in to manage series posts.

3 Ways to Optimize Your Blog Homepage by Nathan made me aware of the importance of using the right header tags – I made a note to check mine.

10 Simple Ways to Show Reader Appreciation by Ronald introduced me to a plugin to let commenters edit their own comments.

A Microsoft Word Resume Tip That You’ve Never Heard by Jacob – Although I was aware of Document Properties and am always careful to put the client’s name rather than my own when I create resumes for clients, I needed to be reminded to check the properties when I edit a resume for a client.

5 Tips for Crafting Effective Criticism by Annie reassured me it’s okay to involve emotions when I write a book review.

If you haven’t checked out the entries, I recommend you do so. You don’t have to do like me and read (or at least skim) every entry (except a couple that weren’t available when I tried to access them). Read the posts submitted in the categories that interest you the most. I’ll be willing to bet you’ll learn something.

Related Post:

Tips and Tricks: How to Write, Send, Reply, and Forward E-Mail

[tags]group writing project, Tips & Tricks Group Writing Project, tips[/tags]

A Humorous Look at My Pet Blogging Peeves

Mig Lica has posted 10 Ways to Make Your Fellow Bloggers Hate You at the Red Dog blog. Following her hilarious, ironic advice is a sure way to failure as a blogger.

Mig tagged other bloggers to add to the list. If you haven’t made the entire blogosphere hate you following Mig’s advice, check out Yvonne Russell’s additions at Grow Your Writing Business. You’ll make yourself a pariah in the blogging community very quickly.

If you want to get me to hate you … or at least click away to another blog … do one of my pet peeves:

• Use partial feeds, preferably just a link to the post without even an excerpt to give me a clue of whether I want to read your post or not. Make me go to your blog to discover your post is on a topic of no interest to me.
• Make it as difficult as possible for me to comment. Require me to sign up for Orble or WordPress or Typepad and login to make a comment. Stop me with a security challenge that people with good eyesight can’t read, much less someone with poor vision. Ask me to answer a question (2+2=_) to prove I’m not a spam robot.

Enjoy a good laugh from the tips on these lists, and if you’d rather be loved than hated, do just the opposite.

[tags]blogging, humor[/tags]

Nothing Binding Update: Not for Published Authors Only

I’ve written about Nothing Binding before: Nothing Binding: Making a Connection between Readers and Writers and Nothing Binding Officially Launches. If you’ve gotten the idea I think this community for writers and readers will have a huge impact on marketing independently published books, you’re right.

Here’s an update from the NothingBinding.Com Newsletter:

Official Launch – We officially launched on September 1st, and have since then passed an important milestone – 1,000 titles! Keep spreading the word, the bigger we get, the more difference we can make.

Free book for members – NB will be providing a copy of Jerry Simmons’ manuscript, “What Writers Need to Know About Publishing” by Jerry Simmons. This 206 page manuscript is based on Mr. Simmons’ over 20 years of experience in traditional publishing, culminating as a Senior Executive with the Time Warner Book Group. Mr. Simmons is the founder of Nothing Binding and hopes that sharing his experiences in the trenches of traditional publishing will help as many writers as possible.

Don’t think Nothing Binding is only for published authors. Categories of “titles” include:

• Published Book
• Yet-to-be-Published Book
• Book Idea or Concept
• Screenplay
• Blog
• Short Story
• Play
• Music Review
• Movie Review
• Journalistic Content
• Sketch Comedy
• Journal
• Poetry
• Ad/Professional Copy
• Essay
• Cannot be Categorized

If you have a book coming out soon, listing it on Nothing Binding can be a great way to start advance buzz. If you’re wondering whether your idea will appeal to readers, you can put it out there and see what reaction you get. If you’d like to introduce your blog to a new audience, list it as a title … and get a free book about publishing in the process!

Note that you will not put your content directly on Nothing Binding. You will describe the project, share your inspiration, and link to other sites: to the source, such as a blog, if the content (or an excerpt/sample) is free or to an online store or author/publisher Web site if the publication is for sale. You can also add audio/video, such as book trailers.

If you’re a writer and haven’t joined Nothing Binding, I recommend you join and add your titles (books, blogs, other publications) and links today. More authors and titles will make the site more attractive for readers; more readers will lead to more sales.

Reminder to self: hurry over to Nothing Binding and list Dream or Destiny as a yet-to-be-published book!

Related Posts:
Nothing Binding: Making a Connection between Readers and Writers
Nothing Binding Officially Launches

[tags]Nothing Binding, independent publishing, book marketing[/tags]

My Votes in the Blue Jar Group Writing Project

The “How-To” Group Writing Project generated 44 qualified entries. Now the bloggers who participated will determine the winners. Entrants have a week to post a list of their choices for the top 3 entries. Sarah at BlueJar.com will review the list, tally the results, and announce the winners.

Narrowing down my favorites to three proved to be a challenge. It was fairly easy to dismiss some of the entries.

1. First, I eliminated posts that told how to do something I personally found morally objectionable or questionable.
2. Then, I marked off the posts that contained numerous grammar errors or that were confusing and difficult to understand. That might be unfair, as the advice may have been useful. However, as an editor, I was too distracted by the errors and trying to understand the blogger’s point to recognize the value of the advice.
3. Next, I removed from consideration posts that seemed light on useful information, because, in my opinion, they either skimmed the surface of the topic or repeated conventional wisdom without giving me new information or a new perspective.

Obviously, all of this is completely subjective. Information that seemed light to me may be exactly what someone else needed to hear. Advice that I find morally questionable may be perfectly acceptable to another person. Poor writing and errors may not bother someone else if the information is useful. But we each have to come up with some way to reduce 44 qualified entries to 3 top picks, and that’s how I chose to begin the process.

After I culled the list using the above criteria, I reviewed the remaining entries (more than half of the original list) and evaluated how well the post explained how to … whatever, how easy the instructions were to understand, how enjoyable the post was to read, and how much useful information it provided. That led to a list of nine entries that I found especially useful and interesting. I re-read and re-evaluated those posts to come up with my final list. Sarah said we could list runners-up, but only the top three will count in the final vote tally. My top three and runners-up appear below, each list in the same order as the final list of entries.

Top Three:

• How to Successfully Switch Your WordPress Theme Without Throwing Your Computer Through the Window by Steven Snell – I wish I’d had this advice before changing my theme.
• Beginners “How to” Guide for SEO by Steve – Although I’ve read good SEO advice (probably much of what’s here), I haven’t been motivated to learn it and put it to use.
• The Client Cycle Explained by James Mitchell – This post reminds us that clients are continually progressing through the cycle from prospect, to proposal, to project and points out how to build relationships at each stage of the cycle.

Honorable Mention:

• How To Promote Yourself (When You Don’t Want To.) by Dee
• How To Nail That Job Interview In The First Thirty Seconds by Martin Stoddart
• How To Deal With Angry Customers by John
• How do you track your comments? by pelf
• How to become a better writer in 30 days by Writing Nag
• How to Sleep on a Plane by Sheila

Thanks Sarah, for sponsoring the contest, and thanks to all the entrants for participating.

Do you agree with my choices? Share your favorite entries in comments.

[tags]group writing project, How-To Group Writing Project, how-to[/tags]

Outstanding Personal Development Bloggers

I was delighted and surprised to learn that Jeane Michelle Culp at Binding Ink added me to Priscilla Palmer’s list of Outstanding Personal Development Bloggers. Delighted and honored to be recognized among so many exceptional bloggers (see the list below). Surprised because I’ve never thought of myself as a personal development blogger. Then I read that among the many topics Priscilla includes in personal development are motivation and inspiration – which I strive for in my blog. Thank you, Jeane Michelle, for believing I deliver.

Priscilla said, “This list should include any blog you feel can benefit us in our growth process.”

I’m adding four of my favorite blogs that help us grow:

Edith Brown at Jeteak Press Writer Blog – Although Edith doesn’t post often, her motivational messages are worth the wait.

Glenda Watson Hyatt at Do It Myself Blog – Glenda inspires and motivates by her example as a person with a disability who does it herself and succeeds.

Matthew M. Costello at The Winning Attitude – I only discovered this blog recently when Liz Strauss named it an SOB, but I’ve read some great articles in the archives.

Robert Hruzek at Middle Zone Musings – We can all learn and grow from Robert’s musings and the “What I Learned From …” group writing projects.

Reading the blogs on the list will keep us busy for a long time but will definitely benefit us in our personal growth and development. The current list follows, and the master list is updated regularly. Those new to the list should add your own favorites, notify Priscilla, and transfer the list to your own sites.

Aaron Potts at Today is That Day
Adam Alexander at Adam’s Peace
Adam Kayce at Monk at Work
Adam Khoo at Adam Khoo’s Philosophies and Investing Insights
AgentSully at Life Learning Today
Al at 7pproductions.com
Alan Torres at Made to Be Great
Alex Shalman at AlexShalman.com
Alexander Kjerulf at The Chief Happiness Officer
Alexys Fairfield at Unraveling The Spiritual Mystique
Albert Foong at urbanmonk.net
Alvaro at Sharp Brains Blog
Amber at Amber Waves
Amber at Random Mangus
Amie Ragan at Psychology of Clutter
Amit Sodha at The Power of Choice
Amy Hedin at There is no Maximum to Human Potential
Andrea Learned at Learned on Women
Andrea J. Lee at Money, Meaning, and Beyond
Andrew Brunelle at Andrew Brunelle.com
Andy Wibbels at AndyWibbels.com
Anita Pathik Law at Power of Our Way
Anmol Mehta at AnmolMetha.com
Anna Farmery at The Engaging Brand
Antonio Thornton at AntonioThornton.com
April Groves at Making Life Work For You
Argancel at C’eclair (for those who speak french)
Ariane Benefit at Neat & Simple Living
Ash aka Mr. Biggs at One Powerful Word
Ashley Cecil at The Painting Activist
Ask Lucid at Ask Lucid Spiritual Development
BK Diva at Bklyn’s Finest
Barb Melloh at The Law of Attraction Info
Barbara Curtis at Mommy Life
Barbara Sliter at Creatorship
Belle Wong at Abundance Journal
Ben Yoskovitz at Instigator Blog
Benjamin at WOWNDADI
Beth at Butterfly Thoughts
Bill Perry at Lucid Blog
Billy Smith at The Organic Leadership Blog
Blogfuse at LifeDev
Bluskygirl at LifeGoddess.com
Brad Isaac at Achieve It
Brett Farmiloe, James Whiting, Noah Pollock and Zach Hubbell at Pursue The Passion
Brian Clark at Copyblogger
Brian Kim at briankim.net
Brian Lee at geniustypes.com
Brightfeathers at this time-this space
Brooke at Plain Advice
Bob at everyeveryminute
Bolly at Motivational Corner
Boston Gal at Boston Gal’s Open Wallet
Byron Katie at Byron Katie.com
Cam Beck at ChaosScenario
Cara Lumen at The Success Magnets With Cara Luman and Your Second Wind Blog
Carlon Haas at Possess Less Exist More
Carol Skolnick at Soul Surgery
Catherine Carter at Continuum Wellness
Cheif Family Officer at Cheif Family Officer
Chris at One is All and All is One
Chris Brogan at Chris Brogan.com
Chris Cade at Spiritual Short Stories
Chris Cree at SuccessCREEations
Chris Marshall at Martial Development
Chris Melton at Soupornuts.com
Chris Owen at Pink Apple
Christine Kane at ChristineKane.com
Christine Valters Painter at Abbey of the Arts
Christy Z at Totally Fabulous
Clyde at Feeling Good
Colin Beavan at No Impact Man
Colleen Wainwright of Communicatrix
Conceive, Believe, Achieve at Conceive, Believe, Achieve
Confessing at 7Confessions
Cooper at Wonderland or Not
Crabby McSlacker at Cranky Fitness
Craig Harper at Motivational Speaker
Craze at Crazedreamer’s Thoughts
Curt Rosengren at Occupational Adventure
Cyres at Cyres Matters
Damian Carr at Soul Terminal
Daniel Roach at Daniel Roach.org
Daniel Sitter at Idea Sellers
Danny Kohn at Be Inspired Everyday
Daria Black at Figmeant Writing Studio and Community
Darlene Siddons at Spirited Boutique
Darren Rowse at Problogger.net
Dave Pollard at How to Save the World
Dave Schawbel at The Personal Branding Blog
Dave Schoof at Engaging the Disquiet
Davers at Language Trainers Blog
David Allen at The David Allen Company
David Bohl at Reflections on Balance
David Finch at David Finch.com
David Richeson at 360 Degree Success
David Rogers at How to Have Great Self Confidence
David Seah at David Seah.com
David Zinger at Slacker Manager
Dawn Vinson at Daydreaming on Paper
Dawud Miracle at dmiracle.com
Daylle Deanna Schwartz at Lessons from a Recovering Doormat
Dean Lacono at Law of Attraction for Beginners
Deb at Mind Body and Solar
Deb2012 at Fibromaylgia and Wellness
Debbie Call at Spirit In Gear
Debbie LaChusa at 10 Step Marketing Collection
Deborah aka Zephry1 at Climate of Our Future
Debra Moorhead at Debra Moorhead.com
Denise Mosawi at Destineering.com
Derrick Kwa at Sui Generis
Desika Nadadur at Desika Nadadur.com
Devlyn Steele at Tools To Life Guide
Diane Cese at Everything Yoga
Dick Richards at Come Gather Round
Dominic Tay at Personal Development for Winners
Don Simkovich at Hey Don
Donald Latumahina at Life Optimizer
Donald Trump and others at The Trump Blog
Donna Karlin at Perspectives
Donna Steinhorn at Rethinking
Douglas Eby at Talent Development Resources
Dr. Charles Parker at The Core Psych Blog
Dr. Hal at Northstar Mental fitness blog
Dr. Michael Shea at From Pain to Personal Gain
Dr. Tim Sharp at The Happiness Institute
Drew Rozell at Drew Rozell.com
Dwayne Melancon at Genuine Curiosity
E Murphy at The Active Life
Edward Mills at Evolving Times
Edward Smith at Bright Moment
Edith Brown at Jeteak Press Writer Blog
Edith Yeung at Dream Think Act
Elizabeth Badurina at Modern Gypsy
Elle Mgee at Ever Hopeful, Ever Thankful
Ellen Weber at Brain Based Business
Ellesse at Goal Setting College
Elly Jolly at Jolly Life Coaching
Emily G. W. Lilly at The Science of Waldorf Education
Emmanuel Lopez at The Adventures of Motivatorman
Enoch Tan at Mind Reality
Eric Boehme at The Blogging Boss
Eric Napier at Quotation Collection
Erin Pavlina at Erin Pavlina.com
Ev Nucci at My Life is Murphy’s Law
Evelyn Lim at Attraction Mind Map
Evelyn Rodriguez at Crossroads Dispatches
Evolving Excellence at Evolving Excellence
Farouk Radwan at 2KnowMySelf
Frank at Re/Transformation
Frank Kanu at Frank Uncovers Excellence in Leadership
Frank Roche at KnowHR Blog
Galba Bright at Tune Up Your EQ
Garr Reynolds at Presentation Zen
Gary at Personal Strategic Plan
Gerri at Absolutely True
Gilad Buchman at Sigsug
Gleb Reys at Personal Development Ideas
Glenda Watson Hyatt at Do It Myself Blog
Grayson at Modern Worker Blog
Greg Butler at holistic-personal-development.com
Greg Frost at ChargedAudio.com
Geoff R at Gearfire.net
George Vasu at 360
Golbguru at Money, Matter, and More Musings
Gretchen Rubin at Happiness Project
Gustav at Success-is-in-you.com
Guy Kawasaki at How to Change the World
Gyanish at Diethack
Halina Goldstein at The Inner Travel Journal
Hatter at Dreaming to Infinity
Hilda Carroll at Living Out Loud
Heather Goldsmith at A Creative Journal
Helgi Pall Einarsson at Everyday Wonderland
Henrik Edberg at The Positivity Blog
Holly Sumner at The Abundance Place
Honman at Open Your Mind to Prosperity
Hueina Su at Intensive Care for the Nurturer’s Soul
Ilyria at Finding Norway
Inkedmn at The Cranking Widgets Blog
Isabella Mori at MoriTherapy
Isha at Isha Yoga
Itzy Sabo at Email Overloaded
JC at Job Life Upgrade
Jacin Steele at Jacin Steele.com
Jack Vinson at Knowledge Jolt with Jack
Jackie at The Painted Veil
Jackie Ford at The Vegan Diet
Jacklyn Ker at Inspiring and Empowing Lives
Jarle Husefest at The Personal Development Blog
Jason and Michael at Black Belt Productivity
Jason Ivers at A Miracle a Day
Jason Womack at Fit and Effective
Jay White at dumb little man tips for life
Jean Browman at Transforming Stress Into Power and Cheerful Monk
Jeane Michelle Culp at Binding Ink
Jeanne May at Aspirations Plus
Jeannette Maw at Good Vibe Coaching
Jeanie Marshall at Empowerment and Meditation Blog and DailyAffirm: Positive Affirmations Day by Day
Jeff Davidson at Breathing Space Blog
Jeff Lilly at Druid Journal
Jeffrey Phillips at Think Faster
Jennifer at Goodness Graciousness
Jennifer Mannion at Heal Pain Naturally
Jenny Ryan at Using My Powers For Good
Jenny and Erin at Jenny and Erin
Jeremiah Owyang at Web Strategy by Jeremiah
Jerry Hart at Blue Print to emarketing
Jerry Lopper at Personal Growth
Jessa at clairvoyantGuidance.net
Jessica Hagy at Indexed
Jim stroup at Managing Leadership
Jim Walton at Black In Business
JoLynn Braley at The Fit Shack
Joan Schramm at Accelerating Momentum
Joanna Young at Coaching Wizardry
Joanne at I’m Happy Fish
JodeeB at You Already Know This Stuff
Joe Vitale at Dr. Joe Vitale at Zero
John Chow at John Chow Dot Com
John Pratt at John Pratt International
John Place at John Place Online
John W. McKenna at The Leadership Epidemic
John Wesley at Pick The Brain
Jon at Join The Secret
Jon King at The Effective Life
Jon Willis at Self Happiness
Jonathan at Smart Wealthy Rich and Freelance Folder
Jordan at The Abe Blog
Jory Des Jardin at Pause: Meaningful Work
Josh Bickford at Reach For Magnificence and Reach for Magnificence
Josh Kaufman at The Personal MBA
Joshua Denny at Catalyst for Change
Judy Martin at The Work/Life Monitor
Julia Rogers Hamrick at Julia’s Blog: Journal of the Journey Home to Eden
Julie Bonner at Declutter It
Kailani at An Island Review
Kammie Kobyleski at Passion Meets Purpose
Kara-Leah Masina at Be Conscious Now
Karen at Journey with Water Learner
Karen Lynch at Live The Power
Karen Wallace at The Clearing Space
Karl Moore at Karl Blog.com
Karl Staib at Karl Staib.com
Kathy Mallary at Coaching Biz Tips
Keith Ferrazzi at Never Eat Alone
Kelly at Kellymentology
Ken Dow and Martin Cooper at Creativity Happens
Kenton Whitman at kentonwhitman.com
Kevin Kinchen at Creative Power of Thought
Killeris at Attitude, The Ultimate Power
Kim and Jason at Escape Adulthood
Kim George at Doing What You Can Do
Kimber Chin at Client K
Kirk Nugent at Kirk Nugent.com
Kirsten Harrell at Ipopin
Krishna De at Biz Growth News and Todays Women in Business
Kristen King at Lively Women
K.L. Masina at Be Conscious Now
LJW at Heavenly Inclinations
Lauchlan Mackinnon at Think Differently
Laura at Heaven is Inside
Laura at Orgjunkie
Lawrence Cheok at A Long, Long Road
Laura Young at The Dragon Slayer’s Guide to Life
Leah Maclean at Working Solo
Leigh at The Lab
Lee Nutter at bmindful
Leo Babauta at Zen Habits
Liara Covert at Dream Builders
Life Reflection at Universe in a Single Atom
Lilifixt at Feel Happy
Lillie Ammann at A Writers Words, An Editor’s Eye
Linda Hernestal da Silva at Daily Power Walk
Linda Salazar at Awaken The Genie Within
Lisa Braithwaite at Speak Schmeak
Lisa Gates at Design Your Writing Life
Lisa Haneberg at Management Craft, Two weeks to a Breakthrough Blog, and Chile Pepper High
Lisa McGlaun at LifePrints – Good News for a More Compassionate World
Lisa Mills at Work at Home Mom Revolution
Lisa Q at 40s Singleness-Dating in Your 40s
Lisa Van Allen at Finish Strong
Liz at Internet Marketing Strategies
Liz Strauss at Successful Blog
Lodewijkvdb at How to be an Original
Lola Fayemi at Real World Spiritual and Personal Development
Lori Grant and Debbie at Smart Lemming
Lorie Marrero at The Clutter Diet Blog
Lorraine Cohen at Powerfull Living
Luciano Passuello at Litemind.com
Lucid at Spiritual Suggestions
Lumosity at Brain Health Blog
Lyman Reed at Creating a Better Life
Lyndon Antcliff at LyndonAntcliff.com and Cornwallseo.com
Lynn McTaggert at Living The Field
Lynne Morrell at Lynn Morrell.com and Musings From The Edge
MT at MindTWEAKS
Madame X at My Open Wallet
Maddy at Illuminated Minds Want to Know
Malathy Badri at Laws of Universe
Malcolm Campbell at The Round Table
Manny at Success Books
Maria Gajewski at Never The Same River Twice
Maria Garcia at Get Organized Now
Maria Palma at The Good Life
Marianne Williamson at Journal
Marion at Herbal Connection
Marilyn Jenett at Feel Free to Prosper and Feel Free to Prosper Ryze Network
Mark at The Naked Soul
Mark Forster at Get Everything Done
Mark LaPierre at The Winding Path
Mark McManus at Build Your Life To Order
Mark W Shead at Productivity 501
Martin Avis at Kickstart Daily
Mary K at Becoming Your StellarSelf
Matthew Cornell at Matt’s Idea Blog
Matthew M. Costello at The Winning Attitude
Meg Haworth at Life Lessons From Your Soul
Melanie Benson Strick at The Success Blog
Merlin Mann at 43 Folders
Michelle at aMusing My Genius
Michelle Moore at Happiness Blog
Michael Port at The Think Big Revolution
Michael Vanderdonk at TOACH Performance
Mike Janssen at Opgestroopte Mouwen
Mike Kemski at BANABU
Mike St. Pierre at The Daily Saint
Millionaire Mommy Next Door at Millionaire Mommy Next Door
Mimi Lennox at Mimi Writes
Mizzy Bohemia at Miz BoheMia’s Rhapsody
Mona Grayson at Question The Mind
Monte Ladner at Fitness Rocks
Moneymonk at Moneymonk
Mr.Wang at Mr Wang Says So
MsJayy at Jackie Young Writes
My Everyday Planner at My Everyday Planner
My Mind on Books at My Mind on Books
Mystical Monkey at One Mystical Monkey
NCN at No Credit Needed
Nancy Mills at The Spirited Woman
Nancy Tierney at Unconditional Confidence
Neal Donald Walsh at Conversations With God
Neil Patel at Quick Sprout
Nic Askew at Monday 9AM Blog
Nick Smith at Life 2.0
Nneka at Balanced Life Center
Organize-It at Organize-It
Pamala Slim at Escape From Cubicle Nation
Pamm Larry at My Secret Spiritual Dance
Patricia Klingler at Remarkable Women Speak
Patricia Singleton at Spiritual Journey of a Lightworker
Patti Digh at 37 Days
Paul at Paul’s Tips
Paul Piotrowski at Self Help Wisdom
Paula Kawal at Paula Kawal.com
Peggy Payne at Peggy Payne’s Boldness Blog
Penelope Trunk at The Brazen Careerist
Peter at I Will Change Your Life
Peter Aldin at Great Circle
Peter Haslem at Necessary Skills
Phil Gerbyshak at Make It Great
Philip J Eby at Dirt Simple.org
Philippe Matthews at Shockwealth
Pia at Courting Destiny
Priscilla Palmer at Personal Development Demands Success
Priya Florence Shah at Soul Kadee
Quint Jensen at Win Your Mind
Raymond Salas at Zenchill Powertools
Real Modern Man at Real Modern Man
Reg Adkins at ElementalTruths
Rhonalala at The Harder I Work, The Luckier I Am
Ricardo at Wake Up Tiger
Rich Schefren at Strategic Profits
Rick Cockrum at Shards of Consciousness
Rick Cooper at The PDA Pro
Ririan at Ririanproject
Rob at 7Breaths
Rob Cooke at Leave the Office
Robert at Compassionate Council
Robert at Myselfdev
Robert Ashcroft at PDSS Online
Robert Hruzek at Middle Zone Musings
Robin Skeen at Robin’s Reflections
Robin Yapp at Yapp 3.0
Robyn McMaster at Brain Based Biz
Roger Von Oech at Creative Think
Rolf F. Katzenberger at Evomend
Rosemary at Parkinson’s Disease and Peripheral Neuropathy
Rosa Say at Managing With Aloha Coaching
Ryan Marle at The Alpha Project
S.J. Yee at Personal Development for the Book Smart
Sam at Aquire Wisdom and Live with Passion
Scott Adams at The Dilbert Blog
Scott Andrew Bird at Scott Andrew Bird.com
Scott Berkun at Berkun Blog
Scott Bernadot at Keeping The Secret
Scott Ginsberg at Hello, My Name Is Blog
Scott H Young at Scott H Young
Scott McArthur at McArthur’s Rant
Secret Simon at The Secret of Life
Self Pursuit at Self Pursuit
Senia at Senia.com Positive Psychology Coaching
Seth Godin at Seth’s Blog
2 Know My Self at 2KnowMySelf
Shane Navratil at Zoomstart
Shaun Boyd at LifeReboot.com
Shauna Arthurs at Breathing Prosperity and Follow Your Path
Shaheen Lakhan at GNIF Brain Blogger
Simone at Dynamic Living
Simone and Mandy at Outfit Inspirations
Single Ma at Single Ma’s Fabulous Financials
Slade Roberson at Shift Your Spirits and Spiritual Blogging
Sleeping Dude at How to Wake Up Early
Sonora Jayne Case at Positive Realities Coaching
Sophiagurl at Life is Just Around the Corner
Spike at Organize It
Stacy Brice at Virtualosophy
Start Up Coach at Take Charge of Your Life
Stay at Home Mom at Insanity’s Oasis
Stephanie and Jeffrey at Brains on Purpose
Stephen at HD bizblog
Stephen Hopson at Adversity University
Stephen Shapiro at Stephen Shapiro.com
Steve Beisheim at Jumping Ship Happens
Steve Grossman at Why I failed
Steve Harper at The Ripple Effect
Steve King at The Green Geek
Steve Moore at Personal Development Blog
Steve Olson at Steve-Olson.com
Steve Pavlina at stevepavlina.com
Steve Roesler at All Things Workplace
Steven Aitchison at Change Your Thoughts
Success Current at SuccessCurrent.com
Sue Ann Edwards at Always Embraces All Ways
Sunny Schlenger at SunCoach.com
Surjit at Gurushabad
Susan at Got2BeGreen
Susan R. Meyer at Life Work Cafe
Susan Sabo at Productivity Cafe
Susie at The Accidental Environmentalist
Susanna Kompogiorgas at Flowing Chi
Suzanne Bird-Harris at Learning Curve Coaching
Suzanne Falter-Barns at Discover Your Joy
Takeshi at Nakayima
Takuin Minamoto at Takuin.com
Taylor at Mom’s Out There
Ted Demopoulos at Blogging For Business
Teesha Moore at TeeshaMorre.com
Terry Starbucker at Ramblings From a Glass Half Full
Therapy Doc at Everyone Needs Therapy
Thom Quinn at Qlog
Tiffany at Little Red Suit
Tim Ferris at 4-Hour Workweek and Lifestyle Design Blog
Tim Taylor at My Agapic Life
Tim Warren at Personal Development4U
Todd Goldfarb at We The Change
Tom LeDree at Tom LeDree.com
Tom Peters at Tom Peters.com
Tom Spanton at TRCoach
Tom Van Brunscot of Transformation Economy
Tony Chimento at Living Forward
Tony D Clark at Success From The Nest
Torlink at You Create Reality
Travis A. Sinquefield at Disorganizational Behavior
Travis Wright at Cultivate Greatness
Tricia at Blogging Away Debt
Tricia at Loving Farewells
Trizoko at Trizoko.com
Trent Hamm at The Simple Dollar
Trevor Gay at Simplicity is the Key
Troy Worman at Orbit Now!
Tuck Self at Rebel Belle Blog
Tupelo Kenyon at Tupelokenyon.com
Ubertech at Geeks Guide To GTD
Vanessa Vinos at Musings from a Life Coach
Vera Nadine at Vera Nadine.com
Vickie at Contemplate This
Wade Millican at The Middle Way
Wally Bock at Three Star Leadership
Wan Qi at Meditation Forum Mantras
Wanda Grindstaff at Creating Abundant Lifestyles
Wild Bill at Passionate Blogger
Winsome at Winsome Gunning Art Walk
Zale Tabakman at Success Through Balance
Zorka at Essential Life Skills
and these collaborated sites:
Blogher’s Religion and Spirituality “department”
Burst Blog
Change This
Change Your Thinking
Daily PlanIt
Did I Get Things Done
GTD Wannabe
Jobman2
Joyful Jubilant Learning
Life Coaches Blog Stratagies for a Greater Life
Lifehack.org
Lifehacker.com
Phattitudes.com
TED Blog
Transformational Girlfriends
Transfoundation
Unclutterer
And these for those of you who speak Russian:
Anatoly Tikhomirov at Personal Efficacy
Armen Petrosyan at Thought Storage #428
Irina Chelnokova at Women Path
Michael Subach at LifeIdea.org
Sergey Biryukov at Personal Development in Russian
Vitaly Kolesnik at Kolesnik.ru
Vladimir Rundan at Living is Great!

[tags]Outstanding Personal Development Bloggers, Priscilla Palmer, personal development[/tags]

Tips and Tricks: How to Write, Send, Reply, and Forward E-Mail

First I saw the “How-To” Group Writing Project at BlueJar.com. Then I read that Daily Blog Tips is sponsoring a group writing project with the subject of Tips and Tricks.

Since I’ve been planning a post to share tips and tricks on how to write effective e-mails, the post seemed to be a perfect match for both writing projects.

Internet-savvy readers may read this advice and say, “Well … duh … everybody knows that.” But look through the e-mails you receive every day, and you’ll realize NOT everybody knows that.

Writing an Original E-Mail Message:

• Write in language and tone appropriate for the subject and recipient – consider your audience. If you’re inviting your best friend to a barbecue, you can use emoticons and ROFLOL all you want. If you’re submitting a query letter to an agent, contacting a prospective client, or participating in a professional discussion in a business group, you want to send a professional letter.
• Create a good subject line for your message. The subject line is the headline that should get the recipient’s attention and make them want to read the message. It may also help your reader find the message at a later date. The subject is not the place to be vague or cutesy: “hi,” “here it is,” or “our conversation” – or worse yet, no subject at all – don’t give the recipient much of a clue about the contents of the message. Examples of subjects more likely to make sense to the recipient are “Query: Romantic Suspense Novel,” “Proposal for Networking Workshop,” “Follow-up on Our Conversation about Book Trailers.”
• If you need help writing the body of the message, look for specific writing advice, such as persuasive writing.
• Spell-check and proofread your message before hitting Send. Spell-check will catch many errors, but it won’t catch it’s for its, they’re for their, or then for than. It also won’t catch missing words (one of my big downfalls) or grammar and punctuation errors, so you need to read your message through – possibly several times.

Sending E-Mail:

• Be careful to type the name and e-mail address correctly. Your brilliant message won’t get results if it disappears into cyberspace because you used an incorrect address. If you’re using an address from your address book, double-check that you’ve selected the right name. Imagine my embarrassment when I accidentally sent a message intended for my husband to another Jack!

• If you’re sending to a group of recipients, consider using BCC rather than putting all the addresses in the To or CC line. In some cases, such as group e-mails within a project team, all the addresses should be public. In many cases, however, it is better to protect the privacy of your recipients.
• You can also send a group message with the recipients hidden. In most e-mail programs, you can create an entry with a generic name such as “My Clients” and include all the addresses. When you send a message to “My Clients,” everyone on the list receives the message, but it is addressed to “My Clients” instead of the clients’ names. This may be appropriate for a generic announcement – your vacation schedule, for example.
• At other times, you may want to send the same message to several people but make the message appear to be personal. Depending on your e-mail program, you can create a draft or send a message again, changing only the address and perhaps a salutation with the person’s name each time.

Replying to E-Mail:

• If the original message was addressed to multiple recipients, usually you want to “reply to all” so that everyone receives your response. For a team collaborating on a project, replying to the sender only will mean that not all members of the team are involved in the discussion. Information will have to be re-distributed, progress may be delayed, and some members of the team may end up working at cross-purposes.

• Sometimes you want to respond only to the sender of the message with a private comment that isn’t part of the general discussion. Make sure you hit “reply” rather than “reply to all.”
• Usually you want to include at least part of the original message in your reply. I have received replies to messages after several days that don’t include any of the original message, and I have no idea what the person is talking about (especially when s/he doesn’t use the same subject). If your e-mail program doesn’t include any of the original message, copy and paste enough of it so your reply makes sense to someone who has read hundreds of messages before receiving your reply.
• If your e-mail program includes the entire original message, consider snipping part of it, especially if it long. Including only as much of the original as is needed for understanding is critical in e-mail lists and discussion groups, especially those with an option for daily digest instead of individual messages. Reading the same message over and over again is annoying as well as time-consuming.
• On the other hand, I include the entire message when trying to resolve a problem or get a result. For example: You send an e-mail to tech support and receive a response that doesn’t solve the problem. Include your original message and the response in your reply – your second message may go to a different person, and it helps if s/he knows what has already been tried. Even if you are communicating with the same person, s/he probably won’t remember the details of your issue. Having everything in a single e-mail will save time.

Forwarding an E-Mail Message:

• Consider carefully before forwarding an original message you receive from another person. The message is the intellectual property of the writer, and the writer may not want other people to know what they wrote. Always obtain permission before you forward. Most e-mail discussion groups have a firm policy that nothing posted to the list can be sent outside the group.

• Although the cute sayings, jokes, photos, inspirational videos, political rants, and other miscellaneous “forwards” are not the intellectual property of the people who send them to you, they probably are the intellectual property of the originator. Two of my friends have had all the words from children’s picture books forwarded around the world in e-mail. The people forwarding the cute stories don’t realize they are violating the authors’ copyrights, but they are. They are also jeopardizing the income of writers who make their livings from books.
• Many of the “forwards” are hoaxes, urban legends, or outdated true stories. If you feel the urge to click “forward” every time you get an e-mail claiming you’ll earn money for forwarding an e-mail or begging you to add your name to an e-mail petition or asking for help finding a missing child, check the facts at Hoaxbusters, Snopes.com or Truth or Fiction. There is no way to track e-mail forwards, so there’s no way you’ll be paid or win a prize for forwarding an advertising message to X number of people. E-mail petitions are useless – every time a new person sends the message out, the petition branches off and just keeps going, with no central collection point. If you want to sign a petition, do so online where the petitions are collected in one central location. While your heart may be touched by the plight of a sick or missing child, you’ll find that many are outright hoaxes; most that are true are long outdated – the child has returned, recovered, or died. Once a message starts its way through cyberspace, it goes on forever.
• When you forward a message, delete all the extraneous information and send only the pertinent part of the message. Often several people will have forwarded the message without cleaning it up, so there are several sets of header information and comments like, “Awesome!” If you want your recipient(s) to know when and from whom you received the message, leave the major items in the headers (to, from, subject, date), but delete all the routing information. The only exception to this is if the header information will mean something to the recipient, for example, an e-mail to tech support for help with a problem or a message to an ISP complaining about spam.

Time-Saving Tips and Tricks:

• Create templates for messages that you send often: answers to common customer service questions, reminders of regular events, recurring messages. Depending on your e-mail program, you can save these templates as drafts or stationery. Just update and personalize the draft and send it as needed.

• Organize your e-mail using folders and filters. You may have to read the Help file (horrors!) to learn how to do this in your e-mail program, but you should find it worth the time and effort to set it up. I have filters on my incoming messages so that newsletters go into one folder and discussion group lists go into another folder. I have far fewer messages in my Inbox, and most of those are messages I need to read and respond to. When I’m rushed, I can ignore the newsletters and group lists.
• Keep your Inbox, Outbox, and Junk folders cleaned out. Every time I check e-mail, I go through my Inbox, read messages, and either reply, delete, or transfer them to another folder: Current Projects for items needing prompt action or the appropriate folder for storage. I have a folder for “Clients,” then subfolders for individual clients; a folder for my church, then subfolders for various ministries and projects; and folders for a number of organizations and projects. When I finish an e-mail session, I follow the same process with messages in the Outbox and delete junk mail. My e-mail program is set to empty trash when the program is closed. Your system will be different, but you may find you save a lot of time by keeping your Inbox empty and your messages organized.

Whether you’re a newbie to the Internet or a pro e-mailer, I hope you’ve found a useful tip or trick here. And I hope you’ll share your own e-mail tips and tricks in a comment.

Note added 9/19/07: Be sure to read the comments for suggested additions to these tips.

[tags]group writing project, how-to, tips and tricks, e-mail[/tags]

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