Day #27 Quotes for Writers

“Any man who keeps working is not a failure. He may not be a great writer, but if he applies the old-fashioned virtues of hard, constant labor, he’ll eventually make some kind of career of himself as a writer.” Ray Bradbury

The same principle applies to anything. If you stay with it and consistently practice, you can succeed at anything.
You may never be a best-selling author, but you can make writing your career.
Just as you would learn any other trade or skilled job, you can learn to write and be published.
The question is- Are you willing to stick with it until you succeed?
Click the button to read more in the series 31 Days of Quotes for Writers.

Image of boy at laptop keyboard courtesy of Morten Liebach on flickr

Day #15 Quotes for Writers

“The reason 99% of all stories written are not bought by editors is very simple. Editors never buy manuscripts that are left on the closet shelf at home.” John Campbell

It’s true.
Many of us write things only to let them sit at home unpublished.
As I type these words I’m surrounded by notebooks full of my unpublished work and I know of at least two full books I have on a flash drive collecting electronic dust.
What keeps us from submitting our work?
Fear.
Procrastination.
Unbelief.
Laziness.
Distraction.
Lack of knowledge.
Life.
It’s time we pulled those potential bestsellers off the shelf and sent them to someone.
I’m in, are you?
To read more in the 31 Days of Quotes for Writers series, click the button.



Stack of papers image courtesy of jenni from the block on flickr

Pinterest and Writers

My name is Bonita and I’m a Pinterest addict.

If you don’t know what Pinterest is then stop reading right now. You’re better off. Once you know, you’ll be an addict too.

But if you must know, the Pinterest help page tells you all about it.

I enjoy Pinterest for several reasons:
-It’s beautiful- so many lovely pictures.
-It’s a social media site that’s way more fun than Twitter or Facebook.
-You can find and learn about anything there.
-You can share your own great stuff and other cool things you find.

It can be a great resource for writers. Check out some of the boards I’ve made specifically for and about writing:
This one is called Writing, Writing, Writing.

Next is Humor for Writers.

How about Books by People I Know?

Or you can check out all the boards by Bonita Lillie (me).

How can Pinterest specifically benefit writers?
-We can learn more about writing via posts that are pinned.
-Things we write can be pinned by ourselves or others so our audience grows.
-When others pin our stuff over and over it’s basically free marketing.

Sounds like a winning situation to me!

But there are drawbacks:
You might have noticed that little red button in my sidebar that looks like this:

That button gives you permission to pin posts from this blog. I also have one on my Reality Homeschooling blog. (Click the red button and you will be taken to a site where you can get your own.)

Why do you need permission? Pinterest is fairly new and growing rapidly. Unfortunately, a lot of copyright laws are being violated so we have to be careful about what we’re pinning. I’m currently in the process of weeding through my hundreds of pins to remove anything that violates copyright and to make sure that I’m only pinning things that are okay to pin. This could take a while!!

To find out more info about how to use Pinterest, check out these posts:

The Ultimate List of Pinterest Tips

Pinterest and Copyright: What I’m Doing

Pinterest Pet Peeves

56 Ways to Market Your Business on Pinterest

Pinterest: Everything You Need to Know is in This Massive Post

It’s Not Just Pinterest Re: Copyright and Legal Issues

How Your Website Can Profit From Pinterest Today

If you have any comments or ideas to share about Pinterest, I’d really like to hear them.

Topics That Never Go Out of Style

If you’re suffering from writer’s block, let me suggest a few topics that are both broad and forever popular.

Health- Obviously, January is the big month when everyone goes on a diet and starts exercising, but people want information about health in all seasons. Whether you write about getting healthy, staying healthy, or what to do when you discover you aren’t healthy, this topic is always fashionable.

Finances- Money is big, big, big! People want to know how to save, how to earn, and how to invest. They also want current news about the national economy and what to expect in the future.

Women’s issues- Most readers are women. And they like to read topics that apply to their lives. Women’s health, marriage, parenting, friendship, balancing career and family. This is a huge topic!

Decorating- Blogs, magazines, TV shows—everybody seems to want to know how to beautify their homes and lives. Interior decorating is widely popular on blogs especially.

Fashion and Beauty- The trends are always changing, but the topic is always in style. People want to know how to look their best. They also want to stay current and know what to expect in the future. Even the outrageous is acceptable in this genre.

How-to –People want to be taught. They like to learn new skills and have step-by-step instructions to follow for anything and everything.

News- Whether it’s current events or juicy celebrity gossip, people want to know what’s happening in the world around them.

Technology- It’s here to stay and if you happen to be someone who can explain things well, or who keeps abreast of all the latest advances, this is your topic.

Inspiration and Motivation- Encourage, motivate, cheerlead, inspire to dream and achieve. Anyone who can make others feel better and move forward will always have a place in society.

Stories- Stories will not be going out of style any time soon. Spin a tale and tell it well and you will always have an audience.

Those should keep you busy for a while. Can you think of other topics that never go out of style?