Joanne the Coach

What Cybher taught me about blogging success

OK I know I promised you lots of hot blogging tips from Cybher, but as it turned out, it wasn't that sort of day for me.

Though  there were a few choice gems - turns out I have been getting it wrong in calling my competitions, er, competitions. Legally, a competition must include some degree of skill, and whilst it might be fun to see who's got the best reason for wanting a foot grater, you couldn't really call that a skill. So in the interests of keeping it legal, I'll be calling them giveaways from now on.

Rather than individual tips, I found myself thinking about the bigger picture, blog-wise.

Many sessions I attended talked of the importance of your blog having a clearly defined niche and a definite vision to pursue.

This is bad news for me, since I have no niche. My niche is me, and the things I am interested in. I'm a Muppet Me Party blogger in that respect, a focus group of one.

I was very struck this morning by a post from Mother's Always Right asking How do you define blogging success? because I realised that in 5 years of writing this blog I had never really stopped to think about that.

So I did, and this is what I came up with: For me, a successful blog is one that you want to keep on writing. And that's it.

All the other stuff is just sauce on the side.

Do you like your blog, this online space that grew out of your imagination? Are you proud of it and glad you took the time to make it? Does writing it make you smile, lift you up or help you feel satisfied that you've expressed your point of view? Does it make a positive difference to your world, and the world in general? Ultimately blogging success, unlike other flavours of success, is a journey rather than a destination. It doesn't matter if you're only making small ripples, because that's how big ripples start.

Obviously if you're blogging for business reasons or aiming to make blogging your full time job then your criteria for success will be very different, and much more clearly defined. But for the personal blogger who does it for a fun hobby, then this is what I think it boils down to. And I guess there is a business element to all of this because some people who read the blog go on to buy my book or become my coaching clients, and I would like that to go on happening. But it's not the driving force. If it didn't happen I would still write this blog.

I was with my daughter at Cybher, and you can see her take on the day in sketches over here. When we got home I said to her: It's not like I'm trying to push you into blogging as a thing to do. I'm trying to show you that people can create anything they want to if they pursue their ideas, and that the ideas that you have can become something amazing if you act on them.

I think she got it. That, to me is a successful day, and one worth blogging about.

What Roald Dahl taught us about writing

On Saturday we had a fizwhizzing trip to the Roald Dahl museum in Buckinghamshire. They're got a new exhibit which recreates his writing hut. And here it is:

 

This is where Roald Dahl worked every day for decades with almost ritualised repetition and precision. From 10 am every day, after the school run, he would settle into his chair, feet in a sleeping bag. The original hut was in the garden of his house, but he kept the curtains closed so the beautiful view didn't intrude.

After lunch Dahl had two Bloody Marys and a gambling break, then powered on for another afternoon's writing. He had a bar of Dairy Milk chocolate every day, and formed the silver paper wrappers into an impressive silver ball. You can see it in the picture above, near the top right hand side of the table. Every object on that table has meaning. Each is an essential ingredient. It looks like a random collection of stuff, but really it's anything but.

 If Roald Dahl was writing today, I wonder what would be different?  Would he still be writing in pencil on giant yellow legal pads, or would he have graduated to a keyboard? I don't think this hut would be the same with wifi. I can't see Dahl losing half the day arguing with that guy about that thing on Twitter.

I took away two lessons from Roald Dahl's writing hut - the first is to get to know your writing rhythm and work with it, not against it. For some people that will mean settling down in your favourite chair with a blanket round your legs. For others it might mean early mornings or late nights. There's no right or wrong way. There's just your way. The main thing is to write, and keep writing, for years and years. It's another kind of marathon.

The other lesson I picked up was a sense of a life lived - Dahl had the most amazing life, with all kinds of crazy dramatic shit happening throughout. Death, sweets and hanging out with Ernest Hemingway was just the start of it. I guess imagination doesn't prosper in a still pond.

So that's it then - live and write. And find a comfy chair to sit in. Also being awesome helps.

Writing job: Think you can be a sex columnist? There's a catch...

 

Yes this is a real, bona fide writing job from a proper publishing company who will pay you in actual money and not just vague whiffly promises of "promotional value".

Easy Living magazine are advertising for a sex columnist. The column can be anonymous, so your mother doesn't have to read about your penchant for nipple tassles. It's planned to run in the magazine for at least a year. Journalists in their thirties and forties may apply.

 

So what's the catch?

 

You need to be married /in a relationship for at least five years and have "at least two" small children.

 

So, parent of small children with enough of a sex life to write about. For a year.

 

*drums fingers*

 

No, I don't know anybody, do you?

Actually I can think of a few bloggers who could go for it, but they might object to the anonymous bit. Bloggers like to do it, tweet it, then display the evidence on Instagram.

Anyway, if you think you are that elusive parent of small children with an active enough sex life to fill twelve columns, and the ability to write well about it, here are the details - you'll have to  scroll down a bit, but it's there. At least it would make being on deadline a lot more fun.

How do you choose a book for book group?

It's a choice up there with what to name your children or what colour to paint your house, only more important - what book am I going to recommend to book group when it's my turn to choose?

The first time it was my choice, I went for a book I had read and really enjoyed - Thirteen by Sebastian Beaumont. It's set in Brighton where we live - even our local curry house gets a mention. The main character is a taxi driver, as is one of the members of the book group. How could it fail?

Actually, it did OK, but a few people had mixed feelings. And every time a criticism was murmured of the book I loved, I felt like I was being stabbed in the eye.

After that I decided that it was best for my sanity was to choose something I hadn't read before, so I wouldn't take it so personally if somebody didn't like it.

So I went for Me Cheeta by James Lever which was well-recieved, apart from those members of our group who were rather turned off by the monkey sex. Too vulgar, apparently. You can't please every body.

My next choice coincided with a Brighton Festival-linked initiative to get all of Brighton reading From Russia With Love, with free copies all over the city. They do that kind of thing round here. We didn't like it much. Blame the council.

After that I thought it was time to big up the local authors, so I went for (the very good) Contact by Jonathan Buckley. I like the idea of supporting current, local authors. Especially now I've got a book out myself, you know that every bit of word of mouth support matters.

But I don't like to be predictable, so my next choice was Room by Emma Donoghue, which seemed to be the novel of the moment which everybody apart from the members of our book group had read.

And now this week my turn to host and choose has come round again and I am all of a kerfuffle and don't know what to go for.

Is it time for a classic? Should I be brave and revisit a book I've read before? Patti Smith's Just Kids, which I loved, is out in paperback, maybe that's the one? I'm going to make lemon cake, which takes me neatly into The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake but maybe that's too obvious. Plus if we start theming the evening around the book then we'll all have to squat on the floor if somebody chooses The Tiny Wife.

I just don't know, what do you suggest?

Did I mention I have a book out?

Well I do, I really do.

A few days before Christmas, this turned up in the post:

So what started out as an idea is now an actual book you can buy on Amazon, hold in your hand, put on the shelf, prop up a wobbly table with, borrow from the library or load on to your Kindle. Heck, you can even read it.

Amazing. That is what happens when you chase an idea and keep taking action - just do that for long enough and eventually it becomes real.

And then it becomes a mug:

 

Last week I emailed all the contributors to let them know the book was out, which felt like a great thing to do, like handing out a late Christmas present. Except it's a one of a kind, money can't buy type of present to be able to say HEY DUDE, YOU'RE IN A FRICKIN' BOOK.

I love these posts from BareNakedMummy, Life, Love and Living With Boys, Boo, Roo and Tigger Too and Little Miss Madam and the Sunshine Duke, which really sum up all the excitement that I hoped the book's contributors would feel. Fun as a Gran wrote a lovely post too, followed by a competition in which you can win a signed copy (went out yesterday and bought a Special Signing Pen. This is no job for any old biro). You can also win a copy at Larger Family Life.

And now my days are concerned with minute by minute tracking of the book's Amazon rankings. I reached the giddy heights of Number 11 in the Kindle best selling books about toddlers chart (yes there is such a thing) and had to go for a lie down.

It's said that everyone has at least one book in them, but what happens when that book gets outside of you? Perhaps that's where the adventure really begins.

Why I'm supporting Home-Start with my book

I'm really excited that the publication date for my book about toddlers is only days away - it should be available before Christmas, in paperback and Kindle formats.

And even better news is that a chunk of the royalties will be going to Home-Start, the UK's leading family support charity.

What I like about Home-Start is that it's a very practical, hands on charity - volunteers visit families in their homes and give them whatever help they need, even if it's just playing with the kids so an exhausted parent can have a rest. It's very much a 'coaching' approach, since the volunteers don't tell the families what to do, they support them to help them find their own solutions.

The Home-Start service is free and relies on volunteers. These volunteers are heroes should be applauded for what they do.

However, cuts in government funding have led to some Home-Start schemes having to close. It's a shame when familes dealing with stress, illness and disability isn't a priority. I feel honoured to be supporting these families with my book. I wish the government felt the same.

Toddlers: An Instruction Manual was always designed to be a very practical book, full of real life advice and experiences that any parent of an under five can use and apply to their life straight away. So I think it's a good fit with Home-Start. If you buy this book you will be helping yourself, and other families whom you will never meet, but who will appreciate it. That's a good thought, isn't it?

But if you don't need a book about under 5's (and I appreciate that not everyone does), but you're feeling in a charitable mood, here's an easy way to do something about it. Last week I went to the launch of a new service called Give as you Live. This service means that every time you do online shopping with a major retailer (they've signed up all the biggies) a proportion of what you spend goes to a charity of your choice. You don't pay any extra, the retailer makes the donation by giving up a slice of its profits.  Given that it's suposedly one of the biggest online shopping days of the year, if you were going to spend it anyway, you might as well do it the Give as you Live way, and donate at the same time. You've got nothing to lose, whilst your chosen charity has everything to gain.

Desperately seeking mum and dad bloggers

I bet you're wondering how Book One is getting on. You're not? Oh come on, even just a little?

Well, there's been some progress. There's a title - Coping With Toddlers has become the much more interesting and fun-sounding Toddlers: An Instruction Manual. Thrillingly, there's an Amazon listing. There's (almost) a cover. There's around 45,000 words on paper.

What there isn't (and this is kind of a crucial element) is a finished book.

It's about 90% of the way there, but there are still some holes to fill. I'm going to need a little help here.

Get involved!
What I need are Mum and Dad bloggers with children aged two and above to add their voice to the book. It doesn't matter if your children are long past the toddler stage, because the main element I'm looking for is the kind of stuff you can only see in retrospect - a look back at what worked for you, and what you wish someone had told you before you had a toddler.

So if you've got a child, a blog and you'd like to be in a book that'll help other parents and raise money for a children's charity (10% of profits go to the NSPCC), get in touch at copingwithtoddlers@gmail.com and I will tell you more.

If you've already been in touch then don't worry, you're already in there. And everybody else - don't wait until the book is published to wish that you'd been in there too.

And if you can help in any other way - by linking to this post, retweeting it or blogging about it - then I will be incredibly grateful and put you on the waiting list for one of my SPECIAL HUGS.

image credit: Flickr, Mads Boedker

Social media for journalists: Part three - Getting work, getting paid and wasting time

And now the end of my presentation is near. How did I ever hope to cram this lot into 30 minutes and take questions as well? Daftoid. At least you know when you book me you get your money's worth.

Anyway, make sure you read part one of social media for journalists, which is an introduction to Twitter. And part two is all about LinkedIn and Facebook and some cool forums that'll help you get writing work.

Here in part three we're looking at what kind of social media work is available for journalists, what you might expect to get paid and how not to let all this stuff suck up more time than it's worth.

Social media work for journalists

• This could be tweeting or blogging on behalf of a client
  Essentially, it's the new copywriting, and much more dynamic than the old stuff. Could be worth suggesting to clients you've already written web copy for.
• Charge for time rather than per word
  Per word, the rates start to look pretty poor, so when quoting think in terms of what the client wants and how long that'll take you. Also take into consideration how much regular work can be guaranteed - £50 per 350 word blog post isn't great, but if you can finish it in under an hour and do 10 a week, it all adds up.
• An hour a day can add up to a lot more
  Typically, you might be asked to look after a Twitter feed for an hour a day, but any job which extends across the week will inevitably take up more mental space than that. Be realistic about what you commit to, and how that fits in with the other work you're doing.
• Other journos are charging from £300/day, or from £25/hour for social media work
  I did a mini survey and these figures were mentioned most commonly. So as a guide, you're thinking in terms of your copywriting daily rate.
• Clients may wish to pay a lot less!
  This is a brand new area of work, so the 'going rate' is still under negotiation. There will be clients who do not recognise that this is a skilled job for a writer and will expect to pay you in buttons. Whether or not you take those buttons is up to you, but remember that part of progressing as a writer is, on occasion, turning work down.

 

Social media for journalists: Part two - using LinkedIn, Facebook and forums to get work

Following on from the post about how journalists can start using Twitter for work, this is part two of my presentation to the Guild of Health Writers - here we're looking at other forms of social media including LinkedIn and Facebook.

(It was at this point in the presentation that I realised I had far too much to say.)

Using LinkedIn to get work as a journalist

• Fill in your profile to get your name at the top in Google searches
  LinkedIn ranks incredibly highly in search engines, so if somebody Googles your name (and editors will), your profile will pop up at the top. Particularly useful if you don't have a website for your journalism work (though frankly, you should). 
• Link your profile to your Twitter feed
  If you're using Twitter to circulate case study or other requests, link the two so both networks will see it.
• Ask for recommendations
  Get people you've worked with to fill in a LinkedIn recommendation to add to your credibility.
• Include keywords in your profile relating to services you can offer
  Recruiters are searching, so make it easier for them to find you. Nobody can offer you work if they don't know what you've got to offer.
• Join groups relevant to your specialism
  There're thousands of professional groups on LinkedIn, so there's bound to be a special little haven for you.
• Check out potential clients
  If you've got a meeting coming up with an editor, check out their LinkedIn profile to get the cut of their gib. *stalker alert*

 

One on, one in the wash

And here we are at the start of a new term of work. Book One has been written and sent off to the publisher's. That's not to say it won't come pinging back, scrawled all over with red writing saying Must Do Better. But for now at least it's done.

So how do you write a book in the school summer holidays?  Some writers I know stuck their kids in holiday camp, but I am much more hardcore than that. I simply let mine run feral for six weeks.

You know it's the end of the summer holidays when your TV is permanently stuck on CBBC and the dust bunnies have multiplied into a family of thousands. My children have entirely lost the ability to put on socks or go to bed before 9pm.