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Ever hammered a nail into a board, only to have it bend half-way through the wood? And when you take another swing at the curved nail, it squashes flat against the board. It doesn’t go deep to hold the construction together; it doesn’t form a strong bond.

Part of building an author’s platform includes creating a tagline.

A great tagline is a nail we can use as a connection piece across our social media sites, business cards, and email signatures.

Our tagline reveals who we are and what we do. It tells the purpose of our writing in a few concise words. 

courtesy of Arvind Balaraman @freedigitalphotos.net

A great tagline forms a strong bond with our readers.

 And we need to nail it in around three to six words.

I’ve been struggling to come up with the perfect tagline for the last month.

For my writing some of the keywords are

Courtesy of tiramisustudio @freedigitalphotos.net

“writing”
“humor”
“encouragement”
“sharing”
“God”
“love”
“uplifting”
“strengthen”
“renew”
“truth”

When creating a tagline,
be aware of the acronym it forms.

Here are some I rejected because of it:

Truth Written (to) Encourage & Renew People (T.W.E.R.P.)
Sharing Love Openly (to) People (S.L.O.P.)
Sharing Love Under God’s System (S.L.U.G.S.)
God’s Plan of Salvation (G.P.S.)

The list goes on.

What’s your tagline? How did you come up with it?

Now on to

 Jeanie’s Super-Secret Newbie No-No’s

Photo courtesy of graur razvan ionut @ freedigitalphotos.net

 

To recap what we’ve learned so far:
Week 1- Exclamation marks scream, “Newbie!”

Week 2- Annihilate Adverbs.

Week 3- Eradicate empty words. Really just skip them. I’m very serious.

Week 4- Use “Invisible” Words: said, ask, answer, and reply.

Week 5- Run off Run-On Sentences
This week- Clear out Clichés

Clichés are passé. We’ve grown up hearing them since we were knee-high to a grasshopper, but in writing they go over like a lead balloon. They stick out like a sore thumb. If we pull clichés out of the blue and use them in our writing, it throws a monkey wrench into our manuscripts. Make a last-ditch effort to show you aren’t wet behind the ears. Don’t let any grass grow under your feet–toss out those clichés like yesterday’s garbage ASAP. Bet ya’ dollars to doughnuts your readers will be tickled pink.

courtesy of rattigon @freedigitalphotos.net
See, most new writers don’t realize clichés will either bore editors to tears, or make them madder than a wet hen. They’ll throw your submission into File 13 faster than greased lightning. Your writing won’t have a ghost of a chance at being read. So fix it in two shakes of a lamb’s tail. Put your best foot forward and pull out all clichés to make your writing sharp as a tack. That’ll stack the deck in your favor, and you’ll hit the nail on the head every time.

Since we all need to move forward, my Current Lofty Goal (AKA something I need to do, but put off) still is create a tagline, which as you now know has been my lofty goal for the last month.

My latest idea is: Sharing hope, humor, and encouragement through God’s love. What do you think? I’d love to hear your suggestions.

What challenges do you face in your writing life? We at Wordsowers want to help. Connect with us here or on our Facebook page.

Great news: sign up for our new free monthly newsletter to get help delivered straight to your inbox. It’s easy–the button is on the right side of this page, near the top. And don’t worry, we’d never do anything spammy like share your info. That would be lower than a polecat.

You’re beginning to understand how necessary an author platform is, and after last month’s post, you realize it doesn’t have to be overwhelming to build one. But what now?
At this week’s Wordsowers meeting (that’s tomorrow night, September 11), I will present Foundations for a Great Author Platform. We will explore 5 tools you need to get started. In the meantime, here are 7 things to keep in mind as you get to work:
Start. Don’t put it off or you may find yourself in a pinch.
Simple action plan. The more complex it is, the more overwhelming it can be.
Salient message. Don’t muddy your message with a bunch of peripherals.
Stick to it. Keep accounts active. Keep going, don’t lose momentum.
Synergy. Connect and cross-promote with others. 
Savory. Make your message “tasty” and attractive.
Satiate. You cannot give out of an empty cup. Take care of the asset (that’s you).
And if you missed it, here is a short summary from my August post.
          Start early and work slowly to make it happen.
          Learn from the experts, then make your own way.
Formula for Building Your Platform:
Audience (know who they are and where they are) + message(content) + style (voice) + social media platforms (and there are tons!!!) + technique = Platform
 
Part of platform building includes face to face human interaction. Some people love it, others would rather huddle in their jammies behind the safety of their computer screens.
My most memorable non-writing presentation involved a 5′ Mexican King snake with his fangs embedded in my hand…but I digress.
pic courtesty of gubgib @freedigitalphoto.net
Since my baptism in the publication pool this past year, Chicken Soup for the Soul bought two stories, and the James Scott Bell team bought one for an upcoming Bethany House compilation. That encouraged me to help other new writers.
 I created a workshop to share what I’d learned, called, “Turning Writing Dreams into Reality. Tips, tools, and encouragement for beginning writers.” At its debut last month the room was filled with people I knew. And liked. Talk about putting a speaker at ease.
Even with my years of public speaking, here’s what I’ve re-learned:
1) Practice in the mirror. You’ll identify quirks, like squinting, repeatedly pushing up your glasses, wild gestures, or a zombie-like expression.
photo courtesy of Stuart Miles @ freedigitalphotos.net
2) Start on time even if people are still straggling in.
3) Remember to introduce yourself and your subject. Pretty helpful for those folks who sat down in the wrong workshop.
4) Bring your supplies. Have handouts, pencils, extra paper, business cards, books you’re selling, etc. Author Angela D. Meyer has a great post on what to bring to make set-up attractive and easier.
5) Factor how much time it will take to set up, and add at least an extra 1/2 hour to it. For example, before my last workshop I checked out my designated area. Everything looked perfect. But when I arrived Saturday morning, the event coordinators had reassigned my room due to technical issues.
pic courtesy of AKARAKINGDOMS @ freeigitalphotos.net
6) Instruct your audience to jot down any questions or unfamiliar terms, and assure them you’ll take questions at the end. They’ll have relevant questions and comments, but if you stop to address them you won’t have time to cover your material.
7) Reinforce it when they interrupt. “Great question. Please bring it up when we get to the question portion at the end.” And make sure you allow adequate time for questions.
8) Be honest. I explained at the beginning of my workshop that I’m a new writer sharing what I’ve learned so far. If you don’t know an answer, point them to another resource. My last class asked fabulous insightful questions. I referred them several times to Wordsowers. If you have no clue, admit it. No need to elaborate, “Unfortunately, at present I’m unable to address the specifics of your query.” A simple, “I don’t know, but Wordsowers will,” should cover most questions.

Now on to

Jeanie’s Super-Secret Newbie No-No’s

 

Photo courtesy of graur razvan ionut @ freedigitalphotos.net

 

To recap what we’ve learned so far:
Week 1- Exclamation marks scream, “Newbie!”
Week 2- Annihilate Adverbs
Week 3- Eradicate empty words. (Really just skip them. I’m very serious.)
This week-  The Invisible Man(uscript) Words

Said, ask, answer, and reply.
CeC Murphey puts it this way:
“…To keep the emphasis on the dialog itself, you can use four different verbs—I call them invisible—because they are so common, we hardly notice them. They are said, ask, answer, and reply.”
Sol Stein concurs in his holy grail, Stein on Writing. So 
Use “Said” for most of your writing.

Most new writers don’t realize the Green Bay Packers train with editors during the off season. When editors see,

                 “I don’t think so,” she giggled.
                       “I do,” he sighed.
                           “I still don’t think so,” she exclaimed.
                                 ” I think so,” he shouted.
They dispatch the Packers, en mass, to break down your door, tackle you to the floor, and kick your manuscript into oblivion using you as a field goal.

The entire mess can be prevented by using “said.”

Enough said.

Since we all need to move forward, my Current Lofty Goal (AKA something I need to do, but put off) is create a tagline.
How about you? Are you working toward a goal? If not, is something hindering you? We at Wordsowers want to help. Connect with us here or on our Facebook page.
Are you struggling with what to write about on your blog? If you’re anything like me, these are some of the thoughts going through your head:

Why would anyone listen to what I have to say?
There are already so many bloggers out there.
I’m not an expert in anything.

Let’s catch up with our resident beginner (fast becoming experienced) and ask her a few questions about blogging content.
Jeanie is a fellow Wordsower and newly published author with a story in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Miracles Happen.

Here on Jeanie’s Perspective, she shares the process of building her platform. Connect with Jeanie on her website or on Facebook.

What do you blog about? Do you have an area you stick with or do you blog about whatever is on your mind at the moment?
Recently I started blogging about the oddest or most challenging event of my week. I format it like this:
1) Share a true, usually quirky, event. Like when I hid from the nativity scene in my front yard, or cooked a possum.
2) Apply a nugget of truth, lay my soul bare, and ask who else might be struggling in that area.
3) Give encouragement through a related scripture.
Do you have a tag line/mission statement?
I thought “Truth Through Fiction” would be an awesome tag line. So did about a thousand other people who are already using it. My blog’s focus is hope, humor, and encouragement. I want people to know God’s crazy in love with them, ala John 3:16
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Do you ever doubt your choice for your blog topic? 
Pretty much every time I sit down to write it. The rule of thumb is “narrow your focus to broaden your audience.” I know it, but haven’t accomplished it yet. Last week I learned of an author who writes Amish science-fiction. Seriously. Now that’snarrowing your focus.
In order to determine what to blog about,
it helps to know 4 things.
Know your mission/purpose. Some people like to write a mission statement. If you don’t want something long and involved, try a tag line. Can you put in one sentence what the purpose is behind your writing?
For me, my tagline is “stories of surrender, transformation, and hope”. In other words, through each story I write (and each blog post) I want to encourage women in their faith walk. I think this tag line expresses that. Here are some questions to ask as you think about what your purpose is.
Where do you want to be in 10 years?
Is there a pattern of what God is doing in your life?
What is your personal life message?
What is your personal life verse?
 
Know your audience. Its common to want to include everyone. But the funny thing is, the more specific you get, the broader appeal your message actually has. When you have a very specific audience in mind, it is easier to get personal with them. Ask yourself:
What is their age range?
What is their gender?
What are their interest?
What are their talents /abilities?
What life issue/problem are you going to help them solve/answer?
What is their life circumstance (married, single, kids or no, working, retired, etc)?
What is it about their life that gets them interested in what you write?
Is your reader fellow writers or just readers?
 
 
Know yourself. You are the heartbeat of your writing. It’s how you shine through and stand out from everyone else. People are attracted to YOU, not just the WHAT you write.
What is your personality?
What is your passion?
What do you enjoy writing about?
What do you like to do?
What appeals to you to learn about?
What is your writing style? Don’t try to be someone else.
You are the heartbeat of your writing. 
 
Know what you know. People like to know you’re for real. And whether you outright state it or not, when you know something, it comes through. Your expert status shows. Ask yourself a few questions to shine some light on these areas.
What do you do in your spare time?
What are your talents and abilities?
When do people listen best to you?
What do people ask for your help with?
What is your degree in if you have one?
What are your experiences?
What topics “flow” out of you?
Do you see any common themes in these 4 areas? Take a minute and make some notes.
If you’re still struggling, ask those who love you to share their perspective. Write a few sample blog posts and run them by fellow writers. Then, if you’re still not sure, just START. As you blog, your spot-on-topic will rise to the surface. Don’t be paralyzed by fear or indecision.
Are you ready to get started? Did you get any aha moments as you went through these questions? 
If you have already started your blog, tell me what you blog about. 
Why start now?I don’t even have a book written.

Whether you self-publish or publish traditionally, you need an audience to read your book. That’s what building a platform is all about. For the most effective book launch, you want that audience built ahead of time.

When approaching publishers and agents, that is one key element they will look for.

For myself, involvement with social media was limited prior to my contract and the learning curve for building a platform took away from actual connection time with people as well as creative time to write my content.

How do I start without getting overwhelmed?
  • Keep it simple.Choose one social media venue at a time. Take time to learn the ins and outs before you add more.
  • Supply quality content, one blog post at a time. Don’t worry about offering the same amount of content as an established blogger. But keep your promises. If you promise to blog once a month or once a week, do so. People don’t like to follow links to dead ends. They want to discover what you do. Show them.
  • Focus on making connections. How would you connect face to face? Keep it real in your interactions. Be helpful, not just self-promotional. Visit other blogs and Facebook pages and comment. Join online writing groups and participate.
Think of everything you do online as a piece of the puzzle. You are building your reputation or brand as a writer. Your brand is what people come to expect from you. What you write about, how you write about it and what you do with it.
Action: Do you have a FB fan page? If not, start one (link back to previous FB article). This is a great place to learn how to interact with your audience. And if you’re not ready to start posting on a regular basis to a blog or feel overwhelmed at the thought, this is perfect. You can still share content – in bit size pieces.

Here are two previous posts about using Facebook to help you get started: Building a Platform Part 1  and  Building a Platform Part 2

A funny thing happened on the way to writing this blog. I could not upload a new profile picture. No matter what I tried. What did I learn? Sometimes, Facebook has glitches. And sometimes you just have to wait a couple of days. It took about 3 days of waiting and now I have a brand new picture!
Photos, Likes, Notes, videos and events come with the fan page. You have tabs for 12.
 
 Only 4 are visible unless you click on the little arrow to the right of the tabs.
 
After all the app boxes drop down, click on the little + in the upper right corner of the blank app box to see what is available. There are also some more choices under “find more apps.”
Otherwise apps are tricky to find. There is no central cataloguing system to find them. The best way I know is to look around at other pages and find one that you like. Click on that tab and somewhere on that page you should find a button to click to get the app for your own page.  Unless it was a custom app. Click and follow the directions to load it to your page.

Once your apps are loaded, you can customize the look. You can rename most of them, add your own photo for the tab cover and rearrange the order of them (except for photos-  the tab shows the last one that you uploaded).

To make changes to your tab, click on the little pencil in the upper right hand corner of the loaded apps(after you have dropped down all the tabs). If you want to change position, click on the app you want it to switch with. If you want to change the name or picture, click on edit settings.
Under edit settings, to change the name, type in what you want it called and your set. To change the picture, click on change picture. On the next screen, click on change and it will take you to another screen where you need to follow the directions to download the picture you want used as a custom tab. 
For sizing and cropping, use whatever photo editing software you have on your computer. The picture must be at least the minimum size referred to in Part 1 of this post. If it is too big, then Facebook will tell you when you try to download it. Adjust accordingly.
Please share what you have been learning in your Facebook experience so we can help each other grow in this area.

I’ve noticed a few common threads throughout the articles I’m reading while I work to build my platform. Consistency. Value. Engagement.
Consistency: Give your readers what you have promised them.
Frequency. If you tell them you will be blogging on Mondays. Then blog on Monday. If you want to blog 3 times a week and tell your readers, then do so. Better to blog once a month and be consistent than for your readers to never know what to expect. They will most likely move on.
Content. If they become followers on your blog because you write about your grandmother’s recipes, then all of the sudden you switch gears and talk about motorcycles, chances are you will lose your audience. Unless of course, you’re talking about recipes your grandmother used over the campfire while she toured the country on her motorbike.
Value: Give them something to make their lives better.
Listen. Find out what your readers want. What matters to them. Check out other blogs and see what gets people talking. Ask questions. Take a poll. Look at your stats and make adjustments according to which blogs attract the most interaction.
Make it count. Whether it is encouragement, education or entertainment, enrich your readers’ lives. I doubt they want to hear about how well you brushed your teeth. Unless you’re a dentist writing about the value of dental hygiene.
Engagement: Interact with your readers.
  
Talk WITH your audience, not to them. Invite them in by asking questions. Encourage them to comment by not filling in ALL the blanks. Make them a part of what you are doing. Give them ownership.
Call to action. Whether you ask them to like your fan page, leave a comment, retweet your message, or tell their friends, ask them to participate in some way.
There are more ideas out there than I could possibly write about. Undoubtedly you have found a few favorite tips of your own. Please feel free to jump in and share what you are learning.
Angela D. Meyer lives in Omaha, NE with her
husband and 2 kids.She is working to build her
platform while awaiting the release of her debut
novel Bruised Reed. Check out her website: