Month: July 2016

Blogging tips

Does your #WordPress need a tune up?

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bloggingtips

 

Heads up people! Today’s lesson is about another mysterious WordPress issue it seems many of us have been encountering.

 

We all talk about crazy things WordPress does, sometimes without our knowing, leaving us in the dark, only to be discovered when something goes awry, or by another blogger who points out their findings, as I discovered.

 

Well, for a few weeks I hadn’t been receiving quite a few blog posts I follow. It took me awhile to realize because I receive at least 50 notifications on any given day. And sometimes I’ll notice that one of my favorite bloggers hadn’t posted in awhile and I’ll pop over to their blog manually to check if if they’re okay and see if I missed any posts. Usually I’ll find they may just be on a blogging break. But sometimes I find I’ve missed a slew of their posts.

 

This finding has happened to a few bloggers I’ve chatted with who’ve had the same problem. This prompted me to go into my ‘managed follow’ under the reader drop box in the upper left corner of our blogs. And voila! I found that WordPress had ‘magically’ turned off all forms of receiving notifications for many blogs I wasn’t receiving. So I carefully went down the list of blogs I follow, and re-selected how I preferred my notifications and turned them back on.

[bctt tweet=”Are you missing blog posts you’ve subscribed to?” username=”pokercubster”]

 

So, my advice today is to go to your notifications and manage your subscriptions and follows. And try and make it a practice to check on those every once in awhile to make sure WordPress isn’t up to their shenanigans and playing hide and seek with you too.

 

Now I’m sure my 50 posts will become well into the 70s flooding my inbox, but what’s a blog addict to do?

 

Have any of you noticed you weren’t receiving the usual flow of blogs in your inbox or reader?

Social media sharing

Are We Lost in #Social Oblivion?

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Social marketing

 

Today I’m going to share my thoughts here on the madness of social media, and book promoting, and our constant battle to keep up with everything social media to stay afloat with our presence.

 

I’m speaking for myself, but I know my thoughts are shared by many a writer. As writers, we all develop our routines, and although every one of us has our own methods of tackling our ‘to do’ lists, if we’re writing books, much of what we do will involve ways to market our books using social media.

 

With the explosion of new authors and books in the past few years, there are waves of cries to ‘buy my book’ in order to be heard through a sea of social media blasts. I sometimes feel as though I’m drowning in that sea. But I don’t wish to become one of the ‘hard sell’ authors, and I don’t even spend nearly enough time or dollars doing the amount of marketing I’m urged to do through all the social outlets I follow and with all the subscriptions I read from newsletters telling me about another method to push my books.

 

Sure I read many articles to stay abreast. I’ll bookmark pertinent information and save it to Evernote for the time I’m ready to tackle it. But with all I read, I still can’t bring myself to become an aggressive marketer. I have my daily routine planned the night before with my list of things to accomplish, and that keeps my plate full as it is. As much as I want to try a million new ideas out, there are only so many hours in a day. So I prioritize with my book writing days and my blog post days. I’ve learned what social media sites I gravitate to most. I’ve built friendships and followers who I can chat with, share with, or just have a simple ‘thank you’ for sharing rapport with for dedicated sharers. I read many blogs, and like and comment where I feel like contributing, and if I enjoyed a post, I’ll share it to my social sites.

 

This routine I have was never a strategy to gain followers, but somehow it had led me to gathering readers and making some wonderful friends along the way. This is who I am, and I don’t wish to conform to being one of those hounds shouting hashtags to ‘buy my book’.

 

And what may have prompted me to write this you may be thinking?

 

I came across an article yesterday while reading my morning newsletter subscriptions. This is part of my morning routine with coffee in hand, my morning newspaper. I check my personal emails first thing in the morning, and catch up on what’s going on with the writing and publishing world with my Indie newsletters. This is usually when I send out my Twitter tweets while I’m reading articles. Some also get sent to Google and Linkedin and my Facebook author page. But I check Twitter once a day only, every morning, because I have a lot of writers that follow me, and I know some will find these posts informative because I’m sure that’s why they followed me in the first place. I know my posts are interesting to some because I’ve gained quite a few followers in the past few years, and I can honestly say I never search for people to follow, they find me, and I decide if I will follow back based on the criteria I have for following back.

 

My usual stipulations for NOT following back are: They use an egg as a replacement for a photo, no bio or website, hard sellers, or promisers to get you hundreds of followers for a price, or of course pornographic posts. I don’t hesitate to follow someone just because they may have few followers. I’m not looking for popularity, but sincerity and something informative offered. I always follow back authors because I believe if they took the time to follow my posts they’re eager to learn, especially if they’re new and just starting their platforms. This is just the way I roll in life with the people I congregate with and develop friendships with. If they’re sincere, forthgiving, and informative, I’m in.

 

Now, the reason I’m sharing this here today goes back to 2 relevant posts I came across from 2 articles I read in parts from a writer, Delilah Dawson from Whimsydark.com. She wrote about herself not being one of ‘those authors’ who are constantly pushing their books at every opportunity. She makes a pertinent point in her post that if people like you, and like what you have to say they may just follow you and buy your books because of those qualities, and eventually, hopes that word of mouth become our best marketing tool. Her point is to keep writing and doing what works and states that current trends don’t necessarily dictate what works for everyone.

 

The articles resonated with me because that’s what I do. I do my thing, and socialize where I enjoy being best, not trying to dance at every wedding (every social site) because there just isn’t enough time to do everything. Below I will give you a sampling of the two posts with the link to continue reading. I think you will find them good reads.

 

http://www.whimsydark.com/blog/2015/4/13/please-shut-up-why-self-promotion-as-an-author-doesnt-work

“Spend your energy and time being kind to your colleagues, thanking your publishing team, and making new friends with no expectation that you will eventually use them to claw your way to the top. Before you Friend another writer on Facebook, make sure it’s because you legitimately want to know them better and be part of their life and not because you’re planning on sending them an Event invitation or a link to your book… Continue Reading 

 

And here is her follow up article:

 

http://www.whimsydark.com/blog/2015/4/14/wait-keep-talking-author-self-promo-that-actually-works

 

“Adding value means passing on truly helpful links, retweeting job listings or calls for submissions, wishing someone a happy launch day, recommending books you’ve enjoyed, discussing the news of the day in a respectful and thoughtful manner, talking about an upcoming event, or generally saying things that make someone’s day just a little brighter. Over time, people will begin to trust you as you repeatedly add value to their life…Continue Reading 

 

I hope you enjoy these posts and take something from them as I did. They confirmed to me that I’m doing just fine the way I’m doing.  And please feel free to leave me your comments because I’d like to know where you guys stand on the marketing front.

 

And PS, this article reminded about how lame I’ve actually been this year with a serious lack of book promos. So not to be pushy, lol, I’m giving you a heads up that my book, Words We Carry, will be free on Amazon all of next week. You can be sure I’ll post it. Yup, that’s the extent of my ‘buy my book’ process.

 

 

Blasty

Keep Calm and #Blasty off #Piracy

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BLAST OFF

Hi people! I know, so unlike me to post twice in one day, but I just wanted to share something of interest I came across last night while reading a post from a fellow blogger, Damyanti’s blog.

 

She mentioned a new site called Blasty . This is a new site still in beta. It’s created for writers and artists to enroll their books and anything copyrighted to be flagged to your account if any suspicious ‘BUY’ links are found from pirates on Google. When suspicious links are found WE are then given the right to ‘blast‘ the link right off Google ourself! Imagine that, we don’t have to go through the ringers to submit our findings, begging them to take them off, we have the power to blast them ourselves!

 

Natch I joined! Once you’ve joined and submitted your own copyrighted content, it takes 12 days until you’re accepted because they have to verify you are holder of copyright and that takes time. BUT if you share and get 3 people to sign up, they will push the registration to 1 business day! They will send you an invitational link by email to share with others in case they want to join. And not only that, if you join now while it’s in beta stages, they waive the fee!

 

As a published author, it’s a no-brainer for me to have Google babysit the pirates, so I’m in. The site has a great FAQ section and little videos demonstrating how to use Blasty correctly and efficiently. You can even ‘unblast’ if you’ve blasted something in error.

 

Anyhoo, I suggest you check it out. And I’m leaving the link here with my invitational code to their site for you to visit, so if you sign up from my link, they’ll know you were invited there, and I’ll get to add the rest of my books in one day instead of 12.

 

You know me, always glad to pass on great info after doing the investigations. So if you decide to sign up who wouldn’t, please go in through this link https://www.blasty.co/invitation/bituzNcZ so I can get my books up by tomorrow. Then you will be emailed your own ‘invite’ link and you can ask the same of others.

 

Note: I already have a follow up post to this Read Here  to see how many books of mine are being pirated.

 

Please let me know what you think about this.

Reblog and featuring

The R’s of Life – Chapter Five – #Relationships – A tangled Web | Smorgasbord – Variety is the spice of life

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Reblog and featuring

Sally Cronin has taken on a new venture of writing her next book on her blog in weekly chapters. Sally’s newest book – The R’s of Life, is about the important things in life pertaining to the letter ‘R’.

 

In this poignant chapter, Sally talks about ‘relationships’, how our younger lives interactions can play an important role on the relationships we choose to form when we get older, our choices, happiness, and the compromises we choose.

 

The R’s of Life – Relationships – A Tangled Web

 

So far I have covered respect, recognition, relations in previous chapters, which leads me very conveniently into relationships.

 

Multiple personality disorder is where a person can exhibit different personalities without any of the others knowing anything about it. Whilst this is a recognised mental health disorder, we all in fact have something similar when it comes to relationships.

 

Think about it. In essence you are a different person to both the groups of people in your life such as family and close friends, and also to individuals that you meet along the way.

 

In the last chapter I talked about our relations including our parents, siblings and extended family. Even within that tight knit group, you are either perceived by or behave differently with individuals within it. You are likely to have a different relationship with your mother than with your father, and that too will depend on whether you are male or female. As will your interaction with a sister or brother, grandparents and cousins. . . Continue Reading 

 

Source: The R’s of Life – Chapter Five – Relationships – A tangled Web | Smorgasbord – Variety is the spice of life

Reblogging is flattery

#WordPress Post Editor Changes. | ronovanwrites

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wordpress-552924_640 (2)

Many of you may be aware, and possibly confused with the changes in the WordPress editor. Ronovan has written a post with detailed graphics on how to navigate those changes.

 

Do note that this article is intended for WordPress.com bloggers, as these tools are not automatically available on self-hosted sites, such as mine.

reblogging

“There is nothing permanent except change.” – Heraclitus With that being said, you may have noticed the changes in your WordPress Post Editor. Let’s look at the two obvious …” Continue Reading

Source: WordPress Post Editor Changes. | ronovanwrites

Menowhat? A Memoir, D.G. Kaye

#ExcerptWeek – MenoWhat? by D. G. Kaye | The Write Stuff

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Marcia of Marcia Meara Writes is a generous blogger, not to mention a fantastic writer/author, who promotes the works of other authors on her blog. Incidentally, Marcia has just released the third book in her Wake-Robin Ridge series. Please visit her books HERE

 

Today I was invited to share an excerpt from my book, MenowWhat? A Memoir.

menowhat thumbnail 100x150_72dpi

Excerpt –MenoWhat? A Memoir by D.G. Kaye
FROM HIP TO WAIST WE JOIN 

Until we actually live through something, it’s difficult to imagine what the experience is like. When I was young but nearing menopause, I became interested in how the physiques of menopausal women began to change. Women come in all shapes and sizes, but I noticed that even the waistlines of smaller women weren’t as proportionately small as their slight frames suggested. I was certain the dreaded middle-age spread would not apply to me, and I referred to it as circumference expansion.

As we approach the early stages of menopause, estrogen begins to cozy up to our midriffs. Then, when we reach menopause, our depleted estrogen is replaced by cortisol-induced fat cells. Cortisol compensates for estrogen loss and loves to store fat cells around the belly. Thanks again, estrogen, for abandoning us and leaving us with an unfair trade-off of fat as your substitute! This is certainly a cruel punishment for those of us who worked so diligently to stay on top of our weight issues.

As a woman who had spent most of her young life on diets and lived fearfully by the scale, I was sure this phase would spare me. I thought it was simple: If we let ourselves get out of control and eat too much, of course we’ll gain weight. I believed that if I was disciplined in my diet and exercise regime, I wouldn’t have a problem with my waistline expanding.

Wrong again… Continue Reading 

Source: #ExcerptWeek – MenoWhat? by D. J. Kaye | The Write Stuff

Featuring author

Be a Lucy | Teagan Geneviene | Pulse | LinkedIn

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featuring

I thought the timing was perfect today to share one of Teagan’s Thriving Thursday posts she shares weekly on Thursdays at Linkedin. Thursday

posts are always uplifting and reminders to be kind and to love ourselves.

 

Today Teagan is telling us to ‘Be a Lucy’. Read the post below so you too can become a Lucy (or perhaps a Larry if you’re male).

 

Thriving Thursdays – by Teagan Geneviene

 

I’m the first to admit it, from kindergarten through senior-level careers, we’re expected to be just like everyone else (but do more with less and faster than everyone else who is just like you).

Don’t you think it is better to be valued for who you are?  If you pretend and pose as something other than yourself, then you’ll never know if they accept and want you or the facade. 

Does it seem difficult to consider being who you really are?  I know the idea frightens a lot of people.  Well, there’s one key to successfully being yourself.  Love you. . . Continue Reading

 

PS While you’re on Linkedin reading the post, you may want to connect there with Teagan so you won’t miss any of her inspiring Thriving posts.

 

You can also visit Teagan at her blog Teagansbooks

 

Source: Be a Lucy | Teagan Geneviene | Pulse | LinkedIn

Forgiveness

P. S. I Forgive You by D. G. Kaye | The Write Stuff – #Writing #Memoir

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PS I Forgive You

I’d like to thank Marcia Meara for encouraging me to share some of my work in progress. I know this is something many authors have done, but I always tended to shy away from sharing work still in draft.

 

Last weekend Marcia invited me to share an excerpt of my newest, upcoming book, P.S. I Forgive You. So below, you can read a sneak preview.

 

I can honestly say that this book has been the most difficult to write of all my books. Writing in memoir can sometimes be painful, but in the same token, cathartic. Reliving unhappy memories as I write, inviting others in to read my stories, my hope is that others can take something from it, perhaps find a place in their own hearts to learn forgiveness.

 

Thank you, Marcia for inviting me over again to share an excerpt of my work in progress. I’m going to admit I am a bit gun-shy because I never usually share my unpolished work, and please keep in mind this is only a second draft.

This segment is from my upcoming book P.S. I Forgive You. This is the sequel to my memoir, my first book, Conflicted Hearts, which was written and published while my narcissistic mother was still alive. This new book is closure to the hurts from emotional abuse and neglect, with understanding, and ultimately the forgiveness I found for my mother.

 

Excerpt from WIP – P.S. I Forgive You

 

Karma

It was up to me to break the bad Karma, according to the psychic reader and seer of past lives I was highly recommended to visit, while I was in Sedona, Arizona, early September of 2014.

After she informed me about events that would occur in my life in the coming year, Rayne granted me three questions. Being the skeptic I am, I was careful not to reveal much when having the reading done, in order to gauge how much the reader could tell me without my volunteering information. I merely nodded my head in affirmation when she’d say something accurate. Then I proceeded to ask her my questions.

I asked a minimally phrased question to Rayne, not wanting to divulge anything about my mother. “What about my mother?”

“What about your mother?” Rayne replied. She stared deep into my eyes with an inquisitive raised eyebrow. She looked at me in question, perhaps waiting for more before she told me she didn’t feel the presence of my mother in my life. My eyes held her gaze for a moment, but I didn’t offer another word.

Rayne proceeded to take a large, ancient-looking deck of cards out of a black velvet bag. She informed me these were not regular tarot cards, but her personal cards, handed down to her from past generations from her home in Thailand.

Dominating thoughts of my mother plagued my head with the guilt once again in that moment while Rayne shuffled the cards. I couldn’t seem to stop dwelling on the last time I abandoned my mother seven years before, because I knew, she wouldn’t live out the current year. My torturing thoughts nagged within, battling my indecision about whether or not I had to go see her and say good-bye before she died. Even though I knew it would have been a fruitless exercise, and would have only subjected me to more abuse, I still couldn’t manage to shake the guilt I carried. . .Continue Reading 

 

Source: #ExcerptWeek – P. S. I Forgive You by D. G. Kaye | The Write Stuff