The horrible thought hit me: what if the email service dies? Like permanently goes away (as yahoo groups did). I’d lose years and years of information. So, I went to yahoo help and found there is no export of emails provided: https://help.yahoo.com/kb/backup-email-options-yahoo-mail-sln5033.html. These are your options:
Forward emails to another email address at another service
Print emails (or print to pdf)
Copy and paste emails into a document
Use a 3rd party app to download your emails
The first three deal with individual emails—talk about time consuming!!! The latter provides a link to more information: https://help.yahoo.com/kb/download-email-yahoo-mail-third-party-sln28681.html. Many creatives don’t have technical skills and may be frustrated following through with this method. I’m fairly technical and find it a bit intimidating. Plus, it has to periodically be redone.
Next, I searched on google for “Yahoo Email Backup Software.” Here are some I found that are rated well. Most work for PCs and Macs.
Right now it all seems overwhelming to me. So, I think it’s going on my “to do” list. Meanwhile, if anyone else has experience with this and wants to share, I’d love to hear what you do/have done.
When I started using Twitter, author Jenn Bailey taught me to use Tweetdeck. I don’t know why I stopped but recently I was reminded of its uses. One of my favorites is being able to schedule tweets. For some silly reason, I had totally forgotten this fact so was using my calendar to remind myself to tweet about things on a timely basis. Now I’m back to using Tweetdeck and scheduling those tweets. Ahh, the simplicity! (Tweetdeck automatically connects with Twitter. Here’s a tutorial on using the app.)
In a limited test, I noticed my posts with images got more traction (likes and retweets). The article on “17 Twitter Marketing Tips That Actually Work” agrees, and even mentions that emojis help. If you don’t have your own images, my favorite go-to site for free photos and illustrations is pixabay.
Analytics
Author Nancy Castaldo explained analytics to me. It’s how you can see what is happening with your tweets. On the menu on the left, click on More, then choose Analytics. Right now mine shows that in the last 28 days, my number of tweets is down 44%. I’ve had 635 visits to my profile—down 23%. Mentions are down 18%. However, followers have gone up by 10. And my top tweet earned 593 impressions. The top tweet with media (image) earned 231 impressions. So, what is an impression? How many times a tweet is seen. I’m sure these numbers are very low, but it is still interesting to see what is working.
You can also check an individual tweet. In the upper right corner of your tweet, click on the three dots, then chose View Tweet activity. You can then see impressions and engagements. Twitter explains right there on the pop-up window what each means. FYI, you can’t see analytics on someone else’s tweets.
Following Versus Followers
You want to have more followers that those you are following according to this article “How to Get Noticed on Twitter — 15 Tips for Writers.” So, I went looking for ways to cut down on who I was following. At first, I was manually looking at people’s profiles. I found some hadn’t tweeted for years! But what a time-consuming method. Internet to the rescue, there are programs that can suss out those people. The one I chose—easy to use and free—was UnTweeps. Here’s the site that introduced me to it. Am I there yet? Not quite, but it is more even than it was.
I hope this information is helpful. If you have any tips to add, please feel free to share in the comments.
Transferred recurring expenses from last year’s writing expenses to the new spreadsheet.
Entered January 1st car mileage (same as year-end mileage for 2020).
Writing Income**
A simple “save as” since I have a template that has my recurring payments.
Then, updated others with new tabs for 2021:
Instructional spreadsheet where I enter student lessons.
Google drive sheet for our online critique group schedule—we have a moderator each week and keep track of which two writers are presenting a manuscript.
These processes take an hour or two.
*The categories on Writing Expenses’ spreadsheet are:
date
expense item (event, address; postage to submit manuscript, etc.)
agent/publisher/magazine (and those extra details, if needed, such as to whom)
manuscript
mileage driven
other car expenses (tolls or parking fees)
advertising (website hosting, domain renewal)
office supplies (those things you need to run a home office: paper, printer ink, etc.)
travel (airfare, taxis, hotel)
meals (while traveling–only a portion is deductible)
misc (where I put conference fees)
I have a worksheet for each month with a year-end sheet that pulls the totals from each month and gives me a grand total.
**The categories on Writing Income are:
date
payment from whom or what:
teaching
critiquing
book royalties
flat fees
magazine and online articles/stories
speaking
amount
I have my spreadsheet set up to auto total all the amounts.
Time to double check the old year’s record keeping.
For me, I have to print out the expense and income spreadsheets to make sure that every entry has an amount (money or mileage as appropriate). I always find a few errors. Once they are all corrected, the reprinted sheets are stapled together by category so when all the other tax documents come in, we’re ready to do our taxes.
Depending how accurately I’ve kept records, this probably takes a couple hours.
I find this pre-work makes my record keeping easier and quicker.
In response to questions on KIDLIT411 (a Facebook group), I offered a free Zoom meeting today. About nine or ten writers participated and we spent about an hour together.
Getting ready for it–using a list of questions some had–I realized I’d done a live talk on a similar topic for SCBWI Oregon back in 2019. So, I took the PowerPoint from that, did some rearranging, and had a presentation.
My plan had been to record the Zoom meeting. I was almost done talking when I realized, I’d never pushed start record. Arghh. Next time I need a sign that says START RECORD right in front of me!
Since I can’t share the recording as planned, my husband reminded me I could convert the PPT presentation as a pdf. Wise man. Except it was too huge. He suggested we try google slides–it cut off some of my text. So, instead I chose outline view in PPT and copied the text of my slides and answered some extra questions I was asked:
ORGANIZING RESEARCH PROCESS
Keep track of those you are interested in!
You can do…
A Word document
A Word table
An Excel spreadsheet
Each tab a different agent (editor) and paste all your info including links
A pen and paper notebook
What info you may want to keep
Contact Info
Name
Email or link to submission form
usually forms are through agency—sometimes query manager
Agency/Publisher
website
Personal blog link
Twitter link
Where you found them…
What they want to see, such as …
Query or cover letter
Full manuscript, first ten pages, first 50 pages, first chapter
Synopsis – one page, brief, or …
Author bio
Comp titles
How they want it sent – email (attached or not–usually pasted in) or form (with link)
Created by HQ – you MUST be a member and be logged in: https://www.scbwi.org, then click on the three lines in the upper right hand corner, and choose Digital Workshops.
Someone else mentioned Jessica Faust and James McGowan at Book Ends Literary
How much time do you spend writing versus doing writing business?
It depends on what’s going on in my world. I don’t know how to quantify it either. When I’m burnt out on writing, I might go catch up reading newsletters, research agents, submitting. It varies week to week. I also do the latter when the in box gets too full! 😉
Is there a list of good agents versus bad? No. It’s too subjective.
What about Query Tracker? I’ve not used it. Developed my process before it existed.
I hope this is helpful to those who couldn’t attend.
Yesterday, a student who deals with depression and anxiety
and, like all of us, now this pandemic, said that looking at the instruction
manual felt overwhelming. Yet still she had sent in her assignment. In my
letter back to her, I commended her for her accomplishment and then gave her some
writing “work” advice.
Writing it made me aware of my own creativity. Or should I
say lack thereof. I’m finding it much
easier to do a student lesson, critique someone else’s picture book or novel,
than to actually create myself. It’s easy to jump on the news, Facebook (for
socializing), etc. I need to take my own advice.
We all have upheaval in our lives right now with social
distancing and worrying about the coronavirus. Some of you have children home
full time now. You and/or your spouse may be working from home which is another
adjustment. Or someone in the family has been laid off. It’s stressful. Perhaps
these suggestions for making writing “work” easier will be helpful to you, too.
First, pick one task
Get that one done today and stop. Don’t worry about other writing
things that need to be done. However, if doing one tasks leads you to wanting
to do more, feel free. Just don’t agonize over those days when you can only do
one thing.
But how do you know what task to do?
Set yourself a writing work schedule
1. Start by making a list of all the things you want to get done: – read recent children’s books – brainstorm ideas – research for one idea – work on first draft – revise a short story, article, picture book, or chapter – do market research – listen to a podcast on ____ topic – read blog posts on _____ – analyze feedback from others on my work – write a cover/query letter for _____ – submit manuscript _____
Be as specific as possible.
See more sample task ideas at the bottom of this article
and in the chart.
2. Commit to a time period whether it is a half hour or an
hour or two. Pick three to five days a week.
3. Next, if you can, prioritize you list in order of most important.
If none stand out, that’s okay too.
4. Then take your “to-do” list and plot them on a calendar OR
during each scheduled time just pick one off of your list.
5. Add and cross-off items on your “want to get done” list.
Word by word, project by project, if you spend a little
bit of time, you will make progress. Celebrate those accomplishments no
matter how small.
Here’s a chart suggestion for recording what you’ve done so you can look back on it and be encouraged:
Second, remember you are not alone
We are all affected. Interacting digitally with others can help us not feel so isolated. My critique group is using Zoom to meet weekly. Don’t have a critique group? Offer to exchange critiques via email with other writers. (You can find them through SCBWI.org, on the Blueboard, through Facebook and Google groups, etc.) Talk to others in these groups. Comment on blog posts or podcasts that you found helpful. Share those links with others you know. And/or share on Twitter.
Third, encourage yourself
I’m finding myself doing a lot of what I call “comfort”
reading—that’s rereading books that I know I’ll enjoy. Recently, it’s been the Harry
Potter books. I’ve also connected with some old friends whom I haven’t talked
to in years. I’m getting outside in the fresh air. What makes you happy? It’s necessary
to take a break from all the bad news and uncertainty.
Read recent children’s books. Whatever fits what you want to write.
A novel. A handful of picture books. Chapter books. What did you learn?
Research one magazine market. Read about the magazine
in the market book, go to the magazine’s website, read guidelines and editorial
calendars, and sample copies if available. Take notes, if you like. I often
write directly in my copy of a market book.
Search #MSWL on Twitter. Agents and editors give updates using
this hashtag.
Add sensory details to your short story or one scene in
your novel. Taste, smell, texture, temperature, sound, and sight. What
makes this setting unique?
Read an article on self-editing and practice one idea. Focus
on a weakness. Do you have trouble with dialogue or punctuation? There’s help
out there.
Read opening paragraphs in novels you like. Do you
see a pattern? Can you apply it to your work?
Write up the backstory for one character. Then you
can work in snippets of it throughout the novel. But beware of info dumps.
I could go on and on. All I know is doing something (like
this blog post) makes me feel better than doing nothing creative. I bet the
same will be true for you too.
