Tag Archives: Bob Mayer

ROW80: Alive and Kicking!

 
Is it Sunday already? Wow, where did the week go?
 

How was your week everyone? I have to say that my week went pretty well. Again, a rather peaceful week, although I did seem to pick up some kind of bug so it slowed me down a little, but all in all I have nothing to complain about. I know, can you believe it? Don’t answer that!
 

It feels great to finally be able to move forward and make some progress! 🙂
 
 

Okay, so are we ready? Here we go…
 
The dreaded check-in
 
Let’s take a look at how I did last week, shall we?…
 
 

Goals for Round 1:
 
 
1- Work on my current WIP.
 
This really could be combined with goal number two. But I am in the process of moving forward with both WIPs and also plotting a new story for my third novel.
 
 

2- Check in with Donna Newton at WWBC once a week.
 
Check. I did converse with Donna via email this week. Several times actually. Donna as we speak is now reading my number one WIP. She is all excited about reading it. Well Donna, let’s just see how excited you are after you’ve read it! LOL! Just kidding. I hate this part but I need to put myself out there.
 
 

3- Participate in my online class to help authors balance writing and business with Bob Mayer.
 
This will be the last week of our class. I had a lesson from the end of the previous week on “Command” which talked about taking command of our future as a writer and where the future of publishing is heading. He made some good suggestions for newbie writers and whether or not to self-pub or to publish traditionally and query for an agent. Then on Thursday Bob sent out our last lesson on “Complete” and how we now need to put what we’ve learned into action in order to succeed.
 

So as you can see I’ve now completed this goal and this will leave more time for me to work on my WIPs.
 
 

4- Blog at least once a week.
 
Yep, posted on Wednesday. I have to say that once a week is working for me. I think that it makes it easier for those who follow my blog to visit and comment. And I can’t thank you enough for all the support and wonderful comments that you leave on my site. You guys have been awesome! So awesome that I want to thank:
 

@wayneborean – “The Wana1011 Daily” and @vsandbrook – “The Internet Ready Fiction Standard” for placing an article in their e-magazines about my post this week!
 
 

5- Visit and support 5 bloggers per day.
 
I am happy to say that I have read actually more than 5 bloggers per day. As you know I made it a goal to visit everyone in the WANA1011 class and I accomplished that goal last week. I must say there are some really talented writers out there, so I want to encourage all of you to try to go visit them. And yes I am still trying to finish reading those amazing posts from the “Beauty of a Woman” Blogfest. I’m almost through. You girls are unbelievably honest and beautiful. 🙂
 
 

6- Tweet at least once per day.
 
Yep, I was able to meet this goal and I’ve been busy all week tweeting to support others. And I would like to take this time to thank these awesome people for all their support and Twitter love!
 

@Angela_Peart @JennettePowell @DianeCapri @DianaMurdock @_FabioBueno_ @SerenaDracis @AMckennaJohnson @Judythe2 @NatalieHarford @LenaCorazon @DebraKristi @BryanThomasS @PrudenceMacleod @GeneLempp @DebraEve @LindaAdamsVA @MyndiShafer @lisaHallWilson @jenjensen2 @colin_falconer @barrycrowther @ElaineSmothers @MarcyKennedy @LynetteBurrows
 

Thank you for your Tweets and Re-Tweets! I’m sending you all a big Hug!!!!
 
 

7- Exercise during the week.
 
I did exercise this week. I’m trying to get my husband out there on walks with me. It would seem that I am a social exerciser! I’m sure nobody’s shocked about this one. And so not to discourage him, our walks have been on the short side as his back is still bothering him. I know, not good. But I have to say he’s a good sport. 🙂
 

So now I’m looking forward to a fresh new start to this week.
 
 

Oh, before you go, be sure to check out these blog posts from this week that caught my eye:
 
 
I’m stealing this one from my friend Natalie Hartford because some of you have mentioned that you’ve been floundering as to what to write about on your blogs—myself included. Take a look at Anne R. Allen’s post on “What You Should Blog About”. In it she gives some very helpful suggestions on what to write that will help you build your author platform.
 

I found this post helpful, “25 Ways to Increase Blog Traffic”. Robert Lee Brewer gives some excellent advice on how it wasn’t until he got serious about his blogging efforts that he finally saw more traffic to his site.
 

Emma Burcart wrote a post this week on, “Looks are important, too!” Emma asks the question, “Do you prefer good looking characters, or average looking characters in the books you read?” What do you think? If looks are important to you in your writing, go take a peek!
 

Then last but not least, go take a few minutes and read Louise Behiel’s latest blog, “What Does It Take To Change?” Hmm, good question Louise. How many of us are really satisfied with our lives? Louise is starting a series of blogs addressing not only this, but other issues that will help us to make the needed changes that we all struggle to make.
 
 
Okay I did it. I got through another week and I’m not alone. There are others that are right beside me to help me along the way. So that I don’t irritate my wonderful supportive subscribers, feel free to delete my ROW80 posts if they start to irritate you. They probably won’t be all that interesting, unless…

Unless I can temp you all to join us over at the party at ROW80! Feel free to jump in anytime. See you there! 🙂
 
 

So what do you think? How did I do? I know I can still count on your support, right? Or you have my permission to come and give me a swift kick in the butt! LOL!
 
 
Thanks guys! I knew I could count on you!
Karen.

 
 
 

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ROW80: Kicking and Screaming!

I’m still Kicking and Screaming guys!
 

Why I’m posting today? I have no idea. This has got to be one of my worst ROW80 check-ins. And that’s not saying much since I’ve only been participating with this goal setting venture for six weeks. Truly, one would hope there would be more progress by now. But sad to say, no.
 

Well, I plead insanity by means of family (invasion); if there even is such a thing. I should ask Diane Capri. She’s an attorney. She would know about this kind of thing.
 

Diane, can family cause insanity?
 

Because slowly as each family member arrived, chaos erupted. Every day over the last week someone new appeared at our front door. Now mind you, we don’t have a large place, so by mid week our home looked like a bomb had detonated. Clothes flung here and there; luggage, boxes, bags, beer bottles, wallets, phones, keys, sunglasses, and shoes were sprawled out everywhere. Blankets, sheets, towels and pillows strung along furniture and floor since there were more bodies than beds. If we had connected all the cords from everyone’s phone chargers, I think we could’ve wired the house. And the kitchen… Well, I should have just set up a cot. But I won’t bore you with anymore of the specifics, but let’s just say I was doing okay with my goals until we hit Wednesday and then things started to rapidly deteriorate.
 

I think I now need to find a detox program from an overdose of too much testosterone.
 

Oh wait. I know just the thing!
 

I’m going to hop on over to August McLaughlin’s “Beauty of a Woman” Blogfest post. I think that might work. And by the time I finish reading all those amazing estrogen infused posts I hope to feel cleansed, refreshed with my womanhood restored, and fully equipped to approach the upcoming new week. Whew!
 

So do we really have to do this?
 

Okay, ready or not, here we go…
 
 

The dreaded check-in
 
 

Let’s take a look at how I did last week, shall we?…
 
 

Goals for Round 1:
 
 
1- Work on my current WIP five days a week.
 
Obviously I did not work on my WIP again last week. Who could have time for that with the explosion that went off (homeland invasion)? I did squeeze in a little reading with James Scott Bell’s, “Plot and Structure”. And even though my eyes may have been at half-mast, I think I was able to retain a little something from what I read in order to move forward with my novel.
 
 

2- Check in with Donna Newton at WWBC once a week.
 
I did not have time to get in touch with Donna last week. She probably thinks that I died and fell off the the face of the planet or something. But I want to thank her for tweeting about my post last week. That was encouraging.
 
 

3- Participate in my online class to help authors balance writing and business with Bob Mayer.
 
If you have the opportunity to take any of Bob’s classes, this is the class to take. It will help give you the mind set on how to become a successful writer. Last week’s lesson dealt with “Courage” and we were asked what our greatest attribute is. I don’t know if I have the courage to turn in my answer. LOL. No, I will get to this on Monday. Monday is when I am planning on getting my life back. And well, let’s just say I can’t wait until Monday. 🙂
 
 

4- Blog at least once a week.
 
Yep, posted on Wednesday. Did a little revealing about myself in that post. Something different that I don’t think people were really expecting. Then again, who knows from week to week what I might be writing about. I just hope that everyone had as much fun reading it as I had writing it. And I have another interesting post lined up for this coming week. So stay tuned.
 
 

5- Visit and support 5 bloggers per day.
 
This is the first time I didn’t do this. Well, that’s not really true. I did visit several blogs until Wednesday. After that I fell apart. Again, because of the family invasion.
 
 

6- Tweet at least once per day.
 
Okay, this didn’t happen either after Wednesday arrived. I must say that in my defense, it was a case of insanity in which I am checking with Diane on this. I think I have a verifiable case. Though I would like to take this time to thank these awesome people for all their Twitter love!

@LynetteMBurrows, @LisaHallWilson, @Angela_Peart, @DebraKristi, @DianeCapri, @KourHei, @SharlaWrites, @AugustMcLaughlin, @colin_falconer, @SJDriscoll, @DonnaNewtonUK, @SusieLindau, @GingerCalem, @SerenaDracis, @ColeenPatrick, @Allanmhhuj, @NatalieHarford, @ LenaCorazon, @_FabioBueno_, @ @LynNerdKelly, @traci_bell, @JenMariePowell, @CCMackenzie1, @KESaxonAuthor, @BethanyLopes2, @Shahw1, @AlleWells, @ReneeMJ, @JuliaIndigo, @barrycrowther, @stacygreen26, @BMcDowellOH.
 
I think I’ve got them all. I do apologize if I missed anyone. If you are not following these people, you should be. They really take the lead in supporting one another!
 
Thanks guys! I’m sending you all a big Hug!!!!
 
 

7- Exercise on my elliptical twice a week.
 
I’m thinking about taking this off my list of goals, but I’m going to give this one more week because of my insane family invasion. I did get one walk in with the brother-in-law if that counts for anything.
 
 

For all my family subscribers, just so you don’t disown me, I really do love you and thought we had a great time. I was kidding, okay? LOL! 🙂
 
 

So now I’m looking forward to a fresh new start to this week.
 
 

Whew, okay I did it. I got through another week and it was awful okay, though I’m not alone. There are others that are right beside me to help me along the way. So that I don’t irritate my wonderful supportive subscribers, feel free to delete my ROW80 posts if they start to irritate you. They probably won’t be all that interesting, unless…
 

Unless I can temp you all to join us over at the party at ROW80! Feel free to jump in anytime.

See you there! 🙂
 
 

So what do you think? How did I do? I know I wasn’t able to meet all my goals, but I can still count on your support, right? Or you have my permission to come give me a swift kick in the butt! LOL!
 
 
Thanks guys! I knew I could count on you!
Karen.

 
 
 

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ROW80: Kicking and Screaming

Well I am Kicking and Screaming in a good way this week!
 

First of all, can you believe it’s February already? What I want to know is, what happened to January? Is it just me or am I losing it? Okay, don’t answer that question.
 

Well, I’m happy to report that last week rocked! It was a busy week but I think I’m finally regaining my sanity and falling into a schedule. I didn’t have anyone in the hospital last week which made a huge difference, although for those of you who have been inquiring, Hubby did have a follow-up appointment with the surgeon and he is still in a lot of pain. Apparently, his recovery is going to take some time. So we’re in this for the long haul, but at least we know what to expect. Thank you all for your kindness and concern.
 

So ready or not, here we go…
 

The dreaded check-in
 

Let’s take a look at how I did last week, shall we?…
 
 

Goals for Round 1:
 
 
1- Work on my current WIP five days a week.
 
Although I did not work on my WIP again last week, I have been reading James Scott Bell’s, “Plot and Structure” book which as most of you know is amazing. In it, he suggests a daily ten minute exercise of writing sprints. So I have implemented this into my schedule and have been enjoying myself immensely. I think of it as greasing the wheels of my imagination. And while reading his book, I’ve gained confidence in the fact that I might just know what I’ve been doing in regards to how I’ve structured my novel. Who knew? It was an “Aha” moment for me and has given me a renewed determination to press forward and finish the editing on one of my WIPs.
 
 

2- Check in with Donna Newton at WWBC once a week.
 
I did connect with Donna this week. Can I just say that she is a doll! She is always there when you need her and is willing to do just about anything to help. I think after talking last week I’m slowly getting it into my head what needs to be done with my next novel. I cannot thank Donna enough for her support.
 
 

3- Participate in my online class to help authors balance writing and business with Bob Mayer.
 
If you have the opportunity to take any of Bob’s classes, this is the class to take. It will help give you the mind set on how to become a successful writer. Last week’s lesson dealt with “Change” and what we need to do to make the necessary changes in our thinking and decision making in order to succeed. For some of us this might not be an enjoyable task, but I love this kind of stuff.
 
 

4- Blog at least once a week.
 
Yep, posted on Wednesday and it was my very first interview and I was a wreck! Can I just say thank you for all your responses! You were unbelievably supportive to both myself and especially to Diane Capri for her launch of “Don’t Know Jack!” All the blog love, your comments, tweets and re-tweets on Twitter were amazing. Diane and I were both taken back at the response, but we shouldn’t have been. Because after all, it’s the WANA spirit that made the launch of her book a success! You guys are an awesome team! Someone asked me if I was working undercover for “The Today Show”. That was hilarious and a very nice compliment, but I don’t think so. I think for now I’ll stick with novel writing and my blog thank you.:)
 
 
5- Visit and support 5 bloggers per day.
 
Check. I’m seeing some awesome blog posts out there! Last week I told you all that I’m following Fabio Bueno’s advice and it’s working quite well. I’ve made it through half of my WANA1011 classmate’s blogs and it made me appreciate how much blog love I’ve received from all of you. For that I’m very grateful. But I was saddened to see that some are not blogging or have never started. I think we’re all realizing that it takes time to write these blogs and set them up on our sites, tweet, post on Facebook and more importantly, write our novels. And I know that sometimes we all might feel like giving up. I hope that won’t be the case because I see a lot of fantastic writing out there. So keep it up! Eventually I plan to make it by to see all of you!
 
 

6- Tweet at least once per day.
 
Check. No problem this week. Did that at least twice, if not three times per day. It doesn’t take long—five to ten minutes at a time. I like to skim through the columns to find those sweet tweets to RT. Again, it is my intention is to support others!
 
 

7- Exercise on my elliptical twice a week.
 
Well, uh…I got on that thing last Monday and it felt great. Then the week fell apart again. I decided this week that I’m blaming it on Diane Capri since she’s not here. Uh oh, whoops, hi Diane! LOL!! Oh well, baby steps. 🙂
 
 

So now I’m looking forward to a fresh new start to this week.
 
 

Oh, and before I go I must thank Prudence McLeod for the Kreativ blogger Award! Really, I can’t believe all this blog love people. Thank you so very much!
 
 
Whew, okay I did it. I got through another week and it really wasn’t so bad. And I’m not alone. There are others that are right beside me to help me along the way. So that I don’t irritate my wonderful supportive subscribers, feel free to delete my ROW80 posts if they start to irritate you. They probably won’t be all that interesting, unless…
 

Unless I can temp you all to join us over at the party at ROW80! Feel free to jump in anytime. See you there! 🙂
 
 

So what do you think? How did I do? I know I wasn’t able to meet all my goals, but I can still count on your support, right?
 
 
Awe, thanks guys! I knew I could count on you!
Karen.

 
 
 

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ROW80: Kicking and Screaming!

 
Why do I still say Kicking and Screaming?
 

Besides loving that caricature on the left,
 

I have never liked setting goals!
 

Someone last week encouraged me to keep putting myself out there. And as that person may not have been referring to my ROW80 goals, I think this is an essential way to move forward to meet that challenge. 🙂
 

So here we go…
 

The dreaded check-in
 

First I’d like to say a big thank you to all who have dropped by to support me with my ROW80 goals! You guys are fabulous! Really, I mean it! Since Jenny Hansen didn’t get a chance to stop by last week to kick my butt into gear because she is so super busy (No duh!), I kinda feel like I got away with something! But I can’t expect that to happen two weeks in a row! So I best get busy! LOL!
 

Let’s take a look at how I did last week, shall we?…
 
 

Goals for Round 1:
 
 
1- Work on my current WIP five days a week.
 
Uh, nope. Nothing happened again. Then I read Kristen Lamb’s post on Friday, which I must say was one of the best blogs she has ever written! “3 Steps to Freedom—Grab Hold of Your Brilliant Future!” I’m sure the post wasn’t written specifically just for me. I’m mean really who am I? But oh boy, did she ever make me think. Whew! I’ve been so overwhelmed with everything lately that I haven’t known where or what to start working on. Well let’s just say that her post really helped.
 
 
2- Check in with Donna Newton at WWBC once a week.
 
Yep, talked to Donna about my dilemma with my WIPs.
 
 
3- Participate in my online class to help authors balance writing and business with Bob Mayer.
 
This week Bob gave us an assignment that was an emotional brain burner. Really Bob, it took me days to get through it. I wanted to take my time and get the most out of the exercise. It was about our personality traits and how we can get in our own way and keep ourselves from succeeding. Amazing stuff.
 
 
4- Blog at least once a week.
 
Well what do you know? Yep, I posted on Wednesday and it was my very first Mash-Up! That seems to be a good day for me and I’ve received some awesome comments and support. Thank you all, I really appreciate it! 🙂
 
 
5- Visit and support 5 bloggers per day.
 
Check. Did that. There are some awesome blog posts out there. It’s nearly impossible to get to them all. So following Fabio Bueno’s advice, I set up a system. I took our WANA1011 class list with everybody’s blog site. I go down the list, one by one, and when I’ve finished reading a blog, I date it. That way I know when I last visited that blog. I’m trying to work through the entire list and visit everyone. Of course I’ve added others who were not in our class as I visit them.
 
 
6- Tweet at least once per day.
 
Check. Did that at least twice, if not three times per day. It doesn’t take that long. Ten minutes perhaps at a time. I like to skim through the columns to find tweets to RT. Again, it is my intention is to support others!

 
 
7- Exercise on my elliptical twice a week.
 
Well, uh…not much. I got on that thing on Monday and it felt great. Then the week fell apart. But at least I got on it last week, which is more than I can say about the week before. Baby steps. 🙂
 
 

So now I’m looking forward to a fresh new start to this week.
 
 

Whew, okay I did it. That wasn’t really so bad. And I’m not alone. There are others that are right beside me to help me along the way. So that I don’t irritate my wonderful supportive subscribers, feel free to delete my ROW80 posts if they start to irritate you. They probably won’t be all that interesting, unless…
 

Unless I can temp you all to join us over at the party at ROW80! Feel free to jump in anytime. See you there! 🙂
 
 

So what do you think? How did I do? I wasn’t able to meet all my goals, but are you all still behind me? Can I still count on your support?
 

Awe, thanks guys! I knew I could count on you!
Karen.

 
 
 

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Million Dollar Smash-Up!

Well really it was more like a four million dollar smash up and could be considered the most expensive car crash ever! Some of you may have already heard about it. It happened last month on a highway in Japan when a driver lost control of his car on a wet road while changing lanes and had hit a barrier before spinning back across the road.
 

 
The cars involved a total of eight Ferraris that included two Ferrari F430s (one was the race-ready Scuderia worth more than $400,000), two Ferrari 360 Modenas (each worth almost $200,000), two Ferrari F355s (each worth about $150,000), a Lamborghini Diablo (one of the most expensive supercars of the 1990s and still likely worth a handsome $200,000) and three Mercedes Benz.
 

Why I nearly broke down and cried. If you’re like me and feel the need for speed and love fast cars like I do, this was truly a heartbreaker.
 
 

But what I really had wanted to share with you today was a…
 

Million Dollar Mash-Up!
 
 
Blog posts worth a million praises that we could never put a dollar amount to!
 
 
 
Have you ever thought what it would be like to live without water?
 
Julia Whitmore has written a beautiful post entitled “Thirsty” about the fragility of life living with or without water. Go take a peek. I think you’ll find that this post will definitely quench your thirst.
 

On a Historical note, Debra Eve wrote an interesting post entitled “Edith Wharton: Beyond Downton Abbey”. Downton Abbey on PBS has become one of the hottest series on Television. It has an outstanding cast of talented actors and Julian Fellowes’ superb screenwriting captures conflict in every scene along with a stunning array of award winning costumes. That said, Debra helps us to see why Edith Wharton was really the true master of writing about this period.
 

Now let’s get technical for a moment, shall we?
 

Jenny Hansen is a well known name in the blogging world with good reason. She not only shares her knowledge about “Risky Baby Business”, but can literally knock you off your feet with laughter. As a Techie, she now has a series of posts on Triberr, a new network designed to help save time with all things Social Media. Save time you say? With Social Media? Where do I sign up? Don’t hyperventilate! You can sign up right here.
 

Well, well, well, who do we have next?
 

Does the name Bob Mayer ring a bell? Of course he does. Especially if you are a loyal subscriber to my post since I’ve been reporting on his class that I am taking.
 
What, you’re not a subscriber? Are you missing out!
 
Go now and sign up at the top right corner of this page. Don’t worry, I’ll wait for you…
 
(Tapping foot… Hmm, hmm, hmm…Whistles…Looks around the ceiling.)
 
Okay, are you done? Good. Thank you very much. You won’t be sorry! 🙂
 

Bob wrote a blog last weekend, on January 22nd to be exact, that dealt with a certain subject that most writers forget to put into the equation of this writing business. MONEY. That’s right. MONEY. Apparently most writers aren’t comfortable discussing this subject, but if you know Bob, he’s out to change this. Pronto! So check out his post, “Reflection on the Best Seller’s List vs. The Long Tail”. This will give you a goal to shoot for!
 

Since I just received my new Kindle a couple of weeks ago, this sweet tweet caught my eye immediately. (Don’t tell me Twitter doesn’t work.) In this post April Plummer wrote about how “The EReader Has Changed My Life and I Like It!” Take a look at this one as April explains how she was a die hard paper book reader and held out as long as she could until her husband introduced her to the iPad and now this girl is hooked!
 

Now last but not least, Amber West wrote a very touching post on her Friday Inspiration blog. I know, I know, it was last Friday—five whole days ago and there have been a gazillion blogs posted since then, but listen up. In this post Amber refers to herself as Oprah, only poorer. But what dear Amber did for someone who she didn’t know because of this horrible economy, is simply amazing. She has got THE biggest heart and we can all learn from her example. Please make the time and go read, “Social Media for the Good!” if you haven’t already. It is a wonderful story with a happy ending!
 
 

Okay, I think that about wraps this Million Dollar Mash-Up!
 
 

Please be sure to visit these fine people and leave a brief comment to share a little blog love across our talented blogosphere! 🙂
 
 

So what do you think? Have you had the opportunity to read any of these wonderful posts? Have you been able to keep up with reading your blogs? If not, why not give Triberr a try? And if you are already on Triberr, please tell me how you like it? How does it work for you and does it save you any time?
 
 

Thank you for your many fine thoughts and comments everyone!
Karen

 
 
 

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