In today’s depressed American economy, it’s nice to find a profession that is stable and rewarding. There are numerous positions within the medical field which meet that description, and medical billing and coding jobs are two of them. Medical offices, clinics, rehab centers, pharmacies, hospitals, spas, etc. are always looking for qualified medical billers and coders to make sure that health insurance companies are correctly billed for services rendered. This is an integral responsibility because it brings in the money that keeps these establishments running. In many ways it’s akin to accounting work.
One cannot expect to quality for a medical billing or coding job without the proper education and certification. You will have to go through a medical billing and coding program in order to pursue a career in this field. Concorde Career College is a trade school that has numerous locations throughout the United States, including one in Jacksonville, Florida. Billing and coding is one of the numerous medical training programs they offer. Another option for Jacksonville residents is United Career Services, which also has training available specifically in medical billing and coding. They will provide certification upon completion of the prescribed training program and will also assist in locating suitable employment. A background in other accounting work will be helpful, along with good computer skills and the ability to pay attention to detail.
With the aforementioned large selection of work locations that medical billers and coders have at their disposal, it’s safe to say that this is a career that is in high demand. In fact, there are even opportunities for a medical biller or coder to work from home, which further adds to the flexibility of a profession that is being looked at more and more as “recession proof.”
A good news release consists of a short introduction. Journalists call this an ‘intro’. This should total perhaps no more than 25 words. Bear in mind that your text needs to answer the ’six salient questions’: Who, What, Where, When, Why and How? Your intro will cover most but not necessarily all of them. Keep your article short and simple (Kiss). Remember, news is something new and unusual (see Galtung and Ruge, ‘News Values’ in Wikipedia).
The second sentence or ‘lock-in’ builds on the news in the intro. By paragraph three you will probably use the best or ‘killer’ quote from the main source for your story. Always attribute a quote to somebody.
1. A news item should be in a readable font size, usually 12 point Arial or Times Roman and double-spaced.
2. The article should be given a unique keyword to identify it. This is called a ‘catchline’. For example, an article about a poisonous snake sent, undetected in the post, might be catchlined “snake” and each page of the news release then numbered Snake…1, Snake…2 etc. This information is placed in the top right-hand corner of every page.
Do not use: 1. A subject’s name, i.e. Blair, because, if they are famous, there could be lots of stories about them in one day, or the name could be confused for that of a fellow journalist. Or, a word so general, like health, that there might be many stories on the subject similarly catchlined. A good catchline will ensure that every page of your news release can be easily identified in a busy media office.
3. The by-line, the journalist’s first name and surname, should appear at the top left of the page.
4. Between the byline and catchline should be placed the date on which the article was written. This information helps the editor to judge whether an update will be necessary, especially if the article is a time-sensitive news story.
5. Your text should have a simple headine of perhaps no more than three words above the intro, telling the reader what the article is about. Try not to attempt a catchy tabloid-style headline. Sub-editors jealously guard their job as the headline writer.
6. At the bottom of each page, to tell the reader that there is more copy to come, put MORE FOLLOWS, More or just MF (centred).
7. To tell the editor that the article is complete put the word End or ENDS on the last page.
8. Don’t forget to include your full contact details on the first or last page.
Importance of Presentation
Proofread, proofread and proofread. Check the spelling; don’t rely solely on spell check. There are some words that are spelled correctly that are not the word you meant to put in the sentence.
Check the grammar. Again, the word processor’s grammar checker is good to a point, Use the word processing software as your helper but remember that you are the final judge of accuracy. For each news release draft, no matter how small, create a word processing document, name and save it on a disk, memory stick or on the hard drive so you can easily get back to it later. Keep a printed ‘hard copy’ in a safe place.
Writing style and completeness
You are expected to write clearly and concisely - using complete sentences that flow logically from thought to thought.
Assume that your reader has not read the materials on which you are reporting. Explain the issue to your reader as if she or he knows absolutely nothing about the subject. Don’t assume that your reader has an understanding of jargon or terminology or that he or she knows about the products, services or personnel of the organisation for which you work.
Sources
Since you are not necessarily an expert on the subject about which you are writing, it is essential that you source the information provided. Even if you are just using facts from a document or webs site, cite the paper, book or internet source. This will give your writing credibility and authority. If you don’t source, it will look like you’re trying to claim the information as your own creation. You don’t want to be accused of plagiarism.
Be objective.
Try not to use “the first person” (I or we). Carefully put together an outline before you begin writing.
Bullets and short paragraphs
Break the material into short paragraphs; using bullet points if necessary. Even with bullet points, use complete sentences and be meticulous with grammar and punctuation. Don’t rely on the computer to correct all your errors. If you use bullet statements, be consistent.
In many cases, the best use of bullet points is to make each statement a complete sentence with a capital letter at the beginning and a full stop at the end.
In some cases, however, you may want to use a “lead-in” sentence opener. Make each bullet statement complete the sentence from the lead-in opener. And be consistent.
When using bullet statements, it is usually best to single space within the bulleted statements and double space before and after the statements begin.
Use Positive Tone
Write in a positive and lay-person’s style. Your objective should be not to unnecessarily offend anyone who might potentially read what you have written on behalf of your organisation. While every issue you write about won’t necessarily be completely upbeat and enthusiastic, each can achieve a proactive note.
Be conversational
Make your writing sound conversational. Take care to avoid sounding stuffy, stiff, or uncomfortable. Don’t use slang or inappropriate language. Connect with the reader in the same conversational style that you would if you were in the same room with him or her having a conversation. So, don’t use jargon.
Take time
To achieve the best, most positive tone for your news release; you must take your time when writing. You can’t be in a big hurry. This is particularly important as you develop your writing skills early on.
Proofread again to spot typographical and formatting errors. Read the text out loud to make sure it sounds right.
Use your own words
Please do not get in the habit of reading printed text and online information and just doing a “copy and paste” into your news release.
The highest form of successful writing is learning from what you’ve read, summarising it in your own words and reporting what you’ve learned. Practice. It is very important that you develop your own style of writing. When you use someone else’s words, it sounds like someone else wrote it.
Put the full name and phone number (including out of hours mobile) in the contact details at the end of the news release. Additional factual information can be provided in a Note to Editors after the contact details.
This might include biographical facts and a short chronology of relevant events. For ideas about news releases, have a look at examples of them on the websites of local councils and the government news network (www.gnn.gov.uk)
Marc Wadsworth, freelance journalist from the UK’s citizen journalism website. uncovering news about almost forgotten subjects, and keep tabs on the news that doesn’t get reported from the angle you would like. www.the-latest.com
You’re in the shower, waking gently to warm water streaming down your back. The day has barely begun, the smell of breakfast is wafting through the house and you’re at peace with the world.
Without warning your sleepy naked body is raked with scalding hot water.
Somebody is cleaning their teeth again without checking if you were in the shower first - or maybe they did check and flushed it anyway in a fit of early morning pique.
Sliding across the bathroom floor in pursuit of the perpetrator is fraught with danger and you fall spectacularly onto your back in a puddle of cold water, banging your head on the sink for good measure.
It takes a positive mental attitude, repeated affirmations and luck to turn the day around from here.
Back to the shower the hot water has run out leaving a cold shampoo rinse, the blunt razor tears one side of your face off and applying after shave to the open wound is a poor choice of treatment.
Going to the toilet looks simple, but the process has been sabotaged by a carefully laid strip of Glad Wrap. The added shock of no toilet paper sparks a burst of bad language and a frantic search for a mop and bucket.
Hot buttered toast will make everything better.
Or not. Today it would have been better to go back to bed and hide under the covers. It may not be safe, but it’s comfortable.
Breakfast this morning consists of burnt toast, sour milk on your corn flakes and coffee with three tea spoons of salt stirred into it.
One shoe is missing, the other has a shredded lace which breaks half way through tying. Every sock is an odd sock and your expensive new white shirt has turned pink. A heated argument over whether it’s pink or mauve sends you out the house early and into the car that hasn’t a hope of starting.
You should give up, but no.
The grinning taxi driver is an old school friend, who chooses this morning to tell you that your colour blind soul mate is someone he slept with after they both got drunk at a school ball 20 years ago - and isn’t life ironic.
Yes, isn’t it.
After thumping the taxi driver and trying to explain yourself to the stern man in the police station, you turn up late for work with a neat pile of documents giving the time, date and venue of the court hearing.
You are in no mood to turn the computer on at work but you do, only to watch the confounded thing turn itself off again, and again, and again ….
Lunch is a half eaten plastic box containing partly digested dog biscuits and the children’s half eaten porridge. How the dog found or why it chose to throw up in your lunch box is a mystery, but by now you accept it as inevitable.
I saw my star sign for Pisces one day which said “Do not go out today. Everything you touch will either drop off or explode. Friends really don’t like you, even your mother has a hidden agenda. Trust no one, especially not your partner who is having an affair with your best friend. Check the paternity of the children you thought were yours.”
Obviously the writer was going through ‘one of those days’ and had scribbled down her thoughts in jest. Picked up by an enthusiastic copy writer it had managed to find its way into print.
It’s important to remember that children have ‘off’ days too. I know a four year old princess who stomped down the stairs in a soaked nightie during her parents flash dinner party, stormed into the dining room and demanded angrily “Which one of you bastards left the toilet seat up so I would fall in?”
If you’re having a bad day it’s best getting it into perspective. If we cant be happy today, now, it’s probable we wouldn’t be happy anywhere, at anytime.
Irrespective of those who say they love you, but still clean their teeth when you’re half asleep in the shower.
Good days can turn bad which in turn can turn good again. Who knows. Writers and illustrators can start off in the morning with nothing going their way and, alone, they struggle to justify what they are doing with their life. After all, if no one is buying or even lookibng at their work, what is the point?
However, we are only ever a moment away from our lives changing forever. And changing, or rather transforming the lives of young people everywhere is what a website called: http://www.chocmint.ws is doing. Illustrated e books for children, by the authors and illustrators themselves. And a chance for young writers to join in and see their work published.
No matter how badly the day is going, it always turns around.
About the Author
Robert Daniel
www.chocmint.ws
Writer, children’s author, specialist teacher, dad, multiple pet owner, soccer fanatic, Welsh Australian.
E mail robddaniel@yahoo.com for more information, and one free consultation with an AWESOME life coach - if your wish is to have a life you love, and you agree to be coachable :o)
If you’ve never written a book, then you probably do not know about the absolutely hair-raising, hair pulling, hair losing, event of meeting a deadline. It is somewhat like article or column writing. Except, when you write a book, you agonize to the point of losing sleep, losing your appetite, losing all desire for carnal pleasures, over the simple question,
“Are there any errors in the manuscript?” {1}
When you write a column or article, and if it is a paying gig, the editor is going to read it and question you up one side and down the other about,
“Where’s the quote for this?”
“How do you know such and such?”
“I want you rewrite paragraph #10 and make it tighter.”
(I wish I had never heard the phrase “tight writing”.)
Now, book editors will do this too. And, when push come to shove, with you and the editor going over what you’ve written with a fine-toothed comb, you hope for the best when press time comes. If you end up with some typo, grammatical boo-boo, misspelled word, or inaccuracy in some fact, then both you and the editor can throw you hands up in the air and say,
“We tried.”
And, I might just add right here and now, errors do happen. Even when there are lots and lots of sets of eyeballs looking at a manuscript, errors are going to creep in. Have you seen a Danielle Steel novel lately?
What terrifies me the most isREADERS!
I once read something by the famous travel editor, Bill Bryson, who said something to the effect that if you forget to dot an “i” or cross a “t”, readers will most certainly take the time out of their busy and meaningful lives to drop you a multi-paged letter to tell you about it.
And, he is right!
In the first book I coauthored with my wife, there were “boo-boos”. I have spent many sleepless night worrying that perhaps we should apply for passage on the next space shuttle and ask them to drop us off on the nearest inhabitable planet. The reason for my worry is that readers, of course, have gone to great lengths to point out these errors in the public forum on Amazon.com.
Thank you very much!
In our first book, The Plain Truth about Living in Mexico, we wrote with the intent of offering something different than the usual expatriation books. The books that do exist on expatriating to Mexico are good. I have actually enjoyed reading all of them, and I’ve read some more than once. But, we wanted to write this book with a different slant. Why write something that was the same old stuff rehashed?
In case you do not know this, once you’ve submitted a manuscript, the editor is supposed to go over it with his editorial magic wand and find the mistakes. Then, you get the galley proofs back and you, the author, review it again for errors. Well, we found the errors in the manuscript, made a doc file, and sent it to the editor.
Lo and behold, the book came off the press with the errors still in it. Now, I have eventually gotten over this since it will be rectified in the next edition. We will revise. The errors do not distract from the text and you can read the book in spite of the mistakes.
The ones not so forgiving are the readers.
I have tried to understand this. I really have. And, all I’ve been able to come up is a feeling of sheer terror! Maybe I need to talk to someone.
As an author, I want to produce the best work humanly possible. I do understand the reader might feel “slighted” if the book isn’t also PERFECTLY edited. I can see if an entire paragraph is missing or duplicated (my wife showed me a novel she has where this really happened), making it hard to read the chapter, then I get that.
In our book, two lines “jumped” within a paragraph and the word “college” came out “collage”. Now, remember, we caught these errors. They were not fixed.
Rather than putting away my pen, we have coauthored another book, GUANAJUATO, MXICO: Your Expat, Study Abroad, and Vacation Survival Manual in the Land of Frogs. This is due for release this summer.
And, I am here to tell you I have been sweating blood over this book! “What if there’s a misspelled word?” “What if there is some hideously monstrous mistake somewhere?” I cannot sleep for worrying over this! (Did I say I might want to talk to someone?)
My wife, the copyeditor in this family, has labored to the point of exhaustion over this new book. Not only has she edited this new one but also has written two chapters in it and has done some rewriting.
Can a book be perfect? Can even one of the huge publishing houses make a mistake? Can the big-name authors, published by the hotshot houses in New York, miss a period, misplace a semicolon, miss some grammar mistakes, produce something unworthy of the reader’s time?
Did I ask you if you’ve read a Danielle Steel novel lately?{2}
###
{1}I always tell people there’s only one trick to writing: You have to write something that people are willing to pay money to read. It doesn’t have to be very good, necessarily, but somebody, somewhere, has got to be willing to pay money for it. –Bill Bryson
{2}Don’t misunderstand me. I should hope and pray to be as successful as Danielle Steel. What I mean is her fans’ comments on her book, Toxic Bachelors, as they appear on Amazon.com. But, I am sure Ms. Steel is crying all the way to the bankyou go, girl!
###
THE PLAIN TRUTH ABOUT LIVING IN MEXICO
Expatriates Doug and Cindi Bower have successfully expatriated to Mexico, learning through trial and error how to do it from the conception of the initial idea to driving up to their new home in another country. Now the potential expatriate can benefit from their more than three years of pre-expat research to their more than three years of actually living in Mexico.
http://www.zyworld.com/theolog/PlainTruth/Home.htm
Not many people understand exactly why marketing articles are so effective that they are right at the top of the list of effective online promotional tools.
Understanding why marketing articles top the list starts with an appreciation of a simple fact. And that is the fact that contrary to what most people think, the Internet is not an improvement on the TV medium but it is in fact the most advanced telephone in the world. When you appreciate this fact, everything falls neatly into place and makes sense and any promotion on the net formulated with this truth in mind usually works like magic.
People hate interruptions on the phone from telemarketers. And this is the reason why folks get very irritated when you advertise to them directly on the World Wide Web. It is also the reason why articles are so such effective top marketing weapons online. It is because they are rarely viewed as ads and people usually get to them through seeking for information through search engines.
It therefore makes perfect sense that articles posted at this improvement-on-the-telephone medium for the purpose of marketing your business, will always work much better than advertising and will constantly top the list for effectiveness.
By choosing to use articles as your top marketing method, you are also cashing in on the way most people use the Internet. For years the telephone has been a valuable instrument for getting information. People looking for information have frequently made a few calls to get the info that they are looking for. Being an improved telephone, the net makes that even easier. You use a search engine or you visit a web site and get all the information you want. You rarely look for information in online advertisements.
So what better way to attract attention to your offering than to provide lots of useful free articles packed with information that your target market may be looking for as your top marketing method?
Get more information now to help you grow your traffic overnight using articles. See my articles marketing blog or get my high value email newsletter on the same subject, send a blank Email Now to get it Free. This is a limited time offer.
“Acceptance speeches didn’t used to be at all autobiographical,” says former Clinton speechwriter David Kusnet.
“Roosevelt didn’t talk about recovering from polio. John F. Kennedy didn’t talk about PT-109 or being Catholic or being the grandson of Irish immigrants. Eisenhower didn’t talk about WWII. The first candidate to be autobiographical in a convention speech was Richard Nixon. And after Nixon, every candidate from an unprivileged background talked about how he came up from poverty, and every candidate from a privileged background went searching for something in his background that would humanize him.”
This quote from a story called Speech Therapy from The New York Metro Magazine highlights the challenges facing the rich and powerful, everyone from movie stars to Presidents, in giving an acceptance speech.
The quote Kusnet was refering to was the one Richard Nixon gave at the 1968 Republican convention.
“I see another child tonight. He hears the train go by at night and he dreams of faraway places where he’d like to go. It seems like an impossible dream. But he is helped on his journey through life and tonight he stands before you - nominated for president of the United States of America,” Nixon said.
Halle Berry’s emotional acceptance speech at the 2002 Oscars was one of the most memorable in the history of the Academy Awards.
She didn’t leave many dry eyes in the house with her tearful acceptance speech for 2001’s movie Monster’s Ball.
“This moment is for Dorothy Dandridge, Lena Horne, Diahann Carroll,” she said. “It’s for the women that stand beside me Jada Pinkett, Angela Bassett and it’s for every nameless, faceless woman of color that now has a chance because this door tonight has been opened.”
The joy of accepting an award can often be accompanied by the fear of speaking in public.
Whether you’re up for an Oscar, accepting a sporting award or a community accolade, these tips will help you with your acceptance speech.
1. Keep It Short.
There is nothing worse than someone who goes on and on. Not only does this turn the audience off but it diminishes the impact of the award. If you have been notified beforehand, always ask how long you have and then keep to that time. If the award is a complete surprise it is best to keep it shorter than go longer.
2. Don’t Get Political
Avoid grandstanding or using the opportunity to score points or put across your own personal agenda. Make the content of your speech relevant to the audience and occasion.
3. Make it Memorable.
You want to make an impression and being clever helps - especially with memorable one liners.”I’ve loved being hated by you,” is an absolute classic by Louise Fletcher when accepting her Oscar for playing the evil nurse in 1975’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.”This is not the end, just the beginning,” by West Coast Eagles captain Ben Cousins on losing the 2005 AFL Grand Final to the Sydney Swans was another classic.
4. Touch People’s Emotion
Show emotion and you will connect with people at a deeper emotional level.Michael Malone did this brilliantly at the 40 Under 40 Awards as he spoke from the heart about the milestones his autistic son had achieved.”We now treasure those moments. Why is it that we don’t recognise those things in all our children? We only value those things when they are taken away,” he told almost 900 guests when accepting the 1st Amongst Equals Award.
5. Thank You
Nothing is more powerful than thanking others who have helped you reach your goals. Mentors, coaches, supporters, friends, and partners are appropriate people to thank. Don’t go on too much.Malone went public on his son’s autism and thanked his wife, Beata for raising his children while he built a multi-million dollar business.
6. Avoid Notes.
If you know you are going to get an award always prepare beforehand. Don’t read from notes - use keywords as memory triggers. There is always something lacking when an award recipient pulls out a white sheet of paper and reads from their notes. The audience are let down and it minimises the impact.
7. Avoid Negative or Apologetic Statements.
Awards are about celebrating success and achievement. Your comments should reflect this. Be upbeat not downbeat.
8. Avoid Jokes.
Leave this to the professional comedians and stand up comics. The risks of backfiring far outweigh the upside.
9. Keep Still.
Don’t move around too much. It will distract from your message and credibility.
10. End With a Call To Action.
What is it that you want the audience to do? You are the role model - inspire them to greater heights!
Thomas Murrell MBA CSP is an international business speaker, consultant and award-winning broadcaster. Media Motivators is his regular electronic magazine read by 7,000 professionals in 15 different countries. You can subscribe by visiting http://www.8mmedia.com Thomas can be contacted directly at +6189388 6888 and is available to speak to your conference, seminar or event. Visit Tom’s blog at http://www.8mmedia.blogspot.com
Does speaking in public leave you tongue-tied? Do you stumble over your words? Do you want to learn how to speak more eloquently in front of a crowed?
Here’s a simple tip for getting started: Talk about something that you’re passionate about.
Have you ever noticed how people sound more eloquent when they’re talking about something that’s dear to their heart? They speak more fluidly, and they’re less likely to grasp for the right words. They also speak with more confidence, emotion and conviction. And why not? They’ve probably delivered great orations to themselves many times before, in the privacy of their own minds.
Speak about what matters to you. Speak about what’s dear to your heart.
Of course, this isn’t a magic formula for becoming a great speaker. That sort of thing must come with experience. However, if you start out by speaking about things for which you feel passion, that can help you refine your technique and develop confidence.
As with most skills, the secret is to practice, practice and practice. If you speak from the heart, then practicing becomes easier and more effectiveand a lot more enjoyable to boot.
About the Author:
V. Berba Velasco Jr. is a senior electrical and software engineer at Cellular Technology Ltd (http://www.immunospot.com, http://www.elispot-analyzers.de, http://www.elispot.cn) a biotechnology company with its headquarters in Cleveland, Ohio.
My acquaintance Al calls me on the telephone to inform me that he’s found some on-line gambling sites that I must have to see. I have never really been heavy into gambling, but I figured OK, I must give it a try. Therefore I tried out some poker and black jack, but truthfully, they just aren’t my cup of tea. And Then I find these online e-lottery internet sites and I realize that all over cyberspace I can take part in all other lotteries around the Earth. Now to me this appears a good deal more fun, thus I imagine I would give it a go. First I tried out my luck at euro lottery, you know a European lottery. I chose my lotto winning numbers and awaited and dreamt that I would win the jackpot. I didn’t but when the euro lotto numbers came out; I was extremely surprised to realise that I had actually come very close to the winning lotto numbers. I sought out a few other lotteries, but I found that I did come so close the first time on the euro millions, that I honestly had to give it one more go. To date, I have not won millions of dollars, but, I have scooped some money, so I continue to play the euro lottery and picking elottery numbers, hoping to get my big win. I am one of those people who like to believe in the likelihood of winning it big, because it is hard to imagine making that sort of money some other way.
As for my acquaintance, he still continues on with his passion of on-line gambling and finds himself at the on-line gambling casino for at least an hour a day. He likewise has won some money, but it has high’s and low’s and the difference is, when you lose at gambling you usually lose a heap but then, when you lose at the lotto, it doesn’t cost you very much. I reckon that the lotto is the only path for me to go foreward plus the notion of hitting the jackpot and on top of that, it’s only costing me just a few bucks “makes all the difference”.
Graduation Gown
The graduation gown makes up part of the official graduating dress code and is currently used by tertiary and secondary institutions of learning. The long draping garment is worn above other clothes and may be black or any color that is in accordance to the institution’s official colors. The graduation gown is accompanied with a separate hood that hangs at the back as well as a headpiece known as the graduation cap or mortarboard. The gown has always been held as a symbol of distinction and in ancient student institutions students were required to be draped in gowns during lessons as a sign of academic excellence.
Graduation gowns are basically similar in most countries with only minor differences in appearance. The graduation gown is usually pleated at the front and also comes with material at the rear that is held together with a yoke. The more conventional designs today use a curved yoke while before a straight yoke was preferred to hold together material. The graduation gown worn by undergraduate students usually has wide sleeves that have a bell shape while the masters students wear gowns with long sleeves, which have a slit near the elbow area where the hand can pass through.
GraduationSource, a leader in graduation regalia products since 1960.
Many aspiring writers dream of the day when they will be published. They imagine winning a prestigious award, seeing the shelves lined with their books, and getting calls from movie agents. Unfortunately, most aspiring authors never move past the dream phase. Don’t be one of them. Here are seven steps to making your writing dreams a reality.
1) Set a concrete goal.
Decide what kind of author you want to be. Do you want to be the author of jingles, novels, poems, or articles? Be specific. Where would you like to be in one year? Write it down to the last detail (you’re a dreamer; this is the time to dream big).
Do you want to submit five articles to a major magazine, complete a fantasy, interview a local celebrity? How do you envision your writing resume in two or five years? Create a mock version so that you can use it as a map to your desired destination. Remember: Concrete goals are measurable. Don’t say ‘I want to be a writer’ but ‘I want to write six articles about the environment or smokers’ rights.’
2) Write down what you need to do to achieve your dreamin small steps!
For example, say your goal is to be a bestselling novelist. If you write down that your first step is to write a 400 page novel the task will seem daunting. Start with small, manageable steps: clear my desk, sketch idea for a story, outline a plot, write one page a day, research publishers, buy Writer’s Digest magazine.
Make the steps something you can accomplish in a day or two so that you can feel the instant gratification of achieving it. By focusing on small steps, you’ll have little victories to celebrate along the way to your goal. This helps to make the process towards publication not seem like such a struggle.
3) Be accountable.
If your goal is to be a freelance writer and your first step is to write a filler or vignette, come up with a deadline as to when you have to achieve that goal. When you do not have a deadline, there is no motivation to get started. What is the consequence if you don’t succeed? Will you get fired? No. Will you go hungry? Again, no.
Create your own consequences. Tell a trusted friend about your intentions and brainstorm ideas. For example: If you don’t make your deadline, then you’ll have to miss your favorite show or wear a stupid outfit to work. Creating deadlines is good practice for when you will really have to face them.
4) Make sure your goals are based on what you can accomplish.
Toss out ultimatums. Some authors say they gave themselves one year to get published and that if they hadn’t made it they would have given up. I wanted to have a novel published by fourteen, it didn’t happen. I kept writing and submitting until it did. When you listen to stories about people who gave themselves ultimatums you’re only hearing from those who made it.
There are many dreams buried in drawers because their creators gave up too soon. There are freelance careers that bit the dust because of a few rejections, songwriters who’ll never hear their words sung because they hadn’t “made it” by twenty-five, novelists whose manuscripts will mold because they never won a contest.
Don’t put a deadline on your dreams. If you really want something, go after it until you get it. In publishing it is dangerous to put your hopes on the fickleness of people. What if you write a fantastic mystery when most publishers only want erotica? What if your heartwarming story about sixty-something cancer survivor lands on the desk of a twenty-something editor worried about acne and the effects of Botox? Don’t let rejection hamper you. It may take you longer to get the interest of an agent or editor, but you eventually will.
Good stories will find a home. Base your achievements on solutions you can control. Make it a goal that you’ll write an article, not that it will be accepted by a prestigious magazine; that you’ll complete your novel, not that it will be an international bestseller. You can only control your actions, base your goals on them.
5) Repeat affirmations.
This suggestion will make some people gag. If you are already doing so, please skip this. For those of you still with me try this: Say ‘I am a writer.’ Give yourself permission right now to be a writer. Stop saying ‘I want to be a writer’ or ‘I’m going to be a writer’ or ‘Someday I’ll be a writer.’ Instead say: ‘I am a successful writer.’ ‘I make a living with my words.’ ‘People enjoy and/or learn from what I write.’
Your mind is your greatest tool, fill it with possibilities. People feel that being realistic has to do with uncovering reasons dreams won’t come true, but visionaries know better. Endless possibilities await those who see the invisible. Don’t waste your imagination on what may not happen (you may never publish, you may never succeed) and use your imagination to reinforce the wonderful events that will come. Expect them to happen. You may not know when, but they will. Claim your right to be what you want right now even when you don’t feel that it’s true.
6) Visualize.
Visualize your dream coming true. Every day take five to ten minutes and see the life you want clear in your mind. Go into a bookstore and see your books on the shelves. Open a magazine and imagine your byline there. If you can’t see a visual image just imagine how you will feel cashing your first cheque, traveling on your first assignment, reading your first fan letter.
7) Make the dream real.
Dreamers dream. Writers write. It’s that simple. You are what you do. Write something today. Write a short story, a poem, an article, a flyer, a play anything that involves you in the art of creation. Once you’ve written something, consider volunteering your services. Submit your work to an online magazine, or a community paper; offer to proofread menus at foreign restaurants (you’d be amazed by some of the errors found) or help promote their business. If you don’t wish to volunteer, set a price for your writing services and offer to write copy for a business, submit your stories to paying magazines, create your own subscription list and offer a story every week or once a month. Think outside of the box and put your talents to use.
It is never too late to achieve your writing dreams. Now get to work. Your life is waiting.
Dara Girard is the author of four novels and one non-fiction book. Visit her website http://www.daragirard.com for other articles, contests and more.
