Content Mastery Guide

Editor and Ghostwriter

Editing the VOICE of certified coaches

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I am so thrilled to announce my newest collaboration!

I have just been named the new editor of VOICE, the monthly newsletter of the International Association of Coaching (IAC).

I’ll have my Editor’s Note written and posted to the website later this week, and our next issue will publish on Thursday, December 11 (you can subscribe by email on the IAC site).

Everyone has been so warm and welcoming, and I cannot wait to work with this fantastic community of coaches!

Online piano teacher gets it right with writing

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When Lisa Steeple of Learn Piano Online came to me for help, she was already:

  • Clear about how writing could help her grow her business – she publishes articles online to draw traffic back to her website, where she offers a free pink spoon sample.
  • Coming up with plenty of article ideas – she’s extremely creative and passionate about exploring the connections between music, healing and personal development.

So why hire a ghostwriter? Here are 3 good reasons:

  1. Two heads are better than one – Lisa was drawn to my background as a music therapist and creativity coach, and we are able to collaborate effectively about a topic we’re both interested in.
  2. Consistency is the key – Lisa and I have an ongoing schedule of one article per week. That way, she can consistently publish fresh content online and draw a steady stream of new visitors to her website.
  3. Delegation gets it done – Lisa loves to write, and will expand and develop what I send her. After all, as any writer will tell you, it’s easier to rewrite than it is to write from scratch. By delegating the job of getting the first draft done, Lisa makes it easy on herself to get more articles written.

When I asked Lisa what it was like to work with me, she said:

Linda took a huge burden off my shoulders. My time is very limited and so it is a blessing to have someone as talented as Linda to write for me, freeing me up to focus on other parts of my business. I was feeling so guilty before, that I was neglecting this part of my marketing campaign. Now I’m getting it done! I’ve also definitely noticed a spike in my website traffic, and in the number of people who opt into my mailing list.

Working with Linda has been a joy. She is very organized and easy to communicate with. She seems to have a knack for understanding what I want to say, and present it in a way that represents me well. And when she tells you she will have something ready on a certain day, then that is when it is ready!

Thanks Lisa! And if anyone is looking for a fun, effective way to learn to play piano, please visit Lisa’s site.

Filed Under: Client Stories

7 unusual things you probably don’t know about me

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Sandra De Freitas AND Greg Halpen tagged me in a blog post. They each listed seven unusual things about themselves, and then challenged seven other bloggers to do the same. Thank you, I think!

7 unusual things you probably don’t know about me

  1. I have a new boyfriend and he’s a Captain in the Canadian Air Force Reserves.
  2. I plan my meals for the whole week ahead of time.
  3. My maternal grandmother was 1 of 7 children, so I have a multitude of cousins and second cousins.
  4. I have lived in the same apartment for 11 years.
  5. I had plastic surgery on my finger at age 9, after I closed a car door on it.
  6. I love to watch gritty crime drama shows on television.
  7. I still do not own a DVD player or an .MP3 player, and I only use my mobile phone to talk. [Update Feb 22/09 – I got an iPod Touch!! Great for showing my “family” photos]

And now it’s my turn. I’ve chosen 7 people whose blogs you might enjoy, and who I would like to hear 7 unusual things about (instructions for bloggers are below):

[Update December 15, 2012 – I’ve updated these website links to people’s current sites]

  1. Kim Nishida
  2. Alyssa Gregory
  3. Karri Flatla
  4. Terri Zwierzynski
  5. Kathy Mallary
  6. Janet Slack
  7. Sarah Evans

Tag! You’re it! Here are the instructions for my fellow bloggers:

  • Link your original tagger(s), and list these rules on your blog.
  • Share seven facts about yourself in the post – some random, some weird.
  • Tag seven people at the end of your post by leaving their names and the links to their blogs.
  • Let them know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment on their blogs and/or Twitter.

Want your readers to keep reading? Plain language is the key

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On Tuesday, October 28th I attended my third seminar from the Editors’ Association of Canada. It was called Plain Language: Building Results and was presented by Frances Peck.

Frances shared this definition of plain language: “The orderly and clear presentation of complex information.” At the time, she was going through a long list of myths about plain language – reasons that writers sometimes argue against it.

Some of the myths were that plain language is just “dummy-ing down” the content (when, in fact, it’s just a clearer way of presenting it) or that it’s boring (when, in fact, it’s much more engaging to read something that actually makes sense). In her words, documents that are difficult to understand quickly become disposable.

Writing Prompt: Are you buying into the myths that plain language “dumbs down” your message or it’s too boring? Are you puffing up your writing because you think you’ll sound smarter? Keep your message simple to keep your readers reading.

Help for travelers who write

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I recently sat down for an email interview with travel writer Wendy VanHatten. It was part of a blog book tour to celebrate the launch of her book, Travel Writing as a Freelancer.

Linda: You must love traveling. When/how did you first get the idea to turn your passion into an income stream?

Wendy: I started traveling at age 5 and haven’t stopped. When we were young, my parents “required” us to keep notebooks of our travels. When my corporate America job in health care was eliminated, a friend suggested I get back into writing. I looked around and decide to try travel writing. After taking some travel writing courses and workshops I knew it was a good fit. You need to work and work to make money at it and that’s ok. I have branched out into speaking, writing books and ebooks, teaching writing, editing other writers’ works, photography, and now an online travel business. It all fits together!

Linda: How does travel writing compare to other styles of writing?

Wendy: Travel writing is similar yet different. You still need to “sell” something, but some times you are only selling a “picture” in the reader’s mind. You write to entice readers to go to a place. You write to give armchair travelers a complete picture of that place. You write about a place because you love it. That doesn’t mean, however, you can write a “what I did on my vacation” story. People really don’t want to read that! That is the hard part of editing a new writer’s works.

Linda: What are one or two techniques that travel writers use to connect with their readers?

Wendy: I think being able to describe for your reader a vivid picture is one of the hardest, especially for new writers. You need to learn the technique of talking about the most beautiful beach you have ever seen in a way that your reader can SEE it. In other words, you need to learn to “show”…not just “tell” your reader about that beach. Another technique is to develop your own style. I use humor. Depending upon the publication, find a style or a niche that works for you and perfect it. Most of my articles have a piece of humor in them. It may be subtle, but it’s there.

Linda: I prefer to be an armchair traveler (I loved “Under the Tuscan Sun” and “Eat, Pray, Love”). Can you offer an opinion of why travel books are so compelling?

Wendy: I think everyone wants to travel…some in person, some as an armchair traveler. It’s the curiosity in us. I truly have never had anyone tell me they are trying to cut traveling out of their lives. We all want to know what the rest of the world looks like, how other people dress, what they ate for breakfast, or how hot it is in the desert. Usually travel books and articles have wonderful photos. I believe we all love seeing great photos of some far away place or some place we may have been. Isn’t it fun to see a castle in Germany or the top of a ski slope in Colorado and say “I’ve been there”?

I read through a review copy of Wendy’s book and a lot of the content is relevant no matter what kind of writing you’re doing. It includes some gems about success as a freelancer (self-discipline is key, I hear you there, Wendy!), writing query letters and telling a good story.

Plus, there is an incredibly useful explanation of the different kinds of “rights” that you may be asked to sell when you have an article published in a magazine.

As an armchair traveler, I found that I got the same vicarious thrill from reading about travel writing that I do from reading about travel. I wasn’t expecting that!

You can follow along with Wendy’s travels at http://travelsandescapes.blogspot.ca/.