What Gets In The Way Of Writing?

 What Gets In The Way Of Writing?

There are many reasons that writing can be a challenge, and two of them relate to FEAR:

1) FEAR- fear of finishing the book, the report, or the presentation...the fear of letting go
2) FEAR- fear of success
..... if you don't finish then you don't have to fear success or failure stated Catharine Bramkamp a recent guest on my Your Book as a Business Radio Show (see link to listen below)

Do you love a good book?
Is it your passion to write a great book?
Maybe you want to share your expert knowledge and expertise with the world?
And, maybe you have a story stuck inside your head....that needs some help to get to written form.

 Many business owners, entrepreneurs, speakers and trainers could more easily share their message with the world, if they had a book.  In fact, sometimes the content is all there....it just needs some help getting into a book format.

Writer's block can be overcome by these strategies suggested by Catharine:

1) Set aside 25 minutes each day and write (avoid falling into the "I'll just write all day Saturday" thinking. As on Saturday you may well find all kinds of distractions to keep you from writing).
2) Find an editor to help outline where there are gaps or repetition in your writing, when the flow or story line is not clear, etc.
3) Work with a writing coach.



The work for an author really begins once the books arrive.

 Once your report is done or your book is written, there is still more action to take. If you have written a report, consider how and who you will share it with. If you have completed a book, and you have opened the boxes,  it is time to start marketing and promoting your book.  Here are a few tips that Catharine and I discussed on our show:

- Build relationships- this is essential in creating a buzz about your book, and a platform for you as a writer
- Learn how to use social media correctly, and at minimum be on Facebook, Linked In, Twitter and You Tube, and have a blog.
- Be authentic in everything you do, and everything you write. Remember, people connect with stories, it makes it relatable for the audience and reader. And, stories help build connections.

Check out more tips on writing at www.howtosellandmarketyourbook.com


You can find out more about Catharine at:
www.newbiewriters.com and www.YourBookStartsHere.com

Listen to our interview at: Your Book as a Business Radio: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/your-book-as-a-business/2012/10/06/guest-catharine-bramkamp

 Catharine Bramkamp is a successful writing coach and author.  She holds two degrees in English and Creative Writing and is an adjunct professor of writing. Her book – Don’t Write Like You Talk launched her coaching business and remains a powerful promotion tool for speaking engagements as well as attracting new clients. Her current projects include the Real Estate Diva Mystery Series and the poetry collection Ammonia Sunrise.   Contact her at   www.YourBookStartsHere.com

Writing.... a part of business and marketing.

Writing really is a big part of business and leadership. Whether you are writing sales reports, performance evaluations, proposals, marketing materials, policy manuals, developing contracts... writing is an important skill.  As an author I enjoy reading books on the art and science of writing.  Recently I read a book by Tom Bird, below you will find a brief book review.

What are you reading these days?

Book Review: The Call of the Writer’s Craft by Tom Bird

This book, by Tom Bird, offers writers (and new, aspiring and seasoned authors) tools, techniques and lessons about the writing process, publishing, and marketing aspects of being an author. I particularly enjoyed the examples that Tom provided in the book, including sample letters, publishing checklists. The book is full of "Writer's Reflections" and quotes which I found intriguing and a pleasant distraction from the more technical information. Tom's ability to consider the writing world from several perspectives was valuable, and provided the reader the information needed to make their publishing decisions. A great read for authors, and even those who have written books before there is great information to guide you in your book business.

Tom explores the various publishing options, and provides an overview of the strengths and challenges with each. There is more information in this book about the writing process than the marketing and selling tasks for a writer so authors will still need to explore the options and creative strategies available to them around marketing and selling their book.

To find out more about this book, visit:



Some great tips I have learned from experts in the business of writing are to:
- do a brain dump- dump all your ideas, thoughts, and points you wish to make in your report, proposal, etc. on paper first
- then dissect the brain dump, keep what works, toss what doesn't
- draft your rough notes
- for those of you who find you speak your message better than writing it, use the Dragonspeak software, and...there is a free Dragon app on your iPhone!

Happy writing!

You do the talking...the Dragon does the rest!

How many times have you been digging around for a pen or paper to write down your most awesome idea? Or scrambling to jot your ideas down to get them out of your head and onto paper or the computer? I love the Dragon Naturally Speaking Software. Some of us are better talkers than writers.


Essentially what Dragon Natually Speaking does is type what you say. That's right, you open a word document (you can even use for email) and talk. The software program types what you say. Now, there will be some edits, however if you do the tutorial,

What are the ways that Dragon Naturally Speaking can help you?

-  prepare your presentations by talking your ideas out loud, Dragon types the notes, and you can refine later
- draft letters while you are sitting in the parking lot between meetings
- write your book!
- create blogs as the ideas come to you
- you can even talk your to do list and then Dragon types it for you.

It is a great way to minimize pain and discomfort for those who have arthritis and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.
There is also a Dragon App on the iPhone! FREE! Check out the software here, I am a Dragon Naturally Speaking fan!



Also check out the tips and comments on a recent literary blog Literary Rambles I was featured on, some great questions, comments and ideas about this software:
http://www.literaryrambles.com/2012/05/tip-tuesday-126.html?showComment=1336502494824#c6315699019544269214