Content Writer, Book Editor & Coach
When someone clicks on your website link and arrives at your homepage, they are still in scan mode. They are searching for the answer to one specific question. If they don’t find the answer quickly, they will move on to another website.
Continue reading “Does Your Homepage Answer Your Visitor’s First Question?”You might have heard the first step of writing a book is creating an outline. It’s true that an outline can be a big help in organizing a book. But it’s not necessarily the first step.
Some book topics lend themselves well to outlines, especially how-to books where the steps of a process are clear. But other topics might be more difficult to put into an outline up front. Some books are a process of discovery in the writing.
How can you create an outline up front if you don’t know yet what you’re going to write?
How do you take that journey of discovery as a writer that leads eventually to an outline?
Introducing the clothesline: a flexible, creative, discoverable approach that will eventually emerge into an outline for your book.
Continue reading “Instead of a Book Outline, Start with a Clothesline”I’ve been asked how to write a short blog post to keep your business blog going when you’re crunched for time—as you might be now during the lead-up to Christmas. You can write a helpful, valuable, one-paragraph Q&A post answering a common client question. Lead with their question, as I did here. Then answer it quickly but helpfully, as you would if they were standing right in front of you. Pair it with a photo, and hit publish. Your blog will be active and visible, and clients will appreciate that one helpful tidbit you share. One paragraph is all it takes to answer a client question and share the answer with your current and future clients. Merry Christmas!
Continue reading “Crunched for Content Writing Time? Write a One-Paragraph Q&A Blog Post”Have you thought about writing a book in the new year? Your 2025 experiences can be the basis of your new book. You’ve already lived it. Now you can write it.
Continue reading “Your 2025 Lessons Learned Can Become a Book”January is just a few weeks away. Are you wondering what you’ll be writing about on your business blog in the new year? Take some time this week to pause and reflect on the past year. The questions people asked, the lessons you learned, the highlights, challenges, surprises, and wisdom you’ll carry into the new year, those are all potential blog topics.
Continue reading “Capture Last Year’s Highlights for Your New Year Business Blog”As Thanksgiving approaches, I’m reflecting on how thankful I am for everyone who has the courage to write. Every book or blog starts with someone who is willing to share with readers. As an avid reader who has drawn much inspiration and encouragement from books and blogs, I want to say thank you.
It’s not easy to be a writer. It takes time, energy, lots of reflection, and a big focus on what your reader needs. It’s a vulnerable feeling to share your life in words with people you don’t know. Even starting a writing project takes a lot, and I am grateful for everyone who starts.
As a reader, I appreciate the doors writers open for me. Stories to explore, wisdom to ponder and apply, new perspectives, entertainment and laughter, adventures, someone who has been through it and understands what I’m facing. Books have been meaningful throughout my life, all because authors were brave enough to write and share.
No matter where you are in your writing project, I’m thankful for you. I’m thankful that you’ve started writing. Thankful for the messy drafts that lead to a published book or blog. Thankful for the treasures you are sharing with readers like me. Readers need what you are writing. Don’t ever doubt it.
As we head into Thanksgiving week, I just wanted to encourage you that your words matter. Your story makes a difference. Your writing is valuable. Whether your story is an idea, a few paragraphs, a messy draft, or almost done, I’m grateful you’re creating a written work to share.
From one reader’s heart: Thank you for writing. Have a blessed Thanksgiving.
Long before search bars and smart phones, in the days before my friends started calling me “google,” I was the human search engine for our independent student newspaper.
Continue reading “Before Google, There Was Me: Lessons from My College Newspaper Days”November can be a busy time of year: holiday plans, family commitments, end-of-year tasks. It’s easy to put your blog on the back burner to simmer next to the turkey gravy.
But November is a great time to write a short, simple blog post of thankfulness. Clients love to see how they’re appreciated. And it’s a simple but effective way to keep your blog visible during a busy season.
Continue reading “A Simple Thanksgiving Blog Post that Strengthens Connection”Autumn is a beautiful season of trees shedding leaves. Some of those leaves are so pretty, it’s amazing the trees have dropped them. You’d think they would want to keep them on display till the end of the season. The red leaves are my favorites. I don’t see them often, and I think they’re remarkable.
Just as trees let go of beautiful leaves, writers can let go of beautifully written sections of their book if those sections don’t serve the overall story. It’s part of the self-editing process that comes after writing your first draft. This process may include the difficult decision to remove some of your carefully crafted paragraphs if they no longer serve the focus of your book. And possibly replace them with something new.
Continue reading “Autumn Lesson for Writers: Let Go and Keep What Matters Most”A college summer job in a Disney gift shop prepared me for content writing, editing, and coaching in ways I didn’t expect—and here’s what I’d share with younger dreamers too.
In the summer after my first year of college, I took a job at Disney’s EPCOT Center near Orlando, Florida. I was a gift shop hostess—the shop where I worked was right next to Spaceship Earth, the EPCOT entryway landmark. With Disney’s focus on guest experience in their theme parks, we as employees were called cast members. Our role was to create a wonderful experience for our guests.
I loved interacting with our visitors from all over the world. I enjoyed getting to know the other cast members too. They were awesome to work with, and many of them came from other countries. I loved everything international, so it was the perfect working environment for me.
What I didn’t realize at the time was how one summer job would shape my future career.
Continue reading “What Working at EPCOT Taught Me about Writing”
Janet Eriksson 