31 Things I Loved On the Internet in January: Resources for Writers, Creators, and Dreamers

My Brags

DIY Writing is on Facebook! I’m having so much fun connecting with DIY Writers through the Launch Team group that I’ve finally broken down and set up a page for the whole community. The DIY Writing Facebook community is a place for you to connect with, learn from, and discover awesome work by your peers. Check it out!

My January guest posts

• I stopped by author Jody Lamb’s blog to remind dreamers to ignore naysayers and put dream squashers in their place. So much fun writing for YA readers!
• At OnText blog I shared 5 cures for slow book sales. Check back there often for writing and publishing tips — I’ve been invited to be a monthly contributor!
• At Grace Barkley’s Writing & Design blog, I shared the Bucket List Challenge.
• For PR pro Erica Moss, I offered 5 marketing lessons I learned from non-profit organizations – you’ll be surprised how well they cross over to for-profit sales and branding!
• Writer and painter Anne Belov invited me to her beautiful blog, The Panda Chronicles, to encourage her readers to take the Bucket List Challenge.
• At Friday Flash Dot Org, where I’m also a monthly contributor, I wrote an editorial on asterisks and parentheses — nerd alert!

Great Stuff Around the WWW

Blogging Tips

• Freelance blogger Sophie Lizard launched “Be A Freelance Blogger” this month, kicking it off with The Surprising Truth About How Much Money You Can Make as a Freelance Blogger. (P.S. If you haven’t subscribed to her list yet to receive her free e-guide to blogs that pay $50 or more, do it!)
• At Make a Living Writing, Carol Tice answers a reader question to explain how you can build a blog that stands out among the millions that exist.
• Sometimes inspiration can be found in the least likely of places, says Jessica Lawlor.

Marketing for Authors

• This Thursday, join Duolit‘s first ever #IndiesForward event to help promote the book of stories from Julie Forward DeMay, who passed away from cervical cancer and can’t be here to share the stories herself.
• Jonathan Gunson offers slap-your-head simple tips you may not have thought of for connecting with readers (rather than more authors) on Twitter.
• Traditionally published author Jennie Nash shares her 5 biggest surprises from her first self-published book at Rachelle Gardner‘s blog. Great insight into both industries.

On Entrepreneurship

• Bookmark this resource! Freelancer  Carrie Smith shared the Ultimate List of Tools and Resources for Successful Online Entrepreneurs (and she included Bucket List!) at Careful Cents.
• Total work emersion can put you in a mood-altering state similar to grief, says our SevenPonds founder Suzette Sherman, reflecting on her first two years running the startup.
• Alexis Grant offers this kick-in-the-butt post, Lame Excuses for Why It’s Not the Right Time to Take Your Leap, at Escape the City.

Writing  and Life Tips

• Do you ever feel guilty for taking time to read? Author Jody Hedlund says to reclaim your time in 2013!
• Author Chuck Wendig shares awesome tips and explains in-depth how he edits a novel.
• Ollin Morales shares 3 Tips for Staying Loyal to Your Writing Schedule at Courage2Create.
  
• Don’t forget how weird you are, and be gentle with the people around you, Emilie Wapnick reminds us at Puttylike.

On Freelancing and Journalism

• Freelancer Lisa Baker explained how one profile tweak helped her connect with her dream editor on LinkedIn at Make a Living Writing.
• For MuckRack, Jessica Lawlor illustrated the most effective ways to retweet and get the attention of a journalist on Twitter.
• The two weeklies I write for were in the news this month: SF Weekly and Seattle Weekly changed hands. We’re still waiting to find out what that means for the freelancers.

To Read

• Write to Done‘s Top 10 Blogs for Writers 2012 and Jade Craven‘s list of Bloggers to Watch in 2013 at ProBlogger kicked off the year.
• Journalist Teressa Campbell shared 5 websites that kicked her butt into writing gear after she lost inspiration (*ahem* notice DIY Writing in there?!).
• I’m finally making my way through Simon Sinek‘s Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action thanks to Kickstart Kitchen‘s Bootstrap Book Club.
• Rachel Magahy‘s FREE ebook More Magic, All the Time: 20 Ways to Create Your Best Life Ever is a lovely complement to her inspiring blog (which I discovered through the ProBlogger list above).

To Listen

• Hometown shout-out: Madison comics Ian John and Jay Abbondanza released the first episodes of their new podcast this month, “Happy Sad Things“. In the first episode, they try to answer the question, “What’s it like to be loved?”

To Watch

• You can’t miss this video of 9-year-old author Alec Greven explaining how to talk to girls!

To Do

• This month I joined my first #bootstrapCHAT with Kickstart Kitchen — what an awesome group of entrepreneurs! Read the round-up of January’s chat, and check out the next one February 2-3 p.m. EST.

Just for Fun

• Muphry’s Law: ”If you write anything criticizing editing or proofreading, there will be a fault of some kind in what you have written”. Read more and LOL if you’re nerdy enough :)

If you’re new to DIY Writing, here’s a great place to start. You can also subscribe to updates to download your FREE ebook!

Featured image by Mauro Cateb (Creative Commons)