Check yourself before you wreck yourself. You don't have to be a grammar superhero! Use these quick, fun, free ways to fix errors.

 You are not a bad writer if you find mistakes in your edited, proofread, and published book. Think about the last book you read. Did you find mistakes? I just finished a wonderful book that is an INTERNATIONAL best-seller. I found one typo and one subject-verb agreement error. This author has benefited from multiple rounds of editing in multiple countries with multiple publishers. Why are those two mistakes there?

Humans, y'all.

We are flawed people. Computers may cause us to expect perfection, but computers are run by humans. Human error is normal, should be expected, and should be FORGIVEN. We aren't immortal, and we aren't superheroes.

Writers are often taken aback when they spot errors in the first printing of their books. Stop writer-shaming and editor-shaming and start using methods to error-proof your work to the best of your human abilities. While professional editing is the best investment you can make, you can cut the cost and speed up the timeline by using simple proofreading methods to identify and correct errors long before your pages open on an editor's screen.

I work on several book projects each year. In those projects, I budget time and dollars for proofreaders at different stages but always on screen after I line edit and on paper with physical proof copies). I've yet to reach perfection. Authors tend to memorize their own work. Think I'm crazy? Grab your latest project and choose a paragraph. I bet you can recite that paragraph or at least begin it and finish the point aloud without looking at the screen or page.

I also work on many small projects a year (web content, marketing content, freelance articles, curriculum). Those clients may not have the time or budgets for proofreading at multiple points in the project. Sometimes, I have just two or three days to complete a project. Obviously, I want to provide high-quality work, so I use a few funky tricks and techniques to spot and hear errors. Give these a shot and let me know what you think.

Jody's easy, strange, and $$$ FREE proofreading methods:

1. Have your computer read aloud. LISTEN for repetition, unclear writing, and mistakes.
2. Read your work aloud.
3. Read your work aloud to someone else. Get that ego involved and you'll hear imperfections and opportunities for improvement that you may never see.
4. Print your work on paper and read it aloud.
5. Spell check as a last step. Remember that when you make changes you may also make new mistakes.

There you go! I hope that helps you find, hear, and see mistakes so you can write your way toward perfection. But don't be hard on yourself. You are only human, after all.

xoxoxo

Jody

Nobody likes a quitter, and I love to START projects! How about you?

Have you ever heard of Quitters Day? I learned about this phenomenon last week. Quitters Day this year was January 14, which marked the date when most folks abandoned their New Year's resolutions. This doesn't apply to me because I start my diet EVERY Monday!

Seriously, if you are like most folks (and aren't most folks like most folks?), you have BIG ideas and then get overwhelmed with life. I also learned that when we set a goal, we really have only 10% control over that goal. What jumps at me is how BIG and SMALL, as concepts, play together, or don't. Here's the bottom line: Set a big goal but focus on the tiniest steps. I heard a marketing coach tell a student who suffers with ADHD, "Do the thing that is right in front of you." Amen! As a business owner and mother, I can so easily get overwhelmed with all the BIG and SMALL things that are piling up or facing me in the near future. I don't have ADHD, but I do follow that coach's advice. I do the small pieces of the big projects.

Here's how I get started ... drum roll ... I commit and put the first tiny step on my calendar. That's it! I might lay out, generally, a whole project, but I don't obsess over perfection, I don't hem and haw, and I don't beat myself up when I make a mistake. I reflect, revise, refine, and keep moving. Thankfully, there's plenty of creative license, a.k.a., grace, in our industry. We don't operate on bodies, and we don't handle nuclear weapons. We can always adjust.

What is your big goal for 2022? I hope you haven't given up on it.

What tiny steps are you taking every day that lead you to your end goal?

I challenge you to map out the general steps and schedule each step on your real calendar.

I challenge you to BEGIN or, in some cases, begin again.

If your big goal is to write a book in 2022, consider joining my in-person writing group INKLINGS 865.

I'm forming the group as we speak, and we may begin as early as March. I set the date, but I may extend it to April. The group and I are decided now between one meeting per month or two meetings per month. These are in-person meetings in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you aren't local, you can always schedule private sessions with me on Zoom/phone. Open the attachment below for detailed (but not set in stone) information: Inklings 865 Invitation 2.14.2022.docx​

If your big goal is to START a book in 2022, join my live classroom experience in April and November in Knoxville.

With the University of Tennessee Center for Professional Education and Lifelong Learning, I will host a four-week (4 classes) course called Write that book! Take a look HERE or copy and paste this URL into your browser: https://aceweb.professionaled.utk.edu/wconnect/ace/CourseStatus.awp?&course=22SP1231​

If your big goal is to MARKET your book(s) in 2022, consider joining my online course: Market Your Way to Readers and Royalties.

The first module will be delivered via email on MONDAY, February 22. As long as you register and pay by Monday, you get access and can start any time from Monday forward. The cost is $387, but you can set up four monthly payments of $107. I am keeping this "beta group" of "founding members" really small, but I do have room for up to 4 more people. I'm keeping the group small so I can actually talk to you one-on-one, get valuable feedback, and personally help you through the course. The next time I teach the course, the price will go up and the one-on-one components will be fewer. I expect a big crowd the second time around:) Open the .pdf for detailed information: Market Your Way to Readers and Royalties CB Publishing February 2022.pdf​

Whatever your goal is for 2022, forget about quitting, forget about the enormity of your mission. Simply begin. Schedule those tiny steps, just 10% at a time, so that this time next year you can look back and say, "Wow. I actually stuck to my plan and did 100% of something BIG!" If you are ready to start and want my help, let's go! Email or call me (865-414-4017) with questions. If you'd like an overview of the FOUR phases of the book business (writing, editing, publishing, marketing), CLICK HERE to download my guide.

xoxoxoxo

Jody

Think outside the barn. Retreats are possible, and they work. Join me?

"Think outside the barn." I said that to my students all of the time when they couldn't solve a problem or find an answer. I taught in rural East Tennessee, so they appreciated my twist on the cliche.

What's funny is that you can absolutely think inside a barn, too. While the computer is a great tool, using paper to hash out stories, draft characters, draw scenes, brainstorm, etc., can free you from a number of limiting temptations. When I was young, I liked to hang out in our old tobacco barn. My goat Jill quietly kept me company as she rubbed her knotty head against the wood, crippled Beagle Bell rolled in the cool dirt floor and sniffed under the stalls, and Mama's chickens clucked happy background banter. Underneath the tobacco loft still hangs a wooden swing, where I often daydreamed on, you guessed it, paper. For some reason, being outdoors makes me much more productive. Even now, I sit right beside a HUGE window as I work.

Hmmm, I thought more productively "outside the barn" while inside the barn. Ha!

My colleague Debbie Patrick (Vision Run Publishing) and I are planning a writing retreat. We agreed on the following non-negotiables:

• Private bedrooms
• Interior space so that writers can spread out and concentrate without interruption
• Outdoor space to explore or to enjoy as inspiration
• Easy access to restaurants
• At least a one-hour drive to separate us physically from family and work obligations
• Quiet
• Internet access
• Affordable pricing for authors
• Instructional time
• Time for one-on-one and/or group feedback
• PLENTY of time to just write

What would you add to our list?

If life is too busy right now, you can actually create a DIY retreat at home. I found some logical tips online. Plan ahead. Schedule the time "off" to write. PROTECT that time without apology. Cut off any distractions (phones, internet, TV, radio). Prep with supplies. Set realistic goals. Reward yourself each day with a treat (I highly recommend chocolate in any form) or experience (yin yoga and massages are great for writers).

My old thinking and stomping grounds.

I have tried the DIY, at-home retreat approach a few times, and I have failed every time. My children, husband, mother, and cats were not cool with the idea. I couldn't resist working on client projects first, and by the time I looked up from the screen, most of the day was gone. Once, the internet went out. Another time, my computer crashed. Yet another time, a child had to stay home from school. We are all in different stages of life, so figure out what could work for you. Maybe you can protect a few days at home and crank out a few thousand words. Maybe you can afford a solo weekend getaway. Maybe a formal retreat would be an adventure for you. Maybe Debbie's and my idea is just the right fit.

I know what I need in order to think outside the barn: a different barn!

What do YOU think? What do you think a writing retreat should offer? I'd love to hear your ideas, and I'll share them with Debbie as we plan something special. Maybe you can come think and write with us.

xoxoxo

Jody

If you'd like to stay in the Crippled Beagle Publishing loop and get news on writing retreats, courses, coaching, writing workshops, as well as writing, editing, publishing, and book marketing, click HERE.

Dr. Dyer is here. Fire away!

 Hello there!

Okay, so I'm not a real M.D. or Ph.D., but I do have some letters (B.S., M.Ed.). That M.Ed. represents a masters in curriculum and instruction. Oh, I can write curriculum and instruct, but I have years of practice answering questions. Did you know that high school teachers ask almost 400 questions per day?

I found a variety of stats how many questions children ask each day, but all the numbers made me tired. Ha! Four-year-old children ask about seventy-three questions each day, and I can promise you that teenagers are question-asking machines. Doctors ask and answer fewer questions. Think of the math. Doctors see one patient at a time, while a teacher faces a ROOM full of brains and mouths. When I taught ninth grade, I had thirty-five students per class and four classes per day. My beloved colleague Dr. H literally shaved his head before the first day of school each year and didn't see a barber until summer break because he didn't want to have to answer the question, "Dr. Hebert, did you get a haircut?" multiple times per year. Smart guy.

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This week, I met with a client who was anticipating a medical procedure. She lamented that she had many questions but kept being passed from answering services to office managers to nurses to different medical offices ... you know the drill. Isn't it frustrating when you have a SIMPLE question but can't get the SIMPLE answer?

Crippled Beagle Publishing gets LOTS of questions, too, and I have a plan that will efficiently give you answers.

I explained to a new client yesterday that I typically check voicemail and email only in the afternoons. She asked why. I explained that blocking time to reply to messages is actually all about taking better care of my clients. Below is my full answer in bulleted points. Consider applying these ideas and practices to your career, cooking (ever heard of investment cooking?), housework, home improvement tasks, and especially WRITING.

• I "mega batch" my work. Look it up. Mega batching makes total sense. In my world, that means that I focus primarily on one client per day. That client's project gets my total attention—and this next part is crucial—WITHOUT INTERRUPTION. Doing this may mean that I don't touch a project for a couple of weeks, but when I do, the work is profoundly more productive and efficient, which saves me time and YOU money. I work ahead, too. For example, if you've budget four hours per month, I may work an entire day (or two) on your project, but I'll honor you budget and just spread that time over multiple invoices. If your project is on a flat fee plan, bathing means we finish it faster.
• My inbox is usually a list of updates from subcontractors, administrative tasks (I email myself), referrals, customer service requests, and, yes, lots of client and prospect questions.
• I don't want to rush through any response. Thus, I answer emails when my client work for the day is complete so that I can give each email my full attention.
• Emails (questions) also guide my business practices. Just last week, I revised a crucial piece of important communication that I send all new authors. The revision was inspired by one email from one client. When someone expresses a need via a question, I look at how my team and I can better meet that need immediately and for future clients. I may spend hours on research, revisions to practices, and development of new products/services.
• While you may have to wait for an answer, I want the answer to be solid. My mother always says, "Haste makes waste." If I answer in haste, the client is shortchanged. Not cool. I take my time. By doing so, I protect your time and money.

I respect that many clients have many questions that pop up during the week and would appreciate quick answers. This is why I'm creating a frequently asked questions spreadsheet where you can quickly search and find answers. This will be a spreadsheet that starts in February 2022 and grows with your questions. Fire away!

If you are taking my online course Market Your Way to Reader Royalties, you will automatically have access.

Here's my challenge to you:

Send me any and every question that comes to mind, whenever it comes to mind, about writing, editing, publishing, and book marketing. If you are in the marketing phase, what questions do you have about branding, building a book business, reviews, web pages, social media, finding readers, building an email list, _______?

Send those questions to dyer.cbpublishing@gmail.com and jody@crippledbeaglepublishing.com.

If you are on the move and have a question, call me or text me at 865-414-4017.

Consider me a physician. You are perched on paper blanket, I'm in a rolling chair right beside you and holding a prescription pad. Fire away. Better yet, visualize yourself in a school desk and see me at the lectern. Raise your hand. Fire away. I'm here to help you.

If you'd like access to the CBP FAQ, CLICK HERE. 

HAPPY ASKING!!!

Jody and the Crippled Beagle Publishing team