"Nature's first green is gold" and HERE. Also, what can my team do to help you?

 Hello creative!

The Lenten roses are blooming, my forsythias are sending sunny spires toward the sky, and I no longer have to warm up the car before taking Scotty to school. Yay spring! While January is a great "new start" each year, don't you get a burst of creative energy around March/April? Have you read the Frost poem "Nature's First Green is Gold?"

"Nature’s First Green is Gold" by Robert Frost

Nature's first green is gold

Her hardest hue to hold.

Her early leaf's a flower;

But only so an hour.

Then leaf subsides to leaf.

So Eden sank to grief,

So dawn goes down to day.

Nothing gold can stay.

While some may find the verse a downer, I see it as advice to live in the present and capitalize on ideas, opportunities, and bursts of energy. At Crippled Beagle Publishing, the team and I are l bursting with energy to create new ways to help YOU. We want to know what you need from US. So, take a minute and respond to any of the following, or skip the list and just tell me what's on your mind.

1. What do you expect from a book writing coach?
2. What questions do you have about editing?
3. What frustrates you about the editing and revising phases of creating a final manuscript?
4. What questions do you have about the publishing process?
5. What frustrates/confuses you about book marketing?
6. What gets in the way of your attempts to market your book?
7. What book marketing problem/need would you like for my team to solve for you?

Thank you in advance for helping us help you and other authors! Speaking of, please help me spread the word about my upcoming, in-person course Write that book! I will teach on four Tuesday nights in April, from 6-7:30 PM, at the not green, not gold, but definitely BIG ORANGE UT Conference Center on Henley Street. ANYONE 18 and older can register (you don't have to be associated with UT). Perfect attendance is not required, and I'll share all resources with all registered students. Parking is free and super close to the building. The course fee is only $99! You can learn more or enroll at this link: https://aceweb.professionaled.utk.edu/wconnect/ace/CourseStatus.awp?&course=22SP1231​

xoxoxo

Jody and team

A FOLDER FULL OF EXAMPLES just for you. Open me:))))

 Hello creative,

When I taught middle and high school, I often assigned complex projects for students to actually create and produce outcomes in tangible form. When teaching Excel spreadsheet tools, I handed out baseball cards and asked students to examine the text, tables, images, and formatting and use online tutorials and my guidance to literally recreate the backs of baseball cards using Excel commands. All they really needed was the VISUAL aid of the actual baseball cards to excel at Excel!

There's an educational term for the "good" finished example, but the word escapes me, so let's just call it that—a good, finished example. In my online course and with my one-on-one clients, I urge authors to create Author Brand Marketing Kits. These are folders of go-to items that help authors promote their work.

You can work with my team to create a similar portfolio of useful items and templates. If you'd like help or would like to take the course module that teaches Author Brand Marketing Kit, let me know, and I'll send you pricing information. You can also save money by creating these items yourself. We use CANVA. I pay for the "Pro Plan" so my team can work together in the same account, but Canva also has a free option.

To help you understand, I have attached a good, finished example—my client Randall Lange's Author Brand Marketing Kit pieces. Below is a screen shot of three postcard options Lauren designed, and the Zip folder contains everything else.

I share client examples for a couple of reasons: First, I help promote their work to my community. Second, I like to share work for/by writers just like you. When you open the Zip folder, note that the branding is consistent across every piece. Also note that Lauren created templates so that Randy's family and my team can repurpose content throughout the year. Christy and Randy will post news, images, ideas, and videos whenever they like, while my team strategically schedules posts to help Randy build a strong fan following over time. Be sure to follow Randy on his brand new social media accounts. Find him as Randy's Josh and Friends on Facebook and Instagram.

Below is the file. Take a look, gather ideas and inspiration, and reach out to me if you need help.

​Example Author Brand Marketing Kit_Author Randall Lange.zip

​HAPPY MARKETING!

Jody
​
P.S. If you'd like to learn more great tips like these, be sure to stay in the Crippled Beagle Publishing loop! Click here to join the list and email my free Annual Book Marketing Planner.

Writer, the real question is, "What kind of hiker are you?"

 

When it comes to a large-scale project (like writing a book), what's your approach?

Mountains are fantastic metaphors, especially for writers. We stand back to see the big picture. We study the arc's catalyst, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. We appreciate sensory details, and know that there are many steps, challenges, switchbacks, and discoveries along the path from idea to published book. You may study other writers' approaches and wonder if their methods are better. Wonderful. Learn from others, but don't beat yourself up. Employ the well-worn methods that always work, but be realistic about what you can do when it comes to developing, writing, editing, publishing, and marketing a book. What kind of writer-hiker are you?

TRAIL?

​​My friend Tammy and I were planning a weekend on Little River in Townsend, Tennessee. We wanted our husbands to join us. I asked how deep the water would be that day, what the forecast was, and who all would be there because my husband Jeff would want to know. She said, "Jeff is like a convertible. All the conditions have to be just right or he's a no go." Jeff is a trail hiker. He goes when the conditions are right: good weather, dry trails, warm temperatures, before lunch, .... Because I'm a mother and entrepreneur, I must be a trail hiker, too. I schedule the hikes when I have a light workload and my mother can watch my little boy Scotty if the trail is too strenuous for him. 

Maybe, as a writer, you are a trail hiker. That is okay! You may have to select and work on one component of your project at a time. Ease into the process and grow as you take on each new challenge.

SECTION? 

If you have the time, budget, and schedule to take a week to hike a large section of the Appalachian Trail, I am JEALOUS! One of my bucket list goals is to hike the entire Appalachian Trail. The trip from Georgia to Maine can take six or so months. At this time in my life, ​that's logistically and financially impossible. One boy is in college. The other is only eleven years old. What I CAN do is take a week vacation here and there and hike (and camp) large sections of the AT. Maybe you have a seasonal job or lots of vacation time. 

Can you go on a writing retreat a few times a year? During those peaceful breaks, you could conquer large sections of your writing project. I really think that I could write the first draft of an entire book in ten workdays if I could have ten work days with no work, children, family, or friends. Ah, isolation; solitude is one of the most peaceful and restorative benefits of walking in the woods. Here, my buddy Nikki takes a break under Alum Cave Bluff on our way to Mount LeConte.

​​

THROUGH?

Are you a through-hiker when it comes to writing? Can you focus on your book for a good chunk of time every day for several months? Can you take a sabbatical for several weeks? If so, I am mightily jealous! One day, Jody, one day ....

I know several people who have hiked the entire Appalachian Trail from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Katahdin in Maine. One fell permanently out of the yuppie rat race. One fell and broke her ankle. One fell in love. The concept of taking six months off from civilization is as tempting as it is terrorizing.

But, people do it, and many write about it. I loved the book Hiking Through by "regular guy, not a writer" Paul Stutzman. He lost his wife to cancer. Instead of returning to his normal routine, he sought peace of mind through the enormous goal of hiking the AT's 2,176 miles. I did not like Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods as much. The author loves to hear himself write (and that's coming from ME), and he made fun of my hometown of Gatlinburg, Tennessee (not cool, Bill). If I remember right, he didn't finish the trail either. I can understand. Hiking is hard.

So, hiker-writer, what's your plan? What's your style? My advice is to be realistic, let the journey be as easy (and enjoyable) as possible, and give yourself some grace. You can break up your master plan into tiny steps and achievable goals. Don't overthink the writing process. DO begin. Take the first step and keep taking steps. Leave room to learn along the way. Even those crazy, barefoot trail runners have to ascend mountains one step at a time.

My best friend Jamie has hiked almost every Tennessee trail in the Great Smoky Mountains. She has become a natural at reaching enormous goals one painful or joyful step at a time.

As you struggle and learn and move up that mountain, think about how wonderful you will feel when you return to the trailhead with a story to share with the world. Now, climb! —Jody

P.S. CLICK HERE to download my Step-by-Step Guide from Idea to Published, Profitable Book.

P.P.S. SPREAD THE WORD! 

Calling ALL Aspiring Authors

I am proud to announce that I will lead my new course “Write That Book” for the University of Tennessee Center for Professional Education & Lifelong Learning. Anyone 18 or older is welcome! We meet on Tuesday nights in April.

No matter your genre, subject, or writing ability, you'll leave with an achievable plan and supportive tools to help you realize your dream of becoming a published author..

For more information about the course, please email me at dyer.cbpublishing@gmail.com. If you’re ready to register for the class, click here.

A mother, her son, his teacher, yoga, a phone call, trails, technology, paper, and common sense — I hope this helps you:)

 Hello my fellow creative spirit!

I have a story and a few points that should help you, all of which are inspired by a recent conversation with my little boy Scotty. Scotty (eleven years old) is struggling with a three, yes, three subjects. Note: He gave me permission to tell this story. He loves the limelight. We'd been working for a couple of hours one WEDNESDAY evening. Wait, that's not true. We actually argued for thirty minutes and then worked for ninety.

POINT: You cannot tutor your own child as effectively as a professional can. You cannot edit your own work. Hire a pro.

Anyway, the phone rang. I had to answer it because I'm trying to get an appointment with a child psychologist. Scotty, sadly, is one of the many American children suffering severe anxiety and major academic setbacks as a result of Covid shutdowns and masking. I'm not taking any side except my child's. The psychologist was calling to talk to me. As one might imagine, he is extraordinarily busy right now, so I jumped at the chance to actually speak with him.

POINT: Don't procrastinate. Any progress toward a goal is progress toward the goal! Time-outs don't move the ball down the field.

Every day, according to Scotty's fifth-grade teachers, I am supposed to log into Aspen.com to see his grades and check each subject to see what assignments are late/missing (he tends to "accidentally" leave homework on the bus). Mr. Robert the bus driver must often do homework sweeps under the pleather seats, which is one of the reasons we mothers collect a big cash gift for him each December and May. After I log into Aspen.com, I must go to Canvas.com to search for said assignments. The titles don't always match up, so I have to rely on Scotty's memory to figure out what in Aspen is what in Canvas. Fortunately, we can usually dig through his grimy backpack to find at least one of the assignments. Mama loves PAPER. After I iron those dittos and have him put his name at the tops, we are ready to work. If the assignment is in Canvas.com, we must complete it on Google (slides/docs/sheets) and then go back to Canvas.com to submit it by using a little box to search, you guessed it, Google. We click submit and pray a green checkmark appears. Then we go to the next assignment by clicking dashboard, courses, one of eight courses, modules, unit, assignment. THIS IS WHY I GO TO YOGA. I may not look like a yogi, but I am a dedicated practitioner.

POINT: Make doing business with you as an author EASY for your potential readers. Don't send them on an online scavenger hunt.

Author, be clear and obvious about what you want people to do when they see your social media posts, read your emails, or visit your website. If you want them to join your email list, ask them at least twice in the message. Limit your posts/emails to one subject and always write as though you are speaking to only one reader. Test the links and clearly label them. Examples:

​Stay in the Crippled Beagle Publishing loop by joining my e-newsletter list HERE. (I hyperlinked this sentence to a form that allows folks to EASILY register for my email list.)

​BUY MY BOOKS HERE. (This takes readers straight to my Amazon Author Central Page---which you need.)

If you'd like to [match to the subject of your message], just reply to this email and say [whatever you want readers to say]. (For extra example, if I were writing an email to you about using Amazon Author Central to promote your work, I would end the email with: "If you'd like to know how to set up your Amazon Author Central Page, reply to this email and write, 'Jody, help me set up my author page on Amazon.'"

Back to our story ... I spoke with the psychologist and made a plan to help Scotty. Scotty asked me to let him work on his own, so I went to yoga to "ring out the stress" from a hard day. The next afternoon, Scotty told me that his teacher was mad at him for not finishing enough late work. He told me, "My teacher said that you should focus more on helping me than answering phone calls and going to yoga." Ummmm. First, I got mad at the teacher. Second, I realized that Scotty threw me under the bus. Third, I laughed at the whole situation. The teacher has been extraordinarily patient with Scotty and with ME. She's wonderful, but she's human. She's young, unmarried, and not a mother. My bet is she doesn't understand that children fib when it's convenient to do so. It likely hasn't occurred to her that children go straight home and tell their parents everything, but they also SPIN their stories as they tell them. I value her frustration. Scotty was in survival mode. His quick thinking (blaming me) got him out of trouble. As a mother and former teacher, I know that whatever I say to Scotty about his teachers will be delivered to them, with spin, the next day. I am careful. He admitted to throwing me under the bus and apologized. My guess is that she didn't speak so harshly and he spun her words, too.

My little angel and I worked for an hour on his 5th Grade Reading and Language Arts, Narrative Writing Module, Narrative Writing Task #2 - Changing Point of View, a five-paragraph essay in which he was to select a character from a short story and rewrite the story from that character's point of view. Whew! We plodded through the assignment on a Google Doc. When we tried to submit the essay on Canvas.com, we got this lovely response (NOT the teacher's fault):

POINT: Paper is not evil.

During Covid, if our school system had sent home worksheets and workbooks or even emailed parents assignment instructions and allowed students to use (crazy idea) notebook paper, more students would have completed more work during our six-month spring break from March to August in 2020. More relatives and friends could have helped our children. Paper is a soft, less intimidating, tried and true tool.

Could I host a podcast? Sure! Do I know how? Do I have time to learn the technology? Do I want to spend that kind of money? Nope. Do what works. Don't let the world's obsession with technology guilt you into using a device, platform, or tool that pushes your focus off content and communication. Just write.

Know your talents. Hire help when you need it. Don't procrastinate. Progress is perfection! Make doing business with you EASY. Keep your process simple so you can focus on what matters—your message and your audience.

Remember, I'm a writing, editing, publishing, and marketing coach. At any time, you can set a one-on-one appointment with me. If you need help, just reply to this email and say, "Jody, I'd like to set a coaching appointment with you."

xoxoxoxo

Jody

Scotty loves history and science. In this photo, he pretends he's a student at Little Greenbrier School in the Great Smoky Mountains. Together, we climb trails and secure well-earned trail medallions to his walking stick.

​If you'd like to download my free Step-by-Step Trail Guide from Idea to Published, Profitable Book, CLICK HERE:)