39 Tips for a Productive Life

Take some time during the course of this summer and practice at least ten of these regularly. You will be a better writer, parent, spouse and citizen.

1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.

2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Buy a lock if you have to.

3. Buy a DVR and tape your late night shows and get more sleep.

4. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, 'My purpose is to __________ today.

5. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.

6. Play more games and read more books than you did in 2007.

7. Make time to practice meditation, yoga, tai chi, and prayer. They provide daily fuel for our busy lives.

8. Spend time with people over the age of 70 and under the age of 6.

9. Dream more while you are awake.

10. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.

11. Drink green tea and plenty of water... Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli, almonds & walnuts.

12. Try to make at least three people smile each day.

13. Clear clutter from your house, your car, your desk and let new and flowing energy into your life.

14. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.

15. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.

16. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like college kid with a maxed out charge card.

17. Smile and laugh more.

18. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

20. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

21. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

22. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.

23. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

24. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

25. Frame every so-called disaster with these words:’ in five years, will this matter?'

26. Forgive everyone for everything.

27. What other people think of you is none of your business.

28. GOD heals everything.

29. However good or bad a situation is, it will change!

30. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

31. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

32. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

33. The best is yet to come.

34. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

35. Do the right thing!

36. Call your family often. (Or email them to death!!!) Hey I'm thinking of ya!

37. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements: 'I am thankful for __________. Today I accomplished _________.

38. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.

39. Enjoy the ride. Remember this is not Disney world and you certainly don’t want a fast pass. You only have one ride through life so make the most of it and enjoy the ride.

Write it down,

Carma

Hot Tips for Children's Writers

Do you enjoy writing for a topic or a theme? I found tons of valuable writing tips and information on Liano Mahoney’s website. Surf on over there. In particular I have listed some tidbits to think about that Liano Mahoney listed on her site. Check out the other 9 tidbits by clicking here. There's more: click on this link to a doc file containing an up-to-date theme list for some children’s magazines. Of course you should check out the submission guidelines for any magazine you are interested in.

DO THE MATH.
Perseverance is the ultimate key to publication.

In your quest to getting published, try to remember that children's book publishing is a business. Like all other businesses, it boils down to numbers. Here are some numbers that all children's writers should consider*:

10% = the portion of the American population who believes that they have a "book in them" that they would like to write some day

5,000 = the approximate number of picture books published in a year

1,001 > the number of words that most publishing houses don't expect and don't want in a picture book manuscript

$50,000 = the approximate amount that a publishing house has to invest in the making and distribution of a picture book, including artwork, royalties, printing, marketing, etc.

The number of manuscripts in the average slush pile that are truly publishable: less than 5%

12 = the number of rejections JKRowling received for the first Harry Potter book before it was finally accepted

*DISCLAIMER: Please note that all of these stats have been posted for motivational purposes only. They have not been fact-checked. In other words, consider their implications, but please don't quote them as gospel.

Write it down,

Carma

A Few Good Links

Over the weekend I ran across more than a few good links while I was looking for relevant content. There is so much great stuff out there that I couldn’t decide what to post, so I decided to post links and let you surf and peruse around.

Margot Finke’s post on “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Publishing Children’s Books” by Harold Underdown is one I don’t want to miss. Go here to read it.

And this link http://www.underdown.org/writing-guides.htm will lead you to dozens of guides on how to write children’s books!

Dottie Enderle’s website is very appealing. Click here to take a quiz and discover 10 tips for writing picture books.

One of my readers gave me this tidbit. Maybe some of you already know where to go to get the submission guidelines for the Cricket Magazine Group. I did not.

Have legal questions? Take a look at Writer’s Beware. This site has an abundance of information.

Another place to submit articles for sale is Writing for Dollars.

In Addition:

Have you ever wondered what to read when looking for ideas and examples for your nonfiction writing? I discovered one idea that said the best way to do this is to look in a bookstore under the topic you’re writing, (biographies or science, American history, etc.) and pull out a few books for the same target audience.

Certain authors of these books have made a name for themselves and they are who you want to study. Also ask your local librarian which titles are flying off the shelf.

Write it down,

Carma

What's Your Motivation?

Today I was surfing blogs and I got sort of lost in the blogosphere where so much rich content is available to us. It is impossible, for me anyway, not to click on relevant links in a blog post. If there is any negativity associated with blogging this would be it, but there is nothing negative in helping other people as these links do.

For example Roger at Creative Think, made me think. (That’s a no brainer), but it is not that I thought-- it is that Roger accomplished his purpose which is to engage in a conversation with his readers. Roger invites us to read Tom Haskins post about Different Motivations for blogging. Tom sums up our motives in his concluding paragraph.

Different motives for blogging yield different impacts on the rest of us. Some blogs reflect a consistent motive while others change character often. There are some indications of bloggers evolving from base motivations to higher motives. These possible progressions lend to blogs making bigger and better differences in the world.

Next I go over to visit Suzanne Lieurance at The Lieurance Group where she reminds us of the wonderful world of information at our fingertips every day. For example if you are tired of using the old cliché and they are making your writing boring check out Cliché Finder or if you need a jump start when you are drawing a blank, go to 11 Rules of writing.

My next stop is at Design Your Writing Life, where Lisa Gates is inviting us to pass the SOAP and scratch each others back. Now, I thought blogging was a family affair. Well, we are a family filled with caring and helpful people and this is what I am finding on each and every blog I go to.

My perspective of blogging has undergone quite a change since I became a blogger, but I will reserve that observation for another day.

If you have watched enough Law and Order as I have, you would know that motive is usually considered a negative word. So let's use motive in a positive way this week. What is your motive for writing?

My motive is to express myself intelligently. Also, writing will give me the opportunity to think before I speak. Have you ever written in anger or even excitement and after the words simmer down a little you go back to read them but they don't have the same tone?

Write it down,
Karma