Organizing your paperwork—Are you a filer or a piler?

Organizing your paperwork is a timeless conundrum. No matter how much we throw away, tomorrow always brings new paperwork. I hang my head and confess the truth about my organizing system.

Organizing your paperwork-Are you a filer or a piler?

Organizing your paperwork is a timeless conundrum. No matter how much we throw away, tomorrow always brings new paperwork. How do you organize your paperwork?
Are you Johnny-on-the-spot, right-into-the-filing-drawer with all your paperwork? I didn’t think so. Only .00002% * of the population opens the mail, reads or acts on it and files it in the appropriate folder within 10 minutes of receiving it.
If you find that your pile of paperwork is never filed, you may belong to a secret society that affects 42% * of the population. You, my friend, may be a piler.
I, Cheryl Sterling, am a piler. After years of trying to conform, of buying myriad filing systems (I used to work in an office furniture business, so you can imagine the deals I scored on returned and damaged file cabinets. Also, imagine the shame of admitting you’re a piler), I had to admit I don’t swing that way.

I am a piler

Organizing your paperwork is a timeless conundrum. No matter how much we throw away, tomorrow always brings new paperwork. I have piles for:

  • Writing works in progress.
  • Various unfinished crafts.
  • Recipes I’ll make some day.
    I also have a massive desk, courtesy of IKEA and Craigslist. It has shelves, magazine racks and pencil cups, a whiteboard and a magnetic strip. It has two file drawers that hold “important papers” and can be rolled out when I need to sweep up the cat litter.

The top of the desk is an oh-so-inviting flat surface full of—you guessed it—piles. Plus my printer.
The desk fits perfect in my “studio” alcove. It sits ten feet from my writing chair. There’s no way to disguise what a slob I am.

Organizing your paperwork is a timeless conundrum. No matter how much we throw away, tomorrow always brings new paperwork.

Once a month or so, ambitious me purges magazines, files important mail, and takes a stab at being a neatnik. It stays clean long enough that I hold on to the illusion that I’m the Queen of Organization.

Gotta love the cups holding pens, post-its, tape, sharpies, etc. and the magnetic strip above for my scissors.

And my, look at those folders! (the top row is full of recipes, sorted by category).

(Yes, it is a July calendar).

Can I get a Hell, Yeah for everything but the worksurface?

Are you a filer or a piler? What method do you use for organizing your paperwork?

If you need inspiration to stay organized, check out my Pinterest organization board here.

* totally made up statistics

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Publishing decision 2017 vs. 2011 #Throwback Thursday

It’s Throwback Thursday with an important publishing decision.

It’s Throwback Thursday, and I’m republishing a blog I wrote in 2011. Yeah, that long ago, when making a publishing decision was almost a no-brainer—traditional publishing or this relatively new thing called self-publishing.

Making a publishing decision? The publishing industry is in the midst of turmoil. Those cart tracks have expanded to four-lane super highways. Anyone who wants to be published nowadays can be.

Here’s the blog:

I attended our monthly writers’ group meeting today. As always, I returned home in total awe of our members.  They are a fantastic group and never take no as an answer.

It’s easy to forget between meetings, when you’re sitting in the basement staring at a blank screen, that there are others just like you. As Emily, our newest member said, “Writing a book is hard.” Yes, it is, but we keep plugging away, writing, critiquing, editing, submitting and hoping for publication.

But boys and girls, the road to publication is no longer a small trail with a select group of tollgate keepers deciding who gets to progress forward. The publishing industry is in the midst of turmoil. Those cart tracks have expanded to four-lane super highways. Anyone who wants to be published nowadays can be.

Is that a problem? Will junk and dreck clog the choices we have? Probably. But think about that for a moment. How many people actually write a book? As Emily noted, it’s hard. Damn hard. Your competition will remain the same. If xxxx people finished a manuscript in 2006 b.k. (before Kindle), a similar amount will write a book in 2011. The only difference is that more of them will become available to readers.

How many of your fellow authors are really, really good, on the cusp of being accepted for publication but have never quite got the nod from New York? I can tell you, their chances lessen more and more. Publishers can’t scramble fast enough to keep up with the minute-to-minute changes in the industry. They hang on to their best selling authors, squeeze the mid-list and don’t take chances on newcomers.

Making a publishing decision? The publishing industry is in the midst of turmoil. Those cart tracks have expanded to four-lane super highways. Anyone who wants to be published nowadays can be.

How are you going to get a break if you don’t make your own?

Yes, there’s something to be said for traditional publishing. I’ll always love the feel of a book in my hand. I miss being able to thumb through the pages to the part I want to re-read (2/3 through the book on the left hand side.) But, I can carry dozens of books in my purse on an e-reader. (which will be super handy during my upcoming eight hour flight). I can have what I want to read available within seconds instead of ordering it through the mail or hunting through library lists.

Ebooks have their drawbacks, but, at Amazon, they’ve already surpassed sales of paperbacks. The Kindle (I’m using it as the standard of all ereaders) is not even four years old. Wait until the price drops below $99.

Traditional publishing might not go away, but do you want to miss out on the greatest opportunity that has ever happened to the industry? The industry you’re so desperate to break into?

Think about alternative ways to offer your book to your readers. That’s all I ask. Think about it.

I know I am.

****2017 Cheryl back again****

Has your publishing decision changed since this was written? Do you still crave the legitimization of “traditional” publishing? How’s that going for you? It’s harder, not easier to be traditionally published, and the doors are shrinking.

Do you still think of self-publishing as not really being published? Or have you embraced it?

Tell me your views in the comments.

Blessings,

Cheryl

p.s. Kindles are available for under $99 if you’re interested. I no longer own one. I read on my laptop or my phone using the Kindle app.

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Three Marketing Tips for Writers #AuthorToolboxBlogHop

Three marketing tips for writers

It’s that time of month again—AuthorToolBoxBlogHop, where like-minded writers exchange tips on writing, marketing, editing, querying, etc. For July, I’ve selected three marketing tips for writers that I don’t think are well known. It’s always a pleasure sharing marketing secrets.

1. The right way to share your book’s Amazon link

Okay, you’ve finally published a book. Hooray you! And naturally, you’re social media-ing the heck out of it. Whether on your blog, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or any other platform, you’re getting the word out. “Buy my book. Here’s the link ______”.

But did you know there’s a little known secret to copying an Amazon’s link?

Here’s the unedited link to my last novel, Snow White and the Eighth Dwarf:

Snow White and the Eighth Dwarf, an adult fairy tale recreation

Snow White and the Eighth Dwarf

https://www.amazon.com/Snow-White-Eighth-Dwarf-Enchanted-ebook/dp/B06XPH21PW/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1500258454&sr=8-9&keywords=cheryl+sterling

(whew!)

See that bolded ASIN (Amazon book ID Number)? All that gibberish behind it is an Amazon electronic time stamp. It tells Amazon the exact time of your  purchase.

Here’s the thing. Every time you sell a book with that time stamp, Amazon will see an abnormal amount of sales FOR THE SAME EXACT TIME. It might send up a red flag. Your sales might not be counted.

Here’s an easy workaround

Remove everything after the ASIN. Whether you shorten the link with tinyURL or not, only use the link between www.amazon to the ASID.

2. Sticking a post to Twitter and Facebook

Going back to your new book scenario (Yeah, you!). You write a post about it on Twitter and your Facebook Page—then what? How do you keep it at the top of all your posts so it’s the first thing visitors see?

Write your post/tweet as usual and publish. Find it on your feed and look for a V symbol in the upper right hand corner of the post. Click on it and bring down the pull down menu.

Tip #2 of three marketing tips for writers. Permanently pin a post to the top of your Facebook page.

Permanently pin a post to the top of your Facebook page.

On Twitter, click on “Pin to your profile page.”

On Facebook, click on “Pin to top of page.” This only works on Facebook Pages. You do have a Facebook page, right?

Add a C.T.A. to all your correspondence

What is C.T.A.? It stands for Call To Action. Yes, you, introverted author, are going to ask your readers to buy your books.

In the front and back material of your published book (Yeah, you!) add all your contact info: email, blog link, Facebook page, Twitter page, all social media, and a link to your Amazon Author Page. You do have an Amazon Author page, right? In addition, add Amazon links to other books, and an excerpt of one of your books.

Tip 3 of three marketing tips for writers: Include a call to action CTA on all your correspondence.

It’s okay to ask your current readers to buy something else of yours. Or contact you. Or follow you on social media. Perhaps write a review. Where better than at the back of your book?

Nudge your readers with a C.T.A. This article explains how effective a C.T.A. can be.

 

Today’s #AuthorToolBoxBlogHop was brought to you by the letters “A” (Amazon link), “P” (Pin your post), and “C”, “T”, and “A” (Call to Action). I hope my three marketing tips for writers will bring you many, many sales (at different Amazon time stamps, of course).

To continue hopping through other great blogs in the monthly #AuthorToolboxBlogHop or to join, click here.

Bonus C.T.A.

Thanks for reading to the bottom of this post. I’m sending out my own Call To Action. I’ve finished the sequel to Snow White and the Eighth Dwarf, titled Red Riding Hood and the Lone Wolfe.

I’m looking for beta readers. If you’re interested, please contact me at cherylsterling@hotmail.com

See, CTAs are painless.

Blessings,

Cheryl

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