Do weight loss and marketing have anything in common?

Absolutely!

How is that?

Well, they both require commitment, they both require a system that must be followed and they both take time. This year, my plan is to go full tilt on both.

But it’s not all about weight loss, really. It’s more about a lifestyle change – exercise, healthy eating, mental clarity – they all play a part. So, to document what I’m doing for health, I’ve created a new blog called The Weight Loss Papers. You’ll find it at http://theweightlosspapers.com. And I’ll continue to track my marketing progress here at internet marketing & more.

I’ve just secured an internship to learn more about internet marketing. I’ll be able to implement what I’m learning there into my own businesses. It’s not a paid internship but I think it’s going to work out well nonetheless, especially as things really get cooking with my own business efforts.

This year in addition to marketing, I’m focusing on my writing business. I’m just now beginning a new marketing campaign that promises some good results. My mentor is sure I can make upwards of $10k per month very soon. And I’m so excited about that!

What are your goals for 2008? Feel free to post in the comments or post on your own blog with a link back here. Whatever you do in 2008, remember to HAVE FUN!

~ Annie

Sorry, guys! I didn’t realize it had been so long since I’d posted. Guess going to school full time and working in between everything else doesn’t leave me much time to keep in touch with you.

How’s everyone doing?

Well, I think here in the Pacific Northwest, we’ve gone straight from almost-summer to winter. It’s only 30 degrees this morning! But at least the sun is shining.

I’ll be back soon with some additional stuff – I promise. For now, let’s talk about NaNoWriMo – that’s National Novel Writing Month. It begins November 1, 2007 and I’m busily getting ready for it.

Now, I am a little ashamed to admit I’ve never won before. I know, that sounds really bad – especially from a published author. I get really close but don’t quite seem to ever hit the 50,000 word mark. And this year, I aim to change that. I’ve been reading Chris Baty’s “No Plot? No Problem!” and it’s very, very useful for someone like me. (Chris Baty, in case you’re not sure, is the guy who began and now heads the NaNoWriMo.)

This weekend I’ll be sitting down in my office with the door closed and making sure my homework for next week is as good as done, if not actually done so that I can get off to a good start. Thankfully, I only have one class this quarter (which ends Nov. 7. Can you believe that?) but I have 2 next quarter and one of them is pretty heavy so it’s going to get more challenging rather quickly, I think.

If you’d like to check NaNoWriMo out, just click any of the NaNoWriMo references – I made them all hyperlinks.

Ok – that’s all for today. I hope everyone is doing well.

~ Annie

Product Creation, part 3 is coming tomorrow!

Just wanted to let you know that tomorrow I will be posting the next piece in the Product Creation series. Also look for some slideshows and/or videos for all 3 modules soon. I want to give you the best chance possible to help you on the road to creating your own products.

So – don’t go anywhere! Look for that tomorrow and perhaps by this weekend, I’ll upload a free report on creating products for you. What do you think?

~Annie
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After getting several great reviews via comments and emails from readers who enjoyed my Overcome Writer’s Block series that was posted this weekend, I’ve created a downloadable report with all the posts. It’s just a simple report – 11 pages long and I think you’ll enjoy it.

You can download it via the contact form at my other site – Annie Anderson Blog. Just enter your name and email in the form, hit submit and you’ll receive an email within just a few minutes that contains the download link and password.

There’s a special bonus in the report as well. Check it out!

~Annie
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Discovering Your Flow or When to Write

Although this is my last for tonight, I will be continuing this series as I still have many more tips for overcoming writer’s block.

So – the big question – how do I get in the flow?

There’s no perfect answer here. People work differently. For example, I tend to be a night person. I do not do mornings well and so my most productive time is often afternoon and evening. That’s why I chose to do the blogathon late in the afternoon here instead of starting earlier.

In any case, you can find your flow by figuring out when you’re most alert, when you feel like you do your best work. Ask yourself a few questions like:

When do I feel most active?
What time of day do I feel most alert and awake?
Do I like to get up early in the morning?
Or do I prefer to stay up late at night?

It’s really that simple.

But I know for a lot of people, myself included, we can’t always work at the our most productive time of day. During the week when my husband is at work, I often don’t get to work until later in the evening although my most optimum time of day is afternoon.

In times like that, we have to learn to work through the distractions. It can be hard! Especially if you have little kids at home. But if you take steps to keep yourself organized and implement some of the other ideas we’ve talked about in previous posts, you’ll find it easier to overcome other obstacles – like temper tantrums!

And with all of these “tools” up your sleeve, you’ll be a writing maniac in no time!

Thank you for following along! Have a great evening!

~Annie
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Next post – Discovering Your Writing Flow or When to Write

This has been a great series to write and we’re now coming to the end of my Blogathon writing time. I’ve been blogging since 3:00 this afternoon and we’re coming up on 7:00 pm here shortly.

Thank you for taking this journey with me. I hope you have learned something about writing. And I hope you’ve been inspired to check out Dr. Mani’s blog and his work with children in India who have heart defects.

And thank you to Dr. Mani for being an inspiration! God Bless!

~Annie
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Getting in the mood

Setting the scene of your workspace can do wonders for your enthusiasm as well as your muse. When you feel relaxed, calm, and happy, it’s much easier to overcome writer’s block.

One of the best ways I’ve found to overcome writer’s block besides having a clean workspace liked we talked about in our last post, is to have a quiet, warm, atmosphere.

Fortunately, I have a home office of my own where I can go and close the door. I know many people don’t have that small luxury. So, it’s particularly important for you to find somewhere you can write comfortably. Preferably, it should be away from outside distractions like family, phones ringing, televisions and the like.

Now, I love music. And for me, writing with quiet, yet energetic music in the background is beneficial. So, I have a stereo system and all my CD’s in my office. I can crank up the tunes and drown out all the background noise from my kids and husband or neighborhood lawnmowers and dogs barking.

Another point about getting in the mood, is having good lighting and a comfortable desk and chair. Especially if you write using a computer. Ideas flow much easier when the environment is nice to be in.

You don’t need fancy or expensive equipment but your space should be well lit, your chair should be easy and comfortable to sit in and any items like notepad and paper that you may need, should all be within reach. If you need books and papers to be spread out while you’re working, you’ll need a desk or table with adequate space to accommodate those things.

Hang posters, pictures and other memorabilia on your walls or place them on shelves so that you have things to inspire you as you work.

Your goal is to have an environment that is safe, clean, organized and a pleasure to be in that will allow you to work at optimum performance.

Which brings us to our last post for the blogathon – when to write and discovering your flow.

~Annie
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Have a clean workspace

Just like natures abhors a vacuum, your brain dislikes clutter. Brains just don’t function well when things are disorganized. Having a clean workspace can help you overcome writer’s block.

Being organized really is helpful. Not only does it save you time when you’re trying to find things, it also invokes a feeling of peace and calmness.

Don’t believe me?

Trash your workspace and then just TRY sitting there without feeling cramped. I bet it will get to you at some point. You’ll want to move things out of your line of vision. You might want to throw things out. Or you’ll waste time finding that report you printed out for your rush project.

Once your thought and concentration go down the tube, you’ll clam up and everything you intended to write will be long gone.

Distractions are the biggest culprit to unproductive writing and contribute to the top reasons why writers experience writer’s block. And some of the most common distractions, besides outside noise like family, are workspace clutter.

Get organized. Put things away. Keep things neat and come up with a system for keeping everything in it’s place. Your writing time will be more productive. And when you have productive writing time, you tend to stay on task much better which always leads to reducing writer’s block.

When you’re productive, your brain learns trust and enjoy your writing time instead of dreading it.

And next, we’ll talk more about ways to enjoy the writing process and “get in the mood.”

~Annie
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Don’t edit your own work

I can hear you thinking “Annie is off her rocker this time” but I assure you, that not editing your own work can help you overcome writer’s block.

Here’s why -

You’re too close to your own words. You know what you wanted to say and when you didn’t say it right, when something messed that up and you decided to edit your own stuff, your brain said “hey, why bother here? I can’t write right anyway. What’s the point?”

Just like editing and formatting when you’re writing, your brain thinks it’s time to do something else. It gets conditioned to writing wrong and decides there are certainly better things to do.

So, send your editing to someone else. Your brain will not know that it messed something up and so when you go to sit down, it will think “Wow! I can do this! I’m good at this.” And writing becomes a joy again. But when your head thinks you can’t, it sabotages your work time, frustrating you in the end.

Now, I’m not talking about having someone else do your spell checking or your revisions, just have someone else read through it and point out places where it doesn’t flow as well as it could and that kind of thing. And certainly, it might be cumbersome to have someone edit your quick blog posts or short articles, but your major projects – like books, eBooks, and long sales letter type stuff – have an outside person go over them with a fine tooth comb.

And if you need an editor, my email is elsewhere on this blog. I’d be happy to help you out. Just shoot me a quick note.

In the next post, we’ll talk more about cleaning up, only this time, it’ll be having a clean workspace.

~Annie
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Write quickly without editing or formatting

It took me forever to learn to write without editing. And – admittedly – I still do it at times. But it’s hugely important to overcoming writer’s block.

Every time you stop for something, to fix a misspelled word, answer the phone, read an email or anything else, you lose momentum. And as you lose that momentum, your brain decides there are better things to do besides write. It becomes conditioned to doing anything but writing. So, when you finally sit down to write, your brain thinks it’s time to do something else.

The best way I’ve found to overcome that, is to sit down and write as FAST as absolutely possible. Turn your screen off if you have to if you’re using a computer. Blind fold yourself. Whatever you have to do so that those little annoying things like spelling mistakes and formatting annoyances don’t get your attention.

Don’t go back to fix anything until the very end. Don’t fix grammar, don’t fix spelling and for goodness sake, don’t fix any formatting! Just write! That’s your task during your writing time. Notice it isn’t called EDITING. It’s called WRITING.

Why? Because we are W R I T I N G! We are putting thoughts down on paper.

Get it in your head that editing and writing are two VERY different things. And you’ll be well on your way to overcoming writer’s block. Your brain – and maybe even your fingers – will know that when you sit down to write, it’s job is be fully present, coming up with ideas and being in flow.

If you follow the act of writing quickly, not only will you – obviously – write faster, you’ll probably find the editing process to be much smoother too. And over time, you might even find you actually make less mistakes.

Next up – don’t edit your own work. You might be surprised how this can help you overcome writer’s block.

~Annie
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