Welcome to neXtDRAFT Issue 17. If you read issue 16. you know I spent 10 hours travelling to Kabilbo to renew my visa last Tuesday. Don't worry the travel time wasn't wasted and I was able to read (as promised) Force of Nature by Jane Harper (book review
further down). 5 Star reading and perfect for my Australian subscribers.
Waiting for my return trip back to Estancia I had just enough time (and signal) for a phone call to mum and dad back in Australia. Dad has been cleaning up the bush and roadsides of discarded bottles and cans, cashing them in then sending the proceeds for my projects here. Here he is below with his latest cache (photo courtesy of mum).
Big thanks to mum and dad for supporting everything I do here with Jerry and the kids.
Valentines Day arrived shrouded in rain courtesy of yet another Typhoon but that didn't stop 163 couples from getting married a few days later. Jerry's half-brother was one of them (read about it below). Jerry made me a lovely little card covered in paper hearts
and insisted I keep it forever.
The kittens are growing fat and fast. Almost 2 weeks old their little eyes are open and they are starting to play with your hands. Oh they are cute! They've been sleeping inside our room since the Ginger Tom attacked and killed poor little Pat but I'm completely sleep deprived!
Maxine seems
determined to in-out-in-out (and doesn't mind putting a paw on my cheek to wake me up) the whole night. We are trialling a new cat cage which is OUTSIDE tonight. More on that next week.
Maxine and kittens happily inside (not for much longer)
Something that has me super excited in the coming weeks is a visit from my dear friend Julie Heskins from Cairns. Arriving in Iloilo City on March 14th she'll be spending a week with Jerry and I in Estancia (and surrounds). The ladies and children are thrilled and can't wait to meet her.
It's a really fun story how I met Julie back in 2010 so I
think I'm gonna blog that one in the coming weeks. Stay tuned. Also Julie is a Reiki Master and practitioner (check out the client profile in the business section below for more details).
It's going to be fun showing Julie around the Iloilo City as well as introducing her to our life here. Meeting Jerry (she'll adore him), the ladies and our daily rituals. One of our favourites is buying fresh coconut juice in the market and loading it into my
little glass jug. I'm sure Julie will love that too.
Fresh coconuts for 65c, yes please!
As always thanks to you my subscribers and dear readers. I absolutely love putting together this little newsletter and you inspire me every week to keep writing and sharing my stories.
On Saturday Jerry’s brother got married in a mass wedding. All over the Philippines (on St Valentines Day) couples were able to get married for free in a civil ceremony administered by their local governments.
The wedding was originally scheduled for Wednesday but the flooding rains of Typhoon Basyang caused a postponement. No one thought it important to update the banners and signs to the new date though.
Read all
about how 163 couples were able to get married all at the same time (and the wedding antics of a naughty little brother).
‘Force of
Nature’ is one of the best new fiction books I’ve read in ages. I’m definitely a fan of Jane Harper now! Force of Nature is Jane Harper’s second book featuring protagonist Aaron Falk, a Federal Police Agent.
Having rushed through her first novel ‘The Dry‘, (enjoyed it but it didn’t leave me dazzled) I slowed down for Force of Nature and loved it so much I even went back and re-read some of The Dry.
Why 5 stars?
The suspense was excellent and I loved the way she delivered the story in two parts. One in real time of the investigators and the other a time-lapse moving through the events of the women. Both parts intersecting at critical moments, finally meeting at the end for the climax. It really kept me turning the pages.
Sometimes you read thrillers
that have really frightening endings, but the whole thing seems to be all this contrived violence for the sake of it. The plot in Force of Nature was chilling, yet believable.
The author created so many logical possibilities for why Anna Russell disappeared, I was really guessing right to the end.
The book alludes to the Backpacker Murders which occurred in Australia in the late 80s and early 90s: I remember the cases well being
the same age as many of victims. Jane Harper does a good job in capturing the unsettling feeling the crimes created that lasts even to now.
Sometimes Australian books tend to over-do the ‘Australian-ness’ but I thought Force of Nature sounded natural and Jane Harper an excellent conveyor of an authentic Australian voice.
Great for an Australian author to have established a credible crime-series. I’ll be back for more. How
about you?
I’m a professional writer making my way in the world of business. The WritingBiz section is for anyone wanting to make writing a career (or at the very least make some money writing). I’ll be sharing ideas on how to find clients
and customers within your niche, self-publishing eBooks, as well as how to setup your writing business and run it profitably.
As writer’s I think we all know there’s something cathartic about the writing of our personal story (especially if it’s been tied to personal anguish and
pain). Here are 10 websites, books and magazines that pay up to $400 for your personal story. There’s even some Australian publications too, because the ‘get paid to write’ listicles I see online mainly focus on US publications.
Persistence for Professional Writers
Persistence is the first, second and third requirement of an author in my opinion. When I started I was writing pretty horrible stuff. The very first literary encouragement I had was when I entered an eisteddfod. I
was about thirteen, and I had a little poem which won my section for the under-fourteen-year-olds. I'm afraid it won because is was the only entry.
But a girl I know had a poem in the under-sixteen section, and I came across it many years later - it had been published in the local newspaper. Her poem was a very fine poem - it could be published today in a
major anthology - whereas my poem was one that you screwed up and hoped no one would ever uncover. However I am now a published poet and she isn't.
What I'm suggesting is that you can start off with a very, very clumsy appartus but you'll get there if you have the persistence to keep going and the belief in yourself that you've got something worth
saying.
I think that is the most essential thing about being a writer.
This space is for my clients or anyone wanting to learn more about maximising their online presence. Every week I offer my best advice for selling online, improving website metrics, and how to blog
strategically. I also showcase one of my clients each week as a way of saying thank you for the business. Of course it's a place to advertise my own writing services (because I have to make a living too). Email me for any topics you'd like me to cover.
Quick Q&A
What's the best best social media for my business?
Where are your customers?
The best social media platform for your business is the one your customers are using. Here's a few key stats to get you thinking
...
- 81% of Pinterest users are women. 93% of active pinners said they use Pinterest to plan for purchases and 87% said they’ve purchased something because of Pinterest.
- 71% of Snapchat users are under 34 years old. People under the age of 25 use
Snapchat for 40 minutes on average every day, more than instagram’s latest stat for same demographic.
- After US, India, Brazil, Great Britain and Canada has the highest number of Linkedin users. There are 57% of male users and 44% female users on Linkedin.
- Every month
in Australia there are 290,000 Pinterest users compared to 17,000,000 Facebook users.
- India is the world's largest user of Facebook.
- In the UK teens and young adults are abandoning Facebook but the take-up rate by over 55s is increasing.
- Pizza is the most Instagrammed food globally, followed by Sushi.
- University graduates are twice as likely to use Twitter than someone with a high school education.
Before
investing in a social media campaign, sit down and profile your customers and work out your target audience. Men? Women? Millennials? Seniors? Business professionals? Tradies? Once you have a clear idea of who your customers are you can decide on the best social media for your business.
Client Profile: Rainforest Reiki
My friend Julie Heskins from is a reiki master, practitioner and teacher. Her wonderful business, Rainforest Reiki is based from her beautiful home in Cairns, QLD. Learn reiki, advanced meditation and yoga from Julie or become a reiki practitioner yourself. Julie teaches all levels of reiki.
Julie has been a
wonderful friend to me for many years and has also sponsored many of my projects here in the Philippines. I'm looking forward to her visit here next month. Get in touch in touch with Julie by clicking the links to her website.
A good copywriter is like an extra member of your sales team, working with you to build an online presence that represents you perfectly.
My mission is to write the copy that sells your products and services online (plus I’m keen to get you noticed by the major search engines as well).
My online
copywriting services include ..
- writing online product descriptions with a clear message to buy;
- configuring eCommerce platforms and online stores so you can sell your products online and refine your sales funnel;
- creating strategic landing pages so you
can build your email list and market specific products like books, courses, webinars and workshops;
- implementing email marketing strategies so you can keep your customers informed of new product releases, end-of-season markdowns, and exclusive offers;
- scheduling newsletters and eZines that provide value to your customers and keep them
engaged with your business;
- reviewing existing website copy to improve search engine rankings and get readers buying your products or booking your services.
Encouraging kids to stay away
from online computer stores and roaming around the streets is the main reason I invite a small group of kids to the house in the afternoons after school.According to UNICEF the Philippines has become the global epicentre of the live stream sexual abuse trade, and 8/10 Filipino kids is vulnerable to being sexually abused and bullied online.
