Bright Ideas Blogzine
Issue #8 - March 2009
Publisher: http://heblogssheblogs.com/

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IN THIS ISSUE
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1.  Advance Your Career: Attend a Writers' Conference

2.  Links to Popular Articles

3.  Need a Speaker for Your Event?

4.  Upcoming Speaking Gigs

5.  'Blogophobia Conquered: 
Overcome the 7 Most Common Fears & Create an Amazing Blog

6.  Share Bright Ideas

7.  Linky Love

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1.  Advance Your Career: Attend a Writers' Conference
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Did you catch Laura's post, "5 Things They Don't Warn You About in
the Writers' Conference Brochure"?
http://tinyurl.com/cxqe95

Fun stuff.  Here are five thoughts I came away from the Florida
Christian Writers' Conference with, in no particular order:

1.  No one has made it

Because I taught at the FCWC I got to know most of the faculty and
heard their stories.

Revelation: None of the faculty feel as if they've made it. When
you're new to the world of writing and publishing, those who have
contracts or write articles that get published or teach writing or
have a book out you can order from Amazon seem to have made it.
They've achieved the dream! Huh uh. Keynoter Davis Bunn
(http://www.davisbunn.com/home.html - who's sold
more than six million books) said, "I'm just slightly further down
the same road."

My new friends talked about rejections and hopes and dreams and
concerns. Same things beginners talk about. As Mary DeMuth
(http://www.wannabepublished.blogspot.com/) says,
getting a contract simply introduces a new set of challenges.

Even Cec Murphey (http://themanbehindthewords.com/) -- who keynoted
at the conference--and has written
over 110 books, says he has a long way to go. The best-selling book
he wrote for Don Piper, "90 Minutes in Heaven," has sold over 3.5
million copies. Yet Cec doesn't think he's made it, either.

Am I telling you agents and editors and published novelists and
non-fiction specialists aren't gods? That's exactly what I'm saying.

They're human. And most are very approachable.

2.  We don't have them in Seattle

The FCWC conference center is next to Lake Yale. One night, as I
stood on the pier, talking with my wife via cell phone, I heard a
loud swish from the water right behind me. Yes, I walked briskly
back to land. No, I didn't get eaten by the alligator.

3.  You never know who you'll meet

During the four-day conference, I chatted a few times with a
gentleman named Loyd Boldman (http://www.devotionmedia.com). But
Loyd isn't the type to brag on
himself, so I didn't find out till he was driving Laura and me to
the airport that back in the 1980s, he fronted one of the pioneer
Christian rock bands. I had a short stint on air in the mid-80s
hosting a show called Eternal Rock, and we figured I must have
played songs from Loyd's band, Prodigal
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prodigal_(CCM_band)

Loyd and I swapped inside stories about bands we know and had a
great time reminiscing, while Laura eagerly leafed through Loyd's
high-end graphic design portfolio and decided on the spot that we
need to hire him.

Ask people for their stories. Most people are fascinating if you're
willing to dig a bit.

4.  Randy isn't Darci

Randy Ingermanson (http://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/) and I
have been friends for a while now, so we
roomed together at the conference. And while he owns a stellar pair
of PJs and is a fascinating conversationalist, even at 1:30 am, I
missed my wife. (Plus she's way cuter and doesn't fire up a chain
saw after she dozes off.)

5.  Friendship is the priority

I think we're all going to die someday. I don't think we're taking
anything with us, except friendships. So investing in friendships
should be a priority.

I came away from the conference a rich man because of the new
kindred spirits I met there.

Contracts and writing assignments are wonderful, but the
relationships we build are the true gold that lasts. (I recently
posted more on this subject over on the FCWC blog:
http://floridachristianwriters.blogspot.com/2009/03/will-there-be-bo
oks-in-heaven.html)

If you've never been to a writing conference, go.

There's no better way to advance your career. 


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2.  Links to Popular Articles
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WRITING

Will There Be Books in Heaven?
http://tinyurl.com/7u9j8p

Our Calling as Writers
http://tinyurl.com/apx23k

You Are Not Alone
http://tinyurl.com/b6kpht

MARKETING

The 10 Most Important Things to Do Today
http://tinyurl.com/c6qbbw

Services for Services: The Power of Bartering
http://tinyurl.com/b9x4yj

8 Customer Service Lessons I Learned from 'The Grocer's Son'
http://tinyurl.com/bavxak

BLOGGING

Generate Interest in Your Event Through Guest Blog Posts
http://tinyurl.com/d94we4

URL Shortening Services
http://tinyurl.com/cdw79j

Celeb Ghost Tweeters - Boo or Bravo?
http://tinyurl.com/by2932

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3.  Need a Speaker for Your Event?
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Jim and Laura speak regularly at conferences and events -- as
keynoters, as workshop teachers, and as panelists.
 
Some of their popular presentations include:

    * Burning Your Brand into People's Minds (brand identity
development)
    * The Genesis Method of Creating a Stellar Blog (for biz or
personal blogs)
    * Social Media Marketing 101 (social networking & social
bookmarking basics)
    * The Perfect Pitch (how to pitch your project)
    * Marketing Demystified (marketing yourself for maximum impact)
    * Meet the Press (cooking up a delectable press release)

To learn more about booking Jim and Laura for your event, corporate
training, or conference, e-mail info@heblogssheblogs.com;
425.244.4242.

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4.  Upcoming Speaking Gigs
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March 14, 2009
Ours Through Adoption conference, Green Bay, WI (Laura is a
keynoter and is teaching two workshops)
http://tinyurl.com/csbx2v

March 23, 2009
SHOP Symposium/09, Seattle Design Center (sponsored by
CRAVEbusiness) (Jim and Laura present during a panel discussion on
social networking)
http://tinyurl.com/c7k4jm

April 6, 2009
Northwest Christian Writers Association, Bothell, WA
Jim will be teaching a roundtable workshop, "The Perfect Pitch" and
Laura will be facilitating The Write Start exercise: "Author Binges"
http://www.nwchristianwriters.org/

May 1-2, 2009
Northwest Christian Writers Renewal, Bothell, WA
Jim & Laura will be teaching a workshop on branding: "Discovering
Your Divine Design"
http://www.nwchristianwriters.org/

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5.  'Blogophobia Conquered: 
Overcome the 7 Most Common Fears & Create an Amazing Blog
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A must-have e-book for every blogger, or wannabe blogger!

Learn the secrets for:

*Writing & formatting breakout blog articles

*How to increase traffic exponentially & keep it coming back
  
*Finding the perfect blog platform, photo sites, and
stats-reporting sites 

*Handling snarky comments, burnout, discouragement ... even blog
addiction

Exclusive price for Bright Ideas Blogzine subscribers:
 
$12.99
(retail price - $19.99)
 
Send your check to:
He Blogs, She Blogs
PO Box 1254
Snohomish, WA 98291  
 
OR
 
Pay by credit card of PayPal using the following link:
 
http://tinyurl.com/4zl86w 

We will e-mail you a PDF of your 88-page e-book as soon as your
payment is processed!

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6.  Share Bright Ideas
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Permission is granted to use any of the articles in Bright Ideas
Blogzine in your own e-zine or web site, as long as you include the
following blurb with it:

Jim Rubart and Laura Christianson co-founded HeBlogsSheBlogs.com, a
Seattle-based business that helps individuals and companies
maximize their writing, marketing, and blogging skills. 

We encourage you to forward this e-zine to others who want to
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7.  Linky Love
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