Key Business Partners, LLC

Here are some resources and tools I found during the week either from researching the internet or from various social media sites like Twitter and Facebook.

I will start off with a resource I found out about from Dawn Goldberg, owner ofWrite Well U.

Ok, before I go to that resource, Dawn is a resource all on her own. She has classes, workshops, a free weekly writing prompt and is a coach for writers. So check out her site at Write Well U.

Now back to the message she sent over Twitter (by the way if you would like to follow Dawn on Twitter her id is @dawngoldberg).

AuthorSmart – They offer classes throughout the month and you can either purchase them separately (some of them are only $10 AND you get the downloadable audio). They are running a special “Golden Ticket” Author Smart Winter 2009 now were you can get 23 classes for just $75, an incredible deal. Certain restrictions apply however, still really good idea.

Another neat thing I found on their site…the links-a-pedia page.

Book Page – deemed as “America’s book review”. It is a monthly distributed publication to over 2000 libraries and bookstores. You can sign up to receive your own copy of the publication.

They accept advance copies of book in all different genres for review however, it must be at least 3 months before publication in order to be considered.

On their site, they have some neat stuff even if you have a book already published. You can get on their list to receive their latest reviews, updates and news.

There is a fascinating collection of posts from Laurie Shaw’s blog. The series is called, Writers Discuss the Future of Publishing, Round 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

I wanted to start a new weekly post to share those things online I find each week of help to writers and authors: With and For Writers and Authors

Here are a few things I have found over the last couple of days:

Maria Schneider of Editor Unleased wrote a great post called Twitter Tips for Writers. She compiled a very nice list of people to follow on Twitter for writers. I would think this would be helpful to anyone in the publishing, writing or literary industry.

PRSarahEvans & MissCybernaut twittered about the Media Wiki that has been created.

Carolyn Howard-Johnson (aka Frugal Book Promoter & Frugal Book Editor) suggested BSquaredAudio for Writers as a resource for audio production.

Have you joined John Kremer’s Book Marketing Social Networking Group When you do, be sure to look me up and add me as a friend.

Well, I hope these resources are helpful for writers and authors. And if you have some places or people who should be followed on twitter or other social networking sites, please leave a comment and share with us.

Donna Cutting is the author of “The Celebrity Experience: Insider Secrets to Delivering Red-Carpet Customer Service,” published by Wiley. She is a full-time keynote speaker on the topics of employee engagement and red-carpet customer service.

She speaks 50-75 times per year and her clients include Pricewaterhouse Coopers, JJ Taylor and Companies, Florida SHRM, Alaska SHRM, Professionals in Human Resources Association, Career Central, HR Southwest, First Bank of Richmond, the City of Dallas, Florida Career Professionals, the Association of Homes and Services for the Aging, California Association of Health Services at Home, and the University of Alaska, several SHRM chapters and many other corporations and associations.

Donna and “The Celebrity Experience” have been featured on television, radio and in print including ABC’s America This Morning, ABC Channel 7 in Chicago, several Business Journals across the country, Investor’s Business Daily, Weekend Entrepreneur, and several business related radio shows.

She has authored over 50 articles which have been published in a variety of trade magazines, The Employer’s Group newsletter, jobdig.com, and BusinessKnowHow.com. She is the author of Gal Morale’s Blog which focuses on employee retention and engagement strategies.

Donna is also known by her alter-ego, “Gal Morale” – a character she created to teach the principles of employee engagement. Donna’s background as a stage actress sets the stage for her theatrical speaking style, and her experience as a manager in the health care arena contributes to her expertise in employee engagement and customer service.

A member of the National Speakers Association, and Past President of NSA Central Florida, Donna currently lives in St. Petersburg, Florida with her husband, Jim and their Maltese dog, Snowball.

Sure you have heard the statement, Build it and they will come.” The statement is a lovely sentiment however, doesn’t work in all cases.

Having online elements, such as a website, blog and newsletter, doesn’t automatically mean people will flock to see what you have to sell.

You will want to create a message speaking to your customer in order for your customer to come to your website, blog or newsletter.

Sometimes when a author or writer comes to me for the initial call, they will ask me why they aren’t receiving the results they would be hoping for in return. Well, one of the things I come back and ask is, “Do you have promotional materials in place (website, blog, newsletter, social networking)?”

Most of the time, they have some of them but not others and then they get frazzled about where to go and how to get there in the quickest way.

First it is smart to look and review how each of these elements are put together to begin with.

Here are some things to look for on your website, blog or newsletter.
1) Does the text read with the potential client in mind or like a sales ad?
2) How is the navigation on the site?
3) Is the site filled with valuable information so the potential client will want to stay?
4) Does it reflect you?
5) Is your contact information easy to find?

With your blog you want to make sure these additional elements are in place 1)Similar things apply as for the website. 2)Make sure your blog reflect similar characteristics as your website.
3)Blog about a relevant topic at least once a week.
4) Add variety such as videos and/or audio posts

With all of the online promotion –Remember your readers. Remember your audience. Remember to also keep it authentic to YOU.

You are excited about your newest project…you have gotten your coffee or tea and you sit down to write..and BANG! Nothing comes to mind. What do you do? You create a new tape.

Let me explain and to do this I need to tell you how I created a new tape.

Yesterday, I was talking with a friend of mine, Pam Butler. Her and I were talking about the evening before at the St. Pete/Tampa eWomen networking event. I was telling her about a conversation I had with a lady who I wanted to talk with for sometime but haven’t had a chance to meet yet. So I went on to tell Pam about my introduction with this woman and how I thought I just messed up the whole thing.

“Pam, I went up to her and I was so excited to meet her, I said the wrong thing and I just felt silly. But you know, I guess she didn’t mind me coming up to her too much because she told me to wait when we were interrupted by someone saying goodbye to her before they left. I really hope she doesn’t think I am a complete nut.”

“Teresa, that is YOUR perception of how she took what you said and did, however, I bet that was not the reality. I bet she thought you were charming and pleasant to speak with.

Then she said it….“You need to stop playing that tape and create a new tape.”

Pam continued, “You have been thinking about what YOU think you did wrong and that the meeting with her went badly. You need to erase that tape and write a new tape. You have spend your morning and afternoon thinking about this and it is only breeding more negativity and what you need to do is bring in the positive thoughts about the experience.”

Now, I did call this woman yesterday morning and left her a voicemail to say it was lovely to meet her and asked her how I could be of service to her and the organization she works with but I still hadn’t felt great about the whole situation.

Of course, not until Pam helped me realize I just needed to create a new tape of the night before and place happier and positive reinforcements into the situation. And guess what?

By 4pm yesterday, I received a call back from this lady, saying to me that she enjoyed speaking with me the night before and she would love to get together and talk more.

Have you ever met someone and just knew they were placed in your life for a reason? Pam is one of those blessings to me.