Writers’ Roundup: January 27

January 27, 2012


Happy weekend!

Here are a few links to get you thinking:

  • Enjoyed this post from my Brazen colleague Whitney Parker, who shares her fashion consulting experience with CakeStyle. I, too, am not a shopper — Might have to give this a try!
  • Us writers are always complaining about how many horrible books have managed to get published. Now GalleyCat feeds into that with a list of 10 bestselling books with more than 80 one-star reviews.
  • If you’re going to stop sitting around and start doing, you’ve got to surround yourself with doers, Joel Runyon says. So true!
  • Check out how traveler Katie Aune reduced her spending and saved enough cash for her career break.
  • Incorrect use of the apostrophe is this editor’s pet peeve. Thankfully, author Terry Odell reminds us how to use the “humble apostrophe” correctly.

See you Monday!

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Teach Yourself What You Need to Know to Succeed: Lessons from The Education of Millionaires

January 25, 2012


Every college kid and recent grad should go out and buy (or borrow) Michael Ellsberg’s new book, The Education of Millionaires.

Really. I feel so strongly about this that I’m sitting here thinking about who I should buy it for.

The Education of Millionaires

I heard about Michael and his book via Mixergy, an educate-yourself website full of interviews with entrepreneurs, and through an interview my colleague Jaclyn Schiff did for Brazen Life — both worth listening to.

(Before I continue raving about this book, a quick book-marketing lesson from Michael for all you aspiring authors: When I tweeted about how much I enjoyed that Mixergy interview and how I’d just bought the book, Michael responded to my tweet, thanking me for the positive feedback and offering to send me a free copy to give to a friend. He never sent the free copy, but I jotted this down as an excellent marketing and interaction strategy for when my own book comes out.)

Back to the book! The Education of Millionaires is up my alley for two reasons:

1. It’s chock-full (yes, writers, that’s chock-full, not chalk-full) of practical, actionable tips, which is my bread ‘n butter on this blog and in my products. He offers advice we can all follow right now.

2. It’s all about the importance of educating yourself. Because you can gain nearly all the skills that are important to your career on your own, if you’re smart about how to learn them.

The only thing I didn’t care for was the title. Yes, this book is about millionaires who didn’t finish college. But more than that, it’s about having a go-getter attitude and learning the skills you need to succeed by getting out there and doing the work.

This is SUCH an important point, because too many job seekers whine about not having the right experience for the job. The truth is, nowadays you can get nearly any type of experience you need simply by going out there and doing whatever you want to do. Start out by doing it for free, then transition to paid clients. Or write a blog about the topic to show what you know and what you’re learning. Or go beyond your job description at work and learn valuable skills through a side project. Stop waiting for a company to hire you or ask you to work on what you want to work on, and just start doing what you want to do.

[Read the rest…]

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Use Social Media to Make Your Own Luck = New Course!

January 23, 2012

I write often about the importance of using Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn — not to mention blogging — to make your own luck. But how, exactly, should you do that? Now, for the first time, I’m offering an online course with practical tips and ideas, so you can accumulate the “luck” you crave — whether you’re [...]

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Writers’ Roundup: January 20

January 20, 2012

Friday has arrived! Smart reads for your weekend: Must-read article for writers in Forbes: author Michael Ellsberg shares tips for book promotion based on his personal experience. If you’re considering working for yourself, entrepreneur Thursday Bram suggests taking time to establish your title — Should you call yourself a freelancer? Independent contractor? Consultant? Great glossary. [...]

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To Make a Living as a Writer, Be More Than a Writer

January 19, 2012

It is NOT a pipe dream, the idea of making a living as a writer. Lots of people do it successfully. But here’s the secret: you have to be more than a writer. You have to be an expert on a topic or a creator or an entrepreneur or a salesman — or maybe a [...]

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Figuring Out How to Make a Living Doing What You Love

January 17, 2012

Last week I woke up to a long note from a reader of my newsletter. He’s working as an interpreter for a manufacturing company, and he’s desperate to change course and become a travel photographer. Except he doesn’t want to give up his salary. He doesn’t think he’ll be able to make real money in [...]

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What’s the First Thing You Do Each Morning?

January 16, 2012

This post from Seth Godin about the first thing you do when you sit down at the computer really made me think. He writes: …the first thing you do should be to lay tracks to accomplish your goals, not to hear how others have reacted/responded/insisted to what happened yesterday. He’s right about my habits: usually [...]

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It’s Not Always Easy to Travel Light

January 14, 2012

This week, in preparation for my trip to Nicaragua and Costa Rica, I pulled out my tiny ASUS eee PC, the laptop I carried while backpacking through Africa. (We didn’t have as many options for mini-laptops way back in 2008.) Except now that my entire business revolves around a computer, I’m not sure I can [...]

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Writers’ Roundup: January 12

January 13, 2012

Happy Friday! Looking for some weekend reading? I’ve got you covered: Creative badass Justine Musk shares a letter to the woman who thinks she wants to blog. Is that you? Did you start a blog and now want to jump ship? Over at Problogger, Kelly Kingman suggests you master the art of slow blogging. Learned [...]

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Next Up: Nicaragua & Costa Rica

January 11, 2012

I’m on a I-bought-a-ticket high! I’ve been scheming for a while on my next trip, wavering on destinations, and I finally took the plunge: I’m headed to Nicaragua and Costa Rica for three weeks in February. I prefer to travel over land as opposed to flying, so I bought a one-way ticket from D.C. to [...]

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