Falling into TV for Writing Inspiration

September 14, 2022 by Amanda Zieba

As we slide from the summer season into fall, I’m willing to bet that the TV consumption of most households is on the rise. I know that for my household, that means a lot of football! But my husband and I are also eagerly awaiting the emergence of Ted Lasso Season 3 and ever since season 2 of Only Murderers in the Building wrapped last month, are on the hunt for our next favorite show. (We welcome any suggestions for comedy, that strays away from uber-nerdy-fantasy (per Matt’s request) and violent (per my request).

I will often tell people that I’m not a big TV watcher. But I do love the way the shows my husband and I watch filter into our every day lives… the way we debrief episodes days after we watched them and the additions of character catch-phrases into our own language patterns just a couple of the benefits beyond our couch time together. These shows, like any art form, influence and impact our lives.

In this week’s blog round up I am going to share several past pieces I have written on TV shows and movies and the way they have impacted me as a writer and creative. If you are up for it, drop your thoughts on this topic in the comments below.

Happy reading and tv watching.

~ Amanda

A post about using movie tension as a template, my sample film of choice in this piece is PASSENGERS.

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If you liked what you read on my blog today (or are in search of weekly word nerd goodness) and would like to have it delivered to your inbox every Wednesday morning, you can sign up HERE. If you are interested in any of my email lists (with free goodies/downloads!) click the audience that best describes you: Writer. Teacher. Reader. As always, feel free to share this post with others you think might be interested via email, Facebook or Pinterest.

Finally, affiliate marketing is promoting a product or service in return for a commission. When you purchase a product or service through one of my links, I earn a small part of the sale. There is NEVER any extra cost to you. If you looked up the same product on the same site through another source besides my website, the price will still be exactly the same. 100% of the time.

I also NEVER link to products or services that I don't 100% believe in. I will never tout a company or their goods if they are disreputable or if I don't believe them to be worthy of your hard-earned money. In no way are my affiliate links a scam. (Language borrowed with permission from Kristen Kieffer on Well-Storied.com)

How to Use Content Marketing Successfully as an Author

September 07, 2022 by Amanda Zieba

Today’s guest post on successful content marketing for authors comes from my friend Carolyn of Bad Axe Enterprises. I’m thrilled because I learn a lot from every interaction with Carolyn, and this blog post is no different. Grab your favorite note taking tolls and settle in, because this is going to be GOOD.

Happy writing nerds.

Amanda

The phrase “content marketing” is everywhere right now, but what is it really? And how can you use your skills as a writer to create value-laden content that propels your creative pursuits?

Well first, let’s explore what content marketing is. As defined by Uncle Google, content marketing is:

"a type of marketing that involves the creation and sharing of online material (such as videos, blogs, and social media posts) that does not explicitly promote a brand but is intended to stimulate interest in its products or services."

How dry sounding!

Think of it this way instead: what types of things can you create to share online that serves your readers or clients and demonstrates your expertise as an author?

Likely you thought of a few videos, social media posts, or blog topics that could achieve those things. That's content marketing!

Shifting your mindset from viewing content as a chore to viewing it as one of the services you provide potential readers or clients can totally change the way you create online media.

Strategic Social Media

Being strategic with social media content is one of my strongest skills. That’s because I have changed my focus from “creating content that performs well” to “creating content that serves well.”

On social media, I’m not terribly concerned about the quantity of eyes that see my posts, I’m more concerned about the quality. It’s about getting the content you make in front of the right people. So, how do you do that?

Think of each post you make on social media as if it is a plot point in a story, then ask yourself: “How does this plot point direct the reader to the end goal or climax of our relationship?”

For example, posting a picture of my dog on my business social media page may result in a flood of likes and comments, but sharing my pup on my feed doesn’t anything towards helping me reach my end goal of having folks work with me.

Just like a good story, you’ll need to be strategic with the content you are sharing on social media.

Valuable Videos

When I say “value” I do not mean discounts or coupons. I mean things that strike at your brand’s core values as well as the values of your audience and readers. When creating videos as a part of your content marketing plan, start the process by thinking of what specific value you want to provide to your audience.

Amanda does a great job with creating value-filled videos, so I’m going to pick on her as an example. With her First Chapter Friday YouTube series, she is creating content that helps her viewers engage their minds, teach their students, and explore new books. All of those things are values that both Amanda and her audience share!

Exercise your Expertise

Content marketing is the ideal place to establish yourself as an exceptional ________ fill in the blank with whatever it is you do best. Do not shy away from creating content that shows you off in a great light!

To begin, ask yourself:

What do I want to be known for?
What skills do I have that I want to share?
What is my end goal for my audience? Or, what do I want them to do after seeing my content?

The answers to those questions are going to help you come up with value-filled pieces of content that flex your skills in a way that leads your audience to the desired outcome. Keep in mind, if your desired outcome is poorly defined it becomes very difficult to leverage!

Let’s use my brand as an example again. One of my main goals for my business is to attract folks that are ready to learn how to be strategic with their marketing to my online courses. To do that, I need to be creating opportunities for folks to learn from me in my content.

Doing this establishes me as an expert in my field, as well as gives folks a sample of what my teaching style is. If they enjoy learning from me for free in my social media content, they are already warmed up to the idea of learning from me in a more intensive, paid setting.

Reuse and Recycle

Content marketing is not about constantly creating new pieces of media to put out into the world. Be clever and resourceful with your content: reuse and recycle it!

Prioritizing the types and topics of content that will be the most impactful to your desired outcome is absolutely imperative to your success in content marketing. At first, it will take some experimentation and playfulness to see what things your audience is hungry for. Once you have an idea of what they need from you, start recycling your content!

A video transcript can easily become a blog post, an email campaign, and an edited down social media caption. That’s at least four pieces of content from one original idea! Not to mention all the ways you could chop up that original video for shorter pieces of content.

When you are developing your content marketing strategy as an author, you do not have to stress if you stay laser focused on what really matters: your audience. Serve your audience well, and the rest will follow over time.

The bottom line is that no matter what content you create, it’s about taking good care of your people in the end.

Interested in learning more about being intentional and impactful with your online marketing while respecting your mental health in the process? Join Carolyn’s free community Bad Axe Biz Club to learn and grow with other passionate folks like yourself.

Carolyn Zick is the Founder of Bad Axe Enterprises , the Cofounder and Community Builder of AMIDST Magazine, and a super nerdy fiber artist who lives on a hobby farm. She is a multi-passionate geek who loves art, community, and being social. Connect with Carolyn in her free online community in the AMIDST Creatives Community or on LinkedIn.

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Musical Influence on Creativity and Entrepreneurship

August 31, 2022 by Amanda Zieba

I have always loved music. As much as I love words, I truly think there is nothing that makes me happier than singing. Growing up, I was in church choir, school choir and show choir. I even sang a bit in college. So it’s no wonder that this source of joy has found it’s way into my creative process. Sometimes music lifts my spirits. Sometimes is bolsters my determination. Sometimes it influences my mood and seeps into my work. Sometimes it’s simply a blanket of white noise that allows me to focus and create. But no matter what I’m hoping the music will do, it always makes me happy.

Today’s blog post round up is all about music and the way it influences me as a writer and authorpreneur. I hope that you find a bit of inspiration or helpful ideas in this list of past posts and also, that if you have ideas of your own on this topic, you’ll share them in the comments.

Happy reading, listening and creating,

Amanda

P.S. Did you watch the VMA’s on Sunday!?!?!?

If you simply need a soundtrack of calm instrumentals to act as a blanket of white noise and cancel out the chaos around you so that you can focus? I’ve got you covered on that front too. Just click here or on each video below. And the, go write!

So what do you think?

Will you be creating a playlist to accompany your work-in-progress? What songs fuel your creation? How does music influence you as a creator?

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What Does an Authorpreneur Do?

August 24, 2022 by Amanda Zieba

You might read this blog post and think I’m… well, bragging. While I am proud of all the things I do and content I create, I’m sharing this exhaustive list not to shout out my own word nerd prowess for pride’s sake. Instead, my hope is that you’ll find something on here you didn’t know I did and then, enjoy that content in addition to the goodness you have already come to know and trust me to provide.

In another sense, it will give you a pretty good picture of what it means to be an authorpreneur, meaning, all the ways in which I make money from words. Selfishly this post is giving space and a platform for me to showcase my skills, content and creations… but more so that they are SEEN (rather than spend their lives hiding in an undiscovered blackhole of the internet) than to brag.

So without further adieux… here are all the ways in which I am truly a word nerd.

Writers

Writers, here are the ways in which you can connect with me, learn from me and sharpen up your own writing skills.

Blog Archive (writing tips, behind the scenes of my stories posts and more!)

Subscribe to my Blog (weekly)

5 GOOD THINGS for WRITERS eNewsletter (once a month)

Self-Publishing Coach - This spring I helped another writer self-publish his book and have another client starting this journey today! If you are interested in pursuing this journey, send me an email via the WordNerdopolis Post Office. Trust me when I say, self-publishing is easier than you think and absolutely do-able! You could also take my self-directed course (Take Action Author Plan) to accomplish this goal and learn all you need to know.

Teachers

Teachers, here are the ways in which you can consume the word nerd goodness I have created for you and your students.

YouTube Channel - First Chapter Friday, Brain Break Videos, and more!

Teachers Pay Teacher Store - Middle school ELA classroom/lesson/novel resources

5 GOOD THINGS for TEACHERS eNewsletter (twice a month)

School Visits - both in person and virtual

Readers

2022 will be the first year in about a decade in which I have not self-published a book. This feels VERY strange. Especially since in 2019 and 2022 I published two books each year. I feel bad that I do not have something new (in book form) to share with readers this year. BUT, that doesn’t mean I haven’t been writing. I have! But a while ago I decided that I will no longer (if I can help it) self-publish any more kidlit. Instead I am going to try my hand at traditional publication. For most of the year I have been working on a YA novel about a gymnast in foster care. I hope to finish it up this Fall and then throw my hat into the agent querying ring. This choice ultimately means the publication journey just got a whole lot longer, but I am hopeful, that once I succeed, many, many more readers will be able to experience my stories.

I have also spent quite a bit of time in the last year and a half doing some ghost writing, which I obviously can’t tell you about, other than the fact that it is nice to have cash up front to pay the bills. :)

I do have plans to write Close Quarters # and #4 and when the kids go back to school next week, I hope to power through my obligatory tasks and begin writing these stories mid-Fall. So stick with me and stay tuned! To be the first in the know, join my once a month Reader eNewsletter.

For now, if you haven’t read all of my books already out there in the world, you can check them out and grab copies here. Also, if you are looking for other reading suggestions, I keep an updated list of my reading activity each year, here (along with archived lists from 2019. 2020 and 2021).

I am also very happy to say that my books are available at Birdy’s Bookstore, The Bookcycle and Pearl Street Books (downtown La Crosse).

Miscellaneous

And here are a few other things I do/have to offer!

Guides and Recommendations- check out the WordNerdopolis General Store for all sorts of goodies (guides, cheat sheets, resources, recommendations, etc) that I have lined up for you! For things I have created rather than just recommend click here.

Ko-Fi - Buy me a cup of virtual coffee to fuel all of these creative endeavors!

Educator’s Guides - This summer I’ve partnered up with a couple of authors to create novel unit studies (aka: educator guides) to go with recently published books. If you are an author looking to make your book an appealing choice for teachers to use in their classrooms, reach out and we can chat!

A Few Parting Thoughts

I know that if I were to focus on any one of these varied areas or audiences, I would have loads more to share with you. I could dive deeper into the niche and make progress on projects faster… BUT then I’d be neglecting a part of my word nerd self that I love. Part of being an entrepreneur of any kind, is getting to choose your work. Sometimes I choose what makes me money and other times I choose what brings me joy. The truly good days are when the choices align… which, luckily enough for me, is a lot of days.

As always, thank you for all the ways in which you support me and my creative endeavors. The ride (and life in general) would be a lot less fun without you.

All my best,

Amanda

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Traveling Author Style in Asheville, North Carolina

August 17, 2022 by Amanda Zieba

When I wrote Champion Chocolatier: Reality Bites I did a whole lot of research. In the first book of the series, a mansion (The Glensheen in Duluth) played a major role. I wanted that story aspect to continue in the second book so I turned to Google and typed: famous mansion’s in the United States. This is how I discovered the Biltmore. Through books and the internet and YouTube videos I learned all about this historic house and the way it stimulated the growth of an entire town as it’s walls went up, brick by brick.

I had wanted to go there while I was writing the book, but timing and the family budget just didn’t allow that to happen. So, when, this summer my kids ended up gone for an entire week to bible camp, I told my husband we were going on a trip. Where? Asheville, North Carolina. To the Biltmore… and so, so much more.

You can use this blog post as a vacation recap or as a tentative itinerary for your own North Carolinian adventure. Think of it as part travel blog and part author-dream-fulfilled. Who knows, maybe you can convince your significant other to go on a trip for the sake of “novel research”! Tell me in the comments where you wanna go so you can write about it!!

Day 1

Travel and arrive at our Glamping Site

For as much as I adore trees, I’m not really a nature girl. I loved the seclusion of this spot, and having our own hot tub was great! But, I think I’d prefer a little more room and a little less humidity. I’m super glad we did this, but next time I think I’d spring for one of the company’s fancier dome dwellings. (Find Asheville Glamping on IG for some great pics!) For me the highlights of this part of our trip was a picnic dinner on our private deck and nightly hot tubbing under the stars.

Day 2

Ziplining

This was one of the highlights of our trip! Imagine flying through the forest at 60 miles per hour… 350 feet above ground — and being totally safe in the process! That’s what we did at Navitat! For 1,200 feet, 2,300 feet, and 3,600 feet at a time, we soared through the air taking in the sights misty blue ridge mountains. It an adrenaline rush but somehow simultaneously peaceful. Our guides Kat and Luke were knowledgeable and made us feel safe, while also educating us on cool plants and the workings of ziplines. In short, we loved it and wanted to immediately repeat the experience.

Day 3

The Biltmore

This house (crazy to think it’s called that), the largest privately owned home in America was the entire catalyst for the trip. The Biltmore is 175,000 square feet large, has 100 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms and also includes acres of gardens. It was an absolute dream to be able to see this place that I had written about - in person! It felt so surreal to imagine both the real people who owned it and the characters I created occupying the same space.

We learned about the house through an audio wand tour and were amazed at every architecture feature, daily life detail and historical factoid. My favorite room was the atrium, followed by the library. If you’d like to read my book that takes place in this incredible home, click here.

Day 4

La Zoom Comedy Tour and The Asheville Tourists Stadium

What better way to see the city, than on a tour bus emceed by a comedian?!?! Our tickets to get on the La Zoom bus were rubber chickens, leg-only mannequins decorated the waiting room alongside cats and glitter, and our tour guide was a British time-traveler, who was also capable of some pretty fantastic dance moves. Let’s just say it was a blast.

We also made a pit stop at the Single A Baseball Stadium for the Asheville Tourists. C’mon, you didn‘t think we’d take a total break from baseball, did you?!??! Side note, Crash Davis from Bull Durham hit is record breaking homerun while playing for the Tourists! It was a great field and it definitely made my husband happy we could stop by and check it out.

Day 5

Travel Home

We used Allegiant Air. Everything was fine, although small and low budget. We didn’t care because the flight was direct, short. and we got a great deal.

FOOD

In addition to not being outdoorsy, I’m not really a foodie… it just doesn’t rank high on my priority list. (Truth be told, eating and showering are the two biggest “time-sucks” in my day and I’d skip them if I could!) But we did have some great food while we were there! Here are a few of our favorite spots we visited that we would recommend!

Brixx

We aren’t fancy people, especially when it comes to food. But the pizza, salad, pasta and wine we had here, were INCREDIBLE. It is exactly the kind of meal I look forward to when we are dining without our kids. We also got to sit outside near a cool community courtyard and people watch. It was the perfect way to kick off vacation.

White Duck Taco Shop

Homemade queso and chips and excellent street tacos made this a 5 star lunch stop. They have lots of unique combinations for those of you in the adventurous eating category. We ate at picnic tables near the French Broad River surrounded by local art.

Early Girl Eatery

All the sugar and carbs please! The waffle and home fries I ate here were the perfect fuel for our full day of walking and touring the Biltmore. (Okay, they serve more than just sugar and carbs… although that’s what I ordered!) This restaurant focuses on locally grown and sustainably sourced food. Cheers to good food that’s not harmful to our planet! Keep up the good work EGE! The staff was super friendly and again, we had excellent seating - right near the window looking out onto the touristy cobblestone street and stores. Absolutely add this one to your restaurant line up.

Harvest Pizzeria

My only disappointment of the entire trip was that we didn’t eat at a roof top bar. We saved this trip item until the last night, but when we arrived (at a time slot chosen for peak sunset watching) we discovered the rooftop closed for maintenance. Bummer! But, the food was great and so was the wine. The service was also wonderful. I guess it just means that we’ll have to go back again!

Asheville, you were wonderful! Thank you for a lovely couple’s getaway. We made memories to last us a long time… at least until our next travel adventure. Hopefully it won’t take us 14 years to book another one!

If you liked this post, you might also enjoy…

A post I wrote about researching the Biltmore from a far.

An interview with an author about his research trip!

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Social Media Advice for Authors

August 10, 2022 by Amanda Zieba

If you are an author (or as I like to call myself an authorpreneur) feeling new to the scene behind the times, I need you to know something important. Marketing and book promotion has fallen on to the shoulders of the writers and creators themselves. Even if you are published by a BIG 5 company, they’ll ask you to hit the road and your keyboard/phone screen to get the word out. We can bemoan this fact as much as we want, but the bottom line is that people buy books they know about and it is YOUR JOB to tell as many people as you can.

If this stresses you out or you are feeling lost, never fear! In today’s blog line up, I’ve curated a collection of resources to help you know what and how to post about your books online. Hopefully after seeing several examples (and tools) you’ll feel more confident about getting this job done.

I’ve got loads of advice in the resources below (click each image to read the full post), but perhaps my best piece of advice is just get going. Give something, anything a try! Your efforts, however messy or amateur you believe them to be, are better than silence. Truly.

You’ve got this! And if you need some help, you’ve got me.

~ Amanda

P.S. My post last week all about Canva, a digital design tool, will also be helpful to you as you tackle this task!

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Canva Resources Galore

August 03, 2022 by Amanda Zieba

It is no secret that I stinking love Canva. I use it almost daily and am constantly grateful for the ways in which it helps me create graphics for my social media platforms, YouTube videos, blog posts, website, and presentations. If a sun tan and box of hair dye improves my physical appearance, Canva is the technological version of THAT.

I.LOVE. CANVA.

If you find yourself looking for an introduction or little help in accessing all the joy and greatness this digital design tool has to offer, I’ve got you covered. In this week’s blog post I am going to list several tutorial videos, blog posts and resources you can use to make your own Canva magic happen.

If you get stuck and need some help, pop over to the WordNerdopolis Post Office and drop me an SOS note. I’ll respond ASAP and get you on the right track.

Happy creating my word nerd friends!

~ Amanda

P.S. If you are more of a go-and-see or trial-and-error kind of learner and want to just jump right in, you can click here to get started.

Tutorial Videos

Cheat Sheet Resource

Blog Posts

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How to Write a Story Setting: Advice from the Word Nerd

July 27, 2022 by Amanda Zieba

The story element of setting is my absolute favorite to write. Maybe because I was a social studies minor during my undergrad years at UW Eau Claire or maybe because I believe, that just like people, places have a story, most often more than one.

Next week I’m headed to Ashville, North Carolina with my husband for our first solo trip since our honeymoon. Why Ashville? If I’m totally honest, I want to visit because it’s where one of my books takes place (Champion Chocolatier #2: Reality Bites). I’ve envisioned the landscape, researched the location, and consumed books and videos on it’s landmarks, but I really want to see it, feel it, breath it in. The Blue Ridge Mountains, The Biltmore Estate, the Pisgah National Forest, the Battery Book and Champagne Exchange (yes, books and champagne, a place truly designed around my favorite delights!).

In anticipation for this trip I am reading, The Last Castle by Denise Kiernan, so I can know as much about the mansion and history of the area before I arrive. I feel like all the things you see, learn and hear when visiting a place are more powerful when they’ve already got some roots in your brain.

But I digress. This post is supposed to be about STORY SETTINGS. So, to that end, here are a few past posts I have written (one even about researching the Biltmore!) about how to convey a story setting on the page. I hope you find them helpful and that wherever your travels take you, there are stories waiting there.

Happy writing and traveling my friends,

Amanda

Traveling Close to Home: Using YouTube as a Writing Tool

Author Research Trips: An Interview with David Meissner

Behind the Scenes of a Story Setting

Writing Local

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Indoor Recess Suggestions from the Word Nerd

July 20, 2022 by Amanda Zieba

Over here in the Midwest we are still living our best summer lives. My husband (also a teacher) always says that June feels like a Friday night, July is one big Saturday and August has a Sunday kind of feeling. So even though we are in the Saturday part of Summer, Sunday is coming and soon afterward… Monday (September). So I thought I’d take time in my blog post this week to share some of my favorite indoor recess activities. This will give you time to order them up, try them with your own family and then have them ready to go for your classroom when the school year rolls around.

I personally loathe unstructured time at school. It makes me nervous. So if I’m forced to do an indoor recess or give my students some free time as an incentive, I like to have options available that will allow my students to have fun, but also keep them from flying off the rails. Here are 6 fun ideas that will keep your students off their devices and engaged in entertaining (and sometimes educational!) activities.

Mad libs

Practicing parts of speech and having fun? Yes please! Grab one (or three) of these MadLib books. Pro Tip: I sometimes copied and laminated the pages for multiuse. There are dozens to choose from, but here are a few that I have waiting in my cart!

4 Way Shut Box

Brush up on addition and probability skills while you are having fun with this classic dice game. Games can be accomplished quickly, making this the perfect game for indoor recess. And if you don’t have time to finish a full game, it can easily be paused and set aside until the next day because there aren’t a ton of pieces. Just put a post it note with a name of the player on each side of the game board along with a reminder that a game is in progress.

Ransom Notes Game

Combine the true crime trend with creativity in this hilarious and fun game! “Players use word magnets to respond to outlandish prompts like ‘Tell someone you’ve clogged their toilet at a party’ with just their limited pool of words. With 250 absurd prompt cards and a new pool of words every time, this party game has infinite hilarious combinations and feels fresh every time you play. Disclaimer, you might want to read through the prompts and pull the ones you deem inappropriate for your classroom/school. Thanks to Heather from Adventures with Mrs. A for sharing this great idea with me!

Giant Rug Checkers

You can’t beat a classic game of checkers… unless maybe it’s a giant game of checkers. Roll out the carpet and play!

Legos and Puzzles

Legos and Puzzles are also always a hit. Here are a couple of my favorites.

What about you? Got any favorites or ideas you’d like to share? Drop them in the comments below. Hopefully, armed with these ideas and games, we can survive all indoor recesses mother nature and our administration throw at us.

For now, fill up your Amazon cart and then go enjoy the rest of your summer!

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7 Exercises to do While Reading Newbery Activities Hogwarts Décor Ideas

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The Parallels Between Creative Work & Growing Plants with Sheri Roloff

July 13, 2022 by Amanda Zieba

Today’s guest post is from Sheri Roloff – a writer and illustrator with a passion for creating visually driven books, zines and comics. Her latest comic “You Are With Me Always” just launched this month! You can check out the full comic on Sheri’s Substack newsletter and order a physical copy in her online store.

I have been drawing a lot of plants lately, specifically for my comic “You Are With Me Always” thanks to this change of season sequence where a flower grows over a series of panels.

Flower Research

I spent a somewhat embarrassing amount of time deciding what type of flower to use in this comic! After researching several different flowers, I landed on a yellow bearded iris for a few reasons:

It's a perennial flower that comes back year after year, which is important to support the theme of the comic.
I wanted the flower to be yellow like the bird in the comic, so it visually reminds the capybara character (and the reader) of their bird friend.
The bearded iris happens to be my favorite flower (I love irises in general!)

Technically, I don’t think there are any irises (bearded or otherwise) growing where capybaras hang out, but this is an artistic liberty I’m willing to take.

Orchids & Invisible Growth

The section of the comic above has me thinking about invisible growth and how much is happening even when it looks like (or feels like) absolutely nothing is happening,

Now, I don’t mean to brag, but I have kept an orchid alive for more than two years now. Normal people would probably not be proud of this, but this is a plant caretaking record for me!

I’m notoriously bad at keeping plants alive… I have no instincts when it comes to caring for plants, and I’m actually slowly killing a different plant that is arguably the easiest one I have to care for — a spider plant. And my failure with it is punctuated by the fact that this particular spider plant is a direct descendant of a sapling my husband brought home to his mom when he was in kindergarten. Yes, I’m killing my husband’s childhood plant.

I am a monster!

But my orchid lives.

A friend gave this orchid to me as a housewarming gift in early 2020, shortly before COVID hit. Since receiving it, I have religiously given it two ice cubes per week (just as the instructions told me). And it bloomed for months. Inevitably, it stopped blooming and the stem that once held many vibrant flowers shriveled up. But the green leaves at the base continued to look healthy. After a few online searches, I was assured it wasn’t dead — just dormant. I’m not sure if dormant is the right term, but essentially it was in a non-bloom cycle where it just hangs out and maybe grows some new leaves.

It felt like my orchid was in this dormant phase FOREVER. Over time, two or three larger green leaves very slowly sprouted from the base of the plant, which was exciting! But with each new leaf, an old one at the bottom would turn yellow and fall away. One step forward, one step back!

The metaphor for creative work here is pretty obvious, and in some ways, incredibly comforting. Especially now that my orchid baby is blooming again! It seems that dormant period of time was critical after all! It looked like it was doing almost nothing for two solid years, and at times, maybe even dying. But recently a new stem finally sprouted, and it’s covered in buds. I am amazed by this.

All I did was give my orchid two ice cubes every week and wait. I didn’t fertilize it or give it special orchid food or anything. I did say kind things to it sometimes. Like, “You’re doing a great job, orchid! Look at your big impressive leaves!”

But caring for this orchid has come to two really basic things:

Consistency
Time

I want my art and writing practice to be like those two ice cubes every week.

Every week I’m trying to make metaphorical ice cubes and feed my creative practice. Sometimes it feels like the project I’m feeding is dying on the vine, but eventually I believe it will turn into something… with enough time and consistency.

I might be a little too proud that my orchid is blooming again, but rest assured, I have no illusions about being some kind of orchid guru. I acknowledge the role of luck and environment played in keeping this orchid alive and well. The parallels to creative work continue! In plants, life and creative work — I’m hoping that consistency over time, in a good environment, will lead to a bit of luck and general well-being.

Thank you to Amanda for having me as a guest on her blog!

If you enjoyed this post, you can read more about my creative process and projects on Substack. Subscribe to get access to finished comics, behind-the-scenes project progress and thoughts on creativity delivered right to your inbox.

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Can You Have Too Much of a Good Thing?

July 06, 2022 by Amanda Zieba

Is it possible to have too much of a good thing? I mean, when it comes to ice cream my answer is no. Perhaps I feel the same way about sleep and margaritas. And good books. But a couple of weeks ago I reached a point where I had too much good work.

Please hear me when I say this was (is) a good problem to have. I am not complaining, so much as sharing some insight in the hopes that it can help you if you ever find yourself in the same position.

Let me explain.

I’ll start by sharing another question I sometimes get asked. “Can you really make enough money as an authorpreneur? Like as much as you did when you were a teacher?”

And the answer now is, YES. I officially left the full time teaching world four years ago and in that time have built a fully functional career as an authorpreneur. BUT, in order to do so, I do a lot of things.

In June, here are the tasks and activities I did to earn money.

2 vendor events (book selling)
Ghostwriting project
Meeting with my writing mentee
Real estate listing write up
YouTube video creation
Teach (part time) at Western Technical College

Here are the things I did that didn’t make me money (yet or directly) but someday will:

Work on my novel in progress with my mentor
Attend writing club
Volunteer presentation for my Wisconsin chapter of SCBWI
Social media posts
Blog posts
Write and send out newsletters (4 a month)
Work with a bookstore to create book bundles (more on this soon!)

Things I didn’t get done but are on my radar and know I need to work on:

New/updated Teachers Pay Teachers Products for upcoming school year
New videos for the upcoming school year
Bridging the Tides makeover (like the one I did for Breaking the Surface)

I have my content creation calendar down. I know what I need to do to crank out my usual content (one blog post and one video per week and 4 newsletters a month). But the addition of a huge ghost writing project (that comes with a nice big paycheck) is new. Learning how to balance that project with the rest of my tasks, as well as a full summer schedule that includes zero nights at home with a computer on my lap, left me scrambling. I was scrambling for every spare minute I could find. I was waking up very early to get as much done as I could before the rest of the house woke up. I was working hard to maximize my time in every aspect of my life. Because people wanted to read and listen to what I wrote. People wanted me to create things and were willing to pay for it. It was a dream come true, a plan come to fruition. I had worked hard (so very, very hard) to reach this spot. I was proud (still am) and also maybe a little … tired/overwhelmed?!?!

When baseball o’clock hit, I shut off work and drove kids to practice or attended games (and sometimes both). This also involved eating dinner as a fam at 4:15 and often not getting home until 9pm. Most days I was grateful for a reason (and a fun one!) to step away from my computer, but my brain never really left the work. I carried it with me. In the form of my thoughts, phone, backpack contents (even if I didn’t pull out the manuscript I’d put in there… and sometimes if I did.) I took one Tuesday afternoon off to go with my family to the movies (Jurassic World!). We had a blast and the movie was great, but the time away left me feeling behind. There just wasn’t enough time in the day to touch all the things that needed to be cared for. (And that’s with an educator husband who isn’t teaching this summer! Thank goodness for him and his driving, laundry folding and more!)

During the school year everyone is gone all day. I usually have 8 solo hours solo to work, as well as accomplish a few household chores, shower, and exercise. When everyone is home (eating all the time!), dishes are never-ending and I always feel like I am missing out.

In June I had too much work and too many family fun activities. Two, too much of a good things. At the same time. It was hard to balance and also hard to hold this concept in my head. I was happy for good-paying work, wasn’t I? I loved watching my family play ball and spending time together, right? ABSOLUTELY! This wasn’t a bad thing. So why did I feel that way? Really, my body felt bad. Like sick-ish and heavy. I wasn’t eating enough. I wasn’t sleeping enough. I was thinking too much. All the time really. Even before I went to bed I’d ask my brain to work on a solution or plan or piece of content so that when I woke up, I’d have ideas ready to go and flow. It was all the result of too much… too much good.

Luckily, we live in a world where we are told we don’t have to do it all. I mean, society as a whole tells us that we do… but I am fortunate that I’ve put people in my life who tell me otherwise. (My husband, chief among them!) He, along with a few other voices in my universe, saved me.

Last Sunday my pastor, Karyn Bodenscatz, shared a sermon (starts at 37:00) about overpacking, both for travel and in life, and how perhaps, you don’t need the four inch heels (among other things). It resonated with me big time. Thank you, Pastor Karyn.

Jenna Kutcher came out with a book last week, How Are You Really, and thanks to pre-ordering it months ago, it arrived on my doorstep just in time. Reading it has offered some solid reflection time and affirmation that I am not the only one who feels this way. Thank you, Jenna.

My friend, and coach, Robyn, listened to me while I verbally processed all these thoughts as we sat in bag chairs watching our sons play baseball. Thank you, Robyn.

Listen, I am a hustler. I work hard. It’s how I’ve gotten to the position to have good-paying work and lots of it! I am not afraid to put in the time and energy. But last month I learned that there is such a thing as too much good work (at least for me). I learned that giving yourself a chance to sleep in and spend a day doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, is good for the soul. Working hard is good. Working hard all the time, might not be.

Next week I’ll be going on vacation. So this week will be bananas as far as work is concerned. I’ll be trying to shove 10 days of work and content creation into 4 (thanks 4th of July holiday!). It will be early mornings and full days (and baseball at night, duh, hooray!). But then, I’ll rest up.

I know this post is about me, but I wrote it for you.

If you are feeling like work and life are too much (even if all of the things are good), it’s okay to feel overwhelmed. It’s okay to take a break, to sleep in, to say no and to give yourself some grace. Without the wise voices in my life I wouldn’t have realized this. So in case you don’t have any of those, let me fill that role. The work will still be there, and likely, getting it done at a slightly slower pace will not result in death or dismemberment. It will be okay. You will be okay. And if you take some time to slow down, you might even just be able to get back to GOOD. I did.

If you liked this post, you might also enjoy…

The Working Mother Balance Dance (Blog Post)

How Does an Authorpreneur Earn an Income? (Blog Post)

Conversations with Myself - 1st blog post after quitting full time teaching

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Shopping for a Story with the Word Nerd

June 29, 2022 by Amanda Zieba

In honor of Target putting out their school supplies this week (yes, I know it’s not even July yet) I’m sharing an old post called Story Shopping. In it, I walk you through a writing exercise that is similar to prepping a meal. First you gather the ingredients and then you do something with them!

If you are running short on story ideas or inspiration, this is the perfect activity for you. If you end up creating something delicious, head over to the WordNerdopolis Post Office and email me what you wrote. I’d love to read it!

Happy story shopping and happy writing!

~ Amanda

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Book Cover Redesign

June 22, 2022 by Amanda Zieba

If you’ve been following along, you know that I have officially relaunched one of my very first books, Breaking the Surface. I bill it as High School Musical meets Finding Nemo … during a global warming crisis (and without singing).

This redesign has been quite the undertaking (both of my time and money), but now that I know more, I can do better and I wanted to. I really, really wanted to. The most important part of this project was polishing up the interior of the book, specifically, having the text copy edited. But another huge portion was a cover redesign. Today I’m going let you behind the scenes and walk you through that process.

When I first started self-publishing books, I knew enough to get my books out into the world, but not a whole lot more. Thus, I used the most basic tool for creating a cover: The Kindle Direct Press Cover Creator Tool. Through it, self-publishers can pick from a dozen different designs and then insert their cover image of choice as well as select a font and color for the text. Back in 2013 when I was putting out Breaking the Surface, most of the designs were preset, so the font pairings and colors were pre-selected and you could only choose from the options available.

Now, there’s a bit more choice involved, but still, it’s a bit limited. The result is that covers created through KDP’s Cover Creator are easily recognizable as such and are a sure fire way to call yourself out as a beginner. This is one of many reasons why I knew I HAD to change my cover. Since we’re starting this journey back at the beginning and for my final reveal to have the best possible wow factor at the end, you need to see where I started. Using KDP’s Cover Creator Tool, here is the original cover for Breaking the Surface.

It’s not terrible, but it doesn’t exactly scream TEEN ADVENTURE STORY the way I want it to. So, back to the drawing board (or digital design tools in this case). At first I thought I’d redesign the cover myself. I have designed most of my book covers. It is a process I enjoy and the ones I’ve done so far have turned out pretty good (at least, I think so!). Here is an attempt using Canva.

This was better, but still wasn’t what I thought would grab the attention of my ideal reader: a young adult who loves Disney Channel sitcoms and original movies. So, I decided to hire a professional through fiverr, a freelance marketplace for creatives. On the site, I found Alex, a Canadian designer. After telling her about my book, including the blub and genre, she sent me several “inspiration” book covers. (Do you ever watch those HGTV home reno shows? This is kind of like the part when the designers take the home owners to an already finished house to look at flooring, backsplash and color pallets to help them decide what materials they’d like to pick for their project.) Here is the inspiration image I picked, along with the notes I sent back to Alex.

Sample book cover for BTS_inspiration image.jpg

Multicolored Abstract Blank Stationery 8.5 x 11 Letter (1).png

Alex took this information and designed two initial cover styles for me to pick from.

Which one would you choose?

BreakingTheSurface_cover_colour1_mockup (1).jpg

BreakingTheSurface_cover_colour2_mockup (1).jpg

Navy blue and gold are two of my favorite colors, so it was hard not to gravitate to the first cover you see. However, I loved the concept of both land and sea in the second book cover. This idea of being torn between the two is a big part of the book. But I didn’t love the “scrubby bushes” on the top and my name blended in too much on the bottom. Still, I thought that one had more potential.

Once I selected my preferred style (option #2) , Alex and I worked together, going back and forth to make it perfect. I shared these notes and Alex came back with this design.

Multicolored Abstract Blank Stationery 8.5 x 11 Letter (2).png

We went back and forth a couple more times.

I told Alex, “Can you add some texture to the image of the girl? Right now she feels too “flat” to me. But I love the addition of her and the concept that she is on the edge of the water. So great! Finally, I like that you can read the title so much better but am not sure on its coloring right now!”

And then, she did it. Alex created the perfect cover for my underwater adventure story. Ta-da! Here is the final, new-and-improved, cover for my redesigned and relaunched book, Breaking the Surface.

There are so many things about it I love. But chief among them are the fancy font, the way Flynn is standing on land but turning back to look at the ocean, the water swirl with the underwater city inside. SO much of the book is captured in this design. I am positive that this book will reach new readers, the right readers. What do you think? How’d we do?

Thank you Alex for lending your creativity and talent to my book!

If you are looking for an adventurous read for a teenager in your life (probably more appealing to girls…) I’d love for you to purchase and share a copy of Breaking the Surface with them. They are available on Amazon and direct through my website (these come with a personalized autograph!).

For the self-publishers in the crowd, I hope that seeing my cover redesign process was helpful and that you’ll be able to take some of this information into a project of your own. If you have any questions, drop them in the comment section below or head to the WordNerdopolis Post Office and send me and email. Or check out the additional blog posts and videos on this topic below.

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Summer is a Season for Readin'

June 15, 2022 by Amanda Zieba

Summer is a season of readin'. As a Midwesterner, this actually doesn’t make much sense to me. I mean, all winter long we sit around, cuddled up inside. I feel like that’s the time we should plow through books the most. It’s not like we have much else to do! But for whatever reason, is seems summer is the season for reading. In fact, I just finished two books this week! Maybe we are vicariously soaking up the freedom vibes of our children who no longer have to go to school everyday. Maybe we are going on more vacations and choose to use our free time to read. Maybe we just want to make better use of the longer daylight. Who knows???But it seems to be true. We read more in the summer.

Hey, I’m not going to argue. I’ll give you a good book recommendation any time of year you want to read. Actually, that’s the purpose of today’s blog post. I’m going to point you over to my WHAT’S AMANDA READING LIST but also give you a recap of a few books I’ve recently read. If you’ve finished something fantastic in recent weeks, I’d love to hear about it too. Drop it in the comments of this post and I’ll be sure to add it to my list.

All my best and happy reading,

Amanda

Concrete Cowboy by G. Neri

(Middle Grade Realistic Fiction, but really, for readers ages 12+ including adults!)

Did you know that all across the United States there are urban cowboys? Specially, urban black cowboys? Before reading this book I had no idea! But apparently, it’s a thing! And a good thing too. These groups of cowboys are not only trying to hang onto the ideals of old west, but also save today’s youth in their neighborhoods by introducing them to horse instead of the many other big city troubles that seem to be available on every street corner. This book is a fictionalized account of a boy who needs to find his way and his dad, a cowboy, who helps him. Trust me when I say there are more than two people who benefit from the outcome of this incredible story. Perfect for reluctant readers and fans of Ghost by Jason Reynolds. First Chapter Friday Read Aloud coming soon! Also, or those of you who love reading the book first and watching the movie second, this story can be found on Netflix under the same name.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

(Adult Fiction)

This book was FASCINATING! Told in the form of interview audio recordings, we are sucked into the life of American’s most famous actress and her ghostwriter. I listened to this story every chance I got and actually, listened to the last chapter twice… just to be sure I got every last bit of goodness out of it. "If you're looking for a book to take on holiday this summer, this book has got all the glitz and glamour to make it a perfect beach read." -- (Bustle)

From the New York Times bestselling author of Daisy Jones & the Six--an entrancing and "wildly addictive journey of a reclusive Hollywood starlet" as she reflects on her relentless rise to the top and the risks she took, the loves she lost, and the long-held secrets the public could never imagine. — (PopSugar)

Across the Desert by Dusti Bowling

(Middle Grade Realistic Fiction)

Talk about a book that tugs on the heartstrings! This book is about the power of friendship and the value of self-worth. It’s a survival story, but also, so much more than that. T12 year-old Jolene spends every day she can at the library watching her favorite livestream: The Desert Aviator, where twelve-year-old "Addie Earhart" shares her adventures flying an ultralight plane over the desert. Then, one day, it all goes wrong: Addie's engine abruptly stops, and Jolene watches in helpless horror as the ultralight plummets to the ground and the video goes dark. Jolene knows that Addie won't survive long in the extreme summer desert heat. With no one to turn to for help and armed with only a hand-drawn map and a stolen cell phone, it's up to Jolene to find a way to save the Desert Aviator. I stayed up late finishing this one because I just had to see how it all turned out!

A few of my favorite summer-inspired stories from the past…

To Night Owl From Dogfish by Holly Goldberg Sloan and Meg Wolitzer

Middle Grade Realistic Fiction: a hilarious Parent Trap Twist told entirely in emails!

Listen to chapter 1 here and purchase here.

The Lost City of the Monkey Gods by Douglas Preston

Adult Nonfiction: a modern day Indiana Jones adventure to the Honduran jungle to search for an ancient civilization.

Read my blog post about this book here and purchase it here.

Little Blog on the Prairie by Cathleen Davit Bell

YA Realistic Fiction: a funny story about a family that tries (and despises) family frontier camp

First Chapter Read Aloud coming soon! Purchase here.

Untamed by Glennon Doyle

Adult Memoir + Self Help: one woman’s journey to come to grips with what it means to be herself in today’s world. Jam packed with inspiration, advice and loads to think about.

Read my blog post about this book here and purchase it here.

The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise by Dan Gemeinhart

YA Realistic Fiction: Get your tissues ready, this one made me ugly cry… in all the best ways. Think cross country road trip on a bus turned tiny house with a cast of memorable characters (Coyote might be one of my most favorite characters ever) and a driver-dad who doesn’t know the destination.

Listen to chapter 1 here, Purchase here.

Five Smooth Stones by Ann Fairbain

Adult Historical Fiction: a super long (but it’s summer, you have the time!) historic fiction love story plus civil rights tension makes this a real page turner. This is my mom’s favorite book of all time!

Purchase here.

You could also read my recently re-released book: Breaking the Surface! :)

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The Word Nerd on Audiobooks and Podcasts

June 08, 2022 by Amanda Zieba

I may have taken on more than I can handle. My to-do list is usually quite large, but lately, it feels, almost… insurmountable. I mean, I know it isn’t, but even just the logistics of figuring out how these tasks I’ve agreed to complete is going to take… a lot.

Which means, that my free time is going to be somewhat limited. (Don’t worry, I’ll still get plenty of reading in at the ball field… or ball fields… that I’ll be visiting… almost every night of the week!). But if you aren’t like me and don’t have bleacher time programmed into your life (and time to read during warm ups and pitching changes) then, I’d love to recommend you take up listening to consume stories and knowledge instead.

In fact, if it weren’t for my time at the ball field or during bi-weekly plasma donation, I’d hardly ever have time to pick up a book. Even with those daily practices, most of my literature consumption (not to mention professional learning) happens via my ears. I love, love, love audio books and podcasts. To me, they are multitasking at their finest! I listen while I drive, exercise, fold laundry and get ready each morning.

If you are finding your life short on stories and craving them despite the time constraints in your life, give an audiobook or podcast a try. Or perhaps you are an author and curious about how to make your own audiobook dreams come true. Either way, I’ve got you covered with the information in these three past blog post articles.

Happy reading and listening!

~ Amanda

3 Reasons Audiobooks Rock

Listen Up! How to Create Another Revenue Stream with Audiobooks

Podcasts for Writers

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7 Exercises to do While Reading

June 01, 2022 by Amanda Zieba

Today’s guest post comes from Corey over at Seige Media and is PERFECT for teachers dealing with squirrely students the last week of school or perhaps a fun option for summer school as well. Heck, these bookish exercises are great for any bookworm who has been slacking on their step goal and needs to add a little movement to their life. Let us know in the comments? Which one of these 7 reading exercises is your favorite? (If you prefer to watch, rather than read, check out the video version of this post, here.)

7 Exercises to do While Reading

If you had to choose between a workout and finishing the last few chapters of a book you’ve been wrapped up in, chances are you’d probably choose the book. But don’t put your fitness goals on hold because you can’t put your book down. There are plenty of workouts you can do while you read—supporting your physical and mental fitness.

Mental fitness is just as important as our physical fitness, so what better way to combine the two than by reading while working out? Grab your book, change into your favorite workout leggings and follow the exercises below for the perfect page-turning workout.

1. Literature Leg Raises

Laying down, working out and reading at the same time? Count me in. Leg raises can be done from the gym, your living room and even your bed, but can still make you break a decent sweat. The perfect workout to target your abs and core.

Here’s how:

Start by lying on your back while holding your book in both hands.
Keep your legs straight then lift them toward the ceiling.
Slowly bring your legs back down while keeping your core engaged.
Repeat 10 reps for 3 to 5 sets.

2. Wordy Wall Sit

The wordy wall sit might keep you on your toes more than your favorite thriller novel. This workout is great for targeting your quads, glutes and calves.

Here’s how:

Start by standing with your back against a wall and your legs shoulder width apart.
Hold your book with both hands in front of you while you get in the proper position.
Then, slowly slide your back down the wall until you’re in a seated position.
Keep your back flat against the wall and hold for 1 minute or until you’ve read 1 to 2 pages—bonus points if you can hold it longer!

3. Stationary Book Bike

Got a peloton that’s been collecting dust in your home office? Don’t worry, you can fix that. Grab your favorite book and start pedaling on to the next chapter for a workout that will target your glutes, calves, quads and hamstrings.

Here’s how:

Pick a book and place it on the bike or hold it in your hands.
Start pedaling.
Pedal for 30 minutes or make a goal to stop once you’ve read a certain amount of pages or chapters. For example, ride until you finish 2 chapters.

Here’s a few more!

Combining physical fitness and mental fitness is easy when you have a solid workout routine and your favorite book in hand. It’s never too late to accomplish those New Year’s resolutions and summer fitness goals you set for yourself.

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Destination Duluth: An Authorpreneur's Mini Retreat

May 25, 2022 by Amanda Zieba

A couple of weeks ago I was sitting with my friend Kelly (owner of Create Happy) at our favorite coffee shop in Holmen (The Grind) talking about how we just wished we could get away for a little bit… for a bunch of reasons, but mostly so that we could focus on a single project without the distractions of every day life. Kelly, in all her infinite wisdom, said, “Well, why can’t we? Let’s just go.” “Where?” I asked. “Duluth**,” she answered. “DONE.”

Just two Wisconsin girls on the road with their Big Buddies. (Thanks for the fuel Kwik Trip!)

So on Sunday we left.

We drove the four hours, talking the whole way. For the next 40-ish hours we came what we did to do… and a little more.

The project I decided to focus on during the retreat was my YA novel in progress (the one about the gymnast that I am working on with my mentor). I need to write about 6,000 more words for a June 9th deadline. On this trip, got about half way there. I also visited a few local businesses (two bookstores and one coffee shop) to pitch my Duluth based series (Champion Chocolatier) for their product line up. (I received mixed results: 1 likely yes, 1 maybe and 1 hard (unfriendly) pass.)

Side note:

one of my favorite things about going in a bookstore, is seeing my friends’ books and saying, “Oh! I know them!”. During this trip I got to see Margi Preus and Bob Allen’s books in Fitger’s Bookstore.

In addition to all of our work, we took in the sights and tourists offerings (especially for the food and beverage variety) of this north shore town. I am happy to report that we will both come home with work completed and also an Instagram feed full of good memories.

Kelly, thanks for inviting me to go on this mini-retreat with you! I’m glad we are entrepreneur friends. I’ll go exploring with you anytime!

I’ll close out this week with a few snapshots of our time in Duluth. If you haven’t ever visited Duluth, or it’s been awhile, perhaps these images will inspire you to take a mini retreat of your own.

Happy travels,

Amanda

** Duluth has always been a city of creative inspiration for me. Both the Champion Chocolatier series and Breaking the Surface series (stay tuned for a revival of this YA series!) were inspired during trips to Duluth. I owe so much of my success as a writer to this city and it was the perfect place to host our mini-retreat.

1: Grasshopper at the Radisson Bar: Apostle. This restaurant is on the top floor of the Radisson Hotel and slowly spins, giving you a 360 degree view of the city and harbor. It’s also 1960’s themed in it’s décor, so just plain fun all around. (See what I did there?!?)

2 & 3: 190 Coffee and Tea is a new to Duluth establishment that has a cool vibe/aesthetic and good coffee too!

4: Mural across the street from 190 Coffee and Tea

5: We ate a delicious brunch t the Duluth Grill. I highly recommend their French toast and loved their witty t-shirt selection.

6: We indulged with ice cream for dinner from Bridgeman’s. I was unable to finish what I ordered, but got to bring home the cool cup! I’ll definitely be bringing my family back to this spot, but I will insist that we share!

7: This chandelier is in the entry way to Bellisio’s, an Italian restaurant on Canal Park Drive. Both the restaurant and the chandelier make appearances in the Champion Chocolatier series!

8: Sunset over Duluth and Lake Superior and seen from Spirit Mountain Ski Resort. We stayed in one of the Spirit Mountain villas, giving us access to this gorgeous view.

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Advice for Beginners

May 18, 2022 by Amanda Zieba

I’ve been in this writing game a long time. Not forever, but over a decade, which after my most recent birthday equates to almost twenty five percent of my life. In the last ten plus years, I have learned a lot. Sometimes, even now, I just wish somebody would TELL ME WHAT TO DO. (Or, in some cases, what not to do.) I am not afraid of hard work or putting in the time… I just want to spend that time doing the right things. Ya know?

I’ve shared with my newsletter followers that I recently hired a mentor for this exact reason. I do not want to experiment with my current novel in progress. I want to do it well, and I want to do “well” in the most direct-as-possible path to success. What better way to arrive at my desired destination than to hire a guide?

It is in this spirit that I share today’s content round up… three pieces that outline some of the very basic, but best advice for newbies in the writing world. Grab a pen and paper and get ready to take some notes because there’s a whole lotta word nerd goodness coming your way!

6 Rookie Mistakes to Quit Making

Doing any one of the six items in this list is a sure fire way to call you out as an amateur! Read it quick before you make one of these dreaded rookie mistakes.

Click the image above to go to the full post, or click the video below to let me read it aloud to you. :)

A Writing World Vocabulary Map

Learn the lay of the land by first understanding the content-specific vocabulary people in the writing and publishing world are using.

Click the image above to go to the full post, or click the video below to let me read it aloud to you. :)

Stop Drinking Through the Fire Hose

Admittedly, I know there is A LOT to learn about this industry. Trying to take it all in can be like trying to drink from a firehose. Impossible. To combat potential feelings of overwhelm and paralysis, read the advice I give in this blog post.

So there you have it. My best writing advice for beginners. Hopefully, with it, you can go out (or sit down) and do good things! All my best and happy writing! - Amanda

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Blog Round Up: Writing Inspiration from the Word Nerd

May 11, 2022 by Amanda Zieba

If you are feeling a little lack-luster about your writing projects or like the work is hard and the days are long (or not long enough to do allllllll the things) I want to tell you, you are not alone. Life in general is a lot of work these days. Showing up consistently to do anything can be a real bugger. But writing - a thing that demands our time, dedicated attention, and whole heart? Showing up to do that can sometimes feel insurmountable.

Today I want to help you by providing a solid dose of inspiration.

This week’s content round up features several posts full of motivational quotes, writing advice and inspiration. I hope that a quick browse through these pieces will give you the boost you need to get back to work on your own project.

Hang in there. You’ve got this! And happy writing. :)

~ Amanda

To be inspired by other amazing writers, check out this middle grade and YA author interview series. The first half of each video is a read aloud, but in the second half of each I ask these amazing authors 5 questions about their writing life, books, and advice for other writers. You’ll be sure to learn something helpful and hopefully be inspired along the way!

Interview line up includes: Jennifer A. Nielsen, Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, Kate Messner, Wendelin Van Drannen, Margaret Peterson Haddix, Yehudi Mercado, Liza Wiemer, Jamie Pacton, Lisa Fipps, Rajani LaRocca, Helen Frost, Chad Sell, Christina Soontornvat, Margi Preus, Jarrett Lerner, Greg Logsted, Jasmine Warga, Jennifer Donnelly, Erin Entrada Kelly, Michael Buckley and Jennifer Richard Jacobson. (With more coming!)

This post was made beautiful by Canva.

The Write Space: Home Office Decor by The Word Nerd

May 04, 2022 by Amanda Zieba

If you've been following my Instagram or Facebook stories lately, you’ll know that we are in the midst of redoing our living room and kitchen. New flooring throughout, some open shelving in the kitchen, shiplap on two walls, a couple new lamps… among other things. It is no secret I adore HGTV (hence an entire novel on the topic - hello Destiny by Design).

But long before I focused on the the main floor, I designed my very own cozy home office space. Back when I was in the trenches of that project I shared a blog series about the process. Today, you can time hop back to that project and check out each step along the way. Then, in the comments, tell me - which room in your house is on your renovation wish list!

Click on each of the images below to see each phase of my office renovation. Maybe you’ll even discover a few new ideas for your own write space!

If you’re more of a video watcher than a reader, watch this video for a full look at the transformation of a dark and cold basement into my wonderful writing office!

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