How to Review a Poorly Written Book

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You are excited because you have just received your first book to review. You quickly start reading the book with bated breath because you can barely contain your excited. Ten pages into the book you find that you are struggling to move on to the next page. With each page you become more disappointed with the writer's craft. You shake your head at the poorly written plot and the conflict that you are waiting to see develop but seems nonexistent.  Finally, at page 100 you give up. You just cannot keep going. You have 100 pages left and it is too painful to continue reading. Then, you remember that you have a write a review on the book. 

What then? 

How do you review a book that is poorly written? 

That is a dilemma that a number of bloggers face. Today I want to address that issue. Here are some tips on how to review a poorly written book:

 

Your Audience

 Always remember that your loyalty is to your audience; it is not any company, author, friend, etc. Bloggers tend to develop a relationship with their core followers; while your core followers depend on your honest points of view on the products, services that you review on your blog. So, your loyalty is to your audience. You must always remember that you should always the true to your readers.

Integrity

In business and in blogging integrity is everything. It is important that you state before accepting any product (book) or service to review that you will give your honest opinion (no matter what). By doing this, you are making it known that you will not write a great review of a book that is sub-standard because you are being paid or you are requested to do so.

Decline

After reading the book you can decline to review it. This is easier if the book was given to you by the author.  You should contact the author and explain your experience and decline to write the review or explain the type of review that you plan to write. I find that the author will understand because he/she does not want a bad review to be published.

Be Unbiased

 You can also publish the review with your honest opinion. You can state to your readers that although this is your experience it might not be the same for them. If the book is from an author they are familiar with you can suggests that they can read the book and share their own experiences. 

How to Gain More Readers (Blogging Communities)- Networking 101

If you are a new blogger you must be wondering, why is it you are writing great posts and you are not gaining readers. It is simple. At this point your blog is a needle in that hay stack. I say this because I, along with many others were once in your shoes.  Even if you are not a new blogger, you will find that over time the number of readers who generally come to your blog might fluctuate. With all of this in mind, we will be looking at using blogging communities for networking.

 Blogging Communities

Blogging communiites are websites that creates a virtual community where bloggers can interact with each other. The beautiful thing about these sites boasts a wide variety of bloggers. Therefore, these are great places to gain exposure for your blog and gain meet follow bloggers.

Here are a  few blogging communities that you can join:

• Gather.com
• Blogengage.com
• Fuelmyblog.com
• BlogHer.com
• 20somethingblogger.net
• Mombloggersclub.com
• Shewrites.com
• Brandbuzznetwork.com

What Next?

I have learnt that blogging is not for the timid. If you are an introvert like me , you will quickly learn that often  the direct approach is best. This means you will have to market yourself. When you join these communities please ensure that your profile reflects you and your blog. Also, remember that you should be true to yourself. I would recommend that you be yourself: good, bad or indifferent.

Here are Some Tips:

• Join the popular groups (This goes without saying)
• Post regularly in these groups
• Get to the point when posting information
• Always leave a blog link when posting
• Make friends and create a mailing list
• Be courteous and genuine to fellow bloggers
• If someone follows your blog, follow then back
• Sign up for the community newsletter
• Finally, HAVE FUN!!!!!

If you have any additional tips you will like to share, please let me know by leaving a comment.

Do You Want to Merchandise Your Blog?- DIY SUNDAYS

I know we all dream as bloggers to make money from our blogs at one point or another. However, oftentimes teaming up with advertisers do not always give you enough buck for your bang, as one of my readers pointed out. What to do next, you might wonder. If you are not sure here are some suggestions. Have you ever thought about using your blog to create a business or brand?

I know that often times businesses create blogs to promote their business. However, often we forget that we can create a business from our blog. Today we will explore how to do just that.


Build Your Brand

You have a loyal following and regular traffic, have you ever thought of of creating your own brand? When I speak of 'brand' I am referring to a product that is manufactured under a particular name. Do you know that you can create your own tag line, logo or use your blog name on various products such as t-shirts, caps, pens, mugs and buttons? The interesting thing about all of this is that there are a number of companies that offer this service.

This can be done with the help of any one of these websites:

• Printfection.com
• Cafepress.com
• Zazzle.com
• Customink.com
• Uberprints.com
• Spreadshirt.com/

I like Spreadshirt.com the best because you can open your own online t-shirt shop for free and sell custom t-shirts and other apparel with your designs, logos or text. Spreadshirt takes care of the production, shipping and service. You can set commission on each product and earn money each time you make a sale.

Also, you can sell your designs, without a shop. Create custom t-shirts and other apparel with your own designs and sell through their Marketplace. You can also sell your designs from their T-Shirt Designer. You set a commission on your designs and earn money for each sale.

Write a Book

Have you ever thought about turning you blog content into a book? It is easy with a site call lulu.com. You sign up for free, upload your book and they will publish your book for you. You set your book cost and they get a percentage of the sale. (For further details see lulu.com)


Market Your Talents

Bloggerjobs.biz offers bloggers the ability to market their talents. You are able to gain employment for positions that you qualify for. All of this is targeted at bloggers. Inessence you are building a blogging career. This i would say is a must see.


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Five (5) Websites You Can Use To Monetize Your Blog

In blogging, content is KING. Without great content,  readers will not want to return to your blog. Therefore, you will have to know your market or niche in order to provide the content they are interesting in. Just looking around the blogging community I am in awe of some of the content that is out there.

 On the other hand, I am also aware that there are bloggers that place more emphasis on promoting products instead of writing the content we love to read. I am in no way judging these bloggers, it works for them. However, if your like me you are afraid to cross that line, because somehow you are afraid of betraying your loyal readers.

With all of this in mind,  I wanted to provide the information about sites that assist in monetizing blogs. In my opinion, you can monetize your blog without 'selling out' so to speak.      

What does it mean to monetize your blog?

Website monetization is the process of converting existing traffic being sent to a particular website into revenue.  Often bloggers sign up with Ad. Networks that connect them with advertisers. They are then paid a fee for product reviews, per click ads, etc.


Here are five (5) sites that you can use to monetize your blog:


5. Blogsvertise.com

Website comments:

Our Advertisers want YOU to mention and talk about their websites products and services in your blogs and journals. They want the publicity, the exposure, the Buzz! that online bloggers and Internet journals can generate for their web site products and services. In exchange blogsvertise pays YOU in pay pal per task/blog ads placed to their website in your blog!

4. Payperpost.com 
  
Website comments:
Make money blogging! PayPerPost lets you pick your advertisers, name your own price and negotiate your own deals. You can get paid to blog on virtually any subject.


3. Payu2blog.com

Website comments:

Our focus at PayU2Blog.com is to make sure that bloggers receive a steady stream of work each week and don't feel they have to compete for their paid blogging assignments. Join our exclusive community of bloggers and start getting paid to blog today.         
2. Sponsoredreviews.com

 Website comments:
SponsoredReviews.com is a blog advertising network that allows you to build links, increase traffic, and improve search engine rankings on your website(s). We have tens of thousands of independent bloggers who will write blog reviews about your site on their blog. Also referred to as Paid Posts, blog reviews are a great way to increase your search engine rankings and traffic.

If you are a blogger interested in getting paid to blog, you will find that SponsoredReviews has hundreds of advertisers willing to pay you to do reviews of their sites. Blog Reviews are an easy way to earn money on your blog. 

1. Smorty.com
                                                                                        
Website comments:
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Get paid for publishing. Publish pay-per-click advertising on your blog to generate residual income. Get paid for blogging. Write your opinion about peoples products and services to turn your daily blog updates into money. Smorty pay directly to your Pay Pal account. Apply with multiple blogs to generate higher income. Write your opinions or publish ads Earn top Dollars Select subjects that interest you Publish in multiple blogs to earn more Build interesting, unique content in your Blog Make residual money from your blog

What is Your Guilty Pleasure?

This post is a super quick one. I really mean it.

The Merriam-Webster.com defines the term Guilty pleasure (Noun) as follows : something pleasurable that induces a usually minor feeling of guilt.  

We all have those things that we secretly do and greatly enjoy. We enjoy them so much that they are deemed a guilty pleasure.

Here are a couple of mine:

• Watching YouTube Gurus when i should be doing something more important.

• Watching Star Trek, Eureka, Sanctuary, Syfy movies is general. Everyone around me thinks i am weird but i just love them!!!!

• Reading Harlequin romances when i should be reading Caribbean Literature text.

I did say a couple didn't I? I would love to hear about your guilty pleasures.

DIY Sundays - Five Useful Websites for Bloggers

Todays DIY Sundays post will be a quick one  i guess not. Here are five websites that I found; I thought they could be very useful for bloggers like myself. I am NOT being paid/compensated  to write about these sites.  With that said, here they are:

Number 5

Fiverr.com - This website cracked me up because i could not believe a website would exist where people share things they are willing to do for $5. Fiverr.com is a place where buyers and sellers of pretty much trade any service or thing they can trade, for a minimal cost of five dollars.

 The Website Comments:

The place for people to share things they're willing to do for $5.
Buy. Sell. Have fun.

Number 4

Punchtab.com - This is a website that offers users the ability to include a loyalty points program to their blog, website, etc. These loyalty points can be converted to any prize. This,  I thought was very interesting.

The Website Comments:

Your readers spend more time on Twitter and Facebook than they are on your blog or website. Make sure you're staying connected by offering rewards for liking, following, subscribing and +1'ing your brand and your content. Increase your overall awareness from the content they share on their social networks.


Number 3

Pagemodo.com - Pagemodo creates FREE custom face book pages for business.How cool is that?

The Website Comments:

Thanks to Pagemodo’s Page builder, entrepreneurs don’t need to have any design or technical skills to design a clean, professional, and engaging Facebook Page. Pagemodo provides everything entrepreneurs need: a wide variety of gorgeous and customizable templates, easy-to-add features like slideshows, videos, contact forms, and maps, and powerful social media tools like fan coupons and “like” gates.

  
Number 2

Zemanta - I am not sure if you have heard about this company but i was not aware of its existence until recently. Zemanta is an online tool which can help you to blog smarter & faster - with instant smart links, pictures, tags and more. I am looking forward to trying this out in the near future.

The Squidoo's Comments:

Zemanta is a revolutionary new platform for accelerating on-line content production for any web user. Any user-created text (a blog post, article or web page) is directly "read" by Zemanta, which recognizes all contextual content. Zemanta then combs the web for the most relevant images, smart links, keywords and text, instantly serving these results to the user to enrich and inform their content. What's more, Zemanta can be deployed on all major content publishing platforms and web browsers through a simple plug-in.

Number 1

Blog 2 Print - I really like this site. Basically, Blog 2 Print gives bloggers the opportunity to turn their blogs into a professionally printed book. You can also create gift cards and awards on the site as well. The service is not FREE but I thought that it is pretty cool.

The Website Comments:

With a couple of clicks, you choose a cover, the posts you'd like to include, and you're on your way to creating your own Blog Book!

You pick

• Cover
• Images
• Number and Order of Posts
• Comments

The GREAT Divide

I have been thinking about writing this post for a while now. However, I have not been able to sit down long enough to allow the words to flow.Here goes. I have been comparing my everyday personality to the blogger you see. Somehow, i have been seeing a divide between Lioness and Antoinette.

When I think of Lioness, i think about the part of me that always tries to put the best foot forward. The part of me that is more welling to take risks, more willing to bare my soul to the world. Lioness is an extrovert, with smart ideas, great tips, and lots of positive vibration .

Whereas, Antoinette is very private with build in walls of steel. My family will tell you that i speak my mind and i am not afraid to burn bridges. I love to taken the unbeaten path. I am strategic in my planning. I often pretend that things slip off me like water; but truth be told, i internalize every single thing. I have very few friends but many acquaintances.

I know that some of my readers might be doing a double take at this point. But thinking about my own situation  brings to the fore the fact that we all have layers to our personality. We have the face that the world sees, the face that our husbands, boyfriends interact with and then if we are honest enough; we have our true selves coming out when we are alone. For some of us, that is when all the layers are peeled away and the great divide is bridged into one raw highway of truth and reality.

On the other hand, all of this could be a page from one very active imagination. However, think about it and let me know, do you have a great divide?    

Finding a Needle in a Haystack.... The Search for Prince Charming.

We each have that ideal image of 'THE ONE' burnt in our brains. For some of us, it seems we have been wired as a child, probably even from birth, to seek out curtain qualities that when fused together results in our version of Prince Charming. With this ideal image in mind, we grow up searching for our ideal partner, a soul mate so to speak. Than reality hits. Oftentimes, the reality is not that there is no one to meet our unattainable standards. No my friends that is not it. The reality is that there are no hunting grounds, no green pastures, no flowing brooks in which to meet our ideal mate. In lay terms, the single man or woman is faced with the stark reality that in a city or town that is well populated there are no dating opportunities.   

Unwilling to allow our dreams to wither and die; we often find ourselves moving to the virtual community. Here, like a cruel twist, is often populated with potential mates of all sizes, shapes, colours and skills. By just browsing the pictures it seems that all our viable candidates are ready and waiting to take that journey with us to bliss.  However, are they?

Although online dating offers us an answer to a number of social challenges; we need to ask ourselves, is it all real? How do we know that the information we are getting is credible? After all, we have seen countless examples in social media, we have heard many a personal experiences from a friend, colleague or through the grape vine of the misrepresentation of these individuals. The credibility of these individuals is a genuine concern. How do we know that that handsome 20 or 30 something is not in fact a 50 year old trying to get his groove back? Not to mention, the mental warfare that is waged by the person on the other end of the conversation to ensure that you both seem to be compatible. How do you know if he or she really likes 'long walks on the beach'?  In the end, the person might look good on paper but is the paper real? The truth is

With all of this in mind, why bother to try and find that needle in a haystack you might wonder. The simple truth is we all like the idea that there is some one, just for us out there. The idea is so enticing that we are willing to continue searching for Prince Charming. But in our quest, is the Internet really the place to look?




    

Do You Look in the Mirror?

What do you see when you look in the mirror? We often see what we want to see when we look in the mirror. For some of us, we see lines that are not there or weird shadows and minute flaws that in fact makes us prefect. Many say it is society that has created a era of women who are chasing after the myth, perfection. But we cannot blame society for all of our ills. Well we can but let's be real. We have to instead weak up and decide what we want. Or better yet, we need to decide which you, you want to be.

Last year, i did just that. I decided to step outside the box and be who i want to be. So i cut my permed hair and started to lock my hair. Now let me tell you,  it was not an easy progress. I turned up at work and everyone did a double take. Basically i had little or no hair. Kids started to laugh and my colleagues looked at me weird but i did not care. I knew what i wanted and society's perception of beauty was not going to stop me. So i walked out proudly and eventually the reactions dissipated. People adjusted and moved on. A year later i am able to make a bun with my hair. I am regularly referred to as Empress, Princess or Queen by members of the public.

I am relating all of this to say,  you must determine for yourself what is beauty and what makes you beautiful. So when you look in the mirror you should see beauty radiating. You should embrace your prefect imprefection. 

Have You Found It?

Guys i am feeling so blessed at this moment in time. It is unbelievable! I have always heard that you should find your passion and stick with it.  I am excited because i think i have finally found my passion. Guess what,  it is blogging. This is coming from a person who went through a period of not wanting to write even a sentence. 

But, i am loving it. Recently, i had to take a little time off because of personal and professional engagements. Guys i literally ached. I know it sounds crazy. But i did. That is how i knew. I LOVE this!!!!

So thank you all for coming to my blog and reading my rants, my thoughts and just for sharing in my personal journey. I am blown away that people actually take the time to read my words.

Thanks You All!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Journey Continues!!!!!

Firstly, Somehow i feel like i have been saying this quite a lot but nonetheless i will say it again. I have not given up on blogging and sorry that i have been M.I.A. There are days when i want to blog so much it hurts. But, I am finding it hard to pencil in blog time on my busy schedule. I would like to think that this situation is a work in progress. I am sure, you will be tired of seeing me pretty soon. Just to say however, that I am currently working on some personal projects and i look forward to sharing them with you soon.

Secondly, I know that for my United States readers, especially, you are preparing for fall and then winter. But, i just wanted to know if the climate has changed for you as yet. I swear that the sun is literally sitting on Jamaica.The days are blazing hot! I know that the summer equinox was on the 21 of September and therefore summer has officially ended. However, i am still waiting for summer to go to sleep or at least take a nap; so i can get a breath of air.


Thirdly, I want to remind you to keep positive. It might sound like i am one of those annoyingly happy persons. the reality is I am far from it, trust me. Like you i have days that kick me in the stomach and drain the energy from my body. Yes, i have those days when i don't want to get out of bed. However, I have learnt that all of this is apart of the human condition and we just need to learnt how to control it. 

Here are three quick tips that i use daily:

Surround yourself with positive energy. I have been hearing this quite often. However, i did not begin to understand the concept until recently. I woke up one day and i said today i will not dwell on the negatives and i will not accommodate persons who do. So for that day i did exactly that and i realized that by the end of the day i felt refreshed. Then, i continued that week and the week after that. I realized that i was able to get more done, i felt better and i was more focused. To me this was amazing after all, my typical day would begin at 5 am and end at 10-11.

Another thing is, before you leave your bed in the morning breathe positive energy into your day. I find that i take 2 minutes to exhale the tiredness, pains, doubts and anxiety in the morning as well as to inhale good things that i want for the day. I generally speak good things into my day. For example: today is going to be an awesome day i claim it! or today i will laugh, i will be happy, everything will be great! I find that when i center my energy i am able to have my contact sessions with an average of 150-200 students daily and still maintain sanity and inner peace.

Finally, get a personal organizer. I am still wondering how i survived so long without one. First of all, no one taught me how to be organized. I have always had the notion that you just get up and do what you have to do. Fullstop. However, thank God for the internet. Through the internet i have discovered the value of a personal organizer. Now, I have my new organizer (my first one ever) and i find that i am less stressed, more focused and procrastinating less because of it. I think i will write a post about my journey.  

Just remember its up to you to create the environment that you will thrive in. No one will do if for you. After all, no one knows you like how you know yourself.