VS Grenier ~ Award-Winning Author, Speaker & Podcaster

I’ve noticed lately a few of my blogging friends have been taking some time off from posting to their blogs. A few of them have taken months off with no mention of when they plan to return. It started me thinking about something…blogger burnout. The first thing you need to consider are the warning signs you’re experiencing blogger burnout. Some of the signs are hard to recognize due to the nature of blogging. To help you identify if you have blogger burnout or on your way to experiencing it, ask yourself these questions. Count up how many you answered ‘yes’ to and then read on. Are you putting up blog posts the day they are due to show up on your blog? Do you have more reviews than you can finish each day, week and/or month? Are you having a hard time finding things to blog about? Do you forget to announce winners of giveaways only a few days after it ends? Are you staying up late or getting up early to get posts up and feel tired because of it? Do you have more than 5

I have been asked this question more than once during my writing career. At first, I gave the standard answer I learned from my instructor at the ICL…YES! The question you maybe be wondering is has my opinion changed since then…NO. Entering writing contests (Free or Fee Based) is always a good thing. However, you want to make sure the contest you are entering is with a known company or group. I only say this because you want to make sure you’re not paying money or sending your manuscript somewhere no one has ever heard of and to never see again. With that said, I have entered all kinds of contests. Some have been through the Institute of Children’s Literature, Writer’s Digest, League of Utah Writers, Preditors & Editors, Mom’s Choice and other unknown local and national smaller groups and companies.  Winning is always nice, of course, but that isn’t why I enter contests. I do it to hence my writing and submission techniques, to hone my talents and learn from my mistakes

You may have thought from time to time that you’d like to keep a diary or a journal. You may even have started one...or two...or who knows how many, over the years. Perhaps you are one of those people with enough self-discipline to write briefly in a diary every evening, year after year, and start a new volume each New Year’s Day! In that case, you have a pretty good record of your doings and maybe even your thoughts about them over time.   There are, however, many possibilities for journaling using various "guided" techniques. To get you started, you may want to give some thought to what you want to get out of journaling. Do you just want to record your memories, as days and months go by? Then a normal diary, or journal, is probably just what you need -- that, and a pen. But if you want to get to know yourself better, find the source of some ongoing problem in your life, or give yourself a nudge toward doing some creative writing, then you might consider one

When you hear the word “Marketing”, I’m sure you automatically think…social networking, but what about the other types of marketing, i.e. media releases, banner ads, blog talk radio, online networking groups to name a few. So let’s look at how you can use these marketing avenues outside of just Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc. Media Releases I’m sure some of you have at one time or another sent a media release. If you haven’t, it is time to start doing so. You don’t have to pay a PR firm to do this for you. In fact, you can easily do this every time you host a blog hop, guest interview or post, giveaway, and even if you’ve made some changes or updates to your blog such as a new look or addition. Releases are a great way to let local and online media outlets, publishers, companies, PR firms, buzz sites and more know about you.  You can post a media release free or for a small fee if you want to reach a bigger audience. Here are a few of my favorites: https://www.pr.c

Join hosts VS Grenier & Marsha Cook on March 23 at 1PM EST – 12PM CT – 11AM MT – 10AM PST. This is a discussion based show. Marsha and Virginia will be happy to take your calls if you have questions. Call in number - 714-242-5259 This week's guest: Jo-Anne Vandermeulen a Canadian author , expert blogger , producer and hostess of “ Authors Articulating ” on Blogtalkradio, founder and marketer of the online marketing business—“ Premium Promotional Services ”. Call in, post your questions in our chat room during the show or email your questions to us here at Blog Talk Radio. Also stop by our NEW website http://worldofinknetwork.com and learn more about the hosts and our shows, plus services we offer. Listen to the show at the link below What Is Success Show with VS Grenier and Marsha Casper Cook 03/23 by WorldOfInkNetwork | Blog Talk Radio

Join hosts VS Grenier & Marsha Cook on March 9 at 1PM EST – 12PM CT – 11AM MT – 10AM PST.  This is a discussion based show. Marsha and Virginia will be happy to take your calls if you have questions. Call in number - 714-242-5259  Special Show with Meg LaBorde Kuehn (pronounced “keen”), Chief Operating Officer of Kirkus Media     Meg LaBorde Kuehn began her career in publishing almost 14 years ago as a literary publicist. She was executive vice president and then chief operating officer of Greenleaf Book Group and later served as deputy publisher at Bard Press. Meg has worked with more than 300 authors, launched multiple bestsellers and was profiled in Publishers Weekly’s “50 under 40” feature. Kirkus recruited Meg in February 2011 to the position of vice president of business development and then named her chief operating officer in January 2012. About Kirkus - Founded in 1933, Kirkus has been an authoritative voice in book discovery for almost 80 years. Kirkus

Come listen to a special Writing Mama show March 5 , 2012 at 6pm EST - 5pm CT - 4pm MST - 3pm PT. BTR’s World of Ink Network: The Writing Mama show with hosts VS Grenier and Irene Roth will be chatting with author Magdalena Ball. Magdalena Ball is the author of the newly released novel (for adult readers) Black Cow, Sleep Before Evening, Repulsion Thrust, and a wide number of collaborations, anthologies and poetry chapbooks. Grab a a free mini flip book of Black Cow here: http://www.bewritebooks.com/ mb/BlackCow/BlackCow.html The Writing Mama show will air live, March 5 , 2012 at 6pm EST. You can listen/call in at (714) 242-5259. For more information on Magdalena visit: http://www.magdalenaball.com Learn more about The World of Ink Network, our shows, hosts and services at Our blog http://worldofinknetwork.blogspot.com or our NEW website http://worldofinknetwork.com Listen to the show at the this link The Writing Mama Show with Host VS Grenier 03/05 by Worl

I teach writing for my local college's continuing educational program. I love meeting with beginning writers each week and sharing the basics. However, I'm always surprised to find many of them haven't even sat down to write the story building inside them or at least log the ideas they have for story lines. So my advice to you today if you want to start down the road of becoming a writer...The Time to Start Writing is Now! Some Idea Starters For beginning writers (and something I learned when I studied at the Institute of Children's Literature), I have found using visual aids to spark an idea is always a great way to begin the process of writing. You can do this to draft an actually short story or book for submission to just using it as a writing exercise.  Study the pictures I have below or pick one of your own from a magazine, old photo album, etc. Study the pictures and select one that appeals to you most.  Also, keep in mind your target readership with pi

BTR’s World of Ink Network show: Families Matter with hosts VS Grenier and Kecia Burcham. Airs live 6pm EST - 5pm CST - 4pm MST - 3pm PST The Families Matter show airs live once a month on the 4th Wednesday. This months show topic is on Divorce. We will be talking about tips for parents and children dealing with this tough life changing event. When it comes to divorce, everyone is touched by its awful power. The idea of this show is to have guests and listeners (adults or kids) share information to help empower children and their families. Please post any questions or stories you would like us to answer or share on the show. You are also invited to call in and join the conversation. Listen at The Families Matter Show 01/25 by WorldOfInkNetwork | Blog Talk Radio

Blog Talk Radio’s World of Ink Network has a new show: Families Matter with hosts VS Grenier and Kecia Burcham. The Families Matter show will air live once a month on the 3 rd Wednesday at 6pm EST. The idea of this new show on Blog Talk Radio’s World of Ink Network is to have guests (adults or kids) share information to help empower children and their families . The first show on June 15, 2011 will be about bullying and how children and their families can deal with this ever growing problem. Host Kecia Burcham works as a middle school counselor and holds a masters degree in education/school counseling as well as being a certified trainer in the "7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens" curriculum. She is also a certified NLP life coach, business coach, master weight loss coach and social/emotional intelligence coach. Kecia is a published poet, author and songwriter. She has worked in the field of education/psychology for 20 years and has one grown daughter. Host VS Grenier is

Many writers and illustrators ask me, "Is it really important to have a book trailer for my upcoming book?" My answer is "YES!" Book and Event trailers are a lot like movie trailers. They catch viewer interest if done right. I don’t know if you have noticed, but many BIG publishing houses have discovered the importance of book trailers. They believe in them so much that you can catch them as television commercials. Something you didn’t see 20, 10 and even 5 years ago! Book and event trailers are fast becoming the future in marketing, promotions and school events. Similar to a movie trailer, a book trailer is a marketing tool to assist authors, illustrators and publishers in promoting their work by creating a viral marketing campaign online. You may even have noticed event trailers or home videos making it on the home pages of places such as Yahoo.com. Why is this? Because people are spending more and more time online, and they are looking for entertainment. Wh