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Writing Progress Report – Third Quarter 2019Writing Progress Reports, First Quarter 2018, Second Quarter 2018, Third Quarter 2018, Fourth Quarter 2018, First Quarter 2019, Second Quarter 2019, Third Quarter 2019, Fourth Quarter 2019, First Quarter 2020, Second Quarter 2020, Third Quarter 2020, Fourth Quarter 2020, First Quarter 2021, Second Quarter 2021, Third Quarter 2021, Fourth Quarter 2021, First Quarter 2022, Second Quarter 2022, Third Quarter 2022, Fourth Quarter 2022, First Quarter 2023, Second Quarter 2023, Third Quarter 2023, Fourth Quarter 2023, First Quarter 2024, Second Quarter 2024, Third Quarter 2024, Fourth Quarter 2024, Writing Progress Reports Hub, First Quarter 2024, Second Quarter 2024, Third Quarter 2024, Fourth Quarter 2024, First Quarter 2025, Second Quarter 2025, Third Quarter 2025, Fourth Quarter 2025

Writing Progress Report – Third Quarter 2019

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on September 26, 2019

Progress Report –Third Quarter 2019

How great was third quarter 2019 for writing? So I spent third quarter 2019 doing a ton of editing and planning for 2019 NaNoWriMo. Then everything just sort of fell into place. So how awesome was that?

Third Quarter 2019 Posted Works

First of all, I worked on a number of new short stories. A lot of these had been drafted on paper and so I spent some time fixing and polishing them.

Then on Wattpad I posted some fan fiction as I am not posting wholly original work there these days. That is, unless it’s for the WattNaNo profile.

Finally, I wrote some quick flash fiction at home but kept it private. That stuff might (or might not) end up elsewhere. So I confess I’m unsure.

Milestones

Also, I have written over two and a half million words (fan fiction and wholly original fiction combined). So right now my stats on Wattpad for wholly original works are as follows:

  • How to NaNoWriMo – 12,327+ reads, 137+ comments
  • My Favorite Things (like kibble) – 969 reads, 133 comments
  • Revved Up – 58,729+ reads, 526+ comments
  • Social Media Guide for Wattpad – 12,309+ reads, 587+ comments
  • The Canadian Caper – 453 reads, 37 comments
  • The Dish – 249 reads, 24 comments
  • There is a Road – 188 reads, 28 comments
  • WattNaNo’s Top Picks 2018 – 1,263+ reads, 43+ comments

More Published Works

Also, I am amassing quite the collection of published works!

Untrustworthy, which is my first published novel. So yay!

Almost Shipwrecked, a story in the January 2019 edition of Empyreome.

Canaries, a short story in the March 29, 2019, edition of Theme of Absence.

Complications, a story in the Queer Sci Fi Discovery anthology. So this is an anthology where the proceeds went to supporting the QSF website.

Cynthia and Wilder Bloom, stories in the Longest Night Watch II anthology.

Nothing Good Ever Happens at 3 AM, a story posted at Unfading Daydream‘s October issue (about possession) and their 2019 Anthology.

Props, a story in the Longest Night Watch I anthology. So this is an anthology where the proceeds go to Alzheimer’s research.

Surprises, a story in Book One of the 42 and Beyond Anthology set.

The Boy in the Band, a story in the Pride Park anthology. So this is an anthology where the proceeds go to the Trevor Project.

The Interview, the featured story in the December 14, 2018 edition of Theme of Absence. So they even interviewed me!

The Last Patient, a story in the Stardust, Always anthology. This was an anthology where the proceeds go to cancer research.

The Resurrection of Ditte, a story in the Unrealpolitik anthology.

This is My Child, a short story published in the April 8, 2019 edition of Asymmetry Fiction.

Three Minutes Back in Time, a short story to be published in Mythic Magazine.

WIP Corner

So, my current WIPs are as follows:

The Obolonk Murders Trilogy – so this one is all about a tripartite society. But who’s killing the aliens?

The Enigman Cave – can we find life on another planet and not screw it up? You know, like we do everything else?

The Real Hub of the Universe Trilogy – so the aliens who live among us in the 1870s and 1880s are at war. But why is that?

Mettle – so it’s all about how society goes to hell in a hand basket when the metals of the periodic table start to disappear. But then what?

Prep Work

So, currently, I have been working on some writing prompts to keep me sharp and keep the words flowing. My intention, for this year’s NaNoWriMo, is to write a new novel in the Obolonks universe. But I need a plot! So a lot of this year will be spent on that.

Third Quarter 2019 Queries and Submissions

So here’s how that’s been going during third quarter 2019.

In Progress

As of third quarter 2019, the following are still in the running for publishing:

This list is the name of the story and then the name of the potential publisher.

  • A Kitten – Dual Cost Magazine
  • Blue Card – Gods Among Men podcast
  • Darkness Into Light – Polychrome Ink
  • Dinosaurs – Electric Spec
  • Gentrification – Hecate
  • Killing Us Softly – Strange Fictions
  • None of This is Real – Mithilia Review
  • Side by Side – Leading Edge Magazine
  • Soul Rentals ‘R’ Us – Weekly Humorist
  • Who Do We Blame for This? – Emerging Worlds

Some of those have been out for a while, so I’m not exactly hopeful. Dinosaurs is on its 11th query. And Side by Side is on its 9th query. Who Do We Blame for This? is on query #8, and Blue Card is on query #7. Assuming no one picks them up, at some point, I’ll throw in the towel on those, and just post them on Wattpad. For Dinosaurs, this is its last shot.

All Other Statuses

So, be sure to see the Stats section for some details on any query statuses for third quarter 2019 which were not in progress.

Stats

So, in 2018, my querying stats were:

  • 68 submissions of 19 stories
  • Acceptances: 4, 5.88%
  • In Progress-Under Consideration: 3, 4.41% (so these don’t seem to have panned out)
  • In Progress: 10, 14.71%
  • Rejected-Personal: 14, 20.59%
  • Rejected-Form: 24, 35.29%
  • Ghosted: 13 (so these were submissions where I never found out what happened), 19.12%

And so in 2019 my querying stats are so far:

  • 29 submissions of 13 stories (so 6 submissions carry over from 2018)
  • Acceptances: 5, 17.24%
  • In Progress: 12 (so this includes 2 holdovers from 2018), 41.37%
  • Rejected-Personal: 8, 27.58%
  • Rejected-Form: 3, 10.34%
  • Ghosted: 1 (so these are submissions where I never found out what happened), 3.44%

So, particularly discouraging is the fact that I had no new acceptances in second quarter 2019. In the third quarter, one story sprang back to life and I got another acceptance. So those were helpful. But man oh man! It’s still pretty discouraging and hard to go on.

Third Quarter 2019 Productivity Killers

So, it’s work, what else? Furthermore, during third quarter 2019, I went away on business and also had a vacation.

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Content Nation by John Blossom, A Book ReviewBook Reviews, Killer UX Design, Content Nation by John Blossom, SEO Made Simple, Lee Odden, Dave Kerpen, Liana Evans, dummies, cluetrain manifesto, shama hyder kabadi, Numerati, Guerilla Marketing, White Space, Clay Shirky, Trust Agents, Kristina Halvorson, Stephen King, Zen, William Zinsser, Drupal for Dummies, Executive, XHTML, Communicating Design, Joshua Porter, Strategic Planning, Google Advertising Tools, Web Analytics, Right Hook, David Meerman Scott, web analytics, Revved Up, robot building, Charlene Li, Josh Bernoff, style guide, elements,

Content Nation by John Blossom, A Book Review

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on September 17, 2019

Let’s Look at Content Nation by John Blossom

John Blossom wrote a rather interesting work. And so for Quinnipiac University’s Social Media Platform’s class (ICM 522), this book was assigned as required reading.

Blossom sharply and compellingly puts forth his case. The Internet has become home to more and more content creators all the time.

And this constitutes a very good thing indeed.

As publishing becomes push-button fast and friendly, publishers stop being gatekeepers. Suddenly, anyone with an idea and a connection can potentially become a publisher.

Takeaways

One of his most interesting takeaways appears on page 136. Here he lays out Content Nation Enterprise Rule #1:

“Social media isn’t about technology; it’s about adapting to more effective patterns of communications being adopted by competitors.”

Hence for Blossom, the key benefits are –

  • Effective social media tools enable people to choose who they want to allow within their circle of communication (although that makes for silos and walled gardens these days!)
  • Effective social media tools make it easier to collect and organize communications from internal and external sources
  • and Effective social media tools make it easier to collaborate internally and externally. This is to build and update valuable knowledge more effectively.

And I have to say that I agree with this. So much of what we read about social media centers around the platforms. In addition, the technology seems to overrule everything else, including common sense. And while everyone loves something shiny and new, it matters very little if the content behind it, well, frankly, stinks. Hence Blossom essentially disagrees with Marshall McLuhan.  Therefore, the medium isn’t the message any more.

Instead, the message is the message.

And I think that is pretty powerful. Particularly in this day and age of constant content creation, promotion, distribution, and deconstruction. But you make the call, gentle reader. Feel free to contact me if you disagree, okay?

Rating

Review: 4/5 stars.

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The New Rules of Marketing & PR by David Meerman Scott, A Book ReviewBook Reviews, Killer UX Design, Content Nation by John Blossom, SEO Made Simple, Lee Odden, Dave Kerpen, Liana Evans, dummies, cluetrain manifesto, shama hyder kabadi, Numerati, Guerilla Marketing, White Space, Clay Shirky, Trust Agents, Kristina Halvorson, Stephen King, Zen, William Zinsser, Drupal for Dummies, Executive, XHTML, Communicating Design, Joshua Porter, Strategic Planning, Google Advertising Tools, Web Analytics, Right Hook, David Meerman Scott, web analytics, Revved Up, robot building, Charlene Li, Josh Bernoff, style guide, elements,

The New Rules of Marketing & PR by David Meerman Scott, A Book Review

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on September 12, 2019

A Look at The New Rules of Marketing & PR by David Meerman Scott

The New Rules of Marketing & PR by David Meerman Scott was a fascinating book that I had as required reading for Quinnipiac University’s Social Media Platforms course (ICM522).

The Premise

First of all, the premise is, like a lot of other books about the Internet and social media marketing, that marketing has become less of a one-size-fits-all/push system. Instead, it has instead evolved into a far more balanced bilateral conversation.

And perhaps the most interesting part of the book consists of the rules themselves, which are in Chapter 2, on page 31 and are as follows –

David Meerman Scott and The New Rules

The New Rules of Marketing and PR

• First of all, marketing is more than just advertising
† In addition, public relations is for more than just a mainstream media audience
• You are what you publish
† And people want authenticity, not spin
• People want participation, not propaganda
† Instead of causing one-way interruption, marketing is about delivering content at just the precise moment your audience needs it
• Furthermore, marketers must shift their thinking from mainstream marketing to the masses to a strategy of reaching vast numbers of underserved audiences via the web
† In addition, public relations is not about your boss seeing your company on TV. It’s about your buyers seeing your company on the web
• Marketing is not about your agency winning awards. Instead, it’s about your organization winning business

And the internet has made public relations public again, after years of almost exclusive focus on media

• Furthermore, companies must drive people into the purchasing process with great online content
† In addition, blogs, online video, e-books, news releases, and other forms of online content let organizations communicate directly with buyers in a form they appreciate
• And social networks like Twitter (X), Facebook, and LinkedIn allow people all over the world to share content and connect with the people and companies they do business with
† Finally, on the web, the lines between marketing and public relations have blurred

Because customers are talking back.  And companies and their marketing departments had better start listening.

Rating

Review: 5/5 stars.

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The Zen of Social Media Marketing by Shama Hyder Kabani, a Book ReviewBook Reviews, Killer UX Design, Content Nation by John Blossom, SEO Made Simple, Lee Odden, Dave Kerpen, Liana Evans, dummies, cluetrain manifesto, shama hyder kabadi, Numerati, Guerilla Marketing, White Space, Clay Shirky, Trust Agents, Kristina Halvorson, Stephen King, Zen, William Zinsser, Drupal for Dummies, Executive, XHTML, Communicating Design, Joshua Porter, Strategic Planning, Google Advertising Tools, Web Analytics, Right Hook, David Meerman Scott, web analytics, Revved Up, robot building, Charlene Li, Josh Bernoff, style guide, elements,

The Zen of Social Media Marketing by Shama Hyder Kabani, a Book Review

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on August 27, 2019

A Look at The Zen of Social Media Marketing by Shama Hyder Kabani

The Zen of Social Media Marketing by Shama Hyder Kabani is a fascinating little work on how to get ahead with online social media marketing.

Shama Hyder Kabani’s prose style is engaging and direct. Furthermore, if you go to her own website, the way she writes represents an obvious reflection of the way she really speaks. Major points for authenticity.

Three Main Sites

Shama says that the three main social media areas/sites you should focus on are LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Forget most others. However, this part has changed and is out of date, for I would argue to swap out Instagram or even Snapchat (depends on demographics) for LinkedIn.

Or maybe TikTok.

In addition, your should present your company (and, by extension, yourself) on all three with a kind of what I like to call professional intimacy. That might sound like an oxymoron. However, the idea is, be genuine and sincere but also hang back in terms of too much sharing and togetherness.

Your customers want to know about your company and your product, to be sure, but a little personalization works (and, in fact, can help to build trust). But too much personalization does not work.

Your prospects and customers really do not wish to hear that you’re going in to have a root canal.

ACT

So Shama’s three points come under the ACT acronym:

  • Attract – bring the prospects and customers in with good, lively (and up to date) content
  • Convert – turn your prospects into customers (and this may take several visits by them before this happens) and
  • Transform – turn successes into magnetic forces of attraction

Attraction is your brand, your outcomes, your differentiators. And Social Media marketing is extremely good for this. Clarity of communications is key.

However, Social Media remains a less optimal tool for converting strangers (prospects) into clients (paying customers). However, it is good for converting strangers into information consumers, which can often be a major step in moving them along the path from prospect to client.

Transformation

Transformation involves social proof, e. g. we’re more inclined to do something if we see others doing it.

Therefore, you have to do a good job, and use your success in order to attract more successes. That is, ask your clients if you can retell their success stories. Make it easy to buy and pick your tactics (means of marketing) last — you need to get the essentials (such as theory) in place first.

Strategy is the big picture. Tactics are the when, the where and the how.

Blogging is also key. The idea behind blogging is three things:

  • Educate – use your blog to add value by giving away good information.
  • Market – make it attractive to buy and
  • Sell – make it possible to buy.

Shama Hyder Kabadi is Walking the Walk

The book is a brisk read. Of particular interest are the testimonials in the back. As you go along, you realize that Shama practices what she preaches on every page of the book. And, it worked, didn’t it? Because if she got you to buy her book and check out her website, then she’s already converted you to a client. And all she needs to do is sell you her services and she hits 100% of her target.

Finally, the most amazing thing is, even after you realize how much you are being marketed to, you just don’t seem to mind any more.

Rating

5/5

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Book Review – Likeable Social Media by Dave KerpenBook Reviews, Killer UX Design, Content Nation by John Blossom, SEO Made Simple, Lee Odden, Dave Kerpen, Liana Evans, dummies, cluetrain manifesto, shama hyder kabadi, Numerati, Guerilla Marketing, White Space, Clay Shirky, Trust Agents, Kristina Halvorson, Stephen King, Zen, William Zinsser, Drupal for Dummies, Executive, XHTML, Communicating Design, Joshua Porter, Strategic Planning, Google Advertising Tools, Web Analytics, Right Hook, David Meerman Scott, web analytics, Revved Up, robot building, Charlene Li, Josh Bernoff, style guide, elements,

Book Review – Likeable Social Media by Dave Kerpen

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on July 25, 2019

Let’s Review Likeable Social Media by Dave Kerpen

Dave Kerpen has a rather interesting book here.

Likeable Social Media

This book was required reading, as a part of my Community Management class at Quinnipiac University.

And it made for an excellent read.

For Kerpen, a lot of social media success comes from listening to, and then surprising and delighting customers and potential customers. Are your posts what they are interested in? If you received this post, would you bother clicking on it?

Case in point for surprise and delight

In May of 2015, my husband, parents, and I went to a Mexican restaurant in my parents’ town. We have eaten there before, but not so much that they know our names or our usual orders or the like.

My husband and I don’t visit my parents too often. And he visits them even less than I am. To the restaurant, even if my parents are repeat customers, my husband and I surely don’t look like repeats.

There was a short wait until we got our food. Without prompting, we received a little appetizer, which mainly consisted of little breaded and fried mashed potatoes, configured a bit like sticks. There were three bits of sauce in different colors.

The potatoes and sauce, most likely, were leftover odds and ends. It may have taken the chef all of ten minutes to make the dish. I didn’t see anyone else getting the appetizer. We thanked the server. The appetizer tasted good.

We were served our food, and you’d think that would be the end of it. But it wasn’t. We didn’t order dessert. But we received a plate of flan and four spoons anyway. No one asked us; we just got the flan (it tasted really good). We weren’t charged for either little extra.

These twin activities impressed us, so much so that I’ve even linked back to the restaurant. Win-win!

Surprise and delight your customers. Or, as I’d like to say, where’s their flan?

Being Likeable

By no coincidence, Kerpen named his company Likeable Media. From its positive name to its obvious association with Facebook, the book and the company are all about creating positive and meaningful experiences for customers and potential customers.

Kerpen begins with listening and with careful, accurate, and specific targeting. E. g. not all women in their 50s have the same interests. He strongly urges marketers to dig deeper. He also encourages them to have empathy for their customers. Is a post interesting? Would it be welcome to the customer base?

The first fans should be preexisting customers, with perks for the really rabid fans. Another skill to master: engaging in a true dialog. This means not just accepting praise, but also effectively and expeditiously responding to complaints. It also means owning up to your mistakes when you make them.

Honesty

Kerpen advocates authenticity, honesty and transparency in dealings, and promoting an exchange by asking questions, which goes right back to listening. From listening, comes the surprise and delight. Did the restaurant hear us complaining about slower than normal service? Possibly. The appetizer and the flan certainly helped to quell those complaints and win us over.

Because he’s talking about social media (and not restaurant service), Kerpen’s flan moment doesn’t just cover coupons and offers. It’s also the sharing of stories as social capital. Some of this includes stories of the company (e. g. how a product was invented that spawned an industry). But it also encompasses the stories of the customers themselves.

Imagine being a soft drink company and asking customers who drank your soft drink during their first date to share their love stories?

Finally, rather than hard selling, Kerpen exhorts marketers to simply make it easy to buy. Good products and services will always have customers. Generally, you don’t need to massage demand. But you do need to make it easier for customers to open their wallets.

A terrific, breezy read, well worth your time.

Rating for the Book and for Dave Kerpen Himself

5/5 stars

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Book Review: Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook by Gary VaynerchukBook Reviews, Killer UX Design, Content Nation by John Blossom, SEO Made Simple, Lee Odden, Dave Kerpen, Liana Evans, dummies, cluetrain manifesto, shama hyder kabadi, Numerati, Guerilla Marketing, White Space, Clay Shirky, Trust Agents, Kristina Halvorson, Stephen King, Zen, William Zinsser, Drupal for Dummies, Executive, XHTML, Communicating Design, Joshua Porter, Strategic Planning, Google Advertising Tools, Web Analytics, Right Hook, David Meerman Scott, web analytics, Revved Up, robot building, Charlene Li, Josh Bernoff, style guide, elements,

Book Review: Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook by Gary Vaynerchuk

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on July 16, 2019

Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook by Gary Vaynerchuk

Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook is a bit too cleverly named, but the premise is an interesting one.

Essentially, what Gary Vaynerchuk is saying is, little bits of content and engagement which reach your potential customers are the setup for the big finish (which is not really a finish, actually) of a call to action and an attempt to make a sale.

The other major premise of the book is that all platforms have their own native quirks and idiosyncrasies. Therefore what is reliable on Pinterest, might fall flat on Facebook.

What is killer on Tumblr might get a shrug on Instagram. And what is awesome on Twitter might bring the meh elsewhere.

But that all makes sense, as these are somewhat different platforms. Their demographics are different. They have differing user bases and numbers of people online at any given time.

Breaking Down What Went Wrong, and What Went Right

So, the most powerful part of this work was in the analysis and dissection of various real-life pieces of content on the various platforms. Why did something not work?

Maybe the image was too generic or too small or too blurry. Or maybe the call to action was too generic and wishy-washy, or the link did not take the user directly to the page with the sales information or coupon.

Or maybe there was no link or no logo, and the user was confused or annoyed.

While this book was an assignment for my Community Management class, the truth is, I can also see it as applying to the User-Centered Design course at Quinnipiac. After all, a big part of good user-centric design is to not confuse or annoy the user. Vaynerchuk is looking to take that a step further, and surprise and delight the consumer.

Give people value. So, give them what they want and need, or that at least makes them smile or informs them. In the meantime, show your humanity and your concern.

And work your tail off.

A terrific read. Everyone in this field should read this book.

Ten Years Later, What Do I Think?

Well, I think that the points Gary V makes are exceptionally valuable for the purposes of marketing. If the user has no idea what you want them to do, then they’ll just do nothing.

So, what do you want them to do? Download an app? Leave a review? Click on a link? Make a purchase? Share a post?

This is why virtually the best buttons you see on any website are the only that just say Click or Buy Now. Nobody writes War and Peace on those. Hell, you just plain can’t! The same should be true for any place where you’re putting a call to action.

This is vital for writers as well, and not just for the marketing of their wares. If you want to evoke sadness in the reader, then you had better make it clear that the characters are experiencing, or they are experiencing a sad event. Show the first with crying or depression or the like. And show the second with a truly sad event: a death, a divorce, losing a job, failing a class—you get the idea.

This book and its contents have never been more relevant. My review and rating still stand.

Rating

5/5 Stars

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Writing Progress Report – Second Quarter 2019Writing Progress Reports, First Quarter 2018, Second Quarter 2018, Third Quarter 2018, Fourth Quarter 2018, First Quarter 2019, Second Quarter 2019, Third Quarter 2019, Fourth Quarter 2019, First Quarter 2020, Second Quarter 2020, Third Quarter 2020, Fourth Quarter 2020, First Quarter 2021, Second Quarter 2021, Third Quarter 2021, Fourth Quarter 2021, First Quarter 2022, Second Quarter 2022, Third Quarter 2022, Fourth Quarter 2022, First Quarter 2023, Second Quarter 2023, Third Quarter 2023, Fourth Quarter 2023, First Quarter 2024, Second Quarter 2024, Third Quarter 2024, Fourth Quarter 2024, Writing Progress Reports Hub, First Quarter 2024, Second Quarter 2024, Third Quarter 2024, Fourth Quarter 2024, First Quarter 2025, Second Quarter 2025, Third Quarter 2025, Fourth Quarter 2025

Writing Progress Report – Second Quarter 2019

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on June 27, 2019

Progress Report –Second Quarter 2019

How great was second quarter 2019? So I spent second quarter 2019 mainly editing. This is because The Real Hope of the Universe had over 185,000 words to start with. So how amazing was that?

Second Quarter 2019 Posted Works

First of all, I spent time on editing The Real Hope of the Universe. The beast is truly enormous and I need a chainsaw. Seriously.

I also had on a number of new short stories. A lot of these had been drafted on paper and so I considered spending some time fixing and polishing them.

Then on Wattpad I posted some fan fiction as I am not posting wholly original work there these days. That is, unless it’s for the WattNaNo profile.

Finally, on I posted

Milestones

Also, I have written over two and a half million words (fan fiction and wholly original fiction combined). So right now my stats on Wattpad for wholly original works are as follows:

  • How to NaNoWriMo – 13,603+ reads, 142 comments
  • My Favorite Things (like kibble) – 972 reads, 133 comments
  • Revved Up – 59,005+ reads, 526 comments
  • Social Media Guide for Wattpad – 12,680 reads, 587 comments
  • The Canadian Caper – 457 reads, 37 comments
  • The Dish – 249 reads, 24 comments
  • There is a Road – 188 reads, 28 comments
  • WattNaNo’s Top Picks 2018 – 1,545 reads, 45 comments
  • What Now? – 1,602 reads, 44 comments

More Published Works

Also, I am amassing quite the collection of published works!

Untrustworthy, which is my first published novel. So yay!

Almost Shipwrecked, a story in the January 2019 edition of Empyreome.

Canaries, a short story in the March 29, 2019, edition of Theme of Absence.

Complications, a story in the Queer Sci Fi Discovery anthology. So this is an anthology where the proceeds went to supporting the QSF website.

Cynthia and Wilder Bloom, stories in the Longest Night Watch II anthology.

Props, a story in the Longest Night Watch I anthology. So this is an anthology where the proceeds go to Alzheimer’s research.

Surprises, a story in Book One of the 42 and Beyond Anthology set.

The Boy in the Band, a story in the Pride Park anthology. So, this is an anthology where the proceeds go to the Trevor Project.

The Interview, the featured story in the December 14, 2018 edition of Theme of Absence. So, they even interviewed me!

The Last Patient, a story in the Stardust, Always anthology. This was an anthology where the proceeds go to cancer research.

The Resurrection of Ditte, a story in the Unrealpolitik anthology.

This is My Child, a short story published in the April 8, 2019 edition of Asymmetry FictionApril 8, 2019 edition of Asymmetry Fiction.

Three Minutes Back in Time, a short story to be published in Mythic Magazine.

WIP Corner

So my current WIPs are as follows:

The Obolonk Murders Trilogy – so this one is all about a tripartite society. But who’s killing the aliens?

The Enigman Cave – can we find life on another planet and not screw it up? You know, like we do everything else?

The Real Hub of the Universe Trilogy – so the aliens who live among us in the 1870s and 1880s are at war. But why is that?

Mettle – so it’s all about how society goes to hell in a handbasket when the metals of the periodic table start to disappear. But then what?

Prep Work

So, currently, I have been working on some writing prompts to keep me sharp and keep the words flowing. My intention, for this year’s NaNoWriMo, is that I may write a new novel in the Obolonks universe. But I need a plot! So a lot of this year will be spent on that.

Second Quarter 2019 Queries and Submissions

So here’s how that’s been going during second quarter 2019.

In Progress

As of second quarter 2019, the following are still in the running for publishing:

This list is the name of the story and then the name of the potential publisher.

  • A Kitten – Wee Tales
  • Blue Card – Gods Among Men podcast
  • Darkness Into Light – Polychrome Ink
  • Dinosaurs – The Weird and Whatnot
  • Gentrification – Hecate
  • Killing Us Softly – Future Visions
  • None of This is Real – Mithilia Review
  • Nothing Good Ever Happens at 3 AM – Unfading Daydream
  • Side by Side – Leading Edge Magazine
  • Soul Rentals ‘R’ Us – Weekly Humorist
  • Who Do We Blame for This? – Perpetual Motion Machine Publishing Newsletter

Some of those have been out for a while, so I’m not exactly hopeful. Dinosaurs is on its 8th query, and Side by Side is on its 9th. Assuming they’re not picked up, at some point, I’ll throw in the towel on those, and just post them on Wattpad.

All Other Statuses

So, be sure to see the Stats section for some details on any query statuses for second quarter 2019 which were not in progress.

Stats

So in 2018, my querying stats were:

  • 68 submissions of 19 stories
  • Acceptances: 4, 5.88%
  • In Progress-Under Consideration: 3, 4.41% (so, these don’t seem to have panned out)
  • In Progress: 10, 14.71%
  • Rejected-Personal: 14, 20.59%
  • Rejected-Form: 24, 35.29%
  • Ghosted: 13, 19.12%

So in 2019 my querying stats are:

  • 23 submissions of 11 stories (so 6 submissions carry over from 2018)
  • Acceptances: 4, 17.39%
  • In Progress: 11 (so this includes 2 holdovers from 2018), 47.83%
  • Rejected-Personal: 4, 17.39%
  • Rejected-Form: 3, 13.04%
  • Ghosted: 1, 4.35%

Second Quarter 2019 – The Productivity Killers

So it’s work, what else? And second quarter 2019 just will not be the end of that!

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White Space is not your Enemy by Kim Golombisky and Rebecca Hagen, a Book ReviewBook Reviews, Killer UX Design, Content Nation by John Blossom, SEO Made Simple, Lee Odden, Dave Kerpen, Liana Evans, dummies, cluetrain manifesto, shama hyder kabadi, Numerati, Guerilla Marketing, White Space, Clay Shirky, Trust Agents, Kristina Halvorson, Stephen King, Zen, William Zinsser, Drupal for Dummies, Executive, XHTML, Communicating Design, Joshua Porter, Strategic Planning, Google Advertising Tools, Web Analytics, Right Hook, David Meerman Scott, web analytics, Revved Up, robot building, Charlene Li, Josh Bernoff, style guide, elements,

White Space is not your Enemy by Kim Golombisky and Rebecca Hagen, a Book Review

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on May 30, 2019

White Space is not your Enemy by Kim Golombisky and Rebecca Hagen

I read White Space is Not Your Enemy on my own, and then for class.

White Space is not your Enemy by Kim Golombisky and Rebecca Hagen is a beginning design book. And I purchased it because I definitely need assistance with design. While I (at least I think I do) have something of an understanding of which color goes with which, it is sometimes difficult for me to make something look good. Seeking some inexpensive professional help, I turned to this book.

Practical Help With Your White Space and More

So apart from the obvious title, the book offers tips on color combinations, font selection, focal points and even how to prepare a document for a professional print job. And the chapter on design sins really resonated with me.

I have seen poorly designed advertisements (both online and offline) and websites, and have never really been able to adequately articulate just why they were so hideous. So now I can.

Exercises

The exercises in the back of each chapter seemed, I thought, somewhat superfluous. However, I did find myself beginning to look at designs with a more critical eye.

For example, I noticed a print advertisement where the background photograph was of varied colors. Some were light, some, dark. The print, however, was pure white, and cut horizontally along the middle of the photograph.

Hence this would have been fine, except the copy crashed straight into a white space, so some of the print was invisible. Which part? The company’s name. Epic design fail.

Foolproof

Another extremely helpful chapter: the one on the “works every time” layout. This layout is all over the Internet and all over print media, and for good reason. It is, essentially, a full width photograph or other graphic across the top third of the screen or page, with the remaining two-thirds divided into two vertical columns for text.

A cutline (caption) goes directly underneath the visual (if appropriate; some visuals don’t need a cutline), with a more prominent headline directly below that.

Break up the columns into paragraphs and beware widows and orphans (one or two short words on a line). Place tags (these aren’t Internet meta tags), which are the logo, company name and small nugget of information such as the URL or physical address, in the lower right-hand corner. In addition, round it all out with generous margins all around. Voila! An instant beautiful (albeit somewhat common) layout!

If nothing else, that chapter has a greater value than the price of admission.

Learning Creativity

Creativity cannot, truly, be taught. But the peripherals around it can, such as how to gather ideas and nurture them, and how to place those ideas together in a coherent format. It’s like teaching pottery and smithing but not cookery: you get enough so that you can set the table, but not nourish anyone.

For that, you need to be an artist. And that, sadly, no book can ever teach you.

Rating for White Space is Not Your Enemy

5/5

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Avinash Kaushik’s Web Analytics 2.0, a Book ReviewBook Reviews, Killer UX Design, Content Nation by John Blossom, SEO Made Simple, Lee Odden, Dave Kerpen, Liana Evans, dummies, cluetrain manifesto, shama hyder kabadi, Numerati, Guerilla Marketing, White Space, Clay Shirky, Trust Agents, Kristina Halvorson, Stephen King, Zen, William Zinsser, Drupal for Dummies, Executive, XHTML, Communicating Design, Joshua Porter, Strategic Planning, Google Advertising Tools, Web Analytics, Right Hook, David Meerman Scott, web analytics, Revved Up, robot building, Charlene Li, Josh Bernoff, style guide, elements,

Avinash Kaushik’s Web Analytics 2.0, a Book Review

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on May 7, 2019

Avinash Kaushik’s Web Analytics 2.0 – Yeah, I’m a Fan

Web Analytics Matter!

We Go Way Back

First of all, the first book that truly caught my eye and made a huge impression on me was Avinash Kaushik’s Web Analytics 2.0: The Art of Online Accountability and Science of Customer Centricity.

As a (hopefully) former data person, I can relate to the idea of needing web analytics. E. g., the measurements of how your website does. Why do you want to measure with web analytics? Why, you need to see whether your message is actually going anywhere.

For e-commerce sites, the ultimate test is, naturally, whether you’re getting sales. But it’s hard to tell – particularly in a complex organization – whether the website drives sales or offline marketing efforts.

And even measuring orders via these channels may not tell the entire story, as customers may see offline advertising and then come online to buy, or they may do the reverse and buy in-store after researching a product online. Or they could just be coming online to think about it and compare and mull it over and could convert to a paying customer days or weeks or months later. Or never.

What if You’re Not in e-Commerce?

And what about sites (such as my own) where nothing is offered for sale? My ultimate customer becomes, of course, someone to hire me, either permanently or temporarily. And this would mean as a consultant or a partner or a founder or a director or whatever, but that might be months away. What happens in the meantime?

I might be able to dope some of that out with SEO and seeing where I am in search engine rankings, but just because people can find my site doesn’t mean they’re going to convert into hiring me or are even in a position to do so. My mother (hi, Mom!) can find my site and read it, but she won’t hire me any time soon. Unless I want to come and clean the gutters or something.

How do you or I know what’s happening?

Enter analytics.

It is, admittedly, still an imperfect science. But Mr. Kaushik breaks it down and describes the reports that you need to understand what’s happening with your site. He talks about what is essentially a Trinity strategy: experience, behavior and outcomes.

User Experience

It’s not enough to just track sales (outcomes). It’s also about user experience and behavior. This is much like in the offline world, if you think about it. Going to a restaurant is an experience and many of them are packaged as such. But it is a far different experience going to a McDonald’s or a Chik-Fil-A versus a Bertucci’s.
And that experience differs from going to Legal Seafood’s which in turn is different from Blue Ginger (celebrity chef Ming Tsai’s restaurant). You can intake the same amount of calories. You might even be able to get in the same quality and types of nutrition. And you might enjoy a Big Mac as much as you enjoy one of Chef Tsai’s specialties. Aside from price, what are the differences?

Web Analytics for What Sort of User Experience?

When you go to a McDonald’s, a part of the price is wrapped up in the experience. For chain entities in particular, it’s about sameness and predictability. If you find yourself in rural Oshkosh and have never been there before, you see the golden arches and you realize what to expect.

For Bertucci’s, even though it costs more and there’s table service, there’s a similar vibe. You go there because you can depend upon it to be a certain way.

And Blue Ginger is also dependable in the sense that it’s very upscale so you know you are going to be treated a certain way and it will look a particular way and presumably the food will taste in a way that reflects that kind of investment, both by you and by Mr. Tsai and his team.

Enhanced User Experience

Mr. Kaushik shows how understanding analytics can help you to enhance user experience.  And this, ultimately, drives user behavior. While conversions (sales) are the ultimate in user behaviors, he doesn’t forget about other valid behaviors.

Hence for the e-commerce site, product research is a valid and valuable behavior. So is printing a map to a brick and mortar store. Or comparing prices.

And for a non-e-commerce venture (again, I’ll use myself as an example), valid user (reader) behaviors are things like reading my writings and getting to know me. I put myself out there in order to be known, because that’s a piece of the hiring puzzle (why are there interviews — it’s not to know about skills, which should already be known.

It’s to see if there’s a personality and a culture fit). Plus it enhances networking. Know me, think I’m worthwhile (at least, I hope you do) and you might think of a place where they might need me, or someone I should meet. And I do the same, in turn, for you. And cosmic karma gets us both into better places.

Back to the Book and More Web Analytics

But I digress. Let’s get back to the book.

The book has a lively, engaging style. It’s long but I sailed through it. And Mr. Kaushik (who is very gracious and seems to be very approachable, by the way) is clearly having fun and loves what he does. It’s a refreshing joy to read a book where the author is constantly delighted.

Read his book. Learn about analytics. Make the web a better place.

May your bounce rate be low, and your conversion rate high!

Rating

5/5

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Writing Progress Report – First Quarter 2019

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on March 28, 2019

Progress Report –First Quarter 2019

So, I spent first quarter 2019 finishing The Real Hope of the Universe. Then everything just sort of fell into place. And how awesome was that?

Posted Works

First of all, I worked to finish The Real Hope of the Universe. But the book got really long! As in over 185,000 words! It is now the longest piece I have ever written.

Then there will be a lot of time was spent on editing it. Also, I worked on submitting to various magazines and anthologies. January seemed to be a month of rejections. Maybe people were back from vacation. February definitely was better. And March was an improvement on that.

Then on Wattpad I posted some fan fiction as I am not posting wholly original work there these days. That is, unless it’s for the WattNaNo profile. However, if some of the shorter pieces never find a home after 10 or so tries, some of them will be reworked. But others just might end up there. I am not sure.

Then on Fanfiction.net, you guessed it, I posted fan fiction, and I even wound down. So except for two incomplete stories, which I may never finish, everything is there. So, no more Fanfiction.net, except for stats!

Milestones

Also, I have written over two and a half million words (fan fiction and wholly original fiction combined). So right now, my stats on Wattpad for wholly original works are as follows:

  • How to NaNoWriMo – 12,407+ reads, 137+ comments
  • My Favorite Things (like kibble) – 971 reads, 133 comments
  • Revved Up – 58,858+ reads, 526+ comments
  • Social Media Guide for Wattpad – 12,351+ reads, 587+ comments
  • The Canadian Caper – 455 reads, 37 comments
  • The Dish – 249 reads, 24 comments
  • There is a Road – 188 reads, 28 comments
  • WattNaNo’s Top Picks 2018 – 1,307+ reads, 43+ comments
  • What Now? – 149+reads, 6+ comments

More Published Works

Also, I am amassing quite the collection of published works!

Untrustworthy, my first published novel.

Surprises, a story in Book One of the 42 and Beyond Anthology set. So this one got to #3 in its Amazon category!

The Last Patient, a story in the Stardust, Always anthology.

The Interview, the featured story in the December 14, 2018 edition of Theme of Absence. So they even interviewed me!

Canaries, also to be published by Theme of Absence, on March 29, 2019.

This is My Child, to be published by Asymmetry on April 8, 2019.

Almost Shipwrecked, a story in the January 2019 edition of Empyreome.

The Resurrection of Ditte, a story in the Unrealpolitik anthology.

Complications, a story in the Queer Sci Fi Discovery anthology (so this book is only available from resellers).

Props, a story in the Longest Night Watch I anthology.

The Boy in the Band, a story in the Pride Park anthology.

Cynthia and Wilder Bloom, stories in the Longest Night Watch II anthology.

All My Aliens, a story in the 72 Hours of Insanity anthology (so this book is no longer available – anywhere!).

Three Minutes Back in Time, to be published by Mythic Magazine.

WIP Corner

So my current WIPs are as follows:

The Obolonk Murders Trilogy – so this one is all about a tripartite society where a Boston cop is investigating mass murders. But who’s killing the aliens? So how do humans and robots fit in?

The Enigman Cave – can we find life on another planet and not screw it up? You know, like we do everything else?

The Real Hub of the Universe Trilogy – so the aliens who live among us in the 1870s and 1880s are at war. But why? So how can a plucky Irish scullery maid, her closeted employer, and a secret society in Boston save the world?

Mettle – all about how society goes to hell in a hand basket when the metals of the periodic table start to disappear. Then what happens in near-future Boston?

So if you noticed the Boston trend everywhere, give yourself a cookie. That is because it’s one of my Easter eggs.

Prep Work

So currently, I have been working on some writing prompts to keep me sharp and keep the words flowing. Yet my intention, for this year’s NaNoWriMo, is that I will probably start a new piece. So this may even be a series in the Obolonks universe. But I need a plot! So a lot of this year will be spent on that.

However right now I am still working on The Real Hope of the Universe so it is on the back burner for now.

Queries and Submissions

So here’s how that’s been going during first quarter 2019.

In Progress

As of first quarter 2019, the following are still in the running for publishing:

This list is the name of the story and then the name of the potential publisher.

  • A Kitten – Wee Tales (as of 8/14/18)
  • Blue Card – Gods Among Men podcast (as of 2/28/19)
  • Darkness Into Light – Polychrome Ink (as of 1/27/19)
  • Dinosaurs – Bards and Sages Quarterly (as of 1/17/19)
  • Gentrification – Hecate (as of 3/10/19)
  • Killing Us Softly – Future Visions (as of 1/27/19)
  • None of This is Real – Andromeda Spaceways Magazine (as of 3/10/19)
  • Nothing Good Ever Happens at 3 AM – Luna Station Quarterly (as of 1/24/19)
  • Side by Side – Leading Edge Magazine (as of 1/18/19)
  • Soul Rentals ‘R’ Us – Weekly Humorist (as of 2/17/19)
  • Who Do We Blame for This? – Perpetual Motion Machine Publishing Newsletter (as of 12/12/18)

I had to resubmit some of the older ones and declare them ghosted. There’s a lot of mental energy that goes into submitting, I feel. So sometimes I need to work my way up to it. But aside from new submissions for some works which were rejected, no news can often feel like goodish news.

All Other Statuses

Also see the Stats section for some details on any query statuses for first quarter 2019 which were not in progress.

Stats

So in 2018, my querying stats were:

  • 68 submissions of 19 stories
  • Acceptances: 4, 5.88%
  • In Progress-Under Consideration: 3, 4.41%
  • In Progress: 10, 14.71%
  • Rejected-Personal: 14, 20.59%
  • Rejected-Form: 24, 35.29%
  • and Ghosted: 13, 19.12%

And in 2019, my querying stats so far are:

  • 18 submissions of 12 stories
  • Acceptances: 3, 11.11%
  • In Progress: 9, 50.00%
  • Rejected (any type): 6, 33.33%
  • Withdrew Voluntarily: 1, 5.56%

This Quarter’s Productivity Killers

Work, what else? And first quarter 2019 will not be the end of that!

Hence keeping up with this blog remains difficult. But I’m trying! Thank you for hanging in there, and sticking with me, first quarter 2019 and beyond.

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