Elizabeth Gilbert TED Talk

This TED Talk by Elizabeth Gilbert is fabulously inspiring and it reminds us to recognize the divine energy at work in our lives.  

Yoga and Creative Writing Workshop in Traverse City

For you Michigan Writers who reside in the beautiful Traverse City area of North Michigan, I am offering a workshop that integrates yoga and creative writing. We will meet for five weeks with the intention of tapping into your authentic voice. This is not a critique workshop, but rather an opportunity to dig deeper and release your words and stories in a spontaneous way.

Peaceful Prose:

A Yoga and Creative Writing Workshop

Join author and yoga teacher Jacki Erickson in a five-week workshop integrating yoga and creative writing.

We will explore postures, chakras, breath-work and meditation with an emphasis on discovering our authentic voice. Writing exercises, prompts and journaling will offer a structure to share our insights and hone our craft.

Who Should Attend? This workshop is designed for anyone who wants to spark their creativity and dive deeper into the practice of yoga and writing. Beginning writers and those new to practicing yoga are encouraged to attend.

Location: Shanti School of Yoga, 2074 West South Airport Road, Traverse City, MI

Dates and Time: Five Fridays February 20, 2015- March 20, 2015 from 4pm-5:30pm.

Cost: $125

Please Bring: A yoga mat, journal, writing utensil and an open mind.

Sign up online at http://shantischoolofyoga.net/ 

Contact me at JackiRErickson.com

Jacki Erickson (J.R. Erickson) is the author of Ula: Born of Shadows; a fantasy novel series published by Bluewood Publishing in 2012. The release of her second novel Sorciere is expected in 2015. Jacki has been writing most of her life and has published articles and short stories in a variety of publications.

Jacki is a 300-HR certified yoga teacher through Hilltop Yoga in Lansing, Michigan. She currently teaches at Shanti School of Yoga in Traverse City.

2015 Michigan Writing Events

Connect with other writers, workshop your material, improve your technique and simply delve a little deeper into the writing life with these 2015 Writing Events in Michigan.


A Rally of Writers (Lansing Writer's Conference): April 2015


Rochester Writer's Spring Conference: April 2015


Interlochen Writer's Retreat: June 2015


Bear River Writer's Retreat: June 2015


Glen Lake Writer's Retreat: June 2015


8th Annual Rochester Writer's Conference: October 2015

You cannot hope to sweep someone else away by the force of your writing until it has been done to you.

Stephen King

Make a Living as a Freelance Writer

Making a career out of freelance writing is a labor of love. Many writers aspire to one day support themselves entirely with writing, but instead discover that they must work at the local coffee shop or spend their most productive hours answering phones to make ends meet. I get it. I've been there and still regularly occupy that space. Life is a dynamic process and freelance writing is especially thus. It's ever changing.One month, you might have five clients that you're working with and the next, you're checking your email every hour, hoping for a small editing gig. What I've learned more than anything else in the freelance business is that I am responsible for my business. If I'm not generating it, there won't be any.

My partner in crime is a musician and he is a great example of how to be successful in the freelance business. Every day, he works to create his business. He goes to jam sessions to network with other musicians, he regularly stops by music studios to offer his services as a music teacher and he composes almost every single night. I'm often envious of his amazing focus and determination in his chosen field of creativity.

If you're struggling to make writing your full time career, consider some of the tips and resources below to help jump start your June business.

Advice for Freelancers 

• Talk About Your Business: I recently started a new editing project for an attorney. She called me because she knew that I was a freelancer and she couldn't find anyone in her area that she trusted with confidential documents. Her business came as a result of conversations that I'd had with her more than two years ago. The more you tell people about what you do, the more likely your name is going to come up when someone needs writing or editing services. So allow the modesty to fall away for a bit and tell everyone that you meet for a week that you offer writing and editing or other freelance services, pass out business cards and remind your friends and family that any clients they send your way are greatly appreciated. 
• Practice What You Preach: I must admit that I often fail in this capacity. When I work with clients, I spend a lot of time optimizing their content, building a social media platform and finding ways to make their business relevant on the internet. Why do I do this? Because that's how their future clients and customers will find them. This is equally, if not more so, important for a freelance writer. Utilize the internet to find new clients and to let people know that you exist. I recommend Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram and any other sites that can advertise your area of expertise. 
• Do Stellar Work: Every client is a connection to future clients. When you create content that someone loves or optimize a website so that your client's business improves, other people will hear about it. It's an overused statement that actions speak louder than words, but it's extremely relevant in the freelance business. You can talk a great game, but if you provide mediocre service, you will lose a lot of word-of-mouth business. 

Writer's Resources

• MediaBistro: This is a great site for connecting with other writers, finding freelance jobs and finding informative articles about writing, publishing and more. 
• NAIWE National Association of Independent Writers and Editors: Though this organization is not free, it is still a great resource for writers. As a member of NAIWE, you receieve a hosted WordPress blog that appears in the associations blogroll in addition to professional level support. 
• All Indie Writers: Freelance writing jobs, writer's forum and writer's markets. 
• Writer's Market Directory: An online directory of paying writer's markets. 

Writing Jobs for May 30th, 2014

Writing Jobs in Michigan 

Reporter for Sports Magazine and Website: Ann Arbor

Social Media and Marketing Intern: Ann Arbor

Outreach Librarian and Curator: Ann Arbor

English 1 Adjunct Faculty: Big Rapids

Digital Marketing Specialist: Detroit

Creative Director: Detroit

Copywriter: Detroit

Student Writer for M-Times: Flint

Copy Writer Marketing Assistant: Grandville

Copy Writer: Kalamazoo

Temporary Multimedia Journalist: Southfield

Digital Journalist: Traverse City

Marketing Admin. Assistant: Ypsilanti

Telecommute - Online Writing Jobs

Freelance Writing Position

Transcriptionists Wanted

Illicit Magazine Seeks Freelance Writers

Freelance Web Content Writer

Gardening and Interior Design Blogger

It's a cliche, but true, that writing is intensely solitary and at times really lonely. I sit in one room and talk to squirrels and blue jays all day.

Douglas Coupland

Looking for Some Whimsical Fantasy?

I have posted several times about my good friend, Jon Kitson, who has found success publishing short stories over the last two years. You will soon be able to read one such story in both print and ebook format in a new anthology set for release on July 22nd. Please check out the details for FAE below....

Synopsis:

"Meet Robin Goodfellow as you’ve never seen him before, watch damsels in distress rescue themselves, get swept away with the selkies and enjoy tales of hobs, green men, pixies and phookas. One thing is for certain, these are not your grandmother’s fairy tales. Fairies have been both mischievous and malignant creatures throughout history. They’ve dwelt in forests, collected teeth or crafted shoes. Fae is full of stories that honor that rich history while exploring new and interesting takes on the fair folk from castles to computer technologies and modern midwifing, the Old World to Indianapolis. Fae covers a vast swath of the fairy story spectrum, making the old new and exploring lush settings with beautiful prose and complex characters. Enjoy the familiar feeling of a good old-fashioned fairy tale alongside urban fantasy and horror with a fae twist."

With an introduction by Sara Cleto and Brittany Warman, and new stories from Sidney Blaylock Jr., Amanda Block, Kari Castor, Beth Cato, Liz Colter, Rhonda Eikamp, Lor Graham, Alexis A. Hunter, L.S. Johnson,Jon Arthur Kitson, Adria Laycraft, Lauren Liebowitz, Christine Morgan, Shannon Phillips, Sara Puls, Laura VanArendonk Baugh, andKristina Wojtaszek.

Fae will be available in trade paperback and ebook via Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com, Kobo.com, and other online retailers, and for wholesale through Ingram. You can also find Fae on Goodreads.

You can visit the Goodreads giveaway here: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/92441

Happy Reading!

John Steinbeck's Writing Tips