About

The Productive & Successful Writer

Productivity and Success go hand-in-hand. As a serious writer, you must be productive in FOUR REALMS:

THINKING: Writers must tap the imagination, set loose creativity, dream about one’s future, critique one’s own work and the work of others, explore the world for inspiration. Without thought, there’s no writing.

ORGANIZING: Writers must organize various arenas – their time, their work space, their resource files, their libraries and, yes, even their writing.

WRITING: Writing of course involves much more than just turning on the word spigot. There’s a craft to it. And there are also a multitude of tools to turn to in order to make the task more efficient and productive.

PROMOTING More than ever, the writer must shoulder the responsibility for getting one’s work in front of reader’s eyes. That involves publication, either in print or online, and through readings and presentations. The internet has created a dizzying array of options to help writer’s promote their work. We try to help you be more successful at it.

We call these the FOUR CORNERSTONES OF PRODUCTIVITY FOR WRITERS. If you are productive in all of these areas, success will surely follow – perhaps not in the form you originally envisioned, but in a form that will allow you to deem yourself a success. Our Mission is to help YOU become that successful writer.

A CONSTELLATION OF RESOURCES

To help you improve your productivity and to achieve success, we have created a constellation of inter-linking resources.

Becoming A Writer – Seriously: At the center is our blog, currently managed by Thomas B. Colvin and Eva M. Hunter. Launched in December 2006, this was the first blog to focus on “productivity,” in all of its aspects, for the general writer. We envision opening up in the future to guest writers and spotlighting the productive work of some of our readers in case-study interviews and, if their book is listed on Amazon, including the book’s cover in our sidebar. [Interested? Contact us.]

Productivity Store for Writers: Recognizing that some of the best resources for writers lie outside of this blog [really?], we’ve created the Productivity Store. At the center is an online bookstore. We’ve spent many hours hand-selecting and categorizing titles to help you find the help and stimulation you need. Just browsing the store occasionally will inspire you to be more productive. This store is powered by Amazon. The Productivity Store, which is still in evolution, will also feature sections for e-books, audio books, magazines, hardware and software for writers, and even customized gifts for writers.

Video for Writers: We started collecting online video relevant to writing rather casually, but the collection has grown to a point that it’s worth browsing in its own right. You’ll find product and software demos and tutorials, instruction in the craft of writing, marketing tips, book trailers and more – all addressing one or more of the FOUR CORNERSTONES. A sample of the collection is available in the blog sidebar; for the full collection, go to VIDEO FOR WRITERS.

Your Online Office: Utilizing the facility of PageFlakes, we have created an Online Office for Writers. Consider it your very own corner office on the internet. You will find writing tools, including an online word processor, dictionary, research tools and more. There’s a reading room, drawing into one place summaries of the most recent posts from various writing and productivity blogs – a click will take you to the full article. We even have an online radio receiver ready to play episodes from selected podcasts aimed specifically at writers. By the way, it’s all free.

Best of the Web: Utilizing the power of Google Reader’s Shared Items, we from time-to-time scour over 200 blogs and websites to unearth information that will help writers be more productive and successful. The most recent discoveries are available in the blog’s sidebar. For the full collection of online pages and articles, go to Tom’s Shared Items.

Join Us!

If you haven’t done so already, now’s the time to join our 6000 unique monthly blog visitors [SOURCE: Hostgator, March 2009]. It’s FREE – unless you choose to buy a book at our PRODUCTIVITY STORE [please, please!] There are several ways of following us:

RSS FEED: Click on the small RSS icon at the top right of this page, and subscribe to our feed. If you do not already have a Feed Reader, we recommend Newsgator and its synchronized desktop brother Feed Demon.

EMAIL: You can choose to receive an email notice whenever something new is posted. This service is provided by Feed Blitz. [This service is currently undergoing some major changes – be patient with it.]

FACEBOOK: If you already have a Facebook account, you can become a FAN of Becoming A Writer Seriously. Or you can ask to become a friend with blog host Tom Colvin. Facebook will notify you of new postings on the blog and open up opportunity for conversation.

TWITTER: Just go to your Twitter home page [you have one, don’t you?] and search for <tomcolvin>, then click FOLLOW. You will receive a “tweet” whenever something new is posted at the blog. AND you will also receive many other pieces of information aimed directly at writers that will never show up in the blog. [Tom promises NEVER to tell you what he ate for lunch.]

In fact, now that we think of it, you should subscribe to ALL of these! Why would you want to do that? Just remember the fourth of our famous cornerstones: PROMOTING. You, as a modern-day writer, must become fully conversant with the “social media.” It will be via the social media that you build your success. It’s as simple as that. So subscribe to this blog via all of the above, and begin to learn the ropes by DOING. Consider that your HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT.

Now that you’re signed up… PARTICIPATE!

Don’t just sit there. DO SOMETHING! Write a comment to one of our posts. Become active in our Facebook Fan’s page. Tweet [and retweet] your friends about posts in the blog – and learn how to send us replies and Direct Messages. Then you can sit back and celebrate your participation, as a writer, in the 21st century – and all that it has to offer. And savor the success that is coming your way.

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BECOMING A WRITER — SERIOUSLY In gestation for over a year, this blog was launched the first week of January 2007. To avoid overload on vistors & subscribers, major posts will be uploaded only once or twice a week, along with whatever tidbits about tools and trade secrets for writers come to light. Emphasis will be on detailed descriptions of HOW writers can utilize available TOOLS to best advantage. Over time, the blog will also provide an overview of the various pieces comprising the BUSINESS side of writing. Our aim is to become an indispensible resource & reference on the web for writers.

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THOMAS B. COLVIN The creator of this blog, Thomas B. Colvin, brings years of experience to this task. While he has been writing virtually all of his life, he has also served as a teacher of English and History, as well as a professional trainer teaching communication and management skills. As Information Officer at the Asian Development Bank, he organized VIP briefings for Heads of State and Royalty in a multi-media briefing theater designed under his direction. Besides maintaining this blog and its related publications, Tom currently writes feature articles about travel, music, food and cultural history. His major project, however, is a history of the Balmis Expedition of 1803-1807, which carried the newly discovered smallpox vaccine throughout the Spanish Colonies. Tom splits his time between residences in Mexico and the Philippines, as well as professional trips back to the US.

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For more information, visit Tom’s website at: www.words-sounds-images.com

Work Samples and Resume at: www.mediabistro.com/ThomasColvin

EMAIL: tomcolvin at gmail.com