CLIP OF FAMILY E-BOOK

This is a snippet from my 2nd e-book that I am quite proud of. It’s called Family Is Not Defined By Blood. I decided to write this about my family to share the honest truth about what can happen to any family. There are things you need to remove the poison in your life before you can be truly happy. Hope you like it, and thanks for reading. Any feedback is welcome!!!

 You may be thinking of the old cliche and saying, “That would never happen in my family”. I said the exact same thing early on. What a wake up call. I have also learned to not use the word “never”, because, as much as you may think you know about a situation or event, in reality, you just don’t.

Currently, the battle is nowhere from over. I am heartbroken, angry, disgusted, stressed, and just plain shocked all rolled up into a nasty, unrecognizable ball. One thing was for certain, my brothers needed a serious reality check and knocked down a several notches from their pedestals. As a psychology major, narcissism is one of the most difficult personality disorders to treat. How do you reason with a narcissistic individual? Don’t even try. You will be the one in the wrong and questioning yourself. That’s what twisted inflated egos can do to a person on the receiving end.

A Cry for Help / Sort Of

First, I want to thank all of you who have liked my posts. My hope is that they are informative and can help you in any way. I aspire to help other writers. Why? Because I need help. Quite desperately. This is not a sob story by any stretch of the imagination. We all have our own sob stories, which quite frankly sucks.
I swore upside down and sideways that I would NEVER write a book. I just wasn't cut out for that type of patience or hard work. I don't try to take the easy way out, but I will try to make projects easier for my specialty. 
Well, rather impulsively, I dove in head first. No, actually, I belly-flopped. I wrote 2 e-books and self-published them on Amazon. What was I thinking??
They are both about subjects that I am extremely passionate about, so it really didn't take me too long. Actually, 2 books in 3 days. BUT, keep in mind, they are short non-fiction books. A far cry from a novel to say the least.
One is about writing, and the other, which I'm very proud of, is about family conflict. Real, "no going back" family conflict. 
So, what's my freaking point? I implore you to help me with the sales of my books. It's not going so well, and I am in dire financial straits. Please believe me that I'm in no way asking you to buy a book. All I ask from you is to spread the word to people who may have an interest in those topics.
My first book is entitled, "NOT Another Success Story: Being a Successful Failure". Sounds morbid, but it's really not. The second one is entitled "Family is Not Defined By Blood: When It's Time To Cut Ties". I am proud because of the accomplishment. An accomplishment I never thought I'd achieve.
So, again, my fellow passionate writers, just please spread the word. And, never hesitate to ask me for any help either. Hence the name of my blog: Writers Helping Writers.
Thanks so much for reading. Any feedback is always welcome! 

https://www.facebook.com/writeblogetc/

After 100's of Queries

After what seems like 1000's of queries (exaggerating, ofc), I received this email this morning. I'm excited and scared at the same time. Does that make any sense at all?

110 Websites That Pay You to Write

https://www.writersincharge.com/110-websites-that-pay-writers/

This man gives extremely helpful tips to up and coming writers. Well worth checking it out!

Please Check Out My E-books!

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Mary+Ann+Sromoski

My 2 e-books I self-published on Amazon. I would love for you to check them out.


Topics: Family conflicts and writing difficulties.

Currently working on a third! Would love any feedback!

Facebook Page!

I have created a page on Facebook for writers, bloggers, freelancers, etc. I invite you to check it out. It’s a fun page to vent frustrations and share successes or difficulties you may be having with your writing career. I have shared my insights as well and would love you to do the same! See you there!

https://www.facebook.com/writeblogetc/

Breaking The Golden Rule

There are many challenges and obstacles when attempting to create a successful article. I’ve written numerous articles during my freelance career, and it seems I always find an error after 
the article has been submitted. They are often very small mistakes that are usually not even picked up by your average reader. However, to the seasoned writer, they stand out like a neon sign. How on earth did I miss such a silly, beginner’s mistake? I always proofread my completed drafts before submitting them, or so I thought, so why do I continue this pattern?

Ok, let’s be honest here. I don’t always proofread. The more appropriate term would be scanning. I know! The Golden Rule of writing, in my opinion, is proofreading your work several times. I admit that I was in a hurry or just plain sick of writing about the topic, so I completed it with a quick scan and submitted it. Not only did I do this for articles, but also the two ebooks I had just published! How completely embarrassing. When will I learn to not break the golden rule? A rule that I’m fully aware of and constantly repeat to others.

In the beginning of my writing career, I’d often think, if you’re on a roll, just go with it. As long as you steer clear of or correct the red lines in Google docs, you were good to go. Well, not so much. I’d often just want to get the article done and be over with the assignments. Another mistake. One thing you must do is walk away from your computer and do something entirely different. Working hastily is your brain telling you that you need a break from it all. Listen to it. Don’t be in such a rush, because you’ll wind up regretting it and breaking the golden rule yourself.

I’ve just developed a new approach for myself when writing. You can call it a check list if you will.

1. Be in the right mood for writing - let’s face it, it may be our passion, but most of us are not always in the mood.
2. Look over your project instructions.
3. Do proper research as needed.
4. Write down your thoughts.
5. Start brainstorming by writing every thought down in article format.
6. Now go back through your draft - you’ll find a bunch of mistakes, but that’s normal. During this phase, you will also notice really bad sentences and phrases and immediately have a better way of rephrasing things.
7. Don’t rush through the project.
8. Suffering from writer’s block? - walk away from your computer and forget about the assignment. Sometimes, your best ideas come to you when you’re not thinking about it.
9. When you feel ready, go back to sit at your computer and proofread your draft.
10. Rewrite it in the proper format.
11. Once you feel it may be the final draft, go back and reread it again!! And again! I can’t emphasize this enough. No scanning or skimming. Read it as if it was an article in a magazine you wanted to read. Pick it apart.

You certainly don’t have to follow my steps. Make a list of your own. Whatever works for you. The bottom line to take away from this article is to never break the golden rule.