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Words for Women: Who Do You Think You Are?
If God is for us, who can be against us?…We are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ~Romans 8:31,37 (NIV)
I stared at the e-mail attachment from my editor. For a moment, I think actually heard the Jaws theme music playing in the background.
Line edits. Finally. The moment of truth, when I’d find out how good–or how bad–I really was. Would I open to find the manuscript I slaved over for a year marked up, torn apart, criticized? All the confidence I’d been espousing all week, the anxiety just to get them here and get them done, fell away. And in their place, doubt crept in.
Why did I think I could do this? Maybe my publisher made a mistake. I was crazy to think anyone would want to read what I have to say. Who do I think I am anyway?
Sound familiar? You can be walking around one minute thinking you’ve got a handle on your life, and the next it comes crashing down around you. The self-doubt. The uncertainty. The fear.
What I felt was nothing but pure, unadulterated fear.
Does that surprise you? You would think that after the whole publication process–getting a publisher, having someone actually pay money to publish my book, working with an entire team to get it out the door–that I would be supremely confident. I’m sure from the outside, that’s exactly how I look.
On the inside, though, I still wonder if it’s all just one big mistake. Even if the publisher believes in it, will my book sell? Will anyone want to read it? What if it’s a big fat flop? What if I’m no good at this?
Then I realize that’s the point. If I’m doing this on my own, I’m not capable. If I’m relying on my own strength, I won’t succeed. Fortunately, I’m not doing this on my own. God encouraged me to publish a story that was more personal, riskier, than anything I’d done before. There’s someone out there that needs this story. He paved the way to put this book out there, at this moment, and in this fashion.
On my own, I’m just some random aspiring writer who lives near a bunch of big mountains. In Christ, I am powerful. I am worthy. I am a child of the King. I am more than a conqueror. And if God is for me, who can be against me?
I did finally open the edited manuscript, by the way. It wasn’t as bad as I feared. Indeed, there were entire pages without comments, and those hundreds of comments (yes, hundreds) were insightful, if slightly embarrassing, and intended to make the story the best it could be.
Who do you think you are? How do you deal with those little voices that say you’re not worthy?
Tags: editing, fear, inspiration, more than conquerors, publishing, Romans 8, self-confidence, self-doubt, uncertainty, writing
Marketing Monday: Safeguard WordPress in Under Five Minutes
While this might not technically be a marketing post, most authors and small business run our websites off of WordPress these days. Our websites are important part of our marketing platforms. And should that platform get hacked or hijacked, it means time away from writing and sometimes money out of pocket to get it fixed.
Still, writers are not usually known for their love of technology. (Naturally, there are exceptions, like me.) We’ll leave the more complex security changes, like moving your WordPress install out of your root folder, to the techies.
For now, let’s look at the three easiest ways to safeguard your WordPress site in under five minutes.
1. Change your admin user name to something other than “admin.”
Hackers automatically target the admin account. Make it harder for malicious software to find a way into your account by changing it to something unique. While you can certainly make it your name (the biggest threat comes from software, not from an actual person), you might as well make it something that is not easily guessed. For this example, I’m going to use Jabba (in honor of my two sons who adore Star Wars.)
In order to change this, go to Users > Add New. Set up a new user named “jabba” with admin level permissions. Log out of admin and log back in with “jabba.” Now delete the user named “admin.” Depending on how your site is set up, you may be asked to transfer all your blog posts from “admin” to your new user name.
2. Make your password strong yet memorable.
Microsoft has a great post on how to create strong, complex passwords. A few ideas:
– Take a memorable sentence such as “I love WordPress.”
Compress it down to “ilovewordpress.”
Now change part of the sentence to symbols. It could be “1lovew0rdpress.” or “I<3wordpress.”
Add symbols, additional numbers, or capital letters in a way that will be memorable to you. “1<3WordPress2992.”
– Make a password out of the first and last letters of pet names, surrounding street names, or favorite book characters interspersed with random (or not so random) numbers
– DO NOT use family member names or birthdays, as these are the most common passwords and the most easily hacked. Remember, there is far more personal information about you and your family than you think.
3. Make sure you are using the most recent version of WordPress available.
Malware often trolls the internet for sites running outdated versions of WordPress in the hopes of exploiting security holes. For this reason, you should never list which version of WordPress you’re currently running. Most hosts (or your installer) will notify you when updates are available. Just don’t forget to back-up your site before you update. Sometimes chosen themes and plug-ins will not be compatible with the latest version… don’t want to break your site! (I speak from experience.)
**Bonus tip: Back up your site frequently. If you’re self-hosting, many host services will offer an automatic backup service as part of your monthly fee. Bluehost, for example, makes daily, weekly, and monthly backups of all data and databases in your account. However, it’s always good to schedule a manual backup before you make major changes.
Do you have any quick and easy tips for better protecting your site? Leave a comment below!
Tags: backup, hacker, hacking, malware, marketing, password, passwords, security, updates, user names, virus, wordpress
Words for Women: Looking Up
I will lift up my eyes to the mountains;
From where shall my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.
~Psalm 121:1-2 (NASB)
When faced with a problem, everyone deals with it a little differently. Some people plan. Some people pray. Some people do.
I’m a doer. I don’t like loose ends, and I don’t like not knowing what’s coming next. So I identify the problem, I make a plan of attack, and then I dive in. Sometimes I already have the skills and expertise to solve the problem, and sometimes I need to consult an expert.
Right now, I’m in the middle of marketing plans for the release of my first novel. I have a marketing background, so you wouldn’t think it would be too difficult. But book marketing is a long way from the kind of B2B marketing that I did in my first career. You can imagine my sigh of relief when I learned that my publisher had engaged an expert to help, a well-known industry publicist. Suddenly the plans don’t seem so daunting. I’m now working alongside someone who knows far more about this stuff than me.
Life isn’t any different. We all face things that paralyze us with fear or uncertainty: problems at work, difficulties in raising children, conflict with family. Sometimes we feel completely alone. We are desperate for someone who understands, who knows what they’re doing, who has the big picture. We might consult friends or mentors or family members.
But we should remember that we have the source of all Help at our disposal, One who takes the long view, the One who made heaven and earth. Even when it feels like we are alone, there is the ever-present source and comfort. All we need to do is ask.
As you face the challenges of life today, remember to look up.
How do you deal with problems? Are you a planner, a prayer, or a doer?
Tags: help, problem solving, psalm 121
5 Blogs Every Author Must Follow
I’ll admit, I can bit irregular about keeping up with the dozens of blogs in my reader. Posts seem to multiply like rabbits every time I close my browser, and if I’m not careful, the morning I’d planned on spending writing is blown browsing the latest goofy videos on Mashable or Cracked. So when I have limited time, I focus only on the blogs that provide the most relevant information.
I’ve picked out the five blogs that I find absolutely indispensable.
Copyblogger – Copyblogger is one of the best known sites geared towards content marketing. Topics include everything from writing better posts to increasing WordPress security to using social media effectively.
Problogger – Like Copyblogger, Problogger focuses on topics directly and tangentially related to, you guessed it… blogging. To my eye, the articles are a bit more in depth than Copyblogger, with lots of talk about brand building and marketing strategy, but they also frequently do summary posts that can point you to lists of excellent blogging resources.
Lorelle on WordPress – Once you’ve got the why, it helps to know the how. Lorelle’s blog is one of the premier reference sources for those of us running our sites on WordPress. Her Blog Exercise posts are especially helpful, giving step-by-step instructions for doing things like adding headers to posts or determining if your site looks “spammy.”
Smashing WordPress – Think you’ve got a handle on WordPress basics? Now it’s time to have some fun. The Smashing WordPress blog delves deeper into customizations, hacks, and theme development. If you’ve got basic computer knowledge, familiarity with WordPress, and the patience to wade through lots of how-to-posts, this site can help you get a custom designed look for your blog with no more investment than your own time.
Author Media – Author Media covers much of the same ground as Copyblogger and Problogger, but it’s directed specifically towards authors. Beware, though–with posts like “Twitter Hashtags Every Writer Should Know” and “50 Things to Blog About When You Have Writer’s Block,” you can end up spending far more time here than you ever intended. Still, it’s the blog I follow most closely because I find it the most relevant for where I am in my social media marketing plans.
Now it’s your turn. What blogs are among your must-reads?
Tags: Author Media, blogging, blogs, Copyblogger, copywriting, Lorelle on Wordpress, Problogger, Smashing Wordpress, web design
