venue, A little over a year ago, I was introduced to my new best friend in business...Asana...and now I'd like to introduce you so you can be friends too!

Asana is a fabulous project-management tool that streamlines everything for a project of any kind. You create tasks, assign due dates and who is to handle each task, add notes, and upload files. I love the fact that it helps create sequence in a multi-step project with a lot of moving parts. Asana has hugely helped organize a couple of teams I'm on and I'm singing its praises in every business setting!

Let's say you are writing a book. You set goal due dates for each chapter, outline the assistance you'll want (tasks for an editor, publisher, marketing firm), store all the details like working title and subtitle, perhaps a character "tree." You're reminded through email when a task is due so you never lost sight of the goal!

Or perhaps you are excited to host an event. Create sections within the project for each aspect (registration, presenters, marketing, venue, etc.), assign tasks within those sections along with due dates, keep track of emails and communications with those involved.

​Another example: you're planning a huge holiday dinner party. Get organized by planning with Asana! Get reminders when shopping is due, or a particular dish must be started, or who's bringing the green bean casserole. 

I recommend checking out the possibilities with this fabulous organizational tool!
​https://app.asana.com/

Usually the first exposure your prospective clients have to you and your services is online. Whether through a website, social media profile, or a published article, the content, style, and clarity of your writing is critical to communicating authentically who you are and what you offer.

So why is it so important that your online presence be error-free? According to Agility PR Solutions, the bounce rate on landing pages with sloppy spelling and grammar is 85 percent more than those that were correctly written and spell-checked. Readers are immediately turned off by errors, and only rarely stay on your site once they've seen the errors. Imagine what they think of you and your services!

In addition, Google search results are skewed further because typos make your site or your profile less visible and therefore in a far lower position in search results.

If you are not good at grammar, punctuation, and/or spelling, solutions are available. You can still connect authentically and accurately with those you're trying to communicate with. I recommend using ALL of these for optimal results.

1. Use your basic spellcheck.  Just about every program has a version of spellcheck to review your writing. But be warned - some are better than others!
2. Install Grammerly. This site offers a desktop as well as online version of their grammar checker so that you can review email and desktop writing, as well as your online presence. Grammerly is excellent, but not foolproof! The issue with any automated checker like spellcheck or Grammerly is that, even if they are decent AI (artificial intelligence), they won't understand context very well, so the word they mark as inaccurate might be perfect in context.
3. Have a friend look it over.  Now, if your friend is also unskilled at these tasks, they won't be of any use to you, so always enlist the aid of someone skilled.
4. Hire a proofreader. I happen to know of one who can help. (HINT - that'd be ME!) A professional freelance editor/proofreader can review your materials more accurately and more quickly than average - it's what he or she is trained in!  This is a very cost-effective solution - balance fees against the potential loss of revenue!

Whatever solution you choose, make it part of your system or routine to have other eyes review your writing so you can attract those clients who need what you offer!

In the years I've been editing publications (e-books, print books, PDFs, and more) I've learned there are key tools for success for any author who is working with an editor. Feel free to share this post and use it as a checklist!

1. Have a detailed conversation up front with your editor to settle on a timeline you can both handle. Work out how and how often you'll communicate updates.
2. Have a fairly firm plan up front for how you want your book to appear (images, charts, font styles, page numbering, etc.) and have the editor include this in their Client Agreement. I can't tell you how many times I've been blindsided by, mid-project, hearing from my author that they want images included. This drastically affects the layout of the manuscript and the timeline. That level of detail takes a lot of time and focus! 
3. Hire an editor who uses the same software. If you have a Mac, either be sure s/he also does, or be sure you have a recent version of Word installed. Why? Because it's critical to have a good "Track Changes" function so you can both see and resolve the edits. Pages is not compatible with Word for this function, and Google Docs has only a "lite" version with fewer capabilities.
4. Create a Dropbox folder for the project. This is important...emailing changes back and forth will inevitably create problems. With Dropbox you can both see and change the same document.
5. With each day of edit, save a new version with a detailed title. For instance, My Book Title HM Rev 4.10.20. You're including the version date and whose edits they are. This may seem excessive, but listen to the voice of experience - it isn't! If you find there's something missing, or an error, you can easily revisit a previous version. When all edits are completely done, save the final document as you wish it to appear.

Following these "best practices" will go a long way toward helping you and your editor create a polished final product, and on time!

If you're new to business, or getting your feet wet as an entrepreneur, you may not have direct experience with delegating work. But you can get inspiration from the world around you and learn how.

If you've ever worked outside the home in any capacity, you'll likely have been on the "providing" end of delegation. Your supervisor assigned tasks to you; he or she was assigned tasks by his or her supervisor, and onward up the chain of command. 

Anywhere you go, you're seeing the results of delegation, sometimes effective and sometimes not so much. You stop at a restaurant for lunch - there's a head cashier, a head waiter, and a restaurant manager. The plant that manufactured your furniture has a chain of command...and a quality control team. That PTA you're a member of has committees and positions and committee chairs.

When you're a solo-preneur, you may think you don't have anyone to delegate to. But now more than ever, that is incorrect. There are countless Virtual Assistants ready to help (check out EliteVirtualAssist, my favorite), as well as freelancers like me who specialize in a variety of skills and talents. You can find a someone to whom to delegate just about any task.

And of course, The Word Doctor is always here to help you present the most effective window to the online world, by providing editing and proofreading support, marketing communications, and more.

Remember, for every task you outsource, your time expands to allow you to accomplish so much more, effectively and accurately!

 Ask yourself where your prospects are most likely to find you. Where your clients have found you. Online, right? Whether your business has a physical location or not, Google (still the most-used search engine) will direct people to your social media profiles, your online listings, and your website...and usually all of those.

Take a field trip and wander around a shopping district or mall where you live. Enjoy window shopping...peruse the wares of the shops in the area. What draws you in? What entices you to enter the store? Well, usually it's what you see on display, and how it's displayed. You feel a connection that moves you to open the door to explore further. 

Your website (or your social media page if you don't have a website) is your non-physical business's front window. You want it to be attractive, to accurately show what you offer, to be welcoming. A good way to get some feedback on your site is to ask a couple of friends who don't know much about your work to review it in detail. What draws them in? What entices them to click to explore the site? With what do they feel a connection?

Take an objective look at your site yourself. What does your home page (the front window) say about you? What pages do you include? What images? What links? Are you including everything a first-time reader would need to know and understand about you and your work? Are you offering important take-aways?

And key point...does the site represent you accurately, authentically? If your home page is full of run-on sentences and poor grammar, your prospect is going to go elsewhere, no matter what goodies you offer. 

There's a solution! The Word Doctor offers a helpful service to ensure your site or page IS accurate and authentic. I'll take a detailed look at your wording and layout to ensure it's the best it can be. (More info here.) 

Keep your front window fresh and clean, and entice more customers to enter!

I am guilty. Yes, I, the Word Doctor, the professed Grammar Guru, have been guilty of using the incorrect word in a context. **gasp** Shocking, I know. But I never claimed to be perfect!

I caught myself speaking with someone about having less tasks to do than usual. Something felt odd, but it wasn't until later that I realized what. The use of the word "less." I should have said "fewer"!

You see, our language is wonky (as if you didn't know). More is more, no matter what the context. More time, more money, more to do, more pencils, more cats...it all works.

But in the "less than" category, there's a difference. Less refers to a smaller amount of one thing, or one insubstantial. You can have less time, less money, less to do, less hair, etc.

Fewer refers to a smaller quantity of several items. Fewer people, fewer pencils, fewer cats, fewer hairs on the head, fewer marbles.

Get the idea?

​As with so much in modern English grammar, this is a relatively minor transgression, but can be an important consideration when writing something meant for general publication - a book or an article, perhaps. In these more professional settings, understanding the difference will lead to fewer refusals and less stress!

Unless you're a graphic designer, you may not think often about fonts, but if you have any online presence at all, they are important. In fact, if you've ever made a sign they're important too!

This post was inspired by the copious moving and garage sale signs I've seen this summer that are completely illegible from the road. The lettering is either too faint, or too small, or too sloppy. The lesson: what is the purpose of what you're writing? Does your copy work for that audience?

Now I'm not as addicted to fonts as Brock on "The Middle" (see what I mean here), but I do know that appearance and size of your copy is important to legibility, impact, and mood (yes, mood). If I want to evoke a playful mood and have something light to say, a sans serif font without much structure is appropriate (Comic Sans, Kristen, MV Boli). On a website like this, a serif font is important for easy legibility. Serif fonts are also used in formal business letters and documents.

Sorry, but size IS important! Bet you can't read this well. And this is WAY too big for a website unless it's a heading. 

Color is also important. Be sure that there is contrast between your background and the text. I've seen badly designed websites and newsletters that have a brown background, for instance, with a lighter brown font.

In this digital age, there are hundreds of downloadable choices available to enhance your writing, whether on paper or virtual. Explore your options and consider your audience!

Whether you work at home or outside the home, dealing with distractions and interruptions is a given. But how often do you allow yourself to take a break?

Editing and writing for clients takes great focus and concentration. Believe it or not, it's true that the brain uses 20% of the body's energy when at rest. AT REST! Imagine how much more power is needed during focused work. This is why I do my work when I'm at my best, and I take frequent breaks.

A break in your work can be viewed as an interruption or distraction, but it's the intent that matters. If you catch yourself frequently checking social media or personal email, or if you get antsy and leave your work space often, you are distracted and not paying attention to your personal needs - these are not "break" actions. They are procrastination! 

Instead, intend to refresh yourself, body, mind and spirit, so that you have more energy (and lighter energy) to continue having a productive work day.

I have often been guilty of ignoring my body when I'm busy. I'm in my home office, working on my computer, concentrating - while at the same time sitting stiffly, breathing shallowly. On some days I feel terribly hyperactive, restlessly looking out the window, or twitching my feet. I have learned to notice those messages my body is sending me, and I do something about them!

Check in with your body and notice what it needs - water? Deep breathing? Resting your eyes? Movement? Then fill the need. Take a 2-minute walk (outside if you can). Drink eight ounces of water. Have a small, light, healthy snack. Close your eyes and take three deep breaths. Stretch and move your body - get the blood flowing!

I know that when I take even two minutes to do one (or all) of the above, my mind is fresh, my body is loosened, and my spirit feels lighter. And my productivity goes through the roof!