BACKPAGES JOURNAL - MONDAY, Nov 13, 2023 wk#46

How was the weekend for you?

Nov 13, 2023

Good Monday, my friends!

I hope you had a great weekend.

I know I surely did.

Since my primary responsibility is to my real estate practice and those customers, I must admit, that is a lot of what I did this weekend, although I try not to work weekends because that’s family time.

Of course, you know I help for-sale-by-owners sell their own house, by letting it show up in the MLS, which they could not do on their own. I operate it based on this website, and I cover the whole state of Tennessee, from Memphis to Nashville, to Chattanooga to Knoxville.

But I accidentally wrote a book about it, and then another and another.

I’m no Ernest Hemingway, but it was fun, so I found other places I could write and ended up making a couple of extra bucks.

If you are willing to spend the money, Google will rank you high in a search, or your website can rank high organically. I’ll get into that some other time, but I had to spend more and more money on Google because of all my increasing competition. Now, I try to increase my ranking organically with other writings.

By this point, I’ve written a couple of dozen books and nearly 850 articles on various subjects.

Almost everywhere my normal business takes me, people of all professions, upon hearing that I have written books, tell me how they have a book in their head that needs to be written, but they do not know where to start.

And EVERYBODY wants to make some more money without taking on a second job.

Now I write every day. Usually short pieces. Some for publication. Some to be part of a larger book.

But at any rate, I’m here and you’re here, and I thank you.

This publication, as I said, is being completed, tweaked, and perfected as we go. Such is my style, so any help or suggestions will be great!

Part of the purpose behind this Substack is to allow me to write and publish daily to give my writing that OUTLIERS (Amazon link) advantage to actually become better. Like practicing the piano. you can read the stories here, but they won’t be mailed to you.

MY NEWSLETTER UPDATE

This is a newsletter about three things.

It is about my writing for those peeps who enjoy my writing. You are a blessing to me. Some would like to know a little more about a writer’s life. I have augmented my income from the sale of my books and some from writing for Medium.com when people join. I do have some digital products available, and I am working on this Substack, It will increase my exposure and someday make me some money. Besides I get to share the random stuff I stumble across in my brain.

Of course, as a real estate broker for 38 years, I do still run a website providing the MLS entry for FOR-SALE-BY-OWNERS. I love offering that service and working with the people who have become my customers and friends. That real estate site is right here, www.mlsDon.com and it is a full-time job, doing the listing part. but obviously, I love it or I would not have done it for so many years.

Folks often ask for pointers on how they might do the same, so helping them is part of what this publication is all about. I will chronicle my progress and help others do the same. I may be only a couple of years ahead of a lot of my readers, but we’ll take this trip together. As I worked the last forty years, I never realized that life could be like this. It’s great now, however!

We will examine writing to get paid from a couple of different places, writing books, having a blog, or a newsletter like this one, and maybe making a video or e-course. These projects are, together, how I get paid for, and how people support my creativity.

Part of this report will concern building the number of subscribers to this publication. It is free, of course, but, as the numbers grow, there may be some ways it can help support me.

I have not gone out seeking new subscribers until now.

My next goal is 500 readers, so I must admit I will have to work harder at this. It seems my life has always been driven by goals. That gets things done. At least for me.

Share Don Martin, Real-Life Writing

This letter is all free now, with a tip jar if you ever get all carried away. in which case I thank you. very much!

Thanks,

-don

TODAY’S SONG IN MY HEAD

MY REAL-LIFE WRITER’S LIFE

And of course writing, for me, is best begun early, like now.

I am nothing if not a creature of habit. I find if I don’t create good habits, the bad ones will create themselves.

So I start writing early each day.

It’s difficult on days when I am not here by myself for one reason or another, like the grands sleeping over, but, for the most part, it works.

Some writers try to knock out two or three hundred words a day, but here, today I am already at 1000 words, so it goes faster than you might think.

QUESTIONS FROM READERS

What is the fastest way to start writing to make money?

The fastest way is probably through a website called Medium.com and I will help you if you’d like. I’m going to get into my experiences with them soon. it’s not free to start, but it’s cheap. It is a rewarding place to begin, although I actually began with a book. More on that later, too.

QUESTIONS TO READERS

Do you feel two emails a week are too few, too many, just right? I am thinking of Fridays and Mondays or Tuesdays, for now, but please tell me what you think.

⭐Publish & Profit: A Beginner's Guide to Making Your First $1000 Writing on Medium (affiliate link.)

Keep those questions coming, and tell your remaining friends about us!

Remember, this newsletter is completely free! If you ever wish, I believe there is a place at the bottom where you can buy me a cup of coffee.

THAT will support the arts!