My back problems started in high school while playing volleyball. I tossed the ball in the air and motioned my left arm to slap it with my hand and send it flying over the net and within the boundaries. As soon as the hand gave a high five to the ball, my lower back on … Read more
I love Terri Libenson’s The Pajama Diaries. My mom saves them for me since my local newspaper doesn’t carry the comic strip (I submitted a request for it). The strip revolves around freelancer Jill Kaplan, a mother and Jewish woman. That’s me. AND my maiden name is Kaplan. The following strip captures a day in … Read more
It warms a gals heart to see all the flags flying at half staff to remember 9/11. This tragic event united us all. Here’s my story of this day in 2001.
I try to avoid using any variation of is because that turns a sentence into telling instead of showing. Is and was appear less in my writing, but they slip (the little stinkers) in on occasion. These tips come from my journey to do more showing and less telling in my writing. Before we dive … Read more
Writers don’t just write. They also must market unless they’re John Grisham or Mary Higgins Clark. However, Grisham had to market early in his career. So how do writers market themselves? Try any of these activities that would benefit writers, book authors, freelancers, and small businesses. Grow your portfolio. If you’re just getting started, many … Read more
When you or a kid signs up to play a sport for a season or to take music lessons during the school year, do you quit after a couple of lessons because you’re not good enough? Of course not! Most of us know it takes months (even years) of practice to get better at something. … Read more
You’ve probably read or heard many experts say that keeping your clients costs less than obtaining new ones. A Bain and Company study reports that boosting customer loyalty by 5 percent improves your profits by 25 percent at the very least and can go up to 95 percent. You can’t ask for better numbers than … Read more
One hour ago, I walked my youngest of three and his older brother to the school bus. They headed for their first day in kindergarten and fourth grade. While one kid went off to his first day of elementary school, the oldest headed to high school for volleyball practice and starting her first day of … Read more
I mentioned that my son’s medical program would interfere with my business because it required a big time investment on my part along with other things. Add to that managing the usual stuff like the other kids, work (or lack thereof), household responsibilities, on and on. After two weeks of the program, I reached a … Read more
How many times did you complete a form only to push the “Clear” button instead of “Submit”? What about “OK” vs. “Cancel” on a popup window? (Raises both hands — one for each.) Why does this happen? Do we expect one button on the left and the other on the right? Are they too close … Read more