Since we rarely see errors in our own writing, it’s important to solicit the help of professional editors. But there are things we can do to improve the manuscript BEFORE sending it to an editor.
Grammerly is one of those useful tools that can sort out the basic errors, enabling you to improve your writing and learn as you go. It can also help with emails and online writing, where paying a pro editor isn't cost effective.

Why consider a tool like Grammarly?
As indie authors, we are 100% responsible for producing books that are not only readable and entertaining/informative but also ones that are mistake-free. When readers are distracted by misspellings and grammatical errors their reading experience is going to suffer. And that means your reputation as an author is going to suffer as well.

The Kindle also has a function for readers to report typos and if you get too many of these in a book, you're going to get a quality notification.

For this reason, we always want to use professional editors and proofreaders when we're publishing our books. Nothing can replace the editing and proofreading of a human being, especially one who specializes in your genre.

However, the messier a manuscript is when you send it to a professional for proofreading or editing, the more it's going to cost you to improve and fix.

Grammarly is an automated proofreader, and a grammar and plagiarism checker.
It scans your text and makes suggestions about where changes should or could be made. It even monitors word usage and will comment on sentence length (watching for those pesky run-on sentences that happen when we're writing fast). You can either use it in your web browser or install the Microsoft Office add-on. And you can even tell Grammarly whether you're writing in US or UK English so it will know how to support you.

As with most apps and plug-ins these days, there a free version and a paid one. With the free version, you can log-in and paste your text into a Grammarly document, wait a few seconds, and then see the feedback it's giving you about the possible mistakes in your text. When I ran this article through Grammarly's editor, even though Scrivener had already corrected my spelling in a few instances, Grammarly found several punctuation mistakes I hadn't caught, as well as a case where I'd typed ‘with' instead of ‘will'. Impressive!

Here are six ways Grammarly can improve your writing.

(1) You can learn from it and make fewer mistakes next time
Obviously, Grammarly is a tool for checking your grammar, spelling, and punctuation, something that both Word and Scrivener already do. One difference with Grammarly is that it will tell you why it's making the suggestion. This enables the writer to make an informed decision and perhaps even learn a bit along the way. As well, there is a free, online handbook about English, sorted by topics like style and mechanics, where you'll find articles about everything from how to use an apostrophe to the correct form of abbreviations.

(2) Discover your writer tic, or the words you use too often
All writers are guilty of using the same word too frequently.
And yet, as the author of the book or story, we're often so close to the manuscript, and we've read it so many times, that we can't see this. Grammarly will alert you to this type of problem. It will also allow you to see definitions of words and suggest synonyms if you want to change the word you're using.
In this way, it's like a thesaurus combined with a spelling and grammar checker.

(3) Learn to break up your sentences
“Bestsellers are about shorter, cleaner sentences, without unneeded words.” The Bestseller Code, Jodie Archer & Matthew L. Jockers
Data analysis of bestselling books indicates that shorter sentences characterize bestsellers, but we all know how hard that can be to do in practice.
Grammarly will comment on sentence length when it detects long or run-on sentences. This is another great feature for when we've read a manuscript so many times we can't see it any longer. Grammarly can act like a second pair of eyes, pointing out problems we wouldn't see otherwise.

(4) Take your manuscript one step closer to perfection
We all know how valuable our editors and proofreaders are. As I mentioned in the intro to this article, nothing can replace the skill and human touch of a professional editor/proofreader. However, if with Grammarly's help you've made your manuscript as clean (i.e., error-free) as possible, your editor is going to have an easier time catching every remaining correction. In a way, Grammarly can support your editor to take the manuscript even closer to perfection.

(5) Plagiarism checker
If you're a non-fiction writer, you'll love this next feature.
You can click a button and Grammarly will compare your text to over 8 billion web pages, checking for duplication. This is an amazing feature to prevent a potentially embarrassing mistake if you've accidentally copied text from an article on the web to refer to in your own writing, but have forgotten to include a citation.

Even if you're writing fiction, it's possible to add research material into a manuscript with the intention of putting it into your own words, and then forgetting. Grammarly will prevent any such accidentally oversights from happening.

(6) Use it for social media and email as well as your manuscript
Grammarly also provides a free plug-in for Chrome or Safari (although not for Scrivener, sadly). The plug-in will monitor your posts on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, ensuring you don't make any spelling and grammar mistakes. This can take the worry out of presenting a polished image to your readers and fans even when you're rushing to send out a quick Tweet.
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So if you're feeling a little under-confident in your grammar, check out Grammarly here for your next piece of writing.

So today, here are some of my tips on productivity for writers and a resource I think at least some of you will find useful.
 
(1) Schedule your timeWe all have 24 hours in the day, and we all have to balance the real life stuff with the writing. Before I was a full-time author-entrepreneur, I would get up at 5am and write, then go to work. After the day job, I would come home and get on with building my online business. We got rid of the TV so I would have more time to create, and I spent every weekend working. I was so focused on leaving my job that I cut out everything that got in the way. I was driven to schedule my time incredibly well in order to fit everything in.
 
Now, as a full-time publisher and community relations manager, I still have to schedule everything. I blog, podcast and speak professionally, as well as writing books. It’s still hard to get everything done, let me assure you!
 
So I’ll admit to being a chronic scheduler! But seriously, it is the only way I get anything done. 
I use Google Calendar schedule my time. It doesn't matter whether you use an old school paper system or the latest app, but you have to schedule your writing time! I write down blocks of time for writing, speaking prep and delivery, for podcasts, recording audio and other phone meetings.
I block out time for writing, speaking engagements, for podcasts, recording audio and other phone meetings.
 
(I never answer the phone unless a meeting is scheduled!)
 
Of course, I have slots for personal time with my husband or family trips, medical stuff, friends and ‘real life,’ and of course, sometimes I get things wrong. But overall, I rely on this kind of scheduling to get everything done.
 
After all, you schedule time for your kids' play dates, meetings at work, and your yoga class – so why not schedule your writing time? How important is it to you?
 
(2) Reward yourselfThose of you with children may have used behavior charts, where they get a star or a sticker every time something good is achieved. Rewards for good behavior can actually work really well!
 
Well, that’s what I do for myself these days!
I have a wall calendar on which I write my word count or pages edited every day and I get a sticker if I go over 2000 words. It’s just a paper calendar – nothing fancy – but seriously, it works!
 
 
  (3) Become accountable
This blog has kept me accountable since I started writing it in Dec 2015. Every year, I have posted my goals and what I’ve achieved.

Then I have an accountability partner who has a completely separate kind of business, and we challenge each other on content like the blog, as well as overall financial goals. We even have a competition now, where the loser has to pay for a spa day – now that’s motivating!
I also have a coach who I have calls with several times a year, when I want to take things to another level.
 
Time goes by so fast that if you don’t schedule these kind of check-points into your life, you won’t achieve anything.
 (4) Set deadlinesIf you sign a traditional publishing deal, you will have a timeline for your drafts, revisions and then for publication. You know what you have to do by when.
If you are going the indie route, you need to set these for yourself.

When I wrote my first book, I set a deadline for my birthday. I wanted to hold my book in my hand on a specific date. I made it by a month later, but having that date in mind helped a LOT for getting things done.
Since then, I have speeded up the process somewhat, but I still set rough deadlines. On my wall I have one page A4 that has the priorities for each month roughly planned out.
For example, one particular month has:

• Publish Give Your Intentions some Attention in ebook and print
• Finish first draft and edit Writer’s Boot camp. Send JVP documents to cities by end of Dec
• Finalize workshop road show & map.
• Start pre-production on Strive 2019 with authors.

If I haven’t done all these by the end of the month, then I am behind on my deadlines for each project. 
(5) Spend more hours in the chairWe all know what we have to do. It’s simple but it’s not easy. Like diet and exercise.
More hours in the chair actually spent WRITING will produce more words on the page.Dean Wesley Smith is one of the most prolific writers out there, but he points out that he doesn’t do anything spectacular in terms of word count per hour. What he does is spend more hours in the chair, and he does it every day.
 
This relates to point 1 – you need to schedule the time, and then you actually need to get it done. Get black on white.
 
I like to write in cafes and if you find a quiet one, they are usually happy to let you sit as long as you buy a coffee every hour. I put on my BOSE noise-cancelling headphones – which are amazing! – and play Rain & Thunderstorms on repeat. Then I write and I don't get up until my allotted time for writing is complete.

BONUS (6) Decide what you really want.Perhaps this is the most important thing.
At the end of the day, we all have 24 hours in the day. We all have people we love, that we want to spend time with. We all need to pay the bills. We all need to eat and exercise, and clean and do chores and see friends … and … and …
 
But you get what you focus on in life.If you really want to write that book, you will make the time.
If you want to prove that you can finish a manuscript, you will make the time.
If you want to be a full-time author and make a living with your writing, you will have to make the time.

If you’ve always dreamed of being the next Hemingway or Vonnegut (or even Grisham), or perhaps if you just want to write better essays for school or posts for your blog … you need to sharpen those writing skills.

Becoming the best writer you can be isn’t easy, I won’t lie to you.
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It takes hard work. But it’s worth the effort. And if it seems like an insurmountable task, there are some concrete things you can do today that will get you on the road to improvement.
Personally, I’ve been a fiction, newspaper, magazine and blog writer for 17 years now, writing for a variety of publications … and I’m still trying to improve. Every writer can get better, and no writer is perfect. I think I’ve grown tremendously as a writer over the last couple of decades, but it has been a painful journey. Let me share some of what I’ve learned.
No matter what level of writer you are, there should be a suggestion or twelve here that will help.

1. Read great writers. This may sound obvious, but it has to be said. This is the place to start. If you don’t read great writing, you won’t know how to do it. Everyone starts by learning from the masters, by emulating them, and then through them, you find your own voice. Read a lot. As much as possible. Pay close attention to style and mechanics in addition to content.

2. Write a lot. Try to write every day, or multiple times a day if possible. The more you write, the better you’ll get. Writing is a skill, and like any other skill, you have to practice it to get better. Write stuff for yourself, write for a blog, write for other publications. Write just to write, and have a blast doing it. It gets easier after awhile if you practice a lot.

3. Create a writing ritual. Find a certain time of day when you can write without interruptions, and make it a routine. For me, mornings work best, but others might find lunch or evenings or midnight hours the best. Whatever works for you, make it a must-do thing every single day. Write for at least 30 minutes, but an hour is even better. If you’re a full-time writer, you’ll need to write for several hours a day, as I do. But don’t worry! It helps you get better.

4. Just write. If you’ve got blank paper or a blank screen staring at you, it can be intimidating. You might be tempted to go check your email or get a snack. Well, don’t even think about it, mister. Just start writing. Start typing away — it doesn’t matter what you write — and get the fingers moving. Once you get going, you get in the flow of things, and it gets easier. I like to start out by typing things like my name or a headline or something easy like that, and then the juices start flowing and stuff just pours out of me. But the key is to just get going.

5. Eliminate distractions. Writing does not work well with multi-tasking or background noise. It’s best done in quiet, or with some mellow music playing. Turn off email or IM notifications, turn off the phone and your cell phone, turn off the TV, and clear off your desk … you can stuff everything in a drawer for now until you have time to sort everything out later … but don’t get into sorting mode now, because it’s writing time! Clear away distractions so you can work without interruption.

6. Experiment. Just because you want to emulate the great writers doesn’t mean you have to be exactly like them. Try out new things. Steal bits from other people. Experiment with your style, your voice, your mechanics, your themes. Try out new words. Invent new words. Experimentalize everything. And see what works, and toss out what doesn’t.

7. Be concise. This is best done during the revision process, but you need to edit every sentence and paragraph and remove everything but the essential. A short sentence is preferred over a longer one, and a clear word is preferred over two in jargonese. Compact is powerful.

“No problem can withstand the assault of sustained thinking.” — Voltaire

Its that time of the year when I start preparing for the year ahead. I ask myself a few questions like: 'What did I do this year? How did the year turn out? Successes/ Failures? What do I want to do in the coming year?' I ask myself, answer truthfully, and look at the results. This is what helps me determine how to spend my time, my focus and my energy,  going forward. So, as I examined my year end results so far. We did some good things. But for 2019, we are going for great!! I see good people go from good to great all the time.  It’s not magic.  It’s passion, purpose, and more important than those two is ACTION.


They find their path, they have a purpose, and if they get knocked down, they get up again.  They keep asking better and better questions that get them closer to their goals and they continue to find the people and resources that support them on their journey.  They turn resistance into growth and they fully immerse themselves in the experience. I’ve boiled down the pattern I see into 10 ways.


10 Ways: Going from Good to Great

Here are 10 ways I’ve seen people go from good to great:

Find your compelling “why.” Find your one thing. Become a dream machine, turn your dreams loose, and envision the end in mind. Your “why” is your drive and you find your “why” by answering the question, “Why do you do what you do?”  To find your compelling, find the answer that connects with your passion and plucks at your heart strings.  That’s the power of purpose in action and it’s what crusades are made of.  Launch your own crusade.

Become a force of one.  Get out of your own way and stack yourself for success by channeling your thinking, feeling, and doing.  Think the thoughts that serve you, feel the feelings that empower you, and do what you know needs to be done.  Disciplined thinking combined with disciplined action is an unstoppable force, and it’s yours for the asking.

Model the best. The best do it with models.  They find the best examples of what they want to accomplish, and they learn from them.  You can find role models or success stories or case studies and work backwards from there.  Success always leaves clues and you can play detective.

Give your best where you have your best to give. This is you unleashed.  The best play to their strengths.  They spend more time doing the things that make them strong, and less time doing the things that make them weak.  This builds energy and momentum and instead of getting drained, you get charged and you grow where you can grow best.

Find your best arena.  Don’t be a fish out of water.  Find your element.  Going from good to great means finding where you can play your best game.  Maybe you’re a mediocre developer, but a phenomenal project manager. Maybe you’re an OK doctor, but an incredible actor.  Take your skills to the job or place where they make the most impact.

Execute.  Taking action is how you make things happen.  Throw massive action at whatever you need to do.  Even if it seems like you’re only taking baby steps at a time, you’ll eventually hit your stride.  When you keep taking action, you learn faster.  Each result teaches you another way how to do something, or how not to do something.  Sometimes, the only way to get past some problems is to overwhelm them with action.  To paraphrase Voltaire, I would argue no problem can withstand the assault of sustained action.

Stick with it.  If you fall down six times, stand up seven.  Remember The Little Engine That Could?  Well, whenever you think you can’t, you’re working against yourself.  It starts with belief.  Think you can, then prove yourself right.   Find your eye of the tiger.

Learn and respond.  The best take action, learn, and respond.  They are always failing forward.  NLP teaches us that there is no failure, only feedback.  The great ones use the feedback to improve their approach.  They stay adaptable while they are finding their way forward.  Be your won best coach, not your own best critic.

Let it go.  The best let it go and move on.  They don’t carry baggage.  They focus on the objectives and they measure against effectiveness.  Either their approach is working or it’s not.  If it’s not working, they let it go, and find a new way forward.

Team up.  The best of the best team up with people that amplify their impact.  They also team up with people that provide more deliberate feedback and that help them find their blind spots and get unstuck.

Putting it all together, you can stack the deck in your favor by playing to your strengths, living your values, and finding the best arena for your greatest results.

To Your SUPER Success,

MG

PS. HERE IS A SUPER SUCCESS TOOL: Book 

GOOD TO GREAT Why Some Companies Make the Leap...And Others Don't by Jim Collins (over 3M copies sold)