Writing & Work Archives - Page 2 of 28 - Sonia Marsh

Teach English Abroad with the Cert-TESOL

May 18, 2015 by Sonia Marsh 8 Comments

Zoe, Sue, Sonia, Logan and Chris — My classmates, and I’m the one kneeling in the middle.

I’ve been studying like a crazy woman for the past 4 weeks in order to teach English abroad with the Cert-TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) certificate.

This is by no means an easy course. It’s a level 5, comparable in difficulty to the second year of an undergraduate degree crammed into 4 weeks. Now you’ll understand why I felt like a zombie fueled by caffeine and adrenaline.

My poor 57-year-old brain, almost died; and what made me realize that age has nothing to do with my ability to study and retain material, was the fact that the twenty-somethings on our course, were just as exhausted and complained even more than us boomer ladies.

So now that I can breathe again. I am happy to inform everyone that I passed the written and oral exam last week. I can use my TESOL certificate to teach English to foreign students anywhere in England, France, Italy, Spain, other European countries, as well as China, South Korea, Japan, South America… basically anywhere.

IMG_20150515_162124556 — My teachers, Rob Farag, far left and Jane Stevenson in black in the middle. Classmates eating a home-made chocolate and orange cake to celebrate

IMG_20150515_162616680_HDR — My new teacher friends: Zoe, Natasha, me and Sue to my right. A great group of Cert-TESOL women

I decided to take the Trinity College TESOL certificate in Greenwich, London, as it was much cheaper than the TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) course at UCI (University of California Irvine) close to my house which costs $5,750. This outrageous price does not even include room and board at the Ritz. It’s also a TEFL, and not a Trinity College Cert-TESOL. The TEFL is not accepted in many parts of Europe, which is why I opted for the Cert-TESOL.

Why not take the course in London where you get to experience other cultures, other sights, and study within a small class of 6 students rather than the larger class sizes in the U.S.

My course in London cost less with airfare, and an Airbnb studio apartment overlooking the Cutty Sark (see photo below) than the UCI course, and I made some wonderful new contacts, plus I got to sightsee and visit my memoir author friend Ian Mathie. Another blog post to follow.

IMG_20150501_052358943_HDR (1) — View of the Cutty Sark from my bedroom window at sunrise

So are you ready to teach abroad? If you have a question for me, please ask in the comments below. I shall get back to you. You can also e-mail me at: Sonia@soniamarsh.com

Reinventing Myself in Mid-Life

April 23, 2015 by Sonia Marsh 9 Comments

I’ve become a student again at age 57, and quite frankly, it feels a little weird. I eat, sleep, and hang my wet laundry in one 8×12 room, but I accept this as a new challenge; part of reinventing myself in mid-life.

After a thirty-six year–student to career woman to wife to mom and back to student gap–I discovered that unlike social media, student-life is not about connecting and sharing; it’s about becoming territorial. You see my brand new toilet paper roll shrank to half its original size after my three male roommates discovered it on the bathroom shelf. They obviously must keep theirs in the bedroom or else they don’t spend money on toilet paper.

So why would a woman my age, share a bathroom and a kitchen with three young men? Is that part of reinventing myself?

It’s not because I miss being a mom, nor because I envy Madonna who loves dating men in their twenties, and I certainly don’t enjoy the smell of curry and garlic at 11 p.m. when I’m trying to fall asleep. The truth is, I had no idea that my Airbnb in Greenwich, London, had a shared bathroom and kitchen. Now I know why I got such a good deal on this London rental.

Sonia Airbnb-1 — Bedroom/dining room/storage of food and bathroom items

In all fairness, the roommates have been quiet as they have exams coming up, and since I need to crack the whip and work hard myself in order to pass the Trinity College TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) exam, I am not too worried about my living situation. I shall get used to bringing all my stuff to the kitchen when I want to cook. At least we each have our own small fridge in our bedroom, so food will not “accidentally” disappear.

Since I found a gym close by, with nice showers and clean towels, I decided to get ready for school, at the gym. A short walk to Costa Coffee, and then I shall be alert for classes starting at 9:30 a.m, until 5:30 p.m. daily.

Reinventing myself in mid-life, requires being flexible, adaptable and “gutsy.” I hope you keep following me as I follow this journey and explore life-changing options.

Have you reinvented yourself in mid-life? If so was it a challenge?

Discoverability: The Key to Successful Indie Publishing

April 14, 2015 by Sonia Marsh Leave a Comment

“Discoverability” seems to be the central theme at the 2015 Publishers University conference; something all indie publishers need to put at the top of their book publishing, marketing and promotion list. In 2014, the theme was the importance of indie authors becoming entrepreneurs, hence the term: “Authorpreneur.”

“Discoverability” is what the majority of self-published authors, or independent publishers, are looking for, and with 43 million book buyers in the U.S., how do you get discovered?

According to Peter Hildick-Smith, President of Codex Group, who presented, “How Books Sell,” there are three essential pillars to success:

Discoverability: Do I know the book exists?
Conversion: Is the book message interesting? Do I want to buy it?
Availability: Is the book available for purchase in book stores?

You need to do all 3 well, in order to sell books. Obviously if no one discovers your book, there are no sales.

How many true book buyers are there in the U.S.?

235 million adults
43 million adult book buyers
83 million infrequent book buyers, (those who hear about a popular book, and then buy it.)
13 million frequent book buyers (most of them are well-educated and make 50% more income than the average.)
Digital books are now skewed towards older people, because they can make the print larger, etc.

But discoverability alone does not guarantee book sales, it simply means an awareness that the book exists. Sadly, there was no difference in online discovery selling, between 2010 and 2014. The percentage remained low at 6%..

The real problem lies in the conversion aspect of book sales.

How do you move a discoverer to act to buy the book?

According to statistics on books purchased in the U.S. in 2014

29% of sales were because of a favorite author/series
24% Book topic/message
13% Personal recommendations

Author Brands dominate the list in both fiction and non-fiction book sales.

In order to be considered an author brand, you need to have 500,000 fans or more.
Your book/topic message is critical in determining book purchasing conversions, and increases towards narrative non-fiction and non-fiction.
Book covers make a huge difference in book sales. They have to be able to tap into the reader’s imagination.
A free e-book sticker with purchase of print book, made no difference in book sales.

Conclusion

Books are an extreme niche market; focus on your target audience.
Publish for the 85 million untapped book buyers.
Discoverability is not a one-size fits all. Be different.
Conversion is not discovery, and discovery is not conversion.
Your book message is the mini-story that has to connect with the buyer.
Book stores remain the largest discovery sources; not Amazon
You need Discoverability, Conversion and Availability or you lose.

STAND OUT, have a bold message. There are 51.9 million books sold on Amazon as of April 2015, so you need a BOLD MESSAGE.

Get Help Writing Your Memoir

April 6, 2015 by Sonia Marsh 4 Comments

There are many books out there on “How to write a memoir,” but what about a magazine? Viga Boland decided to start Memoirabilia, a magazine that would help you write your memoir, and also give you the joy of seeing your story in print.

I had the pleasure of meeting Viga Boland at the Readers’ Favorite Awards in Miami in November, 2014, where we both won gold medals for our memoirs.

“I just finished your memoir, “No Tears for my Father”. I could so relate to what you lived through because I have a similar story. I would love to write my memoir but I don’t even know how to get started. Can you help me?”

“These words warmed my heart,” says Viga Boland.

I sighed. The writer lived in Australia. I live in Canada. How could I help her? I didn’t have the time for one on one coaching. If she were nearby, she could attend my memoir writing workshops. But that was out of the question.

She wasn’t the first to write asking for help write her story. Ever since I’d published my first memoir and begun running workshops for my local library, I’d been receiving such requests. Again, I asked myself: what can I do for those who can’t attend my live workshops?

Perhaps a book! Perhaps my next book could be on the how-to of memoir writing. I checked Amazon. There were pages of books on writing memoir by more experienced facilitators than myself. And besides, there was another idea that had been playing at the back of my mind with every workshop I ran. All of the participants dreamed of seeing themselves in print, but the reality was that for various reasons, not all of them would. What if I could give them that chance, even if only in a small way? A book wasn’t the answer. But a magazine? Yes! A magazine could fulfill both their needs: that of getting help with writing their memoirs and that of having the joy of seeing themselves in print.

On December 31, 2014, I transitioned from writer to editor and entered the new year with a new magazine for memoir writers: MEMOIRABILIA.

I have to tell you, I just love my new role as editor and publisher of Memoirabilia which I hope to publish about 6 times a year. It’s an incredibly exciting project, though not an easy nor inexpensive one. Each issue of the magazine has a central theme, eg. Memoirabilia #1 is based on the idea that “Your past can write your Future”, which it certainly did for me when I published my first memoir. Issue #2 is focused on “Memoir as Therapy”. Issue #3, coming out in April 2015, is centered on “How to get that memoir finished”.

Every issue contains useful how-to articles by experts, along with book reviews and interviews with a featured author. And based on the feedback I’ve received from members of my Memoirabilia group on Facebook, what they love best, and wait for most eagerly, is seeing their 750-word submissions or book excerpts published in Memoirabilia magazine and also on the Memoirabilia website. I must confess, I share their excitement on that score: sharing the work of other writers is one of my favorite jobs as editor of Memoirabilia. There’s no fee to submit and submission guidelines, along with a submission form, along with flipper previews of the magazine are available right on the Memoirabilia website.

I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Matilda Butler of Womens Memoirs in early March. Her interview offers further insight into my motivation and goals for Memoirabilia, and for the writers whose work is featured in the magazine. You can read that interview HERE. The way I see it, there are lots of books available on memoir writing but at this point, only Memoirabilia offers writers both helpful information on how to write a memoir and a chance to show off their memoir writing and editorial skills.

My primary goal for Memoirabilia is to help others realize their dreams as I did. I hope memoir writers reading this post will check out the Memoirabilia website and join my wonderful Memoirabilia group on Facebook. I look forward to welcoming you there. Check out Viga’s website: http://www.vigaboland.com

SONIA MARSH SAYS: What a great idea to come out with a magazine for memoir writers, focusing on a different theme in each issue. Thanks for sharing this with other memoir authors, and aspiring authors.

Follow me on my grand adventure to:

Greece, London, Paris, St. Malo, Madrid and Pedraza, Spain,

Tips To Make Your Blog More Popular

March 24, 2015 by Sonia Marsh 5 Comments

It seems that everyone (over 35) has a blog these days, so how can you make yours stand out from all the others.

Well apart from doing something super gutsy like posting nude photos, (I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist,) being controversial or airing your dirty laundry, another way is to write as if you’re having a conversation with a friend.

Tip # 7:

“Keep your writing voice simple, cheery and a reflection of the way you speak.” —Little Tips to Boost Your Blog’s Popularity.

So this morning I decided to experiment. I drove to my favorite park, pulled out my cell phone and recorded a pretend conversation with my fake friend. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a one-sided conversation.

Just a little background. I’m a divorced woman who refuses to dwell on the past, and is in the midst of planning her next gutsy adventure. My new goal is to encourage both men and women to take action and make the second part of their life, even more exciting than the first.

Here’s my pretend conversation with my fake friend Samantha

“This is the first time in my life I can do what the hell I please. I feel free.

Now I can go to the pool at seven, then to Barnes & Noble, and buy a latte and read books until they close.

I don’t have to worry about being home at five to cook dinner for (John)-fake husband, and what’s really weird is that I no longer feel lonely.

The crazy part is I have no idea where I shall be living this time next year, or what I shall be doing. My life is in limbo.

“So what do you think you’ll do if the Peace Corps turns you down?” my fake friend asks.

I really don’t know. I did take a look at the TEFL/TESOL brochure last night and was kind of amazed by how many opportunities there are all over the world to teach English as a second language. It made me start thinking about just picking a country and moving there. I would get paid to teach, and if I like it, I could pick another country after that.

Some countries pay your airfare and accommodation. I think Hong Kong, is one of them. I would love to live in several countries and teach English; it would be such an adventure to live for 6 months to a year in each country. The strange thing is many people who have done this seem to get addicted to it. They say it’s a life changing experience just like the Peace Corps.”

What do you think? Does it sound conversational? Have you tried writing conversational posts?

There are several other tips which I found helpful on Career Girl’s Post called: “Little Tips to Boost Your Blog’s Popularity.”

I think we can all find something worth improving in order to stand out and, hopefully, become more popular bloggers.

I know that finding your #1 Target audience, is critical, and for me, this is shifting as I reinvent myself. I’m gradually moving away from the overly competitive field of authors/coaches/book promoters to my brand: Gutsy Living®.

So #1 Target audience means:

You need to know who reads your blog and why. Knowing this will help you direct your content better, so give a little bit of thought to it. Who do you want to read this blog and what kind of content will they come back for? –“Little Tips to Boost Your Blog’s Popularity.”

Here is the list of topics covered in Beth’s blog.

#1 Target audience

#2 Be objective

#3 Create

#4 About page

#5 Social Media

#6 Freebies

#7 Writing

#8 Be human