Details

Published: 24 November 2021

Hits: 3646

Current, Past and May be Used Ad Systems on StaceyCarroll.org

At any point, these ad systems may be present on StaceyCarroll.org. We reserve the right to change and update ads and ad types at any point without notice. 

Amazon Affiliates

CJ Affiliates

Rakeuten Marketing

Google Ads

Why did Staceycarroll.org start using Google Ads?

This has to do with the new Youtube channel. We've finally surpassed 500 members,m and will, in theory, continue to grow. This means that the Youtube is now eligible for monetization. In order to monetize the site, you must have a valid Adsense account. In order to validate the AdSense account, I have to run ads on the website and use a CMwhatever nasty popup that the EU requires, which Google will now render. I apologize, but this is the direction that we must take here at Staceycarroll.org in order to not end up living under a bridge. When they say it's hard to sell books, they are vastly understating the degree of difficulty in selling enough books to be financially viable. Adding to it is the inflation, extremely greedy corporations and absolutely criminal prices everywhere. So, I apologize for the change and the obnoxious popup, but I don't wish to be writing books and filming videos from under a bridge.

Details

Published: 24 November 2021

Hits: 5726

Stacey Carroll and Amazon Affiliates

It's important to note that almost every book link, electronics gizmo, coffee mugs and other products listed on this site is a link directly to Amazon from the Amazon Affiliates Program.  This means that you will be taken to amazon upon clicking the link, and you will be able to purchase that book or another book or item directly from the Amazon website.  If you are unfamiliar with the Amazon affiliate program or any other affiliate program, it also means that staceycarroll.org earns a very small commission from those suggested purchases.  This feature is partially how we keep this site operational.  To ensure these links are relevant with the textual content that is on this site, I try to choose items that would be beneficial, useful or otherwise interesting to writers and authors.

Becoming an Amazon Affiliate

If you've read a little bit on book marketing and earning money as an author, you know that many articles, blog posts and informative texts recommend using affiliate links in order to increase your earnings as an author and an online marketer.  The Amazon Affiliate Program is free to join. However, you will need a bank account if you want to get paid.  When you first join, you will have to make X number of sales within 6 months.  You will also have to maintain some sales in order to stay in the program.  If you ever fail to make sales, Amazon will discontinue your account.  However, you are free to reapply at any time.  If you ever have to reapply to the program, you should know that Amazon does not save your previous information; you will have to enter all your information is if you are a brand new affiliate.

FCC Requirements to Stay Compliant (Legal Stuff)

This is recommended by Amazon in order to stay compliant with the FCC rules and regulations for Advertisements.

Any time you share an affiliate link, it’s important to disclose that to your audience. They will trust you more if you are transparent about where you are directing them and why. To meet the Associate Program's requirements, you must (1) include a legally compliant disclosure with your links and (2) identify yourself on your Site as an Amazon Associate with the language required by the Operating Agreement. This is the sole purpose of this page. To let you know that StaceyCarroll.org is an amazon affiliate site and may contain Amazon affiliate links.

To comply with Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulations, your link-level disclosure must be:

1. Clear. A clear disclosure could be as simple as “(paid link)”, “#ad” or “#CommissionsEarned”.

2. Conspicuous. It should be placed near any affiliate link or product review in a location that customers will notice easily. They shouldn’t have to hunt for it.

Details

Published: 24 November 2021

Hits: 10549

Those of us who want to write a fictional story know that this is no easy task. It does require a vivid imagination and a whole lot of drive to get the book done along with the discipline to go through all the drafts to get it just right. However, no matter how many times we may stop to edit our story there is still a chance that we could fall into making some of the most common mistakes known to writers. Yes, authors who are published through a publishing house will have an editing department who could catch these errors but this is the era of self-publishing and more aspiring authors are taking this route. So, these mistakes are so easy to fall into that even some of the most well-known authors who are best sellers have to be cautious of falling into these pitfalls. So, what are these common editorial problems that plague every author be it aspiring or established? Well, below we will go into some of these and ways in which you can go about avoiding these in the future.

 1. Using Mixed Verb Tenses

 No matter how experienced you are at writing fiction, you may still use mixed verb tenses. This is not just in fiction writing but in non-fiction and even article writing. We can find all ourselves writing in past tense, which is the desired format for fiction writing then fall into present tense or past present tense. I know in my fiction writing, I tend to put in a lot of "hads" before the verbs. During the editing process, I take the "hads" out. 

 Solution: Don't sweat this in the first few drafts. If you see them, fix them, but remember your first few drafts is the time to write your thoughts down and not so much worry about the editing aspects. Once you've solidified your story and have started the editing process in earnest, pay attention to your verb tenses. If you need to, you can even read the manuscript out loud to try to catch this common error and/or have a trusted friend or family member read it. 

 2. Beware of Overused Words

Have you ever read your novel and realized you have 10,000 grins, sighs or nods. These are just a few of the overused words and actions that authors use while drafting their manuscripts. Other commonly overused words include 'as well', 'also', 'then', 'as' and 'when' that we tend to find ourselves using way too often. In fact, if you do a search for this terminology in Google, there are large lists of these words available to view. Perhaps we aren't prone to using all the words but odds are we do find ourselves using at least one word more often than we should throughout our writing. 

 Solution: Read the sentence, if it still flows well without the overused word, then guess what, the word isn't needed. If you're really concerned, you can 'find' the specific word in your word processor then decide whether to delete, replace and leave the word.

 3. Using the Wrong Word (Sound alike words) 

 How many times have you typed 'its' when you meant 'it's'. What about 'than' when it should have been 'then'? This is another incredibly common mistake. After all, just think about the last time you wrote the wrong 'there'.  These issues are often called grammar mistakes.  However, I disagree. At a certain point in our author careers, we understand the definitions of all these words. However, we still make these "typos".  Our brain told our hands that "there" or any "there" sounding words was the correct word in the sentence, and our hands typed a different their. the good news is that you don't have to comb through 80,000 words to find these mistakes.

 Solution: The solution to this is a good proofreading once you're finished with your novel, but you can also use applications like Grammarly and Hemingway to help you find these mistakes. 

 These are just a few of those common errors that plague authors. The best advice that can be given is to not be afraid to edit your work. Remember, it doesn't have to be perfect at first, in fact, it never will be, not in this life is. Just know that editing at least five times will help to catch common errors. Another piece of advice is to have someone else read to work be a trusted friend or even a beta reader, getting feedback will help to ensure that these errors are not only avoided but that the story flows well.