10 Places to Find Awesome Free Stock Photos for Your Blog

Whether you’re blogging for yourself or a client, I’m sure you know the importance of images.

On a high level, gorgeous photos help bring your blog’s brand to life. Photos also break up text, making your content skimmable and shareable.

But where to find these photos? Image licensing is a tricky beast and stock photos are expensive.

So we’ve done some of the work for you. Below, a curated list of our favorite places to find free images for your blog posts.

Note: Every website has their own licensing rules, so check before using photos. If you want to change an image or use it commercially, different rules may apply. You’ll also need to double-check whether you need to attribute the photos you select — it’s always a good idea to give credit where it’s due!

This Book will Dervelop you imensely: Read It

This book will teach you What makes the difference between winners and losers? Why are some people above and others licking the dust of failure and mediocrity? Does it have to do with their look, age,height, sex, race or other factors? Is it that some have been destined to be“hewers”of stone, carriers of woods and drawers of water” while others are meant to be princes,masters and Lords, living in palaces? Does God favor some to win and excel in life and destine others to a life of failure,no matter what they do and however hard they struggle and try?I am sure you may have had cause to ask one or two of the questions above before. get it here on Gumroad www.gum.co/ymks or on Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00QNUV4VU

Something good is coming your way

Welcome to the month of August Friends!

Wherever you may have experienced lack, failure or rejection, it ends today.

This month heralds pleasant surprises for you.

That case that has been dragging will end in your favour.

This month, you will find answers to your life’s questions.

You will find the solution to that seemly impossible and insurmountable situation.

Expect the best.

Something good is coming your way.

Have a great month!

You will succeed!

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5 Steps for Setting Writing Goals You’ll Actually Keep

We know the weeks right at the top of a new year are prime time for goal-setting. But you can set new goals any time of year.

Why not take some time this week to refresh your mindset and set yourself up for success?

Whether you want to crank out 1,000 words a day or get three great new clients, why not take some time to get on the track to meet those goals?

Setting goals and conducting regular self-reviews are great ways to see how you’re doing. These strategies can help you take concrete steps to attain your goals and help you revise and adapt as needed along the way.

“I don’t have time to set goals and review them.”

Have you ever said this? Why would you take time you could be spending to craft pitches and crank out articles to instead set goals and conduct self-review?

Because it’s easy to go too long without thinking about your higher-level goals.

You might spend hour upon hour cranking out $20 articles about pigeons when you really want to be writing $2,000 articles about new, cutting-edge dental procedures.

Taking the time to step back from your immediate deadlines and projects allows you to think about where you’d like to be — and chart a path to get there.

Ready to recharge with a goals check-in? Here’s what to do:

5 Surprising Ways Negative Thinking Can Make You a More Productive Writer

Creative people are wired differently from others. We feel deeply, question ourselves often, and battle resistance daily.

As such, many writers struggle with depression, anxiety, or other mood disorders, which can lead to negative thinking. Conventional wisdom maintains that negative thoughts are unproductive and nothing good can come from them.

I disagree. Negative thoughts can fuel fantastic, visceral writing.

I’ve struggled with anxiety and depression for as long as I can remember, and have experienced my fair share of dark thoughts. For years, any time I felt consumed by negativity, I made it worse by anguishing over how it was standing in the way of my creative ambitions. The more I tried to force positivity, the less productive I was.

I finally accepted I’m going to have low points — maybe more frequently than others. But by doing so, I’ve learned ways to use negative thoughts as productive, inspiring tools in the creative

Do you Believe in Afgrican Time?

Today, you will not be stranded.
Wherever you may be feeling inadequate, grace will be made available to you.
To be numbered amongst successful people, there are some habits you must cultivate. These are habits referred to as positive habits or success habits.
How do you feel when you give someone an appointment for a particular time and the person chose to come one or two hours late?
I usually say there is no such thing as African time. You see, people who hide under this guise to go late to events or work cannot be counted among successful people. It is either you are on time or you are late.
For you to take territories this year, you must make successful habits your watch word.
To your success!

Considering Self-Publishing? You Might Want to Do This First

By Chuck Sambuchino on Monday, January 4

Chuck is giving a lucky reader a copy of his new book, Guide to Literary Agents 2016. He’ll pick one commenter on this post at random after two weeks.

You must live within the U.S. or Canada to receive a print book. Otherwise, he can send a PDF ebook to the winner.

There are different ways to get your work published, but the biggest two options in today’s marketplace are still the following:

Traditional publishing: You sell your work to a publishing house, like Simon & Schuster or HarperCollins. The publisher typically pays you money up front in the deal, then distributes the book in print and e-book forms.

Instead of Bugging Your Family and Friends, Try These Writing Critique Groups

If you write fiction, you may know all too well the feeling you get once you finish a chapter, a story, or a first draft.

There’s a compulsion to share, and to hear what others think of this thing you’ve created from your own genius brain. But, it can be a lot to ask of your friends and family, and even the most willing of readers might not have the time to get a critique back to you as quickly as they (or you) would like.

Luckily, there’s a whole host of online resources for writers to share work, and to pay it forward by critiquing the work of others. Some critique communities are even free to join and participate.

However, with the resources below, it’s expected that you give feedback just as often as you seek it. Be prepared to make a time commitment!

Applying for Journalism Internships? Start With This Amazing List

Journalism students: if you’re looking for an internship or fellowship, consider yourself on deadline.

We’ve reached the end of journalism internship application season. As Poynter explains, this is make-or-break time for early-career journalists:

The most critical period in journalism school is the three-month window stretching from September to November informally known as internship application season. Getting professional experience and making contacts through an internship can mean the difference between landing a job or being unemployed after commencement.

What is on your Mind

From today, you will gain speed like never before. No more stagnation in your life.
Do you know that apart from failing many times to win elections, Abraham Lincoln also failed in business? His health also failed. Yes, he had nervous breakdown. To make things worse, his fiancée died.
One would have expected a man with such bitter experiences to give up on life. Guess what? He never did. Things turned around for him. He became a successful businessman and the number one citizen of his country.
Though everything around him pointed to negativity, his mind was focused on positive outcome that whatever he desired was possible.
Friends, what is on your mind? Do you see yourself overcoming your challenges in your mind, though your situation is saying the contrary? You must be determined that nothing will stop you from achieving your goals this year and beyond.

Don't give up on your dreams

Today, your life is changing for the better. You will experience progress in every area of your life.
It was Alexander the Great who said; ‘Nothing is impossible for a man who is willing to try’. So, I will like ask you, are you willing to try again and again until you get the desired result in that business or career that had failed before?
You can only succeed in any venture if you don’t give up. Remember that great inventor, Thomas Edison who invented the light bulb, among other inventions failed over 1,000 times. He never gave up until he became successful. Abraham Lincoln, the 16^th American President also failed severally at polls before he finally won the presidency in 1860.

Words of Inspiration: KDP Author Brenda Rothert

"The best books come from deep within us. Consider your life experiences when you're seeking inspiration for characters and stories. I drew from losing a baby halfway through a pregnancy for one of my characters and from the loss of my dad for another. Readers can connect with characters who go through the same struggles they experience in their own lives. Tapping into how my own losses affected me allowed me to create more emotional, authentic stories. I treasure messages from readers who tell me they've gone through similar losses and that my books helped them find healing." --Brenda Rothert, author of Bound. www.amazon.com

Createspace Resource: judging a Book by its interior

An engaging plot or main objective hooks readers, but poor design choices can lose them. Many eBooks allow readers to choose your book's interior font style and size. That's not the case if you decide to take your eBook to print.
The most important but unassuming decision authors make when designing print interiors is font. And while there are thousands of fonts available, most print books are designed using just a few.
Check out our designers' professional recommendations, and let CreateSpace turn your Microsoft Word document into a professionally designed print interior.www.createspace.com

You Can Earn Additional Revenue on Your Book

You can earn advertising fees from the Amazon Associates Program by linking readers from your website, blog, or social media content to Amazon. When your readers make a purchase on Amazon through your referral links, you could earn 4% or more in advertising fees on eligible books and other products. Just register and place Associates links on your online content channels. Referring readers to find your book on Amazon can boost not only your potential book sales, but also earn you potential referral fees at the same time.

26 Amazing Writing Residencies You Should Apply for This Year

It’s a dream of many writers: to spend time at a quiet colony or residency where you can focus on your work. But too often the only writers’ colonies we hear about are The MacDowell Colony and Yaddo, prestigious residencies that only accept a tiny percentage of applicants.

The truth is, there are lots of other wonderful writer’s residencies to choose from, many of which are less competitive, so you’re more likely to get accepted.

Our founder, Alexis Grant, enjoyed three highly productive residencies at The Hambidge Center for the Creative Arts & Sciences, and she is convinced that a big reason we don’t hear about the non-MacDowell-level residencies is because the writers who frequent these places aren’t always digitally savvy; rather than participating in online communities or blogging, they spend their time writing.

Here are 26 high-quality writing residencies and retreats you may not know about yet. While some of these are quite selective, others are a little more open with their admission policies.

15 ways to get most out of your blog post: by Raena Lynn

1. Share it on Facebook immediately
2. Link to it in any past or present relevant posts
3. Create a graphic and share it on Pinterest
4. Create a infographic that explains the content and share it on Pinterest
5. Share a blurb from the post in relevant Facebook groups
6. Share that infographic in relevant Facebook groups
7. Link to the blog to help people in Facebook groups asking questions that the blog post answers
8. Share the link on promo days in Facebook groups
9. Link to the blog post in forums where people are asking questions the blog post answers
10. Search for questions your blog post answers in Google, use the advance search settings to only see pages from the past week and link to the blog post in any groups or forums the questions were asked
11. Share the image for the post on Instagram
12. Tweet the blog post out that day, the next day, the next week, the next month and at least monthly for as long as it is relevant
13. Engage with anyone who shares or re-shares the post on social media
14. Do a Periscope and Blab on the topic and send them to the post as your ending call to action
15. Create a content upgrade opt in for the post

Little by Little: How to Achieve Your Goal in a Simple Way

Hi friend,

There are many ideas flowing and swirling around in my head. I’m not special because we all have ideas. There are ideas floating and swimming in your head, every day. Of course, some are great and some are bad.

The thing is, you won't know if they are great or not until you actually bring them to life.

I’ve five (almost finished/ get stuck) books.Do you know why I didn’t finish writing them? It’s because there are many things I want to write about. As I am writing one, another idea pops in, and then I drop it, and go to another.

Do you want to be like me? I guess you don’t want that. Of course, you want to be an achiever. You want to be awesome.

So, how can you be one? It’s simple! Just take it bird by bird. By bird by bird, I mean you should take things one step after another. You have to crawl first before you have to walk. That's the philosophy of life. If you try to do it other way around, then you won't achieve anything.

16 Facebook Groups for Writers You Don’t Want to Miss

Whether you’re a freelancer, a blogger, a fiction writer or anything in between, we could all use a little company on the sometimes lonely road known as the writing life.

Maybe you just got your first offer to ghostwrite a book and have no idea what to charge. Maybe your characters refuse to do what you want them to do (isn’t that just like them?), and you could use someone to commiserate with. Maybe it’s after midnight and you’re still up trying to wrestle the words into submission, and you dearly need to be talked down off the ledge.

Whatever the reason, Facebook groups can be a fantastic way for writers to connect, trade advice, swap war stories and find new opportunities. Knowing there are other people out there who “get” what it’s like to be a writer can be a huge comfort, and the chance to share experience and tips with people on all stages of the writing journey is invaluable.

So we polled writers to find out which Facebook groups they personally could not live without. (Want to share this list? Click to tweet it.) Here are the results:

1. The Write Life Community

We’d be remiss if we didn’t tell you about our own Facebook group! Writers of all experience levels can share their struggles and wins, ask each other questions and otherwise support and encourage the community throughout the writing life.

What We Put In, Is What We Get Out

You are about to attract resources, human, financial, material like never before.

I am sure by now; the picture you have envisioned of yourself on December 31^st is getting clearer and hopefully richer. Awesome! That is my desire for you. I have no doubt in my mind that if you have been listening and acting on my teachings, that you will achieve your goals.

Why am I speaking so confidently?

Have you ever taken a picture of yourself and then go back to take a look at the picture only to find the picture of a fish instead of yours?

Do you think it is possible for that to happen? If it does, what will you think?

Wouldn’t you ask yourself how that picture of a fish got there instead of yours?

I am sure you would, because the camera would only print out the images in its memory.

Well that is how our minds work. What we put in, is what we get out. We can never get out of our lives what we have not put in it. this last quarter will favour you.