I designed this graphic today as a mock-up book cover and back page combination. I get so excited looking at it! It's starting to feel very real!

I'll be taking this little number with me to the San Francisco Writers Conference in February, where I'll be learning more of my illustrious craft and all about the publishing industry, meeting with professionals, and pitching my book to literary agents.

Wish me luck, friends! 

You may also like these blogs by Megan Sharma:
Physician Family guest blog: Does Match Day dictate your destiny? A surgeon’s wife weighs in
Book preview for When Medicine Meets Holy Matrimony: A word to mothers who aspire to have a surgeon-in-law
Book preview for When Medicine Meets Holy Matrimony: No, I don’t want no scrubs
Book preview for When Medicine Meets Holy Matrimony: For the love of Danskos
Book preview for When Medicine Meets Holy Matrimony: The other shoe
Date night: 60 fun and unique date ideas for the young at heart
Parenting: A no-fuss guide to your toddler’s birthday party for Pinterest-fatigued parents
Parenting: You know you’re a mom (of young children) when…

​As a writer or author, one of the first questions people ask you is ‘Who are your favorite authors’? I always struggle to answer this question off the top of my head, because my reading interests are varied and I can never remember the names of the authors on my Kindle.
 
Today, however, I was preparing for the San Francisco Writers Conference, which I’ll be attending in February (so psyched!). In anticipation of many conversations on this topic with writers, authors, agents and publishers—I sat down and thought about my favorite books and authors.
 
Here’s the ol’ round up:

Tina Fey
Bossypants
 
Mindy Kaling
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)
Why Not Me?
 
Amy Schumer
The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo
 
Raquel D'Apice
Welcome to the Club: 100 Parenting Milestones You Never Saw Coming
 
Kate Siegel
Mother, Can You Not?

Paula Hawkins
The Girl on The Train
 
Barbara Kingsolver
The Poisonwood Bible
Flight Behavior
 
Stieg Larsson
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Girl Who Played with Fire
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest
 
Ruth Ware
In a Dark, Dark Wood
The Woman in Cabin 10
 
Emma Donoghue
Room

Jon Krakauer
Into the Wild
Into Thin Air
Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith
Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman
 
Erik Larson
In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin
Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania
The Devil in the White City: A Saga of Magic and Murder at the Fair that Changed America
 
Katherine Boo
Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, death, and hope in a Mumbai undercity

John Green
The Fault in our Stars
Looking for Alaska
Paper Towns
An Abundance of Katherines
 
Stephenie Meyer
The Twilight series
 
Suzanne Collins
The Hunger Games series

F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Great Gatsby
 
William Golding
Lord of the Flies
 
Charles Dickens
A Tale of Two Cities
 
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Crime and Punishment
 
Emily Brontë
Wuthering Heights
 
Joseph Conrad
Heart of Darkness

Jon Krakauer
Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town
 
Paul Kalanithi
When Breath Becomes Air
 
J.D. Vance
Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis
 
Liane Moriarty
Big Little Lies
 
Paula Hawkins
Into the Water

I’m always looking for my next book to fall in love with. Who are your favorite authors? What books have you read without putting down? Share in the blog comments. â€‹

I stepped off the elliptical machine, had a quick stretch, dabbed sweat from my neck and forehead, refilled my water bottle, and dashed home to write this blog. Inspiration often strikes when I’m working out or in the shower—times when my head is clear and the creativity can flow.
 
During my workout today, I read about a book called “29 Gifts: How a Month of Giving Can Change Your Life”. The author, Cami Walker, was struggling with worsening multiple sclerosis and received an interesting “prescription” from a South African healer: “Give away 29 gifts in 29 days”. And give, she did. By the month’s end, Walker’s health and happiness had improved, and she had started a worldwide giving movement.
 
How COOL is that?
 
I immediately asked myself, ‘What can I give that would help improve someone else’s life?” The first thought that came to mind was my editing services. I have been writing and editing professionally for nearly 15 years, and I have always been the go-to-girl when friends and family have needed help with resumes, emails, web sites, you name it.
 
Are you looking for a new job? Starting a business? Considering going back to school? It’s a new year and many of us have personal and professional goals that we are tackling (or that are on the ‘to do’ list). I would like to help be a part of your success.
 
Do you have a resume, cover letter, professional bio, or personal statement (for college, grad school, dental school, medical school, whatever) that you'd like some help with? I will help you polish your document to the best of my ability, ABSOLUTELY FREE.
 
My only request is that, in return, you do something kind for someone else. I would love to hear what you did and how it was received, so that we can keep sharing the love. 

HERE’S HOW WE’RE GOING TO DO THIS:

• The first 5 people who respond to my blog in the comments section of this post and then send a follow-up email to [email protected] with the details of their request will be considered for editing assistance.
• Please do not send me your homework—that’s not cool and I won’t do it!
• That’s it! I’m keeping this as simple as possible.

 
I look forward to seeing what the universe produces through our shared efforts.
 
What can YOU do right now, with your God-given talents, to help others? Share the love!

Hello, readers! I am super excited to announce the launch of my new author page on Facebook, here: 
https://www.facebook.com/authormegansharma/

This is for my recently written book, "When Medicine Meets Holy Matrimony: A Surgeon's Wife Tells It Like It Is". I am currently working toward traditional publication. 

On the author page I'll share book and blog news and updates, industry latest in the world of medicine, writing tips, fun photos, book sneak peaks, and opportunities to win prizes. You won't want to miss it!

Give it a "like" today, and thanks for your support!
​

Don’t you just love hearing from ‘mentees’? I know I do. One of my former communications interns recently reached out to me for some advice on starting a weekly newsletter, expanding on an already popular blog.

It just so happens that I have written dozens of corporate newsletters and a handful of client-facing marketing newsletters over the years.

So, I felt reasonably well-equipped to provide some tips on starting and maintaining a successful newsletter.

Newsletter Tips for the Real World

·       Spend time choosing a format that is visually appealing, represents your brand, is relatively easy to input content, includes an image for each story (use images legally!), and, ideally, is optimized for mobile viewing.

·       Establish an editorial calendar that outlines content deadlines and regular rhythm, and then stick to it. Consistency is key, even if you are the point person for all content.

·       ALWAYS think about your audience. Who are they? What will get them excited? What will piss them off? What is likely to get them talking? What do they NOT care about?

·       Order the newsletter with the most important content at the top – think like a journalist.

·       Keep the language clean and concise. Use color, but cut down on ‘word fat’ – how quickly are you getting from the subject to the verb?

·       Write in the language your readers will understand and keep the ‘voice’ consistent.

·       Be sure to ‘tease’ people with just enough to get them to click through to the full story.

·       Be prepared with some way to measure how many people are reading your newsletter, and which stories are most popular. Keep monitoring these factors over time.

·       Feature people stories as often as possible.

·       Make the content interactive – encourage comments, tweets and other forms of participation.

·       Use active tense in your writing. Passive tense is not engaging.

·       Send the newsletter via email, but also create an archive space for issues on your web site.

·       Give surveys and contests a shot.

·       For a non-corporate newsletter, include an unsubscribe option at the bottom of every email. Also, don’t forget to include an email address to get in touch.

·       Don’t let your publication get stale and boring. If what you have isn’t working, try something new!


What are your biggest newsletter pet peeves? Share your surefire paths to the ‘unsubscribe’ here. 

For whatever reason, today I was thinking about Mission: Impossible and the oft-quoted “this message will self-destruct” line.

How does this relate to communications (you are probably asking yourself)?

Well, some email messages are so destructive in written form that they might as well be explosive. They truly require a face-to-face conversation or phone call.

Imagine what some of these “incendiary” email subject lines might look like:

Sorry, we found someone muuuuuuchhh better than you to fill this position

When it comes to employment decisions, it’s simply common courtesy to pick up the phone. This ensures that future bridges are not burned.

I talked to the team and we all agree: you need to lay off the Axe body spray 

Sensitive/personal issues require careful wording and just a dash of empathy. This can’t be achieved in an email.

Hi, I’m your new boss. Your current boss is re-locating to the Bermuda Triangle. 

When dealing with organizational change, especially on an individual level, grab a coffee and make it easy on yourself.

Heard your dog/iguana/parakeet passed away. Bummer. 

This may the one exception to the destructive email rule, but if you decide to go this route, choose your words with caution.

By the way, the company is totally bankrupt. So, I guess this means you have an extended vacation. 

Financial difficulties and resulting personnel changes must be communicated clearly and with care.

So, before you hit the send button on a particularly sensitive email, take a moment to consider how the receiver might take the news.