You're creative. Why talk about money, right? Uh, oh. Read this.

As introverts, it's hard enough to muster up the energy sometimes to talk about anything at all (we hate idle chit-chat). But when it comes to talking about the hard stuff--like money--as creative people who don't love numbers, we really can shut down. Want to see how to make managing money a bit easier for your creative self?

http://www.dailyworth.com/posts/1867-money-management-for-the-creative-class

Psychology Today's Revenge of the Introvert: A Must-Read!

Introverts really do rock! Check out what Psychology Today has to say about us!

http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/201008/revenge-the-introvert

Why we Introverts Love Being Alone: Science Confirms What We've Long Known

In a really cool study on livescience.com, introverts' brains came under scrutiny with interesting results. The study found, "The brains of extroverts pay more attention to human faces than do introverts. In fact, introverts' brains didn't seem to distinguish between inanimate objects and human faces." Hmmm....check it out.

http://www.livescience.com/8500-brains-introverts-reveal-prefer.html

Written an Indie Book? Indie Excellence Awards Open Now Until March 31, 2014

Many introverts consider themselves very independent--and this serves us well. If you're an independent writer who's got an independently published book, you need to submit it to the Indie Excellence Awards!! Check it out. Submissions are accepted until March 14, 2014.

http://www.indieexcellence.com/

Where are people getting all those amazing pics for their blogs? Want some too?

Every time you read a blog you love, do you wonder where the author got such darling photos? Do you secretly seethe with jealousy that you don't have anything worthy on your blog? What if you're not a naturally gifted photographer? Now you can grab some royalty-free images from pros that will instantly take your blog up several notches. Here's where to grab the good stuff:

http://socialmediatoday.com/taylorclark/1702791/5-places-find-free-images-your-blog

Tiny Books with Tiny Artworks? Yes, please!

How many of us love books and art more than just about anything? You will love, and I mean LOVE, these gorgeous tiny book paintings!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/04/book-paintings-_n_3867718.html

Ever Wanted to Turn Your Blog into a Book? You can!

From Blog to Book from Author Marketing Experts' Penny Sansevieri

In the past few months, I’ve come in contact with numerous bloggers who are ready to take their work from blog to book. Maybe it’s the influence of movies like Julie and Julia, it’s hard to tell, but suffice it to say the idea of selling your blog to a publisher is very appealing to a good many bloggers. But what does it really take to get your blog noticed? Here are some tips if you’re trying to raise the bar on your blog and get it noticed by a publisher:

Penny C. Sansevieri, CEO and founder of Author Marketing Experts

Ironically, many of the rules of good blogging apply to this article and the first is: Blog often. If you’re a serious blogger you are likely posting daily, if you’re not, then you probably don’t have much to say. If you want to get your blog noticed, you need to be blogging daily. Why? Because it’ll not only help you look massively articulate, but it’ll really help with your traffic and search ranking, and let’s face it: If no one is finding you how do you expect a publisher to.

Write great blog posts: OK, I know this is probably another “duh” tip, but here’s the deal: if you’re blogging every day you need to keep your writing strong. Not all your blog posts will be worthy of front page news, but your writing must remain consistently good and your blog posts should be unique, helpful, enlightening, or whatever your goal for the blog is.

Be consistent in your message: in other words, don’t change horses mid-race. If you start a blog on, let’s say, dogs, don’t start talking about guinea pigs three posts into it. You’ll have a boatload of dog people going “huh?” Keep it topical and on message always.

Educate yourself in publishing: if you’re going to compete in this market (meaning publishing) you’re going to want to get to know the industry. Go to (writers) conferences, read some of the trade publications (like Publishers Weekly) and dig into this market. If you find that what you’re blogging on is super-hot, you might want to ramp up the promotion of your blog.

See who’s buying what: there’s a site I highly recommend called publishersmarketplace.com. You can register there for either their free or paid Publishers Lunch newsletter, and with that you’ll also get Lunch Weekly, which shows you who is signing and what they’re buying. If you get a membership on the site you can also dig in and find Editors and Agents that might be interested in your topic.

Telling people you have a blog: do you have a signature file on your email? If you don’t you should, this is the first and one of the best places to promote a blog. Second, get business cards and make sure your blog address is listed there.

Get a unique URL: if you’re going to be a serious blogger get a serious domain name. Yes, you can get sallyauthor.blogspot.com but that’s not your own property. Meaning that Google still owns this. If you’re going to be a real blogger, do you really want someone else owning your blog? I don’t think so. Buy a domain name and make sure your blog is hosted there.

Brand yourself: when you’re ready and you have the budget, find someone who can turn your blog into a custom site. They’re great and super easy to do (read: not that expensive) and make a fantastic first impression.

Do some social networking on blogs: get to know your space, meaning get to know who else is doing what you’re doing and make friends. Unless you’re sitting on the most original idea on the planet, I don’t believe in competition. Get to know who else is out there and start commenting on their blog posts so they know you. There’s a great way to find out the top people in your market. Go to a blog search site like Google blog search, type in your keyword and start following the top five bloggers in your market. See what they do, learn from the pros and then thank them for their knowledge by posting helpful comments on their blog  (bloggers love comments, by the way). I have a whole article on social networking on blogs that you can read here: http://amarketingexpert.com/ameblog/marketing/social-networking-on-blogs/. Many of the tips will be helpful to you as you continue to cyber-schmooze online.

Market your blog: now that you have a unique URL and branding, you’re going to want to start marketing it. You can do this by getting a Twitter page and feeding your blog through your account (you can use Twitterfeed.com to do this). You should also consider getting a Facebook Fanpage (again branded to your blog) and feed your blog through that as well. Why do you want to do this? Well it’s important to get as many access points as possible, right? Social networking sites are feeder sites. Use the content on these sites to help you dig deeper into your markets and gather new readers for your blog.

Make your blog shareable: Make sure that folks can share your blog posts to sites like Twitter, Facebook, and all the social bookmarking sites. It’s an easy widget to add and most blogs come with this pre-installed.

Social bookmarking: it’s good to social bookmark all your posts. Yes, and I do mean all of them. You should bookmark on the major sites like Digg, Delicious, StumbleUpon, and Social Poster. You can add more to this list but those are the majors.

Keep good track of your stats: this is another reason why you want to have your own site: so you can keep track of your traffic, which you can’t do if someone else owns your domain. You’ll want to keep a close eye on your blog traffic and learn how to read the site analytics (which is a lot easier than it sounds).

Looking for a Group of Like-minded Writers? Check out Story Cartel!

Joe Bunting of Story Cartel

When I first heard about the concept of Story Cartel, a place just for writers to share info and form a guild, http://course.storycartel.com/, I was giddy with joy! The course is now opening up for new members and you better believe I am eagerly seeking a seat.

Share with friends if you, too, want a place to secret away for writing time and inspiration on really creating a life out of your writing!

Super Funny Cartoon About Us Introverts (You'll Love it!)

http://www.funnyjunk.com/funny_pictures/4679348/Introvert+guide/

We introverts often are misunderstood. Here's a cartoon that truly explains how we feel. Good for a chuckle too!

Why we love Audrey Hepburn

Is there a person alive who doesn't love Audrey Hepburn. I adore her (and secretly want to be as graceful as her) because she chose to be herself. And it turns out, she was an introvert in Hollywood. Seems like a bad place for an introvert to be, right? But she never caved to the pressures to be more than she was. Today, I invite you to be exactly who you are! Because you are wonderful. Leave a comment below with one thing you will do today to celebrate your personality...

Why and How to Adapt your Business to Your Introverted Personality

Cigdem Kobu

As introverts, we know business as usual is hard for us. We don't do business like those wacky, extroverted salesmen hawking products on tv. We're quiet and reserved. But we still need to run our businesses. Check out this article on how to adapt your business to your introvert personality.

It's from a coach who "helps quiet-loving creatives build a sustainable, profitable, peaceful business that fits them like a glove." What could be better than that? Check her out at CigdemKobu.com

Your dream is necessary!

From Isabella's Roses

Food for thought today for introverts. We start out in life with a clean slate on the day we are born. And slowly, life chips away at us. We start to believe we are not good enough, not happy enough, not social enough, not enough enough!

Is today the day your listen to that still, small voice that is reminding you why you are here? Has the world drowned out your tender dream by screaming at you from every corner that you're too shy to be a public speaker, too anti-social to be a retreat leader, too self-reflective to be a great presence in this world?

Well, I'm here to tell you that the world is wrong!

We need your dream. Your particular talents. Your contribution.

Make today the day you write down your dreams and get started putting them out in the world. And if you like, email a copy to me at info@introvertedmisfitscafe.com. There's power in writing your goals and purpose down and sharing them. I'd love to hear from you (yes, YOU!).

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Famous Introverts

If you consider yourself an introvert, you are in good company. Here's a list from Dr. Marti Olsen Laney on her web site, Hidden Gifts of the Introverted Child 

Famous Innies

Actress

• Joan Allen, actress
• Candice Bergen, actress, writer, photographer
• Ingrid Bergman, actress
• Ellen Burstyn, actress
• Glenn Close, actress
• Audrey Hepburn, actress
• Helen Hunt, actress
• Diane Keaton, actress
• Grace Kelly, actress
• Jessica Lange, actress
• Laura Linney, actress
• Gwyneth Paltrow, actress
• Michelle Pfeiffer, actress
• Julia Roberts, actress
• Meg Ryan, actress
• Meryl Streep, actress

Actors

• Clint Eastwood, actor/director
• Harrison Ford, actor
• Tom Hanks, actor
• Sir Alfred Hitchcock, film director
• Jack Lemmon, late actor
• Bill Macy, actor
• Steve Martin, all around talented guy
• Noah Wiley, actor

Singers

• Christina Aguilera, singer
• Enya, Irish pop singer and musician

Innie Writers & Artists

• Emily Dickinson, poet
• Katharine Graham, late owner of the Washington Post, author and DC hostess
• Bill Keane, cartoonist
• Gary Larson, cartoonist
• Lois Lowery, author
• Monet, impressionist painter
• Norman Rockwell, painter
• Will Rogers, humorist
• SARK, writer and vigorous napper
• Charles Schultz, Peanuts cartoonist
• Neil Simon, playwright
• James Thurber, writer
• Gary Trudeau, cartoonist
• Mark Twain, humorist and author
• Elie Wiesel, author
• Eudora Welty, writer

Television Hosts

• Johnny Carson, former Tonight Show host
• Jane Clayson, host of CBS Morning Show
• Matt Lauer, co-host on the Today Show
• David Letterman, host of the David Letterman Show
• Diane Sawyer, co-host of ABC’s Good Morning America
• Barbara Walters, host of 20/20 and

Scientific Innies

• Alfred Adler, psychoanalyst
• Albert Einstein, physicist
• Thomas Edison, inventor
• Jane Goodall, naturalist
• Carl Jung, Swiss psychoanalyst

Innie Characters

• Harry Potter, young wizard from the popular book
• Jane Eyre, governess in book of the same name
• Jonas, in The Giver
• Dr. Katz, professional therapist, animated cable TV show
• Ensign Pulver, in Mr. Roberts
• Beth and Jo, sisters in Little Women
• Wendy in Peter Pan
• Ashley and Malanie Wilkes, in Gone With the Wind
• Jon Luc Picard and Counselor Troi on Star Trek
• Atticus Finch, in To Kill A Mockingbird

Political Innies

• Nicholas II, last Tsar of Russia, great family man–out to lunch on the job
• Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, former first lady
• Laura Bush, first lady
• William, Prince of Wales
• Abraham Lincoln, 16th president
• Al Gore, former vice president
• Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th president