Archive for December, 2008
Why The Information Age Is Dead!
Posted on Dec 30, 2008 10:56:09 PM
The Information Age is dead. We stand at the cusp of a new era. We used to live in the Information Age, but you know how it goes when everyone jumps on the bandwagon. Too much of a good thing became a bad thing. I know you feel it. We both know that everyone is glutted with more information than we know what to do with. You surf the web and there is page after page of information, right? But how do you sort and sift through it all and solve your problems? How do you get what you need&ndashquickly?
We used to want information, but now we want something better. That is why we are at the dawn of a new age. The Recommendation Age. People don’t want information. They want solutions to their problems, and that means they need information filtered through the expertise of someone who has gone before them. And that’s going to be YOU! You will write your book and become a noted expert in your field.
In his book, The Long Tail, Chris Anderson wrote about the dawning of this new age. He said that what people want is not more information, but a trusted guide who can give context to the content.
Your Life Experiences and Passion position you with the natural readiness to make recommendations to others. It’s human nature. You do it all the time in small ways. Think about it. Haven’t you ever told a friend&ndashor even a stranger&ndashto steer clear of a product that doesn’t live up to expectations? Haven’t you ever suggested a tasty dish at a restaurant, or told a friend why she would absolutely love a movie you just saw?
I know you have. We all do this. That’s the power of Recommendation Marketing. It’s time to cash in on a natural human tendency. Since four out of five people want to write a book, chances are excellent that you have always dreamed of telling your own story and leaving your own legacy.
It’s time for YOU to write your book and become an expert millionaire.
Where do people go when they have a problem? The Internet. This is where you should start. Get your book online.
We are drowning in information. The Internet’s greatest advantage is that it level the playing field. Now everybody with a computer and an internet connection has access to the same information. But the greatest asset has also become the greatest annoyance. Today we are drowning in information. We are over-communicated to.
What will you recommend? How will YOU solve other people’s problems. The type of writing that sells the best on the internet is non-fiction. People want help solving their problems.
What problems will YOU solve for people? Look to your own life. What do you do naturally that other people struggle with? What challenges have you overcome?
The information age is dead. We’re drowning in information. What people want now is for an expert to recommend a solution. The Recommendation Age is here. Take your place as an expert and cash in on the Recommendation Age by writing YOUR book&ndashstarting now!
What Does Your Main Character Have To Lose?
Posted on Dec 29, 2008 09:23:07 PM
You are welcome to publish this article in its entirety, electronically, or in print free of charge, as long as you include my full signature file for ezines and my website address in hyperlink for other sites. Please send a courtesy link of email where you publish.:
bestsellercirclezinester.com,
writelink3yahoo.com.
Thank you.
WHAT DOES YOUR CHARACTER HAVE TO LOSE?
If your story has nothing big to lose, it’s not worth reading. I did say “Big.” I’m not talking about a nice pair of earrings, a car, designer dress, or even your home. I’m talking about something that matters greatly to more than your main character. It’s bigger than her, him, or it. It takes hold and drives your story to the end.
This crucial thing is bigger than a personal love spat, or even a trip to the hospital. It takes over a life, a family, a city, the community, or an entire nation. In popular women’s novels, that thing is not the community, city, or nation; it’s your character’s personal desire. Did she get the man? The career? The family she wanted? It’s all about the protagonist’s unrequited desire. It might not seem big at all, except that the heroine’s creator has infused her with such unrelenting intensity that the reader feels her desire just as strongly as murder, the city, the country, the family she wanted.
That particular element in your novel is called STAKES. It’s believed that a threat to LIFE is the highest stake. Bestseller-kind-of books have high stakes of some kind. STAKES simply means the biggest thing you have to lose&ndashthe fortune, friend, life, city, a country, a world, a dream.
If you don’t believe me, let’s explore a few bestseller-kind-of-books that have stood the test of time and see what really drives them and how it plays out.
The Godfather&ndashwhat does he have to lose? Justice in America. Godfather wanted justice so badly that he had to take getting it into his own hands. He just couldn’t afford not to have justice when his father was murdered by the mob in Italy, and his mother was shot in front of his face while she begged for her son’s life. He was never going back to that kind of injustice. He was shipped off to American, and here he faced another kind of injustice. So he turned to crime, while wanting his son to become a legal senator. The search for justice drove the story all the way through a multi-million dollar best selling book and three movies. The don lost his life but the stakes were so high that they transferred to his youngest son, Michael. He had to kill five mafia heads to become semi-laundered when he moved to Vegas.
GONE WITH THE WIND: Scarlett’s love was at stake. Many people think it was Tara, the plantation. But no, it was love. This was no ordinary love. The writer knew the normal kind of love would have fallen flat on its face “Well if you don’t love me back, forget you. I can have any man I want. See?” She said, looping her arm in one of the Tarlton boy’s arm.
No, this was an obsessive love that burned with the heat of determination and passion. It was Ashley Wilkes or nobody. This strong, bold, uncompromising love drove the story because her love was at stake. It could be lost or consummated at any moment and the reader didn’t want to miss it&ndashall the way to the end. That’s why we followed. If Ashley had given her the time of day, there’s no way I would have read 700 pages about the Civil War. But with Scarlett’s thirst for true love, her raging fire for consummation, it absorbed the culture, the complexities of war, and life on a plantation that no one wanted to see and all of the reader’s tiredness. Love was at stake and it drove that story for years and years.
THE MAYOR’S WIFE WORE SAPPHIRES&ndasha search for respect drove the story. Indigo did everything possible in this world to grab some respect for herself, her family, and her city. If she could sneak her husband into congress, she could obtain it. The story opens with her trying to make that happen. When her plan falls through, she schemes every possible means of making that predominately African-American city a Camelot&ndasha place so incredible that the residents would be trained to manufacture and market their wares, and people from all over the world would come and buy from them. Indigo had knock-off clothes tailored for all of her parties, and hung with the “right” crowd to gain that elusive respect. She fought off the International drug cartel to save the city from its ugliness and ruin. All for respect. She lost lovers and friends, but the need for respect still drove that story all the way to the White House and back.
What is at stake in your novel? It can be physical or emotional. Write it down now.
Should I Self-publish Or Pitch My Book To A Publisher?
Posted on Dec 29, 2008 12:15:59 PM
You’ve spent many nights working on your book. You’ve rewritten it, edited it, and you used a professional proofreader to proof it. Your book is done &ndash finally — and you’re ready to send your precious manuscript off to a publisher, thinking that writing it was the hardest part.
In reality, getting your blood, sweat and tears published may be the hardest part of the whole process. You’ll need to decide if your book requires a publisher, or if you’d rather self-publish your book. Both venues have pros and cons, some of which I discuss below.
To work with a book publisher, you’ll need to send out query letters and/or a book proposal. This is a letter or a few pages briefly describing your text, why your book is unique, characteristics of your target market, and how you can help market your book. Most publishers don’t accept unsolicited manuscripts, so you’ll need to convince them to read yours, or find a literary agent to represent you. If a book publisher requests that you forward your entire manuscript, you have one foot in the door. Be prepared to send more than one query and don’t expect a response next week. An excellent software program to help format your manuscript and create a book proposal is called Wizards For Word at .wizardsforword.com
Publishers look for three things: platform, hook, and execution. This means a writer should have a built-in audience (ideally, a national platform such as a radio or TV show or a column in a major publication), an interesting hook, and strong writing skills.
The problem if you’re an unagented author is that most publishers won’t take your call or read your proposal. Then even if they do, you’ll have a tough time creating a bidding war or running an auction to get the best offer, and you also won’t have leverage negotiating the important deal points, such as ancillary rights and royalties.
There are writer’s guides that serve as excellent resources to find publishers and literary agents who specialize in your particular genre. These guides list the percentage of new authors published as well as the percentage of sales they pay. You may find pay rates ranging from 5-10% of sales. Some pay on wholesale sales and others on the retail amount. Do the math. Perhaps your book will retail for $14.95 and the publisher will pay 6% on retail. This means you will earn 90 cents per book sold. Of course don’t forget that the publisher is doing all the printing, distributing, and marketing of your text.
Another route you may want to consider is self-publishing. Self-publishing requires you to print, distribute and market your book using your money, but you will also retain all profits. There are book printing companies as well as companies that specialize in assisting self-publishers through every step along the way.
Many authors debate which method is better, using a publishing company or self publishing your own book. You know your situation and you know what will work best for you. You’ll want to consider how much time or money you have to invest in the project. That should give you an idea which route to take. Using a publisher takes less time on your part, but you’ll forfeit some of the royalties by using this method. If you self publish, you’ll have to pay “up front costs” and do the initial legwork to begin generating sales for your book. Either way, publishing is your call. With persistence and hard work you can get your book in the marketplace.
Write Queen Writes About Nothing And Everything
Posted on Dec 28, 2008 04:52:12 PM
I am a sentimental human being. I cry at funerals. Normal. But I even cry at weddings, and I had two wonderful marriages. I guess you could say I loved them to death since both of them preceded me in death.
I was reading an email from Simple Truths on the computer that lead me to their website about a boy with Downs Syndrome who made a lot of customers in a store happy with his acts of kindness. Yes, I cried when I read the story and I’m crying as I write this. I told you I am sentimental.
The story was told by Barbara Glanz, and as I perused the rest of the website (.simpletruths.com ) I noticed Barbara had a book available “The Simple Truths of Appreciation” and right then I had an inspiration or as some people would call it an ah-ha
moment. I picked up the phone and ordered the book for my best friend in appreciation
of all the little things she does for me every day.
The book came today, and of course I had to read it first before I give it to her, Reading it made
me think. How many times do we think to say to the bag boy who carried our groceries out to the car “Thanks. You were a big help.” If it was hot out today, did you think to offer your mail carrier a glass of cool water to drink? If you played golf today, did you think to give your caddie a pat on the back AND a smile for a job well done. It wasn’t his fault you boogied that hole on the ninth.
How long has it been since you invited an elderly neighbor to church with you? The next time you bake cookies why not share them with a shut-in? Do you have a neighbor in a convalescent home? How long since you visited and caught them up with neighborhood news?
Those of us who are well or well cared for tend to forget the forgotten, the unfortunate, the lonely, the poor (not necessarily in money), the sick and the sick at heart. A smile, a handshake and a
few pleasant words might make the difference between daylight and darkness for those forgottens in our life.
Writing – Job Or Hobby?
Posted on Dec 28, 2008 03:02:52 PM
Writing is a part of everyone’s life. Every one of us has had to write an article, a composition or a letter to a loved one, at least once in our lives. In schools, it is as common task as learning how to count or memorize multiplication tables. Yet as people grow old, some continue on to write until old age while some completely shun writing as if it’s a burden one needs to keep away from as much as possible. The difference between who you are among the two is how you answer the question, “Is writing a hobby or a job for you?” The answer you give could tell you of your perspective of the written form of art.
Job or Hobby?
When does writing become a job then? Some may think that when you get paid then it becomes work. But why then did the great poets of times past who died miserable, alone and broke continued to write until they were on their deathbed? By this example alone you could deduce that writing may still be a hobby even if you are great author as long as the passion and the love for writing is there. But once other factors affect that passion for writing then it’s a different story altogether. Apparently, some great writers have been burned out at least one time in their lives because of the pressure to beat the deadline, the anxiety of having to please the readers and the dreadful idea of not living up to the expectations that surrounds a best-selling writer.
Searching for the Reasons Why One Writes
So then how do you keep the passion to write a love letter, the fervor to churn out poetry and essays, or to still beat the deadline without having to feel that writing is a heavy burden? How do you make writing a productive exercise and still to still call writing a hobby? There are many ways to respond to the posed questions above, but the simplest and most efficient way is to ask yourself, to ask that writer within you what reasons you have that you bothered to continue writing in a journal, a daily diary or on pieces of paper around your flat when in fact no one asked you to. Searching the inner soul could produce many definite answers for you. Maybe you view writing as a way to blow steam off on bad days, or maybe you chose to write your dreams because you want to preserve a memory of yourself, afraid that when you get older, you would somehow become this senseless, disconnected person. Or maybe writing for you is a form of release or expression.
Whatever the reason is, you have to ask yourself if you still have it in you and if the tides of time have not washed away that passion and the reason for that passion to write. If you could answer that positively, then you’ll always be able to view writing as a hobby, as an activity that you will always cherish to do no matter what is going on in your life. A true writer will always write because of internal reasons, whether you are a novice playwright, a successful novelist, or a child who keeps a diary.
Personal Websites For Journalists
Posted on Dec 27, 2008 09:04:02 PM
Traditionally, journalists have more or less worked alone. Journalists in both the news business and feature writers for magazines typically will develop their stories, dig up their leads, conduct their interviews and draft the final product themselves. In the newspaper business, major stories will sometimes become collaborative efforts where several reporters are working on aspects of a story and their work is edited into a single piece, published under multiple bylines.
Communicating with a journalist was generally a haphazard affair, placing a call to a switchboard or desk and leaving a message. Today, major newspapers all have websites and provide email addresses for most of their journalists and nearly all of their columnists. People who write columns and opinion pieces are generally more open to communicating with the public because their work is often designed to generate controversy and feedback is important. Occasionally columnists will find ideas for new topics in the email traffic they receive, or will write about the heavy response they received on a particular piece.
A journalist with some initiative can take this communications process one step further by setting up a personal website. That site can serve several purposes: all of them require some work. The function of the site depends, to some degree, on the amount of time the journalist is willing to devote to it. A working reporter may also have to negotiate permission to engage in some online publishing of his own with the editorial staff of the paper or magazine that employs him.
Internet blogs have made some opinionated people in this country powerful and well known, just by virtue of their daily journaling. A working journalist could set up a blog for which he could provide occasional entries, relating to his work or to other news stories or totally unrelated subjects. The value of a blog is that it provides the opportunity for open dialogue among all who wish to log on and participate. Name recognition can be meaningful to some journalists and blogging is one way to develop “viral” recognition by inviting communication. Many people will be attracted to the opportunity to communicate with someone who gets paid to publish.
Blogs can develop story lines for topics for journalists, particularly columnists and feature writers. They can help a professional writer build a persona that doesn’t enter into the straight journalism he produces on the job. A personal blog is a way to build a public and well rounded profile that the constraints of a traditional journalism job don’t usually allow.
A personal website can also provide the journalist an opportunity to showcase a “profile” of work that is unrelated to the job, or at least has gone unpublished by the employer. Here again, there is a fine line between what the journalist can do online – which is essentially public exposure – and what the requirements of exclusivity on the job may be. But if a journalist has ventured into fiction, a personal website is a great way to put it out there for exposure.
If the goal is a publishing opportunity for fictional work, the website may be a way to short circuit the formal submission rules for fictional work that magazines and book publishers maintain. An established journalist is already a professional writer. Asking a book publishing editor or potential agent to look at product posted on a website is much easier than engaging in the formal process.
How To Write And Publish A Better Newsletter
Posted on Dec 26, 2008 03:41:55 PM
Writing and publishing a newsletter is one of the most satisfying ways to promote your business, get involved in your community, or exercise those creative muscles. Imagine it: you at the helm of your very own publication, organizing the content, calling all the shots. Sounds great, right?
It is great, but be forewarned: writing and publishing a newsletter takes a lot of work. You need to coordinate many things. Producing a newsletter can overwhelm even the most seasoned writers and business professionals. The following tips will help you organize and get your first issue out without problems.
PLAN THE FORMAT
You need to decide the format of your newsletter. How many pages will it be? How often will you publish it? Will you use spiral binding, perfect binding or simple staples? Will you accept ads; if so, how many? Will you publish your newsletter in full-color or black ink on white paper?
Typically, smaller newsletters run less than 20 pages with the text divided into four columns per page (except for headlines, pictures and ads, of course); they’re usually one or four color, printed on both sides, and stapled. This is the most cost-effective way to produce a newsletter, but don’t be afraid to get creative! There are no set rules for newsletter formatting; as long as it’s readable, you’ve got little limitation.
PLAN THE CONTENT
Ah, the good part. Written content is the meat of your newsletter, so take time to plan it carefully. Will you report mainly news or include feature articles as well? Will the content be thematic or will you divide content into departments? What about advice columns or other regular material? There are no steadfast rules here, so get as creative as you want. Always make sure to include timely, interesting pieces. This will keep your readers engaged; the term “newsletter,” after all, does indicate some devotion to news.
UNDERSTAND YOUR AUDIENCE
Your core readership and their interests will dictate your content and writing style. Take some time to think about your target demographic. How old are they? What is their income level? Where do they live? Do they have kids? What are their main interests? Then, glance at some publications with the same general demographic. Take a cue from their content and writing style. Really consider what your readers want to read, what you’d want to read if you were them. If you’re not catering to your audience, you’ll have no audience at all.
SEEK HELP
Sure, you may harbor grand dreams of producing every part of your newsletter all by yourself, but let’s face it: that’s a whole lot of work for just one person. Strongly consider getting others involved. Many writers, editors and designers are willing to help in exchange for, say, ad space or a byline. You can even ask for submissions in your first issue; just be sure that every piece you approve fits your newsletter’s style.
How To Make Your PLR Ebook Stand Out From The Crowd
Posted on Dec 24, 2008 04:42:54 PM
So you’ve just bought one of those ebooks that come with private label rights, an ebook cover, graphic files, and a pre-made sales page. All you have to do is update a few fields with your own information and upload everything to your server.
Then you can just sit back and watch the cash come pouring in.
Right?
Not so fast.
You see there are dozens (if not hundreds) of other people who bought the same PLR ebook and are already doing the exact same thing as you read this.
They’re using the same sales page, the same ebook cover, and the same keywords as you.
And they’re sitting back waiting for the cash to roll in just like you.
You see a problem yet?
The market is already saturated with the ebook you’re hoping to cash in on. If you want to make any money with it, you’ll need to be different.
Fortunately, it’s not that hard to do. Here’s some suggestions:
Make some changes to the sales page. You don’t need to completely re-write it, just make some superficial changes so i doesn’t look and feel like the same exact sales page visitors have already seen a dozen times before.
Simply changing the background color can have a pretty big impact. Write a new headline so the first words a visitor reads are new to them. If the sales page has a header graphic, create a new one or cut it out altogether. If it doesn’t have a header, add one.
You can easily change the ebooks cover or create an all new one with Photoshop or other graphics packages.
Consider changing the title too. Most PLR ebooks come with rather boring titles, so you shouldn’t have much trouble coming up with something a bit more catchy.
Follow each of these simple steps and you’ll have a PLR product that’s all your own.
What Can The Mystery Writers Of America Learn About Discrimination From The Sneetches?
Posted on Dec 23, 2008 05:04:06 PM
The Mystery Writers of America (MWA), an organization that defines itself as ” the premier organization for mystery writers, professionals allied to the crime writing field, aspiring crime writers, and those who are devoted to the genre,” has developed a list of “approved publishers,” and a set of criteria authors must meet to join as active members or enter the prestigious Edgar Award contest. The MWA criteria blatantly discriminate against authors whose books are published by companies that are not on an MWA-approved list. And in an alarming trend, conferences and contests are adopting this discriminatory, elitist list.
The MWA approved-publisher list reminds me of the Dr. Seuss story about the Star-Belly Sneetches. If you recall, down in Sneetchland&ndashor wherever they lived&ndashsome Sneetches had stars on their bellies and some didn’t. The Star-Belly Sneetches thought they were so much better than the Plain-Belly ones that they ignored them, didn’t invite them to their events and generally would have nothing to do with them. This is a lot like the way some traditionally-published authors aren’t inviting us self-published or independently-published authors to have author status at their conferences.
Under the MWA criteria, for me to have “author status” at these conferences, my book must not have been published by a privately-held publishing company with whom I have a familial or personal relationship, and it must not have been published by a company in which I have a financial interest. And, the publisher of my book must be on the MWA list of approved publishers, which requires that a publisher meet a long list of criteria&ndashincluding having been in business for at least two years since publication of its first book by a person with no financial or ownership interest in the company, and publishing at least five authors per year other than those with financial or ownership interest in the company.
Some who defend the use of the list (let’s call them the old guard) say the list’s use by conferences is not discrimination because no author has a right to have author status at a conference. The old guard says that the authors and publishers whose books are rejected are only rejected because their books don’t meet certain standards. They liken this to other requirements&ndashsay, for example, a job description that requires an applicant to have at least two years of experience in the field in order to be considered for employment. So&ndashthe old guard asks triumphantly&ndashwould you say that all the people who don’t have two years of experience are being discriminated against by this job requirement?
Duh. Of course we wouldn’t say that. We (let’s call us the reformers) would agree that we can’t claim it is our right to be on a panel at a conference or have our books for sale in a conference’s dealer room. All we are saying is that if some authors are to be granted certain privileges and status, the criteria for who is or is not selected should be based on individual merit. Judge the books by their quality. Don’t assume you can judge their quality on the basis of who published them. Don’t assume that if they were any good they would have been published by a traditional publisher. That is discrimination because it’s exclusion based on being in a certain category or group, rather than on the merit of the book.
But back to the Sneetches. One day a guy named McBean showed up in Sneetchland with a machine that, for a small fee, would add stars to the bellies of the Plain-Bellies. Thrilled, they lined up, went though and popped out with stars. With great excitement they proclaimed that they were exactly like the Star-Bellies and no one could tell them apart. No surprise that the Star-Bellies were very upset. They knew they were still the best and the others were the worst, but they didn’t know how to tell who was who anymore.
Hmmm…maybe that’s what some traditionally-published authors are worried about. Self-publishers and small independent presses have gotten so good that it’s hard to tell our books from theirs. Good grief! Someone might mistake one of our books for one of theirs, start reading it and actually like it before realizing that it should be considered inferior because its publisher isn’t on the approved-publisher list.
But the Sneetches’ story goes on. Once more, the clever McBean had a solution for them. For a slightly higher fee each, he put the original Star-Bellies through the machine and removed their stars so they once again looked different from the others and could proclaim that they were the best. Well, then the Sneetches with stars had to go through the machine again and get theirs removed. And then the others got their stars put back on&ndashand on and on until no one could tell at all who was a Star-Belly and who was a Plain-Belly.
Wow! What if there was no MWA list of approved publishers? How would conferences like Left Coast Crime and Mayhem in the Midlands figure out which authors should be granted author status? Would they have to open their panels to applications from all authors? Would they have to accept all mystery books into their dealer rooms?
That’s what the Sneetches did. They finally decided that stars didn’t matter at all and that no kind of Sneetch is inherently better than the others. Will the Mystery Writers of America and conference organizers wise up the way the Sneetches did? We can only hope.
The Joys Of Freelance Home Writing
Posted on Dec 23, 2008 02:14:42 PM
Freelance writing can be one of the most profitable and enjoyable ways to earn a living from the comfort of your home. With thousands of business owners and online sites calling for content, there is a great need for independent contract writers who have the skill and time to create relevant copy. Whether you are a parent who desires to stay home with children or someone who simply wants the freedom the work from home profession provides, the benefits of freelance writing from home are abundant.
This type of home job allows you the liberty to work any time that works best with your personal schedule. No more clocking-in or fighting rush hour traffic. If you are a night owl, you can write at 2 a.m. If you have small children, write at nap time. Work in your pajamas, robe or favorite sweat pants. If you want a two-week vacation, you simply take a two-week vacation. As a freelance writer, you are in charge of the who, what, where and whens.
Although a background in writing is helpful, it is not necessary to break into the field of freelance writing. Often a potential employer who needs a writer will want to view samples of work. The experienced writer can use pieces from a portfolio, while an inexperienced writer can quickly create a few samples of writing to display his or her abilities.
Many professional freelance writers offer sites to display sections of their work. Peruse these sites, study the types of writing they are creating, and then write your own samples based on your personal style and interests. By having a group of sample articles ready to go, you will be able to respond immediately to people looking for writers when you come across the opportunity.
Seeking out these writer openings may seem overwhelming at first. However, by visiting writers’ job forums and websites hosted by writers’ magazines, you pick up on new opportunities to get in the game.
Once you have a few writing jobs under your belt, it will be even easier to obtain new work, and soon you will likely find yourself being able to pick and choose jobs to find the areas that interest you most. If you enjoy researching and writing and possess the skills to write well, you may discover you are in love with a new career path that offers significantly more freedom and creativity than any 9 to 5 office job.