Archive for April, 2009
The Shape Of Writing Has Changed
Posted on Apr 10, 2009 07:15:29 PM
The makers of the world’s most recognized pencil continue to change the shape of writing. It’s a triangular shaped pencil that eases writing stress by allowing maximum surface contact between the pencil and the fingers.
Ergonomic experts say the new three-sided pencil, called the Tri-Conderoga, is the world’s most comfortable pencil. Larger than a normal No. 2 pencil, the triangular shape is more comfortable and easier for consumers to grip and use than traditional round or hexagonal-shaped pencils.
And with the wave of Sudoku raging the nation, the Tri-Conderoga is a natural choice for puzzle lovers everywhere.
Here are some facts that will sharpen your knowledge about pencils:
• More than two billion pencils are used in the United States every year.
• A pencil will write in zero gravity.
• The average pencil can be sharpened 17 times and can write 45,000 words or draw a line 35 miles long.
• Seventy-five percent of the pencils sold in the United States are yellow.
• The Ticonderoga No. 2 is the world’s best-selling pencil.
• Famous novelists Ernest Hemingway and John Steinbeck used pencils to write their books; Steinbeck used as many as 25 cedar pencils every day.
• One million pencils are used each year on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
• Pencils did not have erasers on them until 100 years ago, because teachers felt they would encourage children to make mistakes.
• Francis Scott Key wrote “The Star-Spangled Banner” in pencil.
The triangular-shaped Tri-Conderoga is like the familiar No. 2 pencil with style. It is made entirely of premium California incense cedar, has a “soft-touch” finish and sports a latex-free black eraser that ensures smudge-proof corrections.
The Tri-Conderoga is non-toxic and certified by the Pencil Manufacturers Association, making it safe for everyone. This new pencil is available at Staples stores throughout the country.
Self Publishing Your Own Book: When Should You Consider It?
Posted on Apr 9, 2009 09:27:10 PM
Self publishing your own book is one of the publishing industry’s dirty little secrets. Mainstream publishers, editors, and authors easily dismiss self publishing and print on demand publishing as a rip-off for both the writer and reader. After all, if the writer was a real writer then they could find a real publisher, right? That has been the conventional wisdom for a long time but in today’s modern, technological society that conventional wisdom does not always hold true. So who should consider self publishing?
Real writers should consider self publishing. Published authors often find themselves placed in a prison of their own making. Once they have achieved even modest success in a specific niche it is often hard to break out of that niche and publish something different. However self publishing gives authors control over their own writing so they can change direction or genre if they choose. Published authors who have taken some time off from their writing often find it just as hard to return as it was to break in initially. They can often easily parlay their experience and audience into a successful self publishing career. Finally, writers who have an idea that does not fit neatly into one of the major publishing houses slots may find self publishing their only alternative. Just because it doesn’t fit into a neat slot doesn’t mean your book doesn’t have great potential — think about Diana Gabaldon and J.K. Rowling.
Control freaks should also consider self publishing. Once you sign your baby over to a major publisher then you lose control of your book. The publisher can slap a horrible or inappropriate cover on it, change its name, or even alter the main characters. Your name will go on the book but what is published may be drastically changed from your original creation–and not always for the better. Think it won’t happen to you, or that you won’t care as long as you get the royalty check, then think again. I can tell you that I still cringe whenever I have to claim a book I published in 1998. It’s not the book that makes me want to crawl under a rock–but the cover and title the publisher slapped on it.
Money grubbers should also consider self publishing. While the independently wealthy may consider their art reward enough the rest of us need to eat and pay the mortgage (not to mention buy paper and pens) so money does matter. And of course, we want all our hard work to be rewarded. In our capitalist society that reward should be monetary. While self publishing may require you to put up some of your own money and traditional publishing will instead offer you an upfront payment, the final balance sheet will tell you a much different story. The initial advance from a traditional publisher will be small (unless you are Stephen King) and may be the only money you receive for your book for a long time — and perhaps ever depending how your book sells. Any book royalties you receive will be for a small percentage and will be spread out over years to come as well as held ransom for book returns. The final indignity is that your book’s sales depend greatly on the promotional effort your publisher puts into it. The ugly truth is that the publisher does not much care about your baby and will rarely put any extra money, manpower, or thought into how to promote your book. Most midlist and lowlist authors conduct (and foot the bill for) their own promotion. At least when you self publish you know you will be on your own and you can factor that into your budget.
If you are a real writer, a control freak, or a money grubber (or perhaps some combination) then you should consider self publishing your own book.
Why I Killed My Muse … And You Should Too
Posted on Apr 7, 2009 12:40:35 PM
Last night in the dark following midnight I killed my muse (suffocating her quietly with a pillow) and buried her in my back garden. Today I will plant a roses to hide the grave. No one will ever know and I will be free at last of her insidious hold and I will be able to write what I want.
Why did I resort to this deed? After all my muse was lovely and gave me many gifts over the years. She saw me through dark times and helped mark the joyous ones. Many times she inspired me to reach for more and push myself beyond what I thought I could achieve. Knowing all this why would I kill the very source of my inspiration?
Oh, I had my reasons…
It started out quietly. As I would sit at my keyboard or curl up with a notebook, she would perch on my shoulder as was her wont to do. “I don’t think you meant to write that sentence,” she would whisper in my ear. “That doesn’t sound like the best description,” she would snipe. “Is that the best you can do?” she would sneer.
I took to sneaking my writing in when I knew she was occupied elsewhere. She never could resist critiquing the writing in the morning paper if it was left spread on the kitchen table. That way I could sometimes write several pages before she began her commentary. “Surely you can find a better way to approach this topic,” her mocking voice would interrupt. “That has been so done.”
Soon I was spending more time arguing with her, defending my words, than I was writing. Then my production slowed to a crawl as I would overanalyze each word choice and sentence formation before committing it to screen or paper. All that did was give her more time to find fault with the few words I did write.
Despite urgent deadlines and simmering ideas, I started avoiding the computer and all writing materials. I cleaned my house. I read for hours on end. I made plans for a new garden. The need the write built within me but always my muse was watching me with those eyes — so judgemental, so critical. I would turn away from my office with a sigh and find some other project.
When I could no longer suppress the urge to write I locked her in a closet and had a wonderfully productive morning. I was so happy with my work that I let her out as I went out the door to run some errands. That just made her mean.
She was waiting for me at the door when I came home. Her glasses had slid nearly to the tip of her nose and somehow she’d found a red pencil (I certainly never brought any such thing into the house). I shuddered at the sight of my happy morning’s labor marred by vicious slashes of red. The red blurred before my eyes into a crimson haze and then…
Perhaps it is better that you don’t know the details. Suffice it to say that I have selected several old-fashioned roses with luscious aroma and delicate coloring. I am sure they will provide both inspiration and comfort.
Despite my late hours and the physical toil involved, this morning I awoke early and have already logged in several hours at the keyboard. My fingers flew across the keys and after completing several long-stagnant projects I outlined notes for some new. Writing is joyful and rewarding again.
I think I might dedicate this next book to the memory of my muse. Perhaps it will serve as a warning to those other muses out there who are on the verge of going over the edge. Perhaps it will inspire those other writers out there who have let their muse stifle their creativity and shove them right into writer’s block. Maybe my warning will mean those other muses and their writers will find a way to work things out.
What Is Article Marketing And What Can It Do For Me?
Posted on Apr 6, 2009 07:38:08 AM
I’ve had so many people approach me about how to boost traffic, increase sales, and get more leads into their businesses. I always tell them that there is a really low-cost way to make it happen for them. Frankly, articles that I wrote three years ago are still bringing me strong and consistent traffic today.
That’s why article marketing &ndash the process of “giving away” your articles &ndash is one of the best ways to get traffic today, and will be tomorrow, and several years from now.
Here’s how the process works:
1. Write an amazing article on a subject your audience is very interested in.
2. Edit the article or hire someone else to edit it for you.
3. Distribute the article in article directories &ndash a top directory is .EzineArticles.com
4. Sit back and watch the flood of traffic, leads, and sales overwhelm your merchant account.
What I’ve just outlined may seem simple, but there is a rather involved process behind the whole thing. For one, you have to write a clear, well-thought-out article. Some people hire others to do this for them.
Big mistake!
What I’m about to write may make a lot of people angry or even cringe at the thought of having to do this, but I wouldn’t be leading you on the right path if I didn’t share this one very important piece of advice with you.
** Always write your own articles.**
Hire someone to edit, but if you’re just starting out in this article marketing thing, always write your own articles.
Put Your Personality On Display to Rake in Higher Sales
Bottom line: You have a unique voice and that’s what your readers will fall in love with. If they don’t feel your personality, they won’t feel as if they know you. In my experience, if my readers don’t feel like they know me, they’ll won’t buy from me.
No writer can capture your personality &ndash no matter how good they are. I should know, I’ve been a professional writer for 16 years now and unless I have good previous writing samples to go by, quickly capturing a person’s personality in print is nearly impossible. Now, I could always extensively interview someone to find out just what their personality is, but time is money and I charge handsomely for that kind of time &ndash and so will any other copywriter worth his or her salt. When you’re just starting out as an article marketer, paying such a hefty price may not be in your budget.
Good news: There’s an alternative. You can follow a set formula to create your very own quality, content-rich articles.
It’s good to write clear, easy-to-follow, content-rich articles.
Why? If you write an article that has great content and that’s infused with your unique voice, many ezine publishers, web designers, and others with web sites will publish your article on their web site.
That’s good for you because the bottom of your article will contain a resource box. This resource box lists why you’re an expert and then gives a link back to your web site. The more your article &ndash with the resource box &ndash gets published, the more traffic you’ll get. And traffic leads to more subscribers on your lists and more subscribers on your list leads to more sales when you launch new products and services &ndash or when you re-launch existing products and services.
Why You Should Take Part In A Writing Workshop
Posted on Apr 5, 2009 03:49:34 PM
Before you should decide whether or not taking part in a writing workshop is right for you and your writing you should first understand just what a writing workshop is.
A workshop is an educational format where an expert shares information on a focused topic over a short period of time. Some workshops are intended to be simply informative while others involve more hands-on activities. Today there are many options for enjoying a workshop: you can attend workshops in person, view them on television or tape, or participate in an online workshop.
So now that you know what a workshop is you can see how this format can readily be adapted for writers. Writing workshops can cover the basics of writing, writing challenges, topics related to publication and careers in writing, or specific research subjects. Some of these programs are featured as part of larger events, such as conferences, while some groups or individuals offer them as one-time events. Some organizations, institutes and educational programs offer workshops to their students or members while others open those workshops to the community at large.
Why would a writer want to attend a workshop? What benefit could it be?
Join the writing community. One of the strongest benefits you can receive from attending such a gathering is getting to know other writers. Writing is a solitary profession and can be very lonely. Enjoying the company of other writers and talking about writing with people who really understand your joys and worries can be wonderfully energizing to you personally as well as your writing. You can also make contacts that may lead to support and growth of your writing or perhaps even professional advancement. You never know when the friend you make today might be in a position to recommend you to an editor or publisher down the road.
Learn something new. No matter what level your writing career there are always lessons to be learned from other writers. Sometimes there are research strategies and shortcuts or perhaps it is a method for dealing with writer’s block. You can learn market news and contacts as well as important information about reviewing contracts. Workshops are generally geared toward a specific genre or market niche and offer a wealth of specialized information depending on whether you write about crime or food.
Improve your craft. Generating new work or revising existing pieces is often a large part of attending a workshop. Sometimes you must bring something with you, create a project as part of the workshop or are inspired by the gathering itself. Sometimes talking with others or listening to the presenters causes you to suddenly rethink a stalled project or inspires a new one. Whatever the impetus there is definitely an increase in production after attending a workshop and that is the surest way to improve your word craft.
If you have not taken part in a writing workshop in the past then perhaps you might consider doing so in the near future so you can join the writing community, learn something new, and improve your craft.
I’m Published, Now What?
Posted on Apr 3, 2009 06:10:28 PM
So you’re published! Congratulations! Now if you’re like most authors you may be asking yourself, now what? There are so many ways to market yourself, so many in fact it’s sometimes tough to know which one you should chose. Now without getting into all your choices, let’s look at some basic things you can do to surround yourself with enough education and experts so you never have to wonder: I’m published, now what?
1) Find some good books to bury yourself in.
2) There are a lot of marketing choices and if you’re not sure which one to chose here’s a tip: if it seems to good to be true it probably is. Stay away from hype because hype rarely pays off. Ask for references, talk to other authors.
3) You can find a lot of information online if you’re willing to do some research. Whether you’re looking for promotional ideas or people to help you promote your book you should definitely Google them first and see what you can find.
4) Find someone you trust to talk you through the process. Whether you hire someone or met someone in your writing group, find someone you can bounce ideas off of who knows the industry and understands current book marketing trends.
5) Don’t live in a vacuum. Get out and meet other published authors. Go to writers conferences, check out your local PMA listings (Publisher’s Marketing Association) and consider joining them on a national level. Also SPAN (Small Press Association of North America) is another fantastic organization to join. Both of these places offer a monthly newsletter with tips, articles, and advice columns.
6) Do some online networking via publishing and book marketing forums, here are a few for you to get started with:
Pub-forum &ndash .pub-forum.net
Publish-L &ndash .publish-l.com
Smallpub-civil finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/smallpub-civil
Ind-E-Pubs &ndash covers ebooks .ind-e-pubs.com
POD publishers finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/pod_publishers
7) Subscribe to some great publishing newsletters, there’s a lot of information out there and a lot of it is packed in some of the best newsletters you’ll ever read:
Dan Poynter’s Parapublishing Tips: .parapublishing.com
Readers and Writers .writersreaders.com/
John Kremer: .bookmarket.com
Brian Jud: .bookmarketing.com
Book Marketing Expert: .amarketingexpert.com
Get your book reviewed: maybe this sounds like a no-brainer but you’d be amazed how many authors forget this step but it’s important and here’s why: people like what other people like. What someone else says about your book is a thousand times more effective than anything you could say. Do reviews sell books? Well, yes I believe they do and here’s why: if your book is up on Amazon or some other online portal and no one’s talking about it a potential new reader might not be motivated to buy. Readers rarely buy “naked” books.
9) Outline a few goals and hit the promotional “road”: keep it simple and keep it realistic. Long, complicated, and involved marketing plans are not only tough to stick to, they’re probably gonna cost you a bundle.
If You Love To Write, Do It With Fountain Pens
Posted on Apr 1, 2009 10:19:28 PM
Fountain pens aren’t ordinary writing instruments: they are works of art. Just like timepieces, fountain pens are meticulously crafted by skilled artists and engineers to come up with well designed yet fully functional fountain pens. That is why collectors keep it and pass it on to the next generation as a sort of heirloom.
Fountain pens resemble the imprint of old quill and ink. The difference, however, lies at the ink flow: today’s fountain pens are consistent while quill and ink has a thick print when newly dipped and pale when ink is running dry. Yet for writers and history buffs, fountain pens are the nearest (and practical) replica of the old writing instrument.
Writing is always smooth when using a fountain pen. A reservoir for the ink is controlled by a nib at the tip of the pen. Flow is controlled by capillary action with the help of gravity. Unlike the ballpoint pen, a fountain pen has no breaks when scribbled unless its ink is almost depleted. Also, a fountain pen’s ink complements most writing papers because it is water-based, in contrast to other pens that use chemical-based inks. A fountain pen only includes dye and surfactant as part of ingredients.
All expensive fountain pens are refillable. There are, of course, the disposable types which are of lesser quality and value. However, a disposable fountain pen will not make your writing look good as a real fountain pen can. A real fountain pen will do justice to your penmanship.
However, only a few people really do use this fine pen for writing. They believe that its value may diminish. However, those in the academe believe otherwise. The more you use your fountain pen, the more it becomes an important object because it becomes a part of you; it form part of your personal academic studies and professorial duties.
In fact, as a form of tradition professors from Ivy League schools use fountain pens to bestow honor to people, especially to a colleague. For instance, in the movie, “A Beautiful Mind,” it has been shown that professors from the university honored John Nash by offering their expensive fountain pens as gifts upon his table.
Each fountain pen is unique; not merely in design but in the quality of ink and ink flow. Handwriting experts call it the pen’s ‘fingerprint.’ This unique quality of a fountain pen symbolizes the individuality of the person who is using it and the original and work of art that a writer can wield with such a fine object. Indeed, all over the world, writers recognize the beauty behind a fountain pen: the symbolism behind the object and fine writing which the object brings.
Lovers and connoisseurs of fountain pens created websites to congregate and talk on everything about pens, most especially about fountain pens. Pen balance, ink flow and ergonomics are just some of the terms you can expect to find in the forums. These people just love fountain pens so much that they are even studying and anatomically classifying each fountain pen.
The Reality Of Publishing Your Book
Posted on Apr 1, 2009 02:26:24 PM
According to a recent survey, more than eighty percent of Americans want to write a book. This shocking statistic is somewhat puzzling because the National Endowment for the Arts estimates that only fifty-seven percent of Americans have read one book in the last twelve months!
What is it that makes people — even non-readers — want to put pen to paper?
Perhaps it’s the desire for fame and fortune. Maybe it’s the need to earn respect from others. Or maybe it’s the hopeful wish to leave some mark on the future, a permanent record of a life lived.
Whatever the reason, for those who actually complete a manuscript, the odds of seeing it published by a reputable book publisher are slim to none.
For the estimated two million manuscripts that authors complete, there are only 64,000 publishers of record, and only a fraction of those publishers actively seek new manuscripts.
So what are the millions of hopeful authors to do?
The first step would be to ensure their manuscripts are the best they can be. This is usually accomplished by re-writing, editing, and proofreading by an outside firm or by a well-read and literate colleague.
Even then, most of those two million books stand no chance of being accepted by a traditional publisher. Authors who do make the cut are not necessarily the best writers, but rather they are writers who can sell themselves and their stories most convincingly.
Some authors, after rejections from the trade, will find themselves victims of vanity publishers, who take advantage of the hopes and aspirations of writers to extract an exorbitant fee to publish their book. Writers are better off publishing through firms like iUniverse and Lulu. Although their books will likely never see wide distribution, at least their losses will be minimal.
Finally, there are the select few who decide to become publishers themselves, even if it is only to self-publish their own book. These self-publishers will find great obstacles, and a great deal of work in this route. The challenge and reward of having one’s success or failure entirely in one’s own hands is a powerful feeling.
Whether they choose to publish electronically, or use short run printing service like Lightning Source, or even to go full boar with a print run of 1,000 or more, their success depends on how well they sell themselves and their story to others.
There’s an age-old debate about 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 as to 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” and do the initial work to get the ball rolling on sales of your book.
If you are about to embark on a new manuscript, educate yourself thoroughly about the industry, its scams, and potential pitfalls. More importantly, learn to market yourself well, for this, more than any other skill, is the determining factor in your success or failure.