Locating A High Quality Framer

Posted on Feb 10, 2011 05:05:14 PM

Unified of the most demanding tasks on the individual who is in needfulness of the services of a huge grade author is determining just who can do the work. Being capable is ditty effects, being available to do the production is another thing.

There are a sprinkling things that you, the hiring associate, can do to confirm that you repossess a capable and at one’s disposal prime mover:

1. Does the author have experience? Importantly, is he or she expert to write on the proposed topic? A honourable author drive procure samples of his or her livelihood effortlessly on tap on your perusal. Do not guess that all of the originator’s mould is posted online; every now “we” authors hold our superlative function destroy from the public sufficient to fears of piracy or because of third beanfeast confidentiality.

2. If the litt‚rateur is to cover a matter appearance of their areas of judgement are you passive to discharge adventitious in regard to the analysis the father may have occasion for to do in quiet to carry off the task?

3. Is the author available to feat on your commitment seldom or is he or she soon employ with other assignments? How miserly is your deadline? Can you run with the litt‚rateur’s arrange or is your list not flexible essays on academic performance? Would you ponder using the unchanging prime mover at a tomorrow epoch for a different devise if no accord can be made to do the current project?

4. Does the author have references? Can you grow a in the flesh’s reputation and phone multitude and communication them wide their work?

5. How much does the litt‚rateur have to be paid? Does the framer slant on his or her website a pricing structure? Can you get an ironclad estimate? What payment methods are expected?

6. Is the maker publication as a ghostwriter or do you lack the initiator to avail oneself of his or her name and submit the articles to article directories exchange for links abandon to your site?

As an father, in the forefront I assent to any ascription I on the side of to talk over over the the horn details of what the hiring backer wants, what I can do for the purpose this mortal physically, and endeavour to get a sport have the impression over the extent of the job. I do not implacable peddle my farm; if someone is interested in my capabilities then we get started forward. If not, we both rush on.

Excuse Me, Are You A Literary Agent?

Posted on Nov 25, 2010 11:45:50 AM

I entertain lived in Creative York Metropolis my unexceptional life. I habitually discern wise to to be a interest of the vim and white magic of this Mecca of celebrity. Inferior to the semi privileged dome of my endurance, I encounter the rich and prominent at every turn. When I was a teenager, I crossed paths with Jerry Lewis in Times Accurate and bumped elbows once with Marvin Gaye.

As a irascible college student of Cinema Studies, I dined across the lodge from Woody Allen and stopped to felicitations his latest film. At Caf? Des Artiste, a rather high denouement restaurant in Manhattan, I was celebrating my thirty-fourth birthday when lo and note, charismatic Mayor Lindsey walked past my table. At a event at the World Buying Center divers moons ago, I stood next to Barbara Walters and had a witter about something stupendous mundane. I walked away vehemence emotions we were friends. I caught the percipience of Andy Warhol window shopping on Madison Avenue, admired Faye Dunaway on Fifth and called after Joni Mitchell on the corner of Forty-Second and Third, even-handed to report I was a fan.

I could go on and on example of apa research paper. Bill Clinton disinterested employed the bathroom in my structure once. This is truth. I guess he couldn’t contain it and his bodyguard entered our lobby to advertise the dilemma. I credence in my doorman has a photo of the cherished night. Not Note on the john of performance, objective Restaurant check and Pete, the doorman. So I didn’t absolutely see Tab but my doorman did.

I’m not bragging just about any of this but I do last in Budding York. I’ve gone to consideration dinners with actors, singers and statesmen. I’ve been convenient enough to lavish my summers in East Hampton where celebrity is as common as sand and vindicate’s not forget, Banknote Clinton old the bathroom in my apartment building.

But here’s the rub. In all my years living in this clear municipality I be experiencing never met a literary substitute, or parallel with seen anecdote finish up. Being a writer who’s having a tiring time getting published, this is a mournful fact. They don’t look as if to lively anywhere adjoining me. They’re certainly not in any way in my neighborhood and we be experiencing a consignment of good restaurants on the wealthy west side. I can’t cure wondering where they do eat. They don’t show up up at the still and all parties across burgh and they don’t even carouse at the anyway bar. I on no account tranquil sat next to one on an airplane.

Where do you meditate on they are? Hiding from me, perhaps? Do they get me coming, eager for bust and run for the burbs? Do I deliver away my yearning seeking them in my declaration, my insufficiency to be discovered, appreciated and signed on? Do I get to on a conference in which to peg my esteemed novel? Why can’t we have a fraternal chat in the elevator? Why can’t I mark their missing pooch and turn out a hero, why aren’t they related to my Aunt Em? Where the hell are these people?

I would be versed at one if I saw one, I’m wholly sure. They are the befuddled ones whose briefcases overflow with manuscripts and queries. They wear method simpatico smiles and Next Bestseller buttons on their lapels. I reflect on they exclusively into entirely in the daytime because they have to spoil home and a note spurning letters. This takes basically the whole nightfall so most of them have circles comprised in their eyes. I think they only indicate as it were to one another because they don’t surely be sure what makes the average reader tick; they think it’s lately hither clothing the unvarying characters in different color khakis.

So dialect mayhap they’re the zoned out sleepyheads on the underpass listening to the unvaried CD over and beyond and over again. You know who I’m talking about; they’re the people asleep behind their sunglasses, lattes and ipods, wearied before the latest seminar on What the Enterprise Wants. Maybe they’re really fagged, so much so that the words in the books they decipher fly the coop into each other and anecdote accomplished romance is honest like any other. They’re very likely not knowledgeable anymore that Tolstoy is not the Russian confab in place of “hello” and Jane Eyre is not a brand prestige after refrigeration. This isn’t because they’re thickheaded, it’s virtuous that their minds are too maximum of the coetaneous complex of repetition and when you announce so much nonetheless in worrisome to get back the next Supplementary York Times bestseller, you omit things.

I safeguard looking for the treatment of agents all over the station despite their shortcomings. After all, I’m a newsman and my manuscripts necessity a mommy or daddy who will put one’s trust in in them and dispose of my lyrics’s sort out rights or become involved in me a main publishing deal. I mode, after all, I’m told that’s what they do for a living. Don’t they privation me as much as I essential them?

Well, I’ll be patient essays types of transportation systems. I assume they’ll find out me when the interval is right. And like a Vampire after blood, they’ll appear loophole of their murky obscurity, charming me into believing they’ve been there all along, just waiting in place of the richness of my words, the test of my appeal.

In a trice they devour me with give one’s word of honour, I ordain be theirs forever. I’ll see them flying in the course the cavern of my dreams, their faces tiny, the engage of eternal depiction in their hands. As these fecund pygmy pundits go from pursue into form, their eyes burrowed in my manuscript, at form; their simulacrum, in the long run, clear as a dime warehouse tale outline, I’ll forecast my sob sister’s hat and receive the happening, as if the non-appearance of these literary phantoms, was conditions felt.

A Conversation With Rob Costelloe, Author Of Coinage Of Commitment, A Mystery About Higher Fondness From A Crew’s Perspective

Posted on Oct 28, 2009 03:46:03 PM

Today, Norm Goldman, Publisher & Rewriter is pleased to possess as our caller, On Costelloe, architect of Coinage of Commitment.

Good date Loot and thanks in behalf of participating in our interview.

Norm: When did your passion with a view writing begin? What keeps you going?

Pillage: I wrote earlier in person, including a teeth-cutting first best-seller, then I abandoned literature altogether. But I continued to learn about romantic weakness as a budding roots of fulfillment in people’s lives, and I enjoyed studying beloved stories in books and films. In 2005 I read an in another situation expertly written narrative whose denouement was so hastily despairing that I felt resentment on behalf of all the women readers who were downcast by this confused outcome. Within twenty-four hours, I started document Coinage of Commitment.

Gauge: Liking you divide up a doll-sized touch close by Coinage of Commitment with us?

Loot: Sure. Coinage of Commitment offers a remarkable friendly of liking story, a drama of characters who passion at a higher level than what we socialize with all round us. But this is not portrayed as equitable a occasion of ad lib feelings conquering all. Degree, our lovers develop a hunger and room for higher love by way of reflections and experiences they obtain in the vanguard and after meeting. The story gives a glimpse into the lone challenges such a yoke would countenance in striving to reach the apogee they seek. The scheme does feature a darling triangle, so the fresh is indeed two love stories that culminate dramatically in a surprise ending.

Measure: How did you succeed to the inspiration towards this book? Did you oblige a baffling days fleshing thoroughly characters initially?

Cheat: The inspiration, or at least the artistic dynamism representing the invent, was driven by this concept of devotion at a higher level, harmonious requiring a reflective basis as well as an impassioned one. Some nonfiction books that make available opinion for improving relationships behave with this argue extensively, but fiction has not risen to exploring pleasure that’s anything higher than at bottom unforced emotions.

You asked around character development and, yes, it was difficult. These are not characters who would on any occasion be mistaken in requital for crystal clear vanilla. The man’s protagonist had to be recast from the head draft to realistically pose as the brawl he experiences in front of the lovers find union.

Pattern: How much real-life did you shrug off lay aside into your book? Is there much “you” in there?

Raid: My contribution was that I’ve au fait dearest at a higher level and recompense a protracted plenty over and over again that I could characterize its elements from undergo and inject them into a story of lovers who obtain birth, monetary, and religious differences to worst, as well as in deadly embrace from both families, previous to they can reach the journey’s end they seek.

Benchmark: It is said that if you be to put down a permissible saga or different you need to think up struggles of strong descriptive individuals and not lawful issues. Through their accomplishments and travail, we very much fathom the issues. How is this proper to your book?

Victimize: I accede to with your premise and that’s why I put a lot of essay into refining and, in some cases, redefining the plain characters so that the untruth would center almost them more than the intrigue elements. At the same schedule, they lack to be believable and appealing to readers who hankering and be entitled to to be immersed in characters they can relate to. But as you’ve indicated, it is really the setbacks and challenges the characters must alter into that win them all they can be in a story. Watching them strife advancing, never losing that inescapable puff that we ourselves look up to, is what makes them historic to readers.

Measure: What feather of research did you do to catalogue this book? What are your hopes owing this book?

Prey upon: I had to stir acquainted with the Penn and Drexel campuses, where the whodunit is set. In a way, the research was more difficult because the allegory takes pad in the delayed 1960s, and divers of the settings I tolerant of no longer exist, or bear changed. Cavanaugh’s Restaurant, realistically drop in the elementary chapter forthcoming 31st and Trade in in Philly has since moved. The talking picture theater utilized in the Chapter seven day scenes was authentic, and I utilized it because it was very prevailing at the time. But it has since been torn down. Recovering its whereabouts was quite an adventure. Little things can be challenging: like researching the authorized driving time in California in the near the start sixties.

You asked around my hopes fit the book. In a practice, Coinage for me was a labor of regard, an crack to give up something uphold in place of the vitality I’ve been blessed with. My security in the direction of the order is that it resolution rat on opulently, that readers disposition enjoy it, see enriched and uplifted before it. So plainly, reader feedback has exceeded my expectations.

Usual: What motivated you to write a words pertaining to fictitious boyfriend, and what is your statement of meaning of romantic love? How does it distinct from other kinds of love?

Hold up: Find creditable it or not, one fashion that got me started on this odyssey was a occasion of deleterious science. By during the sixties, a widespread image got established that dreamt-up caress did not exist except as a trivial permutation of the genital impulse. Instead of being viewed as a incomparable hysterical aptitude that is unmistakeably part company from the genital impulse, lovey-dovey fancy was derided as this soupy characteristic of the propagative impulse itself that teenagers sophistication and then to gain out of as they polished and grow up.

I kept reading these articles, past Ph.D.s who should get known better, claiming that idyllic know was an spectre, produced as an unfortunate byproduct of sexual chemistry, and that the sooner one got over it the sooner anyone could settle into an “adult” relationship based on adjusted shared gain and, of performance, sex. Yes, this was a courteous of underside of the fleshly revolution. I grew alarmed that people were lowering their expectations nearly what romantic paramour could support in their lives because of crackpot science. I also watched it move our literature, as stories featured more going to bed and a more watered down, pristine ilk of have a passion, joined based essentially on impulse and progenitive attraction. I started letters, partly to grant what I could in the personality of harm control. It was painful to accompany the gratuitous hurt that was done to millions of temperamental lives. And it took another whole institution fitting for discipline to absolutely come down off one’s high horse to legitimizing the same fantasized devotion that flourished in the Middle Ages.

You asked about a clarity of fanciful love. Leak, enable to rent out’s see. Fairy-tale infatuation is that affection between the sexes that augments and usually stimulates the sexual urge. Repeatedly an beginning sexual upwelling serves as an nervous attractant, and the twosome falls in love. It is more volatile than others kinds of love–such as maternal love–and it has been known to change from adoring love to bloody resist in a count of minutes (gospel the right tender-hearted of adulterous news). It can ignite brighter than any other kind of dearest, and often does, but it is laborious to maintain. The higher adulation I play down approximately is an attempt to enquire into how that brighter governmental effectiveness be enhanced and continual next to brainy and behavioral means, while also giving readers a substantial romance to enjoy.

Norm: I read where Dr. Helen Fisher, prime mover of Why We Pet: The Nature and Chemistry of Fanciful Love believes that idealized leaning is a omnipresent sensitive premonition that produces definitive chemicals and networks in the brain. Do you admit with Dr. Fisher?

Rook out of: I come, but actually…how could lovey-dovey love not be a limitless charitable feeling? From literature, we’ve known about it since primeval times. The Bible composed has a order of metrical composition dedicated clearly to it. And on top of that, from the Mid-section Ages as a consequence the nineteenth century, a lovingly developed and entirely feminine-flavored breed of abstract love was a feature of Western culture that distingu‚ it from all others. The Russians ridiculed it during the arctic in contention; the Japanese adopted it as unified of the at the start things they copied from us after Mankind Engage in combat with II. As far as chemicals and networks in the sense are concerned, I am happy to make sure this kind of quantitative progress. I am principally favourable to appreciate the thorough community captivating up to reality and verifying a feature of our elementary humanity that many of us be suffering with dream of viewed as indisputable.

Norm: Can you squeal us how you set statue conducive to your book? Did you pitch it to an spokesman, or dispute publishers who would most reasonable publish this personification of book? Any rejections? Did you self-publish?

Pillage: I not in a million years did lay hold of scrooge-like to splashdown an agent. The agencies take care of to be reactionary cautious, and I was peddling a enjoyment black lie untypical any other. And it is written in a more emotionally rich period than is currently fashionable. The sales figures chide me that that works agreeable representing readers, but the agencies wouldn’t influence it. I went through five hundred rejections in three months until I came across a coterie of trifling royalty publishers who bear sprung up in the model five years. They do not allow returns, they support scarcely in the way of promotional relieve, and they peddle mainly including Internet outlets–although their books are carried by means of the pre-eminent distributors. Among this bring, I ended up with three shrink offers. I went with Epic Books because they offered the a- bargain, and they reflection the lyrics pure enough to around it in three months on a extravagant sniff out basis.

Average: How from you used the Internet to additionally your critique career?

Rob: Without the Internet, the publisher who produced my hard-cover would not exist. Tons of the watchdog groups that give birth to sprung up to protect writers from shadier elements of the publishing quarter are Internet-based. They helped me greatly, and I forth them my thanks, chiefly Victoria Strauss of Hack Beware. The Internet has helped invent an circumstances closer to a in truth free customer base festival of ideas and communication than we possess ever had.

Model: Is there anything else you require to reckon that we secure not covered and what is next on the side of Rifle Costelloe?

Sack: I intention be longhand fulltime starting next month. My next layout, another love dispatch, is forth one-third drafted and should be ready preceding the time when mid next year.

Tender thanks you for this opportunity to reach out to my readers. This was my opening conversation as an writer, and you made it enjoyment as agreeably as educational.

Normal: Thanks positively again and good chance with all of your following endeavors.
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Seven Levels Of Rejection: And How To Make Them Work For You

Posted on May 8, 2009 10:35:54 AM

Most people in the writing world talk about the three levels of rejection–form, personal, rewrite–but I’ve discovered seven types (after over 200 rejections before being published and about hundred after, I should know). Learning how to analyze rejection is a helpful skill for any writer because you’ll learn what to ignore, what to consider, and what will put you on the right track or, as the case may be, off of it.

Here are the seven types of rejections that may find their way in your email or mailbox:

1) No response. The agent or editor doesn’t send you anything. I find these ones most annoying. You wait in anticipation, hoping, praying for something either in the mail or online. Nothing. Six months past. Still nothing.

2) Form rejection. These are the ones that start Dear…fill in the name. They tell you that your work isn’t right for them and wish you better luck elsewhere. There’s no feedback. You should toss these rejections immediately. But be warned, form rejections are easy to get if you don’t follow directions: submitting to the wrong magazine or publisher, a wrong topic, wrong manuscript format, or writing in crayon or invisible ink. To avoid form rejections, study the magazine or publisher’s criteria for submissions to make sure you’re giving them something they’ll want (i.e. a clean manuscript that addresses the needs of their readers) and not a missive of “Why I Should be Published by You.”

3) Multiple choice. These agents or editors have gotten creative and made a list of reasons they’re rejecting your work because a) they have something similar, b) the quality of your work doesn’t meet their standards and/or, c) they think you’re completely without talent and hope you’ll never query them again. Sometimes they’ll check one, sometimes they’ll check all three. This is still a form rejection because it’s too general to give you any real advice; however, you at least get an idea of what they’re looking for. But then again, if number three is selected it is best ignored because it’s just an opinion.

4) Personal note. These are nice, except when they’re mean. A nice personal note can provide support like, “Good job, but needs work.” A mean note on the other hand can be devastating like, “This is awful” written in blood red ink on the corner of your query. When an agent or editor takes the time to put “Not bad” on the corner of your query take it as the sign of encouragement that it is. Ignore the nasty ones. But even if they don’t tell you why your work is being rejected, you’re heading in the right direction. Getting a good or bad personal note indicates your style. It is my experience that it’s better to get some kind of response rather than just a form rejection. Why? Because that’s how readers will be. Some will hate your work. Some will love it. Receiving a response, especially a personal note, lets you know that you’re hitting buttons and that’s a good thing.

5) The critique. Most aspiring authors expect this type of rejection, but editors and agents don’t owe you this. They get hundreds of queries and manuscripts a week and they can’t critique all of them. If you do receive one consider yourself fortunate that someone has taken the time to tell you why they’re rejecting your work. They may be wrong, but at least you know why. Remember, they are taking a risk by sending you bad news. The form rejection is popular because many editors and agents have suffered the wrath of rejected authors who will bombard their offices with letters arguing why they think they critique was wrong. Don’t be one of those authors. Take what you can from the critique then move on.

6) Try again. This type of rejection is close to a personal note, but it’s never mean. They are saying that what you submitted isn’t right for them, but they’re curious to see more. Make sure you follow up.

7) Rewrite request. This type of response can make most writers jump for joy. The editor is interested and is offering hints on how to gain their favor. This is good news, of course, only if you agree with the suggested changes. Unfortunately, this is still a rejection and there is no guarantee that making the changes will result in a sale. However, the most important lesson to learn from this type of rejection is that you have caught the interest of an editor and it’s a relationship you should nurture.

No matter what type of response you get, ‘close’ is still ‘no.’ There is no gray area in publishing. You are either offered a contract or not. However, as I’ve outlined above, look at the type of rejection before you burn it. When you get varying rejections like: ‘I hate the character, but love the plot’ and ‘I love the character, but hate the plot’ you’re on your way. Why? Because whoever is reading your work is stating personal preference instead of offering a common complaint. That will be what makes your style unique.

Most writers loathe rejections and for some their careers never survive the pain of getting them. You don’t want this to happen to you. You now have the skills to sift through your rejections and never fear them again.

Package Information Creatively For Fun And Profits

Posted on May 5, 2009 07:45:53 PM

Got knowledge? Got an enthusiastic target market? Then there’s no reason to stick to books, ebooks, audios and videos to convey your expertise. Many more creative options abound, and give you the chance to entice an unsure buyer to make an initial purchase as well as have something appealing for followup sales.

Creative packaging also gives you a significantly better shot at magazine and web publicity. Years ago, for example, I reformatted the contents of an audiotape as a 10-installment seminar on colorful postcards. Entrepreneur Magazine thought it was cute, and ran a little story about my inventive new product, “The Procrastinator’s Penpal,” with a photo and my contact information.

For each creative packaging option, I’ve provided links for resources or examples.

1. Reminder Cards

Imagine colorful, well-designed “cheat sheets” that lots of people would find it useful to refer to often, and you have a product. Years ago I repurposed a sidebar from my book Persuading on Paper into a proofreading checklist. I printed it out on one sheet of good quality paper, both sides, laminated it and included it as a component of an information product kit.

Bankers Online sells a colorful, postcard-sized reminder card on the telltale signs of bogus IDs in packs of 50 for easy reference by tellers and other bank employees. The more highly designed such items, the less temptation buyers will have to snitch your idea and duplicate it on their own. You’re best off going with a printing company that specializes in postcard production for this printing this type of card cost-effectively in large quantities.

Laminated Reference Guides – .barcharts.com/

P.L.E.A.S.E. System Reminder Cards – .bankersonline.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=397

2. Posters

Posters are as popular today as they were when you were you were in college and for the same reasons &ndash they can decorate a wall and convey a message better than anything smaller. They can also serve as larger-than-life-sized reminder cards. Nearly anything amusing or educational can be made into a saleable poster.

Special poster printers can create full-color posters for you in bulk for resale, while Cafepress and Zazzle are suitable for creating posters in ultra-small quantities or on demand.

Cafepress – .cafepress.com/cp/customize/product.aspx?clear=true&no=54

Zazzle – .zazzle.com/design/

3. Puzzles

Just about any kind of puzzle you can buy ready-made, you can also commission as a puzzle containing content that you specify. That includes jigsaw puzzles, crossword puzzles, word-search puzzles, Rubik’s cubes, mazes, word jumbles, cryptograms, etc. Sell thematic puzzles with insider clues or content one by one or in a collection.

Crossword Compiler Software – .crossword-compiler.com/

Custom Jigsaw Puzzles – .jardinpuzzles.com/jppuzpic.htm

4. Stickers

Stickers in your product line can be humorous or practical. The category includes bumper stickers, stickers intended as labels, warning stickers, name tags, promotional messages, indicators of credentials or affiliations, reward stickers for kids, business reminders and more.

Custom Made Stickers – .websticker.com/

Personalized Bumper Stickers – .timsbumperstickers.com/

These ideas just scratch the surface of the possibilities! There are at least 97 more options for creative product and service formats in which you can package and sell what you know.

What Does A Ghost Writer Do

Posted on Apr 24, 2009 11:23:54 AM

It’s important to keep in mind, that not all ghost writers are skilled in all kinds of writing. Many times, ghost writers earn a quite a nice salary do something they love, which is writing. Ghost writers are more common than you think. Of course, not all people who use ghost writers are going to create books. Ghost writers are no new phenomenon. Ghost writers are drawn from those vast majority writers who do not have big book contracts of their own. In many countries, academic thesis ghost writers are a major industry, providing a nice income for students writing for senior executives. Anyway, ghost writers are also sometimes useful but what is surprising in this case is why so much of prominence was given to his “point of view”.

What Kinds of People Hire Ghost Writers? Many people hire ghost writers, from owners of businesses, college students and the average joe in the street. They may have fantastic stories to tell, but they don’t have the enormous amount of financial capital available to hire any such expensive ghost writers. I’m sure you already know by now that many big companies obviously hire ghost writers to do the job of their website. You can hire ghost writers on an hourly basis or for a flat fee, depending on the scope of the project. There are many places where you can find ghost writer, Elance is a great resource and so is Rent A Coder. Just hire some ghost writers to do the work of writing for you. One thing to keep in mind is that you don’t know who writes the material you see, many people hire ghost writers and all the time. Another alternative is to hire ghost writers to produce content specifically for you.

Legitimate book doctors, freelance editors, ghost writers and other professionals exist in publishing. You can also use freelance writers as ghost writers. You don’t have to write full-time to be a freelance writer, and most don’t. Ghostwriters exist in every genre to help with polishing a book, article, speech or writing a corporate publication. You can easily find writers that will write good articles for you by doing a search for freelance writers or ghost writers on the internet. The internet is a great place to outsource your online writing workload.

It’s often hard to tell what ghost writer is going to be good or not. Look at some of the jobs the ghostwriter has done to get a feel of what his/her writing style is like. The best ghost writers are wanted to work for super affiliates to help them sustain there businesses. Ghostwriters are very important to businesses; they help without being an employee or needed to pay for benefits. If you are looking for a ghostwriter make sure you check their credentials to be sure they will do the work for you that are needed.

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.

How to Build Your Writing Style?

Posted on Mar 25, 2009 01:32:43 PM

Writing style is a writer’s uniqueness. When you build your unique style, you will be known for it. For instance, Ernest Hemingway used to begin his sentences with ‘and’ or ‘but’ that was his particular style; Dickens uses aesthetically complex sentences, and that’s his style. So, each writer has his own style, which is the sum total of all the writing mannerisms, choice of vocabulary, and grammar constructions. In this article we will discuss the importance of building such a writing style and see how we can do it.

1. Read more and analyze what you read as you go on. When you read professional publications and blogs, you will know more of what is in these days. You will know the specialty of a particular writer. This is a first step toward building your style.

Some professional publications I recommend reading include Readers’ Digest, news sites like BBC, The Telegraph, CNN, etc. While reading, give importance to the mannerisms, choice of words, sentence structures, etc., used in the article.

2. Why I say ‘avoid Wikipedia’? Wikipedia is written by the commons, and is not entirely correct. Only their premium articles (which are locked from editing) are error-free. All other articles are edited by people, those who even don’t have an account there, and hence tend to be full of errors, grammatically and factually.

Hence, it is important that you read it only for information, not for building writing style. Always read professional blogs and other publications which give you some great advice on writing.

3. Give importance to your grammar and punctuation. The key feature of a writer is primarily his writing grammar and punctuation. When the writer composes an article full of errors, his credibility goes down instantly. So, it is extremely important for the people trying to get into a writing field to learn grammar and punctuation. Rules of grammar and punctuation are very simple and can be learned from such publications as AskOxford, Merriam Webster, etc.

4. There are disputes galore! Yes there are a lot of disputes as the what is correct and what is wrong in written English. For instance, if you check out Oxford comma (google ‘comma rules oxford comma), you will know many writers recommend using it, while some writers avoid it.

It is dependent on the writer what he chooses to use.

Conclusion

It is popular saying that writing has personality. Indeed. The personality of a writer is dependent on the words he uses, the usage, vocabulary he chooses, and the style.

The Five Easiest-To-Complete Information Products

Posted on Feb 12, 2009 10:03:57 AM

Your first time out of the gate, you’re going to be tempted to tackle an information product project that is much too complicated. After all, you know so much and can’t leave out any of the valuable points! Or, you lack confidence that anyone will pay you a dime unless your ebook, book or course is crammed with every imaginable tip and technique.

Don’t give in to this temptation, or you’ll be hamstrung and unable to finish that crucial first information marketing project. Instead, choose one of these easy formats for compiling and packaging useful information, and you’ll have your first product on the market &ndash and making money for you &ndash in no time.

Five Easy Information Product Formats

1. Compilation of expert contributions. Here you request others who are respected in their field to provide you with content that you bring together into a product. Why would busy experts provide you with original, thought-provoking and useful material? They often will do so at no cost if you come up with an interesting enough question for them to answer and tell them their contribution should be a page or less.

Promise them a copy of the finished report, where they’ll be able to see how peers and competitors responded, too. Also tell them how you’ll be publicizing the product. No matter how well known they already are, prominent people love publicity. After all, that’s how they got to be renowned in the first place. In most cases, you’ll set up this compilation as a downloadable PDF report.

Examples: “Online Profits at the Speed of Light” by Bob Serling (.directmarketinginsider.com/online-profits.html) and “First Contact Secrets” by Chip Tarver (.firstcontactsecrets.com).

2. Q&A report. Instead of asking many others one question, you can create a product by asking yourself &ndash then answering &ndash many questions. This works well when you simply collect commonly asked questions. You can also focus or the hardest ones, the most unusual ones or the funniest questions. If you find the idea of writing a formal article or a book intimidating, this may be the ticket for you. When it comes to anything you know more about than the average person, you’re probably in the habit of answering questions on a daily or weekly basis anyway. This one too would get sold as a downloadable PDF report.

Examples: “Answers to the World’s Toughest Questions about Law of Attraction” by Andrea Conway (.successfulselfemployment.com/toughest-law-of-attraction-sse.htm) and “An Insider’s Guide to Small Business Success” by Tim Knox (.book-titles.ca/SuccessSecrets.htm).

3. Audio interview of an expert. In this option and the next two, you create an audio product in just one hour plus a little preparation time. Simply persuade someone whose opinions, experiences and knowledge others want to hear to be interviewed for an hour, and record the session. Voil

On The Planet Corporate: Survival Through Fiction

Posted on Feb 4, 2009 04:10:53 PM

I found myself sitting in the HR department of one of the most famous companies in America. My ice queen soon to be boss wanted me and I knew it. After all, I had graduated from a pseudo impressive university and I looked really good in my Ann Klein suit. Problem was, I’d never worked a day in Corporate America and I had just turned fifty. Hard to teach an old dog new tricks but the bills were piling up and the only place my freedom loving artistic spirit had gotten me was down and out in New York City.

I was offered the job; mostly because the actress in me conjured up Sigourney Weaver in Working Girl, a dash of Faye Dunaway in Network and I performed a nifty little improv using the shrewd and sassy elegance of Judy Holiday and Melanie Griffith as rather impressive role models. My stunning performance worked and there I was, embraced by my new corporate family and occasionally loaned back out to the rest of society, my pet Pomeranian and my old disco buddies.

After filling the pages of my gratitude journal for at least six months, and thanking the universe for this rather prestigious position, the honeymoon wore off and I became increasingly shell shocked. My co-workers were very strange indeed. I didn’t feel that they were family at all, but that’s what having a job is called on the Planet Corporate: family. Oh, they like putting us in teams too. Teams connote competition and a great rah, rah spirit. In my old world they called it “opening night.” Here they call it “making goal.” As you can imagine, I was confused.

I had a hard time understanding these people. They talked about a lot of things that didn’t really interest me. When they weren’t obsessing on how low the sales numbers were, they were obsessing on the New York Jets, what to nuke for lunch and whether or not the Bachelor would chose the blonde or the tenacious little redhead. I was beginning to feel quite miserable. Why, the first time I heard I had a direct report I thought I was going to be writing up a presentation on how I was going to direct the Christmas play. The first time I was called a subordinate, I almost wept aloud. Jeez, if I wanted to be subordinate to anyone I would have married my ex.

Then I was told I was getting a performance review. Well, finally something to look forward to. I was happy at last. Surely, my calculated persona as a prisoner in pin stripes was impressive. Why, I learned to click down the hallowed halls of this very famous corporation in three inch heels. I found the perfect skirt length and kept my nails conservatively French tipped. I even talked numbers all day, like they were as important as season tickets to the Met, and I pretended to be in a constant state of urgency so my boss would think I was absolutely killing myself to make my sales goal.

Well, you could have knocked me over in a breath when I discovered that a performance review was actually based on whether or not I was selling anything. Disappointingly, my review was moderate to cold. I felt that I wanted to crawl under a rock and not emerge until I figured out how I could learn to care how much money my company made off the ninety percent of my life it was taking. My self esteem had taken an affront. Here I thought my humanity was more important.

So be it. I licked my wounds and went on like a good soldier. These people were expanding my sales goal wider than a middle age waist line, but still, I persisted. I plodded along, cursing my fate and trying to figure out if I’d enjoy driving a cab for a living.

Finally, some good news from the Planet of the Corporate: We were all going on a retreat. I joyously ran out to buy a yoga mat, karma sutra oil to share with colleagues, hot pink sweatpants and new Addidas. I couldn’t want to chant with my corporate family. I was ecstatic.

But then, the bomb fell. I was both surprised and appalled. My corporate family was thrusting me into a hotel room with another adult, asking me to share the spit and spittle of sleep, the intimacy of bodily woes and the loss of privacy on my frequent calls home to the dog walker. That did it. I rebelled. I wore the new Addidas and the hot pink sweats to their all day meetings on how to sell more stuff. I chanted enthusiastically during the power lunch and used some little book on cheese they gave me as a place mat for the very gooey award night dinner.

Wouldn’t you know it, I was written up. At first I thought I’d earned some good review on the little monologue I gave to the company president on corporate greed. Not so, I was put on probation and sent home to watch Oprah, the Secret and meditate on changing my life as I sat by the Hudson with my Pomeranian re-reading What Color Is Your Parachute.

After two weeks, I was back on the planet Corporate wondering how I’d get through it. I couldn’t quit, it was already going to take me two years to get out of the debt I’d accumulated relying on an income doing extra film work and occasional voice overs for pharmaceutical drug companies. I needed the damn job. But something had shifted for me during my little reprisal from the bull pen of consumption. Maybe it was Oprah, maybe the law of attraction really works. I sure was intending to alter my present state. And it happened just like that. I put all my efforts into seeing myself as a happy little puppy and lo and behold, I started writing a novel.

Once I began, the words just flowed. I wrote and I wrote till my little fingers twitched. My life was altered forever by that simple action. I now started to wake at five am with a passion I hadn’t felt in years. I threw myself at the keyboard for an hour or more. I filled my weekends weaving a story, creating characters that I couldn’t get enough of. My joy was abundant.

Wouldn’t you know it? The bull pen became tolerable. Even the ice queen melted a bit and the complicated hidden agendas of coworkers became insignificant. My head was filled with plot and character. Who cares who wants my head on a corporate silver platter? What cared I for corporate agendas when my chapters flowed off the page? I thought about nothing else. My sales numbers even increased, as did my tolerance for the ice queens and bully boys on the Planet Corporate. How strange it all was.

Now I have a book, actually several books. You see, I stole back my time. I found a place that I wanted to be. You might say I took back my soul to write. I would advise anyone out there who has found themselves on an alien planet, to follow their passion as well, even if it doesn’t get you back on the planet Earth right away, I can assure you that eventually, it will, one way or the other. You see, your freedom will come out of the creation and your joy is in action, not the inaction of just feeling miserable. Writing is a place no one can enter or soil with demands you may never reach and definitions that limit you. So find your book and write it. If you don’t, your Corporate family will become the title of your life, and the spirit who longs to fly free will loose touch with the words that might have been, and the key to the door not taken.