Archive for Publishing Infos
June 8, 2008 at 11:56 am · Filed under Publishing Infos
In October 2004 when my book “Your Retirement Masterplan” (How To Books ISBN 1857039874) was published I participated in eleven 15-minute live interviews on local radio over a period of just five days.
The results were highly encouraging; the book leapt from nowhere on Amazon.co.uk to position 194 out of 3123 competing titles and eventually grabbed the No.1 spot for its core keyword (retirement) where it remained for nine months.
I am shortly to repeat the broadcast exercise for my newly published tome “How to Earn Money in Retirement” (How To Books ISBN 1845281128) but before doing so I am already off to a head start…
Although this title does not hit the bookstores until Friday 5 May 2006 it already ranks at No.47 out of 3453 competitive titles on Amazon.co.uk - which means of course that it is already selling in big numbers online - thanks largely to the success of its predecessor and the initial boost it got from radio promotion.
These promotional interviews are arranged by my publisher’s media consultancy and I do not require to visit a single studio to take part; they are all conducted over the telephone, sitting at my desk at home.
So what if you self-publish your output and you don’t have a publicist to arrange radio interviews?
Does that mean you are excluded?
No way; I have self-published several books in the past and managed my own promotion.
Here is what you do…
1. Wherever you live in the world you’ll find that the majority of local radio stations are banded together into a single network for cost-effectiveness;
2. Identify the controlling network;
3. Visit the corporate website containing links to all subsidiaries;
4. Pick out those stations within a 500/1000 mile orbit;
5. Visit each local station website individually;
6. Scan the daily programming schedules;
7. Highlight those programs that might identify with the topic of your book;
8. Note the presenter’s name;
9. Email him/her with a well-couched request for a live interview;
10. Follow that up with an identical snail mail request;
11. Follow that up with a telephone call (you’ll get to speak to someone in authority);
12. You know your topic inside out; speak up with confidence and you’ll get your interview; maybe not straightaway but, if you sell yourself and your project professionally, you’ll be logged into and up-and-coming slot in the station scheduling.
Go for it…it’s free!
In truth though there is more to creating bestselling books than spieling about them on radio and if you’d like to learn how I manage to produce bestsellers consistently, visit the website featured in the resource box below.
Jim Green is a bestselling author with an ever-growing string of niche non-fiction titles to his credit. http://1st-creative-writing-course.com
May 22, 2008 at 1:47 am · Filed under Publishing Infos
The greatest gift you have to give to yourself and humanity is the book, the song, the poem the artwork or invention that is locked away within your consciousness.
All of us have this gift that needs to come out. A one line peace of wisdom written on a napkin from the restaurant that comes from the heart has just as much value as a Picasso. Just the right words written by a street person living on the side of the road can have more impact on society than those of a trained phd that has been writing for years. A few scribbles written by a beaten women can change the way other women are treated. A short paragraph in a suicide note can save the lives of others.
All of us have something to write about when it comes from the soul. It has nothing to do with being a writer or a published author. It’s about letting it out and not holding it in, it is a release.
It doesn’t have to be about sad things or struggles either. It is just as important to write about accomplishments and successes. The urgency is the same and before one dies it is important for the ego and the soul to release this energy.
It is the fear that stops one from doing so. I have talked to many people over the years who have confided in me that they have always wanted to write a book. All of them have been afraid to do so. They claim they don’t have the knowledge or skills and they worry about being laughed at or ridiculed. Who would buy my book of poems, my “how to” book, or my child’s story book. There are so many other books, great books and authors and these people devalue themselves and their work before it is even started.
I have to remind them that it doesn’t matter about skills. It is the idea, the experience, thoughts or philosophy contained in the root of the book that is important. Even experienced authors have people that help them published a finished work. I personally don’t know of any writers that have completed their books from start to being published by themselves. Lack of skills is the least important aspect of writing. Getting your thoughts on paper is the only reason for doing it. Once that is done, it doesn’t really matter if the book is ever published unless that is the motive for doing it.
The important thing to note here is that you are writing for yourself and your life has value no matter how you have lived it. Others will gain from the wisdom you have achieved in your life, even if it is only one thought.
After years of writing hundreds of articles, essays and books, I have come to know that I did it all for myself. Most all the things I have written about have come from the heart; they are all my true thoughts at the time I wrote them. I have moved past most all that I have written and some of it seems very immature. I do not have the burden of what these thoughts should mean to me any longer as they have all been worked out on paper and I have moved on.
Most of the time I do not know what I am writing until I have finished and I go back and read my work. Buy the time I have proof read it three or four times I have absorbed the information and refined it to a level that I can live with it. What I have successfully done is manifested another Roy into physical existence on paper.
It does not matter to my soul one way or the other that someone else should read it or benefit by it. It does matter however to the ego. The body would love for someone to know me through my work and gain some wisdom from the experience. Through the course of my work with my web site, I go back into these articles and books and read them each time for the first time. I marvel at how good or how badly they were written, but always I come away uplifted by what I have read. I have written these articles for myself, that I might gain more insight into who Roy is and how he experiences himself in this lifetime. What I am doing in fact is giving myself back to myself; it is the greatest gift of all.
I want to tell you at this point how I starting writing so that you may be able to start on your own and begin to create that masterpiece. I want you to know that you can do it. All it takes is a couple of words, a line of text, a paragraph or two and you are off. The most profound thought or acknowledgement of who we are is summed up in only two words, “I AM.” Even if you can not write or read, someone else can do it for you. I am going to show you how I started and what has led me to this place in my life.
After I finished high school I ceased to read or write except to facilitate everyday responsibilities. I may have read one or two books over the next 30 years or so. I had difficult in reading more than a paragraph at a time because my eyes would dance around the page. In my work there was very little need for either reading or writing. I also believed that I was inadequate or plain stupid in those areas.
Near the age of 50 my attitude changed when I was given a book to read. I liked the title and started to read the introduction. It was difficult to keep my attention because I could not focus on the sentences. I took my time and gradually was able to read a page at a time, then a chapter and now I can sit down and read right through without stopping.
This book was a catalyst for reading others and I started to build up a library. After several months I was hooked on reading. I developed a dislike for TV and videos and I got the urge to start writing my thoughts down on paper.
Even more difficult than the process of reading books again were the first steps to writing. I had a high school education and some skills, but was overcome by fear of my own ability and thoughts of rejection should someone read it.
The process I used to get started was not my own and I don’t remember where I heard about it. Basically the advice was to just start writing and that is what I want to pass on now.
I positioned myself at my kitchen table very early one morning before I could be disturbed by routine morning activities. I surrounded myself with things that I imagined a writer would need, like my morning tea, a pad and a fountain pen. I wanted to emulate the image I had of how a writer would look like when he/she was ready to add words to paper. I sat at the table very comfortably in my house coat starring at a blank page ready to do writing things.
Taking the advice that I was given, I just started writing and it went something like this:
“Well what am I going to write about?”
“The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.”
“Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of the party.”
“This is stupid.”
“Nothing is going to happen.”
“How long to I have to wait?”
“My cat is funny.”
“Should I start of with a quote?”
“Boy am I going to through this away before someone sees it.”
“I can’t write.”
“Now what?”
“It’s a bright sunny warm summer’s morning and I am sitting at my table trying to be a writer, shit.”
This dialogue went on for a couple of mornings until finally the sentences started flowing and the writing developed a mind of its own and I did not look for anything in particular to write about. I struggled on my own for more than a year, then one morning I started writing a few pages at home and had the urge to take paper and pen to the mail and write there, hoping to find inspiration.
Having bought a cup of tea I found a table away from the others and continued where I hand left off at home. I started writing for a few moments when something amazing took place.
My pen took on an energy of its own and forced my hand forward along the lines of the pages leaving in its wake paragraphs of text. I lost track of time, and it seemed like only twenty minutes of time had passed to write the more than twenty single line spaced pages. My hand was getting tired and sore from the increased speed of the writing. I didn’t want to stop but was also afraid to let it go on. I was sitting back watching myself and my eyes filled with tears as I began to allow fear to fill my presence. I thought that it would not stop and that I could not control what was happening, so I terminated the process.
It has taken me five years to get to this point and the article you are now reading.
The writing comes easy for me, it is the proofing that is the greatest challenge and it is so, because I do it myself. There are others that could help and it’s simply a matter of choice.
I write for myself and I am the majour beneficiary of what I have written. If someone else should benefit from my reading it is because they have placed themselves in the correct time and place to receive that profit. I have made my writing available through my web site in order to facilitate that discovery.
Anyone can do it, no matter how small or large the project. How significant or insignificant it may seem at the time you story must be told.
Each of us has a creation, a story, a painting, a sculpture or poem in us that needs to come out. They are a physical expression or symbol of who we are and we owe it to ourselves and others to bring it into the physical world.
The two most powerful words of expression by humanity are “I AM.” The sentence is complete in its brevity and what follows is the extension of “I AM.” I am a writer, a painter, a sculptor, a poet, an artist and “I AM” going to bring this story out because it is who “I AM.”
Roy E. Klienwachter is a resident of British Columbia, Canada. A student of NLP, ordained minister, New Age Light Worker and Teacher. Roy has written and published five books on New Age wisdom. Roy’s books are thought provoking and designed to empower you to take responsibility for your life and what you create. His books and articles are written in the simplicity and eloquence of Zen wisdom.
You may not always agree with what he has to say. You will always come away with a new perspective and your thinking will never be the same.
Roy’s style is hard hitting and comes straight from the heart without all the metaphorical mumble jumble and BS.
Visit Roy at: http://www.klienwachter.com
April 29, 2008 at 5:37 pm · Filed under Publishing Infos
I find poetry workshops study more the theory and craft of writing poetry. I joined one in the past and found it to be filled with snobs who pretty much write bad poetry. Half of what they say can not even be understood. Their poetry consists of nothing more but verses of diarrhea metaphors. Hearing the opinions and critiques of other writers is a vital component of every creative writer’s growth, however I find workshops don’t take into count poetic licensing ;when they critique the submissions of members. They seem to be harsh and focus too much on the structure, style, and other elements of literature.
To be honest I don’t even think the types of poets who think they are teachers in the theory even look at the emotions put behind a poem. Many of these so called teachers have a toolkit for criticism. They pick apart your poem and when they are finished, you are not even left with your own thoughts. Workshops are just made of a bunch of writers who think they are expert critiques. One might look at me because I can’t spell to save my butt and my punctuation leaves much to be desired, however that is what I have an editor for. I am passionate about writing and spend hours putting my words on paper. To me that is what poetry is about.
I’m not interested in joining no work shop that is going to focuses on the craft of poetry: line breaks, stanza breaks, voice, persona, diction, syntax, and revision. I’m very content with administrating an online community that allows it’s writers a poetic license. I’m content writing free verse and creating a community of authors of poetry and prose. I’m dedicated in giving my members at Todays-Woman the freedom of art. My members are happy for they joined in a pursuit of their passion to just write. I want to run a community where experienced and aspiring poets may submit their poetry for critical commentary and discussion without being told how to write and having their poem picked apart until it is no longer theirs.
I don’t want to hand over control to a workshop and let them take it upon themselves to edit me or stylize me. I don’t want them to touch my style issues, I don’t want someone editing my poetic voice, tone, or how I deliver my thoughts. I won’t do that to another person. Don’t do it to me. Feel free to just edit my spelling, mechanics, grammar and my bad typos. But leave my thoughts my own. You can have your poetry workshops. I have a poetry community that supports art and a style of writing that is my own. That is good enough for me.
About The Author
Rose is a published author from Canada Ontario and is also the founder of http://www.todays-woman.net a community for men and women over 18, where writers/poets/columnists meet and exchange ideas, contest, rate and review and help each other succeed in the writing industry. Check out Rose’s first poetry book “She is like the wind” and purchase poetry that is sure to be a world of emotion on a canvas that is her soul.
admin@todays-woman.net
April 25, 2008 at 11:27 pm · Filed under Publishing Infos
I was about five and my sister, Kate , was fourteen. I was a constant nuisance to her and she always had to hide her personal things such as books and candies from me. Sometimes I was good enough to track them down and place them elsewhere , to Kate’s outmost dismay of course! Our mom used to take my side:
“She’s only a baby, don’t be mean!” she would say to furious Kate.
But Kate was adamant.
“If she does that again I’ll beat her up!”
To tell you the truth, I was a bit afraid of her, as she was tall, fat and strong, while I was so thin and frail. I dared not confront her when mom was not around. She knew that and she called me ‘coward’ . We were in a constant battle. However, I was not always the winner. There were times when mom lost her patience with me and just screamed:
“Be quiet, don’t touch her books, hear me?” Then I was nice and polite.
But the next moment I had he chance to discover a new treasure, I forgot all about good manners and I was back in messing Kate’s belongings up.
Sometimes though, Kate was really nice to me. I did not understand why, just took it for granted . Just like the day mom made her best-loved fig jam.
I forgot to mention that Kate was an avid food lover, and she had a sweet tooth as well. August is the month of ripe figs in Greece. Every year mom used to buy a large amount of figs and made the family’s favorite dessert: fig jam.
I was not interested in this jam, not in any other jam in the world, but Kate was . She was actually a great fan of mom’s cooking endeavors. She smelt the aroma of the freshly made jam and tried to locate the cupboard mom stored the jars.
“Don’t you dare touch the jam!” Mom warned Kate. “It’s for the winter. ” But she gave her just a little jar to comfort her.
“This will do for the time being!” mom said.
Kate sighed but she had to obey. The small jar was soon empty and Kate tried to find a way to get some more.
One morning, while mom was in the garden, Kate found what she was looking for: the key to the secret cupboard where all the jam jars were kept. She had already unlocked the cupboard door and was taking the lid off one jar when I walked in looking for mom. I saw her and was ready to say something, but she whispered :
“Go away, right now!”
I did not.
“What are you doing” I asked her foolishly, as it was obvious what she was doing!
“Trying this jam, silly. I’m testing it to see if it’s the same as the one mom ’s given me.” She said shoving a big spoonful into her mouth.
“Mom said you shouldn’t touch it,” I said.
“Just a little bit won’t do ant harm,” Kate replied, diving her spoon into the jar once more.
“I’ll tell mom,” I said and was ready to leave.
“Wait!” she screamed. “Try this!” She forced a spoonful into my mouth. “Let’s have a secret, shall we?” she said.
“I don’t like jam!” I mumbled with my mouth full.
Just then we heard footsteps. Kate wiped the jam from my mouth, closed the cupboard hurriedly and shoved me behind the green velvet curtains of the living room.
“Stay there and don’t talk!” she ordered.
I couldn’t talk anyway with my mouth full of fig jam. I had to swallow it first.
“What are you doing over there?” mom’s voice sounded loudly in my ears.
“I’m looking for Lia, ” Kate replied. “Maybe she’s in the garden,” she added.
“She’s not,” mom replied concerned. “Lia!” she started shouting.
I had finally managed to swallow the sticky jam and replied:
“Here I am , mom!” and I emerged from the curtain.
“What are you doing there?” mom asked.
Kate gave me an angry look.
“I’m hiding,” I confessed.
“We were playing hide and seek,” Kate added.
Mom stared at both of us and then shook her head.
A few days later, the secret was revealed. It was not my fault. Mom found out the half-eaten fig jam and Kate had to confess her crime, or her good deed.
“Lia wanted some jam so I thought you wouldn’t mind,” she defended herself.
Mom was surprised.
“I didn’t know you liked my fig jam!” she told me. “I’m glad you do! It’s very healthy and nutritious!”
So, from that day on, I had to eat a slice of bread with fig jam at breakfast. At the beginning, I felt sick of it, but a little by little I got used to it , and, funnily enough, I started liking it. I still do!
———————————-
This is a story from Liana’s e book : Flowers for Women, an anthology written by women worldwide.
http://liamet.tripod.com/flowers
*****************
About the Author
Liana Metal is a writer based in Greece.
Visit her e books site at
http://liamet.tripod.com
and the writers’ site at
http://lianametal.tripod.com
New site at
http://Author-Promo.tripod.com
to help authors promote their books.
April 18, 2008 at 9:25 am · Filed under Publishing Infos
The idea is the most valuable intellectual property. And the interesting idea requires quality protection from the plagiarism. Before we start discussing why it is not worth plagiarizing, let’s clear up what we mean by plagiarism. The word Plagiarism originated from the Latin word Plagio which means steal. The encyclopedias define plagiarism as “misappropriation of someone else’s works: publishing someone else’s works without indicating the source or a usage of the work without the author’s permission”. If the source is not indicated that is plagiarism.
The objects of plagiarism can be literature works, movies, translations as well as term papers essay writings, etc. The law suggests severe penalties for plagiarists. But despite it the unpleasant phenomenon is still flourishing in our society. The present article warns you how not to become the victim of plagiarism. The problem of the net plagiarism is very urgent nowadays. Any student searching an essay or term paper on-line can fall into this trap. Of course you can find a ready made research paper you need. But here you encounter RISK 1. No one can guarantee you that this paper is used for the first time. Moreover, it could be downloaded by the student from your college and submitted to the same tutor. RISK 2: Now all the tutors are aware of the existence of such free on -line collections. Your tutor could have seen this work on the net. In this case he would have the right to demand your rewriting the paper. Risk 3: Now many universities have acquired the special anti - plagiarism software for detecting the plagiarised works.
Such systems compare the text of your term paper research with the Internet resources base, with other students’ works and also printed issues and italicize the places with the repetition of the texts from other sources. Then it counts up the percentage of such duplications in the text. Risk 4. Downloading a paper from one of the on-line writing services is also a guaranteed way to get a plagiarized writing. Such services offer the students’ works that had already been submitted. So, if you finally have made up your mind to download a ready work, at least paraphrase it, add some chapters and change their order. If you have no time to reconstruct the completed version, the best way out for you is to order a unique writing from a professional custom writing service. This way you will get 100% original paper.
Tyler Benson is a senior writer of www.BestEssays.com. He has 17 years of experience as the professor at several universities. Tyler Benson has been providing competent assistance to students in composing their as term papers essay writings, during all his remarkable teaching experience. Currently he is working on creating his term paper research guide for university students.
BestEssays.com - Term Paper, Custom Essay writing service
April 2, 2008 at 3:59 pm · Filed under Publishing Infos
I am going two give ewe some suggestions to improve you’re writing and to insure you have happy readers. I no I am committing many mistakes. This proves that spellchecker should not be you’re best friend. I did not misspell any words in this paragraph, but it is terribly annoying, know?
This problem happens often with homonyms, words that sound alike but have different meaning and spelling. Examples:
- to, two, too
- your, you’re
- their, there
- hear, here
“Insure” is another problem. I rarely see this word used correctly including the first paragraph. In most cases, the correct word is “ensure” and occasionally it is “assure.” When discussing insurance policies or something similar, then “insure” is correct.
The spellchecker can’t tell you if you used the wrong or right word. Be cautious and look it up in a dictionary if you’re not sure which word to use. I admit that when I type fast that I occasionally use the wrong word because I “hear” the word in my head and my fingers type the wrong one.
While writing this article, I received my daily grammar email and it provided addition incentive for watching your words. Here’s an example:
Meant: The former basketball player remains physically fit.
Typed: The former basketball player remains physically fat.
Embarrassing, eh? The last thing we need is to unintentionally offend someone.
Editors can tell you I’ve overlooked mistakes that a spellchecker missed. When I spout articles, I lose perspective from looking at them too long and do a poor inspection. Shame on me, I know. If you have the luxury, then try partner editing. Exchange your article with a co-worker and edit one another’s work.
Did you notice another problem in the first paragraph? Apostrophe abuse! There should not be apostrophes in that paragraph. While on a cruise, I encountered frequent apostrophe abuse in the ship’s newsletter. “It’s” should’ve been “its,” “1950’s” should’ve been “1950s,” and “50’s” should’ve been “’50s.”
Contractions should be the easiest apostrophe mistake to avoid, but it’s prevalent in many resources even reputable ones. When proofreading, break up the contraction and sound out the whole thing. For example, read the first sentence of this article by saying, “I am going to give you some suggestions to help improve you are writing.” You should know immediately that apostrophe does not belong there.
Another apostrophe catastrophe is in “calendar years.” It takes little thinking, but it makes sense once you think about it. If you shorten a year to two digits, then it should have an apostrophe in front of the first digit to indicate it has been shortened. Remember that contractions are shortcuts, therefore to use it in a year is to shorten it.
On the other hand, when you do include all the digits of a year, you are not shortening it. There is no apostrophe even if it is plural. A year is not a person, place or thing and cannot “possess” anything. When you make it plural, just add an “s” on the end and nothing else.
An abused apostrophe is its use in “FAQ.” Unless someone forgot to tell me, FAQ is not a person either and cannot “own” a thing. Someone made a good point asking me about the “s” in “FAQs” because it could be covered in “questions.” That is true, but it can also mean, “question.” “FAQs” and “FAQ” are acceptable. Many might argue because FAQ is an abbreviation that an ’s is OK. If the abbreviation is recognizeable without the ‘, then it should be fine to drop it. When talking of letter grades such as A’s, B’s, C’s, D’s, and F’s; it helps to have the apostrophe.
Also, remember possessives like “hers, “his,” “ours,” and
“theirs” already indicate ownership of something. Don’t make it a double ownership by adding an apostrophe. There are articles using “her’s,” “their’s,” and so on. It’s ugly.
If you watch for these common mistakes, then you should have happy readers especially in those that are nitpicky about these errors.
Meryl K. Evans is the Content Maven behind meryl’s notes, eNewsletter Journal, and The Remediator Security Digest. She is also a PC Today columnist and a tour guide at InformIT. She is geared to tackle your editing, writing, content, and process needs. The native Texan resides in Plano, Texas, a heartbeat north of Dallas, and doesn’t wear a 10-gallon hat or cowboy boots.
