The worst advice I’ve ever heard about writing books

The worst advice I’ve ever heard about writing books!

The worst advice I’ve ever heard about writing books begins with the assumption that writing the book is the only reason for the writer to complete the book. Most writers have an idea of what they want to accomplish with their book. Some reasoning is transparent, like entertainment or information. In most cases the author wants their book read by as many people as possible. This brings into play a whole galaxy of “must-do things” that goes beyond finishing the manuscript.

Few people write books just to see their name in print. For those few people, the Internet offers a broad array of publishers and prices, more precisely printers, eager to fulfill the need. However, entertainment and information requires mass penetration of the probable market for whatever the topic covers. In these cases, beginning at the end can be more appropriate. Developing and refining an audience for the book, starts the journey on a successful path.

So, some of the worst advice begins with the phrase “just do it”regarding actually writing the book. Thinking through why you want to write the book is just as important as the pen or the keyboard. The next most valueless point assumes you have already written the book, so you must get a literary agent. Now a whole new toolbox comes into active use.

To get a literary agent you have to write a query letter and a proposal. A query letter has one purpose, convince the recipient to look at your book, giving you a better chance of selling it. The query letter is a sales tool, a sales letter selling your book. Yes, it gets deeper.

Writing a successful query letter involves analyzing your manuscript and writing a compelling synopsis. A synopsis is not a step-by-step description of what happens, but the emotions that accompany the actions, fear, hope, excitement, and disappointment presented at each turn of the events. Here the use of your writing talent may have to be tweaked to illustrate your marketing and salesmanship. A problem, if this is not one of your strong points.

Next, your proposal letter should be the result of research that identifies an audience for your manuscript. Again, not a step-by-step description of demographic labels, but a compelling argument matching the essence of your book to the needs of a targeted segment of your probable audience. Unless your book is about “marketing psychology” this may severely tax your patience.

Once you have secured an agent who then snares a publisher and more money, you need to determine what you need the publisher to do that will propel your book to the best-sellers lists. The more expensive publishers often have a marketing package on hand for the client. Instead, you may have to suggest a social marketing plan to support your work. What makes this part of the “bad advice collection” is that a writer is seldom necessarily a social marketing campaign designer.

The core point of this journey down “the rabbit hole” of becoming a published author, resides in the fact that the gift of the author is on the written page. In this high-tech low-touch society, delivering your artistic gift to the public, requires a completely different skill set than that of a talented author. In fact, best sellers are grown, they don’t just happen under the rainbow of “write it and they will buy.”

Reject the worst advice you’ve ever heard about writing books, open your thinking to an exciting new approach to publishing – one that starts with the end that in mind. Why not sell your first thousand books before you have written a single word?

The time is now and the choice is yours, take action – turn the page, today.

www.projectbestseller.com 

The Wright Place TV Show: 10 Signs You should Invest in your Own Business

Over the years with The Wright Place TV Show,I’ve interviewed many business owners. They have taught me the signs to know when it’s time to create your own business. I want to share this with you new business owners and those of you who know you should be starting your own business.

At 6AM, your alarm goes off, and you drag yourself out of bed to prepare for your day job. Every day, you wake up, eat, work, go home, eat, sleep and the cycle goes on. You’re starting to ask yourself why are you seating in front of your desk taking orders from someone when you can be on your feet, enjoy and be the one giving orders. You’re contemplating whether you should be your own boss or just continue what you’re doing.

Here are the ten signs that you should quit your day job and invest in your own business.

1. Intense work ethic- you work hard, you’re focused and in the zone. Most successful entrepreneurs do this, and most of them work for more than 12 hours a day at least twice a week.
2. You’re creative- you always come up with new ideas (but they end up being doodled on your desk notepad). Your creativity seems to be over- flowing, and you can’t stop thinking of different or new ideas while you’re sitting at your desk.
3. Always seeing potential- you’re an optimist, you see the potential success in everything.
4. You want to make things better- you want to help others by providing new things that will ease their lives.
5. You’re willing to do every part of the job- even if taking out the trash seems an important step for you to succeed, you will do it.
6. You’re confident enough that it’s okay to fail- you don’t mind experiencing failures (in every aspect of your life), you consider these training grounds for your battle in the real world.
7. Not afraid to risk- you’re thinking of investing your money and feeling nervous about it but still want to. Invest in your own business instead!
8. Hatred for working for someone else- no need to explain.
9. Good at solving problems- Do you tend to solve problems before everyone realizes there is one? Yes, that’s a sign.
10. You’re a leader- having an idea is good, making it successful is a true skill. If you show acts of leadership in your community or work-place, the world of entrepreneurship might be just perfect for you.

Owning your own business starts with knowing how to sell. Without sales you have no business. With my television show, I had to learn how to sell again. The recession had put people in a different mindset and I had to improve my selling skills. I learned with the Silver Partner Program from Che Brown and I would love to share a special offer he has for the next month. For $25 a month, you can learn how to sell and grow your business with cash flow! Just text SilverPartner to 909 235 9744 and I will share the details with you. 

Oh, if you already have a business but you are not making money, then TEXT me right now! I can give you the same deal. 

Keeping Your Business Current with Technology

Staying updated with the latest technology has been our cultural obsession for a long time now, and the world of business is no exception to this rule. However according to Neil Camenker unless your business model demands having the latest and greatest technological systems, I would encourage exercising a certain degree of restraint when it comes to staying up to date.

Because of the expense involved in buying new systems, a conservative approach can pay off dividends. While employees may be clamoring for the hottest PCs on the market to replace their current workstations, perhaps upgrading them would serve your purposes just as well. Part of your long-term technological strategy could include purchasing systems that are designed to be upgradable; buying a new system once every 4 years and upgrading 2 years after the purchase, rather than buying all new systems every other year. Not only would this reduce the costs of the systems themselves, but it will also increase employee productivity and decrease training time because the employees will already be familiar with how the systems work.

Computers go out of date so fast that keeping them current is a constant struggle. It seems like every release of the operating system slows them down more. They are a continual source of frustration to employees, and can hinder productivity when they don’t function the way they’re supposed to. This doesn’t always justify replacing them, however, as new computers are just as likely to have quirks and problems that make them frustrating for employees to deal with. Something that you may wish to consider is investing in some IT employees to handle computer problems.

Software is always being updated, and the different companies compete to release the programs with the most functions. New software tends to use up more computing resources than older software, so when upgrading software it can create the need to purchase new computers as well.

Networking equipment has a shelf-life just like any other piece of technology, and needs to be updated from time to time to keep up with new technologies and increased demand.

Servers run the web technology that your customers interact with, and are therefore an important thing to keep updated. As your web traffic and customer base increases, you should upgrade your servers to ensure that they have the capacity to handle the new demand being placed on them.

The web applications customers use on the web are some of the most important technological applications a company will ever buy, because they represent the company to the world and must therefore function perfectly. This is something that you should never skimp on.

Watch out for the Diderot Effect: the perception that one new purchase necessitates making further purchases. It’s not uncommon to see companies upgrading their entire range of technological systems at one time—an amazingly expensive endeavor.

By Neil Camenker

« Previous Page — Next Page »