Writing Inrochester

What’s the quickest, easiest way to get exposure for your business all across the web AND turn yourself into an expert, in one fell swoop? The answer is Article Marketing. And if you haven’t heard of it, or tried it yet, you’re missing one of the most effective and inexpensive marketing strategies available on the net.

If you can write, or find someone to write for you or edit your work, you can use Article Marketing to dramatically increase your exposure on the web. And you’ll immediately start generating all kinds of links to your web site, which will drive qualified traffic to you 24/7.

And the best part is, you can write about ANYTHING. What do you know a lot about? What is your area of expertise? What topic would your prospects love to learn more about? What have you already written about for your web site or newsletter?

Try this exercise to generate 3 articles to start with:

(1) Identify 3 topics you know a lot about

(2) Come up with 5 tips for each topic

You’ve just outlined three articles you can use to jumpstart your article marketing efforts!

Once you have written these articles there are many places you can post them for free. These are sites visited by web site and newsletter publishers looking for content.

They pick up your articles and include them in their newsletter or on their web site. They include your information and web site address with the article, so everyone knows you wrote it and where they can get more information like the article they just finished reading.

If you are currently writing articles to post on your web site, or to publish in your newsletter or ezine, you can re-use these articles to easily get started with article marketing and get your name out all across the web.

Suddenly you become an expert because your articles and advice start showing up all over the place. Search on “10stepmarketing” or “Debbie LaChusa” and you’ll see what I mean. I’ve accomplished this in a matter of weeks, with an initial posting of only seven articles. I’ve continued to post articles and you can bet I’ll keep on doing it.

You may even get feedback from readers like I have. Here’s one I got that totally made my day:

“Just finished reading your article. ITS GREAT!
I’ll be implementing all of your ideas ASAP.”

How awesome is that?! It tells me my articles are getting out there, I am getting the word out about my business and I’m helping more small business owners to be successful.

And just think, it could be doing be doing the same for you. Getting your business name out there, positioning you as an expert in your field, and sharing your knowledge and expertise with your potential clients.

For a list of over 40 sites where you can post your articles for free, visit 10stepmarketing.com/resources_promo_nologin.htm

I invite you to give Article Marketing a try. Write and post a few articles and see what happens. You may just triple your web site traffic like I did!

(C) Copyright 2005 Debbie LaChusa

Debbie LaChusa created The 10stepmarketing System to make marketing your own business as simple as answering 10 questions. Learn more about this unique, step-by-step system and get a free 10-week Marketing E-Course when you subscribe to the free, weekly 10stepmarketing Ezine at

Another November gone. For those of you who, like me, participated and WON in the National Novel Writing Month, I bet you’re all going through the Post NaNoWriMo Blues.

Yes, the heroic deed is done… 50,000 words in 30 days. From about 60,000 participants, 9,765 won. When I reached the finish line, I opened a bottle of champagne and started bothering people on the phone. After all the bragging I had done for months, this was a necessary act.

The thing is, after all those overly caffeinated, crazy days of extreme imaginative performance, surrounded by mountains of laundry (Mom, I don’t have clean socks left!), frozen dinners (Oh, no, not Chinese pizza again!), and bewildered expressions from family and friends (Look at you—when did you last wash your hair?), I now share the same energy level as a zombie. My depleted mind can’t come up with any more words. In fact, writing this column is like excavating a Sumerian artefact in tough terrain somewhere in the Middle East.

Now I’m faced with the tough job of editing my masterpiece, but that will have to wait till after Christmas. I’d much rather spend money and shop for the holidays than dive into my novel’s dangerous murky waters, which even have an army of violin-headed creatures… (yes, the soldiers have violins instead of heads—and no, I wasn’t exposed to too many Dali paintings during my childhood). Will I be able to sell my novel? Only time will tell. It’s interesting to mention that of all the thousands of winners which NaNoWriMo has had so far, less than ten have sold their books to big traditional publishers.

Of course, the main aim of this marathon is to push your writing mind to the extreme, to annihilate writer’s block and silly procrastinations, and ultimately to proof to yourself that you can do it.

I can’t say it was a smooth trip, and several times I thought my ship would sink to the bottom, but, as I already said, I had simply bragged to shamelessly to family and friends, so that kept me going.

Writing 1,667 words a day, the first and second weeks went well. The third week killed me. I had created too many characters, and they wanted to take control of the story without giving much thought to the plot or to the red herrings I had so generously put all over the first half of the book. Tragedy struck: I didn’t write for three days, and on the days I wrote, I didn’t reach the daily quota. This threw my ship off course. The waters turned wild and murderous. The fourth week showed up without an invitation. I panicked. If I wanted to make it, I would have to write almost 3,000 words a day. So I kept hearing these voices in my head… of my stuck-up cousin Harriet, for example: “Oh, you lost? I somehow expected it. It takes will and determination to write a whole book in one month, after all. Don’t worry, there’s always next November for this year’s losers.” Okay, so I don’t have a cousin named Harriet. I just hate that name.

Would I recommend this crazed, overly caffeinated marathon? Definitely. Would I do it again? Suffice to say that I can’t wait until the next November.

Mayra Calvani is an author and book reviewer. Visit her website at mayracalvani.com mayracalvani.com.

If the writing you want to do is work related, it is much easier to decide what to write. You may have a directive to follow and a subject matter that is required for marketing collateral, advertising scripts, or even a white paper. Still, you will need to narrow down the subject matter until it is finite enough to give the attention to detail that is necessary when writing down the information.

Work-related writing will require a study of the message that needs to be portrayed. I suggest that you always take the customer’s viewpoint whenever you write. The customer can be either internal or external, there is no difference. Everyone reads from their own point of view, not yours.

Think about the WIIFMs (What’s In It For Them). No matter what the subject matter, you have to pique the client interest or they will not read your work. The question may now be, “How do I know what the customer wants?”

Customers want information about products and services that concerns their problems. They also want to know the benefits and maybe something about the features. They also want to be coerced.

When was the last time you looked forward to reading a product user’s guide, the tech sheet that came with something you purchased, or the brochure before you purchased anything. The reason is likely there was either hype with features or just the facts, nothing to entice you to read.

So what do you write? You write about what you know. If you know a lot about a product you sell, then write about that product. If you know a lot about managing people, then write about that. The important message here is to write about what you know.

Most often, you will not be required to write something that does not affect you or your job. The subject matter will likely be at hand and if others work for you, then have them avail themselves to fill in the blanks. Writing is easy as long as you are comfortable with the subject matter or can surround yourself with the experts.

If you do not know enough about a subject, then you will have to do some research. That means locating information and reading about it. Getting ideas and keeping track of your sources.

Bette Daoust, Ph.D. has been networking with others since leaving high school years ago. Realizing that no one really cared about what she did in life unless she had someone to tell and excite. She decided to find the best ways to get people’s attention, be creative in how she presented herself and products, getting people to know who she was, and being visible all the time. Her friends and colleagues have often dubbed her the “Networking Queen”. Blueprints for Success - Networking: 150 ways to promote yourself is the first in this series. Blueprints for Success Branding Yourself: Another 150 ways to promote yourself is planned for release in 2006. For more information visit BlueprintBooks.com BlueprintBooks.com.

An overworked freelancer, I decided to try and create more passive income. My mode of trying to accomplish this is article marketing. Why article marketing?

I’d read so much about it and had used it to promote past businesses with some success (a little bit of time yielded pretty good results). So, from October 18th thru November 18th, I decided to study article marketing in detail to learn as much about it as I could.

For details on the beginning of the experiment, see the 10/26/06 post on InkwellEditorial.blogspot.com. Following are reader questions about my findings to date.

QUESTIONS FROM READERS ABOUT ARTICLE MARKETING

Question: Since your site has been around a while, do you think that’s why you’ve been so successful with your experiment. My site is new, what do you think my chances are?

Answer: I’m sure my site’s popularity has something to do with the success of the case study, however, I think it has more to do with the topic and the in-depth information provided.

I think the following three things have been the main reason for the success of this case study:

1. In my opinion, any time you undertake a venture that no one else has put significant time into – and it is a fairly popular topic that a lot of people want to know about — it will garner interest.

2. The internet makes it easier to reach a wide audience quickly; and

3. It is a “live experiment with instant results.” We live in an information age where people want to know – and they want to know TODAY.

Question: How much money are you actually making? Can you give specifics?

Answer: The Google Adsense program prohibits giving specifics, but as I said in one of my recently published pieces, I was making basically entertainment money (barhopping with friends kind of cash), car payment money, etc. My earnings have a little more than doubled since I started this experiment.

What I want everyone to realize is that the more money you make, the harder it is to double that. So, it’s not like I what I was making was terribly difficult to double – I’m just surprised that by pumping in a few extra hours per day that I was able to see such a big difference.

The whole point of the experiment is to see if this was viable – if article marketing was really what the experts were touting. It’s taken a good deal of work, but I needed to know if it would be worth my time to pursue it to any degree. So far, I have to say that for me, it definitely is.

Question: Can you recommend any article submission software?

Answer: Nope, not at this point. I’m manually submitting articles to the directories. BUT, I will be purchasing some article submission software once this experiment is done. I have my eye on a couple, but as I haven’t used any, I hesitate to recommend any. Spend a few days researching this on the web before you put out any money. And if anyone has any feedback they can pass along, I’d be happy to share it.

Question: Are you consciously changing articles from posts on your blog to avoid duplicate content penalties?

Answer: No, I’m not. That would be way to time consuming for me. I queried Chris Knight, who manages perhaps the number one article directory on the net (EzineArticles.com), about duplicate content penalties.

My question to him was: **To Whom It May Concern: I would like to ask Mr. Knight a question about being penalized for submitting the same article to many directories. Specifically, if you do this, are you penalized by the likes of Google? Does it hurt your site’s ranking?**

Christopher Knight’s response: To answer your question, unfortunately, I have no idea what Google will do or won’t do. Me personally? I wouldn’t submit to hundreds of directories because that doesn’t seem like a good return on your time.

I know that it’s better to submit 100 articles to 1 directory than submitting 1 article to 100 directories especially when that 1 directory is EzineArticles.com!

Try that experiment for yourself and I bet you’d find the same conclusion I did. The bigger issue is do you really want to manage 100 different trust relationships with your article or just a handful? Best of luck with the study. *End of response.*

I did a little more research and found arguments on both sides. All I can say is, from my efforts so far, the following has happened:

Google Search Results: A Google search of my name before this study returned 700-800 results. As of today, 11/6/06, it returns 15,100 results.

Alexa Rankings: My site’s (InkwellEditorial.com) Alexa ranking was over 6,000,000 right before the beginning of this experiment (10/18/06). As of today, it’s 3,320,982.

PR Ranking: My PR ranking has stayed at 5, but I’ve gotten links from sites that have PR ranks of 6 (eg, www.entrepreneurs-journey.com) and 7 ( problogger.net) – which, ostensibly, will only add to my PR ranking in the future.

Will I be penalized somewhere down the road for this? As I’m an SEO (search engine optimization) neophyte, I have no idea. I plan on doing a lot more in the way of SEO. This whole study has made me realize the importance of learning more about this.

Question: How do you decide what topic to write on?

Answer: I write what interests me, what others are asking about, issues I think need to be addressed, etc. I don’t have a process, so to speak, I just – write.

Question: An abbreviated version of a question a reader sent in is as follows: Wondering if I’d be able to pick your brains slightly. I write business plans for clients but at the moment it has been practically impossible for me to get any work . . . I would love to write articles but my problem has been:

Question a) Actually finding things to write about let alone a 700-900 word article scares me to bits! What sort of analysis tool do you use to find topics without much competition?

Answer: Angela, I don’t do any analysis to find topics to write about; I get ideas from reading other articles, questions from readers of my material, addressing issue that are bugging me (my reasoning is, if I’m having a problem with it, others are too – practically nothing under the sun is unique to only one individual); issues in the news; etc.

I don’t mean to be too vague or general – but I find that if you write from a position of truly wanting to help others – and not from a desire to optimize a site for “x” key word or to “just” make money – you will always have a wellspring of ideas from which to pull.

Question b) Writers block (I find it very difficult to write). I constantly rewrite my business plans. Any tips?

Answer: When I first started my blog, my fear too was that I wouldn’t be able to fill it with fresh, interesting content on a consistent basis. BUT, I’ve found that the more I write, the more ideas I flesh out. Focus on detailed articles (solving one problem of one issue), not general ones, and you will most likely find that you have to CUT your word count, not struggle to increase it.

As for your difficulty writing, my advice is – just write. Initially, don’t worry about grammar, word count, organization, etc. Just get your ideas down on paper. Then, go back and flesh out pertinent points. One written “rambling” may contain seeds for several articles.

Question c) I′d love to start a blog but generating content causes a) and b)!

Answer: Save a copy of your written ramblings. Thinking that you will remember an idea is folly – it will invariably escape you. I have a document on my computer entitled “Article Ideas.” I constantly add to this as new ideas pop into my head. On those days when the idea well runs dry (it happens to the best of us), it comes in handy.

Question c) Are there resources (a quick course in creative writing) that can help me?

Answer: There are so many on the web, they are too numerous to name. I hesitate to recommend one, because I haven’t taken any. But, go with recognized names in the freelance industry.

To research sources, go to noted sites like WritersDigest.com and WritersMarkets.com. Also, frequent writing forums. Ask questions and/or read feedback from those who have taken courses.

Shameless Plug! My e-course, Launch a Profitable Freelance Writing Career in 30 Days or Less — Guaranteed! will be available in January.

FREE E-BOOK: There is so much more that I want to address about this topic based on the findings to date. I’m sure there’ll be more after this experiment ends on 11/18/06.

So, I will be doing a final, in-depth case study analysis. The findings will be published in a FREE e-book and will be available the second week of December. Log onto InkwellEditorial.com and subscribe to receive your free copy!

May be reprinted with the following, in full: Yuwanda Black is the publisher of InkwellEditorial.com InkwellEditorial.com: THE business portal for and about the editorial and creative industries. First-hand freelance success stories, e-courses, job postings, resume tips, advice on the business of freelancing, and more! Launch a Profitable Freelance Writing Career in 30 Days or Less — Guaranteed! Log on to InkwellEditorial.com InkwellEditorial.com to learn how.

From our deconstruction of hundreds of Hollywood blockbusters at www.managing-creativity.com/

The Hero’s Journey is the template upon which the vast majority of successful stories and Hollywood blockbusters are based upon. In fact, ALL of the Hollywood movies we have deconstructed are based on this template.

Understanding this template is a priority for story or screenwriters.

The Hero’s Journey:

a) Attempts to tap into unconscious expectations the audience has regarding what a story is and how it should be told.

b) Gives the writer more structural elements than simply three or four acts, plot points, mid point and so on.

c) Interpreted metaphorically, laterally and symbolically, allows an infinite number of varied stories to be created.

and more…

Sample Movie Deconstructed: Vertigo (1958)

FADE IN: Hero’s Inner Challenge: Scottie hangs off the roof; is afraid of heights.

Meeting the Hero and Mentor / developing the Inner and Romantic Challenge: talking about his agoraphobia; Scottie and Midge were engaged for three whole weeks.

Foreshadow of the Journey: “..you heard of Gavin Elster…”

Elixir: “…I look up, I look down…”

Developing the Inner Challenge: Scottie falls.

Meeting the Antagonist: Gavin’s office.

Antagonist’s Backstory: Gavin is in the ship building business married into it etc…

Call to Adventure: will you follow my wife?

Refusal: check her into a psychologist….; “…oh well, then you’re no use to me…; this isn’t my line; I’ll get you a firm of private detectives…”

Pulled into the Journey: Scottie sits down.

Threshold Guardian / Romantic Challenge: Scottie sees Madeleine during dinner.

Drawn to the First Threshold: Scottie follows the car.

Entering the First Threshold: the dark room; opening the door.

Madeleine buying flowers.

Outer Cave: following Madeleine into the church and graveyard; Carlotta Valdez’s grave.

Middle Cave: following Madeleine to the museum; watching the portrait.

Inner Cave Threshold: following Madeleine to McKittrick’s hotel.

Threshold Guardian: the hotel receptionist.

Inner Cave: Looking inside the room.

Meeting the Mentor: “…who do you who knows about San Francisco history…”

Physical Separation / Meeting the Mentor: the bookseller.

The World of the Transformation: Backstory: the story of Carlotta Valdez.

Developing the Romantic Challenge: Midge and Scottie in the car.

Pushed to Trial 1: meeting Gavin again.

Trial 1: saving Madeleine from drowning.

Developing Characters and Relationships: Scottie and Madeleine in his apartment.

Romantic Challenge: Midge sees Madeleine leave his apartment.

Scottie follows Madeleine in the car – back to his apartment.

They go for a wander together.

Trial 2: in the forest “…here I was born, here I died…”; “….where were you born Madeleine…”

Midpoint: “I′m responsible for you now…”; by the sea…”..I′m not mad..”; the kiss.

Trial 3: Midge paints a portrait of herself.

Meeting the Oracle: Madeleine tells Scottie about the old San Juan mission.

Journey to the Sword: driving to the mission.

Seizing the Sword: I miss you.

Night Sea Journey: up the tower.

Near Death Experience: Madeleine jumps off the top of the tower.

Reward: the courtroom verdict of not guilty. Developing Inner Challenge: the judge refers to Scottie’s agoraphobia.

Magic Flight: Gavin is going away; to Europe.

Denial: Scottie’s dreams nightmare.

Denial: Scottie in the hospital.

Romantic Challenge: Midge visits the Doctor: “…he was in love with her…he still…and Mozart is not going to help at all…”

Atonement with the Father: seeing the car; going to the restaurant where he first saw Madeleine; going to the museum; visiting the flower shop.

Pulled toward the Apotheosis: following Madeleine’s double in the hotel.

Apotheosis: Gavin threw his wife off the tower; the dress.

Refusal of the Return: Judy’s thoughts. Judy thinks again and doesn’t leave.

Push to the Boon: having dinner with Scottie; going walking; dancing; dressing her up; looking for a grey suit in the department store; Judy agrees to dress up to look like Madeleine.

Ultimate Boon: Judy looks just like Madeleine; the kiss.

Push to the Rescue: where shall we go for dinner?

Rescue from Without: seeing the necklace on Judy.

Crossing the Return Threshold: going back to the mission.

Scottie forces Judy up the stairs.

Confronting his Inner Challenge: Scottie confronts his agoraphobia.

Master of Two Worlds: Scottie knows what happened.

Conquering his Inner Challenge: Scottie makes it to the top.

Conquering the Romantic Challenge: the kiss.

Freedom to Live: Judy falls; Scottie can look over the side of the tower.

Learn more…

The Complete 188 stage Hero’s Journey and other story structure templates can be found at managing-creativity.com/ managing-creativity.com/

You can also receive a regular, free newsletter by entering your email address at this site.

Kal Bishop, MBA

**********************************

You are free to reproduce this article as long as no changes are made and the author’s name and site URL are retained.

Kal Bishop is a management consultant based in London, UK. His specialities include Knowledge Management and Creativity and Innovation Management. He has consulted in the visual media and software industries and for clients such as Toshiba and Transport for London. He has led Improv, creativity and innovation workshops, exhibited artwork in San Francisco, Los Angeles and London and written a number of screenplays. He is a passionate traveller. He can be reached at managing-creativity.com/ managing-creativity.com/

Winning a writing contest can feel like a crap shoot. You never know what the contest judges are looking for. One of the most frequent questions we’re asked at Write and Publish Your Book is, “How do I win a writing contest?”

There’s no perfect answer to the question. Sure, if you write a book that is fabulous, interesting, provocative, and profound, you stand a better chance. But, how can you know if you’ve got the next Harry Potter, or nothing more than something for the recycle bin? Many manuscripts in a writing contest will be rejected after the first page. And, since this often happens with editors and literary agents, you’ll want to know how to get past the first step. Here are a few clues:

Edit the heck out of your writing

Perhaps the first thing we’ll look for is whether or not you’ve bothered to edit the book. Misspelled words and grammatical errors will get your manuscript tossed without a moment’s hesitation. The only exception to this rule is if the book actually calls for poor grammar, such as a dialogue between a few uneducated folks. Go through your manuscript carefully, especially the first few pages.

Grab us from the start

Spend more time on your opening two pages than on any other part of your book. It doesn’t matter if your book is fiction, fantasy, erotica, science fiction, or non-fiction. Even a book on the sex life of lizards has to be interesting from the start, or you won’t get past step one in a writing contest or with a literary agent or book editor. You′ve got to do your best to grab us right away, or we’ll yawn, put the manuscript down, and go on to the next. Winning means standing out from the crowd. You′ve got to look better and read better, or you won’t be seen.

Create a good reason to read the whole book

Is your book relevant? Is it important? Do you have a clear niche for your book? We look for more than just good writing and an interesting story. We want to know that your book has some relevance. In other words, we want your book to sell. An agent or editor will want to know the same thing, and if you can’t immediately demonstrate that your book will be a hit, it will be ignored, and probably won’t win the contest

Relax

A writing contest should be fun. Sure, you’re submitting your baby - your pride and joy - to the whims of some unseen and probably ignorant reviewer. All the more reason to have some fun with your writing. If you’re enjoying yourself, your reader will be more likely to enjoy him or herself as well. I love reading anything that’s been written with heart, passion, and soul. If it’s flat, dull, or reads like an English literature assignment, I’ll drop it faster than you can say, “Ouch. That hurt.”

The truth is that you′ll never know what the reviewers are looking for in a writing contest. But, if you write well, create something that is interesting, provocative, intriguing, or just fun to read, then you′ll have a much better shot at winning than if you write a sloppy and poorly constructed piece.

After all, if you′re not having fun, then your reader won’t have fun either. Get into your characters. Breathe life into them so that they breathe life into your story. If you′re writing non-fiction, then add some humor and state your thoughts powerfully. If we don’t believe you, we won’t read your book. Both fiction and non-fiction have to be believable to be readable. We have to get in there with you, and we can’t do that if you′re not “in there” yourself. So, have fun, and enjoy what you′re doing. Oh, and write well. Good luck with your writing contest!

Writers and business owners: Become a member of

If you want to have plenty of quality articles to fill all of your Internet Publishing needs, then find out how you can create your own in half an hour or less. Learning these techniques will ensure that you will be successful in your publishing career.

Before you begin to write an article, newsletter (e-zine) or blog entry, you need to have a topic to write about. You’ve already written articles about all the subjects you know best, often two or three times from different angles. You can’t use any of those subjects again.

One great way to find topics is to read the newspaper. You’ll probably find two or more somewhere in the paper that grab your attention. If these articles don’t have all the facts you need for your purposes, you can do some online research to fill in the missing pieces. Clip the newspaper articles to their respective research printouts and put them in a pending article’s folder. Similarly, watch the evening news broadcasts on television. If a topic catches your attention make a note of the topic and do follow up research. Put the results in the pending article’s folder. Another way to find new topics is to read magazines and books for pleasure and write down any ideas that come to you while you are reading. Again put these ideas in your
pending article’s folder.

You can also observe products while shopping. There are always new items that you’ve never noticed before. Some may be the latest fad. Fads are always good to write about because they tie in with the current thoughts and feelings of society. People are frequently interested in reading about them. Put these ideas into your pending article’s folder, also.

If you do these things on a regular basis, you should have a large collection of topics you can write about any time you need to speedily dash off an article.

Quickly outline your article. Start out by fleshing out the topic and filling in the research notes to back up your theme. Jot down any points you want to make in your conclusion. This whole process should take you five to 10 minutes.

Once you have a good outline for your article, you should be able to complete your first draft in 10 to 15 minutes. Spend at least five minutes on your opening paragraph as you want to make it interesting enough to ensure the reader will continue to read the whole article.

You have now created a decent article in about 25 minutes. Stop for a cup of coffee or a quick walk around the block to refresh yourself before you take on the task of editing and polishing your article.

Ensure your spelling and grammar are correct. Your word processing software can do both of these tasks in seconds. Now read each sentence to make sure you’ve covered your topic logically and in the sequence you intended. Make sure wordy sentences are pruned down and that everything flows smoothly. Have you left anything out?

You have now completed your article and the whole thing took 30 to 35 minutes. How’s that for a great article in a short time? This one took less than 30 minutes to write and I was partially distracted by watching a football game on television. Now, if I could only type it in that time, I’d be really happy. Being an old timer, I think better with a pen and paper than I do with a keyboard and a screen. Practice will solve this problem somewhat, but old fingers will never get to be as dexterous as flexible younger ones, but then that is a whole new topic isn’t it? I wonder if I can make that into a whole new article? Hmm . . .

Gilbert Griffiths helped thousands of people during a professional career that spanned more than 35 years. He recently came out of retirement with a passionate goal to help one million people improve their lives. Would you like to be one of those people? If you would, go to rockettosuccess.com rockettosuccess.com

Here are 3 journaling or diary ideas that can contribute to, and enhance your life. You can use a notebook, The 5 Year Journal, a blank book, even a computer.

1. Start a 30 day goal journal. Pick one specific goal. “I want to lose 20 pounds.” “I want to change careers.” “I want to write a novel.” Journal everyday for the next 30 days just about that goal. Why you want the goal. How you will achieve your goal, the actions you will take. Your feelings about yourself as you move toward your goal.

2. Journal for the next 30 days what you are grateful for. Take time each day to remember the small and the big things that happened to you each day. Think about what you are the most grateful for, and write that down. Today I am grateful for________________________________________ This can also be a great family project. Set one book where the whole family can see it every day. And everyone can jump right in, journaling what they are grateful for that day.

3. Start a dream journal. Set the book by your nightstand for the next 30 days and write down your dreams. You can write the whole dream or journal what stands out for you. You can even write down just the symbols, say it was rain, clouds, flying, or school.

Copyright Doreene Clement All rights Reserved Doreene Clement

info@thϷyearjournal.com

Doreene Clement, a cancer victor and author of The 5 Year Journal, is currently writing a new book, Blessed, about her life and her cancer experience. For more information the5yearjournal.com the5yearjournal.com 480.423.8095

Copyright 2005 OMDC, LLC All Rights Reserved

Feel free to pass this along to your friends. About Journaling, the5yearjournal.com the5yearjournal.com

Don’t just rush in and start writing! Do your research and plan first. Who is your target market and what do you want to tell them? The style of writing you adopt must match your audience.

e.g. if you are writing a business article the style needs to be more formal and professional whereas an article on organizing a child’s birthday party needs to be informal and full of fun.

Creating articles is easy, simply follow these guidelines:

Headlines

Although headlines / titles are the first thing that your reader will see, I usually complete the headline after completing the rest of the article. I do this because it gives me a better chance of ensuring that the headline is consistent with the content.

Your headline can make or break your article. A good headline should captivate your reader’s imagination and compel them to read the rest of the article.

Formats similar to the following generally work well:

7 Winning Tips To …

5 Ways To …

7 Reasons Why …

Discover 5 Secrets …

Body Content

Your article content should start with a short, but interesting opening paragraph that invites the reader to read more about your headline / title statement.

The body should be broken down into small easy to read paragraphs, preferably in point / step form.

e.g. step #1, tip#1 etc.

People love to read about tips and it is much easier to write articles in this format. You can also turn each tip into sub-headings. This makes it very easy for the reader to quickly see what your article is all about and if it is of interest to them.

Concluding Paragraph

End your article with a concluding paragraph that summarizes the points covered and emphasizes the “promise” contained in your headline.

Resource Box

Resource Boxes must contain a “call to action” that compels your reader to immediately click on your link. A good idea is to offer a free e-book or mini-course related to the article. DO NOT make your resource box look like an ad!

I strongly recommend that you have a look at how other people are writing their articles. Go to various article directories and look for popular articles (been read at least a thousand times). See how they have structured their articles in terms of headlines, content and resource boxes.

Press Releases

These are similar in principle to article submission but use a different format and are submitted via special press release sites. Some article directories also offer a press release facility.

Most press releases require a payment ($30 to $200). Although you can get some free submissions, they are not as effective as the paid ones. If you can afford the cost, substantial traffic can be generated in this way.

The whole process is very straightforward if you simply follow the on screen instructions. To get a feel for the style and format used for press releases, visit some press release sites and take a look at some of the published press releases. Most sites also have a lot of online help for people new to press releases.

A good idea is to get some help in the form of step by step instructions and coaching videos designed specifically for newbies.

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Unlike eBooks or white papers or other digital information products, designing, publishing and promoting printed books can be a “stuffy” and time-consuming process. Thanks to centuries of publishing practice and establish standards, printed books have a set, defined structure, which you’ll need to follow, if you want to be taken seriously as an author and a publisher.

Yes, preparing your information for the print world can be a real pain, at times. It takes days, even weeks, longer than cranking out digital products, and you may not make as much money on the finished product, thanks to competitive pricing that sets the cost of a print book dramatically lower than what is really cost-effective. In a way, the publishing industry maintains its monopoly based on unfair and unrealistic pricing structures, and it traditionally excludes authors and independent publishers who cannot afford to offer deep discounts for their works.

To some infopreneurs, the hassle and the lower profit margins may not seem worth it. But if you want your ideas to reach a wider audience, and you want your ideas to be taken seriously by the book readers of the world, all that effort is necessary, and it can really pay off. Indeed, how well you follow the conventions of print book publishing can mean the difference between being taken seriously by reviewers, interviewers, and your reading public, and being dismissed as just another wanna-be writer who got their hands on some advanced technology and a credit card. Well-structured sections in the front and back (called “front matter” and “back matter”, respectively) like title pages, copyright statements, a table of contents, introductions… bibliographies, endnotes, and about-the-author information, can go a long way towards establishing a visual authenticity with readers, that you just can’t get in eBook format.

Print publishing opens a whole new market for your ideas — the millions of individuals who love to read books, and who prefer them to digital media. Not everyone has a laptop computer they can take with them everywhere, and not everyone likes to read 8-1/2 x 11 printouts. When your ideas are in print, they become instantly accessible to readers the world over, regardless of their technical skill or the availability of a computer. There are no batteries or power cords required, and when someone opens a book, they don’t need to wait for it to start up, before they can begin reading.

Now, to many infopreneurs who are adept at creating eBooks and white papers, print book publishing may be something of a mystery. But it doesn’t have to be complicated. If you’re a fiercely independent person, and you prefer to do things yourself, rather than turn them over to others who may (or may not) be competent and as detail-oriented as you, learning how to publish a print book could be just the thing to take your writing and publishing efforts to the next level. You can extend the reach of your information product line, you can approach mainstream traditional media outlets for publicity, you can do live book readings at real-live bookstores, and you can take your book with you wherever you go, to show the world what you’ve got.

Writing and publishing isn’t just about selling product. Yes, having a printed book opens you up to a whole new audience, but commercial profit isn’t the only point of publishing. For you as an independent thinker — a thought leader — publishing is really about getting your ideas out there and making your mark. With the proper tools, an eye for detail, and the right information, you, too, can turn your digital information products into high-quality printed books that widen the reach of your ideas and speak to a larger audience in a whole new way.

Kay Stoner is a writer and independent publisher who has over 15 books in print today. Her books range from self-help to technical how-to guides. Her website The Indie Publisher Fast Track ( ipubfasttrack.com ipubfasttrack.com) provides resources to independent publishers.