Writing Inrochester

We as a generation are responsible to build on what was established before us as we are responsible to educate and train the next generation. We are supposed to be committed as pastors, community leaders, as parents, older brothers, aunts, and teachers to help those who come after us grow and carry the torch of development and change on into the future. One of the most effective ways I have witnessed this being successfully accomplished is through books. It is the Holy Bible that continues to regulate the minds of millions of people all around the world and the best and most lasting format that has ever been created to sustain history and the account of the ages is the book. Not the television, the radio, the satellite, the internet, the cd, the cassette, or the seminar but the book.

So then if you want to join the club of being super-effective in changing the world and delivering important information to the future generations then you need to publish your work. It’s obviously the one medium that hasn’t become outdated or advanced to the point of being an old way of doing things. Authors have the power to useful and beneficial well beyond their years.

Leaving a legacy is important for the sake of productivity. God tells us to be fruitful and to multiply. We are supposed to be fruitful everyday and in every way that we possibly can. There is no time greater than this time that people can become published authors and rise to the top of this industry like this. The rise of POD companies as a viable source for writers to become published authors has leveled the playing field dramatically. Writers, educators, speakers, and leaders now have the opportunity to make their own way and take control of how far they go as published authors. I believe that the fact that there are more published authors now than probably any other time in history, the next generation is guaranteed to be much more sophisticated and advanced than we are now.

In other words, because we are all able to publish books and deliver our message of hope and empowerment, future generations will be able to use our experiences and best work as a starting point to their productivity as a citizen of the world. We have the potential to create even greater astronauts, even greater teachers, even greater, pastors, greater politician, and greater businessmen tomorrow by taking the time today to lay out the blueprint of our success through a book. I encourage you to become a trail-blazer, a leader, and a legend of this day by becoming an author!

Anthony Obey is the owner of GMA Publishing providing book publishing and marketing services to Writers, Pastors, Leaders, and Speakers. At GMApublishing.com GMApublishing.com you can also sign up for Book Coaching and receive FREE E-Tips on Writing, Publishing, and Marketing your book.

If there’s one thing I love, it’s the way that people can get so excited about struggling to find an answer to a question, when the real answer to their problem is that they haven’t really asked the right question in the first place.

Here’s an example.

“Please help me. I’ve just written a book. Which is best – trying to find a publisher the ‘traditional′ way, or trying to get it published on the internet?”

Good question, you might say.
So why am I being so smug? Why am I saying it’s the wrong question?
Because you don’t have to ‘try’ to get published on the internet! Anyone can do it, any time (as long as you pick the right company).

That might not be easy, of course. There are plenty of people advertising out there on the web, and many of their ads will lure you in, get you interested, then tell you that you need to give them hundreds of dollars for them to publish the book for you.
That’s not ‘internet publishing′.
It’s a form of publishing that’s been around for hundreds of years. It’s called ‘Vanity Publishing′. The reason it’s called that is because it’s assumed that it’s ‘vain’ to want to see your book in print, especially if traditional publishers have already turned you down. The argument goes that ‘if your book is good enough’, then you will find a traditional publisher, and they will pay you to see the book printed. If they don’t want your book, the logic goes, then it can’t be any good, and so it’s nothing but vanity to think that anyone would want to read it. So, they say, don’t publish. Don’t think about it. Don’t go any further.
You’re just being vain.

If you’ve read any of my other articles, you will know already why traditional publishers fail to publish quite a few good books. You will appreciate that lots of good stuff never gets accepted by traditional publishers, and why many authors are driven to seek out alternatives, after they′ve been driven wild with frustration. After setbacks and rejections, authors often start looking at the internet. They see it as an answer to their question: “How am I ever going to get this book published, ever?”

It doesn′t have to be like that.
Internet publishing could be your first choice, not your last resort.

My argument goes like this. After you’ve written your book, you want people to see it.
That might not be a large total. It might simply be just a few friends and relatives. Ideally, you think, it would be nice for me to be able to get hold of a dozen copies, maybe twenty, and hand them out, maybe use them as Christmas presents.
As well as that, you might want a dozen to give to local bookshops, just in case they want to put them on their shelves.
Either way, you don’t need many, at first.

Hmm, tricky, if you don’t know what you′re doing.

You could approach a printer and say you want a handful of copies.
They′ll laugh at you.
You could start off down the road of finding a traditional publisher. After years of struggle and dozens of rejection slips, you might start asking yourself how you ever got involved in such nonsense.

Is there an alternative?

Yes, of course there is. Try turning to the internet, but not at the end - at the beginning.
Still, one word of warning. Don’t go for offers of publishing that involve you paying.
Instead, look for a company like Lulu.com, as they will hold your book online for you - free - so that people can log on and inspect your effort. Then, if those ‘customers’ are interested, Lulu will allow them, (friends, relatives, well-wishers or customers) to buy a copy – one at a time, if necessary – as they want. If you need half a dozen for your local bookshop, sure, they can print them off for you too. No problem.
They’ll print – ‘on demand’, as needed. There won’t be warehouses of your books going mouldy, and there won’t be bills for thousands of dollars arriving on your doormat.
It’s a win-win situation.

The logic, if you’re following this, is that anyone can do that. Any time. In fact, as soon as you’ve completed your manuscript, you can get on down to Lulu and see your book in print.
Simple as that.
Straight away.

Ah, but - say the young authors.
After all, there’s something missing. And that’s the millions of dollars. The fame. The adulation.
The TV coverage. The chat shows. The celebrity gossip.
If you still want that, surely you’re going to need a ‘traditional’ publisher, with the media links, the PR people, the experience. If you want to be the ‘next Dan Brown’, it makes sense that you should approach Dan Brown’s current publisher, as they’ve already got a pretty good idea of how the last one got made, so should know all about how to make you into the next one.

Okay, I agree.

But look, here’s my point again.
Why not go for Internet Publishing - first?
What have you got to lose?

If your game plan is to conquer the world and become more famous than Mrs Beeton’s Cookbook and the Bible, sure, you need a traditional publisher and all that entails.
But where are you going to start?
Why not start by putting your manuscript up on Lulu and ordering a few copies?
That way, you get to see your book in print, which gives you a good idea about what it will look like. You can decide if you need a better cover, more blurb, or whatever.
Also, a cross-section of people will get to read your book. Okay, most of them may be people you know, but still, they may have ideas about what’s good and bad in your book and may give you clues about what to revise, change, take out or put in.
(Best thing is, you can do corrections with Lulu, over and over again, creating new versions as often as you like and, of course, without having to scrap a print-run of thousands. Change the thing as much as you choose. It’s easy, and it doesn’t cost anything extra.)

Oh-oh, say the sceptics.
If I put my book up on the Internet, then ‘tradtional’ publishers are going to be offended. You chose the opposition, they will say. We’re not even going to look at you, they’ll snarl.
Don’t you believe it.
After all, publishing is a business. If you′ve come up with a product that’s sellable, then the publishers will beat a path to your door. After all, they poach off each other! Yes, if one publisher offers you a deal and the book looks good, another publisher will quite happily try and buy it off them. That’s the kind of sharks they are.
No, internet publishing isn’t going to hamper your career with ‘traditional’ publishers.
Better than that, if your internet publishing is a success and sales go well, then you will come to the attention of ‘traditional’ publishers and they will approach you, don’t have any doubts about that.

On the other hand, maybe you’re not destined to be one of the major writers of your generation. You aren’t going to be rich and famous. Or rich. Or even famous.
No worries. The internet is even kinder to you.
Internet publishing allows you to see your book in print, (in small numbers, granted), which is a thrill to you, and something that you will be deprived of, if you waste your most productive years chasing ‘traditional′ publishers who don’t give you the time of day.

Yes, Internet publishing is the best option.
For everyone.
Whether you′re destined for greatness or not.
If your book is huge, you sell millions of copies, make money and become famous, good luck to you.
But you could get started on the internet.
If you aren’t worried about F&F, but want to see your book in print, so that you can read it - and Grandma, and Aunt Fanny, and the man at the garage who’s interested - then Internet Publishing is for you too.

It’s for everybody.
Everybody.

Mike Scantlebury is an Internet Author. He has written crime fiction, science fiction, fact and romance. You can go to his Business Pages to download his books in portions or hurry on over to Lulu.com/mscantlebury www.Lulu.com/mscantlebury to see his books as books. If you want to join in the debate about the future of internet authoring you are welcome to try Mike’s Discussion Forum at publishingisdead.com www.publishingisdead.com

Do you want to increase your businesses exposure by writing articles for online and print media? It’s a great way to be deemed and expert and raise your business profile with potential customers without paying heavy advertising fees.

But just how do you do that?

Writer’s Guidelines

The key to knowing how to present your article proposal to the editor of either a print publication or an online e-zine, is to look at their Writer’s Guidelines. Most e-zine websites, as well as websites that accompany print magazines have Writer’s Guidelines, although often you need to hunt for them. (Checking “About Us” or “Contact Us” are good places to start.)

Take Woman’s Day, for example. By tracking through “Contact Us,” you get to a box of topics which includes “How to Advertise,” “Article and Recipe Requests,” and “Article Submissions.” Clicking “Article Submissions,” you finally get to the Writer’s Guidelines ( womansday.com/contact/5811/writers-guidelines.html). By clicking the article guidelines you finally get to see what they want. In the middle of the paragraph you see:

“Please send us a query first, not the entire manuscript.”

What’s a query?

Query Letter vs. Total Article

A query letter tells the editor what you plan to write about. If it is well-done and targeted to the right magazine with the right subject, the editor will assign the article for you to write. The query letter gives the editor a chance to see if you can follow directions and if you can string words together in a sentence.

Alternatively, Woman’s Day goes on to say:

“We accept no queries for essays. They must be submitted in their entirety and on speculation.”

In this case, you must write the essay and send it to them. They will either send it back or, hopefully, publish it!

Lead Times

Magazines have longer lead times than e-zines. A lead time is the time between when they accept your article or essay and when it comes out in print. Print magazines have to be, well, printed. They are usually larger than e-zines and it takes some time to lay them out, send them to the printer, and get them back.

Why is that important?

The primary reason that it is important is so you know when to submit an article that has a seasonal impact. The Writer’s Guidelines will probably tell you the lead time. Woman’s Day’s guidelines don’t tell you. If you don’t see it, it’s worth your while to contact the magazine and ask.

Once you know the lead time, you know when to send in your submission regarding Christmas, Valentine’s Day and Thanksgiving. If you are planning a piece on a topic that’s important right now, such as the upcoming election, your best bet is to submit the article to an ezine. It’s too late for most print magazines.

Good luck on your submissions!

Casey Dawes is a small business owner, author, coach, speaker and consultant with over 20 years of experience in the technical industry.

Set your journal or diary where you will see it everyday, i.e., on your nightstand, at your desk, where you have coffee. This will help to remind you to journal.

Part of keeping a journal, is skipping a day, a week, and even months.

Writing a word, sentences, or paragraphs, journaling whatever you have to say that day is just the right amount to write.

Journal whatever is important for you to write about right then and there. I’ve journaled about a fabulous soup I ate, my concerns about a friendship, my dreams for the future.

Keeping your journal private. That can mean setting boundaries with those in your home, it may mean hiding it, or locking it away. You will have to make an individual decision about what that means to you.

Re-read your journal or not. Rarely do I re-read my journals. Some people always read what they have written. Again it is a personal choice.

Remember to use your journal for your benefit and well being, what ever that that means to you. Keeping a journal is a powerful tool that you can give to yourself everyday. Plus, this creates time for you every day.

Copyright Doreene Clement All Rights Reserved

Doreene Clement
the5yearjournal.com www.the5yearjournal.com

mailto:info@the5yearjournal.com info@the5yearjournal.com

Have you started your book yet? No, why not? Perhaps you hesitate for the same reasons many of us hesitated. You wonder, “Will my book sell in a crowded book market?” Good question. Everyone wants to know before they invest time, effort and most of all money. Here are a few tips to help you know if your book will sell well before you even write it. Give your manuscript the test of significance. Write your book to meet two to three areas to achieve significance in the book marketplace. To make sure your book passes the test of significance, does it offer:

1) Original, different information.

Have you wondered what makes a new diet book sell well even when there are scores of diet books on the market? The author presents their unique set of successful diet rules, their exercise program, their perspective, their testimonials and their credentials. They use original, different information for the same results.

2) Inspire people to do something good.

Weave inspiring stories into your book and sell more. The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership spent 18 straight months on the Business Week Business Best Seller List. Dr. Maxwell started each chapter with a short story of a famous person successfully using the chapter’s law of leadership.

3) Entertainment, humor or fun.

Do you have a talent to make people laugh? Use it in your book. Provide a little oasis of escape for your readers. People love it when you entertain them. Intertwine funny stories into your non-fiction manuscript. Entertain them, make them laugh they′ll love you for it. Best of all, they will have fun telling all their friends about your funny book.

4) Greater understanding of life.

Have you been gifted with a deep understanding of life? Put small excerpts of your understanding throughout your book. Sprinkle your quotes along with other famous philosophers or world thinkers within your book.

5) Success experiences that motivate your audience to do more, give more or share more.

Share your experiences to motivate your audience. Share how you overcame seemingly insurmountable challenges in your field. It will motivate your audience to think if you did it; they can do it too.

Are you ready to start writing yet? Did your book idea pass the test of significance in at least two areas? Great! Now that you know your book is significant, go ahead take the plunge. Don’t hesitate any longer. Start today. Your audience is waiting for your unique ideas and viewpoint. Make it different. Make it count. Make it yours.

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© Earma Brown, 11 year author and business owner
helps small business owners and writers who want to write their best book now! Author of ‘Write Your Best Book Now’, she mentors other writers and business professionals through her monthly ezine ‘iScribe’ Subscribe now at
mailto:iscribe@writetowin.org iscribe@writetowin.org for FREE mini-course ‘Jumpstart Writing Your Best Book′ or visit writetowin.org/bestbooknow1.html How to Write a Book for more book writing tips.

In the art of writing there are several areas or levels of expertise. We will go over a few of them and find out where you would like to end up in the world of professional article writing.

The hobby blogger writes to tell stories of what they have seen, read or about an experience they had at some sort of event, online or off. The hobby writer rarely uses a spellchecker and their posts usually reflect the innocence of a novice writer.

The casual writer is the more serious blogger or website owner that tries to convey a story, write a review or share knowledge in their field of expertise. They will have several sites or blogs in areas surrounding their life and occupations, often times posting in several other peoples blogs or forums daily. Whether they know it or not, they are actually grooming themselves to be a great writer.

The advanced writer supplies content for others in the way of articles, white papers and reports after doing research in that particular field and composing relevant, targeted information about the subject. They may get compensated for the material or submit the articles to directories for distribution for SEO reasons or to establish themselves in the market as an authority for sales purposes.

Professional writers get paid well for their efforts. Sometimes in the tens of thousands for a high conversion sales letter, documentary, biography, or book. They are the syndicated columnists, feature story authors in magazines and the ever popular technical manual composers. They will often have pen names to protect their identity and can be ghost writers giving up all rights to the project for compensation.

In the advanced and professional areas, writers are sought after mostly due to the fact that not everyone can convey their thoughts and ideas well, let alone write them down in the proper format or storyline. Hence the growing need for writers.

In the online world thousands of websites and blogs are being created every day and the one common theme between them all is they will need content written.

The majority of all websites are about a company or service, the balance are for selling products either physical or digital. A small percentage of sites are purely informational and are not monetarily driven like the .gov sites and some .org sites.

Almost all offline companies that want a website created will hire it done. A golden opportunity for writers. Just plug in with a few website creation companies and you will have a nice part time freelance writing job.

Online marketers trying to sell products will try to write their own sales pages for the small or low cost products but when it comes to the high end market they will inevitably seek out a professional to be able to convert as many leads as possible thus reducing their cost to sale ratio.

This is where the advanced and professional writer comes in to the play and are eagerly sought after.

An advanced writer can work on an almost endless variety of projects. A writer can either focus on an area of expertise, or write a greater variety of general knowledge articles. The going rate for quality articles in the 500-700 word range is $15.00-$25.00 each depending on the quantity ordered. Not bad considering and article can be made in less than an hour for the groomed writer. A nice paying part time job and a respectable full time income when you build up your client base.

As more high end products and services come online the professional writer can develop an awesome stream of income when they have proven themselves in the market. I know many of the top writers for the online world and it is usually a six month wait before they can get to your project unless you have very deep pockets.

Most of the professional writers for online copy easily exceed six figures a year and rarely do they get a blister on their finger from the keypad!

For the beginner there are many resources for developing the skill of writing. There are workshops, seminars, courses, reference books, and connection with other writers. I currently subscribe to many copywriters RSS feeds so I can study their style. Every day will become part of a your training. Every minute at the keyboard adds to your store of information, ideas, topics, methods and style.

A writer is not a writer until they put words to paper or screen and this is the application of the training that you will have acquired over the years. Yes I said years, it takes time to get good at anything worthwhile.

Usually, most of us see the quality of our work going up as we ramp up our productivity. The old saying is “the first one is the hardest″ and it plays true in writing also. My first article had to have taken at least four hours or more and the end result was nothing to be proud of! After a while and the desire to get better, it now takes less than an hour to write a 600 word article, research included.

Article writing is an art form - not only must you be continuously creative, but you also must have the desire to continue. As long as you have an ounce of creativity you will be able to become a good writer.

Eventually, you′ll get to the point where the discipline, the passion, and the experience will all come together and your skill as a writer will either produce a nice income or the sites and blogs you create will get highly ranked from the quality content.

Brian Ankner has been writing articles and website content for quite some time now and has created a site dedicated to helping aspiring artists blossom into great writers. For the resources that he uses, go to
topshelfarticles.com/Professional_Article_Writing.html Professional Article Writing Tips and pick up the tools to start your publishing career.

You’re an expert in your subject matter. You know it inside and out. You can explain it, present it, analyze it … but can you write about it? Not sure? Don’t have the time or inclination? Perhaps you don’t even want to.

Let’s face it, if you’re not a writer, or simply lack the time or desire to write, do what many best-selling authors do. Get help from a professional ghostwriter.

A ghostwriter has a special knack for crawling inside your head, understanding what you want to say, and speaking in your voice. A ghostwriter distills a great deal of information into tight prose … translates your feelings into the written word … and organizes a complex message into a coherent manuscript.

What is a ghostwriter?

Ghostwriting is a form of freelance writing (In other words, it is a business transaction, and a ghostwriter is a supplier of services.) As the client, you pay for those services and have full control over the copy. Terms and details are agreed upon before you start the project. You have a right to expect the ghostwriter to perform professionally and respect confidentiality.

What does a ghostwriter write?

Books

Books are a highly specialized and often expensive form of business communication; but, in many cases, the payback can be enormous. There are numerous reasons why a company might want to author a book. Here are a few of them:

* as a vehicle to convey a CEO’s vision

* to share the news of winning a prestigious award

* to publish an autobiography or an authorized biography

* to explain a process in a highly specialized area

Corporate histories

Businesses are like families: they have personalities, cultures, and histories. Publicly owned companies tell their stories in annual reports; private companies have fewer regulatory restrictions and thus much more freedom in how they tell theirs. Like annual reports, corporate histories can be simple and relatively inexpensive or meticulously designed and full of bells and whistles. It depends on your goals, which can range from telling relatives about a family-owned enterprise to telling the world about your company’s products and services.

Family histories

People want to connect with their roots. If you doubt it, consider the explosion of interest in genealogy and the number of people you know who are visiting the countries where their ancestors were born. In a society where grandparents no longer live down the block and extended families are often neighbors instead of relatives, more people than ever want to capture their stories while there are still people around who remember them. Compiling a family history involves research, organization of myriad details, tracking down and identifying old photos, interviewing people, and of course, writing it all in an interesting way.

Memoirs and autobiographies

Everyone has a story to tell, which is one reason writing classes are full of people who want to put theirs between the covers of books. Not surprisingly, there is even greater demand in celebrity and business circles. From tell-all memoirs to discreet, thoughtful autobiographies, these books sell well and, sometimes, even dispel the stigma surrounding many sensitive topics (alcoholism, drug addiction, abuse, to name a few).
It is one thing to know your own story it is quite another to write it coherently and colorfully. Writing a book takes organization, planning, and self-discipline but that’s only the beginning.

Proposals

There are three main types of proposals:

Business proposals are written for two reasons: to respond to an RFP (Request for Proposal) or to present an idea or product in order to create interest, funding, or a business alliance. The body of the proposal must cover these points: purpose of the proposal, problem or situation to be addressed, goals, methods to be used, anticipated timelines, how you will evaluate effectiveness, and what you need to finish the project.

Book proposals are like resumes; they get you in the door. They also force you to think through, in advance, every aspect of your book. A good proposal tells the editor or agent what your book is about, who will read it, why you are uniquely qualified to write it, whether there is market for this book, what else is out there on the subject, how you will help to promote it, what the chapters contain, and, of course, how well you write.

Grants must conform to a very specific format with many sections, beginning with a cover letter and ending with supporting documentation. Essentially, a grant asks for money for a special project from a foundation or other funding source. Like other proposals, grants must answer basic questions: Who (organization or institution) is applying for the grant? What is the project? Why and when do you need the money? Who will implement the project? How will you evaluate the effectiveness of your plan?

How are ghostwriters paid?

* Work for hire - a flat fee for creative input

* Royalties - Money paid each time a copy of the book is sold. (an advance on the book is money paid against the future royalties)

* Advance plus royalties - money paid up front, plus a share of profits

* On consignment - promise of a percentage of potential sales, with no guarantees

* Hourly rate - time actually spent on the project, billed periodically

Acknowledgment in print is often considered part of the fee. The ghostwriter’ name appears on the cover preceded by one of these three words:

* with - indicates that the ghostwriter has assisted on the project

* and - means both parties have contributed to the material in the book

* as told to - the ghostwriter has transcribed and edited the client’s story or material

If there is no credit line, you may express your appreciation somewhere in the acknowledgments, in which case, you may have to negotiate a higher fee.

In essence, a ghostwriter becomes your voice for one purpose: to express your thoughts and ideas as you wish them to be read by others.

Bobbi Linkemer is a ghostwriter, editor, and the author of 12 books under her own name. She has been a professional writer for 40 years, a magazine editor and journalist, and a book-writing teacher. Her clients range from Fortune 100 companies to entrepreneurs who want to write books in order to enhance their credibility and build their businesses. Visit her Website at: WriteANonfictionBook.com WriteANonfictionBook.com

Writing effectively on the internet is the most effective way to achieve maximum profit from your website. You can use effective writing in articles and ads so that you can get traffic to your site. You can write good content on your site and in your ezine to get more subscribers. Most importantly, you can write an effective sales letter to persuade visitors to purchase your product or service.

Choice of words is extremely important. Certain words, when combined and used in the right context, can draw the reader to your writing and keep them reading what you have to say. Here are the words which will pull readers in:

Free, guaranteed, money, revealed, secrets, discovery, easy, breakthrough, magic, cash, love, hidden, proven, uncovered, profit, ultimate, power, you, now, value, solution, etc…

Be sure to use these words frequently in your writing and apply them to what you are trying to sell. Especially, use these words in your headline. The headline is what will draw your readers in first of all and so it needs to catch their eye. Make sure your product sounds like the miracle they′ve been waiting for. For example:

‘Discover the new secret which will guarantee you a breakthrough solution to making ultimate profits online!’

On the other hand, don′t make your product sound unrealistic. Too many of these words will remind readers of spam and they will think that your product is too good to be true.

Some words should be avoided. These are words which will give readers a negative impression. Your writing always needs to be positive, and so try not to use words such as these:

Cost, no, difficult, responsibility, wrong, worry, death, fail, negative, not, never, less, etc?

These words are sure to give the reader a poor impression of your product.

As a general rule, when trying to advertise something, always be positive. A positive review, with positive words, will create a positive mood for the reader which will encourage them to read further and think deeply about what they’re reading. Also, the chances are, they will enjoy what they are reading.

William Johnston (will@info-ebooks.co.uk) is owner of info-ebooks.co.uk info-ebooks.co.uk

For 100s of free ebooks and software tools about making and developing a successful internet business go to -

info-ebooks.co.uk info-ebooks.co.uk

Some of us write simply because we can’t not write. Ideas grab
us, move us, and demand to be written. We strive to make it as
real as we possibly can, to improve at our craft every day,
hopefully to make it into the realm of literature as well as
entertainment. We want to craft an entire world where the places
and people are so real that the reader doesn’t feel like he’s
reading a book as much as he is going to another place. In the
lofty world of literature that we strive for, the reader will
still think about the book after reading that last page. It’s
our gift to the reader, something to take with him. Given
sufficient skill, this can even happen long after we are dead.

Then we learn that doesn’t sell. Oh, there are exceptions. Some
novelists make a living by consistently writing quality
literature. But, there are quite a few best sellers who have no
such goals. They write for money, and they make it.

Even the writer who has written great literature has trouble
marketing it that way. We have to look at our “target audience.”
Who will buy this book? Let me see, our heroine survived spousal
abuse, so there’s an audience. There’s a suicide, so we can get
the bereavement crowd. Where’s the setting? We can get a local
audience. The hero’s a cop. Maybe the teen boys will go for that.
Nah, too light on action. But there’s a romance. Maybe we’ll
market to the romance readers. Give the hero bedroom eyes and
pass him off as a romantic hero. Yeah, that might work.

But if you want to write to get rich, even that’s not enough.
Nah, the time to think about your reader is before you write
the book, not after.

Throw in lots of gratuitous sex, preferably extramarital. One
(and only one) character who flirts and is sorely tempted and
walks away from “love″ to remain true to his wife.

Use taboo words for shock value. Ram, hump, scream, oral sex,
voluptuous, female orgasm (the great revelation). Make sure a
lot of your leads enjoy sex. Horny women are a good way to pull
in the readers you want. We all know men are horny, but most of
your readers haven’t discovered that some women enjoy sex too.
Tell them this. Give the female readers a balm for their
consciences and the male readers someone to dream about.

Your heroine should be tough, sweet, sensitive, and very horny,
and has to think she’s not attractive even though every guy in
the book except her husband falls off his chair with a tent in
his pants.

Don’t let the length of a novel faze you. Just throw some people
on the stage, move them around a bit, and get them into bed.
Then, change the rules so they have to move around a bit again
and get them back into bed. (It doesn’t always have to be a bed.
Office desks and car seats work too.) When the book’s long enough,
stop. Don’t worry about the “climax,” because people are
climaxing all over the place.

Exotic locales. Foreign countries with beaches. Lots of rich
people. Remember that you’re writing for the lowest common
denominator, because they spend most of the money that you’re
trying to reel in. Make it sleazy. No one ever went broke
underestimating the public.

How to publish? To do it right, write the sales pitch before you
write the book. Make sure the book follows the pitch and the
formula. If your cover letter alone has eight typos, no problem.
Nobody cares. The publisher will wanna rush this baby to print
and get you, or an attractive stand-in, doing as many TV
appearances as possible before the book reviewers have time to
draw breath. Heck, your target market doesn′t read book reviews
anyway! Also keep in mind that once that reader buys your book,
you’ve won. They won′t get a refund just because you’re
illiterate. So don′t worry about hiring an editor. Hire a
publicist!

Think Hollywood. You want your book to become a movie. It
doesn′t have to be a good movie, because most of them aren′t. It
just has to sell, baby, sell! Write parts for all the hottest
stars. True, today’s hottest stars will have faded by the time
they start filming your movie, but no matter. Someone just like
them will replace them.

I’ve been doing it wrong for all these years. I started writing
over 20 years ago, and the five books I have on the shelves are
enough to make it a hobby that barely pays for itself. Meanwhile,
I work at a job for my money. But if you follow my advice, you
won’t make the same mistakes I have. You’ll get rich!

Copyright 2005, Michael LaRocca

Michael LaRocca’s website at chinarice.org chinarice.org was
chosen by WRITER’S DIGEST as one of The 101 Best Websites
For Writers in 2001 and 2002. His response was to throw it
out and start over again because he’s insane. He teaches
English at a university in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province,
China, and publishes the free weekly newsletter WHO MOVED
MY RICE?

As a former advertising copywriter, I STILL get bombarded with questions about advertising copywriter salaries. Cocktail parties, in particular was a breeding ground for such assaults…especially as the wine started flowing!

Okay, we all know that things change every day, but I’ll tell you what I do know about advertising copywriter salaries and the number one thing is that its MORE than you think.

Junior copywriters, fresh out of ad schools across the countries can and should expect to make between $25 to $35 thousand dollars. Again, these are rough estimates…but I haven’t been gone too long.

Stepping up from Junior Copywriter is full copywriter. These lucky guys and gals SHOULD be making about $50 thousand or more. Nice money so far, right?

Here’s where advertising copywriter salaries start to spiral upwards.

Associate Creative Directors will typically make somewhere just below six figures. Now before everyone starts writing me hate mail that they don’t make that much, hang on a second. I’m talking here about the biggest of the big NYC ad agencies.

JWT, Y&R and McCann Erickson. The shops with the big bucks.

Now, for Creative Directors, add another $50K to $100K to the mix, and suddenly you′re at two hundred thousand dollars a year! That’s a lot of scratch for being able to wear jeans!

I won’t even disgust you with how adverting copywriter salaries go, but I knew of many who were making about the hal million dollar mark and they still hadn’t seen the end of the salary rainbows!

If any of those numbers sound like you want to run out and put a great junior book together just realize that the competition for those jobs is, understandably, ridiculously difficult.

If you think advertising copywriter salaries are incredible, then you need to look into become-a-copywriter.com/articlemarketing.html article marketing. It’s how I got OUT of the copywriting business. Then read Kevin Browne’s HIGHEST RATED opportunity reviews at his new site WWW.BECOME-A-COPYWRITER.COM/earnmoneywriting.html become-a-copywriter.com/earnmoneywriting.html