Writing Inrochester

With the advent of email communications in the workplace, it’s not uncommon to exchange dozens of messages daily. Sometimes, I sense a writer’s “voice” in such messages. Occasionally, I ask if they’ve done any writing. A year ago, a colleague answered, “I loved to write in high school, but I just don’t have time anymore! ” She was extraordinarily busy, mothering an active two-year-old, commuting over an hour a day, managing the house, and holding a full-time managerial job. In spite of the fact that I knew she was overloaded, I sensed a unique talent in her words and didn’t hesitate to encourage her.

“Just write,” I said, “take fifteen minutes at lunch each day. Just do it.”

“But what would I write about?” she asked, “I have no idea where to start!”
“Once you get going, it will just flow out of you. You don’t have to have a plan. Just do it.”

She wrote during a break the next day, and sent me three paragraphs. It was lovely. I encouraged her to continue and we began to exchange writing daily. Six months later, she had completed the manuscript for her first novel, a historical time-travel piece. She’s submitting it for publishing as I write this.

Here are a few suggestions for new writers. I hope you find them helpful!

Suggestion one: Just write. Write for a few minutes every day. If your passion for writing is real, you’ll find that you can’t stop! You’ll find a way to make it happen. I schedule very early mornings for writing, from 4:00 to 6:00 AM. It’s the only quiet time in my hectic life and I couldn’t accept spending less time with my daughters, wife, or grandsons. So, I go to bed early and forget about TV. What’s more important? In doing so, I’ve produced eight novels in a bit over four years.

Suggestion two: Cut out the flowery stuff. I adore adjectives and adverbs, and I ache to describe scenes in lush detail. But in the end, I go back and hack away at all the excess. If you read a line out loud and it feels stilted or halting – stop! Take out all the extra words that slow you down, and just tell the story. Use the descriptors sparingly. I’ve found that after writing eight books, my style has become simpler and more streamlined. I’m going back now and red-lining much of the early work before it reaches the bookstores. It hurts like hell to do it, but it’s absolutely necessary.

Suggestion three: Observe, observe, observe! Soak in every tiny detail that surrounds you. Colors, textures, sensations, expressions, birdsongs, sunlight, and the ground you walk on… notice everything, and brand it into your brain for that next chapter you’re going to write.

Suggestion four: Listen to the voices! Listen to the grocery clerk, the bank teller, children at play, professors, grandparents, and neighbors… listen! You’ll never create natural dialogue without listening - hard!

Suggestion five: Tap into your emotions. When someone close to you dies, it’s an overwhelming, dreadful experience. But, the same emotions that flatten you at that time will be indispensable when you write about loss. Recreating the deep-seated feelings will make your book come alive and ring true with readers.

Suggestion six: Make your characters feel deeply and give them a rich history. This takes time and is particularly important if you’re writing a series. If readers don’t care about the characters, they won’t come back for more. Don’t worry about defining them in detail in the beginning – just start writing and they will develop. You can always go back and add more detail that supports your character’s growth.

Suggestion seven: Perfection comes later. Just get it out there, get it down on paper. Then, when you go back to it, hack away at the unnecessary prepositional phrases and the ungainly adverbs, extract those awkward scenes that stand out like sore thumbs, and supplement those that seem abrupt. Then, set it aside for a while. After I’ve completed a novel, I put it down and start on the next one. Many months later, I’ll come back to it. It’s best if I don’t remember much (I’m often surprised at how much I’ve forgotten!) as that’s when one is in the best position to challenge one’s own work. Sometimes I’ll be surprised at an unusually eloquent passage, or humiliated by a flimsy section through which I obviously rushed. That’s the time to roll up your sleeves and be ruthless! Cut out the excess and fortify the weak!

Suggestion eight: Find a skillful editor. I’ve been lucky. I have writer/reader friends with eagle eyes who will scour my manuscripts and be brutal where necessary. Try to find one person who is willing to follow along with the book as you create it. That’s the best way to start. Share this service. Swap chapters as soon as they’re done. That’s what I do with my friend, Jeanne. She is a talented writer and a superb editor. She catches things I’d never notice, and I do the same for her. We aren’t shy about helping – if a passage sounds stilted, she tells me immediately! If I want to “see” more of the details in a scene, I ask her to elaborate. It works extremely well. Then, when the book is in a reasonable shape, I send it to my friend, Ray, who is a fine author in his own right. He goes through with a fine-toothed comb and imparts writing gems in the process. I call him, “The Master!”

If it weren’t for them, my books would stink. Well, maybe that’s a little extreme, but I’ve learned so much from them that the finished LeGarde Mystery manuscripts read more smoothly and are of higher quality. I also have an “inner circle” of readers who’ve traveled with me through the series far in advance of publishing. They keep me honest and provide feedback about the characters that they’d come to love.

Suggestion nine: Maintain the tension. You want your readers to need to read more. Keep up the pace. Make it flow seamlessly from chapter to chapter. And try to avoid unnecessary excursions into boring territory. I use lots of dialogue; it moves the book along quickly. Short chapters also help the reader feel as if he’s made progress. Readers say that with short chapters they’re more apt to think, “Just one more chapter before I go to bed.” Of course, if the tension and suspense are stimulating, your poor readers will stay up way past bedtime!

Suggestion ten: Polish it ‘til it shines. Don’t send in anything but your best work, buffed to perfection. You may have to go through it dozens of times, but it’s worth it. Have your friends and family do the same. Each time they scour through it, they’ll find something new. It seems endless. But if you keep at it, you will produce a superior product.

Aaron Paul Lazar resides in Upstate New York with his wife, three daughters, two grandsons, mother-in- law, two dogs, and three cats. After writing in the early morning hours, he works as an electrophotographic engineer at NexPress Solutions Inc., part of Kodak’s Graphic Communications Group, in Rochester, New York. Additional passions include vegetable, fruit, and flower gardening preparing large family feasts; photographing his family, gardens, and the breathtakingly beautiful Genesee Valley cross-country skiing across the rolling hills; playing a distinctly amateur level of piano, and spending “time” with the French Impressionists whenever possible.

Although he adored raising his three delightful daughters, Mr. Lazar finds grandfathering his “two little buddies” to be one of the finest experiences of his life. Double Forte’, the first in the series, was published in January 2005. Upstaged, number two, is in production. With eight books under his belt, Mr. Lazar is currently working on the ninth, which features Gus LeGarde and his family. legardemysteries.com legardemysteries.com

When I became a published author, little over a year ago, I realized that my publisher would be doing next to nothing to push my book. So I started researching ways of doing my own promotion. I read about preparing press releases, doing book signings, methods for approaching that various media.

Somewhere along the line, I began to have more sober thoughts. “Wait! I don’t even own a car. What am I gonna do, hitchhike around on an author’s tour?” And most authors don’t get offered interview spots on T.V. and Radio unless their book is ALREADY a bestseller – or unless the topic they’re writing about ties in with some current and news-worthy event.

Basically, the tried-and-true methods of book promotion were beyond my means or just not feasible. No one wanted to review my book because I was an unknown author (!) The editors of the local papers and the folks at the college radio never replied to me.

Then the idea hit me: I could reach as many people on the internet, and not even have to leave my house. From that time on, I devoted hours to traversing the web. I participated in discussion forums, submitted my title to book lists like IBLIST, wrote and posted “free to reprint” articles with attached author’s bio and links to my website on AuthorsDen. And on that site I posted a full bio, links to my book page on my publisher’s site, and sample chapters.

Some weeks as many as a hundred people would visit my site, and a dozen would read my excerpts. This went on week by week…over a year’s time.

How many books did I sell as a result of this (not including other efforts)? I could count them on my fingers. So what happened there?

Here’s my hypothesis, and it has to do with the average person’s perception of the web. See, to an author it seems a natural place to be exposed and generate sales. But to others, it’s a wide ocean of FREE information, a kind of cyber-library. My guess is that my visitors read through my sample chapters and enjoyed them.

Then they moved on, continuing to browse the endless field of free-to-view content that will forever come-hither in response to their keystrokes.

Seth Mullins is the author of “Song of an Untamed Land”. Visit his complete blog at writingup.com/blog/seth_mullins writingup.com/blog/seth_mullins

As a copywriter and marketer, I love to collect direct mail, magazine, newspaper, email, and even radio and television ads. And the other day I got a piece of mail that was just awesome. It did everything in a way that left me shaking my head in disbelief.

But there was a problem with it. A problem that — despite how great the ad was — will probably cause this particular promotion to flop.

What was the problem?

It took almost a page and a half to get to the point.

In other words, the person who wrote this ad could have cut out the whole first page and a half of “fluff” and then started it there.

I’m not sure why the writer did this, but he spent several paragraphs talking about something totally unrelated to the product he was selling — almost as if he was “warming” up.

And if I didn′t read every ad that arrives in my mailbox all the way through, I never would have known how great the rest of the ad was, nor would I have wanted to buy the product it was selling (which I did buy, incidentally).

And that’s the problem.

Most people getting this marketing piece aren’t reading it because they like to read ads. And that’s why I doubt it’ll pull very well. Even though it does everything else right.

People are busy and stressed and have things to do. They don’t like to read long things unless they′re 100% interesting and relevant to a problem or desire they have. And so, if we don’t get to the point and strip out all the content they couldn’t care less about, we’re probably going to lose the sale.

All of which reinforces the importance of keeping ads simple and to the point.

The majority of people are not going to “hold on” while we go off on some tangent. Every idea, sentence and punctuation mark must have a reason — a purpose — or it needs to be cut.

Ben Settle is a direct response copywriter and author of “The Copywriter’s Cheat Sheet” — which contains over 300 pages of advanced copywriting secrets and rare swipe file ads not easily found anywhere else. You can

Once upon a time, people went to bookstores when they wanted to buy
a book. Or at least, that was the theory. Actually, non-bookstore
channels have been a big part of book sales for decades—at least since
people like Joe Karbo (”The Lazy Man’s Way to Riches”) back in the
1960s.
For my own books, whether they were
s
elf-published, done with
a small commercial house, or by a New York conglomerate, I’ve found that se
lling direct is more secure, more financially rewar
ding, and far less hassle than sweating out the returns game with the b
ookstore channel.
All along, I’ve sold through speeches (I love getting pai
d to do my own marketing), over the Web (the f
irst of my four websites went live in 1996), to clients at my office, wh
o stare at a rack of my work throughout their entire appointment, and thr
ough

an extensive effort to create “buzz.”
The great thi
n
g is that *anyone* can generate buzz. Three of my techniques:
1. Be a sourc
e or guest for conventional
m
edia. I’ve been quoted in Reader’s Digest, the New York Times, Woman’s Day, Bo
ttom Line, the Wall Street Journal, Christian Science Monitor, Los Ange
les Times, Inc, and dozens of other well-known and obscure publications (s
ee a detailed list at principledprofits.com/pressroom.html principledprofits.com/pressroom.html)
. I’m also a call-in guest on at least a dozen radio shows per year. Whether

or not I sell a lot of books directly through
t
hese interviews, I definitely create a lot of buzz (search for my nam
e at Google and see for yourself)–and the best interviews sell a number o
f books through my websites or toll-free numbers.
Here’s my “secret weapon” f
or getting coverage: a service that sends source queries from journalist
s working on

stories. (Find out more at frugalmarketing.com/prleads.shtml frugalmarketing.com/prleads.shtml)
2. Find your niche on line, and participate actively. There ar
e literally hundreds of thousands of “communities” online: virtual watercoo
lers where people gather to tal
k shop: mystery, historical novel reading groups, professionals in every l
ine of work. Find a group whose audience is the same as your book,

and participate often. I currently participate in three groups for small

press publishers (a primary market not only for my books but for my co
pywriting services, a group for Internet marketing profess
i
onals, three fo
r professional PR and copywriters, and several others. Yes,

I spend an hour or two per day keeping up with–and participating on–th
ese lists, but the impact on my business is huge.
3. Distribu
te content. A
r
ticles, book excerpts, blogs…if you write often enough about a subject,

you become an expert. And you can find dozens of websites, discus
sion groups, print newsletters, ‘zines, even radio shows–all hungr
y for well-written, informative material. You get “paid″ with
a

few lines of blurb and contact info.
For my new book, “Principled Pr
ofit: Marketing That Puts People First,” I am addi
ng two things to

the mix: a network of independent representatives who will sell my book
on commission–thus reaching new networks I’ve not been
a
ble to reach on my own–and aggressive pursuit of corporate sales. I’ve h
ad my first success with the latter: 1000 copies to a prom
i
nent airline. And that means the book was already profitable before it ro
lled off the press!

Shel Horowitz, author of *Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People
First,* *Grassroots Marketing: Getting Noticed in a Noisy World,* and
four other books, offers affordable, effective copywriting and strategic
marketing planning to clients on three continents. He is the originator of
the Ethical Business Pledge Campaign to change the World at principledprofits.com/25000influencers.html principledprofits.com/25000influencers.html. His sites at frugalmarketing.com frugalmarketing.com and principledprofits.com principledprofits.com offer
hundreds of useful articles for entrepreneurs and marketers, including
the complete back issues of his FREE Monthly Frugal Marketing Tips.
Shel will be glad to help you create your next press release, sell sheet,
web site, or other marketing material. He can be reached at
mailto:shel@principledprofits.com shel@principledprofits.com, 800-683-WORD.

The toughest part of writing is being an objective editor. The standard trick is to give yourself (at least) 24 hours to let the article sit before you publish it. You write the draft and then set the entire project aside. When you come back to it, the next day or a week later, you get a fresh perspective. It helps the editing process because it removes your expectation of what is supposed to be written on the page and helps you see what is actually there.

But we do not always have the luxury of sitting on an article for another day. Whether it is a term paper for class, an article you are submitting for publication, or a self-imposed deadline, sometimes the piece is just due now. In those cases, here are some tips for digging into your own writing and editing it into a better work.

Stick to the Topic

Regardless of whether you are writing a news brief, a term paper or a myspace blog post, you need to keep every paragraph focused on your overall point. Diversions from the main topic should be purposeful. Before you begin to edit your piece, write down the overarching topic for the entire document. Then as you read each paragraph ask yourself, “Does this paragraph have anything to do with my topic?” If the answer is ‘no’ then you better have a good reason for keeping it there.

Write For Your Industry

It is important to remember what type of publication you are writing for. It determines style, tone, and the use of abbreviations and shorthand. Blogs, in general, are written the way you talk, but most professional writing is absolutely not. Term papers follow the MLA Formatting and Style Guide and occasionally, classes use the APA Formatting and Style Guide.

News writing has its own style, and news writing for websites has even more strict editorial standards. Not only do you need to be familiar with the editorial guidelines for your industry before you write, you have to make sure you are consistent throughout the piece.

Use Your References

The dictionary and thesaurus are still invaluable tools. So are Britannica or Wikipedia, depending on your preference for encyclopedia. If you doubt spelling, grammar, word choice or facts, you need to do the research. Don′t be afraid to pick a different word or phrase to say the same thing. The beauty of language is that there are myriad of ways to say something without losing the effectiveness of your writing. Trust your instincts on this one and apply the use of references books judiciously.

Check for Tense Changes

For the most part, you should keep an entire piece in one tense or the other. When you write in present tense, you switch to past tense only for events that happen in the past. But in most other circumstances, tense changes are a red flag.

Use Spell Checker

Use spell checker on your document. There is just no excuse. It is one thing to make a conscious decision to use a non-standard word, or modify the spelling of a word. It is quite another to not realize you made the mistake to begin with.

Eliminate Contractions

I am not suggesting you remove contractions from your piece completely, but it can be useful to undo them for the purposes of editing. If you get confused by their, they’re and there, its and it’s, by eliminating the contraction and making it ‘they are’ and ‘it is,’ you are giving yourself a much better chance of using the correct spelling. That holds true for any of the contractions, not just the possessives.

Take out the contraction and see if the sentence still makes sense. If you need to, you can always put the contraction back in after you know it is the right usage. After you know it’s the right usage.

Read it Out Loud

When it doubt, read the sentence or paragraph out loud, and then make a judgment call on whether it needs fixing. Make sure you read the words on the page, and not the words that are supposed to be there. If you have written two when it should be too, you might just visually see the correct spelling if you skim. Reading it out loud and focusing on each word in the sentence will highlight the worst offenses.

This list of editing tips is a good starting point for self-editing your work. There are a ton of grammar and spelling rules that just take practice to recognize. But when you are under a deadline and do not have the luxury of waiting for fresh eyes, check down through this list of editing tips and you will have a better piece in no time.

—
Andrew Marx writes articles on topics including personal finance and higher education, emphasizing a practical and informed approach to his ideas. His weekly column can be read at smartremarx.com/ smartremarx.com/

Copywriting doesn’t have to be an exercise in frustration, but often it is, especially for the web. Even if you’re a writer, catering to the special considerations of the web can be a trying experience. Try these four steps to make your job easier.

1. Use plain language. If you use a lot of vernacular and professional jargon, people will tune you out. Keep the language simple and assume you are talking to an audience unfamiliar with your work unless it is targeted solely for your profession. This involves knowing your audience.

2. Know your subject well, or at least research it. If you are asked to write 700 words of copy on violins and you played the trumpet, you will need to do research. Because of the internet, this can be easy, although you will have to be sure your sources are reliable and cite them if necessary.

3. Study SEO writing. SEO—Search Engine Optimization—is a great way to get your copy noticed. This generally involves using a keyword or keyword phrase about 2% of the time for optimal rankings on customer searches. Make sure you don’t overdo it though—some search engines are sensitive to padding articles with keywords and your website could be blacklisted.

4. Be clear. Don’t pack your paragraphs with fluff just because you need to write 500 words or copy. If you don’t have enough information for 500 good words, find out more or consider writing a sidebar or a “Did you know…” section.

Do you want to learn more about how I do it? I have just completed my brand new guide to generating massive traffic ‘Triple Your Traffic Fast’

Download it free here:

A process many writers use to jumpstart their muse is Pressure Writing. This process forces you to dump bits and pieces of thought in a timed writing exercise that allows you to concentrate on other writing tasks. This exercise will also permit you to place your creativity back on track.

So what are Morning Pages?

Morning Pages is a cousin to Pressure Writing, but is not timed. In the application of Morning Pages the premise relies on how fresh we are in the morning and encourages writing the very first thing we do every day.

How does it work?

You should find a comfortable place away from distraction. Once you are settled, open a journal or notebook and write three pages worth of thoughts long hand.

“I compare Morning Pages to my morning shower. While I’m not visually dirty in the morning, I feel refreshed and ready for my day after taking a shower. Your shower takes care of your body. Morning Pages is a shower for your heart, mind, and soul.” - Artist’s Way

Consider Morning Pages therapeutic if you will. This process allows you to glean valuable insight into your personal feelings or thoughts. Morning Pages also allows you to move onto other projects with a mind that is undistracted with thoughts you hope to recall later.

Obviously this process can take place at times other than the morning, yet for most writers it is the time when they first wake when this process seems to be most helpful.

The way things usually go . . .

You wake up with a variety of ideas and you make a decision to keep those ideas fixed in your mind until you have a chance to jot them down or formulate them into a story. Meanwhile there are morning preparations to take care of, breakfast to consume, children to drop off at school and perhaps a job to attend to.

By the time you are able to return to your ‘brilliant’ idea it’s gone. You know there was a stroke of brilliance in the thought, but there is no recall. By this time of day you are typically exhausted and are more than willing to adopt a ‘who cares’ attitude.

The truth is, you do care and you wish you had the ability to take these good ideas and make them something more than forgotten memories.

When life seems to always get in the way of your ideas, the use of Morning Pages can help you come back to those inspired thoughts for later review.

Scott Lindsay is a web developer and entrepreneur. He is the founder of FaithWriters ( faithwriters.com faithwriters.com) and many other web projects. FaithWriters has grown to become one of the largest online destinations for Christian writers. Members include writers from all around the world. Please visit the website at: faithwriters.com faithwriters.com

The Hero’s Journey is the template upon which the vast majority of successful stories and Hollywood blockbusters are based upon. Understanding this template is a priority for story or screenwriters:

The Hero’s Journey:

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

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

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

The Hero’s Journey is also a study of repeating patterns in successful stories and screenplays. It is compelling that screenwriters have a higher probability of producing quality work when they mirror the recurring patterns found in successful screenplays.

Consider this:

• Titanic (1997) grossed over $600,000,000 – uses the Hero’s Journey as a template.

• Star Wars (1977) grossed over $460,000,000 - uses the Hero’s Journey as a template.

• Shrek 2 (2004) grossed over $436,000,000 - uses the Hero’s Journey as a template.

• ET (1982) grossed over $434,000,000 - uses the Hero’s Journey as a template.

• Spiderman (2002) grossed over $432,000,000 - uses the Hero’s Journey as a template.

• Out of Africa (1985), Terms of Endearment (1983), Dances with Wolves (1990), Gladiator (2000) – All Academy Award Winners Best Film are based on the Hero’s Journey.

• Anti-hero stories (Raging Bull (1980), Goodfellas (1990) etc) are all based on the Hero’s Journey.

• Heroine’s Journey stories (Million Dollar Baby (2004), Out of Africa (1980) etc) are all based on the Hero’s Journey.

Screenwriting and The Hero′s Journey - First Catharsis

The penultimate stage of the standard Hero’s Journey is the Master of the Two Worlds (detailed versions include the Afterlife etc…). This stage can also be called the Final Conflict as it is where the hero conquers his or her outer challenge.

The Outer Challenge is conquered in stages of, normally, three: the three catharses. This process is more evident in straight good versus evil stories but can be spotted in other stories (Raging Bull, 1980).

The build up to the first catharsis usually involves the hero battling the antagonist and losing. That is until the antagonist commits an intolerable antagonism that causes the hero to show his true self.

For example, in Return of the Jedi (1983), Luke refuses to outright defeat Vader and turn to the dark side until he threatens to begin the process with his sister, Leia.

Learn more…

The Complete 188 stage Hero’s Journey and FREE 17 stage sample and other story structure templates can be found at

What if you discovered some useful medical information or invented a breakthrough treatment for an illness but told no one about it — could you justify that? The dilemma posed by this question was anticipated more than 2,000 years ago by Hippocrates. His oath for physicians was based on an ethical code of conduct and, with some updating and modernization, is now incorporated into the Code of Medical Ethics of the American Medical Association. That Code says doctors have an affirmative obligation to share their knowledge.

WHY PHYSICIANS WRITE BOOKS

Physicians have an obligation to share their knowledge with other physicians and with the public. When you stop and think about it, this makes sense. From the time of Hippocrates, and even before, physicians have had an ethical duty to share knowledge because by doing so they benefit humanity. Withholding new knowledge, research findings, or useful health information is contrary to the Code of Medical Ethics of the American Medical Association (Section E-9.08).

One of the reasons physicians write books is to share knowledge with other physicians and medical professionals. Another reason is to share knowledge with the general public. Both purposes are embraced by the AMA Code of Medical Ethics. So maybe writing the health book that’s been on your mind is more than a pipe dream — maybe it’s an ethical responsibility.

Some doctors feel that they shouldn’t try to write a book because they were trained to provide medical help not write. This might actually be an abrogation of responsibility. Your book doesn’t need to be great literature to get published today — the only thing that’s critical is that the book be based on a good idea. Most physicians have more than enough ability with the English language to get a nonfiction book published by a major publisher. In some cases a ghostwriter can be called in to help with the manuscript. Sometimes a co-author can assist you with the mechanics of putting the book together.

Whatever your level of writing skill, doctors who have book ideas — and what doctor doesn’t — may wish to fulfill their obligation to their profession and to the public by writing a book.

THE PHYSICIAN’S DUTY TO EDUCATE

The physician’s duty to educate and inform the public appears in numerous other ethical codes. For example, it is part of the Code of Ethics of the International Federation of Sports Medicine, which states, “Sports medicine physicians are obligated to educate people of all ages about the health benefits of physical activity and exercise.” (Section 7). Many sports physicians have fulfilled their obligation to educate the public by writing articles and books. But there certainly is room for more dissemination of the idea that physical activity and exercise are valuable.

The AMA’s separate Declaration of Professional Responsibility, adopted in the aftermath of 9/11, contains yet another reference to the physician’s duty to educate the public. It states that doctors have a responsibility to “educate the public and polity about present and future threats to the health of humanity.” (Section VII).

HOW PHYSICIANS CAN WRITE BOOK PROPOSALS

Once a physician realizes that there is an ethical responsibility to share knowledge with the public, especially knowledge that is not well known, it becomes easier to contemplate the idea of putting together a book proposal. After all, a book proposal is the best way for a physician to get his or her foot in the door of the publishing world. And putting together a book proposal need not interfere with your other responsibilities. It can be done in a spare hour here and there. But there are three things a doctor must keep in mind when setting out to write a book proposal for a health book.

First, there may be competition, so it’s important to research similar books on Amazon before you begin. Second, even if there are comparable books on your subject, it may still be possible to sell your book idea if your approach is significantly different or if your information is more up-to-date and useful for a modern audience. And third, you’re going to have to tone down the medical language for your audience. Put the more difficult concepts in footnotes.

Physicians who have written inspirational books recently include Terry Grossman (Fantastic Voyage: Live Long Enough to Live Forever, co-authored with Ray Kurzweil), Stephen Sinatra (The Coenzyme Q10 Phenomenon), and Burt Berkson (Alpha Lipoic Acid Breakthrough). If you have an idea for a book, maybe now is the time to start putting together a short book proposal that might change your life and the lives of your readers.

Copyright © 2007 William Cane

William Cane is the author of The Art of Kissing, translated into 19 languages. He taught English at Boston College for fourteen years and today is a widely sought-after speaker at colleges and universities nationwide. His Web site contains more insider writing advice for those wishing to get published: hiwrite.com/ hiwrite.com/

In the following paragraphs I’ll recount my first two book signings. There are several factors that can contribute to the success or failure of an event. They include the genre of the book, the quality of the store manager handling the event, and the experience and personality of the author. To those of you who had success right out of the starting gate, I congratulate you. I suspect, however, that a number of writers had experiences similar to mine when they were just starting out.

Many new and unknown authors, who are fortunate enough to get their manuscript published, suddenly find themselves confronted with a fact they may not have given much thought to earlier: Getting their book in print was only the beginning. Now they must confront the equally important task of marketing their work.

Upon this realization, a lot of us spring into action to develop a marketing strategy, something we really should have done before the manuscript was even submitted to the publisher. We check writer message boards and buy “how to” books for ideas and guidance. Some of us come away from our research with the ingredients of a marketing plan we think will work for us. Frequently that plan includes book signings. I know mine did.

At that early stage in my writing career, I envisioned being seated at a table in a Borders or Barnes & Noble with stacks of my new book in front of me. No doubt there would be a pretty long line of readers eager to get my signature on their copy. As the scenario of my coming out event went through my mind, questions arose. Should I just sign the customer’s book, or should I write something? If so, what? Should I keep my conversation with the customer brief, so as not to annoy the other people waiting in line? How should I dress? How many pens would I need? What if I got writer’s cramp? It wasn’t long before I had decided on answers to these questions and others. I convinced myself that book signings were the way for me to go. In my mind, that kind of exposure would launch my writing career like a rocket. There would probably be some media coverage; stores would be competing for my time. All fired up, I threw myself into the effort to land a gig at a brick and mortar store. Move over King, Pileggi, and Grisham. Denny Griffin was on his way.

Six weeks and two failed signings later, I had gone from thinking I was on the verge of becoming a celebrity to the depths of despair. It seemed that virtually nobody wanted to buy my book, signed or otherwise. I asked myself if it was time to move on to something else. Fortunately, with the encouragement of my wife, family, and friends, I didn’t give up. Instead, I did an analysis of my book signing endeavors. I came to the conclusion that it wasn’t a problem with my book. I realized that I had focused in on book signings as a panacea, without having done the research to truly understand what a realistic goal was for a first-time author like me. I had focused on signings and excluded other marketing options that may have worked better for me. The stars in my eyes had clouded my vision.

I should have seen the trouble coming at the start. When I had difficulty getting the Community Relations Manager (CRM) at my local Barnes & Noble to return my calls, it should have been apparent that she didn’t consider the presence of me or my book to be critical to the success of her store. However, I attributed her lack of enthusiasm in getting back to me to the fact that she was very busy, and didn’t yet realize what a great seller my book was going to be.

When I did finally get a meeting with her, she was pleasant enough, but rather negative. First there was the issue of my book being print on demand (POD). She said POD books were not returnable and the store was not allowed to purchase them. If I wanted to do a signing, I’d have to provide the books and there would be a consignment arrangement with a 70/30 split of the sale price. And my share would be sent from corporate headquarters in six weeks or so. I must admit that this news took me aback. It was another failure of researching on my part. I should have known about the POD situation ahead of time, but I didn’t. Trying to keep the disappointment from my expression and voice, I agreed to her terms.

She then hit me with another zinger. The store didn’t do individual signings for POD or self-published authors. Instead, they scheduled group signings a couple of times a year. There was some good news, however. The next such event was scheduled in two weeks. If I could get my books shipped to me in time, she’d include me in the signing!

When I left that store, the POD and consignment issues didn’t have a lasting impact on me. I was going to have my rear end at a table in a real bookstore. That was what mattered; that was what it was all about.

I ordered 50 books from the publisher — Would that be enough? — and paid extra for expedited processing and shipping. The math was pretty simple. With the 70/30 split, I’d just about break even financially. But that didn’t matter either. I was going to become known. Even though the store wouldn’t stock my POD book, they would take orders for it and I could leave a few copies on consignment. While the deal wasn’t exactly what I’d anticipated, I told myself it wasn’t all that bad.

Using the signing at B&N as leverage, I went to the other local bookstore — an independent — and scheduled a signing for the week after the B&N event. This one also required me to provide the books and split sales with the store, but at 80/20 this arrangement was better for me, and I’d get paid on the spot.

When the big day arrived, I found myself seated with four other local authors at two folding tables in the back of the store. We introduced ourselves and had to sign some paperwork regarding the consignment sales. Shortly after the CRM left us, someone mentioned having not seen any postings announcing our presence. It turned out we hadn’t missed the signs there weren’t any. There were no announcements over the PA system either. For the next two hours, during which a total of five books were sold, we talked to each other about the writing business in general and our event in particular. One of the guys who had more experience than the rest of us — he had two self-published books out — said we shouldn’t be disappointed. He’d done a few of these events and they tended to run about like this one: little or no promotion, and few sales. He said he attended mainly to get out of the house and meet new people, not with any great sales expectations.

I left my signing debut with one sale — I didn’t receive my payment until nearly six months and several phone calls and e-mails later — and a sense of disappointment that is difficult to describe. The next week I sold two books. I returned home that day with 47 unsold books that had been charged to my credit card, no other events scheduled, and no idea of what to do next. I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to have anything more to do with the writing business.

Now, seven years later, I thank God for those failures. I learned from them; they were a turning point for me. With the support and encouragement of those who care about me, I got serious about writing and that crucial, but often overlooked part of the business: marketing. However, that’s another story.

Dennis N. Griffin began writing in 1996, following a 20-year career in investigations and law enforcement in New York State. He currently has six fiction and two nonfiction books published.