Writing Inrochester

Much has been written about book proposals. But less has been written about book marketing plans. This is wrong!

What happens after your book is published has a great deal to do with whether you become published and profitable… or just published.

A book proposal is a direct-marketing document intended to persuade publishers to edit, print and distribute your book. It’s a sales piece intended to communicate the inevitability of your book’s success.

Your book’s marketing plan, however, is intended for an audience of one – You! It’s not intended for your publisher. Rather, it’s intended to identify the revenue streams that you will develop after your book is published.

Your marketing plan should describe profits you will earn above and beyond royalties from sales of your book. It should describe in detail your market and the steps you will take to earn this income.

The reason to prepare your marketing plan now, before you sign a publishing contract or write your book, is that the success of your marketing plan depends on the way your book publishing contract is negotiated.

Coaching and consulting

Let’s assume, for example, that you plan to use your book as a way of enhancing your visibility and credibility among your target market. At the simplest level, you will want to include your web site address at several points in the book. Knowing this goal, you can insist that the publisher agrees in writing to include your web site address in specific locations in your book.

Remember: promises don’t make it! Let’s take the worst case scenario. You and your acquisition editor agree that you can include five mentions of your web site address in the book. However, as often occurs, the acquisition editor, after signing the contract, fades out of the picture.

The new development editor then informs you that author’s URL’s can only appear in one place, in the author biography hidden toward the rear of the book. When this happens, what happens to your coaching and consulting plans?

Likewise, you may have planned to buy books in case lot quantities for resale and/or distribution to your prospects and clients. Understanding this before you sign the contract, you can include the right to purchase books for resale at trade discounts in your contract, ensuring your ‘book pipeline’ won’t get turned off.

If you know you want to offer telephone coaching at $75.00 a call, for example, you can negotiate written permission to promote this service within the body of your book.

Remember: promises are written on air. Only written agreements count!

Other back-end profit opportunities based on your book’s title include:

Articles, columns, newsletters

Yearly updates

Special Reports

Teleclasses and seminars

Speaking and training

Audio/video recordings

Choosing a web site address based on your book’s title

Free downloads of sample chapters from your web site

Fee-based web site services

The possibilities are endless, but nothing can happen if, after signing the contract, the publisher limits your ability to promote your business and your website in your book.

Thus, it’s imperative that you start by preparing a marketing plan that analyzes post-publication profit opportunities and describes the steps needed to make them happen. Only then are you in a position to decide if the publisher’s ‘boilerplate’ contract meets your needs.

The stronger your book proposal and the more experienced your agent, the more likely you’ll get what you want (need) in your contract.

Jay Conrad Levinson says the first volume of his Guerrilla Marketing series earned him thirty million dollars. But only about $35,000 came from the book itself. All the rest came from back-end profits.

That’s how important this issue is!

About The Author

Roger C. Parker is the $32,000,000 author with over 1.6 million copies in print. Do you make these marketing and design mistakes? Find out at gmarketing-design.com” target=”_new www.gmarketing-design.com

One of my favorite ways to use and market articles is to create mini-poster.

4 steps to your first mini-poster

Step 1 - Go to Wal-Mart, Office Depot or a similar store and buy a packet of designer paper. You know, the kind with designs such as a beach scene, clouds, roses, etc.

Step 2 - Write a top 7 tips list or a 7 rules for article. Write compelling information in small, easily digestible pieces.

Step 3 - Print out your list on a piece of the designer paper. You may want to print it out on a blank sheet of paper first, to make sure all your words show up in the white space of the stationary.

Step 4 - Market your mini-posters to the world. I hand them out to clients in my office, sell them on my web sites, sell them at the back of the room at speaking engagements.

I bet you can come up with creative ways to use mini-posters in your area of expertise.

I get such a kick out of it when I sell them at speaking engagements. People buy them at the back of the room, and then because they are so colorful, others will ask them where they got it. And these nice people send then to my booth or table.

Visit theinternetarticleguy.com The Internet Article Guy for more leading edge tips and tools for writing articles that bring you prospects, publicity and profits. You can also subscirbe to our monthly Article Empire Tips Newsletter. You are also invited to visit my

In The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing we′ve tried to stress that for your self-publishing venture to have a good chance of success, you must plan and execute your actions carefully. This timetable will serve as a checklist to help you use your time wisely and do things in the most effective order. (Some of the steps in this timetable will not be clear before reading The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing in its entirety.) Not all items apply to every book; use your own judgment. When you need specific details on any point, refer to the Index or check the appropriate listing in the Appendix.

I. Do Immediately

To set yourself up as a self-publisher, you must first “take care of business″— establish yourself as a commercial entity.

1. Read the book completely to glean an overview of this exciting adventure you’ve embarked upon. Read it through a second time, taking notes or highlighting sections.

2. Start developing a “Marketing Mind-set” now!

3. Subscribe to Publishers Weekly magazine.

4. Order a copy of Literary Market Place from R.R. Bowker.

5. Review the bibliography in this book. Borrow from the library, or purchase appropriate books.

6. Choose your publishing company name. Remember to research to see if it has already been used.

7. Write the Small Business Administration for its publications.

8. Contact Bowker for ABI information and listing forms, plus ISBN information and log sheet.

9. Contact the Chamber of Commerce and discuss local business license requirements, regulations, and procedures.

10. File a fictitious name statement (if required in your area).

11. Obtain a post office box.

12. Have letterhead, envelopes, mailing labels, and business cards printed.

13. Open a business checking account.

14. Obtain your resale tax permit.

15. Write the Library of Congress to get your LCCN.

16. Join SPAN (The Small Publishers Association of North America).

17. Review the chapters on Scoping Out a Marketable Subject and Product

Development: Writing Your Book.

II. Do Just After You′ve Finished Writing Your Book

With manuscript in hand, you’re ready to think about the physical aspects of your book: page count, typeface, design, artwork, etc. Also begin thinking about your specific marketing, PR, and distribution strategy.

1. Research your chosen title to see if it has been used already.

2. Get any needed permissions.

3. Wrap up last-minute research and verifications.

4. Ask competent friends or associates to read/critique/edit the manuscript.

Revise accordingly.

5. Have the manuscript professionally edited; make changes, proofread them.

6. Plan the interior design and mark the manuscript in readiness for typesetting.

7. Gather any interior artwork such as photographs or illustrations; size them.

8. Write cutlines for interior art and prepare a keyed list, or incorporate them in computer text.

9. Prepare a castoff to determine preliminary book length, specifications, etc.

10. Get author photo taken.

11. Get professional help to design the cover.

12. Request price quotations from manufactures and typesetters.

13. Determine the tentative retail sales price using our guidelines.

14. Establish your publication date.

15. Photocopy your manuscript and send it out to authorities and key reviewers for advance comments and perhaps a foreword.

16. Assign an ISBN.

17. Complete and submit the ABI form.

18. Complete and submit the LCCN form.

19. Typeset your book or send it to a designer/typesetter.

20. Obtain a Bookland EAN Scanning Symbol.

III. Initial Marketing Strategies

At this point, you set up your promotional campaign and attend to the details of book production.

1. Research your Nationwide Marketing Plan. Track down names and full contact information for reviewers, syndicated columnists, newsletter editors, associations, wholesalers, bookstores, special sales outlets, librarians, subsidiary rights buyers, local media people, etc. Think up innovative strategies. Prepare labels or envelopes.

2. Write the following promotional materials: news release, sales letter, mock review, customer sales flier, short sales blurb, email pitch.

3. Contact appropriate book clubs and first serial rights buyers you have identified through market research to interest them in subsidiary rights.

4. Test mail-order ads if you’re using direct marketing.

5. Prepare a personal mailing list from holiday card recipients, business associates, club membership directories, your Rolodex, database, etc.

6. Carefully proofread typeset galleys and have any corrections made.

7. Prepare electronic—or camera-ready—copy according to printer specifications.

8. Double-check that all corrections were made accurately and that all pages, illustrations, etc. are in the correct places.

9. Prepare the index (if applicable).

10. Typeset and proofread index.

11. Send galleys to sources noted in the Appendix.

IV. Do While Your Book Is Being Printed

As you continue your promotional efforts, begin implementing your Nationwide Marketing Plan. Get ready for the arrival of your books. See Chapters 5, 12, and 13 in the Complete Guide to Self-Publishing for more information on these steps.

1. Review bluelines carefully for any final corrections.

2. Set up warehousing space and a shipping area, or arrange for outside fulfillment.

3. Order shipping and office supplies.

4. Prepare the following additional materials: acknowledgment card for reviewers, discount schedule, and return policy statement.

5. Implement your Nationwide Marketing Plan.

6. Follow up on book clubs and first serial rights potential buyers.

7. Mail your prepublication offer to your personal mailing list.

8. Write the copyright office for form TX.

9. Write Dustbooks for listing in their various directories.

10. Implement full-scale mail-order campaign (if applicable).

11. Coordinate freight delivery of books, making sure you’ll be there to receive shipment and have payment ready (if needed).

V. Do When Books Arrive

At last: You have books to sell. Your baby has arrived. Now you can begin filling orders and following up on marketing leads. Rejoice!

1. Take an inventory count and open several random cases to be sure books are not scuffed, bound upside down, etc.

2. Photograph book.

3. Fill complimentary copy requests generated by your Nationwide Marketing Plan.

4. Fill advance orders.

5. Pursue prime wholesalers and distributors who have not yet shown interest.

6. Go after second serial rights sales.

7. Implement special sales and innovative promotional ideas.

8. Request the return of pertinent printing materials from your book manufacturer.

9. Complete your copyright registration on form TX.

10. Send a copy of the book to the CIP office.

11. Send a copy of the book to Cumulative Book Index.

12. Send a copy of the book to Baker & Taylor.

13. Embellish your book detail page on Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com.

14. Always carry a copy of the book with you: in your briefcase, handbag, or backpack—and have a case of books in your vehicle.

15. Contact all bookstores in your area.

16. Set up a “revisions” file for noting corrections and new material for subsequent editions.

VI. Ongoing Promotional Activities

A successful self-publisher’s work is never done—you’ll always be thinking of new ways to sell books. Now’s the time to line up print, radio, TV, and Internet interviews.

1. Implement special sales and innovative merchandising techniques.

2. Follow up on prime reviewers to be sure they received books.

3. Develop an “Available for Interview” sheet.

4. Contact local media for interviews and stories.

5. Expand your media focus to include regional print, radio, and TV.

6. Ask enthusiastic readers to write customer reviews for the book at Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com.

7. Pursue reviews, excerpts, and book sales on various Internet sites.

8. Be constantly on the lookout for new review sources and sales opportunities.

9. Consider giving lectures and/or seminars as promotional vehicles.

VII. After a Successful First Printing

Time to decide whether you want to reprint your book or offer it to a trade publisher.

1. Add favorable reviews to the book cover or first page.

2. Revise the copyright page and correct any typos.

3. Revise, update, and/or expand the book as needed.

4. Review the back-page order form for price or other changes.

5. Get reprinting quotes on a second printing or —

6. Offer the book to major trade publishers.

In all you do, much success. You can make it happen!

© Copyright 2005 Marilyn Ross

Marilyn and Tom Ross are the coauthors of 13 books including the best-selling Complete Guide to Self-Publishing and the award-winning Jump Start Your Book Sales. Through phone consultations and ongoing coaching/mentoring, Marilyn empowers authors and self-publishers to realize their dreams. She can be reached at 719-395-8659 or mailto:Marilyn@MarilynRoss.com Marilyn@MarilynRoss.com.

Visit SelfPublishingResources.com SelfPublishingResources.com for free meaty information on writing, self-publishing, and book marketing strategies.

Writing articles is one of the most important aspects of any sale and marketing campaign regardless of business type. It provides a one way link and it is a very effective method of promotion and presentation of a product or service. Writing articles demonstrates knowledge that creates credibility which creates consumer comfort that triggers spending of well earned profits.

Any online business needs to write articles on their products or services. Consumers become more aware of the product once they are familiarized with it and articles provide the best link between the customer and the product or service. Having descriptive and informative details about your product or service is essential. There is no better place to express yourself than writing an article.

Writing articles online to promote in conjunction with your website demonstrates an active interest and sound knowledge of your products or services. Considering the fact that search engines only read text, articles are of a crucial essence.Why limit yourself to the small number of customers that you can reach by issuing brochures and catalogues when you have thousands of potential clients that you can easily reach by putting together an article about your business.

Many agree that writing articles is the best way to get the targeted traffic to your website. Articles can also be used to fill your newsletter or ezine and build a list of loyal subscribers.

Articles are one of the greatest ways to make any website a good looking, fresh information resource. And that is exactly what your visitors are looking for. The internet itself is an information resource where you teach your customers something new and useful which will make them feel like it was worth their time to visit. That will make them remember you website out of all the ones they visited that day and eventually they’ll come back to it. Therefore, fresh, new content has the crucial value of being able to bring visitors back to your website again and again which is exceptionally important.

The articles you write not only have use on your own website but on thousands of others and you can use this to your great advantage. With millions of webmasters realizing the importance of high quality content, your writing is priceless to them, and you would be surprised just how much they are prepared to give for your articles. Submitting your articles to numerous article directories and databases will gain you an almost immediate increase in traffic to whichever website you choose to advertise in your author’s resource box. The people who choose to click on your website link in your resource box will have read your article and will come into your website with an interest as to the information you have to offer. This type of visitor is the exact one you want and so make sure your website does not disappoint, because these types of visitors have the potential to bring you unlimited sales.

Articles that you write can have an incredible effect on your search engine ranking. Search engines rank unique content above all else, and so if the content on your website is written solely by you and it is of decent quality, the search engines will pick that up in an instant.

There are many article directories where you can submit your articles for free. Here are some crucial benefits of submitting articles:
-Dramatically improve the number of incoming/back links pointing to your website
-Significantly boost your website traffic, sales and newsletter opt-ins.
-Position yourself as an “expert”, become a recognized authority in your field

At globalarticlesdirectory.com Global Articles Directory you can globalarticlesdirectory.com submit and promote all of your articles for free. You’ll also have keys to powerful resources like targeted web site owners and e-zines/newspapers and blog publishers who are searching for globalarticlesdirectory.com free content to share with other like minded individuals.

I was working with a student recently who had a very quiet voice —- and he knew it. But, too, he recognized that it was time to do something about it. “I realize that making a persuasive presentation that can be heard by everyone is an essential step in my career development” he said. And how right he was.

How many times have you sat through a presentation where you have had to strain to hear what the speaker said? In fact, after about five minutes of that, we usually switch off and give up the attempt.

Whilst your material might be top notch, if no one can hear you clearly, all you preparation is wasted. Not only that, if you do not have authority in your voice, then it will be a very difficult job to convince anybody of anything. So what can we do?

We can work on what is called MODULATION.

Usually connected with such things as radio waves —- which can be modulated to change their characteristics —- modulation is also an essential skill for the professional presenter.

So let me present the 4 ‘P’s to improve your voice and increase your authority in presentations.

PITCH

The pitch of our voice could also be called the ‘musicality.’

It has to do with the note at which we pitch a word or phrase. Doing so in a monotone is guaranteed to send your audience to sleep!

What we need to do is to vary our pitch according to the importance of the expression we are using. For instance: when we are excited our pitch goes up and when we are serious or somber, it drops (just listen to the voice of the sports commentator when someone scores a goal and compare that to when someone is injured, to see what range is needed!)

If you have a problem with pitch, either join a choir , or practice singing in the shower to increase your range (or learn Norwegian – with apologies to my Norwegian friends)

PACE

The pace is clearly the speed at which we speak. That too needs to vary during the course of a presentation to maintain audience interest in our material.

Again, sports commentators give admirable examples of this during the course of their work. When you want to emphasize an important point, slow down and speak distinctly. When you want to cover less important points it’s Ok to speed up.

POWER

Power speaks for itself. And motivation of an audience certainly calls for the ability to increase the power of our voice.

But remember too that it is possible to ‘whisper′ and still be heard! It’s the relative sound that counts from the audience’s side not yours!

Here’s a suggestion. Read a few sentences out loud to some colleagues sitting some distance away increasing the volume (power) all the time, and ask them to raise their hands at the point at which it gets uncomfortable. I guarantee you will be in for a shock! That point for you will seem like you are shouting at the top of your voice!

Why? Because when we hear ourselves talking, the sound has only traveled from our mouth to our ears — but a few inches. But for our audience that distance had to be measured in feet! So be careful!

PAUSING

The last – but arguably the most important – of our 4 ‘P’s.

PLEASE pause from time to time — for everyone’s sake!

For your own sake to get some breath. And for our sake, to allow time for the points to sink in.
Time has a funny habit of extending when you are a presenter. By that I mean that 3 seconds of silence to the listener feels like 3 minutes to the speaker, and he feels that if he stops, even for a second, the audience will think he has finished and get up and leave.

Not so! Pausing not only gives us time to think, it can also be effectively used to create anticipation.
“Now I would like you to think about this next point very seriously. (PAUSE and count to 5). During the next three months we need to …”

Can you recall the 4 ‘P’s for persuasive presentations?

Pitch, Pace, Power and Pausing.

Work hard on those and see how your audience′s attention will improve in leaps and bounds.

Copyright, All Rights Reserved, David Woodford

David Woodford has been teaching presentation skills for over 30 years, and during a period of almost 15 years he taught this to Swedish businessmen at the highest level. His courses were always highly rate.

For more tips and suggestions and free resources about presentation skills, visit David’s site at => presentersforum.com/ presentersforum.com/

The most valuable of talents is never using two words when one will do. - Thomas Jefferson

There are many books that provide tips and guidance for publishing success. This series of articles takes you directly to a trusted source of wisdom – established authors. The hope is the experiences they have encountered will assist you in your writing objectives.

On Editing

There is but one art, to omit! - Robert Louis Stevenson

A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. - William Strunk, Jr., from The Elements of Style

My most important piece of advice to all you would-be writers: when you write, try to leave out all the parts readers skip. - Elmore Leonard

The great art of writing is knowing when to stop. - Josh Billings

As to the adjective, when in doubt, strike it out. — Mark Twain

When rewriting, move quickly. It’s a little like cutting your own hair. - Robert Stone

Put it before them briefly so they will read it, clearly so they will appreciate it, picturesquely so they will remember it and, above all, accurately so they will be guided by its light. - Joseph Pulitzer

On Writer’s Block

If you are in difficulties with a book, try the element of surprise: attack it an hour when it isn′t expecting it. - H. G. Wells

On Motivation

Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self. - Cyril Connolly

The most original thing a writer can do is write like himself. It is also the most difficult task. - Robertson Davies

If you wish to be a writer, write. - Epictetus

Talent is helpful in writing, but guts are absolutely essential. - Jessamyn West

You write about the thing that sank its teeth into you and wouldn’t let go. - Paul West

On Humility

Young writers should be encouraged to write, and discouraged from thinking they are writers. - Wallace Stegner

In the third and final part in this series we will look at a few words of wisdom from authors on the naming of your work, learning from the success and failure of other writers and the inner struggles authors often face.

Scott Lindsay is a web developer and entrepreneur. He is the founder of FaithWriters ( faithwriters.com www.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 www.faithwriters.com

Freelancing is a competitive business, especially in today’s fast-paced, e-focused world.

Often there are hundreds of writers competing for the same, limited number of assignments, and the writer who can best showcase his or her abilities is the one who lands the job.

Editors, however, are very busy people, and don’t have the time nor the inclination to sift through the hundreds of resumes and clips they receive in search of your information. If your credits and clips are not right there on an editor’s desk, or available with a single click of the mouse, that plumb assignment is going to go to the writer who managed to catch the editor’s eye; even if you’re the better writer for the job.

So, how do you get your writing clips into the hands of the editors looking for writers? Easy, with your own online resume!

A personal site has become a must for today’s freelancer, but successful writers know that they need to do more than simply paste their picture out on the Internet, or send off their email address along with their snail mail query.

What’s needed is a site that showcases your entire writing resume, including:

Bio

Publishing history

Writing-related job history

All published credits

Specialty or genre

Easily accessible and visually attractive clips, whether scanned or in document form

An editor is then able to access all of your information at once, instead of being forced to slog through link after link looking for work that is spread out over twelve different sites, six of which no longer exist. With everything in one place, an editor is also more able to get a feel for your abilities and range.

In addition, a professional-looking site – one that features your published writing, not pictures of your dog and boyfriend along with your latest Ebay stats – will prove to an editor that you’re on the ball, that you take your writing seriously. In turn the editor will take you more seriously.

Even freelancers with very little computer knowledge can set up a website; check with your Internet service provider to find out how to start your own (often free) site. Or, if you have some knowledge of HTML or are willing to learn, you may be able to set up your own site. There are also many web-design companies that will set you up for a fee.

If you decide to go with a web-design company, here are a few important things to consider:

What are the total costs? Be sure to read the fine print, otherwise your bill may be higher than you’d intended.

Is maintenance included? If so, how much does it cost and what is the turnaround time?

How many pages are you allowed? Some budget companies only offer six or so pages, which is hardly enough to showcase your clips.

Do they work with writers? Web-design services that cater to exotic dancers or widget-sellers may not know much about a freelancer’s needs.

Whichever method you choose, get your resume and clips online today and start wowing editors and making sales tomorrow!

About The Author

Kelly Kyrik is a successful freelancer and part owner of The-Write-Resume.com, The-Write-Resume.com” target=”_new The-Write-Resume.com, a web-design service that caters exclusively to freelance writers. You can contact her at mailto:Kelly@The-Write-Resume.com Kelly@The-Write-Resume.com

The Hero’s Journey (Monomyth) is the template upon which the vast majority of successful stories and Hollywood blockbusters are based upon. In fact, ALL of the hundreds of Hollywood movies we have deconstructed (see URL below) are based on this 188 stage template.

Understanding this template is a priority for story or screenwriters. This is the template you must master if you are to succeed in the craft.

[The terminology is most often metaphoric and applies to all successful stories and screenplays, from The Godfather (1972) to Brokeback Mountain (2006) to Annie Hall (1977) to Lord of the Rings (2003) to Drugstore Cowboy (1989) to Thelma and Louise (1991) to Apocaplyse Now (1979)].

THERE IS ONLY ONE STORY

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) Gives you a tangible process for building and releasing dissonance (establishing and achieving catharses, of which there are usually four).

d) Gives you a universal structural template upon which you can superimpose your situational story. This is why stories such as Alien (1979), Gladiator (2000), Midnight Cowboy (1969), American Beauty (1999), The Graduate (1967) and many others (all deconstructed at the URL below) appear to be different but are all constructed, almost sequence by sequence, in the same way.

and more…

ABRIDGED TIP(S):

*****Call to Adventure*****

The Herald delivers the Call to Adventure. This implicitly means that the Hero must confront one or more of his Challenges. In Titanic (1997), Rose meets Jack and she must first confront her Inner and Outer Challenges. In Alien (1979), they must land on the planet (ultimately a Greater Antagonism).

Fascination. The Hero is often fascinated by the Call. It does, after all, relate to his (or her) own Transformation.

Time Pressure. That the Hero must embark is usually a matter of urgency. In Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Indiana must quickly embark on the adventure before Hitler finds the Ark. In Titanic (1997), this is when the ship leaves.

Implicit Call. In The Shawshank Redemption (1994), Andy Dusfresne doesn’t know what his Call is when he is sent to jail. But it is inferred - he must escape this place eventually. In Alien (1979), no one knows they are even on a journey until the Alien pops out of Kane’s chest.

Willing or Unwilling. It is here that we are informed whether the Hero is intrinsically for or against the Journey and Transformation. In Star Wars (1977), Luke really wants to follow his Father’s footsteps, leave Tattooine, become a Jedi and fight the Empire. In Alien (1979), everyone really would have preferred waking up on Earth.

*****Hero’s Quality*****

The Heralds are attracted to the Hero because he demonstrates a quality. In The Magnificent Seven (1960), the farmers are impressed by Chris and Vin. In Star Wars (1977), music when Luke appears signals that there is a quality about him.

Learn more…

WRITE THAT SCREENPLAY!

The Complete 188 stage Hero’s Journey and other story structure templates can be found at clickok.co.uk/ clickok.co.uk/

The Managing Creativity and Innovation MBA dissertation, DIY creativity Audit, Powerpoint presentation and Good Idea generator software 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

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You are free to reproduce this article as long as no changes are made, the author’s name is retained and the link to our site URL remains active.

Audio interviews are in rising popularity as a tool of book promotion among authors. After all, all you need are a phone, a witty personality, and a talent for public speaking. The first one is easy—everybody has a phone these days. The second is a gift you may be born with if you’re lucky. The third is a skill that can be learned, improved and perfected with the right tools.

Since there aren’t magical drugs on how to become more witty (sorry, you’re stuck with those genes), in this article I’ll be focusing on how to help authors improve their chances to succeed at audio interviews.

The prospect of doing an audio interview is a source of stress, anxiety and even panic for many authors—especially the shy ones. Let’s face it, many things could go wrong. A technical problem might arise or the author might freeze at a question and start stuttering. Most often the problems are technical, or the interviewer is faced with an author who talks very little or is unable to stop talking.

To beat the odds, there are practical steps an author can take.

Andrea Sisco of Armchair Interviews offers the following advice:

* Be prepared. Ask the interviewer what types of questions are likely to be asked.

* Practice: Have a friend interview you (to avoid the ummm, ahs, silences). It’s an art form and I learned this early on when I worked in tv and as my husband is a professional speaker.

* Have something to say: Tell us something unique about the book/story. If you′re able to use humor appropriately, do so (people love it).

* Don’t talk more than 90 seconds (in answering a question). In audio, people lose interest if you drone on and on. There needs to be a discussion between the author and interviewer, otherwise it’s a lecture.

* If there is a topic you don’t want to discuss, tell the interviewer, otherwise you could be caught on tape and not know what to do.

* Speak up. Audio’s are touchy (since you’re not in a sound studio). Also, make sure you turn off call waiting so we don’t hear beeps. Put the dog in another room (children also) and make sure the windows and doors are closed so we don’t hear outside noise that can be distracting.

* Have a pen/paper handy to make note of anything you think of that you want to discuss. Also take note of any directions given by the interviewer.

* Keep your voice well modulated. People don’t want to listen to someone that drones, sounds flat, etc.

* If you’re directed to call the interviewer (or receive a call) be there and be on time. Twice I’ve had no shows. They didn’t write the time/date down. You could lose an interview that way. It certainly isn’t professional.

Interviews with Armchair Interviews are fee-based and open to self-published authors, as well as those from small and big publishing houses.

Francine Silverman, who has her own Internet radio show, Marketing with Fran, advices authors to practice in front of a mirror. “I have had some authors who do not contribute much - they wait until I ask a question. This makes it difficult for me since I can only formulate so many questions. Authors should practice talking about their books in front of a mirror and write down what they plan to say. If they are asked to provide questions beforehand, they have an idea what will be asked. Also, in my opinion, the best guests are those who promote their appearance to their mailing lists,” she says.

More useful tips:

* Join a local speaker’s club.

* Listen to many audio interviews to have a clear idea of what is expected, paying special attention to the author’s voice, tempo, and manner in answering questions. One great show I’d love to recommend is Barbara DeMarco-Barret’s Writers On Writing where she regularly interviews authors, agents, and editors.

Though it is difficult to measure the level of effectiveness audio interviews have in actually selling books, it is undeniable that any promotion is better that no promotion at all. I have gone straight to Amazon and purchased books after listening to audio interviews. One thing that is very important to increase effectiveness is to announce the interview beforehand to as many people as possible—friends, relatives, colleagues, clubs, online groups, lists, forums, etc..

Finally, don’t forget that audio interviews are like murders—the more you do them, the easier they get.

Mayra Calvani is an author and book reviewer. Visit her website and subscribe to her free monthly newsletter, The Fountain Pen, at mayracalvani.com mayracalvani.com .

©2005, 2007. Mayra Calvani / All Rights Reserved.

The huge demand for writers online is really for ghostwriters. A vast majority of the available online writing jobs for an online writer are for ghost writing projects.

When a website or blog requires content, they will want a ghostwriter to churn out the content for them. In fact the demand for good ghostwriters online is so huge that it is unlikely to be met any time soon.

Note that the huge demand is for good ghostwriters, not just any ghostwriter who does not add value to a client’s site or put any money in the site owner’s pockets. Unfortunately there are so many ghostwriters online who do not qualify to be called good ghostwriters. Because there is such a huge demand, many of them still end up getting jobs here and there. But you need to be good ghostwriters to get consistent repeat business and thus make a good income from your ghostwriting. You need to understand very clearly what most clients looking to hire a ghostwriter want.

So what are the specific qualities webmasters are looking for in ghostwriters?

A Good Ghostwriter Must Write To Bring In The Traffic

Much as most people would wish it to be different, the fact still remains that over 75 per cent of the traffic that successful sites receive, will tend to come from search engines. Meaning that no ghostwriter in their right mind can afford to ignore search engines.

In simple terms, the way to attract traffic is to use popular keywords where you are guaranteed of a high ranking in the leading search engines. There are various online tools that will help a ghostwriter to fulfill this important task. They include Wordtracker.

A Good Ghostwriter Must Find The Words That Will Portray The Right Image

Image is what sells, more so in the rapidly increasingly crowded online market. A good online ghostwriter will make an effort to find the words that will portray the right image for the particular website or e-commerce online enterprise they are writing for. Experience is critical in winning client confidence in most businesses. If this is the most important attribute prospects will be looking for in your client’s business, then your content will need to reflect this. Making wild sweeping claims that anybody can make will not do it. But selecting the right words that will lead to the implications and conclusions that you want to point your client’s prospects towards, will be the most ideal.

A Useful Ghostwriter Will Identify The Resource Box That Will Get Response

If your clients decide to make the smart move of posting the articles you ghostwrite for them at other websites so as to create links pointing back to their site, then the resource box will have to be the most important tool at your disposal. Read the following detailed article I wrote on resource boxes at;

marketingurhomebiz.blogspot.com/2005/05/your-article-resource-box-will-kill-or.html marketingurhomebiz.blogspot.com/2005/05/
your-article-resource-box-will-kill-or.html

A Good Ghostwriter Will Need To Know Which Google Adsense Keywords Count The Most

If your client is among the growing number of site owners posting Google Adsense PPC ads at their site as an extra income stream, the right keywords will be a critical contributing factor to success. This is because the Google Adsense ads that appear at their site will totally be based on the content and especially the keywords used. Most keywords will attract only cents for every click the site owner achieves from their traffic. Yet other keywords will attract ads where a single click is worth $100.

In other words, it is the content that is even more important than the volume of traffic in deciding how much a site owner earns from Google Adsense. A ghostwriter who understands this and is skilled enough to deliver will be invaluable to any site or Webmaster.

Christopher Kyalo makes a good regular income from online writing. Visit his writer’s blog; 100grandonlinewriters.blogspot.com 100grandonlinewriters.blogspot.com He can be reached at strongwallafrica at yahoo.com