Just Blogging

Bob Burnham asked:




Becoming an author is an amazing and wonderful exercise. Not only will you create something from scratch, you can make a tremendous fortune from it. There are few other exercises that are as emotionally and financially satisfying. It is our mission to help you attain your writing and publication goals. Here are five winning strategies and tips to help get you where you want to be.

Visualize yourself as a successful author. Olympic athletes use this strategy daily to achieve their success. In fact, they have it down to a science. An Olympic skier is able to hear the snow under their skies, hear the crowd cheering them on, smell the fire wood burning in the lodge at the base of the run, and feel the sting of the cold air on their cheeks. Most importantly, they are able to feel the elation as they cross the finish line and win the gold. Visualization is important because it programs your mind and body for success. If you can visualize yourself becoming an author, visualize writing your book every day, visualize getting it published, visualize autographing copies, and visualize the joy you receive when your first six figures are made from the sale of your book, it will be that much easier to sit down and get busy writing. Knowing you will succeed is half the battle. Set a goal and make a plan. Decide when you want your book to be accomplished. Write it on the calendar and then do a few calculations to determine how much time you will need to dedicate to writing it every day. It may be only 10 minutes a day, it may be two hours. The important thing to remember is to make a goal, plan how you are going to achieve it, and then stick to your plan. It will be helpful to include in your plan when you are going to write, for example, in the morning right after you have had your first cup of coffee. Write about something that interests you. It is imperative that you write about something that interests you. It does not have to be something that you are already knowledgeable in but it does have to be a subject that generates enough interest that you can spend a bit of time devoted to learning it, writing about it, and marketing to your audience. Additionally, if you plan on creating an information marketing business from your original book, which we highly recommend, then it is even more important that you write on a subject you are interested in. Can you imagine spending the next ten years of your life immersed in a subject you could care less about? Writer’s block, schmiter’s block. Writer’s block is often the symptom of fear. Fear causes us to procrastinate and boom, we have what we like to call writer’s block. Maybe a person is afraid of their book not measuring up to some perceived standards or maybe they are afraid of not making any sales, the fear is not the problem. The procrastination is. Plan your book and stick to your plan. You do not have to write sequentially, you can write whatever comes easiest at any given time. The important thing is to meet your daily writing goal. (Note: Using our proprietary Brain Rush Writing Technique practically guarantees you will never have writer’s block.) Save the editing for later. Editing while you write slows you down and quite frankly is a waste of your time. Many of your editing errors, spelling and grammar can be fixed with a quick spell check tool on your word processing software and can wait until your book is done or if you are a stickler, you can do a quick edit at the end of your writing time. The big editing session, will be accomplished upon the completion of your book. You will likely also want to have several associates or hired editors go over your book with a fine tooth comb. So why waste valuable writing time and interrupt the flow of words to go back and spell a word correctly. Save it for later. Publishing A Book, 7.

Bob Burnham asked:




One of the biggest obstacles to being an author is completing or even getting started on your book.

Don’t let this happen to you!

This is too important. If you have the ability to turn $5 into $500 do you sit on it and say “I’ll do it tomorrow.” Or do you run to the bank and get as many 5 dollar bills as you can? Hopefully you run to the bank! I’m telling you to run to the bank with your book!

You have two choices on how to get to the bank. Your first option is to write the book yourself.

Your other option is to hire a ghostwriter. There are of course advantages and disadvantages to hiring a ghostwriter.

I’m going to assume that you’re going to write the book yourself. Here’s what you need to know:

Write each and every day!
To optimize your time, find a time of day that you are likely to be most productive and motivated. If you are a morning person, do not set aside 20 minutes after the 11:00 news and before you go to bed as your designated writing time. It will not happen. Likewise, if you are a night owl, do not tell yourself that you will get up half an hour early every day to write. I have been there and it does not work. When you are first getting started on your book, it is important to find your most productive time of day. Find the time of day that you are at your creative best. If you are an early morning person, then deciding to work on your book after Lost and before you go to bed is not the best idea. It will not happen. Maybe the quiet hours before everyone wakes will be your best time. Conversely, if you are a night owl, then hoping to get up an hour earlier every day will not work and maybe writing while the late show is on will be your best time. In addition to finding the best time for you to write, you will need to consider the best or most optimal location for you to write. It might be your kitchen table, or the local coffee shop, or a home office. I have known writers to sequester themselves in their car during lunch to get an hour’s worth of writing time. Your plan might also include how long you are able to write. You will not only want to consider how long your attention span can focus on your story, but writers also have a tendency to get deeply involved in their projects and neglect their other responsibilities. So keep in mind how long you can reasonably spend on your book each day without neglecting your loved ones! Other factors that you might want to consider are the materials that you are going to need. Will you write in a notebook or directly onto your computer? Consider also, using a voice recorder to record your thoughts and have someone transcribe them. Choose A Money Making, Career Building, Best Selling Book Topic.


There are really only a handful of reasons that people buy non-fiction books. If you can work your subject to offer one of these six benefits – you are golden.

To make money. (If you go to the bookstore, I bet you can find more than 100 books with the word Millionaire in them! In fact, just think about how popular the “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” books are.) To save energy or effort. (Quick and Easy Ways to…fill in the blank. Lose weight, Get Married, Get Divorced…) To save time. (Sell Your Home in 10 days, 30 Minute Meals…) To be healthier. (10 Ways to Eat Organically, How to Eliminate Fatigue, How to Manage Stress…) To be popular, prettier, sexier, smarter, or better at something. (How to Meet Women, How to Be Successful, 10 Days to Better Skin, 10 Days to a Better *** Life, etc…) Spiritual guidance. (Just look at the recent success of The Secret and its many spin offs!)

So there you have it, the two things you need to become an author and make money are to write every day and to choose a book topic that is in demand – a book that will help others and a book that will make you a fortune.

Pauline Go asked:




Biography is about narrating one’s life story so that others can find out more about that person and his life. Though this could be completed in a few pages, a biography could even take the shape of a book.

It is generally understood that biographies are written for famous figures or persons of eminence alone. But this is not so. A biography of an ordinary common man could be as interesting and even more thought provoking than any other. It is, thus, necessary to know as to how to author a biography and how to go about it.

First and foremost is compilation of all information and screening them in terms of their relevance. What might appear to be important to the biographer may not be relevant. It is generally agreed that a biography be written in a third person so that the readers’ interest is kept alive.

A biography must contain not only a chronological series of happenings but also about arguments and reflections about the experiences that he has come across and important interactions he has had. It is important that the life and time of the era in which the person has lived gets ample coverage. This will give readers to know more about the times of his life. Make use of both primary information as well as secondary information. Use such information to substantiate as well as bringing twists and turns in the story of life.

Remember that people are paying to read and would like to seek value for money thus the content must be kept precise and brief unless interesting enough. Consult where needed and refer to writings of various people so as to understand the dos and don’ts of the inclusion.

Having completed the writing, do concentrate on editing. This work demands equal amount of attention if not more. Repeat this exercise again and again till it appears just and you are confident to aver the same released for the public to read and react.

Dawn Arkin asked:




Most publications today want an author’s biography, called a bio, when they accept a writer’s work. Readers love to learn a little bit about the person who wrote a story or poem they enjoyed reading. It is a way for the reader to feel close to the writer.

Creating an author’s bio your readers will love reading can be as trying as writing your story. You want to entertain with your bio and tell a bit about yourself as well.

A bio is used to give the reader information about the author. A book publisher will want one to run on the back page of your novel. A magazine will want one to run with your story or poem. You should write a bio that is aimed at the item it will be published with so it is relevant.

Though most editors will have their own guidelines for writing an author’s bio, you can use these general guidelines to write a standard bio, one you can alter to match any work you get published.

Length

Most bios run between 50 and 400 words, with the average length about 150 words. Double space your bio and try to it no one more than one page in length.

Tense

When you write your biography, do so in the third person. You should use present tense, unless a past tense is absolutely necessary.

Content

Depending on what manuscript the bio is for, include any qualifications, education, skills, or experience you may have helps makes you look professional. Do not include unimportant information.

Achievements

Most of your bio should be devoted to your writing achievements. Previous publications, writing awards, or degrees you have relating to your work’s subject should be in the bio. If you have real life experience in your subject, be sure to also include it.

Promotions

If you are lucky enough to have been interviewed by a known publication, or have had a radio or television interview, mention that in your bio.

Tone

This should compliment your piece. If you have written a free and modern story, then make your bio the same way. Do not have a silly bio with a serious writing article.

Mood

Always present your information in a positive way. If you do not have a lot of work published, do not fret. Post what you have in an upbeat manner. Even if you have not been published before, you still have talents and qualifications - use them.

Do not make your bio seem too good to be true by over exaggerated information. Making yourself sound better than you are can, and will, backfire in the long run.

Do not lie. It will only make you look like an amateur, and could cost you future sales. Aim your bio at the editor who is publishing your work. List only publication credits that will impress them.

Even if you have no publishing credits, you can still write a bio. Just keep it brief. An example is: “Jane Doe is a writer living in Hometown, USA. She is currently at work on”. Be sure to keep it upbeat.

Writing a bio to go with a published piece should not be harder than writing the item itself. Following some simple guidelines will make the process easier, and leave you with a bio you can be proud of.