What To Ensure Before You Sign a Book Contract

Should your proposal prove successful you will receive a contract (memorandum of agreement) detailing the terms and conditions, warranties and indemnities governing the agreement. It is your responsibility to protect your intellectual property, so check out everything with a fine toothcomb.

Note in particular those sections relating to potential avenues of income for your published work. These would normally appear under headings such as those listed below and would include royalty percentages:

Home hardback sales
Export and special discount hard back sales
Home trade paperback sales
Export and special discount trade paperback sales
Publisher's cheap editions
Editions licensed for manufacture to another publisher
Royalty-inclusive sales
Mail order sales
Premium sales
Book clubs

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Creating a Website to Promote Your Writing is a Breeze with Site Build It!

When you are up and running with your first writing project you ought to seriously consider launching a website to promote your produce and you couldn't do better than to invest in Site Build It! - the complete all-in-one solution that was used to construct the web pages of the site where you first learned about this tutorial. You’ll be downloading in just 60 seconds if you order from this link.

http://buildit.sitesell.com/interactive1.html

Here is what you will get for your investment of CAD $427 (which will be transcribed into your own currency on the Order form):

Domain name registration
Hosting
Graphic tools
Point &Click page building
Blogging facility
Data transfer
Email
Newsletter publishing facility
Brainstorming &researching
Spam check
Open rate
Traffic stats & click analysis
Search engine optimization
Automatic search engine submission
Automatic search engine tracking
Automatic search engine ranking
Pay-per-click research & mass-bidding
4 traffic headquarters
Action guide & fast track guide
Integrated online help
SBI express ezine
Tips & techniques
Customer support
Choice of page templates
FTP
Form builder/Autoresponder
Value Exchange
Facility for selling e-goods
2-tier affiliate program
Charge for services facility

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How to Handle the Fear of Rejection Slips

Experienced authors frequently suffer rejection and they've got slips to prove it (I've got a pile a mile high :-)

The best way to handle this is to maintain a middle course on book proposals: don't get overexcited on acceptance and never become unduly depressed over rejection.

You reckon your text is brilliant, you've hit the target dead center, you've answered the WIIFM question and you are certain of its bestseller potential.

But the publisher doesn't agree...

Accept it. Publishing houses invariably know whether or not a book will sell in given market conditions - and if it goes pear shape, they and not you incur financial loss.

So what to do?

Hold on to your manuscript (you'll find out why in a minute) pick yourself up and start immediately on the next project.

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Why It Pays To Listen Even When You Think They’re Nuts

My first published work became a bestseller as soon as it hit the bookshelves back in 1995 and it has been topping the lists ever since. Lucky you, some might say.

By and large the content has remained unchanged (apart from essential updating) and although ten years is a fair old run, what goes up must eventually come down.

So with that in mind I approached my publishing house with a suggestion for a commemorative 10th anniversary edition; new chapters, new cover, new cosmetics, new typesetting.

They loved the idea but balked at producing a new edition per se.

“Why?” I said, “It will start the ball rolling all over again.”

“No it won’t,” they said, “It will kill the golden goose.”

And so instead the publisher opted for a reprint dressed up as a new edition: new imprint, new chapters; new cosmetics, new typesetting – but no new cover; only a subtle color change to preserve continuity.

I thought they were nuts but they were right of course; stop supplying bookstores with a bestseller for five months and you risk consigning it to oblivion for evermore. And a block on supply there must be to allow the trade to dispose of existing stock.

That’s the price you pay with every new edition.

My author copies duly arrived and. I was well pleased with the new production and contacted the publishing house to express my satisfaction, intimating only mild concern over the lack of a new cover design.

“Oh, there will be a new cover,” they said. “We’ll incorporate that on the next reprint of the reprint – now that the link has been maintained”.

My idea was good but I hadn’t thought it through.

The publisher house did.

The 4th edition of “Starting Your Own Business” (How To Books ISBN 1845280709) hit the bookstores worldwide mid-April 2005 – and the reprint complete with brand new cover is due out in August 2006.

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How to Craft a Series of Bestselling Titles from a Single Topic

During the past ten years I have authored seventeen traditionally published niche non-fiction books, all of which (save one) have achieved bestselling status in their respective genres.

Here’s the thing though; I have used only 2 topics to produce 16 bestsellers.

How do you do that; craft a series of titles from a single topic?

It’s a little-known technique that dates back to the dawn of literature and is used by all bestselling authors either consciously or unwittingly.

And when you know the secret, you can also use this technique in writing fiction.

It has a lot in common with what the late great Alfred Hitchcock called the ‘McGuffin’;
the singular device he employed in all of his screenplays.

Hitch reckoned that everyone is looking for something whether they are watching a movie or reading a book and when you discover what people are searching for in your particular niche you will be well on your way to writing a successful book in record time.

And when you’ve done it once, you can do it all over again - as many times as you like.

Although considerable mileage still remains in the 2 topics I used to produce 16 bestsellers, I decided eighteen months ago to research a third topic for its McGuffin potential and the result was “Your Retirement Masterplan” (How To Books ISBN 1857039874) published in October 2004.

This title currently ranks No.7 out of 3328 competitive titles on Amazon.co.uk and is due for a 2nd upgraded edition in February 2006; to be followed by “How to Earn Money in Retirement” (How To Books ISBN 1845281128) in April of the same year.

But the McGuffin on this third topic is only just starting to bite…

I also have signed contracts for these forthcoming titles:

”Maximising Mindpower to Enrich Your Retirement” – Publication date 2007

“Give Your Mind a Daily Workout in Retirement” - Publication date 2008

“101 Retirement Holiday Options” - Publication date 2008

“101 Projects to Spice Up Your Retirement” - Publication date 2009

“101 Online Venues for Stimulating Retirement Interests”- Publication date 2010

“Chronicling Your Lifetime Achievements in Retirement” - Publication date 2011

“Achieving Your Greatest Successes of Retirement” - Publication date 2011

Have you guessed the secret yet?

There is no end to its power in producing bestsellers and if you would like to incorporate it in your creative writing, you will find out how in the website featured below.

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Build Your Own List of 2,000+ Subscribers in Under 30 Days!

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Increasing Your Earnings from Rights and Translations

On top of your royalties from home and export sales you could also receive (as, when, or if you qualify) additional remuneration from rights and translations as indicated below.

1. Editions licensed for manufacture to another publisher
2. Single issue or one-shot periodical rights
3. Translation rights
4. Sound broadcasting rights
5. Merchandising rights
6. Educational reprint rights

On (1) to (6) you could earn up to 50 per cent of the net amounts received by the publisher.

7. Royalty-inclusive sales
8. Mail order sales

On (7) and (8) 7.5 per cent of the net amounts received by the publisher.

9. Book clubs

7.5 per cent of the net where the publisher manufactures the book at a price inclusive of royalty.

Or...

Up to 50 per cent of the royalties received by the publisher where the transaction with the book club is on a royalty basis.

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Negotiating an Advance

Your initial yearly/half yearly accounting statement will make reference to an advance payment but whether you receive one or not will depend on either of two factors.

Whether you have been offered an advance.
Whether you successfully negotiated one.

You may be automatically offered such a payment if your work is of such outstanding merit that the publisher is anxious to have the title on its list and doesn't want to risk the book slipping away to another house. In that event you would normally receive your advance in three phases.

1. 35 per cent on signing the contract
2. 35 percent on delivery of acceptable text
3. 30 per cent on publication

If on the other hand the memorandum of agreement makes no mention of an advance, you could endeavor to obtain one through negotiation. There's no harm in asking - they can only say 'no'.

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Highlighting Your Residual Income Opportunity

Here is how your residual income opportunity starts as you set out to write for profit:

When your book is published the royalties from home and export sales will home in at around 10 percent unit.

Say it quickly and it doesn’t sound like much but these basic royalties soon mount up to provide you with a handsome return year after year.

When you start to hit reprints and multiple editions it gets even better and that's when your residual income opportunity starts to take off.

But why settle for nugatory rewards when you can have it all?

There are other avenues open to you if you know how to milk them.

- Editions licensed for manufacture to another publisher
- Single issue or one-shot periodical rights
- Translation rights
- Sound broadcasting rights
- Merchandising rights
- Educational reprint rights
- Royalty-inclusive sales
- Mail order sales
- Book clubs
- PLR (Public Lending Rights)

Take translations for example: My first bestseller “Starting Your Own Business” has been translated in French, German, Spanish, Romanian, Italian, Hindi and Urdu.

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Researching Your First Writing Project

This is a core objective and it's where your work begins in earnest.

Without efficient research you are blowing in the wind and your proposal for publication is unlikely to touch the vital nerve that captures the attention of commissioning editors.

For many established authors researching is often the most fulfilling aspect of preparing a given topic for publication.

As you research you will find yourself uncovering diverse strands of critical new information that will tempt you veer off in other rewarding directions or even on occasion, change direction completely.

CHARTING THE ROUTE BEFORE YOU RESEARCH

Let’s imagine you are intent on producing a resource manual notionally entitled How to Become an Expert on Light Bulbs (you wouldn’t, but let’s just hypothecate for illustration purposes). Make out a list of the pivotal aspects of the subject. It might pan out like this.

o Light bulb sizes
o Shapes
o Power requirements
o Manufacturers
o Types of fitting
o Novelty bulbs
o Industrial bulbs
o Lighting for sports stadia
o Christmas lighting
o Stage lighting
o Street lighting
o High intensity
o Low intensity
…and so on

Now compare this listing with your list of what you know, what you don't know, and annotate each item on the list accordingly; tick for 'yes', cross for 'no'.

1. Connect to the Internet and open your browser - choose a search engine and type in ‘light bulbs’.

2. Start collecting links for everything you come across.

3. Divide the links into categories and sub-categories.

Finding out what you need to know online shouldn’t prove too difficult but you will cut down considerably on research time if you follow the directions outlined in the next section.

HOW TO CONDUCT INTENSIVE RESEARCH ONLINE

For best results the bulk of your research ought to be conducted online, but unless you know the shortcuts to effective cyberspace fact-finding, you could spend hours on end in fruitless searches.

It's very easy to stray when you are using the search engines because loads of similar looking topics and dissertations abound on the Internet.

But with your goals properly defined before you go out searching, you will be able to focus on exactly what it is you are setting out to uncover.

Comprehensive briefings are available in three authoritative reports you can read online or download for free.

How to Conduct Research on the Internet
http://www.tbchad.com/resrch.html
How to Conduct a Search Online
http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/dept/ivc/library/how1.htm
Internet Research - Finding Hard Data
http://www.bugsoft.com/research/index.html

Having absorbed the valuable information contained in these reports, I recommend you restrict your searching to http://www.google.com. Use the ‘advanced search’ facility and you’ll reduce your workload by several hours.

For some of the items on the list where you thought you knew it all, you'll learn more; for those you marked with a cross, you will locate answers to further enhance your grasp on the topic.

NICHE RESEARCHING

An excellent method for conducting online niche research is to use the keyword suggestion tool provided by http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/

At that page, enter a keyword relating to the potential niche feature you have in mind, and the tool will present you with the number of times that keyword was searched on via the network. It will also show the number of times related keywords were searched on.

This will give you an indication of what your possible niche bears for interest.

If you find a decent amount of interest, say a few thousand or more combined monthly searches on keywords directly related to what you want to write about then you may be in a solid niche. Keep a file of the results of your keyword research.

Next, go to your favorite search engine and search on some of those same keywords. Keep a file of these results too. The information you uncover will be invaluable.

As you can readily appreciate, developing your concept requires some legwork and even after you have completed the research, you still have to write your book. But as with all good things, you get out of it only what you put in.

These online models for effective research can yield excellent results when done properly

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Choosing a Topic for Writing a How -To Book

Review in depth the intelligence you have accumulated over the years and you will have no problem in identifying where your primary source of expertise lies.

However, before cementing your choice of a topic it will be necessary to run the data through several tests to confirm its suitability as the subject matter for your first how-to book.

1. Will the topic be convincing enough to warrant widespread appeal among devotees?

2. Will you be capable of confirming its validity and expanding on received data?

3. Will you be able to convert your expertise into a teaching module?

4. Will the accumulated material manifest a disposition for regular updating?

5. Will the topic have the potential for subsequent editions?

6. Will it have the propensity to spawn more books on disparate aspects of the subject?

7. Will you tempted to abandon the project if your topic has already been covered?

You won't be able to resolve all of these questions right now but you will be by the time you've finished studying my famous writing course.

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Work at Home and Make Money Writing for Profit in Your Spare Time

When you work at home to make money writing for profit you do it in your own time, your spare time.

What spare time do I hear you yell at me?

Time is what you make of it and if you try (really, really try) you can always allocate a little for yourself to express self-initiative, develop your great extra income idea and make money writing.

You might even qualify for some public sector assistance by way of government grants.

There again there might be multiple mental blocks standing in your way; blocks like…

o Too busy
o Too old
o Too young
o Too tired
o Too retired
o Too broke
o Too redundant
o Too rejected
o Too much to hope for…

TOO BUSY?

Well, you know what they say: if you want something done in a hurry; your best plan is to ask a busy person.

If you’re a stay-at-home mom looking after the kids, create a slot, exercise some self initiative and become instead a work at home mom.

TOO OLD?

Says who?

You’re only as old as you have a mind to be.

Develop your great income idea and work at home writing for profit.

TOO YOUNG?

Rubbish. Go for it. You may not get a second chance to work at home.

TOO TIRED?

Then book a wake-up call. Creativity is happening all around you.

Subscribe to one my creative writing courses and start writing for profit.

TOO RETIRED?

Then start all over again, get back in the driver’s seat and use your accumulated expertise to work at home and make money writing for profit.

TOO BROKE?

Then enquire about government grant assistance for people who want to work at home.

TOO REDUNDANT?

So you’re finding it difficult finding employment?

Then do something else meantime, draw upon your expertise, spend the time developing your great income idea and make some money writing for profit.

Subscribe to one of my creative writing courses and work at home.

TOO REJECTED?

There’s only one way to get rid of it.

Forget it - but only after you’ve forgiven those who are doing the rejecting.

They don’t know your side of it and even if they did, they probably wouldn’t understand anyway.

Pick yourself up, evaluate your expertise and set about making money writing as you work at home.

TOO MUCH TO HOPE FOR?

Can’t be or you wouldn’t be still reading this…

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The Perfect Solution for Publishing Your Creative Writing Output

It has never been easy to have your creative writing output accepted by traditional publishing houses.

Witness these famous masters of fiction who were all obliged to take the route of shelling out hard cash to have their debut novels printed.

Alexandre Dumas
D.H. Lawrence
Edgar Allan Poe
George Bernard Shaw

Gertrude Stein

James Joyce

John Grisham

Mark Twain

Mary Baker Eddy

Rudyard Kipling

Stephen Crane

Upton Sinclair

Virginia Woolf

Walt Whitman

William Blake

Zane Grey

John Grisham, incidentally, sold copies of his first novel “A Time to Kill” out of the boot of a car which at the outset was his sole 'vehicle' for distribution…

And it is getting tougher all the time – even for established authors.

It can be doubly frustrating when you’ve written something that you are desperate to see in print; something you want other people to read.

There is always recourse to the cut-throat vanity publishing houses of course but I wouldn’t take that route come what may.

Imagine my surprise then when I stumbled across the perfect solution for publishing creative output that you can’t place elsewhere.

I have a string of traditionally published titles currently in circulation but I have an equal string that I have never been able to get into print.

That is until now…

The little known but highly reputable POD (print on demand) source I have discovered requires an initial membership fee that covers unlimited titles.

In a nutshell: Instead of requiring an initial order of 10 or 100 books, they send you the first copy of your book free and then print-on-demand and ship when we receive an order from you or your customer.

This website is well worth a visit especially if you are still trying to get your first book into print.

You could have your own library up and running in next to no time.

The Perfect Solution For Publishing Your Creative Writing Output

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Open Individual Files for Every Aspect of Your Writing Project

You will have many matters to attend to (often simultaneously) in the process of writing up your material, converting it into book format, and preparing your output for publication.

Make the job easier and cut down dramatically on your workload by creating separate computer files of every aspect of the project; files you can refer to instantly.

Research findings

Working notes

Draft copy

Structuring the list of contents

Authoring resources

Preface

Back cover blurb

Glossary

Index

Publishing options

Proposal for publication

Coordinate your activities this way right from the start and the production of current and future produce will look after itself. It will flow off the assembly line like honey dripping from a spoon.

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How to Top and Tail Your Book To Ensure Publication

To top and tail your niche non-fiction book is to equip it with a preface (or introduction) and a persuasive sales 'blurb' for the back cover.

Neither of these tasks is to be undertaken lightly and you would do well to delay execution until after you have completed the text.

Do not be tempted to take the easy way out by padding them with extracts from the book. That simply does not work and in any case no publisher would allow it.

The preface and the back cover blurb each have a distinctive function to perform and their respective contributions are germane to the success of your work.

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Deciding on the Right Time to Write

Some people find it conducive to confine their writing to the early morning when the brain is refreshed, alert and eager to start work; others set an allotted time during the day which they stick to regardless of demands on their attention, while a fortunate few (who only ever seem to write when the muse is upon them) find that as soon as the pen is uncapped or the word processor switched on, their creativity is automatically unleashed.

Whichever path you follow, try to write a little every day and never allow a week to pass without some progress; otherwise you may start to lose interest, or worse still, lose confidence in your ability to complete the project.

Individual circumstances also have a bearing on allocating time to write. If you are out working 9-5 on weekdays, then early morning and/or late evening may be your only options. If you are a homemaker, retired, or currently unemployed, you may be more relaxed about choosing times to write.

In general terms though, the best advice anyone can give is to go with the flow and never try to force creativity. Write when you feel like writing don't write when you don't feel like it.

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Establishing the Depth of Your Knowledge Before You Write a Book

Never take for granted that you already know enough about your special subject to fill a book.

No one is that clever.

Spend some time testing out the depth of your knowledge by making lists of what you know and what you don't know.

Take particular note of those areas that require substantiation or where you are lacking corroborative detail.

Confirming validity and expanding on information

This is where you start your research and it is a vital task. Most of what you need you will find online at home or in the free-to-use 'active learning' centers provided by your local library where you can double up by accessing appropriate hard copy references manuals.

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What You Gain from Constant Application to Creative Writing

People who make a practice of writing about what they know quickly discover that they know a lot more than they ever imagined about matters they thought they knew little or nothing.

Consistent application draws on all three levels of the mind and opens up the labyrinth of the subconscious, providing a steady stream of factual information and hitherto untapped ideas.

You will experience the magic of this phenomenon for yourself when you decide to take the plunge and embark on your first assignment as a niche non-fiction writer.

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Enjoying Your Own Company Produces Better Work

It's a fact. If it does not faze you to be totally on your own for an hour or two every day you will discover that indulging in introspection and cultivating innate intuition comes easy.

As a result, your output will rapidly increase and improve in quality.

This is not to imply that gregarious people don't make good writers.

They do, providing there is no necessity for a backdrop of din and chatter while they work.

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Why Writing Part Time Works Best For Some Authors

Most established authors start out writing on a part time basis and while many go on to make a career of the art form, others find it more convenient to continue writing part time for a number of reasons, including:

1. They are at liberty to pursue other commercial interests.

2. They prefer to use their creative skills as an outlet from workaday pressures.

3. They derive therapeutic benefits from part time writing.

4. They find it hones their expertise in diverse directions.

5. They reckon it adds to the quality of life.

6. They enjoy financial advantages from a second income.

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This Won't Help Your Creative Writing But It Could Earn You Some Cash

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This is way too much money for me to contemplate earning from Clickbank in a single month.

Just 1/4th of his 80k Clickbank earnings would be highly acceptable.

Do you want to know who is earning this much?

If so, please keep this site secret.

The online videos listed here will definitely earn you a nice daily income.

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Developing Your Own Slant on a Prescribed Topic

The ability to develop your own particular slant on a given topic contributes to bestselling potential.

Everyone has their own way of looking at things, describing how they work and what makes them tick.

When Napoleon Hill and Clement Stone got together to produce the famous self-help book "Think and Grow Rich" they took the timeless and much worked concept of mind over matter and subjected it to the twist of two disparate viewpoints blending together to yield a rich harvest.

Interestingly, although both names appear on the original cover, there was only one author, Napoleon Hill, the architect of the slant that transformed their work into a bestselling book spanning eight decades in worldwide bookstores.

If you can find an unusual angle, a different approach or a hitherto unworked technique for your topic, you are on the way to developing the unique proclivity that will set your work apart from similar tomes.

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Why Planning and Persistence Pays Off for Creative Writers

Persistence pays off in all walks of life because it utilises innate powers to inject increase in all that you undertake.

Once you are clear in your own mind what it is you want to achieve, be prepared to persist until you have accomplished it. There is no point in putting thought, work and effort into developing a plan if you fail to carry it out.

The real achievers in life are those ordinary people who go about their business quietly and efficiently, ticking off each goal on the list as it is accomplished.

Plans don't just fall into line because progress never just 'happens'. You have to make it happen through persistent effort and as you persist you will find that inspiration flows more easily, your command of the project is enhanced and your writing skills improve effortlessly.

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Why Not To Be Dismayed If There Are Lots Of Competitive Books On Your Subject

What if your topic is already listed in dozens of publishers' catalogs - and not just once but twice or even three times?

What if some of these titles have already knocked up multiple editions?

Rejoice.

There is documented evidence of consumer demand for your topic.

Self-help publishers are always on the lookout for acceptable alternatives to top selling products.
It's a case of market forces and the in-house competition factor coming into play; like several leading brands of detergent powder emanating from the same manufacturing source.

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The Mission Statement that Strikes a Timeless Niche

The mission statement for Wallace D Wattles’ 1910 classic self-help book is brief, succinct, and prophetic. It reads, "To inspire, encourage, and exemplify abundance thinking and a strong sense of self-worth for people of goodwill everywhere."

Wallace chose his topic from what he was witnessing all around him: poverty and despair brought about by a vicious spiralling downturn in the economy. The title for his first and only book (he died shortly after publication) is The Science of Getting Rich.

It strikes a timeless niche because everyone everywhere wants to learn how to get rich. Nowadays there is a web site entirely dedicated to the book www.scienceofgettingrich.net where visitors can download the hard copy version for free or purchase it in audiotape format.

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My Newly Published Book is Already a Bestseller on Amazon

How is this for the power of my creative writing course?

Although it does not hit the bookstores until Friday 5 May 2006 my new book "How to Earn Money in Retirement" (How To Books ISBN 1845281128) ranks at No.47 out of 3453 competitive books on Amazon.co.uk - which can only mean one thing - it is already selling in big numbers online.

It's all down to the mystery ingredient that creates bestsellers; an ingredient you won't find anywhere else but in my famous niche non-fiction creative writing course.

All my books become bestsellers in rapid fire order - "Starting Your Own Business" for example was first published ELEVEN years ago and still ranks at No.11 on Amazon.

So too will your books become bestsellers when you are in possession of my secret ingredient.

Access the Mystery Ingredient that Creates Bestselling Books

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How Testimonials Power Up Interest

Testimonials power up interest, especially if they are high calibre such as those on the back cover of Linda Seger's popular how-to book on screenwriting.

"A must-read for every writer, beginner or professional. I don't know how we got along without it."- BARBARA CORDAY, PRESIDENT, COLUMBIA PICTURES TELEVISION, CO-CREATOR OF 'CAGNEY & LACEY'

"An invaluable tool for the working writer, replete with useful examples from actual scripts" - RICHARD WALKER, SCREENWRITING FACULTY CHAIRMAN, UCLA DEPARTMENT OF THEATRE, FILM AND TELEVISION

"Linda Seger has written quite simply the most brilliant and useful book on screenwriting I have ever seen." - WILLIAM KELLEY, ACADEMY AWARD-WINNING WRITER

Small wonder "Making a Good Script Great" is required reading for all aspiring screenwriters…

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Establishing the Depth of Your Knowledge

Never take for granted that you already know enough about your special subject to fill a book.

No one is that clever. Spend some time testing out the depth of your knowledge by making lists of what you know and what you don't know.

Take particular note of those areas that require substantiation or where you are lacking corroborative detail.

CONFIRMING ITS VALIDITY AND EXPANDING ON THE INFORMATION

This is where you start your research and it is so important that the whole of the next chapter is devoted to the subject.

Most of what you need you will find online at home or in the free-to-use 'active learning' centres provided by your local library where you can double up by accessing appropriate hard copy references manuals.

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Experts from the top of the personal development field have contributed their tips and encouragement to help you live the life you want.

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Learn how to finally achieve your lofty goals

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I have a gift for you today to brighten up your weekend...

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Why Writing Part Time Works Best for Some Authors

Most established authors start out writing on a part time basis and while many go on to make a career of the art form, others find it more convenient to continue writing part time for a number of reasons, including:

1. They are at liberty to pursue other commercial interests.

2. They prefer to use their creative skills as an outlet from workaday pressures.

3. They derive therapeutic benefits from part time writing.

4. They find it hones their expertise in diverse directions.

5. They reckon it adds to the quality of life.

6. They enjoy financial advantages from a second income.

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Developing a Distinctive Title for Your Book

The title of your book depicts the very first words that anyone reads; it is the catalyst that determines whether anything else is read.

As such it is an instrument of ultimate consequence.

When the title is plumb center, it hits the bull's eye; when it's off center, it's off the wall.

Treat the development of a distinctive title as essential work that you cannot start on too soon, but never settle for the first suggestion that springs to mind, no matter how brilliant it strikes you at the time.

Keep working on it, polishing it, developing the power words that will transform it into a masterful catch phrase that compels the prospect to turn the pages.

Even when you have done all this to your satisfaction, you may find that a publisher alters it.

Don't balk or consider the change as interference. Publishers know better than authors do what constitutes a winning title.

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Creating Mental Movies in the Reader's Mind

Writing filled with descriptive words that convey action is the secret to making your reader see, feel and act on what you say.

Use illustrative verbs and nouns to produce pictures in the mind. Specific ideas and descriptions create mental movies that the reader can soak up instantly.

Abstract ideas create no such images and are therefore inept at arousing interest. They are weak and make reading boring.

Which claim below has more impact for you?

Increase your profits substantially and quickly with this formula

Or

Make 100 per cent more money in less than 6 weeks

You can easily see that the second claim carries much more impact. Strive to make every sentence in your text clear, direct and specific. Money is a definite thing; you can touch it, feel it and see it in your mind’s eye.

100 percent is specific while 'substantially' is weak and tells you nothing.

Never write with vague language that the reader cannot instantly grasp.

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Why You Should Never Dispose of Your Research Data

Quite simply because you never know when it might come in handy.

The questions to which you found answers for one project will return again and again in different guises when you set about researching new book concepts.

Never dispose of any research material; store it away for future reference. You may have to do some updating but even so, the task won’t be nearly so difficult with a benchmark to start from.

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How to Top and Tail Your Book and Why

To top and tail your niche non-fiction book is to equip it with a preface (or introduction) and a persuasive sales 'blurb' for the back cover.

Neither of these tasks is to be undertaken lightly and you would do well to delay execution until after you have completed the text.

Do not be tempted to take the easy way out by padding them with extracts from the book. That simply does not work and in any case no publisher would allow it.

The preface and the back cover blurb each have a distinctive function to perform and their respective contributions are germane to the success of your work.

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Milking Book Ideas For All They’re Worth

My latest book “How to Earn Money in Retirement” (How To Books ISBN 1845281128) has just been published and hits the bookstores in early May 2006.

As I was writing the mss about nine months ago it occurred to me that there might be another book lurking right there in the text. Accordingly I took notes; mentally deleting a chapter here and adding a few more there, expanding on a topic, sketching out another, and so on.

As a result of this dual tasking I started writing a new book immediately after finishing the project in hand and decided to submit a proposal sooner rather than later.

Next up I received an email from one Nick Hutchins, the freelance reader reviewing the text for “How to Earn Money in Retirement”. Nick’s message simply read, ‘Do you realize you have another book here?’ To which I equally succinctly responded, ‘Yes, I know, and I’ve just submitted a proposal’.

Now it just so happened that Nick had a meeting scheduled with the publishing house a few days hence at which he raised the subject of two books in one.

In the mail today I received a contract for the second book, “How to Grow Your Small Business Rapidly Online” with a publication date of April 2007.

The point to this dissertation is: always be on lookout for additional niche markets for the book you are currently writing and milk your idea for all it’s worth.

The first book is aimed at active retirees and the second at go-ahead small business owners in all categories. I might dig deeper to ascertain whether other niche opportunities lie dormant in the original text.

The majority of niche non-fiction topics are capable of this sort of clinical analysis and it is worth pursuing because if you get a proposal accepted for one specific niche, you will more often than not get another proposal similarly accepted if your subject matter is in similar vein.

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The WIITM Question and Why You Must Address it in Every Page of Your Book

What's in it for me?

That’s the only question on the reader's mind.

Give your most powerful answer to that question in the title; sustain the momentum in your chapter headings/subheads/sub-subheads, and develop the logic of your reasoning in the text. Neglect to address the WIIFM question at the outset and you will lose the reader before you even get started.

People who read niche how-to books are looking for what they can get, have, be or do. They need to know immediately what's in it for them or you will lose them to some other book that succeeds in telling them what's in it for them.

Talk to the reader as though you were engaging in one-to-one dialogue and always remember that the word ‘you’ should be used in the text 100 times more than ‘I’.

Readers have their own priorities and are only concerned with how they will profit by reading what you have to say and so the text must progressively reveal what they will get from studying the content of your book.

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Avoid Over-Egging the Cliches

We are all fond of using cliches and we tend to use them without realizing we're doing so.

And why not?

They automatically summarize situations where it would be difficult to achieve the same result in our own words.

Try though not to use them too often and never over-egg the mix; it irritates the reader.

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Educate, Inform, and Motivate Your Readers

Your purpose as a writer of creative niche non-fiction is to educate, inform and motivate your readers.

Provide them with a continuous stream of knowledge and inside information they didn't know before and you are a hundred times more likely to win their confidence.

When the reader learns something new from you on almost every page it adds tremendous credibility to your book.

It gives a very powerful sense of realness about you and your teaching.

Trust is established and the beginnings of a positive relationship.

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Discover the Secrets to Churning Out Bestsellers

Writers who consistently cut the mustard do so because they have a masterful formula, a plan, a winning strategy for topic selection, composition, proposal submission, acceptance, publication and promotion.

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Why Not to be Dismayed if Your Topic is Already Covered

What if the topic for your new book is already listed in the publisher's catalog and not just once but twice or even three times?

What if some of these titles have already knocked up multiple editions?

Rejoice...

There is documented evidence of consumer demand for your topic. Self-help publishers are always on the lookout for acceptable alternatives to top selling products.

It's a case of market forces and the in-house competition factor coming into play; like several leading brands of detergent powder emanating from the same manufacturing source.

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Why Guides, Manuals, How to Books are Always in Demand

No one willingly volunteers for instruction unless there is more, much more than mere passing interest in the topic, and therein lies the market for quality guides, instruction manuals and how-to books:

Qualified, targeted prospects

You are preaching the partially converted: all the more reason then that you run your expertise through all the tests to ensure its validity.

Your knowledge must be superior to that of the reader and it must be quantifiably so. Unsubstantiated opinion has no place in this classification of non-fiction and so you must validate all that you think you know and expand upon it responsibly with every means at your disposal.

This calls for intensive research and without it you will end up with egg all over your face because your manuscript will never get past the first reading stage of any professional publisher you might approach.

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Establishing the Depth of Your Knowledge

Never take for granted that you already know enough about your special subject to fill a book. No one is that clever. Spend some time testing out the depth of your knowledge by making lists of what you know and what you don't know. Take particular note of those areas that require substantiation or where you are lacking corroborative detail.

CONFIRMING ITS VALIDITY AND EXPANDING ON THE INFORMATION

This is where you start your research and it is so important that the whole of the next chapter is devoted to the subject. Most of what you need you will find online at home or in the free-to-use 'active learning' centres provided by your local library where you can double up by accessing appropriate hard copy references manuals.

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Managing Your Time to Speed Up the Creative Writing Process

The only time constraints are those of your own making. This is not a race and you are not competing with anyone else, so don’t rush.

Make out an action list for every day of your new adventure but don’t overload it.
Never start on tomorrow’s work today. Tomorrow will be time enough.

Take a break when hit a snag. Rest, go for a walk, watch a movie – and come back refreshed.

You will work best during your most creative time of the day or week. We have already established that for some people, that is very early in the morning; for others, late at night or over the weekend. Try to discover when your creative moments occur and capitalise on them.

Don’t work when you’re tired or jaded. You run the risk of turning out garbage and opening the door to disillusion

When you’re surfing the Net for information, always be on the lookout for items of relevance to your project. These could be in the form of articles and reports. They are in the public domain, so incorporate extracts if you feel they would enhance your content. If you need author consent, ask for it; permission will not be unreasonably withheld.

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Creating Chapter Headings, Subheads, and Sub-Subheads

The creation of chapter headings, subheads and sub-subheads constitutes the first vital contribution to the writing up of your project. When you get this right, the strain is off and fulfilment begins to take over. Get it wrong and you will struggle.

There is no easy way and no quick formula fixes; you must develop these essential 'bandings' until they meet with your ultimate satisfaction. You will know instinctively when you've got them right, and when you do, your creativity will flow freely and the manuscript will take shape faster than you ever thought possible.

It will take shape in your subconscious as you sleep, as you walk, as you travel to work, collect the kids from school or pick up the weekly shop.

Now you can start to think about writing your book.

Chapter headings

These are the major signposts to the delineation of the core elements in your teaching module. Make them vibrant and follow the rules on creating action to stimulate reader involvement.

Subheads

These are secondary directional tags that lead the reader into strands of vital information under each chapter heading. Keep up the action and interest in their formulation.

The 'hidden persuader' influence of sub-subheads

If you turn back for a moment to the contents list for this book you will observe that only the chapter headings and main subheads are featured. Now look at this list relating to Chapter 4 (extracted from the working notes) where the sub-subheads appear italicised in parenthesis for the purpose of illustration.

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Structuring the List of Contents for Your New Book

Compare the writing of your book to that of the task facing an artist painting a landscape.

The artist envisages in advance the composition of the picture (your list of contents), makes rough sketches of essential features (your draft copy) and arrives at a balanced decision on execution. The artist has choices on technique for implementation and so do you.

Why You Should Complete This Before You Write Anything

When you work away conscientiously on compiling the list of contents in advance, you open the door to these choices on how you will tackle the actual writing of your book.

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Developing a Distinctive Title for Your New Book

The title of your book depicts the very first words that anyone reads; it is the catalyst that determines whether anything else is read.

As such it is an instrument of ultimate consequence.

When the title is plumb centre, it hits the bull's eye; when it's off centre, it's off the wall.

Treat the development of a distinctive title as essential work that you cannot start on too soon, but never settle for the first suggestion that springs to mind, no matter how brilliant it strikes you at the time.

Keep working on it, polishing it, developing the power words that will transform it into a masterful catch phrase that compels the prospect to turn the pages.

Even when you have done all this to your satisfaction, you may find that a publisher alters it.

Don't balk or consider the change as interference.

Publishers know better than authors do what constitutes a winning title.

Remember too that a powerful sub-title that sells the title itself is of equal necessity.

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Adopting Proven Formatting Techniques In Niche Non-Fiction Writing

Taking the trouble to familiarize yourself with the various formatting techniques employed by the how-to publishing industry will also help enhance your chances of producing a bestselling title.

How the title commands immediate attention

How the cover design varies from one publisher to another

How the contents list is laid out

How illustrations are employed to support the text where appropriate

How, where and where bullet points are included to highlight key aspects

How appendices are compiled to assist the reader

How the preface sparks off initial curiosity

How the back cover 'blurb' sells the book

This is vital work because should you choose to approach a publisher with sample material devoid of appropriate formatting, your proposal is unlikely to be treated seriously.

CREATING A DISTINCTIVE WRITING STYLE

Creating your own style comes evolves through practice, coupled with affording due diligence to the systematic approaches employed by established writers in the how-to genre. Study the various techniques and learn from them. When you writing exudes distinction you become recognisable in the industry and among the book buying public.

WHAT IMPRESSES COMMISSIONING EDITORS

When the commissioning editor of a publishing house examines your proposal he/she is looking for more than the ability to write clearly and concisely on the chosen topic.

You must demonstrate mastery of your subject

You must demonstrate the potential to produce further works in your specialist area

You must demonstrate a grasp on publishing techniques

(Extracted from my book Secrets to Churning Out Bestsellers)

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Why You Should Never Dispose of Your Research Material

Why? Quite simply because you never know when it might come in handy. The questions to which you found answers for your first project will return again and again in different guises when you set about researching on new book concepts.

Never dispose of any research material; store it away for future reference. You may have to do some updating but even so, the task won’t be nearly so difficult with a benchmark to start from.

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Researching your first writing project...

This is a core objective and it's where your work begins in earnest.

Without efficient research you are blowing in the wind and your proposal for publication is unlikely to touch the vital nerve that captures the attention of commissioning editors. For many established authors researching is often the most fulfilling aspect of preparing a given topic for publication.

As you research you will find yourself uncovering diverse strands of critical new information that will tempt you veer off in other rewarding directions or even on occasion, change direction completely.

CHARTING THE ROUTE BEFORE YOU RESEARCH

Let’s imagine you are intent on producing a resource manual notionally entitled How to Become an Expert on Light Bulbs (you wouldn’t, but let’s just hypothecate for illustration purposes).

Make out a list of the pivotal aspects of the subject.

It might pan out like this.

Light bulb sizes

Shapes

Power requirements

Manufacturers

Types of fitting

Novelty bulbs

Industrial bulbs

Lighting for sports stadia

Christmas lighting

Stage lighting

Street lighting

High intensity

Low intensity…and so on

Now compare this listing with your list of what you know, what you don't know, and annotate each item on the list accordingly; tick for 'yes', cross for 'no'.

Connect to the Internet and open your browser - choose a search engine and type in ‘light bulbs’.

Start collecting links for everything you come across.

Divide the links into categories and sub-categories.

Finding out what you need to know online shouldn’t prove too difficult.

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Developing Your Own Slant on a Prescribed Topic

The ability to develop your own particular slant on a given topic also contributes to bestselling potential. Everyone has their own way of looking at things, describing how they work and what makes them tick.

When Napoleon Hill and Clement Stone got together to produce the famous self-help book Think and Grow Rich, they took the timeless and much worked concept of mind over matter and subjected it to the twist of two disparate viewpoints blending together to yield a rich harvest. Interestingly, although both names appear on the cover, there was only one author, Napoleon Hill, the architect of the slant that transformed their work into a bestselling book spanning eight decades in worldwide bookstores.

If you can find an unusual angle, a different approach or a hitherto unworked technique for your topic, you are on the way to developing the unique proclivity that will set your work apart from similar tomes.

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Three Tasty Tips for Improving Your Creative Writing Output

Here are three simple but highly effective steps that most successful authors employ automatically to ensure that their writing output is always on target...

Grasp ideas as they occur

Ideas occur at the oddest moments. You might be asleep, walking the dog, in the middle of a meeting; intuition leaves no calling cards. It just strikes. When it does, pay attention or the moment may be lost forever. To give you an example: I got the idea on how to close my first bestseller when I was sorting out some old files - and that occurred before I had even started to work on the text…

Take pleasure in your own company and produce superior work

It's a fact. If it does not faze you to be totally on your own for an hour or two every day you will discover that indulging in introspection and cultivating innate intuition comes easy. As a result, your output will rapidly increase and improve in quality.

This is not to imply that gregarious people don't make good writers. They do, providing there is no necessity for a backdrop of din and chatter while they work.

Treat your creative writing as a part time business

It is a sound practice to take your writing activities so seriously that you treat them as you would any other part time home business. In other words, work to strict disciplines and hold yourself accountable for all that you do.

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Introspection as a discipline for writing how-to literature?

Very much so, if you are to become all you can be writing in that genre.

In odd moments of your spare time when you are not writing, think over what you think you know for sure, and then put it to the test in small ways. For example, your project is embroidery and you are utterly convinced that a certain style of cross-stitching (which is to be the cornerstone of your teaching) is well within the capability of any novice. But is it? And how can you confirm your conviction?

Visit the local reference library and access several books on the topic (you'll find plenty). Compare alternative viewpoints to establish if you are on the right track or if at this early stage you should re-think your strategy.

Writing how-to literature is niche-carving and to be certain that your exposition of a topic will be convincing, you must be forever in touch with your thoughts and feelings as you string together the basic tenets for construction.

CULTIVATING INNATE INTUITION

Introspection leads us neatly on to another essential discipline: making the most of your intuition. It is an incredible weapon to have at your command as a writer but intuition doesn't just happen and you cannot switch on at will until you first learn how to cultivate your innate power by listening to the inner voice that resides within.

There are several excellent works on the subject (including Trusting Your Intuition in the How-To-Books series) but here are some basic pointers to help you get started on your quest to reach the inner voice.

Slowing down and listening to the inner voice

Information is proliferating at such a frenzied rate today that even with personal computers and cellular phones (or perhaps because of them) your attention is stretched to the extreme. Not only do you have more facts about more diverse fields of information than ever before, you are also subject to a greater array of outcries and opinions.

Fortunately, beneath all the cacophony of the information age, the quiet truth about problem solving and decision making is always available to you. By learning to slow down and pay attention to what’s right under your nose, you have a chance to find your own authentic answers, unaided by media and technology. To do that you must build up your 'intuition muscle' and learn to center yourself in the present moment. It’s only at your core, in the here-and-now eye of the global information hurricane, that you can hear the inner voice.

How attuned are you to the subtle messages all around you?

Messages like those hidden behind your spoken communication.

There is guidance available to you at all times, just below the surface of logic, just after you stop pushing and striving, just before you jump to conclusions. By cultivating the ability to pause and be comfortable with silence, and then by focusing steadily and listening for the first sounds or feeling for first impressions, you can help your intuition wake up suddenly and enthusiastically, as if from a long winter’s nap.

In my own searching to cultivate the inner voice, I’ve learned to listen for the faintest of whispers, the nearly silent song. One of the most important skills in developing accurate intuition is the ability to tone down your domineering talk-addicted mind, which arrogantly thinks it knows how the world works without ever observing what’s happening in the freshly occurring present moment. To know clearly, you must learn to observe neutrally, and true observation can only take place with a silent mind.

Soften your awareness

Activating intuition always starts with a down gear shift into softness and silence. You’ll never receive accurate information with a chattering mind, clenched as tight as a fist. Recall a little later how you feel when you’re concentrating and worrying about finishing a chapter of your book in the time frame you've set yourself. Your brow is furrowed, you’re shackled to the task in hand, and you’re probably way ahead of yourself, anxious to achieve the intended goal.

This is your 'masculine mind' in operation; the kind of awareness men and women alike must use to achieve concrete results. You are in your linear, left-brained masculine mind so often, you’ve come to identify it as normal and you tend to forget that there is an equally powerful, complementary state of consciousness that is quiet, unhurried, highly creative and tension-free: the 'feminine mind', the right hand side of your brain. The feminine mind is not goal-oriented; it simply observes, includes, appreciates, and is present in whatever it notices.

Cultivate your intuition and it will serve you well in every writing assignment you undertake.

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Choosing a Topic for Writing a How-To Book

Review in depth the intelligence you have accumulated over the years and you will have no problem in identifying where your primary source of expertise lies.

However, before cementing your choice of a topic it will be necessary to run the data through several tests to confirm its suitability as the subject matter for your first how-to book.

Will the topic be convincing enough to warrant widespread appeal among devotees?

Will you be capable of confirming its validity and expanding on received data?

Will you be able to convert your expertise into a teaching module?

Will the accumulated material manifest a disposition for regular updating?

Will the topic have the potential for subsequent editions?

Will it have the propensity to spawn more books on disparate aspects of the subject?

Will you tempted to abandon the project if your topic has already been covered?

You won't be able to resolve all of these questions right now but you will be by the time you've finished studying any of my writing courses.

WHAT ATTRACTS PEOPLE TO WORKS OF NON-FICTION?

Autobiographies and biographies of celebrities are always in demand because they arouse the curiosity factor and particularly so when the material evokes an expectation of salacity.

The curiosity factor is equally evident in readers of how-to books, guides and manuals, but directed by a more responsible motive: the thirst for information on how to do something, do it better and excel at it.

And so the chosen topic must be capable of fulfilling these wholesome expectations by ensuring that readers will become better informed on the subject matter for which you and they share a common interest.

Your personal expertise must be equal to the task you set yourself because otherwise, no matter how cleverly conceived or creatively scripted, your work will never be published.

Commissioning editors can spot a fake a mile away.

While they may not be expert on your subject, they will very quickly ascertain whether or not you are.

PASSIVE V ACTIVE PARTICIPATION

Levels of reader participation tend to vary between different genres and the differential with regard to commitment invariably favors non-fiction.

People read fiction to be entertained

(Passive participation: in one ear and out the other)

People read non-fiction to…

1. Become better informed
2. Learn new skills
3. Hone existing talents

(Active participation: invoking the faculties of reasoning and memory retention)

Much popular fiction is in style for just a while but superior niche non-fiction can be around forever, earning the estates of its originators drip feed residuals in perpetuity.

For example ‘How to Win Friends and Influence People’ by Norman Vincent Peale was first published in the mid-1930s, sold millions of copies worldwide, and is still re-issued from time to time.

This famous book has been through several publishing houses but it has only one originator.

Whenever people pick up a how-to book they are demonstrating willingness to engage in active participation.

They know they are in for some work and you should in there pitching with them, providing an interesting topic and knowledgeable text in an easy-to-read format that transforms a chore into a pleasure.

WHY GUIDES, MANUALS, HOW-TO BOOKS
ARE ALWAYS IN DEMAND

No one willingly volunteers for instruction unless there is more, much more than mere passing interest in the topic, and therein lies the market for quality guides, instruction manuals and how-to books.

QUALIFIED, TARGETED PROSPECTS

You are preaching the partially converted: all the more reason then that you run your expertise through all the tests to ensure its validity.

Your knowledge must be superior to that of the reader and it must be quantifiably so.

Unsubstantiated opinion has no place in this classification of non-fiction and so you must validate all that you think you know and expand upon it responsibly with every means at your disposal.

This calls for intensive research and without it you will end up with egg all over your face because your manuscript will never get past the first reading stage of any professional publisher you might approach.

ESTABLISHING THE DEPTH OF YOUR KNOWLEDGE

Never take for granted that you already know enough about your special subject to fill a book.

No one is that clever.

Spend some time testing out the depth of your knowledge by making lists of what you know and what you don't know.

Take particular note of those areas that require substantiation or where you are lacking corroborative detail.

CONFIRMING ITS VALIDITY
AND EXPANDING ON THE INFORMATION

This is where you start your research and it is so important that an entire chapter is devoted to the subject in all of my creative writing courses.

Most of what you need you will find online at home or in the free-to-use 'active learning' centres provided by your local library where you can double up by accessing appropriate hard copy references manuals.

TESTING THE POTENTIAL FOR LONGEVITY IN YOUR CHOSEN TOPIC

Testing out the potential for life beyond a single edition is something you can do for yourself quite easily by carrying out this simple test.

CHECK IF YOUR TOPIC HAS A NICHE-CARVING ASPECT

In other words: that it is not associated with a fad or a fashion.

For example, I've had many books published over the years, some of which have been in style for a while then disappeared, others have bombed, but the majority of my titles just keep going on from strength to strength.

Why?

Why should my successful titles prove so popular with readers?

They are popular because they are directed at niche markets that are self-perpetuating and have a seemingly bottomless pit of prospective participants.

Like the London buses, there's always another one coming along in a minute.

For example:

Back in 1994 when I wrote Starting Your Own Business (How-To-Books ISBN 1-85703-859-2) government initiatives on helping people to start up on their own were just beginning to bite all over the world.

As these initiatives increased in volume, so too did interest in my work.

Similarly, when I became increasingly aware of the hype on home based web operations, I wrote Starting an Internet Business at Home (Kogan Page ISBN 0-7494-3484-8).

This latter tome has been around since August 2001 and sells well in bookstores all over the world and (as I suspected it would) as an Internet purchase via Amazon, BOL, Barnes & Noble, etc.

Now, spotting an opportunity and carving a niche for yourself only works when you know the market inside out and when it identifies precisely with your own expertise.

Look again at the marketplace identified with your topic and establish whether there is a sector or sub-sector that is tailor made for exploitation through your special brand of knowledge.

That is how to position yourself in the right place at the right time.

It has nothing to do with luck; the answer lies in creative forward thinking.

http://1st-creative-writing-course.com

Realizing the Full Potential for Your Writing Output

Achieving publication for your writing output is removed from the improbable dream category and becomes instead a calculated certainty when you follow the strategies contained in my creative writing course.

That’s the beauty of niche non-fiction: it lends itself to formula writing techniques where commercial nuances are seamlessly interwoven into practical expression without disturbing the flow of the creative dynamic.

You do it all the time without perhaps realizing it; you do it automatically when you compose a letter, a thesis, a report and such like. Why not then convert your innate skills into a vehicle to make money writing by developing extra income ideas that become in time residual income streams.

I did not set out to write a niche non-fiction bestseller: it just happened fortuitously because subconsciously I had somehow managed to string all the essential ingredients together in the correct order in my first work.

You won’t have to trust to luck though. Intrigued by the runaway success of the initial title and the two that followed in the break-though to bestseller status, I set about deconstructing each in turn to determine what I had done right and where I had gone astray on occasion.

The results not only provided me with benchmarks for revising future editions but also made available the raw material for my creative writing course Secrets to Churning Out Bestsellers. Combining my own findings with those of other successful non-fiction authors provides you in turn with a series of tried and tested strategies to ensure flawless progression of your own extra income ideas into residual income streams.

And residuals are what writing for profit is all about. ‘Starting Your Own Business’ first saw the light of day back in 1994, doubles in turnover every year, and (according to my publisher) should still be around in another ten years time. ‘Starting an Internet Business at Home’ falls into much the category in that sales consistently increase year on year. Both of these titles have something in common: they were designed to last because they are both injected with the essential ingredient to guarantee multiple editions and consequently, bestseller status: longevity.

You will learn in Secrets to Churning Out Bestsellers how to inject your own work with longevity and how that will galvanize commissioning editors into offering you a contract for publication. To provide you with an example of the power of this little-known ingredient: I have written 50 full length works of niche non-fiction of which 37 have been accepted and published.

You’d settle for two out of three as a batting average wouldn’t you?

Footnote: Do not leave your rejections to gather dust in a desk drawer. Put them to work. I downsized the 13 that failed to cut the mustard into mini-volumes and 7 of these went on to be accepted and published as ‘Thrifty Books’ titles…

http://1st-creative-writing-course.com

Choosing a Topic for Writing a How-To Book

Review in depth the intelligence you have accumulated over the years and you will have no problem in identifying where your primary source of expertise lies.

However, before cementing your choice of a topic it will be necessary to run the data through several tests to confirm its suitability as the subject matter for your first how-to book.

- Will the topic be convincing enough to warrant widespread appeal among devotees?
- Will you be capable of confirming its validity and expanding on received data?
- Will you be able to convert your expertise into a teaching module?
- Will the accumulated material manifest a disposition for regular updating?
- Will the topic have the potential for subsequent editions?
- Will it have the propensity to spawn more books on disparate aspects of the subject?
- Will you tempted to abandon the project if your topic has already been covered?

You won't be able to resolve all of these questions right now but you will be by the time you've finished studying any of my writing courses.

WHAT ATTRACTS PEOPLE TO WORKS OF NON-FICTION?

Autobiographies and biographies of celebrities are always in demand because they arouse the curiosity factor and particularly so when the material evokes an expectation of salacity.

The curiosity factor is equally evident in readers of how-to books, guides and manuals, but directed by a more responsible motive: the thirst for information on how to do something, do it better and excel at it.

And so the chosen topic must be capable of fulfilling these wholesome expectations by ensuring that readers will become better informed on the subject matter for which you and they share a common interest.

Your personal expertise must be equal to the task you set yourself because otherwise, no matter how cleverly conceived or creatively scripted, your work will never be published.

Commissioning editors can spot a fake a mile away.

While they may not be expert on your subject, they will very quickly ascertain whether or not you are.

PASSIVE V ACTIVE PARTICIPATION

Levels of reader participation tend to vary between different genres and the differential with regard to commitment invariably favors non-fiction.

People read fiction to be entertained

(Passive participation: in one ear and out the other)

People read non-fiction to…

- Become better informed
- Learn new skills
- Hone existing talents

(Active participation: invoking the faculties of reasoning and memory retention)

Much popular fiction is in style for just a while but superior niche non-fiction can be around forever, earning the estates of its originators drip feed residuals in perpetuity.

For example ‘How to Win Friends and Influence People’ by Norman Vincent Peale was first published in the mid-1930s, sold millions of copies worldwide, and is still re-issued from time to time.

This famous book has been through several publishing houses but it has only one originator.

Whenever people pick up a how-to book they are demonstrating willingness to engage in active participation.

They know they are in for some work and you should in there pitching with them, providing an interesting topic and knowledgeable text in an easy-to-read format that transforms a chore into a pleasure.

WHY GUIDES, MANUALS, HOW-TO BOOKS
ARE ALWAYS IN DEMAND

No one willingly volunteers for instruction unless there is more, much more than mere passing interest in the topic, and therein lies the market for quality guides, instruction manuals and how-to books.

QUALIFIED, TARGETED PROSPECTS

You are preaching the partially converted: all the more reason then that you run your expertise through all the tests to ensure its validity.

Your knowledge must be superior to that of the reader and it must be quantifiably so.

Unsubstantiated opinion has no place in this classification of non-fiction and so you must validate all that you think you know and expand upon it responsibly with every means at your disposal.

This calls for intensive research and without it you will end up with egg all over your face because your manuscript will never get past the first reading stage of any professional publisher you might approach.

ESTABLISHING THE DEPTH OF YOUR KNOWLEDGE

Never take for granted that you already know enough about your special subject to fill a book.

No one is that clever.

Spend some time testing out the depth of your knowledge by making lists of what you know and what you don't know.

Take particular note of those areas that require substantiation or where you are lacking corroborative detail.

CONFIRMING ITS VALIDITY
AND EXPANDING ON THE INFORMATION

This is where you start your research and it is so important that an entire chapter is devoted to the subject in all of my creative writing courses.

Most of what you need you will find online at home or in the free-to-use 'active learning' centres provided by your local library where you can double up by accessing appropriate hard copy references manuals.

TESTING THE POTENTIAL FOR LONGEVITY IN YOUR CHOSEN TOPIC

Testing out the potential for life beyond a single edition is something you can do for yourself quite easily by carrying out this simple test.

CHECK IF YOUR TOPIC HAS A NICHE-CARVING ASPECT

In other words: that it is not associated with a fad or a fashion.

For example, I've had many books published over the years, some of which have been in style for a while then disappeared, others have bombed, but the majority of my titles just keep going on from strength to strength.

Why?

Why should my successful titles prove so popular with readers?

They are popular because they are directed at niche markets that are self-perpetuating and have a seemingly bottomless pit of prospective participants.

Like the London buses, there's always another one coming along in a minute.

For example:

Back in 1994 when I wrote Starting Your Own Business (How-To-Books ISBN 1-85703-859-2) government initiatives on helping people to start up on their own were just beginning to bite all over the world.

As these initiatives increased in volume, so too did interest in my work.

Similarly, when I became increasingly aware of the hype on home based web operations, I wrote Starting an Internet Business at Home (Kogan Page ISBN 0-7494-3484-8).

This latter tome has been around since August 2001 and sells well in bookstores all over the world and (as I suspected it would) as an Internet purchase via Amazon, BOL, Barnes & Noble, etc.

Now, spotting an opportunity and carving a niche for yourself only works when you know the market inside out and when it identifies precisely with your own expertise.

Look again at the marketplace identified with your topic and establish whether there is a sector or sub-sector that is tailor made for exploitation through your special brand of knowledge.

That is how to position yourself in the right place at the right time.

It has nothing to do with luck; the answer lies in creative forward thinking.

http://1st-creative-writing-course.com

The Perfect Solution For Publishing Your Creative Writing Output

It has never been easy to have your creative writing output accepted by traditional publishing houses.

Witness these famous masters of fiction who were all obliged to take the route of shelling out hard cash to have their debut novels printed.

Alexandre Dumas
D.H. Lawrence
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Rice Burroughs
George Bernard Shaw
Gertrude Stein
James Joyce
John Grisham
Mark Twain
Mary Baker Eddy
Rudyard Kipling
Stephen Crane
Upton Sinclair
Virginia Woolf
Walt Whitman
William Blake
Zane Grey

John Grisham, incidentally, sold copies of his first novel A Time to Kill out of the boot of a car which at the outset was his sole 'vehicle' for distribution…

And it is getting tougher all the time – even for established authors.

It can be doubly frustrating when you’ve written something that you are desperate to see in print; something you want other people to read.

There is always recourse to the cut-throat vanity publishing houses of course but I wouldn’t take that route come what may.

Imagine my surprise then when I stumbled across the perfect solution for publishing creative output that you can’t place elsewhere.

I have a string of traditionally published titles currently in circulation but I have an equal string that I have never been able to get into print.

That is until now…

The little known but highly reputable POD (print on demand) source I have discovered requires an initial membership fee that covers unlimited titles and thereafter pricing starts at $5.95 for just ONE book – perfect bound with ISBN and free shipping to customers

In a nutshell: Instead of requiring an initial order of 10 or 100 books, they send you the first copy of your book free and then print-on-demand and ship when they receive an order from you or your customer.

This website is well worth a visit especially if you are still trying to get your first book into print. With the keen printing prices on offer you could have your own library up and running in next to no time.

http://tinyurl.com/hlw77

The Other Major Gateway into the Search Engines

We reviewed the power of press releases yesterday; now let’s focus on the other major free gateway into obtaining high placements in the search engines: articles.

Posting free articles to the major article repository sites is the fastest and easiest way to make more sales, increase your Google ranking, and push your Alexa rating through the roof.

Once again it all depends on the efficiency of the software you use to transmit your articles.

Have a look at the one I always use..

http://articlesubmitter.howtoproducts-xl.com

Taking the Backdoor into Search Engine Placements

There is a backdoor into high rankings in the search engines that’s been around forever but is only now achieving the recognition it deserves.

Online press releases are not the exclusive province of big business; you can use them to astonishing effect even if (as I do) you operate your online marketing from a work station at the window of a living room facing the village green.

Press releases offer a level playing field so take advantage of it and raise your game to new heights. I have hundreds of releases on all sorts of subject matter currently circulating in cyberspace – and so too can you.

Success hinges solely on the software you employ for transmission.

If this is something you have never done before you need a kit that…

- Helps you structure releases in the accepted format
- Provides you with a choice of layouts to correlate with the subject matter
- Comes pre-loaded with PR hubs for automatic transmission
- Gives you the option of manually submitting to hubs that prefer it that way
- Allows you to add to the manual sites already loaded

I know of only one piece of software that does all this and doesn’t cost a leg and an arm to purchase outright.

It is the software I use every day.

Check it out at this website…

http://tinyurl.com/hdbvs

I Happened Upon A Book That Shattered My Illusions

Back in 2000 I wrote a book “Starting an Internet Business at Home” which was published in hard copy format by Kogan Page (ISBN 0749434848).

It is out of print now but in its day it was considered hot stuff and sold over 20,000 copies in bookstores world wide.

At the time I though I knew all there was to know about online marketing but a few days ago I happened across a book by another author that shattered my illusions and exposed how little I really know.

It reveals the astonishing story of how the writer took a single idea and turned it into $37,641.85 in just 24 days.

Moreover, he demonstrates step by step exactly how he did it.

So what did I learn that I didn’t know before?

Manifold gems of wisdom on online marketing, including…

- The building blocks to conducting effective online market research

- How to develop products in obscure but highly popular niche areas

- How to create them seamlessly and inexpensively

- An ingenious and incredibly simple strategy for attracting JV partners

- How to use other people’s websites to jack up overall sales

Oh, and lots of other useful things, but especially how to repeat the author’s format over and over again.

Click Below To Learn More About The Book That Shattered My Illusions

http://tinyurl.com/nwysg

Getting it all together...

Most successful online marketers (myself included) start out as affiliates reselling other people's merchandise.

It is still the best way to begin because all the time you are gathering vital marketing intelligence.

Then when you have it all together you use your accumulated wisdom to develop and market your own range of products and services.

In the early days of online marketing it was a tough route to travel - but not anymore - not with the proven strategy I am about to reveal.

Unwrap the Secret Affiliate Weapon that Guarantees Success for Beginners

http://writing333.secretaff.hop.clickbank.net

I have some great news today...

As a writer with both online and offline products to market I am always on the lookout for a surefire means of improving the optin sign-up rate for my lists.

And now I've found it!

My friend James Grandstaff has just released his highly anticipated Downline Secrets package. He reveals how his downline snowballed to over 5,700 members using only free traffic and a simple 3 step marketing strategy.

I have just finished listening to the audio and I loved it.

He was going to sell it for just $97.

But here is the deal now...

He gave me permission to share the private access page with you so you can get his amazing $97 product for free!

I am not sure how long James will let me share this page with you, so go and grab your complimentary copy now. It only takes a minute.

Here is the special private access page:

http://tinyurl.com/mtdgk

Why It Pays To Listen Even When You Think They’re Nuts

My first published work became a bestseller as soon as it hit the bookshelves back in 1995 and it has been topping the lists ever since.

Lucky you, some might say.

By and large the content has remained unchanged (apart from essential updating) and although ten years is a fair old run, what goes up must eventually come down.

So with that in mind I approached my publishing house with a suggestion for a commemorative 10th anniversary edition; new chapters, new cover, new cosmetics, new typesetting.

They loved the idea but balked at producing a new edition per se.

“Why?” I said, “It will start the ball rolling all over again.”

“No it won’t,” they said, “It will kill the golden goose.”

And so instead the publisher opted for a reprint dressed up as a new edition: new imprint, new chapters; new cosmetics, new typesetting – but no new cover; only a subtle color change to preserve continuity.

I thought they were nuts but they were right of course; stop supplying bookstores with a bestseller for five months and you risk consigning it to oblivion for evermore. And a block on supply there must be to allow the trade to dispose of existing stock.

That’s the price you pay with every new edition.

My author copies duly arrived and I was well pleased with the new production and contacted the publishing house to express my satisfaction, intimating only mild concern over the lack of a new cover design.

“Oh, there will be a new cover,” they said. “We’ll incorporate that on the next reprint of the reprint – now that the link has been maintained”.

My idea was good but I hadn’t thought it through.

The publisher house did.

The 4th edition of “Starting Your Own Business” (How To Books ISBN 1845280709) hit the bookstores worldwide mid-April 2005 – and the reprint complete with brand new cover is due out in August 2006.

Like I say, it pays to listen even when you think they’re nuts...

http://1st-creative-writing-course.com

Get Your Hands On The Secret Audio Sessions..

My friends Jeremy Gislason and Simon Hodgkinson have just launched a brand new audio membership site - You can get some incredible information here and it won't cost you a single cent (ever!).

Enjoy...

Check it out before they close the doors

http://audio.marketingmainevent2.com/rep/jimgreen/