While attending Oxford, young Samuel was mortified when a fellow student left a pair of shoes on the doorstep one night after noticing the condition of his tattered shoes. He dropped out of Oxford after a year, unable to pay his tuition.

Johnson started a teaching career. Lacking a degree, and with physical handicaps that made him a target for children’s disrespect, he was not successful.

So he turned to writing where his career finally blossomed. Johnson was a prolific writer, creating a dictionary, poems, sermons, books, and political essays. Today he is the second most frequently quoted person in the English-speaking world, second only to Shakespeare.

What does this story have to do with you?

At first glance, nothing.

Look a little deeper into his writings and you’ll find this quote:

“To be happy at home is the ultimate result of all ambition.”

Bam. Kind of hits you right between the eyes doesn’t it?

At this time of year when we are rushing around with holiday preparations, looking back at 2008 and beating ourselves up for all the things we did or did not do, those twelve words put it all into perspective.

Ponder this on a winter’s night:

* Are you happy at home?
* How can you mark and celebrate the richness of your home life?
* In what ways does your business support your home life or subtract from it?
* What are you going to do to enhance your happiness at home?

As you wind up 2008 and look ahead to 2009, use these words to create what really matters in your life and your business. Do the same for your readers.

“To be happy at home is the ultimate result of all ambition.”

Samuel Johnson

Raise your glass with me in celebration of all the little things that make home feel like home.

Want to create a successful book? Free monthly author training calls with successful authors at http://www.SparkforAuthors.com. Lynne Klippel is a publisher, best-selling author and book coach who specializes in helping authors write great non-fiction books and use them to build their business and profits.

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“The difference between a would-be author and a published author is the published author has audacity.” ~ Jennifer Manlowe

Fear can be a huge boulder in any writer’s path, preventing her or him from being able to see that there might be a way to work with, even capitalize on, its universality.

Fear has a way of throwing us off balance, making us feel uncertain and insecure, but it is not meant to discourage us. Its purpose is to notify us that we are taking steps away from our comfort zone and across that scary bridge that connects our old life with our new one.

It’s a good idea to remember that fear never goes away. But sometimes some of them shrink. I compare my fears to miserable, cave-dwelling Trolls under the bridge of possibility. They seem to make it their primary goal to keep me scared and preferring to wait on the familiar side of the bridge–the “safe” one I’ve known most of my life.

But, I believe that whenever we face our fear, we overcome an inner obstacle and move into new territory, both inside and out.

Many would-be authors let their fears keep them from embracing their writerly possibilities.

Which type of fear keeps you from fulfilling your writing goals?

Here is just a small sampling (based on my clients’ and my own experiences):

* Fear of change
* Fear we’ll be neglecting our other responsibilities (in the old days women could be arrested for being authors)
* Fear of the unknown
* Fear of failing
* Fear of succeeding
* Fear of being too old to be relevant or too young to write a memoir
* Fear of being seen as frivolous or vain
* Fear of losing money–knowing, in fact, there are no guarantees
* Fear of being broke
* Fear of having to BE an author, i.e., “Will I have to pump out books like Stephen King for the rest of my life?”
* Fear of not having what it takes (discipline, talent, passion, a compelling story to tell)
* Fear of being wrong (too many typos and grammatical errors)
* Fear of not being able to begin (or finish!)
* Fear of humiliation, worries of what friends, family or colleagues will think
* Fear of self-delusion; that your experiment as an author will appear to be grandiose, self-indulgent
* Fear that it’s all been said before
* Fear of being audacious, “How dare I think I have something unique or relevant to say!”
* Fear of no longer having this goal (dream?)
* Fear of a lawsuit or of physical retaliation (from those that think you’re really writing about them!); and finally, the biggest fear of them all:
* Fear of being ordinary (just another schmo on the bus).

The point of this list is for us to see that we all have fears! It’s called being a sentient (conscious) being.

If we don’t feel fear at all, we may be suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)–a kind of numbness born of frequent exposure to traumatic experiences. Of course, we could be sociopaths–people who have no capacity for empathizing with other living beings. But, my guess, most of us suffer from neither of these troubling conditions.

Instead, feeling fear is quite ordinary even for the Einsteins, Dr. Kings, Aung San Suu Kyis and Anne Franks of the world. The fact is, we all feel fear and wish we would not get stopped by this tedious truism of human existence. But I’m here to tell you that while there is no way around what scares us, everybody can find ways to move through their fears.

With great frequency, I say to my memoir clients and to myself: “Just keep walking! All dark tunnels have openings.”

While comfort with fear is a contradiction in terms, we can learn to honor our fear, recognizing its arrival, listening to its intelligence, and respecting it as a harbinger of transformation. Indeed, it informs us that what we are doing (or about to do) is significant. On this occasion, we truly care.

“Do or do not… there is no try.” ~ Yoda, Star Wars

I dare you readers who are writers to experiment with this four-pronged method for walking through fear:

(1) Circle an end date in your calendar when you would like to have a finished manuscript or poem that is ready for publication. This commitment tells your “inner writer” that you are taking it seriously and want to follow its dictates. I’ve found that making this mental promise a physical one, in writing, is a magical act; (2) Write any part of your first draft (keep this action very simple); (3) Tell a friend what you have accomplished thus far, (or write and tell me); then (4) Get back to it the next day.

Everything I have ever completed has been supported by this four-step method–from passing graduate exams in Hebrew, Spanish, French and Ancient Greek, to learning to fly on a Trapeze (just once, thank God!), to publishing seven books. And, I swear, I’m no genius!

“Say it, Do it, Report it, Repeat it.” ~ Molly Gordon, Accidental Entrepreneur and Master Certified Coach

When we work with our fears, we can take the focus off resisting them, thus freeing up a ton of energy. Think about trying to hold under water a helium balloon for most of your waking life. Such resistance might be a major reason we’re all so exhausted, have TMJ, or buckets of chronic neck and shoulder pain.

After we have made the commitment and taken action to complete our book or other writing, we will have evidence that fears can be walked through, perhaps even worked through, at least for today.

Jennifer Manlowe (PhD, CPC) is an author, speaker and Certified Publishing Coach. People who hire Jennifer want to authorize their voice through writing and publishing their memoirs.

“Memoir is about finding your voice. Whether your goal be a full length book or a personal essay, the end product is always the writer’s voice.” ~ Lynne Griffin

Set up a sample session through Dr. Manlowe’s website: http://AuthorizeU.com. Should you sign up to work with her, you will instantly receive her eBooks, Writing from Life and Getting Into Print.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jennifer_L._Manlowe

For the most, part freelance writers were limited to the number of producers of media; such as newspapers and magazines. And, there was a cap on the number of jobs available at any point in time. If you wanted to be published you had to compete with other writers for the few jobs that weren’t taken by staff members.

Today, because of the internet, there are literally thousands of opportunities for good writers to find work every day. Just by its very nature, web sites need content, and that content is mostly made up of text.

There are literally millions of websites and blogs that need content. Of course they need that content to convey information about their product or service to their readers. But, they also need high-quality, relevant content in order to be found on the front page of a search engines so they can stay ahead of their competitors.

Now, let’s look at what this means to you – the writer. Each website needs content, and in order to keep being found, they need fresh, high-quality, relevant content. Now, if there are millions of websites – you can now begin to see the opportunities for you as a freelance writer.

And content for websites is just one type of writing that’s needed. There are also businesses that need articles, special reports, eBooks, email autoresponders and white papers written. Every day, more and more people are looking on the internet for information on every topic you can think of.

Some of the major topics are health and fitness, relationships, money issues, pet care; and so on. You can do a quick search in the books section of a site like Amazon to see what topics are selling the best to give you an idea of what content people are looking for.

And, you don’t need any special training or certificates to get a job as a freelance writer. According to a survey done in 1993 by the National Assessment of Adult Literacy, the average adult in the U.S. reads between the 8th and 9th grade reading levels.

Once you know where to look, you’ll find more writing jobs than you physically have time to write. There are sites on the internet that cater to freelance writers that connect freelancers and the clients that want to hire them.

You can list yourself as a freelance writer on each site. When your potential customers have a writing job, they post the scope of the job on the site. You then submit a bid for that job and the client hires from those who bid.

Visit http://www.GhostwritingCash.com to download a solid business plan for earning freelance writing money so you can get paid to write at a decent rate.

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From my youth to this day when I am traveling, I continue to think about what life must have been like in the old days of the west. In my mind, I see Indians crossing the vast landscape or sitting on their horses atop a nearby mountain overlooking the vast expanse below. I see wagon trains slowly rolling across the plains on their way to a new life. I think of the many hardships they must have faced in order to make a better life, and I think of the many that never made it to their destination because of accident, disease, and ambush by Indians and devious white men. It amazes me to think of the millions of buffalo that roamed the vast western plains then. A small herd of buffalo roams near my home and images of the Old West seem so real. That is, until the camel appears. It is a strange sight to see this long-legged dromedary mixed in with the buffalo.

What strikes me most about these early settlers is their determination and willingness to endure in order to reach their goal. To me, that is still the spirit of people all over the world. Something about the human spirit compels people to search for a better existence and to keep going until life gets better. We owe a debt of gratitude to those who came before us because they did not give up. Whatever is in your heart to accomplish, do not waver. Dreams still come true. Western authors take us back to a time when life was not so easy, a time when life was raw and full of possibilities. Stories of courage and strength abound. Tales of families sticking together to eke out a better way of life compel us all to do our best.

I am a full blooded Texan who grew up in west Texas. I have been retired from public school education for 13 years, after working in special education most of the time as an educational diagnostician and special education consultant. I am married with four grandchildren: two boys and two girls. I find retirement to be a great deal of fun. I like to read, write, do arts and crafts and play with our grandchildren. At age seventy, I published my first western novel called, The Revenge of Sadie Jackson. You can read the first chapter free at http://www.revenge-of-sadie-jackson.weebly.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ray_Ham

Think about what your audience looks like, believes, rejects, and values. Remember their age, gender, and other relevant characteristics. Most importantly, get in touch with their more difficult emotions: discouragement, frustration, guilt, shame and so forth. Then concentrate on the feelings you want them to feel: hope, competency, success and pride in a job well done. The more you understand your audience, how they think, what moves and motivates them, the better you will be at selecting most compelling stories.

Where can you find relevant stories?

I’ve used stories in all of my books and no doubt your favorite self-help book authors have as well. You may have wondered when reading self-help books, where do these stories come from? Stories can be found all around you. Let’s start with your story and how you can use it in your book.

1. Your story

If you want to develop a more intimate relationship you’re your readers, it’s a good to include it at the beginning of your book, such as in your introduction or in the first chapter. In Take the U Out of Clutter, Mark Brunetz and I each told our stories in the first chapter. You can also include snippets of your story throughout the book when your experiences are relevant.

Since your story is about you, it can be one of the easiest ways to illustrate your message. Most readers are curious about the author’s experiences. Occasionally, authors get overly obsessed with themselves and turn off their readers. But one of the most effectively way to create a personal connection between yourself and your readers is to describe your own foibles and achievements, and poke a little fun at yourself.

2. Your story in disguise

In addition to including stories about yourself, you can disguise your experiences and present the story as if it happened to someone else. In my first book, When Helping You Is Hurting Me, the clients I described were actually based on my own issues, inner conflicts and challenges. To the extent that the stories reflected my personal experiences, they were “true”. But I embodied these aspects in characters that I created.

A word of warning belongs here:Because an engaging story centers on conflict, your story will often include other people. Be careful about telling someone else’s story without their permission. Yes, you may have gone through a divorce and you want to draw from that experience. But chances are your ex won’t be too keen on you exposing his or her personal life for all the world to see. If you use someone else’s story in a way that can be identified, whether it’s a part of your story or not, it’s important that you get a signed release form that person.

3. Observation

Where else can you find stories? From both your personal and professional worlds. You can include stories from your clients, patients and customers. No doubt someone in your family has had an experience relevant to your topic. Round this out with experiences your friends have had and there’s quite a large pool to draw from. As with the previous section, stories that are about other people should be told only once a signed release form is obtained.

4. Interviews

I’ve interviewed hundreds of people over my career for the specific purpose of getting real stories to include in my books. I bend over backwards to make sure that those I interview are happy with the way they are portrayed.

I’ve never had any difficulty with using real stories because I work so closely with those I interview, and I have everyone sign a release form. However, it only takes one disgruntled person to file a law suit, and who has time for that? Search online for sample forms, or request that your publishing house provide you with appropriate forms. But it is a good idea to get something in writing as close to the beginning of the project as possible.

5. Someone else’s story in disguise

A way to sidestep having to get signed release forms is to disguise the identity of the people in the story. Similar to basing the stories and characters in your own story, you can change specific features such as gender, location, age, and their relationship to you. It’s important to change enough of the features so that no one, even those closest to you, can figure out who you’re referring to.

6. Composites

Another popular way to get the stories you need while protecting confidentiality and privacy is to combine features from two or more people you know. This can be helpful if the true story doesn’t illustrate the point you want to make as well as you’d like. Often, reality doesn’t fit into the nice, tidy categories we authors have created. As long as you’re up front with your audience about the nature of your stories, you can blend several people into one illustration.

7. Pure Fiction

There is a fine line between creating a composite and writing pure fiction. Basic honesty would restrict you from “making up” success stories when, in fact, no one has ever been helped by your program. It’s unethical to claim that Mary lost 50 pounds when no one has ever lost that much weight on your diet, or to report that your conflict resolution program saved Charlie and Pamela’s marriage when your clients have ended up divorced. Create your composite stories carefully, with a keen eye on illustrating what is true. You can run into problems if your stories are more fiction than genuine experiences people have had.

Acknowledge your story process

I’m often asked by readers I meet if the stories in my books are true. Since readers often identify with the people in the stories, they are naturally curious about how “real” these people are. I tell them the truth, whatever that may be for the book in question. Sometimes all of the characters are parts of myself, some stories give identifying features and I use people’s real names, and some of my stories are based in fact but told in a way that is not exploitive. I’ve never had anyone express concern about the stories I’ve used as long as I’m up front with them. To strengthen the credibility of your stories, I recommend that you acknowledge your process somewhere in the book.

To learn how to get your book published download my free article, “The 3 Most Important Questions You Must Answer to Land a Book Contract” at http://www.carmenreneeberry.com/untitled16.html

Carmen Berry, MSW is a New York Times bestselling author who has taught aspiring authors how to get published for 10 years. Her coaching draws, not only from her successes, but also from the many mistakes she has made during her 25-year writing career. As a result, her clients can avoid making common-sense blunders that many first-time authors make. It’s okay to be a first-time author as long as you don’t act like an amateur. She works with aspiring writers who love helping people such as mental health professionals, educators, medical professionals, pastors, fitness experts and craft enthusiasts.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Carmen_Berry

Take the U Out of Clutter

I will use the book I co-authored with Mark Brunetz, Emmy award-winning co-host of Clean House on Style Network. Our book was divided into three sections and we used a different structure in each part:

Part One: You Make the Meaning / We used the Developmental Model

Part Two: Stories That Hold Us All Back / We used the Modular Model

Part Three: Clear the Clutter from the Inside Out / We used the Step-by-step Model

Even though the book used different types of book structure, our chapters followed a similar pattern, except for the first and last chapters. In the first chapter, we introduced ourselves and told our own stories about clutter to engage the reader. In the last chapter we briefly summarized the book and invited readers to contact us through our web sites.

For the chapters in between, we selected one story to be used throughout that chapter. Usually the story opened the chapter, but occasionally we made a few points prior to starting the story. Each story was presented in the first person by the main character in that story and a client of Mark’s and included details of their interaction. The stories we used were based on real clients that Mark or I had worked with, but the identifying features were changed. Our chapters were short and easy to read with a structure that followed this basic pattern:

* Opening Story

* 2 or more points we presented that were identified by chapter subheads

* Practices to Live Out, Follow, or Apply (Exercises)

* Affirmations

Here is the opening of chapter 7: Sort Your Stories, Not Your Stuff

An airline pilot who has traveled the world many times over, Jorge has collected souvenirs from every place he has flown. When we met him, many of these items were still in their boxes, unopened. In addition to his stash of mementos, Jorge’s garage held furniture, boxes of photos, gardening tools, and just plain junk.

Jorge told us:

I know that Mark has worked with a lot of people with clutter problems, but I think even he was surprised at how many things I was able to get into my garage. My wife, Arianna, is so irritated with me. We just bought her a new car and she wants to be able to park it in the garage. She told me if I didn’t have it cleaned out by her deadline, she’d call in an expert. I missed the deadline. The next thing I new, Mark was here

Mark said, “Don’t worry, Jorge. We’ll get this garage in order in no time.”

I liked his optimism but I had one question. “Where do we start?”

So, how many stories did Mark and I need for our book? We needed our two stories and then one story for chapters 2 – 15. Due to the fact that our book was highly structured, it was very easy to determine how many stories we needed. We needed 13 stories.

4-Hour Workweek

In contrast, is the 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss. Tim writes with high-powered sales energy from start to finish, with a style all his own. Before his first chapter, he includes three introductory pieces that focused on his personal success story. Due to their unique nature, each piece had its own structure. They are:

FAQ-Doubters Read This

My Story and Why You Need This Book

Chronology of a Pathology

The remainder of his book is divided into four steps. The first letter of the titles of each section spell out the word DEAL. His last chapter is three pages long. It starts with an email, has a few remarks from Tim and then ends with a poem.

After the “last chapter” he includes a reading list and 7 bonus chapters. When you flip to the back of the book to read these bonus chapters, Tim informs you that in order to get them, you’ll have to visit his web site. Very clever.

Without following the rules too stringently, most of his chapters are short, usually opening with a quote with two or more subheads. He ends most of his chapters with “Q&A: Questions and Actions” in which he gives assignments, answers FAQ and gives a pep talk to the reader. The stories Ferriss includes, and the way they are presented, are as varied as the rest of his book. Some chapters are devoted to one person’s story. Other chapters he uses snippets of he tells in the first or third person.

Here’s a short sample:

I once asked my mom how she decided when to have her first child, little ol’ me. The answer was simple: “It was something we wanted, and we decided there was no point in putting it off. The timing is never right to have a baby.” And so it is.

How many stories did Ferriss need? Since he used so many different approaches throughout his book, it would be very hard to predict all of the stories included. If your book follows in Ferriss’s footsteps, a more accurate way of determining the number of stories you will need is to walk through a chapter and make a notation whenever you think one is needed.

The choice is yours to make. Will you use different stories in every chapter? Will you use one story per chapter? Will you use the same stories in all of your chapters? Decide upon a story strategy that aids your reader to better understand and apply your program.

Writing stories is my favorite part of authoring a self-help book. They bring a dimension of real life drama into an otherwise “instructional” narrative.

To learn how to get your book published download my free article, “The 3 Most Important Questions You Must Answer to Land a Book Contract” at http://www.carmenreneeberry.com/untitled16.html

Carmen Berry, MSW is a New York Times bestselling author who has taught aspiring authors how to get published for 10 years. Her coaching draws, not only from her successes, but also from the many mistakes she has made during her 25-year writing career. As a result, her clients can avoid making common-sense blunders that many first-time authors make. It’s okay to be a first-time author as long as you don’t act like an amateur. She works with aspiring writers who love helping people such as mental health professionals, educators, medical professionals, pastors, fitness experts and craft enthusiasts.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Carmen_Berry

I’ve rarely had a better example of writing for a particular audience. If you can, be there when a speech you’ve written is presented to an audience. It’s a first-hand opportunity for you to see whether the speech works or not. I sometimes cringe when I hear something I’ve written and it doesn’t work the way I intended. Or the audience doesn’t get it, or the idea goes right over their heads.

Knowing the audience tells you what kind of content is going to work for that audience. A group of scientists is going to be different from a group of marketers. An audience of booksellers will have things in common with and things different from a group of publishers. Are you able to identify exactly who that audience is and the mood they’re in? A sales team coming off a banner year will be in a very different space than a team struggling to keep things together in a recession.

Then you have to ask yourself what the audience is expecting of you? Are you catering to their interests? Have you got an announcement that’s going to affect them directly? Are they expecting good news, or something that’s not particularly pleasant? Are they celebrating something and what you have to say is the icing on the cake?

If you are called upon to write a speech, here’s what I’d like you to do. I’d like you to find out as much about your audience as possible. Who are they? What’s their background? What’s their educational level? What position do they hold in an organization? What issues are they confronted with? What kind of tone is going to work for them? You have to do some research here. It needn’t be a lot but it must be enough for you to be able to paint a picture of your audience. Once that’s in place, you can begin to put together what you intend to say, and the tone in which it should be said.

Neil Sawers develops books and e-books on business writing to help you grow your business. He is a strong supporter of entrepreneurs, small business and students in business and entrepreneurial programs. To discover how you can write more effective and compelling speeches for your business, begin by downloading the free chapter on The Discovery Process available at:=> http://www.how-to-write-proposals.com. This chapter contains key tools and concepts that will help any speech writer, as well as anyone dealing with proposals and sales letters. Check it out.

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A recent study published in Applied Cognitive Psychology dealt with way-finding directions. The researchers had a group of people each write directions from one point in a city to another. A second group examined the directions and rated them, without actually using them. The rating was based on the things we assume to be typical, such as, clarity, easy to read and understand. A third group had to follow the directions. The resulting were surprising. The people who followed the directions that had received the worst rating actually got to the destination faster than the people following the directions rated as the best. There seems to be a gap between what people perceive to be good directions and what actually are good directions. It turns out that what appeared to be difficult directions, actually contained more information.

Another recent study that I ran across in the Economist dealt with the effect of fonts. People were asked to read some information about aliens. The information was presented in different fonts. Then they were given a test to assess their recall of the information. Those who read the information in a font that was more difficult to read, like comic, actually remembered more of the information than those who read the same information in a font that is easier to read, like arial. It appears that fonts that are more difficult to read, slow us down and force us to think about what we are reading more than if we zip through fonts that are easier to skim.

How about the old saying that a picture is worth a thousand words? Including diagrams in instructions and directions is something that we assume will improve our ability to follow them. A third study I reviewed recently dealt with users learning new software. The researchers found that including diagrams made no difference to the learners’ ability to comprehend the instructions.

I am not going to change how I give directions or write instructions quite yet. A couple of studies are not conclusive enough to develop new prescriptions. But I am going to keep them in mind and perhaps question my own methods when people just don’t seem to get what I’m telling them.

Ron Strand teaches communications and continuing education at Mount Royal University and is working on a doctorate degree in distance education. He has a website with some of his ideas about marketing, communications and distance learning Ron’s Ideas.

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Books require someone to read the book. If you don’t have a group of readers you don’t have anything except a bunch of paper with type on it. You have to find the group you will sell most of the books to and concentrate on them. You can’t be all over. If you look at T.V. channels they always are aimed at a specific group of watchers. Cartoon channels are aimed at kids and teenagers, the news channels at those who want to be kept up to date, science-fiction channels, etc. They concentrate on one group of people, because otherwise nobody will watch them; it is the same with books.

All books need to meet a need. A weight loss book helps to meet the needs of someone who is trying to lose weight, while a fiction book meets the needs of someone who needs to be entertained. Your book must do the same: it needs to give the reader answers or solutions, or at least help them find these answers and solutions to their needs.

The best type of person with a need is someone with a problem or group of problems. Your readers are no different, so find a common problem in the community you are aiming at and work it to your advantage. All problems have solutions, so promise a solution to this problem in your book, and give them the solution. If it happens to be a fiction then make the character’s problem their problem now; they must feel like the only way for an answer is to buy your book and read it.

If you are publishing a book just for the sake of publishing a book it won’t work. It must have feeling. You must have a reason to write. Figure out why you want to – why you have to – write this book, and you will do much better. This will also be required for the blurb on the front of the book telling the reader a little about you. You have to know what entitles you to be able to write this book and help people with whatever problem they happen to have, whether it be a lack of entertainment or learning how to play the kazoo.

Many people today write books as a means of branding themselves. If this is your reason there is one important fact you need to know.

People really don’t give a darn about who the publisher is.

They care about what the book contains, how the writer can help them, and the fact that it’s published. What this means is that you don’t have to convince a traditional publishing house to publish your book. Modern on demand publishers have given you the capability to publish the book yourself. As far as the public is concerned, you’ll do just as well publishing under a name of your choosing. It is best not to use your name as the publisher’s name, however. Use something different enough for people to not know right away that it’s you publishing the books. The only problem of course, is that this doesn’t work with book sellers who continue to rely on the traditional publishing houses for their product.

Do you want to learn how to write a book in 24 hours? Take my brand new free course here: http://www.learningcreators.com

Do you want to read more free information like this? Go to my blog: http://www.learningcreators.com/blog/

Glen Ford is an accomplished consultant, trainer and writer. He has far too many years experience as a trainer and facilitator to willingly admit.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Glen_Ford

Because existing customers are easier to sell to then new customers, you will do well to develop products to appeal to your current clientele. They already trust you and have seen your track record–they are potential repeat customers. Providing they have further needs they will buy from you over someone else. This is why you must have additional products to sell.

My very first editing client wanted to publish her book herself. She would have bought book production services from my company, but that service was not part of out product mix at the time. My limited product mix prevented me from taking advantage of a cross-selling opportunity.

Sometimes a potential client will not be able to purchase a particular service, but would be willing to opt for an alternative product, if offered. For example, a client who is not able to take a 15-week Business Development Seminar may cross-buy business coaching. A person who cannot come to a memoir writing workshop may cross-buy writing coaching. (This is like French 101 being full so you take Spanish 101.)

In another example of cross-buying, we are dealing with a repeat customer. A person who has taken the Intro workshop may feel s/he would like more training and will cross-buy writing coaching or will cross-buy editing. This is, of course, a repeat customer–one who cross-bought not up-bought.

Developing a diverse product mix and effectively cross-selling these products will increase the potential spending of a client and increase your income.

Good luck selling as you develop your memoir business!

For your FREE 36-page Jumpstart Your Memoir Business Success book, go to http://www.turningmemories.com/jumpstartbusinessbook.html

Becoming a better memoir professional requires knowledge, but knowledge must be reinforced with practice. Business tele-classes provide knowledge backed up by week after week of practice with feedback. Full certification available.

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