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

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At succeeding meetings, though, I began to wonder if perhaps some of us, in our eagerness to show our bosom acquaintance with the man, weren’t prone to overdo it just a bit.

A manuscript without a dozen or more unfamiliar words became a rarity, and the first person to use a “Rogetism” owned it for at least the next two meetings. No one dared show up without a tattered copy of Roget under an arm or tucked discretely in a bag or purse. And the words, “Roget says…..” were enough to settle any synonymical argument that might arise. In just a few short weeks we elevated the man to sainthood.

Secretly, I grew a bit tired of hearing about him but, to retain my standing in the group, dutifully came up with a new Rogetic application each week.

But, alas, one sad Tuesday morn I discovered, to my horror, that I had forgotten to prepare my usual scintillating offering. Determined to dazzle the group with my best work yet, I rushed to the computer and began tapping out ideas.

An hour passed quickly, but nothing worthwhile emerged. I thought and thought, but each time I picked up my little blue Thesaurus, a severe case of Roget’s block attacked with new vengeance. What was I to do? The only solution I could think of was to call in sick. And so, finally, I did.

My agonizing continued for a few more days before I came up with a brilliant idea. I would, with Roget’s help, rewrite the nursery rhymes I had learned as a child. They would be wonderful, marvelous, stupendous. The kids would not only learn the old rhymes, but they would end up with limitless vocabularies. Roget would do the work, and I would become famous.

For 3 days, I worked on “Jack Sprat could eat no fat, his wife could eat no lean.” Was “lard” or “greasy substances” the best word to replace fat? Neither? Perhaps “oily lumps”….. And would “devour” or “masticate” be the better substitute for eat?

I wrote, and wrote, and rewrote, but no matter how hard I tried, it just didn’t come out sounding like the old familiar nursery rhyme I remembered.

Then I tried, “Mary had a little lamb”, with even less satisfactory results. Mary had a small woolly animal seemed a bit bland.

Well, maybe some well-known Bible passages would be more my style; the twenty-third psalm, perhaps. I cleared the computer and wrote, “The Deity is my herder. I will by no means suffer insufficiency.” Oh no! Referring my Heavenly Father as a “herder” left a lot to be desired. So much for my career as a Bible translator.

I put Roget on hold for a couple of weeks before I finally discovered a place to fit him back into my life. And along with my discovery, I managed to cure the Roget malady of my writer’s group, or at least put it back into perspective.

One Tuesday, I appeared before the group with a sheaf of papers in my hand. Distributing one to each member, I instructed them to put the Roget enhanced sayings back into familiar English. Prizes were awarded to the first two finishers. (I thought of giving them new Thesauruses, but, unable to reduce myself to such cruelty, settled for M & M’s instead.)

Some examples follow. You may want to try these or others in your own group.

1. Residents of translucent silicate shelters should forbear casting consolidated masses of mineral material.

2. A carefully scrutinized metal container does not generate bubbles of vapor.

3. It is unprofitable to lament because of accidentally wasted white mammary fluid.

4. A consolidated mass in locomotion does not accumulate bryophytic plants.

5. Precede your vault with scrutiny.

We had a lot of fun with this project, but it pointed out how ridiculous the overuse of synonyms can be. True, the Thesaurus is a marvelous tool, but it is just that, a tool.

ANSWERS TO ROGETISMS

1. Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones.
2. A watched pot never boils.
3. There is no use in crying over spilt milk.
4. A rolling stone gathers no moss.
5. Look before you leap.

Jeanne Gibson lives in Springfield, OR and writes on a variety of subjects such as marriage, divorce, kids, cats, making money from home, writing, and electric bikes. To find out more about Roget’s Thesaurus, especially in large print editions, check out her blogpost at:

http://sowingseedsthatmatter.blogspot.com/2010/07/from-squinting-to-reading-glasses-to.html

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You know writing your book will be good for you–it will attract more ideal clients to you, it will make your business more visible, it will allow you to make more money, and it will get your message out to much bigger audiences. You want to write the book and you have lots of ideas, but when you sit down to do it, you just can’t seem to get anything done.

Why is it such a struggle when the desire is there? Because writing a book is such a big project that if you sit down thinking, “I’m going to write my book,” you’ll end up overwhelmed. You won’t see an easy entry point. It’s like trying to see individual trees in a vast and dense forest–the task seems so big that it’s hard to see it for its smaller pieces. But forests aren’t just one big thing; they’re a collection of many smaller things all working together.

Books are the same way. They’re not just a big idea written out; they’re many smaller ideas compiled and arranged so they communicate something larger. Books are created sentence by sentence, paragraph by paragraph, page by page, and chapter by chapter. When you understand this, the idea of writing a book is more manageable. Just like you’d have to plant a forest one tree at a time, you can’t write a book by sitting down to write a book-you have to break it down into smaller pieces and write them one at a time.

So where do you start? Once you understand that a book is several smaller pieces put together, you just need to figure out what your smaller pieces are. What stories are you going to use? What strategies are you going to teach? What examples are you going to give? Then when you sit down to write, you work on one of those small assignments.

You’re not writing an entire book; you’re writing an example of how your readers can apply your first strategy, or you’re writing about the importance of the third step in your system, or whatever your assignment is for that day. Only after you break the bigger task down can you truly grasp where to start and what it will take to get it done.

When you approach writing a book as many small pieces, the task is no longer overwhelming. You can sit down to write with a sense of purpose and a manageable task to complete. Then you can come back and do the same thing the next day. And before you know it, you’re no longer thinking about writing your book-it’s actually done.

Melinda Copp helps aspiring nonfiction, business, and self-help authors get clear on their story and book idea, and figure out how to put it all together so their ideal readers love it. Visit http://www.writerssherpaprograms.com/writeabook.html for a free copy of her “Jumpstart Your Book E-course!” and get your book started now.

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Many speakers and writers of English use the expression “between you and I.” People use this expression because it makes them sound more educated — or so they think. In their effort to appear sophisticated, people blithely say, “Just between you and I, company xyz will go public next week.” As difficult as it may be to believe, this expression is wrong.

We have had it pounded into us over and over that we say and write “you and I” that we use “you and I” for everything. We have to think about what we say and write or we will appear illiterate and uneducated.

Between is a Preposition

The word between is a preposition. Prepositions are words that show relationships between nouns or pronouns. Examples of prepositions include: about, above, below, beneath, in, over, and, of course, between. The noun or pronoun after a preposition is called the object of the preposition. The problem does not manifest itself when we use actual nouns. For example, no one would have any trouble with “between a rock (noun) and a hard place (noun” or “between Mary (noun) and Jill (noun).” In English, nouns in the objective case (used as objects) are not different from their subject form. But such is not the case with pronouns.

Use Objective Case Pronouns After a Preposition

After a preposition, like between, speakers and writers must use objective, not subjective, case pronouns. The following is a short list of pronouns in the subjective case and the objective case:

Subjective Case: I, We, He, She, They

Objective Case: Me, Us, Him, Her, Them

The expression “It is all about me” would not make sense if it were written “It is all about I.” Similarly, the sentence, “There is no one behind we” is non-standard and would not be accepted by any native speaker of English. Some people get confused when there are two pronouns as the object of a preposition.

Check for Correctness After Prepositions

A safe way of making sure that you are using the correct pronoun case after a proposition is to convert the two singular pronouns into one plural pronoun. What this means is that if you are not sure of whether to use “between you and I” (which is always wrong) or “between you and me” (which is the correct form), change “you and me,” which are both singular pronouns, to “we” or “us,” which are their plural equivalents.

Would you ever say, “There is nothing between we”? I did not think so. This sentence sounds totally wrong to a native speaker of English.

Would you say, “There is nothing between us”? Of course you would. This sounds natural and proper.

The pronoun us is in the objective case. So if we separate the “us” into its component parts (“you and me” or “you and me”) we know that we must use the objective case form of the singular pronouns. Therefore, we pick “between you and me.”

If nothing else, just remember: “Between you and I” is always wrong. Use “Between you and me.”

You may have additional questions about using correct English. If you do, please contact me. My name is Jose M. Blanco. I teach English composition, and I have developed worksheets to help students and teachers alike. Please visit my website, http://www.grammar-worksheets.com for additional resources and contact information.

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I know there is this odd thing in me and I want to express it. I haven’t done it good in fashion, nor drawing, nor beading, nor sewing. It was my dream to draw and sew just like any other woman. But I couldn’t do that. My hands and eyes were too weak to do such refinement.

I had so many wants, and I tried doing it. In fact, when I was younger I never played with dolls, I liked balls and running, and cutting pictures and listing words. Exploring all the words I couldn’t understand gave me excitement. Everyone in the house tells me…”Use the dictionary.” And so did I. In fact, I think the dictionary became my bestfriend.

My mother who was a teacher bought books for us, on installment, so we could have something to read and research while she worked. She was a widow. And then, those books became my prized possessions. It brought me to different lands and different people. It brought me to glass castles, the peaceful forest, and the magical world. It let me see how beautiful God’s creation was: the planets, stars, and how science worked. I have pondered how virtues were rewarded, how people struggled for goals, and how God was in everything. These illumined my enthusiasm for life and how life should be.

Ages past, in my fine arts study of writing on a scholarship (because I could not afford, and I was a housewife, of which I took all the subjects and flanked exams), we were taught to read Filipino writers. Of course, I did it and read all the foreign writers I could read from Shakespeare, Lamb, Hemingway, and everyone. And though I love my language, I dispute the barriers of my native tongue and try my own writing diction and style in a second language. Maybe, I am avoiding scars; writing in my own language would cause me dishonesty. In a sense, I don’t deem I’m better than anyone, and in my second language. I just feel so free. For as long as I can write; I’m not serious following writing dogmas, I am impatient counting syllables, and impatient selling my work just to please myself. Maybe, I want to do it slowly like cracking eggshells.

I write, because I love writing and no one can stop me. My dream is to share good reading materials, in any form.

However, I wouldn’t insist on anyone reading me though my wish is to be read. For what are books, if they rot in the shelves? This is why I write.

Rose Flores – Martinez
Ishallwrite
rosevoc2

http://rfvietnamrose09.blogspot.com

http://roseprayers.blogspot.com

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No matter what the topic or type, there are three basic parts of an analysis paper:

• Introduction: The introduction and the conclusion are the two most important paragraphs of an analysis paper. Make the introduction exciting or inviting to capture the readers’ interest: use an interesting quotation, a surprising or impressive fact, a provocative statement that leads to a description of your subject and your clearly defined thesis.

• Body: Within the body of the analysis paper, use distinct paragraphs to make distinct points; trying to make multiple points in a single paragraph is a common mistake. Keep each paragraph focused on exploring an individual point, and state that point in the first sentence of the paragraph. Expand the paragraph by incorporating specific quotations or other examples from the subject, referencing third party sources, and anticipate and address contradicting viewpoints. Arrange the paragraphs so that the point made in each builds upon prior paragraphs, leading the reader logically to your conclusion. Above all be clear and concise.

• Conclusion: The conclusion should recap your thesis and summarize the key points made in the body of the analysis paper. It should be concise. And leave the reader thinking by closing with a thought provoking final sentence: perhaps an appropriate, supporting quotation; stating an implication or consequence, or requesting that some action be taken.

Once your paper is drafted, you want to be sure that it is formatted correctly. The most widely accepted guide to this end is the MLA Style Guide. Be sure your analysis paper adheres to MLA guidelines for citing references and sources.

Some common mistakes to avoid:
• Don’t reference yourself or your paper – don’t say: “In this paper I will show…”
• Be sure to acknowledge all sources you draw from.
• And finally, don’t forget to check for proper grammar and spelling.

For you next writing project, visit this site http://coolestwords.com to find some cool words!

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My Facebook entries lately read something like:

“23 Articles left to write in 23 days – phew!”

“22 articles left to do in 23 days!!”

“20 Articles left to write in 22 days – Yaaaaayyyyy!!!!

“16 articles left to write in 20 days! Yippppeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

I will not bore you with more drivel that I have been subjecting my friends to on Facebook; you get the picture!

Julie & Julia is a film about Julie Powell’s challenge of making the 526 recipes in Julia Child’s cookbook in 365 days. Julie was an author that was not writing in a job that was not satisfying. But she loved cooking. Cooking was the perfect anathema for her after a long day at work. And Julie adored Julia Childs. Julia Childs was the wife of a diplomat who found herself in Paris in the late 40′s with nothing interesting to do and then discovered the art of French cooking and brought it to the American masses. Her journey is beautifully portrayed in the film, as is Julie Powell’s admiration for her. Julie Powell’s inspiration was Julia Childs and her story.

And Julie kept a blog in which she chronicled her 536 recipes in 365 days challenge. In the film, she keeps saying things like “365 days. 536 recipes. One girl and a crappy outer borough kitchen.” And I remember in the film hearing x recipes remaining in y days, over and over again, as the story beautifully developed.

Julie is a funny and genuine person. Her blog, The Julie/Julia Project, chronicles her trials and tribulations going through this very hard task, getting it right and getting it wrong, the good days and bad days. Her friends are accomplished at what they do, and at the beginning of the film, you can see how she was overshadowed by their success and aching to find her own. And she does. She finds fame and fortune via her blog and finally becomes a proper writer, her first book being about her amazing challenge – which she meets wonderfully!

In a way, I admire Julie Powell like she admired Julia Childs. Julie Powell has been my guru whilst writing this challenge. She is a great inspiration. If you have not seen the film already, go and see it. It made me laugh, it made me cry, and it made me gasp in wonderment. I loved it so much, I saw it twice.

© Suzanne Zacharia 2010. My name is Suzanne Zacharia and I am committed to spreading the word about health options. A virus caught at university at the end of 1986, plus medical negligence, meant that I got smokers lung at a relatively young age. In desperation for help with my symptoms and quality of life, I turned to complementary therapy and am now a complementary therapist, author and trainer, helping others achieve health and happiness. Want to use this article? You can, as long as you credit me with it and invite your readers to get my FREE book “7 Real Truths of Energy Psychology” at http://www.newagetherapies.com or my free course “5 Days To Change Your Life” at http://www.NewAgeInternationalTraining.com

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X-rays see through the outer shell of the body, the skin, to photograph the bones and organs within. In terms of writing, the writer looks beyond the surface layer of words and images, propaganda and garbage, to see the guts of the topic.

It is the writer’s job to detect, understand, and describe for readers the structure of the topic being written about as well as the functioning of the major parts (the organs) of the topic.

See, the metaphor actually works.

If we think of the x-ray as similar to a sonogram (those machines that can photograph the functioning of an organ, say the heart, as it is beating and then slow the pictures down so the doctor can see the details of the heart’s movements), we can see that the writer examines the topic as it is moving, as it exists in real life.

For example, if the writer is describing how to bake a cake from scratch, the writer slows down the machinery so she can examine each movement or each step of the process. She needs this slowing down so that she can describe the process for the reader in all its detail.

The writing process (or the writer’s machinery) allows the writer to conduct this examination close up to find all the details necessary for the reader to know and in the sequence necessary.

We can also use the metaphor with the MRI equipment, which shows slices of the organs. A writer does a similar analysis of a writing topic by taking the topic apart and examining each part and discovering and writing about its relationship to the whole topic. This analysis helps to make the topic much more accessible, as examining a small part of something is easier than examining the whole, complex issue all at once.

So, whatever piece of medical equipment you use with the metaphor, you can see that the ability to look below the surface of an issue is a vital ability for the writer, and for medical science as well. As a writer, you must learn to dig deeply into your topic, learn all you can about it so that you become expert enough to write clearly about your chosen topic. So think of yourself as an X-ray machine, or CT Scanner, or an MRI scanner.

Or just see yourself as a writer with an incredible ability to observe and record life as it rolls past your view.

Katherine Ploeger, MA, MFA, is a writer, editor, writing coach and consultant, and screenwriter. She writes practical, process-oriented information for writers of all types. She publishes at Quilliful Publications ( http://quillifulpublications.com ). She also offers free and valuable information for writers at her blog, Katie’s Writing Notes, at http://katieploeger.com.

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So what’s the point of all this? Well, my father had a saying “There’s no point in asking the advantages of a job. You’ll figure those out soon enough. Ask about the disadvantage. Those are the more dangerous of the two. And they’re harder and more costly to learn.”

So in the spirit of my father’s saying, in this article I’m going to discuss some of the disadvantages of being a freelance writer.

The first disadvantage is the irregular income. No matter how successful you are as a freelance writer there will be months when your income is low and others when you will make more money than you’ve ever seen in your career. That’s part of the freelancer’s life. You need to be able to control your spending. You may think when the income is good that you can afford to loosen the ties on your pocketbook. But don’t. Even two or three years of income in the bank can be chewed up quickly by a contract or two going bad.

The second disadvantage is the constant search for your next contract. You are going to spend far more time on marketing your services than you ever thought you would. In fact, you need to be constantly and continually marketing. If you do short contracts, that’s not unexpected. But if you get used to a few long term contracts in a row you may let your marketing fall behind. After all, you can’t accept the work even if it is offered! Big mistake!

A third disadvantage is that of being cut off. Everyone needs people at some point in their lives. But a writer’s life is by its very nature, solitary. Loneliness is just one more characteristic of the job. You need to be able to deal with the empty room, the empty screen and not let it drive you over the edge.

Many people pick writing as a way to escape the pressures of their nine to five jobs. Unfortunately, they conveniently forget that as a freelance writer you are constantly at the beck and call of many bosses. Pressure is part of the game. Clients often (conveniently) forget that it takes time for you to schedule work and then get the juices flowing. They frequently set impossible deadlines and then ask you to meet them.

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.

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The business policy

Audience: non-English background employees
What went wrong: overly complex structure, formal vocabulary
What happened: the policy was misread and legal problems arose

The screenplay

Audience: Australian movie-goers
What went wrong: depicted Australian people and landscape in patronising caricature
What happened: the viewers rejected it

The email

Audience: a business colleague (and rival)
What went wrong: full of spelling mistakes and grammatical errors
What happened: the recipient forwarded the email with a derisive comment to others in the office, including the writer’s boss

The marketing brochure

Audience: potential new customers
What went wrong: full of industry jargon and acronyms
What happened: customers did not understand what was being offered, and ignored it

The internal memo

Audience: powerful, busy executives
What went wrong: took two pages for what only required a paragraph
What happened: the memo went in the bin without being read

The company website

Audience: potential new customers
What went wrong: Deliberately hid company services from the home page, requiring visitors to ‘explore and interact’ to find out
What happened: Visitors left the site and moved on to a competitor

I could triple this list without needing to think too hard. It still astonishes me when people assume that, just because they have taken the trouble to write something down, others will bother to read it and, even more unlikely, will respond in exactly the manner the writer would like (change their opinion, change their behaviour, spend their money…).

Social commentator Hugh Mackay describes this apparent delusion on the part of the writer as the ‘injection myth’.

“The ‘injection’ myth treats messages rather like drugs which act on other people’s minds. It assumes that messages have inherent power (their ‘meaning’)… Having created our message, we now choose a medium for injecting it into the mind of the other person. The medium we choose is the equivalent of a hypodermic syringe or even a gun: we load our message – like a drug or a bullet – into the medium and then inject it via the eye or the ear – or preferably both. At that point, we’ve done all we can. The drug, entering the mind of the other person, will now do its magic work. It will cause that person to think what we want them to think, to feel what we want them to feel or, if it’s a really powerful message, it might even get them to do what we want them to do.”

Hugh Mackay, Why don’t people listen? Pan Macmillan 1994

If only the ‘injection myth’ were true! Why don’t people listen? Well, frankly, why should they?

In my next article I’ll explore how you can get to know your audience. If you know what your readers want, and you’re willing to give it to them, you’re one big step closer to having them actually hear (or read) what you have to say.

‘Talk Without Being Interrupted: a guide to writing in the workplace’ by Naomi Hulbert will be released in its second edition shortly: more tips, more strategies and more easy exercises to help you become an effective, successful writer at work. Visit http://www.naomihulbert.com

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