Tips on Writing a Book Now

Tips on Writing a Book Now
by: Steve Manning

Here's a string of tips on writing a book. They're brief, succinct and very useful. These tips on writing a book have been designed to get you up and writing your book as quickly as possible.

They'll help you start writing, continue writing and finish writing your book. Your manuscript will be ready for the agent, or the publisher, or on its way to self publishing success.

Here are your tips on writing a book:

You can't start writing your book and continue writing until the book has been written. It's too big a job. It's going to take you a few days. Probably a couple of weeks.

People take years to write their book because they go at the task sporadically. You've got to write every day. If you don't, you find yourself having written nothing for months at a time.

Your book writing success or failure depends largely on the outlining process. Create an outstanding outline for your book and you're writing task becomes easy. You should know exactly what happens on every page before you start writing your first word.

If you think you can write your book by being spontaneously creative as you write, you're wrong. You're welcome to try, just about every novice author does. But I'd bet money it won't work for you. Create the exhaustive outline.

Your outline should consist of a series of questions: What does the library look like, how is she dressed, why does he feel so angry, what does she do when she reaches the house. It's simply easier to write in response to a question than it is to write in response to a statement.

Spend a short time writing to answer each question. Just a few minutes. You don't want this to become a protracted bunch of puff. You want real story.

Don't stop until the book is finished. There's a real tendency to stop and edit the work that you've just completed. After all, editing is a lot easier to do than the actual writing. So you can feel that you're still working, but it won't be as difficult. Don't do it! Keep writing until the book is finished.

Give yourself a period for writing and stick to that amount of time come hell or high water. Even if it's just 15 minutes a day. Initially you're just going for the discipline. Eventually you'll get the writing quality as well, but the discipline is most important factor for the completion of your work in the shortest amount of time possible.

Doing research for your book writing can be fun. But don't do it until after the book is written. If you come to a point where you've got to get a piece of information that you don't have in you head, just put down an asterisk and keep the flow of the book going. After the manuscript is finished, you can look back for all those asterisks and get just the information you need.


About The Author

Steve Manning is a master writer showing thousands of people how they can write their book faster than they ever thought possible. Here's your free Special Report, http://www.WriteABookNow.com/main.html >>Read more...

Why You Should Take Part In A Writing Workshop

Why You Should Take Part In A Writing Workshop
by: Deanna Mascle

Before you should decide whether or not taking part in a writing workshop is right for you and your writing you should first understand just what a writing workshop is.

A workshop is an educational format where an expert shares information on a focused topic over a short period of time. Some workshops are intended to be simply informative while others involve more hands-on activities. Today there are many options for enjoying a workshop: you can attend workshops in person, view them on television or tape, or participate in an online workshop.

So now that you know what a workshop is you can see how this format can readily be adapted for writers. Writing workshops can cover the basics of writing, writing challenges, topics related to publication and careers in writing, or specific research subjects. Some of these programs are featured as part of larger events, such as conferences, while some groups or individuals offer them as one-time events. Some organizations, institutes and educational programs offer workshops to their students or members while others open those workshops to the community at large.

Why would a writer want to attend a workshop? What benefit could it be?

Join the writing community. One of the strongest benefits you can receive from attending such a gathering is getting to know other writers. Writing is a solitary profession and can be very lonely. Enjoying the company of other writers and talking about writing with people who really understand your joys and worries can be wonderfully energizing to you personally as well as your writing. You can also make contacts that may lead to support and growth of your writing or perhaps even professional advancement. You never know when the friend you make today might be in a position to recommend you to an editor or publisher down the road.

Learn something new. No matter what level your writing career there are always lessons to be learned from other writers. Sometimes there are research strategies and shortcuts or perhaps it is a method for dealing with writer's block. You can learn market news and contacts as well as important information about reviewing contracts. Workshops are generally geared toward a specific genre or market niche and offer a wealth of specialized information depending on whether you write about crime or food.

Improve your craft. Generating new work or revising existing pieces is often a large part of attending a workshop. Sometimes you must bring something with you, create a project as part of the workshop or are inspired by the gathering itself. Sometimes talking with others or listening to the presenters causes you to suddenly rethink a stalled project or inspires a new one. Whatever the impetus there is definitely an increase in production after attending a workshop and that is the surest way to improve your word craft.

If you have not taken part in a writing workshop in the past then perhaps you might consider doing so in the near future so you can join the writing community, learn something new, and improve your craft.


About The Author

Deanna Mascle shares more writing tips and writing resources with her online Writing Workshop at http://WordCraftOnline.com as well as her free Writing Workshop ebook. >>Read more...

How the Writer Survives

How the Writer Survives
by: Seth T Mullins


So it’s your dream to write novels? Be a freelance writer and make a living off of your articles? Or maybe you nurture an ambition to write and sell enough short fiction to put bread on the table, like those writers of the golden age of the pulps?

Well, those are all noble dreams to have. I’m smitten by the writer’s glamour myself. Also I’m grateful for the others who were, those authors whom I love to read and return to time and again. I’m grateful that they possessed not only their artistic vision, but also the sheer stubbornness and will to persevere and see their dreams become reality.

So we’ve settled on the fact that we want to be writers, and that no other dream will do. Now let’s take a look at what this is likely to mean in terms of the sacrifices we’ll have to make along the way.

1. Misunderstanding.

Make no doubts about it – even those closest to us may not understand or even sympathize with our dream. Young authors still in school or living at home should prepare themselves for the advice of well-meaning but frightened parents; which typically will be encouragement in ANOTHER direction. With all that time spent on the computer, you could build a career as a typist. How about data entry? Web design? They have a lot of great courses at the college for that.

Adult writers can oftentimes expect a similar reaction from their significant others; though in this case, the motivation might be someone different. Why don’t you pursue something that there’s a FUTURE in?

People who give this sort of advice are doubtlessly well-steeped in all the lore of the suffering artist. Parents don’t want to see their children go through it; husbands and wives aren’t all that eager to see their spouses get caught up in that trap either.

But the real question here is this: are YOU ready to believe in yourself enough to persevere even in the face of this negative (though well-meant, perhaps) feedback?

2. A social life? What’s that?

To finish a novel could easily take up a thousand hours or more of your time. That means almost three hours a day if you want to get it done in a year. And this is a modest estimate. Now maybe you’re willing to give up T.V. time, leisure reading, evenings out with your sweetheart, etc. You want to be a novelist that badly. But wait! The trials don’t stop there.

Your friends and family will want explanations. WHY can’t you go over to Lucky’s and hang out tonight? Why do you never pick up the phone at night (or in the morning or whenever you write)?

Now it’s one thing to have college papers to write, or mid-terms to study for, or overtime hours at work. Those are all socially acceptable obligations. But tell your friends that you’re staying in every evening to write and probably the best reaction you can hope for is a blank stare.

Are you ready to say: “Too bad if they can’t understand”?

3. Rejection upon rejection.

Let’s say we pass the first two hurdles. We don’t listen to people’s attempts (however well-intentioned) to dissuade us, and we plug away at our stories even though it means we can’t enjoy the leisure and down time of “normal” people. We put those thousand-odd hours into our work, and when it’s all done we’re proud of it. We write query letters, mail submissions, and sit back and dream of that fat advance, the book signing tour and the movie offers.

Then the unthinkable happens. We get one return letter after another, and all of them are variations of this: “Thank you for sending us [our work]. It was indeed interesting, but not quite what we’re looking for at this time.”

This happens to everyone. It has happened to me numerous times, and if it never happens to you then you will be entered into the history books of publishing. You may reach the point where a PERSONAL rejection letter instead of a pre-printed rejection feels like an accomplishment.

Remember the dream. Remember the passion that drove you to devote all those hours to writing in the first place, at the expense of your social life and leisure. Then send your work out again, because you didn’t pass the first two tests for nothing. When and if you get feedback, see if there’s anything constructive within it and learn for next time. You’ll be another rung up the ladder to success.

We writers survive and find our way because we weren’t meant to BE anything else.

About The Author


Seth Mullins is the author of “Song of an Untamed Land”, a novel of speculative fantasy in lawless frontier territory. Visit Seth at http://authorsden.com/sethtmullins. >>Read more...

Why a Literary Agent is So Important to Your Success

Why a Literary Agent is So Important to Your Success
by: Steve Manning

Ask any literary agent what they’re interested in and they’ll tell you, without a doubt, literary quality. That’s what they want. They’re looking for high-quality writing. That’s their story and they’re sticking with it.

But if you catch them in an unguarded moment, the truth might just slip out. Oh, they’re still looking for literary quality, and if that’s part of the package so much the better, but that’s not really the determining factor.

The big issue, the one that can really turn it to your advantage, is a lot simpler and, we should have guessed, a lot more predictable. The real question is, will this manuscript sell? Will it sell first to a publisher, and, then, will it sell to the general public.

The answer to the first question is why you’ve got a literary agent in the first place. Will it sell to a publisher? Well, you as an author have no idea. You can hope, you can suggest, you can rationalize and you can predict, you can see no possible alternative. Of course a publisher will want to write your manuscript. But you don’t really know.

Literary agents, the good ones, do. That’s why they’re constantly talking to trade editors at publishing houses, and publishing executives as well. They want to have their ears to the ground to scout out any trends that are developing, or, more profitably, any needs that publishers have.

“What we’re really looking for now, Sam, is a children’s chapter book that touches, gently, on the issue of terrorism and homeland security.”

“What we need is a series of gothic horrors.”

“The guys upstairs want to take a look at a new genre of romance…”

A lot of authors think that publishers make their decisions based on the manuscripts that come their way. That’s not always the case. Publishers often have their own agenda. They see the needs developing and they want to have books ready to go when the demand is right. Often they’re looking for specific kinds of books and they’re letting literary agents know about their needs so the best manuscripts can be brought to them.

And that’s good news for you. Okay, maybe you’ve spent a lot of time writing that book on science fiction trivia. The agent you’re working with says it’s a great book, but they’ve just been talking with an editor and they’re looking for a trivia book for science. Would you be up to writing it.

Yes, I can just hear all the author’s saying, “just a minute, I’ll check my schedule to see if I can fit that in.”

Agents also know, generally, which publishers are looking for which books. True, the information you have may say the publisher publishes horror stories. But you won’t know they’ve got a back log of these manuscripts and aren’t looking for any more. A good literary agent will not only know this, they’ll also know which publishers are looking precisely for the book you’ve got to offer. Getting your manuscript before the right set of eyes is half the battle when it comes to getting your book published.

Agents will also know what’s selling now, and whether this is the beginning of a new wave, or the end of an old one. They make their reputation and their relationships by helping publishers pick winners for the upcoming season. That’s why they’re so important. They have the knowledge and the contacts that you just don’t have.

They know what will sell, why, when and where. And if you hook up with an agent who is committed to their own success, you’ve just formed a partnership with an agent who is also committed to your success.


About The Author

Steve Manning is a master writer showing thousands of people how they can write their book faster than they ever thought possible. Here’s your free Special Report, http://www.WriteABookNow.com/main.html. >>Read more...

Writing Children's Books: Take Chances To Get Published

Writing Children's Books: Take Chances To Get Published
by: Laura Backes

In an editorial several years ago, I described a tree house in the backyard of a local restaurant. I wrote, "The entire structure has been pieced together from recycled lumber, much of which still bears the paint, logos or posters of the original walls from whence it came. The generous platform is ringed by a sturdy fence that includes branches of the tree itself, random two-by-fours, wooden signs, and even a pair of moose antlers. The 'house' is more of a lean-to, tall enough for kids (but not adults) to stand up inside, with a screened door and two screened windows positioned so occupants can easily spy on the diners below or out over the adjacent parking lot. A green padded bench that looks like it had once belonged in a diner adequately furnishes the space. Underneath the tree house hangs a rope swing, from which kids can fling themselves into a thick layer of hay on the grass."

Fast forward to this summer. The restaurant revamped their backyard, including the tree house. The railing now consists of uniform boards about three inches apart. The house is reached not by a ladder and trapdoor, but via a bona fide staircase. The screen door is gone, the windows are covered in glass, and several of the tree's branches have been pruned back to discourage climbing. But the worst part, according to my 10-year-old, is that the rope swing has disappeared. Matthew declared the whole structure "boring." In today's world, kids have far less freedom than in previous generations. Their lives are more controlled–sometimes because of parents' fears of an increasingly dangerous society, but often because we've somehow come to believe that to grow into successful adults, children's activities must be channeled, scheduled and programmed from infancy.

Danger comes in many forms, from a stranger encountered on the way to school (who may be a neighbor out walking his dog, but you never know), to free time not filled with "enriching" activities. But, in my opinion, kids need a little danger in their lives. They need to test their boundaries, to learn how to climb a ladder and squeeze through a trapdoor. They need to hurl themselves into a pile of hay and learn it's best not to land on your face. If grown-ups clean up their world too much, kids will never learn how to push themselves. They'll never have the satisfaction of trying things that are a little scary, a little off their parents' radar, and accomplishing something that belongs just to them.

One of the few places kids can still push their limits is with books. It's possible to step outside your safe life with a story, or try new ideas on for size. But many adults want to clean up their kids' reading choices as well. I know parents who abhor Barbara Park's perennially popular Junie B. Jones chapter books because the spirited Junie isn't a good role model, or won't read Winnie the Pooh because Christopher Robin can't spell very well. I also know a lot of authors who are afraid to write books that are slightly subversive because they worry editors won't publish them. But for every parent who insists on only "safe" reading for their child (and it's every parent's right to do so), there are at least two parents who believe it's okay for kids to wade into the danger zone through fiction. I'm not advocating murder mysteries for preschoolers here, just books that might be considered slightly uncivilized, or more entertaining than educational. Let's look at some popular examples:

When I first saw Walter, the Farting Dog by William Kozwinkle and Glenn Murray, illustrated by Audrey Colman (a picture book whose plot needs no explanation), I was worried that children's publishing might be sinking a little too low. But as it started winning awards and spawning sequels, I changed my opinion. Let's face it: farting makes kids laugh. And if your child finds this book hysterical, you should be glad. In order to get the joke, kids need to know that noisy bodily functions are considered impolite. Laughing about them is one of the perks of childhood. Don't worry, they'll outgrow it.

A picture book coming out this December that's already creating a buzz is 17 Things I'm Not Allowed to Do Anymore by Jenny Offill, illustrated by Nancy Carpenter. The heroine utters such statements as "I had an idea to staple my brother’s hair to his pillow. I am not allowed to use the stapler anymore." She also glues her brother's bunny slippers to the floor, and shows Joey Whipple her underpants. Both big No's. This ingenious story should satisfy two camps of parents; those who want kids to see consequences for inappropriate behavior, and those who don't mind letting their kids live vicariously through a curious, mischievous character. A pop-up book due out later this month from three publishing powerhouses–Maurice Sendak, Arthur Yorinks and Matthew Reinhart–lets young children face the monsters hiding in their closets and come out on top. In Mommy?, a young boy wanders into a haunted house looking for his mother and encounters creatures like a goblin, a mummy, and Frankenstein. Instead of running scared, the boy pulls pranks on each monster, deflating their power and showing how humor conquers fear every time.

Speaking of scary, if you haven't read any of the enormously popular Series of Unfortunate Events middle grade novels by Lemony Snicket, do so. With titles like The Bad Beginning, The Miserable Mill, and The Penultimate Peril, and cautions from the author such as, “If you are interested in stories with happy endings, you would be better off reading some other book,” these are clearly stories where adults dare not tread. But children brave enough to venture between the covers will find hilarious plots full of nail-biting twists. The intelligent Baudelaire orphans have unusual skills (Violet for inventing, Klaus for reading and researching, and baby Sunny for biting) that make them admirable heroes.

Lauren Myracle enters the private world of teen girl talk in her young adult novels TTYL and TTFN. The titles alone might raise some parents' suspicions because unless they're well-versed at IM (instant messaging), they won't know what the abbreviations stand for. In fact, the entire novels consist of conversations between three high school girls written in emails, text-messaging and IM's, using the standard computer shorthand that includes abbreviated spelling and quirky syntax. If you're not an IMer yourself, you'll find the books somewhat difficult to read. But you and I aren't the target audience here. And though the format might keep adults from examining the books too closely, the plots are standard upper young adult fare–relationships, family trauma, peer pressure, even drugs and alcohol–handled in a believable manner that conveys growth of character by the end of each story.

As an author, if you're inspired to delve into the slightly dangerous, dark or subversive corners of childhood with your books, feel free to do so. Don't limit yourself to all that's bright, safe and up to code. Allow kids places where they can wander away from their parents' watchful eyes and have an adventure. If the adventure's in a book, they'll always come home safe and sound. And if you're still not convinced, consider this: In the backyard of the restaurant, the tree house now sits empty. But the books I've described above are flying off the shelves.

This article excerpted from Children's Book Insider, The Newsletter for Children's Writers. More information at http://write4kids.com

About The Author
Laura Backes is the publisher of Children's Book Insider, the Newsletter for Children's Writers. For more information about writing children's books, including free articles, market tips, insider secrets and much more, visit Children's Book Insider's home on the web at http://write4kids.com. >>Read more...

Tips from Robert Ludlum on writing a compelling thriller

Tips from Robert Ludlum on writing a compelling thriller
by: Hal Gieseking

Based on a two-hour interview with the late Robert Ludlum, author of some of the world's best selling novels of international intrigue.

Q. How did your career in writing begin?

Ludlum: When I got out of college in 1952, I wanted to be an actor. I worked pretty consistently in plays and doing voice-over TV commercials until about 1958. Then somebody said to me, did you ever think of becoming a producer?
So I learned that field and produced original theater on Broadway for ten years. But I got bored with the pressures and labor problems. I had worked with a lot of playwrights, and I thought – I can write. So I wrote a humorous book about the funny things that happens when actors meet the general public - people who may not know anything about actors. I sold it to a publisher who told me, "Actually this is just what we want." I named it "Broadway goes Suburbia." Then the publisher said to me, "Of course, we have to make it much more serious. No humor. We'll call it "Blueprint for Culture." I ran out of the room laughing.

That Broadway book was my first attempt at writing. I thought I wanted a writing career. But I had responsibilities – my children, my wife. You can't chuck everything aside to become a writer. But I kept thinking about it and got to the point where I really wanted to try it. My wife Marian, bless her heart, said, "You're forty years old. If you don't try it now, you're going to regret as long as we live." And so we got together and blocked out eighteen months to see if I could succeed..

Q. And you're too good a writer to use that old cliché, "And the rest was history." "The Osterman Weekend." "The Bourne Identity." "The Parsifal Mosaic." And many other best sellers and movies later. How would you describe your writing techniques?

Ludlum: I love to observe people. I have always been interested in people who have decided to leave one lifestyle for another. On St. Thomas I met a man named John who used to be a very successful ad man in New York. He threw it all away to follow a new dream – running a charter boat in the Caribbean. He went to a patrol school run by the Coast Guard in St. Thomas. He supported himself by becoming a disk jockey on a local radio station for a $100 a week. Now he has his own charter boat business and is considered one of the more effective people on the island. A complete life change. Later I used that fact in "The Bourne Identify." When one of my characters wanted to get away, he joined the boat people in the Caribbean.

Q. What other writing techniques work for you?

Ludlum:. My wife and I love to travel all over the world. And whenever possible, we take our kids and their wives with us. On a trip to Greece, they helped me gather restaurant menus, theater programs, ticket stubs, tour brochures. And I take a lot of really bad pictures. But I put all this in a big scrapbook. The scrapbook brings memories back to life and help make my writing more credible.

Q, What the biggest mistake you think many beginning writers make?

Ludlum: I get annoyed when a self-indulgent writer just shows off what he knows but doesn't really tell a story. To me storytelling is first a craft. Then if you're lucky, it becomes an art form. But first, it's got to be a craft.. You've got to have a beginning, middle and end. And I have sort of applied the theatrical principles to writing. Throw the story in the air and see what's going to happen.

About The Author
This article is adapted from the chapter “On writing well” in the new book “Reinvent Yourself” by Hal Gieseking, available at http://www.lulu.com/content/76821.

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The Writing Club

The Writing Club
by: Ieuan Dolby

Typically when falling asleep in bed at night great thoughts enter the mind, long stringed and meaningful sentences trip over each other to receive attention at the front of the brain alongside all the brilliant findings, results, meanings that speak volumes and hard hitting phrases that are just the ticket to open the door to success. The last thought in the brain before sleep overrides this brilliant future work is, “must use that tomorrow”.

The next day as you stumble out of bed to clean the teeth with little enthusiasm and to sit staring inanely at a pot of hot water (the coffee machine that you had forgotten to put the coffee in yet again) these thoughts are still asleep. They are heaped and well obscured in other jumbled and nonsensical reasoning’s and justifications –Double Dutch without subtitles or translation.

In fact, as you opt for a cup-of tea (seeing as how the coffee machine makes the water) and you stub you toe on the stool that was in the way, absolutely no prose, ideas or means to move forward spring into the mind. It can even be said that after switching on the computer and after having shot down twenty spacecraft and been eaten up by a green alien sort of thingy, that not even a title or starting sentence seems worthy of being tapped into the keyboard.

It can justifiably be said that the whole day has been spent in totally useless fashion. Staring out of the window at the idyllic setting only makes lying on the bed seem very attractive: the walk to the corner shop to clear the head only brings anger over the prices these shops charge and the afternoon nap has now obliterated or obscured all that might have been dreamt up that morning - in short the head remains an empty void and a bottomless pit with no foundation..

There are two major periods of fantastic prose assembly and justifiable award-winning script construction. Had the results or product of these two periods of mind-boggling activity simply been recorded for posterity things would be very different. Even if they had been written on the back of a cereal box, on toilet paper or even dictated into a tape recorder (right over your friend’s favorite tape) these reams of cohesive cognitive and collective convictions would have been the beginning, the middle and the end of many an article, essay, poem, writing or story. They would have been the justification, the vindication and the rationalization; the crux, the core, and the essence; the plot, the storyline and the scenario; the speech to end all speeches, the thesis to bring in the top marks and the book that would sell more than any Harry Potter novel ever has.

Strangely enough the mind-boggling prose that springs out during these two periods in most writers’ lives is not often etched or embedded onto some scrap of paper or recorded for eternity on a Dictaphone – results that have been used the next day that is. In the first situation the thinker and brilliant script writer has unfortunately fallen asleep before the thoughts of the night could be transferred from brain to paper. And in the second case the new author and Nobel Lauriat is blind drunk, so blind drunk and out of his tree that writing or talking is not really a feasible possibility – even though it seems like a good idea at the time.

Many forward thinking and desperate strugglers go to extremes to capture and to retain these mind-boggling and superb strings. Some fall asleep with Dictaphones switched on next to them so that they may talk out their thoughts before drifting off – sadly they typically replay to sounds of excessive grunts and snores that shock to the core. Other more desperate souls actually manage to struggle out of bed to write on the back of a cereal box, over their mum’s favorite recipe for peanut cookies or on some other scrap of paper.

The next morning, the ones that managed to write their thoughts down do have some success in thinking up new ideas, but only due to having had a good night’s sleep. Safe and sound in the knowledge that their wonderful thoughts had been recorded they fall asleep like babies, knowing that the morning will bring brilliance to light. Sadly, when waking up it is either found that ‘little brother’ has used that little scrap of toilet paper for what it was meant for or more commonly that the words that have been written make absolutely no sense what-so-ever. All of these pre-sleep thoughts that had been recorded look like the ramblings of an Egyptian Monk overdosed on Battery Acid.

The drunkard who manages to write something down is not a common occurrence. Usually at the point of aiming the pencil towards the paper at the start of what will be a lengthy diction and thus the subsequent lowering of the accumulated build-up in the brain, the pencil snaps. But drunkards certainly prefer to hear their own voices. One of their favorite methods of attempting to record such galvanic thoughts and ideas is to lean over to the next drunk and to recite in a loud voice all that they have amassed inside their heads. Having sprouted all out and after having warned the fellow drunk not to forget what he has been told they usually fall asleep, safe and sound in the knowledge that in the morning their friend will give back what they had received.

It never works! The average drunkard never can remember with whom he entrusted his precious thoughts. Over a beer the next evening it may come to light that one man remembers being entrusted with some important information, but for the life of him he cannot remember what the actual information is These two persons may even get together that evening but – it never comes back again.

There it is. Two occasions of superb idea formation and collation yet never do they seem to bear fruit when it matters most! In fact whilst sitting at the computer, keen and willing to progress further than the blank page, the brain fails miserably.

Welcome to the club!

About The Author

Author and Webmaster of Seamania (http://www.seadolby.com/). As a Chief Engineer in the Merchant Navy he has sailed the world for fifteen years. Now living in Taiwan he writes about cultures across the globe and life as he sees it.

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Five Steps to Gaining Good Writing Skills

Another way to improve your writing skills by Peter Morgan. Hope you are enjoy!


The best way to start honing good writing skills is by learning to write good essays.

At its most basic, there are five steps to writing a good essay. These good writing techniques are skills that anyone can learn.

The first step is to choose a subject in which you have an avid interest. The point isn't so much that you can talk knowledgeably about it (because good research is part of good writing skills) but that you want to learn about it and your enthusiasm will show through. Let's assume, for instance, that you love working from home, so you decide to write an essay about telework.

The next step is to hone the good writing skills that let you narrow down the subject and come up with a specific topic statement. Telework is a very broad subject. You could talk about how to set up your own home office, how to convince your current boss to let you do your job from home, how to convert your dream into a work from home entrepreneurship, how to resolve impediments like invasive neighbours, computer security, meeting with clients and so forth.

Let's assume you've decided to talk about how you convinced your boss to let you work from home. Your topic statement might be "I saved my company $xxx last year by working from my home office."

Good writing skills involve clear but catchy topic statements that will entice the reader to read to the end of your essay. The next step is to answer the question why five or more times in the body of the essay. Tell the readers, for instance, why you wanted to work from home, why your boss finally okayed it, why it saved the company money, why you succeeded at working from home, why the nosy neighbors and your tiny tots didn't interfere and why you're more productive now.

The two most important good writing skills are the ability to begin your essay well, and to conclude it well. Your essay conclusion should summarize your key points and refer back to the topic statement. In this essay on telework, for example, you might conclude by saying, "My telework saves me the stress and expense of a lengthy commute. My employer is delighted with my increased productivity. Everyone wins with my telework."

If all else really fails then you could resort to hiring a Ghost Writer. But, before you do you should check out a few samples of their previous work and best of all get a recommendation from others.


About The Author
Peter Morgan has been in Internet Marketing in the UK for the last 7 years. He has developed a FREE online Article Writing, Publishing & Marketing system that enables internet 'Newcomers' as well as 'Experts', the ability to earn a recurring income from writing articles. GO TO: http://www.jvmembers.com. >>Read more...

Learning How To Write

Learning How To Write
by: Michael LaRocca

As a student of Spanish, my goal was to think in Spanish. Skip the word-by-word translation so I'd have the necessary speed to speak and listen. I know words in Spanish that I'd be hard pressed to translate. Usually profanity, I confess. Chingow!

For years my students here in China have studied grammar, and know it better than you or I. They read. They write. But speaking involves moving faster than that. In conversation, we don't have time to write it first and make sure it's all grammatically flawless, then read it aloud, perhaps after a bit of rehearsal.

So, I try to give them a chance to practice putting words together on the fly, rules be damned. The rules they've internalized will kick in and keep them comprehensible, which will build their confidence in their ability to keep creating conversation that way.

This is not unlike what we go through as authors. First we study rulebooks, perhaps take some classes, and conclude just about everything we're is doing is wrong. So many rules to memorize. We might dread sitting down to write with all those constraints.

But really, it's not about memorizing rules at all. It's about internalizing the rules, following them (or not if you prefer) without being consciously aware of what they are. They're there, but in the background.

The story's what matters. You're supposed to be having fun, not "working." At least not during the creation phase.

We don't always take the time to say, "I've written ten active sentences in a row so maybe I'll whip in a passive one now" or "I need a beat for every X lines of dialogue." I published four novels and edited dozens more before I learned what a beat was. (It's a pause so the reader can catch his/her breath.)

And, of course, since it is writing and not speaking, we can always go back and revise later. Then rely on editors to catch what we missed, or at least make us wonder why we wrote it this way instead of that way.

Some authors aren't even consciously aware of "the rules." They've never taken a class, never read a book about writing. They're simply avid readers who one day decided to write. But they've internalized the rules as well. It comes from reading.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. If you want to write, you must read. If you don't like reading, maybe writing isn't for you. It's not about writing because you want to say, "I am a writer." It's about writing because you enjoy writing.

And, it's really nice when you've been writing for a long time to go back and read a book about how to write. You might find one or two things to tweak in your technique, as opposed to a daunting laundry list of flaws. It's much easier to internalize one or two new rules than 50 or 100!

About The Author
Michael LaRocca Who Moved My Rice?
http://www.chinarice.org/
You can't eat grits with chopsticks >>Read more...

Write a Novel Out of Your Dream

Write a Novel Out of Your Dream
by Poom
Everyone might have a dream, but what would you do when you get up in the morning? I'm sure almost everyone forgot about as soon as they washed their face in a bathroom. What's so important about your dream? The answer is easily made, because I'm sure that you sure had an great experience in your dream something like adventured in the deep jungle, chased by terrific monsters and anything else. And I know that not all of you could remembered all of your dreams. Yes, me too, but I have got some techniques to dig your dream out of your unconscious mind and it will give you a new nice idea for your new novel.

Writing a novel is really hard. It hard to find a new idea to write it in your book. So, I recommend to use your dreams. Why your dream is gonna work, because I believe that what inspired (or terrified) you can also inspired the others. But the difficult things is to remember your dream. Almost everyone forgot their dream right after they wake up. Someone can still remember what they had dream but not very exactly.

Let's me tell you something about the "dream" that some of you may don't know. When we sleep, our eyes will move very rapidly, this is called REM (Rapid Eyes Moving) period and when our eyes will not move, this is called no-REM period. Our body will change from REM to no-REM from time to time. I'm not sure about exact periods time but it's about one hour and a half. When we are in REM mode, we will begin to dream. This theory can explain why our dream is not continuous and change very differently in one night. The other things about the dream is beyond the scope of this article and you can find more detail on the net.

Now, how can i write out my dream? you may ask. The answer is simple, grab a pen (or pencil) and write. It may be sound ridiculous but to write something at the moment you wake up is difficult. You have to practice to write after you wake up. Here are some tips:

1. Find some pen (or pencil) and some paper or notebook and put it right after your body before you go to sleep.
2. When you wake up, try to write down anything you can remember as much as possible. For example, when you dream of a monster that had chased you in the forest. Try to write down the very detail of that monster, does it has a horn?, does it has a
claw?, what color is it?, what detail of the forest you were running? Try to write down the detail of anything you can remember as the detail will help you recognize the other part of your dream
3. After you finished you daily cleansing (or anything) sit down and revision what you wrote.
4. Repeat the process.It will take a bit time to practice until you can remember all of your dreams. Don't give up !

Lastly, I want to say that don't underestimate your dream. Dream can be a warn from the future, can be a new innovative creation, can be a new technology. And I'm sure it can be a new bestseller novel, too!.

Enjoy writing
Poom >>Read more...

The Worth of the Wicked

The Worth of the Wicked
by: Stephanie D. Tyson

Sometimes writers mistakenly devote most of their attention to developing the main character while leaving the antagonist flat and underutilized. Yet so much of the meat of a story can be found in the doings of a well-written bad guy who experiences hatred, pain, torment, and even the opportunity for rehabilitation. A character’s hatred can be triggered by a variety of circumstances, big or seemingly insignificant. Perhaps someone once neglected to offer him a ride home from work, or kicked his dog, or even killed his sister in an unforeseen accident. Whatever the hatred is, it must be visible to the reader right from the start. Even if the antagonist is able to maintain the subterfuge in outward appearances that he is a good guy, writers should weave in hints of his true shady character for readers to detect. It is never a good idea to blindside an audience with an action that seems to have no actual potential of happening until BOOM, it’s there. Be it mentally or physically, we have all felt pain at one time or another. It is up to the writer whether or not the antagonist shows his pain. The pain could be pushed down deep inside, thus helping to fuel the ember of discontent into a bright flame of hate. Maybe an accident several years ago left him alone, or with a defect that has made getting a decent job difficult. Perhaps at a young age he was bitten by a rabid raccoon, or forced to care for an ailing parent that had no hope of recovery. There are countless painful reasons why a person could lose his or her sense of what’s good in the world. Torment plagues most protagonists from time to time. Bad guys should experience torment as much as, if not more than, the good guys. Torment is what keeps that dark flame of hate burning like a wildfire. Maybe it springs from letting a girl he truly loves slip through his fingers or from the investment he scoffed at that has made others millions. True torment lies deep within, and it’s something he refuses to acknowledge even when faced with his own demise at the hands of the hero. It is the driving force that keeps his goals at the front of his thoughts at all times. Keep in mind that the antagonist doesn’t always have to be the one readers love to hate. Maybe as the story progresses so does his rehabilitation from hate. He might find himself helping others because of an experience he had, or nagging thoughts at the back of his mind. Gradually, a begrudging hero could emerge. He becomes the guy readers hate to love, yet can’t help but admire anyway. No matter what the root causes of the antagonist’s actions are, it’s important to develop them as much as the protagonist’s. Readers then can find things to hate and relate to in both types of characters. They can contrast each character’s motives and decide for themselves whom to root for. Likely they’ll choose the hero, but who knows? If you’ve developed the antagonist well enough, probably they’ll find something in the bad guy worth cheering for after all.
About The Author
My name is Stephanie D. Tyson, and I've loved writing as far back as I can remember. At the moment I am currently awaiting the release of my first book by American Book Publishing titled Gatekeepers: The Dragon Tower. I've always had a special place for the 'atagonists' in stories, though I realize that ultimately the hero needs to win in some sense or another. When not working on writing book two in the series, I enjoy spending time with my family and friends which of course includes my beloved dog and cats. Music and movies place far second to writing or reading when I have a bit of me time. >>Read more...

About Writing

About Writing
by: Michael LaRocca

Here's everything I know about improving your writing, publishing it electronically and in print, and promoting it after the sale. Two questions you should ask:
(1) What will it cost me?
(2) What does this Michael LaRocca guy know about it?

Answer #1 -- It won't cost you a thing. The single most important bit of advice I can give you, and I say it often, is don't pay for publication. My successes have come from investing time. Some of it was well spent, but most of it was wasted. It costs me nothing to share what I've learned. It costs you nothing to read it except some of your time.

Answer #2 -- "Michael LaRocca has been researching the publishing field for over ten years." This quote, from an ezine (electronic newsletter) called Authors Wordsmith, was a kind way of saying I've received a lot of rejections. Also, my "research" required 20 years. But in my "breakout" year (2000), I finished writing four books and scheduled them all for publication in 2001. I also began editing for one of my publishers, a job I've been enjoying ever since. After my first book was published, both my publishers closed. Two weeks and three publishers later, I was back on track. All four books were published, and a fifth was released in 2004. Written in 2003, no rejections. Another scheduled for 2005 publication, no rejections. See how much faster it was the second time around? That's because I learned a lot. Also, I found more editing jobs. That's what I do when I'm not writing, doing legal transcription, or doing English consulting work in Thailand (my new home). But the thing is, if I'd become an editor before learning how to write, I'd have stunk. 2005 EPPIE Award finalist. 2004 EPPIE Award finalist. 2002 EPPIE Award finalist. Listed by Writers Digest as one of The Best 101 Websites For Writers in 2001 and 2002. Sime-Gen Readers Choice Awards for Favorite Author (Nonfiction & Writing) and Favorite Book (Nonfiction & Writing). 1982 Who's Who In American Writing. Excuse me for bragging, but it beats having you think I'm unqualified. I'll tell you what's missing from this monologue. What to write about, where I get my ideas from, stuff like that. Maybe I don't answer this question because I think you should do it your way, not mine. Or maybe because I don't know how I do it. Or maybe both. Once you've done your writing, this essay should help you with the other stuff involved in being a writer. Writing involves wearing at least four different hats. Writer, editor, publication seeker, post-sale self-promoter. Here's what I can tell you about my writing. Sometimes an idea just comes to me out of nowhere and refuses to leave me alone until I write about it. So, I do. And, whenever I read a book that really fires me up, I think, "I wish I could write like that." So, I just keep trying. I'll never write THE best, but I'll always write MY best. And get better every time. That's the "secret" of the writing "business," same as any other business. Always deliver the goods. I read voraciously, a habit I recommend to any author who doesn't already have it. You'll subconsciously pick up on what does and doesn't work. Characterization, dialogue, pacing, plot, story, setting, description, etc. But more importantly, someone who doesn't enjoy reading will never write something that someone else will enjoy reading. I don't write "for the market." I know I can't, so I just write for me and then try to find readers who like what I like. I'm not trying to whip up the next bestseller and get rich. Not that I'd complain. But I have to write what's in my heart, then find a market later. It makes marketing a challenge at times, but I wouldn't have it any other way. When you write, be a dreamer. Go nuts. Know that you're writing pure gold. That fire is why we write. An author I greatly admire, Kurt Vonnegut, sweats out each individual sentence. He writes it, rewrites it, and doesn't leave it alone until it's perfect. Then when he's done, he's done. I doubt most of write like that. I don't. I let it fly as fast as my fingers can move across the paper or keyboard, rushing to capture my ideas before they get away. Later, I change and shuffle and slice. James Michener writes the last sentence first, then has his goal before him as he writes his way to it. Then there's me. No outline whatsoever. I create characters and conflict, spending days and weeks on that task, until the first chapter leaves me wondering "How will this end?" Then my characters take over, and I'm as surprised as the reader when I finish my story. Some authors set aside a certain number of hours every day for writing, or a certain number of words. In short, a writing schedule. Then there's me. No writing for three or six months, then a flurry of activity where I forget to eat, sleep, bathe, change the cat's litter... I'm a walking stereotype. To assuage the guilt, I tell myself that my unconscious is hard at work. As Hemingway would say, long periods of thinking and short periods of writing. I've shown you the extremes in writing styles. I think most authors fall in the middle somewhere. But my point is, find out what works for you. You can read about how other writers do it, and if that works for you, great. But in the end, find your own way. That's what writers do. Just don't do it halfway. If you're doing what I do, writing a story that entertains and moves you, you'll find readers who share your tastes. For some of us that means a niche market and for others it means regular appearances on the bestseller list. Writing is a calling, but publishing is a business. Remember that AFTER you've written your manuscript. Not during. I've told you how I write. For me.

===== ** EDITING **
The next step is self-editing. Fixing the mistakes I made in my rush to write it before my Muse took a holiday. Several rewrites. Running through it repeatedly with a fine-toothed comb and eliminating cliches like "fine-toothed comb." Then what? There are stories that get rejected because the potential publisher hates them, or feels they won't SELL (as if he knows), but more are shot down for other reasons. Stilted dialogue. Boring descriptions. Weak characters. Underdeveloped story. Unbelievable or inconsistent plot. Sloppy writing. That's what you have to fix. I started by using free online creative writing workshops. What I needed most was input from strangers. After all, once you're published, your readers will be strangers. Every publisher or agent you submit to will be a stranger. What will they think? I always get too close to my writing to answer that. Whenever I got some advice, I considered it. Some I just threw out as wrong, or because I couldn't make the changes without abandoning part of what made the story special to me. Some I embraced. But the point is, I decided. It's my writing. After a time, I didn't feel the need for the workshops anymore. I'm fortunate enough to have a wife whose advice I will always treasure, and after a while that was all I needed. But early on, it would've been unfair to ask her to read my drivel. (Not that I didn't anyway, but she married me in spite of it.) Your goal when you self-edit is to get your book as close to "ready to read" as you possibly can. Do not be lazy and do not rush. You want your editor to find what you overlooked, not what you didn't know about, and you want it to be easy for him/her. EASY! Easy to edit, easy to read. It's a novel, not a blog. Your story is your story. You write it from your heart, and when it looks like something you'd enjoy reading, you set out to find a publisher who shares your tastes. What you don't want is for that first reader to lose sight of what makes your story special because you've bogged it down with silly mistakes. Authors don't pay to be published. They are paid for publication. Always. It's just that simple. Later, I'll tell you where to get some free editing. But there's a limit to how much editing you can get without paying for it. Do you need more than that? I don't know because I've never read your writing. But if you evaluate it honestly, I think you'll know the answer. As an editor, I've worked with some authors who simply couldn't self-edit. Non-native English speakers, diagnosed dyslexics, blind authors, guys who slept through English class, whatever. To them, paying for editing was an option. This isn't paying for publication. This is paying for a service, training. Just like paying to take a Creative Writing class at the local community college. By the way, I don't believe creativity can be taught. Writing, certainly. I took a Creative Writing class in high school, free, and treasure the experience. But I already had the creativity, or else it would've been a waste of the teacher's time and mine. (Later I taught Creative Writing in China. We call this irony. One of my former English teachers also had Rod Serling as a student.) If you hire an editor worthy of the name, you should learn from that editor how to self-edit in the future. In my case it took two tries, because my first "editor" was a rip-off artist charging over ten times market value for incomplete advice. That editor, incidentally, is named Edit Ink, and they're listed on many "scam warning" sites. They take kickbacks from every fake agent who sends them a client. (I'll talk about fake agents later.) Avoid such places at all costs, and I will stress the word "costs." Ouch! If you choose to hire an editor, check price and reputation. For a ballpark figure, I charge less than a penny a word. Consider that you might never make enough selling your books to get back what you pay that editor. Do you care? That's your decision. Your first, most important step on the road to publication is to make your writing the best it can be.

===== ** PUBLICATION **
My goal is to be published in both mediums, ebook and print. There are some readers who prefer ebooks, and some who prefer print books. The latter group is larger, but those publishers are harder to sell your writing to. I want to be published in both mediums, because I want all the readers I can get. Before you epublish, check the contract to be sure you can publish the EDITED work in print later. If you know your book just plain won't ever make it into traditional print, print-on-demand (POD) is an option. Some of my books fall into this category. The best epublishers will simultaneously publish your work electronically and in POD format, at no cost to you. A lot of authors swear by self-publication, but the prospect just plain scares me. All that promo, all that self-editing, maybe driving around the countryside with a back seat full of books. I'm a writer, not a salesman. Maybe you're different. I self-published once, in the pre-POD days. Mom handled the sales. I had fun and broke even. With POD, at least it's easier (and probably cheaper) to self-publish than it was in 1989, because you'll never get stuck with a large unsold inventory. POD setup fees can range anywhere from US$100 to well over $1000. Don't pay the higher price! Price shop. Also, remember that POD places publish any author who pays, giving them a real credibility problem with some reviewers and readers, and that they do no marketing.

===== ** PROMOTING YOUR PUBLISHED WRITING **
It doesn't matter how you publish your book. Self-published, epublished, POD, or traditional print publishing from a small press or an absolute powerhouse. Marketing falls largely on you, and the same things always work. Book signings, book reviews and interviews in the local newspapers and on radio. (Or Oprah, but what are our chances?) Start with http://www.kidon.com/media-link/index.shtml. It will allow you to look up all the local media outlets in your area that have websites. If you write to them all, you're a spammer. Plus, it'll take ages. Look for the ones with a legitimate interest and fire away. If you find a stale URL, and I think you will, look for the name of that media outlet at some place like Google. Spend some time looking for the right press contacts, spend some time writing your press release, and do what you can. Most of these sites list email, snail mail, and phone numbers. Since I live in Asia, I've only used email. Book reviews, author interviews, book listing sites, and book contests are something we can all do, regardless of where we live. Aside from two radio interviews and a seminar in Hong Kong, and some emailed press releases to the LOCAL media back in the US which may or may not have succeeded in anything, my marketing has come from the Internet. I have a website. I have a newsletter. I write free articles such as this one. You found me somehow, right? Here's the type of message I receive often in email. To be more precise, in spam. "If a million people see your ad, and you get 1% of them, that's 10,000 readers and therefore $15,000 profit and you only paid 1000 for those million addresses." NO!! It doesn't work that way. Need I use the words dot-com bust? My website is free. My newsletter is free. I don't buy mailing lists, I don't harvest email addresses, and I don't spam. I want interested traffic, not just sheer numbers. Do you think the Phoenicians tried to sell sails to people a thousand miles from water? Internet marketing isn't a replacement for the methods mentioned above, but a complement to them. And by using it, I got you here. Hi! Your goal in marketing is this. There are people in the world who like what you like. And since you like your book, they probably will too. You have to find those readers and make them interested, without spamming them and without "playing the numbers game." If you're an e-author, let me state the obvious. Nobody buys ebooks who doesn't have Internet access. Do they? So you definitely need a website. Traditional print authors need websites too. Even blockbuster authors like J.R. Rowling and Stephen King, who I doubt could garner any more name recognition, have websites. So does every long-established inescapable monstro-business from hell like McDonalds and Coke. Okay, those folks pay web designers. I'm not doing that. I can't generate sales like that. And yes, I've been employed as an HTML programmer. But you can write your own website without learning HTML if you want. It's no harder than writing a manuscript with a word processor. It won't be super-flashy like the big boys, but it'll communicate the information. Remember, you can communicate. You're an author! That's what keeps people coming back to a website after the thrill of the flash wears off. Information. Content. Your specialty. Not a ticket to massive overnight traffic, but slow steady growth.

===== ** CLOSING THOUGHTS **
Here's something you've heard before. When your manuscript is rejected -- and it will be -- remember that you aren't being rejected. Your manuscript is. Did you ever hang up the phone on a telemarketer, delete spam, or close the door in the face of a salesman? Of course, and yet that salesman just moves on to the next potential customer. He knows you're rejecting his product, not him. Okay, in my case I'm rejecting both, but I'd never do that to an author. Neither will a publisher or an agent. All authors tell other authors not to take rejection personally, and yet we all do. Consider it a target to shoot for, then. Just keep submitting, and just keep writing. The best way to cope with waiting times is to "submit and forget," writing or editing other stuff while the time passes. And finally, feel free to send an e-mail to me anytime. michaellarocca@chinarice.org. I'll gladly share what I know with you, and it won't cost you a cent. I would wish you luck in your publishing endeavors, but I know there's no luck involved. It's all skill and diligence. Congratulations on completing the course! No ceremonies, no degrees, and no diplomas. But on the bright side, no student loan to repay.
About The Author
Michael LaRocca Who Moved My Rice? http://www.chinarice.org/ You can't eat grits with chopsticks >>Read more...

Interview with Marguerite Arotin, a Romance Writer in Ohio

Interview with Marguerite Arotin, a Romance Writer in Ohio
by: Py Kim Conant

Py: How did you get your pen name as Maruerite Arotin?
Marguerite: My real name is Dana but when I decided to write romance, I always knew Dana would be too unisex for the romance market. So I thought about my nickname. My grandma used to call me Daisy and my hubby eventually picked it up too. Marguerite is french for Daisy and I'm part French so I loved that ;-). Arotin was my late mother-in-law's maiden name so I took the name in honor of her and plus it flowed nicely with Marguerite. I will be marketing all books under my pen name of Marguerite Arotin.

Py: When did you start reading romance novels?
Marguerite: It was just after I met my hubby that I picked up my very first romance novel. I think meeting someone so perfect for me taught me that true love does exist and that maybe those romance novels I always thought were so sappy could come true. But then I met Phil and the attraction hit me like a ton of bricks. I can't imagine any other guy who can fulfill my needs as much as he can and I wouldn't want to satisfy any other man but him. Since I was a bit of a history nut, I picked up a historical by Linda Lael Miller and then got addicted to the genre. Believe it or not, prior to meeting my husband, Phillip, I was a bit of a young cynic when it came to romance and relationships. I met Phil when I was nineteen years old and prior to that, well I seemed to end up with a lot of jerks. At least I had a sense of humor of my unfortunate social life: I kept telling everyone I might as well adopt a bunch of cats and become the world's youngest spinster.

Py: What inspired you to write your romance story, The Locktender's Daughter?
Marguerite: It wasn't until the unthinkable happened, when my hubby lost his job and I just had a baby, that I even considered writing my own my romance novel. I've always loved local Ohio history. I would walk the old towpath trail wondering what life was like back when the mules pulled the boats through the murky canal water. I happened to find some notes for a story I wanted to write, a historical romance set along the Ohio & Erie canal, and decided I would write it. By the time my hubby found another job, I was too caught up in the story to stop writing. As I learned more about my craft, I realized how crappy the first MS I completed was and decided it wasn't worth revising. But that first story led to a sequel, called The Locktender's Daughter, and I loved that tale :-). I knew I didn't have enough experience yet to try a large print publishing house or even go for an agent, but I submitted my tale to a few e-book/POD presses and TheLocktender's Daughter found a home with Wings.

Py: Any tips for romance writers?
Marguerite: I've learned that everyone has their own writing techniques and they have to use what works best for them. Some people just allow the story to roam freely and other's tend to go all out and do full outlines. I do a mixture of both. I want to add here is how important it is never to give up on your dream. It took me a good two years of submitting The Locktender's Daughter before I found a home for it. I knew I had a great story, I knew it my heart. I loved Bethany and Tyler too much to give up them. Writing is one of the toughest jobs out there and those rejection letters can hurt. But you have to put it aside and remember that people behind those rejection letters, agents, editors, etc, are not rejecting you and if you love your story and characters enough, you have to keep trying no matter what. I did and I found a great home for Bethany and Tyler :-).

Py: Your Contact Information and your giveaways to readers?:
Marguerite: My first historical romance novel will be published with Wings Press ( http://www.wings-press.com/) in May of next year. My site at http://www.ohioromance.net/ As far as giveaways, I have the first three unedited chapters of The Locktender's Daughter posted at my website @ http://www.ohioromance.net/excerpts.htm I've really got to update my page because it says that TLD is still in the hands of the editors at Wings and it's already been contracted. Guess when you spend too much time writing, you forget about simple things like remembering to update your site. I'll get it updated before Sunday. I do post free excerpts in my myspace blog from time to time and have been posting a lot lately from my teenage sorceress for my NANOWRIMO YA project. Also I will be running a contest around May in conjuction with the release of my story, I have no idea of what I'm going to do yet but it will probably have something to do with canal history :-).
About The Author

Py Kim Conant, the author of Sex Secrets of an American Geisha: How to Attract, Satisfy, and Keep Your Man, Hunter House Publishers. Looking for relationship, dating and sex tips? Visit Py’s website at http://www.americangeishahouse.com/. >>Read more...

Find Some Readers!

Find Some Readers!
by: Michael LaRocca

The Internet will not replace traditional promotional efforts, but it can enhance them. Before I go into the Internet, I want to talk about the old-fashioned marketing methods, because they're still your best source of readers.

===== BOOKSTORES

Map out all bookstores within 20, 50, even 100 miles of where you live. Call or visit and see who has a local or regional authors section. Most do. See if they'll buy a few copies. I did this in 1994 and had a lot of fun with it. See if they'll schedule a book signing. If they do, some newspapers and radio stations will advertize them as free public service announcements. I never did this -- my mistake. http://www.bookweb.org/bd-bin/browse_bd?Country=usa&State_Name=YOURSTATE will help you find the bookstores in your state. So will the Yellow Pages in your home, and the online version at http://www.yellowpages.com/. Alternately, you can find the bookstores by doing a web search for Bookstores+YourState. This will take longer, but it can work. You can narrow down your search by using key words like Independent, Christian, wholesale... whatever you're trying to find.

===== LIBRARIES

Since I've never done this myself, I'm repeating what I've heard. It contradicts itself in a few spots, but it'll give you some ideas. To find a list of libraries in your state, you can use a search engine, or you can call your local library and ask how to get a listing of all the libraries in your state. They'll usually give you the link. Many libraries have a budget to buy books and will gladly purchase from local authors. Libraries won't let you sell your book inside the building, but they will let you talk about it. Talk with the "Friends of the Library" chapter. Also, donate a book to your local library. It's good publicity, especially if you get a newspaper to pick up the story, and it's a good way to give back to your community. You can also donate an autographed copy of your book to the library in the city where your book is set. If possible, do this in person. Many times the library will set up a book signing for you at one (or more) of the book stores in the area. Again, contact the "Friends of the Library" group.

===== PRESS RELEASES

Send press releases to every newspaper in your state and the state where your book is set. Also look for local radio stations who will interview you. Kidon Media (http://www.kidon.com/media-link/index.shtml) will help you find them. Stick to places that would be genuinely interested in you, as opposed to spamming everybody. If the URLs are stale, you can look up the names at Google.

===== BOOK REVIEWS

Walk into any bookstore, log onto any e-publisher site, or visit Amazon or Barnes & Noble. Guess what you'll see? A whole lot of books. If one of them happens to be yours, how will people notice it? I've gone into a bookshop more than once to buy something based on a review. There are print reviews and there are electronic reviews. You want to be reviewed as much as possible. Your publisher will market your book, but you have to help. A lot. What you want is for a potential reader to walk into that shop or log onto that site with your name and title already in his or her head. Your publisher will submit your book to reviewers. I don't know about the quantity, but reviews (even negative ones) generate sales. Work with your publisher to ensure everyone on the list below is covered. Also make sure you don't both send the same book to the same place because that's just plain embarrassing. When you are marketing, don't think like a writer. Think like a reader. Of course you can think like another person... that's part of what makes you a great writer. How do you choose what to read? I go by what my friends recommend, book reviews, and author loyalty. This isn't the end-all and be-all of marketing efforts, but it's a good starting place. (Word-of-mouth is the end-all and be-all.) Here are some sources that readers use. Some will review your books, some will let you review other people's books, and some are just plain useful for getting the word out.

===== BOOK REVIEWERS/AUTHOR INTERVIEWS
A Romance Review http://www.aromancereview.com/
Book Lore http://www.booklore.co.uk/
Book Pleasures http://www.bookpleasures.com/
Book Remarks http://www.book-remarks.com/
Bookreporter http://bookreporter.com/
Book Review http://www.bookreview.com/
Choice Magazine http://www.ala.org/acrl/choice/index.html
Contemporary Romance Writers http://www.contemporaryromancewriters.com/
The Compulsive Reader http://www.compulsivereader.com/html
Green Man Review http://www.greenmanreview.com/
Love Romances http://www.loveromances.com/
My Shelf http://www.myshelf.com/
Reader To Reader http://www.readertoreader.com/
The Romance Reader http://www.theromancereader.com/
Scribes World http://www.scribesworld.com/
Scott London Book Reviews http://www.scottlondon.com/index.html
Writers Write http://www.writerswrite.com/
Written Voices http://www.writtenvoices.com/

===== AUTHOR INTERVIEWS
Author Interviews http://easyweb.easynet.co.uk/~etfreedman/writersknowhow/author_interviews.htm
Author Network
http://www.author-network.com/

===== BOOK REVIEWS
All About Romance http://www.likesbooks.com/
Asian Reporter Book Reviews http://www.asianreporter.com/book_reviews.htm
Author Mania http://www.authormania.com/
Baryon http://www.baryon-online.com/
The Best Reviews http://thebestreviews.com/
Blether http://www.blether.com/
Blurb http://www.futuremuse.com/blurb/mystery/mystery_index.htm
Book Connector http://www.bookconnector.com/
Book Ideas http://www.bookideas.com/
Booklist Magazine http://www.ala.org/booklist/submit.html
Book Review Club http://www.bookreviewclub.com/
Curled Up With A Good Book http://www.curledup.com/
Erv's Book Reviews http://ervsbookreviews.com/ervsfreebookreviews
Escape To Romance http://www.escapetoromance.com/reviews/
Huntress' Book Reviews http://www.huntressreviews.com/
International Gay & Lesbian Review http://www.usc.edu/isd/archives/oneigla/onepress/
Kirkus Reviews http://www.kirkusreviews.com/kirkusreviews/index.jsp
Know Better http://www.knowbetter.com/
Linear Reflections http://www.linearreflections.com/
The Literary Times http://www.tlt.com/
London Review of Books http://www.lrb.co.uk/
Los Angeles Times http://www.latimes.com/
The McQuark Review of e-books for Kids http://www.mcquark.com/
Midwest Book Review http://www.midwestbookreview.com/
Mostly Fiction http://www.mostlyfiction.com/
The Mystery Reader http://www.themysteryreader.com/
The New York Review of Books http://www.nybooks.com/
The New York Times Book Review http://www.nytimes.com/pages/books/index.html
Notes In The Margin http://www.notesinthemargin.org/index.html
PIF Magazine http://www.pifmagazine.com/
Publishers Weekly http://www.publishersweekly.com/index.asp)
Three months before publication Rain Taxi http://www.raintaxi.com/
Rebecca's Reads http://www.rebeccasreads.com/
Rio Reviewers http://www.rio-reviewers.com/
Road to Romance http://www.roadtoromance.dhs.org/
Romance and Friends http://www.romanceandfriends.com/
Romantic Times Magazine http://www.romantictimes.com/
Shades of Romance Magazine http://www.sormag.com/index.html
Sime-Gen http://www.simegen.com/reviews
Spiritual Bookstore http://www.spiritualbookstore.com/
Subversion http://www.booksquare.com/subversion/
Want A Book Reviewed? http://www.suite101.com/myhome.cfm/sarawebbquest
The Washington Post http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/style/books/
Word Museum http://www.wordmuseum.com/
Word Thunder http://www.wordthunder.com/

===== BUSINESS AND ECOMONIC BOOK REVIEWS
Brint Institute http://books.brint.com/
Business Nation http://www.businessnation.com/bookreviews/pages/
Digital Women http://www.digital-women.com/bookreview/
Telecom Business Books http://www.telecombookshelf.com/business-general.html

===== BOOK LISTING SITES
AuthorZone http://www.authorzone.com/
BitBooks http://www.bitbooks.com/
eBook Jungle http://ebookjungle.com/index.html
Once Written http://www.oncewritten.com/
Reviewers Choice http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ReviewersChoice
Substance Books http://www.substancebooks.com/
Wild East Links Machine http://forum.hkwriterscircle.com/pages/

===== MISCELLANEOUS
· Allreaders.com http://www.allreaders.com/
· Am I a HACK or NOT? http://www.jjjwebdevelopment.com/306sites/hackornot/

===== WEBSITES AND NEWSLETTERS
If you're selling anything, you should have a website. If you're selling ebooks, you should consider it mandatory. How many people do you know who read ebooks but don't use the Internet? None come to my mind. The best thing about having a website is that you can do it free. Later, once you know what you're doing, you can buy a domain name and pay a hosting service if you want. You can pay someone to design a gorgeous site for you, loaded with graphics, complete with a secure server and the option to buy right there, but I didn't. My publisher does the selling. Writing a site yourself, loaded with information and a place to click to send someone to your publisher, is simple. Planning should take longer than actual execution. A bit like writing a novel. "Hi, I'm Michael LaRocca and these are my books." This approach will guarantee that anyone looking for Michael LaRocca will find my site. But when we consider that no one's heard of Michael LaRocca, how many people will seek out my site? Unsolicited "Buy my book!" messages don't work. They just piss people off. Plus, they're rude. Spam doesn't sell books. Trustworthy recommendations do. As the author, talking to a total stranger who didn't ask you to start a conversation, you can't make trustworthy recommendations. So don't even try. Here's a possible solution. Let's say you've written a book where most of the action happens on a snowmobile. Put together the best damn snowmobile website in history. Everything that anyone wants to know about snowmobiles should be on your site. Make it the kind of resource that any snowmobiler will visit again and again. Then slip a little note in there mentioning your book. People will find your site, and during one of those repeat visits they'll buy your book. Basically, fill a need. Give folks a reason to keep coming back even if they think they'll never buy your book. Being helpful is my "sales gimmick," but I just so happen to enjoy it. People don't log onto the Internet with the purpose of spending money. They log on for information or entertainment. Give them that and they'll keep coming back. If you throw in just a little soft sell, and do it right, they'll eventually make that impulse buy as a favor to you. Hopefully after they read one of your books, you'll hook them and they'll come back specifically to buy the rest. As an example, why are you reading this right this minute? To buy a book? No. To read my free advice. My site is genuinely useful. You want to bookmark it and come back. I know you do. At some point, you're supposed to think "What a nice man. Let me plop down a mere $5 and buy one of his novels." Maybe you won't do that. Maybe if I were you, I wouldn't do it either. But, I'd probably read the free samples. They're at http://www.chinarice.org/michaellarocca.html. But I bet I can sell more novels this way than by screaming "Buy me!" at the top of my lungs. And I teach in China without a microphone. I've got strong lungs. I'm not your friend because you don't know me. However, I hope you think of me as a "trusted advisor," which is the next best thing.

===== SEARCH ENGINES
When you search, how many hits do you look at before you give up and change your search terms or your search engine? That's why you want to be in the top ten or twenty slots. Start by studying everything at http://www.selfpromotion.com/ Next, visit Search Engine Watch at http://www.searchenginewatch.com/ and subscribe to the free monthly newsletter. Useful, timely advice. When a search engine spiders your site, part of your score is based on incoming links and outgoing links. Incoming links from sites with a similar theme to yours are especially valuable. So naturally you'll be asking some webmasters to exchange links. But first you have to find them. For that, I use a free program called Web Ferret. I type in a keyword and it scours several search engines looking for matches. I picked up my copy at http://www.ferretsoft.com/. Nope, none of these places told me to endorse them or even knows that I do. I just happen to find them useful.
About The Author
Michael LaRocca Who Moved My Rice? http://www.chinarice.org/ You can't eat grits with chopsticks

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Michèle Roberts and Elliot Perlman guide to write a novel

The novelist Kingsley Amis once said, "The art of writing is the art of applying the seat of one's trousers to the seat of one's chair." Writing a novel may indeed be 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration but we're here to provide you with a little guidance nonetheless. You can read all of the article here


Resource link : http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/arts/features/howtowrite/novel.shtml >>Read more...

My apologize for Stella Duffy

I feel really sorry for what I have done, please forgive. I post this comment to apologize to Stella Duffy who I had brought her articles without permission. If you have come by this blog again Stella, I feel ashamed and I want to say sorry. I promise that will never happen again.

With Respect
Poom >>Read more...