In a post today ( in BBC News ), discusses the government of India’s strong interest in returning to the expansion levels of yesteryear. With a former growth rate of around nine percent annually, India’s latest growth rate has been around 6.5%+ recently. Actually, 6.5% looks great compared to many countries around the world for [...]
Write a book as an emotional connection…whether fiction or nonfiction. An author who “connects” with readers will sell books. In order to “connect” with readers, readers have to know an author exists through creative promotional techniques. These three comments seem obvious to an author writing a book, but it’s amazing how many an author will [...]
Congratulations on Securing an Media Appearance…Now What? An author has followed media booking protocol and has secured an appearance on a radio or TV talk show – congratulations! Just securing a slot on a radio or TV show indicates an author is on the right track. Now what? How does an author prepare for the [...]
From Lists to Introductions Gaining appearances on radio and TV talk shows follow an unspoken protocol between the author, show producer and talk show host (plus all supporting staff to these three individuals). Writing a book and making media appearances still follows the same step-by-step procedures created in the 90s when I began working within [...]
Introduction First comes the book, and then comes the show. Learning how to write a book alone is a step-by-step process. You can successfully publish a quality, desirable book following a project timeline, but when it comes to publicity…whoa! The world of publicity is like the “Wild West” of publishing (and this is how an [...]
Create an Online Media Kit the Media Will Love Creating appealing material on an author website makes book publicity easier because an author can direct everyone to a URL from anywhere in the world. An online media kit is similar to a print media kit, with the difference being that an online media kit is [...]
How to write a book article series to this point has been about bringing a book to life – quality writing, quality visuals on the back cover and front cover, and professional editing. Now comes the big day: An author holding their own book for the first time. The first time I ripped open the [...]
Book covers and professional editing expose an author as the debutante at the book ball. Aspiring authors I coach on how to write a book often overlook the critical nature of their book covers and professional editing. A book cover is an author’s billboard to the world, while professional editing showcases the interior architecture of [...]
No doubt you have seen books in all shapes, sizes, page counts, number of words per page…the list can go on and on. I have even seen a book that is blank (no words except the copyright page), with a nice front and back cover, that sold many thousands of copies. This “blank book” is [...]
Getting Organized for Forward Momentum Preparing a rough outline with section and chapter heads was my last post toward helping you write a book. Today, we’ll cover writing a book by organizing your materials in one comprehensive location. Necessary materials include: a) three-ring binder with interior pocket, writing instrument and ample supply of three-hole paper [...]
Last week, I opened with choosing a specific topic for a book. It’s important to passionate about the topic/genre you choose because there will be many hours of research, writing and marketing involved with your topic choice…be happy and passionate from the beginning. On the last step on how to write a book later this [...]
Writing a book can be overwhelming, especially for a first-time author. In the past 10 years, I have written two books in sequel. Over the next three weeks, I will outline preliminary steps to writing a publishable print book or Ebook, followed by proven marketing strategies and tactics. My definition of a print book is [...]
As the importance of creating and maintaining an Internet presence increases, so too must business writing that builds business relationships. Although creating copy easily indexed by search engines is important for driving visitors to a business website, alone it does little to form a business relationship. Rather than writing generic business copy for a company [...]
Changes in the world are not limited to quickly evolving technology. Many people communicate today by exchanging e-mail or texting messages. What impact do these forms of business letters have on our interpersonal skills today and how do they change our relationships? The increase in text messaging has increased in recent years. It’s quick, hip [...]
When needing to make a decision and no decision is made…a decision has been made – to put it off! Delaying a decision often increases the risk of someone or something else making the decision. When you are the decision maker of a company or executive team and not making the decision…you are not doing [...]
Are you trying to gain an audience with a key decision maker? Rumor is that senior executives don’t search online, don’t spend time in social media and don’t do their own research about companies, products or services. According to a 2010 Forbes study of 354 senior-level executives, 75 percent of these individuals do their own [...]
Effective business letter writing skills is still one of the most difficult competencies for young employees to master. Here are tips that can help… Write like a journalist Good journalists are experts at getting their message across so the skills they display give a great skeleton to use as a guide to your writing. Here [...]
E-mail is quick, alive and well – no doubt. Businesspeople see voluminous amounts of e-mail daily. E-mail recipients routinely tune out all messages but the ones from known acquaintances. With this e-mail “filter” in mind, how do you reach decision makers? Professional and unique business letters delivered via postal mail. I systematically mail small, business-like [...]
When it comes to measuring the value of a small business, many growing small business owners apply a one-size-fits-all strategy. Small to mid-market companies don’t have the same resources or bandwidth as their Fortune 500 counterparts. Small business people talk about growth and increasing the top line, but not all small business growth is equal [...]
When it comes to entrepreneurs building an online niche community, having an outdated website will hold their business back. Results of a study by Deluxe Corporation found that more than half of entrepreneurs feel their website doesn’t meet their needs, and nearly 30 percent of the entrepreneurs said their site could use a refresh. Here [...]
Big national retail chain stores have a distinct competitive advantage over small businesses in high-traffic avenues. Reality is the big chain stores often find it difficult to get up close and personal with customers and become intimately involved with causes that are important to the local community. Sponsoring a local youth sports team, taking an [...]