Taming the Book Proposal

In truth, that’s a lie. Every author has the option of self-publishing. However, there are advantages to writing a book proposal instead of a whole book.

One advantage is that it usually takes less time than writing a whole book. Two, it creates the possibility of getting paid to write your book, perhaps just a few thousand dollars, perhaps tens or even hundreds of thousands. Three, it forces you to get clear about what you’re doing with your book, on a number of levels.


Even if you want to self-publish, a book proposal serves as a sort of business plan for your book. The time and energy spent on research, evaluation and comparison of your ideas at the outset pays off down the line many times over. After all, wouldn’t you rather find out now that someone else has said similar things more eloquently and have a chance to amend your manuscript, than publish the darn thing only to read terrible—or worse—no reviews?


The process of polishing your book proposal is also an exercise in discipline and focus. It brings the purpose of your book, its scope, depth and message into sharp relief. It will get your thinking muscles into the best shape ever to produce the most marketable book of which you are capable. However, you must dedicate the necessary time and energy to educate yourself, move through multiple drafts and polish this behemoth of a document to perfection, or else hire someone who knows how to do just that.


Here are some answers to questions you may be asking right now:


What is a book proposal?


A book proposal is a document intended to sell a publishing staff on publishing a particular nonfiction book. It is the way most nonfiction books get published by major publishers. It reads very much like a business plan about the book proposed. It can be anywhere from 10-100 double-spaced, 12-point 8 1/2 X 11 pages—most are 20-60 pages, including sample chapters. It generally uses a very specific format and specialized language to make its case.


What does the book proposal do?


It answers a series of typical questions that different departments of book publishing companies need answered when deciding which tiny handful of proposals, out of hundreds, to take a chance on. It acts on you and your book’s behalf to answer questions like, Why this book over all the others in its class? Why now? Why this author?


Who sees my book proposal first, an agent or a publisher?


It depends on whether you choose to have an agent represent you, or go directly to publishers. Many publishers will not accept unpatented material, so make sure you check a given publisher’s guidelines first.


What does the book proposal contain?


Generally, a book proposal contains a cover sheet, table of contents, along with the following sections: overview, author bio, author’s marketing plan, market analysis of buyers, comparative and/or competing books, outline, and sample chapters.


The overview contains a hook, or means of enticement, draws the editor in, and gives a general summary of the book’s purpose. It’s sort of like an article about the book. It should make you want to read the whole thing!


The author bio puts any and all of your experience related to writing the book, in its best light. It’s different from a resume or CV. It looks a lot like the “about the author” blurbs you see in the back of published books, below the author’s photo.


The author’s marketing plan, or “what the author will do to promote the book,” shows the publisher that you know what it takes to sell your book, and details how you plan to do it. These days, ironically, publishers don’t put much money into publicity, unless you’re already famous. An author with a well-thought-out marketing plan will stand out from most of the others who pay far less attention to this section, thinking instead that the publisher will take care of it.


The complementary and competing books section identifies and describes books that both directly compete with and also that complement the proposed book. The purpose of this section is to show the editors what has been done before, and how your book fits in. The reason for this section is twofold: One, many editors are too busy to keep up-to-the-minute records of what’s being done in every field, and so rely on the author to educate them about what else is out there. Two, just as many editors know exactly what’s out there, and want to know how your work purports to compare.


There’s a paradox here: On the one hand, you want to point to X, Y and Z books as evidence that this topic you’re writing on is really hot. On the other hand, you want to make a strong case that yet another book—namely yours—is still necessary, and why. So you have to point out strongly yet tactfully—you never know what relationship the person reading your proposal bears to your competition— what yours will do that others haven’t.


The market analysis makes the case for the size of the book's audience. It usually covers a broad view of current interests and buying patterns in the larger culture that bode favorably for the book. It may include recent movies, documentaries on television, and facts about memberships in organizations or clubs, social or ethnic groups whose constituents would be likely buyers of the book. For example, a book with an exercise theme might cite the circulation of major fitness magazines, membership in health clubs or recent TV shows on related topics. This approach can be adapted to whatever the subject: parenting, cancer, gardening, dogs, mental illness, business, or entrepreneurship.


The chapter outline tells chapter by chapter what your book contains, and the sample chapters, usually about 30 pages worth, represent the best samples of your writing.


Why are so many book proposals rejected?


Most book proposals are rejected because the ideas presented in them fail to convince the publisher that the author has a worthwhile (read: marketable) project. Making a project appealing to a publisher is a specialized skill, very different from creating the project itself.


In my experience, authors, whether of fiction or nonfiction are by nature creative people. If you’re reading this, chances are at some point in your life, you became enamored of an idea or ideas, and felt the urge to move your thoughts into the world in book form. Your mind is alive. You have something to say.


A successful book proposal, on the other hand, is a specialized marketing document that follows a particular form, and answers very specific questions in a way that gets a “Yes!” from publishers. Unless your field is marketing, and in particular, the marketing of books to publishers, chances are you don’t have expertise in creating a book proposal. And why should you? It’s nowhere near as much fun for most authors as working and playing with their own ideas.


The majority of my clients who give me book proposals to review, even those who have read books I’ve recommended and claim to have followed them, give me proposals almost certainly slated for rejection. An excellent book proposal is a tough document for most authors to produce on their own. However, help abounds!


If you are determined to write your book proposal on your own, can really, truly follow directions, and have the patience it takes to polish your work with dozens or hundreds of revisions, I recommend Michael Larsen’s book, How to Write a Book Proposal, and Jeff Herman’s Write the Perfect Book Proposal. Read them, study them, write your proposal, rewrite it several dozen times (no, I’m not joking) and have it professionally reviewed by someone who really knows what they are doing. Polish it to perfection—in this business, in which 99% of all proposals will get rejected, good enough simply isn’t.


Then, if you want an agent, make sure you find one with a successful track record of selling work like yours, otherwise your polished proposal may gleam, twinkle and shimmer for unappreciative and unqualified eyes. Unless the agent has specified otherwise, query them first via a one- to one-and-a-half page letter. For the query, read and study John Wood’s How to Write Attention-Grabbing Query and Cover Letters. Then have at it. Spend at least three weeks on this query letter, and get feedback from at least three people, at least one of whom truly knows the field.

About the Author:

hi i am sunita i live in chandigarh

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/publishing-articles/taming-the-book-proposal-358121.html

Author: Sunita Kaushal

From Idea to Published Book ... How to Self-publish the Easy Way!

I've been involved in publishing for over a decade now as an author, editor, and project manager; however, it wasn't until just a few years ago that I decided to move into self-publishing. Indeed, my first few projects involved consulting for others and, now, I am involved in my own, personal projects. It has taken a while for me to come back around to my own works, but in the process I learned how to minimize time and expenses in producing a book and getting it to market.

This short article will not try to explain every aspect of book publishing in detail, but it will brush on a few of the important topics. I have a few other book projects in the making that will detail the book self-publishing process; however, in the mean time, this should give you a good basis of understanding.


--- The Idea ---


The most difficult part of creating your manuscript is deciding on the topic. We all have ideas. It's part of our being. Ideas pop in and out of our heads all day long; however, we usually dismiss many of them as useless or too simple to be of use. You would be surprised at how many people want "simple" and easy-to-understand information! Readers want books that teach, inform, and entertain.


When you sit down and really think about all you've learned throughout your life, you'll be amazed at how much you really know! Your life experiences alone could fill a library! Even if you feel that you don't have any knowledge that would be of interest to anyone, you can start small. Research a market that interests you, find your competition, learn all that you can about a specific subject, and then write about it. Your ideas are important, as your knowledge and point-of-view are unique and of interest to others.


--- Planning the Product ---


I always suggest keeping your book concise and informative. This provides a small footprint, yet it also allows your readers to purchase your book at a reasonable price. Keep it around 100 pages, which, once in book format, equals about 50, two-sided pages.


The core content of the manuscript consists of a title page, copyright, table of contents, figure and table references, acknowledgements, forwards, content, appendices, index, and back page. This list is the basic minimum requirements to support the information necessary to present your book and its content. Of course, you can add other items such as a glossary and a preface, but such inclusions are at your discretion.


It is best to produce your book in the standard 5.5" by 8.5" format in both print and PDF. I always suggest PDF to my publishing clients because it is one of the few cross-platform (i.e., Mac, PC, PDA, and UNIX-based machines) document distribution products available today and it is the most popular.


--- The Manuscript ---


Once you've focused on an idea, you'll have to create an outline or table of contents to define the content. The best way I've found to do this is to break the idea down into blocks of contiguous information --- similar to assembling a pyramid. Step through your idea and ensure that you are building from, for example, the most general information to the most specific information. Check the outline several times, and have a friend review it, to ensure that gaps are filled in appropriately.


You can actually over-rewrite your work to the point of frustration and burn-out. Ensure that you've planned and researched appropriately to provide a solid foundation. In this way you can develop a first draft and then perform substantive and grammar edits. Then, perform a technical edit and a second draft. Once the second draft is complete, move into a final copy edit then, once you produce galleys or a sample version of the finished book, perform a proof read. Don't rework any of the core steps of document development, but ensure that each step is completed with quality in mind. This ensures a solid product in a short amount of time. If you would like to update or add to the information in your first release, provide a follow-up revision.


--- ISBN and Copyright ---


Once you've started your manuscript, order your group of ISBNs. You can sign up for your ISBNs at http://www.isbn.org for about $240 for 10 ISBNs. However, additional fees can be imposed based on express orders. This is why I say, order the ISBNs while you're writing the manuscript so that you can afford to wait the 10 days for standard, free, delivery.


You will have to convert your ISBN numbers to EAN barcodes to apply to the back page of your book. The barcode must consist of the ISBN you assigned to the book as well as the coded pricing of the book. You can have a vendor generate the barcodes for between $3 (http://www.toupin.com/serv_writing.asp) and $20 per barcode or you can download and use the Barcode Maker (http://hem.passagen.se/sams/barcode.htm) to generate your own barcodes. For the price, it will pay for itself in just a few ISBNs for your books.


Once you have assigned one of your ISBNs to a book, you can register it in Books In Print (http://www.booksinprint.com/bip/). This is how booksellers are able to access your information and sell your book through their outlets. Additionally, you'll want to register your manuscript-in-progress with the Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication (http://cip.loc.gov/cip/ecipp14.html). This registers your book for access by libraries and government archives. You will be e-mailed the "CIP data" to be printed on the copyright page following the heading "Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data".


To protect your work and ideas, copyrighting your book is a simple and inexpensive process. There are actually several different methods of protecting your work including government and commercial organizations. The primary sites are the government copyright office (http://www.copyright.gov/forms/) and WriteSafe (http://www.writesafe.com/).


--- Production ---


There are many different ways to produce your books; however, costs range from a $1,000 initial setup plus the purchase of a few hundred copies down to no setup fees and pay-as-you-go. The final choice is yours, but my direction involved a local printing company and a pay-as-you-go scheme. With this approach, reduced initial costs are reflected back to the readers and your profit potential is seen immediately.


Three places that I've experimented with to print some of my books include Kinko's (http://www.kinkos.com/), InstantPublisher (http://instantpublisher.com/pricing.htm), and Mimeo (http://www.mimeo.com/). Of course, use these for starters to experiment with your books. Eventually, you'll find the right bindery for your needs. You can locate many publishers via Google.com or AllTheWeb.com using keywords such as "online printing", "book printing", and "print on demand", but once you get some experience behind you, the choice will be much easier.


--- Marketing and Distribution ---


Once you assign and register your ISBN for your manuscript, it becomes available to the multitude of book stores around the globe including Amazon, Borders, Barnes&Noble, and various other major book sellers. Now that you have your book out there, the trick is to have people purchase the book and have book stores stock copies on their shelves.


To have the book stores purchase in quantity, you'll have to devise a solid marketing plan to their acquisitions personnel. In many cases, book stores will simply sell your book to their customers as it is requested, but if you can get them to buy in bulk, that's greater exposure and sales for you!


You can also license out the content to various professional speakers. Speakers are always looking for ways to provide quality information specific to their presentations. They might use your content in a handout, or perhaps for sale in the back of the room. Locate those speakers that fit within your audience and contact them. Find out their needs for their next presentation and work out a deal for them to resell your books. I've had many speakers use my articles in their presentations and the exposure and feedback has been overwhelming.


Of course, you should always locate affiliates to help sell your books. One way is to offer them a percentage of the gross sales or sell them copies of the books at a discount. Either way, you will have "agents" out pushing your books for you to make money for them, as well as for you.


Always provide a web site that boasts the benefits of your book. Use a book cover maker to create a book image on the web site. One quality book cover creator is called CoverFactory (http://www.ans2000.com/a2k_coverfactory.php) and provides numerous capabilities to generate professional looking covers for books, software, and services.


Free content is an important way to bring people to your site and let people know about your book. You can provide rewritten excerpts from your book as articles and submit them to various article announcement lists, press release sites, zines, and directories. I've been able to locate and associate with over 1,000 sites and lists that accept and publish my articles. This provides outstanding coverage for my sites, services, and products.


--- Sales and Returns ---


Since you are the publisher, you now have to determine how to handles sales. It's important to define how you will handle direct sales and shipping, bulk sales, and affiliates. You want to ensure that your sales go smoothly as well as provide enough of a margin so that everyone profits.


When collecting funds, it's important to accept credit cards through one of the popular merchant vendors. To minimize expenses and provide a common and secure payment mechanism, I use StormPay (http://www.stormpay.com) and PayPal (http://www.paypal.com). Since people have their likes and dislikes of online payment vendors, using both allows many different types of users to submit payments. Of course, you must always determine how to handle returns as part of a quality customer service program.


--- What's next? ---


Obviously, the information provided here is merely an overview of the entire process. However, I am working on a book that provides all of the details of producing your own book under your own imprint. Publishing provides excellent return monetarily as well as through enhanced self-esteem. There is quite a feeling that comes with getting your message out there and having people return positive feedback. Perhaps, once you self-publish a few of your own titles, you can work on publishing other authors and open a full-fledged publishing house. In this day, such a venture is not unheard of!

About the Author:

For More Free Resources visit www.onlinepublishingsite.com

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/writing-articles/from-idea-to-published-book-how-to-selfpublish-the-easy-way-359576.html

Author: annaya rana

Discount Book Clubs: Basic Facts

A book club is a commercial (usually mail order) enterprise through which selected books are sold directly to the public at a price significantly below the recommended retail price in return for a commitment to buy a particular number of books over an agreed period of time.

There are two basic types of book clubs: commitment book clubs and continuity book clubs.





Commitment book clubs feature attractive introductory offers containing several books for a symbolic price (for example 6 books for 99¢ or 4 books for 1$ each) in exchange for a commitment to buy a few more books at the regular club price within a certain timeframe; usually this means 2-4 books within a year or two. The club price incorporates a considerable discount, which can be anywhere from 30-80%, in some cases even more.





Commitment book clubs send their members a printed catalog every 3-4 weeks, along with a card which includes the title of the Featured Selection -- a book chosen by the club's editors as a must-read of the moment. Members are not bound to buy the Selection though; they can opt for a different book (or several books) instead, or decline the offer altogether, either by sending the card back or responding on the club's official web site.





Once the obligation is fulfilled, the membership can be canceled at any time. Typical representatives of commitment book clubs are Doubleday Book Club, The Literary Guild, Book-of-the-Month Club etc.





Continuity book clubs are subscription based operations in which members receive a pre-selected book or several books each month -- usually from a specific genre or a part of a series -- until the membership expires or is canceled. To prospective members a certain number of free books are often offered at the beginning to sweeten the deal or entice them to join.





Typical representatives of continuity book clubs are Harlequin (romance), Highlights (children's and educational) and Scholastic (children's and educational).





In choosing a suitable book club you should heed your preferences. Being a member of a commitment book club is, to an extent, like shopping at an online retailer. The selection is similar: you can choose from a wide range of latest bestsellers from all genres and among all the popular authors such as John Grisham, Nora Roberts, Danielle Steel, Stephen King etc. You do receive recommended reads on a regular basis, but can decline them and make your own choices. Compared to online retailers, there is an annoyance of dealing with monthly selections, but in return you save more money.





Continuity book clubs don't let you choose books yourself; instead, you will be shipped a themed book or several books each month, in tune with the specific club's offering. For example, if you're into romance books you can opt to receive romantic suspense books, historical romances, medical romances etc. These types of clubs work best for avid readers who enjoy books from a particular genre, and for people who lack the time or desire to shop for new titles on a regular basis. The shipments will often be composed of books that are not available elsewhere, so exclusivity is also part of the appeal.





Often, prospective book club members regard introductory offers such as 6 books for 99¢ with a suspicious eye; they just seem too good to be true. To an extent, they are: when shipping and handling costs are added, the deal loses some of its splendor. Nevertheless, getting five or six or seven hardcover bestsellers for $3 or $4 apiece is still a bargain that even the largest online book retailers can't come close to matching, so the question poses itself: how can book clubs afford to do it?





Several reasons. First, book clubs market the goods directly to you, the customer; by avoiding the middle man they are able to save a considerable amount. Furthermore, they cut their own deals with publishers, in order to pay smaller royalties etc. Finally, book clubs often print their own editions at at their own facilities, which lowers the production costs further.





These book club editions are identical to regular editions in terms of content and artwork: same words, same covers. However, they can be altered in size or printed on less expensive paper to achieve additional savings. They may also have a "book club edition" mark on the inside flap. Such editions are generally considered to have a lower resale value. If this represents a concern for you, note that all book clubs offer some sort of guarantee on their products and services. Continuity book clubs will usually send you a couple of free books to evaluate and decide whether or not you want to continue the relationship. Commitment book clubs will ship you the entire introductory offer (up to 8 books, which you can opt to pay for later) and give you 20 days to decide whether you want to keep them. In other words, you are not required to spend a single cent before you have a chance to check the merchandise and make sure it's up to your standards.

About the Author:

The author owns and maintains a web site dedicated to leading US book clubs.

More info on some of the most popular clubs can be found here:

• Black Expressions Book Club



• BOMC2 Book Club

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/literature--articles/discount-book-clubs-basic-facts-403258.html

Author: Franjo Tarandek

African American Authors: Promote and Sell Your Self-Published Black Book

Self-publishing is the hottest trend in books, as it provides creative thinkers turned authors with a fast and easy way to get their work on the market. With the added option of "print on demand", and desktop publishing and design software, the initial cost to get your book out can be very minimal.

Self-publishing is also the most profitable since you get to keep all the profits for yourself. IF you are committed to the work it is going to take to sell your books that is.



One of the most difficult challenges a self-published author faces is getting their book into the hands of people that will appreciate it enough to pay their hard earned money. I recall reading an article on the self-publishing industry that reported the average number of self-published books sold per author is about 100 copies!



With that horrifying number in mind, you need to roll up your sleeves and prepare to launch a focused marketing and promotion program that will have you doing at least 3 things per day every day for the next 6 months to promote your book. Remember, no one can dream your dream but you, and ultimately, you are the only one responsible for the success or failure of your book.



Start by arming yourself with as much knowledge on the subject as possible. Check out these books and websites on marketing and promoting for self-published authors:



THE SELF-PUBLISHING MANUAL by Dan Poynter is I think hands down, the best promotional book and guide to successful self-publishing for a first time author. It is easy to read and understand, and organized in a fashion that make it a valuable reference as you go through the writing and publishing process.



GUERILLA MARKETING FOR WRITERS by Jay Conrad Levinson is another easy to follow guide with more than 100 ideas for marketing and promoting your book. There are like a zillion Guerilla Marketing books covering a wide range of markets.



THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO SELF-PUBLISHING by Tom & Marilyn Ross guides authors through the entire self-publishing process from writing the first word to wildly creative ways to market the finished product.



1001 WAYS TO MARKET YOUR BOOK by John Kremer is top notch. John Kremer is a legend in the book marketing field. But there are SO many ideas presented this 3" thick book that I found it to be somewhat overwhelming. His websites are much easier to go through for people that are A.D.D. like me!



Leveraging the power and global reach of the Internet is the next step you must take.



Every author needs a web page. Do you have one set up for your book or books yet? This site will serve as the foundation of your marketing campaign and is a step you cannot afford to skip. Your website will be used as a vehicle to promote both yourself and your work 24 hours per day. It will also display or link to book reviews, to provide the media and press with an avenue for contacting you for interviews, and will of course help you sell your product.



Your website does not have to be fancy and expensive. As a matter of fact, it is better if it's rather non-dynamic. You want the key focus to be on your book and YOU, not your fancy FLASH intro.



After that, you need to get your book reviewed. There are mainstream book reviewers, and there are many niche market reviewers as well. Check out John Kremer's list of newspaper reviewers at BookMarket.Com.



Authors of Black books have many options available.



When seeking reviews, be prepared to send out a copy of your book along with a headshot photograph, author contact information, and information on where your book can be purchased. This is when you would mention your wonderful new website! Here is a list of Black book reviewers and sites:



QBR The Black Book Review

QBR is a reliable source for what is current in Black books. QBR also produces the Harlem Book Fair, the largest African American book Fair nationally, held annually in New York City.



Felicia Pride's Black Books Blog - More Than Words

Felicia reviews and blogs about Black books on AOL's Black Voices channel.



African American Literature Book Club (AALBC)

The largest site on the web focusing on Black books.



The RawSistaz

This group of ladies provides casual reviews of a wide variety of books, all written by African American authors.



Let's Talk Honestly with George Cook

George provides free interviews with Black authors which are posted as pod casts each week on this popular website.



The Black Issues Book Review

This the only nationally distributed magazine devoted exclusively to covering the latest news and reviews on black books.



Now you have a published book and a couple of great reviews. It's time to contact Black bookstores in your area. Go visit them with your book in hand, introduce yourself, and ask if they will either carry your book or allow you to have a book signing in their store.



Book retailers usually receive a rather large discount from the cover price (as much as 60%). Since each independent retailer has its own sales agreement and terms, all I can tell you is to be sure to read each carefully.



Make sure the terms regarding book returns, payment dates, and merchandise delivery are spelled out clearly and to your satisfaction before signing on the dotted line.



Writing, researching and editing your book is certainly a lot of hard work, but that is just the beginning. All that work pales in comparison to the long hours and the effort you must put into getting your name out there and your book noticed every single day until you reach your sales and financial goals.



I cannot describe with words the deep sense of satisfaction one gets when you open up a package from your publisher and find the first copy of a real book that has your name on it. And selling thousands of those books is certain validation that what you have to say has value and is important to others.



Get busy making it happen!

About the Author:

Deborrah is a relationships expert and self-published author of the hilarious guide to modern dating entitled: "Sucka Free Love - How to Avoid Dating The Dumb, The Deceitful, The Dastardly, The Dysfunctional & The Deranged." Order your copy today at http://www.suckafreelove.com

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/self-publishing-articles/african-american-authors-promote-and-sell-your-selfpublished-black-book-416740.html

Author: Deborrah Cooper

Book Marketing Tips

You want to write a book – a very exciting and challenging undertaking. Good for you. You have a great book idea – an idea that you believe needs to be in print. You believe that other people have an interest in what you have to say. You believe that many people will buy your book, and if you do the job of writing correctly, many people WILL buy your book.

It is your dream to have your book in every bookstore in the country, perhaps even in several countries. But wait, have you planned beyond bookstore sales? Many authors are unaware that there are many markets for books beyond the bookstores. The bookstores may be your first market, but there are many other “hidden” markets, and here are some key book marketing tips to help you tap into those markets.





Let’s begin with the job of writing the book. When you put “pen to paper”, it is important that you focus on one audience but write for many markets. Let’s begin by identifying why you are writing a book. Some people merely want to be a published author, giving them claim to a copyright and their name on a book. That is satisfaction enough. They don’t care about the financial return or the development of writing or publishing as a career. Other people just want to write a family history and sell it to their extended family. Some people are interested only in selling to the attendees of their seminars. Many others, however, want to sell thousands of books in as many markets as possible. Decide at the beginning of the writing process why you are writing so that you can determine whether or not you are creating a business venture.





Once you have established your reason for writing, move on to what you are writing about. Don’t try to be all things to all people or the encyclopedic source of all information on a subject. Choose an area of a subject with which you are very familiar and develop your topic well so that you don’t overwhelm or bore your readers. For instance, if you are writing a cookbook, don’t try to be The Joy of Cooking – that’s already been done. Instead, write about a category of recipes, such as heritage recipes, or recipes of a region or culture, or recipes from famous restaurants, etc. Your goal is to make your book different, and better, than other cookbooks.





Having now decided on the why and the what, focus on the who, meaning who will buy your book. You believe that many people will be interested in your book, but let’s define “many”. Do you mean all of the people in your interest group, your church or your workplace, or do you mean everyone? A word of caution, though - there is NO book that is for everyone. Sure, everyone may need your book but not everyone will want it. If your book is a healthy lifestyle cookbook, everyone might need it, but only people who actually want to be healthy will buy it. Do some research on who those people are and where they are likely to actually buy your book. Understand their demographics: age group, income level, shopping habits, activities, etc. Now write for them. What information are your target readers looking for? Is their a gap in the information about a subject that is very familiar to you or in which you have the credentials to fill the gap? Make sure that your book solves a problem or problems for the reader, or make sure that your book will increase the well being of the reader. Avoid falling into the trap of writing to make yourself feel better – you are not the one who will buy your book. Or if you are, you are the only buyer that you will have!





The why, what and who now being defined, you can turn your attention to the where you can sell your book. Because there are many markets for books, decide early in the writing process just what those markets are and write to sell your book in those markets.





It is likely that the first market that will come to mind is traditional book stores, and of course they can be a vital part of your sales. Do your research in getting to know your competition on the book store shelves, i.e., look at the other books that have been written in your genre. What writing style is most appealing to a wide audience? Is there a gap in the information provided in the other books? Are there problems that have not been addressed? Find the needs and fill them. When you are satisfied with the information that you are providing, think about what will attract the book store buyers. They will want to know about your planned publicity campaign. If you want people to buy your book in book stores, you are responsible for letting people know that your book is available, thereby driving buyers to the stores.





Besides book stores, books are purchased in the nontraditional book market by display retailers, book clubs, catalogs, gift retailers, volume buyers (think Costco and Price Club), corporations, foundations and foreign markets. These markets are considered “hidden” because they exist outside the usual bookstore market, yet they account for many millions of dollars each year in book sales. In fact, we sell thousands of books to buyers like these every year (for more about our Book Marketing tips and secrets click here: Book Marketing Tips). These markets, however, do not buy any and every book. They are looking for books that appeal to their customers.





For instance, if you are writing a book about spiritual experiences, think about which of those markets will likely buy your book. Will you approach book clubs? If yes, which book clubs – those that specialize in spiritual books only, or those that market to the general public? Will you approach the gift market or catalogs? Each market evaluates its purchases for its own clientele. Book clubs that target the religious book reader have a greater interest in spiritual books than do general interest book clubs. Volume buyers, catalogs and gift buyers (unless they target a religious market), display retailers and corporations will very seldom buy a spiritual book. Foreign markets, however, are often very interested.





Even if your book is written for the general book trade, you can still think of corporations that might be able to use your book as a promotional item. Make a list of corporations that could be interested in your book and make sure that your writing supports their products or philosophy, and that what you are writing about will solve some problems for the corporate clients. For instance, one cookbook was targeted at busy people who want to follow a healthy lifestyle. It became a bestseller very quickly in the traditional book trade, but sales exploded when it was sold to pharmaceutical companies who used the book as support information for clients who needed to achieve a healthy weight. The book also sold successfully in foreign markets, to catalogs, as fund raisers and to shopping malls as a customer reward.





The point is: you need to know how to slant your writing for your markets. You can sometimes get around the road blocks by giving your book the look and feel of a gift book rather than one that is a “serious read”. Don’t give your book the look and feel of a thesis. Many volume buyers are looking for broad interest books that people buy on impulse as gifts. This approach to writing increases your market tremendously, so if you want to appeal to a very large audience, approach your subject from a much “lighter” angle.





However, if you are a professional speaker who knows that you have a very good chance of selling your book to your seminar attendees, and perhaps to the corporations who hire you, writing for a very broad market is not necessary. You are not even trying to sell to the impulse buyer. Your buyer is already looking for a source of expertise such as yours.





If you are planning to sell your book primarily from a website to a specific type of buyer, someone who is searching the internet for answers to a concern or problem, you can be as specific as you like. The general public, again in this instance, is not your market – you already have enough buyers to make you very successful.





So, before you begin the writing process, make an outline of your book. Then, look at your list of potential buyers. Have you filled their needs? If not, can you add information or chapters to your book that will increase the likelihood of sales to those buyers? If you want to sell thousands of books, think about the end user of your book and write for them, not for yourself. That is the ultimate book marketing tip. See you on the bestseller list!





© Copyright 2004 Ink Tree Ltd.

About the Author:

Ink Tree Ltd.

http://www.inktreemarketing.com

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/self-publishing-articles/book-marketing-tips-427630.html

Author: Joni Pypers

Summer Fantasy Book Reading For Teens and Young Adults

Some Classics

A Wrinkle in Time - (Newberry Medal Winner) This is simply a beautiful book that has blazed a trail in modern children's fantasy by putting forward a story of several children embarking on a grand adventure; In this case to rescue their father. There is some fascinating and thoughtful stuff in this book like living stars and tesseracts. It is a perennial favorite and on every librarian's list.

A Wizard of Earthsea - Written by Ursula K. Leguin this is the first book in a series called The EarthSea series. Short and light but extraordinarily beautiful. This first book in the series follows a young boy named Ged as he goes from being a simple goat herd to a powerful wizard. It is simply beautiful and it brings forth some wonderful and magical themes such as the concept that everything (including dragons) has a secret name. And if you know the secret name you can control the thing (including dragons).

The Hobbit - This probably shouldn't be on this list but it is so good that I can't leave it off. With the absolute enormous success of the Lord of the Rings movies this book may be overlooked but I consider it better! It is also in the works to be a movie.

Five Children and it - This is one of the most popular books written by Edith Nesbit who is often credited with creating the whole genre of children embarking on fantasy adventures. Her books are in the public domain now and can easily be found for free. The theme of this book is: Be careful what you ask for. You may get it! That's the message in this delightful tale of five youngsters who discover a bizarre sand creature that grants wishes. There's a catch, of course: the wishes come undone at sunset, and worse yet, things often get out of hand!

Dragonflight - This book is a little more complex than earlier ones I have cited here and it tends toward being more of a novel for grownups but it very suitable for teens. We are introduced to a complex world of dragons through the main character Lessa. This book is often credited with being the book that has launched many a young girls writing career. It is the first book in a trilogy of books called The Dragon riders of Pern series.

A Princess of Mars: - The first novel in the Edgar Rice Burroughs series and currently in the initial stages of being written into a movie or animation that will be made by Pixar. This is the first book in a series called John Carter of Mars and it is good rollicking fun in the tradition of the old pulp magazines. It is a favorite for young boys who like sword fighting big monsters.

Contemporary fantasy and fiction

When it comes to modern fantasy fiction for teens there is an enormous selection to choose from and that, in itself, could be an obstacle. Here are summaries of some of the more popular ones and I have also picked some that are currently slated to be made into a movie.

Artemis Fowl Series - This series of books takes a little bit of an unusual position as far as children's books go because Artemis Fowl himself is a twelve year old genius and a criminal mastermind. The author of these books calls them Die Hard with Fairies! And the books are often characterized as being a high-octane and rip-roaring ride. It is a wildly popular series of books with a big website and even a wiki. There are currently five books in the series with the first being simply titled Artemis Fowl. The sixth book "The Time Paradox" is set to be released in July of 2008.

Here, there be Dragons - The title itself is rather mysterious and harkens back to another time. This was the phrase that cartographers used to write in patches of ocean that were unexplored. The basic premise of this story will really resonate with teens that are fans of fantasy itself because it starts with the unusual meeting of three young strangers John, Jack, and Charles on a rainy night in London. We later find out these three young men are J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and Charles Williams.

The Kingdoms and the Elves of the Reaches - This is a series of books that takes place in a world of magic and secrets called Ruin Mist. This book was slow to start but word of mouth turned it into a best seller. It is one of those relatively little known books and series that is very satisfying.

Septimus Heap - If magic and wizards are of strong appeal this series of books make a great alternative to Harry Potter. The Main character (Septimus) is the seventh son of a seventh son and the main line of the story follows two children switched at birth: a boy destined to be a wizard and a girl destined to be a princess. There are currently four books in the series and the first book has been picked up by Warner Brothers and is currently being made into a movie that is scheduled for release in 2010.

Any of these books or series will launch teens and young adults on a remarkable adventure into strange fantasy worlds and no joystick or keyboard is required.

For More Great Fantasy Book stuff visit the authors site: The Fantasy Guide
For more insights and articles about epic fantasy visit his site at: epic-fantasy.com

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

By Will Kalif

Questions Book

Everyone has asked his or her partner or spouse questions at one time or another. We all naturally want to know things about the ones that we love. We need to know their likes, dislikes, and main preferences in order to establish an effective relationship with them. But what about the deeper, darker details? Have you ever considered that the answers you get from certain questions can either be the difference between separation and staying together?

The eBook titled "1000 Questions For Couples" can help you determine things about your partner that you may have otherwise never discovered without having read this book. This powerful tool will help you determine who your partner really is underneath it all.

Did you know that most divorces would not happen if individuals knew exactly what questions to ask their spouses? There are certain questions that you both need to know if you expect to have an enduring and long-lasting relationship. This book covers questions that can also help you determine if the potential mate that you are seeking is a right fit for you.

You wouldn't want to marry an ax murderer would you? How about someone who used to sell drugs on the streets? Say for instance you are the type who likes to stay home and tend to the kids, and your potential mate likes to go out and party with his friends all of the time, do you think this union will last? Probably not.

There are certain things that we do not think about before we decide to marry our spouse. All we consider are the obvious things, like what they do for a living, how much money they make, and their favorite restaurants and local hangouts. What about what their long-term goals are? People always need to know what their mate's life goals are. You cannot marry someone who has plans to move to Rome.

There can be no harmonious union if your potential mate is planning to move away to go to college in another state, either. These are things that you need to address. But, there are literally a lot of questions to ask your mate.

Initially, when we meet someone who strikes our fancy, we tend to only ask questions that are of a more obvious nature. We may want to know where they went to school, what town they grew up in, how many siblings they have, where they went to college, what kind of car they drive, and where they work - and that about sums it up.

As people, we are composed of many significant details and personality quirks, perfections, and imperfections.

There needs to be questions for couples if we expect our relationships to be successful. The eBook 1000 Questions For Couples covers every topic that you will ever need from family, to children, to religion and communication - and more. Any possible question you can imagine and many more are described in a much easier and beneficial way in this eBook.

What is better than a long-lasting enduring relationship? How would you feel if the only thing you needed in order to repair your broken marriage was just a few questions to ask your spouse in order to help you come to a solution for your problems? It may very well be that you and your partner might need better communication with one another, and that your relationship is not over.

Find out more about relationships by visiting 100QuestionsBeforeMarriage.com. Blog where 1000 questions for couples can be found. Note: the above article was written by one of our guest authors

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

By Dionis Fernandez

A Guide to Book Printing Service

Book printing usually needs the right skills so that the book produced meets the standards set. With the new technology that is always coming up, there are more books being published. These books are mostly published en masse. Before the book printer was introduced in the 19th century, book printing and publishing was a very slow process that made books available only to the elite in society. Nowadays publishing is not a reserve of the rich but even the ordinary person can involve in it as long as the standards are met. There is no limit on the number of copies that you can produce because the population is always on the increase unlike in the past. Every home needs to have access to books.

There are many book printing services that are carried out. Some of them include the following- Book printing and binding - Book printing is the process where more than one copy of a book is printed. The copies made have the similar content and look same. On the other hand book binding is attaching of the pages of a book together so that one document is made. There are many types of binding and the method you will choose will be determined on the strength you want your final product to have. Make sure that the material you use for binding is strong enough so that the pages of the book remain intact for a long time. This will save you money and time so that you do not waste buying another book or even binding it again.

Spiral binding - For this type of binding, the publisher will use a spiral -like wire to join the book pages. This is one of the most commonly used methods of binding books nowadays. It also happens to be the cheapest. The book printing cost is much lower when it comes to spiral binding and will save a lot of money.

Booklet binding (saddle stitching) - It is a method that is generally applied to small booklets that has fewer pages. An example of this type of binding is the note books and diaries, whereby the binding is done with stitches using an appropriate thread such that the pages cannot pluck out quite easily.

Hard cover book binding - Hard cover is a very good idea because it keeps the pages clean and they do not easily come off. Make sure that you maintain the books well so that they can last for long. Keep them away from moisture to avoid any damage to them. The other form of binding is foil blocking.

Thomas Goodlet, an internet marketer has come up with an exclusive book printing service which caters to the fast paced and growing needs of printing high quality books, booklets and newsletters. For more information visit the website http://www.book-printing-for-less.com

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

By Thomas Goodlett

What is Book Publishing?

Book Publication is the preparation and issuing of print material in order to distribute for reading to the public. To print your own book would be rather an tedious process however it depends on how your book will be received. The first thing is your family name should never be used in the publishing front. People who publish their own books will mostly get discounts, promotion money and also build long lasting relationships with online sellers of books

Book publication however is time consuming and quite expensive for publishers who have little or no idea in book publication. Contrary if you publish your own book will give you contentment and feeling of achievement in your work. It will also show how hardworking you are and the apth to succeed in the world of publishing.

If you want to publish a first class book, you have the task of producing a book for different people. You need to look for help from various professionals from the book industry. Book printing and publishing is a lucrative business to gain a lot of profit if you have a clear mind to what makes people feel attracted to ideas. Your book should be attractive; both the content and the outlook. For instance, you need some appealing colors on the cover of the book that you are about to publish; although the color of the book depends on the color of the paper and the theme of the book. In the cover you can use three to four different colors. Usually, colors make the cost of the book a bit more expensive compared to the one which is plain.

We have four characteristic of books you need to be familiar with as you arrange the cost comparison. One important issue you need to consider is the size and width. Printed books are classified into standards sizes, to which are economical in printing of several hundreds of copies.

About paper weight, type and color is also a very important characteristic. When the paper weight is high the quality becomes good this is how the paper is system is classified. Some companies use the recycle papers for printing, as we know this are light papers and its quality is very low compare to the one which is heavy. However, the cost of book production is definitely low.

Thomas Goodlet, an internet marketer has come up with an exclusive book printing service which caters to the fast paced and growing needs of printing high quality books, booklets and newsletters. For more information visit the website http://www.book-printing-for-less.com

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

By Thomas Goodlett

Book Review - Tucker's Tale, by Christopher Walsh

I love dog books, but I love charity dog books even more.

Author Christopher Walsh and illustrator Vanda Lavar have combined their talents to work on a children´s picture book based on the true story of a rescue dog and how he finally finds happiness in a caring home. All proceeds from the book will be donated to dog rescues across the country.

Tucker´s Tale: The Story of a Rescue Dog is narrated from the point of view of Tucker, a Cocker Spaniel who at first is quite unhappy living with a mean lady who keeps him in a cellar and hardly ever brings him food.

"Tucker stretched out in his crate. He shivered to the chilly Fall morning in the dampness of the cellar. The Woman upstairs moved around before dawn but didn´t bring him his breakfast. He was very hungry this morning. I hope she didn't forget my breakfast, he thought. She forgot many times before."

Fortunately, Tucker is discovered by a rescuer and, after staying temporarily in several homes, he finally finds the warm, loving home he´s always wanted.

Tucker´s tale is sad, but it is also uplifting, and will touch the hearts of children and adults alike. You better have a handkerchief at hand when you finish reading this book! My eleven-year old daughter read it and was engrossed by the story and artwork. The illustrations are lovely, almost ethereal, and deftly capture the essence and the angelic quality of these very special dogs. Simply put, it is a tale that will go straight to your heart.

The book also offers an important message to young minds, one about the love we should have for helpless animals, as well as what people who run dog rescues do in order to find homeless dogs a permanent, kind home.

This is Walsh´s first book. You can read more about the author and what you can do to help dog rescues on his website.

Vanda Lavar specializes in animal art and supports many animal rescue causes. Her clientele include many prestigious organizations, such as The Bradford Exchange.

If you or your child love dog books, and if you would like to do something to benefit dog rescues, I advice you to get a copy of this touching, heart-warming book.

Mayra Calvani is an author and book reviewer. http://www.MayrasSecretBookcase.blogspot.com Visit her new fun blog, http://www.petsandauthors.blogspot.com

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

By Mayra Calvani

Book Review - After Midnight by Patrick Cunningham

A Dark, Twisted Journey Through Terror and Death, Volume One

Recently I had the opportunity to review a draft copy of "After Midnight," and it was a scary experience, to say the least. Not because of the author's writing, which is more a stream of consciousness narrative than anything else; but because of the nightmarish visions of blood, gore and death that the reader must endure while following him on a guided tour of hell. Welcome to the bowels of evil. Welcome to the world of Irish writer, Patrick Cunningham.

"When the forces of darkness awaken-when the fate of the world is at stake-who will be brave enough to stand and fight for the powers of good and the whole of humanity?" This is Cunningham's challenge to the reader and the premise of the story. Fight for the powers of good and protect humanity from the forces of evil? That's a pretty tall order, and the answer to that question will surprise you. As it turns out, action figures like Superman and Wonder Woman need not apply. The fate of our world rests in the hands of four, twenty-somethings named Ben, Rodger, Jackie and Sarah. Two hip couples named Ben, Rodger, Jackie and Sarah step in to save our world from destruction? Whoa! Who are these people and what do they have going for them? As it turns out, quite a lot. For one thing, they are clever, quick witted, strong and incredibly courageous. And for another, as Cunningham puts it, "The girls kick ass just as good as the guys." Well, no big surprise there. This is the twenty first century isn't it?

So much for the cast of good guys. Who are the bad guys? It depends on where in the book you are reading of course, but in no particular order you will run into hostile extra terrestrials, ghosts in a haunted house, a chain saw wielding madman, a legion of murderous scare crows on a deserted island, a super secret Army test gone amok, and a gaggle of female vampires. One of the latter, a toothsome young woman named Stephanie falls in love with Ben and takes the extraordinary step of invading his girl friend's body from time to time to have her way with him.

So what is "After Midnight" really all about? Is it just about blood and gore, or does it serve some higher purpose? In a recent interview, Cunningham said, "The book is a series of short stories centered on the four main characters. I don't give any real descriptions of the characters so the reader can use their own imagination and make believe that they are that character. I just set up the stories to trigger your imagination and take you on a roller coaster ride into madness and mayhem." So there you have it. "Imagination" is the key to this book. Those who have it and like to use it will find it a good read. Those who don't probably won't. Meanwhile, Patrick Cunningham who lives in Ireland, a country surrounded by myth and legend, is hard at work on Volume Two of "After Midnight." I wish him luck on that project, as well as success with Volume One.

Title: After Midnight
Author: Patrick Cunningham
Publisher: AuthorHouse UK Ltd.
Publisher Address: 50 Avebury Blvd., Central Milton Keynes, MK9 2BE
Publisher Phone Number and URL: 080019744150,
ISBN, Price, Publication Date: 978-1-4343-7925-2, $17.98, 2008
Reviewed by: Ron Standerfer for Reader Views (December/2008)

Ron Standerfer is a freelance writer and photographer who is a frequent contributor to Ezine Articles as well as numerous other online news sites. His latest novel, The Eagle's Last Flight chronicles the life of an Air Force fighter pilot during the Cold War and Vietnam years. Details of his book can be found at http://www.theeagleslastflight.com

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

By Ronald Standerfer

Pitch Your Book to a Publisher Or Agent in a Query Letter By Douglas Clegg

If you're an aspiring writer the game of getting published seems hard. No one really tells you what to do, and as games go, the publishing game seems mysterious from the outside. Agents and editors both are busy, and to get your book or story across, you need to capture their attention quickly so they'll take a second look and want to read your finished book or partial.

You can improve your chances in having your book -- or books -- seriously considered by a publisher or an agent by creating a winning query letter.

This is my current tip for aspiring novelists that I hope will help you cut through the confusing clutter of advice about pitching your novel -- whether in a query letter to an agent or an editor, or if you actually get to meet an editor and sit face-to-face at a convention or other gathering.

I know how rough it can be, particularly when starting out. Believe in yourself, in what you write, and keep learning the craft.

The DO NOTS:

1. Do not go on and on in your query. No matter how wonderful you are, and no matter how fascinating it is to you to describe hundreds of pages of your novel in loving detail -- it's boring. Accept it and move on.

It's the reading of the book that needs to be engaging and engrossing, and the only way an agent or editor may get to that is if your synopsis in your query letter is engaging, too.

2. Do not suck up. Seriously. No kissing of the derriere will sell your novel to any editor or agent, even if it works with your boss.

On the other hand, don't insult 'em either, obviously.

Be direct, respectful, and as brief as you possibly can (but make sure you get across the gist of what's great in your novel.)

All right, here goes.

This was part of a letter I sent to an aspiring novelist who asked about the query. It includes two "off the top of my head" synopses of novels of mine put in the form that I believe it is good to think about.

Do not imitate what I've written. Get the SPIRIT of it.

Your book has got to sell itself. The best you can do is pitch it, and step out of the way so your novel can work its magic on the editor or agent.

Having said that you absolutely need to make your story come alive in a few sentences. I can't do that for you, but you can.

HERE'S THE DEEP DARK SECRET OF PITCHING YOUR NOVEL:

Imagine you have less than a minute to tell your friend about a great movie you just saw, or a terrific book you just read. In fact, pick one that you loved.

Describe it quickly, on paper. I bet you can do this in under a minute. If you can't, then practice, practice, practice.

Find out what is unique and compelling in your book and put that into a few sentences.

Work on it.

Cut, shape, and take ten minutes afterward to make sure these sentences work.

The premise of your novel needs to be strong enough to be summed up quickly -- otherwise, it stands a chance of sounding like a muddle or a series of abstractions that can't find anything concrete to rest upon.

Plus this synopsis has to be interesting. And brief.

If you really want this book to sell, you have to be tough on this kind of stuff and make the leap to professionalism.

It's simpler than you suspect.

If your novel has a strong premise, and you understand this premise (as you should -- you had to believe in it enough to write an entire novel, right?) whittle those words down to three to six sentences that are compelling and at least tell what's most important about the story:

Think in terms of the big picture.

EXAMPLE ONE

Here's an example for my novel Bad Karma, written under my pen name Andrew Harper:

"A beautiful, murderous patient of a psych hospital for the criminally insane is obsessed with the psych tech who cares for her. When he and his family vacation on Catalina Island off the coast of California, she goes on a rampage and escapes to hunt them down -- because she believes that he is the reincarnation of a lover from her past life -- Jack the Ripper. This is a fast-paced thriller dealing with reincarnation, human madness, and murder -- set at both a psych hospital as well as on Catalina Island, with flashbacks to 19th century London with the Jack the Ripper scenes."

THREE SENTENCES. Admittedly, two of 'em are a bit long. But not all that long.

And you know what? When I look at those few sentences now, they're not perfect -- I know that. But they convey the story briefly, and if an editor or agent isn't interested in seeing the book, they'll know in under a minute and can move on with their lives.

And so can I.

By the way, that book sold in under 10 days to a NY publisher, and was later picked up for the movies (admittedly, it was made into a very bad movie, but the check was good and the popcorn tasted great.) I later sold two sequels, as well.

EXAMPLE TWO

Another for my recent novel, The Priest of Blood:

"In this tale of swords, sorcery, and vampires, a boy grows to manhood in a brutal medieval world. Rising in his station through his talent as a falconer, he falls in love with the baron's daughter -- but when their love is found out, he is forcibly conscripted into the Crusades. There, despairing of life, he seeks death -- and finds his destiny as a messiah of vampires in the bloody embrace of a female vampire called Pythia.

Filled with ancient buried kingdoms, battles against the Saracens, as well as a quest for a legendary Priest of Blood who will bring power to this falconer, this is the first book of a proposed dark fantasy trilogy called The Vampyricon."

FOUR SENTENCES. I bet you're so smart, you could whittle these down further, couldn't you? You're smart, I know! You get a gold star for smarts.

Bear in mind, I'm a novelist, not a short-order copy writer.

I don't expect to have written deathless prose in the query. But, as you can see, this gets the gist of the story across.

I did not sell this query, by the way, because I wrote the novel before selling it and already had an agent. I'm not trying to present this as "Only THIS will sell in a query letter."

I want to give you a sense of how simple this is -- but keep the secret to yourself!

Just kidding.

Truth is -- what piques the interest of an editor or agent is what will pique MANY readers' interest, too. Editor and agents are looking for...wait for it: what people will want to read, as well as what they believe they might want to read, per the taste of the editor or agent.

It's their business, and they know what they're looking for and sometimes are surprised by what they didn't think they were looking for.

I can't spend my life second-guessing them, and neither can you. All I know is what fascinates ME -- and I've learned how to convey that fairly quickly and simply. But it takes a bit of practice. Nobody says you can't practice first.

BUT you can learn to get your story or plot premise down in a brief synopsis and get on with your next novel while you wait to hear back.

And you thought I was going to tell you how to write the entire query letter for a novel?

Nope, but there are books for that. I can't tell all my secrets at once!

However, my QUICK TIP!

Just write a regular letter as you would to anyone at a company where you wanted to:

(a) not waste their valuable time on unimportant things and

(b) get a job.

This involves being respectful, not whining, demanding, threatening, or appearing pitiful. It also involves self-respect, if that wasn't apparent from my previous sentence. Double-check your spelling and look for grammatical errors.

I make errors all the time, and it's oh-so-easy to go back and revise before sending the query off. Admittedly, I leave typos in these notes just so I can hear from those among you who love pointing out errors to people.

Here's a basic query letter for a novel:

"Dear _____,

My name is _____________, and I've written a novel of _______ words that fits most comfortably in the genre of ____________. It's called ___________, and I would very much like to send it to you for possible publication/representation.

____________ is a story of...(and here's where you write that 3-5 sentence synopsis that includes the basic premise, a brief highlight or two, with the idea that you're telling the story to a buddy as if you just saw a really great movie.)

I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

YOU"

I know some might argue that this wouldn't work for literary novels, but I don't know: if you want to believe that, feel free. Life is short, and in the long run, you can do what you want.

Thus, endeth my lens for the day. Please link to this, and let your writing friends and writing groups know about it. Heck, argue over what I've written here -- but if it works for you, I'm glad I could help.

If it doesn't help you, go forth and find something that does. Disagreeing with me will get you nowhere, but finding out what you need to do will get you everywhere.

Please check back -- now and then, I'll add more tips and suggestions from the writing trade.

Copyright 2006, 2009 Douglas Clegg.

Come by my website to find out about my books and get instant V.I.P. access to free ebooks, screensavers & more. Check out any upcoming special events, too:

http://www.DouglasClegg.com

If you subscribe to my free newsletter at DouglasClegg.com, you'll get all kinds of treats throughout the year, too

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

By Douglas Clegg

Book Writing Help - 5 Common Mistakes Writers Make and What to Do About Them

Do you sometimes feel like a book is just too large of a product to ever finish? Does it seem like a very monumental task to get a novel written to completion? If you're looking for book writing help, I've put together a list of five common mistakes that many beginning writers make.

1. Procrastination is probably the most common problem writers have. A lot of people like to think of themselves as writers and even tell other people that they are planning to write a book, but yet when they sit down at the computer they end up checking e-mail and surfing websites and getting nothing at all done on their novel. They will also find themselves reading many how-to books about writing instead of actually sitting down and getting to work on their book.

2. Failure to write an outline. For some reason a lot of people are scared of the word "outline" and so they avoid it altogether. This is a mistake because what will happen usually is you will began writing Chapter 1 and go along swimmingly until about Chapter 9 or 10 when you realize you've totally painted yourself into a corner. At that point you realize that if you had had an outline you would have avoided a crucial mistake. What it usually leads to is having to do a lot of rewriting. It is at this point that a lot of people just give up. So don't look at an outline as something scary but rather as a helpful tool to help you avoid these costly errors. You don't even have to make it an official outline but rather just a couple of paragraphs more like a summary just so you know where you're going. Treated it like a road map.

3. Too much research. Oftentimes people think that they must become an absolute expert on their subject before they can write one word. But what happens is you get bogged down doing a lot of research and you never get your story written. So the best thing to do is just go ahead and write your novel and don't stop too much to do a lot of research. Rather, when you come to a part that you are not sure about and know you need to do some research, just put any old thing in there and stick a Post-it on that page or some other marker to let you know that you need to go back when you're done and do the research.

4. Getting bored halfway through. Here is a major pitfall so be sure to avoid it. About halfway through your project just about everybody goes through this and what happens is you just simply get bored. You start thinking about new projects you could start and think maybe you'll abandon this one for a while and work on something new. Don't do it. Carry on with your novel and get it written.

5. Being a perfectionist. This is another very common problem. Try to ignore your critical subconscious voice which will always tell you whatever you do is not perfect. Allow yourself to just write your book any old way and you can always go back later and fix everything.

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Learn how you can get your first novel started and finished easily with this step by step guide

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By Anabelle J Paisley

Reverse Phone Book Look Up - The Phone Directory For Reverse Search

With a reverse phone book look up system, anybody is able to search a person by means of the phone number in the phone book. You look up the phone number on the look up system, and you would be able to trace and track down the individual who owns it.

These systems are built and provided for the people by telecommunication companies in order to keep track of their clients and find people by phone number. They have a database that contains a person's contact information. It is highly useful when you want to find a long lost friend, a family member, relative, classmates, officemates, or someone who probably has a new address. Phone companies have made these systems possible in order for people to be able to gain access to these opportunities.

Nuisance Calls

Getting prank calls and unknown callers all the time is very frustrating and makes individuals going through this ordeal feel exhausted. Fearing you have a stalker and having not much of a sleep because of the unending ringing of the phone, you'd rather opt for hanging up the phone but it would also means risking another incoming call. If you also opt for storing it in your voice box mail, it would definitely end up accumulating your inbox. These kinds of prank and unnecessary calls are a nuisance and you can get the ball rolling in putting a stop to this.

Stopping Nuisance Calls

Nowadays, telecommunication systems have provided people around the world with access to their lookup system. It's easy and accessible making it more convenient for people to avail. These kinds of systems provide certain information for individuals who are in need of such. That way, they can be able to track down the individual who they're looking for. With the necessary information needed such as the phone number itself, the system would then work its own process and provide personal information on where the individual is residing. They can perform a background search and be able to find the address, allowing individuals and proper authorities to track down the individual who has been harassing and making unnecessary and unwanted phone calls.

One must also take in consideration and bear in mind that the right kind of system should be sought after to. There are certain systems that would just put you in a haystack of mess. Rather than trying to find the means in getting out of trouble by searching for answers, you would just end up being in another one.

With the reverse phone book look up, it allows you to be able to gain back control of your privacy and put an end to the unnerving prank calls.

Run your instant reverse phone number look up at the most popular lookup service now to trace that phone number to its owner

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By Roger Phillips

All Quiet on the Western Front - A Book Review

All Quiet on the Western Front is a book written by Erich Maria Remarkque. It was a book written to reflect the human cost of war. It shows us how war has a hidden face that most people do not see until it is too late. In the novel, he describes a group of young men who at first think war is glorious. But as the war drags on, the group discovers how war is not all it is set out to be. As the war went on, they saw their friends either die or be permanently wounded. Then the end comes when there was only one person left.

All Quiet on the Western Front takes place in Germany where a group of young boys are first encouraged to join the military. Thinking that it would be a great adventure, they enlisted, not knowing the fate that lies before them. At first, the group is sent to training. They aren't in a serious mood, thinking that war conditions aren't as bad as they really are. When the boys are sent to the front, it is only then when they start to realize how war is not great. This is when the boys are cramped into the trenches. Some of the soldiers were shell-shocked because of the constant bombardment. When one of the boys was wounded, he was taken to a hospital where there were many wounded soldiers. Some soldiers had to have parts of their bodies amputated in order to survive. When Kemmerich was in the hospital, Müller ask for his pair of boots. The boots was a visible reminder to the boys of the cost of war. Paul then has to face his own conscience when he kills one of the Frenchmen. He doesn't see the face of an enemy but just a face of another human being. He tries to comfort himself by promising to help the fallen soldier's family. After Paul is relieved from the front line, he decides to go on leave and return home. But when he tries to tell everyone of the horrible conditions of the trenches, everybody either laughs him off or calls him a coward. Paul returns before his leave actually ended, wishing that he had never come home. In the end, when Paul loses Kat, Paul realizes that the war has destroy his way of life. He has lost all his friends and has nothing to return to.

There were many symbols and images in All Quiet on the Western Front. Examples of this include the pair of boots and the constant urge for companionship. The pair of boots and the fact that it was passed around so often tells us that death was a very common occurrence during the war and that the soldiers wanted to use everything then could find in order to aid their chances of survival. The urge for companionship is shown when the group crosses the river to see the French girls and when the group sees the picture of the girl while having a drink. As the boys start being killed in the war, the group wished that everything could that they could be back home doing things they enjoy. The pictures serve as a reminder that war disrupts everything, from people's lives and their dreams and ambitions.

The major theme of the novel All Quiet on the Western Front is that war must be avoided at all cost because of the severe consequences that will arise. War causes people to lose friends, makes people worried and creates a feeling of uncertainty among innocent people. War also creates hatred among people. For example, two friends of different nationalities may become bitter enemies only because their respective countries are at war.

I think the novel All Quiet on the Western Front is a well told story, mixing both fiction and non-fiction into a powerful novel which forces people to think deeply about war and all of its possible repercussions. The book makes me think of all the lost talent that was lost during the war. Even though levels of technology increases exponentially, we have to wonder what the people who died in the war could have done to help the human cause. The novel also tells us that friendship always prevails even though tough times. I would recommend this book to anyone who thinks that war can be short and glorious. Through this book, any reader can see that war brings unnecessary death to innocent people (soldiers and civilians). After reading the book, the reader will probably have a different outlook on war and all the low points that it brings.

Through this book, we, as human beings, should find attempt to find solutions through discussion and compromise instead of warfare. Countries in war may feel that they are gaining a lot through wars but what they fail to see is the losses they have suffered. In many cases, the gain is negligible when it is compared to the losses.

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By Michael Cooper

How to Write a Book Summary That Sells

A good book summary is targeted directly at the reader and it is important to remember that the reader wants to know only one thing - what is the book about. Not paying attention to this most important element can spell disaster. Here is an example of a summary that is sure to fail:

"I spent a year writing this book and I know you will love it. It's exciting, filled with action and well written. It's the story of a girl and boy who fall in love under dire circumstances. First they have a hard time meeting, then they hate each other, and then they fall in love. I know you will enjoy reading my book."

Here's why this summary is doomed to fail. Telling a reader what he or she will think is a major blunder and insults the reader's intelligence. The summary is boring, self serving and most importantly indicates that the book is probably just as bad. It even tells us how it ends, which will make the reader put the book back on the shelf and walk away. As well, this summary talks "at" the potential buyers instead of giving them what they demand - a craving to buy the book!

It is no easy task for a writer to condense an entire book into one or two paragraphs. There are always multiple characters, events, settings and an abundance of personalities, good and bad. But it must be done, and done well.

So how do we write a block-buster summary? First we must decide what information is essential to the story. Just like journalists we start with - who, what, where, when and why. Too many characters and events in a summary can confuse and bog a reader down. It is far wiser to concentrate on one main character and then add the problem he or she must face. For the purposes of this article, we will suppose our story takes place in 1912 Kentucky, our main character is Sam Smooth, age 34, he is a locksmith and he wants a wife. The beginning of our summary then looks like this:

"In 1912 Kentucky, Sam Smooth, a Locksmith who was pushing 35 years old wanted a wife. There were women in town, but some were too tall, some too slim, some too wide, and some who just weren't that attractive."

This summary begins well, but needs improvement. The description of the available women is boring, so let's add a few details and spruce it up a little:

"Mary Fields would do if she weren't so tall, Clare Woods might even be pretty if she had all her teeth and Sarah Clink needed more broadcloth to cover her figure than any woman he'd ever seen."

It says the same thing, but it's far more interesting to read. Next we need to add more about the adversity every main character must overcome. Perhaps the story includes a murder.

"Yet finding a wife wasn't his only problem. Old man Sheppard got himself murdered and the Sheriff kept coming around asking questions."

So now we have explained the adversity but even so, the reader may not be compelled to buy. We have to add a hook. A hook is a question that will make the reader want to know how it turns out.

"Maybe Sam had thought about killing the old man, but who hadn't? And now that he was dead, who was that beautiful woman moving into the Sheppard mansion?

At this point, we have made Sam into a possible suspect, we've tantalized the reader into wondering who the real killer is and we've introduced a mystery woman. These are two questions we hope the reader will be compelled to find the answer to. Power words are adjectives that add color and make the work more interesting. Sometimes it is worth adding a couple of power words to complete the process

"In 1912 Kentucky, Sam Smooth, a Locksmith who was pushing 35 years old wanted a wife. Mary Fields would do if she weren't so tall, Clare Woods might even be pretty if she had all her teeth and Sarah Clink, but she needed more broadcloth to cover her figure than any woman he'd ever seen."

Yet finding a wife wasn't his only problem. Old man Sheppard got himself murdered and the nosey Sheriff kept coming around asking questions. Maybe Sam had thought about killing that callous old man, but who hadn't? And now that he was dead, who was that beautiful woman moving into the Sheppard mansion?"

The formula for writing a summary that sells is worth following: Keep it simple and short, concentrate on just one character, spruce up the descriptions, add the adversity, improve with power words and finish with a hook.

By Marti Talbott Author of Settle Quake, 9.2 Read the first chapter at http://www.firstchapterproject.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Marti_Talbott

By Marti Talbott

What Authors Can Learn From Book Reviews

I anxiously awaited the publication and posting of reviews for my new book following its release and was quite pleased that the initial seven or eight were highly complimentary. I was basking in glory! Three years of research and three years of writing were required to produce the 320-page novel and I was very proud of the end result.

Imagine my shock when a few negative reviews appeared on literary and book club websites. While you can't expect everyone to love your book, I was nevertheless surprised that several were downright mean and nasty, which contrasted so drastically with the first batch of reviews. After my anger and indignation subsided, I decided that my best course of action would be to analyze all reviews for whatever useful information might be gleaned from them.

Given my long experience as a business executive, I appreciate the value of market data and understand that its correct interpretation be can applied as an effective management tool. Successful publishers employ such tools in the decision-making process and astute authors can manage their book promotion activities by similar means. Perhaps you're wondering why the author's continuing involvement in book promotion is so important? The answer is simple. Regardless of the size or prominence of the publishing house, when the author stops promoting, the book stops selling.

Book promotion takes place in a fast-paced, highly competitive world and authors, as primary book promoters, must react quickly to significant new market data, including book reviews. This is particularly important for novels, as those of lesser-known novelists compete directly with those of well-known novelists, making it imperative that the promotional effort of the lesser-known novelist is targeted on the most receptive market niche.

What specifically did I learn from both favorable and unfavorable reviews?

The most common criticism was about the dialogue. To some, it was "dry and stilted." To others (the better educated, more sophisticated reviewers in my completely biased opinion), it "sustains an atmosphere that clearly places the story in a different era, giving the novel an unusual feeling of authenticity." Further, Craig A. Warren, Assistant Professor of English & Professional Writing, School of Humanities & Social Sciences, Penn State Erie wrote "The now-stilted language of the nineteenth century is reproduced in the novel with care; to his credit, Jones does not follow Michael Shaara in updating the verbiage of the war's participants." So I don't feel too bad about the dialogue complaints.

Several negative reviews cited the lack of "character development." Frankly, I refrained from indulging in frivolous character development because most of the characters were real people. I respect these historical personages and refuse to risk mischaracterization of them or expand their actions beyond what is actually known, or can be reasonably assumed. Fortunately, I knew much about them from extensive research, so I was able to weave into the storyline a number of interesting anecdotes and their own written recollections of what happened. My overall goal was to portray the characters and events strictly in accordance with existing evidence or, at the very least, insure that there was no evidence to the contrary.

I also learned that my novel is a "fact-laden" historical fiction that doesn't appeal to fans (mainly women) of bodice-ripping historical romances. Conversely, even though my novel is historically accurate, I found that hardcore history buffs (mainly men) only appreciate non-fiction. It's indisputable that these two market niches occupy opposite ends of the American Civil War reader spectrum.

I concluded that the largest potential market for my book exists somewhere in the middle, a wide niche comprised of men and women who, without preconceptions, might enjoy reading a carefully researched fictional story, written with authentic period details, and based on real people and events. Realignment of all promotional activities toward this mother lode of potential readers became my immediate priority, as time and effort expended on other niches would certainly provide a reduced return on investment.

What advice can I give to other authors?

Don't waste your time by getting angry or indignant over a few not-so-great book reviews. Learn from the reviews and focus all of your efforts on the market niche with the highest sales potential. You have a book to promote and only you can do it. Be proactive and keep on promoting.

David H. Jones, the author of "Two Brothers: One North, One South," has been a lifelong student of the American Civil War. To learn more about his historical research and interesting activities, please visit his website at http://www.davidhjones.net

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By David H Jones

Book Review - "The Idiots Guide to Cool Teen Jobs" by Susan Ireland

I just finished reading "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Cool Jobs for Teens" by Susan Ireland. As the CEO of a teen job site, I have read almost every book published about the topic of teen jobs. This book is better than most but still not great. As part of the "Idiot Guides" the book is written in a straight forward and simple manner, which I like. My problem with the book is that there is a lot of fluff and a lot of filler. Almost half the book is devoted to describing the top 50 professions. I found this section to have little to no value and to me was put in there to fill 75 pages. Everyone knows what a cashier is or what a lifeguard is, we certainly do not need to pay $12.95 to find out.

There are some good parts to the book as well. I really like the section that deals with finding out which job is best according to your likes and dislikes and personalities. This is very useful for any job seeker and this is magnified when you are talking about teens. I also like the fact that the author devotes an entire chapter to discussing jobs that help care for people and for animals. I believe that working with those that are in need and animals are great ways for teens to gain experience in the workplace and I was glad to see that the author agrees with my philosophy on that.

I do disagree with her highlighting the labor related jobs. It is my belief that teens should be very careful with those types of jobs because the risk of injury is so high.

In closing, I would recommend the book, there is some goof information, I would check it out at the library of buy a used copy if you can.

Dan Keller is the CEO of the popular Teen Jobs and Summer Employment website

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By Dan Keller

What Exactly IS a Bonnet Book?

Some of the most productive American farmers happen to be those who belong to the Old Order Amish and Mennonites or more infamously known as "Plain People." While these people have been using horse-drawn power for centuries now, they also live a family-centered way of life which provides fascination to many readers and authors alike.

The traditions and heritage of these people go back to hundreds of years and still their living patters remain the same as that of their forefathers. Their way of life is such that the topmost and only priorities in their lives comprise of their farms, families and God.

The Amish people are very devout and firm believers of the Scriptures. Other than the fact that they do not use electricity, telephones or many of the other worldly things that we take for granted, they also do not dress like the rest of us. The women and young girls of the Old Order Amish women dress very modestly in dresses which are made of solid-colored fabric. The dresses are made up of a full skirt which is nothing above knee level and also have long sleeves. Often they also cover themselves with an apron or a cape. Characteristic of all Amish women is their long hair which is worn in a bun along with the bonnet.

The bonnet has become such a famous symbol of Amish womanhood that even books written on the Amish are known as "bonnet books." With the increasing amount of fascination and hype surrounding the Amish and their plain ways of living, books written about the Amish are not fitted into a newfound genre of their own.

One such top best -selling author who has found herself fascinated and increasingly drawn to the Amish and their simple ways of living and have helped feed people's interest in the Amish is Bethany Lewis. Her bonnet books comprise of a variety of cultural aspects of the Amish ranging from their plain ways of living, to the "shunning" that many members of the community as a result of their waywardness. Other aspects of the Amish which Bethany Lewis has so interestingly and realistically brought out in her bonnet books include those relating to the "rumspringa," which is the courting period for Amish teens.

Bonnet books can easily provide you with real-life experiences and plenty of interesting insight into the Amish. Get yourself a bonnet book today!

Founded in 1997, Bizymoms is one of the largest online resources for work-at-home and other everyday "mom" issues. Bizymoms offers many useful resources for moms, such as career kits, support articles, and now information on new books by popular authors. Visit our new site to learn more about Beverly Lewis and the Amish Community - the foundation of her best-selling novels!

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By Susan Hutson