A. Samad Said's Blog, page 5

The Book Club: The Thank You Economy by Gary Vaynerchuk

Source by Jennifer Daugherty

The Book Club is back again and this time it’s with a review of Gary Vaynerchuk’s The Thank You Economy. Vaynerchuk is a successful entrepreneur, best-selling author, and public speaker; he co-founded a wine retail store with a popular video blog at one time, as well as a social media consulting agency. Vaynerchuk has won a handful of awards, is a family man, and hopes to own the NY Jets someday.

The Thank You Economy was written as a follow-up to Vaynerchuk’s Crush It! Why Now is the Time to Cash in on your Passion; both books landed him on the New York Times Best Sellers list at #2.The book has 13 chapters and spans 240 pages that are broken up into five parts – Part I Welcome to the Thank You Economy, Part II How to Win, Part III The Thank You Economy in Action, Part IV Sawdust, and Part V How to Win in the Thank You Economy, the Quick Version.

I have to be honest, when I first started reading this book, it was slow and I was unimpressed. Vaynerchuk came across as a little arrogant and talked way too much about his wine business. However, as I kept reading, something clicked and I got it – I finally started to grasp the concept of the Thank You Economy. From that point on, the book was entertaining, intriguing, and brought me back to a time when companies behaved like mom and pop shops who truly cared about their customers, not just their bottom line.

The basic theme of the book is that companies, big and small, need to learn to harness the power of word of mouth and that investing in social media will help build valuable one-on-one relationships. Vaynerchuk spends a whole chapter, #3 Why Smart People Dismiss Social Media, and Why They Shouldn’t, in the book dispelling various myths businesses give for not using social media. If you need help convincing management that using social media is in the best interest of the company, then this chapter is for you.

As a customer, employee, or business owner in the Thank You Economy, it’s a win for everyone. Vaynerchuk understands how customers and employees want and need to be treated. He’s not just blowing hot air either because he’s a business owner as well and practices what he preaches. In the Thank You Economy, only the businesses with strong customer relationships and employees that are empowered to make customers feel like they matter will come out on top. In the words of Vaynerchuk, it’s innovate or die; businesses are going to have to get creative and personal in order to meet customers’ expectations. My favorite line in the book is, “work is always about giving – efficiency, entertainment, relief, free time, peace of mind, opportunity, comfort – to other people.”

Part III in the book, which encompasses five chapters, gives real-life, relevant, and relatable examples of how companies like a hotel, burger joint, and dentist are living the Thank You Economy, utilizing social media, and harnessing the power of word of mouth. He lays out in detail what the company did right and in some cases, how the company fell short and could have taken a particular marketing campaign one step further.

As I look back on my notes, there are a several bullet points that I highlighted and wanted to share them with you. Here they are in no particular order: buy a pair of shoes from Zappos and then return them just to experience their customer service; learn to play Ping-Pong between traditional marketing and social media to extend life of a marketing campaign; content is still king, but it needs to be followed up with genuine customer engagement; social media is like a marathon and meant to build long-term relationships; learn to shock and awe customers; and finally, to watch a “Will it Blend?” video on YouTube… which I did and it was highly entertaining!

Amazon reviews give The Thank You Economy 4.5 out of 5 stars and I completely agree! It’s one of the best books I have read this year and I look forward to more from Gary Vaynerchuk. Have you read the book? How many stars would you give it and why? Share your thoughts with us – we’d love to hear from you.

How to Self Publish a Book and Financially Survive

Source by William Dorich

Have you wanted to self publish a book but do not know where to start? The first step is to determine your market, then the cost, followed by the decision on what your book is worth and at what price it should be sold. Do not allow emotions to get in the way of sound judgment that will spell your financial demise.

There is a fine line between the price being high enough to keep your publisher in business but low enough to encourage sales. Remember, you can always lower the price, but raising it once there is a price printed on the cover is unthinkable.

When you self publish a book the expectation of making a ton of money is unrealistic so let me begin by dispelling the myth about "best-sellers." Such books are few and far between and Harry Potter was a once in 5-billion-book-miracle and lightning does not strike twice. How many people do you know who have won the lottery? I am certain the answer is none, but do not stop dreaming about hitting the publishing pot of gold. I am sure that most of us would have satisfied with just 10% of the Potter success.

What you need to know before you self publish a book.

In any given year there are a billion books in circulation. Once you grasp that astounding number realize that the average book published in the United States sells 5,000 copies. A quantity of 10,000 is considered a "Best-Seller." The authors at the top of the lists are movie stars and politicians, most of them did not write their own books. There is an entire ghost writing industry in the US So the competition is fierce as celebrity opens many doors to publicity, the key to any book success. What that means as a first-time author is that you need to work harder and smarter.

Key elements to consider before you self publish a book.

o Picking a Niche Topic

Writing a book on a niche topic like cooking, woodworking, sewing, flower arranging, sailing, gardening or any niche topic, you need to research Google, eBay and Amazon to see what others have written, then write your book covering the areas these authors may have omitted from their books or not have covered thoroughly. Not all niche topics are equal but it is foolhardy to try to duplicate the work of others because they were successful. Being original or covering the parts of a subject that were omitted from a successful book will always serve you well. On the Internet you can then capture the keywords used by those other authors that will help drive your own online sales.

o Self-Publishing vs. co-publishing

In the true meaning of the term 'Self-Publishing' an author, by necessity, is transformed into a business manager and publishing technician. Remember when you self publish a book the author pays all editing, design and printing costs plus distribution, advertising and marketing expenses. The printing and binding process is full of minefields. This carries the risks of simple mistakes costing thousands of dollars once they reach the printing press and need to be fixed. Or worse, errors not caught at all will mean you end up with a book with errors that degrade the quality of your book.

Once printed the author then needs to arrange distribution that turns the author into a quasi-sales person. When you self publish a book do not get thought up in thinking that you get 100% of the profit, that may sound attractive, but it can also lead to a bag of snakes.

Co-publishing is the best alternative for the author who is willing to do the same financing on his or her title, but who is willing to engage an experienced publisher willing to share his expertise for a percentage of the profit.

o Print a Small Quantity First

A number of first-time authors have come to me in recent years after spending thousands of dollars on Internet-based publishers only to discover that the "On Demand" cost per book leaves no room for profit. Many complain that the initial $ 500.00 to $ 750.00 investment quickly mushroomed with one added charge after another. Ordering one book at a time as needed is not just time consuming it is crazy-making. If you are only selling one or two books a week then this is nothing more than an ego trip, not a publishing enterprise.

One of the biggest objections of Internet publishing is that they offer limited predetermined page sizes and cover designs giving your book a cookie-cutter look. Little to no professional editing is done and no creative design takes place. In the end, you self publish a book that leads to a costly disappointment. Agents can instantly spot an online produced book.

One of the first mistakes in self publishing is producing a small quantity. If you are publishing your book for bragging rights then signing a contract for $ 500.00 with an Internet publisher will fill your need. But think about it. In order to properly promote or market a book you need to mail press releases to various magazines, newspapers and radio hosts and that can quickly consume 500 copies.

Also be prepared for the individual mailing costs of at least $ 5.00 per copy or about $ 2,500.00. No one is going to write a review based on your synopsis, a picture of the cover or your good looks. Therefore expecting a magazine review without providing a copy of your book is unrealistic. At an average On Demand printing cost of $ 10.00 pr book plus $ 2,500 in postage you have just invested $ 8,000.00 and you have not sold a single book. Oh, you can do this one book at a time but in the end you have spent the same amount of money over a longer period of time waiting that one of these contacts will click … this is a bit naive.

After 25 years of independent publishing I will not publish a title without an author prints a minimum of 1,000 copies. On the other hand, I do not encourage first-time authors to print more than 3,000 copies regardless of the unit cost savings at this higher quantity. No one needs a garage full of books if they do not sell and if the book is successful we can reprint within six weeks.

The author must seriously consider that the first 1,000 books is for test marketing and that the book will not turn a profit and will likely break-even. Therefore, self publish a book with your eyes wide open understanding the financial investment that is required and realize that there are pitfalls.

Most radio interviewers require a copy of your book in advance of booking the interview. Be grateful that they want a copy. As the author of 7 books I will tell you there is nothing so miserable as an interview in which the host does not have a clue why their producer booked you on the program or what questions they should be asking. This turns into a clumsy interview or one of the shortest on record. Either way, you as an author suffer the consequences. Remember, the interviewer is not there to sell your book they are there to create an interesting program for their audience. If you are not provocative enough the rug is quickly folded out from under you. If you are serious and you want to self publish a book then seriously invest in a coach to guide you through those first half dozen radio interviews, it will be money well spent.

A bit of advice … when you send a copy of your book to an interviewer, send a list of 5 questions you would like to be asked. You will win many friends in the media for this professional consideration. Also include a short biography. An interview that begins with an inadequate introduction leaves the audience in a fog. If you do not have a strong background tell the interviewer why you wrote the book or a funny story on how it ever got published.

Remember to self publish a book is a process like baking a cake … leave out one simple ingredient and you end up with a pancake.

Kindle Formatting Guide for Self-Publishing Writers

Source by Rob Hillman

Formatting is an important aspect of publishing your works online. You do not have editors who will structure your work for you. So, you need to know how to format your books properly so that they look great when viewed on Kindle devices. This article will teach you how to do just that.

Creating your Book

It would be best to format your book using MS Word. That's because Word offers a wide range of formatting features. If you wrote the book using a different program (eg Scrivener), you can just copy the content and paste it on Word.

Consider the following:

· Tables – Use the "Insert Table" function to add one or more tables to your book.

· Images – Make sure that the images you'll use have the .jpeg format. Use center alignment for all of your images.

· Grammar and Spelling – Proofread your work manually. Once you are satisfied with the quality of your work, analyze it using Grammarly or another grammar / spelling checker. This way, you can make sure that your e-book is free from mistakes. Do not rely on manual or automated checking alone. Combine them to get the most benefits.

· Layout – Use the default headings, characters, italics and indentations of MS Word. That's because they are likely to be compatible with the Kindle platform. Avoid unusual footers, headers and fonts since they may cause problems during the file conversion later on.

· Format – Save the content as a DOC or DOCX file.

Setting the Front Matter

The term "front matter" refers to the first few pages of your book. For example, these pages display the dedication, prologue, and title page of the book. Make sure that your book has a title page to secure a professional look.

· Title Page – Use center alignment for this page. The book's title should be at the top part of the page. The author's name, meanwhile, should be right under the title.

· Copyright Page – Put this page after the book's title page.

· Dedication – Your customized dedication should come after the Copyright one.

· Preface – This page should come after the Dedication page.

· Prologue – This page (if your book needs one) should come after the Preface.

Important Note: Insert a page break each page listed above.

Formatting the Text

After preparing the front matter, you may format the text of the book. If you typed everything on MS Word, the text should have built-in spacing, indentation and paragraph settings. You can keep the chapters "clean" by inserting a page break right after the last word of each chapter. This process can be boring and time-consuming based on the amount of chapters your book has. However, it can greatly improve the appearance of the final output.

Setting the Back Matter

This part is optional. It contains the notes, glossaries, bibliographies, and / or appendices of your book. The arrangement of the back matter depends on your preferences. Just make sure that the pages are separated by page breaks.

Uploading the eBook

After formatting the book, go to the "Bookshelf" section of your Amazon.com account and upload the file there. Enter the information that the system will require and hit "Save and Publish".

Kindle Publishing Guidelines – The Things You Should Do

Source by Rob Hillman

In this article, you’ll learn about the things Kindle publishers do before publishing their books. If you want to become a successful writer/publisher on Kindle, read this material carefully.

Navigation

The TOC (i.e. table of contents) of your book should be logical and HTML-based. This kind of TOC allows readers to jump to specific parts of the book just by clicking or tapping links. Consider it as a requirement for typical books (e.g. novels and textbooks). However, it may not be ideal if you are working on a manga or a children’s book.

Make sure that the TOC is located at the first few pages of your work. Some writers make the mistake of placing the TOC at the end of the book. By putting the table of contents at the initial section of the material, your readers will find it naturally. Also, the TOC will be included in your book’s downloadable samples.

Here are some things you need to consider:

· Never use table tags for your book’s TOC.

· Kindle books require a “clickable” TOC. A TOC made of basic text is useless in Kindle books.

· Use the TOC and Heading styles feature of MS Word (if you are using that program to write your book). Books created using the said features are ideal for Kindle conversions.

· If you will bundle two or more books, make sure that your book has an overarching table of contents page. This way, readers can jump to the specific book they want to read.

Cover Image

Always provide a cover image for your books. This image will appear on the detail page of your book on Kindle’s bookstore.

Note that the image is separate from the book file itself. In Kindle, the minimum attributes of a cover image is 2560 pixels by 1600 pixels. Images that follow this guideline look great when viewed on Kindle apps and devices.

The maximum file size of a cover image is 5 megabytes.

Consider the following:

· Never stretch a small image just to meet the required dimensions. Images edited this way often look awful.

· Do not indicate pricing or promotional offers on your cover image.

· Avoid copyright infringement issues. Many people make the mistake of using images that infringe the rights of other artists/publishers.

CSS and HTML

Here are the things you should keep in mind when dealing with the CSS and HTML aspects of your book:

· The Kindle platform is not fully compatible with JavaScript, HTML forms and HTML frames.

· Each anchor should appear before the formatting tags.

· Do not use scripting. During conversion, the Kindle system will remove programming scripts from your file.

· Never use negative values when setting your book’s margins and contents.

· File references are case- and spelling-sensitive. When referencing an external file, make sure that you are entering the right spelling and letter capitalization of the original file.

· Never use Unicode characters because they are not fully compatible with Kindle apps and devices.

· Add an external link to a Kindle eBook only if it helps your readers in using the latter.

I Wrote the Book on Cold Calling!

Source by Dr. Gary S. Goodman

“If you put enough monkeys at typewriters,” one of my consulting clients said in a seminar with me, “Sooner or later, one of them will come up with WAR & PEACE.”

He was predicting that with so many people going into telephone selling, telemarketing, lead generation, appointment setting, tele-sales, telephone solicitation, inside sales, or whatever you want to label it; at least one of them would give me a run for my money and would become a formidable competitor.

My techniques, popularized in a dozen books, including best-sellers REACH OUT & SELL SOMEONE and YOU CAN SELL ANYTHING BY TELEPHONE, would be cloned, knocked-off, and with the chance to purchase fairly decent imitations, the market would disappear for a Great Master.

Just as he finished uttering this statement, his associate said: “That’ll never happen. Gary’s light years ahead of the market and he always will be.”

Despite the rise of the phone factory, or as it is better known, the call center or contact center, I have never found anyone with my gifts. Specifically, nobody has cracked the code of persuading folks to buy by phone as I have.

Scripts are everywhere, as are the trained chimps who toothily chatter them, but they’re next to impossible to use in a way that sounds like real, spontaneous, heart-felt talk.

To this day, phone and “phony” go together, are inseparable in the minds of most recipients of calls.

This unnerving lack of authenticity led to the draconian DO NOT CALL REGISTRY, where nearly 100 million consumers opted out of being contacted. There has never, in history, been such a consumer uprising against a communication METHODOLOGY.

You would think the industry would take note and invest in more sophisticated techniques. It hasn’t.

If you compare my early books with the current state of practice, you’ll find frighteningly few people among the millions on the phones that have nearly the sophistication some of us manifested in the 1980’s.

Computers have improved, long distance rates have been reduced dramatically, and there are more MBA’s than ever in call center management, but the quality of conversations, at best, has gone sideways, not up.

Peter F. Drucker, the famous management guru and my professor, made a few remarks that are pertinent:

(1) People don’t achieve in areas that they disrespect; and

(2) You can judge the health and trajectory of an industry based on its rate of “brain formation.”

To this day, cold calling, telemarketing, outbound selling, appointment setting, lead generation, telephone soliciting, inside sales, tele-sales, or whatever you want to call it; engenders disrespect. Mention it, in a business or private setting, and most people will recoil and hiss.

And where are the other working communication theorists, who put themselves through undergrad and graduate schools in telephone sales and telemarketing management? Where are those well informed “brains?”

They’re not to be found.

I wish I weren’t light years ahead of the market.

I’d vastly prefer being right on time with the products and services grateful clients will respect and pay value for.

Free Online Publishing: Tips to Help You Get By

Source by Rob Hillman

With the rise of online publishing, everyone can become a writer and publish their works for possible profit. Many writers have reached fame and fortune through free eBook publishing mediums such as Amazon Kindle. It takes skill and the right approach to make it big in this industry. Here are some tips that will help you make the most out of free online publishing.

1. Prioritize digital publishing – When you do online publishing, you can sell your books either in print or digital format. With more people using their electronic devices for reading, it is recommended that you center your approach towards digital publishing. It costs much less than having your books printed, and you’ll have a market that is still growing in popularity. Of course, you should seize it if given the chance to have your book printed, but going digital is the way to go.

2. Put an emphasis on quality – Frankly, most of the books published online do not possess great quality. It’s probably because everyone has the power to publish online, especially if they can do it in a medium that’s free such as Kindle. One of the best ways to stand out in a highly competitive industry is to create good quality work. Write books that your potential readers will enjoy and learn from. Polish your technical skills and thought process. Get this done and you just might make it big in this industry.

3. Create definite goals when writing a book – Some people write just for the sake of writing something. That is not how the business works. You need to have a definite goal in mind when writing your book. If you are planning to make money from your book, you have to put in the extra investment to make the book work. Do research about your topic of choice, write it as well as you can, and use promotional techniques where necessary.

4. Find a niche – Before you create a book, you must think of a niche. This defines your target market and streamlines your potential content. Before settling for a niche, consider first if there’s a strong market for such books. Once you determine that such books are worth pursuing, take note of what readers are looking for in such a niche. Create your content using your own style, but take note of what your potential readers want to see.

5. Create a nice title and cover – The title and cover are the first things potential buyers will see in your book. This is why you should put in the effort to make them as great as possible. Your title should be catchy enough to capture the attention of your readers. It should also be unique for good recall and easy searching. Your cover should also be attractive and entice readers to check out what’s inside. For best results, your book should be recognizable even in thumbnail size.

Those are just some tips on how you can be successful in free online publishing. There are many ways to achieve success in Kindle publishing, so feel free to explore.

So You Want To Write A Book!

Source by John C Tyler

So – big deal – you want to write a book!

That's the tiny first drop of water in a much larger bucket, my friend. Let's go into the real world of writing books – and getting them published!

So – you want to write a book is my " teaser line " because I realize that many other articles are being written, so we authors need a " hook 'to get the reader – like you, hooked into our story.

If I did just hook you in, then you can use hooks to bring others into your article.

Now, let's go into the world of writing a book and getting it published. I am a published author, and have written seven books ranging from 257 to 542 pages. One is a paperback and it's been on Amazon for over ten years, and readers are still buying it.

That said, I want to express my opinion that online e-books will be the wave of tomorrow – and for several valid reasons: Brick and mortar books stores will fall by the wayside – as will conventional publishers and literary agents. Again, it's my opinion, but the signs are everywhere, and this is good news for "rookie authors".

Let's deal with brick and mortar stores first. Many moons ago, I predicted that they would become irrelevant in the future. The future arrived today as I read in the Wall Street Journal that Border Books is contemplating filing bankruptcy plans and they are working with GE Capital and Bank of America to borrow $ 500 million to keep it afloat after the filing.

Why is this a surprise? It should not be to rookie authors (I say rookie authors meaning those who are writing good stuff, but can not get published – or even reviewed by publishers or their literary agents). Online-e-books are the culprit for the demise of brick and mortars, and I mean it in a nice way!

What has been happening is that rookie authors have bought to get their books looked at and, hopefully, published. The problem has always been that the publishers have their pet authors – the ones making them tons of money, so they do not take monetary risks with rookies. Instead, they defer to literary agents to do the dirty work while the authors write apological reasons for why they can not entertain a rookie's works.

To wit: Here is the verbiage of one fundamental publisher: " XXX Book Publisher's, Inc. does not accept unsolicited submissions, proposals, manuscripts, or submission questions via e-mail at this time. considering for publication by a major book publisher, we recommend that you work with an established literary agent. Each agency has a manuscript submission guidelines. agencies. It can be found in most libraries. Another excellent source is The Writer's Market, which you should be able to find in a local bookstore or library. You can also visit their Web site at writersdigest.com for more information . "

Then, when you visit many literary agents – you know – to "pitch" your book, they have almost identical language!

Take heart my ink-stained writer friend – we have ways to do it all, baby!

Why rookies are gaining momentum, and brick and mortars are going the way of the dinosaur, is because we have figured out how to get our books online faster, cheaper, and better illustrated. Amazon is king now. Google Books is climbing the online book ladder on their way to the top, and a host of other online book stores are popping up everywhere.

Here's the advice I have been giving … and I have done it all myself, so I know that it works.

First, as a rookie author, think of a title that you dig. Most publishers will tell you to go for a title that is a winner for the public, but I will tell you that some of the best sellers are not well-known titles …. like "Zen & The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance – Robert Pirsig This guy had exactly 121 rejections – before his book became a best seller!

I would, however, try to come up with a title that will sell. For example, I would not be particularly interested in a book entitled, "Wrestling with Multiple Myeloma". Although that's a very important subject on bone marrow cancer, it's specific and limited. On the other hand, my brother went through this cancer called Multiple Myeloma, so I am actually familiar with the dreaded illness ..

Five years ago, it was an automatic death sentence to have Multiple Myeloma. My brother could probably write a book about all of the trauma that he suffered going through a bone marrow transplant … and that was only after a new wonder drug called Revlimid came on the scene. Because of Revlimid – he survived, and – in fact, has zero cancer cells in his system as of the last test.

Should he write a book, his title might sell better if it was, "I beat a death sentence from cancer". That, to me, would attract a lot of cancer patients as potential readers. Learning from his personal experience – and ultimate victory, would be beneficial to his readers.

So, once you get your title down pat, you should lay the book out in a nice format … like Microsoft Word. This is what I have done consistently. Then, once the book is finished, and you are satisfied with it … add an index.

There's nothing worse than reading a book without an index. When I wrote "Diary of A Dieter", I had an extensive index because there was a humorous section entitled "potty humor" in it, and there were sections about blood pressure and the effects that bad eating choices have on obese people. Readers want to go back and reference things that strike them as being important and relevant to their life.

Then, once your book is finished … go back over it and proofread and edit it. You can not believe how many words are misspelled. It makes you look really bad to your reeder. (See – I hope you saw reeder! Are you annoyed)? Reeder – reeder – reeder!

Read your book several times to make sure that you are happy with the way things are written. Make sure it flows. There is not much sense in writing a disjointed book that has the reader staggering all over the place wondering how it got into a chapter in the first place.

I liken this (and having no index) to going on a trip to New Hampshire without a road map. Or, it's sort of like watching a great crime / drama TV show. All of a sudden, you have this urge to head to the bathroom, but you are stuck in there for ten minutes. You come back out to watch TV, and the actors are wrestling someone to the ground – and you have no idea where this guy came from. That's what it's like to read a disjointed book.

Okay … so now your book is finished. It's ready to go to press. Did you know that It costs an average of $ 13,500 to get just one of your books printed with 1,000 copies – with a front and rear cover designed by pros … and maybe the inside flap.

Whoops! $ 13,500? Who has that kind of money? Would you take the $ 13,500 risk to have this book of yours printed and published? Understanding that – you would likely not take the risk. Now somewhere you can begin to see why book publishers have been due to hand you a check for two million dollars for your book!

Ah – but there are great ways to get 'er done, as Larry the cable guy has owed. And those ways are what is causing lots of online e-books to be produced these days. the advantages are:

1. They are cheap to produce, No printing is involved

2. They can include tons of color illustrations. The reader gets the benefit of that. It is too cost prohibitive to do color illustrations – even in a $ 22.00 hardcover book.

3. Many times, there are no middle men. The rookie, if technically savvy enough, can directly upload an online e-book – in living color …. hundreds of pages … on his or her own.

4. Rookies can operate their own book store – in addition to getting exposure online through Google Books, or possibly having their e-book available at Amazon.

Several hints have come about slowly as to the public's interest in online e-books. Several of my relatives are now walking around with "Kindles" or other book readers. For $ 10, they can download their favorite book … and it's not printed on paper! TV ads tout these e-book readers, so slowly, the reading public is being brainwashed.

Rupert Murdock, billionaire owner of the Wall Street Journal and Fox TV has just announced that he has developed an "online daily newspaper – called The Daily. but the trend is there. He can sell newspapers for $ 0.14 and include color illustrations. This competes with other US or daily local papers who have to get $ 1.00 for the same news, sports and weather. ..more to my point.

The "dirty little secret" of why we rookie authors will rule the planet with our online e-books is also a money issue. We make a lot more money selling an e-book. Here's a personal example: My paperback on Amazon sells for $ 14.95. From that, I get $ 6.73. From that, I take out $ 4.00 to print it, and another $ 2.00 to ship it to Amazon. I net seventy-three cents!

Let's contrast that with any other of my e-books, including that one. I sell them for $ 9.95 in several online book stores – including one of my own. Any rookie can do this. I set up a deal with PayPal, and they collect the $ 9.95 from my readers, and the reader can pay them by credit card. From that, I get $ 9.36 … or exactly $ 8.63 more in my pocket! No shipping … no printing … no hassle. PayPal deposits the money received into my bank account in about two days. You can do it, too … and many of us are finding out that we do not need the publishers who avoided us anyway. We are doing it all – ourselves!

The final thing that I do, and you might consider doing it as well, is to write articles for Ezine or Helium, or Faithwriters.com, or Biznik – or a dozen other sites. Then, when people read your article, they are blessed with your knowledge because you've already been there. Hopefully, rookies will have learned something from this article.

But – more than that … you get to incorporate a link back to your website where you can pitch your stuff to your article readers. If they love the article, they can Facebook it …. Tweet it, YouTube it – and get your information out all over the social networks, and that – my previously ink-stained (now laptop stained) writer, is how you can get the job done without the help (not) of publishers or literary agents – although they are experts at their craft.

These publishers or literary agents have no idea of ​​the talent that lies within you. It is their loss … but it does not have to be the loss of your readers.

You go girl – or guy!

Make Money Tearing Up Old Books and Magazines and Selling Them on eBay

Source by Avril Harper

Vintage books and magazines were packed with prints and advertisements and other paper items which are not only interesting, but very collectable, and profitable, too. So many things derived from these old publications are hot sellers on eBay including: prints, advertisements, knitting and other craftwork patterns, recipes, how to articles, historical articles, music scores, stories and other out of copyright material … etc., etc, etc.

Let me introduce you to just a few of these easy to find items.

Prints

Old prints are valuable collectors’ pieces and there’s a good income to be made simply from packaging prints neatly and categorizing them according to theme, eBay’s best sellers being: animals, sports (especially golf and horse racing), royalty, music hall artists, topographical (named locations) and children.

Advertisements

Advertisements were often hugely ornate, colored or black and white, photographic or artist-drawn. Whatever shape they take, framed and unframed, mounted and unmounted advertisements are very popular on eBay where only recently an advertisement placed by a slave trader in The Memphis Daily Avalanche in 1859 fetched $200.

Clippings

‘Clippings’, sometimes called ‘Cuttings’ as both names suggest, are simply items cut from books and other printed publications. They can be large or small, or even comprise entire sections of a book linked to a specific theme. They can fetch high prices on eBay as did a 1909 article about the magician Houdini that went for $200 in May 2005 and clippings of Rudolph Valentino fetched $305 at around the same time.

Gifts and Advertising Novelties from Early Publications

Early publications often contained useful free gifts for readers, some of which are profitable collectors’ items today. The most common free gifts were advertising inserts and sometimes advertising blotters, rulers, children’s painting books and maps. Maps are particularly prolific in older books and are amongst eBay’s highest priced items, such as the 1873 Beers Atlas of Maps of Long Island New York which recently fetch over $2,000 and a Mitchell’s Map of Missouri and Arkansas found folded inside a tatty old book from 1937 that reached $1702.

Posters

Some early publications, larger ones, had double center page spreads that make great posters and prints. They can fetch bids of $20 and more. As for all publications, learn to specialize, and look for special interest magazines, targeting a specific audience, say dog lovers, train enthusiasts, classic cars, and so on. This way you gain experience about specific subjects and the person to buy from on eBay.

Fancy Dress

Another very easy project where all you have to do is look for copyright-free patterns and designs which you can combine into books or sell individually. They are all great sellers on eBay especially for traditional fancy dress anniversaries such as Halloween.

Cartoons

The secret here is to look for copyright-free cartoons which you can copy and mount or frame as they are or revamp to suit today’s market. As for other copyright-free material, although there is no law against lifting and using cartoons, it is arguably immoral and unethical to claim the work as your own.

Cater for Lovers …. Of Anything and Everything!

Actually, that title is a little misleading because this project covers virtually every interest for which there is a large, better still, indeterminate audience. Books and such compiled here can be sold in printed, CD or downloadable fashion on eBay.

This is my particular favorite and, arguably, the easiest to profit from. All you do here is clip, collect and collate as many snippets as you can relating to one particular subject or theme. Cats, dogs, golf, writing, children, Amish recipes, fortune-telling, witchcraft, and more, are useful ideas for books that are simply compilations of everything you find on the topic.

Here are a few ideas to get you started:

1001 Great Golfing Jokes

Everything You Didn’t Know About Cats

Psychic Cat and Dog Stories

1001 Great Dating Tips

500 Amish Recipes

Candles and Witchcraft: Ten True Stories to Brighten Your Life

50 Ways to Reduce Everyday Stress

101 Ways to Market Your Writing

Early Veterinary Practices

Let Grandma’s Kitchen Make Money For You

There’s money to be made from compiling early recipes in book or report form for selling in print, CD or via email attachment from eBay listings. Recipes don’t need to be popular today; you might research and write up on some of the far less appetizing dishes our ancestors might have ‘enjoyed’ centuries before.

Knitting Patterns

Knitting and other craftwork patterns are hugely popular sellers on eBay, especially unusual and niche market types, such as dolls’ clothing, war-time economy designs, clothes for animals, and so on. Again, look for out-of-copyright items and other patterns that never had legal copyright. Many old publications included free patterns as loose items or pull-out publications which need no additional work on them to sell. However, you are not always allowed to copy these items so where you have a good seller, work hard to obtain as many copies of the parent copy publication as possible.

So many books and magazines available, so many ways to make money from them, so what are you waiting for!

My New iPad: A User's Guide Book Review – No Starch Press Book

Source by Doug Felteau

Wallace Wang, best seller of My New Mac and My New iPhone for the No Starch Press publisher has written a new book detailing everything you need to know about the iPad in a book called "My New iPad: A User's Guide." No Starch Press provided a reviewer's copy of "My New iPad: A User's Guide" for this review.

"My New iPad: A User's Guide" includes seven chapters including: basic training; customizing your iPad; getting on the Internet; sharing data with your iPad; video, music, and eBooks; organizing yourself and additional tips. Each chapter is small and comes in easily consumable chunks of information that can instantly help new users complete a certain task with easy to follow step by step instructions.

The first chapter called "Basic Training" teaches you how to turn on and off the iPad, what the various buttons and slides perform and how to use and customize the virtual keyboard. Apple changed the Screen Location Lock since the book was published so information has changed since the publish date resulting in incorrect information.

"Customizing Your iPad" is the second chapter that details how to customize your home screen, set the date and time, restoring and resetting your iPad and installing and uninstalling iPad apps.

The third chapter called "Getting on the Internet" shows how to use the email client and web browser called Safari including some intermediate information such as how to use bookmarks and automatically fill out forms with Safari.

If you do not know how to transfer content to your iPad, chapter four is perfect for you. "Sharing Data with Your iPad" shows how to synchronize with iTunes to transfer media such as photos, movies, TV shows and even podcasts. The chapter further goes on to show steps to synch your eBooks, Audio Books, Contacts, Appointments, Mail, Notes, Bookmarks and even iTunes University Courses. The book is light on how to actually configure Yahoo! or Google services with your iPad however.

The next chapter focuses on content consumption on the iPad and it titled "Video, Music and eBooks". This chapter shows you how to watch your photos to listen to your music to watching YouTube videos.

Chapter six focuses on how to use the iPad to keep yourself organized using included iPad apps and is called "Organizing Yourself."

Finally, the last chapter called "Additional Tips" provides some additional miscellaneous tips including how to update the iOS or use foreign languages. This last chapter also includes a section called "Best iPad Apps" which includes some good apps but is dated. To keep up with the best iPad apps, you should watch for articles that continually are updated such as the Gizmos for Geeks Favorite iPad Apps monthly updated list.

I started and finished "My New iPad: A User's Guide" in one afternoon. The book is geared towards new users of not only the iPad device but of Apple's iOS devices including iPod Touch and iPhones and definitely not towards advanced user's of the iOS. For example, this book would be ideal for my parents since they have never used an iOS device, but I found the book way to simplistic to really become engaged.

Create Your Author Platform to Hook a Literary Agent Or Publisher and Land a Book Contract

Source by Anita D. McClellan

Unpublished and hungry for a book contract? Present yourself to literary agents and book publishers so as to stick in their minds. So that they will tell you, "Send me your manuscript. I want to read it."

1: Create and hone delivery out loud of a 3-minute pitch for your unpublished book project.

Sample fiction pitch (thanks to New York Times Book Review and author's website): "An Afghan-American returns to Kabul to learn how his friend has fared under the Taliban" is my first novel's story. I was an 11-year-old, thin-framed seventh-grader when I left Afghanistan with my family. I returned recently to Kabul after completing my manuscript, traveling as a 38-year-old physician residing in Northern California, a writer, a husband and father of two. My name is Khaled Hosseini. May I send you a synopsis and 50 opening pages for my manuscript titled The Kite Runner ? Here is my business card. "

Sample nonfiction pitch: "I am in my 80s, an accomplishing working painter with studios in Paris and New York, as well as a published writer and poet, and a feminist. with Picasso, left him, and then raised two of his children. I have since been married to the painter Luc Simon and to Dr. Jonas Salk, who developed the polio vaccine. with sample chapters for my memoir? Here is my business card. "

For practice, visit online the New York Times Book Review 's and other best-seller lists, study the one-sentence blurbs, make up one pitching your own work. Practice your pitch at home in front of a mirror, with fellow writers, with friends and family, with strangers you meet in bookstores. Practice your pitch until your delivery is confident, short, sweet, and perfect.

2: Create a do-it-yourself website and start blogging. Launch an ezine, develop a following, and capture the visitor data. Keep writing your book.

3. Design author business cards and an email signature that include your 3-minute pitch and all your contact information, your blog, your website, your ezine. Keep these cards with tape and thumbtacks on your person, at work, in your car at all times. Hand your card out to everyone everywhere. Post your cards in coffee shops, on library notice boards, online at writers' communities.

4. Develop an author-platform database using information and cards you collect from people that you meet and who visit your website. Reach out personally and get to know the managers and buyers for your local chain and independent booksellers.

5. Contact book review editors across the country, from very local to very national, and start reviewing books for them off- and online using a byline with your "forthcoming" book's title, your URL, ezine, and blog. Add these names to your platform database. Keep writing your book.

6. Write 250- to 500-word personal essays, short stories, articles about your book's subject using a byline with your "forthcoming" book's title, your URL, ezine, and blog. Send copies to agents and editors you have targeted, to fellow bloggers, eziers, webmavens, your local booksellers.

7. Join writers 'and publishers' groups and volunteer. Write for the newsletters and insert your byline. Agree to help out at events and to escort speakers to and from lectures. Exchange business cards with everyone you meet. Add all to your platform database.

8. Research author readings and writers' conferences within driving distance of your house and attend them. Become a regular. Go for coffee with people you meet there; exchange business cards; write print and online reviews of the published books of the authors you meet to spread your byline around. Add more entries to your database. Attend conferences and publishing trade events and shows farther and farther from home. Network. Network. Collect business cards. Add to your database. Keep writing your book.

9. Find your way online to bloggers and writers interested in book publishing. Cross-link web sites and expand your database with addresses and links to people who read, write, sell, and publish books. Keep writing your book.

10. Give a talk on your subject at local libraries, to elementary and high school Language Arts or other classes. Teach adult-ed workshops on writing, blogging, ezining, and book reviewing. Make sure your full byline appears in course catalogs and websites. Hand out your business cards to students. Collect the addresses of every attendee and add them to your database. Keep writing your book.

11. Expand your website with new pages for your bylined online or in-print pieces to download, your writer's activities and schedule (volunteer events count!). Offer free online teleseminars and workshops. Keep writing your book.

12. Go for it, so we can buy your book when it is published and catch you on Oprah. Good luck!