Archive for Writing
7 Questions to Consider Before Writing a Book
Posted by: | CommentsAs someone who has written a few books, I may have made a few different choices by answering these questions first.
1. Why do you want to write a book?
I wrote a book basically because my colleagues told me I needed to write a book. Honestly, that is not a great reason. Another reason that is more than likely not going to happen is to become wealthy. Unless you are J.K. Rowling or John Grisham, you are probably going to either break even or lose money on your book. There are, however, a few great reasons to write a book:
- To act as a calling card for your business
- To increase your speaking fees
- To enhance your credibility
- To serve as a platform for building a training, consulting or coaching program
2. What type of book do you want to write?
This answer truly depends on the industry you are in. If you are a romance writer, then you are probably more than likely going to write a romance novel. Writing a great novel takes skill, time and creativity, so consider some types of books which have already been bit hits:
- How-to books
- “Tell it all sister” books (yes…the secrets in the closet do sell)
- A business book that has not already been written (don’t regurgitate another business book unless you have a new spin)
- A recipe book that is very niche oriented (Example: Gourmet vegetarian recipes for dogs)
- A great travel book. If you have visited a country, make great notes of small “hot spots” that you won’t find in Fodors or by travel writers. Write about great hostels, small cozy restaurants tucked away on a hill or a great retail shop with bargain prices.
3. How much time can you realistically dedicate to writing a book?
On the two main books I wrote, I had a great amount of help from an author management company, and I still dedicated 2-3 hours a day to writing and filling in the blanks. If you are a solo writer, you are probably looking at a 40 hour a week job for at least three months. Some prolific writers can spit out a book over a week-end, but this is not the norm. Many people will actually take one year off from their regular job, travel to a remote, isolated location and do nothing but write a book. Look closely at your job, family life, travel plans and future schedule before making this commitment.
4. Are you going to self publish a book or go through an agent and a book publishing company?
In this day and age, going through finding an agent and then a publisher who will actually put their name on your book CAN be a long and painful process. You will get rejection after rejection letter from both agents and publishers who don’t like your book or just don’t have the time to take it on. From my experience, I would highly recommend going the self publishing route, sell a few thousand copies on your own and then go to an agent and/or publisher with your book pitch.
5. How much time can you realistically dedicate to marketing your book?
When people hire me to consult for them or coach them on writing a book, I often hear “Well, I am going through a publisher, so I don’t need to worry about the marketing of this book.” Again, unless you are J.K Rowling, a publisher is NOT going to market your book. They are going to rely on you to market AND sell your book. As a matter of fact, their decision on whether or not to represent you rests in your ability to sell books. Just as in any business, you will want to dedicate at least two hours each day for at least 9-12 months to marketing your book. There are over 100 ways to market a book, and you truly have to use each and every strategy out there to get your book to become known.
6. Are you going to publish hard copy, paperback or a digital book?
Digital readers are becoming more and more popular and they are super slick and easy to use AND to read. The font is clear and the reader doesn’t have to hassle with flipping pages, bending the paperback versions or bookmarking with a sticky note. A hard copy book is impressive, but if you really want to sell a book, you will be a smart author if you look at getting your book published in Kindle or another digital reader format.
7. What are your plans for leveraging your book into other products and services?
Many people never consider this question. Your book may be a great book that will become a series of books, workshops, speaking topics or self study workbooks. Sit down and map out a plan for repurposing your book for other opportunities down the road.
Writing a book can be a challenge, and it is so very rewarding. By sitting down and really mapping out a plan for writing your book, you will be able to leverage opportunities you never considered. Best of luck to you in writing your first (or next) book!
Bea Fields is President of Bea Fields Companies, Inc., offering leadership coaching and training for high growth companies. She is also the founder and facilitator of the highly popular program Become a Blogging Maniac, which transforms novices into skilled bloggers and communicators.
Drum Roll: I Have a New Online Social Media Bio
Posted by: | CommentsA friend is forwarding my bio to his agency’s new social media director who might need some outside help. As I was touching up a paper copy to send as an attachment, I asked myself, “Are you nuts?” Paper bios and resumes are so 20th century. My entire business life is there for everyone to see on my blog. I tooled around the web to find out what other social media consultants are doing and, sure enough, they have online bios.
Paper bios are so 20th century
Then another “boing” moment. I should add my new bio as a page on my blog, with a new tab “Social Media Bio.”
When I finished writing, I looked at my About page and it seemed bland in comparison. Dull actually. From me, the word mechanic (as someone once called me after I told him what I do). So I immediately ditched the About page.
This is not contest, in the sense that you won’t receive any prize, but I’d welcome your comments on my new Social Media Bio. I’m still tinkering with it. Think I’ll move the search box further up, and make a couple of other tweaks.
But I’d love to hear from you, dear readers, about what you like, don’t like or what I might add or delete. Thank you.
P.S. Since writing this post, I’ve updated my bio based on advice from readers and several experts, and also changed my navigation tab back to “About.” I’m still not sure I’m keeping that term. As always, your thoughts would be appreciated.
Guidelines for Write Speak Sell Guest Blog Posts
Posted by: | CommentsI’ve been thinking that I should establish guidelines for guest posts on my blog, and have been tooling around the web and reading the guidelines of other folks who accept guest blogs. I wrote about this earlier and said I’d be drawing up a list of guidelines, so here they are.
It’s not that I’m such a big shot that people are clamoring to write for me and I’m holding them off with a stick. No, it’s more that I want to avoid miscommunications or hurt feelings when I receive a guest post (which I most likely have requested) and it’s not quite right for my blog.
These are not engraved in stone, so I’d appreciate your suggestions. Here goes:
- The post needs to align with my brand: business writing that sells. Is your blog relevant to my audience? I reserve the right to make exceptions. Sometimes a piece is so good, even if it’s a little off the subject, that I’ll run with it.
- It should be from 300-600 words with an image supplied by the author.
- It needs to be well written (I know this seems obvious) and grammatically correct.
- Every guest post by definition is self-promoting but it can’t be an outright sales pitch.
- No affiliate links.
- Internal links should be limited to your own blog and to sources that support the article’s main points.
- My preference is for an original article. I’m agreeable to posting blogs that were previously published if they are chock full of information that would benefit my readers. But I need to know in advance so I can indicate the original source of the blog. The blog can’t infringe on anyone else’s copyrighted material.
- If I use a guest post, which links back to the author’s site, I’d appreciate a link back to my site.
- The author’s bio should be about 50 words with a link back to the writer’s site. It will go at the bottom of the post with a possible comment by me.
- If a guest post on my site receives comments, then the author should respond to each one. It’s only common courtesy
- It would be hard to think I wouldn’t publish a post because it doesn’t meet my criteria, but I do need to reserve that right.
So, what do you think? Anything to add?
Analogies and Metaphors Paint Images for Readers
Posted by: | Comments“Buzz is already taking a chunk out of Twitter, Facebook, and other social media services. That’ll only grow as brands and advertisers better understand what they can do with Buzz and its millions of users. Buzz is equivalent to throwing a giant super magnet into a room filled with nails.”
I don’t know about Buzz challenging its rivals, but this paragraph is a lively example of how analogies and metaphors enrich our writing and paint images for our readers. Buzz is like a giant super magnet attracting new users – a powerful visual image.
Writers often confuse analogies and metaphors. In a story on the CBS News Opinion page “Political Analogies Are Like Toothbrushes,” the headline is an analogy comparing two dissimilar things to clarify a point or create an image. Something is like something else. Then throughout the article the writer mistakes analogies for metaphors in which one object becomes another object, i.e., “Obama is Abraham Lincoln in 1860.”
This is probably nitpicking, because my point is that analogies and metaphors can enhance our writing.
I decided to re-read a few of my past blog posts to see how I might improve them with an analogy or metaphor. Here’s one that I think could be better (italicized words added): “This is a golden opportunity for companies to find out what customers are looking for and to respond to their needs directly one-to-one, like a good mother responds to her child’s need for a hug.”
Here’s another blog about the importance of facial cues in business: “We’ve all had the experience of talking to someone who gives us absolutely no facial or verbal cues. It’s like trying to get a response from General Lee’s image on Stone Mountain.”
A writer is a like a painter, using imagery to entertain, provoke and educate with the fervent hope of not being a bore. Your thoughts, good readers?
