Publishing

In This Week’s Issue…

* Quote of the Day
* Feature Article: How to Write and Sell an e-book
* Kitty Cat Postscripts

Words4Money.com the Online Newsletter on
Writing, Marketing, Speaking & Publishing
for Independent Professionals
from JOAN CLOUT-KRUSE
Low-Cost Marketing & Writing Consultant

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QUOTE OF THE DAY
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“Great works are performed not by strength, but by perseverance.” –Samuel Johnson

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Feature Article: How to Write an e-Book and
Sell an e-Book in 6 Easy Steps
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This is a good day for me to write an e-book or e-zine—it’s freezing cold outside and raining here in Silicon Valley.  It’s 60 degrees! I can hear you mid-Westerners and Easterners laughing right now. “This gal doesn’t know what cold really is!” you are saying. That’s okay with me—60 degrees is cold enough.

Let’s write an e-book. I’ll show you the e-book elements and steps you need to write an e-book.

6 Easy Steps to Write and Sell an e-Book.

1.  The idea. The Vision. We need a good idea for our readers and prospective clients. You notice, I didn’t say a good idea that I like—instead my idea must be something of value to my reader. It must be something that will motivate them to click on the link to buy and download my e-book.

2. Organize Your Thoughts. We must come up with at least 10 topics to include in our e-book. Or if you just want to write a short e-book of less than 10 pages then come up with a shorter number of titles.  Start writing your topic ideas then organize them in the most logical manner.  For example, if you are writing about ’10 Easy Tips To Keep Your Car Running Smoothly At All times,” your e-book will include 10 tips (10 topics).

3. Start Writing Freely. Begin writing your e-book based on your outline you created in #2. Since you are the expert in this field it should be easy to write down your ideas. Don’t worry about format, structure or grammar.  Just get your thoughts down in writing. Write freely.

4. Finalize Your e-Book. Now it’s time to put some structure in your e-book. Ask yourself, “What is the easiest way to organize this so that my readers will understand it and follow it?” Always write from your reader’s point of view. Make it easy for your reader to find information and understand your concepts and thoughts.

5. Create Final Product. Now you decide how to produce your product to make it easy for your reader to purchase it.  The most inexpensive and easiest way is to produce a PDF file.  All computers now usually come with the PDF format available to use from Adobe. On my computer I press the ‘PRINT’ button and I can choose PDF from a choice of printing options. It then will produce a PDF file for me that go to my Desktop.

I like PDF files because they look professional. Can someone copy your PDF file? Yes, if they have the Adobe software. However, unless you are creating a “Harry Potter” bestseller book, it is a good way to get started producing e-books. Most of the e-books you order are produced this way. There are other software products that state they make your ebook harder to copy, but they are cumbersome to read because they usually separate every chapter and you can’t print them out easily. They are not available for a Mac computer. I still like to read long articles on the printed page instead of online.

6. Sell your e-Book.

Website. If you have a website set up then you will want to sell the e-book on your website. If you don’t know how to do this, hire a savvy Internet student to help you set it up on your site. You need a way to collect your money. I would start out with a Paypal account because it covers International countries that might want to buy your e-book. Later when you are financially successful you can add a commercial credit card service, but Paypal let’s everyone use their credit cards now so it is easy to get started.

Digital Products Retailer. If you do not have a website then start with a digital product retailer such as Clickbank, Payloadz, and others. You store your e-book on their site and they take a small profit for every e-book that’s sold on their site.  Get the word out. What you have to do is send out e-mail messages to your list announcing your e-book and the great benefits your reader will get by buying it.  You can also ask your friends if they would send a message to their list of friends and colleagues announcing your e-book.

This is a great rainy day project: Write and sell an e-book in 6 easy steps. Now is the time to start writing and who knows by the time the rain stops you may be finished!

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GET ON THE WORDS4MONEY ACTION PLAN
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* COACHING TRACK – F.r.e.e. Writing Strategy Session

Are you ready to write a book or e-book? Would you like hands-on assistance with your writing and marketing? Joan can help you. Click below if you’d like a complimentary Writing Strategy Session: Joan@Words4Money.com

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** JUMP-START 2-WEEK WRITER’S TRACK
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Want to get a jump-start on your writing? In two weeks you can have your outline and plan on how to write your book or e-book. Joan will interview you and get your plan together for you. Includes 2 coaching calls and lots of email as needed. For more details and price contact: Joan@Words4Money.com

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** SPEAKING TRACK
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A Writing and Marketing Presentation for Your Group.

Want a dynamic speaker for your professional group? Looking for hands-on and how-to skills for attracting more clients? You’ve found her! Book Joan Clout-Kruse for a keynote talk or 1/2 day training program to your organization: Joan@Words4Money.com

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KITTY CAT POSTSCRIPTS
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Have you been following Kitty Cat’s adventures? Well, today it is rainy and cold outside and Kitty Cat hasn’t visited us at all.  That means she is in a nice warm house nearby staying dry and warm. She is no fool. So she is taking a day of rest from marketing to me. However, you notice that she is on my mind, which means she has planted a seed.  And that is what you want to do with your prospects.  Start planting seeds: send postcards as a warm and fuzzy way to keep in touch with your clients. I would send you a postcard except my newsletter signup only asks for your name and email address.  Sometime I’ll have to figure out a way for you to give me this information if you’d like to get a postcard from me.  J Happy “Kitty Cat” Marketing.

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About This E-zine and Your Subscription
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© 2009 Joan Clout-Kruse, All rights reserved. You are free to use material from Words4Money in whole or in part, as long as you include complete attribution, including live website link. Please also notify me where the material will appear. The attribution should read:

“By Joan Clout-Kruse of CloutPower Training. Please visit Joan’s website at http://www.Words4Money.com for additional low-cost marketing, writing, publishing and speaking articles and resources for independent business professionals.” (Please make sure the link above is live.)
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PRIVACY and SPAM POLICY: I never rent, trade or sell my email list to anyone for any reason whatsoever. You’ll never get an unsolicited email from a stranger as a result of joining this list.
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Until next week, keep on going and never give up.
JOAN CLOUT-KRUSE
Low cost marketing and writing coach

March 5, 2009

Many of our clients have a wealth of information to share but it is too long for a blog article. I suggest they create a simple 5-10 page white paper or eBook to virtually “hand out” to prospects and customers.  By creating your great work in a word processing application such as Word and converting it into a pdf file**.  Your eager readers can download the white paper with the click of a mouse. 

Now that you have your shiny new white paper how can you market it? Don’t think because you have created this great book that people will just find you. You need to make them aware of it…even if it is FREE.

Are you ready to write a nonfiction book?

It is easy to do when you start with a nonfiction book proposal.  You need the book proposal anyway if you are going to submit your nonfiction book to a literary agent or publisher.

Also it is helpful to have one so you can submit your ideas to book reviewers, friends and colleagues who are going to give you their testimonials, and to the person who will write your Foreword, etc. You will find many advantages to preparing a book proposal even if you decide to self-publish. It will make writing your book much easier.

Here are the parts that you need to write a nonfiction book proposal:

1.  What is your unique book concept?

Go to the bookstore or an online bookstore and review other books with a similar idea to your concept and come up with something a little different. I prefer going to my local bookstore where I can touch and feel the books and read the back cover and the Table of Contents. Once you have enough information tell five friends about your unique book idea and get their opinions. It is helpful to hear opinions from others so that you can make sure your book idea will work and will have a market.

2.  Create a great title and sub-title.

Develop a short, emotional, and memorable title. The sub-title comes next and it can be more descriptive of the title.  One of my books is entitled, “Top 10 Traits of Silicon Valley Dynamos.” The sub-title is, “Inspiring Stories and Great Ideas for Achieving Success in Your Life.”  This gives a clear picture of what the book will cover.

3.  Research your subject well to prove you are the expert to write this book.

You are going to have to show editors that you did some good research for your book. Also editors want to know about the current published books that are the same concept as your idea and how your book will be different.  Great research will help you do a good job with the words you put on paper.

4.  Name your chapter titles and provide a brief summary of each chapter.

Now comes the meat of your book.  Naming your chapter titles will help you with your thoughts, and keep your story well organized. Write a brief sentence or two as to what each chapter will cover.  You will start with the Introduction, Chapter 1, Chapter 2, etc. A typical nonfiction book has 10-12 chapters.

In my book, “Silicon Valley Dynamos” I originally outlined 50 short 2-3 page chapters. Then I decided to interview some successful people I knew to include in the book.  So I shortened the number of chapters to 15 and made them longer chapters.

Start with your chapter outline and summary chapters. Get started with your writing. Be flexible. If you think it’s not going to work the way you set up the chapters, change them to fit your new plan.

This is going to take you time. Find a secluded place to develop your chapter outline where there will be no interruptions.  Turn off your cell phone and television.  Play your favorite music to get you in a positive and motivated mood.

Once you have your chapter titles in place you can start writing. This will make writing your nonfiction book easier to do because now you have a roadmap.  This is just the start of a book proposal. There is much more such as marketing, platform, query letters, etc. We’ll cover those in future articles.

To get you started with your writing follow the above:  1) Identify your unique concept,2) Do your research,  3) Create a title and sub-title for your nonfiction book, and 4) Name your chapter titles and summarize each chapter.  Now you are ready to write.

© 2009 Joan Clout-Kruse
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Joan Clout-Kruse, International Marketing and Writing Coach, is the publisher of one of the top weekly Ezine reports for small biz owners covering writing, marketing and publishing on anything words to make money and boost your business.

Sign up for her FREE weekly Ezine how-to articles today at http://www.Words4Money.com
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To order Coach Joan’s Book, “Top 10 Traits of Silicon Valley Dynamos” click this link: http://www.rayveproductions.com/inc/pdetail?v=1&pid=506
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Let Coach Joan help you set up your book proposal outline. Her 2-Week Jump Start Writing Program can get you started. Call for more details:  650-759-2042   No obligation.
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