Is writing a book difficult? Yes. Is finding a publisher and marketing the book hard work? Yes. But what is the the hardest part of being an author? I think it’s avoiding being taken advantage of by your publisher. Unfortunately, publishers have developed a nasty reputation when it comes to contracting book deals, especially first time authors. They entice eager, unsuspecting newbie authors with a huge advance payment but take advantage with the rest of the payment system and the royalties. Advance payment is only the icing on the cake. The real money is made in royalties. It is the most profitable part of books sales, especially if your book hits as a bestseller and becomes a popular icon with which pens, mugs, and other products are decorated. So how do new authors protect themselves and their intellectual rights?

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Negotiating for Book Royalty

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Do you remember how you felt the last time you read a great work of fiction? Do you know how authors weave those great stories? Are you aware of what an author goes through to bring you a plot that keeps you reading from cover to cover? If you want to write a novel your readers can’t put down, here are some great tips that you can apply to your fiction writing today.

1. In all cases of fiction writing, it is important to write original plots. Your storyline should not be lifted from another book. It is important to be unpredictable in every part of your novel.

2. Begin with a rough story outline. Even if it’s only in your head, it’s always a good idea to have some sort of chronology laid out. You may begin by writing down one sentence describing the opening scene. Next write another sentence that describes the very last scene of your book. A big space in between would serve as the space where you write down the major plot points of your story from beginning to end. These sentences will serve as guides as you write the whole novel.

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7 Tips for Great Fiction Book Writing

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I find book writing fun, but that doesn’t mean easy. Staying inspired as a writer can be difficult, especially for professionals earning a living by writing. The best way to find inspiration is to look for it everywhere. Inspiration may come from your best friend’s experience, a conversation you overhear in a restaurant, or from a newspaper or magazine articles.  Here are some tips to help you find your inspiration.

1.Decide if you want to write a true-to-life story or a fictional one.  A book that is your true story, using real names, dates, and places, is called a memoir. If you decide to write a book about another person’s life, you are writing a biography. A story that is a figment of your imagination is a work of fiction.  If you have had a very interesting life (or know someone who has), chances are you will do great in the creative non-fiction category. If you are very creative and imaginative, fictional stories will be a piece of cake. Writer’s who want creative freedom with a true story can write the story using fictitious people and places. This is the style of book I currently have in the works and it’s a lot of fun. I also like that, while I have creative freedom, the plot is already in place to guide my writing.

2.Read books written by your favorite writers.  One way to appreciate the art of book writing is to read books from popular authors.  You will gain a whole new perspective about style and language and perhaps find your inspiration along the way.

3.Become a people watcher. Take a walk around your neighborhood, the mall, or the park. Sometimes scenery, a person, or a picture can inspire you.  Potential inspiration for your next book might be right around the corner. Many of my characters are based on real people and events, but with my writer’s flair added in.

4.Generate ideas and write them down. Jotting down your ideas will help you decide on a storyline later.

5.Feel it.  You have to care about your characters and plot or else writing will become a chore.  Although it is also necessary to use your brain in knowing what readers might want, in the end, what you feel most passionate about will definitely give you a more interesting and well-made story.

Inspiration can really come from anywhere. It may strike you at the most unexpected time and place. So get your pen and paper handy. You never know when a great idea will strike you.

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I’ve just returned from Las Vegas where I attended JVAlert, a conference for Internet Marketing experts. How fortunate was I to spend a long weekend mingling with those rare few who have figured out how to make fortunes on the Internet.

These are the people who are forming the future marketing landscape today.

While I enjoyed learning from every speaker present, the most exciting moment for me was when copywriting legend, Joe Sugarman, stood up to speak.

Back in the early 90s, when I was first learning the direct response style of advertising, Joe Sugarman’s name popped up everywhere–in books, articles, and out of the mouths of my mentors. Joe Sugarman is the undisputable granddaddy of direct mail/direct response marketing. His book, Triggers: 30 Sales Tools you can use to Control the Mind of your Prospect to Motivate, Influence and Persuade, was instrumental in helping me develop the kind of copy that drove hundreds of thousands of prospects through the doors of my franchise company, Positive Changes Hypnosis Centers.

Now, for the first time, the legend was standing before me sharing his story. Not surprisingly, Joe encountered many obstacles in his rise to success, but his perserverence and can-do attitude took him to the top. By the time he was done speaking, I couldn’t wait to shake the hand of the legend who had so influenced my professional career. I am now in possession of a cherished book, Advertising Secrets of the Written Word, autographed by the legend, Mr. Sugarman himself.

For every copywriter out there, Joe Sugarman’s books should be the first reference you turn to. And for whatever kind of writing you’re doing, if you get published, it will take a lot of self-promotion to take you to the top. Joe Sugarman can help get you there. I feel honored to have been in the presence of a legend. I urge you to take advantage of the tools he so generously shares in his books.

If you’re interested in Joe’s books, just click the Amazon “Books” link below and search for his name.

Happy writing!

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Writing and finishing your book is just the beginning of the publishing battle. Getting published is only the halfway point. To reach the end of the line, there’s one other significant matter to attend to and that’s marketing. If you want your book to be a success, don’t leave the marketing to your publisher. There are a lot of things you can do on your own to further promote your book.

Give Free Copies to Reviewers

If you’re confident about the quality of your work, send free copies to reviewers. The publicity you can get from their reviews, especially when they end up raving about your work, can only make more people aware of your book.

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5 Book Marketing Tips for Self-Promotion

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Issues on copyrights have always been hot topics in the creative world. From movies, to music, and most especially among authors, people have disputed the rights and protections that the legal concept of a copyright has imposed in the world market.

If you are an aspiring writer, familiarizing yourself with this legal concept can help protect you and avoid facing cases regarding creative liberties in the future. Aside from this, claiming copyright for your originally created materials can benefit you in so many ways.

What is a Copyright?

A copyright is a legal concept, afforded by most government laws, that gives a creator exclusive rights to his or her own work, such as ownership and distribution, making derivatives of the work, public performance and public display. It also gives the creator, or the holder of the copyright, credit for his or her own work.

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All About Copyrights

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If you can’t afford to hire a professional editor to check your work, it doesn’t have to mean the end of your masterpiece. By using the tips below, you can self-edit your own book and have it impressively polished by the time you submit it for publishing.

Start editing only when you’ve completed your work.

Editing and writing your work at the same time might negatively effect the cohesiveness and overall quality of your work. You’ve got all the time in the world to edit your book, but the ideas you have for your book could disappear at any moment. Take advantage of the fluidity of your thoughts and put them to paper immediately.

Read your work out loud.

If a sentence sounds awkward, makes no sense, and leaves you out of breath by the sheer length of it, those are all good indications that you need to modify the sentence or eliminate it entirely. If you can get a target reader to read your work out loud for you, you’ll hear your errors right away.

Try reverse reading.

Reverse reading can achieve two goals: identify spelling errors and evaluate coherence. For spelling, simply read your entire book in reverse and you’ll find it easy to catch typographical errors and other spelling errors that you might have overlooked. For checking the coherence of your content, just read your work from the back, starting with the last sentence. If every sentence can stand on its own, then you’ve done a good job!

Edit by intervals.

Editing the entire book in one day will make you prone to missing errors once your brain and eyes get tired. Avoid editing right after you’ve completed your work as well. Get a good nights rest and it will give you a fresh and more objective perspective toward your work.

Subtract, don’t add.

Editing rarely, if ever, means adding to the content of your work. Chances are, you’ve already said the most important things while you were working on your book. There’s always the temptation to say more and explain longer, but you should resist the urge until you’ve revised your book several times.

In editing, seek to eliminate unnecessary words. Your goal is simple: make every sentence as brief and concise as possible while maintaining the main idea or meaning behind each sentence.

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How to Edit Your Own Writing

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Every writer’s dream is to have his or her own published book. Traditionally, to get your work into print, you had to go through the taxing process of submitting your manuscript to dozens of firms just to get an agent or publisher. Then comes the agonizing waiting phase. Has your work impressed people enough to get it into print?

However, it is a relief for many aspiring authors to know that publishing trends have changed, leaving new authors empowered to take the publishing process into their own hands. Here is a short list of the different alternatives for getting your own book published.

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Alternative Ways to Get Published

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I’m getting ready to participate in NaNoWriMo next month, and I hope you are, too. If you’re not familiar with this annual event for writers, here’s a great article that will help you decide to go for it!

This article was first published in the October, 2008, THE HEART MONITOR, a
newsletter from the RWA Heart of Dixie Romance Writer’s Chapter.

Gearing Up For NaNoWriMo
By Danniele Worsham

Last year, over 100,000 people chose to spend the month of November writing
50,000 words during National Novel Writing Month. This phenomenon, now in its
10th annual event, has grown from a few like-minded friends, to a non-profit
organization that promotes literary endeavors for both adults and young people.

What is NaNoWriMo?

This is the 10th annual National Novel Writing Month event. It started out with
21 people doing this for fun. But 2 years ago they established a non-profit
called the Office of Letters and Light that runs NaNoWriMo and the NaNoWriMo
Young Writers Program through sponsorships and donations. From previous
donations, they’ve established 22 libraries in countries including Cambodia,
Laos, and Vietnam. NaNoWriMo had 101,510 individual participants in 2007,
including 366 schools, and university courses at UCLA, Phoenix College, and
George Mason University.

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Get Ready for National Novel Writing Month or NaNoWriMo

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