Sunday

Book Mentor

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Thursday

MY OWN BOOK STATUS

I hope you don't mind a personal note about my own books - I'll be brief. I just received notification from Smashwords that The One Hour Author: non-fiction book writing for busy people has now been accepted into their Premium Catalog. This means that it will shortly be available for purchase in the Apple book store, Sony, the Barnes and Noble Nook, etc. In addition, it is available at Kindle and as a PDF download and on most other e-readers. It means that anyone purchasing the book has lots of different ways to access the information and this makes me happy - I know it will make readers, who are aspiring authors, happy too.
One other note, while I'm patting myself on the book...er, back - I continue to be surprised at the constant sales volume for My Secret Mother, also available on Kindle. I'm doing no promotion but it is apparently hitting a note with readers and other authors - here's a review.
OK, that's it - thanks for the support and I look forward to hearing about your books, too.

Monday

CREATING A BOOK - WHEN?

"Creating a book sounds like an onerous task and I just don't have the time to do it."

Sound familiar? Most people when asked will say that they would like to write a book, have an idea, want to make a difference in the world, have stories to tell, want to help others and on and on. Most people, when asked will tell you that they just don't have any spare time - too much work, too much to learn, kids to soccer, dance, grocery shopping, lawn mowing, house repairs - it just never stops.
Here's the thing - it never stops! There is always something else to do. The time does not magically appear to write a book, especially for someone trying to make a living today - it has to be found. Most people who have come to the realization that writing a book would be important in their life then have to deal with the whole aspect of time. They start to bargain and make deals with themselves. Much of this is misspent energy. Many try to work in the time during their day by promising to spend a few minutes here and a few minutes there, maybe they promise to spend Saturday mornings in 4 solid hours of writing, ditto for Sunday.
The reality is that this is very rarely successful - it's as rare as creating a NY Times bestseller first time out of the gate, by someone with no name recognition.
Most people don't want to hear this. Most people give up their dream when they hear this. Most people will never write the book they talk and dream about because they do not want to accept this.

GET UP AN HOUR EARLIER OR STAY UP AN HOUR LATER

Take your choice. 

See, I told you that you didn't want to hear this - but it's true. For the first time author, regardless of the occasional exception, this is the rule. For the average working person with responsibilities to a company and a family, this is the only solution that actually works. You really can create a book by committing an hour a day to its writing but pick your hour, your total, uninterrupted, written-in-stone, no exceptions, no excuses, no email, no kids, no phones, no pool, no pets, kitty-bar-the-door, everyday hour. It works, period! The only thing is that you need to do this for 21 straight days to create a habit. That includes weekends, holidays and sick days. It works! There is a money back guarantee for this tip.

Tuesday

CREATING A BOOK - WHY?

Why create a book? If you are a business person, salesperson, entrepreneur or stuck in a job you hate, why might writing a book bring you some benefits...and just what are those benefits? Writing a non-fiction book about your area of expertise or interest can benefit you and your business life in these ways:
  1. increased credibility - competitors, peers and customers generally look upon people who have written a book about their mutual fields of interest, with a heightened sense of respect. You, as the author, are afforded this respect (some might call it envy) because you have taken the time to assemble information and create a book that explains, convinces, informs or instructs them.
  2. no noise - when a person is reading your book, there are no interfering or competing points of view. You get the chance to tell your story without interruption. Even if they put your book down to go and make dinner for the kids, they come back later and finish reading what you have to say. You can use a book to make your points clearly, concisely and convincingly.
  3. visibility - if you create a book that has good information and creates and gives value to its readers, then you are among the small minority of people in your field, any field, who has taken this step and it positions you among the thought leaders in your industry. You can and should expect requests for interviews as an acknowledged expert.
  4. possibilities - creating a book opens up a world of possibilities in your particular field and well beyond. Opportunities to speak, invitations to sit on panel discussions, present workshops, provide seminars and coach others start to appear if your book is well received.
  5. career opportunities - whether it is in the company you now work for, with a competitor or something you had never considered before, creating a book will give you a serious leg up in the employment world. Today, there is so much competition for every position that anything you can provide that sets you apart from other applicants can only benefit you. The fact that you have written a book clearly indicates a level of expertise that most companies are very eager to have on board.
  6. business card - a book that is based on your business expertise is perhaps the most exclusive business card on the planet. There is even a company that recognizes this fact and designs and creates books in a small format for this very purpose. You can use it as a hand out to clients or even sell it at the back of the room during speeches and workshops. This is a small but highly effective marketing tool that gives incredible ROI.
So, these are some of the reasons a business person should create a book and here's how I can help. I know your time is valuable and scarce, but if you are serious about creating a book and need some assistance, I encourage you to look on the left hand side of this page at my book titled The One Hour Author: non-fiction book writing for busy people. It is available on Kindle, or you can download it to your computer and print it out or buy it for any other e-reader device, tablet or phone device. At only $9.99, it will be one of the most valuable investments you  make in your own business.

Sunday

WRITING BOOKS should I or shouldn't I?

There is always some guilt around knowing you should write a book and then not taking any action in that direction - “I know I should, I know I should...” This feeling of guilt, combined with the fear of not being able to accomplish the goal, has a tendency to freeze most of us - freeze us in inactivity. It is a vicious circle as we know in our head that we need to do something but we hold ourselves back and then the pressure to move ahead creates even more fear and guilt. Yuck! Let’s go past that today and leave it all behind. We cannot fix the past but we can make a new choice. That is what you are doing right now - making a choice. Choose to write the book that resides within you and know that you will write it well and that you will express that creative side of yourself to help make a difference in the world. In other words, “start at start.”

You may be full of ideas but do not know how to arrange and organize them so that they become a clear and powerful manuscript but until you get started, why should you know how to do it? Let’s look at it this way, you would not still be reading this if you did not feel, at a deep level, that you have something important to share with the world and you are now ready to take the risk of sharing yourself with that world, so let’s get at it.

“The purpose of life is to . . . matter; to feel it has made some difference that we have lived at all.” – Leo Rosten

excerpted from, THE ONE HOUR AUTHOR: non-fiction book writing for busy people