WORLDREADER.ORG

I have long held that the cure for most of the world's ills lies in literacy and access to information. If we teach the disenfranchised to read and then provide them with the opportunity to access books and ideas, they will throw off the yoke of oppression, poverty, hunger, addiction and violence. We have seen the results of some of this in recent months in many places around the world. I suspect that we will see much more in years to come thanks to a project that I am privileged to be participating in.

THE STORY

As many of you might know, I am a big fan of Seth Godin and especially his commitment to making ideas available on a large scale basis and his willingness to share his own. He recently offered some thoughts on an organization called Worldreaders.org that you can read here. The ideas and efforts of this organization make so much sense in my mind that I just had to contact them and offer my own humble writing attempts for their program. I have just signed the agreement and sent it off to them. I don't know how many kids in Africa, Asia and South America will be interested in my books but that is not the point. The point is to give them the opportunity to read about the world and its possibilities. This project truly is about "teaching them to fish" rather than giving them a loaf of bread.

THE IDEA

In a nutshell, Worldreader is providing Kindles to students in developing countries, where paper based books are almost non-existent, and they are asking authors and publishers to make their books - the ones that are already part of the Kindle program - available at no charge. They will pre-load any books onto the devices before giving them to the students. They have made an agreement with Amazon and it really is possible for anyone who has written a book to make a difference in the world, in a very real sense. Simple, easy and brilliant - ideas, information and access, all in one package.

IF YOU ARE A READER

As a reader, there are three ways that I can suggest for you to participate:

1. send an email to your favorite authors asking them to make their books available to this program - you can send the link to this blog if that makes it easier.
2. send a message of support to info@worldreader.org and tell them how important their work is in transforming the world - I'm sure they would accept any donations, too!
3. forward this blog post to your friends on Twitter and Facebook and encourage them to do the same - let's make this a movement for change.

IF YOU ARE AN AUTHOR

Assuming your book is already listed on Kindle, it is a very simple process to contact Elizabeth Wood, Director of Digital Publishing for Worldreader and request their information package. There is a simple one page contract wherein you can direct Amazon to make your book available to this program. Yes, you will give up any income from potential sales to this group of potential readers. Kids learning to read in third world countries may not be that big a potential market for you, so, perhaps you will be willing to give up the royalties from sales in Ghana - think about it.
If your publisher holds the worldwide digital rights to your books, please consider talking to them about this program. Some are participating but others are requiring that the charity pay for the e-books. As you know, there is NO cost involved in making e-books available.
Send this post to your editors, designers, author-friends, distributors, and anyone else connected to making books available so that they can learn about this possibility for creating real change in the world.


AND FINALLY

A big thanks, once again, to Seth Godin for bringing this to our attention and big, big props to Worldreader.org for creating a project in which readers and authors can combine our talents, expertise, and need to make a difference into a program that will create so much good for so many people. Education will change the world and you can be a part of it.

Once again, please pass this message on to your social networks like Twitter and Facebook and let's get more people involved in this life-changing, world-building project.

1 REASON WHY A SALES PROFESSIONAL SHOULD WRITE A BOOK

"Why write a book? I'm a professional person and I'm already successful, what reason would I have to write a book?"
The obvious, trite and over simplified answer is, because you can. Leaving aside why you should, could, and would write your own book, let's look at one reason that writing your own book would make a big difference in your business life. 

REPUTATION AND STANDING WITHIN YOUR FIELD. You may already be successful in terms of sales and income. You have great knowledge of your product or service, and you are able to find solutions to your client's problems. These are the keys to your success - how risky is it to share them? Won't your competitors learn your secrets and take away your business.

The answer is, yes and no. Yes, you will share some, or most of your skills and assets, but it launches you into a much bigger playing field. You will come to the attention of executives within your own company and in your competitor's companies. Your clients and their connections, however, will now come to see you as the expert in the field. You have written a book. You have established a higher standard. Writing a book automatically confers a status of expertness with it. Your customers and prospects will know this. They want to deal with you, the expert. More referrals, more business, more income - that's the way it works.

You can also  expect to receive invitations to meetings, conferences and conventions and perhaps become a guest speaker or presenter on these occasions. All of this results from using the information you have to create a bigger playing field. Zig Ziglar didn't sit on his hard won skills and information for fear of passing on sales secrets to his competitors - he made his competitors customers! You can too.

There is an easy and fast way to create a book that presents you and your ideas professionally and in a way that will grab attention in those circles that you most want to access.   THE ONE HOUR AUTHOR has been created to accomplish this goal quickly and successfully. It's easy to read and learn the techniques of professionals and move yourself on to the road to success. You can download a PDF to read or print on your own computer here, or you can get a copy to your e-reader, or a printed copy here.

Good luck and keep in mind that writing your own book can replace that tired old business card with a professional and valuable piece of information that your prospects will respect and appreciate for years to come. Some of you are giving away data sticks as business cards - load your book on and make it even more valuable.

PUBLISHERS ARE SPEAKING

The publishers appear to be taking a stand in terms of e-books. If you take a quick glance at the top 100 books on the Amazon Kindle listings, you will see that the major publishing houses now dominate the list. What is amazing is that in most cases, the Kindle price is higher than the paperback price and in more than a few instances, higher than the hardcover price.

As a reader, and an owner of a Kindle, I have a hard time justifying the price asked for a digital copy of a new release that is in the 15 - 20 dollar range. Some are well over $20.00. I don't think Amazon minds the prices since they get paid a percentage of the list and the higher the better for them. What does this mean for the early stage author who is publishing independently and doesn't have the marketing support of the big guys? It means the same thing it has always meant, build your own list of followers, connect and communicate with them in a timely and authentic fashion. Build your list one reader at a time - the same way you sell your books.

To be an author, you also need to be a marketer. If you are looking for advice in that area, I strongly suggest that you subscribe to Seth Godin's blog - no question that he is the preeminent marketer in this digital age. I suspect, but don't actually know, that there may be more platforms on the horizon for indie authors, so that they can get noticed by readers who appreciate us. I kind of like John Locke's philosophy for selling his pot boiler novels for .99 as he says that he offers the readers good entertainment and that the "big guys" have to justify why the reader should spend 15 to 20 times more for similar entertainment.

I realize that "name recognition" sells and it always has, but good writing, combined with a marketing plan that suits your needs, persistence, and most important of all, more books, you can get there. Keep writing, keep talking, keep posting, keep the faith baby!

APPRECIATE LIFE

As a creative person, we sometimes get caught up in the business of life. Here's a TED video from Louie Schwartzberg that will help you get back to what's important. Please take a moment to view it and rejuvenate yourself.

TED video

TARGET AUDIENCE

I am guilty of suggesting this to my clients, but now I wonder...  When I was much younger, a great teacher ( hi there, Sister Mary Andrew) told our class that the average reading level was grade 6. I have read, or heard, this same comment many times over the years. Most magazines, newspapers and best selling authors accept this fact and write accordingly. Now, I'm not so sure that we are doing the right thing.

As writers, do we have a responsibility to improve the quality of our work and thus raise the bar in the reading public, or does our responsibility end at the number of copies sold? I am talking to those authors who target the mass public audience and not to the academic writers who target a much smaller group of people who can appreciate the fact that they use words with more than two syllables.

Is it good enough, for those of us who write to the great unwashed, to cater to the lowest common denominator or should we assume that our audience can handle something a bit more challenging? I ask you - do you have the courage to write for an audience that will be challenged by your use of language arts? Can we all rise slightly higher and reach for better vocabulary and drag the average reader along with us? Should we? Is the economic risk too high to even bother? What would happen if popular writing was targeted at a grade 8 level - would the reader give up, or move up?

I guess what I am asking is, should we accept the fact that education seems to be changing and the standards (at least, on an anecdotal basis) seem to be dropping? Or, should we support the education system by attempting to push the readers a little higher?

GOOGLE BOOKS

 I am trying to learn more about Google Books and whether or not it is a benefit for authors like you and I. I see that one of my first books is listed there, without a cover, and I am not sure whether I authorized this or not.

• Have you used Google Books to promote, list and and market your books? 

• What kind of experience have you had?
• If you decided against listing there, why?
• What kind of sales increase have you had - or do you know?
• Do you know any good, independent information sources about Google Books?

On the surface, anything that helps an author market his or her books would seem to be a good thing but there seems to be a lot of controversy surrounding Google's entry. At one point, they wanted to digitize all the books on the planet and make them accessible. I think this project has been tempered somewhat but frankly, I'm unclear where this is going. I have gone on the Google Books site but there is not much information other than the requirement to create yet another account and then upload your books. If you have experience, I and I'm sure everyone else, would benefit from your sharing in the comments area.

Thanks in advance and please consider forwarding this request to other writers that you know so that we can all learn.

Just a quick note for my friends - if you have wanted to read MY SECRET MOTHER: an adoptee speaks to the girls who went away, and didn't want to pay $4.99, then go to Smashwords now and get it for 75% off!

here's the link

The sale ends March 10.