If You Publish Books On Amazon, Don't Do This

A couple of weeks ago I published a review of a Kindle book that I'd downloaded.

I thought the book wasn't worth my reading time because it was nothing more than extracts from two of the author's other books mashed together.

I didn't gain any insight after reading the book because the extracts were incomplete extracts, in that, they told me about all the great things I was about to learn and how much it would change my life. Then it said to buy the author's other two books to learn more.

Learn more?

I hadn't learned anything yet.

Oh, that's a lie, I learned I didn't want to buy the two other books because I felt cheated.

The book I'd just read promised me that I'd learn so much and then told me nothing.

It was nothing more than a piece of promotional material.

And the cheek of it is that this "book" is being sold on Amazon.

Sold!

It's not a free download.

You have to buy it and yet it's nothing but a glorified sales page.

So I left a short review saying what I thought.

Now, you'd think that would be the end of it, wouldn't you?

But oh no.

The author of the book wasn't happy with what I'd written and replied to my review. And then replied again. Each time I received an email from Amazon about his response.

I'm not sure what he hopes to gain by responding to my review.

But it seems that he does it to everyone who leaves a review of his books.

EVERYONE!

How annoying is that?

No one wants to be hassled about their reviews.

This could put people off leaving reviews, or, more importantly, could put them off from buying more of your books.

If you're an author who publishes on Amazon, leave the reviewers alone.

It only makes you look bad and won't change their opinion of your book.

When you read a book and leave a review the last thing you expect is the author to get in touch with you about it.

Whether they like your review or not, it doesn't matter.

A review, good or bad, is a review.

Not an opening for discussion with the author.

Latest Writing News From Around the Web

Double your sales by making small changes in just 7 key areas of your business
http://tinyurl.com/j69zst8

Want to Work as a Published Author?
http://aweber.com/t/6LUlA

Soon You Can Read Beatrix Potter’s Lost Story About A Black Cat. 
http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/entry/beatrix-potter-new-story-cat_us_56a7a855e4b0b87beec61107

 How To Find Your Voice In Blogging.
http://www.tinterocreative.com/how-to-find-your-voice-in-blogging/

J.K. Rowling to Receive PEN/Allen Foundation Award
http://www.adweek.com/galleycat/j-k-rowling-to-win-penallen-foundation-award/115435

Amazon.com : Kindle Instant Preview for your website
http://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=13489836011

From Indie Author to 6 (and 7!)-Figure Traditionally Pubbed Book Deal
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/indiereader/from-indie-author-to-6-an_b_9028534.html

1150 Free Online Courses from Top Universities.
http://www.openculture.com/freeonlinecourses

The Next Big Step for E-Books in Libraries
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/libraries/article/69153-the-next-big-step-for-e-books-in-libraries.html

Five Marketing Models for Self-Publishing Success
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/authors/pw-select/article/69158-five-marketing-models-for-self-publishing-success.html

At Platform 9 3/4, 'Harry Potter' Fans Remember Alan Rickman
http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/entry/alan-rickman-platform-tribute-harry-potter_us_5698aaade4b0778f46f8f338

Generating Story Ideas
http://gointothestory.blcklst.com/2016/01/generating-story-ideas.html

How to Write More Books Without Needing Extra Time

Finding enough time to write is a problem for many writers.

It's bad enough when you have other commitments like a full time job and/or a family, because these things can't really take a back seat when it comes to your time commitments.

But what do you do when you want to write books but you don't seem to be able to find the time to do it?

This is often a major dilemma because even when you do find time to write there are other things to take care of like website updates or blog posts to write or email waiting to be answered.

Well, I found a way to get more book writing done without needing more time to do it.

What I do is I write my books first.

When I sit down to write every day, the first thing I do is my book writing for an hour or two.

After that, I'll look at doing other things like checking my emails (ALWAYS a big time suck) and writing blog posts.

That way, I still work for the same amount of hours every day, but no matter what else comes up, I know that my book writing is done for the day.

And it's amazing how much writing I can do in just an hour or two a day.

No matter what time of day I sit down to work, as long as I do my book writing first, I know that my books will get written no matter what.

It's all a matter of prioritising.

Which is usually a lot easier said than done, but not when you commit to doing it.

Why Your Writing Time Is Worth More Than Cash

Today I have something that I thought might amuse you, plus you can use it as a reason not to use article spinning software.

This is software that takes an article and literally swaps one word or phrase for one with (supposedly) the same meaning. So it's quite like a giant thesaurus.

Anyway, this type of software never works properly but some unscrupulous bloggers think they can steal articles, 'spin' them and no one will notice the difference.

And below is one such stolen article of mine that I found online a few weeks ago, but it's a really old article.

I put in a DMCA complaint and the article has been removed, in fact, the whole blog has been shut down because all the articles on it were stolen.

And while I don't like people doing this to my articles, it does make for some quite hilarious reading.

Below is the spun article and the original together. I've put each original paragraph in bold, followed by the spun paragraph.

Have a read and a laugh.

Even the title was spun, but below is the original title:

Why Your Writing Time Is Worth More Than Money

I used to think that everything in my life was geared around saving money. Even when it came to my writing I would rather waste time doing things the long way rather than spend money that would help speed my career along. But then something happened that made me realize that my writing time is worth far more than money and now my time is much more profitable.

I did previously think that everything in my life was targeted around saving money. Even when this found my personal writing I'd rather spend your time doing issues the actual long distance instead of spend some money that would assist pace my personal career together. Srrz konusu then some thing happened which helped me realise which my composing period is worth far more than cash and today my time is much more lucrative.

The thing that happened was Nick Daw's Quick Cash Writing course. I'd been receiving Nick Daw's E-writer Newsletter for a few months when he started mentioning his Quick Cash Writing course. I took a look at his sales page for this product and saw that it came with a 60-day money back guarantee and that the course promised that I could earn 30-times the cost of the course by the time I'd finished it.

The thing that happened had been Nick Daws Fast Money Writing program. Id already been receiving Nick Daws Ewriter E-newsletter for some several weeks as he began Cheap guild wars 2 gold mentioning their Quick Money Writing program. I required a look at their web page with this product and noticed it included a 60-day cash back guarantee which the actual course promised which i could generate 30-times the cost of the actual program by the time Id finished  this.

So I reluctantly parted with my cash and downloaded the ebook. Once I started reading it I couldn't wait to get started and began the course with great gusto.

So I reluctantly separated along with my cash as well as down loaded it. Once I started buy gw2 gold studying this I couldnt wait to get going as well as began the program with excellent passion.

By the time I was halfway through the course I realised that the initial promise of earning 30-times the cost by the time I'd completed the course was wrong - because I'd already done it. I was totally hooked on this course because it made me start writing, told me where to submit my work and kept me writing more. The checks were rolling in and I was extremely happy.

When I had been midway through the program We realised that the initial GW2 Gold commitment of generating 30-times the price by the time Identification finished the course was incorrect D simply because Identification already done it. I was totally hooked on this course because it helped me start writing, told me where to publish my personal work as well as kept me writing more. The actual cheques were rolling in and I was very happy.

So then I decided to try Nick Daw's other course, Write Any Book in 28 Days or Less. Again I began the course with the same amount of gusto and 4 weeks later I sat looking at my manuscript which was pretty amazing considering I didn't even know what I was going to write about when I started. Since then my manuscript has been edited, finalized and has now been published.

So then I decided to try Nick Daws additional program, Write Any Book in 28 Days or even Less. Again I began the actual course with the same quantity of gusto and Four weeks later I sat taking a look at my personal manuscript that was incredible considering I didnt even know what I would write about when I began. Since then my manuscript has been modified, finalised and has right now already been delivered to my personal broker.

But I was now an addict to downloadable products because now I knew how much time I could save (I'd never had written a book in 4 weeks without the course) and how much money I could earn (I'd never been so motivated to write so much without the Quick Cash Writing course, which I've done several times now). So then I spent more money and bought Jim Edwards' and Joe Vitale's, Write and Publish Your Own eBook in as Little as 7 Days, which I also did and the eBook has been very profitable indeed and I've since written others as well. (Update: This ebook has now been rewritten and published only by Jim Edwards, and although I used to promote it I no longer do because I don't think it's as good as the original.)

However i had been right now a drug addict with regard to online items because right now I understood how much time I could conserve (Identification didn't have written a book in Four weeks without the course) and how much money I could generate (Id never already been therefore motivated to create so much with no Quick Cash Writing course, which I have carried out many times now). Therefore i quickly invested more money and purchased Jim Edwards Create as well as Submit Your personal e-book within 7 Days, that we additionally did and the e-book continues to be very lucrative indeed as well as Im now writing my 2nd.

I also bought Jim Edwards' Affiliate Link Cloaker (which is no longer available) so that none of the visitors to my website could tell which links contained my affiliate code which stopped my website looking like a sales pitch and which increased my sales. I then also bought Article Submitter software which helps me submit all my articles to article directories in minutes - which was a job that used to take hours. (Update: Article Submitter software is no longer available to buy. I used to sell it but it's old software now and only runs on Windows OS. If you'd like to download it anyway - but I provide no guarantees with it - you can do so using this link.)

I additionally purchased Rick Edwards Affiliate marketer Hyperlink Cloaker so that none of the visitors to my personal website could tell that hyperlinks contained my personal affiliate code that ceased my website looking like a sales hype as well as that elevated my personal product sales. Then i also purchased Post Submitter which will help me personally submit my articles to article directories in minutes C which was employment that used to consider hours.

But then I made the ultimate and most expensive purchase - and it wasn't even downloadable or related to writing in any way. I bought an iRobot called "Roomba" and it runs round my house on its own and vacuums the carpets, rugs and floors while I write.

But then I created the best and many expensive purchase C also it was not even swtor credits online or associated with writing in any way. I bought an iRobot called Roomba and it operates spherical the house by itself as well as vacuum cleaners the actual carpets, rugs and flooring as i create.

Does "Roomba" make me lazy? No, I don't think so. Vacuuming in our house takes a long time because with 3 pets there are a lot of animal hairs around that can be difficult to pick up, but "Roomba" is built to be especially good with picking up pet hairs - and so it is. I've now gained extra hours to write each week.

Does Roomba cause me to feel laid back? Absolutely no, I dont believe therefore. Vacuuming within our home requires a long time since with 3 domestic pets there are plenty of animal fur about that may be difficult to pick up, however Roomba should end up being particularly good along with picking up pet fur C and so it is. Ive now acquired additional hrs to create each week.

But the whole point I'm trying to make here is that in my opinion, my writing time is more important than money. In fact I've discovered that, through careful selection of products, the more money I've spent the more I've earned.

But the whole point Im attempting to make here's which in my opinion, my personal writing time is more essential compared to cash. Actually Ive discovered that, through careful selection of products, the more money I have invested the greater Ive earned.

Thanks Nick. Thanks Jim.  Thanks "Roomba".

Many thanks Nick. Thanks Rick. Thanks Roomba.

:)

The Secret to Having More Time to Write AND a Higher Writing Income

Today I want to share with you a simple way I've found over the years that allows me to have more time to write and helps to increase my writing income.

And what's so simple about it, is because it means you spending less time doing something you're doing now rather than start doing something that you're not used to.

In a nut shell, it's being selective about who you're spending your time with and ditching those that are toxic to you.

You see, they say that you become the average of the 5 people that you spend most of your time with, and this doesn't only mean people in your physical presence. It can also mean those you spend time with online as well as the authors whose books you read and the TV programs and movies you watch.

Online it's important to notice who you interact with on FaceBook and Twitter and the social media sites as well as the blogs you follow and the articles you read.

What I've come to realise is that most of the things we do online are a complete waste of time and some of it can be toxic too if you spend your time responding to trolls.

A few months ago I decided to block everyone on social media who was negative and nasty. I don't mean anyone who disagreed with me about something, but those trolls who are downright derogatory and hateful. So I began blocking anyone who I considered a troll or a waste of my time because I don't want to read anything they post and I don't want them to see anything I post either.

And this has turned out to be a significant time saver.

This same principle can be applied to everyone you spend time with whether it's in person, on the phone, or online.

So I began to be more selective about who I was spending my precious time with.

I unsubscribed from quite a few emails, purged my RSS reader of feeds, stopped reading books that were a waste of time and instead started looking for a few inspirational and informational books and blogs. And it's surprising how few I actually found. Most of the sites online either aren't informative or they contradict what they say all the time so I'm uneasy that they're always telling the truth.

Next I stopped watching certain programs on TV because they just weren't of any real value to me. They were just my excuse to slump on the couch and do nothing.

I also stopped spending time with people I didn't really want to be with. I think we all have people in our lives that we spend time with just because we think we "should" or because we've been associating with them for so long that it's hard to stop.

I stopped by cutting conversations short either in person and especially on the phone. If the conversation started to get gossipy or what the other person was saying was of no interest to me, instead of feigning interest, I just excused myself and left.

Anyway, the upshot of it all was that reading became more fun, I was following less people on social media, I didn't have to spend time with people I didn't want to be with,  watched a lot less TV, and so I gained a whole lot more time.

And then I used that time to write more and my writing income increased because I was working more and being inspired by my new associations. I also found I had more time for other things that I wanted to do like walk my dogs and work in the garden.

So if you have people in your life who are wasting your time, either online or offline, purge your relationships and spend time only with those you want to be with and free up more time for the things you want to do.

It's really amazing how those small pockets of time we waste add up to hours and hours.

And you're new found time can be used for doing  more writing and increasing your writing income too because not only will you feel freer, but you'll also feel more in control and more inspired.

How to Increase Book Sales More Than You Ever Have Before

Writing a book is a lot easier than selling it.

And it's disappointing when you write a book but no one wants to buy it, or if your sales are abysmally small.

So what can you do about it if you've written a great book but you just can't get anyone to buy a copy?

Well all is not lost and there is something you can do that is almost guaranteed to help you get more book sales.

It's a well known and well researched fact that you can instantly increase the amount of books you sell if you use the "psychology of persuasion."

What is the psychology of persuasion?

It's as simple as it sounds. It's getting into the psychology of your prospective readers and persuading them to buy your book.

What you need is a reason that they should buy your book.

So what is it that they'll gain by reading your book?

Will they learn something?

Will they be able to do something they haven't be able to do before?

Will it stop pain or suffering?

Will it affect them emotionally making them happy, sad, scared or thrilled?

What exactly is it that your readers will get if they buy your book?

In other words, what's in it for them?

It might even be a temporary discount so that they can save money for a limited time.

You see when someone buys a product, they're not buying the product, but they're buying the benefit of having the product.

So if you've written a non-fiction book, don't just tell your readers what they'll learn, tell them what they'll be able to do.

And if it's a fiction book, tell them how it will make them feel or how much they'll enjoy curling up in a comfy chair with your book and a hot cup of chocolate, or if it's a horror story, how not to read it alone at night.

Just make sure you "lay it on thick" and then get your message out to your audience through social media, email, blog posts and any other way you can. Do audio or video interviews or guest blog posts or other ways to reach a whole new audience.

And if you do it right, your book sales will increase more than they ever have before.

How to Focus Like a Zen Monk

Being a writer is often hard because self discipline is a problem.

It's easy to say you'll sit down and write every day, but it's quite another thing to do it.

And I'm no different than anybody else because I struggle with staying focused all the time too.

Thankfully, though I found a way around it and it works for me every time.

I used to sit down at my writing desk and begin my day with wasting a couple of hours checking email and clicking on links and reading articles.

But now I've found a way to actually sit down and get straight to work.

The thing I started doing every day to get more work done was to use a timer.

I use the timer on my iPhone, but any timer will do.

When I sit down to write I set it for 35 minutes and then I open my diary, see what I have planned for the day and get straight to work.

And because I'm working against the clock I have to keep going and do as much as I can in the short time that I've got.

The reason for using such a small amount of time to work is because it's a psychological trick on the mind because I try to do as much as I can because I know I don't have much time to do it so I stay focused. If I had too much time, I'd just start wasting it.

When the timer sounds, I tap to stop it and then I have a 5 minute break away from the computer. Sometimes I get a drink or go to the toilet or hang out a load of washing or I give the dog a 5 minute pat.

Then I sit down again, set the timer, for another 35 minutes, and get back to work.

I repeat this about 6 to 8 times and then I'm finished working for the day.

Even while I'm writing this blog post, the timer is counting down.

I learned this trick from one of the great, late copywriters, Eugene Schwartz. He liked to work this way and said using a timer was an old Zen trick.

You just set the timer and then tell yourself you have no other obligations during that 35 minutes and you cannot do anything except the work you're supposed to be doing. No checking emails or FaceBook or getting up to get a drink.

Nothing. Nada. Zip.

You either have to begin working or sit and do nothing.

And if you repeat the 35 minute cycle at least 6 times a day, you'll get thousands of words written without trying too hard and without feeling like you should be doing other things.

Once the timer starts you forget about the car payment that's due, or the shopping that needs doing or that you haven't checked your FaceBook page in a while. Once that timer starts, your only obligation is to start writing and keep going, no matter what.

Working this way sounds so easy to do and so it sounds like it won't work or that it won't make any difference to how much writing you do every day.

But it does make a huge difference, and on the odd few days that I don't use a timer, I get far less work done AND I work for much longer every day too.

If you haven't tried this old Zen trick of working with a timer, give it a try and see how you go.

And if you want to write more but don't know what to do or where to start, use The 7 Day Ebook System.

You can download it and start working through it today, and by this time next week, not only will you have written and published an ebook, but you'll already have made sales too, because this system is guaranteed to work.

Are You Wasting Your Time Blogging When You Should Be Writing Books?

When most writers start blogging their strategy is usually to 'throw content up on the blog and see what sticks'.

We all start out that way, even I used to do it.

I didn't really understand back then how my content could earn me my full-time income. I only saw what I was doing as a simple equation:

Blog Visitors = Income

And this is the same for many people who want to make money from blogging.

It's so easy to think that your main goal is to write huge amounts of content to drive more people (traffic) to your blog.

And this type of thinking used to be regularly encouraged online when all the so-called “blogging gurus" were bragging about how rich they were from their advertising income.

This created a blogging boom because everyone began to think that if they had a blog and wrote a huge amount of content, they'd get rich too.

Unfortunately the thing that wasn't talked about was how most people earned little or no income from their blog, and THAT’S still the same today.

The real truth is that if you want to make a lot money from blog advertising, then you need to get millions of visitors to your site.

And that's just not not going to happen for most people.

Advertising requires unrealistic amounts of blog traffic. Not only that but the very nature of online advertising is that the ads are there to take people away from your site, which is not a good business strategy at all.

So if you really want to earn all your income from your writing, don’t just use a blog as a way to earn money from advertising. Use a blog to sell your books.

You can still use your blog as a place to post great content AND you can have a few ads on there for extra income if you want to (it's more profitable to have visitors leave by clicking an ad than clicking their back button), but instead of leading people to the ads that will take them away from your site, use your content to lead people to your books.

You also need to create a relationship with your readers by setting up an email list so that you can keep in touch with them and let them know about every book you write, or tell them about it while you’re still writing to create ongoing interest.

So the flow of what happens on your blog isn’t that your content attracts attention which leads people to click an ad and buy a product from someone else. The flow is to use your content to attract attention which leads people to read your content and then sign up to you email list, buy books from you and become a regular reader.

This creates a whole community of loyal readers who love your work and want to buy more books from you.

This will lead to you earning more money selling books than earning advertising fees and not only that, the greatest thing is that you don’t need to constantly try and get millions of visitors to your site in order to earn a decent income.

You can relax into your book writing without the worry of how many people are or aren’t visiting  your blog.

And once you realise what a far better business model this is, it becomes a whole lot easier (and more fun) to make money writing and selling your own books, because you don’t have to attract a huge amount of people to your books, only the right people, those who want your books and are eager to read what you write.

This leaves you free to get back to the writing you should be doing instead of spending all your time writing free online content.

And if you want to learn more about blogging and making money on line from your writing, you can always download Living The Laptop Lifestyle.

Latest Writing News

Here are some of the latest writing news and writing articles from around the globe.

I hope you find it useful.

More Than 500K Readers Take Goodreads Reading Challenge
More than 500,000 readers have signed up for the 2016 Goodreads reading challenge.
The challenge allows readers to set personal reading goals for the year. So far, 28,723,103 books have been pledged and 243,287 have already been completed. The average books pledged is 49 books. Fifty-nine challenges have already been completed.
http://www.adweek.com/galleycat/more-than-500k-readers-take-goodreads-reading-challenge/114544

Hong Kong Booksellers Go Missing
Hong Kong legislator Albert Ho believes that Chinese security officers kidnapped five publishing company/book store employees in an attempt to censor their work.
http://www.adweek.com/galleycat/hong-kong-booksellers-go-missing/114540

10 Reasons You Should Write a Children's Book in 2016
A decade ago, I was dating a physician. He was a nice guy, but I knew the relationship was doomed the night he asked: "So, when are you going to write a grown-up book?"
I laughed, unsure how to answer. But as I was driving home, I realised what I should have said: "Do people ask paediatricians that? When are you going to start seeing grown-up patients?"
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kate-klise/10-reasons-you-should-wri_b_8910290.html

Help Wanted: Gothamist Is Seeking A Copywriter
Gothamist LLC is looking for a copywriter to write paid and internal editorial efforts across all five of its properties.
http://gothamist.com/2016/01/06/help_wanted_gothamist_copywriter.php

A Shade of Vampire Leads Self-Published Bestsellers List
A Shade of Vampire by Bella Forrest leads the Self-Published Bestsellers List this week.
http://www.adweek.com/galleycat/a-shade-of-vampire-leads-self-published-bestsellers-list/114655

Science can help you beat writer’s block
Lots of people want to write—but many find the process of actually getting words on the page to be pure torture.
http://qz.com/587053/science-can-help-you-beat-writers-block/

Penguin Random House Sells Vanity Press Author Solutions
Penguin Random House announced on Tuesday that it had sold its vanity press operation to Najafi Companies for an unknown sum.
http://the-digital-reader.com/2016/01/05/penguin-random-house-sells-vanity-press-author-solutions/

Best Recurring Affiliate Programs: Make Free Money For Life [2016]
One of the highly profitable parts of affiliate marketing is recurring income. I’m sure you are aware of how affiliate marketing works. You get payment when somebody buys a product using your affiliate link & the commission is really high.
http://www.shoutmeloud.com/best-recurring-affiliate-program.html

NYPL’s Public Domain Digital Collection Now More Accessible
The New York Public Library is making high resolution images from its digital collection available for free download from its site for the first time.
http://www.adweek.com/galleycat/nypls-public-domain-digital-collection-now-more-accessible/114669

Best-selling books for the week that ended Jan. 3
Here are the best-selling books from Publishers Weekly for the week that ended Jan. 3.
http://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/books-and-literature/best-selling-books-for-the-week-that-ended-jan/article_68be1732-bb7a-5e0e-9cad-28aeec152024.html

The Screenwriter's Simple Guide to Formatting Television Scripts
What’s the difference between a feature film script and a television script?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/screencraft/the-screenwriters-simple_b_8923734.html

Writer's Market 2016 Has Been Published
Breaking into the writing field is difficult when you don't have an established network. The 2016 Writer's Market contains thousands of publishing opportunities for writers of a variety of genres.
http://www.linkconnector.com/traffic_affiliate.php?lc=013918068196004693&atid=

NY Times Launches New Sci-Fi Book Column
The New York Times is launching a new bi-weekly column dedicated to book reviews about works of science fiction and fantasy.
http://www.adweek.com/galleycat/ny-times-launches-new-sci-fi-book-column/114400

Writer's Yearbook 2016 Now Available
Writer's Yearbook 2016: Get an expert’s take on the latest developments in the book and magazine industries - and how these trends bode for your writing in the year ahead by Jane Friedman
http://www.linkconnector.com/traffic_affiliate.php?lc=013918068194004631&atid=

How to Tell the Difference Between an Amateur Writer and a Successful Writer (And This Alone Can Significantly Increase Your Income)

 So what’s the difference between an amateur writer who’s making no, or little, income from their writing and a successful writer who publishes one book after another, has thousands of blog followers and earns all their money from their writing?

Well, it’s a secret that not many people know, but it’s so obvious when you can see it.

And the best thing about it, is that even though you might be making this mistake yourself, you can turn it around instantly and it won’t cost you a thing.

Do you know what it is?

It’s attitude.

Amateur writers act like amateur writers. They act as though their writing isn’t good and that no one will want to read it.

They think that what they say isn’t important and so they don’t update and add content to their blogs very often because they don’t have many subscribers and so they think it’s not worth it.

So how can you change that?

Change your attitude and start acting like you’re a successful writer already.

Even if you only have a few subscribers to your blog, don’t let that put you off from writing and posting regularly.

And even if you’ve only written one book and it hasn’t sold well (or not at all) don’t let that stop you from writing many more books.

You see, successful writers write a  lot of books and they blog regularly to their thousands of subscribers.

And you need to do the same.

If you haven’t sold as many books as you would have liked and you don’t have many blog subscribers, how differently would you do things if your book was selling hundreds of copies a week and you had 10,000 subscribers to your blog?

Would you do what you’re doing now and never write another book? And would you do other things instead of writing posts for all your subscribers to keep them interested in your work?

If you’re not making as much money as you’d like to from your writing then change your attitude and start acting like you’re already where you want to be.

Act like it’s already happened. Act as though you’re earning thousands from your book sales. Blog as though you have a huge number of subscribers with more signing up every day.

Fake it till you make it.

Act like you’re already there.

Once you lift your attitude you’ll lift your game and start doing great writing, like you should be doing, and guess what?

As soon as you begin to act like a professional, people will start treating you like one.

You’ll have a shift in your work ethic and you’ll start writing every day, like you should be doing
already.

So if you want to turn things around today, start acting “as if” and start writing.

You already are the successful writer you want to be.

But you just don’t act like it.

A List of Useful Articles for Writers

Today I have a list information I've gathered from around the WWW that is useful for writers.

I put up the links on Twitter and then I thought it would be helpful to readers of my writing blog too.

So here is the list and the links to find it.

And if you've already seen them on Twitter, then here they are again...

4 Tips for Reaching Productivity Nirvana in 2016 - Tim Ferris
http://www.inc.com/tim-ferriss/4-tips-for-reaching-productivity-nirvana-in-2016.html

BEHIND THE SCENES: COPY EDITING What Does a Copy Editor Do?
http://www.brittonmdg.com/the-britton-blog/tools-and-tips-to-master-copy-editing

4 Reasons Freelance Writing Rates Will Rise in 2016
http://inkwelleditorial.com/4-reasons-freelance-writing-rates-will-rise-in-2016

The Complete Guide to Query Letters: Nonfiction Books
https://janefriedman.com/the-complete-guide-to-query-letters-nonfiction/

Make It Shine: 5 Features That Can Make a Good Website Great
http://www.business.com/online-marketing/5-features-that-can-make-a-good-website-great

Email Marketing Continues To Grow, But Slowly
http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/265886/email-marketing-continues-to-grow-but-slowly.html

The Top 10 Stats from 2015 that Show the Importance of Video Marketing
http://www.skyword.com/contentstandard/news/the-top-10-stats-from-2015-that-show-the-importance-of-video-marketing/

The Truth About Blogging Income
http://www.business2community.com/infographics/truth-blogging-income-tipographic-01417953#zSj18UByVUu4ax5F.97

Content Strategy: Thinking About Content with SEO
http://www.business2community.com/content-marketing/content-strategy-thinking-content-seo-01418170#wBA9mzAiLLXm0ZiG.97

6 Super Useful Steps To Improve Your Online Presence
http://www.business2community.com/online-marketing/6-super-useful-steps-improve-online-presence-01415544#imGB3AM1Qq3vXOAF.97

Review: Buried Is An iPhone Game You Mostly Read, Not Play
http://time.com/4166044/buried-ios-iphone-game-review/?xid=homepage

How to Generate More Income From Fiction Writing

Self publishing has been especially great for fiction writers because it used to be difficult to get fiction books published.

Non-fiction writers used to fair better because plenty of people were willing to buy PDF ebooks that could be downloaded from the internet. But fiction readers always wanted physical books. Sadly for most authors, THAT option was too expensive.

But now publishing fiction is easy because not only can you published all your own novels for free (and do it quickly), but also fiction readers are now happy to download and read novels on their smart phones and other reading devices.

This has freed up fiction authors to earn a living writing their books.

But how can you earn even more money from fiction writing?

One of the first millionaire self published fiction authors was John Locke. He wrote a series of novels but struggled to publish them.

Then he discovered Kindle publishing and not only did he publish all his novels as digital books, but he made so much money that he also wrote and published his best selling non-fiction ebook, How I Sold 1 Million eBooks in 5 Months!  And he sold over 1 million of that ebook even faster.

So what was his secret?

His novels weren’t better than anyone else's, in fact they are just OK to read IMHO.

But what he did differently than most fiction writers is that he published a whole series of novels.

So when one of his readers finished the first book they were eager to read the next, and so on, and so on.

And that’s the real secret to success through fiction publishing. You need to write and publish a whole series of novels instead of just publishing one and sitting back and expecting to make a fortune.

But having said that, the first caveat here is to make sure that each of your novels, not only leads the readers through an on-going story, but each novel must also stand alone. There can be no open endings.

It’s just like the Harry Potter novels. Each book is a complete story so even if you only read one of them, you can follow what’s happening and understand who all the characters are. But every subsequent book builds on what happened in the previous books.

Another caveat, is to make sure that the readers, when buying one of your books, knows that it is part of a series.

I know of one author who published a series of novels but didn’t make it clear on the cover. So when readers found out that there were more books to read they felt cheated because they thought  each book was a separate story.

The author changed her book covers to make it clear that it was a series, but the damage was already done because of the unfavourable reviews being posted online.

And if you want to write non-fiction you can also write and publish a series of ebooks by expanding your subject and breaking it down into separate ebooks instead of separate chapters.

So if you want to sell more novels, think about writing a series to keep your readers hooked and wanting more.

-------------------

Self Publish Worldwide

Productivity Deals For Writers to Help You Kick Start 2016 The Write Way

I just wanted to let you know about some amazing deals and offers that will help you to really kick start your productivity in 2016. But be quick because some are time limited offers with just a few days left.

Don't let another year drift by. Create an amazing writing and publishing business for yourself. Make it so great that the results will blow your own mind.

From Brian Tracy:

The Ultimate Goal Achieving Package 

A system for developing the clarity you need to master a mindset of achievement and discipline for complete life fulfilment.

Psychology of Achievement Best Seller

Develop the top achievers mindset. Learn to reach any goal you set for yourself.

How To Write A Book And Become A Published Author

FREE 35-Minute Webinar — Bestselling Author Tells All.

The 4-Step Proven "Recipe" That Professional Authors Use to Pump Out Book After Book.

Brian Tracy's Strategy for Writing a Book and Getting It Publisher Ready in 90 Days.

21st Century Sales Training for Elite Performance

FREE 3-Part Video Training Series & PDF...

"Proven Sales Methods to Increase Your Sales and Income "

From Zazzle:

New Year, New You - Up to 50% Off Sale - Use code: ZNEWYEAR2016 Starts: 01/05/2016 Expires: 01/08/2016 11:59 PM
A huge range of personalised products including notebooks.

From the Writers' Store:

Shop the Final Draft Sale at Writers Store!
Final Draft 9 retains all of its studio-tested features used by Hollywood giants like Tom Hanks, J.J. Abrams, James Cameron, and Aaron Sorkin, while setting new benchmarks in performance and ease of use. With Final Draft 9, you’ll enjoy over 30 new and improved features, plus a fresh look and feel for both Mac and Windows users. Valid Monday, January 4 – Monday, January 11, Final Draft 9 (Pro) $169, Final Draft 9 (Upgrade) $69 and Final Draft 9 (Academic) $99.

Discounted Ebooks For Writers

A few weeks ago I decided to change the price of my ebooks which has resulted in discounted ebooks for writers for many people.

The decision to change my prices came about because all my ebooks (and books) were priced in US dollars.

So I made a management decision to change the currency in which I sell them, to Australian dollars.

The reason I priced them in US dollars in the first place was because most people understand the value of the US dollar and relatively few people (except those in Oz) understand the value of the Australian dollar.

But because I'm Australian and my publishing company is established in Australia, I decided to make all my books and ebooks available for sale in Australian dollars and this has resulted in discounted ebooks for those purchasing them from the US.

This is because our dollar is higher in value than a US dollar and so the comparative American price is now significantly lower for all my ebooks for writers.

I've also provided a currency converter on all my sales pages so that the price can be converted instantly to any currency, so you can see how it compares to the country that you live in and the currency that you use.

You can see all my new ebooks and book prices at http://cheritonhousepublishing.com.

And for those of you living in the US, it means you can now buy my products at significantly discounted prices.

Self Publishing Is Easy, But Writers Still Keep Making Excuses

The thing that never ceases to amaze me about being a writer, is how easy it is now to publish every book I write.

Not too many years ago, if you wanted to be an author, you had to spend years sending out your manuscripts to publishing companies hoping that one of them would like your work and offer to publish it.

Not only that, but royalties were low (sometimes only 5%) and you had to wait 1 or 2 years before your book was published, and even then there was no guarantee of making huge sales.

And if that wasn’t enough, most publishing companies would pull your book if it didnt’ sell at least 40,000 copies a year.

And in the meantime, you had to supplement your income, and try to get exposure in the media as a serious writer by constantly having articles published in magazines and other main stream media.

So it wasn’t easy, there was a lot of competition, and most writers’ books were never published.

But now it’s so easy to self publish.

You can write as many books as you want and published them as print books or ebooks (or both) for free AND your book is made available worldwide in just one day - or less.

And you can go on selling your books for years no matter how many sales you make.

It’s so easy compared to how it used to be and yet writers are still making excuses for not writing and publsihing their own books.

But if you start today you can publish a dozen books, or more, every year.

If you sit down and write every day, even if it’s just for an hour (or a lunch break), you can still write a book in a month.

Or what if you wrote and published just 2 books a year? It’s still 2 more books than you’re publishing now.

And when the process is repeated, not only will you have a great daily writing habit and a writing and publishing system set up, but you’ll also have dozens of books being sold all over the world.

There are many authors who just sit and write books all the time and now have 80 or more books in circulation.

Self publishing is also free to do and once set up, goes on working while you’re writing your next book.

I love self publishing because it’s not only revolutionised the way I work, but it’s enabled me to be able to earn all my income from my writing.

So today, right now, I’m sitting at home, writing, and earning money.

How about you?

—————————-

Self Publish Worldwide

How to Publish Your Book Quickly, Affordably, And Make It Available Worldwide