how do I write a book - a guide
Book Writing

How Do I Write a Book? Your Book Writing Helper

This question underlies everything I do when creating books: how do I write a book that resonates with my market?Always think about a potential market first. Also, consider the barriers and pitfalls that may stop you. (To help you, this 1,800 word guide is written by me, Jennifer, an author, book coach and editor).Table of Contents for this Book Writing Guide How long should it take to write a book? How to come up with a good topic for a book? How to write a book when you have Dyslexia or ADHD How long should I spend editing before hiring an editor? What editing step comes after Structure? Proofreading How to write a book with help More info about the Book Creation course  What not to do when writing a bookThe first thing is not to expect yourself to always…
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How to write the dream book on topic with a writing coach
Book Writing

How You Can Write the Dream Book on Your Topic, with a Writing Coach

Many pre-retirees are looking for ways to preserve their ideas, their life experiences and business takeaways for future generations. In fact, about 15 percent of 55-year-olds want to write a book as part of their retirement ‘bucket list’ (Money magazine). However, transforming that dream into a published reality requires careful planning, dedication, and guidance. Why Work with a Writing Coach? Writing a book can be a daunting task, but working with a writing coach makes the process smoother and more structured. A book writing coach helps you refine your ideas, develop a writing schedule, and improve your storytelling. Whether you are writing a memoir, a guidebook, or a business book, expert guidance can be invaluable in overcoming writer’s block, structuring your content, and ensuring clarity in your message. Steps to Writing and Publishing Your Dream Book Step 1: Hone Your…
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Emerging Indie Authors
Self-Publishing

Top 16 Up-and-Coming Indie Authors

Those of us around long enough to know Beetlejuice movie #1 will realise that Indie Authors become their own publisher – they don’t pay some other company to publish. This list includes (to my knowledge) people who have made their personal brand into a publishing imprint – at least in the beginning – and have had success. I think it’s important to look beyond the obvious authors who had a leg up via television or similar. Most are emerging indie authors from Australia but a few are based elsewhere and some have parlayed their success in indie publishing into traditional publishing deals.  You’ll notice most actively publish multiple books. This is because we always get better when we do a process again, revising what didn’t work and improving on things like blurbs, keywords, titles, cover design, and more.  Personal Development: Author:…
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Rewrite a book blurb
Book Marketing

Re-Write of a Book Blurb

Occasionally I like to re-write a book blurb because it’s leaving so much unsaid. When writing a non-fiction book blurb especially, we need to focus on the specific group of end readers and what problems they want solved. How does the material match those problems? How can their dreams be helped on track by these pearls of wisdom? Let’s see how it works in this example (re-write is below the original). ORIGINAL: “How to be a Six-Star Business” (2021) Share the stories, inspiration, and genius of 22 entrepreneurs from around the world who provide insights and action steps to go BEYOND the every day in your business. Discover the 3 pillars and 9 principles that will make your business 6 Star as you continually strive to do and be better connect your heart to your purpose and join the 6…
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book creation or writing courses compared
Self-Publishing

Two Courses Compared: Mark Dawson’s “Can You Write a Bestseller” vs. Jennifer Lancaster’s “Book Creation Self-Publish”

In the ever-expanding universe of self-publishing, aspiring authors often find themselves at a crossroads, seeking the perfect course to guide them through the intricate web of book creation, book marketing, and self-publishing. Two prominent contenders in this space are Mark Dawson’s Can You Write a Bestseller and Jennifer Lancaster’s Book Creation Self-Publish. In this comparison review, we’ll delve into the nuances of both courses to help you make an informed decision.Course Content and Structure:Led by Suzy K Quinn, the “Can You Write a Bestseller” course is modular, focusing primarily on the process of writing a bestseller. This unit places a spotlight on honing writing skills and crafting compelling narratives, key for beginning writers. However, it’s worth noting that this course might leave authors yearning for more comprehensive coverage in other crucial aspects of self-publishing and hence need to buy another…
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Learning to do, not to have (writer learning)
Book reviews, Book Writing

Learning to Do, Not Learning to Have

Most of the educational learning we do is theoretical and ‘nice to know’, but, according to researchers, has little adaptation to the real world. This is alarming. However, there is a lot we can do to improve our learning and skill take-up. In ‘Ultralearning‘ by Scott H Young, he gives four ways to learn directly. These are: Learn through a Project – SkillShare and Coursera courses let you do this. It works on two levels: your project aim makes for practical outcomes and your learning becomes more enjoyable and fruitful. Immersive Learning – Going to the region to learn the language works far better than learning on an app. The Flight Simulator Method – Students of a US high school found that when trying an important matter in a mock courtroom, they got way more specific, adaptive learning. Critical thinking…
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keep on writing productively
Book Writing

How Do You Keep on Writing and Being Productive on Blah Days?

I often witness non-fiction book writers have a dip in their motivation and self-belief. So what if you have those blah days, and can’t seem to think of a single good idea? The book ‘On Writing’ by Stephen King helped me long ago to realise: you just have to make a commitment to keep sitting down to write, despite not feeling like it. Prolific fiction writer Amy Suto said that a simple mindset shift early on changed everything for her. Her advice, whatever your feelings on the day: decide to show up imperfectly. “I’m going to do it without putting pressure on the outcome. I’m going to do it tired. I’m going to do it imperfectly.” Writing a book or being a book coach is something that makes for fascinating party conversations. “Oh, you help people write a book? … I…
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how to create a digital product to help book sales
Selling eBooks and Media

How to Create a Digital Product to Help Book Profits

As nonfiction topic specialists, we all know that royalties aren’t quite enough, and your expertise and advice is worth a lot more than $5 per customer! So, it may be time to learn about a tool which has a way to add a simple coaching service or digital product to your book. You used to need to use a shopping cart like WooCommerce plus Woo Payments (setup time!) and connect a processor if you wanted to sell anything virtually (through WordPress). No longer! A product in this post is one that Jennifer uses herself and endorses to others – if you click on the link and go through the trial to purchase, Jennifer gets a commission. Now, you can use a main EMS platform to host each product and its payment options. Or still use a sales page in your…
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AI replace editors and writers
Book Editing

Will AI Replace Editors and Writers?

Like almost everything, the concept of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is both good and bad. AI and machine learning is already replacing pesky jobs — like auditing a huge news site — yet it could also threaten the livelihoods of editors, journalists, and content writers. In 2019, we all didn’t believe jobs would disappear. Now, in 2024, we see that content writers are becoming editors of generated chats in a forced vocational transition. AI programs can scan a newspaper’s back issues and by learning the style, it can write feasible news articles from releases. Some places, like Sports Illustrated, have gotten into trouble by not marking that articles were written by artificial means.  The Washington Post has a robot reporting program called Heliograf. However, The Post is using their system to not replace journalists, but to assist them and make their jobs…
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Doing research to create a book and blast writers block
Book Writing

Doing Research to Create a Book and Blast out Writer’s Block

One of my favourite tools to bust yourself out of blank page staring (writer’s block) is research. In particular, keyword and audience research for creating a book. This is about how research can help you start writing a topic-based book. A Walk Through Audience Research from Keywords First, you will want to do audience research along with keyword research. One without the other will be giving you herrings, red ones. The tool for this is SparkToro, made by Rand Fishkin, an SEO expert leader. What he doesn’t know about finding an audience isn’t worth knowing. Under SparkToro: Demographics you will find ‘Bio/profile terms’, and you see whether the relevant word appears in people’s bio. Are you onto the right target market? Creation, marketing, development were top 3 bio words of the keyword ‘Book Creation’. I could launch a LinkedIn search…
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author contemplating using ChatGPT
Book Writing

If You Use ChatGPT for Book Writing, a Word to the Wise

Last week I bought a Kindle book about Mastering your own Public Relations. Firstly, if you use a title along those lines, you will attract people wanting to DIY their brand publicity/PR and expecting some handy tips. Using Chatbots can help with getting ideas for chapter titles because they will make the titles in a similar fashion that you can then adjust. But for words? Well, let’s see where the use of ChatGPT for writing all went wrong.There were some real entrepreneur stories of success in the eBook, and these were the ideas I wanted to be taken deeper into.When the author used some survey results, the arguments were not fleshed out. It was simply the numbers. Yet later on, a reasoning came for a different survey set. Many other pieces were quite obviously explanations and benefit lists generated by…
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