White Papers

Complimentary white papers for your learning and sharing


 

7 Common Roadblocks to Writing a Book
And How to Overcome Them

Eighty-one percent of Americans feel that they have a book in them — and should write it.”

That’s the observation of Joseph Epstein, former editor of The American Scholar magazine. Obviously, the great majority of these aspiring authors never pursue their dream.

What about you? Do you have a book idea percolating inside you? If so, what’s been holding you back? Below are seven common roadblocks.
Do you resonate with any of them? This paper will help you overcome these roadblocks and move forward with your dream, if that’s what you truly desire.

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11 Benefits of Writing a Non-Fiction Book

Writing a book is one of the best ways to increase your organizational success and advance your professional career.
This white paper offers 10 benefits of writing a non-fiction book. Which ones resonate with you?

You see, writing a book is not only the best way, it is the indisputably essential way, to establish your credibility in your field of expertise. Using authorship as a marketing strategy brings you an ongoing flow of clients who are deliberately and purposefully seeking you. Elsom Eldridge Jr. and Mark L. Eldridge, authors of How to Position Yourself as the Obvious Expert.

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7 Key Qualities to Look for When Hiring a Professional Writer
(So You Don’t Make a Costly Mistake!)

When you hire a freelance writer, an element of risk is involved. If you hire wisely, you’ll accomplish your goals and save valuable time. But if you choose the wrong writer, you could end up wasting time, missing deadlines, falling short of your goals, and suffering diminished credibility in the marketplace.

How can you avoid a costly mistake? What qualities should you look for when hiring a writer?

I believe that outstanding professional writers are characterized by five key qualities: proficiency, efficiency, creativity, productivity, and reliability. This article tells you what to look for, so you’ll get good results instead of bad headaches.

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Publishing Options:
How to Choose the Best Method for Publishing Your Book

So you’ve decided to write a book. How do you plan to publish it? Are you going to look for a traditional publisher, self-publish, or use a subsidy publisher? It’s wise to make this decision early in the writing process.

Due to advances in printing technology and the advent of the Internet, the publishing landscape is changing rapidly and dramatically. The lines between publishing, printing, distribution, and retailing are becoming increasing blurred. For example, Amazon.com, which started as a book retailer, now also provides printing, self-publishing, and traditional publishing services.

New technologies, such as e-books and POD (print on demand), increase the complexity of the decision-making process. Today authors must sort through a multitude of options that were unavailable a mere five years ago.

Largely as a result of these changes, self-publishing is ascending in popularity and acceptance. Traditional publishers are being challenged to adapt to the new realities.

This paper focuses on the business of publishing rather than the technology of publishing. In spite of all of the changes mentioned above, traditional publishing, self-publishing, and subsidy publishing continue to be the three primary business models available to authors. This paper briefly describes the advantages and disadvantages each, so you can make an informed decision.

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12 Questions You Need to Answer Before You Start Writing Your Book

What a thrill it is to hold a book you’ve written in your hands!

There’s even some glamour and prestige attached to becoming an author. New opportunities open up to you. People see you in a new light.

As a freelance professional ghostwriter and editor, I’ve enjoyed helping lots of clients write books. It’s always an exciting adventure. If you’ve got an idea for a book, I can understand why you’re eager to get started.

But before you launch into the writing process, I suggest that you answer the twelve questions below. Why? Because you need to be sure that your book concept makes sense, so you don’t waste your time and money.

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How to Write Winning Proposals:
The 7 Key Elements of Persuasive Business Presentation

If you’re a business owner, entrepreneur, or manager at any level, you need to know how to persuasively present your views in writing.

Even if your job doesn’t require you to write formal proposals, you almost certainly must write letters, e-mails, and memos to persuade others to accept your ideas, commit to your causes, fund your projects, or use your services.

This article presents some of the key elements of a persuasive presentation. The elements are essentially the same for all types of communications, so I will use the generic term proposal to encompass them all.

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Concise Is Nice:
How to Write for Greater Impact

Want to write more forcefully? Then be concise.

As Strunk and White say in their excellent book, The Elements of Style,

“When a sentence is made stronger, it usually becomes shorter. Thus, brevity is a by-product of vigor.”

How can you write more concisely? I’ll illustrate by using an actual passage from a manuscript a client asked me to edit.

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How to Pick the Subject for Your Book

Most people who approach me for ghostwriting assistance are eager to start writing. That’s understandable, but an author who starts writing a book before adequately developing its approach is like a house painter who starts applying paint before preparing the surface.

Before you put a word on paper, spend adequate time picking your book’s subject.

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4 Reasons for Hiring a Professional Ghostwriter
Instead of Attempting to Write a Book by Yourself

Writing and publishing a book can significantly advance your reputation as a thought leader, increase your speaking invitations, and open doors to profitable new opportunities. However, the process requires more than a trivial investment of time and money. Before launching a book project, be sure you’ve considered all the factors.

In this paper, I offer four reasons for working with a professional ghostwriter instead of writing a book by yourself. Usually, a ghostwriter does all the writing, but hiring a ghostwriter to serve as a full-time editor or writing coach is also an option.

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