Speaking for FUN and PROFIT

All Writers need the press, especially new writers. As a new novelist, I know I need name recognition. The best way for me to get the public to learn about my novel, The League, I figured, was to get some reviews in major magazines and newspapers.

Now, being unknown, this might seem like a tall task. It really isn’t. In fact, I was shocked by how simple it really is.

In looking for media coverage for the May 2005 release of my novel, I first decided to approach magazines that focus on the area that is most closely related to the plot of my novel. So, I started with fantasy football magazines and websites, since my novel, The League, is about a group of wealthy men who play fantasy football for $30 million prize.

My approach was simple but effective. I e-mailed the editor or publisher of as many magazines and web sites

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Writing that lacks passion and fervor is dull and uninteresting. The writer will be short of the desire to make the work the best it can possibly be. Of course, that will show through in the writing; readers cannot be fooled.

What is this enthusiasm? It is an expression of the writer’s worst fear, greatest anger, or deepest passion. These feelings must be apparent in the writer’s work. It can be in nonfiction and fiction. A sports writer must be devoted to athletics as a participant as well as an observer. A novelist must believe in the premise of his or her story.

This passion for the idea must be deep-rooted and original. It must flow from the writer’s experience and knowledge, but that does not mean that it cannot be cultivated and nurtured. With this affinity and empathy, the writer must dedicate him or her to development of the focus by

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Now that you have all the contacts you can possibly use,
when can you expect to get paid for speaking or other business engagements?

You have done your job and spoken to many non-profits and Chambers, your name is getting well known and you have even been paid to do a couple of speeches at places of business. Now it is time to look further down the road. You can continue to self advocate your speaking but in addition you will need to use other tools to further what you are doing. One tool would be the use of a Speakers Bureau. These bureaus will want a great deal of information from you and they will also want a cut of your speaking engagements, plus they may also want a host of other monetary gains. If you choose a speakers bureau, make sure they will promote you and not take you

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Meeting planners know the value of meticulous planning. They are responsible for selecting and contracting with the speaker, promoting the event, booking the hotel for the speaker, arranging transportation for the speaker and ensuring that the facilities are set up perfectly on the day of the seminar, writing and presenting an introduction of the speaker. Whew! With so many advance details to consider, it is no wonder that some meeting planners forget one of the most important times for the speakerhow to graciously exit after the speech!

Many big name speakers who have been through this routine thousands of times before have their agents arrange the contract carefully to arrange no more than

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Sometimes when I am communicating with other webmasters and I
bring up the subject of writing articles, I often get a response
like “I’d rather have a root canal, I just can’t write”, or “my
spelling is horrible and my grammar is not much better”. In my
view, the first excuse is just a matter of attitude. The latter
excuse falls on deaf ears because the major word processing
programs have good spelling and grammar checking capabilities.

We’re not talking about something that would qualify for the
Pulitzer prize in literature, just articles dealing with a topic
that may be of interest to a group of people that also may
happen to have an interest in your particular business
proposition or activity.

While not as dramatic as the college professor’s dilemma of
“publish or perish”, many Internet marketers have found that the
publicity and traffic that articles can bring to their websites
is second only in importance to

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Not long ago I found a wonderful book - “The Top 10 of Everything 2002″ - which listed the world’s best selling books of all time. Want to know what they were?

The top five were the Bible, followed by Quotations from Chairman Mao, The American Spelling Book, Guiness Book of World Records, and The World Almanac.

The next five were a reading book, a child care guide, two inspirational titles, and one fiction book.

Did you notice that the top nine titles offer (a) inspiration, (b) information, or (c) instruction? Let’s face itlife’s pathway is full of rocks, and many of us need all the navigational help we can get!

If you need more evidence for this, just gather a few recent magazines. In the last couple weeks, I’ve found new ways to flatten my stomach, enlarge my brain, recycle my trash, and enhance my hair.

Here’s something else: Lots of us 21st century

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In the thousands of speeches I’ve heard very few presenters truly engage and involve the audience.

Remember, even the most disciplined and attentive of audiences will switch off after 20 minutes.

It never ceases to amaze me how many highly intelligent people, who are experts in their field, end up being poor presenters.

They usually have a pattern to their speech. A nervous start with an apology, followed by hiding behind the podium, then a new world record for the number of PowerPoint slides or overheads they can get through in the allocated time and then a mad rush in the last five minutes as they realise they are only half way through their speech!

Sound familiar?

Maybe you’ve been in this situation many times before as a member of the audience?

Or worse still, been a presenter with this approach?

So how can you involve the audience in new and innovative ways? Here are my Top

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In these uncertain times when we all would like to feel safe, when we don’t really want to travel so much for our business, we need to look to the Online Marketing Machine of ePublishing.

Your audience today is Internet savvy. They love the Web, surf it regularly and are looking for specific information that. You have that expertise already and can easily put it into an eBook.

Business audiences want concise, easy-to-read short books on subjects from personal growth to how-to books. They are willing to print short eBooks, often only the chapters they plan to read immediately. Hardly any business person wants to read a long book any more. If you are like me, you probably don’t want to either.

Ebooks are the wave of the future, and anyone, even those who think they can’t write, can create a quality eBook in less than a month. With a little help from

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An excellent remake, starring Al Pacino, of Scarface, the Shame of the Nation (1932). This story structure has 53 stages and is best understood by watching the film simultaneously. Using story structure templates like these helps the screenwriter to quickly expand an idea into a step outline and treatment and then rapidly reach a words-on-paper first draft from there.

Incredibly moralistic but executed in a thoroughly enjoyable and realistic way. A great way to plot the story of a hero’s turn to the dark side and then attempt to return from it. Main archetypes include the (anti) Hero, Achilles Heel, Demon King, Dark Mentor, Loyal Ally, Threshold Guardian cum Shape Shifter, Mother and Goddess.

Stage 1: The intro explains the context of the story - visuals and narrative summarising the expulsion of Cuban criminals by Fidel from Cuba. This is in contrast to, for instance Star Wars, where the context is only

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Choosing a publisher probably seems like a complicated task, however, you may find the process somewhat less challenging if you consider the following five suggestions.

1. Research the legitimacy of your prospective publishers. Consider factors like: how long they’ve been in business; how many books they’ve published; what types of books they seek; how successful their published books are. etc…

2. Do not assume that the giant publishing houses, which put out more than 200 books annually, are your best option. The competition is obviously arduous with these organizations.

3. Refer to industry bibles like: The Writer’s Market.

   These respected resources will provide information like: what kinds of books each publisher prefers; contact information for editors; tips on how to submit your proposal and more.

4. Find books similar to yours and make a note of each publisher’s name, address, website etc… Search for related books online at amazon or barnesandnoble.

5. Consult other published authors for their personal advice. You

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