The Cuckleburr Times » Melinda Copp

Commitment; The Only Way to Get Your Book DONE!

Melinda Copp — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 17:36:23 +0000

Millions of people want to write a book. However, less than 10 percent of them actually accomplish that goal. The reason, I’m willing to bet, is that the other 90 percent of aspiring authors are not truly committed to the project, and so they never get it done. Are you committed to writing your book? Or merely interested? The difference will make or break your success. I was recently listening on a teleseminar with a marketing expert who said if you’re committed, you’ll do whatever it takes; but if you’re merely interested, you’ll do what’s convenient. And successful people are truly committed. She was talking about marketing and business success, but the same goes for aspiring authors.

It takes time and discipline to write a book. And if you look at your shelf or the shelves in the bookstore, every single book was written by someone who made the commitment to get it done. If you’re committed to writing your book, you’ll do whatever it takes. You’ll carve out time in your schedule to write. You’ll put other things off. You’ll invest in your writing skills. You’ll hire a coach or take a class to keep yourself accountable and moving forward.

But if you’re only interested, you’ll do what’s convenient. You’ll wait until you have time to write. You’ll put the project off for whatever distraction comes up. You’ll forego guidance and try to do it all on your own. And you won’t see the value in investing in your skills, which means your book probably won’t ever get done.

The difference comes from within you. So think about it: are you truly committed-in a do-whatever-it-takes way-to getting your book written and becoming a published author? Or is it just something you’d like to do one day, when it’s convenient?

If you’re committed, you can use the following steps to take action.

1. Make Writing a Priority One of the first things to do when committing to a big project is clear the decks and figure out where you can make time to focus solely on writing. This may mean giving up or delaying some other things you’re working on. If you can, try to find a regular writing time that you can stick to every day, and then put it on your calendar.

2. Learn How Books Work All books have certain elements that make them successful, just like all houses have a foundation, walls, and roof. If you’re writing a book, you’ll need to know how to plan out a book and put all the pieces together.

3. Be Accountable As I mentioned before, writing takes discipline. You can set all the appointments you want, but if you don’t show up for them, your book won’t get done. Joining a class or writing group is a good way to ensure you get your work done. With someone holding you accountable, it’s hard not to meet your deadlines.

Getting Your Book Done! The difference between published books and unfinished manuscripts is the author’s commitment. If you’re not committed to getting your book done, that’s fine-there’s nothing wrong with that. But if you are serious about becoming a published author-then make it a priority and make it happen!

Melinda Copp helps aspiring self-help, business, and nonfiction authors write and publish compelling books to establish expertise, attract clients and opportunities, and that they’re proud to share with the world. Visit http://www.writerssherpaprograms.com/writeabook.html for a free copy of her Jumpstart Your Book E-course.

What Makes a Book a Best-Seller?

Melinda Copp — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 19:45:36 +0000

Everyone has at least one book in them-I firmly believe that. But bookstore shelves are packed with titles, all competing for readers’ attention. So how can you tell if your book idea is ready for the competitive publishing business? The key is to target your market and zero in on an unfilled need. Because, yes, the shelves are packed with books-but trust me, there’s plenty of room for you and your book, as long as you can shape your idea into a winning concept. You can use the following strategies to help hone your book idea.

Define Your Book’s Purpose in One Concise Statement You’ve probably heard of an elevator speech-an intriguing statement about what you do that can be delivered in about a minute. Your book needs one of those, too-a brief, one-sentence statement of the book topic and big-picture benefit readers will gain from it.

Consider your book’s topic. What is your book really about? How will your book benefit your readers? What problems will it solve? If you want to write a creative work, what impact will your story have on your readers?

Be as specific as possible, such as, “My book will help people live within their means and eliminate credit card debt for good.” Distilling your book topic and benefits into one concise statement will give your book the direction it needs to stand out.

Define Your Target Audience As a writer, the most important person in your professional life is your reader. You have to know your audience, their concerns, their challenges, and their needs. So think about who you’re writing your book for. Who needs/wants the information in your book?

Keep in mind that you can’t be all things to all people, so “everyone” is not an appropriate audience. You need to target a specific market with a specific need that you know how to fill. Going back to the previous example, if you’re writing a book about how to live within your means, your audience is people who are carrying significant credit card or “bad” debt. This is still a huge audience, but it isn’t “everyone.”

Regardless of what topic you plan to write about, you should take time to get a sense of the market. Consider how well books on topics similar to yours have sold in the past, and talk to your clients about whether or not they would buy the book you’re thinking about writing. Writing according to market demands will only help your book sell.

Know Your Competition, and Say Something New If you know what’s been written about your topic, then you’ll know how to write it better. To find out what books yours will be competing with, go to Amazon.com and search your book topic. What titles come up? Have your read these titles? What will make your book different? How is your book better? What gives your book an edge over the others? Also consider reading a few of the titles-if not all-just to see how the other authors handled the material.

Melinda Copp helps aspiring self-help, business, and nonfiction authors write and publish books that establish expertise, attract clients and opportunities, and share their message in a compelling way. Visit http://www.writerssherpaprograms.com/writeabook.html for a free copy of her Write Your Book Quick-Start Mini E-course.

The Finishing Touch: How to Craft Titles that Sell

Melinda Copp — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:37:24 +0000

When you’re perusing the shelves at your local bookstore, what’s the first thing you notice about almost every book you pick up? The title!

Titles are important because they attract attention, and some book biz experts even believe that a title can make or break a book. Whether or not that’s true, a title is the first thing that a potential reader will see. Therefore, your title should accurately reflect what your book is about and what it offers readers. And if possible, it should do it in a catchy way. Here are a few title-writing tips:

1. Use your title to convey your book’s topic. This seems obvious, but oftentimes writers get caught up in being clever or witty with their titles, and they choose something that doesn’t really communicate anything to potential readers. As a general rule, choose function over wit and pick a title that tells your reader what your book is about. If you have a witty title that you really want to use, then follow it up with a functional subtitle that clarifies what you mean.

2. If possible, also convey your book’s benefit. Keep in mind that in instructional nonfiction, you are selling a solution that your readers can use. And readers desperately want solutions, so use your title or subtitle to tell them exactly what benefit your book offers. How-to titles are a great way of accomplishing this. For example, How to Boost Romance in Your Marriage or How to Negotiate with Confidence. Both those titles tell readers exactly how they’ll benefit from the information in the book. Other examples include, Fix Your Own Car for Less and Eliminate Clutter Once and for All.

3. Consider how well a particular title works with your publicity and marketing efforts, both what you’re currently doing and what you have planned for the future. If you can create a title that echoes everything else you do in your business, then your book and everything you do to sell and market it works double-time.

4. Make a list of several different title options, with variations on the subtitle listed as well. Then ask friends, family members, and associates for their opinions and thoughts. What speaks to them? What makes them want to read more? And ask if they have any better ideas. Ideally, the people you ask will have read your book, or at least know something about it and what you’re trying to accomplish.

5. If it makes sense for your book, use a number in the title. People respond to the idea that a solution is only X number of steps away. For some reason, it makes the solution your book provides seem attainable and easy. For example, 10 Steps to a Safer Home or Seven Secrets to Losing Weight. Both these titles let readers know that a better life is within reach.

Another way numbers work is by suggesting volume. For example, 101 Ways to Sell More or Seventy Success Strategies. These titles are effective because they show readers that your book has more than one answer, and increases the probability that one or (hopefully) several of your strategies will be beneficial to them.

Making Your Book Title Work Your book’s title is always going to be the first thing potential readers see. If your title effectively conveys the solutions contained within your book, then you can feel confident that it won’t be the only thing potential readers see. When your title works, readers will want to know more.

Melinda Copp helps self-employed professionals, coaches, consultants, and speakers write and publish to establish expertise, attract a following of ideal readers and clients, and make more money. Get a free copy of her Write Your Book Quick-Start Mini E-course when you sign up for her weekly e-zine here.

How to Design Your Book to Grow Your Business (and Your Income)

Melinda Copp — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 06:01:59 +0000

Many savvy business owners know that a book can be the ultimate marketing tool. Writing a book on a topic related to your business establishes expertise, expands your marketing influence, and generates new leads-all while bringing in income from book sales.

However, you can’t just write ANY book. You need to strategically design your book to attract the right kind of leads and clients to your business. Where should you start? Consider the following three steps.

1. Fill a Need in Your Market

If you want to write a business book, then the first step is to figure out what need you will fill. Like all products that are invented to satisfy some useful purpose, your book should offer a new process or solve a problem in your readers’ lives. So think about it: what does your market need and want? What solutions can you offer them? What can you show them that will make their lives easier? Figure this out, and you’ve got the foundation for a successful business book.

2. Develop Your Process

Once you know what solution you will offer your book’s readers, you need to distill that down into steps or a process that they can apply on their own. Although you may not realize it, you probably use the same process, or explain the same concepts, with all your clients. To get this process down on paper so readers can use it, start by listing all the steps. What do your readers need to know (or do) first? What step comes next? What actions will take them from the place they are now to the place where they need to be? Each of these main steps should have sub-steps, which can then be grouped together into chapters. By putting all these pieces together, your book’s structure should start to develop.

3. Sell the Benefits

With your steps in place, you need to look for the big-picture benefits this process helps your target market achieve. What goal will your readers reach if they implement the strategies provided in your book? How will their lives ultimately improve? What deep human need does your book help fill? The answers to these questions are the benefits. These are the things people want that you can provide. And these benefits are what will sell your book. Keep this in mind as you’re writing your book, and your readers will find it irresistible.

Business by the Book

Writing a book is an excellent way to expand your influence, create new leads, and generate new income in your business. And writing the perfect book for your market starts with identifying a need, developing your process, and then communicating the benefits of your solutions. When you use these three steps for designing your book as the ultimate marketing tool, your market will hear your message loud and clear-and they’ll only want to buy from you!

Melinda Copp is a book editor and book ghostwriter who specializes in helping aspiring authors achieve their writing goals. Sign up for Melinda’s free e-zine, and learn the top ten mistakes aspiring authors make and how to avoid them!

Simple Ways to Improve Your Creative Writing

Melinda Copp — Sat, 02 May 2009 05:02:15 +0000

Creative writing can be a rewarding pastime. Many people turn to the pen to unwind after a stressful day. Some creative pieces can even be sold, turning a pastime into a source of additional income. However, many pieces that get written never see the publisher’s desk. Why? Because although creative writing is a hobby for many people, they need to produce professional-level work if they want to get published.

If you want to improve your creative writing, whether for your own benefit or to help get a work published, consider these tips.

Be a Well-Read Author

Being a well-read author does not imply that your works are read frequently. Rather, you need to constantly read the works of professional authors you wish to emulate. Choose your reading material carefully for its creative writing merit. The classics are always rewarding to read, and books that have been given this title received it for a reason. These authors know how to take words and craft a story that is easy to understand, causes one to think, captures the attention, and leaves a lasting impression. Pay attention to not only the way the author crafts the story, but also to the way he uses language.

Of course, you want to enjoy these works, not just read them for scholarly reasons. Even if you do not take a single note while you read, perusing great works will help you hone your writing style. The more well-written works you read, the better your own writing will be.

Avoid Imprecise Words

Some words have been used so often in the English language that they no longer have meaning. Words like “nice,” “great,” and “big” are overused and imprecise. Be as specific as you possibly can when you write, and use variations of these overused, vague words. Reading “the girl strolled through the park,” is far more interesting to read than “the girl walked through the park.” Both sentences mean the same thing, but the word “strolled” allows the reader to better picture the scene. The world “walk” can mean too many different types of movement.

To improve in this area, purchase a good thesaurus. When you are tempted to use a common, everyday word that does not have a precise meaning, look it up in the thesaurus. Find a synonym that means what you intend, and use that instead. Of course, avoid using words that are too flowery or hard to understand. Strive for simplicity as you strive for precision. And use a dictionary to double-check the nuances of words you find in the thesaurus.

Keep It Concise

New writers often add extra, unnecessary words to their writing, such as adverbs and passive verbs. You can make your creative writing much stronger by eliminating these unneeded words. Many adverbs (words that end in -ly), for instance, can be weeded out of writing without changing the meaning. If you use a lot of adverbs, then you need stronger verbs.

Another way to make your work more concise is to avoid writing in the passive tense. Passive tense verbs use some for of “is.” For instance, instead of, “The man was fired by his boss,” you could say, “The man’s boss fired him.” This uses fewer words, sounds stronger, and presents a more active image to the reader.

When you are finished with your work, read through it, and eliminate as many unnecessary words as possible. The more concise your writing is, the stronger it will sound to the reader.

Your Creative Writing Success

These tips will help you turn acceptable writing into writing that glows. Remember, when you are writing, less is more, precision is important, and the more you read, the better your finished written product will be!

Melinda Copp is a writing coach, book editor, and ghostwriter who specializes in helping aspiring authors achieve their writing goals. Sign up for Melinda’s free e-zine, and learn the top ten mistakes aspiring authors make and how to avoid them!

Did you like this? Don’t miss out! There’s plenty more to discover from Melinda and other excellent writers at The Cuckleburr Times.

Writers – How to Plan Your Next Writing Project

Melinda Copp — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 13:05:16 +0000

Like any endeavor in life or business, in writing, a good end result is often attributed to a good starting plan. Just to sit down and to start to write can be effective as a jumping off point to figure out what your ideas are. But once you’ve put your main ideas into words, take some time to plan how those ideas relate to your main point and how the relate to each other. This process will help to ensure the composition flows from one sentence, one paragraph, or one chapter to the next.

To plan your next writing project, ask yourself the following questions.

What are you REALLY trying to say?

Look at your main ideas and try to sum up each point in a sentence. Consider what purpose each scene or section serves. What is each scene or section really about? What meaning do you want the reader to gain? How does it move the story forward?

When you know the main point of each section in your composition, then it’s easier to determine what needs to go where, what to keep and what to cut, and how much time to spend on each topic or scene. Everything that doesn’t move toward the main idea can go.

What arrangement is most effective?

One of the first questions to ask yourself when planning a composition is: what is the best way to present your main ideas? Or in a narrative work, such as fiction or memoir, where are your main scenes and how do they best come together?

In an instructional or academic work, you might dedicate a chapter to each main topic you want to cover. For example, in an article about types of military jets, you use a section for fighter planes, a section for interceptors, and a section for bombers. Then once you’ve explained what fighters, interceptors, and bombers are, you can then explain how a fighter’s characteristics differs from an interceptor’s or how some jets have the characteristics of both bombers and fighters.

In a short narrative work, you might only have one main scene. But within that scene you can break away from the narrative to explain the action. In a longer work with several scenes, you can dedicate a chapter to each main scene. Putting them in order will depend on chronology and dramatic effect. Keep in mind that your order will likely change as you write and revise.

How much space do you need?

Another important question to consider is the length of the composition. How much page space do you have to work with? Although you want to communicate your message in as few words as possible, some ideas need more space than others. If you write too long, you risk stretching out your ideas so much they become too diluted to be relevant.

The amount of page space you need is directly related to your topic and focus. For instructional works, you need enough space to introduce the subject, outline the main points in brief, explain them with examples, and then summate your purpose again in conclusion. In a narrative work, like fiction or memoir, you need enough space to thoroughly flesh out a scene, portray the action, and communicate your ideas and themes.

Planning Your Next Project

A well-planned composition will ensure each idea is explained and each scene is developed. And writing will become easier when you work from a plan, even if you adapt and change the plan later. Using these questions to plan your next composition will help solidify your message and save you time during the revision stage.

Melinda Copp is a writing coach, book editor, and ghostwriter who specializes in helping aspiring authors achieve their writing goals. Sign up for Melinda’s free e-zine, and learn the top ten mistakes aspiring authors make and how to avoid them!

How to Use Social Media to Market Your Book

Melinda Copp — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 01:31:17 +0000

Social media web sites, such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and even MySpace, can be perfect places to market a book. If you are already connected to the online networking and media world, stay there, and start promoting your work. If you are not connected, consider adding a few of the following strategies to your marketing tool kit.

Make Your Posts about Your Book

Do you regularly update your Twitter or Facebook status? If so, make sure that, as much as possible, your status updates are about your book. Many users will post things about their day or their families, but if your goal for social networking sites is to market your book, keep your status updates professional in nature. This will keep your book at the forefront of your followers’ minds.

Create Fan Clubs

Many social networking sites allow users to build groups or fan clubs. To spread the word about your book, you can make your own groups and fan clubs and encourage your friends to join. This will eventually encourage others to join when they see your friends’ notifications about the group. In this way, your name and the name of your book are getting out there and noticed.

Be sure to monitor these groups, however, as they are sometimes fodder for spam, and no one will spend time discussing your book on a forum filled with spam posts. Also, be sure to include information in these groups about where your book can be purchased, including links to Amazon and other online sellers if available.

Use Event Notification Options

If the social media site you are using has an event notification capability, use it. If you know you are going to hold a book signing or public reading, create an event and invite people online. Encourage them to invite their friends as well. This gets your name and the name of your book noticed, even if it does not increase the number of people at your book signing.

Set Up a Blog

One form of social media that you may overlook is a blog. A blog gives you a chance to post information about upcoming events, learn what your readers liked and did not like about your book, and stay connected with your readers. You can post a tidbit from a book or elicit discussions about different sections of the work.

Keep in mind that blogging must be done regularly to work effectively as a marketing tool. People expect blogs to be updated on a regular basis, and if not, they will stop reading. This will allow your book to slip from their minds, which also means that they are not telling people about your blog and introducing more potential readers to your work.

Build an Online Persona

In all of your social media and networking work, keep your online persona consistent. Whatever image you want to portray about yourself and your book, keep it in mind any time you post something or make a comment on someone else’s post. Always be looking for new opportunities to introduce potential readers to your work, but do so in a professional way that works in conjunction with they type of writing you wish to be known for.

Spreading the Word through Cyberspace

Social media and online networking are the wave of the future, and offer numerous opportunities to gain a following. Soon you will see your readership expand as you market your book through social media, and, as an added bonus, you will have the chance to connect in a more personal way with your readers.

Five Keys to Book Writing Success

Melinda Copp — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 08:32:31 +0000

Writing a book isn’t hard, but you have to make a commitment and put in the work to actually make your dream of becoming an author a reality. If you’ve been searching through web sites and books for a writing strategy that ensures success, then look no further. Use the following five tips to get your book done!

1. Develop an Outline

Think of your outline like your plan. It doesn’t have to be fancy, but it should give you a fairly detailed idea of what you want to write and where you want to organize everything in your book. Consider the following questions: How are you going to move the story along? What are your major scenes? What information are you going to convey? What anecdotes will you use to highlight your main points? Put all this information together in one place, and then refer to it every time you sit down to write.

2. Dedicate Time to Writing

If you want to write a book, the most manageable way to do it is write every day. Even if you just get a few paragraphs down every morning before work, you’re making steady progress-and those pages add up. So get up thirty minutes early tomorrow morning and write for as long as you can. Do this every day and your book could be finished in a matter of months.

3. Get Motivated

The rewards for writing every day take time to pay off. You have to show up and do the work, but the most appealing benefits don’t start happening until after the book is published. To keep yourself plugging along, you have to find ways to keep yourself motivated. Try treating yourself to a new book or night at the movies for every fifty pages you finish. Small rewards can keep you going until the big-picture benefits come your way.

4. Be Accountable

When it’s just you keeping track of your work, slacking off is easier. So be accountable for your writing progress to at least one person. You could keep a running page tally with a colleague or spouse-just make sure the person is tough enough to keep you writing.

5. Overcome Challenges

As fun and rewarding as writing a book can be, every author faces challenges. The successful ones know how to overcome the obstacles that occur when writing a book-length manuscript. Be aware of the resources available to you-such as books on writing, writing communities, and classes-that can help you overcome and avoid the challenges that might otherwise stop your progress altogether.

Get Your Book Done

It doesn’t matter where you are in your writing life right now. Whether you’re a beginner or a pro, you can write your book. When you use these five strategies, success is definitely within your reach!

Want to Write a Book? Five Tips to Set and Achieve Your Writing Goals

Melinda Copp — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 00:48:37 +0000

If you want to write a book, or tackle any other important writing project, then setting clear, powerful goals can put you on the path to success. No matter what you hope to accomplish, the following five tips can help you get there.

1. Define Your Goal

The first step in setting and achieving goals is to determine what exactly you want. Strong goals are specific goals. For example, “I want to devote more time to writing this year,” doesn’t have as much meaning as, “I will spend one hour a day writing my book.” “Devoting more time to writing” offers too much flexibility. Spending one hour a day writing is much more specific and easy to understand. So be clear about what you want if you really want to see a difference.

2. Give Yourself a Deadline

Putting a deadline on your goals gives you a target to aim for and allows you to gauge your progress with a timeline. For example, if you want to write a book this year, you might give yourself an intermediate deadline for completing the first draft and a final deadline for completing your revisions. This timeframe will help you moving forward and give you checkpoints to aim for on the path to success.

3. Be Realistic, but Stretch Yourself Too

Overly lofty goals are often unattainable, which can be frustrating and disappointing. If you aim too high, then you risk giving up on your writing goals. So make sure your goal is something that you can reasonably achieve in the timeframe you’ve established for yourself. At the same time, don’t set your goals too low. Stretching yourself a little will make your success that much sweeter-and you’ll feel empowered to accomplish even more!

4. Write Your Goal Down

We’ve all heard that if you want to make something happen, you have to write it down. And it’s true-writing down your goals gives them more power. Writing your goal in an important place that you can revisit often will help you stay focused, as opposed to writing it on a napkin or scrap of paper that eventually gets thrown away. So write your goal in your journal or on an index card that you carry with you all the time.

5. Envision Your Success

If you really want to achieve your goal, then imagine what it will feel like when you’ve already done it. Imagine the satisfaction you’ll feel when your book manuscript is completed and polished. And imagine how wonderful it will feel to see your name on the cover of your book. Revisit this feeling of success and satisfaction every time you sit down to write, and before you realize it your dreams will come true!

To Your Success

Writing a book, or completing any other writing project, is easy when you are clear about what you want and you take steps to make it happen. With these five strategies, you can achieve any writing goal you want. So what will you accomplish?

Want to Write Better? Strengthen Your Writing With Three Self-Editing Tips

Melinda Copp — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 06:31:11 +0000

The English language, like mathematics, has rules that make your message clear and understandable. In today’s era of e-mail and text communications, some may feel the rules of communication are largely unimportant as long as one gets the message across. But we know from verbal communication that how one says something is often as important, maybe even more important, than the actual words being said.

When you want to ensure your written communications are professional and clear, knowing the following three few self-editing tricks can enhance your prose.

1. Check Your Commas

One piece of punctuation that frequently trips up even the best writers is the comma. While the comma has many different rules and uses, one of the most helpful is this: don’t use a comma if two sentences divided by a period will do. Make a statement. End the sentence. Following this rule will help you avoid run-on sentences and keep your writing simple and easy to read.

2. Simplify Your Sentence Construction

Grammar rules are difficult to understand, even for English students. But knowing what a strong sentence looks like, and then not straying far from that construction, can be helpful.

Every sentence has nouns and verbs. For example, consider three parts of the sentence, “The boy runs to the store.” The most important part is the verb, or action word, “runs.” The other two parts are both nouns. “Boy” is the subject, the thing doing the action, while “store” is the object, the thing being acted upon. In effect, this structure amounts to noun, verb, noun, or “a something does something to something.”

An easy way to figure out if a sentence is strong and active is to make sure the answers to the following three questions are clear in the way your sentence is constructed:

• What is being done?
• Who or what is doing it?
• Who or what is it being done to?

Now consider this sentence: “It is the boy who ran to the store.” It has the same three parts from the first example. “Boy” is the subject. “Ran” is the verb. And “store” is the object. However, it has extras words that weaken the sentence’s meaning: “who,” “it,” and “is.” And adding these words broke away from the “a something does something to something” model, weakening the overall effect.

3. Activate Your Verbs

Another important rule is use the imperative verb form rather than the form with the suffix “-ing.” The imperative form is a verb’s un-conjugated form. For instance, “to deliver” is the imperative root of “delivers,” “delivered,” “will deliver,” and “delivering.” In many cases, “-ing” verbs are a sign of a weak or awkward sentence.

Now consider the sentence: “The boy runs to the store delivering apples.” While the sentence is not incorrect, the imperative form can be used with a stronger clarifying effect: “The boy runs to the store to deliver apples.”

Self-Editing Your Writing

Although it always helps to have your work professionally edited, you can use these tips to eliminate many of the grammar and style issues that weaken your writing. These rules make it easy to find unclear sentences and keep your writing active, concise, and professional.

Melinda Copp is a writing coach, book editor, and ghostwriter who specializes in helping aspiring authors achieve their writing goals. Sign up for Melinda’s free e-zine, and learn the top ten mistakes aspiring authors make and how to avoid them!

Where to Start Writing Your Book

Melinda Copp — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 06:33:44 +0000

Writing a book is such a big project that many aspiring authors have no idea where to start. If you’ve been thinking about writing a book, you can use the following three steps to turn your thoughts into action!

Step One: Define Your Topic, Audience, and Competition

When writing a book, it helps to have a clear idea of what you want to cover and who you want to reach. It also helps to know your competition-what books have already been written on the same topic and how yours will be different (and better).

So first, consider your book’s topic. What is your book really about? How will your book benefit your readers? What problems will it solve? Really take the time to scrutinize your topic and the strategies you plan to outline.

Next, ask yourself two questions: 1. Who needs and/or wants the information in this book? 2. Do these people buy books? Think about your book like a business. In any business venture, you need to know who you’re serving and whether or not the market is big enough for your book to sell successfully.

Finally, compare your book to what’s already been written and published on the topic. To find out what books yours will be competing with, go to Amazon.com and search your book topic. What titles come up? Have your read these books? What will make your book different? How is your book better? What gives your book an edge over the others?

Step Two: Make a List

Once you’ve narrowed down your topic, defined your audience and their needs, and considered your book’s competition you can start planning what you will include in your book and how it will be organized. Start by listing everything you want to include based on the information you gathered in step one.

If you’re writing a how-to book, then make a list of topics, examples, anecdotes, and strategies you plan to include. And if you’re writing a memoir or other narrative work, list the scenes you want to use to tell your story. Let your mind go on this, and brainstorm as many ideas as you can. You may not keep them all, but for now you need to get the material out of your head.

Keep in mind that, at this point, you aren’t making any final decisions. Remain flexible and open-minded; you will probably change things around once you actually start writing and researching. But making this list will help you get organized and give your writing some direction.

Step Three: Start Writing

You knew this step was coming! The only way to write a book is to sit down and start writing. Dedicate a specific, regular time to write every day. And if you can’t write every day, then make sure you write on most days.

Having your list will be handy on days when you don’t feel inspired. You can just look at it, pick a topic or scene that gets you going, and then stick with it until you’re done. Write as much as you can as often as you can, and work through your list until you’ve covered everything you want to write about in your book. Then before you know it, you’ll have a draft finished!

Writing Your Book

There’s no reason aspiring authors should stall writing their book before they even start. If you have a story inside you that you want to get out, use these three steps to get your writing started. You’ll be an author before you know it!

Melinda Copp is a freelance editor, writer, and author of the e-book The WRITE Way to Author a Profitable Book, a resource for entrepreneurial writers who want to create a marketable informational product that sells. For more information about Melinda and her services, visit her online at MelindaWrites. If you have any questions about how Melinda can help you, send her an email at info@melindawrites.com.

Write a Memoir – How to Write About What Troubles You the Most

Melinda Copp — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 12:55:29 +0000

Everyone has a story to tell, and unfortunately those stories aren’t always pleasant. What makes memoirs and other personal stories of recovery and triumph so appealing is that struggle is universal. And writing about it is one way-a great way-to make sense out of what troubles you the most.

However, when you want to share your experiences, you often have to confront your demons head-on. Depending on the demon, this can be pretty challenging. And depending on your mindset at the time you sit down to write, the results can be just as ugly.

For example, when you write about your parents neglecting you, you can’t completely bash them, no matter how heinous they were or how good it feels to get back at them. If you do, then your story will come across as one-dimensional and biased.

The trick is to create art and deeper meaning from your personal experiences that resonate beyond what happened to you. So how can you accomplish this? Consider the following tips.

1. Show all Sides of the Story

Sure, your mom may have rivaled the wicked witch. And maybe your ex-husband was an idiot. You know that, and you want everyone who reads your story to know it too. But you can’t only focus on the negative aspects of the people who wronged you.

This is a rule from journalism school that definitely works in creative writing. When you write about something-no matter how much you don’t like it-put your preconceptions aside and seek to understand. If you can portray your characters as three-dimensional human beings, their true nature will show through regardless and your story will have more depth as a result.

2. Do Your Research

Memoir is based on memory, but that doesn’t mean you can’t add depth and meaning (and accuracy) to your story by researching the events you’re writing about. Talk to you siblings and friends about what they remember. And talk to your antagonist and their friends, if they’re still around. Then present the facts you gather. The primary benefit of research is finding the truth, which is the heart of all successful memoirs.

3. Write from a Positive Place

Sure, it feels good to write terrible things about the people who’ve wronged you. But this sort of writing really belongs in a diary where it won’t ever see the light of day. And if you can’t honestly say that you are over your past, then writing about it in your diary is probably a good place to start. Then start all over when you’re ready to write for an audience.

Writing Your Memoir

Memoir is one of the most popular literary genres right now. And if you have a story to tell, you should definitely write yours. But if you want to publish it successfully, then you have to avoid writing something that comes off as a one-sided therapy session. Considering these three tips will help you write a memoir that communicates the deeper meaning of your personal history.

Get Published – Three Secrets of the New York Publishing World

Melinda Copp — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 21:48:14 +0000

Every writer dreams of attracting a lucrative contract from a major New York publishing company. And although not everyone achieves that dream, many writers do. But they have to rise above everyone else and prove they have what it takes to write and sell a profitable book.

If you want to improve your chances of winning that contract, consider the following secrets to getting editors’ and agents’ attention.

1. Write Your Best Book

Although this may seem obvious, you might be surprised at how many writers send off manuscripts that they themselves haven’t read and revised. But when agents and editors are swamped with manuscripts, you may only have one shot to make a professional impression. If you want to be taken seriously, then you need to do everything you can to make sure your book is the best it can absolutely be. What does that mean? DON’T send your first draft! Read your book from start to finish over and over again until you can’t find anything to improve. Then give it to someone else-someone you can trust to be honest and helpful-to read it as well.

2. Build a Platform

You can’t come from out of nowhere if you want a publisher to risk thousands of dollars buying your book. You need to establish a record of experience and expertise. If you write creative works, like memoir or fiction, publish in respected, widely read journals. And for business and how-to books, promote yourself and your ideas through speaking engagements, publishing articles, and publicity. Other ways to build a platform include selling 5,000 or more self-published books, building a list of clients and qualified prospects, and writing a blog that gets thousands of visitors. A platform lets editors and agents know that people like you and you’ll probably be able to sell a lot of books.

3. Make Connections

If you don’t live in the city, then making connections in New York can seem impossible. It’s not; and knowing someone in the business (or with connections in the business) can be the break you need to stand out and sell your book to a major publisher. What can you do to make connections? Attend writing conferences and literary events; network with other writers; and tell everyone you meet that you’re a writer. You never know when a friend of a friend will work in the publishing world.

Your Path to Commercial Publication

It takes work to sell your book to a major publisher. But even if your writing skills aren’t quite ready, you can start looking for opportunities that will better your work, build your platform, and establish connections that will help you on your path to publication. Everyone has to start somewhere!

How to Develop Your Book’s Structure

Melinda Copp — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 04:30:58 +0000

A man came to me last week because he needed help writing his book. He told me that he’s had this project on his to-do list for years, but he just couldn’t seem to get started. He’s literally been staring at the task-start writing my book-almost every day, and when he came to me, he still hadn’t done it.

But who can blame him-if I woke up every day and saw “write a book” scratched on daily to-do list, I’d never bother with it. Why? Because the point of the to-do list is to get things done, and there’s no way I could write a book in a day. However, I could write a chapter.

Breaking down the task of writing your book into a series of smaller jobs and assigning a topic to each section is often a more effective way to begin than trying to figure out the whole book at once-it breaks the process into specific tasks.

Break the Whole into Pieces
Whether the book is fictional, informative, or biographical, you can see the steps necessary to complete it much easier if you break the overall structure into shorter pieces. Think of your book like a cake: eating the whole thing at once is impossible, but taken piece by piece you can make real progress and devour that cake relatively quickly.

Switching to a healthier example, if you’re writing a book about the origins of citrus fruits, you can devote one section to oranges, another to lemons, and another to grapefruits. Even this simple breakdown helps give the project a plan. We are no longer dealing with citrus fruits as a whole, but three separate categories of citrus fruits we can deal with one at a time.

Work One Piece at a Time
With the chapters of your book separated, you can proceed to outline what you want to include in each one. Especially for instructional works, it can help to think about your book as just a series of shorter articles. Use the first paragraph or two to introduce the key phrases or topics and draw the reader into your material.

Back to the book about citrus fruits, we might divide the chapter about oranges into a history of oranges, how to grow oranges, and the nutritional value of oranges. Once the outline for the chapter is planned, you can add sub-categories as well as specifics and examples. The history of oranges could be divided into Asian and North American oranges. Not only will these sub-divisions make the work more manageable, it will also help to keep your ideas organized.

With a narrative work, especially fiction, the process is slightly different, but still involves a breakdown of topics. Instead of beginning in the planning phase, writing the first chapter or scene right away can set the tone and set up the story. After you make a few decisions about the characters, setting, and situation, you can proceed to outline how the rest of the story will happen. What will happen in each chapter? When will the problem become apparent? How will it be resolved? What is the role of each main character?

For memoir, you can try plotting key events from your life along a timeline, choosing key events that show your story. Then as you’re writing them, you can play around with the order for dramatic effect.

Put it All Together
Writing a book can seem like an intimidating task to undertake-and diving into the project without knowing where to start can be very unproductive. But if you break the project down into smaller, more manageable parts, you can make the work faster and enhance your end result.

Creative Techniques That Make Business Writing Stand Out

Melinda Copp — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 18:48:31 +0000

When most writers think about marketing materials, press releases, and how-to writing projects, they assume creativity is a waste of time and energy. Why not give it to them straight-right? But business writing doesn’t have to all business. Business writers can borrow several techniques from their creative writing counterparts to make their marketing materials fresh and unique.

1. Allusion
One of the first techniques that any writer should master is called allusion. Simply put the allusion is a great way to describe something by calling attention to something well-known. For example, you can draw an allusion between a slow lumbering business and the white whale in Moby Dick. This is the type of allusion that will draw a parallel in a reader’s mind and give them a mental image of what you are trying to say. But you need to remember that the allusion will fail if the reader doesn’t make the connection between the two things-so test it on a colleague to make sure your intended meaning is clear.

2. Personification
As the name suggests, personification is a useful tool whereby an author can attach human characteristics to nonhuman things. Although the idea might sound a little lofty, personifications are quite common. Who hasn’t ever read about someone being slapped by the high prices or kissed by the sea? The use of personification is an excellent opportunity for you to make clear in your reader’s mind an action that is important to your message.

3. Symbolism
If you were awake during high school English, you probably remember symbolism-another important part of any writer’s arsenal. Symbolism is often stumbled upon accidentally by writers, especially in the literary world, so experts suggest that you don’t give it too much concern-generally incorporating symbols in your work is a byproduct of good writing and not something that most writer’s set out to do specifically. But in business writing, the rules are a little more flexible. Look for symbolic ways to communicate your value to your clients and prospects.

4. Sentence and Paragraph Length
Choosing sentence and paragraph lengths for effect is another creative technique. Professionals suggest that you pay as much attention to the structure of your sentences as to the length. Short sentences can emphasize a key point, and longer ones have a more wandering effect. The same advice applies to paragraphs. Readers generally get weary of long paragraphs and short paragraphs when they are used repeatedly and that’s one of the reasons that length variation is considered beneficial.

Ghosting on the Job – How to Capture Someone Else’s Style in Writing

Melinda Copp — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 06:20:55 +0000

When you take a job at a company, whether you’re hired as a writer or not, being asked to write a memo or some other kind of document for someone that you work with is pretty common. Perhaps the person who’s asked you to do the writing is busy or perhaps you know a bit more about the subject than they do-either way, ghostwriting requires being able to capture the “author’s” personal style on the page.

Writing in someone else’s voice can seem tricky, but really it just takes practice and a little analysis.

Analyze the Author’s Style

One of the first steps you will need to take involves understanding the intended reader and the details that need to be included-that’s a must with any writing project. Then you need to analyze the author’s style and then try to adopt it, which you can often pick up just by listening to the person talk or reading a few other pieces they’ve written.

To familiarize yourself with the author’s voice, consider the following questions:

o Does the author that you are trying to emulate use a casual, friendly tone, or is the person’s tone more formal? Also consider what’s appropriate for the material.

o How does the author usually open conversations? With a reference or salutation to the readers or some kind of other statement?

o Does the author use contractions or spell words out in full?

o Do they prefer long or short paragraphs and sentences? And do they have any favorite words or phrases that they use all the time?

o How do they usually close conversations and/or written materials?

The person’s personality that you are writing for usually comes out more in the beginning of the work than at the end, so you should try and match their opening and closing line as much as possible. This means, if possible, you should take a look at several examples of their previous work and be sure that the ones that you look at were written by the person you’re trying to copy and not another ghostwriter. However, if you can only find examples that were written by other ghostwriters, you can use those as well to learn what you can.

Be Prepared to Make Revisions, and Don’t Take Them Personally

An important part of ghosting is learning not to be upset about changes made to your copy. No matter how well you think you’ve imitated another person’s style, there will always be places where the original author is sure that they’ve got a better way to say the same thing. This can easily be taken personally, but it shouldn’t. After all, you’re trying to capture the other person’s voice-rather than be upset, you should look at changes as a good way to learn more about what is expected of you.

Plus, most original authors feel that by making some changes to the work, they have the right to retain ownership. Still, this doesn’t mean that you should take your ghostwriting duties lightly. Doing a shoddy or quick job will only make you look unprofessional and careless.

Ghosting in Your Future

Whether or not you anticipated ghostwriting as one of your job duties, writing is one of those tasks that can easily get passed along. And really, it means that the author trusts you enough to communicate his or her thoughts well in words. When you use these tips for ghosting on the job, you can ensure your author’s message comes across seamlessly.

Researching Your Memoir- How To Mine the Material of Your Life.

Melinda Copp — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 16:05:18 +0000

Life is the raw material from which all writers work. Personal experiences and relationships with people often stir the urge to create and inspire the stories we put on the page. Whether you’re working on a memoir or a work of fiction based on your life experiences, the first place you will probably look for material is inside your mind, within your own memories.

But memories tend to blur and fade, making writing about your past difficult to do without research. Research can reveal details and eliminate inaccuracies that you may not remember correctly. Plus research helps you develop your material from a one-sided account into a multidimensional story so it resonates with people besides yourself and your family.

If you’re working on a memoir, or a story based on your life, consider looking in the following four places for information that will not only help shape your story, but also give it depth and dimension beyond what you can remember.

1. Personal Journals

As a kid, I was so worried that someone might find and read my journals that I often destroyed them. The thought of someone discovering my innermost feelings horrified me-after all, sixth grade can be pretty traumatizing. But now that I’m a writer struggling to know myself and my stories, there’s nothing I regret more than throwing my precious material into the garbage.

When assembling a memoir or other work based on your life, personal journals are often the most valuable resource you can have. So if you don’t already, start keeping a journal. Although you may not think you have anything significant to write about each day, just jotting down the date and a few notes about what you did will prove to be helpful for determining dates and timelines of events when you start writing your memoir.

If you have journals from your past, or even from your family members, you should haul them out of your attic and read them cover to cover. For writers, journals are like goldmines. They can help you recall events and your personal feelings and thoughts from that time in your life. A journal can even help you determine what your story is really about by revealing themes, potential story lines, and other important details about you and your life that you may not remember at first.

2. Photo Albums

Family photos are another invaluable resource for memoirists, so dig yours out and start looking. Photos help writers on several levels. First, they can help you remember people and events from your past. They can also be used to put faces with names, which can be used in descriptions. Photos can reveal personalities and clues about people and places that you may have forgotten or overlooked at the time.

For example, you might notice that your uncle isn’t smiling in any pictures. What does that tell you about his character? Is that consistent with your memories of him? You may also be able to mine valuable details about the locations where your life story unfolded, such as your childhood home, your backyard, or your college dorm. All these details will be captured in the backgrounds of your old photos.

Organizing photos can be a big job in itself and every person’s photo collections are likely in different states of order, so do your best to work with what you have and what’s applicable to your project. You may also have to contact family members and friends to put names with some of the faces and identify locations that appear in your collection of old photos.

3. Newspaper Archives

When researching family histories and personal stories, many writers look for obituaries and wedding announcements in their hometown newspapers. But newspaper archives can offer a writer much more than obits. If you’re looking for information about a specific event, newspaper archives are often the best place to look for a local perspective. And just leafing through the old pages-or microfilm reels-can stir old memories and ideas about your personal history.

You can use newspaper archives to help create accurate pictures of your life story’s setting by looking at what and who were making news at that time in your life. Clippings can jog memories of people and events that may have played a role in the story you want to write. Newspapers can even reveal interesting stories that deepen and expand your personal history.

Your hometown’s library should have a complete archive of the local newspaper, most likely preserved on microfilm or microfiche. The newspaper, if it’s still in operation, may also have a comprehensive archive. Many newspapers offer their archives online, but the available dates may be limited and the search functions may not be as extensive as you need. You may have to contact the newspaper for information about using their archives. If you no longer live in your hometown, consider visiting for research purposes because some newspaper archives aren’t available any other way.

4. Interview Family and Friends

Even though you may be writing your own life history, getting your friends’ and family members’ perspectives on the events you write about will help you create a story with more depth and breadth. It will help ensure the events you recreate on the page are accurate beyond your own memories, which tend to shift and blur over time. And your story will be less one-sided with insight from other people who witnessed the events of your life.

Start by talking to your family and friends about the events you’re writing about, and see what they remember. Parents and grandparents, as long as they’re still around and able, will be able to provide invaluable insight on events of the past. Even old friends and neighbors, if you can track them down, are great resources when you’re writing a personal or family history. They may even be able to refer other helpful people and resources, such as diaries or family photos that you may not have known about.

When you approach friends and family members for information, think like a reporter and create a list of questions to give your interviews some structure. Talk about what they remember, and cover everything from conversations that took place to weather that day. But let your interviewees go off on tangents that seem interesting or important. And make sure you take good notes or record your interviews so you can transcribe them later.

Telling Your Stories

Everyone is interesting, and everyone has a story to tell. But telling an interesting personal story means looking beyond your memory of what happened in your life and finding deeper meaning and different perspectives through research.

As you write your memoir or novel based on your life, search beyond what you remember and look for material that will round out your narrative beyond what parts stuck with you. Your research may reveal story lines, themes, and details that you may have overlooked. Research takes work, but the results will pay off with a story that resonates with larger audiences and reflects the events of your life with greater accuracy.

Melinda Copp is a freelance editor, writer, and author of the e-book The WRITE Way to Author a Profitable Book, a resource for entrepreneurial writers who want to create a marketable informational product that sells. For more information about Melinda and her services, visit her online at MelindaWrites. If you have any questions about how Melinda can help you, send her an email at info@melindawrites.com.