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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, a |
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Creating images in a reader’s mind is what writing is all about. But oftentimes, finding the right words to express the meaning we want our readers to gain can be tricky. Writers toil over their words and nothing seems quite right. And this problem can have several different causes. |
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So you’ve taken the plunge and started writing a book? Congratulations on taking the first step. But now you have to find ways to keep yourself motivated to keep going. If you’re like most people that are trying to write a book, you started off strong and very excited and motivated to write—you couldn’t wait to sit down and start plugging away. You finished the outline and maybe even got through the first chapter without a problem. Then life happened. |
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Every writer at one time or another suffers from writer's block. It's that painful inability to get your thoughts down on paper and it comes after all different kinds of writers. Unlike other ailments, writer's block is not cured by taking two aspirins and going to bed. On the contrary, that approach can often only aggravate the condition, since pressure mounts and panic increases as the task is delayed. |
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Have you been struggling to finish your book? If you’ve been working on the project for what seems like forever, and made little or no progress, you might need to reconsider your motive for taking on the project in the first place. |
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Marketing is important for all writers who hope to sell their work—whether that means books or articles or writing skills. I used to work for a book publishing company, and for several months I was in charge of marketing my boss’s book. It was a writing reference book, actually, and although I had no idea what I was doing when I took over the project, I learned fast and had a lot of fun doing it. |
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Time is precious, and readers need a reason to keep reading—it’s a fact of life these days when information is available almost instantaneously. Especially in the Internet, you must get to the point right away, as studies have shown that on average you've only got nine seconds to make an impression and hook a reader before he or she clicks away. Readers want to know why they should bother reading the documents you produce, and they don’t want to wade through dense, unclear prose, which is why wr |
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Congratulations! You’ve finished writing your book. Now, it’s time to start thinking about how to get that manuscript published. The publishing industry grows every day, and authors have numerous options for getting their book into print. However, not all publishing companies are created equal. |
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We are a quirky bunch—that’s for sure. Every writer has different habits, unique strengths, and mistakes they always make in their work. For example, some can’t get started without a cup of coffee. Some always forget when to use “that” or “which.” And in some cases, these quirks severely limit a writer’s success. |
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When most people think about reporting, they think about journalists at the newspaper—those are the real pros. But reporting is going out and observing the real world, interviewing real people, and researching real places. And regardless of what you’re writing—a novel, a case study, your memoir—reporting can make your writing more personal and realistic. |
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One of the greatest challenges of writing a book is staying motivated throughout the project—this is something every writer struggles with at one time or another. And that’s okay. No one can stay focused 100 percent of the time. What’s important is that you stay committed to writing your book and you know how to re-motivate yourself when you feel like setting the project aside. |
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Whether you’re working on a narrative or instructional manuscript, self-editing skills are important to your success as a writer. However, many writers don’t know where to start when it comes to looking at their own writing objectively. They can easily skim through for grammar and punctuation errors, but when it comes to the effectiveness of the content and images they create on the page, their own perceptions can be very different from what a reader reads. |
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Make your sales letters stand out with these easy-to-follow writing and marketing strategies. |
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Hate writing? These five tips will help you improve your written communications, even if you don't like putting pen to paper. |
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Put this powerful strategy to work for your business now with these easy strategies for creating successful email newsletters. |
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You don't have to let writer's block control your life and your success as a writer. Use these strategies to eliminate writer's block from your writing life forever. |
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Media mentions are like free advertising for your business. Using the five strategies presented in this article, you can ensure your media savvy is effectively communicated to reporters and editors. |
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How long have you been working on your book? A year or better? If you’ve been working on your book—or rather, not working on it—for a long time, these strategies will help you rebuild the momentum and excitement you had at the start of the project. |
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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. If you’re working on a memoir, or a story based on your life, the four research strategies described in this article will not only help shape your story, but also give it depth and dimension beyond what you can remember. |
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As a writer, the most important person in your work life is your readers—the people who pick up your book, buy it, and take the time to read it; the people who see your article and contact you for more information; and the people who go to your web site and decide to buy your product or service. Your readers are your audience, the people you are trying to reach and persuade. Therefore, you should always keep your readers in mind as you write. |
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