Authorpad Publishing

05/19/2016

http://thanetwriters.com

03/14/2016

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02/28/2016

Platinum Pre-Writing Checklist to Write and Finish Your Book Fast
By Judy Cullins

#1. Have your research ducks in a row.

Maybe you're not an expert yet, but you need to know your topic and angles that relate to it. Right now, I have 6 Word documents open as research for my up-leveled VIP book coaching system. Using this info, I save them in properly folders on my computer, putting the right info in each one.

From these I rewrite everything, adding and subtracting what I need and what I need to let go of.

#2. Speak directly to your Platinum Ideal Audience.

Dig Deep to Really Know Your Ideal Audience

Whether you have a leadership role in your corporation or you are an experienced entrepreneur, you want to get your book and your message out to a large ideal audience. Your book is a great marketing piece to attract the finest clients.

What are their problems or concerns that relate to your area of expertise or knowledge? What do they stay up at night thinking about?

In each chapter, speak directly to their problems or challenges they want solutions for. In your hook, include the two or three benefits for reading your chapter.

Don't Make Your Book Journey Too Difficult

You'll want to plan for an ebook to start. I recommend your book has no more than five to seven chapters. Keep it short.

Today's audiences want easy, clear and simple to get the information fast.

#3. Write out pre-marketing actions before you write the chapter.

What are the 10 Hot-Selling Points?

1. Titles Sell Books.
2. Create an Irresistible Cover.
3. Write your non-fiction's thesis or your fiction's theme.
4. Know your Ideal Audience.
5. Write a short introduction like a mini sales letter.
6. Create your selling Table of Contents that speak directly to your Ideal Audience.
7. Write all of the book's and individual chapter's benefits and features.
8. Write your 30 second "tell and sell".
9. Write your back cover copy and web sales letter.
10. Get Testimonials from the Rich and Famous.

#4. Use short cuts to fast chapter writing.

Really, to write engaging chapters you don't need notes if you write out the questions your readers have about their particular challenges in your book's topic.

In the middle of the chapter, you simply answer their questions. That will really keep your book focused. You have to take them by the hand, and lead them to your gold.

#5. Stop writers block.

When you don't know your ideal reader or client, you'll get stuck often because you aren't sure fire focused and you struggle to put the words down. Writers block is a tough way to write anything.

It's common, but why? Just make sure you are fully prepared. Come to the page that already has some words on it. It's easier to add things than look at a blank page. Use music to soothe the beast in you.

Sharing is Caring!

Now that you've just got some great how to's to use as preparation to make your book shine, tell me and our readers what tip you liked and how you used it in your project.

Take the Next Step!

Some of you will want Judy's complete Platinum Writing Guide, to make your book or other writing project fun and much easier. Sometimes it's better to claim your space and get guidance that short cuts your struggles straight to the finish line.

Maybe I'm a lot like you. When I started in the 80's, it took me a few years to produce my first business book on how to write your book. I joined writers groups and took seminars. I got a few breaks too. I got connected with pros like Dan Poynter.

While this checklist doesn't address all the pre-marketing tips, you can find the rest will soon be covered in my VIP author program.

For now, I invite you to a discounted 30 minute strategy coaching session with me.

Save $35 with this code: SAVE35 (expires on 3/12/2016)

Signup for coaching today at: http://bookcoaching.com/strategy-session/

Want to write an eBook or a self published book? Did you start a book and not finish? Do you want feedback on what's brilliant and not so brilliant in your

02/22/2016

The importance of oral culture and tradition in Africa and the recent dominance of European languages through colonialism, among other factors, has led to the misconception that the languages of Africa either have no written form or have been put to writing only very recently. However, Africa has th…

02/08/2016

We are currently developing a web app for you as authors to use sell your books to the world and write books. What features would you want to see on it?

02/05/2016

Do you think books are mirrors or maps for their readers?

02/05/2016

You have no excuse as an author...

Although those with learning disabilities typically have trouble with communication, many writers are also in the high achieving, learning disabled club.

01/26/2016

Unbelievable.

Ingram Content Group and the Nashville Entrepreneur Center have found the startups they'll support in an effort to transform the publishing industry.

01/25/2016

What if Your Book Was Your Business? “Our authors and scholars are generally men of business, and make their literary pursuits subservient to their interests.” ―Benjamin Rush That is a business mentality from Mr Rush. When you serve well, you are served well in return. Basically, you are served prof…

01/22/2016

Five Tips to Improve Your Bookselling Efforts

The reward of holding a copy of your published work is indescribable. But it’s just one of the many exciting milestones in your journey to self publishing success. One key objective in your publishing journey is selling your book successfully. Here are five tips we think may help improve your efforts to increase book sales.

Build up your image as an author and a brand

Book buyers and readers gravitate to books—and authors—that appeal to them. The more you project yourself in a way that holds their attention, the more you gain their trust. Highlight the fact that you are now a published author. Add that to your email and forum signature lines. Don’t forget to add your website or social media profiles to here, as well as to your press release boilerplates. These may be small things, but they’re the building blocks to a positive image.

A quality 3rd-party review is important to successful bookselling

An honest and well-written 3rd-party review is invaluable. A positive review from a respected book reviewer will make your book stand out, improve its marketability and enhance your title’s, as well as your, reputation. Don’t be afraid to invite readers and indie reviewers to evaluate your book. Published reviews on sites like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and the iUniverse bookstore bolsters the credibility of your book encouraging new readers to part with their money knowing that they will get a good read in return.

Librarians are your best customers—and allies

Librarians are savvy, well-informed book buyers. They are the favorites of the traditional publishing houses, small presses, and self publishers. If librarians like your book and trust your brand, they will likely become some of your most effective bookselling allies. Their participation and support are valuable aids to your bookselling activities—sponsoring book signings, readings, meet-and-greet affairs, and Q&A activities at their libraries. So be sure to visit your local libraries and befriend your librarians.

Use your social media networks to connect and sell your book

While iUniverse carries all the titles of its authors in its online bookstore and through its partnerships with Amazon and Barnes and Noble, one of the most effective ways to sell you book is through social media networking. Generate news, book-related updates, and positive reviews through Twitter, Facebook and MySpace, and to the other online communities you belong to. Social networks are also great places to meet fellow authors and find new opportunities for selling your book.

Give e-book publishing a try

Electronic publishing is the new generation of book publishing. While the Internet has expanded your marketing reach beyond physical and geographical borders, e-books are allowing you to put your story into the palm of your readers. No matter where they are around the world, readers and consumers can now purchase and enjoy downloaded copies of your book using mobile devices. If you want to take your book selling to the next level, consider giving e-book publishing a try to expand your reach.

Writing and creating your story is a rewarding dream. When done correctly, your bookselling strategy will allow you to reach, and surpass, your that publishing dream. There are no shortcuts in bookselling—no magic spell or recipe to improve your sales. It comes down to careful planning to put yourself and your book in front of the entire reading world.

Did you know?

According to some sources, many early self published books found widespread success through direct book selling campaigns. Walt Whitman, James Joyce, E. E. Cummings, Rudyard Kipling, Edgar Allan Poe, Ezra Pound, Carl Sandburg, George Bernard Shaw, and Mark Twain, are just some of the famous authors who rolled up their sleeves to sell their own books!

01/22/2016

Tips for new and published writers. A book is like any other product out there it need to be marketed in order for it to be known by readers and for t to sell

Unsure how to market your book, or when to start marketing your book? 's Rachel Thompson breaks it down for you!

01/20/2016

Behind every stack of book there is a flood of knowledge.
Agree?

01/20/2016

When working on your first book, you're faced with an extremely daunting task. Regardless of whatever training or practice you've had in the past, it's still your first novel. At times it will be a highly enjoyable venture, but much of it will be excruciating. There are moments where you might want to throw in the towel, or where you'll feel completely lost. And when that happens just remember the wise words of the successful authors below — they hold the roadmap back to finishing your novel successfully.

1. "The best way to have a good idea is to have lots of ideas." - Linus Pauling

As a writer, this is square one. It doesn't matter how gorgeous your prose is or how smooth your dialogue flows if you don't have an idea in the first place. Coming up with ideas isn't necessarily easy, but the best way to catch a big fish is to cast a wide net. And the beauty of ideas is that you can get them from literally everywhere. Every place you go, every person you interact with, and everything you read can contribute to your idea pool. Once that's full all you have to do is pick through your net until you find the winner. That's when you put pen to paper.

2. "In nearly all good fiction, the basic — all but inescapable — plot form is this: A central character wants something, goes after it despite opposition (perhaps including his own doubts), and so arrives at a win, lose, or draw." - John Gardner

There's a lot of talk about the importance of being original when you write, but there's something more important to keep in mind. At the end of the day, every story is the same. Someone/thing is trying to do something/one and there's an obstacle. They either overcome it in some form or don't — then the story is over. People have tried to mix up the formula in the past but very rarely are those endeavors successful. There's no need to reinvent the wheel, though, because this structure has worked for thousands of years. Don't anticipate that to change when you wake up tomorrow.

3. "Begin with an individual, and before you know it you have created a type; begin with a type, and you find you have created – nothing." - F. Scott Fitzgerald

The first entry talked about ideas, and new writers often confuse idea with plot. Now, it's all well and good if you thought of this crazy catastrophe that you've never seen done before, but it doesn't mean s**t if your audience doesn't care about who it affects. Just take another look at the previous quote and re-read what it says about good fiction: it's about a central character. The problem (and challenge) is that you can't just pull some random stereotype out of pop culture and plop them into your story. Readers are going to see through that one dimension right away, because readers deal with real people every day. They know that real people are complex — so make your characters complex individuals. That may not be easy to do, but it is essential. So don't skimp on the complexities.

4. "Resist the temptation to try to use dazzling style to conceal weakness of substance." - Stanley Schmidt

Some writers hone their own voice through imitation. That kind of practice results in the writer picking up a lot of little technical tricks along the way. Those tricks — malleable diction, variable syntax, a long list of handy literary techniques — are great things to have in your back pocket, and they're often crucial to setting yourself apart from the rest of the pack. The thing is, they aren't going to culminate into a voice of your own. A voice develops by itself over time, and no amount of tricks will speed that process up.

5. "People on the outside think there's something magical about writing, that you go up in the attic at midnight and cast the bones and come down in the morning with a story, but it isn't like that. You sit in back of the typewriter and you work, and that's all there is to it." - Harlan Ellison

Some new writers are confused and discouraged when their story doesn't just flow out of their fingertips. They'll see others pumping books out like crazy and even doing well with many of them. And it wasn't that hard to come up with the idea after a few months of planning. Why, then, are others hitting their groove while you're not? That's because they haven't hit some kind of magic groove — they're busy grinding stories out. The only way to write a story is to keep writing. There aren't any short cuts.

6. "Books aren't written, they're rewritten. Including your own. It is one of the hardest things to accept, especially after the seventh rewrite hasn't quite done it..." - Michael Crichton

You didn't think you'd only have to write your book once, did you? Not a single book comes to mind that's been published after a single draft, and that's because no one is that good. Even if you do manage to sell a manuscript on your first draft, it will be edited by the publishers. So save everyone the time and just work on it until you get it right. That might take a lot of drafts too, so dig in for the long haul.

7. "The reason 99% of all stories written are not bought by editors is very simple. Editors never buy manuscripts that are left on the closet shelf at home." - John Campbell

This is probably the hardest thing for a new writer to come to terms with, and every writer has hidden the bulk of their work from everyone for fear of embarrassing themselves. That's perfectly fine and not every story is worth sharing with anyone. Still, you'll eventually have to get over that embarrassment and show someone something — and not just someone, but actual agents or publishers. Hell, even if you skip that and go the self-publishing route, your readers are going to see the story, right? So just rip off the Band-Aid and start sharing with those you trust. Even if the story isn't ready.

8. "Engrave this in your brain: EVERY WRITER GETS REJECTED. You will be no different." - John Scalzi

You're probably going to get rejected a lot, too. Most people do. The market is so saturated that even a good story can get overlooked among the dross. Just refuse to take no for a final answer. You'll get there one day.

9. "Only a person with a Best Seller mind can write Best Sellers." - Aldous Huxley

Not everyone wants to be a best-selling author and that's perfectly okay. But for those of you that dream about it, you absolutely need to be confident. If you talk about your book like it's not the next great American (or whatever literature-rich country you hail from) novel, there's a good chance it won't even come close. That doesn't mean you should go around running your mouth about how awesome you are, but you should be proud of what you've done. If you've written what you think is a best-selling novel, say so. If you don't even believe in your story, why would anyone else?

10. "Writing isn't generally a lucrative source of income; only a few, exceptional writers reach the income levels associated with the best-sellers. Rather, most of us write because we can make a modest living, or even supplement our day jobs, doing something about which we feel passionately. Even at the worst of times, when nothing goes right, when the prose is clumsy and the ideas feel stale, at least we're doing something that we genuinely love. There's no other reason to work this hard, except that love." - Melissa Scott

This one kind of explains itself, but it's arguably the most important piece of advice on this list. Never forget that you write because you love it. Even if you never make a penny from your stories, remember that's not what matters. If you do that, you'll definitely make it to the end of at least one novel one day.

11. "It is the writer who might catch the imagination of young people, and plant a seed that will flower and come to fruition." - Isaac Asimov

Remember when you were young and a particular book made you want to write? And even if the bug didn't bite you until later in life, no writer decided to write without loving to read first. That aside, the point is to keep in mind the effect your story can have on those that read it. Whether they're young or old, you can really change the course of someone else's life. Even if your book isn't lauded by the world as a literary revolution, you might inspire the person that does write such an acclaimed story. And for sci-fi writers, who knows? One day some of your ideas might become a reality because someone read your novel and couldn't rest until the ideas were real.

12. "There are three rules for writing. Unfortunately, no one can agree what they are." - Somerset Maugham

Last but not least, some advice that potentially negates all the rest. Everyone is going to have their own opinion on the best way to write and it's rare that everyone agrees on everything. So while it's good to keep the words of the successful in mind, don't feel stupid if you disagree. The only one who can say a particular way of writing works for you is yourself. And hey, if you manage to succeed in spite of what all the above authors have said, write us an email. We could probably stand to add you to this list.

01/20/2016

Found this inspiring hope you too will be inspired.

Inspiration for writers. Compiled by http://www.writingforyourwealth.com

01/20/2016

The Zimbabwe's authors Hall of Fame

Born in 1954 in Bulawayo, Virginia Phiri writes both non-fiction and fiction. She has three published novels, namely 'Desperate', 'Destiny' and 'Highway Queen'. Phiri is also an accountant by profession but it is her love and support for Zimbabwean authors (regardless of age, gender, beliefs, association, etc) that is outstanding. She has been our mother at WIN, never forgetting to pass through to see how we are doin' & to drop a word or two of advice on our programs. Mama Virginia, we adore you.

01/18/2016

01/14/2016

You are the best writer. Don't doubt yourself. Just put your ideas down on the paper. .co

01/10/2016

To all our writers, readers, and friends

01/10/2016

its now time to start writing that book. YES that book you have since drafted.Finish your book now the world is waiting # http://authorpad.co

This is a compilation of quotes and advice and stuff, most of which I found on Google Images. :) I hope you like them and/or find them helpful and/or inspiri...

01/10/2016

Your book your business..........

You're ready to write your book, excited and hoping for fame and fortune. But before you dive in, ask these 5 questions to check your business is ready for the attention.

01/10/2016

Tell us - what other types of news and information would you like to receive from us on social media?

01/09/2016

Writing is easy: All you have to do is start writing, finish writing, and make sure it’s good. But here’s some vastly more useful wisdom and advice from people who seriously know what the hell they’re talking about.

Writing is easy: All you have to do is start writing, finish writing, and make sure it's good. But here's some vastly more useful wisdom and advice...

01/09/2016

Tilana van Vuuren (Mrs Ndlovu) became an inspiring white figure on social media after posting her thought on black culture. Here is her Facebook post: "Dear

01/09/2016

Amazing stuff ...

Tilana van Vuuren (Mrs Ndlovu) became an inspiring white figure on social media after posting her thought on black culture. Here is her Facebook post: "Dear

01/09/2016

is a professional which will showcase you and , to a community of and !

01/08/2016

is a professional which will showcase you and , to a community of and !

01/07/2016

Struggling as an ? Stop only what you want to

Earning a living as a writer is as likely as winning the lottery. Instead of writing books and persuading others to buy them, find out what people...

01/07/2016

Rejected

I was only an egg when it happened,
That frivolous huge man in white,
He came in looking holy in white,
Oh how your lantern shone bright,
I will never understand, why him,

He spent the whole night in your room,
While I spent the night in full bloom,
I guess the whole act was unplanned,
For it had been planned I wouldn't have become,
I will never understand, why you?

I was the creation of sin,
Well that I truly accept,
For you broke the laws of nature,
You defied a religious commandment,
"You shall not commit adultery!"

Finally, after four hours, the act was over,
The sin already committed,
I wonder if you felt guilty at all,
Though my mind thinks you didn't,
I like to hope that you were remorseful.

He bid you farewell and went his way,
While you stayed behind and prayed,
You asked for forgiveness from the Lord,
He forgave you but nature had to take its course,
And nature was relentless with you.

After a few weeks of vomiting,
At first you thought it to be diarrhea,
And you comforted your wily self,
"It will be over in a matter of days
But I had already been lodged in your womb.

After a few days of never ending nausea,
You finally decided to test yourself,
A home pregnancy test was the first step,
And when that proved positive you took another,
You took many more because of denial.

When all was said and done,
And I confirmed to be inside you.
You lost your mind for a day or two
You couldn't bear the thought,
Of you being a teenage mother.

When you came to your senses,
Many, many days afterwards,
You decided to tell my father,
His reaction was to be expected,
A resounding slap across the face.

You two then decided to get rid of me,
At first you took to African methods,
You were made to drink many herbs,
But all those concoctions were in vain,
After hours of burning survived somehow.

Method two was the artificial way,
You took abortion pills, didn't work,
You used the manual method,
Hanger and nail, also didn't work,
I'm sorry mother for I survived somehow.

Finally, you sought for a greater panacea,
You took to this black ugly woman,
Her appearance must have been scary,
How did you do it? She probed me in you

,She reached out for me, mother WHY!!!!!

I could have been a doctor,
I could have been a lawyer,
Who knows? Maybel was the next Oprah,
You didn't give me a chance mother,
All you had to do was keep me.

Like melting ice in scorching heat,
So tears from my eyes endlessly ooze,
Yes, you got rid of me, relief you must feel,
You couldn't be a teenage mother, okay
I forgive you although i was rejected after all.


by TAFADZWA HELEN GAMBIZA

Fresh Ink collaborative poetry.
Now Available!
Grab your copy on
https://authorpad.co/product/fresh-ink-collaborative-poetry/

AUTHORPAD PUBLISHING CELEBRATING AFRICAN TALENT!!!!

01/07/2016

Home that can never be…

I vow,
if I ever go back
for good,
I will appreciate all
the things I never
really noticed or
valued,
waking up in my
father’s house,the
scent,faces,love…
oh lafamilia
No!I wasnt damned
or banished…
Its a path I chose,one
that breaks my heart,
one I have to travel
down on,
They begged me to
come back I laughed,
come back to what I
asked?
Its all gone in shambles
whats left are the ruins
of life that was once,
and stories of how it used
to be…
that wont put food on the
table or stability for the
future,
here I am now,a long way
away,
Wishing but knowing that
until it all goes back to
how it used to be,
home can never be.

By Catherine Magodo Mutukwa

https://authorpad.co/blog/poetry-competition/home-can-never/

01/06/2016

5 Characters Who Should Be In Your

5 Characters Who Should Be in Your Story Infographic

01/05/2016

Did you know the part of the brain associated with is also responsible for reasoning, judgement & planning?

01/05/2016

How do you get your for ?

Share your tips with us and our community!

01/03/2016

Happy ! How are we doing on those New Year's so far?

01/02/2016

Sometime you just need to start!