Writing and Speaking

Well it seems that the price of textbooks in college is getting quite a bit of flak, and there are folks in the digital realm who are ready to revolutionize that industry, and seek a little revenge. That’s right, digital textbooks fully linked to all sorts of sources, and fully searchable using similar tools to that which are on your Internet Browser Software and fully integrated will soon be here. In fact many universities are already starting to do this.

Of course, it’s not just textbooks, digital media is quickly merging with electronic books or e-books. Many of the top authors now have e-books available, and they are selling them faster and making more money on each unit then they would on regular printed books. If you are a tree in the forest, I suppose this is good news for you. Less paper needed means fewer trees to be cut down, and I can hear the environmentalists now; “thanks to e-books we are saving the rain forest.”

I’m going to start this article with a confession.

It’s going to sound a bit like braggadocio, but in reality, it’s kind of the opposite.

I’ve written OVER 5,000 unique articles that have been submitted to OFFSITE content directories, for the purpose of driving traffic.

I’ve also managed, supervised and directed the submission of another 5,000 conservatively as well… which in toto, has resulted in many millions of readers, in a plethora of pen names, niches and markets that I couldn’t guesstimate if I tried.

And while I love writing… the truth is, it was A LOT of work. (and sometimes, I even ask myself, while it’s enabled me to do some sensational things and accomplish far more than most, if it truly was the easiest path to get where I am today)

That’s why it’s not really a bragging thing… as I’m occasionally envious of the folks who got the same results through easier effort.

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In the 1990s, article marketing was meant for people sharing some good information with each other. This sharing was termed as ‘the spirit of internet’ those times, and this spirit remains even today, though it not so evident. The internet was mostly used for free and quick exchange of information amongst the people. Those days, there were no article repositories, and news letters were known as Ezines. They came much prior to the article banks started out. When people desired to share their articles with people on the web, they used to publish their article on a website, a Usenet newsgroup or on Ezine. In due course of time, people made it possible for other Ezine publishers to start utilizing their articles, and this is how the author’s resource box came to exist.

I’m a fairly techie person. I’m on the computer so much, sometimes I think it would be more practical to have a microprocessor implanted directly into my brain so I wouldn’t have to sit at my desk all the time. But although I’m pretty expert with the Internet, social media, WordPress, web pages, etc., there are two areas in which I’m a bit of a late bloomer. One is mobile technology (I’ll be talking more about that in a later article). I only just got my first “smart” phone (a Blackberry) less than 6 months ago. And while I work with authors ALL the time, the second area to which I am admittedly a late bloomer is the world of digital format books — eBooks.

Are you are ready to take charge of your writing career? It is your time. The world has opened to you. Technology has changed. There has never been a better time for self publishers.

The avenues that are open to you as a writer now are new, innovative, and exciting. You don’t need a “Traditional Publisher”.

I know exactly what you are going through as a self published paperback author. I walked in your moccasins for many, many, miles. I know every inch of the road.

Here’s what I know about you:

You are passionate about writing.
You put thousands of hours into your manuscript.
You wrote it and rewrote it countless times.
Your editor tells you, you are good to go and you have a winner.
You sought out publishers and agents and followed their submission guidelines to a tee.
You waited and waited in eager anticipation for their decision.

You should not lose hope in your quest to becoming a successful speaker due to a fear of public speaking. Many people have this common fear. Speaking in public frequently has helped a lot of people overcome this fear, but this alone is not a guarantee that you’ll completely conquer this fear. Below are some helpful hints that’ll help ease your public speaking nerves.

A poor understanding of your topic leads to a low state of confidence. Before you speak, make sure that you have enough time to prepare to the point where you have an excellent mastery of your topic. Doing this will result in a big difference both in how you deliver your message and in the way you interact with your audience. Mastery of your topic makes you feel like an authority on the subject matter at hand. To be able to be prepared like this, do your research extensively. Not having a strong conviction on where you stand on an issue is another reason why you may be afraid of public speaking. You should be certain about your personal stance on the issue before you speak with your audience. It will help you become a credible speaker.

Creating an engaging and compelling public service announcement – PSA -is not as easy as it may seem at first glance. For starters, you generally have thirty seconds or less to get your message across and create its intended effect, be it to create awareness or motivate listeners to act in some fashion. This is not as easy as it may look!

Here are three ways to create a PSA you can be proud of:

1. Hire a quality PSA production studio

While PSA production studios come in many sizes and shapes, the best studios have creative people who will work with your organization or message and mold it into a concept you resonate with. When looking for a studio to produce your PSA, make sure you look at the studio’s previous work and also have a good feeling about the creative person you will be interacting with.

My first suggestion is to write your book! You have had it in your heart, you’ve had it in your mind for how long? And you haven’t sat down to write it yet!

So you want to write a fiction book, non fiction, a mystery, a fantasy, an autobiography: Whatever you want to write, all you have got to do is sit down and write it but when you do sit down to write, don’t ever worry about editing, don’t worry about misspellings, don’t worry about any of that kind of stuff. Just write your book and get it in your keypad, just keep on writing, write until it’s done because you’ve always wanted to do it and you are never going to be satisfied until you have done it or at least attempted it and then you can say at least you have tried to write a book or maybe you’ll end up writing a book and..maybe you’ll be a best seller! Or maybe not, but at least you’ve tried!

IRONIC INDEED! In this Age of electronic wonders and instant communication, as we step forward into 2012 the Christmas message has been sounding faint. “Peace on Earth” and “Love Thy Neighbour” struggle nowadays to be heard above the anger against greed and corruption. There is no continent free of protest by the people.

Just before the annual celebration of the birth of Jesus, Time Magazine acknowledged global wrath by naming “The Protester” as its front cover personality of the year 2011. From the Holy Land to everywhere else, there was, and remains, public outcry. The Protester has dominated the past year’s news. In the Bookworld it’s different. Here the personality of the year was also publisher of the year. It was the self-published author.