• The first step is to create a file folder called BOOK FILES or the title of your book.
• Step two is to create folders (within the BOOK FILES folder) for each chapter and give it a simple name, such as CHAPTER 1 and perhaps a keyword to remind you of the subject.
• Finally, inside the chapter folders you will keep your drafts, as you write them.

Imagine you are writing a book on communicating within an organization, and one of the chapters is on meetings. Within your folder called BOOK FILES or COMMUNICATING is a folder called CHAPTER 1: MEETINGS. Within that file folder is a document titled “Meetings,” draft #1, and the date you wrote it. This is how you write and save the document:

Meetings_1_041108.

Now, let’s say you are going to make changes to that document, but you don’t want to lose your original version. Before you write a single word, save it as Meetings_2_051109. Then, make your changes to the new draft. When you are finished, save the latest version. Within your MEETINGS folder your now have two files:

Meetings_1_041108
Meetings_2_051109

If you are doing a lot of rewriting, you may accumulate numerous drafts of each chapter. In the case of ten drafts, for example, your MEETINGS file folder would look like this:

Meetings 1_041108
Meetings 2_051109
Meetings 3_052008
Meetings 4_052508
Meetings 5_062508
Meetings 6_070208
Meetings 7_071108
Meetings 8_071208
Meetings 9_071608
Meetings10_072008

Why bother going to all this trouble? The answer is that you never know when you are going to want to refer to or use something you’ve written weeks or even months ago. If you had simply typed right over your words, they would be gone forever. Don’t imagine you will be able to remember what you wrote because, after 10 drafts of one chapter, believe me, you won’t. When the book is finished and in print, you can throw away your old drafts if you want to. I tend to keep them, however. I simply burn a CD and file the whole book away. “Better safe than sorry” may be a cliché, but it is one to live by when you are an author.

Bobbi Linkemer is a book coach, ghostwriter, editor, and the author of 16 books under her own name. She has been a professional writer for more than 40 years, a magazine editor, and a book-writing teacher. Her clients include Fortune 100 companies, entrepreneurs, and individuals who want to write books in order to enhance their credibility or build their businesses. Visit her Website at: www.WriteANonfictionBook.com.

Murphy’s Law seems to reign freely when it comes to live radio and planning events of any sort. When I begin working with my author clients I ask them to read over material I’ve created about “How to Conduct a Great Radio Interview” and “What to Wear on a TV Interview,” etc. One of the first things I recommend is to be sure to ask radio stations in advance to record upcoming live interviews. These can then be added to the author’s web site and even transcribed to glean new content for speeches, articles or another book.

After being informed that they would not be able to record the interview with Linda Jeschofnig, CEO of Hands-On Labs, Inc., the author’s executive assistant, Joan Buck, immediately started researching how to record live streaming radio from the web to her local PC. “First, I quickly investigated the sound options in the control panel of Windows 7. No luck there. Next to the Internet where I discovered Audio Record Wizard from NowSmart Software Studio http://www.nowsmart.com/index.php.  They offer a free download, which was fast and easy.”

“Sadly, the free download only offers 3 minutes of recording time and the scheduled interview now rapidly approaching was to be 10 minutes in length. The Audio Record Wizard program featured a “buy now” button which took me directly to their site and the transaction was processed seamlessly. Their site even issues the license key immediately with the payment confirmation so there’s no need to wait for an email with that information. A quick copy and paste of the license key and I was recording the interview within seconds,” says Buck. “A couple of wayward sounds that entered the recording indicating an email on Outlook had just come in were removed with RealPlayer Trimmer software,” adds Buck.

Bottom line: Going forward, I am adding Audio Record Wizard to my list of items all authors should have on their computers. What a wonderful gift that bolt of lightning provided! We recommend this valuable tool is used on all live radio interviews that offer streaming audio on the web.

Book publicist Scott Lorenz is President of Westwind Communications, a public relations and marketing firm that has a special knack for working with authors to help them get all the publicity they deserve and more. Lorenz works with bestselling authors and self-published authors promoting all types of books, whether it’s their first book or their 15th book. He’s handled publicity for books by CEOs, Navy SEALS, Homemakers, Fitness Gurus, Doctors, Lawyers and Adventurers. His clients have been featured by Good Morning America, FOX & Friends, CNN, ABC Nightly News, The New York Times, Nightline, TIME, PBS, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Washington Post, Family Circle, Woman’s World, & Howard Stern to name a few. Learn more about Westwind Communications’ book marketing approach at www.book-marketing-expert.com  or contact Lorenz at scottlorenz@westwindcos.com or by phone at 734-667-2090. Follow Lorenz on Twitter @aBookPublicist.

The next thing you need is a good connection to the Internet. I recommend broadband, wireless or using an aircard. In my opinion, dialup is not good enough. I also recommend good protection against hacking. Some say that the Windows software is good enough, though I like to err on the side of caution. I recommend a LAN based firewall. In my opinion, the Linksys D-Link router is a good choice. For wireless security, the I recommend either Linksys or the Apple Airport Express Base Station. If you travel with your laptop, I recommend using the Asus WL-330gE Wireless Access Point, which is a portable router.

For communications, I recommend a cell phone and Skype on the Internet. Some people prefer a land-based line and this is fine, though if you travel a lot, I’ve had the best results with Skype. Another option is magicJack, but I’ve found that it drains too much power on a laptop, especially if you use wireless. magicJack is better for a hard wire connection. For recording conversations, I recommend the Pamela application, which works fairly well. After the fact, if you want to edit the audio, get yourself a copy of Audacity. It’s a free application and works quite well.

For working with text, the two main options are MS Word and Open Office. When working with Web documents, I recommend writing your content in Textpad or Notepad. Do Not Use Microsoft Word for HTML. MS Word has a tendency to insert undesirable characters into your message. This is especially noticeable with quotation marks and apostrophes. As an alternative, compose your text in ASCII format using Notepad on the PC or similar on the Mac. Another option is to use a third party program like Textpad. This is especially applicable if you intend to send in HTML submissions for posting on the web. NEVER, ever, use MS Word for this purpose. MS Word creates a huge amount of code when it makes a conversion to HTML and it will create a nightmare for the editor on the other end. Instead, use a program like Dreamweaver, which will give you pure HTML output. The down side of Dreamweaver is the cost, so if you want a no-frills HTML editor, I recommend NoteTab, which offers several options: A text editor, a replacement for Notepad and an HTML editor.

For illustrations, I recommend CorelDRAW or Illustrator. Both will do the job, though Illustrator is more expensive. For image editing, you have several choices: Photoshop on the high-end, then PHOTO-PAINT, Paintshop Photo Pro and GIMP. For my business, I use Photoshop and PHOTO-PAINT. For screen shots, I highly recommend Snagit, by Techsmith. This is a great program and will allow you to save your screen shots in a variety of formats.

Photography is another consideration. If you use images in your articles, there are several options. One is stock photography, which could be great time saver. Another option is to shoot the images yourself. I recommend buying an all-purpose point and shoot camera like the Canon G11, partly because it offers Camera RAW, which allows for extensive image manipulation. The one down side of point and shoot cameras is their poor performance in low light conditions. If low light performance is important to you take a look at the Canon Rebel.

Looking for success as a freelance Writer? Download a *free* chapter and learn how to find great writing jobs at http://www.freedomfreelancewriting.com.

As part of my book marketing strategy, I have made several contacts and established continuing business relationships with iPhone App developers. The experience and knowledge I have gained convinces me that the successful book promoter will tap into any and every iPhone App that’s related in any way to their book.

An excellent case study is the Kids Book App (www.kidsbookapp.com), an iPhone App created by 1776 Productions that connects book buyers directly with the San Francisco Book Review (SFBR) and Sacramento Book Review (SBR) which produce some 500 new book reviews every month from 40 genres – most of them books for young adults, pre-teens, and children.  The Kids Book App not only provides hundreds of book reviews, but also author-related events, such as tour stops and book signings, in addition to author podcast interviews.

1776 Productions was launched in 2008 by Heidi Komlofske  and Ross Rojek to help readers find new books and authors and to be a means to support and encourage writers, publishers, and readers. One of the latest ventures of 1776 Productions is the Kids Book Review App, which can be downloaded at the iTunes App Store.

Any author of a book written for children, middle schoolers, teens, or young adults will certainly want to do what it takes to get a review of their book done by SBR or SFBR, which can be accessed anytime, anywhere by book buyers using the Kids Book App to make a purchase decision. In offering your book up for review, remember that SBR/SFBR is only interested in new releases that are within 90 days of their release date.

“There are a few options for book publicists or authors to submit a book for review with us,” says Ross Rojek. “We have about 150 books a week coming in for review, with about 130 book reviewers.  Options for submitting a book for review are available at http://www.sanfranciscobookreview.com/submission-guidelines/

The address for mailing books is: 1215 K Street, 17th Floor, Sacramento, CA  94518. http://www.sanfranciscobookreview.com

One author who found this service especially helpful was Karen McFarren, author of “Flaherty’s Crossing”, who comments:  “As an author, reviews are incredibly important and a wonderful tool for marketing your book. My experience with Sacramento Book Review/San Francisco Book Review was nothing short of amazing. I received an honest, timely appraisal of my story and would love to have future novels reviewed by this professional group.  Their name, alone, adds credibility and should be on the top of any author’s review list!”

If the Kids Book App does not meet your criteria, simply go to the iPhone Store and search the apps on sale there for one that is appropriate and relevant to your book marketing needs. Then go to the developer’s website and learn more about the App and how to get your book listed.

Technology opens many new doors for us each month. Let’s be sure we enter every one!

Book publicist Scott Lorenz is President of Westwind Communications, a public relations and marketing firm that has a special knack for working with authors to help them get all the publicity they deserve and more. Lorenz works with bestselling authors and self-published authors promoting all types of books, whether it’s their first book or their 15th book. He’s handled publicity for books by CEOs, CIA Officers, Navy SEALS, Homemakers, Fitness Gurus, Doctors, Lawyers and Adventurers. His clients have been featured by Good Morning America, FOX & Friends, CNN, ABC News, New York Times, Nightline, TIME, PBS, LA Times, USA Today, Washington Post, Woman’s World, & Howard Stern to name a few. Learn more about Westwind Communications’ book marketing approach at http://www.book-marketing-expert.com or contact Lorenz at scottlorenz@westwindcos.com or by phone at 734-667-2090.

Anyone can throw a Virtual Party for any reason and the set up is fun and free.

CREATE A PARTY WEBSITE

Do this at least two months in advance. It takes information time to travel throughout the web. Create a party website that’s attached to your author website. Build a party blog for the sole purpose of hosting daily or weekly party updates. If you are a multiple book author, keep the blog for all of your parties and invite current party goers to review your scrapbook of previous parties.

Plan out your weekly prizes, posts related to the book or guest, give tidbits about the book and your guest. Even spotlight like works from other authors.

Keep the party going and post monthly games, prizes, post related to your up and coming works. You can always point folks back to your party site and if you keep it going people will always want to return.

PARTY MUST HAVES

Offer party favors weekly(these are gifts given prior to the release day of the party), music, video interview of the author, video interview of guest, book trailer, gifts, contest, book excerpts, chat room, guest book, cover art, book reviews, email box, and anything you would think would improve the fun.

PARTY PROMOTIONS

To promote your party you could do the following; press release, tweet it, facebook it, newsletter, email it, tell everyone in the forums you visit and ask people to pass the word on.

Another author friend of mine used a service to offer up over $1000 in prizes for her Amazon Book Launch Party. She went on a week campaign of countdown advertising and prize offers with games. She updated her blog, sent email newsletters, tweeted, facebook, myspace, evite and the word spread. She’d moved up the ranks in the Amazon ranking system from the millions to around 20K. Not bad for a first party attempt.

COMPLIMENTS TO THE PARTY

Have a real party too! You can have a small local launch party and invite guest to log into the Virtual After Party while they are at the small local party. Sign the online guest book and do videos and pictures that will be posted on the Virtual Party site. After the local party, post pictures on the PARTY BLOG and kick off the next virtual party.

LM Preston is the author of The Pack and Explorer X – Alpha www.lmpreston.com and http://lmpreston.blogspot.com

A key strategy in any marketing program is to know your competition and successful authors will research competitors before investing time in writing, editing, re-writing, and publishing. How many others have written on the same topic? How have those topics sold? What similar books have done the best? And what made these books successful?

This may sound like a daunting task but it is now as easy as sipping iced tea on a hot, humid day, thanks to a new website called TitleZ – www.titlez.com.  TitleZ allows users to instantly retrieve historic and current Amazon rankings on competitors’ books and create reports with 7-, 30-,90- day and lifetime averages. More importantly, you can use this tool to research your next book or create a marketing plan using the information furnished.

By visiting TitleZ you can compile a list of related books, comparing and contrasting sales figures and rankings. You will want to hurry and check it out now while it’s free in its beta testing stage. After the beta testing period expires the service will be available by paying a monthly subscription fee.

As a book marketing specialist, I have found TitleZ to be very useful in offering book marketing advice to my clients. Authors will find this tool helpful in coming up with book publicity and book publishing strategies.

Visit www.titlez.com to learn how a specific book or a group of books has performed over time relative to other books on the market. All you have to do is enter a book title, a subject, author or publisher and TitleZ within seconds comes up with a comprehensive list of books from Amazon.com plus historical sales ranking data. This information allows authors to see how topics and specific books perform over time and to appreciate what’s hot and what’s not.

Among the advantages TitleZ cites when using its tool are:

• Identify trends with book-buying consumers beyond the top ten lists to see within a given topic which books are gaining in interest and which are declining.
• Quickly and easily uncover best-selling and up-and-coming authors on a specific topic.
• Review renderings of book covers, along with sales ranking data, to see what design features are working in the current marketplace.
• By examining prices of competitors’ books you can make a better informed decision on what to charge for your book.
• Find out how effective promotional appearances, tours, book signings, and marketing activities are in driving sales.

If you aren’t totally convinced yet that TitleZ is worth a cup of coffee’s time to try out, than just visit the site, point and click two or three times, enter just one subject, and examine the data returned. You’ll then become convinced. For more information about book marketing visit: http://www.book-marketing-expert.com
About Scott Lorenz

Scott Lorenz is President of Westwind Communications, a public relations and marketing firm that has a special knack for working with individuals and entrepreneurs to help them get all the publicity they deserve and more. Lorenz has handled public relations and marketing for numerous authors, doctors, lawyers, inventors and entrepreneurs. As a book marketing expert Lorenz is called upon by top execs and bestselling authors to promote their books. Learn more about Westwind Communications’ book marketing approach at www.westwindcos.com/book or contact Lorenz at scottlorenz@westwindcos.com or by phone at 734-667-2090.

I prefer an on-line critique group. All right, I confess. My computer keyboard has crumbs in it. My preference for donuts isn’t the only reason I don’t participate in a face-to-face group. I could list a dozen, but my mouth’s full at the moment. Let me quote a group of writers who participate in my favorite on-line organization — The Internet Writing Workshop .

• “I can drop in on a discussion any time of day or night. It’s not like a face-to-face group where you have a scheduled time and place, then have limited time to critique and be critiqued.”
• “You meet people from all over the world who share their writing experience and training.”
• “On-line suits my peripatetic lifestyle. With the advent of lap tops and wi-fi I can read and write wherever and stay in touch forever. “
• “It is as anonymous as you wish it to be. Share only as much of who you are as you feel comfortable doing.”
• “You don’t have to dress up to participate, nor do you have to worry about the traffic to reach the group on time.”

The IWW operates via email. It’s comprised of multiple critique lists — fiction, nonfiction, novels, poetry, prose, young adult, practice, and teen writing — plus a general list discussing writing. The genre lists generally are restricted to submission and critique postings only and have participation requirements.

The IWW is free. It is not fee-based. Instead it operates by a practical application of the Golden Rule. Offer plenty of critiques, offer your best critiques, and you’ll find your submissions receive intelligent, thoughtful critiques of your own submissions.

Additionally, it operates under the auspices of efficient and effective moderators. The supervision isn’t overbearing, but flamers are booted immediately and lurkers are removed.

The IWW is one of the more prominent and professional organizations on the Internet. And it can boast a list of participants who have had significant publishing success. Few of us can write without learning from authentic and productive criticism. The IWW is where I find writers who will tell me the truth about the quality of my work.

You can find details about The Internet Writing Workshop here: http://www.internetwritingworkshop.org/.

Gary Presley http://GaryPresley.com/ is an essayist whose work has been published in Salon.com, Notre Dame Magazine, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and several other venues. His memoir, Seven Wheelchairs: A Life beyond Polio, was published in 2008 by The University of Iowa Press.

I would like to introduce you to Skirbit. Skirbit.com allows an author to easily add a small widget to their blog which gives readers a chance to communicate directly with the author. At the end of the blog, this small widget asks one simple question “What should I write about?” What a perfect question. This allows an author to customize blogs based on reader suggestions.

If you want to be one of those authors who are really in touch with your audience, Skribit allows you to do just that. Learning how to sell books on the Internet is a meticulous process but if you can get feedback, not only from customers, but potential customers, it will make the process much easier.

Once you create an account with Skirbit, you are presented with an easy to use dashboard to easily create your widget. Simply code the code given to you in your blog and you’re done.

Remember, the marketing calendar is finally available, and for only $5.95/month. You will get daily emails of exactly what you need to do to market a book online. I realized how hard it was to sell my books once they were published, but after years of experience, I am brining my knowledge to your email box on a daily basis. Even if you want to write a book, this will be a great preparation tool for you.

Michael Volkin is the author of the new book Social Networking for Authors-Untapped Possibilities for Wealth. Check out his book and book marketing services at www.SellaTonofBooks.com.

Some of the authors whose books I’m editing send notes to me via their BlackBerries. That makes me wonder … are they also trying to write their books on these little texting gizmos? A BlackBerry is very powerful, but it seems to me that holding a key down until the letters turns into a capital or hitting ALT plus whatever or scrolling until you find a symbol would drain the creativity right out of you. You’d get so busy on that nifty little keyboard that you’d forget your plot, your dialogue, the philosophical argument you’re trying to make. As a friend of mine wrote (on her BlackBerry), Writing a book on a BBerry is masochist to the max if you ask me ((-; And, gee, I guess she forgot to double space so the gizmo would “period the sentence.”

Ya gotta have a decent keyboard. A few days before my new computer was delivered, I forgot to put the cover over my keyboard when I took my morning walk. I came back to find that one of cats had thrown up on the keyboard. You can’t type in cat puke. Nor can you clean it out from between the keys. I ran to Staples and bought their cheapest keyboard. But it stood at the wrong angle. The keys were smaller and closer together than I was accustomed to. I was working on a magazine article, but that cheap keyboard drove me nuts. I was so focused on staying on the home row that I couldn’t keep my thoughts straight.

If you’re writing a book of any kind, you need not to be distracted by your keyboard. No matter if you’re writing on a desktop or a laptop, make sure your hands and arms are comfortable. If you’re writing a novel and your hands are stressed, you can be sure you’ll end up with carpel tunnel or a repetitive motion injury. Don’t do that to yourself. What you’re writing is important to you and your potential readers. If you use a decent keyboard, then you can focus on your work, not on sore wrists.

Barbara Ardinger, Ph.D. (www.barbaraardinger.com), is a published author and freelance editor. To date, she has edited more than 200 books, most of them for authors going to small, vanity, or on-demand presses. To learn more about the editing services Dr. Barbara Ardinger offers, please visit her web site at www.barbaraardinger.com.

Each writer will have his or her own favorite writing books. Numerous books on writing are available for various stores and online. Writers are free to choose whichever ones work for them.

Anyone that wants to be a writer needs some of the following books in his or her library:

A good dictionary, like the Merriam-Webster Collegiate
A good Thesaurus

The Chicago Manual of Style

If you write journalistic articles, or web content, a current Associated Press Guide to Newswriting.

If you write academic writing, a current MLA and APA may need to be in your library.

All writers should also consider a copy of Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury

For those writers that wish to write Science Fiction, consider an old book, The Engines of the Night by Barry N. Malzberg (It is an out of print book, but you may be able to find a copy.)

The best thing any writer can do to help them learn their craft, it to READ in the genre you want to write.

On a personal note: A program called WordWeb Pro is a very helpful program which I use often.

Also, consider subscribing to Merriam-Webster online. For $29.95, you have access to a number of dictionaries, a thesaurus, and an encyclopedia online. You can sign up at Merriam-Webster Online.

Many publishers want documents in Word 97-2003 Document. If you happen to have Microsoft Office 2007, you have to option to save as Word 97-2003. It seems the Word 2007 has its own extension that some people may have trouble reading with older versions of Word.

Robert Medak built a website where he offers his services, and maintains five blogs. He also maintains two blogs for AllBook Reviews,
and does marketing for AllBooks. Robert created a social networking site for freelance writers at Ning.com. He keeps it an invitation only site to keep spammers out, he has been plagued enough with spammers in other writers’ sites where he is a member. He also maintains a critique group at Yahoo Groups called “critiquings”. Robert created a course for writers at Writers’ Village University (WVU) which he has facilitated, he has facilitated other courses at WVU. He also helped establish a Creative Writing Workshop at WVU.

Website: http://stormywriter.com or blog, http://rjmedak.wordpress.com/.