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How to Become an Author

Today we look at what your options are when writing and editing a book, and the bigger picture of how to become an author. These endeavors – the journey of book writing and the resulting life of an author – are among the most cherished and rewarding of all. I make a point of emphasizing that to aspiring authors because so many find the process of sorting through all the options, the decision-making, and the work of actually writing WELL WORTH IT.

WRITING SERVICES

Full-service companies offer authors everything from collaborative book writing to ghostwriting, editing and more. For example, Writer Services accepts inquiries about any and all aspects of writing a book. We work with aspiring and established authors and entrepreneurs alike to determine which of our services will best achieve our clients’ goals.

Our services include:

Ghostwriting – You simply tell us what you want, and we take care of everything else. As explained in further detail below, your name (and your name only) appears on the cover of your book as author. In other words, your writer remains anonymous.

Collaborative book writing – With this service, we work with you one-on-one through every step of the book writing journey. If you’d like to be more involved in the process of writing than what’s available through a ghostwriting service, this might be the perfect choice for you. You get to be involved as much or as little as you want.

Developmental editing – A more engaged, ongoing editing relationship throughout your book writing process is available through this particular service.

To most authors, this is an invaluable service because of the camaraderie between you and your editor. You have someone to rely on and trust in who will be very honest with you about the quality of your work and the effectiveness of your writing. Any doubts or reservations about your book are resolved.

You can look at this service as more collaboration than in ghostwriting and regular line editing, but less than in collaborative book writing.

Line Editing/Copy Editing – This is a high-quality editing service provided in a more traditional writer-editor relationship. Your material is checked for grammar and sentence structure.

Proofreading – We provide a service that puts the final polish on your work. S/he checks your manuscript for spelling, consistency of the use of punctiation marks and many other things these unsung heros do to make you look like a true professional.

Social media and traditional marketing As a full-service firm, we also offer marketing of your book(s) using our social media and traditional marketing resources. Our marketing services are available at several price points to fit your budget and goals.

GHOSTWRITING DEFINITION

Ghostwriting is a writing service where a hired professional book writer, who remains unnamed, writes your book—using ideas and concepts provided by the hiring party—which is then credited to the payer/author.

WRITING MENTOR

A writing mentor works closely with you, offering their vast experience and unique insight. Every aspect of being a book writer and being an author is real to your mentor, because s/he is a seasoned book writer and experienced author.

You may find that you learn quite a lot just by working with them, such as their writing habits, theories, and even style, which is okay because those inevitably give way to your own preferences as you grow as an author.

To give you a clearer picture of writer/mentor dynamics, you might have a look at one or two unique depictions of the relationship in film.

The Only Living Boy in New York (2017) stars Jeff Bridges as a successful author who stumbles into the mentorship of a young man who is his neighbor.

Adult World (2013) stars John Cusack as the reluctant mentor of a young woman who admires him greatly.

Although these portrayals aren’t typical, they offer a sense of the personal interactions that create the mentor-author bond.

Video Transcript:

“The life of an author is often portrayed as strictly independent – a one-person show. But, did you know that working with a mentor is one of the best gifts you can give your own writing? Even the great philosopher Plato had a mentor in Socrates. Plato, in turn, mentored Aristotle. Great minds seek other great minds to improve their work.”

WRITING COACH / WRITER COACH

Writing coaches (or writer coaches) differ from writing mentors in the type of relationship they offer to the author.

The writing coach is not necessarily an author themselves, and their role is more like that of a motivator. They’re not the same as a life coach, though, in that they usually have some experience with editing and/or another facet of writing.

Accountability, inspiration and motivation are the tools of the writing coach’s trade. You might find that the interactions with your writing coach are less personal and deep than those with a mentor. Still, without question, to have someone to answer to is better than having no one at all.

WRITING LESSONS

There are a great variety of writing lessons and classes available online and off. These, of course, can be taken alone or as part of a coaching or mentoring program. They might come in the form of:

1. Writing prompts – Prompts are challenges and/or ideas you can use to jump-start your daily writing practice.

 2. Creative writing classes – Just about every university, community college, and adult continuing education program offers a course on creative writing. Almost all of them also offer the course(s) virtually.

 3. Membership websites – With the recent boom in online learning due to the pandemic, we may begin to see more membership training sites showing up. Though there aren’t many out there to date, we are extremely proud to announce our own membership website for authors! You can get more information about how you can have on-going guidance for literally just pennies a day. It’s called Author Utopia. See it by clicking the following link: https://www.authorutopia.com

 4. Vocabulary expansion – Words are the endless variety of colors available to squeeze onto your writer’s palette. The greater your vocabulary, the better you will do at expressing your ideas in compelling and varied language.

Reading is one great way to expand your knowledge of words, but there are dozens of other ways, too. Online tools such as dictionaries and thesauruses provide vast opportunities for learning. You might also try a quick search for “vocabulary expander” and/or “vocabulary tests”.

5. Reading for writing – In my own experience, I find reading an excellent lubricant for writing. The published word has a certain power to condition an author’s mind towards better writing. As you read, you learn the music of well-written phrases. Like a catchy tune, this music stays with you as you write. You write more and more, eventually finding your own unique voice and your own “songs.”

Also, reading improves your vocabulary. This is proven. Some wise writers keep a list of words they don’t know and look them up after a session of reading. In these ways, reading is one of the best activities to improve your own writing.

6. Journaling prompts – In journals, you’re writing the true story of your life as you experience it or shortly thereafter. You can see how this practice can help you develop your own authentic voice as an author. As with creative writing prompts, there exist many sites that offer prompts for journaling.

6. Editing classes – Editing isn’t just a task, it’s an art. Writer and editors (especially), must look at  manuscripts with a critical eye. Is a phrase redundant? Delete it. Can a different word provide pleasant alliteration? Use that word instead. Clarity, efficiency, inventiveness – all these and more are the goals of excellent editing.

7. Grammar and punctuation – A good writer is never done learning and relearning the rules of writing. Just as a jazz musician must learn their basic scales before launching into improvisation, an author must know the rules thoroughly before they break them.

8. Journalism and blogging – These two types of writing have ethics and rules of their own. It’s worthwhile to familiarize yourself with these, even if they’re not your specialties. It’s likely that some of the practices and skills involved in journalism and/or blogging will translate to an aspect of your future writing processes.

9. Research and writing – Research is another rewarding endeavor for writers. When researching a topic – any topic at all – you might gain all types of ideas and inspiration for your book. Depending on what you’re writing, research could account for a large percentage of your time working. For example, non-fiction books generally require extensive research into the real people and actual events you’re writing about.

10. Poetry workshops – Here’s a double-power tool for improving your work. Writing poetry hones your senses of efficiency, rhythm, and tone, as well as aiding your creativity and inventiveness. Workshops offer contact and interaction with other writers, and everyone usually emerges from them better editors.

11. Character creation and development – Classes are also available for specific aspects of the fiction-writing process. Think of the value of well-developed, three-dimensional characters to a good novel. Learning this skill can go a long way in making you an effective writer.

12. Fiction for beginners – On the other hand, you might not be ready to dive into in-depth classes on specific techniques. Fiction lessons for beginners are great ways to dip your toe in the water and get a feel for the process and promise of a professional writing career. Make all the mistakes you want! In beginners classes, you’re free from the pressures you might feel elsewhere. In the meantime, you’re getting solid footing for the next steps towards authorship of a book.

13. Advanced writing – Maybe you’ve already taken many of the classes I’ve listed above. Maybe you’ve even written a book or two. Your learning isn’t done! Advanced classes offer learning opportunities to authors who are ready to accept the next higher challenge.

BOOK EDITING SERVICES

“Writing is editing,” is an old adage that holds true today. Editing affords your work a reader, among other benefits. A reader/editor who is not the author often facilitates the best results. Writing is communication, and communication is always a two-way street. You want to make sure that what you’re writing is as close as possible – in clarity, meaning, and tone – to what the reader perceives.

We often think of editing as work done exclusively after a book is written. That isn’t the case at all. In fact, editing often begins in earnest at the beginning of your second draft. So, it’s useful to think of editing as much more than polishing a completed draft.

Working with a developmental editor, for instance, is a fantastic way to refine ideas as you go along. You might find that this type of editing service helps put you on the writing path that you were seeking all along. 

Working with a developmental editor means having a working relationship, including dynamics both personal and professional, with an experienced author with whom you feel comfortable. This type of editor guides you towards not only improving your writing but also clarifying and defining your message. Think of this person as just one step shy of a mentor. In fact, a developmental editor can become your mentor under certain circumstances. The definitions are not set in stone, but usually a mentor is more invested in you as a writer. This makes sense because the relationship with a mentor can last a lifetime while a developmental editor is usually on board for one of your book projects at a time.

All these resources, services, and tools can be mixed and matched to fit your goals and needs. I hope that with this article I’ve given you a clearer picture of some of the pathways and work-ways available to burgeoning and established writers. Now it’s up to you to choose the first (or next) step in your journey as an author. 

Video Transcript:

“Mark Twain once said, ‘Writing is easy. All you have to do is cross out the wrong words.’ And with that, the great American humorist leaves us back at square one. In a way, he was talking about editing. A subject so broad that a good author is almost always studying it. Fortunately, the resources available to you are also almost endless.”

The post How to Become an Author appeared first on Writer Services.

How to Become an Author published first on https://writerservicesblogs.blogspot.com

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Book Project Idea

Worried about having a solid book project idea worth writing? Does your book need to be the only one on the subject? This article will help you navigate the myriad of possibilities you have right now—some of which you may not even be aware you have right in front of you. Just remember this:

“Every book is like a snowflake; each one fascinatingly unique because of the wonder, beauty and creativity that comes from the soul, of which there is only one of its kind.”—Robert Nahas

The Right Book Project Idea

How can you know whether you have a good book project idea or a dud? So many people are inspired to create a book but have insecurities about the interest level of their audience. “Is it as important to others as I think it is?” “Will people see this as valuable?” In other words, will people want to buy and read your book?

How do we decide or discover what to write about? Do we write for ourselves or is there some larger scheme of things? What’s the best way to come up with a book project idea? In this article, we’ll explore how to narrow down numerous book ideas to reach the one to go with on your book writing journey.

We’ll look at different types of books that might stir your imagination.

We’ll review some book plot ideas to start picturing the world where the action of your story takes place.

Brainstorming is a sort of “book idea generator” that gets concepts flowing from your mind and onto the page. So we’ll look at this as well.

As important as plot is the book character idea, which usually starts with a protagonist (the person you want to root for) with whom the reader will be spending much time.

Finally, we’ll explore some ebook ideas, looking at some of the bestselling genres in this important format.

It’s important to remember that your idea for a book project can come from many sources. Usually, the concept you settle on for your book comes out of developing and writing ideas from several different places. If you’ve read my article on creative writing prompts, you already know that your inspiration can come from things like books, music and other art, places, experiences….

Also, there’s the rule of thumb from one of the most successful writers in history, Stephen King: When you begin your second draft, that’s when you’ll know what your book is about.

Ultimately, your book ideas, though inspired from different sources, will come from the place inside you where insight and intuition live. In other words, where you feel your ideas resonate. Sometimes that may be from your heart, other times your mind, and so on. The sources that resonate strongest within you will stir and awaken some part of you where you can facilitate your most organic writing. And your most compelling stories will be unique to you, coming from your imagination, perspective and feelings.

Like I’ve been known to say often, “Every book is like a snowflake; each one fascinatingly unique because of the wonder, beauty and creativity that comes from the soul of which there is only one of its kind.”

This reveals how there can be countless books on the same topic, and yet people continue to read more than one of them. So take your inspiration from others and make your book a reflection of you.

Video Transcript:

The world of the novelist or non-fiction author can be thrillingly creative. There are endless genres and hybrid genres into which you can place your story. Gaining ideas and inspiration is half the fun. Start your author journey today.

Type of Books

When considering the type of books you might want to write, it’s good to look at these three categories to see which resonates with you and you generally feel strongest writing in:

EXPERIENCE

1. Autobiography

This is the genre for the long format, relatively unabridged story of your life.

2. Memoir

Akin to the autobiography, this genre is based on your own experiences. But it usually focuses on a specific time in your life. It can be about days or decades, but it’s not as comprehensive as an autobiography.

 3. Biography

Biographies can be written through research and/or personal experience with the person about whom the book is written. They are the life stories of people other than yourself.

KNOWLEDGE

 1. Non-Fiction

Art:

The art world is rich with potential sources of inspiration for your non-fiction book. Maybe you already have a favorite painter, film director, style of music, and so on, which you can expound upon at length. If so, a book of collected works and/or insights might be the choice for you.

Criticism:

Art books and books of criticism differ in that the latter usually take a more academic form. Criticism looks at art in depth, offering quantitative and qualitative assessments of the subject art and artist(s). In criticism, the reader expects detailed analysis and contextual information on the topic at hand.

Education:

Best practices, scientific surveys, and emerging methods are just three of hundreds of approaches one might take in writing a book for students, teachers or established professors.

History:

This genre has gained popularity in recent years, especially with the publication of biographies of Abraham Lincoln, John Adams, and Alexander Hamilton. Of course books can take any number of approaches; they don’t need need to be biographies. There can be a period of history that interests you, such as the Civil War or one of the world wars. The American Industrial Revolution and the dawn of the Information Age or peacetime, among many others, are options for writing history.

Non-Fiction for Children:

This is another genre that often crosses over into biography, since children generally enjoy stories with real people “just like them.”

Politics:

Suffice to say that this genre has never been more popular!

Science:

Some say science is out of fashion, but you wouldn’t know it looking at non-fiction book sales. Books about the human brain and biology in general are popular, as are anthropological stories.

Sports:        

Avid sports fans number in the many millions, and sports authors have been venerated for a hundred years or more.

2. How-To

Are you an expert in a certain field or do you have a specific skill you can teach others? If so, then the how-to book might be the choice for you.

3. Memoir or Biography

These genres are included here in the “Knowledge” category as well as in the “Experience” category, because memoirs and biographies sometimes begin as documents of what the authors know about a topic. Later, perhaps in the second draft, the writer gains an understanding that the story is more personal.

CREATIVITY

1. Fiction

Within the very broad category of fiction, perhaps more than in any other, you’ll find authors who combine two or more of the genres listed below. Inexperienced writers sometimes feel locked into only one narrow style, and that can be at the detriment of good storytelling.

Take for example the wildly successful “Harry Potter” series by J.K. Rowling. In her books, you’ll find elements of adventure, children’s fiction, fantasy, mystery/suspense, psychological thriller, sci-fi, young adult, and more. Her particular concoctions will not likely be the same as yours; you’ll create your own. Whether you strictly stick to one genre or mix together 10 or more is up to you. If you find yourself working with an editor from a publishing house, they will likely have a say in it as well, but that’s a good “problem” to have because they have data about what books sell. 

Here are some common genres of fiction:

            Adventure:

            This genre usually sees the main character setting out on a physical or mental test.

            Children’s Fiction:

            Children’s books are very popular, and their topics can be as tiny or grand you like.

            Crime:

We’re all familiar with the detective books of the old days: the “noir” novels with a tough-talking, gumshoe private dick (private detective) who stays one step ahead of the criminal. Of course, there are thousands of variations on the crime novel.

            Fantasy:

The fantasy novel has long been a favorite of imaginative authors who realty want to let their creativity roam free and soar. We see examples of this genre in stories featuring hobbits, dragons, wizardry, and more.

Historical Fiction:

This genre has grown in popularity in recent years, as more readers become interested in novels set in some iteration of a storied past.

It’s nice to know that you can combine fact with fiction in what’s known as Historical Fiction. You write the facts and also have the creative license to tell a story of how things may have plausibly happened over the things we don’t know about events in history.

There are limitless possibilities you can write about, from how two people might have fallen in love to what the fallout was like for a family or neighborhood from some major event.

Literary Fiction:

These novels can be regarded as the equivalent of “serious” drama films. The literary author is as concerned with the craft of writing as they are with the plot of any given story.

Mystery/Suspense:

Here we have the famous territory of the Agatha Christies and Arthur Conan Doyles of the world. Here we also see examples of the blurred lines between and among the genres of fiction. After all, mystery and suspense novels almost always include a crime or a series of crimes.

Psychological Thriller:

This genre is often a hybrid, too. Elements of mystery, suspense, crime, and other types of stories are often blended together with some form of (known or unknown) psychological disturbance in one or more characters.

Romance:

These novels don’t have to be the stereotypical, flowery, saccharine love stories. Again, romance can be just one element of just about any genre. Anne Rice famously made romances out of her vampire stories — or vampire stories out of her romances!

Sci-Fi:

Science fiction is a tremendous genre within the realm of fiction. Hundreds of classics hold places in the pantheon of sci-fi authors, and more books are being added every year. You probably know some of these stories set in the future, about space travel, about science here on Earth, and much more.

Western:

The American West is a classic setting for stories of all kinds — even sci-fi, if you consider the recent mashup book Cowboys & Aliens. The familiar, transportive feel of westerns contribute to their popularity.

Young Adult:

Authors and publishers alike have been chasing after the next Twilight, The Hunger Games, or “Harry Potter” ever since they got over the shock of how many books each series sold. Even outside of those blockbuster titles, the young adult market is a big one, offering many types of stories for readers 12-18 years old.

Experimental:

As with any art form, writing invites experimentation. The genres listed above are meant as starting points for ideas and structure. We’ve looked at examples of books where the author has combined elements of several genres. The experimental author might take it a step further. They might combine fiction and non-fiction into a hybrid form. The possibilities are endless. The major categories, genres, and any combination thereof exist to serve your writing craft and storytelling.

Book Plot Ideas

Whether you’re writing fiction or non-fiction, you’ll want to examine how your story develops and the action within. As I emphasized earlier, books are inextricably tied to stories. Even if your book is non-fiction, you need to tell good stories in it — in this case, true ones. Let’s look at some conflicts that can be used as “pressure points” that move your stories along.

An unforeseen event up-ends the life of the protagonist.

You were privy to an important negotiation, and the real story hasn’t been told.

Three people (a “triangle”) vie for love or power where there is only room for two.

A U.S. president struggled with poverty as a young man.

Book Idea Generator

You can develop many more book plot ideas on your own through the process of brainstorming.

Start with a pencil and a blank sheet of paper.

Let your ideas flow freely onto the page.

Now is not the time for fully crafted sentences and extensive editing.

Use symbols, draw pictures, and whatever else moves your ideas from your mind to the paper.

You can create your own book idea generator, and here’s how:

Take the following 5 aspects to a story: PROTAGONIST, ANTAGONIST, SETTING, CONFLICT and THEME.

Work through each aspect, making up a scenario for each.

Rework the aspects as you wish.

Create more 5 aspects as you need until you get inspired to write about what you’ve come up with.

EXAMPLE

Here’s an example of your own Book Idea Generator for a fictional story:

PROTAGONIST: Sara—a homeless single mom in her mid 30s.

ANTAGONIST: Calvin—ex-husband is a crooked politician who cheated on her and verbally abused her.

SETTING: Present day, New York City

CONFLICT: Sara wants to figure out how to make a better life for her son. Ex wants to make sure she never sees a day of happiness and has the connections to make it happen.

THEME: A hero’s story about overcoming impossible odds.

Creating your own book idea generator is just about being methodical.

NON-FICTION EXAMPLE

For non-fiction, “how to,” use these aspects: PROBLEM, DESIRE, CONFLICT, SOLUTION and GOAL.

PROBLEM: People are not able to pay their bills.

DESIRE: People want to have a life of success and happiness.

CONFLICT: People don’t know what to do during this pandemic in finding work.

SOLUTION: Show others how to create their own careers working from home as book authors and thought leaders.

GOAL: Readers able to startup their own home-based businesses within 30 days.

You can see how the non-fiction how-to book idea generator enables you to come up with a valuable and practical book concept.

You can do this for any genre in any type of book. Simply put, you are preplanning your book!

Book Main Idea

What is the main idea of your book? Don’t underestimate the power of questions. Ask yourself:

What is the moral of my story?

What are the main events in my story?

Why does the plot of my story unfold the way it does?

Think of this as the takeaway of your book; what readers will tell their friends they got out of it.

Book Character Idea

Developing a book character can also benefit from the process of brainstorming.

What is the character’s history?

What are their motivations?

What do they look like?

What is their temperament?

Do they live with internal conflicts of any kind?

It’s rare to find a character, in any book, who doesn’t fit an archetype (a very typical example of a person). One reason for this is because for readers to root for the protagonist, they have to be able to relate to him or her. So archetypes are well worth studying. Which archetypes do you want to include in your book?

Video Transcript:

So, you want to be an author. Most authors don’t just start writing and end up with a completed book in a few weeks. Building a book is a process, and there are infinite ways of approaching it.

Ebook Ideas

Ebook ideas are the same as print book ideas. Obviously, if you’re going to have a print book, you might as well have an e-book, and vise versa. There is no extra work involved. It’s just a matter of technology and format.

One caveat you will absolutely run into is the incompatibility of your document in being accepted to Amazon’s KDP system. You will find this process extremely frustrating. But there is a fast and simple way to avoid the countless hours and raised blood pressure.

My developers here at Writer Services will turn your book into the necessary formats like Kindle, Nook and Sony e-reader formats quickly and at low cost. Just contact us when you’re ready to publish your book and we’ll take care of this for you.

Finally, let’s consider the increased speed that books are now written and published. With the availability of e-book technologies, the manufacture of physical books is now almost a luxury. This has created great opportunities for authors.

Increasingly, writers are creating “universes” that provide characters and stories for a series—or multiple series—of books. Could you produce multiple books in, say, a three-year span? If so, what would the universe you create be like?

The post Book Project Idea appeared first on Writer Services.

Book Project Idea published first on https://writerservicesblogs.blogspot.com

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Write Your First Novel

For a long time, maybe for years, you might have been considering how you’d write your first novel. The good news is that, using the tried-and-true guidelines in this article, you can gain the confidence to start writing your first novel today! 

How to Write Your Novel

There is no right way or wrong way to write your novel. The approaches are almost infinite. What’s important is what works best for you. Here are a few practical methods for writing your novel that you can copy or adapt to that can work for you:

 I.  The “Snowflake” Method

The name of this method refers to an organized, structured approach to developing a novel, just as a snowflake has a definite structure that gives it shape and keeps it together.

Also, a snowflake begins as a single droplet of water. This method builds upon itself, similar to how other ice crystals connect with the original droplet of frozen water.

The beauty of this writing method is its structure. Your story becomes crystal clear; with exactness, it builds upon itself.

 6 Steps to the Snowflake Novel Writing Method:

Summarize your novel in one sentence

Expand your sentence into a summary paragraph

Describe each major character, each with a one-page summary

Expound on your novel summary with more paragraphs

Further develop your character descriptions, including how they will relate or interact with one another

Rinse and repeat: Keep working through each of these parts of your novel and expand on them, over and over again.

Get the #1 Secret to Writing Your Book Fast

So, you begin by summarizing your novel in one sentence. Think of this as the center of your snowflake. Then you expand it to a summary paragraph, with the central plot, major conflicts, and a preview of how it all comes together. Each character then gets a one-page summary. You then develop each summary paragraph, without trying to write the whole novel at this point. Similarly, you return to the character synopses and develop those. From this point, you pretty much rinse and repeat the process until you have a completed first draft.

II.  The “No-Outline” Method

In contrast to the Snowflake Method, the No-Outline approach allows for a creative free-flow of ideas at any given point in the writing process. Many authors prefer this method because they feel constrained by structures like outlines and summaries.

 III.  The Three-Act Structure

Not as strict as the “Snowflake” and not as freewheeling as the “No-Outline,” the three-act structure is an approach you’re probably familiar with, especially if you’ve read or seen any dramas. In fact, most stories can be described in terms of their “three acts.”

As an approach to writing a novel, however, the method requires certain attributes—namely the inclusion and placement of “disasters” within the acts. The first occurs at the end of act one. The second happens at the midpoint of act two, and the third at the end of act two. The story is set up in a prologue of some sort or another, and the plot points and character arcs (journey of development) are wrapped up in an epilogue, more or less.

Again, as there is no finite method to writing a novel, you might want to create your own approach utilizing particular points from 2 ot all of the above methods. That’s your writer’s license, so go for it!

Write Your Novel in a Month

Maybe it’s not surprising that, in this fast-paced world, so many budding authors want to know how quickly they can complete a novel. (This is NOT the best approach.)

However, certain marketers who know of this desire to write a book practically overnight, you are certain to see online articles and gurus who pretend to be knowledgeable book writers who boast you can write 2,000 to 3,000 words per day for 30 days and so on and so forth.

They list tips and tricks like turning off your spell-check and carrying a notebook to jot down ideas when they strike. And, hey, those are good ideas in general. Stephen King reportedly writes 2,000 words every day. Having a words-per-day goal and writing down notes from moment of inspiration are great habits for an author. But…

What they DON’T emphasize is the sneaky language that promotes ideas like “a novel in a month.”

They might say “Have an outline prepared in advance.” Well, “in advance” is already telling you that it will take MORE than a month. Similarly, they note “What you’ll end up with might be a good first draft.” Okay, but a first draft is NOT a novel! Fans of Ernest Hemingway might recall his opinion of what first drafts are, but I can’t include the word here in a polite article.

Much worse is the attention being focused on speed instead of quality. And what about the enjoyment of the journey? I mean, really! Writing a book is on most everyone’s bucket list. So why would anyone ever want to miss out on the unique experience that only writing a book can offer?

But again, what is most important is the quality of your writing—nothing else. I’m not talking about grammar here. I’m talking about moving your audience, making your reader’s heart pound out in their chest; allow them to laugh or cry or contemplate…. When readers can see and heaqr and feel… you’ve got yourself a novel worthy of publication. Something thew world needs more of.

So, in my view, the “write your novel in a month” idea is equivalent to fad diets for weight loss. It sounds attractive, but you might be disappointed with the results. Proceed with caution in these schemes, if you proceed with them at all.

Video Transcript:

There are as many approaches to writing a novel as there are novelists. You might prefer a detailed outline to which you adhere strictly. Or, you might prefer to write without an outline, allowing a free flow of ideas. Or, any approach in between that helps your writing soar.

Write Your Novel in a Year

Most authors take one to two years to write a novel. Why so long to write your novel? As you’ll see in the next section, there are many pieces to the novel puzzle.

Some involve activities and non-activities like reading works by published authors for inspiration and simply taking a week or two away from your own writing, so you’re able to see it with “fresh eyes” when you return to it.

The Power of Procrastination

Not writing is an important part of the novel writing process. Did you actually describe something to the level you envisioned? A lot of the time, the mind can play tricks on us. We’re typing away, thinking This is GREAT! And then you come back to it a few days later and, boy, what a revelation.

So you have to get your mind off of something you’ve written in order to qualify whether you’ve actually succeeded at telling your information to the degree you envision.

If you are a novelist who is just starting out, giving yourself plenty of time relieves you of the stress that can come with first-time jitters. If you’re of a certain disposition common among authors (perfectionist, self-doubting), you’ll find plenty of other sources of stress. I say that jokingly, but it’s true that adding an unnecessary deadline to the process can make it less enjoyable.

So that’s another good reason to step away from your novel from time-to-time. Don’t be in a race to finish your novel. The truth is, anyone who brags about how fast they wrote their novel only tells others that they focused on the wrong importance for their book

The value in mulling over things is truly underestimated. Think of yourself on par with published authors. Those who take weeks away from their newest work, in order to gain new life experiences, new perspectives, and fresh inspiration. You’re able to reflect and even come up with better ideas and concepts. When it comes to novel writing, when you run “the marathon” and not “the sprint,” the satisfaction of work well done is even greater and your end product will be even better.

Write Your Novel Step by Step—6 Rules to Follow

Know your subject and know why you’re writing

Immerse yourself in creativity

Write a story, not just words and sentences

Start with one protagonist if you’re new to writing novels

Ask yourself about the why and where of the plot

Novels aren’t just words and sentences – but your first draft could be

There are no cookie-cutter ways to writing a novel, but being aware of these 6 rules will help you write your first novel like a pro. Here are the 6 rules explained:

Write Your Novel Step by Step—6 Rules 

1. Know your subject and know why you’re writing

Ever notice that most successful novels are set in a place where the author lives or has lived? It’s intentional. By doing so, the author starts from a place, literally, they deeply know. Readers are smart, and they know real experience when they read it. They like authenticity. That’s why, at every opportunity, write about what you know.

Similarly, a writer’s motivations are apparent in their writing. Readers reward authors who write passionately. It would seem to be a given, but many (most?) writers don’t stop to ask themselves WHY they are writing, or preparing to write, a novel. Of course, there are as many motivations as there are manuscripts in the world, and who’s to really say which is more valid than the next?

In considering these questions, I like to consider words like: inspiration, motivation, passion and purpose. Ask yourself, “Why should this book exist?” and “What will it do for my readers? If you think along these lines, you’ll do fine in having a meaningful novel.

2. Immerse yourself in creativity

Regarding the goal of writing from a place of inspiration, many authors and editors recommend steeping yourself in creativity. What does that even mean? Well, if you picture all that the word “creativity” implies, these are the things by which you want to be influenced.

Yes, the writing process itself is a creative endeavor, but the idea is to enhance your mindset as an artist — after all, writing is an art — by experiencing other art. Such immersion can include works that are topical to your writing, but not necessarily so. 

Surround yourself with things that inspire you, things that make you feel a certain way. That might include works of art, like a painting, sculptures, plants or beautiful flowers. You might like playing Mozart. It might mean walking on the beach at sunrise. It might even be key words that strike you a certain way. Hang them up, put them in frames… whatever inspires you, put it all around.

3. Write a story, not just words and sentences

As you read in the earlier section on approaches to writing your novel, there’s an emphasis on story. It’s another point that might seem obvious, but editors at the highest levels of the publishing world often bemoan the “piles of words and sentences” they receive in manuscripts that lack any real storytelling.

Though it’s true that most of the rules of writing are “made to be broken” to a certain extent, telling a story is one rule that is broken at the writer’s own peril.

That’s because storytelling is so ingrained in every culture of the world. As children, when we saw an adult approach us with a book, what did we understand? It’s STORY time! Suffice it to say that the person who picks up your manuscript or published novel wants a story.

4. Start with one protagonist if you’re new to writing novels

Earlier, I also touched on characterization. If you take the “Snowflake Method,” for example, notice the emphasis on writing and rewriting characters for your novel. Now, imagine the details of the protagonist (the hero readers will root for) and their character arc (their journey of growth and improvement).

For a beginner, writing multiple protagonists risks making a mess of the story. This doesn’t mean your first novel has to be overly simple. Follow your inspiration. At the same time, consider the great novels in history where the author employed only one protagonist. You might want to write the next complex Game of Thrones, but trust that not doing so on your first outing might not be as limiting as you think.

5. Ask yourself about the why and where of the plot

A few minutes ago, I asked you to consider immersing yourself in creativity. This is the section that cautions you that merely wildly “creating” is not the be-all end-all of writing good fiction. Asking yet more questions, like “Why?” and “Where?”, especially when it comes to elements of your plot, can be a bulwark against immature writing styles.

These are the equivalent of the young painter who finally gets a set of paints and immediately wants to throw them all onto the canvas. This inexperienced artist is “telling a story” of interest only to themselves.

Forgetting that communication is a two-way street is a mistake that audiences rarely let go unpunished. That may sound harsh, but put yourself in the shoes of the reader who just paid twenty dollars for your novel, only to find out you wrote it strictly for your own enjoyment. Writing (and all art) is a form of sharing. The selfish author is a lonely and poor author.

Never write to reach a page count. There needs to be a reason for everything you put ito your novel. If it doesn’t give imagery to your reader you want them to see or feel, it needs to have some other purpose. Does it set something up for later in the story? Will it act like a smoke screen, tricking your reader into thinking something about a character that is actually false so you can shock them later?

When you’re writing something, ask yourself, Does this do anything for my story? If it doesn’t, leave it out.

So, ask yourself the tough questions about your plot. “Why would this happen instead of that?” It’s really a form of self-editing that is so worthwhile, because it gives your novel a valuable asset you and your readers will come to love: a story with backbone and meaning.

6. Novels aren’t just words and sentences – but your first draft could be

Now, I realize that all of this might seem daunting. Don’t fret. Once you get pencil to paper (or fingers to keyboard) you’ll see that these helpful tips flow together. They are quite the opposite of obstacles or roadblocks. They help ensure that your valuable time as an author isn’t wasted.

In fact, this is a perfect moment to let you in on a secret that might relieve any trepidation you feel as you read about how you might write your first novel. Though I emphasized before that a finished novel must be a story and not just a collection of words and sentences, your first draft certainly CAN be just that. We know from masters like Hemingway and King that first drafts are meant to be rewritten and then thrown away.

I hope this will motivate you to START WRITING today. You can always begin to incorporate all these tips and tricks into your process at your own pace. When you begin your second draft, then you’ll really know what your novel is about.

Rewrite Your Story

That brings us to the crucial point of combining your first draft with everything you’ve learned here and elsewhere, and writing your second draft! What goes into your second draft, while not written in stone, matters.

You now know what your novel is really about, why you’re writing it, where it takes place, and why the plot and its action develop as they do. Your story is focused on one protagonist (if you’re a beginner), and it has backbone, because you’re not just “throwing paint at the canvas,” you are asking yourself lots of questions about what you and your characters do and why you and your characters do what they do. And answering those questions for yourself and your audience.

Video Transcript:

Enter the world of the novelist. No matter what style fires your imagination, being an author gives you infinite possibilities. Begin your journey of passion without delay. Become a novelist today!

Write Your Novel Now

Why not write your novel now? By following your passion and informing yourself, you’re already on your way! I have some good news for you too: Writer Services is here to help you in every step of the process!

Being an author can be a highly rewarding endeavor. Not just financially, but in myriad of other ways. Imagine the great karma from inspiring your readers. You might inspire some to become authors themselves, but also to become all kinds of creatives: visual artists, actors, musicians… there’s no limit to the good you can do in the world through your novels. So… write your novel now! The world needs your input.

The post Write Your First Novel appeared first on Writer Services.

Write Your First Novel published first on https://writerservicesblogs.blogspot.com

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Business From the Home

Is “Business From the Home” the “New Normal” for 9 to 5?

More than ever, both the employed and the unemployed are seriously considering conducting business from the home. Many employees are asking permission to remain working from home permanently. https://www.forbes.com/work-from-home-jobs-from-remote/

So, what has changed? Why the sudden desire to keep working from home?

As we work with so many business owners and C-level executives in helping them to write their books, our most recent book interviews have revealed something interesting…

Business owners are surprised by the desire of their employees to hold business from the home.

“I thought my staff would be chomping at the bit to come back to the office,” mentioned one CEO client, baffled by the numerous requests to keep working from home. Many other clients mentioned similar sentiments.

Conducting business from the home has been the best-kept secret for a very long time. Much of the delight that people picture in their initial dream state of how they see their lives unfolding for the future is often only possible with a home-based business.

There are plenty of responsibilities with a home business, but many are less drastic than a brick-and-mortar business. For one thing, there are less overhead costs just to conduct business.

And unless you’ve been in business before, you likely don’t know that the utility companies charge MUCH higher fees for the same exact services for businesses! That’s right. Your telephone, Internet… you name it… it’s all a lot more expensive when you have a business space.

Significant Savings Working from the Home

You are already paying to have your lights on at home, Internet service, phone and so forth, so conducting business from home cuts out significant business expenses.

Even for the mid-size companies and large corporations, having a percentage of their employees operating from the home significantly lowers their overhead costs. Many pay their employees for travel and so forth. But even simply being able to turn off a few lights, turn down the thermostat, etc. for larger working spaces can mean significant savings—and higher profits—for companies.

Also, if starting out, your startup investment for a home-based business is a lot lower, and there’s no commuting and other liabilities of the “normal” brick and mortar business.

Employer Concerns

Without a doubt, employers are very worried about their home-based staff not being productive, and this is a valid concern. Smart owners and executives are requiring Productivity Course Training before they will even consider approving their employees’ requests to continue to work from home.

A great idea for employees is to include in their request to their employers proof that they have taken a reputable Work From Home Productivity Course.

That so few people have taken notice of how Apple, Microsoft and so many other mega-giant business successes, ALL started from their garages is beyond me.

Hidden Opportunities Become Obvious

The perfect storm of a pandemic and increasingly user-friendly technologies have given hundreds of millions of people the opportunity to consider a business from the home or; at least stay-at-home employment.

Authors and entrepreneurs (one and the same) are a resilient type of human being. Something like a down economy or a world-wide pandemic may knock us off balance, but never do we cave.

And why not? To work from home offers so many different benefits. As I note below in the “Business From Home Ideas” section, the options mentioned for what to do as a from-home worker or business owner are just a few of what great ideas you could imagine for yourself. Consider them triggers for more great ideas.

One of the remarkable aspects of the pandemic has been that suddenly millions of people who had never worked from home before are now doing exactly that – some for over three months now! And according to pollsters, they LOVE it. Many are publicly stating that they don’t want to go back to commuting and punching the ole clock at the company offices. Even more remarkable: employers are, in large part, agreeing that this is a good thing. Here’s why:

As I alluded to above, commuting stinks, and the American worker has disliked it for decades. A business from the home saves on fuel costs, automobile wear and tear and, most importantly, most attractively, TIME.

Fewer employees in a traditional office means companies can lease or buy smaller offices, saving them money. For larger corporations with multiple locations, such savings can multiply by thousands.

Contrary to the old thinking, working from home is more efficient than working at the traditional office. Study after study shows that a worker in their home office can be more productive with just a small amount of training specifically for the home. I’ll address the issues of productivity and efficiency, from the worker / entrepreneur’s perspective, later in this article.

There are countless other benefits of a business from the home and of a work-from-home office for the employee / freelancer, for the employer / contractor, and for the author / entrepreneur.

 BEING YOUR OWN BOSS

Being your own boss means different things to different people. Generally, the phrase is associated with attaining a certain level of freedom. Even the word “boss” sounds a bit antiquated, though it yet retains a clear connotation that the person using it values humility, order, and good work ethic.

On the other side of that coin, one might imagine the fearsome bosses of the American Industrial Revolution. For most workers in the factories of yesteryear, the dream of being released from under the iron fist of the “boss man” was fleeting – even foolish. Never mind becoming one’s own boss some day!

Those days are thankfully long past, and today anyone at all can dream of being their own boss, and know that – through smart work, diligence and discipline – they can make that dream come true. 

Work From Home Tips

The dynamics and overall feel of working from home are usually quite different than working in a traditional office. It’s bound to be more casual, and while that can put you in a better state of mind for greater clarity and creativity, there are also some pitfalls to be wary of. 

Let’s look at some work from home tips and tricks that can help ensure each day is enjoyable and productive:

1. Create a Work Area

You might notice a theme as we go through these: the are “best practices” meant to help keep you focused and highly productive. While working from home can be a great option, it does NOT mean “anything goes.” It’s not a free-for-all, and having a dedicated work space is one of the most important things you can do in order to make the most of your time at work.

The good news is that you can customize and design it to fit your work processes and aesthetics. Focus and fun are not mutually exclusive.

2. Dress (semi) Professionally

This is the part where it’s suggested that you don’t work in your pajamas, even though you’re not planning to see anyone that day. “Dressing the part” really works. That’s not to say you must work in a business suit all day if you run a carpentry business, but do wear whatever signals your brain that you’re serious about getting your work done, according to the type of work you do.

3. Customize (and take) Your Breaks

Here’s an area of work from home tips where you’ll probably have more discretion. Even as an employee, your employer will generally understand that there’s no need for rigid scheduling of breaks for people working from home. So do whatever works for you. Maybe that’s 30 minutes for lunch plus two, 15-minute coffee breaks. Maybe you need an hour to pick up items for dinner that night. Breaks will usually be up to you, so make the most of that freedom.

The video above is an excerpt from our Work From Home Productivity course. To see the full video, go to:  entrepreneursuccesstraining.com

BUSINESS FROM HOME IDEAS

Before listing the top online jobs and great small business from home ideas, let’s notice that the top online businesses and jobs fall into one of three broad categories:

Employment

Gig economy

Passive income

You can find a company to work for (sending your work in remotely); you can sell your skills to online clients on a freelance basis; or you can create an online business where you sell products or services, sometimes even making money while you’re not actively running the business. That’s the “passive” part of passive income.

Job / work roles can fit into any or all of these categories. As a programmer, for example, you can:

create apps to sell directly to users (passive income)

provide code for clients that are working on apps (gig economy)

work remotely for a software company as a full-time employee (employment)

Here are some ideas for working from home, just to give you a starting point for what you might find in your research online for good, work-from-home careers.

Our Work from Home Productivity course has some amazing recommendations for work-from-home ideas – for making good money. Here are a just a few:

1. WRITER

This is the broad category of employment that includes everything from creative writing to authorship of books in your field of expertise. Through decades of experience, Writer Services has discovered the sweet-spot in combining authorship and entrepreneurship.

2. EDITOR

Editing work can be abundant and well-paid. The need for quality content online engenders a healthy market for writers, which then creates demand for good editors to “clean up” articles and make the content fit better with branding, marketing initiatives, and the clients’ needs in general.

3. PROOFREADER

The proofreader is also an important role in presenting clean copy of the sort used on millions of web pages. Proficiency in grammar, spelling, a wide vocabulary, and exceptional attention to detail are prerequisites in providing the valuable product of typo and error-free, professional text.

4. COPY WRITER

Another member of the content / marketing / publishing team is the copy writer, who is a more specialized version of the writer. This professional usually wields a wide range of knowledge to create compelling text for web pages, marketing materials, and interdepartmental communications. They’re often part of a marketing department, but can also work freelance with individual corporations and/or public relations firms. A good copy writer can earn good money, double as an editor or proofreader, and even move upward into a career as an author.

 5. GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Are you an artsy type? Graphic design can be a great outlet for your creative energy and it pays well, too. Did I mention its potential as a small business from home? Advances in technological tools and file sharing make it possible to create and sell logos, splash-page designs, printables, wearables, and tons more – all from the comfort and convenience of your home

6. DATA ANALYST

Talk about an exciting, ever-growing field to explore as a small business from home idea. The term “data analysis” is an umbrella for various activities involving the use of tech in helping companies make decisions and operate on a more scientific basis. Some of the work data analysts do involves data mining, which helps businesses with predictive information. Another subcategory is business intelligence, which uses aggregation of business information to answer questions that arise in operations, marketing, sales, or any other aspect of a going concern

7. ONLINE MARKETING PROVIDER

The key words here are “online” or “Internet.” Online marketing service providers use the whole of the Internet to drive traffic, sales, and sales leads to brands and/or businesses and their products or services. As you might imagine, this position offers nearly endless opportunities to individuals and teams who bring a variety of skill sets and who have the flexibility to adapt quickly to changing technologies and trends

8. DIGITAL MARKETER

The digital marketer or digital marketing manager works in the same fields of promotion expertise as the online marketing provider, but usually has more responsibilities, often including supervision of marketers on the team. They are also generally involved in the development, implementation, and management of marketing campaigns

9. SOFTWARE DEVELOPER

Software development is yet another field where a diversified skill set is desirable. Design, research, implementation, and management of software programs are the core capabilities of a software developer. They also work with other developers, and business and systems analysts, and test and evaluate new programs.

PRODUCTIVE THINGS TO DO AT HOME

The pandemic, besides its horrific toll on human lives, hasn’t meant instant golden opportunities across the board. Yes, the employment and entrepreneurial playing field is new and somewhat more level, but unemployment is very high. What to do if one is still partially or fully sheltering in place AND unemployed? Few jobs or business opportunities can be had from one day to the next. What are some productive things to do at home in the meantime?

1. Keep Learning!

Did you know there are literally thousand of free classes you can take online? If you decide to continue your education or professional development, it doesn’t have to involve formal courses. Chances are that any learning you do in your down time will be well worth while.

2. Planning

Time in between jobs can be a good time to revisit your goals and plans. Tidy up your calendar, and make sure all your appointments and events are logged. It’s rewarding to do so, not only because it will save you time later, but because it also gives you peace of mind now regarding what lies ahead.

3. Relaxing

It might sound obvious, but you might be surprised at how many people could benefit from practicing relaxation. Science in recent years has confirmed what Eastern practices have shown for centuries: mindfulness and relaxation benefit the mind, body and spirit. What type of relaxation routine would you enjoy? Learn about them, choose one and, most importantly, practice it daily.

You can get more tips from this course at entrepreneursuccesstraining.com

HOW TO STAY PRODUCTIVE AT HOME

I mentioned earlier that there are certain elements of your from-home work that can make the difference between failure and success. When looking at staying productive at home, these fall into three main categories:

1. Focus

Earlier, we went over things we can do to stay focused in your work from home: creating a dedicated work space, dressing appropriately for your work, and taking customized breaks can go a long way in keeping you on task. I would also add that being aware of potential distractions, and having a strategy to avoid them, is key. This is one of the secrets of the super successful entrepreneurs.

2. Efficiency

This category helps us remember another fact known by the wealthy and successful: you CAN do more in less time. It helps us remember to check our habits, procedures, and protocols. Is there a faster way to do this that works as well or better? This is a question we can ask ourselves several times a day.

3. Productivity 

This category combines focus and efficiency into a measurable: How much work are you getting done each day? Of course, the quantification of your work must be customized to your field. Measuring your productivity is essential to success in your from-home job or business.

Whether you’re looking to join a company, work freelance, or start your own business, now is a wonderful time to create your success at home.

 The post Business From the Home appeared first on Writer Services.

Business From the Home published first on https://writerservicesblogs.blogspot.com

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Work From Home Indeed

Well, here we are; most of us spending day after day – for months – at HOME, in an almost unprecedented, sudden shift in our national economy and in the way we WORK. There are the obvious changes: millions of people unemployed, Wall Street in tatters, financial crises ad nauseam. 

But as we learn the most when facing adversity, there are lessons here. If not “a blessing in disguise,” the pandemic certainly has its silver linings. Seeing them requires only the desire and willingness to take a closer look.

Who are the people who still have jobs? Who is doing better now than ever before? One answer is: those who WORK FROM HOME.

As the economy slowly reopens, something remarkable is happening: workers are telling reliable sources that they don’t want to return to their previous place of employment. The pandemic has, in effect, doubled as an experiment in employee satisfaction. Before, few of us had the option to explore working from home. Now that so many of us have gotten a taste of it, there might be no going back.

Most of us, however, don’t have the luxury of simply staying home and doing nothing. Even if we did, we’d probably want to do SOME kind of work. Most people, by far, want to be productive.

So, all of this adds up to doing rewarding, profitable work from home. How does one go about finding the right job, career, or business to do from home. As with most good things, there’s a process if you want to do it right. Oh yes, and plenty of homework before you really begin working from home. 

 Work From Home Reddit

Anyone can work from home, but what kinds of jobs are available? A good resource for lists and descriptions of today’s work-from-home options is Reddit, the Internet aggregator and ranker of articles, videos, and threads.

Here’s a list of some of the major categories of at-home employment:

Entrepreneur/Author – That’s right, think big! One of the great advantages of a home office is that you can be your own boss. Here at Writer Services, we put into practice daily our core value that every entrepreneur should be an author and every author should be an entrepreneur. What are your dreams and passions? This could be the perfect time to pursue them through a successful home-run business

Customer Service – Literally thousands of companies hire outside customer service agents, and many (most nowadays) work from home. Through phone calls or live chats, they help customers with concerns, questions, and returns

Court House Researcher – Background checks and other legal research

Teaching/Tutoring – Several companies are pairing qualified instructors with students in online learning

Data Entry – There always seem to be jobs in data entry, and doing it from home makes it more pleasant work

Search Engine Evaluator – Large tech firms are always hungry for data, especially data pertaining to their own systems

Social Media – Marketing through social media is still a fast-growing industry, which means jobs. Through streamlined tech assets, these marketers make it easy and rewarding to work from home.

Translator – Know a second language? You might be in the money with at-home work translating everything from legal documents to poetry

Transcriber – Transcripts provide valuable documentation of oral arts, speeches, and even television programs. (You’ll even find one later in this article!) The companies paying for them don’t need you to sit in their building. They just want the goods.

Virtual Assistant – Many smart, successful people have worked as assistants of one kind or another at some point in their lives. It can be a great opportunity to learn and hone a variety of skills that come in handy later. Employment now available via Internet platforms such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams

Work From Home Tips

Here’s a crucial fact for your success in a home-based business or work-from-home employment: You must be EFFICIENT. I find that most people in my success-training seminars take this one word too lightly. “Efficiency, okay, work full, eight-hour days, take 30 minutes for lunch and not an hour… Got it.” No, it’s much more than basic time management and “putting in your hours.” Success in the home office means developing the habits of highly productive professionals. Efficiency means developing extraordinary FOCUS. Remember, very little from this point on is optional. Rather, these are indispensable pieces of the success puzzle. Don’t expect to do well while cutting corners. Every part of this special formula is essential.

Maintain discipline in your daily routine. You’re working from home and your more comfortable than at a traditional office. That’s fine, but your work – your success – deserves your respect. Get out of your pajamas, take care of personal hygiene and grooming. Dress (at least moderately) professionally. Eat balanced, healthful meals and get your doctor-approved exercise in, during breaks, after work, or both. It all adds up. You’ve now taken the first steps to maintaining a focused, nimble mind, and it will SHOW in the quality and quantity of your work.

Optimize your home office or work area so your work flows smoothly (no taking five minutes to find the stapler). Give everything a permanent home: the files live here, the scissors live there, copy paper lives there, etc. Label all these areas if you must. You might be surprised at how much time such organization saves you.

Set a measurable goal for your productivity. Here’s the fun part: If you reach your goal of doing the same amount of work in two-thirds the time, for example, you’ll have one-third more FREE TIME, to enjoy your life, family, and friends.

What are the roadblocks you might encounter? Here’s the main one: distractions. They destroy focus and efficiency. It might simply take good old-fashioned practice to let your smartphone rest while you work at peak performance. Maybe you need to keep the phone in another room and set aside a few minutes every hour or two to listen to your voicemail. Again, it’s paramount that you respect your own time and profession. Anything that distracts from that is something to remove, if possible, or mitigate in lieu of removal.

 With these tools – and many more available at Entrepreneur Success Training – you can transform the way you work and increase the biggest factor in your making more money – PRODUCTIVITY.

Work From Home Benefits

So, with all the changes and toil needed for work-from-home success, why not just gas up the car on Sunday instead, and join all the commuters on Monday on the old highway? Why not go to work where, you know, where your boss WANTS you to work? It was good enough for everybody before the pandemic… Why not now?

Well, assuming that your boss actually wants you to work outside of your home – something that’s becoming less and less popular, for many reasons – YOU are ultimately in charge of what your career and work-life looks like. YOU can choose to become an author/entrepreneur or an off-site employee for a new company, or you can ASK your supervisor or the human resources person at your current job if there are options for people who prefer to work from home. Corporations with such protocols available can be found in greater numbers every day.

Let’s have a quick look at some of the benefits of working from home.

In the home office, you are in charge of the pace of your work – efficiency and productivity – which, as I mentioned above, is the KEY , sooner or later, to how much money you make.

No commute. This can save you anywhere from one to three hours each day. That’s PRECIOUS time, of which I also spoke. Of course, you also save on fuel costs and mileage. And let’s not forget the very important factor of commuter stress: traffic jams, diminished punctuality, and the physical strains of sitting in your car for extended periods of time.

Even breaks become more efficient and productive. You’re at home, where you can have more affordable, healthful meals. You can take any doctor-approved exercise. If you take a total of an hour break during the course of your workday, it will be time well spent. Time that’s an investment in you, and activities that make you a better person and worker when you’re on the clock or off.

If you decide to go the author/entrepreneur route, there are even more benefits, not the least of which are major reductions in overhead expenses like office space rent, utilities, and insurance.

Work From Home Policy

As I noted earlier, if you decide to remain with your current employer or take a job with another company, it’s important to acquaint yourself with their rules and guidelines for working from home. If you’re not sure, you might want to ask if your employer offers work-from-home options. If so, find out what they expect from you and what you can expect from them should you both agree to go forward with it.

Some jobs, such as those in the medical field, have special requirements for ensuring patients’ privacy through compliance with HIPAA laws. You might need to put in place certain protocols at home so that patient or client information is secure.

Higher Productivity = Higher Earnings

We often hear current affairs described as “uncertain times” and, fair enough, they are. But they are also unprecedented times for examining and reflecting on the ways in which we go about our lives.

Think about it: The world has basically hit a giant “pause” button. This gives us a chance to rethink – redesign, if you will – our lives. Many Americans have already gone public, saying they DON’T WANT to go back to the old ways of doing things. Reopen, fine, but we’ve learned a lot in these few months, and some of us want to use that knowledge for the greater good.

Understandably, the long commute to work to then sit in a cubicle for eight to ten hours sounds even less appealing today than it did in March! But let’s think positive and look at the flip side.

Working from home can mean everything from a part-time customer service job to becoming a tremendously successful author and entrepreneur – in my view, the highest echelon in the business world. Really, only the sky is the limit.

I’m reminded of an article I read a few years ago about a “serial entrepreneur” from Florida. A start-up expert who successfully launched several companies before writing his first book with the assistance of a professional writer/editor.

Since publishing the book, he has launched or re-launched about a dozen corporations, including national brands, to the tune of many, many millions of dollars for himself. Here is a REAL influencer. He’s often consulted by other entrepreneurs for his insights and expertise. He’s perhaps the model author/entrepreneur, and every time I read about him it’s yet another success story.

His is the story of nearly perfect synergy between the life of the author and the life of the entrepreneur – all wrapped up into one.

The author/entrepreneur with multiple streams of income controls their own destiny. S/He might have physical products, services, books, information products, and more in their portfolio. If you’ve ever wondered if this type of success is for you, now might be the best time EVER to delve deeper into your dreams and find out how to make them happen!

 Video Transcript:

There are two sides to every coin. Nobody asked for a pandemic or another recession, but that’s what we got.

The other side of this coin is opportunity. We now have an unprecedented opportunity to learn and explore new ways of living and working.

Working from home is a wonderland of vast opportunities.

Once you’re in the groove of running your business from home, you might find you’re getting all kinds of unexpected inspiration and motivation. Working from home can mean an opportunity to spread your wings and soar higher than ever in your business or career. There are certain freedoms of agency and goal-setting that, combined with discipline and efficiency, can result in never-before-seen success for you.

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Take The Self-Care Test

 Working in sedentary careers like Book Writing, Authorship, Freelance Editing … or any type of sit-down entrepreneurial activity, self-care is more relevant than anyone might first realize.

Self-care is often overlooked and pushed aside for “more important,” more pressing commitments. The truth is that self-care should be a priority.

Strong Immune System

Being healthy and keeping your immune system strong isn’t about doing one or two things, like eating well or exercising. It requires a daily regimen — a lifestyle — of numerous activities.

Without it, we’re unable to function at our optimum level, and so, many areas of our life can be detrimentally impacted. If you talk to most people, we treat exercise and other healthy activities as “luxuries” we can do “when we have the time.” But self-care has never been something nice to do — it is a necessity of life, more than most people have ever realized.

Pandemic Influences on Writers and Authors

Without question, the pandemic we’re living through today has changed a lot of perspectives about health and self-care. But once this is all behind us, we cannot slip back into a complacency with our health.

The modern lifestyle is a busy one, with individuals often rushing between commitments. However, there are still ways you can implement self-care in your life.

Here are eleven ways to add self-care to your routine so you can maintain good physical, mental and emotional health.

Take your own test to see how many of these you actually do regularly. You may be very surprised at the results:

1. Identify What Self-care is to You

We all have different needs and different ways of unwinding. Identify what kind of self-care is most effective for you. It may be taking a walk and getting outdoors, or curling up by the fire with a good book. It may be surrounding yourself with good friends, taking a bike ride or soaking in a long, hot bath. For some, it is a grueling workout at the gym or a tough, sweaty run for many miles.

Whatever it is, learn to define self-care for you as an individual so that you can better take care of yourself. Your litmus test for whether it is right for you is, do you feel better mentally or physically after you’ve completed it?

2. Establish a Routine

Once you understand what self-care works for you, add it to your routine. Commit to engaging the activity regularly until it becomes a habit, something that is simply a normal part of your life.

3. Get Regular, Good Quality Sleep

Establish a sleep routine so that you are getting enough high-quality sleep. Sleep is a critical part of maintaining good health and should not be underestimated. By implementing a sleep routine, you can ensure that you are getting enough rest and are therefore optimally prepared to perform at your best.

4. Eat a Balanced Diet

Diet is an important part of self-care and has a significant impact on your health. Make sure to eat lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, avoiding soft drinks and processed foods.

5. Exercise Regularly

Exercise is great for physical, mental and emotional health and should be a part of any self-care routine.

6. Get Some Sun

Catching some rays may seem like what slackers would do, but there is scientific evidence that there is something more to it than meets the eye.

The sun gives off an electrical charge that assists in our attitude. That’s why we’re more cheerful on sunny days! The sun also provides the best source of Vitamin D found anywhere, which is essential to boosting the immune system.

So on your lunch break, go outside and catch some rays for 20 – 40 minutes a day. The best concentration of vitamin D can be gotten from the shortest rays between 10 A.M. and 2 P.M. The sun has to reach your skin, so roll up your sleeves and get as much skin contact as possible.

7. Learn to Say No

The ability to establish boundaries can be important to self-care. Rather than simply saying yes to everything until things become unbearable or seemingly impossible, learn to say no when you are busy or feeling under pressure.

8. Get Organized

A little organization can go a long way in regard to your self-care. Implementing strategies to be more organised can really help reduce your stress and improve your mental health.

9. De-clutter Your Environment

Get rid of the rubbish and excess goods in your house; a cleaner, less cluttered space is great for your mental health as it will help to reduce stress levels.

10. Schedule Time to Yourself

It can often feel like we are being pulled in a million different directions. Make sure to schedule time for your self-care and donít allow this to be interrupted.

11. Take a Break

If things are getting too much, take a break. That might involve taking a few days off of work or a certain stressful project in particular; getting away for the weekend or, if really necessary, taking a longer vacation. Regardless of the length, sometimes simply stepping out of the environment can be great for perspective and self-care.

This can be a godsend in so many ways, for instance, when you come back to your manuscript — or whatever major project you’re on — you are able to take a fresh look at what you have developed so far. It offers a clearer view of what you really have done to date. It’s actually one of my “secret weapons” to writing bestsellers!

It’s so easy to get caught up into work, so much that we put our health and well-being aside. But this is an unhealthy mindset that turns ourselves into martyrs. Life becomes less enjoyable, and the spiral continues downward.

Most Important Tools of Your Trade

One way you can look at self-care is to realize that your mind and your body are two of your most important tools of your trade. More important than your fast-running computer or amazing software you’ve invested in.

We invest a lot into our equipment — our tools of the trade — keeping the printer working properly, the computer virus-free, and so forth. But the most important thing we need to invest in and keep tip-top shape is ourselves.

Avoid the Downward Spiral

If our health declines — and the early level of decline is a weak immune system — the quality of our products drop as well. We become unable to work a few weeks per year because we’re too sick to get out of bed. And on the days you tough it out with a box of tissues on your desk, your productivity suffers, sometimes as drastic as if you were intoxicated. When health declines, success potential drops. Soon enough, one will be out of a job.

Self-care is not a luxury. YOU, personally, are the most important piece of the puzzle of success. Tale care of your most precious tool in your arsenal for success.

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Amazing Facts About Success

There are amazing facts about success that you have likely not been told.

Facts About Being Successful

True success is the most intricate, challenging, elusive aspiration in life; and the most misunderstood of all desirable things. 

It’s the grand slam in baseball and winning the pennant. It’s making it to the playoffs and winning the Super Bowl in football…. 

For the individual, it is getting to a point in your life where you’ve achieved the more important things. But that in no way means having more wins than losses.

True success is something that holds; it has staying power long-term. But visually on a statistical graph, its line has peaks and valleys, with an overall average line angling upward.

Creating successful long-term growth requires a deep level of understanding of what

In fact, when we are on our way to achieving great things, we can often feel like we’re failing miserably, IF we put more attention on the wrong things.

If Babe Ruth had obsessed over how many times he struck out, or if a billionaire concentrated on the number of times s/he lost money, or if Payton Manning had worried about how many interceptions he threw in a previous game… their stellar outcomes would have been very different.

One reason for success’ elusiveness is because it is disguised as failure.

Success is Failure by Any Other Name

The first thing to know is that success has the appearance of failure. This is because of how many times we do not achieve what we set out to do. 

The truth is, success requires the brutal runway of a sequence of failures. But it only looks like failure, and it is NOT failure at all, but the path to success. 

The two things that cause most people to give up on their dreams:

Having incorrect expectations and

Giving a rat’s ass what others think.

These are the most prominent and most lethal of all dream killers.

Expectation

Incorrect expectation causes you to think you’re doing terribly when you are, in fact, well on your way to having exactly what you want in your life. Thinking it will happen sooner than it really takes causes a false sense of failure.

This ties into understanding that succeeding at something always looks like failure during the journey. But also realizing that it takes persistence and patience. Success comes to those who remain steadfast in their goals and intentions. 

And just as important is taking notice of your achievements and remaining positive.

Worrying What Others Might Say

Succeeding at anything is hard enough, but when it comes to critics, success becomes almost impossible if we let them bother us.

Having great concern about what your colleagues might think or say is even more insidious to dreams.

When you worry about what others might think or will say about you, you become their slave. Every thought, idea and action you make is tainted, and you personally oppress them all in fear of being ridiculed.

Know this…

ANYONE WHO HAS ACHIEVED ANYTHING WORTHY OR VALUABLE IN THE WORLD DID SO WITHOUT MUCH CONCERN FOR WHAT OTHERS MIGHT THINK OF THEM.

None of us are free from ridicule, but we have to be impervious to it. 

The Power of Empathy

Understanding why people make fun of others is helpful for anyone who wants to make great things happen, if we are to save ourselves from being wardens of our own self-erected prison cells.

Empathy is a very rare quality that only the doers of this world have the luxury of suffering; it is an ability you acquire through experience.

Empathy is an ability to feel what others feel. It is a super-power of great entrepreneurs.

In order to be able to have it requires that you have walked in similar shoes and struggled to a similar degree as someone else.

Anyone who would criticize another for trying to do something constructive has never tried to do something constructive. Or they failed and now are resentful that someone else might try and actually succeed, which would make them feel pretty bad about themselves. Again, the power of empathy at its finest here. 

But to have walked a similar path as another requires a great many rare qualities most people simply cannot muster. 

Things like braveness, passion, duty, burning desire, caring for others… are what drive us to obsess over making a better world even though there are so many risks. These qualities are what drive us to do admirable things no matter the consequences.

The Thick Skin Required for Success

Understanding (having empathy for) why people ridicule can help with remaining unaffected.

So the next time a colleague laughs at your “failures” to build your empire, remind yourself that you are well on your way to succeeding and that they simply are not as brave, passionate, dutiful, desirous, caring… as you, and that’s okay.

Ignorance is what makes some people laugh when they see you try to do something worthwhile. Maybe they think it should happen overnight. But that’s just part of having no idea what it takes to make something great… because they never really tried themselves.

You can’t worry about what others think of you or what you’ve not yet accomplished.

You can’t afford a lot of things when you’re striving to create an empire. One of those things is most definitely worrying about people who just don’t know any better. They have no idea what they’re doing, and you scare the hell out of them.

There are many facets to creating successful long term growth. These have been a few that you, for whatever reason, won’t ever hear much about. But they will make or break your dreams.

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GOALS TO ACHIEVE IN LIFE AND WORK

As entrepreneurs, authors and small business owners, we have Goals to achieve in life. They are often about achieving greater success such as becoming a best selling author, and this is excellent.

Goal Setting Definition

Iowa State University gives a great goal setting definition as: “Goal setting gives your life direction and empowers you towards positive behavior change. It confirms what your desires are and may minimize distractions or obstacles. Why is goal setting important? Goal setting is important because it focuses on what you wish to achieve.”

Goal Setting PDF

A concise quick read goal setting pdf from Goucher.edu offers a clever goal setting strategies with the S.M.A.R.T. goal setting theory of motivation. This pdf also gives goal setting, difficulties that you may face along the way, and 10 main goal setting benefits.

Every Person Should Have These 5 Goals for work and Life

Often, we hear people who are not business oriented talk about off goals that sound a bit like dreamy, fanciful wishes that change from one year to the next. But that’s okay too because one of the greatest things stating goals does is create hope.

Whether monetary, achievement or self-growth bases, goals are good and necessary. here are 5 fundamental goals that everyone should strive toward every single day:

1: True Happiness

Happiness is not really a destination as much as it is a state of mind. A billionaire could be miserable about what they don’t have, while a homeless dude could be happy to score a hot shower and a cooked meal at the local shelter.

Happiness is all about perspective. While goals relating to tangible things like money can prove unsatisfying quests, the search for genuine happiness is one that will help you gain a more fulfilled and serene life.

2: Integrity

From business to interpersonal relationships, when you live life with honesty and commitment to ethical values, you’ll find that a rewarding sense of wholeness awaits you. Integrity is a goal that will help you feel like you’re making the world a better place with your presence.

3: Fulfillment

You can plug away at a nine-to-five job until you retire, but chances are that’s not going to make you live life to the fullest. You’ll be one of those faceless people in the crowd who live for the weekend—then trudge back to work.

Instead, reflect on who you are, your strengths, your desires, and act accordingly. Whether it’s learning to find meaning at work, a career path that challenges you, or engaging with some satisfying hobbies, fulfillment in life is a great goal.

4: Connection

Human beings are social creatures, so forging good relationships is the key to thriving and feeling happy. Family, professional, and personal relationships are all crucial components to providing a sense of connectedness with the rest of humanity—so make good friendships and foster existing links with family.

At the same time, relationships do need boundaries, so learning how to create healthy interactions is also crucial for developing your sense of identity.

5: Self-Worth

Nobody can be successful in life if they’re down in the dumps, so fostering a sense of self-worth is an esteemed goal that every person should pursue. There are many simple ways to do this—for example, treating yourself with dignity and respect by wearing clean clothes and practicing good hygiene.

Education is also a key component to developing a sense of worth, because with that knowledge comes better opportunities a sense of security.

Goals to achieve in life are important to health, happiness, success and wealth because they give us hope, drive and something specific to achieve. Goals allow for a purpose-driven life.

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How to be More Positive: 6 Simple Ways

Coming up with ways on how to be more positive has been challenging for us all lately. With the COVID-19 pandemic, unemployment and the economic shutdown, that’s no surprise. 

But we know as entrepreneurs, authors, small business owners and executives how important positive thinking is to our success in being able to make sales and produce quality products so we can help make a better work… and pay our bills.  

A hard-pressed fact when it comes to succeeding in business, we have to stay positive or risk losing everything. 

Positive Thinking How To

So where do we find inspiration and positive thinking how to measures to keep us upbeat and productive? Here are 3 ways to think positive:

1: POSITIVE THINKING QUOTES: 

Certainly, reading positive thinking quotes are one of the quickest ways to cheer ourselves up. 

There is something effective and instantaneous about about positive thinking quotes—reading something hope-filled—that give us a better outlook on things.  

Remember that what we think, we are. We are greatly affected by what we ourselves think. So seek out positive thinking quotes  https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/positive-thinking  at places like Goodreads and other places on the Internet.

Success.com for instance, has 11 moving quotes about the power of positive thinking quotes.

You can find positive thinking quotes everywhere: office supply stores and big box stores often times in frames within the office furniture section. Gift shops have lots of wonderful sayings on driftwood, on mugs or in frames.  

2: STAY PRODUCTIVE: 

Don’t sit idle. Stagnant water becomes undrinkable in just minutes. Like clean, crystal water flowing down a stream, motion and activity keep us in higher spirits. 

In fact, PRODUCTIVITY is the secret to health and happiness through purpose and the sense of accomplishment. 

Being productive raises our sense of survival and causation—being on control, not the effect of whatever is happening around us. 

Productivity is the “best-kept secret” of happy individuals who are making BIG IMPACT in the world. They seem to go un-phased by the constant negativity being pumped into society through the news media. 

For one thing, they’re too busy creating good results. But more than that, being productive not only increases your survival potential, it gives a sense of well-being. In my opinion, work is a drug-free solution to depression. 

In any case, to the degree you increase your productivity, you increase your success! 

3. AVOID NEGATIVITY:

Like I said, negative people do nothing, they only complain. The solve no problems but only add to the current problems of life, and they create new ones all the time. 

Negative people and groups are poison. What groups? Take a look around and see who is spreading bad news and complaining all the time. You will see individuals and the groups they uphold or work for. 

They alter what really happened or was said. They seek out ways how they can spin something positive into something horrific. These people and groups are killing our society, bringing us all down and pitting us against each other.  

Much closer to home, we have “friends” who enjoy passing on the negativity they’ve heard or read recently. 

AVOID THIS NEGATIVITY AT ALL COST!

This means getting out of the negativity loop. Stop watching or listening to the news media. And for goodness sakes, stop talking to people who spread negativity. Your health, success and happiness depend on it.

4. EXERCISE: 

Getting your body moving is great for changing your mood and raising your thoughts. This is how to be more positive and happy. You don’t have to run a marathon or swim across the English Channel to make that kind of change…you can just step up, take a walk, do some jumping jacks, or dance. That’s right … dance. Try turning on your favorite music and moving and grooving for a few minutes; see if you’re feeling negative afterwards.

5. PRACTICE GRATITUDE: 

How to be a more positive person involves taking a proactive approach. Build a list of gratitude. Make a list of all the things you’re grateful for. Having trouble coming up with a list? How about your breath, your pulse, your sight, and all the other basic amenities we take for granted. Once your start writing your list out, you will find that it snowballs and fills your mind with positivity.

6. CHANGE YOUR LANGUAGE: 

How to be more positive in life? Take stock of the vocabulary and phrases you use regularly. Eliminate negative phrases and words from your lexicon, and watch your thoughts change as well. You should also take note of your body language and posture. Avoid slouching, and above all, smile! 

There are plenty of ways to remain positive and optimistic. These are just 6 quick and simple ways. If you look for them, you will find even more all around you. With your negative people out of the way, the rest of your positive friends will be sure to share their positivity with you. Interesting, isn’t it?

Being positive is part and parcel to success. Like food, water and air, being positive in thought empowers you.

Remember that negativity comes from people who do nothing—they ONLY complain. Staying productive keeps us away from the negativity of others by focusing on getting things accomplished. And as you work to produce something or complete a task, it feels great!

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WE’RE IN THIS TOGETHER

A very wise philosopher once taught that in order to do the right thing, we have to look at all of life and livingess. We can’t just help ourselves and think that’s good enough. 

And the gauge of whether we are really making a difference or not is to the  degree that we work to positively affect OTHER people, places and things, than our own. So you have to do something broadly. And this is the reason for this video today.

Hi, I’m Robert Nahas, CEO of WriterServices.net

I wanted to find out if you were aware that, though most people are stuck at home with nothing to do but wait this pandemic out, there are some people who are still able to be very productive at home making money.

There are some businesses that can be conducted from the home, and even a few that allow you to work from anywhere in the world.

Seeing so many people stuck at home and worried about their bills piling up, I decided to do what I could to help alleviate the stress of this situation we’re in.

I know firsthand that there are people being very productive and making money right from their homes, because all of my book writers, editors, cover designers and marketers work from their homes.

I’m a bestselling author and professional ghostwriter of books. Though I believe, from my own experience, that this is the best job in the world, I’m not here to suggest you become a writer or a published author—though I would highly recommend it to anyone at any age—I’m here to let you know that I created a website that’s about to launch which offers training and empowerment on how to work from home successfully. 

You can learn to be highly productive, and find your ideal work-from-home business. Courses will be coming out regularly on things like how to effectively promote and market your products or services and add additional streams of income to your life by working from home.

It could be weekend work or a full-time career; whatever you feel would be really rewarding and a lot of fun for you. Most of all, it’s a way of getting some control over things that are happening with our economy.

We are in uncertain times. There are politicians who want to keep us shut down for longer than we need to. And who knows what the future will bring? Is this going to happen every time flu season comes around? Are some politicians going to demand that we shut down again and again?

To get you started immediately, download this 5-Minute Guide Special Report where I share some excellent tips on how to work and get more done while working from home.

There ARE work-from-home businesses that are unaffected by economies.

Because this website was born out of a desire to help with the situation we’re currently in, we are—for a short time—reducing the course fees by 89%.

So I hope you will take advantage of the great effort, talent and passionate purpose I and my team have done to contribute to a silver lining to this pandemic and economic setback we’re in right now, and spread the word to others so they can immediately feel some palpable hope for the future.

There’s no reason to wait this pandemic out, doing nothing for your future. Waiting is the worst thing you can do. Time is on your side right now, so take advantage of this opportunity to expand your knowledge of how success is made from home. 

It’s time to take control of your life the best way you know how. You’re going to get the knowledge you need at: EntrepreneurSuccessSolutions.com 

Learn how to become more financially independent for yourself and your loved ones.

Thanks. I’m Robert Nahas. I’ll see you at this new and exciting website!

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6 Tips for Finding Optimism

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SOURCE OF INCOME, DO YOU HAVE JUST ONE?

SOURCE OF INCOME, DO YOU HAVE JUST ONE?—Part 1

Whether or not you’re an author or entrepreneur, or a 9-to-5er, your source of income affects you at the heart of your world…  

Being out of work is a horrible thing. 

So many people right now, because of the coronavirus, are stuck at home with nothing constructive to do. 

Much worse, they are not making money to pay bills—bills that keep coming no matter what the circumstances are!

What adds to the stress and anxiety is not knowing how things will go, how quickly things will get back to normal. Will it be a few weeks or months? Will things ever be the same?

This article is not about doom and gloom. It is a means to a happy ending. But…

This is a wakeup call.

Source of income image icons

 SOURCE OF INCOME

The is a call to your good senses of the importance of having more than 1 source of income.

As we’re all witnessing, even in a strong economy—one of the best we’ve ever witnessed in our lifetime—we can suddenly find ourselves helpless, with no options but to wait things out with stress levels high and anxiety abound. 

The threat of survival is tough to endure. This is proof, a rude awakening really, that we cannot have all of our bread in one basket, as the saying goes.

We need to have more than one source of income for ourselves. 

MULTIPLE STREAMS OF INCOME

In fact, we need several streams of income for just this kind of situation we’re in today. 

The reason for this is because when something happens in the environment that temporarily destroys your income for that particular activity, you are not stuck with no options to rely on. 

That is NEVER a good thing. You need to have a PLAN B, not on hold but already in place and in operation. You must have one or more other activities that will continue to produce as a source of income. 

Multiple streams of income. Person watering a money tree

In today’s world this means: 

To have a job is not enough

To be an entrepreneur and only have a product or service in one area is dangerous!

To rely on one source of income sets you up for sudden and severe disaster.

After the roaring 20s when The Great Depression hit seemingly overnight, versos of the richest people of their time literally jumped from windows to their death because they were suddenly broke. I’m referring to people who only had stocks as their “wealth”.

This is just one example that history shows about the importance of having multiple streams of income.

Right now, we can look around and witness this to an incredible degree, something we could have never predicted or thought were possible. Millions of people are unemployed without any real warning. 

To say “it happened overnight in no exaggeration. The suddenness of it has just made it all the more severe for so many people. 

So, knowing how to create multiple streams of income is the solution! 

WHAT IS SOURCE OF INCOME

Merriam-Webster dictionary defines source (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/source) as: “a point of origin or procurement”.

The word, procurement is perfectly included. It’s base word, procure  means “to GET something; bring about or achieve”.

This immediately shows that a source of income is create, it’s gotten or brought about by achievement. This dispels that fallacy that some people and politicians have that money should “flow” from the government to everyone and “everything should be free”.

Nothing could be more ridiculous. And any politician who makes such a promise:

doesn’t know how to make money and 

thinks money is made by either printing more or taking it from those who DO. Neither of which will work for you in the long run simply because it is not how money, food, education…, comes to anyone.

Source of Income

In order to have REAL sources of income for yourself—the kind that will actually keep you out of hot water long term—you have to roll up your sleeves, hunker down and get to work for yourself.

This is actually the secret to immense success that a lot of individuals don’t want you to come to realize! That working for yourself, being your own boss, being an entrepreneur is the best way to create wealth beyond any dream ever dreamt.��  

This doesn’t mean you need to quite your day job if you have one to go back to after all this mess is behind us, whenever that might be. I’m suggesting that you consider creating more financial options for yourself that allow you to be more independent.

More independent of your boss, the government and even your customers if you’re already a business owner.

— — —

NOTE: I am writing this on the fly and putting together, as fast as I can, a solution to this out-of-work dilemma so many people are in. 

Understand that NOT EVERYONE IS OUT OF WORK.

There are thousands upon thousand of individuals who are fast at work fright from their homes, unaffected by what is happening in this economic crisis.

And you can be busy making money too, in any economy.

I apologize for ending this article here, but it’s important to get the conversation going on this topic and SHED HOPE AND EMPOWERMENT THAT THERE IS A SOLUTION for you if you are not making money right now.

I will continue publishing on this as quickly as I can. Being hard at work, with more than one source of income, I don’t have a lot of time to share this invaluable information, but know it’s the right thing to do.

My plan, as my passion drives me to get this truth out, is to post every day over the coming week. Can’t guarantee I’ll pull it off, all while putting together a real solution, but will do my best to share this with you as quickly as possible.

Se you soon,

Robert Nahas, CEO Writer Services, LLC https://WriterServicdes.net

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Book Writer Services in USA

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CREATIVE WRITING PROMPTS

CREATIVE WRITING PROMPTS

Prompts for creative writing enjoy a trendiness nowadays, especially on blogs that offer ever-expanding lists (Prompt #452: The color blue -Write about something blue!). While there’s definitely some value in these lists, it’s an approach to prompts that aligns with the idea of “giving a person a fish” – or in some cases hundreds of fish at a time. In this article we’ll explore another approach: “Teaching a person to fish,” as the old adage advises, so that you can create your own prompts for a lifetime of creative writing.

How to Create Your Own Writing Prompts

(Not 365, not 700+, but an infinite number of writing prompts)

This approach to creative writing prompts works by asking the aspiring author to engage with their environment and imagination. It takes practice (like becoming a successful fisherman also does), but once you learn how it works and make it part of your writing life, the dividends pay off over and over again.

A combination of prompt lists and self-prompts can help you write a better book.

LISTS OF CREATIVE WRITING PROMPTS

By category, with additional tools for self-prompting

Fiction writing prompts

Create a fictional explanation for a current event

Imagine another (secret) side of a former president

Describe the journey of a young boy/girl from Europe to America in the 19th Century

Self-prompt: The best fiction comes from truth. Think about a true story. What about it can be fictionalized? Maybe ALL of it! What characters and details in the true story inspire wonder in you. Feel it and write it.

Creative writing prompts for adults

Unusual dynamics in a romantic relationship

The effects of varying amounts of alcohol on a household

How parenthood/grandparenthood changes people

Self-prompt: Presumably you are an adult. Do you always feel like one?Act like one? Why or why not? Think and feel about what it means to be an adult. Freedom? Responsibility? Ask other adults. Write it all down.

Science fiction writing prompts

What if aliens lived among us?

What would the ideal spaceship for humans be like?

What if pollution created a new species of mutant “Bigfoot” creatures?

Self-prompt: Do you own a telescope or binoculars? Take a closer look at the world around you. You can even do this without any equipment. Meditate on the millions of stars and planets in the universe. What thoughts come to mind? Where do your feelings lead you? What fictional ideas resonate with you? Write it all down.

Creative nonfiction writing prompts

Write about a true story in reverse chronological order

Tell a true story as seen through several people’s perspectives

Add a vivid dream sequence to a biographical story

Self-prompt: Think of a true story that fascinates you. In what way(s) could you write it to make the telling equally fascinating? Let your imagination run wild.

Realistic fiction writing prompts

What if our election system completely failed?

How would a priest or pastor deal with his/her own disease of alcoholism?

What would it be like for a boxer if he never won a professional bout?

Self-prompt: In the previous prompts, you’ll notice that conflict is essential to a good story. How can your fiction writing elucidate a real conflict in the world today? The conflict(s) can be major or minor; it’s HOW you write about them that matters. Put your deepest thoughts and feelings about fictional (and real) conflicts down on paper.

Historical fiction writing prompts

What if one of the framers of the Constitution had been a communist?

What if Julius Caesar had not been assassinated?

What if President Lincoln visited ghosts at a cemetery? (By the way, in the mid-2010s, author George Saunders wrote an acclaimed book of historical fiction on exactly that. The book is Lincoln in the Bardo.)

Self-prompt: Generally speaking, great writers are great readers. Writers historical fiction, as a rule, should know their history. Books on historical events and figures are readily available at any public library, as are copies of historical films. Travel, reading, and movies make for excellent prompts in this genre.

Most great writers are/were avid readers. Don’t skimp on this important element of good book-writing.

Fiction writing prompts for adults

Raising children diagnosed on the autism spectrum

Your first foray into entrepreneurship

A relationship that just keeps getting better and better

Self-prompt: What makes the adult writer different from the youth writer? Adult writers seek writing prompts that are not for children for the same reason they can trust themselves with self-prompting: greater life experience. Use your experience in your writing. Want more prompting than that? Go out and gain MORE experiences.

Weird writing prompts

Net-fishing the high seas for canned tuna

A day in the life of Tiny Tim

The land of talking backwards

Self-prompt: This category of prompts puzzled me a bit when I first encountered it. Do we REALLY need prompts for WEIRD? In THIS world?? Just look out your window! Take a walk on ANY street in America! Well, of course I’m partially joking here, but the point I want to make is that, as writers – as artists – we don’t need prompts for EVERYTHING. Weird is everywhere. We only have to open our eyes, ears, minds… and notebooks.

Inspirational writing prompts

Your earliest memory of your family’s faith

How could Dr. Martin Luther King’s philosophies benefit us today?

Moments of everyday grace

Self-prompt: One might look at this prompt category and think, “Well, isn’t this really searching for inspiration to write about inspiration?” In a way, yes, but is that such a bad thing? I think of the humble person of faith who wants to serve but perhaps doesn’t know exactly how to do it. Whether a kindhearted person is looking for creative writing prompts on line or self-prompting by searching the soul or talking with a faith leader, the virtue of their search can be admired.

Book writing prompts

An issue in your life that has been unresolved for a long time

Settings and characters from a vivid dream

Thoughts and feelings on a person you have long admired

Self-prompt: Though the idea of writing a book might seem daunting, your choices in taking the first step – as you see above – are nearly endless. Stephen King goes so far as to suggest deciding on what your book is about when you begin your second draft. So where you start, or what prompts you to start, is not as important as where your writing takes you.

Your personal experiences are of utmost importance in writing a great book. Share them generously, in your own way, and always be open for more.

Book prompts for writing

A history book to inspire historical fiction

Works of Charles Dickens to inspire young adult (YA) fiction

A book of the Bible to prompt inspirational writing

Self-prompt: Looking for writing prompts for a book? Look no further than… a book! Some of the best writing prompts for books can be found in existing books. Going a step further, books in public domain offer stories, characters, and concepts you can use in your own work – all free of charge!

Video Transcript:

Hello to all aspiring authors and entrepreneurs out there. I’m Robert Nahas, Founder and CEO of Writer Services. Today we examine the popular practice of using creative writing prompts to generate ideas. The concept behind prompts is that writers who want to practice their craft every day will inevitably run out of ideas on what to write about. In this video, we won’t go into the pros and cons of writing every day, but I will take you through two distinct approaches to prompts for creative writing.

First is the process you might have seen online, where somebody makes a list of scenarios, characters, places, or even primary colors, and the writer is then supposed to practice their daily writing using one or more of those ideas, or prompts.

The second is a more organic approach. One where the writer takes a little time and effort to create their own prompts. This might involve taking a pen and paper and going outdoors for an hour; visiting the local coffee shop and discreetly observing your surroundings: the cafe workers and other patrons as they come and go. Even just picking up and going into a different room in your home can really get your ideas flowing. It’s about changing your environment and really EXPERIENCING things in the world, instead of just on a computer with a list of prompts that someone thought up for you. Experience life and let yourself really THINK and FEEL. Write down your experiences, thoughts, and feelings. The world itself is out there waiting to prompt you in unexpected and wonderful ways.

And as always, I’d love to hear your comments and questions, so please take a moment to leave a reply below. You might also enjoy subscribing to our RSS feed, so you’ll be alerted as soon as our articles and videos are posted each week. Thanks for watching. I’m Robert Nahas. See you again soon.

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BOOKS IN PUBLIC DOMAIN

BOOKS IN PUBLIC DOMAIN

A question we often get when mentoring book author clients to write their own books is, “Can I use quotes or information from books in public domain for my book?” This article is going to clarify what books in the public domain really means and share some insight into how you, as an author or entrepreneur, can benefit greatly from this type of book.

What are Public Domain Books?

Public Domain Books are books that are no longer protected under copyright law. “Public domain” simply refers to the fact that a book is available for any use (quoting of any length, republishing, rewriting, creating derivative works, etc.).

The exciting news is there are millions of published works that, for a variety of reasons, no longer have a copyright owner. Their contents are legally available to the public at large at no charge, under no rules or restrictions. This is amazing when you think about how many books still influence society today and how you can position yourself with the best of authors.

Just think of the possibilities! You could write a summary book of one of the greats like Lord of the Flies. Or a criticism of the writing style of William Shakespeare.

Author Napoleon Hill is a perfect example:

Think and Grow Rich is a great example of how entrepreneurs have positioned themselves with one of the most popular books of the early 19th century. And it’s still popular today.

Certainly, what has kept it alive is the plethora of books that have come out that are based on the original, summarized, critiqued, altered in some ways….

I highly recommend that you research all of the different versions of this public domain book. You’ll not only be impressed, you will see the potential and perhaps be inspired to do something different with this book or with some other entirely different public domain book.

Here is one example of how one author summarized the public domain book, Think and Grow Rich.

Public Domain Books

Public domain books have for the most part been underutilized, not so much because they’re difficult to find but because they haven’t been realized for their value.

Free Books in Public Domain isn’t the only way to utilize these amazing books.

Most public domain books are listed on websites for the purpose of “free”. But whether free of not, these kinds of books are a potential goldmine to the entrepreneur-minded. Just think of the possibilities! You could:

write a summary book of one of the greats like Lord of the Flies.

write a criticism book of the writing style of Jane Austin.

write a sequel to a book by Mark Twain.

be inspired to write a book similar to a public domain book, but something better in your eyes or more current.

take a non-fiction book and turn it into a fictional story with more embellishments and twists and turns—a “what if?” book. What if the fictional doctor Frankenstein lived in the 21st century? What if Tom Sawyer was a girl?

write a screenplay for the big screen.

write a script for a TV mini-series.

write a pilot for cable TV like Prime or Netflix.

Treasure troves, literally, of stories, characters, and concepts await inside books in the public domain – all free for you to use as you like!

The possibilities are endless. And here’s the kicker, you are starting from a book that has already been approved by a mass audience. Talk about a head start with your book. The premise, the plot, the tempo, the setting…, you can take one or more aspects of a great public domain book and have at it.

What Books Are in Public Domain?

So, we know that books in the public domain are ones that have their copyrights run out. But how can you know what books are in public domain? You can find public domain books pretty easily these days. I’ve created a list of websites below that will allow you to search to your heart’s content. But remember, searching for them with greater insight than “a free read” will make it not only a lot of fun but inspiring and exciting. The potential is great! The inspiration and ideas you can get from public domain books is endless.

Just remember There other ways to find these books. Yard sales, estate sales, book swaps, the “older books” section in your neighborhood mom and pop (indie) book store…, and used book stores and other places where used books are sold. \You can tell what books are in the public domain by their date.

If you see a book that looks promising, open it to the copyright page. If it was published in the United States before 1924, it is in the public domain. Books published after 1923 but before 1978 are protected for 75 years plus 20 (95 years) from the date of publication.

Also know that the copyright laws changed after 1978. If a book was published/copyrighted after 1978, the copyright lasts for the lifetime of the author plus 70 years. So you may have to come back for a second time around this world in order to reap the benefits of post ’78 books. But don’t fret, you have tons of public domain books to choose from — the classics and more!

Public Domain Book List

Here is a public domain book list below for you to start your treasure hunt.

Books in Public Domain List:

Public Domain Books Database

The Gutenberg database has top 100 lists in different categories

Audio Books in Public Domain

This is a database of public domain audio books

Best Books in Public Domain

Goodreads website has a wonderful list of the best public domain books.

Classic Books in Public Domain

Feedbooks has a list of classic public domain books.

Every January 1st is now a day for aspiring authors and entrepreneurs to celebrate.

Public Domain Day

Every year, more books in the public domain are becoming available. That’s because the 20-year copyright extension – lobbied for by Disney and passed by U.S. legislators in 1998 – finally expired on January 1, 2019.

Public Domain Day 2019

There were some great books that became available in 2019. From an Arthur Conan Doyle whodunnit set in America to the first Noel Coward musical and much more in between.

Public Domain Day 2020

Take a look at this year’s books in the public domain.

More books are coming into public domain every year. Just imagine, you could do a rewrite of Catcher in the Rye. Although, J.D. Salinger’s work won’t become available until 2080, so you’d better be young today, or science needs to figure out how to add a few more years to the average human lifespan. As today’s fiction feeds tomorrow’s science, maybe we should start writing writing more stories about living to 100.

Video Transcript:

Hello aspiring authors and entrepreneurs, I’m Robert Nahas, Founder and CEO of Writer Services. Today we’re taking a look at books in public domain. Public domain books are books that, because copyright law or simply through the passage of time, are no longer restricted in how you can use them in books, movies, television scripts, and other intellectual properties. You’re able to even republish public domain books any way you like.

Around the globe there are millions of public domain book titles available to aspiring authors and entrepreneurs, and what’s in them are literary treasure troves — of stories, characters, concepts and more — all just waiting for you to make them new again. Whet

her you want to make a new audiobook version with your own voice or a talented narrator and exciting character voices, write a screenplay for a new film or cable series, or simply gain inspiration for a totally new novel, the possibilities are truly endless when you source books in the public domain. And, as always, if you like this video please click on the thumbs-up button below and click on subscribe to catch all our new videos and articles being published every week. I’m Robert Nahas. Thanks, and see you again soon.

Also be sure to subscribe to my RSS feed as I will be sure to keep you updated for the coming years.

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5 Tips to Excel in Ghostwriting

It doesn’t make any difference if you’re already a great ghostwriter or someone who is just beginning the ghostwriter’s journey. If you have high expectations for your business and you want to succeed as a ghostwriter, you have to be able to provide certain elements. More times than not, we tend to assist in ways that aren’t necessarily needed, thereby, not giving the right attention or worth to our writing.

If you’re a ghostwriter, and want to have a reputable business, take these tips and introduce them into your writing services.

1. Put clients’ needs first

If you’re an established and excellent writer, but fail to meet your clients’ needs or expectations, it will negatively impact your business. Your passion may keep your business going as a ghostwriter, but your client’s happiness will keep the business running. You must first possess the skills to fully understand a client. Most often, you’ll need to explain to them what you do as a ghostwriter and how you can help their business and efficiently solve their content issues. The main purpose for a ghostwriter is to write for someone else, so putting your needs aside to produce great content is a must. Only use your personality when it really fits with the client.

2. Apply your Knowledge

Of course, when a client contacts you inquiring about your writing services, it’s good to be able to talk about how your writing serves a genuine purpose to them. However, you should try to assist even further by possibly adding marketing, editing and/or proofreading, as well as other business strategies to your skill-set. It helps to make a list of everything you do daily and make notes of each step. Who knows, it might possibly turn into a service you could offer to a business owner. Your writing can go a long way, but the extras you can provide will be an added benefit.

3. Apply Your Experience

Another great way to get more clients and have a “voice” in the ghostwriter community is by creating social media presences across the web. You are probably tired of hearing about the “know, like and trust” factor, but social media is how you obtain that. Additionally, implementing SEO strategies into both your own content and your client’s content is an excellent skill, as well as an added service. It’s basically a standard now, so if you haven’t learned about Search Engine Optimization, you need to. It’s important as a ghostwriter to be honest about your abilities, or the lack thereof, but also showing your willingness to learn and explaining all the other benefits you have to offer.

Read More Here: 5 Tips to Excel in Ghostwriting