Posts Tagged ‘ reading ’

Author : Rolf Zimmerli

Does that title sound confusing? Well, I can understand that, but once you finish reading you’ll see that writing articles the wrong way round will speed up your writing and get you much better articles

Writing an article seems like a daunting task, and if you do it for the first time you might feel like standing in front of an unsurmountable sleek wall that does not provide footholds to climb up and over it to reach your goal But it’s quite easy, if you approach article writing in a systematic, step by step way Let’s look at these steps and find out how you can write an article in a few minutes, once you have mastered this 6 step system:

The Six Step System For Article Writing

This is the most efficient and, in my experience, fastest way to write about any subject:

- define what your goal is for the article

- do research if necessary

- prepare an outline

- start writing any part of the article

- organize the article into headline, lead, body, conclusion

- proof read three times at least

Who Will Read The Article - What Is The Article About?

Before you start writing, you need to define what you want to communicate with your article, and what purpose the article will serve Ask yourself these questions: Who is the reader you want to reach, what knowledge of the subject does this reader have allready? What exactly do you want the reader to know once he’s read your article?

Best use a list with keywords to jot down your ideas Dont’ worry about organizing these keywords yet Once you have a bunch of keywords, start putting them in a logical sequence, the way you want to organize your story When you have decided how your article will appraoch the subject, prepare an outline how you want to pass on this knowledge and / or information Then start giving your article a structure

Structure means divide the article into the four sections: headline, lead or teaser, body and conclusion Here is the secret to effective writing that will make writing your own articles fast and painless: You don’t have to write these in the order I just mentioned them! Because it can be really difficult to come up with a good headline or teaser, if you have not written the article itself Also don’t necessarily write the article body in the sequence that it will have once it’s ready for publishing

It is a lot easier to first start off with a few bullet points for the body of the article Developing these bullet points into sentences and paragraphs often, all of a sudden, leads to a great headline, or you will think of the best reason why this article provides benefit to the reader That way you let your thoughts flow freely and don’t get writers block

The Headline

It’s allways good to start writing a first headline for your article The headline may change as you write But start off with the best headline that comes to mind now Headlines should be catchy and induce curiosity in the readers mind Best keep your headline short, seven words or less is good Also make it strong and affirmative: “Write your Article in 10 minutes” is better than “How to Write an Article in a short time”

The Lead or Teaser

To get the readers attention, it’s important to start off with a lead paragraph that very briefly describes what you are going to tell the reader and why You must grab the readers attention and give him a very good reason why reading your article is worth his time

A great way to write an article is to start the lead paragraph with a statement, then go through the explanations and information that you want to pass on and, in your conclusion, draw a line back to the initial statement you made This neatly wraps up everything and in the mind of the reader ‘encapsulates’ the article

A good lead is short and to the point It doesn’t try to compact every fact you write about in the article body into two or three sentences Just provide enough information to get the story moving, but leave the reader wanting to know more

The Body

In the body you go into detail and cover the points that you have written down in your outline Here you provide the hard facts, the information and the instructions You answer the reader’s questions and you show different angles of the subject

Organizing this information in a logical way is the most important thing Think of the flow of the article and make sure you have a thread that leads smoothly from one point to the next Make sure you don’t use jargon or spcific words that are only known in an industry or trade and not used by the public If you need to use these words, explain the meaning Put the reader at ease

Explain your points in short paragraphs Short paragraphs are easier for the reader to follow No one likes to look at a long block of solid text Three, four or five sentences are enough for one paragraph

If you are writing to create interest for your business, spill all the beans! Tell your trade secrets! This may sound a bit wild, but the more you tell, the more demand will be created for your goods and services

Provide personal examples of the points you make, or create a ficticious case and show how in practice such a solution would work well Illustrating your explanations with an example makes understanding what you say a lot easier for the reader and your text gains credibility

The Conclusion

Remember your favourite teacher at school, the one that at the end of class would quickly summarize what was covered in the last 45 minutes? That’s what you are going to do now to finish off your article and make it a finished and polished piece Reread your lead, where you started the circular loop that you now want to bring together by writing the conclusion

For this article the conclusion could read like this: “Writing the wrong way round and mixing body, title, tease and conclusion whilst writing does lead to faster writing and better results, because you let your thoughts flow free and avoid writers block When you’ll be writing your next article, footholds will magically appear on that wall that earlier used to block your writing Go and try it!”

It’s allmost allways possible to draw the circle closed, and if it does not seem to be doable with the teaser that you have, read the entire article once more and maybe change the teaser to be able to draw that circle

Proofreading

The best way to destroy credibility is poor grammar and spelling Your content may be brilliant, but if there are mistakes, people will tend to dismiss what you have to say So use the tools that are available to spell check and have a friend, or better, a few friends proofread your article before you submit it or publish it yourself Best leave the article for a day or two and then reread it yourself Often you’ll come up with even better formulations and the article will gain in quality Don’t overdo this, thouhg Once is enough for your own rereading, then go out and publish You’ve done a great job and spent time and effort to write, now others want to read what you have to say!

and even though I’ve written the conclusion allready as an example, here’s it true spot, so here we go again, this time reworded just slightly:

You see, writing the wrong way round and mixing body, title, tease and conclusion whilst writing does lead to faster writing and better results This writing style allows your thoughts to flow free, lets your creativity develop thoughts and associations Because you avoid writers block that way, you’ll be writing your next article fast and without pain Footholds will magically appear on that wall that earlier used to block your writing Go and try it!

Rolf C. Zimmerli is a web developer, web consultant and editor. He has been working on the Internet since 1996. He manages a free article submission site: ZNMC Article Directory accepts well written articles for free publishing and welcomes your contributions.

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Author : Earma Brown

The Information Highway has turned into a Sea of Information It’s teeming with information from every direction So how does one make a difference in such a vast medium? If you don’t want your book and material in general to be lost in the sea of information streaming into your reader’s consciousness each day,

you must title them well In fact, all marketing material from your 5 page sales letter, tri-fold brochure or email campaign to the 2 line classified ad needs the attention grabbing power of a great headline

Create sizzling titles designed to hook your potential readers One of the most important skills to develop as a marketer of your book, product or service is the skill of creating attention-grabbing titles When you master this skill you may use it in every aspect of your writing to attract more readers, more sales, improve your cash flow and increase your profits

You will need title writing skill for your book titles, chapter titles, sub-heading Even bullet points will have pulling power if they are developed correctly Your website will need passionate headings to capture the attention of your web visitors

Titles set the stage for your potential audience They either will work to grab your potential reader by the collar and pull them in for the read or they don’t Top titles create excitement, anticipation and enthusiasm for more You want your titles to express the heart and passion of your message Here are 7 top title templates to help create your best titles:

1 The Command

“Write Your Best Book Now!”

Most will say they don’t like being told what to do But our human psyche seems to respond in spite of what we like The command has an immediate effect Why? It connects with the “Yes, I want that” spot within us all Commands reassure you that helpful advice will follow that help you get what you want from the advice It tells the readers it’s possible to achieve the benefit the author is claiming

2 The How to

“How to Make Your Article Go the Extra Mile”

People love to learn with simple steps and fast Combine it with a powerful benefit and you will reel your reader in every time You decide Does the title above, “How to Make Your Articles Go the Extra Mile” or “8 Ways to Format Your Article”

3 The Provocative Statement

“5 Mistakes to Avoid That Drive Your Web Visitors Away In Less Than 2 Minutes”

You mean my site could be driving my visitors away that fast Especially, if you have been working hard to get site visitors you would want to know what would drive them away fast Provocative statements pull at our attention like an electric shock They make us curious They sometimes make us mad They make us feel a lot of different things but most of all they make us read

4 The Question

“Do You Want More Traffic, More Free Publicity, More Sales?”

Most times people unconsciously answer the question you pose in their minds The key is to provide the answers in your copy including statistics For example, “Have you ever felt afraid to buy online? Like it or not, many are still cautious of buying on the web A Boston Consulting Group Consumer Survey found that 70% of respondents worry about making purchases online ”

5 The Big Promise

“How to Increase Sales 400% by Using Short Articles”

People will click away from hype and never come back But if you have a big gun don’t be afraid to pull it out and use it Consider carefully and use sparingly; then make your big promise and deliver People will remember your promises and come back for more or purchase Don’t forget to include the specific delivery or “how to” in the copy beneath your big promise headline

6 The Confusing

“3 Little Pigs Went to Market but One Went Faster”

Develop curiosity into your title A seemingly opposite simile works like a charm Sometimes the title that doesn’t make a lot of sense will pull your audience in for the read Would the title above arouse your curiosity? The confusing title can capture the attention of your audience just to see what it’s about

7 The Top Benefit

“Think and Grow Rich”

A winning non-fiction title immediately communicates the benefit readers will gain after reading your book Benefit-oriented books often use the problem-solution approach Master (A) this skill or technique and get (B) this benefit Readers buy non-fiction books for a “benefit” for something that will help them, grow them, profit more, less expense, less trouble, gain more time, less stress, better relationships, better health, less drama, less trauma, more energy and vitality and less fatigue

Develop this valuable skill and you add magnetic pulling power and punch to all your marketing documents including your front book cover and chapter titles that will get your message read Titles set the stage for your potential audience They either grab your potential reader by the shirt or they don’t Create your titles to be “the match” that ignites your reader’s interest in reading your important message Title well and prosper!

Earma Brown, 13 year author and business owner helps small business owners and writers who want to write their best book now! Author of ‘Write Your Best Book Now.’

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Monday, March 30th, 2009

Author : Victor Epand

When you craft your book to be a bestseller, everyone involved i e you (the author), the publisher and the bookseller, are sure to make good money A bestseller is the result of countless small decisions Individually, none of these decisions would determine the overall success of the book It is the collective whole of many good decisions that gives you a shot at creating a bestseller

As an author, writing a bestseller is challenging and you need to mentally prepare yourself for the challenge Your book is more likely to succeed, if it is written for being published as a ‘lead book’ in a particular market segment rather than as a book simply meant for a market segment Your book need not be very large However, it should provide solid, complete and comprehensive content to qualify as a bestseller The terms solid, comprehensive and complete are relative and refer to whatever you as an author have set out to accomplish in your book

Before you publish your title, you need to do a lot of homework along with your publisher It is critically essential that you acquire a full understanding of your target market segment If you are unable to understand, what your target audience desires from you, failure is imminent There is a tendency to define book markets as being comprised of people with identical/similar needs The fact is that the content needs of people within a market segment vary quite substantially Therefore, your bestseller, even when remaining focused, should be able to accommodate the needs of the broad spectrum of readers within the targeted market segment

Different people adopt different approaches to reading books Some people simply browse through a book till they find something interesting Others may prefer sequential reading Your bestseller should make it easy for the reader to find whatever he is looking for Depending on the category of your book, you can include a brief table of contents, notes, illustrations, tips, sub-headings, cross-references and examples You can provide an outline at the beginning of each chapter, in addition to tabs, appendices, glossaries, running heads etc to help the reader quickly find the desired information Every page should be packed full with information in a well-designed manner that is logical, elegant and easy on the reader’s eyes

When you want your book to be a bestseller, it is critical that you break new ground in your writing It means including ideas that are new, different and unique and meant to deliver more than what the book promises The fact is that there are very few ideas that are completely new In book publishing, ideas from every aspect of life are borrowed and modified as an ongoing process in the creation of new books The crux is to develop and incorporate a few new ideas to clearly differentiate your book and make it stand out in the pack available in the market

Even if your book is well authored, its chances of being published as a bestseller are dramatically enhanced when you have well-established connections with vendors and other industry experts

Victor Epand is an expert consultant about books. When shopping for books, we recommend you shop only at the best bookstores for used books, autographed books, and vedic books.

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Monday, March 30th, 2009

Author : David Granoff

Generally there is a single traditional approach to putting a hardback book together Most modern printers and binders use the “case” method which must always begin with the printing of the pages in the book This is done on a commercial press according to the needs of the book Some books use large pages of glossy expensive paper, others may use lightweight and bright white paper that is far less expensive The choice in paper depends upon the type of book being made A “coffee table” book full of fine art prints and images will use an extremely high quality and thicker paper A simple “how to” manual will probably use the least expensive paper possible

Once the pages have been created by the publishing house they are sent off to a printer who must print them in sections called “signatures” Signatures in a hardback book will be divided equally by the total page count, and their number depends on the weight of the paper and the binding style to be used

When creating a case bound book the printer or binder will either sew or glue the signatures together with a flexible glue and spine tape The determination to sew or glue comes from the thickness of the book For example, most modern hardback children’s books are constructed without the use of sewing because the glue and case are strong enough to meet the needs of many readings

Larger or thicker hardback books will always demand sewing of the signatures since the sheer weight of the pages would break or crack a simple glue and cloth tape combination Once each group of signatures has been pressed and sewn, the bindery then flattens the spine and applies what are known as “end sheets” End sheets will serve as the inside lining on the case of the book and also as the first (and always blank) page The spine is then taped and glued again at which time the hardback or case is applied While the glue is still pliable the book is inserted into a special finishing press which squeezes the spine and creates the distinctive grooves that line each side of every book’s spine These are not simply decorative features, but allow the cover to be opened and closed without causing stress to the spine and signatures

Today there are a number of styles for hardback covers, or cases Many printers allow a customer to choose a glossy cover that has full color art printed on a special wrapping There are also options for the printing of dust jackets as well Hardback books are one of the most popular options in “self-publishing” and many printers make “short runs” or jobs of less than one thousand copies available to the public

David Granoff is a 25 year veteran printing business owner. His company specializes in commercial printing in Dallas, as well as other services such as digital printing,book printing. There is a also a commercial printing Addison location.Check out http://www.ThePrintPlace.com

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Monday, March 30th, 2009

Author : John Abate

The only way to keep up with the latest about Self-Publishing is to constantly stay on the lookout for new information If you read everything you find about Self-Publishing, it won’t take long for you to become an influential authority

Even if your best friend owns a top publishing

company, giving you an immediate “in,” this does not

guarantee publishing success

First, you have to write a quality book that has a

clear target audience And your book must answer a

common problem or need that audience shares Then you

have to develop a marketing plan, and stick to it for

at least two years

Let’s begin with the process that should commence

before you write your first word Begin by reading A

LOT Read both books you passionately love and books

you can’t seem to make it past page five Then figure

out what the author did in the book you loved, and

what was wrong with in the book you couldn’t finish

Write down these points so they are crystal clear to

you Read other people’s books for inspiration and to

discover what you should avoid as a writer

The next step is to plan out your book Narrow down

your subject, and then divide it into chapters Each

chapter should address a specific aspect of the

problem your book is going to solve In each chapter,

break the specific aspect down into several parts

This will help your readers take in your information a

bit at a time instead of overwhelming them with every

bit of information clogging up the pages until they

feel like they’re about to go blind It’s not quite

spoon-feeding the information to your readers, but

it’s close

The next two steps are obvious Write your book and

then revise it And then revise it again And perhaps

again Of course, writing is extremely hard, and

writing a book can seem like an impossible task There

are many books out there that give you guidelines to

help you become familiar - and even love - the process

of writing and revision Find a number of books about

writing Better yet, find a number of books about

writing the specific type of book you aspire to write

These can serve as roadmaps on your writing journey

Once you’ve written your ebook and revised it at least

twice, show it to someone else whose opinion you

respect If you’re lucky enough to know a good editor,

see if you have something to barter for him or her to

go through your manuscript Or join a writing group

and let the other members critique your work

Then take all these ideas from other people, and

revise your manuscript one last time And then stop!

Put down that pen! Get your hands off the keyboard!

One of the most important steps to actually producing

a book is to know when to stop writing and tinkering

with it

You’ve finally written your ebook! Pop open the

bubbly! Give yourself a night out on the town!

Okay, now that this necessary celebration is out of

your system, what do you do next?

How to turn your ebook into Profits

If you base what you do on inaccurate information, you might be unpleasantly surprised by the consequences Make sure you get the whole Self-Publishing story from informed sources

Ebooks are a revolutionary way to publish your book

without incurring the costs of print production All

you need is a relevant and targeted subject and some

inexpensive software, and you can transform your

manuscript into a book

The problem, in terms of actually seeing any profits

from your ebook, is that the market is overwhelmed

with ebooks, and many of them are not worth the time

it takes to download them Just because the ability

exists to easily produce an ebook, doesn’t make it

good writing

Make sure your book does not simply rehash old

material You will injure your credibility as an

author by claiming to offer valuable new insights and

disappointing your audience with material they’ve read

a zillion times before So spend enough time writing

and revising your book to make sure it’s of the

highest quality and presents the most current

information A good book will eventually sell itself;

false claims about your book will make it extremely

difficult to sell any future books you may write

Assuming you have determined that you do indeed have a

quality product that answers some question or need of

your target audience with NEW information, how do you

know how much to charge for it? Rule number 1: Set a

price for your book equal to its value An

under-priced book will only give the impression that

your book isn’t worth very much

To figure out a fair price, estimate how much time you

put into creating it and how difficult it was to

transform the necessary information into

understandable and engaging writing Figure out how

much your time and effort is worth, and then price it

accordingly The goal is for you to be adequately

compensated for your talent, your time, and your

effort

Once you’ve figured out a price that is high enough to

convey the value of the book, but not so high as to be

out of the reach of your target audience’s mean

budget, then it’s time to offer it for sale on your

website To attract sales, you will need to develop a

promotional campaign, particularly if you are an

unknown author

There are multitudes of books about self-promotion

that will guide you in your efforts Choose a plan

that is both creative and professional Learn how to

write a catchy yet informative press release, and send

copies of your ebook to sites that specialize in ebook

reviews

Learn how to write powerful sales copy, or hire

someone to write it for you This is an essential You

absolutely need excellent sales copy to sell your

book Make sure the copy includes all the reasons your

target audience needs your book, and the benefits they

will derive from buying it

Use graphics in your promotional materials Beautiful

graphics have the power to instantly convey the

quality and value of your ebook Graphics can also

convey the amount of valuable information the book

contains, and your careful attention to detail

Professional graphics sell professional books They

reassure the customer that the product is what it

claims to be

Consider excerpting chapters for articles You can

offer these tidbits for free on your website as a sort

of demo of your book Include an order form for your

ebook at the end of the excerpted articles

Finally, when you set-up your download link, make sure

to simplify the process It’s a good idea to offer a

few bonuses that make your book even more enticing to

purchase, but make sure the bonuses are valuable and

high quality Too many bonuses that are basically a

load of useless stuff will compromise the impression

your audience has of your ebook The goal is to convey

to your audience that they are getting a quality

product for a good deal That means applying

restraint, especially when it comes to adding bonus

items Too much free stuff offered diminishes your

credibility

Make sure your book is a quality product Make sure it

is relevant and current Develop an effective

marketing plan that includes excellent sales copy and

excerpted articles Then offer your book for sale, and

wait for your audience to discover you!

Now might be a good time to write down the main points covered above The act of putting it down on paper will help you remember what’s important about Self-Publishing

John F. Abate, MBA OpportunityChest

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