Content + Communications Consulting
Two videos to share with you – not just one, but two…
First up, here’s Dave’s take on “The Week That Was…” (Or, more accurately, here’s what’s on the site that you may have missed.)
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yP63Tof_2w
Then, an answer to a question that we get often. Specifically: what do you folks DO at Area 224 HQ?
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogvxZsQO_zM
Happy Friday!
Not an expert by any stretch – but I did cash a couple checks thanks to this book.
The Real SMM 2010 Social Media Marketing Guide for Real Estate.
I’ll leave the advice on “finding a publisher” to the others. I’d rather share a one-two-three punch – some things you can do like, right now.
1. Lulu. Big-Time Advantage – Getting an actual copy of your stuff. For some people, tangible is great – hold it in your hands, dog-ear the pages. Some people like to read on a bus or a train.
For me, getting an actual copy of my stuff was done for THIS REASON:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dfd_8Gp-kgo
Tangible Proof of Expertise. Positioning.
Not done for the sales numbers – checks are nice to cash, but that’s not the real reason for writing this particular book. This one was all about a means to position me in front of more real estate industry clients as someone who knows what I’m talking about.
2. Kindle. Big-Time Advantage – Selling Your Content Lickety-Split. I hang out from time to time in Internet Marketing circles – but not with the Social Media Tools but with people who share information that can actually help me do my job better. One such guy is a James J. Jones, and his techniques for putting together content that can be sold on the Kindle Platform are rather cool.
I’m not gonna talk about his techniques, though. Instead, I’ll share this bit of advice:
If you have written a book, or have even written a few chapters of a book, get it on the Kindle Platform NOW.
How easy is it? I sat in on a one-hour webinar from Mr. Jones and multi-tasked. While he was sharing his grand strategy, I was signing up to publish my book.
Here’s a link to it in the Kindle Store.
3. Nichification. Big-Time Advantage – There’s a niche you’re already in. Still a big fan of the term “Nichification.” Still eventually going to write a book on that very topic – Jim Alexander and I are still talking to people about it, doing interviews, blah blah blah.
But, while we went down the path of “write a mass market advice book on niche business marketing,” I would encourage you to take a look at “writing a niche-focused book on a niche topic that you know something about.”
It’s a big world out there – 400,000 Kindle titles published last year alone. And, if you’ve read the classic “The Long Tail,” you’ll know full well that there’s an audience for just about anything.
F’rinstance…real estate social media marketing.
Publishers – the types who want the next The 4-Hour Workweek – will need to see Social Proof these days. If you’re a Scott Stratten or an Amber Naslund and Jay Baer, your social proof is already evident in the last few years of, well, being you.
Your Social Proof can be – and, in this world, should be – seen in the fact that you can put your thoughts to digital paper, and put that digital paper into people’s hands. You don’t have to sell a million. Or even a thousand.
My answer is a bit different, Dave, than what you might expect because my publisher sought me out. That said, it only makes the process a little bit easier.
I’ll answer the question you didn’t ask first. If you have an idea, you have to be prepared to sell it. A well-written proposal that includes not only your idea but also your ability to SELL BOOKS is key. Publishers don’t market, authors market. So bringing that understanding to the table will help you a lot – and including information in your proposal about why you’re uniquely suited not only to write this book, but to market and sell it, will go a long way.
I wouldn’t do anything differently. We wrote a great proposal and didn’t have to work hard to convince the publisher that our topic was timely and that we had the power to sell books.
After agreeing on a contract and ultimately submitting a table of contents (which is the first step), my co-author and I quickly realized that the book the editor wanted us to write and the book we thought was important and timely were two very different things. She wanted a primer and we wanted something with a bit more substance. Because we’re already busy on a day-to-day basis, moving forward and writing something we weren’t totally psyched about just wasn’t something we were interested in. You might think it odd, walking away from a book deal that was a lucrative one financially, but for us, it just seemed the right thing to do. We’re marketers – not book authors. And our real passion is marketing and communications. So writing a book doesn’t bring us validity or credibility – just doing good work does that.
[See, my answer is different than you probably expected. And I won’t be offended if you don’t use it.]
Bottom line – if your dream is to write a book, have a great, well-written proposal filled with exactly what the book will cover and why it’s timely. Include a sales pitch about why you’re suited to not only write this book, but to market and sell a LOT of copies.
And sit down, buckle up and dig in.
The process for me was a bit odd. First off I decided that I did not want to write at length, and only wanted a sarcastic book that was short and to the point. While my book has few lines per page, it took six months to edit.
A good editor will take the time to pull your idea out on page and protect you from you. When the book was almost done being edited I started looking for publishers. Finding a publisher takes more space than what I’m given here, but suffice it to say, it takes longer than you’d think.
How I found a publisher is a bit different than most. But one of the things I did was had an actual prototype of my book made up. I designed the cover, its size, hard cover, laid out the pages etc and sent it to Lulu.com who made a single copy for me. I used that copy as motivation as well as a sales piece. You’d be surprised how elated you feel by actually seeing your book in a final form. Not just a manuscript.
What I’d do differently next time is to find an agent.
Customers want to do business with professionals and companies that are serious about getting it right. When errors litter your marketing materials, prospects lose confidence in your company and current customers have a difficult time recommending your company to someone else.
Avoid these common grammar mistakes like the plague. Avoidance will do wonders for your business.
Contractions or Possessives?
A contraction is basically a shortcut; it’s formed by combining two (or more) words into one and adding an apostrophe. A lot of people use it incorrectly, often mistaking a contraction for a possessive (e.g., “it’s†for “its†or “they’re†for “theirâ€) or vice versa.
Here are a few examples of contractions:
It’s = It is
They’re = They are
There’s = There is
The Fix: The easiest way to remember which one is which is thinking of contractions as “shortcuts†and understanding that a contraction requires an apostrophe. It’s far easier to understand the difference between a contraction and a possessive when you think of contractions as shortcuts.
A similar grammar mistake is using a singular contraction when the plural form should be used. “There’sâ€, which is formed from “there isâ€, is the most commonly misused contraction, and has become the default for referring to the presence of things, like in “There’s dishes in the sink.â€
Since “dishes†is plural, a plural contraction is necessary for the sentence to be grammatically correct, so the following is true:
“There’s dishes in the sink.†(Incorrect)
“There’re dishes in the sink.†(Correct) (It is important to note, however, that the contraction, “there’reâ€, is usually avoided because it sounds awkward.)
Sound-A-Likes
“Sound-a-likes†are words that sound the same but are spelled differently, and the correct usage has eluded people for years.
Examples of Sound-A-Likes:
There vs. their
Hear vs. here
The Fix: How do you remember the difference? You need to see these words like you do a friend or a neighbor. When you see your friend’s face, you know exactly who it is. When your favorite waiter serves you at dinner, you know it is your favorite waiter. You can do the same with words. Start paying attention to how the words look and it will eventually stick.
Mistaken Identities
Words that kind of look and sound the same have also caused widespread confusion. They look and sound so similar that it is hard to remember which is which.
Examples of Mistaken Identities:
Farther vs. further
Later vs. latter
Allude vs. elude
Affect vs. effect
Lie vs. lay
The Fix: So, how do you remember which one to use? My suggestion for mistaken identities is the same for “sound-a-likesâ€. There really isn’t any quick fix that will help you understand or remember the difference. Studying the languages from which the words derived would be extremely beneficial, but very time consuming. It’s best to keep a grammar or style book handy until the proper use of these words has sunk in.
So, have you made these common mistakes? What other grammar troubles have you had?
About the Author: Jody Calkins is a freelance business writer who writes about business development, risk management, security protection, and business standards. Visit www.emeryroad.com for more information and samples.
