Why Reading Your Booklet Manuscript Out Loud Is Important

Here’s a little tip you can use once you have your booklet manuscript completed.  Read it out loud to yourself.  Why?  So you can hear it the same way your audience will.

When you read something, you probably hear the words in your head.  Your audience does too.  And sometimes, in spite of your best intentions, you’ll have sentences, phrases and words that just don’t work.  Reading your booklet manuscript out loud will help you find those areas that need to be revised.

To your riches!

Kim

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How To Turn Criticism Into Cash

It’s easy to feel good when someone praises your booklet.  Praise from a reader or a decision maker for a large company can do alot to brighten your day.  But, what about when someone criticizes your booklet?  Criticism is a part of life for us all, but as a booklet author it’s especially important to handle it properly.  When you do, you can literally turn criticism into cash.

Why Criticism Is Worth More Than Praise

If you have nine people who love your booklet, and one who doesn’t like it, that one person’s honesty is worth more to you than the other nine.  Why?  Because you can’t make your booklet better with praise.  Praise stagnates your work.  Praise tells you it’s fine just the way it is.  Criticism is the only thing that will tell you where you need to improve.  Therefore, when someone criticises your booklet, don’t get your feathers ruffled and walk away.  Be thankful they took the time to share with you.

Ask Then Listen

When someone criticises your work, it’s important that you get as much information from them as you can.  Ask them why they didn’t like the booklet, and how they feel it could be improved.  Sometimes their answer will be something that is simple for you to correct – such as when they feel the print is too small and should be enlarged for easier reading.  Or maybe the print is a little too light.  You thought it would be ok, but obviously it’s not.

Other times, they may tell you that they wish you had included certain information which you left out.  No matter what their response to you is, it’s vitally important that you listen to what they tell you.  This is firsthand information that will not only improve your booklet, but your bank balance as well.  Make note of everything they tell you, no matter how small the details may seem.  Then, when you go back for your next printing, make any corrections you can which will enhance your booklet and make it more desireable to your overall market.

When Not To Listen

Sometimes people will criticize for the sake of criticizing.  They’ll nit-pick your booklet to pieces, and often they’ll try to do the same to you.  They may seem angry, or come off as some type of know it all.  These people don’t have anything constructive to offer and in this case it’s best to thank them for reading your booklet and move on.

The key to turning criticism into cash is knowing which criticism to listen to.  You must filter out the comments which are irrelevant and won’t help you to make positive changes.  Consider what people tell you, even the little details, but if their goal seems to be personal rather than constructive, or if they seem to have some underlying problem which is causing them to verbally attack your booklet or yourself, those comments should be disregarded.

Criticism Is Like Gold

Truly constructive criticism is like gold for you.  It will help you improve your booklet, give you ideas for new booklets to create, and build your bank account to a nice, healthy sum.  The next time someone criticises your booklet, thank them and collect as much information from them as you can.  Then turn that criticism into cash!

To your riches!

Kim

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Your Hidden Advantage In A Bad Economy – How To Use It And Prosper

There has never been a better time than right now to write a booklet and launch your own booklet business.  Now, you may be wondering how that can possibly be given the state of the economy.  But, the current state of the economy can actually help you to prosper rather than hinder your riches – if you know how to use it toward your advantage.

The Ongoing Quest For Information

From the time we are born, we seek information.  As small children we look to our parents and our experiences to provide information about the world around us.  Then, as we mature, we begin to seek information from peers and other sources outside our immediate family – such as teachers, television, books and magazines, and the internet.  Throughout our lives we have an ongoing quest for information.

As small children our desire for information is simple.  We wonder about the weather, nature, and our relationship to it.  When we reach our teens, we seek information that is more complex, such as how to attract the opposite sex, how to get into college, and how to find a job.  After college we may search for information on how to plan a wedding or how to buy a home.  And in our later years we may want information to help us slow down the aging process, or to help us be a better grandparent.

Same Need, Different Reasons

Just as information can be specific to our age, it can also be specific to our needs.  In a bad economy many people have the same needs across different age groups.  For example, teens, adults and seniors may all desire employment. But, each of these age groups may desire employment for different reasons.  The teen may need to save money for college, the adult may have a family to feed, and the senior may be retired but is now trying to re-enter the workforce in order to offset rising costs that their pension or government allowance doesn’t cover.  Each group has the same need – a job – but for different reasons.

What Creates Your Wealth In A Bad Economy

When the economy is bad, people look for information that is specific to their needs in the midst of the situation.  They will have all the same needs they had before the economy went sour, but some of those needs will now be more urgent.  They will also have some new needs they didn’t have before, which will also be urgent.  This urgency is what creates the power for you to attain wealth in a bad economy.  It is the hidden advantage that most authors don’t realize is there.  They miss is completely.  But you can capitalize on it.

To illustrate this point, consider the couple expecting their first child.  In any economy they will want information on child raising.  But in a bad economy they may be more desperate to raise their income to adequately care for their newborn, and perhaps start a college fund.  They may also want to buy a home for the first time, and with the economy in such a slump, they may be ready to make the move since home prices are much more attractive.  This couple’s urgent information needs might include topics such as, “How To Take Advantage Of Bad Economic Times When Buying Your First Home,” or “How To Use The Skills You Already Possess To Raise Your Income,” or “How To Start A Home Business And Make More Money Than You Did At Your Job.”  There are any number of ways you could tap into this couple’s sense of urgency regarding their needs and interests.

Urgency is what brings the riches to you in a bad economy.  It’s the hidden advantage, the ace up your sleeve, your trump card.  Your market, no matter who they are, has urgent needs for information right now because of the economy.  Never before have they felt such an urgent need to change jobs, or find a job.  Never before have they felt so anxious about the stock market and their investments.  Never before have they so desperately needed inexpensive ways to feed their families. Never before has there been a greater opportunity for YOU to write and sell your booklet!

To your riches!

Kim

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Cd’s And Podcasts – A Faster Way To Get To Market

Are you someone who doesn’t like to write?  Or maybe, in spite of how quickly you can put a booklet together, you are looking for an even faster way to get your information on the market.  If that’s the case, an audio booklet – a cd or podcast, might just be the solution for you!

Cd’s And Podcasts

If you can talk into a telephone, you can create a cd or podcast.  And within about an hour’s time, you can have a recording that is ready for duplication and publication.  There’s no faster way to get your information on the market.

Some people actually prefer cd’s and/or podcasts to a printed booklet.  It’s easy to listen to a cd when you’re driving, or a podcast when you’re out for your early morning jog.  Cd’s and podcasts lend themselves well to our busy lifestyle.

The Benefits Of Cd’s

One of the biggest benefits of having your information on Cd as opposed to only in a booklet is that you can charge more for the Cd, even though it will cost you virtually nothing to produce.  And, if you have a printed hard copy in booklet form, you can package the two together and sell them at an even higher price.

Another advantage of having your information on Cd is that it gives your customers or clients another option for getting your information.  It’s nice to have a choice.  And, if you find that your Cd’s far outsell your printed booklets, you can always let the booklet go out of print and only sell the information in Cd format.

Podcast Pros and Cons

Podcasts don’t provide the same advantages that a Cd does.  Podcasts are downloaded online, and therefore are usually offered at a much lower price or for free.  But, podcasts have their place too.  Some people would rather buy a podcast than a Cd or booklet, because they can put the podcast directly into their player and they don’t have to carry a Cd around with them.  They may also be attracted to the lower price of the podcast.

Not all booklets lend themselves to the audio format.  For example, if your booklet contains recipes it should be printed as a booklet.  But, if your information can be related and understood verbally, then the Cd or podcast format might be an option for you.

The Best Way To Offer Your Information

If possible, the best way to offer your information is in all three formats.  This gives your customers or clients more choices and increases your chance of a sale.  But, if you don’t like to write or your don’t have the money to produce hard copies, an audio format will allow you to publish your information and get it on the market fast.

To your riches!

Kim

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The Truth About What Cheap Is Costing You

A few years ago I used to be a frequent guest of a local buffet.  The food was nothing great.  It was just ok.  The management was not friendly, and the silverware and dishes were never clean.  I used to take a plate from the stack and look it over, only to put it aside, take another and look it over, and put it aside, until finally I found a plate that was acceptable.  The same ritual was applied to the silverware.  So, why, you might ask, did I continue to eat there?  Because it was cheap.

The Real Cost Of Cheap

There is no shortage of restaurants in the town where I live.  But, this particular restaurant was a family place and offered all the food we could eat for a low price.  Since we were always short on cash, we relegated ourselves to eating at this restaurant as opposed to any of the others.  But while the cheap price may have been easier on our wallets, the atmosphere was damaging to our psyche.

You’ve probably heard the saying, “You’re known by the company you keep.”  It’s true.  People will judge you by whom you associate yourself with.  But, what most people don’t realize is that you will also judge yourself by the people you hang out with and the places you hang out in.  Every time I ate in that restaurant it reinforced my belief that I could not afford to eat elsewhere and that I and my family were not worthy of something better.  When I went into that restaurant, with it’s dirty dishes and uncaring management, and all the noise of a large crowd – crying babies, screaming children running wild, adults yelling at their kids while trying to have a conversation – it lowered my own self esteem, my opinion of myself, and my outlook for my future.  And I knew it.  Yet, I still continued to eat there because even though I felt myself being sucked down a black hole, I did not believe I could have something better.  This was it.

What’s Your Black Hole?

What about You?  Are you eating in restaurants that make you feel like you’re poor and can’t do any better?  Are you hanging out with people who don’t think they can do any better, and therefore they believe you can’t either?  Are you frequenting certain places that keep you from feeling good about yourself and your future?  If you are, it’s killing your psyche and sucking you down that same black hole that I once found myself in.  It will keep you from accomplishing your goals for your booklet business, and your life.

Breaking Free

One day, while eating at that restaurant, I decided I was tired of checking the silverware and plates, but still not wanting to actually leave the establishment I alerted a manager to the problem.  The manager made an excuse for the dirty dishes and did nothing to resolve the issue.  That’s when I realized that I needed to put one foot in front of the other and walk out the door, never to return.  And that’s exactly what I did.  And do you know what happened?  I suddenly felt liberated!  I started eating in better restaurants, with clean dishes and better service.  And then a whole new world opened up to me.  I began to believe in myself and what I could accomplish, and my perspective of myself changed.  This allowed me to move forward and create my booklet business.  It gave me the right frame of mind to be able to self publish my booklets and offer them to corporations, other businesses and individuals.

Upgrade

If you want to be rich, you need to act rich now.  Don’t wait for the money to come in because it doesn’t work that way.  This doesn’t mean that you should go out and blow all your money on five star restaurants every weekend, or that you should spend money you don’t have on fancy, expensive clothes to make you feel good.  It means you set a higher standard for yourself.  It means you don’t accept sub-par standards, and you set yourself above the status quo.  It means that instead of eating in a cheap dive, you upgrade yourself to something better.  Maybe not five stars, but three stars will do alot more for your psyche than one star.  And when you do upgrade, you’ll find yourself upgrading across the board, from your personal life to your business life.  It will all get better.

Treat yourself better.  Give yourself more than you have been.  When you do, you’ll find that a whole new world opens up for you just like it did for me.  You’ll believe in yourself and you’ll strive to accomplish great things.  Your attitude toward yourself and what you are capable of will change, and you’ll have a brighter outlook on your day, everyday.  This will make you a better writer, and a better business person.  You’ll have a new found confidence and it will show.  And suddenly, you’ll find that you’re not the same person you used to be.  You’ll be someone who attracts like-minded people to you, people who are confident and who are moving forward.  You’ll be one of them.   And the riches will follow.

To your riches,

Kim

PS: Like this post?  Please share it on del.ic.ious or StumbleUpon.  And don’t forget to click on one of the links at the top right of this page to subscribe so you never miss a single, important post!  Remember, it only takes one idea to start the riches flowing to you!

Why You Should Write Even When Inspiration Eludes You

Are you waiting for the right time to write your booklet?  Maybe you’re just too tired to write right now, or maybe you’re waiting for some great spark of inspiration to ignite your imagination and send your fingers flying across the keyboard in a flurry to get your sizzling prose down while it’s hot.  Or, maybe you’re sick and just taking it easy until you feel better.

Why You Can’t Afford To Wait For Inspiration

If any of the above describes you, drink some caffeine to wake up, take something to help you feel well enough to sit at your computer, and realize that inspiration rarely ever comes when it’s needed most!  Each of these things is simply an excuse to keep you from achieving your goals.  Think about it.  When aren’t you tired?  When do you feel really well, all revved up and ready to write?  And how often do you feel truly inspired?  Probably less than 1% of the time if you’re like most people.

Your Riches Won’t Come From Thin Air

Writing a booklet and running a booklet business takes a commitment.  You can’t continually put off your writing and expect your booklet manuscript to get completed.  Nor can you shirk your responsibilities to your business.  You must be willing to keep your nose to the grindstone even when you don’t feel like it.  That’s not to say that you can’t rest if you’re truly very ill, but most of the time we like to make excuses for not doing the work we need to do.  And if we don’t do the work, we won’t reap the riches from it.

You don’t have to be a genius to write a booklet, nor does your writing need to be perfect every time you sit down at the keyboard.  You can always proofread it later and make changes.  The point is to get something done so you can keep moving forward.

The more time and effort you put into your booklet business, the more you will get out of it.  It’s all up to you!

To your riches!

Kim (who is herself suffering from the cold from hell at this very moment, yet has committed herself to posting here to help you!)

PS: Like this post?  Please share it on del.icio.us or StumbleUpon.  And don’t forget to click on one of the links at the top right of this page to subscribe so you never miss a single, important post!  Remember, it only takes one idea to start the riches flowing to you!

How To Make Your Booklet The One To Buy

Are you getting tired of hearing about the economy?  Me too!  It seems like everything we see and hear is about how bad businesses are doing, how people are afraid to spend money, how many more layoffs have occured, and on and on.  While it’s true that the economy is bad right now, most people are no longer interested in how bad it is.  They’re interested in information that will help them to get through it, or that can shed a new light on the situation and how it applies to them.

A few days ago, I came across a very interesting article in a well known magazine.  The title caught my attention, saying something about why a bad economy might be good for me.  After hearing so much dismal news, this was definitely a new twist!

I only had a few moments to skim the article, so I don’t remember much about the contents.   But, what’s really important is that they took something that is constantly on our minds, and they spun it in a new fashion.  Instead of giving their readers the same, tired, worn out news, they gave them something new to think about – something to lift their spirits.  They gave them several several reasons to be thankful during a difficult time.

This is worth keeping in mind when you write your booklets.  Don’t restate the obvious.  Find the silver lining in the dark cloud, or find the dark cloud in the silver lining.  Give a tired subject a new slant.  When you do, your work will stand out from all the rest because it will be different.  You won’t be repeating what others have already said, or what everyone already knows.  The competition will disappear, and your work will stand alone.  When there are a dozen other products created about a particular subject, and yours is the only one that takes that subject in a new direction, your product becomes the one to buy.

The riches are never in the obvious.  If it were that easy, everyone would be rich.  But, it isn’t difficult to find a new angle or refashion a subject so that it gives new information or another viewpoint.  That is where the riches are.  When you dig beyond the surface, you’ll find them!

To your riches!

Kim

PS: Like this post?  Please share it on del.icio.us or StumbleUpon.  And don’t forget to click on one of the links at the top right of this post to subscribe so you never miss a single, important post!  Remember, it only takes one idea to get the riches flowing to you!

Why You Can’t Blame Poor Sales On The Economy

When you decide to become a writer and an author, unless you’re a salaried writer for a magazine or you’re writing under some kind of contract, you’re in business for yourself.  You need to take your business very seriously.  If you don’t, nobody else will either.

When You Work For Someone Else Your Time Is Not Your Own

If business isn’t going well, it may not be due to the economy.  It may be that you are not acting like a business person.  If you have ever worked for someone else, you know that you were expected to show up at a certain time, to stay for a certain number of hours, and not to leave until a certain time or until your work was completed.  While you were working your time was not your own.  Someone else owned it because they were paying you for it.

When You Do Own Your Time, You Must Use It Wisely

As a booklet author your time IS your own, and sometimes that’s the problem.  What many people who are in business for themselves fail to realize is that time IS money, especially when YOU own the business.  This means that if you don’t spend your business hours wisely you won’t make any money.

When people start a business or a writer creates a book or booklet, they start out excited.  But, after a few weeks that excitement begins to wane as they realize that they ARE in business.  This isn’t play time.  Too many people would rather do anything other than work.  They talk on the phone, take long lunches, go shopping, go to the beach, and do all sorts of other things that take up their day.  Before they know it the day is done and they have nothing to show for it.

Don’t Give In To Your Every Whim

There are times when you should go to the beach, go shopping, and even take a leisurely lunch out.  But, this shouldn’t be the norm.  Most of the time you should plan your outings and errands rather than going out on a whim whenever you feel like it.  Of course, an occasional whim is ok, as long as it is not a regular habit and you take care of your responsibilities to your company and your customers first.  But, the rest of the time you should be writing, creating new booklets and products, and generally working on furthering your business.  If you’re not and your business fails to bring in money for you, you can’t blame it on the economy.  You have only yourself to blame.

Get Rid Of The Fun Seekers

Take your business seriously, even if others around you don’t.  When others complain that you work too much and they want you to join them for something that (probably) requires spending money rather than raking it in, just politely say no.  After a while, those other people will either get on board with you and be in your corner because they’ll see all the money you’re making, or they’ll leave you alone and disappear because you’re no fun.

You can have all the fun you want to after you’ve made your riches.  Until then, make sure you work when you’re supposed to – that is, according to the schedule you have set up for yourself.  Make sure you get something done every day to further your business.   All those fun seekers will be still be broke when you’re rich because you stayed the course – and who will be having all the fun then?

To your riches!

Kim

PS: Like this post?  Please share it on del.icio.us or StumbleUpon.  And don’t forget to click on one of the links at the top right of this page to subscribe so you never miss a single, important post.  Remember, it only takes one idea to start the riches flowing to you!

Why The Riches Are Never In The Cheapest Price

If you’ve got a booklet on the market, the easiest way to raise your profits is to raise your price.  Many authors, and in fact business owners, balk at this idea saying that nobody will buy from them if they do.  But, the truth is most of them are selling too cheap to begin with.

The Cost Of Doing Business

Every business has some costs associated with it.  While a booklet costs you nothing to write, you will need to pay for design unless you are a professional designer, and if you are printing hard copies you’ll need to pay for those as well.  Every business has a price.  It’s just that a booklet business has a very small price as compared to book publishing or most other businesses.

Because you do have some costs for doing business, you can’t afford to give your booklets away too cheap.  You need to be able to cover your costs and make a profit.  If you only cover your costs, you have lost time and gained nothing.

Raise Your Prices And Make More Sales

If you’re selling your booklets and barely getting by, trying to eek out an existence and living like a pauper, your price could be to blame.  Charging the cheapest price you can get away with is a bad idea.   Charging as much as the market will pay is smart.  You must not assume that people won’t buy from you if you raise your price.  You can’t know that until you do.

If you raise your prices, it is likely that a handful of people won’t buy from you.  But, it is also likely that your information will appear to be even more valuable and sought after, and therefore you will make even more sales than you did before.  The extra sales you make as a result of your higher prices will more than offset the people who decide not to buy from you.

The One With The Cheapest Price Always Loses

When you have the cheapest price, you lose.  Why?  Because someone else can always come along with an even cheaper price than you have.  Remember what happened to K-mart when Wal-Mart came along?  And who can beat Wal-Mart?  Time will tell.  They may have actually cornered the market on the cheapest price, but they don’t have the cheapest price on everything.  It’s well known that when they sell one item for less than anyone else, they mark up something else to make up the difference.  Still, for the most part nobody can beat them on price, so why even try?  Wouldn’t it be better to market your products as superior to theirs?

And that’s exactly what you’re doing when you sell for a higher price.  Information doesn’t come cheap.  Have you looked at the price of college lately?  A college is really just one big storehouse of information, because upon graduation that’s all a student has gained.  They have a degree which says they are now more knowledgeable because of the information they have learned.

Never sell at the cheapest price.  You should always look for ways to add value for the customer so you can charge more.  The riches are not in the cheapest price.

To your riches!

Kim

PS:  Like this post?  Please share it on del.ic.ious or stumbleupon.  And don’t forget to click on one of the links at the top right of this page to subscribe so you never miss a single important post!  Remember, it only takes one idea to start the riches flowing to you!

How To Keep Your Writing Skills Sharp In Between Projects

Booklets are a great opportunity for writers to become authors, but once you are a booklet author you don’t want to rest on your laurels.  You still need to keep your writing skills sharpened because you never know when you’ll get the idea for another project, or when someone will come to you and want your help with their project (in exchange for a hefty sum!).  You’ll also need those writing skills for marketing your booklet.

The First Rule For Keeping Your Writing Skills Sharp

In order not to lose your edge with your writing and keep your skills refined, the first rule to follow is to write something every day or as often as you possibly can.  If you write a booklet and you haven’t written anything in years, you may find getting started a little difficult.  But, once you get rolling the writing will get easier.  When your manuscript is completed, if you stop writing until you get the idea for another project, you will find it difficult to get started again.

Writing every day keeps your mind exercised in the craft, and it will come much more easily to you when you really need it for another manuscript or other project.

What To Write To Keep Your Skills Sharpened

You don’t need to write page after page every day in order to keep your writing honed to perfection.  A little bit will do just fine.  And if you write a little every day, not only will your skills stay sharp, they will continue to improve!  Here are a few ideas you can use to make sure that when you start your next booklet or project, you’re writing is polished and ready to go.

1) Keep a journal. You can write as little as a paragraph each day.  In doing so, you may even spark ideas for booklets you would like to write.

2) Write a blog. Blog posts don’t have to be lengthy, and you can create a blog on any subject you wish.  You don’t have to make your blog public if you don’t want to.  You can keep it private and only use it for the purpose of keeping your writing skills sharp.

3) Write articles. There are many websites that will allow you to write articles, and this is an excellent way to keep your writing tuned up and professional.  You can write articles on any subject you wish.  Most sites don’t pay you to write articles, but a handful of them will.  You can also write articles for clients on some sites, and these will pay you.

4) Write letters or email. While it isn’t quite the same as writing a blog or articles where you choose a topic, even letters and email will force you to think about what you are writing and can be a good exercise.

The writers who rake in the riches are professional, and the professionals write everyday.  If you want what they have, you should do what they do!

To your riches!

Kim

PS:  WEBSITE UPDATE – After a month long absence my coder has finally gotten in touch with me again.  He is finally making the changes I requested of him and we should have this website done shortly (I hope!).  This has been one very long, drawn out ordeal but I’ve learned quite a lot through it – mainly that I’ll be using a different coder next time!  Stay tuned….

PPS: Like this post?  Share it with a friend!  And don’t forget to subscribe by clicking on one of the links at the top right of this page so you never miss a single important post!  Remember, it only takes one idea to start the riches flowing to you!