Why The Way You Answer The Question “What Do You Do?” Is So Important

When you are asked the question, “What do you do?”  how do you answer?  Do you tell people about your day job and casually mention your booklet?  Do you tell them you’re retired and leave it at that?  The answer you give is more important than you might think.

Are You Hiding Your Talent?

Many writers don’t tell anyone that they write.  It’s a deep, hidden secret they keep to themselves.  Perhaps it’s because most people don’t like to write and so the writer feels they wouldn’t be able to relate.

Writing is a special gift.  It’s a talent, just like dancing or singing.  It needs to be nurtured and cultivated, but if the desire is there so is the gift.

Writing is a profession you can be proud to be a part of.  The general public views writers with high esteem.  Just because someone else isn’t a writer, that doesn’t mean they can’t appreciate the fact that you are.

Writer Or Author – Which One Are You?

As much as the public regards writers with high esteem, they regard authors with even more.  To be an author in our society today is to be a celebrity, even if you’re not famous.

When you tell people that you’re an author, it tells them that you’ve accomplished something great – something they could not do.  It commands respect.

Being a writer is good, but being an author is better.  Just using the word author automatically gives you more clout and credibility in most people’s eyes.

Go Ahead – You’re Entitled

Some booklet authors are afraid to use the word author because they haven’t written a full length book.  They’re concerned about giving people ‘the wrong idea’ about them or their work.

If you’ve created a booklet you are an author and you are entitled to call yourself one just as much as anyone else who has created any kind of publication.  In fact, your status as an author is in no way diminished in the eyes of the public simply because you’ve created a booklet rather than a book.  People are just as intrigued – often more so.  Everyone knows that authors write books, but you’re different.  You write booklets.  That makes people want to know more.

When you tell people you’re an author, you’re not only telling them what you do, you’re also reaffirming it to yourself.  You’re reinforcing the idea in your own mind that yes, you are an author.  The more that concept is reinforced, the more it becomes a belief for you, and the more you believe it, the more you will live it.  It becomes a part of you.  This is why your answer to the question, “What do you do?” is so important.

So, now when someone asks you what you do, how will you answer?  Will you tell them you’re retired?  Will you tell them about your day job?  Or, will you look them in the eye, holding your head high, and proudly state, “I am an author!”

To your riches,

Kim

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The Two Big Advantages Booklets Have Over Books

Yesterday I attended a business meeting.  The room was filled with people from a variety of businesses, but there was one person who caught my attention.  He was an elderly gentleman with white hair.  When he stood he was a little stooped over, and although he spoke clearly there were awkward pauses between some of his words – as if he had suffered a stroke some years ago.

He was only given a moment to introduce himself to the rest of us, and he took more time than he should have.  He was an author, and he was there to promote his book.  I never caught his name nor the title of his book.  What I did catch was that a little over ten years ago this man retired from a very long, exhausting professional career which had nothing to do with writing.  He was searching for something else to do with his life and was inspired to write a book.

It took this man ten years to complete his book.  TEN YEARS!  And trust me, this is someone who does not have time on his side.  I turned to the gentleman sitting to my right and said, “I could have saved him about nine and three quarters of those years!”

Most authors probably don’t take ten years to write a book.  It’s probably more like two to five years, depending on the subject matter and how much research is involved.  Even so, that is a long time to wait to see a profit from your work.  And you may never see a profit after all is said and done.

Booklets give you two big advantages.  The first is that they take far less time to write and publish than a book does.  And the second is that they give you a way to test your market before writing a full manuscript (should you be so inclined) and therefore saving you possibly thousands of dollars.

The poor gentleman at the meeting yesterday had it backwards.  He wrote the book and now he’s trying to figure out how to promote it.  Had he written a booklet, he would have more money in his pocket for promotions and he could have tested his market to see whether a full length book might be profitable.

I must give this gentleman credit, however, because he did finish his book.  He had a box of printed copies with him.  Ten years is a very long time to work on any project, especially when you have no idea whether you’ll reap any reward for it, and he didn’t quit.  He saw it through to completion.

Don’t write a book.  Please don’t.  Not until you have a solid understanding of your market.  Then, if a book is your heart’s desire, go for it.  In the meantime, write a booklet.  You can have printed copies in your hand in about a month’s time depending on how quickly you write your manuscript.  And then you can test your market with your booklet and see how receptive they are to your subject and your content.  You’ll also be able to test your marketing skills before investing the time and money it takes to self publish and promote a book.

Sometimes, the riches are in time and money saved.

Here’s to your riches!

Kim

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How To Get Your Momentum Back When You Hit A Slump

Have you ever been so excited about achieving a goal that it was all you could think about day and night?  Maybe you even had trouble sleeping because of it.  It was constantly on your mind, driving you forward, and all you wanted to do was work on it constantly.

But then, after a little while, maybe you lost momentum.  One day you were riding high and the next you felt like you were in a slump.  Your goal didn’t seem quite as attainable then.

This will probably happen to you as you begin your booklet journey.  You’ll start out excited, eager to write and get your booklet completed.  But, somewhere along the way you may hit a slump and your project will seem to lose that sparkle of excitement it first held.  It might happen because your friends or family don’t understand what you’re trying to achieve and they are negative about it.  It might happen because something else that looks more exciting comes along.  Or it might happen because you’ve been working on your booklet night and day and your brain is just tired out.

This happens to me quite often.  In fact, I don’t think there has ever been a project I have started where I wasn’t completely pumped up in the beginning, and then later all the excitement and energy I had for it fizzled out.  But, there is one that that separates me from most people who have this happen to them.  I don’t quit.

You’re going to hit slumps in life.  That’s just how it is.  But, hitting a slump doesn’t mean you give up or quit working toward your goals.  You may need to take a day or two and just give it a rest, but then you need to get right back at it.

I do my best to work right through the slumps.  That’s the only way to get the excitement back.  If you don’t work through the slump, you’ll find yourself making excuses and giving yourself all kinds of reasons why your idea wouldn’t work, or why you wouldn’t be able to achieve your goal, or why now just isn’t the time to get it done.  If you fall into this kind of thinking, it will kill your ideas, your goals and your future.

Work through the slumps and your excitement will soon return as you begin to make progress toward achieving your goal – a finished booklet that will sell again and again.

To your riches!

Kim

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Why I rejoiced Over This Rejection Letter

I received a letter in the mail a couple weeks ago from a non-profit corporation I’ve been negotiating with for several months.  They were interested in purchasing anywhere from 500 – 7,000 copies of my “Simple Tips & Recipes For Feeding The Gluten Free/Dairy Free Child” booklet.

The letter was typical of what I would have expected from any company rejecting my offer, though since this is a company I am personally involved with as member, I was surprised that I didn’t at least receive a phone call.  Still, that’s the way it is with any company, especially when it comes to rejecting your offer.  Nobody wants to tell you personally.  It’s easier to make it impersonal and do it in a letter or email.

What these people couldn’t have known, however, and what you might find shocking, is that I actually rejoiced over receiving this letter.  Why?  Because it meant I could cross this company off my list.  It meant I would no longer be wasting my time with them.  After talking with them for months, and one person having to ask another who had to ask their superior who had to take it to the board members for approval, I was glad to finally have some closure one way or the other.  And while I always prefer to make the sale, the fact is it won’t happen every time.  So, when I do get a no, I’m happy to know that my journey with that company has ended and I can spend more of my time with other companies who are interested or that I’m still courting.

In this case, this organization was not a good candidate for my booklet so I really wasn’t all that surprised that they decided not to make the purchase.  In fact, I WAS surprised when they contacted me wanting more information in the first place.

So, what’s the lesson in all of this?  Stick to your market.  If someone from outside your market approaches you for information, give it, but don’t count on a sale there.  It can happen.  You never know, so you should always take the chance.  But, don’t rely on it.

As for me, I’ve wasted no tears over the fact that this sale didn’t happen.  I’ve got too many other companies I’m dealing with to even care.  Once you get the money rolling in and you’re dealing with alot of customers, whether large companies or individuals, you won’t care about those who don’t want your product because you’ll have so many who do.

To your riches!

Kim

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The Errors You Must Correct Before Your Booklet Can Be Sold

Yesterday I talked about what to do when you find errors in your finished product.  Today, I’m going to tell you about the exception to the rule.

There are times when you must correct errors before your product is sold.   If you’re selling printed copies and the printer makes a major mistake in how your booklet appears, the printer should be willing to correct the problem and print new copies for you.  These mistakes can be anything from the cover looking really washed out to the cutting of the edges not being a clean cut, to actually cutting into the text and leaving no margins.  When errors seriously effect the look of your product and make it appear anything less than professional, it’s time to holler and get it re-produced.

Another reason you should go back and re-produce is when you learn that something you printed in your booklet has changed or is in error and that change or error is something important that your booklet is teaching about.  For example, if your booklet is about investing and you learn that your research produced some misinformation, that needs to be corrected before you market your booklet.  If it isn’t, there are a number of things that can happen from you appearing to be an idiot who doesn’t know what you’re talking about, to your being sued by someone who followed that false information.

Do your best to make sure your information is accurate and up to date.  Correct major errors if they affect the professional appearance of your booklet.  These two things are crucial to your success.

To your riches,

Kim

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If You Can Do This, You’ll Get The Riches

You’re booklet manuscript is finished and your booklet has been produced.  As you look over you’re brand new “baby” with pride, suddenly you’re stricken with horror.  You’ve found an error in your booklet!  How can this happen?  You were so careful.  You proofread it, and even had it professionally edited.  Suddenly, you’re embarrassed and afraid to put your booklet on the market.  What will people think?

I’m here to tell you that this happens to the best of us and it’s ok.  Errors will happen in spite of your best efforts.  It may be a punctuation or spelling error.  It may be a misplaced page.  It may be the cover color didn’t turn out quite right.  What to do?  Move forward anyway.

If the error is a minor one such as a spelling or punctuation error, or a color that just didn’t turn out the right shade, just forget about it.  Revise the error for the next printing or production, and keep going.  Use the booklet you have now even with the errors.  Chances are nobody will ever know the difference.

Back over the summer I created a booklet for my publishing company.  I was excited when the booklet was finished and waiting for me to picked up the copies.  But, to my horror, the cover was the wrong shade!  It was supposed to be red and tan to match my company logo.  Instead, it looked orange and brown!

But, I moved forward anyway and started using those copies.  Then, I met with a group who critiqued my booklet.  They liked it, but found numerous ways I could make it even better.  So, I began working on the revisions, but I continued to use my current copies until they were gone.

Human beings make errors.  It’s a fact of life.  If you let every error that comes your way stop you dead in your tracks, you’ll never get anywhere as a booklet author.  You’ll also spend tons of money trying to perfect something that will never be perfect, when you could have used that money toward promoting your product or creating a second product.

Microsoft has plenty of money.  They are also very good at releasing imperfect products to the marketplace, and then tweaking them later.  They understand that all you can do is all you can do.  Good enough is good enough.  You can always fix it later.

Do the best you can do and let it go.  If you do this, you’ll get the riches.  If not, you’ll be stuck and frustrated, never moving forward.

There is one exception to this rule – when you should correct the errors before you put your product into the marketplace.  I’ll tell you about that tomorrow.

To your riches!

Kim

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The Secret To Getting People To Buy Your Booklet

If you’ve got great content inside your booklet (and you’d better!), you still need to get people to read it.  You must grab attention before anyone will care about what you have written.  You do this with your booklet’s title.

Your title is like the headline for a news or magazine article.  It is the first thing people will see when considering whether or not to buy your booklet, and it must be convincing.

The title of your booklet should tell people exactly what the contents inside are about.  Vague titles will not only confuse people, they’ll also fail to make sales for you.  So make sure your title is specific to your topic and that it clearly explains what your content is about.

Beyond being specific, you need to grab people’s attention with your title and make them want to read the booklet.  Don’t confuse this with having clever, cutesy titles such as titles that have words that rhyme.  This is fine if your title is truly compelling.  But, if it isn’t, you’ve wasted time and money on a product you won’t be able to sell simply because you have a poor title.

Make sure your titles are both specific and compelling, and you’ll be on the road to riches!

To your riches!

Kim

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20 Hot Money Topics To Write About

Money is always a hot topic to write about because everyone always wants more.  But, with the economy in such a slump this topic is hotter than ever, and if you have any ideas or expertise on how to get ahead in today’s economy, you can write a booklet that will be welcomed in the marketplace.  Here are a few ideas to get you started:

1) How To Start A Business (this might include turning a hobby into a business, starting a sideline business, or starting a full time business).

2) How To Use A Down Economy To Invest For Big Profits

3) How To Save Big On Everything You Buy

4) How To Plan A Thrifty Vacation

5) How To Stand Out As Exceptional To An Employer

6) How To Save Money When There Is Nothing Left After Payday

7) How To Sell Your Home During Tough Economic Times

8) How To Qualify For A Home Loan During Tough Economic Times

9) How To Find Money For College

10) How To Re-enter The Workplace After Being Home With The Kids

11) How To Save Money On Household Expenses – Such As Heat And Water

12) Easy Part Time Jobs That Pay Big Money

13) How To Market And Sell Your Crafts

14) How To Ask Your Boss For A Raise

15) How To Turn Your Trash Into Treasure And Make A Profit

16) Thrifty Living – How To Have More Paycheck At The End Of Your Month

17) How To Save Money On Childcare Expenses

18) How To Get Out Of Debt

19) How The Rich Get Rich And Why The Poor Stay Poor

20) The Hottest Businesses To Start When The Economy Is Down

Some of these ideas are better than others, but hopefully they’ll spark something in your mind and get you started thinking.  No matter whether the economy is good or bad, people will always be interested in money so it’s an evergreen topic that will never get old.

To your riches!

Kim Hillman

PS: Ready to start writing and raking in those profits?  Click here!

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Clueless? Do It Anyway.

Last Tuesday I decided it was time to begin a project I had been putting off – a newsletter for all my clients and quantity buyers.  I had put it off because it seemed to me a daunting task.  I felt the design would be easy enough, but what to include that would be of interest to all my markets and that I could easily replicate month after month eluded me.

So, after much prodding from one of my colleagues, I sat down to get the task done.  I had no clue when I began how this thing was going to turn out.  I had no clue what I was going to write or what the newsletter design would look like.  I was starting totally and completely from scratch.

Five days after beginning the project I had it done.  To my surprise, it actually turned out quite professional and I believe I accomplished all of my goals.  Time will tell.  But, the important thing is that I got it done.  I can always make revisions down the road as needed.

The lesson for you is that you need to start.  Don’t put it off.  Even if you don’t know what you’re doing, just start.  You’ll learn as you go, and once your project is finished you can always revise it later if you need to.

If you’re going to have riches, you actually have to DO something!  They won’t fall out of the sky!

To your riches,

Kim

The Two Essential Tools Every Writer Must Have

As a writer, there are two very essential tools you must have if you are ever to be thought of as a professional.  You probably already know about these  tools, but you may not be using them as often as you should.  They are a dictionary and a thesaurus.  Without them, you are no better than the average Joe.

Any high schooler can sit down and write a decent report about a subject that interests them.  It may even be grammatically correct (although given the number of errors I see online in other people’s blogs and on their websites I have my doubts).  But, you are not writing a report.  You are writing a booklet and it must be informative and/or interesting to read (and it helps if it is grammatically correct too!).

In order for your booklet to be informative, it must be clear.  This is where the dictionary comes in.  If you are not certain whether to use a particular word, you can look it up and see exactly what it means.  I recently did this and found that a word I wanted to use meant something entirely different than what I thought it did.  It was a word I did not use very often, thus I felt I needed to look it up to be sure that I was using it in the right context.  A dictionary can really make the difference between you being perceived by your marketplace as an amateur or as a professional who really knows their stuff.  Writers who are highly paid usually have more than one dictionary within arm’s reach at all times.

In addition to having information in your booklet that is clear, you also want it to interest the reader.  You’ll need a thesaurus for this.  A thesaurus is like a dictionary in that you look up words, but instead of it giving you an explanation of what the word means it will give you other words that mean the same thing or close to the same thing.

A thesaurus is useful because it can make your writing more interesting to read, and just like a dictionary, it can also make it more clear.  For example, imagine you are about to use the word ‘excite’ in a sentence.  There may be a better, more descriptive word you can use.  If you are writing to businesses and telling them how to improve employee productivity, you could tell them to excite their employees with a special bonus program.  But, a better word for this would be ‘motivate.’  When you look up the word excite in the thesaurus, you’ll find the word motivate, as well as several other choices for your consideration such as spur, energize, stimulate, inspire and awaken.

Learning to use these tools will greatly improve your writing and make you look like a pro.  And you don’t even have to go to your local bookstore to buy them.  Just hop on over to www.dictionary.com where you’ll find a dictionary, a thesaurus, and more!

To your riches!

Kim