Creative Impressions Press » Authors

Writer’s Block

Sharyn — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 00:28:13 +0000

Have you ever cleared your schedule and sat down for a planned session of writing only to find you had writer’s block? It happens to everyone and it’s very challenging. What do you suppose stops someone from being able to write when they want to write? Is it the pressure of having a deadline or having to perform?
The reason isn’t as important as the solution, but when you know the reason, you are able to find a solution to overcome it and not have it stopping you when you’re all primed to write!
I am the quintessential info junkie and consummate knowledge seeker!
I took a few Akihito classes over the years and in one of the classes the instructor talked about reversing the control of the left or right brain. Typically every reverses which side of their brain is dominant about every 90 minutes. But if you’re writing a creative piece and you’re in your left brain, you can’t write creatively when your in your left brain.
As well as, you can’t write a logical piece if you are in your right brain.
So the way you can control this is first, hold your index finger against the right nostril. Then blow out freely. Make a note as to the amount of air that is flowing. Then, hold index finger against the left nostril. Whichever has the most free air is the opposite side of the brain that is dominant at the moment. If the right nostril has more free air, you are now in your left brain or analytical brain. If the left nostril has more free air, you are now in your right brain or creative brain.
To switch to the other side, locate the gland about halfway across your collar bone, you’ll recognize it when you apply pressure and feel slight discomfort or tenderness. It doesn’t matter which side you use, but apply your thumb and in a circular motion starting at 12 o’clock or straight up, rotate towards your left shoulder, then down and then towards the right shoulder. Continue for about a minute.
Then recheck to see if the airflow has switched to the other side. Now you know how to control which side of your brain is dominant.
Of course if you have a cold, sinuses or need to have nose surgery, this won’t work but maybe you could try it on someone else! LOL

Pre Launch

Sharyn — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 06:52:54 +0000

One of the resources I recommend for printing is Mira Digital. They will get the book to you in 7 to 10 days.

Once the book has been ordered, it’s time to schedule your first book signing. The purpose of the book signing is primarily to get media coverage so you have it to post on your website or blog.

From the very beginning of writing your book you should have a blog. It is meant to gain a following so when your book is launched, you’ll already have a database to send out to. With a database of interested fans, it is much easier to pre-sale and convert them to clients.

This is also the time to set up interviews with other authors. You are going to do this to help build your database and to build your collateral material. The material will later be used for a membership site.

It’s a great idea to read five minute segments while filming with a flip or digital camera. Post these on YouTube once a week to start to get some marketing traction.

Other Social Media you’ll want to engage with is LinkedIn, MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and SelfGrowth. It is important to have backlinks from high ranking websites.

New Authors

Sharyn — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 06:26:19 +0000

There are so many details to cover when you are a new author. I’ve never found anywhere else which covers each and every detail of how to get started and walk you through each of the marketing stages.

When I needed my first ISBN I went to the library and asked a librarian how I could get one. They had no idea. Three hours of research on line and I finally found the one and only resource to get the ISBN.

At the time, in 2000, I was forced to get 10 for $200. Today you can buy one at a time for $30 and you can also get the barcode along with it for another $25. That is a great deal and will save a great deal of time.

Getting the book cover designed and a professional photo has to be a priority early on. It can take six to eight weeks to get a book cover designed.

Early copies need to be distributed to reviewers to make sure there are enough reviews to pick and choose from. Also radio producers need to get pre-press copies or at least a .pdf document to pre-arrange radio interviews.

It’s also important to set up speaking engagements early on so when the book is released there is a platform ready to launch.

ebooks vs print

Sharyn — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 06:13:02 +0000

I have a contact I met through a Facebook friend. She has a coaching practice in Florida. We’ve had a great dialogue going on for about a month.

She asked me what I thought about ebooks and I have to admit, I’m really torn between my attitude to support anyone with anything they choose to do and how much I’ve heard about the diminishing of authors who produce ebooks.

On the positive side ebooks are environmentally green. They can be downloaded directly after purchase which can save at least a week in shipping time and of course save on postage.

The downside is more than half of the people who buy ebooks never read them. So if you’re writing a book to make an impression or to make money you might not like those statistics.

A 200 page soft cover books can now be printed for around $4 and a hard cover for less than $10. The average Soft cover sells for $20 and hard cover for $27. So the profit margin is much greater than you can make on an ebook.

There are always exceptions but it still portrays more status to have a book in your hand rather than an ebook online.