Writing Tips » Wally Bock's Zero Draft

5/17/13: The Writing Edge for Business Writers

May 172013

This week I’m pointing you to pieces on building a relationship with your audience, digital book signings, the Ten Commandments of Twitter, and five must-have apps for writers.

From CopyBlogger: 5 Ways to Bond with Your Blog’s Audience
“Today I’m sharing five tips to engage with your readers, make them feel at home, and to turn your blog into a nice and warm get-together.”

From Digital Book World: Build Digital Relationships with Consumers
“Ebook signings are powerful marketing tools. That’s because they create an immediate connection between the reader and the author, allowing for exponential social media and word-of-mouth banter—the sort that helps to sell books. And, “this kind of engagement allows authors and readers to create bonds that are much stronger and more interactive than ever was possible with paper book signatures,” writes Beth Bacon, a DBW expert blogger and children’s digital publisher.”

From Jeff Bullas: The 10 Commandments of Twitter
“The real power of Twitter is that you can build a follower base that allows you to share a focused stream of content that adds value to your followers daily lives. There are no fancy Facebook “Edgerank” algorithms to throttle your tweets and choke your content distribution. Its pure and wild. I like that. FromSo what are some fundamental principles that you should embrace if you want Twitter to work for you?”

From Duolit: 5 Must-Have Apps For On-The-Go Authors
“What I really want to share with you is how much time I’ve been able to save with my marketing efforts by using a handful of awesome (and free) apps on my iPhone (don’t worry, they’re available for Droids, too).”

Sources I Check Regularly

I find the posts and articles that I share with you on The Writer’s Edge in many places. But there are a few that provide insightful pieces again and again. Here they are.

The CopyBlogger Blog

Problogger

Digital Book World

Tools of Change for Publishing

jeffbullas.com

Becky Robinson’s Weaving Influence

Advice from the Masters: John Pierce

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May 152013

John Pierce wrote several books for the popular market, including science and science fiction. . Most of them are forgotten. They’re not the reason I’m sharing his advice.

Pierce was a star engineer who worked at Bell Labs in the 1950s and 1960s. He received several awards including the IEEE Edison Medal for “his pioneer work and leadership in satellite communications and for his stimulus and contributions to electron optics, travelling wave tube theory, and the control of noise in electron streams.” He also gets credit for coming up with the name “transistor.”

The following advice was intended for engineers, but if you want to write a book, you should pay attention.

“There’s a difference, you see, in thinking idly about something, and in setting out to do something. You begin to see what the problems are when you set out to do things.”

Want more? Check out the complete list of Advice from the Masters posts.

5/10/13: The Writing Edge for Business Writers

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May 102013

You’re a businessperson. You may not think of yourself as a writer, but you know that writing well can boost your results and your career. Naturally, you want to do better. Here are some recent blog posts and articles that might help. This week I’m pointing you to pieces on ebook prices, improving your writing, and promoting your book.

From Digital Book World: Self-Published Authors Seeing the Wisdom of Higher Ebook Prices
“Last year at this time, the most popular price point for self-published authors using the Smashwords distribution platform was $0.99; this year it’s $2.99, according to analysis by Smashwords. This data dovetails what we’ve seen at Digital Book World through tracking price in the DBW Ebook Best-Seller list. It used to be that the self-published titles that made the list were mostly priced at $0.99 and $1.99. Now, we’re seeing $2.99 and $3.99 emerge as more popular price points.”

From Copyblogger: How to Immediately Become a More Productive (and Better) Writer
“You want to become a better writer. I know this because you’re reading Copyblogger. I also know that you fear becoming a better writer.This I know because you must change to become better, and to fear change is to be human. But what if I told you that you only need to change one thing — one small thing — to achieve your goal of becoming a better writer?”

Becky Robinson is my go-to friend and expert for launching business books. Every week, she publishes a book launch tip on her blog. This week’s tip is “Stay Centered.”

Sources I Check Regularly

I find the posts and articles that I share with you on The Writer’s Edge in many places. But there are a few that provide insightful pieces again and again. Here they are.

The CopyBlogger Blog

Problogger

Digital Book World

Tools of Change for Publishing

jeffbullas.com

Becky Robinson’s Weaving Influence

5/3/13: The Writing Edge for Business Writers

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May 032013

This week I’m pointing you to pieces on landing book endorsements, finding your writing voice, how Jeff Goins writes, and blogging tips from fourteen bloggers.

From Dana Lynn Smith: 8-Step Plan for Landing Book Promotion Endorsements
“Endorsements are recommendations from authors, experts or celebrities, in other words people whose opinion can influence sales of your book. These are the quotes you typically see printed on the covers and inside of books and they are sometimes referred to as /blurbs.’”

From Jeff Bullas: 7 Tips to Finding “Your” Writing Voice
“I don’t have a process or a magic potion to finding a writing voice or an expression formula but let’s have a look at what happens when you start to create, write and express yourself in an online world.”

From Kelton Reid: Here’s How Jeff Goins Writes
“Thankfully there are trailblazers — allies that arrive in times of uncertainty — our fellow writers and teachers who offer their wisdom, courage, and assistance. Jeff Goins is one of those guides, an author, award-winning blogger, and coach, who stopped by The Writer Files to share some of his battle-tested stories from his own journey as a writer.”

From ProBlogger: Do You Know These Time Saving Blogging Tips?
“When I asked these 14 bloggers about their routines I also asked if they had any tips for other busy bloggers. I’m glad I did because collectively they give some great insight below.”

Sources I Check Regularly

I find the posts and articles that I share with you on The Writer’s Edge in many places. But there are a few that provide insightful pieces again and again. Here they are.

The CopyBlogger Blog

Problogger

Digital Book World

Tools of Change for Publishing

jeffbullas.com

Becky Robinson’s Weaving Influence

Advice from the Masters: William Zinsser

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May 032013

When we grow up, most of the people who do what I do would like to be William Zinsser. For me he is not only the ultimate writing coach, but the ultimate writer about the craft of writing. The New York Times recently ran a marvelous article, ”A Writing Coach Becomes a Listener,” which included the following bit of advice.

“People read with their ears, whether they know it or not.”

There’s much more in the article as well as in Zinsser’s classic book, On Writing Well. My favorite of his books, is Writing to Learn, which inspires me every time I open it.

Want more? Check out the complete list of Advice from the Masters posts.

4/26/13: The Writing Edge for Business Writers

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Apr 262013

This week I’m pointing you to pieces on Kindle Singles, the marketing snowball, great headlines, and waiting to post.

From the NY Times: Amazon Broadens Its Terrain
“Amazon Kindle Singles is a hybrid. First, it is a store within the megastore of Amazon.com, offering a showcase of carefully selected original works of 5,000 to 30,000 words that come from an array of outside publishers as well as from in-house. Most sell for less than $2, and Mr. Blum is the final arbiter of what goes up for sale. ”

From The Savvy Book Marketer: The Book Marketing Snowball
“In today’s guest post, book marketing expert Terry Cordingley shares his wisdom on the process of book marketing. In developing your marketing plan, remember that everything you do builds your platform and momentum and moves you to the next level.”

From Michael Hyatt: Headlines That Grab Readers by the Eyeballs and Suck Them into Your Message
“This is a guest post by Ray Edwards. He is is a marketing strategist, copywriter, speaker, and author.”

From ProBlogger: Stop. Don’t post that post! 7 questions to ask before you hit publish
“This is a guest contribution by Kate Toon, an award-winning SEO and advertising copywriter.”

Sources I Check Regularly

I find the posts and articles that I share with you on The Writer’s Edge in many places. But there are a few that provide insightful pieces again and again. Here they are.

The CopyBlogger Blog

Problogger

Digital Book World

Tools of Change for Publishing

jeffbullas.com

Becky Robinson’s Weaving Influence

Advice from the Masters: John le Carre

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Apr 242013

John le Carre is the pen name of David Cornwell, a former intelligence officer who writes espionage fiction. Since his first novel, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, fifty years ago, he has written some of the best fiction there is, regardless of genre.

Neither of us will likely ever write as well as he does. You’ll probably never write a novel, either. But those of us who write business books can take some advice from one of the great espionage thriller writers.

“My struggle is to demystify, to de-romanticise the spook world, but at the same time harness it as a good story.”

“Demystify” is the key word. Our challenge in a business book is to make the complex understandable and expose the tricks of the business “magicians” as something the rest of us can do.

Want more? Check out the complete list of Advice from the Masters posts.

4/19/13: The Writing Edge for Business Writers

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Apr 192013

You’re a businessperson. You may not think of yourself as a writer, but you know that writing well can boost your results and your career. Naturally, you want to do better. Here are some recent blog posts and articles that might help. This week I’m pointing you to pieces on pricing e-books, writing better blog posts, and unleashing the power of content.

From Tools of Change for Publishing: 7 Must-Consider Strategies for Ebook Pricing
“Which strategy will work best for your title? Publishers and independent ebook authors should consider them all before pricing the book they worked so hard to create.”

From Darren Rowse: 5 Keys to Writing Excellent Blog Posts
“Today in a radio interview I was asked to give 4-5 quick tips on how to write great blog posts. Quick isn’t my forte when giving tips (I have a lot to say) and I can think of many more than 5 tips for writing great blog posts – but here’s a brief overview of the things I mentioned:”

From Jeff Bullas: How to Unleash the Power of Content
“The Web landscape has provided the means for everyone to become a publisher. So your competition is everyone with a smart phone, a blog and a website.”

Sources I Check Regularly

I find the posts and articles that I share with you on The Writer’s Edge in many places. But there are a few that provide insightful pieces again and again. Here they are.

The CopyBlogger Blog

Problogger

Digital Book World

Tools of Change for Publishing

jeffbullas.com

Becky Robinson’s Weaving Influence

Writing Tip: I can’t take that out!

Writing Tips 1 Response »

Apr 152013

“I can’t take that out!”

He almost screamed it. We were working to improve his blog posts and reviewing a draft. I suggested that he take out a particular phrase. He objected.

He said it was a great phrase. It was. He said that it was a fine bit of writing. It was. But the post was better without it.

Everyone who writes comes up with great phrases, stories, and examples that need to be cut out. That’s because excellence isn’t the test. Look at the whole article or blog post or book. Is it better with the fine phrase in it? Or not? If the answer is “not,” then it’s got to go.

If it doesn’t make things better, if it doesn’t move things forward, it doesn’t matter how good a piece of writing is. It’s got to go.

4/12/13: The Writing Edge for Business Writers

Writing Tips 1 Response »

Apr 122013

This week I’m pointing you to pieces on making more time for writing, using relationship marketing to promote your book, and Chris Brogan on what he’s learned from 15 years of blogging.

From Sage Cohen: Make More Time for Writing
“Writers make time for writing. And everyone does it her own way. Your job is to find your way”

From Dana Lynn Smith: Use Relationship Marketing to Sell Books
“Relationships with other people and organizations that cater to your target market can be incredibly valuable in promoting your book. Here are some steps to developing and leveraging relationships:”

From Chris Brogan: 15 Years Blogging And Still Learning
“I started my first blog back in 1998, when it was called journaling. It was on some Geocities site whose name I no longer remember. From there, I moved to Tripod, and then to Blogger, a quick side-step into another platform or two, and then WordPress. Along the way, it went from being a place to share my fiction, and then my self-improvement efforts, and there were a lot of other iterations, too.”

Becky Robinson is my go-to friend and expert for launching business books. Every week, she publishes a book launch tip on her blog. This week’s tip is “Go ahead, buy the domain.”

Sources I Check Regularly

I find the posts and articles that I share with you on The Writer’s Edge in many places. But there are a few that provide insightful pieces again and again. Here they are.

The CopyBlogger Blog

Problogger

Digital Book World

Tools of Change for Publishing

jeffbullas.com

Becky Robinson’s Weaving Influence