Are you exhausted trying to come up with a new idea on how to prepare your next book report project?

I have compiled a list of ten new ideas you can use to create a unique and unusual presentation to your class.

1. Cut out pictures from a magazine that represents characters, events, and items from your book and organize them onto a poster board. Make sure to illustrate what the exact idea is from your novel.
2. If your read involved someone traveling, create a map showing their starting point and events that happened to them along the way through to the end of the book. This is a great visual for your audience.
3. Make a timeline on a poster board showing the events, when they happened and important points during the timeline and how they related to conflicts and problems in the pages.
4. Write a letter from one character in the book to another.
5. Using your opinion write a new beginning for this piece.
6. Write a different ending for the novel.
7. Make a puppet show of your book using felt and socks to create your characters. Ask your teacher if a classmate can help run the puppet show for the rest of the class to view.
8. Make a talk show from the conflicts and problems in the book. Talk shows love to discuss other peoples problems and get involved in their lives. Why not use the characters from this read?
9. If you were going to have a sequel for this you need some information. Write a few paragraphs about how a sequel should take place.
10. Make a review of this paperback compared with others you have read and critique the novel.

These are new and creative ideas for you to use on your next book report. If you are a teacher why not assign a specific task to your students and give extra points for their creativity.

Get more book report ideas and learn how to write a book report at http://bookreports.learn-about-it.com

Lesa Bolt is a contributor

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lesa_Bolt

Posted in Writing and Speaking. | No Comments »

I watched one of the Presidential debates the other night and it reminded me just how powerful words are. During the debate, all candidates repeated words they wanted to sink into Americans’ consciousness. (In computerspeak, I guess we’d call them “keywords”.)

But one frontrunner candidate, in particular, kept repeating derogatory words about one of his opponents, also a frontrunner. His opponent vehemently denied those words and the media seemed to concur that they were untrue. But this candidate continued to repeat those keywords about the other man over and over, up to the very end of the debate. It seemed obvious he wanted to have them stick - to paint them on his opponent with indelible ink that soaked clear through his skin.

It got me thinking about words and the power of words: “Jury, disregard that last statement” kind of thing. Or “Don’t think about an elephant.”

His opponent claimed those words were taken out of context. Maybe they were - I don’t know - I’m not writing about the veracity of his keywords. My point is about the power of words and the opposing emotions they can elicit when taken in context and out of context.

This was brought home to me last evening when I said to Colitta, as I frequently do throughout the day, “I’m going to beat you up!”

Of course, she probably heard it as “Aaar rahaar aarr raaww raw,” or something like that, because Colitta is a dog.

She loves it when I say “I’m going to beat you up!” because it’s a fun game we play to see who can get up the stairs the fastest. She smiles (truly, she does smile) and pants and wags her stump of a tail, whether she wins the race up the stairs or not. And she always gets extra pettings at the top.

I play this innocent game with my “rescue” pooch - my cherished dog who, on her first day in my home, shook so badly from fear I thought her heart would stop and all fours would stand straight up in the air. She had been kept outside in a pen for the first seven years of her life - even in the bitter cold weather we have in these northern New Mexico mountains.

This miracle dog, who died on the operating table and was revived by the first-rate vets in Taos - “Good news! So far it looks like no brain damage!” - has a back with a permanent no-fur, four-inch triangle and her missing teeth give her tongue the perfect place to loll when she pants. But she’s beautiful to me, loves me unconditionally and our race seems to be her favorite thing to do.

If someone were to write that Ellen frequently says to Colitta, “I’m going to beat you up,” without putting those words into the context of our race up the stairs, how distorted they could become.

This observation hit me over the head with the marketing of candidates. How refreshing it would be if we could be spared some of the distortions and negativity of the campaign trail - and if civility and veracity ruled.

Until that day, we can each notice that our own words carry energy and power. It’s a good reason to be conscious of the words we choose when we speak to others and to ourselves - especially to ourselves. Observe your thoughts and see if you’re telling yourself how magnificent you really are!

Ellen Wood, inspirational speaker and author of “The Secret Method for Growing Younger - a Step-by-Step Anti-Aging Process Using the Law of Attraction to Help You Stop Aging, Grow Younger and Enjoy Life”, is a living example of the effectiveness of the processes she teaches. At 71, Ellen is pioneering a revolution in age-reversing consciousness. Her passion is to spread the joy of youthfulness from mind to mind until a critical mass is reached and elders become empowered, valued members of society.

Her book is endorsed by Barbara DeAngelis PhD, and world-renowned physicians, including Norm Shealy MD, Larry Dossey MD, David Simon MD, Richard Moss MD and Mitchell Gibson MD. Download the Introduction and Chapters 1 and 2 for free at http://howtogrowyounger.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ellen_Wood

Posted in Writing and Speaking. | No Comments »

Article marketing has been the topic of hot discussion during promotional brainstorming in both small as well as big businesses around the world lately. Every entrepreneur sure wants to take a piece of this pie, because it is indeed true that article marketing reaches out to a wider global audience. It is a very significant way of bringing targeted traffic to your business website. And that is the reason people are so much sold to this idea.

Let us begin this discussion by getting to the bare bones of the concept of it first. You have a website that you want to promote with article marketing. So what do you do? You get a professional informative article written. Then you weave in some keywords into it. These keywords are searched from web tools and are the keywords that people around the world are popularly searching. You put the keywords in the headline and format the article in a very readable style. Your article is now search engine optimized for its content. Some anchor tags may be added in the content of the article directly pointing to the website, but that is not always done (it is considered to be a crass way of promotion, anyways).

When this is done, the article is submitted to some article directories. All article directories will have an author resource box below them. This is the place for promotion actually. The author speaks very succinctly about him/herself and the product and provides the URL of the website. This takes care of the procedure of the article marketing exercise.

Now let us see its modus operandi. When a person from anywhere in the world types the keyword to search for information, he/she will probably get the article page as one of the search results. Upon visiting there and reading the article, if the reader is suitably impressed, there’s a high and mighty chance that they may click on the URL of the website given below for more information. This is it - a quite simple concept! Your article has brought a visitor to the website. From there on, it’s up to your website to actually sell the product to them.

Why is an article marketing campaign placed so highly above other marketing strategies then? Is it only for its simplicity? It is actually not fair to say that article marketing is simple. That’s because its success pegs on the important factor of how impressive your article is. But the more important reason of its success is that you get a targeted flow of traffic.

People who read your article are those who have searched for that specific information. That means, they are already interested in that product. Your article sells the product to someone who is already looking out for it. Now that is what is called as targeted traffic.

The traffic that your article brings in comprises of people who are pre-sold to the idea of buying the product. If you read between the lines here, you will understand that with a successful article marketing campaign, you are not going out to people selling your product, but your niche itself is coming to you for information. The chances of selling your product to someone that has come through a campaign is higher than most other strategies for this single reason.

There are many ways to entice this targeted traffic further, by providing them freebies, by giving them privileged offers, by email marketing, etc. Article marketing acts like the initial magnetic pull for targeted traffic - that makes your promotional work quite easy to effectuate sales and monetize the traffic.

Copyright (c) 2008 Colin Meunier

Colin Meunier is a Successful Home Business Coach and Mentor! To learn how you can use a breakthrough marketing system to become more successful in your home business online visit: Prosperity Cast Network

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Colin_Meunier

Posted in Writing and Speaking. | No Comments »

Lets face it, all writing is creative. Whenever you make something from nothing, when you create something of value, that didn’t exist only a few minutes before, you are being creative. I will point out right at the beginning though, that writing like poetry and sonnets are not as in demand in the commercial content market as is written information on a researched topic. If you want to express yourself emotionally, poetry is ok, but if you want to turn pro, if you want to get paid and make a living as a writer, you will need to focus on the researched style of informative writing to get paid.

Most writers, after a few years of starving begin to understand that writing is writing, and it is important to adapt to the demand, rather than having any creative snobbery. Having said that, there may be jobs writing poems etc, but again, you do what the job requires and not what you hope to write. Most writers turn into a jack of all trades and accept that is how business is, at some point.

Some of the biggest consumers of content is the humble webmaster. The trillions of pages on the net cannot be written by a small group of people, it takes millions of working paid writers to get that ongoing job done. So for any aspiring writer looking for creative writing jobs, this would be the first place to look. Failing this you can approach the local journal in your town and leave samples and a resume, being careful to write samples that look a lot like the existing journal writers work.

Imagine quitting your day job in just 3 days, you can, you know, you can write articles for a living just like me and thousands of others do. Discover how to get paid $90 dollars per hour or even more doing simple, short articles. Genuine work from home opportunity, replace your day job income working only 3 hours a day - click the link below.

http://www.writers-dream.com/index1.html

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jamie_Denning

Posted in Writing and Speaking. | No Comments »

Freelance writers pursue business clients for all of the right reasons. Businesses can offer writers lucrative assignments that are mutually beneficial. They make the business look good and they help the writer’s bottom line. Most businesses have lots of work and pay generously. So why do so many writers flub it when it comes to dealing with business clients? As tough as they are to land, they’re even harder to keep happy long term. That’s because writers and business people think very differently.

Business people think differently. How well you can keep your business client satisfied with your services depends on both the quality of your services and your ability to understand what your business clients need.

First of all, business clients think differently. They think everybody is in business. As a writer, you may roll out of bed at the crack of nine and stagger to your computer with a cup of coffee and work in your underwear. Writers know this. Business people do not.

Therefore, do not tell your business client about your various unsavory and unprofessional habits like letting your toddler answer your business line, cooking dinner while you proofread their articles, or drinking beer while writing taglines.

If you can afford it (and even if you can’t) get a dedicated phone line for business and answer it like it was a business line during business hours, which by the way, start somewhat before noon. If you can’t manage to talk on the phone with the sound of cartoons in the background, let it go to an answering machine and call back from a quiet place.

Business people get nervous trusting their multimillion dollar babies to people who watch cartoons in the middle of the day. Yes, I know it’s your kids who are watching the cartoons. Business people get nervous trusting their multimillion dollar babies to people who work sitting next to their kids all day.

Second, realize that business people remember what they say to you. If they say Thursday is your deadline, don’t let Thursday roll by without turning in your project or even calling them. Meet your deadlines. Stay within the scope of the assignment. Incorporate their suggestions. You can forget everything your spouse or kids or Oprah Winfrey says to you over the course of the day, but don’t practice selective deafness when your clients speak.

Third, you need to see things through your clients’ eyes. Your client is concerned with two things: his or her career and his or her company. You would think that would be in reverse order, but it’s not. You always want to make your client look good, first and foremost, and if you can do that in such a way that the company benefits, bonus! But serve your client.

Do you know why? Because companies don’t hire writers, people hire writers. Your client is a person. Make sure his or her needs are met in terms of writing (make him look good by delivering a top-notch product on time and on budget) and let him worry about saving Wall Street.

Fourth, it is okay to suggest new ideas to your client if you do it subtly and then pull back. Think of it like throwing pebbles at a window at night and then running away. Rarely have I seen a client jump at an upsell (that’s what they call it when you get one sale and you turn around and right away talk the client into buying something bigger or better), but I have had a lot of good results with the pitch-and-run approach. A few months later the client comes to me with a brilliant idea. They tell me what I told them! And then I can agree to the new job and applaud their incredible brilliance.

Finally, remember that people who work in the corporate mainstream are often overworked but not in the way that writers are overworked. Most of them spend long hours in uncomfortable clothing. They often have to travel or sit in endless meetings. This translates into something few writers appreciate: most corporate denizens feel completely powerless when it comes to control of their own time. It’s a weird sensation and one that does not sit well with most people.

For that reason, always respect the time of your business client. Keep phone calls and emails short and on-point. Don’t bother them with idle requests or superfluous questions. Keep chit-chat out of the conversation unless you get “led” by the business person that some personal banter is permissible.

Writers can visit http://www.workingtexaswriterdiaries.blogspot.com for more on the writing life or http://www.workingonlinewriter.com to get out of writing for businesses.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jo_Ann_LeQuang

Posted in Writing and Speaking. | No Comments »

Technical writers are earning big bucks while enjoying the luxury of working at home. If you’re put off by the word ‘technical’, don’t slam the door to a lucrative opportunity. As long as you can string your grammar correctly, you can start a new writing adventure.

What is Technical Writing?

When you buy technical gizmo, you always have to read the manual that explains how to operate or set-up a system. It is specifically written for end-users so they can understand how the details work together. If you can’t make heads or tails of the instructional manual, then you’re reading poorly written or highly technical stuff. Technical writers come to the rescue, inspired by a bottomless pit of vocabulary suited to the material.

The word ‘technical’ does not always refer to technology; rather, it refers to a skill. This type of writing is putting together information in a logical and coherent discussion. The aim is to inform, not amuse. Instead, you have to observe processes and operations to be able to provide accurate information. You have to show how it is done.

Engineering, surveying, medical, architectural, and software firms require technical writing experts to help them explain away their products. What used to be the domain of technical geeks is now the realm of writers who can fuse creativity and technology into one dynamic package. And the pay is way beyond the ordinary paycheck you get every payday.

How to create a niche in this elite circle? Well, for starters, you have to love gizmos. If you’re not a techno fan, you still have hope by learning the basics. If you want to write about software or computers, you can sign up at the nearest computer school and learn the basics about software and computers. Technical writing has its own vocabulary and there is no excuse for sloppy writing if you want to earn a fat paycheck.

Tools of the Trade

Before hopping into an assignment, make sure you have the tools of the trade. Get a copy of ‘Strunk and White Elements of Style’ to help make your writing crisp, clear, and tight. The usual jargon cannot be used. Instead, get to know the technical jargon involved in different requirements. Brush up on your active voice to make the manual easier to understand.

You may be working with a graphic artist, or if you know how to do it, the better for you. You can rely on software to help you with your technical writing when working for a small company.

If you want to get into technical writing, you have to be a keen observer to explain logical problems. It takes awhile before you can finish your paper because you will have to be repeating the processes to have more angles in explaining things to the reader.

Technical writing courses are available online. With a certification to back your qualification, companies will be willing to hire you. You can always request to do your work online, miles away from the company, if they can send over the gadget you will write about. But for sensitive projects, you have to go to the site.

Technical writing is the new wave of writing. More writers are seeing the glimmer at the end of the tunnel and hopes are high that writing skills can pay far better than the 8 hours you put in as an employee. Interested?

Embark on your technical writing career with a Cross pen Keep you writing samples in men’s leather briefcases and before long, your money clip wallets will be filled to the brim. Visit ExecutiveGiftShoppe.com today.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bradlley_Mckoy

Posted in Writing and Speaking. | No Comments »

Your title is the most important part of the article or ebook you will write. The title conveys the message to your readers about what will expect to find if they keep reading. Using keywords in your titles will increase the number of times people will want to read what you have written. Here are 3 tips on how to write titles that get results.

• Make sure you know which keywords people are likely to search for when they are looking for information on your topic. You can use a keyword selector tool to find a long list of words and phrases that are relevant to your content. These tools are free if you search for them online.
• Begin your title with a keyword or keyword phrase. The first few words are the very most important. If you are writing a 7 tips title do not start the title with the words 7 tips. Instead, use your keywords and then a hyphen, also referred to as a dash, to write a keyword rich and attention getting headline. For example, if you are writing about organic vegetables and healthy eating, use a title such as Healthy Eating With Organic Vegetables - 7 Tips On How To Eat Healthy With Organics. Do you see the difference? 7 Tips on How to Eat Healthy With Organic Vegetables wastes the first five words. The first title will be picked up by the search engines much more readily.
• For your Ebook, make sure your title is attention grabbing. You can then use a subtitle to tell what benefits someone would expect to receive from reading the book.

Use these tips in your writing and you will notice the difference almost immediately. I encourage you to learn more about writing articles and ebooks.

Posted in Writing and Speaking. | No Comments »

Ever wonder what you’re doing in this business of writing? Wish you’d taken up something easier, like mountain climbing or bungee jumping or studying Russian? I know I do. Almost daily. But, on the other hand, I wouldn’t change a minute of the years I’ve spent in this crazy writing life. Nor would I trade any one of the friends I’ve made who are just as crazy as I am for sticking to it all this time.

We all do precisely what we want to do. We find a way if we truly want to write. Are you writing to make lots of money? Or, to be famous and appear on Oprah? Or do you simply want to write the best darn books and stories you can so other people will enjoy reading your words?

Accomplish the last first, and maybe the first two will follow, but even if they don’t, you’ve done something most people never do. Achieved self-satisfaction in a job well done. Many talents go into creating a darn good book. Some are easier to learn than others. One thing’s for sure. We are either creative or we’re not. No one can teach us that. But we can learn to hone our craft. Probably one of the most difficult facets of writing is recognizing when we’ve found our voice.

Writers are like singers, they have distinct voices. The problem is finding and developing that voice. Like singers we have to practice, study our craft, find our passion, before we can begin to develop that voice.

Do you know why poets often make the best writers of prose? Because they, like singers, have developed a voice. Learn to sing to your readers, capture and awe them and don’t turn them loose until you’re finished with your “song.”

No one can teach you a writing voice, but you can learn how to search for it and recognize when you’ve found it, and having found it, you can strengthen it.

Your writer’s voice begins in your heart, your mind, your soul. It comes from your perceptions of the world around you, and those perceptions come from the lullabies your mother sang, the stories your father told, the way your family expressed love, joy, hate and anger. It comes from your own likes and dislikes, what you are passionate about. From all this you can develop a unique voice. Let’s say you’ve created solid multi-dimensional and emotional characters, you’ve written the best book or story or article you can possibly write. It’s all there: fresh settings, crisp dialogue, a sense of place, conflict, a thematic focus, good pacing. The story is original and well plotted, with sub plots and interesting twists and turns. Surprises and foreshadowing that go hand in hand. You’ve developed a rhythm, set a tone. Scenes and sequels present the reader with excitement and a time to relax and ponder what’s happened and what may happen. You’ve studied and practiced viewpoint until you have it down cold.

You’ve all read the master, Dwight Swain’s Techniques of the Selling Writer, of course, and so you know when and how to drop a corpse through the roof.

So why doesn’t someone buy your work? Why do you continue to get rejections? Or - even worse, you broke through the barriers, found a publisher and then your book just languished on the shelf. So why aren’t your creations selling the way they should?

More than likely it’s that you haven’t developed a voice of your own. A unique voice. You do not yet speak with an entrancing tongue. You have not yet learned what makes your story and the way you tell it absolutely breathtaking, unique to you alone.

Perhaps I can help you solve your dilemma. Before you begin to work on your own voice read and attempt to recognize voice in other writers’ works. Some are popular because they tell exciting stories. They aren’t even particularly good writers. But those with the greatest following are those with a distinct voice that involves the reader in great stories. Read until you can recognize the voice of those writers who move you.

To begin developing your own voice, first consider what you are writing about. Is it truly what you want to write, what you were meant to write? When you sit down to write, do you experience an unbridled passion?

If you can answer yes to those questions, then you probably are well on your way to developing your voice.

If the answer is no to these questions, if you dread making your way to that place where you write, have to force yourself to do so, or if you are confused and aren’t sure about your voice, here are some things you can do.

A. Rewrite passages from other books the way you would write them. Turn loose, don’t be afraid to be innovative, write down things you might never write ordinarily. As they say today, go to the edge. Be bold. Write the things you’ve always wanted to write, but never had the courage. Do this a lot for practice.

B. Read something you have written into a tape recorder, then go somewhere quiet away from your work space, sit in the dark and with your eyes closed and your mind open listen only to the sound of your voice. Oh, I know, isn’t it terrible? But get over your aversion and listen for the rhythm, the song your words sing.

Pay attention to inflections in your reading voice until you get a feel for the passage. Then listen again and try to think where you might change the pace, the tone, the rhythm, use a stronger verb or drop an adjective or adverb.

This is not editing, but rather adjusting the song, if you will. Exercising your writer’s diaphragm. C. Now, rather than reading the passage, turn on your recorder again, and this time pretend you’re telling your story to an audience around a campfire. Let go and be inventive. Speak in your voice. Don’t look at what you’ve written. Include some dialogue where it might help, right off the top of your head. Create verbally. Now, listen to the tape and write down your story the way you told it, rather than the way you first wrote it. Do this a lot and you will develop a voice unique only to you. You will then write with an entrancing tongue.

Posted in Writing and Speaking. | No Comments »

There are those who will say that a novel comes from your muse. Maybe. I almost might agree. But I truly believe a novel comes from your soul.

If you’re a serious writer, you could spend your life in the pursuit of the perfect novel or the saleable novel. And what’s worse? Feeling that you’re on your way there or feeling that you’ve already been there and you can’t remember the floor plan? I hope to make the natural process to a dynamite novel clear in this article.

The Lightening:

Lightening strikes. You have an idea. At first, it is little more than ideas and characters in your head. Do you start writing? Woo, Nelly. Hold it. Like a fine red wine, you need to let it swirl around for awhile until you come to the full idea of seeing the work (at least the first third) and then you begin.

Write a little and keep going. There are nights and weekends and a lot of family neglect but it is best to get it out. Some writers serve 17 hour days. But that is the requirement to get a novel out.

The Tendency to Rewrite:

There is a tendency to rewrite, to go back and make what is rough indeed perfect long before the middle or end of the novel or story. STOP! You mustn’t do this as it goes against the creative process. Think of it this way. The creative process is a lot like a jewel without boundaries whereas the rewriting is a lot like doing your banking. They don’t go together at all. Leave the rewriting. Power through to your end.

Don’t reread and reread:

Try to find a way to remember where you were in your story. Don’t reread say the first sixty pages everytime you resume. Instead, try to find a way where you can make a mental bookmark as to where you are.

The end:

Celebrate the end. Do something with the people that you love and the people who love you even though you shut yourself away to get the writing done. You’ve worked hard.

The rebirth:

Every novel is subject to editing. So get out the gumption and start by first making a chart detailing the elements of the story:

Theme: Write it down. Does it make sense? Were you going for something completely different? Is there a tweak here and there you can make to get it to be true to your intention.

Plot: Are plot twists perhaps coincidental. Some coincidence is OK but people do want to believe in your book. Make sure to edit out all the parts that will hamper its ability to suspend reality for the reader.

Character: Sketch them out. Is their hair the right color all the way through? Do they talk that way? Is there some sort of growth or could it simply be called a character within a character much like a box within a box.

Setting: Jot down what you have. Jot down what would make it better and do the research. Research is everywhere these days. Sit down and figure out what would improve it.

Work chapter by chapter. Make sure the end of your chapter leads to the next.

When using certain types of point of view, the complete element of surprise would be hampered by the above.

Get to work. Edit and edit. If you really want a company to invest in you, think about what you are going to do to get out there and market it. If it is nothing at all, consider the reality that a smaller book company, one who might take risks on relative unknowns would probably like someone who would market their book. Consider that a bigger company may already have the ability to get your book through channels but if nobody is going to promote it book sales won’t last an awfully long time. so think about it and put together a marketing plan to submit.

And finally, consider hiring yourself a professional editor to go through the book with you. But remember in acceptance from a publisher, you may need to rewrite it a slightly different way. But that’s OK. Hiring the professional editor in the first place means you’ll be well-prepared.

It’s a lot of work putting the muse on paper to share but well worth it. Good luck!

Robyn Whyte is the CEO of Stargazer Press where you can find amazing books at http://www.stargazerpress.com/novels.htm

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Robyn_Whyte

Posted in Writing and Speaking. | No Comments »

Does your writing lack pizzazz? Does it lack the power to draw your readers in for more? Does it inspire confidence in you as an author? Does it stand up to your competition and hold its own?

If you answered no to any of the questions above you may be interested in the tips below. Discover how to write compelling copy that makes your book sales soar:

1. Put your reader first. Most of us tend to write selfishly. I mean we write what we want. Go against the natural grain; give your readers what they want. Write to their benefit. Write a solution to their problems.

2. Start well. Create a sizzling beginning. Hook your readers through emotion. Slant your book or introduction with a question or an amazing statistic. Share the top benefits of your book early. Aim for the ‘You’ in every reader.

3. Break your writing into short sections. Write your book in chunks, chapters, sections and parts. Use headings, bulleted lists, pull quotes and other easy reading tools. Don’t make your chapters too long. Create easy transitions to the next chapter or section. Keep each section short and easy to read.

4. Use short sentences. Slash your sentences to under 15-17 words. Don’t bog your readers with complex sentences. Remember multiple phrases slow your reader’s comprehension. Make it easy. Get to the point fast.

5. Use simple words. Write for the 7-10 grade level. The shortest, most well known words are best. The more syllables in a word, the less compelling it becomes. Cut all unnecessary adjectives. Clear, easy to understand copy makes your reader want to read your piece to the end. Fill your writing with what’s in it for them. They’ll come back for more and tell all their friends.

6. Avoid technical jargon. Unless you are writing a technical manual where most everyone will understand the technical language, don’t use technical jargon. It will become techno mumbo jumbo to your readers; they will find something better to do besides figure out what you’re saying.

7. Be specific. Avoid generalities. Engage your reader’s emotion with specifics. Let them experience color, size and shape. Instead of, “Complete your degree online fast to increase your income.” Say, “Complete your master degree online fast so you can upgrade your lifestyle, get vacations, health insurance and other corporate benefits.” Specific benefits create a stronger pull than the general benefit of increased income.

8. Slash adverbs. Go through and cut words like openly, suddenly, very that tell the reader instead of show the reader. Circle all the (ly) and (very) words. Pull out your thesaurus and replace them with power words that show emotion or describe.

9. Check the flow of information. Check your paragraphs for good harmonic flow and understanding. Meaning, make sure you don’t drop off suddenly and change the subject. Clear writing creates compelling copy. Compelling copy leads to more book sales.

10. Slash passive structures. Passive sentences slow and dull your writing. Get rid of the passive voice sentences. Give your sentences a clear subject and a verb to avoid the passive voice. “The writer found fame and fortune through marketing her books online.” instead of “The writer’s books were instrumental in leading her to fame and fortune.” Avoid connecting verbs like ‘was’, ‘is’, ‘had’, and ’seemed’. Replace passive voice verbs with active verbs.

Are you ready to write sizzling copy that your readers find hard to put down? Remember to put your reader first, develop a sizzling start, break your writing into short sections, shorten sentences, use simple words, avoid technical language and be specific. Implement these seven tips to begin writing for more profits! Now go; write a successful book and make us all proud!

Posted in Writing and Speaking. | No Comments »