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For most of my twenties, I jumped from one dream to the next. But through it all, I secretly wanted to be a writer. I watched friends bridge the gap between amateur and professional, and I wished I could be them.

Because I was envious of my friends’ writing success, I would try whatever it was they were doing that I thought made them successful. But the problem was I didn’t know what I was doing.

One writer I knew had a satire blog, so I tried writing satire. It didn’t work out; I just came off sounding mean. Another wrote about popular events from a faith-based perspective, so I tried that. That also failed. In fact, I made just about every possible rookie mistake.

What was I missing?

Read more...........http://www.issacharprojects.com/7-things-professional-writer-knows-that-amateur-doesnt/

According to a survey conducted by The New York Times, 81% of Americans feel they have a book in them. But most haven’t written it. So what’s stopping them?

I hear people tell me all the time they want to write a book. But wanting and doing aren’t the same, are they? It’s time to shed the myths about book publishing and start facing the facts. If you’re one of those eight in 10 people dreaming of writing a book, this might change everything for you.

What if everything you’ve heard was wrong?

We’ve all heard the old wives’ tales and urban legends about what it takes to get a book contract or hit the best sellers list. We’ve been subjected to silly little formulas and hype about how to go from “writer” status to author.

Read more...........http://www.issacharprojects.com/5-facts-about-publishing-that-could-change-your-writing-career/

My 10-year-old daughter loves telling stories, and she really liked embellish them with emotionally laden words that packed a punch.

For example, her teacher didn’t speak firmly or shout – she’d “scream”. A kid at school didn’t push another – he’d “viciously smash” into him. The bus driver didn’t call out – he “roared”. A scrape didn’t hurt – it “burned like a thousand knives of liquid fire”. A bug wasn’t just a bug. It was “terrifying”.

You’d think I’d be proud of the way she amplified the emotional effects of her storytelling. You’d think I’d be smug that my daughter had a near-instinctive ability to choose words that conjured up vivid mental imagery.

But I wasn’t.

I had a problem with that kind of language.
Words have power – more than you might realize. They can influence your behavior or your emotional state. Certain words can create a positive, healthy, glass-half-full mindset… or they can become the fodder of crippling limiting beliefs and debilitating fears.
Read more.............http://www.issacharprojects.com/are-you-writing-wrong-words/

Some writers think that success occurs in a magical moment when the stars and planets align for a particular person. But waiting for Fate to tap your shoulder as the lucky one places your chance to succeed in the hands of strangers.

And, yes, it is just luck at that point.

You can build your own success as a writer or an author without waiting for Fate to come calling. You don’t have to just hope to be “discovered” by a publisher or a major blog. You don’t have to wait for destiny to align your stars.

Just follow these 5 steps, and writing success is in the palm of your hands – not those of strangers:

1. WRITE. If you talk a lot about writing, do plenty of writing research, tell all your Facebook friends about how you’re a writer… well, you’re not actually writing. You’re doing everything but. A writer writes. Period. A writer spends time tapping on the keyboard and publishing the results, whether as a book or blog posts or something else., and a writer moves forward with steady progress.

Read more........http://www.issacharprojects.com/5-secrets-of-successful-writers/

If you’re a writer, it’s fair to assume you’d like to write a bestseller. In my 12-plus years of experience as an editor for a major publisher, bestseller status is the Holy Grail of the writing trade, and it’s not just an ego thing.

Hitting the bestseller lists is an emblem of the impact a book is having.

Bestsellers are not just about fame and money; in fact, writing a bestseller guarantees neither. They are about having an impact on society.

Bestsellers are world changers.

By definition bestsellers are rare. Whether it’s the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, or Publishers Weekly, the value of these lists is in direct relationship to the fact that they are limited.

Read more.....http://www.issacharprojects.com/secret-writing-bestseller-nonfiction-book/

Who says you cannot promote your book before you publish it? As a matter of fact, it is advisable to already build the intensity and buzz around your book, so that once your book is ready, you can instantly sell out! Here are some of the ways you can promote your book before you publish it:

Build a Solid Foundation

Before you start any form of publicity, be sure to be media-ready. This means that you need to have defined your target audience, prepare your marketing messages, taken some professional author photos and so on. So, that it would be easy for you to promote your book.

Leverage on your Social Media Followers

Read more...........http://www.issacharprojects.com/how-promote-your-book-before-you-even-publish/

Marketing your books is important, but it can quickly get expensive. In this guest post from author BK Walker, she shares some great tips to help you promote your book with little to no budget for marketing.

Oh the thrill!

The thrill of wanting to write a book and making the decision to actually do it. For months, maybe even years, you pour your heart and soul into each page, until what will soon become your baby is finally finished. You then submit your completed manuscript to publishers, doing the Happy Dance because your writing is good enough to receive an email back from a publisher wanting to take your book under their wing. Maybe you are an indie publisher who hit the “Publish” button to see your book go live to the world.

What most authors don’t realize, whether traditionally published or self-published, is that you’re responsible for the marketing and promotion of your new release. I know…Shocking!

Read more...........http://www.issacharprojects.com/tips-book-marketing-little-budget/

If you are an author, then one of your goals to writing is probably to make sales and you most likely will if you have friends and family who are willing to buy your book.

But if you want to have large sales for your book, then it is important that you draw up a marketing plan. This is because having a marketing plan will help organize your sales strategies for professional review, help you save your time when marketing your book and it will also help you clearly define your goals. Now, your marketing plan doesn’t have to be very lengthy, it can be something you jot down in your note book or it could be something you write down on a word document page on your system, depending on what makes you feel comfortable.

So, here is a guide on how to put together a marketing plan for your book.

Read more...........http://www.issacharprojects.com/how-to-put-together-marketing-plan-your-book/

Writing a memoir is difficult and extremely time consuming. Like many things in life, if it were easy, everyone would do it. It is so difficult in fact, that there are in all likelihood more memoir drafts on paper, computer hard drives, and various memory devices than memoirs published.

The rewards of writing a published work, however, can be beyond imagination. No words can adequately describe the feeling of seeing one’s book on the shelves of a bookstore for the first time. It is like Christmas morning and your birthday all rolled into one.

While the writing of a memoir is difficult, it is obviously not impossible given the number published. To assist the aspiring new author, I have distilled the problem down to five basic areas for anyone bold or insane enough to venture into these waters:

Read more......http://www.issacharprojects.com/five-secrets-to-writing-a-fascinating-memoir/

Writers: There is a a good chance you don’t need an author blog.

Static author websites are great, and you’d be crazy not to have one. But starting an author blog is a different (and often tragic) story.

In fact, your author blog might even kill your writing. There are hundreds of authors who started blogs, churned out posts for a year, and let it come to a dead stop.

Why? Because they realized it wasn’t worth the effort.

I’ll show you the five major reasons an author blog can be bad for your writing (with examples). We’ll cover some other, better audience-building methods to focus on instead.

And, since I’m a complete hypocrite and I run my own author blog, I’ll show you the one and only reason you might want to start one anyway.

Ready? Let’s save your writing…

Read more.......http://www.issacharprojects.com/5-ways-an-author-blog-could-kill-your-writing-and-what-to-do-instead/

Whether you’re working with a traditional publisher or you’re going the self-publishing route, one thing’s the same: You need to market your book.

Most published authors, especially of the first time variety, won’t have access to a full-suite of marketing. Chances are, you’re working with a smaller publisher that has an even smaller marketing budget, and won’t be able to afford to promote your book like you hope in dream. No morning show interviews, no full-page ads in big literary magazines, and certainly no TV commercials to announce the arrival of your book.

Alas. You may get a mention on the publisher’s website. Your book may get passed around to book reviewers. But don’t hold your breath.

It’s up to you to truly market your book like it deserves. This burden is especially great when you’re a new author without a proven track record. You must do everything you can to get the word out.

But what do you do?
Read More.......http://www.issacharprojects.com/how-to-market-your-first-book-9-tips-you-need-to-know/

You’ve probably already made up your mind. Traditional publishing is the way to go. It is the gold standard, after all. Nothing provides instant validation quite like a contract from a big New York publishing house. To say that you’ve been published sounds great at dinner parties, and is a surefire way to impress your mom’s friends.

But are you selling yourself short by not considering self-publishing? Not only is it a worthy competitor of traditional publishing, self-publishing may win you over because it gives you all the power. There’s no one to stop you from publishing your manuscript and your success is in direct proportion to your hustle.

In this post, we’ll highlight the pros and cons for both traditional publishing and self-publishing. Let’s get started.


Read more......http://www.issacharprojects.com/traditional-or-self-publish-whats-best-for-you/

Many authors don’t fully grasp the difference between a line edit and a copyedit. There are some similarities between the two: both pay detailed attention to your use of language, and involve mark-up on the pages of your manuscript. But make no mistake, these are two completely different processes, handled by professionals with different skill sets, and should occur at very different times during the writing process.

What’s a Line Edit?
A line edit addresses the creative content, writing style, and language use at the sentence and paragraph level. But the purpose of a line edit is not to comb your manuscript for errors – rather, a line edit focuses on the way you use language to communicate your story to the reader. Is your language clear, fluid, and pleasurable to read? Does it convey a sense of atmosphere, emotion, and tone? Do the words you’ve chosen convey a precise meaning, or are you using broad generalizations and clichés?

Read more........http://www.issacharprojects.com/what-is-the-difference-between-copyediting-and-line-editing/

How do you take your writing ideas, write a book and become a published author? This question typically is met with practical advice, tactical tasks, and skill-based tips.

There are other ways to help yourself become an author that have little to do with book structure, producing business and promotion plans, or even writing ability. However, they have a great deal to do with realizing your book idea and writing career.

My new book, Creative Visualization for Writers, is divided into five sections. I believe these areas can help you make your writing dreams real. Let’s look at each one.

Read more......http://www.issacharprojects.com/5-things-you-can-do-to-bring-your-writing-ideas-and-career-to-life/

love writing. Or at least for the most part, I do. But words are hard and refining my words is even harder.

Trust me when I say this — Almost all blogposts out there that give you the Blogpost goals, go through so many rounds of spell checks, grammar checks, this-and-that check. In fact, my theory is that — the time taken for a blog post to go from ‘now editing’ to ‘published’ is probably longer than it took to actually write that post!

Writing a perfect blogpost is a daunting task but nobody said it was easy (Coldplay reference anyone?). I’ve now realised that I don’t have to do it alone.

Read more......http://www.issacharprojects.com/5-tools-every-blogger-should-be-using/

If you haven’t heard by now, self-publishing is hot. Once considered a passing fad, this medium has been solidified as a viable publishing channel for countless authors. Even large publishing houses are embracing self-publishing, with many independent titles being picked up by the likes of HarperCollins (HC), Random House, and more.

Personally, I was dancing in my living room when I heard that Karen Alpert’s book, I Heart My Little A-Holes, was bought by HC. This shows the tide has turned and that self-publishing is being taken seriously.

Read more.....http://www.issacharprojects.com/5-reasons-why-your-self-published-book-isnt-selling/

Some say the key to keeping any social gathering cordial is not to talk about politics or religion. I think that’s probably very true. And I also think: Well, thank God at least there’s no religion in my new book!

My novel Campaign Widows—about a group of friends left behind in Washington, DC, when their significant others are out on the campaign trail—was sparked by my own experience as a “campaign widow.”

Over the years, my husband, a longtime Senate staffer on Capitol Hill, has shipped out to various cities to work on campaigns. I didn’t know anything about this world when he joined his first campaign a million years ago and moved to New Orleans to help reelect a Louisiana senator. This new development in our relationship got me thinking that what seemed so exotic to me—him uprooting to a place he’d never been, leaving me behind for several months—was just business as usual for so many folks in DC.

Read more......http://www.issacharprojects.com/5-tips-for-writing-about-politics-in-fiction/

Yada, yada, yada isn’t one of them.
You can call me a Jerry Seinfeld fanboy. I grew up with Seinfeld, memorizing entire episodes thanks to syndicated reruns. As an adult, I enjoyed an opportunity to see Seinfeld perform live.

Earlier this year, Netflix purchased Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, Seinfeld’s latest project. In each episode, Seinfeld interviews another comedian in a unique car and at a unique coffee shop. The show is a wonderful insight into the lives of Jerry Seinfeld and his comedian friends.


Read more.......http://www.issacharprojects.com/7-things-we-can-learn-from-jerry-seinfeld-about-writing/

As writers, we often feel like we are howling into the wind, throwing our words out into the world with no one listening.

But there are ways that you can attract an audience even if you’re just starting out. In today’s article, journalist and memoir author Andrew Emery shares his tips.

The chances are, you’ve never heard of me. In fact, not many people have. Okay, I had a book out a decade ago, I’ve written for plenty of magazines and newspapers, but I’m barely a household name in my own house. And yet I’ve just released my memoir.

Read more.......http://www.issacharprojects.com/5-ways-to-market-a-memoir-when-no-one-knows-who-you-are/

Out of ideas?

I have a trick I use often when I find myself staring at a blank page, or when I’m in the middle of a long writing project and run out of ideas.

I have never seen it on any list of writing tips or tricks:

Question your certainties.
This trick can be used in two ways.

In a practical sense, relating directly to your current writing project.
In broader terms to free your creative flow when you’re feeling blocked our mentally empty.
Here’s how it works:

Read more......http://www.issacharprojects.com/try-this-unknown-writers-trick-when-youre-staring-at-a-blank-page/

Sales letters are excellent tools for companies to generate leads. Whether you’re strictly online only or a brick-and-mortar business, both snail mail sales letters and emails can drum up hot leads that you can convert into sales. But — and this is big — only if you get it right.

Copywriters and content marketers should hone their sales letter skills. At some point, a client may ask you to write a bona fide sales letter, prospecting email, or a landing page. They all need certain elements to convert.

There are plenty of “experts” out there who spout off how best to write a sales letter. Let’s focus on what not to do when writing your sales letter so you can avoid these common pitfalls.

Read more.......http://www.issacharprojects.com/how-not-to-write-a-sales-letter/

You’re an author, why do you need a “brand”? It sounds so corporate and, well, you’re not.

While you may not be a multinational corporation, you do have one thing in common. You’re both selling a product, and you need a positive and engaging image to go with it. Your brand is how you package and present your image, and it’s an essential component of marketing your book. Let’s talk about the why, and how.

Here’s Why Branding Is Important:
People often find and fall in love with the author way before they read the book. Think of how often you’ve come across an interview with a book author and thought, hmm, I’d love to read that book.

Read more.......http://www.issacharprojects.com/your-guide-to-branding-yourself-as-an-author/

As I often tell authors, the good news about book promotion is the same as the bad news: There’s always something more you can be doing for your book.

This means that, on one hand, you always have the opportunity to reach new readers, no matter how long your book has been out in the world; your book can’t be “old” to someone who hasn’t yet discovered it.

On the other hand, you can spend so much time on book promotion that you can risk neglecting what got you to this point in the first place: writing.

Read more......http://www.issacharprojects.com/5-everyday-book-marketing-tips-for-authors/

our social media presence is often the first point of contact for your brand online, so it’s important to be purposeful in how your profiles portray you.

Even though social media can sometimes feel like an intimidating snowball of doom, it can also be a great way to connect with other writers, editors, agents, and readers. Today I’m going to melt that snowball down a bit by sharing some quick fixes to vastly improve your writer brand social profiles in a just a day (or heck, even a few hours).

1. Write a stronger bio
Your bio is generally the first thing people see when they check out your social profile. It is essential to communicate quickly who you are and why someone should care.

Read more......http://www.issacharprojects.com/social-media-for-writers-5-quick-fixes-to-build-your-brand/

Writers usually worry about the ways to get their books out there for people to purchase and read. Although a printed book is usually considered the best form of publishing, because it is easy for people to collect the material and even study overtime; however, in this age of technology, where most contents are being used, reused, tweaked and republished, and materials are being backed up online, there are several other ways of publishing a content aside from having a printed copy. Consider the following forms of book publishing:

1. E-book: This is one way an author can publish his or her book and reach a lot of people


Read more.......http://www.issacharprojects.com/5-ways-writers-can-publish-their-books/

In a previous post, From Author to Reader: The Line of Book Publishing, we examined the stages of book publishing. The process is a conglomerate of brains and experts who work together to get the manuscript from the author’s desk into the hands of the reader. And the first stop on the line is book editing.

At this stage, you do not only spend your money, but also your time (in months) and knowledge. But why should book editing take so much time? Some editors sometimes could be impatient and overbearing. It could even seem like they are about hijacking your book project with their “Add this-Delete that” attitude.


Read more.......http://www.issacharprojects.com/abc-book-editing/

I’m sure it’s happened to you. You’re chatting with someone — perhaps on the bus, or at a kitchen party — and you mention you’re working on a book. Before you can even talk about the idea, they’re already responding. “Oh yeah,” they say, “I’ve got a killer idea for a book, too! I just can’t find the time to work on it.”

In fact, most people think they could write a novel if only they had the time. Or a quiet space. Or the right software. Or a mug that says “I turn coffee into books.” (My personal superstitions are the right pen or the perfect font.) By some estimates, for every hundred people who start writing a book, just three actually reach their goal. And for those who actually do finish, hardly any of them actually publish their work.

Read more......http://www.issacharprojects.com/six-qualities-you-need-to-be-a-successful-author/

More than any other occupation, writing requires creative thoughts and emotions that warp reality.

As writers, these wild imaginations are valuable. But they can also distract us, fill us with fear, and cause us to forget the most obvious truths, like…

1. You can write anywhere, anytime.
You don’t need a year’s sabbatical, a summer abroad, or a weekend retreat.

You don’t need to quit your job and move to a remote cabin in the woods.

Read More....http://www.issacharprojects.com/10-obvious-truths-writers-always-forget/

As a writer, people expect you to write only on areas you are versed in. However, there are times you would be required to write on a topic you have little or no knowledge about. This kind of task can be nerve wrecking and difficult, because of your lack of knowledge about the subject; but it doesn’t have to be. There are ways of getting around this challenge and producing a fantastic piece like an expert. Try these tips:

Go online
The first thing you should do when you are required to write on a subject you know little about is to go online to gather information about the subject. You can make use of a search engine like Google to read on all relevant materials relating to the subject.

Read More.....http://www.issacharprojects.com/how-to-write-on-a-topic-you-know-very-little-about/

I started writing less than 8 months ago and I’m almost certain that it shows.

I see places in my writing where my sentences aren’t as precise as I’d like them to be, where my phrasing makes the entire meaning of a sentence unclear.

I do what I can to fix these issues. I keep ironing out these rudimentary mistakes in editing with the hope that I won’t make them next time.

Read More.....
http://www.issacharprojects.com/sharing-our-writing-doesnt-have-to-be-scary/