NotitiesWrite That Book and Make That Money!
LaShonda DeVaughn
Het boek "Write That Book and Make That Money!" van LaShonda DeVaughn biedt inzichten en tips voor aspirant-schrijvers over het schrijven en publiceren van hun boeken. Het benadrukt het belang van dagelijkse schrijfgewoonten, het ontwikkelen van een boeiend verhaal en effectieve marketingstrategieën. De auteur moedigt lezers aan om hun creativiteit te omarmen en hun schrijfdoelen te bereiken.
The best way I knew how to handle my emotions was by picking up my pen. (Location 186)
I wanted my readers to feel all of the pain that I kept bottled up inside, and I had hoped that it would help others who lost loved ones in any capacity, to heal. (Location 213)
When I wrote the words “the end” on the last page of my book, I felt liberated! (Location 216)
Being an Author, especially a self-published Author, is essentially like starting a small business from scratch. (Location 261)
Once I treated my book like a business and a brand, I was able to get more traction. (Location 263)
Individuals will always remember who helped them plant their seed and that’s what earns you your respect. Always hold your integrity close to your heart. (Location 280)
No matter if you’re flushing out one hundred, or one thousand words per night, you must get into the routine of writing every single day. (Location 301)
I get tons of emails asking me the same question, “LaShonda, I got this great idea for a book, where should I start?” My answer is always the same. You have to start by writing it first. (Location 313)
Once you finish it, you’d be surprised how many other people will believe in your story too. (Location 315)
Remember, if you don’t commit to spending time writing your story, it will NEVER happen. Procrastination is the biggest dream killer, and we procrastinate out of fear. (Location 326)
The goal is to carve 3-6 months out of your life to finish your book. Start by free-writing, every day. Free writing is simply writing about anything that comes to your mind. Just allow the words to flow and eventually your words will start to develop a story. (Location 330)
The first major key to being a successful writer is developing your story, or as I like to call it; creating. (Location 333)
I’ve discovered that some Authors are great writers while others are great storytellers. Usually the storytellers are the writers with longevity in this industry because the majority of the time, they have better material. (Location 357)
A synopsis is simply an outline of the plot of a book, play, movie, or episode of a television show. In your case, it’s the plot or short outline of your book. It’s also the description you will use as advertisement on the back of your book as well as on any website advertising for you, including your own. You’ll also use it on all promotional tools used to promote your book. This is why your synopsis is so important. (Location 367)
In writing your synopsis, the idea is to draw your consumer into wanting to read your work. I suggest you start by coming up with some interesting character names and begin writing the description of your story without giving away too much of your book. (Location 371)
Notice how I immediately grabbed the reader’s attention and swallowed them in within the first sentence. That should always be your approach. I gave a description of the main character, what she’s going through and then I went right into the thick of her relationship and the dilemmas she’s facing without giving too much away. Also, notice how I ended my synopsis with a question. I use this formula to keep my readers intrigued. (Location 390)
If your purpose is to touch or impact lives, we must see examples of what qualifies you to teach so that your content is deemed believable. (Location 398)
As for me, well I’m a scattered writer. Nine times out of ten, my ending is usually written before I even begin writing the beginning of my book. (Location 461)
Allow your process to emerge organically. (Location 468)
As writers, once you find your rhythm, it’s best to try to keep that momentum going because trust me, it’s really easy to get distracted and push your manuscript aside. (Location 473)
If free-writing or writing your synopsis didn’t bring out any inspiration to write, then trying out an outline may be beneficial. (Location 476)
Many writers enjoy the process of cutting out pictures of celebrities, every day people or images of locations from magazines or printing out online ads. They take these photos and pin them up on a vision board and visualize their story in color. Try playing with this option and see if it brings out your creativity. (Location 478)
At the outline stage, your main concern should be focusing on finishing your book. (Location 483)
Magically, your bullet points should guide you with ease to write through your chapters for both a fiction and a nonfiction book. (Location 529)
Writing your book should be fun, it shouldn’t feel like a dreadful assignment or task. So enjoy every step! (Location 534)
The beauty of overcoming writer’s block is that once you are able to get in your zone, words pour from you and mysterious depths of creativity arise suddenly. (Location 559)
One of the best methods to combat writer’s block is to write when you feel inspired. When you neglect that chance to ignite some great content, you later find yourself wishing that you wrote down your thoughts. (Location 566)
Try not to dampen your urge to write. Whenever you feel the need to add a great addition to your story, jot it down or record it so that you can add it to your manuscript later. Never let a chance of adding to your story get away from you because you will find yourself regretting it later. (Location 567)
Another very productive method of fighting through your creative stump is by simply stepping away from your work. (Location 574)
Another great method of beating writer’s block is to take a ride in your car with no music on at all. (Location 580)
Allow your characters and scenes to speak to you. Sit with your own thoughts and allow fresh material to find its way to your story. Even taking long walks alone and observing nature can help spark your creativity. It doesn’t take much for a writer to be inspired. (Location 581)
Setting deadlines is also a great method. But be sure to set realistic expectations on yourself. (Location 583)
Give yourself time to meet your deadline. Set the date on your calendar and stick to your goal. (Location 585)
A realistic goal is giving yourself 7 days to achieve a 10-15k word count goal or 3-6 months to finish a book completely. (Location 586)
If you hold yourself accountable, you can achieve your writing goals and it can also push you through writer’s block because you are aware that you have a goal to meet. (Location 586)
Shutting down your laptop and putting your writing off for the next day is the worst type of procrastination for a writer. You must push through. Believe in yourself because you can do it! There are days when writing seems impossible but you must sacrifice and get it done. (Location 590)
Your goal is to become a writer, correct? Well until you are able to finish your manuscript, dreams of becoming a writer are just those, dreams. (Location 592)
The three phases of writing are simply, the story phase, the title phase and the ending. Making sure you address all three of these phases separately (and not in any particular order) is what’s going to keep you on track to creating the perfect formula for a best-selling book. (Location 600)
The title is even more important than your book cover art. (Location 609)
If your TITLE sounds interesting and enticing, the first thing a reader will do is turn over your book to read your synopsis. (Location 614)
Your title is vital to your writing success because it’s essentially your general sales pitch and your synopsis or first page of your book is how you close the sale. (Location 616)
Choosing your book title is actually one of the hardest parts of publishing a book because sometimes it can make or break you. (Location 633)
If your goal is to make money and build an audience, you must be strategic, not hasty. By no means am I trying to dismantle your title; what I am doing is teaching you how to sell your book and profit from it. (Location 637)
Remember, your book may be better than many of the veteran Authors on the top 20 Best Seller’s lists but if you choose to title your book a non-competitive title, you may not get the proper visibility online. (Location 640)
I sincerely encourage you to try to avoid re-writing your story continuously. You will spend lots of wasted time rewriting and critiquing your own work when you should really be focusing on finishing your book. (Location 649)
Don’t get caught up on rewinding when you should be pressing forward with your story. The more progress towards finishing your book, the better. As you get excited about writing your story, your creative juices will take over effortlessly! (Location 653)
The moment that you’ll really start to feel like a writer is when you find yourself in random places with an urge to write bits and pieces of your story down. (Location 655)
Write a classic. Your first page should immediately make your consumer want to read more. (Location 663)
My approach to writing is to always ensure that my opening dialogue is addictive and movie-like. (Location 665)
Drawing in your reader as soon as possible is vital and keeping that same momentum throughout your story is essential. (Location 667)
You must surrender pieces of yourself into your story. Submit your witt, humor, creativity, and be descriptive. Make sure your reader is getting more than they’ve bargained for. Offer them a detailed experience, similar to an HD movie, not just a book to read. (Location 670)
Cater your writing towards wanting a reader to want to thank you as the Author for giving them such a grand experience. (Location 690)
If you are trying to produce a memorable character, throw in a fancy characteristic or obsession. (Location 697)
Trust me, your readers will appreciate you for painting your story in their minds. (Location 709)
Allow your characters to express themselves exactly how you see and hear them expressing themselves in your head. (Location 709)
When mentoring Authors, I always encourage them to make sure that when someone reads the end of their story, they must walk away thinking about their book long after they are done. (Location 712)
The ending of your story is a super important component because it can make or break your story. (Location 717)
We tend to spend months or even years working on our books and as soon as we hit the finish line, the ease to rush our ending feels tempting just to feel like you’ve completed your book. (Location 738)
Be sure that all questions are answered and all loose ends are tied up before closing out your book. (Location 740)
Avoid rushing! The ending of your book is detrimental to your success. (Location 741)
The page after your title page is your copyright’s page. According to Wikipedia, your copyright notice informs the public that a work is protected by copyright. It identifies the copyright owner, and shows the year of the first publication. Furthermore, in the event that a work is infringed, if the work carries a proper notice, the court will not give any weight to a defendant’s use of an innocent infringement defense. In other words, a copyrights page is a disclaimer stating that your work and its content is protected so you won’t get sued. (Location 781)
Seal your book with the copyright symbol and when you publish it, it’s copy written under your name/brand. (Location 801)
Moving on to your acknowledgement’s page. This page is very simple but it’s also an important addition to your book. It affords you the opportunity to thank those who have supported you and also allows you to reveal a message about why you felt compelled to write your book. (Location 829)
The order sequence upon opening a fiction book is normally the title page first, copyright page next and then your acknowledgements page (if you choose to put this page in the beginning). (Location 833)
Whatever choice you decide to make, be sure to be realistic with yourself. If you have the time to put in to create a business from scratch, which is essentially what self-publishing is, it can be very profitable. (Location 1036)
Be sure that your synopsis has also been edited because this is going to be your sales pitch. You will enter your synopsis in the book description category and double check to see if it’s error free. (Location 1069)
By pricing your book so low, you have saved money in marketing because by pricing it low, the pricing decision is marketing your book for you. (Location 1086)
The mistake that I often see with new Authors when I’m on the road is that they price their books to high. (Location 1111)
Remember, although you have a product, you are a brand as well, and you must sell yourself. What I mean is, you need to make people want to be like you, want to live your life, go the places you go and see the things that you see. That’s what keeps them intrigued and that’s how you create their “Need” for wanting to follow your work outside of purchasing your products. (Location 1161)
Find out what it is inside of you to keep your audience interested and entertained. Consider your audiences taste and expectations (Location 1173)
Most of your customers are there because they liked your personality in the first place. So always stay consistent with your presentation. Keep your material light and fun but professional at the same time. (Location 1191)
Once you become an Author, you are a sales person, you have to be personable, approachable and have a product worth placing in their hands. (Location 1214)
Customers that don’t normally read books in your genre will sing your praises if they tried your book and enjoyed (Location 1268)
If you are unclear on the vision of your book, your marketing efforts will fall flat. (Location 1328)
Even bad reviews are good reviews. Why? Because online book stores such as Amazon and Barnes and Noble flag books based on activity. (Location 1347)
When you are a new Author, don’t spend too much money on ads, play around with different target markets by spending a small amount of money before you find which market works. (Location 1382)
You should be promoting your book even before its release date. (Location 1392)
Make readers want to help you spread the word of your book. The reach of your readers go a long way. (Location 1396)
Be persistent in your efforts. If you have a slogan or some sort of theme in your book that most of your readers mention in your reviews or comments, use that theme to create a buzz. (Location 1470)
Also, becoming a ghostwriter is another means of making money in publishing. Many ghostwriters get paid handsomely for writing books for other people. I know quite a few ghostwriters that make a comfortable living off of ghostwriting. (Location 1479)
Many Authors don’t realize how much power they have in writing a book and how they can capitalize off of their words. You are now a content creator, a professional and someone that people admire. Your book is what attracted your clients to you in the first place. The power of your words and imagination have created something that became enlarged because of something that you had to say, and it can take you places that you’ve never dreamed of. (Location 1481)