Essay Online

Severe freelance writers know their return may up with from other sources, not rightful essay articles since magazines or clients. Ultimately, their freelance calligraphy leads to journalism op-ed article books or e-books after themselves or as ghostwrites. If you decide to ghostwrite e-books and line of work paperbacks allowing for regarding clients, reflect on the following:

If a shopper hires you as a “work-for-hire” ghostwriter, then the patron pays you since your toil, and he owns all rights. Secure sure: 1) You sustain a 50% retainer before you start out the toil; and 2) You draw the steady at or right to come delivery. That’s it. If the libretto turns absent from to be a cyclopean success, cyclopean! That’s wonderful! You should be damned proud — but from a haughtiness! To be a well-to-do ghostwriter, you requisite take advantage of your glory as a ghostwriter in the shadows. Innumerable ghostwriters opt for it that way.

I be aware a well-known demagogue in the persistence who commands $10,000 or more per speaking engagement. He is unparalleled to heed to and serene more dynamite to read. However, he doesn’t write his books alone. He contributes to them but he not under any condition writes any of them himself. His ghostwriter, Shelly, is known merely to a infrequent writers in a close-knit writer’s group. Why does Shelly expose this tub-thumper take all the laudation for her work? She is unpleasantly nervous and exceedingly deft as a writer. She on one occasion said, “I am where I need to be and he is where he should be.” If you are wealthy to ghostwrite, stay where you have a proper place in (hidden) and allow payment against the pain in the neck as payment enough free essays king lear.

WARNING #1: As a ghostwriter, you should ever prove to pay the needs of the factual “novelist” of the work. Overlie the satisfied they lack and do your largest to dote on the customer happy.

GIFT #2: As with composition any book, ghostwriting involves lot of revisions and changes as more remote out as two months, peculiarly if the laws needs to fit result of an editor or publisher. You should traverse changes as needed. However, don’t wait on indisputable payment if your patron hasn’t received concluding reconcile oneself to from his publisher.

POINTER #3: Always make a note your ghostwrites as if they are your own. Catalogue with rank and professionalism in mind.

GIFT #4: Not at any time singular a non-compete contract on the enslave of the book. It is crazy in return the patron to ask but crazier in the course of you to do it. If a customer asks exchange for everybody, amble away. You arrange your own slog away to protect as well as the customer’s work. Reminisce over the saying, “to thine own self be actual”? Hale, in theme, there’s no truer statement.

BAKSHEESH #5: You be beholden to because of the client exceptional work and the patron you opus for owes you money for a job unexcitedly done.

LITTLE SOMETHING #6: If your patient is frustrated with the culminate come about, even after he’s paid you, discover it fairly throughout the client. Satisfied clients as a rule change retell clients; they purpose bring you sober assignment and referrals.

LAGNIAPPE #7: Ruminate on using a pen name as a ghostwriter. Jeanine Anne, a freelance hack and ghostwriter, said she uses a write down appoint when she ghostwrites. She said, “I’ve written most of my ghostwrites and presented them to my clients covered by my hutch handle, Jeanine Anne. In the beginning, if someone decides to spam me, there’s no harm done to the repute for which I write my own moil under. Secondly, when I write recompense a shopper, I possess no construct what the customer determination do to the hold down a post, after all it is his masterpiece promptly it leaves my hands. The client may amplify glad which I may not like or he may put in black something that is not my style of writing.” This is something to about if you ignore in behalf of clients as ghostwrites. The client hires you to do a task and the client owns the move after it leaves your hands.

What IS a best-selling author?

You have to answer that in your own mind.

Technically, it’s any book that makes it into the Top 100 list at ANY online or offline bookstore.

However, what does it mean to you?

Is it someone who sells 300-500 books in a day through online bookstores like Amazon.com and makes the top 10?

Is it only the person who makes it to #1?

Is it the person who sells their book from their own website and makes $10,000 in a few months?

Or does it have to be a specific list… like the New York Times best seller list?

What does it mean to you?

It’s a tough call. But you CAN have it all.

Selling your book through an online or offline bookstore will mean less money for you upfront, but will provide you far more leverage in the long run.

Selling your book from your own website and taking your own orders will mean far more money in the bank for you initially, but you’ll have to work a little harder on the back-end to get the recognition you deserve.

Both ways work. Neither way is right. It’s really what’s right for you.

Let’s talk about the steps necessary to make your book a bestseller whether you want to do it through an online bookstore or from your own website.

1) Pick the specific day you want to become a best seller.

Focusing on a specific day is what provides you the leverage to sell a large amount of books quickly. Selling 500 books over 6 months is not as impressive as selling 500 books in one or two days.

2) Create your “what’s in it for me?” offer.

Your book is a valuable resource for your clients. But selling it alone puts it up against all the other books already on the market for your subject. I don’t like those odds.

What you need is something “extra” — something that really let’s the perspective buyer know that you want to help them.

If you were to sell your book (for let’s say $20) and then offered everyone who purchased your book on the specific day you decided on in step 1 around $200 in bonuses from experts… do you think they’d be more likely to buy? And buy on that day?

Of course they would.

This is the step where you stop thinking about you and start thinking about the group of people you want to help by writing this book in the first place. Think of everything you can possibly offer to add value to your book and build a powerful arsenal of tools and resources.

When the potential buyer asks, “What’s in it for me?” (which they always do)… give them TONS of answers.

3) Use the 12-step method to create a promotional sales letter.

Now that you’ve answered the “What’s in it for me?” question, use the 12-step process to build a sales letter site for your book that explains it to the potential buyer.

They have a problem in their life. Your book is going to give them a solution for their problem… and a whole lot of “extras” if they buy on the specific day you’ve selected.

Tell them &ndash using the proven 12-step process.

4) Leverage the relationships you’ve built.

Now, simply go back to the experts who provided you the bonus items for your book promotion, let them know the day you have picked as your bestseller day and ASK them if they would help you promote it on that day.

GIVE THEM A FREE COPY OF YOUR BOOK.

Don’t be stingy. These are experts who have earned the right to be called an expert. You are asking them for a favor. Be generous enough to let them read your book first.

If you can afford it, send them a physical copy. If you can’t, email them a digital copy with a short, concise explanation of what you are doing.

Pick a specific day to target your focused effort. Give an overwhelming amount of bonus reasons for people to buy your book on that day; and then leverage the relationships with experts to get them to help you promote your book.

Why would they want to? Some will want to give back for the success they’ve earned. Some will want to because by doing so their bonus item is getting in more people’s hands (and their bonus item promotes them).

What will these experts use to help promote your book?

You guessed it… the “list” of their current clients.

Authors 25, 50 or 100 years ago would buy out their own first printing to make it appear their book was popular. Many “best sellers” used this tactic to get the Best Seller status so publishers would contract with them for future titles.

Tricky? Maybe. Successful? Absolutely.

Now it’s your turn.

Now that you know HOW to become a best seller, let’s address where to become a best seller.

Right now the 2 most popular bookstores for running best seller campaigns are Amazon.com and BN.com (Barnes and Noble).

To get your book listed in Amazon.com you can either:

Purchase the $149.95 option from Lulu.com for Global Distribution. This will get you listed in all major online and offline bookstores or go to Amazon.com and do it yourself.

If you take the “do it your self” route at Amazon, be sure to join Amazon.com’s Advantage Program. They will walk you through the process of signing up and getting your book listed in their store.

If you want to get listed in Barnes and Noble (online or offline), then visit BarnsandNobel.com.

Lulu.com will make both of these a simple process because you’ll already have an ISBN and you can order just a few books initially to get started with Amazon.com and/or Barnes and Noble.

Let’s talk through a few examples of how the Best Selling promotion may work:

1.) Leverage experts

We’ve already covered this one.

If I was writing the Pet Name book, I could find experts who are currently providing products and services to pet enthusiasts. Ask for bonuses and/or content from them. Then let them know the day I’m going to promote it and ask for their help.

I would provide them a digital or physical copy of the book to review. I would also ask what I could do to assist them. I’ve got to make it worth their while to help me.

2.) Leverage businesses

Rather than relying on 1 sale at a time from individual readers, I could approach businesses that sell pet-related products and see if I could get a licensing agreement with them where they buy a large quantity of books at one time.

I could sell 500 books to 500 different readers or I could sell 500 books to 1 or 2 pet stores.

3.) Leverage home town support

If it’s a localized subject &ndash like a travel guide to North Carolina beaches &ndash you could focus on specific businesses along the North Carolina coast to promote your book.

You could also contact local radio and/or TV stations to get publicity for your book promotion.

The biggest key to your best selling book promotion… don’t just go through the motions. Make It An EVENT! And have FUN with it.

Before you begin writing your book, you must research your idea and see if it is in-demand with readers. Who is going to read it? To whom are you trying to appeal with your words? You must have a general idea of who your intended audience will be. Check out other books. Is there a book already published that resembles your book? What will make your book unique from theirs? If there are similar books already out there, what is going to make your book different and make people want to buy it?

When you are ready to begin your book, decide on a schedule that is best for you, one that you can stick to. Your schedule should begin before your research and carry through to the completion of the book. Make a detailed outline with the main plot, events leading to that plot, and explicit detail about the characters. An outline is also a good reference point to double-check your timelines and details.

ONE IDEA IS NOT ENOUGH

Part of the reworking process is changing direction within the writing. Many beginning writers aspire to write a book. They have an idea and a vague plan to turn the idea into book. Picture a first grader telling you she wants to write a book about horses. Although you can collect a lot of information about horses to write several books, the vague idea is not enough for an adult writer to create a marketable book. To write a book, you need to start with a topic. You may or may not be an expert on the subject. After you have the first vague ideas, you need to start asking yourself questions to focus in on a specific, marketable topic. Answering those questions will lead you to more questions, and so on. Even if your original idea is unique and leads you to write new information that the world does not yet have access to, you will need to add to that original idea to create an intriguing finished product. If you are not an expert, or you have not created any new information, it will take more time and effort to produce a unique piece of writing. Fiction is the same as non-fiction. Many stories have been told before. If you want to become a published author, you need to come up with an engaging and new journey for your readers to take.

RECYCLING OLD IDEAS

There is always room in your book for old ideas. Your readers will need a familiar starting place within your writing. As you are putting together your ideas for a complete book, you will probably publish smaller pieces of work in magazines and newspapers. It is okay, as long as you cite yourself, to reuse some of that work. In that way, you can publish as you go along while still making progress towards your end goal in book publishing. After several months or even years, you will have poured out your effort and knowledge into a completed book.

You may want to turn off your editing software for your first draft. Mesh the plot, the characters, and everything together, without using your spellchecker. You can fix your grammar, spelling, and punctuation later. Most authors don’t write their books from front to back. By writing different chapters or events, it may be easier for you to come back and connect them later. Sometimes having the words on paper makes it easier to fill in the blanks.

FIRST DRAFT

You have finished your first draft. Now is the time to read it. Reading the rough draft allows you to zero in on the timeline, link the plot with the characters, and ensure everything makes sense and flows together. Once you have accomplished these tasks, use your editing software. It is time to fix your grammar, spelling, and punctuation mistakes. Two widely used grammar programs for authors include WhiteSmoke Software (.WhiteSmokeSoftware.com), and a book formatting software called WizardsForWord (.WizardsForWord.com).

Now put you book aside. Let it sit for 7-10 days or so before you pick it up again. This will give your mind time to clear. Now read the book again. Does it still flow and make sense? Do you need to add something or change it? Now is the time.

Choose someone to proofread your book for you. If possible, hire a professional editor to do this or someone with a writing or English background. Besides editing your manuscript, a professional copyeditor can also offer you unbiased opinion and advice.

Lastly, create the final draft. The final draft should be error free. This is your last chance to change anything before it goes to the publisher. Now is when all that time you spent writing a book comes together to make its trip to publication.

Unlike other areas of expertise, book writing is a different process for everyone. As you set out to write a book, you can follow some basic guidelines, but getting your ideas from your head to the page is an invention of your own. Not only will you have to get the information onto the page, but also you will have to write in a way that thousands or even millions of readers can relate to and understand.

Years ago when Napoleon Hill’s famous manuscript on building wealth was ready for publication, it had no title.

His publisher called and said, “If you don’t come up with a title by tomorrow morning, I’m going call it “USE YOUR NOODLE AND MAKE A BOODLE.” Distraught, Napoleon Hill began playing with words and throughout the course of the night came up with the classic title, “THINK AND GROW RICH.”

Have you read Think and Grow Rich? [If not, you need to head to your local bookstore, or library, and pick up a copy.]

It is one of the most best selling books of all time &ndash probably due to its name.

Hey, it’s a great book because of what’s inside the book. The contents are incredibly powerful …but, I’m not sure how many people would have bought it with a title like Use your Noodle and Make a Boodle.

Would you have? Not me.

There are many, many other examples throughout history where books were written and published unsuccessfully… until they changed the title of the book.

In fact, some authors have ONLY changed the title of their books and have become best sellers after their first printing sold just a few copies.

I know it’s crazy. I know it’s not right. But that’s life. I’m sharing this with you so you can work it to YOUR benefit.

I’m not proposing that you can put together horrible content for your book, slap on a great title and make tons of money. Although I’ve personally seen it done (unfortunately), I am not suggesting you do that.

I’m suggesting that once you’ve got quality content inside your book, let’s get a great title on the outside of your book and add tremendous potential on your road to success.

Ok, so how can you get a great idea for a title?

Simple: start looking at the Best Seller lists at Barnes and Noble or Amazon.com.

When Jason Oman and Mike Litman wanted to publish their book they modeled a popular book called “Conversations with God” and published “Conversations with Millionaires.” Their book went to #1 on Amazon.com

Another great place to look for outstanding titles is the tabloids in the checkout isle. Those papers and magazines don’t sell millions of copies because they write unique and wonderful content &ndash it’s because their titles are just SO compelling you’ve got to read it.

Now that you know how to brainstorm a book title, here are some tips to help you research content for your book.

Most people know about Google.com as the largest search engine in the world… however, few realize how powerful it is as a research tool.

The key is knowing how to tap into Google’s research powers. One of the best ways to find content for your book is by using the search string called “allinurl.” (pronounced all-in-u-r-l)

You can go to Google.com and type your keyword phrase in after allinurl: &ndash and search its database for sites that have that keyphrase in their URL, either in the domain name or in a file name.

For example, if I was writing a book about Dog Names I could use something like:

allinurl: dog name articles

allinurl: dog name

allinurl: beagle dog names

You should find some excellent content ideas using this method.

Let’s check out the real world examples and take a look at what we would find.

#1) allinurl: dog name articles

• “A Dog Name is Something To Be Chosen Carefully”

• “5 tips for finding the right name”

• “Puppy dog name meanings”

Looks like great content for the book. Simply decide which section (from your outline) would be the appropriate section for it to go in.

HOW can you organize your search findings? Put the name of your idea and the Outline Section at the top of a piece of paper.

In the section below put…

Name/Title: The name and/or title of the content you’ve found

Link: URL to the content

Expert (Owner): Who wrote the content

Type: Is the content text, audio, video, etc.

If you have 6 sections to your outline, you should have 6 of these sheets with content information &ndash one for each section.

After collecting all the content you want for your book, you have four options.

#1) You can contact the content owner and ask permission to include their content in your book.

The benefit of including other experts’ content is that when it comes time to market it you’ve got ‘built-in’ partners to help promote it and you are leveraging other people’s credibility as experts in the subject.

#2) You can hire a ghostwriter to write on similar topics to those in your outline.

#3) You could research and write content following the outline yourself.

I’ve come to realize the power and the effectiveness of using existing content from experts.

Unless you have to have the entire book be your words, I’d suggest mixing in expert content with some of your own content. This might be as simple as finding a public domain book on the subjects you outlined and using some of its content as well.

According to a recent survey, more than eighty percent of Americans want to write a book. This shocking statistic is somewhat puzzling because the National Endowment for the Arts estimates that only fifty-seven percent of Americans have read one book in the last twelve months!

What is it that makes people — even non-readers — want to put pen to paper?

Perhaps it’s the desire for fame and fortune. Maybe it’s the need to earn respect from others. Or maybe it’s the hopeful wish to leave some mark on the future, a permanent record of a life lived.

Whatever the reason, for those who actually complete a manuscript, the odds of seeing it published by a reputable book publisher are slim to none.

For the estimated two million manuscripts that authors complete, there are only 64,000 publishers of record, and only a fraction of those publishers actively seek new manuscripts.

So what are the millions of hopeful authors to do?

The first step would be to ensure their manuscripts are the best they can be. This is usually accomplished by re-writing, editing, and proofreading by an outside firm or by a well-read and literate colleague.

Even then, most of those two million books stand no chance of being accepted by a traditional publisher. Authors who do make the cut are not necessarily the best writers, but rather they are writers who can sell themselves and their stories most convincingly.

Some authors, after rejections from the trade, will find themselves victims of vanity publishers, who take advantage of the hopes and aspirations of writers to extract an exorbitant fee to publish their book. Writers are better off publishing through firms like iUniverse and Lulu. Although their books will likely never see wide distribution, at least their losses will be minimal.

Finally, there are the select few who decide to become publishers themselves, even if it is only to self-publish their own book. These self-publishers will find great obstacles, and a great deal of work in this route. The challenge and reward of having one’s success or failure entirely in one’s own hands is a powerful feeling.

Whether they choose to publish electronically, or use short run printing service like Lightning Source, or even to go full boar with a print run of 1,000 or more, their success depends on how well they sell themselves and their story to others.

There’s an age-old debate about which method is better; using a publishing company or self publishing your own book. You know your situation and you know what will work best for you. You’ll want to consider how much time or money you have to invest in the project. That should give you an idea as to which route to take. Using a publisher takes less time on your part, but you’ll forfeit some of the royalties by using this method. If you self publish, you’ll have to pay “up front” and do the initial work to get the ball rolling on sales of your book.

If you are about to embark on a new manuscript, educate yourself thoroughly about the industry, its scams, and potential pitfalls. More importantly, learn to market yourself well, for this, more than any other skill, is the determining factor in your success or failure.

Today, Norm Goldman, Publisher & Editor of Bookpleasures.com is pleased to have as our guest, Helen Barer author of Fitness Kills.

Helen is a native New Yorker and has spent many years as a writer of non-fiction ranging from cookbooks to television documentaries.

Norm:

Good day Helen and thanks for participating in our interview.

Helen:

I’m delighted to have been invited.

Norm:

How did you happen to write a book about a fitness ranch in Baja and could you also tell us a bit about Fitness Kills?

Helen:

I’m a big fan of fitness spas - I’ve been going to one or another for more than 20 years. About 12 years ago, while struggling through an aerobics class at a spa in Baja California, I looked around and thought it was like being on a cruise ship. We’d all arrived on a Saturday, would leave the following Saturday, and in the meantime got to be ‘intimate acquaintances.’

Fitness Kills is the story of Nora Franke,, a New York City food writer who having broken up with her boyfriend, and having gained weight as a result, accepted a temporary job as food consultant at such a fitness spa. She is befriended by a group of regulars, and is caught up by their pain and loss as one, and then another, of the friends die. Nora’s primary employer back in New York assigns her to write an article about the deaths at the health spa, and she becomes invested in solving the murder (and keeping herself alive!).

Norm:

What attracted you to the mystery genre?

Helen:

I like stories with a beginning, middle and end. As well as those with a strong central character - preferably a woman - that have something to say about how we live today and what our values are.

Norm:

What do you believe are the essential ingredients of a good mystery novel?

Helen:

Suspense! And caring about what happens to the characters. Which means, of course, that you have to know the characters. Believability is also essential. This is not a fantasy genre.

Norm:

Is your work improvisational or do you have a set plan?

Helen:

It starts off with a plan. Actually, I’m meticulous at the beginning. I have a summary page, a chapter-by-chapter outline, and know how it ends. But the middle…that’s the real mystery! As I established the characters’ voices, I found they led me in unexpected directions.

Norm:

Helen, this was your first mystery fiction writing project. Did you enjoy the process? How was it different from your typical format?

Helen:

I’d never written fiction before. It was like re-inventing the wheel. I found it very clumsy until a writing teacher at the New School, in a class I’d found called “Starting Your Novel,” suggested I switch to first person. All of a sudden I found my voice! Slightly smart ass, New York City, and vulnerable. I loved it. The dialogue came very naturally to me; it was the plot I struggled with.

Norm:

Can you tell us how you found representation for your book? Did you pitch it to an agent, or query publishers who would most likely publish this type of book? Any rejections?

Helen:

I did pitch it to many agents, all of whom said ‘very well written, but not right for us - it’s not hard-boiled enough/sexy enough/ complicated enough/ straightforward enough…’ take your pick. It was more than discouraging, But I’m in a terrific writing workshop, and two of the authors were published by Five Star, an imprint of Thomson Gale that publishes mystery novels. I queried Five Star directly, sent the book to them as an attachment to an email, and they accepted it almost immediately.

Norm:

What challenges or obstacles did you encounter while writing your book? How did you overcome these challenges?

Helen:

I’d had no idea how to write fiction; it was like learning a foreign language. I read a lot - other mysteries, writers about writing, etc. — and went to mystery conferences. Joining a writing workshop was a major step. Talk about challenges! They pulled and pushed me into writing and rewriting.

Norm:

Was there anyone who really influenced you to become a writer?

Helen:

My mother. She was never without a book, nor was I. She encouraged me to write even as a little girl; my first significant piece was a fourth grade project called “My Life in the Wilderness.” It got an A.

Norm:

Many writers want to be published, but not everyone is cut out for a writer’s life. What are some signs that perhaps someone is not cut out to be a writer and should try to do something else for a living?

Helen:

Don’t give up your day job! I actually waited until I was nearly retired to write full time. Otherwise there’s so much pressure. It also helps to have a thick skin.

Norm:

What are your upcoming projects? How can readers find out more about you and your endeavors?

Helen:

I’m almost halfway through writing my next Nora Franke mystery novel, while promoting this one. Check out my website, .helenbarer.com/.

Norm:

Is there anything else you wish to add that we have not covered?

Helen:

I can’t imagine. You’ve been so thorough.

You’ve spent many nights working on your book. You’ve rewritten it, edited it, and you used a professional proofreader to proof it. Your book is done &ndash finally — and you’re ready to send your precious manuscript off to a publisher, thinking that writing it was the hardest part.

In reality, getting your blood, sweat and tears published may be the hardest part of the whole process. You’ll need to decide if your book requires a publisher, or if you’d rather self-publish your book. Both venues have pros and cons, some of which I discuss below.

To work with a book publisher, you’ll need to send out query letters and/or a book proposal. This is a letter or a few pages briefly describing your text, why your book is unique, characteristics of your target market, and how you can help market your book. Most publishers don’t accept unsolicited manuscripts, so you’ll need to convince them to read yours, or find a literary agent to represent you. If a book publisher requests that you forward your entire manuscript, you have one foot in the door. Be prepared to send more than one query and don’t expect a response next week. An excellent software program to help format your manuscript and create a book proposal is called Wizards For Word at .wizardsforword.com

Publishers look for three things: platform, hook, and execution. This means a writer should have a built-in audience (ideally, a national platform such as a radio or TV show or a column in a major publication), an interesting hook, and strong writing skills.

The problem if you’re an unagented author is that most publishers won’t take your call or read your proposal. Then even if they do, you’ll have a tough time creating a bidding war or running an auction to get the best offer, and you also won’t have leverage negotiating the important deal points, such as ancillary rights and royalties.

There are writer’s guides that serve as excellent resources to find publishers and literary agents who specialize in your particular genre. These guides list the percentage of new authors published as well as the percentage of sales they pay. You may find pay rates ranging from 5-10% of sales. Some pay on wholesale sales and others on the retail amount. Do the math. Perhaps your book will retail for $14.95 and the publisher will pay 6% on retail. This means you will earn 90 cents per book sold. Of course don’t forget that the publisher is doing all the printing, distributing, and marketing of your text.

Another route you may want to consider is self-publishing. Self-publishing requires you to print, distribute and market your book using your money, but you will also retain all profits. There are book printing companies as well as companies that specialize in assisting self-publishers through every step along the way.

Many authors debate which method is better, using a publishing company or self publishing your own book. You know your situation and you know what will work best for you. You’ll want to consider how much time or money you have to invest in the project. That should give you an idea which route to take. Using a publisher takes less time on your part, but you’ll forfeit some of the royalties by using this method. If you self publish, you’ll have to pay “up front costs” and do the initial legwork to begin generating sales for your book. Either way, publishing is your call. With persistence and hard work you can get your book in the marketplace.

It is difficult to break into the publishing industry as a new author, and even more difficult to get an acceptance letter from an editor at a large publishing house. As an author you will work hard to finish your book, and work even harder to find the right book publisher. The good news is you can tap into several types of publishers to publish your book. Here is a look at some common types of book publishing.

GROUP PUBLISHING: Group publishing is the process by which a large company publishes your work in the name of a larger company. For example, large publishing companies often operate smaller publishing companies. The larger publishing company serves as an umbrella over the smaller group publishing companies. Sometimes these companies operate several smaller companies and book imprints that produce different genres of writing and books. Sometimes this is referred to trade publishing. For example, a large publishing group may produce best-selling adult novels, but may also operate under a smaller name to produce certain non-fiction books, cookbooks, children’s books, or niche titles. Group publishing is a popular way to publish a book.

EDUCATIONAL PUBLISHING: Educational publishing shares some likeness to trade publishing. These companies deal specifically with educational material. They may deal with only college textbooks, or they might deal with textbooks and materials for grades K-12. Besides textbooks, these companies might also produce other forms of educational material, which include posters, workbooks, CD-ROMS, software, testing material and maps. There are several big name educational publishing companies.

UNIVERSITY PUBLISHING: Better known as the “University Press,” this type of publishing is different from group publishing and it is not the same as scholarly publishing. These types of companies are usually non-profit. Universities, colleges and sometimes museums or other organizations operate these publishing imprints. These publishers usually publish books by scholars and other specialists. Besides distributing their books to bookstores, they also make their book titles available within the university system. Sometimes larger trade publishers publish these types of books.

INDEPENDENT PUBLISHING: Independent publishers are often the best way to publish your book with established distribution channels. Independent publishers are generally small, privately-owned companies. Many times, these companies only publish a handful of books each year and they specialize in certain subjects. They have the freedom to publish just about anything they wish.

SOFTWARE and other MEDIA: You might consider software and other types of media as a publishing option. Think about the many e-books, CD-ROMs and digital downloads, many published by large and small publishing companies. These types of publishing companies are often associated with larger trade publishers. In fact, many large publishing companies have their own in-house media publisher to spawn the traditional paperback book into other types of media. Digital and alternate media is a huge, profitable business, and these publishers are just as important and lucrative as the large trade publishers.

As you can see, you can tap into various publishers who might consider publishing your book. If you are unlucky with a large trade publisher or group publisher, then don’t give up. Keep looking at the different types of publishing companies until you find one that wants to work with you and your book.

In fiction, the writer’s job is to entertain, to draw an emotional response from the reader. The reader is often looking for suspense, action, and to go on a journey they have not been on before, one they will not easily forget. Readers want to get drawn into and experience the story for themselves. They want characters they can relate to and form a personal connection with. But most importantly, they want a good book. One that leaves them anxiously awaiting each turn of the page.

Here are three crucial elements of a good fiction book:

Well-developed characters: The characters in the book must be well developed and believable. The characters should remind you of your teacher, your lawyer, your doctor, or maybe even your best friend. Even though they are fictional, they come alive for us in the story.

Action: A good fiction book needs to be filled with action. The good guys are after the bad guys, the doctor needs to find a cure. From the beginning to the end, the reader can’t bear to stop reading because the action just keeps coming.

Great Plot: The writer keeps the reader guessing right to the end by using surprising, realistic plot twists. Just when we think we know “who did it” &ndash bam &ndash a new twist creeps up and a story involves more. As we near the end we wonder if there is time to solve it. Will it have a happy ending? Most readers long for a good ending to their story as they grow fond of the characters in the book and want to see the best happen to them.

For those looking for a good fiction book to read, one that stands out is the fiction thriller, Sledgehammer, by Paulo J. Reyes, M.D. This book has a well-developed story that takes place in an ER in Los Angeles. The author, an ER Doctor himself, depicts the ER setting perfectly as patients appear and seek treatment and case after case of medical drama unfolds. The story takes you hour by hour through life in this ER until the unthinkable happens and one of the patients appears with smallpox symptoms. What happens next is fiction at its finest and leaves you eagerly asking, “Could it happen today?”

Writers write about what they know. They can bring the sounds, colors, and images of their world to life in their story. Fiction is where writers get the opportunity to bring you into that world and keep you there until, “the end.”

Serious freelance writers know their income may come from other sources, not just writing articles for magazines or clients. Ultimately, their freelance writing leads to writing books or e-books for themselves or as ghostwrites. If you decide to ghostwrite e-books and trade paperbacks for clients, consider the following:

If a client hires you as a “work-for-hire” ghostwriter, then the client pays you for your work, and he owns all rights. Make sure: 1) You receive a 50% retainer before you begin the work; and 2) You receive the balance at or right before delivery. That’s it. If the book turns out to be a great success, great! That’s wonderful! You should be extremely proud — but from a distance! To be a successful ghostwriter, you must enjoy your glory as a ghostwriter in the shadows. Many ghostwriters prefer it that way.

I know a great speaker in the industry who commands $10,000 or more per speaking engagement. He is phenomenal to listen to and even more dynamite to read. However, he doesn’t write his books alone. He contributes to them but he never writes any of them himself. His ghostwriter, Shelly, is known only to a few writers in a close-knit writer’s group. Why does Shelly let this speaker take all the glory for her work? She is painfully shy and exceedingly talented as a writer. She once said, “I am where I need to be and he is where he should be.” If you are going to ghostwrite, stay where you belong (invisible) and accept payment for the job as payment enough.

TIP #1: As a ghostwriter, you should always try to meet the needs of the true “author” of the work. Cover the content they want and do your best to make the client happy.

TIP #2: As with writing any book, ghostwriting involves lot of revisions and changes as far out as two months, especially if the book needs to go through an editor or publisher. You should make changes as needed. However, don’t wait on final payment if your client hasn’t received final approval from his publisher.

TIP #3: Always write your ghostwrites as if they are your own. Write with quality and professionalism in mind.

TIP #4: Never sign a non-compete contract on the subject of the book. It is crazy for the client to ask but crazier for you to do it. If a client asks for one, walk away. You have your own work to protect as well as the client’s work. Remember the saying, “to thine own self be true”? Well, in writing, there’s no truer statement.

TIP #5: You owe the client exceptional work and the client you work for owes you money for a job well done.

TIP #6: If your client is dissatisfied with the end result, even after he’s paid you, make it right for the client. Satisfied clients usually become repeat clients; they will bring you steady work and referrals.

TIP #7: Consider using a pen name as a ghostwriter. Jeanine Anne, a freelance writer and ghostwriter, said she uses a pen name when she ghostwrites. She said, “I’ve written most of my ghostwrites and presented them to my clients under my pen name, Jeanine Anne. First, if someone decides to spam me, there’s no harm done to the name for which I write my own work under. Secondly, when I write for a client, I have no idea what the client will do to the work, after all it is his work once it leaves my hands. The client may add content which I may not like or he may write something that is not my style of writing.” This is something to remember if you write for clients as ghostwrites. The client hires you to do a job and the client owns the work after it leaves your hands.

You can find many ghostwriting gigs on .FreelanceWriting.com, Elance.com, Guru.com, GetAFreelancer.com, Indeed.com, .WritingCareer.com, and CraigsList.com. The other way is to create your own ghostwriting gigs by networking and marketing.