For information on my coaching service for freelancers copywriters, visit:
For information on my own copywriting, consulting and speaking services, visit:
Nick Usborne's How to Write Your own Money-Making Websites Program.
Create a second source of income for your family that will always be there...month by month and year after year. Find out how...
Review: Everything you Need to Know to Become a Best Selling Author
A collection of 10 CDs presented by Scott Jeffrey
This is a terrific resource for anyone who wants to write a best-selling book, get it published, or even self-publish.
But before I start reviewing this particular course, let me answer one important question, and tell you something about my own experience as a published author.
The question: Why would you even want to write a book?
The answer is simple.
NOTHING establishes your credentials as an expert faster or more thoroughly than being the author of a book.
Better than being a VP of some big company? Yes.
Better than having 20 years experience in your chosen field?
Yes?
Better than having an MA or even a PhD? Yes.
Being able to hold out a book, with your name as the author has a huge, immediate and lasting impact on people's perception of your expertise.
Are people always right to put so much faith in someone simply because he or she is an author? No, they're not. Some books are horrible, and some of their authors are not experts at all.
But the perception remains.
If you have an interest in furthering your career through presenting yourself as an established expert, writing a book and getting it published is the best possible course you can take.
My own Experience...
My professional career as an expert on the subject of writing for the web falls neatly into two timeframes - before I wrote my book, Net Words, and after.
Before I wrote the book I was doing OK. I had established myself in a smaller way by writing plenty of articles and speaking at conferences.
After I wrote the book and it hit the shelves, there was a huge shift in perception of my expertise. Of course, my actual expertise didn't change one bit between the day before the book was published and the day after.
But the perception of other people shifted dramatically.
From that time on I received consulting, speaking and copywriting inquiries more frequently, from much bigger companies and for much higher fees.
What had changed?
Nothing of substance had changes. I had all the same knowledge and expertise before I wrote the book. It's just that nobody knew it. And I didn't have the book in my hand to "prove" it.
And how does this apply to you?
If you have ambitions to move ahead as an expert...whether you are an employee, a speaker, a consultant, a freelancer or an entrepreneur...the very best way to establish your credentials is to write a book and get it published.
Why I am recommending this particular guide
There are dozens of books on how to get published. Some of them I have read.
"Everything You Need to Know to Become a Best Selling Author" is not a book.
It is a collection of 10 CDs which deliver seven and a half hours of interviews with a best-selling author who also worked in the publishing industry for over 25 years.
The collection has been put together and published by Scott Jeffrey. And he's done a beautiful job, right down to the presentation and design of the packaging.
The meat and value of the contents lies in the interviews Scott holds with...Dr X.
Dr X? It's a little disturbing at first when you discover that Scott's expert remains anonymous. Even his voice is changed, like in a spy movie, to protect his identity.
It annoyed me at first, but I soon got used to the idea. Why was I so quick to forgive this weird "anonymous" expert thing? Because, having been down the book writing, publishing and marketing pathway myself, I immediately knew that this guy knew exactly what he was talking about.
I found myself nodding at some points, and at others I was wishing I had been able to listen to these interviews before I started on my own book.
Writing a book is pretty easy. Getting it published is a little harder. Marketing your book, getting the word out, is a huge challenge.
(You think the marketing wizards at the publishing house are going to do some great marketing for you? Think again! For some reason that still eludes me, publishers seem to have either no skills in book marketing, or no desire to apply them. Yes, it's a mystery. But believe me, if you get a book published you'll very quickly discover that you have to quickly learn how to become a book publicist yourself.)
Here's a little of what you can look forward to...
The interviews with Dr X cover five key areas:
1. How to write a book proposal that gets you a contract
2. Understanding how the publishing industry operates and what editors are looking for
3. How to land yourself and negotiate a publishing contract
4. Understanding and mastering book publicity
5. Learning the key book marketing strategies that will bring you success
In the 10th CD, Scott wraps things up with a look at many of the benefits of publishing a book, as well as exploring the option of self-publishing.
What do I think?
I think that if you want to move ahead in your career by clearly establishing yourself as an expert, writing and publishing a book will help you more than any anything else.
If you choose to take to road to becoming a published author, I would strongly recommend this course. The depth of information and its presentation in an audio format will leave you with far more information that you'll get from the many books on this subject.
Highly recommended.
Find out more about "Everything You Need to Know to Become a Best Selling Author"
NEW... Nick Usborne's How to Write Your Own Money-Making Websites program.
The most reliable and certain way to make money online is to write an information-rich website on a topic that already interests you.
No hype. Not get-rich-quick. This approach and program shows you how to create a second source of income for your family that will always be there...month by month and year after year.
Read the review of Nick Usborne's How to write your own money-making websites program...
Nick Usborne's Million Dollar Secrets to Online Copywriting
A professional-grade course on writing for the web. This 75,000-word course covers the full complexity of writing for the web, and is ideal for freelance copywriters, entrepreneurs, webmasters and in-house web writers.
Learn more about Nick Usborne's Million Dollar Secrets to Online Copywriting course...
Sign up for the Excess Voice Newsletter and get this 35-page Guide FREE.
Writing For the Web #1
7 Challenges every Writer and Copywriter faces when writing for the Web
Sign up NOW and I'll send you the link where you can download this 35-page guide...
(Your email address will be used only for the purpose of sending you this newsletter, and you'll be free to unsubscribe at any time.)
