Posted by admin on May 22nd, 2009 — Posted in Book Bashers
Author: Patricia Harrington
ISBN: 1413777082
Patricia Harrington’s second novel, Death Comes Too Soon: A Bridget O’Hern Mystery, makes superb use of an exciting and unusual plot twist and ending.
The story unfolds when Bridget O’Hern, a non-profit management consultant, is invited to spend a few days with her friend Beverly Tilton, who owns a B&B in Seaview Oregon. Apparently, Beverly, who is one of the officers of the Oregon Coast Art League, suspects that its director, George Harris may have pilfered some of the Art League’s funds. It seems the organization has recently been losing money, and as she is confident of Bridget’s snooping capabilities, engages her friend to determine if George was in fact confusing the Art League’s assets with his own.
Within the first day of her arrival, Bridget is invited to dine out with Beverly and her husband Tom. Unfortunately, the evening turns sour, as Beverly had a little too much to drink and winds up intoxicated. Nevertheless, Bridget was able to find out from her friend a little about George Harris, as well as some of the other members of the League.
The following evening, while attending a fund raiser of the Art League on the beach, a terrible tragedy occurs, when Beverly arriving late, trips and falls down a flight of stairs on her way down from the parking lot resulting in her untimely death. Police Chief Sam Alpern shows up on the scene and immediately there is suspicion of foul play. Evidence points to some kind of slippery substance that had been spread over the area where Beverly had tripped. Who did it, why and how become the foremost preoccupations of Bridget and the police.
After a few days of cagey prying, Bridget ascertains that there are several individuals who may be the culprits. What quickly becomes apparent is that each one from a broad cast of characters had some kind of a gripe and a reason to see Beverly dead. However, as she reveals her findings to Chief Alpern, she is strongly warned to keep out of police business and he tells her “you are picking up bits and pieces of a puzzle. Pieces someone may feel too dangerous for you to know.”Alpern also reveals that there are other ongoing investigations and he does not want her in the middle of these investigations.
Although Death Comes Too Soon: A Bridget O’Hern Mystery may not be the most cracking thriller, it is nevertheless well paced, as the author effectively builds up the excitement of the search for the perpetrator of the murder. Harrington shows a keen ear for dialogue, and her careful attention to the nuances of individual voices greatly enhances the narrative. Readers of Harrington’s novels, while sinking into their most comfortable chairs, will be eagerly awaiting another mystery from this promising author, where once again her heroine Bridget O’Hern will be on the prowl to discover whodunit. And just like a favorite dining establishment, new patrons are always welcome. If you have not checked out O’hern’s, this is probably a great time to give it a shot.
Norm Goldman is editor of the book reviewing and author interviewing site http://www.bookpleasures.com and the travel site http://www.sketchandtravel.com
Bookpleasures is a global Internet book reviewing and author interviewing village. Reviewers come from all over the globe and review all genre. There are over 6500 sites that link to Bookpleasures and many of the reviews are listed within the first 3 pages of the Google Search Engine.
Norm also offers his own personalized express review service where you can have a quick review within 15 business days from the receipt of your book. To learn more about this service go to bookpleasures.com
Norm is ranked among the top 1000 Amazon reviewers and he contributes his reviews to several other Internet sites.
In addition, Norm and his artist wife Lily meld words with art focusing on romantic and wedding destinations, inns, and other hospitality properties. You can read Norm’s travel articles and view Lily’s art work that is always for sale at sketchandtravel.com
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Posted by admin on May 10th, 2009 — Posted in Book Bashers
Prison parent/family educator, Jan Walker, is speaking with us today about her newly published book. Jan is trained in child and family studies and has spent the past 18 years as a correctional educator for adult felons in medium custody prisons. Welcome to Reader Views Jan.
Irene: Jan, your book, “An Inmate’s Daughter,” is being launched now. Your book speaks out for children who cope with a parent’s prison term. Tell us the gist of your book.
Jan: The protagonist, Jenna MacDonald and her mother and younger brother, have moved into Jenna’s grandparents home in Tacoma, WA, to be near McNeil Island Corrections Center, the prison where her father was transferred. Jenna is the new girl in a middle grade school, and wants to get into the “in group,” a multi-racial group of girls.
The girls are curious about her heritage (she’s part Native American Indian) and the reason she lives with her grandparents. They follow her home from school and peek in her bedroom window. She dubs them The Snoops.
Jenna’s mother enforces a “Don’t Tell” rule about prison. Jenna loves her dad and would like to talk
about him and his artistic talent. Keeping a secret is difficult in the best of circumstances. It gets
harder when Jenna calls attention to herself and the family when they are family are leaving a visit to
McNeil Island. A small child trips and falls into Puget Sound, and Jenna jumps in to rescue her. It’s an
automatic reaction, borne of many rescues of her younger brother at a trailer park swimming pool
where they used to live.
Irene: What inspired you to write it?
Jan: During the 18 years I taught incarcerated parents, wrote curriculum and text books, and worked
with women and men to remain involved in positive ways with their children, I invested energy above
and beyond my contract-responsibilities out of concern for my students’ children. They are innocent
victims of their parents choices. The children broke no laws, yet they are often abused or shunned in
their communities, schools, and sometimes in their own extended families.
After leaving correctional education to write full time, a friend and writing mentor encouraged to write
a book for children from about age 9 or 10 to about age 15. She said it should be classified as a
middle grade novel. Children who fall in the age group 9 to 15 are often the most hurt and confused
about incarceration. I didn’t know how to write for that age, so I had to learn some parameters as I
went along. My friend listened t o the entire first draft, offered good suggestions, and encouraged me
to get it published. She died before I found a publisher. The book is dedicated to her, but it is in fact
my effort to let children of incarcerated parents know that I understand a bit of their struggle, and that
I value them enough to spend considerable time and energy writing a story about one of them that is
for all of them.
Irene: You have been teaching parenting and family relationship classes to adult felons for 18 years.
Tell us how and why to chose this career.
Jan: The career chose me. I was teaching similar courses on a community college campus in
Tacoma, WA, when the state legislature mandated prison education would fall under the community
college system. I agreed to set up programs and teach at the women’s prison for one year. The
population and their need for courses tailored to them hooked me.
Irene: What types of programs did you set up?
Jan: It was a Home and Family Life Program that had been high school level. I taught standard
clothing construction classes in a sewing lab and some food and nutrition courses, but my real
energies went into Positive Parenting, Child Development, and Family Relationships classes. The
prison had a cooperative preschool called Pooh’s Corner inside the education building. Children and
parents came in from the community. A preschool teacher came from a voc-tech school and ran the
preschool program. Inmate students who were in parenting or child development classes and who
were cleared to be around the children, worked as the teacher’s assistant. They interacted with the
children and kept anecdotal information that we discussed in class. That program was in place when I
started teaching there. I started writing new curriculum that fit incarcerated parents needs and
profiles, and “retired” the high school text books. My first published book was named MY
RELATIONSHIPS, MY SELF. It’s out of print. I worked on and taught the PARENTING FROM A
DISTANCE concept prior to that book’s publication. All the courses I taught fell under Home and
Family, and focused on preparing women to return home.
When I transferred from the women’s prison to McNeil Island, a medium custody male facility, it
was to coordinate an orientation program called “Project Social Responsibility.” Every man who came
to the island had to spend his first full week in that program. We had 29 facilitators who assisted with
the presentations, but I did 8 hours of the 20 hour week with them men and wrote specific parenting
and family materials for that. The project is discussed in my memoir.
Irene: Who were the main participants in your programs?
Jan: Most of the women were moms. Many of them were in touch with their children and had
regular visits. Some of them were unable to see their children due to abuse, usually by a man the
mother was involved with, though sometimes the woman was the perpetrator. Most took classes
because they wanted to be positively involved with their children. Some attended because they were
court-ordered to do so. Some faced termination of parental rights. I was often subpoenaed to those
cases. A few lost their children but won the right to receive information or photos through the years.
A few (maybe three where I went to court) lost all rights and contact.
When I transferred to McNeil Island, I had similar situations - dad’s who wanted to learn, dad’s who
were court ordered to get parenting classes, and dad’s who came to what I called “Open Door,” a lab
sort of setting where they could create items to send to their children. I named my memoir
DANCING TO THE CONCERTINA’S TUNE, and said I danced as fast as I could. I held discussion
groups during lab time so even men who were educationally low level achievers learned by listening. I
wrote letters to courts and the office of support enforcement (I made and kept templates on my
computer to speed things up) for men who couldn’t read or write, and had never signed a business
letter. I learned to point to where their signature should go, and to praise them when they managed a
“signature” that was really joined printing they were learning in an adult basic education classroom.
In addition, at both prisons, I gave parenting and family handouts I created and assorted craft items to
any who asked for them, though the office staff sometimes had to help me run copies because I
overused my copying budget.
Irene: You have written “Parenting From a Distance” a number of years ago. How different are the
two books from each other?
Jan: I wrote Parenting From A Distance for a class I was teaching at the women’s prison. It is a text
book geared to the needs of incarcerated parents. I revised and reissued that book in December 2005.
It’s a text book focused on the rights and responsibilities of parents who are separated from their
children. An Inmate’s Daughter is fiction written from the view point of the child. The incarcerated
dad in An Inmate’s Daughter is a man who has taken parenting classes while inside, and who
understands the difficulties children of incarcerated parents face.
Irene: Have any of the inmates that you teach read any of your books? If they did, what were their
reactions?
Jan: MY RELATIONSHIPS, MY SELF was a text for a family class at the women’s prison so all
who enrolled read it and completed the worksheets. Far more read PARENTING FROM A
DISTANCE. Many many students read snippets of other things I wrote since I created scenarios for
“Writing to Clarify Thinking” assignments. I used writing in every class I taught, and even taught
Creative Writing classes as McNeil.
Let me say this about the parenting book especially: My students, men more so than women, were
surprised, amazed, awed that someone cared enough about inmates to write such a book for their use.
The reason I went out on a limb, financially, to reissue the parenting book is because I know it makes
a difference. There are no formal measures to demonstrate that. It’s just something I know. I hope
AN INMATE’S DAUGHTER, helps some of the general population stop for a moment to think about
men and women inside prison and their reality.
Irene: Keeping family secrets has been a script that has been passed down for generations. You are
encouraging to break this script. Tell us the benefits of “talking” about family issues.
Jan: It’s simply this: When children are not told the truth, they make up stories that they believe are
the truth and substitute them. Secrets are destructive to all. When incarcerated parents keep the truth
of prison from their children, they close all doors to communication. When children are forced to
keep a secret, it festers inside. I use that analogy in An Inmate’s Daughter with Zeke, Jenna’s younger
brother, picking up on a comment from Grandpa who says, “Peel off the scab, let out the pus,” and
Zeke answers, “Pussss. Oooooze,” in typical 9 year old fashion.
Irene: Quite often children of felons are ostracized by society, especially their peers. How do you
encourage children to cope?
Jan: They need to remember their parents’ choices are not their fault, their parents still love them
(this is questioned in cases of child abuse; therefore, individual situations must be considered), and
they can make healthier choices themselves. They need permission to love the adults who are caring
form them, to talk about their worries and concerns, to go on with their lives while their parents are
away, and to find strength to ignore meanness in others. They need teachers in their schools who help
all the students understand some of the realities of incarceration.
Irene: What are your method’s of facing these difficulties?
Jan: When I talk with children, I make eye contact and ask them how they feel about their parents
being in prison. I help them state and restate their feelings. I talk about feelings at the very basic “Five
Feelings” level - mad, sad, glad, lonely and afraid. I like to use “You” statements. “You look sad.” “I
think you’re mad at your mom for doing something that took her away from you.” There are signs
you can read in children … nail biting, leg jiggling, looking down or away, shrugging, pulling hoods of
sweatshirts down over their eyes. Good teachers know how to read the signs and talk with the
children one to one. However, we have overloaded our teachers with requirements that leave them
little time for such interaction. How can one teacher be everything for 30 or 35 students? There’s a
reason such a large percentage of children with a parent in prison will end up doing time, too.
Irene: You spend much time teaching adults in prisons on effective parenting. How receptive are
your students?
Jan: Of the hundreds I met, two or three who were angry (possibly emotionally disturbed) wanted to
discount my teaching. The rest were appreciative, very receptive, and worked hard to regain or
maintain contact with their children. I wrote about some of the special work I did and the successes
and struggles in my memoir, Dancing to the Concertina’s Tune. (Concertina is the razor wire that
tops prison fences.)
Irene: It’s very difficult to change. Many of your students learned from their parents on how to
parent. When they go back into their own family surroundings, how hard is it for them to adjust to
the new parenting styles?
Jan: It’s never easy to change. It’s never easy to return to a family that has learned to go on without
you. In Parenting From A Distance, I wrote a good bit about “Contracts for Forgiveness” and urged
students to use them with their parents, spouses and children. That concept should be adapted by all
of us when we are in relationship struggles.
Irene: What are some of those “contracts”?
Jan: We made them simple and practiced before students left prison. It could be reading a book to a
child every night for a specified length of time, trips to a park, playing catch, helping with homework,
going out for an ice cream cone. It could be more complicated with older children … delving into
personal and family history, telling the truth about past behavior (only appropriate for the child’s age),
assisting with coaching a team or just attending sports, saving enough money for extracurricular
activities.
One woman had to contract with her mom, where she would live for a time, to clean all the paneled
walls with Liquid Gold once a week (a little obsessive?), limit her use of hot water in the shower to
her mother’s specified time, and other similar behaviors. At the end of a set contracted time, the
woman was to be forgiven and the mother wasn’t to bring up past mistakes again. We practiced how
to communicate, how to use reminders.
Irene: What percentage are successful in the changes?
Jan: Recidivism rates remain high all for all felons. There are no statistics that relate to specific
classes or educational programs, though generally the higher the education level, the less likely
recidivism. Students who worked on personal and social responsibility, and who learned both life and
job skills while inside are generally known to have higher chances of staying out of prison. Age is also
a factor. Maturity helps.
Irene: Thank you Jan. Is there anything else you would like to add about your or your book?
Jan: Please see my website, www.janwalker-writer.com I have posted some downloadable
curriculum in Parenting, Family History and Patterns, and Child Development on the site. It is set up
for instructors to use with students, with easy to read information and work sheets.
For more information on my unusual teaching, read my book, DANCING TO THE CONCERTINA’S
TUNE: A PRISON TEACHER’S MEMOIR. Ordering information is on my website.
When I look back now at how I worked with incarcerated students to try to get them prepared to
reenter their families and communities, I feel tired. It was hard work. Students who succeeded were
the ones willing to work just as hard. They would have an easier time coming out of prison if they
didn’t have to encounter societal and cultural roadblocks at every turn. That’s their reality: they need
to do their part to earn their way back into their families and communities.
Irene Watson is the Managing Editor for Reader Views
http://www.readerviews.com
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Posted by admin on May 6th, 2009 — Posted in Book Bashers
Secret Girl
By Molly Bruce Jacobs
St. Martin’s Press (2006)
Reviewed by Ellen Hogan for Reader Views (1/06)
“Secret Girl” is the story of two sisters, Brucie and Anne. At the age of thirteen Brucie and her sister Laura are told that they have another sister named Anne, who is mentally retarded. Brucie’s life is one of many ups and downs, mainly because of alcohol. Finally she decides to sober up, quits her job as an attorney and stays home with her children to write. It is when she sobers up that she decides to meet Anne.
Anne’s life was spent in an infant nursing home, a mental hospital and finally a group home. Through talking to people who worked in each of these places and reading her records, Brucie learns about her sister’s past. How she very rarely had any visits from her parents and was alone most of her life. The only family she knew were the other patients and caregivers.
Then came the time for them to meet - Brucie was 38 and Anne was 35. Over the next five years, there are accounts of Brucie taking Anne shopping, to McDonald’s and to spend time at her home. Anne’s childlike innocence is shown in things like planting marigolds with her sister, painting, or having a story read to her. She loved the color red and pocketbooks which reminded her of her mother.
Brucie drew some parallels between their lives, such as when she entered rehab and Anne was transferred out of the mental hospital. “Still, though Anne and I both have struggled to find a balance between being genuine and being what others wanted us to be, I realized that the parallel goes only so far. Many of the pressures on me to conform let up after Chatham, and I was free to be myself; Anne, on the other hand, never enjoyed that opportunity.”
This book is for anyone, the theme of trying to fit in and subsequently in the end the forgiveness Anne gives Brucie could relate to all our lives. “Secret Girl” is a marvelous story and I would highly recommend it.
Ellen Hogan is a reviewer for Reader Views
http://www.readerviews.com
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Posted by admin on May 4th, 2009 — Posted in Book Bashers
A Review of Paint Red Hot Landscapes That Sell: A Sure-Fire Way to Stop Boring and Start Selling Everything You Paint in Oils
I have to admit that it was the title that attracted me to Paint Red Hot Landscapes that Sell, by Canadian artist Mike Svob. I mean, who doesn’t want to paint landscapes that sell?
But that is really the point of the book - creating artwork that triggers, as Svob puts it, “the buying response.” Although there are a lot of really beautiful paintings here - Svob is very much a modern Impressionist - this isn’t your typical art instruction book. His often writes in short paragraphs or bullet points, with just enough information to get his point across. I personally am a fan of this style, because I pay more attention to the pictures than the words, but some people are turned off by it.
His advice is brief and direct: use this palette, prepare your canvas with these tricks, incorporate these components to attract buyers.
Aside from the overt commercialism, his advice is very good, and addresses some topics that I have not seen in many other oil painting books - the importance of controlling edges, making your darks really dark to achieve strong contrast (imagine chiaroscuro meets Monet)- I think these are the things that truly make a exciting painting.
Nonetheless, I believe you have to be an intermediate to advanced artist to get the most out of this instruction book. There are a number of demonstrations, but they are rather high-level. He shows you what the major steps look like, but not the many in-between steps that are so crucial to the beginner. And you have to have your decent drawing and composition skills to produce the fairly detailed dark value underpaintings his style requires.
But overall, this is a quite an interesting and thought-provoking oil painting book, so it gets my recommendation.
Chris York is a noted artist and the proprietor of Art Instruction Books.com, a resource for sales and reviews of art instruction books.
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Posted by admin on April 4th, 2009 — Posted in Book Bashers, Design, Layout, Shopping Infos
Any library is characterized by a soaring bookcase. books are safe and free from dirt and debris in a bookcase. A general bookshelf has flat shelves to keep books. Outmost glass doors are a good alternative to refer and stock publications neatly.
A barristers job involves referring several wide legal volumes every day. such citation manuals cost alot and are necessary often. A barrister bookcase is a kind of bookcase especially produced for storing such grand books used by barristers. These lawyers bookcases are usually made using oak wood, cherry wood in different finishes and tinges.
How did individuals store volumes when barrister bookcases did not exist?
Books were rare in the past, and thence there was no need for a bookcase then.In those times, books were hand-codified. wealthy people who owned them stored them in ready to hand containers. The reason behind this was the books were pricey and could be bought by the affluent class only. these rich men employed these containers to store books.
As time passed, these manuscript volumes were owned by lots of such clergymen and affluent individuals in a large number. Due to this, the volumes were placed in closets or on shelves. these closets gave rise to strong bookshelves found Today.
So what way were these books kept in the case?
The books were put in a conventional way. books were stored with their edges facing us and the covers to the wall. A band of vellum or leather was employed for inscription of the title and also closed the book.This band was placed on the front edge and thus the books were arranged with their edges facing out.
anybody who liked reading could purchase books due to the printing invention.Another added gain of publishing was that the publishing firms printed the title on the back of the volume so that the edges were placed inwards.
Which materials were principally employed?
In the olden years, barrister bookcases were created of oak chiefly. there were other choices of maple, cherry and pine wood if you liked.Bespoke barrister bookcases can be created in steel too for cutting wood cost and lastingness. The oldest bookcases are said to exist in England in the Bodleian Library at Oxford University. they were kept in the library in the sixteenth century.
using tiny tabs covered in fretwork frames, Chippendale and Sheraton designed lovely bookcases. Any room could look decorated with these bookcases.
How are the latest bookcases extraordinary?
allowing the number of times a barrister demands to move in a another office, a movable barrister bookcase is like a boon. this portable bookcase is produced of several shelf units. all it takes to be a perfect barrister bookcase is an additional cap and footstall. What more can you ask for in a barrister bookcase if the shelves can be moved with all volumes sound in it?
More Here book cases
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Posted by admin on March 30th, 2009 — Posted in Better Multimedia, Book Bashers, Learning Languages
A busy schedule makes it tricky to read all the books you would like to. Lengthy journeys to the office and day-to-day activities could be eating huge chunks of your day everyday. Working, dealing with children or looking after your house all cut down the free time available to spend on your hobbies. You can use the time you spend commuting to get up to date on novels you don’t have time to read. Using convenient downloads, it’s simple to enjoy In Pursuit Of Peace by Joyce Meyer for sale from Download Audio Book Online, or audible books narrated beautifully by Lolly Winston when you are busy doing other things.
Multitasking is fast becoming a way-of-life in today’s frantic world. Audiobooks like Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie available from Download Audio Book Online occupy the squandered hours in life, it might be waiting time in a dental surgery or maybe taking the family to soccer practise. Many audio-books are available to download in mp3 format including Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm by Kate Douglas Wiggin, so if you’ve got an iPod or other mp3 player you have the opportunity to discover a thriller or a fantastic novel, like audio-books by John Stott without hauling a heavy book with you. Audiobooks provide numerous benefits such as renting or buying the instructional title of your choice then listening to it in your own time. Interested in learning German? Try an audio-book! It’s easy to review current business trends, or you can enjoy reflecting on modern opinions about religious belief or spirituality.
An extensive choice of literary genres and titles are obtainable. Whether you are a history fan, or you are crazy over love stories even if your interested in personal development, you can download many audiobooks straightaway. Options are wide open; you can take a subscription to a plan and rent or else buy what interests you.
Reading will always be a necessary skill, but the thousands of audio titles available offer convenience. A narrator can deepen the enjoyment of numerous novels. Simply reading a title isn’t the same experience as savoring an audio title told by James Lee Burke, with subtleties of an real performance. Your reading experience can be enhanced by listening to audiobooks like Caddy For Life by John Feinstein and go much deeper the written word. Don’t forget about audio books next time you want to buy books, audio-books are a effective means to fit all the titles you like into your hectic schedule.
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Posted by admin on March 2nd, 2009 — Posted in Book Bashers, Design, Layout, Shopping Infos
A Barrister’s bookcase is a traditionalistic bookcase Its identifying feature is a plain field glass front end. This glass face is hinged at the upper lip allowing someone to easily access ledgers and other legal papers merely by lifting the glass door. A Barrister’s bookcase is ideal for a thousand things. Barrister bookcases were frequently used by lawyers since it was necessary for them to keep on moving. Now, they are also very convenient, particularly if one is forever moving. The doors make this the case. This entails they can be moved while whole.
These fine bookshelves
Exceptional barrister bookcases quash the use of the normal sideway opening doors . Instead they use doors with a different opening mechanism. A scissor device when used inside the barrister shelves control the moving doors do it in a parallel fashion without the problem of having the doors jammed or skew in the procedure. One benefit of A Barrister’s bookcase is the ability to have several of these units stacked together. The impression of an appealing cabinet will be given.They can be made out of a number of materials Whether it is constructed using glass or wood, barristers give a casual elgant show to a room.
Barrister bookcases however, despite many benifits,can be quite pricy. Fortunately, there unqiueness has caused some manufacturers to start making replica editions. Some contemporary versions are also available at very healthy prices. Many versions have simple appearances and can be made to fit a particular style. They can also be made into customized.They can be stacked allowing them to be easily used to create creative unit arrangements. Some can be used to create sofa tables, breakfronts or even dinning tables.
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Posted by admin on April 5th, 2008 — Posted in Book Bashers
The hardest part of writing is the first sentence. When you look at the whole project, it seems like an impossible task. That’s why you have to break it down into manageable tasks. Think of climbing a mountain. You are standing at the foot of it and looking up at its summit vanishing into the clouds. How can you possibly scale such an immense and dangerous mountain?
There is only one way to climb a mountain and that is step by step.
Now think of writing your ebook in the same light. You must create it step by step, and one day, you will take that last step and find yourself standing on the summit with your head in the clouds.
The first thing you have to do, as if you actually were a mountain climber, is to get organized. Instead of climbing gear, however, you must organize your thoughts. There are some steps you should take before you begin. Once you’ve gone through the following list, you will be ready to actually begin writing your ebook.
Beginning Steps to Writing an ebook
First, figure out your ebook’s working title. Jot down a few different titles, and eventually, you’ll find that one that will grow on you. Titles help you to focus your writing on your topic; they guide you in anticipating and answering your reader’s queries. Many non-fiction books also have subtitles. Aim for clarity in your titles, but cleverness always helps to sell books ? as long as it’s not too cute. For example, Remedies for Insomnia: twenty different ways to count sheep. Or: Get off that couch: fifteen exercise plans to whip you into shape.
Next, write out a thesis statement. Your thesis is a sentence or two stating exactly what problem you are addressing and how your book will solve that problem. All chapters spring forth from your thesis statement. Once you’ve got your thesis statement fine-tuned, you’ve built your foundation. From that foundation, your book will grow, chapter by chapter.
Your thesis will keep you focused while you write your ebook. Remember: all chapters must support your thesis statement. If they don’t, they don’t belong in your book. For example, your thesis statement could read: We’ve all experienced insomnia at times in our lives, but there are twenty proven techniques and methods to give you back a good night’s sleep.
Once you have your thesis, before you start to write, make sure there is a good reason to write your book. Ask yourself some questions
* Does your book present useful information and is that information currently relevant?
* Will you book positively affect the lives of your readers?
* Is your book dynamic and will it keep the reader’s attention?
* Does you book answer questions that are meaningful and significant?
If you can answer yes to these questions, you can feel confident about the potential of your ebook.
Another important step is to figure out who your target audience is. It is this group of people you will be writing to, and this group will dictate many elements of your book, such as style, tone, diction, and even length. Figure out the age range of your readers, their general gender, what they are most interested in, and even the socio-economic group they primarily come from. Are they people who read fashion magazines or book reviews? Do they write letters in longhand or spend hours every day online. The more you can pin down your target audience, the easier it will be to write your book for them.
Next, make a list of the reasons you are writing your ebook. Do you want to promote your business? Do you want to bring quality traffic to your website? Do you want to enhance your reputation?
Then write down your goals in terms of publishing. Do you want to sell it as a product on your website, or do you want to offer it as a free gift for filling out a survey or for ordering a product? Do you want to use the chapters to create an e-course, or use your ebook to attract affiliates around the world? The more you know upfront, the easier the actual writing will be.
Decide on the format of your chapters. In non-fiction, keep the format from chapter to chapter fairly consistent. Perhaps you plan to use an introduction to your chapter topic, and then divide it into four subhead topics. Or you may plan to divide it into five parts, each one beginning with a relevant anecdote.
How to make your ebook “user friendly”
You must figure out how to keep your writing engaging. Often anecdotes, testimonials, little stories, photos, graphs, advice, and tips will keep the reader turning the pages. Sidebars are useful for quick, accessible information, and they break up the density of the page.
Write with a casual, conversational tone rather than a formal tone such as textbook diction. Reader’s respond to the feeling that you are having a conversation with them. Break up the length and structure of your sentences so you do not hypnotize your readers into sleep. Sentences that are all the same length and structure tend to be a good aid for insomnia!
Good writing takes practice. It takes lots and lots of practice. Make a schedule to write at least a page a day. Read books and magazines about the process of writing, and jot down tips that jump out at you. The art of writing is a lifetime process; the more you write (and read), the better your writing will become. The better your writing becomes, the bigger your sales figures.
In an ebook that is read on the screen, be aware that you must give your reader’s eye a break. You can do this by utilizing white space. In art classes, white space is usually referred to as “negative space.” Reader’s eyes need to rest in the cool white oasis you create on your page. If your page is too dense, your reader will quit out of it as soon as their eyes begin to tear.
Make use of lists, both bulleted and numbered. This makes your information easy to absorb, and gives the reader a mental break from dissecting your paragraphs one after the other.
Finally, decide on an easy-to-read design. Find a font that’s easy on the eyes, and stick to that font family. Using dozens of fonts will only tire your readers out before they’ve gotten past your introduction. Use at least one and a half line spacing, and text large enough to be read easily on the screen, but small enough so that the whole page can be seen on a computer screen. You will have to experiment with this to find the right combination.
Of course, don’t forget to run a spell and grammar check. You are judged by something as minor as correct punctuation, so do not mess up a great book by tossing out semicolons randomly, or stringing sentences together with commas. (By the way, that’s called a “comma splice.”)
Last of all, create an index and a bibliography. That’s it! You’ve written a book! Now all you have to do is publish your ebook online, and wait for download request from your website visitors.
Paul is Head of Training for a major UK Charitable Organisation with a wealth of experience in personal development, management development, e-learning and operational management. In addition he owns two of the UK’s leading Ebook Provider websites http://www.weight-loss-ebooks.co.uk and http://www.pk-ebooks.co.uk Paul also owns http://www.help-your-child-learn.co.uk and http://www.ebay-profits.co.uk
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