Blogging, Writing, and Publishing

What is your writing style? How do you get through your manuscript? I've heard testimony from many who write full length manuscripts and the methods are different. Some swear to working 18 hour days at the computer with a compelling need to get the novel or non-fiction book finished. I've heard it said that Stephen King felt as if a lady were waiting outside his room to do him harm should he slow progress on his finishing his books. For me, there's less of a sense of urgency. I'm a little more practical. Though I sell lot's of books, I still can't quit my day job, very few do. So for me, I've got the meet more pressing demands of my life while hacking out an existence as an author publisher. After putting in an honest day's work at the paying job, taking kids to their events, being a good husband and faithful church goer, I have very little time to write. Sometimes only one hour per day.  Many times, I have to share that time with marketing, co...

Remember, your niche could be too small for publishers to venture into. Even if all the customers bought books, there wouldn’t be enough sales to warrant the huge financial, time and resource commitment required of a traditional publisher. This is a great opportunity because your market is protected. You have a built in audience with no competition. All you have to do is commit to the project, organize your thoughts, complete a manuscript, edit the manuscript and publish it.  I’ll demonstrate two methods of publishing your efforts and make big sales. None of these suggestions involve getting your book in bookstores, signing with major publishing companies or a success model involving a lot of wasted effort trying to replicate traditional publishing or traditional marketing efforts. The premise; you are writing for a niche, you’ve already found your audience.   Getting Started A familiar saying, “Necessity is the Mother of Invention” describes that a need comes before a p...

Learn to Self-Publish and Market While the internet marketing are great options for publishers to promote their books, ethical and legal lines can seem blurred. This is especially true for posted images and materials and how they are actually used. As an author, publisher, marketer or other web entrepreneur, you have access to several free metrics sources to track your products' sales performance and clue you into where and how to market.   Google Analytics, Blogger.com and other resource can help you track your books’ online presence and include information such as who is viewing, where they are viewing from, what they viewed, how long they viewed, and how they got there. It can also give insight into how many page views it takes before someone makes a purchase.   However, there is not much available (that I'm aware of) by way of technology to track the use of your proprietary information or intellectual data. Most of that stuff is protected by existing laws su...

What's you inspiration? What encourages you to write? Get inspired here. Jeffrey W. Bennett, ISP is the owner of Red Bike Publishing . Jeff is an accomplished writer of non-fiction books, novels and periodicals. He also owns Red bike Publishing. Published books include: "Get Rich in a Niche-Insider's Guide to Self Publishing in a Specialized Industry" and "Commitment-A Novel". Jeff is an expert in security and has written many security books including: "Insider's Guide to Security Clearances" and "DoD Security Clearances and Contracts Guidebook". See Red Bike Publishing for print copies of: Army Leadership The Ranger Handbook The Army Physical Readiness Manual Drill and Ceremonies The ITAR The NISPOM

Commitment | Military Writers Society of America MWSA Review I was hesitant when I picked up Commitment to read and to do this review as I usually don't care for Romances, but boy was I surprised! The author did a great job in putting adventure and a little suspense into this story. Bennett selected a fascinating setting with Indonesia and then enhanced the plot by throwing in some bush pilots that worked there with the Christian missionaries. Since I consider myself a grizzled old military vet rather than a romantic, it didn't matter to me whether John, the male lead, committed himself to Marta or to a future career with the airlines. However, once a bunch of unscrupulous miners were tossed in the mix, and Marta's life was in danger, I had to keep reading! I recommend this book to anyone who loves a good romance, to those who have an interest in the life of Christian ministries abroad, and of course to those who want to know if John chose Marta or the airlines! Revie...

A few weeks ago, I spoke at a security conference as a subject matter expert. While there, I was able to sell books and provide advice and assistance. If you are a niche expert, chances are that’s someone will also contact you to present; especially if you have a book, blog, or other product identifying you as the go to person.  In fact, you might receive a letter with wording similar to the one that I received last April. “Dear __(fill in your name)___, we are contacting you to see if you are available to present at __(name of upcoming event)_____ conference. We thought it would be a good idea to present some information from your book _(your book title)____. Please let us know if you are available and how much you would charge as compensation…” Congratulations, you just made it to the big leagues. The two critical steps are to negotiate the payment and knock the ball out of the park with a grand slam presentation. The last sentence “please let us know…how mu...

A few weeks ago, I spoke at a security conference as a subject matter expert. While there, I was able to sell books and provide advice and assistance. This article provides a way for me to share what I did at the conference and hopefully give you ideas on how to do it as well.  and how you can to. Last week a major magazine contacted me asking to provide an article for their publication. Regularly I receive emails request security advice. Why? Because I am recognized as a security expert. How? Recognition of quality preparation (for more information on the how,  view the 5 year plan to become an expert in your niche . One of the excellent benefits of self publishing is the professional credibility that you can enjoy. Whether writing fiction, reference or self help, you’ve got a message. The research you’ve conducted as you’ve developed your message makes you a subject matter expert. Perhaps you’re like me and have always desired to write articles, teach and...