“Begin with the end in mind”

This Squidoo lens will highlight E-Book Readers to familiarize you with the hardware your readers will be using to read your work.

My EBook VA Writing Course: Squidoo Series

Who will be the next E-Book Design Star?  Why not YOU?

The first PDF Writing Sample Call is scheduled for August 31, 2010

A group of finalists will be selected from the entries.  Be prepared to submit the first writing sample (3 pages) on August 31.  The first entry will focus on content creation (writing skills, creativity, and content quality).   

Watch for more details at the end of July.

Talk To Me

• Give me a 20 minute call (virtually… pretend you are on the phone with me),
• Turn on the recorder,
• Talk to me about your topic,
• Give the recording to a transcriptionist, and
• Insert transcription into your manuscript.
Transcription is one of many easy ways to compile a manuscript. Be sure to request ‘editable’ transcription so you can easily format the document to fit into your manuscript.

Maximizing
Your Writing Schedule

If
you have ever found yourself having what is often referred to as
writer’s block.  You might also have had the experience of
the opposite side of that situation which I will call bursts of
prolific writing.  It is common for writers to have just as many
prolific writing sessions as they have writer’s block
sessions.  The biggest kept secret of successful writers is they
sit at the scheduled time and write (be it a few words or several
pages). 

What
they know is how to maximize this process to their advantage. 

First
of all it is important to:

·       
Be patient
with yourself,

o  
Remember the process
is expected and a natural part of most all writers.   

·       
Spend the writing
time writing,

o  
Stick to the task at
hand.  Write.  Don’t let yourself wander off to do
other tasks even if you are only putting a word or two on the page. 
If you let yourself check email, sort the office supplies, organize
the bookshelf etc., you will not be able to maximize the process when
a writing burst is ready to appear. 

o  
If you have organizing
to do it is best to schedule time specifically to do those things. 
(See “Setting the Stage for Writing” for more
information).

·       
Continue to use the
notation log,

o  
Quick notations and
reminders about where you left off, ideas you have, changes you want
to make, etc will provide you with a time saving tool which will pay
for itself over and over again.  Be sure to check off items you
have completed and leave off at the end of each session with a “where
to start next” notation.  Be sure to include any updated
specific task goals you have for the project so you can later check
them off the notation list when they are completed.

·       
Adhere to the
specified start and stop time,

o  
Start writing at the
scheduled time and stop writing at the scheduled time.  This
seems simple enough right?  I think it is important to be very
clear about this and to practice this concept each and every time you
write.  If you set aside two hours to write, then, write for two
hours.  No matter how much or how little your write.  This
time is dedicated to writing. 

o  
If you discover you
have , for example, a larger or smaller block of time to write on a
given day (such as a weekend if you are generally more busy during
week days), then schedule a longer writing session on that day each
and every week.  Following are examples for you to consider. 
The first example is suggested if your writing time is going to be
scheduled in the late evening.  For example:

1.     
Monday –Friday:
8PM – 10PM

2.     
Saturday 1PM –
6PM OR 8PM – Midnight

o  
If you prefer your
writing schedule to be early in the morning, before interruptions in
your day are expected to start, your writing schedule might look more
like this:

1.     
Monday – Friday
: 5AM – 7AM

2.     
Saturday 5AM –
9:30AM

·       
Catalog all of your
progress

o  
In addition to the
daily notation log, you will want to catalog all of your progress
regularly (weekly for example).  This catalog will be your
completed sections (manuscript sections or completed chapters). 
You can save them to specific folders on your computer (or in
physical files if you are writing on paper).  Keeping a progress
folder will allow you to watch the project sections grow and later
you will be able to easily move sections around if they will flow
better in a different order.  NOTE: Be certain to review the
last paragraph of previous chapters and first paragraph of the
existing next chapter to determine if moving the chapter to a new
location will also mean rewriting those transition paragraphs.

Prepare
an Outline

Before
you begin writing, create an outline to list the areas you will be
discussing.  Begin with the thesis statement.  This will be
your constant reminder about the broader topic and purpose of the
writing project.  Next, from the thesis, you can list a dozen or
so subtopics that fit into the thesis topic and purpose.  These
subtopics will later translate into chapters but, at this point you
do not need to specify what order they will fall into unless you have
a good idea already about how you want to present information (in
what order).

Once
you have the thesis and subtopics, you will want to prepare your
outline.  A sample outline might be as follows.

Title:

You
might change the title later but select a working title

Thesis: 

Identify
your thesis statement which briefly and concisely describes the
topic, focus and the writing project’s purpose (i.e. what will
the reader learn).

Table
of Contents: 

List
your subtopics (leave room to describe briefly what each subtopic
will include)

Introduction
Summary: 

In
a few paragraphs, tell the reader about the thesis statement, the
questions and topics that will be discussed and how the information
will benefit the reader.  (HINT:  This summary is easier to
write after the subtopics are completed.  In other words, save
the Introduction Summary section until after most of the book is
finished yet before you write your Closing Summary).

Subtopics
(chapters): 

This
will be the primary part of your writing project.  Take your
reader into your world and show them the way through the material. 
Include mini introductions for each subtopic and skillfully prepare
the reader when transitioning between chapters by providing a closing
summary at the end of each subtopic chapter.

Closing
Summary: 

It
has been said the best presentations will:

1)
Tell us what you are going to tell us,

2)
Tell us

3)
Tell us what you told us

The
Closing Summary will briefly discuss the Introduction Summary, remind
us what you said you were going to tell us, and then add conclusions,
remind us about highlights, and suggest follow up materials if we
would like to continue reading about the topic.

Bibliography: 

List
any resources, quotation sources, suggested reading etc.  A
bibliography differs from references in that you can include
resources that were not quoted in the text.  If you would like
to provide your readers with more information consider a Annotated
Bibliography which will include two or three sentences below each
resource so the reader can have a basic idea what kind of information
will be found if they choose to seek out the resources. 

Setting the Stage for
Writing

When
you make the decision to engage in writing, if it is your e-book or
any other writing project, you may find you will accomplish much more
and be more productive when you set the stage for the writing
process.  There are several aspects involved in setting the
stage.  Some of them have been put into place long before you
make the decision to write (such as reading and writing skills for
example) and other aspects of setting the stage can be implemented up
to the moment before the writing process begins.

Some
of the most important aspects of setting the stage are:

·       
Having tools on
hand (computer, reference
materials, software etc),

o  
Have the right tools
and materials handy.  Select the right software (such as the
word processor, conversion tool, delivery plan) the more you know
about how you will use the manuscripts ahead of time the easier it
will be to use the material once it is prepared.   

·       
Preparing the space
you will write in (optimal
surroundings, sound, comfort),

o  
Consider lighting,
sound, comfortable furniture, keyboard position, monitor height,
tools within easy reach and room to move around on a regular basis.

·       
Scheduling
for minimal distractions (minimal
interruptions),

o  
NOTE: Do not run
away!!  In many cases it is impossible to schedule interruption
free time.  The good news is, people who have this situation are
clearly able to adapt and work effectively even with repeated
interruptions.  One key tip will help you jump right back to the
place you left off.  And that is a running notation pad. 
Routinely jot down ideas (regarding the writing) as they come to you
and as soon as an interruption appears, take a second to jot a note
to yourself of where you left off.  Unless the interruption is
an emergency (REAL Emergency) this one second now will save you 10-15
minutes later when you return to the work and will also minimize
repeated efforts (when you think about a change and spend 10 minutes
getting started to change it, and then, you find out you already did
this).  Those 10 minute losses of time add up quickly.

·       
Prepare your family
and friends

o  
Be certain your family
and friends understand your writing time is “work” and it
is not open time for chatting or other social activities.  If
possible, select a time each day when you will be unavailable or
simply make a habit of turning on the answering machine and not
answering the phone during your work time.

·       
Be Consistent

o  
Set aside a regular
schedule for writing so your mind begins to expect this time and
encourage your creativity to focus during the same time each day. 
Only you can determine what time of the day is best for you.  
Perhaps you are more relaxed during the evening when your other daily
responsibilities are taken care of.  On the other hand, you may
find you are most productive if you wake up two hours before everyone
else and tackle your writing during that time when there are fewer
distractions all around.  Whatever the time you choose be as
consistent as possible and make a habit of writing daily (or at
least 5-6 days a week).