Book Trailer - "The Unforgiving Minute: A Soldier's Education"

A new memoir by Craig M. Mullaney, a West Point graduate, Rhodes scholar, and Army Ranger who fought in Afghanistan and later served as an adviser on the Obama campaign. Explore the book at www.craigmmullaney.com. "Extraordinary."--Washington Post "Reminiscent of Ernest Hemingway, John Hersey, and Ring Lardner."--Vanity Fair A wonderful, beautifully written story." —General David Petraeus "A classic memoir about what it means to be American." —David Lipsky, Rolling Stone "The ultimate's soldier's book...a lyrical, spellbinding tale of war, love, and courage. The Unforgiving Minute is the Three Cups of Tea of soldiering."—Ahmed Rashid, New York Times bestselling author "Every young man and woman in America should read this book."—General Wesley Clark "This is more than a soldier's story; it is a work of literature."—Steve Coll, Pulitzer Prize winner "Reminiscent of the great British memoirs of World War I.... Read it."—Thomas E. Ricks, The Washington Post "A compelling, can't-put-down book, a well-written, memorable description of preparing for war and leading in combat."—Joe Klein, Time "The poignant true story of a young man's unusual education from the classrooms of West Point and Oxford to his development as a leader, son, brother, husband and friend.... I admire Craig Mullaney's courage."—Senator Richard Lugar "A poignant and evocative book about the great hurdles in coming of age: love, death, belief, and betrayal. I couldn't stop reading."—Nathaniel Fick, author of ...

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How To Write A Book And Get Published - What You Must Know

Want to write a book? You can. You start writing, and you keep going. At around 80,000 words, you've got yourself a book. Now what? You sell the book to a major publisher, hit the bestseller lists, and order your new cherry-red Ferrari.

That's how writing a book and getting published works. But if you try to follow that process - just sit down and start typing - the chances that you'll sell the book are slim. To sell your book you need to know the kind of book you're writing before you start, and also whether there's an audience for that kind of book. It sounds unfair, but in order to sell your book, you have to prove to the publisher that people will want to read it.

What Kind of Book are You Writing?

Most new authors start on their book writing and publishing adventure by reading a book and getting inspired. They don't think about the kind of book they're writing, or who would want to read it.

There are basically two kinds of books: truth and lies, otherwise known as nonfiction and fiction (novels). Some hundred thousand books are published in English each year, both nonfiction and novels. You must know what kind of book you're writing before you start.

Let's imagine that you've read a Harry Potter novel, and you're so enthusiastic that you're inspired to write your own children's novel. The words pour out of you; you're on fire. You write and write and write, and the pages pile up on your computer's hard drive.

This is great. While you're writing, ask yourself: "In a bookstore, where would this book of mine be shelved?"

If you're not sure, go to a bookstore and wander around the shelves. Is your book in the nonfiction section? In the children's section? In the romance novel or mystery section?

If you're inspired by Harry Potter, you know you're writing a children's novel. Imagine your book on the shelves, right beside the rows of Harry Potters.

This isn't an idle exercise, or a fantasy. You must know what you're writing, so please visit that bookstore. "What is it?" is the first thing an agent will want to know when you contact her to represent your book. It's also the first thing an editor at a publishing house will want to know.

So, what are you writing? If you don't know, or aren't sure, think about it and visit a bookstore if you need to. You can write a book and get published if you know what you're writing, and who will want to read it.

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Are You Happy in Your Marriage?

There are many things which should be considered if you want to build a successful marriage. I would recommend you to find lots of information related to this topic. In this article we will try to talk about building blocks of marriage.

The first thing which will save your marriage is effective communication. Every person especially woman needs communication. Communication will help in every sphere of marriage life. You should find special time for communicating with your spouse. This time should be used for talking about each other. Try not to talk about your business or children. I mean to say that you should spare time only for your spouse.

With the help of effective communication men and women can express their inner world. In this way you will recognize each other. It is a good idea to share your hopes and dreams with your partner. Your wife or husband should be your closest friend.

Another thing you can do is to build a firm foundation. Firm foundation assures a successful married life. Some people build the foundation with the help of religious principles. You and your wife should have same principles otherwise you can have some problems.

Man should be gentle and open to his wife. A man should have good earnings as this also one of the important blocks of married life.

If you are facing some problems in your marriage then it is a good idea to find some help. There are many sources which provide enough information on this topic. You can go through some best seller books. There are several books in the market which are related to married life. It is a good idea to ask for help from an experienced couple. I myself have attended a short course which teaches important principles which can help you in married life. These types of courses are very helpful. Nowadays you can also find online courses.

I would recommend you to spend some time on the internet. Internet is a good source of information. There are thousands of websites and blogs which are devoted to married life and other related topics. Try to find some reputed blogs and websites and go through them regularly.

Have you heard about marriage counseling services? These services can help you a lot in strengthening your relationships. Marriage counseling is always based on some values and principles.

You can also find Christian counseling. Christian counseling is based on biblical principles. Every counseling system provides theoretical foundation and practical skills. By following the principles learned during counseling you can understand each other better. You will be able to solve your conflicts faster.

If you are facing some problems then it is a good idea to find some help as soon as possible. Ideally every couple should try to find some information at the beginning of the married life. In this way you will easily sought out problems in the every sphere of your married life.

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How to Write a Best-Selling Book?

Some people like to write a book just because they have a deep, heartfelt passion for it. Others wish to write a book because they enjoy the challenge. Others write books because they want to make a name for themselves.

And then, there are people who write...

...to make money!

These people are geared toward writing books that become best-sellers!

No matter what the reason is, writing is a talent, whether you are blessed with natural ability or you have developed it through writing courses and workshops. Before you start creating your book, you should realize that there are some fundamental skills you need to develop in order to become a best-selling author:

To write a best-selling book, you need to:
Be organized and take action to complete the assignment.
tap into and release your creativity for your readers enjoyment and instruction
Set the goal of providing some kind of useful information for the benefit of others

Next, you need to provide your audience with what they want to read. There are evergreen "hot topics" that you know will generate some interest if you write about them. These classic topics include health and fitness, relationships, family topics, self-help and personal growth, hobbies and crafts, just to mention a few.

After you have decided upon the topic of your book, start collecting ideas for it.
When something grabs your attention, no matter where you are, write it down and capture as much information as you can. Thoughts could come to you at any time. You might be grocery shopping or at your son's soccer game. The best thing is to be prepared and always keep a pad of paper and pen with you. Or, even better, you can have a small hand-held voice recorder.

You'll be amazed at where inspiration can strike. For example, as you are sitting at your child's outdoor sporting event, focus on things going on around you. Perhaps you see a child playing off by himself in the dirt and you watch as another child around the same age slowly and shyly approaches, wanting to be friends. Before long, they have bonded and are now sharing their toys. Write the scenario down and think later, about ways you could use that story to illustrate a point when you are writing your book. A pad of paper and pen or the voice recorder will soon become your greatest companion!

The "ideas" you collect don't necessarily have to apply to your current writing project. Keep the collected ideas on hand for the right moment or project. When you need ideas, simply refer to your idea collection to draw something new from it, and something fresh to spawn more ideas!

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wowp future harper p1/3

Alex, Justin and Max discover that a famous author is using their lives as the premise for her best-selling novels named Charmed and Dangerous. However, the wizards are shocked learning that she is actually Harper from the future. The Future Harper insists Justin that he must get Alex to give Harper permission to write the books, otherwise the future will be ruined. In the end of the episode, Selena Gomez and Rob Reiner comically talk about the importance of reading.

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Life on a US base in Central Asia

Please visit www.simonreeve.co.uk for more information. Simon Reeve visits a US base in Kyrgyzstan, Central Asia, while making his TV series Meet the Stans. The Meet the Stans series took Simon from the far north-west of Kazakhstan, by the Russian border, east to the Chinese border, south through Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the edge of Afghanistan, and west to Uzbekistan and the legendary Silk Road cities of Samarkand and Bukhara. The Guardian said it was a thrilling postcard from the edge The Times said Simon Reeves journey through Kazakhstan is a first-class Boys Own adventure on film and illuminating too. I cant imagine anyone switching off who stays for the first five minutes.Simon Reeve is a bestselling author and broadcaster. In recent years hes travelled to scores of countries around the world for a series of BBC television documentaries. The 2008 BBC TV series Tropic of Capricorn took Simon around the line marking the southern border of the tropics. His accompanying book, also called Tropic of Capricorn, is published by BBC Books. In the BBC series Equator, Simon followed the equator through troubled areas of Africa, Asia and Latin America, including Colombia and the Congo. In Places That Dont Exist, Simon travelled through a group of unrecognised nations countries so obscure they dont officially exist. And in Meet the Stans, Simon visited the Central Asian states of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Simons book The New Jackals: Ramzi Yousef ...

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Malcolm Gladwell on the Beatles - Prodigies or Not?

Complete video at: fora.tv Best-selling author Malcolm Gladwell uses The Beatles as an example to question the existence of genuine musical prodigies. He attributes a large measure of the band's success to the experience they gained while playing as the house band for a strip club in Hamburg, Germany. ------ Readers of Malcolm Gladwell's New Yorker articles, reviews, and profiles know him to be an author of wide-ranging curiosity about the world and the way it works. His choice of subject matter ranges from the psychology of athletes in pressure situations to the salesman who masterminded the popularity of the George Foreman Grill. What sets Gladwell's writing apart is his use of research in fields such as epidemiology, behavioral psychology, and other social sciences. His ability to incorporate ideas from these fields in a manner that is both relevant and understandable makes Gladwell a unique, cutting-edge journalist. In his most recent work, Outliers: The Story of Success, Gladwell explores what makes the most famous and successful individuals different. Throughout the book, Gladwell's intelligence and fresh perspective synthesize divergent ideas in order to make a broader point about the way our culture works - City Arts & Lectures Malcolm Gladwell has been a staff writer with The New Yorker since 1996. From 1987 to 1996, he was a reporter with the Washington Post, where he covered business, science, and then served as the newspaper's New York City bureau chief. He is ...

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JK Rowling Documentary - Stars - [BroadbandTV]

In the mid 90s Harry Potter author JK Rowling was your average secretary living from paycheck to paycheck. She was a single mother with a head full of ideas and dreams of becoming a writer. Her perseverance and unique ability to bring out the child in everyone has now not only made her rich but also made her one of the best-selling authors in the world. 48:05 Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone, the first book in the Harry Potter series followed a young wizard through his schooling at Hogwarts, the elite school of wizardry, and was an instant success when released in 1997. 48:21 The success not only continued but got bigger as the author released sequels until there were seven books in total but while she writing fans were embracing the big screen versions. 48:35 Potter Mania had taken over the world but all good things must come to an end. 48:41 SOT "To an extent the pressure is off I suppose because it is the last book, so I feel quite liberated, I can just resolve the story now, and it's fun. Fun in a way that it hasn't been before, finally I am doing my resolution, I think some people will loathe it and some will love it, that's how it should be." 49:00 Since Rowling first introduced Harry and his fellow students at Hogwarts to the world over 10 years ago Harry Potter had become a global pop culture phenomenon. The popularity of the books had seen a rise in literacy levels around the world as children everywhere eagerly turned page after page and read book after ...

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Space Hygiene and the People Who Stopped Bathing for Science

The best-selling author of Stiff and Bonk explores the irresistibly strange universe of space travel and life without gravity. Mary Roach's hilarious new book, Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void, is in stores now. Learn more at: maryroach.net Become a Fan: www.facebook.com Video Credits: Directed by Jamieson Fry Produced by Rival Pictures WW Norton & Company | Independent Publishers since 1923 books.wwnorton.com

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Halo: Reach A Spartan Will Rise Vidoc rewind/analysis/frame by frame

Halo Reach A Spartan Will Rise Vidoc [HD] Developer: Bungie Release: 9/14/2010 Genre: Shooter Platform: X360 Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios Website: www.bungie.net Developed exclusively for Xbox 360 by acclaimed studio Bungie, "Halo: Reach" drops players back into the iconic universe they love so they can experience the birth of the "Halo" legend. During the past 10 years, the "Halo" franchise has inspired multiple New York Times best-selling novels, comic books, action figures, apparel and more, and it has sold more than 34 million games worldwide to date.

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Literary Talent - John Irving - Author Biographies

It has been said that John Irving often uses the literary technique of a story within a story and he uses it masterfully. A few his novels have a character who is a writer. John Irving is considered one of the best novelists in modern literature. He is a master storyteller and comic genius of our age.

John Irving was born John Wallace Blunt, Jr., on March 2, 1942, in Exeter, New Hampshire. His father was serving as an airman stationed in the Pacific. John never did meet his father.

John's parents were divorced when he was only two years old. When his mother married Colin Irving in 1948, Colin adopted John. His mother changed his name to John Winslow Irving. Winslow was her maiden name.

John lived with his grandmother, in a large old house, until he was six years old when his mother remarried. When he was growing up, he was a moody and aloof child and that house provided many places where he could get off by himself. He said that no adult would talk to him about his father. So, in his mind, he demonized his father.

John says that it was when he was almost 40 years old and in the process of a divorce from his first wife, that his mother gave him a packet of letters that his father had written in 1943. This is when he found out that his dad had wanted contact with him. By this time his father had already died.

John had his first novel, 'Setting Free the Bees,' published when he was only 26 years old. In 1972, after his second novel was published, he was appointed Writer-in-Residence at the University of Iowa. While there John received a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts.

It was in 1976 that John moved to Massachusetts to become Assistant Professor of English at Mount Holyoke College. He served as Writer-in-Residence at the Bread Loaf Writers Conference.

It wasn't until 1978, when 'The World According to Garp,' was published, that John Irving was catapulted onto the 'Best Seller' realm. All his books since then have been best sellers. His later works have been compared to the work of Charles Dickens.

John had been active in wrestling while he was growing up and in college. In the 1980s, he coached wresting at prep schools all while he continued his writing.

In 1999, John wrote the screenplay for his novel, 'Cider House Rules,' and ultimately won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Since then he has continued to adapt his works into motion pictures.

John is known for is strong opinions and is anti censorship. John says, "If you feel so strongly about what's on television, don't have one. If you feel so strongly about people having abortions, don't have one. But, we are a country that likes to be punitive. We want to restrict. It is a kind of religious fervor run amok."

In 1987, John Irving John married his literary agent, Janet Turnbull. They live in Toronto and Southern Vermont. John has two sons.

Books by John Irving:

Novels:
Setting Free the Bees (1968)
The Water-Method Man (1972)
The 154-Pound Marriage (1974)
The World According to Garp (1974)
The Hotel New Hampshire (1981)
The Cider House Rules (1985)
A Prayer for Owen Meany (1988)
A Son of the Circus (1994)
A Widow for One Year (1998)
The Fourth Hand (2001)
Until I Find You (2005)
Last Night in Twisted River (2009)

Omnibus:
3 by Irving (1980)
Three Complete Novels (1995)

Collections:
Trying to Save Piggy Sneed (1993)

Picture Books:
A Sound Like Someone Trying Not to Make a Sound (2004)

Non Fiction:
The Imaginary Girlfriend: A Memoir (1996)
My Movie Business: A Memoir (1999)

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Larrys Garmin nuvi 660 demo. The best GPS, First on YouTube

Should I delete this 4 year old video? Is it useful at all anymore?????? My new Garmin GPS is so cool I just had to show someone but I live in the woods and my girl friend isn't interested in geeky cool things - well until I told her it plays audio books and chick music.

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Latest film in Harry Potter saga opens in London

Thousands of Harry Potter fans braved torrential rain in London on Tuesday evening to catch a glimpse of the stars at the world premiere of "Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince". It's the latest film in the blockbuster movie series based on JK Rowling's best-selling books about the boy wizard.

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Selling Comic Books on eBay - Avoiding Big Mistake #4

There are 6 big mistakes most comic book sellers make selling their comics on eBay. Here is...

BIG MISTAKE #4 - NOT USING GREAT PHOTOS ON YOUR eBAY LISTING

Since you are selling your comics through an online auction and your potential buyers cannot actually pickup and hold the item in front of them, you will need to use the best possible photos that you can of your item.

Your photos are the only *real* association your potential buyers have with what you are trying to sell. So your photos are CRITICAL. Use multiple photos and angles. Many people make a BIG MISTAKE by only including one photo of their comics. The more photos you can show people, the better.

You should take multiple angles of the comics that you're selling -- a front view, a top view, a side view, and maybe even a close-up as well as a "wide" shot.

On comics that are rare and pricey, you will want to show pictures of the spine, front cover, back cover and at least the front inside page. This will let buyers know if there is spine wear, tears, water damage, tape or other imperfections in your comic. This is especially important if you're selling: Golden age, Silver Age or some rare hard-to-find comics.

So make sure you use the best possible photos of your item since that is what many buyers will use to make a decision on whether they will bid on your item or not. The better your pictures, the better your chances of getting the best price for your comics.

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Ebook Basics - Writing A Best Seller

Writing an ebook is a great way to make money online. Although there are millions of people who make money this way, there are millions of others who commit significant time and effort developing a great product, but fail to generate any sales at all. This can be very discouraging.

Although there is no guarantee that any product you create will sell, there is one way to give your product the best chance possible. You need to research your topic BEFORE writing a single word. Do a search to determine what kind of demand exists for products in that particular area. I can almost guarantee you that your ebook on 'How to Raise Penguins' will not make you rich. That's because very few people are interested in raising penguins. On the other hand, your ebook on 'How to Cure the Common Cold' may make you very very wealthy in a matter of hours!

As you can see, certain subjects sell better than others. If your product is on a hot subject that is in demand, you will generate sales. If it is in a genre that does poorly, you will find it difficult to make money.

As a general rule of thumb, fiction ebooks do not usually sell very well unless your name is Stephen King. If you are interested in creating a work of fiction, you might be better off by considering one of the more traditional publishing methods.

On the other hand, certain types of non-fiction are great sellers. 'How to' ebooks with mass market appeal sell very well. Mass market appeal means that people all over the world are interested in that subject. Some of the best selling topics instruct you how to; build something, solve a common problem, cure something, or start a business.

Collectors and hobbyists are also big ebook buyers. If you are knowledgeable in this area and have an interesting angle, you may have a best seller on your hands. Collectors and hobbyists are very active buyers if you can find the right topic.

Do you want to learn how to make money? Get all the details and start making money online!

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Arianna Huffington interviews author Carl Honore on VOKLE - pt.3

In her first ever Huffington Post Booktalk via VOKLE, Arianna Huffington interviews author Carl Honore on his best-selling book, "In Praise of Slowness," and takes live video and text questions from the audience. First broadcasted on The Huffington Post, October 19, 2009.

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Nostalgia by Yanni Best Ever Quality Armenian Duduk, violin and Piano

Nostalgia by Yanni Best Ever Quality Armenian Duduk, violin and Piano hq hd Yanni Samvel Yervinyan (Violin) Sayaka Katsuki (violin) Alexander Zhiroff (Cello) classical music violin piano orchestra symphony Alexander Zhiroff (Russia) cello Samvel Yervinyan (Armenia) violin Sayaka Katsuki (Japan) violin Yanni (born Yiannis Hrysomallis (pronounced Chrysomallis), (Greek: Γιάννης Χρυσομάλλης, classical transcription Giannis Chrysomallis), on November 14, 1954 in Kalamata, Greece) is a self-taught pianist, keyboardist, and composer. After receiving a BA in psychology, he would instead seek a life in music though he had no formal training and could not read a note. He earned Grammy nominations for his 1992 album, Dare to Dream, and the 1993 follow-up, In My Time. His breakthrough success came with the 1994 release of Yanni Live at the Acropolis, deemed to be the second best-selling music video of all time. Yanni has since performed live in concert before in excess of two million people in more than 20 countries around the world. He has accumulated more than 35 platinum and gold albums globally, with sales totaling over 20 million copies. Yanni is considered to be one of the top fundraisers of all time for public television. His compositions have been included in all Olympic Games television broadcasts since 1988, and his music has been used extensively in television and televised sporting events. His music is frequently described as "new age", though he prefers the term ...

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James Patterson - 2009 National Book Festival

Young adult author James Patterson appears at the National Book Festival. Speaker Biography: James Patterson holds the New York Times best-seller list record, with 46 titles overall. He has sold more than 170 million books worldwide and is the only author to occupy the No. 1 slot on the New York Times Adult Fiction and Children's Chapter Book best-seller lists at the same time. "Maximum Ride," Patterson's first young adult novel, spent 12 straight weeks at No. 1 on the New York Times Chapter Book best-seller list and, as a series, has now spent more than 90 weeks on New York Times best-seller lists. His latest adult novel is "Swimsuit" (2009), and "Daniel X: Watch the Skies" (2009) is his latest for young adults. His ReadKiddoRead website is "dedicated to making kids readers for life."

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5 Ways to Compete With Other E-Book Sellers

Thousands of marketers, both newcomers and old hands, are selling eBooks on every subject you can think of and probably several you never thought about before. That's a lot of competition and you might be wondering how to compete successfully with them and make an online income of your own.

Before you can compete with anyone, you need your own product to sell or one you purchased with rights that allow you to sell it. Assuming you have a product, let's take a look at some simple ways to successfully compete with other, more experienced eBook marketers.

One very important way to make your product attractive to the search engines is to carefully select your keywords and construct your eBook title with some of those keywords included. Your use of keywords will determine your ranking with Google's search engines.

Ways to maximize keyword research are well-documented in eBooks and short reports all over the Web. Most of the time it will be called Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and might be presented as some mysterious process, but it is just another mechanical process you need to learn as a serious marketer. Search Google for free keyword tools.

Check out as many sales pages as you can find, particularly those published by gurus in your niche. Those pages are great learning tools for you. Notice the text colors and sizes they use, including where they placed those tidy attention getters. Read the page and be aware of how their text and subheads draw your eye down the page. Notice how they present the benefits of buying their products and not the features.

Successful sales pages are online universities for new marketers. Study and learn.

Another place to find great examples to follow is on eBay. Use the same criteria listed above and discover what is successful for yourself. eBay is where the playing field is leveled for new marketers. You can find useful tips and examples in the resources eBay lists on the site. Just be aware that your product cannot offer digital download, like eBooks. You can, however deliver your digital product on CDs or DVDs.

In fact, another effective competitive process is to make a CD full of useful information and bonuses and offer it for sale at a reasonable premium price. This technique can be used for eCourses, coaching and giveaways. Your market might be very interested in building a library of information with a collection of CDs, instead of purchasing single units and downloading them one at a time. Fulfillment centers will do the grunt work for you, including mailings.

One very successful marketing method is with blogs. They can be free to set up and can be online in a very short time. If you blog about lucrative niches and offer good information, along with a prime bonus for joining your list, you can start making money quickly. If this is an option that attracts you, study blogs in your selected niche and determine a way to "do it" better or to provide information or resources the major blogs in your niche are not providing. You can increase your income with AdSense and offering related affiliate products for sale.

One of the mind sets you have to develop in order to compete with hundreds of other online marketers is a belief in knowing your market inside and out. Your online research of what works and what does not will be invaluable to your marketing plans. There's a whole lot more to becoming a successful Web marketer than just publishing a sales page or putting up a blog.

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Online Best Seller EBook - The Dos and Don'ts of Your Online Launch

An online best seller book (eBook) is a bit different from your traditional book, especially when it comes to the actual launching and marketing of your creation. An eBook's success depends heavily on how you present in on the Internet, where it will have to compete with hundreds or even thousands of books talking about the same thing.

When you are ready to launch your eBook make sure to keep these dos and don'ts in mind during the launch to help you make the most out of the process.

Don't launch a book fresh from your desk; have a cooling off period

Many eBook authors who want to become bestselling authors sees his or her finished product differently that the reader may see it, which will end up distorting how good or bad it actually is. If you really want to write a bestseller and not come up with just another eBook, then leave your project totally alone for at least 48 hours. Go through the whole thing when you're looking at it with fresh eyes.

Don't mass-mail on social networking sites; Do find out which networks to use

Facebook, Twitter and MySpace are great places for you to announce the launch of your eBook, but only if you select your targets. Your friends and family may be happy for you, but don't expect them to buy your eBook as readily as people who are actually interested in what you have to write.

Find the groups that are interested in your genre of books, establish yourself in them prior to the launch, and you'll find a much more marketable population to market to.

Of course, this means you have to know who your market is. Don't make the mistake so many authors make by thinking everyone is your market. The more you now about who wants your information and is willing to pay for it the better off you will be.

Beware of the hype from other eBook authors

The fact is, you can make great money from eBooks. Hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands and sometimes more is possible. However, popular bestselling authors may claim to earn big bucks by selling their e-books, but these authors that have either written a lot of e-books or are just busy spinning their stories for marketing purposes. Balance your budget beforehand, and do not expect too much right off the bat to prevent yourself from getting yourself into money problems.

Don't over or under-price; do your homework and research

Speaking of money, pricing is a particularly significant concern when selling an eBook. Some books go for as low as a dollar, while others can reach up the hundreds of dollars. Such a wide gap between prices requires you to do some research about your target market. Match your eBook with the financial capacities of your potential buyers as well as your level of credibility within your market. Bottom line is you should be able to come up with a fair value for your book. And, always deliver more than what people pay for.

Now's not the time to be shy - go out and tell the world

The golden rule of online marketing is to be loud and proud of your work. Launching an online best seller eBook requires that you convince others to buy your work, and you have got to develop a very proactive attitude to do that.

Be confident of your skills as a writer and an expert. After all, if you don't believe in what you are doing, why should your reader.

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Best-Selling Author Asks, WHY Are You Seeking to Publish Your Book?

Seemingly every day writers send me notes asking me how they can go about the business of getting their books published.

Responding to each one, individually, is taking more of my time, and at last I have decided to augment and organize my counsel in a more detailed format. I'm presenting a fraction of this material in this article.

Usually, I can steer writers this way or that, and make at least a small contribution to speeding their trajectory. But of late, I've found myself asking more questions than answering them. And the most stunning and provocative is this one:

"Why are you seeking to publish your book?"

This makes people gasp. To some, it's akin to asking, "Why breathe?" They are so much sold on the desirability or even perceived necessity of becoming published that asking WHY seems absurd.

But I assure you it isn't.

When I was selling advertising for our college newspaper I stopped at a hamburger place that seemed like a McDonald's wannabe. Typical franchise look, with neon and bright fluorescent lighting, it was managed by a gentleman who oversaw all of its operations.

He seemed oddly out of place. I learned that by training he was an attorney. He had practiced criminal law in New York.

I told him that practicing law was one of my dreams, and trial work seemed like a wonderful challenge.

"There's only one downside to practicing criminal law," he said drolly. "It's your clients."

"What's wrong with them?" I asked.

"They're CRIMINALS!" he quipped.

Why, he asked with obvious concern, did I want to become an attorney?

Prestige, power, and the portents of money beckoned. I also wanted to help people, particularly if there were heroics attached.

By the time I could afford to foot the bill for law school, I was already in the thrall of another profession, teaching and training, which I found quite appealing and rewarding. While attending to my consultancy, I graduated from law school, passed the bar exam, and became a licensed attorney, only to find that my WHY was no longer as strong or as relevant as it had been.

Already, I earned attorney-money. I was autonomous as an independent consultant, and as a Ph.D. and professor I had substantial professional prestige. For me, the nuts and bolts of everyday lawyering had become unnecessary.

In essence, wanting to become a lawyer had absolutely nothing to do with LOVE OF THE LAW. It had much to do with pursuing SECONDARY GAINS, some of which I mentioned, above. Plus, there was something of a family tradition that I wanted to channel.

Today, I practice a little, and I screen and refer out certain cases beyond my areas of expertise and interest. But the law isn't my primary career, which hasn't really changed that much for the past few decades.

I hope you can see where I'm going with this.

WHY do you want to publish a book? Is it for the thing, itself, because of the love of writing? Is it to enjoy the process of compiling words in such a copious and organized manner that they appear to have bookishness?

Or is it for financial gain or egoistic satisfactions? Have you just always wanted to write a book? Is there someone you know and admire or are secretly competitive with to whom you want to prove your merit?

You need to answer clearly and honestly because the world doesn't need yet one more unfulfilled author.

YOU have to need it, and need it, deeply, passionately, and unrelentingly, because getting published is not easy.

Or, in the alternative, you need to possess a remarkable detachment from the entire process, somewhat like what we would hear from a Zen monk.

"Gary-san, your book has sold hundreds of thousands of copies and is a big best-seller!"

"And, so?"

"Gary-san, your book has sold a few thousand copies, it is an utter dud, a huge disappointment. It will never earn back the advance the publisher paid you nor will it pay you back for the time and effort you invested!"

"And, so?"

If you can roll with either scenario with utter equanimity, well then, your WHY is either so strong or so irrelevant as to be completely acceptable and workable.

Gibson ES

Sell Your Book To Make It A Best Seller

A big portion about writing a best-selling book is not the writing only, it's the selling. That's why it's called "Best-Selling Book" and not "Best-Writing Book". You have to sell it really well.

Here are some of the efforts that I have taken to ensure that my books become bestsellers.

The first thing I did was arranging for a lot of book talks. Anytime I could get an opportunity to go out there to speak and sell the book I would do that.

So what I did was to approach all the major bookshops in Singapore. MPH, Times, Kinokuniya, Borders and Popular and arranged book talks every single weekend. So every single weekend I would go out there to speak and draw crowds. In fact, it is during my talks that I sold the most number of books.

Another promotion effort I did was to arrange free talks in schools. These talks were usually held during the school assemblies. So I would speak during the allocated time for the assemblies. And I conducted them over a 4 month period. That was what drove the sales of the book. That's what got people talking about my book.

The other thing which I did was to put advertisements in the papers
Some of my friends thought it was a stupid idea because it was expensive.
One small ad would cost about $3,000. They said "Adam, you are never going to make back your money!"

It did eventually, and by placing those ads, it drew the crowd into the bookshops. Which leads me to an important thing, you have to make sure the bookshops give you good shelf space. How do you make sure you do that?

It's all about going there, building rapport with the person in charge of book placements, talking to the person and asking the person to place the books at better spaces.

I would go to the bookshop every weekend to look at where my book is and if my book is in a lousy position, I would take my book and replace it with other books which were at a good position. I know it's a dirty trick but I did that.

The other thing I did was to create artificial demand. Initially, when I first wrote my book, no one wanted to display it well. A lot of bookshops didn't want to bring it in because I was a local author and no one knew me at that time.

So what I did was I got a lot of my friends to call the bookshops up, asking about the book. They would go, "Excuse me, have you seen this book called "I Am Gifted, So Are You"?" and the bookshops would say "Oh, we don't have it yet."

And my friends would reply saying "Hey, but it's a very good book, how can you not have this book?" I also got all my friends and relatives to write in to the bookshops complaining that it was a best-selling book, they wanted to buy it but they couldn't get it. So that got the bookshops to start ordering it and it created that cycle.

You will notice that sometimes it takes a little thinking out of the box and effort to make your book a best seller. Ultimately, in order for your book to be a bestseller, you have to take the necessary measures to sell your book.

dj-shisu