Non-Fiction Handbook Writing Sample

Ten Steps to Self-Publishing

(Introduction and First Chapter only)

INTRODUCTION

If you have ever written a book and then attempted to find a publisher, you probably have a stack of rejection letters to show for all your efforts and an enormous feeling of frustration. Maybe you don’t want to win the Nobel Prize for Literature. Perhaps you just want to share your efforts with family and friends or use your book as a fundraiser for your club or church. Self-publishing your work is a viable option that can give you the opportunity to showcase what you have done and to experience the satisfaction of holding your very own book in your hands.  

In the heady world of self-publishing, there are many different options and service providers. Bear in mind that print on demand publishers are in the business to make money, not for you, the author, but for themselves. Printing books is an expensive business, whether you use a print on demand publisher or a traditional printer. Of course, you are not confined to print: e-books present a viable and affordable option for self-publishers. This book will help you make informed choices and select the best route for you. 

Why Do It?

Many writers have a story to tell, knowledge to impart, experiences to share. The convenience of a PC has turned so many people into writers and inspired even more with the dream of becoming an author. Whether you are in the writing business to make money, to satisfy that inner voice or nurture the creative spirit within you, this book will help you get started on the journey and see your dream through to a completed project: a published book!

You’re about to recycle your manuscript and forget about your dreams of being an author. You’ve been turned down so often you just don’t feel like going the rounds once more and getting yet another generic rejection letter. Still, there is a small voice inside you telling you that maybe you have a winner on your hands. You just need a lucky break. Rather than turn to a vanity press and admit complete defeat, you want to tackle the job of seeing your manuscript through to the final product, then market and sell it yourself. Hey, you never know, you might just have a bestseller on your hands.

If you are a successful business owner or executive, publishing your book can give a huge boost to your career and even fast track you to the top. By sharing your expertise with people, you can put your business on the map and not only boost sales but also profits. Having a book to your name gives you the status of an ‘expert’ in your field and lends you that all-important air of credibility. Not only will you find that you are suddenly in demand as a valued consultant, but also organizations will vie to have you as their next guest speaker. As you can see, the positive spin-offs are enormous.

Many people have successfully made a career by starting with publishing their first book. People like Mark Victor Hansen, who self-published his first book and went on to make a billion-dollar business out of it, shows what is possible through self-publishing. Seminars, DVDs, software, CDs and coaching are just some of the possibilities for you to launch a successful career after publishing your first book.

Ok, now let’s get started in getting you to become a book author!

CHAPTER ONE: GETTING STARTED

Generating Ideas

Keep a Clipping File

All books begin with an idea. Where do you find the ideas that you can transform into a book? One way is to keep a clipping file. Often when you are reading a newspaper or magazine, you come across an account of a true event that is so extraordinary as to be almost unbelievable. There is the stuff upon which fiction is built. Or perhaps you found an article that talks about an area in which you have some expertise or interest. Sometimes the article includes an interview with an expert in the field. Once you have formulated your ideas, perhaps written a few sample chapters, you could run them by this expert, get some useful feedback and when the book is completed, send him or her a copy of your book with a view to getting a valuable endorsement.

Make it New: Thinking Outside the Box

If you feel that you just cannot come up with an original idea, often you can approach a topic from a slightly different angle. Instead of writing yet another book about toilet training for toddlers, think about it from the perspective of the toddler himself and inject a little humor into the subject.  

Hobbies and Interests

Look to your hobbies for possible book ideas. Maybe your passion is going to flea markets and garage sales. Over the years, you have developed some great techniques to ensure you get some fantastic deals. It is not something you’ve thought about, just what you’ve learned from your experience. Along the way, you have picked up some knowledge about antiques and you have learned how to spot the genuine article. You have honed your haggling to a fine art, bought some great stuff and made a killing on e-bay. Hey, what a great topic for a book:  Flea Marketing for Dummies.

Writing From Hands-On Experience

Maybe you are a stay-at-home mum with a gaggle of kiddies to look after. Think about all the neat little craft projects you do with them, from baking soda volcanoes to paper maché monsters. Wouldn’t other mums and daycare providers just love to have a kit with all the goodies for a specific project, or a handy book with easy to read, step-by-step instructions? See how easy it is to come up with great ideas from your everyday routines.

The World of Work

Perhaps you are running your own home-based business. It wasn’t easy getting the whole thing started and there were lots of obstacles in the way. Why not write a manual for other people who have escaped from the traditional 9 to 5 office job or who are thinking of opting out of the daily commute and becoming their own boss? You can make money by sharing the benefit of your experience with others, whatever you do.

Use your Imagination

Don’t feel you must be constrained within the boundaries of your own knowledge and experience. Some writers will tell you that you should only write about what you know. If every freelance writer followed that advice, he would starve before he wrote an article. 

Develop your research skills, find out where to get the information you need, and

understand that you can write about virtually anything. If you want to set your book in the Middle Ages and write about making beer the medieval way, then do some thorough research, become an expert and go for it.  

Questions to Ask Yourself

Immerse yourself in popular culture to find topical ideas for books. Check out talk shows on TV and radio to discover what pushes buttons and gets buzz. Surf the Web for ezines: see what sells and what you can do with a slightly different approach. Next time you find yourself in the supermarket, spend some time looking at the racks of magazines. Based on what you read, see and hear, ask yourself these questions:

       What do people want out of life?

             More money              Leisure Time               Good Relationships

             No Stress                    Good Job                     Interesting Hobbies

             Sports                         Good Health                Time to Relax

       Who are the groups these articles target?

Baby boomers represent a huge target audience. For the most part, they are rich and successful, they refuse to grow old and they want the good life, the best their money can buy...What can you offer this demanding group of consumers that will help them attain their goals?

       Families represent another interest group. Name a big issue that may be on the mind of a parent.

            How to juggle career and family life

                        How to make time for the kids

            How to make time for yourself

            How to keep the romance alive in the marriage

                        How to reduce stress in the holidays

       Take a look at seniors as a focus group. What issues concern them?

Staying healthy

Keeping fit

Maintaining their independence

Personal finances

Keeping in touch with family

How to find a winning topic that sells

Now you have gained some valuable insights into targeting audiences and what drives them. Finances, time, leisure, love, work and health issues dominate the headlines of popular magazines and the line-up on talk shows. If you want to further refine your research into hot topics, try these sites:

http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/ 

http://groups.google.com

Overture will let you know how popular each keyword is based on the number of searches in the past month. That will give you a good idea whether your topic is one in demand. Google groups is a good place to find out people’s concerns and problems, to which you may just have the solution to. 

Choose a topic that fits into one of these basic categories, and then make it appear easy to achieve the desired goal by providing step-by-step strategies. You want the goal to appear attainable, so always put a number value on your topic: “Twelve Easy Steps to…..” or “Thirty Ways to…..” By encouraging your audience to feel that they can achieve this goal, they will feel more compelled to buy your book. 

Topic Examples for Self-Help Books

Check out some of the following ideas when planning your book:

·         Getting Ready for Christmas: Ten New Approaches to Gift Buying

·         Twenty Terrific Ways to Keep Stress out of Christmas

·         Pay Your Bills on Time:  Ten Steps to Staying Ahead of the Game

·         Staying Healthy at a Desk Job:  Ten Fun Exercises to Do at Work

·         Calamity Cleanup at Home in Five Easy Steps a Day

·         Messiness Madness: Ten Tools to Sanity

·         How to Get Along with Extended Family: Fifteen Ways to Keep Peace

·         Keep Romance Alive: Twenty-five Ways to say, “I Love You”

·         How to Avoid Morning Madness: Six Simple Strategies to Getting Your Act in Gear

·         Ten Ways to Making your Do List Doable

·         Ten Ways to Help Your Child ‘Beat’ the Bully

·         Ten Valuable Ways to Save a Troubled Marriage

·         Empty Nesters: Twenty Ways to Keeping Your Life Full

·         How to Get a Raise in Ten Easy Days

·         How to Plan a Successful Wedding

·         Eight Steps to Practical Party Planning

·         Finding a Hot Deal in Obtaining a Mortgage

·         Ten Shopping Tips for Getting a Great Price  

·         Fifteen Ways to Finding a Great Job

·         Seven Steps to Strategizing for a Successful Retirement

·         A Helpful Handbook for Putting Fun in your Party

·         Ten Terrific Birthday Themes and How to Make them Fun

·         Ten Stress-Free Strategies to Taking Time for Yourself 

Children's Educational Writing Samples  

 (This book was a combination Bible Encyclopedia and Atlas. Each part focused on a different aspect of the Bible.)

 VeggieTales Bible Atlapedia

                Part 4: The People in the Bible                         

Aaron (Exodus 4--40; Leviticus 8)

Aaron was the brother of Moses. Aaron helped Moses with talking the king of Egypt into letting the Israelites leave that country. He was the very first high priest of Israel. Only men from his family could be priests.

Abednego (Daniel 3)

Abednego was a good friend of Daniel who stood strong in his faith when King Nebuchadnezzar commanded the people to bow down and worship a false god. When Abednego and his friends, Shadrach and Meshach refused to obey, the king threw them into a fiery furnace, but God saved them!

Abel (Genesis 4)

Abel was the second son born to Adam and Eve. Abel was a shepherd. His brother, Cain was jealous of Abel. Cain killed Abel because God was pleased with Abel’s sacrifice but not with Cain’s.

Abigail (1 Samuel 25)

Abigail was married to Nabal. After he died, she married David. One of David’s sisters was also named Abigail (1 Chronicles 2:16--17).

Abraham–Abram (Genesis 11--25)

Abraham was first called Abram. He was chosen by God to become the father of the Jewish nation. Abraham obeyed God by leaving his home in Haran and going to Canaan. He and his wife, Sarah, had no children, but God promised them a son. Abraham was 100 years old, and Sarah was 90 when Isaac, the promised son, was born. God tested Abraham’s faith by commanding him to sacrifice Isaac, the son he had waited so long for. Abraham showed his willingness to obey whatever God asked of him. God was pleased and saved Isaac before anything bad happened.

Achan (Joshua 7)

During the battle of Jericho, an Israelite named Achan took some things that God had said not to take. Because of Achan’s disobedience, Israel lost its next battle.

Adam (Genesis 1–2)

Adam was the first man God created. He was placed in the beautiful Garden of Eden with Eve where God gave them everything they needed. God asked just one thing of them—not to eat from the tree in the center of the garden. When Adam and Eve disobeyed and ate from the tree, sin entered the world.

Agrippa (Acts 12; 24)

Herod Agrippa I was the grandson of Herod the Great, and the king of Judea from 41-44 AD. The Jews forced Agrippa to have Peter arrested and have James killed. Herod Agrippa II was the king from 50-100 AD and was the last “Herod.” He heard the apostle Paul speak.

Ahab (1 Kings 16–22)

Ahab was the seventh king of Israel. He married an evil woman named Jezebel who worshiped Baal, a false god. Ahab became evil, too, and even though Elijah tried very hard to turn Ahab back to God, he wouldn’t listen.

Amos (Amos 1-9)

Amos was a shepherd from Judah and a prophet in Israel. There, Amos tried to convince the people how important it was to obey God. He warned them that God would punish them if they didn’t do what God said.

Ananias (Acts 4–5)

Ananias and his wife, Sapphira, sold some property to get money to give to the poor Christians, but they lied to Peter and the Holy Spirit about how much money they were giving. Because of that, they were punished and died then and there.

Ananias (Acts 9

Ananias was a Christian disciple living in the city of Damascus. God told him to help Saul of Tarsus (who was later called Paul) after he was made blind.

Ananias (Acts 23) The high priest who was at Paul’s trial in Jerusalem.

Andrew (Matthew 4; 10; John 1; 6; Acts 1)

Andrew was a fisherman chosen to be one of Jesus’ twelve apostles. He brought his brother, Peter, to see Jesus. Later, Andrew brought a boy with a lunch to Jesus, and Jesus used it to feed over 5,000 people.

Aquila (Acts 18; Romans 16:3-5; 1 Corinthians 16:19)

Aquila and his wife, Priscilla, were Jewish Christians who worked as tentmakers. They traveled with Paul to preach the good news of Jesus. They offered their home to the people for church worship.

Asher (Genesis 30, 49; Numbers 2; Joshua 19)

Asher was the eighth son of Jacob. His descendants became the Israelite tribe of Asher.

Balaam (Numbers 22–24; 31; 2 Peter 2)

Balaam was a prophet from Midian who was hired by the king of Moab to come and curse the Israelites. On his way there, God caused Balaam’s donkey to talk and an angel to tell Balaam to say only good things about the Israelites. Balaam obeyed, but later he led some Israelites to worship Baal, the false god.

Barabbas (Matthew 27; Mark 15; Luke 23; John 18)

Barabbas was a robber and a murderer who was in jail in Jerusalem when Jesus was arrested. When Pilate gave the Jewish people a choice about who to let go free, the people chose to free Barabbas and kill Jesus on the cross.

Barnabas (Acts 4; 13–15)

Barnabas was from Cyprus and was named Joseph. The apostles called him Barnabas, which means “one who encourages,” because he helped others. He sold a field he owned and gave the money to the apostles to help the poor Christians in Jerusalem. Barnabas introduced Paul to the Jerusalem church. Then he went with Paul on his first missionary trip, preaching the good news of Jesus.

Bartholomew (Matthew 10; Luke 6; John 1)

Bartholomew, also known as Nathanael, was one of Jesus’ twelve apostles. Philip brought him to see Jesus.

Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11–12; 1 Kings 1–2)

Bathsheba was married to Uriah until David fell in love with her and had Uriah killed. They married, but God punished them with the death of their first child. Bathsheba and David also became the parents of Solomon.

Belshazzar (Daniel 5)

Belshazzar was a Babylon ruler where Daniel lived. God was displeased with Belshazzar’s sinful life. During a banquet, a hand appeared and wrote a message on the wall. It was a message from God. Daniel was called in to explain it. The message meant that Belshazzar would be punished, and his kingdom would come to an end. That same night, Babylon was captured and Belshazzar was killed.

Benjamin (Genesis 35; 42–45)

Benjamin was Jacob and Rachel’s youngest son. His mother died when he was born which made Jacob love Benjamin even more. His descendants became one of the twelve family tribes of Israel. King Saul and the apostle Paul were from Benjamin’s family.

Boaz (Ruth 2–4)

Boaz was a wealthy, distant relative of Naomi’s husband. After Naomi’s husband and sons died, she and her widowed daughter-in-law Ruth moved from Moab to Bethlehem. To help take care of  Naomi, Ruth worked in Boaz’s field to get the grain they needed. Boaz saw Ruth’s dedication and love and gave her special privileges. Later Boaz and Ruth married and became the great-grandparents of King David..

Sample of an Activity Guide provided for Sony Entertainment

(To sell with the Berenstain Bears DVDs in stores.)

The Berenstain Bears

                         Fun Family Adventures

                                                 By Stan and Jan Berenstain    

FAMILY ACTIVITY GUIDE

The Berenstain Bears:  Go to the Movies

            Help cubs discover the importance of spending time together as a family as you enjoy segment two of The Berenstain Bears Fun Family Adventures.

            Cubs will also hear how Moses instructs everyone to love and serve the Lord as a family and pass that love and obedience down through the generations. By the end of this session, cubs will see the value in spending time with family and working together in love and service to God.

Episode Summary: 

In this episode, Mama calls an emergency family meeting to point out that they don’t spend enough time together. The family agrees to see a movie together, but their outing goes astray.

The Bears wind up doing unexpected things together and have lots of fun. Even though the Bears don’t see the movie, they discover that spending time with each other is what matters most.

Welcome to Bear Country!

A family can be doing the dishes or just stuck in bad weather.

But all of it’s fun when it’s time they spend together.

            Enjoy a movie of your own and invite youngsters to create their own make-believe cars to join a family drive-in. (Consider inviting extended family, friends or neighbors to make it even more fun!)

1.     You will need:  large cardboard boxes; wrapping paper, tape, glue, markers and scissors or paints, brushes, drop cloth, cleaning tools.

2.     An adult should cut off the top and bottom flaps of the box.

3.     Help cubs draw wheels or any other outer (and inner) features you may wish to add to the car.

4.     If wrapping your car – add wheels and/or additional features afterward, by drawing them onto the wrapping paper or by gluing on knobs, buttons or cutout paper patterns.

5.     If painting your car – you may need to paint several coats. Add wheels and/or additional features after the paint dries. Do this by drawing them or gluing on knobs, buttons or cutout paper patterns.

6.     Choose a movie, pop some popcorn and invite cubs to “drive” into your viewing area with their cars. Enjoy!

7.     Ask cubs if they enjoyed the movie. Ask if they enjoyed building their cars with you. Both experiences were most likely fun!

Berenstain Bears Presents:  Go to the Movies

            Watch the Episode:  Go to the Movies with the children.

Cub Questions

Use the following questions to review Session Two:  Go to the Movies.

·     Why does Mama call an emergency family meeting?

·     What do the Bears finally agree upon doing?

·     On their way to see the movie, what obstacles prevent the Bears from seeing it?

·     How do the Bears make the best of what happens each time something happens?

·     What do the Bears realize after realizing they aren’t going to see the movie after all?

Bible Story:   Our Family will Love the Lord – Deuteronomy 11:1-23

Help cubs understand how much God wants families to pass on His love and obedience from generation to generation as you share the instructions Moses gave to God’s people.

            Children should say and repeat the following words and actions.

Moses had a lot to say                                        Make waves with hands.

to God’s people one fine day.    &nbs