How to Title Your Book for Best Sales and Marketing Success

While a catchy book title will attract the eye of a potential buyer, for non-fiction it may not be your books’ strongest selling asset. The words themselves may hold more than you may realize.

According to Google, more than fifty percent of all books are now sold over the Internet. Amazon.com sales accounted for 5.96 billion dollars of those sales last year; these numbers are expected to rise in the upcoming years. Although this may be bad news for the traditional brick and mortar book stores, it’s good news for online sellers. Knowing how to have your book found through search inquiries on sites such as Google and Yahoo has become crucial to selling books. Online visibility begins with your book’s title.

Title Search
When a person is looking for specific information on the World Wide Web, they enter words related to their interests in the search box online. Each word they type in is called a “keyword” or “key phrase.” The Search Engines use these words or phrases to find the most relevant list of related Websites. These sites are then displayed for the user.

When deciding on your books title, one important thing to consider is the incorporation of good keywords. For instance, if you’re writing a book on golf tips for beginners, a title such as Golf Is Fun may not return as many Search Engine results for your book as the title Golf Tips for the Beginner.

Before you write your book title, make a list of all related keywords and perform a search on Google to see what comes up in the results. Also, when you do your search, the first page shown should have a short list of other suggested keywords or phrases (usually at the very top or bottom of the page). Incorporating as many of these words into your book title as is possible will help your book be seen better in the future.

Fiction books may not be as specifically searchable online as non-fiction, but fiction book writers can benefit from good keyword titles as well. One or two related words in a title can make a big improvement in Search Engine results. Again, what will end users be looking for when they search for a book like yours?

The Letter A
Once again, most books are sold online; making your online presence and visibility very important to selling your books. It’s likely, as a writer, you will be networking with others online.

As silly as it may sound, books with titles beginning with the letter “A” may be more visible than a book which begins with the letter “Z.” Many Websites and Blogs have sidebar lists of the books they enjoy or recommend to their Website visitors. Some of these create their lists in alphabetical order; placing your book which begins with the letter A at the top of the list. Top listings receive 17% more hits than lower placed listings.

These same Website and Blog editors often “swap” URL links with the editors of other related sites and list those links on their Web page. If and when you create your own Website and/or Blog, you might consider doing the same with your site’s title, that is, begin the title with the letter A. These link lists are also posted by Blogger automatically in alphabetical order as well.

Keep in mind; starting with the letter A is not mandatory for higher placements in listings online. For instance, starting with the letter D is good, C is better, B is great, but A is the best. Also, numbers generally precede letters in Web listings. 101 Ways to Learn the Game of Golf would be listed before An Easy Way to Learn the Game of Golf.

As always, I respect and appreciate reader’s comments to this post.

Co-Authoring a Book - For The Love of My Son

Today I have the pleasure of interviewing Robert Lynch, co-author of Daniel’s Dream. Robert has just released the book written by himself and Charles Riley as a team effort. Our discussion will include not only the ins and outs of two writers working jointly, but some details about this inspiring true story.

Carol Denbow: Greeting Robert, and thank you for agreeing to do this interview. Your book, Daniel’s Dream is an emotional detail of your son, his death, and you and your lovely wife Marian’s quest to establish a non-profit foundation in honor of your late son, Daniel.
Please start by telling us a little about your son Daniel.


Robert Lynch: To start to learn and understand Daniel, I must start at the beginning. My wife Marian and I had a complete and full family. Vicki our oldest daughter age 23, Mark our son age 21, and Bonnie the youngest age 19 when we learned another child was on the way. So, the fact that we were going to have another child at our age was more than shocking. It took some time and effort to accept the fact that another soul was joining the family.

Daniel was born on May 24th 1982. As with most babies, the first years can be challenging and demanding. But, I can say, that from Daniel's birth until his death he had a wonderful disposition and there was always a smile on his face! Rather than being a challenge in those early years, he added so much to everyone in the family that it's impossible to relate. The older children now had a young brother and they treated him with such love—they were all so happy. I could never imagine that this addition to our family could bring such meaning to our lives. By age two, it was very evident to me that Daniel possessed a superior personality and he learned things quickly and in detail. We were surprised at the things he was able to comprehend.

He was small as a youngster and always the smallest in his class. This bothered him because children can be mean and tend to keep the “runts” at arms length; not including them in activities. But he had an ability to excel in some way at every thing he applied himself to. If it was something he liked, he would really excel. If it was something he wasn't particularly fond of, he would meet the challenge and never give up. Athletics was one area that he didn't necessary like, but in school when he would have to participate in a sport, he would do his best and hold his own. It became very apparent he would keep this attitude through his life.

Carol Denbow: I got to know Daniel through reading the book—I think I would have really liked this young man. If you are able, please tell us how you lost Daniel.

Robert Lynch: While attending college in San Francisico, Daniel was working at the Triton Hotel in the same city to help with the cost of his education. He had just moved over to Oakland, California because rents were much cheaper there. One morning Daniel was on the way to the BART train station to go to school and he was attacked and shot to death. It was ruled as a “mistaken identity” case. The killer was in a gang and thought that Daniel was someone he had been in a fight with the previous week. It was a senseless loss of life of a beautiful person who lived just the opposite of the gang member.

Carol Denbow: Daniel was an amazing young man whose life clearly had purpose. I understand from reading the book that following Daniel’s tragic death, you and Marian set out to establish a non-profit art foundation to help other struggling art students achieve a degree by providing much needed supplies as well as college scholarship funds. Tell us how it made you feel once you accomplished this task.

Robert Lynch: We wanted something positive to come out of this terrible tragedy. In Daniel's honor and memory, we desired to set up a program that would help other art students achieve their dream to pursue an education in the field of art. The journey in establishing the Daniel Robert Lynch Art Education and Scholarship Program was quite an effort, but it has become a blessing in many ways. Within the past four years, six art students have received scholarships, giving them the opportunity for an education in the art field. In order to win the scholarship, these students had to meet certain requirements. All of these students were from low income families who could not have provided a higher education for their children. Each student had amazing scholastic achievements and art portfolios, and were very deserving of a scholarship.

The Cache Education Foundation accepted this program into their foundation as a non-profit entity. This foundation is outstanding in helping education through grants and donations to the school system. The DRL Art Program is a small entity, but specializes in strengthening art in the school program through grants to art teachers for programs and equipment. We are very proud of Daniel's art program and what it is doing to strengthen art education and provide scholarships.

Carol Denbow: Now that our readers know a little about your story, can you please tell us when you decided to write Daniel’s Dream and what that meant to you and your family?

Robert Lynch: We had recently moved to Coarsegold, California from Logan, Utah to be closer to our other children. I visited a coffee shop that co-author Charles Riley owned and we immediately became friends. During various visits, Charley and I talked about my son Daniel and his death. Charley is an author and I had the pleasure of reading the draft manuscript of a story he was writing, “The Boys From Arlin.” I was so impressed; it was such a gripping story. Charlie's book will be published this year and I predict the readers will find it very enjoyable. Charlie and I continued talking and discussing Daniel's life, the fact that Daniel is being referred to and remembered as “the student that got murdered in Oakland” really bothered me. He was so much more and deserved to be known and remembered for who he was. I'm told by people that it doesn't matter what other people think or say, it's how you remember him that counts. But people just can't imagine the hurt and failure you feel that such a talented and dedicated young person's life is over, and society will never know about this young man. Charlie was the person who suggested that I write a book about Daniel. The more we talked and the more he persuaded, I finally decided to ask about him writing the book with me. He's the writer, and a good one, so we made the decision to do it.

Carol Denbow: Robert, having lost a son myself, I know it is sometimes difficult to “re-live” the loss. Did publishing this book hurt or help heal your suffering?

Robert Lynch: It's almost been 5 years since Daniel's death, and I can’t honestly say that I had to relive the loss. I think of Daniel ALL the time, every day. I go to sleep at night thinking about him. I've had to start
taking sleeping pills to even get to sleep. Five years is a long time, and when I wake up in the morning Daniel is on my mind. So I haven't had to re-live it, it has always been there.

Carol Denbow: Your co-author is Charles Riley. How did you meet and decide to co-write the book rather than do it alone?

Robert Lynch: I touched on that before. I've never written a book and wouldn't try to do so myself. To have someone like Charlie offer to help write the book, I'd been very foolish not to take Charley up on it, since he was willing and available.

Carol Denbow: How did you and Charles work together on this project? In other words, you spoke, he wrote, or possibly you wrote and he re-wrote? Or is he an active part of the story?

Robert Lynch: I wrote the basic facts of the book, and turned it over to Charlie. He wrote the draft in his own writing style and gave it to me to read, then we discussed it. He took my comments and fine-tuned them until I was satisfied with what he had written.

Carol Denbow: After all is said and done, would you recommend to our readers who are considering this path to co-author a book rather than tackle the project on their own? Was it helpful to have a partner writer?

Robert Lynch: Yes. With my experience, I'd recommend a co-author, if available. But I feel writers should be cautious about it. As Charlie pointed out to me, most authors are individuals that have a strong conviction on their writing style. As he noted up front, if you give your book in draft form to ten people to read, you'd receive ten different suggestions on how to make it better. The one thing we agreed to up front was that this was to be MY story. He'd make suggestions but I had the final say. So the question about if I would recommend doing a book with a co-author or not? Yes, but it would depend upon the attitude of the author. Two people agreeing an anything is rare in today's society. So I think the ground rules should be set upfront, and if you don't like something, speak your mind, but remember your agreement.

Carol Denbow: The past few years have certainly been trying for you and your family. Please accept my condolences for your enormous loss and suffering. We all hope Daniel’s Dream is successful so students such as Daniel have the opportunity to fulfill their dreams in the future. Thank you for sharing your incredible story with us and for telling our writers “how it is” to co-author a book.

Daniel’s Dream is available through Amazon.com, the Lynch’s Website at http://www.danielsdream.webs.com, in Kindle and Barnes & Noble Nook Book format, and wherever fine books are sold.

Please learn more about the Daniel Robert Lynch Art Education and Scholarship Program by visiting http://www.dansinspiration.com. All donations, no matter how small, are appreciated.

Kindle: The Results

I recently posted about an experiment I did with my books listed on Kindle. You may recall that I lowered my Kindle books to .99 cents each for one month. Well that month is over now and I have some interesting conclusions regarding the whole experiment.

In that previous post, I told you I had my books regularly listed at up to $4.99 and was selling about 20 books a month (some of my titles were actually only listed at $2.99). The experiment was to see if it would be better to list the books at .99 and sell more copies than at the higher price and sell less. So here’s what happened…

One noticeable conclusion came immediately when I saw the sales count for the month-long experiment. I sold 90 copies at .99; again, the previous month was only 20.

At $4.99 a book (actually, any price over $2.99), Kindle offers the author/publisher a 70 percent royalty. But if you lower your list price to under $2.99, they only give you a 30 percent royalty. So whereas I previously made an average of 2.44 a copy in royalties (all my titles with combined pricing), at the .99 listing price I was only making .30 per copy. So my profit before the experiment selling 20 books was $48.80, and during the month-long experiment I sold 90 copies at .99 each and profited only $27.00. But hold on, there’s more to know…

During the experimental period, I did not actively promote my books. So I sold 90 Kindle copies without effort. And… more than 40 of those were sold in the very last week of the experiment—why? I believe that happened because with more sales on record, my books ratings went up. The more you sell, the more popular the book becomes in “Amazons” eyes.

Even more interesting to this experiment was that my paperback copy sales increased as well and made up for the difference in profits for the Kindle version. Why did this happen? Likely because of the increased ratings. The more sales you have with Amazon, the higher they list your book in its category. So there just might be a real benefit to selling cheaper Kindle books, particularly if you have another format listed with them, i.e., paperback.

The conclusion:
Here’s my conclusion. I’m satisfied that a lower list price may generate more sales. But more so, I believe the lower price attracted a few additional readers, who may not have otherwise purchased the Kindle book at the previously listed price of $4.99, and because they did, the books ratings went up, and because they went up, more people saw the book and purchased it. Therefore, I fully intend to continue this experiment for at least one more full month to see if sales continue to climb at a faster rate. What do I think I’ll confirm with extending the experiment? Higher ratings sell more books with Amazon.com. This might be old news, but the question may have always been, “How do I get my book listed higher in search results with Amazon.com if I haven’t sold any copies?” The answer may be Kindle bargains. I will keep you updated!

Tips on When to Get & How to Use Reviews

When to Get Reviews
The best time to start getting reviews is long before the book has gone to print. When you think about it, how else do authors get those nice snippets from reviewers on their back cover, front cover, inside pages, websites and promotional materials prior to the release of their book?

However, reviews are valuable at any time during the life of your book. In fact this should be an on-going process throughout the marketing plan. So pace yourself a little - you will want continued exposure for the long-term. Also, keep in mind that a publication will not likely include a blurb about your book if their direct competitors have just recently done the same thing. Your budget will determine how many copies you can afford to send out for review. So, again, pace your marketing plan.

How to Get Reviews
As always the most essential key is to research the publication you want to query and learn about their readers. The next essential key is to research their submission guidelines. Then you can query the reviewer with a nice letter that includes some basic ideas about the book. Be clear about why the book fits their magazine and their targeted audience at this time. If they feel it does not fit, do not argue. You can always try again, but let several months pass before you query the reviewer again with a new approach.

Always query with a professional informative letter. Books sent without prior communication will just result in yet another book in the trash bin, and that is hard on your budget, use of time and the environment. Queries ensure that they are interested and able to accept more work. It is also necessary to confirm the format they require. The query should relay why your book is going to be something they don't want to miss out on. What is so special about you or your book that will get them to sit up and take notice? THIS is what you need to say, but say it softly. No one likes a loud, pushy or bragging voice.

In addition, it is helpful to prospective reviewers if they know more about your book. Is it a children's book? A religious book? Do you consider the content as humorous or adventurous? Is it a book that will compel feelings of happiness or sadness? Do you have an informative website? What format is the book available to review in at this time -- galley, PDF manuscript or a published review copy? Are you in the manuscript, editing or publishing stage? Do you have an ISBN and a release date? Do you plan to provide other promotional materials (author bio, etc) for reviewers? Are you looking for review blurbs for the back cover or first inside pages of your book? Or are you looking for general reviews for promotion materials and online stores? Are you in a hurry for the review? Provide this information before reviewers are forced to ask. They will appreciate a considerate and prepared author and because of your foresight they will feel valued, respected and will not have to spend time searching for the information.

Most professional reviewers do not usually work with manuscripts. Typically, more than 80% of the books Lillian has reviewed to date were either published copies or Advanced Reader Copies (ARCs), which are manuscripts printed on paper and attached with spiral binding. Occasionally, the publisher will provide ARCs, however the author normally provides these. Some reviewers will work with electronic books; others do not. Be sure to clarify all of these things prior to sending your query letter.

Look at the books on your shelves and see how reviews are used. Through this simple analysis, you can glean information for your own promotional material development as well.

What Happens to the Review Copy?
Most reviewers are not paid for their work. Only a few hard working reviewers are privileged to land a paying position for a publication or online site. Therefore, the book is the payment. Some authors find this worrisome. They are concerned that the reviewer will sell or exchange the book at a used bookstore. It is our opinion that if someone has spent several evenings reading our book, then several more hours writing a review, publishing it, then giving it to us for free and sometimes posting it online for us… well, they can do what they like with our book! When you think about it, if your book is worth $20, they are “earning” less than $5 an hour.

We always include a letter along with review copies that gently reminds them of our conversation in the past and requests a notification of the book's arrival and their decision on it. We suggest that if the book is not destined for their own bookshelves, that they consider donating it to a library, school, mission for the poor or women's shelter. We even had responses where the contact was thrilled that we had considered this as they have been throwing rejected review copies (usually unsolicited) away in the past. Perhaps this small suggestion will help keep other authors' books out of their trash bin as well. However, the main goal is not waste reduction or community good will in this scenario - instead, the idea is to keep your book in circulation, continually building exposure and extending the value of your marketing budget.

Be Selective
Be very selective when querying reviewers. Make sure you have visited their website and are familiar with their style and preferences. We recommend reading the article: "How to spot a phony reviewer" at http://www.midwestbookreview.com which will help you avoid some pit falls.

Publication Lead-Times
If you are trying to get into a pre-publication magazine like Publisher's Weekly, you are looking at a three to four month lead-time. This means you need to submit the book to one of their reviewers about three or four months before the deadline date.

These kinds of publications often require ARCs or Galleys because they only review books prior to their publication. Unless your publisher provides these you will need to print out the manuscript and send it with the other promotion materials. These pre-publication magazines are published for wholesalers, larger bookstores, distributors and libraries. Some are targeted towards a specific audience, while others are more general.

…And one final tip we’d like to leave you with today is that being reviewed online (e-newsletters, review sites and e-zines) is often easier than getting printed reviews in newspapers, newsletters and magazines.

This post excerpted from Chapter 3 of the book: Purple Snowflake Marketing – How to Make Your Book Stand Out in a Crowd, by Dave & Lillian Brummet

~ Lillian Brummet: Award winning author, book marketing guru, owner of the award winning Brummet’s Conscious Blog, and both the host and executive producer of the Conscious Discussions Talk Radio show. (www.brummet.ca)

Questions About the Roles of an Editor

This post was written by forensic scientist Chad L., whose interest in writing began after he took multiple writing courses online.

1. Do you get many unsolicited enquires? And do you respond to them?

We receive many, many unsolicited inquiries every day. Our interns go through the mail and at least skim over anything we get, though if no SASE was included, they've been instructed not to even look at it. The interns send form rejection letters back to the vast majority of submitters unless they see anything of note, and then they direct to me or my staff.

2. Do you have busier months than others?

It's usually a pretty steady stream of work, though for whatever reason we may have busier months than others, usually around the times of certain projects coming to fruition or being published. It can get overwhelming, but it never hits a snail's pace.

3. When publishing houses say their “lists are full” what exactly does that mean?

Literally: we're not taking on any more works, authors, projects, etc. But really, we're just not going to add your work to the list.

4. What is a closed house?

A publishing house that only works with certain writers and is not currently looking to taking on more writers; one whose lists are actually, truly full.

5. How close do you work with writers?

Depends on the project but usually fairly closely, but only until after they've written a rough draft. Then it comes time to put in the real work and make some cuts and changes, which can lead to some tension. It's my job to make their work the best it can be but also the most accessible and engaging that it can be.

6. Who gets the final word in what goes in the novel (in editing terms) the editor or the writer?

Almost always the editor and the publisher. We're the ones putting up the money to get it published!

7. How do you get to become an editor? Any formal qualifications?

You have to be a very skilled writer and put in your work to know the publishing industry inside-out, and that only comes with time and experience.

8. How do you deal with overly-sensitive writers who question every edit you make, even when your edits are clearly within the specified corporate style?

Every writer is sensitive about changes being made to their works, some more so than others. Usually if you explain the reasoning behind their edits they'll understand and at the very least grudgingly accept your call. Otherwise, you deal with it if they're worth the time i.e. if their writing is that good. Otherwise, you don't work with them in the future.

9. Is the editor used to being the decision maker or used to deferring to the author's decision?

You have to be a decision maker; it's your job. To make the right calls for who you represent and to optimize the work presented by the writer to reach the widest audience and earn the most interest. That's the whole idea here.

Slush Pile Heroes: Authors Who Faced Rejection (and Triumphed)

By: James R., a radiology technician who has written about the steps towards earning a Christian counseling degree. His favorite novel is "White Teeth."

For new writers, submitting work to be published can be an exercise in self-esteem maintenance. Everyone will warn you, but there’s really no way to prepare yourself for that first rejection letter, or worse, no response at all. Take a look at history, though, and you’ll see that initial rejection (or say, 22 years of it, in the case of Gertrude Stein), isn’t any indicator of future success, or skill, for that matter. So chin up, my as-yet-to-published cohorts. Pop your antidepressant of choice, shut the blinds, and get back to writing. Someday you could be as esteemed as these 5 rejected authors.

James Joyce: While hundreds of undergrad English majors might be happy if this notoriously obscure author had floundered into the literary abyss, they aren’t so lucky. Joyce unsuccessfully tried to get his first novel, Stephen Hero, published, and was so dismayed at the rejection that he didn’t touch the thing for years. Later on, he decided to revise the book, and turned it into today’s literary classic A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.

John Grisham: You can’t walk into a grocery story on any given day without seeing a new Grisham novel amongst the reading material at the checkout. This prolific writer of legal thrillers didn’t have an easy start, though. His first book, A Time to Kill, was rejected by all of 28 publishers, before a small-time press decided to give it a measly 5,000 copy run. Dozens of novels and a few film adaptations later, Grisham is now one of the most popular writers out there.

Vladimir Nabokov: Oh, I long for the days when rejection letters were heartfelt, personalized letters of rebuke, rather than today’s boilerplate thanks-but-no. Take one of the rejection letters sent to Nabokov after he tried to get Lolita published: “It is overwhelmingly nauseating, even to an enlightened Freudian…I recommend that it be buried under a stone for a thousand years.” Five major publishers passed up a book which is now regularly listed as one of the best works of modern literature. Let’s all keep this in mind, as we pen our own novels about middle-aged men sexually obsessed with tween girls.

J.K. Rowling: If you haven’t heard the lore about the welfare-drawing single mom J.K. Rowling writing Harry Potter in her local coffee shop, you’ve somehow found a way to block out all vestiges of pop culture. What’s your secret? In all seriousness though, Rowling’s story is pretty inspiring. Twelve publishers passed up the first installation in the youth-wizardry saga, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. You know the rest of the story: Rowling goes on to write seven Potter tales, we watch the chubby kids from the movie adaptations grow up into hot 20-somethings. And, Rowling is now a billionaire, and richer than the queen.

Agatha Christie: Who didn’t read And Then There Were None in 10^th grade English and realize that this Dame and the mystery genre were in fact, awesome? Or maybe you read one of her 80 other detective novels. It’s likely, since only the holy word of God has sold more copies than Christie’s roughly 4 billion. Several publishers relegated her first attempted novel, Snow Upon the Desert, to the slush pile, however. She even had trouble finding an agent who would represent her. Thankfully, she didn’t give up, and went on to publish enough books to fill all the used book stores in the world from now until eternity, or at least until we’re all living in global-warming-proof floating cities.

How to Write Fiction Books--Really!

The process of publishing a fiction or non-fiction book follows basically the same guidelines. However, the composition of the two can be very different. As many of you are aware, I am a non-fiction writer and multi-genre book publisher. To date, my attempts at fiction writing have been “limited” to say the least. But of recent, I have reconsidered. Why? I think I may have found the instructor I need to complete my great story (which has been inside my head for years!).

A few weeks ago, I was contacted by Writer’s Digest, a division F+W Media, Inc. and asked if I would review one of their upcoming releases. Yes, they also publish books. To put it mildly, I was honored; don’t we all love Writer’s Digest? I accepted of course.

I receive so many requests from writers of fiction seeking advice on how to develop characters, plots, and organize their story, and frankly speaking, I don’t know what to tell them! I’m simply not a fiction writer—not yet anyway.


I don’t often recommend books to my Blog visitors (except my own of course), but I read The Breakout Novelist: Craft and Strategies for Career Fiction Writers by seasoned author Donald Maass, and I must admit, it hyped up my interest in making another attempt at my book idea—my fiction book. It may just do the same for you.

Fiction writers who have the “advantage” are often the ones who are most capable of working through their story without losing direction and focus. How do you develop interesting characters? How do you keep the reader’s attention? Where will you find an agent? How will you write your query letter? All difficult questions answered in simple English by author Donald Maass. The Breakout Novelist is an important addition to the personal library of all writers, new and seasoned.

About the Author:
Donald Maass heads the Donald Maass Literary Agency in New York City, which represents more than 150 novelists and sells more than 150 novels every year to publishers in America and overseas. He is a past president of the Association of Authors Representatives, Inc., and is the author of several books of interest to fiction writers: The Career Novelist (now available as a free download from his agency’s Web site), Writing the Breakout Novel, and Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook. His website is www.maassagency.com. He can also be found on Facebook and on Twitter @DonniMaass.

Get your copy at Amazon.com/The Breakout Novelist or wherever fine books are sold; you won’t be sorry. The Breakout Novelist: Craft and Strategies for Career Fiction Writers

I’ll certainly let you know when I’m ready to release my first fiction novel!

Permission to Use Copyrighted Material for Your Book

It is crucial that when composing your book, or any printed material you include somebody else's writing in, you obtain permission to re-print material copyrighted by another person or agency. A rule of thumb is never copy more than three words in sequence of another person’s work (copyright infringement). If you want to use someone else’s work word-for-word as part of your book, such as a quote or research document, you will need written permission from that person or the publisher.

Your written request should include the original authors name, title and copyright date of the work, a page number or reference site of the work, and exactly what part in total you are requesting to use. You can condense this information into a letter form, but be very specific on all details of their work. Include your name, contact information, and what you plan to use their work in conjunction with, i.e., your book title. Offer to give them credit in the book and source their name and work on the page where the work will be included. Use the following as a guideline for your request letter.

From: John Author
111 Book Writer Rd
Publishtown, USA 00799
J.author@copyright.com

To: Mr. Expert,

I am writing a book tentatively titled, “John Writes a Book.” I would like your permission to include the excerpts as described below in any and all editions of the book for worldwide distribution, and in all promoting and free and paid advertizing.

In exchange for your permission, you will be listed in my Acknowledgments, names and titles index (if included in your book), and sources on the page the excerpts appear. (Optional additon…) I will also send you a copy of the finished book.

I hope you will agree to give your quality work greater exposure.

For your convenience, enclosed are a self-addressed stamped envelope and a copy of this letter for your records.

Sincerely grateful,
John Author

Material to be reprinted: Excerpts from the book “The Way is to Write.” Page 222, section begins with “Only you can write a book.” Ends with, “Are you a good writer.” Total 17 lines. Copyright date: 2001

Permission granted by:_________________________________Date____________

Permission denied by__________________________________Date_____________

The internet has made an easier job of locating people. Use the search engines to locate writers and professionals for permission. If that fails, contact the publisher of the work. If you can’t obtain permission, don’t use it.

For more book writing help, read A Book Inside, How to Write, Publish, and Sell Your Story, available in all formats at Amazon.com or wherever fine books are sold.

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Why Yvonne Perry Wrote a Book for Empaths

I’m celebrating the release of Yvonne Perry’s new book that I believe many people will find helpful. Whose Stuff Is This? Finding Freedom from the Thoughts, Feelings, and Energy of Those Around You (WhoseStuffIsThis.com) is a guidebook to help energy-sensitive people who exercise so much empathy toward others that they cause themselves emotional, mental, and physical distress. Whose Stuff Is This? teaches these intuitively-gifted people how to manage energy overload and recover from empathy fatigue.


Yesterday, Yvonne visited Beyond Words Radio Show on Believe in the Moment radio station where she was interviewed by Joanne Sprott. Today, she is my guest blogger as she answers some questions posed to her. You may have questions of your own to ask her. She will be coming by this blog several times today, so be sure to ask your question by using the comment feature under this blog post.

QUESTION: Why did you write this book for empaths?
YVONNE: Like most empathic people, I have always wanted to help others avoid suffering. As strange as this may sound, the one way empaths do this is by taking on the problems of others and suffering on their behalf—kind of like a surrogate for affliction. The other person feels better, but the empath feels horrible. This is done in ignorance. Empaths have no idea why they feel so bad or have such emotional mood swings so much of the time. Many are diagnosed as bipolar or having some other mental illness. Medication is often prescribed rather than dealing with the underlying cause, which is energy-related.

This is not just an isolated problem; many compassionate people, who do not understand how to set energetic boundaries, pick up energy, emotions, feelings, and illness from their environment and the collective unconscious. Over the past ten years, I’ve researched and tried all kinds of things to alleviate empathy fatigue—not really knowing the term for the kind of “backlash” I was dealing with. I knew it was spiritually related because when I prayed for others, many times they got well and I began to feel whatever discomfort they had been struggling with.

Thankfully, I found herbal remedies, as well as visualizations, meditations, prayers, etc., that brought me to a path of emotional maturity (using the gift of empathy wisely without paying a personal price). It occurred to me last summer that I needed to share what I had learned. Since writing is my forte, I started writing my blog (http://weareoneinspirit.com) about some of the spiritual practices and protection tips that I use to keep my energy field clear and balance my chakras.

It wasn’t until a psychotherapist friend of mine, Dr. Caron Goode, suggested I write a book that I decided to gather all this information into a guidebook that could be used by the millions of energy-sensitive people out there to set boundaries and manage the overload of energy they pick up. We both feel the time is right and there is a need for the material. She provided insight on the psychological aspect of empathy and I wrote about my personal journey through the empath wilderness and how I learned to psychically protect myself as I moved toward wholeness.

With more than two dozen proven and effective ways to clear your energy field of external clutter, this guide employs empowering, proactive techniques to manage your personal energy. The book contains a list of resources that includes books, classes and groups, practitioners, quizzes and tests, radio shows, videos, CDs, and DVDs to help empaths take the next step in developing their intuition.

QUESTION: How long did it take you to write this book?
YVONNE: I started gathering information and interviewing both mature and untrained empaths in July 2010. The first draft was ready by the end of December. It took another month to edit and proofread the book, garner endorsements, get the cover designed, and the interior formatted for print. The e-book version was published in Amazon’s Kindle Store on January 21, 2011. So, from idea stage to public presentation, it took about seven months.

QUESTION: What other books have you written?
YVONNE: The Sid Series ~ A Collection of Holistic Stories for Children was inspired by my grandson, Sidney, who started demonstrating spiritual gifts at an early age. I was concerned that he might also be an empath, and I wanted him, and others kids like him, to avoid the needless suffering I had endured. It turns out that he is an example to me about how effortlessly this gift can flow through a person without causing turmoil. He is very intuitive. As a toddler he was clairvoyant (seeing in the spirit realm), but as he matured, he began getting psychic information through dreams. He still hears in the spirit realm. The Sid Series is a collection of stories that emerged during the adventures Sidney and had together, but they deal with topics most adults tend to avoid with children: death, afterlife, ghosts, healing, racial diversity, caring for others, meditation, and spiritual insight. The book is about entertaining children, but it also teaches parents how to open a mature dialogue with them. http://theSidSeries.com

Another book I wrote is More Than Meets the Eye, True Stories About Death, Dying, and Afterlife (http://deathdyingafterlife.com). This book is designed to provide comfort for those who are dying, as well as for the caregivers and family who are left with questions when their loved one passes. When I wrote that book, I had a lot of disembodied spirits coming to me. I didn’t know why ghosts were visiting me, but I felt I was supposed to help them. Writing that book helped me find answers not only to know what the ghosts needed, but for protecting my energy field as an empath.

QUESTION: In addition to writing your own books and carrying out your spiritual mission, you are a freelance writer, who ghostwrites and edits for clients. What is Writers in the Sky all about?
YVONNE: Writers in the Sky Creative Writing Services (WITS) is a network of freelance writers, ghostwriters, and proofreaders. My team and I provide writing, editing, and proofreading for books of all genres as well as articles, bios, resumes, Web text, and business documents. I only write for clients in the metaphysical/spiritual, self-help, and health/healing genres. See writersinthesky.com for details.

QUESTION: Where can we find you online?
YVONNE: weare1inspirit.com or WhoseStuffIsThis.com are my spiritual Web sites.

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/yvonneperry
I’m on Twitter as @WeR1NSpirit and @Writersinthesky, or you can check out my Facebook pages:
We Are One in Spirit
Kids Who See Ghosts
Writing and Editing

Come along on the virtual tour with us. Tomorrow’s blog stop will be at Positively Present. See the entire tour schedule at http://tinyurl.com/EmpathTour.

More on Kindle—a .99 Experiment

I recently read a Blog post on pricing your book for Kindle sales and I’ve decided to try an experiment. My books sell “pretty good” on Kindle and I’m “satisfied” with the results I’ve seen. But after consulting with another author who also has her books listed, I’ve decided to drop my Kindle books to 99 cents each for one month. See a list of my books with their links to Kindle in the left column of this Blog page.

For 15 years I ran a small business in California. My theory was, if I marketed quality service along with a great product at the lowest price possible, I would excel above other businesses in my field—it worked. At age 42, I was able to sell the business and retire. Not a bad deal!

Now I’m not insinuating that by lowering my book prices to 99 cents I will become a millionaire, but if I presently sell only 20 books a month at $4.99, wouldn’t I be better off selling 200 books at 99 cents? The nice thing about e-books is that there are no additional expenses related to the sale (printing, shipping, etc.) and no real risk on my my part.

So this will be my experiment with Kindle and I will be sure to let you all know how successful it is. And if you’ve ever wanted to read any of my books, and you have a Kindle Reader, get them now, because I have a funny feeling I’ll be re-setting the price tag next month—but we’ll wait and see!