#1 Tool For Writers

Book marketing has changed over the last decade. Now more then ever authors are involved in marketing their books. Publishers can pull out all the stops to make first-time authors true success stories, but the author's involvement is the most important piece of the marketing puzzle.

Authors who are interested in publishing with Lucid Books often ask what they can start doing now to help sell books in the future. We always give the same advice to every author: start a blog.

Authors should create a blog focused on the content in their book. It seems like everyone has a blog these days, but few are focused. Authors can build a following by creating content, getting feedback, and more. Below are some of the questions we are often asked about blogs.

What is a blog?
Technically it is shorthand for a weblog. It can be anything you want to be, but is best used as a forum to share your work.

How do I start a blog?
Two great sites that will get you on your way for free are Blogspot and Wordpress.

When should I start a blog?
The best day to start a blog is at least three years before your book comes out. The second best day is today.

How often should I post?
You should post regularly, though daily is not neccesary. You want to post short articles regularly and try to have a longer piece at least once every couple of weeks.

How do I attract readers to my blog?Tell your friends and family about it, comment on other blogs, and give the search engines time to pick up the content you are adding.


More Tools for Writers:
Mind Maps
Thinkertoys
The Maker's Schedule
Speed Reading Tips
Outsourcing Your Memory

I Will Teach You To Be Rich - Review

I discovered the author of this book through a promotion for The 4-Hour Body. After being on Ramit’s email list for a couple of weeks, this book shot up to the top of my “to buy and read soon” list. I finished it a few days after purchase and was not disappointed.

I Will Teach You To Be Rich is a personal finance book geared towards 20-somethings who need a push in the right direction . . . which covers just about every 20-something that I know. I think this book is useful for anyone, but better suited for someone 40 years old or younger who wants a solid finance book that will not bore anyone to death.

The advice is more straightforward than I was expecting . . . no big revelations. The upside of this is that the techniques that Ramit offers will definitely work, the downside is that you have probably heard them before. The section on investing in an index seems too conservative for most young people, but it will work (probably) if you are willing to wait 45 years or so to be rich.

One of the best features in the book is the six week schedule. It really encourages the reader to do something rather than just read good advice.  The credit card advice was also great, with some actual suggestions on what cards to use. I appreciated that Ramit went this route with the credit cards. The “cut them up now” method of personal finance always seemed extreme to me.

Admittedly, this book is more about how to save money than it is about getting rich. It may not be the type of book that many people want to read, but it’s one that most need to read. My suggestion is to buy the book and follow the author on the accompanying site. This book is good, but I think it just scratches the surface of what this author will offer in the future. As someone who has avoid reading Dave Ramsey’s book, mainly because I have had too many people recommend it to me, this is a great alternative and a really solid finance book.

Predictably Irrational Review

Dan Ariely, the James B. Duke Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics at Duke University, writes about "the hidden forces that shape our decisions" in Predictably Irrational. This book is not as diverse as some of the other behavioral economics books out there, but Ariely makes up for breadth with depth. Many of the subjects tackled are explored in detail.

Ariely writes about how he first became interested in the field of economics. You can skip the introduction to most economics book, but Ariely's story is worth reading. Ariely received third degree burns on over 70% of his body as an eighteen year old. His experiences in the hospital, including three years of recovery and therapy, convinced him to study what shapes our decisions.

For the most part, the subjects Ariely tackles will keep your interest. Some of the broader financial subjects, like supply and demand, could have been tightened. The information is good but too much time is spent explaining the experiments used to prove it.

Ariely spends a lot of his time in the more traditional economics arena, albeit with examples that make the subject interesting to anyone. Unfortunately for the reader, the most fascinating subjects are also the shortest. There are at least two chapters that I will refer to in the future, one on the influence of arousal and the other on the context of our character.

As a Christian, these chapters interest me because they arrive at traditional Christian values through the study of behavior, absent of Scripture. In Chapter Six, Ariely tackles arousal. He conducts a unique study, the details of which are not important, but suffice it to say that Lifeway Research won't be doing a similar one anytime soon. In fact, I think this chapter is important to read for pastors because it is one that Christians would not conduct, but the results support Biblical values.

Ariely concludes that we make bad decisions when we are controlled by lust. Not just bad decisions either . . . he shows how right and wrong become very gray when we are trapped in temptation. He offers two solutions, but focuses in on the second. He concludes that the best way to avoid bad decisions is to avoid putting ourselves in that situation. Some parents have decided that once they teach their kids to say "no" that their job is done. This book easily disproves that theory . . . it is often the parents job to say "no" so their children will be protected from uncontrollable situations.

Another great chapter covered the influence of the Ten Commandments on cheating. Long story short, reflecting on any part of the Ten Commandments was enough to stop cheating. Ariely goes on to test the same with different honor codes and has similar results. The results seemed to have surprised the experimenters, and I think there is more to reflect on for Christians here.

I debated whether to review this fully because it touches on some controversial subjects. However, I think books like this are important for Christians to read. The more we learn about human behavior, the more the Bible is confirmed. This book is recommended for anyone who is interested in why we behave the way we do.