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The downloadable issue of April’s Your Book Publishing Coach newsletter is ready.

In this issue:

• MAIN ARTICLE: Build a Business—with Articles!
• MARKETING TIP: The Easiest and Best Way to Start Your Book
• INSIDER’S TIP: Avoid This Trap When Submitting Articles
• WRITING/PUBLISHING TIP: Start Your Book Right (7 Mistakes to Avoid)
• How to get your publishing questions answered!
• SUMMARY OF RESOURCES: On articles, making a living from writing, duplicate content issues, getting published

This is 12 pages of solid content, ready for you to print out and read, and to put into your publishing notebook for later reference.

Look for a brand-new article of the week in the next day or two.

I admit it–I hate to make mistakes.

Maybe it stems from when my first-grade teacher made us take the erasers off our pencils. “Erasers encourage mistakes,” she said. (I am not making this up. This teacher was nutso.)

Once I realized I’d made a mistake on a math problem in her class. I erased it as carefully as I could. The teacher still marked it wrong–because I’d erased it and corrected it!

Of course, I’ve continued to make many, many mistakes in my life.

I’ve made mistakes as an author, too. Mistakes that have cost me time and money.

Mistakes that even caused me to fail at times. (If failure means low sales and books going out of print.)

I want to help you avoid the mistakes I’ve made as an author.

Truth is, I’m not the only author who’s made these mistakes. In fact, I estimate that somewhere around 95 percent of authors make at least one of these mistakes.

You won’t make any of these mistakes, however.

That’s because I’m going to tell you what they are, and I’m going to tell you how to avoid them.

Read this week’s article called “Start Your Book Right–Avoid the 7 Mistakes 95 Percent of Authors Make” and you’ll know how to avoid these common mistakes. I even give you three specific steps you can
take to put what you learn into action right away.

To all those on my list who use gmail for their email address–something weird is happening. (It’s on mine, too.)

Everything in the email is gibberish.

This is only happening with gmail, as far as I can tell. (I send test emails out first to my different addresses with different servers. I confess, though, I didn’t catch the gmail issue until this morning. When the other email addresses showed a fine-looking email, I didn’t check my gmail address.)

Please let me know if you have had other issues with gmail, or was it just my emails? My other gmail emails looked okay. So maybe it’s something with my server and gmail.

If anyone can shed any light on this, let me know! diane at wordstoprofit.com. (Or comment here.)

Jeff Herring has decided to extend his discount for his upcoming Article Writing and Marketing Secrets course until midnight (EDT) tonight, April 24.

If you were unable to listen to the preview call last night, you can download that and the study guide here. I encourage you to do so, no matter what you decide about the course. Jeff gave a great overview of what is involved with effective article writing, submission, marketing, and income and product development in that preview call. I listened to it, and have several actionable steps I’m going to take today as a result.

Even at his full price, his course would probably be worth it. One of my friends is in his mentorship program, which is quite a bit pricier, and within a few weeks she’s nearly paid for the course with the income she’s earned as a direct result of her involvement as a mentee.

You can also sign up to receive word of Jeff’s free weekly teleseminars.

Again, there are few people I can wholeheartedly recommend. Jeff Herring is one of the few.

The recording for the class on “Make a Living from Your Book–Starting Today” is ready.

Sign up to download the Study Guide and recording now.

I promised that by the end of the call, listeners would have the tools they need to start their book–the right way.

Apparently I delivered, because at least two people emailed me immeditately after the call to say that indeed, they had started brainstorming their book idea.

Linda Della Donna wrote, “I outlined my book during the last minutes of the class. What fun. I had no idea I had it in me.”

The technique I taught at the end of the class truly is amazing. It will help anyone.

Further proof: I talked to someone in my church just yesterday. “How’s your book coming, Marilyn?” I asked.

“Oh, I’ve given up on it,” she said. “I can’t do it.”

We chatted a bit longer, and I shared the technique I teach in this class. Then we went to our Sunday school class.

Right after the class, Marilyn was waiting for me outside the door. She whipped out a piece of paper filled with words, circles and arrows. (You’ll understand once you listen to the class.)

“I’ve outlined my book!” she cried in delighted amazement.

I know the same thing can happen for you. So download the Study Guide and use it to take notes as you listen. And make sure you listen all the way to the end. That’s when you’ll actually start your book.

All this month of April the Your Book Publishing Coach articles have been about–articles!

That’s because writing articles can be THE best way to:

• start your book and build momentum and motivation
• test your market (so you know your book will sell)
• market your product or service (or other people’s)even before your book is finished or published
• drive targeted traffic to your website (which can lead to more sales and exposure for you)
• get the media interested in you.

Jeff Herring is someone who specializes in article writing, submission, and marketing, and TODAY he is offering a preview call about what you’ll learn in his Article Writing & Article Marketing Secrets™ training session that will begin a week from today.

This training is your fastest, easiest and most economical way to do all of the things I mention above, plus …

• Create new prospects that you can turn into
  customers and clients
• Become very well known in your niche
• Bring in new and untapped sources of income
• Write more articles faster than you ever thought
  possible
• Create multiple information products from just one
  article

Today is also the last day he is offering the course at $147. Tomorrow the price goes up to $197.

I am very picky about who and what I recommend to you, my dear friends who trust me for great information about writing and publishing. I only recommend people who I know personally, and whose information I wholeheartedly agree with.

Jeff Herring is one such person. Now, I know a lot about writing articles, but Jeff has taught me even more about the whole marketing and monetizing aspect. He’s expanded my understanding of how much article writing and marketing can do.

Everything I learn from him and put into practice yields great results.

For example, learning how to use keywords more effectively in my title has increased page views. Knowing what to put into the resource box increased traffic to my site. Every time I listen to one of his teleseminars, I pick up something new to try.

If you like to write … or even if you don’t, but you understand how important article marketing is to your business … I urge you to at least sign up for the preview call (no cost but your normal long-distance charge) and decide for yourself. Jeff’s calls contain lots of great information, so even if you don’t go for his course, it will be worth your time.

Sign up now, and put the time on your calendar before you forget and let this opportunity slip away.

“See” you on the call! (Yes, I’ll be there too!)

Reminder of your special invitation to a my teleclass on Saturday, April 19, at 10 a.m. PDT, 12 noon CDT, 1 p.m. EDT.

Today I decided to change the name to “Make a Living from Your Book–Starting Today” because that is going to be the thrust of the class.

I want you to (eventually) make a very good living from your expertise.

It may start with a book. But if you’re serious about making your living from your expertise, it won’t stop there.

I’m going to show you exactly how to start your book–right after this class if you so choose–and also how to continue on the right path until you are a successful author (success defined by: you can make a good living from your expertise).

If you have a business of any kind, this class is for you. I will show you how a book will boost your business and take you to the next level of expertise.

If you have a book idea (nonfiction) that’s been kicking around your head, this class is for you.

The class is FREE. So take advantage. Even if you can’t make the live call, sign up anyway, so you can receive a link to the downloadable recording and listen to it when you can.

There’s even a 9-page study guide so you can take notes and start the process of writing your book.

Sign up now, okay? And check your email inbox for the call-in and study guide details.

I want to invite you to a special class I’ll be doing on “How to Start Your Book Today–the Right Way.”

The class is going to be on Saturday, April 21, at 1 p.m. Eastern, 12 noon Central, 11 a.m. Mountain and 10 a.m. Pacific. The call will last approximately one hour.

Normally at this time, one of my Internet marketing mentors, Bonnie Dillabough, would be teaching this class. It’s a free class called Cookie Cutters, and you are certainly welcome to continue attending.
Bonnie makes it her business to stay on the cutting edge of Internet marketing and what you will learn will definitely boost whatever business you’re in.

Bonnie has started a series called “MPOW-er Your Website,” with the MPOW standing for Multiple Presences On the Web. Bonnie will be out of town this Saturday, so she has asked me to teach the class in her stead.

Here’s what you will learn:

• What a book can do for your business (and for you
  personally)
• Why this is the BEST time to be an author. (I am so
  pumped about the opportunities authors have today to
  become successful!)
• Mistakes 90% of authors make (but you won’t, because
  you will know how to avoid them … along with all the
  wasted money and time and possibly, failure)
• The mindset you need to become successful as an
  author today (adopt this, and the sky will be your
  limit)
• How to begin your book right after the call, if you
  so choose. (Bonnie always gives homework and so will
  I!) And–you will possess the assurance your approach
  will be the RIGHT one.

You will need to register for the call, because the actual bridge number is being worked out. So register now, and make sure you look for an email from me before the call. I will get you the information with the phone number and a Study Guide just as soon as I can!

Most authors don’t make a lot of money from their books.

It doesn’t have to be that way, according to Steve Harrison.

Steve has worked with 9,300+ authors over the last 19 years, and says that the top 3% of authors do seven key things differently than poor authors.

If you want to know what those seven things are, sign up for a FREE 75-minute telephone seminar on Thursday, April 19th, at your choice of two time slots: either 2:00 pm Eastern (11 am Pacific) OR 7:00 pm Eastern (4:00 pm Pacific).

This may be the most important information you’ve ever heard about publishing.

Steve Harrison puts on some of the best teleseminars I’ve ever listened to (and I listen to a lot!). He apparently also puts on a great in-person seminar. A friend attended the recent Publicity Summit. She said it was worth more than she paid, and it changed her life and her business forever.

So sign up and learn what the top 3% of authors do that the rest do not.

Often success is simply a matter of knowing (and of course, doing), the right things. Some strategies work better than others. Steve Harrison has learned what works. Find out tomorrow what those are.

Last week I posted something about a duplicate content penalty, and got various responses. Some people don’t understand it or believe it’s a problem, other people are still adamant that it is.

Well, I suppose we should let Google have the official word. Read their guidelines (if you can understand it all) at the Official Google Web master Central Blog. Also, if you’re more technically inclined, there’s a thread with a lot of questions and answers about various issues.

Here’s the part that seemed most relevant to me: (more…)