How to Promote with Pinterest

By Charlene Oldham

you haven’t heard all about Pinterest, it’s time to plan a long lunch with a tech-savvy girlfriend. If she’s already a member, she may be serving Nutella cupcakes from a DIY-decoupage tray—two projects inspired by her virtual pinboards.

As an active scrapbooker, creative hobbist, and social media professional, Nicole M. Miller got the Pinterest pitch from artsy-craftsy friends shortly after the site launched in 2009, but didn’t see how it could help her as an author until it emerged as one of the fastest-growing social media sites in history.

“In 2011, when it started to really explode, a writer/blogger friend of mine, Caitlin Muir, made a comment, ‘What if you created pinboards to create your characters and story worlds?’ and I took off with the idea,” she says. “Then, I couldn’t get enough Pinterest, and it has become a great organizational tool.”

And she’s far from the only addict. Pinterest hit 11.7 million unique monthly U.S. visitors in January 2012, according to ComScore, and attracts more than 1.36 million visitors each day. Pinterest also reached the 10 million monthly visitor mark faster than any other independent American site and boasts more than 23 million members as of July, also according to ComScore, the digital business analytics clearinghouse.

That number is likely to rise since the site dropped its invite-only requirement for members and rolled out new mobile applications in August. The rapid growth has made Pinterest an obvious outlet for authors looking to promote blog posts, collect inspirational ideas and images, and build a community of readers and other industry professionals interested in their writing world.

“For me, it’s drastically increased my blog traffic . . . by almost 200 percent.”

(Photo: Nicole M. Miller)

One More Social Media Time Suck?

For writers promoting themselves and their work, it’s become impossible to ignore the marketing benefits of social media sites. You may already be blogging to build your author platform, making contacts via LinkedIn, using Twitter to share pithy prose 140 characters at a time, or expanding your Facebook fan base through compelling content and reader contests. And if you’re like most authors who aren’t lucky enough to have help from a publicist, you’re doing it on your own.

But Pinterest doesn’t have to be yet another social network that demands attention at the expense of precious writing time. Instead, it can serve as a source of inspiration, another way for fans to connect, and a powerful referral engine that drives people who have never read your work to your other online offerings.

Indeed, Pinterest’s greatest potential might be as a source of referral traffic. Each time you add a “pin,” or image, to Pinterest from another website, the pin links back to the original website, and research shows people are following those links. In September, Shareaholic reported that Pinterest is now the fourth largest traffic source in the world. This means that it drives more traffic to websites and blogs than sites like Google Plus, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Twitter!

So how can you harness the power of Pinterest to direct traffic to sites that market your books, products, and services without alienating friends and potential customers with obvious sales pitches? What’s more, could Pinterest be an effective way to inspire both you and your fans to build a robust creative community that shares much more than cupcake recipes and cute cat pictures?

“You want to establish a reputation as someone who is interesting to follow.”

(Photo: Morgan Siem)

A Natural Fit

That doesn’t mean there’s no room for cupcakes and cats on a pinboard particularly for authors who specialize in those topics or others that lend themselves to beautiful visuals. Although Lulu.com has found ways to market a wide variety of its titles on Pinterest, some eye candy-heavy books are a natural fit for the site.

“Photo books are an obvious connection, followed by cookbooks,” says Morgan Siem, social media manager for Lulu.com.

Wedding and inspirational books with poignant quotes are also popular. And authors who write for a female audience are finding a following by highlighting the most quotable girl power lines from their books. Although Pinterest’s demographic profile is expanding, more than 68 percent of members are women.

“So if you can create some little image and link it to a quote, that works really well,” Morgan says.

Pinterest has worked well for Nicole, who writes about history and horses. She uses her Pinterest account to collect ideas, inspiration, and links to books she has read or wants to read. Most of all, the former rodeo queen uses it to showcase stunning images of horses.

“It is a good tool in niche markets,” she says. “My sorts of topics lend themselves very well to an image-heavy outlet like Pinterest.”

Nicole, who works as the social media coordinator for a university when she’s not writing, says choosing powerful pictures is critical when building pinboards to attract new followers. She selects the most dynamic, vivid, and clean photos to add to her boards, often using her own pictures to create original pins. “The really visually stunning ones have been getting the most repins,” she says. “With Pinterest, you end up seeing repinned items by people who may have never heard of you otherwise.””CLICK HERE

Kurt Vonnegut on Book Deals: ‘Carry on Without an Advance’

By Jason Boog on November 2, 2012

This was posted on Galley Cat on November 2,2012 by Jason Boog. . It is wonderful advice for the new writer. When you have an offer on a first book it is only the beginning of what you hope will be a long and lucrative writing career. For many people it is an end in itself. Some fortunate people are very successful with their first books. But writing is a process and the career of writing requires some dues paying. On our site Writer Entrepreneur www.theWENet.ning.com we teach you the business of writing. However, we never want to forget the passion and love you have for the writing itself.


It is too easy for first-time writers to obsess over book deals. Back in 1972, the great author Kurt Vonnegut cautioned one young writer against seeking an advance before finishing his book–sharing important advice that all aspiring authors.

Vonnegut advised his son (author Mark Vonnegut) “to carry on without an advance” while working on his first book. You can read the complete letter he wrote to his son in the new Kurt Vonnegut: Letters collection, but we’ve posted an excerpt below: CLICK HERE

Facebook and twitter and linked in Oh My: social media for authors

By Deborah Herman

Here I am, the co-founder of the Writer, Agents and Editors Network: www.WAENet.com, I am the co-founder of Writer Entrepreneur Network: www.theWENet.ning.com, author of ten books, a veteran literary agent, someone who consults on platform building and I am finding that the social media scene practically gives me hives. It can be totally overwhelming even for those people born later than my fellow baby boomers. No matter who you are there is so much to take in and to consider that it is like going to a noisy nightclub with a disco ball. I might have relished the energy and noise when I was younger but now it gives me a super headache.

I have attended many workshops on social media to help me make sense of it for  myself and for the members of my various social networks. I recently attended one given my David Vyorst, Web Strategist | Co-Founder at Relay Station Social Media LLC | Acclaimed Video and Web Producer according to his linked in profile, which was very clear. I highly recommend following him on Twitter at @dvyo for up to the minute information on branding and social media. He shared a link from the slide show he presented to us at the conference. It lacks his commentary, humor and personality but it does lay out social media and its purpose very well. CLICK HERE FOR THE SLIDE SHOW

One of the most important things I learned from his presentation and others is that social media is first and foremost a way to connect with others. It is not about selling your product. Think about how it would look if you would walk into a party and announce to everyone "I have a book I have written. I would like all of you to buy it." I have been approached at innumerable social events where people hand me manuscripts to represent, and I guarantee they are not put at the top of the list. If I spend time getting to know them and form a relationship, I might just hand them a card when I subtly discover they are writing a book. It is the same mentality. You meet people on line by networking with people with similar interests, you form relationships and then you see if they want what you have to offer.

This also makes social media something that is fun and not so daunting. If you like your message and you like people you will enjoy engaging in the many discussions that can take place across the internet. You do not have to devote every waking hour to it even though it seems like that. There are many programs that streamline your social media efforts so you can see them all at once. There is Hootsuite.com for Twitter and other platforms as well as Dlvr.it.com where you can schedule posts ahead of time.

Social media is here to stay and is the best way for authors to generate communities of potential readers. It needs to be approached one step at a time so you do not become overwhelmed. Let us know where you are getting stuck so we can unstuck you and make it fun. You can join www.WAENet.com to network with Writers, Agents and Editors to discuss craft and the industry and you can join www.theWENet.ning.com if your are ready to learn writer entrepreneurship. We are here to help.

Deborah Herman is a literary agent and co-founder of two social networks for writers:
the Writers, Agents and Editors Network www.WAEnet.com and Writer Entrepreneur www.theWENet.ning.com

21 Tactics to Increase Blog Traffic

Posted by randfish to Content & Blogging

This is a great blog I found on the site THE DAILY SEO BLOG. I hope it helps you on the road to becoming a "Writer Entrepreneur." 

 It's easy to build a blog, but hard to build a successful blog with significant traffic. Over the years, we've grown the Moz blog to nearly a million visits each month and helped lots of other blogs, too. I launched a personal blog late last year and was amazed to see how quickly it gained thousands of visits to each post. There's an art to increasing a blog's traffic, and given that we seem to have stumbled on some of that knowledge, I felt it compulsory to give back by sharing what we've observed.

NOTE: This post replaces a popular one I wrote on the same topic in 2007. This post is intended to be useful to all forms of bloggers - independent folks, those seeking to monetize, and marketing professionals working an in-house blog from tiny startups to huge companies. Not all of the tactics will work for everyone, but at least some of these should be applicable and useful.

#1 - Target Your Content to an Audience Likely to Share

When strategizing about who you're writing for, consider that audience's ability to help spread the word. Some readers will naturally be more or less active in evangelizing the work you do, but particular communities, topics, writing styles and content types regularly play better than others on the web. For example, great infographics that strike a chord (like this one), beautiful videos that tell a story (like this one) and remarkable collections of facts that challenge common assumptions (like this one) are all targeted at audiences likely to share (geeks with facial hair, those interested in weight loss and those with political thoughts about macroeconomics respectively).

If you can identify groups that have high concentrations of the blue and orange circles in the diagram above, you dramatically improve the chances of reaching larger audiences and growing your traffic numbers. Targeting blog content at less-share-likely groups may not be a terrible decision (particularly if that's where you passion or your target audience lies), but it will decrease the propensity for your blog's work to spread like wildfire across the web.

#2 - Participate in the Communities Where Your Audience Already Gathers

Advertisers on Madison Avenue have spent billions researching and determining where consumers with various characteristics gather and what they spend their time doing so they can better target their messages. They do it because reaching a group of 65+ year old women with commercials for extreme sports equipment is known to be a waste of money, while reaching an 18-30 year old male demographic that attends rock-climbing gyms is likely to have a much higher ROI.

Thankfully, you don't need to spend a dime to figure out where a large portion of your audience can be found on the web. In fact, you probably already know a few blogs, forums, websites and social media communities where discussions and content are being posted on your topic (and if you don't a Google search will take you much of the way). From that list, you can do some easy expansion using a web-based tool like DoubleClick's Ad Planner:

Once you've determined the communities where your soon-to-be-readers gather, you can start participating. Create an account, read what others have written and don't jump in the conversation until you've got a good feel for what's appropriate and what's not. I've written a post here about rules for comment marketing, and all of them apply. Be a good web citizen and you'll be rewarded with traffic, trust and fans. Link-drop, spam or troll and you'll get a quick boot, or worse, a reputation as a blogger no one wants to associate with.

#3 - Make Your Blog's Content SEO-Friendly

Search engines are a massive opportunity for traffic, yet many bloggers ignore this channel for a variety of reasons that usually have more to do with fear and misunderstanding than true problems. As I've written before, "SEO, when done right, should never interfere with great writing." In 2011, Google received over 3 billion daily searches from around the world, and that number is only growing:

sources: Comscore + Google

Taking advantage of this massive traffic opportunity is of tremendous value to bloggers, who often find that much of the business side of blogging, from inquiries for advertising to guest posting opportunities to press and discovery by major media entities comes via search.

SEO for blogs is both simple and easy to set up, particularly if you're using an SEO-friendly platform like Wordpress, Drupal or Joomla. For more information on how to execute on great SEO for blogs, check out the following resources:

• Blogger's Guide to SEO (from SEOBook)
• The Beginner's Guide to SEO (from Moz)
• Wordpress Blog SEO Tutorial (from Yoast)
• SEO for Travel Bloggers (but applicable to nearly any type of blog - from Moz)

Don't let bad press or poor experiences with spammers (spam is not SEO) taint the amazing power and valuable contributions SEO can make to your blog's traffic and overall success. 20% of the effort and tactics to make your content optimized for search engines will yield 80% of the value possible; embrace it and thousands of visitors seeking exactly what you've posted will be the reward.

#4 - Use Twitter, Facebook and Google+ to Share Your Posts & Find New Connections

Twitter just topped 465 million registered accounts. Facebook has over 850 million active users. Google+ hasnearly 100 million. LinkedIn is over 130 million. Together, these networks are attracting vast amounts of time and interest from Internet users around the world, and those that participate on these services fit into the "content distributors" description above, meaning they're likely to help spread the word about your blog.

Leveraging these networks to attract traffic requires patience, study, attention to changes by the social sites and consideration in what content to share and how to do it. My advice is to use the following process:

• If you haven't already, register a personal account and a brand account at each of the following -Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and LinkedIn (those links will take you directly to the registration pages for brand pages). For example, my friend Dharmesh has a personal account for Twitter and a brand account for OnStartups (one of his blog projects). He also maintains brand pages onFacebook, LinkedIn and Google+.
• Fill out each of those profiles to the fullest possible extent - use photos, write compelling descriptions and make each one as useful and credible as possible. Research shows that profiles with more information have a significant correlation with more successful accounts (and there's a lot of common sense here, too, given that spammy profiles frequently feature little to no profile work).
• Connect with users on those sites with whom you already share a personal or professional relationships, and start following industry luminaries, influencers and connectors. Services likeFollowerWonk and FindPeopleonPlus can be incredible for this:

• Start sharing content - your own blog posts, those of peers in your industry who've impressed you and anything that you feel has a chance to go "viral" and earn sharing from others.
• Interact with the community - use hash tags, searches and those you follow to find interesting conversations and content and jump in! Social networks are amazing environment for building a brand, familiarizing yourself with a topic and the people around it, and earning the trust of others through high quality, authentic participation and sharing

If you consistently employ a strategy of participation, share great stuff and make a positive, memorable impression on those who see your interactions on these sites, your followers and fans will grow and your ability to drive traffic back to your blog by sharing content will be tremendous. For many bloggers, social media is the single largest source of traffic, particularly in the early months after launch, when SEO is a less consistent driver.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE

WRITERS: GET PAID TO SPEAK

By Robin Jay, Owner of the Las Vegas Convention Speakers Bureau

Guest Blogger for the Writer Entrepreneur Network

www.theWEnet.ning.com

As a writer entrepreneur, you know that having a book helps define you as an expert. Even if you are successful enough to earn thousands from your books, you know that even the best selling books have a limited shelf life. But, once you discover the secrets to becoming a PAID speaker – the sky’s the limit. Becoming a professional speaker can help authors to unlock their earning potential.

As President of the Las Vegas Convention Speakers Bureau, I know that the most successful writers are those who can speak about their topic in an engaging presentation. And the most popular speakers are those who have written books that support their expertise. (CLICK HERE to learn about listing)

I think because we can all speak and write, we believe we can be speakers and authors. That is a misconception. Speaking – just like writing – is an industry, and it’s important to understand how the industry works. I can assure you that “The American Dream” of becoming a PAID speaker and earning thousands every time you speak is within your grasp. But, as a writer, you have to be willing to take the time to discover what it takes to really achieve success as a speaker. Otherwise, writing and speaking will become merely an expensive hobby rather than a lucrative career. Discovering how to MONETIZE your career is critical if you want to achieve ultimate success.

Most authors who want to become speakers do not know where to begin.
There are many elements that need to be put into place to begin building a foundation for your speaking success. These include:

1.    A great book that helps define you as an expert in your field.

2.    A clear way to define your topic and an understanding of what others are saying about it.

3.    A media kit that will make meeting planners say, “WOW!”

4.    A knack for constant self-promotion.

5.    A listing with as many speakers bureaus as possible.

A Great Book that helps define you as an Expert in your Field

Meeting planners look for speakers who are also published authors. A speaker with a book can add value for audiences by offering a book as a take-away from their event. You increase your chances of finding a traditional publisher by establishing a speaking career, and a book lends you credibility for meeting planners who are seeking speakers. You can be successful in this regard if you self-publish as long as you create a product that people will want to read. It is worth seeking a free-lance editor to help you compete against other books.

A Clear way to define your topic and an understanding of what others are saying about it.

As in book writing you need a clear hook and need to know the trends. I always recommend that my coaching clients spend a few hours on YouTube searching their topic followed by the word “speaker,” ie: “Sales Speaker.” It’s a mind-blowing exercise ... but don’t be discouraged. Doing this will help you to evaluate your competition and should also get your creative juices flowing. You want to be an expert on your subject and the best way to do that is by offering a fresh look at what is often a tired subject. Determine what you can bring to the table that others are missing.

A media kit that will make meeting planners say, “WOW!”

I have seen innumerable media kits. The majority of these say little about the speakers they represent. You need to clearly explain what is unique about you, your topic, and your programs. What do your clients say about you? In other words ... a great media kit will tell a planner why they should book YOU – instead of one of the other 5,000 speakers who speak on your topic. Neatness and clarity counts and could be what supports your image and separates you from the crowd.  

A knack for constant self-promotion.

A knack for constant self-promotion is essential for a successful speaking and writing career. If you are uncomfortable promoting yourself, then hire someone to do this for you, but don’t neglect this important aspect of a successful speaking career. As the author of “The Art of the Business Lunch”, I trademarked my nickname: “The Queen of the Business Lunch™”. And, it was a great move as I continue to get interview requests as a Business Relationship Expert and Networking Expert. Branding and social media are vitally important to your success.

A listing with as many speakers bureaus as possible.

Unfortunately, there is a sort of ‘Catch-22’ in this industry; you can’t get listed with a bureau unless you are already listed with a bureau. It’s crazy, but when I became a speaker, I encountered this first hand. That is why I decided to create a shortcut for aspiring speakers and authors by making listings available for a few select up-and-coming speakers on the www.LVCSB.com site. (CLICK HERE to learn about listing) Having a bureau listing with a bureau that offers powerful Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is just a part of building a strong Internet presence. Speakers also need to blog consistently, send press releases, and maintain a high profile online.

Your goal is to raise your profile to support both your writing and speaking careers. Each supports the other and can lead to a lucrative lifestyle when done correctly. Once you understand how to monetize your speaking career, you can earn thousands EVERY TIME YOU SPEAK! I’ve seen it, I’ve done it, and I love being able to show others how to do it. Selling $14.99 books in the back of the room will help you pay your mortgage. But if you are a speaker who earns $5,000, $10,000, $20,000 or more for a 45-minute speech you can guarantee you’ll have the lifestyle you seek. Knowledge is invaluable. If you can prove yourself a worthy communicator, you will enjoy a successful speaking career. It all starts with understanding how the industry works and then making it work for you.

Robin Jay with some of her 

speakers. 

CLICK HERE to learn about an exclusive offer for members of 

the Writer Entrepreneur Network. 

www.theWENet.ning.com

What not to do when seeking a Literary Agent

What not to do when seeking a Literary Agent

By Deborah Herman

Literary Agent and co-founder of the new social network for Writers: Writer Entrepreneur  www.theWEnet.ning.com

Deborah@theWEnet.com

Before seeking that elusive animal called a literary agent you must determine if you are ready for one. The biggest error people make is when in a state of writing excitement or idea mania they want to test out whether or not a literary agent will be interested. I can not stress enough that we are very busy people and sometimes very grumpy. If you cause us to become caught up in your excitement we are very likely to ask: "when can I see the proposal?" If you respond with "I just wanted to see if you would be interested" we will put your name on our version of the post office wall reserved for America's Most wanted criminals. We want to like good material. That is how we earn money for what you all believe are our mansions and mazeratis. Our time is truly our money. If you have a great idea make sure you have fleshed it out and have followed all of the protocols before contacting us. Oh, by the way, do not call us. This was an example for the benefit of this blog. Unless you are truly a legend and not a legend in your own mind we will do everything to avoid your call. If we happen to answer the phone ourselves we will pretend to be our own assistants. When you are ready send a query letter by mail or email when appropriate. Before sending one please read our blog on "what not to do when writing a query."

You may have written a manuscript or book proposal and will still not be ready to contact a literary agent any more than you are truly ready to contact a publisher. The explosion of easy ebooks and self-publishing services where you pay to play has created a generation of very impatient writers. You are so eager to spread your message or to see yourself in print that you do not prepare yourselves properly. You will send out your material too soon because you have in the back of your mind that you will do it yourself if an arrogant literary agent does not see your potential. We are not looking for potential and you should not be satisfied with it unless you have reached it. There are many great books that will not find an agent or publisher. But there are many mediocre books that are in people's garages or in cyberspace that could have found a larger market if they had waited to be fully developed. If you are serious about your book or proposal there are many people who can give you a critique before you send it to a literary agent. It is a worthwhile investment.

Things not to do when seeking a literary Agent: 

1.              Do not phone us with an idea especially if you do not have a manuscript or proposal ready. 

2.              Do not phone us to find out if we have read your query. A query has no obligation attached to it. We know you are excited. We will contact you if we want to see more. 

3.              Do not send a letter to a literary agent addressed to "Dear Agent." There are so many directories including www.WAENet.com where you can get the names and addresses of agents that there is no excuse for this. 

4.              Do not send a letter to an agent that is meant for another agent. This happens more than you know. 

5.              Do not send an email submission of a query letter with the other agents to whom you are sending it in your email list. This also happens more than you know. Take the time to send separate submissions.

6.              Do not send a query or email submission with your proposal and/or manuscript. We have too much to read as it is. We will request what we would like to see. 

7.              Do not behave in a hostile manner toward a literary agent for rejecting your work. You may see them at a conference and who knows they may remember you and your work. Could happen. 

8.              Do not stalk your potential literary agent or your actual literary agent who then has to drop you as a client because your behavior is so bizarre at a writer's conference that you are freaking out all the attendees. You know who you are. 

9.              Do not call a literary agent and bully the receptionist so you can talk to the literary agent. At least at our literary agency it is often I, the partner and fellow literary agent answering our phone in my receptionist voice. Do you really think we want a client who does not respect the support staff?

10.           When given an offer of representation do not immediately go Hollywood. While we are hard at work trying to sell your project you are welcome to tell people you have a literary agent. Just do not expect us to be available to now read all of your friend's work so you can show off how important you are. 

Writers and Literary Agents need each other. It is a symbiotic relationship when at its best. But we Agents have to sift through a lot of material to make some very hard decisions. So make it easy for us to like you and for you to like us. If your material is also good and you learn about how to be a good Writer Entrepreneur, we all win. 

What not to do When Writing a Book Proposal

What not to do When Writing a Book Proposal

By Deborah Herman

Literary Agent and co-founder of the new social network for Writers: Writer Entrepreneur  www.theWEnet.ning.com

The nonfiction book proposal is the tool of the trade for traditional publishing. It is even now used for fiction submissions although with different elements. If you want to find an agent and/or publisher for your non-fiction book you need to learn how to do this even though you may put it on the level of visiting the dentist. No offense meant for dentists, but if the character in "Little Shop of Horrors," is any indication, dentists own a place among some of our communal worst nightmares. Writers have a similar perspective toward book proposals. Book proposals seem to be a necessary evil more evil than necessary.

If you understand the purpose and attributes of a book proposal you can make writing them almost as much fun as writing your book. They create a blueprint and can be used even if you decide to self-publish to keep you on task. You can write a book proposal without needing a completed manuscript. This is an amazing benefit for you as a writer. You can plan your book, write good sample material and if you are able to find an agent or publisher can spend your time writing the book knowing that it will reach an audience and that you will be paid. This is much better then all the speculative writing we must do in building our careers. Your book proposal is like a personal interview with the person who can choose your project and change your life. A well written book proposal can move you up the ladder toward the smaller percentage of people who land a book deal.

We use a specific format in our book proposals that we have clearly outlined in our book: "Write the Perfect Book Proposal."  This makes the process so much less daunting. No matter what resource you use, and there are many great ones, the gist of the proposal is the same. You want to explain clearly what the book is about, why it should exist and why you are the one to be writing it.

The sections of a book proposal are as follows:

1.              Title Page

2.              Overview

3.              About the Author

4.              Market- who will buy the book

5.              Promotions- author marketing plan

6.              social media 

7.              competition

8.              Table of Contents

9.              Chapter by Chapter outline

10.           Sample Chapter(s)

Without going into complete detail of how to write a book proposal, which we will do in a future blog, there are things you should not do when writing one. 

What not to do when writing a book proposal:

1.              Do not forget the purpose of a book proposal. This is not a mini manuscript. It is a sales document more akin to a business plan where you are able to introduce your project to the appropriate agent or editor. 

2.              Do not think that you will put all your energy into the manuscript and whip out the proposal just because you have to. In many cases your book proposal needs to be better than your book. This is what will get you in the door. 

3.              When writing your book proposal do not pontificate. Your overview should only be 250-500 words. You are enticing the agent or editor to read more. You do not want to waste this space with fluff about how it will be a bestseller and will change the world. 

4.              Do not weigh any section of the proposal as more important than the others. Every section is there for a reason. You are anticipating questions the agent or editor will have about the potential of your book and answering them in ways geared to support you. 

5.              Do not write a disorganized table of contents with fancy chapter titles. It is better to have clear and explanatory titles that allow a reader to completely visualize the book than for someone to think you are clever but unfocused. 

6.              Do not forget to do your market research. Know who your audience is. Saying that every woman in the world needs to read the book is not valid even if it is true. 

7.              Do not forget to thoroughly research your competition. You may not find all the books that are in the works at a publishing house, but you should be familiar with books already in the marketplace. 

8.              Do not write a chapter by chapter outline that is non-persuasive. In other words use good writing skill to show that the book will be a good read. 

9.              Do not forget to describe what you bring to the table. If you have a reach to your audience include it in your proposal so the agent or editor can be sure that your book is a good risk. 

10.           Do not get lazy when it comes to including sample chapters. You may not need to write the entire manuscript but the agent or editor will want to know that you can write. You do not need to be the best writer but your sample chapters will show follow through. 

Enjoy the process and show that you are passionate about your book. Try to be patient with this part of the journey. It will pay off in the end.

Deborah Herman is a Literary Agent with the Jeff Herman Agency as well as an author and book doctor. Herman is a co-founder of Writer Entrepreneur Network. www.theWEnet.ning.com