Speed Reading Tips - Comprehension and Reading Speed - Can They Really Go Together?

There are many misconceptions concerning speed reading. An effective speed reading system is not one that involves flipping through pages of text, or how fast your eyes can move over a page and somehow absorb knowledge like a vacuum cleaner. The real secret deals with one word - comprehension. The following article discusses the secret to comprehension and reading speed.

Dynamic Speed Reading and Comprehension

Often the question, "how fast can anyone read, and still comprehend?" is asked. The answer is: you can only read as fast as you can understand the material, or comprehend it. Of course, you can turn pages and move your eyes at 10,000, 50,000, or even 100,000 words per minute. But if you're not understanding, there is no comprehension. Unfortunately, most reading improvement programs focus merely on speed. They give little attention to training the cognitive aspect or reading well.

Comprehension the other hand, is understanding what you read, while you are reading it. As you read, as your eyes are moving over the print, is your mind responding?

Reading is a thinking skill. You can read as fast as you can think your way through the material. The secret to faster reading, is learning to get the mind kicked into gear at higher speeds. That is the great mystery we have solved with our approach. We have unlocked the secrets of combining physically reading faster and cognitively how to move your mind along the way. This approach has shown usual gains averaging 15 points or more in comprehension gain.

Remember, it's not how fast you get through the material that matters, it's how fast you understand what your eyes are seeing.

live Essay Creator
Buy Best Essays

Newman's The Idea of a University

Newman's The Idea of a University advocates his ideas of university education seeking to guard against obscureantism in education. It deals with the basic principles concerning the site of the university, the aim of university education, the qualifications of the university teachers, and the ideals of liberal education. Newman also defines knowledge and differentiates between mere learning and knowledge.

The basic themes of Newman's approach to present the idea of a university are well known:

• Knowledge is an end in itself, to be pursued for its own sake and not for some utilitarian value.
• The university is, first and foremost, a community of scholars, teachers and students devoted to the pursuit of truth.
• The core of the curriculum is the humanities which represent the highest attainment of cultivated minds.

From a number of alternative formulations of the same idea given by Newman, we have selected his following statement to define the university. The University, Newman says,
"... is the place to which a thousand schools make contributions; in which the intellect may safely range and speculate, sure to find its equal in some antagonist activity, and its judge in the tribunal of truth. It is a place where inquiry is pushed forward and discoveries verified and perfected, and rashness rendered innocuous, and error exposed, by the collision of mind with mind, and knowledge with knowledge."

Newman does not define university in a narrow sense. Education in a university is not specific but general. "a University is not a birthplace of poets or of immortal authors, of founder of schools, leaders of colonies or conquerors of nations." A university provides opportunity to acquire knowledge of different branches. In a university, students, prffessors and experts of varied discilpines assemble together and exchange their views, and thus acquire 'knowledge'.

Knowledge which is a pursuit of university is, according to Newman, a unified whole. It consists of all branches of Knowledge, as Newman says,

"I have said that all branches of knowledge are connected together, because the subject-matter of knowledge is intimately united in itself, as being the acts and the work of the Creator." (v) However, Newman differentiates between knowledge and mere learning. A single branch of knowledge is a mere learning. Thus, "all Knowledge is a whole and the separate Sciences parts of one". Knowledge can be compared to tree with a number of branches. Different branches of knowledge are of equal importance, "They complete, correct, balance each other."

The university education is "Liberal". Newman says that "the end of University Education,...[is]... the Liberal or Philosophical Knowledge... which...has a very tangible, real, and sufficient end, though the end cannot be divided from that knowledge itself."

There are two methods of Education-philosophical and mechanical. Mechanical education gives preference to instruction, and aims at immediate outcome of the process. Its scope is narrow.

On the contrary, Philosophical education, which is much broader, denotes liberal education which Newman advocates for. It is not characteresid by physical instruction rather by the exercise of reason, mind and inner faculty, by the cultivation of intellect. Thus by liberal education Newman means the ethical sense or education or the moral vision needed for a person's private, social, national and intellectual life. The function of university education, Newman points out, is to produce a group of people who are literate and cultured, to produce gentlemen who are full of common sense and who can master any situation. Newman's notions about University Education or Liberal Education are anti-utilitarian. His approach is fundamentally against the Utilitarian view that education or anything must have a a sort of 'utility' or usefulness in pragmatic value that is it must have market value. Thus by the term Knowledge, Newman, in an anti-utiliterian way, means something abstrract, something intangible, something intellectul. As Newman says,

" When I speak of knowlwdge, I mean something intellectual, something which grasps what it perceives through senses;..."

However, Newman does not altogether deny the necessity of mechanical education. He says,

"Let me not to deny the necessity, or to decry the benefit, of such attention to what is particular and pratical, as belongs to the useful and mechanical arts;" In presenting the liberal education, Newman argues that religion and science can not come into conflict, unless they are misrepresented or misunderstood. The aim of liberal education is to make a gentleman, not a Christian as Mill says, "Liberal education makes not the Christian, not the Catholic, but the gentleman. " However, a Christian would be so much better than if he was gentleman also, because all the fields of human investigation are to be unified by the organizing concepts of theology, which is a science of its own kind.

The university teacher, according to Newman, should be "eloquent, and is a missionary and a preacher" who will display " his science in its most complete and most winning form", and who will have "the zeal of enthusiasm" lighting up love in the "breasts of his hearers". If we observe the background of Newman's presenting the essay, we see that the word "Idea" has been used in the sense of "ideal". The model which he urged on his Dublin audience, seeking their support, particularly financial, for the creation of a new Catholic university in Dublin, was that of the unreformed Oxford in which he had spent his formative years. Actually, one may claim, his was a Platonic ideal, divorced from practice.

John Henry Newman, (21 February 1801 - 11 August 1890) was a Roman Catholic priest and Cardinal who converted to Roman Catholicism from Anglicanism. Therefore, it was no doubt that theology was at the core of his thinking and writing: the study of theology gets place at the core of his university curriculum. Newman's vast bulk of theological writing is studied today by only the most esoteric of scholars. However, his great work, The Idea of a University, has stood the test of time.

Now in order to conclude the essay we will mention two contrasting quotes. Samuel Johnson once said:

"A writer is judged by his worst work when he is alive and by his best work when he is dead."

In contrast, Shakespeare had Mark Anthony say:

"The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones."

Newman is lucky that, in his case, it was Johnson who proved to be right, because after his death, even nowadays, The Idea of a University is being regarded as a plea for liberal education.

Essays Creator
Best Essays

The Importance of Technical Writing

Technical writing is one of those professions that doesn't seem to get much in the way of profile. When the writer does their job properly then ideally no-one will notice, because their work is designed to facilitate the use of something else and it is associated with the product's excellence. When it's bad their work is associated with frustration and nobody likes that so sometimes there's a negative association. So why is technical writing important?

It's Different from "Creative Writing"

Technical writing differs from what is known as "creative writing". Creative authors are free to develop pretty much any material they like, fact or fiction. They can display their content in a way that appeals to them, and there are no major structural requirements apart from the obvious like; "DONT USE ALL CAPS TO TYPE" or "learn to spell and punctuate".

That doesn't mean that technical authors aren't creative but it does mean they are much more structured. The true professional develops documents that are not only to be read but are practically useful. Users may never recognise the skill that takes but they surely appreciate it when they fly through a manual and get started in an instant with a new product.

It's a very Versatile Profession

Great technical writers can deliver a wealth of work, not just user manuals (though that's a big part of it) but some or all of these pieces too:

• Training Courses
• Functional Specifications
• User Requirements Documents
• Process Mapping
• Marketing Material
• Business Letters
• Presentations
• And Many More

Which means that you may not recognise that there are many more technical authors than there are people with the title. Business analysts, trainers, software developers, analysts, marketing teams all have their fair share of unlabelled professionals.

Almost Every Business Needs One

While there may be a few exceptions like self-employed window cleaners for example, who don't need the services of a business writer, they are few and far between. Every product that comes with a user manual, every company that has policy documents, every service that requires marketing will need a technical writer of some form or description.

And that tells you that not only is the profession important but it's vital to a working business world, even a can of spray deodorant has a list of instructions on it (like don't spray this stuff in your eyes) making it a job with endless opportunity for variety and contribution.

Nick is the President of [http://www.authoring4u.com] a specialist consultancy based in Shenzhen China, which helps companies from around the world save time and money in the areas of; technical documentation, Internet presence and marketing and Press Relations.

Creative Essays
Best Essay

Books Set in France - Five Novels to Read Before You Travel

So you are about to set off on the trip of a lifetime to one of the most-loved countries in the world -- France! You have been practicing your 'bonjours' and your 'mercis', and studying maps of Paris to work out how to get around, but there is one more thing you can do to make sure your trip is extra special. And that is to immerse yourself in French life by reading some books set in France.

Reading novels set in Paris or the French countryside will give you an insight into the country which is impossible to get from the guide books. As the characters walk along the Seine or drink their coffee at a table on the Parisian pavement, it will fill you with anticipation to do the same -- making the experience so much sweeter when you finally get to do it yourself. If the novel is set in the past, you will have more appreciation for France's history, bringing many of the places and old buildings alive when you visit them on your trip. And if the novel is set in the present day, there's nothing more fun than trying to find the streets, bars and restaurants that might be mentioned in the story.

So what books should you read? Here is a selection of five novels which do a great job in bringing France to life, even before you set foot on that plane.

'Foreign Tongue' by Vanina Marsot

Nursing a broken heart, Anna moves to Paris from Los Angeles. She begins working as the translator of a cryptic erotic novel and of course, finds herself some romance. The book is a love-letter to the city, with plenty of wanderings through the streets as well as descriptions of French life, food and cafes.

'The Coral Thief' by Rebecca Stott

History, mystery, romance and intrigue intertwine in this novel set in post-Napoleonic Paris. It is 1815 and a young Englishman travels to Paris to take up a position at the renowned Jardin des Plantes. But when the collection of rare coral specimens he is carrying is stolen by a beautiful woman, he is drawn into a plot involving revolutionaries, spies and the intelligentsia. Victorian Paris comes alive in this novel, which will surely enhance any present day visit to the Jardin des Plantes, France's main botanical garden.

'Luncheon of the Boating Party' by Susan Vreeland

Pierre-Auguste Renoir's 'Luncheon of the Boating Party' is a famous painting depicting a group of Parisians enjoying lunch on the terrace of a restaurant on the Seine. In this novel Vreeland tells the story of those in the painting and how they came to be there. It is a glorious look at Paris at the time of the Impressionists, and you can still eat at the restaurant itself today.

'Five Quarters of the Orange' by Joanne Harris

Now we move out of Paris and into the Loire Valley with this novel by Harris that takes us to a village occupied by the Germans in WWII. The book moves between WWII and the present day, giving us an insight into the long-term effects the Nazi occupation had on the French people. And as it is a book by Joanne Harris, there is a of course lots of time spent exploring French food!

'The Matchmaker of Perigord' by Julia Stuart

We finish up with something fun and quirky, in a fictional village in France's south-west. Amour-Sur-Belle might not be a real place, but it gives a taste of some of the declining villages of rural France. Here, the town barber decides to reinvent himself as a match-maker, quite a task when there are only 33 residents to match up. Filled with delightful characters and semi-ridiculous situations, this novel should just leave you giggling and enjoying the French temperament.

Essay Maker
Best Essays Live

Reducing Student Essay Writing Stress - 5 Top Tips

Let's face it, when it comes to writing essays, dissertations, thesis chapters or submitting coursework, even the most organised of us will come face to face with that last minute essay panic at some point in our lives. I have worked with lots of students over the past year, and indeed, as an under-graduate and then a post-graduate student, I have found myself surrounded by students of all ages, styles, abilities and personalities. There is always a commonality - the dread of an essay or academic assignment. The extend of the dread, and the reason for the fear may be different across the board, but nonetheless, it would be nigh on impossible to find a student who doesn't find themselves getting slightly nervous when the words 'essay' and 'deadline' are uttered within the same breath.

However, essay writing is a fundamental part of all study. We start pulling together written assignments at school from the age of 4, and we continue to write assignments throughout our life. Sometimes they are career related, and certainly in our earlier life they are frequently academic and educational.

I am one of those individuals who likes to plan to avoid that last minute essay panic. I don't find a buzz in working all night to finish off an assignment that's due to be submitted at 9am the following day. I don't find that my academic or creative genius is awoken only when there is 4 hours to go before submission deadline. I find that I am calmer, and I generally write better and more coherent essays when I have the luxury of time and the ability to re-read, and rewrite my essay.

There are however some students who do find that they are much more productive and almost much more intelligent in their essay writing when they are up against the pressure of a deadline. And that's just fine. But sometimes, when you have a 200 page thesis to submit for example, there just aren't enough hours in the day to deliver a good quality essay in 12 hours. And so you need a plan.

One of the best ways to avoid that last minute essay panic is quite simply to have a plan for completing the essay. Attack the essay as you would any project:

1. Know the deadline. This is the point at which all stages of your plan will work back from.

2. Set a realistic start date. If the essay is only 1,000 words long, you don't need to start writing and researching it two months ahead of the deadline date. One to two weeks is probably sufficient. If however the essay is 10,000 words long, then starting it two months ahead of deadline might be sensible.

3. Work out all of the key steps you need to complete between the start date and the finish date. These could include completing the research, watching an important film that is related to the subject matter, carrying out qualitative research, attending a discussion group, meeting with your tutor etc. It should also include completing various parts of the essay itself; for example, writing a full content plan for each chapter, drafting the introduction, drafting the body of the essay, drafting the conclusion.

4. Set completion dates for each of these key steps...and stick to them. Don't let yourself fall into the trap of missing a deadline and then letting the whole plan slip - keep on top of it.

5. Aim to work to a completion date that is at least 2 days before the actual submission deadline. Not only does it feel great to complete your work in plenty of time before submission day, it also gives you a couple of days to re-check through your work and to sort out a proof read or final editorial, if this is required.

So there you have it - my 5 top tips to reduce your stress levels!

Professional Essays
Best Essays

5 Tips on How to Publish a Book for Free

The short answer to the question "how to publish a book for free" is to self publish it. There are various platforms on the internet that allow you to do just this. They make money by taking a commission when you make a sale. But until that happens, no money changes hands. Here are some tips on publishing your newly written book.

1. Proof read your book

Traditional publishers have a process that they follow before they publish a book. Part of this process involves proof reading to reduce the number of spelling and other errors that exist in near enough any manuscript.

Just because your book is being published electronically doesn't excuse you from carrying out this important step.

If you don't proof read your new book, you run the risk of getting bad reviews which will affect future sales.

You don't need to hire a professional proof reader - just leave at least a few days between finishing your book and reading it through yourself, ideally out loud.

2. Create your own cover

You've probably got a piece of image editing software. If not, there are programs like GIMP that you can download and use for free.

You will need a royalty free image - books without a picture on the cover look boring and won't attract many sales. Don't just grab something from Google images as a lot of these are subject to copyright and even the ones that Google claims are available for commercial use have restrictions such as linking back to the original creator which is difficult to do in outlets such as Amazon.

Instead hunt around for a royalty free image site and choose a photo or drawing that has no restrictions on its use. There are lots of these around and it will just take a bit of time to choose the best one for your new book.

3. Write a good description

Whilst we definitely do judge a book by its cover, the next thing we will read or at least skim is the description.

A traditional publishing house will spend time and money on getting this right. It's part of the pre-sale process.

Outline the plot or subject matter of your book. Use other similar books in your market to get ideas of what should be included but obviously don't plagiarize them.

Use your description as the advertisement for your new book, remembering that humans will be reading it as well as the search engines who will index the words you use.

4. Make use of free publishing outlets

Whilst Amazon is the largest self publishing house in the world, it is by no means the only one in existence.

If you don't sign up for their Select program then you are allowed to publish your book electronically with other outlets as well. One of the best of these is Smashwords who will help get your book published for the iPhone, Nook, Kobo and lots of other devices. Like Amazon, they make their money by charging a commission when you make a sale but not before.

5. Go to print

It's not just electronic publishers that will allow you to publish your book for free. Some of the print-on-demand publishers such as CreateSpace won't charge you when you publish your book with them. Instead, you will get your own ISBN number for free and typically a limited but still useful distribution for your newly published book without spending a penny.

So you can become a published author of a real book that could actually sit on someone's bookshelf without spending anything apart from your time writing it.

Essay Creator Online
Best Essay

Life After Life: Where Do the Dead Go?

"Eternal rest grant him O Lord." This and similar words are usually heard at funerals, where mourners, in tears, bid farewell to their loved ones. "Eternal rest grant him Oh lord." In the same breath, we all in deep emotion s sing to the diseased:"God be with you till we meet again." Then, the officiating clergy moves to the graveside with the congregation to the grave side and the family members dump wet earth on the casket being buried, reminding the diseased that"dust thou art, to dust thou shall return." consolation he tells those he has left behind:"he is resting in the bosom of the lord", or Abraham, as the case may be. That these statements contradict each other never crosses the mind of hose who hear these things They are just routine words for funerals, that is all.

But it is the sacred duty of every human being to examine all he has been told to see, at least, whether it corresponds to simple reasoning. For example, For simple reasoning could ask the simple question, Dust thou art, to dust thou returnest. Rest in the bosom of the Lord. If you have returned dust, how then do you rest in the bosom of the lord?Unless the bosom of the Lord is the dust, which makes no sense. The only way to understand the question is in the understanding of the duality of Man. In this article, I will try to show that man is not really dual in Nature-body and soul-but only of a single nature, the spirit.

Every other thing can only be grouped as coverings which the spirit wears to work in the environment where the s fashioned. It is also important to note that there is no way I could have come to understanding of these all important facts except through my coming into tact with a work which is now in existence on earth. That Work is In The Light Of The Grail Message, by Abd-ru shin. This work is by far the most comprehensive on Earth as far as the knowledge of creation is concerned. It lays the foundation for all branches of human endeavor and all the knowledge needed by mankind to move forward in this creation. Through my understanding of the work, I am able to give explanations on death and the beyond.

There are many things that could cause death which includes old age, diseases or accidents. Ideally, death through old age should be a gradual process. Deaths are not meant to be painless. The body is meant to be loosening gradually until it finally releases the soul. Most diseases are actually caused by the disharmony between the soul and the body, particularly when a person cannot come to terms with his conscience, as far as i does not emanate from a direct influence of an external body. Such diseases affect the radiation of the blood which must accord with the radiation of the soul for the soul to be held bound inside the body. The change in radiation causes the soul to to leave the body because there is no more binding force holding it.

There is no more binding force bu there exists a silver cord connecting the soul with the body. This cord is elastic in nature and has to be first of all severed before the soul can proceed on its journey. In the Christian Bible, Ecclesiastes chapter twelve, the process of old age and dying was graphically described. There, the author tells us to"remember your creator in the days of your youth, before the silver cord is loosened, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the well. Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to god who made it."

In this allegory, the golden bowl refers to the halo around the head of every individual that forms part of a persons aura. These are what clairvoyant artists draw around the head of Jesus Christ and his Disciples. The pitcher shattering on the cistern depicts the stoppage of the hearth, While the wheel ends, that is, the aura phase out. Here the author of Ecclesiastes divides the man into two- the spirit and the body. The body "goes back to dust" while the spirit "goes back to the the creator."

Here the preacher ends. He did not explain how the spirit goes back to the maker. What happens to the spirit from then onwards is what I am going to dwell on.

Let us, for the sake of this essay, divide human beings into two major groups. These are those who believe in the existence of life after death and those who do not. Among those who believe we also divide into two groups:The good and the evil. We can then follow their movements after physical death.

Those who do not believe in life after death will have their belief reflected in what happens to them after death. They will be blind, and deaf to their wanted it otherwise. This was actually what happened to the escapist Houdini, who wandered in utter darkness because he was not prepared for what to expect. The environment is called the Land of the shadows, because everything there is shadow like. In a subsequent article I will deal with the second and third categories.

Essay Creator
Unique Essays

Marketing Your Book

While you don't need to have every detail of your marketing strategies mapped out when you begin writing your book, the earlier you get started on crafting this part of your platform, the better.

Speaking Events

When you appear at events, you can spread the gospel about your book. If you're physically in contact with audiences, you can sell copies of your book. When people see and meet you, they frequently buy your book. If you give speeches, you're almost guaranteed to sell your books because at most events, your books will be available for sale. However, when you try to publicize your book through the media, selling books is iffier.

Learn to become an accomplished speaker because speaking is a major platform for selling books. Plan ahead, early in the book-writing process. Begin speaking at least six months to a year before your book is published, to drum up interest in it and to build your speaking ability and reputation.

If you're not an established speaker, take public-speaking classes or media training. Join speakers' organizations. Then speak for free for local organizations where you can polish your craft. Start small and work your way up; build a following and a reputation for being a dynamic, entertaining, and enlightening speaker. Chamber of commerce events routinely feature business authors. Arrange with bookstore owners who are chamber members to sell your books at the events.

Also speak to local branches of industry or professional groups. If you've written a sales or networking book, you could speak at meetings of Sales and Marketing Executives International or the American Marketing Association. Try to build your base where you live and work because members of the community where you started will become your staunchest supporters.

When you become an accomplished speaker, assemble videotapes of your presentations, testimonials, a speech description, and your biography in a professional manner. Then, sign up with as many speaker bureaus as possible to get bookings. The top bureaus include the International Speakers Bureau, Leading Authorities, Inc., the Leigh Bureau, and Washington Speaker Bureau.

Author 101 Advice

A powerful strategy for launching your book is to reduce your fee on the condition that the host organization make up the difference by purchasing copies of your book. For example, if you normally command $5,000 for a keynote speech, cut your fee in half and take $2,500 if the host organization agrees to spend the other half buying $2,500 worth of your book.

The benefits you receive are that you're guaranteed $2,500 worth of book sales that won't be returned and more of your books get into circulation. Having books circulate builds word-of-mouth publicity, which should be your main objective because every book in a reader's hands is an ambassador and a publicist for you and your book. If you are an established speaker, you can afford to take less cash in order to move more copies of your book. When you employ this strategy over a number of personal appearances, it can provide substantial book sales and excellent publicity.

Hook up with 800-CEO-READ, an online business-book retailer that sells books to the corporate market. It will feature your book in its newsletter and on its website and will solicit bulk orders for your book from corporations. 800-CEO-READ will arrange for copies of your books to be available at your public appearances, events, and speaking engagements. All sales made by 800-CEO-READ are reported to many of the leading bestseller lists. Either go through or clear it with your publisher.

E-Mail Blasts

E-mail blasts are campaigns intended to make books bestsellers with online booksellers. E-mail blasts work well with certain business books, especially motivational books. Incentives that can be a part of the package include free or discounted audiotapes, videos, books or chapters of books, resource lists, courses, newsletter subscriptions, or seminars.

A variation of the e-mail blast that works well for business books is what we call an awareness blast. This blast is intended to provide information and awareness, not free gifts. For example, if your marketing book is targeted to C-level executives (chief executive officers, chief information officers, and chief financial officers), you probably don't want to conduct giveaways, because they're too gimmicky for your audience. So, instead, you buy a list of C-level executives from Business Week and then send a general sales e-mail or letter to inform them about your new book. You can include high-level endorsements, favorable reviews, and even excerpts. The cost of buying sharply targeted lists can be expensive, but it can enable you to reach a precise audience.

As we mentioned in our discussion of authors' Web sites, capturing names and e-mail addresses is a major objective of such sites. If you acquire enough names and addresses, you can hold your own e-mail blast and send other promotions to people who you know have some interest in you and your book.

Contests

Some business books lend themselves to creative campaigns. One that was highly successful was the Best Boss/Worst Boss contest that Planned Television Arts developed to promote The Corporate Coach: How to Build a Team of Loyal Customers and Happy Employees by James B. Miller, the CEO of Miller Business Systems (HarperBusiness, 1994).

The contest, which was promoted during Miller's twenty-city tour, invited employees to submit essays describing their best and worst bosses. The grand-prize winner in each category received a trip to Hawaii. The contest generated many additional interviews for Miller during his tour as well as national placements, including three with the Associated Press. Both the Today Show and The Osgood File featured the contest winners and Miller's book. Interestingly, the worst boss winner appeared in disguise.

Miller's contest was so popular that he ran similar contests for another two years. He also used material obtained from the contests to write another book, Best Boss, Worst Boss: Lessons and Laughs from the International "Best Boss/Worst Boss" Contests (Summit Publishing Group, 1997).

Any entrepreneurial author should strongly consider running a contest. With the Internet, it's not difficult.

Top BestSeller Lists

New York Times (monthly)
Business Week (monthly)
Wall Street Journal Business
USA Today
To make weekly bestseller lists, you usually need to sell at least 3,000 copies a week, and for monthly lists, 10,000 copies a month.

Making the business bestseller list is a matter of velocity; it's a matter of how many books you sell in a particular week or month, not your cumulative sales. It's a sprint, not a marathon. So, create your book campaign strategy to sell as many books in the smallest period of time possible in order to generate the maximum number of reported sales during that time. To create the most impact, orchestrate all your publicity efforts to come together during that window of time: your speaking engagements, op-ed piece, your e-mail blast, and your corporate orders. If your promotional efforts and your book sales are spread over a period of months, you will be less likely to make the bestseller lists.

The only sales figures used for bestseller lists are those that come from retail chains, online booksellers, and independent bookstores. So, if you make a bulk sale to a corporation or sell tons of books from the back of the room when you speak, those won't be counted unless they're made by one of the groups mentioned above.

Special Opportunities

Business news is always breaking. In areas such as parenting, lifestyles, entertainment, food, and even sports, the news can be slow. However, the business news never stops; it rarely slows down. So, business authors must position themselves to seize upon developments as soon as they occur in their areas of expertise.

Bill George's book, Authentic Leadership (Jossey-Bass, 2004), featured his expertise on good corporate governance and CEO pay. His publicity campaign focused on his high ethical standards and visionary ideas. When former New York Stock Exchange chief Richard Grasso came under fire, the media turned to George as an expert on ethical CEO behavior. George gave interviews that spawned more interviews, and he received great publicity, which boosted the sales of his book.

Business authors must also anticipate future news in order to time their books and publicity efforts around upcoming cycles that the media will cover. If you have a book on job searching or career advice, make sure that your book is released during April or May to tie it into the annual graduation cycle that follows. Every year, prior to graduation, the media churns out stories on finding jobs and establishing careers. By anticipating the media's patterns, authors of books on these subjects can make themselves available to the media as experts. They can get great publicity for themselves and their books by giving the media explanations, insights, and quotations on careers. The assistance they provide to the media can pay off at other times of the year when the media needs experts to help it with news items on jobs and careers.

Hometowns

All authors should capitalize on the special attention that they can get from the media in their hometowns. For business authors, that means developing strong ties to the business editors and reporters for their local newspapers and business journals. It pays for authors to build strong hometown bases because locals take pride in the success of other locals and help promote them.

When it comes to hometown coverage, business authors have the advantage of having more outlets where they can speak than other authors. They can speak at chambers of Commerce; at service clubs such as Rotary, Kiwanis, and Elks Clubs; and to local business groups. Business authors should take advantage of these opportunities to build a strong local speaking base and solid grassroots support.

Extra Credit

Write biographies and promotional materials that build your credibility. In bios, stress the accomplishments that relate most to your book. Readers and the media want to know that you have outstanding credentials. It will make the information and advice in your book more authoritative.

The press materials for Bill George's Authentic Leadership noted that George was a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD). However, it stressed that he had been named the Corporate Director of the Year by NACD. The media picked up on this point and frequently referred to George as the former NACD Corporate Director of the year.

Tweak bios to emphasize the author's expertise in areas in which individual media contacts are most interested. Conform news releases and other promotional materials so they also highlight authors' expertise in the same areas.

Business authors should also utilize their media contacts. Over the years, most business authors, especially those who are business leaders, make extensive media contacts. To promote their books, they should contact their media contacts. When members of the media cover stories, they have the power to determine the direction and tenor of the piece. So using your personal connections can get you favorable coverage.

It's a good idea to cultivate media contacts well before your book comes out. As we've suggested, become a media resource: feed the media stories, information, and sources; write byline articles; and volunteer your expertise. Then, when you need the help of those contacts, your relationship will have been established and you won't have to start from scratch.

Rick Frishman, the founder of Planned Television Arts, has been one of the leading book publicists in America for over 30 years.

Working with many of the top book editors, literary agents and publishers in America, including Simon and Schuster, Random House, Wiley, Harper Collins, Pocket Books, Penguin Putnam, and Hyperion Books, he has worked with best-selling authors including Mitch Albom, Caroline Kennedy, Howard Stern, President Jimmy Carter, Mark Victor Hansen, Nelson DeMille, John Grisham, Hugh Downs, Henry Kissinger, Jack Canfield, Alan Deshowitz, Arnold Palmer, and Harvey Mackay.

Online Essay Maker
Free Essays