Product Description

BUSINESS OWNERS AND EXPERTS: Do you have unique, in-demand information and expertise? If so, brand your business with a focused, compelling, and well organized book. Quickly write and publish a top seller that will drive qualified buyers to your business in droves! Too busy to write your own book? Use Judy's chapter blueprint to manage a ghostwriter for blockbuster results.

FIRST TIME AUTHORS: Want to manifest your book dream, help others, and make a great living? If so, bypass amateur mistakes. Write and self-publish your saleable book right the first time out. You'll save thousands of time and money mistakes chasing traditional ways that don't support the unknown author.

DOI:

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #450828 in Books
• Published on: 2005-06-22
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 132 pages

Review

"This is not a book on how to write. It is a book on how to get it written."-Dan Poynter, The Self-Publishing Manual

"Save yourself from headaches, disappointments, and money down the drain. Judy puts you on the fastest track to publishing success."-Marcia Reynolds, M.A., M.Ed., How to Outsmart Your Brain

"If you've ever thought of writing a book or even written one but want to improve the process, get this book."-Mary Westheimer, CEO, BookZone.com

"Worth its pages in gold -- Very highly recommended."-Cindy Penn, Senior Amazon top 50 reviewer

Customer Reviews

Solid information with mediocre presentation
An interesting, informative book and one that you will want to buy if you plan to self-publish. However I found the writing extremely clunky with numerous typos (even stuff that should have been caught by spellcheck). At one point the author switches from first person to third person and then back again. While the information is solid and I will likely buy at least one more book that the author offers, reading her books is a lot like going to the dentist; you don't enjoy it, but you know it is good for you.

On Doing a Series of Little Books on Your Favorite Subject
This book is a great example of what the author suggests that you do. That is, pick a non-fiction subject and write a fairly small book on the subject. There is a lot in what she has to say. The rules are pretty simple. Pick a subject that you know something about, that is small enough that it hasn't been written about too much. Write a small book, and spend as much time on promotion as you did on writing the book. People like to read authors that they know, so picking a subject where you can write a series of books covering different aspects.

Most of the book consists of short fast chapters that are fast to write, fast to read, convey information that the reader wants. There are chapters on just the back cover. When you have fifteen or twenty seconds of the buyers attention, what you put on the cover is very important. Then there are chapters on getting the book published, including finding a major publsher and on publishing it yourself.

She writes a bit on eBooks. I'm not so sure I agree with her on this one. eBooks have not been terribly successful. People don't seem to want to read on a computer. But publishing as a paper book and a eBook at the same time might make some sense.

Is there an editor in the house?
I believe self-publishing is the greatest thing to happen to the book world since Guttenberg. Self-publishing has allowed thousands of talented writers to make their collective voices be heard. The reading public benefits in untold ways by having available countless books that would likely have not otherwise been published. How many great manuscripts lay buried in some old steamer trunk somewhere, never to be read again, and never to be shared with the world?

But self-publishing also brings with it a host of shortcomings. To this reader, a lack of professionalism being the most notable, and primarily that lack of professionalism shows itself in the editing. Now, for a self-published book on how to repair the plumbing in your home, I can overlook a lack of editing, but in a book about how to write a book, a lack of editing is inexcusable. Other than that, WRITE YOUR eBOOK OR OTHER SHORT BOOK - FAST, by Judy Cullins, is pretty good. You can't even make the argument that hiring an editor is too expensive. I edit raw manuscripts for $3 per page. I'm sure many summertime vacationing English teachers would be willing to do it for even less!

The information contained here is good, although somewhat of a sleight of hand. By that I mean, Cullins did something she teaches in the book, she took what should have been a forty-page pamphlet and turned it into a 130-page book. The problem is, she does so with redundancy and a good deal of white space. Every two or three paragraphs is a new subheading that takes a couple of inches out of print.

I did learn a few things here. As I said, the information is worth the price of the book, I just hold a book on writing to a higher standard. There is too much emphasis here on making the dollar and not nearly enough focus on the quality of the finished product.