Review: Make Money with Teleseminars and Webinars

Make Money with Teleseminars and Webinars is the new guide from Dana Lynn Smith, also known as The Savvy Book Marketer.

As a fan of Dana's work (see the list of other products of hers I have reviewed at the end of this post) I was keen to see this one as well, and so she kindly sent me a review copy.

Make Money with Teleseminars and Webinars is a bit different from Dana's other guides. Rather than a text-based manual, the product is based around a recording of a one-hour teleseminar. As that is what the product is all about, you certainly can't say that Dana doesn't practise what she preaches!

Buyers are first taken to an Order Confirmation page. From here they can click a link to watch a recording of the teleseminar (audio plus slides), and another to access a download page for the other resources sold with the product. These are as follows:

• Audio recording of the presentation (MP3)
• Slides from the presentation (PDF)
• Resource Guide, with links to dozens of useful resources (PDF)
• Guide to Choosing a Service Provider - this discusses what to look for when choosing a teleseminar/webinar service provider and gives a summary of five popular providers, with Dana's recommendations (PDF)

At the heart of this product is the teleseminar recording. I'd have to say I thought this was extremely well done. Considering this is a recording of a live presentation, I was amazed by how smoothly it ran. I didn't notice any fluffs, backtracks, or errors. This is either a testament to some very impressive editing, or an even more powerful testament to Dana's powers of organization and communication!

The actual advice is conveyed concisely, with the aid of slides that are informative and don't try to cram too much in. There are numerous bullet-pointed lists, the titles of some of which I've copied below. I'm not giving away anything I shouldn't here, as they are listed on the 'What You Will Learn' section of the sales page as well.

• 6 reasons why nonfiction authors should do teleseminars and webinars
• 4 ways to make money with paid teleseminars and webinars
• 5 ways to profit from free teleseminars and webinars
• 5 ways to earn revenue by repurposing content
• Techniques for doing educational presentations, interviews and online conferences
• How to add visuals to your presentation
• Tips for running your event smoothy
• Options for recording and replaying the presentation
• Free tools for editing audio and video files
• Insider tips for choosing a teleseminar/webinar service provider
• Pros and cons of various registration and payment methods
• How to promote your event for maximum attendance

The teleseminar provides a good overview of the various options available and how they work. I also found the discussion of the pros and cons of free versus paid-for events quite enlightening.

There is some excellent advice too about how to choose a suitable service provider. If you're new to this field there is plenty of scope for slip-ups here. Dana's advice should ensure that you are aware of all the key considerations, and choose the best provider for the type of event you have in mind.

The PDFs are also useful. I especially like the resource guide, which lists all the resources Dana has used personally and recommends (or in some cases doesn't). This includes everything from audio and video editing software to USB microphones, press release distribution companies to teleseminar announcement websites. For anyone planning their first webinar or teleseminar, this would more than justify the cost of the product in itself, I'd have thought.

If I had one nitpick, I would have liked a transcript of the whole teleseminar, as (being a writer, I suppose) I like to have all information in text form as well for easy reference. However, you do get a PDF containing all the slides used in the presentation, which is almost (though not quite) as good.

If you're thinking of getting into teleseminars and webinars - and they are not only great for raising your profile but (as the title implies) can be excellent money-makers in their own right - this reasonably priced guide would provide a great introduction and reference resource.

For more information about Make Money with Teleseminars and Webinars (and to order a copy) just click through any of the links in this review. You can also read my reviews of other guides by Dana by clicking on the appropriate title in the list below:

How to Get Your Book Reviewed

Twitter Guide for Authors

Facebook Guide for Authors

Virtual Book Tour Magic

If you have any comments or questions for Dana (or me), as ever, please feel free to leave them below.

• My sponsors, WCCL, also publish an excellent, in-depth guide to creating your own podcasts called The Ultimate Podcasting Kit. If podcasting is something else that appeals to you, please click on the banner ad below for more information.

Disclosure: I received a free review copy of Make Money with Teleseminars and Webinars by Dana Lynn Smith. In addition, the links in this review include my affiliate code, so if you click through and make a purchase, a proportion of the fee will go to me. This has not influenced my review, but you should of course complete your own due diligence and read the sales page (and this review) carefully to determine whether this product will be relevant to your needs.

Great Shortcut for Finding Words on a Page

Today I thought I'd share a quick tip I picked up a few months ago. If you know this already, my apologies!

If you're anything like me, you frequently search for specific words on a page. I do this all the time in Microsoft Word and also on web pages.

I generally think of myself as quite computer-savvy, but one thing I'd never really appreciated before is how useful the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+F is (for those who may not know, this instruction means pressing the Control key and the F key at the same time).

This beauty of this command is that it brings up a text search box in a wide range of programs. It works just as well in Word or in Firefox or other browsers. Since I discovered this, I've been using it all the time. OK, it may only save a moment compared with clicking on Find or Search in the relevant menu, but those moments definitely add up!

I also discovered a Firefox add-on called FindList which adds to the usefulness of Ctrl+F. It adds a list of up to 50 of your previous searches, allowing you to access them again at any time from a drop-down menu. Here's how it looks in practice...

I hope you find this tip (and the FindList add-on if you use Firefox) helpful.

Dare I mention it, I also use Ctrl+C (Copy) and Ctrl+V (paste) a lot, and find them great time-savers as well!

Review: KDP Select Report by Rosa Suen

In this post last week I reviewed Rosa Suen's report on publishing to the Amazon Kindle.

Today I'm reviewing her companion KDP Select Report - also available as a Warrior Special Offer - about the benefits to authors of opting into the KDP Select program.

For those who don’t know, KDP Select is a new program allowing authors of Kindle e-books to earn money by allowing their titles to be lent out to US Amazon Prime customers (though authors don’t have to be US-based themselves). Such customers are allowed to borrow one Kindle e-book free of charge per month under the program.

Obviously, authors don’t get any royalties from this program - as their books are loaned out free - but Amazon has set aside a substantial fund (an estimated $6 million during 2012), which is shared out every month according to how many times each e-book has been borrowed. With low-cost e-books - as Rosa's report indicates - your earnings per loan are almost certain to be higher than your royalties per sale.

The KDP Select program has been the cause of much discussion among Kindle authors, with some contending it offers a poor deal for authors. This is largely because, if you want to take part, you are barred from selling your e-book digitally through any other outlet (e.g. Smashwords) during the (minimum) 90-day period your title is available through the program. Rosa is the author of around 200 (non-fiction) e-books, however, and she shows clearly through her own sales figures and earnings that the program can be very effective if you use it in the right way.

One key aspect of the advice in the KDP Select Report concerns how to use the opportunity KDP Select authors are given to list their e-books free of charge on Amazon for up to five days per month (consecutive or otherwise). With stats from ten different e-books, Rosa clearly shows the effectiveness of this strategy for generating interest in an e-book and getting it into the Amazon best-seller lists.

She compares the number and value of sales generated (on non-free-promotion days, obviously) with loans per month, and shows the total earnings in each case. She discusses how she intends to refine her sales and pricing strategy to maximize her earnings from each title, and also sets out what she has discovered about the best price points for Kindle e-books.

I found Rosa’s systematic approach to marketing using the KDP Select program impressive, and the specific case studies quite enlightening. The guide doesn’t actually tell you anything about devising or writing Kindle e-books, though as previously mentioned Rosa does have another report, also available as a WSO, which covers this subject. And, of course, my own Kindle Kash guide sets out step-by-step advice on publishing an e-book to the Kindle Store using only free resources.

If you’re a Kindle author and have been wondering whether to take the plunge with KDP Select, I recommend this modestly priced guide. It may not have all the answers, but I guarantee it will give you food for thought. It also demonstrates a systematic, mathematically-based way of analysing the returns you are getting from applying Rosa’s strategy and fine-tuning it to boost your profits further. Incidentally, along with the report you also receive 10 charts (plus one already filled in as an example) to help you apply the strategy to your own titles.

With this report, as with Rosa's original one, there is a 30-day unconditional refund guarantee.

Disclosure: I received a free review copy of Rosa Suen's KDP Select Report. In addition, the links in this review include my affiliate code, so if you click through and make a purchase, a proportion of the fee will go to me. This has not influenced my review in any way, but you should of course complete your own due diligence and read the sales page (and this review) carefully to determine whether this product will be relevant to your needs.

Word cloud by courtesy of Wordle.

Rihanna Ft Jay Z - Talk That Talk Lyrics

Rihanna Ft Jay Z - Talk That Talk Lyrics

Talk that talk to me, yeah


Talk that talk to me, yeah



[Jay-Z]


I be trying to chill, b–ches wanna f–k me

Every little city I go, f–k me

Shorty must've heard

Got the word, I move that D


Had it by a bladder

She like, oh I gotta pee

Ran into a rocko in my restroom

Singer slash actress in my bedroom


God I have the ticket for a walk through

Everything that do is big



I talk big money, I talk big homes


I sell out arenas

I call that getting dome

Million dollar voice

Came through phone


We heading to the top

If you coming, come on

I'm Flying out to Pisa

Just to get some pizza


Fly down to Jamaica

Just to roll some reefa

Sex on the beach

Left love speechless


They say that money talk

Tell these other ni--as speak up

What's up




[Rihanna - Hook]

One and two and three and four, come on let me know if you want some more

You know what I like right now get it right


Boy talk that talk to me all night

Yeah boy I like it yeah boy I like it

Love it when you talk that talk to me yeah


Yeah that talk to me yeah

Love it when you talk that talk to me, yeah




[Rihanna]

Say what you want, say you want you like

Say you want me to do and I got you


Tell me how love you, tell me how to hold you

I'mma get it right on the first try for you

Cause you ain't never had a woman like me, yeah


And you will never have another like me, yeah

Noooooo

So i'mma give it to you baby




[Hook]

One and two and three and four, come on let me know if you want some more

You know what I like right now get it right

Boy talk that talk to me all night


Yeah boy I like it yeah boy I like it

Love it when you talk that talk to me yeah

Yeah that talk to me yeah


Love it when you talk that talk to me, yeah



[Bridge]

What you saying now


Give it to me baby

I want it all night

Give it to me baby

What you saying now


Give it to me baby

Give it to me baby

Give it to me baby




What you saying now

Give it to me baby

I want it all night

Give it to me baby


What you saying now

Give it to me baby

Give it to me baby

Give it to me baby




[Hook]

One and two and three and four, come on let me know if you want some more

You know what I like right now get it right


Boy talk that talk to me all night

Yeah boy I like it yeah boy I like it

Love it when you talk that talk to me yeah


Yeah that talk to me yeah

Love it when you talk that talk to me, yeah




Talk that talk to me

Talk that talk to me, yeah

Labrinth - Last Time Lyrics

Labrinth - Last Time Lyrics

One moment to another

A world to be discovered

And now it's my turn to fly

Let this be the last time I say goodbye



I love tokyo


I've never been

See i'm looking for somewhere that my journey could begin

And now maybe cairo

Guten tag berlin

But I know cause I ai't leaving paris without a french kiss




We're on a trip around the world

Let's make it wonderful



One moment to another

A world to be discovered

And now it's my turn to fly


Let this be the last time I say goodbye



Hey Ibiza

Give me the groove

I'mma party till I black out


And wake up in cancun

If I sleep in seattle

Plan the next move

I'll be having a ball over in ayia napa too



Now we're on a trip around the world



Let's make it wonderful



One moment to another

A world to be discovered

And now it's my turn to fly

Let this be the last time I say goodbye




Atlas on the dancefloor

Round the world like a merry go

New york city, london town

There's a moment somewhere out there

You'll never know, what's waiting outside your window




I'm taking off

I'm taking off

Lifting me up



One moment to another

A world to be discovered


And now it's my turn to fly

Let this be the last time I say goodbye



Atlas on the dancefloor

Round the world like a merry go


Atlas on the dancefloor

Round the world like a merry go

Atlas on the dancefloor

Round the world like a merry go

Atlas on the dancefloor

Round the world like a merry go

Duotrope: A Brilliant Resource for Fiction and Poetry Writers

Today I thought I'd spotlight a brilliant (and free) market-info resource for fiction and poetry writers called Duotrope.

Duotrope currently lists over 4100 current fiction and poetry publications, including anthologies and contests.

If you have written a poem or a story and are looking for a suitable market to submit it to, you can use the search box on the Duotrope homepage (see screengrab below) to search by genre, length, payscale, and so on.

Figure 1 - Duotrope Search Box

Alternatively, you can browse all listings on Duotrope or search by title by visiting this page of the website.

Another great feature of the site is that you can get a weekly email sent to you listing new markets and any significant changes to existing ones. You can opt to receive fiction updates, or poetry updates, or both. You have to register on Duotrope to receive the email newsletters, but this is free and only takes a moment.

I've copied below an extract from the Duotrope fiction newsletter - a partial list of anthologies and themed issues with upcoming deadlines - so you can get some idea how useful this is. All titles in the email newsletter link to the relevant listing on Duotrope.

Figure 2 - Extract from Duotrope Fiction Newsletter

You can also opt to receive market updates in your RSS feed reader if you prefer. In this case you get updates as they occur rather than once a week.

Duotrope has a range of other features as well, including interviews with editors, a calendar of upcoming deadlines, and more. Registered members can also access some additional features, including RSS feeds of their favorite markets, markets where they have submissions pending, and so on. Note that some of these extra features are currently in Beta.

Duotrope is an invaluable resource for fiction writers, so if you write fiction or poetry, I highly recommend checking it out. Although it is free, they do still have running costs to defray, so donations are always welcomed.

If you have any comments or questions about Duotrope, please feel free to leave them below. Or if you know of any similar resources that writers should be aware of, please post them here as well.

Review: Kindle Publishing Report by Rosa Suen

I was fortunate to receive review copies of two new reports by Hong Kong writer/entrepreneur Rosa Suen about publishing non-fiction books for the Amazon Kindle.

The one I'm reviewing today concerns creating Kindle e-books with good money-making potential. The other, which I'll review in a separate post, is about how to capitalize on the new Amazon KDP Select program (if you're particularly interested in this topic, here's a link to Rosa's sales page for this product now).

Both these reports are currently on sale as WSOs (Warrior Special Offers) at the Internet Marketing Warrior Forum. As you may know, people typically launch new products here at a discount in the hope of getting good reviews and building 'buzz' about their products prior to the main launch.

Rosa's Kindle Publishing Report is a concise (34-page), step-by-step guide to devising a (non-fiction) Kindle title with good sales potential. It's sold as an instant download in the standard PDF format.

In 18 practical steps, Rosa takes you from researching ideas, through outlining your e-book, to creating and marketing it.

One thing I should make clear is that this is NOT a guide to publishing low-quality e-books by copying and pasting PLR or out-of-copyright titles. Amazon is cracking down hard on this, and it is not now a viable business model (if it ever was). Rosa’s philosophy is summed up at the start of the book, where she writes:

The Quickest Way To Succeed: Find Out How Others are Succeeding.
The Most Effective Way To Succeed: You Must Be Original and Create Your Own Success.

One thing I particularly liked about the report was the way Rosa uses examples of her own Kindle e-books, alongside bang-up-to-date sales figures and other information. I was particularly impressed by the way she shows how even unknown authors can piggyback on the popularity of best-sellers. It wouldn't be fair to give away too much here, but reading how Rosa developed an outline for one of her own successful e-books from a starting point of Steve Jobs’ biography is a real eye-opener. This is the type of thing many people would never imagine themselves being able to do, but Rosa’s positive, ‘can-do’ attitude is both encouraging and inspiring.

Rosa doesn’t go into great detail about writing and formatting a Kindle e-book. Of course, there are other guides that cover this (such as my own Kindle Kash), or - as Rosa says - you can always outsource some or all of this if you prefer. Essentially, this is a guide to researching a non-fiction title with good sales potential, outlining it, and marketing the finished e-book. It is unashamedly a guide to making money from Kindle publishing, but doing so in a way that does not sacrifice quality for short-term profits.

I found the marketing advice both interesting and thought-provoking. Rosa has some great tips on pricing your book, based on her experience as the successful author of around 200 Kindle e-books, and she also offers some advice on using the KDP Select opportunity to make your e-book available for lending to Amazon Prime customers. As mentioned, she does have another report, which I'll be reviewing separately here soon, which goes into much more detail about how writers can make the most of Amazon Select.

Rosa's Kindle Publishing Report is illustrated throughout with helpful screengrabs. It won’t win any prizes for its prose style, but it’s perfectly readable and understandable. If you're looking for ideas and inspiration for creating money-making Kindle e-books from someone who really has 'been there, done that, and got the tee-shirt', in my view it's well worth the modest fee requested (on which there is, by the way, a 30-day unconditional refund guarantee).

UPDATE: My blog review of Rosa's other report on Kindle publishing, about the opportunities presented by the KDP Select program, is now available to view here.

Disclosure: I received a free review copy of Rosa Suen's Kindle Publishing Report. In addition, the links in this review include my affiliate code, so if you click through and make a purchase, a proportion of the fee will go to me. This has not influenced my review in any way, but you should of course complete your own due diligence and read the sales page (and this review) carefully to determine whether this product will be relevant to your needs.

Photo of Amazon Kindle by the author.

Author 2.0 Blueprint - Great Resource for Indie Authors from Joanna Penn

Just wanted to let you know today about a free, 52-page e-book from prolific author and blogger Joanna Penn.

Joanna describes Author 2.0 Blueprint as 'Your Blueprint for Writing, Publishing and Marketing Your Book'. It's a beautifully written and produced introduction to self-publishing, covering both fiction and non-fiction.

The e-book is a fully updated, 2012 version of Joanna's original Author 2.0 report. It’s based on articles from her blog The Creative Penn, as well as information from other blogs. There are links to many sites and blogs Joanna says she has found useful herself. The book also recommends further resources, some free and some paid-for, for additional advice and assistance.

Author 2.0 Blueprint is published under a Creative Commons licence, so it can be freely shared as long as you don’t use it commercially and you cite TheCreativePenn.com as the source. I've therefore taken the opportunity to embed it below, or you can visit the announcement page on Joanna's blog and download it from there if you prefer...
Author 2.0 Blueprint: Writing, Publishing and Book Marketing using online tools (2012 version)

If you are receiving this post by email or RSS, you may need to visit my blog to see the embedded version of the e-book. Also, if you can't read the embedded version clearly - and I can't control how exactly it will display on different browsers - click on the 'View in Fullscreen' icon at the bottom. You can return to this blog post afterwards by using your browser's 'Back' button.

Thank you very much to Joanna for making this valuable resource available to the world-wide writing community.

Finally, while we're talking about freebies, you might also like to sign up for The Writer's Giveaway by my blog sponsors, The WCCL Network. This features a wide range of free, writing-related reports and software. All you have to do in exchange is sign up for their Smart Writers e-newsletter (to which you can, of course, unsubscribe at any time). Just click on the banner below for more information!

Flo Rida Ft Sia - Wild Ones Lyrics

Flo Rida Ft Sia - Wild Ones Lyrics

[Sia - Hook]

Hey I heard you were a wild one


Oooh

If I took you home

It'd be a home run

Show me how you'll do




I want to shut down the club

With you

Hey I heard you like the wild ones


Oooh



[Flo Rida]

I like crazy, foolish, stupid


Party going wild, fist pumping

Music, I might lose it

Blast to the roof, that's how we do'z it

I don't care the night, she don't care we like


Almost dared the right five

Ready to get popping, ain't no surprise

Take me so high, jumping no doubts

Surfing the crowd


Oooh

Said I gotta be the man

When they heading my van, might check one too

Shut them down in the club while the playboy does it, and y'all get lose lose


After bottle, we all get bit and again tomorrow

Gotta break loose cause that's the motto

Club shuts down, I heard you're super models




[Sia - Hook]

Hey I heard you were a wild one


Oooh

If I took you home

It'd be a home run

Show me how you'll do




I want shut down the club

With you

Hey I heard you like the wild ones


Oooh



[Flo Rida]

Party rocker, foot show stopper


More shampoo

Never one, club popper

Got a hangover like too much vodka

Can't see me with ten binoculars


So cool

No doubt by the end of the night

Got the clothes coming off

Til I make that move


Somehow, someway, gotta raise the roof, roof

All black shades when the sun come through

Oh, it's on like everything goes

Round up baby til the freaky show

What happens to that body, it's a private show

Stays right here, private show


I like em untamed, don't tell me how pain

Tell them this, bottoms up with the champagne

My life, coming harder than we hit play

Do you busy with the bail, were you insane




[Sia - Hook]

Hey I heard you were a wild one


Oooh

If I took you home

It'd be a home run

Show me how you'll do




I want to shut down the club

With you

Hey I heard you like the wild ones


Oooh



[Bridge]

I am a wild one


Break me in

Saddle me up and lets begin

I am a wild one


Tame me now

Running with wolves

And i'm on the prowl




Show you another side of me

A side you would never thought you would see

Tell that body

Gotta make sure do you have enough


I can't lie

The wilds don't lie



[Sia - Hook]


Hey I heard you were a wild one

Oooh

If I took you home


It'd be a home run

Show me how you'll do



I want to shut down the club


With you

Hey I heard you like the wild ones

Oooh




I am a wild one

Break me in

Saddle me up and let's begin


I am a wild one

Tame me now

Running with wolves


And i'm on the prowl....

Review: All Natural High from WCCL

As you may know, this blog is sponsored by my publishers, The WCCL Network.

WCCL publish my writing courses such as Kindle Kash, but they also produce a growing range of self-development products - of which All Natural High is the latest.

They were kind enough to send me a review copy, so in this post I'll set out my thoughts and impressions.

I should start by explaining that All Natural High is an audio CD (accompanied by a PDF manual). As the name suggests, it is designed to generate a sense of euphoria in the listener without any illicit substances. It does this by 'entraining' the listener's brain to produce brain waves at certain target frequencies that are associated with, well, getting high...

According to the manual, All Natural High uses seven different methods of brainwave entrainment, not all of which I profess to understand. One, though, is binaural beats (also used in WCCL's Writer's Block CD). This method works by playing sounds of slightly different frequencies in each ear, which has been shown to create a resonance in the brain based on the difference between them. For example, if you play a tone of 320 Hz in one ear and 330 Hz in the other, it will create a resonance at 10 Hz, the difference between the two. A frequency of 10 Hz is in the alpha range, associated with a relaxed, mellow state.

All Natural High does aim to generate alpha waves in the listener, but it combines them with beta and gamma frequencies (14 Hz to 44 Hz), which - again according to the manual - occur when we are 'focused, engaged, and enthusiastic'. Overall, WCCL say, 'the aim is to recreate the mental state associated with euphoric stimulants, but unlike other stimulants it’s non-invasive and completely non-addictive.'

So that's the theory - what about the practice? The CD arrives in a standard jewel case, and you simply load it into your music center or PC and play it. There are two tracks, both about half an hour long. The first is the 'raw' version, which you can listen to on its own or with your own choice of music (I listened while playing my favorite prog rock tracks on Grooveshark, for example). The second track includes a musical backing to make it more listenable. It would certainly be a better choice for a party, although some of it is pretty weird - a cross between ambient and trip-hop, I'd say.

I listened to both tracks with and without headphones. WCCL say it's not necessary to use headphones to get the benefit from the CD, but I noticed a much stronger effect when I did. And, oddly enough, it really did remind me of the effect of smoking a joint (not something I've done for many years, you'll understand...). I found myself getting into a relaxed, buzzy state - in fact, somewhat floaty. The effect continued for an hour or two after I stopped listening. I also felt happier and more relaxed, despite the fact that I had recently heard some bad news and been quite depressed by it.

A couple more tips based on my experience using the CD. First, I'd advise turning up the bass quite high: some of the sounds are quite low-pitched, and it seems to me you get better results if you boost them. And second, close your eyes while you are listening. Although WCCL say this isn't necessary, from the occasion when, as a psychology major, I was wired up to an EEG machine, I know that the simple act of closing your eyes can greatly boost your alpha-wave output.

WCCL suggest various uses for All Natural High. They include getting yourself into a good frame of mind before going out for the evening, adding to the excitement of parties and other social occasions, or chilling out (alone or with your partner) at the end of a hectic day. Personally, I see myself using it primarily as a pick-me-up and mood enhancer, but I also find playing the CD a good prelude to a writing session. The alpha rhythms get your mind into a relaxed, creative state, while the higher frequencies ensure you are focused and ready to work, rather than falling asleep. It works for me, anyway!

One problem with any product of this nature is that listening can get a bit repetitive after a while. But I do find that playing the first track alongside your own choice of music helps provide variety. To be honest, I haven't had the CD long enough to get bored with it yet - and if I continue to enjoy the benefits, I guess I'll probably put up with that!

For more information about All Natural High, please click through any of the links in this review, or on the banner ad below. Or if you have any comments or questions about All Natural High, please feel free to post them below and I'll do my best to answer them.

Ed Sheeran - Drunk Lyrics

 Ed Sheeran - Drunk Lyrics

I wanna be drunk when I wake up


On the right side of the wrong bed

And every excuse I made up

Tell you the truth I hate

What didn't kill me

It never made me stronger at all.

Love will scar your make-up lip sticks to me


So now I'll maybe leave back there

I'm sat here wishing I was sober

I know I'll never hold you like I used to.



But our house gets cold when you cut the heating

Without you to hold I'll be freezing


Can't rely on my heart to beat it

'Cause you take part of it every evening

Take words out of my mouth just from breathing

Replace with phrases like when you're leaving me.



Should I, should I?


Maybe I'll get drunk again

I'll be drunk again

I'll be drunk again


To feel a little love



I wanna hold your heart in both hands

I'll watch it fizzle at the bottom of a Coke can

And I've got no plans for the weekend

So shall we speak then


Keep it between friends

Though I know you'll never love me like you used to.



There maybe other people like us

You see the flicker of the clip when they light up

Flames just create us, burns don't heal like before


You don't hold me anymore.



On cold days Coldplay's out like the band's the name

I know I can't heal things with a hand shake

You know I can't change as I began saying

You cut me wide open like landscape


Open bottles of beer but never champagne

We'll applaud you with the sound that my hands make.



Should I, should I?

Maybe I'll get drunk again


I'll be drunk again

I'll be drunk again

To feel a little love.




All by myself

I'm here again

All by myself

You know I'll never change

All by myself


All by myself

I'm just drunk again

I'll be drunk again


I'll be drunk again

To feel a little love.

PLR Time for UK Authors

If you're a UK author registered for PLR, you can now check your earnings for 2010/11 on the UK PLR website. Just log in here and click on My Statement.

This year (July 2010 to June 2011) they are paying 6.05 pence per library loan, with payment due between 13 and 24 February 2012.

For those who don't know, PLR stands for Public Lending Right. The UK PLR Office distributes money to UK authors based on the number of times their books have been borrowed from public libraries in Britain in the last year. This money is paid to authors as compensation for their presumed lost royalties on sales.

All UK authors are eligible for PLR (even if they don't currently live in Britain), but you do have to register with the UK PLR Office first. If you're a UK author with at least one published book to your name, therefore, you should sign up immediately to get what is due to you.

Non-UK nationals cannot claim from the UK PLR Office, but many other countries (though not the USA) have schemes in place to compensate writers for library lending. As I discovered in my recent interview with Ruth Barringham, Australia has what appears to be quite a generous program, though payments are based on the estimated number of copies of an author's book in libraries, not total loans. For more information on PLR schemes worldwide, visit the PLR International website.

In many countries there are also reciprocal arrangements to compensate non-nationals for lending in the country concerned. In Britain this is co-ordinated by ALCS (the Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society), and UK authors should also register separately with them. ALCS also pay out photocopying fees to authors, incidentally.

I always find it interesting to study my PLR statement. One message that comes across very clearly in my latest one is that public libraries are cutting back on buying new books. By far my highest-earning titles for PLR are those published 5 to 10 years ago. My recent titles have fewer loans and some none at all, suggesting that not many libraries have them in stock. But even my oldest books, published up to twenty years ago, are still being borrowed in some libraries. Those copies must be pretty dog-eared by now!

Over the years I have made literally thousands of pounds from PLR payments; in the case of some books I have earned more from PLR than I have in publisher fees or royalties. So if you're a UK author, it is definitely worth taking the few minutes needed to register yourself and your book/s at the UK PLR site. Otherwise, you really are leaving money on the table!

Photo Credit: Stacks by Nrbelex on Flickr. Reproduced under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic Licence.

myWritersCircle is now on Twitter!

I know quite a few readers of this blog are also members of my (free) writing forum at www.mywriterscircle.com.

So I thought you might like to know that myWritersCircle now has its own Twitter account. You can find and follow us at http://twitter.com/myWritersCircle.

The new account will be used to pass on news and information about the forum from me, the MWC moderators, and our admin team. There may also be the occasional commercial announcement from our sponsors, the electronic publishing house WCCL. Most messages will, however, be purely for information purposes, to help members get the most from MWC and keep up to date with what's going on there.

I don't expect there will be large amounts of traffic on the new account - maybe two or three updates a day, typically. Most updates will consist of information about the forum that we think you'll find interesting and/or useful - new contests, deadlines, market information, and so on.

The MWC Twitter account will be used primarily as a broadcast medium and it will not be closely monitored for replies or direct messages. If you have any comments or queries, it will therefore be better to raise them via the forum, or contact me or another moderator directly by PM (forum personal messaging).

You can also, if you wish, follow me on my own Twitter account at http://twitter.com/nickdaws, which I do of course monitor regularly.

I hope you will find the new MWC Twitter service useful, and that it will enhance your experience of using myWritersCircle (although you can of course follow us on Twitter without being a member of the forum if you wish).

If you have any queries or comments, as ever, please feel free to post them below.

Ten Top Tips for Making the Most of JustRetweet

My recent post about the free JustRetweet service (see screengrab above), which aims to help bloggers and Twitter users reach a wider audience, attracted a lot of interest.

So in this post I thought I'd share a few tips on getting the most from the service, based on my own experience and what I've observed of other users.

If you're not familiar with JustRetweet, you might like to read my earlier post before proceeding and watch the video embedded in it. Don't worry, I'll wait :-)

My ten top tips are as follows...

1. Don't retweet everything that's available on JustRetweet to earn credits. If you do, it will only alienate your Twitter followers and cause some to unsubscribe. There are lots of messages to choose, so pick the ones that look as though they would be interesting and relevant to your followers. In my experience - and I guess I'm a fairly typical user - you only need to retweet two or three messages a day to keep your account nicely topped up.

2. On the other side of the coin, when adding messages you hope others will retweet, be aware of what a reasonable reward is considered to be. Certain norms have evolved on the site, so I would suggest offering a bare minimum of 10 credits for an RT, and preferably 20 or more if you want to get the most from the service. Offering just 2 or 3 credits won't impress other members, and such 'low-paying' offers will quickly disappear from view on the site.

3. It's not just about credits, though. Remember that your messages will (you hope) be retweeted by other people who want to preserve their own good reputation. Make your messages sound interesting and useful - and if you offer a decent reward as well, there is every chance you will get an excellent take-up from other JustRetweet users.

4. Avoid being overly promotional in your messages. Twitter, as you should know anyway, is not the place for this. In addition, other JustRetweet members are unlikely to want to RT explicit sales messages, for fear that they will be accused of spamming. And JustRetweet also has rules against requesting retweets of some types of commercial messages, including those promoting trackback spammers and other products or services deemed undesirable.

5. Another thing that doesn't work on JustRetweet (in my opinion) is posting a barebones URL with no other message. When this goes out on Twitter, it will look like spam, and few people will want to click on it anyway. Always include a message with your link to explain why viewers should click on it. If it's a long link, shorten it first with a service such as Bit.ly.

6. Another approach to be wary of - again in my opinion - is the short and enigmatic message. I've seen a few of these listed on JustRetweet, and I can't believe they are productive, either of RTs or clickthroughs. I wouldn't retweet these messages, and even if I did I can't imagine that many of my followers would want to explore them further. I could be wrong about this. Maybe a few people will click through out of curiosity - but even then, it's pretty unlikely they will happen to be interested in whatever you are trying to promote.

7. Bear in mind that a message shared in someone else's Twitter stream is likely to be seen by someone who has never heard of you before. Messages that might work in your own Twitter stream - "Secrets of Better Novel Writing, part 26" - may be off-putting to such people, implying that this is something that has been running for a while and there is no point in a newcomer joining in now. The same applies with very personal sounding or enigmatic messages (see item 6).

8. JustRetweet now offers a PostLater option. This is a great resource for ensuring you don't deluge your followers with a series of tweets in quick succession. At present - in response to a request I made - the interval between PostLater posts is set to one hour, although I understand that an option to vary this may be added soon. I recommend mostly selecting PostLater when retweeting messages - you will still receive your credits for these immediately.

9. Bear in mind that JustRetweet offers other methods for earning credits as well as retweeting. You can sign up to follow other members listed on the site on Twitter (this typically pays between 2 and 10 credits), introduce new members (pays 25 credits per new member), visit other blogs and websites for credits (pays up to 10 credits), and so on. If all else fails, though, you can also buy credits for a very reasonable sum!

10. Finally, it's worth mentioning that you can choose the minimum number of Twitter followers a member must have to see your offer. It's obviously tempting to set this figure high, but doing that will drastically cut the number of potential retweeters. In addition, Twitter users with a small following may actually have more influence over their followers. Personally, I tend to set my minimum follower number to 200 or 250, but experiment to see what works best for you.

So those are my top ten tips - I hope you find them helpful. If you are already on JustRetweet, do you have any tips of your own you would like to share? Please do post them below!