Shute

As I explained in my 2/26/07 blog post*, Freelance E-book Writer: The Steps I Take to Create a Successful E-book, researching the competition is a vital component of creating a successful e-book. In fact, it is the very first thing I do after getting an idea for an e-book.

Why? Read on.

How the Competition Stacks Up: You want to see how many like products are out there. You may find a few, or you may find many. Whatever you find has to be looked at from both sides of the coin - good and bad.

Eg, if there are a lot of books on your subject, some questions you might want to ask are:

i) are they in e-book form: this is important because, if they don't, then you could target the online segment who may have be disserved by the paper/hardback book

ii) do they cover the topic in detail, OR, cover it as I would cover it: Look at the outline (most e-books tell you in an outline or on a sales page what is covered in the book).

This is important because you could cover the same material from a different angle, a funnier angle, a more professional angle, a personal experience angle, etc.

iii) what is their experience in the field: perhaps the most important thing in selling an e-book is the author's experience. Eg, I've been a freelancer since 1993, I worked in legal publishing for 10 years; I owned an editorial staffing agency for 8 years; have written six e-books and one freelance writing e-course.

In short, I can make the buyer feel confident in purchasing my products because I have the experience to back up what I wrote on.

DON'T get intimidated if you don't have an extensive background.

How to Sell Your E-book if You Have Limited Experience

Sell your expertise case by case. What I mean is, using case studies, spell out for potential buyers how you helped a client achieve his/her goal. A case study is really just an in-depth testimonial.

It lays out a problem that a client had, and tells how a product/company/person helped solve the problem. They are very effective ways to sell.

Conversely, if there are not a lot of books on your subject matter, two immediate questions come to mind, ie:

i) is there a market for this product? It could just be that no one else has thought to cover this subject. NOTE: This is highly unlikely, but don't let that deter you. Niche material is very popular, but do make sure there is enough of a market to advertise to.

Eg, if there are only 25,000 pig farmers in California, how many of them do you think are going to be interested in your take on feeding pigs a vegetarian diet (the subject of your e-book)?

My point? Be realistic. Make sure there is a broad enough market to justify spending your time writing your book.

ii) how am I going to reach this market? If you're writing an e-book on a subject matter that no one else has written on, then you have to find out how to reach them. Maybe the reason no one has written an e-book on the subject you want to write on is because the audience is offline, not online.

Some other questions regarding the competition you want to answer is: who they market to, how do they reach them, what is their pricing structure, do they offer add-ons**, etc.

**Add-ons: Add-ons are freebies e-book sellers give to buyers. They can be anything from a free website to other free e-books. They are usually complementary products to the item they're promoting.

Researching your competition will tell you virtually everything you need to know to successfully market your e-book - if you do it well.

*Blog posts refer to those posted at InkwellEditorial.blogspot.com.

May be reprinted with the following, in full: Yuwanda Black is the publisher of InkwellEditorial.com: THE business portal for and about the editorial and creative industries. First-hand freelance success stories, e-courses, job postings, resume tips, advice on the business of freelancing, and more! Launch a Profitable Freelance Writing Career in 30 Days or Less -- Guaranteed! Log on to http://www.InkwellEditorial.com to register now.

Some people think there's a negative connotation to the word "attitude." You hear it when they say,"My she has an attitude" or "You need an attitude adjustment," for example. With the new contemporary women's fiction being dubbed "fiction with attitude," some authors want to point out that "it's the fiction with the attitude-not the author."

Attitude is Just How You See Things

My dear sweet grandmother, who married at 15 and raised 6 sons alongside my grandfather, was quoted as saying, "Attitude is just how you see things." She was much-loved and had an opinion on everything. After my grandfather passed away, ever the possibility-thinker, she put herself through college and then seminary and became a female pastor in a male-denominated denomination. Another quote she was famous for, "Don't give up because of age or the naysayers."

Another important ingredient is to remain young at heart. I really can't believe some of the things I hear people say. A 35-year-old professional sports player feels like the oldest member of the team-maybe because he is the oldest member of the team. But when the young guys in the locker room are listening to their I-Pods, he hasn't a clue how to join them. It takes his daughter getting him in touch with the latest technology to help him feel like one of the guys but he gets razzed in the locker room. Why should the latest technology be only for the youngest of the young? Why do some 50-year-olds cop out with the "I'm too old for this stuff" when 70- and 80-year-olds have tapped into the latest resources? If it's just not your thing, say that not "I'm too old."

Nothing warms my heart more than a 20-something listening to Tony Bennett, the 6-year-old noted for having the largest collection of Elvis memorabilia, or seeing an 80-year-old man wearing a ponytail, out jogging listening to his I-Pod. Because it's not about the ageit's the attitudeof being an individual while remaining young at heart.

Say No to Boxes

Whether you embrace technology or not isn't really the point, although embracing the world as your own is. It's about not letting society put you in a box. Don't give it away, buying into the idea that everything's for the young and your time has past because too often we accept these aging generalities as our own because it's easier. "People my age don't do that" is a great escapeso people think.

A wise person once said, "People put you in boxes so they can dismiss you." Or in the case of our modern age, so that Madison Avenue can market to you. While I am a boomer, I've rather disliked being put in that box my entire life. But it's only so people can sell us something and while that can be a good thing, it can also be detrimental. While it can be cool to join together and share our history, when we categorize ourselves in a certain age group totally, we stop thinking for ourselves and we stop being ourselves. And while I have a lot of boomer sisters online doing great things for this age groupI applaud thempeople often lump me in with that group but my message has never really been about an age.

For example, on a recent cruise I noticed the cruise line, instead of playing a set of soothing jazz music in a martini lounge, was playing a song from my childhood. It seemed highly-inappropriate for the venue. Their marketing department must have concluded that the majority of their passengers were now boomers and this meant they wanted to hear songs from their youth. Must we only embrace the music we heard when we were kids? Don't people have more diverseinterestingtastes than that? I'm hesitant to return to that cruise line if that's their marketing approach.

When I was a young woman, I was drawn to older women who saw me for the individual that I am. Now that I'm an "older" woman, I'm drawn to younger women. Maybe because I don't have children, I see them as women and not as daughtersI see them for the individual they are. But one of my role models was an older woman who had 2 daughters close to my age but you never would have known that. She treated me like an individual and not as somebody the age of one of her daughters. Life shouldn't be about the ageit's about the attitudeno matter our age.

Kathy Holmes writes women's fiction with attitude, a believer in second chances and that every little girl needs to know her daddy. She has published her first novel, "Real Women Wear Red," set on a Caribbean cruise and a free companion Ebook, "Cyn's Fabulous Guide to Cruising." She has also published a nonfiction book, "Myths of the Fatherless," about her journey to find and meet her father. To find out more, see her web site and blog at http://www.kathyholmes.net

There are eight steps you need to follow when making your own wine. This article provides a brief overview of each of these steps to help get you acquainted to what it takes to create your personal vintage. Enjoy!

1. Harvesting obviously, the first step to any wine is grapes. Therefore, the first thing that must occur is the harvesting of grapes. There are two methods of harvesting:
   • Machine. Machines use plastic or rubber rods to beat the grapes from the vine. However, this is not desirable if you are creating a high end wine due to leaves and undesirable grapes that can also be collected.

   • Hand. This is the preferred method for harvesting grapes. Experienced harvesters use their skills to collect the most desirable grapes.

2. Destemming. In this step, the stems are removed from the grapes. Stems carry harsh tannins so this is usually done before the grapes are crushed so as not to influence the wine.

3. Crushing. Here the skins of the grapes are broken to release the fruit. Each winemaker will have their own preferences concerning the amount of crushing that should occur. For example, if he or she is trying to create a fruity aroma they might decide to leave the berries nearly intact.

4. Primary Fermentation. In this step, yeast cells in the wine feed on sugars and produce carbon dioxide and alcohol. Winemakers will often add extra yeast to insure a stable conversion instead of simply relying on the yeast found on the grapes.

5. Pressing. Here more juice is extracted when the grapes are pressed even further. This juice is usually not as high quality as that from the crushing stage because the free run juice has less contact with the skins and stems that have more tannins. Nonetheless, winemakers will use pressing to increase their grape yield. Usually, this pressed juice gets used in lower end wines.

6. Secondary Fermentation. Aging and secondary fermentation happen at the same time. The yeast continues to ferment slowly. The goals of the winemaker will determine the length of time this fermentation will be allowed to continue. A fine wine might stay in oak barrels for quite some time while a cheaper variety could spend only a few months in stainless steel drums.

7. Blending. In this step, winemakers might blend different batches of wine together in order to create a desired product. For example, if they feel that there is a deficiency in a particular vintage they might blend another wine with it to improve the batch. This might happen also if a winemaker is trying to change the tannin levels.

8. Bottling. This is the final step. Here the wine is put into bottles. Sulfites are sometimes added to help end the fermentation process and preserve the wine. The bottle is then sealed with a cork.

While the process seems complicated, it makes logical sense. If you are sincere about creating a home vintage, then you might want to consider buying a wine making kit that can help simplify the process. Making wine at home can also help enhance your everyday wine drinking experience as you gain a more thorough knowledge of how it is created.

Cheers!

Melissa Kelly began her love of wine by drinking at the side of her brother whose extremely good taste in wine soon meant that she had to spend way more than she meant to for a bottle. Check out her website at http://www.wineinnapa.com. You will be able to find more about how to make wine information along with other wine related pages there.