Complimentary White Papers
by Michael J. Dowling
5 Key Qualities to Look For When Hiring a Professional Writer
(So You Don't Make a Costly Mistake!)
When you hire a freelance writer, an element of risk is involved. If you hire wisely, you'll accomplish your goals and save valuable time. But if you choose the wrong writer, you could end up wasting time, missing deadlines, falling short of your goals, and suffering diminished credibility in the marketplace.
How can you avoid a costly mistake? What qualities should you look for when hiring a writer?
I believe that outstanding professional writers are characterized by five key qualities: proficiency, efficiency, creativity, productivity, and reliability. This article tells you what to look for, so you'll get good results instead of bad headaches.
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11 Questions You Need to Answer
Before You Start Writing Your Book
What a thrill it is to hold a book you've written in your hands! There's even some glamour and prestige attached to becoming an author. New opportunities open up to you. People see you in a new light.
As a freelance professional ghostwriter and editor, I've enjoyed helping lots of clients write books. It's always an exciting adventure. If you've got an idea for a book, I can understand why you're eager to get started. But before you launch into the writing process, I suggest that you answer the eleven questions below. Why? Because you need to be sure that your book concept makes sense. I don't want you to waste your time and money.
Frankly, I've lost some business in the past by asking my potential clients these questions. A few scraped their book projects because they weren't satisfied with their answers. Others reconsidered their initial ideas and later came back to me with improved concepts. But regardless of the ultimate outcome, all of my clients and potential clients have thanked me for taking them through this process.
Answering these questions puts you in a win-win position. If you confirm that your book concept is sound, you can move ahead with confidence. On the other hand, if you realize that your initial idea has weaknesses, you can make the necessary changes and proceed, or you can drop the whole idea and save yourself time, money, and frustration.
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Publishing Options
How to Choose the Best Method for Publishing Your Book
So you've decided to write a book. How do you plan to publish it? Are you going to look for a traditional publisher, self-publish, or use a subsidy publisher? It's wise to make this decision early in the writing process.
Due to advances in printing technology and the advent of the Internet, the publishing landscape is changing rapidly and dramatically. The lines between publishing, printing, distribution, and retailing are becoming increasing blurred. For example, Amazon.com, which started as a book retailer, now also provides printing, self-publishing, and traditional publishing services.
New technologies, such as e-books and POD (print on demand), increase the complexity of the decision-making process. Today authors must sort through a multitude of options that were unavailable a mere five years ago.
Largely as a result of these changes, self-publishing is ascending in popularity and acceptance. Traditional publishers are being challenged to adapt to the new realities.
This paper focuses on the business of publishing rather than the technology of publishing. In spite of all of the changes mentioned above, traditional publishing, self-publishing, and subsidy publishing continue to be the three primary business models available to authors. This paper briefly describes the advantages and disadvantages each, so you can make an informed decision.
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Marketing Your Business with White Papers
How to Successfully Use White Papers to Generate Sales Leads,
Build Customer Loyalty, and Increase Revenues
The use of white papers is growing at an exponential rate. In 2001, a Google search on the phrase white paper returned a mere 1 million responses.1 Today a similar search generates more than 400 million hits.
Why this tremendous growth in popularity? Because businesses are realizing that white papers are one of the most powerful and cost-effective tools for boosting revenues, cultivating sales leads, and building customer loyalty. If you're not yet sure that white papers should be a key component of your marketing program, reading this paper could change your mind. What Are White Papers?
Typically five to ten pages in length, white papers offer valuable problem-solving information to your identified target audience. They are primarily educational in nature, not self-promotional. However, their format provides a natural platform for promoting your capabilities and establishing your reputation as a subject-matter expert.
Because white papers offer useful information instead of directly soliciting business, they break through the marketplace communication overload more effectively than advertising and many other marketing techniques. Contributing to the success of your audience through white papers builds relationships, which in turn builds referrals and revenues.
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