WRITING YOUR OWN BOOK IS THE EASY PART

Posted on by

I hope that title took a few of you by surprise. Yes, writing your own book is the easy part, selling it? That’s when it starts to get interesting. According to Just Publishing Advice, there are about 1.5 million new books published each year on Kindle alone.

So, one might wonder, just how the hell do you get noticed? Someone could write the best book ever written and no one would ever know. I wish that I could say that I have somehow discovered the secret to selling thousands of books, but I haven’t. There seems to be a plethora of experts out there promising to help me do that if I just send them a few hundred dollars, etc.

OK, so I’ve written a few – like the one above among many others. Actually, if you are interested in what else I’ve written, there is a page on this site called BOOKS BY BOB, give it a shot. It doesn’t cost anything to look.

Anyway, I’ve written, published and rewritten 7 books in the past few months and now must move on to something called “marketing.” I spent most of my working life in some sort of sales or client relations position, so you would think I’d know how to sell something by now. Unfortunately, I am going back to school to get me some edumication (sic), and will attempt to make my books more visible on Amazon. A 5-day course starts tomorrow, thanks to the folks at Publisher Rocket.

As some readers of this corner might know, I have completed a 6-book series dedicated to seniors and retirees that offers some ideas about creating additional retirement income. To be more accurate, it offers hundreds of possibilities with all the information needed to put them into practice. I’m pretty excited about that and will most likely continue writing more for this “close-to-home” niche. At least, I will continue writing until golf season starts.

And, just to warn you in advance, I have been thinking and outlining something in the fiction area. No details to share with you yet, but…

IF YOU DON’T HAVE SOMETHING NICE TO SAY…

Posted on by

My mother used to say, “If you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all.”

I’ve adapted it.

When you express negative opinions, the Universe will give you more negativity.

Instead, express gratitude and it will you give you more to be grateful for.

Thanks Mom

from the dedication page of one of my new books, GOLDEN INSIGHTS: Unlocking Extra Income – A Retiree’s Guide to Surveys & Reviews

Book 6 of the EXTRA RETIREMENT INCOME IS SEXY series now available on AMAZON and others.

mother and son connecting at beach

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND WRITERS

Posted on by

Artificial Intelligence is everywhere these days and the forces of good and evil seem to be lining up on either side. I am just completing a 6 book series called, EXTRA RETIREMENT INCOME IS SEXY and one of the sources of extra income for retirees is freelance writing. I decided to include a chapter on Artificial Intelligence and am including it here for your viewing pleasure:

book cover image for EXTRA RETIREMENT INCOME IS SEXY

“So, the question is, can artificial intelligence help you as a freelance writer? The short answer is yes. The longer answer is yes, but you need to learn how to use it to help you. This boils down to creating the right “prompts” to enter into the search box and then refining until the information you need is useful.
At the time of writing this book, artificial intelligence is creating a firestorm of controversy. Tried, true and established authors, especially those of the fiction variety, seem to take the stance that AI is the devil incarnate. I’m not so sure. New technology has always been challenging on many levels. I recall as a young lad that using an electronic calculator to do math was a mortal sin. I may yet go to hell, especially if my grade 5 teacher, Sister Mary Joseph, knew that I now have one on the phone that I carry in my pocket!
There are some bad actors out there who are asking an AI app to create stories and then they upload them to various book selling sites and sell them as is. They are creating rubbish and attempting to get rich quick. Here is what I know about using AI as of this time: it has a very useful place to assist in research, outlining and defining concepts, especially difficult to understand things. The key to using it successfully is learning how to ask questions and keep asking them until you get a proper answer. When I was younger, we used to call this part of the world a library and Encyclopedia Britannica. Today, the repository of all information is the internet.
The art of wording inquiries, or prompts and then determining how to proceed from there is rapidly becoming a whole new industry and one you might want to learn about. This author recently viewed a question on an AI app that asked it to explain Quantum Physics in language that a 5 year old would understand. The information it created was amusing and I learned a lot. Potential clients for your freelance writing services may want you to generate documentation for them faster and more accurately – AI is probably the answer.
Some people, thanks to the media, have decided that it is a new and foreboding technology and insist on showing pictures of scary looking robots from horror movies in their presentations. Here are a few examples of artificial intelligence at work that you may already know: smart home devices like Alexa, Google Home and more, self-driving cars, Netflix and Spotify recommendations, auto complete in Google Search and messaging apps, Facebook and Instagram, Spell and Grammar check in Word. We have been using it for years.
A recommendation: if you decide to use apps like Chat/GPT and any of the many others, it is essential that you take into consideration any ethical and moral issues. Amazon is now requiring writers to acknowledge if AI was used and how it was used to create books. This author thinks we will come to accept the value and input of AI soon and look at it as a useful tool to increase productivity.
The internet and social media are swirling with articles on artificial intelligence including “how-to’s” and warnings. Therefore, if you are thinking about accessing its help, it would be a good idea to keep up with current thought.”

Series expected to be published in January 2024.