By Jennifer S. Wilkov, Host of the “Your Book Is Your Hook!” Show on WomensRadio, Book Business Consultant & The Literary Agent Matchmaker™

To listen to the show: http://bit.ly/xnnKR4

Today let’s talk about why it’s essential to treat your book and writing career like a business.

Although the facts show that less than 10% of writers make a full-time living from their books, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t treat your book and writing career as a hobby.

The fact is your book is a business and your writing career really is a profession. If you treat it that way, it will grow.

All good businesses require new product creation, creative product introductions, great marketing platforms, sales strategies, savvy financial management, good legal representation and more.

How do you treat your writing career and books? Are they a hobby? Or do they have scheduled times in your calendar for you to pay attention to them?

Business managers like today’s show guest, Anita Katzen, see creative artists like writers treat their careers as a hobby but spend money on them and from them like it was a business with a paycheck. If you want your writing career to pay, then you’ll need to treat it as a business so it has every opportunity to generate money for you.

Writers really are a dime a dozen. More than 81% of Americans want to write a book. The writers who succeed see their craft as a discipline that requires a support team and give it their dedicated time and attention.

Today’s author guest, Carla Neggers, knows this well. She writes more than one book a year and continues to grow her writing career and business. Every time we have the opportunity to talk with her about another book, she’s constantly expanding her reach, following, number of bestsellers and her sales. She’s a great example of how to treat your books like a business.

Writing is really a full-time job. It requires everything you’ve got from great imagination to research, creativity, craft and perseverance. It also requires joy and commitment to make it work and to make you want to keep doing it day in and day out.

If you intend to use your books as your hook for your great writing career and legacy, treat it like a business. When you treat your projects well and support them with everything you’ve got, they’ll support you and your dreams in ways you may have never imagined.

To listen to Anita’s interview on the show: http://bit.ly/xnnKR4

When people think of the entertainment industry they think of the fame, privilege, perks, and financial success. What is not in the forefront are the team who help guide the entertainers such as agents, lawyers, stylists, personal assistants and business managers, to name a few. These professionals become not just business related necessities but confidants and an important part of managing fame.

Unfortunately, too often, we hear of entertainers who end up losing it all, filing for bankruptcy, and even some having no place to live. This can partly be the result of poor business management advice. Finding the right business manager is important to protect the things that are important: financial stability, planning for the future, and sustaining life while doing what you are passionate about.

In my over 25 years as a successful business manager for the day to day finances, finding the right business manager can come down to three areas: Helping you map out what is important to be financially content, helping you control your spending, and helping you save for not just the ups and downs but the future.

Here are a few things to take into consideration when looking for a great business manager:

Helping you map out what is important…

A good manager steers their clients to make their money work for them. Helping clients get a handle on purchasing what they need as opposed to what they want. It is important to find out “what are the top 5 things important to you?” The answers could range from the tangible such as clothing, travel, and entertainment to future security. The bottom line is they can always easily answer the question. My belief is they can have all they want, but they have to do away with everything else that you don’t really care about.

Helping you control spending…

It is vital to find someone who will help get control of spending, which in some cases could take years to stabilize. Many clients engage a business manager because they have found themselves in debt. Often, entertainers, especially early in their careers, spend more than they make. They don’t take into consideration the fees going out for the agent and manager; usually 10% for agents and 15% for managers. In some professions in the industry, such as models, the agent fees are sometimes 20%. After those fees they need to pay the expenses like everyone else which include taxes, personal expenses, and living expenses.

To combat with the fees, the entertainers’ mentality usually is I WANT IT NOW! Unfortunately so many don’t know what it means to do without or even just put off buying something on a whim. A good business manager will try to teach their clients the difference between wants and needs. This becomes especially important when most have an unsteady income. For example, an actor’s series ends; or musicians often have many sources of income that are unpredictable and erratic; producers and filmmakers work years on a project. Often there is not a big payday at the end of these projects. The concept of wanting it now can be particularly challenging in today’s world. We are constantly bombarded with advertisements, promotions, and tactics to show us what is available to buy, making it even harder for people who don’t have a controlled spending mentality.

Helping you plan for the future…

A good business manager pushes their clients to save money. That savings will help them carry through the tougher times, when the paychecks are not rolling in, and will help them maintain their cash flow in retirement. I always stress to my clients that you need to have your assets work for you. For example, if they have vacation homes, they could rent out when they are not using them. Entertainers who purchase many homes cannot necessarily afford to pay the overhead without receiving rental income.

A good manager is not afraid to say NO. They are there to pay the bills, make sure the entertainer is receiving their income through contracts, payroll, and residuals. They are most importantly there to make sure the entertainer is putting their money away for the future and for retirement.

I think the best example of what you are looking for can be found in this quote from my client, Melissa Archer, an actress on One Life to Live, “When I first met my business manager I didn’t know much about money except how to spend it. When someone could take me, the girl who spent money like tokens at the arcade, and put me on a budget that worked for my personality, and then saved me a ton of money, that to me is a good business manager. Someone you can trust and someone who wants you to do better”

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Contact Anita Katzen, Partner at Schulman Wolfson & Abruzzo, LLP – 212.868.5781 or akatzen@swallp.com

To listen to the show: http://bit.ly/zSpFrC

Today let’s talk about why publishing a book helps you help others.

Many people do a variety of things to help others. Some work professionally as teachers, trainers, consultants and coaches. Others work in the healthcare field. Some work in a non-profit organization. Others volunteer, and still others find ways to support their local communities in some meaningful way. Everyone wants to make a difference somehow some way.

Writing and publishing a book about an area you have a specialty in helps so many people in a lot of different ways. If you write a novel, you help people learn through stories about the expertise you have in an area affecting their lives. If you write a nonfiction book, you can strut your stuff in a how-to type of book, a cookbook, or a step-by-step guide to whatever your specialized insights apply to. If you write a children’s book, you help parents and children foster their relationships while supporting the child with an essential skill for success – reading.

I’ve met a lot of people in different professions who say they don’t have time to write a book, much less figure out how to publish it.

Options abound for those who want to write a simple book these days. With the advent of self-publishing being more available through venues like today’s show guest, LuLu.com, and with e-publishing being easier than ever to do, it’s never been a better time to be a writer! With so many avenues to get published, all you really have to do is want to.

Understand this: your book is your hook in your area of expertise. The most important thing you can do is write it. The second most important is to get it published.

If you’re not sure what to do, try this:

Sit down and think about what it is you have to say about a particular subject that you’re an expert in. It doesn’t mean you have to write a how-to book in that area. You could also fashion a fictional story about it that leads the reader to the same conclusion through storytelling.

Consider whether a writing career is really for you. Perhaps you could start with a short story and see how it feels. Try it on like a sweater and see if it fits you.

Whatever you write and publish, know this: books heal, help and haunt the reader. They make people laugh, cry, think, gasp and scream out loud. They touch our hearts. They heal our souls. They entertain us. They educate us and they enlighten us.

But the only way they do that is when you write one.

By Guest Blogger, Joanna Poppink, MFT, Psychotherapist, Author, Lecturer

To listen to Joanna Poppink’s interview on the “Your Book Is Your Hook!” Show:  http://bit.ly/zSpFrC

Conari Press wanted an eating disorder recovery self-help book for adult women. I wanted to write it. We were a match. In August, 2011 Healing Your Hungry Heart: Recovering From Your Eating Disorder reached bookshelves in stores throughout the United States and the United Kingdom.

As I wrote HHH, my book deepened and changed, and so did I.  I wrote too much and too little.  I told. I stopped telling. I shared and described. I kept the sharing but stopped describing and told stories.  I told stories I never dreamed I would tell.

The North Star I followed was an ever changing yet consistent image of my reader. I saw her living a life governed by an eating disorder. I had been that woman. I’ve seen her in my private psychotherapy practice. I’ve heard her speak in 12-step meetings. I’ve heard her on the telephone choking with tears. I’ve read her stories in letters she’s written to me for 25 years.  I’ve heard her loved ones tell me their stories and hers.

Throughout every phase of book creation I saw her – a living collage of womanhood yet always being herself.  I wanted to show her how she could work her way out of the horrors of an eating disorder and into freedom.

If you are writing a self-help book, please keep the person you want to teach close to your heart and clearly in your mind.  Have empathy for your reader’s experience as he or she tries to follow your guidance.

To win my reader’s trust, I told some of my story. The editor at Conari said I mentioned a Cornish lover. I either had to say more or cut it because, as it was, it teased the reader.  I decided to tell my private story because I believed that in the telling my reader would recognize herself too.

I realized my reader could tire as she worked her way through my book so I created a “Recovery Check-In” chapter. It’s a rest stop to review progress, reflect on success and gently contemplate challenges ahead.

As I wrote, I got news of a sexually exploiting situation between a professional in the field and a woman in early recovery. I had days of sorrow and rage at the betrayal. I told my publisher I needed to include sexuality in my writing. My editor said, “Follow your heart and write to your reader.”  I added a chapter called, “Sex, Stalking and Exploitation.”

As you write your self-help book, make your information accessible by keeping a clear picture in your mind and heart of your reader’s life, why they need what you are sharing, and how they feel as they follow your suggestions. Your reader is your North Star that leads you to the book you need to write and they need to read.

My hook? Healing Your Hungry Heart brings me clients, opportunities to speak, and new connections with wonderful people in the healing community.

The Literary Agent Matchmaker™

www.yourbookisyourhook.com

As authors and writers, we’re always learning about resources and industry tools that we can use to improve our book project performance and the enjoyment of our writing and marketing experiences.  Today let’s talk about memoirs and why we write them.

As a new friend of mine likes to say, “It is all about me, isn’t it?”

When it comes to memoirs, the response I give to writers is…No, not exactly. It’s also about the reader.

I really enjoy working with memoir writers as a consultant. The biggest disconnect I often have to address for the writer is:

1) WHO are you writing your memoir for?

and…

2) WHY are you writing it?

Oftentimes, the answers to these two questions will also determine whether your memoir will sell.

See, as a memoir writer, you must write it for you – to document, clear, understand and process what has happened to you. A memoir by its very nature is cathartic.

If you want to do this for your own health and well-being, then go for it! I cheer you on and I applaud you for it.

If you want it to be a wildly successful book for others to invest 8 hours or so of their lives to read and benefit from yours, you may want to give it a bit more thought.

How you write your memoir and who you write it for will make a difference in whether a literary agent will want to represent your book and whether a publisher sees the value in publishing it.

Here are some guidelines to help you:

1)      Memoirs that are incident-based are more interesting to most people and most industry professionals. Books by business people like Sir Richard Branson or even some celebrities such as Jenny McCarthy’s book, Louder Than Words: A Mother’s Journey to Healing Autism or your favorite musician are not about their whole entire life from the moment they took their first breath. They are about the particular part of their lives they want to highlight and share.

The focus is on their career or a particular topic or time in their lives. The book and story serves the reader in some enlightening or entertaining way and has a clear beginning, middle and end.

2)      Be honest. No one wants to invest their emotions, time and money into reading a book and connecting with a story that is supposed to be true only to discover that it’s not. It’s not only disappointing for the reader, it creates a lot of disgust too. Just look at the reactions to what happened when questions were raised about Greg Mortenson’s book, Three Cups of Tea, James Frey’s A Million Little Pieces, and books from other writers that weren’t true.

3)      Determine if there is something more you can offer than just your story such as insights into what you learned and how the readers might practically apply this to their own lives.

4)      Decide if you want to share more than just your story. Do you intend to write more books? Books that take off from your story? A memoir is also a great start to a career or a compliment to boost your career as a speaker.

If you intend to do more with your story than just tell it, write it in a way that it can be leveraged. Think twice about your title, subtitle and chapter titles.

5)      Be responsible with family members and friends, especially if you want to take your memoir to film or television. If your memoir includes anecdotes about members of your family, close friends or co-workers, or if it reveals family secrets that others may want to keep hidden from the public, think twice about making your book a memoir. You may want to discuss that you are writing the book with the folks you intend to mention to at least make them aware of it and, if plausible, gain their support.

If you intend to pitch your book to the film or television industries, keep in mind that the producers may want a release signed by each person you name in the book to avoid legal issues or delays with the film later on.

6)      Invest in a great editor before you attempt to get published. Many writers make the mistake of not having their memoir reviewed by an editor prior to seeking a literary agent or publisher. Although you may want to “say it the way you say it,” if your grammar, spelling, punctuation and line of thought are off or distracting in your manuscript, no one is going to enjoy reading it.

If you value your story and your work, take the time and invest the money in a solid round of editing by a professional. This is not the area to cut corners or ask a favor from someone you know who teaches English during the school year to high school kids.

A memoir can be written in such a way that it benefits both you and the reader.

Your book can also be your hook to bigger opportunities and career growth.

The truth about memoirs is, like any bestseller, first you need to write a great book. Begin with the end in mind. Consider how your tale benefits others. Evaluate what you want to do with it and how you intend to contribute to the Greater Good with it.

Whether your story educates, enlightens or entertains the reader, when you write your story, there is no doubt you will leave a legacy for yourself, your family, and the human race.

How you choose to leave that legacy via the publishing world is entirely up to you.

If you want to be published with your memoir and have a literary agent represent you, use these simple guidelines to help you get a leg up with your book.

www.yourbookisyourhook.com

Click Here to listen this interview any time after 9:00 am EST Tuesday August 2nd, 2011 on the WomensRadio Network

Robert Reid, Lonely Planet’s US Travel Editor and spokesperson, and Tom Wilson, the author of the cartoon strip Ziggy, will appear as guests on the Your Book Is Your Hook! Show on WomensRadio.com.

Mr. Reid will discuss his role in the publishing process, how he finds the authors who research and write the travel guides at Lonely Planet, and he’ll share his perspective of the future of the book publishing industry. Mr. Wilson will talk about celebrating 40 years of Ziggy and his memoir book, Zig-Zagging: Loving Madly, Losing Badly… How Ziggy Saved My Life. He’ll also share how he got published and how he’s using his books as his hook. He’ll also discuss what it’s been like to work on Ziggy with his father for 40 years. He’ll also share advice for cartoonists about today’s publishing world and for owners of a well-known entity like Ziggy who want to write and publish a memoir book.

NEW YORK, NY (August 2nd – August 8th, 2011): Robert Reid, Lonely Planet’s US Travel Editor and spokesperson, will talk with radio personality and host Jennifer S. Wilkov about his role in the publishing process, tips for travel writing and just who writes and researches the Lonely Planet guidebooks.

He’ll also share his perspective of digital books, freelance travel writing and the future of the book publishing industry.

Tom Wilson, the author of the cartoon strip Ziggy, will discuss with radio personality and host Jennifer S. Wilkov celebrating 40 years of Ziggy and his memoir book, Zig-Zagging: Loving Madly, Losing Badly… How Ziggy Saved My Life. He’ll also share how he got published and how he’s using his books as his hook. He’ll also discuss what it’s been like to work on Ziggy with his father for 40 years. He’ll also share advice for cartoonists about today’s publishing world and for owners of a well-known entity like Ziggy who want to write and publish a memoir book.

Host Jennifer S. Wilkov will discuss why we write memoirs and how you can make them sell during her Education Corner segment during the show.

Click Here to Listen Now: http://bit.ly/oXHUqK

If you have questions about any of these interviews or the education corner topic included in the show, please put them here in this discussion thread and I’d be happy to answer them.

By Guest Blogger Michaela Hamilton, Executive Editor of Kensington Publishing

http://www.KensingtonBooks.com

Click Here to listen this interview any time after 9:00 am EST Tuesday July 26th, 2011 on the WomensRadio Network

Murder!  Mayhem!  Danger!  Action!  What makes a thriller exciting?  All of those elements—plus a certain magic called storytelling.  At Kensington we are proud to offer commercial fiction at its best.  We welcome the chance to present new authors to the suspense community.  Most of our submissions come through literary agents who understand the types of books that work best for us.  Serial-killer thrillers, political thrillers, romantic suspense, paranormal suspense, international intrigue and espionage, and cute cozy mysteries are some of the genres that we are eager to consider.

Kensington supports organizations such as Mystery Writers of America, International Thriller Writers, Sisters in Crime, Malice Domestic, American Society of Journalists and Authors, and other groups devoted to helping writers realize their publishing dreams.  Conferences such as ThrillerFest and Bouchercon give writers the chance to interact with editors, agents, fans, and fellow authors.  Local writers’ conferences offer excellent opportunities as well. Through workshops, panels, pitch sessions, parties, and just-plain hanging out together, writers have a chance to make contact with professionals who share their passion for high-level suspense.

If you are a first-time author, you’ll need to polish your pitch so you can make your book sound irresistible in less than thirty seconds.  It’s useful to position your book in terms of successful books or films.  “Grisham meets Ludlum on Wall Street” was one of the best positioning lines I’ve ever heard.  I couldn’t wait to read that novel!

Think of the reader who will buy your book in a bookstore.  What other titles will that reader have on his or her bookshelf?  Sure, your writing is highly original.  But publishers need to be able to identify a market for it.  Is it hard-boiled or cozy?  Deeply psychological or more adventure-driven?  Are you writing for male or female readers, or both?  Be clear about your audience so that an editor or agent can quickly grasp your book’s potential.

At Kensington we welcome queries from authors via email.  The submissions guidelines are posted on our website, www.kensingtonbooks.com.   Your query should clearly position your book as to category and audience.  Give a one-paragraph plot overview and one-paragraph bio, including your membership in writers’ organizations, attendance of conferences, and your personal marketing plan for your book.

So bring on the serial killers and their victims; the greedy schemers and the clever clue-followers; the forensic experts, the detectives, the heroes and villains who make us turn pages with joy.  The world of book-lovers opens its doors to writers who can thrill us, page after page.

And speaking of page-turners:  here’s a contest you won’t want to miss.  Kensington will give away five free ARC’s (Advance Reader’s Copies) of SERIAL, the sensational new thriller from New York Times bestselling author John Lutz, due in bookstores in August.  To enter, send us your tweet telling us why you’d like to be among the first people to read SERIAL.  Five winners will be chosen at random.  Tweet us at @kensingtonbooks with the #serial hashtag.

www.yourbookisyourhook.com

Click Here to listen this interview any time after 9:00 am EST Tuesday July 26th, 2011 on the WomensRadio Network

Michaela Hamilton, Editor In Chief at Citadel Press and Executive Editor of Kensington Publishing, and thriller author and award-winning poet & playwright C.E. Lawrence, will appear as guests on the Your Book Is Your Hook! Show on WomensRadio.com.

Ms. Hamilton will discuss her role in the publishing process, how she finds the authors she publishes, and what constitutes a good pitch for a book. She’ll also share her perspective of the future of the book publishing industry. Ms. Lawrence will talk about her new thriller book, SILENT VICTIM, and share how she got published with Kensington and how she’s using her book as her hook. She’ll also discuss her use of a pen name, how she researches her books, and the distinctions between play writing and book writing. She’ll also share advice for writers who want to write and publish a thriller book in today’s publishing world.

NEW YORK, NY (July 26th – August 1st, 2011): Michaela Hamilton, Editor In Chief of Citadel Press and Executive Editor of Kensington Publishing, will talk with radio personality and host Jennifer S. Wilkov about her role in the publishing process, the types of books she publishes at Kensington, and how she finds her authors.

As a guest speaker at writers conferences and pitch sessions, Ms. Hamilton will reveal what comprises a great pitch and advice about what writers need to know about getting published. She’ll also share her perspective of digital books and the future of the book publishing industry.

Thriller writer and award-winning poet and playwright, C.E. Lawrence, will discuss with radio personality and host Jennifer S. Wilkov how and why she wrote her latest book, SILENT VICTIM. She’ll also talk about how she got published with Kensington and how she’s using her books as her hook. She’ll also reveal how she does the research for her books and plot twists, why she uses a pen name, and the distinctions between play writing and book writing. She’ll also share advice with writers who want to write and publish a thriller book in today’s publishing world.

Host Jennifer S. Wilkov will discuss why some writers use a pen name during her Education Corner segment during the show.

Click Here to Listen Now: http://bit.ly/qxINxd

If you have questions about any of these interviews or the education corner topic included in the show, please put them here in this discussion thread and I’d be happy to answer them.

The Literary Agent Matchmaker™

www.yourbookisyourhook.com

As authors and writers, we’re always learning about resources and industry tools that we can use to improve our book project performance and the enjoyment of our writing and marketing experiences.  Today let’s talk about why some writers use pen names.

A pen name or “nom de plume” is a pseudonym adopted by an author for their written work. As Wikipedia explains, “A pen name may be used to make the author’s name more distinctive, to disguise his or her gender, to distance an author from some or all of his or her works, to protect the author from retribution for his or her writings, or for any of a number of reasons related to the marketing or aesthetic presentation of the work. The author’s name may be known only to the publisher, or may come to be common knowledge.”

Sometimes authors use a pen name to avoid being confused with another writer with the same name. Other writers may write in more than one genre and may choose to use a pen name for each type of story or book.

Some pen names you may know and recognize include:

Samuel Langhorne Clemens – who wrote under the aliases “Mark Twain” and “Sieur Louis de Conte.”

Charles Dodgson – the mathematician and fantasy writer who wrote nonfiction under his own name and who wrote fiction with the alias “Lewis Carroll.”

Stephen King – published four novels under the name “Richard Bachman” because publishers didn’t feel the public would buy more than one novel per year from a single author.

C.S. Lewis – the famous author of The Chronicles of Narnia used two different pseudonyms: “Clive Hamilton” for his poems and “N. W. Clerk” for his book about grief and bereavement.

Eric Blair – used the pseudonym “George Orwell” for most of his books because he felt he wasn’t established enough in his writing career to publish under his real name.

Some famous female writers have used pen names for a variety of reasons too:

Mary Ann Evans – wrote as “George Eliot” in the 19^th century to be perceived as a male writer to ensure that her work would be accepted by publishers and/or the public.

Charlotte Bronte – published Jane Eyre under the pseudonym “Currer Bell.”

Emily Bronte – published Wuthering Heights under the pseudonym “Ellis Bell.”

Jane Austen – used the pseudonym “A Lady” as the author of her first novel, Sense and Sensibility.

Karen Blixen – Baroness Karen von Blixen-Finecke originally published the popular story of Out of Africa under the pseudonym “Isak Dinesen.”

Nora Roberts – who writes romance under her own name writes erotic thrillers using the alias “J.D. Robb.”

There are also series of books that you may have grown up with that are published using a pseudonym to represent several authors such as:

Nancy Drew – these mystery books are published as though they were written by Carolyn Keene

The Hardy Boys – these books are published as the work of Franklin W. Dixon

The Bobbsey Twins – this series is credited to Laura Lee Hope

Even the moniker “nom de plume,” while appearing as French, did not originate in France. H. W. Fowler and F. G. Fowler, in The King’s English state that the term nom de plume “evolved” in Britain, where people wanting a “literary” phrase, failed to understand the term nom de guerre, which already existed in French. Since guerre means war in French, nom de guerre did not make sense to the British, who did not understand the French metaphor. The term “nom de plume” was later exported to France.

Some authors like this week’s author guest, C.E. Lawrence, choose to use initials in their pen names for their work. Others use initials to abbreviate and disguise their real names (which are not considered pseudonyms) such as:

S. E. Hinton – Susan Eloise Hinton, the author of The Outsiders

J. K. Rowling – Joanne “Jo” Rowling, the author of Harry Potter, who incidentally had no middle name. She chose the “K” as the second initial of her pen name from her paternal grandmother Kathleen Ada Bulgen Rowling. She used the two initials because her publishers demanded it, fearing that the target audience of young boys might not want to read a book written by a woman,

Other authors have used pen names for other reasons such as:

Joseph Conrad – the British author of Heart of Darkness whose given Polish name was Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski, too hard to pronounce, spell or remember and too long to print.

Silence DoGood – the pseudonym of Benjamin Franklin that he used to write letters to The New England Courant newspaper owned by his brother. Franklin created Silence DoGood as the persona of a middle-aged widow and the letters he wrote poked fun at the various aspects of life in colonial America.

O. Henry – William Sydney Porter’s pseudonym under which he wrote famous short stories like The Gift of the Magi. His moniker was applied to other writers’ works and became referred to as an “O. Henry ending,” pointing to his gift for the surprise endings to his stories.

Pseudonyms extend to children’s books and the comic book world too through:

Stan Lee – Stanley Martin Lieber, the comic book pioneer. He was the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics. In collaboration with several artists, he created Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, the X-men, the Avengers, Iron Man, the Hulk, Thor, Daredevil, Doctor Strange and many others.

Dr. Seuss – Theodor Seuss Geisel, the beloved writer and cartoonist who published 46 children’s books which were often characterized by imaginative characters and rhymes. He began using his pen name long before his books though when an incident in college had the dean force him to resign from all extracurricular activities including writing for the college humor magazine. At that time, he continued writing for the magazine and signed his work under his first pen name, “Seuss.”

There are many reasons why you may want to use a pen name for your work. As you can see, you won’t be the first, and you certainly won’t be the last.

As history has shown, even with a pen name, you can still use your book as your hook – and become a beloved writer.

Jennifer’s show can be heard every week on Tuesday mornings at 9am when it is broadcast on WomensRadio.com and syndicated on Google News and Live365.com. Each show is archived for replay listeners in different time zones and countries.

For more information on this Education Corner topic and others, please refer to www.YourBookIsYourHook.com/blog for more articles and resources to help you with your books.

The Literary Agent Matchmaker™

www.yourbookisyourhook.com

As authors and writers, we’re always learning about resources and industry tools that we can use to improve our book project performance and the enjoyment of our writing and marketing experiences.  Today let’s talk about how your book or film may serve a greater purpose.

It is our nature to care about ourselves and others. We write this into the plots of books and films. We hook the reader by engaging them in the lives of our characters and memoirs and what other nonfiction how-to books might do for them. We serve the readers with our souls while finding fulfillment ourselves.

Books and films have a wonderful way of extending themselves into greater efforts to help others. There is a natural segue that evolves when a book or film is affiliated with a charitable effort or organization. It doesn’t have to be directly in the book, but the book can become a hook for so much more and help others.

There are some books that are set up as a donation vehicle to a particular organization such as the way the Chicken Soup for the Soul® books are crafted, where money is donated to a chosen charity for each book based on its theme. Other books are deemed an affiliated effort with a charity by the publisher such as books published by Morgan James Publishing which offers a donation form at the back of their books for Habitat for Humanity or at the discretion of the author such as Brendon Burchard’s Life’s Golden Ticket where a portion of the proceeds from the book are donated to Kiwanis International, Junior Achievement, and the YMCA.

There are lots of other ways writers, authors, screenwriters and filmmakers can have a greater purpose and make a bigger difference with books and films today. Here are some more great examples of how others are doing just this:

Karin Slaughter, a New York Times and #1 internationally best-selling author, is spearheading the SaveTheLibraries.com campaign and events all over the United States. She was recognized for her efforts in conjunction with this campaign and Reading Is Fundamental by the International Thriller Writers organization with their 2011 Silver Bullet Award earlier this month during their ThrillerFest Writers Conference in New York.

This week’s show guests Jonathan and Deborah Flora, the co-producers of the film Lt. Dan Band: For the Common Good, saw what actor Gary Sinise was doing with a band he formed after the name of his character in the movie Forrest Gump and how he was entertaining our troops to support them. Jonathan is a veteran of the U.S. Army’s 82d Airborne Division and served 12 years in the military. He and Deborah thought Gary’s efforts were something worth documenting so they made a film about his tour. Then they went one step further and turned it into a vehicle for donations to support the troops so viewers can contribute to these noble worldwide efforts.

This week’s author guest, Darryl Strawberry, wrote his memoir, Straw: Finding My Way, in which he shares his life’s transformations, struggles, tragedies and triumphs. Then he and his wife were so moved by what they saw one day after a visit to a school for autistic kids that they felt compelled to find a way to help them. So he set up a foundation so he could raise money and bring attention to the fight for autism.

After Hurricane Katrina hit, New York Times best-selling author Heather Graham created the Writers for New Orleans workshop weekend which she holds on Labor Day weekend every year to bring people back to New Orleans and to help stimulate the economy there.

In East Hampton every year there is the famous and this year the 63^rd Annual Artists and Writers Charity Softball Game featuring Ken Auletta, Mike Lupica, Mort Zuckerman, Alec Baldwin and others to benefit local East Hampton charities.

Many writers like to get involved particularly with children and making sure they have access to books such as James Patterson’s ReadKiddoRead.com site which is dedicated to making kids readers for life.

I personally enjoy donating a portion of my sales of Boys Before Business: The Single Girl’s Guide to Having It All to the Sojourner Center in Arizona, which is the largest women’s shelter for domestic violence in the U.S.

I’m also a spokesperson for Project Night Night which hand delivers books into the hands of children in homeless shelters across the U.S. and I’m a proud supporter of Heifer International’s Read to Feed Program where kids in our schools are encouraged to read more books by getting pledges for each book they promise to read and then providing that money to Heifer’s worldwide efforts to end hunger while caring for the Earth. I’m also involved now with starting a new chapter of First Book in Brooklyn, NY, which is a charity dedicated to putting new books into the hands of children in need in my community. You can find out if your community has a First Book chapter and get involved too.

And that is the question for you: as a writer, author, screenwriter or filmmaker: how do you give back and give more with your books and films?

Provide a local book signing for a charity of your choice or a free screening with a donation of your film.

Done with some of the books you’ve been reading? Donate them to a local library or charity who can provide them to someone else or that can charge a small fee for purchase as a donation to the charity such as the Housing Works Bookstore Café in New York City which supports those with AIDS and HIV.

Donate the books you’ve written or the DVD for a film you’ve made to a good cause such as a local shelter or school.

Want to support our troops too like Jonathan and Deborah Flora and Gary Sinise and his band? Donate books to Books for Soldiers, Operation Paperback or share your used Kindle with a soldier through E-Books for Troops.

There is so much you can do as an author, writer, screenwriter or filmmaker to make an even greater difference with your book and film. I encourage you to find ways to use your book as your hook for the greater good too.

Jennifer’s show can be heard every week on Tuesday mornings at 9am when it is broadcast on WomensRadio.com and syndicated on Google News and Live365.com. Each show is archived for replay listeners in different time zones and countries.

For more information on this Education Corner topic and others, please refer to www.YourBookIsYourHook.com/blog for more articles and resources to help you with your books.