Happy Holidays!

Happy holidays!I hope you're surrounded by loved ones, wonderful presents, and the warm holiday spirit which still hovers on top of us despite the financial crisis. I've been on slow blogging mode lately, but that's because my family and I have been busy attending parties and big family get-togethers.  By the time I'm home, I'm all pooped and ready for bed.  There's so many photos to transfer to the computer and so much food to consume or give away.  Ah, not to mention the Romanesque belly that I've to deal with after the Season's over.  And, oh, lest I forget -- I've an article to finish before January 5th! 


I'd like to thank you all, dear readers, for being a part of Today's Writer.  I've been publishing this guide blog for years now, experimented with it, nearly gave up on it.  (But I keep resurfacing, so there must be something good behind what I'm doing!) Truly I am very grateful for the repeat visits, subscriptions and email forwards.  The year 2008 has been a great year for Today's Writer in terms of content, web traffic and sponsorship. More stuff are afoot next year!


Wherever you are, whatever stuff you've been busy with, I hope you're having a great time writing!  Happy holidays from Today's Writer!

How to Create an Ebook That Can Be a Bestseller Online

by Sean R Mize

Contrary to popular beliefs, excelling in the field of ebook writing can be relatively easy. You just have to know the elements that you need to use in order to impress your readers and you must follow certain guidelines that can help you make your creations become best-sellers online.

Here's how you can excel at ebook writing:

1. Define your audience. This is one element that can bring a huge difference to your ebook writing as it can empower you to easily give your readers what they truly want as you'll know their requirements ahead of time.
Before you even start writing, get to know your target audience by talking to them directly on forums, blogs, and discussion boards. This may take a while and it may require a lot of time before you can get a clear idea about their needs and demands but I can guarantee you that it will worth it.

2. Write to inform and not to impress. By this, I simply mean avoid bragging your wide range of vocabulary and knowledge on other niches when writing your ebooks. Instead, focus on giving your readers the kind of information they need so you can give them great value for their money. Ensure that you communicate your knowledge using simple terms and that you stick to your main topic to avoid confusing your readers.

3. Think SEO. Search engine optimization can have a direct impact on your book sales. To ensure that your creations will fare well on relevant searches, you need to incorporate keywords on your book title. It is also important to use keywords on your sales letters and other content base marketing techniques so you can easily connect with your potential clients.

4. Be an expert. If you want your ebooks to sell like hotcakes online, you need to prove to your readers that you are very knowledgeable on your chosen niche and that you can offer them with the kind of information that they are looking for. It is very important that you know your chosen niche inside and out so always keep yourself posted on issues about your chosen industry.

5. Limit the number of your ads. Always remember that online users are buying ebooks mainly to get informed. They will surely not appreciate it if you present them with something that looks like yellow pages.

Ensure that your content outweighs the number of your ads to avoid annoying your readers.

Do you want to learn more about how I do it? I have just completed my brand new guide to article writing success, 'Your Article Writing and Promotion Guide'

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Sean Mize is a full time internet marketer who has written over 9034 articles in print and 14 published ebooks.

Professional Writing - 5 Easy Tricks

by Angela Booth

New to professional writing? Writers learn many professional tricks over the years: use these five to boost your career.

1. Write Like You Speak: You're Communicating, Not "Writing"

Aim for simplicity and clarity. The more transparent your writing, the better. This means you should aim to write the way you speak: in a conversational tone. Even with formal writing, a conversational tone is best.

Not sure whether your tone is conversational? Read the document aloud, into a voice recorder. Replay it. The first few times you do this, you may not be certain you've achieved a real conversational tone, so read the document aloud to a friend, or send him the recording.

You should also avoid jargon, unless you're writing for an audience which expects it.

2. Just Say It: Cut the Verbiage

Say what you mean. Go through your document, and cut all adjectives and adverbs. You won't miss them.

Be alert for tautologies: saying the same thing twice. For example: "free gift" (a gift is, by definition, free), "on a daily basis" (just write "daily"), and "new innovation" (innovations are always new).

The more direct your writing, the better.

3. Spelling Counts, and So Does Your Grammar

Everyone makes the occasion typo; it's inevitable. However, in any documents which will be read by others, use spell check. Read important documents aloud; this often helps you to catch spelling and grammatical errors.

4. Build Your Vocabulary: Read More

A professional writer's trade is words, so all writers read constantly, both for their work, and for fun.

Not only does a reading habit help you to build your vocabulary, it also helps you to increase your knowledge. The more you know, the more you can apply your knowledge in your writing.

A wide knowledge helps you to get more, and more highly paid, writing jobs.

5. Use One Exclamation Mark Per 50 Pages

If there's one bad habit which screams amateur writer, it's the habit of using gratuitous exclamation marks -- "!". Please, if you're not writing a comic book, don't use exclamation marks at all.

Not only are exclamation marks rarely necessary, they distract the reader.

Here's a rule to follow: use one exclamation mark per 50 pages. Which is a veiled way of saying: never use them.

Use these five professional writing tricks to immediately increase your writing skill.

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For free weekly writing information, subscribe to Angela's Fab Freelance Writing Ezine at http://www.freelancewritingezine.com/ and receive "Write And Sell Your Writing: The Power-Write Report" immediately.