Product Description

Isn't it time you let that book out? If you've been thinking of writing that bestseller or simply turning your knowledge into a product then you'll learn all you need to know to release your creative potential and turn your ideas into a polished finished product. In this step-by-step recipe book for success by 'Book Cook', Jo Parfitt, you'll learn everything about the writing process, self publishing, pitching to publishers and more as Jo shares over two decades of hard won experience with you. Learn: * How to put the book you have been burning to write into a format that will sell * How to find your voice and hone your vision based on what has worked for other successful expat authors * The ins and outs of self-publishing and e-publishing * Plain english information on ISBNs and other stuff you'll need for your book * How to deal with publishers and agents * How to write a compelling synopsis * Much, much more...Finally the acclaimed publishing and writing masterclass that led one delegate to go on and publish 33 books and get 5 best-sellers in just over 2 years (not to mention moving to Spain in the process) is available in print.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #266013 in Books
• Published on: 2007-02-16
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 188 pages

From the Publisher
Almost everybody feels they have a book in them and I
was no different. I wanted to share what I'd learned the
hard way and leave a lasting legacy.

But, as a marketer rather than a writer, I didn't have a
clue where to begin.

Sure, I had a loyal audience of subscribers reading my tips
and articles but turning all the stuff in your head into a
book - with ISBNs, barcodes, spines, jackets and all the
other components - required knowledge I didn't have
back then.

So, in May 2003 I went on Jo Parfitt's `Release The Book
Within' course in Central London and it changed the
direction of my business and life forever.

As the experienced book cook Jo Parfitt is, she shared her
own secret recipe for releasing the first of many books
that were just waiting for me to create them.

Jo's passion for writing and the assuredness that comes
from someone who has had her work published by all the
big name publishers encouraged me to get started on that
first manuscript. But more than that - she inspired me.
Her passion is infectious.

By August 2003 my first book, co-written with my brother
Joe, was in my hands. I caught the bug and decided to
focus on publishing full time. And, by January 2007, we
had published 33 books and made 5 of them bestsellers.
You now hold in your hands the very same information
that inspired me back in 2003 and on the pages that
follow Jo generously shares over two decades of hard won
knowledge with you.

She shows you absolutely everything - from coming up
with the first idea to sorting out ISBNs to honing the
finished work into a marketable product.

It is my honour to be in a position to now be publishing
this very special book by the person who got me into this
game to begin with.

About the Author
Jo Parfitt, 'The Book Cook' is a writer, journalist, speaker,
author, publisher and publishing consultant. Since 1985 she has had over 20
books published (15 of which by big name publishers) on subjects ranging
from computers to careers and cookery to expat living. Jo is happily
married to Ian, and together with their boys, Sam and Josh, they have lived
in Dubai, Oman, Norway, England and now the Netherlands.

Excerpted from Expat Writer: Release The Book Within by Jo Parfitt. Copyright © 2007. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
WHY YOU SHOULD READ THIS BOOK

Writing is the perfect portable career. It is an invaluable skill for
anyone who requires an extra source of income or a hobby with earning
potential. Today so many people move around the country or the world. Their
experiences make great reading and are a constant source of inspiration.

Writing, in its many forms, can be done wherever you may live, providing
you have a computer and Internet connection. This book shows where to get
inspiration and how to turn those ideas into a book that will sell.

Discover these secrets and more from a wordsmith who has been, variously,
author, poet, short story writer, student, teacher, journalist, publisher,
editor, presenter and copywriter. Then, since 2002, she has worked as a
publishing consultant, or Book Cook, and has helped countless others to
make their publishing dreams come true. She has also kept her career well
and truly alive while she lived overseas, accompanying her husband, who
works in the oil industry, and their children, from Dubai to Oman, to
Norway, England and now The Netherlands.

She has spent more than 13 years abroad.

This book will give you hands-on learning about far more than just the
mechanics of writing a book. In addition you will also learn how to tailor
your idea to the appropriate market, attract a publisher or publish it
yourself.

Many move overseas once in order to start a new life, others, like Jo, move
repeatedly. Regardless of the length of your stay all your experiences and
learning are of great value to others. That is why so many expats are
motivated to write about their lives overseas. It all seemed to begin with
Peter Mayle and his House in Provence, but he was not the first to go
overseas and document the experience - that has been done for millennia. He
was just one of the first to popularise the idea.

However compelling your experience or your knowledge not everyone will be
able to write a book that hooks the reader and keeps him interested. This
book will help you to achieve that.

But, despite your expatriate experience, this does not mean that the story
of your new life should be the sole inspiration for your book. The chances
are you know about far more than that. Perhaps you are a yoga teacher who
has learned how to motivate children to exercise?

You might want to write a practical guide on that topic? Or you are a feng
shui expert, interested in migrating birds, management techniques and
presentation skills? If you are an authority in a subject then you could
maybe write about this instead, or as well as, your life abroad?

This book will help you to hone and find your ideas and then show you how
to turn them into a winning publication.

But it is not all easy. There are many routes to market and many people
remain ignorant of the various methods for online and offline publishing.
This book will help you to pick your way through the publishing minefield.

Customer Reviews

A little gem.
Jo Parfitt's book DOES help to Release the Book Within.

It is a little gem - both practical and inspiring, full of sound comprehensive advice, brimming with ideas and tips. Jo holds your hand from beginning to end, from fine-tuning your idea to getting it published, from coming up with the right title to planning it and laying it out, from starting to shape your idea to adding that final polish. She writes with a clear succinct style, uses examples and gives invaluable explanations when they are needed. She guides you through modifying the outline, reviewing and changing your MSS, helps you organise your research, and sets your expectations of what is involved in getting published in the real world.

She gives a Recipe with ingredients and processes clearly explained,and is sympathetic to the hurdles and hazards to finding time and motivation to keep going when the going gets tough. There are excellent appendices of other reading and inspiring books and websites.

I am really glad I read this book - it tells the full story of how to get the book you have dreamed of writing onto paper and out there - a reality check which will sustain and support you as you go.

My advice? Buy It!

Real help to Write that Book
"Writing is the perfect portable career," claims the Expat expert. Her informative guide seeks to help writers plan and write a book, whether it's a club newsletter or magazine, an instruction manual, travel guide or a novel. The publishing minefield is explained helpfully and clearly.

Find your "wow" factor and you'll have a successful book is one of her many believable tips.

As we all know, life is multi-faceted. Jo explains that any aspect of life, or a combination, could be the subject of a book. Encouraging us to write about something we know or feel strongly about will aid creativity and productivity.

Rather than analysing the competition negatively, we're encouraged to think of it as our friend, being something from which we can learn how to finalise our own ideas.

Explaining the 8 A's for Astounding Authors will help you plan and develop your book. We're encouraged to "paint a picture" with our pen, so that readers visualise what's on the page rather than being left to imagine a scene. Using the 5 senses helps to describe such a picture. This straightforward advice makes great sense but isn't something I had considered so deeply.

The step-by-step plan to producing a book is the ultimate publisher's checklist. If you want to write, no matter what the final product may be, Jo really does make you feel that you can "release the book within".

So, Are You Ready To Write A Book?
By the time you finish reading 'Expat Writer: Release The Book Within' you will be able to answer this question with confidence.

Jo Parfitt takes the reader by the hand through all the steps it takes to write a book. She makes the process so crystal clear that there will be few surprises as the process evolves.

Parfitt leads the reader from passion and vision through researching and analyzing other people's books before deciding on the formula that will produce the book you want to write. She recommends that you approach writing a book with a formula, or as she calls it, a recipe. She emphasizes the importance of planning and research before putting pen to paper. According to her, the actual writing takes only about 22% of the time it will take to get from idea to published author!

Here's an example of how realistic and practical her advice is. "Make sure your title is not too long to fit down the spine," she says. Why does that matter? She explains, "A bookshop and a library will place your book sideways so that only the spine shows."

One of my favourite segments is her description of how to paint a word picture. She provided such perfect detail that anyone could grasp the point with ease.

She shares insights from the poetic to the practical. Offering advice from her wealth of personal writing experience, she suggests, "Allow your muse to meander. Thanks to word processing power you can juggle it all around later."

My biggest criticism of Expat Writer is that it should not be limited to expats! Those living abroad are not the only ones who can benefit from Parfitt's casual, easy to understand style.

Jo Parfitt set out to provide readers with "hands-on learning about far more than just the mechanics of writing a book." She also promised, "This book will help you to pick your way through the publishing minefield."

The result is an engaging book that will help anyone wondering, 'Am I ready to write a book?' It's a wonderful walk-through of the process of creating a book from start to finish