Tuesday’s writing tip for authors

In his book, Is There a Book Inside You? Writing Alone Or With a Collaborator, Dan Poynter–Published & Profitable’s this Friday’s expert interview guest–and his co-author, Mindy Bingham, address the 4 qualifications for writing a book, and the differences between authors and writers.

According to Dan Poynter and Mindy Bingham, you should write a book if you fulfill one of the following 4 qualifications:

1. Expert. Dan and Mindy define an expert as “someone who has years of experience in a specific field, particularly those who have developed forms, hand-out materials and unique ways to describe the peculiarities of the field.”
2. Innovator. Typically, innovators “take a well-known, published subject and ad a new dimension to it. Innovators are typically experts who notice areas in their field that need improvement, clarification, or a new approach.”
3. Pathfinder. Pathfinders are “fascinated by new subjects where there is little information available.”
4. Artists or creative spirit. These are “story-tellers who enjoy sharing their creative thoughts, and personal experiences.”

In their book, Is There an Author Inside You?, Dan Poynter and Mindy Bingham stress that authors don’t have to write every word of their books themselves. They describe several alternative approaches, including:

• Writing teams, where specific tasks are outsources and carefully delegated
• Collaboration and co-authorships, often “marriages between experts with information and writers with time”
• Ghost Writers, basically, collaborators whose names do not appear on the book cover
• Committees, such as group authorship of textbooks
• Contract writing, usually on a work-for-hire basis, with no share of the profits from sales of the book.

If you’re interested in writing a book, or have any questions about the differences between authors and writers, be sure you attend Dan Poynter’s interview this Friday, July 18th, 11:00 AM to 12:00 AM EST. To attend, call 218-486-1616, and use PIN: 513391#. Additional details.