Archive for the ‘carve out your niche’ Category

“Turn your home into a rental” on Mark Wayne Show

Saturday, July 13th, 2013

The Morning Blend interview

Yesterday I was interviewed by the legendary radio host, Mark Wayne, of WICH in Norwich, Connecticut about my new book “Turn Your Home Into a Rental House Instead of Selling It!”.

Check the Roof

Mark commented that the first two things he would check when buying a house would be

1.)  the roof, and;

2.) the foundation.

He doesn’t want to be stuck with these potentially big ticket expenses.

I said that those types of dangers to a real estate investor underscore the importance of having a thorough inspection of the house done prior to purchasing.

Have a Professional Inspection

Not only does a complete inspection by a professional inspector

1.)  protect you from surprise expenses, but

2.) the inspector’s written report is a good tool to help negotiation a lower price with the seller, if the inspector identifies other issues the house may have (for example, A/C, plumbing, wiring, etc.)

Television Interview Update

The Morning Blend is a nice, friendly show, with genial hosts Amanda Guralski (who is also an author) and Sally Shamrell.

I was interviewed last year on the Morning Blend show to promote my book “Carve Out Your Niche,” so I wasn’t too nervous about  Wednesday’s appearance to promote “Turn Your Home Into a Rental House.”

Where’s Angy?

Before we started filming, they asked why Angy wasn’t with me, since she co-authored the book.

I had to tell them the truth.

I said, “I tried to get her to come, but ultimately she couldn’t be on the show because of her back. It has a big yellow stripe right down the middle.”

Strangely, Angywas never nervous when  she and I have taught fixer-upper house seminars together, but she was a little anxious about appearing on television.

Like Riding a Horse

I told Angy it’s like learning to ride a horse. Isaid, “Sure, you may get bucked off a few times and maybe just break an arm or a leg, but before long, you’ll be riding that horse like the Lone Ranger!”

Maybe that wasn’t such a good analogy.

I thought the interview went okay, except that I caught myself mumbling a few times.

Blog Review of “Turn Your Home Into a Rental House.”

Thanks to Sharon at Louisville Gals Real Estate Blog  for her review of my new book.

Upcoming “Turn Your Home Into a Rental House ” Radio Interviews

Friday, July 19th, at 7:45 am (eastern time), I will be interviewed by Gary Sutton and Chris Tyler, at WSBA 910 AM  in York, PA.

Friday, July 19th, at 8:10 am, I’ll be on Dan Ramey’s showon WBEX 1490 AM, in Chillicothe, Ohio.

On Thursday, July 25th, at 7:10 a.m. (central time) I’ll be on Jeff Anderson’s show, KSDR 1480 AM, Watertown, South Dakota.

Watch this space for information on additional interviews.

Related Articles

6 Steps to Roof Maintenance (for the Home that will Turn Into a Rental House)

How I Evicted A Problem Tenant in 4 Steps

When to Hire a House Inspector – Radio Interview with Rich Peterson

Getting Rid of Bad Tenants

“Turn your home into a rental” on Mark Wayne Show

7 Reasons to Live in a Fixer-Upper House While You Repair It

6 Steps to Roof Maintenance (for the Home that will Turn Into a Rental House)

Our First Rental House Plunge

10 Most Frequent Problems Found by House Inspectors

5 Steps to Get Your House Ready to Rent by Terry Sprouse

5 Steps to take if your house is flooded

Some perfectly legal ways to maximize your rental profits

Add “Start a Rental House Business” to Your Bucket List

The 5 Rules on How to Lose Money and Get Your Rental Property Trashed by Tenants

Window Repair with #2 Son

Required Roof Maintenance for Fixer Upper Houses

Learn to Repair Your Fixer Upper Houses

How I Got Started In Fixer-Upper Houses

How to learn to operate a fixer upper house business

The Peaceful Warrior and Fixer-Upper Houses

5 Keys to Sell Books Like Hotcakes with YouTube

Wednesday, October 31st, 2012

YouTube is an inexpensive and powerful way to promote a book online. Maybe you’ve heard about it.

I make videos for YouTube on how to operate a fixer upper and rental house business, or on how to “carve out your niche” and how to self-publish. The best way to maximize views of YouTube videos that promote your books is to provide useful information that is helpful to people.

Five Keys for YouTube Success

Kodak Zi8 Movie Camera

1.) Be Subtle

Rather than making a video where you tell people to buy your book, it’s much better to make a video describing how your business operates, and why the type of business in general is a good business to be in. Subtlety always works better than beating people over the head with a sales promotion. Give your viewers something of value and they may return the favor.

For variety, and to broaden my appeal, sometimes I make a video designed simply to inspire people. I tell stories from my life that have inspiring messages, or describe ways that I find inspiration in my own life. In general, the better people know you, the more likely they are to become a customer.

2.) Keep it Short and Entertaining

Logitech Webcam

Many videos on YouTube are long and boring, when they should be quick and fun. I keep my videos short, and I try to include humor in them. I will tell a story that has recently happened to me, or use something that I have recorded in my “humor” notebook, where I record quips or jokes that I have come across.

3.) No Adlibbing

To make sure that I come across as professionally as possible, I write a script before I start recording. The script doesn’t have to be word for word what you plan to say, but just an outline so that you know the key points that you want to make. I always try to include quotes from famous people, and, of course, humor and stories.

Unless you’re Jay Leno, don’t try to adlib your way through a video. It just won’t look as good as you think it does. Think, “nose piercing.”

4.) Break it up into Pieces

Now I do my videos in segments. I will look at my script and decide what I want to say about one key point. I record myself talking about that one point. Then I stop the camera and study the next key point, and so on.

Try to look right into the camera, and speak in a friendly voice as though you were talking to your best friend.

5.) Don’t Overanalyze

Don’t try to overanalyze making videos. As Douglas Adams said,

If you try and take a cat apart to see how it works, the first thing you have on your hands is a non-working cat.

What’s my motivation?

My First Video

For the first video that I made (where I was actually on screen), I was so nervous that I actually wrote out the entire script and read it into the camera. I had my son, Bryan, holding the script next to the camera so that it wouldn’t look like I was reading it.

My son commented, “Surely, people will know that you are just reading.”

I said, “No way. I’ll read it like I talk. And don’t call me Shirley!”

Bryan was right. It did kind of look like I was reading.

Cut!!!

At the end of the video, I was going to stand up and walk away down a peaceful rural path with my dog Blackie (the Wonder Dog), and I got tangled up in the microphone wire. And, the camera pan was jerky as I walked away. The video was unraveling into a Three Stooges experience, but none of that mattered. All that mattered was I somehow got the first video finished and posted.

I did this video before I started using an editing program so, like live TV, we had to get it all on one take.

Here is that first live video, warts and all, entitled “Walk Away From Your Problems and Find Inspiration.”


Two Alternatives to Using a Movie Camera

1. For the Camera Shy

If you really do not wish to appear in a video, you can still produce videos. You can use Easy Screen Capture Video, or ESCV (or any number of similar companies) and just do a voice over of a power point presentation, or use screen shots. It’s amazingly simple to do. You don’t even need a camera.

Here is the first video that I made using the ESCV technology, entitled “Start a Fixer Upper and Rental House Business” (which, looking back seems to run too long).

2. The Economical Way 

If you want to do it the cheap and easy way, you can just record your videos using an video camera attached to your computer. I have a Logtech camera that captures sound and video. It clips onto the top of my screen and plugs into a USB port of my computer.

We’re Not Filming “War and Peace”

It’s tempting to think, “I don’t want to show this video to the world until it’s perfect.” Come on, you’re not Quentin Tarantino. We’re not aiming for a masterpiece here. You have to swallow your pride, and just put the video on YouTube, even if it has a few flaws.

People will overlook mistakes, especially if you have good content. My attitude is: my videos are not great, but I’m getting better each time I make another one. The more videos I make the better I get.

In this later video, “The Secret to Success in Less than 2 Minutes.” I employed several of the techniques that I have mentioned. It’s my most popular video with 3,200 views.

Camera and Editing

The camera that I use to record video is the Kodak Zi8. It’s small, easy to use and makes very clear videos. I also recommend that you have a tripod, a remote control, an external microphone, and an 8 GB flash memory card.

For editing, I use Windows Live Movie Maker, which is free if you have Windows. It allows you to cut and paste your video, and add music and titles.

Show People How to Do It!

Most people don’t want to waste time reading how to fix a leaky sink, or repair a car lock, or start a real estate business. They want to see how to do it!

They go to YouTube for answers.

That’s why your videos should be there.

This week’s recommended articles from the blogosphere:

Accepting The Value Of An Emergency Fund at Modest Money

Hi There, What Can You Tell Me About Yourself?  at Frugal Rules

Halloween Humor: Random Things I’m Scared Of Eyes on the Dollar

Reader tip: Earn a little extra change by becoming a mail decoy at Money Saving Mom

Trick Or Treat {Finer Things Friday} at The Finer Things in Life

How Not to Take a Blogging Hiatus at Making Sense of Cents

Real Estate 101: Finding Good Tenants at Free Money Finance

Save Money With Coupons This Holiday Season at Work Save Live

Fearless Men’s Beard and Mustache Competition | Movember 2012 at Fearless Men

_____________________

Coming Soon!

How to Turn Your Home into a Rental House, Instead of Selling It

Can You Become a Millionaire Bestselling Author in 3 Days?

Tuesday, October 16th, 2012

I recently received several emails and even a postcard from a marketing guru.

He is promoting a new book publishing program where, he says, “REAL multi-millionaires show you how to become THE thought leader by sharing your wisdom and content.”

His postcard reads:

“GET PUBLISHED. GET PAID.

Fair WARNING: If your content creation, distribution, and monetization strategy sucks, you’ll be a broke, unknown expert forever. If your content strategy is smart, distinct, ubiquitous, and automated, you could be a famous millionaire who inspires the world. Your call.”

The card directs you to an on-line video sales pitch, where you see that he is offering a 3-day seminar where you will learn all you need to know to publish your book, for a cost of $10,000 dollars.

Lemme get this straight. We can learn all we need to know in just 3 days?

Take a 3 day swallow for $10,000

Where do we sign up?

Alas, this sales pitch is an un-holy marriage of fact and fantasy.

The Facts:

1.) Many people would like to write a book;

2.) There are genuine benefits from writing and publishing a book.

3.) Book promotion should be smart and ubiquitous.

The Fantasy:

1.) It’s fast. You can learn all you need to know to be a “famous” millionaire book author in 3 days;

2.) It’s expensive, but worth it. You need to pay an exorbitant sum of money to “jump start” your dream;

3.) You need “millionaire experts” to correctly publish and promote your book;

Granted, you could probably learn something from this seminar, but … 

if so-called “REAL multi-millionaires” are running the seminar, it’s probably going to involve you handing over your wallet to them so that they can do things for you that you could do for yourself. They’ll also be happy to tie your shoe laces for you and cut your meat up into smaller  pieces so it’s easier to chew, but is that really necessary?

This runs counter to what life teaches us about “self-reliance”

Muhahahaha!

Emerson said, “the essence of genius, of virtue, and of life is available to us through our intuition.” If we determine that our intuition is guiding us to write a book, nothing can stop us. We will learn as we advance in the direction of our dreams.

A better approach – carve out your niche

Self publishing only takes time to learn to learn the steps. Once you know them, you can publish books till the cows come home.

The same is true for book promotion.  Some of the most powerful ways to promote your book are accessible to anyone, and they are inexpensive. These include:

1.)  Blogging;

2.) YouTube;

3.) Amazon promotional tools;

4.) Radio & TV interviews;

5.) Public speaking;

and, many more.

Leap, and the net will appear

I say, instead of sending blank checks to needy multi-millionaires to get your book published, rely on your own inner compass and ingenuity to lead the way. You can do it yourself, and maybe even become more self-reliant and famous-ish in the process.

– – –

Recent blog articles that I recommend:

Using Remnants to save $ on your rehabs at Landlordinvestor

Your Increased Liability for Allowing Pets in Your Property at Louisville Gals

Thomas Jefferson | The Man Behind the Declaration of Independence at Fearless Men

Blogging Tips From a Beginner at Frugal Rules

How To Assess The Effectiveness Of Your Savings Account at iheartbudgets

5 Tips for Getting a Higher Starting Salary at Frugal Habits

When Is the Right Time to Have a Baby, Financially? at WorkSaveLive

How Do You Go From Minimum Wage to $80K In A Year? Part 1 at Planting our Pennies

Should You Go Against Fire Code When a Client Asks? at BlueCollarWorker

The Risks Of Starting A Business at Untemplater

The Secret to Selling Your House Flip at Modest Money

How to save money on currency exchange at Reach Financial Independence

Second Adulthood Rocks! at Any Shiny Thing

Can You Avoid Spending Money on School Fundraisers? at Eyes on the Dollar

We Bought a House! at Young Adult Money

 

What Riles Me Up – How to be a great radio show guest

Wednesday, October 3rd, 2012

Yesterday, I participated in a telephone seminar on “how to be a good guest on radio shows.” I have been on many radio shows to promote my books, but I’m always looking for new ways to be a better guest, or perhaps more appropriately, a greater guest.

One point that the presenter mentioned really struck me. He said that radio shows prefer guests who have a strong opinion. They want you to be riled up about something.

Not gonna take it.

The presenter asked, “Why are you angry? What are you going to do about it? What makes you angry about your profession?”

I told the presenter, “I buy fixer upper houses in Arizona and turn them into rental properties, and I write books, but I’m not really angry about anything.”

He said, “Aren’t you angry about the economy, or the fact that a lot of Canadians are buying up foreclosed houses in Arizona?”

I said, “No way.

Let me entertain you, eh?

Sure, our Canadian friends have infiltrated the entertainment industry with singers, actors, and comedians practically indistinguishable from their American counterparts, but they don’t buy fixer upper houses, which is my gig; and the recession makes houses cheaper for me to buy.

But, I was angry when I had my work hours reduced during the 2001 recession. That forced me to change my way of thinking about what constituted economic security, and got me started on my fixer-upper house business. That’s also motivated me write my first book.

Looking back, I was wrong to be riled up at the recession. What I should have been riled up at was my own blindness and misplaced faith in something as ephemeral as a steady economy. I should have been riled up that I waited for a disaster to strike before I took action.

Maybe my approach should be that I am riled up about other people who don’t learn from their own painful experience, or from mine. Not that everyone should run out and buy fixer-upper houses, but everyone should  establish economic security, or carve out their niche, apart from, or in addition to, their 9-5 job.”

He replied, after a thoughtful pause, “maybe that’s it … people who never plan for a safety net.

This is the major problem we are seeing … if people prepared, they wouldn’t be so panicked.”

So that’s it.

Now I have something to be riled up about; to express my rightful indignation over.

Preparing for my next  radio interview

Watch out!

When I hit the radio waves to promote my next book I’ll come out swinging! Grrrr!

Weekly Blog Roundup

Additional recent blog articles that I liked:

How to make a vacant property look occupied at Landlord Investor

Amazing Entrepreneurs – Interview With Diane Conklin at Louisville Gals

5 Thoughts Women Wish Men Knew and Theodore Roosevelt at Fearless Men

5 Easy Methods to Save Money without Thinking at Frugal Habits

Greek Hummus Dip Recipe at Work Save Live  (mmmm)

PoP Balance Sheet – September 2012 at Planting Our Pennies

What Happens to Kids Who Were Bullied? at Blue Collar Workman (Are you looking at me?)

GRE Tips: Acing The GRE As A Middle Aged Person Long After College at Untemplater

Tax Implications Of Running A Blog at Modest Money

Why buying the most expensive motorcycle on Ebay saved me money at Reach Financial Independence

Too Old To Have This Much Crap at Any Shiny Thing

Rental Property Series: How Much Did it Cost at Eyes on the Dollar

Extra Income During the Holidays at Making Sense of Cents

 

Coming Soon!

How to Turn Your Home into a Rental House, Instead of Selling It

How to Get Struck by Inspirational Lightning and Write Your Book

Monday, September 17th, 2012

I believe that every one who operates a fixer upper and rental house business, or anyone who is doing anything that they love, should also consider writing a book (and self-publish it, but that’s another article). Once we have paid our dues, and carved out our niche in our chosen field, we have a moral obligation to share that knowledge with others.

When you write your book, the circle is complete.

Writing blog articles is another way to share, but it doesn’t go far enough. A book is all your experience and wisdom concentrated into one simple package, like frozen orange juice. Someone can read it and be able to follow in your foot steps and do what you do.

Think Like an Artist

Where’s my coffee?

Writing a book requires the same perseverance and gusto that we bring to our chosen profession. However, it also requires something more. We need to be able to think like artists. Don’t worry, you don’t have to walk around with a tortured look on your face, grow a goatee, or sip coffee all day at French Cafés.

Thinking like as artist requires delving into the inspirational and creative natures of our personalities. In short, we have to be struck by inspirational lightning!

Author Julie Cameron, in her book “The Artist’s Way” describes a two-pronged technique designed to plug you into your inner source of creativity.

The two steps are:

1.) Writing morning pages; and,

2.) The artist’s date.

The morning pages allow you to bypass your “logic” brain, which is normally in gear, and shift into the “artist” brain. The artist’s dates are fun things that you do to refill your creative reservoir.

Morning Pages

Up a little too early?

The “morning pages” technique involves getting up an hour earlier than you normally do, and in longhand writing, write three pages using strictly stream of consciousness. Every day, just write three pages of whatever crosses your mind, and don’t stop until the three pages are full.

The purpose of writing morning pages is to get past the things that inhibit us from writing; our fears, our negativity, or our moods. It gets us past them to a place where we can hear that still, small voice. And, when we are in that place past the negativity, we can align with our creative energies.

As Cameron says “It is impossible to write morning pages for any extended period of time without coming into contact with an unexpected inner power.”

The Artist Date

An artist date is a block of time, maybe two hours a week, committed to nurturing your inner artist. It can be things like a walk in the county, a visit to an art gallery, attending a film contest, or visit a great junk store. It’s just you and your inner artist.

Seek out the mysterious.

The artist brain is drawn to sensory stimulation, like sights, sounds, smell, taste, and touch. Do what intrigues you, explore what interests you; follow your sense of the mysterious.

Your inner artist needs to be taken out, indulged, and listened to. Our creativity uses this time to confide in us and to bond with us.

Get Going!

Morning pages and the artist date are a two step process for the aspiring au thor. The Morning Pages draw from your well of inspiration, and the Artist’s Date fill the well again.

“Someday” never comes.

I know, every time you imagine writing that book of yours; you get that glazed, wistful look in your eyes, thinking “yeah, someday I’m going to do that.”

Snap out of it!

You should allow these two techniques to jump start your creative juices, like inspirational lightning, and to begin writing your book!

Julia Cameron on Morning Pages & Artist Date

_____________________

Coming Soon!

How to Turn Your Home into a Rental House, Instead of Selling It

The 5 Rules on How to Lose Money and Get Your Rental Property Trashed by Tenants

Friday, August 10th, 2012

The Arizona Network of Real Estate invited me to give a presentation to their group about my book “Fix em Up Rent em Out.”

I thought the video might be available to the general public but it looks as though that’s not going to happen.

However, so that no one feels left out, I am going to provide  a summary of the key points that I hit during the presentation. As someone who was regularly picked last for teams in gym class, I’m sensitive to people feeling left out. Casting modesty to the wind, I am also including exclusive photos of the event.

So here are:

The 5 Rules on How to Lose Money and Get Your Rental Property Trashed by Tenants (based on an article by Andrew Stefanczyk)

1. Choose the Worst Possible Area

Location will determine the kinds of tenants you will attract, and how much rent you can fairly charge.

Do you want these bearded wonders as tenants?

The best approach is to identify target areas in your city where you would like to focus your purchases. I like to focus on “transition zones” (where there is a mixture of housing types) which are good for investors because we can purchase properties at lower prices, and there is high demand to live in these areas.

2. Put in the very best of things when fixing up  an investment property

Use new and expensive sinks, doors, refrigerators, light fixtures, etc. Never shop at stores that recycle construction supplies. Spare no  expense.

Of course, the problem is that tenants will not take care of our properties as well as we would,

Habitat Store

so we end up with many broken or worn out items. The better alternative is to shop at used building supply stores, and to purchase good, inexpensive, supplies for our rental houses. One such store is the Habitat for Humanity store.

3. Make sure you have absolutely no experience in make basic repairs

Not knowing how to change electrical outlets, unclog drains & toilets, and replace broken windows will cost quite a bit down the road.

The better way is to:

A. Learn as you go, and comply with EPA regulations

B. Take construction classes at junior college

C. Learn from handymen and contractors

D. Take the Zen approach to  house repair learn to do everything yourself

5. Utilize fix-up books, investing books, & YouTube to find answers on how to make house repairs

4. Do not screen your tenants

Being as uninformed as possible about who you rent to may be the best way to lose money as a landlord. Do not ask for or check references. Do not call previous landlords and ask questions like, did they pay rent on time? How was the condition of the house or apartment when they left? Did they ever disturb neighbors with loud music or shouting matches? How often would you have to make special trips for repairs? Being as uninformed as possible about whom you rent to will make a huge difference and will increase the chances that you will get tenants that will trash your property and refuse to pay rent.

However, the better way is to:

A. Use a checklist for tenants. Decide what kind of tenant that you want ahead of time.

B. Look at their paycheck to verify income.

C. Check county records to see what illegal activities they’ve been up to.

D. Know the Fair Housing Act. Never select tenants based strictly on “race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status or handicap (disability).”

E. To find new tenants, use Craiglist, put up arrow signs, and host an “open house.”

5. Make sure you have not learned about your rights as a landlord

Be completely unfamiliar with the eviction process to guarantee long, drawn out disputes with tenants. Don’t keep up to date financial records or copies of correspondence with tenants. Most states provide online information about tenant and landlord rights so avoid reading these.

The better way is:

A. Get an authoritative legal guide like  “The Arizona Landlord Deskbook” by Carlton Cassler.

B.  Copy forms and letters from your legal book to send to tenants.

C. Comply with legal ways to deal with bad tenants.

D. Use memos to communicate with tenants so you have a record of correspondence.

E. Use a month to month lease instead of long-term lease to more easily scrape off bad tenants like barnacles.

F. Reward tenants for paying on time by discounting their rent $25.  

G. Send good tenants Target  gift cards for Xmas.

In Conclusion

Share Your Knowledge

“Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.”

–Albert Schweitzer

Carve Out Your Niche Update

My award-winning book on self-publishing, Carve Out Your Niche, is now available in Kindle format.

The Midwest Book Review called Carve Out Your Niche,

“Invaluable for anyone seeking to successfully write, publish, and market their own work.”

 Related Posts

Remove that Garbarge Disposal Now!

Property Inspection and Due Diligence

Saturday, January 28th, 2012

Although I used my handyman friend to inspect the first fixer upper house that I bought, in later houses I hired a professional property inspector to go through the house and to provide me with a complete inspection report.

The Value of the Inspector’s Report

The inspector’s report can be used to help you negotiate a lower price on the house if they uncover anything in the house that is in need of repair. Hiring a qualified property inspector is a good way to make sure that you are really getting what you pay for in a house.

Due Diligence Allows You to Correct Deficiencies

Once you have made an offer on a house and it had been accepted by the seller, the “due diligence” period begins and you have until the close of escrow (or completion of the sale) to check out the physical and financial condition of the property. If you discover that the property has problems, but you think the deal is still worth pursuing, the seller may be willing to correct any deficiencies, or give you money to complete the necessary work yourself.

Two Key Components of Due Diligence

There are two key components of due diligence process:

1. Review of books and records
In my case, there are usually no records to review. Most of the houses that I buy have been fixer-uppers repossessed by a bank, the Veterans Administration or HUD, and the owner is long gone.

2. The physical inspection
When there is no owner present this makes the physical inspection all the more important.

The due diligence period is your last opportunity to either:

1.) complete the transaction, or

2.) cancel the escrow, have your money returned, and look for another property.

“Carve Out Your Niche” TV Interview Monday

“Carve Out Your Niche” Wins USA Book Award

Friday, November 11th, 2011

My new book “Carve Out Your Niche” was an award winning finalist in the 2011 National Best Books Awards.

Packed with specifics on not only writing a book, but also the possibility 
and practicality of self-publishing and marketing what you’ve written. 
“Carve Out Your Niche” will prove to be invaluable for anyone seeking 
to successfully write, publish, and market their own work. — Midwest Book Review

New Book – Carve Out Your Niche – Coming Soon

Friday, August 12th, 2011

What happens after you have been successfully operating your fixer-upper house business for several years, and you have become a master of your own minor universe?

At that point, it’s time to move on to the next phase of your career. You need to write a book about your experiences and share your hard-earned wisdom with others.

Following closely on the heels of writing your book, you will need to find ways to reach the people that will benefit from your book, and you must (gasp! choke!) promote your book.

This is where my new book, Carve Out Your Niche: How to Live Your Passion, Write Your Book, & Help Others to Change Their World, comes to your rescue.

I have already blazed a path for you to follow. Just follow the steps laid out in my book and you too will be able to:

1. Find your niche, or mission in life, if you haven’t already;

2. Lean to write and self-publish your book;

3. Promote your message through an assortment of proven techniques, including videos, radio interviews, and that ravenous monster called “the internet.”

Carve Out Your Niche will soon be available at Amazon.com and other internet book stores.

However, if you can’t wait and would like a preview of my book, you can fill in the form on my Carve Out Your Niche website and receive a free download of the Introductory Chapter.

Joe Sabah, author of How to Get on Radio Talk Shows all Across America, has reviewed my book and commented,

Carve Out Your Niche is a true pleasure to read. Follow Sprouse’s steps and you will succeed!

 Related Posts

Remove that Garbarge Disposal Now!

How to Publish a Book on Real Estate Investing, Part 2

Saturday, October 6th, 2007

As I mentioned in part I of this topic, it was Aaron Shepard’s book, “Aiming at Amazon,” thatpushed me over the top. At that point, I decided I was going to finish my book, Fix em Up Rent em Out, and publish it, no matter what it took. Everything else was going to be on hold until I finished the book. I worked almost every night for about 4 weeks, on about 2-3 hours of sleep. I started to resemble a zombie from “The Night of the Living Dead,” but I finished the book.

Formatting the book, and making it look like a professional work, required learning another area of expertise. Books like “Perfect Pages” by Shepard and Microsoft Word Manuals were my Bibles. Then, I had to find an copy editor, and give him 6-8 weeks to do his job. And, I located someone to do a cover.

Finally, submitting the files for printing at Lightning Source proved to be another hurtle for me. It took me several tries to submit it the way they needed it for printing. Like anything, the first time you do it irs hard. The second time will be a piece of cake.

Starting a publishing company was another aspect of the process that took time. Not difficult, but you must follow exact procedures and do a lot of running around. I plowed ahead by getting the legal documents to file with the state, setting up bank accounts and purchasing ISBN numbers.

I say this just to show you what you can expect. I think writing a book about your experiences in real estate is a natural next step for someone who has paid their dues and learned the ropes. Who better to describe the hard lessons you have learned than you?

I found that just the exercise of putting your thoughts and experiences on paper, even if you never sell a book, is a worthwhile experience. Its empowering. It broadens your horizons. It makes you draw on sources of power and inspiration that you may not have known that you had.

Remember, an expert is just a regular person who has written a book!

UPDATE

For more information on self publishing, check out my book Carve Out Your     Niche.

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