No matter what your profession, being a better (and published) writer will increase your success. Here are some books that you will find useful to consider for your library of books about writing and publishing.

2010 Writer’s Market (Paperback).

Holy moly. This book is a treasure trove of information for anyone who is a writer. Just click on the link and once you get to the Amazon page, you’ll see several of this book’s brothers and sisters (including an on-line version), too. Note: It’s not necessary to purchase the Writer’s Market book every year, but if you intend to write and get your ideas out there in any number of different formats, then you need to buy one every couple of years, at least. You can also find this book at essentially every public library. Check it out!

Kremer, John. 1001 Ways to Market Your Books (for authors and publishers; paperback), 6th edition.

Are you kidding me? 1001 ways…. And it’s true. It’s quite the hefty book (704 pages) and it’s stunning the number of different ideas that are included. Out of that number, any one of us can surely find at least…10 ideas we can use. Or maybe even 100…

Manser, Martin H. The Facts on File Guide to Good Writing.

This book has chapters on preparing to write, revising, grammar, word usage, punctuation, etc. It’s a handy reference tool.

Winget, Larry. How to Write a Book One Page at a Time.

This book is apparently no longer in print, but maybe you can find a copy somewhere. I’ve included the link to Amazon, although you can only buy it from used booksellers. It is worth worth hunting for a copy.

McCutcheon, Marc. Damn! Why Didn’t I Write That? How Ordinary People Are Raking in $100,000 or More Writing Niche Books and How You Can, Too.

If you’ve ever had the experience of seeing a book and thinking, ‘Hmmm…I could have written this,” then you will want to read this book.

Sellers, Heather. Chapter After Chapter: Discover the Dedication and Focus You Need to Write the Book of Your Dreams.

This is a great book, especially if you are considering writing a novel. HOWEVER, and it’s a big however, I recommend it regardless. I am certainly not writing a novel and I have learned a great deal from reading this book.

Sellers, Heather. Page After Page: Discover the Confidence and Passion You Need to Start Writing and Keep Writing (No Matter What).

It’s hard to say which book in this list I recommend the most highly, but this is one of them. When I bought this book, I read a little bit of it each night before I went to sleep. I find it a scrumptious book. Both of these two books (Page After Page and Chapter After Chapter) are printed on great paper and in such an intriguing way. But it’s the content that will really be helpful to you (and has been to me).

Check out at least one of these books and see what you will learn that will keep propelling you toward more success in your writing and publishing.

Q. Do you have a recommendation for an online meeting scheduler you like?

Meggin’s Answer:

I really like www.TimeTrade.com – I’ve just started my second year using that and I like it.  The more coaching clients I have, the better I like it!  It saves the back and forth jillions of emails to get things scheduled.  There’s a yearly fee but I think it’s something like $29…so a bargain.

For meetings, I have been using www.Tungle.com and I like that because you can get a bunch of people scheduled.  It’s working well for various MasterMind coaching groups or other meetings I’m trying to schedule.

Hope that helps!

The costs to you are the ones I want to focus on, even though there are larger costs to organizations, as well. If you’re underwhelmed because you’re consistently around people who are uncommitted, uninspired, and unworthy of your commitment, your inspiration, and your talents, one or more of these may happen:

• Cynicism creeps in until it’s your primary mindset.
• Sarcasm becomes your way of speaking.
• Others’ apathy seeps into your core until it’s become your core.
• Relationships with positive people fade away.
• Disillusionment with your work and living situation settles in…apparently for the long term.

Do any of these sound appealing? I don’t think so.

A Gentle Suggestion

If you have been feeling underwhelmed, take a look at the people with whom you interact on a regular basis. It might be your co-workers, your boss(es), your clients, your students, your external suppliers, your family, your friends, or anyone else that you frequently spend time around. Are you feeling drained after being with them?

If it’s just one or two people and/or if it’s on an infrequent basis, then that’s no big deal. If, however, the majority of the people you’re around the majority of the time are uninspired, uncommitted, and undeserving of your talents, then you’re going to have to make some changes or the underwhelm won’t go away.

Start recognizing it for what it is…that’s the first step – and an essential one.

And if ‘underwhelm’ is just part of what seems to be plaguing you – and you would like to be ‘just whelmed,’ then you’re invited to join others (worldwide) who receive Meggin’s weekly emails (free!) at **I Want to Be Just Whelmed (http://www.JustWhelmed.com).

Quote to Consider (and an action to take):

“You’ve got a lot of choices. If getting out of bed in the morning is a chore and you’re not smiling on a regular basis, try another choice.” ~Steven D. Woodhull

For the next 7 days, just observe how you feel when you get up in the morning.

If it’s a chore on the days you are “going to work” but not on the other days, then that’s something to notice.

If it’s NOT a chore on the days you’re going to work, but it is on the others, then that’s something to notice, too.

See if your face is comfortable going into a smile…and reflect on the last time someone said to you, “You are always smiling.” If you can’t remember the last time someone said that, then see if you can determine why.

See if you notice any patterns as you consciously observe your emotions and behaviors. Do you see any patterns, and in particular, do you notice a pattern that is more in your professional life or your personal life?

Once you have done your self-observations and considered the ideas in this article, then you may be able to identify ‘so what do I do?’ for yourself.  Or you may be looking for other resources to move away from ‘underwhelm’ to being ‘just whelmed.’

One of the free resources for moving toward being ‘just whelmed’ on a consistent basis is being part of the group (worldwide) who receive Meggin’s weekly emails (free!) at:

**I Want to Be Just Whelmed (http://www.JustWhelmed.com)

If you would prefer quick, short weekly tips, then the following site is another place to find suggestions and other tools to support you in your quest for peaceful productivity:

**Top Ten Productivity Tips (http://www.TopTenProductivityTips.com)

If you think you are only in “overwhelm” but not “underwhelm,” please don’t ignore this article.  Believe it or not, you may be in “underwhelm” part of the time or you certainly may know some others who are in “underwhelm” and they could use this information.

In thinking through the reasons why someone becomes (and stays) ‘underwhelmed’, I’ve identified the following three:

• Work (or a life) that doesn’t engage your talents, education, or passions.  Day in and day out, do you feel like you’re an “untapped resource?”  Well, that takes its toll.  

• Work (or a life) that involves people who are uncommitted, uninspired, and unworthy of your attention and talents.  Tell the truth…is the majority of your time spent working with and around people who ‘could care less,’ ‘have retired but still come to work,’ ‘are negative Nellies (or Neds),’ and just generally drain the energy and life right out of you?  

• Work (or a life) where you rarely get a chance to work on anything of importance.  Are you questioning–on a regular basis–why you’re even doing what you do?  Does it seem as if it doesn’t really matter to anyone, particularly in the ‘big scheme of things’? Do you wonder if you’re making a contribution?

If you are currently feeling underwhelmed, see if the feelings can be identified and put into one or more of the 3 categories listed above.  Think about it…right now, which of these is most problematic for you (if any of these are)?  And remember, it may be problematic for you if there are people around you who are underwhelmed.

In our next blog post we will talk about things you need to consider and observations you need to make.

And remember…

“It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” ~Joanne Kathleen Rowling

I am still mulling over Audio Acrobat vs. GoToWebinar. Due to limited resources I prefer not to buy both. It seems to me that GoToWebinar does everything Audio Acrobat does, plus it allows you to record the desktop. Why Audio Acrobat  over GoToWebinar?

For me, the issue with Audio Acrobat  is that it’s cheap and easy….GotoWebinar/GotoMeeting is more expensive – and yes, it has lots of extra things it does, like record the desktop, but for just pure teleseminars, it seems the extra expense wouldn’t be worth it…And another piece is that they don’t ‘house’ or ‘store’ your recordings whereas Audio Acrobat  does. So when I do a webinar with GotoWebinar, I need to save it to my computer and then I have to either send it out via YouSendIt or I can put it up on my site (and then it’s housed on my host’s server).

Not sure if I’m making sense on this…But the main thing I would say is this, What do you really plan to do? If you think you’ll be doing a bunch of webinars, then go with GoToWebinar, but if you think you’ll be focusing mostly on teleseminars, then I’d start with Audio Acrobat . No need to buy more than you need.

Here’s a definition: 

Information marketing is getting your knowledge, expertise, and experience ‘out there’ where others can find it and benefit from it.  (Meggin McIntosh)

Anyone reading this blog knows a great deal, has expertise in one or more areas, and has experienced a fair amount of life (I’m assuming I don’t have any 6 or 16-year old readers).  I believe you want to recognize the knowledge, expertise, and experience you have – and then find ways of making it accessible to others.

You can do this in a multitude of ways including:

1. books
2. articles (check out 30 Articles in Just 30 Days)
3. teleseminars (check out Countdown to a Teleseminar)
4. audio programs (e.g., www.HowtoRecordAudio.com)
5. face-to-face classes
6. consulting
7. coaching
8. blogging
9. special reports
10. and at least another 30 possibilities…

For a great book to help you learn more about information marketing, I recommend Start Your Own Information Marketing Business:  Your Step-by-Step Guide to Success.  I just re-read it this past weekend and found MANY ideas that I want to put into practice.

I just ordered a 6-pack of his new book – and downloaded some of his latest interviews (all available on the site for free). 

Take a peek.  Lots of learning and inspiration.

Meggin