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I've reviewed a number of eBooks recently, and none of them excited me, but this one definitely did. If you've ever had the slightest desire to write a 'How To' book, I urge you to read 'Profit From The Author Inside You'.

It's worth pointing out right at the start that Roger Parker does know what he's talking about - he has written 24 books that have been translated into 37 languages and there are currently over 1.6 million copies of his books in print.

This book assumes that you offer some kind of professional service. Roger Parker argues that writing a 'How To' book is not an end in itself, but a means of positioning yourself as one of the leading experts in your field. As Roger Parker shows, books possess "magical" powers - writing a book opens the doors to speaking engagements, spinoff books, newsletters, columns, and hefty consulting fees.

I once knew a human resources expert in Australia and he was very good at what he did. But he used to complain bitterly that there were people with half his expertise earning 20 times the amount he was. Why? Because they had written a book!

If you've always thought of writing as a painful process that requires a huge creative effort, you may be in for a pleasant shock.

Roger Parker shows that most successful (i.e. top-selling) 'How To' books are based on a formula - they are written in a 'paint by numbers' fashion.

The most exciting part of this book for me is a technique that Roger Parker calls 'Painless Writing'.

He urges you to throw out of the window two very common (and unsuccessful) approaches to writing a book: Marathon Writing ("Getting away from it all" and dropping all other activities while you work on your book) and Linear Writing (trying to write your book from first to last chapter in an ordered sequence).

Instead, he offers three approaches that will change the way you write and make it much easier and much more fun:

1. Molecular writing - this is a way of 'chunking down' to the level of bite-sized pieces of information: "harvesting individual ideas, or nuggets of information, which you carefully organize and prioritize before beginning writing".

2. Measurable progress writing - "committing to write a little each day, building time into your daily schedule (as opposed to escaping to a cabin in the woods)".

3. Non-sequential writing - "jumping into your project wherever you're comfortable, starting with the easiest ideas, and building your confidence point by point, idea by idea, wherever they appear in your book".

Another part of this book that is essential reading if you're thinking of writing a book is Chapter Four - '10 Characteristics of Successful Titles'. Did you know that at least half of your book's success will be determined by the title you choose?

Roger Parker shows you 10 key concepts that make the difference between a title that sells well and one that flops. (Here's a hint: the following titles all use these 10 key concepts: Chicken Soup For The Soul; Rich Dad, Poor Dad; The Millionaire Next Door; The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People; Think and Grow Rich; How to Win Friends and Influence People).

The book also contains 4 work sheets (pages 99 to 120) that guide you through the writing of your book.

'Profit From The Author Inside You' set of explosions in my head on virtually every page. In fact, it fired me up so much that I'm now using Roger Parker's techniques to write a book that I've been trying to write for over 5 years. What more can I say?

You can get your copy of 'Profit From The Author Inside You' at: http://www.freezineweb.com/cgi-bin/pftaiy.cgi It has a 30 day money back guarantee, so you really can't go wrong.

(c) 2002 by Michael Southon