Category Archives: 5 Questions

Template or Formula for a Successful Fiction Book

Hello Folks, today I wanted to answer one of the most common questions I get from book writers, and their question is this or some variant of it: “Hi, is there any template or formula for a successful fiction book?”

Well, there is no such template or formula. While there isn’t a one-size-fits-all formula for a successful fiction book, many successful novels follow certain structural templates and storytelling techniques that resonate with readers. Below is a general template (guideline) that can guide you in crafting a compelling fiction story:

1. Concept and Theme

  • Concept: Start with a unique, engaging idea that will captivate readers. This could be a “what if” scenario, an unusual character, or an intriguing setting.
  • Theme: Decide on the central theme or message of your story. This could be love, power, identity, redemption, etc.

2. Character Development

  • Protagonist: Create a relatable main character with clear goals, strengths, and flaws. The protagonist should undergo significant growth or change throughout the story.
  • Antagonist: Introduce an antagonist or obstacle that challenges the protagonist, providing conflict and tension.
  • Supporting Characters: Develop well-rounded secondary characters that serve to complement, challenge, or support the protagonist.

Continue reading

Five Pillars of Marketing Success

Does the following give a pretty good picture of your current marketing activity?

You have a website but you’re not really satisfied with it. You go to networking events once in awhile. If someone asks you to give a talk, you’re happy to do it. You post on Facebook and/or LinkedIn semi-regularly. When you find the time, you send an article to those on your relatively small email list. You occasionally set up meetings with colleagues to explore opportunities.

Now there’s nothing wrong with any of those marketing activities. And usually, they will result in landing some new clients. But this is not the approach that works to get a steady, predictable stream of new clients.

Please don’t tune me out here, thinking, “Well, I really can’t do more than this. I’m already stretched thin. If you give me too much to do I’ll get overwhelmed.”

I agree. It’s not that you need to do more marketing, it’s that you need to shift your marketing paradigm from one of “Randomness” to one that is “Focused.” Continue reading

How to Get Better at Time Management?

The greatest time stealer between the phone, the visitor, the prolonged break, the e-mail and the chit-chat is the never ending “do you have a minute?” approach. Whenever possible say no. Allow a time each day that is dedicated to projected time lost. Find out why you are wasting time and have a realistic plan not to fall into the same pattern. When they start on a work, they rarely stop until it is finished, doing the most difficult things first thing in the morning.

Phone calls and mails are done in one lump of time. Breaks and easier jobs are usually done on times that they know they are least effective. The main idea is to plan time spent for each job section and protect the plan. The changes in real time management is fast as the application of real time statistics and information on international commerce that needs to be processed for more accurate decisions are constantly shifting.

What are the Benefits of Time Management? Aside from the fulfillment that one derives out of being more efficient and productive the effective practice of time management allows the following benefits: A sense of achievement in the workplace, man’s worth to the company is measured against the amount of output that is contributed and the influence that it creates. Let us say here (just for illustration) that lecture time is 25 hours. What remains is about 60 hours. Here’s the sweet part. Once you take away the time to review and do the assignments in each lesson, becomes your free time. If you use your time well during class, you would not be reviewing as much and those are hours added to your personal time.

Time Management Lessons

It is often ironic that individuals who focus on the end results and not in being busy ends up in doing much and still have time enough for themselves. Today, time management courses have been developed that encompasses practically all the hours in our daily affairs. All time management courses differ on the titles and settings but are basically designed the same.

Time management courses are meant to keep us functioning effectively and cope with the expectations of the present and our expectations of ourselves. It analyses your to do list and offers prioritization of work that keeps the user constantly on track of tasks at hand and those that needs doing next. Time management software provides easy networking without the need for servers and allows the user to share data with those that are on the same network. – At the end of the day, have a to do list for the following morning and stick to it. – Use time management tolls. Different softwars are available on the net.

Attend time management programs. If your company does not sponsor these, spend a little, you will gain more. It is a misnomer to say that there is not enough time.

Most businessmen will tell you that no matter how well or bad the plan was in starting out, there usually is an initial success followed immediately by problems. This is what they call the beginners luck. When the problems begin to seem to be overwhelming, that is the point where most quit. This is also similar to time management that is at work.

Time Management Techniques for Better Time Utilization Since time is the only real resource that one has, it has often been said that people who have managed this resource are also usually good at managing other things. The time management techniques that they have applied to themselves are also the parameters that they apply in other modes of their behavior.