Someone once said, “You don’t have to write something that is particularly good, just something people will buy to read.”

I’ve often given that advice to those who email me asking how to get started writing. It is excellent advice. However, one thing that I have learned is that there is a consequence to following this advice. If people do not like what you’ve written, and they’ve shelled out money for it, they feel entitled to tell you off, big time. Upon occasion, they even go to the extent of threatening you physically.

There was this woman from Albany, New York, who actually wrote a “reader’s review” (gross misnomer) on Amazon.com. She threatened to come to where I live in Mexico and “slap me.” See what you have to look forward to as a writer?

Although it would be great to write something good that earns you a literary award as well as being something people buy, this is rarely the case. The buying part of writing far outweighs the fame when you are trying to pay the rent and buy food with the income you earn from your scribbling.

Saleable writing today is more often a matter of promotion than good writing. You should try to do both. You should write well and sell what you write. However, the selling part is more often the pragmatic choice. There are a lot of writers who certainly are not literary geniuses but they consistently write what their readers want. Those are the ones who make money.

Information is very valuable and people will pay dearly for it. If you want to eat, pay the rent, buy clothes for the kids, correctly promoting that print, eBook, or report makes the difference between success and failure.

I had to learn this lesson quickly when we wrote and published our first book. When you are a “nobody” in the publishing world, you often have to settle with small, independent publishers who have absolutely no promotional budget for your book. Basically, they get it into the market. That’s all. If you want people to buy your book, so you can get that new pair of pants, you have to be the one to promote it.

Quickly, you have to figure the ins and outs of book promotion. It is riding on your shoulders and no one else’s. If you do not shamelessly promote yourself, trust me, no one else will do it for you.

The immediate painful reality is that you will never, as a sole individual, have access to the distribution channels that big name publishers have. So, unless you are wealthy, you have to choose one or two of the venues you can realistically afford to tackle and go like gangbusters.

If you can afford it, you could hire a private publicity firm to do what a big name publisher would do. But, because few of us can afford to do this, we have to think creatively.

Because I write non-fiction, I was able to find scores of tight-niche websites that were thematically related to my book. I wrote a book on relocating to Mexico as an American expatriate. Can you even begin to imagine the websites out there related to my book? It is a goldmine. Consequently, with small text ads, I have been doing rather well in sales on Amazon.com and am consistently in the top ten of my book’s genre.

I also found related sites where I could post a thumbnail picture of our book’s cover, a description, and a link back to Amazon.com. These cost very little money. One lady posted my ad in exchange for ebook versions of two of my books. So, you can barter for advertising if you have something of value to offer.

You can offer to write an article or two for someone struggling to find content for his fledging website. You must insist you will write the article for FREE if the website owner will post a link back to your book.

You can also tell them, as an incentive for a permanent link, that they can earn a commission on sales of your book if they sign upand it’s freewith Amazon.com’s Associate Program. I am on many thematically related websites because I suggested this. The website owner gets a commission; you get free advertising, and everyone wins.

Something that really is grossly underestimated is writing free articles with a bio or “resource box” at the end of the article with your book’s info in it. I write for FREE for several online magazines that post my books, their website links, and my bio. They, in turn, get my content. I get free advertising and free exposure.

I am convinced that most, if not all, of our book sales come from doing this little-known method of book promotion.

Press releases, targeted ads, link exchanges, writing FREE articles in exchange for posting your book at the end of the article, are all ways to promote your book when all you have is yourself as your publicity agent.

Go for it like gangbusters as though your life depends on it.

And, it just might!

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Lately the image of the “Mona Lisa” as occupied a preponderant position in the news around the world thanks to the recently released movie based on Dan Brown’s novel. But there is a small town in Mexico’s province where the religious feelings of its people manifested in a strange cult that would also be excellent material for a controversial novel.

Nequeteje is a small town situated in the Mexican state of Hidalgo in the central region of the country not too far from Mexico City. It has a population of around 3000 people, most of them Otomi indians, that make a living mostly from agriculture and some small business financed by the money sent back by immigrants in the U.S to their families.

For 50 years, believe it or not, the cult to Leonardo’s “Monalisa” was widespread among these people, to the point of having the image of this world famous painting placed in the main altar of the town’s church sharing space with the traditional saints of the Catholic faith. They even used to take the image of “Monalisa” in religious processions to other nearby towns and they attributed many miracles to the new “saint”.

According to the story, “Mona Lisa” arrived in town in the 1940’s when a group of foreign researchers spent some time in town and somehow they forgot to take the reproduction with them. Some one in Nequeteje found it and suddenly “Monalisa” became a new saint to venerate in town.

It has to be said the the Catholic Church never approved the cult but they tolerated the worship of “Mona Lisa” for many years afraid of the turmoil they could provoke if they suddenly invalidated the faith and veneration of Nequeteje’s Virgin by its people.

It was until some 10 years ago that a brave priest removed the image from altar arguing that it needed some fixing, at the beginning people was reluctant to let their highly venerated image of the “Gioconda” leave but the priest kept arguing about the need of the fix and finally he took it with him. To these days he has never returned the image to its altar, but people has never forgot her and still venerates the “Virgen de Nequeteje”.

If you are thinking about retiring in Mexico or just want to learn more about all the great things you can find in this beautiful country, you should visit this great resource:

=> http://travel-mexico-review.blogspot.com

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A lot of people write me asking how to become a writer. There is an easy answer to that question. It is so simple that I used to stumble over the simplicity of it.

Writers read. Writers write.

My advice I routinely give is that over which I used to puzzle. But, do not miss the point here. If you want to learn to write then read everything in the genre which appeals to you. Read, read, and then re-read the great ones in your field.

I write primarily travel related pieces. The writer that I chose as my mentor is the travel writer, Bill Bryson. I have read and re-read everything that this man has ever written. And, I will read everything he continues to produce in the future. I not only enjoy his writing but apparently a great many people do too. He is a successful travel writer and that is why I read what he puts on paper.

I was actually a voice performance major at the University. I will never forget what my voice coach told me. He said that singing is 90% imitation and 10% original creativity– at first.

What he meant is that when you are just starting out, find the masters and imitate what you hear in their voices.

I believe this to be true in all the arts. When you are a beginner, a hack, find those who are the best and imitate them. Do not copy them exactly, but seek to find out what they do that is great in their field and seek to do the same. Eventually that 10% originality will become 100% you.

Also, writers write.

I was told to write 1000 words of publishable material per day. I mean write something that is worth publishing each day and do no less than 1000 words. You may think this a lot. It isn’t. But to practice tight writing pick some subject and write 1000 words a day. Do no more and no less. This will teach you to write something worthwhile daily and will teach you write tightly.

I deal with stress by finding the things in my day that flip me out and writing 1000 words about it. I am convinced that every single person who aspires to write can find loads of stuff in their days to do this exercise.

This exercise prepared me for writing 600 word op-ed pieces. If you can limit yourself to 1000 words on some subject you can start shaving it down to an op-ed size column.

Lastly, I have come across a small eBook that is worth taking a look at on travel writing. It is in the resource section below named, BECOME A TRAVEL WRITER.

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Guanajuato, M

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