Those of us who write books love books. Am I right? When someone asks you what book is on your nightstand do you try to not laugh because it’s more a question of how many stacks you are trying to balance?

But for many people, the idea of reading a book is great effort. They have to be really “into” the book to finish it (not like myself who is determined to finish it regardless). Most people read a chapter or two and if it’s not working for them, they are done.

Whether you are having a table at the back of the room while speaking, doing a book signing, or trying to get stores to carry your book up on their counter, good display items can make the difference between a “yes” and a “no.” Both the store owner’s response and also the buyer.

We’ve all been to the typical office supply stores and have seen the acrylic stands where you stick a brochure in. But did you know there are hundreds of possibilities for snazzier displays? One of my favorite companies I use is Beemak Plastics, Inc. at www.bemake.com .I don’t make any money from telling you their name, I just like them. As you look through their web site or flip through the paper catalog, it wil start the brainstorming process.

I recently talked to a friend who was having an article published in a well-known, highly competitive magazine. She hasn’t yet taken the jump to have a web presence. I tend to forget that I spend thousands of hours online, receive hundreds of newsletters each month and answer over 1000 emails a month. I don’t realize that the words “blog,” “SEO,” “keywords,” “meta tags,” and even “book marketing” are not terms most people go to bed thinking about. Or get up at 2 a.m. when you can’t sleep and read articles from an online business school giving advice on internet article marketing.

Plagiarism – How to Find Out if Someone is Plagiarizing Your Work
By Robert Nahas

With the infiltration of Internet venues that harbor and propagate pseudo professional and fraudulent “writers” – even encouraging it by “looking the other way” – there has been a significant rise in plagiarism of the protected works of professional writers. Though hard numbers have not yet been established, this writer, after a great deal of research, estimates that it has risen by as much as 42 percent over the past five years.

I blog for my ministry, Rest Ministries; it’s more of a way of having a casual voice with my audience. As the ministry has grown, I’ve become more of someone in the background– marketing, writing books, promotions, etc. and so I use my blog to still stay in touch with people.

So I haven’t really looked at my statistics. I am not a “hot blogger” and though it would be nice to get some fabulous keyword and jump to #1 on Google (like I’ve been taught in my formal internet marketing seminars) I’m not holding my breath.