Sunday 29 November 2015

Step 5 in How to Write a Best Selling Novel

Ever thought of how to write a first draft quickly?  First tip I picked up is the importance of writing an outline in 10 minute bursts. Find out when you will be ready to fill in the frills, details, imagery etc

Did you know there are beat in a novel? I know about beats of the drum, beats in music how does it fit into novel writing? You'll have to listen to the short video with Dianne O'Connel to find out.

Very thought provoking. Are you still ready to write a novel, considering writing a novel, wanting to learn more?


Thursday 26 November 2015

Book Review of Relationships by R.A. Kahn


We are delighted to share two more book reviews posted onto Amazon of the teenage novel "Relationships" by R.A. Kahn. Since these reviews are short, we decided to share them here together. 

"This is a truly worthwhile read. A book that is very relate able and easy to read . I was impressed" (Mandy Ross)
 
"A very good book for young readers. As a parent and grandparent, I would recommend this book to any teen. The story is excellent, while putting across the message of the importance of relationships, without preaching." (Henry Tobias)

Are you looking for a novel suitable for teenagers especially for girls? Why not visit Amazon and purchase a copy of Relationships by our author R.A. Kahn. Others have enjoyed it and found it worthwhile and even impressive. How about purchasing a copy and letting us know your thoughts. 
If you have already read the book, we'd love to hear from you too. 

Have a blessed day or evening and happy reading!

Monday 23 November 2015

Part Four in Learning to Write a Best Selling Novel

The next video in the series by Dianne O'Connel has some very valuable information. Did you realize so much work and preparation goes into planning a novel before even writing it? 

Get out your paper or cards or post-it notes, you are going to need them when planning the scenes between the story outlines thus far.



In addition to learning how to write a best selling novel, I hope you are gaining appreciation for the books you read. A lot of work goes into enabling you to have that gripping story or exciting adventure.

Have a blessed day. If you are working on writing a novel or preparing or considering doing so, we'd love to hear how you are progressing. Have you found the video series beneficial? Do you have further questions.

Happy writing!

Wednesday 18 November 2015

Step 3 to Writing a Best Selling Novel

Everything requires planning and writing a book is no different. In this blog post we share the third step in Dianne O'Connel's series of writing a best selling novel. This video talks about developing the structure to your story, which means planning what the story outline and content will include.

Just like a building can not be effectively built without a floor plan and you can get lost on a journey without a map, so too, your novel will require careful preparation.

Find out how to prepare and plan in the next in the five part series.


Sunday 15 November 2015

Step Two in How to Write a Bestselling Novel

We decided to share some videos to help those of you would would like to write a book or novel and do not know where to begin. The series we are currently sharing is by Dianne O'Connel on how to write a bestselling novel. 

The previous video explored developing your vision. It's not quite so easy. Have you ever sat down and thought of a topic of idea and then thought, "what will the book include?"  What do you do to help you to formulate your vision? If you have some useful ideas, please share them in the comments section below.

In the meantime, we move on to the next section on writing a bestselling novel. For Dianne, this will be developing your characters. She has some excellent insight to share.


Have you decided on a novel to write? Are you getting started? 
If you are still deciding, come back for the next installment to gain a structure to help you to be successful.

Happy writing.
wer

Thursday 12 November 2015

How to Write a Bestselling Novel


Have you thought of writing a book? How about writing a novel? If this is a goal of yours and you would like a little help or some ideas as to how to get started, there are many resources available on the internet to help you. 

Years ago, writing a book and becoming a well known published author might have been something for the experts such as Shakespeare,  Chauser, Ernest Hemmingway, C.S. Lewis to name but a few. Today, being a writer and published author is a goal that is attainable to many. 

We decided to begin to provide tips and to share useful videos or resources to help you to gain ideas as to how to go about writing a novel. To get started, here is the first of a series by Dianne O'Connel on how to write a best selling novel. 



We hope you have enjoyed the video. Do you have any questions? Do you have thoughts you would like to share, concerns, goals or perhaps how to set your goals? You are welcome to post a comment at the end of this blog post or contact us and we will do our best to respond to your email or write a post that addresses your need.

Happy writing.


Sunday 7 June 2015

Book Review of The Magic Tree by Michal Y Noah


The story of "The Magic Tree" by Michal Y. Noah, PhD  is written in the form of a poem, providing a gentle manner for children to receive some powerful life lessons. Illustrated with beautiful, gentle, happy artwork helps to make the message of the story come alive.

Through the story, children learn that everyone has their own unique role and contribution to offer the world. Everyone is important, even though we are all different. Through our daily life, days turn into nights, seasons come and go and with the passage of time, the important people and friends in our lives come and go too.

This special little book enables children to learn to appreciate nature, friends and seasons. Children learn that by understanding what we have to contribute they develop a healthy self-esteem and tools to withstand the storms or the difficulties in life.

A powerful message presented in a beautiful format. This book is of benefit for children to read on their own or for parents, teachers and therapists to use as a platform to help children to develop these skills in their own lives too.

Recommended by Shoshanah Shear, 
occupational therapist and co-author of "Tuvia Finds His Freedom"

Monday 18 May 2015

New Review on Amazon and Goodreads


It is so special when someone agrees that our author R.A. Kahn is a very talented author. 

I submitted the book "Relationships" to someone who does book reviews and just received an email. She has kindly put a review onto both Amazon and Goodreads. In the email she ended off:
"I hope your mother continues to write, she certainly has an amazing gift for it." I hope so too, she certainly does have an amazing gift for writing and hence is my favourite author.

So without further ado, here is her new review for the book "Relationships":

 " This book was so well written.  I was so impressed by the author's ability to give it such an authentic teenage voice.  Teens nowadays are exposed to so much sex and violence, this is refreshing option which still deals with real issues but allows them to see there are responsible teenagers and close supportive families do actually still exist.  While reading I often thought, "I wish I had a good head on my shoulders like Bella did when I was her age."  Griff was an amazing counter to her character also.  That's the kind of guy young girls should be surrounding themselves with.  All the twists and turns in this book felt very authentic and believable.  It felt effortless to just sink into this story.   I would recommend this book to all teenagers and anyone else looking for an energizing perspective on relationships."

Take a look on Amazon.com and you will find it along with two other reviews.

Let your friends know. If you prefer a site that does not charge shipping, the book is also available on Book Depository.  


Friday 8 May 2015

The Word is Getting Out





Very excited to discover that both "Grandma's Hat" and "Relationships" are on Goodreads.com

Have you read any of the books written by Rosemary Kahn / R.A. Kahn? If you have, please write a review either on Amazon or on Goodreads.com
Or post a comment at the bottom of this post.

Very much looking forward to seeing more of her books in print.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Thursday 7 May 2015

Reading Matters - Part 5 of the BBC Series

We have been sharing the BBC series on Reading Matters. In this next part of the 6 part series, we learn a little about the MEG (electroencephalography) and how it is possible to determine the parts of the brain involved in hearing or reading words.

It is quite fascinating as to how the brain responds to reading almost as though one heard the word or experienced the action. Thanks to modern technology we can understand how it is that a reader can enter into the actions and life of the book.

Reading therefore is tremendously powerful and can be used as part of therapy.


Wednesday 29 April 2015

Further Distribution for Relationships by R.A. Kahn

I was just searching for a book on the website BookDepository.com and decided to take a look as to whether the book "Relationships" by our author R.A. Kahn is available for sale there. I'm excited to say that it is. So if you are looking for free shipping, you can purchase the teenage novel "Relationships" via the Book Depository.

If you are successful in purchasing the book via this outlet, please let us know. We'd love to hear from you and find out what your experience was like. 

If you would like to know more about the book please read our previous blog post where R.A. Kahn answers some questions to share more about the book.

If you have any other questions, please post at the bottom of this post or any related to the book and we'd be happy to answer you.

This blog post is prepared for you by R.A. Kahn's daughter who is moderator of the blog. 


Thursday 19 March 2015

Updating Our Amazon Description and more


When you self-publish, there is much more that falls to the author than writing the book. Being on top of promotional opportunities and information is one major task and an important one at that.

After doing a little research, we decided it was time to update the description of the book "Relationships" by R.A. Kahn as it appears on Amazon. We began to apply some ideas gathered in our research and shared it in a writers group for input. It did not take long to learn that aside form updating the description, an error needed correcting. Another author with a similar surname had been tagged as the author.

Without further ado we set to work to correct the problem. Our first step was contacting CreateSpace who we had published through. They gave us the links of what was necessary in correcting this with Amazon. Some phone calls and networking later, our problem was resolved.

It pays to review your information. You never know what else you might find along the way that requires correcting.

In the meantime, the updated description is now available so hurry along to "Relationships" on Amazon and check it out. Remember to come back and let us know your feedback. Oh, and if you have teens or are a teenager, why not purchase a copy? It's an excellent book and will keep you entertained for hours.


Thursday 12 March 2015

Self-Publishing

Have you considered self-publishing a book?

Most of the books by R.A. Kahn were published through recognized publishing companies. The book "Why Unicorns Eat Lavender" was the first one to be self-published. The book "Relationships" was the first teenage novel and was self-published on CreateSpace.


Self-publishing is an amazing learning curve. Of course one has to begin with writing the book, editing, formatting, preparing the cover and so forth. However, once the book is ready to make available for sale, another aspect takes over, that of marketing and promotion. Some prefer the marketing to begin once the book is launched, some begin even before the final copy is ready to be printed and the book goes up on Amazon

There is so much that goes into effective marketing and promotion. It is not just a case of having one's book ready and creating a book launch. Do you know about Beta Readers, virtual book tours, book awards, creating a buzz for your book and book reviews? Each of these topics requires research to ensure that one understands the process and how to go about arranging your own.

Where do you begin? You can always do a google search and hope you find the most appropriate articles, blogs and resources. Joining some writers groups and forums is very beneficial. In addition to reading comments and questions posted, so ask questions and listen to the range of answers. 

As we progress along this process, we hope to begin sharing the resources that we have found to be most useful. 

If you are interested in the world of self-publishing or in the books of R.A. Kahn or both, do sign up for our newsletter, by sending in your email and a request to join. Or, post a comment or question at the bottom of this post and we'll do our best to answer it or research to find the answer or share a link to a resource that can assist.

Monday 9 March 2015

Thoughts on Book Promotion

Self-publishing is an incredible learning curve. It is amazing to hear how many new books are going up onto Amazon.com daily. One figure we read was 5000 new titles daily. That is an incredible number. So is it possible to make sales online?

Why not? It takes learning, hard work, adjusting what one does, improving, networking and more.

As part of improving our strategies, we have just updated the description on the CreateSpace store which will soon be updated onto Amazon.

We invite you to click on the link and have a peak at our updated description. Please do let us know your thoughts or comments by sending us an email or posting a comment on the comment section below. 

Thank you for your help. We really appreciate your assistance


Monday 16 February 2015

Reading Matters - BBC series part 4

Do you ever consider the benefits of reading? Some consider the act of reading to be a creative one. Scientists have found that reading stories can assist us to increase our feeling of empathy for others through identifying with the characters in a novel or story.

It seems that reading is more than just a task to improve literacy, there is much more than we can gain through reading.



Have you followed any of the BBC series posted on this blog about reading and how it matters? Have you enjoyed the information shared in the video's?

We'd love to hear your thoughts, please do post your comments in the comment section below.

Have a blessed day

Shoshanah

Thursday 12 February 2015

Reading Matters - Part 3 of the BBC Series

Reading is a complex skill that requires various functions of the eyes, visual perception, cognition and good processing by the brain. Did you know that there are ways to monitor how the brain processes information and when the brain does not manage with what the eye sees. An example of this is explained in the next part of the BBC series on Reading Matters.


Wednesday 11 February 2015

Learning to Spell

I was talking to a client yesterday and she mentioned that in the U.K. there is a move in schools to potentially stop teaching spelling. Just imagine no spelling rules! Or if there are any our children will not know what they are, running the risk of the rules being lost. 

I took a moment to think of a world without spelling and wondered if we would manage to communicate effectively via the written word. I thought of an issue that arose when I was seeking some guidance from a copy righter and the small business organization provided a copywriter.

There is a distinct difference in skills and role between the two. Yes write and right sound the same but the meaning is very different.

What are your thoughts of education that eliminates writing and eliminates spelling. Two basics of the old school of thought. What will be left as the building blocks for teaching children how to communicate and how to learn? What will our future look like?

Do you have any thoughts? Do you think the concept is a good one or a problem one and why?


Monday 9 February 2015

Libraries

Have you ever considered starting a library? A lending library I mean? 

We have been exploring this topic and discovered some fascinating kinds of libraries. When talking of a library, I usually think of books. There are, of course toy libraries for borrowing toys and games for short-term play to be returned and have the opportunity to take out something different.

Today I learned of another type of library, a seed library. Evidently it is becoming quite popular.I never thought of borrowing seeds before. If you borrow let's say ten seeds of a given plant, how do you return them? Don't the seeds germinate and then become a plant? Do you then return the plant?

It's a fascinating idea and topic. 

What other kinds of libraries are out there?

Sunday 8 February 2015

Ebooks or Regular Books - What is Your Preference?

We have had a number of people recommend that we write an ebook and so we did a little research to find out whether those who read prefer ebooks or whether there is still a place for regular books. Remember them? The kind one can hold and feel, turn the pages, smell the paper and sometimes the print?

We had some responses and are pleasantly surprised to find most still prefer a proper book. There are times it is convenient to read an ebook especially when travelling on a bus, waiting in a queue or to fill some time for whatever reason. It does lighten ones load to just have your phone or iPad or Kindle with you. However, one downside of ebooks is that the battery can run out and then you can not continue until the battery is re-charged.

For those who are Jewish and observe Shabbat, anything using technology is not possible to be used on Shabbat.

What are your thoughts? Do you still enjoy a regular book with cover, actual pages and an item you can hold in your hands? Have you switched over to mostly reading ebooks? If so, what kind of books do you read on ebook and when do you still read regular / proper books?

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