If you are serious about publishing your book then you must buy Writer’s Market Book. I buy a new one every year, although if you go to amazon.com and buy 2011 version you will save yourself some money and there are not that many changes to the 2012 version. Writer’s Market has over 3,000 listings to help you sell what you write including literary agents, book publishers, magazines, newspapers, production companies, theaters, greeting card companies and more.  it can be overwhelming to find the right publsliher or agent but I will tell you how to do that tomorrow…

It’s getting close to the time in which you need to write THE LETTER to an editor.  Editors receive hundreds even thousand of query letters from authors just like you, BUT DON’T GET DISCOURAGED. Nothing works better to grab an editors attention more than a good hook. Your hook needs to be your first line of your letter,  it must grab their attention and leave them wanting more. Write 5 good hooks tonight, more on this tomorrow.

If you are a new author , many editors would like to see your style and skill of writing, especially for your first book. Decide what three chapters you want to complete. Bit of advice don’t write chapters 1,2, and 3. The publisher wants to see how you develop your story, so chapter one is a good idea to complete then choose two other chapters you feel are your strongest in developing your story and supporting your outline of the book.

Hey All,

Okay I hope this blog has  been helpful so far. So today its all about writing. To test your writing skills, I want you to go to www.helium.com or www.livestrong.com . These are sites that will pay you  to write on an article for a newspaper, magazine, website, or an organization. The topics vary according to the industry they represent. Register as an author and check out the variety of topics that are available to you. Remember only write what you know about. Just because a topic sounds easy, does not mean it will be easy to write about. Once you select your topic, begin writing, they usually give you a timeframe of when you must submit your article. A day or two after the deadline, you will receive notice if “the interested party” is willing to accept your article. Don’t worry if they reject your article at first, sometimes they give you some constructive feedback with regards to your writing style and content. So you have to have tough skin to succeed in this business. You may get a lot of rejects along your way, but it only takes one “yes” to publish your book.  If they accept your article, congratulations! You will now begin to earn some money as an author and it will also get your name in to the public. See you tomorrow!

I am sorry I didn’t write my post yesterday but my publisher sent me rewrites for one of my books. Right when you think you have seen the last rewrite before publication, you get another rewrite. I am not complaining I am very lucky to have three books being published within the next few month, but I am anxious to see my books in print.

Anyway I hope you continued to write over the weekend. Here is my advice for this stage of writing. DON’T LET ANYBODY READ YOUR WORK FROM THIS POINT ON…At least not until you are ready to write a query letter to the publishers. You have visualized your finished book and have given your book a voice, it’s coming to life! Remember you don’t have to finish your book before you send it to a publishing house. But I will tell you on at least writing the chapter headings remember the lesson I use it to write the beginning and then the end and then fill write the rest of the book.  When writing my chapters, I ask myself what do my readers need to know at this point in the book. So today your homework is to write your chapter headings. But don’t let anyone see them…yet!

Give Your Book a Voice…

It sounds crazy I know..but it is important that your book can stand on its own, it needs a personality. What will your book “sound like” and “feel like”to your readers? Hot and steamy? Cold and factual? Information overload? Warm and fuzzy? Something for your soul?  It is important before you get too deep into writing your book, to establish the voice of the book. I get asked by authors-to- be if I can read their manuscript or rough draft for them. I can tell from the first chapter if this book has a voice. It is usually the first problem that I find when reading a rough draft.

Think of Ernest Hemingway’s book The Sun Also Rises. What do you “hear” in your mind as you remember passages from this book? The voice of this book is told in a lean, hard, athletic narrative prose. A voice can be created by what you write and it can also be created by what you don’t say. If a writer of prose knows enough of what he is writing about he may omit things that he knows and the reader (if the writer is good enough) will have a feeling of those things as strongly as though the writer had stated them.

Give your book a voice, bring it alive to all of us readers.

Have an inspired weekend,

Kimberly Wechsler

p.s. If you get hungry over the weekend and want something healthy to eat, check out www.cookinglessonsfromhome.

Okay, if you are going to follow my post on how to get your book published, be sure to read my post from yesterday.Here is a surprising fact that most would-be authors are not aware of, YOU DO NOT NEED TO FINISH YOUR ENTIRE BOOK BEFORE YOU FIND A PUBLISHER. You need to  be able to give a summary of book, but it does not have to be completed at this point. So todays lesson is to visualize your book, the beginning, the middle and the end. Since I write non-fiction books, Health and Fitness, I write my books as though I am talking to you, that’s my voice I give my book, more on that subject later. I start my books from the beginning assuming you know very little about my subject matter. Next I work on the end of the book, so my goal is by the end of the book is to have my readers understand the how, when, why and what it takes to be healthy and fit. I am old school so like I said yesterday, I go to a bookstore and buy a blank journal, I visualize this journal as my “finished book” . I like to buy a journal that inspires me, one that “feels” like my subject matter and I carry this journal with me every where I go, so when an idea pops into my head, I immediately write it down. For my three books due  for publication this June, I like to study movement. So when I watch a tennis game or soccer game and I like a particular movement pattern I write it down and save it for later to see if I can work that in to my book somehow.

Visualize your target market too! Who are your readers who will be buying your book? Take some time to think about this, it is very important as you begin to write your book.  My readers are parents, teachers, counselors, coaches, day care providers, people who support kids in an active lifestyle. Now write as though you are writing your book just for your target market.

Visualize yourself as an author. You need to believe in yourself and your book. Tell yourself everyday I am a “published author”.

There are three types of  questions I am frequently asked,

#1 fitness related questions,

#2 food related questions and

#3 how did you get 6 books published?

This June I will have 3 books hitting the bookstores by Hunter House Publishing! To commemorate my books I will share with you step by step how to write and get your books published.

Step #1 How to Publish Your Book

Write what you know. Not what you think you know, what you know for sure. Take some time to think about this, if you are not an expert on a subject , (non-fiction) or a desire about a story telling( for fiction) maybe you are wasting your time. Let me forewarn you on writing a book, for my 3 books coming out, I have written these books for 2 solid years, (collecting my work for 20 years) working about 35-55 hours a week, with no pay! Thats right, no pay…well I did receive an advance from my publisher, but that money went directly to my illustrator and my website designer to build my site to promote my books, the money goes quickly and the next time I receive a check is the first quarter after my books begin to sell. I don’t want to scare you away from writing your book, I only want to be honest. So here is your homework for today. Grab a journal, notebook or your computer, begin to write on a subject that you know for sure, continue to write whatever comes into your mind.  Include what makes you an expert… why would anyone read your book? Keep that journal with you at all times, when thoughts of your book come to mind-write it down, even the smallest details. So do you homework…to be continued…

Check out what else I have written at www.cookinglessonsfromhome.com

It’s not just favorable genetics, the French may be more slender than Americans because they’re more in tune with their appetites than we are. They don’t rush through  a meal they enjoy their food and their conversation around a table. Parisians reported using internal cues like whether they felt hungry to tell them when to stop eating. It can be tough at first to pay attention to the signals your s stomach and brain are sending but doing so can help you take in fewer calories.

Yesterday’s blog touched on this subject a little, but in my opinion it is worth discussing, Drive-thru’s.

Why do you go to a drive-thru restaurant? Tell me if I am right…

1. I am starving and I can eat fast.

2. It’s cheap.

3.Its convenient.

4.The food tastes good.

5. I don’t have to use a fork or knife.

Nearly 1/4 of our American population eats fast food EVERYDAY!  1 out of every 8 Americans have worked in a fast food restaurant sometime in their life.

Do you know the food is not made in that fast food restaurant? The food is made in some factory and shipped frozen to the fast food restaurant.

The typical meal at a fast food restaurant is a hamburger, french fries and a coke. Some people feel the chicken sandwich is a healthier meal, well its not, if it is fried. Most fast food is fried. Fried food tastes great, and people don’t seem to care about the fat aspect. Only a few fast food companies such as Kentucky Fried Chicken has changed its name (to KFC,) in order to be more responsible in the way the company is presented to the public. I don’t think people’s eating habits have become healthier. Right now, in the fast food industry the trend is to add bacon to their meals. Only “Subway” is working to promote a more healthy way of eating.

Today’s challenge for you is to reduce your visits to a fast food restaurant to ONCE A MONTH!

Let me know if you have enough discipline to take on this challenge.  Keep a 30 day journal and I will share your feedback with everyone!

If you really want value for your meal check out www.cookinglessonsfrom.com

“Super Size Me.”

My next observation is that there are very few Drive-thru restaurants or fast food restaurants in France. We did see one McDonald’s in Paris, but for a city that size in the United States, you would see one on every street corner. So the term “supersize” is not  something you are likely to hear if you order an extra large meal. Matter of fact, the French size of meals is about one third the size of our meals in the United States. This is my next clue, how the French people stay within a healthy weight. I have always believed  one of our largest problems with weight and obesity here in the U.S. is our Portion Distortion. I believe this is due to the fact that consumers feel they receive more value for their money if the portion is extra large as opposed to believing the “true value” comes from the quality of food not the quantity of food.  My next challenge to you is to reduce the portion size of each of your meals by one third, if you are still hungry after 20 minutes then finish the rest of your meal.

Drive around any city in the U.S. and you will see 24 Hour Fitness, Lifetime Fitness, Gold’s Gym…They are everywhere except France. I am not saying there are not any fitness facilities but  I could not find a single one. When I asked some French women about going to a gym, they did reply that they do not believe in going to the gym. This does not mean they don’t have physical activity in their day, they just don’t hit the gym! So how do they keep up their healthy weight (check out yesterdays blog to find out about healthy weight) They walk! Everywhere! Physical activity is built in to their daily life without having to schedule it in.  I am talking about people of all ages, kids are on scooters, no not the motorized kind the kind you push with your foot. Older couples walk to the farmers market with their shopping carts at least twice a week. I know you are thinking well that’s city life, but its true in small villages as well. They walk in flats, heels, boots, but not athletic shoes! Begin Your Life as a Walker.  I know it sounds difficult, especially here in Texas, where everything is so spread out, but take baby steps literally walk to a friend’s house, walk to the grocery store, or walk to a park. I challenge you to trade in your car for walking shoes for just three days, the possibilities of places you can walk may surprise you. Please let me know if you are up to this challenge.

For those of you who did not know, ( I thought I told everyone!) Jonathan and I went to Paris for the past couple weeks and besides enjoying the sites, the food and the shopping, I wanted to hang out with the locals to  see for myself if it is true that French Women Don’t Get Fat. We really made some wonderful discoveries that I think will help all of us here in the U.S.!

I want to share our observations with you each day this week, so our first observation was: It does seem to be true that French women don’t get fat, but…they are not necessarily skinny either. So for us Americans … my first piece of advice is to change our mindset that if you are not fat, you must be skinny…not true…for each one of us, kids included there is a “healthy weight” a weight that keeps our blood pressure normal levels, cholesterol levels low, our glucose levels in check and energy levels high.  Rule #1 Determine what is a healthy weight for you and each family member.

A healthy weight is one that is right for your body type and height and is based on your body mass index, or BMI and the size of your waist circumference. You can learn more about your BMI on line at www.cdc.gov/healthyweight, or check with your doctor.  Your doctor may want to take another measurement, called a waist-to-hip ratio. This measurement is a comparison of your waist size to your hip size. A higher waist-to-hip ratio means that you are more apple shaped than pear shaped and therefore at a higher risk for weight-related disease. Body fat testing is sometimes used to help find out if a person has a healthy percentage of body fat. But it can be inaccurate. It also costs more than measuring BMI or waist size. So it’s rarely used to measure a person’s risk for weight-related diseases.  I always fall back on the old “if my favorite pair of jeans are too tight, then I know I have gained weight!”

I am always fascinated by Europeans who claim they are healthier than Americans. Europeans claim they eat foods with a high fat content and they would never think of going to the gym. So if this is true , how do they do it? I have read the book French Women Don’t Get Fat, by Mirelle Guiliano and I want to see for myself just how these French women don’t get fat. So my husband and I are off to France to do some undercover work. We will report back to you the truth about their lifestyle and culture.

One style of exercise really can make you taller,… Pilates. Pilates builds strength without bulk, increases flexibility, strengthens core muscles and stabilizes the spine. The focus of Pilates is the four main core muscles that hug the spine.  All Pilates work is performed with proper alignment and attention to posture. Maintaining a healthy spine is not only good for your posture it can help people who have pain in their back, (be sure to go to a certified Pilates instructor before attempting any of the the exercises on your own), and helps to achieve weight loss. Taking Pilates three times a week will improve your circulation, improve lymphatic flow and increase flexibility in your spine. You will stand taller, hold your waist tighter and feel stronger.  Go to www.loveyourworkout.com and www.cookinglessosnfromhome.com

As I was working out in the gym the other day, I looked around and I saw a wide variety of fit bodies. It occured to me that our bodies cannot lie. If you workout consistently and with intensity your body will reflect your hard work, if you workout occassionally your body will reflect your workout and for adults and children who do not work out at all, your body will mirror your inactivity. (Of course a healthy diet will also contribute to your overall appearance, but more on that subject later.)  The key word here is consistency, if you do something active every day within two weeks your body will proudly show your efforts but if you sit for most of your day your body will show you how your lack of activity will reflect in your lack of muscle tone, posture and body weight. Exercise everyday will make physical activities easier! Things like carrying groceries, vacuuming, and walking upstairs will be much less of a challenge when exercise is a part of your life. To get started on an exercise program today go to www.loveyourworkout.com       

A good laugh is great for your body, mind and spirit.
When is the last time you had a good laugh, if you don’t know you are long overdue! I love to laugh, especially in the morning, it keeps me in a great mood all day. Have you ever laughed so hard you cried? Or until your cheeks hurt? Or you just couldn’t stop yourself from laughing? If you haven’t laughed lately, its about time you do for your health. Laughing can help strengthen your immune system, I read an online report that this person laughed away their cancer. I don’t know if that can really happen but laughter is good for you. Laughter will boost your energy, diminish your pain and protect you from the dangerous effects of stress. Laughing releases endorphins throughout your body, thats the feel good chemical we love to receive. I think about the time, someone told my grandfather a joke about releasing gas, my grandfather laughed so hard his false teeth shot straight out of his mouth, that visual still makes me laugh. So have a good laugh today and everyday!

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Here is a wonderful way to cool off this summer and increase your energy level …take a cold shower. I know cold showers are used to “treat” other manly conditions, but a cold shower can be good for women too. My grandparents were from Norway and the Scandinavians have a unique way of increasing their health and vitality, they first sweat in a sauna for several minutes then they jump into an icy cold stream or pool of water in their birthday suit. Whew! I got a chill already.

In the 1820′s  this was considered hydrotherapy, cold water therapy treated many ailments such as broken bones to erectile dysfunction. Ok, I’m not going to go there but, I do know from personal experience it feels great, especially when the temperatures outside are sweltering.  Besides just feeling good, cold water showers can improve blood circulation, its good for your skin and hair, it will give you energy and contributes to your overall well-being.

To try a cold water shower I recommend that you start your shower with your normal water temperature, then gradually add more cold water. Your body will adjust overtime. Experience what the Scandinavians have known for centuries, try it in the morning, its better for you then that cup of coffee…God morgen!

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