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Perhaps you bought the audio version of it on tape or CD, so you can listen to
in your car, or a companion video you can watch at home.
For these purposes of clarity, the self help book is not a self improvement book.
A self improvement book is a product that motivates a person who has already defined
a skill, solved a problem, and wants to take their lives to what many, like Tony
Robbins would define as a “higher level”. (Whether you might like him or not Tony
is bar none one of the best motivational speakers on the subject of self improvement
and has sold millions of books during his career.)
The 1970's saw a surge in the number of these types of books sold in the United
States and Great Britain.
Evidence points to the rising divorce rate of the of the time along with the
availability and ease of publishing compared to any other time in modern history.
Savvy marketers appealed to the anxiety and the catchphrase “low self esteem”
of those undergoing divorce. Books sprang up that would describe a program you might
want to attend, like a hypnosis course, or describing an infamous weekend quote
“relationship seminar” unquote. Again, the marketers were to be commended with how
they played on fears… ie, “Attend this seminar or you too could fall prey to a ruined
relationship and low self esteem!”- a classic example of “even if it ain't broke,
you might need to fix it anyway” motivation to problem solving.
Personally, I think there's enough good information to disseminate out of the
world about enough real issues, that is not necessary to make any up that doesn’t
exist. Identifying a fear and offering a good solid solution is not the same as
playing on fears. While playing on fears can make you money in the short term, remember
it's you who has to sleep at night with your own conscience and you may very well
become a customer of one of these yourself, when your sense of right and wrong comes
back to haunt you.
How to Write an Effective Publication
Whatever your subject matter, your writing should enable the reader to:
- Identify the present state.
- Give a clear picture of what it will be like when is no longer present.
- Break the process down into small parts so that it will not become overwhelming,
causing angst to the point of giving up.
- Provide a good easy to understand methodology, which will enable him or her
to check their progress along the way.
Note: You can not read a self help book and practice the principles in
a vacuum. Any author worth their salt will include others in any sort of life changing
subjects.
One good way to pique interest is to include some sort of quiz or test so someone
can see if they have the issue that you are working with.
How to Publish Your Work
In this day and age more options are available than ever for someone who wants
to get a good idea out there. You can still send your work to a traditional publisher,
or use an online publisher who can actually print them one of the time as orders
come in or create an ebook (free or with some cost .)
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Did you know that there are super-humans with almost magical powers among us? 
