In large publishing houses, many manuscripts penned by first-time authors, never make it past the "first reader" who for all practical purposes is a gatekeeper of sorts. This person's job is to weed out manuscripts that do not fit certain established submission criteria. However, many never make it to the editor's desk, simply because they are badly disorganized and downright incoherent.
But even if you are self-publishing, you owe it to yourself as well as your readers to develop a theme. Not only will a theme tell what your book is about, it also serves to hold your book together. Every other element ? your chapters, for example ? should support your theme. It is what keeps you from rambling all over the place, and if you should stray, it is what can bring you back ? if you keep it in front of you.
That's literally, as well as figuratively. I wouldn't begin to write or give a talk without having a developed theme. Have you ever been to a banquet or meeting where the speaker went on and on with a speech that was all over the place, talking about everything under the sun, except the topic the audience was waiting to hear about? Most likely it wasn't because the speaker didn't have a topic, but rather it was because the speaker didn't have or didn't take the time to develop a theme. If you want your story to be just as disjointed ?then don't develop a theme for it.
Unlike a working title that may change to something else entirely different or even several times before a manuscript is finished, a theme shouldn't change during the course of your writing. It may become more obvious during the writing process, but I advise writers to spend serious time developing their theme so that they are clear about the message they are trying to convey. If it is not clear to you, how can you write it in such a way that it is clear to your readers?
Unfortunately, you cannot find the answer to why you are writing your story in this article, or in any book for that matter. You cannot even find it in a classroom setting. Books and classes can only serve to help you bring the reason(s) to the surface, but the answer must come from you. How then, do you determine your book's purpose? How can you be certain that it is more than a good story? Your book's purpose is, to a great degree, intertwined with your purpose.
Mark Victor Hansen, co-creator of the Chicken Soup series suggests meditation, or deep, controlled, concentrated thought. He says, "Relax and tap into your mind, way back there in the deepest, secret compartment of your mind, by asking yourself this question: ?If I knew my life purpose, what would it be?? Don't just ask it once. Keep asking this question until you get the answer. It may not come the first day, or even the first week. But it's there, and it will show its face if you earnestly ask."
Hansen states that this should be repeated every morning and every night for 15 minutes until the answer comes to you, and then writes it down. He continues, ?Be open to the answer, no matter when it comes to you. Remember, it wants you just as much as you want it.?
A good theme does three things: 1) it describes the story or book; 2) it captures the uniqueness of the story or book; 3) it motivates the author. If it accomplishes these three things, it will also make your outline easier to create. In business-speak, an ?elevator speech? is a brief description about your company that you should be able to give to someone in the time it would take to ride up an elevator. I hold that everyone writing a book needs an elevator speech, or theme, for it.
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EBay is a vast and quickly growing marketplace. Yet it can be extremely easy for a seller to lose money on eBay. Unfortunately many new sellers find this out the hard way. They make mistakes and then suffer the consequences of those mistakes. If sellers want to make money on eBay they must be prepared before they start their eBay experience.
If sellers are to make money on eBay they must go into every part of the eBay marketplace. They must examine everything with their eyes wide open. They must have their niche and products identified. They must have their plans in-place. Only then will they be positioned for success.
EBay has done an outstanding job of providing step-by-step instructions on most of the basics. They have clear policies in place. They have a variety of tools available for sellers to use in support of their eBay business. They are doing their part to set sellers up to make money on eBay.
Yet many sellers start on eBay without taking the time read and study. They haven't taken the time to learn the eBay site. They don't know the policies and guidelines that all sellers are expected to follow. They haven't asked questions and prepared themselves for the eBay experience. They are truly unprepared to make money on eBay. Are you ready to enter the eBay marketplace? Are you ready to learn how to make money selling on eBay? What are you waiting for? It is easy to start your own eBay business.
Those who know how to make money selling on eBay know that the income possibilities are almost limitless. They know that operating a successful eBay business is much like starting and operating any other successful business. It takes solid planning and execution to that plan. It takes commitment and effort. The potential rewards are there just waiting for the right entrepreneur to find them.
Success can come by starting part-time and learning the best strategies. The hours that you are required to work to successfully operate an eBay business can be very flexible. While there are some daily activities like answering prospective buyer questions, for the most part sellers have control over the days and hours that they work their eBay business. In fact sellers who know how to make money selling on eBay know that even though they may have other priorities in life that fall above their eBay businesses there is still a required level of commitment to achieve eBay success.
Don't be lulled into thinking that eBay is a free ride. To make money on eBay requires the same commitment that working a part time job requires. You cannot be successful if you don't manage your business. There are questions to answer, listings to post, and orders to pack.
If you are new to eBay be sure to invest the time and energy to learn everything that you can before you start selling. Set yourself up for success. Plan for that success. Start down the road to make money on eBay well-prepared for the fun that is about to start.
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