THE SMART MONEY WOMAN

It’s a book about money - making it, spending it, investing it and growing it. Every woman that’s aiming for financial stability and independence should read it. Now, you are thinking, ‘oh, not another book on finance,’ especially in these times when many people, who probably don’t know what they are doing, want their names on a book.

Well, this book is different. Even if you are not a habitual reader, this will blow you away. It’s fiction, a story about how women (and men) should manage their finances, with thought-provoking, priority-reordering and action-motivating lessons that will change the way you look at yourself and money. It will draw you in till you turn the last page. The author, Arese Ugwu, was in Warri weeks ago for the Book Signing hosted by Orode Okpu. I was there and here is a bit of what she said about managing your personal finance.

THE TRUE MEANING OF WEALTH

In the African context, to be financially successful, we are told to make money but we are not taught how to grow or manage it. Being wealthy translates into how much you have in your bank account, but in the real sense of it, being wealthy is how much you are able to keep in terms of assets that can pay you an income in the future. That is why people in our society rise from nothing to something and become broke again in no time due to lack of financial management skills.

THE SMART MONEY WOMAN

Though the principles in the book are universally applicable to both men and women, the book targets women because they are more vulnerable. Women are generally viewed by the society as frivolous. Even the disciplined women that save, do so to spend later. Women are groomed to get married and support their family by paying fees, rent etc. These things are not assets. African women should be taught how to build their financial future alongside their husbands.

TIPS ON HOW TO TURN YOUR MONEY INTO ASSETS

Goals

Many people don’t have goals. They make money but cannot articulate what they want the money to do for them. Nine of ten people do not have goals; what they have are wishes. A goal is making plans to get assets, researching on how to get those assets, budgeting, knowing what your limited resources can and cannot afford.

It is important to know that no matter how wealthy you are, your resources are limited. So, you must allocate them appropriately. You must ruthlessly cut unwanted expenses and prioritize your needs.

Income

Divide your income into three parts. 70% for living expenses, 20% for long term financial goals (that is to build your assets) and the remaining 10% towards short term goals like buying a car, a bag, etc.

Grow your business

It is important to reinvest, but drawing the line between saving and reinvesting is knowing that you are a separate entity from your business. Calculate your income from the business, pay yourself a salary and re-invest in the business. The salary will help you to build other assets different from the business. In this way, you are diversifying your risks.

Arese’s book addresses many more money issues like managing your debt, tracking your expenses, having a workable budget and of course investing in your financial future. Honestly, as an African woman, if you are looking for a way up the financial ladder, read The Smart Money Woman.

Grace Olumayowa Aideloje

Grace is a Writer, Editor and Proof-reader. She teaches Writing Classes and motivates young writers to follow their dreams until they see their names on books people rate as excellent. Her passion is to empower people through knowledge sharing. She is the initiator of the Christian WAR Forum.

Publishing Rights: You may republish this article on your website, newsletter, or eBook, on the condition that you agree to leave the article, author's name and signature and a functional link to penparables.blogspot.com. No part of this article may be used without following this agreement.

Boost Your Business and Career with Writing

Over the years, I have seen quite a number of people who thought they could never write become published writers. When I hear some people talk passionately about a subject, I usually suggest they write a book about it.

The responses I get go like these. 

Image courtesy of paul/freedigitalphotos.net

“I can’t write!”

“Why do you think so?” I would ask.

“I don’t know.”

“I just can’t write.”

“I don’t know how.”

“I had never thought about it.”

With a little encouragement and consistent coaching, some of these people are already published writers, and they are excited about it because of the gains.

If you are reading this article online, then you may already know that writing has become a major tool to promote and sell products and services worldwide. Many are already taking advantage of this very effective marketing strategy, enjoying wide exposure and making great sales.

Writing remains one of the most effective means of communication and a cost-effective way to publicize and sell your business. Almost everything costs money these days and that includes writing. Organizations pay writers large sums to write business and project profiles, advertorials, announcements, etc. No one can promote your business better than you can. You will be saving a considerable sum of money, writing, to promote what you do, in your own words.

You don't have to be a licensed writer to promote your products or services. All you need is the interest, a readiness to write, laced with some resolve and a splash of creativity.

I am very passionate about sharing knowledge and I don’t like to see people say valuable things that are not being recorded for others to learn.  

Writing is simply putting words or thoughts down on paper or a computer. The same way you will talk about your business to a potential client is the same way you write. Just write as if you are talking to someone or save your words on an audio or video recorder, then write out.

Write about your business and all that is associated with it; the problems your business addresses and how you or your product can help with solutions. You can publish your writings as articles in newspapers and magazines and as a book or pamphlet. You can also submit your work to online sites. All these can offer unlimited free marketing opportunities, widen your reach and enhance your credibility.

What is the nature of your business?     

What problem is it packaged to solve?

Why do you think people need it?

What solution is it offering?

How is it used?

Write down everything you think your customers will find useful. Write about other topics and issues of interest that relates to your product or service.

For example, if you are into pharmaceuticals, you can write articles or books on healthy living and drug misuse.

If you deal in shoes, write about how people can take care of their feet and shoes.

If you are a teacher, share your experiences of teaching. Write down tips and skills you have acquired that has helped you become a good teacher.

If you are a pediatrician, you can focus on issues that relates to children. Write a book or article showing parents simple steps to prevent childhood diseases.

If you are a nurse, write a book about the challenges of care giving or share tips on how to juggle night duties and family life. You can also address the temperament of some nurses and the effect it has on patients.

I can go on and on suggesting writing ideas for every profession on earth. 

When you write about your business and career, apart from making a name and money, you are sharing something valuable and recording it for posterity. You can never tell the places your work will get to or the lives it will touch.

Therefore, write about the results your business has achieved. How effective your product is or how satisfactory your services are. Share testimonies of happy clients. Interview your clients and write out their stories. Testimonials have proved very effective in marketing.

You can also write about your personal experiences. How you started the business or career, the challenges you faced and how you overcame them. This information will be useful to others who are interested in the same profession. Through this, you can become a coach in your field, teaching others how to avoid some of the mistakes you made. Before you know it, you will start getting mails from people asking you for business advice and inviting you to come and speak in some conferences.

If you don’t market yourself or your products and services, who will?

If you can’t write and you need to, share your thoughts and ideas with a ghost writer, who will help you to write.

That's one of the things we do at Penparables. We turn your writing ideas into an article or a book. If you need help with getting started, get in touch. We will guide you through, from the idea stage to the bookstores.

E-mail - penparables@gmail.com

Grace Olumayowa Aideloje

Grace is a Writer, Editor and Proofreader. She teaches Writing Classes and motivates young writers to write and publish their works. Her passion is to empower people through knowledge sharing. She is the initiator of the Christian WAR Forum.

Publishing Rights: You may republish this article on your website, newsletter, or eBook, on the condition that you agree to leave the article, author's name and signature and a functional link to penparables.blogspot.com. No part of this article may be used without following this agreement.

Your Choices For Book Publishing 

Diana Mylek

There are three ways to get a book published on paper. I say paper because there is also an electric option—an e-book, but more on that later.

• Through a publishing house. This is where you submit a manuscript for the publisher to decide if they want to sell it as a book.
• Through an agent. This is where you send a manuscript to an agent and ask them to sell it for you.
• Self-publishing. This is where you do all the work, send it to a printing house and pay for the books that are delivered directly to you.

Each of these options has its pros and cons.

Publishing House

Because they wish to sell books and make a profit, the publishing houses are very choosy about who they sell. They will always choose proven, house authors over aspiring writers but if you have something that really strikes them as sellable they will bite. HOWEVER—and this is a big however, there is this thing called the slush pile, which is literally a big pile of manuscripts sent to them by hopeful authors. Your job as someone who wants to be published and see your book make money is to somehow, someway get that book out of the slush pile and into the hands of an editor.

 

So the most important tool you will need is a big thick book called The Writer’s Market. You can get this at the library or buy it at any bookstore (or Amazon.com, much cheaper.) It is a worthwhile investment that you will need to purchase once a year to keep current. All of the publishers are listed in this book and more importantly, all the instructions for submitting a book for publication. There are so many options for an author, not just regular publishing houses, there are smaller houses, magazines and contests. More about these later. Each publisher has specific instructions about submitting a manuscript and YOU MUST FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS TO THE LETTER. If not your manuscript will be simply tossed out, they don’t bother with unprofessional looking ms’s or those that have not bothered to read or follow directions. They don’t want to work with authors who don’t listen at the start! 

There are two things you must note also—if your book is fiction, it stands a MUCH lower chance of publication with a standard publisher, especially without an agent’s intervention. Even if you have the story of the century, the publishers are skittish about investing in an unproved author. It’s all about profit and book sales. That’s why we see so many sub-standard fiction on the shelves—these are authors who have already made money for the publisher and are riding on past successes. Names sell, that’s the hard truth. And very frustrating for those of us who have bled, sweated and cried over our perfect books. If your book is non-fiction there is a slightly better chance of publication. Publishers LOVE new and inspiring how to’s, coffee table books, something different. They are looking for authors who can go on television, speak and present their books and advice. This brings in a lot of revenue for them. So for non-fiction an agent is okay and good, but you can submit a well-printed, well-queried book and cut out the middle man. There is again a very specific way to present this to a publisher and you MUST follow directions of the editors.

In order to get the book to the right publisher you must also check with the publisher to make sure the editor listed in the Writer’s Market is still working with the publishing house. Check the website for the publisher for more in-depth instructions, usually by clicking on “Submissions”. Always, always rely on the website over the Writer’s Market. You can find the publishers in the Writer’s Market but you must visit their website to follow up.

Do NOT call them about your book! Don’t bug them to print! There is protocol about this and you can read about that in Writer’s Market or on the websites. You can sink your book by being a pain.

For the children’s market, some publishers will allow you to send pictures to go along with it, some not. You must check with them. Also there is a formula for sending your manuscript, more about this later but you will most likely send your story and artwork separate—they want to see the manuscript, not how it’s laid out on the page.

Diana Mylek is a Christian Fiction author who believes that God has a wonderful sense of humor and she uses this to guide and encourage her readers to a new or deeper relationship with the Lover of their souls. She has written and published quite a number of uplifting Christian novels. We have her permission to post her articles and we recommend that you visit her website.

www.dianamylek.com