Dan Poynter - Writing, Publishing and Selling Your Book

12-10-2007, 04:46 AM

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Dan Poynter is the author of over 100 books including, The Self-Publishing Manual and Selling Non-Fiction. More importantly Dan is the guru on self-publishing and he is invited time and time again to speak at the Maui Writers Conference on the subject.

If you've ever thought about writing a book, Dan Poynter is the guy to help you get it written. Once it's written, he can help you get it published and sold. Listen to this show and learn how it's done.


ParaPublishing

Hi Dan,
At this point in my life I am feeling very unproductive and useless.
I have been writing for twelve years and feel that my writing style is acceptable, it's not dynamic writing, but I think it is good.
Nevertheless, I am sitting here with five books that I have written, and no buyer in sight.
I am reluctant to pursue the self- publishing avenue as I did that with my first book and met with little success.
I guess the main reason for my failure in marketing the remaining books is that I am not a good salesman and I see no possibility of improvement as I basically deplore sales.
What I need is a good marketing firm for the promotion of the five.
Most of my books are about assassinations and therefore are in the genre of historical, non-fiction.
The book that is my favorite is about the JFK assassination in which I have invested 6 years of research.
I try to approach this subject objectively that perhaps produces "a fresh slant".
It has revealed that a member of the Warren Commission was the mastermind of the assassination.
Any suggestions that you can make will surely be appreciated.
Many thanks,
Bob Cornell

P.S. For what it is worth I am enclosing the JFK query

“Where Were You??”
By Robert W. Cornell (Bob)
4401 Pinetree Close
Cumming, GA 30041
Telephone Number- 770-781-9613
email address- bobwcornell@comcast.net


Word count- 41,250
Page count based on that count-153 less illustrations
This is a completed manuscript.
Time spent in research- 6.0 Years
Time necessary for completion of manuscript- rewrite, rewrite, and rewrite therefore,-ad infinitum-

After several days of contemplation I chose to write about the moment in our time that
was electrifying even though it carried with it maudlin overtones. That is the assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy.
The very first issue that we need to address is how a publisher will improve his/her financial position by investing in this project.
Even though this assassination is very close to 45 years old, it still carries a fascination for all people irrelevant of their ages or their location.
However, to be totally realistic the age target market is individuals who are 55-70 years of age.
There is little, if any, promoted competition on this subject, as most books that are relevant were introduced in the 60’s or 70’s.
I have recently performed a search on Amazon.com and have found 27 books on the subject.
The thing is that they are old and haven’t been promoted by an aggressive publisher. Those 27 books would represent the rabbit, while my book would represent the tortoise in the famous Hare and Tortoise fable.
Some of these books were meaningful, while others simply were written in hopes that they would appeal to the reader’s emotions of that time.
Perhaps you are saying to yourself something like “ this subject is old and has certainly been worn-out in the literary arena. I am not going to that well to get another drink of water!!”
If this is what you said you would be correct on all parts except the last.
There is something immeasurable about this event that draws humans to that very well for another glass of water.
If the book is priced modestly, say $24.95, and promotion is provided that book, then I believe that well will turn into a water tower from which the publisher will sell many glasses of water.

I have enjoyed writing articles for local newspapers, of which one promoted me to their fully unpaid columnist . I have a college degree and have taken part in many local activities.
Oh yes, I am 70 years of age, so I witnessed firsthand those things that were told and ultimately sold to the American public relative to the JFK assassination. What was told to the public was questionable, so I ultimately began my research.
I have written five books of which three have been published and a forth has been self-published. The last book which was self published was my first and the reason I even mention it, is that it got me “hooked” on writing, which I have discovered I truly love.
Writing as you know is very difficult work, which when finished gives one a feeling of elation, however I discovered very shortly that the book must be rewritten several times before it is marketed.
I must admit, that one of my weaknesses is marketing, which I deplore. I guess that’s why I am so bad at it.
Incidentally, that first book was a self-help book on resilient tile and as you may or may not know, my profession for 33 years was that of a flooring contractor before I retired.
Nonetheless, you probably feel that history has been completely forthright with you and has disclosed all of the pertinent facts which relate to the assassination of United States President John Fitzgerald Kennedy. --Has history ever misled you!!
What transpired on November 22, 1963 was a very simple act. JFK was trying to change too many things within his sphere of influence and had become a “thorn in the sides of too many people”. He thus had to be eliminated. It amazes me to witness how something so simple can become so complex by those writing about the event with such things as angles of trajectory, bogus autopsies, sewers, umbrellas and the like.
And yet, for most there is an aura of mystique combined with deception about this event that draws people to it time and time again like an anomalous magnetic force anytime there is a new theory presented.
The assassination of JFK carries with it not only a massive cover-up by our government, but the cover-up is accompanied by the grief and sheer bedlam that JFK’s wife, Jackie, experienced that day.
History tells us that the assassin of JFK was Lee Harvey Oswald and that a man by the name of Jack Ruby played a very important role in this event.
Once again, history has distorted the truth.
The truth is that Lee Harvey Oswald played little or no part
in the event as was also true of Jack Ruby.
In my work I ask a number of questions of the reader that when answered prove the “bit” roles these two individuals actually played and not the ones they are said to have conspired.
Their appearance in this event is merely for the sake of diversion.
They are meant to divert our attention away from those who actually committed this heinous crime
The answers to these questions I pose to the reader are backed by factual evidence that have “directly” taken me 6.0 years of research to complete.
Also through factual information my work shows that Lee Harvey Oswald played no role in the murder of Officer J. D. Tippit, who was murdered in his patrol car shortly after the assassination of JFK. For you complete edification Officer Tippit was a member of the Dallas Police Department and he was shot and killed in the Dallas suburb of Oak Cliff.
The importance of the Tippit murder was that it transferred Lee Harvey Oswald into the custody of the Dallas county jail where he in turn could later be charged in the assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy.
The long and short of my scenario of the assassination is that if Lee Harvey Oswald was not involved , then a conspiracy took place.
There were a goodly number of books written on this subject, and virtually all have as their objective to prove that the act was a conspiracy.
I believe I have done that!!
I believe there is evidence that links LBJ to Allen Dulles . And that Allen was the mastermind who created the plot to assassinate JFK.
If Dulles ( who absolutely hated JFK after his firing as director of the CIA by the same ) could interest Johnson to become involved he would have a great advantage in a cover-up of factual evidence.



Allen Dulles and Lyndon Johnson had the most to gain by JFK’s demise.
I believe that I can show that there were between 5-6 shooters in the assassination , not one of which was Lee Harvey Oswald!!
Their names are not divulged as I possess the ability to be in error.
However, most were trained CIA assassins ( with the exception of two ).
This would then lead to the assumption that this was a CIA “sponsored” activity.
I do not feel that it was!!
The reason for this conclusion is that most members of the CIA are very patriotic and bring to fruition questionable acts that benefit America.
Therefore most members of the CIA would be horrified to be involved in the murder of their president.
Returning to the crime, we have been led to believe that the first shot to Kennedy came from the rear, when the Zapruder
film ( a film taken of the entire assassination by amateur photographer Abraham Zapruder) clearly shows that John Kennedy is the recipient of a bullet that comes from the front as his limousine emerges from behind the Stemmons freeway sign. He does two things that indicate the shot came from the front, he 1) gripped the front of his neck which would be the exact opposite of the animal instinct defense mechanism if the shot came from the rear and 2) his body fell backward after the first shot and corresponding force.
The first shot did not come from the “sniper’s nest” on the sixth floor with Oswald on the initiating end of the bullet, but rather from the triple underpass toward the front of Kennedy’s limousine.
The area from which the first shot originated was under the police jurisdiction of two police officers. A J. W. Foster and a J. C. White members of the Dallas police force.
These two officers displayed a total lack of responsibility by disobeying the orders given to them by their direct superior, Capt. Perdue Lawarence, by allowing both railroad workers and
and trains on the triple underpass during the motorcade in honor of JFK.
Surprisingly the two men had one thing in common as they both had only ninth grade educations and were subsequently wide open to bribery.
In other words, the two men were wide open to bribery as the educational requirements to qualify for a police pension could change at any time.
And with the Mayor of Dallas at the time being Earl Cabell, the brother of General Charles Cabell the deputy director of the CIA and a close friend of Allen Dulles, the plot that has been laid out for you becomes most interesting.
Was the reason that JFK was assassinated in Dallas, Texas due to the principle fact that Earl Cabell was Mayor at that time??
This book also touches on the Vietnam War, as more than any other issue, this brought about the assassination.
The book points out the complete lunacy of our involvement there and asks the burning question “ were we there to combat communism or to discover oil??”
Approximately 300 miles South of Siagon are the Spratly Islands. It has been stated that the largest find of oil ever was discovered there. To confirm this, Halliburton and Brown and Root
needed further time for exploration.
Halliburton had merged with Brown and Root in 1962. Not only was Brown and Root, LBJ’s
largest political contributor, LBJ would do anything for George Brown.
Thus LBJ extended the Vietnam conflict.
Before his assassination JFK had issued a National Security Memo to bring 1000 troops home from Vietnam by the end of 1963 with the remaining balance to be brought home after the presidential election in 1964.
The proclamation to bring 1000 troops home was issued by JFK in NSAM 273, which after taking office for four days following the assassination LBJ totally reversed with NSAM 283.
During the Vietnam conflict we dropped over 8 million tons of explosives mostly on open land and hill sides. And the people to benefit the most economically from this fact would be the Rockefellers.
I guess I am conditioned to feel that this book has a gigantic market.
But, from a truly objective standpoint a literary agent can establish the market much better than I.