1. What is single most important subject from your experience or knowledge that you want world to know about? If there are several topics, which one is most compelling to you right now?

2. How would you narrow that subject down into segments? Do those segments create additional booklets to develop a series?

3. What do you want booklet to accomplish for you? Do you want to altruistically spread word about something? Will a booklet be a marketing tool for your business? Can it be a profit center for you? Would you like it to be a marketing tool and a profit center?

4. What are you often surprised by that people do not know about your subject area? Is there something that seems so 'common sense' to you, while being highly helpful or enlightening to others?

5. What is single most outstanding thing you want people to know? Is is a new skill, perspective, attitude, expanding general knowledge?

6. Does your information need to be presented sequentially or can it be random? Can a specific entry stand on its own or does it need whatever came before it to cause it to make sense to reader?

Still with me? Good, let's look at powerful writing concepts:

Simplicity Lack of clutter Brevity Style.

These will ensure your articles live long enough for you to retire, collecting pension they've earned.

Maximum Simplicity: ------------------ The secret of good writing is stripping every sentence to its cleanest components. Each word serving no function, drop it. Every long word that could be shorter, make it so. Frequently higher writer's education or rank worse their addiction to unnecessary words. This affliction is not recent.

In 1942 a Presidential senior staffer wrote concerning blackout required by war-time conditions:

Such preparations shall be made as will completely obscure all Federal buildings and non-Federal buildings occupied by Federal government during an air raid for any period of time from visibility by reason of internal or external illumination.

Roosevelt suggested:

Tell them that in buildings where they keep working to put something across windows.

Minimum Clutter: --------------- Fighting clutter is like fighting weeds - writer is always slightly behind. New varieties sprout overnight and by noon they're part of everyday speech. Nixon's aide John Dean said on television during Watergate, "at this point in time". By next morning this had replaced word "now" in American language. By sunset it had spread across English speaking globe faster than a Love-Bug virus!

Word meanings get twisted creating more clutter. It seems that today people always "address" things instead of actually dealing with them. "Experiencing" is another splendid example. Your dentist may ask if you're experiencing pain. What he'd say to a five year old is: Does it hurt? Any doubts which is most effective?

Brevity: ------- Mark Twain: Had I more time, I should have written less. Enough said!

Specific Style: -------------- Few of us realise how badly we write. First it's essential to strip sentences to bare bones, ensuring removal of all surplus baggage. Only then can we consider style - that with which we to seek to charm our readers.

Style is where we focus our words on distinct audiences. Here sonnet and recipe part company. Though going their separate ways, they must still share same powerful common ingredients.