To make time, one would have to sit down and plan it. If this is not done, then writing will become a haphazard event, dictated by a whim, or a passing urge, rather than a scheduled time. This often results in book never really being finished. You do want to finish that book, don’t you? Below, I have my own suggestions as to how to make time.

1) Think about your daily schedule, just like when you do a budget, only instead of money, you’ll be budgeting time. 2) Then get a nice large desktop calendar, ones that cost about two dollars. Begin filling in mandatory slots for week. Do you have a work schedule, or a doctor’s appointment, a meeting to go to, etc.? Then write these times down. 3) Next, fill in times for meals, showers, shopping, socials, etc. 4) Now look at times that you are free. Please don’t say there isn’t any time left! There will probably be some time available somewhere. Maybe it’ll be at lunchtime, if you are working, or after dinner, or even during day if you’re a stay-at home parent (when junior is napping). 5) If you are a new writer, start slow. Maybe find one hour a day and reserve that for your writing. Go ahead and write date in calendar. You just made an appointment with yourself. Now do it for every day of week. You decide if you want to work weekend or not. 6) If you are a more seasoned writer, you will probably need more time. I find that I need a minimum of three hours a day to write. Sometimes I may also use this time doing research for my book.

When I was five years old, my parents bought me a manual typewriter for a Christmas present. I practiced every day until I was able to type letters to my grandparents and other relatives. Although it is safe to say that I have been a writer since 1963, I didn’t start making money from my writing until I started Graphico Publishing in 1988.

Back in those days, Adobe Acrobat Reader (PDF) had never been thought of. In fact, word “internet” was unknown to majority of general public. Therefore, I had only three options available to me if I was going to sell my articles and books:

1. Submit them to publishers, hoping they would be published “someday”; 2. Typeset my own books, print them on a copier and mail copies to customers ordering directly from me (this also meant that I had to market books myself); or 3. Pay a printer to typeset and print my books, which meant I had to buy a minimum amount and pay for them upfront (which could cost $10,000 or more).

I chose to employ option Number 2. I figured that I would not have to spend any money using that option because as books were ordered, I could print them on my copy machine. Besides, my books were not full-length paperbacks. They were 20-page booklets that I could print on letter-size paper, fold in half and saddle stitch. Only until I started selling 100s of books would I invest into purchasing a minimum amount from a printer. Besides, idea of not having to stock a product was of great importance to me since I was living in a small one-bedroom apartment at time.

However, while choosing Number 2 method above would save me a lot of money, I was going to have to learn how to market and typeset my books. Learning to typeset was pretty easy. I went to a printer’s supply store and picked up books showing me different styles of fonts and I looked at every display advertisement I could find. I purchased Roger Parker’s Book, “The Aldus Guide to Basic Design” (http://www.newentrepreneur.com/) and was soon able to start designing my own ads, using combinations of examples I learned from professional designers. The entire learning experience was great fun and I acquired a skill that I now use on a daily basis.

Learning to market though, took longer compared to learning how to typeset. That is because there are so many variations to marketing. What works for one person may not work for another. However, with vast amount of technology available at your fingertips today, learning to market your products and services is as simple as filling out forms and posting messages to bulletin boards utilized by your target market.

Little did I realize at time that procedure I utilized to sell my books by printing copies only when an order was received is same thing as print-on-demand publishing. The only difference is that today, most of marketing and typesetting is included in publishers price. Since I already know how to typeset my books, publisher normally gives me a discount of $100 to $150 for saving them time and expense.

I was first introduced to print-on-demand publishing when I wrote my book, “How to Start, Operate and Market a Freelance Notary Signing Agent Business” available online at http://www.50statenotary.com/book). Not knowing that print-on-demand publishing existed I sent my manuscript to several publishers for acceptance. To my surprise, two publishers accepted book and one offered me an advance of $2,800.

At first I was elated. I called all my friends and we all yelled and screamed together in excitement. The excitement was short lived when I received an email from publisher next day with a list of demands they required before my book could be published. One of demands was name of my book needed to be changed and secondly, I was not permitted to publish my testimonial to Jesus Christ in back of book. I immediately said “no” and began seeking other alternatives for publishing.

To make a long story short, I found Gom Publishing (http://www.gompublishing.com) through my local Christian Blue Pages directory. It just so happened that their office was located within 10 miles of my house. I called them up, asked if I could come for a visit and received a personal tour of their operation. It was a great learning experience and I was sold on idea of print-on-demand publishing.