Mark Twain returns... 100 years after his death (died in 1910)… From the Grave…

Jeff says, "How do you publish a book 100 years after your death, and have it become an instant bestseller?."

Awesome idea(s)...

Definitely Think about this one...

Some Great Lessons...

And a whole Lot more...

Intriguing & Very interesting...
http://jeffwalker.com/from-the-grave/

Phil

[Dien Rice]

Originally Posted by Phil

Jeff says, "How do you publish a book 100 years after your death, and have it become an instant bestseller?."

Hi Phil,

Thanks for sharing that...!

I haven't gotten Mark Twain's autobiography (vol. 1) yet, though I'm sure it is something I would find fascinating reading... I remember loving Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, all those years ago...

One thing I find interesting about Mark Twain's autobiography is... he dictated it! In his time, of course, that meant getting a stenographer to follow him around, writing down what he said. Of course, using this method - *anyone* can write a book. (It's a bit easier now, thanks to pocket-sized tape recorders and digital recorders...)

By the way, the late best-selling author Sidney Sheldon also dictated all his books, and all the scripts he wrote too.

If you think you can't "write" - this is a way that anyone can do it. And there's no shame in it, when you know that some of the world's greatest writers have used this technique!

Here's an explanation about Mark Twain's technique, from an article I read...

"Despite having been thinking about an autobiography since at least 1876, it wasn't until 1906 that the writer almost as famous for his lectures as for his books – he has been called America's first stand-up comic – found a method he liked. He simply hired a stenographer to follow him around and record his stories, while he talked and talked."

(The quote is from here... http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010...rah-churchwell ... It's a great article, if you're interested in finding out more about Mark Twain...)

Best wishes,

Dien

[Glenn]

Thanks Dien,

Great Article.

Winston Churchill also dictated all of his books.

Glenn

This still applies.

Mark Twain Quote -

"the principal objective of each new administration is to make the last one look good."

[Dien Rice]

Originally Posted by Glenn

Thanks Dien,

Great Article.

Winston Churchill also dictated all of his books.

Glenn

This still applies.

Mark Twain Quote -

"the principal objective of each new administration is to make the last one look good."

Hi Glenn,

Thanks for sharing that fact about Winston Churchill - I had no idea that he dictated all his books!

I found an article which seems to give some details about how he "wrote"...

http://www.winstonchurchill.org/lear...the-wilderness

To summarize, he hired secretaries and also a researcher. He would dictate to a secretary, and the researcher would check the facts, and supply him with new facts. Often, he'd discard what he "wrote" the previous day, if he knew (due to feedback from the researcher) that some of it was wrong.

However, by using this technique he was very prolific, and he earned a lot of money from his writing. (This is before he became Prime Minister - he earned even more after he had been Prime Minister of the UK.)

He'd not only use this technique for writing books, but also for writing newspaper and magazine articles (which he also got paid for).

Of course, nowadays you can speak int o a digital recorder or iPod or even some cell phones, then you can get a transcribing service to do the transcription for you.

As for Mark Twain's quote - I agree, I think he's still right!

Thanks Glenn - very enlightening!

Best wishes,

Dien