Da Vinci Online

Sarvesh Sharma asked:


If you are fond of reading books and literature, then you should become the member of a book club. With the help of these book clubs, an individual can enjoy and can get fun by reading books. They give us a common platform for discussing over books. These book clubs arrange a get together of its group members. In these clubs, everybody has a liberty to express his views over books. One can also get the high quality books at the affordable prices on these reading groups. These clubs are also known as reading groups, discussion groups and book groups. They also have the huge collection of excellent quality books on various categories.

Today, there are lots of book clubs such as India Today Book Club, NBT book club, Navayana book club, Bombay book club and many more. But India Today Book Club is one of the most appreciated book clubs in India. This book club brings thousands of books in several categories for instance, Classics, Art and Reference books, Children’s reading material, Cooking, Fitness and Health, Religion and spirituality and many more. Every member of this club also gets a free magazine with name Books Today. If you want to join this book club, then you have to fill a membership form for this. Once your membership request gets approved, you can start ordering of books immediately. On becoming member of this club, you will get a membership card that contains yours membership number, web ID and membership expiry date. The membership number may help you in lodging complaints, placing orders and asking any query with this book club.

ITBC also brings the attractive reward scheme for its group members. In this scheme, if a group member places an order for the value of Rs.1000 and above, he will get some reward points in his account. One reward point is equivalent to one rupee. So these points can be utilized for further purchasing of books, gifting of membership and future purchases. The key feature of this club is that if an individual wants to gift a book to his loved one and his loved one is far from the place, he can send the book to him with the help of this book club.

In other words, we can say that India Today Book Club brings very attractive offers for its group members. This book club also has the ultimate collection of high quality books.

Sunita Kaushal asked:


In truth, that’s a lie. Every author has the option of self-publishing. However, there are advantages to writing a book proposal instead of a whole book.

One advantage is that it usually takes less time than writing a whole book. Two, it creates the possibility of getting paid to write your book, perhaps just a few thousand dollars, perhaps tens or even hundreds of thousands. Three, it forces you to get clear about what you’re doing with your book, on a number of levels.

Even if you want to self-publish, a book proposal serves as a sort of business plan for your book. The time and energy spent on research, evaluation and comparison of your ideas at the outset pays off down the line many times over. After all, wouldn’t you rather find out now that someone else has said similar things more eloquently and have a chance to amend your manuscript, than publish the darn thing only to read terrible—or worse—no reviews?

The process of polishing your book proposal is also an exercise in discipline and focus. It brings the purpose of your book, its scope, depth and message into sharp relief. It will get your thinking muscles into the best shape ever to produce the most marketable book of which you are capable. However, you must dedicate the necessary time and energy to educate yourself, move through multiple drafts and polish this behemoth of a document to perfection, or else hire someone who knows how to do just that.

Here are some answers to questions you may be asking right now:

What is a book proposal?

A book proposal is a document intended to sell a publishing staff on publishing a particular nonfiction book. It is the way most nonfiction books get published by major publishers. It reads very much like a business plan about the book proposed. It can be anywhere from 10-100 double-spaced, 12-point 8 1/2 X 11 pages—most are 20-60 pages, including sample chapters. It generally uses a very specific format and specialized language to make its case.

What does the book proposal do?

It answers a series of typical questions that different departments of book publishing companies need answered when deciding which tiny handful of proposals, out of hundreds, to take a chance on. It acts on you and your book’s behalf to answer questions like, Why this book over all the others in its class? Why now? Why this author?

Who sees my book proposal first, an agent or a publisher?

It depends on whether you choose to have an agent represent you, or go directly to publishers. Many publishers will not accept unpatented material, so make sure you check a given publisher’s guidelines first.

What does the book proposal contain?

Generally, a book proposal contains a cover sheet, table of contents, along with the following sections: overview, author bio, author’s marketing plan, market analysis of buyers, comparative and/or competing books, outline, and sample chapters.

The overview contains a hook, or means of enticement, draws the editor in, and gives a general summary of the book’s purpose. It’s sort of like an article about the book. It should make you want to read the whole thing!

The author bio puts any and all of your experience related to writing the book, in its best light. It’s different from a resume or CV. It looks a lot like the “about the author” blurbs you see in the back of published books, below the author’s photo.

The author’s marketing plan, or “what the author will do to promote the book,” shows the publisher that you know what it takes to sell your book, and details how you plan to do it. These days, ironically, publishers don’t put much money into publicity, unless you’re already famous. An author with a well-thought-out marketing plan will stand out from most of the others who pay far less attention to this section, thinking instead that the publisher will take care of it.

The complementary and competing books section identifies and describes books that both directly compete with and also that complement the proposed book. The purpose of this section is to show the editors what has been done before, and how your book fits in. The reason for this section is twofold: One, many editors are too busy to keep up-to-the-minute records of what’s being done in every field, and so rely on the author to educate them about what else is out there. Two, just as many editors know exactly what’s out there, and want to know how your work purports to compare.

There’s a paradox here: On the one hand, you want to point to X, Y and Z books as evidence that this topic you’re writing on is really hot. On the other hand, you want to make a strong case that yet another book—namely yours—is still necessary, and why. So you have to point out strongly yet tactfully—you never know what relationship the person reading your proposal bears to your competition— what yours will do that others haven’t.

The market analysis makes the case for the size of the book’s audience. It usually covers a broad view of current interests and buying patterns in the larger culture that bode favorably for the book. It may include recent movies, documentaries on television, and facts about memberships in organizations or clubs, social or ethnic groups whose constituents would be likely buyers of the book. For example, a book with an exercise theme might cite the circulation of major fitness magazines, membership in health clubs or recent TV shows on related topics. This approach can be adapted to whatever the subject: parenting, cancer, gardening, dogs, mental illness, business, or entrepreneurship.

The chapter outline tells chapter by chapter what your book contains, and the sample chapters, usually about 30 pages worth, represent the best samples of your writing.

Why are so many book proposals rejected?

Most book proposals are rejected because the ideas presented in them fail to convince the publisher that the author has a worthwhile (read: marketable) project. Making a project appealing to a publisher is a specialized skill, very different from creating the project itself.

In my experience, authors, whether of fiction or nonfiction are by nature creative people. If you’re reading this, chances are at some point in your life, you became enamored of an idea or ideas, and felt the urge to move your thoughts into the world in book form. Your mind is alive. You have something to say.

A successful book proposal, on the other hand, is a specialized marketing document that follows a particular form, and answers very specific questions in a way that gets a “Yes!” from publishers. Unless your field is marketing, and in particular, the marketing of books to publishers, chances are you don’t have expertise in creating a book proposal. And why should you? It’s nowhere near as much fun for most authors as working and playing with their own ideas.

The majority of my clients who give me book proposals to review, even those who have read books I’ve recommended and claim to have followed them, give me proposals almost certainly slated for rejection. An excellent book proposal is a tough document for most authors to produce on their own. However, help abounds!

If you are determined to write your book proposal on your own, can really, truly follow directions, and have the patience it takes to polish your work with dozens or hundreds of revisions, I recommend Michael Larsen’s book, How to Write a Book Proposal, and Jeff Herman’s Write the Perfect Book Proposal. Read them, study them, write your proposal, rewrite it several dozen times (no, I’m not joking) and have it professionally reviewed by someone who really knows what they are doing. Polish it to perfection—in this business, in which 99% of all proposals will get rejected, good enough simply isn’t.

Then, if you want an agent, make sure you find one with a successful track record of selling work like yours, otherwise your polished proposal may gleam, twinkle and shimmer for unappreciative and unqualified eyes. Unless the agent has specified otherwise, query them first via a one- to one-and-a-half page letter. For the query, read and study John Wood’s How to Write Attention-Grabbing Query and Cover Letters. Then have at it. Spend at least three weeks on this query letter, and get feedback from at least three people, at least one of whom truly knows the field.

Suleman Thadha asked:


Finding a cheap book supplier is not going to be the toughest job for a person looking to buy cheap books. Narrowing down the kind of cheap book supplier is really the hard part because there are thousands of cheap book suppliers available. Used books, discounted books, books on auction, there are so many ways to find suppliers of cheap books. You can even go to your local library and find books for sale for pennies on the dollar. If you’re searching online, you will literally find hundreds of thousands of cheap book suppliers to choose from with hundreds to hundreds of thousands of titles. Searching for cheap books suppliers online can be thrilling, and with search engines to help you, any kind of used, new or rare bookstores can be found.

Cheap book suppliers can be individuals who sell books on their own or on auctions. Whether you’re interested in new or used books at cheap prices, cheap book suppliers will be able to help you suit all of your needs. There are online bookstores, local retail bookstores, wholesale bookstores, libraries, brick-and-mortar businesses and large chains that all supply cheap books. If you’re interested in used books, you can find cheap book suppliers everywhere that will sell them. Online bookstores, retail booksellers and wholesale booksellers all cater to the needs of individuals who need items shipped to them for convenience. It is possible to buy cheap books online and have your order waiting for you if you order from their website or call their customer service.

Cheap book suppliers carry books at discounted prices of every title and list their books conveniently by category. These categories include: Biography, Comics/ Graphic Novels, Children’s Books, Horror, Crime/ Thriller/ Mystery, Fiction, and even more. You will also find collectible, antique, and rare books, CDs and audio cassettes, and architecture categories also. If you are searching for authors, titles or ISBN numbers, buying online books makes it easy by allowing you to type in that author, title or ISBN number in a search bar to find what you have been looking for. Cheap book suppliers also have customer service by phone number or online form if you have trouble finding what you’re looking for. You can find the option to purchase cheap books by auction where you can discount the costs dramatically. Satisfaction guarantees cover any issue with the product or damaged products. Each cheap book supplier has their own company policies on exchanges and returns, and you can also be connected with customer service on their website if looking online.

There are many cheap book suppliers to choose from every city across the United States with varying amounts of titles. Finding the right online bookstore is easy, so test them out for your very next book buy. Customer service is a top priority and many of these cheap book suppliers will do their very best in order to ensure that you, the customer, are very satisfied with your book purchase. It is possible to find discounted titles, coupons or promotions for deals and specials for additional discounts on online bookstores as well.

gardnerwilkinson asked:


A hotel website without a booking engine is like food without salt – bland, and undesirable! A booking engine is the key is a hotel website’s success, as it allows the guest to make an easy and hasselfree reservation, in no time. In the past few decades, technology has seen tremendous growth and has completely changed the way business works. There was a time when hotel booking was possible only on phone; but today with the advent of technology, one can book a hotel room at the comfort of their home or office. Hotel booking engines have made hotel booking a convenient and smooth affair.

Choosing the right booking engine for your hotel website is extremely important as it is a quick and easy way of developing your online business and increasing profitability. When choosing a booking engine for your website, you must consider the following:-



Thorough Market & Industry Research

A good booking engine will enhance your business prospects to a great extent, as more and more people will be able to make a quick and hasselfree reservation in your hotel. In order to select the booking engine that will best suit your hotel business, you must conduct a thorough research of all the booking engines available in the market, evaluate their pro and cons; compare their strengths and weaknesses and then make a final decision.

Evaluating the Budget

Choose a booking engine that best suits your budget and at the same time delivers services that live up to your expectations. Make sure the amount you spend on a booking engine is worth the effort and you get the desired results, at the best deal possible.

Presentation

Many of you must have come across food stalls where the food looks delicious, but when you see the place where they prepare the items, it is unbearably unhygienic. Similarly, a good hotel website with a shoddy and substandard booking engine will simply drive guests away!

While selecting a booking engine for your hotel website, keep certain things in mind such as – Does it look attractive? Does it blend well with your website? Is it customisable? And does it have all the features you are looking for?

Multi-lingual & Multi-currency

Everyone knows what its like to be in a foreign country, and not knowing its language. You feel lost and frustrated. Similarly, a booking engine that is not multilingual and does not have multiple currency options will draw fewer people to your hotel. Therefore, it is important for you to choose a booking engine that has the multilingual and multicurrency feature that will allow your guests to reserve rooms in their local language and pay in their local currency. The ideal booking engine will have the capacity to present itself in a variety of languages and accept a variety of currencies, making it accessible to a larger potential customer base.

Seamless Integration

Choose a booking engine that has a range of online customization tools. This will enable you to duplicate your website’s look and feel and add branding to your booking engine. A good booking engine will seamlessly integrate with your website, so that when a guest is making a booking, he doesn’t have to think twice about the security of his payment details.

Wide Range of Payment Options

Your booking engine should offer a wide range of payment options without you having to invest large sums of money to develop your own payment network. Lack of payment options is one of the key reasons behind abandoned reservations, as not all customers are comfortable with limited payment options. Therefore, the more payment options you offer the more customers you gain.

Easy to Use

In this fast paced life, everyone wants things done quick and hasselfree. A booking engine involving a labyrinth of steps to complete the booking process will instantly put-off the guest. Choose a booking engine that follows the K.I.S.S rule (Keep It Short and Simple) and you will realise that it will work wonders for your business.

Images of Hotel Property

A booking engine including clear images of your hotel property enables the guest to enjoy the experience of making a booking in your website. An image of the room type, next to the room description in your booking engine can really make a difference as the customer will know exactly how the room looks and will feel more satisfied while making a reservation.



Easy Adaptability with Market Trends

Your booking engine should be backed up with a good technology development team; who are aware of the current activities taking place in the industry and can easily adapt to the market changes, otherwise it will quickly become an outdated tool.

Sarvesh Sharma asked:


 

Do you want to save your money on your favorite books, then book clubs are the best option for you. On these clubs, you can place order of your favorite books from numerous book sections. Every person, who is fond of reading books, can enjoy reading by joining reading groups. You can easily find books of your choice on these book clubs. These book clubs have the special deals with the book publishers. That’s why, one can get books at the very reasonable prices. They also deliver your books at your address without charges any extra money. So you need not go for shopping the books in the market and you can purchase your books without any hassle. These reading groups save your money and time.

 

 

There are lots of advantages of book clubs, but an individual should have some cautious before joining the book club.

Some book clubs choose books for you and deliver them at your home. In these clubs, you can not choose books according to your requirements. But some book clubs allow you to select your books that meet your requirements. Some clubs also take the extra shipping charges for the delivery books. So you should aware of these charges. Some book clubs offer exclusive gifts but they provide the bad quality books to its members. So you should consult with your friends before joining any club. Many book clubs give introductory offer on becoming its member but they give other books on the very high price. So you should always compare the prices of the books and offers with the other book clubs and you should choose the right one according to your needs.

 

 

Most of the clubs have been designed for the particular age of people. But India today Book Club, India’s most appreciated book club, brings the large collection of books for everyone. So you need not join lots of book clubs. This club has numerous books on various categories such as Information Technology, Religion and Spirituality, History, Military, Children’s choice, Best Sellers, Non-Fiction, Fiction and much more. India Today Book Club not only allows the group member to choose your favorite books, but it also delivers books at your home without taking any shipping charges. It also arranges a meeting with other group members for the discussion of a book. So, this is the best book club that gives all the facilities to its group members.

 

Sarvesh Sharma asked:


Every person, who wants to achieve success in life, should read high-quality books. These books give the right path to get his way. Today, there are many options for attaining knowledge such as Television, Internet and many more. All these things have changed our lifestyles. Now, Internet has become the part and parcel of our lives. With the help of Internet, we can get any information within a few clicks. So everyone wants to browse everything on the web in lieu of books. On the other hand, Television gives a little bit of knowledge to us. An individual wants to get entertain with Television and Internet. But they don’t remember that Books have its own place and they can’t ignore the importance of reading books. Books give the proper guidance to us for getting attaining our target.

Books that we read help in improving our mental aptitude. By reading good quality books, one can get solution of one’s problem. These books play a very significant role for enhancing our skills. But one should always select excellent quality books to achieve success. Now-a-days, Book Clubs have become the main attraction among the book lovers. These book clubs not only bring the large collection of books for everybody, but they also provide books at the very reasonable prices. Selection of books on these clubs is very easy. So a person can easily find his favorite books on them. Some book clubs also provide the introductory offer and exclusive gifts to its group members. They also organize a meeting with the other members to discuss about the books.

India Today Book Club is also an ultimate book club that has numerous books of various sections for example, Art and Reference Books, Religion and Spirituality, Information Technology, Medicine, Fitness and Health, Fiction, Classics etc. India Today Book Club also provides a free monthly magazine to give information about the latest published books. It also brings the exclusive books at the very low price. If you want to gift a book to your loved ones, then you can do it through this club.