Imagine for a moment, you are presented with an opportunity to appear onstage in front of an audience of millions. In the audience are readers, agents, editors and even publishers from around the world. You have but a few seconds to make an impression. What should you do?

This is the opportunity presented to you by Nothing Binding. It’s the global stage and window to the world of readers, agents, editors and publishers searching for those undiscovered gems. In order to attract the attention of your audience you must make a serious presentation, one that compels readers to read, and buyers to buy.

Your audience expects to find interesting content, a marketable product, and a writer/author that has the potential to attract an even bigger audience. Review your Nothing Binding profile and then ask yourself: Have I made the best presentation I can? Is this the image I want to present to the world? If not, here are some serious recommendations, all of which will help You maximize your potential on Nothing Binding and succeed in the global publishing world.

(1) Your personal photo must illustrate that you are presentable as a writer. Your favorite pet, while cute, does not speak about you as a writer. The world of publishing is about presenting yourself to readers and your personal photo needs to reflect a positive, professional image.

(2) Your biography cannot be a rambling dissertation of your life history, it has to be short and to the point. The audience that browses the pages of Nothing Binding wants relevant facts, not fluff. Read the bios of authors on book jackets; these are examples of what you need to present. Tell your audience what interests them, not you!

(3) What inspires you as a writer? This is a serious question that requires serious thought, not an off-the-cuff series of comments. Don’t simply fill in the blanks. You need to respond in a thoughtful way, these are the kinds of questions and answers that separate you from the rest.

(4) Correct your spelling, and grammar! There is nothing worse than a writer with poor writing mechanics. Be sure to reread your entries and correct what’s wrong, please! We’re all writers, your spelling and grammar must be editorially correct. Your audience will not get past this and it will end their visit to your profile.

(5) Book excerpts are designed to give the reader a snippet of your writing. If you fail to provide one, you’ve just eliminated the possibility of selling books. Why would anyone buy your book without reading a short passage?

(6) The book cover is the door to your writing; it should exemplify what your book is all about. If you designed your own cover and didn’t follow the rules of the marketplace, you will not attract an audience and you will not sell books. There are no exceptions to this rule.

(7) Everyone must have a link to their favorite bookseller. Be it Amazon, B&N.com, or your own personal website. Readers, agents and editors must be able to purchase your book from a trusted website so you must include a link.

(8) Publishers send authors on tours to make connections with their audience. The best way to sell books is face-to-face. The importance of an audio, or even better a video, cannot be over stated.

(8a) Readers want to see the face and hear the voice of their favorite authors. I strongly urge each writer to sit down in front of a camera and either read from your writing, or introduce yourself to your audience.

(8b) Your video should be no longer than three minutes, the max for an online presentation. You do not have to create an expensive commercial. Look into the camera, and speak clearly, Nothing Binding is your true stage.

(8c) Speaking passionately about your topic will enlighten, engage, and enrich your presentation. And if you’re not excited about your book, how do you expect anyone else to be?

(9) Join a writer’s group or start your own, either way you should interact with other writers and authors. We can learn from each other. The best way is to seek advice from those with experience. Joining groups and interacting positively with other writers is the first step in creating an audience and expanding your readership. Be genuine, be kind, don’t be critical, there are enough critics for our books.

(10) List your own newsletter on the site, thousands of people are seeking information about a wide variety of subjects. Regardless of your topic, make your newsletter available to readers, writers and authors around the world. This helps promote you and your writing.

(11) Browse the site and make a list of your favorite titles, the ones you personally have an interest in reading. Whether your friends, colleagues, or fellow writers, the more you promote titles for other writers, the more your own book will gain more attention and recognition. Readers like recommendations and if they like your book, they might just take your advice and buy your friend’s book.

(12) List your friends from the site, the ones you’ve met through our groups. Readers interested in your book might just link to your friends and in turn you will help them sell books. It’s all about writers helping other writers.

(13) If you have more than one book in print, each one should be listed. Make certain all of your titles are listed on the site, not just your most recent. Let your audience know you have other titles available.

(14) This site is free. We ask that you help promote Nothing Binding by posting our logo on your own personal web site. The hope is that we will link all self-published and small press titles together into one big group making our books and writing available to a truly global audience.

(15) DIGG is a place for people to discover and share content from anywhere on the web. From the biggest online destinations to the most obscure blog, Digg surfaces the best stuff as voted on by our users. You won’t find editors at Digg — we’re here to provide a place where people can collectively determine the value of content and we’re changing the way people consume information online.

(15a) DIGG is an important way to spread the word about Nothing Binding and will gain attention to all of our books. It’s a very easy concept, just click on the DIGG link, create an account and help promote Nothing Binding as well as all titles listed on our site. It’s about sharing and spreading the word about the content of our titles. It’s about promotion and the more we help promote each other the more attention we all gain and the more we prosper.

(16) It couldn’t get much easier…take some time, follow the steps we have carefully provided, this will maximize your presentation, and create your own stage for our global audience. Remember, it’s your profile, your writing, where you are seen and heard 24/7. You must take advantage of every opportunity if you expect your writing to gain the attention you want. You never know who is going to visit and when. Don’t wait, sit down and create your masterpiece. It’s not just about your writing, it’s also about how you present your writing and yourself that counts.

[Coaching and Advice] If you need help it will be provided, just click on additional services. We’ll upload and embed for you if you wish, but we do charge for that service. You still have to provide the content. It must come to us in an email or other document that is easy to interpret. If you don’t have the time we’ll help, we provide that service at a reasonable price.