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• TIP: Back to basics – know your sentences
• Your next chapter – Novel Writing Workshop
• Australian Antiquarian Book Fair
• Improve your business writing in one day – Professional Business Writing
• TIP: Should you use "if" or "whether"?
• What we’re reading – That Deadman Dance by Kim Scott
• WEBPICK: Analyze words

This week we were thrilled to interview best-selling author Robert Kiyosaki. He dropped into the Sydney Writers' Centre and we chatted about his new book Midas Touch: Why Some Entrepreneurs Get Rich – And Why Most Don't, which he co-authored with Donald Trump.

Robert has built an entire empire on his "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" series of books so it was great to be able to chat to him about his writing and book marketing strategies. You can view the video here.

Robert and I spoke about the importance of storytelling in business. It's a topic that I'm very passionate about because I think that there are some amazing stories in the world of business but they are often buried underneath too much technical jargon and empirical data.

That's one of the reasons I'm so excited about my seminar "How to write a business book". The next one is being held in Melbourne on Friday 7 October 2011.

Do you want to position yourself as an expert?
When you've authored a best-selling book, this gives you instant credibility. It opens doors, gives you an excuse to get on morning talk shows and is a wonderful calling card for prospects and customers.

Maybe you want to share your knowledge or use your book as a powerful lead generation tool. Your business book can do just that. This seminar shows you how you can turn your expertise into a best-selling business book.

After this half-day seminar, you'll have clarity on what you need to do next to turn the idea for your business book into reality. With practical advice and case studies, you'll also receive expert guidance on your specific book ideas.

MELBOURNE How to Write a Business Book with Valerie Khoo
When: Friday 7 October 2011 (half-day seminar)
Time: 9.30am – 1.00pm
Cost: $295

SYDNEY How to Write a Business Book with Valerie Khoo
When: Tuesday 24 January 2012 (half-day seminar)
Time: 9.30am – 1.00pm
Cost: $295

Click here for more information or to enrol online. 

Rambo is sleeping on the bed.

Although we're all animal lovers (dependent clause) , we don't bring our pets into the office each day (independent clause).

Rambo likes sleeping on the bed, but Dougal prefers sleeping on the couch.
(independent clause)                     (independent clause)

• There are only 3 places left in our first Writing Picture Books course. This will be the only course held in 2011, so hurry!
  
  
• Filling fast: Perfect Your Proofreading with Deb Doyle, Tuesday 27 September. 
  
  
• We celebrated our 6th birthday last week with all our wonderful presenters at lunch. Sadly the pets couldn’t join us.
  
  

Workshopping is one of the most valuable things a writer can do. Being able to discuss your work-in-progress with other writers inevitably highlights a number of issues – everything from voice or characterisation to grammar and punctuation.

Our Novel Writing Workshop gives you the chance to develop your project with the help of an expert. Author and teacher Pamela Freeman will guide just 12 people through this six-week course, designed to help you bring your novel to life.

If you’ve completed our Creative Writing course, or have a project of at least 5,000 words on the go, then the Novel Writing Workshop will help you enhance your skills and hone your craft.

Here’s what past participants say:
"The Novel Writing Workshop was amazing. I learnt so much from Pamela that I am now ready to get going with my novel and will definitely do the course again in a year to consolidate my learning."
- Jenny New

“Pamela was inspiring and never made you feel self-conscious about your work. It was great to be part of a group and workshop all our projects."
- Gemma Ryan

This course is taught by Pamela Freeman. Pamela is the author of 23 books, the most recent of which, Lolly Legs, has been published by Walker Books. In 2010 Full Circle (Book 3 of the Castings trilogy), was published in the US, UK, France, Spain, Portugal and Germany, as well as Australia. Another children’s book, Victor’s Challenge, was published in 2009 in Australia and the UK.

Novel Writing Workshop with Pamela Freeman
When: Tuesdays starting Tuesday 11 October 2011 for six weeks
Time: 6.30pm – 8.30pm
Cost: $495

Click here for more information or to enrol online.

Want to ensure your business writing is persuasive and professional? Good business writing could impact your company in so many ways – after all, almost all your communication with potential clients or customers is in writing.


Ensuring your reports and proposals are up to scratch doesn’t need to be an expensive or time-consuming process. Our one day seminar in Professional Business Writing will give you the tools you need to write polished and professional documents, every time.

Here’s what past participants say:
"Sue is an excellent presenter with a great deal to offer from her experience and passion for writing. This is exactly what I hoped for from the Sydney Writers' Centre."
- Raphael Miller

"You will definitely benefit from this course. It outlines better ways of writing business documents and also outlines important English rules that we all tend to forget in the business world."
- Silvana Petrovski

This seminar is presented by Sue White, a writing trainer and freelance journalist. Her work has been published in many of Australia’s leading magazines and newspapers, including The Sydney Morning Herald, Good Weekend, CNN Traveller, CNNGo.com, Australian Geographic online and various ABC outlets.

Professional Business Writing with Sue White
When: Tuesday 11 October 2011 (one-day seminar)
Time: 9.00am – 5.00pm
Cost: $450

Click here for more information or to enrol online.

I asked a friend if she’d like to go to the movies with me.

I don’t know whether (or not) I’ll go out on the weekend.

We can’t decide whether we should eat all the rocky road, or give some to our students.

• aristology – the science or art of dining
• brontology – the scientific study of thunder
• kalology – the study of beauty
• lepidopterology – the study of butterflies and moths
• micrology – study or discussion of trivialities
• oikology – science of housekeeping
  
  

• cryptozoology – the study of animals for whose existence there is no conclusive proof.
  (Yep, it’s possible to study something that doesn’t even exist.)
  
  
  

Whether you’re a professional looking to self-publish your business book, or you’re a budding novelist wanting to break into the world of eBooks, we have a seminar that will help you find your way.

Self-Publishing: How to do it will help you decide if this is the right path for you. You’ll learn the benefits of self-publishing compared to commercial publishing, how to get your book printed, what you need to do to market and distribute your book and, most importantly, how much it will cost.

Here’s what past participants say:
"Geoff is excellent and willing to help during and after the course. His knowledge of the subject is boundless and he shares that willingly."
- James Pratt

"Geoff is a very knowledgeable presenter. He covered every aspect of self-publishing and was able to answer all questions raised."
- Andrew Akratos

Self-Publishing: How to do it with Geoff Bartlett
When: Wednesday 28 September 2011 (two-hour evening seminar)
Time: 6.30pm – 8.30pm
Cost: $85

Click here for more information or to enrol online.


For new writers, Amazon’s Kindle bookstore has been a boon. It’s now possible for authors to publish even short stories as a ‘book’ and earn up to 70% in royalties from their sales – far more than a traditional publisher can offer. Sell Your eBook on Amazon is fast becoming our most popular seminar, so if you want to get into this one, you have to be quick!

Here’s what past participants say:
"Steven was very engaging and full of fascinating information. I never lost attention, not even once. The two hours flew by."
- Shona Parker

"Great inside information on eBook publishing."
- Val Maudson

Sell Your eBook on Amazon with Steven Lewis
When: Thursday 6 October 2011 (two-hour evening seminar)
Time: 6.30pm – 8.30pm
Cost: $85

Click here for more information or to enrol online.