The information superhighway is fast becoming the information junkyard. Google anything, and you get links numbering in the hundreds of thousands or even millions. Links from 2002 may be mixed in with links from 2010, and unless you’re already an expert on the topic, you have no way to distinguish accurate information from outdated cyber junk. Information you can’t fully trust is as useless as no information at all, not to mention misleading.

My interest in this cyber junk issue spiked the other day when I was trying to write a section in a book about how to choose a good web hosting service — a place on the Internet to store your website. Search for “web hosting service,” “reliable web hosting services,” “unbiased web hosting service reviews,” whatever, and just about all you find are very biased web hosting directories. Nearly all of these directories or review sites rank web hosting providers by conversion rate, commission payout, and/or advertising fees, not by anything useful, such as customer satisfaction. Because the Web has so many sources of unreliable information in this arena, you can’t trust any of it.

This is one of the main benefits of team writing — a writing strategy in which a writer collaborates with a specialist. As the writer on the team, this enables me to focus primarily on presentation, relying on a specialist to feed me the most relevant, reliable, and up-to-date information. I don’t need to read a bunch of books, dig through highly specialized journals, or sift through trash on the Internet to find a couple pearls of useful information. The specialist, the content expert, has done all that for me and has instant and total recall. Moreover, the specialist can quickly tell whether a nugget of information is valuable or utter nonsense.

As for all that Web trash, a couple search tools and techniques can help you sift through it:

• Consider using Google’s filters to sort search results by date and time. This helps you avoid outdated content. After performing a search, click one of the links below “Any time” (to the left of the search results). If you don’t see Google’s search filters, click More search tools.
• Search relevant, reputable sites. You’re going to find better information about health by searching WebMD or the Mayo Clinic website than by googling your topic of interest. Sometimes, the sites with the best information get buried in the mountain of search results… or they’re not even indexed.
• Search specialized directories, such as healthfinder.gov. NoodleTools has a good list of specialized search tools that seems to be updated regularly.
• If you’re in the market for something, such as a web hosting service, don’t neglect old school techniques, like asking your friends and colleagues what they use. With social media sites, including Facebook and Twitter, this is easier than ever.

Some people love Wikipedia. I’m not one of them.

If you have any tips for finding relevant, accurate, and timely information on the Web, please share.

I have been teaming up with experts in different fields for about five years now to produce books on a variety of topics, including bipolar disorder, food allergies, slam poetry, and real estate investing. I even co-authored a book on oceanography.

I could probably write books on these topics myself, but they wouldn’t be nearly as informative and would require about four times the effort in research alone. My co-authors have the requisite knowledge, but they lack the skills, time, or desire to write a book on their own… or they feel overwhelmed by the prospect. By teaming up, we complement one another and develop higher quality publications more efficiently and confidently.

Team writing benefits everyone involved – the content expert, writer, editor, and reader.

Content Expert

• Time savings: The most time-consuming aspect of writing is re-writing. The writer takes that off the expert’s plate. The writer can also take the lead in communicating with editorial, especially during the author review process.
• Scheduling: A deadline-oriented writer can keep manuscript development moving forward at a sufficient pace to meet or beat deadlines… assuming the expert cooperates.
• Table of contents (TOC) development: Good writers are analytical and able to break down a topic into chapters, headings, and subheadings. With a detailed TOC in place, the writing process is like shooting ducks.
• Lighter edits: The writer essentially does a very heavy pre-edit, which typically results in fewer and less involved editorial changes.
• Improved focus: The content expert can focus on providing comprehensive and valuable content rather than on making it read smoothly and clearly. Division of labor allows each team member to do what he or she does best.
• Improved marketing: The writer and content expert can team up post publication to promote the book. Promotional activities may include developing a website/blog and populating it with engaging content, writing articles for industry-related publications or websites, setting up an Amazon Author Central account, developing book descriptions, and preparing press releases.

Can the content expert write a book on his or her own? Probably. But most of the content experts I team up with earn substantially more money per hour in their field than by writing books. They write books more for recognition and positioning than for royalties, so teaming up with a professional writer to complete the project as quickly and efficiently as possible is a sound financial decision.

Writer

• Reduced research overhead: Research is time-consuming, and often writers don’t even have the insight to determine whether their sources are accurate and timely. A content expert is a walking library on his or her area of expertise. Research consists of merely transferring what’s in expert’s brain to paper. (That’s not always as easy as it sounds, but it’s a whole lot easier than having to become an expert.)
• Platform: Some professional writers develop a following and build their own platform, but writers like me are no names. For example, I can’t speak as an authority on food allergies, but my co-author, Dr. Wood, is a renowned expert in food allergies. Having a platform, a recognizable name, a website, speaking engagements, connections with influential members of a community, and so on sells books.

The writer must do some research to gain a general understanding of the topic. How much research depends on the expert’s ability to deliver essential information. In some cases, I write from research and then have the content expert review it. Very often, the information I provide is inaccurate or incomplete, but it starts a dialog that generates the necessary content.

Editor

• Experienced go-between: A seasoned writer can ease the burden for editorial by performing substantial edits before an editor steps in. The writer can also assist in project management.
• Fewer formatting headaches: A writer trained in preparing a manuscript in the required format can save editorial hours in re-formatting.
• Improved focus: Editors can focus more on improving a good manuscript rather than fixing a broken one.

Reader

• Another technical edit: Every how-to book goes through a technical review process in which an unbiased expert checks the content to ensure it’s accurate and complete. With two experts reviewing the manuscript, the content is sure to be even more accurate and complete.
• Better book: The bottom line is that team writing produces better books, assuming, of course, the content expert, writer, and editors all deliver.

Collaboration is key. When the content expert, writer, and editors join in a true collaboration, the project takes on a life of its own, and all parties drive each other to higher levels of passion and creativity. When it works right, everyone on the team inspires one another, writer’s block becomes a non-issue, and everybody wins.

Mrs. Tovornik, Cecie Kraynak, Tatjana Novak, Maja Valic, Darja Budja, Joe Kraynak, Sanja Svajger (Journalist) at Book Presentation in Ljubljana, Slovenia, October 12, 2009

On August 12, I received an interesting email message via my Contact Me page. The message was from Darja Budja, who was wrapping up her translation/adaptation of Bipolar Disorder for Dummies
from English to Slovene. Darja has bipolar, hosts her own bipolar Web site at bipolarna.si, and is very involved in the bipolar community in Ljubljana (pronounced lyoo-blee-ah-nah), Slovenia. She was writing to let me know how much she loved the book Dr. Candida Fink and I had written.

As we exchanged email messages, Darja expressed a grand vision she had to promote the book – presenting the Slovene edition of Bipolar Disorder For Dummies to me, in person, in Slovenia. I thought it was a brilliant idea, but confessed I had neither the money nor the time to travel to Europe. Darja persisted, lined up the funding to cover the air fare for me and my wife, Cecie (who also has bipolar and is the inspiration for my involvement in the book), and made all the arrangements – including letting us stay in a comfortable flat owned by her husband Simon’s parents.

When the trip looked as though it was actually going to happen, I contacted David Hobson, Associate Marketing Manager at Wiley, to request some gifts for our hosts. David packed a boxful of goodies and shipped them to me pronto. They were lost in transit, but we managed to track them down the night before our departure… that’s another story.

On Thursday, October 8, we arrived in Ljubljana via Venice. Friday afternoon, we met with several of the movers and the shakers who had made the translation possible – Darja; Maja Valic of the DAM Society (a depression and anxiety organization); Peter Smole, Roman Peklaj, and Katja Jus of Saložba Pasadena (the publisher); and Emi M. Kladnik and Ana Šorc who translated Depression For Dummies.

Friday evening was the highlight of the trip for us, when we met with Darja’s bipolar support group in Ljubljana to present the book and discuss our experiences with bipolar disorder. Many wonderful people were present who were managing bipolar in their lives. Throughout the meeting, which lasted over two hours, we shared stories, tears, and plenty of laughs – when you’re dealing with bipolar, humor is an essential survival skill. We also had the pleasure of meeting the renowned and unconventional psychiatrist, Dr. Mojca, who introduced us to “the gypsy way” of overcoming obstacles.

We did two more book presentations – one in Koper (on the shores of the Adriatic Sea) and another back in Ljubljana – and Cecie and I were interviewed as part of a special report on bipolar disorder for one of the local television channels.

Given the fact that Slovenia is populated by only a little over 2 million people, and the first print run for the book was only 1,000 copies, I was very impressed by the promotional efforts behind this book, but wondered… why, how? I later learned that Bipolar Disorder For Dummies is the first major book on the topic in Slovene (except for a couple books for children). AstraZeneca, the pharmaceutical company, had agreed to purchase 250 copies of the book to distribute to psychiatrists throughout the country, along with brochures on bipolar for patients.

During our stay, we visited with Darja and Simon and their wonderful children and were treated to several tours of Ljubljana and the beautiful country of Slovenia by Darja, Maja, and their friends. It was truly a remarkable opportunity and the most rewarding and fascinating experience of my writing career.

Thanks to the DAM Society, AstraZeneca, Zalozba Pasadena, and Darja Budja and Maja Valic for their efforts and support in publishing the translation and hosting our trip and to all our new friends in Slovenia who are pitching in to promote the book and who were such gracious hosts. Thanks also to my parents, John and Adeline Kraynak, and mother-in-law, Jo Anne Howard, for their support, to PsychCentral’s John Grohol for pledging his support… and, always, to my wife, Cecie, who helped make this trip spectacular.

Although I prefer writing books, I have done some ghost blogging for co-authors and clients. One of the main challenges I face in this area is developing unique content that is both relevant and compelling. After all, as many successful bloggers will tell you, “Content is king.”

When I co-author a book with a client, overcoming the challenge is much easier. The book functions as a valuable source of accurate, timely information. You don’t want to hurt sales of the book by giving away the content on your blog, but the book provides ideas for posts, and the posts can drive book sales rather than undercutting them.

Regardless of whether I have co-authored a book with a client, I prefer collaborating with clients to develop and vet the content for blog posts rather than doing pure ghost blogging. Prior to working clients, I let them know up front that I am not an expert in their field – they are. Sure, I can poke around on the Web to do some research and generate ideas for posts, but I am not qualified to judge whether what I am reading is timely or accurate. Nor am I qualified to provide creative insight on topics in their areas of expertise – for topic experts, this often comes easy, because their heads are in the game 24/7. My role is to…

• Assist in identifying ideas for posts
• Assist in extracting insight and information from the topic expert
• Present the insights and information in easily accessible, understandable, and compelling language for mere mortals to read and understand

After the content expert provides some starter material, I can run with it and produce a fairly final first draft. Having my client, the topic expert, perform one final review and sign off on the piece allows me to post it with confidence, knowing that the information is accurate and expressed in a way the client approves.

My friend, colleague, and co-author Marc Kelly Smith has invited me to join him at the 25th annual Printers Row Lit Fest in Chicago where the master of Slam Poetry, Slampapi himself, will be promoting our two latest books, Take the Mic and Stage a Poetry Slam, and performing on stage. 

Please join us on Saturday June 6 and Sunday June 7 from 10 am to 6 pm. The Lit Fest is a free, two-day literary extravaganza featuring more than 200 authors, 100 literary programs, and 160 booksellers. For more information, head to the Chicago Tribune’s Printers Row Lit Fest page.

I’ll be hanging out pretty much all day on Saturday. Marc’s planning to arrive at around 2:30 pm when he returns from the Southern Fried Poetry Slam in Durham, North Carolina. To catch Marc, you may want to show up sometime before 3 pm. Here’s when he’s scheduled to do his thing:

• Saturday, 6/6/2009, 3:15 p.m. on the Arts & Poetry Stage: Marc Kelly Smith promoting our new books, Take the Mic and Stage a Slam.
• Saturday, 6/6/2009, 5 p.m. on the Arts & Poetry Stage: The Chicago Poetry Foundation presents the Chicago Poetry Audio Tour Premiere with Marc reading a couple of Sandburg poems in this marathon of Chicago poems.

Coming this April 1st (no foolin’), we really have something to celebrate – the release of two new Slam books – Take the Mic and Stage a Poetry Slam, both published by Naperville’s own Sourcebooks and penned by Chicago natives Marc Kelly Smith (So What!) and Joe Kraynak (Who Cares?). We began planning the books back in February of 2008 and have reworked and revised them to near perfection… as near as we can tell.

Take the Mic

Take the Mic is an essential guide for lifting your poetry from the page to the stage. In this book, Slampapi Marc Kelly Smith serves as your personal trainer and coach, showing you how to craft stage-worthy verse and deliver a poetry performance that shakes the rafters and sparks thunderous applause. In Take the Mic, you discover how to…

• Pen poetry that’s conducive to on-stage performance
• Overcome stage fright
• Practice powerful performance techniques
• Rehearse like a pro
• Shape a loose collection of poems into a killer set
• Connect with your audience – heart and soul
• Master the art of self-promotion
• Schedule your own slam poetry tour
• Transform your hobby into paying gigs
• Act professional to establish a solid reputation in the Slam community

Take the Mic is packed with practical exercises you can do alone or in class to hone your skills and transform your body, mind, voice, verse, and spirit into an engaging stage presence.

You’ll also find a brief history of slam, the rules and regulations that govern official slam competitions, and a list of PSI (Poetry Slam, Inc.) Certified Slams, so no matter where you are, you always have a place to Take the Mic!

Stage a Poetry Slam

Stage a Poetry Slam is a comprehensive guide for both budding and seasoned Slammasters – people in charge of organizing and promoting poetry slams and spoken word events. In this book, Marc Kelly Smith takes you back stage to reveal the techniques and strategies he’s picked up over his 20 years plus of developing world-class Slam shows. Stage a Poetry Slam leads you through the process of shaping your own Slam from vision to opening night, as you discover how to…

• Fashion a crystal clear vision that drives the development of your first show
• Plan a detailed itinerary for a Slam extravaganza
• Scope out a venue that fits your vision
• Choose the right stage type for maximum impact
• Deal with the technical stuff – lights, mics, props, & drops
• Recruit and organize emcees, volunteers, and other support
• Discover talented performance poets and spoken word artists
• Publicize and promote your show to attract an eager audience
• Stage special shows for corporate and community events
• Take ownership of your show, so it doesn’t get hijacked
• Negotiate fair compensation with club owners and other patrons of the arts

Stage a Poetry Slam is packed with practical, world-tested advice on how to craft a compelling spoken word poetry event and promote in such a way to pack the seats and leave a line out to the streets.

You’ll also find a brief history of slam, the rules and regulations that govern official slam competitions, and a list of PSI (Poetry Slam, Inc.) Certified Slams, so you always have a place to visit to pick up ideas and talk shop with other Slammasters!

Where to Order

Starting April 1, 2009, both books will be available for purchase at bookstores online and off, including the following:

Amazon

OrderTake the Mic

Order Stage a Poetry Slam

Barnes & Noble

Order Take the Mic

Order Stage a Poetry Slam

Borders

Order Take the Mic

Order Stage a Poetry Slam

Sourcebooks

Order Take the Mic

Order Stage a Poetry Slam

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Computer Basics, 5th Edition

Price: $19.95, February 2009, Penguin – Alpha Books

Most introductory computer books focus on hardware – CPU, RAM, motherboard, hard drive, expansion cards, and other high-tech gear. The Complete Idiot’s Guide® to Computer Basics, Fifth Edition, takes an entirely different approach. It assumes computer users are about as interested in what’s inside their computer and how it works as drivers care about what’s under the hood of their cars. People want to use their computers to perform practical tasks, such as typing letters, managing their personal finances, shopping online, communicating with friends and family using email and online messaging, editing digital photos and videos, listening to music, and tuning in to YouTube. The Complete Idiot’s Guide® to Computer Basics, Fifth Edition shows them how.

This book puts the “personal” back in personal computing. It places the power of the computer back into the hands of the people. Instead of expecting readers to understand their computers, it shows readers how to put their computers to work for them – how to make them more productive and improve the quality of their lives.

In The Complete Idiot’s Guide® to Computer Basics, Fifth Edition, readers discover how to:

• Compose letters and create custom publications.
• Track down lost and misplaced documents.
• Decorate documents with professional clip art and other graphics.
• Shop at mega-malls and specialty shops without leaving their home – and save money, too!
• Send and receive e-mail with the click of a button.
• Carry on conversations with friends, relatives, and complete strangers anywhere in the world free with instant messaging.
• Plan their vacation, get medical advice, and find maps and directions to nearly any location.
• Copy music clips from the Internet and from their CD collections and burn their own custom CDs.
• Take photos with a digital camera, transfer them to the computer, make prints, or e-mail photos to friends and family.
• Create their own websites or blogs (web logs) to express their views, communicate with family and friends, or market their products and services.
• Edit their home videos and copy video clips to CDs, DVDs, or VHS tapes.
• Tune up their computer to keep it running at peak performance.
• Practice green computing to reduce, reuse, and recycle.

Back in high school, I dreaded writing those 500-word essays. Those two-page, double-spaced monstrosities loomed over me like an upcoming final exam in AP Chemistry. Now, I can crank out a couple thousand words a day and still have plenty left in the ol’ reserve tank.

Recently, however, I’ve been writing some pieces that are quite a bit shorter – maximum 450 words including a 100-word sidebar. I figured I could churn out these bite-sized nuggets in about an hour or less. But what I’ve found is that they actually take me quite a bit more time to develop than my standard 500-750 word pieces. Trying to say something relevant and useful… and engaging in 350 words or less is tough. Slashing content when I invariably overshoot the target on early drafts is painful.

It reminds me of that scene in the movie A River Runs Through It, in which the father is teaching his son how to write. The son hands the essay to his father who reviews it, hands it back to the son, and tells him something like, “Half as much.” This goes on several times until the father is satisfied with the quality of the work.

It’s made me realize that less is more, and often more work, too.