I admired the layout of the book - the best I've seen to date.

I understand you have used Pagemaker to create your ebook, but did you use publically available templates to get that professional looking layout?

How did you get the dashed underline for the titles - I love it!

Regards,

Jon

www.instantcomputerconsultant.com
Discover How To Start and Run your own Computer Consultancy

Hi Jon,

I have a pet style that I tend use everywhere. No matter what I do to change my design, I seem to come back to this combination - almost as if it has been hardwired into me at birth!

I owned two community newspapers many years back and did all the revising, developmental typography and layout for them myself. The test runs that got the best reaction were very similar to the eBOOK SECRETS layout... compressed black (bold) headline font with some words underlined, and plenty of paragraphs.

The underlines here were done in PageMaker as you correctly figure, and I used the style box option to put a line under the phrase. Doing it this way - as distinct from using the 'underline' function - meant I could use a heavier line than normal and position it accurately a certain distance below the letters.

As for the rest, it was a simple matter of trial and error until the balance looked right. I chose a sans serif face for the body copy because that has a contemporary look, as serifed looks a bit old fashioned for the net.

Some of the influences for the design also came from Ken Evoy's manual - it's also a very good example of clean work. But my early manual "How To Make $100,000 A Year Part-Time Creating Your Own How-To Manuals At Home" had these traits well before Ken's work appeared. Great minds...

You're welcome to duplicate the style - I have no copyright over this. And even if I did, I still wouldn't mind at all.

Hope that helps!

Best regards,
Ken Silver
^^^^^^^^^^^^
"Ezi-Site - The Easiest Way To Create Your Own
Automated e-Commerce Site In Minutes!"
http://www.ezi-site.com

Ezi-Site Forum:
http://network54.com/Hide/Forum/67453
^^^^^^^^^^^^
Want to know more about me? Visit my other sites:
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http://www.ksilver.com/HomeMadePublisher.htm

eBOOK SECRETS Forum:
http://network54.com/Hide/Forum/11488

Ken,

Thanks for the response. I really love the fact you can post in this forum and get a response from the author of eBook Secrets. It's a shame it's not just a bit busier. Hopefully it will get that way.

By the way Ken, do you use Dragon Naturally Speaking for answering these emails? Just curious...

I loved your tip on automation on page 74. That little software product will save me hours of typing time. Also, I can use it for developing computer software much faster as it will drastically cut the programming time - most programming seems to be repetitive stuff.

Best of luck,

Regards,

Jon

www.instantcomputerconsultant.com
Discover How To Start and Run your own Computer Consultancy

P.S. My sig from "Regards" to "Consultancy" only took 1 second to write - a big thanks Ken!

Hi Jon,

Maybe this forum's not that busy because most of the questions are answered in my manuals

It's good to hear about your success with ShortKeys... I agree it's a real boon for HTML coding too. I use it also for expanding words like "eBOOK SECRETS" from a shortcut, where the spelling and case is important.

You can also put in common typos. For example, I often wrongly tap the semi-colon key next to the apostrophe key for contractions like don;t and you;re. So I put in the 'wrong' spelling as the key, and my correct spelling in ShortKeys comes up automatically.

And yes, I do answer these emails with Dragon NaturallySpeaking, usually stopping to enter my shortcuts by hand - like ".es" which produces "eBOOK SECRETS."

You can train Dragon to recognize and use these shortcuts, but I often have trouble remembering all the abbreviations to speak, finding it easier to type them as they come up.

Best regards,
Ken Silver
^^^^^^^^^^^^
"Ezi-Site - The Easiest Way To Create Your Own
Automated e-Commerce Site In Minutes!"
http://www.ezi-site.com

Ezi-Site Forum:
http://network54.com/Hide/Forum/67453
^^^^^^^^^^^^
Want to know more about me? Visit my other sites:
http://www.kensilver.com
http://www.ksilver.com/HomeMadePublisher.htm

eBOOK SECRETS Forum:
http://network54.com/Hide/Forum/11488

Ken,

You might be interested to note that an even better program exists! The same company has an program called Macro Express 2000.

It does all that ShortKeys does but more.

For example, to fill in this form, all I did was type ... DAMN! My macro just kicked in an buggered everything! Boy, you sure have to be careful not to accidently trigger your macros!!!

Anyway, I went to the Your Name field above on your form and typed .ksilveer (without the e!) and it filled in my name, put the signature in the Message Text box and then put a tick in the "Also send responses to my email address", all in an instant.

I'm convinced this will increase my post rate. Then, when I get Dragon Naturally Speaking, I could do some decent message board posts to increase my exposure.

Two questions:

1. Can I post asking for a site review on this conference? I have just created my first ebook and launched my site, with no sales to date and about 70 visitors. The link is below.

2. What do you think of Jeffrey Lant? How well is he doing? He sure seems to have a lot of websites and people buying his stuff. His books were extremely long (e.g. 600 pages) which encouraged me to buy them but they were so wordy it drove me mad. Is he one of the most successfull, like Corey Rudl?

Regards,

Jon

www.instantcomputerconsultant.com
Discover How To Start and Run your own Computer Consultancy

Hi Jon,

Sure Macro Express may be good, but I use QuicKeys to do the things you describe. As a universal program goes, QuicKeys appears to cover everything without me having to duplicate similar, overlapping types of programs like this (which starts getting a little expensive too).

In answer to your questions:
1) Sure you can ask for a critique on your site. I'm only concerned about others who use a "check out my site" post as a way to advertize their products. Yours is obviously not in that league, so go for it!

2) I enjoy Jeffrey Lant's work. I first came across his "Cashflow Copy" in a library about a decade ago, and it is the only book I've taken out more than 5 times. His own success since is a prime example of building on past successes to build his business.

I was surprized at the speed at which he took on the net, but in just a couple of years has come to dominate his corner of it. I'm not a fan of his 'business opportunity' style of website though... it's comprised of many get-rich-quick pitches that spell failure for almost all those involved, in my opinion. The days have gone where you can sell a bunch of generic wealth info-products and make any money at it - though many still try.

Best regards,
Ken Silver
^^^^^^^^^^^^
"Ezi-Site - The Easiest Way To Create Your Own
Automated e-Commerce Site In Minutes!"
http://www.ezi-site.com

Ezi-Site Forum:
http://network54.com/Hide/Forum/67453
^^^^^^^^^^^^
Want to know more about me? Visit my other sites:
http://www.kensilver.com
http://www.ksilver.com/HomeMadePublisher.htm

Ken,

In practice I'm finding the simplicity of Quickeys an advantage. I just can't remember all those macro buttons.

Mind you, I have considered getting Naturally Speaking Pro with all those macros. Have you used it?

The main thrust of my marketing will be affiliate so I have no intention of using your forum as an excuse to post "Check my site out" messages just for advertising purposes.

On the subject of Affiliate Programs, there is a good bit of software at www.groundbreak.com. It is supposed to be a bit buggy but the features are great and the cost low.

Regards,

Jon Lawrance
The Instant Computer Consultant
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
How To Make $100,000 A Year Running
Your Own Computer Consultancy From Home
Visit: http://www.instantcomputerconsultant.com
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Ken,

You might be interested to note that an even better program exists! The same company has an program called Macro Express 2000.

It does all that ShortKeys does but more.

For example, to fill in this form, all I did was type ... DAMN! My macro just kicked in an buggered everything! Boy, you sure have to be careful not to accidently trigger your macros!!!

Anyway, I went to the Your Name field above on your form and typed Jon Lawrance

www.instantcomputerconsultant.com
Discover How To Start and Run your own Computer Consultancy