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Lisa Kesteven

Publishing Online for Writers

Lisa Kesteven
National Association of Writers in Education, London, UK

ISBN 978-3-031-21365-6 e-ISBN 978-3-031-21366-3

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-21366-3

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive

license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023

This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively
licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is
concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of
illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in
any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and
retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or
dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed.

The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks,

service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the
absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the
relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general
use.

The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the
advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate
at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the
editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the
material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have
been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional
claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered

company Springer Nature Switzerland AG
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham,
Switzerland
I would like to dedicate this book to:
Sebastiaan and Samantha
Contents
I Publishing Online for Writers
1 Introduction to Publishing Online for Writers
Will Online Publishing Rid the World of Printed Publications?​
So, How Big Is the Move to Publishing Online?​
What Do We Mean by Publishing Online?​
A Short History of Publishing Online
The Rise of the E-book
The Future for Publishing Online?​
How Writers and Readers Interact in a Digital World
Reasons to Publish Online
The Subject/​Genre of Your Piece Performs Well Online
The Piece Is Better Suited to Digital Platforms
You Want to Be in the Driving Seat of Your Writing Career
Want to Be Your Own Boss
You Have Tried the Traditional Route to Publishing and Got
No Interest
Wanting to Supplement an Established Writing Career
Revive a Flagging Publishing Career
More Money
You Want to Get to Market Quickly
Use It as a Springboard to Traditional Publishing
When Not to Publish Online
2 Publishing Online:​Getting Started
Where to Start
Know Your Market
 Preparing to Publish Online
Six Steps to Publish Online
1.​What’s the Topic or Niche of Your Piece?​
2.​What Is the Format of Your Piece?​
3.​What’s Your Pitch?​
4.​Who Is Your Likely Audience?​
5.​Why Do You Want to Publish This Piece?​
6.​Research Potential Digital Platforms and Media
3 Publishing in Online Magazines
What Makes a Website an Online Magazine?​
How Does that Differ from a Journal?​
What Can You Get Published with an Online Magazine?​
Is it Worthwhile Submitting Your Work to Sites that Don’t
Pay?​
Should You Publish Your Article on More than One Site?​
Assessing if a Magazine Is for You
Match Made in Heaven?​
Is Your Piece Original?​
Ease of Use of the Magazine
Alexa Ranking
Is Their Genre and Style Suitable for Your Piece?​
Publishing with a Magazine Online
Option 1:​A Focused Magazine
Option 2:​General Interest Magazines
Option 3:​Local Magazines
Option 4:​Trade Magazines
 What Should You Submit to an Online Magazine?​
How Much Will They Pay?​
Types of Magazine Articles
You’ve Found a Magazine, What’s Next?​
Step 1:​Review Their Copyright Terms
Step 2:​Check Submission Dates and Any Deadlines
Step 3:​Prepare Your Submission
4 Publishing with Online Journals
Only Submit When Your Article/​Paper Is Ready
Finding an Appropriate Journal
Is the Journal Credible?​
Conferences and Journals
Should You Approach More Than One Journal?​
Understand the Journal’s Aims, Scope, Guidelines, and
Target Audience
What Are Journals Looking for?​
Dealing with Rejection
First Impressions Count
Edit, Edit, Edit
Cover Letter
Reviewers’ Comments
5 Publishing via Blogs
Should You Be Blogging?​
What Does It Take to Be a Good Blogger?​
Should You Have Your Own Blog?​
Getting the Blog Basics Right
 Writing Quality Blog Posts
Pitching to Other Blogs
Have a Niche
What Is the Aim of Your Blog?​
Is Your Blog Hitting the Spot?​
Blogging Pitfalls to Avoid
Your Blog Is Organic and Not Set in Stone
6 Publishing a Podcast
What Is a Podcast?​
Is There a Standard Podcast Format?​
Does There Need to Be a Theme to a Podcast?​
Presenters?​
Professional or Basic?​
Making a Podcast
Your Recording Space
Podcast Apps
Audio Recording
The Interview Format
Editing
Publishing
RSS Feeds (Really Simple Syndication)
Marketing
Making Money
Taking Your Podcast from Good to Great
Research, Research, Research
Preparation
 Invisible Scripting
Give Your Audience Something
High Quality Audio
The Podcast Host
The Length
Be Careful with Your Editing
Getting Up Close and Personal
Experiment
Developing Your Podcast Idea
Step 1.​What Is the Purpose of Your Podcast?​
Step 2.​Who Is Your Audience?​
Step 3.​Choose Your Host
Step 4.​Give Your Target Audience a Reason to Listen
Step 5.​Name Your Podcast
Step 6:​Choosing Your Podcast Format
Top Tips for Recording Your Podcast
II Publishing E-books
7 The E-book Publishing Process
When to Decide If You’re Going Down the E-book Path
Use of Images, Charts, and Diagrams
Key E-Book Decisions
Benefits of Deciding Up Front It Is Going to Be an E-book
Why Create an E-book
Can You Make Money from Your E-book?​
Steps of the E-book Publishing Process
What’s a Self-Publishing Company?​
 Is Your E-book Ready?​
Planning for Publishing Your E-book Online
Online Publishing to-do List
Have You Read Material on an E-book Reader?​
Choosing an E-reader
E-books and Genres
An Indie Author or a Self-Published Author:​What’s the
Difference?​
What’s the Difference with Self-Publishing?​
8 Designing an E-book
Types of E-books
Book Sizes
A Professional E-book
Book Structure
E-book Contents
Traditional Book Elements
Blurb/​Description
Have a Clear Chapter Layout to Your E-book
Standard Formatting
Chapter Formatting
First Paragraph of a Chapter
See How Your Content Looks on an E-reader
Seek Feedback
Designing Your E-book
1.​Check Your Manuscript Is Ready
2.​Format Your Manuscript
9 Producing an E-book
Producing Your E-book
Software Options for Producing an E-book
Using E-book Creation Software to Create Your E-book
Check Your Manuscript
Creating Your Cover
Your Cover Is Your First Marketing Tool
Is the Cover That Important?​
Outsourcing Cover Design
Key Decisions About Your E-book Cover
Cover Design Tools
Have Links in Your E-book
E-book File Formats
Package Your E-book
Publishing with Amazon
Being an Amazon Author
What Is Kindle Direct Publishing?​
ISBN
ASIN
10 Your E-book Marketing Strategy
The Importance of Having a Marketing Strategy for your E-book
Contents of Your E-book Marketing Strategy
Decide Your Marketing Budget
How Much Time Do You Really Have to Put Aside for
Marketing?​
Understand Your Field or Sector
 Who Is Your Target Audience?​
Connect with Your Potential Reader
How Are You Going to Position Your E-book or Work?​
Website Promotion
Paid Advertising?​
Pre-launch Promotions
Social Media as Part of Your E-book Marketing Strategy
Social Media Posts Can Include:​
Promote Your E-Book via Email Marketing
Launch an Email Outreach Programme
What to Charge
Coordinating Your Marketing Activities
Track, Measure, and Refine Your Strategy
11 Promoting Your E-book
Promoting Your E-book
Reviews
Offer a Teaser
Find Influencers
Creating a Buzz
Online Advertisements
Pre-launch E-book Promotions
Share Your E-book Writing Journey
Give Updates on Your Progress
Polish Your E-book Cover
Email Lists
Get Involved in a Group Promotion
 Build Relationships
Facebook Groups
Competitions
Promotions Using Different Social Media Platforms
Promote Your E-book on Facebook
Promote Your E-book on Twitter
Promote Your E-book on Instagram
Promote Your E-book on YouTube
Free Online E-book Advertising
III Publishing Online: Making It a Success
12 An Online Writer’s Website
Does an Author Need a Website?​
Your Author Platform
The Purpose of an Author Website
Getting Started
Choose Your Platform
Select a Domain Host
Pick a Domain Name
What’s a Good Domain Name?​
Add Domain Security
Build and Design Your Author Website Yourself
Know Your Audience
Pages to Include on Your Website
The Homepage
About the Author
Should You Include a Photograph of Yourself?​
 Your Publications
Offer Your Website Visitor Something More
Contact Me
Your Blog
Events
Do You Need to Have All These Pages?​
Capturing Email Addresses and Having Mailing Lists
Using Your Author Website to Market Your Books
Your Authorial Voice
Tracking Your Website’s Performance
My Final Word on Author Websites:​
13 Managing Online Writing Projects
Managing Projects or Project Management:​What Is It?​
Time, Cost, and Quality
Do Writers Have Projects?​
Writer Projects:​The Stages
Initiation
Planning
Break It Down
Who Does What
Deadlines and Dependencies
Execution
Stakeholders
Control
Don’t Forget the Unpleasant Activities!
Manage
 Close
Time to Reflect
Managing Multiple Projects
Build Your Project Activity Templates
14 Long-Term Success for a Writer Online
Won’t It Be Easier to Be Published Online?​
Be Patient
Be Online Smart
Build on Your Writing Skills
You Need to Write
Expect Quality Writing from Yourself
Don’t Forget Your Goal
Take a Step-by-Step Approach
Overnight Success Doesn’t Really Happen
Isn’t All Publicity Good Publicity?​
Learn from Others
Build Up Your Network
Brace Yourself for Feedback
Enjoy the Process of Writing
Don’t Give Up
Don’t Be Afraid of Experimentation
Take a Break If You Need To
Don’t Go It Alone
Brush Up on the Marketing Skills
Branding
Always Be Professional
 Watch Your Writing Online
Be Prepared
Diversify
Ask for Help
Should You Consider a Self-Publishing Company?​
Index
I
Publishing Online for Writers
Contents
Chapter 1 Introduction to Publishing Online for Writers
Chapter 2 Publishing Online:​Getting Started
Chapter 3 Publishing in Online Magazines
Chapter 4 Publishing with Online Journals
Chapter 5 Publishing via Blogs
Chapter 6 Publishing a Podcast
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023
L. Kesteven, Publishing Online for Writers
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-21366-3_1

1. Introduction to Publishing Online for

Writers
Lisa Kesteven1
(1) National Association of Writers in Education, London, UK

About this Chapter

In this chapter we will:
– Understand how publishing online has developed over the
past 50 years and its place in the overall publishing world
– Consider the many and varied ways writers and readers
interact with digital platforms
– Understand the difference between an indie author and a self-
published author
– Good reasons to have a digital presence and publish online
(and when not to)
– EXERCISE: Research about Writing Online
– CHECKLIST: Publishing Online

To begin though, let’s be honest—there is something magical about

holding a book in your hand, especially a new one that has been freshly
printed. The smell of the paper, the touch of the crisp sheets, such a
treat! Likewise with magazines and their glossy pages, such enticing
use of images, and dynamic colours. But, I bet you are thinking right
now: Why is the author of a textbook about publishing online opening
with a line like that? Well, stay with me.
I recently learned that such physical pleasures come at a big cost. I
was faced with the daunting task of downsizing my library, and I could
no longer keep all those bookshelves and bookshelves stacked with
books (some two rows deep). Meanwhile my Kindle sat on my desk,
alongside my smartphone; I could almost sense they were mocking me.
If only I’d bought those books digitally, I reflected, I could have kept
them all. Interestingly too, I discovered books hidden in the shadowy
depths of my bookshelves that I’d long forgotten about. If I’d had them
on my e-book reader, I could have used the search facility and easily
browsed through my collection. Not to mention the simple fact that I
could have taken them all with me on those long train journeys and
holidays. Hundreds of books, an entire library, tucked into my bag with
no excess baggage weight to carry.

Will Online Publishing Rid the World of Printed

Publications?
It’s an interesting question which has been around for a long time.
Perhaps some time in the future it might, but I expect it is some time
away yet. Despite the increasing popularity of reading online, we still
have bookstores (thankfully) and people do still want to browse (which
I love to do) and buy physical books—and there are always good
reasons to do so. The number of books that end up in charity shops and
book stalls at fairs is a testament to this—but if you are as voracious
reader as I am, there are natural constraints.
Let us not forget, there is a huge history in literary and print culture.
The tactile nature of reading, curling up with a good book, settling
down with a novel or a collection of poetry, or even sitting down with a
daily newspaper, has been with us for centuries. In 1439, Johannes
Gutenberg was the first European to develop a process for mass-
producing movable type; the use of oil-based ink for printing books,
and most importantly inventing a wooden printing press for the mass
production of books. Prior to this, books were handwritten, hand
illustrated and physically handmade. Early in the fifteenth century, the
book trade was born, and millions of books have since emerged. Think
of the titles to hit the shelves since then. Controversially, The Bible and
D. H. Lawrence’s Lady Chatterley’s Lover, Dante’s epic poem, La
commedia, later named La divina commedia (The Divine Comedy), The
Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of la Mancha Novel by Miguel de
Cervantes, considered by some to be the first novel ever published,
through to J. K. Rowling’s eponymous Harry Potter series which has
sold more than 500 million copies worldwide. And then there are
chapbooks, self-help books, non-fiction, academic books, poetry books,
and so on; the list being endless and an ongoing project. I wonder, if we
could pile them all up, would we be able to reach the moon? If Earth to
the Moon is 15,134,310,000 inches and if we take each book as an inch,
actually we have about 15 billion books still to go (estimated published
books is 129,864,880—great resource the internet, isn’t it).
Fast forward from 1439 to 1971, Project Gutenberg, a volunteer
project to digitise out-of-copyright books, was born. As a result, we can
have free access to some of the most amazing books ever. Type ‘Dickens
Gutenberg’ into Google and take a look, or Bronte or Austen. You will
never have time to read them all, yet what a resource! Today, Project
Gutenberg has over 75,000 items in its collection, with an average of
over 50 new e-books being added each week.
What is clear is that the book industry, and with it the publishing
industry, has changed hugely since 1439. The electronic text entails
many, many more opportunities to publish. And yet, to some extent, the
attitude to publishing is very similar to how it has always been. All of
us, as writers, want to see our work in print and for readers
everywhere to be able to access. Take Charles Dickens’ A Christmas
Carol. Chapman and Hall, his publishers, did not support the project at
all and considered it strange. Consequently, they refused to pay the full
costs for publishing it, so Dickens had paid the remainder himself. Who
would have thought it, Charles Dickens, world famous author, had to
finance the publication of what went on to become his biggest ever
seller, never having been out of print since that first edition in 1843
(which you can now read for free). Another fast forward brings us to
today, and the knowledge that we too can publish, as Dickens did. In
fact, it is easier for us, as this book will go on to explain.
Let’s face it, having things digital is a huge space saver. Remember
those shelves of CDs (and perhaps for some, those shelves of records)?
They quickly became a relic of the past with the advent of music
streaming services. Likewise, with magazines and journals—most of
which are printed in colour on glossy paper. And it is not just our
cluttered homes that are paying the price. If there was ever a burning
(literally) reason to go paperless, then surely our planet and climate
change is precisely that. Clearly this is where publishing online has a
benefit over traditional printing. Fewer trees are cut down and the
distribution impact is minimal.

So, How Big Is the Move to Publishing Online?

Let’s look at some of the basic facts:
We Are Social (► https://​wearesocial.​com) call themselves a global
socially led creative agency with unrivalled social media expertise.
Okay, that sounds like marketing spiel but I found out about them for a
very good reason: Each year they publish a number of reports on digital
space. Here is the Report for 2022: ► https://​wearesocial.​com/​au/​
blog/​2022/​01/​digital-2022-another-year-of-bumper-growth/​
If you’re reading this after that, then I suggest you go to their
website and look at the latest.
At the start of 2022, the world’s population was 7.89 billion with
the United Nations reporting that this figure is growing by 1% per year.
Around 5.32 billion people were using a mobile phone (approximately
67% of the world’s population). Meanwhile 5 billion people globally
used the internet, up by 4.1% from the previous year. Approximately
4.65 billion people were using social media—growing by 326 million
over the previous 12 months, with the number of social media users
equivalent to more than 58.7% of the world’s total population.
I took these figures from The Digital 2022 Global Overview Report
[► https://​wearesocial.​com/​digital-2022]—a report comes out every
year and it is a fascinating read. It is an excellent source to quickly get a
picture of what’s happening online.

What Do We Mean by Publishing Online?

When we think of publishing and online, the first thing that often comes
to mind is e-books. But publishing online encompasses much more than
books. In our digital era, pretty much anything that can be printed on
paper is found digitally—whether that’s shop catalogues, the
instruction manual for your washing machine, the programme for an
upcoming conference, a course handbook and so on. These are just a
few examples of the plethora of content found and published online. In
this book, I’ll be referring to many and varied forms of online
publishing and digital media. In some instances, the advice will be
relevant to all forms and, in some chapters, I will be referring
specifically to particular publishing forms.

A Short History of Publishing Online

On 4 July 1971, a digital copy of the US Declaration of Independence
was published online (remember Project Gutenberg I mentioned
earlier?) enabling people across the global to access it for free. This was
a game changer. Since then, publishers have been eager to explore
different ways of distributing information simply and easily. The 1980s
saw magazine and newspaper publishers experimenting with the use of
CDs (in an age when internet usage wasn’t as entrenched as it is now)
to distribute their editions. The 1990s experienced an accelerated
adoption of the internet, with usage growing, and alongside of this, the
emergence of the e-book reader. By the late 1990s, the first e-
bookstores began to appear.
An e-book (short for electronic book) is a book-length publication
made available in digital format, consisting of text, images, or both. It is
readable on a computer or transferred to a device such as computer,
laptop, smart phone, tablet, or dedicated e-book reader (such as the
Amazon Kindle and Rakuten Kobo). There is no limit to the topics and
genres available online, and includes fiction, non-fiction,
autobiographical, how-to, white papers, research studies, and much
more. Basically, if it was available in paper print form, it is bound to find
its way online.
And if we consider other formats—such as newspapers, magazines,
and journals—very few now exist only as physical printed publications.
My smartphone gives me access to newspapers from across the global,
magazines on every topic imaginable, and even journals and academic
publications will generally have an online version.

The Rise of the E-book

The first e-book reader was the Rocket eBook. It was launched in 1998
as the first dedicated e-book reader by NuvoMedia. The investors
supporting NuvoMedia were Barnes & Noble and Bertelsmann.
By the 2000s, digital publishing was developing at a rapid pace. In
2003, ePaper technology became available and shortly afterwards,
digital reading devices began to appear—such as the Sony Libre and
the Amazon Kindle in 2007.
While the original e-books were designed for reading on computers,
eReaders revolutionised the book reading market. Suddenly readers
could store a greater magnitude of books on a device small enough to fit
in their pocket. Google and its search engine also impacted the e-
publishing development by scanning thousands of documents and
books from various universities, converting the texts into PDF files.
They then created Google Books, a unique database and search engine,
enabling global readers to read and download (for free) several
millions of scanned documents (which do not violate copyright).
The year 2010 saw the introduction of the first iPad by Apple,
further changing the way readers could access publications. Rather
than files produced specifically for e-readers, readers were now able to
use native apps and cross-platform solutions to access their
publications; often on the same devices they would access their emails,
engage with social media, chat with their friends and family, and so
forth. Clearly the market has changed forever and with it the potential
opportunities for writers.

The Future for Publishing Online?

A quick browse online into the popularity of e-books and online
publishing, and you will find mixed messages. Over the past twenty
years or so, since the launch of eReaders, its popularity has varied. As
you might expect, in the beginning, some people were eager to try out
the new technology. E-books are most popular in China. Apparently in
2020, more than half of Germans bought a printed book. In the US, over
the past 10 years the popularity of printed books has waned; however
in 2019, 65% of people read a print book compared to only 25% for
reading an e-book.
With this in mind, it is probably a reasonable assumption to say e-
books are complementary rather than completely replacing the printed
publishing industry. How long this will be the case can only be
speculated on, and as I said at the start, there is something satisfyingly
tactile about sitting down or curling up in bed with a good book.
However, a colleague of mine, a longstanding bibliophile, confessed he
likes reading Hilary Mantel’s epic Tudor books on Kindle because the
Kindle is lighter to hold than the books themselves. When asked about
it, he confessed he was a convert. For many practical and frankly
sensible reasons, e-books are here to stay.
But, of course, we cannot ignore how ingrained smartphones are in
our lives. There’s no ignoring the benefits of having your favourite
magazine edition, or book, on your phone or e-reader, versus carrying
around a weighty printed version. But there’s been some interesting
consequences to our willingness to use this technology—such as
needing a break from it. If you have spent all day working before a
computer (which, let’s face it, many of us must do) and then used your
smartphone to keep in touch with your friends, family, and social
media, reading a printed book can be a welcome break. Many a student
has told me that after a day on their laptops and phones, it’s a real joy
just to read something on paper. But as is often the case with such
things, manufacturers of e-readers have been quick to respond to
readers’ needs—such as eye strain concerns—introducing features
such as e-ink screens.

How Writers and Readers Interact in a Digital

World
It’s time to address that elephant in the room—you may be thinking it
already, so I’m going to declare in this chapter: Isn’t there a stigma
attached to being an author who is published online? I will even go
further and ask—can you still even call yourself a writer? Let alone
(gasp) an author?
This one is easy to answer. Provided your writing is high quality and
not riddled with mistakes (and I mean here both in the basics such as
punctuation and word usage and with the craft of writing), and it is
published online, then you are a published writer. So long as you apply
the same standards as you would when published down the more
traditional printed path, then you can be proud of your online
publications. There are some writers who exist solely online—it works
for them, and they’ve built up a reader base who are willing to buy their
next e-book. At various writing conferences I have attended, I’ve met
writers who have found success by focusing on publishing online. Some
turned to the online marketplace because they had become frustrated
and disillusioned with traditional publishers. Others dabbled, got their
work published online, and wondered why it wasn’t a huge success. It
became clear to me that those who made it work, took the time and
effort to understand the online marketplace and used it to its full
potential to promote their work.
I have to say, the self-published writers who I’ve met tend to fall into
two types. The first I will call the online publishing embracers. They
love it and dedicate a lot of time and energy into understanding how
well (or not) their work is performing. They regularly check the
statistics for number of readers, downloads, sales, and so on, and are
prepared to try a range of techniques. They will experiment with
different digital platforms and try different prices using promotional
techniques. These online publishing embracers all say one thing—that
it’s time-consuming, and you must invest the effort. It is not easy and
you need to be prepared to try something and if it doesn’t work, try a
different approach. They’ll often see this as their full-time job.
Are there pitfalls to avoid? Most definitely, and we are going to
discuss the key ones in this book. Rush into it and put work out there
that isn’t a high standard, and it might come back to bite you when you
make a name for yourself.
You might still find a publisher who isn’t keen on self-published
writers, but I’d argue this is becoming rare. So long as you can show
your self-publishing has been a worthwhile endeavour, most publishers
would see it as a positive that you have already been out there
marketing yourself and your work, and you have a valuable reader base.
And the reality is, most writers who are published via the traditional
path (with a publisher and in print), will end up with the book also
available as an e-book.
The second category I will call the online publishing ‘sit back and
wait’ writers. The internet is beyond massive—and if you have ever
tried to browse online, such as you might in a bookstore, it is a very
different experience. And the writer who thinks they can make a book
available online (either uploading it themselves or paying a company to
do so), will quickly learn the hard way that, when it comes to having a
digital presence, readers won’t suddenly find your work. If you are not
prepared to dedicate time (or money and pay someone else) to do the
supporting tasks that are required to promote your work, then it is
going to sit on the metaphorical dusty dark bottom shelf of the online
bookstore, never to see the light of day (or the eyes of potential
readers).

Reasons to Publish Online

The Subject/Genre of Your Piece Performs Well
Online
You have done your research and you can see the subject/genre of your
piece is popular with digital audiences. This means that you’ll be able to
reach out to your audience and it’s a format they’ll be comfortable
using to purchase and read your book. And if it performs well online,
you might even sell better via digital platforms than in a traditional
bookstore.
That doesn’t mean that you can’t publish your work online if it is a
niche audience and not popular online, but it just means you will need
to consider other approaches to help market your e-publication and
reach potential audiences.

The Piece Is Better Suited to Digital Platforms

There are some markets that simply do better online. Take for example,
articles written on the latest gadgets and technology. Sure, you’ll find
them in traditional magazines and publications, but there are also loads
of websites dedicated to such subjects. And let’s face it—where do most
of us turn to today when we’re after advice? I think it’s fair to say that
online we are offered quick and immediate advice, which in my
experience is pretty good.
These days, you don’t have to choose between being an online or
traditional writer. Rather than thinking about whether you want to be
an ‘online’ writer, think about your piece and where you think it’s best
to publish it.
You Want to Be in the Driving Seat of Your Writing
Career
There’s no denying, even if you’re a best-selling established author, if
you have an agent and are published by a mainstream publishing
company, they will want to have some say in what you write. And it’s
probably fair to say they have a good reason to, given they probably
have insight into the industry. However, this doesn’t suit all writers.
Some desire the flexibility to write about what they want, without
having to cater to the requirements of others. This is where publishing
online can give you more freedom.
I met an online author at a conference who had developed such a
substantial online following that he made his living writing one e-book
a month. That’s one heck of a turnover and even today, I wonder how he
managed to write and edit a book so quickly. I suspect that he kept the
length shorter than your typical novel and he had a formula to his
books. Another author I know designs her stories in such a way that
every 2 months she releases the next book in her series. Both are great
examples of successful writers who make a good living from their
writing. What’s key is that they really got to know what their online
readers wanted—and they give it to them.

Want to Be Your Own Boss

You would like the freedom to publish your work the way you envisage
it. Let’s face it, if you are at the beginning of your writing career, you are
not likely to get a load of freedom when it comes to getting published
traditionally. I asked a friend recently how much input she had in the
cover of her book (she won a coveted prize, by the way)—she said,
‘very little’. She didn’t mind and was happy to go with her publisher’s
recommendations but I have other writer friends who want to maintain
this level of control.

You Have Tried the Traditional Route to Publishing

and Got No Interest
If this is the case, it is important to consider why this might be. Get
some feedback from other writers and readers if you are not getting
any replies at all. It is a tough path to getting published and it is not
uncommon to get frustrated and tired. There are plenty of self-
published authors who have successfully proven to traditional
publishers they were wrong. Amanda Hocking is the bestselling author
of the Trylle trilogy and six additional self-published novels. After
selling over a million copies of her books, primarily in e-book format,
she is widely considered the exemplar of self-publishing success in the
digital age. She had almost given up when she decided to give online
publishing a shot.

Wanting to Supplement an Established Writing

Career
You can be both. Gone are the days where authors were primarily one
or the other. Being flexible in regard to publishing online or in paper
can provide the opportunity to try out a different market, or experience
with a different genre.

Revive a Flagging Publishing Career

It can happen. We’ve all heard the stories of the struggling writer who
had a brilliant idea that got discovered. But we are not all best-selling
authors and sadly sometimes those grand visions the publishers had
don’t eventuate. You can give up or you could try something new. The
nice thing about online publishing is that you can call the shots—want
to try a different cover? Go for it. The blurb’s a little flat—rewrite it.
Changes like this can be made quickly when you are publishing online.

More Money
Yep—surely a very strong reason is to take a bigger piece of your
metaphorical book pie. The more parties involved, the more that pie
must be shared between. If you can take charge and do a lot of (the
online publishing) work yourself, it makes a big difference to the
proportion you get.
If you have got the necessary IT skills, you are creative, have some
ideas for marketing—and you have got the time and money - then why
not use your own skills and capabilities rather than pay someone else?
You Want to Get to Market Quickly
Let’s face it, publishing via the traditional route isn’t a speedy process
and perhaps your idea needs to get to market quickly (e.g., maybe it is
written about an event that is coming up on an anniversary). Musicians
have been doing it for years with streaming and downloads. A new song
can be online within 10 min of recording it (maybe sooner if they don’t
stop for a cup of tea).

Use It as a Springboard to Traditional Publishing

If you can prove that your book has interest and a credible fan base, a
publisher will certainly be more interested in you.

When Not to Publish Online

As much as publishing online has opened up many opportunities, there
are instances when it might not be the right option. It is important to
give it due consideration. Here are some instances where publishing
online isn’t the way to go:
– If a publisher or agent has given you feedback that your book needs
more work, it is wise to take on board what they have to say. They
know the market (including online). And if they advise that it’s not
quality copy, you need to listen. All readers demand quality writing,
whether that’s on paper or online. If you think you can get away with
poor writing online because there are less ‘gatekeepers’ to stop you
publishing, you need to revise your strategy. Poor writing can
become a bad smell that just won’t go away - it’s your reputation at
stake!
– You think it is going to be easy. Let’s knock this one on the head. It is
not easy and it will be time-consuming, and you need to be prepared
to try a range of approaches.
– You think it’s not going to take up much time. Another one that I’m
going to dismiss very quickly. If you want to outsource much of the
work to a company then this might be true (but what you save in
time you’ll pay in money). Publishing online takes time and that’s not
just in the initial work of getting your manuscript online ready. If you
 want your book to sell and go on selling, then you need to invest time
in marketing and promotional activities.
– Your book is so great it is going to sell itself. Sorry, I hate to be the
one to tell you this, but no matter how great your e-book is, readers
won’t find it (and read it) unless you are prepared to put some
serious marketing muscle behind it.

EXERCISE 1: Research About Writing Online

► https://​wearesocial.​com/​au/​blog/​2022/​04/​more-than-5-billion-
people-now-use-the-internet/​
Take a look at this graph from We Are Social (link above). It
shows how the global community is using the internet. Read through
this list and consider how this might influence what you write for an
online audience.
For example, 60% of people use the internet to find information.
If I was a blogger, this might tell me something about what people
might like to find on my blog. I can also see that researching
products and brands is 45%. So if I want to make money from my
blog, perhaps I could promote related products or services.

CHECKLIST: Publishing Online

What is your If you haven’t written it yet, then this would be a list of what
book, article, you’d like to write about.
poem, paper, To get started you need to know some basics:
post about?
– What’s the topic/subject?
– What’s the format (poem, article, list, short story etc.)?
– Who’s your audience?
– What’s the aim? Informative? Entertainment? Lightv reading?
– What’s your aim? To make money? Build interest? Test the
water? Build your reputation? Gain experience?
Research This step will take time and it’s important to invest in doing it
well. Once you get started, it’s easy to get either (1)
overwhelmed (and give up) or (2) very excited (and want to
submit to every site you come across). Please don’t do either of
these.
 The next chapter is on the process of researching for publishing
online. We’ll walk through how to find sites and evaluate
whether they are a good match to you and your piece.
Read and Just because you like the site and there appears to be a good
understand the match to your subject matter, doesn’t mean they are the right
submission match for you.
guidelines You need to carefully read through all of their terms and
conditions—this includes copyright—and check that you are
happy with them. If not, move on. They are not going to change
their terms for you.
Prepare your You’ve decided on the site you want to submit to, so you accept
submissions their terms and conditions, now you need to turn to their
website page on submission guidelines. These aren’t there as a
maybe—you need to conform to these. If they say up to 2000
words, don’t think you can submit 2100 and they won’t notice.
Trust me, they will.
Check their guidelines carefully. If they ask for a specific font and
size—use it. If they want it submitted as a Word document, that’s
what you do. If it must be submitted by a deadline—plan to
submit it a few days beforehand, just in case. No one wants to
work with someone who is difficult, so demonstrate you’ve read
their guidelines and happy to oblige - it definitely gives you an
edge over the person who doesn’t!
Proofread and You might think your piece is ready to go but they are serious
edit check when they say it must be proofread and edited. This could be the
reason your piece gets rejected. Allow yourself time to give the
piece a thorough proofread and edit check. Editors are busy
people who receive a high volume of submissions. There’s
nothing more frustrating than coming across a submission that’s
a great idea but let down by poor craftsmanship.
We’ll talk about networking in a later chapter, but if you have
some writer buddies, checking each other’s work is hugely
valuable (and I can’t recommend a ‘buddy system’ high enough—
I used one for this book).
Submit your Again—follow their guidance. If they ask that it be send to a
piece particular email address or on a web page—that’s what you need
to do.
Follow-up What if you don’t hear anything?
 My advice is to give it a reasonable timeframe—if you’ve had no
acknowledge of receipt, after a week you could send a polite
email just to check it arrived.
If they say no, then it’s very unlikely that anything you say will
change their mind. It’s disappointing, but there are many online
platforms and publishers to consider, so put that energy into
finding another one.
Your piece is Great! You’ve got there but you’re probably not quite finished
accepted with the piece. It’s possible they’ll want some changes—my
advice is to be open to their suggestions but if something is very
important to you, then don’t compromise. It comes down to how
important it is versus getting your piece published.
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023
L. Kesteven, Publishing Online for Writers
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-21366-3_2

2. Publishing Online: Getting Started

Lisa Kesteven1
(1) National Association of Writers in Education, London, UK

About this Chapter

In this chapter we will:
– Cover the stages of publishing online and building a digital
presence
– Discuss how a writer can assess if their work is publication
ready
– Consider how to take that first leap when publishing online
– Explore pitfalls to avoid
– EXERCISE: Pitch Perfect
– CHECKLIST: Preparing to Publish Online

Where to Start
Writers will typically approach publishing online in two ways. They
may have written a piece and then decide they want to publish it online,
or they first find somewhere that is accepting online submission and
write the piece according to their specifications and requirements.
You’ll find variations—for example, you might write a piece that you
think is interesting, and before continuing you decide to check out the
market to see if there is potential for publishing it. Regardless of
whether you think you have a completed piece or not, it’s very unlikely
that you can publish it just as it. Most sites will have requirements—
perhaps it’s word length, or language, or style—and your piece will
probably need some adapting to make it publishable.
 Whether you have a piece in mind or you’re simply interested in
getting published online, the starting point is the same.

Know Your Market

Regardless of your subject or topic, or where you want to publish it’s
essential to know your market and potential readers. We know
readership online is growing, but by how much?
Let’s go back to the WeAreSocial report again:
► https://​wearesocial.​com/​au/​blog/​2022/​01/​digital-2022-
another-year-of-bumper-growth/​
In April 2022:
– The world’s population was 7.89 billion with the United Nations
reporting that this figure is growing by 1% per year.
– 5.32 billion people were using a mobile phone (approximately 67%
of the world’s population).
– Meanwhile 5 billion people globally used the internet, up by 4.1%
from the previous year.
– 4.65 billion people were using social media—growing by 326 million
over the previous 12 months, with the number of social media users
equivalent to more than 58.7% of the world’s total population.
And we can see that over half of the global popular are active social
media users. That’s a 10.1% increase from the previous year. So I guess
it’s reasonable to say that there are definitely readers online. There’s a
lot of useful information in their report, such as the most popular social
platforms so I’d recommend that you take a look (and do so each year
so that you can see trends).

Preparing to Publish Online

If you skip preparation, there’s a very high probability that your
submission will be rejected. No matter how amazing your piece is, the
reality is that digital platforms who receive online submissions, are
receiving a large volume on a daily basis (just as you found their
website, so too will have other writers from across the globe). They
may have very small editorial teams (if they have them at all) and
simply don’t have time to edit and format a piece to fit their
requirements. So, if you ignore their submission guidelines, don’t be
surprised if they’re not interested. On the other hand, if you do conform
to their guidelines, you are beginning the relationship by making a good
impression.
Deciding where to submit your piece is a critical part of the process.
The better the match, the better your chance of being successful, so it’s
worth taking your time to find sites/digital platforms that are seeking
submissions like yours. You might find a site you like and would really
like to be published on, but if you don’t meet their requirements, then
you’re better putting your effort into a site that is a better match (or
revising your piece to meet their guidelines). Taking the time now will
save a lot of effort (and heartache) in the future.

Six Steps to Publish Online

1. Identify the topic or niche of your piece

2. Identify format

3. Write a pitch

4. Identify likely online audience/s

5. Determine your aim from publishing online

6. Research potential digital platforms/websites

1. What’s the Topic or Niche of Your Piece?

If you don’t have a piece and you’re researching to find ideas, jot down a
list of areas that you could write about. You don’t always need to be an
expert to write a credible piece. Here are just a few examples:
– If you recently purchased a house/car/bike/scooter then you know,
first hand, some of the hurdles faced. This can be useful advice for
someone about to embark on the same process. If you’re upfront and
say you’re not an expert but have recently had the experience, then
 your readership understand you’re sharing your knowledge, not as
an expert, but as someone who has ‘done it before’.
– Finance. Maybe you’re a student with a tight budget—you could offer
advice to new students who are suddenly faced with having to live off
very limited funds. Maybe you’ve recently started up a small business
and can share your experiences of the financial costs of setting up a
new enterprise. Be clear that you’re not a financial expert and cannot
offer expert advice simply that you are sharing your own
experiences.
– Travel. You don’t have to travel far to write a travel piece. It could be
about your local area and aimed at visitors. Don’t have funds? Aim it
at the budget traveller.
– Fitness. Just started running? Jumping? Skipping? Weightlifting?
Boxing? Share the things you’re learning along the way. Others will
be interested in your journey, regardless of whether you’re just
starting out or an expert. What’s important is that you’re clear from
the onset. For example, I’m not an experienced runner and I’m going
to share my knowledge, the good and the bad. Again, be clear about
your experience and if you want to be really helpful, provide links to
other useful sites.
– Medical. Struggling with a knee injury? Again, share your journey
with others, especially what has and hasn’t worked for you. Again,
just be clear it’s your shared experiences and that you’re not an
expert.
– Personal development. Maybe you’ve experienced the highs and lows
of online dating. Or you’ve recently gone through a breakup. You
might think it’s been done before but it’s possible you’ve got an
interesting take on it.
– Relationships. You don’t need to be a counsellor to share your
experiences with others. Just be upfront about exactly what your
piece/blog is about and that you’re not a relationship counsellor
(unless of course, you are).
– Lifestyle. I’ve recently gone from living in a rural village to an inner-
city suburb. It’s taken a lot of adjusting and it would have been
helpful to hear from others how to make that transition. Lifestyle is a
huge category that’s constantly changing with trends coming and
going. If you want to contribute your writing then you need to stay
 current with what’s happening - or even better, predict what might
happen next.
– The latest gadget. If you’ve recently upgraded your phone or maybe
acquired a fitness device—share you experience. But be quick, others
are also keen to write about what’s new and shiny.
– Food. Yep, there’s loads of sites out there but there’s also lots of
readers. Maybe you’ve recently become vegan and can offer advice to
others in your area on what to eat and where to buy certain foods.
And you don’t need to be a fancy chef to write about cooking—
maybe you could offer advice to those who need to whip up healthy
meals, quickly and on a budget.
– Entertainment. You name it—the latest games, films, series, books—
share your take on it. Maybe you have a niche—could you focus on
particular games, films in a particular genre, the latest blockbuster
series not to be missed. Rather than writing about horror films, could
you be more specific? Focus in on a particular era or type of horror
film.
– Pets. This isn’t about the obvious; if you’re a pet owner you’ll
understand that you can suddenly need advice on all different types
of things. When I recently acquired a second cat, I found myself in the
midst of a territorial battlefield. Not something I go through often,
but I very much appreciated the advice I found from an informative
cat blogger.
– Fashion. This doesn’t have to be on the latest trends. Maybe you
could offer advice to a student on a budget, or someone who is about
to start their first job.

2. What Is the Format of Your Piece?

Is it:
– An article? If so, what is the subject? What’s the tone?
– A short story?
– Piece of prose?
– Poem?
– Non-fiction?
– An academic paper?
– A novel?
– Training material?
– Self-help guide?
– Podcast?

3. What’s Your Pitch?

Before you can start looking for potential sites and digital platforms to
submit your work to, you’ll need to identify what your piece is about.
Just as you would for a submission to a traditional publishing or literary
agency, you need to be able to briefly and succinctly articulate what
your work is about. You might have heard the term ‘elevator pitch’. It
can be applied in many contexts, from a business project through to a
film. The basic idea is that you are in the elevator with someone who
asks what your work is about and you have the time it takes to get to
their floor to explain it to them. So it needs to be short, succinct, and
memorable. You want them getting out of the elevator thinking—wow,
what a great idea.
Sometimes it’s clear—it’s a magazine article on travelling around
Spain with young children, or it’s a poem about springtime on the east
coast of America, or it’s a mental health paper on coping with anxiety in
your first year at university—these examples have a clear topic and we
can see what the form is. But sometimes it’s not quite so
straightforward—maybe it’s a poem written by someone who has
struggled with anxiety. Or it’s a short story that is set in Barcelona.
Maybe it’s a fictional story based on a person’s life. Or maybe the piece
crosses multiple genres. These are just a few examples that
demonstrate it’s not always clear-cut. If you’re not sure then write
down all the possibilities—these will all be useful as you’ll see shortly
when we start to investigate what opportunities are available. As you
start your research you can decide how you want to shape the piece.
If you’re pitching to a particular publication then your starting point
is to check their guidelines. They will likely tell you exactly what they
want. If you can’t find it on their website (if they don’t have a dedicated
page try FAQ or Contact Us), check if they have a blog, and if you still
can’t locate it, try a search with the site’s name and ‘submission
guidelines’. If you still can’t find it, move on.
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
The Project Gutenberg eBook of How to
hypnotize
 This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United
States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away
or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License
included with this ebook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you
are not located in the United States, you will have to check the
laws of the country where you are located before using this
eBook.

Title: How to hypnotize

The science of controlling the minds of others

Author: Anonymous

Release date: February 22, 2024 [eBook #73013]

Language: English

Original publication: Boston: A. B. Courtney, 1896

Credits: Demian Katz, Craig Kirkwood, and the Online

Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
(Images courtesy of the Digital Library@Villanova
University.)

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HOW TO

HYPNOTIZE ***
 PRICE 5 CENTS.

HOW TO
HYPNOTIZE.
The Science of Controlling the
Minds of Others.

MULTUM IN PARVO LIBRARY.

Entered at Boston Post Office as second
class matter. Published by A. B. Courtney,
Room 74, 45 Milk Street, Boston.

Vol. 3. April, 1896. No. 28

Published Monthly.

Subscription Price, 50 Cents Per Year.

 Introduction.
This little work has been written in a hurry amid the worry and
pressure of professional duties. It has also been ruthlessly cut down
to compress it within the space allotted by the publisher. Neither
profundity of matter, nor perfection of style is aimed at. It is written in
every-day language, and may limp a little here and there. For none
of these faults do I offer an apology to my readers. I ask them to take
it as it is—as something more than a mere introduction to a most
interesting and important subject.
 How to Mesmerize.
It is generally believed that only weak-minded, soft, and hysterical
persons can be successfully mesmerized—that persons of robust
health, will, and character cannot be so affected. There never was a
greater mistake. Reichenbach for many years selected his sensitives
from delicate and hysterical persons while pursuing investigations
into odylic force. He, however, soon discovered his error, and found
that healthy men and women made the best sensitives for his
investigation. Dr. Braid fell into the same error.
 More About Hypnotism.
Charcot and others, including the whole range of recent hypnotists,
have revived this error. The experience of all mesmerists—past and
present—worthy of the name is this: the healthier and finer the
organization, the more perfect and exalted the manifestations.
There are relative conditions of superiority and inferiority in
mesmerists and sensitives only. I have mesmerized men who were
my superiors in every way—health, strength of body and mind—the
only conditions of difference consisting of this important fact, that for
the time being they approached the subject of Mesmerism with open
minds—a desire to get at truth—and sat down with a non-resistant
attitude of mind, perfectly willing to be mesmerized, and to record
their own symptoms in connection therewith, if possible. In the
majority of cases the seventh or eighth sitting suffices to overcome
all difficulties, and induce sleep in the most healthy and vigorous.
There have, however, been exceptions to this. Don’t waste time with
a man who makes a bet through pride, vanity, or ignorance, that he
can’t be mesmerized. Don’t waste health and energy trying to
influence him just then. His manner and words indicate that he will
arouse all his faculties to resist you, presenting thereby positive and
antagonistic mental conditions for you to overcome. Men have done
this. If you really want to mesmerize them the best plan is to throw
them off their guard as to your intentions. But as soon as their
opposition is cooled down a little, proceed gently and steadily to
impress them with what Mesmerism has done and can do. Thus
gradually and surely psychologize them, leading up to and preparing
them for the final coup. In the end it may not be so difficult to
mesmerize them as they at first imagined. The persistent man of
business, the advocate of certain views—temperance, anti-slavery,
or what not—the man with “a mission,” the doctor of medicine,
preacher, and lover, all adopt this method more or less
unconsciously, because naturally; the mesmerist, detecting the law,
applies it consciously—that is all.
In natural sleep the heart beats slower, the pulses are calmer, there
is less blood in the brain than in the waking state. By mesmeric
processes you endeavor to bring about a similar physiological
condition—every magnetic pass determining the result by retarding
the flow of arterial blood to the brain. Also in natural sleep the eyes
are turned upward and inward. A brief explanation of the muscles of
the eye, and how they influence its movements, will be interesting.
There are two sets of muscles. The superior, or oblique muscles, are
involuntary in their action, and therefore are not subject to the action
of the will. The inferior or straight muscles (of which there are four),
are attached at cardinal points to the eyeball, and by their combined
action the eyes are moved in every direction required for vision. The
latter muscles are voluntary—that is, subject to the will of the
individual. Now, when the eyes are withdrawn from the operations of
the will, they are controlled involuntarily by the oblique muscles, and
turned upward and inward. For instance, in intense joy, in devotion,
pain, sorrow, exhaustion, or bodily weakness, the eyes are turned
up. This arises from the fact that the straight muscles resign their
action, and the oblique muscles operate in their stead, and the eye is
rolled upward under the eyelid. In acknowledging the presence of a
superior, and in the act of bowing, the eyes are “lifted up.” See a girl
in happy thought pondering on the future, a patient suffering from
extreme pain, the devotee at worship—be he idolater or Christian, or
the wearied one waiting for transition to other and happier scenes on
high—the same characteristic is observed. Thus in sleep, in fainting,
or in approaching death, the phenomenon is observed in all. The
voluntary muscles resign their action, insensibility prevails, and
retina loses expression, and the pupil is turned up as described.
Whatever contributes to this result, contributes to sleep. The
mesmeric operator avails himself of this and the foregoing in his
endeavors to induce artificial sleep.
Hypnotists deliberately weary the inferior muscles of the eyes,
trusting to automatic inhibition of the nerve centres for the results
desired. Success in certain directions indicates they are not far
astray. The mesmerist standing above his patient, or sitting in a chair
a little higher up than the patient unconsciously leads to the same
automatic effect, but much more naturally. The hypnotist will cause
the subject to strain his eyes at an object. The mesmerist desires his
sensitive to be seated comfortably, to look at him (the mesmerist),
and if the sensitive or patient feel inclined to close his eyes, to do so,
or to sleep, to do so—the latter process being more in harmony with
nature than the former.
 How to Induce Sleep.
Make your patient feel at home, disabuse his mind of fear, doubt,
anxiety, and scepticism. (Mesmerise no one without the presence of
some one interested in the patient’s welfare—parents, relatives,
guardians, or medical adviser). Remove, if possible, all elements
which are likely to arouse or excite the patient’s mind. To succeed,
the patient must either be naturally sensitive of your influence—i. e.,
passive and receptive—or he must be made so. Everything you do
must tend to that condition. By action and speech—in everything you
must show you know fully what you are about; there must be no
timidity, hesitancy or half-heartedness exhibited in your manner. You
must create the instinctive feeling in the mind of your patient, “that is
a man I can trust; that man or person will do me good,” and you will
do it. You can proceed to mesmerize by any of the processes
already recorded, or you can adopt this method, viz.—Let your
patient be comfortably placed or seated; sit or stand before him, or
just at his side. Ask him to pay no attention to his friends or
surroundings, but resign himself to your care. He can either close his
eyes, or look to yours. Inform him if he feels any strange or peculiar
feelings—a sinking sensation, darkness of vision, nervous
tremulousness, drowsiness or an inclination to sleep, not to resist but
give way. It will be all right, and you will see him through.
Next, for five minutes or so, take hold of his hands in an easy,
comfortable manner, or he can place his hands upon his knees, and
you can lay yours with a just perceptible physical pressure on the top
of them. Remain thus in contact until there is no apparent difference
in temperature between your hands and his. Direct your eyes to his,
or, rather, to the organ of “Individuality,” or that portion of the head
just situated between the two eyebrows, at the root of the nose.
Exercise your will calmly and steadfastly toward the desired end—
sleep. Gradually remove your hands from his, and place them on his
head for two or three minutes, covering his forehead at each temple
with the hollow of your hand, with fingers resting on head and your
thumbs converging toward “Individuality.” Slight pressure with the
hands on the temples is desirable, as it tends to check the inflow of
blood to the head per the temporal arteries. You will now proceed to
further charge the brain with your influence by passes directed to
that end, always downward over the head and face,—forehead,
tophead, sidehead, and backhead,—all coming under your direction,
so far as such passes can be made with direct intent and with ease
and comfort. You will also facilitate your purpose by pointing the tips
of your fingers toward the eyes and temples, but throughout there
must be neither vulgar staring nor thumb pressure. You will continue
making these movements until the eyelids tremble, become heavy,
or close. In some cases it is advisable to close the eyelids and fasten
them by downward passes, and thus hasten the result desired.
When I say hasten the result—viz., the mesmeric sleep of the person
operated on—I do not mean the mesmerist to hasten; he should
never be in a hurry. When the patient has exhibited the signs
mentioned, you now proceed with both local and by general passes
at distance to abstract your influence (but not to awaken your now-
sensitive) by moving your hands with fingers extended slowly from
his head to his fingers, both inside and outside the arms, also from
the forehead down in front of the body to the pit of stomach, and
then toward the knees. At the termination of each pass raise the
hands (as described in practicing the passes) and commence again.
Continue these passes for some time after he or she has apparently
fallen asleep.
If you do not succeed at first, proceed at subsequent sittings as if
you had no previous failure; and when once you succeed in putting a
person asleep your power to do so will be enhanced, and your future
percentages will increase in due proportion. When you have
obtained satisfactory evidence of sleep, it is advisable to try no
experiments for the first two or three sittings, beyond the following.
Let the patient sleep on for some time, and then quietly wake him up.
Don’t do it suddenly. You might spoil for ever a good subject by so
doing. Stand behind or before your sensitive, and make slowly and
then briskly upward passes (palms of the hands up) in front of the
face, and blow steadily on the forehead, when your patient will
awake much surprised and benefitted by the sleep. With a little more
experience you can arrange with your patient when he will awake of
his own accord. When this is done, the sensitive will always awake
at the time arranged. This arrangement or experiment is capable of
considerable extension or modification.
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 Curative Mesmerism.
The powers of the early Christians, whether natural “gifts of healing,”
or both, were intensified by the simplicity and purity of their living,
and the reality of their faith. They doubted not, yet where they
doubted they could do no miracles.
The man who has “no heart” to relieve disease, or, having sympathy,
has no will to do so, is either without the power to do good, or,
doubting his power, is unable to use it.
Where there is sympathy for suffering, the desire to relieve or
remove it, and the will to do so, the way soon opens up, and the
suffering is removed.
The most powerful healers I ever came in contact with had strong,
healthy vital organizations, and were large-hearted, kindly-disposed
persons.
The weak, tender, and delicate, when the heart and head work
together, can accomplish much, however. The tired mother, wearied
with nursing, does not lose her charm to sooth. Gentle and tender,
ever more thoughtful of others than herself, her diligent hands bring
peace and blessing with them at all times.
Although delicate and sensitive females, from their sympathetic and
patient natures, have been very successful in the treatment of
disease—at considerable loss to themselves, however—no one
should undertake to treat disease of a severe character unless they
have abundance of health and vitality; and have also the
determination, patience and sympathy requisite to make them good
healers.
Ladies make excellent healers, just as they make the best nurses.
The gift can be readily cultivated by them, and by practice put to
good use. For many reasons woman would be the best magnetizer
for woman, man for man, husband for wife, wife for husband, and
father and mother for children, etc.; but this cannot always be.
There is no reason why the professional healer, male and female,
should not be trusted and esteemed as honorable in their work and
position as the physician or minister.
Wide and general experience enables me to declare my undoubted
conviction, that there is scarcely any form of disease which may not
be at least relieved where not cured, by the steady, persevering, and
judicious use of the mesmeric processes.
Massage, shampooing, muscular and kinetic movements, are but
different modes of local mesmeric treatment. These terms are more
fashionable in some quarters than the word Mesmerism—that is of
little consequence, if good is done.
 An Important Fact.
This little book contains considerable information regarding
hypnotism, but if you want to learn a great deal more send ten cents
to Keystone Book Co., Philadelphia, Pa., and ask for Lupton’s book
on mesmerism. It contains a vast amount of secret information not
printed in this.
 Curative Processes.
The mesmeric processes adopted in the cure of disease are those of
sleep, and when it is necessary the application of remedies
suggested by the sensitive in sleep, or by your clairvoyant, in the
case of and for another patient.
In such cases, medicines may be ordered, baths prescribed, rules of
diet pointed out, or certain processes of treatment ordered. And you
will, if satisfied with the bona fides of your sensitive’s powers of
diagnosis and general lucidity, faithfully carry them out.
The mesmeric treatment for the cure of disease may be purely local
or general in character, exercised solely with the intention to alleviate
and cure disease, without producing sleep, sleep not being
necessary in the majority of cases. If necessary, you know how to
bring it about.
Nothing is worth doing that is not worth doing well. If you want to
cure disease set about it, and “whatever your hands find to do, do it
with all your might,” i. e., put your soul into it.
Avoid all experiments, and direct your attention, energies, and, in
fact, all your powers, to the work—the most needed work—the cure
of your patient.
Remember, Mesmerism is not a cure-all. There are diseases of such
a character, arising from hereditary taint, constitutional defects, and
organic causes, which can never be cured in this world, only you, as
a mesmerist, should not say so.
Give help when and where you can, according to your strength. So
that in these, medically and humanely speaking, utterly hopeless and
intractable cases you are not to refuse aid, seeing there are few
cases where the mesmeric influence will not soothe and relieve pain,
quiet the nervous system, restore sleep and strength in a large
measure and, what is not to be despised, impart a cheerful and
hopeful spirit to the patient.
In chronic and acute diseases, especially when there is a periodicity
in attack, sleep is recommended to break that periodicity, and to
lengthen the intervals between attacks. In all mental, psychological
and highly nervous troubles sleep is advised. When this is
necessary, mesmerize by the long pass from head to feet, the
patient being in bed, or lying upon the sofa, will materially facilitate
your operations.
You will soon begin to see the effects of your attendance by the
improvement in your patient. When the patient “looks for you,” is
impatient for your visit and wearies for the next, it is not a bad sign; it
indicates your influence and presence to be refreshing and
restorative in character.
Good doctors and nurses have the same characteristics.
If your presence or influence is in any way disagreeable to your
patient, and upon the third or fourth visit you are satisfied of this, give
up the treatment. You can do no good, although another may. But do
not give up a case simply because favorable results are tardy in
making their appearance.
Where your influence is not disagreeable, it is your duty to persevere
and hope for the best. You cannot do harm, and you may do great
good.
When there is nervousness and great debility, operate from the head
—back head—downward, long passes at first, and then short passes
locally. If the action of the heart is weak, or palpitation is
characteristic, breathe in upon it at the termination of each treatment.
You will be surprised at the warmth and generous feeling transferred
throughout your patient’s organism in consequence.
You can subdue the most violent coughing fit by steady and gently
breathing upon the spine, just between the shoulder blades of your
patient—child or adult.
So long as the clothing, under or upper, is not made of silk, the
breathing will be effectual.