As usual, there’s an early bird special. It ends December 25th, though, so if you want that new career with FREE books and shipping, now’s the time.

Classes start Jan 23rd and run through April 30th. These are teleclasses – phone, not computer, folks. Make sure you have a reliable phone line and it’s free Mondays, 4:00-7:00 PM Pacific time.

If you’re still on the fence, here are some words from a few of our recent graduates:

“Claudia’s personal commentary in class added an unparalleled dimension no text could supply. This class opens up a whole new world for writers and gives them the tools to navigate it.” ~ Teri Stevens

“Twenty years and 100+ books of experience, distilled into a series of practical lessons that give you the confidence and knowledge to present yourself as a professional ghostwriter. I don’t say this lightly, but you can’t afford not to take the class.” ~ Derek Lewis (Atlassmirked.com)

So head over to Wambtac.com and register, or check out the What You’ll Learn page. We’ve had some great press coverage of late, so if you want to look at that as well feel free.

Oh, and if you like the class, don’t forget to head over and hit the like button on the Left Coast Institute Facebook page as well.

TO THAT END! We’re currently running a crowdfunding campaign on IndieGoGo.com, with a very lofty monetary goal of $25,000. We may not reach it but we’re hoping to, and that’s where you come in.

As with any Crowdfunding campaign there are perks to helping us out, and this includes, at the high end, of a full gift certificate, books and tuition, for Ghostwriting Certification Training.

If you feel so inclined, the widget to the right will take you to the funding site, and any contribution would be excellent.

Except shoes. Please do not attempt to send shoes. They never fit anyone here. EVER. For some reason.

I’ve recently been promoted from COO (which was already quite a bit of responsibility) to President – quite a bit MORE responsibility. We have also recently hired a few people on, and we’re making plans to hire quite a few more, establish a physical location, start an internship program, multiple new classes, put out new products, and begin crowdfunding.

The blog therefore seems to keep getting shunted to “I’ll have to do that tomorrow.”

Now, understand, I know essentially what I want to say. But I have yet to have a chance to actually write it. I, in fact, have eight additional posts all planned out as well.

It appears to be a problem finding the time to write them. I am annoyed.

If you own a small business (lumber, bookstore, mattress store, catering, flower arrangements, etc.) it’s hard to explain to a prospective customer or client why they should choose your services out of the literal millions available to them in today’s world. “I’m the best” or “I’m a man of my word” might have swayed a few customers twenty years ago, helping you build a loyal client base, but no longer. With the internet at the core of our society now, it’s well known that customer reviews can be faked, that bad reviews can be removed, and anyone can claim to be the ‘premier’ or ‘#1′ in anything, based on a sampling of even just two or three opinions. Five star ratings mean very little when the only review is your favorite aunt, who just loved those flowers – they might have been an hour late, but then when you came in, her friends all got to see her Big Shot Niece who’s running her own business and isn’t that just WONDERFUL?

But if you have a book in your store window, professionally bound, traditionally published and cleanly written, you become the logical choice for their flower/catering/mattress/lumber needs, as you clearly know your trade incredibly well, and even if they don’t read the book, the moment they buy it, they feel they know you. A customer or client might very well have occasion to say who they hired, and when asked why, “Oh, I read their book, and I just knew they’d do an amazing job.”

If you don’t have a storefront, the chances are you’re going to meet your client somewhere to discuss your services – they’ve found you through a friend, or that ad you pulled the money together to run. You’ll meet at their office, your office, or a coffee shop if you work at home, and they’ll want to know why to hire you, instead of the four other people they’re meeting with. “Have you read my book?” – you are now the most knowledgeable person they’ve met with. Bring a copy with you, let them look it over. Just sitting there, holding it in their hands, you have now given the impression of true authority in your industry, the person they want to hired.

Very few authors become rich off their books – but a book can still make you rich.

Even if your public speaking is simply part of your capacity in your normal corporate job, a book is an incredibly useful tool. If you’re called upon to speak in front of your own company regularly, the best way to make sure what you say is taken seriously is to have a book to stand behind – everyone knows you were told to say what you’re saying, but if you can point out the book you’ve written on what it is you do, and explain how you believe strongly in what you’re saying, it will have more clout, be more effective, and get more accomplished overall. This will sit incredibly well with your higher-ups, as they want very much for what they have you say to actually resonate with those they have you speaking to.

But many of you are in fact speaking as an expert – whether it’s on literacy, community service, or your profession itself, a book is an amazing tool. Sell it at the back of the room, hold it up as part of your credentials, refer to it and use pieces of it in your speeches. It helps your audience connect to you, understand what you’re saying, and take home a bit of that advice that they saw as so incredibly helpful…because even if they came in knowing all about the subject, everyone walks out having heard at least one idea they hadn’t before. That book is a concrete object, to hold in their hands and take home with them, to use to show others what they did and learned, or simply to have sitting on their shelf as reference for the next time they think about that speech and try to remember what it was you said that they loved so very much.

In any public speaking situation, if you’re good at what you do, a book at the back of the room is likely to sell to about half the audience. Bookmarks, pens and notepads are all wonderful tools, but if there’s a book to be bought, chances are, they’ll buy it. It’s a better seller than t-shirts (which might not fit), coffee mugs (which everyone has too many of already), or that adorable little combination envelope slitter and can opener (which the vendor told you would fly off the shelves like hotcakes, and of which you have fifteen cases left). A book is something the audience member can take home and display, set on the coffee table as a conversation starter, lend to friends, and even take notes in during the talk itself. It’s one of the most invaluable tools any public speaker can have.

Expert books, as they’re called in the industry, vary in length, but are usually no longer than 45,000 words – this makes them easy, fast writes, and simple, clean reads.  Many who public speak don’t even need to bother with a traditional publisher…if you’re selling them at the back of the room, if you’re using them as a tool to sell your program, class or product, a self-published book can be more than effective.

Not to mention, of course, that a book can actually make landing those public speaking gigs easier – it’s that added bonus that can make many organizations reconsider a guest they might not have welcomed before.

Write a book – tell your story. Your family would love the legacy. Your friends will love the read. And getting it all out will feel so very, very good. And what if while you’re writing it you realize something about yourself? You could come to the sudden realization that you’re an expert at something and you never noticed – how many people have you solved that problem for? Goodness, it must be twenty now! You never noticed that everyone asks you about it! Maybe you need to write another book, explaining how to do this!

Oh, and maybe you could give talks about doing it – teach a lot of people, one on one, how. That second book would sell great at the back of the room, if you could get it done.

Books are amazing tools. They communicate, in depth, with a vast audience across the world. The share ideas, hopes, dreams, loves, and failures and give you a sense of community and connection with a global consciousness few people are able to tap into. They’re a legacy to leave your family, a source of pride sitting on the shelf, a testament to a brilliant mind and a gentle soul.

And after six months of retirement, they’re something to get you away from the TV, which is now driving you absolutely batty.

Please keep in mind that WC Education classes use FreeConferenceCall.com – this is not an 800# so if you still pay by the minute for your long distance, you should call and see if you can work something else out

The class is being taught by TWO industry experts – Claudia Suzanne, Ghostwriter and Editor, and J.D. Moore, Ghostwriter and Novelist. Sounds like it’s going to be a lot of fun! Go take a look at Wambtac.com!

The class is being co-taught by J.D. Moore, and will start around April 5th, and will focus on fiction writing for the Author. However, it SHOULD include many of the same elements as the ghostwriter training section on fiction, and if you just couldn’t afford the GCT course, this will fit your budget better.

Like I said, check back here in a few days and I should have all the details.

If you’re interested in Ghostwriter training, make sure you let Claudia know now, as the classes are already almost full.

Classes start Monday, March 7.

http://claudiasuzanne.com/gct for details and registration

Or call toll-free at 1-800-641-3936.