Stop the planet! I want to get off!

Well, that’s how I feel every time I listen to the news or read some Internet article about the problems facing people today.

Only this week, while researching material for a new e-book, I came across 137,000,000 publications or articles related to problems facing humanity. These problems ranged from economic crisis to the implosion of the universe.

No matter where I turned, according to the overwhelming torrent of negativity pouring out of each and every one of these articles or publications, I was screwed.

Accordingly, given the overwhelming data pointing to my imminent destruction, is it small wonder that I was ready to give up the ghost? I know I certainly felt like that when I started to read some of the 137,000,000 web pages heralding the arrival of Armageddon.

After reading about thirty of these doom and gloom web pages, I couldn’t read any more for fear of swinging from the rafters, I began to notice a common thread that ran through each of the narratives on my impending demise. The thread goes something like this:

This is your problem, and this is the solution to fix it. Now buy the solution, and with it, your problems will evaporate. Oh! And the solution comes with a money back guarantee.

Basically, I was being sold a bill of goods by these harbingers of doom. The authors of the articles and publications that I read weren’t addressing my problem. They were trying to sell me their product. This got me thinking about how I write my articles and e-books.

While it true that most e-books follow the pattern of identifying a problem then offering a solution, not all authors seek to magnify the problem his or her e-book is trying to address.

The key to becoming a successful e-book author is not to dwell on the problems facing your readers. People don’t need to have their problems reinforced. There are enough doom peddlers around to do that for them. What your readers need is a compassionate ear and voice that understands the complexities of their issues. A sympathetic ear and soft voice is one that empowers people to overcome their problems, not push them further into despair.

So next time you come to write an article or e-book about a specific issue, try to write to empowering your reader, not from the standpoint of selling them a bill of sale.