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Oct
19

7 Things I Learned While Writing an eBook

By | Ebooks

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Angela’s Note – Today’s post is a guest post by Melissa Culbertson, a marketing communications consultant, blogger and author of the DIY Blog Critique, a 43-point guide to making blogs more awesome. You can find her on Twitter and at her blog, Momcomm.

Wheeewwww.

That’s the sound I made when I saved my DIY Blog Critique eBook into a PDF for the final time. Done, finished, finito. And while I didn’t have publishers, designers or a team of editors, I still worked hard and learned a lot in the process.

You may be flirting with the idea of writing an eBook too. It’s worth a thought as eBook are hot right now. If you’re thinking about taking the leap, these tips that I learned along the way will surely help.

1. It’s Okay to Jump Around

While the idea of going out of order may make you cringe, I find that I jump around a lot when I write. While writing my DIY Blog Critique eBook, I found myself working on one section but actually getting a burst of ideas for another section. Instead of forcing myself to finish the section I was obviously not gung-ho about, I jumped to that other section, got my thoughts out of the way, then went back. I often found it was easier to get past the hump on the tougher sections of the eBook this way.

Takeaway: Go where your brain takes you instead of forcing yourself to follow a chronological order.

2. Planning Matters

Before I started writing my eBook, I laid out all the steps needed to complete it. This included content, design, editing, prepping the file, promotion outreach and more. While it takes time to plan, I enjoyed having a checklist to feel accomplished! Plus, if I ever decide to write another eBook, I won’t have to remember all my steps.

Takeaway: Spend an hour or two planning your eBook process and then tweak as needed.

3. I Have an Odd Habit

Apparently, I do something over and over when I get really into writing. I take my long hair in and out of a hair clip. I didn’t even realize it at first until I kept thinking, “I could have sworn my hair was pulled up.” Honestly, I didn’t even remember taking the hair clip in and out of my hair. So weird.

Takeaway: Don’t be surprised if you learn something new about yourself. Even something slightly weird.

4.You’ll Have to Burn the Midnight Oil

I’m a marketing consultant and run two blogs. I also have two kids. While preschool gave me some free hours, a good chunk of my eBook time was spent late at night after the kids were asleep. You may have to work during times you’d rather not in order to get your eBook pushed out, especially if you announce your eBook before you finish it. (Ahem.)

Takeaway: Work late, get up early, whatever works better for you. But don’t be afraid to push the boundaries a bit to get the book done!

5.Give Yourself Extra Time

You’ll find that even with the best planning possible, you’ll run into issues you didn’t see coming. For me, I spent extra time on things like learning my way around e-junkie and making a special eBook affiliate page on my website. These were things I didn’t even consider when I tried to be super-planner-girl in the beginning.

Takeaway: Build some extra time into your plan for unexpected to-dos or issues. That way you won’t have to burn that midnight oil as much.

6. Hire Out When Needed

Since I write and design, I sometimes think I can go all superwoman and do it all. Turns out, I can’t. I wanted a new welcome page for Facebook where those who like my page get a sample of my eBook. Instead of fumbling through it myself, I decided to hire it out. Sure it wasn’t cheap. But it was oh so worth it.

Takeaway: Decide where you want to spend time and where you don’t. Hire out what you can.

7. Research Helps for eBook Newbies

I’m an info junkie, sometimes to my detriment. But I knew the more info I was armed with, the more confident I’d be in my finished product. I downloaded free eBook checklists, read helpful articles and, oh yes, purchased Angela’s 30 Days to Make and Sell a Fabulous Ebook. Even though I already knew my eBook topic, her book will help those who don’t. It gave me awesome insight into publishing it and getting the word out. Definitely worth it.

Takeaway: Do some homework and soak up some knowledge. You’ll feel even more empowered by it to finish your eBook

Jun
20

Why You Should Write an Ebook – Is It Worth the Time?

By | Ebooks

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Preparing to speak about the benefits of writing an ebook at Type-A-Parent Conference I wanted to share some of that information with you. Especially in light of the coming launch of my ebook, 30 Days to Make and Sell a Fabulous Ebook.

Why Write an Ebook? Four Benefits of Writing an Ebook:

There are several reasons why I feel it’s beneficial to write an ebook – whether you are a blogger, social media consultant or just an average-Joe. The benefits of putting together an ebook are huge compared to the time investment, in my experience, and I’ve often seen a higher return on investment from my ebooks then the average blog posts I write. Although it’s obviously easier to track what an ebook is doing than what a single blog post is doing for you.

1. You are able to reuse the content you have already written.

Not to say you should straight cut and paste your blog posts into an ebook format and let that be that, but not having to research a topic from scratch is a huge time saver. You can even link to blog posts from the ebook, or use the ebook as a way to expand on the post you’ve written.

2. You create an additional revenue stream for yourself.

While ebook sales do tend to taper off after awhile (I find the “shelf-life” of most ebooks to be about two years depending on the topic) you can gain an additional source of revenue from an ebook if you choose to charge for the product.

3. Reach a broader audience with your message.

Not everyone reads blogs on a regular basis. I’ve had people purchase my ebooks who would never spend time reading that same information from my blog. When it’s a topic I feel passionate about, such as pregnancy or helping women make money from home, I want that information to reach as many people as possible. So it makes sense to provide the information in an ebook format.

4. Increases personal branding and authority building.

Creating an ebook on the topics you are most passionate and out-spoken about can help solidify you as a go-to-source for others. When someone has a question about something happening in their pregnancy, or with their baby, they are likely to email me or message me on Facebook and ask me because they know I’ve written a couple ebooks about Pregnancy. Same with other topics I’ve covered via ebook; Keyword research, Web content production and Ebooks. What is YOUR topic?

These are the four main reasons for you to consider creating an ebook of your own. I know it’s tough though with everything else bloggers and online marketers have going on to make time to create an ebook or know where to start. That’s why I’m expanding the Ebook Creation section of my Making Money ebook and creating a 30 day guide to building, selling and marketing your ebook.

30 Days to Make, Market, a Sell a Fabulous Ebook is available for sale through the social ebook library at TypeAParent.com and I will be walking purchasers through the book on the private 30 Days to Make an Ebook group there! If you have not yet signed up as an affiliate, I recommend doing so to earn yourself 20% on the price of the book when you purchase through your affiliate link.

I can’t wait to help you reach your goals!

Jan
05

Review of 75 Ways to Make Money Blogging Ebook

By | Ebooks, Resources

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This is a review of an ebook by a good friend and colleague, Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen, founder of Quips and Tips Blog Network, and someone who’s guest posted here before in the Focus Your Efforts post as part of the Ten Habits. She has authored a book titled 75 Ways to Make Money Blogging: Without Selling Stuff, Overdoing the Ads or Offending Readers.

Her introduction sums up one of my personal philosophies so nicely,

“It’s not just about making money; it’s about building a blog you’re proud of.”

And the book continues with it’s amazing goodness from there. The ebook is 63 pages and three main chapters or sections covering how to build your blog, advertising, and making money.

How is 75 Ways to Make Money Blogging Organized?

Each sub-section begins with a “snags untangled in this chapter” list of what is covered. For those who like to jump around in a book and pick out only the most relevant bits, this is the section to glance at to see if you need to read the whole thing. Easy to digest tips make up the meat of the chapter, which finishes with the inspirational “quips” or quotes finishing up each chapter.

What are the Benefits and Weaknesses of 75 Ways to Make Money Blogging Ebook?

Easy to read information that is truly helpful, for one thing. This ebook is written in the same style as the blogs that Laurie writes, and it’s a brilliant writing style that I have always enjoyed. I found the information a great starting place, especially for beginning bloggers.

The information starts right at the very beginning from choosing a topic to looking for ways to help build your traffic. Some of tips don’t delve as deep into the technical or second step of things, for example the SEO section was rather sparse. But that’s not the main focus of the book. Instead the sheer amount of tips and information given are more than enough to get you started on the right direction with your blog.

I learned quite a few things as well, even though I’ve been online for awhile. It always helps to be able to pick someone else’s brain every once in awhile, and that’s exactly what this book is like – sitting and chatting with Laurie about what’s worked for her.

I specifically came away with some specific ideas and takeaways like:

  • Create a plan to generate traffic. (Something most bloggers do not do enough of in my opinion.)
  • How to work with a bigger blog network. (Something that I have not done enough of lately.)
  • Use those free Google Adwords vouchers to advertise your blog (Man why have I not done this yet!)
  • Stay focused on your blog strateg…..hey! Look at that shiny over there!
  • Ad placement matters – this was immensely interesting to me and something I highlighted for additional review later.

While her ebook may not go hugely in-depth on a lot of the technical details, or specifics on various ad networks, it represents a lot of overview information for bloggers to work through. In doing so, they are sure to come away with plenty of ideas and takeaways of their own. This is an ebook I would recommend in the future to consultation clients - especially those who felt overwhelmed by “where to start” or “what now” feelings. The concise, easy-to-read style cuts through the clutter with brilliance.

PS – Tomorrow I’ll be resuming the Beyond 31 Days Series.

Nov
21

Making Money Blogging – Maximize Income on Work Already Being Done

By | Ebooks

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When I spoke at Type-A-Mom, one of my sessions I talked about doing what you’re doing to the next level. Well I’ve decided to take my own advice – and a large part of this decision I owe to Alli Worthington. She emailed me and asked me to call her so she could pick my brain. I realized then that I’m really good at that. I’ve often joked at how easily I brainstorm brilliant ideas on behalf of others. So, for me, I do believe that is my “next level”.

So I am adding to my Renaissance Woman list the title of Consultant. That sounds so impersonal and stuffy though. Maybe just coach. Or cheerleader. Or sounding board. Whatever your need is, the focused time of brainstorming, planning, and mapping out your next step could be invaluable. And here I’m only charging $50 for a 30 minute session.

MakeMoneyBloggingIn tandem with this move, I’m releasing a new ebook – Making Money Blogging: Moving Beyond Ad Sales. Over 75 pages long, and with additional worksheets, checklists, brainstorm guides and action steps, the book will outline several things I’ve used to increase my revenue online. Beyond “just blogging” and trying to rustle up ad sales on my blogs.

There’s a lot you can do beyond that to maximize your online efforts – and income. Repurposing content into an information product like ebooks. Writing related pieces for online content sites like Untrained Housewife, Type-a-Mom, Suite101 or Examiner. Selling your articles to magazines and trade publications to maximize what you can bring in to your family budget with them.

All of these things can be easily done using the research and material you are ALREADY writing. Making Money will be only $25 – a steal considering that you are learning from three years worth of my trial and error. You’ll learn basic writing tips.  And additional sections will cover a variety of information for taking your writing to the next level.

  • How to use Keyword Research that actually HELPS you make money.
  • How to tailor that keyword research for other pay models that have nothing to do with Google Adsense, to help you increase blog traffic or target a specific audience.
  • How to query print magazine editors and republish your online content in trade publications for additional income.
  • How to find paying markets to query.
  • How to brainstorm article ideas that will sell.
  • How to turn the writing you’re already doing into ebooks that will sell.
  • How to find websites to contribute to that will actually pay you. How to be successful at each and avoid the ones that aren’t worth your time!

Checklists are included to help you personalize what you’re reading for you and your unique situation.

A third section covers packaging your writing into ebooks you can sell. Ebooks seem like a difficult thing, but it’s really not any more difficult than a year’s worth of blog posts. The last section covers several online websites to write for. Since I cover only sites I’ve personally contributed to I can tell you from first hand experience the pros and cons of each. Learn how each site treats its writers, what rights they keep or don’t, what their editing process is and why you might (or might not!) want to write there.

All this for $25. Three years worth of experience shared with you – actual numbers, details from my experience and best of all, the honesty you’ve come to expect from me.

With a purchase of the book, you’ll have the option to apply the $25 price to a 30-minute phone consultation, privately one-on-one with me. That will give you a total $75 value for $50.

Will you benefit from brainstorming and goal-setting with me? I can’t guarantee you’ll make millions, but based on the experiences of others who have picked my brain and bounced ideas back and forth with me, I’m confident you’ll definitely get something out of it. Don’t take my word for it though –

See what these had to say….

kelbycarr-headshot“Angela England is an insightful and knowledgeable writer and blogger. I frequently turn to her when I have an idea spinning wheels in my head, and she never fails to nail the perfect way to get the initial concept moving into a tangible plan. She is one of the people I turn to most when I need to bounce ideas off of someone, or when I am struggling with next steps and need advice. Beyond that, she is one of the most generous and helpful women I know, one I trust both personally and professionally.”

~ Kelby Carr

Type-A-Mom Foodie Mom Kelby Carr Services

chrismclaughlin“When it comes to writing, having another writer to bounce ideas and strategies off of is an invaluable resource. If you’re lucky enough to bounce these ideas off of a writer who has been there and has a natural knack for finding every corner and lifting every seat cushion, you’re fortunate indeed. That’s exactly what has happened to me time and time again when consulting with Angela England. Not only does she give ideas but helps you understand how to find those ideas for yourself for next project you tackle. I’ve broadened my ideas and direction for online and print articles, ebooks, as well as print books with Angela and do so to this day.” ~ Chris McLaughlin

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Composting (Alpha/Penguin) April 2010    The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Heirloom Vegetables and Seeds December 2010
Vegetable Gardener.com Vegetable Gardens at Suite 101 Home Gardening at Foodie Mama A Suburban Farmer SF Gardening Examiner
Nikki“Angela has brought everything a good blogger and writer needs to know about marketing her writing skills and making a living beyond blogging for other people. I’ve turned to her on more than one occasion, completely stumped on an idea and she has more than helped me get past my barriers. Angela has helped me both personally and professionally and I can’t imagine a better place to learn how to take my ideas and goals to the next level. A lot of writers and bloggers don’t want to share how they’ve become successful or how they’re making it work; Angela isn’t like that at all. She’s been extremely helpful and insightful and isn’t shy about sharing what she knows. I was totally clueless about adsense, keywords, and creating an ebook but Angela has broken it all down for me in a way that I could understand; it was a true AHA! moment. She worked with me patiently so that I didn’t feel lost and made sure my questions were answered. Every time I talk with Angela and bounce an idea off of her, I end up with a list of more ideas that I can make happen. She’s personal, professional and has so much information to share, she is the perfect person to write this ebook because she’s been there and done it all. This is the kind of ebook I’ll read and again and again, without a doubt.” ~ Nicole Smith

www.mothersclick.com , www.theguiltyparent.com , www.lifetimemoms.com

Feb
28

Find Images to Add to an Ebook or Article

By | Ebooks

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Finding photographs to use can be difficult for web writers so we are going to take a look at putting images in our ebooks and articles today. Some ebook topics will need more images than others. When I wrote the ebook about creating interest in a winter landscape, it made sense to use some photographs that would illustrate the specific design ideas I discussed.

Some common photography and stock websites offer free or inexpensive photo options for writers. This is great news for bloggers, elearners, webmasters and the like. Once you have a convenient and reliable source, you can find great images in no time. Images are such a vital part of web articles that is nice to finally find the right sites. I’ll list a couple here but please be sure to check with the individual users regarding the rights of their photos.

Best Sites For Free Photographs

  • Flickr Creative Commons – Beautiful photography contributed by many different users.
  • Stock Xchang - Users can load photographs with no restrictions, limited restrictions or high restrictions so be sure to look at each picture carefully.
  • Wikimedia Commons – According to the website, Wikimedia Commons is “a media file repository making available public domain and freely-licensed educational media content (images, sound and video clips) to all”.

Unique Sources for Niche Topic Photographs

Sometimes your topic may be one that makes it difficult for you to find a specific photograph. Are you wondering “Where will I get a picture for this article?” or threatening to rip your hair out if you can’t find that perfect shot? Consider looking at a less obvious option for your pictures and go directly to the source. There are so many forums with hobbyists enjoying various topics so it shouldn’t be too hard to find one dedicated to your ebook’s topic.

For example, I often write about gardening topics. Sometimes photography stock sites won’t have the specific cultivars and named hybrids I mention in my articles. However, a popular gardening community website, Dave’s Garden, allows users to upload their garden photographs directly into plant profile galleries. Many of the pictures, though taken by amateurs, are very beautiful shots and work perfectly for the article I’m working on.

By approaching these users directly, and asking for their permission to place their photos in my articles, I am getting a specific photo I need. Plus I am able to get a photo that isn’t being used by other websites on a regular basis!

Take the Photo Yourself

Of course, the other option is to take the picture yourself. In fact, I almost always take my camera with me now because you never know when a photo op will present itself. Part of the benefit of having your article series brainstormed ahead of time, and an ebook table of contents created, is that you know in advance what type of pictures you’ll need.

If I know that I am working on edible landscaping articles, I can take some vegetable garden pictures even if they don’t work for the article I’m on immediately. In another month, or two, when I’m to that point in my writing, that perfect image is sitting right in my computer just waiting for me to use it.

Feb
27

Make a Table of Contents to Plan Your Ebook Writing

By | Ebooks

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As a freelance writer eager to maximize your online earning potential, you want to learn how to write as efficiently as possible. That means not only learning to write your articles in series to save research and writing time, but also carefully planning those articles series in advance.

So instead of putting your ebook Table of Contents after you’ve finished writing your book, you will put together your Table of Contents at the beginning of the process. Why should writers plan the Table of Contents first?

Avoid Writer’s Block Through Pre-Planned Writing

Have you ever sat down at the computer and wasted an hour trying to decide what to write? What if you already knew exactly what the next ten articles to write should be? The next twenty?

When I begin writing and I know what I need to be working on, it’s a lot easier to set concrete goals. “Today I need to finish Week 12 in my Pregnancy Week-by-Week Series” is a lot better than “Hmm….I wonder what I should work on today”.

Stay Motivated With Clear Goal Achievement

When writers do not make concrete goals for themselves it becomes too difficult to tell whether those goals are being met or not. On the hand, when you can look back and say “Wow, I am halfway through this book!” that is very motivating as a writer.

Write Ahead to Pre-Sell Your Ebook

If you are writing a weekly column and plan to sell an ebook created from a compilation of these periodic articles, you want to be able to get your book out there as soon as possible. By writing all the articles and book content ahead of time, you can slowly release each individual weekly piece, while already having the book ready to go. This allows you to capitalize on the readers already coming to view your articles.

For example, I am writing a series of story stretcher articles to help parents use children’s literature to teach their preschool children. I can write 20 of these articles now, this month, and then use them as my weekly column pieces for the next four months. Each week, my new article will be published, with a note at the bottom that tells readers “This article is part of the Use Children’s Books to Teach Your Preschooler ebook available at TypeAMom ebook store.” and include a link where your readers can choose to purchase the entire book you’ve created.

Look over the brainstorm you created when you learned about writing an article series and choose one topic to write about first. Brainstorm a bit further until you’ve jotted down a rough draft Table of Contents. Remember, this book isn’t set in stone and so is completely flexible as you begin to actually write the content, but this will give you a plan. And having a plan is half the battle!

Feb
23

Why Write an Ebook? What are the Benefits of Ebook Creation?

By | Ebooks

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There are five reasons why a freelance writer, web content creator, or blogger will benefit from creating one or more ebooks.

Personal Branding and Becoming an Expert in Your Field

Many of us have something to share with others. We are writing on a particular subject on a fairly regular basis. But what makes us unique from other bloggers or content writers?

Publishing an ebook on a particular topic can give you a sense of credibility in that topic. Now you’re not just someone who writes about the cakes they’ve been baking for church functions – now you are a baker! Publishing an ebook about “Baking Cakes for Social Functions” has elevated your status in the eyes of your readers.

Reuse Your Research and Writing Material

I don’t know about you, but personally I cannot stand to do something and then ten minutes later have to do it again. Or the very next day. For example, making my bed drives me crazy and seems rather a waste of energy to me.

So with my freelance writing, I like to reuse as much of my material as possible. If I do a lot of reading and research about baking cakes because I promised to make a cake for the church banquet, then why not see what else I can do with that research? Instead of just baking that one cake, and being done with it, I will look for others ways to use the material.

One of the best ways to repurpose a body of research material is to create an ebook!

Create an Additional Source of Income

Offering an ebook gives you the potential for a sale every day. We all know how important multiple sources of income are as freelance writers. There are very few of us who have such a large, well-paying gig, that we will be able to make a decent income from just one area of revenue. So ebook sales are a great way to create more income opportunities.

Create Continual Income Possibilities – Work Once With Long Term Potential

Once your book is written, it is written. Instead of being like most freelance writing opportunities where you must continually pitch, query, write, and submit in order to keep money coming in, ebooks work differently. You work hard, write great content, go through the drudgery of editing and revisions and finally produce your ebook. But once it is done, it is done and will continue to have the potential of earning for you without additional writing on your part.

Ebooks Give You the Chance to Connect With Your Readers

We all have something unique and special to share. Your “Baking Cakes for Parties” ebook could be very helpful to many people who, like me, find cooking a challenge sometimes. By gathering all the best tidbits of your wit and wisdom into one easy-to-find place, you will be connecting with your readers on a new level. For many of us, that desire for connection is the very thing that drives us to write in the first place.

Feb
23

How to Select a Successful Ebook Topic

By | Ebooks

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Choosing Ebook Content That Others Will Want to Buy

So you’ve decided you’re ready to repurpose your content and make an ebook. Congratulations! Ebooks can be great tools for creating an additional stream of income, on work you’ve already done.

Your ebook topic will make or break your chances at successfully selling your ebook. If your topic is too broad, you won’t be able to cover it well in such a limited scope. Conversely, if your topic is too narrow, you might be quickly found by the one person who wants to find out about how to knit a purple ladybug tissue box cover, but you won’t have very good sales since your audience will be extremely small.

When creating an ebook, think about a topic you are knowledgeable in. What do you find that your friends ask you about? When you’re sending out an email more than two or three paragraphs in length, what is the topic? Children? Photography? That fantastic chocolate cake you bake for church events? A series of devotionals, journaling prompts or kids crafts?

The topic for your ebook should be something you are familiar enough with that you can cover it in-depth and produce at least 20 pages or more of good, solid content for your readers. Creating an Article Series instead of individual, unrelated articles or blog posts, can help you organize your thoughts and create enough content for an entire book.

How-to’s and niche informational ebooks seem to do the best for non-fiction writers. Once you’ve chosen your ebook topic, your articles, blog posts or web pages will be easy to write because you’ll now have clear focus and direction for your pieces.

Selecting a Successful Ebook Topic Checklist

  • Is this topic something you will be able to cover in adequate detail? Ebook readers do not want fluff they already know, but want to get more specific details and hard-to-find information.
  • Is this an ebook topic that has a potential market? If it is interesting to you and interesting to some of your friends, the chances are good that there will be others looking for the information as well.
  • Is your topic focused without being too narrow in scope? Too broad a topic will make it difficult to attract an audience. Too narrow a topic and your potential sales will be small.

Probably the most important criteria for selecting a topic to write an ebook about is your level of interest and passion. If a writer is excited about a particular subject, willing to research the material and take the time to carefully craft, revise, edit and compile the writing then chances are good the ebook will come to fruition successfully.

See successful ebooks I’ve created and notice how the topics are specific and provide detailed information.

Feb
09

How Can I Make My Garden Look Good in the Winter?

By | Ebooks, Garden Design

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There are several ways for gardeners to increase the appearance of their garden during the long winter months. By wisely choosing plants with year-round interest, even amateur garden designers can create amazing landscapes through the cold, bleak months of winter.

One of the first article series I published on Suite101 was about Using Plants for Winter Interest. In this article gardeners learned the six main ways that plants can be used to create interest in the garden throughout the usually colorless winter.

Creating interest in the winter garden can be done through the use of:

  • winter-blooming flowers
  • evergreen shrubs and plants
  • interesting plant silhouettes
  • unique bark texture or color
  • ornamental seeds or cones

winter-interest-cover_smallFor specific plant suggestions in each of the six categories, I have put together an ebook with over 30 pages of tips for making your winter landscape a thing of beauty with perennials, shrubs and trees every gardener should consider.

Using Plants for Winter Interest: Creating a Year-Round Garden is only $3.99 and will give gardeners several lists of plants to try in their landscapes. From variegated evergreen shrubs, to plants that flower during the coldest winter months, this book is pack with ways to increase your garden’s curb appeal.