Bestselling business books; The Haruki Marukami way; Rick Astley on fame and fortune at 21; Dental holidays; Name brands heuristics

By Amanda Morrall

1) How to write a best selling business book.

It seems a bit of a blur to me now but some time last month I hit the send button on a draft copy of a personal finance book, which all going well should be published early next year. Fingers crossed. Naturally, I was interested to read this piece from BusinessWeek on how to write a best selling business book to see what, if any, my chances of success were. What I gather from reading the article is it's all a bit of a crap shoot and that if I could afford to buy my own book (by the truck load) I might stand a chance of pushing it into the best selling category.  Another key according to the article is writing content that you would invested the time and money in to read yourself.

2) Hard wired for writing

Those tempted to try their hand at writing a book, be it for pleasure or financial gain, might be inspired by the the following interview with Japan's celebrated writer Haruki Murakami . Murakami, who won me over back in the '80s with his book "Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World" shares his writing secrets, strategies and insights in this Q&A with the Paris Review. Like many successful authors, Murakami follows a fairly rigid routine. When he's writing a novel, he wakes at 4 am. works for five to six hours, then spends the afternoon training for marathons. Inspirational.

3) Never going to give you up

A little blast from the past. The subtitle above might have a familiar ring to it. It was the name of the song that made a then 24-year-old Rick Astley hugely popular and rich. Over the six years following that iconic 1987 ditty, Astley sold 40 million albums. In the latest from their Fame and Fortune interviews, the Telegraph talks to Astley about his early life success at 21 and how it has influenced his views and management of money.

4) Dental holidays

Going to the dentist isn't foremost on my To Do list, although it probably should be. Since giving up a preemo dental package in Canada that came with the ex, I've gone from visits every six month to every three years. I'm long over-due and regret not putting my head through the door of a dental office I walked past in Bali whilst on vacation to check on the service and prices. Relative to what you'll pay here in NZ, dental work in many countries in S.E Asia is a bargain. And yet, dental professionals here are warning money conscious travellers to be cautious.

This article from the North Shore Times explains why. Seems the old adage you get what you pay for also applies to dentistry. I'm not so sure about that but I expect a little homework can go a long way.

5) Name brands

With the exception of Lululemon (a yoga gear and apparel maker), I don't have much brand loyalty.  Good thing for that too as despite all the hype about branding, when it comes to food brands, quality has little to do with loyalty. The following from thehindubusinessline.com shows how easily misled consumers are when it comes to advertising and branding. No shame with no name in the grocery shopping aisles.

To read other Take Fives by Amanda Morrall click here. You can also follow Amanda on Twitter @amandamorrall