Article Writing

Obesity Isn’t The Only Problem With Today’s Youth Entertainm

2009-03-16T01:01:00.000-07:00

by: Laura Hickey

Parents are desperately trying to lure their children away from video games and the TV for fear of obesity. Many children today are substituting good reads for TV remote and game controllers. Cindi Brown, a daycare owner expresses “Children who read at an early age seem more content with a good book and do not rely on TV and video games for entertainment as much as non-readers.”

Evelyn Petersen, author of 8 books for early childhood and parenting, a writer in newspapers for over 20 years, “Detroit Free Press” and “KRTN Wire” previously, as well as writing for weekly parenting columns for the “Nashville Tennesean”. Also has been published in “Children and Families" magazine comments “Many first grade teachers are noticing that children who stare at the TV screen for hours each day are often damaging the muscles in their eyes so they cannot “track” their eyes to left to right as you read.”

While many parents are often too busy to take time to read to their children, it is associated that “children who are read to, are children who read,” as commented by MaryAnn Kohl, author of over 15 books on creative art for children, and a columnist for many parenting magazines including Scholastic's “Let's Find Out.”

Early childhood reading is considered a key element in a child's success for their future. Sue Reszka has been teaching in preschools for 25 years and has found that “children that have the opportunity to experience books at a young age, have a much easier time when learning to read on their own. Reading to children at an early age helps them learn new words, relate the spoken word to the printed word, develop listening skills and an understanding of what words mean. Books let children experience whole new worlds, people, places and ideas. The greater the variety of experiences a child has, the greater the chances that he/she will succeed.”

While often children don't want to read books because their either consider to childish for their age or not entertaining enough, a current release from LH Publications and Productions has been found to entice readers of all ages while secretly unveiling a lesson or two in each story. Mysterious Chills and Thrills by author Laura Hickey is an anthology of spooky twists of fiction that weave the age old question of “what if” that many generations can apply to their own lives.

Mysterious Chills and Thrills shows promise to delight kids across the nation at a price to please parents. With book reviews such as “A young person's thriller written in their own language, 5 stars” and “Age appropriate for children six and up, these stories will have you chilled and thrilled!” from “Book Review Cafe”, Mysterious Chills and Thrills isn't your average sci-fi children's book. Funny, creepy and educational, it's a triple threat of a gem of a book for kids to start reading at a young age. This holiday season remember, good readers promote communication and SOLIDIFY important skills for life.

Mysterious Chills and Thrills can be bought as an e-book or paper back book at http://www.laurahickey.com for ages 9-12.

# # #

Laura Hickey is the author of the children's book Mysterious Chills and Thrills, along with many articles.

http://www.laurahickey.com

Oh no! A Bad Book Review! Have no Fear, it's Not the End

2009-03-16T01:00:00.002-07:00

by: Laura Hickey

When you get a bad book review

You've just been notified a review of your book has been posted. You're all excited and can't wait to see what has been written. You're clicking onto your book's page when...Oh no! They hated your book! This bad review is going to turn away customers from buying your book. Wait! This isn't the end of the world. Here's 3 tips to deal when you get a bad review.

1. You can't please everyone!

Example: One of my favorite authors is a bestseller but the author didn't receive such hot customer reviews.

Another example: I was reading some book reviews and one of the books had one of the worst ratings ever. I clicked the link with curiosity to find over 20 customers had reviewed the book and loved it. In life, you can't please everyone. Will a bad review discourage future customers? On to my next tip.

2. A bad review doesn't have to mean bad profit.

Not all customers look at a bad review as their only guide to buying. In fact, if your review is so awful, they may even buy the book to see if it's really as bad as the reviewer rated it. There's the saying that curiosity killed the cat, curiosity in this case could help you. Customers also realize that everyone has different tastes. Maybe the reviewer didn't like your book, but who's to say someone different won't? It may be bad publicity, but none the less it may help you. In fact, sometimes a customer may have read the bad review but only remembers your name and or the book's title.

3. If you're getting more than one bad review.

It's understandable if you're disappointed. It's expected, but do not allow yourself to become discouraged. If you've published an e-book and can easily edit your work, bad reviews can actually help your writing. Now don't go crazy and change everything! But if reviews are constantly pin pointing on one certain area, review your work and see if and how you could improve it. I know reviewing repeatedly can be hurtful but if it can help your e-book, isn't it worth considering? Also, don't start picking apart reviews right away, give yourself time to go over them. Picking apart your reviews the moment you receive them could prove fatal to your self esteem.

About the Author
Author of Mysterious Chills and Thrills for Kids.
Ten Short Stories to Tickle the Imagination.
"Spooky" "Awesome" "Unpredictable" Isn't it time you entered the world where shadows lurk and each page turn could be your doom...Get the ebook at CyberRead: https://cyberread.com/cr2/Shop/Details.php?product_id=12120
http://www.laurahickey.com

One Man One Mission

2009-03-16T01:00:00.001-07:00

by: Amy Crawford
One Man One Mission
Amy Crawford

Michael Werner did it again. It’s as if he can’t get enough. Just when we thought he was in for the night, he turns around and starts over. So, what has Werner so enticed? The former co-founder of Info Source Inc., the twice-named Inc 500 list of fastest growing private companies in the US, has created his newest venture, DreamJobsToGo.Com. The ebook series keeps Werner close to both his publishing and technology roots, while fulfilling his desire to help others create a life worth living. “I’m about as pumped as anything I’ve ever been, and I’ve been in the publishing industry for over 25 years” says Werner. “I believe people do want to buy relevant and timely information, if it’s packaged nicely and offered at a fair price, over the Web.” The company has already experienced exponential increases since opening its cyber doors. The Dream Jobs series was launched in April 2001, with 10 titles under its belt. Plans are to have 57 released by the end of the summer.

DreamJobsToGo.com offers everything from how to break in as a freelance writer and making it as a private investigator to becoming an interior landscaper or a computer game designer. “Best of all,” says Dana Cassell, Series Editor, “We’ve attracted strictly been-there-done-that authors for each and every book, so the reader gets real, practical, experience-based information.”

Eldon Sarte, the company’s CTO, adds, “Because each title offers so many interactive links and web resources, we had to make the information available instantly – downloading the guide right into a PC in minutes.”

When asked what the company’s biggest hurdle has been, Werner responded, “The misconceptions people have to what an ebook actually is - many think it is a hand-held device.” In response to that consensus, Werner will offer a free guide on the site, so visitors can test the product format before purchasing. “Customers will view the freebie as a deciding factor for purchasing, I view it as closing the deal.” Werner anticipates that the link elements, subject content, and expert advice each book contains will solidify the sale.

An informal poll running on the site indicates that 75% of the world population is working in a field they don’t like, a percentage that appalls Werner. “That’s why I’m doing this.”

Ultimately, the company must be doing something right. It seems they have what people want. Last month’s best selling dream was “How to Get Free Books (and Maybe Even Get Paid) as a Book Reviewer.” Who knew? You did, Werner, you did.

About the Author

Amy Crawford is a writer who specializes in career and employment topics. She runs the free Dream Job Mentors discussion group at http://www.DreamJobsToGo.com.

Parental Involvement In Learning

2009-03-16T00:59:00.000-07:00

by: Brent Sitton
Whether children attend public or private schools, they benefit when parents become involved in their education. According to the National Institute for Literacy, when parents or other family members frequently read to children entering kindergarten, those children were at a distinct advantage over children whose families read to them less often.

The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study found that "Children who were read to at least three times a week by a family member were almost twice as likely to score in the top 25 percent in reading than children who were read to less than three times a week." The study also found that, of children who were read to at least three times a week:

* 76 percent had mastered the letter-sound relationship at the beginning of words, compared to 64 percent of children who were read to fewer than three times a week,

* 57 percent had mastered the letter-sound relationship at the end of words, compared to 43 percent who were read to fewer than three times a week,

* 15 percent had sight- word recognition skills, compared to 8 percent who were read to fewer than three times a week, and

* 5 percent could understand words in context, compared to 2 percent who were read to fewer than three times a week.

The positive impact of parental involvement in learning doesn't end with kindergarten. Having a variety of reading materials available at home helps older children with reading proficiency. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) found that, among students in the fourth grade, "The 68% of students who had three or more different types of reading materials at home performed at the Proficient level, while students who had two or fewer types of reading material at home performed at the Basic level. Students who had 4 types of reading material at home performed the highest."

Similarly, students who discussed their studies and who talked about reading at home had greater reading proficiency than those who did not. And students of all ages who regularly saw parents and other family members reading at home were positively influenced.

In addition to having a variety of reading materials available at home, discussing reading, and setting a good example by reading, there are a number of ways that parents can create and nurture a home learning environment. Although the Teachers Involve Parents in Schoolwork (TIPS) program from the National Network of Partnership Schools at Johns Hopkins University is directed to teachers, it includes a number of excellent strategies that parents can implement to become active in their children's education.

Communicate: Regularly communicate with the teacher, either via parent-teacher conferences, weekly progress reviews, or homework reviews. Talk with the child, and have them share their schoolwork and school day experiences.

Volunteer: Volunteer to help out in the classroom or at other school activities.

Home Learning: Point out the links between schoolwork and real life situations. Go on family outings that reinforce the concepts being learned in school.

According to the National Education Association, parental involvement in learning is crucial. As evidence, they cite the following findings of research into parental involvement:

* When parents are involved in their children's education at home, they do better in school.

* And when parents are involved in school, children go farther in school - and the schools they go to are better.

* The family makes critical contributions to student achievement from preschool through high school.

* A home environment that encourages learning is more important to student achievement than income, education level or cultural background.

* Reading achievement is more dependent on learning activities in the home than in math or science.

* Reading aloud to children is the most important activity that parents can do to increase their child's chance of reading success. Talking to children about books and stories read to them also supports reading achievement.

* When children and parents talk regularly about school, children perform better academically.

* Three kinds of parental involvement at home are consistently associated with higher student achievement: actively organizing and monitoring a child's time, helping with homework and discussing school matters.

* The earlier the parent involvement begins in a child's educational process, the more powerful the effects.

* Positive results of parental involvement include improved student achievement, reduced absenteeism, improved behavior, and restored confidence among parents in their children's schooling.

There are many ways that parents can become involved in their children's education - the important thing is to become and stay involved!
About the Author

Brent Sitton is the founder of http://www.DiscoveryJourney.com, which has Home Learning tools for parents. Children's Book Reviews include character trait examples and learning activities. http://www.discoveryjourney.com/homelearning.htm

Is America Ready for a Low-Carb Spiritu

2009-03-16T00:58:00.000-07:00

Press Release

by:

What's behind the popularity of "The DaVinci Code" and "The Passion"? Are Americans ready for a change in their spiritual diet that will be just as pervasive as the low-carb revolution has been? That is the bold claim of author Phyllis Strupp in her new book, "The Richest of Fare: Seeking Spiritual Security in the Sonoran Desert."

Scottsdale, AZ July 17, 2004 -- "Americans are waking up to the reality that spiritual flab is an even bigger problem today than body fat," she says. "And the 'bad carbs' that need to be curbed are fear, anxiety, greed, guilt, shame, and other negative emotions that threaten spiritual fitness. 'The Richest of Fare: Seeking Spiritual Security in the Sonoran Desert,' helps people to do this."

In this new book, Ms. Strupp makes the case that America is in the midst of an unprecedented spiritual awakening that extends beyond the reach of organized religion. She comments, "We are entering a new era in American spirituality that will have a profound impact on how we live, relate, and work. Our economy, politics, and religion will never be the same. 'The Richest of Fare: Seeking Spiritual Security in the Sonoran Desert,' reveals the silver lining behind the dark clouds of today's world."

L.A. Johnson of the Midwest Book Review writes:

"To paraphrase Thoreau, civilization has improved our houses but not the men who inhabit them. This richest country in the world boasts 44 million uninsured citizens; 10 million illegal immigrants; 9 million unemployed; and 4 million homeless souls. Something is wrong with this picture and Ms. Strupp makes a compelling argument in explanation."
(full review is available on Amazon.com)

Phyllis Strupp holds a B.A in History from Rutgers College, an MBA from Columbia University, and is a mentor of the Education for Ministry program of the University of the South, Sewanee, Tennessee.

After a Roman Catholic upbringing, she shunned organized religion for over 20 years. She has been in the Episcopalian faith community since 1993. She has worked in the financial services industry since 1986. In March 1997, she moved to Carefree, Arizona with her husband Peter after living in Princeton, N.J. for 11 years.

"The Richest of Fare: Seeking Spiritual Security in the Sonoran Desert," blends scientific fact, spiritual truths, and 56 stunning color photographs of the Sonoran Desert. The author has been a guest on several TV and radio programs around the U.S. Book excerpts and reviews can be viewed at: www.desertspirituality.com

To arrange an interview with the author please contact:

Arene Trimble
Sonoran Cross Press
8912 E. Pinnacle Peak Road, Suite 604
Scottsdale, AZ 85255
info@desertspirituality.com
Phone (480) 595-9878

About the author:

Publish Anything: The Saga of a PublishAmerica Author

2009-03-16T00:57:00.002-07:00

By Lisa Maliga

My story is that an author who’d done online writing for such dot gones as Themestream, Written By Me, and The Vines, someone trying hard to have fiction, poetry and nonfiction in print for real, recommended PublishAmerica. She claimed it was a traditional book publisher. I was struck with their slogan, “We treat writers the old fashioned way – we pay them.” Wasn’t that what publishers were supposed to do?

But since my novel was just sitting on the DiskUs Publishing site and doing nothing but supplying me with enough money to buy a pair of skate laces every three months, I thought maybe it would have a better chance over at PublishAmerica where it would be available as a trade size paperback both on and off-line.

So this author, Ellen Du Bois, had a big thing on her Geocities site about books being available in brick & mortar bookstores & they’d have ISBN numbers and be online and all that stuff. Also had her full size book cover up so I sat there for 5 minutes waiting for the damn thing to appear. Not impressive, but she liked it. Ellen was a cheerleader for her book and sent reviews from a weekly community rag and she bulk e-mailed several pieces of correspondence during those heady days when her book was in prerelease, then release stage in the summer of ’03. I broke down and bought a copy from Amazon – took almost 3 weeks to get. And I struggled to read all 176 pages. Tripe. Clichés abounded. Spelling/grammatical errors weren’t there at least. But the writing was thin. The story moved too quickly. The main character was the most realistic as it was most likely based on the author. The dialogue was okay. The descriptions were minimal. Had there been a real editor, the book could’ve been very good. I wrote to Ellen and told her the positive things about the story, avoiding the negativities. She’d been an online correspondent for almost two years, yet after I didn’t review her book on Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble she didn’t contact me. Almost a year later she sent me another e-mail – to promote a book of her poetry. I was just someone to sell a book to and she was only interested in the sale and hopefully a glowing write up.

A Future PublishAmerica Author
Since I’d already signed the contract with PublishAmerica, I wanted to cancel it after reading that trash. Now my book would be affiliated with a company that put out just about any piece of writing that came its way. I wasn’t expecting much what with my dealings with the extinct eNovel and RJ’s eBooks, along with a tiny eBook publisher named Crafts Across America where I wasn’t paid monthly as promised. And my novel and short story collection languished at DiskUs, home of the alleged Number One Best selling eBook author of all time, Leta Nolan Childers.

PublishAmerica sent me an author’s questionnaire where they asked for basic biographical information; cover art suggestions, and a long list of people who might want to read my forthcoming novel.

“Please prepare a list (names, and addresses,) of people who know you well enough to be interested in your success as a writer: personal friends, colleagues, relatives, etc., to receive a book announcement…Please limit your list and your labels to a maximum of 100 contacts. Also, please do not include businesses or organizations of any kind, including bookstores, media contacts, or government organizations. Include friends and associates only.”

The editing process of my manuscript took two weeks over the Christmas holidays. I was able to ascertain that the first few pages had been read as some minor alterations had been made, but no changes followed for another 50 or so pages. One of the errors that occurred was clearly the result of a spellchecker on the part of PublishAmerica as a question mark appeared after the end of a statement. I’d read of real authors receiving instructions to change chapters, alter endings, delete numerous pages, in other words, really struggle to rewrite a book. Why so much effort? Names. Reputation. The publisher wanted to put their name on the best quality book that they had invested in. The author wanted a book that was saleable but also well written and something they were proud of. PublishAmerica’s editing comprised neither ideal as all they did was put the computer program’s spelling/grammar checker into action.

My two free author’s copies arrived in early March and it was nice to see my trade paperback book in print sans a cheesy cover and stapled spine. ‘North of Sunset’ actually had decent looking stock cover art of a few silhouetted palm trees, a noticeable font, and a spine where the book title, publisher and author’s name was apparent. It would look good on bookstore shelves, I imagined.

Reviews – What Reviews?
What was Publish America doing to make sure my book was reviewed? Nothing. I decided to contact local daily and weekly newspapers by e-mailing a press release. The only responses I got were two e-mail autoresponders announcing the editors were on vacation.

I spent $40 on copies of my book’s galley and mailed them to three national newspapers and the Library Journal magazine. Then I phoned a book reviewer at the ‘San Diego Union-Tribune’ and asked if he’d be interested in reviewing my book but before I could even describe what it was about, he asked who my publisher was. I told him. “We don’t review books by that publisher,” he stated.

I called all the local bookstores and spoke to the managers and/ or community relations people about my book, including a couple of stores who were physically located on the street I’d written about. An independent bookstore owner told me that since PA didn’t have a return policy she was unable to stock my novel. Another said that I could sell my book on consignment. The chain stores of Borders and Barnes & Noble said my book would be available through Ingram if anyone chose to order it.

Tried getting PublishAmerica to send review copies out and it took them weeks to do so. Had to call and make sure on two occasions that the books had been mailed. Maybe quoting one of their enthusiastic promoters on the message board, a guy with a natural genius for marketing and the budget to back it up, got three books sent to reviewers.

Then I sent my book to Piers Anthony, noted sci-fi and fantasy author of more than 100 books. I’d been in touch with him since 2000 when I alerted him to the fact that eNovel was a rip-off. Although the action in his books usually took place in alternate time periods/universes, he didn’t mind reading a mainstream Hollywood novel. He did so. "North of Sunset by Lisa Maliga. She's the one listed in my Survey as I'm a Published Novelist Ha Ha! Ha!, a pertinent warning for starry-eyed aspiring writers. Her web site www.lisamaliga.com is worth checking similarly; she tells it as it is. If you took a few decades off my age and changed my gender, the result might resemble Lisa. North of Sunset is fun, about a Hollywood producer and his temporary secretary, showing a good deal of what I presume is reality. It is written with the omniscient viewpoint, which I dislike, but it held my interest regardless. "

I’d discovered through an upset PA author on the messageboards, which I read on occasion, that someone was complaining about PublishAmerica. Discovering the Absolute Write Background Check area I spent several hours reading, at the time, more than 40 pages of complaints about PublishAmerica. Authors not receiving books in time for booksignings that they set up themselves. Bookstore owners/managers refusing to stock their shelves with unedited PublishAmerica titles. Writers unable to get their books reviewed.

Doing a search on LexisNexis, the reputable online legal research system, for all PublishAmerica books receiving newspaper reviews, I saw that from July 2002 to June 2004, only 24 books had been reviewed nationally. Papers in Syracuse NY, Tulsa, OK, Fort Pierce, FL, Wilmington, NC and Lakeland, FL were represented. Only Salt Lake City’s ‘Deseret Morning News’, the ‘Tulsa World’, ‘Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’ and the suburban paper, the ‘Chicago Daily Herald’ were actually major newspapers. Evidently, the ‘New York Times’ or the ‘Los Angeles Times’ were not reviewing anything by PublishAmerica’s authors. According to the PublishAmerica site in the Facts and Figures section, “Fact #3: Again, unparalleled among all traditional book publishing companies, each day an average 15 times a PublishAmerica author appears in the news media, in newspapers, magazines, radio or TV.” Yet even mathematically challenged folks can determine that by using the LexisNexis search statistics, we learn that the average is a paltry once a month that a PublishAmerica book gets mentioned in a newspaper somewhere in the United States.

Editing – What’s That?
Here’s a gem of a post on the PublishAmerica message board: “When it came out in book form a month ago, my friends mentioned the editing problems in it, so a friend of mine with a masters in education went through it for me. It had close to a thousand editing errors in a 182-page book. So, have some who actually knows what literary content should be in a book, go through your book for you before you send the final draft back to PublishAmerica. Because the final draft, IS!, how the book will be when it comes out.”

I discovered that through the misspellings, grammatical errors, and general bad writing that just about anyone was publishable through the ‘traditional’ publisher located in Frederick, Maryland. Such postings as: “I too am not the best editor LOL! I did get my finished books. And when I met with a lady that is huge in the marketing field, she told me that my book at it's length of 132 pages needs to have chapters.” A couple of PublishAmerica authors discussed editing. “I felt like you did when I found errors, but then I realized, hey people read it for the story, not looking for mistakes in typo land! LOL Now I just keep on a keepin on!”

Sales Figures
Question: I’d really like to know how many copies I’ve sold.
Answer: Buy all of the books yourself and then count them.
No matter how naïve PublishAmerica authors appeared, they will eventually come to the realization that PublishAmerica isn’t really a traditional publisher, especially when those twice-yearly royalty checks arrived. Every few months or so PublishAmerica sent them an e-mail extolling their success, bragging about a big name author they’re negotiating with, or, more recently, doing a deal with the New York Times. On August 17th, an e-mail bearing the proud subject heading ‘Advertising Our Topsellers in the New York Times’ appeared in author’s online mailboxes.

PublishAmerica was well named in that they want to publish anyone in North America who has churned out a manuscript, regardless of quality. They claim to have anywhere from 9,000 to 12,000 “happy” authors and they want more and more of them as that obviously means more money for the greedy owners, namely Willem Meiner and Larry Clopper.

The PublishAmerica name and logo is seen as a joke to those in the media, bookstores and libraries. Books can’t be returned. All PublishAmerica titles lack the necessary CIP [Cataloging-in-Publication] data, which is necessary for libraries to order titles, and who wants to read unedited and overpriced tomes other than the author’s cronies? Oh yeah, and while PublishAmerica claims that they’re a ‘traditional publisher’ why on earth do they have in their main page keywords list the term ‘self publishing’ three times? And in their site’s description, they brag: “PublishAmerica, Inc., a traditional publisher, accepting and publishing manuscripts and books at NO CHARGE to the author. Royalties paid to writers, books sold in stores. Manuscript submissions by mail and online"

In the beginning of September I received a royalty check. To my surprise, I was not only able to afford to buy a pair of laces for my skates, I shelled out the $12 it cost to sharpen my blades. Who knew that this company would provide extra income enabling me to continue participating in my recreational skating hobby? But it cost me more than the $160 in author-bought books, the $40 for galleys, which were probably plunged into a recycling bin, the $87 color business cards, $20 press release -- and the countless hours building and rebuilding my website so people would happen across it and buy a book that was only available online--like any other eBook.

PublishAmerica allows the myth of being a ‘traditional’ publisher, a term not used before the advent of the Internet, to fester. The lie is perpetrated in those HTML source codes that search engine spider robots deliver; the future authors led to the promised realm of publishing, an internet web of woven myths fanning across cyberspace. PublishAmerica resembles most other ePublishing companies promising tales of bestselling books and authors. PublishAmerica is just another scam, just another future dot gone.

If you are a PublishAmerica author, or know of one, who is unhappily published and will tell your story, please contact:

Attn.: Beth Silverman
Office of the Attorney General
Consumer Protection Division
200 Saint Paul Place
Baltimore, MD 21202

About the Author

Read and learn at Lisa's Library of Writing. Discover the diverse writings ranging from bath & body recipes to fiction, figure skating, herbal hints, and helpful publishing advice. This is the literary home of Lisa Maliga, owner of EverythingShea.com. Link to: http://www.lisamaliga.com

Reflections on the Peace Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi

2009-03-16T00:57:00.001-07:00

by: Lisa M. Hendey
Book Review - Reflections on the Peace Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi
By Albert Haase
Reviewed by Lisa M. Hendey

Certain inspirational sayings and prayers transcend denominational lines, becoming part of the fabric of faith and inspiration for masses of believers seeking solace or comfort in difficult times. In Reflections on the Peace Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi (Saint Anthony Messenger Press & Franciscan Communications, September 2004, paperback 84 pages) author Albert Haase, O.F.M. dissects the classic “Peace Prayer” which is attributed to St. Francis of Assisi. In his enlightening introduction, Haase offers a brief history of the prayer, noting that it has been embraced by as a “prayer for all times and all peoples”, having been used by such notables as Margaret Thatcher at her inauguration and at the funerals of Mother Teresa of Calcutta and Diana, Princess of Wales.

Given today’s climate of political upheaval and war in so many areas of our world, contemplation of the Peace Prayer seems to be even more relevant than ever. This compact, twelve chapter book examines each phrase of the prayer in detail. Personal reflections and stories of individuals living out the aspects of the Prayer are offered and draw the reader into a closer understanding of what is meant by each simple expression. Each chapter ends with four reflective questions for individual or group consideration.

For individuals looking to truly live out the concept “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace”, Albert Haase’s book will become a treasured resource and invaluable prompt to both prayer and action. Groups looking for a concise study should enjoy gathering to read and contemplate the book as they examine how to become peacemakers in their own communities and in the world at large.

For more information on Reflections on the Peace Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi visit http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0867165723/catholicmomcom

Lisa M. Hendey is a mother of two sons, webmaster of numerous web sites, including http://www.catholicmom.com, http://www.digitalcropper.com, and http://www.christincoloring.com, and an avid reader.

About the Author

Lisa M. Hendey is a mother of two sons, webmaster of numerous web sites, including http://www.catholicmom.com, http://www.digitalcropper.com, and http://www.christincoloring.com, and an avid reader.

Relationship Quiz - Copasetic, Caution, or Conundrum?

2009-03-16T00:56:00.000-07:00

by: Slade Hartwell
This quiz is based on key areas of communication and intimacy in relationships. The easiest way to take the quiz is to print it, so that you can circle your responses and add up the results. Use the scale below to gauge the health of your relationship.

The questions are designed to assess the likelihood of your relationship being a success in the long term. Take the results seriously, but realize that no quiz can take into account everything that may important to you. Please do not feel completely discouraged if you don't score well. Instead, use what you learn from the questions, and let the results motivate you to identify patterns of negativity and areas needing improvement.

Please answer the following questions using the 3-point scale provided. Answer according to how often the experience occurs in your relationship to either you or your partner. For more honest results, take the test alone before comparing results.

1 = Never
2 = Sometimes
3 = Always

1 2 3We speak freely to each other and don't hold back feelings to avoid conflict.

1 2 3We show each other respect even when we argue.

1 2 3We settle disagreements by finding common ground and end with compromise.

1 2 3We are equal partners in the relationship.

1 2 3We have good talks. We share our feelings and opinions.

1 2 3We have girls/guys night out without jealousy becoming an issue.

1 2 3When we settle an argument, it stays settled and does not become a recurring problem.

1 2 3We can joke around with each other without one of us taking it the wrong way or getting upset.

1 2 3 We respect each other's opinions, feelings, and beliefs. We see eye-to-eye on most things.

1 2 3We like each other's choices in friends.

1 2 3We have good relationships with each other's families.

1 2 3Our fights do not escalate to the point of pushing and slapping.

1 2 3I feel fulfilled and not lonely in the relationship.

1 2 3We can argue without using threats of divorce or abandonment.

Now add up your points and assess your score:_______

36 to 42 "Copasetic"
If your score is in the 36 to 42 range, your relationship is in great shape. You are very fortunate to be in this category, so keep up the good work. You and your partner are a good match, and the likelihood of long-term success for your relationship is high. Everything may be copasetic now, but don't get complacent. Continue to be open, honest, and involved with each other.

26 to 35 "Caution"
If your score is in the 26 to 35 range, then the caution light is on. It's probably time to take a serious look at the direction your relationship is taking. There are obviously some very positive aspects of your relationship that are worth preserving and reinforcing. Your long-term success is in question now. It's time to work on those respect and communication issues. Take note of the questions that scored 1's and 2's and talk about them.

14 to 25 "Conundrum"
If your score is in the 14 to 25 range, as I'm sure you already know, your relationship is in peril. Your score indicates that there is very little chance for long-term success. Negative patterns of behavior are destroying your relationship and making you and your partner miserable. If you intend to continue the relationship, you must take immediate action Seek outside help if possible. The Internet is a good place to start. Visit a website that specializes in relationship building. Post your questions in a good relationships forum. You will find amazingly helpful people with similar experience and golden advice. Best of luck.

About the Author

Slade Hartwell, Webmaster at www.ezromantic.com

Romance Relationship Advice We offer tons of romance and relationship help such as: great articles, advice, love poems, book reviews, gift ideas, romantic travel guides, a relationships forum, and more.

REVIEW: TV Critic Reviews… “Higglytown Heroes”

2009-03-16T00:55:00.002-07:00

by: Kristin Johnson

As aunt of a preschooler and an aspiring voiceover actress (I knew all those hours of watching Bugs Bunny would come in handy), I know all the kids’ shows as well as every kids’ DVD out there. My TV Critic column will be a regular family-fare guide to Kids’ TV.

In my opinion, there’s no better way celebrities can recoup their outrageous salaries than entertaining and sometimes educating kids. And They Might Be Giants get the “cooler than Elvis” vote for singing the theme song to one of Playhouse Disney’s newest hits, “Higglytown Heroes.”

For those of you not familiar with all things Higgly (an adjective used as much as “Smurfy” but not, thank Higgles, as a verb), the series centers on a small town and four tots named Eubie, Kip, and siblings Wayne and Twinkle. Think “South Park” with better art and no foul mouths. The strongest language is, “Aw, pickles,” usually uttered by Twinkle (pinker than Trista Rehn Sutter!) after her fanciful ideas for solving the kids’ dilemmas get gently punctured by Fran, a friendly squirrel voiced by Edie McClurg.

In each two-episode half-hour show, the Higgly Kids experience common, innocent childhood events such as finding a caterpillar, hosting a television party for the Happy Hairy Higgly Monster Primetime Special, losing a tooth, Kip’s Grandpa locked in the bathroom, or caring for an unhappy bird. The kids try to solve their problems, guided by Fran who is the voice of reason, helped by their loving families and the ever-enthusiastic oddly Bill and Ted-ish Pizza Guy…plus someone special. Then comes the inevitable song…

“Someone special, who could it be?

This job’s too big for you and me.

We need some help!

But never fear-o,

It looks like a job for a…Higglytown Hero!

A Higglytown Hero!”

Some of the heroes are natural choices, especially after September 11: Police Woman, Firefighter, etc. But how many of us think of sanitation workers, electricians, plumbers, gardeners, mail carriers (voiced by Kathie Lee Gifford) and farmers as heroes? Or a telephone operator (voiced by Cyndi Lauper)? Although the heroes have celebrity voices, the Higgly Kids discover that the real stars all around them are the people who solve problems every day.

Some of the dilemmas get a little ridiculous from an adult perspective. For example, when Kip climbs a tree to save a beloved neighborhood cat and her kittens, his friends help him. Why, when he gets stuck, can’t they help him back down? Ahem…when was the last time you tripped and panicked? You need help in your own life every day without thinking about it.

The beauty of “Higglytown Heroes” is that it celebrates working together, “having fun together,” and the Higgly Kids as well as their families never take for granted the Heroes in their lives. The Electrician (Lance Bass) gets invited to share in the “Higgly Monsters” TV party after repairing the circuitry for Kip’s house. The Fire Fighter (Donald Faison) who gets Kip out of the tree shares in a birthday party for the neighborhood cat. How many of us go out of our way to thank the people who make our lives easier? Sometimes we forget to see them as people with needs and feelings.

We even forget to see our own families as heroes. Kip’s Grandmama (voice of Betty White) knits the kids sweaters. Kip’s Mom acts like the soul of ‘50s domesticity, but gets rewarded when Kip and his friends make her a get-well card. Wayne’s Mom shows the kids a caterpillar and drives them to the beach.

Interestingly, Higgly families aren’t always nuclear families, something Disney portrays as normal without calling attention to it. Kip’s family is the closest, with twin sisters, a baby sister, a mom and dad (who operates a hot dog cart), and two grandparents who either live in Kip’s large house or visit constantly. Twinkle and Wayne’s mom seems to be a single parent (although all are African-American, no one has screamed racism yet), and Eubie is apparently being raised by his Southern-accented Aunt Millie and Uncle Zooter, with visits from his Southern-accented Grandpop (a farmer).

In many ways, Higglytown is idealized. No one really seems to worry about jobs, money or status. People go to the library, and a Librarian is a Higglytown Hero! The kids “work real hard” and take responsibility (gasp) by thinking up ways to help themselves and their families, and in each episode there are little moral lessons and advice (take care of your pets, don’t use too much electricity, make someone smile) to show the kids how they can grow up to be…Higglytown Heroes!

Cynics and naysayers will deride this as kiddie pablum. I call it a refreshing dose of reality and a tribute to the heroes all around us. The Disney animators are Higglytown Heroes for creating this show.

Copyright Kristin Johnson.

Kristin Johnson is co-author of the “highly recommended” Midwest Book Review pick, Christmas Cookies Are For Giving: Stories, Recipes and Tips for Making Heartwarming Gifts (ISBN: 0-9723473-9-9). A downloadablemedia kit is available at our Web site, www.christmascookiesareforgiving.com, or e-mail the publisher (info@tyrpublishing.com) to receive a printed media kit and sample copy of the book. More articles available at http://www.bakingchristmascookies.com.

kristin@poemsforyou.com

Revised: Iron Lung : A True Life Story

2009-03-16T00:55:00.001-07:00

by: Arthur Zulu

What does it seem like to live in an iron lung for over three decades? That was the lot of my friend as you will see in this story.

“Comfort don’t ever leave me,” she says to me as she struggles on her death bed. I hold her hands, trying to fight away tears from my eyes. Her struggle now becomes weaker and weaker. And then drawing a deep long breath, her eyes fixed on my face, she dies. The hospital attendants wheeled her away to the morgue. And I thought that the world had ended.

I was saddled with the task of breaking this news to her family of three. When I arrived, Job her husband had already seen it from my countenance.

“Is she dead?” was all that he managed to ask. I nodded in affirmation, and everyone burst into tears.

The news of Hope’s death spread quickly. She was not a princess. But even the heavens shook on the day that she passed on. Soon her Hollywood neighbors and the newsmen start pouring in. And before long the death of the woman who survived 37 years lying flat on her back in an iron lung—the longest record in human history—appeared in the newspapers and television. But how did I come to know her? you may ask.

I worked for Hope as an attendant being a nursing–school student. I was taken aback when I first saw this woman living inside a tank called a respirator. I don’t know, dear reader, if you have been privilege to see one of those early iron lungs. These contraptions were rounded tanks, about six feet long and three feet wide, fitted with gadgets. They were made to assist polio patients with paralyzed chest muscles.

Now, picture Hope in this tank. The whole of her body is inside the respirator except her head. To keep the cylinder airtight, a plastic collar and a metal bar were used to hold the collar tight to her collarbone. The air pressure inside the tanks was changed about 15 times a minute by a bellows below the tank. When the bellows expands, it withdraws air from the tank thus causing the patient’s chest to rise as air enters through the nose, mouth or both. But when the bellows contracts, it exerts pressure on the chest which makes the patient to exhale.

Hope could only move her head since her body was totally paralyzed from the neck to her feet (though she could still feel). She could not do any of the things that all of us take for granted. Like eating with her hands; using the toilets or bathroom; playing with her children; sleeping with her husband; or even scratching her body. Her only contact with the world is from a mirror placed above her respirator. This mirror reflected another mirror mounted on the wall on the opposite side across the room, which made it possible for her to see her front door and incoming visitors. And since the respirator could be seen through the large window at the front of her house in the busy street where she lived, she had plenty of them.

At first, I could not bring myself to ask her how she came into this. As time went by, however, we become familiar and talked freely together. Then one day when her husband came to see how she was doing, I asked the question directing it to no one in particular. I thought that her husband would provide the answer, but instead, it was Comfort that started her story.

“I know that you would ask me this one day, Comfort” she said. “I will tell you everything. I had a happy marriage with my husband, together with Paul our son and Endurance, our daughter. I like life, and we would always go on picnic to interesting places like the parks and beaches. The last holiday I had together with my husband and the children was twenty years ago in Switzerland.” Tears begin to swell in her eyes, and I quickly cleaned it up since she had no means to do so, while her husband looked away. I felt guilty in my heart for reminding her of the past.

“Thank you Comfort. As I was saying, my last holiday was in Switzerland. Or was it in Australia?” she asked her husband.

“You are right. We went Down Under before visiting the Alps. But why remember the past?” he replies. She continues as if she did not hear him.

“Then one black winter morning in 1948—thirty six years after I was born in Los Angles—I discovered that I was stricken with deadly polio.” She swallowed hard and continued. “Things got bad quickly. From flu to paralysis, and then to the hospital where I added up to several polio patients on the waiting list.” She wanted to scratch herself but since she could not do it herself, she called my attention to it, which I did. And then she resumed her story.

“Thanks again Comfort” she said. She is never tired of greeting. “I was afraid. I thought that I was going to die. For I had to lie on my back on the floor of the crowded hospital waiting for an iron lung. But it was long in coming. Breathing was hard. Then one day, I passed out. I did not know what happened afterward. Job will tell you the rest of the story.”

It was now the lot of her husband who has suffered financially and emotionally, to narrate the ordeal of his wife. He seemed hesitant at first. But a look by his wife was enough to prompt him to continue the story.

“When Hope fainted, I didn’t think that she would come back to life again. The doctors must have been some kind of magicians because after one week, my wife started to breathe again. And before long, she was placed in the next available respirator, much to our relief.

“These iron lungs were at first thought to be a temporary invention—helping patients to recover—and breathe on their own later. But we discovered that the opposite was the case. Because these breathing machines were to become the permanent homes of many polo sufferers

“Knowing this, I brought her home with the machine. And she has been living inside it for the past three decades” he ended and left the room, trying to hide his tears. I tried to fight back mine too. I was trying to really understand what it means to lie on one’s back in one spot for over thirty years.

“At first I was horrified at the thought,” Hope now continues. “But what would I do? I didn’t want to die. And some poet said that what cannot be cured, can be endured. So I decided to endure as far as God keeps me alive. Look at my husband and children. I should be caring for them. But what would I do now?” she asks rhetorically.

Her faith in God kept her going through the years. She was a very devout Christian and she believed that her suffering was only for a time. She explained that it was the rebellion of our first parents—Adam and Eve—in the garden of Eden that is responsible for the present suffering in the world. She spoke of a time when God’s Kingdom would rule, and she would ask me to read the bible book of Revelation chapter 21 verse 4 which says “And he [God] will wipe out every tears from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away.”

She says that at that time, the paradise, which Adam and Eve lost, would be regained. She would direct me to read what Jesus Christ told a thief at Luke 23:43. “And he said to him: ‘Truly I tell you today, you will be with me in paradise.” And she firmly believed that if she dies, she will be resurrected to live again, pointing out what Jesus told Lazarus’s sister, Martha at John 11 verse 25 which reads: “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He that exercises faith in me even though he dies will come to life.’ ”

I must confess that I was not a Christian when I started working for her. She was the one that preached to me and converted me to Christianity. And that was what she did to numerous other curious passersby and strangers who came to see her. Instead of being encouraged, she was the one that encouraged her sympathizers; and her faith in the Bible made many to become Christians. She was always praying to God in behalf of herself and others; and despite her condition, she was full of compassion for people. In fact, her courage inspired all who knew her.

Her two children were always with us too. How sad they always look, not being able to hug their mum. But she always told them to look toward the bright future. Of them all, it was her little dog Mercy that added a touch of drama to the whole thing. She would sit there all day long, barking at and biting the machine, which held her owner prisoner thus preventing them from playing together. At these times, I would always have a hard time trying to quieten the dog and preventing her from damaging the iron lung. Sometimes, I wonder how foolish the dog is; trying to destroy the iron lung—the preserver of her owner. I also wonder what Hope thinks of euthanasia. I never mentioned the subject though.

Hope’s only regret is in not being present at the wedding ceremonies of her two children. For she was in the respirator when the two teenagers became adults, married and had children. She only saw the wedding pictures. Looking back, I think that it was actually a paradox that in the glitz and glamour of Hollywood—the entertainment capital of the world—one woman in the same city, was having all the troubles in the world. What am I going to relate? Is it the ordeal of washing her once a week? Or the task of knowing which part of her body to scratch? Come to think of what it takes to even feed her. Yet, she endured. And I did not give up on attending to her needs.

In fact, it could be said of her that she is a cat with nine lives. Because on top of this, she had an emergency appendectomy without anesthetic when her appendix burst, endured cancer, had major surgeries and chronic skin disorders.

But there is a time for every affair under the heaven. Even a time to live and a time to die. So, one day she went for her seventh surgery. And after that she was removed from the Iron lung for the first time in 37 years, attached to a modern respirator using her tracheotomy, and placed on a hospital bed. She was not getting enough air. Fear gripped her. She knew she was going to die.

Three days later as she struggled for life, she spoke her last words to me: “Comfort, don’t ever leave me.” I nodded. I was holding her. I didn’t want to cry. Then she died. Tears flowed freely. After one week, she was buried in the city cemetery. Wreaths of flowers covered her grave which was marked with the words: “Here lies one who waits upon the lord.” Darkness falls on the cemetery. And we go home to mourn our beloved Hope.

Twenty years have passed now. I have since then grown from a lady to a married woman with a family. Perhaps she has been forgotten. But I still visit the grave yard on every anniversary of her death to lay wreaths of flowers on her tomb.

Today is another anniversary of her death. And I take a bouquet of flowers to lay on my friend’s tomb. As I enter the cemetery, I raise my eyes toward the gate and I see the words of Solomon at Ecclesiastes chapter 1 verse 2: THE GREATEST VANITY! EVERYTHING IS VANITY.

I walk in to see the vanities of life in this cemetery for all kinds of people. On my left the tomb of an American war veteran who fell in battle in Vietnam. (Some old soldiers question why their comrade should be buried there). I move on and I see the tomb of an Indian ancestor from the lineage of Crazy Horse. (Native American Indians do not understand how he came to be interred in this cemetery). A little further lays a black slave from the family tree of Olauduah Equiano, called the man with the loud voice. And immediately after that is the burial place of a long time state governor (Nobody remember his name now).

I walk ahead to the marked tomb with the epitaph: HERE LIES ONE WHO WAITS UPON THE LORD. I lay my wreath of flowers on Hope’s tomb and sit to think of this loved one who suffered and died, waiting for the Lord. As I sit, I remember everything: the Iron lung, Hope’s strong faith, her husband Job (he is very old now), her children Paul and Endurance (they now have grand children), and Mercy the barking doggie (it barked herself to death one week after Hope’s funeral). I remember the bible says that we are like a mist that appears for a while and then disappears. I remember Shakespeare said that life is like a stage and we are mere players. My friend has played her part. We will all play our part.

I was awoken from my meditation by a flash of lightning and the roaring of the thunder. I looked up. It was going to rain. I gather myself and kiss goodbye to Hope as I hurry home. As I go, I remember her last words and I was ashamed that I was leaving my friend. On my way, I walk pass the tombs of the governor, the slave, the Indian and the war veteran—all vanities. I step outside the cemetery, look back and see those words again: THE GREATEST VANITY! EVERTHING IS VANITY. But I remember Hope used to talk of a bright future in paradise where sickness and suffering will be gone. I was encouraged. So life may not be in vain after all.

She took ill one black winter morning. My resolve now is to be faithful to God so that I will meet my friend during the resurrection in the coming new world. Them one bright summer evening we would gladly hold hands together as we walk through the gardens of paradise. And I will say to her: “I’m here, Hope. You see, I never left you.”

(EXCERPTED FROM THE BOOK, “IRON LUNG,” TO BE PUBLISHED SOON. IF YOU ENJOYED READING THE STORY AND WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTION TOWARD ITS PUBLICATION, PLEASE CONTACT THE AUTHOR.)

ARTHUR ZULU is an editor, book reviewer, and author of Chasing Shadows! and How to Write a Best-seller.
For his works and free helps for writers, goto:
http://controversialwriter.tripod.com
mailto: controversialwriter@yahoo.com
Web search: Arthur Zulu

About the Author

The story of a woman who spent over 30 years in an iron lung.

Revised: We are Going to Live on Mars

2009-03-16T00:54:00.001-07:00

by: ARTHUR ZULU

Good news is hard to come by these days. But alas there is one. Man will soon be living on the red planet Mars.

The Journey started on a good foot. The space rocket Spirit successfully landed on the planet. It began photographing and digging up Mars and sending messages back to the earth that will soon be vacated. And there is back slapping and clicking of glasses as we drink our wines. And we pray for Spirit and her sister rocket, Opportunity, to discover water (we need it badly) and perhaps some damned microorganisms hidden in rocks.

That is the first phase of this Martian expedition. The next stage will be a manned flight by two dare-devil astronauts, who will be willing to make history by taking the two-month long trip. In order to make the trip exciting, the astronauts would first have to set camp on the moon. Yes, they would really have to take off from the moon to Mars. (This is not fiction.) And then after several successful flights and mapping of Mars, model houses would have to be built ahead of the Martian exodus. But why you may ask, are we migrating to Mars?

The first reason is that terrorists have taken over this “ hell" of a place called earth, and nobody is safe anymore. Even if you were living on the tallest building or hiding in a cave. Cave? That is the worst. Because all the terrorists are now living under the mountains and spider holes in the bushes far from the prying eyes of cameras and secret agents.

The other reason is that there is so much crime on this earth. Think of the murderers, the robbers, and the rapists. Too many guns! Too many bad people. Someone has either been murdered, robbed or raped as you read this. If that person is not you, give glory to God.

Additionally, this earth has been polluted beyond any saying of it. The seas have been turned into sewers, toxic wastes dot the land, while fog have taken over the atmosphere. So you can see that this earth is no longer safe for habitation.

Religious fundamentalists are not even helping matters. These preachers of hate encourage their followers to go about with knives hidden under their robes and bombs strapped to their waists with the intent to kill the 'infidels' and get a one-way ticket to heaven. And since there are so many heaven lovers, the ‘infidels' who are dwelling on earth have no place to hide. So these are the reasons why we must all vacate earth and go to live on Mars.

But make no mistake about it. It will be easier for a camel to pass through the needle's eye than for you to get visa to Mars. Because there would be physical, mental, and moral security checks since no social psychopath would be needed on Mars.

First, you would be photographed and finger printed. Then you would be required to pass through a machine that would search even your insides for weapon possession. And then psychiatrists would have to examine your brain for mental fitness. Meanwhile, the Interpol is double checking your past for any hint of crime record.

If you pass all of these, you would then go to the moon for space travel orientation and survival drills. The course is rigorous because it includes how to survive on zero gravity, survival without oxygen, and how to survive below freezing point. If you pass that, then you have to think of how to pay your ticket fee to Mars. Because the amount is equal the annual budget of poor nations. And because we are not going to turn to spirits and fly to Mars.

Since Mars is a very cold place, departure to the planet will be in this order. Those who live in the polar regions-- the coldest spots on earth -- will have the opportunity to go first. In that case, Greenlanders and Netherlanders in the north, and the Australians and New Zealanders down under, would make up the first settlement in Mars. ‘Lucky' folks. The Europeans and Americans would follow. Of course the Africans who are sun- friendly, would bring the rear. Pity them. They are always coming last

When the good people would have been ‘spirited' to Mars, a rocket would be sent back to earth with five to burn the terrorists, the murderers, the robbers, and the religious fanatics. (Since they are not with us, they are against us.)

Up there in Mars, there would be no terrorist, because no one is allowed to carry guns. Except the governors of Mars who made the Martian dream a reality. And in an atmosphere of peace, we recline on the red planet and drink our red wines -- made in Mars of course.

Many years after, the story would be told to our grand-children of how a certain earth was destroyed. And they would look down from Mars and pity former planet earth. But I fear that after our generation is gone, some terrorists would spring up from Mars, and our grandchildren, sorry, opporunity children, would destroy the planet and head for Jupiter, and pass on the story to their grandchildren.

Now let the journey begin.

ARTHUR ZULU an editor and book reviewer, is the author of the controversial book, CHASING SHADOWS!: A Dream. (A book that reveals the terrorists' master plan to finally set the world on fire!)
For a copy of the book and FREE excerpt, goto:
http://www.1stbooks.com/bookview/21013
For contacts, mailto:
mostcontroversialwriter@yahoo.com

ARTHUR ZULU an editor and book reviewer, is the author of the controversial book, CHASING SHADOWS!: A Dream. (A book that reveals the terrorists' master plan to finally set the world on fire!)
For a copy of the book and FREE excerpt, goto:
http://www.1stbooks.com/bookview/21013
For contacts, mailto:
mostcontroversialwriter@yahoo.com

Ronald Reagan: Hero or Villain?

2009-03-16T00:53:00.000-07:00

by: Arthur Zulu

D-e-a-t-h. The mention of that five-letter word instills fear into many. Only a few mortals could dare death like the poet John Donne. When his beloved brother died, he wrote death these damning lines: Death do not be proud/ Though some have called thee mighty and dreadful/ But thou art not so/ Nor yet canst thou kill me/ and Death shall be no more/ Death thou shalt die.

The poet was audacious. However, one year after writing his poem, Death killed John Donne. So, "Pale Death, with impartial step, knocks at the poor man's cottage and the palaces of kings" says Horace. Because man likes deceiving himself and because man does not want to think that he ever dies, he has crafted euphemisms to describe death. Like kicking the bucket. Going to the great beyond. Answering the call to glory.

So Ronald Reagan has joined his ancestors (to use another euphemism). And encomiums are pouring in. One of such is from George Bush: "Reagan is a hero. He brought peace to the world." It is good to say kind things about the dead, so that when we die, the living will say good things about us too. Everyone wants to be remembered at death for his virtues, not his vices. It was for this reason that Solomon, the wise man said: "A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one's birth."
Other graveside orators in some settings have however tried to strike balance. Consider Mark Antony's funeral discourse for Julius Caesar; "Friends, Romans lend me your ears. . . I have come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. . . The evil that men do lives after them. So let it be with Caesar." You may give the speech any interpretation that suits you. Meanwhile, let us exit the Shakespearean stage and enter the real world.

I am suffering from memory lapse these days. Who started the star wars program? What about the telepathic guided missiles initiative? Who befriended Saddam Hussein and trained Osama bin Laden? Who tolerated Botha and Mugabe? I cannot remember exactly. All I can ell is that during Reagan's regime, it seemed that the world would go up in flames the next moment. Leaders of rogue states wet their undies. Ask Muammar Ghadaffi. Or is it Momar Qadaffi? Gorbachev, yes, I mean the gentleman from Russia saw Roman Catholic ‘hell fire.' And the freedom fighters, no, I want a better word—terrorists—yes, the terrorists ran into caves.

But this compliment about Reagan bringing peace to the world is what I do not understand. Is this the new world order? Hear William Pfaff: "The new world order has arrived. It is well and truly new, consecrating invasion, aggression and ethnic purge as acceptable international conduct." In the words of Dr. Walker Percy, we have been in "a state of suspended animation" since World War I. It is no wonder that Helmut Schmidt, former German Chancellor said, "we have never governed [the world] in total peace."

Now, the threat of a nuclear ‘Armageddon' is more imminent. (The Doomsday clock is getting closer to midnight.) The once frightened ‘terrorists' are out from their hideouts and are plotting the end of the world. And despite two prayers for peace at Assissi Italy (never mind the pope and his prayerful multitudes), twelve wars are going on around the world this hour. It is for this reason that ‘The Daily Yomiuri' says that "the balance between peace and war is becoming ever more precarious."

But it seems that all of us drank the waters of River Lethe and suddenly forgot the past. Hear this earlier statement of George Bush: "The new world could, in time be as menacing as the old." Where then is the peace that Reagan brought to the world? Contradiction most foul! I did not however forget everything when I drank that water of oblivion. Because I know that there is no peace in the world but pieces of peace. (No pun intended.)

I could dare any living man the poison of my pen. But not the dead. Because I do not want a poor poet who does not know his lines to indite an inglorious epitaph on my tombstone when I too pass to the great beyond. (I want to write a book titled "The Praise Singers.") What amazes me however is the transience of power and the vanity of life. Today a great ruler is ordering the sacking of a sovereign nation, and the next day he is gone. Like a mist. Or sparrow.

Here I am reminded of the great king, Oxymandias, who ruled a mighty empire. The mention of his name made his subjects and people of surrounding lands shiver. In order to affirm his supremacy on minions, King Oxymandias had his great statute erected on a busy trade route for all passersby and posted these words below: "This is Oxymandias. Lord of lords and king of kings." So, lily-livered men would pass and gaze in awe at the gigantic image of Oxymandias from a safe distance. But after many years, the mighty king answered the call to glory and his great image collapsed from the effect of the elements leaving only a pair of impotent legs. When lesser mortals who had dreaded this image passed along the road, they now ventured close and mocked at the pair of legs above the inscription that reads: "This is Oxymandias. Lord of lords and king of kings."
But accursed is he that mocks the dead. Because death is tolling his unwelcome bell at his door. The American humorist Mark Twain said it all: "In this world nothing is certain than death and taxes." The good thing about death is that the dead pays no tax. (Sorry, some Church priests tax the dead.)

So the best thing about dying is that the dead is free from terrorist attacks. If therefore Ronald Reagan waged war against violence (or was violent) because he feared the evil when he was alive, he does not need to worry about terror anymore. As to whether he was a hero or villain, leave History—or Posterity—to judge. The words of American statesman, Patrick Henry, however make me uncomfortable. He said: "I know not of a better way to judge the future than by the present." So is the world peaceful today? Or is it still at war?

I am not a composer of verses. But I venture these lines for the former president:

Sleep well the great communicator
Sleep well lord of lords and king of kings
My dear cowboy, sleep well
Our beloved Ronnie Reagan, sleep well

ARTHUR ZULU, an editor and book reviewer, is the author of the controversial book, CHASING SHADOWS! (A book that reveals the terrorists' master plan to finally set the world on fire!)
Goto: http://www.1stbooks.com/bookview/21013
mailto: mostcontroversialwriter@yahoo.com

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Arthur Zulu is the author of CHASING SHADOWS!

SCAM Alert: 3 Tactics of SCAM Sportsbooks

2009-03-16T00:52:00.000-07:00

by: SportsbookReview.com
Online Sportsbook scams are a multimillion-dollar business. Over the last 5 years we've seen players lose millions of dollars, not because their bets lost, but because they sent money to scam sportsbooks.

Don't be the next victim. Be aware of these common scam tactics to protect your money.

1. New Sportsbook with Large Bonuses (25%, 40% or more) - this is a very common tactic of new operations that don't know what they are doing. They open a new sportsbook (especially around football season) and offer large bonuses to getp players to sign-up. Their business model is flawed from the beginning and will eventually lead to financial troubles, slow/no-pay disputes and eventual shutdown.

Beware of offers that combine High Bonuses with Reduced Juice. Also, be wary of Lines that are out of wack. Obscure or soft lines can only mean one of two things: a lack of volume or that the book itself is gambling on events.

Remember: If a promotion looks too good to be true, it probably is.

2. Telemarketing or Cold-Calling - is a sign of desperation that the book may be getting ready to run for the hills. Scam telemarketers will use a variety of tactics to get their hands on your money. Some try to bully you, while others will charm you. In many cases it is a single high-pressure call or other pressure tactics requiring immediate decisions (usually to make a deposit). Watch out for anything that sounds fishy.

Remember: If a promotion over the phone does interest you, insist written information be sent to you before agreeing to make the deposit.

3. Outright SCAM Sportsbooks - usually open up right around football season. This type of scam operation is know as the deposit-only sportsbook because they do whatever it takes to get you to deposit your money with no intention of ever making pay-outs.

The easiest way to spot a fake is to look for an address or phone number. If the site lists a phone number, call it and ask for their address. If they do not readily give you a valid address, consider them suspect and do further research before making a deposit. These rogue operations often use large bonuses, spam email and other shady tactics to lure players.

Remember: In this completely unregulated industry, you have to do extra research because there are no safety nets and you are the only one responsible for your funds.

About the Author

This SCAM Alert has been brought to you by SportsbookReview.com. Sportsbook Review rates every known sportsbook and issues SCAM Alerts to help you protect your money. Before you even think about sending money offshore, check the SBR SCAM Alert and the Rating Guide. Free Special Report "No-Nonsense Advice on How to Spot a SCAM Sportsbook" at http://sportsbookreview.com/downloads/9.aspx

Secrets To Successful Publishing

2009-03-16T00:51:00.000-07:00

by: Geela

Have you ever wondered what would it take to compete successfully with the “big guys” like Simon & Schuster and even get to the top of the heap? If there is such thing as a magic formula for success, then the story of Geela, the author of the bestseller book THE AMERICAN DREAM can certainly make a believer out of you too. Mastering the art of the possible is at the heart of Geela’s brand new book where her message is that the possible always exceeds the impossible.

It’s a sobering fact that no one not even the “big guys” (the large publishing houses) are immune to the risk of failing and even going out of business and not so much because of lack of resources but rather lack of innovation, high vision and keeping up with inevitable change. In fact, too many companies take the complacent approach of “one-size-fits-all” to marketing and promotion with a worn out attitude of “business as usual” and “we’re the best, you’re the rest” that stifles innovative thinking (thinking outside the box) so essential for surviving and thriving in a very competitive and dynamic industry where change is the norm and maintaining success is the exception.

It’s been Geela’s experience as a self-supported and self-published author, that greater degrees of success can be achieved by any publishing company regardless of their size or circumstances simply by implementing the following principles for success that worked for her company GLOBAL VISION MEDIA:

1. It’s not your aptitude but your attitude – a winning attitude can mean the difference between success and failure. Success is a matter of perception and an equal opportunity employer. You are as successful as you make up your mind to be. So don’t be afraid to aim high. Let the story of The Little Engine That Could and David and Goliath inspire you. While some people thought that Goliath was too big to hit, David thought he was too big to miss.

2. Recognize that dreams and aspirations for success have no expiration date – these are self-imposed artificial deadlines that are silent killers of creativity and motivation.

3. What determines your level of success or level of failure is not lack of resources but rather lack of creativity (resourcefulness), high vision and faith (remember, quitters never win and winners never quit).

4. No matter what you were brainwashed to believe, never underestimate your own power to write your own life script and command control of your destiny by either finding a way or making a way. Also when you understand the difference between making things happen vs. letting things happen, you will generate whatever is necessary for you to reach your destination even when all the odds are against you. You no longer have to wait or be at the mercy of traditional distribution and bookstores as they hide your book between competitive titles on their shelves. Your fate is in your hands and all that your hands need to do is to take advantage of the awesome power of modern technology which is now available to the “little guy” as well in order to compete successfully and even surpass the “big guys.” Any self-made successful person will tell you that indeed anything is possible especially to those who believe.

5. Apply the Kaleidoscope approach to your marketing and promotion efforts – although there are finite number of pieces, infinite number of combinations and possibilities can be created simply by rearranging them. You are limited only by your own imagination and will.

6. Don’t use the Christopher Columbus method of planning your business if you are serious about reaching your destination of smooth sailing into a new world of success with glory. By failing to plan properly, you plan to fail by default. The power of strategic planning backed by a solid infrastructure cannot be overstated – it’s what makes or breaks regardless of the quality of your product (book). A synergetic plan in place will serve as a compass to guide your actions, evaluate your performance and run your business more profitably.

7. A good marketing plan requires the dexterity of a circus juggler mainly because of factors such as the different life-cycle stage of each title at any given time. In Geela’s particular case, as a self-contained, it was and still is a unique multi-faceted situation with multiple projects going on simultaneously, involving a brand new book, a music album and putting together an all-star benefit concert with major music producers as part of Geela’s nonprofit organization, ONE SPIRIT, ONE WORLD (dedicated to promoting world peace focusing on children’s issues), since Geela is an established singer/songwriter with many albums, awards and rave reviews, a visionary author and a long time peace and children’s activist. She is the founder of the nonprofit organization, ONE SPIRIT, ONE WORLD, a co-founder of a successful record label, GLOBAL VISION RECORDS in addition to being a co-fonder of an up and coming independent publishing company, GLOBAL VISION BOOKS/MEDIA. To make life even more exciting, Geela is also a wife and a dedicated mom.

8. Capitalize on any talents you might have to make up for perceived lack of sales and/or financial resources (initially when you are starting out). Geela’s situation is unique by all standards. Hers is a multi-faceted situation (music/book/nonprofit organization) which greatly enhanced the success of her efforts.

9. Broaden your marketing and promotional parameters and capabilities to include a multi-level marketing and promotion by reaching out to different audiences from ethnic to military and other untapped markets. In Geela’s case, because of her unique background, as an immigrant from Israel who was born in Iran, with a universal appeal, she capitalized on that fact to reach broader audiences that include ethnic, minorities, women and immigrants.

10. Your infrastructure needs to be built on a solid foundation which includes everything from an innovative strategic marketing plan to a coordinated program which includes the following elements:

* A comprehensive marketing and promotional plan including assorted advertising mix in key places in addition to a national media campaign

* Cutting edge on-line marketing and promotion with your own user friendly website (links, pop up banner, affiliate program, ezine newsletter, direct response with a compelling sales letter, article submission, media e-mail blast to keep your name in front of the media with different press releases, sample of products, plenty of endorsements, media room, useful information, strong search engines, just to name a few)

* Sales forecast

* Financial plans

* Secure advanced endorsements for your book from world-renowned personalities, the media, book reviewers and best selling authors to establish credibility

* Distribution

* Fulfillment center with your own toll-free number. In Geela’s case she chose a number that’s easy to remember for her radio interviews (800) 99GEELA

* Create an outstanding press kit with useful information in addition to promotional and fun material such as posters, bookmarks, double sided glossy flyers and more

* Marketing and promotion plans also for pursuing the non-bookstore markets (special sales/premiums/incentive) as well as sub-rights and foreign rights including film rights, especially like in the case of Geela, if your book is slanted towards a movie – these are most lucrative sources for substantial revenues and profitability since you bypass the middlemen, massive discounts and have reduced returns.

* Since no man is an island and likewise success is never a one-man show, it’s essential to have a marketing support system, a Dream-Team if you will, which is made up of top notch like-minded people who share your vision, faith in the project and level of commitment to making it a huge success. The more harmony and camaraderie the better information and creative ideas can be generated to help move your project forward, and combat those inevitable “marketing fatigue” while keeping you motivated.

* To become a magnet of success and total prosperity live by the motto: “when I help others win - I win.”

* Author personal appearances, speaking engagements and other innovative forms of promotion such as running for an office (at least for a day...) and/or trying to break the Guineas book of records (well, at least in theory you can make the attempt...). Once again, you are limited only by your imagination.

11. In order to get a head start on your promotional campaign consider using a direct response that can help put your title on the best seller list at least on Amazon.com by doing a massive and highly targeted e-mail blast. This alone can open many doors for you and help you reach your destination so much faster and ... in style too.

12. Apply the old-fashioned yet proven method of making up for lack of financial resources the size of the “big guys” with OPM but not the traditional Other People’s Money, but rather Other People’s Minds, by networking, sharing up to date information, developing and nurturing partnerships while conducting massive research. Remember, knowledge is power that provides you the winning edge. It’s cost free and it creates additional opportunities for growth while instantly becoming a success and prosperity magnet.

13. Strive to provide the highest quality in product and service and always go the extra mile, remember, the seed of money is service.

In the final analysis, it’s the quality of the book that will ultimately dictate the longevity and the level of success of any marketing and promotional campaign. Geela’s highly praised book THE AMERICAN DREAM offers something very special that everybody wants...hope and direction. In fact, through her Principles For Successful Living, Geela is revolutionizing the conventional wisdom of achieving success, total prosperity and even global unity. And that’s something that will always be in demand and never go out of style. Geela’s fascinating personal story of triumph over adversity and winning against all odds best captures the true spirit of the American Dream which was based on perspiration, innovation, risk and reward. Of-course some might think her tremendous success story (which took her only twenty years to achieve) is only a result of luck or talent or ... whatever. But perhaps a better definition of luck needs to be when preparation meets opportunity. After all, if you know where you are going, chances are you will get there, and if not, then you’ll end up on the road to nowhere. Now that’s something to write about...

Copyright © 2004, Geela

Author of “The American Dream”

http://www.Geela.com

Geela is an award winning singer/songwriter/composer, columnist, and author of the best-selling book “THE AMERICAN DREAM,” her true- life story of how she came to America as a young immigrant with nothing and overcame incredible obstacles to achieve mega-success. She founded ONE SPIRIT, ONE WORLD to help children and promote a culture of peace and harmony. Get a free sample of her music and her book at http://www.Geela.com.

Simple Tips for Creating a Good Book Poster

2009-03-16T00:50:00.002-07:00

by: Laura Hickey
Posters can be a great and inexpensive way to promote your book. But don't rush right out until you know the key items to include on your poster.

The Title and Author's name

Make sure to have a bigger font than the rest of your poster to bring attention to the title and author of the book. This may be the only aspect of the poster they remember.

ISBN, Where to Purchase, Price, Pages and Cover

Be up front with where customers can purchase your book. Including the ISBN number can also help with searching for your book on line. Many times a customer will look for the price and become annoyed at having to search for it and how many pages the book contains. When having your book cover on your poster, you want it to be as clear and sharp as possible.

The Facts

Be straight forward on what your book is about. Mystery may entice a reader, but clear facts are more likely to progress to a sell if your content is what the customer is looking for.

Reviews

It's a good idea to show blurbs of your favorable book reviews both customer and editorial.

Optional Items

A photo of yourself- Sometimes customers feel better buying with a face in mind, but this sometimes can backfire.

Table of Contents- This part may become very long on your posters so perhaps partial view of the TOC would be best.

Contact/Homepage- Your customers may have questions, please keep in mind that this could lead to spam. Directing others to your homepage would be a better option. Treat your e-mail as if it were your phone number.

Don't forget to make sure your poster is printed on good quality paper with rich ink. Good luck!

About the author:

About the Author: Laura Hickey is an up and coming author. Her work includes Mysterious Chills and Thrills for Kids and a co-writer position for the TV pilot, Officially Lush. You can read more free articles by Ms. Hickey on her homepage:

http://www.laurahickey.com

Six Tips for your Writing Journey

2009-03-16T00:50:00.001-07:00

by: Laura Hickey

Tips for your writing journey

So, you'd like to be a writer? Congrats! Writing not only is a great way to express yourself, but can provide an income. Keep in mind not all writers make a fortune, some still cant quit their day job. Below are some tips to start your writing journey.

1.Start Writing
Okay, so this tip is obvious. For some, it's a question of what to write about, for others how to write. Write how and what you want. What kind of books do you like to read? Fiction, Mystery, science fiction, how to books? How about articles, reports, maybe you're interested in journalism. Whatever the case may be, to get your creative juices flowing, start writing! Don't worry about how it sounds, grammar or other mistakes, you can go back to fix these.

2.Join online and offline groups/message boards and chats
If you already know what you want to write about, consider joining writer groups at your local library, or online groups, along with message boards and chats. It's a great way to network with other writers and published authors. It's also a good place to share your work and receive feedback. Many places online are free to join, some require a membership which usually consist of a user name, e-mail address and password for your user name. Some request more information such as a name, address and sometimes phone number.

3.The Library
You've probably heard about some books that writers refer to, this could be writer markets, e-book publishing, self publishing and generally how to improve your writing. But what do you do when you can't afford to buy these books from your local bookstore or online? A trip to your library is the key. Many libraries carry writer resource books, which if you have a library card, are free. If you're living out of the area, the library may require a fee for membership. The book you're looking for may not always be at your local library, however libraries borrow from other libraries in and out of state. The method of receiving outside books is called Inter-Library Loan. Later on, if you find the book to be a great resource, you may be able to purchase a used copy online.

4.Researching
The Internet is also another good resource for information. Keep in mind that not every resource you find online is going to be an honest good resource. It will take time to sort out which websites are useful. Most information is free, so you can sit back and research in the comfort of your home. If you don't have a computer with Internet access, check your local library and see if you can use one of theirs.

5.Workshops
Workshops taught by experts is a great way to learn from the professionals, but only if you can afford it! Make sure the topic of the workshop is based around your interest. For instance, if you love fiction..it wouldn't be a good idea to go to a workshop based only on non-fiction. It's a good idea to register early to ensure a spot at the event. Bring a new legal pad, plus a few writing tools to take notes.
6.Contests
After writing a while, you may want to enter contests. Some require an entry fee. I suggest staying away from the entry fee contests until you've entered some other free ones. That way you can get a feel for how contests work. Spend some time writing and re-writing your entries. If you've written your entry in 5 or so minutes, the judges will notice it immediately. You wouldn't want a reputation for sloppy work.

There you are, 6 tips to get you started on your journey to writing. Good Luck!

About the Author
About the Author- Laura Hickey is the author of the children's book Mysterious Chills and Thrills- 10 short stories to tickle the imagination. It may be purchased at http://www.laurahickey.com
Access Laura's press kit...interviews, read book reviews for Mysterious Chills and Thrills, PR's and more.

So That's What God is Like

2009-03-16T00:49:00.001-07:00

by: Lisa M. Hendey
Children’s Book Review – So That’s What God is Like!
By Lisa M. Hendey

Sometimes teaching our children about God can feel like a daunting task. So That’s What God Is Like! (Kregel Publications, May 2004) tells the story of Temba, a curious young African boy, who spends the day trying to learn about God. Author Leanne Hardy’s life experience as a missionary rings through in this story. The story presented in this book is a heartwarming tale of one boy's quest to learn about God. His wise Granny shares with him the meaning of God's existence by using images that have relevance to his everyday life. The book's incredible illustrations make it a treasure that will be a great addition to your family's library. Our children's book reviewer gave this book 5 stars and said "Everyone should read this book because everyone should know what God is like."

So That’s What God Is Like! is available by visiting
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0825427827/catholicmomcom

Copyright 2004 Lisa M. Hendey

Lisa M. Hendey is a mother of two sons, webmaster of numerous web sites, including http://www.catholicmom.com and http://www.christincoloring.com and an avid reader.

About the Author

Lisa M. Hendey is a mother of two sons, webmaster of numerous web sites, including http://www.catholicmom.com and http://www.christincoloring.com and an avid reader.

Someone I Love Died By Suicide

2009-03-16T00:48:00.000-07:00

by: Joan Bramsch
Someone I Love Died By Suicide
by Doreen Cammarata

This month marks the "National Suicide Survivor Day". November 17, 2001 is set aside to recognize all those who have endured the grief surrounding the suicide of a loved one. I would like to dedicate my first column to my mom. November 14th was her birthday and she died by suicide 15 years ago.

As a survivor myself, I reflect upon how much my life has changed and developed since my mom's death. An adolescent when her death occurred, my life was ultimately shaped into becoming a resource and support for individuals challenged by depression, suicide, grief and various types ofloss.

In my training as a counselor I focused on my own personal and professional growth in the field of grief counseling. I learned that education is a reciprocal process. My greatest teachers have been the numerous students that I worked with in an alternative high school dropout retrieval program as well as the many young children I worked with at a local hospice program. While teaching at a university I am fortunate to have been touched by so many caring professional counselors, nurses and social workers who have attended my classes as well as by the resourceful professors who gave me my foundation of training.

During this specific time of recognition for suicide survivors, conferences will meet throughout the country to educate and bring survivors together. You can access a "Live Webcast" on Saturday, November 17th from noon to 1:30p.m. by visiting the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention website: www.afsp.org. This organization provides research, bibliographies, updated articles and much more. For more information you can contact them directly at (212) 363-3500.

In my work facilitating suicide support groups I encourage survivors to share what they find as the key differences in grieving a suicide. Most survivors express intensified shock, anger and guilt in coping with the death of their special person.

I could identify with these feelings. Although I was only 17 when my mom died by suicide, I experienced extreme guilt in my grief. I believed that "if only" I had done something different, I could have saved her. I eventually came to terms with the fact that there was nothing I could have done to stop what had occurred. Like many survivors I too beat myself up with the "what if's" for quite some time.

Not all survivors experience guilt and anger but that tends to be a prominent theme for most. Anger can be felt in various ways. It is commonly directed at the individual who died. When in touch with this type of anger, many survivors tend to reflect on the struggles their loved one endured and then ultimately feel guilt ridden once again. For some, anger is directed at surviving loved ones in a blaming fashion. Encouraging survivors to express their anger as well as their other feelings in a therapeutic environment will have positive long-term effects.

It is crucial to be aware of the accentuated duration and intensity of grief following a suicide. Most individuals take years to recover from the devastation of this event. It is estimated that someone grieving a sudden loss will take three times the average amount of time to heal from the death. Being sensitive to the amount of time and the extreme emotions that a survivor will feel during his grief is one way that you can assist in the healing process. Another way to help a survivor is by allowing him to tell and retell the specifics surrounding the death.

Depending on the relationship between the survivor and deceased, the death may alter the existing person's life in numerous ways. If the survivor is a child, there most likely will be vast differences in the way he experiences life following the death. For an adult, specifically a spouse, adapting to an entirely new role is only one of the many challenges that widowhood will bring. No matter what the age of the survivor there is a forced new way of life. The grieving individual will now adapt a whole new perception of what his world will be as well as his trust in the natural progression of life.

When informing loved one's about the death, honesty is best. Small lies only become larger lies. A survivor spared the truth to be protected will end up re-grieving the death of their loved one when the truth is unfolded. This can occur even many years after the actual date of the death. Remember to always disclose age appropriate details after carefully determining the maturation of the survivor. However, know the consequences of dishonesty and consult with trained professional in communicating the truth.

Validating and commemorating the life of a loved one is extremely beneficial in the healing process. Apparent simplistic gestures like planting a tree or creating a memory box can be quite empowering. As a personal way of validating my mother's life as well as her death, I created "Someone I Love Died By Suicide: A story for child survivors and those who care for them." I designed this book after years of research and working in the field. It is appropriate for all ages and is the only book available to read directly with children survivors. More information is available about my book on my website: http://www.griefguidance.com.

In closing, I share my knowledge and my book with you as a way of trying to reach all those who have been devastated by the suicide of a loved one. Please join me and take this opportunity to recognize the numerous suicide survivors in our communities.

Read The Book Review Here ..

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Someone I Love Died by Suicide: A story for child survivors and those who care for them". This book is one of only a few books available today that is specifically designed to be read to children survivors.

About The Author...
Doreen T. Cammarata, MS, Licensed Mental Health Counselor, is currently an adjunct instructor at Florida Atlantic University educating graduate students and professionals on grief counseling issues. She has had eight years of university experience as an assistant instructor in addition to her full time work experiences as a school counselor for at-risk youth and as a grief and bereavement specialist working with adults and children at a local hospice program. She is also on the board and serves as the Program Chairperson for the Palm Beach County, Florida ADEC Chapter.

An equally important credential is that Doreen Cammarata is a suicide survivor. Doreen’s mother suffered from depression. During Doreen’s adolescence, her mother died by suicide. Consequently, Doreen understands personally as well as professionally the need to address this issue. Visit her site. http://www.griefguidance.com

READ MORE HERE:
http://joanbramsch.com/counseling/suicide.shtml

About the Author

JOAN BRAMSCH is a family person, educator, writer and E-publisher. Her articles appear internationally in print and online. Six of her best-selling adult novels - near one million copies - have worldwide distribution. Her
Empowered Parenting Ezine serves 1000 parents around the globe.
http://www.JoanBramsch.com mailto:hijoan@joanbramsch.com

Successful Childhood Learning Starts with Reading Aloud

2009-03-16T00:47:00.002-07:00

by: Brent Sitton
Research has consistently shown that children who love to read excel in school and continue to excel in higher education and life in later years. Reading aloud with your child is key to sparking the passion for reading.

Popular theory in the world of education has long been that a young child is an empty slate, just waiting to have information poured into them. That theory has promoted the idea that learning by rote will make a child smarter, and thus more likely to succeed. But studies of the last fifteen years or so have turned such thinking on its ear – the new thought behind early childhood development is not to shove a book under their noses and say “learn,” rather, it’s to show your child how to learn, by reading with them, and forging not just an interest, but a real pleasure out of what the printed word can bring.

Let’s looks at an example: “The filibuster is a strategy employed in the United States Senate, whereby a minority can delay a vote on proposed legislation by making long speeches or introducing irrelevant issues. A successful filibuster can force withdrawal of a bill, and filibusters can be ended only by cloture.”

Pretty interesting, huh? No? Well, to be honest, we didn’t think it would be. The fact of the matter is, if you don’t have a passion for politics, a piece of information about a political process will likely go in one ear and out the other, even if you’re forced to read the passage more than once. You could read it two or three times, memorize the words, and even be tested on them, but will you still remember that information next week? How about in a month?

When your child goes to school and is told to read several pages in a book that doesn’t interest them, they’re going through the exact same thing you just experienced. If there’s no inherent passion for reading, and no passion for the subject matter, then there will be minimal retention at the end of it all.

A study of 74 schools by the UK National Foundation for Educational Research found that “fewer youngsters believe reading is difficult, compared with 10 years ago. However, there is a substantial decrease in pupils reading for pleasure. 65% of 9-year-olds and 73% of 11-year-olds said they did not think reading was difficult, compared with 56% and 62% respectively in 1998. Just over 7 out of 10 of the younger age group enjoy reading as a pastime, compared with 78% five years ago, while for 11-year-olds, the proportion has declined from 77% to 65%. Children said they preferred watching television to going to the library or reading. But the biggest changes in attitudes were among boys. In Year 6, only 55% of boys said they enjoyed stories compared with 70% in 1998.”

Why? Perhaps other statistics in the same report might have some insight:

* 24% of children under the age of 4 had television sets in their bedrooms

* More than 50% of children over the age of 4 have their own TVs

* 28% have computer games in their rooms

* 8.5% of under-fours have a VCR in their rooms

The Florida Center for Reading Research (FCRR) recommends that parents read with their child for at least fifteen minutes every day, all the way through third grade, stating, “Before you read each book, read the title and look at the cover and pictures inside. Ask your child what [he or] she thinks the book may be about. After reading the book, review [his or] her predictions. Was the prediction right? If not, what happened instead?”

The object in such an exercise is threefold: You make reading an interactive experience that a child can enjoy much as they do playing in the yard, you give the child an opportunity to ask questions about things they don’t understand, and you promote creative thought within your child, where they learn to assess what they see, critically appraise it, and think beyond what they’re seeing on the page.

The FCRR advice goes further, recommending a weekly trip with your child to the library, and rhyming games that make your child think about how words are put together, all of which are intended to show your child that reading is just as much fun off-the-page as it is on.

The ultimate object is to convince your child to open a book for fun, in their spare time, and thus begin a lifelong enjoyment of the written word and the information that books can bring. This doesn’t just help them at school - according to the NCREL, readers “have self-confidence that they are effective learners [and] see themselves as agents able to actualize their potential.”

It’s important for every parent to realize the value of literacy in their child, at the earliest age possible, but it’s even more important to understand the value of comprehension, and how you can help that seed take root.

About the Author

Brent Sitton is a founder of DiscoveryJourney.com, featuring tools to promote a love to read.
Books on the Child Book List engage children and delight parents.
Children’s Book Reviews include fun, educational Activities, inspiring a passion for reading!

Successful Dating and Marriage (3)

2009-03-16T00:47:00.001-07:00

by: Arthur Zulu
Chapter Four

“Most marriage failures are courtship failures” -- PAUL H. LANDIS

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

And that’s true. A good courtship makes a good marriage. But the problem is that some do not even know the purpose of courtship, and when to begin it.

Most courtships are no less than crushes -- an infatuated love for a favorite teacher, pop star or some other celeb. And this starts earlier in girls than in boys.

These daydreamers, however, end up sick and depressed. Because the truth is that they may never get to meet such one in person, all their life. Even when they do, there is little chance that the love they crave for such “idols” will be returned. In most cases those “idols” are not even aware of the “love.”

So be real about your date. And this would involve asking yourself some personal questions that will help you to find out if you are not deceiving yourself. These questions are: How well do I really know this person? Am I blinded to his personal flaws? Is the person perfect? Have I fallen in love with an image? Would I ever get to meet this person in my life?

If the answers you get make you think that you are on the wrong road, put your automobile in the reverse, fast. Do things that will keep you busy. Stop romanticizing. Seek help from your parents, or friends.

Then someday, you will find the “real love”, and your right date. But before you start seeing each other, you have to be warned of the dark side of dating.

The Dangers of Dating

Do not date for fun. Dating should start when you are ready for marriage. In fact it is part of the process of getting the right marriage mate.

Teenagers and others, who dated for the fun of it, have ended up committing sexual immorality before knowing it. It normally starts with holding hands, an innocent kiss, then fondling with intimate body parts, and finally, sex.

Then one day the relationship breaks up, leaving the couples to suffer the emotional trauma. Some end up in hospital beds, or psychiatric homes, some commit abortions while others commit suicide. Others live for life with a wounded conscience. Would you want that to happen to you? Of course not.

Dating itself is not wrong. But it is wrong to date for the wrong reason. The following questions will help you to have a successful courtship.

Why am I dating?

It is okay if you are dating with marriage in view. But it is wrong when you are just flirting around with a member of the opposite sex, just to get attention.

Would dating help me to grow emotionally?

Limiting yourself to a boy-girl relationship will hinder your social and emotional development. This will not help your maturity and prepare you to select a mate.

Do you want to hurt yourself?

If you pursue an unrealistic relationship, you will hurt yourself later. You may be disappointed by the other person. And it may take you some time to regain your composure.

What do my parents and others say about the relationship?

Your friends or parents may draw your attention to the dangers in your relationship. Would it not be wise for you to take a hard look at the facts, and pack it up? After all, they have affection for you, and your parents who are older and wiser, should know better.

Will I be able to keep my courtship honorable?

This means that your relationship should not cross from seeing each other, to having premarital sex. So if your date decides to call off the relationship, you would still have kept your chastity and moral integrity intact. The reverse is bad news.

The following are the rules of dating.

Do not date until you are old enough and ready to get married.

Do not date someone you don’t love.

Keep your relationship chaste.

Do not go to your date alone. Have a chaperon by you.

Be properly dressed, and be on time when you visit your date.

Keep your visit informal and relaxed. Converse and listen well.

Try to know as much as possible about your date.

Do not dodge sensitive matters. Discuss them.

In your discussion, find out how you are to live. Ask questions like these: Where are we to live? How many children shall we have? What type of birth control method shall we use? What is your role in our marriage? What type of work shall we do? How are we going to save our money? Do you have any health problem? Did you live a promiscuous sex life? Can we do a medical check up? Do you owe money? What is your life or religious goal? And many more. . .

Spend time with your mate in recreation and working together. Do daily chores like shopping, cooking, cleaning, and washing -- practical things that will help you later in the marriage, and see how your mate fares.

Watch to see how your mate treats his parents and friends.

Observe him when in the company of other people.

Watch him unobserved.

Do not be hasty in your courtship. If there are flaws in the person you are dating or flaws in the relationship that you think you cannot live with; break it up.

But now, how do you know that you are ready for marriage?

Chapter Five

“Those who are very young when they marry have three strikes against them.” --PROFESSOR MARCIA LASSWELL.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Are you ready for marriage? Hold your answer until you know whether you are qualified to go into it. First, know that there is nothing like trial marriage. When God instituted the first marriage between our first parents, Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, he did not tell them to try it first, and dump it afterward. It was for life; and nothing would break it excerpt adultery, or perhaps death. (Genesis 2: 18, 23, 24; Matthew 19: 3 -- 9) So know that this union is for life, and that you will even go through “tribulations” in course of the marriage. -- 1 Corinthians 7: 28.

Now, how do you answer the following questions:

Do I have great expectations?

That is the first major problem. Because you are not going to see that Wonderland that you expected after the honeymoon. The scales will fall from your eyes. Consider these life experiences.

”We thought that we could come and go, do as we pleased, . . . but it isn’t that way.”

“Many teenagers get married to play house. . . . but that’s not the way it is.”

“After I got married I found out that the great thrill of sex wears off very soon and then we started having real problems.”

So do not have great romantic expectations. Childhood marriages -- physical immaturity, may blur your vision and understanding of married life.

Am I ready for my roles?

Some people enter marriage without even knowing their roles in the family. The husband fails to provide material support, and the wife neglects her housekeeping role.

Married men are reported to be still hanging out late at night, drinking with friends, away from their wives. Even those who work hard to maintain the family are frustrated. “This is hard work,” said one. “Will I ever get some relief?”

Can I solve money problems?

This is the greatest cause of marital problems. Some can not provide money to support the family, and where money is available, the problem is overspending. In the end, families have become heavily indebted, while others pack to live with their parents. In extreme cases, divorce becomes the solution.

Do I have a compatible mate?

Being compatible does not mean that you and your partner must agree on everything under the sun. Or that your mate should be able to play baseball since you are a baseball star. No.

But if you are miles apart on almost everything -- work, recreation, attitude, and beliefs, you should know that you are not equally matched.

Consider one woman who thought that her marriage must work because her partner was “so handsome, so strong, such a good athlete and very popular.” Was she being realistic? No. She was dreaming of Shangri-La, or building castles in the air, as they say. The marriage collapsed!

Have I thoroughly examined myself?

So ask yourself if you are the type that can make vows and keep them. Ask if your goals in life will affect your marriage. Find out if you can support or manage a household. Check to see if you are mature to handle trials that will surface later in the marriage.

If your answers are positive, if you think that you have the physical, mental and spiritual maturity to go into marriage, then ask yourself this question; what are the keys to family happiness? Do you know them?

Now, let’s see.

(EXCERPTED FROM THE BOOK, “SUCCESSFUL DATING AND MARRIAGE.” THIS TEN-CHAPTER BOOK IS AVAILABLE FOR SALE. INTERESTED BUYERS SHOULD CONTACT THE AUTHOR.)

ARTHUR ZULU is an editor, book reviewer, playwright, and published author. He also writes short stories, scripts, essays, and poems.
For his works and FREE helps for writers, goto:
http://controversialwriter.tripod.com
mailto: controversialwriter@yahoo.com
Web search: Arthur Zulu

About the Author

ARTHUR ZULU is an editor, book reviewer, playwright, and published author. He also writes short stories, scripts, essays, and poems.

Successful Marketing Techniques for the Home Based Mail Orde

2009-03-16T00:46:00.001-07:00

by: A R Carroll

marketing techniques for mail order dealers & home-based business start-ups.
Successful Marketing Techniques for the Home Based Mail Order Dealer By A R Carroll Print Advertising: Many of our successful Mail Order dealers advertise in national business opportunity and home-based business magazines. Most mail order dealers start out by running small classified ads and/or 1", 2" or 3" display ads.

Media Kit: When contacting publications, you should always request a free "media kit", which consists of a free sample copy of their magazine, rate card, advertising deadlines, publication dates, circulation numbers, etc. Many publications offer an "introductory rate", and other special discounts to mail order dealers and publishers who ask for a discount. You can usually save from 10% - 35% or more off their "rate card". Many magazines offer "run a classified in two issues and get the same ad in the third issue for free". Some publications will give you a free editorial paragraph to describe your business or products just for running a small 1" display ad. Run a 1/3 page ad or larger in some magazines and they will offer you a 1/2 page of free editorial space where you can tell readers about yourself, your company and your products.

Classified Advertising Techniques: Utilize the revolutionary "two-step process" when running classified and small display ads. This attention grabbing and inquiry producing strategy is implemented by writing your advertising copy with short eye-catching phrases, and by using words that prompt the reader to take instant action. The "two-step process" involves placing an ad that offers "FREE Details", "Send for our FREE Brochure", "Write or Call for Free Information", "Send SASE", "FREE Booklet", "FREE Report", "FREE Color Catalog", "Full Details", "Call Now 1-800-555-5555", and then after the reader responds to your ad you follow-up by sending the prospective buyer a sales letter, product brochure, flyer, catalog, circular, or sample. It is much easier to make a sale from professional produced flyer, brochure, sales letter, etc. than from asking for money up-front in the ad itself. Because classified ads or small display ads usually contain only 30 - 50 words compared with 300 - 500 words of more in a large display ad or flyer. A good rule-of-thumb is you can usually ask for $1 - $5 directly in the ad itself, but when the product or service cost $6 or more it is probably better to use the "two-step process". Examples: "Rush $1.00 for Full Report", "Sample Newsletter $3.00", "Delicious Cake Recipes 12 for $3.00!", "Send $1.00 for 40 page Vitamin Catalog", "60 page Seed Catalog $1 (refundable)", "Red-Hot Mailing Lists 100 FREE Names $4 (S&H)", "FREE Software CD-Rom only $4.95 s/h", "FREE 1943 Steel Penny $1 s/h". Successful Kitchen Table Tycoons'™ also "piggy-back" their offers. Example: You run a classified ad or small 1" display ad: "Erase Debts Forever! "The Magic of Credit", you follow-up with your Magic of Credit book flyer and include 3 or 4 more different flyers, circulars or other offers! This way you make that 34¢ stamp go a long way and you might get 2 or 3 purchases from this one potential buyer!

Making Money With Classifieds: National Book Sales Company sells a very informative book called "Making Money With Classifieds" item #4400, a 240 page book written by the multi-millionaire mail order legend Melvin Powers. A must-have for every Kitchen Table Entrepreneur™.

Important Question: "What Happens When You Don't Advertise? Answer: Nothing!"

Remember: "Advertising Doesn't Cost, It Pays!

Editor & Publisher International Year Book: This reference book contains 500,000 facts about newspapers including: dailies, weeklies, alternative, ethnic, military, religious, college newspapers, etc. You can find a copy at your local library. It lists contact information, circulation numbers, news services, advertising rates, and lots more! You can also visit a newspaper stand, magazine store, large bookstore such as Borders or Barnes and Noble, or local library to find more publications to advertise in. Also, newspapers such as USA Today, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, etc. can sometimes also be good places to advertise in.

Articles, Product Reviews, Success Stories, Book Reviews, Business Tips: Successful Kitchen Table Entrepreneurs™ have found that when they shared their expertise with others via national published articles they could at the same time promote their products or services! Many business opportunity magazines cheerfully accept articles, product reviews, success stories, book reviews, etc. from freelance writers. It is a good idea to call, write, or email these publications to see what some of their "editorial guidelines" are. Example: How long the article should be, would they rather have you submit the articles by mail, fax, or email, certain topics or themes their looking for, etc. When a publication prints one of your articles in their magazine it is usually customary for them to let you include a paragraph at the end of the article describing your business, and products or services you offer, as well as your contact information: address, phone/fax numbers, email address, website url, etc. Remeber, editorial copy seems to produce more inquiries and orders than even the most well written advertising copy and best of all it's free! .

Booklets, Flyers, Circulars, Catalogs: You can reproduce them & distribute them individually or as a group. They can be displayed on bulletin boards at colleges, supermarkets, malls, etc.

Co-op Advertising: Co-op advertising is where two or more parties share in the cost of the advertising. It is done effectively by businesses both large and small. Used properly it is a great way for the Kitchen Table Tycoon™ to increase sales & profits and at the same time reduce printing, advertising & shipping costs! One example of co-op advertising is when a mattress retailer runs a newspaper display ad or Yellow Page™ ad they usually get several mattress manufacturers to place their logos in the ad, and pay partially toward the price of the ad. A good co-op marketing strategy used by astute Kitchen Table Entrepreneurs'™ is to print their flyers or circulars on both sides, one side with their advertisement and another company's non-competing ad on the other. Many mail order printers offer reduced rates for co-op printing. The front of the flyer might be an ad for a pizzeria, and on the back is an ad for a printer. Or on the front is an ad for a landscaper and on the back is an ad for a local ice-cream parlor

Discount Mail Order Printing: High quality offset printing at wholesale prices! Why pay 5¢ or more for photocopies when you can get the premium look of offset printing for less than 4¢ per copy postpaid!

Postcards: Using postcards is a good marketing strategy for the Kitchen Table Tycoon™, because you can mail them at the First Class Rate for only 21¢ each compared to 37¢ for a standard letter. It is a perfect way to contact magazine publishers when you wish for them to send you a free media-kit. You can print them four-up on a 8½ x 11 page with your personal laser-jet or ink-jet printer. You can use color ink for greater "impact". Many Kitchen Table Entrepreneurs™ print a money-saving coupon onto them, such as "Save 10% Off!" and mail it to their customers and prospective buyers. Also, they can be used as a quick and inexpensive way of communicating with a particular buyer, when the product or products they may have ordered happens to be temporarily out-of-stock, or might take more than a week or so to arrive at their destination. Example: A postcard might be used to alert the buyer, "Hello Mrs. Smith, the blouse you ordered in navy blue is currently out of stock, we expect to get another shipment of them within next few days, at that time we will immediately ship your order to you." Example 2: "Dear Mr. Franklin, the large order of seeds and bulbs you ordered have been shipped via USPS Parcel Post, they should arrive to you within the next 5 to 7 days."

Keep your customers well informed and you'll always keep your customers!

Free First Class Postage Stamps for the Rest of Your Life: Here is a simple yet very effective mail order marketing technique to flood your mailbox continuously with hundreds of FREE unused First Class stamps: You can run a small 1" display ad in one national mail order publications for about 40¢ per day or in five publications for only $1.30 per day, your ad could say something like this "Delicious Black Forest Cheese Cake, send 10 First Class Stamps to: ", or you can try something like this "300+ Publications, The Best Publishers! Send 5 First Class Stamps & SASE to: ", etc. Basically you are sending the purchaser a photocopied report, recipe or some other very inexpensive item and you're going to receive 5 or 10 First Class Stamps as payment. The stamps are something of value to you because you can use them to mail out other direct mail pieces, flyers, circulars, catalogs, reports, etc! Run the right ad and your mailbox with be filled with envelopes containing free First Class Stamps! Don't forget when you mail out that recipe, report, or whatever, you should enclose several other flyers or circulars in the outgoing envelope! This technique works! You might never have to buy another stamp again! Special Note: SASE means self-address stamped envelope, when you request a SASE the person responding to your ad will send you an envelope with a stamp on it and it will be addressed to the purchaser, thus you'll save on stamps, envelopes and time!

Dealerships, Distributorships, Commission Programs: There are hundreds of dealership programs, distributorship programs, and commision based programs available to the mail order or Internet entrepreneur.

Even the United States Government agrees with us how wonderful a mail order book business can be! Please read the following exerpts from a United States Government publication called "Establishing and Operating A Mail Order Business". Here is what the U.S. Government said about mail order book sales: "The book business lends itself nicely to mail selling. Books even get a "special" mailing rate not extended to any other product. No need to worry about breakage or spoilage. Thousands of mail order booksellers working out of their homes, make between $50,000 and $100,000 yearly! Also, the number of women entering and succeeding in the mail order business has skyrocketed over 2000% in the last 5 years"!

About the Author

A. R. Carroll, Writer/Successful Business Owner Please visit his Websites: www.NationalBookSales.com and www.ZeoliteDepot.com

Take Responsible For Our Condition

2009-03-16T00:45:00.000-07:00

by: Angelique Watkins

Today I Am Claiming My Prosperity

I can not help but to think about Malachi 3:8 - 10. The instructions to Finances were written a long time ago; and I do realize this is a HOT subject to place in print but I believe this with all my Heart, Mind, and Soul.

If Financial Problems are to be overcomed, I ( maybe others) must accept that in relieving the condition itlies within all of us; to make a change today, not tomorrow.

Every one of us must face reality and take responsibility for our condition. If we choose to deny responsibility and blame others for it, the prospect of Financial release is only a DREAM.

No, I am not a Certified Financial Planner but I would like to share some very vital lessons that was shared with me; and I myself am learning from them. I was not given the opportunity in High School to take a course in Financial Planning, so I (maybe others) can understand why when I (maybe others) entered the work force without a plan.

Are you keeping track of where your money goes from each paycheck? Do you keep track of your montly income as well as your monthly out-go?

As soon as I (maybe others) discovered where ALL the money goes, then I (maybe others) can actually begin to plan our finances for a secure finanical future.

Please pay close attention to the advertisements and articles at this website where this article is published, bill boards, in your local community, etc. My advice would be to stay away from GET RICH QUICK PLANS.

DIVORCE is 90% related to FINANCES; so this tells me that I (maybe others) need to seek avenues for our own FINANCES.

There is a Mission for Money.

Homebased Independent Writer and Researcher. Homemaker, Work at home mother, grandmother and wife.

I love to read and have been a book reviewer in the past.

In the past I have also volunteered my services freely to edit devotions for backtothebible.org.

I have served as an usher and assistant sunday school teacher at my church. I am a baptist.

I host the baptist section at BellaOnLine.

Taking A Stand Can Be Scary

2009-03-16T00:44:00.002-07:00

by: Lisa M. Hendey
Taking a Stand Can Be Scary
Book Review –Lenny Loses His Lunch by Dan Taylor and Damon J. Taylor
Reviewed by Lisa M. Hendey

“If all of your friends were going to jump off a cliff (or insert your own preferred outrageously dangerous behavior here), would you follow them?”

What parent hasn’t used this line at least once, or had it used on them? We all know about the perils of peer pressure and want to guard our children against them. We also recognize that this can be one of parenting’s most difficult challenges.

In their new book, Lenny Loses His Lunch (Kregel Kidzone, May 2005, hardcover, 32 pages) authors Dan Taylor and Damon J. Taylor give parents of children ages five and up a fun way to discuss the importance of taking a stand when faced with negative peer pressure. This newest tale in the “God Can Use Me” series is a fun retelling of the biblical account of Daniel in the lion’s den.

Lenny is a lion, but not a very brave one. He tends to be a follower, choosing to participate in the activities the other lions pursue, even though they go against his own tastes and conscience. All too often, he crumbles under the peer pressure of the other lions and makes the wrong choice.

Daniel, on the other hand, isn’t afraid to take a stand. His bravery and constant obedience to God land him in a tough spot. He has to rely on his trust in God’s plan to see him through a very dangerous test of his faith. He stands firm in his faith, and teaches Lenny an important lesson – taking a stand for what you believe in, although scary sometimes, is always the right thing to do.

Lenny Loses His Lunch, although a fun fictional take on the Daniel stories, conveys the important biblical principles at hand. A wonderful tool for opening early discussions on peer pressure issues, the book features cute sideline dialogue as a bonus to Damon Taylor’s bold and eye-catching illustrations. The book’s emphasis on following God in our lives choices is an important message to share with children of any age.

For additional information on Lenny Loses His Lunch visit http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0825438713/digitalcropper-20

Lisa M. Hendey is a mother of two sons, webmaster of numerous web sites, including http://www.catholicmom.com and http://www.christiancoloring.com, and an avid reader. Visit her at http://www.lisahendey.com

About the Author

Lisa M. Hendey is a mother of two sons, webmaster of numerous web sites, including http://www.catholicmom.com and http://www.christiancoloring.com, and an avid reader. Visit her at http://www.lisahendey.com

The Art of Acting, Book Review

2009-03-16T00:44:00.001-07:00

by: Brittney Dunn
Book review By Brittney L Dunn

There are many different sources out there about acting
and different techniques and methods. It can be very difficult
knowing where to start.

Below are some book/video reviews, which
will greatly help you start. A huge tip is to do your reading.
Read plays. Read all the plays you can. Try some of the classics,
for example shows by Tennessee Williams, Arthur miller, Eugene
O'Neil, etc. Not only will this broaden your knowledge, but also
many times teachers make references to shows, and you will not
understand what they are trying to teach you.

Stella Adler: The Art of Acting.

Stella Adler was one of the most influential people to
the acting community. Not only was she one of the most talented
actresses, she also was on of the best teachers. Stella Adler
was the only American actor to study with the great Konstantin
Stanislavski, who is known for being the creator of "Method
Acting" or "The Method." The book, The Art of Acting, is a
collection of twenty-two lessons she had taught.

The first step is to learn all about ourselves and the other
generations of people before us. According to this book, one
of the most important things to develop is one's imagination.

The thing that sets apart Adler's teaching from others is
that she wants her students to become real human beings.

It is a great book for anyone to read, because it teaches you
so much, and opens you eyes to a world you never saw before.
Acting and teaching were her passion and it shows.

For any serious actor this is one of the best investments you
can make. She gives you examples, techniques, and exercises to practice.

She has taught people such as, Marlon Brando, Robert DeNiro, Warren Beatty, Harvey Keitel, Henry Winkler, and Matthew Modine, to name a very small few.

Her words and wisdom captured in this book are truly and
inspiration. She has forever left a mark on the acting community.

About the Author

Addicted to acting? Me too! Tap into an ever-growing source of Free articles, resources, and insider career tips,

visit my site at Acting-1.com

The Charlotte Mason Method Increases The Effectiveness Of A

2009-03-16T00:42:00.000-07:00

by: Brent Sitton
When it comes to home schooling, parents need all of the resources they can muster. Designing curricula, scheduling field trips, and tailoring lesson plans to children in different grade levels can be challenging. Using children's literature to enrich the curriculum you teach in the home learning environment can be rewarding to both you and your children.

Charlotte Mason, a British educator whose life spanned the last quarter of the nineteenth century and the first quarter of the twentieth century, fervently advocated the use of literature in children's education. Often referred to as the founder of home schooling, Mason pioneered a liberal arts approach to children's education. In contrast to the rigid memorization required of students during her time, Mason's educational theories embraced the concept of instilling a love of learning in children and exposing them to a wide variety of subjects.

Today, many parents use the Charlotte Mason method as a home school resource. Several of Mason's key concepts relate to reading in the home learning environment. The first is the avoidance of what she termed "twaddle," or books that today could be called "junk food for the mind." You're probably familiar with the type, such as chapter books based on TV shows that use overly simplistic sentences and rely on illustrations, rather than words, to engage a child. Instead, the Mason method opts for children's literature that is well written and captivates the child's imagination with words.

Another of Mason's key concepts that relates to reading is that of "whole books." She advocated that a child read a book in its entirety, rather than simply reading book excerpts. Any parent of a child educated in the public school system knows that language arts textbooks are typically anthologies of book excerpts. Mason felt that a work should be read as it was written, as opposed to reading only a portion of the complete book.

Narration is a third concept advocated by Mason. In contrast to rote memorization and recitation, or testing that focuses on what a child doesn't know, Mason felt that children should have the opportunity to explain what they do know. After reading a book, for example, a child could talk about what he or she learned, could write about the book in a journal, or could paint or sculpt a depiction of what he or she learned.

Charlotte Mason's teaching methods are easy and inexpensive to integrate into home education. Developing an effective avoiding "twaddle," by reading the whole book, and by incorporating narration as a measure of comprehension - is an integral component to the Mason method. Utilizing children's book reviews will help in this effort, as will broadening the reading experience by incorporating related individual and family activities.

About the author:
Brent Sitton is the founder of http://www.DiscoveryJourney.com,with home school resources, including children’s book reviews containing 5 educational activities. http://www.discoveryjourney.com/homeschool.htm- http://www.discoveryjourney.com/childrensbookreviews.htm

The Day after the Memorial Day

2009-03-16T00:41:00.000-07:00

by: Arthur Zulu

"We are, meanwhile, going to erect befitting memorial tombs with beautiful flowers on them for our fallen soldiers. And inscribe their names on their tombstones in letters of gold, with our national flag flying overhead. For they did not die in vain. They fought and died for the empire. And we hope that many more will volunteer to fight and die for our Great Fatherland. May God bless the Empire!"

That was not the voice of the president of the United States, addressing fellow Americans on Memorial Day. Rather, it was the speech of Sunrise and Sunset, two kings who had led expeditionary forces throughout the earth in a vain search for Inferno, the terrorist. They had returned home without their soldiers, and had to explain to their countrymen and women why it was necessary for the soldiers to die. The book's title from which the quotation was taken is my controversial work, CHASING SHADOWS! : A Dream.

According to Jonathan Glover in his book, Humanity—A Moral History of the Twentieth Century, "Death in twentieth-century war has been on a scale which is hard to grasp. . . . But, if these deaths had been spread evenly over a period, war would have killed around 2,500 people every day. That is over 100 people an hour, around the clock, for ninety years." Hardly something to cheer about. People are either being slaughtered in political, racial, or religious wars. And members of the armed forces are dying in large numbers.

It is for this reason that nations all over the word have set aside a date to remember its fallen soldiers. Americans have two—the Memorial Day, which is marked on the last Monday of May, and Remembrance Sunday or Veterans Day celebrated on November 11. On these occasions, seasoned speech writers ensconced in the serenity of well guarded offices, craft Demosthenian and Ciceronian speeches and hand them over to draft dodging heads of states, who intone the virtues of sacrifice and the reward of patriotism in the mellifluous voice of angels.

There will be somber religious services in churches on Memorial Day in the United States. The pastors will specifically petition God to accept the ‘souls' of the departed soldiers and give them special seats in heaven; wives would weep over their dead husbands; tombs of the ‘gallant' heroes would be whitewashed and beautiful flowers would be laid on them; war veterans who had been forgotten would instantly be remembered; there would be reports of sighted soldiers in far away lands who had been missing in action; and most important—there would be a one minute silence in memory of the dead.

This year's Memorial Day promises to be interesting. Because one presidential candidate is a decorated war veteran while the other is said to have played safe. But they are both honorable men. One thing which men of honor do on Memorial days is to recount their daring escapades in war. One presidential candidate may script the appearance of the man he saved from drowning in a river during the war in Vietnam. I don't know what the other would do. However, he too, is an honorable man. But what happens after the Memorial Day?

The high point of presidents' speeches on Memorial days is usually a determination to make America and the world safer as a tribute to the fallen soldiers. But that statement has been made over and over again. It was made four months before 9/11. Yet peace continues to elude America and the world.

As regards this, French playwright Moliere said: "Of all follies there is none greater than wanting to make the world a better place." Was he right? Let UN scribe Kofi Annan answer. "I think the most frustrating part is that we all know what's wrong and what needs to be done, but we often can't act upon it," he says. That is an admission of failure supreme. The secretary-general and Bill Clinton for example, saw the impending genocide in Rwanda. (80,000 slaughtered in 100 days—worse than what Adolph Hitler did to the Jews.) Yet they refused to act. (I have said elsewhere that that world body should be scrapped.)

But is the past any guide? According to William Shakespeare, "What is past is prologue." The cause of past world pogrom should have provided an insight to our leaders not to repeat history. However, it is not so. Kofi Annan again agrees: "At times, when incredible things are happening and we want to awaken the conscience of the world, no one wants to move because of bad experiences in the past." See what's happening in Iraq now. See what Israel is doing to Hamas' leaders in Palestine—murder in broad daylight. Yet the hands of the members of the world body are tied. One authority said that history is a tale of unfulfilled expectations and failed dreams. This is because we are searching for peace with the wrong tools.

When the two kings quoted earlier in CHASING SHADOWS! did not see Inferno, the terrorist, they decided to shoot and bomb his spirit parents: Hatred, Oppression, Frustration, Injustice, Mistrust, Fear, and Enmity. But these spirits are immune to the guns and bombs of these men. The assault fails and Inferno is free to set the world on fire. The book is therefore a pure allegory alluding to the ineffectual results of violence to thwart violence.

If we do not eradicate these monsters that breed war and terror, the killings would continue, and the veterans would have fought and died in vain. And Memorial days would continue to come and go. Presidents would give Demosthenian and Ciceronian speeches and exit. But death and gravedom—the ultimate winners—would forever dog our heels, the heels of our wives, and that of our children.

ARTHUR ‘ZULU is an editor, book reviewer, and published author.
BOOKS PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR
http://www.1stbooks.com/bookview/21013
CHASING SHADOWS!: A Dream
http://www.1stbooks.com/bookview/10975
HOW TO WRITE A BEST-SELLER

About the Author

Arthur Zulu is an editor, book reviewer, and published author.

The dynamics of competitive mentality

2009-03-16T00:40:00.001-07:00

by: Oyvind Hennum
Copyright (c) 2005 www.financial-freedom-made-simple.com

Life is not a competition.
Not at all. Life itself is abundant and rich and overflowing. Take a look at a tree full of ripe fruits or a field full of grain. Just by looking at it, it makes you feel rich and abundant. And you feel that there is more than enough for everybody. But usually the abundant mentality stops there.

Many of us are born and raised in a strong belief system that says that there is never enough of what we need or want. For many this is also more then a belief, it is a fact of life. There is not enough food, not enough money, not enough love, etc. You learn to think that if you don't make sure to take your part, someone else will take it.

That is where you start to believe that life is a competition. You have to be better, stronger, faster, prettier, taller, and skinnier or whatever else you can be more than others.

But fact is that there is more than enough of everything we need and want. There is more then enough food, so nobody would have to starve. There is enough medicine to save millions of lives, and there is enough money. If all the money in the world would be balanced more equally, everybody would be very rich!

I know this may sound simple and easy, and that there are many reasons why I am wrong, but please put aside judgements and opinions for a moment.

Start to think like you care for people instead of compete with them. Would it not be fair if all human beings had equal rights? That everyone would have the right to get food, shelter, medicine and basic education. I am not talking about equality here, like the communistic idea that everybody should be earning the same, regardless of what they are doing. I am talking about getting basic needs covered. If basic needs are covered, people can choose how to live their life, instead of having to fight to survive.

With competitive mentalities like Survival of the fittest and Dog eat Dog, we justify that people are starving to death. We think that if someone wins, someone has to loose. It is now time to change this into a win-win mentality. That means we think, talk and act in a way that we want everybody to benefit. It is a way of thinking that includes all human beings. This way of thinking comes from the understanding that we are one.

We are one human race on one planet.

When I see myself as a part of this world I feel that the world is my responsibility. I understand that what I am thinking, saying and doing will affect the world. What I think, say and do to the world, I do to myself since I am a part of the world. That makes it more difficult not to care about what is happening, because I know that it directly affects me.

With competitive mentality, I do not mean the drive you have to do your best. That you want to do your best is a fantastic asset and a driving force in your life. Wanting to do your best is a great motivation! If you do your best you are the best. That means everybody is unique and exceptional, just by being who they are.
Do your absolute best; strive to do what you love with the highest quality ever seen. But do it from a place inside where you want to come out with who you are, and not to overrun others. If you do what you love doing, you are competing in a natural way; you are on top because you are giving your very best.

You hear athletes talking about "The Flow", that means the space where their performance comes easy and seem effortless. You can also reach that space with your work, and that is actually what life is meant to be. Not a struggle, not a competition, but a flow. This flow is an energy that comes out of you because you want to create.
So remember to make your competition a heart-full one and not a horror-full one.

When you do your best, you are the best!

Copyright (c) 2005 www.financial-freedom-made-simple.com

About the Author

Oyvind Hennum runs the web site:

http://www.financial-freedom-made-simple.com

The site contains:
Book reviews, articles, biographies, free e-books, motivational quotes, abundance affirmations, practical tips, success tests, budgeting advice and resource directory.

Read my review of the new semi automatic article submission software.

http://www.financial-freedom-made-simple.com/article-submitter-pro.html

The Effects of Televised Sexual Content on Adolescents

2009-03-16T00:39:00.002-07:00

by: Brent Sitton

According to a September 2004 study by the RAND Corporation, "Adolescents who watch large amounts of television containing sexual content are twice as likely to begin engaging in sexual intercourse in the following year as their peers who watch little such TV." In addition, the National Institutes of Health-funded study found that these children's sexual behavior was akin to those adolescents who were 9 to 17 months older, but who watched only average amounts of TV with sexual content. "Television habits predicted whether adolescents went to 'second or third base,' as well as whether they had sex for the first time," said Rebecca Collins, a RAND psychologist who led the study. "The 12-year-olds who watched a lot of television with sexual content behaved like the 14- or 15-years-olds who watched the least amount of sexual television. The advancement in sexual behavior we saw among kids who watched a lot of sexual television was striking." This alarming trend occurs within the context of ever-increasing amounts of implicit and over sexual content on television. As reported by the Parents Television Council, "In a sample of programming from the 2001-2002 TV season, sexual content appeared in 64% of all TV programs. Those programs with sexually related material had an average of 4.4 scenes per hour. Talk of sex is more frequent (61%) vs. overt portrayals (32%). One out of every 7 programs includes a portrayal of sexual intercourse." According to the RAND study, talk of sex had just as much of an effect on adolescent sexual behavior as overt behaviors. Sexual behavior among U.S. teens is on the rise. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 46% of all high school students have had sexual intercourse. The National Institutes of Health has found that, each year, one of every four sexual active teens contracts a sexually transmitted disease. Teen pregnancy in the U.S. is also the highest among industrialized nations. Now, more than ever, parents need to be concerned about what their children are watching on television. The first step parents need to take is to monitor the content of the shows their adolescents watch. According to RAND researcher Collins, "The impact of television viewing is so large that even a moderate shift in the sexual content of adolescent TV watching could have a substantial effect on their sexual behavior."

Other important steps you can take to curb or mitigate your children's exposure to sexual content on television include:

Watch TV with your children and discuss your beliefs about sex and about the sexual behaviors portrayed on TV.

Develop TV-watching guidelines for your children and enforce them.

Limit the amount of time your children watch TV. Instead, use family movie reviews to rent movies with appropriate content.

Encourage and reward your children for reading instead of watching TV.

Encourage your children to find and develop non-television related hobbies and interests.

By taking these simple steps, you can help to ensure that your adolescents' attitudes and beliefs about sex more closely mirror your own, and that their sexual initiation is delayed.

About The Author

Brent Sitton is the founder of DiscoveryJourney.com. Discovery Journey has a variety of tools available to give parents help to avoid the effects of media sexual content, such as a child book list and movie list with media free of sexual content Discovery Journey's Children's Book Review and Family Movie Review include a list of positive character traits and negative behaviors, along with a Character Score that helps parents select appropriate child entertainment.

bsitton@discoveryjourney.com

The Happy Jar -- How Little Things Can Mean a Lot

2009-03-16T00:39:00.001-07:00

by: David Leonhardt
I just delivered a free speech. I am a great believer in free speech, but an even greater believer in paid speech. However, there are good reasons why someone like me would deliver free speeches. For instance, to support a charity or a cause I believe in. Or if the audience is full of people who hire speakers.

If you’ve ever spoken at a dinner or ran a workshop at a conference, you’ll wince when I mention the dreaded “token of appreciation” presented to the speaker. In your head you think, “Oh no, not another T-shirt.” I have my share of T-shirts, golf shirts, letter openers, books that do not interest me, sweets, ball caps, and pens. I don’t need any more.

Sigh. I suppose that’s the price of free speech.

Which brings me to my recent free speech, at the end of which I braced myself to face Dreaded Token. I was presented with a lovely gift bag brimming with colorful paper -- the perfect camouflage to conceal Dreaded Token until he was ready to pounce. Mercifully, Madam Group President did not make me open the bag in front of everyone.

As I was preparing to leave, I sneaked a peak inside the bag. To my surprise, there was a candy jar with dozens of tiny plastic smiley faces glued to the lid. Around the lid were foam-rubber multi-colored letters that read “Happy Guy”. Wow! It was hand-made. Madam Group President took the time to craft a personal gift. How thoughtful. Dreaded Token, you have met your match. Meet Happy Jar.

If you have ever been a parent, valuing more the hand-made card your little daughter scribbles for you than any present she could buy, you know how I felt when I met Happy Jar. I can’t wait for my daughter to be old enough to draw so I can feel that way more often.

In life, little things really do count. You might be tempted to dismiss them, but they are the seeds that grow up into the garden of your life. Not all little things are good, but yours can be … if you are willing to make a small effort. Madam Group President could have handed me a T-shirt or a ball cap or leftover fruit cake from last Christmas. (Yes, I was once presented with left-over fruitcake.) But she invested her effort instead and I have something wonderful to write about today.

You can make someone’s day just by making that same little effort. I sent an encouraging e-mail to lift a friend’s spirits today. It worked. Those carefully chosen words brought her mood right back up. I’m sure you can guess how great that made me feel, too.

When Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the epic This Is The Place raved to me about the writing in my book, I felt on top of the world. (It’s not the huge $75 royalty checks every three months that inspire authors to write.) She then raved to Amazon.com and BarnesAndNoble.com and a dozen other book review web sites. Do I have to tell you how her little extra effort made me feel?

I know I am blessed to be surrounded by so many thoughtful people, but I also know that we reap what we sow. What are you sowing? Are you making the time to give a little extra to people around you? Are you sowing seeds of happiness in your garden of life?

With the right seeds and a little extra effort, you may find more Happy Jars in your life than Dreaded Tokens. And of course, let us not forget the magic words to keep those Happy Jars coming: “Thank you Madam Group President.”

About the Author

David Leonhardt is the Happy Guy, motivational speaker and author of "Climb your Stairway to Heaven: the 9 habits of maximum happiness". Sign up for your free "Daily Dose of Happiness" at http://www.TheHappyGuy.com/daily-happiness-free-ezine.html, or visit the Self-actualization Resource Center at http://www.TheHappyGuy.com/self-actualization-articles.html.

The Huge Marketing Potential Of A Simple Blog

2009-03-16T00:38:00.001-07:00

by: Ian Canaway
A Blog (also known as Weblog) is traditionally a webpage where pre-surfer or a blogger "logs" all pages he/she finds interesting. In other words, it is a Web page that contains brief, chronologically arranged items of information. Typically updated daily, blogs often reflect the personality of the author.

Weblogs provide a series of annotated links to items such as news stories, and often include personal rants. They are maintained by one person, most commonly someone who is involved in Web design or some other tech-related field.

A blog is often a mixture of what is happening on a particular website and what is happening on the Web, a kind of hybrid diary/guide site, although there are as many unique types of blogs as there are people. Blogs can be used to introduce products to potential customers.

People maintained blogs long before the term was coined, but the trend gained momentum with the introduction of automated published systems, most notably Blogger at blogger.com. Thousands of people use services such as Blogger to simplify and accelerate the publishing process.

Blog as a marketing tool:

Blogs offer huge marketing potential. They are highly strategic tools that can strengthen relationships, share knowledge, increase collaboration, and improve branding. Besides, blogs can represent the real voice of the website.

A weblog can take the form of a diary, a news service (or summaries of and links to current news items on a topic), a collection of links to other Web sites, a series of book reviews or products, reports of activity on a project, the journal of an expedition, and much more. Businesses can use this tool to effectively advertise their products or services.

One of the most interesting ways to use a weblog is by allowing it to function as a discussion forum for customers of your products or services. In this case, the webmaster can give posting rights to other people – visitors and customers, and their posts may or may not be reviewed before they are published to the Web page. Customers, in such a way can post favorable comments about the websites offerings. Some weblogs are set up in such a way that only the owner or the owner and certain other people have posting rights, but anyone else can add comments to the posts.

Weblogs when used with newsletters present immense marketing opportunities:

- Articles within newsletters can be linked to a blog, extending life and creating a massive conversation.

- You can offer a bidirectional forum to customers to get true, personal opinions on your products and services.

- Company experts can start a blog and become industry experts, helping your company edge out competition and, through this interactive forum, draw customers into another exchange of information and thoughts.

- The beauty of this interplay is you can layer your blog with editorial controls.

How to create a Weblog?

The majority of weblogs are now created using software or services designed specifically for this purpose. Some of the software is free - and some of the organizations that provide weblog software will also provide free server space to house a weblog so that it is publicly accessible on the Internet.

There are also commercial versions of some of the free software; these commercial versions often provide more features. Some weblog software is available only as commercial software. Alternatively, bloggers can create and maintain their weblog using free software or a free weblog service, but use FTP (File Transfer Protocol) to load the resulting weblog to their own Website.

There are many blogging softwares available easily on the Internet. One of the most popular weblogger is "Blogger" which can be used for free at http://www.blogger.com. Most webloggers simplify the process of Website creation. However, they do require basic knowledge of FTP, Website structures and a few technical terms. Besides, creating an advanced weblog requires knowledge of HTML.

So get out there and start your own Blog…it's free, easy and can work seamlessly with the rest of your website or newsletter.

About The Author:
Get your FREE step by step guide to setting up your first blog, visit: http://www.trafficstrategiesonsteroids.com/blogsetup.pdf - Ian Canaway will help you launch your very own money making website today that's 100% ready to take orders and pull in massive profits for you right now. guaranteed! http://www.asuccesfullhomebusiness4u.com

Copyright Ian Canaway - http://www.asuccesfullhomebusiness4u.com

The Inspired Heart - A Book Review

2009-03-16T00:37:00.000-07:00

by: C. Bailey-Lloyd/LadyCamelot
Spiritual food for the soul: Allow Jerry to take you on his magical and enlightening soul pilgrimage. As he invites you to accompany him along his life adventures, he introduces you to selfless acts of the deep, human spirit and his fascinating relationships. Often, by chance encounters, Jerry immerses the reader into impromptu stories of surrealistic wonder and actual life experiences.

From his friendship with two, elderly sages; or E.T., the street kid - Jerry's autobiography inspires the uninspired, captivates the soul and brings a vital spark to everyday monotony. Jerry illustrates and exhibits the simplest of miracles - through soul journey.

His words, "...In the shadow lands of life's most terrifying experiences, something inherently noble in the human heart unexpectedly enters in and renders the voices of good and evil mute..." Poetically expressed, Jerry's wisdomful words echo transcendental advice into the inner-knowing and evolutionary, inner-peace process.

Broken down into humankind's most simple form, Jerry withdraws from `normal' human existence to fully embrace life's spiritual side. (His eventful life, in my own opinion, equated to the life of the so-called Jerry in the film, Down and Out in Beverly Hills.) Noncomedically however, he lived purely off chance and engaged in most uninspiring conditions; and made do with what life had to offer - never complaining...only transforming.

A human, but humbling experience, Jerry relays how his internal transformation came full circle. A book that promotes personal growth and comprehension of the mortal experience, The Inspired Heart is an awe-inspiring, exceptional read. To learn more about Artist/Author Jerry Wennstrom or his novel, The Inspired Heart - An Artist's Journey of Transformation, feel free to visit his website at JerryWennstrom.com or if you would like more information about how to get your own copy of his book, visit The Inspired Heart.

The Inspired Heart - A Book Review
© 2005 - All Rights Reserved
By C. Bailey-Lloyd
Aka. LadyCamelot
Public Relations' Director &
Staff Writer
www.holisticjunction.com
www.mediapositiveradio.com

About the Author

C. Bailey-Lloyd
Aka. LadyCamelot
Public Relations' Director &
Staff Writer
www.holisticjunction.com

THE INTERNET ADVENTURES OF STUPIDMAN

2009-03-16T00:36:00.002-07:00

by: Stupidman

Introduction

I have know R.H. Jaycox (Jay), the author of Internet Profit Pearls, for over a decade. A while back he asked me to read a pre-final draft (don't know how many pre-s I should really use) of the book. Technically I don't have a clue of what he was talking about but,having lost money through an earlier investment,I recognized the truth he was describing. In Chapters 4&11 he recommended writing articles for ezines as a way of promoting a business. I wrote one, showed it to him and he liked it. Jay suggested that I write a series from my ignorant perspective as I try to implement the suggestions in the "final?" draft of the book.

I've titled the series,"The Internet Adventures of Stupidman" and the original piece, " The Birth of Stupidman".The moniker seems appropriate as it is how I feel when I try to do something on the computer and it seems to reflect the attitude I get from my teenagers when I try to share my "wisdom" on any subject.

Jay said I should share a little background. This is my second marriage. The Boss and I live with my 13 year old son,Greased Lightning, and his 15 year old sister,Fashion Girl.

The Boss is one of those people who buys new technology before her neighbors can spell it. (She bought a microwave oven when they were so big they needed a separate room.)

She's been on the internet since shortly after Al Gore invented it. She doesn't do sophisticated things on the internet but due to her seniority she's The Boss.

Greased Lightning is scary, he reads books about HTML, Java, JavaScript, encryption (Is there a Hacking for Dummies?). His fingers are a blur on the keyboard and his explanations are fast and condescending.

Fashion Girl listens to music on the internet, designs art and wardrobes, fills up shopping carts until the wheels fall off and tries to find my credit cards.

Greased Lightning serves the function of our house dog. If somebody passes gas and chooses not to accept the responsibility the dog is blamed. Greased Lightning is our gaseous dog. If the computer crashes The Boss assumes it was something caused by Greased Lighting even if he has not used the computer in several days.

I'm afraid to try things on the computer as I don't want to become the gaseous dog. It's safer to be Stupidman.

Jay thinks there are a lot of people in the world who might have good ideas and are also afflicted with keyboard phobia. He says if I share my learning experiences (frustrations are more like it) it will make the world a better place, yada yada yada. Who's kidding who, if you buy through my URL (Greased Lightning goes crazy when I call it an Earl) I make $10. Remember, this idea came from Chapters 4&11.

THE INTERNET ADVENTURES OF STUPIDMAN The Birth of Stupidman
I used to be smart. Not only did I believe it but many people (including bosses) told me I was smart. In college I learned a little FORTRAN and COBOL (main frame computer languages that are probably extinct by now). In the 70's and 80's I was a whiz at programming PCs in Lotus and Supercalc.

But something happened, one night while I was sleeping, the internet was born and I became a dinosaur.

While I was not getting it, everybody else was launching dot coms or working out of their homes for 20 minutes a day while making bazillions of dollars. Even teenagers were getting rich!

Other than the author of Internet Profit Pearls (and he's not sharing), I don't personally know anybody who has been "successful" with internet commerce,but, from what the media tells me it's all the people I don't know.

Towards the end of the dot com boom(naturally) I put some money into a "can't miss" "ground floor" opportunity and touted it to friends and relatives. It missed, ended up in the basement, lost the money and friends but at least my family has started returning my calls.

I recently read a book, "Internet Profit Pearls", which belatedly explains what I, my former friends and family did wrong and actually has some helpful suggestions as to how one might make money on the internet without spending much money. You can read the first few chapters for free and if you want the entire book it will cost you $30.
Some of the stuff is a little technical but fortunately my 13 year old son understands it (now if I could find a translator maybe I could understand what the boy said).

The book contains fortysomething affiliate links. Most of these links are free and each creates the possibility of an income stream. The affiliate links are spread throughout the book. You can actually get something for nothing.

The part I really liked; after you buy the book you can "brand" and resell it and earn about $10 per copy and about another $5 if it gets resold(think I still have some relatives I can talk to).

The writing of this book review came from some strategies in Chapters 4 and 11 and has inspired me to write a series where I,Stupidman,attempt to accomplish some technical tasks suggested in the book.

Coming Soon: Stupidman Downloads and Copies a File Stupidman Brands,Sends Email Attachment

The Internet Adventures Of Stupidman Will Put A Smile On Your Face www.stupidmanok.com

WEBMASTERS AND EZINE PUBLISHERS You may reproduce this article on your site, or link to this page, or reprint it in your Ezine. We ask only that you reproduce the article intact, including the resource box and that you notify us of the date and place of the publication.
mailto:stupidmansfz@yahoo.com Copyright 2002, Skidthrough Enterprises

Stupidman's funny tutorial describes his experiences learning the basics of his computer as he prepares to build his own website. 16+ sequential articles

THE INTERNET ADVENTURES OF STUPIDMAN #3

2009-03-16T00:36:00.001-07:00

by: Stupidman
Stupidman Brands the Book, Sends Email Attachment

This is the 4th issue of The Internet Adventures of
Stupidman. If you can't find the previous issues and you
really want them......you need a hobby. Just kidding,
email stupidmansfz@yahoo.com(remember the "junk" email
address assignment in the 3rd issue?}. I only check this
account a couple times a week but I will respond.

If you are reading this, then the idea I took from
Internet Profit Pearls in Chapters 4&11 really works. Can
you believe what's happening? My family (The Boss,Greased
Lightning,Fashion Girl) say stuff to me (or at me) all the
time. I get to turn it against them in publication(at
least that's the feedback they're giving me).
Unbelievable, I can potentially make money by writing about
how I'm abused by my family. I've already got the next 3
issues outlined in my mind. To think I can capitalize on
my ignorance, America truly is the Land of Opportunity.

My hero, me, er....Stupidman is still trying to enter this
millenium by doing the exercises contained in the free
chapters of Internet Profit Pearls (IPP).

I have read the free chapters and have signed up for most
of the affiliate programs that promised me small fortunes.
(Including one that cost $50, I'm an affiliate of 14 or 15
programs). Some of the programs would only accept me if I
had a website (which I don't) so I signed off on a
website/hosting agreement with the publisher of IPP,
startingfromzero.com (describes my situation perfectly) for
$6 a month. (Read Chapter 3, last screen first, and you'll
understand).

As I intend to resell the book I have to brand my copy.
The publisher will brand the free chapters for $27 and the
entire book for $47 but I'm on a budget. (I actually read
the free chapters,bought the book,got the book review idea
in the non-free chapters and then started on these
exercises. Under normal circumstances I would have paid
$47 and have been done with it. The punishment I have
inflicted upon myself at least results in another
"Adventure".)

I made a list of my special urls that I received from the
affiliate programs. (Techies call it u-r-l, they go crazy
if you pronounce it earl. Try it!) There's a file in the
book called Read Me First which has the instructions for
branding. It's pretty easy to follow until you get to item
6 which says click the "Edit Field" button. I must have
spent 5 minutes staring at the console looking for the
nonexistent button. Press the "Edit Brand" button, the
computer won't blow up, I promise.

Item 8 does not assume Stupidman would read this book so
with the reluctant assistance of Greased Lightning I will
expand on this instruction. Put cursor on the "with value"
field and click, then, use the right arrow on the keyboard
to move text. Delete what you don't want then type in your
stuff. If you spot a screwup before you hit ok press
cancel and try again. If you press ok before you notice a
screwup I don't know what to tell you. (This is not to say
Stupidman didn't screwup, merely that it was not noticed.
Ignorance can be bliss.)

Some companies have several affiliate programs (like
roibot). If you signed up for one you're probably in all
of them, so brand all versions of the same company.

I spent a lot of time,unsuccessfully, trying to check my
branded links. Finally gave up but I'm sure I did it right.

I emailed the author to inquire how to upload to the IPP
hosted site but was told (I thought his tone was kind of
snippy) there was NO WAY he would allow Stupidman to upload
and that I needed to email the branded book as an
attachment.

A new challenge, but this turned out to be surprisingly
easy. Our email uses Outlook Express and Help is at the
top of the screen. Help leads to Contents which is where I
found Attachments. Using the selective printing function
described in an earlier issue, I copy the "insert a file in
a message" instructions. Hard copy in hand I attach the
branded book and send it off into cyberspace (hopefully in
the general direction of the author).

Coming Soon: Stupidman Creates SIG File,Opens Lock
Can Stupidman Use IPP and Be a Bazillionaire
Stupidman Explores Alt key,Printing W/O Paper

P.S. My son, Greased Lightning, has critiqued the first
three (already published) issues and (agrees with my name)
says there is no Pkzip, should have said PKWARE. Sorry.

The Internet Adventures Of Stupidman
Will Put A Smile On Your Face
www.stupidmanok.com

WEBMASTERS AND EZINE PUBLISHERS
You may reproduce this article on your site, or link to
this page, or reprint it in your Ezine. We ask only that
you reproduce the article intact, including the resource
box and that you notify us of the date and place of the
publication.
mailto:stupidmansfz@yahoo.com
Copyright 2002, Skidthrough Enterprises

About the Author

Stupidman's funny tutorial about building his website from scratch. 16+ sequential articles.

The Messenger

2009-03-16T00:35:00.001-07:00

by: Arthur Zulu

I sent you to her to say,
“I love you.”
And you come back and say,
“She wants a castle.”

I dispatched you to my love to say,
“I dream of you.”
And you return and say,
“She needs a flower garden.”

Go, tell her I own no castles or flower gardens.
But I can write her sweet poems of those.
Don’t tell me, “She reads no poems.”
For castles and gardens perish.
But love never dies.
And poetry is love!

(EXCERPTED FROM "BEAUTIFUL," A POETRY COLLECTION BY ARTHUR ZULU, TO BE PUBLISHED SOON. IF YOU ENJOYED READING THE POEM AND WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTION TOWARD ITS PUBLICATION, PLEASE CONTACT THE AUTHOR.)

ARTHUR ZULU is an editor, book reviewer, playwright, and published author. He also writes short stories, scripts, essays, and poems, and ghost writes for others.
For his works, professional services, and FREE helps for writers, goto:
http://controversialwriter.tripod.com
mailto: controversialwriter@yahoo.com
Web search: Arthur Zulu

About the Author

ARTHUR ZULU is an editor, book reviewer, playwright, and published author. He also writes short stories, scripts, essays, and poems, and ghost writes for others.

The Opt-In Secret

2009-03-16T00:34:00.002-07:00

by: Adam Waxler

Everyone knows that in order to be successful online you need build a large (quality) list through some type of Opt-In offer.

You see them now on virtually every site you visit on the internet, some type of form, whether from a pop-up window or directly on the site itself, that is asking for your name and email address in exchange for some type of offer (newsletter, e-course, free chapter etc.)

Unfortunately, many web site owners (yes, even the gurus) are not doing everything they can to maximize the number of people who opt-in from their website. In fact, many site’s opt-ins may actually be hurting their sales.

Here are a few tips on what to do and what not to do with your opt-in offer:

• You should definitely have a pop-up window with an opt-in form. While you may hate pop-ups, the fact is they work. There is even software available that makes it easy to create pop-ups that can not be blocked such as Armand Morin’s POPOver Generator. (http://www.money-teacher.com/popovergenerator.htm)

• Of course, you also need to place your opt-in on your web page. However, where you place it is extremely important. Your opt-in should be on the first fold in the upper left hand corner of EVERY page on your site.

• Always give a strong special bonus for people who opt-in. For example, “Sign up for my Teaching Newsletter and receive a free special report: How to Increase Reading Comprehension in the Classroom”

• DO NOT offer a free chapter of your e-book or even a free e-course. You may actually lose sales this way.

If you give away a free chapter of your e-book you are giving your customer the opportunity to not buy your book! Same is true with offering an e-course.

In both cases you may actually be providing enough free information so that the customer doesn’t actually have to buy your product. If nothing else, you are putting off the purchase which only gives the customer more time to not buy your product.

Again, what you want to do is capture your customer’s email address without giving them a reason to put off buying your product.

• DO offer something that compliments and is related to the product you are selling.

For example, it is fairly easy to create a newsletter about your niche market. Your can start by offering a monthly newsletter on tips, articles, Q&As, book reviews, web sites reviews etc. related to your niche market.

As you start to feel more comfortable, you can increase your delivery to bi-monthly, and eventually weekly. However, I would stay away from the daily newsletter. A daily newsletter is simply overkill and will decrease the value of the newsletter. Also, daily delivery will make broadcasts of special offers more difficult and less successful.

Many will tell you that it doesn’t matter too much what your opt-in is, so long as you capture the customer’s name/email. That’s utter nonsense.

Basically, the newsletter gives you a chance to drop in on potential customers for as long as they subscribe to your newsletter without ever distracting the customer away from your product.

However, if you are giving away a free chapter of your e-book, or even a 5-day e-course, after the initial follow-up email campaign is over (roughly 1 week), every email you send is simply advertising and your customers will see right through that (maybe even accuse you of spam).

As a middle school social studies teacher, I created an e-book on teaching strategies. When I changed my original web site opt-in offer from a free e-book chapter to a free newsletter, I not only increased my list, but also greatly increased the sales of my e-book.

Copyright 2004 Adam Waxler

Adam Waxler owns and operates The Money Teacher web site and publishes The Money Teacher’s Home Business Tips Newsletter teaching others how to reach online success. To get your free newsletter subscription send a blank email to: newsletter@money-teacher.com or visit our web site at http://www.money-teacher.com

The Passion of the Christ: Who Really Killed Jesus?

2009-03-16T00:34:00.001-07:00

by: ARTHUR ZULU

Imagine that a very kind father has a beloved son—his firstborn. Now, some criminals in a far away land have committed an offence deserving of death. This good man purposely sends his son to die for these criminals so that they would be saved. When his beloved son arrives, one of his friends takes money from some of these condemned criminals who had trumped up charges against the son. They take the son to their king, who instead of freeing him, hand him over to the hangman to be executed.

Now, who really caused the death of this son? Is the father not guilty of first-degree murder or at lest manslaughter? Can the son not be charged for second-degree suicide? Is the son's friend who betrayed him to blame. What about the criminals who framed up the charges against the son? Or is the king who played safe to be held accountable? Or do we blame the executioner who finished the dastardly act?

The kind man in this illustration is God, the son is Jesus Christ, while his friend who betrayed him is Judas Ischariot. The criminals who framed up the charges against him are the Jewish leaders, the cowardly king is Pontius Pilate and the executioner represents the Roman soldiers.

Passion stories of Christ, the greatest man, who ever lived, have always generated interest. But Mel Gibson's recent movie, “The Passion of the Christ," has ignited a controversy. Not only because of all the brutality but because it has resurrected the old question: Who really killed Jesus?

First, could it be that God killed him? Adam and Eve had sinned by eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and bad in the Garden of Eden. Their sin constituted a rebellion against God and condemned their offspring to death. But God in his infinite mercy sent an equivalent of Adam, Jesus Christ, to redeem the world of mankind from death. So is God guilty of murder, manslaughter or conspiracy?

Next is Jesus Christ. He himself had admitted that he came to give his soul as a ransom for many. So he knew that he was sent to die, yet he accepted the assignment. He even personally chose Judas Ischariot and dismissed him to go and get his job done just before he instituted the commemoration of the Last Supper. So is Jesus to blame?

But what about this apostle, Judas Ischariot, who betrayed his master to the wicked Jewish leaders for thirty pieces of silver? Ought he to have done so? If he had to sell his master for us to be free, then did he do wrong?

Next are the Jewish religious leaders? They framed up charges, which included the serious charge of lese-majesty against Jesus. Could Jesus have died if they had not cooked up these charges? If these charges led to his death, are the Jews therefore culpable for his death?

And then comes Pontius Pilate who instead of freeing Jesus pardoned a criminal. Why did he give in to the demand of the Jews to impale Jesus? Could it be that he is not to blame as the washing of his hands suggests?

Finally, the merciless Roman soldiers who inflicted unimaginable wound on Jesus before nailing him on the torture stake. Was the treatment given to Jesus deserving? Or is everyone to be forgiven because they did not know what they were doing according to Jesus? Or are we to further probe the question: Who really killed Jesus?

To begin with, God is not to blame. The Scripture says that he sent his son to die because of the love that he has for mankind. (John 3:16) And Jesus obeyed his father and came to die because he too loved the world.—John 15:13.

That leaves the betrayer Judas Ischariot, the Jewish conspirators, and Pontius Pilate who was pressured to hand Jesus over to the guards who killed him. To find out the culprit, let us see a statement of Jesus to Pilate during his trial at John chapter 19 verse 11: “This is why the man that handed me over to you has greater sin." And another statement of admission of guilt by the Jews to Pilate at Matthew 27 verse 25: “At that all the people said in answer: ‘His blood come upon us and upon our children.' "

So the question arises again: Who really killed Jesus Christ? Answer: The Jews murdered him. And they paid for this in 70 C.E when Rome destroyed that nation. But even today, people are still killing Jesus Christ in ‘small' and ‘big' ways.

Consider one ‘small' way, the wearing of the cross. Jesus did not die on the cross (Latin ‘cruz') , but on a tree or pole (Greek ‘stauros'). See King James Bible at Acts 5:30; 10:39; Galatians 3:13; and compare Deuteronomy 21:22,23. The cross is a pagan symbol, the sign of the Babylonian god Tammuz, son of Astarte, the goddess of fertility, which some ‘Christians' celebrate as Easter. Besides, the Bible condemns the wearing of images.—Exodus 20:4,5; 1Corinthians 10:14; 1John 5:21.

Even then consider this: Imagine that a triple-edged sword has killed your best friend and you are searching for his murderers. Then you meet someone wearing that very instrument of death on his neck. What would you do to him? Strangle him! That is what should be done to those cross-wearing ‘Christians': hang them all!

What of in ‘big' things? Consider this quotation by ‘Chicago Tribune': “Every major religion preaches peace and brotherhood and mercy, yet some of the cruellest and most intolerant repressions in history have been committed in the name of God." And this one by ‘Waterloo Courier' of Iowa: “Nor have Christians ever been squeamish about waging wars on other Christians. If they had been, most of the liveliest wars in Europe would never have occurred. . . . World Wars I and II, which set the all-time records, for Christians killing Christians, could never have occurred."

Yet the teaching of Jesus on this is clear: he who lives by the sword would perish by the sword. And at Isaiah 2:4, it is stated that Christians should beat their swords into plowshares. But sadly, Christians are engaged in wars around the globe killing fellow believers and no-believers.

Military personnels and their commanders are slaughtering innocent people daily in the vain hope of stamping terrorism from the face of the earth and making the world a peaceful home for mankind. And the UN (called Talking Nations in my book CHASING SHADOWS!: A Dream), which has Isaiah 2:4 conspicuously written on the wall of its headquarters in New York, is shamelessly supervising all these pogrom The aggregation of these choreographers of genocide are killing Christ again.

ARTHUR ZULU, is an editor, book reviewer, and published author.
BOOKS PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR
http://www.1stbooks.com/bookview/21013
CHASING SHADOWS!: A Dream( A book that reveals the terrorists' master plan to finally set the world on fire.)
http://www.1stbooks.com/bookview/10975
HOW TO WRITE A BEST-SELLER
For contacts, mailto:
mostcontroversialwriter@yahoo.com

Arthur Zulu is an editor, book reviewer and published author

The Seven Army Values - They’re not just for the military

2009-03-16T00:33:00.000-07:00

by: Joseph Yakel
The Army defines seven values that soldiers should strive to emulate in their daily lives. These core values establish a standard of conduct; they form the foundation of personal behavior that defines the person, as well as the expectations soldiers have of one another. These values are Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage.

Here's the thing. The Army didn’t invent the values. There are many more than seven values that identify desirable human conduct and behavior (and plenty that define undesirable behavior as well), and they've been around for a long time. So, that said, it should come as no surprise that the seven Army values are not just for the military - they apply to each and every citizen…this makes perfect sense, as all soldiers are citizens first.

We all have positions in life…stations, if you will…and it matters not what your station in life happens to be…some or all of these seven values are tested as a matter of course, each day of one’s life. The values are as applicable to the student as they are to the professor; as important to the patient as they are to the doctor; as challenging to the child as they are to the adult; and as attainable by the penniless as they are by the millionaire. In short, the seven values are for everyone. What are the values, and how are they applicable to everyone?

Loyalty - Bear true faith and allegiance to the U.S. constitution, the Army, and other soldiers. Be loyal to the nation and its heritage.

For the citizen, this means showing your faith in our nation, your elected and appointed leaders and your fellow citizens. People want to know they can trust you. And you want the same reassurances from others.

Duty - Fulfill your obligations. Accept responsibility for your actions and those entrusted to your care. Find opportunities to improve oneself for the good of the unit.

For the citizen, you’ve got a job to do and people depend on you to get it done. If someone needs help, give it to them. If you need help, seek it from your peers. Be consistent in action and deed.

Respect - Treat people as they should be treated. How we consider others reflects upon each of us, both personally and as a professional organization.

Act courteously toward friends, acquaintances and strangers alike. If you disagree with an opinion or point of view, challenge the position, but avoid the personal attack. Remember that your actions speak volumes about yourself and your business or organization.

Selfless Service - Put the welfare of the nation, the Army, and your subordinates before your own. Selfless service leads to organizational teamwork and encompasses discipline, self-control and faith in the system.

Take care of your children, your parents, your siblings, and co-workers. Go the ‘extra mile’ for your customers and clients, even if gains you nothing more than some personal satisfaction. Volunteer to take on the tough job, or the mundane job that others avoid.

Honor - Live up to all the Army values.

Live up to the values of your business, your community, your church, your family. Act accordingly, and others will recognize you as an individual of principled character. Don't fall into the trap of, "but I just did what others did before me". Given the choice, take the 'high road'. Distinguish yourself from those who would be satisfied to do less.

Integrity - Do what is right, legally and morally.

Ask yourself, “Is this the right thing to do? How does it reflect on who I am?” If your inner voice is sounding the alarm, it’s doing so for a good reason. Avoid shortcuts, cheats, or otherwise doing less than what is expected. Don’t compromise yourself, your friends, family or business for some short-term satisfaction. Integrity offers long-term rewards that can't be acquired any other way.

Personal Courage - Face fear, danger, or adversity with physical and moral courage.

Is a boss asking you to do something questionable? Watched the local bully pick on someone repeatedly? Been in a group that disparages a certain race or ethnicity? It may be safer to go along with the crowd, or do nothing at all. It takes inner strength to stand up to peer pressure, bullies, social challenges, and moral dilemmas. It’s easy to be a follower…anyone can do that. True leadership requires all of one’s audacity, nerve and 'guts' to negotiate the difficult roads that lie before us.

Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage. These are values for everyone. No, they're not always easy to live up. Our standards are challenged all the time. We make mistakes. Hopefully, we learn from them, and over time, these values become a part of who we are.

The best news is that if we emulate these values singularly, we become a better people collectively. And that is why the values are so important. They set us apart from those who choose not to live up to them.

About the Author

Joseph Yakel is Chief Warrant Officer 3 in the US Army, a freelance writer, and author of three books. His articles have appeared in numerous publications and Internet websites. Free chapter previews of his books are available at: http://www.lulu.com/yakel

Joe welcomes visitors to leave comments and book reviews, and is available for author interviews. Contact him at: armeuv1@yahoo.com

The Top 6 Website Sins

2009-03-16T00:32:00.002-07:00

by: Niall Roche

They say the eyes are the windows to the soul. Your website then is the window to your business. What would a passerby think of your "window"? Would they want to stop and maybe come inside for a few moments? Or would they just pass by without giving it a second glance?

The goal of any website is to make the visitor stay. The desired visitor response might be that they make a purchase, sign up for a newsletter, enter a competition or simply complete a survey. The end result is the same - you need the web surfer to hang around your website for as long as possible.

There are, however, aspects of your site which can stop visitors from staying. Some of these are:

Sin #1

Slow loading

The ultimate website sin. Your homepage must, must, must load in 30 seconds or less. This is not optional. If a visitor has to wait more than 30 seconds they will stop what they're doing and move on to the next website. Optimize your website to load quickly by using as few graphics as possible and then only use JPEGS and GIFS. Your website should be no more than 20% graphics and at least 80% text. Why? Text loads faster and also keeps your visitor reading about your site as it loads up.

Sin #2

Poor layout

A visitor should be able to find what they need on your website in 3 clicks of the mouse or less. Any more than that and you're losing valuable visitors. Your navigation menu should be easy to use and every single link must work properly. Make use of a sitemap. Do not use fancy cursors. Do not use complicated menu systems. Text should be legible but not too big. Keep it simple. Imagine how a new internet user would react to your website. Would they love it or hate it? Could a new visitor to your website easily find the information they're looking for?

Sin #3

Awful color schemes

There's nothing worse than searching for a website for hours only to find what you need and then realize that you cannot read the text on the pages because the owner though yellow text on a light blue background was cool. If you need guidance on how to choose colors for your website look at any magazine for examples. Black or dark blue text on a white background is the simplest and most effective color scheme.

For your menus and other background colours bear the following in mind:

Red is stimulating and agressive.

Blue is peaceful and tranquil.

Gree is calm and refreshing.

Yellow grabs peoples attention.

Purple is wealthy and luxurious.

Brown is solid and reliable.

Orange is bright and optimistic.

Sin #4

Poor spelling and grammar

If you're selling a product or service online and your website is littered with spelling and grammar mistakes then you're on a loser immediately. I recently reviewed an ebook that had 4 very bad spelling mistakes including the word business misspelled in the opening paragraph. Inexcusable. We all make mistakes but keep them to a minimum. A visitor may forgive one typo. You may not get a second chance.

Here's 3 tips for checking your webpages.

1. Use a spell checker. Every word-processor has one.

2. Proofread anything you write from bottom to top. You'll spot more mistakes that way.

3. Always proof read anything you've written 24 hours later. You'll be amazed at how many mistakes you'll spot.

Sin #5

Flashing graphics

Banners or logos that flash, spin, fade in and out and/or perform any other gimmick are a no go area. Don't use them. Flashing banners and logos say "I've never put together a website before. Cool, huh?" Any website with this type of graphic element turns me off. A website logo or banner should be a static graphic or text. Online marketing surveys consistently report that animated icons and graphics on a website are a major turnoff for visitors.

Sin #6

Hit counters

Only used by amateurs. Take them off your website. Please. Any decent webhost can provide you with traffic stats which will provide much more accurate information than a hit counter. Having a hit counter on your website was a good idea 8 years ago. The online world has moved on. You should too.

There's an old rule of sales:

"If I could see through John Smiths eyes I could sell John Smith what John Smith buys".

Design your website for your visitor and not for you.

http://www.affiliate-advocate.com is packed full of web marketing advice and ebook reviews. Niall Roche is the content author & owner of http://www.affiliate-advocate.com

The underlying belief system

2009-03-16T00:32:00.001-07:00

by: Oyvind Hennum
Copyright (c) 2005 Oyvind Hennum

Many of us do not consider the underlying belief system about money to be of any importance. You think it does not matter, because what matters is what you do now. Right, at one level, but not complete. All ideas that we have learned about money in the past are colouring our actions today.
These are ideas that you are unconsciously following, because you are not aware of them. It might be: "money is bad", "there is never enough money", "money does not grow on trees", etc. The list is long and painful to read, when you realize that this is actually a part of you. I was thinking: how come these beliefs are so strong? Why am I blocking myself from financial freedom? I have been working on myself for 6 years now, and the beliefs are still there! So I went looking for answers in self help books, personal development books, New Age books and financial freedom articles etc. I have also done Psychokineseology, past life sessions and been talking to a lot of people.

The answer that I come up with so far is: the underlying beliefs are coming in as all other conditioning, from our early years. Some people suggest that also past life experiences can have an influence. Our childhood conditioning comes mainly from our parents and then the rest of our family, and also from the environment around us. If the idea in the place you grew up is that money is scarce, you can be sure that this idea sneaked into your mind somewhere along the line and it is probably stuck there without you knowing it. You are just wondering why there never seems to be enough money around.
So if you now can grasp the idea of negative thinking patterns about money, I will tell you to move on. If it is difficult for you to accept this idea and you are now thinking that this does not count for you, because you have learned positive thinking, then stop. Look at the reality and do a little check up: is my positive thinking really working?
I am asking you to do this because my experience is that positive thinking and a YES! Mentality not always is enough. The negative thought patterns I am talking about are deep, you can call them "root thought" or "sponsoring thought", it is thoughts that are lying underneath and behind your conscious thoughts that you are thinking on an everyday basis.
They are very strong and strong enough to sabotage your new way of thinking that might be very positive and good. I point this out very strongly, because it is important that you are willing to look at your own thoughts and to work on them to change them into healthy sponsoring thoughts that are healthy for you and will bring you abundance and wealth instead of struggle and suffering.
To change these thoughts you have to be persistent, you will need a burning desire to train your mind into thinking differently. You will have to do a little brainwash and afterwards a lot of re-learning with your new and healthy thoughts. To train your mind
I will explain to you the concept "Act as if". "Act as if" works the other way round of the normal creation process, which goes like this: thought, word ,deed (action). An idea comes into your mind as a thought and takes shape and gets clear, that is the first step in creating.
Then comes the next step, which is the word. In the gospel of St.John in the Bible: "In the beginning was only the word", there is a great truth, only that in the very, very beginning there was also a thought - an idea. The word gets spoken out or written and makes the idea more strong, more solid. This is already a big accomplishment in the creation process, but the idea is still not physical reality.
This comes in the third step "Deed", or the action that you do, to give your idea physical form. Take a look at this practical example: I had an idea long time ago that it would be great to have a practical “how to do guide” on how to create financial freedom; initially I had the idea because many of my friends and people I met where complaining over the lack of money to do what they want.
As I talked with them it seemed that the reasons for these problems often were similar and I had a feeling that there had to be a solution for this. I wanted to find the solutions (ideas, thoughts, step one), write them down, make them clear and easy to understand, when spoken in a seminar or written down (word - step two) and then in the end to make this article and make it available for everyone who would be interested (deed, action, step 3).
As you are now reading this article, you can see the practical result of the thought - word - deed -process unfolded straight in front of you! Going back to where we started, with the concept of "Act as if", we have to look at why and how to do it. Why? It is because the process of creation does not only work with the conscious thoughts you have, but also with your sub-conscious beliefs. So if your underlying belief system always tells you that there is not enough money that is the reality you create.
To train your sub-conscious to think differently, you first of all have to become aware of when these beliefs kick in. For me it works like this: There is a Salvation Army officer standing in the street, giving out their magazine and collecting money. When I see him I immediately shrink and think: I hope he does not see me.
Now, of course, he sees me and gives me a smile, and I think, okay, I'll give him some money. After all I know that this makes me feel good. Then, for the same reason that I tried to avoid him, I also start having second thoughts about giving him the small donation.
The thought goes like this: I don't want to give away the money, because if I do, then I will have less and I do not have much at all. How can I just give away the little that I have (root thought = it's never enough money). In short term thinking it is right, I will have less money if I give some of it away. In longer term thinking, not.
What I do when I walk pass the Salvation Army officer without giving any money is to re-affirm to myself the idea that I can not afford to give him money, because there is never enough. So what I can do to change this root thought is to first give him the money I thought of, I know it is going to make me feel good, and then think to myself: WOW! I can afford to give him money, I know that there is more where it is coming from and I trust that this will end up in my pocket and on my bank account, so I can happily share it with more people.
This action will then affirm your new thought which is: There is always enough money! Now you might think, this is a lie, but then take the new thought you have learned by "acting as if" and look again on the thought, word , deed process. You might think this is extremely difficult and everything inside of you says NO! But still, try it out.
You do not have to give away all your money, that is not the point. The point is that you give yourself the feeling of abundance and that you can share. If you have very little money, you can give according to that. It is important that you get the feeling, so you can start believing in your new thought.
When you say to yourself that you always have enough money for everything you want and need, you will protest and say: "This is not true, fact is this, and that and blah, blah." You are right! Fact may be this or that, but if you want to change you better start here, right at the root cause of your money problems.
This is a little bit of "Fake it till you make it". You can make it easier for yourself by thinking thoughts that you can accept, like:" I know there is more money out there and right now I am figuring out how to get it to flow into my bank account".
Then you give yourself a feeling of security and that it is actually true: there is enough money! When you get your head around this one, you are a giant leap further ahead on the road to financial freedom.

Copyright (c) 2005 Oyvind Hennum

About the Author

Oyvind Hennum runs the web site http://www.financial-freedom-made-simple.com

The site contains: Book reviews, articles, biographies, motivational quotes, affirmations, success tests, budgeting advice and practical tips.

The Waves Come and Go!

2009-03-16T00:31:00.001-07:00

by: Arthur Zulu

The waves come and go
like the feet of an unsteady woman
in the house of an unfair lover.

The waves roar and clap their hands
like the protestations of a woman
in the hands of a Don Juan.

The waves wear down the shores
like a woman dissipating over unrequited love.

Yet, the woman is bound to the man
as the oceans are in covenant with the moon,
for a woman needs a man.

And the waves come and go
because the celestial body would not leave the seas.

That is why the oceans are full of tempests
as love is replete with broken hearts!

EXCERPTED FROM "BEAUTIFUL," A POETRY COLLECTION BY ARTHUR ZULU, TO BE PUBLISHED SOON. IF YOU ENJOYED READING THE POEM AND WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTION TOWARD ITS PUBLICATION, PLEASE CONTACT THE AUTHOR.)

ARTHUR ZULU is an editor, book reviewer, playwright, and published author. He also writes short stories, scripts, essays, and poems, and ghost writes for others.
For his works, professional services, and FREE helps for writers, goto:
http://controversialwriter.tripod.com
mailto: controversialwriter@yahoo.com
Web search: Arthur Zulu

About the Author

ARTHUR ZULU is an editor, book reviewer, playwright, and published author. He also writes short stories, scripts, essays, and poems, and ghost writes for others.

There Must Be More To Life Than This

2009-03-16T00:30:00.000-07:00

by: David McGimpsey
If you suffer from a nagging feeling of "there must be more to life than this", you're not alone.

"There must be more to life than this" can be an extremely de-motivating force. Guess where this feeling usually comes from? Your Job. Why? Most people hate their jobs.

The first point that needs to be addressed is that it's okay to hate your job. It's normal! The amount of people who like their jobs are few and far between. Most that enjoy the daily grind are either very lucky or have been in their current job less than six months.

Secondly, changing your job is not a solution to "there must be more to life than this" or to your lack of motivation. Remember the old saying "The grass is always greener"? Changing jobs is only a short term solution. Work place politics soon catch up with you.

Positive habits are all that stand between you and this feeling of "isn't there more?". Of course there is more to life, but we need to stop seeing our jobs as be all and end all. Being positive about everything, job included, allows you to put your work life in perspective.

At all costs we must remember that work is only a means to an end. We cannot allow it to take over our lives. Your job is what you have to do so you are motivated enough to go out and discover what life really has to offer. Work should only be a means to fund what we do when we're not there.

About the Author

David McGimpsey is the host of an inspirational and motivational web site http://www.dontquit.org dontquit.org offers a free weekly ezine containing articles, book reviews, news, advice, quotations and special features.

Three Ways to Add Versatile Content to Your Site or eZine

2009-03-16T00:29:00.000-07:00

by: Mitchell Harper
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Introduction
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If you run a content driven web site or eZine, then I think you will agree with me when I say that finding free, quality content on the ‘Net is a pain. Sure, people are writing articles which they want published, but nine times out of ten, these articles are just “copy-pasted” or recycled from someone else’s articles, and content like this wont give your site a particularly high profile.

There are heaps of ways to add some pizzazz and glitz to your site or eZines content that will keep your visitors coming back on a regular basis. In this article I will talk about three of them: Interviews, Reviews and Books.

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Interviews
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People like reading about other people: What they do, how they do it, and most importantly, why they do it. So do you, right? Well I know I do. Have you ever thought about emailing a specific person from a company and requesting a “virtual interview” with them?

When I say virtual interview, I mean conducting the interview via a series of emailed questions. I have, and every single person that I emailed was more than happy to give me the time of day to answer some questions about them, their job role, their history, etc. When you think about it, it’s a win-win situation for both you and that person: You add more quality content to your site, and they get promos and links back to their site from your interview (This is a must, and can be the deciding factor in nailing the interview).

But just how would you go about asking for a virtual interview? And whom would you ask? Let me give you an example.

About two weeks ago, one of my editors (Tim Pabst) interviewed Markus Maki from MadOnion.com. This interview added value to our site, because in the interview Markus talked about his industry experience, the development of the 3Dmark series, as well as his opinions on technology, etc. No one else has this kind of “insider” information about Markus on their site, so it makes our virtual interview one-of-a-kind.

Here’s the email that Tim used to ask Markus to participate in our virtual interview:

Hi Markus,
My name is Time Pabst, and I am one of the editors for http://www.devarticles.com. I have been a huge fan of MadOnion.com for as long as I can remember, and I was wondering if I would be able to conduct an email-based interview with you.

This interview would consist of you answering some short questions about your life, job and experiences and simply emailing them back to me. Your questions will be compiled into an article and posted on our site.

Your interview will also include several mentions of MadOnion.com, thus creating more links back to your site. Please let me know if and when this is possible.

I look forward to your reply.
Tim Pabst

Notice how the email was short and to the point? No marketing gook, no confusing sentences, just a quick description of the who’s, what’s, when’s, why’s and how’s of the interview.

The email was a success, and the Interview questions were sent to Markus the next day. We had the interview on the site within a week. You can see it at http://www.devarticles.com/art/1/35

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Reviews
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Reviews are another great way to add some variety to your sites content. You don’t have to be a professional to review a product or web site. Reviews are merely one person’s opinion of an item with some technical babble thrown in for good measure.

I am currently in the process of reviewing Namo Web Editor 5. It is a complete web editing solution, similar to FrontPage. I decided to review this product because a lot of my visitors are newbies to the web, just learning how to start programming.

Product reviews can work well for you both content wise and financially wise: You get a new form of content on your site, but you can also link back to the product (from within your review) with your unique tracking ID. This means that for every sale that company gets from a visitor buying their product through a link from your review, you receive a percentage of that sale, usually around 5-20%.

Once again, it’s a win-win situation. The key here is to review products that your visitors will find useful and exclude any marketing hype from the review.

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Books
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Everyone reads in some-way or another: conventional books, email, the daily newspaper, eBooks, articles, etc. People feel empowered when they have read something that provides them with useful, free information. A book review can do just that.

There are hundreds of online stores that allow you to link to their books section and receive commission on a per-order basis. The most popular one is Amazon, with over 500,000 members. Their associates program (located at http://associates.amazon.com) lets you enter a books ISBN code and spits out a link and picture right back to that book on their site.

Reviewing a book is easy, but either you or someone you know must have read the book beforehand. Don’t fall into the trap of simply reading the books blurb and then writing a review on it, because you will get caught out and your visitors will loose trust in you.

When reviewing a book, let your visitors know your overall opinion of the book, as well as your favourite points and sections in the book. Include as many peoples opinion on that particular book as you can, whether they are positive or negative. Your readers will expect you to provide them with honest reviews, and there’s no point lying just so they buy the book.

You may also like to include a sample chapter from the book in your review. This lets visitors have a read of the book without actually purchasing it. If they like the sample chapter, then there’s a good chance they will click on your link to buy the book in the end. I like to review Wrox’s series of programming books, because they let you publish a sample chapter from their book on your site, just like I have at http://www.devarticles.com/art/1/38.

------------------------------------------
Conclusion
------------------------------------------

Don’t get stuck into the habit of posting the same type of content on your site. As the saying goes, variety is the spice of life, and this is true in the online world also. If you run a content driven site then have a brainstorm listing several companies, products and books related to your sites content that you could review.

For each company, compose an email to send using the format that I have outlined in this article. Start by writing to 2-3 companies requesting virtual interviews and see how you go.

For each product, write up a similar email requesting either a beta/full copy of the software you want to review. Because you need to actually spend time reviewing and testing the product first, you should start with just 1-2 emails and see how you go.

Books, on the other hand, are a different story. Goto http://associates.amazon.com and signup for free. Then, pick a couple of books (ones that you have read) and write a 1-2 page review on each one. Post them straight onto your site with the link provided by the Amazon associates program at the end of the review.

Until next time, I would recommend you experiment with the ideas outlined in this article. If you do everything right, then you can expect your visitor count to increase as a result.

About the Author

Mitchell Harper is the founder of http://www.devarticles.com, which provides top quality ASP, C++, Java, PHP, Visual
Basic and .NET articles for the budding web developer! Looking for some
nitfy programming tricks and tutorials that you won't find anywhere else?
Then visit us now at http://www.devarticles.com/

Top 10 Secrets to Avoiding “Marital Money Chaos©”

2009-03-16T00:28:00.002-07:00

by: Cindy Morus

Money can wreck a relationship. In fact, how they spend, save, and account for money is one of the leading sources of disagreements between couples. In almost every study, money ranks as the first or second most argued-about topic for couples and partners.

If you currently suffer from “Marital Money Chaos©” you can follow these secrets and achieve more financial success together than you ever could have dreamed. If the two of you can improve your relationship with money, you will also improve your marriage. Money can be romantic!

Secret #1: Know your spending style and your partners’

How many of you are married to your “Financial Soul Mate”?

The most common spending styles are Spenders and Savers but there are also the Procrastinators/Avoiders/Deal with it Tomorrow types and the Money Meek/Humble/ personalities.

What are the benefits/good things about each style? What are the things you call your partner when you fight about money?

Find ways in which you can take advantage of your personality strengths and minimize the weaknesses of that style. In the best possible scenario, you will both acknowledge your differences and move to the middle.

Secret #2: Values Driven Spending

Values are different than goals.
Values: Creativity, Freedom, Friendship, Financial Security
Goals: Be debt free, get a new car, and give more to charity

Take some time to choose your top 5 values and define each of them in your own words. Share the definitions and use them to understand your partner and what is important to them. If your partner’s money behavior confuses you, ask which value they are satisfying. They may be doing their best, but their definition is different than yours. If you both use the same value word but have different meanings, you’ll have conflict.

Secret #3: Have regular Money Meetings or Money Dates!

How many of you think that money is romantic? Actually, since couples fight more about money than anything else (it is estimated that 80% of divorces are the result of money disagreements), having an honest talk about household finances might be better for your relationship than anything else you can do! Financial well-being and peace of mind are certainly romantic!

It doesn’t matter how much money people have, money is a daily event. That increases the chance of it triggering arguments and tension. Use regular meetings as a way to avoid conflict.

Secret #4: Enjoy the present and save for the future

Everyone needs to have their own play money. Ideally 5-10% of your family’s income should be set aside for play. What’s the use of working every day if you don’t get to spend some money on play?

Secret #5: Have a needs/wish list for each person and for the family

We all have things we wish we had and those we need to purchase. Check your list on a regular basis so your subconscious can focus on other things. It’s also great fun to check off the things you take care of. Great place to go to find out how to spend bonuses or other windfalls.

Secret #6: Divide financial responsibilities between partners

Focus on each person’s skills, interests and availability rather than relying on out-dated gender stereotypes or how much money one partner makes. Share what’s going on with your partner during your monthly meetings and make big decisions together.

Secret #7: Each person has some money they do not have to account for.

This is probably one of the MOST important things you can do for your relationship. No grown up likes to have to ask for an allowance or justify every little expenditure they make. Determine in advance how much money each person can “do with what they will” and no questions asked. Savers can save, spenders can spend, procrastinators can leave it in a jar and the money meek can feel free to give it all away.

Secret #8: Take action, one step at a time

I can guarantee that you will save $1000 1 year from today if you put away just $2.74 per day. Where can you find $2.74 each and every day? Do the same with larger goals. If you want to go on a $2000 vacation next year, save $6 per day.

Secret #9: Learn something about money and finances every day

There are lots of good resources out there – websites, books, magazines, classes. You can start at my website: http://www.cindymorus.com where I have articles, calculators, book reviews and teleclass schedules.

Secret #10: Plan your spending and spend your plan

I know, no one likes the “B” word (I call them spending plans) because they feel restrictive. Instead, plan your spending ahead of time and give yourself permission to spend money in certain areas and get creative about the areas where you choose to spend less. When we feel like “going out” at our house, we have “no silverware dinner” of ribs, french-fries and artichokes. We spend the time enjoying ourselves and creating memories without spending a lot of money. I bet you can do the same!

(c) Phelps Creek Financial Coaching - All Rights Reserved
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cindy Morus (www.cindymorus.com) is a Certified Financial Recovery Counselor specializing in showing women and their families how to achieve financial well-being and peace of mind. She is also a Certified Credit Report Reviewer. Contact her at 541-387-2995 or cindy@cindymorus.com. Get a free copy of the "Secrets to lowering your Credit Card Interest Rates" e-book when you sign up for the "Women's Financial Freedom Monthly" newsletter at www.phelps-creek.com/newsletter.asp .

Attention Ezine editors/Site owners: Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety in your ezine or website as long as you leave all links in place, do not alter the content and include our resource box as listed above. If you do use the material please send us a note (cindy@cindymorus.com) so we can take a look. Thanks.

Traditional VS Modern Anniversary Gifts

2009-03-16T00:28:00.001-07:00

by: Slade Hartwell
Most people are familiar with the traditional materials list that good etiquette requires us use as a guide when selecting a gift to commemorate a wedding anniversary. If you are like most people, you might find it a bit challenging to convert the materials on the list into an acceptable gift idea. There may be more choices available to you than you realize. Do you know that an updated "modern" gift list is available which is becoming more and more popular? This article touches on the history of the traditional list, highlights the differences between the modern and traditional lists, and helps you decide which is right for you.

Parts of the traditional list have existed since medieval times. Historians can trace the origins of silver and golden anniversaries to medieval Germany, where garlands made of these metals were presented as gifts for the 25th and 50th years of marriage. The rest of the list may not be as traditional as you think. I was surprised to learn that the traditional list, as we know it today, did not exist until 1937. In that year, the American National Retail Jeweler Association published a list, which associated a material for each Anniversary up to the 15th year and then each fifth year after that up to the 60th Anniversary. The following is the materials list from 1937, through the 60th year:

* First - Paper
* Second - Cotton
* Third - Leather
* Fourth - Fruit/Flowers
* Fifth - Wood
* Sixth - Candy/Iron
* Seventh - Wool/Copper
* Eighth - Bronze/Pottery
* Ninth - Pottery/Willow
* Tenth - Tin/Aluminum
* Eleventh - Steel
* Twelfth - Silk/Linen
* Thirteenth - Lace
* Fourteenth - Ivory
* Fifteenth - Crystal
* Twentieth - China
* Twenty-Fifth - Silver
* Thirtieth - Pearl
* Thirty-Fifth - Coral
* Fortieth - Ruby
* Forty-Fifth - Sapphire
* Fiftieth - Gold
* Fifty-fifth - Emerald
* Sixtieth - Diamond

The modern anniversary materials list presents us with a contemporary, easier to use alternative. The modern list has no clear beginning, but like the original, each year's gift is more precious than the last. This arrangement is intended to honor the longevity of the commitment. The new list retains the spirit of the traditional list, but loses the some of the sense of etiquette in the original. Although more convenient, the modern list sacrifices the thoughtfulness previously required to make a good gift from the more mundane materials on the old list. However, the modern list is more extravagant (expensive) than the original, which in some cases may be more appreciated than a thoughtful but humble gift from the traditional list. The following is the widely accepted modern list, through the 60th year:

* First - Clocks
* Second - China
* Third - Crystal/ Glass
* Fourth - Appliances
* Fifth - Silverware
* Sixth - Candy/Iron
* Seventh - Desk Sets
* Eighth - Bronze/Pottery
* Ninth - Linen/Lace
* Tenth - Leather
* Eleventh - Jewelry
* Twelfth - Pearls
* Thirteenth - Textiles/Furs
* Fourteenth - Gold Jewelry
* Fifteenth - Watches
* Twentieth - Platinum
* Twenty-Fifth - Silver
* Thirtieth - Diamond
* Thirty-Fifth - Jade
* Fortieth - Ruby
* Forty-Fifth - Sapphire
* Fiftieth - Gold
* Fifty-fifth - Emerald
* Sixtieth - Diamond Jubilee

For most couples, I recommend using the modern list. When selecting a gift from the modern list you have the benefit of more specificity, for example a desk set is much more clear than copper/wool. With the modern list, you won't risk insulting your spouse by rewarding 10 years of companionship with a pitiful tin or aluminum gift. Believe me, she won't be satisfied with the excuse of tradition. Also, good luck finding the ivory candlesticks for year 14! Unless you really enjoy the creative challenge of using the traditional list, try the modern list this year.

About the Author

Slade Hartwell, Webmaster at www.ezromantic.com

Romance Relationship Advice We offer tons of romance and relationship help such as: great articles, advice, love poems, book reviews, gift ideas, romantic travel guides, a relationships forum, and more.

Use H-O-L-L-Y to Beat Christmas Cooking Stress

2009-03-16T00:27:00.001-07:00

by: Kristin Johnson

What does holly, that untidy traditional greenery you just have to festoon your house with every year, have to do with not tearing your hair out before it's even Thanksgiving? Plenty. You can use H-O-L-L-Y to help you get organized.

1. H: Help

How many times have you tried to do the perfect turkey all by yourself just so your mother-in-law would be impressed? Here's a reality check: (a) If your mother-in-law is any kind of a real woman, she remembers that her mother-in-law put the exact same pressure on her, and (b) if she's the kind of person who complains because the cranberries come from a can, she's the kind of person who complains anyway and would be unhappy if she couldn't try to make you look like an incompetent nitwit, and how a woman like that could raise your wonderful husband is beyond everyone.

If that husband is such a great guy, get him in the kitchen. Sit down and plan what the two of you really want---he might not want a six-course dinner, which is fine, because you don't either. Get the kids involved. By now some of them are at that stage where they want to show off what they can do "all by myself," and you know that even though you hate your daughter's taste in music, she did make killer stuffing last Thanksgiving. And your son makes a great omelet for Christmas morning. Then there's your sister who loves to chat, so put her to work while you listen to her endless monologue.

Electronic help is great too---use a PDA or the family computer to keep a list of recipes and ingredients. There are many great, sometimes free, computer programs available.

2. O: Oh-No

Let's face it. You'll make mistakes. The sugar cookies will burn. You can always "eat" your mistakes and try again---just don't try a new recipe for the first time Christmas Day. In fact, plan for your mistakes. That's right. Most of us spend so much time agonizing over avoiding mistakes we forget that they are going to happen anyway, and not necessarily at our hands. So your best girlfriend Susan brought over deviled ham instead of double chocolate cake...there's a reason we have bakeries, right? Just cheerfully accept the mistake and move on. People can get over a slightly too well-done roast, but they will be downright uncomfortable if you spend the entire dinner moaning about it.

3. L: Love

You know Christmas is the season of love, and you can have as much fun with take-out pizza as you can with an elegant dinner if the company is right. One sure way to recapture love is to bake cookies together. There's nothing like the sight of kids rolling dough and decorating their works of art.

4. L: Let It Be

Sorry for the Paul McCartney overtones, but once you have your plan in place, stick to it---that doesn't mean you can't compromise slightly. Agonizing over turkey versus tofu causes you to lose your appetite, and is as harmful to your cooking as disorganization. Sticking to a decision and keeping your plan, no matter what everyone else thinks, gives you peace of mind.

5. Y: You

Remember that there will be stress around the holidays, but that your mind can choose not to give in. You can choose to refuse another beer because "I'm frazzled" or avoid inviting people you really can't stand just because your mind thinks you have an obligation to be popular and kill yourself feeding 25 people. You can throw snowballs, or, if you live in California, go throw some water on the wildfires...just take your mind off your cooking. You'll rediscover just why it is you're cooking and what you love about Christmas.

So that's your H-O-L-L-Y for a happy holiday. And when all else fails, there's chocolate.

Copyright Kristin Johnson.

Kristin Johnson is co-author of the “highly recommended” Midwest Book Review pick, Christmas Cookies Are For Giving: Stories, Recipes and Tips for Making Heartwarming Gifts (ISBN: 0-9723473-9-9). A downloadablemedia kit is available at our Web site, www.christmascookiesareforgiving.com, or e-mail the publisher (info@tyrpublishing.com) to receive a printed media kit and sample copy of the book. More articles available at http://www.bakingchristmascookies.com.

kristin@poemsforyou.com

What Are Internet Radio Hosts Looking For In Their Guests?

2009-03-16T00:25:00.002-07:00

by: Maxine Thompson
Copyright 2005 Black Butterfly Press

http://www.maxinethompson.com

As an Internet Radio Host of On The Same Page on www.voiceamerica.com, over the past three and a half years, I have interviewed such illustrious guests as Haki Madhubuti of Third World Press, Dr. Rosie Milligan of Milligan Books, Celebrity Mother Love, Mark Victor Hansen, Jack Canfield, (Chicken Soup For the Soul Fame), Dan Poynter, and other writing/publishing experts. From the experienced to the non-experienced guests, this much I have gleaned—these skills are learnable. Even if you are a first-time author, you, too, can become an exciting interviewee.

Why is Internet radio important as a media? For one, it has a global audience. I’ve interviewed guests who were as far away as Paris and in the Bahamas. Anyone with a computer and Internet Access can listen to your show

Most of all, Internet radio is not only the wave of the future, it is beginning to be heard in automobiles, so this is a good place to start your publicity trek.

What are Internet Radio Hosts looking for In Their Guests?

1. Hosts are drawn to an energetic, upbeat, personable guest. If you have a flat liner personality, be honest with yourself. Practice on a tape recorder, even if it’s your own answer machine, or in the mirror. If necessary, get a media coach. But practice, practice, practice.

2. Host like guests who are well-informed and on top of their game. Stay abreast of trends and provide updated new information. (Read the newspaper, the Internet, do research. Be an information junkie.) Consider different hooks and angles, i.e. how has the Internet changed the way we do business? How can writers market their books on the Internet?

3. Hosts like controversy, but not particularly of the “shock jock” variety. If you are speaking on a controversial subject, be non-judgmental and do not offend any particular group of people. Make sure you learn how not to use language, which is condescending or demeaning such as using phrases like “those people.”

4. If you are a fiction writer, show how your novel addresses social issues such as race, police brutality, crime, corruption, drugs, AIDS, etc. Most of all, show how your story can provide information that improves the quality of other people’s lives, even if your story is fiction.

5. If you are from a medical, business or scientific background, make your interview interesting and lively. Don’t make it a pedantic lecture.

Tips for Improving Your Interview:

Send the host your press release and a review copy of your book, including news articles or book reviews, before the show.

Send the host a list of questions or topics that you are well versed in.

Become a guest who knows how to talk about his/her work and not just all about “me.” Remember, people are always tuned into this station—WIFM—“What’s in it For Me?”

Don’t just try to sell the store (your book, your seminar, your product), but sell the story.

Learn to answer in sound bites. Do not go over one minute for a reply.

Drop your voice to cue the host that you are through speaking and waiting for the next question.

Give the host time to ask a question, without having to interrupt, which means you are going on too long.

Learn the importance of pausing and deep breathing. Don’t run on like a motor mouth.

Learn the power of the pause, even while you are answering. This habit will make listeners lean forward to hear what you’re saying. It also sends a message that you are a serious person who chooses his words carefully.

If possible, use anecdotes, recite poems, or read excerpts from your book. Tasteful humor always works.

Don’t forget to provide your web page and where your book can be purchased.

When you hear the music before the break, you have 30 seconds to wrap up whatever point you were making.

Sharpen your axe. Attend Toastmaster’s or join Speaking Bureaus to become a better speaker.

Learn how to adlib and speak off the cuff, particularly if a caller catches you off guard.

Learn to disagree, without being disagreeable.

Listen to other shows as well as “On The Same Page” on www.voiceamerica.com.

Before the show, confirm with the host. (Most of the time, I confirm beforehand.) Email if an emergency comes up and you can’t be on the show.

Although I usually email a thank you note, I seldom get them back. Remember to send a Thank-you email. This could go a long way if you get on Howard Stern’s Show or Oprah’s.

* “On The Same Page” airs on Tuesday at 6:00 a.m. Pacific Time live, then re-airs at 6:00 p.m. Pacific Time, Friday 4:00 p.m. PST and Saturday at 1:00 p.m. Pacific Time.

About the author:
Dr. Maxine Thompson, Internet Host, http://www.voiceamerica.comand www.maxinethompson.comand owner of http://www.maxineshow.com. You can sign up for my free newsletter at http://www.maxinethompson.com

What Can I Do for You?

2009-03-16T00:25:00.001-07:00

by: Arthur Zulu
FREE HELP FOR UNPUBLISHED WRITERS
Includes editing, reviews, publication, and help to start and develop your story.

EDITING / PROOF READING SERVICES
Any work, any length. Sympathetic to first-time authors.

GHOST WRITING
For books, scripts, including custom-written school essays, term papers and projects.

SCRIPT WRITING
Develop and edit your scripts and submit to Hollywood movie stars.

BOOK REVIEWS
Write a diagnostic evaluation of your work and submit to hundreds of search engines, web sites, and media outlets in any country of your choice.

PROMOTE YOUR BUSINESS
Run a story of your business or web site and submit to search engines and the media.

GRANT AND BUSINESS PROPOSALS
Do a successful proposal for your business to help you get money to finance your project.

SEMINAR AND BOOK EVENT SHOWS
Invite the controversial writer to speak in your seminar or book event.

ARTHUR ZULU is an editor, book reviewer, playwright, and published author. He also writes short stories, scripts, essays, and poems, and ghost writes for others.
For his works, professional services, and FREE helps for writers, goto:
http://controversialwriter.tripod.com
mailto: controversialwriter@yahoo.com
Web search: Arthur Zulu

About the Author

Arthur Zulu is an editor, book reviewer, and published author.

When Internet Marketing Gurus Sell Their Soul

2009-03-16T00:24:00.000-07:00

by: Gobala Krishnan

If you're just getting started in Internet Marketing, you may be awed by the amount of "Internet Gurus" out there, each one making millions of dollars (or so they claim) and for some reason seem more than willing, for a fee, to teach you their biggest, most intimate secrets.

Well, I believe in one thing - "If it sounds too good to be true, it most probably is!"

While I have no doubt about the specialized skills and techniques used by these gurus, it can get a little too frustrating simply getting tangled and lost in all their hype, and find almost no value at the end of the day. Hype - that's one thing I agree these guru's are really good at. For some of them, unfortunately, hype is the only thing they're good at.

So the question, for those who are trying to master Internet Marketing, might be:

1. Can I learn anything from these gurus without paying money?

2. Who's real and who's not?

3. Whose Internet marketing methods should I follow?

Question 1: Can I Learn Something for Free?

Most Internet guru's have opt-in newsletters on specialized subjects like website marketing, Pay-Per-Click advertising, search engine optimization or whatever specialized skill they have "mastered". Almost all of them try to convince you to subscribe to their newsletter in return for some kind of "breakthrough" report, and promise to deliver "valuable information" weekly or monthly to your email address. Sounds great...

Here's what happens 2 weeks later - You realize that the "breakthrough report" is the same old regurgitated information which you can find almost anywhere. You might also realize that the "valuable information" almost never comes without any hidden agenda. The "valuable information" usually turns out to be a soft-selling ad (sometimes even blatant advertisements) for the guru's latest products or paid seminars, or even worse, some other Internet marketer's products.

I'm not trying to shoot down any marketer here, but the irony is in their teaching. Almost all internet gurus would advice you to offer valuable, free information that benefits other people. Profits, as they say, is secondary to actually helping people and making a difference in their lives. Give before you take....what a load of BS!

How come they don't practice what they preach? Of is that how the "Internet Marketing Game" is really played? Surely, nobody minds receiving ads and promotions, as long as there is a fair deal of free information being offered.

Fortunately, not all Internet marketers are the same. There are still some jewels to be found, and they offer some great information in their newsletters, which they unselfishly offer for free, such as:

1. Vishal Rao (http://www.home-based-business-opportunities.com) talks about starting and managing home based businesses.

2. Mike Cheney (http://www.magnet4web.com) talks about building an effective and efficient business web site.

3. Jill Whalen (http://www.highrankings.com) talks about Search Engine Optimization.

4. Allan Gardyne (http://www.associateprograms.com) is the authority on affiliate programs and affiliate marketing, with an award-winning newsletter.

Of course there are many more good marketers out there, and you'll have to get through several bad ones first before you get to the good ones. It is not necessary to subscribe to every Internet Marketing newsletter just to hope for nuggets of gold that may never come. Instead, give the gurus a "trial" month, and if you don't find anything of value from them, just unsubscribe from their mailing lists.

It will only be a loss to them, not you.

Question 2 : Who's Real and Who's Not?

To answer this question, you really have to "get around" the Internet a lot. Take part in Internet Marketing forums where you will definitely find topics on info-products, seminars and software offered by these gurus, and see what others are saying about them.

Forget about all those blaring testimonials that the gurus compile on their site. After visiting several guru websites, you may start to find the same faces and names, helping each other out by giving testimonials which are seldom backed by proof. Forums are where the real testimonials are.

If you find yourself browsing the Internet a lot, trying to find good value for money, then you'll need the Alexa toolbar. What this toolbar does is that it gives you an idea of the popularity of the website you're visiting. Secondly, it allows you to see who the closest competitors are, giving you more alternatives to choose from. Besides that, it also displays reviews and ratings given by others who have visited the website or used any product being sold via the website. This is where you'll find the "not so beautifully polished" opinions and testimonials.

- Alexa Toolbar : http://www.home-business-association.com/rd/alexa/

(Alexa is owned by Amazon.com. If you're concerned about installing toolbars on your computer, make sure you adjust the privacy settings accordingly)

You may also want to consider this site:

- GuruDaq : http://www.gurudaq.com

Taking on a Nasdaq-like approach, this site lists all gurus according to ratings and 'stock price'. Although I would advice you to take it more for its entertainment value than actual recommendations, perhaps this site will allow you to get a glimpse of "who's who" in Internet Marketing.

Question 3 : Whose methods should I follow?

Honestly, nobody's. At least not word-for-word of what is thought in their newsletters or ebooks. The important thing to realize is that you need to develop your own technique to be really successful. The guru's don't teach you everything, anyway. They almost always feed you the crop but keep the cream for themselves. In other words, no one really tells you the "hot money-making secrets". They only teach you their not-so-secret money making facts.

There are many places you can get reviews on internet marketing ebooks, but be warned that most will be biased in one way or another. Here's a good downloadable PDF resource on ebook reviews, distributed with the permission of the author:

- "Web Promotion Products Exposed" by Mike Cheney:

http://www.magnet4web.com/WebPromotionProductsExposed.pdf

Its really up to you to learn some tips and tricks of the trade from Internet gurus, but set out on your own course. In order to be successful in anything, you need to do your own thing. Be original in your approach, whether it's writing sales letters, doing email marketing, writing articles, pay-per-click or search engine optimization, and the world will take notice.

It is also important to realize that before you go around shopping for all kinds of "how-to" material and software, you need to get a good grip of what your business really needs. You'll need to develop a strong, specific and detailed business plan before you set out on a quest to improve your knowledge on that are critical to the success to your business. Here are some good resources for writing effective business plans:

* http://www.home-business-association.com/rd/bplans/

* http://www.bplans.com

When you know what your business truly needs, you're more likely to recognize the exact type of internet marketing method you'll need to study and master. Don't just look to someone who has sold their soul a long time ago to guide you to the path of success.

That's just wishful thinking.

Gobala Krishnan is an internet marketer and home business owner. Visit his site at http://www.sfidreamteam.com to start your own Internet based home business today, and get a free kick start package, one-on-one coaching and a clear, proven system to earn a six figure income. Article reprint info available at http://pub.gobalakrishnan.com

Who is watching You?

2009-03-16T00:23:00.000-07:00

by: By Val .K.
Which is your preferred reality TV show: Survivor, Real World, American Idol, The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, Big Brother, Dog Days, Starting Over, or Temptation Island? Or is it Paradise Hotel, Playing it Straight, Mad Mad House, Love Cruise, Last Comic Standing or Next Action Star? Would you prefer Road Rules, My Big Fat Fiancé, Forever Eden, Fame, Both Camp, or the longer name Beg, Borrow and Deal? How about The Apprentice, Top Model, Rebel Billionaire, Extreme Makeover, I Want a Famous Face, and Fear Factor. Consider a more bizarre list: Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and Queer Eye for the Straight Girl, Can You Be a Porn Star?, Wife Swap, and Murder in Small Town X. Because the list is long, I had to abridge it. (What an abridgement!) So, forgive me if I excluded your favorite.

It appears, nowadays, that everyone has a new concept for reality TV. (Next season watch out for these new shows coming your way: The Cut, Rock Star, Fire me . . . Please.) But not all new concepts make it to TV land. Some, like the dream conquests of Hannibal and Napoleon, are writ on water. For the other day while browsing the Web, I came across these "new" ideas for reality TV shows, which might never see daylight: Ultimate Reality, World's Scariest Prostitute Chases, World's Most Uneventful Videos, Middle School Blind Date, Rent-a-Cops, When Hobos Attack, Joe Heterosexual, Accountants, The Saddams, Meet my Internet Stalkers, I'm an Online Gamer. Since everyone is coming up with their own concepts for reality TV, I shan't be undone. So here are mine: Tax Evaders and My neighbors, the Terrorists.

The proliferation of reality TV shows only highlights their popularity—they are over a hundred of them running on cable alone. And their ratings are enough to make TV producers dream up more. For out of 10 most viewed television programs 5 are reality shows. Like the smash hit among reality buffs, Big Brother. But little do the many fans of these shows realize its allusion to Orwell's classic novel, 1984, where the machinery of a totalitarian state, personified by an anonymous "Big Brother," oversees the lives of its citizens. In the book spy cameras were every where—in the bathrooms, in bedrooms, and at places of work!

In the days of yore spying was the sole reserve of Intelligence agencies. Like the American CIA, the British MI6, the Israeli Mossad, and the defunct Soviet Union's KGB. Now, anyone who has the right tools and a little time could play "Big Brother." Like in Thailand, Asia, where peeping-Toms run amok and famous actresses and ministers are filmed having sex in their own boudoirs, and beamed live to viewers all over the country. (The Clinton / Lewinsky fiasco was sissy stuff.)

And not too long ago in Spain, a man was caught by the Spanish police for spying, and stealing people's data through their webcams. Scary? I have heard worse. Because you can also be spied upon through your computer monitor.

Paranoia appears to be necessary in today's brave new world. Because privacy is nix. Hear this from Andrew Shen, a privacy analyst at the Electronics Privacy information Center (EPIC): "Most people haven't fully grasped how everything that you see or do on the Internet is recorded and stored somewhere." Or this more harrowing remark from Scott McNealy of Sun Microsystems: "You already have zero privacy—get used to it."

Yes, get over it. Because in today's knowledge obsessed world, data is priced commodity. And any organization—or individual—who wants it will. And the sad thing about this is that we most times give it away without knowing. Did you just ask how? Simple. You are the kind that likes to download lot of free stuff—music, games, softwares and what have you. But what you never knew is that you are actually paying for those programs with your personal data. Surprised? Don't be. (There is no such thing as a free lunch.) And when this data is taken and used for marketing purposes it can also be sold to a third party, who may use it for whatever it pleases.

And if you're not tricked into giving your data away, there are always insidious programs like Cookies and Trojan horses. A Cookie is a program which you sometimes download for the better viewing of certain websites. (It is a security loophole and can be used by skilled hackers and crackers to infiltrate your system.) A Trojan horse—like the fabled wooden horse which the Greeks used in infiltrating Troy—is a back door to your computer which a cracker can use whenever he or she desires to steal data. Or simply take over your computer to cause mayhem. (To discover a Trojan horse—it works invisibly—a good antivirus like Norton, MacAfee, or even Panda is required.)

They are a lot of compromised websites out there embedded with Spywares and Trojan Horses. But the problem is—it's impossible to tell a normal website from a compromised one. So what do you do? The best bet is to browse without downloading anything you don't trust. I personally prefer this advice from Bob Kane's and Bill Fingers' Batman: "Trust nobody." Because your friends' computers or emails maybe compromised without them ever knowing it. (Never open an attachment you are not expecting, even from those you know.)

With the Net and the Web came good things. Like the exchange of knowledge and ideas (a student studying micro electronics somewhere in Srilanka maybe reading the latest development in nanotechnology published by professors in MIT.) People interact today from far corners of the globe who would not have met ten years ago (a boy from South Africa chatting with a girl from the Philippines). We can download the latest music through Mp3s. We can send and receive pictures and home movie videos. But for all this freedom which the web gives we pay a price—we forfeit our privacies. Because anyone, anywhere on the Web, who is interested, can trace us. (Our digital tracts are everywhere.)

So, even if you choose to move unnoticed like a phantom by using an Anonymizer—a software which masks your identity—it's all just a means to make us feel better. Because the fact is no matter what we do on the Net, no matter how we try to conceal our movements or even use softwares to protect our privacies—Big Brother is watching us!

Val .K. is a poet, and a nature lover. A collection of his poems "Without a Name" will soon be published by AuthorHouse, U.S.A. For personal contact, send mails to: leviathandepthsreturns@yahoo.com

About the Author

Val .K. is a free lance writer, a book reviewer, a poet, and a nature lover.

Writing Fiction to Get Rich

2009-03-16T00:22:00.000-07:00

by: Michael LaRocca

WRITING FICTION TO GET RICH
Copyright 2004, Michael LaRocca

Some of us write simply because we can't not write. Ideas grab us, move us, and demand to be written. We strive to make it as real as we possibly can, to improve at our craft every day, hopefully to make it into the realm of literature as well as entertainment. We want to craft an entire world where the places and people are so real that the reader doesn't feel like he's reading a book as much as he is going to another place. In the lofty world of literature that we strive for, the reader will still think about the book after reading that last page. It's our gift to the reader, something to take with him. Given sufficient skill, this can even happen long after we are dead.

Then we learn that doesn't sell. Oh, there are exceptions. Some novelists make a living by consistently writing quality literature. But, there are quite a few best sellers who have no such goals. They write for money, and they make it.

Even the writer who has written great literature has trouble marketing it that way. We have to look at our "target audience." Who will buy this book? Let me see, our heroine survived spousal abuse, so there's an audience. There's a suicide, so we can get the bereavement crowd. Where's the setting? We can get a local audience. The hero's a cop. Maybe the teen boys will go for that. Nah, too light on action. But there's a romance. Maybe we'll market to the romance readers. Give the hero bedroom eyes and pass him off as a romantic hero. Yeah, that might work.

But if you want to write to get rich, even that's not enough. Nah, the time to think about your reader is before you write the book, not after.

Throw in lots of gratuitous sex, preferably extramarital. One (and only one) character who flirts and is sorely tempted and walks away from "love" to remain true to his wife.

Use taboo words for shock value. Ram, hump, scream, oral sex, voluptuous, female orgasm (the great revelation). Make sure a lot of your leads enjoy sex. Horny women are a good way to pull in the readers you want. We all know men are horny, but most of your readers haven't discovered that some women enjoy sex too. Tell them this. Give the female readers a balm for their consciences and the male readers someone to dream about.

Your heroine should be tough, sweet, sensitive, and very horny, and has to think she's not attractive even though every guy in the book except her husband falls off his chair with a tent in his pants.

Don't let the length of a novel faze you. Just throw some people on the stage, move them around a bit, and get them into bed. Then, change the rules so they have to move around a bit again and get them back into bed. (It doesn't always have to be a bed. Office desks and car seats work too.) When the book's long enough, stop. Don't worry about the "climax," because people are climaxing all over the place.

Exotic locales. Foreign countries with beaches. Lots of rich people. Remember that you're writing for the lowest common denominator, because they spend most of the money that you're trying to reel in. Make it sleazy. No one ever went broke underestimating the public.

How to publish? To do it right, write the sales pitch before you write the book. Make sure the book follows the pitch and the formula. If your cover letter alone has eight typos, no problem. Nobody cares. The publisher will wanna rush this baby to print and get you, or an attractive stand-in, doing as many TV appearances as possible before the book reviewers have time to draw breath. Heck, your target market doesn't read book reviews anyway! Also keep in mind that once that reader buys your book, you've won. They won't get a refund just because you're illiterate. So don't worry about hiring an editor. Hire a publicist!

Think Hollywood. You want your book to become a movie. It doesn't have to be a good movie, because most of them aren't. It just has to sell, baby, sell! Write parts for all the hottest stars. True, today's hottest stars will have faded by the time they start filming your movie, but no matter. Someone just like them will replace them.

I've been doing it wrong for all these years. I started writing over 20 years ago, and the five books I have on the shelves are enough to make it a hobby that barely pays for itself. Meanwhile, I work at a job for my money. But if you follow my advice, you won't make the same mistakes I have. You'll get rich!

Michael LaRocca's website at http://freereads.topcities.com was chosen by WRITER'S DIGEST as one of The 101 Best Websites For Writers in 2001 and 2002. He published two novels in 2002 and has two more scheduled for publication in 2004. He also works as an editor for an e-publisher. He teaches English at a university in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, China, and publishes the free weekly newsletter Mad About Books.

Your First Step To A Digital Publishing Empire

2009-03-16T00:21:00.002-07:00

by: Markku Saastamoinen
The hardest part of writing is the first sentence. When you look at the whole project, it seems like an
impossible task. That's why you have to break it down into manageable tasks. Think of climbing a mountain. You are standing at the foot of it and looking up at its summit vanishing into the clouds. How can you possibly scale such an immense and dangerous mountain?

There is only one way to climb a mountain ? step by step.

Now think of writing your ebook in the same light. You must create it step by step, and one day, you will take that last step and find yourself standing on the summit with your head in the clouds.

The first thing you have to do, as if you actually were a mountain climber, is to get organized. Instead
of climbing gear, however, you must organize your thoughts. There are some steps you should take before you begin. Once you've gone through the following list, you will be ready to actually begin writing your ebook.

Beginning Steps to Writing an ebook

First, figure out your ebook's working title. Jot down a few different titles, and eventually, you'll find
that one that will grow on you. Titles help you to focus your writing on your topic; they guide you in
anticipating and answering your reader's queries. Many non-fiction books also have subtitles. Aim for clarity in your titles, but cleverness always helps to sell books ? as long as it's not too cute. For example, Remedies for Insomnia: twenty different ways to count sheep. Or: Get off that couch: fifteen exercise plans to whip you into shape.

Next, write out a thesis statement. Your thesis is a sentence or two stating exactly what problem you are addressing and how your book will solve that problem.
All chapters spring forth from your thesis statement. Once you've got your thesis statement fine-tuned,
you've built your foundation. From that foundation, your book will grow, chapter by chapter.

Your thesis will keep you focused while you write your ebook. Remember: all chapters must support your thesis statement. If they don't, they don't belong in your book. For example, your thesis statement could read: We've all experienced insomnia at times in our lives, but there are twenty proven techniques and methods to give you back a good night's sleep.

Once you have your thesis, before you start to write, make sure there is a good reason to write your book. Ask yourself some questions:

* Does your book present useful information and is that information currently relevant?

* Will you book positively affect the lives of your readers?

* Is your book dynamic and will it keep the reader's attention?

* Does you book answer questions that are meaningful and significant?

If you can answer yes to these questions, you can feel confident about the potential of your ebook.

Another important step is to figure out who your target audience is. It is this group of people you
will be writing to, and this group will dictate many elements of your book, such as style, tone, diction,
and even length. Figure out the age range of your readers, their general gender, what they are most
interested in, and even the socio-economic group they primarily come from. Are they people who read fashion magazines or book reviews? Do they write letters in longhand or spend hours every day online. The more you can pin down your target audience, the easier it will be to write your book for them.

Next, make a list of the reasons you are writing your ebook. Do you want to promote your business? Do you want to bring quality traffic to your website? Do you want to enhance your reputation?

Then write down your goals in terms of publishing. Do you want to sell it as a product on your website, or do you want to offer it as a free gift for filling out a survey or for ordering a product? Do you want to use the chapters to create an e-course, or use your ebook to attract affiliates around the world? The more you know upfront, the easier the actual writing will be.

Decide on the format of your chapters. In non-fiction, keep the format from chapter to chapter fairly
consistent. Perhaps you plan to use an introduction to your chapter topic, and then divide it into four
subhead topics. Or you may plan to divide it into five parts, each one beginning with a relevant anecdote.

How to make your ebook "user friendly"

You must figure out how to keep your writing engaging. Often anecdotes, testimonials, little stories, photos, graphs, advice, and tips will keep the reader turning the pages. Sidebars are useful for quick, accessible information, and they break up the density of the page.

Write with a casual, conversational tone rather than a formal tone such as textbook diction. Reader's respond to the feeling that you are having a conversation with them. Break up the length and structure of your sentences so you don?t hypnotize your readers into sleep. Sentences that are all the same length and structure tend to be a good aid for insomnia!

Good writing takes practice. It takes lots and lots of practice. Make a schedule to write at least a page a day. Read books and magazines about the process of writing, and jot down tips that jump out at you. The art of writing is a lifetime process; the more you write (and read), the better your writing will become. The better your writing becomes, the bigger your sales figures.

In an ebook that is read on the screen, be aware that you must give your reader's eye a break. You can do this by utilizing white space. In art classes, white space is usually referred to as "negative space."
Reader's eyes need to rest in the cool white oasises you create on your page. If your page is too dense,
your reader will quit out of it as soon as their eyes begin to tear.

Make use of lists, both bulleted and numbered. This makes your information easy to absorb, and gives the reader a mental break from dissecting your paragraphs one after the other.

Finally, decide on an easy-to-read design. Find a font that's easy on the eyes, and stick to that font
family. Using dozens of fonts will only tire your readers out before they've gotten past your
introduction. Use at least one and a half line spacing, and text large enough to be read easily on
the screen, but small enough so that the whole page can be seen on a computer screen. You will have to experiment with this to find the right combination.

Of course, don't forget to run a spell and grammar check. You are judged by something as minor as correct punctuation, so don?t mess up a great book by tossing out semicolons randomly, or stringing sentences together with commas. (By the way, that's called a "comma splice.")

Last of all, create an index and a bibliography. That's it! You've written a book! Now all you have to
do is publish your ebook online, and wait for download request from your website visitors.

About the author:
Markku Saastamoinen is an Online Business Entrepreneur and
has recently created an amazing system for increasing
your free time AND profits in few weeks at:
http://www.megapreneursystem.com

Your Name on the Line

2009-03-16T00:21:00.001-07:00

by: Val .K.
I might be in “big” trouble. Because some persons hacked into my e-mail box. I don’t know who they are. But I am worried. No! Scared. Because I know its implications. And these may be far reaching—even, incriminating. I might just be visited, any day from now, by Interpol or the local police. And arrested—like one of my unfortunate friends—for any of the dozen or so cyber crimes.

But know this. I will not be arrested for denial-of-service attacks. Neither will it be for credit card hijacks. Nor downloading my MP3 songs into NASA’s computers. Not even of every hackers dream--gaining access into the Pentagon's secret files to find out if “Area 51” exists.

I would not be arrested in a "blaze of glory" like Kevin Mitnick, a former prima hacker. But like some bogus Nigerian prince.

The situation in which I find myself, however, is not an isolated case. Because I am just one of the many victims of identity theft which the FBI called the "hottest, and most troubling, new scam on the Internet."

I might call myself lucky because I found out soon. (I checked my e-mail, only to find scam mails sent from it, much to my horror.) But there are those not so fortunate. And these had to wait months, or even years, before finding out that some miscreant was using their name as a front.

Because of this some have lost their credit card privileges, loans, houses and jobs. Or in some cases, arrested for crimes they did not commit. Can life be this unfair? It is. Because the dishonesty of others may rub off on you. (Like the sins of the fathers visited upon the sons.)

Dishonesty is an art. And the spammers have gotten so artful. Gone are the days when you worried about the simple spam mail. Though annoying, these were easily detectable. Now, your worries are greater—the mails are not easily detectable. So good are these counterfeits, replete with links and genuine looking logos of bonafide outfits like eBay, that many customers are deceived into parting with their credit card and social security details. And the name of this new actor in our cyber sitcom? Phishing mail.

When trouble comes it does so in pairs. For phishing mail—like Bonnie and Clyde—don’t operate alone. It also has an even more deceptive collaborator named pharming or website faking. And this is rife. For every genuine website there may be 10 or more falsies.

The modus operandi of spammers are becoming nastier by the day. I know of some phishing mails which compromise your e-mail box when you open them. Some pharming techniques are known to target web browsers like Microsoft’s Internet Explorer. The purpose, redirection. So when you type a URL of an authentic website, say, www.aol.com, it takes you not to American Online but to a bogus website. And be preyed upon. Cyberspace is not the Nirvana you thought it was.

Because “Dragons” so says one writer “live there.” And the dragons—a dishonest few with criminal intent—are out to get us.

But while we wait for Saint George or a group of dragon slayers to deliver us from this menace, I have a siesta. And I dream. And in my dream I find myself teleported into the role playing game Dungeons and Dragons, and chased by goblins, wizards and warlocks.

And I flee into a nearby tower and bolt its immense door. My adversaries are outside, thirsty for my blood. I climb its stairs to the top. I peer down. I see them produce, a battering ram.Suddenly I awake to sharp raps on my door. I start. Could it be Interpol come to take me away? My fear returns with a vengeance. I hear a voice. And heave a sigh of relief. It was not the cops after all. But a friend!

Val .K. is a poet, and a nature lover. A collection of his poems "Without a Name" will soon be published by AuthorHouse, U.S.A. For personal contact, send mails to: leviathandepthsreturns@yahoo.com

About the Author

Val .K. is a freelance writer, a book reviewer, a poet and a nature lover

How To Research InformationTo Develop Your Unique Content

2008-11-19T19:23:00.000-08:00

We live in a sea of information. And information overload is an increasingly common complaint. Part of the complaint arises because we get hit with different headlines that point to the same content.

So we waste time on things that have no added value. Bummer.

When you email your list or put up content on your site, and assuming you want to generate loyalty, it's necessary that you have content others haven't seen a dozen times elsewhere.

If this makes sense to you, here are some ideas you can use to EASILY generate fresh content with a minimal amount of time and effort.

First of all, think about a subject in which you are interested. Let's say it's horticulture. Now if you're not aware of it, let me put you in the picture. Most people do web searches from Google's home page and stop there. Not at all creative. Not at all digging for information from which to develop original content.

So let's go exploring...

1 - Google has lots of tools besides just web searches. They let you check the news. (http://news.google.com) As of this writing, there are 1,680 news items listed by Google on the word horticulture. Bet you could easily do a summary of some of these articles and create your own content. But let's not stop there.

2 - Google also has "groups." (http://groups.google.com/) These are folks who like to discuss *your* subject. So now you can go even farther. Look up horticulture in their groups. Now this information is potentially gold. Why? Because you can see what it is about horticulture that lots of folks are interested in.

Think you might be able to do a little research and come up with a free or even a for-profit report that gives them what they want?

Check out Google's other tools, too. You can even get research info from universities through Google. Start here: http://www.google.com/intl/en/options/

3 - Next method: Do this search (keeping in the punctuation as written):

+horticulture +free +filetype:pdf

As of this writing, Google shows 196,000 hits for this query. What you get here are free downloads in pdf format about your subject.

Now you can't simply copy and use it as your own information. You have to create your writing in your own words. But there's no law that says you can't summarize what you find in other people's works. To make the point, you could even call your work something like: "Survey Report: Latest from the Horticulture Front!"

4 - Go to Alexa.com. Do a search on your subject, in this example, horticulture. It provides the exact same results as Google because it's powered by Google. So why bother, right? Wrong. Because Alexa *does* provide value added information.

When you do the search, you don't want to click the link that takes you to the listed site. Instead you want to follow the link that says "Site info." When you do this, you'll find a section called: "People who visit this page also visit." This can be very valuable because it potentially shows *what the marketplace is interested in.* This can enable you to tailor your information product to what people want.

These are just some of the easy ways to branch out your explorations and find gold to weave into golden braids.

Golden searching... :)

[ Submitted with ArticleSubmitter Pro - http://www.articlesubmitterpro.com]

About the author:
David A. Bailey, Jr shares easy four-step method for building your English skills quickly and easily. Join the English Club to practice your English and make friends with other ESL students just like yourself. http://www.clube-de-ingles.com

by: Joe Xokmax

How to Start Your Story with a Bang

2008-11-19T19:20:00.000-08:00

The purpose of creating a story is to create a
world that will draw the reader away from their
own. In order to do this one must create
suspense, drama and mystery.

Your reader must
absolutely need to get from page to page, to find
out what happens.

There are several simple
techniques to get your story going and draw the
reader in. Here are just a few:

1)Start in the middle of a problem.

Ex. A lover's quarrel, a murder, a personal
dilemma

2) Start with an unusual environment

Ex. Alice in Wonderland, the beginning of the
final frontier, a journey to a new world

3) Start with action.

Ex. A gun has just been fired, A woman is
deciding whether to jump or not, A hospital ER
being mobilized

4) Start with a feeling.

Ex. The soft silk slid across her skin, as she
finally slid into his bed. Hot coals burned his
stomach as the bullet tore through him. The rich
velvety feel of chocolate on her tongue was the
perfect end to a dreadful day.

Don't spend the first day bogged down on details,
unless they are absolutely crucial to
understanding your story. Even then, save
descriptions for later in your story, if you can.
Get the reader hooked first, then you can
describe the rich incandescence of his eyes or
the exact color of her house. Remember your story
should be like life, fast paced, even at a
standstill, and utterly surprising.

About the author:
Caterina Christakos is the author of How to Write a Children's Book in 30 Days or Less. For even more writing tips go to: http://www.howtowriteachildrensbook.com

by: Caterina Christakos

How To Ramp Up Your Business With Sizzling Ad Copy

2008-11-19T19:17:00.000-08:00

What is the importance of Ad copy? Your ad copy, sales letter will make or break your business. You can have the best product/service but without a good sales copy, you cannot sell anything.

Website visitors are becoming increasingly savvy, hype and hard selling no longer work, as they used to. A subtler approach is necessary and gets good results.

Common mistakes in business ad copy:

* Features not benefits

* Too much hype

* Misuse of graphics

* Using the negative trigger words

* Font hard to read

The most frequent error in ad copy, is listing features not benefits. Your visitor does not need to know how fancy the product is, they are just looking for the answer to "what's in it for me?" Why should they buy your product, or use your service? You will need to persuade them that the benefits for them are irresistible and they would be seriously missing out if they did not buy your product/use your service.

Here is one of the most irritating of all mistakes, hyping up your product/service. Nobody likes to be played for a fool least of all your prospective clients. Unbelievable exaggeration (hype) does just that. It insults the intelligence of your reader and will alienate them very quickly from the sale. Would you buy from someone who treated you like this? Besides if your product is good you will have enough real benefits not to need any useless hype.

Graphics, be careful with these. Small relevant pictures can go a long way to helping sell your product, especially if you are selling hard goods and e-books. Some websites try to use cartoon graphics and different eye catchers, this can divert your visitor and take away from your sales message. Again this can bring down the prestige of your site. Presentation is very important with a business site. Your visitor needs to take you seriously in order to buy from you, they need to know you are a professional. Presentation in your ad copy is especially important if you are offering a service.

Here is a more subtle mistake and one that with some careful planning and knowledge does not need to happen. The use of negative "trigger words." If you have been on the internet for any length of time you will have heard about "Mr. Fire" Joe Vitale, a legendary copywriter and article writer. Joe Vitale is the master of the use of "trigger words" and subtle "Hypnotic Selling." What are "trigger words?" These are words that subconsciously spark a feeling of well-being and urge to buy in a reader. For example "Ramp Up" your business with... "Boost" your business using this... "Discover the secret".... I am sure you have seen these and many more (there are over 200 ) When you have looked at good sales pages.

Alternatively negative "trigger words" will have the opposite effect, for example "low-income" "failure" and many more that you can probably think of. These words generate an unconscious feeling of depression and sadness with a reader and deter him from buying. Don't you buy more when you are in an upbeat mood? Be careful how you write your sales letter or even a small ad, words are very powerful in copywriting and will make or break the sale. As all good copywriters will tell you selling is all about understanding your visitors' mindset.

Readable font, includes use of punctuation, capitalization and color arrangement. Let me explain:

Excessive use of punctuation, especially the !!! exclamation point and sometimes the??? question mark. This distracts the reader and is a turn off for sales. Respect your reader's intelligence and do not belittle your reader with this unprofessional technique.

Too much CAPITALIZATION is also unprofessional and has the same effect. Capitalization is known as shouting a word. Do you the reader want to be shouted at? I am sure this does not put you in a buying mood.

Color combination is also a sign of being a good sales person. Always write with credibility in mind. As mentioned credibility is very important in convincing your prospective buyer. Unusual fonts and color combinations will take away from your sales copy and leave an unfavorable impression with your reader. Size is a factor too, make sure the font is normal sized. Style of font should be Ariel, Times Roman, Veranda, or similar styles, do not make a sales letter in fancy type set, it will distract your reader, (selling art work and cartoon drawings may be an exception to the rule).

Always keep your reader in mind. Write your sales letters as you would to a respected friend. Remember your visitors are taking time out of their busy schedule to read your sales letter, write in a concise, persuasive, polite way, as you would expect to be treated by a sales person when you want to buy something. With these points, you will be able to ramp up your business with sizzling ad copy and improve your sales 110% and more.

About the author:
Cathy is a freelance writer and copywriter. She has written
over a hundred articles on small business development and
marketing. She has also written promotional articles and
sales copy for a variety of businesses. and is the publisher
of 2 online publications. Her resource websites are:
http://advertise-your-business.com
http://a1-newsletters.com
http://a-y-b.com

by: Cathy Qazalbash

How To Rake In the Sales From Your Loyal Opt-In Subscribers for Free

2008-11-19T18:51:00.000-08:00

If you're anything like me, you've probably heard it a thousand times before, stored it in the back of your memory bank, and haven't had the desire to go back there to get it. Well, now's the time to start acting on what I like to call

“The Undiscovered Gold Mine.” What I'm talking about is the marketing power of an opt-in email list.
But what is the most compelling offer to truly get your visitors to opt-in?
Without a doubt...a Free Newsletter is your best bet!
In this lesson, we'll dive deep into the importance of a well-written newsletter, its impressive money-making potential, and the art of writing a profitable newsletter that your subscribers will eat up like candy!
Email marketing is a blessing for small business owners. An effective, targeted email-marketing campaign can drive traffic to your site, get your name in front of qualified prospects and turn leads into sales - for much less than what you'd spend on a traditional direct-marketing campaign. Once you have developed your email list, how do you turn those devoted subscribers into sales? No matter what strategies you used to get your subscribers to opt-in on your emailing list, many of them are already pre-sold to your product. Now, you just have to close the deal.
In this lesson, I'm going to show you why your site needs a newsletter and how to maximize your sales by using this powerful incentive. Offering a free newsletter is the best way to collect loyal subscribers who are actively looking for answers to their problems. If you offer to provide potential subscribers with information they need, they'll be glad to subscribe to your newsletter. But obviously the secret is out, and most online businesses are taking full advantage of the powerful capabilities of this marketing tool. And as a result, there has been a mass of newsletters on the Internet full of nonsense and spam - leaving Internet visitors with a wary concern about handing over their email addresses to just anyone.
This doesn't, however, mean that you shouldn't start your own newsletter. And it doesn't mean that you've missed the boat. All it means is that you are going to have to work at providing your subscribers with quality information that they deem worthy enough to entrust their email address with you. Not a problem! Just create a newsletter that people read faithfully, that is considered to be a reliable source of quality information, and that attracts a consistent number of opt-in subscribers.
The best part about newsletters is that you can produce them with little to no cost at all! Of course you can hire a ghost writer to compose your newsletter, but the best way to truly acquire a lasting relationship with your customer is by simply “talking” to them.
Nowadays, it's easy to get away with informal conversations with someone you don't know all that well. In fact, many people actually feel more comfortable with the fact that you're talking to them like a friend. Don't underestimate the power of this kind of relationship!
If you are communicating on a regular basis with your subscribers, giving them valuable information, and allowing them to get to know and trust you, you shouldn't be too surprised about how many of them will actually become devoted customers. Email newsletters are one of the great bargains in marketing. They keep your company in front of your customers on a regular basis for very little cost.
Newsletters aren't right for every audience - I wouldn't recommend them if you're targeting the local B-I-N-G-O crowd - but if you're in the web hosting business, there's a good chance that 100% of your customers and prospects use email, making newsletters a great tool!
Email newsletters are proven to increase sales, if used properly. It has been reported by rigorous research and testing that up to 50% in sales can be generated from newsletter auto-responder follow-ups! And I'm sure you'll also be glad to hear that if used properly, up to 10% of opt-in subscribers will purchase the product being sold. In case you didn't get that - it's been reported that...
10 people out of every 100 subscribers will buy!
That's enough to make me want to send out newsletters! But there are a few things that you have to be cautious of when preparing your newsletter. If you want to rake in the ALL of the financial benefits possible, you need to follow the tips below. Trust me, there's an art to creating a thriving, profitable newsletter.
There's no doubt about it - a free newsletter is your best source of generating a list of subscribers you can send promotions to in the future! But how should you go about delivering your message to your potential customers without coming off as a huge advertisement billboard? Because so many of us are already overwhelmed by the daily flood of email, your newsletter will need to be much more than just ads for your products. Including informative articles, interviews, or other information may help entice your subscribers to actually open and read your newsletter. Light “plugs” in the body of your newsletter aren't a bad idea, but remember that your subscribers are looking for quality information - not a salesletter…that's what your webpage is for.
To increase your sales and get the most out of your newsletter, we highly recommend following the tips listed below…

§ Registering New Subscribers
When asking visitors to sign up, ask only for the information you need - perhaps just the email address. Remember, that every additional bit of info you collect is another deterrent to customer signup. People don't like to give away their private information, so don't ask for anything more than what is needed.
Make it easy for subscribers to share your newsletter with others. They can simply forward the message, of course, but if you include an explicit send-to-a-friend link you are giving your customers and subscribers a gentle “nudge” to recommend your material to their friends and colleagues.
§ Check out your competition
Every business has competition. Find out what they are doing by researching their product or service. Sign up for their newsletters, and then make yours better than theirs. What could you do better? Is there a gap in their service you can fill?
§ Content
The first thing I want to tell you is that “Newsletters must be simple.” You do not want to be the next “delete” button in your subscribers email account. People get a lot of email. They don't have time to read a lot of text. Newsletters must be designed to facilitate scanning, but then again you want to give them the opportunity to get a “full dose” of what you have to offer. So the best recommendation is to provide links like “Click Here for the Full Report”, or “Discover the Answers To Your Problem by Clicking Here”.
Above all, deliver content with real value. We're all flooded by email, and if your users don't perceive your newsletter to be worthwhile, they'll just delete it and move to the next message in their inbox. That's why it's important to track your click-through rates: they're proof that your messages are being read - not just your message views. Also, if you have a newsletter that covers a ton of topics and starts to get too long, be sure break it into separate newsletters.
§ Write a Good Subject Line
Writing good subject lines is especially important, both to encourage users to open the newsletter, and to distinguish the newsletter from spam. I recommend including some actual content from the individual newsletter in each subject line, even though it's a difficult job to write good within the 50-60 character limit that is imposed by many email services.
§ HTML or plain text?
It's really a matter of what you think will most appeal to your readers. There really hasn't been much difference as far as which one sells the best. It truly depends on your target audience. So if in doubt, offer two lists: one in plain text and the other in HTML. Then let your subscribers decide which one they want to receive.
§ Let's Make a Profit! Selling to Your Audience
Many people try and sell their product or service directly from their emails. However this is really the job of your web site, not your newsletter. The purpose of your email campaigns should be purely to get people to click to your web site. Two of the most successful ways to do this are
a) A “Single-Topic” Article in Your Newsletter
Create a single article that describes a common problem that your product solves. BUT, don't necessarily mention your product in the article but do point out some of the things to be considered when choosing a solution. Close your article by simply saying something like "To read more about this problem and discover our Tried-and-True solution - Click Here". This link should then direct your opt-in subscribers to you product sales page at which point the user is already thinking about the problem and what to look for in a solution. Then, they discover your product, which just happens to solve their problem. Viola!
b) A Series of Articles in Your Newsletter
In each issue of your newsletter, focus on one particular problem that your product solves. But again, don't necessarily mention your product - simply talk about some of the things to be considered when choosing a solution. Dedicate the whole issue to describing this problem and what to look for in a solution. At the end of each issue point them in the direction of your product's sales pages. Again by the time they hit your web pages they will be primed and ready to learn how your product solves their problem.
Then, in your next newsletter series, you can incorporate a “new” problem that your product also solves. Get the picture? It's a great strategy once you get the hang of it.

Never send your newsletter to anyone who hasn't specifically requested to receive it. Remember, new anti-spam regulations require every marketing email to include an opt-out condition and a valid physical address.
Email newsletters are a blessing to small businesses. They are a great way to generate a credible relationship with your customer, drive subscribers to your site, create demand for your product, and thus skyrocket your sales!
Establishing your credibility is the key to making your product or service attractive to potential customers. But once you've done that, your loyal subscribers will WANT to know more about what you have to say. They'll be extremely receptive to your offers. The most valuable customer is the one you already have - right there in your email list.
Be sure to check out the next lesson. You'll be amazed at how easy it is to boost your opt-in mailing list by up to 10 times!

About the author:
If you liked the lesson and want to learn more about building your email list and tapping into an undiscovered gold mine of profit, visit InstantPopOVER.com and get your free copy of 7 Days To Building a Booming Email List right now!

by: Matt Callen

How To Place yourself in the secure society

2008-11-19T18:44:00.000-08:00

Identity theft has become the fastest growing criminal activity in the 20th Century, replacing illegal drug sales. For the perpetrators, it offers the highest profit margin with the least risk. In fact, according to one expert,

it is estimated that fewer than 1-in-700-identity crimes actually result in a conviction.

In the United States alone, Identity theft has reached $53 billion dollars a year. Consumers are directly shouldering about $5 billion of that, but the rest, which is paid by businesses and retailers, is passed on indirectly to consumers who are paying more for goods and services.

How BIG is this Problem?

In recent months, there has been a rash of reports about big thefts, where criminals are stealing identities in mass quantities. Banks, credit card companies and businesses that house servers storing passwords or other sensitive, private information have all reported “break-ins” that happened through the use of Trojan viruses and other online hacking methods – resulting in the loss of millions of pieces of information being stolen. There have also been instances of the information just getting “lost”, of employees selling it and other lax security measures resulting in the same thing – thieves having access to your identity.

What do Thieves Want?

- Your Name
- Date of Birth
- Home Address
- Phone Numbers
- Social Security Number
- Driver’s License Number
- Credit Card Numbers
- CW2 Security Code (the number on the back of your credit card)
- Your Credit Report
- ATM Cards
- Telephone Calling Cards
- Mortgage Details

Where Are They Getting All Your Information?

High-tech methods include online thefts from:

- Banks
- Credit-Reference Agencies
- Retailers
- Credit Card Networks
- Data-Brokerage Companies
- Payment Processing Companies
- Phone Companies
- Schools
- Your Employer
- Doctors, Clinics and Health Departments
- Government Agencies

But there are still low-tech methods that are effective as well:

- Dumpster Diving
- Mail Theft
- Retail Theft
- “Phishing”/pretexting/pretending
- Purse/Wallet Theft

What are Thieves Using Your Information For?

- Making charges to your existing credit cards
- Opening new credit cards in your name
- Having phone or utilities turned on
- Withdrawing money from your existing bank accounts
- Employment purposes
- Driver’s Licenses
- Tax Fraud
- Social Service benefits
- Student loans
- Business or Personal loans
- Health care
- Mortgage loans/leases
- Auto loans
- Using your ID when caught committing a crime

How Can You Protect Yourself?

- Keep a photocopy of all your credit cards, bank account numbers and investment account numbers in a safe
place
- Keep your credit card receipts – don’t throw them away in a public place
- Put a “fraud alert” on all your credit reports
- If you apply for credit and the card doesn’t arrive on time, call the card issuer
- Choose difficult to guess PIN numbers or passwords. (Don’t use birth dates, your mother’s maiden name, pet’s name, etc.)
- Never give personal information to anyone who sends you an email, a letter or calls you asking for it
- Shred any personal information – such as bills, credit card or bank statements, even pre-approved credit applications before throwing them away
- Don’t use the ATM machine if someone is watching you
- Pay attention to what’s going on around you – cell phones often have cameras in them. If someone is standing close by you with a cell phone while you're entering a PIN number at the ATM or in line at the grocery store, block their view
- Review your bills each month for unusual or suspicious charges. If there’s something you don’t remember or doesn’t seem right, call the creditor right away
- Check your credit report at least once a year
- Store your cancelled checks safely, or better yet, have the bank do it. You can always get a copy if you need
one.
- Don’t leave your purse in plain sight when driving
- Keep your valuable locked in the trunk or glove box when driving
- Make all personal information on your laptop or computer password protected
- Don’t carry information about your PIN numbers, passwords and account numbers in your purse or wallet; or at least don’t make them easily identifiable as to which account they belong to

Warning Signs that Your Identity Has Been Stolen:

- Although you have good credit, a loan application is denied, or you’re refused extended credit requests
- You are suddenly contacted by a debt-collection agency
- Your purse or wallet has been stolen, or your house broken into
- There is unfamiliar activity on your credit report

What to do if it Happens to You:

- If your purse or wallet is stolen, call the police immediately, and file a report. Make sure that you’re given a report number
- Contact your bank, credit card and other credit extending companies and report the theft
- Close the accounts
- Contact the credit-reporting companies in your area, and report the theft.
- Review your credit report every 90 days for the next year for suspicious activity
- If there is fraudulent activity, have it removed immediately and monitor your credit report every 90 days for the next year
- Put everything in writing, and follow up with your credit card companies, banks, and credit reporting agencies. Keep copies of all supporting documents
- File a report with the Federal Trade Commission
- Change the passwords on your existing accounts and create new ones for new accounts

Identity theft is real, and it’s a growing problem, and it could happen to you. Although there are no guarantees that you can keep your information safe, by paying attention to the risks and taking proactive steps to protect yourself, you can minimize your chances of someday having an “identity crisis”. Good luck!

About the author:
Scott Morris's article on social security and asia adoption agency http://socialasian.com/
for more information, you can visit http://socialasian.com/

by: scott morris

How To Pick A Web Site Domain Name For Your Company Or Law Firm

2008-11-19T18:34:00.000-08:00

Your web site is located by an IP (Internet Protocol) address such as 67.15.4.94 and is accessible on the Internet by typing http://67.15.4.94. Instead of typing a series of numbers which are difficult to remember

, you can register an easier to remember domain name which becomes associated with your IP address. Visitors typing an easy to remember domain name will be pointed to your IP address. Similar to a 1-800 vanity phone number, some domain names pertain to the subject of the web site, while others may simply be the name or an abbreviation of your firm.

Lawyer-Advertising-Blog.com is the primary domain name for my blog, which is instantly obvious that it is a blog concerning lawyer advertising. When you type that domain name into the address bar of your browser, the domain name servers on the Internet know that you're looking for http://67.15.4.94 and take you there. You can have multiple domain names pointing to the same web site. For instance, I also registered LawyerAdvertisingBlog.com (without hyphens) which is used for branding because people never type hyphens. Because some people may remember the name incorrectly, I also registered many other domain names such as AttorneyAdvertisingBlog.com, LawFirmAdvertisingBlog.com and others, all of which will bring the visitor to Lawyer-Advertising-Blog.com.

Tips to help you pick a domain name:

1) Choosing: Choosing a domain name is a lot like choosing a name for your company or law firm. Ideally the name should be consistent with your branding. Determine whether you are branding the name of your company, product or service. Your domain name should be good for branding - short, easy to remember, and has a “ring” to it or creates an image in the mind of the consumer.

2) Trademark: Before registering your domain name, be sure to check the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to make sure that the name has not been trademarked. You can check at www.uspto.gov, click on Search under Trademarks. Assuming that your choice has not been trademarked and you have now registered a non-generic domain name, you may want to protect your name by filing a Trademark or Service mark application.

3) Ownership: When you register a domain name, make sure that you are the registrant of your domain name. Some web site design firms will register your domain name with their name as the registrant. This will give them ownership of your name keeping you hostage. You can easily register your domain name yourself for $8.95 per year at 8.95Domains.com or GoDaddy.com.

4) Hyphens: There have been misunderstandings about whether to use hyphens in a domain name. First of all, the domain name you give out to the public must not have hyphens. The domain name without hyphens is the domain name that everyone will type in the address bar of their Internet browser.

The reason that some people say that you should have a domain name with hyphens is to force the search engines to see keywords in your domain name so that your web site does better in search engine results. The bigger search engines can now see individual words without hyphens, however, smaller search engines may not and even the bigger ones may see a word differently than you want.

Thus, the importance of using a hyphenated domain name has diminished. If you wish to use a hyphenated domain name as I did with Lawyer-Advertising-Blog.com, you should also register the unhyphenated domain name which you will forward to the hyphenated domain name. Use the unhyphenated domain name in print and advertising.

5) Extensions: Domain names are available with various extensions, such as .com, .net, .org and many other extensions. If it's really important to you, you can register domain names in several extensions, however, for most firms only the .com extension is important. If you feel that you need to use .org, you should also register your name in the .com extension.

The .com extension is similar to 1-800 for telephone numbers. Most people automatically dial 1-800 even when they see 1-888. Likewise, most people will type
.com even when they see .net or .org. Additionally, many people including myself simply type in the domain name without http://www. or .com and press "Control, Enter". Pressing "Control, Enter" will type http://www. and .com for you, automatically taking you to a web site with .com.

6) Top Level Domain vs. Sub-Level Domains: A sub level domain is a second level domain under a first level domain name and can look like yourfirm.freehosting.com. You must have your own domain name. Do not under any circumstances use a free hosting service, since free hosting services will only give you a sub level domain. No one will ever remember it and it's sort of like handwriting your own letterhead.

7) Ethics for Law Firm Domain Names: A website name should be used as an address, not a trade name which is prohibited. Advertise your web site name as an address, a means for people to find your web site, not a trade name. Like a vanity telephone number, some web site domain names can violate legal ethics. Make sure that your web site name avoids use of certain words which could create a potentially incorrect expectation in the mind of the consumer or violate one of the other ethics rules.

Your domain name should not imply that you are better than another lawyer or that you can accomplish something that may not actually occur. Use of words such as "BEST", "TOP", "FOREMOST, "LEADING", "WIN" and similar words in a web site domain name could create a misleading expectation in the mind of the consumer and will violate ethics rules in most states.

For instance, LeadingLawyer.com or BestLawyer.com will likely violate lawyer ethics rules by implying that you are a leading lawyer or the best lawyer. The question is by what standards are you leading or the best and in what? WinningLawyer.com or WinningCase.com may be better for a casino, because it will imply that the person who becomes a client of the firm will win money when, that may not happen and even if it does, it's an award for just compensation, not gambling.

Laura Hodes in her article for the ABA Journal entitled Vanity Phone Numbers Make Your Firm Less Forgettable, at http://www.hurt911.org/hurt-911-articles/ABAJournal.htm, quoted Will Hornsby, an expert on lawyer advertising and staff counsel in the ABA Division for Legal Services, who said that while there is nothing unethical about vanity numbers, "1-800-I-WIN-CASES would be unethical because it is making an unsubstantiated claim, creating unjustified expectations that can be true but still be misleading." The same can be said about domain names.

8) Advertising Your Domain Name: Be sure to include your domain name on your business cards, letterhead, and all advertising. When advertising in off-line media, always advertise your domain name with www. and without http://, such as www.LawyerAdvertisingBlog.com. Note that when publishing your domain name on the Internet, you may sometimes want to use http:// to ensure that you create a link back to your web site. When advertising in off-line media, always advertise a domain name without hyphens.

About the author:
Philip L. Franckel, Esq., publishes articles on Lawyer Advertising at http://www.Lawyer-Advertising-Blog.comand created http://www.HURT911.organ accident and injury research web site for people hurt in an accident and personal injury lawyers.

by: Philip L. Franckel, Esq.

How To Overcome The Lyric Writing Hurdles That Are Keeping You Behind

2008-11-19T18:32:00.000-08:00

The lyric writing side of songwriting is known to create an enormous number of problems for some folks. No matter how hard they try, they are unable to write a single line that they can be pleased with.

In many cases these very same people make phenomenal advancements in writing music and melodies. However they just can't seem to figure out how to come up with suitable lyrics to match them.

If you are facing such a situation, there's probably no need to worry. By taking certain appropriate steps you should be able to overcome lyric writing hurdles and write songs that deliver.

(1) Here are some essential ideas for overcoming these hurdles.

1. Collaboration

If you're very good at writing melodies but can't seem to write a single line, one solution might be collaboration. Instead of beating your head against the wall for ideas, find someone who is very good at writing lyrics and work together. You may be surprised at the wonders that can emanate from a combination of his excellence at writing lyrics and your brilliance at writing melodies.

2. Lyric writing tools

Perhaps you may be hoping for some other solution. While you don't mind the idea of collaboration, you want to allow yourself to get better at writing lyrics, instead of leaving it to someone else.

As far as I'm concerned, the importance of laying hold on good songwriting "tools" should never be underestimated. Educate yourself as much as you can. Make use of songwriting books, programs, courses, software, articles or whatever valuable resources that you have at your disposal.

3. Motivation

You've probably heard it said a thousand times ... Without motivation, you won't go very far. This also applies to your lyric writing. While the songwriting "tools" outlined above can help you improve, without adequate motivation failure is inevitable.

(2) Here are a few tips to help you generate lyric writing ideas.

1. Use different lyrics to bring the same message across.

Choose a theme which is known to have made a few hits. What message does this theme bring across? Write different lyrics that bring the same message across. A typical example of this is John Denver's "I'm Leaving on a Jetplane" and Wyclef Jean's "Gone till November". These songs made hits in different eras. Their basic message was similar ... Baby, you don't need to cry because I'll return.

2. Add a unique twist to a cliche.

Turn on your radio and you will hear cliches being repeated over and over. Using these very same cliches is simply a futile exercise. My suggestion is to add a unique twist to these cliches. This is something I am focusing on more and more.

A typical example of adding a unique twist to a cliche is found in Dianne Warren's "Unbreak my Heart" made popular by Toni Braxton. The ever popular cliche, "break my heart", was twisted.

(3) Here are three lyric writing suggestions.

1. Write a song about a particular incident. Your song should tell a story.

2. Write lyrics that have absolutely nothing to do with anything you've actually experienced.

3. Get lyric writing ideas from newspapers, magazines, movies, TV and so on.

Overcoming lyric writing hurdles involves a lot of determination, hard work and perseverance on your part. Implement the suggestions presented above and move one step closer to lyric writing success.

About the author:
Mantius Cazaubon offers lots of valuable songwriting tips, techniques, suggestions and advice on his site http://www.ultimatesongwriting.comVisit http://www.ultimatesongwriting.comfor the ultimate truth about lyric writing and songwriting.

by: Mantius Cazaubon

How To Outgrow 'Write What You Know'

2008-11-19T18:25:00.000-08:00

Every writer has heard it time and again, and it’s not without merit: “Write what you know.”

When I began freelancing, I was just out of college, so what did I write about? College. I wrote profiles of collegiate entrepreneurs,

I wrote editorials about college life... and after a while, I really wanted to move on and write about other things. But I didn’t feel qualified.

Luckily, I didn’t let that hold me back for too long.

“Write what you know” is a very good starting point. But that’s all it is. It’s a place for you to go to get your feet wet, and a place to come back to when the tide gets too high. But it’s not a place to stay for very long.

A better piece of advice, in my opinion, is “Write what you WANT to know.” One of the great perks of being a freelance writer is that you get paid to learn about things. So… what do you want to learn about?

If I had completely disregarded “Write what you know” and simply opened a page of the Writers Market at random, figuring I’d send a query to whichever market my finger happened to touch, my career would be very different today. I might have ended up writing about finances, miniature horses, and aerobics. And you know what? I would have hated it.

I have no experience with any of the above topics, and there’s a good reason for that: I never really WANTED to have experience with them. Since I have no real passion for any of the topics, if I had to write articles about them, it would feel like work.

But did you ever stop to think about the things you always wanted to know, but never found out? Or all the interesting people you wanted to meet? Or the problems you’ve encountered that you wanted solved? Now those are article topics.

Try this exercise. Fill in the blanks with your answers.

1. If time and money weren’t factors, I’d love to take a course in ___________________.
2. I’ve always wanted to ask (person you know)______________________ about _________________________.
3. I’ve always wanted to know how __________________________ works.
4. My life would improve if I could only ______________________________.
5. When I have a sleepless night, it’s usually because I’m worried about ____________________.
6. The worst injustice I can think of is ______________________________.
7. When I was a kid, I was really passionate about _________________________.
8. I have always been embarrassed to admit that ________________________really interests me.
9. In my life, I have overcome ___________________________________________.
10. If I could volunteer for just one cause, it would be __________________________.
11. I wish I were better at ___________________________________.
12. I have always wondered why _________________________________________.

You may have lots of answers for each statement. That’s great! Each answer is a possible article topic. Most of them won’t be specific enough (or perhaps too specific) for an article, but they should give you lots of new starting points from which to brainstorm angles.

Think of freelance writing as your own opportunity to learn about all the things you ever wanted to know, and don’t worry if you’re not yet an “expert” in any of these areas! Among my favorite writing assignments have been topics in which I had no previous expertise:

-An article about a woman who started her own greeting card business for Woman’s Own. Of course, I’ve never started my own greeting card business—but the topic certainly interested me, and I wanted a good excuse to learn more about it.

-An article about how “media overload” affects children’s development for KidsGrowth.com. I’m not even a parent, let alone an expert in child psychology. But I’ve always wondered how increasing media immersion (TV, Internet, video games, radio, etc.) has affected people in MY generation.

-An article about book packagers for Writer’s Digest. Okay, I had written for a book packager at that point-- but just one, and I was eager to learn more about the industry and its players. It gave me the perfect excuse to contact book packagers and learn more about the market. And If not for this article, I would never have written Celine Dion's book... I sent my resume and samples to one of the packagers I interviewed, and an editor there wound up calling me years later with the assignment!

-Several articles about interesting inventions for Zooba.com. How much fun did I have learning about how Velcro, aspirin, and Post-It Notes were invented? This made for great dinner table conversation for weeks. My father always fancied himself a bit of a mad inventor, and I guess the gene spilled over to me. I devour these quirky stories of how the human mind approaches problem-solving creatively.

-Every disabilities-related article I’ve ever written. Was I an expert in this area when I began? No. I have a brother who has Down syndrome, so I had the benefit of some extra understanding, but I only became an “expert” by writing about this topic over and over. Each time, I learned something new that I really wanted to learn-- new legislation for people with disabilities, profiles of amazing people with disabilities, issues of discrimination, etc.

When working to broaden your writing horizons, be sure to think about two things: your passions, and your curiosities. You don’t need to write only about topics that mean “everything” to you; you can-- and should-- also write about the little things that bounce around your brain. Have you always wondered how the custom of kissing under the mistletoe evolved? Or how Mexican jumping beans jump?

Have you wondered what it feels like to go back to school in your 40s or 50s? Have you wondered if there’s a way to stop all that junk mail and those telemarketing calls from darkening your doorstep?

Do some preliminary research, formulate a query letter, and... ta da! You get paid to find answers to these pressing questions, or learn more about your hobbies and passions.

Consider it a challenge. Keep learning. Use your writing as a vehicle to answer every question you never had time to answer before. There are lots of people out there who have wondered about those very same things, and you can help them!

You don’t need to be an expert. You need to be a great researcher, and you need to be willing to ask questions. Lots of questions, sometimes. But that’s one of the great things about writers-- we’re such curious creatures.

Write what you want to know, and soon enough, it’ll be what you DO know.

About the author:
Jenna Glatzer is the editor of http://www.absolutewrite.com(pick up a FREE list of agents looking for new writers!) and the author of 14 books, including MAKE A REAL LIVING AS A FREELANCE WRITER, which comes with a FREE Editors' Cheat Sheet. She's also Celine Dion's authorized biographer. Visit Jenna at http://www.jennaglatzer.com

by: Jenna Glatzer

How To Make Your Writing Meaningful

2008-11-19T18:22:00.000-08:00

Writing a book is a huge endeavor. It means someone has decided to dedicate a certain amount of time to putting words on paper. But so many people don't finish what they start.

Maybe they've run out of ideas. Maybe they lost interest. Maybe they got hopelessly stuck. However I believe the core of all these issues lies in one thing: the writer doesn't know why he or she is writing in the first place.

All you have to do before you venture into the ever-tangled writing forest is leave a few breadcrumbs behind so you'll know how you got there and you'll know the way out! Lay them out by asking yourself the following questions about your work. Use them to challenge yourself, to get inspired, to put your writing front and center in your life. It's hard to get lost when you know exactly where you are.

What Do You Have to Say?
Here's another way to put it: what story are you telling? What is your point in writing this story or work of non-fiction? If you can't answer in a concise way, take some time to think about your message. It can be a huge one, such as a belief about how we all should live. It can be simple such as, "family is important". The big message in my novel was about the power of love in a family. I think I will always write about families because I believe the story of our families is the story of who we are in our hearts. I find the subject touching, challenging, inspiring.

As you think about your message, realize that ideally you shouldn't have to write it down. It should come from the core of your being and you understand it because it is a part of your natural thought process: it is who you are. Take another look at what you have written in the past because your message may be showing up already in your work and you haven't noticed it yet. This is the way August Wilson described the story that was at the core of his whole body of work: "I once wrote a short story called 'The Best Blues Singer in the World' and it went like this: 'The streets that Balboa walked were his own private ocean, and Balboa was drowning.' End of story. That says it all. Nothing else to say. I've been rewriting that same story over and over again. All my plays are rewriting that same story. I'm not sure what it means, other than life is hard."

Who Will Benefit from Your Words?
You will find the motivation to return to your desk each day when you think about what may happen when someone reads your work. Will there be women who can be healthier mothers because you are writing about battling post-partum depression? Will there be men who might feel closer to their fathers because you're writing the next Field of Dreams? When you think of your reader, it takes some of the pressure off of you because you realize the importance of getting the message to him or her. You think less of how you're coming across.

Are You Writing in a Medium That Best Suits Your Message?
I used to write poetry. I loved it too, but somewhere along the line I felt the things I had to say became harder and harder to fit into the confines of verse. I moved over to prose and never went back. I wrote for magazines and experimented with essays before settling into novel writing. August Wilson had written poetry and was working on a novel, but his talents glowed when he wrote for the stage. If you're having trouble completing a project, consider whether you are writing in a medium that is right for you and your message. Don't be afraid of experimenting with other forms. You can always go back to what you were doing before if it doesn't work out.

Step Down from the Soap Box
Writing is already powerful. The fact that people are reading what you write means they are already interested, maybe even absorbed, by what you have to say. You don't have to get up on a soap box and belabor your points to get them across. A simple story can speak volumes about the big picture if you let it. Mr. Wilson once told The Paris Review, "I think my plays offer (white Americans) a different way to look at black Americans. For instance, in 'Fences' they see a garbageman, a person they don't really look at, although they see a garbageman every day. By looking at Troy's life, white people find out that the content of this black garbageman's life is affected by the same things - love, honor, beauty, betrayal, duty. Recognizing that these things are as much part of his life as theirs can affect how they think about and deal with black people in their lives." Get it? Small story, big picture.

One Last Note
I know I'm waving the "big theme" flag here, but what I really want for you is for you to feel the passion of what you're writing. You may be passionate about a big message or you may be passionate about the simple question of "what happens next?" in your story (and you really want to know the answer!) Just connect with that passion and go with it because to me, this is how books get finished--when someone really cares enough to want to get to the end.

© 2005 Sophfronia Scott

About the author:
Sophfronia Scott, "The Book Sistah," is author of the bestselling novel, All I Need to Get By. If you liked today's issue, stay tuned for more because The Book Sistah also offers FREE audio classes, FREE articles, workshops, and other resources to help aspiring authors get published and market their books successfully. The Book Sistah, 230 South Main St. Ste. 319, Newtown, CT 06470 203-426-2036, Info@TheBookSistah.com

by: Sophfronia Scott

How to make real money from writing?

2008-11-19T18:18:00.000-08:00

The significance of writing skills is emphasized far and wide over and over again. Writing skills are called mandatory, indispensable, crucial and drastic ability, a ticket to the thriving future of the person.

The overwhelming majority of instructors and employers which were surveyed recently stressed that writing skills are critical both for academic and career success. The survey carried by Lin Grensing revealed that 79 percent of respondent executives cited writing as one of the most neglected skills in the business world, yet one of the most important to productivity. They also admitted that approximately 80 percent of their employees at all levels need to improve their writing skills.

To master good writing skills means not only to become well-educated and competent person, but as well taps you into the wealth of lucrative opportunities. It exactly means that you can turn your gift of eloquence into sideline and perhaps steady income. The money earned from writing can become a good support for you, so you can spend them on different insignificant trinkets, which will significantly reduce your general outcome.

Practically anyone can make fortune writing and selling simple information. The only question is how to market your skills for profit-making results. The best advice for those who are willing to earn extra money and have the ability to express their ideas coherently is turning their writing skills into regular decent income and enjoining the independence and freedom everyone can earn in addition to the tidy sums of money.

Here are some easy-to-follow techniques and tested principles, which will reveal you how to make money from writing immediately and on regular basis. So let’s single out top 7 winning principles of how to make money from writing.

P1. Become a freelance writer. Perhaps someone thinks that making money from freelance writing is a lottery and he’ll never enter the game without having a famous name. Indeed when you take the risks of freelance writing you don’t jeopardy really. If it is your subsidiary income you can afford yourself to try making some extra money. First, you work at home and spend very little time to get started. In any case you can indemnify yourself from the unrequited labor by specifying all the details with the client preliminary, checking up the reliability of the company or client you are dealing with or solicit for the prepaid part of compensation for your work.

P2. Figure out the markets that pay and might be interesting in something you are willing and able to write. Always remember that whether you have yen writing about evolution and reproduction of mollusks or about data communications there is an audience hungry for your articles. Thus, the best thing the newcomers can do is to search for the topics which enjoy the popularity of the audience. Hence, you should try to swim with the current and write the articles which are in demand.

P3. You can start selling your services through the service agency, so that to leave your resume and wait for the call. Large and even small companies often apply to such agencies looking for the writers. It can be a good chance for you to start and develop a circle of potential clients.

P4. When you build up a vast network of clients, you can cut out the agencies and offer your services to the clients before the agencies do.

P5. You can query the editors and offer them an interesting article idea you think you can write for them. Also you can suggest the editors articles which you have already written and which are related to the subject-matter of their journal, magazine or bulletin, so that to have a chance that your article will be published. Compose press-releases, short stories or reviews and submit them to the targeted publications.

P6. You can write postcards both humor and verse for sure if you feel you can do it and suggest them for card publishers. One more winning and quick strategy is slogan writing. It takes minimum time, but brings good awards. So you can offer your slogans to the advertising agencies and become their permanent slogan writer in case if your slogans really work.

P7. Writing and selling jokes is not only money making, but pleasant and fun strategy of earning extra cash. You can compose short comedy material, radio comedy sketches and scripts for comedians, radio or TV.

With these tested principles you will make big dividends from your part-time writing. As well as making money you’ll be having fun, socializing, meeting new people and boosting your self-confidence and self-esteem. And if you wish, you’ll be well on your way to a full-time career as a well-paid freelance writer.

About the author:
Linda Correli is a staff writer of http://www.Customresearchpapers.usShe helps students write college research papers, term books, admission essays, book report and many other types of writing assignments: from personal statements to professional case studies. Article sponsored by http://www.go2essay.com

by: Linda Correli

How To Leave Great Buyer Feedback.

2008-11-19T18:16:00.000-08:00

So your buyer has paid on time, you’ve shipped them the item, and they’ve left you positive feedback. Everything is going great! You know that leaving your buyer some nice feedback will finish everything off, and make them glad they chose to buy from you.

When you see that little feedback box, though, you might find that you have no idea what to write to make your buyer happiest. Well, here’s a guide.

Don’t write “A++++++++”. Once upon a time, leaving grades on eBay buyers actually meant something. Now, though, writing an ‘A’ and filling the rest of the space with pluses seems to have become a common way of saying ‘good’. The meaning of the grades is gone entirely – no one ever leaves a B-, after all – so it’s a pretty useless thing to write. Try something more descriptive.

‘Prompt/fast/instant payment’. Did the buyer get on PayPal within hours or even minutes of winning the auction and pay you as quickly as they could? If they did, then your comment should include the words ‘prompt payment’. This is a big thing for buyers, as other sellers will really prefer to deal with someone they know will pay on time.

‘Great communication’. If you found the buyer was very responsive to all your emails, then point this out. It’s especially worth putting this if there was a problem that you had to overcome, and the buyer was co-operative and easy to work with.

‘A pleasure to deal with’. If this was one of those very easy transactions where nothing went wrong, then you should put that the buyer was a pleasure to deal with, or ‘the way ebay should be’, or just a ‘great ebayer’.

‘Great as always’. When it’s the second or third time that the buyer has bought from you, make sure to point it out. The fact that they go back to the same seller more than once and build up a relationship is a good thing for them to have on their record.

The Main Rule: Praise to the Skies.

Think of anything good you have to say and try to fit as much of it as you can in that limited space. Don’t worry too much about punctuation. Here’s a good example comment: “Instant payment, great communication - excellent buyer!”.

As a side effect, this then gives you the power to leave slightly negative feedback for some buyers without actually having to make it negative, like this: “Paid quite quickly, communication fine”. Making very short, to-the-point comments also reflects badly on the buyer: if you just write “OK”, it means “I really wanted to leave a neutral or a negative”. Don’t do this if that’s not the meaning you intend.

Don’t spend too much time agonising over what to write in your feedback comments, though – the chances are you’ll be leaving hundreds every week. You might find it worthwhile to come up with a few standard ones for different situations, and use eBay’s Selling Manager to leave feedback in bulk.

Of course, before you can leave your buyer any feedback, you need to make sure they’ve paid you. Luckily getting your buyer to pay is easy, as eBay handle most of it for you. In the next email, we’ll take a tour of eBay’s checkout.

About the author:
Kirsten Hawkins is an Ebay and internet auction enthusiast from Nashville, TN. Visit http://www.auctionseller411.com/for more great tips on how to make the most from Ebay and other online auctions.

by: Kirsten Hawkins

How to Jumpstart your Next Writing Session.

2008-11-19T18:14:00.000-08:00

I have always enjoyed writing. Sometimes it’s a problem for me to just sit down and write something. There are days when I choose “procrastinating” over “proactive.” Putting things off is common with everyone. I am very gifted in this area. ;)

Here are 4 areas to focus on to jumpstart your next writing session.

* Concentration

* Preparation

* The First Word

* Use your notebook

Concentration:

There are way too many distractions. Cell phones ringing, blaring car alarms and unexpected visitors are just a few things that can disrupt your concentration. It then becomes easier to justify not writing today.

The best thing to do to encourage creative writing is to make it a ritual. Find a nice spot to write, maybe, in a quiet room in your home where you will be left undisturbed for a period of time. Set a time to work; a scheduled time to write. Stick to it.

Keep reference books and materials close to hand.

Focus on one idea at a time.

View your next writing session as an opportunity; an opportunity to do something you enjoy. It can be fun. And when you are having fun nobody ever has to tell you to “concentrate!”

Preparation

Once you have your topic: Google it. Read everything you can online and offline related to your idea. Search the net for testimonials, reviews and articles about your topic. Brainstorm related sub-topics.

Give it a rest. Let your subconscious mind percolate and play with the information you provided. Get some exercise. Some of my best ideas come to me while I am out walking around in the evening.

Getting Started

Where to begin? That blank page staring back can be intimidating.

Just dive right in there!

Type the word “The.”

Type the next word (the first thing that pops into your mind) and the next word.

At this point, quality is not important. You just want to create a “flow” where the words come easily.

Don’t stop to edit. Save all your corrections for the second draft. Resist the impulse to rewrite. That will only interrupt the flow and is another way to avoid the task at hand.

If you are like me you will have a 2nd, third and fourth draft. You have to get your first draft completed before your have anything to rewrite! Stay focused.

Carry a Notebook

As a creative writer, you will be “hit” by odd ideas and notions in the oddest of places.

Maybe you are stuck in traffic or brushing your teeth when inspiration strikes.

You could wake from a dream and have a killer idea.

“ I’ll remember that.” We say to ourselves, but when next we write there is no access to that memory file.

Just use a notebook. Jot those things down as they come to you. It only takes a moment.

Capture all your of your ideas as they transpire. Who knows? One of them may be the “Next Big Thing!”

- David Parton

About the author:
David Parton:
Helping others and myself Improve their income and boost
their health and energy levels with Tahitian Noni Juice.

http://www.tahitiannoni.com/2036981
http://the_noni_blog.typepad.com/noni/
___________________________________________

NOTE: Feel free to “reprint” this article online as
long as it remains complete and unaltered (including my
"resource box" at the end). Please send me a copy of
your reprint to d_parton@telus.net

by: David Parton

How to get Your Book Reviewed

2008-11-19T00:54:00.000-08:00

Imagine your book at the top of the Best Sellers List of the New York Times. Most authors do. The question is, "How do I get it there and sell millions of copies?"

When planing your book, there is one critical thing that most authors forget - marketing. In the case of book reviewers this means pre-marketing.

Most reviewers require a copy of your book at least three months before publication. This is because most book reviewers need time to read it and review it plus publish all the reviews on books that they have reviewed for those who came before you. Also many publications come out on a weekly or monthly basis instead of daily. This means that book reviewers have a huge backlog.

So the best way to get a book reviewers to review your book, is to get them a quality copy of your manuscript or a galley, as soon as possible.

What if your book has already been published?

Is it too late to get a book reviewer to review your book? In some cases yes and in some no. There is an easy way to get your book reviewed without calling it a review.

Send out a press release.

Create a press release about your book and submit it to your local newspapers, magazines and radio stations. Make it interesting. Don't just say Mary Joe Piper has just published her newest book Babes on Parade. Think about your story and what it can teach people. Does it have a theme about love or friendship or settling disputes?

Use the issue in your press release. Teach people how to solve their problems and then have the person interviewing you mention your credits, as a published author. At that point your book will be mentioned, you will have done them a service, and you will have saved thousands of dollars on marketing and query letters to editors.

Here are just a few sites that you can go to to submit your pre - publication book:

Book Reviewers:

Terrie Bittner
Bellaonline.com: Children's Books
childrenbooks@bellaonline.com
http://www.bellaonline.com/entertainment/children.html
Categories: Children, Children’s Religion, Young Adult - Children Query first.

Sandy Cummins
Writers Exchange Book Reviews
PO Box 372
Atherton, QLD 4883
writers@writers-exchange.com
http://www.ozemail.com.au/~pjcsjc/book-review.htm
Categories: Computer/Internet/Technology, Children, Christian, Fiction, How-To, Non-Fiction, Religion, Romance, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, eBooks, Writing, promotion & publishing

Anne Douglas
http://www.bookideas.com
emailanned@yahoo.com
http://www.bookideas.com
Categories: Art, Books From Small Presses, Children, Cookbook, Fiction, Literature, Mystery, Pop Culture, Women, Young Adult - Children, Biography, Parenting. Particularly interested in American art and children's books.

Apryl Duncan
FictionAddiction.NET
Box 876
Chattanooga, TN 37343
ReviewRequest@FictionAddiction.NET
http://www.FictionAddiction.NET
Categories: Books From Small Presses, Children, Fiction, Literature, Mystery, Romance, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Young Adult - Children, Thriller/Suspense, Writing, promotion & publishing, Adventure, Horror

Melanie C. Duncan
Bookdragaon Review (ISSN 1527-0157)
444 Forest Hill Road, #813
Macon, GA 31210
MCDuncan@bookdragonreview.com
http://www.bookdragonreview.com
Categories: Fiction, Young Adult - Children Comments: All genres fiction only. Please query before sending an e-book. Attachments are deleted if not specifically requested. Traditional galleys may be sent without a query, however please read the FAQs at the website before sending.

Linda Eberharter
Fiction Forest
7042 Cohasset Ct.
Indianapolis, IN 46226
Phone: 317-549-3038
linda@atlanticbridge.net
http://www.atlanticbridge.net
Categories: Children, Fiction, Mystery, Romance, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Thriller/Suspense, eBooks

Detra Fitch
Huntress Book Reviews
205 Dana Drive
Easley, SC 29642
huntress@huntressreviews.com
http://www.huntressreviews.com
Categories: Children, Fiction, General, Romance, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Young Adult - Children, Thriller/Suspense, Adventure, Horror

Denise Fleischer
Gotta Write Online
515 E. Thacker
Hoffman Estates, IL 60194
Phone: 847 882-8054
Netera@aol.com
http://members.aol.com/gwnlitmag/
Categories: Mystery, Romance, Young Adult - Children, eBooks, Writing, promotion & publishing. Authors can also make guest appearances on the AOL chat she co-hosts on Tuesdays from 10-11 PM ET. Writers: keyword, chatrooms, Writer's Grill.

Jessica Holmes
Romance At Its Best, Midnight Reviews
owner@romanceatitsbest.com
http://www.romanceatitsbest.com/
Categories: Books From Small Presses, Fiction, General, How-To, Literature, Mystery, Non-Fiction, Romance, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Women, Young Adult - Children, Biography, Thriller/Suspense, eBooks, Self-help, Writing, promotion & publishing, Inspirational/Motivational, History/Political, Adventure, Horror

Dave Jenkinson
CM/Canadian Review Materials
Faculty of Education,
University of Manitoba
Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2
Phone: 204-474-8780
e-Mail: jenkinson@ms.umanitoba.ca
http://www.umanitoba.ca/cm/
Categories: Audiobooks; General, Children, Young Adults

Jeanne Kelly
1928 Mid Road
Colorado Springs, CO 80906
Phone: 719-291-2309
e-Mail: whitebison@mail.com
Categories: Audiobooks; Children, Health, Metaphysical, Spiritual, Women, Self-help, Writing, Inspirational, Motivational

Jeanette Lambert
Tennessee Tribune
6940 Sunderland Circle
Nashville, TN 37221-4621
Phone: 615-321-3268
jbl96@aol.com
Categories: Children, Cookbook, Fiction, General, How-To, Library, Lifestyle, Mystery, Non-Fiction, Reference, Sociology, Travel/Hospitality, Women, Young Adult - Children, Biography, Thriller/Suspense, African-American Fiction and Nonfiction , Self-help, Writing, promotion & publishing, Education

Jennifer L. B. Leese
AStoryWeaver's Book Reviews
311 Frederick Street
Hagerstown, MD 21740
AStoryWeaver@aol.com
http://www.geocities.com/ladyjiraff/aswbr.html
Categories: Children, Young Adult - Children. Ebooks should be sent to home address on disc or in printed format. Please supply all information needed to properly review your book and where to send the review when done. For faster responses, the review can be sent to you via email.

Cathi Dunn MacRae, Editor
VOYA
Scarecrow Press
4720 Boston Way
Lanham, MD 20706
voya@voya.com
http://www.voya.com
Categories: Young Adult & Children

Sandra J. Morgan
Cloudy Mountain Books/The Fiction Forest
2 Bow Mills Road
Center Barnstead, NH 03225
Phone: 603 776 0123
sandi@fictionforest.com
http://www.fictionforest.com
Categories: Audiobooks, Australian Books, Books From Small Presses, Children, Christian, Cookbook, Features, Fiction, Food, General, Health, How-To, Humanities, Library, Lifestyle, Literature, Mystery, Non-Fiction, Pop Culture, Reference, Religion, Romance, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Serials, Travel/Hospitality, Video, Women, Psychology/Mental Health, Biography, Parenting, Thriller/Suspense, eBooks, Theater, Politics, Film History, African-American Fiction and Nonfiction , Financial

Christian Perring, Ph.D.
Metapsychology Online Review
c/o Philosophy Dept
Dowling College
Oakdale , NY 11769
Phone: 631-244-3349
metapsychology@mentalhelp.net
http://mentalhelp.net/books/
Categories: Art, Audiobooks, Books From Small Presses, Fiction, Gay/Lesbian Fiction, Gay/Lesbian Non-Fiction, General, Health, Humanities, Literature, Metaphysical, Mystery, Pop Culture, Sociology, Women, Young Adult - Children, Psychology/Mental Health, Biography, Parenting, Comics, Science

Puala Rohrlick
KLIATT Young Adult Paperback Book Guide
33 Bay State Rd.,
Welesley, MA 02481
Phone: 781-237-7577
kliatt@aol.com
http://www.hometown.aol.com/kliatt
Categories: Young Adult - Children

Geoff Rotunno
the boox review
PO Box 211
Santa Ynez, CA 93460
geoff@thebooxreview.com
http://www.thebooxreview.com
Categories: Art, Audiobooks, Australian Books, Computer/Internet/Technology, Junior College Books, Books From Small Presses, Children, Children’s Religion, Christian, Cookbook, Features, Fiction, Gay/Lesbian Fiction, Gay/Lesbian Non-Fiction, Food, General, Health, How-To, Humanities, Library, Lifestyle, Literature, Marketing, Metaphysical, Mystery, Non-Fiction, Poetry, Pop Culture, Reference, Religion, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Serials, Sociology, Spiritual, Travel/Hospitality, Video, Women, Young Adult/Children's, Psychology/Mental Health, Biography, Parenting, Thriller/Suspense, Theater, Politics, Film History, African-American Fiction and Nonfiction , Financial, Self-help, Writing, promotion & publishing, Inspirational/Motivational, Business, Comics, Gardening, Science, Education, History/Political Comments: Seeking review copies of all genres except romance.

Beverly J. Rowe
myshelf.com
102 Copper Lane
Kenai, AK 99611
Phone: (907) 283-2840
bevbooks@aol.com
Categories: Children, Cookbook, Fiction, Food, Literature, Mystery, Non-Fiction, Young Adult - Children, Biography, Thriller/Suspense, Writing, promotion & publishing, Education, History/Political. Prefers hard copies.

J.B. Scott
Sydney, NSW 2148
ctf_editor@iprimus.com.au
http://www.geocities.com/ebook_review
Categories: Australian Books, Computer/Internet/Technology, Books From Small Presses, Children, Fiction, Mystery, Non-Fiction, Romance, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Thriller/Suspense, eBooks
E-mail all review requests to ctf_editor@iprimus.com.au with "REVIEW REQUEST" in the subject header.

Sandra Simmons-Maike
Freelance
Rt. 2 Box 152
Alma, KS 66401
Phone: 785-765-3861
sandcogroup@aol.com
Categories: Audiobooks, Books From Small Presses, Children, Cookbook, Fiction, Food, General, Library, Lifestyle, Marketing, Mystery, Romance, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Serials, Young Adult - Children, Thriller/Suspense, eBooks, Self-help. Include time deadline.

Roger Sutton, Editor
Horn Book Magazine
56 Roland Street, Suite 200
Boston, MA 02129
Phone: 617-628-0225
Categories: Children, Young Adult - Children

Niki Taylor
Freelance
nat0607@hotmail.com
http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/book_reviews
Categories: Books From Small Presses, Children, Christian, Gay/Lesbian Non-Fiction, Health, Non-Fiction, Pop Culture, Sociology, Spiritual, Travel/Hospitality, Women, Young Adult - Children, Psychology/Mental Health, Biography, eBooks, Theater, Film History, Self-help, Writing, promotion & publishing, Inspirational/Motivational, History/Political

Anna Serra i Vidal
Aledaños. Boletín electronico y crítico de literatura
Eiximenis, 6
Sant Pere de Ribes, Barcelona 08810
Phone: + 34 93 896 25 04
aserra@ctv.es
Categories: Children, Cookbook, Fiction, Literature, Mystery, Women, Young Adult - Children, Thriller/Suspense, eBooks, Writing, promotion & publishing, Education

Christopher Warner
EFP - Spratt Publishing
4924 Balboa Blvd
Suite 304
Los Angeles, CA 91316
Phone: 818-881-7053
efp@dslextreme.com
Categories: Art, Audiobooks, Australian Books, Computer/Internet/Technology, Junior College Books, Books From Small Presses, Children's Book, Cookbook, Features, Fiction, Gay/Lesbian Fiction, Gay/Lesbian Non-Fiction, Food, General, Health, How-To, Humanities, Library, Lifestyle, Literature, Marketing, Metaphysical, Mystery, Non-Fiction, Poetry, Pop Culture, Reference, Religion, Romance, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Serials, Sociology, Spiritual, Travel/Hospitality, Video, Women, Young Adult/Children's, Psychology/Mental Health, Biography, Parenting, Thriller/Suspense, eBooks, Theater, Politics, Film History, African-American Fiction and Nonfiction , Financial, Self-help, Writing, promotion & publishing, Inspirational/Motivational, Business, Comics, Gardening, Science, Education, Scholarly, History/Political, Adventure, Nature, Horror, Photography

Brenda Weeaks
MyShelf.Com
reviews@myshelf.com
http://www.myshelf.com
Categories: Audiobooks, Books From Small Presses, Children, Christian, Cookbook, Fiction, Food, General, Health, How-To, Literature, Mystery, Non-Fiction, Reference, Romance, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Serials, Women, Young Adult - Children, Thriller/Suspense, Self-help, Writing, promotion & publishing, Inspirational/Motivational, Gardening

Stephanie Zvirin
Booklist/American Library Association
50 E. Huron
Chicago, IL 60611
http://www.ala.org/booklist/
Categories: Young Adult

Once a few book reviewers write about your book, other book reviewers will follow. Be prepared for these subsequent book reviewers. Have copies of your book ready to send out with your author packet.

About the author:
Caterina Christakos is a published author and children's book writer. She has helped countless men and women get their first books started and published.
Sign up for our free writing course now at http://www.howtowriteachildrensbook.com

How To Get One Way Links To Your Website!

2008-11-19T00:53:00.000-08:00

By now, you must be aware that lots of one-way links can be the best prescription for the ailing rankings of your site. But how can you get people to link to your site? That is the million-dollar question that haunts every webmaster.

There are 2 powerful methods to get people to link to your site.

1. Create great content and publish on your site. When you publish unique, informative and useful content on your site and if people can find it (does it smack of a catch-22 situation there?), they will link to it without you asking for a link. Also you do not require to link back to them.

2. There is an easier method to get a good number of one-way incoming links to your site. Writing and distributing press releases for your site can do the trick. While this is not easy too, you can come up with fairly acceptable stuff pretty easily with the plethora of guides available for this purpose. The links from the press release sites are relatively more respectable.

These releases can give you a nice spike of traffic while they are fresh. Since most of the press release portals archive your release on their sites, you can look forward to a few permanent links pointing to your site.

You get more bonus links from other website owners who pickup your release from these sites and republish these on their web property. They get content to increase the number of pages on their sites and may be earn Adsense income from ads on these pages; you get the much desired exposure and incoming links.

About the author:
Press Release Fire contains an exhaustive guide on writing and distributing press releases for maximum impact. The samples and list of press release sites help you overcome the writer's block. Start getting new one-way links to your site within a day. Grab your own copy at http://www.PRfire.com

by: Arun Agrawal

How to get listed with google in less than 24 hours

2008-11-19T00:52:00.000-08:00

Firstly the truth, you do not need some miracle to get listed in google in less than 24 hours. Getting listed in google in under a day can actually be quite easy and in this article I’ll show you exactly how to do it.

Firstly what we mean by your site getting indexed is when it shows up on the google search engine. To find out if you website is listed enter www.yourdomain.com into the search box. You will see “no results” appear,

which means our website is new and its not in google’s index. Google doesn’t know your site exists, therefore it cannot be ranked.

So we must first get into their index, when we do, you should see your website title, description and url appear. Then your website is indexed by google. So how do we do this?

Firstly do not use google’s submission form. This method takes about 5 weeks to be indexed.

What you need to do is enter a few keywords related to the website you want to index. You should see a whole list of websites related to your own. What you need to do next is download a google toolbar; this will show you the page rank of each page in the search engine. You can download the toolbar at http://toolbar.google.com

You need to look down through these related websites, paying particular attention to the page ranks. Try and find a webpage with a rank of 5 or higher. Enter their website and look for links on their homepage, if you find a links page , you can then contact them and ask if they will do a link swap, write them a convincing letter and 50% will agree although the higher the page rank ,the tougher they are to convince.

If you can convince 1 page rank 5 to link with you, your website will be listed in roughly 3 to 4 days. To get your site listed in less than 24 hours, get 1 website with a page ranking of 6 to link with you. That’s it, no miracles. It works!

Now there is actually an easier way than writing to these people. Visit a link purchasing website. Here is a great free link exchange website where you can swap links with different websites, The link is http://www.LinkMetro.com.

Now that you’re in google’s index, you can start to concentrate on increasing your page rank.

About the author:
David Hennebery is the owner and webmaster of ebookprofitmaker and is recognised as a internet marketing professional.To contact him
Email daveh24706@yahoo.co.uk or at his website www.ebookprofitmaker.com

You have full persmission to reprint this article within your website or newsletter as long as you leave the article fully intact and include the about author resource box

by: David Hennebery

How to Find a Niche For Your Blog

2008-11-19T00:46:00.000-08:00

It is important to realize that your choice of a niche can have a significant influence on the success or failure of your new blog.

Deciding on a theme can be a daunting task. What exactly are you going to write about? Your niche needs to be a popular topic that many people are interested in.

If you are going to blog about yourself, then you better have a very interesting life, or you will have difficulty keeping your readers coming back for more. You should choose a topic that will make it comparatively easy to grow your readership and build a strong following.

Since many bloggers write about their favorite subjects, it’s not a bad idea to start brainstorming by writing down a list of your hobbies, interests, and any areas of professional expertise. Now try to determine a niche you can target within one of those areas.

Should you blog about automobiles in general, or the latest sports cars? If you choose too narrow a theme then you may struggle to come up with regular, fresh content. And if you choose a topic that’s too general your readers may be confused by a jumble of seemingly unrelated posts.

You might consider niches within the following general topic areas which have proven to be popular for blogging:

• Automobiles
• Computers & Information Technology
• Digital Cameras
• Gadgets
• Music
• News
• Photography
• Politics
• Shopping

If you plan to use Pay-Per-Click advertising to get traffic to your blog, then remember also that the hottest topics might have the highest pay-per-click fees.

You can sometimes get great niche ideas by browsing at Blog directories and sites like Google Blog Search: http://blogsearch.google.com

Since it is so time-consuming trying to com up with the ‘perfect’ niche idea, many bloggers and webmasters have turned to specialized niche discovery tools. I particularly recommend Online Gold Finder and NicheTopics.

With Online Gold Finder you can uncover profitable, undiscovered online markets with just a couple of clicks. Read more about Online Gold Finder at: http://www.moneyforblogging.com/goldfinder.htm

NicheTopics is quite handy in a different way. You get to use some great research that’s already been completed by an expert. It is a ready-to-use report on 109 unique, untapped niches. Read more about NicheTopics: http://www.moneyforblogging.com/nichetopics.htm

The tools above are not free but consider for a moment. If you are planning – or would even like - to make some money from your blog, then it will be worthwhile to start off with a well-researched niche.

If a particular tool uncovers a good niche that pays an additional $5 a day, it will pay for itself inside the first month!

Don’t forget, it will be very difficult to change the theme and niche of your blog later. So invest some time wisely during your planning stage.

You will be off to a strong start in building a successful blog.

About the author:
Mike Seddon is a writer, entrepreneur, and webmaster. He is the author of the popular e-book, ‘How to Build a Money Making Blog’, available from http://www.MoneyForBlogging.com

by: Mike Seddon

How To Earn Cisco’s Firewall Specialist Certification

2008-11-19T00:45:00.000-08:00

Security is a hot topic in today's networks, and will continue to be for a long time to come. With that in mind, you must consider adding a Cisco security certification to your resume and firewall skills to your skill set.

It's quite a jump from the CCNA to the CCSP (Cisco Certified Security Professional), and Cisco has made that leap more manageable by adding Specialist certifications. These certifications can give quite a boost to both your resume and your skill set, and act as a great "stepping stone" to the CCSP.

At present, Cisco offers four VPN/Security certifications, those being Cisco Firewall Specialist, Cisco IPS Specialist, Cisco VPN Specialist, and Cisco VPN/Security Sales Specialist. Since every WAN engineer has contact with Cisco firewalls on a regular basis, we'll take a closer look at this popular certification first. (And those who want to be WAN engineers had better learn something about firewalls, too!)

At the writing of this article (October 21, 2005), Cisco is offering an option for each of the two exams you'll need to pass to earn this certification. For the first exam, you can take either the 642-551 SND (Securing Cisco Network Devices) or 642-501 SECUR (Securing Cisco IOS Networks). The final day to register for the SECUR exam is December 19, 2005.

For either, you'll need to be able to answer questions regarding the proper use of Cisco security devices; how to configure security on a Cisco switch and on a router, including syslog logging, AAA, ACLs, and security for router services and interfaces.

The choices for the second exam are the 642-522 SNPA (Securing Network with PIX and ASA) and 642-521 CSPFA. Topics for these exams include , IPSec, NAT, firewalls, AAA, and policy mapping. (As always, you should check for the latest exam blueprints at Cisco's website. Click "Learning And Events" on the main page, www.cisco.com).

The only prerequisite for this certification is that you must hold a valid CCNA certification.

As always, getting some hands-on experience is the best way to prepare for your Cisco exams. (Your employer is going to get a little upset if you practice your configs on his or her PIX. It would be a good idea to have a good lawyer, too.) There are online rack rental services that include Cisco security devices in their pods.

Cisco certifications are a great way to help protect your career as well as your network. The more you know, and the more varied your skills, the more valuable you are to your present and future employers. Use your CCNA as a foundation, and keep building on your skills!

About the author:
Chris Bryant, CCIE ##12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage (www.thebryantadvantage.com), home of FREE CCNA & CCNP tutorials and The Ultimate CCNA Study Package. For a FREE copy of my latest e-books, "How To Pass The CCNA" or "How To Pass The CCNP", request one at chris@thebryantadvantage.com!

by: Chris Bryant

How to Build and Sell your eBook at the Same Time

2008-11-19T00:42:00.000-08:00

Why write an eBook?

You want ongoing, lifelong multiple streams of income. You want to raise your credibility and trust ratings with clients or customers. You want to get your message out so the world can be a better place.

Yet, you want to spend only a little time on it. (Would you be willing to spend 4 hours a week?) You want to get it out fast (Would 4-6 weeks be OK?) You want to market Online at a low-cost investment. And, for some of you, you are ready to be innovative and even take a small risk to get your eBook read by millions, rather than hundreds!

In order to finish your eBook fast you need to first, look at where you are now; second, where you want to be; and then you'll know how to get to your finish line.

Where are you now?

You have the idea for your eBook; you have a lot of ideas! Take a moment and decide which one you are most passionate about now and will be for the next year. Focus on one great idea, then add others you know will work.

You have your eBook well on its way, but aren't finished. You need advice on how to get it done, what's needed to publish (not much!), and how to distribute it.

Who Should Write an eBook?
- If you are ready to invest a little to reap a great deal.
- If you are a business person who want to serve a wider community
- If you have a unique message you want to share with the world
- If are willing to write, publish yourself, and sell 2 years ahead of traditional publishing
- If you want to create active, lifelong streams of income
- If you want to promote yourself, service or products

How to get there.

Build and Sell your eBook at the same time

Every part of your book can be a sales tool. When you include the essential "Seven Hot-Selling Points" before you write chapter one, you'll sell more books than you ever dreamed of!

1. Write for your one preferred audience. Not everyone wants your book. Find out what audience wants/needs your book? What problems does your book solve for them? Create an audience profile and keep your audience's picture in front of you as you write. Ask yourself, is my topic narrow enough? The Chicken Soup For The Teenager, For The Prisoner, and other specific groups sold far more copies than the original Chicken
Soup.

2. Write a sizzling book title including benefits. You have 8 seconds to hook your potential buyer. While an eBook cover doesn't need fancy graphics you will want to create one that can be printed both in color and black and white. It must be easy to see and read. Your title and cover should compel your audience to buy.

3. Write a thirty-sixty second "tell and sell." You only have a few seconds to impress your potential buyer. Include your title, a few benefits, and the audience. This billboard needs a sound bite to grab attention. "Write, Finish, and Publish your eBook Fast to Pull Online Sales" shows professionals how to shortcut each step of writing, publishing, and promoting a salable short eBook.

Add a sound bite to the above "tell and sell" something like this: Compare your book to someone who is famous. One client's title "Passion at Any Age" used the sound bite "this book is the 'Artist's Way' for seniors.

4. Write your sales letter before you write your book. Think about your potential buyer. What are his resistances? His problems or challenges? Be sure you address these. Your sales letter used to promote your book either by email or on your Web site needs to give the benefits your potential buyers want and need. Include compelling ad copy, features, testimonials, and a small blurb about you, the author. If your potential buyer likes it, they will buy on the spot.

5. Write your eBook's introduction. Include the problem your audience has, why you wrote the book, and its purpose. In a few paragraphs include more specific benefits, and how you will present it (format). Keep it under a page. Your introduction will help you write your sales letter.

6. Create a table of contents. Each chapter should have a title, preferably a catchy one. If your reader can't understand the chapter title, then annotate it. Add some benefits or a sub title. In my first chapter called "Why Write an eBook?" I added this partial list of benefits: Ongoing lifelong multiple streams of income, credibility as the expert, products sell easily online, buyers are more targeted and hence you create more profit.

7. Reach out to opinion molders. After an initial contact of asking for feedback, resend them the same chapter and the table of contents of your book. Ask for a testimonial then. These influential contacts' testimonials will help promote your eBook Online.

Design every part of your eBook to be a sales tool and a beacon that brings out your best: writing--compelling, easy to read, organized, and enjoyable. Your book can sell to thousands, even hundreds of thousands when you design it correctly.

About the author:
Judy Cullins, 20-year Book and Internet Marketing Coach works with small business people who want to make a difference in people's lives, build their credibility and clients, and make a consistent life-long income. Author of 10 eBooks including Write your eBook or Other Short Book Fast, Ten Non-Techie Ways to Market Your Book Online, The Fast and Cheap Way to Explode Your Targeted Web Traffic, and Power Writing for Web Sites That Sell, she offers free help through her 2 monthly ezines, "The BookCoach Says...," "Business Tip of the Month," and blog Q & A at http://www.bookcoaching.com/opt-in.shtmland over 170 free articles. Email her at Judy@bookcoaching.com

by: Judy Cullins

How to Break In and Succeed as a Screenwriter

2008-11-18T01:52:00.000-08:00

Screenwriting is a competitive trade. To distinguish yourself as a prize-winning writer you need to master organizational skills, take creative risks, and learn how best to present your final product. For the aspiring screenwriter, Tom Lazarus' book, "Secrets of Film Writing" is one of the best. An exceptional screenwriter with five produced screenplays, Lazarus developed this book for beginning writers enrolled in his classes at UCLA.

This article examines a few of the many techniques outlined in "Secrets of Film Writing" and provides examples of screenwriters who succeeded with Tom Lazarus' guidelines.

ORGANIZATION IS KEY
Master organization and you're closer to producing a stellar screenplay, not a mediocre one. Ask yourself these questions:

1) Does the screenplay have a clear beginning, middle and end?
2) Does the story drift aimlessly or does it make its point successfully?

These may seem like basic questions, yet many screenwriters grapple with organizational problems.

Lazarus addresses this issue in his book; he recommends writers use one of four organizational methods to ensure their screenplays flow smoothly: outlines, treatments, index cards, and scene lists. All four of these tools are equally effective. Writers need to be discreet to decide which organizational crutch best suits their needs.

In writing the screenplay for the Hollywood feature film "Stigmata," Lazarus chose to use a scene list for organizational support since he already had specific ideas about the chronology and action details of his story. To writers who have difficult organizing and prefer a different method, Lazarus says, "Go for it, because no one is going to see it. It's a process. There is no wrong way."

MAKE IT INTERESTING
Writing is a process. Great screenwriters take creative risks. Without an interesting story, even the most organized screenplay will be unmarketable. The goal should never be to copy another writer's style; instead exercise your own imagination and experiment with different ways to spark your story.

When Warner Brothers hired Tim McCanlies to adapt Ted Hughes' famous English novel "The Iron Man" for the screen, he struggled with whether he should remain true to Hughes' vision or develop a new story based loosely on the original book's events. McCanlies chose to do something risky and wildly creative; he Americanized "The Iron Man" by setting the story in the 1950s during the Cold War terror and renamed it "The Iron Giant." His calculated risk proved worthwhile. American audiences related to the film and appreciated its examination of an unusual time in their nation's history. Also, English audiences embraced "The Iron Giant" despite its variation from the original English text and awarded it the 2000 BAFTA Award for best feature film.

There is a valuable lesson for aspiring writers in McCanlies' success: when you risk nothing, you gain nothing. McCanlies, Lazarus, and other successful screenwriters embroil themselves in chances, write creatively, experiment with different ideas, and raise their characters' stakes.

SUBMIT YOUR SCRIPT LIKE A PRO
Once you have written an interesting, well-organized screenplay you need to submit your script neatly and according to studio standards. Lazarus warns his UCLA students about several technical errors in script presentation that annoy studio readers. Follow these guidelines:

1) A feature length screenplay should be longer than 95 pages and shorter than 125 pages when you submit it for studio consideration.

2) Don't include a synopsis or character biographies with your script as it gives studio readers an excuse not to review the whole screenplay.

3) Don't put scene numbers on your script until it is sold. This is a rule of the game; readers find scene numbers distracting and use them as an excuse to dub a screenplay "amateur" and unworthy of further consideration.

4) Studio readers prefer to receive scripts bound with circular metal brads. Using folders and binders hog office space and interns may discard scripts unintentionally during spring cleaning.

5) Finally, use one of the many screenwriting programs to help format your script, such as Movie Magic Screenwriter, Final Draft or Script Wizard. You can find discounted deals at MasterFreelancer.com (http://www.MasterFreelancer.com), StoryScribe.com (http://www.StoryScribe.com), and Wizards4Word.com (http://www.wizards4word.com).

Make sure you proofread your script several times before submitting a script for Hollywood review. Busy studio readers will not peruse screenplays riddled with basic errors like confusing "it's" with "its" and using "are" when you mean "our." Use a program like Style Writer (found at http://www.StyleWriter-USA.com) to remedy such embarrassing grammar mistakes. When you're ready to submit your script, grab a Hollywood Creative Directory (found at http://www.storyscribe.com/mgbooks.html) to find markets for your script.

THINK SUCCESS AND BE A SUCCESS
Remember to take risks with plot and character development, and follow studio standards for script submissions. Studying resources like "Secrets of Film Writing" by Tom Lazarus, "How Not to Write a Screenplay" by Denny Martin Flinn, "Crafty Screenwriting" by Alex Epstein, and "Alternative Scriptwriting" by Ken Dancyger and Jeff Rush can be helpful for aspiring writers. Developing strong writing skills takes time, a willingness to learn, and perseverance. Writers who constantly improve their skills and experiment with new ideas will succeed.

About the author:
Brian Konradt is a freelance writer and founder of FreelanceWriting.com (http://www.freelancewriting.com), a free web site to help writers master the business and creative sides of freelance writing; he also is founder of BookCatcher.com (http://www.bookcatcher.com), a free website to help authors promote their books.

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by: Brian Konradt