Choosing an eBook Compiler

What is an eBook compiler?

You’ve written and revised your ebook, hired an artist who has
produced outstanding graphics, and now you’re ready to actually
put together your ebook. What you need to make an ebook is
software called an ebook Compiler.

There are many different compilers to chose from, but first, you
need to know exactly what an ebook Compiler does. Here is the
simple explanation:

An ebook compiler is a software program that converts either
text pages or HTML text into a single executable file or an
ebook.

If you or someone you hired has created a file with graphics in
HTML, you will need an HTML ebook Compiler. This type of
compiler requires a working knowledge of the HTML tag language.
You can also use software to do this for you, such as Microsoft
FrontPage or Macromedia Dreamweaver.

How do you choose an eBook Compiler?

There are a large number of ebook Compilers available on the
market, all with glowing sales copy and tekkie language. It can
get very confusing and overwhelming very fast without some
simple guidelines to help you figure out which compiler is right
for you.

Choosing an ebook Compiler depends on a number of factors:

1. How did you create your pages? Did you use HTML or PDF
format? There are many more compilers available for HTML, but
you can find some very good compilers that will covert your PDF
files into an ebook.

2. Consider how easy the program is to use and the thoroughness
of the software’s instruction manual. It is absolutely necessary
that the compiler you buy have an instructional manual,
documentation, or online “wizards.” If it doesn’t, your chances
of figuring out how to correctly use the program are
compromised, and the time required doing so is going to be
significant. Many manufacturers of compilers offer a free trial
version so you can play around with it and see if it suits your
needs. Download the trial version and ascertain that it actually
does what it claims to do.

3. Security features. If you plan to sell your ebook, check out
the security features of the compiler software carefully.
Security features should include: prevention of the reader from
modifying text, access only to the pages you assign or by
entering a password, different ways of generating passwords such
as secure passwords, user-friendly, and open passwords.

4. Supported scripting. Find out what scripts the software
supports. Scripting allows you to create special effects,
customize menus, and create and modify other user interactivity.
Choose a compiler that permits you to include graphics, search
windows, hyperlinks, forms, surveys, etc.

5. Pricing. This is a factor that is not always easy to gauge.
The highest priced compilers are not automatically your best
choice. Choose your compiler based on the necessary requirements
for your Ebook. That means you need to know exactly how you plan
to use your Ebook and what functions you require.

Let’s look at some of these factors in more detail. First of
all, make sure you have the correct browser to run the compiler.
The majority of HTML compilers use Microsoft Internet Explorer
or Netscape. Check out the version that the compiler supports.
Compilers that require a browser will not run on a computer that
does not have the required browser installed. However, there are
ebook HTML compilers that don’t require you to have any browser
installed on your computer. These compilers run on any Windows
system.

If you choose a compiler that requires a browser, check to
ascertain that the browser is installed correctly and that it is
properly configured to the specifications of the compiler. Check
to see if certain functions are turned off or on, and make any
adjustments according to the compiler instructions.

Security is an essential element of any compiler, regardless of
whether you plan to sell or give away your ebook. One of the
main reasons for using a compiler is to prevent the reader from
modifying the contents. A secure compiler allows access only to
the pages you want the user to access unless they enter a
correct password.

To find out how secure an ebook HTML compiler is, open an ebook
on it. While it is open, check the temporary directory of your
computer. This can usually be accessed by typing in
C:\Windows\temp. If you see a bunch of files when your ebook is
open or running, it means that your computer is decompressing
the secure data from your ebook before showing the ebook to the
viewer. This method is not secure! It means that anyone with the
knowledge of how to access these temporary files can steal the
secure data and then they can fiddle with your ebook to their
evil heart’s desire. Remember, one of the main purposes of
buying and using an HTML compiler is to protect your property.

Next, let’s discuss passwords. When trying to choose an ebook
Compiler, check out the type of passwords that the compiler
supports. Almost all compilers offer some kind of password
protection that insures that the user can only access the
contents they have purchased from you. However, the best
compilers offer varied ways to generate different types of
passwords. Choose a compiler that gives you the options of
secure, user-friendly, and open password generation.

Another important factor when it comes to passwords is how the
compiler generates them. A compiler that has internal password
protection generation built into the software is more secure
than compilers that link to live Internet password control
systems.

Find out if the compiler generates passwords online. If it has
this option, it allows you to choose any payment processing
system you want or to do the payment processing yourself.

Next, look into the size of ebook the compiler supports. The
best compilers can create ebooks up to 2 GB in size without
decompressing the HTML pages or images to your hard disk.
Usually, ebooks that are 2 GB in size can easily support 6 GB of
compressed data. The catch here is that only text files will
generally be compressible.

You do not want a compiler that decompresses this amount of data
when the user attempts to open your ebook. This would mean that
anyone who purchases your ebook will have to wait for all the
data to decompress before they can access your ebook right after
downloading it. So look for compilers that only decompress
temporarily files that are NOT HTML to the local hardisk.
Non-HTML files include Flash, Word, and Acrobat files. This type
of compiler is more secure and certainly faster.

Make sure the compiler you choose is compatible with your system
software. Check out what version of Windows it requires, and
make sure you have that version before buying your compiler.

Support issues are extremely important. Choose a compiler that
includes an installation program. This program allows your user
to choose a number of different places on their computer to
install the ebook, to place a shortcut on their desktop, and to
add the ebook, if they choose, to the Start Programs menu.

You also want excellent and accessible vendor support. Make sure
you can access quick technical support! At three o’clock in the
morning, this factor will be VERY important. Also, check to see
the terms of free technical support offered. Unlimited technical
support is obviously the best option.

Check to see if the company that puts out the compiler software
offers a service level agreement. This agreement is to assure
you of their quality response to your questions or problems.

A good thing to consider is how long the compiler has been on
the market. Usually, the version number will give you an idea.
The longer the program is on the market, the higher the version
number, the more bugs have been worked out.

When choosing an ebook compiler, do not be swayed by incredible
promises and dazzling sales copy. Do your homework first, and
then consider all the above issues and factors before choosing
an ebook compiler.

P.S.

If you’ve enjoyed this article, please be sure to forward it to
a friend.

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Speech/Language Disorders in Adults

Speech is the physical act of producing sounds. There are
four major categories of problems. One cause is a physical
abnormality, such as a dental gap due to missing teeth or a
gap between teeth. Some lisps are an example of this. Cleft
palates and cleft lips can also result in speech that sounds
different.

A second cause is apraxia of speech, or verbal apraxia,
which is a sequencing problem. Sound clusters, such as
“str” are reduced to just “s”, and long words are rarely
spoken the same way twice. In fact, some syllables of long
words are omitted at times. People with this problem may
learn to speak in short words as a way of hiding their
difficulty.

Dysarthria of speech sounds slurred. It comes from a
weakness of various muscles.

A fourth cause is idiopathic, or due to unknown causes.

Stuttering is a special case. Research has often shown
genetic components and physical differences int he brains
of stutterers. Other people believe there can be a
psychological component, as when a person starts
stuttering when feelingunder a lot of stress or after a
traumatic event.

The two biggest causes of language problems are head
injury, such as from car accidents, and strokes. Other
causes also occur.

Depending on where in the brain the injury occurred,
problems understanding language and difficulty expressing
oneself may result. A person could receive long directions
and follow them, but not say he needs a piece of equipment,
for example.

Word-finding problems are a special example of difficulty
expressing oneself. The word may be “on the tip of your
tongue”. Most people have occasional difficulty with this, but
if it is severe, this should be investigated further.

There may also be poor executive functioning, such as time
management and sequencing skills. (This could include
setting priorities, getting places on time, etc.) Math skills,
both in basic operations like adding, and in time and money
skills, can be affected by head injuries and strokes.

Speech-language pathologists have the expertise to
diagnose and treat these problems. They may work closely
with your doctor, and often require a prescription from him
before working with a client.

Help is available! Workers with these issues should talk to
their physicians, and check with their health plans about
coverage.

Katie Schwartz, CCC-SLP is a certified speech-language
pathologist and the director of Business Speech
Improvement. She can be reached at
http://www.BusinessSpeechImprovement.com Her company
specializes in intensive, work-related, customized
communication training, including speech/language
therapy. Other speech-language pathologists can be
located at http://www.corspan.org, and http://www.asha.org

Ask Jeff- How do I get my novel finished?

———————————————————————
This article may be freely used provided an active link is included
to http://www.heislerink.com/writeaway.asp and provided that the resource box
and all article content remain unaltered. Notification is appreciated,
but not required. Notify author at jheisler@heislerink.com.
———————————————————————

Title: Ask Jeff- How do I get my novel finished?
by Jeff Heisler

——————————————————————————–

Q: “Dear Jeff. How do I get my novel finished? I set a goal to have it done by end of the year and I’ve still got a long way to go. Any suggestions?” - Pam.

Jeff: A lot of writers have this problem. Fortunately there’s a tool you can use to keep you on track. What you need is a quota.

Some writers are lucky that they don’t have to push themselves to finish. They enjoy sitting at the keyboard so much- it’s easy for them to finish novel after novel. Stephen King once described his writing output as “diarrhea of the keyboard.” What? Were you expecting something rosy from the king of horror?

For the rest of us- and it does include some major literary talents- we need a system to keep us on track. That’s where the quota comes in.

I highly suggest using word count for a quota. Set a number of words for the day and be sure to meet it. Find a comfortable daily output. Many bestselling authors have 1,000 or 2,000 word daily quotas. Others have less.

Earnest Hemingway- THE writer, used a quota. People tell stories of Papa Hemingway sitting at the corner of the bar, hovered over his hand written pages. He mumbled to himself as he counted each and every word.

Others use a page quota. BAD IDEA.

Look, your brain doesn’t like to work any harder than it has too. If you give your creative mind an assignment to write 2 pages of manuscript, you’ll end up with a lot of this:

“Hey Sam?”

“Yeah.”

“Sam?”

“Yeah, over here.”

“How are ya Sam.”

yada yada yada. . .

Word count quotas prevent you from typing pages of empty fluff.

How do you set your quota? If you have a deadline, divide the number of words you need by the number of days you have to write.

If you are aiming to complete a 75,000 word novel in 3 months then you figure:

3 months X 30 days a month= 90 days.

75,000 words/90 days=833 words a day (say 900 for the sake of simplicity.)

So that’s your quota. If you plan on taking weekends off, or if there are any days when you know you will be unable to write- subtract those days from your calculation. Even a small quota can make a big difference. A 250 word per day quota averages about 1 page a day. You have a nice sized novel in a year.

Whatever your quota is- stick to it. If you go over your quota- fine, but that doesn’t mean you can write less tomorrow, or take the day off. Most of your creativity happens when you are away from the keyboard. While you’re off doing other things your brain, an excellent multitasking device, looks at its list of things to do. If you hold yourself to a steady schedule, your brain will make sure it’s prepared.

“I’ve got that writing assignment coming up,” it says to itself. “Lets see, how can I put that scene together?”

By the time you sit down to type, the hard part’s already done. Your brain just pours out the text and your time at the keyboard is simply dictation. When that happens your pages fly, and the writing get less tedious and can actually be fun!

Treat meeting your quota like any other daily chore. You brush your teeth every day, shower every day, and write your quota every day. Think in those terms and you’ll finish your novel in no time at all.

(c) Jeff Heisler, 2002

————————————————————————–
Jeff Heisler is a freelance writer and editor of Write Away.
Read more of Jeff’s writing articles at http://www.heislerink.com/writeaway.asp.
You may also write to Jeff at jheisler@heislerink.com
————————————————————————–

About the Author

Jeff Heisler is a freelance writer and editor of Write Away.
Read more of Jeff’s writing articles at http://www.heislerink.com/writeaway.asp.
You may also write to Jeff at jheisler@heislerink.com

How to Write Funny — It's All About Timing

My Dad has this old joke that goes, “What’s the most important thing about humor?” After a short pause, he interjects, “TIMING!”

I’ve rolled my eyes many a time over this joke.

But here’s a new version for writers: “What’s the most important thing about writing funny? …… WORDING!”

Whether you’re talking about stand-up comedy or humorous writing, surprise is one of the biggest elements of laughter. (Yes, Dad, I know, “Surprise” is what your little timing-joke is really all about.)

Readers become accustomed to seeing things written a certain way. As a writer, you have a choice: give it to them they way they expect, or surprise them with something different.

Here’s an example:

In my article “Does Target Shun Veterans?” I say that Internet Urban Legends are “stories that scare readers into believing such things as rat urine contaminating the tops of their canned peaches, and so forth.” I could have just as easily written, “Internet Urban Legends are stories that scare readers into believing the tops of their canned food is dirty.” But that wouldn’t surprise anyone, and it would have made my piece just another bland “news story.”

I also shook up the sentence about Internet Urban Legends by including some humorous exaggerations. Simply writing “canned food” isn’t nearly as funny as being super specific and writing, “canned peaches,” and being “dirty” is far more typical than having “rat urine” on your lid.

The idea of being very specific is what comedian (and my hero) Jerry Seinfeld has built his entire career on. He doesn’t just talk about flying on an airplane, he mentions everything from the really small bag of peanuts to the pilot announcing the flight play-by-play. As an audience, we laugh at these things because it’s something we’ve experienced but never given much thought to. Who else but Seinfeld could have an entire 30-minute television show about toxic glue on envelopes?

Drawing attention to things that are common to all but seldom discussed makes people chuckle. This is mostly due to their slight embarrassment when they realize “wow, I do that,” but it’s also because for the first time they are paying attention to something they might not have otherwise.

But aside from timing, exaggerations and calling attention to life’s quirks, sentence structure may be the ultimate weapon for writing humor. Just as a lyricist times his verses to a beat, writers need an internal rhythm to make their work conversational and surprising. There is quite a difference between writing a factual news piece and composing a humorous essay, but the biggest difference is sentence structure. Cut-and-dry news pieces need to follow a formula so that the content doesn’t get lost. When writing a narrative or essay, however, you can play with pauses (dashes, colons, etc.), italics and words to create a feeling and rhythm.

Follow these hints and your writing will be surprising and funny….AND have great timing.

++You may reprint the above column on your website so long as the following is included the URL address is actively hyperlinked back++

THIS MUST BE INCLUDED: Copyright 2004 Sarah Smiley http://www.SarahSmiley.com - Sarah Smiley’s syndicated column Shore Duty appears weekly in newspapers across the country.

sarah@sarahsmiley.com

How to Start and Sustain a Career as a Freelance Writer

Have you wondered how you can make a career writing books or articles for various publications? Or are you seeking a viable second income opportunity but do not know where to start? Well, freelance writing may be the right career for you and it can open a world of lucrative opportunities for you.

You do not need to have special qualifications to be a freelance writer and make money. What you need is the ambition, diligence in your craft and willingness to learn the necessary skills. Of course you need to be literate in a popular language especially English in order to communicate with a large readership and sell your work widely.

Getting Started

Getting started as a freelance writer is easy compared to what it takes to enter other careers .You need to assess your skills to enable you to choose what to write about. What knowledge or training do you have? Are there issues or facts you are more familiar with? What are your hobbies/interests? These and other questions if well answered will have set you on the path to being a writer.

However, it may be necessary to learn the art of writing from experts and this is why you should take a writing course. There are many writing courses available and an appropriate search on the Internet will reveal some, which may be suitable for you. While some courses are full-time and may require minimum entry qualifications you may find a host of others which are part-time and do not require any special qualifications.

A good option is to take a distance learning course and you will find several in this category. These give you an opportunity to study at home at your own pace. Notable among them are those offered by two UK based colleges and which are available to prospective writers worldwide. One is offered by the Writers Bureau of Manchester United Kingdom. The college offers a freelance writing distance learning course which leads to the issue of a certificate on completion and gives you an opportunity to earn from writing while you learn.

The other college is the London School of Journalism which offers diplomas and post graduate diplomas in writing. Many areas of writing are covered by both colleges and it is advisable that you enroll in one of these courses to sharpen your talents and take advantage of the opportunities that go with studying them.

In case you do not feel like enrolling in writing courses for any reason then all is not lost. There are vast resources on the internet and elsewhere which you can resort to for learning about writing. You may read various essays on writing on the internet written by experienced writers. There are many of these and it’s only a matter of knowing how and where to find them. There are also books about freelance writing which you may order from book stores or direct from publishers. A visit to your local library may also prove useful in unearthing useful information on writing.

Once you have embarked on writing you need to keep a notebook or journal to record wild ideas as they come to your mind or while reading various publications. To discover ideas for your writing you need to read widely magazines, newspapers, books, watch television and so on. Give the news and features a second thought, study them critically and ask yourself questions about what is contained in them. Imagine what would have been the situation if the events cited had not happened. Since they have happened how can the situation be made better? What are the effects of those events? Think more about them. Dream and take notes.

WRITING YOUR PIECE

Now comes the hard part putting your ideas in black and white. This part may be difficult depending on your circumstances. You could be having so many ideas that you are overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information you have collected. You are stuck with stacks of sheets of information you have jotted down that you do not know where to begin. Alternatively you could be having only a few ideas to fit only one page and do not know where to find information to write the rest of your book or article.

These are dilemmas that face writers at various points in time perhaps they reflect lack of tact in handling theirs work. As a writer you need to do proper planning to avoid any of those two scenarios you need to have researched your market first before even researching the subject.

This brings us to the issue of markets study. You need to study the audience to know what their requirements are. In the case of articles, you should study the writers/submission guidelines and a few issues of the publications to know your markets well. Many publications have writers/submission guidelines on their web pages. Next you need to be familiar with the style guidelines. These are more or less the same as the writers guidelines but may include issues such as spelling, punctuation and other aspects of grammar.

It is important that you read their style guides to avoid you articles being rejected. In case you do not know where to find them then it is advisable to write to the editors for copies. Alternatively you may be find some in libraries and bookstores.

As important as the study of the market is the research on the topic you want to write about. Write down all ideas you have on the topic as they come to mind without editing them. Turn them upside down to come up with fresh ideas. Then decide on the angle and slant of your article.

The above exercise would have generated a lot of material, which may be used as a basis for your story. Then depending on the type of article you are writing you can do extensive research, taking notes as you carry on. The research could be on the internet, which is a good place to start from or in publications found at the library. You may have to buy some books, which are not locally available or pay for photos from media agencies. Alternatively you may use the services of hired researchers or research agencies. A good source of research documents is the British Library, which can for a small fee send you photocopies of requested material anywhere in the world. The US Library of congress has a similar service. You may also search for experts in your local directory who may provide you with useful information. In sum there is limitless scope for research and only you may decide on the limit based on the requirements of the article.

Next, you should organize the ideas and information from the research into a concise and coherent order. This is the planning face where you decide the structure and format of your article, choose what is relevant and would advance the goal and spirit of your article. Select ideas from the research information and not word for word copying. Be careful lest you be accused of plagiarism of other people’s work or infringing on their copyrights. Write several drafts until the complete article has taken the shape and tone you want, check on the spelling, punctuation and other aspects of grammar and style in each draft to achieve a well polished article. It is not a bad idea if you seek a second opinion from your peers before preparing the final draft. There are thousand of writing communities on the internet which may assist you in that regard.

After writing the final draft type it and send it to the responsible editor of the publication.

The Contents

What goes into making a successful article? Well the answers could be varied depending on the scope and nature of the article. I believe there can be no standard way of writing an article. However, we can at least agree on some universal principles of what constitutes a good article.

First, any article must be captivating to its intended readership or audience. Readers must be glued to it and have the thirst to read it on until the end. They will read it twice, thrice and even more or keep it as a souvenir for days and years to come. This is the ideal article and if yours can reach that level then the better.

Your article must offer useful information, which the reader may use to his benefit or at least enlighten him on important issues. If it is a story it will give the reader temporary relief or inspiration on a particular issue. It will make him dream or be filled with imagination, which will give him a sense of relaxation. In brief it will entertain him.

How will you achieve all that? By organizing the article in a logical and structured order. You will use words to convey ideas precisely; you will say what you mean and mean what you say. Choose the right words to convey the intended message. You swear not to use incomprehensible metaphors and jargon and if you do then you are certain that they are at the level that your audience is readily familiar with. Use the right similes and aphorisms. Be concise in your use of language, make the sentences and paragraphs flow smoothly with similar ideas aptly grouped and flowing in a logical and pleasant order. Paragraphs are short and measured.

All that is not easy to achieve with the stroke of a pen and you will have to do much learning and imagination to attain that level. Hopefully there is an easy path to that objective. This is through constant reading especially of fiction books since they are a great resource of imaginative ideas and are models of language use.

Read them regularly and take a few notes down. Do not stop with fiction books but do also read magazines, newspapers and other non-fiction works. See what other successful writers have done and follows the principles behind their writing success.

Let’s now look at the how part of writing. An article contains three main parts that is introduction, the body and the conclusion. The introduction may be said to be the most important part of the article. This is not to underrate the other two parts or to say that we can have an article without the other parts.

We wish rather to show its significance in interesting your readers to want to read the article. This is exemplified with the first opening paragraph popularly known as the leader or lead paragraph. It is a strong paragraph which aptly summarized the theme of the article. It will mostly likely be one sentence but no harm if it is split into two or three sentences.

The body of the article follows next after the introduction and is divided into many paragraphs depending on the length of the article. The main theme of the article is developed here. Arguments and counter-arguments are made. Facts are spilled. Comments are made. Analysis is done. Without the body you have no successful article or no article at all. Your credibility as a writer will be judged on how you successfully handled the writing of the body. You readers will have no regrets of having gone past the introduction and entering the body. If they find it satisfactorily written, suspense overcomes them until they reach the conclusion.

To conclude the article, the writer ingeniously in a few sentences summarizes the theme of the article. He does not recapitulate the facts cited in the body but gives the reader the sequel of the story. It all requires creativity to write a good conclusion that leaves the readers with good memories of your article. The conclusion does not leave questions lingering the minds of your readers but gives a final word on the theme. In matters which are full of uncertainty the writer speculates on the most likely outcome.

Marketing Your Work

Here comes the most important part. You have taken days or weeks collecting information, gathering ideas, writing and polishing your article and it is high time you gained from your sweat.

There are several approaches to selling your article. Each has its own advantages but most experts are unanimous that querying is the better option. This is simply because it is inexpensive and you get value for what you work for even if after a long time. It is hassle-free and while not without its disappointments, it is relatively less painful if you receive a rejection.

Querying is the first thing you should do after you have formed a strong idea on the theme of your article. Check publications directories and on the internet for addresses of editors responsible for accepting freelance writers’ work and then write to them addressing them by their names and titles.

A query is a one page or so letter to a named editor of a publication asking for an opportunity to contribute an article for publication. It contains a brief summary of the main theme of the article, it’s suggested length, when you are likely to deliver it if you are commissioned to write it, the likely benefits the readers will derive from the article and why you are the right person to write the article.

You should put a lot of imagination in writing the query letter as this is your best opportunity to convince the editor of your ability to deliver on your promises. If you have a good resume attach it or mention briefly relevant contents which makes you stand out as the most suitable to write the article. Editors prefer experienced writers to novices and if you have what it takes then say so. Otherwise if you are a beginner avoid saying so but include a few samples tailored to the publications readers taste. If you will use special or exclusive sources of information then don’t forget to mention that in your query.

How many times should one query per article? As many times as is practicable, just so long as you are able to deliver on your promises taking into consideration time constraints. In fact for your writing business to be viable you need to send many queries to ensure that your potential earnings will be able to sustain you in your career. However you should be wary of a situation where you receive several acceptances on the same theme and you send exact replicas of the article. Try to give a different spin and change the wording to suit different publications. Take work according to your ability and capacity.

The other alternative to marketing your work is to write articles for mass audiences imagining their needs and tastes and submitting to various publications. You target several publications in one category which you feel will be most suitable to accept the theme of your article. You may also copy your article from your disk or computer and paste on virtual publishing communities websites or email your article to various editors. This is a quick and cheap way of making multiple submissions of your articles.

We have mentioned virtual publishing communities websites and I feel we should explain briefly what they are. These are websites which accept articles or work form writers and sell to various publications and pay you a modest fee. They are a good starting point for the beginner as they provide quick results of seeing your work published. To be frank it is difficult to win writing assignments without some writing experience or proof that you are a published writer. Such websites give you an easy way of proving yourself and also earning something from your work.

However, these type of websites may have their own pitfalls such as going out of business before you get paid or profiting from your work and giving you little in return. A consoling fact is that you still retain your copyright and you can sell your articles to other publications. Please regard these websites as sources of additional income and not the ultimate markets for your writing work.

How do you know which publications accept work from freelance writers or even the names and addresses of magazines and newspapers editors? There are several ways to do that and we shall mention a few here. A good reference for finding freelance writing markets is the annual Writers Markets. This contains names and addresses publications which accept freelance work. You may order it from Amazon.com or you can check if there is a copy at your local library. On the web, you can use search engines such as Google.com to search for markets by using keywords such as “newspapers and magazines”. You will be surprised by the sheer volume of links that are available which you can browse slowly to look for the categories you want. You will find thousands of publications whether classified by country, subject or readership.

Dealing With Rejections

While doing your marketing you will experience some difficulties such as some publications which have gone out of circulation or editors who do not respond but more often you will receive many polite rejections. Some editors may give you suggestions they wish you to consider before accepting your proposal.

All in all we have to accept that rejections are a fact of life and we will have to live with them but you will be a lot wiser if you study the reasons for your rejections to enable you improve your future queries and submissions thus increasing your chances of getting acceptances. While some editors may not be interested in the theme you are proposing others would have been dissatisfied with your level of experience to handle the articles you are proposing to write. It could also be that the publication has received a similar query from another writer or has plans to write a similar piece using their staff writers. Probably they have published an article on the same theme recently and they feel they have exhaustively covered the subject and unless you have something new or refreshing they are not accepting any proposals for now.

Read what they write to you and learn from their reasons. Do not be discouraged but send more queries to other publications. Choose popular themes for articles and add more value in them such as statistics, photographs, expert comments and an objective assessment of the issues. With time and patience you will ultimately succeed.

Organizing Yourself

As you carry on with your writing you need to organize yourself to successfully take advantage of opportunities as they come along and to ensure that you do not fail to beat deadlines. There are basic necessities such as stationery including files for clippings manuscripts and photographs. You need to keep track of your articles to know where they were published, when and follow up payments. You may need to draw up contracts, type up your articles, post or email them.

Prepare and follow a work plan to enable you succeed in researching and writing articles. Deal with one assignment first before you go to the next. Dedicate as much time as possible to writing since this is the core function of your career. If you write less then the less you will earn and the less motivated you will be to continue with writing.

You also need to spend much time querying on multiple article ideas. This is important since you will be looking for future sales. Though specializing on one genre is good, you should occasionally look for other branches of writing and markets to maximize your chances of making sales.

Manage your financial affairs well so that you do not cripple your career, budget your income and invest in books and other publications o keep your ideas train moving on and on. Don’t forget to invest in savings and other lucrative opportunities for the occasional rainy day.

Once you have a stable income you may open a small office and employ staff to assist you in research, typing and other important tasks. This will enable you churn out more articles every month than if you handle everything yourself. Keep expenses to a minimum and go for high paying markets.

You can build a career out of writing and earn yourself extra income part-time or regular income full time from freelance writing. However you need to study the art of writing, organize yourself and constantly search for markets to stay afloat.

Don’t fear to take the plunge, the time is now!

Abdallah Khamis Abdallah is a freelance copywriter and ghostwriter. To learn more about how you and your business can benefit from viral and credibility marketing solutions visit his website at: http://www.qualitywritingsolutions.com.

quantumpro@lycos.com

Brain Freeze? Hire A Ghost Writer

Does this sound familiar? You have a newsletter that needs to go out in a few days, but you just can’t come up with a good article to write. You have a serious case of writer’s block. Or, you know you should be adding more content to your site on a regular basis to keep the search engines (and of course your visitors) happy, but you just can’t find the time to sit down and write articles every week. There’s an easy solution to both problems. Hire a ghostwriter to write the articles for you.

Basically, a ghostwriter is someone that writes articles for you that you get to claim as your own and publish under your own name. No one other than yourself and the ghostwriter has to know that you didn’t write the article yourself. Once you pay for the article, you hold all rights to it and can publish it wherever and however you see fit.

Now let’s talk about the hard part. How do you find a good ghostwriter? You can start by posting a small project on elance or guru.com. Anyone interested in writing for you can bid on the project and you will get to choose your writer from the bidders. I mentioned posting a small project because you just don’t know exactly what you are going to get until you receive the finished articles. A small project in elance or guru terms would be about 15 to 20 short articles on a subject that’s either common knowledge, or easily researched. You want to make it worth the bidders (to attract good writers) without having to spend too much per article.

Other great ways to find a ghostwriter is to network with others in your field, ask friends and post on message boards related to the topic you want the articles written about. Just ask if there is someone interested in writing for you. There are also quite a few freelance writers that offer ghostwriting as well. Search for ghost writing in your favorite search engine to find sites like momva.com .

Pricing for ghostwritten articles can range anywhere from $2.00 to $65 per article. Most writers will charge about $5.00 to $12.00. Keep in mind that you will pay less for shorter articles than long ones. The average article size is from 300 – 1200 words. Shop around, but don’t shop by price along. Like anywhere else you will get what you pay for. Articles in the $2 to $6 range tend to be pretty simple and to be honest quite boring. To get any decent hourly rate, the writer has to crank out 4 – 5 articles per hour and it will show in the quality of the article. You can however find some great articles in the $8 to $12 price range.

When choosing a writer, start by asking for sample articles. Find a few writers who’s style you like and ask them to write a few articles each. You should be able to tell who will work out and who doesn’t. If you have done a good bit of writing yourself, you may want to provide the writers with some of your own articles before they start, so they can get a feel for your style and personality. Pick one or two writers to write for you on a regular basis. It may also be worth staying in touch with the runner-ups in case a writer doesn’t work out, or doesn’t have time for additional projects down the road.

So, will it be worth paying someone to write your articles? It sure does for me. Submitting article and adding them to your own site is one of the fastest and cheapest ways to get traffic to your site. When you add the articles written by your ghostwriter to your site, optimize them by a particular keyword, or key phrase to get more search engine traffic. Then submit the un-optimized version to the various article directories. As your article is used on other sites and in newsletter the traffic will start coming in.

How much are you paying right now to advertise on various websites and in newsletters? $25 per ad or more? For $25 you can easily get 2 to 5 quality articles from a ghostwriter. These articles can then appear in countless publications and websites over and over again. Don’t forget, your resource box, with a link to your site will be included each time the article is published. Your articles may appear in larger newsletters or even print papers and magazines that you could never afford to place an ad in. If you ask me, hiring a ghostwriter and getting more articles with my resource box out there is a great investment.

More business information, how and where to get started, go to www.mommysplace.net today!

A competitive and cutthroat look at writing

Let me start by saying, humor that is hurtful or at the expense of other writers has no place in the writing industry. Board fights and flame wars do not belong in the writing community. This should be about writing. Online writing communities have become a cutthroat, often uncaring part of cyber world.

In order to succeed in writing, I’ve always believed that we must come together and help each other. I do not understand the attitude many writers have adopted of stabbing their fellow writer in the back. I’ve always looked at the other writing communities and other writers out there as a part of my community, rather than competitors. I don’t pretend to know everything and though I run a writing community; I’m still learning like many of you. It is sad though that many writers don’t share the same opinions as me. They would rather compete than bridge together. Am I the only voice saying,” As a writers it is time we bridge together as one?” “It is time that we helped one another.”

Some may be looking at our community of writers and thinking,” I’m not going to join Today’s Woman because it’s too cutthroat and it won’t be a community.” “It will be like the rest that I have joined.” Well you are wrong because we are a community. The more I look at the bickering and flame wars on some of the other writing communities, I have found Today’s Woman writing community to be very supportive. We’re like a big happy family as opposed to some of the other communities, which are cutthroat and competitive or filled with trolls and writers insulting their fellow writers.

Don’t ever let anyone tell you that we don’t have some exceptionally warm, caring, and professional people who choose to submit their content to Todays-Woman.net. Most importantly don’t let anyone tell you that you can not write. I’ve enjoyed working with and getting to know the members within my community , as well as so many others in the writing industry. Over the past two months I have met more authors and writers with simply no values or no morals. I have seen writing communities that were suppose to be there to help writers become infested with bickering, name calling and flame wars.

Don’t let your career go down in flames. The reason is that your reputation speaks for you and you never have to badmouth anyone in order to make yourself look better. The way you carry yourself speaks volumes. Don’t put your reputation on the line by getting into flame wars. I have learned that in writing your credibility is everything. I also want to thank my husband who gave me an important bit of advice he said, “They are critiquing you not because there was anything wrong with your writing but it was because you wrote it.” As a writer we should never second guess our writing because of what someone said. Professional writers will help you improve your writing not make fun of your writing.

Also don’t ever belittle another writer to save your own behind. Recently I had the members of a well known writing community email another website, regarding one of my articles . They sent 43 complaints so that the editor of the website would remove it. One of the letters stated,” The article contained many typos, and I didn’t feel the author communicated her ideas very clearly.” When I received wind of this I contacted the editor of the website and she replied, “But I did receive no less than forty-three (43) emails complaining about the spelling errors and the grammatical problems. That’s much higher than we are used to dealing with.” “We generally don’t receive complaint emails.” “The members in the forum you pointed me to are now criticizing me and the quality of my sites.” That should have been her first clue that this was nothing more than a witch hunt to get my article removed. Therefore she fed me to the witches instead of supporting me as a writer.

One of my own members recently submitted an article to me that had a few spelling and grammar errors. He and I worked together to improve the errors in his article. The article was very well written I might add. However that is what we do as writers, we help one another. Would it not of been better for that editor to point out that I had errors in my article and they would need to be fixed before she could publish it on her website?

To be a successful writer you need three things: Belief in yourself, a strong backbone and a good reputation. You can be the greatest writer ever but if you are in the market for backstabbing and getting into flame wars on message boards, then you might as well put up your notebook and pen and join a chat room. There you can let your fingers run aimlessly over the keyboard as much as you like.

I have gotten into enough flame wars on message boards defending my website reputation and my writing. I shouldn’t need to defend my writing to anyone and neither should you. I realize that spelling and grammar may not be one of my best qualities however that is why we have editors. I appreciate nothing more than someone coming to me and pointing out in a polite manner that I have a spelling or grammar mistake. This way I may improve on the quality of my next article.

This is a cutthroat world and there are going to be those that tell you that you can’t write and that your publishing company is a joke and they will take your most compassionate poem and make it resembles something they would wipe their butt with. I have learned you need one tough back bone in this cutthroat industry. I also have learned that the ones doing the insulting have no more of a reputation than you in this industry. They have gone with pod publishers or have never been published outside of the web or made some bad career choices regarding who they published with.

In closing some advice, you need to tell yourself “I am a writer first and foremost and I’ll be damned if I ever let anyone tell me different.” To the 43 writers who felt it necessary to poke fun at some serious articles that I wrote all I can say is poke away. Some of those articles were on some serious issues, like keeping your child safe on the internet. While you are only questioning my grammar, spelling and the structure of my sentences; someone is reading my article and taking my important advice to heart. That same advice might just save their child’s life. Belittle away if it makes you feel better. I write because I love to write and I have something to say. If you don’t like what I have to say, don’t read it.

About the Author

Rose DesRochers, Canada
admin@todays-woman.net
http://www.todays-woman.net
Rose is a published author and web columnist. She is also the founder of Today’s Woman a supportive online community for men and women over 18.

Syndicated Columnist Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck Collaborates With Unsigned Music Magazine

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Atlanta, GA–January 16, 2006–Beginning in February 2006
UNSIGNED Music
Magazine will add MuzikMan Reviews by Keith Hannaleck as a
new monthly review column. The column will center on reviews of
independent artists all across the globe. Keith Hannaleck, owner
of MuzikReviews.com
provides quality reviews of independent artists, major-label
re-issues and publicity/press release announcements.

“Providing quality content for our readers has always been of
paramount importance to us”, said Kenneth Hamlett UNSIGNED’s
publisher, “That’s one of the reasons why we decided to bring
Keith’s column on board.”

“The constantly growing indie music market relies heavily on
good quality reviews”, commented Ian Cole, artist liaison for
UNSIGNED, “We are overwhelmed with requests for reviews and we
hope by adding more review features we can better service this
ever growing market”.

UNSIGNED Music Magazine provides full-length interviews,
reviews, and commentaries about unsigned and independent
artists. The magazine also produces a monthly podcast available
on iTunes and co-produces with KCSG Television an independent
artist’s music video show called The Echo, available to 1+
million subscribers in Utah.

Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck has been providing quality content
since 1998 and is a member of the Association of Music Writers
and Photographers. His website is www.muzikreviews.com and
his content is currently available on more than 27 websites.

Contact:

Kenneth Hamlett

UNSIGNED Music Magazine 6980 Roswell Road Suite 06

Atlanta, GA 30328 Tel: 678-234-5243 Fax: 612-233-7743 Email

Writing Articles & Promoting Your Business

If you’ve been searching for a creative way to promote your online business, consider writing articles and submitting them to article directories. Writing articles that are relevant to your site or product is an inexpensive yet effective way to drive traffic to your site. Submission is usually free and signing up is simple. Begin with one, well written article and submit it to a free directory. Over time this article will appear in various publications and traffic to your website will begin to increase. The more articles you write, the more exposure you’ll have.

Most article directories are free for both authors and publishers. When an owner of a website or newsletter is seeking new content for their publication, an article directory is often the first place they’ll look. Remember, the higher the quality of the article the more likely it will be used. Once it is published, your article will be seen by many potential customers.

Your articles should be well written, informative and keyword rich. Be sure the articles you write are on topics you‘re familiar with. This will make the writing process much easier.

If your article is picked up and used by a publisher you’ll begin to increase your web presence as well as back links to your site. If, for example, a publisher of a newsletter with 1000 subscribers publishes your article, 1000 people will learn about your website or product. Article directories allow you to create a resource box at the end of your article where you can tell the readers a little bit about yourself and infirm then of your website. You’ll also be able to create links to your website.

Article writing is simple. The articles don’t need to be long, just well written and informative. It’s important that the articles you submit are original as search engines will often find duplicate articles. Also, writing original articles will eventually give you credibility and expert status.

There are some services which will submit your article to multiple directories for a fee. I’ve chosen a few directories and I manually submit to them regularly with terrific results. A simple search will result in a pretty good selection of directories. Niche directories are useful in that they offer wide ranging articles on a particular subject. One such directory, www.GardenListings.com/articles offers articles on gardening, the arts, nature and a few other related fields.

Before you publish your article be sure its concise (400 -1000 word is generally an appropriate length, longer articles can be divided into two) and well written. Format is important, as is grammar. Have a friend read the article before submitting it for an outside opinion. Most importantly, make sure that the article is informative and offers readers and potential customers original, useful information. If you do this you’ll be more apt to spark the interest of your readers.

T Hallinan is the founder and owner of the garden resource website http://www.gardenlistings.com. Visit the article directory at GardenListings at http://www.gardenlistings.com/articles.