You want what every apartment renter wants: the most comfortable surroundings you can get for the lowest possible monthly rent. Some of today’s newly constructed apartment communities have taken luxury to an entirely new level. Some complexes have gas fireplaces, TV monitors by the front door, drive-through mail service, and office equipment for their tenants, among other creature comforts. Every renter has to consider the importance of amenities like these. Are they important enough to you to merit a rent increase of perhaps $200 more than the rent you pay now, at a modest yet affordable complex? While some of us consider an apartment as just a place to hang one’s hat, others place a premium on home surroundings. But how do you determine how much you can stretch your budget — without ending up in the poorhouse in the process?

One suggestion, provided by Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, is to spend no more than 25 percent of your monthly gross income on your rent. For example, if your annual salary is $30,000 per year, or $2,500 per month, you shouldn’t plan to spend more than $625 per month on rent. And although it goes without saying, it’s important to remember that the extra money you allocate for rent in a slightly more upscale complex means less money for your other expenses — utilities, loan payments, entertainment, food, and most important, savings.

Here’s a short checklist of factors, provided by Florida-based Apartment Hunters, that you’ll want to consider when checking out a neighborhood. Of course, some of these factors may mean more to you than others, and you may want to consider some additional factors of your own.

* Is it close to your place of employment? * Is the neighborhood safe? * Is it close to a good school system? * Is it close to your church? * Is it close to stores, banks and the post office? * Is it close to public transportation? * What are the parking regulations (if you own a car)?

First-time apartment renters share one thing in common: surprise at just how many hidden expenses they encounter. Hiring movers and paying your first month’s rent only represent two small pieces of what can be a rather expensive pie. In addition, you’re going to be subjected to a credit check, and you’re required to prove that your gross monthly income is at a certain level, in order to provide your complex with some degree of security that you can pay your rent each month. So if you’ve overestimated your financial abilities in the past, either failing to make rent payments or credit-card payments, now is the time when that history could come back to haunt you. Here’s a brief run-down of some of those hidden expenses — and pre-move procedures — of which many renters either aren’t aware, or that they overlook in the excitement and bustle of moving:

Security deposits. Security deposits range from $100 to a full month’s rent; the average deposit is approximately $250. Some apartments require separate deposits for roommates. Credit application fees are generally $10 to $35.

Verifiable income. Verifiable gross monthly income is at least three times the monthly rent. For example, a rent of $500 would require a minimum of $1,500 gross monthly income.

Credit check. A credit check will be conducted by the apartment community or management company representing the community.

Rental history. Any previous rental history will be verified, and mortgage payments may be included as rental history. Additionally, some communities are also conducting criminal background checks.

Leases. All apartments require a written lease. Lease terms typically are seven to 12 months. Most leases are written for 12 months. Shorter lease terms and month-to-month options often are available at premium rates.

Utilities. You rent will often include sewer, water, trash, and pest control. Gas and electricity are almost always paid separately by the tenant.

Pet deposits. Although many apartment complexes allow pets, they require residents to pay dearly for the privilege of setting up house with Fido. Pet deposits are stiff, and tenants are charged per pet. Deposits range anywhere from $100 to $300 per pet, and either all or a portion is nonrefundable. Some complexes charge additional rent for pets — on top of the deposit. Pet size is commonly restricted to 20 pounds and 12 inches in height, although some communities do allow larger pets.

Most of use writers have our critics and that goes for those who write novels, documentaries, biographies, short stories, poetry, screen plays, news stories or simply articles either on or off line.

Recently my writing mentor, Dina Giolitto, who is an expert copywriter recently asked me about my critics after writing 3000 online articles over 3 grueling quarters, while averaging 285,000 words per month. She said;

“In reading your articles, one can ascertain you’ve acquired vast knowledge in the areas of mechanics, engineering, logistics, marketing, energy conservation, science and innovation, robotics… not to mention you keep up with current social and political trends. This makes you well able to articulate opinions based in fact. Yet, many readers have criticized you for “grammatical imperfection” in your articles. What is your response to their accusations?”

Indeed I have my critics like any other writer I suppose and many have accused me of not understanding all those subjects, yet being self-taught often means a lifetime of learning really and over time one does amass a wealth of knowledge of course. I suppose now after my crash course in learning to be a writer and of course I am no where near where I want to be; my response to any critic is “look at the score board!” Now then I do listen to their critiques and take an objective stance jumping into their point of view and perspective, really get inside their heads and ask myself;

1.) “Are those comments true?” If so, what can I do not improve, if not why do they feel that way? You can learn a hell of a lot from your critics and believe it or not sometimes you can benefit from them too. For instance: you can get New material to write on or discover another direction to discuss the industry, critique or explain something

2.) “Is the critic a legitimate commenter or is he a detractor?” In other words what are their true motives? Are they jealous? Are they one certain sector of the writing community who is on Prozac, Depressed, Insomniac, Alcoholic? Do they have a motive to destroy? Do they derive pleasure in creating controversy? Are they the type, which goes around the Internet looking for online forums to start a fight?

3.)”Is the critic accomplished in their own right?” Is the critic a superstar in their industry and really believes in their biting remarks, if so, it might be wise to study all their work and learn a new perspective and use that to propel meaningful thought or defend your case if in the end you have not changed you mind.

I believe that all authors who have gotten to a place in their careers where people are listening and reading what they have to say, should understand that there will be critics and detractors, so I offer my advice to deal with these folks. Think on it.

“Lance Winslow” – Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

I have to admit to being readily impressed by company names. Maybe it’s an age thing. You see, I was around when we had nationalised industries here in Britain, you know, British Railways, British Gas, British Steel, British Road Services, etc., etc. Those companies may have been over-staffed and under-efficient but you always knew you could trust them, and a product marked “Made in Britain” had class – in those days. Even after they became privatised the word “British” in a company name still, in my subconscious at least, gave that firm a stamp of approval. Those were the heady days when we had some traditional industries and workers could rely upon union protection to prevent their jobs being shipped out to third world countries.

When a company called PublishAmerica (http://www.publishamerica.com/index.asp) agreed to publish my small collection of short stories, I was delighted. This wasn’t a ‘tuppence ha’penny’ outfit but an organisation that boasted “America” in its title. I’ve never been to America but I have made some good “virtual” friends there and know how patriotic Americans are. How could you not feel safe doing business with a firm that so proudly flew the flag of that famous super power? When I checked out PublishAmerica’s website, all red, white and blue with the slogan “We treat our authors the old-fashioned way – we pay them,” I felt truly blessed. A publisher of high esteem (I believed the testimonials) recognised the reader-appeal of my stories and my potential as a writer.

Further encouragement came from the “Why PublishAmerica?” page where I was told “The majority of our books that are sold retail are sold in physical brick and mortar bookstores” and “PublishAmerica can remove the stigma of paying to be published. With PublishAmerica, you will have the very important distinction of having your book ACCEPTED BY A TRADITIONAL PUBLISHING COMPANY.”

Yet something about the company name puzzled me. I mean, why not “The American Publishing Company” or similar? As it stands “PublishAmerica” could be interpreted as an ambition to publish anything and everything that was ever written in that country. Amazingly, that interpretation very much sums up their objectives.

In my enthusiasm I had been studying PA’s Author’s Message Board, following links to previously published author’s websites and reading all the reviews and book excerpts I could find (not realising that authors with anything pertinent to say are instantly barred from posting). Then I read one of their books from cover to cover. Now, my own education at an orphanage school in the Highlands of Scotland was very basic, so my grasp of English Grammar left something to be desired. Nevertheless, convinced I had stories to tell and the ability to tell them, I had joined Internet critique groups to learn how to present them. When I read my first PublishAmerica book my feelings were a blend of embarrassment, anger and disbelief. The writer had obviously worked hard to put the story together and it had the makings of an entertaining read. It reminded me so much of my own first and only attempt at writing a novel – abundant clichés, suspect word selection, contrived scenes and wooden characters existing in a plot that lacked cohesion. It was in fact a story barely at the first draft stage, complete with spelling and grammatical errors. How could an ethical, self-respecting publishing house allow this to happen, I wondered?

PublishAmerica/ScamAmerica are most definitely NOT traditional publishers whatever their slogan implies. Recently interviewed by Steven Zeitchik of Publishers Weekly, PublishAmerica executive director Miranda N. Prather admits that her company DOES NOT EDIT FOR CONTENT, only for grammar and spelling. For readers and writers everywhere this has to be the most worrying statement ever made on behalf of a publisher. But it gets worse. Simultaneously Ms Prather announced the creation of an affiliation between PublishAmerica and Online Publishing Bookstore – Tome Toaster (http://www.onlinepublishingbookstore.com). Quote “Authors that generate sales and create a track record showing that they are able to promote as well as write a book will be referred to PublishAmerica by Tome Toaster.” So we have a situation where a writer’s ability to self-promote supersedes everything, including the ability to pen a readable story.

I find it a frightening fact that PublishAmerica already have 10,000 published books in the marketplace (recent announcement). Since they don’t edit for content it is safe to assume that the bulk of these are badly written at best. By choosing PublishAmerica, genuine AUTHORS who have worked hard at sharpening their writing and storytelling skills find their works irretrievably associated with some of the most inane rubbish ever written, for the period of their contract – SEVEN YEARS! Meanwhile READERS have the dilemma of finding a readable piece of fiction (or non-fiction) in an environment awash with literary garbage.

The scam is brilliant in its simplicity. Instead of asking for money up front, PublishAmerica solicit a list of up to 100 of the author’s friends and family whom they bombard with pre-publication flyers offering discounted copies. The sting is in the book’s cover price – anything from 25-50% above the going rate for a similar book – ensuring that the friends-and-family discount does not effect the publisher’s profit. My own 136 page “tome” was originally priced at $19.95 then reduced to the still prohibitive cover price of $16.95 when I expressed my disgust. Print-on-demand format allows the publisher to recoup publishing costs almost immediately on just a few such sales which are followed up by a “special” bulk purchase offer, irresistible to the author who has received only two free copies for review purposes. I invested three to four hundred pounds sterling and countless frustrating hours that I could ill afford on a marketing project that was doomed to failure from the start. PublishAmerica’s lack of author support, only answering phone calls for book orders and ignoring almost all email complaints, is legend, as is the nigh impossible task of finding a bookseller willing to stock PublishAmerica non-returnable titles.

PublishAmerica have a branch called PublishBritannica and I now realise how nave I have been to believe that a company would necessarily show respect to the country whose name they cynically exploit. Maybe such business practices are par for the course in today’s dog-eat-dog, winner-take-all world. I know there are “authors” prepared to buy huge quantities of their books then sell them on to sympathetic, unsuspecting acquaintances, mug gullible punters at book fairs and the like or just sell them to each other. I just enjoy writing stories, being neither a super salesman nor a confidence trickster. Is it too much to expect that a writer’s work might succeed on merit rather than misrepresentation and deceit? If companies like PublishAmerica are allowed to legally flourish while exploiting new authors, deceiving the reading public and stifling writing talent, apart from GENUINE TRADITIONAL HOUSES, the book publishing industry will surely drown in a dumbed-down literary quagmire of its own making.

NOTE: Many authors who value their work and who have fallen victim to this disreputable company are campaigning to have the sole rights to their material restored. To those who threaten legal action PublishAmerica offer a release agreement containing a gagging clause. Authors who feel that they have been misled or defrauded by this company are advised to write to -

Office of the Attorney General Consumer Protection Division-Beth Silverman 200 St. Paul Place Baltimore, MD 21202

and

BBB of Greater Maryland 1414 Key Highway, Suite 100 Baltimore, MD 21230 -5189 WWW: www.baltimore.bbb.org Email: info@bbbmd.org Phone: (410)347-3992 Fax: (410)347-3936

Eddie Bruce © 23.11.2004.

Can publicity help your online article writing efforts or can online writing increase your publicity? Well both actually, but either way you need to be able to be gotten a hold of easily.

You see if you are writing articles to propel a writing career, small business or even consulting services then you need to be findable. How can I make myself more findable you ask? Well, by carefully constructing a by-line at the bottom of each article and then having that byline send the reader to your website which is contact information.

As long as the interview actually is targeted to your audience and target market then indeed it is worthy of your time. And for an online author or a writer Free Publicity is a major plus indeed. Get all you can, but stay focused on your writing too. It is amazing how a couple of interviews a day can take up most of your day.

So, get publicity if you Need it, have something to tell the world or believe it can boost your efforts and stay focused and organized so you do not let it affect your writing, that is my advice to online article authors.

Any good author or writer will attract popular media if you focus on your writing quality and post your articles online at a reputable online article submission site and you have taken the best steps to insuring that you can create your own publicity. Consider all this in 2006.

“Lance Winslow” – Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

One of the most profitable niches to exploit as a writer is as an expert. Whether you’ve created a fail-safe program to help people lose weight or invented a new device to stop smoking, branding yourself as the go-to expert on a particular subject matter can be very lucrative, and assure you a constant stream of income for many years to come.

If you are an inventor, Patent Wizard Software can help get you started towards achieving that coveted expert status. If you have a brand new product that serves a utilitarian purpose, or have improved upon the design of an existing product (or plant), you may be eligible for a patent. This protects your intellectual property until you’re ready to commercialize it to its best advantage. It’s so simple to get started with this software, because it helps you through a potentially overwhelming process with a few clicks of the mouse. Don’t let your application be turned down for lack of information. Let Patent Wizard whisk you through with a minimum of effort.

As part of achieving your newfound expert status, you may need to collect photographs of patent drawings and specifications, or of you at public speaking engagements and teaching seminars. Shutterfly is the perfect solution for organizing digital photographs into galleries. They can store your collection online, so you can direct your publicity or media contacts there, and can make beautifully designed photo books, either hardcover or spiral bound. Lastly, your publicity needs are served with their digital photograph printing service, which gives you a choice of size and paper stock. It doesn’t get easier than this to reach out to your public.

Expert status also depends on your ability to deliver your content and your message to as many people as possible. Books, articles, press releases and seminars are certainly part of the package. But podcasts and audio books are undeniably the future. iAmplify has all your audio book and podcast needs met in one place. Whether your niche is exercise, business, or relationships, you can find excellent resources here that will increase your education, spark your imagination, and teach you everything you need to know in order to get your own podcasts up and running, fast.

Once you’ve established your status as an expert, and maximized the markets in which your message will be heard, you’ll need a way to keep in touch with your readers. Vertical Response has great tools to keep track of email campaigns. From branded newsletters to special offers, you can contact your most responsive buyers directly and effectively. Build email lists and craft advertising campaigns, all while staying clear of the CANN-SPAM laws. More sales means more money for you, and greater exposure for your soon-to-be widely disseminated message.

Congratulations Mr. or Ms. Expert Extraordinaire! You are well on your way to helping a lot of people find the answers to their most persistent questions. Be prepared for a heck of a lot of gratitude.

Copyright 2006 GrammarGods.com

As writers, we ensure that we use a great opening, that the content is spectacular, and each scene (in fiction) ends with a cliff-hanger. In short, we spend the majority of time tweaking our story. And of course, that’s the way it should be.

But how much time do we devote to titles? It appears to be very little.

I recently did an unofficial survey of both published and unpublished writers, and here’s what I found:

Most believed:

The title was unimportant

If the editor didn’t like it, she would change it

Makes no difference to the book

People would buy the book no matter the title

It was something to think about later… if the book sold

They couldn’t be any further from the truth if they tried.

Titles are extremely important to your story. So important, they will often mean the difference between selling or not.

It’s okay to have a weak or unrelated ‘working title’ – but that’s as far as it should go. The minute you have an appropriate catchy title, change it. Not only on your ms, but also in your mind.

When I wrote Saving Emma, it had a horrid working title. “Undercover Love” was never a favourite of mine, but it would do until I could find something better. As I wrote the second last chapter, part of the dialogue talked about the main protagonist ’saving Emma’ from certain death. In that unforgettable moment, the title jumped off the pages and into my brain.

Not only did my whole outlook on this book change, but it also changed in the minds of editors and publishers.

As “Undercover Love” I’d submitted the book to several publishers and had nothing but rejections. And not even personal rejections; I got form letter ‘dear writer’ rejections.

When the title changed, the responses also changed. I began to get bites and requests. Despite the fact that the story itself was unaltered, editors became interested.

All this because of a title change?

Well, yes. Titles are extremely important.

To get an idea of how much difference a title really can make, take a look at these examples of title changes:

• Tomorrow is Another Day – Gone with the Wind
• John Thomas & Lady Jane – Lady Chatterly’s Lover
• Something that Happened – Of Mice and Men
• Blossom and the Flower – Peyton Place

Sometimes it’s just a matter of tweaking your title slightly. For instance, one of my works-in-progress was called “Into the Arms of a Stranger” I hated the title, despised it in fact, until I shortened it. “Arms of a Stranger” is a much better title, and has more appeal than the longer version.

Following are just a handful of titles I’ve started with, and then changed for the better:

• Poison Ivy – The Rubber Ducky Killer
• The Flight – The First Flight
• The Gym – Mystery at Joe’s Gym
• First Person Point of View – Me, Myself & I: Writing First Person POV
• Finding Ideas – Today I Witnessed a Story

The title of your story, book, or article, should portray something of the content, as well as standing out from the crowd.

Just as a great looking cover will sell your book, so will an outstanding title.

Cheryl Wright is an award-winning Australian author and freelance journalist. In addition to an array of other projects, she is the owner of the www.Writer2Writer.com website and the Writer to Writer monthly ezine for writers. Her publications include novels, non-fiction books, short stories, and articles. Her upcoming release is “The Write Resources” from Central Avenue Press. Check out Cheryl’s website: http://www.cheryl-wright.com

So how does somebody get a self publishing book idea that suits them or their business the best?

A good place to start is by ensuring that you are clear on what your objectives are. In this case you want more visibility and therefore you will want to seek a self publishing book idea that will show off your expertise and position you as a leading expert in your field.

To get a good self publishing book idea you will need to first understand the pressing needs of those who can solve their problems using the skills and knowledge that you will lay bare in your book. What interests them the most? What do they want above everything else?

It is very important that you approach this whole issue of an ideal self publishing book idea in this manner because it is quite common for entrepreneurs and experts to get carried away by the pet subjects with no consideration for the particular niche they wish to target. Not addressing the needs of your market will only cause you to end up with a bad self publishing book idea that will not sell nor give you the visibility and enhanced image for your business that you seek.

It is also very important that you package your self publishing book idea in the most catchy, powerful title that will attract the highest possible interest from your audience. The fact is that people still judge their books by the cover. It is therefore a good idea to start thinking very seriously about your title and book cover blurbs immediately after you come with the self publishing book idea that you want to go with and through the writing and preparation of the book.

Visit the author’s self publishing book strategy blog for more amazing tips, details and valuable resources.

Articles are a great way to get added exposure to your website and business, and also a great way to increase your status as an expert in your field. Because of this fact, article writing and article submissions have skyrocketed. It is still an effective form of advertising, but you must be careful not to do things that will waste your time and effort. As an article directory manager, there are some things I see that cause me to delete articles that are submitted to the article directories I manage. These are 80% of the reasons I delete articles, so if you manage to avoid these problems, you will probably have a very good chance of getting your articles accepted by many of the article directories.

Submit Articles That are Relevant To the Article Directory Subject

Most article directories are general in nature and have a subject in just about every area, but there are now more article directories popping up that have more narrowly focused and specific subjects. These are called the niche article directories. They are not as large as the general directories, but their subject matter is much more highly relevant to a specific niche.

Visitors like to focus on these niche directory sites because they don’t have to wade through thousands of unrelated articles. Article directory managers like to manage these sites because they are much easier to manage. niche directories don’t grow as fast, but when it comes to having a site that is tightly focused, it’s hard to beat for bringing value to the sites visitors.

Having said that, it still amazes me to see so many people placing obviously irrelevant articles in these directories. As an article directory manager, these articles get deleted without a second thought. Continuous offenders will get their accounts deleted. It does no good to continue this practice and only promotes bad will.

Don’t Submit Articles That Are Taken Unchanged From Reprint Rights Packages

The overabundance of private label articles rising out of nowhere, creates a lot of temptation to just take the article, add a new headline and post it willy-nilly to all of the article directories you can find. This tactic is becoming less and less likely to work as article directory managers are now aware of the article redundancy. No one wants to have a site with 10,000 articles only to find that there are really 3,000 unique articles. When I find articles that are like this, I delete both articles from the directory.

Remember, most article directory owners are wanting to provide value to their visitors first and foremost (I did say ‘most’ as there are always exceptions). Having someone slog through 10 articles where the only difference is the synonyms used, isn’t providing the reader much value. Article directory managers who care about their visitors will usually delete these types of articles, and sometimes the accounts of the repeated offending article submitter.

Link to Decent Sites in Your Resource Box

A nice benefit to reading articles is that it allows the reader to go to another site to find more information if they are interested in the subject of the article. Nothing is more disappointing than clicking the link on the resource box and going to a site that ends up advertising viagra or some other completely unrelated and questionable topic.

Look at it this way, if you don’t feel comfortable sending your own mother to the site, then you can probably bet that someone who is reading about gardening tips or home repair isn’t going to be too happy about ending up at a site like that either. I have deleted some, what I thought were good articles, because they went to these sites, or they went to some really crappy software generated site that provided the reader absolutely no additional value. Those article submissions unfortuantely were a wasted effort.

Think of it this way, as linking becomes more important, in the eyes of the search engines, do you think people are going to willingly want to link to sites that are sure to get banned, if they haven’t been banned already?

Write Articles That Are a Useful Length

Articles that are too short (usually less than 350 words) are considered more like blog entries or extended ads. Article directory owners like articles that provide value to their readers, because articles that are higher quality will be picked up by more website and ezine publishers who are looking for quality content.

Articles that provide value usually solve a problem, tell a reader where they can find information to solve a problem and why it is a good source to use, give the reader a fresh spin on a particular topic, or just educate the reader about how to do something. Articles that are only a few paragraphs usually tend to be glorified ads to a product or service. You will get much more mileage out of writing valuable content, with a link back to your site in the resource box, than by writing 3 or 4 paragraphs as to why someone should use your product or service.

Writing and submitting articles to article directories can be a very worthwhile marketing activity, however you can waste a lot of your valuable time if you use the techniques that will get your article deleted. Just use common sense about what you write, how you write it and your submission process, and you can enjoy rewards that article publishing can bring you.

Copyright 2006 B Hopkins

Find out more about how to use web content to generate or increase your online income. Go to http://www.allwebcontent.com/articles to see more articles about how to earn an income from content. For more information about ecommerce grab this online course while it is still free.
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At first, I noticed that I could have written many of the articles that appeared in Instructor magazine. Having earned a B.A. in elementary education and taught for a short time, I had some experience in dealing with challenges in the classroom and wanted to capitalize on it. I also read writer’s magazines and reference books, which encouraged me even more.

Initially, my biggest challenge was summoning courage to just go ahead and describe my idea to the magazine’s editor. My query letter began with a hook that lead to my working title and a brief description of the article’s contents. Toward the end of this letter, I explained why my related experience made me the perfect writer for the job! A few weeks later, a reply arrived from the magazine. They were interested in seeing my article and would I please submit it on speculation.

So I wrote an article, which filled a single page, and submitted it. A few weeks later, it came back in the mail bearing a rejection slip. Feeling discouraged, but unwilling to give up, I developed and submitted an idea to another education magazine. I really felt good about this idea. Evidently, the editors did as well and a few months later, accepted my article, paying 75 dollars for it. Subsequently, I submitted ideas to Instructor and after a few more months, saw my work featured in the magazine.

During that time, I learned my lessons and include them below:

Lesson 1: Don’t think about “writing something some day.” That time will never come! Make up your mind to follow through and do it now. There will never be a better time!

Lesson 2: Familiarize yourself thoroughly with a magazine or a book publisher’s offerings. Look at and read ALL of the articles. Pay attention to their format and contents. Then consider what was unsaid. For example, the author might have briefly mentioned something in a paragraph, but did not develop it. Why not expand that idea? You wouldn’t be plaigerizing, but would be putting the idea in a new perspective. Yours.

Lesson 3: Make a list of everything that was unsaid and which you could expand upon. Long before writing a query which Scholastic positively responded to, I filled sheet after sheet of paper with words relating to my subject. My object was to write a book for substitute teachers in the elementary grades. I wanted something more than the usual, so I considered my experiences as a substitute teacher and asked myself what I would appreciate having and using. The answers helped me to put a different spin on a familiar subject.

Lesson 4: Give your article or book project a working title. Brainstorm a list of possible titles. Write everything down and don’t worry about your titles being wacky or “wrong.” That’s your inner editor speaking. Ignore it until you are ready to choose one title.

Lesson 5: Take the time to write a good query letter, keeping in mind that it is going to be the first writing sample that an editor sees. First impressions are important! Write rough drafts, allow them to cool, and revise them again and again until you are happy with every single thing! If you have the slightest concern or question about any part of that letter, revise it again.

Lesson 6: Since it will be weeks and possibly months before you receive a reply, write your article or book chapters and develop more ideas. Keep the wheel spinning!

Lesson 7: Don’t allow yourself to be discouraged by rejections, which you will surely receive. Experienced, published writers are rejected all of the time. If you give up too early, your work might never be published.

Dorothy Zjawin’s published work, thirty Instructor articles and a book, Teaching Ideas for the Come-Alive Classroom (Parker Pub. Co./Prentice-Hall) was based on her teaching experience. More ideas appear in her website, http://www.profitable-pen.com

The nineteenth century playwright and philosopher George Bernard Shaw wrote
many articles about the abuse and deterioration of the English language. His story,
‘Pygmalion,’ was used as the basis for the Lerner and Lowe musical, ‘My Fair Lady,’
and Oscar-winning movie, about a Cockney street woman, Eliza, with horrible
speech, transformed by Professor Henry Higgins into a society lady with proper
pronunciation. Today, we have a similar challenge. It’s slowly been infiltrating our
lives since the advent of e-mail, and later, text messaging.

Stenographers, still seen in courtrooms, had been using short cuts for years, by
breaking common syllables into cryptic characters, which they later translate back
into typed words. But beyond that, there is no excuse for what the latest generation
is doing to butcher our sacred language. Sure, we’re used to simple silly
abbreviations like ‘U R’ on everything from bumper stickers to greeting cards.
Substituting numbers for words, as in ‘4′ and ‘8′ is also fairly widespread. But the
real difference is the use of letters for whole phrases or sentences. LOL (laughing
out loud) and ROTFL (rolling on the floor laughing) are two examples. Add an
emoticon, the little face made from the punctuation keys, and you’ve got a whole
new language

As cute as all that is, I’m afraid that we eventually may lose our words and
become a symbol society of coded messages. If we don’t know the meaning of the
following letters, we may be delegated to the world of the literary dinosaurs:

AFK Away from keyboard….BAK Back at keyboard….BFN Bye for now

BBL Be back later….BRB Be right back….CU See you….CYA See ya

LTNS Long time, no…IFUEE I forgot you even existed

TTFN Ta ta for now….L8TR Later….GAL Get a life

HAND Have a nice day….OT Off topic….PU That stinks

TSWC Tell someone who cares….GFETE Grinning from ear to ear

There are probably so many more letter phrases that are being invented as I
type. We’ve come a long way since my early days when ‘Pig Latin,’ was all the rage.
Like ave-fay, un-fay for ‘Have Fun.’ Both of these methods of communicating are
cute and silly, but what if the next generation is so used to these initial shortcuts,
they forget how to write real words or how to spell? Will we be seeing whole books
written using ‘U’ and ‘R’ for the actual words? Will every book come with a decoding
section? Will future dictionaries begin including all these acronyms?

I’m not an alarmist or a wet blanket, but IMHO, (in my humble opinion) I’m just a
bit concerned. It’s probably time for the EOD. (end of discussion) Is Shaw spinning
in his grave? I wonder.

Jeffrey Hauser was a sales consultant for the Bell System Yellow Pages for
nearly 25 years. He graduated from Pratt Institute with a BFA in Advertising
and has a Master’s Degree from Monmouth University. He had his own
advertising agency in Scottsdale, Arizona and ran a consulting and design
firm, ABC Advertising. He has authored 6 books and a novel, “Pursuit of the
Phoenix,” available at amazon.com. His latest book is, “Inside the Yellow
Pages.” Currently, he is the Marketing Director for thenurseschoice.com,
a Health Information and Doctor Referral site.