“I went to see a printer today to get my company’s stationery printed. They ask too many questions, I can’t answer!” How many times have you felt this way? It’s kind off like going to the auto garage for a tune up and being told you need a new 02 sensor, your sincro mesh gear has a tooth missing and so on. You know you have to get it done but who can you trust to give you the best quality, value and service. There is a reason why I include all three ‘quality, value and service’ In the 80’s and early 90’s it used to be ‘quality, value and service’…pick 2. These days, with the internet as a resource, buyers and sellers alike can really benefit from forming bonding relationships with their printer of choice. Location is no longer an issue. In fact, I will bet money you can always find what appears, to be better than what you are getting. It can be overwhelming, too much information.

Here are a few tips on what you should figure out before you talk to your printer:

1)Decide how many ink colors you are going to print in. Here are a few links that will help you understand this: Pantone color chart in RGB and html; http://www.weprintcolor.com/pantone_RGB_convert.htm Convert from RGB color to CMYK color; http://www.weprintcolor.com/rgb_CMYK.htm Explain CMYK, RGB and Pantone Color; http://www.weprintcolor.com/pop_ups/Templ_modificatons_full.htm 2)Have a pretty good idea of the paper and texture of the paper you would like to use. Learn some ‘buzz words’ in your conversions with the printers you speak to. Here is a list of printing terms commonly used by people in the printing industry; http://www.reprotechprint.com/printing_terms.htm 3)Have a general idea of the quantities you would like to purchase. If you’re not sure don’t be afraid to ask your printer to provide a quotation on several different quantities. In printing, the more you order the cheaper the per unit cost is. Here are a couple of online price calculators demonstrating this: Business Cards; http://www.weprintcolor.com/businesscardscolour.htm Postcards; http://www.weprintcolor.com/postcard_index_4×6.htm 4)Will you provide a ‘print ready’ digital file? When I say ‘print ready’, it is important that you understand this. Many printers will attempt to print from a ‘none print ready’ file. This will sometimes lead to undesirable results. Here is a couple of links to help you with this: Free digital file inspection; http://www.weprintcolor.com/upload.htm Specifications for sending files; http://www.weprintcolor.com/SendingFiles.htm

Once you have gathered education with the terms us printers use you will understand , more clearly, what you are getting for your money. You will also appear more educated in your future purchases.

The moral of my story? Buyers need to be more armed with knowledge to make an educated purchase and sellers need to be sharp, knowledgeable and willing to share this knowledge…Everybody wins.

On my second submission I would learn that because this directory does not use intros, I must have at least four words in my title, including conjunctions and prepositions, to be more descriptive. I don’t want to be more descriptive. I love my titles. I don’t want to change them for some arbitrary policy. What do you add to Green Hot Rods to make it more descriptive? What more does Super Power require? A fifteen word title that summarizes the article? I requested a new category for my all time most popular article, because this directory lacked the proper one, which was not missing on any other directory I support. I was instructed to put it in other, until the new category is approved.

At this directory, I believe the most recent articles appear on the first page of fifty titles per page. I got 10 views the first day. No more the following three. I went looking for it in other. I looked at all of page one and half of two and could not find it. If I can’t find it, maybe that explains zero views the following days. I’ll continue to check the stats for a week or two, but I suspect this site has few readers and I would not go there to read myself, so it’s now all about the search engines. I will be very surprised if this directory is operating a year from now.

There is the genuine article in article directories and they are few in number when it comes to high volume, full subject range and author, reader services. In a recent article, Ezine Articles author Dina Giolitto pointed out the successful small directories are going to be niche directories, not general interest. They will attract high quality writers, providing similar high quality content and a targeted reader base. Specialization. Ever heard of that before? Online publishing is like the weather in some places. If you don’t like it, wait a little while. It will change.

Ed Howes sought and found, knocked and entered. Now he sees things differently. To see more of what he sees, please visit http://www.justanotherview.com or do an author search here at Ezine Articles. Readers grow: wiser, better, faster

How is this possible? By writing and submitting articles to article submission sites.

Here’s how it works:

You write articles on topics related to your website’s niche. At the end of the articles, the standard and accepted practice is for writers to include a resource box – a short biography with a link to your website. Keep this brief and to the point, no more than two or three sentences plus your link. Just be sure to arouse enough interest in your articles and your resource box that readers will click through to your website.

Now it is time to submit your article to article submission sites. You can start by submitting your article to my site, ElectricText. You will find a link in my resource box at the bottom of this article. Next, go to your favorite search engine and type in keywords like “article submission sites” or “article submission.” You will find hundreds of article submission sites.

Article submission sites accept article submissions from writers. Just click over to ElectricText and the other article submission sites you’ve found and create accounts at each. Generally you just choose a username and password and maybe a pen name for each of the article submission sites, and then you can submit your article. If your article submission is accepted, each will publish it in their article directory for others to republish.

Webmasters and newsletter publishers are always looking for content for their online marketing campaigns. They visit article submission sites to find articles to publish on their websites or in their email newsletters (ezines). One good article posted to a large number of article submission sites can literally be republished on hundreds of websites.

Because of the link in your resource box, all of those websites will now link back to your website. Imagine thousands of copies of your articles with links to your website scattered all over the Internet. The people that read your articles and click through to your website will be people already interested in your niche. And the fact that they clicked through tells you that they already liked what you have to say. In other words, they are open and receptive to your message. Can you think of any other online marketing method that would produce better, more targeted traffic?

But that’s just the obvious benefit. The less obvious but equally important benefit for your online marketing is Search Engine Optimization (SEO). All of the major search engines compete for business by trying to return the most relevant results. Most search engines, especially Google, consider inbound links as one of the most important measures of the relevance of a website. Links from web pages about the same topic as your website, and where the link also contains keywords appropriate for your topic, are all the better.

You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to realize that if you write articles about the topic of your website, with links to your website in the resource boxes, this is exactly what you are providing for the search engines. So not only do you get traffic directly from people reading your articles and clicking your links, you also get ranked higher in the search engines for your keywords. Plus, you are building your reputation. People start seeing your articles all over, and start seeing your website everywhere in the search engine results. You have now become an authority on your niche! And the more you become an authority, the easier your online marketing efforts become.

Put all this together and it’s easy to see the value of article submission sites in your online marketing campaigns. Time to start writing and submitting those articles!

The next step is to a find a publisher or an agent who will grant you a handsome advance. Once published, go on a self-promoting trip around states and purchase the yacht last seen within magazine covers.

It sounds like a cakewalk, but then there has to be a marketable subject. One area that does not require selling expertise is a computer book. The subject matter does the work for you, and if you happen to be an authority on the topic, then packaging is the foundation for inducements from publishers. Unlike fiction or other genres, computer book authors do not need the services of an agent, thus saving on agent commission and extra expenses. A word of caution, even if you are a new entrant in this field and still believe that whatever you are writing is of utmost importance, work on convincing publishers. The majority of publishers prefer technical writing experts; these books save time and unnecessary sales gimmicks, as technical books are generally limited area editions. The author’s reputation sells the book; so if publisher is well known and there are no agents in between, then book will benefit both the author and the publisher.

If you are a first-time writer, then check on publishers wanting new writers. There is no point in sending queries only to be rejected, and time can be better utilized checking publisher lists. Initially, the contract might not be attractive, but once you have established yourself and your book is successful, then it is easy to negotiate better deals. Look over the contract carefully to check for hidden loopholes favoring the publisher. Another area of concern for the first-time computer book author is the saturation and overuse in this field. It is a fast-changing technology, and finding new and selling topics in track with developing technology requires hard work, as what is new today is past tense tomorrow.

Authors provides detailed information on Authors, Black Authors, Trinity Authors, Book Authors and more. Authors is affiliated with Calligraphy Fonts.

• Author name and brief professional information.
• USP (unique selling proposition), laser marketing statement or some other form of short and snappy sales copy.
• A call to action with links.

In addition to being finely tuned individually, each component of your resource box needs to be an integral part of the overall finished product, pull it’s own weight and move the reader steadily toward taking whatever action you want him or her to take. In total, your resource box should be no more than 2 or 3 sentences long. Less than that and you risk leaving out important information. More than that and it becomes a solid mass of text that will be skimmed over by the reader.

Here are 5 tips to help you create an effective resource box:

1. Know what you want from your readers. What do you want your readers to do once they’ve read your article? There is no right answer to this question, but there are wrong ones. And the worst possible wrong answer is “I don’t know.” The whole point of Article Marketing is to generate content that results in a specific action. Have a clear purpose in mind when you write and make sure that purpose is reflected in your bio box copy. And don’t forget to update your box as your offers and information change. An out-of-date bio box is better than nothing, but not by much.

2. Know why your readers should care. Your readers are busy. They have jobs, families, hobbies, friends, a 3-month TIVO backlog and the attention gravity well that is the Internet, all vying for their time at once. If you want them to initiate any action on your behalf, whether that is clicking through to your site or downloading a resource, you have to give them a reason to bother.

3. Ask for the action. Don’t just put a naked link out there by itself. And don’t use boring, “Click here for blah blah blah” link text. Yawn. Instead, create descriptive link text that clearly indicates what’s at the other end of the click and that compels the reader to click through. One marketing truism is that pain has a stronger effect than reward on the human psyche. So a pain-point call to action like, “Are you flushing money down the drain by overlooking these 12 commonly missed deductions? Find out in this special free report!” will always outdraw the reward-based version, “Drop by my site and download my free report on 12 commonly-missed tax deductions.” (PS – don’t put a period/full stop after a link. It can mess up auto formatting of the link on the user end. Just double space and start the next sentence normally.)

4. Be specific. Unless you only write in one exceedingly narrow topic targeting the same, equally narrow market, don’t create a one-size-fits-all bio and slap it on every article you write. Have several resource boxes that target specific niches within your Article Marketing strategy. For example, if you specialize in tax advice for small businesses and solopreneurs, then create a bio box for both markets plus one for general interest pieces, and use them according to which market the topic of your article is targeting. Doing this means that you can prescreen readers and direct each prospect to precisely the right web page, resource or product for them.

5. Less is more. Mark Twain once wrote, “I’m sorry this letter is so long, but I didn’t have time to make it shorter.” It takes time, skill and lots of practice to turn 200 words of rambling information into 3 sentences of tightly coiled laser-marketing copy. Nonetheless, it is a skill you should work hard to perfect. Don’t make your reader sift through a ton of chaff to find a cup of wheat. Present them with an already prepared, warm-from-the-oven marketing cookie in a perfect bite-sized portion.

All of the quality writing and insightful content in the world won’t do you a bit of good if you don’t follow through with a dynamic and compelling resource box that leads to a specific call to action. Without it, your article is just so much dead-end copy. Interesting, sure, and probably quite informative. But not much more than that.

Take the time to craft your resource box with care and intent. Remember to go back and update it regularly with new offers and fresh information (see if your directory will do a “find and replace” to exchange the old resource box for the new one on existing articles). Make your call-to-action clear, compelling and specific. Then finesse and trim and tighten it all up until all you have left is a pure, concentrated shot of Article Marketing rocket fuel, ready to boost your business into the stratosphere.

Author Info:
Soni Pitts is a professional freelance writer and editor, with experience that ranges from short web articles to full-length ebooks and beyond.

“Need professional quality writing, but hate to write – or just don’t have the time to do it all yourself? Don’t let less-than-perfect writing skills or a tight schedule leave you at a loss for words. Query writer (at) sonipitts.com for a free consultation, samples and a quote.”

Self-publishing is older than America and through the centuries great fortunes have been made by folks who opted to privately produce and market their own writing. Yet all the amazing stories of great success in the past pale when compared to what has happened online already and what is to happen in the days, months and years to come.

The World Wide Web was really made for self-publishing in more ways than one. For example, in the offline days a self-publisher would have to raise hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars to produce their book or special report for sale. Then they would need to look for more money to advertise and market their information aggressively in newspapers and opportunity magazines. Finally they would have to ship their information out, usually using the postal service (snail mail).

If Joe Karbo (the greatest self-publisher of all time) were alive today, he would quickly become a billionaire many times over by going online. Today the self-publisher uses blogs to avail their information at a cost of virtually zero. Then there are numerous effective advertising and marketing tools online, including the very blog itself that can be used to market the self-published information. Self-published special reports can be instantly emailed to clients. Not to mention the fact that the self-publishers market is now enormous covering virtually every corner of the globe.

Who Was This Self-publisher Joe Karbo?

Joe Karbo was on the brink of personal bankruptcy when he self-published his classic, Lazy Man’s Way to Riches in 1973. Using his amazing knowledge of human behavior, he created tiny ads to advertise his self-published book available via mail order. His ads remained the same for years and later he graduated to bigger ads in newspapers and magazines from coast to coast.

By the time Karbo died at the age of 55, he was a millionaire many times over and his place in the self-publishing hall of fame was guaranteed. His techniques are still used by mail order self-publishers the world over, many of whom have successfully moved their operations online.

The arrival of the World Wide Web has not changed human nature and this is the reason why Karbo’s techniques and way of thinking have transferred so well to the Internet.

The Huge Advantages Of Online Self-publishing

While it is true that the rules of the game are a little different for the online self-publisher, the truth is that things have never been better. In the old days, the offline publisher had only one source of revenue that came from selling copies of his self-published information. The online self-publisher can still charge for copies of his special report, newsletter or ebook but he or she now has other amazing sources of revenue. They can post ads like Google Adsense ads, not to mention the dizzying choices of high earning affiliate programs he can sign-up for.

What all this means is that an online writer who understands that they are self-publishers capable of making serious money from the information they provide in their blog, email newsletter or special report, will have a distinct advantage. To take advantage of an opportunity, you need to “see” it first.

Let us take a closer look at the various self-publishing opportunities available online for writers.

Blog Power Works Wonders For The Self-publisher

Blogs or web logs as they were originally called is a self-publishers dream come true. The most profitable way to use a blog is to use it to promote a website or product available online.

Christopher Kyalo earns a living writing online. To read the rest of this article visit his blog at http://100grandonlinewriters.blogspot.com. His free email course on making money from online writing can be obtained by sending a blank email to writertips@freeautobot.com. He can be reached at strongwallafrica at yahoo.com

But Guess what? I really could care less. They started down the list and got to about article number 20 out of 5000? Wow, a lot of commitment to their anger and belief system there? Talk about “Weak” they did not even get past 20 articles? Ha Ha Ha. Consider this, they had enough hate to get started and do that persnickety thing of under rating articles one after the other without reading them, but not enough commitment to read them or keep going? Somewhat typical of the detractors of civilization, the rabble-rousers of the peanut gallery. Well personally I think such folks are pathetic and worthless scoundrels with no real strength of character at all. The lowest form of human life in fact.

Many writers are so concerned that people will approve of what they write, well myself, now the all-time most prolific online article writer, I simply am not bothered by what anyone thinks of my writing. Why? Well, to tell you the truth, I have been observing mankind for over 40 years now and well, I am not so impressed.

You see humans are so caught up in their little linear thought processes that what they think is highly irrelevant. Most humans run around spouting the party line of their belief system. Run around dictating why they are so wonderful and why their opinions are correct and everyone else’s wrong. Seems rather silly to me, like don’t you people have anything better to do these days? Humans? Consider 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/

The Hero’s Journey is the template upon which the vast majority of successful stories and Hollywood blockbusters are based upon. In fact, ALL of the Hollywood movies we have deconstructed are based on this template.

Understanding this template is a priority for story or screenwriters.

The Hero’s Journey:

a) Attempts to tap into unconscious expectations the audience has regarding what a story is and how it should be told.

b) Gives the writer more structural elements than simply three or four acts, plot points, mid point and so on.

c) Interpreted metaphorically, laterally and symbolically, allows an infinite number of varied stories to be created.

and more…

The Trials and Transformation

The Trials and Transformation make up the “Road of Trials” and can be one of the most confusing yet critical parts of the story / screen writing process.

There are various ways to break up the trials in order to make them manageable:

a) Passive, Active and Proactive: In Elizabethtown (2005) Drew meets his father lying in a coffin; then meets his other family and engages with them and then finally saves the relative in the car.

b) Tending back to the Old World, Threat of the Old World and Pushed to the Old World: The essence of the vast majority of stories is transformation [movement from an Old World to a New World] e.g. In An Officer and a Gentleman, Meo is annoyed at having to use martial arts (representative of his Old World), then the threat of being pushed back to the Old World is made explicit in the underwater test sequence and then Meo is forced back to his Old World by Foley.

Learn more…

The Complete 188 stage Hero’s Journey and other story structure templates can be found at http://www.clickok.co.uk/

You can also receive a regular, free newsletter by entering your email address at this site.

Kal Bishop, MBA

**********************************

You are free to reproduce this article as long as no changes are made, the author’s name is retained and the link to our site URL remains active.

Kal Bishop is a management consultant based in London, UK. His specialities include Knowledge Management and Creativity and Innovation Management. He has consulted in the visual media and software industries and for clients such as Toshiba and Transport for London. He has led Improv, creativity and innovation workshops, exhibited artwork in San Francisco, Los Angeles and London and written a number of screenplays. He is a passionate traveller. He can be reached at http://www.clickok.co.uk/

If your writing career is beginning to seem like an endless stretch in a crowded doctor’s office-only to find out the doctor is on vacation and won’t be back for a week-you are not alone. Other than listening to the Musak of your internal communication system while you’re on hold (which often sounds like this: why did I query that agent–she doesn’t even read thrillers! What if a wild dog ate my manuscript? What should I change my name to when the New York Times rips my debut novel to shreds?), what can we do to hold on to our sanity and stick it out until our sorely tested patience pays off?

To avoid staking out your mailbox, checking your e-mail every fifteen minutes, or haunting your Amazon listing hoping for a boost in your rank, try these tips to get off the waiting train:

1. Write something else. If you’ve just sent out half a dozen carefully targeted, well worded queries to your dream agents or editors, resist the temptation to sit in a lawn chair at the end of your driveway and ream out the mailman for delivering you grocery store flyers instead of used SASEs. Plant your butt right back in front of the computer and start something new. You may find yourself so caught up in your new project that you miss the mail for a day or two–and discover a pleasant surprise waiting for you when you return.

2. Do something non-writing related. Even writers need a break. Sure, we all know going into it that the word “vacation” would soon retreat from our vocabularies until the memory of it became an urban legend. But there is no rule stating you can’t take a few hours to do something you enjoy. Go for a long walk, read a great book, have lunch with a friend you haven’t seen in weeks (because you were immersed in the final stretches of revising your manuscript for the hundred and eighth time), or take up a new hobby. Know that your writing will still be there when you come back.

3. Do some research that will further your writing prowess. As a writer, you no doubt have a score of ideas that have been percolating on the back burner while you slaved over your work-in-progress. Now that you’ve begun the excruciatingly long process of delivering your baby to the world, choose one of those ideas and flesh it out. Dig up as much information pertaining to it as you can online, and then head over to the library to find out more. If you don’t have anything specific in mind, you can simply start reading up on something that interests you. You’ll probably find the kernel of an idea in your research that will spark a whole new project, and soon you’ll be stabbing blissfully away at your keyboard with thoughts of important e-mails clogged in spam filters and evil, query-eating postal employees behind you.

4. Learn a new language. You are in the business of words, after all, so what better way to bulk up your business than to expand your cache of raw materials? You don’t have to write your next novel in Swahili, but your life–and your writing–will be enriched with your understanding of a whole new culture.

5. Vent your frustrations. Write a nice, long letter to a fictitious editor at an imaginary publishing house (or a real one if you prefer–just make sure you don’t actually send it out!) and tell them how all this waiting makes you feel. Reveal your insecurities, question their methods, or accuse them of using the pages of your manuscript to line their hamster cages. This can also help to deal with the pain of rejection. Confidently assure this fictitious person that you are an excellent writer, and won’t they be sorry when Berkley offers you a million-dollar advance and a three-book deal while they’re sitting on your manuscript for months on end.

Writers wait. It’s a fact of life. You can drive yourself crazy mentally listing the what-ifs and the should-haves during your on-hold times, or you can get out there and improve yourself and your craft. Instead of viewing the wait as a specialized form of torture created to punish you for making the stupid decision to try and be a writer in the first place, take action. Learn to see these interminable, unavoidable waits as opportunities to grow.

Most important, keep this in mind: somewhere out there, an editor or agent is waiting for you and your writing. Don’t disappoint them!

Get more writing resources and free stuff when you sign up for S. W. Vaughn’s free bi-weekly newsletter LIT: A Slightly Addictive Newsletter for Writers and Readers, with writing tips, writing markets, book reviews, contests and giveaways, and more. To sign up for LIT, e-mail author@swvaughn.com with the subject: Get LIT!, or visit the LIT Home Page. Also, check out S. W. Vaughn’s main website at swvaughn.com for free fiction, contests, and even more resources for writers.

*Webmasters: This article may be freely distributed and reprinted in its entirety, provided the byline and resource block remains intact.

Scene

Standing on shaky legs Dusty Hollister watched the Apaches disappear into the chaparral. He sat down and put his head back between his legs to relieve the dizziness. He thought, That was too close for comfort.

Later, he went to the stream and washed his face. His head was still bleeding from the fall-the fall that had saved his life. It was a bad cut. When he tripped, his head hit a boulder; fortunately a glancing blow, but one that had knocked him senseless. He held his cold hand against the cut, hoping the bleeding would stop.

A Cooper’s hawk swished above his head. He did not see the bird but he saw its shadow and heard the soft noise of air moving across the wings. He looked for the bird, but it was gone. He wished he could move like that bird, especially now. The Apaches could return, castrate him like a young hog, skin him alive, and hack him to pieces. He shuttered.

There was no sign of the horse. He had spent three days figuring how to steal that nag from the sheepherder. The problem was the dogs. They were a yappy bunch. He had made friends with the dogs by feeding them strips of beef jerky. It was almost time to make the snitch when the Apaches came. They turned the sheep wagon over with the sheepherder in it, set it afire, and laughed while the old man died in the flames.

There was no fight from the sheepherder and Dusty knew better than to try and help him. He ran instead, fell, hit his head on the rock, and was out for whatever happened next. He wondered if he was smart or cowardly. He knew the answer.

End of Scene

Here’s the test:

Who is the protagonist? Answer: Dusty, possibly an outlaw.

Who are the antagonists? Answer: So far it’s the Apaches.

Where is he? Answer: In the southwest somewhere. There is no chaparral in Connecticut that I know of. The Cooper’s Hawk is indigenous to chaparral.

What happened to him? Answer: He fell and was injured when he ran away from an Apache attack on a sheep camp.

What was he up to? Answer: He was trying to steal a horse.

What was his condition? Answer: He was dazed and confused.

What do you think he will do next? Answer: He’ll have to keep walking. He’ll ponder on being a coward.

The above scene is original because I just wrote it. I didn’t think about what I was going to write. I just decided it was a western. From that point on Dusty took over and did whatever he wanted to do. I just followed him.

Now that sounds pretty dumb, right? I guess it is but my idea of starting a novel is to start hitting the keyboard and see what comes up. If I don’t like what I see, I change it. If later I find I left something out that could or should have been there, I go back and add it.

I often dump scenes. The rule is this: If it’s not needed for the progression of the novel, dump it. Well, if you like it that much.

There should be no rush in writing your novel. If you crank out enough text each day to fill one page of the finished book, that is adequate. Most books of the above genre are seldom over 250 pages.

Books like Love Story, Jonathan Seagull, or The Old Man and the Sea show that length is not always required but a short novel should be at least 50,000 words.

My point is that writers write.

I’ve been writing hundreds of articles. I don’t worry too much about what to write on. If I have nothing in mind I just write “Unknown Article” as the title and start typing. When something comes up that looks interesting, I change the title and finish the article. If the article title still fits, I leave it.

I hope you liked the first scene of Unknown and Unfinished Novel.

The End

John T. Jones, Ph.D. (tjbooks@hotmail.com, a retired VP of R&D for Lenox China, is author of detective & western novels, nonfiction (business, scientific, engineering, humor), poetry, etc. Former editor of Ceramic Industry Magazine. He is Executive Representative of IWS sellers of Tyler Hicks wealth-success books and kits. He also sells TopFlight flagpoles. He calls himself “Taylor Jones, the hack writer.”

More info: http://www.tjbooks.com

Business web site: http://www.aaaflagpoles.com