Creating the Perfect Online Writer's Work Station

Online writers do not have it as easy as their newspaper, magazine and book author counterparts. Indeed, most online writers are not paid much for their creative work or non-fiction articles. It's not because online writers have been pushed down and there is no conspiracy there, it's just that there is a supply and demand dynamic at play. Too many writers and not enough folks willing to pay for what they write.

The other day I was discussing this with a friend and we both agreed that the answer is efficiency. True enough and this led me to re-consider the importance of the perfect writing work station to remain at a peak of efficiency and productivity in writing. So, what if we could design the perfect work station for the online writer? What would it be like?

When everything is within reach, you do not waste motion or time; total efficiency. Now as I write this I am considering that a "C" shaped table might be an idea for me. Where I am sitting inside the "C" with the top of the "C" being the full table and all my reference stuff around me, as that would be an even better set-up than I have now. I believe that every writer that wishes to make it online needs to pay special attention to their workstation and its' efficiency.

And let's not forget sustenance. So much time is wasted when employees in corporation get up from their cubical to go get coffee or snacks. With this in mind, on the larger table alongside my laptop, I place any food, lunch, or snacks, along with something to drink. The key is efficiency and thus, writers should not neglect the need for a viable and productive workspace. Think on this.

Lance Winslow - Lance Winslow's Bio. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/.

Writing Jobs - What You Should Know Before Accepting

After a few years of writing some writers look much older than their age. They have deep frown lines, and startle sharply at any loud noise. Here's why they're nervous wrecks: they never grab the reins of writing jobs they're offered, and they've never learned the power of "No."

There's a secret you need to know if you want to make money writing: many of your clients have no idea of what they want you to write, and why. They have an amorphous idea, or even a collection of ideas of what they want. They expect their writer (you) to put bones and flesh on their ideas.

Your first task as a writer if you want to avoid frown lines and lead a peaceful productive life, is to help your potential clients to define exactly what they want -- BEFORE you accept a writing job.

Here are three steps to doing that.

1. If It's Not in the Brief, It's Not Going to Happen

Every writing job starts with a brief, or job description. I advise my writing students to study each brief, and then rewrite it in their own words. When you do this, holes in the brief will come to light, and you can start asking questions.

Please get into the habit of asking lots of questions. No, you won't look stupid or inexperienced -- remember that 99.9 per cent of your clients aren't clear on exactly what they want. Your first task is to help them to decide and articulate the scope of the job they want you to do.

Make it your motto: "if it's not in the brief, it's not going to happen."

2. Trust Your Intuition, and Google

You'll be offered writing jobs, and your gut will clench. Sometimes it's because a writing job seems too good to be true. Trust your gut. If you can sense that there's something not quite right about a job, you're rarely wrong.

Use Google. Google each and every prospective client, without exception. If something seems wrong, stay clear. A client's problems need never become your problems, unless you willingly slip a noose around your own neck.

3. Learn to Say: "No"

Yes, you can refuse writing jobs. As your writing career develops, you'll refuse more jobs, because you're booked up. You'll become selective, only taking jobs which a client can articulate clearly, and which you know you can complete in a timely manner. You'll have more confidence.

However, you should be selective right from the beginning of your career. If a prospect won't respond promptly to questions you have about a brief, pass on the job. There are always more writing jobs.

Finally, avoid being the kind of writer who becomes jubilant whenever you're offered a writing job. Check the jobs out carefully before you accept, ensuring that the scope of the job is clearly defined in your brief.

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Read a Book Today

So you want to be a writer? Great. It's a good thing to be - I should know, being a writer myself. So, the first thing you need to do is to start reading.

When I say this to an audience of would-be writers, there are always some frowns. Shouldn't a would-be writer be writing as often as possible? Yes. But first and foremost, the writer should be a reader, reading as widely as possibly in the genre or format in which s/he hopes to write. So, if you want to be a children's writer, you should be reading as many children's books as possible - and preferably new release books. Here are five good reasons to become a reader.

1. Reading new release books gives you an understanding of the market. You can learn what sort of books different publishers publish. By reading bestselling books you can learn what sorts of books are popular with buyers.

2. Reading well-written books gives you an insight into the structure, style and so on of a good book. Conversely, reading badly written books gives you an insight into what not to do. How do you tell the difference? The poorly written book is the one that bores you, confuses you, or plain makes you give up in disgust.

3. Related to reason 2, reason 3 is that reading improves your writing. You absorb more than you realise when you read. Ideas for structuring the plot, syntax and grammar, new words and more are sneakily stored away in your subconscious for when you need them.

4. Reading is relaxing. It is time to yourself and for yourself, or, in the case of reading aloud to someone, a sharing experience.

5. Reading is inspirational. When you read a good book you are often inspired to work on your own ideas, wondering if you, too, can bring a reader to feel as you do about the book you've just read.

I could give you more reasons, but hopefully by now I've convinced you - reading is good for you as a writer. So what are you waiting for? Pick up a book today and simply read.

Sally Murphy is the author of 27 trade and educational books for children. Her latest book is The Big Blowie (Aussie Schoolbooks, 2008). You can visit Sally at her blog, http://sallymurphy.blogspot.com/ or her website, http://www.sallymurphy.net.

Self-Publishing - One Writer's Experience

Self-publishing still has a stigma attached to it, especially in the world of traditional publishing companies and literary agents. But, in the world of writers it is slowly becoming a means to an end. The amount of manuscripts editors and agents are bombarded with seems to be increasing every year. This, in turn, gives authors less of a fighting chance to grab that golden publishing ring.

For various reasons, I took the less traveled path and chose to venture into the world of self-publishing. You see, I wrote a lullaby over 30 years ago for my children when they were babies. They were difficult to get to sleep and then would wake during the night. I sang this lullaby over and over and over. Now, we sing it to my grandson. My daughter thought I should turn it into a children's bedtime story. Since it was a family project I felt a print-on-demand company would be best.

I researched several companies including Mayfair, RoseDog, Xlibris, AuthorHouse and BookSurge, Morris Publishing and Bookstand Publishing. I even created a spreadsheet comparing each company and the services they offered along with the prices. This is easy enough to do and it gives you a quick view of who offers what. What was very interesting, to me anyway, is that the companies who quote ala carte prices list the service of copyright for $170.00. If you do this yourself, it is $45.00. So, it is important to research what services you can do yourself. Also, when looking these companies over, don't forget to ask if you retain the rights to your book and if you have control over setting the retail price of the book. One of the companies I researched created the retail price and it would have been around $20. There is no way a bedtime story from an unknown author would sell for that amount.

Finally, make sure the sales rep and management are on the same page. The first company I chose was AuthorHouse. The sale rep quoted me a price, I signed a contract and then he came back to me and told me management wouldn't agree to that price. He offered me higher price for the same package which I accepted and signed another contract only to be told by the agent that management wouldn't back that price either. He came up with a third offer, but it was all just too unprofessional for me. It's possible that this situation was an isolated case, but always check and re-check. I was an assistant controller of a manufacturing company and if management didn't back their sales reps we'd have been run out of business.

Karen and Robyn - Writing for Children offers helpful tips about writing, marketing, self-publishing, and much more. We also offer children's health tips from Dr. Heny Lee (President of the American Acupuncturist Assn.) Karen is a freelance writer and co-author of the bedtime picture book, "Day's End Lullaby" For more information visit: http://karenandrobyn.blogspot.com

How to Express Percentage Changes and Use Numbers Correctly in Technical Writing

A number is tricky thing. As a technical writer you have to pay attention to the way you are using numbers and expressing changes in ratios and percentages.

For example, when you say "the file size shrunk by 100%" you are basically saying this: "The file has just disappeared!" Is that what you really wanted to say?

If a 4 Meg file shrunk to 2 Meg in size, it shrunk by 2 Megs.

What was the original file size? 4 Meg.

When you divide 2 by 4 you get 0.5, correct?

Multiply that by 100 to get a percentage - and you get 50% (not 100%)

Here is a good rule to find out the percentage changes in file sizes:

1) Start with the original size (O).

2) Subtract the final size (F) from O to find the difference (D).

3) Divide D with O and multiply by 100. That's your correct percent difference.

You can apply this not only to "file size" but ANY quantifiable and measurable change as well.

For example, imagine you moved from a house that cost $120,000 to one that cost $176,000. How much more expensive the new house is?

1) O (original cost of [the old] house): $120,000

2) F (final cost of [the new] house): $176,000

3) D (difference in the costs of two houses): $56,000

4) Percent difference: (56/120) x 100 = 46.6%

The new house is 46.6% more expensive than the old one.

When you are describing a process that takes "twice as long," or "two-times slower," do not write "the process is now 200% slower" because that would be incorrect.

The correct expression would be: "the process is now "100% slower". Here is why:

1) O (original process duration): 24 minutes

2) F (final process duration): 48 minutes

3) D (difference in duration): 24 minutes

4) Percent difference: (24/24) x 100 = 100%

If you are interested to read more about technical writing as a career and how it can help you earn a steady living, visit http://www.learntechnicalwriting.com You might be pleasantly surprised with what you'll find out. Join the thousands who are already helped and inspired by this information provided by a Fortune 500 Senior Technical Writer. Visit today and claim your free report "How Much Do Technical Writers Make?"

Dr. Ugur Akinci is a Fortune 500 Sr. Technical Communicator http://www.technicalcommunicationcenter.com/

Why You Need to Be Flexible With Your Tarot Card Definitions

Tarot Card Definitions

Tarot card definitions can seem to be a bit hazy to those just starting out learning the tarot. But, while it can leave you a little frustrated at not being able to find plain and concise instructions, this is actually the beauty of this ancient art. If you were to be totally literal in your interpretations of the tarot card definitions, your readings would actually become jumbled and nonsensical.

How can this be so? Because tarot card definitions are not just isolated nuggets of information but instead are fluid and flexible in order to absorb the wisdom of the cards surrounding them in your reading. To use an analogy - words have meanings by themselves but these meanings change within sentences or by context. You simply need to learn to 'talk' the language of the tarot.

Here are two examples. Firstly, let's take a popular spread, the Celtic Cross. In this spread, the cards will be placed in a particular order and this assigns them a specific function. Card number 1 details your present, card number 2 tells you what your immediate challenges are, and so forth.

Let's look at how we might treat the Seven of Swords in both of those positions. If I were to see this card come up as the querent's present, I would immediately think that s/he is involved in plan making and wishes for the future, but I would also feel that these might be flaky and lack substance. If I were to see this card in position number 2, the immediate challenges, then I would ask if there might be someone around the querent who is encouraging them with big ideas and that they need to reign in their plans a little, perhaps take more responsibility for themselves.

You can see the similar characteristics of the card at work, but their meanings take on a slightly different flavour.

Example number two - I'm going to look at different tarot card definitions for a Major and then Minor Arcana card. First, let's look at a card that usually puts a smile on people's faces - The Lovers. Now, I don't want to be the bearer of bad news, so let me say that if you've asked a question regarding love then this is almost always going to be favourable for you. However, it can have other meanings too. Are you too deeply involved with someone or a situation? Are you lacking in enthusiasm for something that really needs you to put your all in? This card might be asking you to inject the energy, that love usually inspires, into it.

Another confusing set of tarot card definitions can be seen in the Eight of Cups. This card often indicates that you have drawn a line under things and have decided to move on. But can you be so sure that you have done this or are you kidding yourself? This card can sometimes be there give you a bit of a kick up the backside!

As mentioned above you will also need to look closely at the surrounding cards for your answers. The tarot card definitions will be modified by the presence of other cards. This will be even more true if you see patterns, such as a high number of a particular suit come up.

So, now let's look at the general themes of the minor Arcana:

Wands represent thoughts and notions. Is there something that you need to work out? If you see a high number of these cards come up, you should take note and maybe take some time out to think.

Cups mean emotions. If you see a high incidence of these cards, it's likely that you are going through a difficult time or that there is a lot of change around you.

Swords stand for activity. If you see lots of these cards then expect things to start happening or ask yourself if you should start to make them happen.

Pentacles mean that things are starting to take shape. But as with the swords, the cards may actually be telling you that you need some of the pentacle's energy in your life so it's time to get motivated.

As for the tarot card definitions of the Major Arcana? These cards carry more authority in your readings so when you see these, it's time to sit up and take notice as they are more likely to mean major changes, either psychical, emotional or in attitude. In fact, these cards are so influential, some experts recommend that beginners use only the Major Arcana for their readings but I am of the opinion that you might as well get stuck in!

In summary - harmonize. Yes it's important to understand the meanings of each the cards. But try to get to know the cards as rich and complex characters, rather than just seeking the precise tarot card definitions. They're not to be used as a Q&A session. The answers will be reaching far deeper than that. As with all great disciplines, you will have to persevere to achieve the wisdom.

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Francesca xx

Wayne Weiten

Marriage Fitness Can Fix Your Relationship

Mort Fertel is an authority on the psychology of relationships and has an international reputation for saving marriages from ending in divorce. In addition to working with couples, he teaches individuals how to transform their marital situation. Mort Fertel is known when you talk about marriage counseling. He is the one who will give you advice what to do to fix your problems.

Mort has developed an innovative way and proven method to restore marriages and bring back to a normal life. He will give you counsels, advices and solutions that you need. He is a world authority on the psychology of relationships and has an international reputation for helping people renew their marriage. In addition to working with couples, he teaches individuals how to single-handedly transform their marital situation.

Mort's Marriage Fitness is an innovative step-by-step relationship-changing system that will save and restore your marriage. You'll learn to neutralize your problems and put into practice a system of positive relationship habits that will shift the momentum of your marriage. They learn to neutralize your problems and the practical implementation of a system of positive habits, by the impetus for your marriage. Marriage fitness addresses the idea that if you and your spouse are having problems with each other as well as being stressed, you cannot tackle your problems effectively.

Marriage Fitness with Mort Fertel is a step-by-step relationship-changing self-help system that saves and restores marriages. Using CD's, DVD's, workbooks, and teleconferences, you learn to neutralize your problems and put into practice a system of positive relationship habits that shift the momentum of your marriage.

Marriage Fitness is designed to encounter any potential marriage problem and to save marriage effectively no matter how serious it is. In addition, Marriage Fitness is a proven system having worked well in saving many married couples being on the brink of divorce. The program is based on the universal laws of love. Just as diet and exercise determine your health, certain behaviors determine the level of love and intimacy in your marriage.

Mort Fertel is the author of the book/cd series, Marriage Fitness.

Deepak Chopra