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 |  | Writing Home | 20 November 2008 |  |  |
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The Internet Writer
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How to Copyright a Book
I recently received a book contract from a local publisher. This is a very exciting time for a new writer like me and I want to make sure that I do not make any hasty decisions. The terms of the contract are clear and acceptable. However, the publishing company suggests that I get a copyright for the book. Being a first-time author of a text, I have never had to copyright a book before in my life and I don’t know where to begin.
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Book Agents
Thanks to the wonderful workings of the worldwide web, we writers have access to numerous tools, services, and pieces of advice for everything from writing to submitting to acquiring book agents. In the same respect, because of the facility and accessibility of the web, we also must be guarded, educated on, and protected from smarmy, conniving individuals attempting to pass themselves off as book agents. I have been writing since I was old enough to hold a pencil in my teeth and try writing on the walls of my mother’s beautiful home. I have been writing for a living for a lot less longer and have looked into the guiles and guises and gifts of book agents for even less time than that (primarily because I have a limited desire to publish a book that will make zillions and therefore have limited need for all that much research into book agents, publishers, and the like). But I have come across super-important, and clearly valuable information that anyone in the writing life might want to peruse or study.
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Book Publishers
Once you have your novel or book written, edited, and stuffed into an envelope, you have to decide where to mail it. There are hundreds of book publishers out there, but you shouldn’t just pick one at random and mail off your pride and joy. You have to do a lot of research to make sure you are sending it to the right place. You also have to consider if you have the book formatted correctly, and if the submission is up to their standards. If you don’t consider these things, you are going to end up with nothing more than a large stack of rejection slips from book publishers.
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How to Write a Feature Article
If you want to learn how to write a feature article, you’re going to need to learn, first and foremost, how to catch a reader’s attention. Studies have shown that newspaper and magazine readers decide whether or not they’re interested in an article within the first few sentences, so if you don’t have their attention right away you’re never going to get it. There are a lot of different ways to open up an article, so try out different techniques, but whatever you do, don’t start out with the basic facts of a story unless they’re particularly shocking or unique. Questions are often good starters since they get readers involved and invested with the article, while quotations or observations that are particularly arresting are great ways to kick things off.
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Book Design
To most people, there seems to be nothing to producing a book. According to them, you just get a simple word processing program like MS word, start typing away, and once you are done, just apply some simple and pre determined formatting and viola! Your book is ready for print and publication. Nothing could be further from the truth. For book design is not just an exacting science that has to take many factors into consideration. Doing book design is somewhat the same when you design your own t-shirt. It is an art that makes the book itself much better than it was written to be.
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Fiction Agents
Searching for fiction agents includes reading the advice of those who are pro-fiction agents and those who denounce the need for one, keeping sane and safe while researching which are legitimate and which are con artists, and all the while growing a cowhide-thick skin that will be handy when the rejections or neglect begins. I am not a fiction writer. You won’t expect me to write about fairy wings and the like. I write creative nonfiction (essays and memoirs) and poetry. But as a serious, or obsessed, writer, I stay informed by reading the forum boards and accompanying warnings, a number of writers’ newsletters, and all the online related blogging, writer help sites, and other I can make time for at the end of the work day. I have come across a number of points, comments, and concerns about fiction agents—as well as sites indexing listings for fiction agents—that may get you
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Find Agents
You seek to find agents for your work. You already know a little about the literary and publishing milieu. And you have done your homework by reading and/or participating in writers’ discussion forums to find agents that are not con artists (some of whom have been busted by now, others of whom are still at large, trolling the net for the ignorant). I know that you would not settle for someone without craft knowledge about the tasks. If you have not yet gotten to this step and need to research which agents are legitimate and which are publishing world pariahs, consider studying Another Realm (a.k.a. the former Predators and Editors site). Read the Whispers and Warnings at Angela Hoy’s Writers Weekly, and/or check out the messages at Brady Magazine and Absolute Write Water Cooler.
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Online Spelling Test
When you are looking for a new job and finally land an interview, there is a lot you can do to prepare. Especially is this necessary if you are in a clerical position and know in advance that your typing and knowledge will be tested. Simply having speed in typing is not all that is required. You also need a high level of accuracy. Along with accuracy of information and proper punctuation comes the need for proper spelling. Being a good speller seems to be something that just comes naturally to some people. Others have struggled with spelling since public school. However, there is much one can to do improve spelling accuracy. One of the key factors in improving spelling is practice. Along with practice comes reading. It just makes sense, that if you read a lot, you encounter words a lot. Most public information goes through some sort of an editing process. Find time to study and review. By exposing yourself to words, you will naturally begin to learn to recognize proper spelling.
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Online Typing
My mother recently applied for a new job. In order to land the job she had to take a typing test along with a medical terminology test. My mother knows the medical terminology quite well, however, she was pretty worried about her typing speed and accuracy. She knew she'd have to brush up in order to pass the minimum of 40 words per minute with 100% accuracy. My mother was not really into typing, she prefer to do embroidery designs on her free time. So, she asked me to find her an online typing test that she could use to practice and monitor her progress.
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