In this free email course, I’ll tell you everything I know about improving your writing, publishing it electronically and in print, and promoting it after the sale.Two questions you should ask:(1) What will it cost me?(2) What does this Michael LaRocca guy know about it?Answer #1 — It won’t cost you a thing. The single most important bit of advice I can give you, and I say it often, is don’t pay for publication.My successes have come from investing time. Some of it was well spent, but most of it was wasted. It costs me nothing to share what I’ve learned. It costs you nothing to read it except some of your time.Answer #2 — “Michael LaRocca has been researching the publishing field for over ten years.”This quote, from an ezine (electronic newsletter) called Authors Wordsmith, was a kind way of saying I’ve received a lot of rejections. Also, my “research” required 20 years.But in my “breakout” year (2000), I finished writing four books and scheduled them all for publication in 2001. Then I spent almost a year as an editor and Author Development Specialist for one of my publishers.After my first book was published, both my publishers closed. Two weeks and three publishers later, I was back on track. All four books were republished, and a fifth will be released in 2004. Written in 2003, no rejections.See how much faster it was the second time around? That’s because I learned a lot.2004 EPPIE Award finalist. 2002 EPPIE Award finalist. Listed by Writers Digest as one of The Best 101 Websites For Writers in 2001 and 2002. Sime-Gen Readers Choice Awards for Favorite Author (Nonfiction & Writing) and Favorite Book (Nonfiction & Writing). 1982 Who’s Who In American Writing.Excuse me for bragging, but it beats having you think I’m unqualified.Also, I found more editing jobs. That’s what I do when I’m not writing, doing legal transcription, or teaching English in China (my new home). But the thing is, if I’d become an editor before learning how to write, I’d have stunk.I’ll tell you what’s missing from this course. What to

Writing Articles: A mini course in article writing: how to write & sell articlesArticle writing techniques: how to write articles for prestige, writing & selling freelance articlesMany aspiring article writers are put off by many books on writing articles and writers courses which, with voluminous detail on writing articles and analysis of article writing techniques, cause those aspiring to write articles to be confused about how to write articles, to loose interest in writing articles.Many columnists earning a living by writing articles did not learn their craft from books on how to write articles or writing courses.Writing articles to many is a means of earning a living. The field of article writing is one in which it matters not whether you are a writing class graduate or a DLitt., or have no formal exam. pass. To write articles you need only reasonable spelling and general knowledge from reading articles in newspapers or magazines, watching documentaries or news. If you lack the discipline and the patience to write books, novels, movie-scripts, you still can enjoy money and fame writing articles. The article writing market is wide: local or national newspapers, juvenile or teen-age, trade or international magazines all need articles, and writers to write articles. You can write articles on ‘how to’ issues, on issues you feel strongly about and can state opinions.Freelance Article WritingNot all possess knowledge or interest to write articles arguing issues. But there are many topics on which anyone can write articles. Many interested in writing articles use files or labelled envelopes to keep magazine or newspaper cuttings, or an exercise book to jot news or ideas in. These help in writing articles; and there are writers’ sources listing important events past, present, or future as topics to write articles on. Reference or quotations books are ideas sources for topics for writing articles. In writing articles, in all article writing, more than the subjects on which writers write articles, how interestingly to the readers they write articles is what sells articles, makes popular.The trend in writing articles is: biographical, historical; more, on home economics,

The Nothing UniverseBy Dennis James HuffIntroductionIn this paper, I will discuss and provide logical evidence for a new theory of how the universe began. One that is supported by all of the evidence in support of the Big Bang Theory. This theory is called, “Nothing Universe” theory. During my years of education, I learned the three most popular theories of the day. The most popular of which was, and still is, the Big Bang Theory. The only credit I can bring myself to give the Big Bang Theory is that it is a possibility. I do not make that statement lightly, I have pondered and followed the Big Bang theory for many years. What keeps the Big Bang Theory alive is the scientific evidence that points to it as the most plausible explanation. The question that needs to be considered is, “Is it logically plausible, or plausible for lack of a better theory?” Just as forensic evidence can sometimes point to the wrong suspect, so to can scientific evidence. Just as I am sure there are more than a few innocent men and women in prison, I am also sure that there is a theory or two that remain popular today, simply based upon good research attributed to the wrong conclusions. The one sticking point for me with the Big Bang Theory is the “Before Period”. What existed before the singularity exploded? If it were not for that sticking point, I would have had an easier time accepting the Big Bang Theory; and the “Nothing Universe” theory would not exist. The Oscillating Universe theory is nice, but it has the same problem; assuming there ever actually was a beginning. If the universe has always existed then it is a plausible theory. However; I find it difficult to believe, because something would have had to set this never ending loop in motion. This is not necessarily a true statement. I have a hard time conceiving of how the universe could expand and contract continuously without having been set in motion at some point in the past. This notion

Your scholarship application is due in ten days. It must have three recommendation letters attached, and, so far, you have not gotten any back from your teachers. A note to each of them last week hasn’t gotten any results. Talkabout strained nerves. All the work to get the application ready, and now letters are halting the process.This is a scenario that repeats itself hundreds and thousands of times each year. You can avoid this problem by taking important appropriate actions. Start by asking for your recommendation letters at least six weeks in advance. This allows busy teachers to take their time inwriting great responses. After two weeks remind them with a note in their mailboxes. Seven days after that make a visit to their classroom. Remind them in person that your application could be late and disqualified and that you will come by in a few days to pick it up. Thank him orher again and then stop by once more.One way to avoid total mayhem is to ask for more letters than is really needed (awards may vary in the number of letters needed).If the requirement is two for an award, ask four people.If you are applying for more than a couple of scholarship awards (and you really should be), ask the teacher or whoever, if they would be willing to put their comments on a CD.Remind them that you will be sending out dozens of applications. It will save them time. Then, you will bring the letters by for their signatures. They can inspect the documents before you send them in. A hand-written signature is always best.Who should you ask? Does it make a difference? Yes, it does matter. Know this: English and foreign language teachers generally write the best letters. They personalize them and may write from a half to a whole page. They alsoproduce results that have no spelling or grammatical errors. Again, and this is a general statement, coaches and physical education teachers write the shortest remarks and may have mistakes in spelling and grammar. But, go with your best options regardless of teaching position.Use

Everyone at some point has experienced an impasse in communication; those frustrating occasions when it all breaks down and people want to get up and walk out. Just look at a sample of recent headlines: “Peace Talks Breakdown” or “Labor Negotiations at a Stalemate” or “Negotiations Fail to Result in an Accord”. When the stakes are high and people are afraid they have something to loose communication becomes strained and people stop listening to one another. Usually this is while claiming that the people on the other side of the table are actually the ones who are not doing the listening. We get so concerned and fearful about getting other people to hear what we have to say, we become unwilling to hear what they have to say.Indeed, listening seems sometimes as if it is a rare happening among human beings. We can’t really listen to another person speaking if we’re preoccupied, or if we’re trying to decide what we’re going to say when the other stops talking, or if we’re debating about whether what is being spoken is true or relevant or agreeable. Listening, in other words, is being accessible and open to what is being said.At Landmark Education we contend that listening has an amazing power. It gives life to what is being spoken. You might even say it is with the listener that both the speaker and what is spoken exist and come alive. Think of how inspired and enlivened the elderly can become when you sit down and have an extended conversation with them. Think about what happens when someone is really listening to you. Ever notice that you become funnier and more playful when someone laughs at your jokes? What about when a child recognizes that adults are actually listening to them? Their whole demeanor shifts. In the programs of Landmark Education, you find yourself with a new ability to listen to others. You find yourself inspired by the people you have in your life. When you truly listen to people you discover the best of what they have to offer.Speaking, meanwhile, can be something