English Corpus

You may have the flashiest website on the internet or have the best offers on the web, but without visitors your efforts and skills are wasted. You need to generate traffic if your web presence is going to make its mark, and make you lots of money ! But how should you do this ?

You have probably found many websites which offer you the chance to generate millions of visits by simply signing up to a ‘fool proof’ system. Or you could spend hours of your valuable time clicking the ‘NEXT’ button on an autosurf site in an effort to generate ‘reciprocal’ visitors. These are just two methods of wasting your time and money.

However, one of the newest ways of promoting your site is growing in popularity at an amazing rate. All you have to do is write articles about something you know about - seem a bit too easy ? Articles don’t have to be detailed, long and complex, and they definitely don’t need to make you the next candidate for the Booker Prize ! Your article needs to be original though, ie, in your own words and not simply copied from somewhere else.

You must remember that articles do not write themselves and you have to put in a certain degree of effort. So what do you write about ? Think about your everyday life - is there something you do every day which would serve as a manual for someone else ? Could you write a simple guide on a subject you are familiar with. Did you find an ‘easy way’ to solve a problem, such as How to get your baby to sleep at night. Or what about a step by step guide to Teach your Parents how to use the Internet (please send me a copy of this please ?).

The information in your article must be presented in simple words - don’t get too detailed or technical. Always ensure your words are spelt correctly, you will probably have a spell checker on your PC. If not, there are several free options available through Google. Always make sure your article has a really catchy title which encourages people to read it. Keep the content of your article to approx 500 - 750 words. Too long and the readers will not reach the end which is the important bit - that’s where you include the URL of your website.

Whatever your article may be about, the art of article writing will enable you to encourage your readers to visit your website. But how ? Well, the majority of websites you submit articles to will allow you to ’sign’ your work with not only your name but with a link to a website - YOUR website. Not only this, but you will be able to monitor how many people have read your article.

There are many fantastic ebooks which teach you how to write articles, where to submit them, and useful tools to get your articles seen. Go ahead and visit my site to see some of these. Once you publish your first article you will do it again and again continuing to spread the word about you and your business throughout the World Wide Web.

Jonathan Moss is an IT Professional and owner of http://www.jvm-sales.co.uk/index2.htm website in the US and http://www.jvmuk.com site in the UK.

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Find definitions from Q to Z…

~~~~~~~~~~~ Q ~~~~~~~~~~~

Query -
A letter written by a writer asking an editor if she is interested in a piece on a certain topic. This is not the same as a cover letter. A Query introduces the idea, outlines your qualifications for writing it, and lists your previously published pieces.

~~~~~~~~~~~ R ~~~~~~~~~~~

Reader -
A person who reads unsolicited manuscripts for an editor, usually for the purpose of weeding out those manuscripts that are unwanted.

Reading Fee -
A charge to the author ostensibly for the purpose of defraying the cost of time spent reading the author’s manuscript or the hiring of readers. Too often, these charges may constitute the only business income or a significant portion thereof.

Royalty -
Payment by publisher that is an agreed upon percentage of the book’s earnings.

Royalty Publisher -
A publisher who pays the author.

RT -
Response time. Generally, the turnaround time required to hear back from a publisher based upon when the manuscript was submitted.

~~~~~~~~~~~ S ~~~~~~~~~~~

SASE -
A self-addressed, stamped envelope. SASEs are required if the author wishes to receive an answer from an editor. The SASE should be large enough and carry enough postage to return the manuscript if it is rejected. If the author doesn’t want the manuscript returned, a note to that effect should be included, but a letter-sized SASE is still required for the editor’s response. If the author requests any information from the editor, such as writer’s guidelines, an SASE should be enclosed.

Second Rights -
The rights you sell to a publication for your work that has already been published somewhere else.

SF/F/H -
Abbreviation for science fiction/fantasy/horror, generally used to indicate what genres the publication accepts as submissions.

Short Short -
Fiction under 1000 words.

Short Story -
Fiction under 10,000 words but usually less than 7,500. In Sci Fi it’s less tha 7,500 words. Check submission guidelines because they are individual for each publisher.

Side Bar -
Nonfiction such as extra info, tips, or hints that are put aside from the main article, usually for magazines. You may get extra pay if you can include this.

Simultaneous Submissions -
Submitting a work to several publishers at the same time. Some publishers accept simultaneous submissions, others will refuse to even look at them. The author should always state when a work is being submitted to more than one publisher.

Slipstream -
A story that describes a genre that does not fit into any one particular genre.

Slug line -
(1)a journalism term for the identifying tag of a story, (2)a line in a screenplay describing a new scene.

Slush Pile -
A stack of unsolicited manuscripts that have arrived at an editor or publisher’s office. These manuscripts will usually be read - unless the editor or publisher specifically states they will not read unsolicited works - but with less speed, interest, or enthusiasm than works submitted on spec or other request.

Sonnet -
A fourteen line poem, usually a lyric in iambic pentameter.

Speculative Humor -
Humorous fiction with a foundation of fantasy, horror, or science fiction.

Stanza -
A group of lines in a poem that form a thematic or metrical paragraph.

Sub-genre -
An additional categorization of a particular genre.

Submission Guidelines -
Guidelines given by the publisher or the editor for submitting manuscripts or queries to the publisher.

Subsidiary Rights -
Sales of your book by your agent or publisher to other outlets such as movie studios, foreign publishers, book clubs, or magazines. If the publisher sells these rights, proceeds are split with the author (usually 50/50). If the agent sell these rights, the author keeps all the proceeds except the agent’s commission.

Subsidy/Vanity Publisher -
A publisher that requires an author to pay for the publication of his or her work.

Synopsis -
A brief summary of a work. Depending on the length of the piece, the synopsis make be from one paragraph to several pages long. The synopsis is not the same as an outline, as it rarely carries elements such as chapter headings.

~~~~~~~~~~~ T ~~~~~~~~~~~

Tagline -
The identification of the speaker in dialogue. (For example: “She said”)

Tearsheets -
Another word for Clips - or a copy of your work that has been published.

Trade book -
A paperback or hardcover book which usually covers a special interest, and is marketed directly to the layperson.

Trim Size -
The outer dimensions of the finished book.

~~~~~~~~~~~ U ~~~~~~~~~~~

Unsolicited Manuscript -
A manuscript send to an editor or publisher without it being requested. Unsolicited manuscripts normally end up on the slush pile.

~~~~~~~~~~~ V ~~~~~~~~~~~

Vanity Publisher -
A publisher that charges you to publish your book.

~~~~~~~~~~~ W ~~~~~~~~~~~

Work-for-hire -
A piece of writing that is written to an editor or publisher’s request and all rights to the work belong to the publication. The writer gives up the copyright to this work and can never receive additional income from it, even if it is resold.

~~~~~~~~~~~ Y ~~~~~~~~~~~

YA -
Young Adult -13 to 22, between 20,000 and 45,000 words.

YW -
Young Writer between the ages of 12 and 22.

© Danielle Hollister (2004) is the Publisher of the Free Ezine for Writers featuring news, reviews, and continuously updated links to the best resources for writers online like - freelancing & jobs, markets & publishers, literary agents, classes & contests, and more… Read it online at - http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art157.asp

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An Article is a quantum of information on a particular topic mostly intended for free distribution to serve as source of knowledge. However with a slight addition & twist that quantum can also serve as highly targeted advertisement method to your site.

The method has been used with success in offline world. But internet has lately made the articles evolve into a specialty. Easy availability, easy searchability and sheer volume of information make articles unique.

If you are in internet business articles can help you by more than one method.

- They make you expert in eyes of reader. A trust based relation has already been formed by the time are furnishes reading an article.

- When put on your site on they make your site rich in unique content. Your site gets higher ranking in the search engineers and that in turn brings more customers. Any customer who might be looking for information will come to your site and if he is a potential buyer he is more likely to buy from you because you are giving him the required information without any attached string.

If you sell umbrellas and you also have exhaustive information on your site about umbrellas, you are going to outperform the one who doesn’t. It is so because by providing free information you are doing a service and will be put on higher pedestal

- Submitting articles to various directories with your resource box attached will serve as non stop advertisement that aims at specific audience.

- You can use your articles to post in your newsletter. This way your stay connected with your readers and thus perform better than if you do not.

- Articles can help you to carve a niche of your own in ghostwriting business.

When writing an article one should take care of writing it well. One must make it interesting so that the reader is not bored. If the article is not well written your aim of writing article is defeated. A better written article studies unique and draws make readership.

To write a good article one has to take care of all the features highlighted in previous articles of this series. The knowledge of subject and command over language are very important aspects.

However because internet articles have become a specialty themselves, there are certain things one must remember while writing articles.

We will discuss that in detail in our next article.

Author is a doctor, writer and internet marketer. Visit his article directory http://www.authorcontent.com where you can read, submit and get articles for free. Visit
http://www.improveyourcharisma.com to know how to improve charisma and be successful and influential. You may check out his personal blog at http://www.studiocelebrations.com

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We think that articles are so important to your internet marketing strategy, that we also tell you the secret of getting your articles read, passed around and high up in the search engines.

1. Branding: Getting your name known amongst your peers and on the internet. The better your article is the easier it will be for larger web sites to pick up and publish your article on their site or in their ezines. The more your web site or name is seen, the more you are remembered and of course, publication on a market leader is very helpful. Produce a quality, well designed, error free article and this reflects well upon your business.

2. Lead Generation: That oh so important resource or signature box. Hopefully your article will be so interesting that people will want to see your web site or join your ezine and look to the resource box to click on your web site link.

3. Promotion: Most people now know that links make a large contribution to your search engine rankings. Provided you add your web site URL to your signature box, as your article proliferates in major article databases as well as hopefully being published, then your links will grow. If you want people to be able to find your article or web site on the search engines, then make sure that there are some major key words in your article and particularly in the heading.

4. Information: The prime reason why people search for and visit web sites is to find out stuff. Your article should be answering this need. Research your market well and look at forums to see the kind of questions people are asking, what they are searching for and most importantly how you can answer them in your article.

Strategy: Of course your article is not going to be read and passed around if it is never opened in the first place. Make sure that you have a catchy and memorable headline, full of keywords and compelling to open. When your future publisher or customer looks down at a list of potential articles - it is the headline and short summary that will catch their eye. Make sure your’s stands our. The more key words that are in the headline and summary - the higher up the search engines it will go.

A well written, well researched article will be sought after, passed around and remembered - which is why your wrote it really I guess!

© Copyright 2006 Biz Guru LLC
Lee Lister, writes as The Biz Guru, for a number of web sites including her own sites http://www.BizGuru.us and http://www.clikks.com for all our informational products.

With over 20 year’s management and business consultancy experience with businesses large and small as well as being a serial entrepreneur, she now helps others set up, develop and market their businesses.

This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays attached.

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A few days ago, I critiqued a chapter for a writer I’d been working with for some months. The main thing we’d been working on was ‘de-cluttering’ her writing. In many sections of her work her natural style came through: it was smooth and easy to read, and I could see the promise there.

In other sections, the pace slowed down dramatically. The action was explained and then explained again in slightly different words. Really, there was no need to ‘explain’ it at all. Readers bring a vast amount of experience to every book they read. They have seen countless movies and TV shows; they watch the nightly news coverage; they read books, magazines and newspapers. Want proof?

I’m going to write a list of common events. Note the images that come into your mind when you read these words.

• driving a car

• having a BBQ

• eating out in a ritzy restaurant

• a car accident

• a terrorist attack

Did I have to ‘explain’ these events? Did I have to outline how to turn the key and put the car into gear? Did I have to mention the type of clothes worn at a BBQ or a ritzy restaurant? What about a terrorist attack or a car accident?

I’m sure you were able to fill in most of the details from your own viewing or reading or personal experience. All I need to do as a writer is to use the viewpoint character in the scene as a ‘filter’ for the setting, emotions and immediate impressions. You can supply the rest.

Now let’s go back to the writer whose work I was critiquing. Ms. Writer had started to cut a lot of the clutter in her scenes, but I was still finding plenty to work on.

But this time… no. I hardly had to touch it. What had made the difference?

I emailed her with congratulations and asked what she’d been doing. I thought she may have spent more time editing, this time, before sending it off to me. Or perhaps she had put some distance between herself and the writing by putting it aside for a week before polishing?

Her answer surprised me - although it shouldn’t have. For a change, she told me, she’d sent this one virtually hot off the computer. After my response, she had come to the conclusion that maybe she’d spent too much time editing in the past - tinkering with it then tinkering some more. Now she was wondering if all she’d done was make it unnecessarily wordy!

An interesting question. Had she simply added clutter? Is it better to just write something, give it a quick read through, and then leave it? When have we done enough editing? When have we fiddled with something too much? Is there any way to know?

That, of course, is the hard part. At what point might we start to spoil a piece of writing instead of make it better?

There isn’t a pat answer. If there were, someone would have made a fortune by now selling you the secret. What you have to do is discover your own needs as a writer. You may be one of those who improves a piece of writing immeasurably after editing and polishing. On the other hand, you may write almost-perfect first drafts (lucky you) - and simply make things worse when you tinker. Here are a few tips to help you work out what’s best for you.

Get Feedback

It’s very hard to know whether your editing is on track without some kind of feedback. You can get this from a critique service, but that can get expensive. The best solution is to join a critique group - or start one up yourself. An online group works well for many writers: you can send email or download the results at a time that suits you.

You don’t need a big group. This is counter-productive, because you have to do your share of giving feedback as well as getting it. If you’re spending most of your writing time critiquing somebody else’s work, you’ll start feeling frustrated. One or two critique partners can work very well. Start by joining a writer’s discussion list, and after a few weeks you should get a good sense of who might make a good critique partner for you. Send an email and ask if that person is interested. (Try typing ‘discussion lists for writers’ into your search engine and you’ll find plenty of places on the Net where writers meet.)

When you’ve found a critique partner or two, start exchanging scenes and stories. You can then send the revised version and ask whether you’ve made it better or worse. After doing this a number of times with several people, you’ll have a good sense of what your natural editing/polishing skills are like.

Give Yourself Distance

This is well-worn advice, but worthwhile nonetheless. The very best way to ’see’ your own writing clearly is to give it space. The best editing is done after having some time away from the manuscript. You see mistakes so much more clearly when you’ve let the first draft sit for a week or more. Writers seem to find this incredibly hard to do - they want to write, edit and send it away!

Don’t. Give yourself time and space - the more the better. This is particularly important if you don’t have a critique partner. The longer you leave it, the better chance you have of looking at your own work through fresh eyes.

When To Stop Tinkering

What if you keep spotting something else that needs work? You’d love to send it away… but it never seems ready!

Welcome to the world of the chronic tinkerer. You are in danger of never getting anything published because nothing will ever be good enough to send away. Face it: we all find something that we should have fixed when it’s too late. Like most published authors, I’ve read through the advance copy of one of my books, winced at a sentence or a phrase or even a whole scene, and thought: I wish I could go back and rewrite that!

If I’d kept thinking that for draft after draft after draft, the book would never have made it to the publisher. Tell yourself that you’re going to keep improving as a writer. That means you’re always going to see something in your past drafts that needs fixing. But there comes a time when you have to stop - and just send it away.

How do you know when that is? There are a couple of ways.

1. You’re sick to death of your whole story. If you have to fix one more thing, you’re going to throw up. This is a sure sign you’ve done enough - for now. Send it away, or

2. Put it away for a while. Be firm with yourself. Resolve not to look at it again for at least four weeks. Then take it out, give it a quick read-through, and mark only the places where something screams out to be fixed. If it jars - work on it. If it reads smoothly enough, leave it alone. Fix it, then send it away.

3. If you trust your critique partner or group, ask them to tell you when they think your story is ready. Remind them not to suggest changes just for the sake of it - you need to know if it’s ready for a publisher, that’s all.

A Final Thought

If you feel you’ve done pretty well all you can to make sure your story is well-paced, well-told and free of technical errors, then send it away. It’s better to have something out there, testing the marketplace, than to spend five years tinkering. While you’re waiting for its acceptance, rejection or (if you’re lucky) some feedback, you can be working on your next story. And guess what? You’ll find that this is a great way to get some perspective on the first one, because you’re not obsessing over it night and day. If it does come back, either send it out to a different publisher or put it aside until you’ve finished your work in progress. Then look at it again. You’re sure to view it much more objectively. This is the time to decide whether it needs more work - or whether it should be treated just as a good learning experience.

(c) Copyright Marg McAlister

Marg McAlister has published magazine articles, short stories, books for children, ezines, promotional material, sales letters and web content. She has written 5 distance education courses on writing, and her online help for writers is popular all over the world. Sign up for her regular writers’ tipsheet at http://www.writing4success.com/

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I had written this poem way back 1995 when I was in first year high school for our school paper. As a freshman, I was really challenged to surmount the achievements of the so-called “older ones”. This poem is very special to me because it is the product of my desire to do things greater than what older people can do. The poem conveys that small things are not only bright and wonderful, rather, useful too. Its meaning is universal and multi-dimensional.

I made used of a very basic style in writing this poem. I observed rhyme and simplicity in language. To add a little twist, I personified the candle. Basically, the entire poem is a dialogue between the reader and the candle. The setting is in Bethlehem where baby Jesus was born. It was the very first Christmas, though, it’s not blatantly told. The context clues I had given say so.

Because of its simplicity, the poem was published in our school paper and in our yearbook. The poem too was published in Quill Books’s hardbound edition volume, A Time To Be Free, last 1998 in Harlingen, Texas.

A Candle

by Jocell Siyangbigay Maranan

O little candle in the night!!,

burning in the room very bright!!

Its head bows lowly,

pointing back and forth so slowly

Look outside the brick window!

See the stars shooting below!

See the moon and its lasting brightness!

Feel the night and its chilling coldness!

You are comparably smaller,

to those decorative celestial wonders

How could you make the darkness,

turned out to be the brightest?

Why do you have to sacrifice,

yourself so scarce to suffice?

Are you enough for the night,

to make the room very bright?

About the Author: Jocell Maranan’s Short Biography: Jocell Siyangbigay Maranan was born on February 9, 1982 in Batangas City. He is the third of the five children of Mr. Juan A. Maranan (deceased), a public school teacher, and Mrs. Cecilia S. Maranan, a registered midwife. His father died at the age of 62 when he was 14 years old. Because of this, his mother struggled in raising him and his siblings solely. At an early age, he showed signs of eagerness to go to school. He spent his kindergarten days in Bauan East Central School, elementary in St. Theresa’s Academy and high school in Sta. Teresa College.

Source: www.isnare.com

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When you are speaking in public, humor need not be knee slapping funny to be effective. Here is a mild form of humor to add to your public speaking engagements. Alliteration is the repetition of the same first sound or the same first letter in a group of words or line of poetry.

You find alliteration used in advertisements and titles all the time because it tends to catch your eye and ear. One of my humorous public speaking topics is titled ‘Pranks for Profit: Confessions of a Paid Practical Joker’. It has four ‘p’ sounds.

Here is an example of a positive message delivered with alliteration:

‘We (B)agged the (B)aldridge award (B)ecause our (B)rainy, (B)eautiful (B)usinesspeople are the (B)est.’

In a negative message you can soften the blow of the message without appearing frivolous or uncaring. Example:

‘The strike by one of our suppliers has put a (C)runch on our division. Even though we are (C)runched, we are still (C)reative. We are still (C)redible. And we will (C)onquer this problem.’

Copyright © 1998 - 2005 Advanced Public Speaking Institute

Tom Antion provides entertaining speeches and educational seminars. He is the ultimate entrepreneur, having owned many businesses BEFORE graduating college. Tom is the author of the best selling presentation skills book “Wake ‘em Up Business Presentations” and “Click: The Ultimate Guide to Electronic Marketing.” It is important to Tom that his knowledge be not only absorbed, but enjoyed. This is why he delivers his speeches laced with great humor and hysterical jokes. Tom has addressed more than 87 different industries and is thoroughly committed to his clients’ needs. http://www.antion.com

Advanced Public Speaking Institute
3105 Sergin Ct.
Virginia Beach, VA 23452
(757) 431-1366
Fax (757) 431-2050
Contact: cmckinney@public-speaking.org
http://www.GreatPublicSpeaking.com

Visit our Blog at http://www.GreatPublicSpeaking.BlogSpot.com

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“Write what you know.” When it comes to writing advice, it’s right up there with “show, don’t tell” and “never pay someone to publish your work” and “becoming a writer is detrimental to your bank account and/or sanity.” We’re advised to stick to the known parameters and keep our subject matter limited to that with which we’re familiar, because that way our writing will convey a sense of realism and we won’t risk making an enormous factual error that will cause thousands of readers to throw our books across the room and curse our names forever.

Come on. How many times do you think Ray Bradbury burned a big pile of books, or got himself chased by robotic hounds with syringes full of poison? How often did Frederik Pohl visit Mars? Think of all the great books we would have missed if writers stuck to the “write what you know” rule. Besides, if this rule were obeyed without question, we’d end up with writers working at their skills and reaching that coveted point in their careers where they actually earn a living from it, at which point they would start writing a bunch of books about. . . writers.

(If you think about it, many writers do just that. Which simply proves that no matter how hard we try, sometimes the rules sneak in and bash us on the heads.)

So. . . what’s a law-abiding writer to do? How can we step outside what we know and still create stories that come to life; that don’t scream “I’ve never stepped foot in a Harlem strip club in my life, but I’m sure there must be lobster tanks in them somewhere because I need the lobsters for my plot device”? How can we infuse authenticity in a scene that takes place in an alternate reality where cops don’t exist and all people from Rhode Island have blue skin?

One word: research.

We have this wonderful tool called the Internet. If you’re reading this newsletter, you have access to it-and it’s all free. You can find anything about anything, if you know where to look. And your research doesn’t have to stop there. Remember libraries? Here’s a little secret: librarians are actually advanced alien life forms placed here on Earth to reveal reams of knowledge to we mere mortals. Librarians know stuff. Furthermore, they’re real easy to crack: just bring them a plate of cookies and they’re putty in your hands.

Then there’s my personal favorite font of information: people. Are you writing a book with a cop character? Talk to a cop! They’re good for more than writing tickets and blowing whistles at crosswalks. Want to take a crack at the unparalleled excitement of the world of tax return filing? Hie thee to your local Jackson Hewitt and talk to the good folks behind the desks. Start your conversation with the words “I’m writing a book” and you’ll be shocked at how much people have to say.

You can write what you don’t know. In fact, I say you should write what you don’t know. By forcing yourself to learn more about the ways of the world, you not only expand your mind, you become a better writer because you have to work for it.

Besides, just how many streetfighters do you think I hang around with?

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.

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