As I contemplated writing this article, I thought, another one on this dreaded topic (freelance writing rates). “Why can’t we all just get along,” is the motto that is running itself over and over in my head right now. BUT, I’m going to tackle this anyway. Sometimes, progress just takes a while. When I started to take on SEO writing projects, it was a new niche for me. So, I researched every aspect of it. Rates, of course, was at the top of the list. Almost all of the research I did was disheartening. Much of what I read about rates on SEO writing was low - very low. Most of the assignments offered pay like $1-$4 for 350-500 word articles. And that’s not a typo. If $5 was offered, it was like - woohoo! - a “good rate.” I was horrified and this almost put me off entering the SEO writing niche. But, with 15 years of freelance writing experience under my belt, and almost a dozen as a small business owner, I had a gut feeling that this was a niche where some real money could be made. So, why am I telling you all this? Because when it came time to set my rates, I didn’t even try to compete with what others were offering. I took the following into consideration when I set my rates for writing SEO content. SEO Writing Rates: How I Set Higher Rates - and Got Them! Contact the Source Directly: Many of the low rates I saw offered were on bid-for-pay sites and forums. And, while I don’t knock these as far as looking for work, from what I could gather, these were frequented by other freelance writers looking to outsource work. Hence, they were really the middle man. So I targeted the businesses themselves. By targeting the source, I could command higher rates. Experience: I know what I bring to the table as a professional. Experience has taught me that working for pay that I wasn’t comfortable with would only lead to misery. And, I’m not in this to be miserable. So, I set my rates according to what I needed to make, fully realizing that if I didn’t get work at those rates, then this was not the field for me. Realizing this, I was fully prepared to walk away from the niche - something I think many freelancers are afraid to do. You have to make a decent wage to feel good about yourself. While we may all occasionally take on projects we wish paid more, there’s no reason to do it day in and day out. So, if you’re working in a sector that doesn’t pay well, don’t be afraid to stop doing it and look for work in other - better paying - sectors. Charge in the Middle: I charge $25/per 500-word article. For some, this is high, for other’s it’s low. But, it works for me. I can usually write an article in 30-45 minutes. My all-time low was 20 minutes (this doesn’t happen often and the subject matter is topics I’m extremely familiar with). Most articles take me about 40 minutes to write. This translates into an hourly wage of $75 on the high end, and $33 on the low end. That’s comparable to an average salary of $68K to $156K (hourly rate x 40/hours week x 52 weeks/year). This is more than many make on full-time, 9-5 jobs. I wanted to charge enough to make what I needed to live, but not so much that I had to struggle to bring in clients. This rate has allowed me to do that, which brings me to my next point … Why You Should Never Be the Lowest or Highest Bidder I know I could probably charge more because of my experience and marketing expertise. But, you know what? When you charge near the top, projects take longer to come in. Charge near the bottom, and someone will always beat you out on price. The rate I charge allows me to seamlessly bring in new clients - and make a more than decent living without stressing. In fact, I’ve recently started to outsource projects because I’m so busy. If I was charging “top dollar,” I don’t think I’d be at this point yet. How to Set Your Freelance Writing Rates to Bring in the Most Clients A rule of thumb is, the more you charge, the more you will have to spend to land clients - and the longer it takes for you to land clients. Furthermore, clients expect more when you charge top dollar. Think about it, if you stayed at the Holiday Inn, would you expect the same level of service you’d get at The Ritz? The nice surprise here is you can provide your clients with “Ritz” service, while billing Holiday Inn rates. Your referral rates will go through the roof, and when you do decide to raise rates, practically none of them will jump ship because you ask for a few extra dollars. To be successful in business, you have to consider all components, not just rate. For me, I’d rather be super busy charging mid-level rates, than slow charging top dollar. And that’s exactly where I am. About the Author: Yuwanda Black is a freelance SEO writer. She blogs at InkwellEditorial.blogspot.com and is the author of How to Make $250+/Day Writing Simple, 500-Word Articles.

Lyrics are the essence of each song. But is you would like to try your forces in song lyric composing, then you shouldn’t be afraid, because you today you can find something like a help at free websites dedicated to song lyrics. Song is a result of mixture of lyrics and tune. You may think that on order to create song lyrics, it is necessary to have special education, but this thought is not right. Everything in a song lyrics composing depends upon emotional and spirit state of the author, because in most cases song is an expression of deep personal feelings. If you visit free website with song lyrics, you’ll get the possibility in it. You can write song lyrics about everything you feel and experience, like daily activities, events, feelings and emotions, You can write down your thoughts and views and then try to use some rhyme to these thoughts, but your song also can be without rhyme. Your listener mustn’t feel that the song was written under pressure or something like that. Enforcement and pressure can’t be combines with song lyric writings. All what you want to include in your song should go from your heart and look natural. It is recommended to write songs in the early morning or at that time when your head is fresh and full of proper thoughts. Conner Vaughan is a professional writer specialized in Business thesis writing. He has great experience in Thesis ideas and Research paper guide writing. His works are in popular demand in the Internet.

If your writing skills are not so good, or you’ve failed your English test on the high school, you may be feeling a little slighted about writing an article, report, sales copy or ebook. If it’s your case, there is a solution just for you. Writing doesn’t have to be the hardest part of your ebook creation. You can actually hire someone to do it for you by going to a site like Elance.com and let qualified people ( Ghost-writers or freelance writers ) bid on your project. There are plenty of good writers there willing to write your ebooks for you at a discounted price. Many novelists, Hollywood celebrities, biographers and others utilize the services of a freelance writer at some point of their careers. So what’s a ghostwriter? It’s someone you pay to provide you with quality professional content in about any format you require. Here is what a ghostwriter / freelancer can do for you: . Research on the internet and other sources . Compilation of all the information you provide them . Professional writing that makes your ideas sound really great . Write a compelling book that rivets a reader’s interest . Usage of language that is apt according to the topic . Delivering the complete packaged product version-ready to sell. All you have to do is provide them with your ideas, research, and information about your ebook then let them do the work for you. Here are some of the advantages of letting a ghostwriter write for you: . All the writing work and designing is easily outsourced to ghostwriters. They do all the work.. you get the benefit (and the profits)! . Save time and energy that could be used efficiently in other directions. . You keep 100% of the copyright. . They can do the research for you. The procedure is as follows. You have to post your project on the website. The freelancer who is interested in your project will place a bid. The cost of this work depends on the expertise required, the nature of the project and the volume of work. You are free to negotiate. Ghostwriters work mostly for themselves. If you generate repeat business for them a business relationship gets established. The ghostwriters or freelancer may then charge a lower fee for the returning client as it helps generate higher business volumes. The investment you make in hiring a ghostwriter is returned many times over and gives beneficial results. You get an excellent product made and the readers get their value for money through high quality material. This is definitely a win-win situation where you, the freelancer and the client, all are benefited. To have an idea on how Elance works and what kind of projects people are posting. Visit this link: .elance.com/c/search/main/lSearch.pl?mode=search&stage=results&domain=projects&catid=100&rid=&sk=&keywords=ebook There are plenty of great resources to hire a freelancer. These are: . .elance.com/ . .rentacoder.com/ . .guru.com/ . .ebookhelper.com/GhostWriting.html/ . thewritetouch.no-frills.net/ . .theghostwriter.net/ To post your project on Elance.com or any other freelance site you should first open a free account with them, and then open a bid request. Your bid request should include: . A clear description of your project without giving a lot of details. . Maximum Bid. This is the highest bid offer you will accept. Freelancer can bid lower to gain your business, but not higher. . Bidding Close Date. This is the date (in U.S format–mm/dd/yyyy hh:mm:ss) you want to close bidding and not accept any more bids. . The number of days the freelancer have to work on the project and deliver the final work. If you omit a deadline, then the he is under no time obligation to deliver! Before accepting any bid you should verify that the person you are selecting is apt to handle the project effectively. You can do this by: . Asking the ghostwriter for his references. . Asking for a sample of his work. . Visiting his profile page, where you can find more information about him and also what people who worked with him have to say about his work. Did you find this article useful? For more useful tips and hints, points to ponder and keep in mind, techniques, and insights pertaining to guides on publishing, self-publishing, e-book publishing, article writing and related information, do please browse for more information at our websites. .infozabout.com .publishing.infozabout.com

For Dissertation example you can check various sites in the net. In authentic sites you will be able to collect some of the free dissertation that can give you some guidance about the process of writing one. The process of writing dissertation starts with the identification of the problem. The next step is to convert this problem into a workable hypothesis. According to Cohen and Nagel,” No rules can be stated for hitting upon relevant hypothesis. It follows that the valuable suggestions for solving a problem can be made only by those who are familiar with the kinds of connection which the subject matter under investigation is capable of exhibiting.” There is no particular method of forming hypothesis. The choice of hypothesis depends upon scientist’s range of knowledge and his native abilities. James Watt formed an idea of railway engine on seeing boiling bottle. There are, however, certain aids to hypothesis making. These are, 1) Induction by simple enumeration: We see that all roses, irrespective of color and size, are sweet smelling and from the observation we form the hypothesis that rose is a sweet smelling flower. 2) Method of agreement: If we find that various objects in a group have a common circumstance we form a hypothesis about it on this basis. For example, if a doctor finds that all cancer patients he has come across are heavy smokers, he will easily conclude that smoking is a cause of cancer. Similarly, if all guests in a marriage party feel giddy and sick after taking food, we shall conclude that food must be poisoned. It can be said that a hypothesis is believed to be relevant to a problem if it expresses determinate modes of connection between a set of facts, including the fact investigated, it is irrelevant otherwise. 3) Analogy: If we observe some common features among various things then we form a hypothesis on this basis. For example, if we find that some hill people we came across are very simple, we shall suppose that other hill people are also simple because they are inhabitant of hills. This hypothesis about hill people is based on analogical reasoning. 4) Concomitant variation: Sometimes we form hypothesis about two phenomena by observing certain relationship between them. For example, if we find that medicines in attractive containers sell more than those in simple containers, we may form a hypothesis that all medicines presented in attractive containers will sell more than before. Making the hypothesis is just the beginning of the whole process. Now you need to prove or reject the hypothesis. For that, you need to do a lot of literature survey and background study to understand the problem in all possible ways. After that you have to outline the research methodology. This is the most important part of the paper, where you have to do the sampling, collection of data and the analysis and interpretation of collected data. After doing all this you can come to a conclusion regarding your hypothesis and you can complete the dissertation paper by citing the name of the references used. PayelDissertation is an academic writer who provides useful information about Dissertation and Dissertation Example .

Articles are a great source of information aren’t they? You look on the internet for answers on how to plant a flower and you will most probably be directed to an article that goes through the whole process. A lot of people are looking for information on the internet and articles are the main source of the information. Did you know that articles can make you money though? No?! Read on and I will show you how. There are thousands of articles out there that provide you with large amounts of information but have you noticed that sometimes there is a bit of information missing? Or that it didn’t answer the question you wanted? Well if you take a look into the resource box of the article then you will most probably find something like Joe is the owner of gardening mayhem. Click here to find out more about gardening. Genius isn’t it? You are making people click through to your site by leaving out a bit of information or purposefully not answering a question. This not only gains you a large amount of traffic to your website, but it also can make you sales if you redirect them to a store on your site. Can you see where I’m going? You don’t have to even own a website to make money. You could send them to a blog and then on that blog you redirect them to a sales page and then they will buy something relevant to the article they were looking at. It’s great isn’t it? Who knew that such a small box at the bottom of an article could make you a lot of profit! So to make profit from your article you need to either have your own site or blog and try to sell people the product there. Don’t try selling the product in your article, your article will get declined or people won’t read it! Go ahead try it out, add your website store or your blog to your resource box and see how much money you can make.

Powerful speakers recognize the metaphor as one of the most powerful linguistic tools in their speaking arsenal, and they use them when appropriate. Like their cousin the simile, a metaphor is a figure of speech, meaning that it is a phrase with a meaning that diverges from the literal meaning of the words used.Specifically, a metaphor connects two things that are in the ordinary course of things completely unrelated. Metaphors often go even further from the literal meaning of the words used than similes, and as a result their meaning can be very subtle. In many ways they show the cleverness and complexity of language and of the human brain that creates it. Technically, metaphors are said to be divided into the familiar (called the vehicle), and the unfamiliar (the tenor). The unfamiliar is described by reference to the familiar. An example of a metaphor is “love is a rose”. In terms of the example, the properties of a rose are familiar (they’re beautiful but they have sharp thorns), while the properties of love are unfamiliar. If love is said to have the same properties as a rose, then we have an insight into what love is like (i.e. pleasurable but also sometimes painful). Like other figures of speech such as keynote motivational speaker describes, the power of a metaphor is often that it lends a visual image to something that is ordinarily hard to imagine. For example: “Memory is a crazy woman that hoards colored rags and throws away food” (Austin O’Malley, Keystones of Thought, 1914). One could instead say “our memories often retain what is trivial and forget the important,” but the image of a crazy woman hoarding rags is far more powerful than this dry description. And speaking of memory, a great deal of research shows that we are much more likely to retain powerful images than we are to retain text or speech that doesn’t trigger our imaginations in this way. There is research that suggests that speakers rated as more charismatic communicators (think Ronald Reagan or Barack Obama) use more metaphors in their speech than other speakers who aren’t rated as being as charismatic. Isn’t that reason enough to embrace the metaphor?

In this competitive legal market, employers are bombarded with resumes. In most cases, they do no have the time or manpower to give resumes more than a cursory two-minute glance to make an initial determination. What does this mean for your resume? The formatting on your lawyer resume should be impeccable to give the reader an immediate positive impression. You should also consider submitting a single page lawyer resume; shortening the length of your resume could give you a better chance of being read and considered. The Benefits of the Single Page Lawyer Resume When limiting the length of your lawyer resume to one page, you are forced to provide a precise and concise document that focuses specifically on the skills and experience a potential employer is looking for. In other words, you have to make the document more targeted, get rid of old, irrelevant, or extraneous information that could be cluttering your resume. The result could mean a more impactful resume. If you are a recent graduate, a law student, or a lawyer who has only worked for one employer, limiting your lawyer resume to one page may be an easy task. If on the other hand you are an experienced lawyer, or one that has made several transitions, limiting your lawyer resume to one page may be a tall order. In that case, you may need an additional page. However, you can still enjoy the benefits of the “single page” lawyer resume format if you capture the most relevant information on the first page of your resume. In other words, you should aim to include your education and entire work history - or most relevant work history - onto the first page of your lawyer resume. To know what is “most relevant” to include on that first page of your resume, assume that a potential employer never sees the second page. This will allow you to determine whether the information included is sufficient to provide an employer with a good understanding of your skills and qualifications. Constructing the Single Page Lawyer Resume Your single page lawyer resume should be highly organized to include the following sections: * Name and contact information. You should include you name, mailing address, at least one telephone number, and a private email address. If you have a good LinkedIn profile, you may want to include it there as well (See “Optimizing Contact Information On Your Legal Resume” for more information about using your contact information effectively). * Education. You should list the schools of higher education you attended in reverse chronological order. One of the most common questions asked by lawyers who are writing their legal resumes is whether to include their legal education at the top or bottom of the resume. If you have been out of law school three years or less, you should consider placing your education at the top of your resume (See “Top 20 Legal Resume Writing Tips” for more information on this topic). * Work History. Here you should list all of the jobs you’ve held, and try to limit them to law-related positions, unless you are a recent graduate of law student. Begin with the full legal name of the company, law firm or organization you have worked for, provide your full title, as well as your dates of employment, and the city and state where you practiced. Finally, provide a short description of the worked you performed, your responsibilities, and various accomplishments. Use active verbs to set off each sentence, keep them very brief and to the point, and list them with bullets if you have enough space (See “Using Active Verbs in Your Legal Resume”). * Bar Admission. Your lawyer resume should always include a separate bar admission section. If you are short on space you can include professional associations in this section as well. Be sure to include the year of admission for each jurisdiction you were admitted to. Information that you can easily omit on your resume is “references available upon request” citations, and personal hobbies (e.g. reading, knitting, gardening etc.). Because the modern resume is a marketing tool, it’s best to keep personal interests, hobbies, and other non-essential materials for the interview process. If you are keen on listing organizations, affiliations, volunteer work, or extracurricular activities on your legal resume, only list those that are relevant to your practice as a legal professional, or that are directly related to your targeted job. Again, if it’s not related to your practice or the position, do not include it. Single Page Lawyer Resume Sample Here is a single page lawyer resume sample that contains all of the features we’ve mentioned: JOHN B. DOE 555 N. Westminster Road • New York, NY 20021 • (212) 555-555 • jdoehotmail.com EXPERIENCE: Latham & Watkins LLP, New York, NY Litigation Associate, September 2003 - Present Summer Associate, Summer 2002 * Represented clients on a wide variety of litigation matters including securities, breach of contract, unfair business practices, product liability, professional malpractice, and aviation. * Handled arbitration matters involving claims of securities fraud, unsuitability, unauthorized trading, deceptive trade practices, breach of fiduciary duties, and breach of contract on behalf major financial institutions and brokers. * Assisted in government contract matters relating to municipal law, contract and procurement, transportation, and infrastructure development. New York Supreme Court, Nassau County, NY Intern for the Honorable Phillip B. Connor, January - March 2003 * Conducted legal research on a variety of substantive and procedural issues with an emphasis on commercial litigation matters, drafted memoranda, and attended oral arguments. United States District Court, Northern District of New York, Albany, NY Intern for the Honorable Geoffrey E. Peterson, June - August 2001 * Performed legal research, reviewed and evaluated pleadings and motions, and assisted Judge in drafting opinions and bench memoranda. EDUCATION: Cornell University School of Law, Ithaca, NY Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, May 2003 * Notes and Comments Editor, Cornell Law Review New York University, New York, NY Bachelor of Arts, cum laude, in History, May 1999 * Vice-President, Asian-American Student Association ADMISSION: New York (2003) For people who are looking for jobs, they sometimes write so much unnecessary information on their resume. For employers and specifically law firms, they often do not have the luxury of time to scan many pages of your resume. The single page lawyer resume is the perfect type that a lawyer can use. He must make sure that the resume includes the most important information on the first page.

Writing articles online is the best way to make a fortune online. The reason for this has to do with the current shift to online from the more traditional methods that magazines and other print media use to use. The Internet has opened the doors for writers. Just about anyone can make a living now writing articles from home. Here are some simple methods and techniques to making money on the Internet writing articles: PLR Articles- Private label articles are a really good way to earn some extra cash on the Internet writing articles. This is because most webmasters look for niche articles that are related to their site. They can use these articles to submit to high page rank article directories or they can resell them for a bigger profit. Some publishers like to use the content in their newsletters so they can build their subscription list. Whatever the reason, webmasters like PLR articles because they receive full rights to them. This means, they can claim themselves as the original writer and not have to worry about copyright issues. So, how much can you expect to earn with these articles? Most writers only charge $1 per article. While this may seem like a little figure and not worth the time and effort, writers can re-write 10 articles and sell them in packs. If you sell a pack of 10 or 20 articles, you can easily earn over $10-$20 per pack. Re-writing articles doesn’t take a long time to do. Also, you can resell the article packs as much as you want. Most sellers put a cap on how many article packs they sell, which is a good thing to do if you want to hold the value. Original Articles- Selling original content is the key to make a fortune writing articles. The biggest thing is finding a market and clients. Some articles don’t sell well as others. In fact, most webmasters have special request for original articles. The bar is also set higher with original content than PLR articles. It is not acceptable to just rewrite an article and then sell it for $20. All it takes is a simple Copyscape test to find the article is similar to another. To sell original articles, content marketplaces like DailyArticle.com and Constant-Content are good choices. The key is to sell articles that are in high demand. Technology and health articles tend to sell very well. If you are going to sell pre-written articles, it is best to write on something that is popular. Avoid any articles that can be sent to ezines like PLR article writing because you will not get as much money for them. It is best to come up with your own article topics and content in order to get the biggest offer from the client. SEO Articles- These sell like hotcakes and you can get a huge following in no time. The problem is, everyone writer wants to call themselves a SEO writer. It takes skill and at least some practice to learn SEO and how to use keywords. Most of the time, the client will tell you how to use the keywords and the density, but if you want to make major bucks, it is best to learn how to do this on your own. How to Market Yourself This is the real downfall of writers; marketing themselves effectively to potential clients. Writers must be warned that it takes skill and determination to get recognized in the online world of writing. There are many reasons to this as the Internet writing industry can be treated as a sweatshop. Why would a webmaster buy an article for $50 when he can get the same article for $2? One way to set yourself apart is to show your writing skills. You don’t have to be the best writer in the world, but it does help to show writing samples and have decent spelling and grammar. Have your own website that features this and you will see the profits rolling in. Make sure you have published samples to show to stop other people from stealing your work. Also, hunt around in forums and regular websites. Look for contact email addresses. When contacting the webmaster, make sure you keep the email message as personal as possible. You don’t want to sound like a sales person. Just tell them your name, the type of writing you do and that you noticed their website. Leave them you info and tell them if they are interested in a writer, let you know or get back in contact with you. Many writers started out this way and have earned at least 1-2 clients per day. You will be surprised as the number of webmasters looking for content. Since many of them own multiple websites, they don’t have the time to keep fresh and updated content on their site. This is a major plus for you, as you will never be out of work. What to Avoid As with anything that is hot in demand, there will be scammers on the market looking for a victim to prey upon. The same thing goes for the writing profession. Many new writers complain about wasting years falling for writing scams. A couple of things to avoid is falling for the typical “free article” bust. Most writing scams can be found in free ad boards like Craigslist. The poster of the ad will say they are looking for a writer intern or is looking to hire a writer, but they will need to see samples first before giving the job to the writer. No writer should have to provide free writing samples to get a writing gig. If they are not satisfied with your writing portfolio, then move on to the next client you will be able to pay you money for you hard work and quality content. If you do want to keep using classified ads to find writing jobs, just make sure there is some type of fee the job poster has to pay to lessen the chances of being victimized. (Scammers don’t like paying for job ads). To get started making over $500 a day writing articles and receive FREE copywriting training, visit Earn Cash Online Writing Articles

What’s your book about? You might answer “Marketing” or “Families” or “Cooking” or “Personal Development”, but I challenge you to go further and think about your book in terms of your message. What’s the overall message you’re delivering in your book? People will be drawn to your overall message and how it makes them feel. Your message makes you attractive, like a super magnet. When you have something to say and the confidence and fortitude to say it, that sets you apart from everyone else. Ideally your personal presence will deliver this message in a powerful way, so much so that people will want line up to learn from you, be around you, work with you. In short-they’ll want to give you money. Let’s use Dr. Phil and his work as an example here because he has created so many bestselling books, all with very different subject matter. However, all of his books have the same basic message. Dr. Phil’s message is intended to make you take charge and “get excited about your life”. Taking this kind of personal responsibility is what’s going to help you solve all of those pesky life problems. It’s going to help you lose weight, strengthen your family, meet the right mate or salvage your marriage. Note that the message is simple, clear and not about Dr. Phil. HOWEVER… Don’t you get the sense that Dr. Phil probably lives this message, that this is exactly the way he lives his life? It would be very hard to believe that this tall, powerful, well-spoken, straight-talking man would turn around and blame someone else for something falling apart in his life. His message “fits” him because this is the way he is. You get the sense that he would be saying the same things regardless of whether he’s at a cocktail party or on national television. It is who he is and yet it’s a message that connects with a wider audience because Dr. Phil has directed it towards helping people solve a problem. You can do this too! Your Belief Systems Okay, right now I’m going to ask you to do something that might sound like I’m saying, “Don’t think about the huge purple-spotted elephant standing in the room” when that’s all you can do! I’m sure your brain is already spinning and crafting your message for your book or your business. STOP! Don’t do it just yet. If you create a message right now, whipped out of thin air, it will dissipate for you just as quickly. You won’t connect to it and it won’t work. A strong message has to be anchored in something-in the core of who you are. That’s the only way you can craft a message that fits you-one that is attractive, credible and one that others will immediately relate to. So how do you do that? Your message must naturally grow from your personal belief systems. Your belief systems are the glasses through which you see the world. It’s how you live-who you are. You may not even have words for your beliefs right now because you’ve never thought to give them words before. Too few of us stop to think about what we really, truly believe. We just act and move through life without thinking about the thoughts running through our brains or why we make the choices we make. But that’s also why it’s so easy for you to stand out when you do get clear on your beliefs. With just that one step you’ve already done what many haven’t! This doesn’t have to be a complicated process. You can start out just by writing out two words: I BELIEVE… If the word “believe” doesn’t work for you, then think in terms of “What I know for certain…” or “This is what I know to be true for me…” Next, write down a series of sentences to complete these phrases. They can be about life in general, or about work, family, love, money, society, history. If you have trouble with this, you can do a couple of things. If you already write, such as a regular newsletter or journaling, review your past writings and see if there are patterns to what you say or think about. Do you give the same advice to people over and over again? Do you have a “thing”- something that really bothers you every time you see the subject or situation come up? What inspires you? For instance, I believe: -if anyone wants to bring something creative into the world, they should be able to do it -love is a powerful force, especially within families -spirituality is important -it’s important to be in charge of one’s own creative process and decision-making -anyone can accomplish great things when they put their mind to it Once you understand your belief systems you can translate them into your message. Basically what you’re going to do is take your beliefs and apply them to your topic at hand. Once you do, you’ll find your writing, your speaking and even your marketing will be so much easier because it will come from the heart. © 2008 Sophfronia Scott WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, but you must include this complete resource box with it: Sophfronia Scott is Executive Editor of the Done For You Writing & Publishing Company. Learn what a difference being a published author can make for your business. Get your FREE audio CD, “How to Succeed in Business By Becoming a Bestselling Author” and your FREE online writing and book publishing tips at .DoneForYouWriting.com. WANT TO SEE MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS ONE? Just go to The Business By the Book Blog.What’s your book about? You might answer “Marketing” or “Families” or “Cooking” or “Personal Development”, but I challenge you to go further and think about your book in terms of your message. What’s the overall message you’re delivering in your book? People will be drawn to your overall message and how it makes them feel. Your message makes you attractive, like a super magnet. When you have something to say and the confidence and fortitude to say it, that sets you apart from everyone else. Ideally your personal presence will deliver this message in a powerful way, so much so that people will want line up to learn from you, be around you, work with you. In short–they’ll want to give you money. Let’s use Dr. Phil and his work as an example here because he has created so many bestselling books, all with very different subject matter. However, all of his books have the same basic message. Dr. Phil’s message is intended to make you take charge and “get excited about your life”. Taking this kind of personal responsibility is what’s going to help you solve all of those pesky life problems. It’s going to help you lose weight, strengthen your family, meet the right mate or salvage your marriage. Note that the message is simple, clear and not about Dr. Phil. HOWEVER… Don’t you get the sense that Dr. Phil probably lives this message, that this is exactly the way he lives his life? It would be very hard to believe that this tall, powerful, well-spoken, straight-talking man would turn around and blame someone else for something falling apart in his life. His message “fits” him because this is the way he is. You get the sense that he would be saying the same things regardless of whether he’s at a cocktail party or on national television. It is who he is and yet it’s a message that connects with a wider audience because Dr. Phil has directed it towards helping people solve a problem. You can do this too! Your Belief Systems Okay, right now I’m going to ask you to do something that might sound like I’m saying, “Don’t think about the huge purple-spotted elephant standing in the room” when that’s all you can do! I’m sure your brain is already spinning and crafting your message for your book or your business. STOP! Don’t do it just yet. If you create a message right now, whipped out of thin air, it will dissipate for you just as quickly. You won’t connect to it and it won’t work. A strong message has to be anchored in something–in the core of who you are. That’s the only way you can craft a message that fits you–one that is attractive, credible and one that others will immediately relate to. So how do you do that? Your message must naturally grow from your personal belief systems. Your belief systems are the glasses through which you see the world. It’s how you live–who you are. You may not even have words for your beliefs right now because you’ve never thought to give them words before. Too few of us stop to think about what we really, truly believe. We just act and move through life without thinking about the thoughts running through our brains or why we make the choices we make. But that’s also why it’s so easy for you to stand out when you do get clear on your beliefs. With just that one step you’ve already done what many haven’t! This doesn’t have to be a complicated process. You can start out just by writing out two words: I BELIEVE… If the word “believe” doesn’t work for you, then think in terms of “What I know for certain…” or “This is what I know to be true for me…” Next, write down a series of sentences to complete these phrases. They can be about life in general, or about work, family, love, money, society, history. If you have trouble with this, you can do a couple of things. If you already write, such as a regular newsletter or journaling, review your past writings and see if there are patterns to what you say or think about. Do you give the same advice to people over and over again? Do you have a “thing”– something that really bothers you every time you see the subject or situation come up? What inspires you? For instance, I believe: –if anyone wants to bring something creative into the world, they should be able to do it –love is a powerful force, especially within families –spirituality is important –it’s important to be in charge of one’s own creative process and decision-making –anyone can accomplish great things when they put their mind to it Once you understand your belief systems you can translate them into your message. Basically what you’re going to do is take your beliefs and apply them to your topic at hand. Once you do, you’ll find your writing, your speaking and even your marketing will be so much easier because it will come from the heart. If you find all this overwhelming, it might help to have another head working through your message with you. I recommend you consider my “Authors of Achievement: The Finish and Publish Your Book” program because this is exactly the focus of the program: creating a book–and message that fits perfectly into your business plan! You can check it out at .AuthorsofAchievement.com.

The Life And Death Of Joe Rowley. Alcoholism And Addiction In Action. The funny thing is, I didn’t know Joe that well. He was only an acquaintance really, a drinking acquaintance, not a close friend of mine by any stretch of the imagination. A ship that passed in the drink and drug soaked long dark night of my soul. So why was it that when I heard of his death, six thousand miles away, and more than a sober year or two after our last contact, that I was moved to tears? I cannot find a full explanation yet, it remains a teasing and tantalizing will o’ the wisp, dancing on the peripheral fringes of my consciousness. Perhaps in writing this and recounting the facts of the matter, I will be able to find some resolution, as I still get teary, some thirty years later, when I think of Joe, and the manner of his end. I had moved from London, our English capital city, to Brighton, a small seaside holiday town about sixty miles South, with it’s more provincial ambience. Also, as a holiday resort, it possessed a subclass that derived much of it’s income from the periodic influx of tourists. These people ranged from those who provided legitimate services, such as board and lodging, a well known genera including such sub-species as seaside landladies and hotel workers, to the more exploitative, such as bargirls, and the downright predatory, such as pick-pockets and pimps. Graham Green in his novel Brighton Rock, gives his grim, gray, grainy portrait of these under classes, with their admixture of petty criminality, that populate this underside of Brighton society; and the sordid parabolas of fungal doom that constitute the nightblooming of their lives. Probably not so different from many towns whose income is in some large part derived from similar sources. Joe, earning his living as a beach photographer, was mid-range in his grubby occupation. A bit exploitative of the visitors, with his persistent persuasive importunings, as he prevailed upon tourists to purchase his services, hawked on the promenade and lower beachfront, without going as far as to actually insert his hand into their pocket. Myself, drinking within bar patios on the lower beachfront level, had plenty of opportunity to observe Joe ply his trade. Manipulating vacationers with what I now realize was an underlying, but ever present, driving desperation. Joe would be a clown for people, mock himself, present himself in any way he thought would ingratiate. He uttered his smoothly flowing conman patter, it poured out of his mouth without seeming effort, as he at times literally capered in front of a prospect whose path he had blocked. Joe had the gift of the gab. For me, this was observed mainly during the daytime, on sunny public holidays or weekends, which attracted me to the vicinity of his beat. Lucrative times for Joe, but he was probably similarly engaged most other days too, unless it was raining, or too cold and windy, or all three, on that coast of frequent hurtling squalls. God knows how he got by in some of the savage months of Winter. Now and again Joe would take a break, and join the company for a beer, camera slung around his neck, like some disreputable reporter from the holiday beachhead, before resuming his endeavors. Conversing and joking around, always active and animated, bouncy with a cheerful ready wit, nut-brown from the regular exposure to the sun that he absorbed as the condition of his line of work, he was an entertaining companion. Perhaps a bit of a rough diamond, with his short crew cut hair lending an oafish look to his short and stocky build, part soldier, part gangster thug. Though he hardly stood out in this seafront assembly of drinkers, daylight ladies of the evening, hustlers, midday drunken tourists, misfits and ne’er do wells of every stripe. You understand, the usual potpourri of riff raff to be found in such places. For all his chunky masculinity, I never saw Joe with a woman. It’s not that he gave any indication that he was gay. He just seemed more at ease and more often at home in the company of men. Though in all conscience, he was seemingly as relaxed when my then wife was present drinking with me, passing the time of day with her in amiable chit chat and superficial banter. Joe gave no indication of superior education or culture either. His language was commonplace, salty and vulgar on occasion as it might be. He never infringed on a topic of any meaning, all was pitched on a mundane everyday level. Only the quickness of his sharp wit at times revealed there might be more intelligence to Joe than was normally allowed to be visible. Of course, even in those quarters, as elsewhere, rapid wit and skills at repartee gain their owner respect, so Joe probable felt it safe to show them. One late sunny Sunday morning, Joe entered the seafront bar I happened to be patronizing. After buying his first drink, he began pitching me his service. Making me a “mark”, a “John”, a breach of ethics really, you don’t con your own tribe. But I was not a close member, a hippy, with long hair, a full beard, unusual for that time and place. I had financial status too, owner of a car and a three-bedroom house, host of noisy weekend revels to the town’s gallimaufry of colorful characters. But his likeability was disarming, the amount of money was small to me, and I enjoyed the pitter of his patter and the easy grace with which he propositioned me, taking it all in with detached amusement while knowing exactly what he was doing. I also knew, he would take something back from whatever I gave him, at the special cut rate that he was using to tempt me, (after all we were friends weren’t we, so he was offering me a good deal on that basis). I just knew he would screw me somehow. My intuition was vindicated later when he gave me the roll of film he took, leaving me to pay for the cost of developing it, with some barefaced shameless flim-flam explanation of why he was doing so. I just laughed. Now I see the covert desperation was his driving need for money to drink. Perhaps on some inner level I knew and sympathized, feeling more fortunate, as my need for drink and drugs was just as driving, but my means were more equal to my needs. I would also see Joe in another bar, or a pub as they are also termed in England, a mostly weekend evening hangout, where I often sat in with the musicians. This was one of the several pubs we frequented that sold British apple wine. Because it was home produced and carried no import tax on it’s alcohol content, it was comparatively pretty cheap, as strong as sherry, relatively palatable, and with the well-deserved reputation for creating a crazed drunkenness. This of course only added to the popularity of Merrydown, as it was named with an arch touch of drollery. Several times, early in the evening, which perhaps accounts for the fact that I was conscious enough to retain the memory, Joe would join me at the bar. This was in fact where he returned the undeveloped roll of film to me on one occasion. He would order a glass of Merrydown, which arrived in a capacious tumbler, full to the brim, and leave it on the bar. He would ignore his drink, chatting casually, as if it were of no interest, as if he had half forgotten it. After a few minutes or so, as if catching sight of it, as if vaguely remembering what he was engaged in, “Oh yes, I have a drink somewhere don’t I?”, he would pick it up with a smooth rapidity, raising his glass as he tilted his head back, and drain the entire contents in one set of swift gulping swallows. Then swinging the glass down in a wide arc to crash it on the bar, he would look at me and state rhetorically, “We’re such bastards Brian, aren’t we? Such bastards!” And then order another, and another, and another, each accompanied by a repeat performance. The dissembler with beads of sweat on his forehead. That were not created by the warm evening. Now I realize how badly Joe needed those drinks, he had reached the stage of physically addicted alcoholism, and I was close on his heels. So why the charade? What was he hiding from whom? Not wanting to admit his “weakness”, I guess he wanted to keep some shred of self-respect, some façade that hid reality as much from himself, as from others. Pretending he wasn’t so desperately in need of the drink that in actuality he was so desperately in need of. Now if the party, i.e. the drunken debauch, was not at my house, mostly we would congregate at Grace and Gordon’s basement flat, and Joe would infrequently show up there too, late into the night. Grace was known even among us as an as an outrageous alcoholic. Arising around noon, she would spend two hours putting on her makeup with shaking hands, while consuming large glasses of Merrydown, or anything alcoholic that had been donated by a guest the night before. Or lacking a commercial product, resorting to her still cloudy homebrewed wine, that had barely finished fermenting. Ugh! Every morning, without fail. By nightfall she was roaring drunk and ready to party. Gordon was a fabulous, almost mythic figure. Sporting a military moustache, a relic of his service in the army, which he detested, the thinning hair was drawn back into an incongruent silky blondish ponytail, barely concealing his balding crown. Again an even more unusual deviant appearance considering his age, at this time and in this place. Gordon loved his drink too, was highly enamored of pot, and took far more amphetamines than he let on. Grace smoked weed if it was around, as did most on this scene, but booze was her first true love without any question. Both of them were some ten years senior to myself, at that time in my early thirties. Grace latterly was taking pills for the flashes of light across her vision, and the sudden pains shooting down her face. It was so obvious her drinking caused them, except to her Doctor of course, to whom she probably lied anyway. After I left I heard she was admitted to hospital with a diagnosis of some kind of “nerve problem.” Ha! I’ll say. From Grace and Gordon I think I remember half hearing in some dim hallucinatory state, the story that Joe had once owned a nightclub in South London, but had had it taken from him by the coercion of some brutal gangsters. That would account for his air of toughness. And then, during his descent, his wife had deserted him. You might think this was Joe’s tragedy, but I now see it was so much more than only that. One night, around one or two am, Joe shows up at Grace and Gordon’s. He is as stoned as we are, and sits slumped in silence, almost collapsed, in an armchair. The music is turned down low, and the conversation sluggish and intermittent, all of those present being in their own sunken state of chemical torpor. All of a sudden, during a pause, a moment of silence, Joe begins to speak. To recite actually. Joe is reciting a lengthy poem.. from memory. And not only that, he is expressing himself with a phenomenal artistry. Every nuance of feeling, every scintilla of meaning, Joe is wringing it out of the poem, displaying the delicate, sensitive, subtle sensibilities of a truly poetic soul. His eyes are dull with a distant look. It is almost as if he is semi-conscious, and some other inhabitant of his inner world is speaking through him. Some deeply buried part of him has sprung to life, and Joe himself seems almost unaware of what he is doing. In the doom ridden besotted gloom we are entranced, enthralled, held spellbound by his words and their meaning, in one of those rare jeweled moments of timeless eternity that are occasionally found set amongst the dregs of drugged and drunken time warps. Who could of known Joe had this in him? I cannot even recall the poem at all, but I know it had greatness, a loveliness that Joe crystallized out of his own being. I only recall that feeling of sacred awe at witnessing the beauty of Joe’s hugeness, and the quality of his intellect and sensitivity, penetrating and encompassing on every level, each and every nook and cranny of his poem. For all I know, he wrote it himself. So the real tragedy of Joe Rowley was one of this more significant loss. The prostitution of his talents, wasting himself to survive. That sadness in some place inside breeding such guilt, remorse and self-hatred, “We’re such bastards Brian, aren’t we? Such bastards!” As he was forced to abandon and betray himself over and over again. Never knowing that his addiction to alcohol was relentlessly consuming his life and being, completely out of any control by who he thought he was. The victim of a state of mind and body of which he had no comprehension. Never knowing of his own goodness. Never cognizant of his own great heart and the sweetness of his shining spirit, which stood so briefly revealed in those phantasmagoric moments, when the curtain of his lesser being was drawn aside. Driven down to ever lower depths of self-degradation and self-destruction by the loveless nightmare scourge of his alcoholism. Till he reached that inevitable terminal nadir, that deep pit, so deep that the only escape from it is through the still deeper bottom that is death. The news I received, later and so far away, was that Joe had choked on his own vomit, while unconscious from a combination of alcohol and sleeping pills, like so many before and since. This was his swansong. And my sorrow for Joe.. perhaps is not only for him.. perhaps this is the explanation for that fleeting recurrent source of tears. I see so much of myself and my life reflected in Joe and his life.. so much of what was true of him has been true of me. At least, since writing this, no tears well up as I think of him. And then there are the myriad matching marching cohorts.. past, present and future.. treading some such path to some such similar an end. I never had that film Joe took of me developed… I lost it some time ago …. Somewhere along the way. Brian Green. mindmagic123.com c. 2007.