Children Read Aloud Research

PERSONALIZED NOTE CARDS 1
Personalized Note Cards as the name suggests, are customized Note Cards. One can get the option of making Personalized Note Cards in almost any kind of card making store. For making Personalized Note Cards the stores use logos and names. One can use Personalized Note Cards for not only business purpose but also for personal use. People write letters on Personalized Note Cards, pen down important notes etc. We commonly see doctors using Personalized Note Cards for writing prescriptions. As one has to create Personalized Note Cards on special orders, so using Personalized Note Cards can be expensive. One can choose from photos, paintings, art works and various designs templates that are usually offered by the stores making Personalized Note Cards. One can also use his own photos and designs to create the Personalized Note Cards. Personalized Note Cards can be used for various occasions like birthday greetings, holiday greetings etc. Today one can even create his own Personalized Note Cards simply sitting on his computer. This is possible with Personalized Note Cards Software. By using Personalized Note Cards Software one can make his own Personalized Note Cards that too without spending much time and money. All though there are many stores which design Personalized Note Cards, but one should browse around and try to find the best place which offers good quality of Personalized Note Cards that too at right prices. Matched sets of Personalized Note Cards are quite popular and the Personalized Note Cards can be made using so many styles and colors that one can find something that fits his demand. One can make Personalized Note Cards using any type of Paper material. To find more information on Personalized Note Cards one can always visit various online sites giving details about Personalized Note Cards. Normal Note Cards can be boring, so by using Personalized Note Cards one can turn the notes into something special and very personal.

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Audio Books ? 10 Frequently Asked Questions ? Part 1
My friends and colleagues consider me as the audio books expert. They tell their friends that they know an audio books expert and the outcome is that I keep getting dozens of audio books questions and inquiries each day. I have decided to gather the most frequently asked questions for everyone?s benefit.

Here are the top five frequently asked questions about audio books (and the answers of course):

1. Are there free audio books? How do I get them?
In one word: NO. In two words: Not exactly. Depends of the type of audio book you are looking for (downloadable audio book are cheaper than the other types), and the audio book title (new audio books cost more), you could find low cost audio books.

I believe that one should pay for each product or service he gets. Yet, you could find free audio books mostly by signing up for the free trials most of the online audio book services give you.

2. What is better ? Audio books rental or audio books buying?
I personally prefer audio books rental. Mostly because of the price ? I read a lot of audio books and it will simply cost too much to buy them all. However, audio books that I really like, Ones that I want to listen to time after time, I buy and keep them on my audio books library.

Yet, I have friends who are more possessive ? they are not willing to rent audio books and they must hold a remarkable huge audio book library.

3. What do you suggest ? downloadable audio books, audio books on CD or books on tape?
Well, that?s a tough question. Basically, I believe that the most worthy audio books format nowadays is downloadable audio books. You must own a media player (e.g. Ipod) to listen to it. Yet, it costs less than the others and has a better quality.

However, the widest collection of audio books could be found on the audio books on CD format. If you want to listen to old books you will find them only on CDs.

I do not recommend getting books on tape (also known as audio books on cassettes). They are expensive, low quality and not user friendly.

4. When can I read audio books?
The answer is - Anytime and anywhere. Here are a few examples: While cooking, cleaning the house, exercising, running, walking, driving, flying, before going to sleep, commuting, working etc.

5. Are audio books expensive?
Audio books are not expensive at all. In fact, Downloadable audio books are very cheap ? they cost much less than real books and renting them is the most worthy deal. Audio books on CD cost about the same as real books and books on tape are the most expensive ones.

Paton Jackson is the audio books? expert of 911 corp. Find the best audio books sources on <a target="_new" href=" http://www.911makemoretime.com/audio%20books%20bible.htm "> Audio books rental and more - The audio book bible</a> .

How Not To Get Published
If someone had told me in 2000 that I'd publish four books in 2001, I'd have called him an eejit. The last time I'd been published was 1989, and that doesn't count because I paid someone to do it. I'd long since given up on getting published again. In fact, I doubted I'd ever write again. By now you may wonder how I made it from Point A to Point B. Or for that matter, why I stopped writing. The second part is simple. I was chasing money, becoming a high-powered businessman and losing myself. The first part is a little more difficult to explain. In December 1999, I flew to Hong Kong for a vacation. The first vacation in my life, really. I intended to stay for a month. Instead, I married an Australian who taught English there. I quit my job in North Carolina by email. I found myself unable to legally work in Hong Kong. So what was I to do with my time? I dusted off a childhood dream and resumed writing. I had a slush pile full of old short stories, and I ran them through the on-line writing workshops. There are two parts to writing--story and style. I wasn't changing my stories--they came from me and were what I wanted to write--but my style was pathetic. Style is also the part that can be learned. So I did. Then came something that amazed me. New stories. Mixing with the "writing culture" got my creative juices flowing again. After all those years. Better than ever, in fact. Next, I published them. Between March and December 2000, I published twenty stories in twenty different e-zines. I only made $6, but I was building my resume. I believed that I had a short story anthology in me, and I'd decided to try publishing it. I felt I needed a "track record," so I got one. I also had a novel in my slush pile. A gripping imaginative story, badly told. But I'd finally learned about the craft, the structure, and the hard work that comes after that original flash of inspiration. You see where I'm leading by now. I wrote two new novels, and signed contracts to publish all three novels plus the new short story collection in 2001. It's a common sight among new writers, and really it's a bit sad. People who have the story--the part that can't be learned--but tell it badly. They rush in on the adrenaline high that authors know so well, then get rejected and give up. What defines a great story? That depends on which reader you ask. If you're writing a story that moves you, someone somewhere with similar tastes will like it. Some stories will be more popular than others, but almost every story will be considered great by someone. But if it's badly written, the reader will simply put the book down and read something else. As a teenaged author, gathering up enough rejection slips to wallpaper the room, I didn't give up. I just got arrogant and decided "You don't understand me, ya eejit." That's no solution. Nor is paying to be published. Nope, if you want to get published, learn how to tell your story. Spelling, grammar, punctuation, pacing, dialogue... all that stuff you may have slept through in high school will become second nature with enough practice. I did quite well in high school English, by the way, but it's not like they taught pacing and dialogue and real story- telling there. To learn those, you've gotta read. But that's no problem for an author. If you don't enjoy reading, you can't write something that others will enjoy reading. Also, you must listen to the criticisms. Accept some and reject others, but always listen. I believe the Internet makes it much easier to get those criticisms. I work as an editor now, and one of my authors told me that he sees movies inside his head. It shows in his writing! I don't write that way, unfortunately, but I still know how he feels. When "the Muse" pays me a visit, I've gotta write it down as fast as it comes to me. That's the one part that can't be packaged, taught or mass-produced. That part comes from you, the author, and no one else can do it the way that you do. Kurt Vonnegut, whose works I greatly admire, writes one sentence at a time, and makes each one perfect before he begins the next. But I don't write like that, nor do most of the authors I know. We just let it fly, then go back and fix it later. But if you don't want to get published, don't go back and fix it. Pass that raw copy around to your friends and family and let them tell you how wonderful it is for fear of hurting your feelings. Then send it to the publishers and collect the rejection letters. That's what I did in my younger days, and I wasn't published. It took me twenty years to learn my lesson. It would genuinely make me feel good to hear that most writers aren't taking quite so long.

Who Moved My Rice? http://www.chinarice.org You can't eat grits with chopsticks

Speed reading - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Speed reading is a collection of reading methods which attempt to increase rates of reading without greatly reducing comprehension or retention.

Your book is your baby, treat it like one...
Your Book is Your Baby. Treat it Like One! by EJ Thornton Most authors refer to their book as their "baby" without really knowing how accurate that comparison is. I found out as I wrote Angel On Board that writing a book is like a pregnancy, long, drawn out and private — only you can do it. It has to grow from the seed of an idea to the actual entity we hold in our hand the first time we see it in print. That first meeting is an incredibly memorable experience! Some people cry, some jump up and down — most just stand in awe that the book is finally real and they can hold it in their hands. Most, women at least, clutch it to their chest and are so proud, they can't hold back the tears.
It's a Book! It's a Baby!
Now, this book, like a baby, needs to be taken to professionals to "check it out." It needs an editor, a baby book doctor, to clean it up, check it out, cure its woes and medicate its weak spots. The editor, like a pediatrician, is on your side and wants what you do - a healthy baby book! Editors can cost you money, but you'd pay a doctor — right? You wouldn't trust your baby's health to an amateur (like your neighbor or your sister — even though they got an "A" in Health), so why would you trust your baby book's well-being to one? If you're smart, you won't.

Next, you want to share your baby with others. You want the world to know how great your baby is. This is where most new book parents go wrong. They think the book can speak for itself. It can't! You're going to be working long hours and sacrificing a lot of sleep. Much like a newborn baby is a full time job, so is a newborn book. New parents don't get a lot of rest because the demands of a baby are so intense - it is that way here too. You've taken on another full time job introducing your baby to the world. A press kit needs to be developed, press releases need to be written and sent, reviews need to requested, interviews need to be scheduled, book clubs and book stores need to be approached, book signings scheduled and networking needs to be done! Don't you send out birth announcements? Don't you schedule christenings and take your baby places to introduce them to the world? It's the same concept. No one knows about your baby has arrived, unless you tell them.

You'll have to invest money to support your new book project, just like you'd support your new baby. They can't support themselves yet — let alone you — it's crazy to expect them to!

Many book parents don't sell out of their first print run because they expect their baby to come out walking and talking. That baby needs carried and dressed and driven everywhere to introduce it to its readers. Then its readers will start to talk about it (a voice of its own). Its readers will recommend it to others (it starts to walk on its own). Now, thanks to your efforts and encouragement, you start to see your baby start to walk and talk on its own. And it's a thrill to start seeing sales come through from efforts beyond your own!

Your first print run will be as much expense as profit and so much work, you'll wonder why you're bothering. Many young parents ask themselves questions like, "Why did we want this again?" But then they pick up their baby, feel the love again, regain their strength and get going again. When the first print run is sold out - it is a milestone. Your baby is growing up and it's taken its first few steps.

When you make it into your second printing, you can see the impact of the first round's efforts and you, as a book parent, mature and enjoy how your book has grown. Now the book can support itself a little. This stage is much akin to when a child starts working odd jobs, like babysitting or lawn mowing. They create their own spending money — and they want to spend it on themselves! Hoorah! So, do — spend that money on the book, invest in advertising or flyers and postage or promotional material, memberships to authors groups or conferences or your own booth at trade show, and entry into catalogs with a good circulation. All these things the book can now do for itself and you can watch these new ventures pay off and ultimately, your second print run is sold out! You baby is growing up (but you're still probably driving them everywhere). You can see the potential of this new family member, you can see their personality develop and how they interact with the world. And you are so proud! During the third and fourth printings, you're dealing with a young adult book. They're out on their own, they're earning their own way, but they still want and need your involvement and encouragement in their lives and you love them so much, you can't imagine not being there for them.

If they make it to this point and you haven't quit on them (because it's only you who can quit), then it can support itself and in return take care of you. It has arrived! Your baby is all grown up, but just like adult children, you're still very involved in their life.

Now, what if you're a prolific writer? Just like that prolific parent, there's a second book on the way, while the first one is barely learning to walk. It happens, and with most authors, it happens A LOT! Like with a second baby, you're not so scared, you're smarter now, and you know without being told or questioning all the things that you need to do for a baby. The older sibling book many times can be helpful in raising the new book (especially if it is a series), but each will always be an individual (even if they look alike). Don't forget that, when you have a little family of books growing up right before your very eyes!

The other main point that new authors forget is that a book is a lifetime commitment — they'll have this beautiful baby all the rest of their lives and frankly, it will live on beyond them, just like our children do. Each one is a new addition to the family and must be nurtured and taken care of. You have the rest of your life to have a relationship with this baby and to watch it grow and become.

Don't rush the process, it is all a wonderful ride!

Angel On Board is now 8 years old and has two non-fiction 'brothers' and a little children's book sister. Its sibling sequel is due out in 2006 as well as more non-fiction reader's stories. To see EJ's finished works, go to Books To Believe in - EJ Thornton's page

EJ Thornton published her first book (Angel On Board) in 1998 and has sold several thousand copies. She currently runs a publishing house in Colorado where she helps other people's publishing careers get started. EJ is a author, speaker, instructor, business owner, publisher. EJ's latest book, Revenue Beyond Royalties teaches authors how to round out their talents to take advantage of all the revenue streams available to them.

Goethe’s the Sorrows of Young Werther
Goethe’s The Sorrows of Young Werther is about the tragic life of Werther who has committed suicide as a result of his loneliness and critical approach to society, also his displaced unfulfilled feelings for a woman called Lotte who he could never have. The story takes the form of a correspondence between Werther and his friend Wilhelm. Since the correspondence is only one sided, the readers find themselves taking the role of Wilhelm as the story progresses. The story, to shortly summarize, begins with Werther who has bourgeois origin, who is leaving home to regulate some issues about family estate for his mother. He soon neglects his tasks and spends his time enjoying his life and in the afternoons feeling nature and the complexity of a human life. He quickly acquaints with the nice people who populate his "paradise". When he was invited to a dance by his new acquaintances, it’s where he gets to know Lotte and sets his eyes on her; he falls in love with her, although knowing that she is already engaged. As the story continued, they both realized that their affection was mutual and they became close friends. Later on, Werther visited her almost every day and spent blissful hours close to her. But when Albert, Lotte's fiancé, returned from his journey Werther's feelings for Lotte has changed from "bliss" to the "unhappiness" because Albert's presence rendered it clear to him that his love would remain unfulfilled because Lotte will never be able to return his feelings because of the fact that she actually loved Albert. It was at this point that Werther began experiencing bouts of desperation and mood swings alternating between extreme optimism and extreme skepticism about life and society and how he fits into both. All these emotions were coupled with his unrequited love for Lotte. Seen from Lotte’s viewpoint, Werther epitomizes a man of intelligence and artistic minded. These traits coupled by his sensitivity to beauty and nature were what endeared him to her to consider him as a close friend and confidant of her thoughts and views on life. However, these traits were also the real reason why Werther found no respect and contentment with the society. His disrespect to the Prince’s superficial knowledge of art demonstrated that he couldn’t tolerate anyone who did not share his artistic views. In the story, Werther did not find an equal or a superior to himself that even Lotte, who he fell in love with, did not have enough power to help him with his obsessions and desires. With the exception of Lotte and her family, Werther was effectively isolated from the society. Lotte must have sensed Werther’s need of a companion that she is in a way welcomed his friendship despite knowing that Werther’s affections towards her extended way beyond friendship. She said that she appreciates Werther as a kind of confidante for her emotions. Emotionally, they were too similar that Werther must have done a mistake as a positive sign of love urging him to pursue Lotte despite her circumstance. Werther at this time was happy thinking that love was the answer for his loneliness and passion. “ My days are as happy as those reserved by God for his elect; and whatever be my fate hereafter, I can never say that I have not tasted joy, -- the purest joy of life.� (June 21) Yet, when he found out about Lotte’s marriage to Albert, he decided he couldn’t accept living without her. We should not blame Lotte for Werther’s grief and emotional suffering because she had been cautious in handling the evident feelings of Werther for her. She clearly loved Albert, who later became her husband and she made this clear to Werther despite his disappointment. Werther later on had already put Lotte in a high pedestal that it became difficult for him to detach his feelings for her even during her married life. Before Albert appeared in the book, Werther's love was not still so clear, his surroundings seemed vitalizing. As he got more mindful of the feelings he has for Lotte, nature began to add to his desperation. Gloomy night strolls, which once seemed full of life and love in the book/ His pessimism began to settle and took the best of him. He then started to fantasize about marrying Lotte in the future. Traditional values and stability is Albert’s wife for life. Werther precipitated himself with intense emotion. Werther is well aware of this, when he declares, “I cannot help esteeming Albert. The coolness of his temper contrasts strongly with the impetuosity of mine, which I cannot conceal. He has a great deal of feeling, and is fully sensible of the treasure he possesses in Lotte. He is free from ill-humour, which you know is the fault I detest most� (July 30). This obvious and marked difference between the two was what further antagonized Werther fully realizing that these characteristics of Albert were what engendered him to Lotte. Albert, on his part is well aware of Werther’s special feelings for his wife but his reason and values prevented him from showing hatred to Werther. However, their secret rivalry intensified in a heated discussion concerning the topic of suicide wherein Werther rejected all of Albert's arguments and passionately defended the right to suicide, which he deemed to be an expansion of natural death. Judging from the intensity of the argument, which transcended beyond the topic of death to a deeper issue of Werther’s close friendship with Lotte, one could conclude that it was at this point that Albert decided to forbid Lotte to see Werther anymore. Lotte was stunned by this thought and having reservations had no choice but to obey her husband’s wishes and from then on informed Werther to distance himself from her. “We cannot go on in this manner any longer� (December 20) was her decision. This must have disoriented Werther to finally think about suicide and thereafter proceeded to commit it. It was in his unconditional love, his hardheaded want for no woman but her that Werther's destiny originated. Since there can be no fulfillment of his unconditional love for Lotte, the desire for death constantly grew within Werther whereby he expressed, “Adieu! I see no end to my misery but the grave" (August 30). In conclusion, Werther's search for a place in society led him to examine himself relative to his own existence in the world. His desperate attempts to win Lotte’s heart have been the source of his sorrows and his ultimate doom. Anyone can say that the paths he has chosen toward maturity were irrational or impossible. In the story, he chose to fall in love with a woman already engaged. He chose to direct all his sorrows and anger on her. He undeniably lacked courage to face defeat and rejection. He chose to end his existence. Werther’s story shouldn’t be taken as an account of a young man who has seen life as it really is but instead, it should taken as the choice between duty and inclination. I believe there is a young Werther characteristic in all of us and we must always seek to achieve a balance between reason and passion. This will make it possible for us to live productive lives as compared to Werther’s story.

C. Ozcan - is the author for Site Insaat Inc. Please visit <A HREF="http://www.siteinsaat.com">Istanbul Construction Guide at Site Insaat</a> for more information about Turkey architects contractors and construction companies in Istanbul, Turkey.

Reading speed - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Reading Speed is the speed with which one can read as defined in WPM ( words per minute ) or WPH (words per hour). Obtaining your WPM. To obtain an estimated average, begin by ...

Who Is The "Hero" In The "Hero's Journey"?
During the past thirty years, much has been (rightfully) made of Joseph Campbell's breakthrough research in cultural anthropology, most famously published in "The Hero With A Thousand Faces." In this book, Campbell examines the many cultural expressions of the heroic role model, and in doing so helped to establish the universality of human hopes, dreams, and lives.

Hollywood, in particular, has embraced this vision, which powers dozens of films a year, and has become clichéd wisdom in development executive suites all over Southern California. Of course, the question of the nature of heroes enters other arenas as well. In the political arena, shaping doctrine around strong leader figures is one way to promote ideas to the public. Heroic firefighters and soldiers appear in ads for one party or another, and our elected officials trumpet their military service—or are criticized for their lack thereof, or are called cowards or even traitors if they disagree with the plans or opinions of an opponent.

Whether one wishes to understand the "Hero's Journey" as a tool for fiction, or desires to rise above the rhetoric a bit, it's useful to define just exactly what a hero is. This is, after all, the human face of the story. If the "Journey" is important, even more so is the person taking it. If we, as a culture, tend to worship and follow heroes, it is vital to have a definition of exactly what this is.

Of course, each of us should search our own hearts for the definitions that help us guide our lives. With that understanding, I'd like to present a definition that has worked for this writer and citizen for many years.

"A hero is a man or woman who holds to their deepest values, regardless of the stress or pressures."

This applies to soldiers in combat, teachers in the inner city, mothers sacrificing for their children, artists resisting commercial demands, teenagers resisting the call of drugs or alcohol or premature sexuality. It demands that the "Hero" understand his or her deepest values, and often, the entire purpose of a story is to force them to confront these deeper truths, stripping away superfluous ego-identity.

Culturally, this means that a person of Heroic dimension doesn't necessarily share our point of view, our political beliefs, even our morality. To understand this is to understand how an apparent moral monster can be lionized by his followers. When we disagree with a leader, and are forced to dehumanize him in order to justify our own position, we diminish our capacity to understand the human condition.

We must hold to our values, and be clear about them. The entire world of advertising—whether Madison Avenue is selling cereal or an unpopular war—is based on anchoring some goal to basic human drives. Those who are uncertain of their values are like straws in the wind, blown by whoever plucks their strings. No wonder we cherish those who seem clear and strong in their identity, who stand by their choices even under stress. No wonder we respect these men and women even as it becomes clear that flexibility and compromise might be the better way. At least they believe in SOMETHING!

If we are to grow beyond sheep needing a shepherd, we must be strong ourselves. We must know ourselves deeply and honestly, and find the bedrock of our own morality. From this place it is easiest to determine when a leader is truly worthy of emulation or admiration or obedience. When we walk this road of self-discovery, we become heroes ourselves, experiencing the adventure of our own lifetimes.

NY Times Bestselling author Steven Barnes has lectured on storytelling and human consciousness at Mensa, UCLA, and the Smithsonian Institute. Creator of the Lifewriting™ high-performance system, he has helped thousands of writers improve their work and lives. Learn more at <a href="http://www.lifewriting.biz" target="_blank">http://www.lifewriting.biz</a>, and <a href="http://www.lifewrite.com" target="_blank">http://www.lifewrite.com</a>

Copyrights Revisited
I used to make this joke in my Advanced English Writing classes. I'd write on the board, "There are no new ideas" and attribute it to Plato, and then say in my lecture that he probably stole that quote. Are we allowed to do plagiarism humor in China? They forgot to comment on that in my contract. Anyway, dig this. Michael LaRocca, age 17, is crafting his award-winning THE BARGAIN in 1980, which I hype far too much. Somehow he stumbles upon something he will write in 2005. CAMEL BUTT. The total lack of anything redeeming depresses him so much that he never writes again. Thus, he doesn't write CAMEL BUTT. Is this "time travel paradox" original? Yes and no. I believe this is why the US Copyright Office says you can copyright your words but not your ideas. I've never read a time travel paradox featuring a camel butt, but otherwise my little tale is far from original. If you were working in the Copyright Office, would you want to be the one deciding which ideas are and aren't new? Is it even possible? This is my latest answer to every aspiring author who asks me, "How can I protect my idea?" Don't write it. Take it to your grave. Otherwise, it's fair game. Your words are always protected, but your ideas never are. There are no new ideas. Put another way, the ideating is the easy part. The hard part is publishing and marketing. This is also why I've never seen an idea worth stealing. It's too damn much work. Pick up something by your favorite author, and in my case that would be Shakespeare. Ignore the words and look at the ideas. How many will you see that are original? Zero, baby. To be or not to be. To thine own self be true. A rose by any other name would smell as sweet. A coward dies many times before his death, a brave man dies but once. Ideas I fully agree with, but they aren't original. And, in this day and age, a damn hard sell. That's right, I can't even get rich ripping off Shakespeare, unless I want to write the latest installment of THE LION KING. (Which is also cool, so don't start.) Put yet another way, if you want to steal what I just wrote, you can't take my words. They're mine. Copyrighted the moment I clicked "send." But if you change CAMEL BUTT to WHOMPING THE YAK, then it might work. But be careful. I stole the words WHOMPING THE YAK from Dave Barry. If he decides to sue you, you're on your own.

Who Moved My Rice? http://www.chinarice.org You can't eat grits with chopsticks

Find Some Readers!
The Internet will not replace traditional promotional efforts, but it can enhance them. Before I go into the Internet, I want to talk about the old-fashioned marketing methods, because they're still your best source of readers. ===== BOOKSTORES Map out all bookstores within 20, 50, even 100 miles of where you live. Call or visit and see who has a local or regional authors section. Most do. See if they'll buy a few copies. I did this in 1994 and had a lot of fun with it. See if they'll schedule a book signing. If they do, some newspapers and radio stations will advertize them as free public service announcements. I never did this -- my mistake. http://www.bookweb.org/bd-bin/browse_bd?Country=usa&State_Name=YOURSTATE will help you find the bookstores in your state. So will the Yellow Pages in your home, and the online version at http://www.yellowpages.com/. Alternately, you can find the bookstores by doing a web search for Bookstores+YourState. This will take longer, but it can work. You can narrow down your search by using key words like Independent, Christian, wholesale... whatever you're trying to find. ===== LIBRARIES Since I've never done this myself, I'm repeating what I've heard. It contradicts itself in a few spots, but it'll give you some ideas. To find a list of libraries in your state, you can use a search engine, or you can call your local library and ask how to get a listing of all the libraries in your state. They'll usually give you the link. Many libraries have a budget to buy books and will gladly purchase from local authors. Libraries won't let you sell your book inside the building, but they will let you talk about it. Talk with the "Friends of the Library" chapter. Also, donate a book to your local library. It's good publicity, especially if you get a newspaper to pick up the story, and it's a good way to give back to your community. You can also donate an autographed copy of your book to the library in the city where your book is set. If possible, do this in person. Many times the library will set up a book signing for you at one (or more) of the book stores in the area. Again, contact the "Friends of the Library" group. ===== PRESS RELEASES Send press releases to every newspaper in your state and the state where your book is set. Also look for local radio stations who will interview you. Kidon Media (http://www.kidon.com/media-link/index.shtml) will help you find them. Stick to places that would be genuinely interested in you, as opposed to spamming everybody. If the URLs are stale, you can look up the names at Google. ===== BOOK REVIEWS Walk into any bookstore, log onto any e-publisher site, or visit Amazon or Barnes & Noble. Guess what you'll see? A whole lot of books. If one of them happens to be yours, how will people notice it? I've gone into a bookshop more than once to buy something based on a review. There are print reviews and there are electronic reviews. You want to be reviewed as much as possible. Your publisher will market your book, but you have to help. A lot. What you want is for a potential reader to walk into that shop or log onto that site with your name and title already in his or her head. Your publisher will submit your book to reviewers. I don't know about the quantity, but reviews (even negative ones) generate sales. Work with your publisher to ensure everyone on the list below is covered. Also make sure you don't both send the same book to the same place because that's just plain embarrassing. When you are marketing, don't think like a writer. Think like a reader. Of course you can think like another person... that's part of what makes you a great writer. How do you choose what to read? I go by what my friends recommend, book reviews, and author loyalty. This isn't the end-all and be-all of marketing efforts, but it's a good starting place. (Word-of-mouth is the end-all and be-all.) Here are some sources that readers use. Some will review your books, some will let you review other people's books, and some are just plain useful for getting the word out. ===== BOOK REVIEWERS/AUTHOR INTERVIEWS A Romance Review http://www.aromancereview.com/ Book Lore http://www.BookLore.co.uk Book Pleasures http://www.bookpleasures.com/ Book Remarks http://www.book-remarks.com Bookreporter http://bookreporter.com/ Book Review http://www.bookreview.com Choice Magazine http://www.ala.org/acrl/choice/index.html Contemporary Romance Writers http://www.contemporaryromancewriters.com/ The Compulsive Reader http://www.compulsivereader.com/html Green Man Review http://www.greenmanreview.com Love Romances http://www.loveromances.com/ My Shelf http://www.myshelf.com/ Reader To Reader http://www.readertoreader.com/ The Romance Reader http://www.theromancereader.com/ Scribes World http://www.scribesworld.com Scott London Book Reviews http://www.scottlondon.com/index.html Writers Write http://www.writerswrite.com/ Written Voices http://www.writtenvoices.com/ ===== AUTHOR INTERVIEWS Author Interviews http://easyweb.easynet.co.uk/~etfreedman/writersknowhow/author_interviews.htm Author Network http://www.author-network.com/ ===== BOOK REVIEWS All About Romance http://www.likesbooks.com Asian Reporter Book Reviews http://www.asianreporter.com/book_reviews.htm Author Mania http://www.authormania.com Baryon http://www.baryon-online.com The Best Reviews http://thebestreviews.com/ Blether http://www.blether.com/ Blurb http://www.futuremuse.com/blurb/mystery/mystery_index.htm Book Connector http://www.bookconnector.com/ Book Ideas http://www.bookideas.com/ Booklist Magazine http://www.ala.org/booklist/submit.html Book Review Club http://www.bookreviewclub.com/ Curled Up With A Good Book http://www.curledup.com/ Erv's Book Reviews http://ervsbookreviews.com/ervsfreebookreviews Escape To Romance http://www.escapetoromance.com/reviews/ Huntress' Book Reviews http://www.huntressreviews.com International Gay & Lesbian Review http://www.usc.edu/isd/archives/oneigla/onepress/ Kirkus Reviews http://www.kirkusreviews.com/kirkusreviews/index.jsp Know Better http://www.knowbetter.com/ Linear Reflections http://www.linearreflections.com The Literary Times http://www.tlt.com/ London Review of Books http://www.lrb.co.uk/ Los Angeles Times http://www.latimes.com/ The McQuark Review of e-books for Kids http://www.mcquark.com/ Midwest Book Review http://www.midwestbookreview.com Mostly Fiction http://www.mostlyfiction.com/ The Mystery Reader http://www.themysteryreader.com/ The New York Review of Books http://www.nybooks.com/ The New York Times Book Review http://www.nytimes.com/pages/books/index.html Notes In The Margin http://www.notesinthemargin.org/index.html PIF Magazine http://www.pifmagazine.com/ Publishers Weekly http://www.publishersweekly.com/index.asp) Three months before publication Rain Taxi http://www.raintaxi.com/ Rebecca's Reads http://www.rebeccasreads.com Rio Reviewers http://www.rio-reviewers.com/ Road to Romance http://www.roadtoromance.dhs.org/ Romance and Friends http://www.romanceandfriends.com/ Romantic Times Magazine http://www.romantictimes.com Shades of Romance Magazine http://www.sormag.com/index.html Sime-Gen http://www.simegen.com/reviews Spiritual Bookstore http://www.spiritualbookstore.com/ Subversion http://www.booksquare.com/subversion/ Want A Book Reviewed? http://www.suite101.com/myhome.cfm/sarawebbquest The Washington Post http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/style/books/ Word Museum http://www.wordmuseum.com Word Thunder http://www.wordthunder.com ===== BUSINESS AND ECOMONIC BOOK REVIEWS Brint Institute http://books.brint.com/ Business Nation http://www.businessnation.com/bookreviews/pages/ Digital Women http://www.digital-women.com/bookreview/ Telecom Business Books http://www.telecombookshelf.com/business-general.html ===== BOOK LISTING SITES AuthorZone http://www.authorzone.com/ BitBooks http://www.bitbooks.com/ eBook Jungle http://ebookjungle.com/index.html Once Written http://www.oncewritten.com Reviewers Choice http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ReviewersChoice Substance Books http://www.substancebooks.com/ Wild East Links Machine http://forum.hkwriterscircle.com/pages/ ===== MISCELLANEOUS · Allreaders.com http://www.allreaders.com · Am I a HACK or NOT? http://www.jjjwebdevelopment.com/306sites/hackornot/ ===== WEBSITES AND NEWSLETTERS If you're selling anything, you should have a website. If you're selling ebooks, you should consider it mandatory. How many people do you know who read ebooks but don't use the Internet? None come to my mind. The best thing about having a website is that you can do it free. Later, once you know what you're doing, you can buy a domain name and pay a hosting service if you want. You can pay someone to design a gorgeous site for you, loaded with graphics, complete with a secure server and the option to buy right there, but I didn't. My publisher does the selling. Writing a site yourself, loaded with information and a place to click to send someone to your publisher, is simple. Planning should take longer than actual execution. A bit like writing a novel. "Hi, I'm Michael LaRocca and these are my books." This approach will guarantee that anyone looking for Michael LaRocca will find my site. But when we consider that no one's heard of Michael LaRocca, how many people will seek out my site? Unsolicited "Buy my book!" messages don't work. They just piss people off. Plus, they're rude. Spam doesn't sell books. Trustworthy recommendations do. As the author, talking to a total stranger who didn't ask you to start a conversation, you can't make trustworthy recommendations. So don't even try. Here's a possible solution. Let's say you've written a book where most of the action happens on a snowmobile. Put together the best damn snowmobile website in history. Everything that anyone wants to know about snowmobiles should be on your site. Make it the kind of resource that any snowmobiler will visit again and again. Then slip a little note in there mentioning your book. People will find your site, and during one of those repeat visits they'll buy your book. Basically, fill a need. Give folks a reason to keep coming back even if they think they'll never buy your book. Being helpful is my "sales gimmick," but I just so happen to enjoy it. People don't log onto the Internet with the purpose of spending money. They log on for information or entertainment. Give them that and they'll keep coming back. If you throw in just a little soft sell, and do it right, they'll eventually make that impulse buy as a favor to you. Hopefully after they read one of your books, you'll hook them and they'll come back specifically to buy the rest. As an example, why are you reading this right this minute? To buy a book? No. To read my free advice. My site is genuinely useful. You want to bookmark it and come back. I know you do. At some point, you're supposed to think "What a nice man. Let me plop down a mere $5 and buy one of his novels." Maybe you won't do that. Maybe if I were you, I wouldn't do it either. But, I'd probably read the free samples. They're at http://www.chinarice.org/michaellarocca.html. But I bet I can sell more novels this way than by screaming "Buy me!" at the top of my lungs. And I teach in China without a microphone. I've got strong lungs. I'm not your friend because you don't know me. However, I hope you think of me as a "trusted advisor," which is the next best thing. ===== SEARCH ENGINES When you search, how many hits do you look at before you give up and change your search terms or your search engine? That's why you want to be in the top ten or twenty slots. Start by studying everything at http://www.selfpromotion.com Next, visit Search Engine Watch at http://www.searchenginewatch.com and subscribe to the free monthly newsletter. Useful, timely advice. When a search engine spiders your site, part of your score is based on incoming links and outgoing links. Incoming links from sites with a similar theme to yours are especially valuable. So naturally you'll be asking some webmasters to exchange links. But first you have to find them. For that, I use a free program called Web Ferret. I type in a keyword and it scours several search engines looking for matches. I picked up my copy at http://www.ferretsoft.com. Nope, none of these places told me to endorse them or even knows that I do. I just happen to find them useful.

Who Moved My Rice? http://www.chinarice.org You can't eat grits with chopsticks