Do You Want to Write For Children? Consider Joining a Children's Writers Coaching Club!

A children's writers' coaching club is different than a how to writing course for kids.Coaching clubs are designed to give anewbie writer and illustrator a sense of belongingness.Besides that,awell-informed children's writers group also sharesinvaluable tips and tricks on the craft of writing andillustratingfor kids. If you have ideas for a story, the best way to start is to actually narrow down the age group you want to write for. Then spend some time observing kids in public places such as the library or at a playground - that is,if you don't have any kids of your own.

So I've Written a Great Children's Story - Now What?

If you're not part of it, children's publishing can be a confusing world. The books you read as a child are not the same as books that are published today. The standard is much higher, which makes it increasingly necessary to know the world of publishing and marketing inside out. Experts and published writers ofa children's writers coaching club know what it takes to become a published children's author. There is nothing more beneficial than to learn the tricks of the trade froma children's writer who is already successful at what you want to do.

And here is the best part of belonging to a children's writers coaching club!

These clubs have also great resources like tip sheets and writer's checklist so you can know if you are on track.You have the opportunity to submit a manuscript for a fiction or non-fiction category which is evaluated and honestly critiqued by the coordinator and finally,you cancontinue to improve your craft with monthly writing assignments.

All this without having to leave your house!

So what are you waiting for? Learn the craft of writing and publishing for kids today! Join a children's coaching club today!

You'll be glad you did.

For more information about writing for children, and the Children's Writers' Coaching Club, visit http://www.newteacherresourcecenter.com and scroll down the right sidebar of the homepage

Dorit Sasson is an educator, children's author, freelance writer, and founder and director of the New Teacher Resource Center

The Nature of a Freelance Web Content Writer's Job

What every website needs is relevant content and to be on top of the game, enlisting the services of an efficient freelance web content writer is definitely a must. Web content is necessary so that your products and services would be portrayed to the rest of the world. But this does not mean that just any content would do. Content here has to be structured as well as of quality so that it can fulfill its purpose of capturing the attention of your visitors. And because there is much demand for web content these days, there is definitely much demand for the services of web content writers.

There are actually a lot of advantages that you can enjoy, should you hire a freelance web content writer. An advantage is that you can actually have a lot of articles written by these writers under your name. Yes, they will all have you as the author because you purchase legal rights to these articles. Moreover, you can also edit or make adjustments to these articles as you see fit since these are your own, after all. But before you go ahead and hire a web content writer for your own SEO or search engine optimization purposes, you should still learn the basics of SEO so that you will have a better understanding of what lies ahead of you and your website.

SEO or search engine optimization is all about producing articles that are filled with keywords and key phrases so that more quality traffic can be directed to your website. Keyword densities are then employed so that there would be significant presence of high-paying keywords and key phrases in your articles.

The services of a freelance web content writer can be grouped into two. These are edifying content writing and commercial writing. But for discussion's sake, let us concentrate on commercial content writing, which has advertising as its main focus. On-page and off-page factors are considered here, which include meta tags, title tags, description tags, alt tags, inward links, headings, as well as relevant keywords.

Web content writing would then include the development of fresh content, the development of informative content for websites, the generation of content for products, services, and sites that are informational, the writing and/or rewriting of existing content, and the development of content for online magazines, forums, blogs, and social marketing campaigns, amongst many others.

The important thing to remember, as a writer, is that you need to be able to compose whatever is needed by the client. Availability, adaptability, resourcefulness, research skills, and writing skills are just amongst the many skills you need to incorporate if you want to be a successful freelance web content writer.

Anna is a freelance content writer for more than 5 years. She is knowledgeable in SEO, affiliate marketing and knows how important articles are in the world of internet marketing. If you want to contact her, please visit her blog @ The Freelance Content Writers

Various Types of Ghosts

You have read volumes about ghosts and have browsed hundreds of websites to devour more information on ghosts, but have you ever wondered how many types of ghosts there are? The fact is that there are various types of ghosts out there and all these are minutely described and documented by the Spiritual Science Research Foundation (SSRF).


The Spiritual Science Research Foundation has undertaken extensive research on ghosts in order to demystify this widespread phenomenon and help people in recognising and treating the adverse effects caused by ghosts through proven methodology according to the science of Spirituality.


At the outset, it is important to note that while we use the phrase ghosts (demons, devils, negative energies, etc.) as a collective noun to cover the entire gamut of negative energies, there is a vast difference between the lower order ghosts and higher order ghosts such as subtle sorcerers (maantriks) from the sixth and seventh region of Hell. They differ according to their spiritual strength. Ghosts primarily use their spiritual strength to harm humanity.


The generic types of ghosts as identified by the Spiritual Science Research Foundation in ascending order of hierarchy as well as power and strength are:

• Common ghost


• Demons


• Black serpent


• Female goblin


• Jaakhin


• Witch


• Spirit


• Subtle sorcerer


The Hierarchy among Ghosts

There is a hierarchy among ghosts which is based on their spiritual power or strength. Ultimately all ghosts are controlled by subtle sorcerers (maantriks).


Basic shape and form of types of ghosts

The spiritual principle that word, touch, form, taste, smell and its associated energy coexist is also true with ghosts. Depending on their type of energy, they take up generic forms. These forms can however change, depending on what the ghost is trying to achieve. For example, if the ghost is trying to intimidate, it will take up an intimidating form, whereas if it is trying to fool a spiritual healer it may take a form of an angel http://www.spiritualresearchfoundation.org/spiritualresearch/spiritualscience/angel/index.php or a positive energy. They can also take the form of our departed ancestors thus misleading psychics and the people who come to psychics to enquire about departed relatives. This is true in almost all cases.


How does one become a Ghost in the first place?

When a person dies only his physical body ceases to exist. His subtle body however continues to exist and moves on to the other regions of the Universe. Some of these subtle bodies become ghosts. Most ghosts have unfulfilled desires such as cravings for sex, alcohol, revenge, etc. or derive pleasure out of exerting control over and tormenting humans and other subtle bodies. The subtle body of a person after physical death is defined as a ghost if their characteristics and intentions match the above. There is no special process as such which they go through to become a ghost.


How does a Ghost become a particular type of Ghost?

The main reason behind a person becoming a certain type of ghost is due to their predominant personality trait and their predominant thought at the time of death. For example people involved in adversely affecting humanity at large are more likely to become subtle sorcerers (maantriks). On the other hand excessive worldly desires and constantly thinking ill about others may culminate in one becoming a Common Ghost (Bhoot) after death.


Summary

The most reliable way of reducing the risk of being affected or possessed by the various types of ghosts, is undertaking spiritual practice as per the 5 basic principles of spirituality http://www.spiritualresearchfoundation.org/spiritualresearch/happiness/spirituality/basicpricinples_spirituality_d.php. Spiritual practice and spiritual healing remedies, coupled with personality defect removal and eradication of ego are the tools to access supreme protection from God that insulates one from the attack of ghosts as well as helps us proceed to higher regions in the afterlife.

Visit SSRFs website to explore more on the salient features of the various types of ghosts, view subtle drawings and pictures of various types of ghosts and discover how they can affect our lives: http://www.spiritualresearchfoundation.org/spiritualresearch/difficulties/Ghosts_Demons/typesofghosts.php

How Did You Choose Your Religion

Fiction Tips

Capture the Idea

Many years ago, a noted author said to me, "I had rather write a note on the cuff of my blouse than to lose a good idea." Wow! That stuck with me.

Capture the idea at the moment it comes! I guess that's why I have so many file cabinets in my home. I can hardly bear to throw away all those scraps of ideas! And while that's a good place to store old manuscripts (and new ones), and ideas and plain old stuff, you can't very well carry a file cabinet around with you. So what to do?

Notebooks! Use notebooks! Use notebooks like an artist uses a sketchbook.

Yes, the computer is quick and easy. But the computer is not selective on its own. It may hold information longer than your mind, but it cannot bring all the information together as your mind can. While you can feed those ideas into the computer, still and yet, a writer NEEDS a notebook (or notebooks!).

A Writer's Laboratory

I still have on my bookshelf two small loose-leaf notebooks that I filled when I first began to write seriously. One is yellow, the other is blue. Yes, there they are in all their glory. In it, I wrote snippets of overheard conversations; names I felt were different or interesting; town names that caught my fancy, descriptions of sounds, sights, smells, and then there were the cute and funny things my kids did. They created for me a writer's laboratory as I recorded their actions and conversations.

Entry Sample

One entry from a winter day goes like this:

Clouds of fog were surprised to find themselves held captive in the night by the icy hands of the frigid air. Countless millions of droplets, soft and fat with moisture, were squeezed in the icy grip, then transformed into exquisite crystallized formations and designs. Each was individually fastened with miracle adhesive powers to every tree branch, every blade of dead brown grass, every strand of fence wire, in a sort of dress-up, flocking occasion. The first glow of dawn revealed that nothing had escaped the sparkle-tinsel effect. It later turned to fiery sparkles in the bold winter sunshine.

Stop - Write It Down

Insights and perceptions will flit through your mind like a quick firefly, lighting for a brief moment then gone forever into the darkness. Oh, you think you'll remember that little idea. Or that reaction. Or that snippet you heard. Guess what? You're kidding yourself. You will not. Stop whatever you are doing at that moment and write it down. Keep notebooks in purse or pocket, by the bed, in the car and in the john. Will you be laughed at? You can pretty well count on it. But when the novel comes out, when the work is published, and it contains the content that you hurried to write down (sometimes almost impolitely) you will be forgiven.

And even if you aren't forgiven, you shouldn't really care. Because you are only doing the WORK that is required of a serious writer.

Don't rely on the cuff of your blouse (or shirt as the case may be)! Buy notebooks and fill them! In the days to come, you be so thankful you did.

Are you a fiction lover? Are you a student of fiction? A teacher of fiction? A reader of fiction? Let veteran, published author, Norma Jean Lutz help you enhance your knowledge and appreciation of fiction writing. Author of over 50 published books as well as hundreds of articles and short stories, Norma Jean is a popular workshop and writer conference instructor. She shares tips, concepts, and intricate writing techniques right here: http://www.fiction-aire.com/fictionaire.html

Five Things Christian Writers Should Know

"Just because you have a computer, doesn't make you a writer," said a publishing executive at a recent Book Expo of America.

Fact is 81% of all Americans think they should write a book (according to Write & Publish magazine) and only two percent of that crowd ever actually complete a manuscript - and get it published.

True computers have made writing a book easier and print-on-demand (POD) has made publishing a snap. Problem is there are about 150,000 new books a year and they're not all selling!

So here are some simple things to do to move you from book idea, manuscript to real sales!

Learn about writing. Taking writing courses. You can go to American Christian Writers website and get info on their American School of Christian Writing, The Writer's Institute and/or Writer's Mini Course. Also subscribe to their newsletter (The Christian Communicator or The Advanced Christian Writer). Take time to go to various writers' conferences where you'll meet editors, publishers and other authors. You may even find a mentor at some of these events.

Getting a writing mentor is so critical to your success - if you listen and heed their advice! There are tons of book coaches. Google book coach.

Finally, read! Best-selling Christian fiction author, Victoria Christopher Murray, said on a recent Chocolate Pages Show, "In order to be a good writer, you have to read good writing." I am so surprised when I talk to many Christian writers and I ask if they have read any of the "best-sellers" - as least the Christian or spiritual books. They answer, "NO."

Some have never even read "The Purpose Driven Life" (the best selling book of all time), The Shack (a Christian publishing phenomenon in the book world) or The Secret (at least take cues how they have marketed the mega-star of a book). Most Christian authors don't even take note of any of the top 10 New York Times or CBA best-sellers.

Ughh! You have to know what the market is buying and read it to see why the book is highly acclaimed. By doing a little homework, you can improve your writing. You have to move it from a hobby to a craft if you want a viable book.

Books Every Writer Needs at Their Fingertips!

- On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction by William Knowlton Zinsser

Best book I've read on what, specifically, makes up a great piece of writing

- The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr., E. B. White

Also subscribe to Writer's Digest. Invaluable information every month!

Learn about self-publishing and how the book industry works. I have had writers come to me and tell me their "publishing nightmare" stories. They talk about how printers or subsidy publishers took advantage of them.

Yes, there are companies who will swindle you. But, if you are well-informed, it will lessen the chances of someone ripping you off. Don't rely on one source for all your information. Use Google and do some research! You must do your due diligence.

Know where to get an ISBN, how to get national distribution, where to find a cover designer, typesetter, printer, etc. Ask other self-published authors what they've done and how it has worked for them. Follow the leaders. Do what they did to achieve success.

Study what Kendra Norman Bellamy, Stephanie Perry Moore, Marilynn Griffith or Kim Brooks have done. Most authors have their "publishing testimonial" on their website or offer publishing tips to new authors. Read their advice - you can learn from mistakes or from mentors. Mentors are cheaper.

Learn about marketing and publicity. Build a platform. No book will sell without telling others about it - over and over again. Not just once. Word of mouth is the best form of advertising. Creating "buzz" requires a strategy and a strong platform. (See this Podcast show)

Once the book is published a lot of authors believe it will sell by itself. Many Christians sway the other way and are too humble to tell anyone about their book. They believe if they put it up on Amazon or tell a few of their "yes buddies" it will take off. NOT! Just like any product that is sold for cold cash, it must be marketed and promoted in order to sell. It takes money to make money.

Learn about agents. Agents are not your "literary fairy God-mothers." They are in business to make money. And they make money by selling "marketable" writers to publishing houses. Besides having a great book, decent platform, an audience - you must also have a good book proposal. The proposal is what sells your book. Part of that proposal is the marketing plan. Again, it's about the bottom line.

It took former Heart & Soul editor Stephanie Stokes Oliver 25 years to have her first book published. And she had a platform and was a professional writer. She had to find the right publishing house. She says she went through 10 agents and eventually got the divine connection and got three book deals.

Learn about Web 2.0, podcasting, blogging, social networking. Did you know you can blog on Amazon.com if you're an author? You can even put up video reviews. How cool is that? You must embrace technology and keep up with what is moving books. Obviously the best way to move books is to get people talking - and the more they hear your passion and get curious about all the "buzz" they keep hearing from you online - the more you will attract customers.

So, "get out there" by joining Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace and Twitter. Do a Blogtalk Radio Show and get a Youtube channel. Post up your blogs in RSS feeds and even do some daring stuff like join a lot of "nings" or start one! Join the Chocolate Pages Network (a new social network for Christian Authors). There is so many ways for an author to get exposure online - hey, it may even up on Oprah as part of her "Book Club."

Ministry marketing pioneer and PR Coach Pam Perry helps African American Christian authors garner publicity and leverage online strategies. As a 20-year PR veteran, she is also the co-author of "Synergy Energy: How to Use the Power of Partnerships to Market Your Book, Grow Your Business and Brand Your Ministry" For a free MP3 of "What Every Christian Author Should Know," go to http://www.PamPerryPR.com/. She's also the creator of the ChocolatePagesNetwork, a social network for Christian authors and the Chocolate Pages Show at Blogtalk radio. She offers free help at her blogsite: http://www.MinistryMarketingSolutions.com/ with her monthly Ezine and teleclasses

7 Deadly Writing Sins

1. Sloth

The definition of sloth has changed over time. At one time, it was known as the sin of sadness and despair. Dante described it as the "failure to love God with all one's heart, all one's mind and all one's soul." Today, it is generally considered synonymous with laziness or indifference - the failure to use one's God-given talents and abilities to their fullest. So what does this mean for a writer?

It means that we should stretch beyond our comfort zone and challenge ourselves to hone our skills and learn new ones at every opportunity.

It also means that we should approach each day's work with enthusiasm and joy - joy that we have within us the ability to communicate clearly, to educate, to entertain, and to provoke thought and discussion among readers. Joy that we are able to see the world in infinite and interesting ways, and that we are able to transform that experience into words that we can share with others.

It means that instead of practicing avoidance when it's time to write, we ought to look forward to applying butt to chair and crafting the words that will touch another person's mind.

2. Gluttony

Gluttony is described as overindulgence and waste. Did Emperor Joseph II's accuse Mozart of gluttony when he criticized his work, saying, "Too many notes, my dear Mozart"? Perhaps. Perhaps we commit gluttony when we indulge our passion for words and wordplay and waste the reader's time by failing to engage, enlighten, or entertain anyone but ourselves.

3. Greed

Greed - as a sin - refers to obtaining or hoarding wealth, in particular. And some writers are very good at eschewing greed, saying, "I don't write for money, I write for the sheer love of it. I write because I can't not write. I write for art. I write for myself, alone." This last bit, "I write only for myself," could be seen as a form of hoarding. While ideas and words may not be material objects or wealth, they have value and should be shared - particularly if you accept the notion that writing is a God-given talent.

Shared, yes - stolen, no. Plagiarism would be a form of greed, coupled with envy. Steal someone else's words? I must have sensed this was a sin, given the number of times I've told rip-off artists to go straight to Hell. Whoops... guess I should re-read that section on "wrath."

"I write because I must," might be a form of pride - also one of the seven deadly sins. The implication in the tone is that anyone who doesn't feel that same compulsion is a lesser being, a "non-writer." We all have gifts; where would we be, after all, without the astute readers who buy our books or the skilled laborers who built the cold-water flat in the corner of the garret where we writers notoriously gravitate to do our work?

To write only for money would be a joyless thing (see "Sloth" above), but it is no sin to earn a comfortable living. One could argue that a comfortable living allows one to turn one's thoughts from gluttony and greed; knowing where that next meal is coming from tends to take the focus off of food.

4. Envy

Schadenfreude. Isn't that a fun word? Envy isn't merely wanting what someone else has, but wanting it to the point of feeling sorrow or resentment at another person's good fortune, and feeling a little gleeful when they are deprived of it. My mother once said that it is easy to find friends with broad shoulders to cry on when you are miserable, but hard to find any to come celebrate your good news with you. We do well to celebrate our colleagues' success - it can't help but earn us good Karma points. When another writer announces a sale, it doesn't mean there's one less publishing opportunity in the universe to be scooped up by us. When someone reports a six-figure advance, we should take that as a sign that there is abundance in the universe, and resolve to apply butt to chair just a little more diligently so that we might be next.

5. Lust

Ask the spouse or lover of any writer, and I'll bet they'd say there's just not enough of this sin going around...

6. Pride

Too many people confuse "pride" and "self-confidence." It's a confusing word, too: On the one hand, we are told that pride is a sin; on the other, we are told to "take pride in [our] work." Pride - the sin - equates to narcissism or excessive self-love. Dante defined it as "love of self perverted to hatred and contempt for one's neighbor." So how does this apply to us and our writing? Most of us are our own harshest critics. We could do with a little more self-love, and few of us are prone to excess in that department. But those of us who are published - do we ever think of those who simply write for the love of writing, with vague dreams of being published "some day," as "wannabes"? Do we dismiss the typo-ridden scrawls out of hand - and thus the writer who promulgated them? Someone helped us, when we were young and nave and just beginning to find our voices as writers. It's a debt marked "payable to the hopeful novice."

7. Anger/Wrath

Interestingly, wrath encompasses anger directed inward - so the next time you are tempted to bang your head against the wall, muttering, "Stupid, stupid, stupid - this reads as smoothly as a pig walks on stilts!" consider that you may be committing the sin of wrath. On the whole, though, writers have an excellent outlet for anger and wrath - they can sublimate the urge to kill and torment others who dearly deserve it by letting their characters damn themselves to Hell.

Holly Jahangiri is a professional writer who claims, tongue-in-cheek, to channel the spirits of Edgar Allan Poe, Erma Bombeck, and O. Henry. Holly is the author of the popular children's book, Trockle http://trockle.wordpress.com For more information, visit her blog, "Do I Have to Spell It Out?" at http://blog.jahangiri.us

Get Paid to Write Online

Are you sitting at home wondering how you could do something to make some real money? Ever thought that you might could get paid to write? Lots of people are. What's that you say? "ME? Make money writing? You gotta be kidding! Right?".

Level of Writing Skills Required

Well, no-o. Actually I'm not kidding. You do not have to be a really good writer to get paid to write online. Tell you what. Go online and type "article directory" into a search engine search window. Go visit various article directories and look at some of their articles. Don't stop at the first page where they put the best ones.

Go to page 5 or 10 on a subject, read a few and ask yourself, "Could I do as good as or better than that?" Most of the articles I see out there today wouldn't have gotten as high as a "C" in my 9th grade English class! The standards are NOT high...

If you can write in plain, clear, understandable English at the 6th to 9th grade level, then you can get paid to write online.

Professional writers have a disadvantage on the Net. Most of what they "know" (have been taught) is WRONG! They want to 'swing for the fences' and write a best-seller. The Net wants plain vanilla, fast and lots of it.

While a pro writer struggles over perfecting a 1,000 word piece, those that get paid to write online will turn out 6,000 words of readable text. If that's twelve 500-word articles he'll get at least $10 for them. Once he or she is known for on-time delivery and O.K. quality, that could be $20+ each.

It's relatively easy to write 6,000 words in a day. You do the math...

Ideal for Work at Home

When you get paid to write online, everything goes through your computer terminal. You don't have to dress up and commute to somewhere. You can work 100% at home. The hours are your choice. You can work anytime you like, whenever it's convenient to you.

It's the same way with the amount of work you take on. You can do a little or a lot, you decide. When you finish a contract you can rest for as long as you like. There is no ongoing obligation. You can write at home, at the beach, on vacation, anytime, anywhere you have an Internet connection. Can't beat the convenience!

Fast turnaround, fast cash when you get paid to write online.

To get paid to write online, you do everything (except write) online. You go to writer's markets like elance.com or guru.com and look over the offers posted. You pick one, make contact, negotiate terms and get a contract. This can and usually does happen in hours.

You can begin to write on the contract the same day, deliver the work in 3-4 days and get a deposit into your PayPal account within a week of starting. You not only get paid to write online, you get paid to write fast; it's a quick turnaround between work and pay. No deductions, no holdbacks, just cash in your pocket

All told, there are a lot of advantages when you get paid to write online, and it's a lot easier to break into than you might think...

For more details on how to get paid to write, more information on how to get paid to write online, follow the links below...

For more detailed information on how to get paid to write for the Internet, visit: Get Paid to Write

For more on how to make money writing online, visit: Paid to Write Online

Jorge Chavez is an experienced writer, Internet marketer and author who buys, sells and produces written materials for the Internet.