The publishing industry, much like any entertainment industry, is all about who you know, and not necessarily about how good you are. Having said this, though, if you are damn good, and you have a little luck, you can break into the inner circle.
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I have joined a fair number of social networking websites, primarily to see how each works differently. I rarely send invites through these websites, although I did a number of years ago when I initially joined Friendster.
Now I realize why that was a bad idea, because Friendster re-invites those individuals on an automated basis. It's clearly spelled out in the privacy policy:
Have you ever used a search engine to find medical advice? I have plenty of times. I'm not sure too many people who can read this article haven't used it, whether it be for checking flu symptoms or making sure you don't have the Bubonic Plague.
I've held off writing this review for nearly a month now, for a couple of reasons. First, I didn't finish the last few pages until the other day, even though I had read nearly the entire book more than a month ago. Second, I really didn't know how to rate this book. And unfortunately, I still don't.
I recently found a new blogging site looking for featured columnists. I figured that it couldn't hurt to perhaps add my articles to the site, and they were gracious enough to allow it. Now, a majority of my writing can be found on EnterTo Entertainment. Overall, I'm not sure what this will be worth, but the way I see it, I don't think it can hurt. More exposure can't be bad, right?
I finally completed the last chapter of "Polos to Ties." I wish I could say that I'm ready to publish, but I have plenty of cleanup left to do. Right now, I'm sending queries and proposals to literary agencies, hoping that one of them will push to the major publishing houses. I've had interest, but I still haven't inked a deal just yet.
Also, I'm in the process of selecting an editor or two to help refine my novel. I'll post more details when I announce my picks.
You've probably seen the signs hanging around your place of business, or maybe you've seen ads in the newspaper promoting a way to get rid of your old computer. "Donate your computer to a third-world school!" or "We recycle your old monitors!" Those seem like noble ideas, but they also beg the question: What is actually being done with your trash?
In general, I'm not a huge fan of inspirational books. I think that people have become enamored with novels like these because they need motivation to make something out of their lives. But, more times than not, once they've put the book away, they revert back to their usual lives and don't make any changes. Not only that, but many inspirational books are too shallow and bland to reach the surface of giving people hope.
Remember that email you sent to the random senator about spending money to build igloos in the desert? The bad news is that I don't think the interest groups can raise the $200 million you need for research funds. The good news is that the email could be read again 60 years from now and will never be deleted.
I've been a computer programmer for quite some time now, but I've never actually been to a programming conference of any sort. That has changed now that I'm attending the DC PHP Conference on Nov. 7-9. The first day of events went about as I expected, considering that there's a lot I need to learn about the tools I use at my current job.