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Showing posts from January, 2012

What is keeping you?

I've met a lot of people along the writer's path who say they want to write but haven't. It seems I've met more of them since I got published.

Perhaps you're one of them. Maybe the urge to write that story or poetry or novel is still tickling the back of your brain, but you've never done it. Never tried putting words to paper (or screen, as the case may be). So let me ask you something:

What are you afraid of?

Okay, there I said it. Yep, good old fashioned fear has kept many a dreamer from achieving their dreams. Fear of trying, fear of failure, even fear of succeeding.

Why would I be afraid of success?

Because when you do write that story, that means you might get the urge to get it published. Face it, many people play music for the enjoyment of it without ever having to record it or get a contract with Epic Records. I love playing guitar and music has aways been an important part of my life but if I never sign a contract with Sony Records, I'm fine with that. …
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THE MOST FAQ
I get asked this question a lot. HOW DO I GET PUBLISHED?

The answers are not as simple as 1-2-3 but let me try to break it down for you. Publishing a book as we normally think of it, has changed a lot with the advent of the Internet and e-books. Even mid level writers are leaving traditional publishers in droves as the ease of doing it yourself becomes easier and more profitable. Those who have name recognition and a loyal fan base are finding that not having a traditional publisher allows them more freedom and profit.
There are three ways to get yourself published:
1) Traditional: this involves sending your manuscript to a well established publisher who will take weeks or months (in one of my submissions, two years) to look at it and let you know. Most traditional publishers require that only literary agents submit manuscripts which means you won't even get read unless you can find a literary agent ready to go out and pound the streets to sell your book. Writer's Mar…
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Thomas Jefferson by R. B. Bernstein

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When I was in school, Thomas Jefferson was portrayed as a saint; a man who wrote the Declaration of Independence and helped frame the Constitution. Jefferson spoke of equal rights for all, liberty, justice, and that all men are created equal.
I usually don't read a lot of biographies because I find them too long and mixed with too many irrelevant opinions. Bernstein's bio of Jefferson, however, is concise and is an easy read.
In truth, Jefferson was much more complex than our teachers told us. He found his ideals of limited governmental powers a burden when he was a diplomat and as President trying to get things accomplished. He exercised more power as President that he had often espoused that a President should. He spoke of equality for all, yet he was a slaveowner who wanted the slaves freed, yet bore a hidden fear that if they were, they might revolt and take over. He also was aware of how much he depended upon slave labor to work his beloved Monticello.
The book also speaks…
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