Whoever said that technology was killing the book world may have grossly underestimated the impact of the internet on collaborative book writing. Collaborative books are the perfect option for those who want to partake in a large project, but simply don’t have the time or energy to take it on alone. By writing collaborative books, you can create an idea and have others comment and contribute chapters to your storyline. If you’re running dry on ideas, but still enjoy writing, then you can run off of somebody else’s idea. Imagine reading a book and realizing that you are unhappy with the direction in which the story is headed. Many of us tend to run through dozens of scenarios which we believe would make for better storyline options. With collaborative writing, you can make suggestions along with other authors in order to create the best possible route for the storyline. This is the perfect option for creating the perfect book, after all, two heads are better than one, just as three heads are better than two. Collaborative writing is a fantastic way to get feedback on your own work. Not only can you get instantaneous criticism, but you will learn how to work effectively with others. Writing collaborative books is also a fantastic way to help students learn efficient and practical writing skills. By viewing the writing of their peers, students will work harder to match the quality of writing to the strongest writer in the group. Therefore, when setting this exercise up, it is best to pair a top notch writer with a series of less experienced writers. It truly is incredible at how much people can learn from one another through examples and modeling. Furthermore, collaborative book writing can have an amazing effect on an initial story idea. Not only can collaborators twist and mold the story into something intricate and fantastically entertaining, but you might find that the initial idea transforms completely in order to become something even more intriguing. Anything can happen when you throw a group of writers together. All you need to do is have an open mind and be accepting to new thoughts and ideas. If you usually have trouble taking criticism and working with others, collaborative book writing may not be for you. However, if you find that you enjoy creating material alongside others, then you should absolutely give this art form a try! Even back in the old days, it has been rumored that the legendary William Shakespeare collaborated with other authors such as Christopher Marlowe and Queen Elizabeth. Also, top authors usually have to collaborate with editors in order to make their work ready for publishing. In short, collaboration is going on all around us, whether or not we realize it. The best work comes out of collaborative processes. So if you’re uncomfortable with collaborating with others, it is highly recommended that you get over this fear, because it is a skill you will need in order to succeed in life.
Archive for July, 2010
Why Were Ebooks Developed Anyway?
According to the Joint Study of section 1201(g) of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act the ebook was advanced to “facilitate the robust development and world-wide expansion of electronic commerce, communications, research, development, and education in the digital age.” In essence this document points to the fact that the ebook as we are seeing it today was designed as a means of deriving profit, facilitating an exchange of ideas, and providing an educational resource in an electronic environment. The notable exception to this description is the word ‘marketing’. What many may not have considered at the time the Digital Millennium Copyright Act was written was the incredibly large opportunities for business to market their products or services utilizing ebook technology. More and more savvy business owners are discovering that individuals are very interested in knowledge-based content. You can find ebooks designed to assist you in maximizing online auction sales while other ebooks may be filled with how-to information on a variety of issues including home improvement and gardening. The possibilities are limitless, but the growth of ebooks as a marketing tool is not to be underestimated. Some of the primary selling tools for ebooks is… * Instant access following purchase * Portability * Reduced cost * No sales tax * Delivered by pdf making it universally downloadable. Today you will find websites dedicated to ebook marketing. Interestingly many of these sites use ebooks to market their ebook marketing program. I suppose this is a case of a company following their own advice. After all, if there is a way to market using ebooks what better tool to let people know about it than an ebook download? You will also find an increasing number of ebooks being distributed that deal specifically with marketing in general. While there are certainly a growing number of fictional titles available in ebook downloads, the truth is the knowledge-based ebook is, in many ways, dominating available titles. The category of ebooks has also opened the doors to many writers who have found traditional publishing routes to be a bit difficult to navigate. The development of ebooks can be learned and implemented quickly with the bulk of the profit returning to the author. As we look back at the original development statement of the ebook there may be a link to marketing after all. Pay attention to these words, “facilitate the robust development and world-wide expansion of electronic commerce”. Hmmmmm, it sounds like marketing to me.
On-line Buyers, Save Your Credit
We all know that buying on-line can not be done with cash, unless you just order on-line and have the goods delivered to you. Most products and services sold on-line have credit card payment features, to make the purchase as compulsive and immediate as possible. Every day there are hundreds of new on-line buyers who spend happily and pay as they can, slowly sinking into a quicksand of debt. Secure Servers Secure servers and hype are the perfect recipe for a financial disorder that seems to be growing day after day, as marketers perfect their homepages and sales copy to conform an infallible trap. From air tickets to vacation packages, from software to books and e-books to membership fees of certain sites, almost everything you can find on the net has a price tag. Unnecessary Junk In other circles, we talk about getting out of debt, especially from credit cards, by taking a loan to pay it off, when the water reaches our necks. My question is, “Is it really necessary to buy so much junk?” I am not preaching against internet. It is just that it seems ridiculous to pay double interest on something that is not essential to our daily needs. Credit cards charge a percentage for the use of the card and then for financing the purchase. Then comes punitive interest when we pay the minimum and the interest of the loan, when we consolidate. Well, I do not need to explain all the harm this process does to our credit ratings. Then, when we are in real need of something too costly to pay in cash, we resort to a loan, but… oh, surprise, last year’s consolidation process has left a stain on our report. Rational Spending Would not it be a lot easier and safer to have a lower credit limit? Just do a simple mathematical operation: Add your credit limit to your bills, debts and monthly expenditure, and the final sum will surely be higher than your monthly income. This means that part of the credit card balance must be financed. Apparently, a higher credit limit gives more status, which is inevitably spoiled by a bad credit rating on our report. And There Is Even More When you analyze what benefit or entertainment or profit you got from your on-line purchase, you suddenly find yourself wondering, “Is that all?” Money exists to go around from hand in hand and as it does, give a benefit to those who use it. If we balance the benefit against the inconvenience of having financial trouble, the scales will tip in favor of the problems. There Is No Particular Solution Each person or family knows what has to be corrected. In some cases the solution will have the appearance of an income increase, with some effort. In other cases it will be to reduce spending, drop the broadband connection, drop credit cards, eliminate extension cards, or whatever. Our mission, as we understand it, is to point out the problem so that those who suffer it will be aware and take action. The sooner the problem is corrected, the easier it is to do so.
American-muslim Author Promotes Islam?s Anti-slavery Message in New Children?s Book
“Writing this book was like living through an epic adventure for me,” described Corey Habbas, author and illustrator of The Runaway Scarf (Muslim Writers Publishing, 2008). In an interview, Habbas described the process of transforming her idea into a Muslim children’s book, a series of events that took nearly 4 years from concept to publication. Habbas was concerned that a non-Muslim entertainment media often portrays Muslims as oppressive in many television and cinematic productions. Habbas, as well as many other Muslims living in America, feel that these distorted portrayals make it more likely that non-Muslims draw the false conclusion that Islam condones oppression. Habbas asserts, “There are so many Qur’an verses and haddiths that speak against oppression.” Dr. Muzammil H. Siddiqi, the President of the Fiqh Council of North America, states in an IslamOnline.net fatwa question and answer forum on slavery, “The Qur’an teaches that freeing the slaves is a great virtue (See Surah 90:13). One of the expenditures of zakah (obligatory charity) is to spend the money for the freedom of the slaves (surah 9:60). It is forbidden in Islam to enslave a free person.” Habbas wanted to convey similar concepts to children in an entertaining and captivating way, so after happening upon a hadith that spoke of a slave who left her oppressors, Habbas wrote a children’s story. She then spent a year planning and illustrating the drawings by hand. “Previous to 2007 the book was to be subsidy published by another individual who had agreed to sponsor it through their business. Then funds dried up,” recalls Habbas who spent a long waiting period hoping that funds would become available. When that didn’t happen, Habbas then considered self publishing her story and drawings, that is, until Muslim Writers Publishing picked up the manuscript. “Muslim Writers Publishing was wonderful to work with. Linda really invests a lot of her time making sure that the publication process is transparent to the author. I felt really grateful about that,” says Habbas. “I pray that the book will be something of value for parents, educators and children.“ Habbas notes that the act of writing fiction for Muslims can bring with it a big responsibility to ensure that Islamic values are presented accurately and that fact is separate from fiction. Habbas says this is why the book contains a disclaimer stating that The Runaway Scarf is a work of fiction and that parents and teachers must make sure to instill in children the ability to discern the difference. “Teaching Islamic concepts to children in creative ways, brings with it a heavy responsibility of making sure students understand the difference between concepts taught by other means and the actual scripture itself,” offers Habbas. She plans to provide a free online teaching supplement so that educators can use The Runaway Scarf in classroom lessons. She is also hoping that K-12 librarians and educators in the United States use the book to expose non-Muslim children to Islamic culture and heritage. Habbas says, “It would mean a lot if The Runaway Scarf made it outside of the Muslim community. It would be like a door opening between Muslim and non-Muslim kids.” The Runaway Scarf is a 52 page, color-illustrated paperback book, published by Muslim Writers Publishing and is available for purchase from stores including Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com and other bookstores. Muslim Writers Publishing, a traditional publishing business, is based in Arizona and is owned by Linda Delgado, founder of the Islamic Writers Alliance. MWP specializes in English Language Islamic Fiction (ELIF) titles for adults, teens and children.
Posted in Historical Fiction Books 
Tags: Americanmuslim, Antislavery, Author, Book, Children's, Islams, Message, Promotes 
Comments OffHow to Begin Search Engine Opmization in 15 Minutes
Are you ready to hear something unbelievable? It’s not that hard to get website traffic from search engines. All you need to do is follow a certain guidelines from major search engines like Google and follow some of my tips here. Here are some of my search engine optimization tips for you: 1) Don’t pay a company to submit your website to search engines using an automated procedure because this technique often fails; search engines often ignore these submissions. In fact: Website Submission does not work anymore. You should submit your site to these search engines and directories yourself, or pay someone to manually submit your site. You can also look into search engine advertising (using advertising programs like Google AdWord). Yes it costs money but it ensures placement of your business name and website link in a visible position on the search engine page. 2) To optimize your search engine ranking (you want to be in the top 10 and preferably the top five), you must understand how your customers think and want. What does he/she know about your product or service? What keywords will he/she be most likely to type into a search engine? Get to know your current and potential customers so you can answer these questions. 3) Learn more about search engine optimization, even if you plan to work with a web designer. You can find free resources online or buy a book so you can dig into the methodology, find many useful tips about keyword searches and design your keyword references and tags to satisfy the most common words people use to search for your products. 4) Don’t think your work is done after you manually submitted your site to search engines. The fact is, you have just begun! Website success takes time and effort. Even if you are recognized by a search engine, and your ranking is high one day or during a given week, it may slip the following week because of new sites or because your competition changes its site to get a better ranking. You must continually monitor your rankings. That’s one of the keys to better search engine rankings 5) When you are looking at your website and deciding where to use keywords, keep in mind that you can use keywords in graphics ALT tag, but they must be in captions or in the file title, and not embedded under a graphic as a false lead. Of course, don’t bother creating a picture or graphic that contains a word (animated or static). The search engines can’t index words that appear inside pictures. That’s it! Here are some of my tips to better search engine optimization. Read this article again, apply them and you will see your website rocket through the roof!
Play It Small, Micro Style. Micro Niche
“How to lose weight” That’s broad a very broad niche for a campaign. You might end up spending thousands maybe tens of thousands to market it. Today, we’ll gonna discuss bout micro niche. The way to micro size your niche and of course the smaller it is, the lesser you’ll have to pay. We love to compete but for a small size business it’s better to pick our contenders wisely. We wouldn’t wanna have a face off with a big brand name company do we? Imagine you fighting with a big size gorilla or worse, King Kong himself. 1 breath and you’re blown away. What I’m gonna do now is to do a search on google for the keywords “How to lose weight”. While you’re reading this you could do the same thing as me, so it’ll be easier for you to understand what I’m trying to point out. Wow look at the number of results we got. A whooping number of 52,200,000.Imagine you’re in a ring of Royal Rumble with 50 millions wrestles.You’re small, you’re new and you just started to want to get your wisdom and knowledge of losing weight out there in the world. And you’re already facing 50 millions competitors. Even if they allowed you to place a dollar to move a rank up…. You’ll have to fork up to 50 millions.. Now that ain’t a small sum. Let’s add another word just 1 more word to that statement… Let’s add… “effortlessly” We love to lose weight effortlessly don’t we? Bullshit with the No Pain No Gain Slogan, what we all want is to lose weight effortlessly.So let’s do a search for ‘How to lose weight effortlessly” I hate to place too much “Wows” in a post.. But WOW! look at how much closer that brought us to first place. Right now we only have a results of 188,000. That’s not even a million!! You’re in a royal rumble you’ve just used one of your finishing moves called “effortlessly” and you’ve just kicked out over 4 millions other contenders. Now that’s the power of Micro Niche. Let’s move back to our previous post.http://marketing2ez.blogspot.com/2010/05/importance-of-niche.html We’ve mention bout the right person in the right rooms. Bookworm in a room full of books, Sports fanatic in a room full of sports related stuffs. Just think about it… A bookworm who only reads fiction, maybe sci-fi fiction.You’re wasting resources with that bookworm by placing historical fictions in that room.He doesn’t care about Romeo & Juliet or the stories of Vikings invading continents. What he wants is a story about light sabers. Laser guns, spaceships… You catch the drift. Cheers
Non Fiction Bestsellers: Jack A Life Like NO Other; A Smile as Big as the Moon; Saving Milly
Non Fiction Bestsellers: Jack A Life Like NO Other; A Smile as Big as the Moon; Saving Milly
Posted in Historical Fiction Books Tags: Bestsellers, Fiction, Jack, Life, Like, Milly, Moon, Saving, Smile Comments OffPenning Really Good Book Reports
There are many ways to write about literature, but one of the first forms that many people come into contact with is the book report. This form is one of the simplest to master, but writing a coherent, interesting, and complete book report takes practice and skill. This guide will show you how. A book report is typically focused on the plot of the book: what is the story about and what happens in it? However, a truly outstanding book report contains more than that. It is a good idea to include some information on the historical background of the work, and also how it affected you. What did you think of it? Did it inspire you? Change you? Bore you? You can even add in some of the elements of literary analysis: what was the author trying to say, and what tools did he or she use to say it? Your book report should answer these questions. How you answer them is what makes the difference between a good book report and a bad one. The key thing to remember in any type of writing about fiction is the principle of balance. If the reader wanted to know every single thing that happened in the book, they would go read it, so your job is the give the highlights. Usually in a book report, it is acceptable to give away endings and plot details, so don’t worry too much about that, but remember that you do not want to get bogged down in the minutia of the author’s storytelling. You need to keep your book report flowing smoothly and moving along. Start out with the title and author of the book, so that your audience knows what you are talking about. Once you have done that, you can give either a one-sentence summary of the setting and basic plot of the story, or perhaps a brief portrait of the main character. It really depends on the book: in this story, is the plot the most important thing, or is it the characters? Think back to the characters as you move through the rest of your report, as well. In all likelihood, the protagonist will interact with many different people, and you don’t need to include them all in your report. It is a good idea to focus on a few key events and characters, and leave out the rest. At the end of your report, have a few lines that summarize the book in the reader’s mind. You want to leave them eager to read it, and to let them know how you felt about it. In fact, one of the benefits of writing book reports is that they help you to crystallize in your mind exactly what it was that you liked or disliked about a book. Book reports do not have to be simply a dry retelling of the book: make them your own, and you will find that you enjoy writing them.
Books about Mormons Pro and Con
Mormon books come in two main categories: those that favor the LDS Church and those that oppose the Church, although there are varying degrees within both categories. If you are making an honest inquiry into the Mormon Church or just want to know what they really teach first decide whether the source is reliable. Check to see who wrote the LDS book, why they wrote it, and who published it. You wouldn’t read a book about how to care for roses written by someone who has never grown a rose but just seen them, instead you would want to read a book written by a rose gardener. The same holds true for Mormonism. To get a true idea of what the LDS Church is like you should really read Mormon books written by Mormons, not just someone who has seen and researched Mormons and in so doing believes that they know about the Church. Mormon books that favor the Church There are a wide variety of LDS books written by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Some of these books are fiction and others non-fiction. LDS publishers include Deseret Book, Covenant Communications, Granite Publishing, and a few other smaller companies. There are a number of Mormon books on faith and other religious teachings by General Authorities, Prophets, and other religious leaders of the Church. There have been numerous books published about Mormon Church history and religious leaders ranging from Joseph Smith, Mormon pioneers, and Mormon polygamy to Mormons in World War II and Gordon B. Hinckley and everything in between. There is also a large LDS Fiction market, with numerous writers writing novels whose characters are LDS. While not greatly delving into Mormon beliefs or history they do provide a window into the LDS Church with characters who are trying to live the Mormon faith. They are also ideal for anyone who believes that a book can be romantic or adventurous without being smutty. “The Mormon Church: A Basic History” is written in a concise narrative and explains the facts, conflicts, and personalities involved in the history of the Church. “Heroic Mormon Women” tells the stories of a variety of Mormon women from Emma Smith to little known black Mormon heroine, Jane Elizabeth Manning James. Mormon books that oppose the Church Many LDS books that have been written in opposition of the LDS Church are unreliable, often laced with opinions and sensationalism. Often older anti-Mormon books tend to be sensationalistic and farther from current Mormon practices and beliefs. Also books written by ex-Mormons do for obvious reasons portray the Mormon Church in a negative light. As you read LDS books realize that if the purpose of the book was written to persuade Mormons that their religion is false, it will contain the bias of the author who wrote it. Therefore it is likely to be a less accurate portrayal of what the Mormon’s really believe. Many LDS books claim to show unbiased objectivity. But this is particularly difficult when it concerns religion. A person either believes something is true or they do not. If the writer does not believe in Mormonism then that is transferred to the book by the tone and subject matter the author chooses to use. Signature Books is a publishing house that tries to adhere to standards of honesty and objectivity, but is not a Mormon publisher, so therefore all works should be read objectively. “Mormon America: The Power and the Promise” is a book on Mormonism written by a Protestant couple. The book tries to give a balanced, objective, and comprehensive view on Mormonism. Yet it leaves out many elements that Mormons consider pertinent to their faith and fails to recognize that the LDS Church is a worldwide organization. “The God Makers” which gained headlines when it was first released is all about sensationalism and was written by disillusioned ex-Mormons trying to get revenge. It is in no way an accurate portrayal of the Mormon Church. More Fascinating Information about Mormons: www.lightplanet.com www.wikipedia.com www.whymormonism.org www.mormonolympians.org www.understandingmormonism.org www.familiesforever.com www.meetmormonmissionaries.org www.blacklds.org www.mormoncentral.com
God Against Us: Alien Spaceman Jesus, the World Trade Center Attack and More
GOD AGAINST US: ALIEN SPACEMAN JESUS, THE THE WORLD TRADE CENTER ATTACK AND MORE Alvin Miller (1986) My second, newest article: http://www.angelfire.com/crazy/spaceman/inaugural.html At my site: http://www.angelfire.com/crazy/spaceman/ TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE CHAPTER ONE: A PLAUSIBLE TIMETABLE CHAPTER TWO: A FIRST LOOK AT NORMAN O. BROWN CHAPTER THREE: THE MEDIA MESSIAH, OR LOOKING FOR JESUS ON TV CHAPTER FOUR: THE MESSIAH RETURNS APPENDIX: THE SECRET RAPTURE BIBLIOGRAPHY FILM LIST BY DATE FILM LIST FILM SERIALS PREFACE What do you call a crazy spaceman? – – An Astronut. What follows is a nearly word for word online version of my ©1986 booklet WEIRD ESCHATOLOGY: AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW OF THE SECOND COMING (ISBN 0-9616435-0-1; Library of Congress Call Number BT823.M55 1986). By the time you finish this, you may conclude that this particular peculiar interpretation of the Book of Revelation should be relegated to the teachings of self-appointed cranks, crackpots, prophets of doom and various other assorted fanatics. But perhaps, even so, your own view may be clarified when you read this. The first chapter deals with theology and may be slightly dull, but fasten your seatbelt, as I will get more and more weird ahead (in terms of any interpretation you have seen before). Note that I make use of mostly unobtainable texts and obscure films. Lack of access to these sources should not impede your understanding of what follows. Also, to emphasize the ostensibly momentous issues I am dealing with here, I capitalize the subject phrases I discuss. CHAPTER ONE A PLAUSIBLE TIMETABLE Are you a Christian? Do you believe in the Second Coming at some future date? Is it legitimate to construct timetables for these future events? Rhetorical questions such as these right off the bat may well put you off. A major difficulty is that no consensus as to when and in what sequence these predicted events must take place. This topic has always been a particular source of schism and polemic. I will be proposing specific dates as numerous have in each generation before me. And as many have been before me, I can be refuted by the mere passage of time. The majority view espoused by most evangelicals is pretribulational premillennalism, which I only partially agree with. I will point out that part of this view is in fact based on a historical novelty that only traces back to the nineteenth century. What I mean here is that in terms of the glacially slow movement of theology (remember that the canon was finalized some two thousand years ago), the majority view is a relatively recent innovation. I prefer a distinctly minority position, which would be called multiple-rapture postmillennialism. The postmillennial position holds that many of the predictions made in the New Testament, including those of the Olivet Discourse (Matt. 24, Mk 13, Luke 21), were accomplished in the early Christian era, and their past fulfillment limit’s the future events to be expected. There exists one school, represented by, for example, Max King and Timothy James, which holds that each and every prophecy of the entire New Testament was accomplished during the early Church age. However, I feel this view neglects proper consideration of the Book of Revelation. Postmillennialism is also sometimes referred to as preterism, which implies that the text is allowed to speak without exegesis. Thus, when Jesus repeatedly predicts the Kingdom within a generation, I do not write off the statement as a mistake or excess of enthusiasm. Instead, I draw up a timetable that shows the Kingdom beginning a generation after the Crucifixion. Then, when John of Patmos says the Millennium starts at this date of the beginning of the Kingdom, I duly go to my chart (at the end of this chapter) and set the Thousand Year Clock ticking. There was in fact a specific date a generation after the Crucifixion – the pivotal date of A.D. 70. This was the historical date of the Fall of Jerusalem, which is not a particularly prominent date in more mainstream discussions. This is the date of the First Resurrection in the terminology of John of Patmos that begins the Millennium. What happened in A.D. 70? After a lengthy siege by the Roman legions, Jerusalem was ransacked and leveled. To the secular eye, as detailed by Josephus in THE JEWISH WAR in gory detail, the scene was one of mass destruction in which not even the Temple was spared. But to the spiritual eye, as Russell’s PAROUSIA demonstrated more than a century ago, these events were the fulfillment of the Olivet Discourse and the return of Jesus and His conquering armies in the clouds to inaugurate the spiritual reign with the saints and martyrs. Other sources listed in the bibliography including Chilton’s PARADISE RESTORED espouse this view. Chilton nominated Jerusalem as the Whore of Babylon and Rome as the Beast. (Note added 2006: In my 1986 Timetable I followed Chilton. I have since reversed my opinion. I now see Rome as the Whore and Jerusalem as the Beast.) I need to stop for a moment to consider the question of the dating of the Book of Revelation. The presently accepted date for the appearance of the Book of Revelation is A.D. 95. If this is the correct date, the fulfillment of the predictions made so far would be merely a matter of hindsight. I recommend John A. T. Robinson’s examination of this question in REDATING THE NEW TESTAMENT. Robinson cites extensive internal and external evidence for moving the date of the Book of Revelation back to the A.D. 70 timeframe. Further, he traces the standard A.D. 95 view back to a single source. This source is a statement by Irenaeus that the Apocalypse first appeared “toward the end of Domitian’s reign.” This statement is ambiguous and may even be merely mistaken. Other sources listed in the bibliography (including Chilton and James) accept an earlier date. The [...]