“The only reason to self-publish is because you can’t land a publisher.” Call me crazy, but I disagree. For me, self-publishing was the first choice. Why? I wanted to keep control of the project and timetable, keep the rights, and, most importantly, keep most of the profits. How did it turn out? Well… A Full-Time Income For over four years, my first book supported me full-time. Not “picking-out-chateaux-in-the-South-of-France” kind of money, but it paid all my bills (including two printings each year), allowed me to take some nice vacations, save a chunk of money and incur no new debt. When your per book profit (after expenses) is many times what you’d make with a publisher, you can be nicely profitable with much lower numbers. A few caveats. My genre

In the world of art, the term ‘showdown’ is interpreted in an optimistic way. It is a medium of promoting art and rewarding artist for acquiring some excellence in his work of art by conducting competitions. Additionally, it is also an effective task of collecting opinions from public on the work produced by bright and industrious artists. The showdowns are usually conducted by well-known art galleries. They arrange this sort of contests in both local and international degree aiming to encourage artist to participate. To take part in this competition artists have to submit their works. Many galleries accept only one piece of art work from each artist as eligibility criteria and display it to public for ratings. Taking the help of internet, this tradition of promoting art and inspiring is executed in a more brilliant manner. Online platform allows the fresh artist to exhibit his work on the websites by signing up and building profiles and portfolios. Online application is an innovative way to attract audience across the world. Visitors of all ages can view the work and rate it considering the merit of the work. An unusual trait of the showdown section is that visitors can vote for each work on a scale. Besides this, the online platform facilitates handy links with each image so that visitors can email their favourite works to their friends in an easy manner. The entire voting process consists of several rounds and after tallying the score the winner is declared at the end. Online showdown practice is seen to be adopted by famous Saatchi Gallery, London with the objective to hold promises of favouring careers to not only talented artist but also who desire to become a great artist. For view in the world of art, the term showdown is interpreted in an optimistic way. . It is a medium of promoting art and rewarding artist for acquiring some excellence in his work of art by conducting competitions.

“Can a marketing brochure bring in business?” That’s one of the first questions I’m asked when I talk to corporations and business owners about their promotional efforts. The answer, of course, is: “Yes and no.” No, because a brochure cannot represent your firm the way you or your sales force can. And yes, because an effective brochure can help you build the relationships that lead to new business. Unfortunately, most marketing brochures fail. Here are 8 reasons why. 1. They don’t describe the benefits. An effective brochure shows prospective clients why they should work with you or your organization instead of simply describing what the business does. Ask yourself: Does my brochure tell prospects what they will get out of a relationship with me or my organization? 2. They fail to paint a picture of what it’s like to work with you or your organization. If a brochure’s message is limited to a canned description of your business process or a laundry list of services, it will make you look like everyone else. Ask yourself: Does my brochure tell a story that would be recognizable to satisfied clients? 3. They take the easy route. Many brochures recycle existing corporate material and don’t say anything to make the business stand out. Ask yourself: Does my brochure tell potential clients something they don’t know about me, my business or my industry? 4. They speak in jargon. Some brochures try to impress their readers. But if you want to convince prospective clients that you’re smart, tell them what they want to know in terms they can understand. Ask yourself: Is my brochure written in plain English? 5. They try to “wow” prospective clients. Adjectives are no substitute for substance. Maybe your brochure has a jazzy style, but superlatives do not tell prospective clients why they should do business with you or your organization. Ask yourself: Does my brochure get to the point? 6. They have no unifying theme. A good brochure defines your business and tells potential clients what makes you unique. Ask yourself: Does my brochure have a clear message to deliver and does it do the job? 7. They go on and on

The New Year’s parade in Hong Kong is an event not to be missed! The city is dressed up with bright decorations and colorful lights for its biggest celebration of the year, and thousands pour into Hong Kong to take part in the festivities. Winding along Hong Kong’s picturesque waterfront, the New Year’s parade is filled with colorful, lavishly decorated floats. Representatives from Hong Kong and countries all over the world sing, dance and play music. The songs of marching bands fill the air along the parade’s route as performers in bright costumes prance along the streets. The forthcoming year (2006) is the Year of the Dog. No matter which zodiac animal is being celebrated for the coming year, there are always plenty of lions and dragons in the parade. Energetic dancers wearing giant lion heads leap in the air as long dragons held aloft by more than twenty people snake past the enthralled parade watchers. The New Year’s parade is the biggest event of Hong Kong’s Lunar New Year celebration. Close to 300,000 people attend the parade and millions more watch it on television. In recent years the parade has taken place in the evening, featuring vivid, dazzling light displays. The Lunar New Year is one of Hong Kong’s most important and well-loved holidays. Each year one of twelve different animals is celebrated, according to the Chinese zodiac. Many of the city’s towering skyscrapers are decked out in glittering lights for the holiday. Throughout the three-day celebration, dancers in colorful costumes perform lion and dragon dances in the streets, malls and hotel lobbies. Traditionally, people exchange small, red envelopes filled with money as gifts. Flower markets show up all over the city during the holiday, selling plants and flowers with special significance, and stores and restaurants display flowers meant to bring immortality and good luck. The New Year celebration usually begins anywhere from January 21 to February 19, depending on the year. While the holiday officially lasts fifteen days, in Hong Kong it is celebrated for three days, with the New Year’s parade taking place on the first day. January 29, 2006 is the first day of the forthcoming new year. The day after the New Year’s parade a brilliant display of fireworks lights up Hong Kong’s famous Victoria Harbour. The fireworks can be viewed from the waterfront or from boats cruising the harbour. On the third day of the celebration a large horse race takes place at the Sha Tin racetrack. This lively race is a favorite for gamblers and horseracing enthusiasts. It’s no wonder why so many travel to discover all that Hong Kong has to offer, with the vibrant fusion of ancient customs and modern day fun at one of the world’s biggest Chinese New Year celebrations. About the author: John Riggin is Executive Editor for .SeeYouInAsia.com the largest and most comprehensive US to Asia travel website. Where you’ll discover the best deals on flights, tours, hotels, cruises and more to welcome in the Chinese New Year.

The music business has and will always be driven by publicity. Without it you, your band or artisits that you manage have no future or longevity. The press release is your way to draw attention to your act. It is a simple, to the point, attention grabber aimed at reporters, editors and media people in general. The idea is to generate interest in your band/ artist, create and sustain a buzz and build a media presence. When to write a press release. There are so many times when a press release should be employed if you are serious about creating a profile. It could be that you are about to release a new CD. It could be that you have a show or tour coming up. What about a label signing or new band member? The key here is that it must be something news worthy, something that will grab the attention of the reader. Becoming news worthy is something that will take you time to understand and like anything it will take work and research. You can start by checking out stories about bands or artists that you like. See what is written about them and how it is written. This will start to give you an idea of how to format your stories and make what seems just an average event into something special. You also need to do your research as to what kind of press releases or announcements the publication accepts. For instance there is no need sending music related press release to a newspaper or magazine that does not have a music section. Well, unless you can make your story have a human interest angle and therefore a wider appeal. I can not stress enough the importance of doing homework on the media to find out what kinds of stories get the most coverage. Obviously when you are a major star then even trivia becomes newsworthy so you have to balance it out and make sure you are aware of what is actually news. For instance “sting gives proceeds of his album to the rain forest appeal” is still news and I am sure you could right a press release very much in the same vain if your act supported a good cause. On the other hand, “sting has marathon love making session” is definitely a story based around his fame as a celebrity and if you were to write about your love making prowess it may go on noticed even if you are the Romeo of your band. The most important thing to bear in mind when writing a press release is to remember that the reporters and editors know their readership and their jobs is to provided news that their readership will consume and buy more papers therefore you must ask your self would the readers of the newspaper or magazine you are targeting want to hear about this? How to write the release A press release for the most part follow a formular that is quiet easy and straightforward to learn. It must be clear and concise and the central theme must be to the point that the press release hangs on. You must have in place the 5 W’s or the who, what, when, why, and where in your release. Start on an A4 format. If you have letterhead paper then this is a bonus as it will help to identify you as a professional outfit. Most people will double line space the text. You would be advised to also leave a minimum of 1 inch on all sides of the release. Always use an easy to read font such as Arial or Times New Roman you don’t want to draw attention to your press release for the wrong reason. Ok its time to start the release. The very first thing you want to include is: “FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE” (or FOR RELEASE MARCH 25, 2007) “For more information, contact.” You then enter your contact information here. Making sure that numbers are correct and that the number you give out is a direct line to you and will be answered as soon as it rings. The last thing you want is a editor to ring and get a answer machine. Next comes the all important headline. It is the headline that must grab the attention of the reader and a bad headline could very easily kill a great story. This is where all your creativity should come into play. Read headlines all the time to start to get an idea of how so much can be conveyed with so few words. Try to get a feel of what kind of headlines make you follow through and read an entire article. The skills you will gain by doing so are invaluable and will serve you career as a press release writer well. Many times it is the drama of the headline that stops the reader in their path and makes them pay attention. I have coined a little phrase that helps illustrate this point. “Drama is the key, boredom makes them flea.” A boring headline or a headline that has no imagination will make the reader jump to the next headline or story. For instance a headline that reads LOCAL BAND GETS A NEW LEAD SINGER” is fine but very uninspiring it does say what has happened but it leaves the reader cold and to be honest if I read that headline I would say ‘so what?’. On the other hand a headline like “NEW BLOOD MEANS NEW DAWN FOR LOCAL BAND” has lots more drama and makes the reader want to know what is going on. After you have created the best headline you can think of (and remember to take your time), you are ready for the main body of the press release. This is where the main information you are trying to get across must be captured. Again, I remind you of the who, what, when, why, and where it must all be here and in the most direct way possible. Many people say that a press release can be two pages long but I am from the school of one page. I think that you must get everything you need to get across in one page. The first paragraph is also very important because in a way it is a summary of the whole story and be just as powerful as the headline but with more information. You have to think about a busy editor trying to get all the information fast. Also, make sure that you don’t leave out any details using full town and city names and include the month, day and year in dates (March 26, 2007) Writing the press releases in the third person is also a must; this will help it read like a news story. Your job is to transmit a news story with as little elaboration as possible. Quotations, are always good and gives you a chance to add something personal form yourself or a band member. It also gives the idea that people are taking about what is happening. At the end of you press release add this symbol ########## in a line after the last line it is a indicator to the editor that the release has ended and he or she has the entire release.

by Karon Thackston © 2005 .learn-copywriting.com “We don’t have any competition. We’re a truly a one-of-a-kind company.” I’ve heard that line from clients for years. I wish it were true, but it’s simply not. In fact, it wouldn’t matter if you held a monopoly on your particular product or service; you’d still have competition. How? Because your competition doesn’t come from a singular source. There may be no other businesses that sell the product or service you sell, but you still have competition. Once that’s understood you have a greater advantage when it comes to copywriting. You can recognize the other options your customers have before them and can position yourself as the only logical choice. Know Who Your Competition Is Competition comes from a variety of sources. Yes, there are those who sell the same things you sell, but there competition comes in other forms, too. The Same But Different Charitable organizations are a good example of “same but different.” Your group may be the only one raising funds to save the purple spotted toad of northern Antarctica but that doesn’t mean you’ll receive a flood of contributions from everyone you call. Why? Because there are a million and a half other charitable organizations out there all vying for the same money from the same people. None of these other groups is trying to raise funds to save the purple spotted toad of northern Antarctica, but they are trying to get individuals to donate to their causes. That makes them all your competition. How do you get around this problem? Assuming your traffic generating efforts or your mailing list is highly targeted, you’ll want to make a strong case for this little toad. In your copy, let the readers know why the purple spotted toad is important to the environment (he’s the only toad in existence that carries antibodies that can cure cancer). Tell them why the world would be a much sadder place without our bouncing little friend. (In addition to being the only purple toad in the world, this guy is the only food the frosty wilder beast will eat so he’s vital to the food chain). Just like with any other type of copywriting, list the benefits of the purple spotted toad. Why is he important to nature, how will the ecology suffer with his demise and what will happen to the rest of Antarctica if he becomes extinct? All of these are vital to convincing your audience that they should favor you with their contributions instead of some other organization. Everyone In the Search Results Go to your favorite search engine and type in “copywriting course” (without the quotes). What do you see? There are a lot of options listed on the search results page. Are all these products the same? By all means no! Some are live workshops, others are e-courses, some focus strictly on one type of copywriting leaving all others by the wayside, some are correspondence courses while others are downloadable. But because they all appear in response to the query “copywriting course,” they all have the potential to take sales away. Even if your site falls into the coveted #1 position, the others on the page could potentially grab some of your sales. So how do you get surfers to click on your site’s listing? Your title and description have to be first rate. If your copywriting course has a specialty (sales letters, search engines, catalogs, etc.) say so. Choose the most powerful benefit and a way to set yourself apart (your USP) and use those in the tags for your search results along with your keyphrases. Simply having keywords in your title and description might get you ranked with the engine but it sure won’t entice anybody to click to your site. Other Options There are options and substitutes for practically everything in the world. If people don’t want to pay for a computer and Internet access so they can send email, they can write letters or call their friends and family. If customers decide the cost of groceries is out of control, they can plant a garden and eat a vegetarian diet. There are even alternatives to cars: taking a cab (as most do in New York), bicycling (very popular in London) or walking (great exercise). All of these alternatives can be competition for you. To overcome the pull of other options, when you write copy be sure emphasize why those other options really aren’t viable. The sheer act of writing letters takes time in and of itself. Then you have to mail the letter and wait. If the person wants to respond, they have to get motivated enough to sit down and write a reply and mail it. Then you wait again. The phone? Yes, people could use the phone to talk like they always have, but what about when you want to show the person you’re talking with something? A picture of your new grandchild or your new car can’t be shown over the phone. You get the idea. Drop the egotistical viewpoint that you have no competition and take a good, hard look around. Once you’ve realized that there is always an alternative to buying what you offer, you’ll be in a better mindset to write copy that outlines why yours is the only option the prospect should consider. Tired of endlessly searching the ‘Net in hopes of finding the latest copywriting techniques? Need an up-to-date directory filled with the best ways to learn copywriting? Visit .learn-copywriting.com today for the widest collection of the most popular copywriting resources available. IF PUBLISHING ON A WEBSITE, USE THIS RESOURCE BOX: Tired of endlessly searching the ‘Net in hopes of finding the latest copywriting techniques? Need an up-to-date directory filled with the best ways to learn copywriting? Visit Learn Copywriting today for the widest collection of the most popular copywriting resources available.

The Declaration of RE-Independence [Prospectus: The Individual vs. The Corporate Conscience] While the term “individual”, as regards each of us, has “gone to seed” in the human race, the ethics of the corporate has gone to hell. We humans have lost sight of our own horizon. While a nation of participants (”We the People” turned into a loose collection of spectators, the business of America morphed into a monster of business. Instead of “In God We Trust”, on our money, money is now the god we trust [the love of $money$ having replaced real love]. While the stock market crash of 1929 was catalyzed by over-extended margins, the morality crash of our recent business climate is the result of under-extended ethics. It is now left to us citizens, “We The People”, to prevent our Titanic ending and reverse this trend, where the Fates have become the Furies, the Muses became the Harpies, and the Sages have become the fools! …..Let us change our form of government overnight to the better, to something that works, as outlined in our primary legal document, The Declaration of Independence**; and except for vital and emergency services, put the current forms of government “on hold” until our ship of state is repaired and functioning for everyone’s best interest, with equal opportunity for ALL, in the most powerful yet anemic country on earth; no longer FantasyLandUSA, but the land of the brave and free again! [The mechanism by which we change our form of government is about the only unused portion of our original, founding documents, and it’s time to see it put to good use] …..We will go back to the future we were detoured from years ago when people sought after $money$ instead of love, and business/sports/entertainment instead of family. We must not again mistake our tools and their methods for the life in our lives! “Without a sign his sword the brave man draws, And asks no omen but his country’s cause”. Homer [Homer could have been just as easily speaking of someone like Cincinnatus, a 5th Century B.C. Roman {the Ohio city, Cincinnati, was named for him} who George Washington was likened to. —> even our own founding fathers would be in open revolt and rebellion against our current national government !!] **[[Dec. of Indep., 2nd paragraph: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.—That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. —>>> That whenever ANY Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”]] >>>James Sorrell E-mail: jamessorrell2003yahoo.com or JamesSorrellnativeweb.net

What are your goals when you write your articles? Do you see them as a way to advertise your products and business, or are you trying to sell another person’s product in the hope of an affiliate check? Your writing can allow you to dominate your niche, but only if you write with the goal of giving your readers good quality information. They will want to read your article, and if you really want to dominate your niche then you will need to write many articles. These will keep drawing the readers back to your site, and soon you will be seen as an expert in your chosen niche. As you write on your topic using LSI you will soon be writing using different keywords, but the composition will be far more natural than trying to fit in just one or two keywords. You might be wondering how to write, and different people will have different ideas about the best way to write. Yet the old principles remain the best. You should start with an introduction, have some paragraphs which are the body of the article and then finish with a conclusion. This is the formula that most people learnt when they were in school. Children tend to write about what they know, and they write in a natural way, and wouldn’t know what keyword stuffing was about. As adults many people try to complicate the procedure, when it is totally unnecessary. The readers are looking for information, and they want to get clear, straight forward information to help them solve their problem. They will be looking for someone who knows what they are talking about. As you write you will be building a relationship with the reader. You will build up trust with them, and as you dominate your topic, you will be seen as an expert. As an expert you will then be able to recommend different products which will give them even more information than they thought possible. Article marketing domination is achieved when you start to write good quality articles, you then continue to write the same quality articles, giving your readers something worth their time. They will want to know more, as you tease them with a certain amount of information and then make suggestions about what they need next. If you’re tired of watching your competition fly by, and you’re ready to take control of your niche through effective Article Marketing, then I’ll show you how! Just visit .articlemarketingdomination.com/ where you’ll learn exactly how I conquer every niche I target through effective article marketing.

Baroque appeared in Italy, and later was spread all over the Northern Europe. The Baroque period embraces roughly the time from 1600 to 1750. The word ‘Baroque’ denotes “incorrectly shaped pearl” in Portuguese, and in this meaning it best describes the different styles that are united under the Baroque heading. Caravaggio, Italian Baroque artist, is one of the most brilliant representatives of naturalism painting in the 17th century. His religious compositions address to the Counter Reformation liking for realism, austerity, and piety in art. Equally significant is his dramatic application of chiaroscuro - contrasting spaces of light and dark. Caravaggio’s influence on the art of his century is significant. He was fated to turn a great part of European art away from the idealistic viewpoint of the Renaissance to the notion that everyday reality was of primary significance. He was one of the first to depict people as ordinary looking. Caravaggio’s main subjects are religious ones which he embodies with real courage as vitally proved. Caravaggio has a strong plastic modeling of form; he puts the oil-paint over the canvas with big, wide dabs applying strong contrasts of light and shadow that enhance the dramatic effects of many of his paintings. Sometimes Caravaggio’s works reached such a realistic force that clients refused from them not seeing the proper piety and ideality in the images. “The Crucifixion of Saint Peter” is one of Caravaggio’s masterpieces. Three dishonest characters, their faces are concealed or turned away, are drawing, dragging and thrusting the cross to which Peter is nailed by the feet with his head put down. Caravaggio’s Saint Peter cannot be called a heroic martyr, nor a Herculean hero relatively to Michelangelo, he is an old man suffering from pang and in fear of death. The scene that takes place on some stony field is dismal. The obscure, impermeable background attracts the viewer’s gaze back again to the keenly illuminated people who remind us, through the banal deformity of their actions and motions - note the yellow back and filthy feet of the lower man - that the death of the apostle did not look like a heroic drama, but a hapless and humiliating execution. Rembrandt was a portrait painter. He applies the Baroque device of spotlighting the parts that are most significant in his self-portraits. The golden tinges of his subtly lit canvas make a series of individual portraits. His method of using paint in touches of heavy-laden brushes is named impasto and sometimes adds an almost sculptural measurement to his work. Rembrandt is also famous for his religious paintings. He was one of few artists that created religious paintings in Protestant Holland. His famous painting “The Return of the Prodigal Son” (about 1668-1669) is considered to be an epilogue of Rembrandt’s works in which ethical height and picturesque skill of the artist have been shown up. The plot of the biblical parable about a prodigal son who has returned home after long wanderings attracted Rembrandt earlier. One of his earliest etchings and some drawings prove it. In the figures of a ragged youth who has knelt down and of an aged man who has put his hands on the youth’s clean-shaven head is seen the utmost intensity of feelings, the mental convulsion, the happiness of return, the bottomless parental love as well as bitter taste of disillusions, losses, humiliations, shame and penitence. This humaneness makes the scene understandable for people of all times and makes it eternal. The unity of colours especially astounds here. From orange-red tinges of the background

Making a funeral speech is never easy and it is even more difficult when the person concerned had been very close to you.Getting started can be almost impossible. You start doubting if it would be possible for you to deliver the speech without having a breakdown.This is normal.If you cannot get over your feelings, you can always ask another person if they would read it if you wrote the speech The good news is, you can find help in getting ideas of what you should say. If you do an online search you are sure to come across several sites that help with writing a funeral speech.At many of these sites you will also find templates and all you have to do is include the name of the deceased.Make sure you write even a small personal detail or an interesting incident pertaining to the deceased. Your words should convey how much you valued and loved the deceased.Before getting started you may be asked to do a simple download. Some websites will ask you to pay a small amount.However, you be able to use the template without any charges at several other sites. If you have decided to steel yourself and give that funeral speech, make sure you take time to practice.If not, you may find errors during the middle of it. This can be avoided by simply reading the speech aloud before the memorial service.Irrespective of how emotional you may be feeling on the day of the service, knowing that you have the words to the funeral speech can be of some comfort. Aseem Gupta is a online reviewer of niche websites. To learn more about funeral speeches or writing a funeral speech, visit the website.