Once open topic slam deadlines are reached, threads are closed. The closed topic entries are then voted on by members of urbanlivez.com forum community.

"This is a great opportunity to begin a serious, thoughtful dialog of current events affecting urban community.", says Butterfly Jones - forum moderator. "We want to hear from parents, teachers, and relatives of people who love Hip Hop. There is no age limit on submissions, and you don’t have to be an artist. If you want to show world what Hip Hop culture has given you, please join www.urbanlivez.com forum. If you have an empowering, or inspirational poem that deals with your thoughts urban life- we want you!. Our dream is that creative accounts of poets and rappers alike will be empower members of urban Hip Hop community with necessary information needed to overcome adversity ." I think they are on to something.

People who wish to join urbanlivez.com community should visit Urbanlivez underground hip hop poetry forum online. You will be asked for a current e-mail address, and to accept registration agreement.

Write your e-mail query as if you were writing a normal query. Induce in it same passion, same commitment and same confidence that you would like to project in a query sent by snail mail. Forget mantra that editors will delete long queries. Not a chance. If you’ve sparked interest of an editor, do you think she’s going to stop reading simply because it exceeded her one page limit? Nope.

As in a mailed query, take time and space you need to get editor’s attention. But refrain from rambling. Generally, your query (e-mail or otherwise) should fit into two pages or less. More than that, and you’re giving away too much. They should be succinct, to-the-point, and if you’ve done your job well, you’ll have editor asking for more. Always include your address and phone number should editor feel like calling and giving you assignment.

Remember how editors are busy people? That’s why, instead of sending them hyperlinks of all articles you’ve ever written, send in three or four relevant clips of your best work. And yes, attachments are strictly prohibited. Instead, include your article as text in your e-mail. But what about pretty pictures and beautiful fonts? Well, that’s why, above article, include link to article. If editor has time or inclination, she can go online and view it in its full glory. If not, you’re sending material in email so she doesn’t have to wander around cyberspace looking for your great creations.

E-mail queries aren’t much different from snail mail ones. If your query is professional, presented in an original style and makes editor sit on edge of her seat, you’ve got a winner. And always remember what mom preached— first impressions do count.

* This article was originally published on WritersCrossing.com (http://www.WritersCrossing.com)