Keep Thy Personal Journal Private!

Written by Barbara Carr Phillips


Keep Thy Journal Private!

If you live with other people, I know you shudder to think about what would happen if your personal journal fell intorepparttar wrong hands. Journaling is not about writing something and then leaving it on your bed so your family can see how you really feel about them. You may be tempted to do that at times, but don't.

It's just not cool for your mother to read your rant about how ugly you think her purple polka dot shirt is. You wrote that you scrunched down in your elementary school chair until your eyes were even with your desk, wishing to disappear when she walked intorepparttar 128523 room wearing that purple people eater.

You can still hear little Jimmy Morgan snickering behind you, sayingrepparttar 128524 dots would make good bull's eyes for his spit wads. And look, she's still wearing that thing like some kind of vintage-fashion-rage fifteen years later and you want to barf.

Of course, it doesn't really bother you to that extreme, but you were thinking about itrepparttar 128525 day you wrote it in your journal and it felt good to exaggerate. Writing even made you laugh about it. Butrepparttar 128526 thought of mom reading that entry makes your face flush and your knees feel weak.

I know one mom who read her daughter's journal allrepparttar 128527 time. The daughter always left it open on her bed, knowing her mother would makerepparttar 128528 bed and pick it up. After hearing about a few confrontational episodes between this mom and daughter, I suggested thatrepparttar 128529 mom buy a journal that she and her daughter could write in and exchange. This way, each person could "talk" without interruption and there would be no invasion of privacy.

Passing a journal back and forth can be great fun if it's decided in advance. All other times: Keep thy journal confidential.

Do you want to write a Best-seller? (Part 3)

Written by Arthur Zulu


By Arthur Zulu

“He who whose face gives no light shall never become a star.”—William Blake

Inrepparttar second part of this series, attention was drawn torepparttar 128522 importance of styling, promoting, and timing your work if it must become a best-seller. But other things are involved in this. Get a good publisher

Your success and stardom or your weal and woe, starts withrepparttar 128523 publisher. Note this: there are more Shylocks than Samaritans in that family. Or better still, more sharks thanrepparttar 128524 friendly whales.

You will know a good publisher fromrepparttar 128525 contract. Examine it critically. Some seemingly "good" contracts will not give yourepparttar 128526 full right of your book till you die! If you do not understandrepparttar 128527 document, get an attorney to examine and interpret it for you.

Or you could contact an author who has published withrepparttar 128528 potential publisher for advice. The author will tell yourepparttar 128529 truth because some of them are already going through Catholic hell with their publishers--legal suits over rights, royalties, and so forth. You could also check with other sites for information aboutrepparttar 128530 publisher. I have earlier provided yourepparttar 128531 most credible site to check up with. The site owner givesrepparttar 128532 most updated, fearless critique of allrepparttar 128533 publishers. He throws his darts without giving a heck whether it lands inrepparttar 128534 White House.

A good publisher should give yourepparttar 128535 right of your book, pay your royalties regularly, and--mark this--promote your book. There are few of such ones. The majority are hypocrites. Publish in different formats It is best to make your book available in many formats. The wisdom in this is that sales will be coming in from different sources—from just one book. What did they say about one man’s meat? The fact is that people have many choices. So publish your book in hardcover, paperback, e-book and as an audio book. Also have it put in movie, DVD, and video. The present technology can handle all of that. Look around and you will see that allrepparttar 128536 selling books today are produced in that way. And there are even readers who will buy your book in more than one format. Why don’t you make hay asrepparttar 128537 sun shines. Keep revising your book

The man that would write an error free manuscript has not been born. Or maybe he lives on second earth out there in outer space. Why is that so? Becauserepparttar 128538 writer is an imperfect creature. This means that your book can be revised even after publication. A review of Bill Clinton's My Life says thatrepparttar 128539 book is short on editing--an euphemism for badly written. Yet it is a great book. Many great works have been revised. Consider these.

James Joyce has been regarded as one ofrepparttar 128540 most important novelists if notrepparttar 128541 most influential ofrepparttar 128542 twentieth century. Yet, his Ulysses, a parody of Homer's Odyssey, has a corrected version. Miguel Cervantes Don Quixote, consideredrepparttar 128543 world's first modern novel, contains many slips. Just to mention two. Cervantes records three expeditions for Don Quixote, yet it was actually four. Andrepparttar 128544 author forgettingrepparttar 128545 names he has given to Sancho Panza's wife, Juana Panza or Juana Gutierrez (afterrepparttar 128546 custom in La Mancha for wives to takerepparttar 128547 surnames of their husbands), calls her Teres Cascajo (her father's name) in Part II. Even William Shakespeare reputed to haverepparttar 128548 widest vocabulary of any man born on earth (4,000 words) has ironically turned out o berepparttar 128549 writer whose works has hadrepparttar 128550 highest number of editions.

Most authors regardrepparttar 128551 revision of their work as a matter of life-and-death. A typical example is that ofrepparttar 128552 Greek poet Virgil. When he was about to die, he ordered that his Aeneid be burnt forrepparttar 128553 reason that he had not polished it to his satisfaction. Butrepparttar 128554 great Augustus Caesar got wind of it and counteredrepparttar 128555 poet's wish. So Aeneid lived and Virgil died. Or Virgil lived because Aeneid did not die.

Your work could therefore be revised after publication. So it would be a course of wisdom for you to revise your published book. You can reviserepparttar 128556 subject matter, structure, and grammar of your work. And you can also cross check it for facts. It makes you a better writer.

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