How Social Media Helped Me Land an Agent

How Social Media Helped Me Land an Agent Like most writers these days, I have a love/hate relationship with social media. Yes, it can be one giant time vacuum. Were talking the granddaddy of vacuums- were talking Dyson. But writers need a life. Right? So the hours spent on Facebook are in the best interest of my career, right? They can be. With all the moaning about the downside of social media (mainly the time aspect), we writers tend to overlook the sheer beauty of what the various platforms provide: accessibility. Never before have we had the opportunity to be â€Å"friends† with so many publishers, agents, and other writers. Conferences are expensive and not everyone can afford to attend the more popular ones, the ones where big-name editors and agents are most likely to show up. Years ago, the only way to meet agents and editors was to attend conferences and hope you make the cut for a pitch session. Or hopefully grab a seat in their standing-room-only panel discussion. Or you could follow them into the bar, or restroom, or hotel elevator. In which case, if youre like most writers, youre a bit introverted so that elevator ride is probably going to be rather quiet. And the restroom thing- not cool. At all. Thats where social media comes in. Its much more pleasant, for all parties involved, to find an agent and follow them on Twitter than to follow them into a bathroom! If you prefer Facebook, send them a friend request. Follow their RSS feed. Comment on their posts. And comment again. And again. You know youre getting somewhere when the agent starts to comment on your comments. Im â€Å"friends† with and follow several agents. Ive had these cyber relationships for a year or more with various agents, and like any good relationship, it takes time to build. Ive been in the business long enough to say Ive sent my share of query letters to agents, without much success. But social media opened up not only a whole new door, but a golden door for me. Through Facebook, I was able to establish a friendly relationship with different agents before seeking a business relationship with just one. And even then, when I did approach the agent through a private message, it wasnt intended to be a query. I simply had a question, between friends, about the industry. That cyber conversation turned into a phone chat, which turned into longer talk which turned into an offer of representation. Social media not only helped me find my agent, it allowed me the opportunity to get to know her as a person before ever signing a contract. To me, thats just as important as how many deals theyve made. If I dont respect and like you as a person, how am I ever going to feel comfortable trusting you with my career? So go ahead and follow a couple of agents. You might be surprised where it can lead.

Lythronax - Facts and Figures

Lythronax - Facts and Figures Name Lythronax (Greek for gore king); pronounced LITH-roe-nax Habitat Woodlands of North America Historical Period Late Cretaceous (80 million years ago) Size and Weight About 24 feet long and 2-3 tons Diet Meat Distinguishing Characteristics Moderate size; long skull; foreshortened arms About Lythronax Despite what you may have read in the press, the newly announced Lythronax (gore king) isnt the oldest tyrannosaur in the fossil record; that honor goes to pint-sized Asian genera like Guanlong that lived tens of millions of years earlier. Lythronax does, however, represent a crucial missing link in tyrannosaur evolution, since its bones were unearthed from a region of Utah that corresponds to the southern portion of the island of Laramidia, which straddled North Americas shallow Western Interior Sea during the late Cretaceous period. (The northern part of Laramidia, by contrast, corresponds to the modern-day states of Montana, Wyoming, and North and South Dakota, as well as parts of Canada.) What the discovery of Lythronax implies is that the evolutionary split leading to tyrannosaurid tyrannosaurs like T. Rex (to which this dinosaur was closely related, and which appeared on the scene over 10 million years later) occurred a few million years earlier than was once believed. Long story short: Lythronax was closely related to other tyrannosaurid tyrannosaurs of southern Laramidia (most notably Teratophoneus and Bistahieversor, in addition to T. Rex), which now appear to have evolved separately from their neighbors in the northmeaning there may be many more tyrannosaurs lurking in the fossil record than previously believed.

Commercial Reading Programs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Commercial Reading Programs - Essay Example This essay considers general aspects of these programs, and the various ways they can be utilized in the 8th grade language arts curriculum. The Great Leaps reading program is a commercial reading program that is targeted to improve student fluency, phonics, and motivation. In terms of background elements, the program is recognized as being a research-based program that incorporates education theory and studies in the construction of its instructional methods. It’s indicated that the program has been adopted by a wide-variety of educational programs. Statistical research has also demonstrated that the program has been highly successful in aiding students in special education programs, including students with dyslexia. The program itself is designed to be an efficient means of advancing language arts comprehension. For instance, the student’s in the program spend only ten minutes per day working with the instructor and the materials. This allows for the program to be imp lemented as an after-school or augmented education program that doesn’t overly occupy the student’s time. The program contains a student manual and an instructor manual that are targeted for the learner’s age and reading deficiencies. ... One of the effective uses of the reading program would be for the in-class 8th grade special education language arts curriculum. In these regards, there are a variety of ways the program could be used in this educational context. One of the major ways the program could be implemented is through its incorporation into the main curriculum. In these regards, the program could be implemented to advance student phonics understanding by identifying sounds in isolation. Specific patterns are taught to students in a progressive learning process. Students then advance to the study of prefixes and suffixes. The theory behind this is that these elements allow the educator to imbue the student with critical thinking skills to decode words and phrases they are not familiar with. At a different stage of student education the instructor can incorporate sight phrases to advance student reading comprehension. In these regards, high frequency words are instructed to students. Through this mode of inst ruction the student learns to identify word meanings with these phrases as a means of improving reading efficiency. The final stage of instruction involves reading fluency. In this stage the instructor has the student read age appropriate stories while they listen for aspects of comprehension, fluency, and pronunciation. In the 8th grade special education language arts classroom dividing students into reading groups based on comprehension level could institute this program. The instructor could then implement a teaching assistant or work in rotation with the different groups. This way the students would receive instruction designed for their specific level of reading development in an efficient and effective way. Another prominent reading program is the Reading Blaster program. Whereas

Small business use of electronic commerce Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Small business use of electronic commerce - Essay Example In an environment in which time is precious the advantage to the consumer is undeniable. Not only that, but the concept can reduce costs too. For instance, Pea Pod that stores the goods which a customer wants can sort and pack these goods considerably more efficiently than the store and can be located out of town in an industrial park or other area where cheap rents are available. Moreover, staffing requirements are lower, the incidence of in-store theft is reduced, and the hours of operation can be extended. For small business companies like KOA MART, the opportunities of Internet-based commerce seem considerable, but few companies have yet succeeded in exploiting them profitably. Such success is dependent on acquiring an in-depth understanding of the characteristics of the Internet and matching these with the characteristics of existing products or services. In contrast to Pea Pod, KOA MART proposes better catalogues and more vivid visual representation of its products. It is easy to find a product and its price. Pea Pod has poor design and simpler structure; it is difficult to navigate and use this site. The majority of sites linked to "small business +electronic commerce" are devoted to potential online resources and analysis of the market opportunities. Some of the sites propose technical assistance for small business while others highlight the main trends and e-news about developments within the industry. This information can also be used by small business organizations that want to sell as well as buy (Demery, 2007). Small business companies may see that competitor's price reduction appeals only to a certain type of customer (those, for example, who have easy access to the competitor's products; in other words, the discount is not sufficient to attract customers who do not have this access). In this case, proposal would be to restrict their own price reduction so that it applies only to those customers who have easy access to the competitor products. By doing this, they can minimize the impact of competitor's actions on overall margins (Demery, 2007). Thus companies may identify that if one of competitors reduces the price of a product, volume of sales will go down; if companies reduce price at the same time, volume of sales will remain static (assuming that companies also match competitor's price promotion or other marketing tactics). One of the key characteristics of the goods and services that are capable of being traded successfully on the Internet, therefore, is that they are recognized and understood by the consumer (Howlett, 2007). This means either that they must have a strong brand (so that the consumer knows what to expect) or that the goods must be of such a nature that the consumer knows what they will receive. There are many thousands of sites on the Internet, which makes it considerably more competitive than local shopping mall or high street. Getting people to enter a site is as difficult as, if not more difficult than, getting people to purchase goods from a retailer (Howlett, 2007). The Internet did not level the playing field between large and small businesses because large companies receive great opportunities to reduce prices and tattract global target audiences. While one of the major advantages offered by the Internet is that - as a manufacturer, for example - a small company no longer has to do battle with retailers and competitors to obtain the

Accident Prevention Program Essay Example for Free

Accident Prevention Program Essay The committee is made up of management-designated representatives and one employee-elected representative each from the office, factory and outside sales divisions of our company. Employees in each division will elect from among themselves a representative to be on the committee. If there is only one volunteer or nomination, the employees will approve the person by voice vote at a short meeting called for that purpose. If there is more than one volunteer or nomination, a secret paper ballot will be used to elect the representative. Elected representatives will serve for one year before being re-elected or replaced. If there is a vacancy then an election will be held before the next scheduled meeting to fill the balance of the term. In addition to the employee-elected representatives, management will designate no more than three representatives but a minimum of one who will serve until replaced by management. A chairperson will be selected by majority vote of the committee members each year. If there is a vacancy, the same method will be used to select a replacement. In addition to the committee responsibilities explained above, duties of safety committee members include: A monthly self-inspection of the area they represent Communicating with the employees they represent on safety issues and Encouraging safe work practices among co-workers. The regularly scheduled meeting time is 7:30 am for one hour on the first Thursday of each month, at the employee lunchroom. This may be changed by vote of the committee. A committee member will be designated each month to keep minutes on the attached minutes form. A copy will be posted on the employee bulletin board after each meeting. After being posted for one month, the minutes will be filed for one year. The minutes form contains the basic monthly meeting agenda. (Customize by adding any additional safety committee information that you may have and/or deleting any that do not apply to your company. ) Employee Safety Meetings (Optional for employers with 10 or fewer employees or employers with 11 employees or more who are segregated on different shifts or work in widely dispersed locations in crews of 10 or less) All employees are required to attend a monthly safety meeting held on the first Thursday of each month in the lunchroom. This meeting is to help identify safety problems, develop solutions, review incidents reports, provide training and evaluate the effectiveness of our safety program. Minutes will be kept on the attached minutes form. Meeting minutes will be kept on file for one year. (Customize by adding any additional Employee Safety Meeting information that you may have and/or deleting any that do not apply to your company. ) Hazard Recognition Record Keeping and Review Employees are required to report any injury or work related illness to their immediate supervisor regardless of how serious.

Truth about Sammy in John Updikes A&P Essay -- A&P Essays

The Truth about Sammy in A & P   Ã‚   At first glance, Sammy, the first-person narrator of John Updike's "A & P," would seem to present us with a simple and plausible explanation as to why he quits his job at the grocery store mentioned in the title: he is standing up for the girls that his boss, Lengel, has insulted. He even tries to sell us on this explanation by mentioning how the girls' embarrassment at the hands of the manager makes him feel "scrunchy" inside and by referring to himself as their "unsuspected hero" after he goes through with his "gesture." Upon closer examination, though, it does not seem plausible that Sammy would have quit in defense of girls whom he quite evidently despises, despite the lustful desires they invoke, and that more likely explanations of his action lie in his boredom with his menial job and his desire to rebel against his parents.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   While it's true that Sammy finds the three scantily-clad girls who enter the supermarket attractive, as would any normal nineteen-year-old male, what is most notable about his descriptions of the girls, and particularly of the "leader" of the group, is that Sammy holds them in contempt. Once we get beyond the descriptions of their bodies, we see nothing but derogatory comments directed at them, including the derisive nicknames that Sammy assigns to them. Nowhere is this more evident than in Sammy's description of the leader, "Queenie." The nickname assigned to her by Sammy points out the stereotypical snap judgment that Sammy makes about her personality and social status initially, and to which Sammy rigidly adheres despite no real evidence of its accuracy. From the description of her "prima donna" legs, to his imagining of ... ...gel's suggestion that he relent and keep his job, Sammy is actually saying "no" to his parents and their attempt to put him on the road to middle-class respectability.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the final analysis, it would seem that the most obvious explanation for why Sammy quits his job--the one that he implies--is actually the least plausible. While Sammy would like to portray himself as the fearless defender of the delicate sensibilities of innocent girls, the reality is that Sammy's motives in quitting have far more to do with his own sensibilities than with those of the three girls. Work Cited       Updike, John. "A & P." The Bedford Introduction to Literature. 2nd Edition. Ed. Michael Meyer. Boston: St. Martin's Press, 1990. 407-411. Wells, Walter. "John Updike's 'A & P'" Studies in Short Fiction, vol. 30, (1993) : Spring, pp. 127(7).   

Ethics in Grant Essay

Ethics is described as moral principles and obligations that determine the wrongness and correctness of actions. It is associated with values and righteousness of every individual conduct. As a human being we are responsible for our actions and we have moral obligations for the welfare of others. Ethics cover our everyday life from what we think, decisions we make our philosophy and behavior to our everyday actions. In different professional field, standard and code of ethics are practiced to ensure proper conduct and behavior of those involved in the field. Ethics in grant has always been controversial. Issues associated with ethical behavior often arise from grant projects. The involvement of large amount of money causes the issues and suspicion to rise. An example of an issue that may arise from a grant project is commissioning. Commission refers to the fee paid to an employee after venturing to a successful business or closing a deal. However, professional organizations and funders consider commissioning unethical in nature. This is because compensation with regards to commissioning based on charitable contributions and donations are ugly site to see. Unlike salesmen, who get a cut from the proceeds they made, professionals who are involved in grant projects are considered skilled and talented people who lend and utilized their expertise in order to obtain huge support and following for the work and project that an organization is aiming to achieve. These are usually projects that requires huge amount of funding. If commissions are paid in favor of the grant workers in order to generate money, it would seems people are working because of the money involved and not because of the dedication one has to obtain support for the completion of the project In fact, the Code of Ethical Principles and Standards of Professional Practices of the Association of Fundraising Professional, clearly outlines that compensation based on a percentage of fundraising should not be accepted. Sincerity and honesty is another issue that that is usually associated with Grant projects. Honesty comes into play when errors are committed while the project is being done. This happens when proposals made is not enough for the project to be successful and major changes are needed. Employees often resort to covering things up in an effort to conceal the miscalculations and mistakes done during proposal. Cover up is done because the fear of losing the funder since the original plans agreed upon fail to materialize. Employees then tend to lie and pretend everything runs smoothly. To prevent ethical issues rising from Grant Projects, it is important to be honest and to tell everything that that is going on to the funder. By being honest, one can earn the funder’s trust and trust is important in every project to be successful. Furthermore, Grant makers and funders appreciate sincerity and honesty and they are open to changes from original plans that have been set, since changes that are made will yield promising results for the project. If an error with the project has been discovered, it is necessary to report at once. Also, it would be ethical to issue an apology if things are not carried out properly as promised. With the huge sum of money involved in Grant Projects, it will be helpful for anyone to be honest in every little way to prevent ethical issues from occurring. Sincerity for the project’s completion and the responsibility one owes from the funder and from those who support the organization in building the project should make one realize the misconduct of falling into the temptation the large sum of money brings. One should understand that an arrangement in which one obtain a kickback is unethical. To preserve one’s name and his reputation as a person and professional one must keep away from doing them.