niko-transport

Tough as a tire iron and proud as a parson in paradise, Jeff Sanders, Private Investigator, was good at his job, always cool and always composed, never rancorous or rattled on the witness stand. Fit at 40, he was a wiz at bending the truth toward the side that hired him, but he never blatantly lied. “No yellow Jellyfish, that Jeff Sanders,” the Chief of Police always said. He should see me now, Jeff thought.

Jeff had often sat on a marble bench in the hall outside a courtroom. But this time it was different. This time he slouched, head hanging down, bristled chin in hand, eyes closed waiting his turn to testify. His palms were as wet as his mouth was dry; his pallor merged seamlessly with his only rumpled white shirt, the one he reserved for court appearances. This time, there’d be no run-of-the-mill, roll-me-over-in–the-clover testimony.

Jeff was eyewitness to a horrifying homicide, called by the DA to testify for the People Versus Jimmy “Weasel” Ingra, the Godfather’s hit man from Detroit and the Godfather himself. The Godfather got word to Jeff promising a long and languishing death if he ratted. The DA swished Jeff into witness protection. Bodyguards chaperoned him everywhere. It made dates with Alice pretty clumsy.

Even in guarded witness protection a crooked cop had come to see him. “The mob has bruisers bad as bloodhounds at search and destroy,” the cop told him. “They can find a mite in a mile-high pile of muck and smash it into a droplet of dew on a dam. Everyone likes you, Sanders. Try to stay alive.” Jeff had swallowed hard.

The great oak courtroom door opened. A cherubic face with double chin and dark curly hair appeared. “You’re up next, Jeff. About 10 minutes,” the bailiff said.

“Thanks, Herby,” Jeff replied. “I’m about as ready as I’m ever going to be.” Jeff knew that wasn’t true.

The ten minutes that followed were the longest Jeff had ever known.

* * *

“The whole thing’s a fluke,” Jeff had told Alice at dinner last week. His petite blond girlfriend reached to take his hand in hers and squeezed it gently.

“Alice, I just want to get out of this alive and not hunted by hoods or wanted by the FBI. It’s a fluke! I thought it was an ordinary climb –the-fire-escape-and–get-pictures-of-the- dame-in-bed-with-a-lover and what do I see? The weasel was sitting on this DEA drug agent’s face while the Godfather walloped the guy’s ribs with a steel club ’til they’re turned to sand. Then he makes mince meat of the guy’s manhood. I got so scared I forgot to film it. The DA thinks I did take pictures and burned them. Honest, Alice, I didn’t do that. But I did see it pretty clearly. If I hadn’t lost my keys at the scene, the DA wouldn’t know I was there.” He squeezed her hand. “Aw, honey. I just want to get out alive and marry you.” Alice forced a scared smile. The uniformed cop standing over by the door chuckled.

* * *

Jeff’s heartbeat resonated rhythmically in his ears, a thumping metronome unable to distract him from his dreadful dilemma. He felt as vulnerable as a vulture on a weather vane.

Ten minutes to show time, Jeff told himself. I got to figure out what I’m gonna do. I’m not ready to die, but dammit, somebody’s got to stop the mob. I tell it like it is, the Godfather goes down and his lieutenants come after me. I can say maybe I didn’t see it all clearly. I was twenty-five yards away and the window was dirty. My glasses were smudged. How could I be sure beyond the shadow of a doubt? After all It was, night. It was cloudy. No moon. They were in a dark corner of a large room, from where I watched. I’d had a couple a beers before climbing that fire escape. I hadn’t slept for a couple a days. He could bend the testimony in favor of the Godfather.

Jeff thought about his father. He didn’t know why for sure, but he could see his father telling him, “When you lie, Jeff, you have to remember every detail or you’ll get caught up in it.” Jeff remembered his dad. In the dark he could still see himself sitting on his dad’s knee, twirling dad’s graying locks between the thumb and forefinger of one hand while sucking his thumb on the other. “Daddy, I don’t want to tell any lies.” He felt his throat choking, his eyes beginning to tear. He suppressed sobs..

Now he heard the screaming; the bones breaking; the explosive fart when the Godfather smashed the bat across the guy’s belly. He smelled the sickening smell and heard the last yelp of the victim. Surely he died with that blow, Jeff thought.

Daddy, where are you? I need you, daddy, he thought. What should I do daddy? Daddy, I’m scared.

Then Alice jumped into his mind’s eye. “I love you, Jeff,” he could hear her saying. He could hear her voice cracking; see her eyes searching his soul. He felt her warm breath on his chest.“I want you with me forever, Jeff.”

“You can be a real hero, Jeff.” Now it was the DA. “We got a good shot at putting these bastards so far away you’d need a space searching telescope to find them. Tell what you saw, Jeff. Just the truth.”

“You have to remember your lie or you get caught in it, Jeff. Better, don’t lie.” It was his dad. Jeff rolled his left thumb against his forefinger and put he his right thumb in his mouth.

* * *

The bailiff’s hand on his shoulder jolted Jeff back to reality. He looked up to see the policeman who guarded him unsnap the flap on his holster so the gun would come out easily. He rose. He pursed his lips, pulled down the back skirt of his jacket and then straightened his tie. “OK,” he said. “Let’s boogey.”

Flanked by the bailiff and the policeman, Jeff stood straight and tall walking down the aisle. The back rows of the courtroom were filled with mostly shabby looking spectators. Some whispered as he walked by. “Nail ‘em, Mr. Sanders. Give ‘em hell” and things like that. Jeff recognized a few mobsters scattered in the crowd. They looked at him and shook their heads slowly. One of them raised his forefinger to his lips and nodded. Jeff clenched his teeth.

The bailiff opened the gate in front of the spectators’ section and Jeff passed between two large desks covered with folders and files. The DA and his staff sat in wooden captain’s chairs behind the desk to the left. Their suits had “Men’s Warehouse” written all over them. The defense team sat on his right. Imported Italian duds, Jeff thought. The Godfather stared at Jeff and pursed his lips into an upside down smile. He looked like a fashion plate out of Gentlemen’s Quarterly.

Then he saw Alice. Second to the left in the third row. She put on her stoic face made up perfectly as if her cosmetics were painted by numbers. No smile. No tears. A little like the Mona Lisa, Jeff thought. She glows. She always glows. A giant glob of molasses seemed to have gotten caught between Jeff’s heavy heart and stiffened stomach.

At the witness stand Jeff stood. “Put your left hand on the bible, Mr. Sanders, and raise your right hand,” the bailiff said. Jeff forced a smiled and complied. The bailiff spoke slowly:

“Jeffery Sanders, do you solemnly swear . . .?”

Melvin M. Harter is a retired physician. He specialized in evaluation of the causes and extent of injury and disability. He has become a freelance writer and author of the novel, Some Kind of Angel. This sci-fi thriller explores the world of terrorism, weapons of mass destruction and genocide. For more, visit Some Kind of Angel and view the video trailer.

In a recent article, I stated: “I found that three or four pages of explanatory text usually are quite well received.” I also stated: “It may not be totally acceptable to a few readers, but overall, most will enjoy learning something new and, if the material is adequately condensed and included as part of the overall story, as it must be, it often is enjoyed enough to be favorably mentioned in reviews.”

If you are going to present a character that is unusual for any number of reasons, or provide circumstances that are different, you must be prepared to provide explanatory material. A tale involving a period of social upheaval will be little understood, if you do not offer some explanation why actions result in the reactions that occur. A story dealing with the period of the Industrial Revolution, for example, would be difficult in the extreme to tell without some recounting of the effect it had upon the gentry and their mores.

As another example, let us examine the introduction of a ‘different’ type of character. To do so, let me suggest a look at El Tigre.

Stories of immigrants to the United States have included those of Irish families escaping the potato famine, and Germans and French fleeing from religious persecution. They also have told of some English who came to America for the same reason, and of others to escape prison. The stories of Jewish, Chinese, and assorted others’ journey to this country have been set forth for numerous reasons, not the least of which was to discover gold. Stories of any of these characters, therefore, are not new and need no explanatory pages.

Johan Heinrich von Manfred, the man who becomes El Tigre, is different. He is of the Prussian Aristocratic class. Both his position and the circumstances of his entrance to school must be explained. An explanation of the weapons of the time also must be provided. It was an era when the sword and knife still were important weapons. Firearms were single shot muskets and pistols. When Johann finally obtains one of the first revolving weapons, a description of the unique difference is of great importance to the following episodes.

As the young man moves into Spain to fight in the 1st Carlist War, his activities are meaningless without an explanation of the political maneuvering that led up to the confrontation. Similarly, the story does not develop without the reasons being given for the precarious position of his mentor in Spain. When he moves on to America, an understanding of the often only alluded to basic problems leading to Texas’ fight for independence, adds immeasurably to the story line.

So, to reiterate, there are certain times when introduction of information drops are necessary to the story line, and with respect to this material “often being enjoyed enough to be favorably mentioned in reviews,” let me provide specific examples. I said that “it may not be totally compatible to a few readers.” An unsigned review for the Magazine of the Western Writers of America did not like the “huge information drops,” but admitted “the subject matter is intriguing” and that “(the book) is an interesting look at a type of immigrant not often written about.” However, all of the other reviewers either did not find the inclusion of the explanatory material in any way bothersome, or actually made a point of including favorable remarks about it. The review by the main book reviewer in the monthly Chronicle of the 80,000 member Single Action Shooting Society printed in its entirety on my web page, is a case in point. The 5 star review by Mel Kligman in Amazon, the review by the AC Peoples Media Co. Review Editor, Louise Harris, and the full review by the well-known Gun Columnist John Taffin provide similar endorsement of the inclusions.

The general consensus, therefore, certainly would seem to be in favor of including explanatory material if the author believes it is necessary to, or will enhance, the story line.

John H. Manhold is a retired professor and scientific journal editor. He is an author of several textbooks, a lexicon in four languages and now novels that often require extensive research. He provides coaching on various types and phases of writing. Please see John Manhold for more information, and an address.

Serious freelance writers know their income may come from other sources, not just writing articles for magazines or clients. Ultimately, their freelance writing leads to writing books or e-books for themselves or as ghostwrites. If you decide to ghostwrite e-books and trade paperbacks, consider the following:

If a client hires you as a “work-for-hire” ghostwriter, then the client pays you for your work, and he owns all rights. Make sure: 1) You receive a 50% retainer before you begin the work; and 2) You receive the balance at or right before delivery. That’s it. If the book turns out to be a great success, great! That’s wonderful! You should be extremely proud — but from a distance! To be a successful ghostwriter, you must enjoy your glory as a ghostwriter in the shadows. Many ghostwriters prefer it that way.

TIP #1: As a ghostwriter, you should always try to meet the needs of the true “author” of the work. Cover the content they want and do your best to make the client happy.

TIP #2: As with writing any book, ghostwriting involves lot of revisions and changes as far out as two months, especially if the book needs to go through an editor or publisher. You should make changes as needed. However, don’t wait on final payment if your client hasn’t received final approval from his publisher.

TIP #3: Always write your ghostwrites as if they are your own. Write with quality and professionalism in mind.

TIP #4: Never sign a non-compete contract on the subject of gaming or poker. It is crazy for the client to ask but crazier for you to do it. If a client asks for one, walk away. You have your own work to protect as well as the client’s work.

TIP #5: You owe the client exceptional work and the client you work for owes you money for a job well done.

TIP #6: If your client is dissatisfied with the end result, even after he’s paid you, make it right for the client. Satisfied clients usually become repeat clients; they will bring you steady work and referrals.

TIP #7: Consider using a pen name as a ghostwriter.

My friend, Shelly Unger, a freelance writer and ghostwriter, said she uses a pen name when she ghostwrites. She said, “I’ve written most of my ghostwrites and presented them to my clients under a pen name. First, if someone decides to spam me, there’s no harm done to the name for which I write my own work under. Secondly, when I write for a client, I have no idea what the client will do to the work, after all it is his work once it leaves my hands. The client may add content which I may not like or he may write something that is not my style of writing.” This is something to remember if you write for clients as ghostwrites. The client hires you to do a job and the client owns the work after it leaves your hands.

You can find many ghostwriting gigs on FreelanceWriting.com, Elance.com, Guru.com, GetAFreelancer.com, Indeed.com, and CraigsList.com. The other way is to create your own ghostwriting gigs by networking and marketing.

If you choose to write your own books and e-books, then follow these tips:

TIP # 1: Know your market and know where you can gain the most readership.

TIP # 2: Remember, non-fiction typically outsells fiction.

TIP # 3: Have your manuscript ready before you approach a publisher for electronic submissions or for trade submissions.

TIP # 4: As you are writing your manuscript, begin searching for markets where you will want to submit your work.

TIP # 5: Buy a Writer’s Market book so you can read over the markets and decide the best market for your manuscript.

TIP # 6: Avoid work-for-hire contracts from publishers. Sure, what publisher wouldn’t prefer to pay an up-front fee to a writer in lieu of royalties? Go for the royalties and take a chance on your own talents.

TIP # 7: Know your topic.

Brian Scott is a freelance writer for http://www.FreelanceWriting.com, a free website offering freelance writing jobs and hundreds of writer’s guidelines to paying magazines. Read his blog for freelance writers at http://workingwritersnewsletter.blogspot.com

As a freelance writer, you will compete against many writers who are just as talented as you are. You will also compete against writers who write poorly and who offer their writing services at ridiculously low fees. These writers can and do get jobs. Many times you will tempt yourself to lower your rates to match or beat the bids to snag the project. Don’t do it! You are a professional. Professional writers don’t lower their rates or work for next to nothing.

Many individuals who lack writing skills drive down rates, way below what professional writers can rightfully charge. If the true professionals do not keep up their prices, this will become an even bigger problem. Just because writers from other countries want to work for eight or nine American dollars per hour, this doesn’t mean you should. As a writer, you can earn far more than many freelance writers — and certainly more than freelance writers who speak little English but still bid on the English-speaking jobs at much lower rates.

Visit any writer’s marketplace and scan through the projects. You will discover all types of bid prices and proposals. What you won’t see is how these writers came up with their bid prices or how they decided what and what not to include in their bid proposals. Often times these writers don’t know how they came up with their fees for bidding either. It becomes obvious when you see the same project posting listed under different genres or price ranges. Some of the same writers will bid on the same projects with a large spread in proposed bids. It is quite comical.

If you want prospective clients to take you seriously, you need to do three things: 1) You need a website that lists your rates; 2) You need to be consistent with your rates; and 3) You need to collect a retainer up front before you start.

Freelance writers need to know what they can charge based on the job at hand. This can vary depending on the marketplace. When it comes down to freelance writing, here is the truth in a nutshell: You can charge whatever it is you want to charge. You can base your fees on whatever you want to base your fees. The trick is finding someone to pay it who believes it is a fair price.

Freelance writers are a rare breed. Many of them are quite difficult. There is no need to be one of them. Decide on your fees and stick to them. Keeping your fees consistent enables you to keep your bookkeeping simple. You are a writer, not an accountant. Simplicity in accounting should appeal to you. Regardless of how much work you find, keep yourself grounded. Make your job fun. Take things in stride. The money will come.

The following information will help you set your rates. These rates may vary according to your experience and specialization.

WHAT TO CHARGE

Many writers will charge way too much for their services while others will charge way too little. You can find current market rates in Writer’s Market. You can also use the following as a guideline until you feel you have a good sense of what you want to charge. Remember, you can charge anything you want to charge. Always ask yourself what your time and skills are worth. More importantly, do clients feel you are worth what you are charging?

Take a look:

• News Articles ( web related ): $15-50 per page

• E-books:$15-25 per page

• Novels and Books: $75 per page

• Radio Commentary: $200 per hour

• Magazine articles: Expect anywhere from $600-$2000 per article

• Articles for web content, not related to news: $10-$50 per article based on word count and other aspects of the job (such as keywords, etc.)

Some writers prefer to charge by the word too. This is slightly different as it varies on several factors. If you are going to charge on a per word basis, decide how much that is and stick with it on all your projects of varying lengths. Often the rate per word charge fluctuates by writer depending on what the writer is writing (article, book, and web content).

Whatever you choose to charge, consider the time you spend creating the work. Remember, if you are an educated writer in your field, you should be able to realize anywhere from $30-$75 per hour.

SOMETHING TO CONSIDER ABOUT RATES

You cannot please everyone all of the time. You will find publishers, editors, and clients who hire you on a fast turn around. Even though they expect quality, they also expect you to write top-notch, award-winning material.

If a client tells you up front the deadline is important, be realistic in your talents and realize you are at a disadvantage before you start. If you have a demanding buyer with demanding deadlines, then realize you may feel you cannot craft the best copy you can. You should know your own pace and when you know you can’t deliver your best manuscript. If this is the case, then ask the client for more time.

Also watch for up and coming savvy trade book publishers who hire writers to write an e-book and fully intend to market it as a trade paperback. Know this before you take the job. In fact, when you bid on e-books, expect it. If you want to charge more based on that possibility, then build it into your bid. Often, if you approach a potential client by e-mail, they will respond with a request for an author to pen an e-book for them. Many times this ghostwritten book will end up on the shelves. As long as you did your job and you got paid, what do you care? Sure, the client may have used a less than honest approach, but as a writer, you will see this every day on the freelance postings. These clients are trying to save money and this is why they do this. You can’t really blame them. The client wants to turn a book over quickly too. If they were to present a ghostwriter with a writing opportunity to write a manuscript for publication, it would take much longer and cost a lot more for their manuscript.

Even though many people work with a rate sheet as their guide, others realize it is sometimes impossible to stick to their rates. You should establish some parameters when varying from your rates if you decide to offer a discount to a client. If you are working within a tight deadline, don’t vary much because 18 hour days can be part of your reality when you’re up against a tight web content deadline. By the end of those jobs, you want clients to pay you. Writers should stick to a rate sheet for their services. When pushed to turn out a job quickly, you should never discount a project, but instead raise your rates!

Another subject has come up in many incidences on the subject of whether the writer should charge for re-writes. Many writers do charge for re-writes, especially if the client is unreasonable. If you provide re-writes for a client, make sure the client has paid you in full for the project.

Brian Scott is a freelance writer for http://www.FreelanceWriting.com, a free website offering freelance writing jobs and hundreds of writer’s guidelines to paying magazines. Read his blog for freelance writers at http://workingwritersnewsletter.blogspot.com

Did it ever cross your mind that maybe those amazing authors whose work gets lapped up by the New Yorker can’t write or spell nearly as well as those five-star reviews suggest? Or that editors often miss crucial spelling errors and word omissions that can make a work seem amateurish? If so, you’re thinking of the realm of the mystical proofreader who often makes published material look perfect and impeccable.

Proofreaders are the final line of defense before publication of material. Even though their lot is often lumped in with that of copywriters and editors, they are in fact a different breed altogether. After initial editing for clarity and coherence, and typesetting of a manuscript, the publishers rely on freelance proofreaders to check for formatting, spelling and manuscript errors/omissions. Freelance proofreaders hone an impeccable sense of grammar, and their spelling is second to none. More importantly, they pay attention to minuscule details. They carefully read every line and cross-reference with the original manuscript. Proofreaders make all the difference between a perfect run and a thousand disseminated copies of an error-riddled manuscript. Elsewhere, proof-readers pore over web content, brochures, and just about anything that requires error-checking.

Error-correction requires one of two things, depending on for whom and for what medium the finished product is being generated. Don’t panic, however, as the requirements to become a successful freelance proofreading are not nearly as prolific as one might imagine.

If one is proofreading for hard copy, such as a book, then the publisher requires you to know the correct “mark-up” conventions, as dictated by the chosen Style Manual of the employer. Consult the Chicago Manual of Style as a baseline for all other Style Manuals. Many big publishers will have their own bastardized style format which they will introduce to you during the process of undertaking a proof-reading position. Corrections you mark for would be implemented or reviewed by another party and the final manuscript would move to the next stage of publication.

However, if you find yourself employed within a less formal setting, then you are both the one to mark and correct a manuscript. Manuals of style are much less important here, and you may find that your role cross-pollinates somewhat with that of a freelance copywriter, as text may require rewrites under your guidance.

Gaining work to proofread and write may be initially difficult, as your abilities remain unproven. A few good ways to build an impressive CV include finding part-time work with a facility that already provides proof reading services, and a degree or diploma with a focus on formal editing will help (but this is by no means necessary) to impress skeptical clients. Forming relationships with established copywriters and proof-readers (as well as SEO technicians), will lead to trickle-down benefits as overflow from their successes comes to you. As always, the local community (particularly restaurants and other service-type establishments) is a viable source of income and networking, and offers gigs to rewrite menus and advertising content.

Volunteer positions on websites and an online blog that showcases your writing and/or abilities can also be helpful. Never forget to take advantage of unorthodox opportunities like contacting websites and organizations about poorly written or extremely typo-riddled print. Offer to produce new copy and give them a sample of a rewritten passage from their published text as proof of your viability. While this may not work all the time, you may just impress enough to get your foot in the door, and that’s all you need.

While your job description may be radically different depending on the expectations of those who employ you, with the proviso that you bring high-level language skills and a beady editor’s eye for detail to the table, appreciation for your work skills is assured. Here your best hope for steady employment lies with being fluid and adaptable. Ready yourself to fill roles wherever and whenever they pop up, and you’re sure to succeed.

Brian Scott is a freelance writer for http://www.FreelanceWriting.com, a free website offering freelance writing jobs and hundreds of writer’s guidelines to paying magazines. Read his blog for freelance writers at http://workingwritersnewsletter.blogspot.com

Language is not logical, as even those behind the very best attempts at machine translation will happily attest to. Indeed, if I were to try and decode this article into German using something akin to Babel Fish, I’d end up with something closer to Fermat’s Last Theorem than a guide on how to be a butt-kicking, name-taking freelance translator.

For prose in one language to reach another without it being cruelly and sometimes hilariously mangled, it needs that human touch. Many people understand translation is spending long hours burning the midnight oil with a dictionary in either hand, but that simply is not so. Being bi-lingual is one thing; being fluent and understanding the connotations and implications of prose in each language is an entirely different thing. And let’s not forget about all that comes with working to be a skilled writer, as a complex and difficult personal enterprise.

Taking all of the above into account, as a freelance translator, your job will lie not in the hard, fast and loose distilling of basic meaning from one language to another, as in real-time verbal translation. No, instead you’ll be faced with taking a written manuscript (be it technical or classical) and carefully translating it into the target language.

Sounds difficult? Certainly, but it’s also rewarding! A writer who wants to rise to the top of his or her craft does well to take the time to not only write well, by the standards of their peers, but also to intimately comprehend the syntax and grammar of their chosen language.

One of the most oft-recommended pathways to marked improvement in an area like freelance translation is to dedicate yourself to intimately learning a second language beside your own mother-tongue. Besides the infinitely rewarding consequences (whether you’re looking for new social connections, a complex intellectual challenge or simply a way to qualify for far-flung international work), it can also act as a doorway to lucrative employment. As with most things, the more work you do, the better you get, the more work you get to do.

Why? Not only are translators rare, but they act in themselves as gateways to new markets. Right now, you’re reading this article in English. While the native audience for the language is huge, an even greater percentage of the literate world has no access to it for a lack of English-language skills. Unlocking that massive percentile can mean a vastly improved gross turnover for any organization with a significantly established interest.

So, if one presumes you’ve got a serious handle on at least two languages and an eye for the written word, how do you go about cultivating a successful career from such a useful skill? Firstly, you build up your portfolio, and you make a name for yourself. Find magazine or newspaper articles and translate them (with all original credit attached, of course), and then post them to a free blog you can set up through online services such as Google’s Blogger and Wordpress’ blogging platforms.

As a step up, translate book prose from small or local book and magazine publishers, and attempt to get in touch with the appropriate publishers about producing a translated work. Never underestimate the value of pro-bono work. If it comes to that, look for restaurants and businesses that deal or sell using your languages of choice, and offer to provide them with the appropriate alternate signage should they be lacking it, or, alternately, should you find it lacking.

Websites often will accept offers to translate their content into new languages to increase their appeal. Trawling the SourceForge or FreshMeat databases for projects to fan-translate older video games scripts or to produce official translated versions of open-source software can net you with impressive credentials when you look to accept contract work from larger organizations.

Don’t forget to practice technical translation, since we all know how prolific those little user-instruction booklets bundled with your latest microwave or vacuum cleaner are. You know, the ones with the seventeen different sets of translated instructions?

It won’t be unusual to discover your writing skills can be just as in demand as those that power your incredible translation abilities. Always keep your eyes peeled for opportunities to combine the skill-sets of a writer and translator, as one who not only writes the original material but then goes on to translate it!

Translators often have to actively sell their skills to the market through cold calling and constant inquisitiveness regarding any potential need to produce translated material. Always draw the line at begging; but by the same token, don’t be afraid to go in for the hard sell when you think it’s appropriate. Impress with your willingness to seek out work and to prove yourself, and you can often find yourself already in the door.

Brian Scott is a freelance writer for http://www.FreelanceWriting.com, a free website offering freelance writing jobs and hundreds of writer’s guidelines to paying magazines. Read his blog for freelance writers at http://workingwritersnewsletter.blogspot.com

OK, so maybe this book does not have mass appeal. It is written by a teacher and aimed at other teachers, the plot, how to entice school kids to read. Reading is the very cornerstone of learning. Without the skill life is pretty darn hard for a school kid, and even worse for an adult.

I am an avid reader, and have been since a very small child. I read for fun then, and I read for fun now. Reading is escapism, reading is learning, reading is the gateway to knowledge. Alas it is also often treated as a boring subject by both teachers and pupils. I know that during my Grammar School (High School in the US) days I hated English Lit, it was taught in an incredibly boring fashion. I defy any 14 year old to get excited about Thomas Hardy’s ‘The Mayor Of Casterbridge,’ or just about anything by William Shakespeare. Kids don’t want to read these books, they are too difficult. With Shakespeare you have to deal with archaic language and metaphors that even well read adults have problems grasping, Thomas Hardy on the other hand just wears you down, page after boring page of dreary narrative!

Maybe the high spot of my school career was Orwell and ‘1984,’ but even this classic was reduced to nothing. It was about 5 years after I finished school that I actually picked up a book for fun. The fun had been beaten out of me by the ridiculous approach taken by the school system.

Robb is an educator and innovator who has used her teaching experience to create a format where reading can be once again fun. Reading is maybe the most important aspect of teaching, it matters little what the subject is, the pupil needs to be able to read to learn.

One of the biggest issues facing any educator is the wide spectrum of abilities with the kids in the classroom, it may be grade 8, but there will be some kids that read at grade 4 level, there may even be some at grade 10. To aim only at the grade level results in only teaching to a small percentage of the class. Some will be lost and not able to keep up, while others will be bored, not feeling challenged, and generally frustrated.

The key, Robb explains is to develop techniques where everyone wins. Why does the entire class have to read the same book? Why not use a theme rather than a text? And why not engage the class in talking about the theme? By making the class thematic and using multiple texts suddenly you can gear material to the varied abilities of the class, a win-win situation, everyone can operate within their comfort zone, and learn!

Even when it is necessary from a curriculum standpoint to use a standard text, by being creative in your teaching methods everyone can gain.

I am not a teacher, well not by the traditional definition, but I am peripherally involved in the adult literacy arena, and many of Robb’s ideas could be converted to work in the adult world. One of the biggest problems I find with many poor readers is that they can read the words, but cannot assimilate the words into a cohesive idea. Differentiating Reading Instruction is chock full to the brim with strategies to resolve this problem.

This should be a must read book for anyone working within the teaching profession, the ideas are applicable in just about every subject.

You can get your copy of Differentiating Reading Instruction from Amazon.

Simon Barrett is an adult educator in Calgary, Alberta. With the 11 months a year of winter, he reads a lot of books! He is also a contributing editor for Blogger News and maintains a personal blog at Simon B.

I have my finger in many different pies, and one of those pies is an adult literacy program. Although I am only peripherally involved. I am always on the lookout for suitable material. Every book I read gets pigeonholed into one of three categories, beginner, intermediate, and advanced. There is no doubt in my mind that Succession belongs in the Advanced group.

The writing style reminded me of a genre that was popular in the late 60’s and early 70’s, and during that period many authors fell for the lure. John LeCarre for example released The Naive And Sentimental Lover, while critically acclaimed it did not sell well, it was too complex in structure for many readers.

Succession is complex in its structure, the language is simple enough, but the concepts and constructs are involved. It is not so much a flowing story, but rather a series of sometimes disjointed vignettes that the reader must assimilate themselves. That is not meant as a criticism, merely an observation.

Herbert Lobsenz like his books is a complex subject. There are few authors that win a coveted Harper Prize (1960) and then decide to abandon writing in favor of the corporate world only to return over 40 years later.

Let’s talk about the book. Succession has at its core Jake Garrison who some years prior had abandoned the business world in favor of becoming a writer. Alas his genre, Civil War ‘faction’ does not seem to be garnering the acclaim and kudos from the publishers that he thinks he deserves.

The turning point for Jake arrives when his father is taken ill, and is obviously not long for this earth. With the elder Garrison fading away in hospital Jake makes the discovery that his father does not have the money to cover his bills. Jake comes from honorable stock, and the his ‘honorable’ gene takes him from his writing back into the murky world of business as a way of covering the growing expenses.

His old acquaintance Carnusty is happy to loan the money to Jake, but there are catches. Jake once again becomes embroiled in industry, this time checking out a failing typewriter company. But rather than operating on the up and up, Jake is forced to go undercover in the guise of being the new editor of the company newsletter.

Through very short vignettes author Herbert Lobsenz takes us on a wild ride inside Jakes mind. His insecurity at home, his insecurity with the relationship between his wife and Carnusty, his thoughts about his father. All of these prey on Jake, the doubts reaching ear splitting volume when his wife announces that she is pregnant.

Can he resolve these issues?

Well only you can decide, and you can do that by buying your copy from Amazon. The author also maintains a blog with his recollections from the past at Old Time Writer.

(Originally published at Blogger News Network, and reprinted with permission of the author, Simon Barrett).

Simon Barrett is an adult educator in Calgary, Alberta. With the 11 months a year of winter, he reads a lot of books! He is also a contributing editor for Blogger News and maintains a personal blog at Simon B.

Children love rhyme. The rhythm of the text, the way the words bounce off the tongue can be especially appealing to young children who are mastering language and reading. There are two vehicles for verse in the children’s market: poetry and rhyming stories. Both have special guidelines.

* Rhyming Stories. Often at writers’ conferences editors will say they don’t like stories with rhyming text. That’s not exactly true — rhyming stories are published all the time. What these editors are really objecting to is bad rhyming text. Too many writers try to copy Dr. Seuss, the master of the rhymed story. They imitate the form of his work but not the substance. The rhyme is a vehicle to tell the story, not the other way around. It must still follow all the rules of a good picture book: a strong opening, believable characters, an interesting plot, a satisfying ending. Every word must advance the story - you can’t throw in extra phrases simply to complete the rhyme. Consider the opening lines of The Cat in the Hat. In eight short lines Dr. Seuss establishes setting, mood and conflict. Few books written in prose do so much with so little.

Roy Gerrard is another author who writes engaging stories in rhyme. His text is more sophisticated and appeals to slightly older children. Rosie and the Rustlers, an old West adventure story, begins like this:

Where the mountains meet the prairie, where the men are wild and hairy, There’s a little ranch where Rosie Jones is boss. It’s a place that’s neat and cozy, and the boys employed by Rosie Work extremely hard, to stop her getting cross.

Again, the opening lines tell us a lot about the setting and establish Rosie as the main character. The droll tone of the book is evident by the end of line one.

Notice that the meter differs in the above examples. It doesn’t matter what meter you choose to tell your story, as long as it fits the subject and reading level.

What’s more important is that the meter has some kind of pattern — these books must work when read out loud. A good test is to have someone unfamiliar with your story read it into a tape recorder. Note where this person stumbles over lines or has to stretch words to fit the pattern. These are the places that need revision.

* Poetry. Children’s poems tell little stories or highlight moments of life. The best poems evoke strong visual images or emotions. If your poem is funny (children love humorous poetry) give it a punch line at the end that surprises the reader.

Don’t try to do too much with a poem. Pick a little event from a child’s day (catching the school bus in a rainstorm, taking a math test) and explore feelings involved.

Take an ordinary situation and turn it into an extraordinary episode (as Shel Silverstein did in “Jimmy Jet and His TV Set,” a poem about a boy who turned into a television). For funny poems, action is key.

If your poems are quieter you can add more description, but don’t get so caught up in flowery language that you lose your reader.

The best way to learn how to write good poetry is to read it. Some books to study: Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein; Now We Are Six by A.A. Milne; The Random House Book of Poetry for Children selected by Jack Prelutsky.

Writing poetry can be a great warm-up for writing prose because every word is so crucial. And remember, your poems must sound good when read aloud as well as look good on the page, so use the tape recorder test as you did for your rhymed stories.

Laura Backes publishes Children’s Book Insider, the Newsletter for Children’s Writers. For info about writing children’s books, free articles, market tips, insider secrets & more, visit http://Write4kids.com. Visit the Write4Kids blog for many more articles by visiting http://write4kids.com/blog

A short time ago, I suggested to other retired workaholics the idea of attempting to write a novel. Granted, the idea was not an original one, but rather suggested to me by my wife because I was a little at loose ends after my ten to twelve-hour days began to shrink. I suggested that the idea would be especially appealing to anyone whose business had been in research, teaching or similar vocations.

I had suggested writing in the historical genre because it happened to be a personal favorite. The others available are legion, of course, and some require little to no research. Chick-lit was an overwhelming favorite for some time (although I understand it is waning today) and required no research whatsoever. I believe the genre would be quite a far stretch for the retiree, however.

If you want to stick to genre writing, Mysteries, Romance and Adventure always are a good bet. Mysteries probably are the toughest to tackle. They require an agile mind that can come up with twisting plots and believable characters. They have moved far from the old ‘the butler did it’ days.

Today, sophisticated techniques, including DNA sequencing, are quite generally understood by the public and are expected to be used. A working knowledge of police work and their procedures also is mandatory. Police lieutenants, for example, more usually do not go around investigating crimes. By the time they reach this rank, they really are in an executive position. There can be exceptions, of course. The lieutenant may be new to the precinct and may be making the rounds when a murder occurs. If he were young, his tendency could well be to become more personally involved. You would need to explain a situation of this nature, however. Mystery story readers are a dedicated breed who know the rules and will severely chastise anyone who does not follow them.

Adventure tales are a good choice, if the writer has a good imagination, or has been fortunate, or unfortunate, enough to experience adventure of various sorts. Once again, I cannot express strongly enough the need for thoroughly researching the place, time and people involved. A recent book review I read pointed out a specific error in the novel where a brazier was part of a costume in a period of time several years before the undergarment was manufactured.

Another fault often encountered is lack of attention to detail. I recently was chugging along happily in an adventure story when suddenly the rifle the man was carrying was referred to as a shotgun and two pages later again reverted to a rifle. Mistakes of this nature give the reader an unpleasant jolt, and if they occur in any number, discourage a reader from looking for more offerings by the same writer. Quoting from a recent review with respect to another book, “The author’s attention to detail is superb – it is one of the qualities I look for in a truly good book.” Most reviewers look for the same.

Romance, of course is the genre that has had the greatest lasting power. It might be said to have begun with Jayne Eyre and Wurthering Heights in the 1840’s. Before that, reading of novels was considered morally wrong, especially for young ladies ‘whose passions might be unnecessarily excited.’ Religious readings and the writings of Bulwer-Lytton (most notably, The Last Days of Pompeii) were those recommended.

However, it was not long before novels by Victor Hugo, and others, began to appear in abundance and it appeared that the seeds of the ‘Romance Novel’ had taken root. And the heroine changed dramatically. The heroine of Alexander Dumas Fils’ Camille, was a prostitute. Mrs. Henry Wood’s novel East Lynne, published a little later, depicted adultery, bigamy, double identity and murder. From here, the run was on, and today’s publishers rarely will turn down a good romance novel. The one problem with the genre, is you’ve got to think that way. However, if you can, you’re pretty sure of having a career as an author.

John H. Manhold is a retired professor and scientific journal editor. He is an author of several textbooks, a lexicon in four languages and now novels that often require extensive research. He provides coaching on various types and phases of writing. Please see John Manhold for more information, and an address.