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Posts Tagged ‘Writing’

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When planning to submit children’s books to Random House, it’s important to know that many publishers don’t accept unsolicited submissions. Join the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators withtips from a writing instructor in this free video on writing lessons. Expert: Laura Minnigerode Bio: Minnigerode earned a Master’s in Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education in Cambridge, Mass., and is a credentialed teacher. Filmmaker: Todd Green

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Several readers have written to me saying they’ve finished writing a book (or two!) and asking how to get it published. Here’s some info on taking that next step.

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One thing that every writer wants to know is how to earn more money from writing. This is because being a writer can be a fickle business sometimes and so you need to have as many sources of income as possible.

You also need to use your time wisely to be able to write as much as you can and be as productive as you can. You need to use the phrase “Don’t Get It Right, Get It Written” as often as possible to get you off the starting blocks and writing as much as you can, instead of trying edit your work and be as perfect as possible as you go along. It’s so much easier to just start writing and don’t stop till you’ve finished and THEN go back and edit your work later. Remember that writing and editing and two different jobs and should never be done together.

But what you really want to know is how to earn more money from writing. And below are 10 easy ways for you increase your writing income.

1. Write more. I know it sounds obvious that writers should be writing but you’d be surprised at how many people call themselves writers yet they hardly ever write. To improve your writing, get a book of an author you like (or a writer whose style you admire) and copy their work. Just sit and copy out their writing word-for-word. This will give you a really good understanding of their writing style and how you can incorporate it into your own writing.

2. Read more. Successful writers are avid readers as well as being prolific writers. Reading improves you knowledge, exposes you to different writing styles, and can also help you to come up with great ideas for your own writing.

3. Find more freelance markets. If you want to make more money you need to sell more writing. So spend a bit of time every week surfing online and browsing through magazines looking for new writing markets. You can also sign up for regular writers ezines that contain current writing markets. Always be on the look out for new writing opportunities.

4. Submit more queries. Once you’ve found new markets you then need to make sure that you do actually get your writing published. So make a definite decision to send out at least 5 queries or short stories to different writing markets every week. And then make sure you do it, even if you have to get up early or stay up late.

5. Try different writing projects. Instead of sticking to the same kind of things you write, try branching out into something new. For instance, if you mostly write articles for women’s magazines, trying writing jokes, verse, puzzles or children’s stories and find new places to submit them.

6. Write and publish eBooks. EBooks are a great way to earn a passive income. You can write an eBook in as little as 24 hours and publish it online in only a few minutes. And because there’s no cost involved in selling eBooks you can write as many as you want for as long as you want.

7. Write and publish books. There’s nothing more wonderful for a writer than to feel the first copy of your book in your own hands. It’s so easy now to publish your own books that there’s nothing to stop you from becoming a prolific author and publish several books a year.

8. Learn new writing. There may be areas of writing that you don’t feel proficient in. Maybe you’ve never really tried writing fiction, or, like me, you want to learn copywriting or SEO writing. Choose a area of writing that you’ve never tried before but would like to learn, and then learn to do it.

9. Invest in your writing. Don’t be afraid to spend money to further your writing career. Splash out on some really fancy notebooks and expensive pens or treat yourself to a new computer. Or how about taking a seminar or a writing course or maybe there’s a book about writing that you’ve been thinking about buying. Just open your wallet and buy whatever it takes to help you write more and earn more.

10. Write more. Now you probably notice that this is the same advice in step number one. But it is so important that it needs mentioning more than once. To be a great writer you need to be great at writing and the more you write, the more natural writing will be for you and so the better a writer you’ll become. As you write more and more your words will flow onto the paper (or computer monitor) more easily and so your writing will sound more natural. Never stop writing.

The bottom line is that writers write. They always write. When a writer is not writing, they are thinking about writing. And when they’re not writing nor thinking about writing, they are reading about writing. So if you want to be a writer, be the very best you can and start writing now.

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Electronic books also known as ebooks for short are one of the hottest properties on the Internet. The benefits of writing an ebook are enormous.

As an Internet business owner, ebooks are powerful tools that you can use to grow your business. Here are 6 good reasons for writing an ebook:

(1) Easy to create

Ebooks are fairly easy to create and don’t require any special knowledge. Basically you can create ebooks in two different formats ie .exe and .pdf. Ebooks in .exe format can be read by Window users but not Macintosh computers whereas .pdf formats can be read by both. You just need Adobe Acrobat Reader to be able to open pdf files. For more details visit to www.ebook-author-interview.com .There are a list of ebook compilers available on the market that you can use to create .exe ebooks and .pdf ebooks.

(2) No big investment needed

Creating an ebook does not require a big investment. I make use of Activ eBook Compiler to create .exe ebooks. For an activation fee, the ads will be removed. This is a nice piece of software. I really like it and it’s fairly easy to use when you get accustomed to the software.

(3) Developing your own paid product

If you know how to build your own ebook, you can easily create your own product to make real money. You just need to write what you know about. The Internet is a highway of information and you need to create a product which focus on a specific topic. Basically there is a huge potential for creating your own information products and there is an infinite number of topics you can write about.

Not just topics related to internet marketing and online business but other themes like cooking, gardening, pets etc. Now these are niche topics and if you have knowledge in these areas, you can easily create an info product in a digital format like an ebook talking about this.

(4) Fast and instant delivery

A big advantage with ebooks is that the delivery process is fast and instant. You don’t need product shipping for you don’t have any physical inventory due to the fact that an ebook is purely digital. You can give an unlimited number of copies to your customers.

(5) Subscriber generation

If you can create your own ebooks, why not create a useful ebook packed with quality information, then offer it as a bonus or gift to generate new subscribers to your newsletter. This is an attractive incentive to gain new subscribers.

(6) Viral Marketing Effects

Good ebooks can become your own traffic machine and it can has a viral marketing effect. By viral, I mean it can propagate across the Internet, hence your business can get big exposure for your ebook contains links to your websites. For more information logon to www.create-own-ebook.com .Say you create an ebook packed with great articles that you’ve written and you allow others to distribute it freely to their own susbcribers to give them quality information, or to get new subscribers, your ebook and business will have great exposure. If you have a quality ebook, some product owners might even use it as a bonus to add more value to their offer.

Ebooks are becoming more and more popular on the Internet these days for there is a huge potential to build a successful online business around them. So go ahead and start creating your own ebooks be it free or paid.

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If you’ve spent a large amount of time mastering a craft, then you can capitalize on that unique knowledge and create an ebook for others.

What good is this you say? Well, it so happens there are many disciplines, hobbies and household activities where there is no definitive manual. Yet, so many need advice. You can create an ebook and describe your experiences and how to not make mistakes. You could create a shortcut to a particular technique that would otherwise take forever to find out oneself and little documentation on that particular shortcut or the problem related to. I can hear you saying, “Oh, they can find that small piece of information on the internet.” True! However it is usually not without many hours of digging through small tiny tad bits on Google. Remember the old saying “Time is money!”

If I am tiling a floor and I can come across a quick ebook on the subject for $10.00 that tells me how a novice can tile flawless beautiful floors with no experience necessary, I would be a nut not to go get that info and download it and start using it immediately!

Just think about all of the times you have toughed it out and learned something the hard way and how you felt when you found the trick that could have save you hours and made the job ten times easier. Sometimes someone may not have time to look up that valuable missing piece of information. If someone is getting ready to take a motorcycle trip and have not ridden on a particular terrain before, they may need a quick ebook on mountain riding through slick hairpin curves. Similarly people new to woodworking and other disciplines think that you may need to be a math wizard to make a simple piece of furniture when actually, they know the tricks of the trade. They are measuring once and using boards cut for measuring other cuts perfectly and framing triangles to ensure its squared when cutting on table saws, etc. You undoubtedly in your profession and passions know tricks for your trade, and can help save someone endless time struggling with that particular task.

So you might say what’s in it for me in all of this? Well I’m pleased to say quite a bit! If you can successfully package your knowledge into an ebook, then when you release it you will have no shortage of people helping you promote your ebook. Instead of having to affiliate with a particular product in order to have something to sell, you can literally make your own affiliate program and sell it through an affiliate network such as clickbank. Then instead of struggling to make a couple of dollars on the net, you then take charge of your own internet destiny and able to write your own ticket and have an army of people marketing your ebook for you.

Okay so you are sold now, eh? How do you create your ebook when you have no experience in creating ebooks? There are many tools out there that will help you with this task. If you put a good amount of time developing your ebook, you will not want to skimp on the recover for it. If you perform some search on Google, you will find recover software so you can package your ebooks nicely. Once you have compiled your ebook, then you convert it into the popular pdf format easily using freely available Open Office software. Please donate though, if you can at all, as it keeps these wonderful free services available.

So there you have it. If you have been struggling to carve out your niche on the internet and claim your stake as well as significantly improve your pocket book, then look no further than yourself and what you have to offer the world. Get into the driver seat for a change by creating your own content in the form of ebooks. Remember Content is King on the internet!

Good Luck in your internet endeavors!

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R. Dodge Woodson

www.lonewolfent.net

Writing A Book Proposal

            The first step in getting a publisher to publish your book idea is writing a book proposal. This intimidates some people. It doesn’t have to be frightening. Once you know the components of a professional book proposal you can attack it one phase at a time and prevail with a superior proposal. If you can’t create a winning book proposal you are not likely to be able to sell or write a book.

            What does a book proposal consist of? The basic elements are as follows:

Cover letter Title of the book Table of contents Audience Competition Concept and approach Credentials Reviewers Sample chapters Contact information

 Cover Letter

            Your cover letter should be concise. Keep it to a single page. This letter is your sales pitch, so make every word count. Tell in no more than two paragraphs why a publisher should be interested in your idea. Follow this with a brief review of your credentials to author the book and then lead into the proposal contents.

Title of Book

            Choose the title of your book carefully. Don’t make it too long. Avoid being cute with the title. If you are selling a how-to book, the title should reflect the subject matter. An example might be: Remodel Your Bathroom in Less Than a Month! Another example could be: Building Your Own Compositing System. The book title is the beginning hook for securing a publisher, so invest enough time in it to make yourself successful.

 Table of Contents

            How long should a table of contents be? As long as it needs to be. Most non-fiction books contain between 10 and 20 chapters. I would say a good average is around 16 chapters. The word count for such a book is likely to be between 50,000 words and 85,000 words.

            Chapters do not have to be equal in length. You should make them as long as they need to be to convey the required information to readers. A table of contents should begin with a heading for an introduction. From there, you list chapters in numerical order as they will appear in the book. Under each chapter title you should either write a paragraph that explains what the chapter will contain or use a bullet list of at least five key topics to be covered in the chapter.

            Consider if your book will benefit from a glossary or appendix materials. If so, this information should be listed on the table of contents.

 Audience

            Who is the audience for your book? Never say everyone. There should be a prime audience and a secondary audience. If you are writing a book about treasure hunting, your prime audience will be treasure hunters. Secondary markets could be bottle diggers, metal detecting enthusiasts and so forth. The more defined list of an audience you provide, the better your chances of making a sale are.

 Competition

            You need to know your competition and point it out to your perspective publisher. Don’t look for a book that has never been written. Publishers like the comfort level of being able to check the sales records of similar types of books to see what the likelihood of success is for your project.

            Online book stores are excellent places to conduct your research. Find three books that match your concept as closely as possible. Then record the following data for your proposal:

Book title Author’s name Publisher’s name Date of publication Number of pages in the book Price of the book International Standard Book Number (ISBN) for the book

Determine what makes your book idea better or different and explain it to the publisher. If you can’t do this, your book will probably not get published by a major publisher.

 Concept and Approach

            The concept and approach is your big sales pitch. This is where you describe the contents of your book, your credentials, and what will make your book a pleasure to publish and profit from. This section is usually about two pages long.

            When fleshing out the concept and approach you will want to include the types of illustrations you will use and how many of them the book will contain. How many book pages do you foresee the book having? Will you incorporate tip boxes or sidebars?

            Don’t worry about pricing the book or suggesting cover designs. The publisher will take care of this when the time comes.

            Use this section to describe your writing style. Conversational style is usually desired. Tell the publisher whatever is suitable to your topic in a way to make the book appear more desirable.

 Credentials

            Credentials are a key element in selling a non-fiction book. List all of your experience related to the subject matter. Make note of your education, licenses held, or other information that makes you the right author for the book. List any organizations that you belong to that might be conducive to special sales. Essentially, sell yourself.

 Reviewers

            Many publishers will want to receive a minimum of three peer reviews of a proposal before taking a project to the editorial board for approval. Include the names, titles, credentials, and contact information for people knowledgeable of your subject who may be willing to do a review for the publisher. The publisher is likely to use your people and some of their own for the reviews.

 Sample Chapters

            Many publishers will require one or two sample chapters from unknown authors. This allows the publisher to study your style and ability. It is best to use chapters from around the middle of the book. Avoid using the first or last chapter. Make your work shine. If you have gotten to the stage where a publisher is willing to read your sample work, you are well on the way to getting a book contract.

 Contact Information

            Don’t forget to include all of your contact information for publishers to use. It may be surprising, but some authors fail to do this. Make yourself accessible and easy to contact if you want to make a sale.

 Submission

            The last step is the submission of your proposal. Some publishers will accept electronic submissions while others want printed pages submitted. Check the publisher’s guidelines for the name of the editor to submit your work to and in what form the work should be submitted.

            Publishers frown on multiple submissions. Don’t send your proposal to more than one publisher at a time.

            Once you make your submission, it is a waiting game. Quick answers are often rejections. Expect it to take weeks to get any type of desirable reaction from a publisher. Be patient. If you are lucky, you will get a phone call when you least expect it to discuss the prospects of publishing your book. Making the sale will be an unforgettable experience.

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Although I have eBook writing and marketing students living all over the world, most of the people I work with are located in Northern America, Western Europe, and Australia. After watching the Olympics from Beijing, China, I have begun to think differently about writing and selling eBooks. I encourage you to do the same, and here are the reasons I have for changing my thinking so drastically.

1 — China has about 1.3 billion residents. That is one billion more people than currently live in the United States. One out of every 5 people on planet Earth lives in China.

2 — These people have the same needs, problems, desires, and goals as people throughout the rest of the world. Yet most of us working online do not reach out to them. Instead, we continue to relate to people online as though they are our next door neighbors. In order to prosper in the coming years, we must relate to our clients and prospects on a global level.

3 — No matter what your niche, the people in China can relate to it. When I think of the various niche markets I write in - weight loss, Yorkshire terriers and other small dogs, relationships, success, and eBook writing - I know that the Chinese would also be interested in learning more.

So what can we all do to reach out to people all over the world, instead of just the ones who live closer or have more similar cultures and traditions? Here are some ideas.

1 — Think locally, but write globally. Continue to blog, write articles, and create eBooks, but think about what you are writing from a more global, or international, point of view.

2 — Learn more about the Chinese way of life. I have been hearing for several years now that many people in the United States want their children to learn to speak, read, and write in Chinese, but now it makes more sense to me. During the coming years, understanding the Chinese and their language will give people an advantage in business and international relations.

3 — Instead of being ethnocentric, accept the fact that we are all citizens of the world. See others for their similarities instead of their differences.

As I watched the opening ceremony of the Olympics summer games, I became more aware than ever before of how to build my online business with eBooks, programs, and services, and of how important it will be to reach out to prospects living in China, along with the rest of our world, if we are to build a global clientele.

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Ebook writing has suddenly grown from a simple hobby to one of the few multi-billion industries in the online arena today. A lot of people from across the globe are dependent on ebooks for their information needs. This is the reason why millions of electronic books are being sold on regular basis. If you have the knack for writing, this is an opportunity you simply shouldn?t miss.

Here?s how you can accelerate your ebook writing:

1. Choose a niche. You need to be a great source of information to online users when writing your ebooks. As such, it is highly recommended that you choose a niche that is closely relevant to your hobbies, areas of expertise, profession, and education. This is the best way to ensure that you?ll always be able to create ebooks that are not only informative but useful as well.

2. Bank on your titles. You must know how to excite or pique the curiosity of your potential readers through your titles so you can get them to take a second look at your content. It would help if you can challenge popular beliefs or make your titles thought-provoking. Make use of keywords that can easily target human emotions and those terms that can evoke action.

3. Make them informative. Your ebooks must contain all types of information that your potential readers need. These could be information about their hobbies or other areas of expertise, solutions to their pressing issues, instructional guides that can help them do things on their own, or answers to their most frequent questions.

4. Keep it simple. You don?t need to sound like a rocket scientist just to earn the trust of your potential clients. In fact, it?s enough that you communicate your knowledge in a very informative and friendly way. It?s better if you can use simple terms as big, fancy words can potentially annoy online users.

5. Be direct to the point. As you might already know, you are serving an audience with limited attention span. You can better impress them if you don?t beat around the bush and if you can offer the information they need upfront. It would also help if you can steer clear from using fillers and lengthy introductions.

6. Bank on your book cover. As they say, presentation can be everything in internet marketing. Increase the chances of your ebooks being noticed by online users by ensuring that their covers are visually appealing and downright enticing.

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HOW TO WRITE A LETTER: WRITING PERSONAL & OFFICIAL LETERS & NOTES FOR ALL OCCASIONS

(Based on author’s site www.geocities.com/ltrhw)

Writing letters make popular. Letter writing ability is easily acquirable. Knowing how to write letters for all occasions is useful. Writing letters is not difficult. It is easy to learn how to write letters. This is on how to write formal letters, social letters, notes, what to say in private letter writing -writing personal letters.

Writing letters communicate best. Letter writing is joy to loved ones apart. Telephone calls are never enough. They like also to receive, write letters. Personal letters can be re-read. People in love write letters. Writing letters is dreamy. Boys who write letters are popular. Girls love receiving letters. Writing letters get one remembered when not together or telephoning. Family members away like to also to receive, write letters. Friends away like to receive, write letters. Pen friends write letters. Letter writing is communication, essential literacy –and it’s fun.

One writing letters can take one’s time to think of all the things that one can not remember when together or telephoning to say. In business writing letters clarify. Personal letters are keepsakes. Some things are said easier by writing letters, some better by not writing letters but notes. Writing letters are pleasing, effective. Notes can be nice. Here is how to write a letter, personal letters.

Letter writing, whether by post, fax, or e-mail falls into three categories. In each letter writing category the approach is different. How to write a letter depends on why one is writing a letter.

… Personal letters are often letters to family members, boyfriends or girlfriends, friends or pen friends -often friendly letters.

… Semiformal letters are often routine letters to e.g., order or return goods, instruct on delivery, or to confirm or request information -acquaintances also sometimes write letters semi-formally.

… Formal letters are often non-routine. Writing a letter formally implies officialdom -most seldom write letters formally.

Letter writing scares many people. Many don’t know how to write a letter or note. The following all there is to writing letters.

>>> Writing Personal Letters

To write letters to loved ones, friends away please. They like news about you, personal letters –especially if you write letters interestingly. Write letters cheerfully. Write a letter to cheer up. When you write a letter appreciate, praise, credit them. Write letters as if who you are writing a letter to is there, you are talking: “Oh, this tea’s cold! Anyway, I decided to write a letter…”

In writing personal letters, how intimately you write a letter depends on what is acceptable to who you are writing the letter. Unless you know it’s all right, don’t e-mail, fax or post loved ones or friends personal letters at a workplace; it may embarrass, cause problems if others see your letter. Privately communicate letters.

Letter writing is easiest when one is writing personal letters. If you can’t think of much to write in your letter other than “Hi!” or “I’m well…” and “How are you?” (which always pleases), don’t postpone writing your letter. A glance at a newspaper will show interesting things to write in your letter. When you write a letter do gossip -it’s liked in personal letters. Remember this when writing personal letters. Be interesting when you to write a letter.

In letter writing it matters: include a joke or two in personal letters. Loving or funny verses please in personal letters. When you write a letter remember: in personal letters a picture of you delights. In writing letters, if appropriate, drawing a flower, heart, kiss makes personal letters loved. Write letters that ask opinions of persons you write personal letters to, even if it’s only “Good, huh?” or “Nice, don’t you think?” Such letter writing makes you interesting, popular with those you write personal letters to.

>>> Writing Semiformal Letters and Formal Letters

In writing a letter keep to the point. Letters in these categories are often short letters about personal dealings with businesses, e.g., to instruct a bank to make or cancel a regular payment, or query a return, refund, or a job. They may be long, detailed letters but still simple, easy to write letters. When you write a letter keep a copy.

>> Letters received can be, e.g., asking you to confirm something.

When writing a letter replying to such letters write your contact details at the top right corner of the letter, their address at the top left corner of the letter; add the date, and their letter’s reference.

In your letter address them as they have you. Begin the letter by stating their letter’s date, e.g., “Thank you for your letter of ….”

Continue the letter, in a new paragraph. Be brief, simple, e.g., “This is to confirm that …” End your letter as ended their letter.

>> Letters sent to businesses to complain, request information, apply.

In writing a letter to a business, address, date your letter, state their reference as above. If you know the name of the person you are writing a letter to, begin “Dear Mr./Mrs./Miss./Ms. …” If not, in your letter address the reader as “Dear Sir/Madam” or “Dear Sirs.” Ensure to state under it their order/invoice number. Keep your letter simple. When writing business letters, if began ‘Dear Mr. …’, end “Yours sincerely”; if ‘Dear Sir’, “Yours faithfully.”

> Letters of complaint are important. Before writing a letter of complaint, if annoyed, cool off -make tea, telephone friends. You are writing a letter to get a desired response -you are less likely to if you write an angry letter. Businesses in writing letters like to appear fair -business letters try, when you write a letter politely.

When you write letters of complaint say what is wanted clearly, simply, e.g., “I have not yet received a refund for … I enclose a copy of the returns-note/receipt. I look forward to hearing from you.” Add any enclosures to the letter of complaint. Keep copies.

> Letters requesting information can be personal letters but must be clear. Write a letter simply ask for the information want. In writing letters requesting information on subjects you don’t know much about, it helps to end your letter “… and any other details you may deem useful’. Writing letters so brings more information.

> Letters of application for a job or a grant should have wider margins for reader-notes, and bear in mind any closing dates. When you write a letter of application briefly emphasize how you meet the criteria. Say ‘available for interview’, and do print your name.

>> Letters to officials may need to be long, detailed; but writing letters that are so is easy. You may have to write letters arguing with business or official letters received; or to explain, detail, enclose documents; or write a letter to summon a politician’s aid.

Writing letters that are official does not require high literacy. Not high literacy but method involves writing letters that are official.

When you write a letter to deal with letters requesting specific details and documents, in your letter simply respond in the order they are listed. Where business letters or other official letters request details generally, or if you are initiating correspondence by a writing a letter, first draft your letter -it helps in writing a letter.

Letters are easily, best drafted thus: For your letter’s rough copy use lined paper. Draft your letter in pencil, leaving every other line blank. Jot down and number the points you will raise in the letter. Then stop working on your letter.

Take a break from writing your letter; do something unrelated to writing a letter. You want to write a letter to make those points. Let your mind ‘digest’ the points you will raise in your letter.

Later look at your letter again, put other points that occur to you on the blank lines. Re-number the points of your letter as you think logical. But don’t hurry up to write a letter, yet. Sleep on it.

Then look at the draft letter, amend as necessary, write your letter.

Begin your letter by stating clearly what you want. End the letter briefly, simply, clearly repeating what you want.

When letter writing ends, enclose copies of any documents in the order of your letter’s points -number, list them if they are many.

How to write a letter that is complicated is that easy and simple -that makes seemingly difficult to write letters easy to write letters.

>>> Writing Personal Notes

Unlike writing letters, notes are informal -sometimes important.

> Routine notes may not be important: “Your dinner’s in the oven,” or to the milkman: “Two bottles today, please.”

>> Social etiquette notes that are expected may be important. Many do not write letters to socially invite or let another know that one will attend a party, or to thank another. Instead of writing letters they write social notes -to acquaintances, or strangers. As in letter writing, notes cause impressions to be formed about one.

These brief notes have the same tone as when writing letters informally, but must be courteous and polite. In inviting someone, one example is: “Hi, Nancy.. I’m having my birthday party, on ….., and it’d be so nice if you too could come. Love, Jenny.” Another example is: “Dear Mr. & Mrs. … we are having a house-warming party on ….. and we would love to have you too. Yours, Jo & Joe.” In accepting an invitation one example is: “How nice! See you then! Jenny.” Another example is: “So kind of you to invite us too -we will both be delighted to attend. Yours, Eric.” If you are courteous, polite, recipients will mention you favourably when they write letters, will speak well of you in your social circles.

>> Sympathy notes must be written carefully. These are e.g., get-well notes, sometimes on cards; or, to express condolences to someone who is in mourning -when most do not write a letter but a note.

> A get well note or card, whether to a close relative away and you also write a letter, or on its own, is always more appreciated if one adds a personal touch to it. For example, if to a friend and it is not serious, “Don’t take your time about getting well -we haven’t finished our chess game yet…”; if to a friend, and it is serious, “I’ll pray for your speedy recovery.” An example, if it is to someone you hardly know and are sending it as the done-thing in your social or business circles, is: “I will look forward to hearing of your recovery from mutual friends and colleagues.”

>In bereavement cases never try to cheer up in a sympathy note with a joke; however well meant, in one’s grief it may be deemed unfeeling, inappropriate!.. Leave the comforting to the mourner’s loved ones from whom more than a sympathy note is considered appropriate! Be, or appear, sincerely saddened by the loss. Clearly state so: “I am saddened by the news of …’s death.” Say: “I am so sorry to hear of your loss.” Show so by emphasizing it, e.g., “… he/she will be greatly missed.” Unless a loved one writing a letter too, if you don’t attempt to comfort, it will be appreciated.

>> Notes to loved ones matter most. On an anniversary or birthday greeting never be satisfied with what’s on the greeting card. Even if to a loved one away and accompanied by a loving letter, always personalize the card with a few words of your own, e.g., “Miss you!” or “Love you!” or “Take care.”

The feelings of parents are -from a poem by the Cypriot thinker writer poet teacher the late Orhan Seyfi Ari:

“With us he was, in our nest, only yesterday…
How quickly has he grown wings, like a bird, flown away!”
 

As in personal letters, it shows that you are not greeting as the done thing -that you care.

Anyone can write a letter. Family/friends away appreciate letters.

The author has a website at: http://www.geocities.com/eoa_uk

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