03 Nov 09 THE SYNOPSIS…made Easy!

You have completed your mss, you have even written a cover letter to enclose with your mss, but still, that is not enough! You need a synopsis of your work to add to them as well.

What is a synopsis?

A synopsis is a summary of your work. You must always enclose a synopsis with your mss. Do not expect the editor/publisher to read your mss without it, as they do not have much time available. Your synopsis will tell them if it is worth reading further on. So, it is important to write a good synopsis , as it is this document that represents and will sell your work.

How to write a synopsis.

First write the title of your work, followed by your name.

Then write the word SYNOPSIS in the middle.

e.g.

TURTLES
By Jason Brown

SYNOPSIS

Now, try to be brief and precise. This is only the outline of your work, so skip details or any unnecessary information.

Let us suppose you have written a book about Turtles. You can start:

‘The proposed book, aimed at pet lovers and pet owners would extol the…’

(you must state who your book is aimed at and what it is about)

Then you can add a new paragraph:

‘The book would fill a much needed gap in the market because…’

(You must justify the need for your book. Try to find a good reason, so as to persuade the prospective publisher that it is worth investing on your work.)

Now, go for the lay out of your book. You could write:

‘It is suggested that the book should contain 10 chapters on the breeds..’

The introductory chapter would deal with the…followed by a chapter on…’

Finally, you can end:

‘It is considered that chapters would also be included on…’

Bear in mind that in your synopsis you are marketing an idea, which will be backed up with a specimen chapter and a list of chapters.

You must be original. Publishers need a fresh approach, even if the subject you have written about is common.

Be brief. No more than 1000 words ( original 50,000) or less. Usually one A4 page sheet is enough. The shorter, the better.

Write your name, address contact numbers (e-mail) at the end of the synopsis.

In the case of a novel, write down the plot of the story in one page. Keep the main points and discard the rest. The publisher will only want to know what your story is about, the basics of the plot, and what happens in the end. If he likes it, he will go on to read your specimen copy.

Be prepared to wait for a long time before you get a reply. Do not call the publisher and do not send a fax. Be patient. However, if you don’t get a reply in the specified time, write or e mail to the publisher. e.g. You can say:

Dear Mr. Brown, (publisher’s name)

I wonder what has happened to my novel, (title) , sent to you on (date).

I would be grateful if you could send me a reply at your earliest convenience.

Sincerely,

Mary Smith (your name)

That’s all. Now, you can start writing your synopsis.

GOOD LUCK!

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03 Nov 09 Reward Those Who Publish Your Articles

It is pretty obvious that content is king online. It is also obvious that writing more content and submitting them to other sites will help boost your popularity and bring more visitors to your site.

So why wouldn’t you help boost those pages that have your articles on them?

I want to share a small tip that will help boost your articles popularity all over the world.

See, most of us who do write articles are mainly concerned about getting their articles published. Well why wouldn’t you reward those who publish your articles?

I am consistently finding ways to boost pr ratings for ALL of my pages within my site, you should be too. If we are all trying to do this, then why don’t we help boost our articles on other sites!

Here’s an example of this…

I have an article titled:
“Getting A Better Rank For All Your Pages”

Now simply listing this article on my site isn’t enough. I also promote and submit this article wherever I can. If by chance a web site publishes my article, I will reward that site by adding a link on my site were that article is listed.

In fact, if you’ve seen my marketing tip articles, there is a small resource box at the bottom of each article that links to all the sites that have listed that specific article. Being more specific, I don’t link to their main page, I link to my article.

Here’s what that accomplishes…

Let’s say your article is listed on “Articles R Us” and you want your article to be found by anyone who searches for that company, boosting your pr rating for your article on “Articles R Us” will help you get more visitors from that site.

See, it’s not only about listing your articles because we would all like to have our articles found right away and 1st. Don’t miss the chance to gain more visitors by letting your article die out on the site that you listed it in.

What if all your articles listed on other sites, had a pr rating in google of (pr4) or more? That would be great!

That would be great because we all know that Google rewards your link popularity when listed in a page that is pr4 or more!

So don’t be shy to reward those who list your articles, doing so will only boost your search engine ranking and also give you a lot more visitors than before!

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In this article you will learn how writing an article on the subject you love the most will help you bring more visitors to your site! Not only will your traffic boost but you’ll also be placing yourself as the professional in your field.

Do you want to stay ahead of the pack in the race for the top Google rankings? Visit: increase web traffic. With increase web traffic now you can quickly and easily get first spot on Google every day, without wasting another dollar ever again! Start increase web traffic, time for you to be first on Google!

03 Nov 09 Structure Your Article For Maximum Impact

Writing articles is one of the best ways to promote your service or product since it establishes you as an expert in the field and you can get hundreds, if not thousands of links back to your website. But not all articles are created equal. In order to get the maximum benefit from your article writing they should have a consistent layout and structure. Follow these tips to give structure to your content and your articles will have a much bigger impact and stand a better chance of getting published.

For people whose literate capabilities extend to that last school essay that they handed in with a sigh of relief, writing an article is a daunting task and the end result often looks like a wasteland of grey text. A good article is written in such a way that it pulls the reader in and guides him through the content. Conforming to a standard format also makes it easier for article directories and sites that publish content to pick up your article and publish it. It also contributes to a professional image of you, the writer.

Here are the components of an article and how you should use each one for maximum benefit.

~ Title ~
The title of your article, like the title of your website, is probably the most important part of your article. And, much like the title of your website, you are writing for both the search engines as well as human beings. For the sake of the search engines, include your main keyword or keyword phrase in the title. For the sake of your reader, you have to create a title that will “pull the reader in”. In other words, your title must persuade the reader to read the rest of your article.

But here is a tip from Chris Knight of EzineArticles – do not start your title with:
“7 tips for …”
or
“5 ways to …”
The first 3 or 4 words are the most important, and by doing this you are wasting important space! Rather use your keyword or keyword phrase at the beginning, followed by the number or ways, or tips that you are going to discuss.
For example: Organize your office: 7 tips for never losing that $1000 check again

Another tip for coming up with a killer title is to use some of the headline making software that helps you come up with compelling headlines for your sales letters, like Headline Creator Pro. While you might not actually use the headlines it suggests, you will quickly have a list of 100 headlines to play around with and modify. Just be careful though of not loading your title with too much hype – you are, after all, writing an article and not a sales letter!

~ Summary or Introduction ~
The summary, or description, of your article is often overlooked. This might be the only piece of text that will be displayed when your article shows up in an article directory. Sometimes you have the option of submitting the summary separately, other times the article directory software simply takes the first paragraph or so of your article. I suggest that you focus on the first paragraph of your article to provide you with your summary and introduction at the same time.

Like the title, it should create curiosity in the mind of your reader to entice them to read further. Please remember that a good article tries to solve some problem for the reader – try and describe what problem THIS article will solve. Describing the problem by means of a story or example help to make it real in your reader’s mind. A personal example also helps to establish you, the writer, as a real person and creates a rapport with your reader.

~ Body ~
The body of your article will bring across your main solution to the problem that you have sketched in the mind of your reader in your summary and introduction. Please remember to stick to ONE topic! It is very tempting to branch off into different directions, especially if you are enthusiastic about your area of expertise. If you find that you are wandering off into other areas, even if they are related to your main topic, consider saving that information in a scratch pad and make another article out of the material.

DO use bullet points or subheadings to break up your article. Bullets and headings catch the eye and once more pull the reader into the text. But some article directories do not allow HTML code or other formatting inside your body. My suggestion is that you write for ‘text only’ as a standard. Simulate bullets and headings by making use of numbers, capitals, or a special character, like the tilde (~), or star (*).

~ Ending ~
The ending should summarise the reasons why the article solves the problem stated in the title and the introduction. Try and end with an interesting point or final quote, to invite readers to further investigate the topic.

~ Resource box ~
The resource box is the place to write a mini-ad for your site, service or product. You can send people directly to an affiliate link here, or direct them to your site. Try to make the link contain your major keyword or keyword phrase, for maximum ‘backlink’ benefit – if you can.

If you follow this simple layout structure (obviously combined with great content!) for your articles you will find that
- more article directories will accept your articles for submission
- you present a professional image that instils confidence in your reader
- your articles will get published on more websites, leading to more traffic

in short, your articles will get the exposure they deserve!

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03 Nov 09 Seven Tips To Successfully Write Web Articles!

Online readers love free information. They scour the internet daily looking for specific information to solve their problems, help them be successful, live longer or get healthy. You should join the information revolution too! Publish your free helpful solution-oriented articles to the web.

But wait! There are a few things to keep in mind when writing for the web. Long paragraphs are usually acceptable for print media; they are not for the web. If you want to write articles that web users will love to read and put to use follow these 7 simple tips:

1. Make your article scan ready. A study by Jakob Nielson publicized as guru of web page usability by the New York Times published that only 16 per cent of his test users actually read the copy they found online; 79 per cent of them simply scanned it. Your impatient web readers will want important information to jump out at them.

Some practical ways to make your text scannable are: headings, sub-headings, bulleted list, numbered lists, easy steps and/or typeface variation. For example, compelling headlines are considered an art. Are you drawn to the author’s article as “How to Write Web Articles” or “5 Tips to Write Winning Web Articles?”

2. Keep it short. Get and keep the attention of web readers by delivering short messages. You put effort into gaining your web reader’s attention; now make their click worthwhile with brief compelling copy in bite sizes.
Start with the conclusion. Your readers may not make it to the end of your piece to get it. Web readers don’t want to get bogged down in long blocks of text. So get to the point early and use the rest of your article to support that main point.

3. Make Your Title Sizzle. Dull titles will not capture your readers interest. It will make your article fade into the sea of other boring articles listed in article banks these days. You have to create a title that will reach out and grab your reader by the collar. To get your article read, start with a sizzling title. Make it short. Create interest. Include the main benefit or solution in your title.

4. Talk to Your Targeted Audience. Your information is not for everyone. Avoid generalities. Choose a friend or family member that’s interested in your topic. Write your article to them. Writing to a friend will make your copy personable and friendly.
You won’t come across as a fussy hen, do this, do this, don’t do that. You will connect with your readers as a friend giving advice. Your article will do a better job of building creditability for you. Creditability inspires trust and readers only trust their friends.

5. Add substance. Resist fluffing your articles. Include practical valuable information in your copy. Everyone loses when you don’t take the time to impart substance. It increases the reputation of the web being an unreliable source of knowledge. Additionally, lack of substance will block your road to profitable referrals.

Do the research and/or draw from your knowledge and experience to illustrate. Your stories and real life examples will meet your reader’s need for practical information and connect with their emotion. It’s a known fact emotions will move people to action. Whether you desire them to act by signing up or making a purchase, add substance and improve your reader responses.

6. Make it web professional. Create a more web professional look by using short sentences then format your page to approximately 65 characters per line. Long stringed sentences that stream from side to side of the web page look visually unprofessional. Select a layout for your article from several short article formats that include the how-to, tips list, question-answer, problem-solutions and interview.

Make your introduction and summary short but do add one. Your web readers don’t want just a list of boring facts and information. They want to connect with you by reading your personable introduction and practical tips with a definite ending or summary. Remember excited readers become enthusiastic buyers and enthusiastic buyers will refer your product or service to all their friends.

7. Use your keywords. Thread your keywords throughout your short article as naturally as possible. Otherwise your copy will sound stiff and dull. To gain visibility on the search engines, your site must be “indexed” by their robotic software.

In its most basic form, they must be able to compare the code, keywords and other Meta tags with the actual content of the site. From this they reach a conclusion regarding the context of the site. This and other factors will affect how well your copy or website places in the search engines.

You may use these guidelines for all kinds of web copy. The same elements of using keywords, making your article professional, adding substance, keeping it short and making your copy scannable will improve the quality of your articles. Practice the above simple principles and write winning articles to distribute on the web everywhere.

Do you want to stay ahead of the pack in the race for the top Google rankings? Visit: increase web traffic. With increase web traffic now you can quickly and easily get first spot on Google every day, without wasting another dollar ever again! Start increase web traffic, time for you to be first on Google!