Should We Drop the 'Dear' From 'Dear John'?

When was the last time you received an email from someone that started with the word "dear..."? I'm guessing you haven't for quite a while, if indeed ever, as the electronic modes of communication we now use to send information to work colleagues, friends and relatives has changed and for those of us for whom email is the norm, we've probably never used it ourselves.

Of course, when people used to write letters to each other the use of the word 'Dear' was commonplace and the norm. It's how you started any letter and when writing it still seems quite normal, however email is different.

If I receive an email from someone with the word dear in it then I have a little chuckle to myself as it seems to be an extremely old and out-dated way to begin any conversation. These days we're more used to seeing the word "Hi" or "Hiya" at the top of emails - but is this a bad thing?

When letters were the norm, we would spend time crafting them, sometimes hand-written and very often very long. We had a lot of information to cram in and we had to make the cost of postage worth the while. Sometimes we'd include some extra information like a card or a picture and the whole effort involved meant we were doing something a bit special. Writing 'Dear...' at the beginning was therefore the precursor to a missive, something to be enjoyed at the recipient's leisure.

Now we have email and conversations have changed. Our communications are shorter and more to the point and we normally send them with the expectation that we'll get something back. We no longer fire off an email expecting it to be digested over time or read in a wing-backed chair. Our email probably provides a quick blast of information followed by a question. We then get a question back and the conversation continues.
With an exchange of letters it could take many weeks to successfully conclude an issue and very often we turn to the phone to sort it out. With email it is fully possible to use it as a means to build a conversation and there is usually a thread that can be followed.

So should the 'Dear..' be dropped? I think it should, in fact I never use it, never had and those that are saying we should use it more so it doesn't drop completely are fighting the wrong cause. What we should be doing is ensuring our emails are readable and understandable, not worrying about a word stuck at the top of the page that nobody really reads anyway.

Essay Proofreading

The whole reason you are writing an essay is to communicate to the reader through your words, portraying and expressing explanations and evidence in a way that will support your point. For a fact, you will not do this well if you have errors scattered throughout your text, this impedes flow and takes the reader's attention away from your writing. This is why it is always important to ensure you are essay proofreading to a good standard.
Here are some basic tips on essay proofreading:

Read through your work with a physical copy. You will be amazed at the amount of errors you will spot when holding the document in your hand, opposed to on a screen.
Always get a friend to check over your work once it is complete. A fresh mind is able to pick up a considerable amount more errors than a mind that already knows the content. If you are unable to do this, at least take a break before starting to proofread you work, this will help clear your mind.

Read the words backwards, this will help to take away the meaning of the words, increasing the chance of spotting errors.
Keep a list of all the words you spell incorrectly, this will help when you come across the word in a later part of the text, and amend it.
Reading aloud means that you will have to voice each word separately, decreasing the chance that you will skip over some words unintentionally.

Many people find it hard to do their own essay proofreading, as they already know the content which allows their mind to skip over the words it has just written. Others just do not have time to proofread their work. Either way, you can get your essay proofreading done by professionals that offer proofreading services. This will improve your work a great deal, allowing the reader to interpret your work uninterrupted.

Overall, if you want a professional sounding good quality essay, you should always thoroughly proofread. If you really want to make an impression, consider proofreading services.

5 Ways to Increase Your Value As a Ghost Writer

A post on BNET tells business owners five ways to spot a $100 million idea. Those same five principles apply to increasing your value as a ghost writer. While you may not be able to become a $100 million ghost writer, if you pay attention to these five things, your service will be perceived as being worth more.

1) No matter how passionate you are about writing, if you don't meet your client's needs you won't have value.

Passion for what you do keeps you going when the job is tough. It's an important component to life as a ghost writer. Yet, passion without the skill to discover what your client needs is economically valueless. You must have the skill to see what your client's wants and needs are.
Sometimes this includes educating your client. And sometimes it means not writing content that fits what you think they need. You may have to write what they want! Never forget. You are a ghostwriter. Your personality can only shine through when it suits your client's needs.

2) When you identify your client's big problem, you make a difference.

Because you client is on the inside, he or she may be overlooking a marketing strategy or approach that would make a major difference. Sometimes the "big problem" is a collection of small problems that have taken on the snowball effect. Constantly look for solutions that will help your client's bottom line. Your writing may be part of the picture, or it may not. That doesn't matter.

3) Share from actual experience.

Get involved in social media. Practice SEO for your own ghost writing business. Put ideas you read about into use and test them. Collaborate with others. Grow your personal experience base. Your will have more to offer as a ghost writer. If you lack experience in a certain area, be up front about it. Always be honest about your abilities.

4) Market your service.

If you know how to market your own service, it will position you to help your clients market their product or service. Learn everything you can about marketing. You don't have to be into sales to develop strong marketing skills. Develop your elevator speech so you don't waste new client's time rattling on about what you do. Make sure you have an informative website.

5) Let you client help you develop ideas.

While most clients come to you looking for ideas, don't assume that they don't have ideas worth developing. Often, a collaborative environment where you bounce ideas off each other produces ideas that exceed anything either of you started out with. Your skill with writing is only as good as the underlying ideas. You will never lose out by bringing your clients into the process.

These five principles not only enhance your value as a ghost writer. They enhance your working relationship with your clients. It is easier for your client to feel confidence in you, especially when you are working virtually, when you are meeting needs, identifying trouble spots, sharing from your experience, presenting yourself positively through your marketing collateral and using your client's strengths to do the job right.

White Paper Writing: Sustainable?

Do you know what a white paper is? If you don't know then we need to start here. It is a paper that is very similar to an essay, an essay that is written to persuade whoever is reading it to go with a particular ideal or product. Why are they called that? They are called this because in the 1920's in Great Britain they were given this name because there were blue policy books and white policy books. We are talking about politics here, Winston Churchill was one of the most famous well known figures who wrote a white paper.

In this day and age they are still very much used in politics but you will find that they have moved on to a different type of style now. For example you will find them used very much in such fields as computers and software. A software company might just employ a writer to write one regarding a new piece of software that is due to arrive on the market. The whole point of the paper is to convince whoever they are selling it to, to buy into it. They would normally be selling it to a large corporation rather than to an individual buyer. They are written in a very concise manner, therefore; they have to be written by someone who knows what they are doing. Who knows how to write in this kind of style.
How long are they?
They are about six pages minimum. Sometimes you will find that they can be as long as one hundred pages. It really does just depend on what they are about.

How much do writers get paid?

The fee for writers can differ, because you can work for yourself as a freelancer. Or, you can work as a staff member. You will get paid a salary in which case, your salary could range from $50,000 and upwards. It all does depend, if you were a freelancer your fee would be $5,000 or more. Some really experienced writers are actually paid more than this.

So, if you want to get a higher fee you would have to gather a few good years of experience first. So in terms of sustainabliity, if you don't have the drive to carry out work that could take two weeks or more to complete you won't be able to do a job like this. White paper writing is the kind of job that could make you easily get burnout. Not to say that you would get burnout, but the sheer volume of content that has to be produced in order to make a very good living for yourself would mean that you are constantly writing. It is a very respecatable way of writing for a living though.

How to Write Articles That Make You Money

You may be wondering how to write articles that make you money, whether you are a freelance writer (or want to become one), or are trying to promote affiliate products or your own. You know that articles are an effective tactic for attracting interest - but you also know that you have to write a good article in order for it to be read, or in the case of a freelance writer, sold.

How can you write articles that make money?

1. If you're selling affiliate products or those you have created yourself. Create an attention-grabbing title. If the title doesn't capture someone's attention, they sure aren't going to read the rest of the article!
Write a good introductory paragraph, then write just enough in the body to entice the reader to want to know more. Include a good call to action in your author resource box.

2. Making money through writing. If you are trying to make a living as a freelance writer or by offering your services to website owners, your articles should be unique, on topic and interesting.
Again, you want a great title and introductory paragraph. The body of the article should expand on the introductory paragraph, delivering what was promised. Most of the time you will want to use a casual, friendly tone of voice that most people would enjoy reading.

Always check for spelling and grammar errors, otherwise not many people will want to pay you for your services if you aren't capable of checking your work before submitting it to the customer.
People like to read articles that are informative and enthusiastic; what most readers do not like are articles that are dull or read like they were written by an English professor. Write in a natural way, the way you would speak to a good friend for the best results.

Now you know how to write articles the make you money, so get to it! The more you write, the better you will become - and the better the results of your efforts.

Goals of the Medical School Personal Statement (AMCAS and AACOMAS)

The medical school personal statement is often the most difficult part of any application. You are likely nervous, and you may have already hit writer's block before the first words are typed. Do not worry, you are not alone! Almost everyone who has applied to a college, a graduate school or a residency knows the feeling. You will claw at your brain figuring out a way to write something, anything, about the person you stare at in the mirror every morning. You will wonder how anyone could write a piece about themselves, yet come across as modest and likeable. You will struggle, and you will falter. But with a lot of hard work, and with the help of others, you will succeed in the end.
This short article will guide you through the steps needed to write a great personal statement/essay. There are many variations on the subjects and techniques covered here, but we hope you can use this as a starting point. Follow the points in this book and you will be on your way to writing a great medical school essay.

How is the Medical School Personal Statement Used by Admissions Committees?
The medical school personal statement is just one part of your entire medical school application. Your GPA, MCAT, extracurricular activities, letters of recommendation and interview make up the rest. However, the important thing to remember is that the personal statement is one of the most important parts of your application. This is not something that school's toss to the side. This piece of work will be read over multiple times during the admissions process by a large variety of people involved in the admissions process.

The Separator
Your personal statement can get you in, or leave your out, of medical school. A great medical school personal statement can set you apart from your peers. Many applicants are coming in with similar MCAT scores and GPAs, so the deciding factor is intangibles like the personal statement.

• As an example, take a student with an MCAT score between 30-32 and a GPA between 3.40-3.59
• The acceptance rate into a US MD school for this student is 57%.

What separates the half that was accepted from the half that wasn't? One of the factors is the medical school personal statement. A strong medical school personal statement can really make a huge difference in getting accepted and rejected.
Just as a strong personal statement can get you in, a poor personal statement/essay can quickly eliminate you from the mix. When a medical school committee has a few hundred applicants, seeing typos, spelling mistakes or bad content will quickly move you to the bottom of the pile. The personal statement is a quick way to "weed out" similar applicants. With two similar applications, the personal statement can decide who gets an interview and who does not.
As mentioned, this part of your application can be used to decide whether a school wants to invite you for an interview or not. Schools only accept students who have been invited for interviews, so getting to this step is a huge part of the process.

The Interview Starting Point
The personal statement is also the starting point for many interview discussions and questions. When committee members sit down to interview an applicant, they often have just a few minutes to skim the application. Your personal statement/essay provides the perfect amount of information for them. They can pick out a few key points and use it as the starting ground for your interview. If this is the only part of the application that they may read, you need to make it perfect.

Goals of the Medical School Personal Statement
With how information about how the personal statement is used by medical school admissions committees in mind, we will now look at what some of your goals for the personal statement should be.
Sell Yourself
Your main goal is to sell yourself to the medical school, but do so in a way that is not arrogant. You must strike a balance between selling them on yourself as an applicant and not sounding cocky or pompous. The mistake people often make is that they think selling themselves involves listing grades and honors. It does not. Rather, it involves telling the reader about you as a person. Remember, the admissions committee already knows how you look on paper, they now want to know who you are. This is the place in your application where you have freedom. You can be humorous, you can be serious, or you can be philosophical. The key is to just be yourself. Let your personality shine through.

Tell Them Why You Want To Go Into Medicine
The second goal for the personal statement is to tell the committee why you want to go into medicine. The committee needs to see your passion for medicine. While wheeling around patients while volunteering shows them something, this is your chance to really tell them why you want to go into medicine.

Keep It Readable
You will also want to keep your personal statement/essay to a readable length and writing style. Trying to use large words and convoluted sentences to make the personal sound more impressive will only lead the reader to put the paper down.

Make It Interesting
Perhaps the most important goal of all though is to keep your essay interesting. Your personal statement needs to be one that keeps the readers interest throughout. Remember, medical schools admissions committees are reading hundreds of these essays. You want yours to stand out in a good way. Writing a generic medical school personal statement or essay may not get your rejected, but it certainly will not get you into medical school.

7 Places to Find Great Story Illustrations

The stories you tell in your self-help book must have meaning to your audience. What kind of stories will interest them, provide them with hope and motivate them to move forward in their lives? The answer is "stories about people like them."

Think about what your audience looks like, believes, rejects, and values. Remember their age, gender, and other relevant characteristics. Most importantly, get in touch with their more difficult emotions: discouragement, frustration, guilt, shame and so forth. Then concentrate on the feelings you want them to feel: hope, competency, success and pride in a job well done. The more you understand your audience, how they think, what moves and motivates them, the better you will be at selecting most compelling stories.

Where can you find relevant stories?
I've used stories in all of my books and no doubt your favorite self-help book authors have as well. You may have wondered when reading self-help books, where do these stories come from? Stories can be found all around you. Let's start with your story and how you can use it in your book.

1. Your story
If you want to develop a more intimate relationship you're your readers, it's a good to include it at the beginning of your book, such as in your introduction or in the first chapter. In Take the U Out of Clutter, Mark Brunetz and I each told our stories in the first chapter. You can also include snippets of your story throughout the book when your experiences are relevant.

Since your story is about you, it can be one of the easiest ways to illustrate your message. Most readers are curious about the author's experiences. Occasionally, authors get overly obsessed with themselves and turn off their readers. But one of the most effectively way to create a personal connection between yourself and your readers is to describe your own foibles and achievements, and poke a little fun at yourself.

2. Your story in disguise
In addition to including stories about yourself, you can disguise your experiences and present the story as if it happened to someone else. In my first book, When Helping You Is Hurting Me, the clients I described were actually based on my own issues, inner conflicts and challenges. To the extent that the stories reflected my personal experiences, they were "true". But I embodied these aspects in characters that I created.

A word of warning belongs here:Because an engaging story centers on conflict, your story will often include other people. Be careful about telling someone else's story without their permission. Yes, you may have gone through a divorce and you want to draw from that experience. But chances are your ex won't be too keen on you exposing his or her personal life for all the world to see. If you use someone else's story in a way that can be identified, whether it's a part of your story or not, it's important that you get a signed release form that person.

3. Observation
Where else can you find stories? From both your personal and professional worlds. You can include stories from your clients, patients and customers. No doubt someone in your family has had an experience relevant to your topic. Round this out with experiences your friends have had and there's quite a large pool to draw from. As with the previous section, stories that are about other people should be told only once a signed release form is obtained.

4. Interviews
I've interviewed hundreds of people over my career for the specific purpose of getting real stories to include in my books. I bend over backwards to make sure that those I interview are happy with the way they are portrayed.

I've never had any difficulty with using real stories because I work so closely with those I interview, and I have everyone sign a release form. However, it only takes one disgruntled person to file a law suit, and who has time for that? Search online for sample forms, or request that your publishing house provide you with appropriate forms. But it is a good idea to get something in writing as close to the beginning of the project as possible.

5. Someone else's story in disguise
A way to sidestep having to get signed release forms is to disguise the identity of the people in the story. Similar to basing the stories and characters in your own story, you can change specific features such as gender, location, age, and their relationship to you. It's important to change enough of the features so that no one, even those closest to you, can figure out who you're referring to.

6. Composites
Another popular way to get the stories you need while protecting confidentiality and privacy is to combine features from two or more people you know. This can be helpful if the true story doesn't illustrate the point you want to make as well as you'd like. Often, reality doesn't fit into the nice, tidy categories we authors have created. As long as you're up front with your audience about the nature of your stories, you can blend several people into one illustration.

7. Pure Fiction
There is a fine line between creating a composite and writing pure fiction. Basic honesty would restrict you from "making up" success stories when, in fact, no one has ever been helped by your program. It's unethical to claim that Mary lost 50 pounds when no one has ever lost that much weight on your diet, or to report that your conflict resolution program saved Charlie and Pamela's marriage when your clients have ended up divorced. Create your composite stories carefully, with a keen eye on illustrating what is true. You can run into problems if your stories are more fiction than genuine experiences people have had.

Acknowledge your story process
I'm often asked by readers I meet if the stories in my books are true. Since readers often identify with the people in the stories, they are naturally curious about how "real" these people are. I tell them the truth, whatever that may be for the book in question. Sometimes all of the characters are parts of myself, some stories give identifying features and I use people's real names, and some of my stories are based in fact but told in a way that is not exploitive. I've never had anyone express concern about the stories I've used as long as I'm up front with them. To strengthen the credibility of your stories, I recommend that you acknowledge your process somewhere in the book.

To learn how to get your book published download my free article, "The 3 Most Important Questions You Must Answer to Land a Book Contract" at http://www.carmenreneeberry.com/untitled16.html

Carmen Berry, MSW is a New York Times bestselling author who has taught aspiring authors how to get published for 10 years. Her coaching draws, not only from her successes, but also from the many mistakes she has made during her 25-year writing career. As a result, her clients can avoid making common-sense blunders that many first-time authors make. It's okay to be a first-time author as long as you don't act like an amateur. She works with aspiring writers who love helping people such as mental health professionals, educators, medical professionals, pastors, fitness experts and craft enthusiasts.