Five Things the Pulps Can Teach Us About Making More Money as a Writer

Five Things the Pulps Can Teach Us About Making More Money as a Writer From the early 1930s to the late 1950s, hundreds of writers churned out thousands of stories in cheap magazines printed on yellow pulp paper for a hungry audience craving action, adventure, mystery, romance and thrills. Writing for often less than a penny a word, these writers produced the equivalent of two or three 40,000 word manuscripts per month! And that work ethic can help todays writers be more productive and profitable. Here are five things these famous (or sometimes infamous) writers from the golden age of the pulps can teach us about making more money as a writer in today’s changing publishing industry. Thing #1. Write faster When guys like Walter Gibson (creator of The Shadow) and Lester Dent (creator of Doc Savage) needed 40,000 words turned in every month, they didn’t mess around. They learned how to write fast, because the faster they could write, the more fiction they could churn out, and the more they could get paid. Traditional publishing, with its long time to market for books, used to punish writers for being fast, but thanks to self-publishing, those attitudes are changing. Your readers are out there starving for what you write. If you make them wait, they’ll just go read somebody else, and they might forget about you. Don’t give them that chance! Thing #2: Write more books I know what you’re thinking. You probably have a day job, a family, and other time commitments, and you’re doing good to finish one book a year. But you don’t have to already be a bestselling author free of the day job before you can churn out more work in a calendar year. I’ve met plenty of writers who were able to put out three books a year, with very demanding full time jobs. You can do it, too. Just try to work up to writing 1,000 words a day, seven days a week, and in a year’s time you’ll have amassed at least three novels’ worth of first drafts! Thing #3: Write shorter books Admittedly, this is a bit harder to get away with than it used to be, depending on the genre you write. To charge the purchase prices big publishers need to turn a profit on each of their titles, they’ve demanded more and more words from their authors over the years. But thanks to self-publishing and ebooks, word count isn’t as important as it once was. Your readers won’t feel short-changed if the story they just read was 50K or 180K words, as long as they enjoyed it. Thing #4: Write different genres Writing the same thing all the time gets old pretty quickly, so branch out. If you’ve been writing period romance for a while, give a mystery a try. Genre hopping will keep you fresh and your work feeling new. Worried about alienating your readers?   Use a penname for the new genre. Thing #5: Write a series Publishing today has only rather recently latched on to the notion that pulp hacks - and pulp readers - have known for more than a century: People love a good series. A stroll down the aisle at your local bookstore reveals dozens of series in every genre, from epic fantasy to paranormal romance to thrillers. Readers just cant get enough of characters like Easy Rawlins, Jack Reacher, or Sandman Slim. Writing a series lets you really get to know the characters, making them easier to write. There you go, a few tricks of the pulp trade that can help you be a writing success today. Now go write!

Harley Davidson marketing plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6000 words - 1

Harley Davidson marketing plan - Essay Example The Harley-Davidson Motor Company was incorporated in 1981, and primarily designs, manufactures, and sells heavyweight (i.e. engine displacement of 651+cc) touring, custom, and performance motorcycles, and a complete range of motorcycle parts, accessories, clothing and collectibles. It is the only major US-based motorcycle manufacturer, and leading marketer of heavyweight motorcycles. It has the largest share of US heavyweight motorcycle market since 1986, in terms of retail sales of new motorcycles. It markets its products and services through a worldwide network of more than 1,300 dealerships. The principal HD dealership for the entire European region has its headquarters at Oxford Business Park in the UK, and it was incorporated in 1989 (Key Note, 2012). The purpose of this study is to arrive at a strategic marketing plan that would enable Harley-Davidson UK to maintain its market competitiveness and possibly advance its position in the motorcycle manufacturing and retail industry . It shall examine the macro-economic environment of the motorcycle industry in UK, provide a micro-economic analysis of the industry in the form of a SWOT analysis, and construct perceptual maps of the company before proceeding to specify a marketing mix by which HD-UK may best address its market. 1. Assumptions This market plan aims to provide a forward-looking study into the prospects of Harley Davidson-UK insofar as it caters to the UK motorcycle market. Inasmuch as the study shall be proposing courses of action which will extend into the future, and therefore be constrained by environmental conditions beyond what can be foreseen at present. Certain assumptions shall therefore be made pursuant to which the following analyses and discussions shall be guided by. Global economy shall continue to gradually recover, but no strong growth is expected; Reduced emissions targets to be imposed, as agreed to in the Kyoto Protocol, for the global markets; The UK economy shall continue to be burdened by large budget and trade deficit. Present trends in tastes and preferences for heavyweight motorcycles remain constant; and It is also important to identify at this point the particular segment of the market which this market analysis shall deal with. Technically, motorcycles are two-wheelers that cover a wide range of specifications, engine designs and capacities. These include low-powered bikes that are more typically referred to as mopeds; also on-road (street legal), racetrack only, and off-road motorcycles (Research and Markets, 2011). For the purpose of this study, the segment of the market for heavyweight touring, custom, and performance motorcycles, referring to models with engine displacement of 651cc and higher, shall be the focus of study since it is to this particular market that HD products cater to. 2. Macro-environmental Analysis (PESTLE) Political – The UK adheres to the Westminster system, a strong democratic, parliamentary system of governance tha t ensures sufficient separation of powers among the executive branch (led by the prime minister), the bicameral legislature, and the judiciary. The structure also ensures that checks and balances apply. The World Bank avers that the UK is one of the most successful countries in so far as the application of the rule of law, control of corruption, government effectiveness, and regulatory quality are concerned. For government

Texas Government Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Texas Government - Essay Example For instance, the power of the governor, presiding officers and lobbyists is substantially increased because of inadequate duration for detailed scrutiny of bills. Shorter sessions also do not provide with a favorable environment for raising issues and encourage delaying tactics until an adverse situation develops. Despite several changes in particularities of legislative sessions over the years, the proposed amendments providing for annual sessions have been repeatedly rejected by the voters to prevent increased government power and spending estimated at over $40 million. However, a careful consideration of aforementioned prospects and consequences suggests that the sessions should be allowed annually to remove the obstacles to effective governance practices. A deviation from such conservative political culture has its economic costs but would probably improve the ability of state to provide for public services, settling the spending in the longer run (Newell et al., 50, 170). Along with six other states, the salaries of Texas legislators are set through constitutional amendments. However, the $7,200 annual salary for Texas legislators has remained constant since 1975. Texas is the second largest state after California in terms of population, but this figure is 13 times lower as compared to California. It is even lower than half of the federal minimum estimated for a family of four to stay above poverty level. Legislators also receive a per day allowance during the regular or special sessions for covering expenses. They are also entitled to mileage allowance, state apartments and allowance for up-to 12 days per month while serving on state board/council or carrying out legislative work between sessions. The Ethics Commission, under a 1991 state constitution amendment, is empowered to increase daily allowances and constitute a citizen advisory board for proposing changes in legislative salaries to voters.

A Separate Peace By John Knowles Essay Example for Free

A Separate Peace By John Knowles Essay In A Separate Peace by John Knowles, it is evident that Finny and Leper undergo the most traumatic experiences from the Class of 1943. Through these experiences, both characters lose much of their innocence and naivety. Finny, upon learning of the existence of the war and Genes moment of hatred, learns to accept realities and perceive the world as it is, not as the perfect childlike image he wants it to be. However, when Leper enlists in the army, he quickly begins to have hallucinations because the reality is too much for him to handle. Nevertheless, he eventually overcomes his insanity and seems to be fairly mentally stable by the end of the novel. Although Finny and Lepers traumas are the source of a major loss of purity and childhood, they are also the cause of post-tramautic growth and a necessary increase in maturity. Finny goes through several perception-changing events during the course of the novel, but the event that cements his departure from childhood is the acceptance that Gene deliberately shook Finny off the tree. This shock was caused by his own inability to accept the truth in the first place. Despite the ease of denying unwanted information and living in a dream world, it is mentally unhealthy for Finny because of the shock caused upon finally believing the truth. Immediately after Genes confession of jouncing the limb, Gene remarks that Finny looked older than I had ever seen him (62). Finny, however, does not yet comprehend feelings of jealousy and betrayal, as he has hardly had any himself and finds it difficult to think of anothers point of view; the information registers on his face, but before he has time to process it and mature he rejects the idea entirely. Gene states it occurred to me that this could be an even deeper injury than what I had done before (62). The reality of adult themes such as jealousy, betrayal, and hate is what hurts Finny most, not the crippling injury itself. Another reality that takes away from Finnys nescience is the war (when he finally believes in its existence). The most dramatic and stunning war in recent history, World War II had a huge impact on millions of lives worldwide. Yet Phineas refused to believe in the war, and instead created a fantasy in which he was the one of the only people who knew that it was all a hoax. When Gene, in disbelief from Finnys opinion, questions Finny on why he is the only person who is aware of the stuffed shirts' (107) plot to  suppress happiness, Finny emotionally bursts out it is because he has suffered (108). Apparently, Finny has visualized this hoax to shield himself from the disadvantages of his disability, such as enlisting. Nevertheless, Finny quickly accepts the truth of the war after seeing Leper in a mentally disturbed state of mind. The image of what the war did to someone who used to be close to him shook him out of his dream world and spurred his emotional growth. When Finny, at the end of the novel, learned to accept the realities and avoid using denial to cope with shock, he lost the last of his childhood innocence. Leper is easily one of the most naive and innocent characters during the Summer Session. His good-naturedness and passive fascination with nature is such an ideal image of innocence that it seems almost depressing to see him in the traumatized state of mind after enlisting. Even while everyone is volunteering to shovel snow to aid the war effort and discussing their plans for which division to enlist in, Leper is only concerned with the beauty of nature and skis to a beaver dam to watch the beavers develop and build their dam. He is moved to join the army not for vain images of glory and glamor like the other students, but rather for the beauty of skiing down a mountain. Obviously, he soon finds that the army is too much for him, and while absent from the ongoings at Devon he loses every shred of innocence and guilelessness that previously surrounded his character. When Gene meets him, his psyche is obviously changed to such a point that he has hallucinations and other symptoms of sc hizophrenia, caused by his rapid ascension into adult matters. He does not accept reality nearly as well as Finny does because his character was far more innocuous at the start of the novel. So many of his images of the world are shattered that it can be seen that he feels like he has little familiarity to hold onto. He grasps to every gleam of regularity and unchangeable function, which explains his preference for spending time in the dining room of his house simply because he knows that three daily meals will be served there on a consistent basis. However, his time at home seems to have given him time to cope with the images of adulthood. Upon his return to Devon, he seems mentally well and a much more decisive authority than ever before. He accurately and forcefully convicts Gene of jouncing the limb in his new, confident voice (166).  Gene describes Leper during the trial as all energy (165). Evidently, Leper has dealt with the loss of innocence caused by his abrupt initiation into adulthood and has become a more confident, self-assured pe rson in spite of it. Knowles makes it apparent throughout A Separate Peace that while the loss of innocence may often seem to be a sad or tragic event, it is necessary to pave the way for maturation and a transition into adulthood. Had Finny never accepted the truth of the tragedy that occurred to him, he would have never matured beyond his carefree summer days. And had Leper kept living in his own world of vivid imaginations, he would have never developed into the sanguine individual he becomes at the end of the novel. While the loss of innocence is partly a lugubrious experience, John Knowles portrays it as a necessity a part of maturation and growth that leads to adulthood and self-fulfillment.

absolutism Essay -- essays research papers

Absolutism as Primary Form of Government   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Absolutism became the primary form of government for many Europeans in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. It appealed to so many for reasons the same as other governments. â€Å"Absolutists contended that social and political harmony would result when subjects obeyed their divinely sanctioned rulers in all aspectsâ€Å" (Text 594). Absolutists rulers felt God gave them their ability to teach the masses the proper ways to live.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Absolutist rulers had several main goals for successive reign over the people. The first being to eliminate or weaken the national representative assemblies. Next rulers looked to gain support from small local and provincial assemblies. The nobility was always dependant on the king, meaning the king chose his nobility freely, without influence from any outside source. Lastly, nobility was in control and responsible for collecting taxes and other benefits for the king. â€Å"Despite it’s pretensions to represent a political theory, absolutism was fundamentally a mechanism designed to assist ambitious monarchs in their determination to increase their own power through conquest and display† (Text 598).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Louis the fourteenth was considered the quintessential absolutist because he truly assumed and embodied absolute control over France. He had very specific rules for politeness that were strictly applied t...

Internet communications †website analysis Essay

This logo, when clicked on takes the user to the Brunel Website: www. brunel. ac. uk. This logo appears on every page of this website, so that the user can at any stage during their visit to this website go back to the University website. This logo is part of the main template that I created to make this website. I based the colours in the website on the colours used in the logo so that there is a connection to the University website and the Business Management website as well. This is important as this, in real life would be linked to these websites. In this page, the first page the user is confronted with, the title of this web page helps them to distinguish the university. The title of each page is at the top of the page, alongside the university logo, therefore, each page has a different title. However, on each page the title is in the same place so that it is easy for the user to use. These pictures add some colour to the page, and give an overall graphical summary to what the module is all about, the Internet. Here, I also chose pictures, which roughly match the same colours of the Brunel Logo. This page provides information to the user about the course layout itself. The content of this page is useful to a user that wants to know what they will be studying in this module. It shows the aims of the module, how the course will be assessed, the teaching hours, the lecture plan (what each week of lectures will be based on), links to the coursework page, books and references that may be of help to a student studying this module, and contact information of staff that may be able to help students or users who have enquiries about this module.

Significance of Gender in Romeo and Juliet

In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, the Montagues and the Capulets have very different relationships with their children. A major reason for this, as well as much of the conflict in the tale, comes from the gender roles that Romeo and Juliet are expected to play into. Adding to that conflict is the fact that both Romeo and Juliet push the boundaries of these roles and struggle to fit into them. Romeo plays the over emotional lover, while Juliet is clever and dominant. Throughout the play we can see that both Romeo and Juliet have to struggle with the people around them because they are not acting within their respective gender roles. One of the first moments in the play where Romeo’s non-normative attitude towards love is addressed directly is when Mercutio, in Act 2 Scene 4, reflects on Romeo and Rosaline. â€Å"Why, is not this better now than groaning for love? / now art thou sociable, now art thou Romeo; now art / thou what thou art, by art as well as by nature† (2. 4. 20). Mercutio is excited to have his friend ‘back’. In the the last two lines of this quote, Mercutio implies that not worrying over love is normal. That, in hanging with the boys and not following his wild emotions, Romeo is being what Romeo ought to be,â€Å"art as well as by nature†. The implication here is that the way he was reacting before to Rosaline is not natural. This lovelorn that overpowers all else Romeo feels comes back much harder with Juliet. Mercutio’s comment about Rosaline infers the abnormality of Romeo. This seed that is planted in the mind of the audience can then take root and be even more noticeable without Mercutio commenting on it directly with Juliet. In the first scene of Act 3, Romeo struggles with his masculinity versus his love. When he chooses not to fight Tybalt with Juliet in mind, Romeo open questions his own masculinity. He is after all, a part of this society and surely recognizes, to a certain extent, the unusualness of his feelings. â€Å"†¦O sweet Juliet, / Thy beauty hath made me effeminate / And in my temper soften'd valour's steel! † (3. 1. 7) To Romeo, it is as if Juliet’s beauty has him bewitched. He doesn’t put the blame on himself or even her, but her beauty. He is giving life to it, admitting that it subdues him. By attributing Juliet’s beauty with such a powerful presence, Romeo is only underlining his romantic nature. Several other characters make note of Romeo’s feminine/emotional nature. The Nurse and The Friar are two of the more observant characters in the play. In Act 3, Scene 3, when talking of Romeo, The Nurse says, â€Å"Stand up, stand up; stand, and you be a man: / For Juliet's sake, for her sake, rise and stand† (3. 3. 3). She is saying that Romeo needs to be less emotional, that it is taking away from his manhood. Later on in the same scene, the Friar tells Romeo to stop crying, that it makes him look like a girl. â€Å"Hold thy desperate hand: / Art thou a man? thy form cries out thou art: / Thy tears are womanish†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (3. 3. 4). Throughout the whole play, Romeo is picked on for his emotional way of life. His unusually demeanor could also be his fatal flaw. Early on in the play, when Romeo and his friends sneak into the Capulet party, Capulet speaks highly of Romeo, and tells Tybalt not to cause trouble. There is a kindness in his tone that cannot help to make one think that perhaps if Romeo approached Capulet and asked to marry Juliet, th at Capulet might have said yes. But he doesn’t do this, and there is no way of really knowing what Capulet would have said. Romeo’s struggle with people not accepting how he doesn’t really fit the mold is not as definitively consequential as Juliet’s. No one is telling Romeo what to do, Lady Montague doesn’t want him to be involved in fighting, but no one is trying to determine the rest of his life for him. Juliet’s struggle isn’t a social conflict. She isn’t being made fun of by her friends, or criticized casually by the people around her. She is being controlled and pushed towards life commitments that she wants no part of. Romeo has a lot at stake, emotionally, but the rest of Juliet’s life is at stake. In one of her first moments with her mother, this conflict is explicitly shown, â€Å"LADY CAPULET: Marry, that ‘marry' is the very theme /I came to talk of. Tell me, daughter Juliet, / How stands your disposition to be married? JULIET: It is an honour that I dream not of. † (1. 3. 4) Lady Capulet reflects the societal expectations. And although Juliet’s line has no huge impact on Lady Capulet, it does foreshadow her relationship with the world. And inevitably, one side will have to give in. There is a distinct change we see in how Juliet’s father treats her during the play. In Act 1, Scene 2, when Paris asks for Juliet’s hand in marriage, Capulet says that in the end the decision is hers to make, â€Å"â€Å"But woo her, gentle Paris, get her heart, / My will to her consent is but a part; / An she agree, within her scope of choice / Lies my consent and fair according voice. † (1. 2. 2) He is telling Paris that he has his blessing, but he must woo Juliet because her consent is important to him. This gives the impression that Capulet is a kind, non-restrictive, even liberal parent. But later on in the play, when Juliet refuses to marry Paris, Capulet really loses his temper at her, â€Å"How now, how now, chop-logic! What is this? / ‘Proud,' and ‘I thank you,' and ‘I thank you not;' / And yet ‘not proud,' mistress minion, you, / Thank me no thankings, nor, proud me no prouds, / But fettle your fine joints ‘gainst Thursday next, / To go with Paris to Saint Peter's Church, / Or I will drag thee on a hurdle thither. / Out, you green-sickness carrion! out, you baggage! / You tallow-face! † (3. 5. 3) What happened to his earlier attitude? One could argue that Capulet is, in fact, not a very thoughtful liberal father, but sees himself as one because his daughter, Juliet, is for the most part a good kid. And she has never really disobeyed him before. This sign of independence and disrespect is too much for him and his true controlling nature is revealed. The parts of Juliet’s home life that seem supportive and loving only remain as such while she is doing what others want her to do. As soon as she makes a decision for herself, all of that support is taken away. Capulet commands her to marry Paris or be kicked out of his house. If Juliet was a boy, or if she wasn’t pushed into the role of the girl than these problems would not come up. Romeo and Juliet defy their families. They put aside the quarrel that takes up so much energy and violence. Romeo ignores his friends in chasing after Juliet, and Juliet battles with her parents. Their marriage is a rebellion against both Houses. Both characters do not fit into the gender roles that other characters expect of them. It is this shared defiance that holds them together, but also that ruins them. If neither one had expectations put on them, then Juliet wouldn’t have had to marry Paris. But the shared deviance and secretive nature to their relationship is a large part of what gave them such passion. Shakespeare is examining the roles men and women are asked to play in society, asking us to think about the consequences.