ProNovelWriter

True Quote

2011-03-29T15:55:00.002-05:00

"A blank piece of paper is God’s way of telling us how hard it is to be God."

-Sidney Sheldon (1917-2007)

The Typewriter Dance Video

2010-09-12T19:20:00.001-05:00

The Typewriter Dance: Only if you've spent days/months/years writing novels will this appeal to you, but how can you resist music made partly with a typewriter? And you can sort of see which parts of the typewriter they used, as well. (6 min. [the last 30 seconds are blank])

ProAuthorLinks: Query Letters

2010-09-12T16:29:00.002-05:00

http://queryshark.blogspot.com/ - Where Miss Snark left off, Ms. QueryShark has taken over... minus the dog (Killer Yap) and worship of George Clooney, of course.
http://misssnark.blogspot.com/ - If you're missing Killer Yap, George Clooney references, and a TON of good query advice, then walk-don't-run to the Miss Snark archives. She is no longer with us... in this particular blog form. Her last post was in May, 2007, but stupid query letters are apparently eternal.

Unraveling the Secrets of Marketing a Bestseller

2009-09-28T11:07:00.008-05:00

Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol sold 2 million copies in its first week. That wasn't an accident.

The Globe and Mail has written a great piece on just some of the extraordinary marketing that has gone into promoting Brown's latest novel. You can read it here: Unraveling the secrets of a marketing bestseller.

Two telling quotes from the article:

"When Dan Brown's new novel The Lost Symbol hit stores this month, literary critics complained it read more like the treatment for a Hollywood thriller."

"The main lesson for publishers and marketers in the success of The Lost Symbol is this: 'Find hits.'"

Why is it still controversial to talk about trying to write commercial fiction that makes lots and lots of readers happy? "Literary critics complained." Are these the same literary critics who led me to have to read Faulkner when I was in school? Are these critics people with the same sensibilities who pick the most depressing movies possible for Best Picture Oscars?

There needs to be two types of critics: one set for the literary market, and another set of critics for commercial fiction. Right now, all commercial fiction has is the reading public who are voting with their wallets. If that's the case, they are hugely out-voting literary critics... again.

Bestselling Author Websites

2009-09-24T11:57:00.013-05:00

Almost all bestselling authors' websites add something special to readers' experiences. Some have free content, all have snazzy photos, and die-hard fans can find out when the author will next be out in the public. If you study the websites below, you might get some ideas of what you can add to your website to make it more reader-friendly and professional. Everyone listed here has been a New York Times Bestselling Author recently. One thing of note: While it's true that many of these sites were created by the author's publishing house, not one of them has a word count meter on it! Not one. Is it possible that word count meters are the mark of an amateur? Or readers don't care? Perhaps it takes away from the magic?

The Electro-Plasmic Hydrocephalic Genre-Fiction Generator 2000!

2009-09-23T22:09:00.008-05:00

Behold! The Electro-Plasmic Hydrocephalic Genre-Fiction Generator 2000!

Having trouble coming up with a storyline? Having trouble distilling your 200,000-word manuscript into a single sentence summary?

Fear not! Run, do not walk, over to Wondermark.com where your plot line will be revealed... or at least you'll have a stonking-good laugh, which is what I just had.

Algonquin Books Executive Editor Chuck Adams & Literary Agent Sally Hill

2009-09-21T14:37:00.000-05:00

Straight from the Experts: Literary agent Sally Hill McMillan and Algonquin Books Executive Editor Chuck Adams discuss what they do and how they do it. If you want to be successfully published, you need to know as much as you can about how the publishing industry actually works. The answers by Chuck Adams are especially helpful. (You can listen to this in the background. You don't need to actually watch it.)(1 hr. 5 min.)

Goal Update - Beta Reader Draft Due by Sept. 17th

2009-09-17T20:06:00.002-05:00

(A visual clue from my novel-in-progress.)

I wrote 3/4th of my current novel and got stuck, so I sat down and wrote the entire story as a screenplay. Hooray!

Now I have a working plot with a story arch that makes a lot more sense. The next thing to do is rework the novel to better fit the screenplay story arch, adding, deleting, and modifying where necessary. There are 30 sections, although they don't break exactly as chapters. My goal is to print out copies for beta readers on September 17th.

All well-wishing is gratefully accepted. And let me know if you put up a post about your own writing goal. I'd love to comment some encouragement for you.

30 Sections:

1. Reworked 8.4.09. 2. Reworked 8.4.09. 3. Reworked 8.4.09, partially critiqued 8.6.09, partial edits incorporated 8.6.09. 4. Reworked 8.5.09, partially critiqued 8.6.09, partial edits incorporated 8.6.09. 5. Reworked 8.6-8.09. 6. Reworked 8.7-8.09. 7. Reworked 8.8.09. 8. Reworked 8.9-10.09. 9. Reworked 8.10.09. 10. Reworked 8.11.09. 11. Reworked 8.11.09. 12. Reworked 8.12-14.09. 13. Reworked 8.15.09. 14. Reworked 8.24.09. 15. Reworked 8.25.09. 16. Reworked 8.26.09. 17. Reworked 8.28.09. 18. Reworked 8.29-30.09. 19. Reworked 6.30.09, critiqued 7.4.09, edits incorporated 7.10.09. 20. Reworked 6.30.09, partially critiqued 7.4.09, partial edits incorporated 7.10.09. 21. Reworked 7.10-20.09, partially critiqued 7.16.09, partial edits incorporated 7.16.09 22. Reworked 8.30.09-9.3.09 23. Reworked 9.4.09-9.7.09 24. Reworked 9.8.09-9.10.09 25. Reworked 9.11.09 26. Reworked 9.11-12.09 27. Reworked 9.12.09 28. Reworked 9.12.09 29. Reworked 9.13-14.09 30. Reworked 9.15-16.09

I format pages to be about 1,000 words per page as I work. So while it looks like I'm only writing a 100-page story below, that actually adds up to more than 100,000 words. This is just a rough idea to try and keep on track:

8.10.09 - pp. 18-21	8.30.09 - pp. 52-58
8.11.09 - pp. 22-23	8.31.09 - pp. 59-63
8.12.09 - pp. 24-25	9.1.09 - pp. Organizing.
8.13.09 - pp. --------	9.2.09 - pp. 64-66
8.14.09 - pp. 26-27	9.3.09 - pp. 67-70
8.15.09 - pp. 28-31	9.4.09 - pp. --------
8.16.09 - Working in old edits.	9.5.09 - pp. 71-73
8.17.09 - Working in old edits.	9.6.09 - pp. --------
8.18.09 - Working in old edits.	9.7.09 - pp. 74-75
8.19.09 - Working in old edits.	9.8.09 - pp. 76-77
8.20.09 - Working in old edits.	9.9.09 - pp. 77-78
8.21.09 - Working in old edits.	9.10.09 - pp. 79-80 + editing.
8.22.09 - Working in old edits.	9.11.09 - pp. 81-83
8.23.09 - -------------	9.12.09 - pp. 84-86
8.24.09 - pp. 35-37	9.13.09 - 87-88
8.25.09 - pp. 38-40	9.14.09 - 89 + Editing.
8.26.09 - pp. 41-42	9.15.09 - Editing
8.27.09 - pp. 43	9.16.09 - 90-92
8.28.09 - pp. 44-45	9.17.09 - Editing.
8.29.09 - pp. 46-51	9.18.09 - Printing out copies.

How Many Literary Agents Does It Take to Change a Lightbulb?

2009-09-13T12:49:00.001-05:00

Click the "play" button below. Go on. You know you want to know. (10 sec.)

Philippa Gregory on Writing

2009-09-11T12:03:00.002-05:00

Bestselling author Philippa Gregory (The Other Boleyn Girl) gives her writing advice. She's #5 on the NY Times Bestseller List this week. (4 min. 20 sec.)

Novel Details - All This About a Coat

2009-09-10T15:59:00.013-05:00

Far too much ado about a pea coat. These are the trials of novelists. The devil isn't in the details. The devil is when a reader throws your novel across the room because you've made an egregious error in your research.

I had a simple question. Did the Royal Navy wear pea coats during World War II? Not great coats. Not dress coats. Pea coats.

You'd think that would be dead-simple to answer. Wrong. After scouring the internet for what turned out to be a couple of hours (did I really spend that much time on this?), I learned that "pea coats" were sometimes called "reefer coats", but other sites insist they were separate things and "reefer coats" were only worn by officers.

And that doesn't begin to answer my question because it directly relates to neither the Royal Navy, nor World War II.

The U.S. Navy wore pea coats during World War II. I know that because I've now seen enough photographs of blue wool coats to last a lifetime. Only the government-appointed garment manufacturers have seen more.

Apparently, the Germans wore pea coats. Wow. Look at that. (Image with manikins, far right.) Eight buttons. A beautiful coat. Shame is was worn in the name of pure evil.

And then back to my search....

This is great. The U.K. government has issued Royal Navy uniform stamps. The stamp featuring a Captain in World War II? He's not even wearing a blue coat, much less the style I'm wondering about.

The quote about that stamp is, "1st Class - Captain 1941. Keeping warm and dry on convoy duty during World War II often meant supplementing uniform issue with extra clothing." Brown coat. No help. And what extra clothes? I don't see extra clothes, unless they mean the brown coat.

The good people over at Sea Your History tried to be helpful. They said, "During World War Two it was difficult to get supplies of naval uniform. This meant that sometimes crews of smaller ships couldn't follow the naval dress rules. These sailors wore non-uniform items like knitted blue jumpers and scarves." But what about their coats!?

The Royal Navy website has photographs of all of the uniforms, but I think the Royal Navy must get awfully cold because they show almost no outer-wear!

I found one coat I did rather fall in love with. I won't steal the person's photograph, but while the link is active, you can see the coat here. Ten buttons, navy blue, corduroy pocket lining. No word if it's U.S. Navy or Royal Navy, only that it's 1940s. Drat.

And after all that searching, I ended up on eBay.co.uk and found that a man is selling his grandfather's Royal Navy duffle coat in mint condition for £5.50. (Gorgeous coat. Why not wear it yourself, sir?) But most of my readers are more likely to be able to picture a pea coat then a duffle coat. If I hadn't seen the photo, I wouldn't know.

All this about a pea coat. And I still don't know for certain. I'm just going to have to make the coat in my novel antique, rather than a World War II antique. And I ended up losing so much time.

However, I got an email from my friend Sandi, today. She lost hours searching for a rare brochure she needs for the research of her novel. So it isn't just me.

In the end, these are the things we have to do to get it right, no matter how frustrating that may be. Why? Because the most important thing is happy readers. Readers who don't throw your book across the room.

The Only Color Photograph of Leo Tolstoy, 1908.

2009-09-03T14:46:00.005-05:00

This is the only known color photograph of Leo Tolstoy. (War and Peace and Anna Karenina. Yes, that Tolstoy.) It was taken in 1908. That's not a typo. An extraordinary photographer named Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky created his own means of color photography. He was hired by the Czar and went all over Russia chronicling life at that time.

The photographs look like a modern movie set because you've probably never seen color photographs from this era. Certainly if you write historical fiction for this era, you must study these photographs. His plates and negatives are now owned by the U.S. Library of Congress.

You can see a great slideshow at Newsweek. You can see more of these extraordinary photographs at the Library of Congress page.

Font Fight

2009-08-30T19:34:00.006-05:00

At last! Arial Font gets what's coming to her. (The fact that most of this site is in Arial font is completely beside the point.)

Screenwriting Process - Ten Steps to a First Draft

2009-08-29T15:17:00.006-05:00

ProNovelWriter Ed: We talk about screenwriting a lot on ProNovelWriter because a good plotline is the backbone of a good novel. And the best novels are almost always turned into movies. Make sure your novel can be turned into a movie by thinking about what characters can do outside of their heads.

The initial idea:

a) Once you know the apotheosis - the seminal insight the hero has - then you can build your story up to and beyond that point. Knowing the hero's apotheosis allows you to decide what the hero's restrictions will be and how to overcome them (atonement with the father). Knowing the hero's apotheosis allows you to decide the hero's inner resolve and actions upon the enlightenment (ultimate boon).

b) Writing about what you know gives you the insights and intimacy that will add richness and differentiate your work; writing about what you don't know is a good idea if the topic inspires you enough to sustain you through the research until you do become insightful and intimate with your subject; your passion with the idea must sustain you through the long hours of writing and the arduous process of selling your work; people have much more applicable tacit knowledge than they realise, for example, your experience of office politics could contribute to a story set in the White House.

Use the broad Hero's Journey to expand your idea into a broad step outline. Here characters and situations will begin to emerge. Flesh out multiple ideas to increase the certainty of committing to an appropriate one.

Use the detailed Hero's Journey to expand your idea into a detailed step outline. Start a file with the relevant number of sections and begin collecting research (newspaper clippings etc) that will add value to each stage of your step outline. Build the step outline until characters and situations have distinct form and substance.

Write out each stage of your story in a few paragraphs. If you use the detailed Hero's Journey then you will have anywhere between 51 and 106 paragraphs. Here, write first and edit later (separate creative from critical thinking). If you need input from other people, do not show them the whole story - simply show them a stage at a time and give or take options for improvement - this way their help will be more useful and they can avoid having to be diplomatic or nice.

Do the above until you have a coherent story. You know you have a coherent story when you can list each sequence and know its purpose. This is a useful method of analysing plot at a glance.

You will get to a point when you need to write out each stage fully in screenplay form (format), explore the situations and characters within and their dialogue. Allow each stage to occupy its natural length and space. Good (free) screenwriting software and examples of screenwriting form can be found at BBC Writers Room. Professionals use Final Draft. Do not rush to this stage - ensure that your story is well developed beforehand - once you commit words in screenplay form, the emotional attachment to them and resistance to critical evaluation both increase. With a well developed story in hand, it is not unusual for it to (almost) effortlessly roll out in screenplay form.

Allow yourself time to incubate on your work so far. You have written a significant amount of your screenplay but now you want to be able to judge its logic and the scene quality from a distance.

The words-on-paper first draft:

If you have written less than a full screenplay, then write out each stage more fully in screenplay form and make each stage richer. Try and make each stage a story and an event in its own right. You will instantly know what to do with some stages but will still need to incubate until you achieve insight with others. Your focus should be on the quality of each stage rather than length. It is better to add extra sequences than unnaturally expand stages in order to reach length (some more backstory, for example, or examine the detailed Hero's Journey for more ideas). The more screenplays you complete, the easier it becomes to push a story out to the required length (between 113-120 pages).

If your problem is cutting down material, then you have to learn brevity. Given that the total length of a screenplay should be no more than 120 pages, decide how long each section should be and reduce each stage to that length, making sure that you retain value. Dividing 120 by the number of stages in your story is a useful benchmark, but often some stages are naturally longer than others, for example, in the Hero's Journey, it is not unusual for the Road of Trials to be longer than the Apotheosis.

Another period of incubation will be required until you are able to review your work objectively. Rewriting, cutting and pasting etc will be required. You will move onto second and third drafts.

You will begin to explore selling opportunities, whilst continuing to polish your work and moving onto another story. If you have existing credibility within the industry, you will explore selling opportunities at the idea or treatment stage. Decision makers do read work so the higher the quality, the more likelihood of it being pushed further. But how long do you wait? How many times do you incubate and rewrite? Will it ever be perfect? Your decision.

The 188 stage Hero’s Journey and the FREE 17 stage Hero’s Journey and other story structure templates can be found at http://www.managing-creativity.com/ You can also receive a regular, free newsletter by entering your email address at this site. Kal Bishop, MBA, is a management consultant based in London, UK. His specialties include Knowledge Management and Creativity and Innovation Management. He has consulted in the visual media and software industries and for clients such as Toshiba and Transport for London. He has led Improv, creativity and innovation workshops, exhibited artwork in San Francisco, Los Angeles and London and written a number of screenplays. He is a passionate traveler. He can be reached at http://www.managing-creativity.com Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kal_Bishop http://EzineArticles.com/?Screenwriting-Process---Ten-Steps-to-a-First-Draft&id=72004

Marshall Plan Novel Writing Software Review

2009-08-27T13:46:00.010-05:00

Here's a 12-minute video that shows exactly what it's like to start working with The Marshall Plan Novel Writing Software. (12 min. 14 sec.)

The Marshall Plan Novel Writing Software could help novelists who are writing novels that:
- have come to a screeching halt,
- have become a giant, unwieldly blob,
- are never going to be finished because nothing happens in the story (and you, the author, are bored).

Those are all structural problems. Programs and courses that focus on novel structure can save a project by streamlining the action and helping you, the author, get your characters to focus on a goal and fight to accomplish it.

Links in this post are affiliate links.

Karen Moning's 'Dark Fever' FREE!

2009-08-26T16:36:00.002-05:00

It's your lucky day!

New York Times bestselling author, Karen Moning, has a link on her website so you can download a FREE copy of the first book in the Fever Series--aptly titled Dark Fever--as a .pdf.

Click on this link for Karen Moning's Dark Fever novel in its entirety. Gratis. Without cost. Yes, free!

I've read the entire series, loved it, and I'm breathlessly waiting for the next book, Dreamfever.

UPDATE: 9/12/10 Sorry, but the free link doesn't work, anymore. I got it to you for free while I could. However, you can currently read the Prologue and Chapter One of Darkfever for free, and you can read the first three chapters of Feafever for free. It's a start.

One warning, though. Darkfever comes up in .pdf on size 350%. When the file first opens, you could read it from space.

For Faefever, they're using Issuu Publishing software, which is very flash (er, Flash). It takes a minute to get used to, but let me know what you think about the software. Once again, I am well impressed with Moning's (or her peoples') use of online technology for promotion. She's still #1 on the ProNovelWriter ProAuthorTech List.

This Week's NY Times Bestsellers - Hardback Fiction

2009-08-22T23:22:00.003-05:00

Books / Best-Seller Lists
Hardcover Fiction
Published: August 30, 2009
Top 5 at a Glance
1. SOUTH OF BROAD, by Pat Conroy
2. SMASH CUT, by Sandra Brown
3. THE HELP, by Kathryn Stockett
4. THAT OLD CAPE MAGIC, by Richard Russo
5. THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE, by Stieg Larsson

How many have you read?
For more info, you can go straight to the NY Times bestsellers list.

But can Steampunk compete?

2009-08-22T16:43:00.002-05:00

Okay, The Steampunk Workshop is very cool.

The steampunk cake is excellent...

...but I'm sorry. When it comes to cake wonderment, nothing I have seen can top the Tom Selleck Cake. But thanks for trying.

Thanks, Boone, for the great links!

Your Grammar Lesson for Today

2009-08-20T16:40:00.000-05:00

A linguistics professor was lecturing to his English class one day.

"In English," he said, "a double negative forms a positive. In some languages, though, such as Russian, a double negative is still a negative. However, there is no language wherein a double positive can form a negative."

A voice from the back of the room piped up, "Yeah, right."

Adding Character Depth Through Perception

2008-01-01T21:32:00.001-06:00

How do you describe your character's physical appearance? It's not always easy to describe your characters without resorting to the cliched "She looked in the mirror and saw..."

Likewise, setting the scene for each part of your story is an important element of building your fictional world. In fact, some authors go to great lengths to describe the weather patterns, the scenery and the passing traffic in detail so that the reader has a sense of the world around the characters.

This kind of descriptive narrative can sometimes be long and cumbersome. It can also bog down the pace of your story if not done right - especially when all the gurus are saying Show - don't tell!

Many authors are careful to explain exactly what is going on in their fictional worlds. What people look like, what objects around them look like, what characters are thinking about, how the weather is behaving, the precise color of an object, what characters are seeing around them... This means the author is telling the reader what to see.

Not many authors actually take the time to write HOW their characters are seeing the things that are going on around them. This is where the author should be showing the reader what's happening. Your own characters are a perfect tool to use when you need to show events or appearances or even moods.

Let me explain...

Every person on the planet sees life through their own personal perceptions. How they choose to interpret those perceptions is largely up to that person and can be affected by a multitude of factors.

These differing perceptions are what make us unique as human beings. What excites one person may repel another. What one person sees as attractive, another may find repulsive. What one character yearns for may send another character into panic attacks.

For example: A sunny day might brighten the mood of one character and seriously frighten a person with a phobia of skin cancer. The same sunny day would therefore have a completely different effect on the latter character and would skew many of his other perceptions, too.

The same is true for personal relationship preferences. Some people are attracted to curvaceous women, while others are repelled by them. Still others prefer the exotic features of Asian people while others veer toward the svelte, slinky blonde types and others still just love the creamy coffee colored skin tones and dark features of some Mediterranean people.

Because we all have such different tastes and opinions, these perceptions of what we find appealing and unappealing will color your descriptions of those things.

Remembering to use these differences in character perspective can add depth to your characters by showing your readers much about their personalities - all without actually using narrative to TELL your readers what's going on.

Show, Don't Tell

So how does a writer show things happening, or describe another character, without resorting to large chunks of descriptive narrative AND remember to add the unique perspective of the character at the same time?

The simple answer is: Dialogue.

When your characters talk to each other, you should be using the opportunity to express much more than simply words. Dialogue can propel your plotline, it can highlight the importance of conflicts, it can show character perspective and it can show the reader many other things - all at once.

"I hate this miserable rain. All I can do is sit around and mope in the house until it stops," Fred said.

"If we run, we can get to the stream and catch some frogs. The rain always brings out the frogs!" Jack called.

In just two sentences within the dialogue tags, I have (hopefully) conveyed something about the weather, given a sense of the character's mood, described what the character is doing, and given each character a unique perspective on what is happening.

Both characters are viewing the rain in a completely different way - and neither of the above examples required lengthy blocks of narrative to achieve the same effect.

Describing Physical Traits

"Jane tossed her long golden tresses over her shoulder to flow down her slender back. Running the tip of her tongue over wide, full lips, her emerald green eyes glinted with a hint of promise to come and she crossed her long, supple legs slowly."

"John ran a perfectly manicured hand through his raven black hair, his sparkling blue eyes taking in every inch of her..."

Have you ever read a book in which the characters are described in unwieldy chunks of narrative as though they were no more than cardboard cut-outs of a Barbie and Ken promotional poster?

In over-exaggerated examples like the ones above, it is obvious that the 'narrator' has stopped the story and interrupted you - the reader! - to remind you how fabulous the author wants you to think these people look.

The problem with this approach is the author has forgotten that all readers have different opinions on what's attractive. More importantly, her characters should be the ones voicing their thoughts and preferences.

So is it necessary to include these bland descriptions in your narrative at all?

Recently I read a lengthy book (1,050 pages). The book was very detailed, the scope was sweeping and the cast was huge. Yet nowhere in the entire book did the author mention what any of the characters looked like during his narrative. He only ever offered his character's perceptions of other characters. I actually read the book twice to check how the author achieved this effect.

I found this method to be extremely effective. It showed me each character's viewpoint as a distinct and separate perception. Each person saw different qualities in the people they interacted with, so the physical traits altered to suit those perceptions with each description. He did the same thing with certain furnishings, scenery, weather patterns and moods. Every description in the book came from another character commenting on it in some way that was relevant to the story.

Indirect Description

Several times throughout the book the author made references to certain features to identify who people were talking about. For example, the main character had a scar running along the left side of his face. The reader only knows this because we saw it through another character's eyes during the dialogue - and not in a narrative description.

"...I tell you, Stan, when Alec glared at me with those dead eyes, I nearly passed out with fear. I knew he was angry when hideous scar started to twitch. When it does that, the whole left side of his face contorts and you just know he's thinking he wants to cut your throat..."

And yet - a different character describes Alec this way:

"...Miranda sighed and let her chin rest in the cup of her hand. "He's got those deep, dreamy blue eyes. The kind you just want to get lost in, I guess. And when he looks at me, his scar jumps - like he's trying to hold back a smile."

These two people are describing the same character - Alec. One perceives him as hard and violent. The other sees him as dreamy.

During the book a male character tried to tell Alec what a woman looked like (she was the target for an assassination).

"The target has the classic hooker look. Bleached blonde, cleavage on display for anyone to see and legs that go forever under a cheap leather mini. And a face that could break concrete. Hard as nails, she is."

That was HIS perception of the person - not the actual physical traits of the woman in question. Alec found her sweet and attractive, but those were his perceptions of her, so of course they differed.

Nowhere in any of those descriptions did the author say "5 feet 10 inches, blonde, 98 pounds, blue eyes, full lips". His descriptions only encompassed what the person doing the describing saw through his or her own perceptions.

Adding small differences in the way your characters view the objects around them will add a sense of realism to your work and bring depth to your characters.

Lee Masterson is a freelance writer from South Australia. She is also the editor of Fiction Factor - http://www.fictionfactor.com - a free online magazine for writers, offering tips and advice on getting published, articles to improve your writing skills, heaps of writer's resources and much more. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lee_Masterson
http://EzineArticles.com/?Adding-Character-Depth-Through-Perception&id=2589206

Privacy Policy

2000-09-12T19:22:00.000-05:00

What information do we collect?

We collect information from you when you register on our site, subscribe to our newsletter, respond to a survey, and please note that Google AdSense cookies are active on this website.

When ordering or registering on our site, as appropriate, you may be asked to enter your name and/or email address. You may, however, visit our site anonymously.

Like most websites, we use cookies and/or web beacons to enhance your experience, gather general visitor information, and track visits to our website. Please refer to the 'Do we use cookies?' section below for information about cookies and how we use them.

What do we use your information for?

Any of the following information we collect from you may be used in one of the following ways:

* To personalize your experience. (Your information helps us to better respond to your individual needs.)

* To improve our website. (We continually strive to improve our website offerings based on the information and feedback we receive from you.)

* To improve customer service. (Your information helps us to more effectively respond to your customer service requests and support needs.)

* To process transactions. Your information, whether public or private, will not be sold, exchanged, transferred, or given to any other company for any reason whatsoever, without your consent, other than for the express purpose of delivering the purchased product or service requested.

* To administer a contest, promotion, survey or other site feature.

* To send periodic emails. The email address you provide for newsletter subscription or order processing may be used to send you information and updates pertaining to your order, in addition to receiving occasional company news, updates, related product or service information, etc. Note: If at any time you would like to unsubscribe from receiving future emails, we include unsubscribe instructions at the bottom of each email.

Do we use cookies?

Yes. (Cookies are small files that a site or its service provider transfers to your computer's hard drive through your web browser [if you allow] that enables the sites or service provider's systems to recognize your browser and capture and remember certain information.)

We use cookies to keep track of advertisements and compile aggregate data about site traffic and site interaction so that we can offer better site experiences and tools in the future.

Do we disclose any information to outside parties?

We do not sell, trade, or otherwise transfer to outside parties your personally identifiable information. This does not include trusted third parties who assist us in operating our website, conducting our business, or servicing you, so long as those parties agree to keep this information confidential. We may also release your information when we believe release is appropriate to comply with the law, enforce our site policies, or protect ours or others' rights, property, or safety. However, non-personally identifiable visitor information may be provided to other parties for marketing, advertising, or other uses.

Third-party Links

Occasionally, at our discretion, we may include or offer third-party products or services on our website. These third-party sites have separate and independent privacy policies. We therefore have no responsibility or liability for the content and activities of these linked sites. Nonetheless, we seek to protect the integrity of our site and welcome any feedback about these sites.

California Online Privacy Protection Act Compliance

Because we value your privacy, we have taken the necessary precautions to be in compliance with the California Online Privacy Protection Act. We therefore will not distribute your personal information to outside parties without your consent.

Childrens Online Privacy Protection Act Compliance

We are in compliance with the requirements of COPPA (Childrens Online Privacy Protection Act). We do not collect any information from anyone under 13 years of age. Our website, products, and services are all directed to people who are at least 13 years old or older.

Google AdSense cookies are active on this website.

We use third-party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit our website. These companies may use information (not including your name, address, email address, or telephone number) about your visits to this and other websites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you. If you would like more information about this practice and to know your choices about not having this information used by these companies, please follow the links in this section and/or paste the URLs listed in this section into your browser.

Google AdSense is using DoubleClick DART cookies in the ads served on this and other websites displaying AdSense for content ads. When users visit an AdSense publisher's website and either view or click on an ad, a cookie may be dropped on that end user's browser. The data gathered from these cookies will be used to help AdSense publishers better serve and manage the ads on their site(s) and across the web. For more information, please visit: http://www.doubleclick.com/privacy/faq.aspx

* Google, as a third party vendor, uses cookies to serve ads on this site.

* Google's use of the DART cookie enables it to serve ads to our visitors based on your visit to our site and other sites on the Internet.

* Users may opt out of the use of the DART cookie by visiting the Google ad and content network privacy policy at: http://www.google.com/privacy_ads.html

Online Privacy Policy Only

This online privacy policy applies only to information collected through our website and not to information collected offline.

Your Consent

By using this site, you consent to our website privacy policy.

Changes to our Privacy Policy

We reserve the right to change our privacy policy at any time without notification. If we decide to change our privacy policy, we will post those changes on this page.

If you have any questions, please contact us at the following email address: (smith.page at gmail.com)