By contrast, many romance publishers do accept direct submissions. In fact, some even go out of their way to foster new talent (Harlequin is a good example – they even have a writers’ forum on their website). This is because they need far more material compared to general publishers, due to the way they work. Romance publishers publish a large number of titles every year, and each is short-lived. Each title is only on the stands for a few months, unlike conventional publishers who may reprint a successful book many times. So romance publishers need a large number of titles each year to keep the presses rolling.

Of course, just because the door is open does not mean that you will get through! You still have to write a well-crafted, professionally presented submission that meets the publisher’s needs. And Romance does have very specific needs.

You’ll notice that I’m using a capital R for romance. I’m doing this deliberately, because there is a big difference between Romance as a genre, and romance in general. It’s possible to write a romantic novel that isn’t a Romance. Romance is a particular style of book, written in a specific way. Nowadays, the genre is becoming less restrictive, but Romance publishers still basically want the following key elements:

- Heroine (h) meets Hero (H).

- It must be immediately obvious to the reader who the h and H are – for instance, you can’t have the h trying to choose between two men.

- Neither the h or the H can be in an existing relationship at the start of the story, although it’s OK for them to have had relationships in the recent past.

- Both protagonists must be introduced within the first chapter.

- The h and H are attracted to each other, but there are always obstacles that prevent them getting together. At least some of these obstacles must arise from the characters’ background, experience or personality (an inner conflict of some kind).

- There is always a Black Moment when all seems lost and it seems the couple will never get together.

- All is resolved and there is always a HEA (Happy Ever After). In older romances, this was always the couple getting married, but now they can just head off into the sunset hand in hand.

Different Romance publishers look for different styles, and large publishers like Harlequin have a number of different lines, each of which has a different style. Some require their heroines to be virginal, and not sleep with the hero till they are married. Others allow sex but only behind closed doors, while others encourage lots of steamy explicit scenes. But almost all of them follow the rules above.

OK, so you have a plot that fits the bill. Sorry, but that’s only the beginning! The style of writing is quite different to other genres. The quickest way to get the idea is to read some Romance, from as many publishers and lines as you can manage. Also get on some writers’ forums specifically for Romance. And good luck!

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That’s why most health professionals recommend you see a doctor if you have a bladder infection. If you want to try home remedies, at least see the doctor once you’ve completed your course of treatment, to make sure the infection really has gone. Of course, where self-help is really useful is when an attack suddenly strikes, and you can’t get to a doctor quickly (because it’s the weekend, or the middle of the night, for instance).

If you are self-treating, please take the following precautions:

1. Drink LOTS of fluid – anything except alcohol. The bugs can’t travel upstream if there is a strong flow of water coming downstream!

2. If your home treatment doesn’t start giving relief in a few hours, it’s not going to – see a professional.

3. If you are passing blood (check by drying yourself with a tissue, you will see the blood on it), the infection is beyond effective treatment by a home remedy – see a professional.

4. Even if you’re confident that your home treatment has been successful, visit your doctor to have a urine test, just to make sure.

Natural or herbal remedies – even cranberry tablets – aren’t usually strong enough to clear up a bladder infection on their own, but you can improve their effectiveness by using several together in a Combination Natural Cystitis Remedy.

Photo with thanks to Faeryboot on Flickr

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He said religion is rather like trying to get to an island in the middle of the sea. There are many boats you can choose from. You choose the skipper in whom you have the most trust, and the boat which seems most seaworthy. You may laugh at your neighbour who chooses the rowing boat – but then, how do you know your engine won’t break down, and he will reach the island first? So you cannot condemn him, instead you must respect his choice.

At the end of the day, all religions worship the same God, though they may see Him differently. The important thing is that you choose your boat and commit yourself to the journey. If you try to “hedge your bets” by taking two boats at once, you will only end up in the water.

Every major religion (and most sects within those religions) has arisen from a charismatic teacher – whether it be a prophet claiming divine inspiration, or a messiah claiming divine origin. All these teachers must have believed absolutely in the message they preached: it’s unlikely that a charlatan seeking fame or fortune could preach a message convincing enough to last through many generations.

If we claim there is only one “right religion”, then we are saying that some of these prophets or messiahs, however strongly they believed, were misguided. Perhaps their divine revelations were not divine, but mere hallucinations. Or perhaps they were the work of a devil, not God.

The problem is, how do we know which teachers were really divine, and which were not? It’s obvious that their followers were totally convinced of their sincerity, or the religion would not have survived for long. How can we, at this distance, being unable to meet the teacher, have any chance of judging?

We cannot rely on the scriptures. Even those that were written by the teacher himself are full of ambiguities – as can be seen by the number of sects that arise in all religions, each disagreeing with each other on the interpretation of the Holy Book. In the case of Christianity, the Bible was not even written down until many years after the teacher had ceased preaching. If it were any other text, we would agree such a delay would inevitably lead to some distortions.

For all religions, there is no historical evidence, written by independent historians at the time, which proves anything one way or the other. What logic can we use to judge which teacher got it right?

The answer is, that we cannot. We are mere mortals, and do not have enough knowledge to judge which religion God meant us to follow (for, remember, all the major religions worship the same God – it is the way they worship that differs). We can only choose whom we wish to believe whichever one makes most sense to us. For that reason, we shouldn’t condemn others who choose to believe differently.

Thumbnail photo thanks to Renato Souza on Flickr.

Get yourself a pen and paper. Pick one major category, something that you know is costing you money – e.g. your car, the kids, food, entertainment, clothes. Write down everything you have spent on that category recently – say, the last 3 months. Check your credit card statements for transactions. If you picked clothing as your category, go look in your closet to refresh your memory of what new things you bought in the last two or three months. If you can’t remember exactly how much you spent on something, a guess is good enough.

As you write things down, you’ll start to get a picture of whether you have a problem in this category. Congratulations if you decide that every cent you spent was essential, and you got your money’s worth! However you may realise that there are opportunities for saving: maybe you’re making too many impulse buys, or purchasing too much of your food at expensive convenience stores instead of at the supermarket. Jot down these ideas as they occur to you, so you don’t forget them later.

When you have finished one category, pat yourself on the back. You did it! You may need to discuss any savings ideas with your partner or family, to get their cooperation. Or you may have to do some research on how you could reduce the spend in that area – but now you have a good picture of it, you know what you’re looking for, so you’re already one step ahead.

Once you have completed a category, give yourself at least a week before you start on the next one. During that week, every time you are about to spend some money in that category, think consciously about it.

- Do I really need this?
- Could I get it cheaper somewhere else?
- Could I substitute something cheaper for this?

If you do decide to buy, make a note of your purchase.

At the end of the week, review your notes and list of expenses. By now you should be getting a handle on how good you are at managing your spending in this category. If you need more time before starting on the next category, take it.

Keep going like this, one category at a time, until you have covered every area of your life. It may take a little longer, but by taking it slowly, you will create new habits that will stand you in good stead for a lifetime.

Thumbnail photo from Stuart Pillbrow on Flickr

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Why is that important? Because customers won’t order a product or service from you unless they are convinced you can deliver the goods. If they know you are a “one-man (or one-woman) band”, they may have all kinds of anxieties: will you be able to deliver on time if you get busy or sick? are you just a fly-by-night who will take their money and run? You may know you won’t let them down, but you have to persuade them!

The key is to look as professional as the big companies, and to give people the impression that you have as much support as they do. This is much easier today, when people are more accustomed to dealing online and by phone, than in the old days when you would have needed an office or shop to look convincing.

Let’s look at the phone first. Your business number should ALWAYS be answered in the company name. It’s a dead giveaway if you answer with “the Smith residence” – or worse, if your two-year-old picks up the phone! You also need to make sure that the business number is answered promptly and, if you do miss a call, that you call back quickly.

If you are the only person in your company and the business is going well, this can be a challenge. A good solution is to hire a call-answering service. They will answer all calls in your company’s name, as if they work for your company (they generally charge by the number of calls). For a little more, you can ask them to do some basic admin for you, such as taking down some customer details or basic orders. To the customer, this is going to sound as if you have a large staff busy working for you, and that inspires just the kind of confidence you need.

If you prefer, you can advertise your mobile number, and only have the calls diverting to the call-answering service if you don’t answer.

The modern equivalent of a shopfront or office is, of course, a slick website. Think twice about using space on webmail providers like Yahoo, Google or Hotmail, or even from your ISP. Having an obviously “freebie” domain name makes you look like an amateur. It’s worth the expense to get a domain name that sounds like it’s been made for your company.

Likewise, don’t try to build your own website from scratch unless you know what you’re doing. There are software packages to design sales websites, and that may be suitable for your business – but do remember that a good website is important to your credibility, and don’t be tempted to “make do” with something that you know looks less than professional.

Most websites will include a number of email addresses. It’s worth using some of them – if you have separate emails for “accounts”, “orders” etc, the customer will assume that there is at least one person behind each of them!

If you are selling services rather than goods, then you can’t avoid meeting your customers face to face. This requires a little more effort but it’s not impossible. Always have a quality business card to hand over(try Vistaprint for cheap, good quality cards). Never arrange to meet at your home, even if you have a separate room that you use as an office. If it’s not possible to meet at your client’s home or office, then choose a call-answering service that also hires rooms (Google “virtual office” to find those in your area). These usually involve a monthly fee, which entitles you to call-answering, and use of offices and meeting rooms when you need them – much cheaper than renting an office full-time if you only need it occasionally. Choose your provider carefully, making sure their premises convey the image you want for your company.

If you strive to act like a big business even when you are on your own, it won’t be long before you really ARE big!

Photo thanks to ShashiBellamkonda on Flickr.

Getting around

To travel from city to city, you have three options: Planes, trains, or automobiles!

Flying seems an obvious choice, given the wide range of cheap fares. However, to get those cheap fares, you’ll have to book well in advance, and conditions are strict (you may lose your money if you need to change the date). Also, be aware that budget airlines often fly out of small airports, a long way out of town. By the time you have traveled for an hour or more to get to the airport (and arrived at least an hour before your flight), then waited at the baggage claim at the other end, then traveled for another hour or more to get to your destination, a one-hour flight can easily eat up five or six hours of your time.

Finally, bear in mind that cheap airlines are no frills: read the small print (for instance, if you get stranded because a flight is delayed or miss your connection, most won’t help with accommodation, and if they lose your luggage, they won’t compensate you).

If you’re considering driving, remember that road rules and signs (and driver behaviour) will be unfamiliar, so you’re going to get stressed and tired more quickly than at home and also that petrol in Europe is horrendously expensive. Car rental is not cheap, and it is often more economical to buy a car and sell it again when you leave. There are several schemes that offer this service, which includes a guaranteed buy-back price.

Travelling by train in Europe is clean, efficient and so inexpensive these days that most Eurail passes just aren’t worth buying. You can cover long distances while you sleep for about the same cost as a hotel room. Of course, they are slower than flying so you have to factor in that extra time but the train stations are usually in the middle of town, you don’t have to get there hours beforehand, and you get to see the countryside as you travel! You do have to book a seat on most trains, but in most cases you can book up to a few minutes before the train leaves, either at the ticket office or at automated ticket machines in the station.

Once you’re at your destination, you’ll find you can book day or half-day coach tours in most European cities.  The “hop on, hop off” city sightseeing tours are usually the best option, because you choose how long you want to stay at each sight, instead of being herded on and off the bus according to someone else’s timetable!

Accommodation

In most European cities, there is a tourist office or accommodation bureau where you can simply rock up and book a hotel for the night however, you’ll pay a high price for the privilege!  In the past, booking at the last minute would get you a discount deal: nowadays, all the discounts for European hotels are on the internet, and must be booked at least a day in advance.

If you know where you are going, get on the net and book all your hotels before you go.  If you don’t have a fixed itinerary, you’ll need to make regular stops at internet cafes during your trip, to book hotels a day or two ahead.

Money

These days, you could travel all over Europe with just a credit card. But what happens if the card gets lost or stolen? It doesn’t always get replaced as fast as the ads claim! To be safe, take some travellers’ cheques and some Euros as well. If you are going to Turkey or Egypt, take US dollars you’ll be very popular! Buy a money belt that you wear under your clothes, but keep it for spare cash only (you don’t want to give the whole game away by reaching into your undies to pay a bill!).

Documents

Some countries refuse entry to people whose passports are due to expire within six months even if you are only planning to stay for a week or two. Illogical though it may seem, it’s a fact of life so make sure your passport has at least another six months to run, and if it doesn’t, renew it before you go. Take a photocopy of your passport, airline ticket, insurance policy, travellers’ cheques etc before you go, and leave the copies with friends or family, in case they get lost or stolen.

Health

Do you take regular medication? You may have trouble getting the medication overseas, so make sure you have enough to last your trip. Always take a copy of your prescription with you: it will be useful if you lose your luggage and need to get emergency supplies, and it will also prove you have a right to hold the medical supplies in your luggage ( and are not a drug smuggler!).

Insurance

As the old saying goes, “if you can’t afford travel insurance, you can’t afford to travel”. Don’t leave home without it, and make sure you tell the truth on the application. If you withhold any information (such as a pre-existing condition, or the fact that you intend to go bungy-jumping), the whole policy could be invalid.

Packing

If you’re moving around a lot, a suitcase that seemed light at the start of the trip can soon weigh a ton!    A backpack is a good option but it can still weigh heavy:  unless you’re going to be doing a lot of walking, a suitcase on wheels may be the best bet, perhaps with a backpack as your carry-on bag (you can use it for day trips, too).  Or choose a backpack with wheels, so you can switch according to the situation.

Whatever you choose, give careful thought to what you pack.  Most people pack too much – you want to travel light.

Photo with thanks to Adam Sporka on Flickr

The only thing a publisher will look at is a letter and three or four measly pages summarizing your plot. Unfair, isn’t it? Unfortunately, that’s life and there’s not a lot you can do about it – except make that synopsis so stunning that they can’t help but buy the book!

The synopsis is basically a summary of the whole novel. It’s NOTHING like a marketing blurb, which would typically introduce the characters, build up some tension and leave the reader on a cliffhanger – because you’re trying to hook your reader into buying the book to find out how the story ends. There’s nothing more guaranteed to upset publishers! They want to know the whole story – beginning, middle and end with no questions unanswered, so they can judge how well the story is structured and whether the ending makes sense.

Writing the synopsis can be harder than writing the whole book! You have to convey your characters’ personalities in a few carefully chosen words, and summarise the plot without losing the excitement, all within about three pages.

Your book is probably written in the first person (“I”), or in the third person (he or she) but through the eyes of one or two of the characters. If you switch into omniscient (which means you are writing as yourself, the author, watching the action from outside) you’ll find it easier to summarize, because you’ll be able to tell the story in strictly sequential order. That makes it easier for the publisher to understand what’s going on. It also generally needs fewer words.

For instance, say part of the plot was that a girl (Mitzi) was double-crossing our Hero (Daniel). For most of the novel, he (and therefore the reader) doesn’t know what she is up to, and her behaviour perplexes him. In Chapter 15, he (and the reader) has an “Aha!” moment, going back over her actions and realising her motives.

In the synopsis, writing in omniscient, you wouldn’t have to keep this a secret from the publisher. When you introduce Mitzi, you would say something like “unknown to Daniel, Mitzi is double-crossing him by …”. Then there is no need to explain her subsequent actions, or waste words going back over everything when you get to Chapter 15.

When you sit down to start writing your synopsis, don’t worry too much about length at first: just concentrate on getting the bones of the story down on paper. You can always cut and polish later.

The best way to learn to write synopses is (a) to try it and (b) to read other writers’ synopses. You’ll find several examples of synopsis writing on Google.

Be willing to devote a lot of time to the synopsis – your novel’s future depends on it!

Photo courtesy of Hakan Dahlstrom on Flickr.

Of course, some managers are good at hiding their anxiety but a big giveaway is the type of questions they ask. If your interviewer asks vague, wide-open questions, it’s a good indicator they’re a bundle of nerves and their mind has gone blank.

“Tell me about yourself” is a great example of this type of question. It means either “I can’t think of a single intelligent question”, or, “I haven’t had time to read your resume so I have no idea what to ask”.

It’s a good idea to prepare an answer to this one before the interview, just in case it comes up. Otherwise you won’t know where to start! Don’t ramble, but try to cover the key aspects of your history and highlight the skills most relevant to the job on offer. Here’s an example:

“My background is in Accounting. I’m a qualified CPA and I worked for an insurance firm for 5 years. During that time I did a lot of work with general ledger packages and got interested in the software side of things. Last year, I retrained and am now a qualified Oracle programmer. I’ve had a couple of programming contracts in the last 12 months, but I would really like to move into systems analysis. With my programming experience and my experience as an accountant, I think I have a good combination of skills that would be valuable in dealing with clients and understanding their needs.”

Bear in mind that if you have a nervous interviewer, they are going to be eternally grateful to you if you can give them the answers they need, even if they are not asking quite the right questions.

Before the interview, make a list of (a) the points you want to get across about yourself and (b) the information you want from the company. It’s fine to take the list into the interview with you it makes you look as if you have prepared thoroughly. Just make sure it is written on a smart notepad, not on a scrappy piece of paper or the back of your diary!

When you are asked an open question, look at (or think of) your list of points and see which ones you can include in your answer. Don’t be afraid to give a long answer (up to five minutes), and to include facts which are not strictly relevant to the question (if they help “sell” your abilities).

At the end of the day, when the interviewer reviews all the applicants, the candidate giving the best information will have the best chance at being hired. If the interviewer has asked poor questions, many candidates will have responded with poor answers. If you have prepared yourself to give good answers, regardless of the quality of the questions, you will have the edge!

Photo thanks to Nils Geylen on Flickr

When looking for a place to retire, there are some important things to consider:

- affordable housing, preferably without stairs
- a lifestyle that suits you, whether you’re active or just want to relax
- access to good medical facilities, as you’ll need them more as you grow older

However, there is one very important item that you mustn’t forget,and that is access to your friends and family.

Every year, thousands of retirees relocate to idyllic resorts, by the beach or in the country, looking forward to spending the rest of their life as if they were permanently on holiday.

And every year, thousands of them return to their home city, disillusioned and unhappy, having wasted a lot of money and energy on relocating twice. Why? Because no matter how glorious the retirement spot, nothing can compensate for loneliness.

Sure, your family and friends may promise to visit you often when you move. They probably mean it, too – after all, if you are going somewhere nice, it will be a holiday! But once the move is made, reality sets in. Organising a trip takes time which your busy family may not have; train fares or gas cost money, so visiting you may turn out too expensive for your retired friends – and for you. Before you know where you are, you’re only seeing them once a year.

If you are considering moving from your home town in retirement, then think carefully about how you will feel if you lose touch with friends or family.

If you are really set on the move, then do it earlier rather than later – ideally, while you are still working, if you can find a job there. That way, you will have time to find your place in your new “home town”, and make new friends, while you are still young and energetic enough to do so. And if you decide you don’t like it, you still have time to try somewhere else.

Photo thanks to k4dordy on Flickr

If it’s your cell (mobile) that’s costing you money, then you need to look closely at your bill to understand how to save. If your plan has a “cap” and you keep exceeding it, ask yourself why. Are you over-using features that aren’t included in the cap, like SMS or voicemail? Could you switch to a plan that covers the services you want, and doesn’t cover stuff you don’t want? Choosing the right plan is a very individual thing and can’t be covered in one article: it does take research.

It’s also important to understand how the cost of calls on your home phone compare to the cost of cell/mobile calls. Cellphones are so much a part of our lives, that it’s very easy to use it to make calls even when we are standing right next to our home phone, which may be cheaper.

Make sure you have a list of friends’ numbers handy to the home phone, so you don’t have to go checking your cell to find their numbers (because then, it’s quicker just to make the call).

If you feel that your phone spending is getting out of control but you can’t work out the reason, try keeping a call diary for a few days. Note down the date and time of the call, who you called and, most importantly, WHY you called. “Why” is the one bit of information that you can’t get from your phone bill or call records, and it is the most valuable. Once you have three or four days’ information, sit down and see if you can see a pattern in the types of calls that you make.

- If you are making a lot of calls that don’t have any specific purpose, then perhaps there is an opportunity to cut down, or at least make these calls at off-peak times when they are cheaper.

- If you are constantly calling one or two individuals to make arrangements or check information, then perhaps you could find ways to communicate more effectively (and less often).

- you may be able to identify calls where you could have conveyed the information just as well in a text message.

- If you are making a lot of calls that are work-related, keep the diary for a week or so, then you have evidence to go to your employer and ask for a phone allowance.

The basic message is – in order to reduce your phone spending, you first need to understand it. Take some time to analyse what you do, and you will be on your way to saving money.

Photo thanks to Alexander O’Neill on Flickr.