Christmas As We Know It: An Historical View
by Marissa Doyle
Ah, Christmas. Putting aside thoughts of the impossibility of finding a parking place at the mall or a present that your teenage niece will at least pretend to like, what comes to mind when you think of Christmas?
Twinkling trees and wreaths on doors…mouth watering cooking aromas…carols and family get-togethers and general good cheer…aren’t those what make up Christmas? Isn’t that the way it’s always been?
Well, actually, not really. In many ways, Christmas is a 19th century invention, an accidental by-product of politics…specifically, the fact that an 18-year-old girl became Queen of England back in 1837.
A Kindle under the Christmas Tree…
by Katie O’Sullivan
I really want an Amazon Kindle this year, wrapped in shiny paper and tied with red satin ribbon. It’s the one that Wired.com called “the best e-reading system on the market.” Or perhaps Santa should stock his sled with the new Sony Readers, or any of the other myriad e-readers on the market today?
As an e-book author, I can make a wish that everyone on Cape Cod gets a Kindle for the holidays (and then buys my e-book, of course!)
But what exactly is an e-reader, anyway? And why should anyone want one?
An “e-reader” is an electronic device you use to read books, magazines and newspapers in digital format. A single e-reader can hold hundreds of books, making packing for that holiday trip to Grandma’s house much easier. E-readers have been around for at least ten years in various forms, but the newest ones are thin, lightweight, and fairly easy to use.
Marketing Your Book - A Successful Proposal
by Kathy O’Keefe Kanavos
Part One: Creating an Outline
In the fall issue of Cape Women Online, I promised to write an article on one of the most difficult aspects of the book proposal: the marketing outline. It is easy to understand why it’s difficult for writers to market their books. Blame it on “left brain-right brain differences.” Writing is artistic and right-brain oriented. Marketing is statistical, left-brain work. Few of us are proficient at using both sides of our brains equally well.
Although I’ve used some of my own outline and proposal from SURVIVING CANCERLAND: The Psychic Aspects of Healing as an example, any book or manuscript on any subject matter can be substituted.
A successful proposal outline is more important than ever in the publishing world. The statistics and details contained in it will help get your book into the hands of an agent because the agent can see the book’s marketing potential at a glance. That will give the agent confidence to take your book to the big publishing houses. Agents don’t like to get turned down, either. It affects their reputations. So help your agent help you.
An anthology of
poetry, fiction
and memoir
about Cape Cod.
Available at bookstores
or email GillianHDrake@aol.com
