Learning To Laugh When You Feel Like Crying by Allen Klein

Losing a loved one is never easy and can make one feel utterly alone in this big world. You can't imagine your days without this person and it's easy to sink into a deep depression and stay there. Learning To Laugh When You Feel Like Crying: Embracing Life After Loss is a wonderful book that will guide you through the grief process, out of the dark night of the soul and into the sun once again.

When I lost my mother more than a decade ago it would have helped tremendously to have Allen Klein's book by my side. It's so easy to feel alone and hopeless when death strikes, though the truth is we don't cry forever and the soul is amazingly resilient. Reading this book will help you to heal faster as the author walks you through the stages of grief and healing in five sensible steps: Losing, Learning, Letting Go, Living, and Laughing.

If you're going through the loss of a loved one or know someone who is, the kindest thing you can do is purchase Learning To Laugh When You Feel Like Crying.

MyCollegePal.com Review

MyCollegePal isn't just another social networking site, nor is it like Facebook. Instead, what this site is meant to do is to bring college students and college graduates together to share their blogs, participate on forums, add their reviews, and more. When Facebook started it was for college kids, but has since branched out, becoming close to another Myspace. In MyCollegePal you'll find that it's exclusively for the college set. Not only can you hang out and meet other people, share information and ask questions, but you're also helping to build an online mini-universe that will help other college students today and tomorrow.

When you sign up (it's free) you get your own URL and your own MyCollegePal blog, along with an RSS feed so others can subscribe to your blog. The more you participate the higher your ranking will go (there are seven levels) and you can even earn money along the way!

It's super easy. If you're in college or are a college grad, simply sign up, subscribe to their free newsletter, post a review about your university, and meet other college students and graduates in the forum. If you sign up now you may receive a free welcome gift of four self-improvement e-courses.

Check out MyCollegePal and become a member today!

CreateSpace: A Review of Amazon’s Self-Publishing Tool

Image by jjpacres via Flickr

CreateSpace is revolutionary if you’ve ever dreamed of making it big as an author. Whether you want to write how to books, the next great American novel or a self help series, CreateSpace makes this possible, when otherwise doors would have slammed in your face. CreateSpace and other self-publishing tools are changing the entire publishing industry.

How it Works

CreateSpace is a complete online self-publishing tool. CreateSpace provides all the services of a book publisher and more. Let’s say you have finally completed that novel you’ve always wanted to write, been rejected by 100 publishing houses and cant find a literary agent to represent your book. CreateSpace is your answer. Here’s how:

First, you take that novel saved onto your computer and get one of CreateSpace’s editorial services. You can get a basic copyedit for about $150 or you can opt for a full editorial evaluation for $300. Either way, writers can’t edit their own work, so you can buy some editing a la cart from CreateSpace. Next, you opt for one or many of CreateSpace’s layout and design services. A professional graphic designer can design your book cover and any interior pages. Specialized artists can provide illustrations for children’s’ books.


Then, you self publish through CreateSpace. Here’s the best part – CreateSpace only prints a book per sale. There is no upfront cost to self-publish, CreateSpace takes a small percentage of your book sales. You can also, and should self-publish your book in the Kindle Store. Lastly, you can buy a marketing package from CreateSpace. Public Relations Specialists will write an official press release and distribute it to a minimum of 1000 media contacts. Your book will also be promoted extensively through web-based tools. And that’s that – you’re a published author!


Why it’s Awesome

CreateSpace’s publish on demand model costs authors nothing to sell their works. This is mitigates the risk of self-publishing to almost nil. CreateSpace also takes only a small percentage of sales, while big name publishers take the vast majority of profits. It’s a sad fact that many best selling authors represented by big names are far from wealthy. CreateSpace’s a la cart publishing, design and marketing services are totally professional and unbelievably cheap. You only pay for exactly what you want.

What’s Missing?

CreateSpace is not a big name literary agent with exclusive industry contacts. But seriously, what new writer can get represented by this type of agent in a downturned economy anyways?

Jessica Drew is a freelance writer and editor who blogs about a variety of money making and finance topics such as private student loans.

Moving Out Of State

Image by cheesy42 via Flickr

The article written by Landon Gilbert

Moving is hard enough already, but when you're moving to a new state you have to do so much additional research. You have to consider what kind of moving companyyou're going to hire and whether or not they allow their trucks to be driven across state lines and also which of your friends are willing to make the long drive with you. Once you get into your new home, you have to make sure all your mail is being forwarded correctly and additionally, have to find out about all the utility providers in your new area. There are Wireless Internet Providers, water and sewer providers, and even cable and telephone to consider, so waiting until the last minute to look into these matters is not the best decision. Lastly, you've got new state taxes to consider, so hiring a tax attorney or CPA is not necessarily the worst use of your money the first year you're in your new home. There are a lot of things to think about, so make sure you do your research before the big move!

The Pros And Cons Of Self-Publishing

Image via Wikipedia
by Dan Seitz

Self-publishing has always been a tricky business, but over the last decade, the business has changed substantially.  Authors no longer need to get their words on paper to get them bought and read.  The popularity of both ebooks and tablet computers, especially the iPad 2, means that there are millions of potential customers for a wide variety of audiences.  But while the rewards are great, there are still drawbacks to self-publishing that need to be considered before taking the plunge.

For example, in self-publishing, you have total control, which is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, you can write deliberately for niches that larger publishing houses simply can't or won't pursue, and it puts you in direct contact with your audience, letting you collect feedback and engage with them on a level publishing houses can't touch.  And, of course, you have creative control: you won't be told to soften a character or a plotline for the larger market, or asked to imitate another author.

However, with total control comes total responsibility: all the operational tasks that a publishing house normally handles will instead be your job.  Marketing, for example, will take up an incredible amount of your time: publishing houses have entire marketing teams dedicated to getting the word out to as many people as possible.  Self-publishing means it'll just be you, and you'll be paying for any marketing expenses.

Speaking of costs, everything to get your book to market will have to be paid for by you.  You'll need to pay for editing, layout, publishing costs, website costs...the list can seemingly go on and on.  While upfront costs are much lower than before thanks to print-on-demand services and digital distribution, you can still be looking at a substantial outlay.

Fortunately, those costs are balanced by the fact that you get far more money.  Your average hardback sale of $27 nets the author a royalty of...$3.  The other $24 goes to the publishing house; as you can see, even if you choose to price your book cheaply, you still have far more profit potential than even some of the biggest bestselling names in publishing.

That said, self-publishing still carries the stigma of amateurism.  Many people find it questionable that you're self-publishing your book; they wonder what was wrong with it that you couldn't get somebody else to put it out in print.  Part of this is simply that some self-published projects really are just monuments to the author's ego instead of books that somebody might actually be interested in reading.  This can make it difficult to get a self-published book the same level of publicity, especially from book critics, who often will ignore self-published book completely unless they're working in a specific niche.

Another part is that self-published books aren't edited to the fine polish that books from a publishing house are...but that's only because of a lack of editors.  Contrary to popular belief, good, experienced editors are not the province of the publishing houses exclusively; they can be hired for their services like anyone else.  An investment in an editor who has worked in the area of your book can go a long way towards improving your book and, more importantly, your book's sales.

Self-publishing is cheaper, easier and more popular than ever before, and if you have a book you want total control of, or want to write for a niche market, it's definitely a choice worth pursuing.

Dan Seitz is a freelance writer who covers an array of topics, from technology to home improvement topics such as gutters.

Will Bookshelves Go Out of Style With E-Readers?

Cover via Amazon
By Susan Price

These days, you can’t turn on the TV without watching one commercial after another for some digital device or electronic gadget.

People frolicking around parks and sitting poolside with Kindles, or reading to their children from a Nook.

It seems like it won’t be long before books, magazines and newspapers will go the way of the triceratops as the world plugs into e-readers.

Sales numbers for e-books have exploded in the past two years.

Russ Grandinetti of Amazon.com told USA Today that e-books have been outselling print best sellers since October. The Kindle was the most gifted item ever for the web retailer in 2009.
E-readers are projected to generate $2.5 billion in revenue by 2013 according to Yankee Group.

All this digital commerce leaves us one question: What will happen to bookshelves?
You know, bookshelves -- the humble workhorse of libraries, schools and dens around the world.

A dust-covered piece of furniture loaded down with yellowing paperbacks, crayon-covered editions of “The Hungry Caterpillar” and musty-smelling encyclopedias.
With the ability to load a library’s worth of books onto one lightweight device, who needs bookshelves?

Luckily for bookshelves, they’ve diversified.

Sure, they might be called bookshelves, but let’s be honest, when’s the last time you went to someone’s house and saw a bookshelf holding nothing but books?
Shelves hold everything from family photos to those shells your kids collected at the beach last summer.

Lacking cabinet space in your kitchen? Bookshelves can hold cans of soup, boxes of cereal, and jars of spaghetti sauce. Use them on your patio to hold potted plants, in the garage to organize your tools, and in the kid’s room to hold everything from Lego creations to ZhuZhu Pets.

And Grandinetti says Amazon’s print business continues to grow, which means despite the digital revolution, in the future bookshelves will probably still hold books.
“We see e-books as an additive more than a substitute,” Grandinetti told USA Today.

Susan Price blogs about all types of furniture, from bookshelves to office cubicles.

The Spiritual Path To Success, Power and Healing by Kelly Wallace

This book combines revised and updated versions of my ebooks "Contacting and Working With Your Spirit Guides" and "Energy Work - Cleansing and Healing Your Aura", along with a brand new section "Balancing Your Chakras - Unlock Energy, Creativity and Wisdom". If you want to travel a spiritual path of true power and healing then you need to learn to heal, cleanse, strengthen, and work with the various forms of energy available to you.

It may seem overwhelming when you imagine being able to communicate with your very own spirit guides, create an aura that attracts love and success, and balance your chakras for optimal health and energy. As a professional psychic counselor, my goal has always been to take these esoteric subjects and make them simple to understand and easy to incorporate into your life.

You don't have to spend hours a day meditating, purchase any special equipment, or live on tofu and alfalfa sprouts to follow a spiritual path of power and healing. All you need is a few minutes each day to practice these quick and enjoyable exercises. Before you know it you'll be living a happier, healthier and more successful life in all areas. 

Just $2.99 through Amazon. Instant download to your computer, iPad, iPhone, Android, Blackberry, or just about any other electronic device!

Get Your Copy Here