BOOK EXCERPT “Is there ever a good time for a funeral?” she asked. She had tears in her eyes and was determined not to let them fall in front of her boss. Career suicide , she thought. “Oh, I know, Jana,” said Rob. “I just don’t know how we can spare you right now with the new fall schedule coming up. We have guests to book and segments to decide on.” He sat behind his desk and looked up at her as she stood there. He could see she was upset and felt selfish for even mentioning work at a time like this. “I’ll be available on my cell, my computer, etc., and Quincy can start on the guest bookings, but I’ve got to go, Ron. It’s my family,” said Jana. Her stomach lurched at the thought of going back home after all these years. It had been what…eight, nine, no … ten years since she’d been home. “Go, Jana,” said Rob. “We’ll be fine and we’ll call you only if we need you. Do what you need to do and take whatever time you need,” he said. He knew it was a lie; he wanted her ...

Need to hire a writer? Look for experience, skill-level, ability, English, ability to meet deadlines. Hire someone who has experience and can write the type of fiction you need. Review samples carefully.  Hiring a good fiction writer isn't difficult but don't be a task-master. Writer are creative people and need a certain autonomy to do their best work. Set guidelines and expectations and then let them go. Review sample chapters and outlines before they start so you are sure to be on the same page about results. Don't be a miser. It's tempting to go to fiverr and hire a writer that will give you a "unique fiction book" for $30. Don't be fooled. Unique takes time. It takes skill. It takes experience. Unless you're willing to do a lot of copyediting and rewriting (converting into understandable English, usually), you'll end up paying even more to get the job done right. Not all writers on fiverr or oth...

H IRE A FICTION WRITER - USA - EXPERIENCED Jars She took the jar off the shelf and fixed the plastic mask over her nose. She inhaled deeply. She smelled nothing but felt the mild euphoria take over. The pain lifted instantly. As she put the jar back in its holder on her bathroom shelf, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. The stress and creases in her face were noticeably softened. As usual, the gas had worked. She covered the jar carefully to disguise it and put it in a small cabinet designed with a faux face. No one who visited her bathroom would ever suspect it was there. Josh didn’t see the pain in her eyes before she visited the bathroom to take the pill. He did notice she looked visibly happier when she returned. He was glad. He hated to see her in pain and knew her headaches had only worsened over the last couple of months. She did seem to feeling better emotionally too. “Are those pills the doc gave you working better?” She forced a smile and ...

The number of RECRUITS you have is mostly determined by 3 things: 1. How many recruiting sessions you do each month. 2. How long your team members and customers stick around. 3. How good you are at converting people from your session into an actual recruit.    If you improve any of these areas, your team will grow! If you improve all three, your business will fly!    If you are serious about building a strong and successful (not to mention profitable) party plan business, you need to build your team. To do so, you should focus on doing a few things to increase your actual recruits. 1) Do you have a list of customers? (I hope so!) Send out an offer for a complimentary career session to your customers. They already like your products, so it stand to reason that they’d like to be a member and get all the benefits that go with membership. Try to send only a focused personalized email for this particular reason. Don’t confuse your reade...

Online Marketing Trends in the Next Decade - What will continue to grow; what will die off If you're a small business owner and entrepreneur, you know that selling is a high-priority, key aspect of keeping your business growing. This involves consistent marketing, branding, media (in some cases) and personalized selling. Bringing in new leads and business can be as easy as going to where your leads source is. These days, often social media platforms and groups are where your target market congregates. You can reach them, provide information, engaging videos and do your personal selling to bring them into your business. One key trend will be more personal engagement with each prospective customer. For example, mass emailing and "hit and miss" scattershot messages will give way to more targeted, personalized emails that are directed at a prospect. These are designed to not only personally invite a prospect to your business/site, but to create a relationship. Another...