Read-Think-b4-u-Write

There’s a recent article in The Millions that begins by giving a history lesson on “sorts” and “upper” and “lower” case. Now, this may not be something that gets you excited, but I find it fun to learn history, especially its minutiae. “How Many Errorrs Are in This Essay?” by Ed Simon is a jaunt through the history of errors of all kinds. Did you know the St. James Bible was called the "Wicked Bible" because the first printing contained the error "Thou shalt commit adultery"? Yikes. What a mistake to clean up. Books of the 17th century were created by gathering and placing miniscule "sorts" (individual letters) into frames one letter, line, and page at a time. You couldn't just leave them around gathering dust, you had to take them apart to create new pages. That means the page containing "Thou shalt commit adultery" had to be completely redone, by hand, for hours. But as they say, that's not all. The author goes into the history of huma...

No matter where, when, or how (before or after you graduate, before or after you write a book, etc.), someday you may be lucky enough to meet your career hero, be it Mark Zuckerburg or Elon Musk. If you are a writer, you may be lucky enough to meet your favorite author, agent, or publisher. What do you do? You prepare for success and pitch yourself. An elevator pitch is a short synopsis of your skills and abilities, and like any other sales pitch, first impressions are important. These pitches are also important when you go to job fairs, networking events, or conferences. thebalancecareers.com Your elevator pitch is a summary (or thesis, if you will) of your answer to the question "Tell me a little about yourself?" - an often used opener to the job interview. Here are some of the basics from thebalancecareers.com: 1) Keep it short. No more than 60 seconds. 2) Be Persuasive. This is a double-edged sword, be persuasive, not needy. 3) Share your skills . Not the ...