http://www.articlealley.com en-us editorial@articlealley.com Here's something from my mailbag. "Dear Michael, do you need to do good in school if you want to be a writer? I stink at school and all my friends laugh at me when I tell them I want to write, but I'm serious." Followed by a sentence or two of "I need you... http://www.articlealley.com/article_112727_50.html 18th December 2006 Let's pretend that you live in China. Perhaps not in my neighborhood, but in China. Let's also pretend that, unlike me, you own a car. A Volkswagen Santana, of course. Who do you honk the horn at? Well, you honk at everyone who's in your way, and who y... http://www.articlealley.com/article_112633_50.html 16th December 2006 If someone had told me in 2000 that I'd publish four books in 2001, I'd have called him an eejit. The last time I'd been published was 1989, and that doesn't count because I paid someone to do it. I'd long since given up on getting published again. In ... http://www.articlealley.com/article_111301_50.html 12th December 2006 According to one of my previous articles, whenever a Southerner says "Y'all watch this," get out of the way because those are probably the last words he will ever say. Well, I'm a Southerner. I used to live in the southeastern United States, but I move... http://www.articlealley.com/article_110022_50.html 05th December 2006 Don't they drive you nuts? You can visit all the rules of style you want, and you can read all the books and articles you want. You'll still be confused. You'll see inconsistency. You'll see experts who don't agree with each other. And you'll pull out ... http://www.articlealley.com/article_108741_50.html 29th November 2006 Most books aren't rejected because the stories are "bad." They're rejected because they're not "ready to read." In short, minor stuff like typos, grammar, spelling, etc. I don't mean places where we, as authors, deliberately break the rules. Those are ... http://www.articlealley.com/article_108438_50.html 27th November 2006 The Internet will not replace traditional promotional efforts, but it can enhance them. Before I go into the Internet, I want to talk about the old-fashioned marketing methods, because they're still your best source of readers. ===== BOOKSTORES M... http://www.articlealley.com/article_108384_50.html 27th November 2006 A major "character" in Mark Salzman's first autobiography is his father. Sometimes his father paints. But his father hates painting. He likes it when his painting is done. He likes having painted. But the act of painting itself is, in his opinion, a big p... http://www.articlealley.com/article_108188_50.html 25th November 2006 The big question. Do you submit directly to publishers, or do you find an agent who will do that for you? Based on anecdotal evidence I've heard, it can work either way. Many publishers refuse to read unagented submissions, but on the other hand Tom Clanc... http://www.articlealley.com/article_108118_50.html 24th November 2006 As a student of Spanish, my goal was to think in Spanish. Skip the word-by-word translation so I'd have the necessary speed to speak and listen. I know words in Spanish that I'd be hard pressed to translate. Usually profanity, I confess. Chingow! For y... http://www.articlealley.com/article_107768_50.html 22nd November 2006 Here's everything I know about improving your writing, publishing it electronically and in print, and promoting it after the sale. Two questions you should ask: (1) What will it cost me? (2) What does this Michael LaRocca guy know about it? Answ... http://www.articlealley.com/article_107359_50.html 20th November 2006