Casey Said:

How likely are you going to "make it" as an unpublished author if you don't invest in some quality services?

We Answered:

This must set some sort of record for the longest question I've ever seen on Y!A (other than those "what do you think of my novel?" posts that get cut off halfway through).

The way you "get the word out" about your book is to persuade a publisher to publish it. They almost certainly know far more about marketing books than you, and almost certainly can spend more money on it. (When I say "publisher" I mean the traditional sort, who pays advances and royalties, and doesn't expect you to contribute money to the success of your book. Your side of the bargain is your book - something no one else can write. That's plenty to be giving them, without having to hand over money as well.)

Self-publishing is a waste of time and money, unless you don't mind spending a lot of your own money on publicity, and/or have awesome marketing skills. Bookshops generally won't stock them, partly because nearly all self-published books are unreadable crap, partly because the publisher does no marketing, and partly because the shop can't send back any unsold copies for a partial refund. (The latter is normal in the industry.)

Self-publishing is usually not a route to a career as an author. If you tell an agent or a real publisher that you self-published your book, the best outcome will be that they'll laugh and say "That doesn't count." More likely, they'll treat it as a sign that you're clueless, and more trouble than you're worth.

I've heard that if you can sell 2,000 copies of a self-published book, that will make a "real" publisher sit up and take notice. But if you're capable of doing that, you're capable of writing an awesome query letter and synopsis that will make an agent or publisher sit up and take notice from the beginning. The average self-published novel sells about 40 copies, usually to the author's friends and family.

It may be worth spending money on a freelance editor, but you can join a critique group and learn most if not all of what you need to know to do it yourself.

Don't spend money on a cover, because that's the publisher's job. The most likely outcome is they'll throw it away and tell you not to be so arrogant.

Maybe self-published ebooks are the way forward, but I'm not holding my breath. A traditional publisher provides some guarantee to the reader that the book isn't unreadable crap, and some guarantee to the author that the book will be marketed properly. The need for those guarantees doesn't go away if the author tries to shortcut or side-step the process.

Emma Said:

why are u interested in working for american eagle and what are your career objectives? FEED BACK PLEASE!

We Answered:

First of all, the corporate world doesn't really care if you like their uniforms or not. So cross that one out.
The people skills thing could work. Tell what YOU can do for their company. They really don't care what they can do for you. It's not about YOU anymore. Remember that.

I would also suggest that you use spellcheck and work in upper and lower case letters.
If you want to make a good impression, show that you have an education. They don't want dodo's working for them.
And if your career goal is dentistry WHY are you looking for a job in the airlines industry?
Your answer will get you into the round file.

Larry Said:

Quality of Life versus Career?

We Answered:

I do not think you can make him see that - he needs to discover that for himself. Rude awakenings happen at the most inopportune times (death in the family, for instance). It's with a life altering event like that when people will see the importance of family time. What was his childhood like? Was his father home or gone a lot? If it is the latter, chances are he thinks this is the way things should be. If he and his mother are close, maybe she can talk to him about how she wishes she had her hubby around more - something like that.

It's tough, workaholics are tough to crack - and I say that as a reformed one. I worked sixteen hour days as my norm - all for the mighty promotion/dollar. I was never laid off and the fact that he has been probably contributes to his issue even more. My awakening happened when I was pregnant...I was walking around work, feeling miserable, not respecting who I was working for...and it just started eating at me - is THIS worth time away from my kid? The answer for me was easy when this happened (and it did not hurt that when I was to return to work the expectation was that I would pick up the sixteen hour days again.) It was hard to let go - but then I did and the sky opened up...funny how that works. Now I will never go back to that grind again. My husband and I take our little guy whenever we go (limiting sitters),and we searched for jobs with schedules that we wanted so we could have time together, money was tight at first but things worked out...

good luck with this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mike Said:

Does anyone know of a good quality website/online psychic who will not charge ?

We Answered:

All psychics are false and liars.