| How to Find a Book Publisher Posted: 17 Sep 2019 01:00 AM PDT Publishing a debut novel or nonfiction book is the dream of every aspiring writer. While this goal might seem daunting, there are definitive and concrete steps on the path towards making your dream a reality: from actually creating a finished product to developing the necessary submission materials, all the way through actually finding an agent and publisher. By following a few simple strategies, your book will be available on shelves in no time! [Edit]Preparing a Submission Package - Write a query letter that introduces your protagonist and conflict. Your query letter is the most important part of the submission package you will be sending to prospective literary agents. Therefore, you want to be thorough and professional while also demonstrating that you have a unique quality that sets you apart from other writers in the genre. Give agents a reason to think you are exceptional! The key components of the query letter are:[1]
- General information about your book: title, word count, genre
- Description of the hook: introduce the protagonist and main conflict
- Brief bio: relevant writing credits, credentials, and awards.
- Prepare a synopsis of your book with an overview of the narrative. A book synopsis provides an overview of your novel's entire narrative arc. This document reveals any major flaws in plot, conflict, and character development, and agents use it to determine if the events of the novel are realistic and make sense. A book synopsis should be approximately one page, and accomplish the following three purposes:[2]
- Show the character arc and motivations of the protagonist
- Give a clear idea of the core conflict, as well as what is driving it
- Demonstrate how the conflict is resolved, and how the protagonist has changed
- Build your writer's platform by sharing your work with readers. A writer's platform refers to the size of that writer's existing audience. It is important to build up your own writer's platform prior to sending your submission package because this demonstrates that you already have access to readers of your book. Good strategies for building a writer's platform include:[3]
- Writing a blog
- Building your social media presence
- Sharing your work with local writing communities
- Find an agent by assessing your own creative values. Before choosing your representation, you should be confident that the agent shares your values. Ask yourself whether you prefer an agent with more resources and a large clientele or an independent agent who will invest more time in your work; whether you want an agent who will be active in the creative process or one who will focus primarily on the financial aspect instead. Then, identify strong candidates using online databases. These include:
- PublishersMarketplace.com
- AgentQuery.com
- QueryTracker.net
- WritersMarket.com
[Edit]Looking for Publishers - Create a book proposal that highlights your marketability. Before you can find a publisher for your book, you need to prepare a book proposal. The book proposal is similar to the book synopsis, but it is more focused on financial viability — after all, you need to demonstrate that the publisher will make money from publishing your book. The four main components of a book proposal are:[4]
- A strong introduction, re-stating your writing credentials
- An outline of the structure of your book with a chapter-by-chapter analysis
- An overview of other books that address similar themes and are competing for the same readership
- An assessment of the market for your genre, as well as a specific marketing plan to sell your book
- Identify prospective publishers by researching other books in your genre. The most straight-forward way of finding a publisher for your manuscript is by researching books that are similar to yours. The publishers of these books are the ones who specialize in your genre and, therefore, are more likely to consider publishing your book as well. Query these publishers directly with your submission package.[5]
- Make publishing contacts by attending conferences and reaching out to peers. Publishing and writing conferences offer valuable opportunities to make connections within the publishing world. While publishing conferences offer greater access to the industry, writing conferences provide a more intimate setting for you to meet prospective publishers -- albeit on a much smaller scale. Additionally, writing conferences will allow you to meet other published writers who can then connect you with proven publishing resources.[6]
- Find prospective publishers by searching online databases. Online databases are yet another resource for contacting publishers. While these are the least personal option, they provide the greatest access to prospective publishers. Some trustworthy online databases include:
[Edit]Choosing a Publisher - Evaluate publishers by assessing their previous success. A publisher's main responsibility after purchasing a manuscript is to market the book and, ultimately, sell as many copies as possible. A good indicator of publishing success, therefore, is to check your prospective publishers' book sales. Additionally, you should consider contacting other writers who have been published by the same publishers. Many are willing to advise fellow writers about a publisher's strengths.[7]
- Compare philosophies by asking questions about their practice. When working with traditional publishers, writers give up a lot of creative control. Therefore, you should ask prospective publishers to articulate their philosophies and objectives for your manuscript. What matters to them, artistically? How do they plan on honoring your own wishes? Does it matter to you how much say you have in the final product? If so, find a publisher who is willing to listen.[8]
- Assess compatibility by attending a face-to-face meeting. When you have narrowed your list of prospective publishers to a few remaining finalists, you should arrange face-to-face meetings with all of them. In addition to getting definitive answers to your questions, these meetings allow you to determine if your personalities and styles are compatible. This is no small determination — after all, you will be interacting very closely with your agent![9]
[Edit]References |
| How to Destroy a Hard Drive Posted: 16 Sep 2019 05:00 PM PDT Do you have an inaccessible or otherwise worthless hard drive filled with sensitive data? Do you want to be sure that data never sees the light of day? Once you've wiped your hard drive, consider one of these options to further protect your data. This wikiHow shows you how to wipe data from your hard drive and destroy it to prevent any salvaging of data from it. [Edit]Wiping the Data - Back up your data. It's easy to forget about all of those MP3s you ripped in the 90s and beloved family pictures when all you can focus on is destroying the cause of your shame and avoiding federal prison. You will, however, want to make sure to back up all of your important and legal data, however, since the whole point of the resulting exercise is that those things will be... you know... gone.
- Erase all of the data on the hard drive with software. While the more exciting methods of destruction will do a pretty good job of rendering data irretrievable, they can't be 100% guaranteed (especially if you have reason to believe the government is willing to spend several months and millions of dollars to find your dirty, dirty secrets). You can do this on your Windows or macOS without having to download or purchase any extra software. Wiping your data and blowing up your drive, however? Yeah, nobody's getting that back.
- See How to Wipe a Computer to learn how to get started.
- A complete wipe of your computer will probably do the trick. Only someone with very serious forensics equipment could recover your data after a wipe.
- Open the computer case and remove the hard drive. The hard drive can be located in different spots in each type of case, sometimes within a metal box. You can look up where the hard drive is located online if you're struggling to find it.[1]
- Remove the casing from the drive. To remove the casing, you'll likely need to loosen a variety of screws, depending on your hard drive's make and model. Possibly cutting some tape. Be warned that there are often screws hidden underneath labels, so you might have to go poking around.
- Remove the magnets. You will need to remove the arm and magnet structure in order to reach the platter underneath (your real goal). There are screws involved. It's pretty straightforward. Remove the magnets carefully because they are seriously very strong and you can really hurt yourself with them.[2]
- Seriously, you will struggle to get them off a fridge. You can break fingers with these things. And for the love of whatever you pray to, don't eat them and don't let your pets eat them (pets, in this case, includes kids).
- Remove and dispose of the platter(s). This is the thing that looks like it would make a nice mirror. You'll probably need to unscrew the circular piece at the center which holds in down. This is the thing that stores (the majority at least) of your data, so you'll need to destroy it. Sometimes there is more than one platter, so pay attention to that.
[Edit]Destroying a Hard Drive Physically - Incinerate the hard drive. Burning the hard drive guarantees that your data will be completely destroyed within minutes. It's best not to start a fire for the sole purpose of destroying your hard drive. To safely burn the drive, contact a reputable data destruction service that performs safe, on-site incineration services.
- Smash the drive with a hammer. Before doing this, insert the drive into a cloth bag so the pieces don't go flying everywhere. Get a hammer (either one lying around your house or at a hardware store) and smash your drive with it until the drive's broken into thousands of tiny pieces. Once done, divide the remnants up into multiple bags and dispose of each separately so they cannot be pieced back together.
- Puncture the drive. If you have a sharp knife or any metal pins, you could push them through both sides of the drive itself in order to put holes in it and render it unusable.
[Edit]Warnings - It's impossible to guarantee that any method for permanently erasing your data is 100% effective. Proceed with caution when using any of these steps.
- Make sure to use best safety practices when destroying your hard drive to prevent serious injury.
[Edit]Related wikiHows [Edit]References [Edit]Quick Summary |
| How to Keep Track of Fuel Use Posted: 16 Sep 2019 09:00 AM PDT Fuel efficiency is a pretty important feature of cars these days. This means it's also pretty important to know how to measure it. Fortunately, it's pretty easy for almost anyone to keep track of their fuel use. All you need is a spreadsheet for tracking mileage driven and fuel purchased. Then, divide your mileage by your fuel use to get your car's miles per gallon measurement. [Edit]Creating and Using a Spreadsheet - Open a spreadsheet with 5 vertical columns for data entry. You can opt to either make this spreadsheet in a small notepad or on a computer platform. The digital version will be easier for reading and making calculations, while the notepad version is best for tracking fuel usage on the road.[1]
- This is because you can place the notepad in your glove compartment with a pen and make notes to it from the front seat of your car. The digital spreadsheet can only be edited when you have access to your computer.
- Microsoft Excel is probably your best bet for making an easy-to-use spreadsheet for tracking fuel use.
- Set aside the first 4 columns for date, odometer, mileage, and gallons. Label the tops of the first 4 columns "Date," "Odometer Reading," "Mileage," and "Gallons Purchased." If you live in a country that uses the metric system, simply replace "Gallons Purchased" with "Litres Purchased."[2]
- Although putting the columns in this order isn't strictly necessary, this is the most intuitive layout for this type of spreadsheet.
- These first 4 columns will be comprised of information you'll take from your receipts whenever you fill up your car.
- Make the 5th column the "Miles per Gallon" column. This will be a calculated column that you'll create by dividing the information in the "Mileage" column by the info in the "Gallons Purchased" column. This column will be the most important for determining the fuel efficiency of your car.[3]
- If you're using the metric system, this column should be labeled "Kilometers per Litre."
- Keep your receipt and note the odometer reading when you get gas. Your receipt contains nearly all of the information that will go into your spreadsheet, so make sure to keep it safe. Write the mileage from your odometer onto the receipt to keep all this information together.[4]
- Make sure that the receipt includes the number of gallons you purchased from the gas station.
- Reset the trip meter before you leave the gas station, if you have one. Many cars have a trip meter next to the odometer that keeps track of how many miles you've traveled in a given trip. Reset your car's trip meter to 0 before you leave the station so you can easily determine how many miles you've gone in between fill-ups the next time you get gas.[5]
- If you don't have a trip meter, you'll still be able to calculate mileage with the information on your odometer.
- Input the data from your receipt into your spreadsheet. Mark the date in the first column, the reading from your odometer in the second column, the mileage driven since your last fill-up in the third column, and the amount of fuel you put in your car in the fourth column. If you don't have a trip meter, you can calculate your mileage by subtracting the odometer reading from your last fill-up from the current odometer reading.[6]
- For example, if the odometer read "34,120" when you last filled up your car and now reads "34,230," then you can determine your mileage with the following equation: 34230-34120=110.
- Divide the miles driven by gallons purchased to get your car's MPG. Take the number from the "Mileage" column and divide it by the "Gallons Purchased" to determine your car's miles per gallon measurement. A higher MPG means that your car is more fuel efficient.[7]
- Repeat this process whenever you get gas to track your fuel use. By keeping track of how often you buy gas, how much you buy, how much you drive in between fill-ups, and so on, you will have a firm grasp of how much fuel you're using over time. What's more, once you have all this information laid out, it'll be much easier for you to figure out how to use less fuel overall.[8]
[Edit]Using Alternative Methods - Use an app to keep track of your mileage if you have a smartphone. There are a number of free and paid smartphone apps that use GPS technology to track your mileage for you. This is a very easy way to track your mileage in between fill-ups if you normally take your phone with you when you drive.[9]
- Mileage Expense Log is the most popular app for the iPhone, while MileIQ and TripLog are the most popular apps for Android phones.
- Sign up for a fuel-tracking website. There are several websites out there that provide you with handy software for tracking your car's fuel use. All you have to do is register an account on the site, input your car's information, and provide the relevant information after each fill-up.[10]
- The relevant information includes things like how much fuel you purchased and what your odometer reading at the time was.
- The most popular website for tracking fuel use is Fuelly.
- Keep a notebook in your car to track your fuel use by hand. Use this notebook to write down how much fuel you purchase at each fill-up, along with any other information you want to keep track of. Make sure to keep a pen or pencil in your car as well, so you'll always have something to write in the notebook with.[11]
- For best results, go with a notebook that's small enough to fit in the glove compartment, underneath the driver's seat, or in the side pocket of the car door.
- Make a habit of keeping your receipts after pumping gas. Put your receipts in your wallet, purse, glove compartment, or somewhere else you won't lose them. Doing this will give you a handy "paper trail" you can use to track your fuel use if you're not using any other tracking method.[12]
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