Proof Reading Your Work Can Save You Money in the Long Run
by Laura Hickey

Here's a story of an author who had to learn the hard way that one proof reading isn't enough.

She had finished her manuscript and was really excited. She knew a local retired English teacher and approached her about her book. She offered to pay for her services but the retired English teacher refused. She expressed interest in proof-reading for the reason of helping a local writer. The author was happy and satisfied about having her work edited for free. After she edited the mistakes, she had her book typesetted. That seemed like the logical step at the time. Then she sent the files to the printers. She order 300 copies.

As she started selling, politely a women told her about some mistakes in the book. She was horrified by this. She put away her fears and reviewed her book. Her happiness had deflated within minutes. There were mistakes and more than a few. This was her fault. She should've checked thoroughly before approving her printing order. But there's also another lesson in this story. Never trust one person's proof reading. Have relatives and friends that you trust not to steal your work to proof-read. Heck, even hire a professional as well if you feel that your manuscript still needs editing. Always have more than one person proof reading your work. What two people may miss, the third person reviewing may notice.

What happened to her 300 copies? Some went to reviewers, others for free copies. Please keep in mind to warn the reviewer if you do have some bad copies about the grammar and other mistakes. Don't make the same costly decision she did. One editing, isn't enough.

Laura Hickey may be contacted at http://www.laurahickey.com . Click here to view more of their articles.
Read more articles written by Ms. Laura Hickey and her children's book Mysterious Chills and Thrills E-book for Kids. Ten Short Stories to Tickle the Imagination. "Spooky" "Awesome" "Unpredictable" Isn't it time you entered the world where shadows lurk and each page turn could be your doom...

Always Another Mountain
by Danie Martin

This is the author's daily journal as she backpacked the Appalachian Trail in 2004. Hundreds of hikers attempt this challenging trek every year and fewer than one in five succeed. Starting alone from Springer Mountain Georgia in late winter, she faces cold, snow, injury, lightning, heat, three topical storms, and over 2000 miles of rugged terrain before successfully reaching the high summit of Mount Katahdin Maine over six months later. Taking the trailname of "Mouse," she encounters adventures ranging from getting lost on a snowy mountaintop to dealing with an over inquisitive skunk, and takes part in time-hallowed trail traditions like the Half-Gallon Ice Cream Challenge.

Language is both a medium and a tool. Words allow us to share concepts and emotions, but language can also be used to exert power and "change minds."
Set in present-day Europe, "Wordwarp" is a fictional adventure recounting a hidden war of words: secret projects in different countries using highly evolved forms of in-vitro intelligence to build codes into our languages and propagate particular mindsets.

"Norwegians, Swedes and More" provides a synopsis of our ancestral family components; Norwegians and Swedes as well as those of the French, German, English and Canadian sescent by way of the St. Lawrence Seaway in Quebec and upstate New York.
"Part II, Norway to Minnesota" is 'all Norwegian' and finds Mavis' families all homesteading in Lac qui Parle County in west central Minnesota, some having spent months or years in Goodhue County on the eastern border of the state before reaching their final Vesterheim.

Nicky was street smart and learned how to take care of herself as a young girl. She was a restless soul doing everything in her power to do bigger and better things. But before Nicky could go anywhere, she needed to finish one last piece of business. The task at hand was difficult and dangerous and would take her on the ride of her life. It was also the first time she would have to rely on more than herself to complete the task. Nicky finds a new friend to help her stay one step ahead of the nightmare. The question is, will he stick around to see it through?

Roseman writes straight from the heart, exposing every deep, dark corner of his fears and every brilliant glimmer of hope that love has bestowed upon him. Most of the words in this volume were directed toward one particularly lovely heart that helped rescue the author from a perilous fall from grace. This woman became his best friend and they slowly fell in love.

Joman, the shy fellow, is both a victim and beneficiary of life's circumstances. The reasons for his becoming a painfully shy child begin even before he is born. The overindulgent tolerance of his father, a Portuguese immigrant, and the excessive repression of his mother, a Brazilian, create an ambiguous family environment that represses the child's outgoing nature. As a result of his crippling shyness, he experiences a great deal of suffering throughout his childhood, adolescence, and into early adulthood.

Natasha Whitby is leaving her philandering husband in search of a new life. Katelyn Welter is running for her life while attempting to escape her husband and his hired assassin. Their lives come together by chance when a car accident results in a case of not only stolen identity, but theft of personal appearance as well. Natasha awakens in a hospital a month later with amnesia as Katelyn Welter. The woman who now believes she is Katelyn escapes from the hospital when she learns that she was the intended victim of a shooting after a nurse is killed. A scintillating romance develops when Jake Martin, a widower who discovered Katelyn in the car wreckage, vows to protect her and whisks her off to Europe fleeing their pursuers.