Far away , there lies a land

where the sunshine never fades.

A land beyond the chains of time

and the bindings of reality.

Into this land

Here comes a man

exhausted by his long journey,

He is a great figure,

His shoulders are broad

and his strength is indefatigable.

As his destination draws near,

The man sees a great golden gate

Shimmering in the sun.

He enters the gates

Where he sees a figure

in the near distance

A figure in a white robe

who beckons to him

“Come my son”

As Jesus wraps him in a robe of purple

With a beautiful voice he says,

“Well done My good and faithful servant!”

He leads the man to a great golden city,

There he meets all his fallen comrades

Friends and Family that have arrived before him are there.

And They embrace him

and he is filled with great joy.

The man hears a voice like unto a great wind

As he looks up the wind rushes past him

And he sees all his life, from his birth to his untimely death,

played back to him on the backdrop of blue sky.

10000 years then begins

and His reward is great.

Those the man has left behind,

His family and his many friends,

Have tears in their eyes,

But deep in their hearts is a great joy.

For the man has left a legacy

of love and faith, kindness, courage, strength and beauty.

And the knowledge

That the day will come when we

shall meet him again

in the clouds

up in heaven.

    Think about this. You are an editor at a busy publishing firm. You receive hundreds of queries a day! It is your responsibility to find and recruit fresh new talent to write articles. As an editor you don’t like to be irritated. When a query is opened , many writers s shoot themselves in the foot right off the bat by being an irritant!. A query can be troublesome for you, the editor, and a possible detriment to new writers. When an editors view of a writer is lowered because of a query letter, the result is lost earnings for the writer.
As an editor, you have probably developed a guideline for query submissions and have that document published some where that is particularly high profile. You probably have spent a great deal of time crafting these guidelines so that query writers do not waste their time or yours submitting inappropriate articles that will be rejected . It is a major irritant to have to read and respond to queries that are so far off the mark that you have to wonder if the writer has seen your publication at all! It makes it so much more easier for everyone when a writer has a clear idea of the readership that is being targeted.
Another thing that irritates many editors is the lack of simple courtesy and manners. This is business and a professional manner is required. Don’t treat your editors as you might your old friends from high school. If you want me to think of you as a professional , please act like one. Do not send an article that has not been spell-checked and proof read. It is almost disrespectful to the art to submit an article with misspellings and grammatical errors..
Most importantly, query letters should be an indication of your self. Your creativity and experience in life should shine through your words. It is the quality that will sell and make your query responses more positive and financially rewarding.

Over the years,one thing I have learned that it is good to do is to write down and post your goals so they will become concrete and solidify in your mind. Since progress is only achieved through hard work and perseverance, and it is also good to measure your success, here are my goals gor 2008

1. Write three pages a day
2. Develop 3 writing ideas a day
3. Earn a paycheck with my writing.
4. Be more organized in all aspects not just writing
5. Learn to touch type

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