As a business owner, would you hire a rumpled, smelly, illiterate person to head one of your most important, highly detailed, costly projects? Of course not. Keep this in mind when writing your query-the one-page letter designed to pique a publisher's interest in your work. The query letter is your initial meeting with the perspective "boss," and based on its content and appearance, it alone determines whether there's a second meeting.

Do you have an aptitude for writing? Do you love to enter contests? If you answered yes to both of these questions, you may have what it takes to win big.

The popularity of essay contests has increased over the years because the prizes are typically valuable and the entry fee is low. If you have ...

When I first started copywriting for newspaper advertising, times were different from today. Ads weren't visually attractive, rather factual and precise. No fancy stuff, just the basics.

HERE I AM. COME AND BUY ME!

How conditions have changed. In the 40 years I spent in the selling business ...