Writing Class 101 by Rick Kurtis
 What Do You Think? Lesson 26
 Did this week go by fast, or is it just me? I am glad to have you back. I recently joined LinkedIn to hopefully expand my audience. I did sign up four years ago as a Porter trying to find a different job, but all that gave me were 20,000 places of employment that I didn’t qualify for. When I began it was just a jobsite, whereas still true today. However, now that I have changed my profile to author, I received many friend connections from other authors and people in the fields of publishing, artists, editors, ghostwriters, film and video people, along with so many others.

Writing Class 101 by Rick Kurtis
 Lesson 25
Smashword’s plug.
Are you back again? Thank you for your time. I have really enjoyed sharing these classes with you, and hopefully you are at least getting something from them.
I have found it. Some of you may already know, but I finally took that self-formatting step. Smashwords.com placed an ad, so I thought I would see what it entailed. How much would I have to pay? Where would my book end up? What would be the benefits?

Writing Class 101 by Rick Kurtis
 Formatting your book. Lesson 24
 Welcome back. Did you enjoy the weather this week? I know I did. Let’s jump right into it. So you decided to publish your own book. Congratulations. You had your book edited, sent off for a copyright, bought your own ISBN and barcode, and had a professional cover made. Now you want the inside to look just as appealing in both a paperback book or on a tablet or phone.
These two layouts are completely different, and here’s why. A paperback book is paper. You turn the page and that’s what you see. You want all your words to sit inside the page, and not cut off with the trim, or buried in the center gutter, or inside margin. This becomes a problem when your book is thick, having a lot of pages.

Writing Class 101 by Rick Kurtis
 Helpful Sites. Lesson 23
 Welcome back to another lesson. I hope you had a wonderful week. Now that you have started with marketing, you have probably searched the web for sites that will feed you important information. Kind of like how you found me. I’m still finding new sites every day after five years. If they offer you a one month free, but want a credit card, scratch them off your list, unless you are wealthy.

Writing Class 101 by Rick Kurtis
 Marketing, Food for Thought. Lesson 22
 Welcome back for another lesson. I’m so glad you have returned. I hope your week proved to be as nice as the weather. Here is something I have found out about marketing.
Just to let you know, the modern children are different than when I grew up. At the age of seven, my class was reading Dick and Jane, See Spot Run. I wasn’t at the top of my class, but I soon learned. By seventh grade, we read Huckleberry Finn, and Oliver Twist. In high school, It was West Side Story, The Great Gatsby, and Moby Dick, or other great classics from centuries ago.

Writing Class 101 by Rick Kurtis
 Marketing and Ads. Lesson 21
 Congratulations! Your book has been accepted, completed, and is on the market. It doesn’t matter if you found an agent who found a publisher, used a vanity publisher, or even self-published. You have To Market Your Book. They all say they put it out there.

Writing Class 101 by Rick Kurtis
 Ready and Available. Lesson 20
 We’re back for another great lesson. I do hope your week was productive. Today we will talk about what you should have. You thought it was just to write a story, and make a book. What should you have in your computer? You have your book completed from the front cover to the last page, the end, right? No, not even close. Now the real work begins.

Writing Class 101 by Rick Kurtis
 Submission Letters, don’t believe everything you read. Lesson 19 (another rant)
 Welcome back to another week. I hope my classes are doing you well, or at least making you think. Today I want to give you a little insight on writing a query letter.
When I started writing, many said you need to submit a query letter, which is a cover letter. Some people say it is a three paragraph letter, short and sweet, and others say it is four paragraphs, adding your marketing skill and strategy.

Writing Class 101 by Rick Kurtis
 Big Decisions. Lesson 18
 Welcome back to another wonderful day. I hope your week was eventful and nothing plagued your way. Mother’s Day is coming. It’s that time of year when we show a little appreciation for that one person who either gave us birth, or the one that raised us with love. Don’t forget to get them something special, even if it is just a visit with a hug. Now that your book is completed, and ready for print, which do you want to consider?

Writing Class 101 by Rick Kurtis
 Lesson 17 is a rant: Books, Books and More Books
 Thank you, and welcome to another week. I hope you enjoyed your last seven days writing up a storm. As all great authors know, sometimes we just need to vent.
Leave it up to me in choosing to be an author. One profession that even if you get into a bookstore, or a library, a person buys one book and shares it with ten friends, or sells it at a yard sale, or gives it away to Goodwill or Savers.