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Here's some school humor for you: Law schools are inflating grades to help students. In a tough economy law school grads are finding it hard to get interviewed, let alone hired. So schools have taken to doling out the A's to bump up everyone's GPA. Reminds me of Garrison Keillor's "All the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average."
Actually some form of grade creep has always been around though at least one law school apparently eliminated the "C" so you get an A or a B or a failed. Some of the most prestigeous schools have gone to pass-fail meaning you are all average. Or not.
This all gives me flashbacks to college. I had one teacher who remarked, offhanded, that he simply threw terms papers across the room and the ones that went the farthest got As, those landing close to his feet, Ds and everything else scattered across his office rug some intermediate grade. It backfired on him when students took to turning in papers printed on card stock.
A history teacher I had would make up tall tales just to see who was faithfully scribbling them all down. He liked me because we shopped at the same men's store and I knew I had the inside track. I wrote out an entire blue book (remember those things?) answering an essay question on how America was discovered by a guy named Sven who had a tiny rowboat and who who was looking for haddock and kept going west in that way that fishermen do, one step at a time, until he found, not haddock, but Labrador. It was a mix of Hemingway and History, sort of The Old Noseman and the Atlantic. The teacher gave me an A because he said I must know the material just to be able to make up so much BS. He also destroyed the answer book so nobody else would see it and get him into trouble. I got another gratuitous one-grade bump from a philosophy teacher whom I encountered one night finding his way across campus with a flashlight and I asked him, as I walked past, if he was looking for an honest man.
Cheer up. At WritersCollege.com we don't have grades, though we do have a sort of pass-fail system. If you do all the assignments you get a Certificate of Completion. If you don't—you don't. What effect that has on getting that all-important job interview, I could not tell you.
What you need to know before you write to help you write like a pro from Day One. Dump your fears; get control of your writing. Here are the steps to help you build a solid foundation for everything you write.
This highly motivational and inspirational course is designed for writers of all levels and all genres. You will be encouraged to work through any blocks that are holding you back or slowing down your writing.
Good writing reveals rather than explains. Learn to get out of the way and let readers experience the episodes, events and people you're writing about.
Learn the mechanics of user guide writing and get you a feel for the field of technical writing.
SCHOOL
NEWS: Nothing much new to report.
WHO's
DOING WHAT: Stephen Morrill, your Maximum Leader at WritersCollege.com, has set up a web site for his new fantasy novel series. The first book is done and I'm doing the rewriting on book two. You may read some sample chapters at the web site at: http://www.Sorcet.com and I would love to get your comments at Steve@StephenMorrill.com
Need more news about YOU! What's up in your writing life? Much as I love writing about myself, I'm starting to bore me. Reminds me of the old writing joke: "Enough about me," the writer said to his dinner date, "Let's talk about my book." Help me out. Click here to send me YOUR news.
ESSAY: Free
Publicity for your Book by Patrika
Vaughn
Whether you self-publish or have a major publisher, you have to peddle
your book. Some of the best marketing tools cost only time, effort, and
the right timing.. Here are some ways to get FREE publicity that will
help your book sell:
Local
Publicity:
Two months before publication, send a short, snappy press release
to bookstores, radio and TV stations, newspaper reviewers -- to anyone
who
might order and/or want to read the book. Chain stores and book distributors
should be high on that list.
At publication time, follow up with an updated release and actual
copies of the book. Make yourself available for interviews, book
signings
and calls for further information.
Pre-publication offer:
Make up a flier about your book, including a picture of the cover.
At the bottom of your flier, print a tear-off order coupon which
offers a free reading or review copy and quantities at a discount.
Mail this
to potential buyers, including:...
