As more and more coaches diversify their coaching business with a variety of products and services, many are questioning the value of offering complimentary coaching sessions. Although these 30- to 45-minute free sessions allow the coach to build rapport with the prospect, the cost of enrollment is quite high - especially if the prospect decides not to sign up for one of your coaching packages or doesn’t show up for the session at all.

How can a coach lower his or her enrollment costs and still attract the client of their dreams? Here are four surefire ways to stop offering complimentary sessions and instead, use the power of audio to convey your coaching style.

1. Launch a podcast. Podcasting is ideal as you decide on the format and frequency and your listeners can listen to it whenever and wherever they want. If a prospect contacts you about a complimentary session, you can direct them to your podcast so they can understand your coaching style and be edutained at the same time.

2. Offer a free teleclass. You select a topic that your target audience will be interested in, then offer this teleclass for free each month. You can speak to many more people in one hour using a teleclass than you ever could through a one-to-one complimentary session. Use the first 30-minutes to offer insightful information, then use the remaining 30-minutes to help a few participants through a specific issue. Don’t forget to ask those on the call to hire you as their coach.

3. Offer an audio sample from one of your coaching sessions. Ask permission from one of your clients to record a session, then offer a small sample of that session on your website. Choose the part where there is a significant breakthrough. Prospects can then listen to the audio to get a sense of your style. Ensure that the audio you put on your website isn’t more than 5-minutes.

4. Create a businesscard-sized CD. Instead of handing out paper-based business cards at networking events, hand people a CD-Rom in the shape of a business card. You can include a personal message from you, or better yet, you can include a recording of a breakthrough moment with one of your clients. Then, you can end the CD with a personal message saying you can produce these same results for people in your target market. That way, when the prospect calls you, they’re ready to sign up for your services.

Trading your time for money is an outdated way to build your coaching practice. Instead of holding complimentary sessions that don’t translate prospects into dollars 100% of the time, use the power of audio to build rapport with prospects and to create a profitable coaching business.

(c) 2005 Leesa R. Barnes. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

Leesa Barnes, a career transition expert, helps consultants, virtual assistants, professional organizers and coaches avoid cold calling by using shoestring audio solutions. Leesa’s advice is based on 5-years producing teleclasses, teleconferences, podcasts, and CDs that help generate passive income for her coaching business. Her toolkit called Coach Less Earn More: Insider Secrets to Creating a Profitable Group Coaching Program contains worksheets and exercises to help any coach set up their own group coaching program without pain, hassle or stress.

Go to http://www.coachlessearnmore.com and sign up for her complimentary 8-lesson ecourse that will teach you how to use audio to grow your coaching business and increase your income coaching fewer hours.

I’ve been involved in publishing for over a decade now as an author, editor, and project manager; however, it wasn’t until just a few years ago that I decided to move into self-publishing. Indeed, my first few projects involved consulting for others and, now, I am involved in my own, personal projects. It has taken a while for me to come back around to my own works, but in the process I learned how to minimize time and expenses in producing a book and getting it to market.

This short article will not try to explain every aspect of book publishing in detail, but it will brush on a few of the important topics. I have a few other book projects in the making that will detail the book self-publishing process; however, in the mean time, this should give you a good basis of understanding.

The Idea

The most difficult part of creating your manuscript is deciding on the topic. We all have ideas. It’s part of our being. Ideas pop in and out of our heads all day long; however, we usually dismiss many of them as useless or too simple to be of use. You would be surprised at how many people want simple and easy-to-understand information! Readers want books that teach, inform, and entertain.

When you sit down and really think about all you’ve learned throughout your life, you’ll be amazed at how much you really know! Your life experiences alone could fill a library! Even if you feel that you don’t have any knowledge that would be of interest to anyone, you can start small. Research a market that interests you, find your competition, learn all that you can about a specific subject, and then write about it. Your ideas are important, as your knowledge and point-of-view are unique and of interest to others.

Planning the Product

I always suggest keeping your book concise and informative. This provides a small footprint, yet it also allows your readers to purchase your book at a reasonable price. Keep it around 100 pages, which, once in book format, equals about 50, two-sided pages.

The core content of the manuscript consists of a title page, copyright, table of contents, figure and table references, acknowledgements, forwards, content, appendices, index, and back page. This list is the basic minimum requirements to support the information necessary to present your book and its content. Of course, you can add other items such as a glossary and a preface, but such inclusions are at your discretion.

It is best to produce your book in the standard 5.5 by 8.5 format in both print and PDF. I always suggest PDF to my publishing clients because it is one of the few cross-platform (i.e., Mac, PC, PDA, and UNIX-based machines) document distribution products available today and it is the most popular.

The Manuscript

Once you’ve focused on an idea, you’ll have to create an outline or table of contents to define the content. The best way I’ve found to do this is to break the idea down into blocks of contiguous information — similar to assembling a pyramid. Step through your idea and ensure that you are building from, for example, the most general information to the most specific information. Check the outline several times, and have a friend review it, to ensure that gaps are filled in appropriately.

You can actually over-rewrite your work to the point of frustration and burn-out. Ensure that you’ve planned and researched appropriately to provide a solid foundation. In this way you can develop a first draft and then perform substantive and grammar edits. Then, perform a technical edit and a second draft. Once the second draft is complete, move into a final copy edit then, once you produce galleys or a sample version of the finished book, perform a proof read. Don’t rework any of the core steps of document development, but ensure that each step is completed with quality in mind. This ensures a solid product in a short amount of time. If you would like to update or add to the information in your first release, provide a follow-up revision.

ISBN and Copyright

Once you’ve started your manuscript, order your group of ISBNs. You can sign up for your ISBNs at http://www.isbn.org for about $240 for 10 ISBNs. However, additional fees can be imposed based on express orders. This is why I say, order the ISBNs while you’re writing the manuscript so that you can afford to wait the 10 days for standard, free, delivery.

You will have to convert your ISBN numbers to EAN barcodes to apply to the back page of your book. The barcode must consist of the ISBN you assigned to the book as well as the coded pricing of the book. You can have a vendor generate the barcodes for between $3 (http://www.toupin.com/serv_writing.asp) and $20 per barcode or you can download and use the Barcode Maker (http://hem.passagen.se/sams/barcode.htm) to generate your own barcodes. For the price, it will pay for itself in just a few ISBNs for your books.

Once you have assigned one of your ISBNs to a book, you can register it in Books In Print (http://www.booksinprint.com/bip/). This is how booksellers are able to access your information and sell your book through their outlets. Additionally, you’ll want to register your manuscript-in-progress with the Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication (http://cip.loc.gov/cip/ecipp14.html). This registers your book for access by libraries and government archives. You will be e-mailed the CIP data to be printed on the copyright page following the heading Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data.

To protect your work and ideas, copyrighting your book is a simple and inexpensive process. There are actually several different methods of protecting your work including government and commercial organizations. The primary sites are the government copyright office (http://www.copyright.gov/forms/) and WriteSafe (http://www.writesafe.com/).

Production

There are many different ways to produce your books; however, costs range from a $1,000 initial setup plus the purchase of a few hundred copies down to no setup fees and pay-as-you-go. The final choice is yours, but my direction involved a local printing company and a pay-as-you-go scheme. With this approach, reduced initial costs are reflected back to the readers and your profit potential is seen immediately.

Three places that I’ve experimented with to print some of my books include Kinko’s (http://www.kinkos.com/), InstantPublisher (http://instantpublisher.com/pricing.htm), and Mimeo (http://www.mimeo.com/). Of course, use these for starters to experiment with your books. Eventually, you’ll find the right bindery for your needs. You can locate many publishers via Google.com or AllTheWeb.com using keywords such as online printing, book printing, and print on demand, but once you get some experience behind you, the choice will be much easier.

Marketing and Distribution

Once you assign and register your ISBN for your manuscript, it becomes available to the multitude of book stores around the globe including Amazon, Borders, Barnes&Noble, and various other major book sellers. Now that you have your book out there, the trick is to have people purchase the book and have book stores stock copies on their shelves.

To have the book stores purchase in quantity, you’ll have to devise a solid marketing plan to their acquisitions personnel. In many cases, book stores will simply sell your book to their customers as it is requested, but if you can get them to buy in bulk, that’s greater exposure and sales for you!

You can also license out the content to various professional speakers. Speakers are always looking for ways to provide quality information specific to their presentations. They might use your content in a handout, or perhaps for sale in the back of the room. Locate those speakers that fit within your audience and contact them. Find out their needs for their next presentation and work out a deal for them to resell your books. I’ve had many speakers use my articles in their presentations and the exposure and feedback has been overwhelming.

Of course, you should always locate affiliates to help sell your books. One way is to offer them a percentage of the gross sales or sell them copies of the books at a discount. Either way, you will have agents out pushing your books for you to make money for them, as well as for you.

Always provide a web site that boasts the benefits of your book. Use a book cover maker to create a book image on the web site. One quality book cover creator is called CoverFactory (http://www.ans2000.com/a2k_coverfactory.php) and provides numerous capabilities to generate professional looking covers for books, software, and services.

Free content is an important way to bring people to your site and let people know about your book. You can provide rewritten excerpts from your book as articles and submit them to various article announcement lists, press release sites, zines, and directories. I’ve been able to locate and associate with over 1,000 sites and lists that accept and publish my articles. This provides outstanding coverage for my sites, services, and products.

Sales and Returns

Since you are the publisher, you now have to determine how to handles sales. It’s important to define how you will handle direct sales and shipping, bulk sales, and affiliates. You want to ensure that your sales go smoothly as well as provide enough of a margin so that everyone profits.

When collecting funds, it’s important to accept credit cards through one of the popular merchant vendors. To minimize expenses and provide a common and secure payment mechanism, I use StormPay (http://www.stormpay.com) and PayPal (http://www.paypal.com). Since people have their likes and dislikes of online payment vendors, using both allows many different types of users to submit payments. Of course, you must always determine how to handle returns as part of a quality customer service program.

What’s next?

Obviously, the information provided here is merely an overview of the entire process. However, I am working on a book that provides all of the details of producing your own book under your own imprint. Publishing provides excellent return monetarily as well as through enhanced self-esteem. There is quite a feeling that comes with getting your message out there and having people return positive feedback. Perhaps, once you self-publish a few of your own titles, you can work on publishing other authors and open a full-fledged publishing house. In this day, such a venture is not unheard of!

Edward B. Toupin, Ph.D., is a published author, life-strategy coach, counselor, Reiki Master, and technical writer living in Las Vegas, NV. Edward works with people to help them strive for a richer life. He also authors books, articles, and screenplays on topics ranging from career success through life organization and fulfillment. Check out some of his recent print and electronic books as well as his articles covering various life-changing topics! Contact Edward at etoupin@toupin.com or visit his site at http://www.make-life-great.com.

Each year, there are thousands of weddings that take place. Many of these weddings are planned by the individuals getting married. While planning your own wedding is popular, there are many other couples who make the decision to hire a wedding planner. Each way is popular and successful, but there are some things that you may not know without the assistance of a professional wedding planner.

A wedding ceremony is, without a doubt, the most important event surrounding a wedding. To make that ceremony perfect, many couples have a rehearsal dinner. Rehearsal dinners are not mandatory, but many couples use them to rehearse for their big day and to celebrate with friends.

The number of people invited to a wedding rehearsal can vary. There are some couples who invite only the wedding party and others make it a full-fledge party with lots of guest. If you are interested in having a wedding rehearsal dinner, the decision is completely yours. Regardless of how many guests you want to invite, you may want to send out a rehearsal dinner invitation to those you’d like to attend.

Wedding rehearsal dinner invitations are nothing new. They have been use for a long period of time, but many couples are unaware that they even existed. Your wedding rehearsal dinner invitation can be a simple invitation or it can be as elegant as your wedding invitations. Once again, the decision is up to whoever is hosting the event.

As with all other wedding invitations, there are a wide variety of different ways to buy or make a wedding rehearsal dinner invitation. Many individuals feel that printing off a quick invite is enough. Others make the decision to order the wedding rehearsal dinner invitations when they order their wedding invitations. Many brides prefer this method because it allows them to focus on other issues.

The cost of ordering online wedding rehearsal invitations will vary. Each individuals or company who specializes in making them will likely charge a different price. While it cannot be guaranteed, it is possible to obtain a discount when placing multiple orders with one company. This means that if you purchase rehearsal dinner invitation sets with traditional wedding ceremony set, you may be able to receive a discount. This discount is not always offered, but it may be something worth looking into.

If you are the host of a wedding rehearsal party, you are encouraged to at least considered sending out invitations to the event. Receiving a wedding rehearsal dinner invitation is often unexpected, but greatly appreciated by many individuals and on many levels.

Are you looking around attempting to pinpoint the best foreign currency exchange rates? The world wide web is a marvellous way to have a thorough and comprehensive look at what is on offer & obtain the choicest deal. However, it’s surely not all about searching around the optimum exchange rate - fees, commission and transfer costs might well all make an enticing rate suddenly bad value. Talk to Foreign Currency Direct if you want a great deal when looking for foreign currency exchange rates ?

In this sad time of worldwide financial trouble you really need to have dealings with with an established business which you can totally trust - to not only get you the finest exchange rate attainable at the sad period but of course to provide you with support and advice. Foreign Currency Direct has been mentioned in such reputable news papers as The Sunday sad era and The Observer as a leading business with whom to trade with when you are getting foreign currency. Consequently, you can be sure you’ll be dealing with a honest, professional and highly thought of organization.

Dealing in foreign currency can often be a challenging business - the currency rates consistently alter, hence, if you don’t enjoy up-to-date access to the most recently updated figures & expert experience you can often end up forfeiting a lot of money. Foreign Currency Direct are experts when you are working with currency exchange rates - trading ever since the year 2000 the business has progressed from strength to strength.

Foreign Currency Directs rates are calculated by using live, second by second interbank’ prices (the price at which one particular institution sells to another) which are given in real time, making them more competitive than exchange rates offered by far less specialised financial institutions and building societies.

The only thing you must do is open your account with Foreign Currency Direct & you can commence trading currency - you will obtain exchange rate quotes by phone, if you take the offer you shall get an email, fax or postal conformation of the contract.

Having found a coach you feel comfortable and excited about working with, the next step is to discuss and sign the coaching contract or agreement. This is vital to ensure that both coach and client are clear from the outset about what is expected.

The coaching contract will set out the duration of the coaching, and the frequency and length of the sessions within that period. It will make clear the etiquette of the coaching relationship - for example, what each party should do if they need to reschedule appointments. The contract will suggest what needs to be done between sessions in order for agreed goals to be achieved, and the availability of the coach between sessions.

There will be guidelines regarding what is required from the coaching relationship in order for optimum results to be achieved. The coach needs honest feedback from the client about how well the coaching is working - different people may need different approaches. Equally, the client must be able to take on board frank feedback from the coach if they are to move forward past existing blocks.

The contract will emphasise that everything discussed during coaching is confidential and will not be revealed by the coach or used for the coach’s own personal gain.

The payment structure will be clearly set out, including the frequency of payments, which are normally requested in advance.

The beauty of the coaching contract is that having discussed and agreed the practicalities before coaching starts, both parties are free during the sessions to concentrate purely on the client’s goals and ways to achieve them.

Andy Britnell is an executive coach who works with businesspeople in both the private and public sectors who wish to achieve better results. More information can be seen at http://executive-coaching-for-business-growth.com/ and http://executive-coaching-for-business-growth.com/executive-coaching-contract.html

It was 1992. I was rushing though the Seattle airport when I saw an unusual kiosk selling coffee. I paused, bought one, and was delighted with this richer-tasting brew. As I sat on the plane, I quickly realized I’d just experienced something new, different and good. I’d tasted what later became known as the ‘Seattle coffee craze.’ It excited and inspired me. I believed great coffee in a great environment would prove popular in my hometown of Danvers, Massachusetts. What could be more exciting than to be one of the first people to bring a West Coast concept to the East Coast?

I envisioned my café could be the new “living room” of the nineties. People could feel at home and sip coffee in comfortable seating, as if it was their own place. A place that where good conversation and new friendships would be nurtured.

I wanted to do it right, so I went to New York for training with a Master Roaster. Then I hired a consultant (Someone who had already done what I wanted to doTool #6: Mentoring). I opened the doors to The Custom Cup Caffé in early 1994. It was really a labor of love for me.

Little did I know this was essential to my success, and also, having Abraham Lincoln as my all-time greatest role model for perseverance would prove crucial. His example taught me that anything is possible.

Why did I admire Lincoln so much?

He Failed in business in 1831. He was Defeated for state legislator in 1832. He tried another business in 1833 and it Failed. His fiancé died in 1835. He had a nervous Breakdown in 1836. In 1843 he ran for Congress and was Defeated. He tried again in 1848 and was again, Defeated. He ran for the Senate in 1855 and Lost. The next year he ran for Vice President and Lost. In 1859 he ran for the Senate again and was Defeated. Finally, in 1860, Abraham Lincoln was elected to be the 16th President of the United States.

What did his amazing life experience teach me?

When you have a vision, a great idea or dreamdon’t give up!
Believe in yourself.
What looks like failure or defeat can lead you something even greater.

I put my heart and soul into that shop in front of all my family, friends and community. Finding the right location, investing every penny I’d saved, I even helped with the construction to save money. The first year, despite my best efforts, we lost $40,000. I did not give up!

In the second year, we started to break even. There was hope that we might survive! Then, the unthinkable happened.

The town closed down the main street, the one that runs right in front of my café, to repair the water main. This eliminated all traffic outside my store. The repairs took eight months. Business was immediately and severely impacted. I was devastated. Now what was I going to do? Should I try to weather the storm? Or, seeing the enormity of the problem and the huge losses before me, should I give up and walk away?

I thought about Lincoln. what if he had given up?

So, I decided to hang in there no matter what. The first thing I did was to cut costs. Then I went in myself and worked the counter. This impressed people, and since I had previously developed member-of-the-community status, this helped the store attract town support and admiration.

Because our commuter traffic in the morning had practically been eliminated, we rewarded the customers who took the long walk to get our establishment. We implemented specials. The future was still uncertain and other stores up and down the street began closing: Going out of business, permanently.

How did I Handle Defeatist Thinking?

We all hear a little voice that feeds us negative information. It’s perfectly normal! But, the hardest part of this ordeal for me was over-riding that little voice. It often said “This isn’t working. You better quit, Steve.” I had to face this handle it or it could drag this wonderful business and me down. It further said “Hey, Steve, why suffer in this coffee business? This is a grueling, daily grind.” (No pun intended!)

When I listened to that negative voice it drained my energy. Not good! So I choose to focus on my desired outcome using my road map to picture my compelling vision. My compelling vision cancelled out the little voice. To reinforce this I also searched for proof that this venture was going to work.

I asked customers for feedback. They kept telling me how great our store and products were. So, I, with the aid of my employees, engaged people asking them for their ideas, which they happily shared. They contributed greatly to our success. They believed in us. This reinforced the desire to persevere, and to continue to believe in myself. This quieted the negative thoughts.

I loved the business and I loved our coffee. This fueled my desire not to give up and that grew into sheer determination. My employees and I worked hard. We remained open even though so many other previously successful stores on our street closed down. When the worst was over and they re-opened the street, we were one of the few left standing and, guess what?
The store is now a thriving, profitable, award-winning coffee shop. We recently doubled the space and now are challenged with handling all the business!

#1 Lesson Learned from this Experience: Persevere!
Believe in yourself: Focus on your compelling vision.
Don’t quit. Have and follow a road map!
If you can envision it, and believe in it, you can accomplish it.
Close or eliminate the back or ‘escape’ door. Make your only exit the front doorto success.
Re-read the story of Lincoln and remind yourself: Anything is possible!!

Steve Kennedy is a successful entrepreneur and certified professional business coach who helps entrepreneurs get better results with less effort. For a free 1/2 hour audio download, free small business resources, to view more articles or to get more information directly from Steve, go to his website: http://www.winningthegameofbusiness.com

Self-publishing used to be the Rodney Dangerfield of book publishing. It didn’t get “no respect.” Today that’s all changed. With originally self-published books like The Celestine Prophecy, Butter Busters, The Christmas Box, and What Color is Your Parachute? monopolizing bestseller listsdo-it-yourself publishing is very much in vogue.

To be successful, however, it’s mandatory that you adhere to certain guidelines. By following the tips below, you’ll avoid the pitfalls and enhance your chances of flourishing.

1. Educate yourself. Self-publishing is a business. Approach it as such. There are informative books on the subject, seminars offered, and associations where you can learn the ropes and network with the more experienced. This can be very lucrative if properly approached. Conversely, you can waste thousands of dollars by blundering along without knowledge or a plan.

2. Study the competition. Don’t add more to a subject that’s already glutted. Be sure the topic hasn’t been overdone. Just checking a local library or bookstore is not adequate research. Look in Books in Print Subject Guide and Forthcoming Books in Print Subject Guide. You’ll be amazed at how many books there are on the topic. Yours must be better than what’s already available. Make it shorter, longer, easier to use, more informative, funnier, richer in content, or better organized. For fiction, try to tie into a hot topic so you have a “hook” for publicity.

3. Write what other people want. Catering to your personal desires often makes for lackluster books nobody buys. The fact is, few care about your life history or your deep-felt opinions. Personal journals and impassioned tirades are best saved for family and friends, not foist upon the general public.

4. Think “marketing” from the very beginning. The time to generate marketing ideas is before you write the book, not after you have 3,000 copies in your garage. Identify and target your market. How can you reach them? Start folders of ideas: what catalogs might be interested, which associations reach your potential readers, what magazines and newsletters are relevant? Can you sell the book as a premium to companies that would give it away as a gift to entice new customersor use it internally for training? Think about who else reaches your potential customer and how you can partner with them. Do you have contacts who have national name recognition and might write an advance endorsement?

5. Get professional editing. No, we repeat no, author should edit or proofread his or her own work. You’ll miss the forest for the trees, overlooking things that are obvious to you, but unclear to your reader. And it’s so easy to pass by the same typo time after time.

6. Create a snappy title. The right title can make a book, just like an uninspired one can be a death peal. Short is best. While clever is nice, don’t sacrifice clarity. For nonfiction, be sure to include a subtitle as it gives you extra mileage in helping readers know what the book is about.

7. Include all the vital components. Just as a cake falls flat if you don’t add the right ingredients, so do books. Yours needs an ISBN, LCCN, EAN Bookland Scanning Symbol, subject categories on the back cover, etc. (If you don’t know what these are, refer back to #1!)

8. Have a dynamite cover. The cover is your book’s salesperson in bookstores. Get it designed by a professional who understands cover design . . . not just somebody who does nice logos or pretty brochures. You have enormous competitionand a wonderful opportunity to stand out.

9. Make the interior inviting. Go to a bookstore and study the insides of books. Find one with clean, “user-friendly” pages. Use this as your model. It may not make sense to purchase and learn typesetting software if you’re only doing one book, however. In that case, consider hiring an outside vendor.

10. Use a book manufacturer for printing. Don’t expect your corner print shop to have the knowledge or technical capabilities to turn out a quality book. Book manufacturers specialize in this type of printing and can save you enormous grief and considerable money.

11. Publicize, promote, publicize, promote. Eat, sleep, and talk your book. Nobody cares about it as much as you do. Ongoing, enthusiastic marketing is the real key to success. Never quit. Keep your antenna out for new review opportunities, freelancers who write articles on your topic, etc. We have books that have been in print since 1979 because we’re tireless promoters.

© copyright 2005 Marilyn Ross

Marilyn and Tom Ross are the coauthors of 13 books including the best-selling Complete Guide to Self-Publishing and the award-winning Jump Start Your Book Sales. Through phone consultations and ongoing coaching/mentoring, Marilyn empowers authors and self-publishers to realize their dreams. She can be reached at 719-395-8659 or Marilyn@MarilynRoss.com.

Visit http://www.SelfPublishingResources.com for free meaty information on writing, self-publishing, and book marketing strategies.

In Wallace Thurman’s short life and short artistic career, one can discern tragic circumstances even more devastating than those of Hurston. Thurman (1902-1934) was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, and attended the University of California (Ferguson 729). He tried to create a literary movement in California like the one in Harlem through his establishment of Outlet, a “magazine similar to those being published” in Harlem (Ferguson 729). After the journal’s failure within six months, Thurman moved to Harlem in 1925, where he continued his artistic career in various forms: novelist, editor, poet, playwright, and literary critic (Ferguson 729).

Thurman’s dream was to “become editor of a financially secure magazine” (Henderson 150). He worked at several magazines in New York before becoming involved with Hughes, Hurston, and others to launch the journal Fire!! (1926), which was to stand in opposition to the mainly political and propagandist magazines being published currently: The Crisis, Opportunity, and The Messenger. Fire!! folded after one issue, leaving Thurman with a thousand dollar debt it took him four years to pay back (Ferguson 730). Thurman started another magazine in 1928, Harlem, A Forum of Negro Life; this journal had a longer life than Fire!! but it failed also (Ferguson 730).

Thurman then turned his talents to writing novels. His first novel, The Blacker the Berry (1929), contains “a variety of controversial themes including homosexuality, intraracial prejudice, abortion, and ethnic conflict between African Americans and Caribbean Americans” (Ferguson 730). His second novel, Infants of the Spring (1932), is a satiric evaluation of the Harlem Renaissance and the “judgment rendered is harsh and unsparing” (Ferguson 730). A third novel, written in collaboration with Abraham L. Furman, The Interne (1932) is “an expose of unethical behavior at City Hospital on Welfare Island (now Roosevelt Island)” (Ferguson 730). Ironically, City Hospital would be where Thurman would spend the last six months of his life just two years later.

Despite his literary successes and his being considered “spokesman for the younger group of black Renaissance writers,” Thurman was prone to bouts of depression and “self-hatred” (Henderson 167). Thurman’s “erotic, bohemian” lifestyle (as he described it) and excessive alcohol consumption wreaked havoc on his none too healthy body (Henderson 147). He died on December 22, 1934 at the age of 32. Thurman’s friend, Arna Bontemps, described Thurman as: “He was like a flame which burned so intensely, it could not last for long, but quickly consumed itself” (Henderson 147).

Bontemps’ description of Thurman could just as easily be seen as a description of the Harlem Renaissance itself. While African American literature and art existed before the Renaissance and continued after the Renaissance, during this period of time the nation’s attention was riveted on those several streets in New York City. Whether this attention by the white community was good or bad is a complex issue. Many white people were genuinely interested in the folk and modern culture of African Americans, but it is also true that many of them were only thrill-seekers. But however that may be, the legacy of the Harlem Renaissance still continues to intrigue modern America. It is an important part of our history and culture, both black and white. Many of the issues and themes explored by the Harlem writers, (a search for identity, crossing boundaries, desire and loss, repression and rebellion, nostalgia, etc) are inherent in all cultures, and thus is something everyone can identify with. In the end, the Harlem Renaissance succeeded in transcending racial barriers.

Bibilography

Ferguson, SallyAnn H. “Wallace Thurman.” The Oxford Companion to African American Literature. Eds. William L. Andrews, Frances Smith Foster, and Trudier Harris. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997. 729-30.

Henderson, Mae Gwendolyn. “Portrait of Wallace Thurman.” The Harlem Renaissance Remembered. Ed. Arna Bontemps. New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1972. 147-170.

In the morning when I awake I see my loves horizon on the break And that golden dawn of love Shines its light on me from the realms up above And like morning dew that sprinkles the flowers Love’s sun caresses me in my waking hour And as I bask deep in love’s beaming rays I feel the solar sensation of love’s heat wave In the twilight heavenly shades Of the night blanket the day Love’s glowing crescent smiles on my heart Beaming and gleaming while glistening through the dark And as love’s twinkles sparkle through the night Shining in brilliance like a beacon of light Love’s lunar eyes pierce deep into my soul With silver passion that makes my heart glow Luminary Love my day is brightened up Luminary Love as my night is lightened up Luminary Love You’re all I’m thinking of Copyright2008 by Kenneth J Thompson

www.originalpoetry.com

luminary:

There are a number of questions that we consistently get asked in relation to public speaking and presentations. Here are a few of the most common questions, along with our answers:

1. What if the main decision maker is suddenly called away or taken ill and can’t attend the meeting where I am due to present?

What at first may seem like a major disaster is actually nothing of the sort. By being adaptable, you can tailor your presentation to the rest of the audience, and ask them to convey one or two key points to the decision maker later. Emphasise those key points to ensure that they thoroughly understand them.

2. What if my projector and presentation end up in Houston when they should have been on the same flight as me to Orlando?

Rent a projector locally, either from the hotel or from an audio-visual company listed in Yellow Pages. As for the presentation, foresight and preparation would mean that you carried a backup with you in your hand luggage.

3. How many times should I read through my speech before presenting it?

This is one of those ‘how long is a piece of string’ type questions. The answer is, as long as it takes for you to feel comfortable at presenting it. For some people it will be one or two times, others may need five or six readings, or even more. There is no substitute for preparation and practice.

4. I have seen some speakers and presenters who like to walk about in the audience, what is your view of this?

Everyone has a different style, and there is no right or wrong with this technique. It really comes down to what works for you, and what is most effective for the audience. If you gauge that an audience is uncomfortable with it then it’s best to stop, but some audiences seem to enjoy it, especially if it sets the speaker apart from others in a long seminar.

5. My mouth dries up very easily and I find that within five or ten minutes of presenting a long talk, my mouth is very dry. Is there anything I can do?

Some people do suffer with this condition through no fault of their own, even some experienced speakers. The answer probably sounds obvious, but you need a drink! When you arrive in the room, place a glass of water on the podium so that you can take a few sips when you need to during your talk. Just the reassurance that the drink is there can help too. Don’t worry about how the audience might view you, it is perfectly acceptable to do this._______________________________________________________________

Paul Daniels is often described as The Johnny Carson of England. In his home country he is a household name due to his more than 20 years of prime-time TV shows that have been broadcast to 41 countries. Paul’s course: The Stress Free Guide To Public Speaking and Presentations is the International best selling speaking course - visit: http://www.stressfreepublicspeaking.com for more information.