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Is Christian Publishing the Easy Road to the World of Writing Success?
(Christian publishing)
Any community with a special interest will pay for products that cater to that special interest. If that community is of significant size, you can bet that there will be products galore geared to them. There is money to be made where there is a need for a product. The Christian community is one such group that has a desire for a very specific product. They are interested in products that explain their faith and expand their knowledge of what is less understood within that faith. They also seek encouragement in what is already agreed upon. Because of all of these needs, there is certainly a market to be entered into within the Christian publishing network. The question is, since the group is exclusive, does that mean that there are too few writers for the consumers? Is it easier to get published when you’re not competing with the best of the secular authors? Those are difficult questions to answer with any certainty, but there are some topics to explore within that subject.
Degree of Expertise
In one genre of Christian publishing one qualification is essential. To write with expertise on subjects of faith, it is necessary to have the correct education. A seminary degree at the very least is required for convincing publications. The publishers do not accept authoritative writing from those without the proper education. When it comes to education, separate Christian denominations will expect degrees endorsed from those specific denominations. You may have expected that a Christian would need to write for the Christian community, but the requirements can be much more stringent. Just as a pastor or preacher must have the proper education to teach a congregation, a writer on subjects of theology or other topics from the Bible must also have the credentials to back up his claims. While it is not possible for every writer to obtain the correct degree for authoritative writing, there are other kinds of writing that will easier to achieve within Christian publishing.
Experiential Knowledge
A huge portion of Christian publishing is made up of personal stories. A Christian has unique experiences related to his faith. People who seek encouragement will buy books that relate to their own circumstances. A typical human problem is grief. If a Christian can effectively write about their grief from a perspective of faith then those writings will be helpful to other struggling Christians. Other important subjects include doubt, blessings and prayer. A lay Christian can back up their experiences and observations with scripture and therefore be much more relevant in their writing to the Christian community. If the writer’s material is not sufficient to fill a book, there are other outlets within Christian publishing for those who are able to inform and encourage fellow Christians. Magazines and church bulletins often publish poetry and short stories for the building up of believers.
The Bottom Line
Christian publishing may not be necessarily easier to do than secular publishing. If your heart is in the ministry to other Christians however, it may be the best field for you to attempt writing for. Christian publishing is not a ‘first step’ to enter into the publishing world. Most publishers are only looking for sincere and relevant publications. They will avoid writings done only for the money and will favor those with the honest goal of furthering the message of the Christian faith. Specific communities are looking for products geared to their lifestyles, but the best candidates for creating those products are those who have talent invested in that community. Entering into the Christian publishing world will be a similar task to entering into the scientific publishing world. It will take dedication and work. The writer will come out with a deeper understanding and faith of his own.
Five Flex Time Options that Can Propel your Employee Productivity Flex time is something that is still very rarely used in the United States, but has many followers in other countries, especially European countries. Flex time in general means flexible working hours for employees of a company. They way the flexible working hours are implemented can differ greatly. But one thing is for sure, flexible working hours can greatly propel the employee productivity in your company. Take a look at five different ways to implement flex time in your company. The first and probably easiest way is to give your employees the option to come in to work and leave work within a certain time range. For example, so far your employees worked from 8am to 5pm, now you might give them the opportunity to come in to work anywhere from 7am to 9am, and of course, leave somewhere between 4pm and 6pm. This first model would give your employees an opportunity to be on time as long as they are within that range and their individual habits are considered in regards to being an early riser or a late sleeper. This first model would set the rule that there are 8 work hours plus a one hour lunch in a work day and these are not variables. Therefore, you only have to check their arrival and leaving times in one way or another. A second option is very similar to this, but you can expand the hours worked to a weekly or monthly check, where the employee is responsible to work 40 hours a week with one hour lunch everyday. Then he or she can come and leave in the morning and afternoon in the specified time ranges. For the employee, this means maybe on days that he or she is more energetic, they can spent more hours at work to get their work done and on days they do not feel so energetic or so good or they have family things going, on they can come in the minimum hours established from 9am to 4pm. This version of flextime is a much appreciated model by many employees, but for the employer, it means more work in tracking hours worked and arrival times, to make sure the required hours per week or months are worked. An even more advanced version of the first two flex time themes is a theme where the worker can accumulate time to take off at some point in the future. How specifically you are going to use this version is up to you. You basically are making sure that your employees are not working more than the required amount of hours. Why would you profit from this? Less time spent at the work place makes for more time to relax and regenerate and your employees will be more efficient and motivated throughout your work week. In some companies this flex time method allows the employee to accumulate hours up to a certain amount and then for example, they are allowed to leave after six hours for several days to be home for activities with their family. In an even more expanded version, a fourth version of flex time options, the employee can actually take full days off after having accumulated hours. These days are in general additional to vacation and holidays and can be taken in agreement with their supervisor. The fifth option that has been adopted by some companies actually gives the employees the chance to go into negative hours on their time account. This means if you do not have the required hours, you can still take a flex day off, but have to make sure that after a period of time, that the employer sets in the contract your account goes back to zero or higher. If the employer is a really generous person, he might allow you to completely choose the hours you want to work. You might be able to take work home or work from 10pm to 3am if you desire, as long as you have your assignments done on time and your hours are fulfilled. Do and Don’ts of the Interview Process No one likes job interviews. From the moment you schedule the interview you are under a microscope. Your potential employers waiting for you to make the move that make you stand out or eliminates you from being a candidate for the job. This necessary dance that just about everyone, has to go through can be mastered. Learn the key things to do to become a high-ranking candidate for a job. First of all, before you go to the interview be prepared. Having copies of your resume and pens are only half the battle. Where exactly is the office located? Do not leave the location or the interview site up to chance. The only way to know exactly where your interview is and how much travel time you should allow is to go there. Even if you are interviewing out of town, find out how long the drive is to the interview. Nothing disqualifies you, in most cases, faster than being late for your interview. Before you are sitting across from the interviewer, accumulate some knowledge about the company. Knowing about the position is not enough. Everyone that interviews will have read the advertisement for the position. You need to be armed with information about the company. Have they won any service awards? Are they ranked as one of the best companies in America to work for? Find out and impress the interviewer. Another way to impress the interviewer is to have intelligent, thoughtful questions to ask. Ask about productivity, benefits or training procedures. Show that you have done your homework and are truly extend about the position. Be attentive and bring the interviewer as much information as possible about yourself. If you have a portfolio or reference letters, be sure you take them to the interview. Also be prepared with complete work history and information as well as past residency information. Be ready to answer a few probing questions. Why do you want the job you have applied for? What makes this a good time for a job or career change? Have some intelligent answers for these questions. Interviews will know if you are nervous. No matter how badly you need the job, do not appear desperate. Show that you believe in yourself and are confident about your ability to do the job. Speak in terms of when you get the job opposed to it. While this is a bold move it is a way to reinforce the idea of you being chosen for the job. This is a trick for both you and the interviewer. No matter how true this may be, never tell the interviewer that you “really need a job”. If this is what you tell the interviewer they will think that you are willing to take any job. Also, never talk negatively about your current boss or co-workers. Give as objective view as possible if you are asked about your current job relationship. Inquire about the next interviewing steps. This will not only show the interviewer that you are interested in the position it will also give you some time to prepare if you are called for the next interviewing step. Be sure to keep a notebook in your car so you can jot down notes immediately after you leave the interview. This is the best way to keep track of important facts about the position. In a day or so, mail a thank you card to your interviewer. This could be the added interest they are waiting to see from you in order to eliminate the other candidates. |