Linda Aksomitis teaches three courses offered through the Gale Courses for libraries. Here are their course descriptions. Visit your public library to find out if they offer Gale courses and how you can register for free to learn with Linda!
Introduction to Internet Writing Markets
The Internet provides unlimited opportunities if you’re a writer, whether you just have a few hours a week to blog or want a full-time publishing career or just plan to promote your books or business on the Web. There is no single way to become successful writing for the Web, so this course shows you the hundreds of different choices you have, and helps you set your own goals. In fact, by the end of the course, you’ll have your very own publishing plan, from the steps to take in developing your writer’s platform or brand, to the markets that will help you accomplish your goals.
You’ll learn the secrets of how to be successful in publishing online. That includes things like search skills, website traffic evaluation, identifying your own expertise and gathering it into a CV, research strategies, RSS feeds, online interview tips, crowdfunding large projects, and more. Markets are different on the Internet, so you’ll take an in-depth look at them too. From paying publications to setting up a passive income earning stream, you’ll go from the familiar, like online magazines, to the lesser known, like freelance marketplaces, along with different types of online jobs for writers.
Ever wondered if it would be better to start a WordPress blog or a Twitter microblog? Whether it’s legal to publish fan fiction or not? How you can make some extra money if you also take photos or make videos? This course will answer all your questions about publishing on the Internet, plus a Build Your Brand assignment with each lesson to help you plan your publishing career.
Lessons:
- Web Publishing Overview
- Get Established on the Web
- Finding Internet Writing Markets
- Get Established in Publishing
- Paying Markets
- Revenue-Sharing Markets
- Self-Publishing
- Book Publishing
- Creative Writing Markets
- Niche Non-Fiction Markets
- Research
- Your Publishing Plan
Contact your public library for more information and to register.
Publish & Sell Your E-Books
Indie authors are becoming overnight sensations in the New York Times and USA Today, on Amazon, and well, everywhere e-books are sold, proving there’s no longer a stigma to self-publishing. In some genres self-published e-books even outsell those from traditional publishers, because readers are looking for new authors and stories that aren’t written using a formula. And if you’re in business, an e-book can be your new business card and play an important part in your content marketing plans.
If you can use a word processor, have a book written—or have an idea for one—and want to see your name in print, you just might have what it takes to succeed in self-publishing.
This six-week long course introduces you to everything you need to know to do a professional job of turning your manuscript into your dream-come-true, a book that will help you make money on the Internet, whether you want to self-publish a novel, a nonfiction book, or a picture book. You’ll learn how to format your e-book and get it ready to sell through bookstores like Amazon and Apple. By the end of the course, you could have your e-book published in over 100 countries worldwide and available to libraries and book clubs!
Whether you’re a first-timer or have already put out an e-book or two, this course puts you inside the publishing industry, sharing the tricks of the trade used by traditional publishers to make sure their books are in the best position to be found by readers. You’ll meet a dozen other writers just like you, who’ve made it big self-publishing e-books. Plus, you’ll have a Market and Make Money assignment with each lesson, to walk you through the basics of developing a plan to sell your e-books.
This course and its follow-up, Introduction to Internet Writing Markets, take you step-by-step through publishing your own e-books and building your writer’s platform or brand, to be successful selling them. Take the first step to publishing success, and sign up today!
Lessons
- Getting Started
- Getting Your Book Ready to Publish
- First Steps in Publishing
- Copyright, ISBN, and CIP
- Title Page and Front & Back Matter
- Adding Images and Converting to PDF Format
- Adding Metadata
- Using Calibre
- Amazon and Barnes & Noble
- List With Distributors
- Direct Sales
- More Publishing Options
Contact your public library for more information and to register.
Write Effective Web Content
Is your Web content as effective as it could be? Would you like more visitors—more sales—and better search rankings? In this course, you’ll gain tips for crafting content to make your website or blog into an exciting multimedia place for visitors.
You’ll learn how to develop a website writing style that speaks to your readers’ needs and ensures that your content is clear and easy-to-understand. We’ll explore ways your Web copywriting can convey the right “feel” through your content, how to get conversations going with your visitors, and how to organize your content to produce better search engine rankings and happier readers.
But today’s Web is about a lot more than words. You’ll also explore all kinds of multimedia from images to infographics to slideshows to screencasts, as well as ways to encourage interaction with your readers, such as polls, surveys, and quizzes.
Finally, we’ll examine ways to make your online copywriting appear as professional and authoritative as possible. By the end of this course, your content will be well on its way to rising to the top of the billions of pages on the Web!
Lessons
- Elements of Effective Web Content
- Developing Focused Content
- Organizing Content
- Easy-t0-Understand Content
- Content that Sells
- Content that Builds Relationships
- Blogs & Microblogs
- Images & Multimedia
- Multimedia Tutorials
- Polls, Surveys, & Quizzes
- Intellectual Property
- Some Final Tips
Contact your public library for more information and to register.
Linda Aksomitis 