Welcome to the latest issue of Write for You
News & Notes, our monthly newsletter.
Here you will find tips on
writing, business, and life. If you have any
writing
questions or if you'd like to
share any books or favorite links with our
readers,
send me an
e-mail. And be sure to check
our web site for ways that we can help you
with your
business.
Interested in
trying Constant Contact for
your business? Click
here to learn more. If you open a
Constant Contact account, using my referral
link, we can both receive credits to our
accounts.
Nancy Passow
Stop -- Don't Hit the Send Button Until You Read This! |
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My top three e-mail pet peeves and how to
avoid them. Number one
-- listing all of the
recipients. You've gotten those e-mails
-- all you see is a long
list of e-mail addresses. Where is the
message? And who are
all these people? When sending an
e-mail to a large group of
people, make sure to use the "bcc" feature so
your recipients' e-mail
addresses don't show up. Not only does
it make the e-mail more
readable, but it protects the privacy of your
recipients (not to
mention protecting your client
list!)
Number two
-- hitting "Reply All"
instead of just "Reply". Very rarely
does everyone need to see
your response. If Jane is setting up a
meeting, only she needs to
know that you have a doctor's appointment and
can't attend.
Number
three -- forwarding jokes,
warnings, and chain letters. Our e-mail
in-boxes are full of
stuff -- don't add to the clutter.
These sorts of things don't
belong in business e-mail
correspondence. How do you know if it's
okay to send a business friend a joke?
If she's given you her
personal e-mail address in addition to her
business e-mail address it's
probably okay. But even then, before
you forward something, copy
and paste the good part and leave out all of
the forwarding "trails".
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The Story of the Little Apple Tree |
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This
is a story I learned
from Peninnah Schram,
one of the world's gifted
story-tellers. Once upon a time there
was a little apple tree. She sighed
sadly as she looked
around at
the big trees surrounding her. God
asked, "What's wrong little
apple tree? Why are you so sad?"
"Oh," the little apple
tree replied, "I wish I was tall like the
other trees, with stars in my
branches." God responded, "Be content
with who you are, little
apple tree." But the little apple tree
just sighed. Spring
came and the little apple tree was covered
with lovely pink and white blossoms.
God looked down and said,
"Do your pretty flowers make you happy,
little apple tree?" But
the little apple tree shook sadly and replied, "I
wish I was tall with stars in my
branches." Soon it was Summer
and
the little apple tree was covered in green
leaves -- girls and boys
came and climbed in her branches. God
looked down and said,
"Little apple tree, are you happy now, with
the children climbing in
your branches?" But the little apple
tree just sighed. Fall
came and the little apple tree was full of
juicy apples. "Now are
you happy, little apple tree, with everyone
enjoying your delicious
apples?" The little apple tree
sighed sadly. Suddenly
a
gust of wind shook her branches and an apple
fell and hit the ground,
splitting in two. And there, in the
center of the apple, guess
what the little apple tree saw?
"Oh, oh, oh!"
said the little apple tree! And at last
she was very happy.
Remember -- we are all very special but you
have to look deep inside
yourself to find your star. (To find a
star in your apple,
instead of slicing it "lengthwise", slice it
through the middle.)
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Book of the Month . . . Make a Difference -- Give a Book! |
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I love to read -- my house is full of
books. I can't imagine not
having books to read. Unfortunately
there are children out there
who don't have any books. The
organization, The
Literacy Site, was
founded to help promote literacy among
children from low-income
families nationwide. Partnering with First
Book and Room to Read, the
site makes books available to children around
the world, giving many
children their very first book. Making books
a part of a child's life
is the best way to encourage the love of
reading -- and literacy is key
in breaking the poverty cycle. All you have
to do to support this
worthy cause is to visit their web site each
day and click on the
button. With the generous support of the
site's sponsors, each click
provides 1% of a book. This month, Pi
Beta Phi, a national
fraternity for women, will donate an
additional 20,000 books if the
Literacy Site is able to fund 20,000 books
with clicks. The site
sends me a daily reminder e-mail so that I
can click everyday.
Please join us in clicking to bring books to
children who need them!
Quote of the Month: "A leader is
powerful to the degree he empowers others."
(fortune cookie)
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