Well it seems long gone are the days when you hand out a physical demo or you send a thick envelope filled with press-kit materials for review. Also, not to mention all of the copyright issues at stake if one should be so inclined to have a listen.

Here are a few suggestions below but truly it is up to you and what you are looking to achieve for your career.

MARKETING PLAN

How many of you actually have a written plan of career milestones and goals you would like to achieve? How many of you actually refer back to it to ensure you are on the right path? The numbers are considerably low if you are not represented by a team of professionals but fact is represented or not, if you intend to generate any form of revenue from your craft you need to think like a business.

Develop your marketing plan for you or your group. Write down what you aim to achieve, how long it will take you, your plan of action and who you are expecting to reach by that specific goal. Start with a certain niche not everyone might be a fan of your particular genre—some people are particular about their music so if you produce jazz, would you pitch your tracks to a strictly country fan?

ONLINE PROMOTION

Some musicians seem to be flying a lot of social media banners high to promote themselves these days but why not promote YOU as a brand by having your own website. Social networks are great for connecting but tying in your own website address to that network is that much more powerful and professional.

Your online campaign has the ability to reach a global audience so ensure that your website is clear, concise and well-developed with your information. Also, ensure you have a reputable web hosting provider that is secure for transactions and mailing list information.

Always keep track of your web hosting and domain due dates to guarantee service without interruption “This page cannot be displayed” is frustrating for people trying to book you or contact you.

Now promote your own website, gain search engine optimization and let people know in the online global community that you can be located at a centralized place.

LOCAL PROMOTION

Recently, I was speaking at a music panel for artist management and promotion and as the crowd spoke of which “online social networks” to engage on—the moderator quickly responded, “What about here in this room with all of you present? Did any of you forget this is ALSO a social network?”

We tend to forget that each person we meet is another person to promote what we are currently working on whether they are friend, co-worker, associate or otherwise. Each person is an extension of their own personal network so why not go to local events and promote your music, your website and most importantly, you. You never know who is out amongst the crowd—writer for a music review, producer for a well-known label, another musical act looking for an opening act or more importantly listeners eager for new music.

INTERNATIONAL PROMOTION

Online communities, message boards, press releases out to international media outlets—all are vehicles used to promote music each and every day.

Having a publicist draft and send a press release for something newsworthy can definitely catch the attention of media for a possible music review or interview. Message boards are also a perfect vehicle to capture the attention of new listeners or possible collaborative partners just make sure to have an agreement drafted with co-production deals.

Small rural city or large metropolis, everyone began somewhere if people do not know what you do or what you are working on whether locally or internationally—how can your desire be met?

Author: Alexandra Aguinaga -Music Room Co-Editor
website: www.allianceglobalmedia.com

DISCLAIMER: The information and opinions reflected in this article are solely those of the author and do not reflect on the publisher, editor, or editorial staff of Women’s Online Magazine. This article has been written and reviewed by the author. Any errors should be brought to the attention of the author.

What does childhood mean to you?

Does childhood still exist in 2010?  When you’ve girls as young as 7 with eating disorders/issues, making fashion demands on parents – because the latest so called celebrity has them, and 10 year old boys ‘gaming’ online with someone in America for 6 hrs a time, this question has to be a relevant one.

Born in 1981 and growing up in the late 8o’s, early nineties – not so long ago you might say, and you’d be right, I hasten to add, my childhood memories are full of bike rides, games of football with the boys on the green, playing tag and 1 to 100 (so not cool to call it hide and seek!) and all into the early evening.

We knew it was time to come in- when it started getting dark! Until this point there were no fears of us having been chatted to by some oddball outcast at best, or lured by some crazed psycho with thoughts of a disturbing nature at worst. Yes there were dangers, but they usually involved near miss road injuries, having concentrated so hard on hitting target with maximum points in the middle of the road at a game of Curby, that you didn’t see Mr Osbourne at number 13 reversing off the drive! Notice I said Mr Osbourne – back then you knew who your neighbours were. Back then all would be in agreement it would’ve been my own stupid fault for being in the way and not paying attention, nowadays poor Mr O’ wouldn’t have stood a chance having been sued for all his worldly possessions and life savings down to the shirt on his back.

It saddens me that, certainly very rarely, do you ever see a group of kids for example on their bikes messing around and enjoying themselves. So extreme is it that a sight like that nowadays would have people running for cover believing a gangland ‘cycle-by’ was taking place!

No longer is it enough to admire a TV Personalities/ film star’s talent at what it is he or she does. It seems to me since the mid nineties we have developed an appetite for ( prior to this it was a mere taste ) absolutely any information whatsoever, no matter how insignificant, on someone ranging from the Z-A list-ers including ;what that person eats to get those cellulite free pins ( it’s called an air brush, and you don’t eat it), what label it is they are sashaying down the red carpet in( like we mere mortals can afford the £3000 price tag anyway?!) and who they were dating, are dating and will be . . dating.

This obsession has not only spread in diversity of topic but with all the readily available, magazines, reality shows, fashion shows, celebrity lifestyles, TV and film, 24/7, it has trickled or as some would see it, poured down, to instil itself in the up and coming generation. The generation that should be out having fun, socially interacting, encountering danger and God forbid a bit of dirt, having accidents and learning from them all.

Without these experiences how are they going to shape their lives and choose which career path to go down? Unfortunately, the WAG epidemic seems to be upon us and until we do something to give back to the under 16s, their childhoods, all the David Beckham wannabe’s out there better get practicing.

I’m so glad and yet sad, to have been one of the last to have had a ‘normal’ childhood, one where hard work ensued rewards and results. A fashion faux pa rarely existed ‘in my day’ as the extent of the word fashion to us, was to have a shoe with a heel – any will do, the right school bag – whatever that maybe as you only knew when it was wrong, and the right length of skirt – enough to catch the boys eyes, but not enough to catch detention.

Rachel Dawes
White Paper Display
Visual Merchandising Consultancy

www.whitepaperdisplay.com
info@whitepaperdisplay.com

www.frommetoyoudesigns.co.uk
rachel@frommetoyoudesigns.co.uk

DISCLAIMER: The information and opinions reflected in this article are solely those of the author and do not reflect on the publisher, editor, or editorial staff of Women’s Online Magazine. This article has been written and reviewed bythe author. Any errors should be brought to the attention of the author.

www.whitepaperdisplay.com
email: info@whitepaperdisplay.com

www.frommetoyoudesigns.co.uk
email: rachel@frommetoyoudesigns.co.uk

Oh yes, we love to hang onto the myth of Cupid’s arrow don’t we! We would love to abdicate responsibility for our choices, wouldn’t we – whether it be Cupid or Fate – we find excuses and reasons for our actions.

How often though do we ever wake up and realise that we are archers ourselves. At all times we are responsible for whether or not we fire the arrow. It may well be dear old ‘fate’ who brings us into the same hemisphere or pub, salsa evening or Sainsbury’s where we might meet someone, but rest assured, dear old fate is as likely to throw us a curved ball as he is a straight hit! And Cupid isn’t much better!

D’you know when you’ve made a straight hit? Well, it’s when you don’t have to make excuses for either your or someone else’s behaviour.

Lust – fired from Cupid’s arrow, and definitely outside your control (well isn’t it?) - is one of those feelings which sometimes makes you ‘someone else’ ! How often have you heard someone say things like ‘oh he’s not my type but something made me do it’, or ‘he was just too tasty to ignore’ – it’s the same as walking down the chocolate aisle in Tesco! Any excuse will do, won’t it!

It’s so easy to fall in love - but is it really? How many people fall in love with an ideal, with an expectation, with what they want to see and be and to happen?

These are the very people who get dis-satisfied with their relationship – a person isn’t living up to who and what they expected them to be. When push comes to shove it’s remarkable how a few weeks, months and in many instances years go by before one of the parties wakes up and says to themselves ‘Oi, what am I doing here’?

Now that’s not to say that there are many lust filled relationships which work wonderfully because there are. And yet, you’ll find that these are the people who are much more willing to accept the person as they are and they in turn will be accepted for who they are.

I don’t know if there’s any truth in opposites attracting or whether it’s better to be very similar to our partners for it to work. I do know though that shared values, shared visions and an ability to be ourselves is something which really works. The continuation of conversation over the weeks, months and years is key too.

For many people, Valentine’s Day is a day of reflection, and if you haven’t yet made it so, maybe this year is a good one to start.

Are you happy in your relationship? If not, for what reason aren’t you? If you are, how can you keep that up or even double it?

If you aren’t in a relationship, what’s stopping you? What is it about you that you need to come to terms with before you lump it onto the next man in your life?

Ladies, men are wonderful beings, they often deserve more than we give them credit for, and I for one would rather change myself than begin to attempt to change my partner to fit my ideal. I leave you that as food for thought as the only person you can change is you.

I wish you ‘A very happy Valentine’s Day’ – even if it’s treating yourself for the first time to what you feel you deserve – trust, respect, love, security and warmth. All things start with you!

Jackie Walker

DISCLAIMER: The information and opinions reflected in this article are solely those of the author and do not reflect on the publisher, editor, or editorial staff of Women’s Online Magazine. This article has been written and reviewed bythe author. Any errors should be brought to the attention of the author.

Felicity Lerouge is a life coach (her official title is coaching psychoneurologist but she thinks that sounds a bit scary). She has extensive experience in the field of personal development and is part of Tony Robbins’ Senior Leadership team, coaching at his events, worldwide. In order to stay at the cutting edge of her profession, she is studying coaching psychoneurology as a doctorate student with Barron University, CA.

She is also the author of a modern day fable, Changing the Channel, which was published by Ecademy Press. A reflection of some of her own life experiences, it is a story of love and self-discovery, inviting you to look at life from a different, more hopeful perspective.

Felicity is based between London and the south coast. Due to the wonders of the Internet, she is able to support her coaching clients, worldwide. To enquire about her coaching services, please contact her.

Websites: www.felicitylerouge.com

               www.thethriveologist.com

E-mail :  mail@filerouge.com

Ten years ago, I stumbled across a person who has had a powerful influence on me: the father of life coaching, Tony Robbins. Hunched on my hotel bed, wide awake and bleary eyed at 3 am, due to an unreasonable time change, I flicked on the television to see what might distract me from my sleeplessness. There, filling the screen was a man with huge charisma, huge teeth but more importantly a huge heart. I found his infomercial compelling (yes, really) and decided I would buy his book, Awaken the Giant Within. It proved to be a valuable tool in understanding why I continued limiting patterns of behaviour and how I could change.

The book was inspiring but it was hard to apply what I had learnt in a less than favourable environment. It was only when my marriage failed that I realised I needed some extra help in making a fresh start and tentatively booked myself on my first Tony Robbins seminar.

The event was relevant and dynamic, supporting me to make the changes I needed to move on with my life and find lasting fulfilment. After attending a number of other events that greatly enriched my life, I understood that the next stage of my personal growth would be through contribution: I wanted to share what I had learnt with others, so that they could benefit.

I signed up for Tony’s Leadership Academy and am proud to say that I am now part of his Senior Leadership team, coaching at events worldwide. In order to stay at the cutting edge of my profession and serve my clients as effectively as possible, I am also currently studying coaching psychoneurology as a doctorate student with Barron University, CA.

There is nothing more rewarding than seeing someone making new distinctions that will change their perspective, and therefore their life, forever. It is very exciting to be part of that process and I consider it to be a privilege to accompany my clients on their journey of personal development.

Felicity Lerouge – Life Coach and Author

Websites: www.felicitylerouge.com
(www.thethriveologist.com)
E-mail : mail@fjlerouge.com

DISCLAIMER: The information and opinions reflected in this article are solely those of the author and do not reflect on the publisher, editor, or editorial staff of Women’s Online Magazine. This article has been written and reviewed by the author. Any errors should be brought to the attention of the author.

When I was 8 years old we moved from the north of England to the south. I had a little typewriter and I would correspond to Toni Smith, my northern best friend, who I have known since I was 5 years old (and we are still writing to each other 30 years on but via email now) using my clumsy fingers on my clumsy machine.

As I got older my passion for writing grew but I it was always underpinned by a need to make money from it. I have never been very good at writing creatively just for the joy of self-expression. In fact when I do such endeavours, invariably the result makes my toes curl, and I hope and pray that they are never discovered. If they are, then at the very earliest after I am dead and ideally completely dead and not hanging around in some transitional plane having to endure the criticism, but not having the means to defend my intentions. A bit like Joe Orton’s diaries, I am sure that he never expected to have his shorthand decoded and the world to read about how often he bashed one out. In my teens I had heard that you could make £200 per Mills and Boon novel so I thought this was an ideal way of writing to formula and earning some easy cash. My friend’s mum was a Mills and Boon member and had hundreds of them, so I read a few, which was very entertaining and then began my first draft. The problem was I just couldn’t take it seriously and it always ended up as some stupid parody, full of sexual debauchery and drunken frolics that amused me and my school chums but didn’t really stand any chance of earning me the coveted £200.

While I was at university my housemates and I, on rainy, cash strapped days, would pen erotic fiction stories about each of us in compromising positions with celebrities of our choice. Again they just turned into stupid parodies, which were hilarious. The olives and the pool table were a nice touch, anyone who has seen Priscilla Queen of the Desert will know what I mean. As I was studying a PR degree we thought it would be funny to try and sell them to men’s magazine Maxim. It was my first pitch into a features editor and it wasn’t my crowning glory. It went something along the lines of, “Hi, we have written these really funny erotic fictions stories and as Maxim is a glorified porn mag with words we thought they might be your cup of tea.” Click, as the features editor put the phone down.

After graduation I started working and was given the opportunity to work with the press photographer for Lawrie Smith’s yacht racing team, Silk Cut, who were participating in the 1998 Whitbread Round the World Race. I became privy to an inside look at these globetrotting, womanising, yachtsmen. At a summer bbq at my parents, I was introduced to a literary agent who had given up the big smoke for life in Middle Earth. I pitched the idea ‘Silk Sluts – The Inside Tale’ to her and we began the proposal writing process. The book looked like a winning combination and Silk Cut were definitely the team to watch when it came to debauched behaviour. It wasn’t long before they made the tabloid front pages when boat driver, super sexy Gordon Maguire, left his wife and began a year-long affair with page 3 hottie Jo Guest. However, my literary dreams were once again shattered, when I broke my leg while watching the start of the race onboard a speed-boat and spent the next year learning to walk again.

I next came into contact with the world of publishing when I was managing the communications programme for British yachtsman Mike Golding. He was competing in a yacht race called the Vendee Globe, a non stop circumnavigation of the world. As he approached Cape Horn his winning strategy looked like it might deliver and so in-conjunction with The Daily Telegraph sailing correspondent, Kate Laven, we began drafting a book proposal. She introduced me to literary agent David Luxton, from Luxton Harris ltd and he agreed to represent Mike, with Kate Laven as the co-writer. Kate wrote a great proposal and David managed to muster some interest from publishers. Mike eventually, after a dramatic finish, secured a brilliant third place but he felt that third didn’t warrant a book so once again my brush with publishing dissipated.

However, I stayed in touch with David Luxton and kept my ear to the ground. On another gig as Communications Director of the Velux 5 Oceans, a global solo yacht race with stopovers, the sailing legend Sir Robin Knox Johnston, who in 1969 became the first man ever to successfully complete a solo circumnavigation of the globe, decided to enter. He was going to be a big media pull and was in a severely under funded campaign. In order to boost his income and on the back of a front cover of the Sunday Times magazine, it was time once again to pull in the dynamic trio of Luxton, Laven and Macnaughton. Before the proposal was even drafted we were beginning to get offers from publishers. I managed the relationship between Kate, David and RKJ just because of the logistics of him trying to co-ordinate his sailing campaign. Kate drafted a fantastic proposal and it went out to tender. There was huge interest and the book finished in a bidding war between two publishers. In the end, in a nail biting board level sign off, a six-figure advance was offered which secured the book deal for ‘Force of Nature’, with Penguin. Our editor was to be Rowland White, the author of bestselling aviation non-fiction novel, ‘Vulcan 607’. Before Kate got stuck into the writing we all went up to London to meet Rowland, I shook his hand, we chatted a little and I mentioned that I had married a Chinook pilot in the RAF. Rowland, who obviously has a keen interest in aviation mentioned another Chinook pilot who was a mutual friend and it was all very jolly. I then walked away from the publishing world once more to get on with my very time-consuming day job.

After the race had finished and Force of Nature had been published Kate, David and I met up for a celebratory lunch at Soho House. David and I were talking and he mentioned that non-fiction military history was very much the books of the moment. He asked that if I got a sniff of a tale in this field, knowing I lived amongst the military in a military house, as I was married to a Chinook pilot, that he wanted first refusal. I didn’t think much of it but agreed that I would only do so if I got to write it.

About six months later I was having a cup of tea in the living room of a fellow wife, who lived two doors up the street from me, and her husband, a Major in the Royal Marines on an exchange tour with RAF, came home with a book in his hand called, In Foreign Fields by Dan Collins. He threw the book at me and said, “read that - it’s about me” alluding to a chapter in it. Her husband had earned a gallantry medal, called the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) in Afghanistan and his endeavours were described in it. I said to him that I thought that  I could get him a book deal. He agreed but only because he didn’t believe that it would never happen. I contacted David and the machinations began. We, in-conjunction with the Major drafted the proposal and then it was submitted. Somehow it ended up in front of Rowland at Penguin. At first, he turned us down but he did agree to a meeting to see if we could expand the story a bit further to give it more substance. At this meeting we did so , I then wrote a sample chapter and it was with great jubilation that I received a call from David to say that we had an offer from Penguin.

The contract was signed and I was the co-writer. I couldn’t believe that finally my dream to write a book was finally going to come to fruition. Then I found out that I was pregnant and we were being posted to Dorset. Penguin gave me a deadline of March 1^st, this gave me time to grow the baby, move, have the baby, get the baby to nursery age and then have 6 months to research and write the book. No problem. Thankfully, the world had invented Skype and I was very resourceful. On the 1^st January 2009 I declared myself teetotal until handover and began my writing marathon. Against all odds and under some pretty extreme endurance writing sessions ‘Immediate Response’ by Major Mark Hammond was drafted.

After a series of edits and a faff with the MOD, it was released on the 6^th August. In it’s second week of sales it debuted in The Sunday Times bestseller non-fiction chart, at number 9, making it an official bestseller. The next job for me is now to publish a book in my own name. I am working on a non-fiction look at life onboard a superyacht, through the eyes of a stewardess. It’s going to be like Hotel Babylon but with teeth and I am loving every minute of it. It is a comedy noir and I guarantee it will be a page turner. However, I am currently still looking for a publisher to agree to take it on so watch this space. One day my dream will come true and I am not going to give up trying.

Clare Macnaughton

 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Immediate-Response-Mark-Hammond/dp/0718154746

Immediate Response by Major Mark Hammond DFC RM with Clare Macnaughton Michael Josesph 2009 ISBN 0718154746 DISCLAIMER: The information and opinions reflected in this article are solely those of the author and do not reflect on the publisher, editor, or editorial staff of Women’s Online Magazine. This article has been written and reviewed by the author. Any errors should be brought to the attention of the author.

Dianne Lang is the author of “Saving Mandela’s Children’, a true and harrowing account of events that transpired during three of the most traumatic and invigorating years of her life. It started when three very ill young black orphans were left on her doorstep, dying of AIDS and in great need of food, shelter and love. It ended with Dianne fleeing for her life, turning to England for asylum, with the Scorpions, South Africa’s Secret police, close on her heels.

Dianne is one of the most prolific and outspoken Human Rights Activists in South Africa today, and has been the recipient of no less than 6 Humanitarian Awards including  the  “Clarins Eau Dynamisante Woman of the Year 2004”, Top 100 Women of SA award 2005,  and the coveted South African  Hero Award 2006.

Just like Africa itself, Dianne is a study in contrasts. Armed with an Honour’s degree in Psychology, a BA in Philosophy, Psychology and English, a Diploma in Copy Editing and Proofreading,  Dianne is also a Sangoma, an African Shaman as well as an alternative healer, having studied many different healing modalities including Acupuncture and Reiki.

A child of the Transkei, Dianne’s love for Africa shines through with her latest book “The Ama-Xhosa of the Transkei “. This book is a dedication to the memory of her late father Deryck Lang, and the love he had for the Ama-Xhosa, Africa’s largest tribe. Few people, let alone a white man, ever witness the tribal events her father was privy to and even less are allowed to photograph them. Dianne’s father spent his life among the Ama-Xhosa and he was a respected member of their tribe. Using her father’s rare photographs, Dianne has written a beautiful book and testament about these gentle people and the man who loved them.

Upon his death, The Ama-Xhosa honoured her father and took him away for a full tribal burial.

Dianne is setting up as a professional freelance proof-reader and copy editor based in the UK.  Her skills in marketing and public relations as well as her natural creative flair, together with her conscientious and reliable nature will be of great benefit to clients. She is happy to undertake any test of proofreading or copy editing skills.

Contact information:  dianne.lang1@googlemail.com or 01462 685402

When I was diagnosed with acute leukaemia

I was forced to slow down and realise that there is perfection in every moment.

I learned that being dependent on someone does not make you weak.

I stopped trying to save the world and became more effective with just one challenge.

I found that chemotherapy is not as bad as everyone thinks.

I had time to reflect on the past and appreciate my accomplishments.

I stopped settling for second best because I realise my worth.

I turned my bedroom from a flop house to a sanctuary.

I threw out rubbish and unnecessary stuff so no one will have to do that if I die.

I asked my kids forgiveness for some bad decisions during their childhood and they laughed at my silliness.

I learned that if today is a bad day, tomorrow will be better.

I understand that I am alone in this journey and it feels OK.

I came close to kicking the bucket and I discovered that dying is not scary.

I stopped listening to unsolicited phone calls and found that saying ‘no’ can be liberating.

Well meaning people who never had cancer tell you that strange concoctions, flashing at the moon and drinking cow’s urine imported from India is the cure.

I found that speaking my truth allows others to speak theirs.

I understand that I don’t have to be brave and put up with pain; that pain can be managed.

I learned that medical staff can’t say prick; having a needle shoved into your arm is called a scratch but hospitals have Spotty Dick on the menu.

I no longer care what time I eat or when I sleep, anytime is perfect.

I learned that taking control of your life improves your chances of living.

I learned that ‘want to’ is more important than ‘have to’

And that there is always someone worse off than me.

I cast my mind back over the ten months of living with cancer and find …I am alive.

have written two books and writing a third.

have completed a diploma course in copy editing.

have buried my father without waiting for a buy one get one free coffin.

taken three trips abroad.

started on-line dating.

made peace with the world and opened my heart and mind to miraculous possibilities.

Dianne Lang

Dianne Lang is the author of “Saving Mandela’s Children’, a true and harrowing account of events that transpired during three of the most traumatic and invigorating years of her life. It started when three very ill young black orphans were left on her doorstep, dying of AIDS and in great need of food, shelter and love. It ended with Dianne fleeing for her life, turning to England for asylum, with the Scorpions, South Africa’s Secret police, close on her heels.

Dianne is setting up as a professional freelance proof-reader and copy editor based in the UK.  Her skills in marketing and public relations as well as her natural creative flair, together with her conscientious and reliable nature will be of great benefit to clients. She is happy to undertake any test of proofreading or copy editing skills.

Contact information:  dianne.lang1@googlemail.com or 01462 685402