Sample Query Letters

Sample Query Letters Sample Query Letters Sample Query Letters By Maeve Maddox Reader Blaine asks Does anyone out there know of a website or a book with a lot of sample query letters? The question comes just as Im studying this guide to marketing a novel: The Sell Your Novel Tool Kit: Everything You Need to Know About Queries, Synopses, Marketing, and Breaking In by Elizabeth Lyon. The book was recommended to me by a colleague for the very reason that it contains numerous sample fiction queries. Chapter Six defines the query and offers step-by-step instructions for writing one: Queries Defined Lead Model Query Letter Body Closing Style Types and Uses Chapter Seven provides 15 examples of actual letters. Several genres are represented, including Literary Historical Christian Adventure Mystery Suspense Fantasy Romance Childrens 9-12 So far Im finding Lyons book extremely helpful as I prepare to market a mystery novel of my own. When Im ready to do something with one of my non-fiction projects, Ill have a look at her other guide: Nonfiction Book Proposals Anybody Can Write. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Freelance Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Farther vs. FurtherBetween vs. In BetweenDozen: Singular or Plural?

RyanAir Strategic Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

RyanAir Strategic Management - Assignment Example After the September 11th (9-11) terrorists' attacks on the world trade centre the airline industry has been trying to draw back its customer base. It has slowly regained its pre 9-11 customer levels. Some airlines are recovering from bankruptcies and lay offs within the industry. The airline industry has regained its consideration as the main way of travel for the tourism and business industries. Economic recovery in other industries such as tourism and conference hosting could benefit the airline industry if the industry responds with a marketing campaign promoting air travel to destinations that are popular for tourism and business industries. Post 9-11 the American airline industries recovery was assisted by special payments (bail-outs) from the U.S. government. This greatly affected European Union (EU) airlines. The lowering of ticket prices by the American carriers also affected the EU airline industry. A trans-Atlantic airline pricing agreement helped keep the EU airlines in business. In addition the EU agreed to allow European governments to provide payouts to their airlines (much as the American government did) to help them recover from the 9-11 related industry slowdown (World Airline News, 1). Although the airline industry may have recovered from its 9-11 reaction to the World Trade Centre attacks it is still affected by the ongoing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Security within the industry is much higher than pre 9-11 but there still remains the possible threat of another attack using the airlines as a target or tool of the attack. European Union airlines continue to compete with trans-Atlantic airlines from the United States and other North and South American airlines. Tourists are choosing to visit countries they believe "safe" such as England and Ireland rather than Middle Eastern or South West Asian countries. This is good for EU air carriers who benefit greatly by the increase in business. RyanAir's Development (History). Ryanair is an airline that continues to exploit the low cost air industry by providing some of the lowest fares in the industry. Ryanair is purposely modelled after the American airline South West Airlines and uses the no frills approach to providing air transportation. This means no in flight meals or snacks or such (for free). The airline provides basically a seat (or ride) only. Ryanair is headquartered in Dublin Ireland at the Dublin airport. It's only Irish competitor is Aer Lingus which is Ireland's national airline. Ryanair holds a 25% stake in Aer Lingus and makes no secrets about its interest in acquiring Aer Lingus. Ryanair currently has 232 low cost routes across 24 countries. Its reputation in the European Union is as the EU's first

Scotland, the Stateless Nation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Scotland, the Stateless Nation - Essay Example Many attempted to settle in Central America through the Scottish sponsored Darien project with a hope of establishing the same success as the English. There they were fated to die, abandoned by both the Scottish and English government. The Scottish government and investors lost huge amounts of capital that contributed to the later depression of the 17th Century3. Large numbers of Scotsmen and their lassies relocated to Canada, North American Colonies as well as Australia and New Zealand. The motivation for leaving their homeland varied over the 18th, 19th and first decades of the 20th Century. However, the main causes of this startling Diaspora arose from the blunt fact that Scotland as a nation had lost as a rival to England. This process began much earlier than the era of colonization at least six hundred years earlier. England, the poor leadership from the aristocracy of both lands, the European wars of the 18th Century and the Imperial expansion of Great Britain in the 19th proved the death of the nation of Scotland. The conquest of England by the Normans brought about a six hundred year war between England’s’ new masters and Scotland, which culminated in 1688. Malcolm Canmore, Malcolm III, and William the conqueror hated each other at first sight. However, William the Conqueror forced Malcolm III by the Treaty of Abernathy in 1072 to surrender his son Duncan to the Norman court as a hostage. Malcolm III received in exchange for this fealty land in England4. The very use of hostages was a weakening stratagem because it influenced indirectly and directly the youthful heirs of one’s opponents, in a positive manner, towards the ways of their captor (host). Herein, the English turned the Scottish laird and chieftain to their purposes and ultimately through them destroyed the Scott ish nation. The Normans and the Scots continued in a never-ending battle between each other until after the middle of the 18th century.  

Push and Pull Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Push and Pull Marketing - Essay Example Since consumers’ attention is the main aim of communication mediums, communication strategy can be either pull strategy or push strategy. Both approaches are distinct from each other and every organization has to ensure that it plans and executes that strategy which will work for its offering (Hegel III & Brown, 2008). The main difference between push and pull marketing is that pull marketing induces end consumers to create demand, while in push marketing, marketers entice trade buyers to purchase and carry out the products that allows them to reap profit potential benefits (Steglin, 2012). Push Marketing Strategy In push strategy, the primary aim of marketers is to design marketing strategy in a way that will push products onto the consumers. It basically means offering attractive incentives to employees and sales representatives for pushing the product on specific points or places where there are more chances of customers buying products impulsively. In other words, in busin ess to business marketing, it means using marketing mediums to get attention of businesses to buy the supplier’s materials and products and sell it to end consumer. The main forms of communication mediums used are price inducements, promotions, trade shows, trade promotions, sponsorships and many more that will get the attention of retailers, wholesalers and other businesses to purchase the company’s products or services (Segal, 2012). For instance, push marketing strategy is commonly found among energy drinks companies as they try to get the attention of end consumers by organizing various events such as trade shows and promotional incentives. British Petroleum uses push strategy by attracting its customers who are the processors of their products that supply refined products to the end consumers. The company offers various perks, price breaks and discount offers so that it can get the attention of its business consumers. Unilever uses push strategy for its distributo rs, wholesalers and retailers so that it can get good placement for its products in their stores. Pull Marketing Strategy In pull marketing strategy, marketers try to inspire consumers to demand the company’s products or services. In this technique, a lot of money is spent as the tools used to grab customers’ attention are very expensive. The marketers need to incorporate strategies that will help in creating relations with target market and getting them engaged with their offerings. Some of the commonly used marketing mediums for pull strategy are word of mouth, sponsorships, product placement and advertisement in newspapers, on radio and Television (Segal, 2012). For instance, Apple uses pull strategy to attract its target market; it relies heavily on placement of products, Public Relations efforts and advertisements that are innovative and attractive which will help in creating more demand for its products. The company’s advertisements about its computers end with quotes like â€Å"available at specific places† or â€Å"Buy now†. Almost all the advertisements of the company has message that pulls consumers towards it as information about product with complete details are provided. Red Bull also focuses on pull strategy as it sponsors various events round the year such as Formula 1, soap box derby and concerts. With all these communication med

Durkheims Approach to Sociological Analysis

Durkheims Approach to Sociological Analysis Outline the main features of Durkheims approach to sociological analysis, and discuss how this may be used to understand suicide rate. Durkheim was a French positivist, with an emphasis on functionalism, which revolves around a biological analogy where in society, is seen as an organic whole with each component working to maintain the others, similar to the human body. Its main interest is seeing how these parts create a stable whole. One of the main areas of Durkheims approach is the focus on social facts, these are social phenomena and ways of thinking and behaving that restrain individuals in some manner or other and can include institutions such as the state and education. They appear from collectively formed rules and practices, be they religious or secular and are beyond our control as individuals. Because of these social facts individuals have littler or no control over their own actions, rather than constructing their own world they are directed by the system as society needs certain social behaviours and phenomena to survive. These social facts are passed on from generation to generation and shared among the individuals. From this perspective it is not individual will that drives behaviours but rather the common norms and values of society that shape ones consciousness. Not only are these types of behaviour and thinking external to the individual, but they are endued with a compelling and coercive power b y virtue of which, whether he wishes it or not, they impose themselves upon him (Durkheim, 1895 pp50). These social facts form the basis of a collective consciousness, which Durkheim sees as the body of beliefs and sentiments common to the average members of a society (Durkheim, 1893). This collective consciousness promotes solidarity, forging a common bond between individuals in a society, creating a form of order and stability. Without a form of moral consensus there would be conflict and disorder From where interest is the only ruling for each individual finds himself in a state of was with every other (Durkheim, 1973, p89) Since the collective consciousness is a social fact it too constrains individuals to act in terms of the greater good and for the good of the society and is deeply imprinted on the individual as without it there would be no society as we know it. These social facts can have problems if they regulate too much or not enough, without enough control the individual would give in to their own wants and desires, with too much they would feel repressed, inevitably both will lead to deviance, that being going against the norms and values of society. From a collective consciousness come two forms of solidarity, organic and mechanical. Organic solidarity is based upon a dependence that individuals in an advanced society place on each other. It is common among societies where the division of labor is high. Though individuals perform different tasks and often have different values and interests, the order and survival of society depends on their reliance on each other to perform their specific tasks. Mechanical solidarity on the other hand is based upon the similarities among individuals in a society, within it people feel connected through similar work, education and religious practices. It primarily exists in societies that possess a low division of labour where this is little interdependence between individuals and where there is a basic or lack of organisation and compared to societies with organic solidarity there is more value placed on religion, society and its interests and there is a greater collective consciousness and les s emphasise placed on individualism, that being where you count yourself as an individual rather than part of a group, putting yourself first etc (Haralambos 2004 pp). From organic solidarity and individualism can come anomie, this is a sense of normlessness, where norms themselves are unclear, broken down or unregulated If the rules of the conjugal morality lose their authority, and the mutual obligations of husband and wife become less respected, the emotions and appetites ruled by this sector of morality will become unrestricted and uncontained, and accentuated by this very release; powerless to fulfil themselves because they have been freed from all limitations, these emotions will produce a disillusionment which manifests itself visibly(Durkheim, 1972, p. 173) He noted that it was common in societies that possessed a less defined collective consciousness and a higher amount of individualismThe state of anomie is impossible whenever interdependent organs are sufficiently in cont act and sufficiently extensive. If they are close to each other, they are readily aware, in every situation, of the need which they have of one-another, and consequently they have an active and permanent feeling of mutual dependence.(Durkheim, 1895, p184) Imbalances in the amount of regulation caused by social facts and the amount of integration from solidarity are one of the main factors within suicide, less advanced societies having too much integration and regulation and industrial societies have too littler of either. Durkheim said that suicide was a social act, not entirely an individual one revolving around the relationships between the individual and society. He found that there was a correlation between the suicide rate and various social facts. For example he found that suicide rates were higher in protestant countries than catholic ones, he also found that there was a low rate during times of social and political upheaval due to the amount of solidarity that such events creates (Durkheim in Marsh, pp66-69). He laid out four types of suicide, depending on the degree that individuals were involved in society and on the degree that their behaviour was regulated. The four types being egoistic, anomic, altruistic and fatalistic. Egoistic suicide is common in industrial societies with high amounts of division of labour and comes from a high amount of individualism, which stems from a low amount of integration due to a weak collective consciousness from the social groups from which they originally belonged; in effect society allows the individual to escape it In this case the bond attaching man to life relaxes because that attaching himself to society is itself slack (Durkheim in Marsh pp67). This sort of suicide Durkheim said accounted for the differences of suicide rates between Protestants and Catholics, with Catholicisms demanding a higher amount of conformity, in comparison to the Protestant church that encouraged the individual to interpret the religious texts in their own way without stigma. Another type of suicide common in industrial societies is anomic which results from a low amount of regulation. It occurs when norms and values are disrupted by social change, procuring feelings of uncertainty with in the individual. Whenever serious readjustments take place in the social order, whether or not due to a sudden growth or to an unexpected catastrophe, men are more inclined to self destruction (Durkheim in K. Thompson, 1971, pp109) Durkheim found that suicide rates rose during positive as well as negative directions of social change. He noted that there was a rise after the crash of the Paris stock exchange in 1882 and the conquest of Rome in 1870 by Victor-Emmanuel which resulted in rising salaries and living standards but also a rise in the suicide rate. On the opposite side of the spectrum is altruistic suicide that comes from a high amount of integration and strong feeling of society and solid collective consciousness. This form of suicide is mostly present in pre-industrial societies who possess mechanical solidarity. This was seen as a self sacrifice for the good of the group This sacrifice then is imposed by society for social ends (Durkheim in Marsh, pp68). It is not done because it seen as the best option but more out of a sense of duty to said group. For someone to do such an act out of duty then they must have little self worth, the individual being fully submerged into a group and feeling like just a part of a greater thing, thus highly integrated. For society to be able to compel some of its members to kill themselves, the individual personality can have little value. For as soon as the latter begins to form, the right to existence is the first conceded (Ibid, pp68) Various examples of this can be seen throughout history, Vikings considers it dishonourable to die of old age or sickness and so ended their own lives to avoid social disgrace. Durkheim placed no importance on fatalistic suicide, saying that it had more place in history than in modern societies. It occurred when society restricted an individual so much that they were repressed, feeling that they had no futures or dreams. One of the major criticisms of Durkheims analysis is his concepts of integration and regulation. Durkheim gives no hint as to how one would measure integration or regulation for example he simply asks us to assume that such underlying concepts are significant in relation to the explanation of suicide. He assumes that suicidal behavior results from a deviation from normal levels of integration and regulation. We are given no idea what exactly is a normal level, so we cannot say what amount of regulation and integration is normal or abnormal (Web ref 1). However with some work, it could be possible to come up with various test relating to theses concepts, so that we could measure them among different groups in society. A second criticism is that his work on suicide is based upon official statistics from the 19th century He gives us little idea about the reliability of the source of the statistics and the methods used in recording them could not be up to scratch, some could be wrong, s ince they were hand written things could be misread and so on. Another factor is that the determination of suicide involves is process of interpretation by numerous people such as policemen, doctors, coroners etc (Ibid). In this respect, we have no real way of determining either the reliability or validity of suicide statistics. The coroner is the one who decides whether death was due to suicide or not and various factors can sway his judgment towards it not being so. The individuals verdict depends on their outlook on their work and on their outlook on suicide. Some would be thorough in the investigation whilst others would be concerned about not intruding upon the rights and feelings of the surviving relatives. For example if the victim was Catholic, since traditionally the Catholic Church view suicide as a sin, the coroner may well make his decision based on the effect that the stigma that a suicide verdict carries may have on the relatives. It is known that coroners in Catholic countries such as Italy and Mexico are more-reluctant to classify a suspicious death as suicide than coroners in non-Catholic countries. Another fact is that some countries suicide is classified as a crime, in such countries, coroners tend to be more-reluctant to classify a death as suicide than in countries where such a law does not apply, for example when suicide was illegal in Britain the punishment was that deceased property would be ceased by the state, so it would be justifiable to deem a suicide as something else to avert any more tragedy. Also where the victim was insured against death, coroners tend to be less likely to classify death as suicide than in instances where there is none, as such an act can void the coverage. One final criticism is that he does not take into look into individual action as a cause; however he does briefly acknowledge it but claims that it has no part in sociology (Ibid) Bibliography Durkheim, E (1973). Moral Education. Macmillan USA Durkheim, E (1975). On Morality and Society. revised ed. Chicago: Chicago University Press Durkheim, E (1982). The Rules of the Sociological Method. revised ed. London: The Free Press. Durkheim, E (1997). The Division of Labour in Society. revised ed. London: The Free Press Haralambos and Holborn (2004). Sociology themes and perspectives. 6th ed. London: Collin Marsh.I (1998). Classic and Contemporary Readings in Sociology. London: Pretince Hall. Thompson.K and Tunstall.J (1983). Sociological Perspectives. 9th ed. London: Penguin Books

Michael Jordan :: Free Essays

Michael Jordan Michael Jordan is an American Professional Basketball Player . I picked Michael for my biography because I consider him to be the best basketball player in the NBA . Michael is recognized for his spectacular ball handling skills and for his outrageous dunks . He is also the leading scorer in the NBA , and a winner of three NBA most valuable player award in 1988,1991, and 1992 . Jordan was born in Brooklyn , New York , and raised in Wilmington , North Carolina . He accepted a basketball scholarship at the University of North Carolina and as a freshman he scored the winning shot in the 1982 NCAA championship game .   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1984 Jordan led the U.S. basketball team to victory in the Olympics . After that he left college to play for the Chicago Bulls . Jordan was successful as a professional from his first season , Leading the NBA in the 1984-85 season in points scored . He also was named rookie of the year and started in the All Star game .   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the 1986-87 season Jordan became the second player ever to score 3000 points in one season . In the following six seasons he led the NBA in scoring averaging more than 30 points per game . Jordan led the Chicago Bulls to their first NBA championship tittle in 1991, and did it again in 1992 and in 1993 . Jordan retired from basketball in 1994 to play baseball . He only played for about one year but he didn't have what it took to be a baseball player . He came back to play basketball in the middle of the 1995 season to lead the Bulls into the first round of the playoffs where they where beat .   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jordan was the NBA's most valuable player for the 1987- 88 season and again for the 1990-91 and the 1991-92 season . This is the first time a NBA player won for two consecutive seasons .

Richard III: Power of Language and Own Villainy

Deformed in body and twisted in mind, Richard is in every way the dominant character of the play, to the extent that he is both the play’s protagonist and major villain. He is selfish, evil, corrupt, sadistic, and manipulative. His intelligence, political brilliance, and dazzling use of language keeps the audience fascinated and his subjects and rivals under his control. At the beginning of the play, it is made clear to the audience that Richard has no justification for seizing the throne. This is because England is obviously not oppressed or subject to tyranny as the lengthy civil war has just ended, and Richard’s oldest brother, King Edward IV, now sits on the throne. Richard himself, states that ‘All the clouds that loured upon our house’ (1. 1, 3), the house of York, has been dispelled by the ‘son of York’ (1. 1, 2), King Edward IV. However, Richard intends to upset the kingdom by seizing power for himself. He says that ‘since I cannot prove a lover to entertain these fair well-spoken days, I am determined to prove a villain’ (1. , 28). This simply means that since Richard was not made to be a lover, he has no use for peace, and will happily destroy peace with his crimes. This shows Richard’s unabashed enjoyment of his own villainy as he can so blithely toss aside all of the things that the rest of humanity cherishes. Richard III is an intense exploration of the psychology of evil, and that exploration is centred on the workings of Richard’s mind and the methods he uses to manipulate, control, and injure others for his own gain. Perhaps more than any other play by Shakespeare, the audience of Richard III experiences a complex, indefinite, and highly erratic relationship with the main character. Richard is clearly a villain as he declares outright in his very first speech that he intends to stop at nothing to achieve his ultimate goal of becoming king. However, despite his open allegiance to evil, he has such a charismatic and fascinating personality that, for much of the play, we are likely to sympathize with him, or are at least impressed by him. In this way, our relationship with Richard reflects the other characters’ relationships with him, conveying a powerful sense of the force of his personality. Even characters such as Lady Anne, who have an explicit knowledge of his wickedness, overlook his dishonesty and violent behaviour and allow themselves to be seduced by his brilliant wordplay, his skilful argumentation, and his relentless pursuit of his selfish desires. Richard’s long, fascinating soliloquys, in which he outlines his plans and gleefully confesses all his evil thoughts, are central to the audience’s experience of Richard. Shakespeare uses these soliloquys brilliantly to control the audience’s impression of Richard, enabling this manipulative protagonist to work his charm on the audience. In Act I, scene i, for example, Richard offers a pretext for his villainy towards others by pointing out that he is unloved, and that he is unloved because of his physical deformity. Richard himself is brutally honest about his appearance. He admits to being imperfectly shaped and blames premature birth for his condition. He knows that he is ‘not shaped for sportive tricks’ (1. 1, 14) and while others delight in ‘an amorous looking glass’ (1. , 14), his misshapen body creates a ‘shadow in the sun’ (1. 1, 26) that alienates him from others. Hence, Lady Anne calls Richard a ‘lump of foul deformity’ (1. 2, 57) in Act I, scene ii. This proves that Richard’s claim not only makes the other characters of the play seem like the villains for punishing him for his appearance, but also makes it easy for the audience to sympathize with Richard during the first scenes of the play and even hope that he will succeed despite his obvious villainy. It quickly becomes apparent, however, that Richard simply uses his deformity as a tool to gain the sympathy of others, including the audience. This is already noticeable in his very first speech as Richard seems to take a deliberate perverse delight in his outward shape. He chooses words such as, ‘cheated’, ‘deformed’, ‘unfinished’, ‘half made up’, ‘dogs bark’ at him as he passes by because of his ‘deformity’ to describe himself. Richard’s unabashed villainy is a much more natural part of his character than simple bitterness about his ugly body. Nevertheless, he still manages to use speech to win our trust, and he repeats this throughout his struggle to be crowned king. An interesting secondary theme of Richard III is the power of language, or the importance of language in achieving political power. Language may not always be a necessary instrument of power, but for Richard, it is a crucial weapon. As we have seen, it is with his extraordinary skills with words that allows him to ridicule, insult, taunt and deceive all who stand in his way to power. Richard’s skill with language and argument is what enables him to woo Lady Anne, have Clarence thrown in prison and blame the king for Clarence’s death, all at very little risk to himself. In conclusion, I feel Richard III’s unabashed enjoyment of both the power of language and his own villainy makes him a character worthy of both respect and admiration, and therefore I completely agree with this statement. This is because Richard’s unabashed power of language shows off the ingenious wit and intellectual cleverness of the character, actor and playwright, while his own villainy makes the play all the more fascinating and entertaining as his heinous acts become more chilling.