Bichlorides

In The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing we’ve tried to stress that for your self-publishing venture to have a good chance of success, you must plan and execute your actions carefully. This timetable will serve as a checklist to help you use your time wisely and do things in the most effective order. (Some of the steps in this timetable will not be clear before reading The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing in its entirety.) Not all items apply to every book; use your own judgment. When you need specific details on any point, refer to the Index or check the appropriate listing in the Appendix.

I. Do Immediately

To set yourself up as a self-publisher, you must first “take care of business” establish yourself as a commercial entity.

1. Read the book completely to glean an overview of this exciting adventure you’ve embarked upon. Read it through a second time, taking notes or highlighting sections.

2. Start developing a “Marketing Mind-set” now!

3. Subscribe to Publishers Weekly magazine.

4. Order a copy of Literary Market Place from R.R. Bowker.

5. Review the bibliography in this book. Borrow from the library, or purchase appropriate books.

6. Choose your publishing company name. Remember to research to see if it has already been used.

7. Write the Small Business Administration for its publications.

8. Contact Bowker for ABI information and listing forms, plus ISBN information and log sheet.

9. Contact the Chamber of Commerce and discuss local business license requirements, regulations, and procedures.

10. File a fictitious name statement (if required in your area).

11. Obtain a post office box.

12. Have letterhead, envelopes, mailing labels, and business cards printed.

13. Open a business checking account.

14. Obtain your resale tax permit.

15. Write the Library of Congress to get your LCCN.

16. Join SPAN (The Small Publishers Association of North America).

17. Review the chapters on Scoping Out a Marketable Subject and Product

Development: Writing Your Book.

II. Do Just After You’ve Finished Writing Your Book

With manuscript in hand, you’re ready to think about the physical aspects of your book: page count, typeface, design, artwork, etc. Also begin thinking about your specific marketing, PR, and distribution strategy.

1. Research your chosen title to see if it has been used already.

2. Get any needed permissions.

3. Wrap up last-minute research and verifications.

4. Ask competent friends or associates to read/critique/edit the manuscript.

Revise accordingly.

5. Have the manuscript professionally edited; make changes, proofread them.

6. Plan the interior design and mark the manuscript in readiness for typesetting.

7. Gather any interior artwork such as photographs or illustrations; size them.

8. Write cutlines for interior art and prepare a keyed list, or incorporate them in computer text.

9. Prepare a castoff to determine preliminary book length, specifications, etc.

10. Get author photo taken.

11. Get professional help to design the cover.

12. Request price quotations from manufactures and typesetters.

13. Determine the tentative retail sales price using our guidelines.

14. Establish your publication date.

15. Photocopy your manuscript and send it out to authorities and key reviewers for advance comments and perhaps a foreword.

16. Assign an ISBN.

17. Complete and submit the ABI form.

18. Complete and submit the LCCN form.

19. Typeset your book or send it to a designer/typesetter.

20. Obtain a Bookland EAN Scanning Symbol.

III. Initial Marketing Strategies

At this point, you set up your promotional campaign and attend to the details of book production.

1. Research your Nationwide Marketing Plan. Track down names and full contact information for reviewers, syndicated columnists, newsletter editors, associations, wholesalers, bookstores, special sales outlets, librarians, subsidiary rights buyers, local media people, etc. Think up innovative strategies. Prepare labels or envelopes.

2. Write the following promotional materials: news release, sales letter, mock review, customer sales flier, short sales blurb, email pitch.

3. Contact appropriate book clubs and first serial rights buyers you have identified through market research to interest them in subsidiary rights.

4. Test mail-order ads if you’re using direct marketing.

5. Prepare a personal mailing list from holiday card recipients, business associates, club membership directories, your Rolodex, database, etc.

6. Carefully proofread typeset galleys and have any corrections made.

7. Prepare electronicor camera-readycopy according to printer specifications.

8. Double-check that all corrections were made accurately and that all pages, illustrations, etc. are in the correct places.

9. Prepare the index (if applicable).

10. Typeset and proofread index.

11. Send galleys to sources noted in the Appendix.

IV. Do While Your Book Is Being Printed

As you continue your promotional efforts, begin implementing your Nationwide Marketing Plan. Get ready for the arrival of your books. See Chapters 5, 12, and 13 in the Complete Guide to Self-Publishing for more information on these steps.

1. Review bluelines carefully for any final corrections.

2. Set up warehousing space and a shipping area, or arrange for outside fulfillment.

3. Order shipping and office supplies.

4. Prepare the following additional materials: acknowledgment card for reviewers, discount schedule, and return policy statement.

5. Implement your Nationwide Marketing Plan.

6. Follow up on book clubs and first serial rights potential buyers.

7. Mail your prepublication offer to your personal mailing list.

8. Write the copyright office for form TX.

9. Write Dustbooks for listing in their various directories.

10. Implement full-scale mail-order campaign (if applicable).

11. Coordinate freight delivery of books, making sure you’ll be there to receive shipment and have payment ready (if needed).

V. Do When Books Arrive

At last: You have books to sell. Your baby has arrived. Now you can begin filling orders and following up on marketing leads. Rejoice!

1. Take an inventory count and open several random cases to be sure books are not scuffed, bound upside down, etc.

2. Photograph book.

3. Fill complimentary copy requests generated by your Nationwide Marketing Plan.

4. Fill advance orders.

5. Pursue prime wholesalers and distributors who have not yet shown interest.

6. Go after second serial rights sales.

7. Implement special sales and innovative promotional ideas.

8. Request the return of pertinent printing materials from your book manufacturer.

9. Complete your copyright registration on form TX.

10. Send a copy of the book to the CIP office.

11. Send a copy of the book to Cumulative Book Index.

12. Send a copy of the book to Baker & Taylor.

13. Embellish your book detail page on Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com.

14. Always carry a copy of the book with you: in your briefcase, handbag, or backpackand have a case of books in your vehicle.

15. Contact all bookstores in your area.

16. Set up a “revisions” file for noting corrections and new material for subsequent editions.

VI. Ongoing Promotional Activities

A successful self-publisher’s work is never doneyou’ll always be thinking of new ways to sell books. Now’s the time to line up print, radio, TV, and Internet interviews.

1. Implement special sales and innovative merchandising techniques.

2. Follow up on prime reviewers to be sure they received books.

3. Develop an “Available for Interview” sheet.

4. Contact local media for interviews and stories.

5. Expand your media focus to include regional print, radio, and TV.

6. Ask enthusiastic readers to write customer reviews for the book at Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com.

7. Pursue reviews, excerpts, and book sales on various Internet sites.

8. Be constantly on the lookout for new review sources and sales opportunities.

9. Consider giving lectures and/or seminars as promotional vehicles.

VII. After a Successful First Printing

Time to decide whether you want to reprint your book or offer it to a trade publisher.

1. Add favorable reviews to the book cover or first page.

2. Revise the copyright page and correct any typos.

3. Revise, update, and/or expand the book as needed.

4. Review the back-page order form for price or other changes.

5. Get reprinting quotes on a second printing or

6. Offer the book to major trade publishers.

In all you do, much success. You can make it happen!

© Copyright 2005 Marilyn Ross

Marilyn and Tom Ross are the coauthors of 13 books including the best-selling Complete Guide to Self-Publishing and the award-winning Jump Start Your Book Sales. Through phone consultations and ongoing coaching/mentoring, Marilyn empowers authors and self-publishers to realize their dreams. She can be reached at 719-395-8659 or Marilyn@MarilynRoss.com.

Visit http://www.SelfPublishingResources.com for free meaty information on writing, self-publishing, and book marketing strategies.

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Early in the process of writing, every writer will need to make a decision — what person to write in?

Traditionally, English grammar has divided references to people into three categories, to refer to I, you, and he or she. The first person is I, me, my, we, our, and so on. The second person is you and your. The third person is he, she, they, their, his, hers, him, her, and so on.

However, most writing tasks are written in either first or third person. Instructional and how-to type writing can be written in second person and some fiction — although rarely.

How does a writer decide which person is right for their writing task?

For many writers, the first and only criteria used is comfort and experience. As most of our oral communication takes place in the first person and much informal written communication is in first person, many people are just more comfortable writing in first person.

However that doesn’t mean that first person is the ideal choice for that particular writing task.

First person is a great choice when you intend to write informally or casually. Even if the task itself is actually for a formal or professional purpose, you may deliberately choose a casual tone. Then first person is the right choice.

First person is also a wonderful choice when writing about personal experience. If you are sharing a story about your life or an event that you witnessed then many times it is more powerful written in first person. The writer is a part of the story and it is important for the reader to know that so first person is the right choice here as well.

There are many times, though, when third person really is the better choice. In fact, many academic and professional situations require it as first person is more casual and informal.

The biggest reason to move from first to third person is simply that third person takes the writer (the “I”) out of the writing which places the emphasis on what is being said rather than who is saying it.

It creates a sense of more objectivity and distance–the writer’s feelings and personality are peripheral to an argument’s validity–the facts are allowed to speak for themselves.

Writing in third person is also stronger and more forceful therefore is often more convincing. Often the “I” statement weakens an argument or statement.

Often first person is unnecessary ie. I think [most students do not need algebra]. Many of the first-person elements (I think, I believe,I know, etc.) often simply weaken or bog down the writing for no purpose. Taking those out to make the switch to third person can make the writing stronger and more powerful.

If you want to learn and grow as a writer then you must experiment and gain experience using both first and third person. That way you will make the choice based on the purpose of your writing not simply your comfort level.

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I’ve learned that when a person starts thinking about telling their life story, they tend to overthink it. They get caught up in worrying about things such as what others will think and who would publish it. The whole thought process results in paralysis so they can’t even figure out how to get started. But if you do your thinking in a more focused way, and then follow it up with specific actions, you’ll have your completed pages done before you know it! Here’s how to get going.

Who is the Book For?

Before sitting down at your desk, decide who you are writing for. Are you writing for a wider audience (the general public)? Are you writing for your children and grandchildren? Answering this question will take many concerns off your plate from the very beginning. For instance, if you are writing only for family members, your writing style can be more intimate and informal, almost as though you are writing them a letter. You also wouldn’t have to worry about getting an agent or attracting a publishing house because you know you’ll either print the book yourself or have a self-publishing company produce a handful of finished books for you.

If you are writing for a wider audience you will have much more to deliver in terms of story, action and writing style. But let’s keep this on the back burner for now and only think in terms of one thing: you know you have to write well. The rest you can worry about when the book is done.

What Story or Stories Do You Want to Tell?

You don’t have to do the David Copperfield thing and go all the way back to “I am born.” Contrary to popular belief, real life doesn’t always make for interesting writing. So instead of going the James Frey route and embellishing, as he did with “A Million Little Pieces” (and you see where that got him!), focus instead on the great stories that have happened to you. I’ve heard from many people who desire to tell the story of their World War II experiences. They can do whole books just on that subject. There’s no need to do more unless you have more to say.

Joan Didion’s recent memoir, “The Year of Magical Thinking”, is all about her grieving after the death of her husband, John Gregory Dunne. It is a beautiful example of what can be done by examining just a small portion of your life. Likewise, Maya Angelou covered her life experiences in more than one book. So you don’t have to write down everything in one place. What story are your burning to tell right now? Start there!

Skip the Writing Part–For Now

This may seem counter-intuitive to your intent to write a book, but if putting down that first word or sentence is too hard, you may find it easier to talk your book out of you first. All you have to do is give yourself a rough outline of what you want to talk about and then speak your stories into a recording device. You probably tell these stories anyway more often than you realize, which is probably why people say, “You should write that down”. This will feel natural for you, especially if you enlist a friend or family member to interview you. That makes it easier than just lecturing into the air, plus the person you choose can help you to dig out certain details that you either have forgotten or just didn’t think to bring out. For instance, a curious interviewer might ask “Who was with you when you stormed that beach in France?” or “What kind of car were you driving when you first saw Mom walking down the street?” or “What were you wearing when you met Martin Luther King Jr.?”

Even Mitch Albom did this. Even though I had read “Tuesdays with Morrie”, it didn’t hit me until I saw the television movie based on the book that he had recorded Morrie during each visit. He didn’t have to work from notes or memory. I’m sure the tone of Morrie’s voice was a constant inspiration for Mr. Albom to keep going and finish the book. I’m sure your family would love to have such a recording of you. The recording could be a gift itself, even if you never turned it into a book. But this is about creating a book so…

Transcribe for an Instant Rough Draft

Have a friend or family member or hire someone to to take the words from your recording and put them on paper. Most transcription services can do this fairly quickly, depending on the length of the work. I use eTranscription Solutions (http://www.etranscrip tionsolutions.org) to transcribe my seminars and they are fast and accurate. The beauty of this is that once the transcript is done, you’ll suddenly have a rough draft of your book in your hands. No more blank pages to contend with!

Shape Your Book

Now this part should be really fun. Once you have your rough draft, you can begin to shape your story like an artist with clay. Again, beware the impulse to embellish, but try to give things a beginning, a middle and an end. Keep your audience in mind. Remember, your writing doesn’t have to be fancy. You just want to make sure you’re being compelling, and that you’re getting your message across. If you have any doubt about the way something is written, read it out loud. That way you’ll be able to hear whether a phrase is awkward, if your sentences are too long or if you have fragments instead of complete sentences.

Finish It!

The best way to ensure that you’ll complete your project is to set a deadline for yourself and honor it. Otherwise you may let it linger for months or years, working on it only a little at a time. Maybe you could tie your deadline to a family event such as a holiday or a reunion. Wouldn’t that be the perfect place to present your completed memoir? If you seek to get your book published traditionally instead of doing it yourself, you may not have control over when you’ll have a finished book in your hands, but don’t let that stop you. Go as far as you can and present that work, even if it’s a stack of photocopied pages or a box of cassette tapes to your loved ones. They will appreciate the gift–and your effort–for years to come.

© 2006 Sophfronia Scott

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Camping outdoors has gained much recognition over years to be a change from your exceptional frantic life. Taking a couple of days away from frantic timetable provides much fun & amusement selection than any other vacation idea. If you are intending to have a camping excursion this autumn then it is advised that you try and find the best of camping accessories to carry with for the best comfortable camping experience. For the best deals on camping supplies, take a look at Sportswear-Equipment.com today.

Outdoor camping gear typically come in the way of camping tables camping lights camping clothing and many more. Since the camping locations chosen are often wide-ranging so are the camping equipment that are needed for certain jobs. A large number of people like to camp in the plains, whilst some like to go in the mountain areas, some in fields & some in woods. This means that the camping tools required will in the end depend on the location you have chosen to camp in.

To enjoy the fun & excitement entirely, it?s important to carry camping tools that you will need during your camping vacation. There are countless hikers & campers who love to camp and discover the most extreme parts of the world. So the camping needs fluctuate from person to person.

Hence before going camping outdoors it is necessary that you get the things that you will require. To locate the best camping tools it is better to locate a cheap camping equipment e-retailer & order the accessories you want to carry along. The light weight tents, transportable camping stoves, handy weightless chairs, disposable utensils, sleeping bags, walking shoes light fabric weightless clothes & additional camping accessories can be purchased online at the largest reduced rates. It is important to carry camping tools that is light so as to give you as much liberty while trekking and hiking.

Numerous forms of camping equipment are not cheap to acquire & can be afforded only when you have a large budget. As a result you should make a list of items that you cannot do without whilst camping. Depending upon how frequently you go for camping, renting camping gear is a great alternative. Or else if you are a camping fanatic then having a collection of your own camping gear is worthwhile. Have an amazing camping experience this season by keeping all your camping desires toned up.

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If you haven’t yet learned to discern good copy from bad copy, you will have a difficult time writing your own. Tim, a graphic designer friend of mine, recently learned the difference when he tried to write his own web copy.

Tim had a phenomenal website. His work was not only the best in the state, but the best in all the surrounding states. He had done high-end graphic work for a number of national clients. But suddenly the work dried up.

Tim asked me to take a look at his website to tell him what I thought, not of his web copy, but of his work. However, being a professional copywriter, Tim’s real problems glared out at me. His work was great. His copy sucked.

Not only was Tim’s copy filled with spelling and grammar errors, but most of it was fluff. He included copy just to fill space, ignoring the fact that potential clients would want substantial information that could not simply be provided in samples of his work.

Tim made all the mistakes of a novice copywriter: awkward sentences, too much technical jargon, misused words and punctuation, and the worst mistake that any copywriter can make, lack of clarity and failure to communicate.

If copy doesn’t communicate there is no purpose in it’s existence. The number one communication barring culprit is unclear writing and confusing ideas.

When you write your own copy, keep in mind that, just because you know what you’re thinking doesn’t mean anyone else will. Most people can’t get away with simply writing what they think. It’s better to consider what your audience needs to hear.

Highly skilled copywriters follow approximately 7 basic guidelines. They may not follow all of them all of the time, or they may follow all of them all of the time. But you can be assured that they follow at least some of the 7 all of the time:

1. Know Your Audience – Society is broken into different demographics: men, women, teenage girls, teenage boys, single moms, working moms, middle aged men, business people, Gen Xers, etc…The tone and focus of your copy depends on which demographic you need to target.

Before you even begin to write your copy, you must ask yourself:

*Who will be interested in my product or service? *Why will they be interested (Price, delivery, performance, reliability, service maintenance, quality efficiency, etc…) *What motivates the buyer?

2. Understand Your Product or Service – You may think you’ve considered all aspects of your product or service, but here’s a list of questions to ask yourself just in case:

*What are all the features and benefits of my product or service? *Which benefits are the most important? *How does my product differ from the competition, and if it doesn’t differ, how can I make it seem different? *Is my product/service a need or a want? *Does my product/service solve any existing problems? *Is my product/service reliable, efficient, economical, etc…? *Have people bought my product or service, and if so, what do they say about it? *Is my product available in different materials, sizes and models? *How quickly can my product/service be delivered? *Is my product/service guaranteed? If not, should it be?

3. Find your USP (unique selling point) – This is your product or service’s most attractive and unique benefit from the buyer’s perspective. The USP should be the focus of the copy, around which the mention of other benefits hover.

4. Write Benefit Oriented Copy – Inexperienced copywriters tend to focus on the featured product, company, or service, failing to mention how it will actually benefit the buyer. People are only interested in a product that says, “This is what I’m going to do for you.”

Your copy should appeal to one or more of the buyer’s basic needs: love, acceptance, security, recognition, attractiveness, health, sex appeal, happiness, fulfillment, etc…

Don’t make buyers do the work of figuring out what benefit your product or service offers. Most people devote only a fraction of their mind to marketing and advertising. They won’t put forth the effort of discerning what’s in it for them. You have to do that for them.

5. Use Active Verbs – I will keep this short as I don’t want to cause any high school English flashbacks. Your copy should motivate people to take action, therefore, you need to stick with action verbs as much as possible.

Here are two sentences, one using an active verb and one using a passive verb:

“Johnny was knocked to the floor when he was punched in the face by Chuck.”

“Chuck punched Johnny in the face, knocking him to the floor.”

The first sentence, using passive verbs, is wimpy. The second, using action verbs, is powerful and concise. ‘Nuf said.

6. Use Short Sentences and Short Words – Just because you are writing doesn’t mean you should turn into John Faulkner. Save the excess verbiage and utter confusion for pretentious literature. The last thing you want to do is confuse your reader.

Eliminate irrelevant and redundant words and don’t add fluff for the sake of puffing up your copy. Write your copy the way you would talk to a friend. Say what you mean and keep your copy lean.

7. Tell Your Reader What To Do – Your readers needs to know exactly what you expect of them. Don’t be shy. After you spent all that time writing your exceptional copy, don’t let your reader go off saying, “What was the point of that?”

Instruct them to call, write, reserve, visit, buy, order, fax, or whatever you want them to do.

After reading all these rules and regulations, you may have come to the conclusion that copywriting just isn’t your cup of tea. Don’t feel ashamed. That’s what professional copywriters like myself are here for.

If you choose not to write your own copy, then it’s important to have a reliable copywriter on call. Otherwise you’ll be stuck if an important project comes up and you have no one to turn to.

The time to choose a copywriter is before you need one. When choosing a copywriter remember that not all of those who claim to be professional copywriters actually are professional copywriters. Ask to see samples of their work before you make your decision. Now that you know the rules of good copywriting, you can make an accurate assessment of the work’s quality.

Ask around to friends and business associates. Chances are they will know writer’s to investigate as well as those to avoid.

Don’t let geography stand between you and the copywriter you prefer. It’s nice to find a local, but when all is said and done it just doesn’t matter. Choose the writer who fits your needs. Don’t base your decision on whether or not you could drive to the their house in 30 minutes or less.

Once you do choose a copywriter, always treat him/her in a professional manner. Many writers are used to being treated like second class citizens, but that doesn’t mean you should perpetuate that treatment. Writer’s perform an important and necessary function in society, one which most people can’t appreciate.

But if there is one thing that will make you appreciate the work copywriters do, it’s attempting to write your own copy.

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If you want to know how to be a successful writer, by the world’s methods and standards, I don’t know the answer. However, if you have a passion to use writing as a tool to reach people for the Lord, have I got Good News for you!

“A Scriptural ‘How to’ for Writing…”

Once I discovered that scripture provides ‘How to’s’ to be successful at whatever the Lord calls us to; the Bible became so exciting! For example, pay close attention to this verse.

I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing, John 15:5.

The key word is ‘abide’. All we have to do, to reach MANY for the Lord, is to abide. Now, abide doesn’t mean to be good enough or to do anything good enough. It’s about having a close knit, moment by moment, relationship with the Lord. And, it doesn’t mean we’re not allowed to have another thought.

Though, when busy with daily chores or driving in the car, consider listening to music that ministers to you ~ or a sermon on tape … just whatever that works for you, directing your thoughts toward Him. Begin to consider TV and radio preferences, not for legalism’s sake ~ but to protect your mind toward better things.

Envision God standing right beside you wherever you go and, whenever you have a thought, share it with Him as you would a friend … and be sure to listen, too. Now, that would make His day, as His greatest desire is to dwell with you!

And, soon, you will begin to discover things that matter to your heart and His. As those feelings begin to surface, the Spirit begins to move, and the words begin to flow, write them down. Then, with just a few touch ups, you’ll have a guaranteed Masterpiece!

For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Matthew 11:30

© 2003 by Joyce C. Lock

http://my.homewithgod.com/blessingsandlessons/ http://www.aspecialplace.net/ChristianityMadeSimple/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HeavenlyInspirations-originalwritin gs/ http://our.homewithgod.com/heavenlyinspirations/heavenlyinspirati ons-intro.htm This writing may be used in its entirety, with credits in tact, for non-profit ministering purposes.

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Every programmer has her own style of coding like some use ‘inum’ for declaring an integer variable while some use ‘num_i’ for declaring the same. Like wise some programmers are lazy enough to add comments. These small drops when added together can create an ocean of confusion.

What is a coding standard?

Coding standard is establishing one single coding style (convention) for whole project or organization and making programmers strictly follow it. This is also known as programming style or coding conventions. Usually coding styles differ from language to language, but it is better to establish one standard for one language. Later in this article we shall discuss ways of coding standards

Why one should use it?

1. Easy to understand others code – Due to differing programming styles of programmer; it is sometime hard to easily read coding done by someone else. If all programmers starts using same convention this problem can be eliminated up to some extend.

2. Easy to use and debug program - if coding standard is followed, it will be easy to debug the program due to two factors, firstly some bugs can be totally eliminated which are caused due to poor naming and indenting of code, and secondly, it will be easy to debug programs of fellow programmer. It is important to consider the second reason sometimes, when debugging, if you are stuck at a point, just ask any of your friend, she will get the error in no time. This is due to your ignoring of a portion and considering it is right, but a second person will try to understand your logic and will search more thoroughly than you.

3. Increase in productivity – as I mentioned earlier that Nagaraja is facing complains of new employee on his RAD team. This will certainly not come to you if your development team is following a coding standard. This way productivity will ascend.

4. Decreasing program complexity – program can become complex not only due to logic of program but also due to gibberish coding done by the developer. If better indenting and naming convention is followed, this problem will not come.

5. Staffing Flexibility – New people can be easily added to the project because it will be no problem for new member to start producing. The only need is to understand the coding standards.

6. Re-use of code – If the code is not complex and based on standards, one can easily re-use it in some other project. This re-use can be direct or with some modification. In any of these two cases coding standards will really pay-off.

Few standards used worldwide

Different computer languages need different coding style, but there are some basic points where we can discuss coding styles on.

1. Variable Declaration and naming conventions
In declaration of variable some conventions can be followed. Some rules must be defined for declaration variables –

a.Name of variable must not be randomly chosen. The name must clearly state the purpose of that variable.

b.Datatype of the variable must be included in the variable name. As this is suggested in VB 6.0 manual to use “txt_textboxname” as name of a textbox and “lbl_labelname” as name of a label object. This should be used and also a fixed convention for this should be clearly stated.

c.All variable should be declared in small letter and all constants in capital letter. This is very important for case sensitive languages.

d.No re use of any variable name. It is easy to use same variable name in more than one block of coding. This practice should be highly undesirable and should be avoided at first place.

e.All global variables should use a naming pattern this will help developer to avoid accidental modification of global data.

2. Commenting standards
First of all, all developers should be encouraged to do maximum commenting. This is never considered as wastage of time, it increases readability of coding. Some comments should be enforced as mandatory, one of such comment can be the comment at the top of all programming page like –

——————————————————–
Name of Module
Last Modified By –
Date –
Modification History –
Status –
——————————————————–

This comment will always be very useful for the software configuration team to get the latest version of codes.

3. Indenting and formatting
This is also called beautifying the codes. Indenting is cascading your codes in such a manner that all nested blocks of your code can be easily separated with each other. This is highly recommended. Normally one can use one tab for each inner nesting and so on. This is the best indenting followed by programmers.

4. Program return value
Usually when a main function of program is terminated, it returns an end status value in integer. There is no set convention for this value, but we can set this as a convention. For all successful termination program should return a value of ‘0′ and for any error it should return the proper error code in integer. This error code should be a non negative integer value greater than or equal to 1.

The above suggestions are only few, one can call upon developers to generate a more comprehensive list of coding standards.

How to apply it on our project?

Coding standards are useful for Rapid Application Development (RAD) teams. You as a project manager or leader can apply coding standards but if programmers are not really using that it will remain as a futile piece of opulence. It is very important to enforce coding standards.
Many software firms have conventions but it is never enforced correctly. One better solution I can think is to check coding standard in a code walkthrough. In a code walkthrough, all developer considers any code and dry run it for finding any logical error. If in normal code walkthrough, coding standard is also considered on the agenda, developers will start using it.

Conclusion
Finally, Nagaraja (the project Manager of an IT firm in India), called upon a meeting will all the developers and concerned admins and ask them to create a coding standard. This coding standard was then enforced on the developers. This soon helped Najaraja to handle his quickly changing team. No! I am not saying that his employees stopped leaving, but now their leaving has no bad impact on the development process.

In this article we just saw that how some simple convention can be useful in producing high class and flexible codes. These can seem very simple but their impact is not just simple it is more than that.

Manu Dutt Tripathi is a young energetic computer professional working as a consultant DBA in leading IT firm of Bangalore, India. He has a master degree in computer science. He is an active member of many technical forums and help users and computer professionals throughout the world.

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When my first book was published way back ten years ago, I thought that was it.

I reckoned I’d never write another one.

But I was wrong.

It has enjoyed many reprints, multiple editions, and proceeded over the years to generate another seven disparate titles from the same topic.

And now to mark a decade in print the 4th edition of ‘Starting Your Own Business’ – How To Books ISBN 1845280709 – is set for publication on April 29th 2005.

But here’s an amazing thing…

This yet to be released book is already standing at No.2 on Amazon.co.uk solely on advance orders! Check it out for yourself using keyword phrase ’starting your own business’.

Does the ability to churn out niche non-fiction bestsellers revolve exclusively around any of these factors?

- Brilliant writing – Super-intelligence – Inside information

Nope.

They are all useful attributes but none of them will cut the mustard on their own.

Nor is there an exclusive focus on…

- The intrinsic nature of the topic – Expertise in pre-publishing techniques – Who you know or what you know

So what does it require?

It requires a mindset based on a series of unique all-encompassing strategies which you can read about if you take time out to visit the website listed in the resource box below.

Oh, and one other thing…

You must always incorporate into your writing a mystery ingredient that guarantees success for every project you undertake.

Can you guess what?

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Some of the things that babies seem to really like the law of cause and effect. If you get some soft blocks for the babe to play with, they will quickly learn the meaning of cause and effect. The thing that you need to start with eh is the size and shape of the blocks. The simple fact is that you don’t even need to have blocks, plastic cups will work just fine, and sometime even better that the blocks. They are much cheaper, and if you loose them, and you will lose eventually everything, the cups are easy to replace. You just need to have something that is safe and easy to play with. Anyway, back to the playing. Set the baby down if they can sit on their own. If they still cant, just prop them up against something. Now show the baby how you start to stack the cups or blocks. Then move them close to the baby. Eventually the baby will knock them all over. Make a big deal of it, like they just did something amazing, because to them… they did. Stack them up and knock them over. And pretty soon the baby will start to stack them and knock them over. But, again, like everything else that the baby torches, will end up right where they should… in theist mouth.

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WHAT’S UP WITH ALL OF THIS STIGMA?

“Extravagant pain and exquisite joy are but standard fare at the banquet of creativity” I coined this phrase when I wrote my first book of poetry, a journal entitled Soulgasm. Every poignant moment of my life has been captured. Langston Hughes once said, “My life ain’t been no crystal stair…” I understand this all too well being bipolar and possessing “the poet’s disease” I was at the same time a highly functioning psychiatric nursing supervisor. I would suggest to you that the greatest writings, art, music and inventions of all times have been invented by someone with a mental illness. In our society, it is tolerable for someone to have a mental illness; someone you know and love is definitely “off.” There’s one strange aunt, uncle, cousin, in every family tree. My beef is the stigma attached to mental- illness when so many people are “crazy.” I believe that when a mentally-ill person can function, be self-supporting, and not break the law, then we put all of these “crazies” on “reality shows” Ratings for these shows are off the chain. People are mesmerized. . My bowels of compassion are not for the multi- married, drugging, drinking, gambling, fighting , spending, garden variety bipolars. My compassions are for the ones with great art, writings, and music trapped inside that cannot come out because they cannot cope with the stress of life: the rent, the bills etc. They use up everything they have to survive when these “masterpieces” lie dormant with the world unable to see them.

I have a proposal: Why don’t those in the mental health profession get federal funding for “safe houses” or “safe communities” like the artists communities only for non-violent bipolars who are medication compliant. There, all of the bills will be paid, the clients will be fed, and their basic needs will be taken care of, allowing them to tap into the tremendous source of creativity that lies within. Give them tools; instruments, computers, canvases, cameras, multimedia equipment. There must be controls: an in house psychiatric technician an R.N. Psychiatrists who recommend the patients; initially screening for the potentially violent. Certain clients will not be able to comply with the program of medications, groups, drug addiction education, and other progressive modalities.

After a pre-determined time there should be a works of shining wonder for the world to see. Let these clients give back to the foundation 10% of their inventions in art, music or whatever ingenious things that have been developed. These clients will then be able to pay their own bills and help others like themselves to in turn create. For one, am tired of hearing of the mentally- ill and homeless being left to die in the sun. We can do something. Let us do something, and give the world its greatest untapped creative genius while creating self- supporting individuals.

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