Finally! All the bugs are worked out....(I hope)

One month and a day since I ordered my new laptop and today, finally, I think I have the worst of the issues resolved. I really like Dell and have had good luck with all the models we've owned over the years and which is why I chose an XPS over an Apple, but I've spent more time on the phone with them this last month than in the last ten years combined. I think part of the problems were self inflicted-they told me today I had a virus, but I think it really might have had something to do with Firefox and transfering files over from my desktop. It took them two hours today to diagnose and fix the problem by remote from India or where ever...but they were good-they did it.And now I can access my blog, it shows up so I can see it, I have Internet Explorer AND Firefox and I am a happy camper. Onward and upward! (corn-nee!)

More writing contests coming up. A real biggie with Writer's Digest-due in late April or early May, I think. Also a small just for fun- again with WD due April 10, and the Writer's Weekly 24 hour contest on April 24. Now that my machine is fixed, I have no more excuses, and have got to get back on the horse.

Which is where I'm-a headin' right now....Yee-ha!!(OMG I think I've been taking too much cough syrup these last few days--I'm way loopier than usual.)

Query letters

I had a conversation with someone today who, like so many, is out of work and looking for a job. He told me that he thought his resume was really good and that he had a lot to offer to potential employers, yet couldn't understand why he wasn't getting any interviews, or even responses like "Thanks, but you can take a hike". He had been receiving unemployment compensation and apparently the state thought he needed a kick in the butt, so they offered him the option to polish up his resume by taking some classes or stop receiving his checks. Nice choice, but I guess they need to do something to try and weed out the freeloaders. Anyway, the resume he thought was so wonderful, really wasn't, and the classes and his mentor helped him to clean it up to make him more saleable. But what he said has really done the trick is that he now includes a cover letter tailored to each job. It's made all the difference in the world, and he's now getting phone calls with a few "Thanks,but...." as well as some interviews. The conversation reminded me of the importance of a good query letter and how it needs to be informative, yet concise. When I worked in the advertising department of a newspaper, we were told that a reader generally scans ads on a page for a brief five seconds, so the ad better offer something to grab attention before the page is turned. In my humble opinion, the query letter is very much the same. It has to have that LOOK AT ME!!!!! quality in order to capture enough attention to invite further reading. Not an easy task but definitely worth the effort.