Acting: Make It Your Business, written by an award-winning, veteran casting director, puts the power to land jobs and thrive in any medium - stage, film, TV, or the Internet - directly into the hands of the actor. This blunt, wise, and often hilarious guide overflows with cutting-edge audition, marketing, and networking strategies, combining traditional techniques with those best suited for the digital age. Well-known actors and powerful agents make cameos throughout, offering newcombers and working professionals alike a clear-eyed, uncensored perspective on survival and advancement within the entertainment industry. "Huorous and witty . . . Actors everywhere who are trying to succeed in the business, young or old, on stage or on camera, in New York or anywhere in the world, take note: This is your road map." - Bernard Telsey, casting director ( Rent, Sex & The City: The Movie, Wicked ) "All the right questions asked and answered . . . and with a generous portion of good humor." - Suzanne Ryan, casting director ( Law & Order ) "Paul's book made me proud to be a part of the acting community in this business we call 'show.'" - Karen Ziemba, actress, Tony and Drama Desk Award Winner From the Trade Paperback edition.

Price: $14.99 USD

Your one-stop guide to writing and selling books for children Get the tools you need to: * Develop story ideas that work * Strengthen your writing skills * Improve your work habits * Write for different age groups * Look at your work critically * Submit proposals and manuscripts * Find the right publisher for your work * Understand and negotiate contracts * Work with agents and editors * Join the writing community Do you dream of becoming the next J. K. Rowling? Are you excited about writing for children but have no idea how to begin or where to send your material? Now, respected children's writer Barbara Seuling gives you the essential steps to getting published in the competitive, exciting world of children's literature. From finding story ideas and creating character sketches to plotting, writing dialogue, editing, and revising your work, you'll learn how to complete a manuscript and prepare it for submission. Whether you want to write picture or chapter books, fiction or nonfiction, poetry or plays, Seuling helps you master the different genres and capture a child's interest and imagination, from the early years to young adult. Her fully revised guide also covers the major developments in book publishing, including vital information about using the Internet to research the market and contact publishers. Seuling even discusses recent successes such as the Harry Potter series, as well as the growth of Amazon.com. Complete with updated lists of writing organizations, marketing information, and recommended reading, this is the only guide you need to start writing, get published, and touch the lives of children.

Price: $15.95 USD

A new 25th anniversary update of the entrepreneur's bible For twenty-five years, entrepreneurs have relied on this friendly, comprehensive guide to the basics of successfully operating a small business. Now, this new Fourth Edition of How to Start, Run & Stay in Business completely updates the bestselling classic for today's entrepreneur. It features all the reliable, straightforward advice readers expect and also includes entirely new information on online business and marketing as well as new Internet resources. Material on legal and financial issues, international business, customer service, and state and federal tax regulations has been fully revised. Plus, new charts, illustrations, questionnaires, and checklists make the book more practical and useful than ever. Inside, you'll find world-class guidance on every vital aspect of small business success, including: * Preparing a business plan * Finding the right location * Deciding on an ownership structure * Record keeping and taxes * Financing and capital * Inventory and distribution * Hiring and staffing * Managing and motivating people * Marketing and promotions * Risk management * And much more In addition, a wealth of helpful resources covers all your outside needs, from attorneys and accountants to trade associations and Web site designers. Whether your business is brick-and-mortar, mom-and-pop, home-based, or online, How to Start, Run & Stay in Business, Fourth Edition provides all the information you need to make your entrepreneurial dream a reality.

Price: $16.95 USD

Starting your own business is always exciting, but it also means that you need to understand and do all of the things that will turn your great idea into a functioning company.With all of the things to be considered (your business name, location, legal structure, business license, seller's permits, insurance, web site, finance, marketing, etc.), it is easy to feel as if you are going through a maze. This step-by-step guide is thorough, clear, concise, and easy-to-follow. Linda Pinson has been successfully educating entrepreneurs for more than 20 years. With this book, she has once again provided you with one of the most dependable and informative sources on the market. Packed with the most up-to-date information, forms, examples, and worksheets, this book will guide you patiently through everything you need to start a successful new business. Find the right business for you by matching your skills and interests Decide if it is best to buy a business, start your own company, buy a franchise, or be a social entrepreneur Find out how to get a business license, file a DBA, and get a seller's permit Name your business, decide on your legal structure, and choose a location See if you qualify for a home-based business Protect your business with insurance, copyrights, trademarks and patents Look at financing options for your business Set up your bookkeeping and plan your cash flow Research your target market and plan your advertising strategy Learn Internet basics and develop a web site for your business Learn the basics of business planning

Price: $18.95 USD

Fully adapted for a UK audience by consultancy specialist, Philip Albon, this book is an essential guide for anyone considering  making a career out of consulting. Offering practical advice on all aspects of setting-up and running a successful consulting business including; setting your fees, keeping track of time and money, building business with new clients, winning proposals and business networking, Consulting For Dummies is the easiest way to make a name for yourself and profit from your expertise.  Sections will include: What’s a Consultant? – Deciding to set up and finding a business direction The Consulting Process – How to create a business proposal, analyse the data, develop recommendations, present the findings, and make sure they’re implemented Key Consulting Skills – Presenting a professional image, time-management and organisation, communication skills, writing reports and presentations, using technology Setting up your Business – setting fees, drawing up contracts, setting up a home office, keeping track of time and money, multiplying effectiveness with support services Marketing – Promotion, getting new clients, using referrals Plus, new information  on Business reality – preparing for tax audits and general small business finance This UK edition of Consulting For Dummies will fully update readers on current e-marketing techniques and the current opportunities offered to those using the Internet to promote their business and build a client list. It will also be adapted to include core UK business and finance information, crucial for those setting up alone. Topics such as bookkeeping and basic accountancy have been added, plus content on UK tax and how government policies affect small businesses. This new edition incorporates updated currency systems in order to cater for the UK market.

Price: $28.50 USD

Gain a comprehensive understanding of the business of entertainment and learn to successfully engage in all related aspects of global production and exploitation with this revised and updated handbook. With The Producer's Business Handbook as a guide, you'll learn to create the relationships that the most successful producers have with the various participants in the motion picture industry-this guide provides a global view of how producers direct their relationships with domestic and foreign studios, agencies, attorneys, talent, completion guarantors, banks, and private investors. You get a thorough orientation to operating production development and single-purpose production companies. You'll also become familiar with the team roles needed to operate these companies, and learn how to attach and direct them. For those outside the US, also included is information on how to produce successful films without government funding. This edition has been updated to include comprehensive information on the internal greenlighting process, government financing, and determining actual cost-of-money. It includes new, simplified project evaluation tools, expediting funding and distribution. Together with its companion website (www.producersbusinesshb.com)--which contains valuable forms and spreadsheets, tutorials, and samples-this handbook presents both instruction and worksheet support to independent producers at all levels of experience. New to the 3 rd Edition: * Production Financing Worksheet-a producer's must-have * Comprehensive new media, financing, and distribution updates of all chapters * Expanded global focus and references * Internet marketing & DIY distribution * Financing sources * Access to a website providing spreadsheets available nowhere else: Financing Worksheet, greenlighting worksheets, film comparables, activity and cash flow projections, and more

Price: $39.95 USD

Whether you are a global Fortune 500 organization or a small business Managing Customers Through Economic Cycles show you how to optimize your business's sales and marketing approaches specific to survive and thrive in each economic cycle and transition. "The business case for continuing to invest in service and innovation can be compromised by an economic downturn. McKean clearly lays out the case for weathering the economic storm by achieving a careful balance of investment in the areas that truly matter – and continually using data to reinforce the idea that business can be more science than art, after all." — Barbara Higgins, Vice-President, Worldwide Contact Centers, United Airlines "John McKean's work has served as practical guide for me and my teammates. I have seen countless examples of businesses managing their customers’ experience with a short term economic view. If the right principles are employed consistently, as John teaches us, we can create the right emotional experience that delivers growth and loyalty – as well as the improved operating leverage – that are needed in good times and in tough times. Consistency of values and experiences keeps companies from having to be reactionary and short sighted in a down economy. Thanks, John, for another practical lesson." — John Quinn, former Customer Service and Support Executive, Bank of America "In good times and bad, forecasting where business is headed is both art and science. As John McKean so eloquently states, marrying data driven analytics with consumer insight is critical for managing through tough economic cycles. This book is a must read for anyone intent on driving greater profitability and consistently out-behaving the competition." — Joni Newkirk, CEO, Integrated Insight, Inc., former SVP, Business Insight & Improvement, Walt Disney Parks & Resorts "John McKean continues his pursuit of the profitable customer through the turbulent world of boom and bust. His book provides valuable insights into how businesses survive and thrive in a volatile economic climate." — Trevor Dukes, Business Systems, WH Smith "The rise of customer power coupled with challenging economic conditions demand that organizations leverage the power of the Internet and related technologies to stay relevant to their customers. As John McKean points out in his compelling new book, successful firms have built a core competency in leveraging information technology not only to survive economic transitions but thrive in an ever-changing economy." — Erik Brynjolfsson, Professor, MIT Sloan School and co-author of Wired for Innovation: How Information Technology is Reshaping the Economy "It would be hard to name a more relevant or timely topic for sales and marketing today than that of how to cope with economic downturns and upturns, and this is exactly the subject John McKean has insightfully tackled head-on in Managing Custom

Price: $45.00 USD

While innovation in products and services continues apace, today's competitive strategy is equally based on innovation in the route to market. Tesco.com, Direct Line, First Direct and easyJet are just a few examples of innovative channel strategies as a key component of the value proposition. We find ourselves in a multi-channel world. This book is drawn from the experience of major companies such as IBM, First Direct, Taylor Woodrow and BT. Lessons are explained clearly: be Multi not multiple; channels as weapons; think combinations; design from the top, but think people and measure it. The key concepts are backed by carefully tested practical advice from making organisational change to understanding channel metrics. Based on work from Cranfield's world leading Customer Management Forum, this is the essential practical guide for senior management in key areas like marketing, sales, customer services and strategy. .Shows how, with the internet and call centre alongside existing resellers, and with sales forces channel management and integration a critical activity, you can employ channel management to maximise the success of your channel strategy .Based on IBM's worldwide experience and the huge research reach of Cranfield this practical guide is authoritative, full of major international cases, guiding you to easy implementation .From strategy to metrics the book shows how the best companies blend and balance channels to maximum sales effect, and how you can apply this in your own organisation

Price: $51.95 USD

"Connected Services is a must-read for telco strategists who need to get up to speed on how the world of software and the web 2. 0 works."  Andreas Constantinou, Research Director, VisionMobile "This book is a must read for those charged with leading innovation in a world of connected services where telco and Internet collide." - Jason Goecke, VP of Innovation, Voxeo Labs This book explains the common underlying technological themes that underpin the new era of connected services in a post Web 2.0 epoch In this book, the author explores the underlying technological themes that underpin the new era of connected services. Furthermore, it explains how the technologies work and what makes each of them significant, for example, the potential for finding new meaning in data in the world of BIG DATA platforms, often referred to as “No-SQL” databases. In addition, it tackles the newest areas of technology such as HTML5, Android, iOS, open source, mash-ups, cloud computing, real-time Web, augmented reality, and more. Finally, the book discusses the opportunities and challenges of a connected world where both machines and people communicate in a pervasive fashion, looking beyond the hype and promise of emerging categories of communication such as the “Internet of Things” and “Real-time Web” to show managers how to understand the potential of the enabling technologies and apply them for meaningful applications in their own world. Key Features: Explores the common and emergent underlying technological themes that underpin the new era of connected services Addresses the newest areas of Internet technology such as web and mobile 2.0, open source, mash-ups, cloud computing, web 3.0, augmented reality, and more Shows the reader how to understand the potential of the enabling technologies and apply them for meaningful applications in their own world Discusses new developments in the technological landscape such as Smartphone proliferation, maturation of Web 2.0, increased convergence between mobile networks and the Internet, and so forth Examines modern software paradigms like Software-as-as-Service (SaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) and Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) Explores in detail how Web start-ups really work and what telcos can do to adopt lean and agile methods This book will be an invaluable guide for technical designers and managers, project managers, product managers, CEOs etc. at mobile operators (O2, Vodafone, Orange, T-Mobile, BT), fixed operators, converged operators and their contributory supplier networks (e.g. infrastructure providers). Internet providers (Google, Yahoo, Amazon, eBay, Apple, Facebook), analysts, product managers, developers, architects, consultants, technology investors, analysts, marketing directors, business development directors will also find this book of interest.

Price: $85.00 USD

Third edition of this best-selling guide to IMS: fully revised, and updated with brand new material The IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) is the technology that merges the Internet with the cellular world. It makes Internet technologies such as the web, email, instant messaging, presence, and videoconferencing available nearly everywhere at any time. The third edition of this bestselling book is fully updated and provides comprehensively expanded content, including new chapters on emergency calls and on Voice Call Continuity (VCC). As well as this, The 3G IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) presents updated material including a comprehensive picture of Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) as well as its applicability to IMS. As most of the protocols have been designed in the IETF, this book explains how the IETF developed these protocols and describes how these protocols are used in the IMS architecture. This is an indispensable guide for engineers, programmers, business managers, marketing representatives and technically aware users who want to understand how the IMS works and explore the business model behind it. New chapters on emergency calls, Voice Call Continuity (VCC), service configuration (XCAP, XDM), and conferencing Fully updated throughout, including Policy and Charging Control (PCC), QoS, Presence, Instant Messaging, Multimedia Telephony Services, and Push-to-talk over Cellular (PoC) Describes the IP Multimedia Subsystem from two different perspectives: from the IETF perspective, and from the 3GPP perspective. Provides details on the latest policy technology and security architecture Written by experienced professionals in the field.

Price: $130.00 USD