**Five Easy Steps to a Little Free Library in Your Neighbourhood  **

1. Identify a location and steward.

2. Decide if you want to:

Order a complete Little Library or kit from our online catalogue.

Build it Yourself.  Make it official!.Get plans and instructions.

“Endow" for someone else (tax deductible!). Support Books for All in Africa, India or your community, Little Free Libraries for Small Towns or other initiatives.

Honor someone or have a Memorial Library

3. Contact us.  Use the Contact Us form on the website.  Reserve an official number and style, supplies and access to books.

4. Build Support

Lead the way. Be the first to give to the Little Free Library G.I.F.T. (Give It Forward Team) Fund.

Find a business or group sponsor

Tell your neighbours and friends. Invite them over for a little house party or send them a note asking them to join you.

5. When it is installed, celebrate! Send your photos and information to the website and get on the worldwide map!

Keep your Little Library full of books.  Protect it. Enjoy it. Feel great!

P.S. Always support your public and school libraries!)

Source - Little Free Library

Guest post by Deanna Dahlsad.

One of the things I now find myself doing in my consulting work is providing clients with a Writing Prompt Service. It was born, like any good service, from client needs. In working with my clients, it quickly became clear that whatever their reason for having a website or blog, writers, bloggers, marketers, etc. all struggle with coming up with fresh ideas to write about.

I shouldn't have been surprised; I've been stuck there myself with my own writing for my own sites. wink Some days, you just feel like you've said everything you can, you have no spark of inspiration. But when someone else hands you the task -- a task that is suited for your own goals, it is much easier.

As a freelance writer, I do provide custom written content; but this Writing Prompt Service is a less expensive, DIY option. My Writing Prompt Service is pretty simple really: I provide my clients with an idea to write about.

What makes this service something worth paying for is the fresh set of eyes. I see what their site or business is all about, what they are trying to do, and what is missing for readers and/or potential clients and customers. I take all that information and provide them with a prompt for writing. It may be a question, an inspirational photograph, a news story -- anything to get them talking (writing) about an idea or issue their website should be covering.

Because I approach this the same way I do with my freelance writing -- from the point of view of the client's goals and the needs of their site visitors, the prompted posts provide engaging organic SEO.

For those who feel stuck with their writing, but do not wish to pay for writing prompts, here's a quick little list of ways to get ideas for writing:

1) Get out of the office or house. Often, part of feeling stuck is largely due to feeling stuck in the same old place. To rid yourself of that funk, get away from your computer, out of the office, out of the building. The fresh air will do you good and bring you fresh ideas.

2) When out -- even just running errands, open your eyes and ears. Notice what people are talking about in the checkout line. Look at the headlines on newspapers and magazines on the sales racks. What are people wearing? What are they doing? What are they not doing? What about the houses, buildings, roads, businesses, etc. Are the flowers in bloom? Is it snowing? What might any of this mean to you, your readers, your business? From larger trends to tiny minutia, there are things you can observe which can spark your writing.

3) Consume media. Listen to the radio, watch TV, read books and magazines.  And read online. Really read. Don't just scroll past the links on Twitter and Facebook, but read the articles and posts. I know this can seem tricky...

On one hand, we fear disappearing down a rabbit hole of lost or wasted time. You can overcome this easily by setting an alarm for say an hour or so.

On the other hand, we fear reading articles and blogs by those in the same industry. Will you be accused of copying someone's idea, of not having your own ideas? If you participate in the conversation (by linking to the source of your idea when you write about it), you won't be lambasted. And you can also bypass this issue completely by simply not reading industry publications.

4) Get fresh (free) eyes. Ask a friend or family member to ask you questions about your business, work, or the "beat" you cover.

We are often too close to our own work. Too often we don't write about something because we believe that "everyone knows that" or we think that we've already addressed something; but they don't and we haven't. Too often we mistakenly believe that we aren't good enough, interesting enough, smart enough, etc. to write about something. Pessimistically we think, "No one wants to hear about this from me." But that's nearly always wrong. If a friend or family member is asking you, likely your readers want to hear about it too -- and from you.

It's very hard to part with an old book, or a book you mean to read, someday. But, there comes a time for every book lover when the amount of books is a bit overwhelming and we need to narrow down the stacks of books just a little...

It is TOO easy to pile up an assortment of books. I confess, I'm a book hoarder. Once they stop being tidy, displayed on a bookshelf, you stray from being a book collector to being a book hoarder. That's how I feel about it, for myself at the very least. I have books on my shelves. But, I have books in two large-sized storage containers too. Then there are a few stragglers on a dresser, in the dresser of another room... etc. There are more books than I can read.

For me the fiction books are not hard to deal with. I don't keep any of them once I have read them. I used to keep some, favourites and those I wanted to read as part of a series. Now, I read them and remove them from my home. Otherwise, they just pile up - all too literally.

• Could you Sell Your Old Books?
  Are you a book lover in need of some space? The best way to make space for more books is to let some of your old books depart for other homes. It's not easy. But, you can sell your own books.

Get Rid of Your Unwanted Books (Make Space for More)

• Recycle and repurpose old books into book art.
• Donate your books to the local library or a charity.
• Take your books to the thrift store or the Salvation Army to find new readers.
• Trade your books at the second hand book store.
• Exchange books with friends, relatives and co-workers.
• Leave books for someone to find. (Like BookCrossing).

 Trading/ Selling Books to a Second Hand Book Store

One simple way to sell your old books is to find a second hand book store and trade them in for store credits. This is my first choice. I like knowing the book will be read again, recycled and reused. I also like being able to choose new books and getting a discount on them when I have brought in old books. This is budget friendly.

Some second hand book stores will not buy books. They will only trade for store credit. This is great for me because I love having a little credit left for the next book shopping spree I go on. Not everyone wants to buy more books though. So, check with the bookstore before you bring in a sack of books expecting to come out of the store with cash for them.

Also, if you want to sell books the store will only give about an eighth of the original cover price. If you are trading for store credit you can get a quarter of the original cover price.

Let Someone Else Find your Books

• BookCrossing
• World Book Night

Keep Track of your Books Online (Don't Buy Doubles)

• Good Reads
• LibraryThing

One thing no one fantasizes about is writing that online dating profile, over and over again. Your name, age, looks aren't too stressful to write about. It's trying to come up with a pleasant, attractive and informative way of saying everything else that makes profile writing a troublesome aspect of online dating.

Consider the profile worth doing, rather than an aggravation. If you change your outlook the job is easier and can actually be fun. Think of this as an investment in your future. It's a chance to market yourself to the people you want to meet.

When choosing a user name or login for the site take the time to come up with something you won't dislike in another month. Don't go for something cutesy or slutty you will be sick of and stuck with. Be creative too and not another Jenny29583 or Mark4Yu.

Write your profile in complete sentences. Check your spelling, grammar, punctuation and proofread for typos. Sloppy profiles are a turn off. This is your chance to make a first impression. If you don't proofread and fix mistakes you give the impression of being sloppy, careless or not really interested in making a good impression (not really interested in who you meet). Who would be impressed by someone who doesn't seem interested in meeting someone special? We each like to think we are special, in some way.

Be honest. Remember, the idea is that you will eventually meet these people. You can't hide those extra pounds or the birthdays you've had forever. Just admit them upfront and be done with it. People reading profiles do look at them like a catalogue: sorting them by age, weight, non-smoking, kids, etc. because those are important to them in searching for someone. Hiding things can work against you because someone looking for you, as you really are, could pass right by because everyone is not looking for perfection. Whatever you try to hide or ignore, just be honest and it becomes a non-issue rather than a road block. None of us are perfect, we all have flaws, issues and things we aren't real proud of. We are all imperfect.

Never include your phone number or address. Those are vulnerable to being picked up by spammers or someone looking for an ID to borrow. No one should need that much detail about you in an online profile. This should be social, not business. Exchange addresses and phone numbers when you find someone you really do want to meet face to face.

Read the ads others have written, what are they looking for and what parts of their ads appeal to you? Likely, you are looking for someone like yourself with the same general background. So, what appeals and attracts you to a profile? Use that information in making your own profile. Get a friend to give you some help with a self description. Make some notes. Take time to really think about how your profile will present you to the people you want reading it. Turn your quirks and flaws into positives. Show your good attitude.

Talk about who you are, not just how you look. What are your interests, hobbies, plans for the future? What places have you seen and hope to see later? What's great about your life, your job/ career? When you read an ad how important are the little things like eye colour, hair colour and height? Put more effort into writing about more than your physical looks. Let people get to know you, your sense of humour, your geeky, brainy side, or your passions. Tell us about your life and the life stage you are at: kids, career, retirement, college, etc. Those are the things people will remember.

Choose a few favourite things and/or hobbies and write about why you enjoy them. Don't try to list everything. That may make you seem too busy or scattered. Pick a few that sound good, that represent you well and may perk the interest of like minded people.

Write about yourself and then write an equal amount about who you are looking for. Try to write it with a positive spin. Don't go on about negative things, think positive. Don't write about what you don't want - write about what you do want. Write proactively and avoid over used phrases like "looking for..." Or the routine list "cute, funny, smart..." Write something along the lines of "On a mission to find a partner for the upcoming ballroom dancing event in town at the end of summer." This tells about you and who you are looking for and it's a lot more interesting to read about something real in your life than just a list of attributes. Let the facts speak for themselves.

Also, what do you want from online dating? Something temporary, a friendship or a lifetime romance? However, don't babble about being on a quest to find true love. Maybe that is your goal but you won't find it reading dating profiles. It takes time to find someone you really know well enough to want something that lasts.

Don't get too wordy and long. If you can stick to one or two paragraphs, do it! Your first sentence or two have the best chance of being read so focus there. Put your personality and the most essential information up front. A long profile looks intimidating on the page, it's just too much information to get through and it gives the impression that you are trying too hard. You can write more about yourself once you have made the initial connection with someone.

Prepare in advance and then keep a copy of your final profile handy for posting. You can even save it as a file on your desktop so you always know just where it is. Plus, it's handy if you have a spur of the moment blast of inspiration and want to make a change. If you have a picture available keep that on your desktop too. Post it to a free website like Flickr so you can quickly add the URL link (not every site will let you upload a file) when the opportunity arises to add a picture with your profile. Use a current photo that shows you looking relaxed and happy. Ads with photos get a lot more attention.

Good luck!

I have a lot of books, too many books really. It's so hard to resist an interesting book. I find them with the new books and I like the way they smell. I find vintage, retro and just plain old books at the thrift store and the second hand book stores (one of my favourite places).

I've begun trying to limit buying books. I really need to because I've got a hoard of books, more than I have storage space for really. So, I'm sorting my books and trying to part with some - even some that I would love to read but have to be practical and realize I will (in reality) never have enough time to myself to read all these books.

People who don't love or hoard books don't understand the love of books. My family are not book people. They read them and forget them. Some of them seldom read anything more than the occasional street sign or grocery flyer. But, I love the non-fiction books. I want to find out more about everything. As a kid I wanted to know about everything and I wondered how long it would take me to learn it all. I estimated I'd be in my thirties by the time I was done. As a kid, that seems old but, as a kid, the world seems much smaller too. In reality, as an adult, the more I learn the more I know I have yet to learn.

So then what...? I'm taking a look into selling my books. I bought them in the first place, who better than myself to know the advantages of owning such a great and interesting book?

My Friend (Deanna) Has Written about Selling Books Online and Kindly Gave me the Interview Below

• So You Want To Sell Your Books (Almost Everything You Need To Know)
• So Many Books, So Little Time
• Advice On Starting A Book Collection | Inherited Values
• The Value In Collecting & Reading Antique & Vintage Publications | Inherited Values

An Interview with an Experienced Book Seller

Before we begin, please introduce yourself and give us a summary with your experience as a book reviewer and seller.

I've been reviewing books online for over a decade, and as a result, have review copies filling my mail box weekly. (Please note, there are precautions to selling review copies; not everyone knows or respects the rules!) I've been selling books as well as antiques and collectibles online since 1997, I believe it was... That includes buying, and then selling, entire estates full of books. And I've been reading and collecting books for decades, of course.

Do you consider yourself a book collector? What do you think makes one person a book collector versus someone who reads books or someone who hoards books - where do you draw the line?

I actually believe there are several categories of bibliophiles. There are readers, those who just love to read but do not need to keep or save books or periodicals. There are the book lovers, magazine lovers, etc., who need the objects themselves. Then there are the collectors, who consider the pursuit of works as important as the keeping of them. As for hoarding, there's the seriously negatively impacting disorder which is pathologically compulsive (which I'm not capable of addressing) and the state hoarding which many of us joke about doing. As someone who professionally writes about collecting, I'd say the true distinctions between "collecting" and "hoarding" are about the focus in the accumulation of and care of that is given to the objects themselves.

For the record, I am a book-reading, book-loving, book-collecting bibliophile!

Are there different methods of selling books online, beyond using sites like eBay?

Oh there are likely hundreds of options! It depends upon what kind of books you have, as well as your personal goals and preferences. Each site or marketplace varies as much in audience (types of buyers) as they do in their terms or conditions and fees. It's not just a matter of what sites you like or trust, but where the buyers are for specific types of books and how much they are willing to pay. This not only affects how much money you are likely to get for your book, but how quickly you are likely to get it too. Depending on how much you sell, these sites work perfectly for keeping track of your sales. This can come in handy for when you file taxes at the beginning of the year. Depending on how much you sell, these sites work perfectly for keeping track of your sales. This can come in handy for when you file taxes at the beginning of the year.

Along with online marketplaces, there's also just tossing up your own site, using PayPal buttons for purchasing. Blogging software, like WordPress, now offers ecommerce plugins so that you can sell online easily. Of course, those options require you driving your own traffic to get sales, but the rewards can be greater too.

Where have you found your most success as a book seller?

Matching the book for sale to the appropriate sales platform in order to get it in front of the largest group of most likely buyers is really important. That's how you get the best prices for your items.

Do you sell books offline, in flea markets for example?

I sell a lot of books at flea markets and at good old fashioned rummage sales in my backyard too. These books tend to be more common books; think "used books" rather than "valuable books".

I also sell a number of books at the antique stores we have booth and case space in. These tend to be antiquarian books, rare titles, and other collectible works which are perhaps not as commonly sought after but fetch higher prices.

What are the extra costs for selling books online, like shipping?

Shipping is a cost -- and that includes boxes and mailers, packing tape, shipping labels (the ink and paper you print them on), and other items for packaging. There's also fees for shipping insurance and tracking options. If you don't consider those costs, or are charging less than you should, those amounts can really eat at any profits you may have.

And then there's your time. There's the time it takes to ship items, but even before you get to that, there's a lot of time invested in properly listing books to sell. You'll need to research each book to have an idea of its value in order to set your price or start the bidding at. You'll need to accurately describe the book and its condition; you may need to photograph or scan the book itself. You may need to respond to questions from potential buyers. And then there's the time spent organizing your books for sale. (You have to be able to find a title quickly to answer questions and to ship it.) This time can add up surprisingly fast.

As the saying goes, time is money. If, after you take out the fees for listing and selling at a site, you find you are only getting a dollar or something for your book, it may not be worth your time to sell books online.

Is there a danger of being ripped off by a book purchaser?

Most sites have protections for both seller and buyer. Sites like PayPal favor the buyer a lot, which means you are best off using the insurance and delivery tracking options to protect yourself. But still, even when you've accurately described the item and taken the shipping precautions, issues may still arise. There are fewer scammers than one fears; but there is always the element of just bad luck with a sale or shipping. Sometimes things just end up going sideways and aggravating you, if not costing you money outright.

What advice would you give to someone starting to sell their own books online?

Whether you are simply down-sizing your book collection or planning on generating income by selling books, it's really important to know what you have. Not just in terms of the books themselves and their values, but your time constraints, skill sets (or willingness to learn), and desire to want to do the work it takes.

It can all seem overwhelming, I know! But once you have realistic ideas and expectations, the right options for you are much easier to see.

Thanks for taking the time to be interviewed. Is there anything you would like to add?

Just that most of this information applies to used or past issues of magazines and periodicals as well -- and anything vintage or antique, for that matter. While a lot of the collecting shows make it sound like there's treasure in your attic or basement, it's not as easy as many people think it is. Learning to identify and separate the "gems" from the "junk" takes time and experience, as does the act of selling it. There is money to be made, for sure; but, as the saying goes, there's no easy money.

And thank you so much for including me in your discussion about selling books!