Let’s face it. MyRomanceStory.com is all about L-O-V-E. Our stories are passionate, emotional, and dramatic, but we have a bet among our staff that you have had a few moments in your life that qualify as incredibly romantic, too. And we image you have some dating disasters that will curl our toes! Why not share them with the world?

Do you need some incentive? How about a really cool prize? Enter our Valentine’s Day contest and if you win, you’ll receive an assortment of romantic products to help you start a new romantic adventure.

Tell Us About Your Special Cupid or Your Stupid Cupid. Submit your TRUE stories of romantic highs or lows to our Valentines Day Writing contest and win fabulous prizes.

Open to legal residents of the fifty (50) United States, including the District of Columbia, 18 years old and above.

Grand Prize Winner: Cupid’s Delight
Prize package includes gourmet treats from Bridge Brand Chocolate, an online beauty consultation from Candid Images, a Take Me With You Beijo tote bag from the Purse Chick, and two engraved Champagne flutes.
Total value of $300

2nd Place: Passionate Indulgences
Prize package includes gourmet treats from Bridge Brand Chocolate, Astrology image note cards with original art by Italo Ahumada and other romantic products.
Total value of $150

3rd Place:Sweet Dreams
Prize package includes gourmet treats from Bridge Brand Chocolate, Astrology image note cards with original art by Italo Ahumada and other romantic products.
Total value of $100

2 Runners up: Romantic Words & Music
A gift bag with romance graphic novels, romantic music CDs, Astrology image note cards with original art by Italo Ahumada and other romantic products.
Total value of $30

Deadline of submission of entries is on February 1, 2010. For more information please visit MyRomanceStory.com

Now I can.  Go to Imagekind.com

Imagekind is a Cafe Press company that has been set up just to sell your fine art work and your fine art photo images.

There are  free and paid membership options. Surprisingly, even the free option gives you a lot of services and value for your buck!

In a nutshell:  Imagekind is dedicated to selling and producing art and photo images with the highest quality framed giclee prints.

Here are just a FEW of the things you can get at Imagekind:

• Create your own customizable storefront, with an easy to remember URL
• Secure Checkout & Payment Processing – credit cards and Paypal accepted
• Market your art effectively with Imagekind marketing tools.
• Set the mark up for your art, and keep 100% of the profit (also get a % of the framing costs)
• Create Art! Let us deal with the order processing, customer service packaging and worldwide shipping
• Give your customer the best with museum quality printing and framing
• Get a dedicated URL (http://johndoe.imagekind.com)
• Display your art to a global audience in public, private or locked galleries
• and LOADS more

To find out more go to Imagekind.com

This competition is open to all legal resident of USA (50) & D.C. Void in Puerto Rico, Guam, The U.S Virgin Islands, and where prohibited by law   13+   who are 18 years old and above.

One (1) Prize winner  Prize winner will receive a Nikon Coolpix Digital Camera Approximate Retail Value (“ARV”) $96.00.

Deadline of entry is on January 25, 2010. For more information please visit Sugarloot.teen.com

Want to go to Tahiti? Well, we want to send you there for a week – on us! For a chance to win the getaway of your dreams, send us a video from 25 seconds to 3 minutes in length showing us why you and your loved one(s) NEED and DESERVE a trip to Tahiti to Invest In your Love. Be sure to check out our Tips for Winners. Viewers will determine the top 10 finalists and the winner will be chosen by a panel of expert judges. So get crazy, get creative, but most of all get on video why you NEED a trip to Tahiti now!

This competition is open to all legal resident of  USA(50+),DC & Canada (excluding Quebec), who are  21 year of age.

SIX (6) GRAND PRIZES (one (1) per individual contest): Winner’s choice of a trip for two (2) or a trip for a family of four (4) to Tahiti. If winner elects the trip for a family of four (4), travelers must be related. Trip package includes roundtrip, coach-class air transportation for two (2) or four (4) from a major commercial airport in Los Angeles, CA, U.S.A. (as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion) to Tahiti; six (6) nights accommodations at a hotel determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion (single room, double occupancy or quad occupancy); roundtrip ground transportation between airport and hotel in Tahiti; breakfast and dinner daily; one (1) land excursion; and one (1) lagoon excursion for winner and travel companion(s). Winner is responsible for all transportation between winner’s home and Los Angeles, CA.

Deadline of submission is on January 19, 2010. For complete details please visit InvestinYourLove.com

Upload a photo of your eyes. Let the SugarLoot community decide who has the prettiest eyes.

This competition is open to all legal resident of USA (50) & D.C VOID IN Puerto Rico, Guam, The U.S Virgin  Islands, and where prohibited by law. Who are 13 year and above. Entry is free.

One (1) Grand Prize winner – Grand Prize winner will receive an $100 Ulta Gift Card.
Two (2) Runner-up Prize winners – Runners-up will each receive a $20 Ulta Gift Card.

Deadline of submission is on January 18, 2010. For more information please visit Sugarloot.teen.com

Submit a stories not to exceed 12,000 words.(No minimum, though it’s rare for a piece under 500 words to read as a full story.)with reading fee of $15.

This contest is open to writers whose fiction has not been presented in a print publication with a circulation over 5,000.

Film your cat’s funniest moment and enter for a chance to win $1,000. This contest is open to all legal resident of  USA (50+) & D.C and who are  18 years old and above.

Grand Prize: $1,000 cash and coupons for one (1) years supply of ARM & HAMMER® Cat Litter plus the winning video may be featured on the armhammerpets (funny cats) brand channel on YouTube.

Airing of your video is at the Sponsor’s discretion. There is no retail or other value associated with airing or use of the Grand Prize winning video. (Total average retail value of Grand Prize is $2,620). Three (3) First Prizes: Coupons for one (1) years supply of ARM & HAMMER® Cat Litter.

Deadline of entries is on November 22, 2009.
For more information please visit the site for more information.

Most photographers go into the business of photography because they LOVE photography and because they want to get paid to do more of it.

What they didn’t bargain for was having to make sales, get clients, fix and negotiate fees and prices.

The Photographer’s Guide to Negotiating is a definite MUST HAVE for your reference shelf because it gives you the information and helps you obtain the skills you need in order to keep your business thriving.

In a nutshell this is what the book includes:

• What negotiating is
• The traits of a good negotiator … skills you can learn
• Planning for the negotiation
• The psychology of negotiation  (learn this and you will never be shy about negotiating again!)
• Strategy and Tactics

Here are some of the specific places the book talks about using your newly acquired skills:

• Assignment photography
• Selling your Stock photos
• Contracts
• and … save money by negotiating your purchases with your vendors and suppliers!

Finally, the book includes a chapter of interviews with photographers on how they acquired and use their negotiating skills.

I’ve freelanced for over TWENTY-FIVE years and luckily I learned very early on, that negotiating skills are critical to the success of your business.  If you are shy and hesitant in talking about money, you will be on the loosing end. If you are comfortable about negotiating … you will be happy and so will your customer.

I think the biggest “secret” is to fully understand that your client is probably uncomfortable about money talk because they are afraid of being taken advantage of.  The more you can lead the process and help your client be comfortable with the money discussion, the more money you will make!

Start by getting the book  The Photographer’s Guide to Negotiating … read it and work on the skills that are missing. When you understand the process, your business will grow!

2010 Photographer’s Market

The “2010″ verion of Photographers Market is hot off the press. Filled with over 1500 markets for photographers and coming in at 640 pages, this volume is a bargain at the price.

A current version of this book is critical to any photographer selling stock or editorial photography. It is filled with tips on how to market your photos from successful working photographers.

If you live (or sell photos) in the UK or Europe, another useful reference is:

The Freelance Photographer’s Market Handbook 2010 2010

From personal experience … there is a definite cross-over to the graphics and design end of things:

2010 Artist’s & Graphic Designer’s Market

Be sure to visit our Photographer’s Book store for great photography reference information.

• The kind of thing you wouldn’t really want your kids, colleagues, or a nosy PC technician to see?
• Or how about PRIVATE FILES – such as your accounts, or job application letters?

Well, if you use Microsoft Windows, you’ll know there’s NO WAY to protect them.

You can’t password-protect a folder. You can’t store them in a “secure zone.” You can’t even password-protect the file itself: most file protection systems can be broken within seconds.

That’s why today I’m writing to recommendation a FANTASTIC little program I just discovered.

It’s called Photo Vault.

And it’s like a real bank vault for your PC files.

Just drag-and-drop the photos and files you want to protect into the vault.

When you want to view your files again, just open the vault and enter your password. You can view your photos and files without leaving a single trace anywhere on your PC.

It’s total privacy.

And it’s available to YOU – RIGHT NOW.

Download your copy of this great little program NOW