Before I start to tell you more about my experience with the Kindle, I wanted to hit you all up for naming suggestions. It turns out that you can give your device its own name, and I haven’t come up with the perfect one yet. If you’ve got a suggestion, please leave it in the comments.

As I mentioned previously, my darling husband bought me a Kindle for my birthday. I do love my little toy, let me tell you. We’ve had some issues, and I had to get a replacement because once my battery ran all the way down, it wouldn’t start back up. I sounded so forlorn telling my hubby, “My Kindle won’t wake up.” It reminded me of some little kid who has just found his goldfish floating belly-up in the bowl.

It didn’t help matters that I was 1/3 of the way through Wicked at the time and was going to have to wait for the new one to arrive via FedEx. I know the delivery guys get all kinds of comments when they show up with packages, but this one nearly got French kissed on my front porch.

There are some things I really like about my new Kindle:
1. I can use it one-handed, which means that as long as she doesn’t realize Mama is trying to multi-task, I can read while nursing the baby.
2. I love the instant gratification that comes with being able to download a book immediately.
3. I don’t have to flip through the book to find out where I left off. (Because I’m just no good at using bookmarks.)

There are also some things I don’t like so well:
1. If you accidentally hit the “back” button, you may spend the next ten minutes trying to find your place.
2. It’s pretty easy to accidentally advance multiple pages. (I believe this was addressed with the Kindle II.)
3. Apparently, you should never let the battery run all the way down.
4. Because it is a “no-no” and has buttons, my daughter covets it to a ridiculous degree.

Really, though, I’m quite pleased with my gift. It was a refurbished unit, which means hubby didn’t pay full price, and I like that, too. Since the birth of my first child, I managed to read ZERO books. I am now on my fourth since the end of September. As odd as it sounds, I kind of feel like myself again. There was a time when you just wouldn’t find me without a book in my hand, and even though this one is electronic, that’s starting to be the case again.

Discussing interns and internships are what I consider an “annual” topic. Every year at about this time we talk about interns, or rather, the folks who like to present a job as an internship in order to get away with hiring free labor.  So let’s talk about what internships are, why they are necessary and why they are not free labor.

What is an internship?

An internship is a job one takes, usually working for a business, corporation or the government, in order to gain experience, build up a reputation and learn from the best. The focus is on the job training, rather than monetary compensation. Most interns are in college and work in this capacity in hopes of having a very good job lined up upon graduation.

What are the benefits of working as an intern?

In addition to the aforementioned on the job training, many interns can earn college credits, a small stipend, important business contacts, the promise of employment and references. In short, the ability to advance their careers. Interns don’t work for free. They gain something valuable in return.

Why do so many jobs offer internships, when they’re not offering anything in return?

Because these so-called employers feel that by offering a non-paying job as an internship rather than what it really is – getting something for nothing – they’ll look less like an ass. “Working as an intern” sounds a lot better than “working for free”, doesn’t it?

Questions to ask when applying for an internship

A job churning out web content from home all day every day, for an employer you contact once a week via email, isn’t an internship. Other than turning you off from writing as career, what can it possibly offer in return? Before you accept an internship, ask the following questions:

1. What will I gain from the experience?
2. How will it benefit my career?
3. What kind of on the job training will I receive?
4. Will I receive college credit?
5. Will I receive the promise of a full time, salaried position after I graduate?
6. Will you act as a mentor and offer me guidance?
7. Will you introduce me to others who can act as mentors and offer guidance?
8. Are these clowns just looking to get free labor?

If you browse Craigslist, you’ll find plenty of opportunities for interns, but many of these jobs aren’t. Remember, internships offer something in return. Job experience is more than writing web content. A true internship will attempt to teach you all you need to know about your chosen profession or major.  A true internship works in conjunction with your school so you earn college credits and recognition for your efforts. Before accepting an internship, research the opportunity thorougly. If it sounds like someone trying to get a whole lot of something for a whole lot of nothing, pass.

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I’m not just a fan of Susan Gunelius because she’s a terrific writer or that she replaced me when I gave up my gig with About.com Weblogs. I’m a fan of Susan because she knows her stuff and is generous when it comes to dispensing advice. I have a confession to make, however. I’ve been remiss in reviewing her awesome book Kick-ass Copywriting in 10 Easy Steps: Build the Buzz and Sell the Sizzle. It’s not that I didn’t want to review this book, only that I have stacks of books to review, and so little time to do so. Don’t do as I do, though. If there’s one book to buy for your writing resource arsenal this year, Kick-Ass Copywriting is it. Go ahead, order. I’ll wait. I even provided the link to save time.

Kick-Ass Copywriting had me at “hello”. The thoughtful foreward is written by none other than the CopyBlogger himself, Brian Clark. The rest of the book provides practical advice in a format that is easy to follow and not intimidating in the least.

Just a quick browse of the chapters is intriguing:

1. Don’t Be Intimidated by Copywriting – Be Insipired!
2. Get Organized with the Copywriting Outline
3. Exploit Your Product’s Benefits
4. Exploit Your Competition’s Weaknesses
5. Know Your Audience
6. Communicate W.I.I.F.M (What’s In It For Me?)
7. Focus on the “You” not “Me”

And it goes on for 11 more chapters all offering the reader inspiration and an urge to go out and look into the copywriting thing. Susan’s book is probably the best book I’ve read on this topic thus far. She writes for you and me – and explains what we need to know in a pleasant, easy to read manner. Susan doesn’t talk down to us in the least, however. It’s like she’s giving a lesson over a cup of coffee.

Here’s the thing…at FWJ one of the questions that is asked the most often is, “how do I get out of this low paying rut?”  Susan has your answer right here. There’s writing beyond web content. If you want to be paid handsomely for your efforts, you have to put in the time. Your writing has to dazzle. Kick-Ass Copywriting gives you the tools and motivation you need to succeed.

Now, Susan can’t hold your hand but her book gives insight into a form of writing most web writers don’t even think about. Read the book, then go out and do us proud.