CLASSES

All of my extended ed classes are Saturday workshops from 9am to 4pm. I leave plenty of time for discussion and for getting your questions answered, including those about your own projects. I encourage you to bring along anything about which you have questions or want input from me and/or your fellow students.

Please visit the appropriate college, usually Pierce College (Lakewood or Puyallup campuses), South Puget Sound Community College (Mottman Main Campus), or Centralia College for information on fees, classroom locations, and how to register.

The following is what's on my schedule so far for 2011. A list of my art and Web site classes is at my art Web site: www.joellesteele.com. Class descriptions follow the schedule below.

WINTER 2012 Schedule

JAN 14 - Start A Web Site for Your Small Business (one-day class)
South Puget Sound Community College (Olympia)

JAN 28 - Researching and Writing Your Family History or Memoirs
Pierce College (Puyallup)

FEB 4 - Make Your Living As A Writer & Self-Publishing.
South Puget Sound Community College (Olympia)

FEB 11 - Start A Web Site for Your Small Business-Part 1
Pierce College (Puyallup)

FEB 25 - Start A Web Site for Your Small Business-Part 2
Pierce College (Puyallup)

SPRING 2012 SCHEDULE

MAR 3 - Researching and Writing Your Family History or Memoirs
South Puget Sound Community College (Olympia)

APR 21 - Start A Web Site for Your Small Business (one-day class)
South Puget Sound Community College (Olympia)

APR 28 - Researching and Writing Your Family History or Memoirs
Pierce College (Puyallup)

MAY 5 - Start A Web Site for Your Small Business
Pierce College (Puyallup)

MAY 12 - Make Your Living As A Writer & Self-Publishing.
South Puget Sound Community College (Olympia)

MAY 19 - Make Your Living As A Writer & Self-Publishing.
Pierce College (Puyallup)

SUMMER 2012 SCHEDULE

JUN 2 - Researching and Writing Your Family History or Memoirs
South Puget Sound Community College (Olympia)

JUN 9 - Make Your Living As A Writer & Self-Publishing.
Centralia College (Centralia)

JUN 16 - Researching and Writing Your Family History or Memoirs
Centralia College (Centralia)

Make Your Living As A Writer & Self-Publishing Your Book. These two classes used to be taught separately and there was a lot of overlap in the material, so I have re-designed and merged the two into a single and far more comprehensive class that will better benefit all writers and aspiring writers. It includes a good overview of how the publishing industry works and what it takes to be a writer in terms of knowledge, skills, tools of the trade, and personality. Explains how to evaluate the writing markets; insights into what editors, publishers, and clients want; developing specialties; marketing, query letters, and avoiding "sales slumps"; submitting manuscripts; advances, royalties, and getting paid; contracts and rights; research, interviewing, fact-checking, and more. Also included is information about self-publishing, the publishing process, which books are best candidates for self-publishing, budgets, bar codes, ISBN numbers, book design and illustrations, reviews, and promotion; marketing to libraries, niche markets, and bookstores; and Internet marketing and wholesale distribution. Instructor has more than 35 years writing and publishing experience. Plenty of time allotted to getting your questions answered and getting input on your projects. Detailed outline.

Start A Web Site for Your Small Business. This class is taught in two versions: one is done in two separate all-day Saturday classes at Pierce College, and the other in a single all-day Saturday class at other colleges. It is an excellent overview for anyone who wants to start a successful Web site or has problems with their existing Web site. Taught in English — not "geek" speak — it covers just about everything, including many things that are very hard to find in one place. Detailed outline. Plenty of time is allotted for getting your questions answered. Here's what's included, and this is the two-day class breakdown, but all the same info is covered in the one-day class. Start A Web Site - Part 1 (this class is the pre-requisite for Part 2). Computer basics include file naming and storage; backing up; firewalls and virus protection; and computer maintenance. Web basics include Internet access; search techniques; Web hosting; domain/URL registration; E-mail; Web software; search engines; HTML/XHTML, CSS, and javascript; coding and meta tags; forms; and shopping carts. Writing basics include planning; pages to include; keywords and keyphrases; titles and headings; understanding relevant content; search engine optimization; writing styles; establishing credibility; and copyright. Start A Web Site - Part 2 (this class has a pre-requisite, which is Part 1). Design basics include researching Web sites; design principles; neuromarketing/eye-tracking; psychology of color; browser-safe colors; navigation structure; using templates; CSS and HTML extras; selecting fonts; working with images and videos; Web no-no's and time-wasters; and tables/divs. Marketing and promoting basics include robots.txt files; Google sitemaps; RSS feeds; online ad campaigns; paid ads; social networking; linking; sales and conversion rates; press releases; and online yellow pages. Site monitoring and maintenance basics include regular updating/refreshing; creating forms and harvesting data; use of Google Analytics and Webalizer Reports; and adding more content.

Researching and Writing Your Family History or Memoirs. Lots of how-to info and plenty of time for your questions. Research methods for genealogical and anecdotal data, including interviews with family members and friends; obtaining personal letters, diaries, photos, etc.; Internet searches, Ellis Island records, SS Death Index, genealogical archives, title searches, ethnicity-specific organizations, and government departments of vital statistics. Understanding variations in names, birth and death dates, cities and countries of origin, digging for the truth behind family stories, and handling delicate information, speculative data, and "holes" in stories. Fact-checking and ethics. Use of formats and viewpoints in your history, and writing from outline through finished book. Collecting, identifying, dating, and managing photos and other images. Kinship terms, charts, and trees. Instructor has more than 25 years genealogical experience, so bring along anything about which you have questions or want input. Detailed outline.