In a November 2, blog post, I shared information about a webinar from Ladies Who Launch on how to make your book a best-seller.  Today, I came up with another great reason women writers might benefit from this webinar:  the blatant sexual discrimination against women in the literary world.  Honestly, I had no idea how bad it was.  But now, I do, so I am passing this important information along to you.

Publisher's Weekly recently published their annual "Ten Best Books of 2009" list.  Once again, all the authors chosen for a plug are male. A scathing post on PoliticsDaily.com, "Same Old Story: Best-Books List," by Lizzie Skurnick, offers some insight into gender discrimination that lives on in the publisher's realm.

Another article by Alison Flood, "Fury After Women Writers Excluded From Books of the Year," shares information about a new United States literary organization, Women in Letters and Literary Arts (WILLA), that has formed in response to this unfair balance, and "...has gathered more than 5,500 members since it launched in August with the aim of bringing "increased attention to women's literary accomplishments and [questioning] the American literary establishment's historical slow-footedness in recognising and rewarding women writers' achievements."

WILLA has now created their own list of "Great Books by Women in 2009."  If you are looking for a good new read purely based on a publisher's "top" list, you might want to reconsider their objectivity if the list consists entirely of all male authors.

Dulles Airport Plane Pull
Brad Whitford

Participate in Survey for Nonprofits to be Eligible for Free Graphic Art Services

Brad Whitford, a student working on his thesis, wrote to me (at my own nonprofit) asking me to participate in an online survey about the importance of graphic arts for charitable organizations.  I took the survey a few weeks ago, but received a recent update:  he needs more participants for his thesis, "Graphics for a cause - creating revenue for the nonprofit in a foundering economy."

Brad will select one survey participant to receive free graphic arts services to help their cause.  He is graciously offering to create a variety of design materials such as website design, brochures, posters, logos, HTML eblasts, pocket folders, mailers, etc.

You can participate in the survey at:  Free Online Surveys

Visit Brad's Website to see his work, or to contact him with questions about the survey.

I received a notice today from Joomla warning users that 1.5.x Joomla installs prior to and including 1.5.14 have a new issue.  When logged into the front end with "Author" access, it is  possible to replace an article written by another user.  If you have not upgraded Joomla recently do it ASAP.

Joomla and Drupal are two of the most frequently hacked open source software applications.  They are great tools, but you absolutely MUST keep your software updated.  Even with updates it is a good idea to check your site regularly for strange files.

For more information visit Joomla.org.

According to a recent email from the National Organization of Women (NOW), there may be some positive news for women regarding the Affordable Health Care for America Act (H.R. 3962):

...Positive features that would benefit women are: a prohibition on gender-rating -- the practice of charging women more than men for the same coverage in the individual insurance market. Insurers would now be required to cover maternity services as part of an essential benefits package and out-of-pocket payments would be limited for certain preventive care services, among other benefits. The House bill would ban insurance companies from denying coverage in the individual market based on a woman's history as a domestic violence survivor, which would go into effect as soon as the bill is signed into law (enacted as of January 1, 2010).

Currently, many health insurance companies can legally, and often do, deny coverage to women who have been raped or abused in the past.

Throughout the nation, even in states that have made insurance rescission illegal (the practice of post-claims underwriting and retroactively canceling coverage when an insured files an claim) many women who think they have coverage, find out the hard way that their coverage can be canceled if they did not disclose rape or abuse when they applied for insurance benefits.

I will keep you posted!

Ladies Who Launch is offering a webinar on November 12, 2009 ($99.00) from 1:00 PM to 2:15 PM Eastern standard Time.  If you want to learn how to get your book published, and how to increase your chances of your book becoming a best seller, sign up for this webinar.

The webinar will discuss choosing a publisher, marketing, best-seller lists (are they important and how to get on them), and much more.

About the Speaker, Cindy Ratzlaff:

A 20-plus year veteran of major publishing houses such as Simon & Schuster and Rodale Inc., Cindy Ratzlaff was named to the prestigious Advertising Age Marketing 50 list for her blockbuster launch of the worldwide bestseller, The South Beach Diet.   She managed the publishing arm of that brand worldwide where it ultimately published 11 bestselling books in 36 countries and selling more than 22 million copies.

More Information / Register

Find more seminars and events for business women (or post your own event information) in Women in Business' forums.

November is "National Month" Calendar

Many countries adopt causes or a special interest group to promote during a calendar month. The United States is particularly prolific at creating "national month" events to promote business interests.

The following events are observed calendar month-long (unless otherwise indicated):

• Aviation Month
• Epilepsy Awareness Month
• Good Nutrition Month
• Hunger Awareness Month
• Latin American Month
• National AIDS Awareness Month
• National American Indian Heritage Month
• National Diabetes Awareness Month
• National Epilepsy Month
• National Georgia Pecan Month
• National Long Term Care Awareness Month
• National Novel Writing Month
• National Peanut Butter Lover's Month
• National Pepper Month
• National Raisin Bread Month
• National Red Ribbon Month (anti-drunk driving)
• National Stamp Collecting Month
• Vegan Awareness Month

Is there a way your business can benefit by promoting itself during "November is" national month?

Thanks to Sandra Grauschopf, Guide to Contests and Sweepstakes for providing information about the following two business contests:

1. Regus - Win an Office Sweepstakes! Grand Prize: The right to use a fully-furnished office at one of the 18 Regus locations in New York City. The office includes high-speed internet, telephone answering service, a receptionist and welcoming area, on-site administration, office cleaning services, and more. (ARV: $30,000 - $72,000). More Contest Information
2. Win a $300,000 TCBY Franchise! Show TCBY why you and your town deserve to have a new frozen yogurt store in it and you could win a franchise worth over $300,000 in TCBY's This Could Be Yours, The Great TCBY Store Giveaway.  Deadline: November 30, 2009 at 11:59 p.m. MT. More Contest Information

Find more business contests in WIB's Forums, or subscribe to me on Twitter @AboutWIB.

Amber Johnson from OnlineColleges.net  wrote to let me know that they just posted a new article, "101 iTunes Feeds to Boost Your Business Savvy."  The list includes everything business from ethics and law to management and financial matters.

If you are interested in listening to speakers from Yale, Stanford, Duke, UCLA, or University of Cambridge professors, be sure to check out the list.  Once you select a program to listen to just click on it and listen via iTunes in your computer while you work.

For fun, while you are on the site, trip over to "Best and Strangest Courses Online."  I did, and had to roll my eyes (and laugh a bit, too) at the "Philosophy and Star Trek," "The Joy of Garbage," and everyone's favorite college classes" Joy of Waling" and "Underwater Basket Weaving."

Thanks for the resource tip, Amber!

Congratulations to the following nine, remarkable women who are all winners in the Ernst & Young LLP 2009 Entrepreneurial Winning Women competition.  Click on each name to learn more about the winners and their companies!

• Carole Borden | C.B. Transportation (Chester Springs, Penn. )
• Michelle Tunno Buelow | Bella Tunno (Charlotte, N.C.)
• Sherry Stewart Deutschmann | LetterLogic(Nashville, Tenn.)
• Talia Mashiach | Eved Services (Chicago, Ill.)
• Karen Pecora-Barbour | The Barbour Group LLC (Westminster, Md.)
• Vicki Raport | Quantum Retail Technology (Minneapolis, Minn.)
• Shabnam Rezaei | Big Bad Boo (New York, N.Y.)
• Jennifer L. Scully | Clinical Resources LLC (Atlanta, Ga.)
• Susan Wilson: The Judgment Group (Stevensville, Md.)

According to a, October 22, 2009  press release:

"Ernst & Young LLP created the annual Entrepreneurial Winning Women program to help successful women entrepreneurs realize the full potential they envision for their companies," said Maria Pinelli, Americas Director, Strategic Growth Markets, Ernst & Young LLP.  "Through the program, we aim to give outstanding female entrepreneurs targeted and customized knowledge and business insights as well as access to highly influential networks of investors, advisors, and top entrepreneurs to quickly accelerate the growth of their businesses."

Learn More About the Winning Women Program