Wednesday, March 4, 2020

How to Become a Bestselling Author on Amazon By ML Banner

How to Become a Bestselling Author on Amazon By ML Banner Becoming an Amazon Bestselling Author with a First Fiction Book: An Interview with ML Banner Last updated 07/06/2017.Writing is no easy thing. Most authors who end up making a living out of it actually say it’s one of the hardest professions. It takes a lot of time, dedication and energy.If on top of writing, you also have to do all the activities associated with publishing the book, it becomes more than just â€Å"hard†. 2014 was described by hybrid author Kristine Kathryn Rusch as the year when indies say â€Å"the end of the gold rush†. If you like roaming around on Kboards, you see more and more posts from authors â€Å"quitting† indie publishing.But now and again, you get to read about the latest awesome indie success story, and that always brings the optimism back. And who better than Hugh Howey to do that? When we read the guest post on his blog by ML Banner, bestselling author of Stone Age (his first book!), we thought we definitely had to interview him. So we did.He’s sharing his experience, insights, and creative marketing techniq ues with us. Through his creative marketing techniques, ML was able to become a bestselling author on Amazon  almost overnight - after working hard on his book, of course.For the lovers of the written word, we’ve transcribed most of the interview below. However, we strongly encourage you to switch the volume on and hit play, you’ll get so much more - like a very persistent fly constantly trying to interrupt Michael! Hi Michael, great to have you here. First, congratulations on getting your two first books out last year, and on hitting the ground running. You’ve had this idea for a book for a long time, right? What made you decide to â€Å"author publish† it in the first place?I have to say that the primer to this, probably, was Hugh Howey. I read about him in a Wall Street Journal article in 2013: about his Wool series (that I then read and loved) and what he had done to self-publish them. So that was always in the back of my mind, but to be honest at that time I didn’t really have the intention to write any fiction.Then I read an article one day about solar flares (I’ve always had a very keen interest in science), and what could happen if we had a similar solar storm today. So I just started doing research on it to find out that something like this actually happened once back in 1859, and that if it happened again today, it could be catastrophic. I thought: â€Å"ma n, this would make for a great book, I’m sure it must be on Amazon!† So I searched for it, and it wasn’t there†¦So I started rumbling, and thinking: â€Å"well if I had to write that book, here’s probably how I would approach it, with this plot, these characters, etc.† And I actually started writing the book, without my wife even knowing about it!And with that first book, you’ve actually become a bestselling author on Amazon in your category, so you’re the perfect example of the â€Å"indie publishing dream†. But you’ve also done a lot of pre-launch work for that, and a lot of things that I don’t see many authors out there doing. Do you think that’s because you have a tech/startup background?Sure, I know I approached it kind of differently. But first, once I knew I was going to self-publish, I really immersed myself in everything about self-publishing, reading book after book, articles, etc.Then, the fa ct that I have been a founder of several companies in the past (the last one is currently running: SmallBiz.com) and have worked a lot with technology has made me approach self-publishing from the same viewpoint. I used Google+ a lot, for example, as I’m a big believer in it, trying to forge connections with other writers.Also, I knew I had to approach the actual publishing bit as a publisher: â€Å"I have to be a publisher myself, so how can I really make this successful?†. I tried to come up with some creative ideas, the same way you’d do when starting a business: you try to do things differently to stand out in a competitive market.For example, I had a character in the book who was a scientist and I thought: it’d be really cool if he had this research institute. So I created a persona for him online: a G+ profile, a Twitter account, and a website for the CMER Institute. The key was really to think from my character’s standpoint and see what I wo uld do, in his place, to get the word out about this phenomenon that endangers the world.The beautiful thing about eBooks is the connectivity: you can embed hyperlinks. So I linked to this CMERI website where my character actually offered a reader magnet; a free ebook called â€Å"The Apocalypse Survival Guide†. And I actually got over 1,200 downloads of that book. Some people even seem to believe that the CMERI is real, as I got a couple of media inquiries!I think that’s definitely something more authors should do: explore the possibilities of eBooks to create something bigger than the story.I agree, I’ve seen only a rare few authors taking advantage of that. The thing you have to remember is that it’s so easy now to set up a web presence (for the author or for one of the characters). I have a GoDaddy unlimited account which costs around $200 a year so for the cost of a domain I can set up a professional-looking website in an hour or so, and embed your book in there. Also, if you can put some freebie stuff on your website, people usually love that. All this is really part of building a platform, which is one of the two most important things when you’re marketing your book.And you have actually set up your website around 6 months before the launch, if I’m not mistaken. But how do you get people interested in it when you don’t have the content yet? How did you manage doing pre-launch marketing?I did set up my author website probably 6 months before I launched, yes. But frankly, I had no one coming to it. You know, I see a lot of author websites out there and people seem to be confused about what their purpose is. My sole purpose with the website, right from the get go, was to acquire a mailing/subscriber list.Now, I don’t want to make it seem like I had all the answers, though, because I didn’t. It was trial and error. There’s a lot of things I did for the launch of my second book that I did n’t do for the first one. I set up the platform early on because I knew I was going to need that, but until I launched the first book, I think I only had 2 or 3 subscribers (probably friends)†¦Then, I set up the website for my scientist character, and a third website for the book series. I started building the platform from there because I knew it had to be there for when I launched. Also, at that time I wasn’t really worried about the launch, I was thinking: â€Å"get the book out and don’t worry too much about the marketing†. I’ve since changed my thinking on that with book two, where it was all about the launch.To me, a big part of getting a book launched is trying to get your reviews in line. Now, most reviews are just a condition of book sales (in my experience, you get one review every 50 to 100 sales or so). But what you can do is get the people ready for pre-reviews. That’s much easier when you already have a following, of cours e, but to get started I would go with Google+ and Goodreads communities. I set myself up early on on Goodreads: although it’s hard to do anything there until your book is launched, I immersed myself from a reader standpoint in different communities and once I had the book ready, I asked for people to do an advanced copy review. There are plenty of people out there, so if you’re writing a book that you think lots of people will want to buy and read, then surely you can entice a dozen people or so to review it.Amazon also does a cool thing with the pre-orders, which allows you to actually have a presence, a â€Å"product† even when your book is not necessarily ready. Just be careful not to miss the deadline, else you’ll be stuck in Amazon darkness for a year. You can set up the pre-order and then go to Goodreads and Google+ communities and tell everyone: â€Å"hey, I’ve got this book coming up, and I need some advance reviewers, who’s interes ted?†When launch time comes, the big thing to me is visibility. If you’re a brand new writer with no following, this means you’ll have to do something to get the Amazon algorithms to work for you. I think it’s best to launch at $.99, even if you’re just making 35%. You need to get on the â€Å"Hot New Releases† and there are things you can do to focus on that, as I explained in the Hugh Howey post.Another thing that worked well for me was doing giveaways (of other people’s books), just to build up my readership list within my genre. I like this idea of â€Å"giveaways†: not only is it something that you can do before your launch, it’s also a way to build relationships with other authors within your genre, who can then help you promote your books, right?Absolutely, I’m a big believer in the collaborating with other authors in your genre. It was in a Google+ community I think that another author told me to â€Å"befriend someone in my genre†.I took this idea to heart: there were a couple of authors I really liked so I wrote a review of one of their books on my blog and then contacted them directly. The important thing is to build a relationship. It might take some time but it’s worth it, because once you have this relationship you can ask them if they’d like to review your book, or tell their audience about it. And likewise, when they are the ones running a countdown or launching a book, you will tell your audience!One of my first relationships was with a UK author, and we ’re actually going to co-write a book within my Stone Age world now. That is a relationship that kind of grew from almost a year of corresponding back and forth and trying to help with each other’s marketing.This is actually something really unique and exciting in this world that we’re living in, the writers’ world. These people who are trying to sell their books in the same genre are not your competitors, they can be your best allies. On top of that, they already have developed their platform, they already have a readership (with their readers). So you just need to have them tell their readership about your book.I agree, and when doing that I think it’s especially important, even if you’re a starting author with not much to offer, to start by offering something, right?Oh definitely, I think it’s a mistake to approach immediately with â€Å"what can you do for me?†. The only exception to that is: â€Å"what has worked for you? †, that’s a different question that most are going to be very receptive to.Many authors, especially those that have done well, really want to share that with other authors. Look at bestselling author Hugh Howey, he’s a perfect example. And there are many like that, who are ready to welcome you, embrace you, and help you in your journey, especially if you’re willing to listen and learn. The best thing to do is to make their acquaintance, start with that first email.Of course, you need to build the relationship, but that’s like with anything else. On your first date, you’re not going to take the girl to meet your parents! That’s important to keep in mind: learn from the person, ask questions, don’t be a bother but actually try to help when you can.One thing that worked for me was to monitor their books. I’m kind of a data person so I’ve got spreadsheets with my book, my bestseller ranking, the number of sales, and Ià ¢â‚¬â„¢ve tracked many other books in my genre the same way, to get an idea of what’s going on and how much the bestseller ranks fluctuate. So when I see one pop up and hit #1, I’ll send an email to the newly bestselling author just to say: â€Å"Congratulations, that’s awesome! How did you do it, did you use a promo newsletter, or just had the magic Amazon-algorithms for you?† We’ve all got a lot to learn from each other.Hugh Howey was one of those that I was tracking, and when my book passed his in the ranking and went on to hit #1, I reached out to Hugh to say â€Å"hi† and let him know he had been a wonderful influence and the main reason why I decided to self-publish. I was rather surprised he responded back the next day, we corresponded a bit after that and the guest post on his blog was part of that.And that’s how we all found out about you! I’d have a more specific question now on exclusivity. What made you decide to go with KDP Select and be exclusive?Part of it was simplicity. I was still doing this as a very part-time activity, so I didn’t have the time and energy to explore the other platforms. It was also a business decision: I looked at the books in my genre that were bestsellers and hung a bit in there and found out quite a few of those were with Select.The other part was the Countdown. The little countdown clock is just a perfect psychological tool for readers. Plus, when you do the Countdown, Amazon exposes you to a portion of the market that you would otherwise not get. Not only does it bump up your book during the countdown period, it actually keeps it there for a bit after that, in my experience.Here’s the key thing, actually: once you can push your book to a place on Amazon where it’s visible, then there are other points of visibility that can connect you. Countdown helps you a lot with that first step. Then, when launching the second book, it was almost natural t o also have it in Select.What about Kindle Unlimited? And don’t you feel you’re â€Å"missing out† on other opportunities through other platforms?I think that Kindle Unlimited is quite interesting, even though it’s gotten a lot of bad press and is pretty much an untested thing. There are certainly some things about KU that aggravate me, personally, but I have to admit that the borrows have really propped up my books and maintained a visibility that they wouldn’t otherwise have had.Gaining visibility on the other platforms seems to be a very difficult thing. I’m actually surprised that BN, Apple or Kobo are not mimicking some things that Amazon does and that work so well for authors to get their works in front of readers. I think they’re handicapping themselves because of that.Of course, the market is changing every day, with new players constantly coming in, so it’s our job as independent authors to follow that and see which on es you can use in order to get our books out there.Well, thanks so much for your time and advice. I look forward to seeing more indie success-stories like yours!Follow @ML_Banner,  @RicardoFayet  and  @ReedsyHQ  on Twitter!Or, if you prefer red math signs to blue birds, we’re also on Google+: +MLBanner, and  +ReedsyWhat creative marketing techniques do you personally use in your quest to becoming a bestselling author? What’s your take on exclusivity and KDP Select? Do join the conversation, or ask Michael any question you want (even about what happened to the annoying fly after the interview) in the comments below!

Monday, February 17, 2020

Analyze a situation in which you were faced with a moral dilemmaof Essay

Analyze a situation in which you were faced with a moral dilemmaof whether or not to obey a figure of authority or yield to group pressure - Essay Example Individuals have little or no time to make weight sides and make decisions accurately. This makes it even trickier considering that each of the options has its own results. In addition, none of the options can be referred to as illegal but rather unethical. Such dilemmas range from very simple acts such as completing an assignment or copying it from the internet to very complex situations that may involve loss of life Everyone is forced by events to make preferences or decisions on a daily basis. More often than not, such conditions may be uncomfortable or embarrassing and need complicating judgement. Such conditions usually necessitate answering the question; what is the ethically better choice? Such situations come about there being no situation that is wholly ethical in itself. Through ethical interpretation, individuals consider the possible implications and consequences of actions in response to principles or ethical dilemmas. Multiple moralities are a major issue in moral dilemmas especially because distinct to the legislature, morals are not clearly stipulated and often change depending on issues like religion and location. There are some rare cases of multiple moralities whereby individuals may be faced by ethical dilemmas due to overlap in moral believes. In such cases, it becomes even trickier since the person has to forego one or more of the choices. Multiple modalities may also come up as a result of representing people with different cultural backgrounds and thus different moralities. Such cases are difficult to resolve due to the time constraint. In the case of an ethical dilemma, an individual regards himself as having moral background to do either of the actions. Noteworthy is the fact that it is impossible to do both actions simultaneously. This further defines a moral dilemma in ethical terms. The fundamentals of a moral dilemma may include: a situation where an individual (agent) is obligated to do every one of

Monday, February 3, 2020

Friere - Banking v. Problem Solving Models of Education Essay

Friere - Banking v. Problem Solving Models of Education - Essay Example The minds of students are considered to be empty in absolute ignorance, and it is the duty of the teacher to fill them with knowledge (Freire, 2004). The banking model immobilizes the people within existing frameworks of power since they accept that meaning and historical agency are owned by the oppressor. Therefore, education should be a means of liberation rather than solely a knowledge impacting process. The common sense of the poor people, which constitutes knowledge, is not less important than scientific knowledge of professionals. The education system requires reciprocal trust and communication between the educator and the student. This gives the educator a chance to learn and the student gets a chance to teach. This makes education a communion between participants in a mutually educating dialogue instead of the unilateral action that benefits the student only. The teacher should intervene in the educational situation as a way of helping the student overcome the paralyzing aspect of his or her world. This should result to critical thinking as a process of solving problems in the education process. This will be vital for reducing the oppression on the poor due to ineffective learning processes arising from the banking model of education (Freire, 2004). Freire proposed a dialogical problem posing education method where the teacher and student become co-invigilators of knowledge. The problem-posing education gives an opportunity to the oppressed to explore their problem as a reality to be transformed. This contrasts the banking model that suggests that the situation in the society can be fixed by nature or reason. The content of problem-posing education cannot be determined through the expertise of the teacher but arises from the reality experienced by the student. The educator does not answer the problems, but helps the students critically think of the problem in order to make a mutable awareness of the society. Once the students view the society

Sunday, January 26, 2020

LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) Technology

LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) Technology LIDAR (Light detection and ranging) is a method of determining the topography of the surface using a laser. These pulses generated are recorded which provide precise three-dimensional information about the surface. Today various platform LIDAR is available in the market and those are chosen based on the project requirement. E.g. terrestrial LIDAR, which is fixed in ground, airborne LIDAR, which is placed on a flying platform like an airplane or helicopter and space borne Laser which is fixed on satellite platforms. Two types of LIDAR are available, topographic, and bathymetric. Topographic LIDAR use near infrared laser, whereas bathymetric LIDAR us green light which penetrate the water. The use of airborne laser (LIDAR) for measuring the depth of near shore coastal waters and lakes from an aircraft is getting more popular in surveying industry. The demand for faster and cheaper coastline survey can be replaced by using airborne LIDAR technology. The Airborne LIDAR bathymetry was successfully tested by US, Canada, and Australia in the early 1970s. The system built by Canadian Hydrographic Service (CHS) in 1986, the LARSEN 500 system was the first operational airborne LIDAR bathymetry system. Airborne LIDAR bathymetry has proven to be more accurate, cost effective, efficient, and fast method of collecting shallow water bathymetry data than the sonar technology which is less efficient and hard to operate in many cases. The airborne laser bathymetry involves the pulse laser transmitter which emits green and infrared beams. The wave length of green laser is 532 nm which can penetrate coastal water with less attenuation and can be used for coastal bottom detection. The infrared (IR) cannot penetrate the water and can be used for sea surface detection. The bathymetry sensors consist of four major components, the GPS receiver which records the aircraft position, the inertial measurement unit (IMU) which gives the roll, pitch and yaw of the aircraft, the laser scanner which emits the signal and the receiver sensor which read the returning signal. The LIDAR system can record the accurate measurements by knowing the position and orientation of all these components. These sensors c an measure thousands of points per seconds The transmitted laser pulse from the aircraft partially reflected from the water surface and the seabed back to the receiver. By recording the time taken from the laser to reach the surface and back to the receiver and speed of the light in air and in water, the distance to the sea surface and sea bed can be calculated. This information is used to calculate the water depth. The bathymetric LIDAR system also includes RGB cameras which acquire better color photo which is used as a quality check tool in identification of bathymetric features and aids to navigation. Airborne LIDAR bathymetry has various  Ã‚   advantages over other traditional water borne surveying techniques. It has tendency to perform survey quickly, efficiently within small operational window. This can cover a very large area and all those areas where it would be difficult to survey using traditional surveying methods. The ability of the airborne LIDAR to operate from the air gives the surveyor a flexibility that sur vey vessel surveyors could hardly imagine. The modern airborne LIDAR now comes with oblique digital photography which can be merged with point cloud. These georeferenced images are used during the validation process. There are numerous limitations of an airborne LIDAR bathymetry system. The maximum depth the laser can penetrate depends on the clarity of water. The maximum surveyable depths depend on several systems used and the environment condition. The green laser penetrates and travel maximum depth if the water is clear water. The maximum surveyable depths ranges from 50 meters in clean water to less than 10 meters in murky water. The use of airborne LIDAR system is not appropriate for small target detection. The spatial resolution obtained from the airborne LIDAR is not as good as for modern high frequency sonar. Small target detection using airborne LIDAR may be possible by significantly increasing the survey density which becomes more expensive. Various environmental factors like rain, fog, clouds, high winds, high waves, etc. can cause problem when carrying airborne LIDAR survey. Surveying in rain cause laser beam to backscatter to the receiver bye raindrops. The backscatter signal by the mist, fog can result in false surface heights.   Airborne survey in high wind can pose a danger when flying near a coastal mountain and cause changes in survey density. Airborne LIDAR bathymetry technology can be used for many applications like charting, environmental mapping, flood plain and coastal mapping etc. https://www.gim-international.com/content/article/technology-in-focus-bathymetric-LIDAR-2

Friday, January 17, 2020

Difference between Branding and Brand Equity Essay

â€Å"Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending†. (Bard qtd. in. ThinkExist. com) This quote shows one fact that the process of ‘branding’ is endless. Because, simply, when ‘brand equity’ is known or measured, the brand could be protected and managed properly. This essay aims at giving an overview of the ‘branding’ and ‘brand equity’ terms or concepts to show the difference between both of them. And due to the fact that â€Å"both terms are usually defined around the concept of adding value to a product (or service)† (Binnie 17), it could be hard for some people to differentiate between both of them. That’s why the best approach to realize the difference between ‘branding’ and ‘brand equity’ is to dig and search in the literature to define both terms to know what is meant by each one of them. However, before separating each term from the other -to know the difference between both of them-, let’s move to the real world to have an idea about a simple fact concerning a certain brand (Coca-Cola in this case). This interesting example –mentioned by Blackett- deserves to be mentioned here to realize how important a brand could be for a company. â€Å"By mid-2002, Coca-Cola Company’s stock market value reached $136 billion, while the business net asset value (the book value) was only $10. 5 billion†. (5) The interesting fact here is when we add this information to the fact that: â€Å"The value of Coca-Cola brand for the same period (mid-2002) was estimated by $70 billion (over half of the $136 intangible value mentioned above! . † (Blackett 5) Then, after realizing the importance of ‘branding’ to the company in the marketplace -in the previous example-, it’s time to know what is meant by both terms, ‘branding’ and ‘brand equity’. First of all, a ‘brand’ is defined by the Dictionary of Business and Management as â€Å"a name, sign or symbol used to identify items or services of the seller(s) and to differ entiate them from goods of competitors. † (qtd. in. BuildingBrands Ltd. ) However, a ‘brand’ is more than a name, a sign or a symbol. In another word, this definition is not sufficient to describe the term ‘brand’. Grimaldi gave a better definition for the term ‘brand’ as â€Å"a combination of attributes, communicated through a name, or a symbol, that influences a thought-process in the mind of an audience and creates value. † And this is what Blackett assured when he mentioned that â€Å"the visual distinctiveness of a brand may be a combination of any of the following: name, letters, numbers, a symbol, a signature, a shape, a slogan, a color, a particular typeface. (3) Also, Davis (2) defined the ‘brand’ term as â€Å"all the promises and perceptions that an organization ‘wants’ its customers to feel about its product(s) and service offerings. † (2) Now, moving to the ‘branding’ concept or term, according to Davis (1), ‘branding’ is a complex ‘process’, but its goal is simple: it is the creation and development of a specific identity for a company, product, commodity, group, or person. † (3) Grimaldi mentioned an interesting definition for ‘branding’: The blend of art and science that ‘manages associations’ between a brand and memories in the mind of the brand’s audience. † And this blend â€Å"involves focusing resources on selected tangible and intangible attributes to differentiate the brand in an attractive, meaningful and compelling way for the targeted audience. † Now, after understanding what is meant by both ‘bra nd’ and ‘branding’ terms, it’s time to know what is meant by ‘brand equity’ term or concept. The ‘brand equity’ concept â€Å"emerged in the early 1990s†, (Tuominen 96) and introduced in marketing literature in the 1980s† (Rajh 1) and before mentioning definitions of this term, it is necessary to realize that â€Å"brand equity is the key to understanding the net impact of marketing† (Reynolds and Philips qtd. in. Binnie 16) According to Hoeffler and Keller, â€Å"most definitions of brand equity rely on ‘brand knowledge’ structures in the minds of consumers –individuals or organizations-† (421 qtd. in. Binnie 17). And Pullig gave a simple definition to the term ‘brand equity’ as â€Å"consumer brand knowledge†. Keller also defined the ‘brand equity’ term as â€Å"the ‘differential consumer response’ from ‘knowing’ the brand†. (qtd. in. Binnie 17) According to Keller and Kevin, ‘brand equity’ is â€Å"the value of the brand in the marketplace† (qtd. in. Pullig). McDonald added another dimension when she defined it as â€Å"the stored value built up in a brand which can be used to gain ‘market advantage’† (2). So, after studying these definitions, it is obvious -as Tuominen mentioned- that â€Å"there are three key ingredients in the ‘brand equity’ definition and they are: (1) brand knowledge, (2) differential effect, and (3) consumer response to marketing. † (75) Finally, according to these definitions, it is obvious that (1) ‘branding’ is the process of creating, developing, protecting, and managing the special identity of the product, or the ‘brand’ (to differentiate it in the marketplace) and it is not only marketing effort, it includes all the companies efforts to build this differentiation; (2) the ‘brand’ is the end result of that process or the combination of all the tools used to create this special identity of the product; and (3) the ‘brand equity’ is the ‘feedback’ of the ‘branding’ process or the key to measure, assess, or weigh the end result ‘brand’ –as we saw previously in the Coca-Cola example- and compare it with what is desired or planned in the ‘branding’ process. In another word, ‘brand equity’ will show whether the ‘branding’ process and other marketing efforts (or even public relations) are on the right track or not.

Wednesday, January 1, 2020

Child Marriage Is A Violation Of Human Rights - 1746 Words

Child marriage, defined as the formal or informal union before the age of 18, affects both girls and boys, even though girls are disproportionately affected (USAID, 2011). One third of girls in developing countries are married before turning 18 and one in nine are married before the age of 15 (ICRW, 2006). Child marriage is a violation of the human rights according to the 1990 African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC) and the Convention on the Elimination on All Forms of Discrimination Against Women points out that even though a child may attain sexual maturity early, the child often is not mature enough to handle the physical, physiological, and psychological responsibilities pertaining to child bearing, marriage and motherhood (Maswikwa, et al., 2015; USAID, 2011). Child brides have limited ability to negotiate contraception use and engage in sexual activities that can result in pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. In the long run, pregnancy can have de trimental effects including obstetric fistula, which often occurs among girls who give birth before their bodies are physically mature (Kanesathasan et al., 2008). Child brides are more likely to experience domestic abuse and violence as compared to their peers who marry later (ICRW, 2006). The health problems, abuse and violence can lead to isolation from family and friends, feelings of hopelessness and helplessness, depression and post-traumatic stress (ICRW, 2006). Delaying child marriageShow MoreRelatedChild Marriage Is A Violation Of Human Rights1705 Words   |  7 Pages Child marriage, can be defined as a women or a man who has been married before the legal adult age of 18, is still prevalent today, even in the â€Å"developed† nation of the United States. Most of the time these marriages are both arranged and forced, whether it be by a community or by parents. 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Child marriage must therefore always be considered forced marriage because valid consent is absent - andRead MoreThe Marriage Act ( 1949 )859 Words   |  4 PagesAccording to the Marriage Act (1949), it provides for the restrictions on marriage, sta ting thus: â€Å"A marriage solemnized between persons either of whom is under the age of sixteen shall be void † Section 6 of the Marriage Act (1970) also requires that the marriage of any person under the age of eighteen must be with full consent . Section 11 of the Matrimonial Causes Act states thus: Nullity (11) Grounds on which a marriage is void. A marriage celebrated after 31st July 1971 shall be void on theRead MoreThe Issue Of Child Marriage1637 Words   |  7 PagesUnited States, marriage is seen as a sacred and consensual institution, but in developing countries, many children are introduced to marriage in a different manner. According to the United Nations Population Fund, one girl in every three is married before the age of eighteen in developing countries (Child Marriage, 1). Are the measures previously taken by the International Law community that attempt to put and end to child marriages an effective measure to stop this violation of human rights? I argue thatRead MoreSpeech: Human Rights Violations in India768 Words   |  4 PagesSpeech: Human Rights Violations in India One third of the world’s child brides originate from India; whose journalists are continuously shut down for revealing their political opinions. India’s culture has been having arranged underage marriage for many centuries, â€Å"Child marriage, which has existed for centuries, is a complex issue, rooted deeply in gender inequality, tradition and poverty† according to an article published by UNICEF. In an article published by the Library of Congress Jeanine CaliRead MoreViolation of Child Rights1704 Words   |  7 PagesViolation of Child Rights Introduction First of all, if we want to talk about violation of child rights we have to define child rights, what they are, and to whom they are intended.†A child is any human being below the age of eighteen years, unless under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier. , World leaders in 1989 decided that children needed a special convention, because children often need special care and protection that adults do not. The leaders also wanted toRead MoreThe Issue Of Child Marriage Essay1266 Words   |  6 PagesChild marriage is one of the hardest things a teenage child could face. It is basically a violation of children’s human rights. It is strictly prohibited by international law. Early marriage takes away the girls right to make important decisions about their sexual health and well being. Historically, patriarchal societies have marginalized women in various aspects across the world. Women disenfranchisement, in this way, is not a new phenomenon. However, wi th the passage of time women have been ableRead MoreFemale Genital Mutilation : A Violation Of Human Rights1469 Words   |  6 Pagesstretching, scraping, piercing, or cutting. Human rights activists argue that female genital mutilation is a violation of human rights deeply rooted in gender inequality and discrimination. On the other hand, others argue that the practice is supported by fundamental cultural traditions that should not be banned. In this paper, I will be focusing on the practice of female genital mutilation, its harmful effects, and how the rights of women and girls trumps the right to culture. The practice of female genital