It is so wonderful to be able to get out and mix and mingle with the public and other authors now! I recently joined fellow authors at Brightview Senior Living at a Book Fair. And looking forward to being at Perry Hall Library in Baltimore County next week at a local author showcase.
Independent publishing has turned the whole publishing world nearly upside down because if you have the will, now there is a way! There is no longer the need to get the “green light” from a mainstream publisher to move forward with getting a book into the market place. Every tool is now available to anyone of any age to write, publish and sell through e-commerce or through any portal an author is willing to pursue. What is needed is a mature level of stick-to-it-ive-ness to accomplish such a goal.
Today, I’d like to share a story about a young girl from Steamboat Springs, Colorado. At thirteen years of age, she recently independently published her first book. I can well remember the fulfilling feelings when I birthed my debut publication which became an award-winning memoir. But, I was decades older than the girl featured in today’s story. Read more about this story of outstanding accomplishment here because it may inspire you to step up and write the story you’ve had inside of you.
God Blessed you, Mackenzie Ostrowski, with a creative spirit filled with powerful motivation and dogged perseverance to inspire others. At your youthful age, you’ve got the whole world in your hands and you’re going for it already in your young life! Good for you! Make the most of all your interests.
I can’t wait to read Mackenzie Ostrowski’s debut novel and it sounds like her success has encouraged her to write more.
Thank you to Laurie at the Heart of Steamboat United Methodist Church for sending me this story!
“Be open to God’s novelty.”
“The freedom to move forward to new opportunities and to produce results comes from living in the present and not the past.” ~ Brian Koslow
If you are ready to publish your manuscript, there are many choices to consider. Offering an electronic version of a book has become a necessity if you are an author who wants to reap the benefits in the digital marketplace. More often than not, potential book buyers want to know if a title “is available as an e-book?”
According to this article from Author Earnings, in February 2016, readers downloaded one million sixty-four (1,064,000) paid e-books PER DAY!
In my opinion, there will be more technological developments coming that will blow away any remaining doubts that e-books are just a passing trend. Especially as digital publishing becomes integrated into more classrooms and library catalogs.
Authors don’t miss out on a stream of income by failing to offer an e-book version of your title. And remember “if you are selling over the internet, you must be marketing over the internet” because that is where your potential book buyers hang out!
Speaking of hang-outs, thanks for frequenting this website. Do return tomorrow.
This blog is brought to you by award-winning author Sue Batton Leonard. Check out her e-books, audio book and books in print!
Since this original blog was posted in February 2013, there have been more advances in e-book typography and layout. It’s an exciting digital world we live in.
“Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement and success have no meaning,” ~ Benjamin Franklin
With each new generation of publishing software for e-books, options for typography, continues to expand. And as with any industry, there is language specific to that technology in the field.
AuthorMichael N Marcus‘
aphy for Independent Publishers is a reference book that helps authors understand language such as fonts, serifs, outlining, embossing and other words that may be unfamiliar to those who are new to the publishing world.
Typography for e-books is quickly becoming an art. Since the initial offerings of e-books, readers are becoming more discriminating in what they want to see in e-books. Good layout, formatting and cover design is important for hard and soft cover publications and also for e-book buyers. Understanding typography terminology will help authors determine what they want to incorporate in…
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Valentines Day, 2016
This blog is brought to you by EVVY award-winning author Sue Batton Leonard.
Click here for information on her publications. This e-book can be delivered within a few minutes for the cost of less than a Valentine’s Day card. And you can learn more about the character that I sent this Valentines to Heaven to through the memoir Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected.
From my heart to yours, Happy Valentines Day from
http://www.allthingsfulfilling.com.
To be successful, you have to have your heart in your business and your business in your heart. ~ Thomas J. Watson
I’ve often thought that a hairstyling salon could be the best incubator for a creative book idea. There is something that makes people open up when they sit in a chair at any beauty shop. Have you ever noticed that? What is it? People literally “let their hairdown.” I suppose because it’s pretty relaxing when you get a haircut.
Last week I had my tresses trimmed and I felt as if Valentine’s Day came early I had such nice treatment. I got a style that’s fitting for me and before I walked out the door, I was offered a sweet treat. A little round brownie decorated with pink and white icing and candy sprinkles.
Thank you, Sharon and Lisa, at my favorite and perhaps the most affordable salon in town.
This blog is brought to you by Sue Batton Leonard, author of Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected and short stories Lessons of Heart & Soul.
“When we establish human connections within the context of shared experience we create community wherever we go.” ― Gina Greenlee, Postcards and Pearls:
As a follow-up to the writings of the past two days about how our life stories come together through the associations we make with others, once again I am reminded that we really are never alone. Here is how it happened:
I am connected with an on-line group of people who grew up in the town and area that I did. Someone posted a picture of a vault box used in gymnastics. An onslaught of postings followed of individual memories of junior high and high school gym classes during the 50’s and 60s.
Comments about the vault box echoed my sentiments exactly. Many said “taking showers in a non-private environment was so humiliating because we were at a vulnerable age when bodies were changing and teens were so sensitive about how they looked to others.” Others stated their distain for the gym uniforms because they were “dorky.” Others mentioned individual sports that they detested or were no good at. Some said “they loved gymnastics and the vault box but hated running laps on the track or in relay races. That’s when they felt so inadequate.”
Junior high and high school gym class held such strong memories for me that I even devoted an entire chapter to it in my memoir. I had a life-changing moment in the gym in the Towsontown Junior High School, that will never be forgotten.
Do you have any moments in your life that changed the direction of your life forever? If so, I’d love to hear from you. Post a comment.
This blog is brought to you by the award-winning author of Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected and short stories Lessons of Heart & Soul, Sue Batton Leonard.
So my purpose for today’s blog is to remind to myself that “energy flows where attention goes,” an adage that I used to motivate myself when I was engrossed in writing my memoir “Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected.” Once again, I need reassurance from myself that time spent writing will be worth every minute in personal fulfillment payoff.
There is a person of interest in my family who I have begun researching. The information about my ancestor here-to-fore has been very sketchy and for me, of little interest. Thanks to help from a genealogy librarian, I now have more reason to turn my attentiveness to this person, a blood relative removed by a few generations.
I have been inspired by members of the genealogy club and the genealogy writers group at the Bud Werner Memorial Library to move forward with the knowledge. The tracing of the story will most likely require some intercontinental research. I’ve seen through other people’s genealogy projects how in this day and age of digital technology, there are fewer obstacles to finding out information originating in other countries than there was decades ago.
If you are interested in genealogy, you might enjoy the PBS Show Finding Your Roots, with Henry Louis Gates, a Harvard scholar. The purpose of the show is “to unearth the family histories of influential people helping shape our national identity.” See the website to confirm when it is broadcast in your area.
To sum things up, I am pursuing an interest that begins with my family roots. The historical value in the family member should not be allowed to smolder and die. To me it’s important and hopefully to others it will also be interesting.
Ultimately I’d like to shed more light on the historical story through my writing if I can do it in a way that will not take the rest of my lifetime!
This blog brought to you by Sue Batton Leonard.
If you have knowledge, let others light their candles in it. ~ Margaret Fuller
Today on All Things Fulfilling, we will be talking about typeface, otherwise known as fonts.
The last time I wrote about fonts, I told a personal story about the challenges I faced when I chose a script font for the title of my e-book of short stories Lessons of Heart & Soul. To read about the problem the font presented, check out Book Covers and Fonts, a posting from last spring.
Ist cover image – difficult to read title in some digital advertising
Revised font – more clarity in small digital images
I know what I like when I see different typefaces but not being a font expert, I am not sure which work well for e-books and other digital platforms for books.
I’m putting a shout out to graphic designers to see if a new font, Heart & Soul is suitable for digital formats, such as for a title on an e-book cover. We want to pass the information along to other independent publishers.
Thank you! My heart goes out to you for generosity in sharing your knowledge.
“Some memories are unforgettable, remaining ever vivid and heartwarming.” ~ Joseph B Wirthlin
It’s a wonderful thing to live as an adult with the heart of a child, still full of wonder.
We’re never too old to engage in childhood activities like taking a trip down the sliding board, pumping higher and higher toward the skies on a swing, wading in the waters of a rippling stream, getting messy with finger paints or diving into an ice cream Sundae with such zeal that it ends up all over our face.
A few years back my son took me to Michael’s Craft Store, looking for a picture frame. “Pick out a frame you are happy with,” said Marc, “it will complete the present.”
Before we were finished shopping my son said “Mom, did you see what’s at the front of the store? You might be interested. Go pick one out for yourself.”
“I followed his orders and have enjoyed being a child all over again – all wrapped up into something that used to bring me hours of pleasure as a child.”
According to this article from Business Insider, I am not the only one who is having fun revisiting my childhood!
When I need to switch things up and do something different other than reading and writing, there are all kinds of creative activities I dabble with which bring me pleasure. Many of them I enjoyed in my childhood.
This blog is brought to you by the author of Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected and short stories Lessons of Heart & Soul.
All Things Fulfilling 