Category Archives: Books

Art Installations from Recycled Books

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“If civilization has risen from the Stone Age, it can rise again from the Wastepaper Age.” ~Jacques Barzun 

Can you imagine how many books have been thrown in dumpsters and landfills over the years? More than I care to think about. 

Overprinting books means wasting money by having to pay rent for storage space. It also uses up natural resources – trees. 

Thanks to print-on-demand, and the development of electronic publishing (e-books), future generations will be much wiser in the way they produce books.

Last week the U.S.A. Today newspaper cited how for the first time ever, in 2011, e-book sales have exceeded hardcover sales – up 28% from the previous year. That is progress towards sustaining the environment and the publishing industry. To read the article, please visit this link. http://usat.ly/MhU10F. 

Digital publishing also means that updating books is economical and easy. To post new e-ditions you just download the new version through a computer. Gotta love it! 

What to do with all those books sitting in warehouses taking up space because the publisher has over-estimated sales and over-printed? 

Here is a creative solution:

 

Photo: A library information desk made out of recycled books. 

Artists, do you have other good ideas for large permanent art installations made out of outdated publications, that will spare landfills and dumpsters from receiving them? We would love to hear from you.

This blog brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.

Speaking Bookselling Opportunities

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Today, we will drift back into dialogue that is current and a hot topic in this century for those who enjoy speaking the language of bookselling through e-commerce, public speaking and independent bookstores.

You are Cordially Invited to:

 A Writers Workshop

Date: August 24, 2012

Time: 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm

Where: The Book Worm (An Indie Bound Bookstore) at Riverwalk 

City: Edwards, Colorado

Description of the Workshop:  Owner of the Book Worm, Nicole Magistro will be speaking about getting independent publications onto the shelves of bookstores and consignment arrangements, author of Scones and Sensibility Lindsay Eland will presenting tips about selling books through public speaking and Sue Leonard, Owner of Cornerstone Fulfillment Service, LLC, a company specializing in e-commerce and e-marketing  will be talking about marketing publications over the internet.

Time will be allotted for Question and Answers and Helpful Resources will be provided at the event. For more information on the Book Worm in Edwards,Colorado or on the Writers Workshop, please go to

Look forward to seeing you there!

This blog brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.

A Wrinkle in Time on the World-Wide-Web

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“Words, once they are printed, have a life of their own.” Carol Burnett

My guess is this quotation by Carol Burnett, was written far before the effectiveness of digital content was even realized. Who knows where writing travels when posted on the world-wide-web. It is a mystery how words, images and sounds journey in this global age of web-based communications.  

On Friday, our blog was about the theatrical release of the movie The Amazing Spider Man, a film that is now in cinemas worldwide. If you missed this blog, scroll down to it. The quote that I incorporated into the blog. “When spider webs unite, they can tie up a lion” really spoke to me – since I am a Leo. 

My birthday is in the month of August, and with each year that I age, so does the world-wide-web. The effective use of digital communications gets increasingly more complex and like my aging face, each new wrinkle connects to the next. One development on the web leads to another, it’s all about those spiders!  

It is fun trying to keep up with the latest methods of digital marketing, however demanding; a continual learning process. If your marketing strategies are antiquated, and you have not kept up with this digital world of communication, you are not utilizing the best way to reach potential buyers. The first place people go for information is to the computer.  

If you need education on how to effectively promote your business, product or service over the internet, there are companies that specialize in e-commerce and e-marketing for independent publishers. There is no reason to be invisible in this age of digital communication.

 This blog brought to you by  www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.

Memoir: Personal Insight

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“Back on its golden hinges, The gate of Memory swings, And my heart goes into the garden, And walks with the olden things.””~ Ella Wheeler Wilcox

William Faulkner often complained that contemporary literature has brought a loss of vitality to writing. However, there are many who would say that memoirs change all that.

The reader of a memoir can liken the experience to being in a confessional dropping in on someone else’s life. Self-exposure and raw emotions of humanity are what attracts the reader to it’s fulfilling content. Indeed, we are a voyeuristic society.

A novelist hints at possible connections between character and writer, but with the memoir, the writer tells all. It makes the literary form easy to digest, in that the reader is not left with the question “How did this writer come up with this story?” The events in the story are real life occurrences. Rather, we are sometimes left with the thought “I can’t believe this guy did this or that happened!” Often, there is tantalizing or inspirational energy behind the story

 Not every person has scathing accusations or hot tell-all revelations to shout out in a story, but it that does not mean a person’s life is not interesting to the reader.

There couldn’t be a better time in publishing to write a memoir.  E-books provide a very appealing way to publish for people who wish to write their memoirs.. Independent publishing has made it possible for people in all walks of life to begin fulfilling their dreams by writing their personal narrative.

Don’t know where or how to start? The Colorado Independent Publishers Association offers help through an 18 minute webinar that gives some very good insight. Here is the link.http://bit.ly/oIkV2g.

This blog brought to you by Sue Batton Leonard, author of the memoir “Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected. Click here for info & ordering

Blogging Benefits

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“A blog is in many ways a continuing conversation.” ~ Andrew Sullivan

According to my statistics, I am about 20 web logs away from reaching 900 on this site, All Things Fulfilling. “Could that be right?,” I ask myself. If someone told me less than three years ago, that I’d find so much fulfillment in blogging, I would have questioned it.

There have been other benefits, too. I have gleaned a lot of insight into exactly how difficult how difficult it is to proof read your OWN writing; the reason for using editors – a fresh set of eyes!

Did you read the article about the errors that were made when converting  Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace into an e-book? Often times, problems in the search and find features of publishing software are the cause of it; not always the fault of incompetent editors. http://bit.ly/KzfE0L.

You know, I recently published an e-book for a client. I will feature it in an upcoming blog, Although the title might lead you to believe it is about living with a red pen editor, it’s about another character who really made her mark in a community of other quirky characters.It is a good read, and many parts of it had me laughing out loud. For me, a real sign of a fulfilling reading experience.

I would like to express my gratitude to our readers who return time after time again to All Things Fulfilling. Even though I do not catch every proof-reading error, evidently, you like the content! That is extremely gratifying.

Return tomorrow, for more independent thoughts, words and views from All Things Fulfilling. The company blog site for  www.cornerstonefulfillmentservice.com.

Updating Books: Electronic Publishing

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During these challenging economic times, there are many industries that are asking the question “What can we do to remain relevant, move with the times, survive and even grow?” I have no involvement in it, but I consider for example, how my family’s business that was established in 1902, in the building trades, is addressing these questions and finding viable answers.

A few weeks ago, I came across a book called “Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies.” The publication is a good resource for entrepreneurs and already established companies who are searching for clues during these volatile times. The book published in 1998,some nine or ten years prior to the beginning of this current recession, may not last if they do not update their vision for selling it. I’m taking the publisher of this book to task. It is not available in e-book format!

Could the publishers of “Built to Last” be reluctant to put much faith in electronic publishing? They’ve not moved with the times. Whether they are aware of it or not, publishing has gone through dramatic change over the past ten years, E-books and independent publishing has been the answer to sustainability.

Many books, previously available only in print, are now being offered in a new format of an electronic publication. Here are a few e-books that may open your eyes to doing business in this new era:

  • Primal Leadership: Realizing the Power of Emotional Intelligence
  • Strengthen your Business in a Recession: Build a Stronger Business for Success
  • Visionary Business: An Entrepreneur’s Guide to Success 

Like I tell all our  independent publishing clients, “Business promotion is no longer just doing  grunt work  on  paper – electronic media and promotion is essential. In order to be visible,  digital content  on the internet is a must .  Authors, remember it is not just about writing the book, promotion and sales are a part of it. Independent publishing is a business. For more information on tht subject here is an article.

Are you an author, publisher or business person who has not stepped forward into the new era of promotion through e-commerce and e-marketing? A specialist in that field can help you with that!

This blog brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.

 

Worldwide Interest in Indie Publishing

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“It is not in the pursuit of happiness we find fulfillment, it is in the happiness of pursuit.” ~ Denis Waitley

What do the U.K., India, Australia, Macedonia, Russia and Canada have in common? These countries are only the start of the long list of countries that frequent this site. Over the weekend we reached a new landmark in readership – one that I would never have predicted when this blog was started. It’ s thrilling!

What does this tell us? About the internet’s ability to reach far and wide! It also tells me that independent publishing of books, films and music is, indeed, a hot topic of conversation in this age of digitally produced art content. Countries that endorse independent publishing, have common concerns. 

In July, the 2012 Yale Publishing Course will take place. Many global issues surrounding independent publishing will be addressed. The website Independent Publisher has featured an interview of YPC’s Director Tina C. Weiner. To read her interview which provides an overview of this year’s discussion, please visit http://bit.ly/I48Vd6.  To apply for the Yale Publishing course, designed for mid and upper level publishing professionals, please visit this link http://bit.ly/ln4cFX. 

Obtaining copyright permissions is just one of many issues that will be discussed at the YPC. A  perplexing and time consuming task, there are experts in this field who can steer you, such as Integrated Writer Services, LLC.  To view the website of Integrated Writers Services, LLC, please follow this link http://bit.ly/JRBnfW. 

Thank you to all readers who visit this blog site. Our objective is to share interesting, useful, and fun information for anyone who is interested in the topic of  independent publishing and finding fulfillment in the Arts. 

Return tomorrow for more independent thoughts, words and views from www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.

Syllabus: Gratefulness for Book Buying Customer

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“Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers.” ~ Harry S Truman

I just read an article on e-book pricing that made me literally laugh out loud. The article posed the question “Doesn’t pricing your e-book at 99 cents attract the wrong kind of reader?”

Since when do we place value on whether a book buying customer is “good enough to purchase a book?” Has it boiled down to needing a litmus test to determine whether a reader is worthy of reading your book or not? Attracting the right kind of reader or the wrong kind of reader, really? Are you kidding me?

This concept further complicates  book selling in this ever changing marketing landscape. Do we need to develop a scale for book pricing based on “worthiness of the reader?” Would a well qualified buyer pay more or less? Hmmmm….what a conundrum.

I am not suggesting that all e-books should be priced at 99 cents. In my opinion, it’s an individual call. If an author is willing to sell their e-book at a price less than what they would normally charge for a book-in-print, so be it.

Perhaps the person who asked the question “Doesn’t pricing your e-book at 99 cents attract the wrong kind of reader?” was just being facetious. If not, perhaps a 101 course on “How to be Grateful You Have a Book Buying Customer” is needed. http://bit.ly/qfiC0.

Today, I am going to end this blog post by practicing a lesson in my new course “How to be Grateful You Have a Book Buying Customer.”

  • Lesson 1: Smile and say, “Thank you reader! I appreciate your interest!” 

See you tomorrow on All Things Fulfilling. Meanwhile, I’ll be  further developing the syllabus for a class in “Finding Fulfillment in a Book Sale.”

This blog brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.

Independent Publishers Reciprocate Information

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“For pleasure has no relish unless we share it.”  ― Virginia Woolf, The Common Reader: First Series

Used to be once a manuscript was complete and accepted by a publisher, most of the control over the book was handed over to someone else. Traditionally published authors are now being expected to be more deeply involved in the post publication process of marketing, promotion and selling.

There is interesting information that I came across the other day from the Indie Writers Alliance. Granted, this organization encourages and supports independent publishing, but with the changes that have taken place in the publishing industry, it leaves one wondering why publish another way? http://bit.ly/pZzfhM.

The surge of independent publishing has not just been as a result of first time authors taking that route. Many who have been already been traditionally published are changing course.

If you are looking for an on-line resource about e-books and print-on-demand publishing, sign up and have the Indie Writers Alliance newsletter delivered to your mailbox. The IWA will expose you to those who have had experience with independent publishing and those who have turned from traditional publishing to independent.

Becoming a successful independent publisher means understanding the industry. The Indie Publishers Alliance is a good resource to keep you on top of the developing news in this dynamic and ever-changing industry.

This blog brought to you by http://www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.

Update on the Expresso Book Machine

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“Innovation is the process of turning ideas into manufacturable and marketable form.” ~ Watts Humprey

It’s been a while since I’ve shared the latest news about the Expresso Book Machine, which has been in the development stage over the past years. Some four years ago, I had the opportunity to see the Expresso Book Machine, in action, at the Northshire Book Store in Manchester,Vermont. At the time there were only five such machines in the world including one in the UK, Canada, New Orleans and in   Egypt.

All within a fifteen to twenty minute period, the machine downloads PDF files of a manuscript, prints the book and the cover, binds the book and trims the pages, producing a perfect bound paperback just like that. It also has the capability of printing a book in many languages.

Today, in collaboration with Xerox, it is projected that by the end of this year, more than 150 Expresso Book Machines will be in bookstores, at universities and libraries worldwide.

This means of production will help to reduce waste by printing books on an “as needed basis;” reducing returns and inventory space; ultimately resulting in higher margins for publishers. Books that are out of print, can also be located and reprinted as per customer requests.

It is an exciting development in many respects, for  publishers and for brick and mortar stores. To read the full article on the latest news on the print-on-demand scene of publishing, please visit this link. http://bit.ly/mCgyBC.

This blog brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.