Category Archives: desktop publishing

Summer is Not Over Till It’s Over

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I am so happy you returned to All Things Fulfilling today. Perhaps you are like me, not quite ready yet to step into the third season.

Today’s multi-media look back at summer is brought to you through a video from Carl’s Old Record Club. Their You Tube channel has a number of other videos that you will enjoy viewing. They are nicely produced – syncing music with images.

Aren’t we fortunate to be living in the digital age whereby we can easily share all types of media, such as independently published films, music and e-books with others?

Enjoy the creative entertainment of others frequently because it will enhance your own personal fulfillment!

This blog is brought to you by Sue Batton Leonard. Check out her EVVY award-winning audio book! It is also available in paperback and e-book as well.

Looking Back at Alma Maters

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A man would do nothing if he waited until he could do it so well that no one could find fault.  ~John Henry Newman

The other day I was going through some memorabilia from my college days. Oh, how I loved that chapter of my life. I came across this letter, which I’ve read many times over, but this time I noticed something I hadn’t previously. I had to laugh. I’ll leave it up to you to find what I am chuckling about.

The purpose of this blog is not to find fault, in fact, I am quite sympathetic. The point I am making is about how we are all our own worst editors.  Besides any publications I am working on at the moment, I blog daily so I write a lot and I do not have an “inhouse editor.” Even though I proofread my writing, time and time again, after the writing has been posted I see typographical errors. Ahh..well, I’m human. It is as if my eyes see what they want to see, not what is really written. Anyone else have a problem like that?

I am much better at editing other’s writing because I don’t know what it says beforehand, so my eyes don’t miss things knowing what it supposed to say.

sue deans list

Did you find anything unexpected?

The moral of the story: Please do not pass judgement. It happens to the best of us.

See you tomorrow on All Things Fulfilling.com. This blog is brought to you by award-winning author Sue Batton Leonard.

Art of the Past

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“Every thought you produce, anything you say, anything you do, it bears your signature.” ~  Thich Nhat Hnah

There is a wonderful exhibit that I recently encountered when browsing the National Archives Museum website called Making the Mark: Stories through Signatures. The exhibition relates to Friday’s blog on All Things Fulfilling which was about how we come to know certain people through their recognizable handwriting.

It got me to thinking about computers, and digital publishing, and how my generation, the baby boomers, may be the last population of people who will come to know people by their handwriting. Handwritten notes are very nearly a thing of the past, as are letters posted through the Post Office. E-mail (electronic mail) has replaced good old fashioned correspondence written with pen and paper.

As I mentioned in the post called Handwritten Memories getting a  letter, note or card that is not computer generated has become something special!

If you are a visitor to Washington, DC don’t forget to stop in the National Archives Museum and see the exhibit that is all about notables from history who are known by their “John Hancocks.” http://www.archives.gov/museum/visit/gallery.html.

Thank goodness information about some of the most famous people from history and their signatures of all are saved in the National Archives because the art of the handwritten note is quickly disappearing and being replaced by digital signatures, even on legal documents.

DSCN2777Signing a book for Miz Miller’s daughter, Judy, a lifetime friend. We are at Ukazoo Books http://www.ukazoo.com.   Judy’s parent’s made an indeliable mark on my son’s life and his love for storytelling. http://marcrleonard.com. At Christmastime they gave Marc the most special books from the Northshire Bookstore in Manchester VT. http://www.Northshire.com . We have saved everyone of them so that he can read them to his children if he is blessed enough to have them!

Below: Miz Miller (left) and childhood neighbor Marge with my brother Scott

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This blog brought to you by author Sue Batton Leonard. For information on her award-winning memoir,Gift of a Lifetime:Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected please visit this link.http://amzn.to/1uqmsyo.

 

Chill Out and Listen In

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memorial-day-swimsuits

Happy Labor Day, everybody.

Soon we will be sliding into winter! So take those few last plunges into the pool, have yourself a tasty Labor Day cook-out, relax and enjoy the long weekend.
Today I am wishing we are at the beginning of the summer rather than at the official end. So, I have a special treat for our readers. I have posted a new audio chapter about the national holiday that we celebrate at the start of the summer rather than at the termination.

 

Listen in and enjoy the chapter “A Memorial Day to Remember” from the EVVY award winning book Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected.  For more information on this book, please visit this website. http://amzn.to/1pdjsCb.

 

Do come back tomorrow. I am going to kick my shoes off and lounge around outdoors on this Labor Day because  in the mountains of Colorado  we can be faced with the onslaught of winter any day ! It could even happen tomorrow…..please, please no, not yet. I am not ready.

Channeling Creative Kids

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“True forgiveness is when you can say, “Thank you for that experience.” ~  Oprah Winfrey

Boy on closeline

When I came across this image, I couldn’t help but ponder “Why didn’t I think of that?” when I needed to rest after chasing my overly active son all over the place when he was little? It would have given me great relief. Holy Cow, those child rearing years nearly did me in.  Of course, to him this would not have been punishment. It would have been great fun and challenge. The little Houdini could get himself out of any situation that took brainpower and physical maneuvering!

creative active kidsActive children are often very creative children.  Here is a book that might be useful for parents of children who are in perpetual motion. http://www.amazon.com/The-Active-Creative-Child-Parenting/dp/189077247X.

Ah…well, once we directed his energy in the right and positive direction, he became a different kid, so absorbed in his interests. As a twenty-something, our son has given me more than enough compensation for what we went through in raising an extremely active child. Now he lends a hand as my tech support person unless he is too busy with his own projects. http://www.marcrleonard.com.  Thank goodness he’s had my back  in coming to my aid and rescue whenever I struggled with certain stages of publishing my memoir due to generational inequities in computer skills.

In spite of myself  I successfully completed my own independent desktop publishing project. Not everyone can put that accomplishment under their belt. Now I have an award-winning paperback, e-book and audio book to my credit!

I think I did OK for an ole gal who is more comfortable with a card catalog in a library than e-book technology. I need to give myself more brownie points than I do!

I am now an award winning author! Yipe!!!  Yikes!!!

 For more information on Gift of a Lifetime:Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected, please visit this link. http://amzn.to/1opTrPS. The audio book won 2nd prize in the EVVY book awards and Merit Award in the anthology category.

This blog brought to you by Sue Batton Leonard

 

Behind the Narrative

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“Don’t be pushed by your problems, be led by your dreams.”  ~ Unknown

I sat on my friend’s couch one day a few years ago, so very discouraged.

“My computer is not cooperating, I’ve got writers block  so I can’t seem to get this chapter right, I can’t get the pictures I need for the book since they are in Vermont……” on and on I went, stating a litany of challenges I faced with my publishing project.

“Why would you do something like that, Sue, leave behind pictures you knew you needed for a book ?” my friend asked.

“Because I didn’t know then what I know now. Who would have ever thunk, I was going to follow my “someday” dreams and write a memoir when I moved to Colorado!” I said in a grumpy tone.

“Why are you bothering  to do it  then if  it’s stressing you? I could never do that -write about my life!” my friend stated with conviction.

“Sure you could, if you felt strongly enough that you wanted to share it.” I said

At this point I was nearly bashing my head on the hard wooden walls that surrounded her living room. She was not telling me what I wanted to hear. I needed someone to assure me that  “Everything will be alright. It will all come together.”

I was beginning to think I ought to give up my pie-in-the-sky idea as I went through the list of obstacles that I was facing that week in writing and publishing my memoir.

If you are wondering why my need to write a memoir was so strong, this song by Nat King Cole explains it. It’s the basis of what’s behind  the narrative.  I’d had the making of the book  inside of me my whole life. It was dying to get it out.

This blog brought to you by the award-winning author Sue Batton Leonard. For more information on the EVVY award winning book Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected, please follow this link. http://amzn.to/1nz4veb.

Fulfilling Results: Indie Publishing

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Thank you

God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say “thank you?” ~William A. Ward, author of Mountains of Faith

Today I’d like to recognize some very key people and organizations who helped me with various parts of publishing my award-winning memoir Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected.

Although I am well versed in most steps of independent publishing, there are parts of the writing and publishing process that I relied on having other professionals to steer and assist me. Their support services were invaluable in getting the project finished.

 

Thanks to the following:

  • Steamboat Writers Group for valuable critique and feedback.
  • Colorado Independent Publishers Association (CIPA) for education and support resources. Also for the friendships and business associates I have made through this outstanding organization.
  • We Write Steamboat members for their encouragement, support, feedback and most of all, friendships!
  • Pre-publication readers – you know who you are, thank you for your book testimonials!
  • Professional services in the Media Lab at Colorado Mountain College
  • Lindsey Royce at Colorado Mountain College for a great writing class to stir my creativity.
  • Jan McDaniel for final editing services. The final editing of dialogue was very tedious!
  • Joe McDaniel for photo restoration work
  • Joe & Jan McDaniel at bookcrafters.net for publishing my book affordably, in a timely manner and for  following  my unique publishing requests. You were delightful to work with.
  • Patti Asbury for helping me to grow professionally through public speaking
  • Karen McLane and Postnet for graphic design and printing services
  • Sound technician Brian Dow for help with audio book production
  • Terry Leonard – photography and assistance with marketing materials and book events.
  • Audio book producer –   http://www.marcrleonard.com  (aka “The Technical Dude”)
  • Technology and website support – Marc R Leonard
  • Terry Leonard and Marc R Leonard for cheering, emotional support and encouragement.
  • JDB Technology – help with computer “issues”
  • Gail Nelson – e-book designer and e-book formatting services
  • United Methodist Church for spiritual guidance and support. The United Methodist Women for hosting my wonderful book launch “party.”
  • To ALL fellow authors who networked, shared their experiences and advice.
  • All book buyers!

If there is anyone I have inadvertently left out, I apologize. Trying to remember everyone is difficult. My path has crossed with so many people throughout this four year  journey of independently publishing Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected.  Thanks to everyone who gave me an encouraging word!

This blog brought to you by the award-winning author Sue Batton Leonard. For more information on her memoir, please visit this link. http://amzn.to/1t7f6Ec

The Glory in the Challenge

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On Thursday, a very important package was delivered to my mailbox. It was a “proof copy,” the first printed and bound copy of my memoir “Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected.”

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As I opened the package, this is what I was feeling – HAZY!

IMAG0997 In the same blur that has existed for several years now, while the book has been in the making. Writing and publishing a book independently, if I must be candid, takes commitment, persistence, a “can do/will do/nothing is going to stop me attitude. I had determined from the start that I would take on the words of Robert Schuller as a challenge when he asked “What would you do if you knew you could not fail?” I was out to answer that and prove it to myself!

Sure, there have been challenges along the way (some big and some small) but I never lost heart in what I was doing because I believed so strongly in the story that I knew one day I’d tell. Every time I got a little disillusioned with my progress, I’d remember the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson, who once said “Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but rising up every time we fail.”

Here it is – the proof copy. I’m excited but not done yet. Another go round of proofreading faces me.

IMAG0998                                        IMAG0999

You’ll learn more about why I felt it was so important to tell my story when you read it. It has to do with the beautiful traits of a character in it. Although categorized as a memoir, it’s far more than a family tale. There is meaningful value in the universal messages tucked between the covers.

Today, I present to you all my glory……………and by Mothers’ Day, you can share it with me, when you read my story! You can even have it any way you like it – in print from www.Bookcrafters.com and other major on-line booksellers, in an e-book or audio book format. For those who decide on the audio book format – you are in for a very special treat!

See you tomorrow on All Things Fulfilling.com. I’m so excited! This blog brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.

Holy Experiment Day

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So live that you wouldn’t be ashamed to sell the family parrot to the town gossip. ~ Will Smith

Today is Holy Experiment Day. You don’t believe me? Look it up! http://www.giftypedia.com/Holy_Experiment_Day

As a follow-up to yesterday’s blog about family secrets and in honor of this special day, send in your family secret by posting a comment to this blog on All Things Fulfilling.

Two%20ParrotsWe really like to laugh here at www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com. – it’s good for the heart and soul. So if you have a family secret that you have kept hush-hush, now is the time to reveal it. Please do tell why revealing the secret is so personally fulfilling.  The funniest tale will win the contest.

The winner will be announced on Easter Sunday and if the author of the story agrees, it will be published on this site with full credit given to the guest blogger. The contest prize will be given out in May – a  free, personally autographed copy of my upcoming publication “Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected.  Tell everyone you know to join in!

Family Secrets can be hurtful, so please read this article from Psychology Today. http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200909/the-power-secrets. It will help you to reveal in good taste what you’ve kept under wraps and not damage anyone’s ego! 

No monkey business, the tale must be true, clean fun and not hurtful to others in order to win the prize. Make my day! I want to hear from you!

See you tomorrow on the space where independent thoughts, words and views are all part of the business.

Important First Steps to Publishing

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

The e-Book Extravaganza on Saturday sponsored by the Colorado Independent Publishers Association (CIPA) was well-worth attending. During one of the breaks, the President of CIPA, Dr. Patricia Ross came over to me and said “Sue, I’d like you to meet one of our new members.” Of course, the usual niceties followed.

I asked the new member if she was enjoying the morning, and she said “Yes, but I feel so uninformed! There is so little I know about independent publishing.” Dr. Ross told her not to be discouraged, and off the President went doing her job of hob-knobbing about the room.

CIPA 9 13 #1As the new member and I stood talking, I said to her, “You know, each and every person in this room started where you began today, knowing nothing. That is the reason you have joined this group -to get help, to learn, to network and become informed about your options.” There is a lot to learn and you have taken a very important first step. You have joined this group!”

“Yes,” the new member replied. “There seems to be plenty of knowledge to learn from in this group.”

Before the break was over and we went to sit in our respective seats, across the room from one another, I had one more thing I had to say. “In your free time, read anything you can get your hands on about the industry, and keep coming to this group. It’s the best thing you can do for yourself.”

To learn more about the Colorado Independent Publishers Association, please visit this link. http://www.cipacatalog.com/join-cipa/. Please note the organization also offers downloadable webinars if you are too far to travel to their meetings.

http://www.cipacatalog.com/categories/CIPA-College-Downloads/

As I drove home, I began to ponder how many first steps I have taken since 1998, when the independent industry was in its infancy. They’ve all been in a quest to learn all I could about the industry and it led to becoming a business.  And the wonders and development of the independent publishing universe never cease to amaze me. I find it fascinating.

This blog brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com. The space where independent thoughts, words and views are all part of the business. See you tomorrow on All Things Fulfilling.