Category Archives: desktop publishing

Personal Stories: Breathings of the Heart

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“Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart.” ~William Wordsworth 

Dear Santa, 

It has been many, many years since I have sent a letter to you in the North Pole. I want you to know I am grateful for the gifts that I have received throughout my life. I have much to be appreciative for and many of the gifts you have given me have been even grander than I could ever have dreamed. Sometimes, I don’t even realize how meaningful the gifts have been until long after they have been received. 

This year, I have a special request for Christmas. I would appreciate it if you would do what you possibly can to fulfill my gift wish list. I do understand if there are things that you can not give me, perhaps the timing is not right. I recognize you often get requests from people who should work on getting the gifts themselves. 

Several months ago, I embarked on telling my story. That’s right, I am writing a book. I have only just begun, so in order to complete my task, I need your elves to help me out. Hopefully, they will have the necessary tools and materials to help me construct what I am asking for. I will try to describe what I need, as best as I can. 

  • Perseverance and patience – bring the biggest boxes of  those items that you have!
  • Insight – I may need a shovel to go along with that. I might have to dig deep.
  • A dictionary or thesaurus to help me find the right words when I need them.
  • Some smart, independent -type publishing people. Maybe we can teach each other a thing or two. It often goes both ways.
  • A long lasting light bulb,  for internal use, to illuminate my mind. A new socket might help too.
  • Three strong signs – stop, go and proceed with caution. Send instructions along. I will  read them so I know which sign to follow before I go down the wrong path.
  • An energizer bunny to show me how to go on and on, so I can finish what I start.
  • If you give me a gift card for these things, please make sure it does not have an expiration date. I may need these things, and you, longer than I think to get this job done. 

P.S. Santa, if my requests are too great, please, no switches or coal. Just send my requests further north.  Maybe we have the same boss and perhaps he can help us both out.  Next year I will be back in touch. I promise I will work real hard with what you give me. When it is done, I want you to read my story and tell others what I did with the gifts. My requests, I hope, will be beneficial and fulfilling to you, too. Everyone needs a raise in life. 

 I’ll leave a carrot for the reindeer under the tree and something for you, too. Merry Christmas and have a Jolly New Year.

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

Things that Serve Writers and Filmmakers

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“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did.”  – Mark Twain

New and improved digital publishing software and digital filmmaking software for editing and post production is appearing on the scene.  In this world of producing digital content for all kinds of screens, there is a growing need. 

Perhaps you are a budding writer or independent filmmaker who has made a resolution to invest in stepping things up a notch by purchasing professional software for digital publishing or for creating films or video in  2012. Choices can be confusing and many when it comes to picking the best software. 

Adobe has a website that may be useful in fulfilling your need for knowledge about which way to turn. Their full range of software is suitable for individual and enterprise solutions. Investment in professional software means the ability to create high quality, professional results. 

Adobe Digital Publishing Suite has solutions for those who wish to create content that will captivate viewers and readers on mobile devices. The publishing suite is all encompassing software and it includes individual programs such as:

  • Photoshop
  • InDesign
  • Flash
  • Premiere
  • After Effects
  • Dreamweavers
  • Illlustrator 

Along with the need for software may come a need for education on how to use it, too! There are certified instructors who can lead you through the effective use of these products. They have the experience and the know-how. To help you explore the right product for your needs and to find out how to locate a certified instructor, please visit this link, http://adobe.ly/r0ONyr. 

Cornerstone Fulfillment Service, LLC does not endorse any one software program. This information is offered to fulfill a need for independent publishing help. By using your favorite search engine, look for digital publishing software. The choices are varied. Be wise! Research before you buy. 

This blog brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com

 

Collaboration Strengthens the Indies

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“Individually, we are one drop. Together we are an ocean. ~ Ryunosuke Satoro 

Independent publishers in Steamboat and the surrounding Routt County have good reason to celebrate this month. Our meet-up group, SHe Writes Steamboat has grown to include 29 members. We are fulfilling networking opportunity for independent publishers and fostering independent publishing success. Some members are first time publishers, others have several titles under their belt and many are working on new books. The group has been in existence since June 2011. 

Last weekend we made a collaborative appearance at Holiday in the Rockies. This event was organized by the Steamboat Art Council. http://bit.ly/uJFXs7.   SHe Writes Steamboat is also pleased to announce that our individual member’s publications are being considered by book clubs affiliated with the Bud Werner Library for reading in 2012. 

If you are an independent publisher, male or female, in Routt County or in the surrounding counties looking for a meet-up group of this type, we invite you to join us at our monthly meetings. We meet every third Tuesday of the month from 4pm to 5:30pm. For more information on the group and where we meet, go to the SHe Writes Steamboat Facebook page and send us a message you would like to be included in this group. Here is the link http://on.fb.me/oOWKWm. You can also contact me, Sue Leonard of Cornerstone Fulfillment Service, LLC, through SheWritesSteamboat@gmail.com. 

We look forward to learning more about you as an author, independent publisher and as a contributing member of this collaborative group!

Fulfilling Services and Needs

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“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.”  – William Arthur Ward 

The holiday season is in full swing, the signs are there – decorations, holiday fairs, parties, an appointment book that has become ragged and torn. A sure sign it is time to ring out the old and bring in the new. Increased activity of UPS, Fed Ex and other delivery trucks on the highways and byways, indeed indicates Christmas is near. 

On this blog site, we often recognize the work of artists and crafts persons working in a variety of mediums – writers, poets, painters, sculptors, filmmakers, potters, musicians and more. But there is another important form of art that we tend to forget – the art of serving others. 

 If you have ever worked in a service industry, or lived in a resort area, you become acutely aware of those who serve. These folks carry an extra burden at this time of year. In light of that fact, I would like to pause today to recognize people in all sectors of the service industry. They deserve our gratitude! 

  • Heartfelt thanks to nurses, doctors, hospice workers, and all medical staff.
  • Oodles of praise for mail carriers and delivery persons
  • Obliged to those who wait tables, to housekeepers, concierge and valets, too.
  • Respect for chefs, plumbers, electricians, builders, excavators and more.
  • Rewards for military servicemen and women who have ever kept us safe – well deserved
  • Abundance of kudos for repair shops, retail employees, gas station attendants, grocers.
  • Yule Tide Greetings to those service people I have missed such as the clergy. Many of you, because you serve, may miss holiday celebrations with families or friends. We greatly appreciate that you are fulfilling a need for the work  that you do. We desperately need people like you!

 Don’t forget to give a token of thanks to those who serve. Let them know that you appreciate what they do, over the holidays and each and every day of the year, too!

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

 

 

Crafting Words and Wares

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“Do what you can with what you have, where you are” ~ Theodore Roosevelt 

Here in our own little center of the Writers universe in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, the Steamboat Writers Group ww.steamboatwritersgroup.com  has grown since early this fall. Perhaps people have decided the time to tell their story is now. 

“Holidays in the Rockies” is a featured event this weekend, in town. Artisans, craftsmen (and women), and other “creatives,” including local authors, will be gathered and selling their wares. Support those who work with great entrepreneurial spirit in cottage industries and in the independent publishing industry, too. 

Members of our meet-up group, SHe Writes Steamboat, an affiliate of the Colorado Independent Publishers Association www.cipacatalog.com will be selling and signing books. We will be located at Booth #l at the Bud Werner Library from 9am to 4pm. Some of our gifted writers such as Kathy Cunningham Guler, Dawn V Obrecht, Susan Mead, Karen Gilroy and Jo Hardesty Lauter will be there to introduce you to their books and to greet you. Ali Boehm will be in attendance with her brother’s book “Louie’s Saxophone” too. Stop by the Steamboat Art Depot across the street. Our member Mary Kurtz will be selling her books and her photographic note cards at the second locale for the event. 

Have plans and unable to attend? You’ll get a second chance. Join Karen Gilroy at the Bud Werner Library on Wednesday evening the 14th at 6:30pm. She will be giving a presentation based on her book “Discovering the Healer Within.” The following evening, on Thursday, December 15th at 6pm Mary Kurtz will be introducing her book. It is of great regional interest here in Routt County and the surrounds. Mary’s book is “ At Home in the Elk River Valley: Reflections on Family, Place and the West.” 

Literature will be available for those who are considering telling their stories in the New Year. The mission of SHe Writes Steamboat is to support independent publishers and to foster independent publishing success. 

See you on Saturday, December 10th! 

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

Explore a Future with Positive Growth

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“What the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.” ~ Napoleon Hill

Today, on All Things Fulfilling, we are going to turn our attention back to the very reason some readers return to this website time and time again.

The publishing industry is increasingly changing and we use this space to keep our readers up to date about new developments in independent publishing. Now at a time where independent publishing represents more than 50% of all publishing revenue, every day someone new decides to tell their story through the written word. No longer do you have to have an agent or a letter of acceptance from a publishing house in order to move forward with publishing a book. Anyone can be an independent publisher and sell their books, films or music through e-commerce and learn to promote it through e-marketing. For best results, however, some education is needed to learn how to become visible and effectively reach potential book buyers through the internet. 

 The Colorado Independent Publishers Association (CIPA )is a great resource, and especially for beginning independent publishers. There are valuable downloadable webinars available that will provide you with a basic introduction to the industry and help you along the way. The webinars are affordable and will help you explore and navigate your way through the independent publishing process. To start you along the journey, take an 18 minute tour of “On the Fast Track: The Independent Publishing Industry.”  http://bit.ly/oIkV2g. 

Before you jump in with your publishing project, my advice would be to learn what you can through downloadable webinars, join an independent book publishers association in your State of residence and attend independent publishing conferences.

Here in Colorado, the Colorado Independent Publishers Association is at the forefront of developing a fulfilling relationship with libraries for e-book selling. Learn about this partnership, through this article http://bit.ly/dNEX6N.  

Check back with us tomorrow, and we will bring you more independent thoughts, words and views about an industry that is fulfilling the needs of many people who want to be visible through their written words.

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

A Rising Story

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“A man is a man in every part of the world. It has nothing to do with race. It has to do with the culture and education that each man has received since he was a child, in his home. It has to do with how he was raised.” ~ Alicia Machado

I try to walk almost every day. It takes real commitment in my busy life but, I find my most important work of the day often gets accomplished while I walk. I keep my heart healthy and my spirit well-fed with the beautiful scenery that surrounds me out of doors. Snow capped mountains of 10,000 feet or more, big beautiful vistas and the feel of the winter wind or  sounds of the rushing water on the Yampa River fuels me along as I walk. I have to remind myself to look up and not down, otherwise I will miss what inspires me the most. 

As challenging as it can be in mountain country, I most often walk uphill. My best blog writing in my head, and from my heart, often occurs as I walk to the crest of the peaks. I build my story, step by step, as I move along. After a while, I forget that I am traveling by foot. It is as if I am taking a ride on that great invention of an escalator. I move forward with little effort and eventually without noticing, from whence I came, I am at the top. 

When winter sets in, leaving the warmth of a cozy shelter is hard. Before I set out, I often think – what is in this walk for me?  Never do I have to find the answers, the answers find me. It is all in the design of nature. This occurrence, time and time again, proves to me there is indeed, someone out there guiding and watching over me. I truly can not imagine living on this Earth without that fulfilling thought. Can you? 

These independent thoughts, words and views are brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.

Bringing Behind the Scenes Looks

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“Keep your dreams alive. Understand to achieve anything requires faith and belief in yourself, vision, hard work, determination and dedication. Remember all things are possible for those who believe.” ~ Gail Devers 

What do you get when you put together art, religion, crisis, history and architecture together? The basis for a great televised mini-series, of Ken Follett’s novel Pillars of the Earth, adapted for film. 

Tonight and tomorrow (12/2 and 12/3/11) , on the Channel known for bringing outstanding behind the scenes Specials about films to viewers everywhere, a look at the making of the Pillars of the Earth  mini-series will be featured! Don’t miss out. 

For broadcast times and channels, please visit the website of Reelz Channel. Here you go, I will hook you up! http://bit.ly/rYU4km. 

Congratulations go out to the crew that brings these Weekly Specials to broadcast on a regular basis! I am proud to say, our favorite filmmaker is part of the team, as lead editor. Way to go Marc! A Shout Out to you and the others dedicated at  Reelz to bringing outstanding productions to the viewers. For more information on the visual effects and film editing work of Marc R Leonard, please visit http://bit.ly/tWdLnk.

Have a great weekend everyone! I will be back on Monday with more independent words, thoughts and views on www.AllThingsFulfilling.com.

Fulfilling Thoughts of Thanksgiving

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“Gratitude can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. It makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” ~ Unknown 

On this Thanksgiving Day, I am grateful for all readers who have visited this blog site All Things Fulfilling. I appreciate your encouraging comments and your interest in the independent thoughts, words and views that are posted on this site. This digital publishing format provides a way of learning about others in the world who also have faith in the growing  independent publishing industry and see  value and worth in providing a way for each voice to be heard.

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

Writers Who Grow as they Go

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“A fulfilling life is different to each person. You have to acknowledge your dreams, and not just wait for life to happen, and opportunities to come knocking at your door.” ~  Joan Lunden

The deadline for submissions to the Sante Fe Writers Project is December 15th  – just around the corner! Send in your books for consideration to their annual award contest now! Don’t wait. 

The Sante Fe Writers Project (SFWP) is an “independent press dedicated to the craft of writing.”  It was formed in 1998  as a grass roots trial to bring together a group of art advocates and writers. It has gained international acclaim for their literary contest and also, for their on-line journal which has been in existence since 2002. 

Published authors and authors who have never been published before are welcomed to submit to this contest. Submissions from small presses and self-published books are eligible in categories of creative non-fiction and fiction. To read the guidelines for submissions and eligibility requirements, please visit the following link http://bit.ly/bOmP26. 

 The organizer of SFWP, Andrew Gifford, (from the Writers Center in Bethesda, Maryland) has written an interesting article on independent publishing. Please visit this site to learn what he has to say about the industry.  http://bit.ly/tznXjF. 

Sante Fe and the neighboring city of Albuquerque, NM has a wealth of professional artists in the literary, visual and filmmaking fields who call those cities home. If you have never visited the area, it is filled with art and inspiration.

This blog mistress will be taking turkey day off. I will be spending the holiday with my favorite filmmaker and visual effects artist in the State that “Grows as it Goes!” I look forward to sharing more with you from the “Land of Enchantment” in upcoming blogs. 

Have a very Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

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