Category Archives: e-marketing for independent business

Sweet Magic in the Room

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“Books are uniquely portable magic.” ~ Stephen King 

Late Tuesday afternoon a group of people came together all for a common cause at the Bud Werner Memorial Library www.steamboatlibrary.org  in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. The motivating force was an interest in learning more about this thing, called independent publishing that has been gaining momentum in recent years and is now the on the fast track! 

What fun it was to sit down with a group of like-minded people, to network and provide support for each other. I do believe She Writes Steamboat is the start of something good!

The kick off began with a personal story of how many years ago, one employment ad and one independently published book catapulted a person, on a leap of faith, into the beginnings of an industry that is just now beginning to realize it’s full and exciting potential. 

Another attendee was there to share and celebrate with members of She Writes Steamboat her independently published book that is hot off the press! More will be forthcoming in a future blog about this book. Last night, I purchased a copy, and I need time to read and digest it, so I can do it justice when I share with it with our blog readers. 

After the business of talking about the vision for this meet-up group, the magic really began to happen as we sat and exchanged questions, answers and knowledge about the industry itself. We are hoping to share more than cake in the future. The mission of this group is to provide fulfilling support to independent publishers so they will find sweet success in their independent publishing endeavors. 

If you have ever considered telling your story, sharing your educational or career knowledge, entertaining or informing others through the medium of an independently published book, film or music, the time is now! Resources are available for anyone who wants to become a published author. 

Stay tuned to this website. Real soon we will be unveiling some educational content for want-to-be publishers that will bring a better understanding to others of this fascinating and dynamic world of e-commerce and e-marketing for independent publishers. You may even decide to take a leap and begin telling your story, too!

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Narratives in Medical Curriculum

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“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” ~ Maya Angelou 

Writing medical histories through the narrative form is currently being incorporated into curriculums in medical schools in many parts of the country. Medical students are learning how to better assess medical conditions through more intensive listening to the patient, and recording what they hear into narrative forms. The goal is to make healthcare decisions for the patient based not only on statistics and tests but by also “reading” a patient’s unique personal story of how they are feeling and their own symptoms. 

Why is the addition of the narrative form being incorporated into the way medical schools have traditionally taught students to diagnose illness? Empathy for the patient has been missing in this age of highly developed technical medical testing. Listening to a patient’s story leads to a better understanding of the whole picture of a person’s medical situation. A person’s emotions and spirit about the way they are feeling is part of the overall report, too. 

Daniel Pink’s book, A Whole New Mind, http://www.danpink.com/whole-new-mind explains how our society is on the brink of a whole new age of thinking. We have gone from an agricultural age (farmers) through the factory age (industrial), to the information age (business based on knowledge workers) to the emergence of right thinking business people, who are creators and empathizers. Surprisingly, we are moving into an age where more Americans are beginning to work in fields such as arts, entertainment and design than those working left brain fields (accountants, lawyers, insurance adjustors). In order to be accomplished in these growing fields of work, right brained thinking skills must be used and developed. 

Prosperity and abundance has brought a whole new need for fulfilling emotional, aesthetic and spiritual needs. Jobs in the “caring professions” counseling, nursing, healing are surging, too.  They are not jobs that can be decimated by workers overseas who can work faster and cheaper.

To read more about this movement toward the new conceptual age and right brain thinking that Pink claims will change the world, pick up A Whole New Mind.  Many libraries have it and it is a Business Week best selling book. It’s a fascinating read.

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Making her Debut

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“Our aspirations are our possibilities” ~ Samuel Johnson 

Happy Flag Day, everyone! 

Next Tuesday, a week from today, the arrival of Summer will be sharing the day with another debutante in town. Her name is She Writes Steamboat. This new meet-up group has been organized to provide networking opportunity for independent writers and publishers, filmmakers and musicians. Providing support and fostering independent publishing success is the goal. 

Steamboat Springs is a good a place as any for www.SheWrites.com to make an introduction. The town has a great number of women who love to read, write and create! People arrive at this gateway to Routt County for all different reasons and from a variety of places all over the country and the world. Some come seeking refuge from their extraordinary lives elsewhere and others are simply looking for a fulfilling existence in a small town community of diverse, well-educated and energetic people. 

The pathways that have led people to this resort mountain town are as varied as the people themselves. Each person seems to have a unique story of their current life or of times elsewhere. In this community there are bountiful tales to tell of women living purposeful and faithful lives. 

This is an open, friendly community, and today on this Flag Day, I will hang a banner on this website to welcome anyone who wants to learn more about the fast growing and dynamic industry of independent publishing. Women wishing to move in a positive direction to bring personal fulfillment, career advancement and increased visibility for themselves and their businesses are encouraged to attend. 

 Author Mary Kurtz will be sharing her newly published book  At Home in the Elk River Valley: Reflections on Family, Place and the West at our first She Writes Steamboat meet-up event!  Join us at the Bud Werner Library www.steamboatlibrary.com on Tuesday, June 21st at 4pm to celebrate with Mary and other members of She Writes Steamboat!

Spread the word and bring a friend!

Steamboat!

 

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Delivering e-News

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“All progress occurs because people dare to be different.” ~ Harry Milner 

Can you remember when the most fulfilling way to start the day was sitting around the kitchen table with coffee cup and newspaper in hand? Used to be the only way to get your daily journal of news in-print was by subscribing and having it delivered to your mailbox or door in the wee hours of the morning, before the sun came up.  With the arrival of the internet, things have changed! 

The newspaper industry has been thrown into a quandary over how to keep their subscriber base with the availability of free content over the internet, through digital devices and applications that are being developed so quickly that it makes ones head spin. Newspaper publishing has been going through adjustment and re-tooling to keep up with this digital age of communication. 

Can traditional, in print, newspapers survive?  

Several months ago, the New York Times http://bit.ly/p9l62 changed their policies on providing free content on-line. There is now a “pay-wall” for those who frequent their site for news content more than 20 times per month. Unlimited access to the New York Times has gone by the way-side. Will “pay walls” be a growing trend among newspapers? 

Monthly access to the Times site is available through smartphone applications for $15. To add accessibility through computers too, on an unlimited basis, the $35 per month subscriber fee is available through their “All Digital Access” plan. 

To encourage traditional subscribers to continue to receive newspapers in-print, there is a perk of unlimited mobile access as well as web-based access. This applies for those that subscribe to Sunday news only, too. For more information on digital subscriptions to the New York Times, please visit http://wapo.st/gINfhH. 

There is a very interesting article on 5 myths of newspaper journalism and advertising. To read the article, please visit http://wapo.st/ebWTsg. If you want to know even more, The Pew Research Center for Excellence in Journalism is studying the impact this digital age has on traditional newspaper publishing. Visit their on-line website, too. http://bit.ly/ftb6Hb. 

No matter how you like to receive your news, in-print or through e-versions, keeping up with what is going on in the world will never go out of style!

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e-Conomies. What Does it All Mean?

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“I look for what needs to be done. After all, that’s how the universe designs itself.” ~ Buckminster Fuller

e-Commerce, e-Books, e-Publishing, e-Marketing. http://rww.to/aiuHxb. You’ve heard the terms a lot lately, haven’t you? But what does it all mean? It means entertaining new ways of doing things! 

Let’s face it – our economy needs a kick in the pants! We need independent spirited folks to take ideas and run with them. Brain power, our most available resource, surrounds us everywhere. It is not located in any one place. We need people who are tired of sitting around waiting for something to happen, to make things happen! 

Right here in Steamboat Springs,CO there is a group of people who want to have their say, they want to be heard, and they want to be seen. Right now! They are not willing to play the game of waiting on someone else to create their future for them, or not! 

She Writes Steamboat is a newly-formed meet-up group that will come together for the first time at 4 pm on June 21st at the Bud Werner Memorial Library. www.steamboatlibrary.org.   Independent publishing is one economy that is on the fast track and it is gaining momentum every day. Business people, non-profit organizations, parents, teachers, children and very ordinary folks with unique stories to tell are pumped. Internet and media technologies have changed so greatly over the past 10 years anyone can jump on the train and tell their story, inform, educate and inspire others through all independent film, music or books. Entertain that thought! 

Further, the internet has provided a way for independent publishers to become visible all over the world! Are you ready to share your voice? Join Us @ She Writes Steamboat – click here http://on.fb.me/lbnPms.

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Fill Up and Write in Philly!

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“Education ….is after all, only a tool; every thing depends upon the workman who uses it.” ~The Simple Life 

 

It is hard to believe it is June already. Before the summer gets away from us, I need to mention for all you Christian writers, there is still time to register for the Christian Writers Conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on August 10 -13, 2011. 

Fulfilling a need for writing and publishing education, networking, and obtaining feedback on publishing projects is the Greater Philadelphia Christian Writers Conference. Sixty-five professional authors, editors and agents will be on hand this year offering: 

  • 18 Wednesday afternoon early bird sessions
  • 8 Continuing sessions
  • 6 General sessions
  • 42 individual workshops
  • 2 hands-on clinics 

But, that is not all!  You can also schedule time alone to discuss your work in progress with faculty of your choice! 

If you are anywhere near the Philly area, it will be worth the expense to fill-up the car with gas to attend the GPCWC. There will be value added in this writer’s conference –while you are there you can fuel your mind, your soul, your spirit and get practical help, too. What a worthwhile conference it will be. 

To see the full schedule of events for the GPCWC, please visit http://bit.ly/mzK24c. 

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You are Audible. I Can Hear You!

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“To listen well, is as powerful a means of influence as to talk well, and is as essential to all true conversation.” ~ Chinese Proverb 

June is Audio Book Month!  Right here, right now, lest we forget, we need to acknowledge the folks who bring enlightenment, entertainment and enjoyment to our lives all through audio books. During those laboriously long 8- 12 hour trips in the car what did we ever do with ourselves before the days of “books on tape”? 

This spring on All Things Fulfilling, we have celebrated the IPPYS, the EVVYs and the Ben Franklin Awards. But “What about the AUDIES?” I can hear the fans of “books on tape” screaming, lofty and loud! 

Books in 28 categories were nominated for the 2011 AUDIE Awards.  The list of all those in contention for the prize is lengthy, so we will name just a few of the outstanding award winners: 

There are many, many more prize-winning selections. To see the entire list of 2011 AUDIE award winners, please visit

http://www.theaudies.com/ 

Uh, oh! ….Who is that I hear now? It’s RITA! She wants her award winners mentioned too! I don’t know, though. Her awards aren’t really focused on independent writers. But, you know RITA, she is the drama queen. When she doesn’t get her own way, she can get pretty melodramatic, fiery and steamed-up. We will see what we can do…. maybe some other day when you are all ready to listen.

 

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Film Friday – “A Guerilla Artist?”

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“Summer’s filled with breaking the rules, standing apart, ignoring your head, and following your heart.” ~ Unknown

Arriving in theatres across the country, just in time for kid’s summer break from school, is “Judy Moody and the Not So Bummer Summer.” This PG rated movie is based on Megan McDonald’s popular book series. 

Judy Moody (played by Jordana Beatty), pegged as a “guerilla artist,” creates her summer of a life time along with her brother Stink and Aunt Opal, who arrives on the scene when Judy’s parents take an unexpected trip to California without the kids. Judy’s vivid imagination takes the audience on a summer ride to remember, of calamity and  hilarious antics, for a fulfilling, fun-filled cinema release for both parents and kids. Just how the term “guerilla artist” comes in to the overall scheme of things is for the audience to discover. 

To watch a trailer of this soon-to-be released summer film, Judy Moody and the Not So Bummer Summer,  visit Reelz Channel http://bit.ly/mFEA9S. 

P.S. I would remiss if I didn’t mention that today, June 3rd is Free Hug Day, so embrace your favorite filmmaker – they are the folks that keep us entertained through the power of film. I am sending a hug through the internet to my favorite film editor at Reelz Channel.

Will return on Monday with more independent publishing news. See you then.

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Coming to the Art Scene

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 “Nature’s own masterpieces will never go away. If I am able to cast just a few of them in favorable light, and convince you, the viewer, to look at them again with greater appreciation and perhaps a fresh perspective, then I have succeeded as an artist.” ~ Scott L. Christensen 

Tomorrow is the First Friday Art Walk in Steamboat Springs,CO. I particularly enjoy this ski resort’s monthly art walk when it is warm. It is more conducive to strolling from gallery to gallery when I’m not faced with bitter temperatures and falling snow.

This week, an exhibit arrived at the Steamboat Art Museum http://bit.ly/l9on0C  that  is on my list of “have to see.”  The work of landscape painter and Wyoming native, Scott Christensen, will be featured until October 15. I have been aware of Scott’s work for many years now, and I am very excited at the prospect of seeing his work, first hand, rather than in print in art magazines such as American Artist, Wildlife Art, Art of the West, Southwest Art and Images West.

Scott’s work has graced the walls of the most prestigious museums in the country such as the National Museum of Wildlife, the Gilcrease Museum and the National Cowboy Museum in Oklahoma City. His paintings have won awards at the Arts in the Parks Competition and Prix de West, just to name a few. The Scottsdale Art School, Disney Animation Studios and the Fechin Institute have all been honored to have him as guest artist teaching his painting techniques.

The Steamboat Art Museum never disappoints in bringing some of the finest artists in our country to this small town of 10,000 people. A jammed, packed schedule of events is on tap here in Steamboat this summer and fall. Remember to put the exhibit of Scott Christensen’s magnificent landscape paintings on your list of fulfilling things to see and do.

Can’t get to Steamboat this summer? Order the book “The Art of Scott L. Christensen” or one of his instructional DVDs. For more information, please visit http://bit.ly/jcVZXz.

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Safe Harbor for She Writes Steamboat

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“Dwell in Possibility” ~ Emily Dickinson 

On last Friday’s blog, mention was made of Chicken and Egg Pictures, a non-profit organization supporting women independent filmmakers. The tag line of this non-profit “Incubating and Hatching All at Once” well represents what I have been feeling about She Writes Steamboat http://on.fb.me/lbnPms  over the past few months. I have been envisioning and growing in my mind, a meet-up group that will provide networking opportunities and support and foster independent publishing success. 

I have decided the time is NOW to hatch the group and support a group of women who have stories to tell, but are still in the incubation period and want to actively hatch and grow their desires. 

For those just starting down the road to independent publishing, beginning can be a scary thing! Women are good at supporting and communicating with each other in their efforts to succeed. What independent publishers have in common is a real and pressing need to inspire and entertain others through storytelling or to educate and inform all through the power of the written word. With independent publishing, there is no competition because everyone has an individual and unique narrative to tell. 

So my thoughts are “why not get together, meet-up and all be there for each other.” Our first She Writes Steamboat meet-up will be Tuesday, June 21 at 4:00 pm at the Bud Werner Library Hall. 

Ladies, feel free to invite others who are in any stage of publishing or those interested in learning more about the independent publishing process. At our first meeting, we will be discussing what time we should schedule our future meetings, how often we chicks should gather. We will be laying the groundwork for a group that I hope will be a safe harbor so independent publishers will not feel as if they are all alone in their publishing efforts. 

Join Us! There is nothing to lose and everything to gain in learning more about the dynamic industry of independent publishing. There are no membership fees. By the way, this group is affiliated with www.SheWrites.com.

 

         See you then!

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