Fulfill your dreams of becoming an independent publisher! Attend the 26th Annual IBPA Publishing University 2010. This is the one of the best events of the year for independent publishers.
Save the Date! May 24 – May 25, New York City
This is an important experience if you plan on launching a new publishing venture or for bringing your publishing business to new heights. Keep your eye on the website www.thepublishinguniversity.com as more information becomes available. Mark your calendar now!!
“If you are going to achieve excellence in big things, you develop the habit in little matters. Excellence is not an exception, it is a prevailing attitude.” ~ Colin Powell
Have all of you been watching the Olympics? I have! I have been loyal in following our hometown boys from Steamboat Springs, CO. As I have heard the personal stories of the athletes from all around the world, it has occurred to me that successful artists and athletes have so many things they strive for in common. Really, athletes are artists too- in the field of physiology and kinetic energy.
The list of what it takes to be successful artists or athletes is strikingly similar. In fact, there are few things that set them apart!
Our United States Olympians are “doing us proud!” They have all subscribed to “right thinking.” It is what has gotten them to where they are in the first place. As for our hometown boys from Steamboat Springs, CO they will be adding their names to the roster of all the other champions from this town and will have a little “bling” around their necks to prove it.
Bring it on home, boys! Bring it on home. Share with us the result of your passion for your sport!
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“All the world is a birthday cake, so take a piece but not too much.” ~ George Harrison
There is a birthday all independent publishers need to celebrate today!If you can not remember whose birthday it is, I will give you a few hints:
Whose birthday is it? On this 25th day in February, in 1837, Mr. Thomas Davenport patented the first US Electronic Printing Press. Mr. Davenport, born in Williamstown, VT was a blacksmith by trade. He received only three years of formal education, yet he was an avid reader. After a visit in 1831 to the Penfield Iron Works, he became intrigued with the field of electromagnetic energy. He went on to invent the prototype for every electric motor used today. He invented an electric railway, electric telegraph, electric piano and the electric printing press upon which he printed his newsletter Electro-Magnet and Mechanics Intelligencer. Mr. Davenport was a pioneer in the field of independent publishing and the result of his work paved the way for more than he could ever fathom.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention one more birthday today – the trivia clues mirror closely those of Mr. Davenport, but at the risk of being scolded and hearing “Oh, Mom, what did you do that for?”, I won’t mention any names!
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“At the end of the day when we bow our heads, we are not so different at all.” ~ Judy Jones
This summer, regular readers of this blog followed the loss of my dear friend, Amy. She, like many other women each year, succumbed to breast cancer. I blogged about the dignity and strength with which Amy handled her illness until the very end. What she taught us all is a story of strength and inspiration. She demonstrated, in the most eloquent way, how to continue to live life in the face of terminal illness.
On March 5 in Stowe, VT at the Trapp Family Lodge, Amy will be honored by a team of her friends and family in the Relay for Life, Nordic Style. “Amy’s Angels” have risen to the top in fundraising efforts. We have raised almost $8,000 to date, with several weeks to go! My sister and our friends will be doing a lap or two on my behalf on March 5, which coincidentally was Amy’s birthday. I will be remembering the beautiful and fun times we shared as friends for 30+ years, and all that she taught me throughout our friendship.
The money that has been raised for “Amy’s Angels” and by all the other teams participating in Relay for Life ,along with all the other fundraising events that the American Cancer Society sponsors each year, represents a joint belief among Americans that a cure for cancer must be found.
Go, “Amy’s Angels” Go! ! I will be with you all in spirit on the day of the event and so will Amy!!
“Besides pride, loyalty, discipline, heart and mind, confidence is the key to all the locks.” ~ Joe Paterno
Over the weekend, I had the pleasure of attending my first Kiwanis International Conference. It was a conference of Kiwanians from the Rocky Mountain Division. I could go on at quite some length about what the Conference covered, but it really isn’t necessary to give you all a minute to minute accounting of the weekend. I would much rather expound on the virtues of it’s members.
A shared belief in living one’s life according to ethical principles has brought personal fulfillment to the lives of each Kiwanis member I spoke with. How can you not be inspired by a group of individuals who display:
I traveled around the conference rooms, speaking with members, trying to get a sense of some of the projects each club is involved with. The information of the fundraising projects each club is engaged in was useful and interesting. But, what struck me most was the loyalty and fellowship that it’s members share. I spoke with members that have had allegiance to the club for as many as 30, 40 and 50+ years! I met a wonderful woman who was 97 years young, and still actively involved. She spoke with me about her years of commitment to fighting for and improving the lives of children. She expressed her concern at the vast numbers of “latchkey” children. Now, if still being actively involved at age 97 is not loyalty, I don’t know what is!
Besides a great sense of loyalty to their fellow man, why do Kiwanians stay involved for 30, 40 or 50 years? It is simple! They all have great confidence that their service organization is making an “international difference one child at a time.”
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“While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about.” ~ Angela Schwindt
I am headed this weekend to the Rocky Mountain Kiwanis International Mid-Winter Conference. www.Kiwanis.org. Although I have never attended a conference of this fine organization before, I am excited! All signs lead me to believe the weekend will confirm many of my deep-seated beliefs about raising children.
The weekend agenda looks educational, inspiring and fun. There are so many things that I look forward to learning about. I want to hear about some of the projects Kiwanis International is involved with around the world, how Kiwanis is revitalizing neighborhoods, about their youth leadership programs, how to grow local clubs and about the Kiwanis Children’s Pediatric Trauma Institute. Another attraction of the conference for me is the opportunity to see the documentary film Children of Peace International “A Necessary Journey,” which will air on PBS in April.
How fortunate am I to be a member of this worthy service organization?
Until Monday, have yourself a fulfilling weekend. I know I will!
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“If you count all your assets, you always show a profit.” ~ Robert Quillen
Who said art is not selling during these economic times? Who said we have all returned to frugality? And of all things, who said there is no value in being an artist?
All the skeptics have been proven wrong! “L’ Homme Qui Marche 1” (Marching Man 1) was sold within 8 minutes of the opening bid to anonymous buyer at a London auction. The opening bid was 12 million pounds and it sold for 65 million pounds ($103.4 million dollars) and the guy is not even a CEO!!! He is a piece of sculpture!! Imagine that!
The sculpture is a thin, wiry figure of 72 inches in height, crafted by 20th century Swiss artist Giacometti. The last time one of this artist’s sculptures was auctioned off was 20 years ago, and it sold for 6.82 million. Wednesday’s sale of “L’Homme Qui Marche 1” set a world record. It is reportedly “the most expensive piece of art ever sold” by Sotheby’s auction house.
The sculpture is said to be “both a humble image of an ordinary man, and a potent symbol of humanity.” Well- the value placed on that walking man’s head was not humble!! As for being a symbol of humanity, we do sometimes attach that kind of high value to some men or women walking around today, whether we agree with it or not!
Don’t get me wrong, if the artist was alive today, I would say “good for you, Mr. Giacometti, for being able to garner that kind of value from your artistic talents!”
Can anyone help me calculate what the profit per square inch of sculpted wire would be?
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A great way to introduce yourself as a writer or gain recognition as a writer is to submit your writing to contests. There are many contests that are open for submission during the winter months. Here are just a few:
2010 Leap Frog Press Fiction Contest. Submissions accepted beginning Jan 15 for adult literary fiction and childrens fiction. For more information, please visit www.leapfrogpress.com
2010 Women of Mystery Haiku Contest. Submissions accepted from now until the end of March. Results during National Poetry Month in April. For more information, please visit www.womenofmystery.com
Hurry! There is still time Writers League of Texas. Deadline for Manuscript contest February 24. Prize announced during the Writers League of Texas Agents Conference. June 25-27, 2010. For full details visit www.writersleague.org.
Tupelo Press Contests – now accepting submissions for Chapbook Awards and First Book of Poetry Awards. The Snowbound Series Chapbook Award is now accepting submission until February 28, 2010.
The 11th Annual Tupelo Press Press Award for First Book of Poetry now accepting submissions ! $3,000 prize money! Entries must be postmarked or submitted on line before April 15. For more information go to www.TupeloPress.org.
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“The potential possibilities of any child are the most intriguing and stimulating in all creation.” ~ Unknown
The buzz has begun, excitement is in the air, things are beginning to transition and I am getting ready!
A few hints won’t hurt a soul-
What is it you may ask? That is for me to know, and for you to find out! In the meantime, I am getting dressed. We all hate to be left waiting. Come on back, anytime!
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“The root of all superstition is that men observe when a thing hits, but not when it misses.” ~ Francis Bacon, Sr.
I didn’t know writers were a superstitious group! In truth, it never crossed my mind. Except for a few, all superstitious beliefs escape me. Every once in a while, I will search for the allusive four leaf clover and I walk around rather than under a ladder. But that is more out of concern for safety than thinking bad luck will befall upon me.
Yesterday, I was reading Poets and Writers Magazine www.pw.org and there is a page where writers recommend their secrets to success. Each had unique words of wisdom, but writer Jonathan Lethem suggested that his belief in superstition has helped him succeed along the way. To quote him “Have lucky things. It doesn’t matter what they are. I bought a green cardigan sweater for a quarter at a thrift store in Bennington, Vermont and wore it nearly every day through the writing of my first three novels, until it was in tatters.”
Jonathan has struck my curiosity! Are writers really, as a group, a superstitious lot? What would you add to a list of quirks, habits, superstitions and rituals that you practice when engaged in a publishing project? You can post them on this blogsite for all to see.
I’ll bet Poets and Writers Magazine has some words of wisdom they could add – they have been publishing the magazine for 40 years! I hope they remember to blow out all the candles on the cake! Happy Birthday, Poets and Writers Magazine.
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All Things Fulfilling 
