Category Archives: Independent Publishers Conferences and Workshops

Fulfilling the Need for More

Leave a comment

“All stories interest me, and some haunt me until I end up writing them. Certain themes keep coming up …” ~ Isabelle Allende 

When Art Strikes was a blog about a photographic print that I had been struck by and finally purchased after a long wait. In reality, it was not just one print that attracted me to the artist’s work. It was the entire displayed collection. 

Once we find an artist whose work we like, we often cry out for more, whether it comes in the form of visual arts, books, films or music. Fans of Stephen King or Tony Hillerman  and many others wait with bated breathe for their next release. For fourteen years, the Harry Potter series of films have entertained children. Many kids grew-up right along with the main character, from childhood to now young adult. Fans of Christopher Lloyd and Michael J. Fox have returned to the cinema for each new film of the Back to the Future series. Music lovers tend to buy more than one cd title of their favorite artist, too. True and avid fans don’t quickly disappear like a passing thought. 

Are you an independent publisher who has had a successful first book? Have you found your circle of loyal readers? If so, consider a sequel or a series. Begin to think of yourself not as the author of a single book but as an author brand. By having more than one publication, you can better create a real market for your self as an author and for your books. If you have a first book that is a “hot title,” it’s selling life can be extended if you are fulfilling the needs of the readers by giving more of what they want.

Obviously some books and films are meant to be “stand alone” titles, and are not suitable for a series or sequel. When writing a book, it can pay-off to keep in mind branding as a possibility. Not only are follow-up books exciting from the point of view of the reader, from a marketing or merchandising point of view, it can add great value to the independent publishers worth too.

Remember, independent publishers, it’s not just about the manuscript. This article will give you insight into what else it’s all about. http://bit.ly/aPEx0B.

This blog brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com

Begin the Buzz

Leave a comment

“Gossip is just news running ahead of itself in a red satin dress.”  ~ Liz Smith 

Have you ever noticed that we hear about movies from Hollywood, long before they hit the movie screens? Smart marketing tactics! 

Independent publishers, you can become stars too by beginning the buzz before, not after, your books arrive from the printers or before your cds and DVDs have been duplicated.

E-marketing is the very best way to get the word out in advance of the release of a product. You can begin spreading a broadcast of information, far and wide. Every independent publisher should begin creating a community of fans and followers prior to the book, music or film’s release. 

Not only that, you can begin taking pre-sales, too.  Years ago, wise early pioneers of independent publishing began accepting pre-orders by keeping advance sale lists of customers on legal pads before the product even arrived. Today’s pre-ordering can be made available on-line, through websites and shopping carts. 

Just think how satisfying it will be that once the publication arrives from the printer or from the cd/DVD duplication company, you can begin fulfilling orders immediately and ship the products right back out the door! With good planning and advance e-marketing you can begin realizing your ROI without delay! 

It’s never too early to start pollinating your market!  Need help? There are companies that specialize in e-commerce and e-marketing for independent publishers. 

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

Character Analysis

Leave a comment

“Everyone tries to define this thing called Character. It’s not hard. Character is doing whats right, when nobody is looking” ~Unknown

Yesterday’s blog Gardens Heaven Scent made me think back to a time some years ago when I would hold annual perennial plant swaps in my gardens in Vermont. I’d get out my best china and linen, make fancy finger foods and entertain with a beautiful garden party. I’d invite the gals over to nosh. Some would come dressed in their durable gardening clothes, and others would arrive in their floppy garden hats and finery, appropriate for a high-noon English tea.

What fun we used to have!  Ironically, many of the attendees were book enthusiasts, too. Sharing opinions and thoughts of “characters in the garden” came easily and it was all part of the fulfilling day. We’d discuss:

  • What the reaction of others was to the overall scene.
  • Which personalities had conflicts with their neighbors
  • How figures underwent change through seasons.
  • Which characters ran around spreading their seeds
  • Star performers vs. minor role players.
  • Which cast of characters maintained their uprightness no matter what
  • Weaknesses and strengths in bit players.
  • What elements contributed to the fate of individual players
  • Villains vs. heroes

Gardeners never run out of things to talk about. Swapping talk of the trade is as fulfilling as the act of gardening itself.

As I write this blog, I am about to head off to discuss another of my passions –  growing the garden of independent publishing. Our meet-up group She Writes Steamboat is helping others who want to grow books . We are having a garden party of sorts. Before I go, I’ll leave you with some food for thought. http://bit.ly/oIkV2g

Enter my Universe

Leave a comment

Ok, so after yesterday’s blog, She Writes Home, I am in the doghouse!  So many of my friends, family, acquaintances and business associates e-mailed me back to say the details of what I have been doing in Colorado are too flimsy!  

  • “What have you been up to?” They inquire.
  • “We don’t hear from you enough!” They say.
  •  “We read All Things Fulfilling, but we want to hear your voice!” They demand!
  • “We still don’t understand  all of the  hullabaloo about “non-traditional” publishing that you write home about! We want to know more!” They state! 

Ok, ok, I will reveal! I do admit I have been on the fast track since I arrived in this State of Colorado and I do owe an explanation. I will  give you all a good glimpse into my world – especially for those of you who are green to independent publishing!

Who Can Attend?  Anyone around the world who is fluent in the English Language! 

Where?  STAY RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE! ON THE WORLD-WIDE-WEB 

When?  RIGHT NOW! 

How? CLICK ON THE LINK AND FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS !http://bit.ly/oIkV2g.

Hope you will enter  my universe and join in on an event that will open your eyes to a new world that is changing the lives of so many people all over the globe! Come along on this  fulfilling  journey of  possibilities and entrepreneurial spirit for every individual, business person and non-profit organization, no matter where you reside.

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

Sweet Magic in the Room

2 Comments

“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!

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

Advocating for the Arts

3 Comments

“The degree to which the arts are included in our educational curriculum is totally inadequate. The arts are just as important as math and science in an education and just as important as any other endeavour in our lives.”.         ~Ken Danby 

Good Morning! My blog today is going to be short, but it is about a real concern that I have. Yesterday, I received an email from the Americans for the Arts Action Fund and it seems that a bill has been introduced to end federal support for arts education. 

My response to this is “what about the children who are not particularly academically wired but are artistically and creatively gifted?” School curriculum without art education will leave those children behind. Increased drop-out rates will come as a result of kids not being able to excel and prove themselves in non-academic areas. 

Don’t let bill HR1891 terminate federal support that is needed to continue arts education in schools. All this talk of “creative economies” will be for naught! Children who excel in the arts, are the future of creative economies. Many of them will lead the way in finding innovative ways of doing business that will ignite our country. 

Parents, arts groups, teachers, and business people who depend on hiring the “creatives” need to speak up now, and oppose HR 1891. As a country, we need to be fulfilling our obligations to educate children who think outside the box, too! 

For more information on the Arts Education Fund or to donate for the continuation of arts education, please visit http://www.artsactionfund.org/.  To voice your opposition to these cuts in arts education, please go on line now and respond by emailing

advocacy@artsusa.org. 

Thanks for listening, thanks for responding!  

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

What is Your Currency?

2 Comments

“Live out your imagination, not your history.” ~ Stephen Covey 

Creative economy has been the buzzword here in Colorado and in pockets all over the United States. It is about making a living artfully through our passions and living with purpose in all that we do. 

More and more, people are realizing that there is great personal value in fulfilling our lives with what we love to do, rather than just existing to make the almighty buck. Individuals are beginning to realize that the vicious circle of working lots of hours just to have, to spend, to accumulate and keep up with the Joneses does not necessarily make sense. It is not a sustainable way to live. It is hard to enjoy and live healthy lifestyles when we are stuck on the treadmill of working more hours just to be able spend more. 

Relationships, community, volunteerism, thinking beyond our selves and our material needs are beginning to take priority in people’s lives, as this slow economy has forced us to see that there are other ways of being. And that is not a bad thing! I love hearing stories of people who are successfully recreating themselves and their businesses in these times of economic hardships. 

There was a story this week in the Steamboat Today newspaper about an artist who decided to act upon his longstanding interest in the fabric arts. Now, he is winning international acclaim for his creativity and artistic talent in making quilts. To read his story, please visit http://bit.ly/l58Ad0. For those who are unable to travel to see David Taylor’s quilts, I hope some day he will independently publish a book and sell it on the world-wide-web, with images of his fabric creations and his thoughts about using his creative talents for personal fulfillment. 

Do you have creative currency that has been dormant? Believe in yourself and dare to expend energy on making a new life for yourself through your passions. Write it, publish it, sew it, knit it, cook it, paint it, mold it, build and grow it – what ever IT is!

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

Making her Debut

2 Comments

“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!

 

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

e-Conomies. What Does it All Mean?

1 Comment

“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.

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

Fill Up and Write in Philly!

Leave a comment

“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. 

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