Category Archives: Independent Publishers Resources

Community Driven Publishing

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“Freedom is man’s capacity to take a hand in his own development. It is our capacity to mold ourselves.” ~ Rollo May 

Have you picked up a copy of Poets & Writers Magazine lately? Biding time before our weekly Steamboat Writers Group, I picked up the current issue at the Bud Werner Memorial Library and began to explore the articles.  The November/December issue 2011 is a fulfilling read devoted to changes that have taken place and are continuing to take place in the publishing community. Literary Magazines and small presses are leading the way in building a new model in publishing. 

Attitudes of bigger = better is no longer proving to be true in the publishing world. Going with smaller presses often yields advantages. Big presses are not necessarily more stable. Signing on with one of the publishing powerhouses does not mean an end to economic woes nor marketing responsibilities. According to the article in Poets and Writers Magazine, author’s reputations do not suffer when going with small independent presses. These points of views, long endorsed by literary agents, have not proven to be correct.

If you haven’t read this article, I’d suggest that you do. Thought provoking testimony comes from people who have experienced both sides of the publishing world – employment by large, corporate publishing houses and involvement with the small presses. For more information on this article, please visit www.pw.org.

Living in the community of Steamboat Springs, Colorado, where many experienced and published authors reside, I have noticed a shift here, too. Interesting and inspiring changes are happening throughout publishing communities everywhere. Learn more about the fast track approach to publishing. Independently discover and explore the art of the new publishing universe,  in quick time!  http://bit.ly/oIkV2g.

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Where is there Paradise?

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“I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of a library.” ~ Jorge Luise Borges

Where is paradise anyway? Is there a place free of tough life choices, family dilemmas and drama? 

On Wednesday, a new independent film called The Descendants featuring George Clooney hit movie screens in select cities across the United States. This movie has gotten solid reviews as a movie that will make the viewer laugh, cry and bring thought provoking issues, to the fore, about family inheritance and how it is to be used. 

The film is set in one of the most geographically fulfilling paradises in the world,Hawaii. Yet there is no exemption from stress, decision making and failed family communications found there, either.

To learn more about this newly released film and to watch a trailer, please follow this link http://imdb.to/99pqrz. 

Have a great weekend everyone! We will return on Monday with more independent thoughts words and views from Cornerstone Fulfillment Service, LLC.

Beyond Name Brand e-Readers

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 “The worst thing about new books is that they keep us from reading the old ones.”
~ John Wooden 

Amazon’s Kindle, Barnes and Noble’s Nook and the Sony Reader are becoming household words in e-readers. However, there are other brands that are geared for specific uses and target markets, too. Don’t discount the lesser known e-readers that are available. Check all your options when searching for an e-reader, you might find one that may be better than the others at fulfilling your particular needs. 

For example, Jet Book K-12 from Ectaco, Inc. is a digital reader made specifically for schools. Standard applications include state reading lists from schools, Oxford English dictionaries as well as other language dictionaries, a handheld scanner that allows for documents to be scanned directly into the device and a scientific graphing calculator. 

There is also a recipe reader, the Demy by Key Ingredient Corp. for culinary customers who find it easier to go to a digital reader to locate recipes they are looking for rather than leafing through volumes and pages of cookbooks. This slim digital reader can hold up to 2500 recipes all on spot, in one small space atop the kitchen counter. No need to worry about splatters of food ruining pages of a cookbook, anymore. 

Looking for a digital note e-ink screen and touch screen, all in one combo.  The entourage eDGe allows users to write handwritten notes on one side and has an e-reader on the other. This dual-sided e-reader came out in 2010, and now has a downsized Pocket version as well. 

The Story HD from Iriver is called the world’s highest-resolution 6 inch e-reader. This is device supports ePub and PDF files and uses 63% more pixels for better resolution. 

One more gadget new to the market features a full color, non-reflective screen great for out-of-door reading. Mirasol’s PocketBook has a 7 inch screen and runs on Android 2.0 on a wireless network. 

Remember, if you purchase an e-reader, there are also lots of free independently published e-books on line. How do you locate free e-books? Here is a source http://bit.ly/14tUT. 

Happy e-reading, everyone! This blog brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com. Specializing in E-Commerce and E-Marketing for Independent Publishers.

The Heart Knows A Winner!

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“There are many things in life that will catch your eye, but only a few will catch your heart…pursue those.” ~ Michael Nolan 

Days of Our Lives actress Mara Purl and author of “What the Heart Knows”  has had admirable reviews of her women’s fiction novel that  was released in October. In honor of 11-11-11,  Mara  has created a contest that you can join in on,  free of cost. What are the perks? The chance to win a Kindle Classic e-reader or a free e-book. 

How can you join in?  By fulfilling Mara’s request to be one of the first 11 people who post a review on Amazon for “What the Heart Knows.” In turn, you will receive a FREE downloadable pdf of the best-selling short story —“When Hummers Dream.”

Here’s how to enter:

Part I – Write your Review
1-write and post your Amazon review

2- e-mail the link to your review to (Kara@BellekeepBooks.com)

3- You will receive an e-mail with a downloadable  link for a free copy of the e-book “When Hummers Dream” if you are one of the first eleven to respond.

Part II — Play the Novel Contest (purchase necessary)

The one-hundred-eleventh (111th) purchaser of “What the Heart Knows”
receives a FREE CLASSIC KINDLE!

1 – Buy a copy of “What the Heart Knows” from your favorite website

2 – E-mail a copy of your receipt to Kara@BellekeepBooks.com as proof of purchase.
(Kara will keep careful track of each e-mail with its attached purchase receipt, in the order received. )

3 – You will receive e-mail  notification you’re the WINNER and get the details of how to receive your new Kindle!

For more information on the Milford Haven Books,  please visit http://on.fb.me/eK4i3b.

Mara has created this contest because she has alot of heart as an author and as a human being. Her inspiring books are full of more of the same! Good luck and you can’t win if you don’t play! Happy Reading and Writing.

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

Holiday e-Book Buying Guide

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“Only one shopping day left ’til tomorrow.” ~Author Unknown

I am always in awe of people who begin their holiday shopping before Thanksgiving. Shopping from the computer, through e-commerce has become routine. Catalogs in print, arriving through the mail, have been reduced. Many of the big catalog companies now have catalogs on the web. That is a positive move toward sustainability –  a very good thing. It will save a lot of trees! 

There has been a dramatic uptick over past ten years in digital and electronic gadgets that appear on Christmas lists. Everything from laptops, to i-phones, i-pods to digital cameras and more are the most wanted gifts on any adult and children’s wish lists. 

In 2011, e-books are selling at a rapid rate. As sales of electronic reader devices increases (such as the Kindle, the Nook, i-Pads and Sony readers), there becomes a proportionate increase in electronic books sales, too. Some e-book authors are selling 9,000 or 10,000 books per month. 

Let’s face it –  e-books, are on the fast track of independent publishing. http://bit.ly/oIkV2g. They have provided, to the reader, the most convenient and affordable way of purchasing new books. 

To view a catalog of authors who make their titles available through independent publishing, follow this link. http://bit.ly/qs0jUN .  Authors in this holiday  guide are among  leaders in the independent publishing industry. There are others available and they can be found by searching the internet for “top selling e-books or independently published books.”

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

Praise for Creation

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“We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.”  ~Cynthia Ozick 

I’ve been drawn back into the church as an adult, in part, by the memories of the beautiful hymns that I sang as a child. Around Thanksgiving time, many of the spiritual songs have words of gratefulness and gratitude for the harvest and for the impending season of darkness. For without winter gloom, there would not be a fulfilling sense of renewal of spirit in spring. 

Composers of yester year have created some of the most eloquent stories, through song, about the change of the seasons and the bounty of the Universe. Many hymns of blessings and praise, written decades ago, are still sung in sanctuaries today, such as – 

  • For the Fruits of the Garden ~  verses by Fred Pratt Green
  • Oh Food to Pilgrims Given ~  words by Maintzich Gesangbuch
  • Come, Ye Thankful People, Come ~ verses by Henry Alford
  • America the Beautiful ~ verses by Katharine Lee Bates
  • For the Beauty of the Earth ~ words by Elliot S Pierpoint
  • In the Bleak Midwinter ~ words by Christina G Rossetti 

Between Thanksgiving and Christmas is the most beautiful time of the year to step inside the doors of a church. Listen to the vocal choirs, tune into the musical instruments, experience the peace and be grateful for the cozy warmth of the shelter for the body and soul. 

A few weeks from now, at the United Methodist Church http://bit.ly/lAT08q  in Steamboat Springs, Colorado and in other places of worship everywhere, choirs will be magnificently singing Handel’s The Messiah. Don’t miss out!

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

Cookin’ Up a Soulful Pot

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As a blog writer, when the inspiration hits, I am on the job no matter what day of the week it is.  I am compelled to put it down on paper, when the mind and heart is awakened by a spark of creative thought. It’s all part of fulfilling my need to write. 

Today is National Day of Chicken Soup for the Soul, did you know that? It’s Saturday, a good day to stay at home and create a soup full of thoughts that will warm me both inside and out. Intuition tells me the ingredients to build a healthy stock would be – 

  • Year-long gratitude for the personally fulfilling things I have in my life
  • Observance of the gift of quiet times
  • Understanding that the ordinary can be extraordinary
  • Appreciation for the natural beauty of the earth
  • Rigorous amounts of stirring of the spirit by exploring one’s own gifts
  • Ecstatic feelings for our son and seeing him make his marc on the world
  • New Ideas to bring inspiration and creativity
  • Eager anticipation of beauty in the holiday season
  • Variety in Independent Thoughts, Words and Views for my blog readers
  • Energy  and excitement as I go about my daily work
  • Rousing possibilities for telling my own story
  • Abundance of work to do
  • Limitless discovery of “kindred spirits”
  • Old fashioned values of home and hearth
  • Nurturing of the book I am writing -it is close to my heart
  • Enduring love from friends and family 

Create your own unique recipe for Chicken Soup for the Soul. Add  ingredients that  bring happiness, contentment and peace to your life.  Stir the pot with a big strong spoon, so the harmony and balance of flavors will be just right. 

Bountiful Living to You !

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A Parallel Universe in Film

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“The exquisite order displayed by our scientific understanding of the physical world calls for the divine.”

~ Vera Kistiakowsky (MIT Physicist) 

Happy Film Friday, everyone! There is an independent film that I am itching to see. It is called Another Earth. This film won the Alfred P. Sloan prize at the Sundance Film Festival, in the category of science and technology. It is a film about fragility and forgiveness, discovery, exploration and possibility all wrapped up unto a dramatic film.

The movie, directed by Mike Cahill and co-authored by Mike Cahill and Brit Marling, is sure to be a subject for discussion among those who study and discuss astro-physics. Blog writers pondering the field of science http://bit.ly/np0LKS are writing about this film. 

If  Another Earth does not appeal to your whims of wanting to see a movie this weekend, the IMDB (Independent Movie Database) has released it’s list of favorite independent films for the year 2011. Follow this link, http://bit.ly/im3unr and find another film of your choosing.

The independent film industry provides us with intelligent, thought-provoking entertainment, equally as fulfilling as the movies featured on the big screen. Don’t  discount what the independent filmmakers have to offer!

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The Design of the Universe

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“Care less for your harvest than for how it is shared and your life will have meaning and your heart will have peace.  ~ Kent Nerburn

I like living in a place where I can fully experience the change of the seasons. I get the opportunity to see our natural environment from different perspectives. In winter, mother nature dons her white winter coat, in summer she shows off her brightest attire, camouflage coveralls of earthy colors are strewn all over the ground in late autumn and in springtime a fresh new green wardrobe dresses the soil. Each season has a different set of inherent wonders that appear year after year. It never ceases to amaze me how the earth knows when to bow its head and slumber, and when it is time to wake up and come alive. In is all in the grand and splendid design of God’s created Universe. 

It is autumn and I look forward, with great anticipation, to fulfilling my seasonal cravings for:

  • Sitting at the fireside with a good book
  • The taste of homemade pumpkin pie with a large dollop of whipped cream
  • The aroma of cinnamon and spice candles
  • Hearing the crunch of the fallen, dried leaves under my feet
  • Knitting a warm winter wrap.
  • Mugs of hot mulled cider and hot cocoa
  • Seeing still life and landscape paintings representative of the season
  • Sitting on the deck wrapped in a cozy blanket, with cuppa hot tea in hand, deeply breathing in the smells of the rotting leaves.
  • A big turkey dinner with all the fixings with family or friends
  • Soaking in the tub with warm vanilla scented bubble bath
  • Creating a seasonal table top arrangement of gourds, pumpkins and Indian corn.
  • The warm, yeasty flavors of a hearty fresh baked bread 

Soon our outdoors time will be reduced by the very nature of the season – bitterly cold days, icy roads, impassable highways and byways.  Before this fall season passes us by, find fulfillment in the season. Get outdoors in the brisk air – paint one last landscape in plein air, ride your bike, take a fall hike, seek out a fall harvest festival. Have fun! The earth was put here for us to enjoy!

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Views from Different Generations

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 The past few blogs have been focused on “raising up” the next generation. Elders often feel the responsibility to share and teach younger generations wisdom they have gained throughout a long life. The condition of human existence guarantees that our life experiences will range from triumph to tragedy.  Depending on our own attitudes, we all form our own personal perspectives about life and how fulfilling we see it. 

When we compare the work of two artists translating the same scene onto a painted canvas,  we often find perfect examples interpreting things through a different set of values and thoughts.

 Last month, I went on the Great Falls Studio Tour inVirginia. I stopped by the home and studio of artist Linda Jones. As we walked around her work space, she shared her life as an artist. She explained how being an artist can be a solitary existence and by teaching painting to others in her studio, it allows for fellowship with other artists and a chance to share her knowledge with new generations of painters. It was fascinating to see the different styles of her student’s unfinished paintings left on the easels to dry. 

Some of the paintings in the studio were those of her daughter.  Although she shared her knowledge of painting with her offspring, mother and daughter each have their own unique and definite style. 

We came across a canvas that was in the works. Linda Jones and her daughter have undertaken an experiment of combining both of their styles onto one canvas. They paint as the spirit moves them, each contributing their own creative talents, never altering what the other has done. This painting is real testimony to the respect they have for one another’s work despite their differing styles. It will be fascinating to see the end result. 

For more information on Linda and her art, please visit www.lindajonesart.com. Thank you, Linda for opening your studio to others so that we may better understand all that you do!

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