Category Archives: order fulfillment for independent publishers

Writing and Spiritual Journeys

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“Be faithful to that which exists within yourself.”  ~ Andre Gide

Yesterday’s blog posting led me to much deeper thoughts about the value of writing about health issues.

There are many men, women, and couples, who have found help and spiritual healing by writing about their own experiences of dealing with health issues of all kinds. If it weren’t for independent publishing, many of these stories would not be available for others to read. Important that these stories be told to help others who are going through difficult diagnoses and treatment, independent publishing serves as a valuable avenue in getting these books out to the public. Unique books, with personal stories, are often sold and marketed through e-commerce (sold on the internet).

There are many books available on cancer but there are three independently published books that I would like to mention in honor National Breast Cancer Month. To read more about these publications or to order them, please visit the links beside each title.

Fine Black Lines: Reflections on Facing Cancer, Fear and Loneliness by Lois Tschetter Hjelmstad  Click here for info & ordering

The Heroics of Falling Apart: One Couple’s Breast Cancer Journey, Julie and Dan Gordon http://bit.ly/SYjX7xClick here for info & ordering

The Cancer Odyssey Author: Margaret Brennan Brumel http://bit.ly/RAPOrHClick here for info & ordering

As a member of the Colorado Independent Publishers Association www.cipabooks.com , I have the opportunity to meet many authors who have published award-winning stories that help others. Although I do not know Julie and Dan Gordon or Margaret Bermel, I do know Lois Tschetter Hjelmstad. She is an amazing woman for many reasons, not just because she is a cancer survivor. She also has written other books about personal relationships. Each time I see her at a publishing event, we enjoy speaking with boeach other. I have observed something that she writes about – a very, very long lasting, successful marriage. She has been married 64 years, as have my parents. Her musings on what it means to have a fulfilling marriage are thoughtful and inciteful.

Although you may think your own story would not be of interest to others, I encourage people to find creative ways of telling them. It may just benefit someone else or at least yourself. It is very the reason, I told my story of childhood illness, (unrelated to cancer). For more information click on this link. Gift of a Lifetime:Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected.

This blog brought to you by Sue Batton Leonard andwww.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.

Sestina, Little Thumbelina

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“Life’s challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, they’re supposed to help you discover who you are.” ~ Bernice Johnson Reagon 

 I can’t believe what I am about to say, but I guess stranger things have been known to happen.  The poetry I have been writing  has been more fun then I ever expected. Telling a story using elliptical language is a challenge and thought provoking trying to make all the elements fit together. 

Who would have ever thought I’d find prose and poetry enjoyable? It was my greatest fear in taking a creative writing course. However,  I have come to enjoy the stimulation of the mind and the creativity that it demands.   

Our teacher said, “You will be glad we started the course with poetry.” I didn’t believe it. I thought to myself, “Let’s just take the poison first, and get it done and over with.”  She said not a word about things like sestina, haiku or pantoum, probably fearing she’d scare the bejesus out of the entire class, before we even got started. 

This weekend’s assignment was to work on a sestina. I couldn’t have defined it until now. Here is the definition of this form of writing. “a lyrical fixed form consisting of six 6-line usually unrhymed stanzas in which the end words of the first stanza recur as end words of the following five stanzas in a successively rotating order and as the middle and end words of the three verses of the concluding tercet.” 

I can hear you now “Huh? I don’t get it. What is a tercet?” That’s your assignment. I’m too busy working on mine to explain it. 

 I’ll admit, when you know what you want to say but can’t put your fingers on just the right word to add engaging “sounds, color and flavor” to the composition, it’s frustrating. But I like dancing with words; it’s fulfilling to write when you get all jazzed up and arrange a piece you are satisfied with. I guess that is what poetry it is about; the art of putting a spin on words to make the reader do a ballet with the text.

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Film Friday: Ruby Sparks

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“When we feel the need to change others, take the time to look inside yourself, find the mirror and the message” ~ Unknown

How often do you think a novelist creates a character that people fall in love with? I would suspect, quite often. Personal attributes of a character communicated through good dialogue and storyline is all part of the Art of  creative storytelling.

One of the top independent films of 2012 is Ruby Sparks. The film is about a male novelist who becomes enamored with a woman he has crafted in his mind through his story writing. This person becomes real. The author and character develop a romantic relationship. Not all of her characteristics are admirable, however, and the novelist begins to rewrite part of her personality to become more like the person he wants her to be.

This romantic comedy-drama, Ruby Sparks, features Paul Dano as the novelist and big name actors Elliot Gould, Annette Benig and Antonio Banderas also play parts in this independent film. Click here for info & ordering Ruby Sparks

 

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Digital books: Conserving Gas and Trees

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“What’s cheaper than a gallon of gas? An e-book. Save a dollar, stay home and read!”
~ Shandy L. Kurth 

At the 2012 Frankfurt Book Fair, there was a lot of discussion about the e-book industry. Digital books are gaining popularity globally. In fact, according to an article in Publishers Weekly Magazine, people in India top the charts as leaders in e-book buying. Thirty nine percent of the respondents to a survey say they have bought an e-book. Other top countries of digital book buyers are the United States and the United Kingdom.With each passing year, there is healthy growth in the electronic publishing industry, indicating an increased interest in digital reading content. 

If you have ever had any doubt about whether Americans are consumed with buying books, volunteer at a donation center for a thrift shop. Three or four hours every Saturday, I help out in a donation center run by the local churches. The amount of books that come through the doors is astounding. Each week, I gain a greater understanding of the value of buying e-books.

Electronic books take up less space for one thing. For readers who read a book once and then get rid of it, the new generation of books makes more sense. Sure, the reading experience is a little different. There are no paper pages to turn or to dog-ear to mark a spot. But, the story is still the same whether we are reading it digitally, in a hardback version, paperback or listening to an audio book. 

I am grateful the books have not ended up in the landfill and I know they are very much appreciated by the people who buy them. They are resold at a minimal price – usually 50 cents up to a few dollars. Sometimes a little more if the book is a large volume or a special collectible publication. Many of the donated books are in “like new” condition. Read once, then discarded. 

If you would like to know more about this growing trend among publishers, please read this article. It is a good source of information, brought to you by Publisher’s Weekly Magazine, digitally. http://bit.ly/Trf7RF.

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Better Living Books

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Are you looking for a different assortment of books, like no other? Publications geared toward mind, body, spirit and the Earth? 

The Living Now Book Awards “Books for Better Living” has a great selection of independently published books on many topics that are popular and relevant to better living. Here are just a few categories that are judged in the Living Now Book Awards. 

  • Green Living
  • Social Activism/Charity
  • Enlightenment/Spirituality
  • Metaphysical (Astrology, Tarot, Psychic Development)
  • Healing Arts/Bodywork/Energy Techniques
  • Caregiving
  • Mature Living/Aging
  • Grieving/Death and Dying
  • Inspirational Fiction

 To see the titles of the winning books that came from thirty-six U.S. States, six CanadianProvinces and 7 overseas countries, please visit this link. http://bit.ly/RLQ8WV.

Return tomorrow for more independent publishing news from www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.

“The Boat” Brings Prized Authors to Community

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“I try to be respectful of how other people think, I try to listen to what they’re saying.” ~Rick Scott

This past weekend was Literary Sojourn weekend here in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. This event has been held annually since 1993. So popular, people arrive from all over the country to attend it. Each year it sells out very quickly.

As a way of extending the event, the Bud Werner Memorial Library invited two Bellwether Prize winners to speak on Sunday. For those who were not fortunate enough to get tickets to Saturday’s discussions, the second part of the “Sojourn” weekend was open to everyone at no charge. The two featured authors were Naomi Benaron and Hillary Jordan, Bellwether award winners in 2010 and 2006, respectively.

Jennie Lay, adult programs coordinator at the Bud Werner Memorial Library, asked the authors “what winning this book prize has meant to them?” Each expressed it has done wonders for their publishing careers. All contestants for the “Bellwether” must have a previously unpublished novel. Along with winning $25,000, winners are given publishing contracts with Alqonquin Books.

Jordan and Benaron discussed how fiction writing is useful for telling stories that are interwoven with issues of culture, politics and social justice. However, Benaron stressed the importance of writing stories about controversial issues in a “respectful manner.” She also mentioned how research into a culture brings credibility and correctness to the story.

“Literature,” Benaron said “is the only art form that takes you into another person’s brain.” Essentially, she said, as readers, we are better able to feel and live the story along with the characters through fictional dialogue.

To read more about the publications of these impressive authors, visit these two websites,Hillary Jordanand Naomi Benaron.

For more information on the Bellwether Prize, which was established in 2000, solely funded by author Barbara Kingsolver and administered by the PEN American Center, please visit this site http://bit.ly/Rom01E.  For information on Barbara Kingsolvers latest book, click here: Flight Behavior: A Novel.

As I left this most enjoyable event, I thought to myself “living in a community with avid readers and writers, certainly has its benefits.”

Thank you to our local library and our local “Indie Bound” bookstore, Off the Beaten Path” for their participation in this event.

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Wrinkles from Delight are Best

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If you read yesterday’s blog, you know of my struggles. I’ve been working on an elegy for my creative writing class. Last night, my trials and tribulations continued as I tried to nail down just the right words symbolizing a grievous time in a person’s life.  The professor said I am  “intellectualizing it” rather than “feeling it.” Her point is well taken, I understand what she is saying.

It has been a challenge, and I think it shows in my writing. To me, it is not fun to write about morose things.I so enjoyed writing my memoir because although the beginning was a bit uncomfortable to write, the tale takes some fulfilling turns that are unanticipated. Click here for info and ordering Gift of a Lifetime:Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected.

Last night when I turned off the computer , I picked up a book called Watching Grandma Circle the Drain. It was the perfect cure-all to brighten my spirits after being engrossed in dark, depressing writing. The essay called “Hairdresser’s Lament” had me on the floor laughing.Click here for info & ordering

The author of the book, Allen Smith, is a humor writer whose perspective has been said to be “gritty.” Definitely, adult comedy. It’s been mentioned on ABC’s The View and has appeared in publications such as The Denver Post, The Writer Magazine, The Vail Daily, The Aspen News and LIVESTRONG.COM, just to name a few. For more information on Smith’s writing, please visit www.snowwriter.com.

Through his creative writing, Allen Smith reminds the reader to live with joy by laughing at ourselves and not to take life so seriously. One might describe Smith as a healing artist. He helps the reader see the ridiculous in careers, aging, men’s issues, medical situations, dating, sport, and other relatable subjects.

Watching Grandma Circle the Drain is a perfect gift for people who think “wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been.” ~ Mark Twain

To order Allen Smith’s book, please click on this link. http://amzn.to/RG9DQG.

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Film Friday: Won’t Back Down

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“Tell me and I’ll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I’ll understand.” ~ Chinese proverb

The film “Won’t Back Down” will be making its debut in movie theatres today, September 28th.  It is a movie that many parents will relate to because it is about doing the right thing for children by providing them with the best opportunity for education.

The story focuses on two parents, one of whom is a teacher, who are unhappy with their children’s inner city school and they face issues of how to “fix it.”

Evidently, this movie is raising eyebrows of the Teacher’s Union. Although controversial, I feel compelled to share this movie because the subject is so familiar to my family.

We went through a similar situation in rural Vermont back in the 1990s.  Our son was going to a tiny elementary school, 30 students, in danger of closing entirely due to budgetary constraints and not so great quality. The parents were unhappy with the public school system. Our town boldly voted to close down the public school, and re-open it as a “private school, with a public mission.” The transition was not an easy one; there were dissenters.

In the end, it seems the children are receiving a better and different kind of education. Moving into a unique school model grew the school, which now includes middle school grades. Parents from surrounding towns are able to send their students to it. According to everything I am reading, some fourteen years later, students are scoring well above state and national averages on standardized assessments.”

Look for “I Won’t Back Down” in your neighborhood theatres. To read more about this film,Click here for info & ordering.

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Lesser Known Facts about F. Scott Fitzgerald

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“All good writing is swimming under water and holding your breath.”  ~ F. Scott Fitzgerald

Yesterday was the birthday of author of F. Scott Fitzgerald.

We are all familiar with his notable books, which have become classics, but there are some lesser known facts about this author. Francis Scott Key, the composer of our National Anthem, was Fitzgerald’s 2nd cousin, three times removed.  Fitzgerald’s parents honored the memory of the composer Key by using “F.Scott ” to name their son.

He also spent time living and writing at the Paix Estate in the suburbs of Baltimore in Towson, Maryland, the town where I grew up.   He lived there while his wife, Zelda, was being treated for schizophrenia. At that time he worked on his story of Dick Diver, a bright young psychiatrist who falls in love with one of his patients. Some historians say that his writing of this book provided Fitzgerald with a fulfilling way to tell his story of his marriage to Zelda and her mental problems. For info on the 2013 publicationk about Fitzgerald’s wife, please click here  Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald.

His remains are in Maryland. Evidently because his parents were practicing Catholics, whereas he was not, there was controversy over his burial. To read more about his life and death, please visit this link. http://bit.ly/2IvUY8

F. Scott Fitzgerald also wrote for the Saturday Evening Post, Colliers and Esquire Magazine. His face graced the cover of the “Post” in a painting by Norman Rockwell that complimented his short story called “Bernice Bobs Her Hair.”

Happy Belated Birthday to F. Scott Fitzgerald, an author who helped to shape the literary world in this country.

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From a Different Perspective

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“Won’t you come into the garden? I would like my roses to see you.”~Richard Brinsley Sheridan

A few weeks ago, my September/October issue of Poets and Writers Magazine www.pw.org  arrived in my mailbox. As I leafed through it, I was stopped by a letter to the editor written by a woman who had disappointments in her life that she was airing. 

What led to her writing the magazine was a letter of rejection she had received for a piece of flash fiction she was hoping to have published. She articulated her frustration at having spent the last nine years writing a novel and fifteen years penning a collection of short stories, with little hope of ever having them published. In the end, she said despite her disappointment, she “will go on” and keep writing. 

First, I felt sympathy for the woman. Her love of writing is obviously heartfelt since she has stated she will keep on writing anyway. 

 Secondly, I would like her to know that she is not alone. Rejections are not unusual. In fact, these days, having an agent to represent you may be one of the few ways to get your foot in the door with a traditional publishing company; they’ve gotten so selective. 

After I read her letter to the editor, I thought, “Why does this woman not know there are other publishing choices and options out there?” I want to help her.

She stated it was very important that her daughter, in particular, be able to read her work thirty years from now and laugh and feel connected. I can understand that and I assume she meant when she was gone, since this woman said she was in her sixties. 

Is that not also a reason why many people decide to independently publish? To pass work along to future generations?Somehow, I think the daughter would still love to have her mothers written words, no matter how it is published. 

Do you think a book would be any less fulfilling to her adult child, knowing the book was independently published? I would like to hear your thoughts on this matter. Feel free to post your comment.

These are my independent thoughts, words and views for today from www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.