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Star of the Publishing World

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In I walked, last week, to the Northshire Bookstore in Manchester, Vermont and I was greeted by “Miss America of the Independent Publishing Industry.” That’s my tag line for her, but, she’s better known as the Expresso Book Machine. At one time there were only five “clones” of her in the world, but no longer. Her appearance on the scene has led to the growth of a new generation of publishing, and print-on-demand has a bright future. She was in action, performing her art of downloading, binding and printing a book right there in front of people, on stage, at the entrance to one of the top independent bookstores in the country, according to Publisher Weekly Magazine.

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I’d gone to the bookstore to meet with an author, who was somewhat jet lagged after being in Bali with Jack Canfield, author of Chicken Soup for the Soul series.Click for info & ordering Chicken Soup For the Soul Series . She had arrived home from her travels late, the previous evening. Keep your eye on All Things Fulfilling in the coming weeks because her book, which we will be featuring, is all about success in life and business. Many of the strategies she offers are valuable to independent publishers.

Earlier in the week, I also met with a leader who is beginning to write her story. She hopes to publish independently. Her “dream” has led her to helping people around the globe to know that they matter. I look forward to seeing her publishing project evolve and come to fruition.

I also visited with numerous old friends in Vermont, and oddly each is one seizing new opportunities and starting down new paths, for very different reasons. We talked about baby boomers retiring,  life, change and where it leads us. Our conversations reminded me of what C.S. Lewis once said “Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: “What! You too? I thought I was the only one.”

IMAG0345Etched in stone, outside the Northshire Bookstore, http://www.northshire.com/ Manchester, Vermont

Here are pictures of other familiar places I stopped by in my travels:

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Weston Playhouse, Weston, VT http://www.westonplayhouse.org/ where I volunteered for more than 25 years.Saw many outstanding theatre productions.

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Can’t go to Vermont without a stop by the Vermont Country Store. http://www.vermontcountrystore.com/store/. I ran into my office assistant who worked with me when I was an insurance agent and branch manager for Finn & Stone, Inc. many years ago.

Return tomorrow to www.AllThingsFulfilling.com as I highlight a city, in Rhode Island, that is being revitalized by a group of shakers and movers who are capitalizing on the city’s art, history, architecture and universities. This blog brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com, specializing in e-commerce and e-marketing for independent publishers.

Youth Learns about Publishing

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“Go confidently in your dreams, live the life you have imagined.” ~ David Henry Thoreau

Have you heard the inspiring story of Dallas Clayton? The author who is being touted as the next Dr. Seuss?

From his interview on the Jeff Probst show the other day, he revealed that he was a person without direction in his life until he became a father and decided to write a book for his son. The rest is history. He wrote an outstanding narrative that children could well relate to, and he discovered he had art talent and could do his own illustrations, also.

dallas-clayton-pillowsHis first book, An Awesome Book of Love, which came out of wanting to communicate his love for his child, sold like wildfire. This print-on-demand title kept selling out. Eventually, he was contacted by large, mainstream publishing house, and they offered him 10%. His response to that was “Why should I sign a deal like that? I am already making 100%.” Long and short of the story – he was eventually offered a “sweet deal,”  which allowed him to start a foundation for literacy “The Awesome World Foundation.” http://www.veryawesomeworld.com/.

Clayton said, in his interview with Jeff Probst,one of the biggest benefits that came with writing the book for his son, who was five when the first book was published, is that “his son saw what it takes to author and publish a book.” He saw his Dad involved in the entire process of the business – writing, illustrating, making mock-up books and even shipping the books from their living room when he needed a fulfillment company. Clearly, an eye-opening experience for a child who probably thinks books magically appear on library  bookshelves.  And it all began with independent publishing and taking a leap of faith.

I love these kinds of success stories!

Return tomorrow to  All Things Fulfilling, where sharing independent thoughts, words and views  are all part of the business. This blog is brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.

Putting Balance Back in Life

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“Art tends toward balance, order, judgment of relative values, the laws of growth, the economy of living – very good things for anyone to be interested in.” ~ Robert Henri

After a winter season that seems to have lasted into infinity, it as if I am looking through dirty windows. I am feeling shuttered up, listless. Creativity and inspiration? What’s that?  Funny, how the weather affects us.

Yesterday, gave me hope I was looking for – it was warm and sunny. Finally, snow only exists on upper elevations. I am so looking forward to spring and summer. This week I will set off to visit business clients in the other parts of the country. I have a lot to accomplish but, a change of scenery, alone, is bound to bring all kinds of fulfilling things to reinvigorate my spirit.

Strings Music Festival will again be at the centerpiece of my summer. I love that big name stars including Lyle Lovett this summer will come to entertain in this remote northwestern town. In the other seasons, the piled-up snow is replaced with artistic experiences, of all kinds, heaped up-high. http://bit.ly/151Hi0g .

I’m also excited about a July event – A Day for Writers, the 32nd annual, sponsored by the Steamboat Writers Group. John Calderazzo and Clay Haskell will help us explore writing from the perspective of an essayist and screenwriter. And of course, the ever-popular Five Minutes of Fame, hosted by Cesare Rosati, will give local authors an opportunity to read from their works in progress. This year, I may just have to add my voice. Although “regulars” have heard it, there are others who have not. http://on.fb.me/10LKPhM .

art towns in AmericaGet out and enjoy local arts in your community, this summer. And if your plans include travel, this book may come in handy, if you are looking to visit some arts destinations.  <a href=”http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0881506419/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0881506419&linkCode=as2&tag=allthinfulf-20&linkId=CW25SELCLFUU7OPF”>The 100 Best Art Towns in America: A Guide to Galleries, Museums, Festivals, Lodging and Dining, Fourth Edition</a><img src=”http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=allthinfulf-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0881506419&#8243; width=”1″ height=”1″ border=”0″ alt=”” style=”border:none !important; margin:0px !important;” />
by John Villani, can be ordered through e-commerce.

Travel back tomorrow to  All Things Fulfilling, where sharing independent thoughts, words and views  are all part of the business. This blog is brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.

Second Annual World Book Night

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Book GiverWe shouldn’t teach great books, we should teach a love of reading. ~ B.F. Skinner

World Book Night was yesterday. As a representative of our local independent publishers networking group, We Write Steamboat, I was a Book Giver. Our group received a box of free books from the organizers of WBN titled The Language of Flowers.

I visited a senior citizen’s housing complex that offers a small collection of books for it’s residents. I also stopped by the Doak Walker Care Center, an “Eden Alternative Home” for senior living. It has the distinction of having national recognition, and it also houses a small library for its residents. I added to each of  their acquisitions. http://bit.ly/XUp3EG. My next stop was the Steamboat Community Center where seniors go for a noontime meal, and passed out some free books there.

A  group of people who will be volunteering their time to ready a community garden for planting as soon as the weather is conducive, will also be the recipients of the book.Right now, the ground is still frozen and there is still snow in northwest Colorado.  The title will be appealing to their interests.

The mission of World Book Night is to promote literacy. There were 6,000 towns and cities and 25,000 volunteers who participated in yesterday’s event which began in the United Kingdom two years ago. To read more about this growing organization, please visit http://www.us.worldbooknight.org .

I enjoy being involved with this event because it feels good to give to others in the community. If you live in an area where accessibility to good books is a problem, sign up to be a Book Giver next year and help distribute donated titles to your own town or city.

The objective is that when the recipients are finished with the book, if they do not want to keep the book for their home library, they will pass it along to someone else who find personal fulfillment from reading it. Happy Reading!

Return tomorrow to All Things Fulfilling, where sharing independent thoughts, words and views is all part of the business. This blog is brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.

Hazy Language becomes Clear

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“Sometimes in our confusion, we see not the world as it is, but the world though eyes blurred by the mind.” ~ Unknown

This morning, I’ve been thinking about all the blogs I have written over the past few years. Some mornings, I’ve had a very clear vision for what I want to write about and other days, it’s a hazy start.

For me, the key is not to aim for perfection on the first draft. Eventually something usually takes hold inside of me, the words begin to flow. Soon a clear vision comes through and I find direction in my writing.

Occasionally, however, I have to scrap everything and start all over. On those days, I vow I must put in an order, over the internet, for Joseph M. Williams and Gregory G. Colomb’s publication Style: Toward Clarity and Grace.

Style Toward Clarity and GraceAccording to Williams, a professor of English at University of Chicago, until 2008, “it is good to write clearly, and anyone can.” This book is a good resource for all writers to put on their bookshelf because there isn’t a writer who doesn’t face the challenge of not being able to write succinctly from time to time.

There’s a new generation of students, however, who we will feature tomorrow on All Things Fulfilling, who are being taught to understand cryptic and obscure language at a very young age. Not all folks can interpret the symbols behind the writing they are studying.

Return on Monday to All Things Fulfilling, where sharing independent thoughts, words and views is all part of the business. This blog is brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.

Film Friday: Beginnings and Endings

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If you stopped by All Things Fulfilling yesterday, you know that the blog post was about how a blank page presents writers with wonderful opportunities for creating good beginnings and endings to stories.

Continuing with that theme, on this Film Friday, here is list a notable films that have storylines with the great starts and finishes.

Movies with the Best Beginnings:
• Raiders of the Lost ArcClick here for info & ordering
• ScreamClick for Info & Ordering
• Contact click for info & ordering
• Jaws click for info and ordering
• Lord of the Rings click for info & ordering
• Sound of Music click for info & ordering
• Saturday Night Fever click for info & ordering
• Pulp Fiction click for info & ordering
• The Godfather Click for info & ordering
• Star Trek Click for info & ordering

Movies with the Best Endings:
• Dr. Strangelove Click for info and ordering
• Places in the Heart click for info & ordering
• Thelma & Louise Click for info & ordering
• Carrie Click for info & ordering
• City Lights Click for info & ordering
• Some Like it Hot Click for info & ordering
• Schindler’s List Click for info & ordering
• One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest Click for info & ordering
• The Birds Click for info & ordering
• Blazing Saddles Click for info & ordering

For those of you, like me, who live in climates where conditions prevent you from pursuing your passion of going out and playing in the garden this weekend, take in a movie. Most of these films are available on DVD through www.imdb.com. Make the next couple of days terrific,  from beginning to end.

Return on Monday to All Things Fulfilling, where sharing independent thoughts, words and views is all part of the business. This blog is brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com. and Sue Batton Leonard, author of Gift of a Lifetime:Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected.Click for info on the memoir

Living and Learning

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“Writing and learning and thinking are the same process.” ~ William Zinsser

I had a lovely afternoon on Friday with a woman who fully embraces the concept of “life long learner.” I met her two years ago at a retreat sponsored by the United Methodist Women. Right away I was inspired by the interesting contributions she was making to our group discussions and wanted to know more about her. I’ve since learned she is an artist and a writer who is still avidly interested in the world and learning at eighty-three years of age. So young at heart, she still is in command of her own life. She swims at our local hot springs pool, volunteers weeding gardens and has a fulfilling spiritual life.

Last week, it was fun to finally see her contemporary paintings and discuss the thought process that she put into each composition. She interestingly explained the symbolism she incorporated into each of her paintings and how it related to where she was along her life path when she created them.

I took along an independently published art DVD to share with her that I knew she’d appreciate, a portrait painting demonstration, called “The Captain’s Portrait” by master painter Richard Schmid
 http://bit.ly/103RYtr. For me watching it brought back wonderful memories of 2001. I was in the audience the day the video was filmed and was attending my first live painting demonstration of a world-renown artist.

elderly paintingFrom our back and forth exchange of discussion as we watched the film together, it was evident that this woman has been a life-long art student. Although her works of art may not hang in top galleries throughout the country, she has won “Best in Show” awards. She seems to have a wonderful grasp of the concepts that were discussed in the film such as shape, form, values of light and dark, line, textures and color harmony. I shouldn’t be surprised, from the moment I met her she seemed very astute.

Just before we parted company , she told me how she has a void in her heart. Some years ago, the group of local painters who used to gather regularly at the Steamboat “Art Depot” and paint together, disbanded. She said “its much harder these days to find motivation to paint, and she misses the camaraderie greatly.”

I was reminded, once again, why art matters to young and old alike and to myself! This blog brought to you by Sue Batton Leonard, author of Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected

Return tomorrow to All Things Fulfilling, where sharing independent thoughts, words and views is all part of the business. This blog is brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.

Film Friday: Loss of A Film Critic

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“Your intellect may be confused but your emotions never lie to you.” ~ Roger Ebert

Siskel and Ebert, Leonard Maltin, some of the most well-known  film critics of our time.  Yesterday, Roger Ebert passed away at 70 years of age. Leonard Maltin said of Ebert’s  death “The thing I’m remembering now, most, is his bravery,” referring to the health challenges he faced in recent years.

Can you imagine how many hours Ebert spent over the course of his forty-six year career in the screening room? His passion was watching movies and critiquing them. A fulfilling career but, not every production  he watched was worthy of his attention. I’m sure he viewed his fair share of movies that were poorly edited, had holes in the plot, scripts without continuity, casting mistakes, visual effects blunders and acting goofs.

independent spirit awards ebertHis film reviews were highly regarded. Albeit sometimes very spirited and outspoken in his independent thoughts, he was the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize. Roger Ebert was also author of twenty books, including I Hated, Hated, Hated this Movie.

The 15th annual Ebert Film Festival begins on April 17 at the Virginia Theatre in Champaign, Illinois. What Ebert called “one of the most beautiful films ever made,” Terrence Malick’s 1978 “Days of Heaven” will appropriately open the film festival. It won an Oscar for best cinematography. Click here for info & ordering Days of Heaven

To read more about this man who had a bright mind, a very observant eye and did so much to promote good films and the art of good filmmaking, please visit his website http://www.rogerebert.com/.

Return on Monday to All Things Fulfilling, where sharing independent thoughts, words and views is all part of the business. This blog is brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.

Hiking the PCT with Strayed

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“You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself any direction you choose.”
~ Dr. Seuss Oh the Places You’’ll Go

This week I’ve hiked the Pacific Crest Trail. It’s a place I never thought I’d visit. I hiked it with author Cheryl Strayed
and saw bears, rattlesnakes, a Texas longhorn bull and more.  At times throughout the journey I felt desperation set in, unimaginable fright, gratitude, inspiration, relief and grief.  Strayed’s thoughts of accomplishing what she set out to do, were familiar.

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No, Strayed was not alone  in her story, good authors always find the company of readers who appreciate what their characters have gone through and can often relate. I decided to travel along with Strayed by reading her book, so that when she shows up in Steamboat, at the Bud Werner Memorial Library http://bit.ly/16nUuYj  on April 11th, I’ll able to envision exactly what the Pacific Crest Trail looked like.

Wild is exactly the kind of book that reminds us why even when things are scary and uncertain, it is best to push through it, and accomplish the goal. Then we can look back and find the lessons within, and how challenges help us to rebuild our life.

Seuss’ words of advice are well-meaning. We need to do better job of teaching children there are so many fulfilling places to see and things to do in this world, and not to let obstacles stop them.  Books teach children and adults that we  never travel alone, there’s always a path thats been traveled and beaten before us.

“And when you’re alone, there’s a very good chance

You’ll meet things that scare you right out of your pants.

There are some, down the road between hither and yon,

that can scare you so much you won’t want to go on.”

~ Dr. Seuss Oh the Places You’ll Go

Return tomorrow to All Things Fulfilling, where sharing independent thoughts, words and views is all part of the business. This blog is brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.

Faith in the Path Less Traveled

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Weave in faith and God will find the thread. ~Author Unknown

I was without my computer for awhile yesterday; it was in the “shop.” I took advantage of the freedom away from digital technology. Since so much of what I do is on-line based, a close relationship with all things paper has nearly been trashed. I often read the news and magazines, and sometimes books, via the computer these days, subscribing to fewer print publications.

Yesterday, for a few blissful hours, I sat in the Bud Memorial Library and read the April 2013 edition of Southwest Magazine from cover to cover. How I enjoyed myself!

The first great article I encountered was about artist Michelle Dunaway. It was superbly written by Gussie Fauntleroy. Dunaway, an artist who lives and studied at the MastersAcademy in Albuquerque, NM mentioned the importance of finding the joy in unexpected things by getting off the beaten path. She told of her childhood hikes with her father, and whenever there was a choice to make about what direction to travel, he taught her to take the path least followed which, more times than not, led to discovering things she didn’t anticipate.

art faithAs a painter, each time Dunaway faces a blank canvas it presents her with opportunities to make choices of color, lines, shape and other design elements that make a good painting. She has been taught to make right choices in art through workshops with the most influential and impressive painters of our time, such asRichard Schmid  and Jeremy Lipking http://www.lipking.com. And by studying the book Alla Prima: Everything I Know About Painting.

Dunaway says she “has always had an  interest in capturing  human expressions in paintings.” Her image “Faithfulness,” shown in the 2013 issue of Southwest Art, is an exquisite example of her portrait painting talents. It can also been seen on Dunaway’s website. http://www.dunawayfineart.com.

Next time I am in Santa Fe, NM, I look forward to visiting Sage Creek Gallery where Dunaway’s work is represented. Legacy Gallery, M Gallery of Fine Art and Insight Gallery also exhibits and sells her work.

Return  tomorrow to All Things Fulfilling, where sharing independent thoughts, words and views is all part of the business. This blog is brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.