Category Archives: world wide shipping

Hot Dog! It’s Summertime!

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“Every man’s ability may be strengthened or increased by culture.”   ~John Abbott

Hot Diggity Dog! Summer has finally, finally, finally arrived. What took it so long to come to this mountain resort town? God only knows! But – I think the delay was intentional so we would find summertime all the more fulfilling. 

The thing I look forward to is volunteering my time ushering at Strings in the Mountains Music Festival. The art and culture scene is active and alive all summer long in this small town community. Big name entertainment arrives in this region of Northwest Colorado, after the snow is only visible on the highest peaks. Grammy award-winning artists appear on the Strings in the Mountains stage each summer. Wynton Marsalis and Shawn Colvin are just a few artists that are set to appear this year. There is an impressive mix of both classical and different tempo music series along with fun and interactive concerts for the kids, too.  The ever popular Alpin Hong will delight children again this summer. To view the full schedule of events for the summer of 2011, please visit www.stringsmusicfestival.com. 

The Strings in the Mountains Pavilion plays host to a group of intellectually stimulating lectures as well. In this ninth season of Seminars in Steamboat http://bit.ly/lksBM7  the line-up includes:

  • Zalmay Khalilzad who will give an “Insiders View” on Afghanistan and Iraq.
  • David Walker, the founder of Comeback America Initiative
  • Robin Wright, author and senior fellow on “The Conundrum of Iraq.”
  • Pulitzer-prize winner Seymour Hersch. He will discuss whether or not Obama’s strategies are working forAmerica.
  • Tamar Jacoby will be offering a “Fresh Perspective on Immigration.” 

For the calendar of this lecture series, please visit http://bit.ly/muMPVq. Also, keep your eye on Rocky Mountain PBS. www.rockymountainpbs.org.  One of these outstanding lectures will be broadcast, at a later date, on the show “Colorado State of Mind.” 

If you have never visited this beautiful mountain town of Steamboat Springs, Colorado, summertime, in my opinion, is the very best time to do it. The town is just as vibrant with activities in the summer as it is during the snowy, winter months.

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Narratives in Medical Curriculum

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“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” ~ Maya Angelou 

Writing medical histories through the narrative form is currently being incorporated into curriculums in medical schools in many parts of the country. Medical students are learning how to better assess medical conditions through more intensive listening to the patient, and recording what they hear into narrative forms. The goal is to make healthcare decisions for the patient based not only on statistics and tests but by also “reading” a patient’s unique personal story of how they are feeling and their own symptoms. 

Why is the addition of the narrative form being incorporated into the way medical schools have traditionally taught students to diagnose illness? Empathy for the patient has been missing in this age of highly developed technical medical testing. Listening to a patient’s story leads to a better understanding of the whole picture of a person’s medical situation. A person’s emotions and spirit about the way they are feeling is part of the overall report, too. 

Daniel Pink’s book, A Whole New Mind, http://www.danpink.com/whole-new-mind explains how our society is on the brink of a whole new age of thinking. We have gone from an agricultural age (farmers) through the factory age (industrial), to the information age (business based on knowledge workers) to the emergence of right thinking business people, who are creators and empathizers. Surprisingly, we are moving into an age where more Americans are beginning to work in fields such as arts, entertainment and design than those working left brain fields (accountants, lawyers, insurance adjustors). In order to be accomplished in these growing fields of work, right brained thinking skills must be used and developed. 

Prosperity and abundance has brought a whole new need for fulfilling emotional, aesthetic and spiritual needs. Jobs in the “caring professions” counseling, nursing, healing are surging, too.  They are not jobs that can be decimated by workers overseas who can work faster and cheaper.

To read more about this movement toward the new conceptual age and right brain thinking that Pink claims will change the world, pick up A Whole New Mind.  Many libraries have it and it is a Business Week best selling book. It’s a fascinating read.

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e-Conomies. What Does it All Mean?

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“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.

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You are Audible. I Can Hear You!

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“To listen well, is as powerful a means of influence as to talk well, and is as essential to all true conversation.” ~ Chinese Proverb 

June is Audio Book Month!  Right here, right now, lest we forget, we need to acknowledge the folks who bring enlightenment, entertainment and enjoyment to our lives all through audio books. During those laboriously long 8- 12 hour trips in the car what did we ever do with ourselves before the days of “books on tape”? 

This spring on All Things Fulfilling, we have celebrated the IPPYS, the EVVYs and the Ben Franklin Awards. But “What about the AUDIES?” I can hear the fans of “books on tape” screaming, lofty and loud! 

Books in 28 categories were nominated for the 2011 AUDIE Awards.  The list of all those in contention for the prize is lengthy, so we will name just a few of the outstanding award winners: 

There are many, many more prize-winning selections. To see the entire list of 2011 AUDIE award winners, please visit

http://www.theaudies.com/ 

Uh, oh! ….Who is that I hear now? It’s RITA! She wants her award winners mentioned too! I don’t know, though. Her awards aren’t really focused on independent writers. But, you know RITA, she is the drama queen. When she doesn’t get her own way, she can get pretty melodramatic, fiery and steamed-up. We will see what we can do…. maybe some other day when you are all ready to listen.

 

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Safe Harbor for She Writes Steamboat

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“Dwell in Possibility” ~ Emily Dickinson 

On last Friday’s blog, mention was made of Chicken and Egg Pictures, a non-profit organization supporting women independent filmmakers. The tag line of this non-profit “Incubating and Hatching All at Once” well represents what I have been feeling about She Writes Steamboat http://on.fb.me/lbnPms  over the past few months. I have been envisioning and growing in my mind, a meet-up group that will provide networking opportunities and support and foster independent publishing success. 

I have decided the time is NOW to hatch the group and support a group of women who have stories to tell, but are still in the incubation period and want to actively hatch and grow their desires. 

For those just starting down the road to independent publishing, beginning can be a scary thing! Women are good at supporting and communicating with each other in their efforts to succeed. What independent publishers have in common is a real and pressing need to inspire and entertain others through storytelling or to educate and inform all through the power of the written word. With independent publishing, there is no competition because everyone has an individual and unique narrative to tell. 

So my thoughts are “why not get together, meet-up and all be there for each other.” Our first She Writes Steamboat meet-up will be Tuesday, June 21 at 4:00 pm at the Bud Werner Library Hall. 

Ladies, feel free to invite others who are in any stage of publishing or those interested in learning more about the independent publishing process. At our first meeting, we will be discussing what time we should schedule our future meetings, how often we chicks should gather. We will be laying the groundwork for a group that I hope will be a safe harbor so independent publishers will not feel as if they are all alone in their publishing efforts. 

Join Us! There is nothing to lose and everything to gain in learning more about the dynamic industry of independent publishing. There are no membership fees. By the way, this group is affiliated with www.SheWrites.com.

 

         See you then!

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Libraries Agree the Time is NOW!

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“We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.” ~ Charles R. Swindoll 

Last weekend, I had an opportunity to read an independently published book written by Kristen Moeller, called “Waiting for Jack.” http://bit.ly/bUy3pu.  This book has been enormously successful, and I believe it is because many people can relate to the book’s message. The point of the book is to bring to light to the fact that many people live their lives saying and thinking things like, “ I will be happy and my life will be fulfilling when …….” 

You pick your poison, and fill in the blank as you see fit!  A  few times in my life have I fallen victim to this way of thinking, but I usually do fairly well at finding the best in any given situation. 

There was another very good point made in the book “Waiting for Jack” that I did fully relate to, however. That is the importance of thinking outside of the box. Never has this become so clear to me until I moved from my thirty-five year state of residence to a new state. All kinds of opportunities and possibilities made sense to me when I  began to move away from old ways of doing things and started anew. 

Our past few blogs have been focused on a very valuable agreement that has just been signed between the Douglas County Libraries and the Colorado Independent Publishers Association. This agreement, I believe, will be as author Kristen Moeller, would say “a fierce disruption of the ordinary.” 

The Director of the Douglas County Libraries, Jamie LaRue, has taken a bold and brazen step in removing the boundaries that libraries have operated within for many, many years. By no longer restricting the library from only buying books from the main six or seven publishing giants from across the land, libraries will be positioned to accept a new generation of books.  Electronic books (e-books) from independent publishers will move the library away from standard ways of doing business, into new-age bodies of work.

Evidently, the Douglas County Libraries, and the Colorado Independent Publishers Association have decided the time is NOW! I have a feeling, that as libraries move away from doing business as usual, in time the full ramifications of this new agreement will  be realized by both libraries and independent publishers – not just here, but all over the globe. 

Yippee! There will be more IPPY’s in coming years!

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Goodness, Gracious!

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“All that we behold is full of blessings.” ~ William Wordsworth 

Over the weekend, I attended an historic event for the Colorado Independent Publishers Association www.cipabooks.com. An agreement was signed that will allow libraries to acquire e-books from CIPA members without limitation. What a game changer this will be for independent publishers and libraries in Colorado, and in time, maybe all over the place!

I also had the opportunity to attend the largest meet-up group in the country for creatives. That was fun, too! There were all kinds of people who work in industries far different than what the standard 9 to 5 employment lifestyle demands. 

As I made the trek back to Steamboat Springs, CO from Denver, CO I had three hours alone in the car to reflect on how my life has changed all because I decided to “seize the moment” about 13 years ago! 

One employment ad,  one creative connection , one book on how to paint “Alla Prima,”  and one opportunity piqued my interest in the world of independent publishing. It started me down the path toward meeting all sorts of people I never would have had the chance to meet, had I not followed my intuition just because the circumstances “felt right.” 

My journey into the independent publishing industry has been richly rewarding educationally and oh, so personally fulfilling, too. Making connections with other “creatives” whose careers involve living and working by their passions has helped me to trust and know that what feels good is right for me, and what feels right is good for me! I am a firm believer that fulfilling things come when we let our hearts rather than our heads, lead the way. And for that I am grateful! 

To read some tips on reaching your goals through the creative arts, please visit http://bit.ly/mmow3P.

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Excellence in Independent Publishing

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“Art is not a thing; it is a way”.  ~Elbert Hubbard 

What inspires me to no end about independent publishers is the way in which they convey through books, films and music their vision about what the world needs now. After all, the world is changing! 

Yesterday, we featured two authors who will receive 2011 IPPY awards (Independent book publishing awards) on May 23rd inNew York City. These are just two of many non-traditional publishers that are being recognized with an IPPY award for their excellence in publishing. 

For the next few days, we will feature a few more IPPY award winners.  I have chosen a few titles that I feel might be of particular interest to our readers. 

Fine Art Category: Picasso Looks at Degas (Sterling & Francine Clark Art Institute) http://www.clarkart.edu/

Performing Arts: The 101 Greatest Song & Dance Movies (Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers). 

Photography: Stieglitz, Steichen & Strand: Masterworks from the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MetropolitanMuseum of Art & Yale Press) 

Architecture: Ecological Urbanism, by Mohsen Mostafavi with Gareth Doherty (Lars Muller Publishers). 

 Tomorrow on All Things Fulfilling, we will feature IPPY award winners in the categories of religious fiction, visionary fiction, children’s picture books and juvenile/teen/young adult. 

The full list of 2011 IPPY award winners is lengthy and contains more than 80 categories with gold, silver and bronze medalists in each category. To see the entire list, please visit http://bit.ly/llL02x.

 Come on back into our world tomorrow for more independent words, thoughts and views!

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Hip, Hip Hooray! An IPPY!

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“If you are going to achieve excellence in big things, you develop the habit in little matters.” ~ Colin Powell 

It’s shout out loud day! We are sending our congratulations to our client, Mike Campbell of Iffenwen Publishing for winning an IPPY Award in the Aging/Death and Dying category for his book When Mom and Dad Need Help. For more information on this book, please visit http://bit.ly/9CxyII or http://bit.ly/iSzqLz. Mike’s publication was also finalist in the Foreword Reviews’ Book of the Year Awards in the Family and Relationship Category. Great job, Mike! 

A few months ago, we also featured on this blog site another 2011 IPPY award-winning author, Paul Wainwright and his photographic book A Space for Faith. If you did not get a chance to read about Paul’s book, please visit two blogs entitled All For the People http://bit.ly/fbMoWc and the blog entitled All for Tourism http://bit.ly/fCuZV0.  

What is an IPPY Award? The IPPY Awards are open to independent authors and publishers worldwide. The awards are given to independently owned and operated presses that sell to the North American market. University Presses or publishing  presses operated by foundations, publishing less than 50 titles per year are also included.

Books in many, many genres and categories are awarded “the IPPY” for excellence in independent publishing. Tomorrow on All Things Fulfilling, we will be featuring more 2011 award-winning IPPY book titles that, I think, viewers of this website will find of particular interest. Come on back!

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She Writes Steamboat

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“We can begin by doing small things at the local level… like looking out for our neighbors. That is how change takes place …from many local actions occurring simultaneously.” ~  Grace Lee Boggs 

One of the very best ways to build business is through networking – building communities of like-minded people! This applies to building independent publishing businesses, too. Self-publishing authors, micro-presses and small presses, do not have some of the benefits and the marketing advantages of traditional publishing conglomerates at their dispose. Therefore, it is important to join independent publishing trade associations and writers guilds. Cooperative efforts can be very effective in supporting the non-traditional publisher.

What self-publishing authors, micro-presses and small presses do have, to their advantage, is the flexibility of doing business any way they see fit. Many decide to independently publish for this very reason.  Publishers who go the independent route are fulfilling a need by providing unique publications that readers are looking for. Non-traditional publishers often opt for tactics of selling and marketing their books that traditional publishers may reject. 

There is a new networking group called She Writes www.shewrites.com  being established inSteamboat Springs, Colorado. This meet-up group’s goal is to heighten awareness of independent publishing projects that creatives in Steamboat Springs and the surrounding Routt County are engaged in and to support those efforts. Anyone who is starting or is in the process of independently publishing a book, film, music or other media can attend. 

She Writes Steamboat’s first objective is to establish a time and a regular place to meet and to connect with those in the community who would like to collaborate and network with other independent-minded publishing folks. In the coming weeks, more information will be available on our first gathering. Keep your eyes open to future blog posts on All Things Fulfilling about the She Writes Steamboat Meet-up group. Excitement is in the air!

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