Tag Archives: independent publisher help

Dwell in Possibility – Move Forward in Surety

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“We all have possibilities we don’t know about. We can do things we don’t even dream we can do.” ~ Dale Carnegie

Yesterday, I had another opportunity to share with others my love and my passion for the independent (or non-traditional) publishing industry. I shared with the group that what began as my vision of providing stellar customer service for the internet sales of a single art book became a business of my own, dedicated to providing affordable e-commerce and e-marketing services for an industry of independent publishers. It has been from the beginning, my wish for independent publishers to be able to survive, as a sustainable industry, because I believe in the powers of independent thoughts, words and views that our country allows under it’s Constitution.

After the presentation, I began to think what an appropriate place to hold the event! In a library constructed with sustainable building materials and filled with the published works of writers, filmmakers and musicians who dared to step out and take a risk of telling their stories for the benefit of others. This is the basis from which many successful small businesses are formed. Successful business owners have passion, vision, belief and enduring energy that their product and service with be useful to others. And it is the customers and clients that endorse, sustain and support the dreams of the business owners that make them profitable. It truly is the American way.

Thanks to all who came, and I wish you the best in your journey of fulfilling your dreams in business and in publishing!  Thanks to the Bud Werner Library for providing a beautiful, light-filled space for those who gathered to learn more about what I see as a fascinating, fast growing, sustainable industry. www.steamboatlibrary.org.

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Energy and Sustainability

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“All words are pegs to hang ideas on” ~ Henry Ward Beecher

Energy and sustainability are probably the most often used buzz words in the business world today. The other day I began to think how these two words are not specific to any one industry – they are meaningful words to anyone starting a business. It takes gumption, a tremendous amount of passion and unrelenting energy to bring a business from conception to complete fulfillment of having developed a viable, profitable and sustainable company. Not every person has the initiative, flexibility, determination, mindset or focus to be a small business owner.

Business owners can not afford to waste time! Unfortunately, many business owners are doing just that. Almost every business has a computer in this day and age. Sadly, many business owners have not diversified their marketing strategies to use their investment in technology to their advantage. The result – untapped markets, lack of visibility, antiquated marketing strategies and putting the sustainability of a business at risk.

There is a science to successfully reaching out to consumers through the internet. E-marketing professionals understand the logic and reasoning behind it. It includes tactics far different than print advertising and other traditional means of marketing. In the quest for increased visibility in the marketplace, let the professionals who understand how to reach consumers, in this day and age, through the world-wide-web help. Companies that specialize in e-marketing for independent publishers know how to most effectively and affordably reach communities of people interested in a company’s products and services. To read a report on the impact social media has on business, please visit http://slidesha.re/9ymmwD.

Business owners are wise when they save energy by focusing on the aspects of business that they can handle. Work smartly and efficiently!

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Plein Air Returns

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“Popularity is the easiest thing in the world to gain and it is the hardest thing to hold.”   ~Will Rogers 

Artists, Feel the Breeze! The stir of artist’s whispers and newfound creativity has the much-missed Plein Air Magazine back into existence. The magazine was first published in 2004, and then it was published as Fine Art Connoisseur. It is coming back into circulation, once again as Plein Air Magazine as of February 2011.  Just in time for winter reading, and spring inspiration. It is fulfilling to know the art community mourned its loss and demanded its return! 

At the helm of the magazine is publisher Eric Rhoads and Editor Steve Doherty, two seasoned professionals in the art publishing world. Look for this great resource on newsstands. This magazine is for all painters but especially valued by artists who like to step out of the studio and into nature to paint its elements from real life. 

Plein Air Magazine is available in print, digital version or you can subscribe to both editions at http://bit.ly/dO0s5D.

 

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Using Stepping Stones

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“Being involved in the well-being and advancement of one’s own community is a most natural thing to do.” ~ Clarence Clemons

 Business people, non-profit organizations, companies selling products and services are not the only people who are jumping on the bandwagon to seize the opportunity to use independent publishing as a stepping stone for fulfillment and success. 

Columnist and book critic Cathy Beck was not to be stopped when dreams of having her manuscript acquired and released by a “publishing giant” were turned to dust. She focused her energies on independently publishing her manuscript “Cheap Cabernet” and marketed it inexhaustibly. The result? Success! She sprung open the doors of opportunity through entrepreneurial prowess and drove herself as an author to even greater heights than she dreamed. Please visit http://bit.ly/hE6FY4 to read her complete story of fulfillment. 

The moral of Cathy’s story:

  • Independent publishing opens doors to opportunity in unexpected ways.
  • Never give up
  • There are no problems, only solutions
  • Stepping stones often lead to bigger things

Cathy’s story is only one example of how the shifts in the publishing industry toward non-traditional publishing have brightened the outlook and led ordinary people to do extraordinary things through the power of books, films and music.

Let this be the year to begin to tell your story of success!

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From a Personal Perspective

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“Above all, be true to yourself, and if you cannot put your  heart in it, take yourself out of it.” ~ Unknown

Although I took last week off from the blogging world, make no mistake, I was still working hard. I spent my time reading and writing and ciphering, in preparation for the New Year as a business owner offering e-commerce and e-marketing services to those who have chosen a path of fulfilling their lives by combining business and the arts.

The arts is a big, broad term that in my opinion includes those persons who have made it an art to live according to what they believe to be true and right and good. There are those who practice the art of excellence in customer service, work in the healing arts, the art of design, the art of creating beautiful spaces and faces,  the art of spirituality, the art of working in a capacity for the betterment of this world, not even to mention the stereotypical artists – writers, filmmakers, musicians, photographers, visual artists and performing arts, to name a few.

As I meandered through the aisles of the library last week, I came across a book in the inspirational section called “This I Believe.”  www.thisibelieve.org.  Each essay is a proclamation from an individual who has a unique perspective on what they believe to be true in their lives. Each statement offers a personal “raison d’etre.” They are acknowledgements of what fulfills each individual with hope and makes sense of their world, no matter what their history or mission in life has been.

The end of the book challenges each reader to write their own 350-500 word narrative based on a “This I Believe” statement. For people who are driven by their passions in their work, this task should be a breeze! For me, as a business owner, it is!  My own personal statement is what makes me rise to and enjoy the challenges each and every day.

In the interest of keeping this blog short and not too laborious to read, I will state my “This I Believe” briefly. “I believe those who use their passions in their work, live the most fulfilling lives. I believe, as a business owner, that by serving others, so that our clients can focus on what they do best, this world will be a better place.”

Write your own “This I Believe” statement now! It will bring to light to your core values and it will drive you to do your best each and every day.

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A New Chapter

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“There are two mistakes one can make along the road to truth…not going all the way, and not starting.”  ~ Buddha 

A New Year, a fresh start! Puts me in mind of a story I recently heard about truck driver, turned bounty hunter, turned Metropolitan Opera star. Do you know about the transformative life that Carl Tanner has created for himself by finally fulfilling his dream of becoming an opera singer? There are elements to this tale that movies are made of. It is a chronicle of coming out of the darkness and into the light. To read more about this inspiring story of fulfilling one’s aspirations in life, please visit http://nyti.ms/hc4hgc. 

Each and every one of us has a story of longings. The barriers we place upon our selves are the closed doors in our minds. In this New Year, I will be speaking with all sorts of folks who have dreams of propelling their businesses and their careers to new heights through the power of independent publishing and also through new, creative approaches to marketing themselves and their businesses through the internet. We can steer them in fulfilling  those dreams. 

A New Year is a time for new beginnings.  We can begin to fulfill our dreams as soon as we decide it is time to make the star, in us, more visible to others. What have you resolved to do this year to quench your yearnings and begin a new chapter in your life?

 

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Hear the Bells!

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“Listening is a magnetic and strange thing, a creative force.” ~ Karl Menninger

My sister and I have had a running  joke since last Christmas. I have really enjoyed the volunteer work that I have done over the past two years. Somehow, I have been recruited into more things than I ever thought I could be talked into, but all of it has been very enjoyable. Every time I mention what I have become involved with, my sister tells me “she is going to sign me up as a professional bell ringer, next.” Little does she know, more than a year ago, after recognizing the need, we began fulfilling our clients requests for assistance to become more visible  on the world wide web, by helping our clients to ring their bells.

As an independent publisher, are you aware of the benefits of bell ringing? You must, in part, ring your own bell. It is absolutely, completely necessary if you are to become a successful independent book publisher. No one can help an author sell a book better than the author themselves – at book signings, at schools, churches, in libraries and at any events where communities of people will give you their listening ear.

The gong that reaches the largest listening audience for the most affordable price, however, is through e-marketing. You will be heard loud and clear by communities all over the world, but it takes consistent effort in order to be effective! It is time consuming, there is no doubt about that and that is why independent publishers hire “professional bell ringers’ to help them with the task, so they can focus on the Art of what they do best.

Independent publishers, and businesses alike, give your selves a great New Years present. Start the year off right by letting go of some of the old ways of promoting yourself and ring bells in new, creative ways. Don’t know where to start? Go to the place that people now frequent the most – the internet – and use your favorite search engine to look for a “company that specializes in e-marketing for independent publishers.”  With a little help, people may begin to say all over the globe ” that title, that author, that company, that film, that artist or that musician rings a bell.” Think how fulfilling that would be!

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Sleighbells…Are you Listening, Booksellers?

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I decided to take a trip yesterday, through the powers of my intuition, into the fulfilling world of publishing! What my intuition told me is that some print shops all over America are busier at work this year. How can they not be? Non-traditional publishing grew a whooping 181% from 2008 to 2009, according to Bowker  http://bit.ly/cp3anL.The trend, my intuition tells me, has risen again this year. Wish I knew for sure. But, only Bowker will be able to tell me, after they have tallied their reports at the end of the year. It’s just one of those things! 

Do you know what this could mean for the holidays? Santa may have a lot more stops this year – picking up books at companies that offer POD (print on demand) and short run printing. My intuition tells me the machines are cranking. More than ever, people want books (and films, too) that inspire, educate, inform and amuse that are not run of the mill. 

When Santa makes his rounds, my intuition tells me the sleigh bells will be ringing a lot louder this year, in support for the non-traditional publishing industry. If the trend in independent publishing stayed on the up and up again in 2010, is it what may be  keeping the publishing industry afloat? 

Hope Jolly Old St. Nick, has a stash of inspirational stories set aside for me this year. Ah well… if they sell out before Santa arrives at my door, they can easily be reprinted! No longer does the publisher need to print by the 10’s of thousands. That’s the beauty of independent publishing!

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Books to Film

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“Everyday, things change for me…you make the necessary adaptations.”  ~ Craig Thomas 

I went on a quest today to fulfill my need for information about how many books are adapted into films each year? So, it’s time for all of you to guesstimate what I found out! 

According to one source, Variety Magazine, market conditions have reduced the number of literary adaptations from books to film in recent years. Approximately 30 books are adapted by major film production studios for screen each year. A small number, given the large number of books that are published each year! To see a list of books that were adapted for cinema release in 2010, see this article. http://www.chasingthefrog.com/moviebooks.htm. 

Slated for novel to cinema adaptation in 2011, is a film that I can not wait to see. The novel “Water for Elephants” was one of my most memorable reads in recent years and I look forward to seeing how the cinema version of the story compares. I flat out loved the book! It is being adapted for film along with several other popular literary works. Wondering what other popular literary works are scheduled for upcoming film release in the New Year? Visit http://amzn.to/93TjmI to take a sneak peak. 

In order to turn a novel into a successful cinematic release, all the right elements must be there. Are you interested in learning more about how to get your book turned into a film, please visit http://bit.ly/9TzhzP.

 If anyone out there has inside information about what else we can look forward to seeing in theatres in 2011, we would love to hear from you, if it is not top-secret information.  Perhaps in 2011, I’ll see you at the theatre – I’ll buy the popcorn if you save me a seat!

 

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Fits, Starts and Floods

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“Thinking is the enemy of creativity…you can’t try to do things, you simply must do things.” ~ Ray Bradbury 

Ever since I entered into the blogosphere, I have become very cognizant of writing patterns and creativity – my own, that is. What has become apparent is the fact that my ideas for writing comes in fits, starts and floods. The search for fulfilling blogging subjects is perpetual and my creativity, unpredictable! 

The fits start as this:

  • Words and phrases come quickly out of nowhere and then evade me. Just like that. As if someone snaps their fingers and says “be gone with you!” Poof – what was just the right notion flees faster than a flea can jump.

                                 OR

  • An elaborate schematic pops up in my head – clear and concise. Putting pen to paper, suddenly it vanishes into thin air – gone. Never able to be recovered in the exact same state again. 

The starts begin like this:

  • All begins well – words flow, creativity is rolling then suddenly my mind takes a detour and detaches. A real and senseless casualty.

                               OR

  • The ideas arrive like a farm delivering fresh eggs to a bakery – by dozens at a time. Each idea with a rich, central point –  the binding ingredient for many a sweet creation. The ideas overwhelm to the point that is difficult to know which concoction to make first. 

The floods begin when:

  •  An idea starts and runs rampant. The idea unfolds and flows, unfolds and flows, and flows, and flows and flows some more and on and on it goes. With no stopping point in site. Hardly suitable writing for the blogosphere. The result -having to rein my blog writing in. 

What have I learned about my writing from this?

  • To be patient and wait, if the ideas or creativity does not flow.
  •  If I can’t create it today, try tomorrow.
  • Clarity eventually returns and often resumes better than ever.
  • Do not trash anything! Rework!  The result can be unexpected and different.
  • Maintain tough minded optimism that eventually a fulfilling story will come around. 

Let’s see what tomorrow’s writing brings. Will it begin with a fit, a start or a flood? As overwhelming as it may seem, I like when the ideas arrive by the dozen. Through creation, the central point of an idea eventually becomes all things fulfilling!

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