Don’t be Dead in the Water! Rise to the Top.

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Great race, great strategy and great performance all the way through.” ~ Michael Schmacher

Have you noticed that kids born after the 1980’s have a fifth sense? Using the computer comes as naturally to them as breathing. Their minds are geared and wired differently than the brains of people in generations who came before them. No way do they fulfill their need for information about a company, product or service by going to a phone book! “What’s that,” they say. 

Businesses that sell a product or service that do not have a great internet presence, are dead in the water! If your market happens to be youth, it is even more important to stay in out in front of them, by being visible on the internet.  Your market will not find you any other way. The younger generation is our future, and they do not read signs, browse phone books or visit information booths looking for products and services, how could they? Their eyes never leave their computers, i-phones and whatever other digital devices they may possess! They are obsessed!

Is e-marketing and e-commerce is a foreign language to you? There are professionals that can help. Contact a company that specializes in e-marketing and e-commerce for independent publishers. Fulfill the needs of your customers by sharing the same space as they do – the internet. They will come find you in that space, so put your marketing efforts there!

For more information on the latest marketing strategies that 88% of marketers are now using, please visit http://bit.ly/aUSFE9.

 

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Georgia, On My Mind!

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Flowers are the sweetest things God ever made and forgot to put a soul into.”         ~Henry Ward Beecher 

Georgia O’Keeffe, on my mind,  that is! All of my friends and family know by the gardens that surrounded my home in Vermont that flowers are my passion. Working in my gardens fulfilled my soul for many hours every spring, summer and fall. It wasn’t until the last pretty perennial was killed off by frost that I would then spend my idle hours reading about flowers from my library of gardening books. The square footage of our gardens exceeded the size of my home. 

In this dry climate of Steamboat Springs, CO I rarely see homes with flower gardens on the same scale that mine were in Vermont. I miss that! Vermonters sure can and do grow flowers, unlike any I have seen elsewhere. The cool, dewy nights give the perennials just what they need to thrive – a nice drink of water. 

Now residing in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, a new opportunity with regards to flowers has arisen. We are that much closer to an art museum that I look forward to visiting sometime very soon. Our travels to visit our son in New Mexico will bring me close to the area of the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum. 

I may not be able to pick a posy at the Museum, but, I know my eyes will pop when I set foot inside the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe. Once again I will be surrounded by flowers and my art education will continue too!

P.S. Don’t you just love this O’Keeffee poppy? Thanks to my friend, Vesna from Macedonia, this image hangs on my wall, where I can view it all year long.

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Get Behind Them, Encourage!

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“There are high spots in all of our lives and most of them have come through encouragement..” ~ George Matthews Adams 

Yes! I have finally found a cause that all sides of the political spectrum can agree upon. It is the importance of art and humanities in the lives of children. 

Since 1998, Presidential First Ladies, Republican and Democrat alike, have been Honorary Chairman (chairwomen, to be P.C.) of the Coming Up Taller Awards.  The National Endowment for the Arts has selected their list of 2010 finalists that fulfill the requirements to be considered for this award. All of them exhibit excellence in arts programs for children. 

There are three primary partners in this award:

  • The National Endowment for the Arts
  • The National Endowment for the Humanities
  • Institute of Museum and Library Services

 This award is not limited to organizations within the United States. There is an international component to this award as well. These awards recognize the good work arts and humanities programs do in providing outstanding opportunities for children to learn their craft, understand the discipline and commitment it takes to become artists and scholars in their fields of accomplishment. 

The deadline of January 29, 2010 is quickly approaching for selecting the award winners.To see the list of finalists for this year, please visit:  http://bit.ly/bVGkZv

Meeting the needs of children who thrive in the Arts is so important! When children are supported by parents and organizations in what they love to do, they do stand tall and they thrive!

 

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Reading in the Boat

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“Develop an interest in life as you see it; the people, things, literature, music – the world is so rich~ Henry Miller 

Count me in! The City of Steamboat Springs, CO is embarking on an all-city reading program. One of the classics of all time, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, will be the subject of much discussion over the coming weeks. Added to the already jam-packed schedule of events at the Bud Werner Library will be an official 50th birthday party kickoff with cake and tea, a scavenger hunt to find 10 free copies strategically placed throughout the city, discussions and a culminating event which will include the screening of a documentary about this book, with filmmaker Mary McDonagh Murphy in attendance. 

My first reading of this classic was in high school, and it has been on my list for decades  for books I MUST READ AGAIN. Here is my chance! With age, wisdom and a better appreciation for good literature, I can’t help but think my second time through will be even more rewarding than the first. 

People in communities travel in the same circles, and many of this city’s citizens will be in the same company – with Atticus, Scout and Boo! Want to learn more about our city’s One Book Steamboat program? Please visit http://onebooksteamboat.wordpress.com and while you are at it, check out www.steamboatlibrary.org, too.

  

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Weekend Indie Publisher News

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Have you written a book designed to improve daily living? The Living Now Book Awards are coming up and the first deadline has gone by. The sooner you submit your book, the lower the cost to enter your book into the competition, so all of you enter now!

Basic Information:

This contest is designed to reward authors for new publications that helps improve quality of life and how to live fulfilling lifestyles. 

Categories include:

  • Fitness
  • Travel
  • Cooking
  • Entertaining
  • Self Improvement
  • Animals/Pets
  • Green Living
  • Spirituality/Enlightment
  • Family    
  • AND MORE!! 

Next submission deadline and fee – now until November 20,  $85 per title,   After November 21st , $95 per title

                                                          Final Deadline February 21st

For more information – please visit http://www.livingnowawards.com/index.php 

Good Luck! Book awards are a sure -fire way to increase your visibility as an author and for your book!

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Old Concept, New Location

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“The thing I would encourage you to do is go where your love is. Go where your heart tells you to go.” ~ Bill Billachick 

Are you one of the many who has been traditionally published but for one reason or another wish to do things a little differently this time around? Perhaps you are disillusioned by the way the integrity of your writing can be changed by your publisher. Maybe you are interested in being more directly involved with the sales and marketing aspect of your publication. Is it that you would like to earn a higher percentage on your sales or do you wish to find out for yourself why, according to Bowker, independent publishing grew a whopping 181 percent between 2008 and 2009? All of these are good reasons for making a switch. 

One of the most valuable skills you will need to know as an independent publisher is how to reach communities of people, through social media marketing, who will purchase your book. 

Although the concept of social media marketing may sound “new age”, it really is an old concept, in a new setting. Instead of locating people that share the same interests as you do at church, at PTA meetings, in gyms, in bars, at knitting clubs or through fraternal organizations – you meet them over the internet and communicate with those like minded people. By building relationships, you will locate potential buyers. 

Don’t know where to start? Help is readily available. Search the internet for  e-commerce and e-marketing for independent publishers. Professionals can assist you in becoming more visible over the internet, which will increase the potential for sales of your independently published book all over the world.

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An Invitation Awaits You!

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“..the basis of all excellence is truth..” ~ Samuel Johnson

Do you love watching films? Do you love producing films? Then you are cordially invited! That is right, all of you can come to the New Mexico International Film Festival and submit your film, too!  Marc Leonard, Assistant Director of the New Mexico International Film Festival has extended an invitation to the world at large.  For more information on this film festival that is expected to be different than all the rest, visit www.newmexicointernationalfilmfestival.com.

See what the Land of Enchantment has to offer for high quality, thought-provoking film entertainment. The organizers of this festival promise all good things – a great audience experience, compensation for filmmakers whose films qualify for the festival’s excellence in standards, superior customer service and after the film parties that really will be after the screenings you won’t miss one moment of what you came to the film festival for!

Kickstart this event right now, by going to http://bit.ly/abaSuQ. Outstanding screens and outstanding scenes in the beautiful New Mexican landscape awaits you!  See you in Jemez Springs, New Mexico in February!

 

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Sharing the Word!

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Do the right thing. It will gratify some people and astonish the rest.”                 ~Mark Twain 

How coincidental is that? Today, I had planned to write a blog on the man who is known as our first American novelist – Mark Twain. He is one of the most well-known essayists and moralists in our country’s history! This morning, I had a few minutes to spare before my dentist appointment, and took the opportunity to take a little drive into an area of Steamboat Springs, CO that I had not previously taken the time to explore before. There the name was, on a street sign, Mark Twain. Was it an Avenue or Road or Lane? ! I dont know! I was so thrown off guard by this odd coincidence of having just composed, on paper, last night a blog based on  Mr. Twain that I can not remember which!   

Seeing this sign has changed the content of my blog. I was going to go on and on about the man who was born in 1835 and died in 1915 AKA Samuel Langhorne Clemens. His speculative ventures included silver mining, business and publishing.  His writings had appeal to young and old, alike. Although in he is known for his humor and wit, many of the essays he wrote in his final years were filled with his “venting” against power, corruption and greed.

Why his name should appear on a street sign in a place like Steamboat Springs, CO, I wonder. Perhaps it is just a subtle reminder to all that as we travel down the road of life  “to do the right thing.”

 

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Welcome back, Jonathan Franzen!

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“Read the best books first, or you may not have a chance to read them all.” ~Henry David Thoreau

Well, well, well – look who is back on the Oprah Book Club list – author Jonathan Franzen! In 2001,  Jonathan Franzen landed on the “O” pick list for his book “The Corrections.” Now he is fulfilling Oprah’s need for outstanding, thought provoking reading with his latest book “Freedom.

Although the Oprah Show will be coming to a close after this season, her book club will continue on. Over the years, Oprah has created quite a buzz for authors and their books. Millions of readers worldwide participated  in Oprah’s on-line book club discussing new thought leader, Eckhart Tolle’s book “A New Earth.”  For authors such as David Wroblewski, being thrust into the limelight as a first time author with his book “The Story of Edgar Sawtelle” had to be a thrill. I personally flat out loved that book!

“Freedom”  will be added to my long list of  I want to read, will someday read or might read books. Perhaps I will move it ahead of the pack, to the top of my MUST read list.  That way, I won’t have to see if it was worthwhile waiting for.  I will know right away! Join me in discovering what the rage over this book is all about. Oprah promises it will be a fulfilling read!

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Wacky, Weird Words

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When God bestowed man with the power of language, he did not equip us with a way to know exactly how and when to use words in every context.  Therefore, fulfilling an obligation to use words in a responsible manner is easier for some individuals than others. There are appropriate words for each occasion, but finding the right words can be a challenge.

Some words are used so infrequently, that they become obsolete. I have a new computer.  Let’s put it through a rigorous test to see if it can exhume some very helpful but rarely used words to assist me with my blog writing today.

The internet is a sciniary, so it should be able to rally to the task of helping me find the right words. So useful is the worldwide web to writers in so many ways. Without it, I would need to practice the art of scoteography.  Poets seem to find words that work in the context of their writing, so very easily that I have become a musophobist. I believe that poets can’t possibly come up with all those magnificent, creative words without extra God- given gifts for language, that were not given to all individuals.

This blog is becoming somewhat naufrageous! If  I continue, it will end up a capilotade and you will call me a cumber-ground and suggest that I become a bouquinist.

Does it sound like morology to you? Well, PLEASE do not discerp unless you have linguipotence.

Enough of being inaniloguous. These words are not drogulus, they can be verified. I will deliciate by ending this blog. If you want to learn the meaning of these weird, almost obsolete words,  come on back tomorrow and I will give you a full interpretation!

In the meantime, I will go try to open some boxes of books, that are hard to get into because they have segilbond around them!