Tag Archives: independent publisher help

“Amy’s Angels” Rise

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“At the end of the day when we bow our heads, we are not so different at all.” ~ Judy Jones

This summer, regular readers of this blog followed the loss of my dear friend, Amy. She, like many other women each year, succumbed to breast cancer. I blogged about the dignity and strength with which Amy handled her illness until the very end. What she taught us all is a story of strength and inspiration. She demonstrated, in the most eloquent way, how to continue to live life in the face of terminal illness.

On March 5 in Stowe, VT at the Trapp Family Lodge, Amy will  be honored by a team of her friends and family in the Relay for Life, Nordic Style. “Amy’s Angels” have risen to the top in fundraising efforts. We have raised almost $8,000 to date, with several weeks to go! My sister and our friends will be doing a lap or two on my behalf on March 5, which coincidentally was Amy’s birthday. I will be remembering the beautiful and fun times we shared as friends for 30+ years, and all that she taught me throughout our friendship.

The money that has been raised for “Amy’s Angels” and by all the other teams participating in Relay for Life ,along with all the other fundraising events that the American Cancer Society sponsors each year, represents a joint belief among Americans that a cure for cancer must be found.

Go, “Amy’s Angels” Go! ! I will be with you all in spirit on the day of the event and so will Amy!!

Staying True Blue

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“Besides pride, loyalty, discipline, heart and mind, confidence is the key to all the locks.” ~ Joe Paterno

Over the weekend, I had the pleasure of attending my first Kiwanis International Conference. It was a conference of Kiwanians from the Rocky Mountain Division. I could go on at quite some length about what the Conference covered, but it really isn’t necessary to give you all a minute to minute accounting of the weekend. I would much rather expound on the virtues of it’s members.

A shared belief in living one’s life according to ethical principles has brought personal fulfillment to the lives of each Kiwanis member I spoke with. How can you not be inspired by a group of individuals who display:

  • Courage in leading
  • Imagination in creating a vision for future generations
  • Integrity in the way they live their lives
  • Great hope for the future of our world

I traveled around the conference rooms, speaking with members, trying to get a sense of some of the projects each club is involved with. The information of the fundraising projects each club is engaged in was useful and interesting. But, what struck me most was the loyalty and fellowship that it’s members share. I spoke with members that have had allegiance to the club for as many as 30, 40 and 50+ years!  I met a wonderful woman who was 97 years young, and still actively involved. She spoke with me about her years of commitment to fighting for and improving the lives of children. She expressed her concern at the vast numbers of “latchkey” children. Now, if still being actively involved at age 97 is not loyalty, I don’t know what is!

Besides a great sense of loyalty to their fellow man, why do Kiwanians stay involved for 30, 40 or 50 years? It is simple! They all have great confidence that their service organization is making an “international difference one child at a time.”

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A Return on Investment

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“While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about.” ~ Angela Schwindt

I am headed this weekend to the Rocky Mountain Kiwanis International Mid-Winter Conference. www.Kiwanis.org. Although I have never attended a conference of this fine organization before, I am excited! All signs lead me to believe the weekend will confirm many of my deep-seated beliefs about raising children.

  • Leading by example is more powerful than words
  • Mentorship can change the outcome of a child’s experience in life.
  • Expect a lot from kids, and you will get a lot.
  • Children are our future. Investing in them is in our best interest.
  • Every child deserves a chance in life.

The weekend agenda looks educational, inspiring and fun. There are so many things that I look forward to learning about. I want to hear about some of the projects Kiwanis International is involved with around the world, how Kiwanis is revitalizing neighborhoods, about their youth leadership programs, how to grow local clubs and about the Kiwanis Children’s Pediatric Trauma Institute. Another attraction of the conference for me is the opportunity to see the documentary film Children of Peace International “A Necessary Journey,” which will air on PBS in April.

How fortunate am I to be a member of this worthy service organization?

Until Monday, have yourself a fulfilling weekend. I know I will!

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You Can’t Run, You Can’t Hide

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“Common sense is the knack of seeing things as they are, and doing things as they ought to be done.” ~ C.E.Stowe

How did we ever survive without cellphones, I-pods, laptop computers, I-Phones, Blackberries and all other things that connect us 24/7 to the virtual world? And what makes us think we are so important that our circle of friends, business associates and family must be aware of every ounce of energy that we exert throughout the day?

Several months ago, I stepped out for a meeting for an entire day. I was indisposed! A friend, who knows I do not have a cellphone or blackberry or any of those things, had apoplexy because she could not reach me all day long. She called several of our joint friends, and had them all stirred up because she couldn’t reach me. By late afternoon, she was seriously ready to call the police to report  that I was MIA, all because I did not answer my office phone or return her emails immediately! I appreciated her care and concern. I said that “next time I decided not to be at her beck and call, I would report, to her before I left, my ETD and ETA back in front of my computer . ” Yeah -right!

I applaud Oprah for her declaration of war on texting or talking on the phone while driving. What did we used to do in the olden days when we needed to communicate with someone while in the car? We waited until we found a payphone to make a call or waited until we got to our destination, then we called. What a novel idea!!

There is nothing more valuable in life than a life! That is a no-brainer! So, why would you put yourself and others in jeopardy by texting or talking on the phone while driving? Have we as human beings evolved into such weak creatures that we can not deal with a little inconvenience or some self control?

Of all things, please do not text and talk on the phone while driving!  Are you listening my son? Your life is more precious to us than you can ever, ever imagine! Please, don’t do it!!

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Lean, Green Fundraising Machine

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“Doing the same thing over and over, yet expecting different results, is the definition of crazy.” ~ Unknown

What would it be like to no longer have to knock on doors to help raise money for your favorite non-profit? No more pestering friends, relatives and business associates to buy fruit, wrapping paper, cookies, raffle tickets and all the other things that organizations sell for fundraising. Those dollars spent driving from door to door, place to place will be saved and could be donated to the cause.

Wait! It gets better than that!! All your donors or contributors can shop on-line for what they want at www.GoodShop.com and a percentage of the value of the purchases will go to charity or to a school of your choice. Merchandise is the same price, but a donation goes to a cause you feel passionate about.

This inventive way of raising money for your favorite charity www.GoodSearch.com has been featured in Oprah Magazine, CNN, The New York Times, ABC News and the Wall Street Journal. Get on board, non-profits – raise money the easy way. Register your organization.

Don’t believe me? Go to www.GoodShop.com buy something from one of the 900 top on-line retailers involved in this new way of giving. Your money will buy something you want and need, not for something you feel obligated to buy.

For example, you can help raise money for children’s hospitals by designating The Macedonian Mission for Humanity as your charity of choice. You will be helping children across the globe. How easy is that?

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The Drama of it All

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“We all live under the same sky, but we don’t all have the same horizon” ~ Konrad Adenauer

In the more than 30 years I have spent living in Vermont and now Colorado, I have never heard such dramatic words attached to little white snowflakes! All of the TV stations are  doing overtime to report “snowmageddon and snowpocalypse” on the East Coast. I have heard just about enough.

All the adjectives that are being used to describe the snow in the mid-Atlantic States just do not resemble anything I have ever seen before! When I look out my window in winter, I see:

  • beauty
  • a blanket, soft and white
  • gently falling, white dust of nature
  • tranquility in heavenly white
  • cleanliness and freshness
  • sparkle and glisten
  • crystaline air
  • white fluffy pillows
  • and a quietness in new fallen snow

Not chaos, confusion and catastrophe! With all the disasterous adjectives that the weathermen use to describe the snow, it is no wonder panic ensues.

Instead of cursing snow, how about embracing it, playing in it, walking in it and celebrating it! It does wonders to refresh and renew the soul!

Don’t  you love that global warming?

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I See You!

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“There are many reasons why novelists write,  but they all have one thing in common – a need to create an alternative world.” – John Fowles

Years ago, one of the biggest challenges of all self publishing authors and independent publishers was becoming visible in the marketplace. Used to be, the fastest way to notoriety as an author was to be published by one of the large traditional publishing giants and then by doing a little name dropping as to who published your manuscript. Reality is, only a very small percentage of manuscript submissions ever get accepted by the big publishing conglomerates. Sad but true.

Now, opportunities for making a name for yourself as a independent publisher are all there! With a well-executed publication and a well thought-out, creative marketing plan and an undying belief in yourself and your publication (called self promotion!), success as an independent publisher is not as allusive as one might think.

If you have been frustrated by your attempts to self-promote your book, have you looked into the “new generation” of marketing  for writers? By design, social media marketing greatly increases your visibility as an independent publisher and the probability of being discovered. To those who are inexperienced with e-marketing, there  is nothing to be scared of!

No longer are independent publishers found just by a stroke of luck!

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Blogging Blunders

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“If you have other things in your life – family, friends, good productive day work- these can interact with your writing and the sum will be all the richer.” ~ David Brin

Wow! Don’t I know this! The quote cited above could not be more true in the life of a blogger. Until you have done it, please do not underestimate the difficulty of blogging, nor the time it takes to do it. It is more of a challenge than one might think.

If you blog on a daily basis, as I do, inspiration and creativity to keep your writing interesting, informative, educational or entertaining is a challenge each and every day. As soon as I am not in touch with a revolving door of people, places(scenery), events in my daily activity, my creativity in writing suffers.  Ideas fizzle or even worse, evade me!

Although I shoot for clarity in my writing each and every day, occassionally I am off my mark. Over the weekend, I took a few days off because I was suffering the effects of a nasty cold. When I returned to blogging yesterday, I was “off my game.”

One of my loyal readers “read me the riot act” for dissappointing her yesterday. She said “Want to Play” was “incohesive and not at all consistant with my writing.” She wondered if I had taken some powerfully strong cold medicine that had affected my writing?  In essence, she said “I better get my head back in the game!”

Hey! It worked! The one of the principles behind blogging is to build relationships with others through writing. I was happy to hear from this loyal follower. Glad to know that she cared!

I need to get back to good writing, and I know the fix is right at hand.

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Want to Play?

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“All human wisdom is summed up in two words – wait and hope.” ~ Alexandre Dumas Pere

Do you feel as if you are preparing to write a book that is as long as the Bible, for the amount of time you have spent on research and development? Don’t give up, it is all part of the process. Although the tedious details that one goes through in planning a book may seem never ending, good planning will increase your chances of success.  From concept to market, every part of the process is important to the end result.

Without dispute, the fact is, some books take longer to write than others. For instance, a book filled with educational or scholarly content takes on an added dimension of time, because all the facts must be checked and rechecked for accuracy.

The quotation cited above, taken out of context, could be referring to many, many things. It is my belief that this quote could be applied to a book whose writing process could have rivaled the time it took to write the Bible.

If you can not guess what book I am referring to, I will give you a clue and see if you can answer the question-

The authors of this book played with jeopardy, when they chose to write it. It took so long to complete that after 10 years of writing, they were only up to “ant”.

Did you get the answer? If you did -let me know! If you think knowing the answer to the question qualifies you as a bibliophile – play on! Watch this video and test your knowledge of books a little bit further!

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Listen and Obey

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“Conscience is the root of all true courage; if a man would be brave let him obey his conscience.” ~ James Freeman Clarke

The signs are all there, and it is time, just for a few days, to get off the merry-go-round. The signs began with a scratchy throat, an ear ache, and I have gone through a box of Kleenex. I have been afflicted  by the common cold.

The feverish pace I have kept, trying to keep up with the independent publishing industry, and all of it’s changes, I am afraid have worn me down. But it is all so exciting, and I don’t want to miss a beat. It even has me all a Twitter!

I am going to listen to my inner voice telling me to be kind to myself and take a weekend break. Perhaps I will go  cold turkey- no more letters, let the e-mails pile up, forget the social media marketing.

We all need to give ourselves permission to seek some peace and quiet every once in a while. I may even hunker down, pull the covers up around my chin and reach, reach, reach across the bedside table for those two independently published books that have been waiting for me!

What is that saying? “Before you can help others, you have to help yourself?”

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