Tag Archives: Independent Publishing

Sojourns in Reaching a Dream

3 Comments

After my book presentation on April 4 to the Yampa Valley University Women, Beverly, who is a group member and someone who was in the audience, came up to me and said “Sue, I get the feeling you have been on a real journey with this book.” “Have I ever,  Beverly, ” I replied smiling. I was thrilled that she understood the amount of work that went into it and how I was feeling, “There is no denying it,” I said.

Between writing about the publishing project throughout the process on this blog All Things Fulfilling and bringing the story alive on paper, it has been a real sojourn of sorts. It is as if I have been up in a hot air balloon looking down, and describing the publishing landscape has it has changed. I have soared as I have gone along for a ride with it.

The-Journey-Is-What-Brings-Us-Happiness-Not-The-DestinationI, like many others, was not aware when I started my memoir writing project how this would lead to enormous personal growth in so many ways that I had not anticipated. A lot of the development has come as a result of doing whatever it took to do it right, independently.

I’ve faced and recorded into words the  most poignant moments in my life, tackled my shyness about reading the manuscript out loud while having it critiqued by a whole bunch of professional writers. Then I faced the fact that I need to become someone who is comfortable with public speaking, if I really want to continue to achieve my dreams of traveling around and vocally sharing my retrospective thoughts.

I have had the great fortune of being in an environment that is very supportive of writers who helped me to achieve my mission. I would like to state my gratitude to anyone who has helped me along the way. You know who you are, and so do I. I consider each one of you as one of many “personal angels.”

My advice to anyone who is embarking on an independent publishing process – do whatever it takes to make it happen.  Don’t hold back, don’t limit yourself to what you are willing to do or not. In other words, remove all stops! And most of all seek out the help of others who can help you along the way.

What is the greatest lesson I have learned throughout the process? By maintaining faith, and being willing to open myself up to all possibilities, my dream has become a reality!

If you didn’t visit this site on Monday, it was very special day on All Things Fulfilling!  I revealed a chapter of the audio book version of  Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected. It is posted permanently on About the Book Page for your listening enjoyment. Listen to it as many times as you wish so you can get a sense of the voice in the story.

Wrap Up: Writing Process

2 Comments

First Step: “Forget all the rules. Forget about being published. Write for yourself and celebrate writing.” ~Melinda Haynes

Last Friday I gave a presentation about independent publishing and my newly released memoir to the Yampa Valley University Women. As a way of concluding my presentation, I mentioned how much I loved every part of the writing and publishing process –

  • the creative

  • the daily discipline of writing

  • bringing the voice of my stellar character alive for the reader

  • the end result of the feelings of fulfillment and satisfaction for having done it

Having a regular writing routine is easier for some than others, but for me I am a very disciplined person, so regular writing was not difficult. Authors have their own ways of motivating themselves to start, stay on task and seeing a project through until the end.

Inspiration-to-writeHere is an interesting article that I came across that speaks to tactics that some very well-known authors have used to tackle the problem of how to be successful in finding time to write. http://bit.ly/1fPjdd0 .

Some people go to all lengths to motivate themselves. I consider myself fortunate. All I have to do is sit down to the computer put my fingers on the keyboard, and pour my heart out. I don’t second guess myself until it is all out on the paper – it’s that easy! Then comes the editing part. Well, if I must be honest ….that’s a different story.

Do return tomorrow. We are going to switch gears.  I have “twin issues” on my mind that I will share with you. This blog brought to you by http://www.AllThingsFulfilling.com,

 

Star Time

6 Comments

Fulfilling feelings are the best words I can find at this moment to describe how I felt on Saturday as I shared the proof copy of “Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected” with the attendees of the monthly Colorado Independent Publishers Association meeting.

At each monthly meeting there is “Star Time” – the opportunity for authors to take the stage, with microphone in hand, and make announcements of book signings, accomplishments, new publications and the likes. I am usually the observer. My chance always comes each month when the associate service providers to the Colorado Independent Publishers Association (CIPA) stand and give a short description of how their company serves the industry of independent publishing. That’s the group I am accustomed to standing along side.

Finally, this month, I was in both line-ups! As a newly published author and a service provider! Hard to describe my feelings of accomplishment! Yay!!!

celebrate accomplishment. jpg

Have you recently published a book and are looking for a little “star time?” There is nothing that says “STAR” better than winning a book award. The Colorado Independent Publishers Association is accepting non-member submissions to their annual book award contest, “The EVVYs.” For information on contest rules, and submission fees, please visit www.cipacatalog.com. You have until May 16th to submit! But don’t wait until the last minute!

This blog brought to you by www.AllThingsFulfilling.com. See you tomorrow –  over the next two days I will be sharing stories that are just a little messy. But I may as well take ownership, they are part of my personal history and story.

Oh, To Have Faith

Leave a comment

I have to laugh at my sister. I think she is more excited than I am about my book. Just revealing the front and back cover last week has given the entire family a thrill because I have been very secretive about what’s between the covers.

The other day my twin sent me a link to an article saying “You’ll appreciate this story.  In addition to having common roots in Baltimore along with this featured author, you two share the experience of having been  factory workers. (The link to the story Factory Worker turns Poet wins $100,000 is below.) Yes, it’s true I am now  a published author and I was a factory worker but my prize money has yet to come through!

One summer, when my sister and I were in high school in the late 1960’s we worked in a factory in the middle of BaltimoreCity. The facility handled medical records via micro-film (micro-fiche). My job was to cut and splice the film and stuff the film into plastic sleeves for historical recordkeeping. I worked all alone in a dark room, so that I could see what I was doing.

I was so envious of my sister! She worked in a big bright room next door with six or eight other women. They jived all day long to the sounds of Motown as they labored. So many times I was tempted to ask the boss if I could trade places and jobs with my sister. At the end of the day, my sister kept recounting how the women she worked with got up and danced around the room when a song from the Temptations or Supremes or Four Tops hit their fancy. The women really had heart and soul, evidently.

decision to tryI share this article about the factory worker turned poet who wins $100,000 with anyone out there who has dreams of becoming published:

http://on-msn.com/1cUH8MB.

No matter what you are doing now, it’s possible to add “writer” to your resume. Only you can make it happen! For me, it all started with writing a blog. In today’s world of independent publishing, there is nothing in this world that should stop you.  Dream, take action and find your own personal fulfillment in writing!

Oh, my sister has so much faith in my writing. She says she knows she will love my upcoming publication “Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected. ” Let me tell you a secret. She will! There are parts of the tale that are uniquely mine but part of the story is hers also!

Look forward to your return to All Things Fulfilling tomorrow. This blog brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.

The Glory in the Challenge

Leave a comment

On Thursday, a very important package was delivered to my mailbox. It was a “proof copy,” the first printed and bound copy of my memoir “Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected.”

IMAG1000

As I opened the package, this is what I was feeling – HAZY!

IMAG0997 In the same blur that has existed for several years now, while the book has been in the making. Writing and publishing a book independently, if I must be candid, takes commitment, persistence, a “can do/will do/nothing is going to stop me attitude. I had determined from the start that I would take on the words of Robert Schuller as a challenge when he asked “What would you do if you knew you could not fail?” I was out to answer that and prove it to myself!

Sure, there have been challenges along the way (some big and some small) but I never lost heart in what I was doing because I believed so strongly in the story that I knew one day I’d tell. Every time I got a little disillusioned with my progress, I’d remember the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson, who once said “Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but rising up every time we fail.”

Here it is – the proof copy. I’m excited but not done yet. Another go round of proofreading faces me.

IMAG0998                                        IMAG0999

You’ll learn more about why I felt it was so important to tell my story when you read it. It has to do with the beautiful traits of a character in it. Although categorized as a memoir, it’s far more than a family tale. There is meaningful value in the universal messages tucked between the covers.

Today, I present to you all my glory……………and by Mothers’ Day, you can share it with me, when you read my story! You can even have it any way you like it – in print from www.Bookcrafters.com and other major on-line booksellers, in an e-book or audio book format. For those who decide on the audio book format – you are in for a very special treat!

See you tomorrow on All Things Fulfilling.com. I’m so excited! This blog brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.

Life Below the Mason-Dixon Line

Leave a comment

I recognize the fact that there are many people across this big vast country called the United States of America who have had no exposure to southern living. In fact, for some individuals just the mention of the Mason-Dixon Line is a little bewildering. Wondering where the Mason-Dixon Line runs? Here’s a map. I grew up not terribly far from Annapolis in Baltimore.

Life below the Mason Dixon Line

One of the most interesting things of having been so far removed from my East Coast roots, over the past five years, is the opportunity I’ve had to learn something through experience (and by reading books from Western writers) about life in this part of the country. While I have been here in Colorado, it’s been especially interesting to travel to Albuquerque and Santa Fe, New Mexico where life is distinctively different than anything I have ever been immersed in before.

So, what’s it like being a southern belle? This list will give you a bit of the southern flavors of living.

Quotes about the South

From a Baltimore gal’s perspective, there’s something that is missing from this list. If you are from Maryland, you are often called “hun.”  If you are  called “hun,” when you go visiting someone in the “Land of Pleasant Living,” don’t feel insulted and turn around and go back home where you came from. Feel accepted, honored and loved, it is the term of endearment for nearly everyone.

Putting a value judgment on what kind of lifestyle is more fulfilling than another doesn’t quite seem fair.  I think it’s all about what you get used to. But I do feel strongly there is value in experiencing different ways of life, even if it is even through reading.

Tomorrow on All Things Fulfilling, do return for some valuable information about how to seek validation of your work as a quality writer.

On Monday I will be honestly opening my heart about some of the costs of  writing and publishing a book.

This blog brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.

A Piece of Humble Pie

2 Comments

Gratefulness is the gallantry of a heart ready to rise to the opportunity a given moment offers.

~ David Stendl Rast

sweetheart_cherry_pieDo you know what today is? It is February 22nd – National Humble Day. Perhaps at first glance you may have thought I meant National Hubble Day -celebrating “the man who was first to show that the universe is expanding and is considered by many to be the father of observational cosmology.” 

Well, I suppose I am celebrating National Hubble Day in my own kind of way because today I am celebrating all who have expanded my world by introducing me to the world of independent publishing. It all started back in 1998 when I was hired by West Wind Fine Art, LLC  to handle the internet sales of the publication which became a smash hit for painters “Everything I Know about Painting” by Richard Schmid, published by Stove Prairie Press, LLC. (an independent press). At the time, hardly a soul was selling books over the world-wide-web.

Oh…how things have evolved. Never would I have dreamed that the position at West Wind Fine Art, LLC would have launched me into an entirely new cosmos. And an even more far-fetched idea of penning my own book! It’s  due to be released this spring.

Well, things have changed in my world and in the publishing world – dramatically! Ordinary people with extraordinary stories are now writing, publishing and selling books through the power of e-commerce and e-marketing. To read a report on the industry with some of the latest statistics, please visit this link. http://bit.ly/1dt6xv9.

Today, I’ll eat a piece of humble pie and look back at the changes in technology that have made independent  publishing possible for people who  have great stories to tell but would not have had a prayer of having a their stories told and sold traditionally.

This blog is brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com. Look forward to your return to All Things Fulfilling tomorrow.

Tracking Consumer Book Buying Trends

Leave a comment

In October 2011, Bowker (the storehouse of all publishing statistics) announced they would be doing a major study on book buying trends, specifically on e-books.  The objective of the study is to obtain information about publishing industry growth patterns as well as for tracking quantities (traditional vs non-traditional/ independent book sales). The study takes into consideration the quantity of books in print vs. digital publications (e-books).  To read the August 6, 2013 report, please follow this link. http://www.bowker.com/en-S/aboutus/press_room/2013/pr_08062013.shtml.

Technology-quote-Northrop-FryeIn my opinion, this data is much needed since the publishing industry is so rapidly changing and growing.  The study will be useful to more than just the publishing industry. The technology industry, libraries, and bookstore owners will benefit from this data. Many brick and mortar stores are trying to evaluate out how they can best serve communities with the changes that are underway in publishing.

Knowing the latest book buying trends is also helpful to independent publishers like myself. It helps us to know what platform readers are using most frequently and whether to publish a paper version, digital (e-book) or audio book and how to price them.

Have your book buying habits changed or are they likely to?  Has your reading platform changed from paper to electronic? Are you observing any trends in the kinds of books that are available for sale over the internet? We would like to hear from you.

This blog brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.

EVVY Book Awards: A Big Year

Leave a comment

“I feel that the greatest reward for doing is the opportunity to do more.” ~ Jonas Salk

2014 CIPA awardsThis is a big year for the EVVY Book Awards presented by the Colorado Independent Publishers Association. It is a special event because it is the 20th year of the contest, and it has grown more prestigious than ever. After all, CIPA is one of the largest and most active independent publishing associations in the country.

The word of the contest is spreading and last year submissions came from all over the country, and for that matter as far away as Dubai! You no longer have to be a CIPA member to enter and win! However, there are great benefits to being a CIPA member including their educational opportunities to learn more about what it takes to becoming an award-winning author! Their monthly educational presentations cover all facets of the publishing process including selling in the marketplace.

Here is a link that will provide you with all you need to know about submitting your publication to the 20th annual CIPA EVVY book awards!  http://www.cipacatalog.com/pages/CIPA-EVVY-Awards.

Some key deadline dates to mark on your calendar:

  • February  1, 2014 submissions begin
  • May 17, 2014 Last day to receive entries
  • July 26, 2014 Finalists announced
  • August 23, 2014 Awards Ceremony – The big night!

You can’t win if you don’t submit! Here’s your chance to become an award-winning author of an award-winning book!

Hope to see YOU at the EVVY awards in August. Good luck to all who submit.

This blog brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com. See you tomorrow on All Things Fulfilling.

My Winter Olympics Race

2 Comments

“Starting your book is only the first five miles of a twenty-six-mile marathon that’s one-third of a triathlon (authoring, publishing, and entrepreneuring).” ― Guy Kawasaki

I’ve been so busy I really haven’t watched much of the Olympics.  For a few minutes I looked in on the ice skating. Lately, I’ve felt like a participant in a speed skating relay race – going back and forth with the publisher to make very minor, but necessary changes. Every last detail has to be in place so it is smooth sailing and there are no trip-ups to having the manuscript published. Thank goodness I finally did a hand-off and gave my manuscript to the publisher. It was time to let go, and let someone else carry the composition to the finish line.

energy goes where attention goesMost people would think now it’s a straight glide to the end point ~  not quite! The marketing, promotion and advertising is a completely  different dimension to a publishing project. Many authors loose steam, big-time, when it comes to that part.

It’s not just the independent publisher who has to carry the load of marketing, promotion and advertising. A traditional publishing house  is committed to putting  big resources behind a top selling author but, most authors are now expected to carry a good portion of the marketing load themselves. It’s understandable. After all, no one can promote a story as well as the one who wrote it because they have an intimate relationship with the characters!

Like any job, writing and publishing is not without it’s challenges. But for me,  it is very personally fulfilling. Thankfully, I went into the project with realistic expectations since I had worked in the independent publishing industry long before starting my own race.

The prize for me will come as each book is sold in the marketplace. Now, it’s back to more work. This blog brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com. The space where independent thoughts, words and views are all part of the business.