Every year our family makes it a tradition to listen to this rendition of Sandi Patty singing “The Star Spangled Banner.”
This youtube clip is from 1985 when it was first played for the nation. The song last six minutes and gives me goose bumps every time I hear it.
by Steve Laube
Small Message, Big Impact by Terri L. Sjodin is this month’s “Book of the Month.” I recommend that every veteran and aspiring writer read this book and glean from it.
The key to this book is in the subtitle: How to Put the Power of the Elevator Speech Effect to Work for You. Sjodin defines the elevator speech as: “A brief presentation that introduces a product, service, philosophy, or an idea. The name suggests the notion that the message should be delivered in the time span of an elevator ride, up to about three minutes. Its general purpose is to intrigue and inspire a listener to want to hear more of the presenter’s complete proposition in the near future.”
Watch this tongue-in-cheek look at what a writers conference asks of a “famous” writer.
Very clever.
A $30 iPad…for kids? – take a look at the new anaPad. Have to admire the entrepreneur, even when the idea seems a little odd.
Twitter Profile Mistakes – Excellent advice for writers who tweet.
Andrew Wylie in the Wall Street Journal Magazine – See what this uberagent has to say about the future of publishing. Especially note his thoughts on the global market.
Would James Joyce have used an iPad? – An interesting look at a “classic” writer and what tools he might have used today.
Top Ten Misused English Words – A great list. Any words you would add? (Calvary vs. Cavalry…)
Take a gander at this fascinating infographic comparing Walmart and Amazon.
Steven Sharp Nelson playing eight cellos. Watch and enjoy.
His album “Sacred Cell0” is one of my all time favorites.
by Karen Ball
Remember the musical Oklahoma? Gordon MacRae singing to, of all people, Rod Steiger: “Poor Jud is daid, poor Jud Fry is daid…”
Well, the way folks have been talking lately, I’m waiting for the new musical, “Digital World,” where a Gordon MacRae-esque editor will stand next to a book and sing out, “Poor print is daid, poor print books is daid, they’re lookin’ oh, so tattered and passé…”
by Steve Laube
Thirty Three Twitter Feeds to Follow – The folks at Poets & Writers put together a helpful list of publishing and writing oriented twitter feeds to follow.
Kindle Spam Clogging Amazon – What a mess. Fake compiled books are being uploaded on the Kindle digital platform and sold to unsuspecting people. Another argument for Curation.
Google Books Creates Affiliate Program – Click this to apply to become a sales affiliate for Google Books. Similar to the Amazon program. At least it gives you an alternative if your state has been shut out by Amazon’s war with State Departments of Revenue.
Turn Off Your Phone – Donald Miller seeks out the secret to productivity. Simple but effective.
How Many of Your Facebook Friends do You Know? – Tech Crunch summarizes a Pew Research Study. They claim, “Facebook users have about 229 Friends, with about 22% of their total Friends list being comprised of people they know from high school, 12% extended family, 10% coworkers, 9% college friends, 8% immediate family, 7% people from extracurricular groups and 2% being neighbors.” I guess I’m not normal.
Randy Ingermanson recently interviewed author Mary DeMuth in his “Advanced Fiction Writing E-Zine” and the topic of rejection surfaced. I thought it was very insightful and, with permission, am posting their conversation.
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My friend Mary DeMuth recently published an e-book with the title The 11 Secrets of Getting Published.
Given that the price is only $2.99, I assumed the book would be about 50 pages with a few simple tips on breaking into publishing.
When Mary sent me a copy, I was astounded to find that it ran to 229 pages of solid information on breaking in. Developing your craft. Learning discipline.
Learning to accept critiques. Writing a query and a proposal. And tons more. Mary packed this book.
The chapter that hit home for me was titled, “Overcome Fear and Rejection.” You’d think I’d be good at that after 23 years of this writing game, but I still hate rejection and I still battle fear.am posting their conversation.
Enjoy the short two minute video below.
I particularly liked #18 and #25.
Which ones work for you?
29 WAYS TO STAY CREATIVE from TO-FU on Vimeo.
by Steve Laube
A common myth permeating the industry is that a book is not profitable if the author’s advance does not earn out. I would like to attempt to dispel this myth.
First let’s define the term “Advance.” When a book contract is created between a publisher and an author, the author is usually paid an advance. This is like getting an advance against your allowance when you were a kid. It isn’t an amount that is in addition to any future earnings from the sale of the book. Instead, like that allowance, it is money paid in advance against all future royalties, and it must therefore be covered by royalty revenue (i.e. earned out) before any new royalty earnings are paid.