The Joy of Self-Publishing

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By Rose DesRochers

Thanksgiving is a time for food, celebration, and fun. Every year on Thanksgiving, families gather around the table to enjoy a meal and give thanks. But for some folks, Thanksgiving can be a lonely time. Many adults spend the holidays feeling isolated and depressed.

Today as we celebrate this Thanksgiving, it is important to remember that it’s about more than being thankful for one day, it is an entire lifetime. Today is the day to be thankful for all the things in your life, no matter how big they are, or how small. Even in our deepest sorrow, we can find things to be thankful for.

Holidays bring out emotional pain. This time of year can be difficult for any one who has suffered a loss. Should you be missing loved ones this holiday, rejoice in the knowledge that they are with God. Don’t push yourself today; allow yourself that time to grieve.

For those who may be feeling depressed this Thanksgiving holiday, open your heart to giving. Helping other people in need is a wonderful way to celebrate the day and may make you feel less alone. Check out communities in your area that may need volunteers during the holidays- example: soup kitchens, shelters, hospitals or reach out to your local church.

Life is full of unexpected changes. Death is very much a part of life. Whatever you do today, don’t cover up your feelings of depression and isolation. Own up to those feelings and know that you’re not alone. Somewhere today, someone is feeling the same way that you are.

Today on this Thanksgiving Day please remember, though the harvest might not always be plentiful, family and friends may be few, God has given us each a great deal to be thankful for. It’s my experience that it’s much easier to thank God for our blessing than to find a way to be thankful in the midst of our troubles.

I’m thankful that I have the strength to meet the challenges that come with life. I’m thankful for each memory that family and friends have given me. I’m thankful for having a profound understanding that it is more important to give than to receive. This Thanksgiving I have much to be thankful for.

Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving. ~W.T. Purkiser

Today be thankful for what you have to give, not just what you have received.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Description

Written from personal experience, this book focuses on the unique challenges of starting, growing and selling a high-tech business. It addresses the following issues for aspiring first-time entrepreneurs: making a decision to start a business; ownership and control; organizational, legal, and administrative issues; creating new high-tech products and markets; effective financing and strategic alternatives as the business grows; understanding intellectual property and other business laws; dealing with the global competition; leveraging on information technology; hiring and managing traditional, virtual, and global employees; exit strategies.

About the Author

Dr. Jelena Vucetic has been a leader in the telecommunications and computer industry for more than twenty years. She holds a PhD in electrical engineering, an MBA, an MS in computer science, and a BS in electrical engineering. She is the author of four patents in the area of wireless telecommunications. Dr. Vucetic is the founder of a consulting firm for start-ups, Fortune 500 companies, and government agencies. She also founded a start-up providing equipment and software for the wireless telecommunications market. Its large, publicly traded customer recently acquired the company. Dr. Vucetic also lectures at graduate business and technology schools in the United States and advises PhD and MBA candidates. She lives in Northern Virginia with her husband and son.

Xlibris Publishing Guide - Get this free guide now and learn how you can self-publish your own book.

AUW (An Unproductive Woman) was written in the span of two years beginning in 1997.  There were attempts at publication, however with a new child and re-entry into college, AUW remained buried in a box for some years.

In the summer of 2008, with the encouragement of her husband, Khaalidah decided to self publish AUW.  This is a labor of love as AUW is a story that Khaalidah has always wished to share with others, as it tells the timeless story of love between a husband and his wife, the tests of loyalty and heartbreak, and eventually redemption.  AUW brings this timeless scenario to the reading public as it also introduces little known and often misunderstood cultures and traditions.

The adventure begins here.

About the Author

Khaalidah Muhammad-Ali was raised in New Haven, Connecticut. After high school she attended the University of Connecticut. Today she is a RN at a world-renowned cancer center. She lives with her husband and three children in Houston, Texas. Currently, she is writing her second novel entitled, A Better Place as well as a young adult novel entitled A Day in the Life of Khadijah.

Book Reviews

I read An Unproductive Woman in three days.  I couldn’t put the book down!  That Sauda is a piece of work.  And Asabe, could anyone be that good?

Angie Phelps, Philadephia, Pa.

This is the best read I have had in a long time.  I bought copies for all of my friends.  This is a “must read”.  You ought to be on Oprah!

Janice Brockton, Bridgeport, Tx.

A great read.  I want more.

Maryam Muhammad, Houston, Tx.

Xlibris Publishing Guide - Get this free guide now and learn how you can self-publish your book.

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by Jeff McRitchie

As any parent or high school teacher already knows, high school students can be hard to motivate. While it is true that some teens love to write , it’s fair to say that most of them would prefer not to. As educators, we know that the only way to become a better writer is to practice writing. The problem with most high school writing assignments is that they lack relevance for students. They are more concerned with getting the right answer than they are about developing their writing skills and pushing themselves to hone their verbal prowess. At the same time, they do seem to show more interest in the work of their peers than they do in the works of literature in their textbooks.

After spending months and months teaching your students the hallmarks of good writing, a great way to spark some interest in writing is to self-publish an anthology of creative writing at your school. As you approach this publication project, there are a few things you should consider.

Some teens love attention and thrive on competition. Others prefer to silently participate. If you structure the publication project correctly, both types of students will be interested in working on the publication. Let students know that everyone who submits their pieces by the early bird deadline will definitely have at least one piece selected for publication. In addition to including all writers who submit early, hold a competition for the best pieces. Offer simple prizes for first, second, and third places in different categories. You can select categories based on the anticipated scope of the publication project. For small schools, choose broad categories such as poetry, prose, etc. For larger schools, you can choose more specific categories such as sonnets, descriptive paragraphs, and the like. You may also want to expand the project to include art. In doing so, you can also likely get the art staff to help you lay out and design the final publication.

Set your deadlines for submission and decide on other critical dates. You should assemble a team of students who can help you type and edit the submissions as they come in. You will want to develop a style guide and train the students to follow it. Establish a directory and a procedure and rules for saving and accessing the typed submissions. The more thought you put into the process at the beginning, the more smoothly your publication will come together later.

As you and your team put together the files and make design decisions, you need to order the supplies required to physically assemble the anthology. Before you order supplies, think about the size of the final document and how many copies you plan to distribute. You should think about offering complimentary copies to winners and to your publications team. Others can buy the publication for a nominal fee. Once you’ve run the numbers, order the paper, ink or toner, and binding supplies. Depending on how you choose to bind the publication, you will need to order different supplies.

Once you have the document print-ready, it’s time to assemble. Again, this is a chance to get students involved. They like to help with office tasks they are not accustomed to doing, so it shouldn’t be too hard to get some help. Once the documents are assembled, work with your administration to recognize the winning students. You can put their names on a sign or bulletin board or even recognize them at a school assembly. Once the word gets out, other students and their families will be calling the school to purchase copies of the book.

It’s not difficult to self-publish a school anthology if you are organized. Plan ahead and enjoy seeing your students develop a sense of pride in their writing as they share it with their classmates and their families. There is something magical about seeing one’s own words preserved in a bound publication like a school anthology. It is an experience they will carry with them throughout their lives.

Xlibris Publishing Guide - Get this free guide now and learn how you can self-publish your book anthology.

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Before you can market your work, you need to prepare a Marketing Profile of yourself. Begin by listing you’re most distinguishing work characteristic. For me, it’s working fast. Follow this with a list of specialties, if you have them.

Next comes your credentials. Yes, even if you’ve never been published, you have credentials. What type of work have you done? What do you know best? What special interests do you have?

What type of personality do you have? I’m aggressive but non-competitive.

After listing your credentials, you need to list the subject niche areas that you may like to concentrate in. Over time, I’ve developed seven–travel, Mexico, business, antiques, history, genealogy, and technology, with specialties in Mexico and antiques. My antiques and genealogy writing were spin offs of my history writing and my Mexico work off my travel writing. I don’t write in all of them at once, so when one or more subject markets are down, I have the others to fall back on.

Another item that’s important to list is how you write–fast or slow, long or short, conversational or academic. What skills do you have? I’m particularly good at researching a subject and then assembling the information quickly.

What are your needs? How much writing do you have to do to make a living? Only you can decide this and most likely this will change over time.

In order to work well in your subject areas, you have to be interested in them. What are your interest? Your passions? I collect antiques, so writing about them is a natural. I also love to cook, but I’m not proficient enough to write about it, although I do write about foods I encounter on my travels.

Whether you’re writing nonfiction or fiction, when you approach a publication, think like a salesperson. Always tailor your query to the editor’s style and specifications. Don’t presume that your brilliance and sincerity will compensate for the fact that you’re not giving them what they want.

And I can’t stress this enough: Set realistic, measurable goals for yourself. Commit-in writing-to sending out so many queries a week, or making a certain number of phone calls a day. And follow your marketing plan.

Xlibris Publishing Guide - Get this free guide now and learn how you can self-publish your book.

Article source: Bobbrooke.com

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November 9, 2008 (FPRC) — Guiding principles for the Obama administration are proposed by book author Edward C. Mendler in Policies for a President: a Manifesto for 2008 and Beyond, published by Xlibris.

Originally intended for the US presidential candidates, Mendler’s message goes beyond 2008 as the title of the self-published book declares. It serves as an advice for the new President-elect Barack Obama to be watchful of past presidents’ mistakes.

Mendler presents an account of policies carried out by different US presidents and provides a thorough review and analysis of the government policies of the Bush administration. Lapses of the Bush policies are emphasized specifically the involvement of military power and the belief that military action is an appropriate and effective response to terrorism.

The self-published release also underlines what the American people must seriously consider in government policies. The author wrote, “Take careful account of the policies and the goals that you really want the President to pursue. What is your vision for America, for yourself, your children and grandchildren? What policies of a President will lead us in that direction? How can they be implemented? And what policies and actions of Presidents in the past have carried us forward in the right direction, and what policies and actions have gone astray and set us back?”

Mendler studied political science in Princeton University and graduated magna cum laude. He obtained his law degree in Harvard Law School and practiced his profession as a lawyer in Boston for fifty years. He is primarily working on pro bono.

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Many factors in life influence who we are and help shape our opinion of things that happen around us. What we learn from our educational background, glean from our career choices and realize from our life experiences form part of our character and mold our belief system.

In the case of self-published author James Sunwall, his training as a writer and the time he spent as a combat medic in the South Pacific during the Second World War lent themselves to the creation of his first self-published book.

Escape of the Unicorn is one part play and one part poetry collection. The play is set in 14th Century France and focuses on Robert de Chanson, a troubadour who is imprisoned in the tower of a castle. The poems are glimpses into the author’s experiences as a boy growing up in a Midwestern town, and a glance at his thoughts on war, art and literature. The book encapsulates James’ observations on war and politics, women’s rights, the significance of art, the purpose of religion and the importance of life.

He shares his conviction: “I saw a remarkable similarity between the last year of the Crusades and the present war in Iraq – the futility of a far off war; the cost; the losses in human life; the suffering; all for no avail.” It was this opinion that prompted him to put his knowledge and his belief in a book for all to examine and evaluate.

For the publication of Escape of the Unicorn, James turned to the book publishing services of Xlibris. After seeing an advertisement for the print-on-demand company and upon further investigation, he decided to self publish his book. Of his completed book, James has this to say: “I thought Escape of the Unicorn was well done, so I had a second book (Dodge County Fair) published by Xlibris, which was equally well done in my opinion.”

In fact, the quality of Escape of the Unicorn combined with James’ effort to promote and advertise his work became a factor that led to the wide exposure and acclaim of his book. He put his belief on marketing his self-published book in action when he endeavored to circulate information about Escape of the Unicorn to let people know what it has to say, and why it should be read. James relates, “I have done my best to get my books advertised in book fairs and other means within my power. This includes present and future book fairs.”

Consequently, Escape of the Unicorn garnered praises from the writing community, which received readings of the poems and the play very well. Reviewers also welcomed James’ book positively, with Kirkus Discoveries calling the book a “thoughtful social commentary tossed with a dash of imagistic flare.”

James Sunwall used his observations to form his social commentary, his writing experience to wield his imagistic flare; his understanding of war to make a compelling story; and his persistence to make sure word gets out on his book. These factors helped form Escape of the Unicorn into a self-published masterpiece and the outcome says a lot about the author’s principles, character and belief system.

Escape of the Unicorn may be purchased directly through Xlibris Corporation or Barnes & Noble.com and Amazon.com.

Xlibris Publishing Guide - Get this free guide now and learn how you can self-publish your book.

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