Inspiring Indie Films

“Industry, perseverence and frugality make fortunes yield”                               ~ Ben Franklin

My grandparents lived in Baltimore City, one of the nicer neighborhoods, for city living. The street was filled with single family homes separated by not much more than a driveway but, their back yard was fairly spacious compared to many neighborhoods.  It included a stone patio with outdoor fireplace, beautiful flower gardens and even a goldfish pond. The largest magnolia tree I have ever seen, sat in their yard. They made the most of the plot of land they had.

It was a time when people sat out on their front porches to cool themselves from the sweltering, humid heat because there was no air conditioning. We would sit out on the front porch, in rocking chairs with our Grandparents, visiting with the neighbors and those passing by.

Every few days, the Ragman would come rolling down the street. The Ragman’s mode of transportation was a cart, pulled by a horse. I can still remember the Ragman’s banter as he navigated the horse and cart down the street. He would yell out “Rags, rags for sale, come get your rags for sale.”

Making the rounds in film festivals now, is the independently published film Ragman. www.Ragmanfilm.com. This film is about unconditional love and self-sacrifice, some of the very same values taught to us by our Grandparents.

Children who grow up knowing their Grandparents are twice blessed. They are  known to have higher self esteem, better emotional and social skills. And, as they say, “when the going gets tough, go to Grandma’s.”

Just my two cents worth for the day!

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More Indie Publisher News

 

Start your year out right! The American Library Association will be holding it’s Midwinter Conference on January 15 at the Boston Convention Center.  Members and non-members,alike may display their publications with the Independent Publishers of New England. For more information visit their website www.ipne.org.

Your book may be the very thing librarians are searching for,  an uncommon book that meets their patrons needs!

For more information on the event, visit http://www.ala.org/conference/upcoming/midwinter./2010/index/cfm.

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Filmmakers – Are you looking for an opportunity to combine Art and Travel? The 12th Annual Green Mountain Film Festival is slated for March 19-28, 2009. This is a curated film festival and an outstanding selection of independent films will be shown throughout the 9 day festival.

For more information, visit http://www.greenmountainfilmfestival.org

Make your travel plans now! And see what the Green Mountain State has to offer for fans of independent film!

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Weekend Indie Publisher News

Attention Independent Filmmakers -

Nomads Land www.nomadsland.com is calling for entries for the Washington, DC Film Series. They are seeking 7 social issue documentary films. Films may be submitted between December 2009 – June 2010.

For submission guidelines, please go to www.nomadsland.com.

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Reminder:  Cover to Cover Radio Show for Authors and Publishers

Airs every Saturday morning on www.wnzf.com  with Host Frank Gromling. Tune in on-line and learn about the independent publishing industry.

• 11:30 am Eastern Time
• 10:30 am Central Time
• 9:30 am Mountain Time
• 8:30 am Pacific Time

Turning Pages

“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.” ~ Henry David Thoreau

For those of you who are returning to this blogsite, you know we have approached the subject of electronic reading devices before. Someone sent me an article from a publishing newsletter the other day that caught my attention. I will share an interesting tidbit of information from the newsletter with you -

Did you know it takes 25% longer to read a book on a digital reading device?

Do you know what the long range consequences of this estimation means?  It means I will read approximately 25% less books in my lifetime. As an owner of a company that serves independent publishers, I am NOT okay with that! I can sum it up real quick, here and now!

I have promises to keep,

and books to read before I sleep,

and books to read before I sleep.

And from a computer, I need relief!!

Get the story?

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Publishing Love Letters

“The love of  a family is life’s greatest blessing.” ~ Unknown

Desktop publishing has been used widely for families to document and share their family geneology and history. Because, let’s be honest, unless you are a member of a notable family, have accomplished something unusual in life, are a hot television personality or politician, a CEO “giant” or have an extreme story to tell, the chances are slim to none of having your book published by a traditional and major publishing house.

Many people find it important to travel to different parts of the world to discover, document and learn about their geneology, but it is not necessary. Tracing your family heritage is made simple in this digital age. Websites like Ancestry.com makes searching for relatives possible and fun.

The purpose of publishing a family history is to pass along stories of family members migrating from one geographical area to another, to teach of ancestor’s struggles and adversities, to record births and deaths, family values and ethnic lineage. A study of our ancestry helps us to identify and connect with those family members who came before us.

A common mistake is to think that only your family members would be interested in your family’s tales. Not so – I just read an independently published book called “Out of Vienna” by Ernie Weiss. www.OutofVienna.com.  The author is not personally known to me, nor is his extended family. But the recounting of his family’s eight year escape from Vienna during the Nazi occupation to the United States was fascinating.

If you are contemplating independently publishing a book about your family’s geneology – take the leap. For your relatives, a book of family history is the inheritance of a love letter written for your children and those not yet born.

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Turning Green

“The earth is what we all have in common” ~  Wendall Barry

I am the first to admit, I am not the best jolly green giant around. Although I would like to stretch the truth and say I am very environmentally conscientious, I have only just begun trading in some of my wasteful habits into more environmentally sound practices. My report card would show great improvement in the following areas:

• Turning off lights when not in use
• Not letting the water run when I am brushing my teeth
• Using the free bus in town whenever I can
• Recycling bottles, cans, plastic bags, newspapers and magazines
• The thermostat goes down to 50 degrees at night – even in winter
• I close the curtains at night to keep it warmer
• I use outdoor lighting only when needed

It is not all good news though folks! My needs improvement list contains the following items:

• My showers are much too long (oh, how I love them!)
• I print out too many emails.
• I do not print on both sides of the paper
• I have not registered on line to reduce my junkmail at www.dmaconsumers.org/cgi/offmailinglist
• My car is not a small economy car or hybrid

Fortunately  for all of us, there are  independently published books to educate us on such subjects as green architecture, sustainable living, recycling  and renewable energy.

Turning our old habits in to new ways of doing things takes time. But, if we all make a conscientious decision to become more aware of what we can all do to help save the planet, little by little, change will come. Even to me!

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Art From Around the World

“Every man’s ability may be strengthened or increased by culture.”                   ~ John Abbott

Having always lived in communities with little cultural diversity, I am somewhat “geographically challenged.” I have had the opportunity to travel to Europe, Bermuda and Canada but the world is a whole lot bigger, wider and broader than that!

The other night, my husband and I had a delightful  dinner with others who hail from far off parts of the world and have traveled to all ends of the earth. Their home is filled with Art they have acquired throughout their travels and the dinner conversation was stimulating as we listened to some of their travel stories.

My international friends are slowly introducing me to their friends from other cultures and countries around the world. For now, we are meeting through Facebook. But, my life may someday give me the opportunity to meet,  in person, my new artist friends from Australia, Macedonia,Mexico and more.

The other day I began to think of the advantages of independent publishing. One of them is the ability to publish books  and films that fit a niche market. What a wonderful exchange of Art and culture it would be if a group of international artists joined forces to independently publish a new book or film of Art from all around the globe. For those individuals who are unable to travel far and wide, it would provide an excellent education.

As we bade our goodbyes the other night, one of the dinner guests told me to “ring her up next time I am in Tazmania.” I might just do that – she was a lovely woman! You never know when I might find myself in her neck of the woods.

 

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Service with a Smile

“If you have a good relationship with your customer, the business process flows that much more smoothly.” ~ Richard Pratt

The other day, I was researching the most cost effective way of shipping an art book to a far off country of the world, Bahrain to be exact! In as much as we had never shipped there before, I felt I really needed to check out our shipping options.

I called PostNet, to get prices from a shipping vendor that we do not use on a regular basis for a comparison figure. The response from the person that answered the phone was so refreshing. I thought it had gone from a snowy, wintery day in Colorado to a day on a warm, sun-soaked beach, all within a matter of minutes. Kathy was so accommodating, I could see her smile right across the telephone wire. She said “I will look into it, and call you right back.” And call back, she did, right away, with the same smile she had in her voice the first time we spoke. I suppose I should not have been taken by surprise, any dealings I have had with PostNet have been positive and that is why I called the company in the first place!

Thanks Kathy, for the good service and for sharing your smile! You brightened my day!

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Weekend Indie Publisher News

Are you an emerging writer looking to share your work with readers? Are you interested in meeting other writers and building a network of literary friends?

Share your writing by uploading your own book and download  other e-books too through www.bookrix.com.  A great way to begin to build a following as a writer, too!

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Braveheart

“When something can be read without effort, great effort has gone into it’s writing.” ~ Enrique Jardiel Poncela

Someone not too long ago made the comment to me that “I am a brave woman to bare my soul through blogging.” Her remark took me by surprise and I began to think about why people write and whether putting pen to paper is an act of bravery.

I came to the conclusion that, yes for many, writing is an act of courage. Therapeutic writing often addresses wrongdoings or failings in one’s life.  Topics of therapeutic writing can be ugly and fraught with raw emotion. Feelings of victimization, being punished or bullied, thoughts of resentment, shame, grief or frustration is often addressed in therapeutic writing. Acts of contrition are often mentioned.  Writing is cathartic and a useful tool of psychological therapy for many.

Writing a memoir takes guts too! Reflecting on one’s own life is not always easy. The act of sharing one’s own life story takes courage.  Deep reflection on one’s own life and it’s purpose often digs up unpleasant moments and times that have been pushed way back, lest they be remembered.

No, I am not a brave woman. I write because it is fun. It gets my fingers goin’ and my thoughts flowin’ and if someone likes my writing, it is all that more satisfying and fulfilling.

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