Take a Creative Leap - You Have Wings!

Guest Post by Rosanne Bane

Rosanne Bane, creativity coach and author of Around the Writers’ Block: Using Brain Science to Solve Resistance is to trust the Lord when we write. This guest post is adapted for us from Rosanne’s blog www.BaneOfYourResistance.com.

“Be like the bird that,

Pausing in her flight

Awhile on boughs too slight,

Feels them give way beneath her,

And yet sings,

Knowing she hath wings.”

- Victor Hugo

What creative leap have you been thinking about? Starting a new piece of writing? Going public with your writing in a blog or querying a publication, agent or editor? Returning to something you wrote and abandoned?  What creative leap have you dreamed about-perhaps for years?

I believe we all have something to contribute to the tapestry of life. If we don’t add the threads the Lord has given us to share, the tapestry will be weaker and less vibrant. You don’t have to weave the whole tapestry; that’s the Divine Creator’s job. All you have to do is add one thread today. 

To take the creative leap you're dreaming about, you need to keep the risk manageable. Don't worry about everything you'll have to do to bring this "leap project" of yours into being. You can't do everything today anyway, so do just one thread. 

Take one small action today that moves you forward. Commit to spending 15 Magic Minutes [link to http://baneofyourresistance.com/2009/05/19/15-magic-minutes/] on your project. If 15 minutes feels too big a leap, commit to 10 or even 5 minutes. Even if you give your project just one minute, you're moving forward. And tomorrow's minutes will be that much easier.

Draft something you’ve been thinking about. Or, write the worst query letter ever and promise yourself you can write a better one tomorrow.

Free-write to see what’s on your mind, or what grabbed your attention today. Revise something you worked on another day. Do research. Map your ideas and plot possible writing topics for a different day.

You could always just sit there and wait, or you could move stuff around in what seems like an aimless waste of time. What matters is that you show up and keep showing up to write.

You don’t have to know how high you’ll jump today or if today’s jump will “add up to anything in the end” – just take the leap to write!

Every time you propel yourself forward in trust that your willingness to write has been given to you to share, like a butterfly, your wings grow stronger.   Your heart sings louder.  Your spirit soars higher.

What creative leap are you taking today?  http://baneofyourresistance.com/around-the-writers-block-book/

Rita Kroon

Shocking Email

I was shocked and saddened when I received an email this past week.  The opening paragraph read:

"Good Morning, Rita,

It is with great sadness we announce that CrossBooks will cease publishing and distributing its titles, effective May 1, 2015.  We know you place a great deal of trust in CrossBooks when you decided to publish with us and we recognize there will be many questions that we will do our best to answer for you."

I spoke immediately with my marketing specialist at CrossBooks who was equally saddened as I was. (I'm scrambling to keep two of my books and my website live, but he's scrambling for his job!)  He spoke in a gentle tone as he informed me that not only would all books for all authors published with CrossBooks (division of LifeWay Books) cease to be published and distributed, but our websites/blogs will also go down effective April 15.  Authors do have the option of transferring our files to West Bow Press or to have their files returned to authors.  He added my name to the list to transfer to West Bow and we will work out details from there.

I had just completed another book when all this came to light, so I decided to explore another option.  I would print and publish my book - self publish in the truest sense of the word.  I discovered a book printing place called The Book Patch.  That's what The Book Patch does - prints POD books.

My daughter LaDawn, and I set out on this venture with fear and trepidation, and yet, with an excitement and curiosity to see if we could actually do this.  We were able to follow their explicit step-by-step directions.  First, I changed my files to PDF and uploaded them.  

Next, we worked on the cover.  We downloaded their free template, inserted our photo and did the layout for title and author name.  Next, came the spine which was also done with a template.  The back cover fell into place again using the book printers' free template.  We inserted the price, an ISBN number and bar code.  When I was satisfied that all was exactly as I wanted it, we uploaded it to The Book Patch.  

There was only one minor drawback and that was that the templates are limiting as far as being able to move things around on the covers, but we were able to easily adapt our cover ideas to fit the templates.  My book, Cancer - a Journey through the Valley, is revised from an earlier book I wrote in 2011.  In my new book, I added an epilogue and several important changes and additions to the interior as well as a new cover design.

The best part?  There is absolutely NO cost to the author!  And, authors retain 100% of their rights.  The book is listed in the bookstore of The Book Patch "where books grow" - which appears on their fb and Twitter sites.  Of course, authors still have to do marketing and get the word out as is also the case with indi-publishing and traditional publishing.  

The consumer purchases the book and pays for shipping.  The Book Patch ships all orders, deducts the printing cost, sends an invoice to the author, and a check (after a set amount is reached) for the difference between the printing cost and the price of the book.  I was able to lower the price of my book considerably to make it more affordable for consumers and still have profit.

Time will tell if this was a good way to go or not, but so far, I feel very accomplished, and I have great expectations that this was the right decision.  See what you think.  The name of my book is Cancer  A Journey through the Vally  and it is available at TheBookPatch.com.

Necessity may be the mother of invention, but innovation is key to publication.

Rita Kroon

New Friends, New Books

 

My daughter LaDawn, and I met several new friends at the Bloomington Writers Festival & Book Fair last week where one hundred writers networked with one another and with twenty three vendors such as publishers (traditional and self-publish), editors,audiobooks and more.  Several workshops provided a wealth of info for writers and the general public.

I would like to introduce you to two of them.



                    ***************************************************
Marly Cornell is an artist, writer, ghostwriter, and manuscript editor from Minneapolis.  She has worked for thirty years in the corporate nonprofit service in healthcare, behavioral services, mental health law, and physician recruitment.

In her book, The Able Life of Cody Jane, Marly candidly tells the courageous story of her only daughter. Cody was born with spina bifida (myelomeningocele) a nervous system dysfunction. She had  multiple other  physical disabilities as well.  She faced insurmountable barriers, and yet, Marly says, "Cody was a person of joyful spirits and infectious humor."  Marly adds, "Cody knew the complete inability of circumstance to deflect greatness of spirit - a reminder that each day of life is best engaged with a sense of celebration.  Cody died at age 32.

Marly's other book, Seeds for Change, documents how Suri and Edda Sehgal, refugees who each escaped dangerous and difficult circumstances as children came to America as young adults (from India and Germany respectively), met and fell in love.  They went on to have  extraordinary experiences as talented and visionary business leaders and generous philanthropists.  As a crop scientist and agricultural visionary, Suri became a respected and pivotal figure in the development of the global hybrid-seed industry.   The personal history of Suri and Edda is a chronicle of an enduring lifelong commitment to helping others.  www.marlycornell.com
                               **************************************************************************

Another friend I met at the Book Fair is Rosanne Bane, from Mpls. and  author of Around the Writer's Block - Using Brain Science to Solve Writer's Resistance.  In addition to being a writer, Rosanne conducts classes at the Loft Literary Center.  She can give you or your writer's group or professional organization the encouragement, information and tools you need to keep writing.  In her book, you will discover the tricks that your brain uses to keep you from writing—and how to beat them.  Rosanne asks,
"Do you:
* Want to write, but find it impossible to get started?
* Keep your schedules so full that you don’t have any time to write?
* Wait until the last minute to write, even though you know you could do a better job if you gave
    yourself more time?
* Suddenly remember ten other things that you need to do whenever you sit down to write?
* Sabotage your own best efforts with lost files, missed deadlines, or excessive self-criticism?"
www.Baneofyourresistance.com

I hope you enjoy a post-mini visit to the Bloomington Writers Festival and Book Fair as much as I did.

Rita Kroon