Review: The Well-Fed Writer: Back for Seconds by P. Bowerman

"Get Real. Get Honest. Get Smart. And get out there ... if you hate marketing, you'll love this book!"

In his newest work, The Well-Fed Writer: Back For Seconds, author Peter Bowerman aims to arm professional commercial freelance writers with an assortment of tactics to help them improve their income, knowledge, and quality of life by giving them loads of very helpful marketing strategies, tips on how to get their attitude in line with their goals, building a portfolio, finding work in unexpected places, and more.

Add to this a wealth of real-life experience from people who are "out there, doing it," writing and marketing resources, start-up tips, and "golden wisdom," it essentially gives readers almost three-hundred pages of ideas, hints, and how-to's that they can use to become a very Well-Fed Writer!

It's designed to be a companion to the prior work and after reading this independently, I do have to recommend to those individuals who are considering or in the beginning stages of their commercial writing careers to make sure they also get a copy of The Well-Fed Writer either before or in conjunction with TWFW: Back for Seconds because although the book is very helpful and has loads of great ideas, if read as a standalone it lacks a tiny bit in regards to a few of the basic topics that "newbies" to the industry are probably most needing.

But even by itself, I have to emphasize that the chapters on marketing, sales, and cold-calling alone are very valuable to any writer because the points covered (although specific to the field) can be applied to much more than merely "commercial writing" since the premises themselves (meeting your readers needs, distinguishing yourself, networking, branding) can also in theory apply to other writing-oriented careers.

A great addition to any writer's bookshelf, this lengthy work has much to offer in helping those in the process actually become a more successful professional writer.

Great job, Peter!

Additional Info:

The Well-Fed Writer: Back For Seconds -- A Second Helping Of "How-To" For Any Writer Dreaming of Great Bucks and Exceptional Quality of Life By Peter Bowerman
ISBN 0967059852
$19.95 284 pp.

©2006 Reviewed by Dehanna Bailee

I've Been Libraried!

In a rare free moment today, I was Googling around (mostly looking for new options and links to outlets that sell my ebook due to the Amazon/Ingram thing) and happened to come across a new link in regards to my "ABC's" book.

At first I thought it to be of little note--just another random listing in the wide world of indexed netpages--but still, my curiosity got the best of me and boy-oh-boy was I ever glad that I explored further.

It seems "the oldest community college in the metro Denver area," Arapahoe Community College, has recently taken the initiative to accept my book into their fine library facilities and place it on the shelf (right alongside their other additional 42000+ titles)!

And not only were they so kind to do so but they also classified me under not one but FIVE different searchable subject categories!! As well as assigned me my own little special call number (if you're interested: Z249.3. B3 2005)!!

Wow!! What a way to top off the week!!

Want to see it for yourself, just visit:

LINK:

ACC Library

Ingram, Amazon, & E-Books Oh-My!!!

Recent news (possibly not all good) regarding Ingram (you know ... the POD author's best friend next to Lightning Source)

From the official release:

Ingram Acquires Vital Source Technologies, Expanding Its Digital Content Delivery Solutions

Link: Ingram Aquires Vital Source

"Ingram Industries Inc. today announced it has completed the acquisition of Vital Source Technologies, Inc. ("VitalSource") of Raleigh, North Carolina, a leading and trusted provider of digital content delivery solutions in education and professional learning environments.

VitalSource, which has become part of the Ingram Digital Ventures operating group, provides the market's only turnkey solution for portable digital content.

Founded in 1994, VitalSource has emerged as the leader in educational content delivery..."

Now, this might be all fine and dandy however I've also learned that on the heels of this announcement that Amazon has decided to halt the offering of e-books distributed by Ingram (Lightning et al) and in doing so may possibly hurt a bunch of e-published independents and self-publishers for this Ingram/Amazon connection has been for quite some time *THE* way to go to reach many readers of digital media (said with no offense whatsoever meant towards other notable sources such as Palm, Fictionwise, OverDrive, etc--it's just many of us don't qualify to be listed on your sites *sniff*).

Now the more worthy authors who have already made it into the "big league" of e-books and earned placement at the other booming e-facilities (like those mentioned above) will most likely not see too much of a drop in sales ... but for others--myself included--it'll definately put a serious dip in the earnings (*sniff again* ... pout, pout)

And it'll also be verrrrry interesting to see how this whole thing works with VitalSource too for after persuing thier very nice website, I was sad to learn that if I presently wanted to obtain some material from them, I can't for I don't have the technological capablity (now class, can we say Windows 98 first edition?? lol).

Okay, I admit the technological hinderance of my relic of a system is no one's fault but my own yet I can't help but to think that there will be some impact to an industry in which I was finally seeing a re-birth of after quite some time of awkward stagnation.

But I gotta keep the faith folks! Ingram (and LS) has been good to quite a few of us independent authors and I have a sincere hope that in thier quest they won't leave us little guys in too bad of a spot for as John R. Ingram, Vice Chairman of Ingram Industries Inc. said: "...the acquisition will expand Ingram's existing services to publishers and other content owners by providing a comprehensive offering of digital content accession, storage, management and delivery services."

With a title like that, I'm sure he knows what he's talking about :)

And it's not Ingram's fault that Amazon chose to do what they are proposing--much less Amazon's. Being under the same umbrella as the well-known (and major competitor) Booksurge might have something to do with the action for as we all know, business is business, right?

So, here's to crossing fingers! I'll keep you informed as I am myself :)

Bunnies, Hawks, and Tongs

I was checking the plantings around my home when my dog suddenly stiffened, alerting me to a foreign guest. Now, I admit my first instinct was "snake" (since we have quite a healthy population of those errant visitors) so my finding the cute collection of cuddly critters that I did was a most pleasant surprise.

Momma Bunny had deposited a young litter of three bunni-lets practically on my back step. (see pic. of one of them)

Now I understand if she chose to have her brood so close there had to be a valid reason (either her being very young--she is, I saw her--or there are more predators than prey amongst the dense brush---fyi, true too for we just had hooty-owls babies).

So, for over a week to try to help her we checked on the brood daily, careful not to disturb their safe little haven and have been keeping the dog under "surveillance" so that she wouldn't try to literally lick them to pieces (she's a lover not a killer).

But yesterday the peaceful illusion quickly vanished when as I was out grilling on the back deck, the trio of bunni-lets took it upon themselves to discover the world. At first it was endearing as the soft little brown heads poked around the opening of the nest then tentatively hopped into the sunshine...

Yet, nature is a ruthless reality. It doesn't let you forget how fragile we all are and as a red-tailed hawk dove towards the helpless trio only to be distracted by a crazy-woman armed with a pair of bbq tongs … well, needless to say you can imagine what happened next. Yep, the bunni-lets scattered as the confused hawk plopped smack dab into the middle of them.

And if you've read this far by now you're asking what on earth does this have to do with writing because in theory this is supposed to be a writing blog, right?

Well, I do have a point as silly as it is of how this lesson applies to us as authors for in our own worlds we have a choice: we can be the Momma Bunny or the hawk.

What do it mean by that? Well, look at it this way: Momma tried her best to plan things out before she gave birth to ensure the success of her progeny. She went against her first instinct to do something just because the other bunnies did it that way then chose to do things after looking into her options.

Sure, the bunni-lets are somewhat chaotic at the moment but keep in mind that at least two are still surviving and that's what she intended--some success and a return on her investment.**

Now the hawk on the other hand thought he had it easy. "Yeah, I'll just dive right in, ignore the warnings, not circle around a few more times to scope it out…" Wrong! He just acted on impulse and quickly found out that it wasn't as easy as it seemed and even ended up losing a few tail-feathers in the process.

So, now do you see where I'm going…?

You have to realize that just like in this natural situation, you have that same choice in publishing: to look at your options and find the route to ensure your own success or just dive right into who knows what like the hawk.

The choice is yours!

(P.S. Do your research--don't risk a run-in with a woman with tongs!!!)

* * - Note: None of the bunni-lets were taken by the hawk and after a little searching we know we still have two of the three little bunnies roaming in the yard. They seem to be okay if not worse for wear and I believe mom fed them since they were still bright eyed and bushy-tailed as of last check.

Virtual Award Given to Authors' Organization

Recently Bev Walton-Porter, the publisher and editor of Scribe and Quill, honored Sharing with Writers her newsletter's highest honor, a Virtual Quill. 

Sharing with Writers, an entity of Authors' Coalition, includes tips and articles on book promotion, the craft of writing and is a place where authors can brag and in so doing, let other authors know of the resources that worked for them.

SWW is edited by founder Carolyn Howard-Johnson who is author of the acclaimed novel This is the Place, the creative nonfiction collection, Harkening, and a poetry chapbook, Tracings--books that explore the corrosive nature of even subtle intolerance. Carolyn is also the author of USA Book News' Best Professional Book 2004, The Frugal Book Promoter: How to Do What Your Publisher Won't. Frugal is also the winner of the Book Publicists of Southern California's Irwin Award.

Scribe and Quill is a regular e-zine published for writers of all experience levels and genres that will soon be celebrating its tenth year. It boasts over 7,000 e-mail subscribers and 30,000 website visitors each month.

Learn more about it at: http://www.scribequill.com/

# # # #

Blood Tastes Lousy With Scotch

"They say blood is thicker than water, but you can't bathe in it, you can't cook with it, and blood tastes lousy with scotch."

Anyone who has vacationed in the beautiful Catskill Mountains knows the village of Ellenville, New York, and no visit to Ellenville was complete without a stop in Cohen's Quality Bakery, "Home of the World Famous Raisin Pumpernickel."

Cohen's Bakery owners Ruby and Reginia Cohen struggled together for over fifty years to build a lasting legacy for their grandchildren and financial security for themselves in their retirement years, yet it took only a handful of outsiders less than eighteen months to destroy everything they worked their entire lives to acquire.

When asked about her latest release titled Blood Tastes Lousy With Scotch, author Robin Cohen Westmiller is quoted as saying, "This is the true account of the events that lead to the near destruction of our family at the hands of my cousins, a court appointed guardian, and one of the most powerful Elder Law attorneys in South Florida.

It is a story of determination, fortitude and of the victory, which inspired the creation of the National Association To Stop Guardian Abuse. http://stopguardianabuse.org "

In addition to being the author of "Blood Tastes Lousy With Scotch," Robin Cohen Westmiller is also the author of “Red Wine for Breakfast”  and “First Class Male” published under her pen name of Raven West and “Journey to Dimension Nine” tales of erotica by FireBird

To visit Robin C. Westmiller online, go to http://ravenwest.net or more information, just visit the publisher's website at http://www.StarPublish.com

Blood Tastes Lousy With Scotch is available in both paperback and e-book versions, and can be purchased at your local bookstore and at online bookstores such as Amazon.com, BN.com, and others.

# # # #

We're all Ones…

I finally hit a little milestone I'd set for myself some while back when I started my blog, The Backroom (which what you're reading now) and while I try hard not to become too obsessed with things like hits, stats, numbers, and accounting (because like I mentioned in my previous post, most times there's not enough information collected to accurately reflect the truth), in this case I believe I have enough data to make a reasonably educated estimation.

So, what's the grand occasion you may ask? Well, although it's nothing in comparison to the multitude of very successful blogs out there, the main page of my Backroom has finally hit the plus-one hundred readership mark for the last two weeks (not counting the usual array of hits from ATOM/RSS readers, spiders, and bots) which I don't think is bad at all for a pretty much rarely ever marketed project.

Yes, the count is miniscule I know and nothing when put into relation with the traffic of my primary website [http://dehanna.com] yet for me it's a notable occasion and reminds me again of how we all have to start somewhere … even if it's only from the piddly Number 1.

Whether it's the first book sold, manuscript or article written, or professional contact made, the majority of people who write had to start from absolutely nothing but a whim and a dream and build from there.

There's no *poof* factor or fairy-godmothers with magic wands that make anything and everything instantly happen in this industry and anyone coming into it (or even just passing though) shouldn't let themselves believe any different.

It takes work, education, commitment, integrity, and more to become just even "slightly-noted" (as in detectable by a search engine) much less successful--but let's not forget profitable--and deluding yourself from the truth of what it is doesn't help anyone succeed.

But having this kind of realistic attitude doesn't mean you can't dream--we all do (including me)--but you have to realize that most of the time it doesn't happen overnight unless you're already somebody in a business many times filled with an endless supply of unknowns.

So, I guess the theme of my litany today is: don't get discouraged if you're beginning with your own writing project or career and are still numbering in the fifties or maybe only in the tens or less because when it comes down to it many times it really doesn't matter where you are right now.

All that counts is that you try to realistically stay true to your project, set little reachable goals, learn as much as you can about making it a success, and apply the knowledge of what worked for others in your own creative way!

Because hey … we're all ones at some point ;)

No HTML for Me too, Please!

As I continue to gather my almost daily assemblage of newsletters, blogs, sites, and various digitalized reading material, I have to admit I do so wholeheartedly agree with the recent rambling of Shel Horowitz in regards to HTML newsletters (or in email for that matter):

"You've got to wonder about marketers who send those horrible emails where everything is in 8-point type all jammed on the left side of the page and completely unreadable.

However...as a recipient, I loathe HTML, find that in 98% of newsletters with graphics, the graphics are unnecessary--I keep them turned off, so for the most part..."

Ditto here as well ... for the full read that includes a few tips on how to format your own newsletter, just use the link below ;)

LINK: Principled Profit

Get Your F*REE ebooks now!

From July 4th-August 4, 2006 you can download whatever you want from thier selction of over 1/3 million free eBooks by visiting the World eBook Fair, the largest showcase for eBooks, eBook publishers, editors, and others working in the new world of eBooks.

Link: World Ebook Fair

Iliad via iLiad?

For all you ebook afficandos, bust out your e-version of Homer, the iRex iLiad is now available and for right under a cool grand ($1000), eager ebook readers can now get thier hands on the newest ebook technology!

From the website:

"Digital written content can now be read as easily and conveniently as the printed word on paper. The iRex Technologies E-reader provides true reading comfort, flexibility and versatility. Designed for intuitive ease of use, the iRex Technologies E-reader, uses wireless Internet connectivity, PC connection or flash memory to deliver content. "

For more info, visit: iLiad at iRex

Lulu via Video

Here's an interesting bit of news via the NYT for those more video-oriented readers:

Site Tempts Video Makers by Offering to Pay Them by Peter Wayner

In a nutshell, Lulu ( yes, same company as the well-known FBPOD), has created a place for videomakers to post and sell thier work.

Clips can be uploaded and a "money pool" will be formed in which funds will be distributed to those creators that attract the most viewers. Lulu is also upping the ante by putting forth a generous chunk of *moola* (or should the funds be called "loo-la" ...lol) to get the process going.

An interesting idea for all those budding Spielbergs.

For more info, you can read the full article at:

Lulu via Video

Or visit: Lulu.tv

Farewell to Baen

For those who haven't yet heard, Jim Baen, co-founder of Baen Books (one of the leading publishers of sci-fi and fantasy) and champion of e-books recently passed. His knowlege and dedication will be a great loss to the publishing community.

For the full release visit: Baen Release

Or visit the main website at: http://www.baen.com