|
 |
 |
|
Is it October already? Again? Octoberfest, Halloween, pumpkins, and the vertiginous slide toward the year-end holidays with a big bump called Thanksgiving right on the horizon. Wasn't it January just a minute ago?
And yet, if I reflect on the past year, so much has been accomplished. All that hard work, all those early mornings and late nights, are at long last yielding their harvest. Huge thanks to the entire team!
Which takes me to this month's musing.
A friend and fellow author wrote to me after September's issue and suggested I write about goals, in the context of the craft of writing and creating. The expressive arts don't lend themselves to such drudgery as "goals" and "milestones" very easily. In fact, the two often face off not unlike two revved-up cats defending their respective territories.
It's delicious to lose oneself in that great big rolling ocean called "creativity." No question! It's addicting. But without structure, discipline, and promises to your own success [read: goals], you're very likely to be swept under by those very same currents.
It doesn't mean you have to follow the experts all the time. Remember that recent article about 4am being the most productive hour? That's not for everyone. We all have our own circadian rhythms, our own pace and productivity cycles. You will never see me up at 4am. That's sacred time for rest and rejuvenation.
But I do structure my days, appropriately. I do plan months out. I do follow a tight personal discipline. Without it, none of these lovely fruits-of-our-labor I share would be possible.
Speaking of fruits, check out the latest pics from this past weekend's Indie Author Day in Santa Cruz and Corte Madera, and see below for our latest new project, affectionately named "Book-to-Bar."
And if you've been musing about something that you'd like me to expound upon in a future issue, by all means drop me your thoughts.
~ Birgitte
p.s. By the way, how do you like the revised format of the eLetter? I did take your suggestions from the survey into consideration! No more sales-y sidebar!
|
|
 |
On the plane ride back from a chocolate industry event in New York back in June, I thought about all the conversations I had had with the small craft chocolate makers. The overarching message was, it's really hard to keep their passion alive as a business.
Ain't that the truth. It's hard for anyone sailing their own ship, no matter which sea you're navigating.
So I thought, what can I, an author, do?
And then I thought, why, a lot actually! And I can help not just all those wonderful passionate chocolate makers, but also another organization that's been supportive of my book since the very beginning.
Introducing Book-to-Bar, a delightful new pairing of chocolate and literature.
Each Book-to-Bar is a signed copy of my book The Jaguar and the Cacao Tree paired with a delicious bar of high quality or artisan chocolate and a Tasting/Reading Notes card. Beautifully wrapped, it makes a unique holiday gift. Nothing like this exists, to my knowledge.
We have several chocolate shops selling these bundles already—and yes the sales go to them. You can see who they are on the Book-to-Bar landing page. I encourage you to visit their sites and check out their amazing chocolate selections.
Who's the other organization? It's Bio Itzà, the Guatemalan non profit whose director translated some of the passages in my book into Itzà Maya, a very rare language. Now they're strapped for cash to cover their basic operating costs, and I'm donating 11% of the proceeds from the Book-to-Bar bundles that I sell at events and via my web site to them.
So regardless where you get your Book-to-Bar giftset, you're supporting the little guys and gals: artisan chocolate shops or a sustainable forestry non profit in Guatemala. That's pretty neat.
Oh, one more thing. On November 29th, live on Facebook, we'll draw the name of one of you from my email list, and that person will win a Book-to-Bar bundle. That's the third "win" in that triple win-win-win scenario I like so much.
If you have friends, colleagues or loved ones who appreciate a good bar of craft chocolate and a good book, please let them know about Book-to-Bar. At the very least they can sign up for a chance to win one!
|
|
|
 |
Metadata is "information about information." In other words, all the back-room stuff. In our world, we authors don't just write. We study. We learn. We (try to) wrap our fatigued brains around new technologies, new ideas, new tools. All. The. Time. At least we should. Lately, for some reason, I've been coming across one interesting tool after another, and I thought I'd share.
For those of you who are authors, writers, or artists of any kind, these courses have very relevant information you can apply to numerous creative disciplines.
Note: no payment, bribe or other forms of persuasive gifts have been bestowed upon me by the people running these courses. Sadly, not even truckfuls of chocolate. I actually asked them if I can mention their work here, and they so very kindly said yes.
Reedsy Learning
Reedsy Learning is a brand new learning platform for authors. It offers free courses on pretty much every subject useful to an author [read: creator], from story inception to marketing. Each course is taught by a relevant industry expert. And yes it really is free—it does require your email address as the lessons are sent that way. For details see the Reedsy Learning site.
Full disclosure: I did sign up for a course by one of their experts, both on the free Reedsy side and the paid course run separately by the same expert. So far so good!
Tip: What you need to look for is the "depth of the iceberg," as I call it. If the paid content is only a little deeper than the free intro stuff, run. But if the iceberg really is deep, it's worth every penny.
Rock Your Crowdfunding Campaign
Design and create your campaign in just five video classes, with the help of expert crowdfunders. They'll walk you through the process of developing a campaign and teach you how to develop the narrative arc, what goes into making a great video, how to create great rewards, how to prepare for taxes, and more. The course comes with a 23-page guide for how to prepare for your launch, complete with templates. For details please go to the Rock Your Campaign web site.
Some of you will remember our own successful crowdfunding campaign for our Tsunami photography book, which went on to receive two honors. We're gearing up for another one and that's why this course caught my eye. Why bother when we've already been successful once? Because you cannot sit on your laurels. Always need to stay ahead of the game, and on top of yours. So if you're thinking about a crowdfunding campaign, you might check this out.
Full disclosure: I haven't taken this course personally but I did sit in on their free webinar yesterday. Having run a campaign myself, I can say they shared some important information and tips about crowdfunding, so for anyone new to the concept, this might be a useful resource.
|
|
|
 |
Virtual FantasyCon
A live event taking place RIGHT NOW, all this week on Facebook, through October 16. I'm scheduled on two days: Thursday, October 13 for "Series and Short Stories," and Sunday, October 16 for "YA/Children’s Fantasy".
NW Chocolate Festival
November 12, 2016
2:00pm
I'm giving a talk on how cacao's mythology and biology define our relationship with chocolate.
Come to Seattle!
Indie Author Day
December 4, 2016
Indie Author Day part 2, for some libraries! I'll be at the San Jose public library. Time TBD.
|
|
Connect with me:
|
|
|
 |
You are receiving this message because you have signed up for my mailing list, registered with a user account on my author's web site, sent me flowers or dark chocolate, survived a live television program with me, or otherwise communicated with me and/or shown interest in my work or the official Birgitte Rasine author web site, or because you are someone I know personally. If you have any questions, please contact LUCITÀ via email at info@lucita.net or by telephone at +1 408.542.9942.
Copyright © 2016 LUCITÀ Inc. All rights reserved worldwide.
|
|
