Attending a writers’ conference

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author, business, networking, publishers, women, writing

Writing is a solitary activity — publishing is not. That means people like me need to network and meet other writers and publishers who share the same enthusiasm for writing as I do.

Regardless of how many novels we sell, there is always something to learn at a writers’ conference. The publishing industry is constantly changing and it’s hard for authors to keep up. Honing our craft is about more than learning proper punctuation, or when to use upper case or italics from the Chicago Manual of Style. These conferences offer the sort of nuts-and-bolts information that can improve our writing and increase our efficiency in the business side of the craft.

Sure, they’re exhausting (and usually involve cold coffee and a chicken dinner.) But I recommend that every aspiring writer attend at least one. Wherever you are on the road to success, you will meet others who have been there and who are ready to help you.

 

Renee Garrison is the award-winning author of The Anchor Clankers.

Greetings

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business, cards, e-cards, email, Family, greetings, Memories, technology

Alright, I’m sentimental.

If you open my nightstand drawer, you’ll find a card from my grandfather (congratulating me for making the dean’s list,) a Valentine from old lover and several Mother’s Day cards signed in crayon. They share space with anniversary cards from my husband, supportive cards from my girlfriends, and a stack of sympathy cards that I received, but could not bear to read when my mother died.

That’s why the news that greeting-card industry sales are down – battered by free competitors online – is so unsettling to me.

Technology companies launched electronic greetings – no stamps, no handwriting needed. But we can’t save those sentiments as tangible reminders of the ones who love us. Emails and E-cards have no lasting significance.

Of course some people still buy paper cards: The average customer is in their 40s, according to American Greetings Corporation, which was founded in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1905. That company still generates 89% of its revenue from cards and gift packaging. Interactive business accounts for just 4% of its revenue.

That’s good news for those of us who prefer the printed word to trendy new digital offerings. There’s a certain comfort that comes from reading a message in my grandfather’s meticulous penmanship or holding a birthday card signed by my mother’s hand.

Quite simply, the new way to share old sentiments isn’t as satisfying. Am I wrong?

Mundane tasks

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business, Homes, Houses, mundane task, real-estate

The next time you find yourself resenting some mundane task around the home, just proclaim that you are managing your family estate.

“Home: Celebrating the Spaces of Your Heart” is available at Apple’s iBookstore.