Self Published Authors

"Self Published Authors" Bi-Monthly Newsletter
Helping self-published authors promote and market their books
and share information and resources.

June 1, 2006 Volume 3: Issue 16
Dan Shaurette
editor@selfpublishedauthors.com
http://www.selfpublishedauthors.com

By Subscription Only! You are receiving this newsletter
because you requested a subscription. Unsubscribe instructions
are at the end of this newsletter.

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IN THIS ISSUE
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1. Editor's Notebook
2. Newsletter Submission Guidelines
3. Feature Article By Judy Cullins
4. Resource Links
5. Publicity Article By Dan Shaurette
6. Free Products, Services, Downloads
7. Motivational Article By Sidney Allinson
8. Events, Classes & Workshops
9. Guest Article By Laura Hesse
10. Announcements/Requests
11. Inspirational Article By Gerri D Smith
12. Classified Ads
13. Subscribe/Unsubscribe Information

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1: EDITOR'S NOTEBOOK
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Welcome to the June 2006 newsletter for
SelfPublishedAuthors.com. For those of you who are new to the
subscription, I hope you will enjoy this issue. Thank you for
visiting the website and subscribing to the list.

To the regulars out there, I'm glad to see you back for another
issue. This month we have five wonderful articles, as well as
more great resource links.

If you have questions, comments, suggestions, or if you’d like
to contribute, be interviewed, add an event or have a request,
please reply to this email, or drop a line to me at:
editor@selfpublishedauthors.com

Thanks for reading and enjoy the issue!

Dan Shaurette
editor@selfpublishedauthors.com
http://www.Shaurette.net

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2: NEWSLETTER SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
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The newsletter for SelfPublishedAuthors.com is here to provide a
resource for all authors. Obviously, we want to help you
succeed in your writing, self-publishing efforts, and self-
promotion. I have received a few requests from fellow authors
asking what they can do to promote their books in the
newsletter.

I am always happy to help promote an author and their works in
the newsletter. That's what we're here for. That being said,
the best I can do is one of the following.

If you are interested in writing an article about your
experiences as a self-published author, I would be more than
happy to consider it for publication. If I publish the article,
I will give you space for a signature box that you could use to
promote yourself and your book.

If you would like to send me an ARC copy of your book, eBook
format preferred, I would be happy to review it and interview
you. The interview would most likely be what gets published in
the newsletter, but reviews of recommended books may also be
published. Please note, I have already been presented with some
works to read, so please query me first before sending your
books. I'd rather return a book than form a slush pile.

If you have a book signing coming up, we do try to list those
when they are timely. Remember our newsletter is published in
December, February, April, June, August, and October. If you
host a class or workshop, or have a website that promotes a
writer's resource, please let us know about it. All links about
such events are provided free of charge. Your name, location,
dates, and contact info. will be presented.

If instead you are just interested in placing an advertisement
in the newsletter for your book or website, you can read about
the rates on the website at
http://www.selfpublishedauthors.com/advertise.html -- they are
very fair (only $6 per newsletter issue for a five line ad.)
Advertising requests sent to me, however, will be forwarded on
to Christina Wheeler (contact@selfpublishedauthors.com), the
website and newsletter owner.

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3: FEATURE ARTICLE by Judy Cullins
The Top Five Writing Mistakes Professionals Make
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Yes, you know your subject. You also need to think about
entertaining your audience, and making your book or other
writing easy to read. If your writing lacks organization and
compelling, vital sentences that convince your readers to
keep reading, they will leave your book or Web site
immediately. There goes your "word-of-mouth" promotion.

Try my "Check and Correct" for These Top Five Mistakes

1. Stop passive sentence construction.

When you write in passive voice, your writing slides into
long sentences that slow your readers down, even bore them.
Remember the average sentence length is 15-17 words. Make it
easy to read!

Correct. Before you put your final stamp of approval on your
writing, circle all the "is," "was" and other passive verbs
like: begin, start to, seems, appears, have, and could. Use
your grammar check to count your passives. Aim for 2-4%
only.

2. Stop all pompous language and phrases.

Well-meaning professionals often use the word, "utilize."
You see this criminal in resumes, military directives and
medical or lawyer documents. Utilize not only puts people
off because we don't relate to "jargoneze," but because we
want simple language. Think of Hemingway who knew that one
or two syllable-words work better than longer ones.

Correct. When you aim at 10th grade level, you make it easy
for your audience to "buy." Attempts to impress your
audience with research babble or long words fail because
they sound unreal and create a distance from the audience.
Your reader wants a savvy friend who happens to be an
expert, not just an expert.

3. Show, don't tell to keep your audience reading.

When you take the lazy shortcut using -ly words like
suddenly, or the adverb "very," your telling makes your
reader yawn a "ho hum" and stop reading.

Correct. Instead, show "suddenly." For example, "When she
saw the pistol, she ran and slammed the door behind her." This
shows "suddenly." Instead of "Alice was fat," say "Alice's
girth prevented her from buying just one airline seat."

Circle the -ly and very words and sit down with your
Thesaurus and replace them with power words that describe or
show emotion.

4. Reduce your passive -ing constructions.

Think of a title that inspired you in the past. I like "Jump
Start your Book Sales" by Marilyn and Tom Ross. "Jump
Starting" lacks power because it doesn't ask for action.
"-Ing" construction implies passive. Next time you think
heading, title, or even compelling copy, think command verbs
as sentence starters as well as using other strong verbs and
nouns. Keep your sentences active using verbs in either
present or past tense.

5. Take the "I" out of your writing to acknowledge and
engage your reader

Correct. Whether you write a book introduction, biography,
chapter or web sales message (did you know these are part of
The Essential Hot-Selling Points?"), keep the "I's" to a
minimum. Your audience doesn't care about you, only what you
can do for them. Think about where your audience is
now--their challenges or concerns. Remember to answer their
question, "Why should I buy this from you?" Put a big YOU at
the top of each page you write. Write three or four
paragraphs. Then, circle the "I's" and vow to replace them
with a "you" centered sentence or question.

Instead of telling your story, (I know that's important to
you) put your story in the third person. Or, use this
phrase," If you are like me, you...." Use another name,
maybe a client's or friend's. If you think your bio is
important, instead of placing a long passage on your home
page, place it instead, on your "About Us" page. Keep it
short on your book's back cover. Put your longer bio and
photo inside the back cover page, so you can put more of
what sells on your back cover--testimonials and benefits.
Get everything you write checked by a book or writing coach
to make sure it sells.

You cannot only get more sales from what you write, you can
put yourself out there as the savvy friend to your audience
who wants a problem solved. In the long run, these satisfied
readers will return to you again and again--even buy your
products and services.
___

Copyright © 2006 Judy Cullins. Reprinted with permission.
Judy Cullins, 20-year Book and Internet Marketing Coach works
with small business people who want to make a difference in
people's lives, build their credibility and clients, and make a
consistent life-long income. Judy is author of 10 eBooks
including Ten Non-Techie Ways to Market Your Book Online.
She offers free help through her 2 monthly ezines,
"The BookCoach Says...," "Business Tip of the Month,"
blog Q & A at www.bookcoaching.com and over 200 free articles.

Email her at Judy@bookcoaching.com or Cullinsbks@aol.com
Phone: 619/466-0622 -- Orders: 866/200-9743
Print "Write Your eBook or Other Short Book Fast!" at Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1597720208

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4: RESOURCE LINKS
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NEW AUTHOR & BOOK PROMOTION WEBSITE
Nadia Brown, award winning poet, writer and author of the poetry
book, UNSCRAMBLED EGGS, has created a new website for authors.
You can access articles, resources, and get free marketing tips,
suggestions for book promotion from the list of articles, web
site links listed here.
http://www.freewebs.com/authorpromotion

FREEWEBS.COM - Free Website Provider for everyone
This site provides a nice setup for making your own website,
including blogs, guestbooks, forms, and more. Advertising based,
but premium ad-free space is also available.
http://www.freewebs.com

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5: PUBLICITY ARTICLE by Dan Shaurette
Podcasting for Authors - Part 1: What is podcasting?
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In our last issue, I wrote an article explaining why authors
today should have a blog, or journal website. The next step is
to consider whether or not, as an author, you want to share more
than text with your readers -- and record your voice for an
audio blog or a podcast.

In this new series of articles, I'm hoping to help authors
understand what a podcast is and how to make one.

What is podcasting? Podcasting became a big craze in 2005, but
most people believe this is more than a passing fad.

A "podcast" as it is today did not exist until about September
of 2004. This is when various technologies came together for the
first time to allow automatic delivery of syndicated audio
content on the internet.

Instead of streamed audio that can be found on many internet
radio stations, like SecondShifters.com, podcasting allows for
the automatic download of whole MP3 audio files via a sub-
scription.

It started as web journalers (aka bloggers) found ways to
distribute their journals and put audio in them. This is known
as audioblogging.

The internet is not just a text based place. Audio and video are
as key to information as text is. So it did not take long before
people were placing graphics, speech, music, and video on their
blogs. Thus audioblogging and videoblogging (aka vlogging) were
born.

When "real simple syndication" (RSS) was added to the programs
that made blogging possible, it meant anyone could subscribe to
a blog that caught their fancy. A news reader or aggregator
program is all that is needed to subscribe to these syndicated
feeds.

Dave Winer added the idea of "enclosures" to RSS. This added the
ability to know exactly where an audio or video file could be
found and downloaded from. As soon as news aggregators were
programmed to automatically download the enclosed files and save
them on the reader's computer, or perhaps to a portable media
player, podcasting was born.

Adam Curry is credited with being one of the first to marry all
of the technologies together. He had an audio blog and wanted a
way to get the sound files directly onto his iPod player.
He wrote a script to do this from his RSS feed and started a
revolution. He's also credited with coining the term "podcast"
as a hybrid of iPod and broadcast.

However, though iPods are the hip trend in media players, you do
not need to have an iPod to listen to a podcast. Most podcasts
are MP3 audio files, so as long as your computer can play MP3,
or if you have any type of portable MP3 player, you can listen
to a podcast. In fact, you don't even need a news aggregator,
nor do you need iTunes. These programs, often called
"podcatchers", just make getting podcasts easier.

Today, a podcast can be created many different ways. From the
deepest magicks of low level XML file creation to the highest
level of upload-and-go. This series won't cover them all, but I
will touch on some popular methods in the next issue.

Moreover, people are making podcasts about anything. There are
podcasts covering news, talk, music, technology, comedy, audio
books, storytelling, and every type of hobby. There are many
reasons for this, just as there are many types of blogs. As more
people learn about podcasting, it will become more diverse and
even easier to subscribe.

As an auuthor, should you have a podcast? Well, the answer to
this is not as resounding as it is for having a website or blog.
However, if you've found the benefits of having a blog to be
rewarding, I think you may indeed find the same with podcasting.

What about the shy writers many of us consider ourselves to be?
I'd love to know C. Hope Clark's take on this, but as I myself
am a shy writer who has a podcast, I think a balance can still
be struck. Why? It's still a passive sharing experience, like
writing. I don't know if I could do a live radio show. Yet,
sharing my words with a microphone which is recording has the
same control as does wrting an article. I can edit both media
before I release them.

On my podcast, I talk about everything and anything. I do talk
about my writing and web projects, but it's more about sharing
my interests than promotion. Yet, it is promotion, and that
cannot be denied. Therein lies the reason an author should
consider podcasting.

If you can share your interests and work in a plug, like you
might with a blog, then a podcast has even more potential.
That's one more medium where you have a chance to connect to a
reader.

In addition, authors may find that recording short stories or
novels in an effort to promote new ones can be a very effective
marketing tool. That is in addition to just being plain fun.
Podiobooks.com is a place where listeners can find a large
number of audio books that can be subscribed to as podcasts so
that you can listen to a chapter at a time on your schedule.

What do you need in order to listen to a podcast?

- A computer, either a PC or a Mac.
- Windows XP preferred on PCs, OS X for a Mac.
- A program for listening to MP3 audio files.
- A portable player (like an iPod) is not necessary, but handy.
- An internet connection. Cable or DSL preferred.
- Podcatching or news reader software.

There are many different programs for podcatching, for both
computers. Personally, I use NewsGator, which is a free website
(http://www.newsgator.com) that also requires a program called
FeedDemon which downloads your queued audio files. Newsgator
lets you subscribe to RSS feeds, whether straight text or
podcasts, and organizes them all for you.

If any podcasts have new episodes, Newsgator and FeedDemon
do not automatically download the files for you. You have to
mark the audio files you want. FeedDemon will then automatically
download the ones you marked. I prefer this intermediate step
because I subscribe to so many feeds; news, blogs, and podcasts
of many kinds. If it downloaded every new audio file without me
selecting, I would drown in digital discourse.

There are many other web-based readers out there, most of them
are setup for podcasts, like Odeo.com. Even AOL and Yahoo have
podcast channel sites. These also let you listen online.

However, if you want a program that will download all audio from
all feeds you subscribe to, there are a lot to choose from.
None however are as flexible and easy to use as iTunes. No, you
don't have to have an iPod or even a Mac to use iTunes. There is
a Windows version for download. It will also update playlists
for any music player you prefer to use. For set-it-and-forget-it
ease of use, iTunes is the best and it's free.

The Future of Podcasting

Podcasting really is very much the next generation of audio
broadcasting. It will never replace radio stations. I don't
think that's it's goal. However, it is fair to say it is
intended for a different audience than radio. Radio does not
appear to be getting loose from the tight grip of the FCC.
Satellite radio providers took the concept of radio as far as
they could in order to break away from the FCC rules. They are
often compared to what cable TV has done versus tradional
broadcast television.

Podcasting is in turn often compared to PVRs, like TiVo, which
allow what is known as "time-shifting" what you are watching.
TiVo allows you to pick TV shows you like, set it to record, and
then watch anytime you want after it has recorded the episodes.
VCRs gave this ability but not with the level of flexibility and
ease of use of PVRs.

In the same way, podcasts allow time-shifting of audio. After
you subscribe to a podcast, the podcatchers download new
episodes for you to listen whenever you want. Thanks to portable
players, that now also means wherever you want. Most people can
listen while they exercise, while they drive, and even at work.

Just as blogs were a great way of writing about what you love
and getting some attention for your other projects, podcasting
has taken this to the audible level.

In my next article, I will talk about the technical side of
podcasts and explain how you can create a podcast of your own.
If you want some references right now, I highly recommend
PODCASTING FOR DUMMIES by Tee Morris and Evo Terra. It covers
everything in depth, but you won't drown in tech manuals to
learn it all.
___

Copyright © 2006 Dan Shaurette. Reprinted with permission.
Besides being the editor of this newsletter, Dan is the author
of LILITH'S LOVE, a modern vampire romance novel, which you can
learn more about at http://www.Liliths-Love.com. He also hosts
"Is This Thing On?", an ecclectic podcast featuring chat,
interviews, and independent music at http://is-this-thing-on.net

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6: FREE Products, Services, Downloads
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YWRITER - Free story writing software - Win95/98/XP
Simon Haynes, an author, created a text editor to help writers
work on their books in an organized manner. yWriter helps break
a novel into chapters, break each chapter into one or more
scenes, and give each scene a goal, some conflict and an
outcome. New books and old ones needing editing can benefit
from yWriter's features. Print out summary cards, track your
word count, keep a log to watch your progress. Define viewpoint
characters, goal, conflict and outcome fields for each scene.
Storyboard view. Re-order scenes within chapters. Move scenes
from one chapter to another. Automatic chapter renumbering.
http://www.spacejock.com/yWriter.html

Have you used this software? Tell us about it, or recommend
another! Send an email to editor@selfpublishedauthors.com and
let us know.

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7: MOTIVATIONAL ARTICLE by Sidney Allinson
Self Published Fiction Can Lead To Bestsellerdom
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As I have often said before, non-fiction "self-help" and
informational books are the most likely types to be successfully
self-published. Useful practical knowledge is always in demand
and so the genre is easier to sell. But this should by no means
discourage fiction authors from bringing out their own novels
which also can gain wide audiences.

After all, a myriad of favorite literary classics were
originally self-published; such as, LADY CHATTERLEY'S LOVER,
ULYSSES, HUCKLEBERRY FINN, WAR AND PEACE, SPARTACUS, WIZARD OF
OZ, REMEMBRANCE OF THINGS PAST, and scores of other enduring
titles.

Famous authors who first went the self-published route include
Rudyard Kipling, Mark Twain, D.H. Lawrence, James Joyce, Walt
Whitman, Anais Nin, Upton Sinclair, Zane Gray, George Bernard
Shaw, T.S. Eliot, and many more.

Beatrix Potter first wrote PETER RABBIT TALES to entertain an
ailing child, then submitted her endearing illustrated story to
several publishing houses. All refused to go along with her idea
of a small format to fit little children's' hands, so she self-
published it herself, and her stories went on to become
perennial favorites to this day.

Contemporary poet Rod McKuen published his own LISTEN TO THE
WARM, and personally sold 40,000 copies before his talent was
recognized by Random House, which has since sold over a
million copies.

University instructor Robert James Waller wrote a book from his
heart, THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY. No publisher was
interested, so Waller published it himself, selling copies to
stores on consignment with a money-back guarantee. Response was
so positive, nobody wanted a refund, and his book started
selling like hot-cakes. It quickly hit the bestseller lists and
movie rights were acquired to star Meryl Streep and Clint
Eastwood.

You probably know that James Redfield's THE CELESTINE PROPHECY,
became one of the best-selling books in recent history. Yet, it
began as a modest self-printed item that Redfield and his wife
gave away as free samples to hundreds of New Age-type stores.
After a book salesman brought it to the attention of publishing
giant Warners, the firm purchased world rights for $800,000, and
it stayed on Publishers Weekly's top-fiction list for 64 weeks.

Richard Paul Evans' 87-page parable about parental love,
THE CHRISTMAS BOX, was self-published just as a gift for his
family. He printed only 20 copies, but word-of-mouth soon caused
people to ask local bookstores for it. Believing he was on to
something, Evans tried to find a publisher. But after repeated
rejections, he self-published, starting with 3,000 copies.
Having sold 700,000 copies personally, Evans' book eventually
wound up in a bidding war won by Simon & Schuster, and it is
now a multi-million copy continual seller.

Wildly successful courtroom novelist John Grisham used to peddle
copies of his first one, A TIME TO KILL, out of the back of his
car before catching the eye of New York publishing giant,
Doubleday.

But even established authors are sometimes still forced to go it
alone. Though Jill Paton Walsh was already a recipient of
several prestigious literary prizes, no publisher in Britain
would accept her religious allegory, A KNOWLEDGE OF ANGELS, so
she published it herself and it was promptly short-listed for
the Booker Prize in 1994.

The award-winning dramatist Snoo Wilson had three previous
novels published by big imprints, but could find no takers for
his THE WORKS OF MELMONT, a fictionalized version of the life of
Robert Maxwell. So Wilson decided to publish it himself. He
said, "There is a part of me that sees self-publishing as an
admission of failure, but then Harry Potter got turned down by
lots of publishers. And advances in technology today have made
it so easy to organize producing a book."

Australian best-selling thriller writer Matthew Reilly started
out as a self-publisher at the tender age of 19, because his
first novel CONTEST was turned down by every publishing house he
approached. He personally placed copies of his book in every
store he could, until finally gaining the attention of a major
firm and his novel has sold two million copies.

Reilly said something particularly astute about one detail all
self-publishers should remember. "I've noticed that self-
published books don't have imprint logos." He held up a copy of
his latest success, SCARECROW, and put his finger over the
publisher's logo on the spine to demonstrate. "See, it looks
weird. People use visual clues to detect what is a real book and
what is not."

The growing acceptance of such books has launched the modern
no-publisher revolution; so-called "crossover titles", where
subsidy books are being bought by big-name publishing houses.
Self-published authors could take heart from this new
phenomenon, as your own fiction may well become the next
blockbuster novel.
___

Copyright © 2006 Sidney Allinson. Reprinted with permission.
Canadian historical novelist Sidney Allinson writes "Get
Published," a regular newspaper column about self-publishing.
Sidney also presents seminars on the writing trade. He has
successfully published six books of his own, three of which
are viewable on-line at: http://xlibris.com/sidneyallinson.html

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8: EVENTS, CLASSES & WORKSHOPS
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June 3rd & 4th - Chicago, IL
CHICAGO TRIBUNE PRINTERS ROW BOOK FAIR
http://www.chicagotribune.com/extras/printersrow
The book fair is located on historic Printers Row, in the
blocks surrounding Dearborn and Polk streets.

June 24th, 11 A.M. to 5 P.M. - Schaumburg, IL
AUTHORFEST at SCHAUMBURG TOWNSHIP DISTRICT LIBRARY
130 South Roselle Road, Schaumburg, IL 60193.

July 19th, 7-9 P.M. - Naperville, IL
http://www.napervillewritersgroup.org
Poet and author Michelle Ailene True will be presenting
"How to Get Your Poetry Published Program" for the
Naperville Writers Group at North Central College.

October 7, 11 A.M. to 4 P.M. - Bellevue, Ohio
MIDWEST BOOK FEST - Bellevue High School
http://www.midwestbookfest.org
This is a one day event and a celebration of literacy and the
literary arts. We focus on self-published and POD published
authors, giving them a venue to sign, promote and sell their
work(s) while at the same time bringing new reading material to
the public. Even more importantly, we are encouraging people,
young and old, to read and write. This event is free to the
public. WE ARE NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR THE BOOK FAIR.
Each year our small book fair is growing; this year we expect
around 800 or more. Contact Tena Green for more information at
greentmg@yahoo.com or call at your convenience at 419-483-0111.

NETREAD'S EVENTCASTER (SM) - Free Event Promotion Website
This website allows authors to broadcast literary events to
event editors at newspapers and web sites that subscribe to this
free service. In addition, promoters of classes and workshops,
contests, conferences, book fairs, etc, can all use this
service. Find events in your area or worldwide or announce
your own!
http://www.netread.com/calendar

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9: GUEST ARTICLE by Laura Hesse
On Writing the Equine Story
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I receive numerous questions on how I develop my storylines and
if the horses in my novels are real? Like many people, I don’t
like a story that is so poorly developed that the ending is a
“given”.

The best tales are those that keep the pages turning and the
reader wondering what will happen next. In a horse story, one
must not just have a strong plot and characters, but a sound
knowledge of equine behavior, physiology, and disciplines.

I will use my first novel, ONE FROSTY CHRISTMAS, as an example.
The old mustang in the story is based on an actual pony called
“Frosted Tip”. This little fellow was delivered to Thunderbird
Arena in Vancouver several years ago en route from Wyoming to
northern British Columbia.

The horse transporter asked a friend of mine to look after the
pony until he was picked up by his new owner. “Frosty”, as my
friend aptly named him, was the cutest, if not homeliest, pony
she had ever seen. He also had a bit of an attitude,
specifically, he had a penchant for nipping her in the rear end.
Due to my friend’s responsibilities in the show ring, she never
had the chance to meet the pony’s new owner.

I was so taken with the story of Frosted Tip... Why was the old
pony being shipped from Wyoming to northern BC? Who were his
owners? How did he lose the tips of his ears?... that I couldn’t
stop thinking about him. From these questions arose an idea for
a story. The first draft of ONE FROSTY CHRISTMAS was completed
in 2002.

During the summer of 2003, I got involved with a local
therapeutic riding program. It didn’t take long before I was
hooked. The experience lifted both my heart and my spirit.
I decided to rewrite ONE FROSTY CHRISTMAS and make the main
human character an amputee.

Numerous subjects had to be researched including prosthetics,
therapeutic riding instruction, equine psychology, etc. The
result was a horse tale that “is charming and well-written...
and that tugs at the heart strings”. The story evolved from one
about a neglected to pony to a courageous story about a young
girl struggling to fit in, to overcome obstacles, and to find
hope and acceptance.

In short, to write an equine story, one must ask questions...
lots of them. Use your own experiences and those of others to
make your characters believable. Get to know your subjects
intimately. Imagination is the greatest gift that God gave us;
let your mind expand.
___

Copyright © 2006 Laura Hesse. Reprinted with permission.
Laura Hesse is a Vancouver Island writer and independent
publisher. Excerpts from books at www.RunningLProductions.com
Quote is from Goody Niosi’s book review, December 2003, The
Oceanside Star.

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10: ANNOUNCEMENTS/REQUESTS
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PRACTICAL POETRY - New internet radio show
Airs every Tuedsay at 7:00 P.M. CST.
A new radio show devoted to poetry made its debut on Tuesday,
April 4th on Internet Voices Radio. On "Practical Poetry," host
Michelle True interviews published poets about their books and
other writing activities.

When no interview is scheduled, True will provide helpful tips
for poets aspiring to get published, perfect their poetry
reading skills, start and lead a poetry writing workshop, host
a poetry open mike, record audio books of their poetry, publish
a poetry anthology, promote their books, and more. Listeners
call into a conference call line to listen as the show airs live
every Tuedsay at 7:00 p.m. CST. Visit InternetVoicesRadio.com to
listen to previous shows.

Her guest for June 18, 2006, is James Durkin. He is an author
and co-founder of the Authors Marketing Group (Chicago Area).
Founded in 2002 for Chicago area authors to share positive
marketing experiences to help everyone sell more books.

True is the author of 3 books of poetry, publisher of 2 poetry
anthologies, published a webzine (www.truepoetmagazine.com),
leads poetry writing and publishing workshops, provides editing
services to other authors, and mentors high school students
interested in a writing career. Her website is
http://www.michelleailenetrue.com

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11: INSPIRATIONAL ARTICLE by Gerri D Smith
A Journey to Riches
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Spend money under direct inspiration wisely and fearlessly,
knowing that your supply is endless and immediate.
-Florence Scovel Shinn

When you form your desires and dreams around a spiritual rule or
spiritual value, that is, with strong faith and belief behind
it, you tend to bring about that which is already on its way to
you. It forms first out there in the universe as your idea, and
is then manifested for real in your life. Can you see how your
desires, dreams, and riches can come true? It works like magic!

Your journey to riches becomes closer each time you take a small
step toward making it happen. Use your mind as the mechanism
that propels you in the direction of your dreams. Find like-
minded successful people, follow their lead and expect to become
successful.

Never plant the seed of fear in anything you wish to accomplish.
When the fear of success holds you back from seeking the riches
you deserve, try developing a different mindset. A mind that is
healthy, spiritually strong, and grateful is a remarkable force
that will continuously guide you in the direction you are to go.

In order to reach your journey to riches, you must be aware of
what you ask for and be prepared to accept what you receive.
Holding this awareness and true belief in your mind is what
creates riches. It must become your passion. Create your vision
of where you wish to go and how you will get there. Then confirm
the paths and actions you must take. When necessary, ask for the
help you need and the tools to help you get there.

Develop your faith to a point where it is the only feeling that
will sustain you on your journey. The more powerful it is, the
faster your riches will come your way. Whenever you experience
riches coming to you, find ways to give part of it to others.
This keeps the riches in circulation and more coming back to
you.

Your journey to riches also includes the following values:

1. Happiness - You must not put others wishes for you above
the wishes you have for yourself. Your well-being is the
only honorable way to live. It guarantees your survival and
the ongoing relationship you have with others. Likewise,
you must not make others sacrifice their happiness for yours.
There must be a sense of balance in the give and take of
your wishes and those of others.

2. A Desire - What are you passionate about? Follow that dream
and youll be well on your way to your riches. Without a
feeling of passion or desire for that which you wish to
accomplish, it is nearly impossible for it to come true.
Your desire must have a productive purpose in your life.
What is the purpose for that desire? Why do you wish it to
come true? Otherwise, it would only be a pipe-dream, a
fantasy or, an unreal goal. If its something that is
unrealistic and beyond your reach, it may not happen.

3. A Reason - Examine your values. How are you running your
life? Is what youre doing now serving your highest moral and
spiritual purpose? Does it create happiness? Does your
happiness, desire, and your reason provide you with a sense
of well-being?

These are the emotions and values you must place uppermost in
your mind. Learn what makes you happy and think of what it means
to you to experience it. Then continue pursuing it to completion
only if its for the good of yourself and others. These values
are the reasons to seek riches or any other desire. Based on
your judgment of is valuable to you, be clear on what you feel
is your reason. Then live by those values.

On your journey to riches, do the best you are capable of
doing. Strive to be healthy, happy, and giving. Do not be
satisfied with anything less. When you have a desire to be more
then you are, you are deserving of more and will become more.
You will be moving toward a higher consciousness that will lead
to your highest good. Go for it!
___

Copyright © 2006 Gerri D Smith. Reprinted with permission.
Gerri D Smith publishes and hosts an inspirational newsletter
for women business owners, individuals eager to improve, and
entrepreneurs willing to learn more . And its Free! Subscribers
to her newsletter receive many of her well-written articles,
special reports, books, offers, and resources that are filled
with motivational support, business and personal image
improvement, and supportive ideas to help you reach your goals.
To sign up, go now to: http://www.distinctivebusinesswomen.com

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