Just Write

Good day!

Last week, I received this question from someone who recently read my 'To Do' blog:

"First off I want to say wonderful blog! I had a quick question in which I'd like to ask if you don't mind. I was interested to know how you centre yourself and clear your thoughts prior to writing. I have had trouble clearing my thoughts in getting my thoughts out there. I truly do take pleasure in writing but it just seems like the first 10 to 15 minutes are usually lost simply just trying to figure out how to begin. Any suggestions or hints? Kudos!"

So I thought I would reply in today's blog with two simple words: 

"Just write."

It can be difficult at times to come up with the perfect beginning for any written work, so I often find it helpful to just start typing. I'll write down the other things I want to say in the article, blog or whatever I am working on and eventually the beginning will either write itself or at least come more into focus for me. With the technology we have today, it is a simple process to go back at any point to any spot in your text and do some editing or make additions, etc.

I try to read and re-read what I've written at least three times before I hit the magic 'send' or 'publish' button. (Typos creep into my writing all the time. It's quite annoying, actually. Why doesn't every program have a proper spell-check?)

I always set deadlines for myself and I try hard to meet those deadlines so at least something gets done around here (Ha! Ha!)! (It's important to have self-discipline as a writer and especially as someone who is self-employed, making a living from writing and editing etc.)

I consider options for the best way to start writing a new piece long before I sit down to write it - and I rarely sit at the computer to do that thinking. I'll go for a short walk, water my flower garden (one of the advantages of working in a home-based office), rinse out my tea cup, tidy up my office, look at Facebook or Twitter, or do something else for a few minutes until my self-imposed deadline looms very, very close and then I have to do something!

Some times, a good beginning comes easier to me than others. For two of my books, the inspiration came after an interview with someone. I wrote the Prologue of Never Give Up after a particular interview with Ted Jaleta, the subject of the book.

For Never Leave Your Wingman, I came home from the Pasqua Hospital after standing in the cancer clinic waiting area and then interviewing one of the nurses who had cared for cancer survivor Dionne Warner during Dionne's treatments there. It was winter and I came into our home, sat down on the back step - winter coat and boots still on - and typed the Prologue on my Blackberry! I'd never done that before - but the words were tumbling around in my mind and they had to be captured with whatever I had available! It was pretty cool.

And finally - don't be too hard on yourself. In the world of blogs, there is a lot of imperfection and the readers are a pretty forgiving bunch. If you were ever to write something that was to be published in a book or other format more permanent than a blog - that's what editors are for!

To Do, To Do, To Do!

It's early morning and I'm working on some paperwork for our publishing program in the next year. We sent a book layout for proofreading yesterday and we have a couple more queries from new authors that I need to respond to before the day is out.

Also on our To Do list for the next few weeks and months:
- send the approved layout to the printer, check and approve the proof, etc.
- choose one of two companies we've settled on to help us get some of our titles converted to e-books
- make sure our non-fiction book layouts are up to date with the latest information before conversion to e-books
- choose which photos to incorporate and which to leave out of the e-book layouts, and make those changes
- make more inquiries of American publishers and distributors and at least one other jurisdiction to see if they will take a couple of our titles under their banner
- send some photos of recent book launches and signing events to the authors and others involved in those events
- fine-tune our strategy for upcoming trade shows and signings
- check in with our authors on their availability for promotion and signings in the next while
- Tweet about some upcoming events and see what else is going on in that 'universe'
- work through the 'learning curve' of a new accounting software program
- send contracts to a couple of new authors and illustrators
- talk with an illustrator about our hopes for a new book
- sneak in a little vacation and spend some time enjoying the summer in the company of loved ones

Whew!

Everyone Has a Story

Everybody has a story. Some are just more interesting than others.

I recently spoke with an elderly woman who ordered a book from us but also wanted advice on how to finish her own memoirs. “My son keeps asking about what it was like growing up on the farm, so I thought I’d write it down for him.”

These were my answers to some of her questions:

 -        Yes, Microsoft Word is a good program to use to write your memoirs.

 -        Saving your document/manuscript on your computer and backing it up on a memory stick every time you make changes is a very wise move. To make sure that I always work on the latest version, I add today’s date to the end of my document's name when I save it. You might end up with a lot of versions but at least you’ll quickly see which one is the most recent.

-        Yes, we advise anyone who is interested in publishing a book to utilize the services of a professional editor and layout designer. A do-it-yourself project rarely ends up being or looking professional. If you want people to buy your story, a professional look is essential.

-        It is expensive to print only a handful of copies, so think through your options. Decide early on what you want to accomplish by writing your book. Let that goal guide you throughout the process.

Everyone has a story. Even if you never publish your book, take the time to write down your stories. You will be pleased that you did and the next generation will be grateful to you.

So there you go – some of my thoughts on how to publish your story.

We love documenting memories and history. Thanks for asking.

Here are some great books of memoirs that we have published and are available on our web site:

          

Cancer survivor - book signings in Ontario

Seven-time cancer survivor Dionne Warner was interviewed on CTV's Canada AM today about her story and the Never Leave Your Wingman book. It was wonderful.

One woman's incredible story
of conquering cancer seven times

http://watch.ctv.ca/news/clip697136#clip696760

I am so pleased that I approached Dionne and Graham in 2009 to ask them to allow me to write their story in a book. I am extra pleased (is there such a thing?) that Dionne has travelled back to Toronto, the city where she was born, to further share her story of hope and the wonderful support she found in her wingman, her husband Graham.

This is her schedule of book signings for the next few days. Please stop by and say hello. You will not be sorry that you met this remarkable, strong survivor.

Tuesday, June 12, 6 pm to 9 pm - Indigo Erin Mills Town Centre, 5015 Glen Erin Dr, Mississauga, ON

Wednesday, June 13, 11:30 am - 2:30 pm - Indigospirit Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, ON

Thursday, June 14, 5 pm to 8 pm - Chapters Stone Road Mall, Guelph, ON

Friday, June 15, 5 pm to 8 pm - Indigo Yorkdale Shopping Centre, 3401 Dufferin St., Toronto, ON

New hope, New books & More

Seven-time cancer survivor Dionne Warner
speaking to a provincial palliative care conference

We've had a wonderful but busy few days in our little publishing company. On Thursday, we went to Moose Jaw with seven-time cancer survivor Dionne Warner, to watch her inspire a palliative care conference audience with her story of hope and laughter - including sharing tales of the antics of her wingman, her fun-loving husband Graham. Then we sold some books, of course.

Dionne Warner received another well-deserved standing ovation!

Friday saw us signing a contract with a Saskatchewan author to help tell her story about the beginnings of a specialized local institution, while also working on the layout of another book - an interesting memoir about someone's career (can't tell you details yet - it would spoil the surprise!).

On Saturday, we continued layout work and packed for Sunday's trip to Saskatoon, to launch Egg Money, A Tribute to Saskatchewan Pioneer Women. That was a fun time! We've been working with the Saskatoon German Days Committee for more than a year on this book project that celebrates all pioneer women through the stories of 24 women who settled in Saskatchewan in the 1800s and early 1900s. We worked with the 24 families, who wrote the biographies, and we were happy to hear the compliments and gratefulness from many of them as they opened up the book at the launch to see the stories of their loved ones preserved for all to enjoy.

Reading the back cover of Egg Money

Some of the people behind the Egg Money book:

Seated left to right: Saskatoon German Days Book Committee members Barbara Stehwien, Brigitte Boldt-Leppin, Rosa Gebhardt & Barbara Hoggard-Lulay
Standing left to right: Sculptors Shirley & Don Begg, Saskatchewan German Council President Ilona Beck, Editor/Publisher Deana Driver, Publisher Al Driver

And we're delighted to have spent today packaging Never Leave Your Wingman books to send to bookstores literally from coast to coast. Oh - didn't we tell you? Cancer survivor Dionne Warner will be interviewed on CTV's Canada AM in Toronto, Ontario on Monday, June 11 at 8 a.m. EST!

She'll share some of how she successfully fought cancer seven times - but most of all, she'll share her story of staying positive, keeping a sense of humour and fighting back to show cancer who's boss! We are so excited to share this remarkable woman's story - and that of her strong, supportive wingman Graham - with many, many more readers across this great country of ours. The world needs a little more hope when dealing with this plague called cancer and we believe Dionne Warner - named by the American Cancer Society to be an International Heroes of Hope Ambassador this year - is one of the best people to help lead the way.

Life is great!

Always something to write or publish

The greatest thing about being a writer who is also a small publisher is that there is always something new to explore and consider writing about or publishing. About a month ago, we (the Mom and Pop of this mom-and-pop business) made plans to spend a few days in Manitoba, our neighbouring province. We just came back from that trip, and it was a blast!

We intended to visit and do a book signing with one of our authors - and we did that on Saturday with Sharon Gray, author of the funny Letters To Jennifer From Maudie & Oliver.

It was a chuckle once again to watch the reactions of bookstore patrons as we told them the book is a series of letters written by two Siamese cats. Yes - cats wrote the book! (With a little help from their LIP - Live-In Person Sharon - who turned on the computer for them, she claims!)

We also brought my Never Leave Your Wingman book to the attention of Winnipeggers again. Everybody loves the concept of seven-time cancer survivor Dionne Warner and her wingman husband Graham dancing into Dionne's chemo treatments dressed in costume. "Seven times?" and "Wow! That's amazing!" are the most often-heard comments.

We had a couple signings in Winnipeg last year, and it's always great to remind people of the great Prairie books we produce. We talked to at least 80 people (and handed out at least 100 leaflets that show details of all our books) in the two hours we were in the bookstore this weekend, so we are watching southern Manitoba sales in the next few weeks to see the ripple effect from that effort! Come on, Manitoba! It's time to be inspired by our great Prairie stories!

Two other items were on our agenda for the weekend trip to Manitoba.
# 1 - Meet with a person writing a book about a 100-year-old marvel of engineering. We visited the site and met the author and his collaborator and were in awe and appreciation of all three of them.
#2 - We also stopped on our way back to Regina to meet a 90-year-old war veteran in Brandon, Manitoba. He has a unique, heartwarming Christmas story to tell, and I am honoured that he and his wife are allowing me to tell that story in the form of a children's book - which we hope will be published this fall.

So here's to a great weekend full of new ideas and options ... and many more wonderful experiences on these great Canadian Prairies!

Australia wants our cancer book

I've joined Twitter! Now you can follow the events of our little publishing house on a bite-size basis.... @driverworks.

In the latest inspiring story update, we received an email from a Christian bookstore in Australia. A customer came into their store and asked how to purchase a copy of our inspiring book Never Leave Your Wingman: Dionne and Graham Warner's Story of Hope (written by me, Deana Driver). Proof once more that our true story about a seven-time cancer survivor is reaching much farther afield than little old Canada! We have sold copies to people in numerous other countries including the U.S., Mexico, Phillipines, England, New Zealand, Denmark and Netherlands.

We've talked with a couple of U.S. distributors and publishers as well as distributors here in Canada to consider selling our wonderful non-fiction books. Cross your fingers for a positive response soon!

Changing the world around me

As a writer of non-fiction - a journalist and an author of inspiring true stories - I have often thought of myself as a bit of a teacher, sharing information with others and hoping that I can in some way improve their lives or those of people they love.

There have been some opportunities to do that in my 28-year (so far) journalism career, writing about fascinating Prairie people and programs or innovations they've created. I've beee told that Prairie grain growers and various organizations considering building an inland terminal learned something from my first book Just A Bunch Of Farmers: The Story of Weyburn Inland Terminal 1976-2001.

My second book Never Give Up: Ted Jaleta's Inspiring Story - Running For His Life received awards and many positive feedback from readers who said they learned so much from Ted Jaleta's strong positive attitude and wisdom and they enjoyed the way in which I told his story. Ted was born in Ethiopia and survived a brutal civil war to make a new life for himself in Canada and become a world-class masters long distance runner, despite the challenges he faced in Africa and Canada.

Just A Bunch Of Farmers (far right) tells how the Weyburn Inland Terminal changed the way all Canadian farmers are paid for their grain. You can purchase it from our web site

Never Give Up (second from right) is now out of print but we still hear from readers who loved it and learned from it

(The other two books are great, too. Check them out on our web site)

With my latest book, Never Leave Your Wingman: Dionne and Graham Warner's Story of Hope, my opportunities to help change the world have taken a phenomenal leap forward. Dionne is a beautiful seven-time cancer survivor who lives her life with courage, love, laughter and - above all - hope. Her wingman, her husband Graham, is beside her all the way. The two of them together dressed in costume and literally danced into Dionne's chemotherapy sessions for two years since December 2009 as she battled Stage IV liver, lung and bone cancer. In January 2012, Dionne was told she is in total remission! Amazing!

Dionne and Graham Warner dancing into one of her chemo treatments in 2010 to the Arrogant Worms' song The Last Saskatchewan Pirate

The Never Leave Your Wingman book chronicling the Warners' story of hope, love and courage was released in June 2011. (You can buy it from our web site or check a local bookstore.) Since then, it has been a whirlwind of book signings, attending speaking engagements with Dionne, and talking with the media - whose members have been wonderful in helping us share this fabulous positive story of living with cancer without letting cancer run one's life.

The book signings are emotional events. Dionne and I hear a personal cancer story from almost every individual who comes up to us to get a book signed. It is gut-wrenching at times. At recent book signings, we heard about two young mothers who were diagnosed with cancer while they were pregnant. One lost her life, choosing her child's life over her own, and the other is still ill but has her infant and husband to keep her hope alive. We met a woman who is devastated by her diagnosis but her siblings are doing what they can to lift her spirits, including bringing her by to talk with Dionne. Two young men came to us, scared and wondering how they will get through radiation and chemotherapy. It was heartening to share Dionne's experiences and knowledge with them and to laugh and joke together, lessening their fear and giving them a release from the stress.

Most of these patients or caregivers are recipients of a Dionne hug. It always brings a smile to their faces and a warm memory into their future.

These kinds of interactions are not new to Dionne Warner. She has spent many years listening to other cancer patients - not only as a volunteer at the Allan Blair Cancer Centre in Regina SK for seven years (and again now that she is in remission - go figure!), but as the beautiful person that she is, sharing her own cancer journey with others and encouraging everyone to live each day to the fullest whether sick or not.

For me, this type of interaction with readers or potential readers is new. It is difficult, sometimes draining, often rewarding ... and always an honour.

Strangers stand there in front of us, telling me and my friend Dionne their deeply personal stories. I am blessed to have the opportunity to possibly help them through one of the most difficult periods of their lives. What more could any writer who fancies herself as a bit of a teacher ask?

By the way .... Dionne's coming to Toronto to promote the book from June 10 to 16th.

Look out, Toronto and area! Your world is about to change!!

Liberation Day will soon be here!

May 5th is a national holiday in the Netherlands, celebrating the end of the Nazi occupation of Holland during the Second World War.

Our book The Little Coat: The Bob and Sue Elliott Story, written by Alan J. Buick, tells the true story of one brave Canadian soldier (Bob Elliott) and the little Dutch girl (Sussie Cretier) who met under the most dire of wartime circumstances and made a connection lasting a lifetime. In December 1945, Bob and his troop gave 10-year-old Sue a coat made from a wool Army blanket. Sue cherished that gift and 35 years later, she and Bob reconnected and fell in love. Sue still had her little coat! She brought it to Canada with her and married Bob. Their story is captured in this National Bestseller.

A reader said it best in this email:

"I purchased The Little Coat last fall. I completly LOVED it. We were away at a hockey tournament when I read it, and my daughter Katie frequently looked over at me and saw tears streaming down my face in the hotel room. When I finished the book, I told Katie that she HAD to read it. Coincidentally, Katie had to complete a book report on a Biography, so the timing was perfect. She read the book, and I got to watch her tears. She loved it! She loved it so much that she told her friends about it at school, while they were all complaining about the boring biographies they were reading. She shared it around and two other girls also wrote book reports on it, and completely fell in love with the characters. It is so fabulous. We will definitely be remembering on May 5th."

We are very proud to share Bob and Sue's story for another marvellous Liberation Day celebration!

Cheers, Bob and Sue Elliott! You are our heroes!

Bob and Sue Elliott in the Netherlands, May 2010

The Beauty Around Us

Trade shows are always fascinating experiences for us.

We meet future hopeful authors:  three people came up to us at a recent trade show and asked about how to get published. (One or two of those works might become DriverWorks Ink titles in the future and the third would-be author was pointed in the direction of another great Saskatchewan publisher.)

We meet avid readers who have never seen our titles before: the most common reaction is appreciation for true stories of Prairie people.

We meet readers who have purchased some of our books and want to see what new titles are on our table: Example - A young man pointed at Just a Bunch of Farmers and said, "I've got that book! I like it!" So we responded with - "Then you'll probably like Prairie Pilot." And he quickly replied: "My mom's got that one!"

We meet readers who are looking for Saskatchewan books that were not published by us: we send them to the Saskatchewan Publishers Group's trade show booth if they are at the same show, or connect them as best we can with a place to purchase that book.

We meet genuinely great people who are simply fun to hang out with for part or all of the show (like Sweetpea the Clown below - she's the one in the middle!).

On the long drive home from the Nipawin Trade show, the sun was setting and it was too glorious a sight to let it slip without hauling out the camera and shooting some photos through the car window.

Enjoy!

Saskatchewan - We love it!

Pobody's Nerfect!

Here are some common mistakes made by inexperienced writers (and some professional ones, too)...
- They randomly change tenses. If you are telling a story that happened in the past, stay in the past. Don't shift to present tense and then shift back again - especially in the same paragraph.
- They put an apostrophe where it doesn't belong. Don't put one in '1970's' or any in 'they were in their '50's'. Use '1970s' and 'in their 50s'.
- They use that instead of which. 'The school which gave me a diploma.' It should be 'school that gave me'.

Read and critically re-read your work before sending it out. I know, I know - that's what editors are for...

Mistakes I commonly make...
- typing the word 'the' incorrectly. Thank you, spellcheck, for correcting my tehs.
- typing Manitoba and Saskathcewan incorrectly - See! there you go! It's always Mantioba in my documents. And Saskatchewan! Why couldn't I live somewhere with less letters - like Iowa or Ohio!
- placing single quotation marks on the wrong side of the punctuation. They belong inside the period, I've been told. Argh!

 Oh, well. Pobody's nerfect!

See Pobody's Nerfect #2.

Trust fund for author's 4 children

Friends at the Regina Leader-Post have graciously set up an education trust fund (accepting donations until May 15 at CIBC branches in Regina) to assist with the post-secondary education of the four children of Ron Petrie, humour columnist and author of Running of the Buffalo - or Ru as he called it (because all famous authors have abbreviated names for their many good works, he joked). Ron passed away in February after a year-long battle with colon cancer. Details of the trust fund are in this Leader-Post story.

We miss Ron every day, but the humour and goodness that he added to the world and the good that will come from this trust fund will live on.

Friend or Foe in Publishing?

One of the many things I enjoy about attending Saskatchewan Publishers Group professional development sessions and meetings is the opportunity to interact with other publishers of Saskatchewan and Prairie books. This morning, I was chatting with three other publishers about sales and distribution options for e-books and printed books, accounting software that works best for our industry, and what social media we all use or avoid. And that was just during the coffee break!

Later in the day, I found myself sitting with two other women who – like me – are both running successful or growing book publishing companies. What do we have in common besides our gender and love of books? We each spend part of our time helping authors self-publish their works. We had some pragmatic discussion, sharing our personal stories of how we approach certain issues, how we do certain tasks, and some of the things we would each like to do in our own respective businesses.

I don’t know about other industries, but this kind of honest sharing of secrets, advice and potential pitfalls is commonplace in the book publishing industry – and is actually actively encouraged at every gathering of Saskatchewan Publishers Group members. Instead of sitting back and watching others make the same old mistakes or flail around trying to figure out an increasingly complex industry, there is a willingness - almost an eagerness – to answer each other’s questions and share ideas on marketing, promotion, sales options and more. I know we came home with a ‘To Do’ list for some of the ideas we had which have now gained more focus and momentum because of what we learned from people who might, in other industries, be seen as competitors but who, in the publishing industry, are considered friends who will do what they can to help the industry thrive.

Thank you to our colleagues in the publishing industry in Saskatchewan and Canada. Once again – we’ve learned a lot and are anxious to put some of it into action.

Stay tuned!