Pubslush – A Writing Kickstarter Site

Posted by random olio

Pubslush – (love the name) for this Kickstarter type company – for writers. Here is a bit of background on Pubslush. It is a brilliant idea and if it is as successful as Kickstarter we will see lots of new published material. The idea is that a writer can post an excerpt of ten excerpt pages, a summary, and pitch of their work. Pubslush users can support the work, and if 1,000 users back the work, then Publslush will publish the book. For each book sold, one book is donated to kids worldwide who do not have access to books.

We see many authors who self-publish, but this is backed and financially supported by fans, or Pubslush enthusiasts who are intrigued and interested by the content of a book excerpt. AND a kid somewhere else in the world receives a book. A stellar idea. What will this mean for future writers and for publishers? I look forward to watching how it unfolds.

DailyCandy had the following to say about Pubslush:

“A novel idea that beats the fame game is Pubslush, a new Kickstarter-esque social publishing platform that lets people submit, endorse, and fund fiction and nonfiction works based on excerpts. Forget sappy confessionals: Next great American memoirs include Janna Leyde’s He Never Liked Cake, which tells her story of relearning to love her father after a traumatic brain injury changed his character, and Bethany Parks’s Flipping Chairs, a tale wrought with wry humor of time spent in Kenya and triumph over breast cancer. Tomes need 1,000 supporters to be published, and you get charged only if that goal is met. Embracing the one-for-one trend (a la Tomsand Warby Parker), Pubslush donates a book to a child in need for every one sold.

Bravo to that.”

This article from Mashable, titled: “Pubslush Is Like Kickstarter for Authors” explains that Pubslush guarantees an audience before a book is ever published. Much like what Seth Godin did and wrote about on his blog here. I love the Internet world of supporters to a creative idea. It creates opportunity to so many that may not have a way to be seen or found.

I best get started on the beginning of my book, and have Pubslush advocates decide if it is worthy of finishing.

Learning To Say NO

Posted by random olio

I took a break for the Fourth of July. Slept in, sat out in the wonderfully warm sun (finally), went for a run and chilled with my hubby. Sorry folks, no fireworks shows for me. Just needed a nice quiet day yesterday. So now to the gist of my blog, saying: “NO.”

Are you good at saying “NO” when you need to? I am not. I grew up as a pleaser, and am trying to unlearn these behaviors. I think I now know why I am such a pleaser.

When I was 10 or so, my mom was sick. Life at home was not so fun. My parents fought a lot, eventually ending in my dad leaving, they separated and later divorced. I think I felt there was enough going on at home, that if I caused problems or was dramatic, that I would only make an already crazy and intense environment even worse. So I just tried to be good all the time, and I turned into a pleaser. For the most part I was the good daughter and granddaughter. That trickled into school, eventually to high school, college, and then the business world.

While I believe I found my voice in college, I still find it hard to say “No.” Maybe it is because I do not want to hurt anyone’s feelings, maybe it is because I try to do everything, and maybe it is because I do not want others to think I am not capable. Whatever the given reason, it is time for me to learn to say “No” without hesitation.

This Daily Om from last week inspired me to think about saying “No.” As mentioned in the article, we often have abilities that have been underused. My “No” mechanism has been underused. I need to say “No” to set better boundaries for myself and not feel guilty about it!

How did you learn to say “No?” Is it easy for you?

Are You A Sponge?

Posted by random olio

Are you a sponge? Do you feed off of the energy of those around you? I love this Daily Om from a few weeks ago called: “Centered and Safe.” It resonates with me because I find that when I am not balanced or listening to my inner voice, I can easily become a sponge to other’s moods, complaints, or joy. The good part is when I am a sponge for joy. The not fun part is when it is the opposite. You know when you are grumpy and someone else’s happiness kicks your mood’s butt? Those are the good perks of being a sponge. What is bad is when you can be in a great place, and someone’s poopy attitude sways you to become grumpy and frustrated.

I have worked hard over the past few months to be clear on when my moods are affected by those I am surrounded by on a daily basis. Do I feel frazzled and stressed out because those around me do? Can I leave the mood of others behind by finding the good in a bad or not fun situation? Another way to think about it is what the Daily Om calls being sensitive. I think “being sensitive” gets a bad rap. Many times the word “sensitive” has a negative connotation of being weak or easily influenced. I do not think of the word sensitive in that way. Dictionary.com lists “sensitive” as:

sen·si·tive [sen-si-tiv] adjective

1. endowed with sensation; having perception through the senses.

2. readily or excessively affected by external agencies or influences.

3. having acute mental or emotional sensibility; aware of and responsive to the feelings of others.

4. easily pained, annoyed, etc.

5. pertaining to or connected with the senses or sensation.

#3 is what resonates with me. So, the better balanced an individual is with their own selves, the easier it is to accommodate their own sensitive nature. In a good way. So if you are a sponge, you have a choice of how much of another’s moods you let into your experience. Are you aware of what you are absorbing?

You might also find Tuesday’s Daily Om resonates with you. It is called: “Let it Roll Off Our Back.” It is a good reminder to let things go and not get too caught up in someone else’s negative energy.

I am going to be on watch for when I need to squeeze out the junk from my sponge and when I need to keep absorbing the good!

Do You Feel Heard?

Posted by random olio

Growing up my dad would often say: “Children should be seen and not heard.” Usually it was when he was grumpy, upset, or angry, but it made a mark on me. I think for many, many years I found it hard to speak up and say what was on my mind. I think in my head, I had replaced “children” with “women.” I saw many boys and men speak their minds and they were listened to, but when I would try to speak up, I felt timid and like my ideas would not be meaningful or have value. So I kept quiet.

Jump from childhood to the middle of college. I was a Sociology major, taking classes on race, class, and gender. I was learning I had a voice. I had shaved my head, I was starting to talk, and it was as though a pipe had burst. I had found my voice. It had only taken me 10-15 years!! I have vowed (thank you Chris for going along with me on this one) that my children will be heard. I will watch that if I have a little girl, that I will hear her just as if I have a little boy. I want my children to be proud of what they have to say, to be bold, and to feel that even if others disagree, that they should still speak their mind.

Sometimes we have those days when we do not feel heard or understood by others. One of my pet peeves is when you are talking to someone and you can tell they are not listening. So when I read the Daily Om from May 24, 2012 I appreciated thinking about the relationships in my life where I feel listened to and understood (unlike as a kid). I specifically like this line:

“When we are in a relationship where we feel listened to and understood, we count ourselves lucky because we know how rare that experience is.”

As I mentioned earlier, it took me many years to be able to stand up for myself and communicate to those close to me how important their presence of active listening meant to me. In my mind, active listening and communication is a form of love. It says I care enough about you that I will be present in this moment and listen to what you have to say and hear what you might need right now.

Fast forward to 2012. I now speak my mind freely, at times possibly too freely. I know I have a voice. I know it matters. I know it should be heard. Is there someone in your life you are not listening to? Someone that needs so earnestly to be heard? Have you taken the time out to listen to them?

A good reminder for us all.

Love what you have…

Posted by random olio

Do you enjoy your life? Do you work hard to meet some unattainable goal? Do you ever wonder why you try so hard, and whether you are missing out on some other aspect of your life in the process?

I woke up this morning (of course not wanting to get out of bed), with an immense amount of gratitude and appreciation for what I have today. It is so easy to look forward at what is next, to anticipate that x or y will happen, and in doing so we lose sight of what is NOW, what is today. What if you were able to only look at what you had to accomplish today? What if we had no capacity to wonder how we will ever accomplish what is on our ongoing plate of to-dos, and we could only do what was possible today?

For those of you that know me well, or who have been following my blog for a while know that I have an interest in personal finance. As I have grown up, I’ve been in situations where life has forced me to understand the steps to take regarding wills, estates, living wills, life insurance, etc. This has led me to want to know more and understand what we can do to set up our financial future for ourselves and family (or future family).

Due to my interest in personal finance, I follow the LearnVest newsletter each day. Recently I found a newsletter I saved from January that really spoke to me about gratitude. While I do not think I have Money Comparisonitis, this newsletter on “Money Comparisonitis” (specifically the 4th bullet) can cross over to any area of our life. I also think the following points in their newsletter are good reminders:

“Be grateful for the things you already have, whether that means your health, close friendships, the love of your family or your fulfilling career.”

Later it says:

“One way to better appreciate the good things is to make a gratitude list every day, which will remind you of everything in your life you’re already grateful for. And, ultimately, that’s the best way to keep comparisonitis at bay.”

What if we lived in present gratitude instead of moments of anticipation? What is on my gratitude list will be different from what is on yours, but nevertheless we all have a lot to be grateful for.

It is almost time for the weekend. What if we focused on gratitude and appreciation for the next few days?!