MSPmedia: Indie Publishing & Production by Trula Breckenridge

The Design Coding Rapper

2008-07-21T14:11:00.000-04:00

This is total coolness:

This blog entry written by Trula Breckenridge. Thanks for visiting MSPmedia: Indie Publishing & Production!

Independent Publishers Group

2008-07-12T16:01:00.000-04:00

I'm submitting my books to Independent Publishers Group, a book distributor for independent publishers throughout the USA and worldwide. I like what they have to offer in particular this:

- All marketing services provided by IPG are either free, optional, or charged at cost. None are profit centers for IPG. IPG realizes it may or may not be good for a publisher to make a big investment in advertising, or to take space at a trade show, and doesn’t require a publisher to do so.

- IPG gives publishers greater options for publishing into more markets. Publishers can choose to produce titles for the academic, children’s, Spanish, computer, gift, or general trade markets and have each title aggressively sold to the appropriate market. Many titles cross over into multiple markets.
Indepdendent Publishers Group

This blog entry written by Trula Breckenridge. Thanks for visiting MSPmedia: Indie Publishing & Production!

Great Story: I Am A Zombie Filled With Love

2008-06-29T17:21:00.002-04:00

You've probably seen a few zombie movie, but have you ever wondered about the zombies' point of view? This strange and sad short story by Isaac Marion gives a compelling look into how a zombie might feel. It's a beautiful, well-written story. I like it a lot. It makes me feel funny:

I am a zombie, and it's not so bad. I'm learning to live with it. I'm sorry I can't properly introduce myself, but I don't have a name anymore. Hardly any of us do. We forget them, like anniversaries and PIN numbers. I think mine might have started with a "T", but I'm not sure. It's funny, because back when I was alive, I was always forgetting other people's names. I am finding that irony abounds in the zombie life, an ever-present punch line. But it's hard to smile when your lips have rotted off.
Read rest of story

This blog entry written by Trula Breckenridge. Thanks for visiting MSPmedia: Indie Publishing & Production!

Traffic Swarm

2008-06-25T17:51:00.002-04:00

I'm trying to increase traffic to my site, as it's so low. I need to increase it in order to increase ad revenue. So I'm trying out traffic swarm. Here's a small banner, I'm considering placing larger banners on the site also:

width="120" height="60" border="0">

This blog entry written by Trula Breckenridge. Thanks for visiting MSPmedia: Indie Publishing & Production!

What You Need In a Media Kit

2008-06-09T16:25:00.000-04:00

What you need in a media kit to market your indie project:

-fact sheet about you, your qualifications and your business
-brochure and product description, or like in my case, also excerpts from your book
-photos of you and/or your project
-copies of articles already published about you, customer endorsements, ideas for future news stories on you
-your latest press release about your project
-put it all in a folder with a biz card slot. You can also include a personal letter to each editor/producer you're sending it to
-one page questions and answers

Then make a list of media to send it to, then go!

This blog entry written by Trula Breckenridge. Thanks for visiting MSPmedia: Indie Publishing & Production!

How To Write a Full-Fleshed Piece of Work

2008-06-05T15:48:00.002-04:00

This is what you have to do to write a full-fleshed piece of work: write, edit, rewrite, edit, then write it all over again. You may have to do this several times/ It's nothing personal and no indication of your inner talent. Most everyone has to go through multiple edits. Once you have finished your initial draft, re-read and edit for grammar, spelling, accuracy, and completeness. Also, does it express your writing style; how easy does it read to you. If it's a non-fiction piece make sure your facts and references are complete.

This blog entry written by Trula Breckenridge. Thanks for visiting MSPmedia: Indie Publishing & Production!

MSPmedia Blogroll

2008-05-31T00:51:00.004-04:00

Indie, DIY, Publishing & Production
No Media Kings
Zinebook

Blogging
Bloggrrl
Pro Blogger
Snowboard John
Woody Maxim

Writer & Writing Blogs/Sites
1WriteWay
Alastair Reynolds
Amanda Blake Soule
Angelica Pozo
Ariel Gore
Ash Tree
Bee Lavendar
Bert Decker
Bethany Hiitola
C. J. Cherryh
Chris Bohjalian
Cory Doctorow
Crazy Aunt Purl
Debbie Ridpath Ohi
December Quinn
Gwenworld
Hamish MacDonald
Inkygirl
Isaac Marion
Jacqueline Carey
Jesica Davis
Jimi Izrael
John Scalzi
Jonathan Carroll
Kevin Kelly
Malcolm Gladwell
Maria-Elena John
Mercury Lynch (my sci-fi blog)
Nalo Hopkinson
ReadingWritingLiving
Robert Maurer
SARK
Stephen Early Jordan II
Susan's Beeswax
Susan Forward
Tananarive Due
This Woman's Work
Tim Ferris
Torrance Stephens
Writer's Resource Center
Zoe Whittall

Artistic/Creative Blogs
A Personal Site
Chookooloonks
Datamancer
Furialog
Good Crime Think
Julian Beever's Chalk Drawings
Mousewords
Poefrika
The Synchronicity of Indeterminacy

Web/Internet Stuff
Apophenia
Bite Sized Standards
Christian Montoya
Creating Passionate Users
David Herreman
Elliot Swan
Flagrant Disregard
Internet Marketing Blog
NorthXEast
Socialtastic

More
Black Pot Mojo
Dean's World
Fat Doctor
Funchilde
George Ngwane
Glenda the Goodwitch
Global Voices
Hannah Dallman
Hip Tranquil Chick
I Heart Seattle
Indigo Trails of My Thoughts
Karlana's Blog
Megan Lyles
Model Minority
Modus Opens
My Private Casbah
Nappy as I Want to Be
No Pasa Nasa
Pollyanna Rainbow Sunshine and the Needles of Doom
Spiritual Breakthrough
Sneeze: Half Zine, Half Blog
State of...
Taking Place: Ideas for the Masses
Trenting
View From the Sidewalk
Vintage Chica

Add a Blog to Boost Your Site

2008-05-28T14:07:00.000-04:00

A blog with ads is a way to make money from your site. A lot of people have made good money with google ads, affiliate ads and direct selling ads. I have google ads on my site but haven't made much yet, but I have made good money with direct ads and affiliate ads.

A blog is an easy way to add pages to your site as you can configure it so that every post has it's own page. You could do a photography blog where you do a post a day about what you're currently working on, cameras, photography news, answer photography questions, or whatever. The more posts you have the heavier a 'footprint' your blog has on the net, which means it's likely to come up higher ranked during searches for whatever topic your blog is on. Here is a blog that explains it all with tips and stuff:
http://www.problogger.com

If you have your own domain any blog platform you use you can just configure it to your domain. I use blogger.com. A lot of people who blog professionally prefer wordpress but I like blogger because it is a snap to use.

I have a bunch of blogs including this one on various subjects, all hosted on one domain and which link back to one of my books or zines or my main site:
http://mspmedia.net

This blog entry written by Trula Breckenridge. Thanks for visiting MSPmedia: Indie Publishing & Production!

Seize Your Entrepreneurial Dreams!

2008-05-27T14:02:00.000-04:00

I just came across this blog and love it already. It is full of fresh, informative, and fun content that is very helpful. Here is a sample from one of the articles I liked:

How to Market Your Business with Information
By Stephanie Chandler
Information is a powerful and under-utilized marketing tool that can set your business apart from the competition and dramatically increase revenues. By educating your prospects and customers, you can build credibility in your field, establish yourself as an expert, and demonstrate your company’s solutions without a hard-sell.

Information can be delivered in a variety of formats including books, e-books, special reports, booklets, workbooks, newsletters, articles, teleseminars, and workshops. Many information marketers use a combination of methods.

The goal is to offer value in your information products. When you provide useful information, the reader will typically want to learn more about your business. Unlike brochures and other marketing collateral, information products with practical information are more likely to be kept around and referenced over and over again.

Following are some examples of ways you can use information to market your business and increase profits.
Seize Your Entrepreneurial Dreams!

This blog entry written by Trula Breckenridge. Thanks for visiting MSPmedia: Indie Publishing & Production!

5 Ways to Work a Day Job

2008-05-26T13:57:00.000-04:00

We've all heard the expression, 'Don't quit your day job' when announcing that we're going to write a book, record an album, make a movie, or some other creative endeavor. Sometimes this is just someone's way to make a snide comment about your talent, but often it is just a way for concerned family and friends to let your know to be concerned about your financial situation. Getting your indie project started and completed is hard enough when you have the financing that supports your life while you produce it. It is twice as hard, no, ten times as hard when you have to work a job to support yourself and your family while you are producing your
art. The starving artist/writer/filmmaker/et. is just not any kind of good time, and if you have kids it's not fair to them to live in dire circumstances because you need time to write or paint or whatever. So you have to work to put bread on the table until your real work make lots of money. Or at least enough money to support you. Here are five tips to combine working an outside job and your creative output easier.

1. Get a job related to your field.
This can be awesome because you will be around what you love during your time at the job. For example, if you are a writer, you might enjoy working at a bookstore or at a library. This can backfire, though. I once had a bad encounter with a security guard at a museum who, after getting offended by a comment I made about a sculpture, felt compelled to me lecture me about it. Turned out he was a frustrated artist. When I was first writing my books I tried a job in a bookstore and got very frustrated just from being around all those books but not being able to write while there. Now, however, as I'm planning to open my own bookstore I know I can handle it because I've been through the working and writing deal. It would make me very happy to be around books all day. And since it's my bookstore, if I want to sit up and write during slow times I can do that 'cause I'm the boss.

2. Get a job that uses your education. If you have a degree or two you are not using, that is like throwing away money. I'm not just talking about what you or your parents paid to get the degree (and probably are still paying for), I'm also talking about your degree's worth on the job market. You might think you just have a generic degree that's not worth anything, but there are a lot of jobs you can get that that will make use of your degree; what you learned. Many don't require your specific major but just require a college degree. Expand your horizons and look for these jobs. For example, if you have a degree in english or history, you might look for a job in teaching (just need to get certified) or sales. A business degree translates well to any job regarding finance, sales, marketing. If you are afraid of a sales job...then you are probably spinning your wheels in indie production and you'd be better off aiming for a publishing contract, record deal, etc. Because if you're doing it indie...you have to learn how to market yourself to sell your product.

3. Get a job that you can learn from. You can learn from any job, but try to find a job that you will learn new skills that you can apply to your art in some way. At my new job I can already tell I am going to learn a lot of new stuff about marketing and selling, both things I need to improve my business.

4. Get a job that will make you decent money. Now I know many in the underground, DIY, indie scene are against capitalism, wealth, and just making money in general. I used to feel this way, but after struggling for so long with getting my work out there I realized it can be accomplished a lot easier if I had more money. Think of money as insulation; a buffer between you and the cold wind of struggle. I'm not saying you have to sell out your values and ethics. Just consider that money is a tool that can make your life as an indie artist much, much easier.

5. Get a job that has off-hours or flexible hours. Depending on what you do it might be helpful for you to work evenings or nights. A job with flexible hours can also be very helpful, especially if you are often struck by inspiration and used to working spontaneously. Job schedule flexibility can also leave you with more free time to devote to your art. Some examples of jobs with flexible hours are subsititue teaching, waiting tables, and call-center sales.

This blog entry written by Trula Breckenridge. Thanks for visiting MSPmedia: Indie Publishing & Production!

How Effective is Multi-tasking?

2008-05-25T13:46:00.000-04:00

I'm a multitasker and a recovering insomniac to boot. Usually when I'm up late I write, do stuff for my business, check email, do some housework, read, listen to music, etc. The only time I'm not multi-tasking is when I have my daily cup of tea and meditation on the porch. This helps me to stay even and calm, to just sit there for 5-10 minutes doing nothing but sipping my mug of tea. I like quiet reflection but other than this I don't consistently do it every single day.

Lately I have found that I get much more done when I focus on each task; when I move from task to task rather than trying to do multiple tasks all at once. I've heard and read before that multi-tasking is really not more effective than just doing things one at a time but being the hard-headed type and slow to boot it took me some time to learn this on my own. I found this article that says that the reason why multi-tasking can be inefficient is because it slows you down mentally each time you have to shift gears to work on a different tasks:

Whether people toggle between browsing the Web and using other computer programs, talk on cell phones while driving, pilot jumbo jets or monitor air traffic, they're using their "executive control" processes -- the mental CEO -- found to be associated with the brain's pre-frontal cortex and other key neural regions such as the parietal cortex. These interrelated cognitive processes establish priorities among tasks and allocate the mind's resources to them. "For each aspect of human performance -- perceiving, thinking and acting -- people have specific mental resources whose effective use requires supervision through executive mental control," says Meyer.
apa.org/releases/multitasking.html

This blog entry written by Trula Breckenridge. Thanks for visiting MSPmedia: Indie Publishing & Production!

Tips for the Self-Employed

2008-05-24T13:41:00.000-04:00

I was reading over at Steve's blog (yes I LOVE his blog! His blog is so helpful) his take on 10 Stupid Mistakes Made by the Newly Self-Employed. I had to chuckle because of course I made many of these mistakes back in the day as well as in the present. Anyway I felt inspired to write my own list, then remembered I wrote something up about this on hipmama a few years ago:

The number one thing you have to remember, in my opinion, is to take time for you. A business can consume all of your time if you let it, and because you are working for yourself you may not realize how much time you are spending on your business. For example I often work 12 hour days but because my time is broken up it doesn't seem like that much.

I may get up at 5am, work for 2 hours till the kids get up, get them ready and off to school by 830, go for my morning run, do some housework, hit my favorite message boards, work for 3 hours, do some more housework, work an hour or 2 by going out for a biz lunch or meeting or selling or whatever, return home, do some more housework, take a nap, kids home, hubby home, family time till bedtime, work 3 hours, do some reading/relaxing, work 2 more hours, then go to bed.

Money is an issue. Even huge corporations have cash flow problems. That's not much of a consoling thought when your income is slow and you have kids to feed, bills to pay. You have to learn how to budget your business money. This was hard for me because I didn't even know how to budget my personal money. I am sorta getting it all together but it does involve taking charge of my finances and being aware of my money, what's coming in, what's going out, etc. If you are afraid of money or have other money issues I would definitely recommend dealing with that before starting a business. I wish I had, I feel my business would be further along right now.

Many people will say you can't work your business and work an outside job but this varies from person to person. I am not averse to working an outside part-time job to help with my cash flow, but I would caution you not to work a full-time job and a full-time business. You'll get burnt out and take huge chunks of time away from your family.

If you can, get help! Ask your friends and family to help you. I am in a labor tight spot right now because I can't do everything myself, but I don't have the resources to pay other people. I, have, however, several friends and extended family who help me out for free and I also ask my husband and kids for help.

This blog entry written by Trula Breckenridge. Thanks for visiting MSPmedia: Indie Publishing & Production!

I Need to Build Business Credit

2008-05-16T15:36:00.000-04:00

I need to build business credit and have found out how to go about doing this. I found out that sole proprietorships (and partnerships) don't qualify for business credit. Also, I am personally responsible for 100% of the business debt at all times. In order to qualify for most business credit I need to make my biz a corporation or LLC. I also need a federal EIN (already have), a separate business bank account. Here's something that surprised me: I need a separate business phone number that is listed with 411 directory assistance.

Nitty gritty credit stuff: I need to register business with and open a biz credit file with all three credit agencies (Experian, Equifax, D&B). I must have one bank loan, 3 business credit cards and five vendor lines of credit that all report to the credit bureaus. Finally, I must pay all biz taxes and credit accounts on time and never, ever bounce a biz check. Pretty intense, huh? It's a good thing though, will actually help me improve my personal credit. I got this info from Business Finance, there's a wealth of information on there.

This blog entry written by Trula Breckenridge. Thanks for visiting MSPmedia: Indie Publishing & Production!

New Design Done

2008-05-10T21:21:00.001-04:00

The new design is up and running! I am still tweaking it so please bear with me if you come across broken links and general wonkiness. I used a free template from Styleshout.com, they offer lovely designs that are super easy to tweak if you have some HTML & CSS knowledge. And if not, super easy to just pop your content in.

This blog entry written by Trula Breckenridge. Thanks for visiting MSPmedia: Indie Publishing & Production!

Temp Design

2008-05-03T11:51:00.001-04:00

I'm working on a new design for the site, temporarily using this one. There are a lot of cool and free designs out there that just need a little tweaking to make them exude MSPmedia style.

This blog entry written by Trula Breckenridge. Thanks for visiting MSPmedia: Indie Publishing & Production!

Streamlining My Blogs, Bookstore Stuff

2008-04-13T19:48:00.000-04:00

Today I'm working on updating all my blogs to have a consistent look & feel. It's kind of tedious but I think will help my online presence. Also working on the many things I need to do for Texture Bookstore.

This blog entry written by Trula Breckenridge. Thanks for visiting MSPmedia: Indie Publishing & Production!

Working On a Book Project

2008-03-20T12:15:00.000-04:00

I got this from Writertopia Toolbox

This blog entry written by Trula Breckenridge. Thanks for visiting MSPmedia: Indie Publishing & Production!

Barack Obama for President 2008

2008-03-04T12:02:00.000-05:00

Cast my vote today in the Ohio primary, yay!

Barack Obama for President 2008

2008 MSPmedia Projects

2008-03-01T09:48:00.000-05:00

March 2008 - Positive Evolution Zine Launch
March 2008 - Futuristic Motherhood
April 2008 - The Man I Live With
May 2008 - Chipped Nails & Hairy Legs: Trula's Guide to Beauty
June 2008 - Musing Monogamy
June 2008 - Supple Mama Exercise Video: FINALLY
July 2008 - Mean Mama
August 2008 - Personal Growth for Black People
September 2008 - Earthy Style Book
October 2008 - Teen Mama Perspectives
November 2008 - Veggie Mama In the Garden
December 2008 - Naptime: Short Stories About Motherhood

The Tenth Annual Allied Media Conference

2008-02-07T21:14:00.000-05:00

I'm definitely going to this:

The Tenth Annual Allied Media Conference
June 20 - 22 2008
Detroit, MI

The 10th annual Allied Media Conference is a milestone for independent media. Over the last ten years, we've broken silence and built movements. We've become the media and built our own communications tools. Now we want to use this gathering to project ourselves another ten years into the future.

Amidst the threats we face as indivuduals and organizations, our survival is cause for celebration. The AMC provides the opportunity for us to celebrate and strategize as a community around common problems: how can we sustain ourselves and our organizations financially without getting caught up in commercialism or the nonprofit industry? How will ensure there are people to do this work well into the future? What kind of future are we working towards and what role will our media play in shaping it?

Now rooted in Detroit, we continue to look to sustainability strategies growing from within the current disaster caused by militarism, systematic oppression, failing schools, and the growing planetary emergency. That is where we find people, out of necessity, using media as part of solutions to the problems many more of us will soon face. The AMC is a laboratory and a showcase for these innovations.

Since 1999, the AMC has brought together students, journalists, artists, educators and activists to push the boundaries of participatory media. We are intergenerational with a focus on youth. We all share in the teaching and learning of practical skills for making media and using media to organize for change. This June, we'll come together to share tactics for living in the world that is and for shaping the world that we want. Please join us.
http://alliedmediaconference.org

I'm on Bryper's Tumblings

2008-02-01T18:55:00.000-05:00

I got interviewed by my twitter friend @bryper about my best tip for work/life balance:
Bryper's Tumblings

He also has a cool blog about social media: Tools, tactics, and conversations of social media — by Bryan Person

We Are Smarter Than Me Book Review

2008-01-20T16:13:00.000-05:00

I recently read the book We Are Smarter Than Me: How to Unleash the Power of Crowds in Your Business. It's a book project written by Barry Libert & John Spector along with thousands of contributers. The basic premise of the book is that group collaboration produces better results than what an individual can produce. At first this seems like a 'well duh' statement but further reading explained just how much of an impact adaptation of this mindset can have on a business.

The book explains in detail how you can use the power of groups to improve your business, from asking a group to solve a particular problem to letting group feedback influence business decisions to making use of the talents of groups members and more. All require a loosening of the reins, so to speak, on the part of business owners & management. All require a willingness to share business resources either in the form of money, time, or acknowledgment. People want to know that their voices are being heard and are willing to share their ideas with businesses they feel loyal to, but no one wants to feel used. Business that want to embrace the spirit of this book must be willing to share.

I also liked the layout of the book. It is formatted in a way that relevant points jump out at you, and gives one page information that explains how you can apply points to your business. This is great for the busy professional on the go. The concise blocks of info stated as being from members of the We community are also neat and I think it would lead to easy communication within a group reading this book together.

While We Are Smarter Than Me relies heavily on examples of how business are using the internet to engage customers, the most important thing I learned from this book is that the medium is not the message. The goal for people in business, whether individuals, owners of mom & pop shops, members of small co-ops, or large corporations is to effectively engage customers & potential customers in communication, as their feedback is invaluable. The means of interacting with people is secondary. I find this fascinating because as an individual business owner and someone heavily involved with online communication I sometimes forget this.

Overall the book is insightful and gives powerful evidence to adjust your business strategy to include the group model. Doing so can help you increase profits by clarifying your business goals and allowing the feedback you get from community of customers & potential customers to help define what successful products or services would mean to and for them. It's a neat book and a great read to jump start your business goals for 2008.
Buy the We Are Smarter Than Me: How to Unleash the Power of Crowds in Your Business book
Visit the We Are Smarter Than Me community
Website http://wearesmarter.org

How to Boost Your Creative Productivity

2008-01-16T20:20:00.000-05:00

I am often asked how I get so much writing done. I kinda feel vaguely irritated at such a question because I think it's sort of a back-handed jab, but here are some things that have helped me:

Stop Comparing Yourself to Others
Seriously. There is no race, or contest, or competition. If you want to create something, just do it. Comparing yourself to others is futile because there is always somebody who does more or whose work is better or whose work could easily make you feel inferior if you play that game. So don't play it. I found that when I stopped comparing myself to others my creative output skyrocketed. Also I just became more productive about things I wanted to accomplish in general, not just with writing. Comparing myself to others crippled my thinking.

Decide On What Projects You Want To Do, Then Schedule Them
Do you want to write a book this year? Or record an album? or create your own website? Whatever you want to do, define your goal and then schedule time to do it. Your work won't get done unless you do it and it's likely you won't do it unless it's in your schedule. It took me years to write some books because I wrote 'when I could find the time'. When I made the time, when I scheduled the time, it took me less than two months to write other books.

What You Write Is How You Eat
If you have a regular job that pays your bills, forget about it in terms of your creative work. I didn't say quit it (I've made that mistake before oh boy) I said forget about it. Act like you have no income. Pretend to yourself that you need to get your project done in order to have money. If you plan to become a full-time writer or singer or whatever, this will soon be the case anyway. This is good practice and helps you develop discipline to keep producing your creative work.

Create Something You Love & Would Want Yourself
When you are working on something you are passionate about, it really affects your productivity. Whatever your project is, ask yourself, is this something I would buy? Is this something I would spend my time on? Put your heart into your project to produce something you yourself would want. This helps you not to cut corners and to put your best foot forward with your work because you most certainly won't want to bore yourself or waste your own time. All will help you to boost your creative productivity.

Develop Your Distinctive Voice

2008-01-14T10:15:00.000-05:00

Whether you write books, write for the web, or write for print publications it is important to develop a distinctive voice in your writing. This helps you to stand apart from the crowd and it is the spark of originality that people are looking for. Sure, there are other writers who can technically write better than me, but they cannot write just like me. Just as I cannot write like you.

You have a style of writing inside of you that is as distinct and unique as your fingerprints and DNA. Stop trying to write like everyone else and put words to paper that express what you are trying to say. I call this going raw; writing fast without worrying about spelling or grammar, just getting the words out as they come. Then later I shape it up. I find the final form a better-dressed version of the original, is all. The uniqueness of my writing voice was there all along.

Today Is My Birthday!

2008-01-13T12:02:00.000-05:00

Today is my 36th birthday! I felt the 36ness come upon me in the night and told 35-year-old Trula good-bye. She went on her merry way, wishing me well. I love birthdays so much, they are such a celebration of life and a remembrance of birth and living another year!

A twitter pal had this posted on his site and showed me today, I think it's such an awesome poem:

Happy Birthday to You!

"If you'd never been born, well what would you be?
You might be a fish! Or a toad in a tree!
You might be a door knob! Or three baked potatoes!
You might be a bag full of hard green tomatoes!
Or worse than all that... why, you might be a
WASN'T!
A Wasn't has no fun at all. No, he doesn't.
A Wasn't just isn't. He just isn't present.
But you... you ARE YOU! And now, isn't that pleasant!"
-- Dr. Seuss, from Happy Birthday To You!