Mashable reported that BestBuy says the Kindle Fire is their best selling tablet, overtaking the iPad in sales.

Don’t know if you saw the article last week, but apparently Amazon has priced the Fire so low it’s actually taking a tiny loss on each tablet sold. But, if you add up the ebook sales on the plus side, I’m sure the buck or two that Amazon is eating is well-compensated for on  the book sales side.

Read the entire Mashable article here.

At 12:00:01 GMT Thursday, November 26 (4:00:01 Pacific, November 25), the Scott Polar Research Institute will begin releasing the last journals of Captain Scott’s ill-fated Terra Nova expedition.  The journal will be released day-by-day, starting today – 99 years from the date of the original entry.

Beginning with the entry for November 26, 1910, which will be published right now, the blog will then follow the expedition day-by-day until Scott’s famous final entry, probably written on March 29, 1912.

Scott’s journal covers the period from November 1910 when the expedition left New Zealand, through the scientific missions of 1911 and the journey to the South Pole, ending with the death of the polar party in 1912, just 11 miles from the next depot of food and fuel.

The Scott’s Last Expedition blog will include links to images from Herbert Ponting’s photographic archive, also held at the Institute.  The entries are also linked to an RSS Feed and a Twitter account that will update automatically when any new blog posts are made.

Understanding the Past Through Technology
The staff of the Institute’s Museum, Library and Archive are keen to see if modern communication methods can provide a better understanding of the past. Reading the journals over a few days is a very different experience from following the daily events of the expedition as they happened.

It is hoped that the blog will enable readers to gain a deeper appreciation of the challenges faced by the expedition and the sacrifices made by Scott and his men.

Librarian and Keeper of Collections, Heather Lane, said: “This is our first attempt to bring the diaries of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration to a worldwide audience by electronic means. As the centenary of Scott’s last expedition approaches, we intend to put other journals from our archive online, to build up a detailed picture of each day’s events.”

Christopher Hughes, who has worked with the Institute to develop the blog, said: “I am excited by the possibility of revisiting a classic work, like Scott’s Journals, with fresh eyes. Technological change means that we are all reading in new ways, and the content is reaching us in many new forms.

“Presenting this great work in a format that people use in their everyday lives should mean that the text comes alive to new readers, and in a short format that blog readers already understand and enjoy. Matching the dates of the text with the historical events also means that those familiar with the story will get a new sense and appreciation of the endurance of the explorers, their true goals, and a deeper understanding of their self-sacrifice. It is a great privilege to be associated with the Scott Polar Research Institute in this project.”

Jeff [Question]

Nancy, thanks for giving up some time to share your knowledge with our readers today. Can you give us an overview of your writing experience and what types of writing you have done to earn a living?

Nancy Hendrickson [Answer]

Jeff, I’ve written five books and over one-thousand shorts, features and Web pieces. My clients include Discovery.com, Family Tree Magazine, eBay Magazine (when it was still in print), Men’s Fitness, Personal Journaling, Writer’s Digest, The Writer, Image-Acquire.com, History Magazine, LAPTOP and Personal Computing. As you can see, I write for a large variety of companies and interests.

Jeff [Question]

You have a fabulous book – “Secrets of a Successful Freelancer”. When did you come up with the idea to write this book and where did the idea come from?

Nancy Hendrickson[Answer]

I met writer after writer who really didn’t know how to get started in the magazine industry. The book evolved from a series of e-mails I developed to answer the qestions I received about the in’s and out’s of getting published–or advancing a writing career.

As you know, for someone without clips (samples of published work), it seems almost impossible to get someone in the industry to notice you. However, if you go about it the right away–and are willing to do some jobs for free or low pay–you WILL get published. And, once you’ve been in print once, it’s easy to move up from there.

Jeff [Question]

Many of our readers REALLY wonder if you can make a good living selling your own writing – without being a top author or expert writer. What would say to them?

Nancy Hendrickson [Answer]

Well, I’m living proof that you can make a living as a freelance writer–and clearly, my name isn’t Tom Clancy!

Jeff, it’s all a matter of building a business from the ground up. It takes time and perserverance, and an unwillingness to give up. I have a very thick file of rejection letters I received when I first started writing–but instead of making me want to give up, they just spurred me to try harder.

Also, I believe all writers MUST be willing to branch out into several directions (i.e. also writing for the Web or writing e-books), and learn about promotion and marketing. Let’s face it – - as writers, we’re selling ourselves, and we need to know how to do that most effectively. In fact, your readers might also be interested in a new e-book I’m writing now that covers the nuts and bolts of e-publishing for writers. It’s called “Make Money e-Publishing” E-books are a fantastic way for writers to make an ongoing passive income–which I’m all for!

Jeff [Question]

One of the questions I get asked the most from people looking to earn a living writing is “How do I find topics to write about that people will buy?” Whether it be articles, books, ebooks, special reports – what methods do you use to find subjects and titles that people want to buy?

Nancy Hendrickson [Answer]

If your readers concentrate on developing interesting topics that they, themselves, enjoy reading about, they’ll have a wealth of topics to draw from. For example, I’m one of those people called an “early adopter”. That means when a new tech gadget hits the market, I’m one of the first to buy it. In my case, that holds particularly true to digital cameras and personal digital assistants (PDAs).

How I use that to my advantage is to find spins to those general topics that I know other people will be interested in too. For example, I’ve written at least a half-dozen articles on how to use your Palm-based handheld for genealogy. I’ve also written about using handhelds for health, keeping track of your kids’ soccer schedules, keeping track of your wine tastings, and travel. I’ll probably keep writing about this general topic for years–but putting a different spin, depending on my target audience.

If there’s one “secret” I’d like to pass on to your readers, it’s this: Find ONE topic you really love and write down at least 25 different ways to spin the topic for different audiences. Once you do this, you’ll find how easy it is to come up with salable story ideas. In fact, in my book, I did a list of 25 ways to sell stories about San Diego (where I currently live). It was an interesting exercise for me–and valuable as it helped me sell several articles.

Jeff [Question]

Excellent stuff!

Nancy, you are obviously very accomplished – do you recommend that people specialize on a certain market niche or that they go broad with their writing?

Nancy Hendrickson [Answer]

I discovered an interesting fact awhile back about that question. It’s not really important if YOU consider yourself a specialized writer—what’s important is that EDITORS think you are. As an example, I write about several fields, but each of my editors in those fields consider me an expert in THEIR field. So, my technology editor thinks I’m just a whiz at tech articles, while my genealogy editor thinks I specialize only in genealogy.

Yes, you HAVE to market yourself to editors as being expert (or knowing where to get expert interviews) in their field. However, you can still write for more than one field–and in fact, you really need to. So, although I’m really a generalist, I’m also a specialist.

Jeff [Question]

Where do you see the leading opportunities in the field of writing – examples: articles, corporate, travel, books, ebooks, self-published versus published, etc…

Nancy Hendrickson [Answer]

Jeff, in terms of the magazine market, I think you’ll see more and more articles on health and business. As boomers age, their health is a MAJOR concern–they want to live longer and be healthier than their parents.

If your readers have an interest in this field, I’d suggest signing up to take a class on health writing–or read all you can about it.

Also, I write more about business now than I ever did. In tihs global economy, competition among businesses is so intense, businesses need solid stories on their industries to help bring them more clients.

In the world of e-books, my advice is a little different. Write about what you love and know–trust me, there will ALWAYS be other people with the same interests–and they’re your target audience. Reaching these markets is one of the major subjects of my new e-book.

Jeff [Question]

Nancy – I want to thank you for your time, sharing your valuable experience with our readers. Before you go, can you offer our readers your advice on the 3 most important things to know about freelance writing?

Nancy Hendrickson [Answer]

1. Never give up–I don’t care how many other writers there are in this world–none of them brings YOUR eyes to the business. What you have to say is valuable.

2. Treat your writing business like a business. If you want to succeed, your focus has to be on building a business, not indulging in a hobby.

3. Learn to become a master marketer–whether you’re writing a query or selling an e-book, you must learn to sell yourself and your products or ideas. Once you’ve mastered this skill, it’ll be hard for an editor, or a potential customer, to say no.

Jeff [Final Remarks]

Thanks again Nancy – your information and book really help us understand what separates the starving writers from those who use the written word to write their own ticket to a terrific income.

Join me @ the Publishing Business Virtual Conference & Expo
Digital Content Day @ Your Desk

Here are a few details:
When: Thursday, October 29, 2009
Time: 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. ET
Where: Your Computer – It’s Virtual & It’s Free

Register now to get in on the goodies:

Digital Content Day @ Your Desk is a free, virtual event (you’ll be able to access all sessions from your computer) that will explore how book publishers must adapt to succeed in today’s multimedia publishing world.

Topics of discussion will include:

* E-book Pricing Strategies (this is one I won’t miss)
* Shifting Role of Publishers in a Digital World
* The Piracy Threat and DRM Strategies That Work
* Social Media Strategies That Sell Books (I’ll be here too)
* How to Evolve to Remain Relevant and Profitable
… and more!

In addition to the dynamic conference agenda, you can take advantage of this fully interactive event featuring live chats, social networking opportunities, downloadable resources and giveaways. Best of all, we can accomplish all of this and more for free … and from the comfort of our own offices.

The event also includes an exhibit hall fully staffed with world-class suppliers, including Worldcolor, Zmags and Book Business magazine, to name a few. Sponsors include Oce and Lightning Source.

Register now, again – it’s a free event:

Hope you can join me on Thursday, October 29th.  If you attend, e-mail me and let’s compare notes afterwards.

Nancy

The Times-Standard of Eureka, California posted a very nice piece about my latest book, Historic Photos of Old California.

In brief, they wrote: Author Nancy Hendrickson has written a new book that features a bevy of old California photographs.

”Historic Photos of Old California” (Turner Publishing Co., $39.95) includes 199 images from throughout the state, with text and captions penned by Hendrickson. The pictures are separated into four chapters: “Exploration and Exultation!” (1850-1869), “Civilization Comes West” (1870-1889), “A Kinder, Gentler California” (1890- 1899) and “From Disaster to Rebirth (1900-1920).

”California’s early days are documented in thousands of historic photographs that reside in archives, both locally and nationally. This book began with the observation that, while those photographs are of great interest to many, they are not easily accessible,” writes Todd Bottorff, publisher, in the book’s preface.

Click this Times-Standard link to read the entire article.

<strong>Interview by Brian Konradt of Book Author Services</strong>
Since becoming a freelancer, NANCY HENDRICKSON has published more than one thousand features, shorts and newsletter columns in national and regional magazines and on the Web. Nancy is a full-time freelancer, living in San Diego. She specializes in computer, genealogy and history writing.

[ BK ]: What kind of job/s (or career) did you do before you became a full-time writer? Did any of these jobs contribute to your success as a freelance writer?

NANCY HENDRICKSON: I’ve worked at a variety of jobs, including supervising in a tree nursery, driving a school bus, working in retail and medical insurance. However, for the last several years before I went full-time as a freelancer, I transcribed medical reports. The jobs, themselves, didn’t contribute directly to my freelance success, however they helped me realize what a diversity of interests I have–and how much I’d enjoy writing about many, many topics. Also, because I was self-employed during my medical-job related years, it taught me to discipline myself, to set a work structure and work goals–it also helped me develop a solid business background, which is invaluable as a freelancer.

[ BK ]: Many aspiring writers dream about freelancing full-time. You’re living this dream. What are some myths and truths about freelancing full-time? Is it as glorious and rewarding as it may seem?

NANCY HENDRICKSON: Yes, absolutely! I get up in the morning and (unless I have an early interview scheduled), I walk to one of my neighborhood coffee houses for an unhurried morning brew. I then work solidly til about noon, and then take a couple of hours off for lunch, then work til later in the afternoon.

Recently, I packed up my laptop (with wireless modem) and drove from San Diego to Port Townsend, Washington–up on the Olympic Peninsula, working all the way.

The greatest thing about being a freelancer, for me, is to set my own schedule and to be free to travel anywhere, as long as I can get an Internet connection. These days, even if I’m in an area where my wireless modem doesn’t work, I can always find an Internet cafe and work there, or a local library.

Then downside, of course, is that you are always hustling to get assignments. However even that has gotten better, because editors now call me with jobs.

I wouldn’t trade this life for anything!

[ BK ]: Your e-book advises writers to become a niche writer — specializing in an area. Why is this so beneficial in today’s economy? How has specializing helped you?

NANCY HENDRICKSON: As I wrote in the book, you can write about many, many topics (which I do), however I market myself as a specialist because editors want to know that you’re really savvy in their area.

For example, I’ve been writing for a computer magazine and they don’t care one bit that I’m also a genealogy specialist–they just want to make sure I know how to research, interview analysts and write good tech stories.

As the world expands, I’ve found publications actually becoming more narrowly focused. Most of us have fairly specialized interests, and we want a magazine that focuses on that. As a reader, for example, I want to read about PDAs (personal digital assistants) which run on the Palm OS. I’m not so interested in Pocket PCs. My obvious reading choice is the magazine which really focuses on the Palm OS devices.

Of course, I have to confess, as a writer, that I still buy the Pocket PC magazines, just to keep up on the industry.

[ BK ]: How do you market yourself to garner assignments? For the beginning freelance writer, what marketing would work best to land first and repeat work?

NANCY HENDRICKSON: I think a beginner has the best chance by finding a market that covers a subject they know inside and out. Then, when querying, play up their expertise. Although they can certainly find experts to interview (and editors love this), it makes the editor more comfortable knowing the writer has that solid background in their field.

As far as getting future assignments–I *never* turn in an assignment without including a list of query topics. The best time to get that additional work is when you turn in a completed assignment. It works a huge percentage of the time.

[ BK ]: As you made the transition from a part-time writer to a full-time freelance writer, what fears did you have? Did you think about failure or worrying where your next paycheck would come from? How did you overcome your fears?

NANCY HENDRICKSON: You know, this was an area that didn’t bother me. I had been working as a part-time freelancer for quite awhile, so I had a good sense of how much income I could generate.

I also devised a spreadsheet (which I didn’t mention in the book, and need to put in as an additional suggestion). The spreadsheet listed all of my clients at the time. In another cell, I wrote the approximate amount of money I would get from a single assignment. I then did this for each client.

Next, I guessed at how many jobs I could do for each client in a year. Then, I let the spreadsheet calculate what my year’s income would be. If it wasn’t enough, I went back to see who I needed to write more for, or how many new clients I needed to add.

[ BK ]: In your e-book you advise writers to join Internet mailing list/s as a way to connect with prospects. Can you explain how this works, and how this can lead to getting work?

NANCY HENDRICKSON: I actually wrote an article for The Writer about this topic. Joining mailing lists (in your subject field) can help in a few ways:

1. You can find wonderful sources to quote or interview.

2. You can position yourself as an expert in the field–and believe it or not, editors do cruise through mailing lists in their genre.

3. You can use them to begin establishing your reputation. For instance, what if someone on the mailing list published a short newsletter – - offer to give them a free short article for it. Not only will that help build your clips, if you’re just starting, it will start getting your name out in the field.

[ BK ]: Besides writing for magazines, do you do any other types of writing to supplement your income?

NANCY HENDRICKSON: I sell my Secrets of a Successful Freelancer book, I just finished an Internet genealogy book for a traditional publisher, and it will be out in the spring.

I also sell some great e-books on the topic of writing e-books through a site at http://www.thehowtopublisher.com Additionally, I have a local corporate client who hires me to write their newsletter, Web content, ads, etc. This is a new area for me and I really love it.

I love the business side of writing, so spreading out to these other fields is a natural for me.

[ BK ]: You have your own web site that provides prospective clients with information about yourself, your skills, and samples of your work. How has your web site helped your writing business? Do you recommend writers have their own web sites as well?

NANCY HENDRICKSON: My site has definitely helped me get new clients. When I query an editor who doesn’t know my work, it’s just so easy to refer them to my site–they can see which publications I’ve written for, and my writing style.

If you want to be a successful freelancer, I think you really have to have a Web site. And, one that is easy to navigate and not filled with annoying graphics. Editors just want to get in, see who you are and get out.

I also *strongly* recommend that you get your own domain name and pay for a hosting company. It looks so much more professional.

[ BK ]: With more than 1,500 shorts and feature articles to your portfolio, you’re a very prolific writer. How do you keep yourself going from day to day and avoid laziness and boredom over the long term?

NANCY HENDRICKSON: Good question. I write about a variety of subjects, so that keeps my brain occupied and interested. Even when I write for the same market, there are many, many topics to research, and I like that very much. For example, in my work for my current computer clients, I may write a hands-on review of 10 software programs and then the next week do a roundup, and the next week a piece on how to get the most from a specific program.

Had a lot of fun at the Neiman Marcus Fashion Night Out, signing my newest book, Historic Photos of Old California.  If you’re in San Diego on October 10, head down to Old Town (Captain Fitch’s Mercantile) – - I’ll be doing another signing from 2-4 pm.  See you there!

BTW – the Neiman event was a blast – free food and wine (or cocktails) on all three floors of the store – a great DJ, an artist – - lots going on to celebrate the world of fashion.

Spotlight on Nancy Hendrickson by Writers Village University

T-Zero: Have you always been a writer? Do you have any particular background or creative writing courses that you draw from?

NH: Even before I went to kindergarten, I remember running around with little pieces of paper I’d scribbled on. So yes, I think I’ve always been a writer. When I was in high school and college, I loved researching and writing term papers, which is probably why I enjoy writing non-fiction articles today.

Although I didn’t take many creative writing courses in college, my degree is in English–which means I did a tremendous amount of reading. For me, being a writer means being a reader. Reading good writing–whether fiction or non-fiction–always inspires me to improve my own work.

As you know, many non-fiction writers dream about writing fiction and I’m no exception. I’ve taken several fiction courses through Writer’s Village, and find they also help my article writing as well. My favorites are the series on Mythic Structure.

T-Zero: Tell us exactly what a Niche Market is.

NH: A niche market is a specialized market. As a non-fiction writer, I’m interested in a wide variety of subjects, which makes me a generalist. However, I learned long ago that editors are more comfortable working with you if they feel you are highly skilled and informed in their particular niche.

It occurred to me that although I am a generalist, I can specialize in several different niches. I picked the areas I know the most about, and went about presenting myself as a specialist in those areas. For example, I wanted to write about genealogy, so I started a genealogy newsletter and built a genealogy-related Web site. Both positioned me as an expert, and helped in getting some of my first genealogy assignments.

T-Zero: You’ve developed several of your own niches; genealogy, collecting and computers. Did this develop from a special interest you had in each or did the interest develop once you found the market?

NH: Those particular niches were based on my own personal likes. However, I learned to develop my own “niche within a niche” in each of those fields. For instance, although I’ve been interested in genealogy since childhood, I positioned myself as an expert on Internet genealogy. Because I’ve been online since 1986 (my first subscription with CompuServe), it was easy to call myself an online expert.

I’ve had computers for years, but it wasn’t until I bought a Handspring Visor–they’re like Palm Pilots–that I really got interested in writing about computers. My first articles were on using Palms for various hobbies. I sold pieces on Palms for astronomy, Palms for health and Palms for genealogy. Once I had my foot in that particular door, it was fairly easy to get other computer-related assignments.

I’m a great believer in writing about things you really enjoy. Why go after assignments that you’re going to hate writing?

T-Zero: You’ve written for several magazines with different interests, do you have a favorite subject?

NH: I love writing about people or events that transcend ordinary life and touch us in a place buried deep in our souls. For me, this usually happens when I’m writing about history. I don’t get to do this often, but when I do, it’s Nirvana.

T-Zero: We at T-Zero and WVU are learning the craft of writing and honing our skills. Writing for niche markets takes research, can you lead us through a typical beginning, middle and end of preparing your article?

NH: You’re absolutely correct about needing to hone research skills as a niche writer. When I get an assignment, the first thing I do is decide how I’m going to approach the article (my tone, style, structure), whether I need to do interviews, and what type of research will be necessary.

For example, I’m doing a piece right now for The Writer magazine on “Holiday Gifts for Writers.” I needed to come up with 20-25 items a writer would like to get as a gift, then write a paragraph about each, including the price and where to buy it.

This piece was fairly straightforward–I added things to the list that I’d like to have, and then incorporated things my editor wanted on the list. After that, all I had to do was search the Web for each item, and write my descriptions.

A more typical piece for me, though, is one I just finished for a genealogy magazine on “finding your frontier ancestors.” After deciding on the components I wanted the article to contain, I got on the Web and started looking for experts to interview. I eventually interviewed two authors who specialized in the frontier, an expert on military history, and archivists at four different state historical societies.

Next, I took all my notes and started fashioning the article. Once I did that, I could see where my research was a little thin, so I went back on the Web, as well as through my own books to fill in the gaps. Once that structure was complete, I began writing the piece. By that point, I had enough information to write a fairly well-honed article. Of course I went back a couple of times to polish it, which means not only catching my errors and improving the way I said something, but also moving paragraphs around until the piece flowed the way I wanted it to.

One last thing–and this is just my personal quirk–once I know how I want to structure the article, I frequently write my lead paragraph before I do anything else. Having a solid lead keeps me focused.

T-Zero: What or who influenced you to get into article writing?

NH: I truly love helping people understand a subject better, and writing articles gives me the chance to do this.

For example, I like writing an article that helps you get the most from your Palm Pilot, or one that helps you find your ancestors, or one that gives you a piece of medical information that alleviates your worries. Writing these articles gives me a great deal of personal satisfaction.

T-Zero: What type of books do you like to read when you find the time?

NH: Unfortunately, most of my reading time is spent on keeping up with computers and Internet technology. It doesn’t leave much time for reading for the pure joy of it. In fact, I jokingly call myself an illiterate because I spend so little time reading great literature.

However, a friend of mine recently inspired me to start reading novels again. Of those, my two favorites are The Archivist, and Girl with a Pearl Earring. My criteria for a good read is that it makes me think, it touches my heart, and that it’s beautifully told.

T-Zero: What advice would you give first-time writers who are interested in developing a market for their work?

NH: It’s such a cliche, but a true one: Write what you like.

If you love kids, for example, write about them. This may mean starting out writing for a kids’ magazine and then expanding into parenting magazines; or, it may mean writing about crafts for kids for a family magazine.

Also, I think a big mistake a first-time writer makes is in seeing their niche in too narrow a focus. By this, I mean there are far more markets for every niche than you might imagine. For instance: although there are genealogy-specific magazines, that doesn’t mean they are the only market for my work. I can sell pieces on genealogy to computer-related publications, retirement, travel (genealogy research on the road), collecting (I found Great-Grandma’s diary), history, ethnic, and general interest magazines.

If you want to develop a market for your work, spend some time in the bookstore looking through the magazines. Then, do a little thinking outside the box, and expand how you see your particular market.

T-Zero: Your book, Making Money Writing for Niche Markets, is quite comprehensive and covers everything you need to write articles. If there was one key element to selling articles, what in your opinion, would that be?

NH: Learn to write a killer query. Of all of my skills, my query writing one is my strongest. I have learned to sell myself and my ideas in a way that makes it difficult for editors to say no.

Grab editors by their collars from the first sentence and don’t let go. Let your passion show through. Tell them why you’re dying to do the piece and why they should be dying to pay for it. Yes, editors are business people, but they are people. They want to be excited, they want to find that query that promises to thrill them. Make it be yours.

T-Zero: I always like to end an interview using some of James Lipton’s questions which gives us an insight in the author we spotlight and it’s fun. Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule.

T-Zero: What is your favorite word?
NH: Hubris. I love the image it creates in my head.

T-Zero: What is your least favorite word?
NH: Interface. God, spare me.

T-Zero: What turns you on?
NH: Music that makes me feel every emotion, from the inside out.

T-Zero: What turns you off?
NH: Whining.

T-Zero: What sound or noise do you love?
NH: The crackle of a wood fire.

T-Zero: What sound or noise do you hate?
NH: Car alarms.

T-Zero: What profession would you be in if not this?
NH: I would compose music.

T-Zero: What profession would you hate to be in?
NH: Anything that traps me in an office or forces me to do the same thing day after day.

T-Zero: If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive?
NH: “You did good, kid.”

Excerpt from interview by Jenna Glatzer of AbsoluteWrite

What’s a “niche” writer?

A niche writer is one who specializes in writing for one or more markets. Although the majority of writers work in many markets, a niche writer has build a name in a specific market.

For example, I frequently write for one genealogy magazine. Recently I did a Spotlight piece for Writer’s Digest on the genealogy market. The editors I interviewed recognized my name, even though they hadn’t worked with me before. Once you write a lot in a particular field, most of the editors in that field know your name.

You say that you originally fought against specializing, but later embraced the idea. Why?

I’m interested in just about everything, so to me specializing meant missing out–even though I saw the benefits. However, it finally dawned on me that I could specialize in more than one field. So, I picked the areas I like the most, and set out to build a name for myself in each of them. Today, I write almost exclusively about genealogy, history, computers and collecting.

Let’s say I have a passion for pets, but I’m certainly no expert on the topic. Can I reasonably expect to become a pet writer? How?

Absolutely. You know, most editors don’t expect writers to be experts, but they do expect writers to know how to find and interview experts. In fact, many new writers are surprised at how easy it is to find experts–and how willing they are to be interviewed.

But back to your pet example. Let’s say you want to specialize in writing about horses. One of the things you can do is join horse-related mailing lists. When you need expert advice, post a request to the list. People are generally very helpful. If they can’t help you, they often will refer you to someone who can. You can also use those lists to collect those great anecdotes that we all like to include in our articles.

As long as you can locate and interview experts in a field (and this is easy to do), you can reasonably expect to succeed in as a specialist in that field. My book covers how to best use mailing lists, and the other sources for finding experts.

I’ve spent many years coaching and consulting with clients who want to _________ [fill in the blank]. In almost all cases, the client has innately known what they wanted, but through coaching gained the clarity needed to take appropriate action.

It’s ironic, then, that I’ve struggled with "naming myself" because I can do such a wide variety of things: writing, ghostwriting, blog coaching, wordpress consulting, marketing consulting, book promotions, social media integration . . . . and the list goes on.

But recently I had one of those ah-ha moments; those delightful seconds when illumination is reached through introspection, and the world of possibilities becomes known.

What happened? I realized that all of my coaching and consulting (blogging, article marketing, site building, et al) was really about Coaching to Zen . . . . helping my clients reach a state of illumination (at times bliss!) through coaching them to their own clarity. My own ah-ha moment has caused me to rethink how I define my own services . . . with the result being . . . (ta-da!) . . .

Coaching to Zen.

I’m not a Buddhist, nor do I have in-depth knowledge of "zen".  What I do know is that MY definition of it  is about opening up to your own inner knowing . . . . and calling it Coaching to Zen simply felt right.

Of course, that means a restructuring of my site, a re-do of my social media profiles, new business cards, new e-mail sig files – - kind of like all that stuff you have to do when you lose your wallet!  But in a good way.

To celebrate my own Coaching to Zen, I invite you to take advantage of a free 15-minute coaching session . . . let’s explore what paths lead to your bliss. Click that Contact button up above, or the hot pink button to the right . . . and let’s see what evolves.

When a large, heavy box arrived at my door yesterday, I couldn’t imagine what it was – - until I saw it was from Turner Publishing – then I knew it was copies of my latest book, Historic Photos of Old California.  Woo-hoo!

I have to tell you – I was thrilled at the quality job Turner did producing this book. It’s a hard cover with dust jacket, the paper is heavy gloss, and the images are beautifully reproduced. As an author (and amateur historian) I have to tell you – seeing a finished product like this really makes me happy

The book has 200 images of Old California, dating from approximately 1850 to 1920, divided into four historic periods. I wrote each of the chapters as well as all of the captions. Chapters are

• Exploration and Exultation! (1850-1869)
• Civilization Comes West (1870-1889)
• A Kinder, Gentler California (1890-1899)
• From Disaster to Rebirth (1900-1920)

If you’re a Californian, I hope you pick up a copy of Historic Photos of California! And let me know what you think.

If you’ve read my blog or articles, you’ll have discovered my passion for American history – particularly the post-Civil War era on the frontier.  In fact, my sister and I have built a Frontier Traveler blog about places we’ve been – and I’m sorry to admit that we struggle to find time to keep it up-to-date.  Between us we have thousands of images that we want to use in blog posts – and we’ve promised each other that this Fall we’re going to set aside one night a week to keep the blog updated with fresh content.  (In the meantime, check out our FrontierTraveler Photostream at Flickr)

I spent last weekend with two of my nieces in Philadelphia and the surrounding area, and was struck with how close America came to losing the War for Independence. With the might of the British Army and Navy thrown against Washington’s farmers and villagers, who would have bet on the boys in blue?

I’ll post more about this on the Traveler site, but for now just wanted to share my morning at Fort Mifflin on the Delaware. 

If you’ve flown into Philadelphia and are sitting on the left side of the plan, you can see the fort just as you’re touching down. Mifflin is called “the fort that saved America” because in the winter of 1777, when the British occupied Philadelphia and Washington’s men were up against the wall, the men at Mifflin stopped British General Howe’s ships from sailing up the Delaware and delivering supplies to the occupying forces. For six weeks 240 British guns blasted away at the fort in what is called the greatest bombardment in North America.

Although the Fort was taken by the British, it held off long enough for Washington to get his army to Valley Forge and safety. For the colonists, that reprieve meant everything.

Doesn’t it amaze you how one little action (a small garrison holding off a fleet) can change the course of history? Kaizen theory in action.

I cracked up when I learned that a Twitter-newbie referred to me as a Stalker – - all because HE followed me, then weirded out when he read I was in his town! We had a laugh over this at dinner (Settimo Cielo — if you care to Google!), and decided that my role was far more a "chronicler"  – - which my team tells me must be a euphemism for Stalker!

BTW- – at Settimo Cielo (7th Heaven), the food was some of the best Italian I’ve ever had (including eateries in San Diego’s Little Italy). One of the specials was a pasta/sausage/eggplant/garlic/onion, etc special – - everything sounded great but the sausage, and when I asked if they’d make me a vegetarian version, the waiter said "no problem". It was truly heavenly.

Wine: Heartily recommend the red Clo du Bois (a Sonoma, CA winery). We split a bottle between four of us – and it was a perfect pairing with our meal.

Just landed in Philadelphia, on way to pick up rental car to drive to Trenton for a 7 pm meeting.

Am pretty sure when we landed that the old buildings close to the end of the runway are Fort Mifflin. Gotta grab a couple of hours and get over there.

Want to know what the Royals are up to? (think garden parties, charity events, church services) Pop over to their British Monarchy page on Twitter. Already pulling in more than 2,7000 followers, the Royals follow no one (what a surprise) – - but do keep the rest of the world up-to-date on day-to-day life with the Prince, the Duke, the Queen, et al.

Don’t expect any re-tweets or trending topics from Queen Elizabeth II or Prince Charles. A palace spokeswoman says the account won’t be used to air personal opinions.

Darn.

Just one question.

How would you explain Twitter to an 87-year-old who has never used a computer? (Comments welcome!)

I launched my 2009 by signing a contract to write the chapters and captions for a soon-to-be-released title, Historic Photos of Old California. Today, I received an author questionnaire from the publisher’s Marketing Dept, getting more info for the press release and asking if I had a preference for a book launch site.

As the book covers the history of California from 1850 to 1920, I wanted one of San Diego’s many historic sites to host the book launch, and suggested one of the buildings in San Diego’s Old Town State Historic Park (possibly the haunted Whaley House), the historic sailing ship Star of India, or Balboa Park’s Museum of Man.

No word yet on where the festivities will occur . . . but if you’re in San Diego and want to attend be sure to let me know and I’ll put you on my special invite list.

Although this is the fifth book I’ve authored, it’s my first true launch party (isn’t that a crying shame!) – - so I’m jazzed to have a publisher (Turner) who rolls out the red carpet, and knows how to have a little fun!

Stay tuned . . .

Thanks for finding me on Twitter!

I’m an author of five non-fiction books, with diverse interests, most of them centered on:

• Love of writing
• Love of history
• Love of genealogy
• Fascination with time travel
• Exploration of noetics
• The creation of compelling non-fiction
• Living creatively
• Living gratefully
• Living as green as I can
• Teaching the craft of non-fiction writing
• Coaching other authors
• Marketing for creatives (me included)
• Exploration of the physical and spiritual worlds

I do my best to divide my time between my own writing and supporting other writers who have the desire to write their own book. My goal is to help them grow their own author-career, while staying true to their own values and vision.

My Kindle 2 arrived a few days ago, with a slender Amazon box, holding a heavy black sleeve interior packaging and a carton cradling the slimmest Kindle imaginable. I’d seen photos, of course, but was surprised how lightweight the new Kindle really is. To be honest, I never had a problem with Kindle 1′s size or weight, although I was among the chorus shouting to Amazon to moved those damned buttons so I didn’t keep inadvertently turning pages!

When I pulled the Kindle 2 out, it was clear the page turning buttons were far superior as well as the navigation – - morphing from a weird silver blob in K1 to a nifty 5-way joystick in K2. Best yet is the speed.  K1 moved along at a nice even speed, but the K2 burns rubber. When you have as many books on your machine as I do (more than 25 pages of listings) navigation speed counts.

Playing with K2, I was curious to learn more about the text-to-speech function, which basically turns the Kindle into a books-on-tape reading machine. However, I’ve recently learned that because of copyright issues, Amazon has to get publishers’ permission before automatically making their books available via voice. As an Internet marketer who publishes on the Kindle primarily to publicize my business, I’m all for delivering my message in as many ways as possible.

As I have time to run the K2 through its paces, I’ll let you know if it stands the test of night-after-night of skipping from book to book, jumping ahead and back inside several books, highlighting pages and making lots of notes.

I had the opportunity yesterday to sit in on a 90-minute presentation by Sandy Carter, an IBM VP who spoke about social media marketing.  I wanted to share some of my take-away gems (hint, the biggie is at the bottom):

• Marketing 2.0 is a combination of social media and traditional marketing channels
• The “secret sauce” is the right mix of of marketing venues, all dependent on your goals
• In a poor economy, you can move customers through the buying cycle faster
• It’s critical to monitor and respond to buzz about you or your business
• Look for opportunities to provide a human face to your brand
• Look for opportunities to interact with your audience
• Companies need to focus on loyalty to customers
• You statisticians this is huge for you: track what’s valuable, not what’s measurable

All valuable – - but what really hit home for me was the same thing I’ve been telling you for months – - it’s all about relationship building.  Ms. Carter said we’re moving away from the concept of B2B and B2C.  What’s really happening is P2P . . . . . PERSON TO PERSON.  (was nice to get validation from a Big Blue VP!)

Note: Presentation was via MarketingProfs

Great article in the Washington Post about the future of digital readers. An interview with Verizon exec Tony Lewis says he expects Kindle’s competition to launch in 2009.

Already experts are betting that new iPhone apps will “smoke Kindle”, but the Post article points to one huge factor in Kindle’s favor: In terms of solid relationships with publishers, massive traffic, and the ability to price to sell, Amazon is the “Wal-mart of the supply chain”.

It’s not really about connectivity or technology, the Post says, it’s about who has the biggest piece of the book-pie.

I couldn’t start 2009 without writing about Twitter.

If you’ve been online more than 10 minutes, you’ve heard that Twitter is THE social networking tool of the century.  Hype?  Nope.

Twitter is a bonafide tool for relationship building and marketing, built within the confines of a seemingly impossible 140 characters. If you can’t say it short, you can’t say it.

In a Twitter-nutshell, Twitter allows you to “follow” the people you feel are worth reading, and people can follow you if they think your Tweets are worth following.

The smartest Twitter gurus Tweet a brilliantly balanced blend of humor, links to something of interest on their own site, a link to their newest blog post, or a link to something interesting they’ve read online.

Is Twitter a platform for blatantly pushing your services on your followers? Not unless you want to be thrown out of the virtual party

My Top 3 Twitter Services

1.  Although you can Tweet directly from your Twitter account, my favorite Tweeting platform is Tweetdeck. This Adobe Air desktop platform. Tweetdeck allows you to take all of your Twitter feeds and break them down into categories – making it a lot easier to read your favorite Tweeters.  It also creates a category for displaying direct messages and replies.

2.  I’m also in love with TwitterButtons. Sure, you can put Twitter’s default blue bird as a link on your own site, but why not jazz it up a little? You can see my Twitter button of choice up there in the right column. I know. . . there are so many great Twitter apps – why bump one of them in favor or TwitterButtons? Because I’m a sucker for a fun photo.

3.  And speaking of photos and photo sharing,  you have to use TwitPic. This free service lets you share photos on Twitter with your friends–with no signup required. You can also post pictures to TwitPic from your phone, TwitPic API, or through the site itself. Twitpic works great with Tweetdeck.

I’ll do follow-up posts on other Twitter apps – but wanted to get my Top 3 out on this beautiful first day of the New Year.

Found a fantastic site today that gauges the strength of passwords.

The bad news is that a hacker can crack one of my blog passwords in 19 hours.

The good news is my major work password will take 402,895,492 days to crack.

Unsure how safe YOUR password is?  Give this Brute Force Calculator a try.  If you find your favorite color isn’t a strong enough password (!) pop over to the Strong Password Generator and have it generate a password that even Brute Force can’t get into.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the election returns yesterday – and why Barack Obama was so successful. The reasons, of course, are many. Economy, war, hopelessness, being mired in a broken political system–all messages and issues that will get out votes in just about every election.

But beyond that, I attribute at least part of the success to the Obama campaign’s brilliant use of relationship marketing. Yes, they did the big TV ad blitz . . . but they added a strategy (and philosophy) not seen in campaigns in my lifetime. Building a voting base one person at a time.

Through word of mouth marketing, massive person-to-person canvassing, and crafting messages that spoke directly to “we the people” this campaign was wildly successful. Plus, the strategists realized that part of the relationship we want to build with a new administration was one devoid of negativity, divisiveness, exclusion, and dirty tricks.

Congratulations to President-elect Obama, and best hopes for a new era of how we do business with one another.

I used to be the Queen of Multitasking – reading e-mail, surfing websites, talking on the phone simultaneously. No biggie, right? Until I realized that my multitasking was merely multidoing, without many tasks actually getting done. Since that ah-ha day, I’ve been weaning myself off the multitask habit, and focusing on one thing at a time. Amazingly, I actually get more done.

Today, there was an article in the New York Times about multitasking, with a great quote by psychiatrist Edward Hallowell that “you have to keep in mind that you sacrifice focus when you do this. Multitasking is shifting focus from one task to another in rapid succession. It gives the illusion that we’re simultaneously tasking, but we’re really not. It’s like playing tennis with three balls.”

On a similar note, usability guru Jakob Nielsen wrote an insightful checklist for saving time. My favorite was not to use IM unless it added true value to the interaction. As Nielsen said, “A one-minute interruption of your colleagues will cost them ten minutes of productivity as they reestablish their mental context and get back into “flow.” Only the most important messages are worth 1,000 percent in overhead costs.”

I turned off IM a long time ago because of this; but I do use Skype when a colleague and I are on a conference call with a new client – Skype allows us to bounce ideas off one another before saying it to the client.  In that case, IM definitely adds value to the interaction.

For all of Nielsen’s tips, pop over to his Usability site.

Lonely Planet TV is offering $500 for the best travel video submitted to their site.  They’re looking for “anything and everything” , including footage from your cell phone about your backyard getaway.

Just read the User Terms before registering with lonelyplanet.tv and uploading your video. If they really like your stuff,  you may just be $500 richer.

Don’t know about you, but I’m hauling out my Flip Video and heading down to San Diego Harbor – who can resist an iron-hull sailing ship sitting next to a Cold War era Russian sub?

Popular Mechanics announced its picks for the 2008 Breakthrough Awards awards in what the publication called The 10 Most Brilliant Gadets of the Year. Amazon’s Kindle was #3, behind Microsoft Photosynth and Spore.

Using the 10.3 ounce Kindle you can read almost any popular book, newspapers from all over the world, or Internet blogs from Amazon’s Kindle reader. You can read the Kindle anywhere; it’s wireless, but there are no wireless fees. Instead of WiFi, Kindle uses EDVO like the advanced cell phones, so you don’t have to search for a hot spot.

Amazon.com Inc. announced in July that 11 Christian publishers will make a majority of their catalogs of books available for use on the Kindle, Amazon’s e-reader.

“Of the 135,000 books available on Amazon.com as a physical book and on the Kindle, Kindle books already account for over 12 percent of units sold,” says Ian Freed, vice president of Amazon Kindle. “ 

Authors – if you haven’t converted your book to Kindle format, you’re missing the boat.

I read a great article at PC World about the 10 most overrated products. Some I agreed with (XP vs Vista), some I did not (Google Apps vs OpenOffice)–but the one that really hit home for me was Facebook. As the editors at PC World wrote: "Everyone seems to be on Facebook at this point. But to what end? Countless free applications of dubious value, plus scores of plug-ins and games that draw you deeper into the Facebook rabbit hole until you’re spending hours a day befriending complete strangers with whom you have nothing in common be­­yond a shared love of Raisin Bran." Amen. I know I’m swimming against the Facebook for Marketing tide – - but really, is Facebook where YOUR target audience hangs out? Not mine. Find the social network where your own crowd hangs out – -  THEN market the heck out of it — by building relationships with people who actually COULD become your customer.

The New York Times reported that Sony’s PRS-700 is scheduled to go on sale in November, with its cost running $100 more than the current PRS-505. The 700′s new features includes a touch panel and reading light.

The Boy Genius Report (which was picked up by PC World) published sneak-peek pictures of what it says is Amazon Kindle v2. PC World’s article reports the new Kindle is reminiscent of the early iPods. As a Kindle user myself, I wish Amazon had included a reading light and less clumsy navigation buttons – so I’m curious to see if these changes are incorporated into v2.

Clearly, the original Kindle is doing well, though – - selling faster than it can be produced. While the Kindle definitely faces up and coming competition, the fact that the Kindle can seamlessly (and wirelessly) pull books from Amazon in seconds will keep it ahead of the pack. IMHO.

I had to laugh – - and was a little jealous – - when I received a press release today about how a new super-dooper mouth guard helped Los Angeles’ Dodger superstar Manny Ramirez have more “strength, balance and flexibility.”

How? Because the guard holds his jaw in a position that allows his jaw and neck muscles to completely relax.

The last time my neck relaxed was sometime in the late 1990s.

The magic apparently comes from a gizmo called The Pure Power Mouthguard (PPM), a technological wonder developed by Canadian dentist, Dr. Anil Makkar.

“Incredible,” is how Ramirez describes it. “I pop this thing in my mouth before I go to the plate, and man do I feel a difference. Just like that, I feel stronger, and more relaxed. And when you’re feeling relaxed and in tune with your body, you can do some damage… I just love it,” he says.

I’d love it too Manny.  Wanna send your spare over to my office?  I’m pretty sure that less neck and jaw strses will make me a FAR better writer.  Right fellow scribes? LOL

Great news for all of us who love historic photos.

The Library of Virginia, joined The Commons on Flickr yesterday, October 6, 2008. The Library of Virginia is the 11th institution to join The Commons, with many more on the way!  (The first to join was the Library of  Congress).  

The Library’s first photo set contains 200 photos from the Adolph B. Rice Studio Collection–a unique photographic record of life in Richmond, Virginia from 1949 to 1961.

The collection consists of more than 16,000 4 x 5 inch film negatives from the commercial studio of Adolph B. Rice.

Technology publisher Apress announced that more than 200 Apress books are now available direct from the Kindle Store as Kindle Editions.  Apress supports the needs of the professional IT developer audience, with publications on topics such as Java, Windows, databases, and all programming languages. 

Apress books will be available in the Kindle Store immediately on publication in tandem with its own PDF eBooks.

“Kindle is reigniting a love of reading—after purchasing a Kindle, customers purchase, on average, just as many physical books, and their total book purchases on Amazon increase by more than double,” said Jay Marine, Director of Product Management for Amazon Kindle. “This commitment from Apress moves us closer to our vision for Kindle, which is to make any book, ever printed, in any language available wirelessly in less than 60 seconds.”