Wow, it’s already the middle of September!  Honestly, I can’t believe it.  For some of us, we will be turning back our clocks and sliding under the covers as the nights get colder.   14 days remaining until the end of September.  Here is the latest author news.

Article Submissions
Authors are continuing to submit Contact Information and articles for submission.   See the Who’s Who in Yellowduck Authors at http://www.yellowduckpress.com/authors.htm.  (Photos and bios)

Submission Deadline (September 30th)
There are 14 days until submission deadline.  Each of our schedules are full and I wanted to make you aware of the timing for the next few weeks. 

Newsletter Authors for October
Congratulations to Lizzie Linton and Sharon Frazee for their newsletter article submissions.  See their photo and bio at http://www.yellowduckpress.com/authors.htm. 
The paper newsletter is read by a wide range of corporate employees.   The e-newsletter is has a distribution of over 1400 subscribers.  Another way to drive business, expertise and credibility your way.  

Contact Information
Fill out the contact information located on www.yellowduckpress.com/authors.  This information is located in the contributing author packet under “what to do next?”.   This indicates your intent to submit an article for publication by September 30th.

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See previous “Attention Authors” for information on

• Publicity
• Podcasting
• E-newsletter
• Paper newsletter
• Blogger Links

Back to school and back to work.  For some of us, this requires a “new” daily and weekly schedule.  It’s time management at its best!   Here is the latest author news.

Submission Deadline (September 30th)
There are 25 days until submission deadline.  Each of our schedules are full and I wanted to make you aware of the timing for the next few weeks. 

If for some reason, this opportunity will not fit into your schedule, please contact me at sandra@sandralarkin.com .  We have a full lineup of complimentary events for authors and will need to schedule these according to interest.  Otherwise, please fill out the contact information as suggested below.

Publicity
In the next 60 days, we will be putting together a publicity package.  You can promote yourself in your market area on a local, regional and national scale.  More information to come in the October/November time frame.

Newsletters (e- and paper)
I will be contacting authors who have already submitted contact information and articles to become a cotnributing author to the Octber newsletters.  Each author will be featured during any given month in 2008-2009. 

The paper newsletter is read by corporate employees.  Another way to drive business, expertise and credibility your way.  For more details, see below.

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Contact Information
Fill out the contact information located on www.yellowduckpress.com/authors .  This information is located in the contributing author packet under “what to do next?”. 

Electronic Newsletter (Opportunity)
Yellowduckpress publishes a monthly e-newsletter to over 1400 subscribers.  We will be asking authors to contribute a short article to the e-newsletter along with your photo.  See www.yellowduckpress.com/newsroom for past publications.  This will increase your exposure as a wellness expert and possibly draw more attention to your website or employer.

Paper Newsletter (0pportunity)
Sandra Larkin Wellness Strategies, LLC has paper newsletter that is requested by other business in the United States.  Again, we will be asking authors to contribute a short article to the paper newsletter along with your photo.  See www.yellowduckpress.com/newsroom for past publications.  Even more exposure as a wellness expert and possibly draw more attention to your website or employer.

For those f you in or around the Middleton, WI area, the the Wellness Council Of Wisconsin is sponsoring the 18th Annual Worksite Wellness Conference.

Here is the conference brochure: http://www.welcoa.org/PDFs/18Annual_WWC_WI_Brochure.pdf

Logon to www.wellnesscouncilwi.org for more wellness information and links!

On a personal note ….

If you know of any U.S. wellness conferences or blog links, please pass them along to sandra@sandralarkin.com.  I am always looking for professional education opporutnities and additonal client services.

Recently, I had a conversation with my physician.  As she was giving her explanation, I got lost in the conversation because it became overly clinical.  I realized she was speaking from her point of view but got lost in her overly complicated explanation.  After asking more questions, I finally was able to understand what she was trying to get across in the first place.

As a professional, we are indoctrinated into what we do best.  Sometimes our explanations are more technical/clinical than the listener can understand.  It becomes more prevalent as we jump from writing for a peer or technical journal to an article for a reader in a magazine.  Each of us brings to the table a wealth of knowledge about what we do best.  This can get lost in translation if we don’t step back and see it through the readers eyes.

When you are writing, have another person who is not a part of your industry, read your article for

• Clarity on subject - Can they understand clearly what the subject is?
• Non-technical words - Writing to the level of a 9th grader.  Can this person understand what you are trying to get across?
• Being clear and concise - Are we telling someone how to build the clock instead of telling time?
• Call to action - Readers want to take our advice.  What is it?
• Powerful closing - Leaving them with a single message they can remember and remember YOU.

As we write our articles for “Healthy Profits”, keep in mind that the reader is

• any age group (18-70+)
• any industry (retail, manufacturing, medical, government, etc…)

When we are deliberate to see it from their point of view, what an impact we will make!

Happy Labor Day Weekend!  Here is the latest news some of which is repeated from last week due to the opportunities for authors.

Adults and children are back to school.  Alot of us are getting back into a normal routine.  As an FYI, there are 32 days until submission deadline.  Each of our schedules are full and I wanted to make you aware of the timing for the next few weeks.

As of today, www.yellowduckpress.com is 65% over readership from last month.  This is good for the book but more importantly for you.

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Contact Information
If you have not already done so, please fill out the contact information located on www.yellowduckpress.com/authors .  This information is located in the contributing author packet under “what to do next?”. 

Uploading Articles
The website has been designed to accept articles for upload to an offsite server.  Feel free to upload the articles, photo and biography as soon as they are ready.

We want to provide authors with as much exposure to the community as possible.  As an expert in your field, others directly benefit from your knowledge.  Read on … 

Podcasting
Let the podcasting begin!  Our Executive Producer, Bob Sandidge, and Marketing Director,  Anne Ward, are ready to begin the podcasting process.  They will be reaching out to you to schedule your individual podcast.  Watch for an email or phone call from Bob or Anne!

Electronic Newsletter (Opportunity)
Yellowduckpress publishes a monthly e-newsletter to over 1000 subscribers.  We will be asking authors to contribute a short article to the e-newsletter along with your photo.  See www.yellowduckpress.com/newsroom for past publications.  This will increase your exposure as a wellness expert and possibly draw more attention to your website or employer.

Your email address will be placed on the subscribers list so you can enjoy a copy for August.  Contributing authors addition to the newsletter will begin in September.

Paper Newsletter (0pportunity)
Sandra Larkin Wellness Strategies, LLC has paper newsletter that is requested by other business in the United States.  Again, we will be asking authors to contribute a short article to the paper newsletter along with your photo.  See www.yellowduckpress.com/newsroom for past publications.  Even more exposure as a wellness expert and possibly draw more attention to your website or employer.

Blog Links (Opportunity)
If you are a blogger and would like it to be included on this blogs blogroll, please email the link to Sandra at sandra@sandralarkin.com.

Happy writing!!!

I received an email from the NWI for the July 2009 conference.  They are looking for speakers in a variety of subjects.  I thought I would pass this along in case you did not receive it.

So how can we use this opportunity to promote ourselves?  Even though events like this have strict policies for self-promotion, your bio can reflect that you are a published author.  This adds credibility to you and your message as being recognized as an expert on a national level.   Read on …

What makes a great “read”?  It’s starts with the title.  Captivating titles make us stop and pay attention to the author and their work. 

For example,

• How Not to Look Old: Fast and Effortless Ways to Look 10 Years Younger, 10 Pounds Lighter, 10 Times Better by Charles Krupp

• Eat This Not That! for Kids!: Be the Leanest, Fittest Family on the Block!by David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding

• Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us) by Tom Vanderbilt

• Five Wishes: How Answering One Simple Question Can Make Your Dreams Come True By Gay Hendricks

Give your articles creative titles that will excite the reader to want more of what you have to offer.  By stopping on your article, it may just be what they need to jump start them to a whole new level.  

Contact Information
Thank you to those who submitted contact information.  This helps us with the planning process as we move into September.

If you have not already done so, please fill out the contact information located on www.yellowduckpress.com/authors .  This information is located in the contributing author packet under “what to do next?”. 

Uploading Articles
The website has been designed to accept articles for upload to an offsite server.  Feel free to upload the articles, photo and biography as soon as they are ready.

We want to provide authors with as much exposure to the community as possible.  As an expert in your field, others directly benefit from your knowledge.  Read on … 

Podcasting
Let the podcasting begin!  Our Executive Producer, Bob Sandidge, and Marketing Director,  Anne Ward, are ready to begin the podcasting process.  They will be reaching out to you to schedule your individual podcast.  Watch for an email or phone call from Bob or Anne!

Electronic Newsletter (Opportunity)
Yellowduckpress publishes a monthly e-newsletter to over 1000 subscribers.  We will be asking authors to contribute a short article to the e-newsletter along with your photo.  See www.yellowduckpress.com/newsroom for past publications.  This will increase your exposure as a wellness expert and possibly draw more attention to your website or employer.

Your email address will be placed on the subscribers list so you can enjoy a copy for August.  Contributing authors addition to the newsletter will begin in September.

Paper Newsletter (0pportunity)
Sandra Larkin Wellness Strategies, LLC has paper newsletter that is requested by other business in the United States.  Again, we will be asking authors to contribute a short article to the paper newsletter along with your photo.  See www.yellowduckpress.com/newsroom for past publications.  Even more exposure as a wellness expert and possibly draw more attention to your website or employer.

Blog Links (Opportunity)
If you are a blogger and would like it to be included on this blogs blogroll, please email the link to Sandra at sandra@sandralarkin.com.

Happy writing!!!

I wanted to pass along an article that Anne Ward, Creative Core Media, penned for one of our previous newsletters.  You will be meeting Anne as she is part of the team behind the development of Healthy Profits.  Learn from the expert about building a great bio!

Anne Ward

Because we’re co-publishing Healthy Profits, it’s important to us that each and every author receives the greatest amount of publicity possible from the book. One of our goals is to put the book into the hands of corporate decision makers. When those readers see your chapter, we want them to be looking for your name and bio to learn more about you.

Here are some tips for building a great bio when you want someone to take action – become a client, contract with you for a project, hire you to speak, or partner with you on a venture.

There are three elements you’ll want to put into your bio.
Here are the Three Cs:

· Curiosity

· Credibility

· Craving

Curiosity
First, make your reader curious so that they want to keep reading about you. The beauty of writing a small chapter for the book is that it’s the perfect opportunity to build curiosity! And you’ll want to keep that theme going in the bio that follows your chapter. This is where you tell the reader what you do and why you do it.

Example: Long before he received his medical degree, Dr. Hamilton had a passion to know what made the difference for people with “terminal” illnesses who went on to live long, disease-free lives.

Credibility
Now that the reader is curious and wants to know more about you, tell them who you are in terms that make them want to really sit up and take notice — this is a person who knows what she’s talking about! Think about your accomplishments, not just your official credentials. What have you been the first to do? How many people have you helped? What have you started?

Example: Dr. Lauren Kohn is a board-certified neurologist and co-founder of The Memory Clinic in New York. Her discovery of the connection between heavy metal toxicity and the hypothalamus led to new protocols in treating memory loss.

Craving More
This is where you tell your reader how you do what you do. This section is designed to appeal directly to your ideal client. If your perfect client cares about time, emphasize your punctuality and deadline-friendliness. If a caring nature is important to them, give them evidence that makes them want to call you.

Example: Tim believes that teaching must involve all eight of our innate areas of intelligence. He’s had former students tell him years after taking a class that “they will never forget what they learned” from him.

What I’ve found is that using the Three Cs well in an author bio leads to the fourth C: Commitment.

But we’ll save that for another article.”       - Anne Ward, Marketing Director, CreativeCore Media

I found the following information on www.employeewellness.blogspot.com .  There is a push in Washington to designate the first week of April as “National Workplace Wellness Week”.

“Earlier this month in Washington, two members of the House of Representatives introduced a bipartisan resolution to designate the first full week of April as “National Workplace Wellness Week.”

“Focusing on prevention through workplace wellness programs not only makes employees healthier but also helps to lower health care costs and improve the overall competitiveness of our nation’s businesses,” Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-SD) said in a press release. “I’m pleased to be introducing this resolution that encourages employers to voluntarily participate in worksite wellness programs and am optimistic that our colleagues and the president will be supportive of our efforts to keep our workforce healthy.”"

So what does that mean for us as authors.  Lots!

1.  Beginning in January, start promoting not only your profession but the fact your a published author.  This may lead to sales opportunities for the book that your published in.  Best of all, YOU make the profit.

2.  Use your author clout to book corporate appointments for that week.

3.  Again, use your author clout to book speaking engagements (free or paid).

4.  Design and coordinate a wellness fair at location where many businesses may attend.

5.  Prior to April, put articles on our upcoming repository to expand your outreach and exposure to the workplace wellness community.

This week in April already has me thinking on events and ways we can work together to reach deep into the corporate community.  Our collaboration becomes more that just a book and can be coordinated to have maximum impact for this week.  More on this later…….

Be healthy and fabulous!

Sandra
Certified Wellness Program Manager