For Immediate Release:

June 10, 2009

“You did a wonderful job clearing up some of the clutter.”

“This one pulled everything together for me and suddenly it didn't seem so overwhelming.”

“…provides solid content, organization to die for, a brutally honest approach, a fast-paced style, and lots of helpful extras. It provides both encouragement and a healthy measure of reality to a writer…”

Communications is a key component to the growth of North America. One of the biggest challenges facing many companies is human resources, with respect to low literacy skills, which is serious enough to significantly reduce the long-term growth rate of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita. This is nothing new.

Lou Dobbs reported on a United Way study on September 8, 2004 that, in Los Angeles alone, 53 percent of the working population was functionally illiterate. In 1992, The National Adult Literacy Survey declared 48 percent of working-age America was functionally illiterate, meaning they couldn't read a bus schedule or fill out a job application. 

David Harvey, president and CEO of ProLiteracy in Syracuse says low literacy correlates with higher rates of crime, problems navigating the healthcare system, and financial challenges.

According to ABC Canada, four out of 10 Canadians aged 16 to 65 struggle with low literacy.

What does this mean in real life terms? People have trouble with:

• Reading a prescription for the right dosage
• Instructions from caring for plants and assembly 
• Finding resources
• Nutrition analysis – being able to steer away from products one is

allergic to

• Work instructions 
• Choosing which product provides more value for purchasing
• Comparing salaries to ensure getting paid fair market value

An educational tool has been developed to foster literacy, creativity, and inspire people to develop a love for books and/or writing. It will help them develop pride in literacy and perhaps want to pursue it further.

The Book Publishing 101 Program guides individuals and organizations to create a book individually or as a group project in the workplace, classroom, or resource room. It combats the fear factor for the reluctant writer with user-friendly tools and simple basic tips that will increase literacy skills by at least 20 percent.

It’s for anyone who has ever had an interest in publishing a book. This program also gives organizations, corporations, and schools a way to reach their people as a group project and have fun doing it. It has the potential to empower.

The sense of accomplishment in the teamwork of producing a book will make a difference in an individual’s life. It can help students and disenfranchised persons develop pride in literacy and perhaps want to further pursue more opportunities to improve their lives.  

The program's tools include an instructive workbook, the bestselling Self-Publishing 101, audio CD, and two more motivating books that will give participants courage and guidance to make their book become a reality.

To learn more and order the Book Publishing 101 Program, see http://www.freelancepublishing.net/publishing_products.htm

A percentage of the proceeds will also go towards the funding the program for non-profit organizations.

People from all over North America have approached Debbie Elicksen and Freelance Communications about book publishing. As a book publishing expert, she works hand in hand with authors and companies that produce books, to which many use to market their businesses. She has edited, ghosted, and project managed at least 90 books. Elicksen is also a sports writer and covered the National Hockey League for over 20 years.

For more information:

Freelance Communications

freelancecommunications@shaw.ca

http://www.freelancepublishing.net  

When the Calgary Stampeders said they would continue with Henry Burris’ contract in 2005, it was the first time he experienced it in his career.  

“What every quarterback has had, whether it’s in the NFL or CFL, they’ve always been with the team for a number of years and have been able to achieve success and settle down and play their game. For me, this is the first time it’s happened. This will be the first time I’ve played back to back seasons. I can look forward to going into camp and actually knowing what the snap count is, knowing what Joe Schmoe’s last name is, where he’s from. A lot of times, you have to catch up on all those things. It takes time, especially when you run a hundred guys in training camp. You’re trying to get to know them all, their body language.”

With a newborn son at the time, Burris was looking forward to some sense of stability.

His position is not an easy one. The quarterback is the target. Everyone is gunning for him. So how does he prepare for the constant physical pounding?

“Repetitions. You get used to being hit. If a guy thinks about a hit, it’s going to hurt. The hit looks better to the fans than it does to us. When we actually feel it, it happens, and goes away real quick. With repetitions, you become used to everything. You’re the guy that’s wanted and everybody wants to hit you, but when you know that, you know you’re doing something good. Especially when the fans are getting on you and razzing you, you’re doing something good. If you weren’t, they wouldn’t care less about you. Nobody would say anything about you. You know you’re doing something good when people are saying something and trying to get in your head. As a quarterback, if they can capture your mental state, you’re basically done. Game’s over. You should take yourself out of the game. Bring in the substitute. Bring in the back up. Therefore you have to work on repetitions of staying focused, being mentally tough, and making sure when you step on the field, you know exactly what you’re going to do and how you’re going to get it done. Over time, you’re going to make adjustments.”

So what’s it like to walk out onto that field? Can it be described?

“Your first year, it’s a wow experience. When you first take the field, and especially when you’re announced as the starting quarterback, you hear the fans go crazy, it’s like, oh my God. Your heart really pumps. You talk about butterflies major. You’re nervous as can be. Going into my sixth season, I’m able to zone things out. As you play more, you become used to the environment you’re placed in and adjust well to things. Therefore, I’m just able to relax and go out and play without thinking about things. Now, I don’t even hear it. I just focus on what our game plan is – you want to beat that team. You know you only have so many years to go. Each and every day you want to give it your best and make sure when you step on that field, you’re in tip top shape. You know the game plan. You want to make that team wish they never want to play you. That’s how we, as players, approach the game. That’s our competitive spirit.”

Because of his background, getting the opportunity to quarterback has not been easy. There were times when a black quarterback was thought to be inferior – such as the days when Warren Moon and Randall Cunningham played.

“Times have changed a lot. The African-American quarterbacks you have playing in the NFL now, they’re supermen. If you’re an average quarterback, it’s tough still as an African-American quarterback. You have to be able to run as fast as a speeding bullet or you’ve got to be bigger than Dante Culpepper – 6’6,” 260, who runs the 4-4. Me, I’m not 6’6,” not 260, and can’t run a 4-4. Those guys still have those distinct athletic features that just separate them from the rest. But it’s a lot better than what it used to be. We’re still working on that curve. You’ve got guys like Quincy Carter who are now in the NFL. He had some troubles, but he’s continued to work at things. But still, guys like Damon Allen, there’s no way he shouldn’t be playing in the NFL. There are a lot of guys up here that should be down south. It works both ways. Guys like Dave Dickenson should have had a chance, Danny McManus, Ricky Ray, Anthony Calvillo. We’re guys that are enjoying our time here. Canada has done nothing but be a magnificent blessing to our lives. We’re more than thankful for it. It if wasn’t for this, we wouldn’t be playing football.”

Burris started his charity softball tournament in 2005 and supporting Big Brothers and Big Sisters is particularly important to him.

“We wanted to come up with an original event that has never occurred here in the city. Let’s put together some of Calgary’s finest celebrity athletes, mingle with corporate Calgary, the fans, and also enable those who can’t afford to go to a gala-like event.

“My father was always my ultimate big brother. I was blessed to have a father. A lot of people come from single-family homes. I wanted to take what I’ve been able to learn from my father and mother and share it with those out there. Big Brothers and Big Sisters enabled me to come about from my high school days, college, professional ball, and help give back to those who are less fortunate. I was at the other end of the spectrum in Detroit, in professional football, having an opportunity to meet those guys while I was growing up. It’s the wow factor. Through their troubles and how they were able to overcome some of the obstacles in their lives. I want to be able to share those with some of the little kids here in the city – mentorship. That’s why we need more males to spend the time with kids. Maybe an hour a week, come out and spend the time. It will change somebody’s life.

“Growing up in Oklahoma, it’s primarily a football state. We’re just blessed to have sports, whatever it is, it’s just there at our discretion to let us choose which route we want to go. You kind of catch onto looking at certain teams, certain athletes. Whenever that athlete is on television or on radio, we’re glued to that television set or to the radio. You’re listening for something that might stick out to you, like what I call a high-catcher. Just being able to see what guys like Emmitt Smith, the obstacles like guys like Warren Moon had to overcome by going to the CFL and work his way back to the Houston Oilers and impact the lives like myself. To see those guys go through those obstacles and to know that if they can do it, then I know I can do it. Emmitt Smith told me when I met him the first time at his football camp, if you have a dream, despite what obstacles are set up against you, you can make that dream come true.

“I had to go through where people said I was too small. I continued to work my tail off. I’m not the fastest. I’m not the biggest, not the strongest. But nobody plays harder than me. With Emmitt’s passion and playing through a separated shoulder, broken ribs, he’s definitely showed that passion.”

Henry Burrisms

We know the CFL, the weather isn’t always Miami Floridish. It’s not always going to be sunny and warm with people coming from the beach to the stadium.”

We do have a cold front moving in from the east known as the Argos.

(Re pre-season) You’re working on the thing’s you’re not as good at. If preseason is where it all counts, then I’m in the wrong business.

The Big Three automakers seemingly woke up last week and got it. Unless one works on a construction or oil well site, and with the price of gas going sky high, V-8 and V-10 SUVs and monster trucks are no longer attractive. When Honda and Toyota kept raising their market share, Ford, Chrysler, and General Motors didn’t investigate to find out why.

Can the same be said for the traditional publishing industry? Here are some facts to sink your teeth into:

• Media General, Inc. reported a 9.8 percent decline in revenues from June 2007 to June 2008, mostly from its Publishing Division revenues, which declined overall by 15.3 percent. (Fox Translator, July 17, 2008)

• The Bowmark Entrepreneurs’ Index said an Optimism Index revealed small- and medium-sized media and publishing firms have the lowest levels of optimism among United Kingdom businesses. Almost 75 percent blame government intervention and legislation as impacting their growth. (Brandrepublic, Emma Barnett, Media Week, July 14, 2008)

• The overall Canadian book publishing industry is down 1.2 percent from 2005 to 2006 re Statistics Canada (The Survey of Book Publishers). Ontario and Quebec factored into 91 percent of the industry’s operating revenues and 95 percent of the profits in 2006. Publishers outside of these provinces continue to rely on grants, subsidies, and tax credits. (Josh Kerbel, Publishers Weekly, July 24, 2008) However, the industry is still seen as being fairly stable and not losing as much as magazines and newspapers (to which the decline in profits correlate to free digital information). (Tobin Dalrymple, National Post, July 11, 2008)

What are some of the reasons for a declining industry? First, let’s start with the publishers. Traditional publishers still tend to take the conservative, safe approach to finding topic matter. It’s as if they think readers do not want to buy anything risqué, fresh and new, or controversial. Jason Quirk (Guardian.co.uk, Why publishing has gone to the dogs, June 27, 2008) says publishers are “dumbing down content and aiming for the lowest common denominator” and that “people will happily pay a lot more money for a slightly better product.”

We know that most of the major publishers, whether they print 10 or 200 titles a year, only choose a handful (not even 10 percent) to put their marketing dollars behind. The rest of the books sit in a catalogue and the hope is that the top titles will support the money spent on the latter.

Mark Thwaite of Guardian.co.uk adds that most publishers are not using the Internet to their fullest potential. In fact, most have substandard Websites. If publisher Websites had great search engines, up-to-date catalogues with detailed pages and graphics, author information, links to fan sites, blogs, and even social networking sites, they just might survive.

An online presence in today’s marketing environment is everything. Without it, you’re invisible. If people Google an author or book title and nothing shows up, you don’t exist.

Now let’s look at the booksellers. Chris Holifield (www.writersservices.com/mag) says booksellers are more focused on bestsellers than stocking a range of books. That attitude ultimately puts more pressure on the other stock, makes it tougher for new authors to get on the shelf, and for publishers to keep books in print. According to some booksellers, the average shelf life of a book in a bookstore is three months.

And then there is the return factor. In an article series by Angela Hoy of WritersWeekly.com, September 2005 (go to the article archive section on www.writersweekly.com to read them in full), she points one of the reason for high returns is bookstores order too many books and then return them for a credit at the expense of the publisher. Many times, the books they return are damaged – or they are outright destroyed. So in other words, if the bookseller can’t sell books, the publisher is the one who suffers.

There is a quote in Hoy’s article from Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg of the Wall Street Journal who says, since the Depression, publishers told struggling booksellers they could return unwanted titles as long as they ordered new titles. The Depression happened in the 1930s. This is 2008 and publishers still use the same business model. As a result, the return ratio, while its average is slated to be 35 to 40 percent, in most cases, it’s much higher.

These are some of the contributing factors on why it’s easier to get an audience with the Pope than a publisher. Like the car industry, some time down the road, other firms – independent self-publishers – will reach a significant market share of the readership, if they haven’t already. We may never know officially because even the statistics gatherers only focus on the traditional bookselling market.