Weirding Word

Weirding Word® on Writers: Norma Lehmeier Hartie (Part 2)

Weirding Word® on Writers continues an interview with Norma Lehmeier Hartie, author of Harmonious Environment: Beautify, Detoxify & Energize Your Home, Your Life & Your Planet. In Part 1, she discussed creating harmonious environments, her approach to writing, and self-publishing. The second and final part of the interview focuses on the power of words, creating a harmonious office, and her future plans.

WW: Now, you’ve gotten a couple of awards for Harmonious Environment.
NLH: With ForeWard Magazine and Nautilus, the book is a finalist. With Writer's Digest, it won the grand prize. So, it’s pretty exciting and there’s an interview in the current Writer’s Digest.

WW: One of the things we believe here at Weirding Word® is that words really create. That words define life and impact how it’s shaped. And, I’m wondering if you agree with that, and second of all, how words shape and define your life?
NLH: Well, I do agree with that. Just off the top of my head, I’m thinking how you can pick up a book, and go to classic literature and become that world. That comes to life. I guess both fiction and nonfiction do different things. But for me fiction has always been this whole…you step into another life with fiction. And nonfiction, just the concept, it expands your consciousness and your awareness. And you see the world differently. I’ve often wondered about the difference between what it must be like to be illiterate. Forgetting even computing, but just being illiterate. What that person thinks about versus people who read and write. It has to be hugely different.

WW: I never thought about it that way before.
NLH: It’s true though, isn’t it?

WW: Umm-hmm, umm-hmm.
NLH: You can’t compare…unless back when stories were passed on verbally, that’s a little bit different and a different era, too.

WW: But, the more you learn, the more it changes the way you think about things.
NLH: Absolutely. Even writing my own book, there were certain things I needed to work through and understand that had never been presented as far as I know. And, probably the most exciting aspect…not probably, in fact, it was…were those few “ah-ha” moments where I’m like, “Ohmigod!” I’m jumping up. I mean really, because certain things just made sense suddenly and I was the first to think of it that way. And that changed my consciousness, and I know whenever I read a good book and I learn, it’s that “ah-ha, wow”. It’s great.

WW: Now, that leads me to one of my standard questions. And that is, what is different now about how you write and how you approach writing than when you first started Harmonious Environment?
NLH: I could say almost “fearless”. In other words, I think…and I’ve heard it many times...that people are afraid to start writing. I was afraid to start the book. Now that I have and I write virtually every day, it’s much, much easier and I’ve become a better writer. After you write a book, you keep working on it and you continue writing, and you just find that your skills increase. It flows. I don’t really often get writers block, if ever really, because of a level of confidence. Yeah, it really boils down to being confident. Particularly when I’ve gotten good book reviews and won the award. If that isn’t a confidence booster…it really means I can write. I’m not just putting down words. And that really gives me confidence.

WW: It’s sort of a validation of everything that you’ve worked so long to do.
NLH: It is. And so even e-mails, all of that stuff, it just becomes really simple.

WW: Is there anything in the book that you’d like to focus on or that you’d like to tell people about that I didn’t ask? Is there anything that people don’t know enough about or don’t think enough about that you’d really like to share?
NLH: Well, I think one thing that I try to impress throughout the book is to decorate and do your home using your own intuition. As opposed to “oh, this is trendy” or whatever, to really decorate for your soul. And I don’t like to use that word flippantly, but I mean what really feels good to you. Obviously, if you live with other people, you want to make compromises and so on. But, not to worry about what anyone else feels. You will know when it’s right.

It’s just one of those things where I have people who will come into my house and they’ll say… I mean, and it’s funny, I don’t care who it is…virtually everyone will say, “Wow, it feels so good here.” And that because it is energetic… everything flows and things do look good. Yeah, I am a professional, but I do think virtually anybody is capable of doing it. And that’s the other reason why I wrote the book. So people can gain confidence in themselves and make a home because we spend so much time at home. It just feels good.

WW: What kind of advice do you have for people in their home office or an office building?
NLH: No clutter. Be organized. I know that’s the tough thing, but if you do it...Have a little fun when you organize. Go to a Container Store or a place like that. Know what you need. “I need one container for files.” Whatever it is. And get stuff that you like. I’m not a big proponent of buying stuff, but in this case, if it’s going to get you organized and keep you organized, it’s well worth it. Particularly in an office where you want to accomplish something, you want it as clutter free and organized as possible.

And depending upon what you want – if you want to gain wealth, for example, or recognition in your job – there are certain things you can do with a ba gua map or feng shui to sort of spice up certain areas of your office to increase wealth and so on. But that’s a little hard to talk about.

WW: That’s the octagon-shaped map in the book?
NLH: Which is also a square. It can be depicted either way. It is laid over a room or over an entire house.

WW: Interesting. I’ll have to read it in pieces so I don’t get overwhelmed like I do with my paper. Now, it sounds like you’re moving into a lot of new areas. You’re doing more of the workshops. And, publishing. Are you publishing for other people, too. Are you taking on authors now?
NLH: It’s something I might do in the future, but it would be in a completely different direction. And actually, at this point, I’m really trying to decide which of the number directions I’m going in. But that’s probably the last one I would do. I do plan on writing more books.

WW: Well, that was my next question. What’s next on the horizon for you?
NLH: Well, I am thinking about taking the book that I have…because as you said, it’s very large..and not exactly chopping up the chapters. But, forming a few more books from it that would allow people to focus on just one area if they wanted to do that. And, I’m also thinking of writing on the state of publishing today. It’s for writers who don’t know where to turn. There are slightly different books out there, but I'd answer some of the questions about what’s going on. There’s a lot going on very rapidly.

If you missed Part 1 of Norma's interview, you can check it out on the blog. And, do forget to visit her website to learn more about creating a harmonious environment.

Gaea Honeycutt
blog@weirdingword.com

Weirding Word®, a division of G.L. Honeycutt Consulting, LLC, is a virtual publication department that provides editing, freelance writing, and publication and web design services.

Copyright 2008 Gaea L. Honeycutt. All rights reserved.

Weirding Word® on Writers: Norma Lehmeier Hartie (Part 1)

In this latest interview with Weirding Word® on Writers, Norma Lehmeier Hartie, talks about her award-winning book, Harmonious Environment: Beautify, Detoxify & Energize Your Home, Your Life & Your Planet. An expert in creating green and balanced spaces, Norma teaches readers how to purge "The Ugly" and replace it with positive energy and healthy items. Her interview is broken into two parts, with Part 1 focused primarily on creating harmonious environments, her approach to writing, and self-publishing.

WW: Tell me how you decided to write Harmonious Environment.
NLH: Well, I’ve always wanted to write. When I thought of these different topics and putting this thing together, it was a natural process to write this book.

WW: So, you’ve been writing a long time?
NLH: Actually I have been. In graduate school I was taking fiction classes. That was always what I thought I would do, but it turned out I was no good at. So, I still love to write, but I stick to non-fiction.

WW: Tell me about Harmonious Environment.
NLH: Okay, well, it’s basically a number of steps in the process of creating a harmonious environment. And what I do, I basically start with what you want to get rid of. What I call "The Ugly". And in that case, that’s products -- and any household products or even personal care or food products -- that are toxic or unhealthy for you or the environment and replacing those with nontoxic goods.

Cleaning your house well, getting rid of clutter and organizaing the rest. And working on an energetic level, clearing the air of any negative energies with either dousing or smudging. At that point, you’re sort of neutralizing the environment. And you start to bring back all the good and the beautiful. And, you apply feng shui techniques and color theory, as well as good design, to basically create a sanctuary.

WW: What is dousing and what is smudging?
NLH: Native Americans have used smudging for years. You use either sage or another aromatic herb. And it’s called smudging because it’s smoky and will fill the house with that odor and is said to clear the house of negative energy. Dousing, on the other hand, goes back to ancient times. It was originally used to find water. Now you use a pendulum and, by asking a certain set of questions, it will actually lead you to negative energies and allow you to clear them.

It’s actually very powerful and no one knows for sure how it really works., but I’ll just give a little illustration because I think that makes it much more clear, which is dogs and cows and other animals gravitate toward positive energy. We know that cows will go and stand in a pasture where there is postitive energies. A couple of years ago when I started with dousing, I cleared a client's condo. And I cleared particularly around the bed and everything else. She told me afterwards that in her old apartment, the dog always used to sleep in a particular spot on the bed, but that when she moved, the dog refused to be in that spot. However, after I cleared, the dog began to sleep in her old spot. So, I thought that was a very powerful affirmation because, certainly, the dog had no idea what I was doing.

WW: It sounds like, for people who are very skeptical about positive and negative energy and those kind of things, one of the most practical things that they can read in the book is "Freeing Yourself from the Tyranny of Clutter and Dirt Forever". What are some of the keys that people need to take away and understand about getting out "The Ugly" – particularly about all this clutter that’s building up around us.
NLH: For a lot of us, clutter just happens. And particularly for Americans. We buy a lot, and things just start to build up. Some people are just overwhelmed by it. And, we read something like this or have some other type of realization. I say do 15 minutes a day. Start with whatever bothers you the most. You can start with one junk drawer in your kitchen. Start small. Don’t feel overwhelmed. Just take one step at a time. Because what happens is you’ll be rewarded. By doing it you’ll feel better and tend to do more. But if you look at the entire project you’ll say, "Ohmigod!", and just become paralyzed.

And, another thing that is not in my book is that there are some people who just like a lot of stuff. Like on a coffee table there will be five items. What I recommend doing is taking half of it and putting it away. And then six months later, reverse it. What happens is that when we have a lot of stuff out, you tend not to see anything. And I have clients who refuse to do anything else, but that just talks to them.

WW: What is your process for writing? This is not a small book and that had to be a very large manuscript. How long did it take you?
NLH: You know, I researched for about a year. Maybe a year and a half because, at one point, I moved and did nothing but work on my new house. But the technique that I used is to work on each chapter as a separate folder in my computer. I know a lot of people have trouple starting to write. I don’t remember how I started, but I do remember thinking to myself, Deal with what you feel like doing. Sometimes, I was working on two different chapters. If you have to go through a manuscript of 300 pages, it’s crazy until the end. So, they were always separate.

WW: And how did you get published?
NLH: Well, I ended up starting my own publishing company and I published it myself. And really have gotten very much involved in understanding the entire business. I’m laughing because I’m at a crossroads at this point. I have actually stopped taking on clients because I’m working so much -- not only on publishing, but I’m doing more and more workshops and I’m actually beginning to teach about the publishing process. I just published a long article in this month’s Independent Book Publishers Association newsletter. So, it’s sort of like I’m at a crossroads. Do I continue with the work I’ve been doing or do I maybe write a book about publishing? I’m not sure.

WW: Some people might say food and energy goes hand-in-hand with the harmonious environment that you’re writing about.
NLH: There’s actually a chapter on food and recipes in the book. Because your body is the closest thing to yourself, food and personal care products are definitely, I agree, very important. That chapter isn’t that long, but I explain that you’re best off eating organics and locally grown, if possible, food. And then I throw in some favorite recipes.

WW: Coconut milk with lime and vegetables, vegetarian pasta primavera, cold noodles with sesame sauce, different kind of lasagna… Now, what about people with food allergies, who are allergic to say wheat gluten or nuts or soy. What kind of advice do you have for them around energy and food?
NLH: You know, no one’s ever asked me that question. If you have food allergies, obviously you avoid those particular foods. But I don’t know if I can answer that. I don’t know how the energy would be different.

WW: Sometimes I wonder if it’s an energy issue or if it’s just biological.
NLH: That’s a very interesting concept actually. I mean, it really is because I do know a lot of people -- not so much with allergies but who, unfortunately, are subjected to high levels of toxic products -- whether it’s cleaning stuff or sick building syndrome in an office, who become very chemically sensitive. So, obstensively, the same can happen. If they don’t start from childhood -- if they start later on and they’re not eating pure food -- it might happen. But, I really don’t know.

WW: But it might be a good book topic in the future.
NLH: Sure, but I don’t want to speculate. I do know a lot of people with chemical sensitivities who really have to have the purest cleansers and so on and so forth.

Please watch for Part 2 of Norma's interview in a few days. In the meantime, you might like to visit her website to learn more about creating a harmonious environment.

Gaea Honeycutt
blog@weirdingword.com

Weirding Word®, a division of G.L. Honeycutt Consulting, LLC, is a virtual publication department that provides editing, freelance writing, and publication and web design services.

Copyright 2008 Gaea L. Honeycutt. All rights reserved.

Book Full of Typos Recalled

The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that the Princeton University Press recalled all 4,000 error-riddled copies of Cop in the Hood: My Year Policing Baltimore’s Eastern District by Peter Moskos, an Assistant Professor of Law, Police Science, and Criminal Justice Administration at the City University of New York’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice.  More than 90 errors made it to print in the 245-page book.  Taking unprecedented steps to rectify the mistake, the Press will reprint the book. For the complete story, visit the Chronicle's news blog.

Gaea Honeycutt
blog@weirdingword.com

 

Weirding Word®, a division of G.L. Honeycutt Consulting, LLC, is a virtual publication department that provides editing, freelance writing, and publication and web design services.

Blogging For Fun and Your Fans

A guest blog by Sheila M. Goss

If you’re reading this, you’ve been introduced to the wave of the future -- BLOGGING.

What is a blog?
A blog is the equivalent to an online diary. You can use it to post personal information or useful information (such as this article). It can also be used to interact with other bloggers and if you’re an author, your readers.

Why would I want to blog?
Blogging is what you make of it. It’s a way to introduce your readers to a side of you that they cannot see from reading a bio on your website or on the back of your book cover. It also gives your reading audience a chance to leave you real-time comments and interact with not only you, but also other readers of your books.

How often should I blog?
Don’t look at blogging as a dreaded task placed on your “to do” list. Blogging should be fun. If you become an active blogger, you’ll look forward to posting as well as interacting with others. How often you post is up to you. You can post daily, every other day, weekly or whenever the whim hits. You’ll find the more responses you get on your blog posts, the more you’ll be inclined to post on somewhat of a schedule.

Is there Blog etiquette?
If you’ll be away for an extended period of time, just write a quick post, so your regular visitors won’t think you forgot about them. There are times that you may get some unwanted posts (yes, spammers have infiltrated the blog world), so don’t hesitate to either delete those posts or set up your blog so posters have to put in a password.

Should my blog have a theme?
Not necessarily, but it makes it fun. I have several blogs. Each blog has its own theme. For example:

1. My literary blog is a place to discuss relationships, books, or whatever else is on your mind.


2. My entertainment site showcases my interview excerpts, reviews and/or information on the world of entertainment: books, music, TV and film.

How do I come up with topics?
Keep your eyes and ears open. Life is filled with ideas. Some of my topics stem from what’s going on in the news or from conversations I’ve had or observed. Since the central theme on the My Invisible Husband blog is about relationships, it’s hard to run out of something to discuss. Take a chance and see what works for you. Blogging shouldn’t be difficult. If it’s draining, maybe you need to step away from it for a while or come up with another topic. There may be some days you only feel like rambling and that’s okay, too.

Examples of author blogs:

• http://www.princessdominique.com/blog/


• http://www.romancingtheblog.com/


• http://www.tiawilliams.net/blog/


• http://vanthonyrivers.blogspot.com/

Now that I’ve decided to blog, how do I get started?
There are many blog services available to you. Below is a short list of blog websites:

• http://www.bloggers.com


• http://www.wordpress.com


• http://www.bloglines.com


• http://www.myblogsky.com


• http://www.blogstream.com

Remember keep blogging fun and your readers will enjoy visiting and who knows, you might just get a book sale or two from it, too. Visit one of my blogs and leave me a message with your weblink. If you don’t have a blog, create one.

Shelia M. Goss is the ESSENCE MAGAZINE Bestselling Author of My Invisible Husband, Roses are Thorns, Violets are True, Paige’s Web and Double Platinum. With unique storylines, her goal is to create “stories with a twist”. Shelia was the recipient of three 2003 Shades of Romance Magazine Reader’s Choice Multi-Cultural Awards for her debut novel, Roses are Thorns, Violets are True. For more information, be sure to visit her website /.

©2008 Shelia M. Goss. All Rights Reserved.

Weirding Word®, a division of G.L. Honeycutt Consulting, LLC, is a virtual publication department that provides editing, freelance writing, and publication and web design services.

Self-Publishers

A guest blog by Norma Lehmeier Hartie

When I published my first book, Harmonious Environment: Beautify, Detoxify & Energize Your Life, Your Home & Your Planet, I dreamt that The New York Times Book Review would review it. They didn’t. They did not review the book because Stan Tanenhaus, chief editor of the Book Review, does not review self-published books.

In the April 27, 2008 The New York Times Book Review, writer and editor Rachel Donadio wrote an essay, “You’re an Author? Me too!”. In it, she cites the staggering figure of 400,000 books published in 2007. (Compare this to 47,000 books published in 1990.) The industry tracker, Bowker attributes the increase in books published to reprints of out-of-print titles and print-on-demand books.

Print-on-demand, POD, is a type of printing—a book at a time can be produced using advanced technology. It is not, as some people assume, a type of publishing. Off-set printing is the standard type of printing. It takes weeks to print a book and is cost prohibitive unless printing at least several thousand copies of a book.

While Donadio does not say that self-published books are of poor quality, she certainly hints of it. She explains that the Book Review receives dozens of self-published books a week and quotes several ridiculous sentences from a couple books. She writes: “iUniverse, a self-publishing company founded in 1999, has grown 30 percent a year in recent years…While most [books] are by ordinary people who want to get their work in print.”

She also says that most bookstores won’t carry self-published books.

While I don’t dispute that many self-published books are of poor quality, I resent that Donadio does not differentiate between “self-publishing companies” and self-published books. She probably doesn’t even know the difference.

The phrase “self-publishing company” is an oxymoron; it is a vanity/subsidy press; they own the author’s book and they are the publishers—not the authors. The phrase was coined by some clever marketing person/team to help sell subsidy presses to naïve wannabe authors. By definition, a company that publishes author’s books can’t be “self-publishers.”

I wrote an article for The Independent Book Publishers Association (PMA) on the impact that the subsidy publishers are having on the entire publishing industry.

The average subsidy published book sells 40 to 100 copies. The president of iUniverse admitted in an interview that out of 17,000 titles they've published, only 86 books have sold more than 500 copies. Subsidy presses don’t care about the quality of the books they publish, because they make their money upfront—by charging authors to print their books.

Conversely, a true self-published author (one who owns a publishing company) may hire professionals to help create a book on par with that of the traditional publishers. They chose to print their books offset or by print-on-demand. Some self-published authors get excellent book reviews and sell thousands of books. Many win book awards for their works.

However, The New York Times Book Review chooses not to make the distinction between subsidy and self-publishers. While I can understand that they would not review books from subsidy presses, they ought to at least look at quality self-published books.

Norma Lehmeier Hartie is author of the award winning book, Harmonious Environment: Beautify, Detoxify & Energize Your Life, Your Home & Your Planet. The book was The Grand Prize Winner of the 15th Annual Writer's Digest Self-Published Book Awards, Finalist in ForeWord magazine’s Book Awards and Nautilus Book Awards.

Weirding Word®, a division of G.L. Honeycutt Consulting, LLC, is a virtual publication department that provides editing, freelance writing, and publication and web design services.

Interested in guest blogging? Please see the Weirding Word® Blog Guide.