7 Things I Learned at the New Life Expo

San Francisco hosted the 2011 New Life Expo—current name of the Whole Life Expo popularized in the 1970s. Its function is to bring together like-minded people fascinated with the metaphysical world. Venders displayed health products while authors sold books.

Long tables arranged in a horseshoe acted as the bookstore. I took this pattern to be a lucky sign—books were still cherished. Consuming literature at lunchtime in the organic food court was a favorite pastime for attendees.

Participating as a guest speaker taught me seven important lessons as an author.

1. Speakers sell books. Gone are the days when solitary authors wrote while publishing houses marketed. Conventionally and self-published authors who were speakers sold more books than nonparticipating authors who only submitted books to the bookstore.

2. Bring your own equipment—come prepared—be organized, and flexible. Murphy’s Law always looks for opportunities to manifest. Even if the information sent by coordinators promises to “provide everything,” come prepared to have nothing.
Many speakers found that they had no audio or visual equipment, including extension cords. Fortunately, we brought back-up equipment. An exasperated keynote speaker turned to Peter and begged, “What would it take to borrow your equipment?”
Conventions are fast-paced. Speakers had fifteen minutes to set up equipment and forty-five minutes to present materials. Problem solving cut into presentation time. Plan for the worst, hope for the best, and you will be ready for Murphy’s Law.

3. Many keynote speakers were not paid. Some received compensation for their travel and hotel expenses. Top-Draw speakers, such as Greg Braden, author of Fractal Time, were hired. However, there are three important goals for all speakers:

• Develop name recognition in a celebrity driven arena. Speakers who had recognition commanded fees.

• Collect email and contact information from your audience. Teachers pass around lined paper to collect attendance. Before beginning your presentation, start a clipboard on both sides of the room for names and emails. I wrote PLEASE PRINT AND PASS ON at the top and the audience did the work.

• Tape your presentation with a live audience in a professional setting. Post it on your website for purchase. A video can be more cost effective to followers than a ticket, hotel and travel expenses. It can offset your costs, provide subject credibility, and advertise you as a keynote speaker at a National Convention.

4. Readers still cherish autographed books. Moreover, they will stand in long lines to get one. Although e-reader have many advantages, one disadvantage seemed clear. E-readers do not contain personally autographed books. Fans still travel to interface with authors and collect autographs. Authors who held book signings sold more copies. People still like to see and handle books, even if they choose to order them later as e-books. My husband spoke on Quantum Spirituality and sold all of his copies of POPE ANALISA ten minutes after his presentation—which brings me to the next lesson.

5.Don’t bring more books than you plan to sell. They are heavy and costly to transport. We checked Peter’s books as airline baggage. It was cheaper than paying shipping fees. Carrying your book under your arm is a conversation piece and a great way to network.

6. Network at every opportunity and always carry business cards. Stay at affordable hotels suggested by Expo online information. Power-Breakfasts are networking opportunities. After my breakfast was interrupted by a fire drill, I was invited to guest speak on dreams with another keynote speaker. While standing in the parking lot, I chatted and exchanged emails and business cards with Expo coordinators. Once we piled back into the building, we found more common ground—a cup of coffee.

7. Take a mobile GPS! Unless you are a native, you will need more than a map to drive the road systems of San Francisco. You may want to ignore the “No Left Turn” signs, but resistance is futile. A satellite-based navigation system consisting of a network of twenty-four orbiting satellites, eleven thousand nautical miles in space was barely enough to get us to our destination—a fresh crab dinner on the docks. San Francisco’s one-way streets and few left-hand turns made Boston’s hometown, horse-trail, Big-Dig streets feel like a walk in Central Park.

“I won’t make two right turns and then drive straight to go left in this town!” Peter yelled at the GPS. He continued to search for a legal left turn while it continued to repeat, “Recalculating. Recalculating.”

Eventually, Peter did the unthinkable! He made two right turns and then drove straight. “When in Rome…,” he muttered.

San Francisco had won.

Video Interview about dreams- life saving messages- I'm living proof

Video Interview- Life-saving Dreams and Illness
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2TNlMQIVzI

Writing SURVIVING RECURRENCE with a Bungee Cord

I really slept late this morning. By late, I mean well past 12:00--noon. I was up well past 2:00am finishing two more chapters in my second book, SURVIVING RECURRENCE. (Many 2s and wells there. Synchronicity?)

Once I am "in the zone" it's difficult to break my concentration and stop typing. "Leave the rest for tomorrow," is not in my vocabulary. By mid-chapter, I am driven. Forget food and water, I'm content in my self-inflicted jail cell.

This driven feeling is more than work ethic or time restraint. It is emotionally based. I must pull painful memories out of hibernation, (often kicking and screaming,) from behind locked mental doors, convert them into word and sew them to page before they can snap back into the dark bowels of my mind like a bungee cord. It is much like reluctantly remembering a nightmare months after having had it--a struggle on many levels.

So why would I inflict such masochism on myself? How does that saying go? "Those who forget the past are destined to repeat it."

I used my notes from my first battle with breast cancer to help me live through stage 4 the second time. Those journals and memories, became my first book, SURVIVING CANCERLAND.

My story is unconventional, but not unique. Doctors are human. Scientific tests are only as accurate as the people who perform and read them. Life is not infallible.

My second book is more than halfway complete because I have my own style of cutting out my literary pattern and sewing it together with a running stitch that can be removed to make adjustments.


I write the beginning and ending of my book--then fill in the middle. By using this technique, I always know where I am and where I'm going with a story that is filled with impassioned twists and turns. It gives me a mental edge--no floundering around in the dark while retrieving dark memories. I never feel like I have wandered off the books path. Rather than holding one tread of the story's line in my mind, I have two. This extra balance anchors my writing so I can interject humor yet not wander away from the serious nature of the main theme.

I've found that writing a book is much like sewing a garment. Somewhere between the beginning and the end product, areas no longer fit. Some seams must be let out, others taken in, and extra material trimmed. But, I always save my scraps! They could be the collar of another adventure.


About the Author- Kathleen O’Keefe-Kanavos has penned SURVIVING CANCERLAND and is working on her second book, SURVIVING RECURRENCE. She is a phone counselor for the R.A. BLOCH Cancer Foundation, a mentor for WE CAN, a contributor to Cape Women On Line Magazine & c4women, blogs on cancer,medical, literary, and spiritual pages listed on her website, and volunteers for many organizations and online cancer groups. Follower her @ website www.survivingcancerland.com, @ http://twitter.com/PsychicHealing, @ http://www.facebook.com/pages/SURVIVING-CANCERLAND-The-Psychic-Aspects-of-Healing/142803307934?ref=m

Elizabeth Edwards- Please Take a Bow

Elizabeth Edwards was laid to rest Tuesday, December 7, 2010 after a brave battle with breast cancer. However, some people are more focused on her scandalous marriage and messy divorce than her accomplishments as a mother and woman in the public eye. Bloggers speculate on whether Elizabeth will be remembered as a fighter or a victim.
Personally, I will remember her as one of my heroes. Even in the face of extreme adversity, Elizabeth Edwards always presented herself as a classy lady. She was aware of her cancer while her husband ran for office but reassured women all over the world that she would be fine, kept a smile on her face, cared for her family and put her husband’s career before her own needs. Those are the actions of a devoted mate—a winner.

Elizabeth and I were diagnosed at the same time with the same type of breast cancer. That is where the similarities stop. While Elizabeth’s husband deserted and then embarrassed her with extramarital activities that resulted in a love-child, my husband quit work to stay home and care for me. This type of love and devotion is not unusual. I believe it is the same devotion Elizabeth would have displayed to any member of her family.
Two days before Elizabeth’s death, a close friend or mine was also laid to rest after succumbing to triple negative breast cancer. She too had lost a son and died in the home of her ex-husband from whom she had been divorced for years. Her needs became his focus. He cared for her in her last days and was her devoted friend to the bitter end. My point is: do not judge all men by Elizabeth’s ex-husband. There are wonderful, devoted mates, ex-husbands, and friends in this world. Unfortunately, Elizabeth Edwards did not marry one of them.

When someone is going through a life threatening illness, they must choose their battles. Elizabeth chose to concentrate on surviving and providing for her children in the face of her possible demise. She encouraged a positive relationship between her children and her ex-husband rather than driving a wedge between them. Their future was more important to her than her husband’s past. I don’t consider that the actions of a weak victim. I consider them the wise choices of a strong woman.
Elizabeth was a fighter who won the hearts of people as she bared her soul, and shared her insights as a single mother undergoing treatment during challenging times. And, she did it without publically whining or playing the blame game. I believe she realized that life was too short and precious to waste it on negative behavior—another sign of a winner.

Life is a bed of roses. Roses do have thorns. Elizabeth had her share of scratches.

I have always lived by the saying, “How someone treats me is their karma. How I respond is mine.” Despite insurmountable adversities that included the loss of a child, public humiliation, and TV interviews while battling a painful disease, Elizabeth Edwards always responded to personal questions like a lady.

Please, take a bow Elizabeth Edwards. In my book, you are a winner.

The Frankfurt Book Fair

My guest article In online Writer's Digest
http://www.guidetoliteraryagents.com/blog/6+Things+I+Learned+At+The+Frankfurt+Book+Fair.aspx

SOCIAL SECURITY'S COMPASSIONATE ALLOWENCES INITIATIVE

It is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Are you aware of Social Security’s COMPASSIONATE ALLOWENCES INITIATIVE?

There are few times in life when someone fighting advanced or recurrent breast cancer can get a break in life, but Early Social Security Compensation Eligibility may give patients that much needed breather.

As a mentor and recurrence breast cancer survivor who fought this disease for ten years, I believe that there is never a good time to be ill. This is especially true during times of financial and economic strife when the burden of medical bills can be overwhelming.

Add job insecurity or loss to the equation and you may be left with many questions and few answers about how to survive the financial burdens of illness. Fortunately, with the help of the many cancer groups with whom I associate, I may have found an answer to one of those questions—Early Social Security Compensation Eligibility.

I know this is now available to specific cancer patients. Are you one of them?

A woman whom I mentor called me to tell me she had applied over the phone for Early Social Security Compensation Eligibility. She used the information I had given her and that is now available in this article. A few weeks later when she checked her savings account, money from Social Security had been directly wired to the account. Many of her troubles were over.

“I don’t have to worry about my bills or returning to work when I am still too weak and unable to do my job. I can’t believe how easy this was,” she said. I was thrilled for her. Anything easy while dealing with breast cancer is a blessing.

According to the Social Security Administration, Social Security has implemented a Compassionate Allowances initiative to expedite the process of disabilities claims for medical conditions so severe enough to meet Social Security standards.

About half of the initial list of covered conditions are cancers: acute leukemia, CML (blast phase), stage 3 or 4 astrocytoma, pediatric brain, esophageal, gallbladder, gleoblastoma multiforme, breast, inflammatory breast, liver, mantle cell lymphoma, pancreatic, mesotheloma, salivary, and small cell (of the lung, colon, ovary, prostate, uterus) cancers. Also included are metastic, inoperable or recurrent cases of breast, adrenal, bladder, bone, head and neck, kidney, colon, nonsmall cell lung, ovarian, small intestine, stomach and ureter cancer.

Compassion Allowances is the second piece of the agency’s two-track, fast-track system for certain disability claims. Once Compassionate Allowances and the agency’s Quick Disability Determination process are combined and fully implemented cases for as many as 250, 000 people will be decided in an average of six to eight days.

During my battle with cancer, my husband quit work, stayed at home to care for me and we lived off of our savings while I went through treatment. Although the Compasionate Allowences Initiative Act was unavailable for me at that time, fortunately, it is now available to you.

If you are suffering from advanced or other cancers listed above, check to see if you are eligible for Early Social Security Compensation. This is not a hand-out. You earned it.

To read more about what is going on with Compassionate Allowances go to
http://www.socialsecurity.gov/compassionateallowances/ and the Press Releases at
http://www.ssa.gov/pressoffice/pr/compassionate-allowances-1008-pr.htm or
Mark Lassiter, Press Officer press.office@ssa.gov 410-965-8904


About the Author- Kathleen O’Keefe-Kanavos has penned SURVIVING CANCERLAND She is a phone counselor for the R.A. BLOCH Cancer Foundation, a mentor for WE CAN, a women’s self help group on Cape Cod, a contributor to Cape Women On Line Magazine, Twitter’s ezine c4women and a volunteer for many cancer organizations and online cancer groups. She is currently working on her second book, SURVIVING RECURRENCE. You can follower her @ website www.survivingcancerland.com, @ http://twitter.com/PsychicHealing, @ http://www.facebook.com/pages/SURVIVING-CANCERLAND-The-Psychic-Aspects-of-Healing/142803307934?ref=m

6 Things I Learned At The Frankfurt Book Fair

When I landed in Frankfurt, Germany, my birthplace as an Army-brat, the same dreary weather greeted me that I had left in Boston, MA. However, when I walked though the doors to the Frankfurt Book Fair,aka FBF, the overall feeling was “contagious excitement.” 7,539 exhibitors from 111 countries with 3,000 events and 100 publishing companies were busy assembling their booths. I compared it to the 2010 New York Book Exp America, (aka BEA) I had attended in June. According to the BEA website, it had hosted 21,919 people in attendance and over 29,000 industry professionals. The Frankfurt Book Fair looked ten times larger.

The Frankfurt Book Fair is described as the biggest book and media fair in the world. It consisted of multiple interconnected building filled with languages, flags, multilingual advertisements and the hustle and bustle of fast deals. Its enormity stole my breath.

I quickly discovered that most books published by conventional publishing houses had their own International Rights Agents working the deals. However, I was attending with my self-published husband who was looking to delve into the international market. Could this hurt his chances of getting published by a US company? I emailed my agent at the Scovil, Galen and Ghosh Literary Agency in New York, which has an International Rights Agent. He emailed me back with some interesting insights.

In general, selling the foreign rights to the book would not harm the possibility of selling it to a US publisher. In fact if it were to generate significant sales in one or more countries abroad it would enhance the possibilities of being acquired by a publisher in the US.

However, there is one drawback. Some publishers like to protect their "investment" by acquiring world rights to a book (and thereby sharing significantly in any revenue generated abroad). If that possibility were removed, it likely would lessen a US publisher’s level of interest.

My husband had been in contact with his International Rights Agent from International Rights Inc. in Austin, Texas, months before the FBF. While they scurried from meeting to meeting, I took in the sights, sounds and information.
By the end of the third day, I had learned 6 important things about the Frankfurt Book Fair, especially for self-published books.

1) Get an International Agent before you go to the FBF. It will be almost impossible to find one there. Most agents in attendance already had clients and had done the groundwork required to ensure success.

2)It is very important to have your International Agent do research and set up meetings months in advance of the Fair. With such a high level of network taking place, serendipitous meetings are not likely to happen.

3 Go with a clear purpose in mind and a game plan on how to implement it. The scope and pace of the meetings leaves less time for “chit-chat networking.” Venders are too busy to speak to anyone without an appointment.

4)Don’t take or send books. No one wants to carry them. Planes limit baggage sizes and weights. Have everything available in PDF files, put presentations on DVDs, print websites, and other pertinent information on post card sized handouts to present with personal business cards.

5)When addressing venders, speak in your native language. Most of them spoke English and had a translator present.

6)Network, network, network, quickly and efficiently. This Fair is BEA on steroids.

One of the differences between the BEA and FBF was that the booths were less about selling books and more about selling international rights. People were much more compartmentalized and unaware of attending Agents or Acquisition Editors.

Although Book Expo America and Frankfurt Book Fair share similarities, FBF’s difference is best described as; bigger park, faster rides. So, wear walking shoes and have fun.