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 Monday, September 22, 2008
Serfitt & Cloye Gift Catalog
Posted by Jane
 The Serfitt & Cloye Gift Catalog now has an online home, with an opportunity to join Serfitt & Cloye's Highest Society. What's the Highest Society, you may ask? The world at large may venerate and aspire to the Serfitt & Cloye
brand, but very, very few people actually are or ever will become Serfitt & Cloye
customers. It was designed that way, they like it that way. And,
thankfully, enduring patrician inbreeding should permit Serfitt & Cloye to stay that
course indefinitely. Of course, such an intentionally restricted
customer base means that those who do purchase Serfitt & Cloye's superlative
super-luxury products and services are tremendously important, even
precious. Consequently, the essential objective of Serfitt & Cloye is to
overindulge and overfulfill each rarefied heir and Forbes 'Richest'
List-aire they serve.
Which is precisely why Serfitt & Cloye created The Highest Society. Those who join The Highest Society are
eligible to receive private electronic mail updates regarding the
latest Serfitt & Cloye news, products, events, secret societies,
lobbying efforts, snubbings, blackballings and much more. Membership is
free. (Optional Dolce & Gabbana-designed platinum membership shield
with name inlaid in ivory: $250,000.).
But
don't delay. Enrollment is limited to the first person to sign up.
Because, as you know, any group worth joining is worth excluding
everyone else from. Visit this page and complete the form to see if it's you who will
be received into The Highest Society.
New Titles From F+W
Monday, September 22, 2008 4:15:21 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  Trackback
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Friday, September 19, 2008
Talk Like a Pirate Day (Piratical Team Photo!)
Posted by Jane
 September 19 is Talk Like a Pirate Day, and since Writer's Digest is the publisher of the ever-popular Pirate Primer, we always have a hearty celebration. In the words of marketing manager Scott Francis (pictured far left): "Aye! Hoist er up the yard arm! Fly the colors Laughhhren!"
F+W Life | Fun
Friday, September 19, 2008 4:40:42 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) Trackback
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Thursday, September 18, 2008
A (New) Writing Life Survey: What Are Your Online Habits?
Posted by Jane
Writer's Digest has a new, broad survey related to writing and your writing life, particularly your online/Internet habits. Your response will help us develop new products and resources. Give us your feedback here!If you complete the survey, you'll receive a special discount code that
you can use in the writing section of our F+W bookstore. This code will
allow you to take 25% off
anything you find there.
General
Thursday, September 18, 2008 4:17:47 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) Trackback
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Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Update on the Cincinnati Ike-Strike Situation
Posted by Jane
Well, folks: To all who have expressed their personal and public concern for my welfare, thank you. But—like nearly 50% or more of the Cincy population—I still do not have power at my apartment building. (I must say, though, everyone in my building has found caring friends and family to take them in during the outage, including myself.) A few interesting news items from Cincinnati-area blogs:
F+W Life
Wednesday, September 17, 2008 9:14:16 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) Trackback
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My New Role at Writer's Digest
Posted by Jane
An exciting announcement today: I have a new role at F+W Media. I am now Publisher & Editorial Director of the F+W writing communities, which includes these properties under the Writer's Digest brand: This is part of a larger F+W mission to achieve greater growth by focusing on communities. Our goal is to better serve our customers, and better manage our brands, in their entirety—regardless of platform—in an integrated fashion across books, magazines, events, digital media, and eMedia. In doing this, F+W has shown itself to be one of the most progressive media companies that I'm aware of—to have the foresight, initiative, and boldness to reorganize in this fashion. It has elements of risk, but it's a risk we must take to keep Writer's Digest a growing and valuable brand. We now have an incredible opportunity to be at the very forefront of what it means to be a media company in a networked era. I am incredibly fortunate to work with a wonderful team of content creators, marketers, and salespeople who are all very passionate about the community surrounding Writer's Digest. We're here because we believe in it, and because we're proud of its history. In my new role, here's what I hope to accomplish: - We're going to develop a strong, single, consistent brand identity that encompasses all properties and products.
- We're going to aggressively develop online content and product to serve writers better, and in new, exciting ways.
- We're going to develop a cohesive and integrated editorial and marketing approach that offers a special experience to each writer we come into contact with.
Writer's Digest already has a strong presence in the writing community, and this reorganization allows us to expand our reach and develop more innovative content. As the brand leader for Writer's Digest, I will be actively seeking your input into how we can do a better job delivering the most valuable community, information, and experience that helps you achieve your writing goals.
F+W Life | General
Wednesday, September 17, 2008 4:38:30 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) Trackback
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Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Day Three of No Power
Posted by Jane
 So far there's been modest improvement in the power situation in
the Cincinnati region. My apartment still doesn't have power, and many
traffic lights at busy intersections are still out; one news report claims 30% of traffic signals don't work, and based on my drive-about yesterday, I'd say they're the most critical ones (i.e., traffic lights coming off exit ramps). Yesterday I was on
a quest for a bottle of roasted red peppers. A quick summary of this
quest: - Stop at Whole Foods in Mason (northern suburb). Store
looks strangely barren. Think to self: Did they just open this store? What's going on?
- Stop at Fresh Market in Kenwood. Before I can
walk in the door, I'm informed by a store manager they're taking only
cash and check, plus: "We've sold out in the produce and deli, no bulk foods either, and well, everything else is gone too."
- Stop by Kroger in Hyde Park (one of the biggest and busiest in the city). Closed.
- Stop by Fresh Market in Oakley. Closed.
- Stop by Whole Foods in Hyde Park. Closed.
- Stop
by Meijer in Oakley. Open! And mobbed! Many things are out of stock and bare shelves abound
(especially in deli items and prepared foods). Fortunately I am the only Cincinnati citizen looking for roasted red peppers. Success.
Most
gas stations I drove by were closed, which resulted in mass hysteria
at all open gas stations. (See photo above from Joe Wessels. Check out his stuff here.) And I-71 has been reduced to one lane in the
northern section, due to a water main break that has caused the
interstate to buckle.
F+W Life
Tuesday, September 16, 2008 4:19:47 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) Trackback
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Monthly News from Glimmer Train
Posted by Jane
 Glimmer Train just announced the winners of their July Family Matters competition. All winners will be published in an upcoming issue of Glimmer Train Stories. First place ($1,200)Nellie Hermann (Brooklyn, NY) “Can We Let the Baby Go?" Second place ($500)Stefanie Freele (Healdsburg, CA) “Us Hungarians” Third place ($300)Rolf Yngve (Coronado, CA) “Going Back for His Brother” A PDF of the top 25 winners can be found here. This quarterly competition is open to all writers for stories about family (word count range is 1,200–12,000). Submissions may be sent for the October Family Matters using the Glimmer Train online submissions system at www.glimmertrain.org. Also: Fiction Open contest (deadline soon approaching! September 30)
Glimmer Train hosts this contest four times a year, and first place is $2,000 plus publication in the journal. It’s open to all writers and all themes, with a word count range of 2,000–20,000. Click here for complete guidelines.
If
you didn't know, Writer's Digest partnered with Glimmer Train to
publish two compilation volumes of the best stuff from their Writers Ask newsletter. Be sure to check them out.  
Conferences/Events | General
Tuesday, September 16, 2008 3:57:28 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) Trackback
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Monday, September 15, 2008
F+W Cincinnati Office Closed (No Power!)
Posted by Jane
 Cincinnati was hit with devastating winds from Ike yesterday, which has caused the largest power outage in the history of the southwestern Ohio region (at least according to news outlets). I read that as many as 90% of Duke Energy customers are/were without power. My apartment hasn't had power since yesterday evening, and the F+W office (20 minutes away) also is without power. Apparently, it could take days (or weeks?!) to restore power to some areas. The photo above was taken in my neighborhood of Over the Rhine, where the historic Findlay Market experienced some damage; flying debris hit transformers, causing sparks that set fire to nearby buildings. You can watch a related Cincinnati news video here.One of my favorite watering holes, Grammer's, also caught on fire. It's not clear yet from news reports the extent of the damage. Cincinnati reporter Joe Wessels has posted photos on Flickr.
Unwisely, I was traveling by car during the high winds yesterday, not realizing how dangerous it was, and I witnessed: - A metal ladder in the middle of I-75
- An entire tree (probably 100 years old) completely uprooted and lying across Central Parkway
- Landscaping materials, roofing materials, and other objects caught in trees
- Trees completely broken in half, often with branches hanging precariously over busy roads
- Majority of intersections without working lights
I was out this morning and very little has improved; the damage and debris is far too widespread for the city's resources to handle. Will be interesting to watch progress.
F+W Life
Monday, September 15, 2008 10:09:00 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) Trackback
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Friday, September 12, 2008
10 Years in Publishing: What I've Learned (#5)
Posted by Jane
 Instead of a photo of myself today, I'm offering a glimpse of my
current workspace. The photo doesn't really capture it all
(particularly not the laden bookcases off to the right), but it's a
fairly good representation of the environment. What I've learned
(#5): Here I will mercilessly steal the words of poet and businessman
Dana Gioia (who just stepped down as head of the NEA): With
each promotion at General Foods, I found that my background in the arts
and humanities was more relevant. The higher you get in a corporation,
the more you're dealing with qualitative issues. By the time I was in
senior management, I was very effective in rebuilding businesses
because I had good creative judgment—I had kept parts alive that most
business executives did not.
( This comes from an article in Fast Company.) Although I spend a
lot of time on this blog (and in my workshops) talking about the
importance of sales, marketing, promotion, and the
numbers-numbers-numbers, I've found that making the right decision is
almost never about looking at the numbers and instead about this
creative judgment, usually critical thinking combined with grandiose, technicolor vision. This is what fuels, I would argue, the
best businesses (and projects) in publishing today. Related point: Numbers and money follow, they do not lead. If you manage by spreadsheet, with no regard to the fact that our work relies mostly on humans, you've made a grave mistake. Humans lead. Numbers follow.
F+W Life | General
Friday, September 12, 2008 3:51:57 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) Trackback
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