Member Benefit #21
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Visit the NAIWE website to see all of the member benefits.
Blog
Book Review: Hope Has a Code Nose
Hope Has a Cold NoseMany Americans hold true to the values of our country and feel a calling to serve our country in the military. However, this military experience can take its toll on our service people, leading to veteran lives with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Christine Hassing, in her book Hope Has a Cold Nose, shares stories of over 20 military veterans and how their service dogs have helped them cope with PTSD. These amazing dogs have been able to sense the onset of a nightmare and wake the veteran before the emotions take hold.
Many of these stories begin with the veteran sharing why they chose to join the military and their commitment to serving their fellow Americans, their low point in feeling lost and unable to reintegrate into society, and then how working with service dogs have benefited their lives.
In these pages, the author uses these powerful and very insightful stories to show how PTSD can change the entirety of a person’s life and how a trained dog can help heal emotional wounds. This collection of stories gives hope to those suffering from PTSD and their families and friends.
Days to Celebrate in November
November: Family Stories Month. Record or listen to stories from relatives of all ages.
November: National Family Literacy Month. Enjoy some family readings.
November: National Life Writing Month. Write about yourself and your life as you have experienced it thus far.
November: National Novel Writing Month. Use this month to write the first draft of your novel.
November 1: National Author’s Day. Celebrate your favorite authors and the books they have written.
November 1: National Family Literacy Day. Read a book with your family today.
November 4: Job Action Day. Get the tools and resources to master a new job search and land the career of your dreams!
November 6: National Stress Awareness Day. Develop a routine to help you manage your stress.
November 11-15: National Young Readers Week. The focus of the week demonstrates to youth the importance of reading.
November 29: You’re Welcomegiving Day. Share a “You’re welcome” with at least one client today.
November 30: Small Business Saturday. Support your local small businesses.
November 29: Electronic Greetings Day. Send an electronic greeting to the clients you haven’t heard from in a while.
November 30: Computer Security Day. Help secure your computer by installing and running antivirus software.
Member Benefit: On-Demand Training
Member Benefit #20
The National Association of Independent Writers and Editors has hundreds of recorded webinars that are available to you to aid you in building up your skills and opening new windows to expand your income streams. NAIWE members receive $20 off any on-demand training!
Visit the NAIWE website to see all of the member benefits.
Book Review: In the Time of Madmen
In the Time of MadmenAuthor: Mark A. Prelas
This is a biographical and autobiographical story, primarily about the author’s parents through their struggles of hiding their true identities of Jewish ancestry.
Mark Prelas begins by describing what life was like during the Great Depression when his mother, Katheryn, who was born in 1921, was growing up. Life was hard — bartering was a regular occurrence and using money was a rare luxury — but it was good. And then at the age of 18, his mother was taken from her home to become a slave laborer in Germany.
The author shares a lot of historical information so the reader can understand what life was like for each of his parents growing up before and during the Great Depression, and then the effect of Germany invading Poland. The author describes each parent’s numerous near-death experiences and then the encounter of his parents meeting one another.
While not written in a narrative format, this journey relays important information about historical events that should be captured in time and in words for others to experience and learn from. This book provides remarkable details that the author was able to obtain before his mother’s passing in 2014.
As a special addition to the book, the author includes family photos and further holocaust resource information. The publication of this book is a wonderful tribute to the author’s parents.
Days to Celebrate in October
October: National Book Month. Curl up on the couch with a good book.
October: National Reading Group Month. Gather a group of friends, and meet weekly to discuss a great book!
October: National Work and Family Month. Focus on one way to improve your work/life balance. The Be a Better Freelancer conference recordings include suggestions to help with this.
October: Self-Promotion Month. Promote your skills to gain some new clients. Some of the Be a Better Freelancer conference recordings are of sessions on this topic to help with this.
October 1: National Fruit at Work Day. Take a break today to enjoy a piece of seasonal fruit at work.
October 1-7: Mystery Series Week.
October 1-7: National Newspaper Week.
October 5: National Do Something Nice Day. Do something nice for one of your clients today!
October 7-11: Customer Service Week. Take notice of other industries and the good customer service they provide and strive to provide the best customer service you can.
October 9: National Bring Your Teddy Bear to Work Day. Spend a day with a cuddly friend to make you smile. 🙂
October 13-19: National Work at Home Week. Reevaluate your home office for functionality and ergonomics.
October 20-26: National Business Women’s Week. Is there a woman in business who you have looked to as a mentor?
October 20-26: National Friends of Libraries Week. Use this week to support your local library.
October 26: National Make a Difference Day. Do something to make a difference in the life of someone else.
Member Benefit: Webinars
Member Benefit #19
Each month, we feature a member of the NAIWE Board of Experts on a topic that is designed to help you grow in your field. Our experts are successful full-time publishing professionals, and they impart a lot of wisdom in an hour (or sometimes more).
Members attend at a discounted rate of $10 for each webinar. (Some webinars are even free to members!) Nonmembers may register for individual webinars at $30 each. Just attending the monthly classes without joining the association would add up to $360 for a year, so this is a benefit of great value.
Visit the NAIWE website to see all of the member benefits.
Days to Celebrate in September
September: Self-Improvement Month. Take some time to improve yourself. What class will you take or conference will you attend to improve your business self? Think ahead and sign up for an on-demand training through NAIWE!
September 2: Labor Day. This day recognizes the men and women who labor to build this country. As self-employed professionals, many tend to work on this day, but what will you do to celebrate?
September 6: National Read a Book Day. Grab a book (a fun read or even one for professional development) and spend the day reading.
September 7: National Play Outside Day. This is a day to spend a few extra minutes outside, enjoying the fresh air.
September 10: National Swap Ideas Day. Share a creative or helpful idea with a client or colleague.
September 12: National Day of Encouragement. This day is dedicated to uplifting people around us and making a positive impact. Who can you encourage?
September 15: National Online Learning Day. This day recognizes the advantages and vast potential of online learning and the accomplishments of these students. What can you study today to improve your skills? NAIWE hosts monthly webinars, which members and nonmembers may attend, to become familiar with new subject matter, learn new skills, polish existing talents, and get their questions answered by experts!
September 17: National IT Professionals Day. This day is set aside to honor the venerable geeks of the world we all rely on to keep us connected.
September 22: American Business Women’s Day. A day set aside to honor and reflect on the contributions and accomplishments of the millions of women in the workforce and the millions of women business owners in the United States.
September 24: National Punctuation Day. A period, a comma, a semicolon, a question mark, and an exclamation point are examples of some of the punctuation used in writing to separate sentences and their elements and to clarify meaning. National Punctuation Day commemorates these and all punctuation marks.
September 29. National Coffee Day. According to an expert cupper (a professional coffee taster), there are four components of a perfect cup: aroma, body, acidity, and flavor. Linger over a cup today while examining the importance of your words.
Book Review: Unemployable: How I Hired Myself
2023 NAIWE Informational Nonfiction Book Winner
Unemployable: How I Hired Myself
Author: Alysia Silberg
People grow into one of two mindsets. One group of people are really good at what they do, and they are also good at following directions. Therefore, they are good at being employees. There is another group of people who have a set of skills and are also good at seeing opportunities. They are independent minded, marching to their own beat.
In Unemployable: How I Hired Myself, the author Alysia Silberg describes her upbringing in the poor and crime-ridden side of Johannesburg, South Africa. However, her father, a former Hollywood makeup artist, brought light into her world through his pharmacy and costume store. He would tell her that she was a gifted seller, that she had a “divine sparkle.”
Even beginning at the young age of five, Alysia Silberg could spot an opportunity. Desiring to purchase a pair of roller skates, she decided to highlight a product her father had in his store and sell it on the sidewalk in front of the shop to earn enough money for the skates. She accomplished this goal, and after purchasing the skates she realized that it wasn’t actually the skates she had wanted. She had had a goal, one that seemed unattainable, and she found an opportunity to help her reach the goal.
At the age of nine, she spotted another opportunity and tried to convince her parents to buy a piece of land between two major cities. Her parents laughed, probably in part because it was an unattainable goal with their poor living situation, but she was so convinced of this opportunity that she went to the bank, seeking a loan. Though she did not get the loan to buy the land, she had been correct, and the piece of property became “one of the most valuable stretches of property in all of South Africa.”
As Alysia Silberg grow up, she continues to struggle with the limited opportunities she is afforded, but that doesn’t stop her. She is always open to seeing opportunities and beginning new business adventures. This outlook on life led her to starting her first business at age 11, and this outlook has continued as she has gone through life and spotted bigger and better opportunities.
This book presents a positive outlook to show that it doesn’t matter where one come from, that it is the person’s mindset and the outlook on life that will take someone on an incredible journey. The challenges and the heartaches don’t matter as well, perhaps they even help to mold the person in their natural bent. This is an inspiring and delightful book that helps to encourage one going through the struggles of an entrepreneurial life. Perseverance and love of the American Dream can be desired no matter where one lives.
Congratulations, Alysia Silberg’s Unemployable: How I Hired Myself for being a NAIWE 2023 Book Award winner!
Book Review: The Scientist, the Psychic, and the Nut
The Scientist, the Psychic, and the Nut
A scientist is naturally filled with curiosity and a lot of questions, but when Beth discovers that her recently deceased Aunt Kathleen was her mother, Beth is filled with more questions and heartache about never truly knowing her biological mother, nor who her father was.
The Scientist, the Psychic, and the Nut is filled with suspense, history, and science — all happening simultaneously while Beth and her husband leave Colorado to go on a Caribbean vacation!
To escape the sadness of the loss of her aunt–mother (and honor a dying woman’s advice), Beth books a vacation to rekindle the love she had for her husband. However, Beth also plans to use the trip to look into the history of the area where her aunt–mother lived with her lover (and perhaps Beth’s father) for the last 50 years.
The author, Charlene Bell Dietz, captures the mundane in life while also adding a little bit of mystery to keep readers’ interest. She uses both dialogue and prose to show the bantering of two people who have been married for many years.
A book of love, loss, and change, The Scientist, the Psychic, and the Nut brings about mystery through Beth’s many questions and women’s intuition while her husband’s skepticism and the island residents aloofness keep her grounded in reality — but without any answers.
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