Choosing Eco-Friendly Light Bulbs

When shopping for a compact florescent bulbs (CFL's), the following is considered the standard equivalent for incandescent versus CFL. However, I have found this comparison to be a little off—that CFL’s tend to cast less light than their incandescent equivalents. However, because a watt is a watt, if your lamp indicates a maximum of one hundred watts, and a twenty watt bulb CFL isn’t bright enough, you can safely use a twenty-three CFL watt bulb.

Incandescent CFL
60 watts 11 watts
75 watts 18 watts
100 watts 20 watts
150 watts 23 watts

Natural-spectrum bulbs are another great choice, and they mimic natural sunlight and last thirty-five hundred hours. As the name implies, the light cast imitates the full-spectrum—or natural daylight—and so makes colors appear bright and true.

Recycling Refrigerators and Freezers

• Large appliances cannot be sent to a landfill and must be recycled. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that ninety-five percent of the materials in refrigerators and freezers can be recycled!
• Refrigerators and freezers manufactured before 2003 contain the ozone-depleting compound Freon.
• Refrigerators and freezers must be removed by a certified technician. To locate a certified company to pick up your appliance, contact your local government solid waste department, scrap shops or refrigerator repair shops.
• The EPA website lists recycling centers by zip code (see “Resources”).

The New – and Disimproved – Meaning of “Self-Publishing

This article was originally printed in PMA Independent , February 2008.

Not long ago, an issue of Publishers Weekly had numerous articles -- and eight-pages of ads from subsidy publishers, which included a four-page advertorial -- on how the book publishing world is changing.

The lead article -- “Can Small Press Distributing Survive?” -- cited both the recent demise of Book World Companies and National Book Network’s recent statement that it was phasing out Biblio, its small press distributor. (Biblio distributes my book and it’s in the clear until at least next September.)

In the meantime, Barnes and Noble just gave its online store a makeover and Borders released a beta version of its new site; B&N continues to be a major shareholder of iUniverse, and Amazon owns Booksurge. Books printed by subsidy presses like Booksurge and iUniverse rarely make it into bookstores. Clearly, Barnes and Noble didn’t become an iUniverse stockholder because it counted on money from store sales of iUniverse books; it did so because iUniverse makes money off the authors and the books sold online.

Online, buyers shop differently. With search words and listmania lists and other tools, they can and do find a wider variety of books, including books that would never fit into a physical store.

Online, B&N and Amazon know that there is a place for specialized books. So do the executives who have come from the traditional publishing world and other professions to run the modern vanity presses that have now hijacked the terms “self-publishing” and “self-publisher.”

Which leads me to the eight-page advertisement. Headed “Self-Publishing Comes of Age,” which includes four pages of text. The subhead on the ad insert says, “Leaving vanity behind, today’s top self-publishers achieve success and offer models for the future.”

The text then coyly suggests that this kind of “self-publishing” is profitable and smart for authors. “The category [self-publishing] once so aggressively cordoned off by other participants in the industry, has over the past decade turned into a booming market, drawing entrepreneurial investment and top editorial talent.”

After discussing how the term vanity press came to be and how authors used to spend lots of money with vanity presses only to have their books collect dust in their garages, the ad announces that now it’s all different. “Self-publishers” help authors market their books and make storing them unnecessary because copies can be produced one at a time with Print on Demand (POD). The ad also sites the Internet as a huge factor in getting these books into marketplaces—something I do agree with. But it really irks me that these subsidy publishers are using the term self-publisher—which they and their authors aren’t.

My company, Lingham Press, is a self-publisher. Now that the subsidy press has latched onto the term, though, it makes my company sound bad.

Enticing Unwary Authors

All of us true self-publishers aside, the worst threat from this advertorial is to naïve wannabe authors, who may fall for the idea they have two choices: publish with a traditional publisher or with a subsidy publisher.

Wannabe authors can get a bit of a reality check from a close reading of PW’s coverage. Some of my favorite lines:

“…there’s no guarantee of success—and the top providers have become savvy about keeping reality in check for their author, since referrals and satisfaction are critical to their business models.”

“… hopeful authors—who remain self-publishing companies’ primary revenue stream ...”

“Our sales of self-published authors are minimal overall, but some rare, self-published authors sell exceptionally well.”

“Today’s top self-publishing companies are heavily invested in the idea that a happy customer is a valuable customer, which leads to the management of expectations, along with the provision of services that can genuinely help author achieve success.” [Gosh, how swell are they!]

What ticks me off most about all this is the gleeful message that this “new model” of publishing is making oodles of money for cutting-edge “self-publishers” coupled with statements showing that only a fraction of the authors using it will have anything more than a trophy book.

Having read what the subsidy publishers wrote for the publishing world, I needed to read the ads they aim at authors. Looking through the current issue of Writer’s Digest, I noted how each publishing company offers something slightly different. (or uses phrases that make them appear to).

Outskirts Press allows authors to contribute to making their books by, for example, using their own cover designs. Lulu lets authors set their own prices. Trafford guarantees that its method is the best.

The only company honest enough to use the word subsidy was Vantage Press, established in 1949 and probably just getting over referring to itself as a vanity press.

Although I saw many ads for subsidy publishers in Writer’s Digest, I did not see any ads for book printers, graphic designers or book cover designers.

Again, the message to the uneducated aspiring author is: There are only two choices: publish with a traditional house or “self-publish” with a subsidy publisher.

The Real Alternatives

I find it interesting that there are seasoned author/publishers who agree with the statement that subsidy published authors are self-published. Some quick comparisons among three types of publishing companies will illuminate why they are not. Please note that hybrids exist, but these are the three main types.

Traditional Publishers

An author who signs a contract with a traditional publisher usually receives an advance against royalties. The publisher owns the ISBN, but the copyright is generally in the author’s name. The publisher pays for and makes decisions about the editing, cover, size, price, production and marketing of the book, and sales channels generally include book wholesalers and retailers, perhaps along with other conduits to readers.

Authors are expected to do a good deal of book promotion and publicity (although this is often not explained to them until it’s too late).

This general business model has not proven to be all that effective, as publishers often report losing money on the books they issue.

Subsidy Publishers

Authors who are accepted by subsidy publishers – and I’m estimating 99% of them are -- pay to have these companies publish their books and get royalties on copies sold.

The publisher generally owns the ISBN, but the copyright is in the author’s name. The author pays for all steps in the publishing process but the publisher makes most or all of the decisions about editing, cover, size, price, and production of the book, and sales channels are generally limited to the Internet and whatever routes to readers an author can use.

Authors are expected to do all or close to all of their own promotion and publicity. If a book sells exceptionally well, some subsidy publishers provide [is this free?I ‘m not sure] promotional services. (Wheatmark, for instance, does this for books that sell 2000 copies, which it says 1% of its books do. This is brilliant -- not only an attractive come-on, but also good business since if a subsidy book actually sells 2000 copies, it is in the publisher’s best interest to take advantage of the momentum.)

Unlike traditional publishers, subsidy publishers take no risks; they get paid up front for their services. And since they make money up front, there is no incentive to design a standout cover, or to be particularly careful about fixing typos and other glitches. If a book actually sells, the publisher makes even more money.

Self-Publishers

Self-publishing authors assume all responsibility for their books and get 100 percent of the profits. They also own their books’ ISBNs and copyrights; they pay for and make decisions about the editing, cover, size, price and production, and they can use a wide variety of sales channels, including but definitely not limited to the Web.

Self-publishers understand that they must do all their own marketing, including promotion and publicity. If a self-published book sells exceptionally well, traditional publishers may want to buy rights in the book from author/publisher.

Call Me Independent

I hope this comparison makes it clear that subsidy publishing is simply a way of doing business that requires payment from authors for publication of their books.

Subsidy publishers is not self-publishing but subsidy publishers have ruined the term self-publisher. From now on, I will be referring to myself as an independent publisher.

Norma Lehmeier Hartie’s first book, Harmonious Environment: Beautify, Detoxify & Energize Your Life, Your Home & Your Planet, is the Grand Prize Winner of the 15th Annual Writer's Digest International Self-Published Book Awards and Finalist in ForeWord Magazine's and Nautilus Book of the Year Awards.
http://LinghamPress.com

Flower Arranging

I collect flower vases so that I have a variety of options for my floral arrangements. Also, different containers look better in particular areas of my home. There are plenty of eco-friendly choices you can make when selecting a flower container

· Antique or second-hand containers

· Earthenware containers

· Glass containers, especially recycled

· Containers made out of stone

· Recycled metal containers

Any container that holds water can hold flowers—be creative and look around your home for possibilities. You can cover empty cans from your cupboard with fabric, for example. Or, put a bunch of flowers in a watering can. If they are watertight, clay pots can hold flowers.

When you entertain, it is nice to have flowers on the table—but not if they obstruct your guests’ views of one another. Low containers are perfect for the dining room table. To keep flowers upright, it might be necessary to use what florists use, floral foam. Oasis® brand is most common; just make sure the package indicates that the foam is for wet floral arrangements. Floral foam is available in craft stores.

The key to using floral foam is to allow it to absorb water at its own rate, in a sink or a container filled with water. If you forcefully submerge it, the inside of the foam will not get wet. The foam is ready to use when it has sunk to the bottom of the water-filled container. Floral foam is easily cut with a knife; cut whatever size you require, wet it, and place in a container.

You will want to cover the floral foam completely. In addition to flowers, you will need green filler—either from the florist or cut some from a bush or tree in your yard. You can cover the foam first and then place the flowers, or arrange flowers and then fill in spaces with greens.

Finally, relax and enjoy the process of arranging flowers! Experiment with different flowers and vases, and allow yourself to create. Most importantly, honor yourself with fresh flowers on a regular basis!

For more information, read Harmonious Environment!

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Lotus Body Botanicals

The following is a blurb from my interview with Maria Falce, owner of Lotus Body Botanicals.
For the the full interview, go to HarmoniousEnvironment.

Norma: Tell me about your medicinal grade essential oils. Energetically, how do they compare to industrial or synthetic grade essential oils?

Maria:The synthetic oils are dead and the industrial oils are weak and lack substance and direction. Both are toxic or potentially toxic. The rest of the oils out there that are not 100%pure are not necessarily bad oils, they are just not true, they are not complete and at best smell good. Their ability to heal is muddied due to the mixing and dilution of various oils, you just don’t know what you are getting or what it can/will do. There are oils that are grown here in the States that are pure; they are just energetically different from the oils I use. This goes back to the land and the wisdom of the Earth. The European oils are older and wiser and have deeper healing qualities that have been tracked and used for centuries. The American oils have been around for 100 to 200 years at most and are just more immature energetically and because we lack a full understanding of the oils in our culture, we just don’t know what the healing properties of these plants are. It is so adaptable and dependent upon the environment that the same lavender plant grown here and in France will have totally different medicinal qualities. So, I am not saying that all American grown essential oils are bad or inferior just that they are not yet fully understood and have a tendency toward energetic immaturity. Here is an example that I feel explains what I am saying. Last summer, my husband came running into the house, a wasp had stung him numerous times. He was in a great amount of pain. I only had a couple of drops of my good lavender left and didn’t want to part with it (mean wife) so I offered him the bottle of[ a popular brand of essential oil] lavender, this is a very popular and common brand in the US. I figured that since lavender is so giving with its oils that it had to be real. He applied the oil and continued to complain of extreme pain and burning from the stings. I finally gave in and gave him my wild lavender and within 2 seconds of application, all of his pain was gone. Later that day, there were no physical signs that he had ever been stung, the redness and the welts were completely gone. Now, was this a case of a synthetic oil or a diluted oil or an oil grown somewhere that wasp stings were not prevalent? I do not know for sure. I just know that it did not have the healing properties that lavender is supposed to have, so in my opinion it is an inferior oil, real or not.


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Beef Wellington, Roasted Kale and Sauteed Char

My husband and I don't eat red meat often, but when we do, it's the best: free range, anti-biotic free, grain fed. I had bought beef tenderloin a couple months ago from Whole Foods and froze it, waiting for a special occasion to cook it. My husband has been working like crazy lately, Saturdays included, so I decided to surprise him this past weekend with this dish.
My local A&P now carries organic dried mushrooms and I had a bag of Chanterelle mushrooms that I wanted to try. I used them instead of regular mushrooms and enjoyed them. You soak them in water, and the water smelled so great, I decided to save it. Tonight I will use it as the stock for cream of mushroom soup.
There was enough for two nights (recipe that follows is for two portions) and we had roasted kale the first night and sautéed char the following night. For recipes, go to Harmonious Environment.

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WorldGood Fair Trade

This interview with Miranda K. Paul, owner of WorldGood Fair Trade, can be read in its entirety at Harmonious Environment.

Norma: I gather there are a lot of plastic bags lying around in Gambia? Please explain the situation.

Miranda: YES - the plastic bag situation in The Gambia is horrendous. It is a problem in both urban and rural areas. There is no official waste management system throughout the country, and the introduction of imported plastic bags to the markets well over 10 years ago caused many impoverished people to turn to this cheap method of carrying parcels, etc. No education about or understanding of the nature of plastic was given to people. Many farmers who rely on livestock were seeing unexplained deaths in their goats especially, and butchers are commonly finding plastic bags wrapped around the intestines of these animals who died unexpectedly. Many of the women in Njau also noticed that these plastic bags were getting buried under the soil and their gardens wouldn't grow. Other problems surrounding the plastic bag trash includes large pools of water / breeding ground for mosquitoes and all kinds of trash contaminating water supplies in rural areas. There are very few, if any, places I have traveled to in Gambia where plastic trash is not a problem. I don't have any official numbers of how many lbs. of plastic trash might still be left to clean up, as it is continually added to daily as there is still no limit, ban or education about these plastic bags on a wide scale and it's the most convenient means of toting goods from the market for customers who didn't "bring their own bag". ALL of the bags used from the women of Njau are literally recycled trash. I have found out that several "green" products or companies are actually using new plastic to make such objects, and I am appalled because that's contributing to the problem. The point of this project is that one day, the women will be done making these bags and can move on to other things. The bags are washed TWICE, and bags that are too dirty are not used.

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