From Dennis Lowery

The following is an excerpt from a very interesting article. It’s interesting to me because it helped to clarify my own understanding of why I am the way I am, and what my goals are, in a way that I could not quite articulate.

Read the complete article

“We live in a culture that nurtures competitive skills. And they are necessary: discipline, rigor and reliability. But it’s probably a good idea to try to supplement them with the skills of the creative monopolist: alertness, independence and the ability to reclaim forgotten traditions.”

“…we tend to confuse capitalism with competition. We tend to think that whoever competes best comes out ahead. In the race to be more competitive, we sometimes confuse what is hard with what is valuable. The intensity of competition becomes a proxy for value.

In fact, Thiel argues, we often shouldn’t seek to be really good competitors. We should seek to be really good monopolists. Instead of being slightly better than everybody else in a crowded and established field, it’s often more valuable to create a new market and totally dominate it. The profit margins are much bigger, and the value to society is often bigger, too.

Now to be clear: When Thiel is talking about a “monopoly,” he isn’t talking about the illegal eliminate-your-rivals kind. He’s talking about doing something so creative that you establish a distinct market, niche and identity…”

From Dennis Lowery:

During May and June we will  be working on further expansion of sales channels and distribution for ebook versions of our titles. In support of that effort Adducent has entered into an agreement with Smashwords, Inc.:

Highlights:

1. World’s largest indie ebook distributor.
2. 100,000+ titles published by 40,000+ authors and publishers.
3. Distribution to Apple, Barnes & Noble, Sony, Kobo, Baker & Taylor, Diesel, others as well as to major mobile app platforms such as Stanza and Aldiko in over two dozen countries (along with North America and the UK).
4. Following is the list of new iBookstore countries now reachable for our titles ebook versions:

-          Austria

-          Belgium

-          Bulgaria

-          Cyprus

-          Czech Republic

-          Denmark

-          Estonia

-          Finland

-          Greece

-          Hungary

-          Ireland

-          Italy

-          Latvia

-          Lithuania

-          Luxembourg

-          Malta

-          Netherlands

-          Norway

-          Poland

-          Portugal

-          Romania

-          Slovakia

-          Slovenia

-          Spain

-          Sweden

-          Switzerland

Adducent’s long-term plan has been to step-by-step set a firm foundation for domestic sales and to extend our reach into growth markets internationally. This new capability is another piece of that foundation.

Within the next few years, the global market for ebooks will likely eclipse the US market. Although the US represents the world’s single largest ebook market today and is still growing rapidly, the US market is also the most mature. Growth rates in the US, where the ebook market has more than doubled each year for the last several years, are likely to slow. Contrast this with markets outside the US, where ebooks markets are only now beginning to enter, or will soon enter, exponential growth phases assuming their growth trajectories follow similar patterns seen in the US and other English speaking countries.

Our authors will now have access to more markets, and these markets will grow faster than the US in the years ahead. The necessary ingredients for this growth include availability of affordable ebook content in concert with low-cost e-reading devices (dedicated e-readers, multi-function tablets like the iPad, smart phones, personal computers, etc.) powered by local-language ebook stores (the iBookstore’s mentioned above). These are all things that have factored into our business plan and its execution over time.

We look forward to our authors and teaming partners growing with us and how we will mutually benefit as we execute our business plan and explore (and tap) new revenue producing opportunities (prudently and with measured steps).

Dennis M. Lowery, President & CEO

Adducent, Inc.

Bud Durand’s book, Traces of Mammon, is now available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble’s websites (link follows). Over the next few days additional title data will fill in on their respective site pages for the book. Details and search by title or author will propagate in their system over the next week or so. The book will also begin to show at other online booksellers, such as Books-a-Million, etc.

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

14 April 2012, Muscat

US Ambassador to Oman, Dr. Richard J. Schmierer and Laila Al Bellucci

At the invitation of the US Embassy, Omani novelist Laila Al-Bellucci presented the US Ambassador to Oman, Dr. Richard J. Schmierer, with a signed copy of  her new fiction book for children and young adults entitled “Mirabella and the Pearl of Chulothe”  brought to the international market by US publisher Adducent, Inc., a Florida based publisher, and ArkWatch Holdings LLC, an Arizona based intellectual property company.  Laila explained to H.E. the Ambassador, “the US publishers believed in my work and helped me bring my book to the market and this is a beacon for other budding Omani authors to do the same; I am grateful to Adducent for giving me this fantastic opportunity to publish my work.”

Mirabella and the Pearl of Chulothe is Laila’s debut novel which sets the stage for an adventure that unfolds over four more books set in locations throughout the world that smartly uses myths and legends from the region as part of the story.  Laila briefed H.E. the US Ambassador that there is code within the book termed a ‘codilleom’ which when decoded by the readers leads them to the book’s next location. H.E. the US Ambassador asked Laila whether any of the books would be located in Oman but Laila said the codilleom needs to be unravelled to get the answer! Laila is currently writing the second book in the series.

Mirabella and the Pearl of Chulothe is available through several online booksellers such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble and W.H.Smith and soon to be stocked in Oman.

Adducent uses Ingram companies for book manufacturing and distribution. This is an interesting video that talks briefly about changes in the publishing industry and about the business benefits of using Ingram’s capabilities and technology to eliminate the waste that has plagued the publishing industry since its inception (which also has an extremely negative impact on our world).

Using technology to eliminate the waste that has plagued the publishing industry

Business Day – Ingram Content Group from Skip Prichard on Vimeo.

We’ve begun working with Deborah Sloan and Company’s KidsBuzz program for the marketing and promotion of Serpentauria: Ark of Extinction.

For more than twenty years, Deborah has led authors and illustrators through the world of publishing and bookselling, establishing a reputation for inspired and compelling marketing and promotion for books in every category, with a special focus on children’s and teen books. She is considered a trusted source of insight and information on bookselling by national media.

From Dennis Lowery

This is very interesting… especially since the two series we’re working on, ‘Serpentauria: Ark of Extinction‘ and ‘Mirabella and the Pearl of Chulothe‘ are exactly what they are looking for:

“Every single studio wants to capitalize on a young-adult franchise,” said Josie Freedman, co-head of the book-to-films department at talent agency International Creative Management. “It’s what’s selling on the publishing side and on the film side.”

In a business plagued by unpredictability but desperate to find the shortest route to a new brand-name franchise, young-adult novels have become the golden ticket. They often come with a built-in fan base that can help create the early buzz that transforms a movie opening into an event. The best of the books feature universally relatable themes of alienation, love and heroism, and cinematic story lines that translate easily to the big screen.

Read the complete article

From Dennis Lowery

Following is an excerpt from a review just received on Serpentauria: Ark of Extinction (with a link to the full review at Amazon). As a publisher and writer it is the type that you shoot for. Where the reader has been touched positively in some way and what you wrote or published has made an impact.

I’m very proud to be the publisher and co-author of this book.

Here’s the excerpt (from Adam‘s review):

There are so many aspects of it to comment on, but the main way I can prove this book’s worth to you is with this – My daughter wants us to read through it over again although we just finished it! There are very few books she has wanted us to read again, heck.. most of the books we have read her from the kindle are so short or generic she can’t remember them completely. Not here. The story of eleven year old Sara and her quest to not only save endangered animals, but restore life to animals man have hunted to extinction is very remember-able.

Read the full review

(Dennis Lowery’s speech on 15 March 2012 at the book launch of Mirabella and the Pearl of Chulothe):

(Left to right) His Highness Sayyid Faisal bin Turki Al Said, Dennis Lowery and Laila Al Bellucci at the Al Bustan Palace in Muscat, Oman

In 1980, as a young man serving the United States Navy, my ship made a port call to Muscat. I was only twenty years old but had already traveled to a dozen countries—several in the Middle East and the gulf region. My first day visiting Muscat I knew this was a special place above all others I’d been to.

It had all the majesty and history of famous places I had visited but had one thing I sensed the others lacked. It touched my soul where the others had not. Perhaps it was something carried on the wind or that lived in the mountains or deep in the soil and sands—I don’t know where it came from—but felt it.

A peace and calm along with a strong pulse that makes one appreciate life.

This past Monday, my first morning here at the beautiful Al Bustan Palace (a wonderful Ritz-Carlton property), while having coffee on the terrace facing the sea, I felt it again. It made me stop, hold my breath for a long minute, and then exhale. I looked at the blue sky above azure water framed by rugged mountains—and had a clear distinct moment when all I thought was how beautiful life and our world is. For a moment that still lingers—even now while speaking to you—I feel like I’m twenty years old again. Calm and at peace with bright hope for the future.

This made me reflect on what led me back to Oman.

Words…

Words brought me here again. Something so simple but so powerful.

My vocation as a publisher and writer has taken me to many beautiful places—and it has brought me back to a place I remembered so fondly from my past and to a feeling that often gets lost or buried in the hectic world we all live in.

I believe that words and stories are the most powerful force in the world. The words we read, the words we say and the words we hear can transport us to our past, can make our present a better place and gives us a sense of hope for our future.

A wise Omani man told me recently that in order to make our world better, “we must focus on and talk about humans… the people.” I agree with him. Not abstract ideas or perfect world scenarios, not government or political agendas. We must talk about the people.

Improving our life and our world is completely about how we act and interact with each other. It’s about humanity.

As humans, we are more alike than we are different. And it is common experience and interests that becomes a bond that establishes a better understanding of each other. With understanding comes better communication and better communication shortens the path to mutual respect. Something the world needs more of.

There is no better way to make a connection to our collective common experience than through stories. As a publisher and writer, my focus is to bring to life stories that contain powerful and positive messages presented to the reader within an entertaining story.

I am so very proud of Laila and her book. Its message of inclusivity and acceptance of all people and cultures is compelling and complements another fiction series we are working on called Serpentauria: Ark of Extinction, with its message about taking better care of our planet, its resources, animals and each other.

These two fiction series will have adventures that bring the main characters to Oman and through them I hope to spread to others what I feel here—peace and hope. I cannot think of a finer setting for the words to come to life for the reader.

Through our books and efforts we will promote a positive message and do our part to make our world better… one word at a time.

Thank you Laila for such a wonderful book and for being my friend. Through you and Mirabella I have the opportunity to be here today, in a very special place, with a very special people. I believe 32 years ago part of Oman stayed with me and coming back awoke it—and it feels wonderful.

Thank you all for coming to share this moment with us, for your hospitality and that of the Al Bustan Palace and most of all for the opportunity to come back to Oman and feel its beauty again in my heart. I know I will return and look forward to that day.

By Dennis Lowery

“What’s the Next Action?”

 This simple four-word question, can transform your ability to get things done. Here’s why.

A project can sit on your to-do list for a long time without getting done.

David Allen points out that that’s because you can’t DO a project — you can only do a physical action. You can’t do a website redesign or a home makeover. You can’t even do your taxes. Each of those is a multi-step project that should not be on your to-do list, but should be on a separate projects list (meant to simply keep track of projects, not to be used for daily action). So a project is anything that takes more than one step — a much different definition than many of us use for the word “project”. This is certainly true of any writing project of any size.

Allen tells us to look at that project, and ask ourselves, “What is the very next physical action that can be taken with this project?” With the above examples, I might start a website redesign by finding five other sites with looks that will inspire my new design. The action could be to simply bookmark (and print) five sites with inspiring designs. With a room makeover, I might first stop by the paint store and get a color palette. For taxes, I could simply gather my 1099 forms, or download the new 1040 form. Specific to your writing project the next action could be a number of things depending on what stage you are at in the process.

• If you are just beginning – then before you start—look at books that are similar to what you have in mind. If you are writing a memoir then read a memoir or at least look at two or three to get a feel for the structure and flow and make notes for use in planning your book. That’s your next action.
• If you have a rough draft then your next step is to go through it, beginning to end, and look for opportunities to re-write and tighten up what you’ve written (and trust me, you will find them). That’s your next action.
• If you’ve worked through your draft and have polished it to the best of your ability then you need to have another set of eyes look at it (preferably an unbiased 3rd party professional set of “eyes”—it’s hard to get good, actionable, feedback from family and friends). That’s your next action.
• If you’ve had professional feedback on your manuscript and it’s been incorporated so that what you have is a good as you can make it. Then it’s time to find an agent, find a publisher or decide to self-publish. That’s your next action.

When we ask, “What’s the next action” we are ensuring that we have actual tasks to perform, and not vague, fuzzy terms. Many people lose or waste time by not pinpointing actionable items. They may have on their list “write a book”. Writing a book is hard work. I know. If you have that as a line item on your to-do or bucket list—you need to break it down into manageable, comprehensible and actionable chunks. A concrete task that can be defined simply like, “Write one page each day”. Do that and in a year you have a 365 page draft. The year is going to come and go anyway.

If writing a book is important to you, then take action. If you don’t have time, then hire someone to help you write it.

If you want to get things done you have to be action-oriented.

We’ve all sat through countless meetings where a topic was discussed, and we walked away without really deciding anything. Now, when I have to attend a meeting or have a conference call on one of my own projects or a client’s project, I ask everyone as we wrap up, “OK, so what’s the next action?” This forces everyone to clarify what must be done next, who must do what, and then we are accountable for doing those actions. Otherwise, it’s just a bunch of talk. The question is powerful because it forces the issue and demands action. Things actually get done.

Non-doable actions are removed from the list.

By asking what the very next action is to move a project forward, we are eliminating from our to-do lists all other actions that cannot be completed right now. If I cannot choose a color scheme until I’ve obtained a color palette, well, “choose a color scheme” shouldn’t be on my list. It clutters up the list and distracts me from what I can actually do right now. All that should be on my list is “get color palette from paint store”, because that’s all that can be done. Once I’ve crossed that off, I should add the new next action. Now my list only has tasks that can actually be done, right now, instead of bogging me down with a whole bunch of other stuff. If your list is overloaded with non-doable actions, you must continually process that list each time you look it over, and decide what can be done right now (and when you do this, you are always asking yourself “what’s the next action?”), and what can’t.

It requires and encourages quick decisions.

Many times, we put off taking action on something because there are things that have to be decided that we don’t want to think about. And the more we keep putting it off, the less we want to think about that thing. But by asking the very simple question, “What’s the next action?” we are not faced with a million decisions, but one. That makes the decision-making process very easy, and very simple. We don’t need to plan out an entire project (ugh!) … all we need to do is decide what we need to do next. And that’s a decision we can make very quickly … which means we are past the “thinking about” stage and into the action stage.

Asking, “What’s the next action?” is one simple and powerful tool you can implement right now to be more productive and to move one step closer to achieving what you want to achieve and to reach any goal or objective. Even writing the book that you want to write.

Next action: go through your to-do list and ask this question of every item on the list. It can help you move things along towards whatever goal or objective you want to achieve.