From the author, Dennis Lowery

This is not a guide to teach you how to become a writer. There are countless books, courses, articles and websites that can help you with that. They can teach you proper grammar, structure and even how to format your manuscript for publication. Those are all things that come with having a rough draft to polish and make pretty.

This IS a guide to help you make actual progress and do what needs to come first—the most important step you must take if you want to write your story. Creating a first draft (the rough draft you can then begin to make pretty and polished).

This guide is approximately 9,000 words (which is about thirty 8.5 inch x 11 inch pages). It is to the point. If you follow what I share with you in this guide, you will make progress in creating a draft of your story and will accomplish three important objectives:

1) Your story will become real and tangible. All the memories and knowledge in your heart and head from all of your life’s experiences become more concrete for others—it’s no longer just a verbal account.

2) It is the very first step for refining your story further; making it more fully fleshed so you can improve the things I mentioned above that make your story more polished and presentable.

3) It gives you something to provide to a professional writer that will lower the cost of their assistance (whether as a ghostwriter or developmental editor/re-writer).

There is a fourth important benefit and it’s personal:

I have worked with many people on their stories and helped them create a book that captures the story they want to share with family, friends, and for some, the public. Each client has told me how great it felt to tell their story. How they felt about accomplishing a significant goal in their life and the process had either made them heal or strengthened them in ways hard to describe.

That reward and benefit is there for you, too, with making your story come to life in writing and as a book. What you read in this guide has helped and inspired others. I hope it does for you, too.

From Dennis Lowery, President of Adducent |

Currently our titles are available in these regions:

• North America
• United Kingdom
• Western Europe
• South America
• Australia

In the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia, where we have physical production and distribution facilities that provide those services, we can print and ship efficiently and cost effectively to that countries respective local markets. And their proximity enables us to reach markets in adjacent countries, albeit at a somewhat higher cost to retailers in those countries due to international shipping and other import/export related expenses. So we are very pleased to announce business developments that improve our title availability and lower cost for retailers in some of those extended markets.

Expanded Global Reach Into Foreign Local Markets

Adducent has entered into a new agreement with our production and distribution partner that will expand our capabilities further globally. Specifically we now can offer “wholesale like” Print to Order solutions in countries where we do not have physical production services. Our partners will now show titles as available locally in their market and will print them locally as orders come in from their sales channels and retailers.

We are announcing the immediate availability in local markets in Brazil and Germany at this time. As additional partners are vetted and contracts signed, we will make formal announcements on each partner. While titles have been available in these countries previously; they were not manufactured locally, which increased the retailers cost to offer our titles to their customers and higher cost impacts buying decisions.

This new agreement and production capability make our titles locally available to retailers at reduced cost to them without lowering our list/retail prices or increasing our wholesale discount, which would require adjusting royalty rates we pay our authors. This enhancement and expansion  does not entail our dealing with local printers, unsecure file distribution or currency exchange issues or concerns—no inventory, shipping headaches or import/export problems that complicate and make more costly getting our titles into these local markets. This allows us to never miss a sale in that market and is a possible front list entry solution into foreign language markets. This service offering emulates our current wholesale channel and we (and our authors) will receive compensation for each book sold in the market at the title’s current list price and wholesale discount in US$.

Pricing, Formats & Turnaround

As the publisher we do not set the price in these local markets. We establish our titles list/retail price in US$ and discount level, which sets the wholesale price we are paid for each book in US$. The local partner will convert this to local currency, add margin and print cost, and then determine the price to sell the book in the market in local currency. This is a non-issue for our authors as they are paid royalties based on list/retail price per their publishing agreement with Adducent.

Each market will have different capabilities for printing depending on the competencies of the local printer. Not all formats will be immediately available in all markets. In local German markets hardback and trade paperback versions of our titles will be available; local markets in Brazil will only have paperback versions available at this time.

The expected turn-around times in each local market for the manufacture and delivery of books will vary by partner but the target is 2 days.

The Order Process

1. Our print partners will make the title metadata available to the local sales channels and retailers and collect orders.
2. When an order is received our production partner will be notified and the title file will be transferred to the print partner for printing and then the file will be destroyed.
3. Our production partner, headquartered in the US, will maintain file integrity, file security, reporting and payments back to Adducent (the publisher) in the same manner it does today for sales in current markets.

Quality Assurance

Our production partner has developed a rigorous process in selecting and certifying print partners adherence to production standards. Our production partner will maintain ongoing quality control and monitor processes to make sure each partner meets the guidelines and quality standards set. Books printed by our partners will adhere to our specifications, as the production will be driven by the original book production file.

So our world gets a little smaller—our reach a little bit farther—markets drawing nearer and over time our titles will get more opportunities as we grow and expand our capabilities even further in more foreign local markets.

For further expansion of sales channels and distribution of ebook versions of our titles Adducent has entered into an agreement with Amazon and Smashwords, Inc. These put our title eBook versions into these sales channels and venues:

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.

From Dennis Lowery |

A story of how a death led to saving a life.

One of my personal projects in development–planned for publication in 2013.

Excerpt from the development draft:

She fought the mortal coldness of a soul without hope; it lapped around her, rising higher. “What to do… what to do!” she screamed inside her head. It hadn’t even been a matter of love, at least for him. The shock that came with realizing she was on her own in this numbed her even more than the cold wind flailing the station platform.

She glanced around… so many people that seemed to have no place or purpose; they drooped and shuffled as if the gusts shoved them from here to there. Others moving with clear direction—clearly they had jobs to go to or the prospect of one that made them move so steadily or stand so firm with shoulders squared and head up. There were children, too, many homeless and abandoned by their parents—left to shift for themselves. She noticed one bright-haired girl, coatless in a once-bright blue dress as she shivered from person to person, a trembling tray of apples to offer them, “Apple, Sir?… Apple, Ma’am?” No takers, though and she watched her smile dip and then struggle to rise as the girl bravely approached the man next to her. “Trains coming,” she thought, glancing down the track, as the sound grew and people started to press together ready to board and escape the bitter wind. As if giving it one last try; the little girl lifted her tray to the man who not deigning to see her brusquely pushed by causing her to stumble and fall from the platform. The train’s screech covered her scream and that of the little girl as the engine’s steel wheels swallowed the girl spitting shreds of red-dampened blue fabric to the side of the rails. In the cold silence looking away from the girl’s body she saw an apple at her feet. Stooping she picked it up gently, as if cradling the girl to ease her pain, and as she stood, though not clearly formed, the seed was planted for what she must do for the life she carried within.

Story Premise:

An unwedded young woman who finds herself pregnant in a time when society would condemn and ostracize her witnesses a tragic event that changes the course of her life and that of the child she carries. Instead of secretly having an abortion she decides to have the child and to raise it no matter the repercussions.

From Dennis Lowery |

Late last year, as part of our development of intellectual property that has true global appeal, with our partner ArkWatch Holdings, we began creating characters and storylines for books and screenplays that fit international markets. (Watch for news from us regarding teaming with an international entertainment group to develop/produce four of our projects as feature-length theatrical releases over the next few years.)

We currently have finished, or have in advanced development, products (stories, books and/or screenplays) with settings (action and adventure) in not only the United States but also in:

• Latin/South America
• Canada
• The United Kingdom
• Europe
• Africa
• The Middle East

There is huge potential for creating and bringing to life stories (as books, animated and live action features) that showcase cultures and locales around our beautiful world — bringing them to their growing markets. The importance and size of one of those markets is discussed at length in this article:

The Next Media Jackpot: The Fight For The $1 Trillion Hispanic Market

From Dennis Lowery |

One of my personal projects in development–planned for publication in 2013. A story of life, love, loss and learning.

Excerpt:

The letters were sharply creased from years in their envelopes stacked tightly in the small box barely large enough to hold them. Thirty of them, about ten pages apiece, each dated the same month and date a year apart. The one on top dated the day the man was found dead and hand written on the nursing home’s stationery.

Brittle in her hands, easy to tear, as she read them what unfolded was a realization life was as delicate as the paper she held in her hand.  They spoke of love and cruel loss and what happens when we let our dreams die. They told of a secret that should have died aborning, choices and decisions made and not made that shaped what was to come.  “Secrets, choices and decisions,” she murmured, which brought her squarely back into her own life. “Damn…”

Story Premise:

At a nursing home, a resident dies with no next of kin and with his personal effects is found a box of letters. Curious, a new employee at the home, tasked with gathering his belongings, decides to keep the letters—she takes them home with her and begins to read. The early letters are typed on plain paper and in business size envelopes, the middle letters are a mix of typed and handwritten on different paper and various kinds of envelopes, the later letters are handwritten—with the final letter dated the day of his death written on the home’s stationary. From his records she knew he hung on to life seemingly to reach the date to complete his letter. When done he sealed and put it away with the others and died.

Many of the letters are smudged, use a mix of pencil and different ink (obviously written at different times but kept to finish on the date for the letter). The last letter is blotched in places; some ink runs as if water had dropped on the letters as he wrote.

Each letter talks about moments in his life at that time and speaks to his wife and children. With the section for each child specific to their age and what they might be going through at that point in their life. To his wife he talks about the beauty they shared, the hardships of life, the challenges their children face in life and worries about the world around them.

As the man’s story unfolds through the letters she tries to find out details about him and his family. She finds that address on the letters does exist, but no one there knows the man. If he or his family lived there at all.

Interspersed with the story behind the letters is the story of this young woman trying to find her way in life and dealing with estrangement from her own family.

And in finding herself – she also discovers the startling truth of the man and his letters.

Just received from one of our writing/book development clients (we’ll be publishing their book this summer):

“Dennis,

After reading through this draft I am truly overwhelmed with gratitude for such a meaningful quality product. I believe this book will be a blessing for many people for years to come.”

From Dennis M. Lowery and Erik Daniel Shein |

It’s an epic journey of danger intermixed with the joy of reuniting with loved ones, the delight of making new friends—and most importantly—it’s about growing up and understanding and accepting responsibility for one’s actions.

The story of a young adolescent elephant, Thunder, who is separated from his mother and herd by poachers. Strong-willed and known for how he stamps his feet (it sounds like rolling thunder and that’s also how his mother calls to him… by stamping her own feet in a unique rhythm); Thunder, in a fit of temper, runs away from the herd. Thunder’s angry charge causes the herd to be discovered by nearby poachers. Some of his herd escapes but many are killed for their tusks and Thunder is taken by the poachers.

As they travel to where they keep live animals that have been poached, they discover that Thunder likes to draw (the spot him drawing very lifelike/realistic pictures in the dirt). They figure they can sell him to a rich private collector who would pay a lot of money to own an elephant that can draw and paint. But Thunder escapes and crosses central Africa to be reunited with his mother and to lead what’s left of the herd to Hearthaven, a secluded valley, not known to humans, that he learns of in his travels. There they can live in peace.

The book and animated feature, Aurora, Spirit Bear of the North, besides being a compelling story that represents the best traditions of this art form, also strongly connects us to the most important tangible asset we all share: Mother Earth.

 Aurora gives vitality and support to the growing worldwide trend for conservation and preservation of the natural world, a movement that in our feature highlights the wonderful richness of the spiritual, earth-centered beliefs and actions of the Indian peoples of the Pacific Northwest. Although the adventure unfolds in this verdant wonderland, it represents completely a universal awareness of the value and fragility of life on Earth. A ‘green’ European, a Maori of New Zealand, a citizen of a city like Tokyo, an aborigine of Australia, a Dogon tribe member of Mali, and a person living in the heartland of the American Midwest, all can share a common awareness of the growing imperatives associated with declining animal populations and environmental degradation. These concerns are global and the issues have an impact on us all.

Each of the protagonist characters of Aurora are heralds that support the care and concern for our world’s living treasures (flora and fauna) and their preservation; something that any thoughtful and intelligent person can admire—regardless of where they live.

The antagonists of Aurora are the people who represent the forces of exploitation, greed, and indifference to suffering; those who always look for opportunities to make a dollar, regardless of the consequences. Innocent people and animals pay for their avarice. In Aurora they expose themselves through their thoughtlessness and cowardice as they seek to exploit these lands by stealing their precious animals. An awakening sense (and demand) for justice for animals is slowly spreading across the planet. Our feature strongly supports this emerging belief.

The key characters of Aurora embody the wisdom of a teacher who is intimately in touch with the earth and it’s wonderful, but vulnerable, children and creatures. These teachers are everywhere and appear in myriad cultural contexts with different names, but, at the end of the day, they all espouse the need to protect our world’s animals and resources in order for Man to have a sustainable future.

In development from Erik Daniel Shein & Dennis Lowery (and their respective companies).

Darwin is an adventure, where a group of unlikely friends, some of the rarest creatures on the planet, attempt to rescue a wise and infinitely kind Galapagos tortoise. This great creature, Darwin, is the rarest of the rare, and his driving passion is to continue his endangered line. But he can’t find a mate!

To the Galapagos inhabitants, Darwin represents the soul of their world, a living monument to the power of nature and evolution. To sustain his breed (Pinta Island Tortoises) Darwin’s friends: a marine iguana named, Admiral Ignatius, Esmeralda, a pink iguana, a blue penguin (who’s always cold), a yoga-loving lava lizard (addicted to working out) and a messenger sea turtle join forces to find his potential mate and perhaps more of his kind.

However, there are those who would wreck their fragile environment and prevent Darwin from meeting his true love. They are selfish, thoughtless and are motivated only by their shortsighted needs.

The Galapagos Islands, inhabited by extraordinary living wonders of nature, are also filled with peril from active volcanoes and other natural dangers. This sets the stage for a powerful drama, one that also elaborates on the pressing environmental issues of our time.

Darwin presents a unique and a memorable set of characters in a thrilling adventure and quest for true love.

In development from Erik Daniel Shein & Dennis Lowery (and their respective companies).