Saskatchewan provincial funding for public vs Catholic schools

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/cbc/100306/canada/canada_saskatchewan_sk_catholic_school_funding_public

Money, money, money. Everything comes down to that - even (or especially) "every child's legal right to education". Ontario's Education Act states it is illegal for any child between 6 and 16 not to be enrolled in the provincial education system (although home schooling whereby the provincial curriculum and resources are provided to the family is legal, and children from these homes must take part in the same provincial testing). Presumably Saskatchewan functions in the same manner. It is illegal for children to the age of 16 not to attend school in any Canadian province.

This article details the discrepancy in funding per pupil between public and Catholic schools in Regina, Saskatchewan. $275 is the difference in funding with the Catholic system being in the red. Of course provincial officials from Sask's Ministry of Education simply refused to acknowledge the discrepancy and insisted changes won't be made in Catholic funding. $275 might not sound like a lot but times it by the thousands of children in Regina who attend Catholic schools and it adds up quite significantly.

Apparently Saskatchewan' Ministry of Education may uphold a "child's legal right to education" it just doesn't guarantee an equal and non-discriminatory educational funding allottment for said child.

A link to my Experimental Prose and a cool website

http://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/1651986-Winnifred-Winnifred   

Its a cool site for an aspiring writer looking for groups, connections and some exposure for their writing.

Budget short on education funds: First Nations - Yahoo! Canada News

Budget short on education funds: First Nations - Yahoo! Canada News

While I generally agree that First Nations have gotten a raw deal in terms of funding for their school system I must say that an overhaul involving 200 million from the federal government is pretty respectable. Of course the Grand Chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, Ron Evans stated that the immediate allocation of $30 million "warms my heart". I should hope so.

The article claims that the feds have made it possible for Aboriginal youth to get their post-secondary education fully funded for ten years. Then further into the article it reveals a long wait list for many Aboriginal students, some who have to go through university/college without funding. There are always exceptions to the rule and people still slip through the cracks of the education system and federal funding.

The mainstream school systems, public and Catholic do not have specific Aboriginal curriculums. There are instead "lesson units" where a teacher who is teaching a specific grade may opt to teach his or her class about Canada's Aboriginal people. All units generally run within a 3 - 6 week period depending on the complexity of the topic, available materials and amount of time the overall curriculum permits the class to study the topic during each term. Lessons involving different cultures is quite specific, however it offers teachers a choice amoung a number of cultures so Aboriginal curriculum may not enter into the equation at all.

That the Aboriginal community is in dire need of educational funding is indisputable. It remains to be seen how the funds will be used and when.

Lisa Lahey's Page - lisalahey

Lisa Lahey's Page - lisalahey

Depp, Alice, Queens and Burton

http://ow.ly/1eIal  

If you're a big Jonny Depp/Tim Burton fan you will likely look forward to this flick. A good friend of mine played Depp's role, The March Hare, in high school. I shall have to make a comparison after I rent the DVD and I most certainly will. Depp is in it!

Cool writers' site to display your work online

I just posted an experimental prose I wrote and had published online in 2007. It's a bleak piece of work about a woman with a mental illness who murders her daughter then forgets she did it. It's posted on Writing.com     the URL:  http://www.writing.com/main/my_portfolio    
the site looks a little busy - the name Winnifred, Winnifred is posted and below it is a VIEW button.  I welcome your feedback, good or bad.  I would love to read your work in return!  It's a great site to post your work and get feedback from people. Also you have access to hundreds of works by other authors.  Cool.

Created my first PDF Writers Page newsletter today!

I didn't realize how easy creating a newsletter and submitting it to the net (PDF of course) could be. It was a blast. My first published issue Why I'm Published and You're Not, is in Volume 1. I've picked up terrific tips from various sources (authors, publishers, sites, articles) and compiled them into a one page newsletter. I'm going to continue this series with more author and publishing tips monthly.
If you'd like a freebie contact me through this site or at lisa.lahey@gmail.com.

Cheers!

In response to Brian Williams' thank you letter to Canada

Thank you Brian Williams for acknowledging Canada's efforts to be a gracious host.

Thank you Brian Williams for listing the many ways we attempted to make your stay a good one.

Thank you Brian Williams for acknowledging our success worldwide.

Sincerely,

Lisa Lahey
A Proud Canadian

p.s. Please come back and visit us again

SQWRACING JOURNAL: I know I'm not supposed to publish the entire article but this is really nice. Well done Vancouver/BC/CANADA!

SQWRACING JOURNAL: I know I'm not supposed to publish the entire article but this is really nice. Well done Vancouver/BC/CANADA!

This is a tear-jerker for Canadians and much appreciated.

Early Literacy and Your Child

I've been an elementary teacher for 14 years now. I have a good amount of experience with early literacy, including tutoring, classroom teaching and training in a specialized program for working with children who struggle with acquiring early literacy skills. I'm going to add informational tips to this blog and articles onto ezinearticles.com and possibly a few others.  I'll set up links when its in place.

Publishing Free Newsletter on How to Get Published

I'm compiling a list of tips from all kinds of sites re how to get your work published - non-fiction and fiction authors alike. My sources are sites, publishers, editors, authors. My newsletter's value lies in compiling great tips in one place. Saves time hopping all over the internet looking at different sites!  I'm building it tweet by tweet via twitter.

1st Chapter of Millicent Carlisle to be published online

http://cantaraville.ning.com/profile/LisaLahey?xg_source=activity

Cantaraville International Literary Quarterly is publishing the 1st chap of MC in July 2010.  Free read!

Why You Should Blog

http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/penelopes-guide-to-blogging/

I couldn't have said it any better.  Now if only someone could write my blogs for me....

A Teaser Vs Giving It Away

Sounds rather lewd doesn't it?  Actually I'm referring to online publishing of your work.  When you submit to online sites many of them do not end up paying you for your work, mostly because their readers do not have to pay to read it.  It is a free download.  Now it may sound crazy since you are thinking to yourself  "I am in this business to make money not give it away!"  However a free sample can have its benefits some of which include:

1. A sample of your writing - you might write a non-fiction article or a short story, items that won't net (pardon the pun) you a whole lot of cash anyway.
2. Public Relations - ah yes, good old PR.  Well it's a proven industry and it's still around for decades upon decades because it works.  Sending out free samples of your work into the internet universe may garner you some attention from publishers who actually do pay for writing.
3. Self-Promotion - nothing wrong with getting your name out there and not just because you can write.  Perhaps you are an expert in an area other than writing.  If you write about it and it is downloaded free of charge someone may need your expertise in that particular field and voila you can make money via that route.
4. Communication/Interaction with the outside world - lots of terrific social networking goes on via the internet as we all well know.  The more people who know your name the better the chances that your writing will get picked up by a paying publisher.
5. Invitations and Information - oftentimes when I connect with people I would otherwise never connect with I find out about author signings, conventions, ways to make and post free websites etc. That's worth its weight in gold right there.
6. Good Practice - if you haven't got anyone beating down the door for your latest publication at the moment it never hurts to keep those writing skills sharp for when they do start calling.
7. Submitting 1 chapter to a site like Read 1 Chapter Free of your published work can be a smart move.  It's great advertising, you reach a huge audience and you don't give away too much of your novel/book/poetry collection etc.  In fact you don't really have to submit the entire chapter to some of these sites, who is going to know anyway?  The idea is not to slam dunk your readers with the entire book or poetry collection (yes some writers have been known to do that!). It's to leave them wanting more.  I have actually gone out and bought a book strictly because the prologue intrigued me so much. That's personal proof that a little teaser without giving it away is very effective PR!

Free Internet Zines for Advertising Yourself and Your Book

There are a host of these zines and other sites for this purpose.  Here are a few (only a few) that you may find useful:

Ezinearticles.com
AcmeArticles.com
Read1ChapterFree.com
GoArticles.com
Jayde.com
IdeaMarketers.com
And if you are interested in adding a sample of your work or writing articles to be read by the entire world (great publicity) consider these sites:

BellaOnline.com
BookWritersNetwork - its a site where you can blog and copy and paste your work amoung many other things
Your own blog - such as this one
AddMe.com (non-fiction)
TheWhir.com
ArticleCity.com

Some good marketing tips can be found at these sites:

BookMarketingWorks.com
BookWritersNetwork
MarketSellingBooks.suite101.com

Want to make your own ezine?  Thought you might!

OpenZine.com
Houseoffun.com - tips on how to build your zine
Wemakezines.ning.com


How about your own site?
Yola.com
Webs.com
BuildFree.org

Personalized Bookmarks and Other Author Grab Bag Stuff

When you decide to attend a book signing in person or have a virtual book signing or any time you distribute copies of your book to anyone anywhere its always a good idea to have little gimmicks on hand for instant advertising.  Including your photo and email addy are always good ideas with these little gems. Here are a few cool ideas that are relatively cheap to acquire:

Bookmarks - take a copy of the cover of your book to the copy shop and have them make it into a bunch of bookmarks.  Stick the bookmark inside every single copy of your book that you give away/sell yourself.  Make sure you have a stack of them on your actual (not virtual :)  table at real live book signings and give them out even if a customer isn't going to buy your book.  She might change her mind and return to buy it later.

Postcards - I'm not a big fan but I think they have the same PR value as a bookmark.  The neat thing about a postcard is you can include upcoming virtual and actual tour dates and signings on your site or in person.  It's also cool to write in first or third person about the main character in your novel if its fiction or an abstract about your non-book/poetry collection.

Posters - Take a copy of your book cover and return to that same trusty copy shop.  Have them blow it up to an 11 X 17 or larger and laminated (if they do that).  You can ask bookstores to display it a few days before your book signing or you can get a wooden backing and make it into a placard that you display at the front of the store or beside your table.

If you can think of other "stuff" for the grab bag by all means add a comment. 

The bag will just get fuller.

Cool!

Personalize Your Author Signature

This idea is cool because I thought of it - well partly.  And also because it works for non-fiction, poetry, fiction and whatever else is out there in the world of book publishing.

Try personalizing your signature a little rather than using the usual snore of "best wishes" and signing with a blue or black pen. One author I read about used the title of his book to sign his name because it lended itself nicely to an autograph. It was something along the lines of "Peace and Happiness", signed _____. (Shame on me I can't remember who he is or I would definitely write him in here). Of course Peace and Happiness was the title of the book. Cool.


Perhaps you have a fancy metallic marker you like to write with? Or a glitter gel marker?

Are you a teacher? Then goodness sakes put a little sticker next to your signature.

Did you write a book about children's crafts and paintings? Why not leave one of your fingerprints from fingerpaint? Or sign your name using a red crayon?

Did you write a book on calligraphy?  Now I really don't have to tell you to sign your name using one of your calligraphy pens and ink do I?

Wrote a book on photography?  Hmmm let's see. Oh I know, glue in a personal photo that doesn't match the one in the book - or perhaps just use your personalized bookmark with a photo that doesn't match your book.

Serious! Get creative and crafty. Little personal touches go a long way and they are way more fun than the usual ho-hum of a standard authograph. 

Virtual Book Signings

Similar to Virtual Book Tours or Virtual Blog Tours (I have a previous blog about that one on this site) virtual book signings are an economical and comfortable way to sell and sign books.  You go online to your site, post the time and date you'll be online to all of those customers that bought your book through your shopping cart and have left a message stating they would like you to sign it IN FRONT OF THEM (they can always request a signed copy where you aren't online of course - more on that below) and then you pick up their book, sign it, hold it up for the customer to see that his or her name is on it and you just signed it and voila!  a successful virtual signing.  What could be easier (and cheaper).

Of course anyone who purchases your book through your website is going to want your signature on it.  As soon as you receive copies of your book from your publisher you are going to open the front cover and sign it right away with a nice little handle such as "Best Wishes" (yawn).  That way everyone gets a signed copy from you and that's good PR.  Don't forget to include your personalized bookmark that you had run up at a nearby copy store inside the book - another item you should slip inside your books as soon as you receive them.  Why, what is a personalized bookmark you might ask?  See my next blog!

Virtual Book (also known as Blog) Tour

Talk about a cool internet travel concept.  You know what standard book tours are of course. An author packs up and heads out all over the country or if super successful all over the continent/world for signings and book promotions.  Wow.  In a perfect world we could all afford that kind of glamour.  However a virtual book tour is a cool alternative that I only found out about yesterday (hence the importance of joining writers' communities and the like I guess). 

It's cool.  You need to be a member of a writer's network that offers virtual book tours.  You sign yourself up for a reasonable fee (fairly cheap considering the exposure you get) and then invite everyone and his mother to add their blogspot to your tour so they can read all about you, your book, get a sample chapter to read, etc.  Some authors even send a comp copy of their book to their guests.  That's a little expensive unless you happen to be self-published I suppose but more than likely it has its advantages.  I mean imagine sending your novel or non-fiction or what have you to Australia when you're in Canada so that someone you have never met can read it, follow your tour and maybe even comment on you and your book in their blog?  That's the idea of course.  Free worldwide advertising all through cheap networking. 

Best of all you don't have to move your butt.  You just choose an online schedule, pour yourself a glass of wine, open your book and read and blog your little heart out - and whatever else you're going to do.  I suppose you can go on webcam and have someone interview you - or perhaps do a live question and answer period with other webcammers and on and on.  The possibilities are limitless.

If you want to see how it looks check out this link:  http://www.virtualbooktourexpert.com/

boy,crazy is NOT about being boy crazy

Once when I was strolling around Chapters Book Store in Brampton Ontario I saw a few copies of my first novel "boy,crazy" in the juvenile section. Juvenile. The book - and it says this clearly on the spine - is a thriller, implying it is for ADULTS only. This however was not at all my problem rather I felt the staff at that particular store should pay a little closer attention to their products when shelving them. Besides they probably had better things to do than worry about a whining author stating that her books weren't shelved properly. So I left without saying anything. I can only hope no tween or teen out there ended up with boy,crazy in her Christmas stocking but if so let me just state that I had nothing to do with that mess. It was entirely out of my hands. I'm not the stockboy/girl, merely the author.

I did a lot of research for my novel as I also did for my second release due out in summer 2010, "Millicent Carlisle". Personally that's the only way I can write a book. Why would anyone simply make something up off the top of his or her head without referencing any experiences or facts from the outside world at all? Authors like anyone else don't live in a vaccuum. But, I digress.

If you're interested in a slim volume about a wannabe serial killer with no name other than "boy" (I guess his parents didn't get too attached) check out this link with my publishing company PublishAmerica:

http://www.publishamerica.net/product6141.html

Enjoy!

Love Song

This is one of my rejected poems. It is about my mother and the year she was dying of cancer. Hope you like:

Love Song

The erosion began where there should have been an end to her earthly worries and woes
leaving her to savour gently the golden years of spiritual splendour
She amassed herself against the encroaching enemy with the only weapon she had
Faith that the hidden foe would fail to put out the light and then
put out the Light
on precious Eve's soft and sensual radiance

Her soul pined that it could not heal this undeserved iniquity
Womanly curves and coves faded swiftly and mocked her
with their memory
Her skin now worn loosely upon her sorrowful frame
led her to cast mournful eyes away from the ruthless mirror

Yet the looking-glass could not mirror her soul's unwavering spirit
and it challenged her to defeat this merciless scourge
Her withered temple weathered the onslaught even as her spirit
became lovelier by far than the splendour grievous Eve
once boasted in Eden
that of her burning and alluring mystique

Her blessed shrine became a mere shade of its former beauty
but her spirit outshone her wounded womanly charms
Her blue eyes were no longer haunted with sorrow
radiated everlasting forgiveness
and hope for what was yet to be

An Introduction is in Order

I'm a novelist and I fancy myself a poet. Alas, no one seems interested in publishing my poetry; hence I shall blog it and post it myself on my blogspot. What the heck? I'm much more interested in my fiction anyway. I have a bit of a history you may (or may not) find interesting:

1. boy,crazy - 2005 - PublishAmerica - thriller - a grim little story about an abused boy who
   grows up to become (what else) an aspiring serial killer. This was my first ever publication and even though I cringe now at how graphic the details are I suppose I must look at it as a learning experience. I flatter myself that my writing has come a long way since then. If you're interested the URL is: http://www.publishamerica.net/product6141.html
2. Winnifred, Winnifred - 2007 - RSPublishing - experimental prose - another rather ghastly little piece that was published as an e-book whose primary value lies in its disjointed thinking and text layout. Didn't make a fortune off of this one either but hey, I have always found it true that writers don't write to make money, we write because we have to (at least that's my experience).
3. Millicent Carlisle - 2010 - PublishAmerica - literary fiction - yes my first publisher took me back! That is exciting. I've heard a lot of people blast PA but I have never had any problems with their contract or their services. They offer your books in stores like Chapters-Coles-Indigo so you can do signings. Sweet. I'm especially proud of this book. It is quite a departure from my usual grim writings. This one is about a child bride residing in southerwestern America during the Second World War. I did a lot of research for it and had fun with this one. You might too! When it is released (probably summer 2010) I shall post a link.

Thanks for reading. Comments are always welcome.