Motivations for Self-Publishing

Different authors have different reasons for self-publishing. If you are aiming to write and publish your own book, you should make it a point to check out your own motives for doing so. You have to make sure your motivations are strong and valid so you could get on and possibly achieve success. You would need more guts because it is just exhilarating and financially draining.

If no publishing company is willing to take chances on you, you could opt to self-publish your own book. Be ready to shoulder all the costs and take care of just about everything, from writing, to editing, to publishing, and marketing. Here are the most common motivations why authors prefer self-publishing.

An author is rejected by any major publisher because of several obvious and logical reasons. First, he could be unknown to the book industry. Face the truth. Most successful book authors are celebrities or icons in their own fields. No publisher could be willing to gamble on nobody because readers would not be easily open to reading content from nobody. Second, the topic could be obscure.

An author may feel good about an issue, but most other people think it is irrelevant and boring. On the contrary, a very controversial topic for a book is also avoided because no publisher would ever want to face legal hurdles and battles for any unknown author. The subject could be of interest only to a minimal amount of the population.

Lastly, the author's writing style, genre, and grammar is simply rejected.
Another reason for any author to go self-publishing is that he desperately desires complete editorial and artistic freedom. The author may not agree with any modifications required by the publisher. It is common for some writers to resist criticisms and changes especially if they think such are destructive to their ego.

He may be targeting to take complete control and rights to the intellectual aspect of the book. The author might feel he needs to make sure the rights, sales, database, and fame of the book remain his. Then, he could be motivated by the low overall publishing expense of the book. He could also feel more confident and comfortable with the idea that he is publishing independently.

If authors have no other resort like self-publishing, the history of book publishing industry could have probably been different. Some of the most unforgettable booksellers worldwide were classics that originally had been published independently by authors. Examples are the phenomenal ‘In Search of Excellence' (Tom Peters), ‘The Joy of Cooking' (Irma Rombauer), ‘Spartacus' (Howard Fast), ‘Poems' (Oscar Wilde), and ‘Chicken Soup for the Soul' (Mark Victor Hansen and Jack Canfield).

To sum it up, be reminded that self-publishing is not an entirely new practice. In fact, it has been around, though in different forms, since time immemorial. These days, self-publishing is logically increasing amid further advancement of the modern-age publishing technology. With the emergence of desktop publishing systems, xerography, the Internet, and print on demand, self-publishing is becoming a clear phenomenon in the changing publishing industry.

But are you cut for it? Not all authors have what it takes to survive and make good in having to self-publish a book. Before you get into such an endeavor, be wise to think once, twice, thrice, and many times over.

Motivation And Productivity

Productivity and motivation are two mutually-related concepts, the latter fueling the former, while the former is the end result of the latter.

Basically, productivity is a performance measure to show how an organization can effectively convert its resources into its intended products (or services).

Relative measure

For all its many forms, productivity is a relative measure because it is used to compare the effectiveness of many entities. These can be countries, organizations, departments, or individuals.

From the perspective of a system, productivity shows how well an organization transforms its inputs into outputs. It is generally stated as a ratio of output to input in the area of manufacturing.

Multi-factor measure

Productivity can be expressed as partial measures, multifactor measures or total measures. Partial productivity is in terms of a single input. (These are units produced per worker, units per plant, or per hour, etc.)

Multifactor productivity measures show the utilization of multiple inputs (e.g., units of output per the sum of labor, capital, and energy or units of output per the sum of labor and materials). A total measure of productivity expresses the ratio of all outputs produced to all resources used.

Motivation productivity

This is related to how motivated a person is to perform a task (or activity). Worker enhancement programs are built on ways on how to motivate workers to optimize productivity.

Some organizations offer their workers sports and recreational activities, fitness and leisure activities and some family-oriented programs.

This comprehensive approach in enhancing worker performance may capitalize on quality measures like value, TQM (total quality management), quality circles, innovations and performance standards (profitability, efficiency, customer satisfaction, on-time delivery) and carries a wide range of personal and team rewards and incentives.

MRT

MRT (mutual reward theory) is an incentive program where the organization assists an employee to reach his or her goals. This is accomplished while sill meeting the company’s production goals.

The greatest rewards are achieved when the benefits are at an optimum for all persons. Usually, productivity is directly proportional to the degree of success of MRT.

Productivity growth

Productivity growth is the measure of the amount of goods and services produced within a specific time period. First, a standard is determined. Next, that standard (or benchmark) becomes the measure against which all future productions are to be measured against.

In a country, the annual growth rate is being watched. Productivity growth rate is directly proportional to a person’s wealth. If the levels of productivity rise, so does a person’s buying power. The total economy in turn benefits from the increase.

Most valuable resource

Most productivity researchers have agreed that the world’s most valuable resources are people. It had been suggested that education and training are responsible for raising the levels of productivity of people.

Researchers further suggested that attaining expertise via education and training can be maximized by developing people who want to learn, work at their potential, and continuously improve.

Motivation

When an employee is motivated to take pride in his work, that employee adds value to the organization. He will contribute to the overall productivity for himself, his organization, and the economy at large.

How about a Government Order as Motivation to Lose Weight?

With the exception of the sumo wrestlers - those athletes whose careers depend on how massive they are - Japan is not a country you would expect has a huge problem with obesity. But they have a word for it - Metabo - and of late, they have posters with cute fat manga characters extolling the virtues of keeping your weight down and not being obese. Perhaps "obese" would not be the right word; it's all part of the government's program to get Japan to be in perfect shape and lose that extra recalcitrant inch or two. And somehow, the Japanese are all caught up in this. Ordinary people in cities and towns across the country, are getting government summons to report to neighborhood health clinics. The government prescribes that men should have waistlines that are no greater than 33.5 inches, and women, no larger than 35.4 inches. If you go even a half inch above, you are branded Metabo and they'll be on your case, offering you endless motivation to lose weight.

All of this is comes from a piece of legislation that came into effect a few months ago that says that all district authorities and employers need to give everyone over 40 a yearly checkup to check their health. That would be about 50 million waists to measure. It's an International Diabetes Federation guideline, because people who are on the path to obesity, place themselves at risk of late onset diabetes. So what happens when you go for your checkup, and you are found to not measure up? If you have an inch or two more than you should, and you also have a health problem to do with your weight like high blood pressure, they'll start you off by giving you dieting advice, and they'll ask you to report back in three months. In image-conscious Japan, often, being pulled up by the authorities for being out of line is all the motivation to lose weight they'll need.

But if in spite of all the best intentions, they are unable to shape up in the given time, they are sent to more doctors for better weight-loss education. The government in Japan sets its goals at a 10% reduction in its overweight population over the next four years. And if districts and governments do not manage to meet targets, they'll be made to pay penalties. They look at America with its out-of-control health-care expenses, and they tell themselves that they're not going to allow themselves to get in a situation where everyone is free to get as fat and as unhealthy as they want, and still look to Medicare for their healthcare. That could easily bankrupt the government - as it indeed has done over here.

Would you believe that when Japan's Prime Minister recently publicly toyed with an idea that older people could be made to pay a little more for their health insurance, he received the first parliamentary censure in the history of the country? Wonder what it would be like over here if the government allowed an insurance company to raise its premiums, and that got President Obama impeached. In a country where they value their elders and a right to health care so much, a government initiative is all the motivation to lose weight that the population needs. But there is no need to worry that much about the state of American health. As much as obesity is a problem in America, on average, American men are still an inch short of what the International Diabetes Federation recommends. Women in America however, do have something to worry about. Women here are 2 inches over the safety line. It would be definitely not be the traditional American way to get people to sign up for weight loss as part of a government order; but it really would get the job done.

Motivation to Lose Weight Can Be Found Everywhere

Someone asked me the other day where he could find the motivation to lose weight. I told him that there were a number of things in life that he could use as motivation, and he just had to keep his eyes open and be aware of why he wanted to lose weight in the first place.

A few years ago, I was significantly overweight. I, too, had a difficult time finding the motivation to lose weight, because I had everything that I wanted in life - a wife, children, a home and a pretty comfortable lifestyle. Then I realized that my motivation was right in front of my eyes.

My wife is not overweight and neither are my children. I was the only one who really needed to lose weight. I sitting at the dining room table one night and started thinking about an article that I had read about a man who had a heart attack that was not much older than I was at the time. He had a wife and two kids, and it all kind of hit home for me then. My family was my motivation to lose weight.

My best friend used to be overweight as well, and found out that it was getting in the way of doing his job. His employer basically told him that he needed to lose weight or he would run the risk of failing one of the physical tests that his job required. That was all the motivation he needed to lose weight, and within a year he had lost 100 pounds.

Another great motivation to lose weight is a class or family reunion. Any time that you are going to see people that once knew you as being thin, or, on the flip side, have always known you as being heavy, that is a great movitavor to drop some weight before the big day.

Being able to go shopping for clothes and knowing that you will look better can be great motivation for losing weight. Knowing that you will feeel better, period, and be much healthier, can also be a great motivation to drop a few pounds.

My aunt was having trouble climbing a long flight of stairs at work, and that was motivation enough for her to lose weight, and now she says she can run up that same flight.

The thing to remember is that losing weight is not easy, but it does not have to be hard, either. Having a motivation to lose weight always makes it much easier to do so. Generally, if you think back to when you became aware of your weight being a hinderance to you, you can use whatever that moment was as a motivator and have success getting the weight off.

Motivational Greeting Cards

When someone is going through something tough, you want to say or do the right thing. This can be hard, as there are times when it seems there are no words that are going to make a difference. Remember that this is not true, and do something for your friend or family member no matter how inept you feel at the moment. Words are very powerful and they can evoke strong emotion in almost any situation. If you are not sure what to say, find motivational greeting cards that can say if for you. Without fail, you can find the right card if you search around.

You can find motivational greeting cards for the major setbacks that life often throws our way. One time when you want to say something uplifting is when someone has died. This is when most people struggle to find the right thing to say, and end up saying something cliché that they really don't mean and won't mean much to anyone else either. Instead, look for greeting cards that not only acknowledge that someone has suffered a big loss, but also that say something that says what you would have said if only you had thought of it first.

Other times when motivational greeting cards are good is when someone has lost their job either to being fired or if they have been laid off. You can send these when someone has gone through a bad breakup as well. These are a little easier than the ones you get when someone has died, as it is easier to find the good in such a situation. You want motivational greeting cards that remind the other person that though they are now upset and sad, better things are around the bend. Remind them that you care and that you understand their pain, and then try to give them something positive to move forward.

The occasion does not have to be sad to benefit from motivational greeting cards. You can give them for any old reason. If it is someone's birthday, perhaps a touchy one, motivational quotes and even funny quotes about growing older work wonders. You can also find motivational cards to give when someone is having a baby for the first time, getting engaged or married, or if they are starting a new job. Anything that is both exciting and scary at the same time is a great occasion for finding just the right words to say.

The array of motivational cards out there is huge. Almost all types of cards have great words of wisdom, funny quotes, or simply the words you want to say, but did not know how to put together. You can find sets of cards that you can buy, or perhaps you want to buy up quite a few at once to keep at home so you always have the right card at the right time. So often we mean to send a card but never get around to going to the store. If you already have them at home, along with a supply of postage stamps, you are more apt to send one out when you need it the most.