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Feb 8, 2016


Don't Just Tell Tall Tales - Write Them

Do you have a talent for telling tall tales? Can you craft stories that delve into the world of fantasy, but are so detailed that they actually seem believable? If you do, you should be using your talent for more than just storytelling around a campfire or a creative bedtime tale; you should be writing them (and preserving them) in a book.



Children and adults love to believe that a fantastic fantasy world exists, which is why tall tales are so popular. Children often begin to grow and express their imagination by telling tall tales, and for some, their story-telling skill continues to grow into adulthood.





If telling tall tales is one of your passions, write and preserve them to publish and share.



Perhaps that is how you began, telling an innocent, imaginative fib, like you saw a dinosaur at school and he took you to a lost world where you ate ice cream. Some parents may try and squelch this creativity, and get concerned when a child tells what the parent feels is a lie. But experts say that fibs are nothing to worry about when they are simply tall tales that fuel the imagination and are so entertaining to hear or read about.



In fact, some experts recommend a parent engages in the fantasy and shows the child that they are interested in their world. Imagination is born. It is believed that tall tales began way back in the 1800s when frontiersmen would gather around the fire and would compete for who had experienced the wildest adventure. They are part of American folk literature.



So, if you or your child have wild and entertaining tall tales to tell, one great way to compile your stories is to create a book. This is something you could hand down through the generations, give as gifts to friends, and family and treasure reading together at bedtime or as you gather around summer campfires.



What is a Tall Tale?



Essentially, a tall tale has wildly exaggerated elements to the story. Whether it is giants, or talking vegetables, or a doll that comes to life, your story will need to explore the impossible and there are many examples out there that you can follow; like the story of Paul Bunyan.



Here are a few tips to spark your creativity and get you started:



  • Begin with a story that is typically relatable to anyone. Like you are walking in the park or collecting shells in the sand along the beach. Used plenty of detailed words to describe the setting. Make it real for the reader.


  • As you dive into telling the "tall" part of the tale, remember that the more outrageous and exaggerated the better. You did not just battle a big sea shell but you were almost eaten by a gigantic one, the size of an elephant. Again, use plenty of descriptive words to paint the picture for the reader.


  • Keep it short. You want to take the reader on a short, incredible journey while you hold their attention and imagination.


  • End the story with a cliffhanger. Like there could be another adventure coming because the story was not completely resolved. For example, the mammoth sea shell slipped into the waves but vowed to return to fight again. Get the idea? The adventure has the potential to continue, and your reader could encounter this giant one day.




  • Your tales can take a reader on an incredible adventure, but only if you write them down.



    Publishing Your Tall Tale



    The next step, once the tale is written, is to preserve it in your own book. You could piece together your own book, or use a kit from the craft store, but if you really want to create a beautiful, professional-looking keepsake that is treasured year-after-year, than publishing your book through a site like Bookemon is a quick, affordable solution.



    It will cost you nothing to get started on your book and it is very simple to do. First, create a free account, then upload the content of your book from PDF or Word Files. Next you can customize the pages and layout with the easy to use tools and templates. You can even upload and edit photos or illustrations to your book and add special borders and clip art.



    Once you have created a professional high-quality book, you can share it through email or social media or you can choose to purchase and order printed copies. The results are a beautiful book that looks like it came from your favorite bookstore.



    Whatever your tall tale adventure, digital book-making with Bookemon, will provide professional looking results, quickly, easily, and will transform your tales into a keepsake for your family to treasure. Start creating your book today!





    Feb 1, 2015


    Thought Leader Series: To Impress Recruiters Create a Hardbound Portfolio of Your Career Experience



    Mark Babbitt is the CEO and Founder of YouTern, a Forbes "Top Site for Your Career," and is co-author of A World Gone Social: How Companies Must Adapt to Survive.



    Although it's improving, the job market remains ultra-competitive - and many job seekers are looking for any edge that will help them stand out.



    Infographic resumes, video introductions, mini-business plans - even making your resume look like an Amazon product page - have all been tried. Some successfully... some not so much.



    Here's one idea you may not have thought of yet: A hardbound book that outlines your career experience, page by page. Here's how to use this unique personal branding strategy successfully.







    Create a Compelling Title



    Step one is to create a title that will grab the attention of the hiring manager - somewhere between a boring cliché ("Mary Stevens: Recent Graduate from Sycamore State") and overzealous ("Mary Stevens: The Best Hire You Will EVER Make!').



    Something that shows humble confidence works best. For instance: "Mary Stevens: Ready to Help Your Business Succeed." If you are so inclined, and the company culture most attractive to you leans toward edgy and bold, try "Mary Stevens: Ready to Help Your Company with World Domination."



    Tell Your Story



    Every good book has a solid beginning that hooks the reader, a middle that moves the plot along and intrigues the reader, and a fulfilling ending that nicely ties everything together including - preferably, for you and the company - a happy ending! (More on that in a minute.)



    Guide the hiring manager through your story by answering these three questions:

    • What am I really, really good at? And why does your company need that?
    • What do I stand for ... and how is that aligned with the culture and mission of the company?
    • How will I add value; specifically, how will my skills help achieve the organization's goals?
    IMPORTANT: As you tell your tale, be sure to make the story about the reader, not you. Take a "here's what's in this for you" approach rather than "here's what I'm looking for" perspective.



    Use Numbers and Dollar Signs



    Your future employer doesn't so much care about what you did at work. They want to know what impact your work had on the organization. So as you weave your story, talk about your direct impact to previous employers by using numbers, the dollar sign and the percentage sign. For example:
    • Exceeded quota by 132% over two years
    • Promoted three times in 18 months at ABC Company
    • My fundraising efforts lead to an additional $27,000 in donations, which enabled the organization to feed 125 more children in 2014
    Remember, this is a non-fiction book ... your book can't be a fairy tale! So use accurate figures to demonstrate your impact and contributions.



    Everyone Loves a Picture Book



    Throughout your book, sprinkle in images that support your most important points. Graphs, examples of your work, and logos of the companies you worked for, or with, all lend instant credibility to your story. Other examples may include:
    • If you are in the creative fields, this chapter of your book is incredibly important; this is where you show off your best work!
    • If you are an engineer or business major and worked on a relevant class project, show pictures of your team working together as well as the end result of your work.
    • If you demonstrated leadership during college or are doing volunteer work now, use images to reinforce the passion you brought to those roles.
    Write That Happy Ending



    Finally, in the last chapter of your career book, show the reader what success looks like - with you in that role!
    • How will you be a champion of the brand?
    • What will you accomplish in your first 30 days? 90 days? Your first year?
    • How do members of your team work together two years from now?
    • How will you have helped move the company mission forward?
    Use your words and images to draw them a picture ... so they see you as the person they need to hire!



    The moral of the story



    Be creative. Have fun. Show your unique value, and personality. A hardbound portfolio just may help you turn the next page in your career.



    Start creating your book now!





    Jan 25, 2016


    How to Make a Travel Journal

    If you love to travel, you probably possess a deep appreciation for experiencing new sights, sounds, meeting new people, and perhaps even immersing yourself in a totally different culture. Travel expands the mind and there is so much out there for you to explore.



    But how do you document and preserve your travel experiences? Taking photos is sometimes not enough; you want to journal the whole trip in a way that does it justice. The solution is to create your own travel journal, and it is simple to do.





    Document your next adventure by documenting your experiences in a travel journal.



    If your tickets are bought and you are counting the minutes until you depart, it is the perfect time to plan how you will write your travel journal. You can, of course, do this for trips you have already completed, as long as the experience is still fresh in your memory, so that you can include all of those important details about your travel experience.



    Your Journal as a Travel Memoir



    When it comes time to write for your travel journal, you may wonder where to begin. It is best to take a notebook or your laptop with you, because a well-written journal captures the experiences in the moment. Write your thoughts as soon as possible about each day's experience. Here are a few other tips to get you started:



  • Take Lots of Notes: It is wise to document all the really important moments, so you can include them in the journal. It is so easy to forget something unless you write it down! Have a small notebook with you at all times to jot down reminders or any special detail you want to remember to include.


  • Choose Your Audience: Decide if this journal is for you or if you will share with your friends. This could have an impact on what you may want to include in you journaling and it sets the tone for how you write it.


  • Choose What Experiences to Include: You don't want to write something the length of War and Peace. Your travel journal should highlight the places and experiences that you will want to remember from your trip when you look back on it 20 years from now. Choose what you think you will want to remember most.


  • Making the Journal a Good Read



    How your write the journal can either sound like you are listing off your itinerary (kind of boring) or it can take your readers on the journey with you. By all means include a synopsis of your itinerary, but it should expand with details that bring it to life:



  • Include your route plotted on a map.


  • List and describe some of the people you meet on your journey (include photos of them if you can).


  • Describe people places and things in detail. Cuisine is often a big part of travel experiences, so if that is true for your trip, include some description of your meals and take some photos to go with it.




  • Write the details you wish to remember about your journey down as they happen.



    What Not to Do When Travel Journaling



  • Don't use the same words repetitively; search for the right words to describe things as you see them and capture the story of your trip. Avoid listing anything; don't write "and then we did this, and then I did that". Take the reader on the journey with you, as if you were telling your best friend about your adventure.


  • Include small details about how the destination made you feel. Write about the sounds or aromas, and tap into all that your senses experienced. Include some dialog if there were meaningful or funny conversations you want to remember.



    Capture the Trip with Visuals



    The journal is not complete without visual images. You can sketch some of the buildings you see, or the people you meet, to help store them in your memory. If drawing is not your thing, take numerous, captivating, pictures with your phone or camera to illustrate your journal.



    Save your ticket stubs or any unique bottle labels. You can scan them into a PDF document and include them as visual images in your journal.



    Publishing your Travel Journal



    Once you are back from your trip it is time to preserve your journal. Think it will be hard to do? Think again. Navigating the airports or the road maps you used on your trip was probably more difficult!



    With digital bookmaking, you can go online to sites like Bookemon.com, where the process is simple, fast, and fun. The result is a professionally published book that looks straight out of the travel section of your local bookstore. Along with being incredibly easy, it is also affordable enough that you can choose to order extra copies and share your travel journal with friends and family.



    First go online and register for a free account with Bookemon, and then pick a template for your book's layout. Next, upload your content directly from PDF or Word files and then adjust and customize the pages. You design the entire book with a few clicks, from choosing a special font for your written content to adding clip art from the menu of options. Finally, you can upload and edit photos or drawings directly to the pages of your book.



    Preserving your experiences in a travel journal can provide you joy many years from now as you read your own thoughts and look back on all the amazing things that you saw throughout your journey.



    You will be thankful that you preserved your memories in a way that stands the test of time. Try it out for free. There is no obligation to buy anything unless you choose to purchase affordability priced copies of your journal to share.







  • Jan 21, 2016


    Expert Interview Series: Cindy Hudson with Mother Daughter Book Club.com About Why Writing a Book is Good for You AND Your Children





    "Children are made readers on the laps of their parents, " author Emilie Buchwald once said.



    And she was on to something. Reading offers an opportunity to spend quality time with your children while also setting them up for success.



    We recently caught up with one parent who even went as far as to start a book club with her daughter.



    Cindy Hudson is the author of Book by Book: The Complete Guide to Creating Mother-Daughter Book Clubs, and is also the creator of MotherDaughterBookClub.com.



    Here she talks about the benefits she's found in writing a book and the rewards of starting a book club with her child.



    How can writing a book be a great experience?



    1. Writing a book, especially nonfiction, can help you spread the news about something you are passionate about to others.



    2. While researching and writing, you are likely to discover more about your topic than you knew when you got started.



    3. You often get to connect with other people who are interested in the same things you are. I have stayed in touch with several moms, authors and librarians that I met while researching my book.



    4. Talking about your book with the new people you meet often leads to interesting conversations.



    How can it benefit your children?



    Having the ability to read well impacts so many aspects of a person's life. When children see their parents reading and writing, they are more likely to engage in these activities themselves and develop higher literacy skills.



    How did you (and your family) get into writing/book clubs?



    Reading has always been a big part of our family life. From the time my two daughters were born, my husband and I both sat with them and read. First, there were board books that were easy for their baby fingers to grasp and turn. Then came picture books. We started reading classic children's tales to them long before they could read themselves, because they could understand the story.



    I was in a book club with other adult friends, where I saw the value of talking about books as a way of tackling big issues. So I decided to start a book club with my oldest daughter, who was then 9, and other moms and their daughters. It was such a hit my younger daughter couldn't wait to turn 9 and get started in a book club of her own.



    When planning the meetings we hosted, I discovered that there were few resources out there to help out people in mother-daughter or parent-child book clubs that I decided to write a book based on my own experiences, including the advice of authors, librarians and other experts.



    How has it impacted your family?



    I know that the book clubs in the book I wrote have encouraged all of us to keep reading together, which I believe has led to a greater depth of understanding about our distinct personalities, and has helped us to remain close as a family over the years.



    Follow Cindy Hudson on Twitter.



    Want share your book? Try out Bookman!





    Jan 20, 2016


    How to Write a Picture Story Book

    A child's healthy love of books often begins when they discover the magic hidden in a great picture storybook; one that they can connect with or relate to. Do you remember a few special books from your childhood, those stories that seemed like they were written just for you? Do you wish you could create the perfect picture storybook, written just for your child?



    There are many great books already out there, perhaps some you enjoyed when you were a child, but nothing beats a story that is personal. The good news is you actually can create your own picture storybook, personalized with your own message, illustrations, or pictures, and make it extra magical for your child.





    Children develop a love of books early on, beginning with picture storybooks.



    Who knows your child (or grandchild) better than you? Think about how they would react to a book where the main character is their favorite toy, stuffed animal, doll, or even a book where they themselves are the hero. You could craft your story to be personally relatable to what is happening in their life right now ( like starting pre-school, getting a new baby brother or sister, helping around the house, or learning to share more with siblings), then capture their attention with photos of them and the people they love throughout the book.



    A Few Ideas to Inspire



    You picture storybook can inspire your child to try and succeed in facing the everyday challenges they face and even some of the common fears they may have. Children often connect with the messages woven into stories better than they do with the advice or guidance from the adults in their life.



    Experts say, that a book is also a great way to share a tale that teaches children important life lessons, as well as entertains them. You could focus the story you create on valuable things like:



  • Showing gratitude


  • Being kind


  • Helping others


  • The importance of telling the truth.


  • Maybe consider making the picture storybook about a precious memory, like the story of their birth. Remember that pictures or even your own illustrations can be included.



    Perhaps this all sounds wonderful, but you question your craftiness abilities and have no idea where to begin. Relax. There are amazing, easy to use, websites, like Bookemon.com, where anyone can create and publish a picture storybook and achieve professional looking results.





    With online digital bookmaking software, anyone can create beautiful books for their children.



    You can get started with digital book-making at Bookemon.com, by logging on and creating a free account. Yes, it really is free to create your entire book online, and see exactly what the finished product will look like, and then decide if you want to purchase copies. But, there is no obligation for you to buy anything if you don't wish to.



    This amazing software gives you the tools you need, simple steps to follow, and the process is so simple and fun, you may want to make more than one book once you see what you able to create yourself. Prepare to amaze yourself with your creativity.



    How it Works



    Once you have your free account set up, you simply choose the template you want to use to lay out your book, then upload any written content from PDF or Word Files, and customize the pages with a special font or clip art from the menu of options.



    Next, you can upload and edit photos or even your own drawings to the pages of your book. There are endless possibilities in what you can create and the professional looking results you will see when you are done may inspire you to make several beautiful picture storybooks that your child will love and treasure forever. Your books could be great, personal gifts for all the children in your life.



    Get started today! It's simple, fun, and it costs nothing to give it a try.







    Jan 19, 2016


    Create a Cookbook of Treasured Recipes



    All the best recipes--for the ages!



    Create a fun, new family cookbook project that everyone can join in and express their creativity through cooking. Moms and dads, grandparents, children, aunts and uncles can collaborate in a family cookbook filled with their best recipes to share and hand down from generation to generation. What better way to have fun, share memories and create what is sure to become an heirloom? A few simple steps can get you started toward creating your own family masterpiece



    Do the Planning First



    The first thing to decide is how you want your cookbook laid out and how you want it to look. Do you want to create a cookbook of homestyle recipes or branch out and include that fabulous recipe you picked up on vacation? At this stage, you also want to decide on the number of pages you want your cookbook to have, how you want to design the cover and whether you want black and white or colored photos or a combination of each. Do you want to intersperse your cookbook with family stories, children's drawings or other special differences that will make your cookbook unique? Making these basic decisions early on can make your project go faster and result in just the look you want.





    Compiling a cookbook is a great family project.



    Collecting Recipes and Photos



    This isn't necessarily the easiest part of the project, but it can be the most fun. Ask family members to send you their favorite at-home recipes. If they live close by, you can do this in person. Those who don't live nearby can either mail recipes to you or email you and include photos as an attachment. You can then download them to your own files. Don't forget to ask for suggested titles and to use standard measurements and include cooking time, pan sizes and how much the recipe makes. If you have a style format in mind for how the recipes will be written out on the pages, try to include that too. It can make compiling the pages less work later on.



    Organization



    Now that you are happily surrounded by piles of recipes, photos and whatever else you have decided to include in your cookbook, it's time to get organized. Having the family involved in this part of the project can be helpful and has the bonus of making them feel as though they are really contributing to the effort. At this point, you have to decide how to lay out how your finished cookbook will look. Do you want to sort recipes by the name of the contributor, such as Aunt Hazel or Grandmother Rose? You can also sort recipes by year if you have favorites that belonged to Grandma or earlier generations. Another option is to sort recipes by food category, such as meats, vegetables, cakes or cookies, and place the family member's name with the recipe. Additional things to think about are whether you want to index your cookbook to locate recipes easily or whether you want to add a few blank pages to write in additional recipes later.



    Finishing Your Cookbook



    This is actually the easiest part and can be fun to let the family join in and make suggestions. Bookemon lets you create a cookbook using templates or your own designs with frames, clipart, borders and backgrounds, plus creative design tools. You can also download your own photos, files and graphics to customize your cookbook. Your completed ebook is absolutely free for download and sharing, or you can order print copies at a reasonable price. Start creating your book to join the fun.







    Jan 18, 2016


    How to Create Books from a Mix of PDF, Word, PowerPoint Files and More

    If you have dreamed of writing a book and getting it published, it may be easier than you think to make it happen. Many creative people have that same dream, but what stops them is not knowing how to accomplish it.



    Online publishing can sound confusing and difficult, and maybe you are not exactly a technical expert with computer programs. The good news is you don't need to be.



    Today, publishing your own book is simple enough that just about anyone can do it. It is also very affordable to do. Thankfully, there are websites designed to simplify the creative process for you, reducing the work down to a few clicks and simply dragging photos where you want them on the page.





    Downloading and creating your book online is so easy almost anyone can do it!



    One great option is Bookemon.com, which makes it incredibly easy and affordable to produce a book that looks like it came from a bookstore. The best part is you can try making one for free and the possibilities are only limited by your imagination.



    If This Still Sounds Difficult, Think Again



    Bookemon's All-Purpose Online Book Creator lets you create your own books using any combination of Adobe PDF, Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Photos, Text, and Graphics. So, you can easily turn your writing, blogs, drawings, images, documents and any other variety of content into professional quality books in print.



    How it works:

  • You should write the content (whether it is a story, comic book, photobook, cookbook, whatever you imagine) and have it saved in a Word document, PDF, PowerPoint file, jpg photo, text, or graphic program.


  • Next step is logging on to the Bookemon website and creating a free account.


  • Then, choose a template to layout and create your book in.


  • Now, you simply upload your Word, PDF document, PowerPoint- whatever methods you saved the content in.



    Basic Steps: As Easy As 1, 2, 3



    1) All you need to do is find the icon "Add Doc" and click it; Click the button "Upload" on the media library of tab labeled "Document" and once the file is uploaded, you will see the document icon with a green " + " at the corner.

    2) Simply click the green " + " and it will be added into the book exactly as you have created it. For example, your title header and the page numbers you have on your pages will appear exactly as they are in your document.

    3) You may check specific pages that you want or click "Select All" to apply all the pages into your book.






  • Creating a book online so simple to do and the results will amaze you.



    To add photos to your book pages, it is as easy as clicking the "Upload" function in the book making program.



  • After you have uploaded your photos, they will be shown as icons in a "Photo Library". Simply drag the photos from your photo library onto the page or into an "Image" box.


  • Finally, adjust and customize the pages by choosing the font from the menu of options. You may also want to add some pizazz to your pages from a selection of clip art.


  • Your book can be anything you imagine it to be. This site provides endless possibilities to create virtually any type of book and there is no obligation to buy. You can make a photobook that tells a story, a custom book and have your child be a character in it, or create your own cookbook. You are the writer, creator, and publisher!



    There are so many possibilities and types of books you can make online and getting started is simple, fun and it costs you nothing to give it a try.





    Jan 11, 2016


    Experience the Joy of the Journaling Journey

    Many successful people throughout history have kept journals. From Presidents to poets, people usually journal because chronicling daily thoughts and experiences can create a meaningful way to both remember and share their life's journey.





    You can remember almost every important detail of your life by reading your journal.



    Scientific research supports that journaling provides a few unexpected benefits, mainly because as you write your journal, you are utilizing the left side of your brain, which is analytical and rational. While your left brain is working, the right side of the brain is free to create and process your emotions.



    So essentially, writing a journal can be therapeutic because it removes mental blocks and allows you to access your full brain potential. This can unlock greater understanding of yourself and everyone around you.



    Should My Journal be Secret?



    We all remember those little diaries we had as a child with the lock and key on them. They unfortunately made us think that all of our journaling should be top secret. But, that is far from the truth, unless of course you really want to keep your journey private. But, consider this: Your journal could be something that your child or grandchild would treasure many years from now. Your story could guide them through times of struggle or challenges. Your journey could teach them something about themselves and their family history.



    Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love, says it best, "It has never been easy for me to understand why people work so hard to create something beautiful, but then refuse to share it with anyone, for fear of criticism."





    Journaling is the ideal way to share your journey with others and preserve memories.



    If you journal through your life's journey, eventually you will have a masterpiece (or several of them) that contain important experiences and many of the emotions you have felt through the years. There can be times of challenge, tragedy, and triumph captured in the day-to-day musings written in your journal. Often, being able to share your journey and the wisdom and insight you gained along the way can make a difference in someone else's life.



    Recent research in neuroscience reveals that our brain is actually hardwired to respond to a story - people crave stories to feed that need for a "connection" to someone who understands their personal plight. So, there can be joy in writing and reading about your journey, especially when you preserve it and share it with others.



    Some benefits to journaling include:

  • Personal clarity: If you ever feel like thoughts and emotions are jumbled and confusing inside, taking a few minutes to write your thoughts and feelings will bring some clarity to the situation. It allows you to step back and "connect the dots" to any confusing parts of your journey.


  • Release anger and stress: Holding emotions in may be socially expected, but you can pour your heart out in your journal, releasing stress, sadness and frustrations. By doing this, you will feel calmer and better able to stay in the present.


  • Find solutions to problems: Have you ever found a solution to a dilemma and thought, "It was right in front of me the whole time!" Problem-solving is usually a left-brained activity, using your analytical perspective, but sometimes solutions are found by engaging your right-brained, creative and intuitive thinking. Writing unlocks your hidden capabilities.




  • Where do You Begin?



    It all begins with your first entry. Most people include the year and date at the head of each post. Write about your day, the problems you are facing and wonderful moments that occurred that might seem insignificant to anyone but you. Write about the big events and the small personal ones. Include some description about how the events of the day made you feel. Let it be a true reflection of you and your journey.



    Once you have written your journal for a while, it might be time to preserve it by getting it published. This part may actually be more fun than pouring your life experiences into your journal. There are websites online that allow you to create your own books with digital software. The result is a professionally printed book that you and your family will cherish and perhaps hand down to future generations.



    A perfect example is Bookemon.com, which makes it incredibly easy and affordable to produce a beautiful book that looks like it came from a bookstore. Simply, register for a free account with Bookemon and then pick a template for your book's layout. Next, upload your content directly from PDF or Word files and then adjust and customize the pages by choosing a special font or clip art from the menu of options. Finally, you can upload and edit photos or drawings directly to the pages of your book.



    Each of us have our own journey and a personal story to tell. Journaling can provide you joy many years from now as you read your own thoughts as they happened and remember your journey. Your journals can be meaningful treasures for your children or grandchildren. Getting started is simple, fun and it costs you nothing to try it out.





    Jan 3, 2016


    Help Others by Sharing Your Story

    Everyone loves a good story of struggle and triumph. It can shine a light on lessons learned, give readers living examples of perseverance, and can provide hope for someone going through similar circumstances. There is tremendous comfort in knowing we are not the only ones to experience difficulty or challenge, so when you share your own story, you may actually be helping someone with your insight and wisdom.



    Maybe you think writing your story is self-indulgent or silly. But it is not. Simply put, our stories can inspire, teach, encourage, and in some cases, provide solutions. Recent research in neuroscience reveals that our brain is actually hardwired to respond to a story - people crave stories to feed that need we all have for a "connection" to someone who understands our personal plight.





    Telling your story can actually be a beacon of hope for your readers.



    Why Share Your Personal Story?



    Well, it might not always be easy to admit that our path to success has been a rollercoaster or that we have experienced tremendous loss. But there are several benefits to sharing your story for both you and your readers.



  • You can help others: Sometimes, knowing you are not alone in a struggle is all someone needs to get through a tough time. It is basic phycology; there is safety in numbers.


  • You will expand your courage: Opening yourself up to moments of vulnerability and sharing your story with others take courage and is surprisingly gratifying.


  • It reminds you of the lesson learned and your strengths: There is no better way to embrace lessons learned than to speak about and share the process of learning them. It helps to preserve the valuable insight you gained living through your struggles and keeps it fresh in your mind.


  • It keeps you grateful: Once you make it through a difficult time, feeling grateful for the present moment and for surviving the challenge can be a humbling practice that keeps everything in perspective.


  • Where do You Begin?



    If you have a story to share, one that could help others, than you should take the next step by writing it down on paper to preserve it, and then consider getting it published. But how do you begin?



    First, map out your story without getting muddled down with details outside the story. This usually requires outlining the basics of the story (or chapters) from beginning, middle and conclusion. You want a guide for yourself for how the story will flow.



    Remember,your story needs to have a message - a clear takeaway for your readers. It has to have a purpose and make a point. It must include a descriptive beginning, which tells a bit about you, so that your readers can connect with you as a person. Then it should lead into the challenge or struggle you went through.



    Share your emotions and thoughts as you weave through the timeline of the story. It should end with the lessons you learned, or how you survived, and what the story means to your life today.





    Writing your story can be more challenging work than getting it published.



    Once you have this all written in a Word Document or PDF file, it is time to get it published. Don't worry. This part may actually be easier than pouring out your emotional life experiences as you wrote the story.



    There are sites online that allow you to easily create and make your own, real, professionally printed books. With digital software, you design and publish the book yourself. A perfect example is Bookemon.com, which makes it incredibly easy and affordable to produce a book that looks like it came from a bookstore.



    Simply, register for a free account with Bookemon and then pick a template for your book's layout. Next, upload your content directly from PDF or Word files and then adjust and customize the pages by choosing a special font or clip art from the menu of options. Finally, you can upload and edit photos or drawings directly to the pages of your book.



    Many of us will experience some kind of adversity in our lives and many of us will live through tough challenges. Sharing your story can be rewarding for you and help others by way of example. Getting started is simple, fun, and it costs you nothing to start creating your book.









    Jan 2, 2016


    A Kick in Your Creative Pants

    Creative people have many things in common. Most, if not all, at some point, deal with fear of failure in whatever their artistic, creative passion may be. It is so easy to question natural-born talent and creativity because it is something invisible within you, and cannot be proven by a certificate or diploma hanging on your wall.



    As a creative person, you have this talent, but where are your credentials? If your creativity is that elusive, how do you know it will be there for you when you need it? Perhaps you worry that whatever makes those creative juices flow within you will suddenly dry up. Those doubts can cause you to hesitate, immobilizing you from taking the next creative step.



    "What if I fail?" seems to be something that filters through every creative person's mind. Think about it. In no other type of career do people experience this type of self-doubt supported by the outside world questioning their talent. Creativity is viewed by the general public as illusive and perhaps fleeting.





    You must seek your creativity. Let go of fear and just do it.



    How do we connect to our sometimes elusive creativity and harness it-without fear? According to a TED talk on creativity by Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love, suggests that if you are meant to create, don't let anything stop you.



  • Just do it. "Write, dance, or paint, whatever you are meant to be doing, just show up and do your job," Gilbert says. You must move forward, do what you are meant to do, and trust that the creativity talent will join you in your work.


  • Let go of your fear of judgment. Try addressing your fear in a step-by-step process. Approach your creative process in small manageable chunks, not thinking about the entire project as a whole. Make it fun. Turn fear into familiarity through a series of small successes. Learn to think of yourself and your talent with ongoing confidence. Realize that you are naturally creative and let those ideas fly.


  • Release your inner child. As a child, letting our creative passion and talents flow came naturally. There was no worry about the end result. We were playing with some creative force that resided within us, and it felt wonderful. Tap into your inner child and focus only on the feeling with on you that makes you want to be creative. Let yourself play with your talent.


  • Borrow some inspiration. All creative people get stuck at times. Getting inspired by the work of others can offer you the kick in your creative pants that you need. Whatever your craft, seek examples from those you admire. If you write, read the work of an author you love. If you draw, go to a gallery and soak up the talent. Most creative people take what they see in others work and change it to become their own. The talent of other people can be the seed of your creative growth.




  • Let your inner child be your creative guide.



    Over the centuries, creativity has been thought to be fueled by finding a conducive environment in which to create, tapping into your personality traits, serendipity, and even spiritual muses. Finding a way to ignite your creativity really seems to be a matter of allowing yourself to try, without fear of failure, to play and let your ideas flow like they did as a child, and to get outside inspiration and transform what you see by making it your own creation.



    Once you have finished your creative work, whether it is a novel, a memoir, a book of photographs, or a collection of illustrations, don't worry about how you will preserve it. There are sites online that allow you to create and publish your own professionally printed books. A perfect example is Bookemon.com, which makes it incredibly easy and affordable to produce a bookstore-quality book and preserve your creations for others to enjoy.



    If you are creative and have dreamed of preserving your work, there are many possibilities and types of books you can make online. Getting started is simple, fun, and it costs nothing to get started.







    Dec 30, 2015


    How Grandparents Can Leave a Legacy Book

    How does one preserve their family's legacy? The best way is to put it in writing, to be remembered and shared with not only your grandchildren, but the generations that follow. If you have always dreamed of writing and publishing a novel, you should realize that your family stories, your history, and all those precious moments may be the best subjects for you to share.





    As a grandparent, your stories hold the key to sharing your family legacy.



    If you are a grandparent you may feel your time to become a "published" writer has passed. But your books don't need to be for the general public. Grandparents can leave a legacy to their grandchildren and their children by writing a book - or several short books - that share insights from their own experiences. How? There are websites, like Bookemon, that provide an easy way to publish your stories, so that your legacy can live on.



    According to grandparents.com, sharing family history by telling your own story gives children a positive connection to the older generations that came before them. Much can be learned about family history through your stories, but there is even more that you as a grandparent have to offer. Along with self-confidence and family pride, family stories teach the faith, ethics, and values of a family.



    Need ideas to get started?



    Making your books on Bookemon is simple. But getting started with your writing may be the hardest part. What should you say? Where do you begin? The following are just a few ideas to serve as your muse and inspire your writing:



  • Make a photobook covering the history of your family through several generations. Document who is in each photo and the year the photo was taken, or at least the general age of the family member at the time.


  • Tell the story of what life was like when you were a child. Set the stage by describing the town and the home in which you lived. Tell your grandchildren about your parents and grandparents and what you liked to do as child, who was you best friend and why, what school was like for you, and what your favorite toys and hobbies were.


  • Create a family cookbook that includes the best family recipes handed down through the generations (or maybe just your own special creations). Don't forget to tell the stories that go with them.


  • Tell your story as a young adult or as a young parent, so that your grandchild can read the story of their parent's childhood. Include special moments you cherish, struggles you overcame, and your happiest memories of those times.


  • Share the story of how you met your spouse or tell about your wedding day. Include photos from when you were dating, shopping for a gown, and from your wedding.




  • It is never too late to get your stories published, and designing books is easy to do.



    Publish Your Book



    Once you have written your book and have organized all your old photos, it is time to create and publish the book. This is the fun part!



    Go online to Bookemon, and register for a free account. This digital design and publishing site allows you to pick a template to lay out your book, then upload any written content directly from PDF or Word files. It is simple, quick, and fun.



    Adjust and customize the pages by choosing a special font from many available options. Upload and edit photos or drawings directly to the pages that you choose and add some pizzazz from a selection of clip art. The end result can be anything you can imagine. This site offers endless possibilities to create virtually any type of book. There is no obligation to buy anything.



    Books that you create not only tell a story, share recipes or photos, but they also preserve your family legacy. There are so many possibilities and types of books you can make online and getting started is simple, fun and it costs you nothing to try it out.







    Dec 29, 2015


    Why the Hardest Steps to Publishing a Book Are Not What You Think

    If you have always dreamed of becoming a published author, writing a novel, a series of cookbooks, or children's books, it may seem like a daunting task. But, the hardest steps to publishing a book are not what you think.



    Most people think that getting their book published is the hardest part of their journey to become an author. However, with the availability of online digital design and publishing, much has changed for inspiring writers. Today, the cost, contacts, and effort involved in getting your work into print are no longer the big obstacles they once were.





    To be a successful writer you must first know what it is that you want to say.



    What are your biggest challenges going to be?



  • Having something to say: What is your story? Many people have amazing stories to tell, but finding the time and focus to craft the right words, ones that are full of imagery and take the reader on a journey, is work.



    That is correct, fact number one is that writing is work.



    Many would-be authors don't always realize this when they imagine themselves as a successful writer. To be successful and write a really good book, you have to put the time into crafting your words and finding just the right way to phrase things.


  • Believing you can do it: Writing can be a lonely business. It is easy to let the voice in your head tell you that you "can't" write this book. You have to bolster your self-confidence as you commit to writing your story. You must believe in yourself throughout the process. Self-doubt is the enemy that will prevent you from completing your book.


  • Getting started: You know what your book is about (what you have to say) and you believe you can do this. Now you must begin writing.



    It is hard to start any big project, especially with a big blank page in front of you. The first words are usually the hardest. The only way to beat this obstacle is to sit down and begin writing. Good advice is to start small. Maybe write 300-400 words each day. Allot time for it, either first thing in the morning or whenever your schedule allows, but stick to this commitment.


  • Finishing it: Your story needs an ending, so stay with it until the end. Once your book is written, do not tuck it away and forget about the next step. Get it published!




  • Believe in your dream, and in yourself, as you work toward publishing your book.



    How to Publish Your Book



    For many writers, the right connection is not an agent or a publishing house, it is through online publishing sites like Bookemon. This digital book publishing site takes you easily through the entire process of designing, creating, and publishing your books. It even allows you to create your own personal bookstore.



    The free, digital software offers easy to use templates, specialized fonts, and the ability to upload Word documents, PDFs, photos, or illustrations. The end results are beautiful, book-store-ready publications.



    What is a Personal Bookstore?

    Your personal bookstore lets you list all the published books that you have created, including both public books and private books. The list appears on the Bookemon site through your own personal URL link.



    The Benefits:

    1. You will be issued one designated unique URL which lists all of your books. This makes it super-simple for your family and friends to find your books.



    2) Your private books can only be accessed by people with a passcode, assigned and shared only by you. If you have content, like a memoir - anything that you want only certain people to see, you can create a passcode and prevent selected books from being seen publicly.



    Once you have finished your book on Bookemon, you can share it online through social media or email, or you can choose to order copies of it to be printed. You can also open your own personal bookstore for friends or family members to see and buy whichever books you allow them access to. Being a writer is hard work, but publishing your book has never been easier. Start creating your book.





    Dec 23, 2015


    5 Books Perfect for Reading on Christmas Eve

    There is nothing better than cuddling up with your child on Christmas Eve and reading a few magical holiday stories together. It can become part of the Christmas memories you make with each other and even an anticipated tradition everyone will look forward to each year.



    As a parent, and anyone who loves books, you probably realize that the very best children's stories are the ones that help shape who they become, inspire their goals, and take a special place in a child's fondest memories. You probably have a few books in mind (maybe some from your own childhood), but here is a list of some of the best to read together on Christmas Eve.





    Reading a few stories on Christmas Eve is part of the holiday magic for children.



    The Night Before Christmas: This one is a classic and seems almost required reading if you are going to open a book on Christmas Eve. Just about everyone enjoys the magical, evocative words of Clement C. Moore's traditional holiday poem about Santa's arrival at one particular house and the fun of catching a glimpse of him.



    The Berenstain Bears and the Joy of Giving: Take the focus off of the presents as Brother and Sister Bear learn the true meaning of Christmas. It is a holiday themed book that teaches an important lesson about giving.



    The Polar Express: A magical story of children boarding a late-night train to visit Santa at the North Pole. The journey is about believing and the magic of the season. It is the perfect bedtime story to drift off to sleep to on Christmas Eve.



    Snowmen at Christmas: Did you know snowmen lead a secret life? Their story is revealed in this gorgeously illustrated book, where snow families gather in the town square, sing carols and get their own visit from "the snowman Kris Kringle" before they return to their positions in the front yard for Christmas morning. There are hidden objects within the illustrations for your child to find throughout the story, for extra fun as you read.



    Your Own Christmas Story: That's right, a book written and created by you is a great way to share Christmas magic with your child. What better gift to give during the holidays than a book you made yourself?



    Make a Christmas Book Online



    You probably want the results of your own Christmas book to look professional and still be quick and easy for you to make. There are a few options out there, but publishing your book through a site like Bookemon is so simple and affordable it could become your new holiday tradition.





    Make your own Christmas story to read each year, and you create a treasured tradition.



    Think about it. What if each year you made a Christmas book to read together Christmas Eve, and you kept the plot and story secret until the big night. What a magical surprise for your kids to look forward to each December 24th.



    How do You Begin?



    First, go online and create a free account, choose from a selection of templates and then upload your story from PDF or Word Files. Bookemon has so many easy to use tools you can really make it your own beautiful creation. Customize the pages with the easy to use tools and clip art, or upload and edit photos or illustrations to your book. Once you are done, you can decide to order copies, but there is no obligation to buy.



    It is so fun and easy to create a custom children's book, and get a professional looking result that you and your child will treasure for many Christmas Eve's to come.



    The best part of making your own holiday book to read with your child on Christmas Eve is that you can personalize it to suit your child perfectly. From picture books, to stories, to your own comic book, the ideas are endless. Anyone can easily create a professional looking book that will be treasured forever. Try it out today for free.







    Dec 22, 2015


    How to Make Your Own Book Online

    Have you ever dreamed of writing a book and getting it published? Can you picture what it might look like but have no idea how to make it happen? Many creative people have that exact dream, but what stops them is not knowing how to accomplish it.



    Whether you write poetry, pen children's stories or mystery novels, or have enough recipes to fill your own cookbook, there are endless possibilities that you can create. Think it would be difficult? Think again. It is easy and affordable to make your own book online.





    Making your own book online has never been easier.



    What once was difficult is now so simple that anyone can do it. There are sites online that allow you to create and make your own, real, professionally printed books, that you design and publish yourself. A perfect example is Bookemon.com, which makes it incredibly easy and affordable to produce a book that looks like it came from a bookstore.



    The best part is you can try making a book for free, see the results, and then decide if you wish to order copies. The possibilities are only limited by your imagination.



    Getting Started



    Begin with the book you have in mind to create. You should write the content (whether it is a story, comic book, photobook, cookbook, whatever you imagine) in a Word document or a PDF. Now it is time to put it together!



    Go online to Bookemon, and register for a free account. This digital bookmaking site allows you to pick a template to lay out your book, then upload any written content directly from PDF or Word files. Next, adjust and customize the pages by choosing a special font from the menu of options.



    Finally, you can upload and edit photos or drawings directly to the pages that you choose, and add some pizazz from a selection of clip art. The end result will impress you and anyone you choose to give your book to. There are endless possibilities to create virtually any type of book.





    Making your own a book can be something you share with your child.



    What Books Will You Make?



    What will you create with this online tool that produces professionally published books?



  • Make a photobook that tells a story. There are important memories in everyone's life that deserve to be preserved. Add captions that tell the story behind the photos.


  • Make a special storybook for your child. Maybe you want to make it a custom book and have your child be a character in it.


  • Make your own cookbook. If your recipes are always in demand with friends and family, maybe it is time to share them in a professionally designed cookbook. Decide which recipes to include, and think about which recipes rank as your personal favorites.


  • Write a memoir or novel. If you have always dreamed of being a writer and believe you have an amazing story within you to share, start typing.


  • Books that you make not only preserve your story, ideas, recipes, or photos, but they make excellent gifts for those hard-to-buy-for friends and family. There are so many possibilities and types of books you can make online and getting started is simple, fun and it costs you nothing to try it out.







    Dec 15, 2015


    Holiday Gift Idea: Make Your Own Book for Kids

    If you are looking for a unique holiday gift idea to give your children, grandchildren, niece or nephew, the perfect solution might be giving them a great book; one you have created yourself. By making your own book to give, you can tailor it to be specific to that child's interests, personalized it by making them the main character, or have it teach an important life lesson you want them to learn.

    For example, say your son is being picked on at school. What if you create a book that makes him the main character and demonstrates different ways to handle being bullied? Books can teach children in ways that simple conversations may not. It is one thing to get advice, and it is another to read a story that gives clear examples of solutions to try and a happy ending as a result.


    Books make great gifts, but a custom book made by you will make their (holi)day.

    Childhood books also inspire us to feel and we remember them long after we are grown. According to an article in The Huffington Post, the very best children's books can shape aspirations, goals and teach that inner sense of right and wrong in a child. What better gift to give during the holidays than a book you made yourself?

    How to Make a Book They Will Love

    Time and budgets are tight for everyone these days, so you need a way to make a professional looking book that is quick and easy to complete. There are a few options out there, but publishing your book through a site like Bookemon fits those needs perfectly because it is quick, affordable, and simple to do.

    First, go online and create a free account, choose a template and then upload your story from PDF or Word Files, and finish by customizing the pages with the easy to use tools and clip art. It is that simple. You can even upload and edit photos or illustrations to your book. Once you are done, you can decide to order copies, but there is no obligation to buy.

    So, now that you know how to create and customize a professional looking book for that special child on your holiday gift list, you need to decide what type of book to make.

    Ideas for Your Custom Children's Book:

  • Life Lessons and Adventures: Books can be a great way to teach kids important lessons. It can be about integrity and matters of the heart, like helping those in need, or someone who is smaller or less powerful. It can be about forming good habits, like getting to bed on time, or sharing toys with siblings. It could also be the story of your last vacation, complete with family photos. You can craft your story to show children positive behaviors and how they impact those around them, or highlight the best parts of a family adventure. The possibilities are endless.

  • Winter Vacation Bucket List: The school year has several vacation breaks from class, so creating a book of ideas of things to do, which they can check off their "vacation bucket list", is a great way to inspire fun that goes beyond the holidays. Include things that will interest your child and inspire play, like making a fort with blankets and camping out in the living room, baking cookies to deliver to a neighbor, or making their own comic book.

  • All about Me Books: Make a book about your pregnancy or the day they were born, and add photos that show how they were welcomed into the world. Or get really creative, draw and create a comic book about your child- with them as the hero, and write an adventure based on a real event that occurred.


  • The best type of book to make a child is one that is customized by you.

    The best part of making your own book for kids is that you can customize it to suit the child perfectly, and that makes for the ideal gift. You can create a professional looking book that not only entertains, but will be treasured forever. Getting started today is quick, easy and free.








    Dec 14, 2015


    Why Book-less Shelves are a Bummer for Kids

    We live in a digital age and have the world at the touch of our screens, but according to studies, the loss of print books and periodicals on shelves in our home can have significant repercussions on our children's intellectual development. Fact is we just don't have a lot of books in our homes any longer, and this digital freedom comes at a cost.

    According to an article in the NY Times, digital media has trained us to be high-bandwidth consumers- not meditative thinkers, or readers who embrace diving into a lengthy article or novel.


    Study shows the more books in the home the greater the intellect of the child living there.

    Supporting the case for a household full of print books is a 2014 study published in the sociology journal Social Forces. In it, researchers documented the size of children's home book collections- on the reading level of 15-year-old students across 42 nations, and quantified the impact and connection that it had with wealth, their parents' education and occupations. Their country's Gross National Product was also factored into the equation, to paint a picture of the economic status of the country each child was from.

    Study Shows Books Are Vital to Intellectual Development

    The study found that after G.N.P., the quantity of books in a child's home was the most important predictor of their reading performance. In fact, in the U.S., the number of books on the shelf had a greater impact on student performance than their families economic status. Books were more valuable than money.

    The largest impact seems to come from home "libraries" that had at least 100 books, which seemed to result in approximately 1.5 extra years of reading skill at that child's grade-level.

    Educators know this to be true and see proof of it in their classroom. Many schools have looked at similar research and implemented a nightly reading assignment for all students of at least 20 minutes per night, five days per week, for a total of 100 minutes for grades 1-5.

    What This Means to Children

    The results of these studies speak volumes: Owning books and having easy access to shelves filled with reading material is the best thing one can do for a child's education and future. This also indicates the importance of getting children off to the right start, by reading to them, and setting a good example by them seeing their parents reading. Children usually mimic parental reading habits.

    Few things contribute more to a student's education than access to all the best learning tools, like textbooks and great works of fiction and non-fiction. Also the ability to write and communicate well is a vital skill for future academic (and life in general) ease and success.


    Surround your children with books, read to them, and create stories together.

    What Can You Do?

    The answer is simple. Surround your child with books. Fill your shelves with at least 100 books from different genres, and read together, write together, and heck, you can even publish books together.

    According to readwritethink.org, children learn to organize their thoughts, write and communicate better once they start writing their own stories, so encourage this through fun writing projects. Writing also helps kids to be better at reading, and to understand and connect with other people's writing with greater ease. It sparks that imaginative spot in the brain where the love of books will reside.

    There are online sites like Bookemon, one of the first to cater to teachers and parents by allowing you to create and publish your own books. It is simple and easy to use so even your children can do it with impressive, professional results.

    The free software allows for endless possibilities to publish virtually any type of book. So you or your child can write and publish works of fiction, non-fiction, a memoir or even a comic book, and your kids will gain knowledge about the process of telling a good story. The variety of books you can make is limited only by the imagination.

    Once you or your child has made a book, you can share it through email or social media, or you can choose to order copies of it to be printed, and add a copy to your home book shelf. Getting started is quick and easy and will open up a world of learning and love of books.





    Dec 8, 2015


    Create a Memory Book and Give Grandma Her Greatest Gift Ever

    When it comes to finding the perfect gift for grandma or grandpa, it can be hard to know exactly what to get them that will express just how much you care. You want your gift to be special, and one thing is certain; they love you and your children and getting the latest photos of your family. This is why creating a memory book may be the best gift you could give.





    The perfect gift for grandma is often one you create yourself.



    But how do you create the perfect memory book? According to MarthaStewart.com, one way to organize precious photos is to scrapbook them. But if you have doubts about the craft skills required to hand-create and piece together an amazing memory book, there is a simple and affordable way to make it, and no is glue required.



    Bookemon, one of the first-of-its-kind sites that allows anyone to create and print a professional looking photo or memory book, is here to help. The software makes this project easy and fun to do, with ready to use templates, clip art, and borders so you can produce a beautifully designed memory book that Grandma will treasure.



    How to Start



    You start by creating a free account, upload any written content (describing the event or the moment captured in the picture) from PDF or Word Files. You can then customizing the pages with a special font and then upload and edit photos or drawings to the page.



    You can add as much content as you like; make a memory book about their life or yours. Share pictures of them throughout the years, or tell the story about the last family vacation, or highlight the past year of your children's lives with pictures, drawings they created, and poems or stories they wrote.





    Making a memory book for someone is a great project to do with your children.



    Bookemon steps to success:



  • First, go online and create a free account. Registering is quick, easy, and free, so you can try it out before you buy anything.


  • Second, choose a blank template, a pre-designed layout, or upload a document you've already created in a Word or PDF file.


  • Third, begin to customize your book with color and design features. The free software makes it simple and offers specialized design tools and libraries of clipart, backgrounds and frames, so you can really make the book appealing to the eye and uniquely your own.


  • Finish by adding art to your book by uploading photos or drawings.


  • Get Creative!



    This site offers you endless possibilities to publish virtually any type of book you want to create. Once you have completed your memory book, you may choose to order copies at affordable prices. The result is a professionally-published and beautifully preserved keepsake that makes the perfect gift for grandma. Get started today!









    Dec 7, 2015


    How edCenter Can Change the Way Your Students View Books

    As an educator, you know that few things contribute more to a student's education than access to all the best learning tools, like textbooks and great works of fiction and non-fiction. You also know that the ability to write and communicate well is a vital skill for future success.



    According to readwritethink.org, children learn to better organize their thoughts, write and even communicate better by crafting their own stories. Writing also helps kids to be better at reading, and to understand and connect with other people's writing with greater ease.





    Students that organize and write their own books often spell and read better.



    You may have considered conducting a class project that is focused on students creating their own book. Writing, creativity with photographs or illustrations, and the entire process of organizing and making a book can be an educational experience that transforms your students and helps them grow. It also can be a huge source of pride to see and share their finished book project.



    Can Students Easily Make Their Own Books?



    Your next question is probably, "How do I begin?" There are online sites like Bookemon.com, one of the first to cater to teachers with a special edCenter, which allows your class to create and publish their own books with impressive, professional results.



    EdCenter gives you, the educator, access and the ability to guide your students' book projects, but the digital software is so complete (templates, clipart, and easy to use design tools) that this project can really be managed well by students with very successful results.



    What Does edCenter Do?



    Bookemon created edCenter to allow educators to set up a secure, private and friendly environment for their students and fellow staff members to create and share books. Essentially, an edCenter can be created for your individual class, as a special group project, or for a specific grade level of students at your school. It may also be used by those in a school-related non-profit organization.



    The benefits of edCenters are:



  • Group Privacy: At your discretion, books and information can only be accessed by members.


  • Student Accounts: Teachers can add student accounts for added privacy and ease of oversight on students' works.


  • Free for educators: There is no cost to create your own edCenter. There is no obligation to purchase.


  • Educator Discount on Purchases: All members of your edCenter will receive a 10% discount off of purchased books.


  • Mobile Access: Using bookPress or Bookemon Mobile apps, you can access your edCenter via iPhone, iPad or Android devices.


  • Membership Control: Management tools for founder/administrators to control who can join your group.


  • Ability for Group Collaboration: Members within the group can create book collaboratively.




  • Writing and publishing a book can be a collaborative class project.



    Access to bCloud for edCenter



    Want a secure, online storage space for edCenter members to save their favorite photos, documents, page designs and artworks? Accesses to bCloud provides that secure space to contribute photos, creative writings and designs, which can be sent from an iPhone, iPad, Mac, or a PC. This allows complete collaboration on yearbooks or other group projects, allowing students and staff to create a collective keepsake together.



    It is Fast and Easy



    There are a few options out there, but look for a format that is easy to use and allows students to customize the pages, the overall design, all the small details right down to the font used in their books. This gives students the ability to really make the project their own.



    The free software allows for endless possibilities to publish virtually any type of book. Students can publish works of fiction, non-fiction, a memoir, or even a comic book. Class photos can be preserved into a keepsake book that can be purchased, and teachers can allow students to learn about the process of writing and publishing. The possibilities and variety of books are limited only by the imagination.



    Discount on Purchases When You Join



    Educator members at Bookemon are eligible to enjoy a personal discount on their own books. The current discount is 10 % and can be used to purchase books you personally authored as well as books created within the edCenter that your students have created.



    Who is Eligible for Educator edCenter?



    Bookemon welcomes educators including principals, teachers, media specialists, librarians, and others to join our Educator Program and enjoy its many benefits; there is no cost to join this program for qualifying educators.



    All you need is a valid email address and to be affiliated with a school, college, educational institution or non-profit organization that has been verified by Bookemon and recorded into Bookemon's Educator program database.



    How to Get Started



    To Join Educator Program, go to our Educator's Program Page. There your will identify your position at your school in the following categories: teacher, administrator, staff member, or support group.



    Next, select your K-12 school, non-profit organization or college from our Educator's Program database, and then you are allowed to create your edCenter.



    Student Account Management



    Student accounts are designed to help educators enroll their students into the edCenter without using email invitations. Additional safeguards are in place for these accounts, like activities online are confined within the edCenter, in a secluded online environment. All student accounts are linked to the educator that creates the edCenter. So, any communication from Bookemon to the student members would be sent to the email address of the founder.



    Once your students have made a book, you can share it through email or your class website, or the student (or their parents) can choose to order copies of it to be printed. This is where the entire class gets to experience the pride found in seeing their work published! Try it out today, and open up a world of learning possibilities for your students.









    Dec 1, 2015


    4 Themes Perfect for Your Custom Book This Christmas

    Christmas is a time where you and your family make precious memories. But it also a great time to create traditions and be reminded of what is truly magical about the season; like those wonderful hours of family togetherness, the spirit of giving to others, and gratitude for what we have. There is no better way to capture the memories, or preserve your favorite story, than to create your own custom book.


    Make a recipe book that includes all the favorite Christmas treats from your kitchen.

    You could piece together your own book, or use a kit from the craft store, but if you really want to create a beautiful Christmas keepsake that can be treasured year-after-year, than publishing your book through a site like Bookemon is a quick, affordable solution to getting professional results.

    How to Become a Book-making Elf

    It will cost you nothing to get started on your book and it is very simple to do. First you create a free account, then upload the content of your book from PDF or Word Files. Next you can customize the pages and layout with the easy to use tools and templates. You can even upload and edit photos or illustrations to your book and add special borders and clip art.

    Once you have created a professional high-quality book, you can share it through email or social media or you can choose to purchase and order printed copies. The results are a beautiful book that looks like it came from your favorite bookstore and is even a great idea for gift giving.

    Book Ideas to Inspire

    Whether you make your own custom Christmas story, a photobook, recipe book, or a lesson-teaching children's book, your book can inspire and be treasured for many years to come. There are endless possibilities of what you can make with Bookemon this holiday season.

    4 Themes Perfect for Your Custom Book

  • Remembering What Matters Most: Christmas is so much more than the presents under your tree. Make a photobook that tells your family's story; a book about love, togetherness and the journey you have taken as a family through the years. Add special family photos and highlight the most important memories together. Imagine the photobook keepsake you will create, that can be handed down to future generations.

  • Gratitude: Sometimes during the season of gift-lists, we all need a reminder that we already have so much to be grateful for. Create a custom children's book with this theme of expressing gratitude and your book may teach an important life lesson. Perhaps even make your child the main character in the story so it will really make a lasting impression. According to an article in The Huffington Post, the very best children's books can shape aspirations and that inner sense of right and wrong in a child. Remember that pictures or even your own illustrations can be included.

  • Holiday Foods for the Family: If you have a ton of holiday recipes and everyone in your family each has their favorite, (which they beg you make) maybe it is time to share your recipes in a professionally designed cookbook. Pick a theme, like holiday cookies, or casseroles perfect for Christmas Eve dinner, and then start organizing those recipes into a Word document or PDF file. Don't forget to take a few pictures of your creations, or even close-ups of some special key ingredients.

  • Spirit of Giving: An important theme for Christmas is giving to others. You could create a how-to book on the ways one can give back to their community, help family members, friends, or an elderly neighbor who might be alone this Christmas. Create a book that will inspire others to take action by giving them solid ideas of ways they can give to others. It does not have to cost anything to make a difference to someone and anyone can do it, even young children. Ideas could include: making cookies and delivering them to a sick friend, donating unwanted toys, clothing, or food to a local shelter, or helping an elderly neighbor by clearing her steps of snow. Giving does not have to cost money to be meaningful.


  • Make a custom book for Christmas and start a tradition of reading it together.

    Whatever your theme, digital book-making with Bookemon, will give you professional looking results, quickly, easily, and will make the perfect holiday keepsake for your family to treasure. Start creating your book today for free!






    Nov 30, 2015


    5 Ideas to Consider When Making a Book Online

    Many people have a wealth of creativity they could share if only given the right platform. From poetry, to a children's story, to cookbooks, or even an epic mystery novel, for those who love books and the creative process, there are endless possibilities. But getting a book published is difficult, right? It is actually much simpler that you think.

    There are websites online that allow you to create and make your own books, real, professionally printed books, that you design and publish yourself. Digital publishing is simple and with sites like Bookemon.com, it is incredibly easy for anyone to produce a book that looks like it came from a bookstore. You can try it for free and the possibilities are only limited by your imagination.


    Dream of publishing a book? It can be done easily online with professional results.

    Where do you begin? First you must have a book in mind that you would like to create and print. If you don't already have your first book planned or written, you may need a few ideas to spark your creativity.

    5 Ideas to Consider When Making Books Online

  • Make a photobook that tells a story: There are important memories in everyone's life that deserve to be preserved. Maybe it is the story of how your husband proposed, or your wedding, your pregnancy or even reflecting back to your favorite Christmases throughout your life. These are all things you can probably document with many photos and tell the beautiful story that goes along with it. Imagine the photobook keepsake you will create, that can be handed down to future generations.

  • Make a children's book: Many parents have thought about making a special storybook for their child. Maybe you want to make it a custom book and have your child be a character in it. Perhaps you want your book to teach an important life lesson, like showing gratitude, being kind, helping a stranger or telling the truth. Maybe make it about a precious memory, like the story of their birth. Remember that pictures or even your own illustrations can be included.

  • Make your own cookbook: If your recipes are always in demand with friends and family, maybe it is time to share them in a professionally designed cookbook. Pick a theme, like holiday cookies, or casseroles, or family dinners, and then start organizing those recipes into a Word document or PDF file. Don't forget to take a few pictures of your creations, you cooking in the kitchen, or even close-ups of some special key ingredients.

  • Write a memoir or novel: If you have always dreamed of being a writer and believe you have an amazing story within you to share, start typing. There is no better way to preserve your work, share it with others and even give it as a gift.

  • Make a how-to book: Whether you are really good at knitting, or home repairs, or decorating, creating your own how-to book is a great way to share what you know with others. Maybe you could share mom tips for making your own baby food, or how to wrap presents like a pro. Share your talents with friends


  • A custom storybook for your child is just one kind of book you can make online.

    Getting Started

    Digital book-making with Bookemon, gives you professional looking results, quickly and easily. First you start by creating a free account, upload any written content from PDF or Word Files, then customize the pages with a special font. Next you can upload and edit photos or drawings to the pages. This site also offers endless possibilities to create virtually any type of book.

    There are so many possibilities and types of books you can make online and getting started is simple, fun, and it costs nothing to start creating your book .





    Nov 29, 2015


    Thought Leader Series: What Comes First Chickens or Eggs? Organizing Your Cookbook



    Diane Balch blogs about simplify and organizing your cooking and home at SimpleLivingEating.com.



    Perfect Roast Chicken, Eggs in a Cloud, Vegetarian Chili ... . all of the recipes you created or collected are scattered around your kitchen table. How on Earth can you organize them into one cookbook?

    It doesn't matter if your intention is to create a recipe book for your own personal use, or if you are putting together a family cookbook to print or share on line with siblings...you may even want to create a cookbook for public sale. Whomever the desired audience is, your recipe book needs to be well organized, so it can be both easy to use and enjoyable. Here are some common ways to organize your cookbook.


    By Meals:




    There are several ways cookbooks are traditionally structured; one of the most common is by meals.

    • Separate your printed recipes or computer files into folders titled with each meal of the day: breakfast, lunch, snacks, dinner, dessert.

    • Within each folder, alphabetize the recipes to make it a little easier for a person to locate a recipe within each chapter. For instance, in your breakfast chapter list your recipes in this order: Apple Turnovers, Banana Bread, Coffee Cake ... . through the alphabet.

    This organization system is very convenient for people who are trying to decide what to cook for a specific meal. Putting a cookbook together in this fashion works well if you have a fairly equal number of recipes for each type of meal of the day.


    By Ingredient:



    If you have a lot of recipes for specific ingredients instead of for many meals you may want to organize your cookbook alphabetically by the main ingredient of your dishes.
    • If your cookbook is about desserts you can begin with Apple recipes, followed by Banana recipes, Chocolate, ... etc.

    • A book primarily about meat recipes can be organized starting with Beef, then, Chicken, Lamb, Pork, ... and so on.

    • This style of ordering recipes works really well for vegetarian cookbooks: each chapter can be dedicated to a different vegetable: Asparagus, Broccoli, Cabbage, etc.

    Just remember this layout works best if you have recipes made primarily with the same ingredient.



    By Season:

    If your collection of recipes is broad, try organizing your recipes by season. Group recipes into collections of Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer meals.
    • Within each season's section you can subdivide your recipes by meals: Fall Breakfasts, Fall Lunches, etc. or you can just alphabetize them like this sample Fall section: Apple Fritters, Brussels Sprout Casserole, Chesnut Pie etc.

    Arranging a cookbook by season is currently a very popular way to put together a cookbook. Many chefs are selling seasonal cooking guides which encourage people to buy local and in-season ingredients for both environmental and flavor enhancement reasons.

    However you decide to layout your cookbook: by meals, ingredients, or seasons, Bookemon has the software to help you put your cookbook together into a creative and profession publication.





    Nov 24, 2015


    3 Unique Gifts for the Reader On Your List

    The ultimate book lover's dilemma might be, "so many books, so little time." If there is an avid book reader on your gift list this year, it can be hard to know exactly what book to get them. Perhaps you have given them gift cards to their favorite bookstore for the last several years, and you want your gift to be more personal and memorable. But what gift can you buy or create that would really appeal to an avid reader?


    For the reader on your gift list, a book is the perfect gift, but make it personal.

    Sometimes, the best way to give a memorable gift is to create it yourself. Even for those of us who are not very crafty, there are a few options that will really stand out as a special gift and one that shows how much you really know and care about the gift recipient.

    3 Unique Gifts Ideas for the Reader on Your Gift List:

    1) Make a very special bookmark: Nothing says, "I totally know what you love" more than giving an avid reader a beautiful bookmark you made yourself. This is something that they will treasure for many years and it will be an intricate part of their favorite ritual; curling up with a good book and marking the page where the left off carefully when they are forced to put that book down. Parting is such sweet sorrow, when they can mark their place with a bookmark made by you.

    2) Create a scrapbook about their life: If the avid reader on your list is someone you have known for a long time, you probably have pictures of them throughout the years and a few funny stories to share. You can compile a few photos and write brief stories about those memorable moments. Maybe you went on adventures together or have been friends since you shared a college dorm, for example, there are stories from the past that you can retell and create a beautiful memory scrapbook. If you are crafty, you can do this with a scrapbook kit you can buy from the local craft store. But, if glue guns make you nervous, you might want to look online at sites like Bookemon.com for fast, easy, digital publishing.

    3) Publish your own book as a gift: There are a few options available for creating your own book online, but you want to choose a format that is easy to use, allows you to customize the pages, the overall design, all the small details- right down to the font, and offers templates that guide you through the process of creating your book. You can use this to make a beautiful, professional-quality photo book, memoir, cookbook, basically any type of book you can imagine.

    4) Create another book from the current one: Bookemon offers a featured called "Make New Edition" that allows you to create another book from the current one. You can have the same content, but personalize the first dedication page to a different reader's name to give the final book a lovely personal touch.


    Making your own book is quick and easy, and makes a memorable gift.

    How Bookemon works:

  • Begin by creating a free account online. Registering is quick, easy, and free, so you can try it out before you buy anything.

  • Next, you can choose a blank template, a pre-designed layout, or upload a document you've already created in a Word or PDF file.

  • Then customize the book with color and design features. The software makes it simple and offers specialized design tools and libraries of clipart, backgrounds and frames, so you can really make the book appealing to the eye and be uniquely your own creation.

  • Finalize the art in the book by uploading photos or drawings to illustrate.

  • Free digital software offers you endless possibilities to publish virtually any type of book. You can write your own children's book, a book of shared memories, or even your own mystery novel.

    Once you are done creating, you can choose to order copies of your book at affordable prices. Try it out! The result is a professionally-published and beautifully preserved keepsake book that makes the ideal gift for the book lover on your gift list.





    Nov 23, 2015


    Create Your Own Holiday Cookbook

    Is your cooking usually the star of holiday parties? Do friends and family come to dinner and enjoy your menu so much that they ask for your recipes? Maybe you dream of writing your own holiday cookbook, but think that it would be difficult to create and publish it. But, there actually is an easy way to make your own cookbook online. Anybody can do it!

    Fact is, with the use of free digital software, creating your own cookbook can be simple, affordable, and fun to do, plus it can be the perfect holiday gift for all your culinary fans.


    Got great recipes? Creating your own holiday cookbook is easy and affordable.

    While there are a few cookbook kits you can purchase that provide the materials you need to construct a cookbook yourself, the result tends to look more like a scrapbook. If you are seeking to create a beautifully published keepsake, professionally bound and looking like you found it on a bookstore shelf, there are sites like Bookemon, which allow you to make a cookbook (or any other type of book you choose) quickly and easily online.

    Maybe you love cooking from scratch, but when it comes to creating books, you need a little pre-done help, like ready to use clip art and templates, for example. Bookemon, one of the first sites to bring digital publishing into the hands of the consumer, guides you along the way, giving you everything needed to make a holiday-themed cookbook that looks like a team of designers created it.

    What Holiday Recipes Should You Choose?

    Only you can decide which recipes to include, but a good tip is to think about which recipes rank as your personal favorites. You should also consider the special recipes that people are always asking you for. Your cookbook could also be a compilation of just your best, most festive holiday cookie recipes, or it could be a general collection of great appetizers or other menu items for holiday parties or family dinners.

    Once you have an idea of the content you are putting in your book, compile your recipes into Word Files or a PDF. Keep it all organized by following the same format and keep it consistent for each recipe.

    For example:

    Mom's Meatloaf Pie is a delicious favorite. It takes a moist, flavorful meatloaf, and nestles it in a puff pastry pie crust, topped off with beef gravy.

  • List of ingredients (with measurements)

  • Preheat instructions

  • Step-by-step of how to make it

  • Time it takes to prepare, general cooking time, how many it serves

  • Pictures to Make Mouths Water

    A cookbook is not complete without a few photos to fuel everyone's appetite. You can include photos of some of the most important ingredients required, or photos of you mixing up ingredients, pictures of the finished dish, or your family enjoying your meal around the dining room table.

    Also, think about any photo you have that might really personalize the recipe or the story behind it. If it is your grandmother's recipe, perhaps add a photo her to go with it. You can add text that tells a small story about the recipe or about the grandmother who handed the recipe down to you. You are free to make your cookbook reflect you, the food you love to make, and the family celebrations that you cherish. You can also add photos with a holiday theme and include tips on entertaining and what other foods to pair with each of your recipes.


    Make your own cookbook with free digital software and share your favorite recipes.

    Get Started Making Your Holiday Cookbook

    Online digital book-making software is what makes your project simple, fun, and affordable. Here is what you do:
    1. Go online to Bookemon.com and create your free account.
    2. Choose a template to create your cookbook
    3. Upload your content from PDF or Word Files.
    4. Begin customizing the pages and uploading photos or drawings.
    5. Add clip art or borders; make it beautiful.

    Once you are done, you can share your book for free online or through email, but you may also choose, for gift giving or family keepsakes, to order copies to be printed at a very affordable price.

    Publishing your own holiday cookbook would be a present that will not only impress, but inspire. It is a great way to preserve your recipes and create a beautiful, professional-quality book that could become a treasured family heirloom. Get started and give it a try for free.





    Nov 17, 2015


    How to Create Your Own Personal Bookstore

    If you have always dreamed of becoming a published author, writing that novel, cookbook, or children's book, and seeing your work available to the others, it may be much easier than you think.



    Many people have amazing stories to tell and could fill their own personal bookstore with a collection they would love to share with others, but it is very difficult to get your book into a bookstore. If only you could find the right "connections" to make it happen. Well, the right connection is not an agent or publishing house, it is through online publishing with sites like Bookemon and their Personal Bookstore Feature.





    Sharing your books is easy with your own personal bookstore.



    Bookemon takes you easily through the entire process of designing, creating and publishing your books and then it allows you to create your own personal bookstore. The site is actually one of the first to allow parents, teachers, or basically anyone to create and publish their own books.



    The free digital software offers easy to use templates, specialized fonts and the ability to upload your Word documents, PDFs, photos or illustrations. The end results produce beautiful, book-store-ready publications, so the next logical step would be to create your bookstore!



    What is Bookemon's Personal Bookstore?



    Your personal bookstore lets you list all the published books that you have created, including both public books and private books. The list appears on the Bookemon site through your own personal URL link that you send to select people. You can mark certain books as "private" and keep them that way by creating a passcode, that you give only to those you wish to have access. Basically, you control your own privacy.



    The Benefits:



  • You will be issued one designated unique URL, which belongs to your own account and lists all of your books. This makes it super simple for your family and friends to find your books, once you share your URL.



  • Your strictly-private books can only be accessed by people with a passcode, assigned and shared by you. So if you have select content, like family photo albums or a memoir, basically anything that you want only certain people to see, you can choose to create a passcode and keep select books private from anyone you don't give the passcode to.




  • Open a Personal Bookstore and Share $5 Instant Coupon with Friends



    For a limited time you can try Personal Bookstore and offer savings to your friends and family. If you share your personal bookstore with others, everyone who receives your shared email will get $5 coupon for their next purchase on Bookemon. It can be used for the purchase of any books.



    Share your personal bookstore and friends get $5 savings for a limited time.



    How Do I Open My Store for Business?



    To know the URL of your personal bookstore, you can click "myStore" on the navigational bar, after you sign into your free account. The URL listed is how your personal store can be accessed anywhere without membership required. You can then set a passcode and only share it with the people you want them to see your private books.



    Once you have published your book on Bookemon, you can share it online through social media, or email, or you can choose to order copies of it to be printed. But you can also open your own personal bookstore for friends or family members to see and buy- whichever books you allow them access to. Opening up your Personal Bookstore is totally in your hands. Getting started is quick and easy.











    Nov 2, 2015


    Fun Family Project: Help Your Kids Create a Book on the iPad

    Your children love using your iPad for games and stories, but what if you could help them create a book of their very own using your tablet? Family projects usually make for great memories as well as inspire creativity and learning in kids. Add using your iPad to this project, and you have a great time spent together while making a book they will be proud to share.



    But how does someone create a book on an iPad, and is it easy enough for kids to enjoy it? The answer can be found by downloading an app onto your device, one which allows you to create a children's book, or basically any type of book you want. With the right app, the result is a beautiful book that looks like it came from a bookstore. The key is finding a great app that is kid-friendly, simple, fun to use and affordable.





    Creating a book on your iPad can be an easy family project.



    You may find that the free bookPress app from Bookemon is the perfect solution, allowing kids, parents or grandparents, to create a personalized book quickly and easily. Children love the process of seeing their story come to life on the pages of a book. Parents and grandparents can also create a customize children's book of their own, and make their child the main character. The possibilities are endless.



    Basic Ways to Help Kids Write a Story



    The best thing you can do is to simply guide your child when it comes to any writing project. According to readwritethink.org, children learn to better organize their thoughts, write and even communicate better by crafting their own stories. Writing also helps kids to be better at reading, and to understand other people's stories with greater ease.



    Though you want this to be their own creation, you can also choose to make the book a group project and work on it as a family, with each of you adding your own part to the story. Either way, every story has some basic things to include:



  • Who are the characters, and is there a main character?


  • Where does the story take place?


  • What is the problem or issue they must overcome, fix, or deal with?


  • How is the problem or issue eventually solved?


  • What happens to the characters after? Did the characters learn anything from what happened?




  • Creating a story of their own inspires kids to love books and read better.



    Getting Started



    It is simple to start making your children's book. Grab your iPad, similar device, or your iOS phone and download the free bookPress app from Bookemon, then set up your account.



  • The app will allow you to custom design the pages of the book from the beginning, with templates that make it look professionally designed.


  • Add your photos, PDF documents, Word documents, or posts from your blog to create a beautiful book quickly and easily. You may use any files that you have saved on your device, in your email, Cloud, Dropbox, or Flickr.


  • Once your book is complete, you can share select pages or the entire book with others via email, social media, or create an online e-book. If you want printed copies of the book, you can purchase the finished published version to have as a keepsake or order them to give as gifts.


  • By using this app, you and your kids can create any book you choose. It is an excellent learning tool and there is nothing like the pride that comes from creating and sharing their own real, professional quality book! Get started today creating a book on your iPad and fuel your family's creativity.





    Nov 1, 2015


    How to Make a Book Online

    Have you ever dreamed of writing a children's book, a cookbook, or creating a family photo book that can be handed down for generations? It may seem like a daunting and impossible task, but with the right tools, it is actually pretty easy to get professional looking results and see your book published.



    Where do you start? Making a book online by using free digital software is the ideal solution, since it has made this type of project simple, fun, and affordable for any creative consumer who wants to publish a book.





    Creating a book of your own with digital software is simple and affordable.



    While you could find and purchase a kit at the craft store that allows you to piece together your book like you would a scrapbook, the results do not typically look professional or impressive. But, with sites like Bookemon, one of the first to allow parents, teachers, or basically anyone to create and publish their own book, you can produce impressive results that look ready for a bookstore shelf.



    How to Make a Book Online



    There are a few options out there, but you want to choose a format that is easy to use, allows you to customize the pages, the overall design, all the small details right down to the font, and offers templates that guide you through the process of creating a book.



    How it works

  • First you begin by creating a free account online. Registering is quick, easy, and costs you nothing, so you can try it out and make your book for free.


  • Next you get to work with a blank template, or choose a pre-designed layout, or upload a document you've already created in a Word or PDF file.


  • Then it is time to make the book really stand out with color and design features. The software makes it simple and offers specialized design tools and libraries of clipart, backgrounds and frames, so you can really make the book appealing to the eye and be uniquely your own creation.


  • You finish by finalizing the look of the book by customizing the font and uploading photos or drawings to add visual interest and illustration to the pages.


  • The free software allows for endless possibilities to publish virtually any type of book. Parents can write their own children's book, or create a family book project together. Writers can take that memoir or novel they have been working on and quickly get it published, family photos can be preserved into a keepsake book or given as gifts, and teachers can allow students to learn about the process of writing and publishing. The possibilities and variety of books are limited only by your imagination.





    Whatever type of book you wish to create, you can make it uniquely your own.



    Once you have made your book, you can share it online through social media or email, or you can choose to order copies of it to be printed. You book will make a great gift for hard to buy for family members, or a personal keepsake, or a family heirloom to hand down for generations. Creation of your book is totally in your hands. It is fast and easy to start creating your book today.





    Oct 26, 2015


    How to Create a Book on Your iPad

    Have you ever dreamed of publishing your own book? Think it's hard to create a book on your iPad and have it look professional and well-designed? It's actually much easier than you think.



    There are apps you can download to your device that allow you to create your own children's book, cookbook, or novel, basically whatever type of book you want, and the result is an impressive, professional looking publication that appears ready for a bookstore shelf.



    It's actually simple to become a digital author and create a book on your iPad, similar device, or your iOS phone, quickly and easily while you are on the go. For example, the free mobile bookPress app from Bookemon allows you to capture any special event, no matter where you are, and create a book even if you are away from your desktop computer.





    Creating a book with your iPad or iPhone, is easier than you think.



    The app allows you to custom design the pages of the book and offers templates that make it look like you had a team of designers at work with you. Once your book is complete, you can share select pages or the entire book with others via email, social media, or create an online e-book. If you want printed copies of the book, you can purchase the finished published version to have as a keepsake or order some to give as gifts.



    Getting Started on the Go



    Sites like Bookemon, which have led the way in allowing consumers to create and print professional-looking books, offer digital book-making software that can make any project simple and affordable.



  • First you create a free account and download the app, then choose the type of book you wish to create. Follow the basic set-up instructions and include a short description of your book.


  • Next begin editing your book. Add your photos, PDF documents, Word documents, or posts from your blog to create a beautiful book in minutes. You may use any files that you have saved on your device, in your email, Cloud, Dropbox, or Flickr.


  • Edit on your iPad or on the Bookemon website, whichever is more convenient.


  • Create as you go, and try and take more photos than you think you may use, and make sure they will tell or relate well within the pages of your book. It pays to have several photo options to choose from when you are creating the book.


  • According to an article on Wikihow.com, whether your book is a novel, storybook, or a way to share your educational materials, get it all written, edited, and organized sequentially, or according to subject matter and importance. You want your book to flow well for its readers and make sense.


  • Personalize your book by customizing the pages with special backgrounds using your own images or with the apps' pre-made templates and designs.


  • When you are done, you can share your eBook, or select pages from it, on social media or through email with friends, family, or colleagues.


  • If you wish, you may also purchase your book in hard or softcover, but there is no obligation to buy.




  • With the right app for your iPad, you can create your own book anywhere.



    The app is the perfect solution for almost any book you wish to create and it is a great way to allow children to make their own book, and share it! It serves as an excellent learning tool for educators and anyone who prefers the flexibility of creating on a mobile device.



    Get started today and create a book on your iPad and experience professional results that will impress everyone, including you!






    Oct 25, 2015


    3 Beginner Tips for Writing Poetry

    Writing poetry can be an amazing way to express your thoughts, passions, or even make a statement about your particular point-of-view. But getting started can be daunting. Do you love poetry and perhaps dream of getting your work published, but find yourself often struggling with how to craft your words?



    Poetry writing skills are something you can expand on and cultivate. Perhaps there are times when you see something during your day, and it actually inspires a poem to flow easily from you. At those moments the words you seek seem to find you, rather than the other way around. But what about those other times when you know what you want to say, but can't seem to make it work on paper?





    Reading more poetry helps your writing skills grow.



    Here are some things you can do, and focus your attention on, to help you grow as a poet and unlock the secrets of creating poems you love with greater ease:



  • Read more poetry: The more you read the more you learn, but this does not just mean instructional text, it means reading the poetry of other writers. Something stirs in your own creativity when you read well-crafted poems. You see how these writers used a theme to carry their words throughout a poem and nothing can help you more with your writing than to see examples of how it is done, and done well.


  • Learn to Write on a Theme: Many poets write based on an inspiration that simply came to them, like spotting a flock of birds heading south for winter, or seeing laundry hanging out on the line. But others take a theme and tell a story, express the emotion behind the theme or use it to send a message. It can be the inspiration you are seeking for your next poem.


  • Use More Expressive Language: According to an article in The Talent Bank, really great poetry is one that is rich with adverbs. You should work to find a different, more descriptive approach to writing. Rather than simply saying an envelope, for example, is thin, describe it as fragile or find words that express how it feels to hold it in your hand. This method lets you describe something by creating an image, or evoking a feeling, rather than using a simple word to do the job.




  • Expand your descriptive words to create an image, feelings or emotion.



    Working with a Theme



    Now you may wonder, how do I take a theme and really make it work for me in a poem? It actually can be your guide if you keep the theme within focus as you write:



  • If you have a theme you wish to write about, jot down all the words that come to mind that you associate or are linked to that theme.


  • According to an article about good theme-driven poetry in thegaurdian.com, let each of the words you have written down connect you to your memories, thoughts or feelings, and any ideas that come to mind.


  • Next think about where you want the poem to take you. If your theme is autumn, for example, you may have written down many words that connect you to that season, as well as memories you have, or how you felt as a child jumping into a freshly raked, colorful pile of leaves. This theme can lead you to the feelings of freedom and joy in childhood, traditions, the passage of time, and the change of the seasons. Basically, a theme can lead your poem anywhere you choose. Let it be your guide.


  • Look at your work with fresh eyes. It is wise to put your work aside for a few days and revisit it with a fresh perspective. This helps you see how it truly flows for the reader and if it expresses your theme well.




  • Should you Publish?



    Once you have a compilation of some of your work you may wish you could get it published, but have no idea where to begin. Digital book-making with a site like Bookemon, one of the first such sites to allow consumers to print professional looking books of their own, offers you the perfect tool.



    You can create a memorable, professional looking book of poetry easily with the site's free digital book-making software. First register for a free account, upload your poems from PDF or Word Files, and then customize the pages with special fonts, borders or backgrounds. Next decide if you wish to upload photos or drawings to compliment your poems.



    Save as an e-book, order a few hard copies to treasure forever, or give them as gifts. Start creating your book and see your poetry published and preserved.







    Oct 21, 2015


    Pow! How to Create Your Own Comic Book

    If you have a passion for comic books, you probably have felt the magnetic pull that a well-crafted story and creative illustrations have on your emotions. Readers become impassioned about the characters and drawn in by the colorful details and imagery. Have you ever dreamed about creating your own comic book? Do you have something new to offer the comic book world, like a strong, dynamic female main character? Maybe you think that getting published is too difficult, but making your own comic book is actually easier than you think.



    There are craft kits you can buy that include story boards, special comic book paper, and how-to instructions, but they typically produce results that lack that professional "pow" you seek from a finished book.



    If you want your comic book to look real, collectible, and professionally published, then creating it with a site like Bookemon is the answer. There you will find free software that makes it easy to achieve the results you are looking for, and getting your book in-hand is affordable.





    Be your own hero by creating and publishing your comic book idea.



    How to Begin



    A great comic book begins with a great story, so mapping out your plot is your starting point. According to an article on aboutentertainment.com, it is best to write down all the structural basics.



  • Setting: This is the backdrop to your story and even if it is simple, it is where your characters come to life.


  • Characters: These are your actors that convey the story and where you can craft dialogue that moves the plot along. It is important to really develop each character well, so the reader can connect with them in some way.


  • Tone: Is it action, adventure, sci-fi or comical? The tone sets the overall mood for your story.


  • Theme: Is there an overall lesson the story teaches? Is it about trust, or the bond of family, or maybe that heroes come in all shapes and sizes?


  • Conflict: This is the focus of any good story. There has to be something the characters are trying to defeat or overcome.




  • Develop the Story Board



    Next, you should decide on the style of your illustrations. Style ranges from some very simple styles used in comedic comic strips all the way to elaborate detailed drawings you will find with most American Superhero stories. Make your comic book your own and try not to be influenced by the others you have read.



    Now it is time to write the dialogue. Take it page by page and decide as you go, what will be happening in the illustration on that page. Write this in sequential frames and make sure your dialogue is not the primary focus. Remember that comic books are a visual experience. Sketch out each page and make the characters' action tell the story and fit the dialogue around them.



    Finally, read through your finished product and make sure it makes sense and flows well. Consider adding thought bubbles to indicate what a character is thinking to herself. Go over your drawings with the final ink and add the colors, this is where your illustrations come to life. Also, remember to add shadow and light if it fits your style and as much detail as desired in the finished illustration.





    Online software makes comic book creation simple and affordable.



    Publishing Made Simple



    How do you begin to create the actual comic book? With Bookemon, you simply create a free account, upload your story from PDF or Word Files, and then begin the creative process of customizing the pages and layout with the easy to use tools and templates. It is that simple.



    Creating your own comic book can be fun and rewarding when the finished result is a real, professionally published book that brings your talent to life. Get started today and create something you, and your fans, will treasure.





    Oct 20, 2015


    5 Life Lessons to Teach in Your Custom Children's Book

    You already know that a good book can spark a child's imagination and creativity like nothing else can, but did you know that it can also be a teaching tool for important life lessons that impact a child's character?



    Think back to some of your favorite books as a child and you probably have a lasting impression about how they made you feel. According to an article in The Huffington Post, the very best children's books can shape aspirations, goals, and teach that inner sense of right and wrong in a child. But how do you find the ideal book with just the right message you want to teach? The answer is simple; you make your own children's book tailored to the lessons you want to convey.





    You can create your own children's book that will teach life lessons.



    How do you start? Well at the beginning, of course!



    You can gather materials from a craft store and begin piecing together your own book, but if you really want to teach some important life lessons from a book that doesn't appear to be a scrapbook, than publishing your own through a site like Bookemon is quick, affordable, and easy to do. You simply create a free account, upload your story from PDF or Word Files and customize the pages and layout with the easy to use tools and templates. You can even upload and edit photos or illustrations to your book.



    So, now that you know how to create and customize a professional looking book that will teach life lessons, you need to decide what your story will be. What important life lessons will you weave into the story on the pages of this book that will leave a lasting impression on a child?



    Here are 5 life lessons to inspire your custom children's book:



  • Help Others: Teaching the importance of helping those in need, or someone who is smaller or less powerful, is a vital lesson for children. It is often easier to look the other way rather than extend ourselves and offer help or intervene on behalf of another. Whether it is not tolerating someone to be bullied at school, offering companionship to an elderly neighbor, or helping the poor, a story that shows children the importance and impact of helping others will be remembered into adulthood.


  • Don't Let Anyone Steal Your Dreams: Children want to fit in with their peers so much that it is often easier to change who they are and what they really want to do than it is to step out of the crowd and be themselves. An important life lesson to teach is to be true to who you are and what inspires you. Never allow limitations, sometimes set by those around us, to squelch your abilities.


  • Be Honest and Worthy of Trust: One of the most important life lessons is the impact of honesty and trust in our lives. Children can learn from the mistakes a character in a book makes when they choose to make up stories or avoid the truth. A book can teach how being untruthful can impact friendships, relationships with family, and trust.


  • Why Gratitude is for Everyone: Envy is a powerful foe. It is so easy, even as an adult to forget all that you have while you are seeing, and wanting, for something more. While it is nice to have goals and dreams of things you want, a child can be guided to stop, remember, and feel gratitude for all that they already have in their lives. It is an important life lesson to realize there is always something to be grateful for.


  • Bad Days Happen to All of Us: Life can be filled with days that disappoint us, challenge us, or just plain make us angry. Frustration at not making that goal during the game, or spilling milk all over the book report you worked hours on, or your baby brother destroying your Lego creation can all seem like the world is out to get you, and only you. It is important for a child to know that we all have times of great frustration and it is how you channel that energy and persevere that matters.




  • Publishing your own custom book can be easy, fun, and affordable.



    The creative process for your custom book will be your very own. You can create a professional looking book that not only teaches important life lessons, but will be treasured forever. Get started and see how easy it is to create your own custom book.







    Oct 14, 2015


    6 Ideas for Making a Halloween Photo Book

    Halloween can be an opportune time to create family photo memories, from your children dressed up in their costumes, to the pumpkin carvings you create together. But what do you do with all those amazing photographs? How will you set this year aside from all the others and really save them in a keepsake you can look back on for years to come?





    Use your craftiness to scrapbook your photo memories.



    The answer is of course is to get those photos out of the envelope or shoe box you will store them in and into a Halloween photo book. But how do you create one?



    Of course you could to scrapbook them, but if you lack the time and "craftiness" required to hand-create, cut, and paste together an amazing photo book, there is a simple, affordable, way to make a photo book you will treasure.



    Digital book-making with a site like Bookemon, one of the first such sites to allow parents to create and print professional looking photo books, offers the perfect tool for your project. You can create a memorable, professional looking photo book that will last forever. Digital book-making software can makes this project easy and fun to do.



    You start by creating a free account, upload any written content (describing the event or the moment captured in the picture) from PDF or Word Files. You can then customizing the pages with a special font and then upload and edit photos or drawings to the page. Perfect for preserving your Halloween memories, this site also offers endless possibilities to create virtually any type of book.



    Photo books can preserve all your precious Halloween photos in one spot.



    What types of photos should you include?



    The creative process will be uniquely your own, and you probably already take a good number of photos that are perfect for making a photo book, but here are 6 creative ideas for making the most of your Halloween photo book:



  • Take several photos of your kids in costume, trick-or-treating, or at their school party. Capture the entire season in pictures.


  • Make sure you take vertical and horizontal angles, so you can really customize the design of the pages in your photo book.


  • Include close-ups of everyone's faces as well as full-length images.


  • Take candid shots as well as posed pictures. These are often the best ones. Watch for moments you want to capture, like a shared giggle with their sibling, the expression kids make as they are decorating a craft project or the look of determination in scooping out seeds from a pumpkin.


  • Include photos of your pets, particularly if you get them a costume too!


  • Take photos of the family together. Ask someone to get the shot for you or use your selfie-skills, but always include yourself in the memories.




  • Include your pets in the photo fun.



    You can create a professional looking photo book that preserves your holiday memories and is something you will keep and treasure forever. They also make great gifts for those hard to buy for family members. Getting started is quick and easy, simply click here to begin creating one of your own.









    Oct 13, 2015


    How to Make Your Own Cookbook

    Are you an amazing cook? Do family and friends often ask you for your recipes? Then one of the greatest gift ideas for your culinary fans, either for birthdays, holidays, or a bridal shower, is to give them a cookbook that is filled with all of your favorite recipes. Think you can't get published? Well, you actually can make a real, polished, professional-looking cookbook, complete with pictures, in less time than you think.



    You can of course buy photo albums, specialty paper, and glue, and begin hand-crafting your own cookbook from scratch. According to Redbook Magazine, there are also cookbook kits you can purchase that gather together the materials required to construct it yourself. Such a treasured, personal, keepsake is certainly worth the effort you will put into it.





    Creating your own cookbook can be the perfect gift.



    But, what if you could really publish your own book, beautifully bound and looking like you found it on a bookstore shelf? That is a present that will not only impress, but inspire.



    How do you begin?



    Bookemon lets you create and print professional looking books, which allows you to make a cookbook (or any other type of book you choose) that is totally your own.



    Digital book-making software can make this project simple and affordable. First you create a free account, than simply upload your content from PDF or Word Files. You personalize it by customizing the pages and even upload and edit photos or drawings to accompany the text. This is an ideal way to make your own cookbook, but you can also create virtually any type of book, so the possibilities are endless.



    What should you put into your cookbook?



    When choosing your content, you need to think about which recipes are your favorites; which ones are they always asking for? Also consider if you want the cookbook to be a general collection of great menu items or to be more specific, like "pasta dishes".



    Once you have an idea of the content you are putting in it, compile your recipes into Word Files or a PDF. To really make it professional looking, follow the same format for each recipe. For instance:



  • List of ingredients, with measurements


  • Any preheat instructions


  • Step-by-step of how-to make it


  • Time it takes to prepare, general cooking time


  • Next you may want to include some photos of your recipes or maybe photos of some of the most important ingredients they require. You could also include photos of family enjoying your meal (like a picture of last year's Thanksgiving table or your last dinner party) or any other photo you have that might really personalize it.





    Include a few photos of your culinary creations to inspire.



    If it is your grandmother's recipe, perhaps add a photo of you and her in the kitchen. Basically, you can make your own cookbook reflect the story behind some of your most special recipes.



    Publishing your own cookbook is a great way to organize and preserve your recipes into a treasured heirloom or gift, click here to get started or give it a try.







    Oct 8, 2015


    Thought Leader Series: Unleash Your Creativity and Create Your First Book



    Amit Sodha is a personal development blogger who writes about a variety of subjects including storytelling on the blog Unlimited Choice.



    You have a beautifully inspired idea in your head, but you become frustrated when you put your fingers to the keyboard, only to find yourself unable to write with the same vividness and clarity with which the ideas and images appeared in your head. Or, you might find yourself with a desire to write but fail to begin because you simply don't know where to start.







    First, remember that there is a creative genius within everyone, and it's about taking the necessary steps to allow that creativity to come to fruition.



    The question, then, becomes: Can you make the process easier, more enjoyable and free flowing?



    Keep reading, for you are about to discover some secrets writers use get the ball rolling in the journey from conceptualization to a completed written product.



    1. Unfiltered or Unedited Thinking



    One way to begin - and probably the best way - is to let go of the notion that you're writing a book. Believe it or not, that thought could stifle your progress. Instead, just write! Jot down the natural dialogue happening in your head. This will allow you to relax, and you'll find that story ideas will then emerge organically. When you catch onto one of those great ideas, capture it and begin writing.



    2. Character and Scenario



    Another simple way to dive in is to start with any type of character and have him or her interact with others in a particular setting. A detective at a bar, a bunny in a barn, a mother and child at the beach, a beggar in a village. These scenarios may have no relevance to the story you choose or have chosen to pursue, but this byproduct could eventually become a part of your book or a kind of segue for a transitional phase of your manuscript.



    3. Timed Pressure



    We all function differently; if you find that your creative genius hasn't been kick-started yet, add a little pressure. Take your smartphone and set the timer for 30 minutes. Then, make a concerted effort to write for the entire duration, without stopping or becoming distracted. Aim to write as much as possible in that short space of time. This exercise will help you realize just how much can be achieved in just half an hour.



    4. Observation



    Keep your eyes open! All day long, every day, pay attention to the world around you. Even allow yourself to drift into that dazed state where you pick up on things you otherwise would have normally missed. Any of these observations could lead to an incredible scene - or even the climax - in your book.



    5. Location, Location, Location



    There's a reason you see so many people with their laptops in coffee shops. Those kinds of environments are conducive to unlocking a magic spark within one's writing. To write like a pro, avoid staying in one place. Get outside, in the garden; go to a cafe and people-watch; jump in the car for a drive and soak in the scenery.



    Every one of these tips will enable you to unleash your creativity - and when you're ready, start creating your book!





    Oct 7, 2015


    Thought Leader Series: Making a Custom Book for Grandma and Grandpa? Follow These Pointers


    Stephan Baldwin is the Director of Business Development for Assisted Living Center, a resource for senior care communities.

    "My granddaughter wrote this book, and she's only six..." What grandparent wouldn't love to pull out a professional-looking book featuring their grandchild's stories, artwork, vacation photos and more? Grandparents love to show off their grandchildren.

    Make a lasting impression on a grandparent by helping your child make him or her a customized book to enjoy and share.


    Grandparents love thoughtful gifts made for them by their grandchildren!

    Making a book for Grandma and Grandpa doesn't have to take a lot of time or talent. Gone are the days of expensive printing machines and professional layout costs. We at Bookemon provide simple online templates you can use to design any number of diverse and quality books.

    When creating a customized book for grandparents, there are a few important things to keep in mind:

    Choose a Topic or Theme They Will Enjoy

    Think about what a child's grandparents enjoy most, and develop a theme around those interests.

    Here are some examples:

    • Is Grandpa an avid sports enthusiast? Great! Consider compiling the best of your son's or daughter's sports photos, stats and memorable moments to create a one-of-a-kind gift that any sports-lover would cherish.

    • Maybe Grandma adores cooking with her granddaughter. Create a lasting recipe book featuring pictures of their favorite cooking experiences, along with recipes that the child creates.

    • Maybe you want to showcase last year's family reunion. Create a book filled with memorable moments, personal notes and stories along with plenty of pictures from the day.

    • Choose an event that the grandparents missed, like a big recital, graduation or special birthday. Share the experience in a unique way with a customized book detailing every moment of that special day.

    • Display a child's artistic flare with a book filled with their own words and artwork. What Grandma or Grandpa wouldn't adore that?

    Make it Personal

    When it comes to creating a customized book that Grandma and Grandpa will adore, be sure to make it as personal as possible. Add plenty of personal notes, pictures and memorabilia. You can even have your children handwrite captions and messages for the grandparent reading it.

    Consider the Grandparents' Limitations

    When designing your book, be sure to consider any limitations the recipient may have. Many seniors don't see very well and have trouble reading small text, so opt for a larger font that's easier to read. In that same vein, stay away from fancy cursive-style fonts and go with lettering that's clearer.

    Create with Grandma and Grandpa in Mind

    Grandparents have different likes and dislikes. Think about these when designing your book. If Grandma isn't much of a reader, create a book designed with more visual features - plenty of artwork and pictures to enjoy. If, on the other hand, she loves a good story, then don't be shy about including plenty of personalized stories about and from your kids.

    Designing a customized memory book, art book, or family history written by or about your child is wonderful way to share milestones across the miles and keep your kids' grandparents involved. Plus, it's a wonderful way for grandparents to show off those wonderful kids in their life to their friends!

    Get started creating your own book today by registering here!





    Oct 6, 2015


    Thought Leader Series: Are You Stumped? Here are 5 Tips for Writing a Children's Book


    Lorena Brockman is a blogger for JennsBlahBlahBlog.com and has notable know-how in blogging, travel, and writing, and has been deemed "Greatest Auntie Ever" by many. To learn more about Lorena, visit her company's blog at JennsBlahBlahBlog.com.

    Children's storytime helps build a bond between parent and child and also enhances brain activity and mental development. There are millions of children's books to choose from, but there's one that has never been heard or read - because it hasn't been written yet.

    Don't hesitate to put pen to paper and start the next great children's story. With some imagination and a bit of direction, you'll have a blast while writing a children's book. Read on for some tips.



    1. Designate Focus

    Children's books vary in several ways: they're directed to particular age groups and sometimes take on different genres (e.g., fairy tales, educational books, etc.). Before you jump into writing, determine the age group of your ideal readers. Some books include coloring pages and activities (C&A); will your book involve C&A? Most children's books are for audiences that don't read well - or read at all, so it's important to keep length in mind. Writer's Digest has a great set of guidelines you can follow with regards to the average length of books for your target audience's age group.

    2. Research and Read

    There are hundreds of books available that offer tips on writing and the publishing process. While you spend time at the library learning about the craft, get to know the person in charge. They usually know about workshops and writing groups that can help you improve story development and other skills. Always take advantage of available resources, and jump at any opportunity to interact with and learn from fellow writers.

    3. Story, Plot, and Character

    Reverting back to your childhood is a great way to develop a plot for your story. What did you enjoy reading as a child? Imagination is important, but remember that a story needs to make sense and follow a logical timeline, especially when dealing with writing for younger children. Create a hero or central character with an external or internal problem he or she must overcome. Every great story needs a conflict, which can come in the shape of a "baddie" or a moral dilemma with which your main character is faced. And when it comes to children's books, the good guy should always prevail.

    4. Illustrations and Artwork

    Most children's books incorporate illustrations. Depending on the reader's age, and the story's plot and characters, the artwork can help set the tone. Be sure to find an illustrator who conveys through art the tone and style you're going for with your story. And, as with any project, there are going to be changes, so find an artist who is flexible.

    5. Read Aloud

    Reading aloud adds excitement, attitude and emotion to a child's storytime. Children's books often rhyme, but it isn't mandatory at all. Instead, it's more important to have steady rhythm and cadence. Even syllables and sentence length can make your book easier to read. The rhythm should also reflect what's happening in the story. For example, when there's an altercation, the cadence should be quick and staccato. Whereas, if a doggy is napping with a kitty, a slow and calming rhythm would be more appropriate. Throughout the writing process, read the story out loud; it will help you find the best rhythm and cadence.

    These tips will help you get the idea out of your brain and onto paper. Writing a story for a child to explore is not as easy as it seems, but it's worth the work. The next step of a great children's book is getting it to the kids who want to read it.

    We at Bookemon can help with the printing process. Get started and check us out!





    Oct 5, 2015


    How to Help Your Child See Themselves as a Reader


    Restore a child's love for reading by allowing them to pick out books on their favorite topics.

    As children grow older, they sometimes lose the excitement for reading that they first had when they were just learning. According to this article in the Washington Post, a child's self-image is essential when it comes to how often a child reads. A child's family can have a powerful influence on this and here are some ways to help your child see themselves as a reader.

    Make It Part Of Their Routine

    The routines set in place by families will have a huge influence on how children see themselves, the things that they value, and the routines that they set in place as they become adults. A lot of families have routines that include sitting down together to enjoy a meal, watching a movie, and playing games. Another routine or tradition that is worth adding is a reading night or family book club. This would increase how much a child reads in addition to quality family time. Reading night for younger kids could be parents reading them their favorite stories.

    For older kids, it could mean setting aside time daily to read for pleasure and then sharing their stories with the family once a week. You could also incorporate a family book club for older children. This would encourage them to go outside their reading comfort zone and read books picked by other family members. No matter how you create a reading night, the important thing is that you do. The more a child reads, the better reader they will become.


    Reading before bed can create a lifelong routine and love of books.

    Make It Easy

    The typical household has televisions, computers, and smartphones, which all make it easy for a child to watch TV and play games at any given moment. For those moments your child finds themselves with some spare time, make it just as easy for them to pick up a book. Make it part of the weekly schedule to visit the library and pick up books on your child's favorite subject. Strategically place some books in their bookbag, the living room, and their bedrooms. This way, the next time your child is looking for something to do whether it's at lunch, after dinner, or right before bed, they'll have the opportunity to grab a book. Making it easy for your child to read will boost the amount of reading they do. Over time, this will help develop their self-image as a reader.

    Encourage Them To Make A Book

    Inspiring your child to make a book encourages both reading and creativity. Maybe they want to make a book about some of their life experiences or a family story that they've heard over and over again or a book about their favorite things. The possibilities are endless. They could make a pet book, how-to book, school days book, and more. Bookemon makes this process easy by providing free templates and themes that include birthdays, yearbooks, pets, poetry, fiction, and so much more. They can also make a custom theme by easily uploading their drawings or photos to create a theme that is as unique as the story they're telling.

    Helping your child see themselves as a reader is a lifelong process that has to grow and change just like they do. Giving them easy access to books they enjoy and making reading a family tradition will help them to visualize themselves as a reader. Bookemon can help by providing the resources that allow them to make books of their own about stories they have wanted to tell or read about. Get started or try it out today.





    Oct 4, 2015


    3 Tips for Photo Book Printing Brilliance


    Look back over life's best moments with a one of a kind photo book.

    Photo books make great keepsakes and are a way to give someone a meaningful gift they can enjoy for many years. They're also a much better way of preserving memories than sticking your photos in those sticky plastic photo album sheets. Anyone can print a beautiful photo book and here are 3 tips to make your photo book shine.

    1. Tell A Story

    Photo book printing can be a lot of fun, but before you jump in, decide the purpose of your photo book or what story you want it to tell. Maybe you want to create a photo book that announces your first pregnancy, narrates the story of a particular holiday, or captures a year that was significant to you. Having a clear purpose or story will give you a plan that you can use to create the framework for your photo book and get the best experience from photo book printing.

    2. Less Is More

    You have lots of great photos that you can include in your photo book. Pick your best ones that capture the moments and emotions that are important to the story you're telling. Don't jam-pack the pages with every single photo you have. If you're telling the story of a child's first year in school, pick photos of all the firsts he or she experienced, like seeing their classroom, riding the school bus, and even picking out the special outfit that they wore on their first day. If you're capturing a milestone birthday, you could include pictures of blowing out the candles, opening special gifts, and pictures of the guests that came to celebrate. Including a variety of significant moments that focus on showing the love, excitement, and other feelings that were experienced will make for a memorable photo book.


    Be choosy when deciding on what photos to include in your next photo book.

    3. Work With A Theme

    When you use a theme, it gives the reader clarity right away and tells them what kinds of photos to expect to see. Themes are also a great way to organize your photos. Bookemon offers free themes and templates that will let you group your photos into topics like pets, holidays, school days, weddings, travel, reunions, and more. You can even create your own unique theme by choosing from various backgrounds, clip art, and even uploading drawings you or your children created. Using a theme also makes it easy to locate photos you want to view or show off to others. It's so much better than searching through tons of photo books filled with lots of random pictures.

    Photo book printing is the best way to organize and show off all the events and little things that made you want to take those pictures in the first place. With photo books, you can tell stories, set up books by topic, and create a souvenir that looks back at all life's celebrations. You can even share them for free on Facebook or by email with your family and friends. Start creating your book today.





    September 28, 2015


    3 Life Events Worth Turning Into a Book


    A book is a great way to document all your achievements.

    There are so many firsts that happen in a person's life and other special events that are worth capturing, and these events can't simply be captured by a single photo. Turning them into a book will give you the ability to show them to family and friends, pass them down through generations, and relive the joy and celebration that those times brought you. Here are 3 life events that are worth turning into a book.

    1. First Year Of Marriage

    The first year of marriage is filled with so many firsts. You can make a book to capture the wedding day and all the beauty and emotion that takes place when you decided to commit to experiencing the rest of your lives together. It could also contain the memories that were made enjoying and celebrating your honeymoon. Putting these memories into a book will let you look back at this time during all your subsequent anniversaries. During your first year of marriage you'll have your first holidays together as a married couple, you might buy a house together, or even decide to make a big move or start a family. Making a book is a great way to capture this monumental year of change and excitement that you experience as a couple.

    2. Graduations

    There are so many graduations worth turning into a book that you can share with others and turn into keepsakes for yourself. One is a child's first year of school, filled with all the memories of them making new friends, meeting their teachers, and learning to read and write. This is a great way to see how far your child has come after only one year in school. Maybe you're a working parent that just graduated college between raising your kids, working a job, and taking care of your house. It's difficult to measure our accomplishments on a daily basis when we're simply going through the tasks that need to be done. But when we're able to look back and see where we started from and where we ended up, we can truly celebrate our hard work and determination that got us to the finish line.

    3. First Pregnancy

    As a first-time mom, you'll experience so many emotions and events. You can put into a book all the different changes you went through with each trimester. You can document the day you found out you were pregnant, the first doctor's appointment, and the first ultrasound. Other events to include might be the times you went shopping for your baby, decorated their room, and picked out their first outfit. Your book could show the baby shower, their birth, and the first time you finally got to hold them in your arms. Making a book to cherish this time would be a perfect way to preserve your memories and pass them on to your children one day.


    Make a book to remember all the little joys of pregnancy.

    These are just 3 life events worth turning into a book. A book is a perfect way to preserve the memories and firsts that you experience and to look back at all the hard work that you did to accomplish your goals. It'll remind you how far you have come in life, where you started, and the beautiful things that happened in between. It's the perfect keepsake. Click here to get started or try it out.





    September 27, 2015


    4 Reasons to Make Your Own Poetry Book


    Turn your art into a book.

    As a poet, you use words and symbolic messages to provide others with meaningful information that's beautiful and fun to read. Instead of storing those poems on your computer or on multiple pieces of notebook paper, here are 4 reasons to make your poetry book.

    1. Create A Family Heirloom

    Family heirlooms are like windows to the past. Discovering them is like finding hidden treasure. One of the best things about family heirlooms is that you can create your own heirloom, and you can start with your poetry book. Not only would a poetry book be valued by your closest family members, but it would be a gift that's passed down throughout each generation. It would be cherished among your heirs and tell stories to them they never got to experience first hand. This will provide them with a piece of their history and an impression about you and your life.

    2. Easily Share With Others

    There are many moments that arise when we naturally want to have the ability to share a poem that we've written. It might be in the middle of a conversation, a life celebration that a loved one is experiencing, or even an obstacle that someone might be going through. Whether it's with family, friends, acquaintances, or coworkers, making a book of poems lets you easily share your work with others. You can show them your bookstore quality printed book or send them a copy in digital form. Either way, sharing your work can be beneficial not just to yourself but to others as well.


    Show off all your hard work at your next gathering.

    3. Get Noticed

    If you have goals of being a published poet, then creating a book of your poems can put you on track to making this goal happen. You could get noticed because you now have a book to present during your next creative writing course or in your poetry-writing group. The poems you share could spark interest amongst someone who has been looking for the type or style of poems that you write. It'll also show that you're serious and committed to your writing.

    4. Express Yourself & Commemorate Life's Special Moments

    Poetry is a great way to look back over various life events because they're works of art that allow you to express what you're feeling and experiencing. You could make a lyrical poem for your wedding, a narrative one for your first-born child, and a rhyming one that entertains your toddler. Turning your words into a book will make a keepsake that you can go back to over and over again to relive, enjoy, and cherish various life moments and milestones.

    Making a book from your poems will let you organize them by styles, tone, and stories. You can group them into family stories you want to pass down as heirlooms, have them on hand or ready to share with the click of a button, or use them to revisit and enjoy life's special moments. You can also use your book to get noticed by magazines, blogs, and other publications. To see how easy it is to make your book, click here to get started or try it out.





    September 21, 2015


    5 Great Pieces of Advice for First-Time Authors


    Give your family something memorable.

    Publishing your stories, recipes, poems, and more can make great gifts and keepsakes for all your family and friends. If this is your first time publishing a book, it doesn't have to be intimidating or the least bit scary. To help you get your story out there, here are 5 great pieces of advice.

    1. Start With A Topic You Enjoy

    Everyone has a passion or knowledge that they can share with others. If you like to cook then right a cookbook about the foods you love. Maybe you're a teacher and want to write a book about your students or a mom with a green thumb who wants to write about flowers. Start with what you know and love and it will be easy for you to expand on it.

    2. Begin At The End

    Think about what you want your readers to get out of your story. Maybe you want them to be able to cook your famous chocolate chip cookies or have a deeper understanding for middle schoolers. Whatever it is, think of the goal you want them to be able to achieve or the emotion you want to evoke. Focusing on the end will help you to build some structure into your story that gets you to that result.

    3. Use An Outline

    After you've decided what you want your readers to know, feel, or accomplish, create an outline. Using an outline makes it easier to take each step in your story and expand on it to get to that end result. It lays things out and gives you a blueprint of your story, which will make it clearer in your mind and your writing process will go smoother.

    4. Be Specific And Include All The Little Details

    No matter what type of book you're working on, you want to make sure that your reader has a visual of your story. If you're writing a how-to book, don't leave out any steps even if you think your reader will already know they have to do that. You want to make sure they can accomplish the end result by including all the details that will get them there. If you're writing your life story, then dig deep into your feelings. If it becomes an emotional journey for you, then it will become an emotional journey for your reader. All these details will allow you and your reader to connect.


    Set some time aside to write.

    5. Write

    You've decided you want to create your first book, so you need to make your writing a priority. Schedule it into your weekly activities so it doesn't get pushed to the side. When you sit down to write, don't do your editing at the same time. Just write without worrying about changing it around. If you think of a better way to say something than write that also, but don't keep going back over your writing, because that will slow you down.

    We all have something that we can write about. Something that is unique about our lives or our experiences that will resonate with others. Don't worry if you haven't written a book before, just click here to get started or try it out, and find out how easy it is to publish your first book.





    September 20, 2015


    How to Publish a Book


    Bookemon can help you turn your ideas into a keepsake.

    Everyone has a one of a kind story to tell, and Bookemon makes publishing your story achievable, as we break it down into easy-to-follow steps. You don't need to hire an editor, a designer, or a book agent, and you don't need a technical background. If you want to know how to publish a book, just follow these four steps.

    1. Create Your Free Account

    Start by creating an account. It's free, and there's no credit card required. Click here and input your name, email, and a password for your account.

    2. Style Your Book

    Once you have logged in, get started designing your book. You'll have a variety of formats to choose from so you won't need to spend a lot of money on a custom layout. There are tons of background images and clip art for cookbooks, holidays, celebrations, children, and more. This makes it easy for you to design and format your book from the front cover to the back cover and all the pages between. You can also upload your designs or images. There's no need to pay a designer or illustrator, and you get to make all the decisions with a few clicks of the mouse. This allows you to stay in total control of the design, reap all the benefits from it, and save a ton of money.

    3. Add Your Content

    We'll walk you through creating and editing every page of your book so you can arrange the content as you go along. To do this, we use page and book tools that let you easily delete, move, and add all your content so that it's formatted exactly the way you choose. If you have already written your book, then just upload your writing with our exclusive document to book feature. Documents can be uploaded from Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Adobe. You don't have to be tech savvy or hire an expert. We have written help all along the way to guide you through the process seamlessly so you can do all this yourself.

    4. Publish

    When you're ready to show off your new book, just hit the publish button. This will complete your book and allow you to share it with others for free. You only make a payment if you want to have your book in print. Once you have published your book, click on "my content" and then "my books" to see it. Here you can view your book, share it on social media, or grab the URL to share with others or put on your website.


    Bookemon lets you share your digital book for free.

    Our four-step book publishing process allows you to turn your poetry, family history, children stories, how-tos, photos, and more into tangible keepsakes. Your book can be published in digital form at no charge. You can even make your book available for everyone to read, choose just a selected few to share it with, or have it be private and share only the link with your chosen friends and family. Click here to get started or try it out.





    September 15, 2015


    Homemade Bedtime Stories: How to Make a Book for Kids


    Personalized bedtime stories add a special touch to the nighttime routine.

    Creating a homemade bedtime story is a great way to give your kids a legacy that they can pass down through generations. It might require some out-of-the-box thinking to get started, but in the end it is so much more fun to read your child a story that you created. Here are some tips for making it great!

    Have it solve a problem

    If there is a lesson that you want to teach your child or something that keeps coming up in their life that they need a little help with, then make it the problem that is solved in the story. Putting things in a different perspective can sometimes make the lesson crystal clear. If they can relate to the problem in the story, they might be able to solve this problem in their life too.

    Make your child the star

    You don't have to look far for the main character or the cute sidekick. You can always make your child the star of your story. Children love to pretend. Some like to play the part of the superhero, princess, or even the villain. They also love to save the day and be the center of attention. If your child is the superstar of their bedtime story, it will give them a chance to bring their imagination to life.

    Include an interest that your child has

    In your story include some of your child's favorite things. This might be a family pet or their favorite doll or action figure. It could also include a class of items like monster trucks or kittens. Adding something that your child relates to or adores will keep them interested and excited to hear what is going to happen next.


    Make your child's favorite stuffed animal apart of their personalized bedtime story.

    Add Structure

    If you need a little structure in your story than you can use a technique called the story spine. Just fill in the blank to the following questions to get you started in your story or to help you if you get stuck along the way:

    Once upon a time there was ___.
    Every day, ___.
    One day ___.
    Because of that, ___.
    Until finally ___.
    And ever since that day______.

    Give it a happy ending

    If you have a story that aims at telling a moral or one where the main character encounters a problem you can still end it on a good note. The character in your story might even encounter many problems, but making the ending positive will show your child that obstacles can be overcome. This will make it a positive experience and one they will want to hear about over and over.

    Giving your child a personalized bedtime story is a priceless gift and memory that you both will cherish for a long time. It shows them how special and unique they are and can convey a moral or life lesson that you want them to learn. We make the process of creating your bedtime story easy with no advanced technical skills required. Click here to get started. It's free to join!





    September 14, 2015


    With Book Printing Made Easy, Your Dreams Have the Green Light


    You can now make your dreams a reality by putting your book in print.

    Have you been wanting to publish and print your book but thought you couldn't afford to? Or maybe you just didn't know where or how to even begin. At Bookemon, we make the book printing process simple and affordable. This allows you to focus on your writing and turn your published book into something tangible that you can hold and share with all your family and friends.

    Easy Order Process

    You used to have to spend thousands of dollars up front to pre-order a large amount of books that you might not be able to sell. With Bookemon, you order your books on demand so you can order just a single book or as many as you like. Just add your published book or one from someone else to your cart and checkout. There are no minimum requirements to the number of books you have to order.

    Quick Turnaround Time

    What use to take months in production now takes just a few days. You can get a softcover printed book ready to ship in 3 business days and a hardcover book ready to ship in 4 business days.

    Bookstore Quality & Affordable Price

    You have worked hard to publish your book and are ready to hold it in your hands. Bookemon can print your book utilizing the same technology used by all the major publishers. Your book will be bookstore quality which means it will look just like the ones you see in your local bookstore. Our prices are affordable and vary on the size of book you choose along with a variety of other options you have to pick from. You can get your hands on a bookstore quality book, written by you, for as low as $10.00 plus shipping.


    Print your own beautiful bookstore quality book at a price you can afford.

    Cover Sizes & Styles

    At Bookemon, we offer hardcovers that are ridged and superb at protecting the inside pages. We also offer softcover books that have lots of flexibility. Both of these covers come in a variety of sizes ranging from smaller books that could fit inside a purse to larger books often used for photos. For the cover, you can pick a glossy stock that is shiny and radiant or a laminate stock that will be more matte.

    Interior Page Styling

    For your book's pages, you'll get to pick from black and white or color. You will also get to choose the color of your paper stock. The choices range from a natural looking off white to more of a heavier and glossier white paper. These options are available for both thinner and thicker books with over 100 pages.

    Book printing was once only done using sophisticated machinery and hand-operated presses that were run by skilled tradesman. At Bookemon, we break the book printing process down into doable easy to follow pieces. We also make it affordable, so there is no need to spend a lot of money and hire multiple people to print your book. Don't keep putting off your dreams. Click here to get started or try it out. It's free to join!





    August 28, 2015


    5 Life Events You Can Commemorate Perfectly With a Custom Book

    Printing professional-quality books on demand has been available for quite some time. Even before the internet and desktop publishing, bookbinders could create custom keepsake books or bind family histories or memoirs.


    Imagine finally holding your memoirs in your hands.

    Many online custom book services require multiple, intricate steps to be completed to put all the content in the correct format. You may have to download special software or templates to even use their services.

    Now, with Bookemon, you can create your custom book directly from a file such as a Word document or PowerPoint presentation, complete with photos. You can even make a book from a webpage. Having this powerful, flexible option opens up countless possibilities for celebrating important events with a professionally produced book. Here are just 5 of many life events you could commemorate perfectly with a custom book.

    1. A Wedding

    Whether you're the maid of honor, the best man, mother of the bride, or anyone else close to the happy couple, you can present them with a personalized commemoration in book form that they'll treasure forever. Through text and pictures you can document important events like the engagement, remember special times from planning the wedding, and include beautiful moments from the wedding itself and the reception. It's the perfect way to keep the memories of a wonderful day alive.

    2. A Child's First-Year Milestones

    The first year of a child's life is full of brand new moments for both child and parents. What could be more special for the parents on a child's first birthday than a chronicle of all those wonderful "firsts?" Starting from a baby's birth, you can tell the story of his or her first smile, first solid foods, first time sitting up, first time crawling, first tooth ... the possibilities are almost limitless. Documenting Mom and Dad's experiences is important too, because the time goes by so quickly.

    3. Special Birthdays

    Is your daughter's Quinceañera coming up? Maybe your husband is about to turn 40, or your mother is turning 70. Milestone birthdays call for particularly worthy gifts, and it would be hard to top a personalized keepsake book documenting the recipient's life. Such a book could be light-hearted or sentimental, and can be filled with the stories, photos, and other artwork that make the recipient's life unique. Since you can now create a custom book using a file, the process is faster and easier than ever.


    Your memories with the birthday celebrant are one-of-a-kind. Why not put them in a book?

    4. Life Achievements

    Did you keep an extensive journal of your trip to Italy? Or perhaps you worked hard and achieved a major goal, like running a marathon and have been documenting the process all along. You can preserve those important memories in a custom book that will inspire you to keep on writing and documenting the unique story that is your life. Why shouldn't your memories and accomplishments be captured in print for yourself and those who are interested in your life? Your story is unique, and should be told.

    5. Retirement

    Ideas for retirement gifts can be challenging. So many are clichéd, like the traditional commemorative clock. But now you can present your colleague, friend, or loved one with a personalized account of his or her career, along with major career accomplishments, funny stories, and even memories shared by co-workers. Collect all the stories into a file, add photos or artwork, and you have the ingredients for a beautiful, one-of-a-kind keepsake book that the retiree and his or her loved ones will treasure forever.

    Creating Beautiful Books Is Easier Now

    You may find that online custom book websites require you to use special templates, or upload text and pictures in a special format with which you're unfamiliar. Bookemon is different, because you can simply upload a document or file and create a book in minutes. Or, if you prefer, you can use pages from multiple documents, along with photos or other artwork. It takes only minutes to design a bookstore-quality, professionally bound book, and you can choose between color and black-and-white, and either hard or soft cover.

    Wouldn't a copy of your memoirs be perfect on your living room bookshelf? Wouldn't you like to show up with the perfect gift to commemorate a child's first year? It's easier than you think to create a beautiful bound edition you'll be proud to share.



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