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Peter DeHaan Publishing to Consolidate Imprints

Rock Rooster Books, an imprint of Peter DeHaan Publishing Inc

Benefits Include Streamlined Production and Easier Management

Peter DeHaan Publishing Inc announced that it would consolidate imprints to streamline production, avoid unnecessary complexity when publishing books, and ease management.

President Peter DeHaan commented on the change noting that “Our four imprints had an elegant structure to them, which provided a source of personal pride, but they offered no benefit to readers and unnecessarily complicated the reporting and tracking of book sales.”

The four imprints are Rock Rooster Books, Spiritually Speaking Publishing, Advanced Call Center Resources, and Edgemore Publishing.

The Spiritually Speaking Publishing imprint focused on books about biblical Christianity. As the name implies, Advanced Call Center Resources provided content for the call center and contact center industry, as well as telephone answering services. Edgemore Publishing focused on fiction works, primarily young adult (YA) and new adult.

All three will merge into Rock Rooster Books. Prior to the consolidation, Rock Rooster Books served the business market, but will now become a generic imprint to cover all books in all formats.

Rock Rooster Books gets its name after company president Peter DeHaan. “Peter means stone or the rock in Hebrew, and DeHaan means the rooster in Dutch,” the publisher said.” Merging these together resulted in Rock Rooster Books.

“The transition has already begun but will take years to complete,” noted DeHaan. “As we update older books on these imprints, we’ll phase out their respective imprints and replace it with Rock Rooster Books.”

Edgemore Publishing, however, has already been phased out and removed from the Peter DeHaan Publishing website. Advanced Call Center Resources will follow soon. Because of the number of books produced under the Spiritually Speaking Publishing imprint, phasing it out will take much longer.

This effort to consolidate imprints will not affect readers, book availability, or production schedules. “It’s an internal process to allow for increased efficiency and smoother operational management,” DeHaan concluded.

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News

The Successful Author: Discover the Art of Writing and the Business of Publishing

Do you have questions about writing? Publishing?

Peter Lyle DeHaan has answers, which he shares in The Successful Author. With over three decades of experience as an author, blogger, freelancer, and publisher, Peter will help you on your writing journey.

On this grand adventure:

  • Learn why you shouldn’t call yourself an aspiring writer.
  • Uncover tips to deal with rejection.
  • Expose writing advice that may not be true.
  • Discover how to self-edit, get feedback, and find an editor.
  • Determine if being a writer is worth the effort. (Hint: it is.)

But there’s more. In fourteen chapters, with over one hundred entries, Peter will address:

  • Finding time to write
  • The traditional vs indie publishing debate
  • Whether or not to blog—and what to do if you do blog
  • Copyrights, registration, and legal issues
  • Publishing options and insights

Plus there are loads of writing tips, submission pointers, and a publishing checklist.

Don’t delay your writing journey any longer. Take the next step, and get your copy of The Successful Author.

Be inspired. Be informed. Be motivated to become the writer you’ve always dreamed of.

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Miscellaneous

Dealing with Job Obsolescence

I remember when I’ve been out of it for a couple of days. I had a cold and lost my appetite. (The only good thing about being sick and not eating is that I am back to my pre-Christmas weight.)

In the midst of my lethargic response to being ill, I watched Wheel of Fortune; which I’ve not viewed an entire episode in years. I noticed that much has changed. Initially, Vanna White was a “letter turner.”

Then, with advances in technology, there is nothing left to turn. And although she touched each tile before the letter displays, I suspected that someone else was actually making it happen—after all, if they can make the tiles light up without Vanna’s help, they can likewise make the letters display, sans Vanna.

Sadly, Vanna’s original job had become obsolete and superfluous.  Correspondingly, it was likely, that sometime during our working lifetime, we, too, will be faced with job obsolescence.

There were two ways to deal with such a development. One is to prepare for an alternate career. Vanna has done some acting. However, her leading role foray (Goddess of Love) was not well-received (for the record, I had no objections).

The other strategy of preparing for job obsolescence is to make oneself essential to the organization. This is exactly what happened. Vanna, although was no longer performing a substantive role in the show’s mechanics, has nevertheless become so crucial to its ongoing success as to have been named the show’s co-host. 

This developed even though we are only allowed to hear Vanna in the closing seconds of each episode (though I am quite sure that her mic used to be on throughout the show, allowing her to cheer for and encourage the contestants.)

So, courtesy of Vanna White we can ascertain some great career strategies: 1) develop other options and 2) make yourself indispensable.  Either way, you’ll be covered.

Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD, is an author, blogger, and publisher with over 30 years of writing and publishing experience. Check out his book The Successful Author for insider tips and insights.

Categories
Miscellaneous

A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste

Years ago, in a June issue of Inc Magazine includes an article, Innovation: The Outer Limits, which captured my attention. It detailed “the hottest, most mind-blowing high-tech products” looming on the horizon. It certainly grabbed my attention, causing me to shudder with glee—really.

First were quantum computers, promising to run circles around the current offerings, reducing hours of calculations to mere seconds. Then there were devices that will detect and respond to brain waves—great for gamers and virtual reality projections. Listed next was manufactured body parts: prostheses, replacement eyes, and synthetic organs. 

Another promising advance lies in the area of nanotechnology with the ability to alter substances at the molecular level and—my personal fav—nanomachines that could be injected into your body to repair, rebuilt, or scour.

Last was the opportunity to chemically enhance the brain, thereby improving memory. This really excited me. Wouldn’t it be great to remember more and quickly recall details? Sign me up! But wait. What about the things you want to forget? That unhappy consideration dimmed my enthusiasm a bit. 

However, what really gave me pause was the recollection of a novel I read in high school (if I can recall something from four decades ago, maybe my memory’s not all that bad after all—but then, why do I sometimes blank on my address?)

The book was Flowers for Algernon (see the Spark Notes to refresh your memory—ironic humor intended). Essentially, it’s about a mentally challenged man who undergoes an experimental process, which catapults him to the genius level. Unfortunately, the mental improvement is short-lived as he soon regresses to his former self, with the implication that he could soon die.

Technology is exhilarating and its implications are exciting, but given the potential downside, perhaps I’m not quite ready to improve my memory after all.

Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD, is an author, blogger, and publisher with over 30 years of writing and publishing experience. Check out his book The Successful Author for insider tips and insights.

Categories
Miscellaneous

How to Understand Weather Forecasts

Are you sometimes confused by weather forecasts? I am.

“Sunny” and “cloudy” I comprehend, but “partly sunny,” “mostly sunny,” “partly cloudy,” and “mostly cloudy” leave me a bit unsure.

My hope was to clarify this, but the only conclusion I can reach is “No one knows for sure.”

The Reader’s Digest said “partly sunny” is the same as “mostly cloudy,” while “mostly sunny” equates to “partly cloudy,” as in:

sunny (or clear)
mostly sunny or partly cloudy
partly sunny or mostly cloudy
cloudy

But I couldn’t corroborate this. Another source says the middle ground is shared by “partly sunny,” which is the same as “partly cloudy,” with “mostly cloudy” residing on one side and “mostly sunny” on the other side. This results in:

sunny (or clear)
mostly sunny
partly sunny or partly cloudy
mostly cloudy
cloudy

And I found other explanations as well.

Of course, any forecast with “sunny” in it would only apply to daylight hours, while indications of cloudiness level is equally applicable for day or night.

Perhaps the real explanation is if weather forecasters can keep us confused, there’s less chance of us accusing them of being wrong.

Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD, is an author, blogger, and publisher with over 30 years of writing and publishing experience. Check out his book The Successful Author for insider tips and insights.