First, I'd like to apologize to the author, Alyson B. Stanfield, for having taken a year to read and review this book. She graciously gave me a copy and in between my busy schedule, and reading the book, I got lost. In fact, I started this book three times over. Not because it was a bad book but because it was so chock full of good advice that every time I picked it up and read a bit more, my mind would churn and I'd go off to put some of her advice into practice. Time passed and I'd have to go and start it all over, just so I could make sure I gave the book a proper reading to write this review.

I'd Rather Be In the Studio is an amazing book that, while targeting artists looking to build their business and promote themselves, I'd highly recommend it to anyone looking to promote their passions. Stanfield structures the book around eight basic excuses that artists (and writers, *ahem* *cough*) conjure up when faced with marketing and self-promoting themselves and their work— excuses such as "I don't have the time," or "There aren't enough hours in the day to do it all," or "I'm an introvert." Stanfield refutes each excuse in detail before going into the action-chapters that help to combat each excuse. For example, she mentions in the "My art speaks for itself" excuse that an artist's work never really speaks for itself, that when others say things about an artist's piece of art, they are simply reacting to it (good or bad). Then she follows up this section with two chapters: one that shows you how to harness the power of an artist statement, and another on speaking or teaching as an expert in the field.

Blog Brainstorm - Download (29.29 MB)
Yearly Goals - Download (33.22 MB)

View photos here: http://ahhh-design.com/goals-a-new-year/

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Editor's Note: Hey gang, sorry this article is late in posting, it has been done for awhile but since it features a huge nine-book signature upload, we've been having a hard time locating server space to host the files. We're putting the files on Jordan's site for now; so go easy on his web server. Thanks for your patience!

Last month, I introduced you to the The Middle Way Method, which is a productivity system I made up that works for me. Today I'm going to show you the kit that I made for use with that system. One of the reasons I created this system was because I wanted to ditch the binder. I've been wanting to create my own books for a while now, and this gave me the perfect opportunity to show off my creative skills. I'm currently using the first book I made as a journal; and my second, third, and fourth books become the basis of my planner.

As you can see from the first photograph, my kit has three parts: a 9-signature planning book, and two single signature sub-notebooks: a Weekly Diabetes Tracker (containing 6 weeks of data) and an address book. I also keep a stash of index cards inside the kit, when I need them.

Before you set about to create your own kit, I suggest you read the following articles:

• innowen's Intro to Bookbinding 101 article. It teaches you bookbinding vocabulary and gives you an idea of the tools you'll need.
• Michael Shannon's Make Your Own Moleskine-Like-Notebook post. Use the instructions and techniques in this 5-page guide to bind the main book together.
• innowen's Intro to Bookbinding 101: Your First Book article. This guides you through the process of making single signature books (handy if you want to create sub-notebooks).

Includes: at-a-glance, blank daily, blank monthly -- duplicates of pages pushed to left/right sides of page to make room for 3-hole punch on 2-sided printing:

Very minimal and light to inspire creativity and leave room for your own notes and doodles to shine!

View photos here

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This week Jordan gives us some history and tips on logo design. Download and use his Logo Development Sheets to create your own logos.

With the advent of television and the Internet, and online communities, we have all become a unique brand. In this article I’m going to show you how you can create your own personal, or familial, logo. A logo is important in branding. It is a visual communication that helps people associate you and your services with a picture.

Communicating visually has been an important part of human history. Dynastic Egypt used a symbol known as a Serekh. A Serekh was created for Royalty. These rectangular hieroglyphs were used to distinguish each ruling family apart. Egyptians placed the god Horus on the top, the name of the reining King in the middle, and the palace of the rule on the bottom. Serekhs were used to relay the necessary message of royal power. Later versions added an epithet within each glyph.

It’s October and that means only one thing. The NaNoWriMo site relaunched and the forum boards opened to a flood of new ideas and discussions. It’s time to sign-up and explore the depths of your inner writer. Those familiar with this site and my column know that I am a 100% rabid devotee of NaNoWriMo. I’ve been participating in this madcap writing adventure for eight years now. As of this post, I have no idea what I’ll be writing about. But I’m confident that when the clock strikes midnight, signaling the beginning of November 2009, that I will be off and running, and writing until I reach 50,000 words.

Usually, I’d spend this post sharing some tidbit of wisdom or knowledge to help those who have joined in the fun learn how to be triumphant in this challenge. However, I’ve become insanely busy this year; so instead this post sounds more like a NaNoWri-cap or "best of" listing, rather than me sharing something new. Let the list of links below refresh your memory and spark new ideas for this year’s crop of noveling insanity.

• NaNoWriMo 2008 Last year’s post talked about how I went analog and gave you all some ideas on how to join in on the fun with me.
• NaNoWriMo 2007 Advice from a first time participant on what helped them achieve greatness.
• NaNoWriMo 2006 The power of brainstorming and how it can help you uncover plot ideas and generate outlines.
• NaNoWriMo 2005 Using D*I*Y Compact Planner Story forms to plot your way to victory.
• Review: No Plot? No Problem! A review of the NaNoWriMo companion book written Chris Baty, the founder of NaNoWriMo.
• Cheer Me On: Writing Buddies How you and your friends can cheer each other on as you write, write, write all through November.

If you’re gunning for novelizing glory come join us! Add me and the other members from D*I*Y Planner who take on this challenge to your buddy list. To all the official (and un-official) NaNoWriMo 2009 participants, good luck and I hope your muses bless you with many, many words.

So, a few people have emailed me about my current productivity tools. They want to know if I'm using Circa, if I've given up on fountain pens, if I ever use software, and so on. One even deduced that the reason for my absence from DIYPlanner was because I had crossed from analog completely into the digital world. The latter is certainly not the case, and my forays into the land o' ones and zeroes have typically resulted in my throwing up my hands in frustration, wondering how some people live without paper. (Keep in mind I'm an IT professional and gadget freak, so I don't say this lightly.)

So, read on for a little summary of my daily gear at the moment....

A Whack on the Side of the Head: How You Can Be More Creative author: Roger von Oech asin: 0446404667

Creative Whack Pack author: Roger Von Oech asin: 0880793589

Thinkertoys: A Handbook of Creative-Thinking Techniques (2nd Edition) author: Michael Michalko asin: 1580087736

Day-Timer 80844 Personal organizer starter set, aviator leather binder, 5-1/2x8-1/2, dark tan asin: B00006GNWW

Leatherman 830039 New Wave Multitool with Leather Sheath asin: B0002H49BC

Lowepro Slingshot 200 All Weather Backpack (Black) asin: B000B9O83A

Pelikan 800 Series Fountain Pen - Black, Fine Nib 995563 asin: B000CN9KWO

Lamy 2000 Fountain Pen - Black, Fine Nib L01F asin: B001D3PYT0

Nikon D90 DX 12.3MP Digital SLR Camera with 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G ED AF-S VR DX Nikkor Zoom Lens asin: B001ENOZY4

I've been searching for the perfect writing software for awhile now. I know that this mythical software won't improve my writing skills per se. But having the right type of writing software does help keep what I write and its structure organized while I work on choosing the precise words and setting them down onto the virtual page. As such, I've used several different applications geared towards writing professionals, and I think I have found the right application for both my writing needs and style. It's called Scrivener and it’s published by Literature and Latte.

Over the years I've found that writing a book or novel requires much more than just starting at the beginning and working your way to THE END. Writing the first draft gets messy and sometimes authors don't want to write the whole piece from the beginning. Instead we may want to focus on character sketches, world building, or we may just want to get the most exciting climatic scene written first. Using a traditional word processor where everything is entered into a single document, containing multiple non-linear thoughts on a myriad of subjects, is hard to do. MS Word was not designed for creative, chaotic writing that jumps around; it doesn't conform to non-linear thought patterns. If I were using Word to do heavy writing, the moment I decide to skip 100 pages into the text to first revise a scene and then move somewhere else to jot a note about a character, I'd end up spending more time searching for the two locations than I'd spend actually typing in the text itself. That's where modular writing and Scrivener come into play.

Recently I've had a growing interest in finding books that help creatives grow their own business. They seem to be few and far between. I reviewed Craft, Inc. last year and found it a great resource for starting your own business. However, while it covered many aspects of running a business, I found that it wasn't good for actually teaching you how to set-up and create your own business from conception to reality. Enter Lisa Sonora Beam and The Creative Entrepreneur. Billed as a "DIY Visual Guidebook for Making Business Ideas Real", this book not only teaches readers the fundamentals of building a business to match their creative dream, but it presents the core business concepts in a way that makes them easy for creative personalities to understand.

The Creative Entrepreneur developed out of workshops that Beam created and offered "creatives" who wanted to take their craft and turn them into viable business opportunities. She does not believe that artists need to starve in order to succeed. This book is her legacy; it shows artists that they, too, can grasp business concepts that turn their artistic visions into concrete and functioning business plans—no matter what they are. At first glance, this book looks more like an art technique book than a business fundamentals primer. Don't let the shiny fool you; The Creative Entrepreneur packs an informative punch. Beam introduces the book by explaining how the visual journalling process aides in the process of business creation. She encourages readers to follow along with the exercises in this book, just as if they were sitting in on one of her workshops.

The Creative Entrepreneur: A DIY Visual Guidebook for Making Business Ideas Real author: Lisa Sonora Beam asin: 1592534597