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About Sharon's Picks
and Other Resource Links
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As the years go by, the need for economy in my life and my family life seem to increase exponentially. I have had to get very good at finding good deals to maintain our reasonably healthy lifestyle and keep us in clothes that don't look as if they came out of a ragbag. Many of the opportunities for connection in Sharon's Picks represent good deals on products and services that have helped my family and me to have a better quality of life than we could otherwise afford. A few of the things are things I believe in—resources to make the world a better place or to help your writing. Some of them are opportunities to explore unusual or hard-to-find items or resources. Many of them are companies I've done business for years—decades in some cases, Hearthsong and Puritan's Pride in particular.
I am an affiliate for some of these companies. This means if you explore these companies through my links and you decide to purchase something, I get a small percentage of the sale. You get the same exact price you would receive going in any other way; the small percentage is basically the company paying me a tiny bit for advertising space if something actually sells from their link on my pages. Considering the growing financial desperation of my family situation (don't get me started on the state of access to affordable health care in America or the quality of the health care for those who can get it), I'd be a fool not to sign up if a company or resource I want to tell you about anyway has an affiliate program. I'm working hard on noveling, but it is not a quick process in terms of bringing in a little something now. We live far enough from town that any of the low-paying jobs I could get with my total lack of educational credentials would barely pay enough to keep a car in good enough shape to get me there, with little left over to impact my family's situation. Anything that can help tide us over until I start breaking into fiction markets would be very helpful. It takes time to put up the links and to run this site, so I think it's fair for me to get a little for the wall-space, so to speak.
I have standards though, and they are high. I started this website because I want to share things that have helped me become a stronger, surer, more efficient writer, and also some things that help me stay healthier and live more economically. So many writers go through periods of great economy as they struggle to break in that the two are tied together pretty strongly in my own mind and life. If I think something helps me and might help you, I'm going to tell you, whether or not I make a cent off the process.
For example, One Year to a Writing Life is a book I think every writer should have, and I recommend it all over this website, but if you order it through your local independent bookstore (my top-pick for how to acquire it), I don't get a cent. Even so, that is how I would like you to get it, so more stores can get a peek at this excellent resource. For another example, I also don't get a cent for recommending The Art of Original Thinking, but it is a book I think everyone should read, and I recommend it at every opportunity.
I also go to considerable trouble to provide a lot of totally free resources on this website and to link to other places that are basically free resources. So if resources that do offer an affiliate program are ones that I think are good resources and they have some relevance to writing or writers' lifestyles (which, for me, includes economies of lifestyle), I don't think that there's anything wrong with me signing up as an affiliate.
On the other side of that coin, Sears probably has an affiliate program, and I know that Columbia House does, but even if it could make me a ton of money I wouldn't go affiliate for either of them. I've gotten such sleazy business from both, that I wouldn't recommend Sears (especially for anything major) to anyone, and while Columbia House does have some good prices, their deals are not always exactly what they say they will be, their 'contact' procedure is unhelpful, and their selection has gone way downhill recently, too, for my taste. I also won't sign up with Amazon anytime soon, because I would so much rather have you get books from independent booksellers, and there are a number of things I dislike about Amazon's policies and attitudes.
I promise I will never, ever sign up with some affiliate program for a business I don't like or have never done business with just to make a buck. I will even give you some cautions about some places I do recommend. I don't know how to be more honest than that. I don't want you to buy anything that won't help your writing or your life be better, and to the best of my ability I will never send you to anywhere that practices sleazy business (which is not the same as saying everything in every catalog is a quality item, mind you, but if you don't like something, you shouldn't have a huge problem returning it with the businesses I list, and if you did, I would want to know about it).
Here are some of the reasons that these businesses and services made the "Sharon's Picks" list:
Costa Wine Design — Aside from the fact that Jamie Costa is my niece, she is very talented and is now turning old wine bottles into an array of useful and ornamental items. Quality is top notch; service is fast and professional. This is a great place to shop for an unusual wedding, anniversary, or housewarming gift, or anytime you are looking for a gift for someone who likes unusual serving pieces and accessories. Jamie can also take your special-occasion bottle and turn it into a beautiful memento.
Visit Costa Wine Designs to view some of the most elegant recycling I have ever seen. Jamie is also a talented graphic artist, and if you are self-publishing and looking for someone who can help you do a cover that is a definite cut above the ones you can put together at some of the self-publishing sites, Jamie would be a good person to contact, which you can do through her online shop.
The Holly Shop — I am proud to be an affiliate for Holly Lisle. Her whole affiliate program is geared towards trying to help aspiring writers earn a little something to help them get by while they try to get their own writing out there. As an affiliate program, its terms are the most generous I've ever seen, and I am helping to put the word out on a line of the most useful fiction writing products I have ever used. Holly has helped my writing process so much. I wish I'd had the Create A Plot Clinic about six years sooner than I did.
I'd be a lot closer to my goals if I had, but I'm catching up, now that I've got it, and I'm giving those of you who are aspiring novelists a great opportunity to learn some very useful things about the business of being a professional novelist by featuring Holly's products and links to her free articles on this site. If you want to write fiction and you don't want to take years to slog through each novel, you cannot have a better teacher than Holly Lisle. If you visit the The Holly Shop through any of my links and decide to make a purchase, a generous part of your purchase will go to support this website, my struggling family, and my own writing efforts. Other e-books of hers that I have found very helpful include the Create A Character Clinic, Create A Culture Clinic, and How to Write Page-Turning Scenes. The Holly Shop offers many other resources that may be just what you need to further your process.
Imagekind —
I love Imagekind. It is one of the many businesses made possible by Internet marketing that has put greater control into the hands of the artist creating the work, while presenting the work to a wider audience. As
CD Baby has done for independent recording artists, online galleries such as Imagekind do for photographers and graphic artists, giving them control over their products and pricing. I wish I could afford more art, but when I
can afford something, I like to make a purchase that actually puts money into the hand of an artist more directly than getting some generic, mass-produced furniture store print.
The range of art on Imagekind is amazing, and many of the images can be purchased inexpensively as cards, for those who cannot afford or do not have room for larger pieces. Those of you who are artists/photographers as well as writers should check out the seller's end of Imagekind, too. It's a pretty good deal—it gives you a great deal of control. You upload, they do all of the order fulfillment, and you can list up to 25 images for free, which makes it pretty painless to give it a shot. You still need to promote your work if you want it to sell, but what you don't have to do is make prints or have them made or frame them or ship them (I'm sure a lot of the real income for the Imagekind folks comes from the custom framing shop). They do it all; you get whatever you set as the amount you want above their basic price for that particular product type. I am so grateful that their program allows me to have so many wonderful pictures on my virtual walls, so I can be an art gallery as well as writers inspiration spot.
You are a writer, so instead of buying commercial cards for your most special loved ones, why not select a card from Imagekind (or a local artist or photographer in your own area) that you know the person would love, and write something special to go inside it? This is a good way to show the people you love how much you care while also supporting a fellow artist.
Frames Direct —
I love Frames Direct, too, and they have my gratitude to boot. Over the last 10+ years, I have had an increasingly difficult time finding frames for my glasses locally. I have a wide face, and the fact that I have an active lifestyle and a progressive prescription means I do better in frames with a larger lens. Unfortunately the local eye shops have all been increasingly targeting the young and trendy market, leaving those of us who like a more classic style frame out in the cold. My last two pairs from local venues (before Frames Direct) were awful. In each case I had two, at most, choices, and the one pair was about the ugliest I've ever had as an adult and the other was the most uncomfortable. Then the trendy ones got really slit-shaped and I wondered what on earth I was going to do, because the ones I had were killing my nose and I needed a new prescription, and there was nothing even close to what I needed or that would look good in available locally.
With some trepidation, I went searching online, and when I found that Frames Direct actually has a way you can upload your photo (you'll need to have someone shoot a straight-on digital close-up photo of your face) and try frames on your face, I gave it a shot. Wow. It was bewildering, because when I finally stopped building a list and started narrowing down, I had thirty-something possible choices, all of which met my face size, lens-size and general shapes-that-look-good-on-me criteria. The try-on feature worked great, and these are the most attractive and comfortable glasses I've had in something like 12 years, thanks to Frames Direct.
Fortunately, the local place that does my eye exams will work with frames from an outside source (they are part of a chain store operation and the local eye departments have no say over what frames they carry, but I like and trust the ophthalmologist who does the exams, and I've had good experience with them dealing with lenses if there is a problem). So I had the best of both—great frames but a local prescription and lenses in case there are problems. If you can't find frames you like where you live, I highly recommend this great online store and service. They have lots of cool sunglasses, too.
Vistaprint —
Why travel or attend a conference or meeting with a funky home-made contact or business card (or no card at all), when Vistaprint has such great bargains? If you have a book or website or business you are promoting, they have a wide range of promotional items, many free or at reduced price. I even found wonderful little gifts and stocking stuffers amongst their bargains and promotional freebies &mdash things like sticky note pads and even nice spiral-bound notebooks. You can customize many items—or example, on a notebook, pick the cover with the beautiful photo of mountains in water, choose "Reflections" as a theme or title, and have the name of the person you are gifting put at the bottom. Or for a student, pick a cover that would appeal to the person and simply have it printed with "Sally Brown's Notebook." I personalized post-its on a number of themes for cute stocking stuffers. What wasn't free was cheap. If you need a bunch of promotional stuff and/or gifts and play your cards right, it adds up to good bargains.
I signed up for their email sale notices. They send out too many, but if I don't need anything at the moment, I just ignore or delete them. If there's a holiday coming up, or I'm running low on cards (I have three kinds, my site cards, my writer cards, and my solar advocacy cards) or my car magnet is wearing out, I start checking the emails until what I need most is cheap or free. If you don't need something fairly soon, just watch and wait, because it will usually come around again when you do need it.
There are lots of ways to customize many of the Vistaprint products, and you can have a portfolio there that saves your designs for future orders. Also, uploading your own designs or photos is easy and free or cheap, depending on the promo. They provide quick service, too, and my orders have always arrived in good shape. I was especially impressed with the packing job on a few sample Write 'em Cowgirls mugs that I ordered. So though Vistaprint is kind of loud on promo and they have too many sales, I think it is worth it for the terrific deals, good products, and professional service.
ed2go —
The ed2go classes with which I have personal experience are both levels of Writeriffic, taught by Eva Shaw. You can read more about my Writeriffic experience on the Nonfiction page. I learned a lot, and I felt the class was a good value: just under a hundred dollars for 12 lessons in six weeks, with actual instructor feedback. Two lessons a week that you can do at your own times/speed can fit into many busy schedules. I highly recommend Writeriffic for people who want a broad but fairly quick overview course in what is involved in being a professional writer in a number of areas (fiction, articles, essays, columns, op-ed, etc.).
There are many other writing classes at ed2go, as well as classes on a variety of other subjects. While I cannot vouch for classes I haven't taken, at least ed2go's reasonable rates limit our risk somewhat compared to many other online writing classes and programs I have seen. If you want the equivalent of, say, a good continuing-ed course, but you want it from the comfort of your home, ed2go is worth checking out.
Hearthsong —
I love Hearthsong, too. I think my son was maybe nine or ten when a good friend turned me on to Hearthsong when it was a small California operation. (Since then it has been acquired by Plow and Hearth, who have done a better job than I thought they might of maintaining a fair bit of the original spirit.) So I have been shopping at Hearthsong for almost thirty years now, and it is still my favorite mail/online order place to shop for really cool toys. My son, nieces, nephews, grandkids, and assorted young friends would agree, and sometimes I even find cool toys for grown-ups there. Hearthsong carries a lot of creativity toys, craft kits, indoor and outdoor toys, many toys made from natural materials, unusually cool games (table and card games, not video ones), and more. I love the variety, and as times get tougher, I especially appreciate some of the great deals I have found in their clearance section. If you want to get cool toys that young relatives or friends will not already have from Walmart or Toys-r-Us, my best advice is, "go to Hearthsong."
Puritan's Pride —
I have been buying nutritional supplements from Puritan's Pride for many years, because I think they are one of the two best places I can shop online (or through mail-order catalogs) for decent quality supplements at reasonable prices. Places that are cheaper generally do not give as much detailed information about what is in the products and how to use them, and I like to know just what I am buying, while expensive designer supplement outlets can be prohibitively expensive.
We have been happy with products and service from Puritan's Pride. When there has been a problem with a missing or damaged item (this is bound to happen over a period of many years; even with a good company mistakes can happen), replacement has been quick. In all the ways nutritional and herbal supplements can help, my family is very healthy. We could not afford to take the amount and variety of helpful supplements we do if we shopped at one of the high-end supplement venues, but Puritan's Pride makes it possible to get what we need most to stay healthy and keep things like arthritis at bay.
Puritan's Pride has kind of a whacky system of rotating sales—buy one get two free is usually the best one in the rotation—but it always adds up to very good values for the quality of product.
Swanson —
Swanson is the other place I shop for supplements online. They do carry some formulas I like that Puritan's Pride doesn't offer, and there are a few things that I can't afford at Puritan's Pride that Swanson's offers cheaper in a house brand, like buffered vitamin C that is akin to ester-C. On the other hand, Swanson's once sent me slippery elm bark that wasn't, so I get almost all my basic herbs from Puritan's Pride unless it is one of the few they don't carry. Swanson's has product reviews, which can be very helpful, and they also have a useful archive of health articles and research reports.
Orbitz —
Last year's IWWG conference was the first time I have ever bought tickets online rather than through my travel agent. Orbitz got me the best price I have ever had for the trip, good enough that I could fly from a small local airport instead of having to drive a hundred miles the night before and stay at a motel for an ultra-early flight out of Spokane. The itineraries weren't as wacky as some of the online ones I've seen (if I am going from Seattle to upstate New York, I don't want to do the extra time to hit Atlanta or Phoenix for heaven's sake!). It did mix airlines… when a couple flight attendants on one of the Alaska flights asked why I didn't just go Alaska (because the luggage deal was a bit cheaper) and I told them the price I had gotten, their jaws dropped. I cannot guarantee that the Orbitz deals or itineraries will always be so reasonable, but they did well for me, so I have their link up for those who want to check out an online travel service that might save them money.
Jo-Ann —
Jo-Ann is on the list because a lot of writers do craftwork, and some of us may live where there is not a good supply source for materials. Also, those who do live near a Jo-Ann's store may not realize that some of the fancy yarns that the local stores have dropped are still available at their online store, and sometimes there are more colors of yarn available online than the stores carry, too. I also like having a link to Jo-Ann because thy carry therapeutic support gloves, which all writers should have available to put on the minute their wrists start feeling really tired or otherwise causing trouble. They will not cure serious carpal tunnel syndrome, if you've already let things get that bad, but they can help as part of a program to prevent or at least delay such problems or slow their progression. You can read more about support gloves and find links on the Health Tips for Writers page.
Powell's Books —
I think that everyone who is still lucky enough to have a local independent bookseller should go there to get their books as much as possible, even though it won't make me a cent (at least until my books start coming out and you all go down and request them ;). Your indie can generally order books in print, will not charge you shipping, and can often locate books that are out of print. For me, Amazon is a last resort for purchasing books, though I do go there for reviews. If I didn't have my beloved Bookpeople, I would go to Powell's for most of my books, because even though they are one of the world's largest, they are still an independent bookstore. If I didn't have Bookpeople, at least I could support a great store that would still be there when I can make it to Portland, a store that has delighted book lovers for decades. If it's in print, they can likely get it for and to you, and they carry a fascinating assortment of used books as well as new ones. Independent booksellers do more for writers than any other type of venue. Support the people and services who will support you by browsing Powell's first, if you need an online bookstore.
Get Organized —
This company has been providing customers with useful and curious organizers and gadgets for more than 50 years. Their office organizer section is only fair, but they have a lot of things all over the website that can be adapted to home office use. There are shelf units and organizers and baskets and racks and carts and odd-shaped drawers and more that might be just what you need for creating and organizing your own unique writing space, and you can certainly shop for other household needs, too. Cruise all the categories with an open and creative mind. That shoe organizer with the clear cover might be just what you need to organize your extra yarn. I really like the round, tiered shoe carousels, and they carry a number of models.
Writer's Digest Shop —
They carry lots of writing books, have lots of sales and discounts, and sometimes have wonderful bargains in the clearance section. Do remember though, that they are in business to sell books on writing, and they will do the best job by convincing people that all the books will be helpful. While some writing books are helpful, and a few are incredibly helpful, you do not need a lot of writing books to be a writer. The first rule of being a writer is that you must write. Don't get so caught up in studying writing that you stop writing. Be selective. Write enough to identify the areas you want to improve, then look for resources that will help you with those areas. But having said that, they do carry many books on writing and often have great clearance deals if your budget is tight. Between my library and my son's, we have a lot of cool references that have come from them over the years… specialized army manuals, survival books, writers' fact and reference books, etc.
Office Depot —
I wanted to have at least one link to an office supply outlet, especially since there are writers even more rural than I am, who may not live close to a large office supply store. Also, as with Jo-Ann, there may be items available in the online store that are not in the local stores. If you do have a local store, you can sign up at the online store to get weekly sale flyers for the local stores in email.
Current Labels —
Current is more household-oriented than Vistaprint, and they have some really cute designs on cards, return address labels, and other personalized items. I've always liked things I have gotten from Current, though they are not always as fast as Vistaprint.
Scrivener —
Scrivener is very special software for Macs for organizing and writing novels and scripts. I love it. It has revolutionized my novel writing. Unfortunately, the affiliate link to buy Scrivener takes you to a page with no links to any information about it. To actually learn about Scrivener, go to Scrivener's own website. If you decide to buy it and come back to my link to make the actual purchase, my site gets a small cut (again, this does not change the price to you whatsoever), which will help me keep this resource site up and running.
Ads by Google —
When it comes to "Ads by Google", I have relinquished control to the forces of serendipity and the ability of a computer program to guess from the words in my content what might interest readers of the page. Some ads represent legitimate opportunities, while others may bring to mind the old adage "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is." If something sounds interesting, feel free to check it out, but do careful research before spending money or signing anything. I cannot vouch for the businesses that appear in the "Ads by Google" box.
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