Lois W. Stern is a great believer in reaching out to help other authors, and now, having just received a coveted Finalist Award for her latest anthology, Tales2Inspire ~ The Diamond Collection-Series III, she has reaffirmed her belief in also reaching out to help herself.
"As a child," Stern stated, "I often heard these words, spoken by the noted scholar, Hillel: 'If I’m not for myself, who will be for me. If I’m only for myself, what am I? If not now, when?' Somehow those words must have become indelibly etched in my mind, because helping other authors has become an important part of my life’s work."
Along with her other writing accomplishments, since her retirement Lois has made it part of her life’s work to help other talented authors get the name recognition they deserve. And so, in 2012 she started her Tales2Inspire® ‘Authors Helping Authors' project/contest, as a way to recognize authors of the most inspiring stories that match the selected theme for that year. Although she has never charged authors to participate, to her surprise she has discovered that the more she helps lend others a helping hand, the more she continues to help brand herself.
This year Lois tried something new, proving that she could also be ‘for herself’. She combined all the stories from two Tales2Inspire Collections: (The Pearl: Stories of Awesome Kids) and (The Garnet: Stories in Feathers and Fur) into one larger anthology titled Tales2Inspire ~ The Diamond Collection - Series III, and entered it into a contest. To her great delight, she was notified that it was selected Finalist in the prestigious National Indie Excellence Award.
How Tales2Inspire® works: Each year Lois selects a new theme and first screens all submitted stories, accepting only those she thinks have a good shot in her annual competition. Then she sends each of those stories to a jury composed of three of those other authors, who use her click, click, click automated evaluation form for scoring, and also write a brief critique to give that author possible content editing suggestions. Each author then gets a second chance to edit their work.There are no submission fees. Each published story ends with a personal author bio page and their headshot. Winning authors receive many no-charge platform-building opportunities to set them on the path to discovery.
To be assured that each submitted story is true, Lois asks authors to submit at least one original photograph with their story to help authenticate its veracity. But even she didn’t realize the additional power photos would lend to these stories until she started reading Amazon posted reviews. Fans of Chicken Soup for the Soul are particularly enamored of Tales2Inspire books, commented on how much more they enjoyed the ‘Tales2Inspire’ stories, calling them more authentic and stating how much the inclusion of photos further enhanced the power of each story.
Because each of the stories included in any of the Tales2Inspire® collections is selected for its inspirational value, these books make ideal gifts for both those seeking a simple pick-me-up as well as those looking for uplifting, motivational messages presented in a very powerful way. Lois likes to remind those giving Tales2Inspire® books as gifts to take a moment to do this first: “Write a short message inside the front cover telling that person why they are special to you. I can almost guarantee that in that way, you are giving a cherished gift with lasting impact, (rather than a box of chocolates that disappears in a day or two.)" Each ‘Tales2Inspire’ book is filled with inspiring stories written by her winning authors. Their uplifting messages of hope and motivation make them appropriate reading for any age group.
More than a creation, ‘Tales2Inspire’ has become a passion, to which Lois dedicates over 100 hours per week. She has now published ten inspiring story anthologies, each with a separate theme, including ’Beyond Coincidence’, ‘Personal Awakenings’, ‘Gifts of Compassion’, ‘Awesome Kids’, ‘Stories of Feathers & Fur’ and others. Her upcoming theme, ‘Turning the Page’, will likely include submissions relating to our current pandemic and its aftermath, but will hardly be limited to that topic. Category updates, submission details and more are continually updated on the Tales2inspire® website.
Lois W. Stern is available for media interviews and can be reached using the information below or by email at tales2inspire@optimum.net. ‘Tales2Inspire’ is available at Amazon and other online retailers. More information is available at the website at http://www.tales2inspire.com.
Profile:
After twenty years as an active educator, Lois W. Stern continued to pursue her love for writing, soon becoming co-editor of the then popular Long Island web-zine, LI EYE. She created and authored her column, ‘Ordinary People, ExtraordinaryIdeas’ as a means to explore the fascinating stories of local unsung heroes and then discovered her special niche of inspiring human interest stories. In 2012 she expanded on that idea with her Tales2Inspire® ‘Authors Helping Authors’ project.
Lois recently has undertaken another ‘Author Helping Author’ project by becoming Book Review Coordinator for Carolyn Howard-Johnson, a ten year UCLA adjust writing professor, for her popular blog, TheNewBookReviewBlogSpot. As her Book Review Coordinator, Lois posts review requests along with helpful hints on how to get book reviews frugally yet ethically, but also encourages authors to continue to brand themselves while writing reviews for fellow authors.
Contact:
Lois W. Stern
http://www.tales2inspire.com
tales2inspire@optimum.net
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