blog – Cynthia D. Griffin

artistic, blog, blog series, Celebrating the Journey Of, creativity, inspirational, the creative process

Celebrating the Journey Of Nature Bound Design Co

Posted on January 4, 2021January 4, 2021 by Cynthia D. Griffin

One of the things that I have loved doing in the past on my blog is author interviews for books or series I have read. I’ve decided that I want to broaden that concept and start doing interviews for other people too. There are so many wonderfully talented individuals out there, and I want to celebrate at least some of them on my blog.

So I’ve created this new blog series that I hope to post on at least several times a month, celebrating the journeys of some interesting people I either know, or happen to meet along my own journey.

I’m going to get the ball rolling with Sophia who I met through this blog. She has a business creating handmade jewelry. I saw her products and decided I had to know more about her and her business. So I’m going to hand this over to Sophia, so she can tell you more about her journey.

I love your jewelry designs. I’m curious to know more about your business Nature Bound Design Co. Can you tell us how you got started?

I really got started through my love for nature and the outdoors. I was born in Germany, and I was always out and about there, exploring the beautiful forests and natural areas that my part of that country had to offer. Sometimes my family would go on long hikes as a group, and sometimes I would just spend time in the woods near my house. I was lucky enough to live at the end of a road that terminated near a large forest, so there was plenty of nature to explore right in my backyard! From that exploration grew a love of natural materials, like stones.

I have always been a creative type. From building things to painting and creating music, I have always felt an overwhelming urge to create. One day, I was exploring YouTube and noticed someone creating jewelry from polymer clay pieces that looked like colorful stones. I gave this a try myself, but I found that I didn’t like the non-authentic nature of the clay or the way it smelled when baking. So I decided to try to create with the real stones that I had adored since I was young.

Wire wrapping seemed to be one of the most popular ways to approach this, so I started devouring YouTube videos about how to wire wrap stones. After much practice, I got good enough to feel comfortable opening an Etsy shop to sell what I had created. Close friends were my first customers and support, and I am so thankful that they provided me a foundation to get started!

Tell us a little more about the products you make?

I create mostly wired wrapped jewelry, although I do some beaded pieces that are strung together without any kind of wirework. My hope is to start doing some projects with leather this year, since I just launched a men’s line, so I will be offering woven pieces soon as well!

What makes jewelry making so special to you?

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blog, changes, new journey, self-improvement, writing

Starting A New Journey In Life And This Blog

Posted on December 10, 2020December 13, 2020 by Cynthia D. Griffin

This blog has gone through many updates and changes since I first started it ten years ago. Mostly it started as a writing site, then shifted over to book reviews. Somewhere in between there, I did posts about journaling and posts reflecting on some of the self-improvements I’d gone through. But for the most part, I have tried to keep to a writing theme. That’s about to change.

I realized that in my trying to put this blog “into a box”, I was cutting myself from other possibilities. So I am opening this space up wide to incorporate all of me, not just one part. That’s because I am not just a writer, or book reviewer. I’m a lot of other things, things I’d like to share, but have been hesitant to do so.

If you are looking for just writing posts (not that I’ve done many of those recently…lol) or just book reviews, then this may be where you unfollow me and go elsewhere, I’m totally cool with that. But if you are into a little bit of an adventure, then stick around, because things might get a little interesting.

So how exactly is this “new me/ new blog” going to work?

Well, I decided to sit down and see if I could write a “mission statement” to kind of sum up how I want to move forward with this blog, and with my life. This is what I came up with…

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blog, blog tour, guest post

Guest Post By Anna Mocikat: Are Book Trailers Useful or a Waste of Money?

Posted on May 24, 2020 by Cynthia D. Griffin

Trailers have been around forever in the movie and TV industry. The big studios spend a lot of money on their creation, and even indie films have to come with trailers if they want to succeed in their niche markets. Video game studios also put a lot of effort into the production of trailers, which often show scenes exclusively shot for them.

With the rise of YouTube and social media, trailers have become even more important for the entertainment industry than they used to be in earlier decades.

So, why are book trailers still such a rare phenomenon? And why are many of them so poorly made?

Many indie authors consider the (often costly) option of a trailer for a marketing tool as a waste of money––which is understandable. A good custom-made trailer can cost $300-$500, but of course, there’s no limit on how much can be spent on them. Big publishers often hire marketing companies specialized in TV commercials and easily pay between 10k-50k to advertise the latest books of their bestselling authors.

Others argue that a trailer makes no sense for a book, because, after all, you’re supposed to want to read the book, not watch it like a movie.

I have to admit that ten years ago when book trailers were still a new phenomenon, I thought the same and was therefore surprised when my publisher asked me to have a trailer produced for my book.

However, I completely changed my mind on making trailers since then because of the success of mine.

I have come to believe that book trailers are a valid marketing tool for various reasons.

First of all, our daily life has become much more visual-oriented than ever before. More people are watching YouTube videos nowadays than reading books (sadly). To convince such an audience to give a book a chance, it’s a good move to offer them visual impulses they understand. This is only possible with a trailer. Marketing experts know that moving images are way more powerful than single images, which is why we see short clips as ads for all kinds of products in our feeds on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

Secondly, if big publishers are willing to spend thousands of dollars on a single trailer for a single book, then it must be worth it. Big publishers never spend money on anything for no reason. They have stone-cold marketing experts who constantly evaluate which strategy is useful and which isn’t. So if it works for the big publishers, then it can also work for Indie and small press authors.

All that being said, I would strongly advise keeping away from making a trailer yourself if your only experience with videography is shooting little videos with your phone and posting them on Facebook.

It’s the same as with book covers. Every book marketing guru will advise you to hire a skilled cover designer instead of trying to photoshop something by yourself. Don’t. Just don’t.

It’s similar with trailers. A bad trailer is counterproductive. It quickly can turn out boring or look amateurish, which will likely scare potential readers off instead of convincing them to buy your book.

The same can be said about so-called “generic” trailers. If you do some research, you will quickly find people willing to make you a trailer for $50-$100. As so often in life, you will experience a simple truth: you get what you pay for. Your trailer will turn out dull, soulless, and/or feature footage and images everyone has seen a hundred times.

If you decide to have a trailer for your book, find someone who will put effort and creativity into it, and who is willing to create something unique for you––as unique as your book, and transporting its essence visually.

There are two kinds of trailers I would recommend:

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blog, networking, writing

Blogger Elissa Renee: Loves To Help Others

Posted on September 20, 2019 by Cynthia D. Griffin

I ran across Elissa Renee on Twitter last week, and I was impressed with how much she likes to reach out and help others. This sort of thing always makes me stop and take another look, because that mentality really resonates with me.

One of the really cool things that got my attention about Elissa is that she likes to take blog posts, or even whole blogs of others, and create pins and post them up on her Pinterest account. I did not even know you could do that (does that mean I’m woefully behind the times? lol). Anyways I thought it was a really neat idea. I might even do this myself. I might have to dust off my Pinterest account first.

Anyways, Elissa is pretty active on Twitter, so you can have a fun chat with her here. Or you check out her blog. Or jump over to her Pinterest account and check out some really neat pins she has up there of her own and from others’ blogs.

I’m always on the search for fun, interesting, and helpful people, and I was pleased to run across Elissa. I’m going to keep looking and see who else I can find.

Do you know of any bloggers out there (yourself included) you can recommend to me? I am actively creating a network of like-minded individuals that have a message and want to get it out there. Please feel free to post links in the comments below.

blog, inspiration, inspirational, writing

A Blog on Writing and Personal Empowerment

Posted on September 7, 2019September 20, 2020 by Cynthia D. Griffin

This blog has gone through many transformations, but I feel the most recent one has been the most significant. I have spent a lot of time redesigning, revamping, and reconsidering how I want this blog to go in recent months. It took a while for me to fit the pieces together, but I am finally starting to see a picture form.

Up until a few weeks ago this blog has been me just throwing things out there that have come to me in my journey of life. For a great while it was solely dedicated to writing and writing posts. Then August of last year, I started the Speak Your Truth series because I decided I had more to say other than just writing. I think all of my actions on this blog have been leading me up to this.

It’s a coming out party for me. As I have decided I want to say more and do more. I have sat on the sidelines long enough. I want to get out there and do something. You see, just because I had a blog didn’t mean I actually did anything significant with it. It was simply a place to post ideas. But I want to start going beyond that and start engaging people. I want to be a place of not just ideas, but a place of inspiration and collaboration.

What does that mean exactly? I still don’t have all the pieces. I’m moving forward one step at a time. I want to add more online classes to offer what knowledge I have to those seeking it. I want to begin a weekly newsletter to help connect and motivate people. I want to help promote other authors and their work. I want to help inspire people to rise higher and claim their personal power.

So with all that in mind, I have changed the message behind this blog to more clearly state what it is I’m doing here. This is a blog on writing, but also a blog supporting and inspiring personal empowerment.

Writing fiction isn’t enough for me. I want to do more, be more, and give back more. I am excited in this new journey, and I hope all of you will enjoy it as I offer these new ideas and encouragement. I will close with one of my favorite quotes of all times.

“Be the change you wish to see in the world.” ––Mahatma Gandhi