Upcoming Appearances and New Websites

Hi! It's been quite a while!

Just want to update you on where to find me these days and on upcoming appearances and events I have scheduled through 2019.

New websites:

HireMe.WordWhisperer.net (My professional copywriting website)
YellowBalloonPublications.com (My author and personal appearances website and blogs)
Krisand Kritters.com (My animal-centric website)

New DeForest Kelley Books:

DeForest Kelley Up Close and Personal: A Harvest of Memories from the Fan Who Knew Him Best (This is an enhanced edition of DeForest Kelley: A Harvest of Memories, My Life and Times with a Remarkable Gentleman Actor)
The Enduring Legacy of DeForest Kelley: Actor, Healer, Friend
Kelley Phone Tag: The Rest of the Story (there will be six volumes rolled out between now and the celebration of De's 100th birthday on January 20, 2020.  Volumes 1-3 are available now in paperback and Kindle editions. Find out more about them here:

https://www.amazon.com/Kristine-M.-Smith/e/B001HN12DS%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share


UPCOMING 2019 PERSONAL APPEARANCES

B&G Sponsored Events will have a series of bazaars that will take place at 602 North Orchard Street in Tacoma, WA 98406 (it's at a church but is not a church-sponsored event). I will be at all of them except the June 15th one, when I will be at Raincon in Forks WA at the Rainforest Arts Center talking with attendees about my thirty-year friendship with Carolyn and DeForest Kelley.

The B&G Sponsored Events will take place from 10AM to 4PM on the following dates at the address listed above: May 18th, July 20, August 17, October 12, November 16 and December 14.(There will also be a bazaar on June 15th, but I won't be at that one.)

 RAINCON FORKS WA JUNE 14-16, 2019
10AM TO 1 AM ON FRIDAY AND SATURDAY 
10AM TO 4PM SUNDAY

I will be speaking at 1PM on Saturday June 15 for about an hour. 

I will have a book-signing table at the following times:

FRIDAY 4 PM TO 8 PM

SATURDAY 10 AM TO 6 PM (except 12:45 to 1:15 PM)

SUNDAY 10 AM TO 11 AM ONLY!

Please buy the books you want me to sign in advance at Amazon. I will only have 30 copies of UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL at these events and just a few copies (fewer than ten) of my other titles. So to be sure you aren't disappointed, buy them in advance and bring them with you to these events. Thanks a million!

Cosmic Potato: TPD Episode 8: Kristine M. Smith

Cosmic Potato: TPD Episode 8: Kristine M. Smith: This week marks the 50th anniversary of Star Trek. To help celebrate I invited a very special guest to come on this episode of the show...

Visit YellowBalloonPublications.com for Lots of DeForest Kelley-Related Updates and Information

Please visit YellowBalloonPublications.com for lots of DeForest Kelley-related updates and information!! I'm writing blogs there now!

And since this is the 50th anniversary of Star Trek I'm doing a lot of interviews and podcasts about De's career and my decades-long friendship with him and his wife Carolyn.

I have an audio version of DeForest Kelley Up Close and Personal: A Harvest of Memories from the Fan Who Knew Him Best.

Listen to/see the interviews and order the audio version of the book EXCLUSIVELY at YellowBalloonPublications.com.

De ya there!

DeForest Kelley Memorial Film Shown at Paramount and the Golden Boot Awards Ceremony in 1999

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCSPimDxXDw

Yes, they spelled his last name wrong...  even at Paramount after 50 years of doing movies with them!

3 Ways #DeForestKelley is Still Making the World a Better Place

3 Ways DeForest Kelley is Still Making the World a Better Place

Actor #DeForestKelley passed away on June 11, 1999 but his portrayal of Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy in the original #StarTrek television and motion picture series’ continues to impact the world in medical clinics, hospitals and other places across the globe.

 

1.) The late actor DeForest Kelley would likely be one of the last people on earth  to suppose—or even to imagine—that his legacy would extend more than a few years beyond his lifetime. In fact, when asked by Dan Madsen how he wished to be remembered, DeForest—familiarly known as “De” to his friends and legions of fans—responded that he wondered if he would be remembered at all. “There’s nothing deader than a dead actor!” he told Madsen—which is generally true. Fewer than ten greats and too-soon-gone icons are still widely remembered and celebrated by the masses decades later: Charlie Chaplin, Laurence Olivier, Humphrey Bogart, Katharine Hepburn, John Wayne, James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, and Elvis Presley.

So the self-effacing actor would likely be astounded (and definitely touched and honored)to learn of the breadth and width of his enduring legacy. For it’s a fact that countless Dr. McCoy “clones” are tending patients in medical clinics and hospitals across the globe. Whether they’re doctors, nurses, or medical technicians, many were inspired to enter the fields they’re in because of Kelley’s portrayal of Dr. McCoy.

According to Kelley, Dr. McCoy was based on one of Kelley’s Encino doctors… old-fashioned to the core, the way his doctor uncle had been….the kind who, if he didn’t make house calls, would if he could. Kelley’s doctor brought his dog to work with him. His practice was home-like, unhurried, and welcoming. It isn’t hard to imagine that most of today’s McCoy clones emulate the same relational concern and caring, with or without the canine companion.

2.) For the most part, De’s fans have continued to carry De’s ‘katra’ with them. Deeply concerned for the welfare of others (animal, human, veterans, hospitalized children, and fans of all ages, abilities, aptitudes and faiths) as De was, and as gently engaged in the world in the ways he was—treating each encounter with another person (virtual or actual) as a sacred, shared moment and an opportunity to interact and serve—De’s delegations of fans, friends and family members are walking, talking blessings just waiting to deploy their essences to make someone else’s day.

3.) De’s co-stars, producers, directors, writers and the multitudes of technicians whose lives he enhanced during his long career in motion pictures and television have always said what a thoughtful, helpful, tuned-in individual he was with each of them. Patient, kind, and rarely upset (and so respectful and kind when upset that Richard Arnold reported that it was hard to tell how irritated he was unless you knew him very, very well), their memories of working with De are decidedly delicious.  I can’t help but believe that a measure of his personality and approach to relationships rubbed off on each of them, and that they are kinder, gentler individuals than they might otherwise be today. I know for a fact that my long association with De had a profound effect on the way I engage with others today. 

All things considered, I don’t think I was off by more than a millimeter when I shared at De’s memorial service the following sentiment: “In my opinion, DeForest Kelley was the kind of man God had in mind when He created Adam. If the world was more-heavily populated with DeForest Kelley types, it would be the paradise we all wish it was.”

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Kristine M. Smith is an author and freelance copywriter whose decades’-long friendship with Carolyn and DeForest Kelley changed the trajectory of her life. A greatly-enhanced edition of Kris’s 2001 Kelley title—renamed DeForest Kelley Up Close and Personal, A Harvest of Memories from the Fan Who Knew Him Best— will debut at Amazon in 2016 during Star Trek’s 50^th anniversary. Email Kris at kris@wordwhisperer.net. She will be available for virtual DeForest Kelley interviews throughout 2016. To book her for local or national convention appearances, use the same email address.

If you were impacted by the career, kindness, or concern of DeForest Kelley, please reach out to Kris if you haven’t already. She is compiling the second edition of her e-book, The Enduring Legacy of DeForest Kelley: Actor, Healer, Friend and would love to consider including your story in it.

DMCA Notice for Almost Famous By De's Fault

DMCA Notice

If you have reason to believe that any material or activity on Almost Famous By De’s Fault is infringing of the right(s) owned by you or someone else, for whom you have authority to act, please follow our DMCA Notice and Takedown Procedure:

Almost Famous By De’s Fault DMCA notice and Takedown Procedure

Almost Famous By De’s Fault abides by the federal Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) by responding to notices of alleged infringement that comply with the DMCA and other applicable laws. As part of our response, we may remove or disable access to material residing on the site that is claimed to be infringing.

Before serving a Notice of Infringing Material, you may wish to contact a lawyer to better understand your rights and obligations under the DMCA and other applicable laws. The following notice requirements are intended to comply with Almost Famous By De’s Fault’s rights and obligations under the DMCA and do not constitute legal advice.

Notice of Infringing Material

To file a notice of infringing material on Almost Famous By De’s Fault, please provide a notification containing the following details:

1. Reasonably sufficient details to enable us to identify the work claimed to be infringed or, if multiple works are claimed to be infringed, a representative list of such works (for example: title, author, any registration or tracking number, URL);
2. Reasonably sufficient detail to enable us to identify and locate the material that is claimed to be infringing (for example a link to the page that contains the material);
3. Your contact information so that we can contact you (for example, your address, telephone number, email address);
4. A statement that you have a good faith belief that the use of the material identified in (2) is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law;
5. A statement, under penalty of perjury, that the information in the notification is accurate and that you are authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the exclusive right that is alleged to be infringed.
6. Your physical or electronic signature.

Then send this notice to:

DMCA Agent Kristine M. Smith kristinemsmith@msn.com

My Newly-Wrapped SUV to Prove I'm The Full Meal Deal as a Copywriter!

To read about my "advertising adventures" in my newly-decked-out SUV, check out wordwhisperer.NET. Too, too funny!

North Shore Animal League Re-Establishes Carolyn and DeForest Kelley Memorial Fund

Good news! Diane Haddick contacted the North Shore Animal League and re-established the Carolyn and DeForest Kelley Memorial Fund! The link is below.

http://www.animalleague.org/support/how-you-can-help/deforest-carolyn-kelley-memorial-fund .html

As you know, Carolyn and De visited the Fund personally and supported it for many years. You've probably seen pictures of them with kittens and puppies from the League. (I aim to send the Legue the photos I have of them there, so they can post them again.)

Please donate on De's and Carolyn's birthdays (January 20, October 5th) and on their anniversary date (Sept 7th) and on the date of De's passing (June 11th) -- and any other time you remember De or Carolyn and want to "thank" them for the joy they brought to your life!

Thank you!

Happy Birthday, DeForest Kelley!

Today would have been DeForest Kelley's 94th birthday. Wow! Unhappily for the rest of us, he didn't live to see his 80th roll around. But every year, reliably, I get notes, Facebook messages and other communications from stalwart fans of De's (Carl Rylander, John Bowersox, Marge Duff, Jim Westbrook and others) to remind me that they haven't forgotten him. I hope he's looking down and seeing how much love millions of people still have for him. He once said in an interview with Dan Madsen, "There's nothing deader than a dead actor. I sometimes wonder if they will remember me!" (To which I retorted in print something like (paraphrasing here), "They'll remember you, Mr. Kelley. They'll remember you!" And this was before I reconnected with him again in 1988 and began the amazing journey that ended up with me becoming his personal assistant and caregiver at the end of his life.

DeForest Kelley is ever-present in lots of people's minds--and for all the right reasons. He wasn't 'just' an actor--he was an earth angel with a terrific sense of humor, immense compassion for others, and a smile and blue eyes that lit up the world. Yes, he was a helluva actor. But he was a by-far even-better human being.

At his memorial service at Paramount, I said, "DeForest Kelley was the kind of man God had in mind when he created Adam. If this sad old world was more heavily-populated with DeForest Kelley types, it would be the paradise we all wish it was." He loved God (without being preachy in the least) and loved his neighbor as himself. (With a preacher as a father, he was well-grounded in theology, but not made proud or arrogant or holier-than-thou by it.) He believed in social justice. Everyone who knew him or even just saw him from a stage at a convention felt "beloved".

He was the rarest of all human beings and he did have a ministry: it was all of us who remember him on this day with affection and the yearning to tell him, once again, "Happy Birthday. De!"!

Transitioning from this Blog to wordwhisperer.net--Please Follow Me There!

For those of you who have been following me on this site, please know that most of my blog posts from now on will be at wordwhisperer.net. I will continue to post Star Trek and DeForest Kelley-related things here, of course, but nearly everything else will be at wordwhisperer.net, my business website.

And for those of you looking for a reputable, conscientious, pro-active WordPress web designer, please connect with Lisa Twining Taylor at tacomacomputertutor.com. She created my new website at wordwhisperer.net and has various examples of additional smoking-looking websites on her site. I highly recommend her!  

Kristine M Smith's Word Whisperer Logo

Registered Trademark

Newest Review from a Local Tacoma-Area Client

A primary reason why I love doing what I do is that I get the most enthusiastic client feedback. And although money is important (it allows me to stay in business as a copywriter) the kudos I get from clients mean far more to me!

Kris:

You are the word whisperer. Nicely done. You are a gifted writer and very thorough while delivering the final project in a short period of time.

John B. Merz, Administrator

Memory Haven Sumner

Memory Care Cottages
5107 Parker Road E.
Sumner, WA 98390

(Copy written to SEO keywords without talking points provided)

Links to pages I've written

(Clients gave me permission to disclose that I wrote their copy for them.)

http://www.autorepairseattle.com/

(Copy written to SEO keywords without talking points provided)

http://partsrv.net/

(Copy written to SEO keywords without talking points provided)

http://www.furnacefilterscanada.com/ (I wrote the home page and the English Language version of the video at this site.)

The script is amazing.

Thank you again,

Jean

http://retreatcenter.net/

(Copy written to SEO keywords mostly without talking points provided)

http://jcwhelan.com/

“I love taking the time to read what you do with what you are given. You amaze me! I don't think I could give higher praise to any vendor we use - and we have 20 to 30 that we use regularly. There are gifts that God gives that cannot be explained by any man or

science - they are living examples of a miracle,  tangible to even the highest skeptic. This is what I think each time you submit any writing to us. We are blessed to count you

as a partner.”  — James C. Whelan, Michigan

(Copy written to SEO keywords mostly without talking points provided)

http://www.4tssi.com (I didn’t write the moving banner ads)

I wrote the above websites in their entirety, some via talking points provided by the clients, some by the seat of my pants.

Feast or Famine: Life as a 'Creative' is Both Glorious and Gut-Wrenching!

A few weeks ago I had clients in holding patterns, waiting to land as soon as I completed the project I was on. 

This week both of the clients who were scheduled to employ me have decided to wait until after the holidays have come and gone. ACK!  So here I sit, praying for some unexpected drop-ins: former clients, new clients, some editing work, anything! 

Moral of the story: get down payments or retainer fees up front so that when (not if) clients decide to delay, it doesn't throw you into "OMG!" Mode, wondering how you're going to make ends meet. "There goes my Christmas plans and packages. I'm dead in the water..." T'is NOT the season to be a pauper. I can handle it any other time of the year, off and on (it's a way of life for most Creatives) but this time of year it makes me come across looking like a penny-pinching Scrooge when I'm feeling more like Bob Crachit--or Tiny Tim!   Grrrr...

Not that I'm sitting here twiddling my thumbs, mind you. When my schedule frees up unexpectedly, I start writing for myself, doing the marketing stuff that shows my wares and abilities on FB, Twitter, and LinkedIn. 

I also write complimentary copy, during these droughts, for power networking partners who have sent work my way this year. I just finished writing 4000 words of copy for Internet Earle (who is creating a complimentary website for a friend of his) to thank him for the number of times he has sent clients my way and saved my bacon this year, and for Lisa Taylor, who offers two services that lots of people need: computer tutoring for seniors here in the Tacoma  area and other technophobes and custom WordPress sites. It makes me feel very, very good to be able to do this for them. Words are the only gifts I can afford to get them this year for Christmas, and it's a great gift--one that most people have to pay serious money to get.  Oh! And I bathed my sister's two dogs yesterday, too... in my spare time. So I'm not twiddling my thumbs, by any stretch of the imagination!

But of course none of the above pays the mortgage; it just keeps me from stressing too much over something I can't control while blessing people who have been such blessings to me.

I'm watching the websites that offer writing jobs (usually for peanuts) to see if I spot anything that will carry me through this dry spell that I can bid on. That takes a lot of time out of every day, including weekends.  I must spend 50-60 hours a week looking for writing work when I'm  not engaged in writing projects.  Very few people understand the enormous amount of time and attention it takes to make a living this way. But there's nothing else on earth I'd rather do than write, so here I am... writing for free when I can't write for pay!

Please keep me in your prayers for a sudden, surprising upswing in business--sooner rather than later. (Now would be a good time!) 

I appreciate it!

New Article I Wrote for the Living Without Family Network--Enjoy, Like and Share!

New article I wrote last night ("Where is Love?") is up now at Life Without Family Network. Check it out if/when you have time or the interest--and feel free to Like and Share!!

http://www.lwfnetwork.com/

Five Ways to Find a Great Freelance Copywriter

5 Ways to Find a Great Freelance Copywriter

©2013 Kristine M. Smith

Professional copywriters usually charge one to three dollars per word. Here’s how to get one for less—without sacrificing quality.

Every business and entrepreneur needs a professional writer now and then—for web content, a brochure, content marketing articles, you name it. Unfortunately, too many have fallen victim to tens of thousands of charlatans and wannabes who have hung their shingles at scores of online freelance websites and proclaimed themselves copywriting experts. (No certification or testing is required so anyone can claim the title.)

1.      IF you elect to use an online freelance website to look for copywriters (not recommended!) be sure to carefully review each candidate’s profile page, client history and feedback, certified test results, and portfolio. Most of the reputable copywriters have fled online freelance websites (or are fleeing as fast as they can) because the reputation of these sites has plummeted because of the overwhelming numbers of impostors and their resulting unhappy customers; few professionals want to be associated with them anymore. If you go this route, expect to spend hours (perhaps days) sorting through often-laughable sub-standard profiles and portfolios in search of the remaining reputable providers. Bottom line: Don’t settle for less than the best. You’ll get what you pay for at these sites. Remember: you’ll need a result that you can be proud of, not sub-standard copy fit only for lining the bottom of a bird cage.

2.      If you want a local provider, do a search on “your town + copywriter” and see who pops up. Visit their websites and look at their histories, portfolios and client testimonials.  (Note: no professional copywriter tackles all niches; only hacks and wannabes do that—and they usually do it poorly.) When you find ones that impress you, give them a call and make arrangements to meet them to discuss your needs.

3.      If the physical location of your copywriter isn’t an issue, run a search on the kind of copywriter you’re seeking (SEO copywriter, real estate copywriter, web content copywriter, content marketing copywriter, etc.) and check out the credentials and client reviews of the ones you find. I highly recommend that you hire a native professional copywriter from within your own country (wherever you are in the world) when your target audience is also where you are, since he or she will be well-versed in your nation’s idioms, culture and customs and won’t be making major mistakes because of cultural and language issues. If your target audience is in another country, hire a professional copywriter from the same country your target audience is in unless the copywriter can show you copy he has already written for that audience. Why? Because (for example) UK Englishmen speak, spell, and write differently than do Americans, Australians and Canadians; readers can be put off if they run across unfamiliar colloquialisms, spellings or cultural references that they don’t hear at home.   A metaphor like “You hit that one out of the ball park!” resonates in the United States, where baseball is a national pastime; it’ll just raise eyebrows (and sometimes hackles) in other places.

4.      If you aren’t well-versed when it comes to spelling, grammar and punctuation or if you confuse words when you’re writing (there, their, they’re; its and it’s; accept, except; then and than, etc.) find someone else to help you select your copywriter. It’s what you don’t know about spelling, grammar, punctuation and other matters that can come back to bite you professionally unless you find an ally to help you choose a copywriter.

5.      Agree to pay a small fee to the copywriter you’re considering hiring. Have them write a short one-page/250-word sample web page, article or letter on your topic of choice (give them the source materials for this piece); or (ideally) have them edit and enhance a substandard one-page/250-word piece you already have on hand.  Let them know you want the piece back in under an hour (unless they’re absolutely swamped with deadlines). If they can produce the piece to your satisfaction within this time frame, it’s likely you’re dealing with a professional candidate.

6.       Using due diligence you can find an exemplary freelance copywriter to do your bidding, one who won’t charge you an arm and a leg for their services. But please note: if you aren’t able (or willing) to pay at least $100/hour for the services of a professional copywriter, wait until you are. No professional copywriter worth his or her salt is going to write for you while going backward financially. Consider a U.S. copywriter’s reality (which may mirror your own if you’re an American business person or entrepreneur)…

 

Self-employed freelance copywriters in the USA...

 

Ø  don't get paid vacations

Ø  don't get paid sick days

Ø  rarely get bonuses for outstanding work

Ø  don't have employer-paid insurance plans

Ø  don't qualify for unemployment when work doesn’t materialize

Ø  have to take into account the time it requires to find and quote on projects

Ø  have to pay 100% of our Social Security, FICA, and other federally-mandated fees instead of just a portion of them

 

Although freelancers enjoy writing great copy...sadly....enjoyment doesn't pay the mortgage.

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Kristine M. Smith is a professional freelance copywriter and the author of seven books. To discover the kinds of projects she tackles and the ones she leaves to other professional writers, please email her at kristinemsmith@msn.com.

Permission is hereby granted to reprint this article as long as the copyright notice and this byline is included wherever the reprint appears.