Self-Publishing is A LOT of WORK! (and I need a hug!)

Now that I’m an official, self-published author, I am waffling on my views of self-publishing.

I don’t think it sucks, but I don’t think it’s awesome, either. What I do think is that it’s a lot of work!

Seriously.

All I’ve been doing lately (with the exception of my two-day camping trip last weekend) is working, working, working.

And learning.

What I’ve Been Doing and Learning

In addition to the boatload of things I did already when I first released Risky Issues, I’ve been learning about formatting for CreateSpace. I’ve decided that I want my book to be available as a print edition, too! But because I’m a Canadian author, I have to submit my book to the Library and Archives Canada.

Apparently it’s against the law if I don’t!

They call it Legal Deposit. So if you are a Canadian who is an aspiring author, I’d suggest that you remember this important fact!

I actually ended up writing a whole post about this LAW. Read it on my author site, Laying It Out There.

I’ve been doing a ton of other things too. Read More

“RISKY ISSUES” IS OUT!!! (+ I have a new site!)

 

Ebook Cover - Risky Issues by Lorraine Reguly

Yes, that’s right – my ebook, Risky Issues, is finally out!

I’m jumping with joy over here! (Okay, I’m not, literally, but I AM pretty excited!)

During the past two weeks, I’ve been busy. As it turns out, there is A LOT I hadn’t considered doing, but did.

Let’s back up a moment, shall we?

First things first…

I tried to format my book for Amazon, but ran into problems. Most of you know already that I’m a self-proclaimed non-techie, so this shouldn’t surprise you too much!

But I AM resourceful.

So what I did was this: I went on Facebook and jumped onto a group for indie authors (to which I have belonged for a while) and simply asked for a recommendation to an inexpensive formatter. After several conversations, I ultimately got help from Rich Meyer.

Who the heck is Rich Meyer?

Rich Meyer offers services at a relatively cheap rate and does a great job.

He rambles on his blog, too. 😉 But amongst all the book reviews is a golden post about formatting for free.

So, yeah, Rich is a great guy.

And yes, yes, he’s an author, too. Check out his Amazon author page! It gives you some information about him and also lists the books he’s written.

Uploading Problems

I originally uploaded my ebook to Amazon with the ISBN I was given. (Because I live in Canada, I get ISBNs for free. I just had to apply for it.) But then, I noticed that there was a minor issue when I previewed my ebook. There was no space between two words, but there should’ve been. So I had to correct it and then upload a new file. But then, in the same sentence, a space was deleted again. I know that these issues were caused as a result of the formatting, as my Word document was perfectly edited. So, I uploaded it again, after fixing the problem.

However, because the two files were technically “different,” my ISBN would not be accepted by Amazon. So I emailed the person from CISS (the Canadian ISBN Service), who explained to me that “every time there is a change in format or a change in edition, a new ISBN must be assigned.”

Great. More work. And all because one file contained “thework” and the other, “the work.”

I took a deep breath, and requested a new ISBN. Because I was originally assigned a “block” (a set of sequential ISBNs that are assigned to a publisher or self-publisher), this was easy to obtain.

(FYI, ISBN blocks come in different sizes. They can contain either 10, 100, 1000, 10 000, 100 000 numbers. All ISBNs found in the block start by the publisher prefix and are followed by other numbers to identify a publication and validate the ISBN. A publisher prefix identifies the publisher and the country of the publisher, and my prefix showed that I am a Canadian publisher and that I was assigned a block of 10 ISBNs.)

Because I was changing my ISBN, I decided to add a P. S. to the Special Note From The Author section of my ebook. I added my special poem, which I wrote when I was fifteen. (I would have added it to the table of contents, but I didn’t know how to format it properly!) I then uploaded my new file to Amazon with the new ISBN.

Adding Books to Goodreads

Once all that was complete, I added my book to Goodreads. Again, I had some problems with this. (Big surprise… I am a non-techie, remember?)

I ended up speaking with someone from Goodreads who explained that once books are added to their database, they cannot be removed. Apparently there are strict rules for this, too. So my book is listed twice instead of once. But really, I’m assured, it’s not a big deal. I will know for next time, though, to make sure everything is perfect and to only do it once.

Sigh.Ebook Cover - Risky Issues by Lorraine Reguly

Secondly, the things authors need to do…

Then the real work began. By “real” I mean “time-consuming” and “tedious” but necessary.

What did I do?

What a pain in the butt this all was! But kinda fun, too. 😉 However, I’m grateful they are all done.

I was interviewed, too…

It seems like things happen really fast sometimes. Shortly after Risky Issues went live, my good friend and indie author Melissa Bowersock sent me an email asking me some questions, which she turned into a blog post: Author Interview: Lorraine Reguly on Reaching a Milestone.

I’d recommend reading it if you want to pick up some tips. 😉

Then there was the birth of a new site… free of charge!

During the past year, many people told to me to snatch up a website with my name as the domain. Their urgency was unnecessary, in my opinion, as I’m the only Lorraine Reguly in this world. (Yes, it’s true!)

But now that I’m an officially published author, I figured it was about time to set up an author website.

So I did.

In fact, about 16 days ago, I purchased my domain name. With my hosting plan with Abivia, I’m allowed to have four other websites free of charge!

I also purchased a premium theme, which I had a few problems with, but which I eventually ironed out.

I installed plugins – including a new one I just found out about (and which I also installed on this site, which has worked wonders!) called Anti-Spam. This plugin is free and I highly recommend it!

My new author site is called Lorraine Reguly: Laying It Out There. I even set up a place where people can subscribe to my Author Newsletter!

Commenting on the new site is not yet available

While I was setting up my new site, I disabled the ability for people to leave comments. So far, I have published three posts, all visible from the home page.

The posts are:

They are all very short posts, so I’d encourage you to give them a read.

What’s Next?

Next I have to get my book up on Smashwords. Then I have to begin marketing it.

I’m going to be asking others to help, too, so if you are a blogger and want to help me with this, please let me know via email. You can interview me, simply feature my book on your site, whatever… I’m open to anything, and appreciate all the help I can get. 🙂

And if you want to buy Risky Issues and/or leave me a review of it, you can do that, too!

Regardless of what you choose to do, could you please share this post on your social networks? I’d love it if you did!

Thank you, and see you soon!

 

 

My Son Was In An Accident (a car crash/collision)

car crash

On May 17, 2014, my beloved son was in a motor vehicle accident.

The picture of the crashed vehicle (above) was the one my son was driving when he was hit by someone going through a red light.  I think it was taken by Randi-Lynn Manduca, but am not entirely sure. (I don’t know why there is a line through this link; perhaps it because it links Facebook page?)

I learned about the accident the day after it happened, on May 18, 2014, and my son said that I could find some pics on this person’s Facebook page. Naturally, as a mom, I cried when I saw the photos but am happy my son lived through it and is still alive.

The truck that hit him is rumoured to be driven by a young man (age 20 or thereabouts) who had just broken up with his girlfriend, was upset, tried to involve her and her mom in a car accident but failed to, and so sped away from her house, accelerating and running a red light as my son happened to be going through a green light on the other street. (Yeah, my lucky, lucky son…)

The truck flipped and rolled, coming to a stop in someone’s front yard. He apparently went to the hospital but is also being charged.

The Psychological Effects

Since the accident – which was reported as a scary crash on our local news site – son has been terrified to drive. He no longer owns his own vehicle (he got rid of his last year), but driving was part of the job he had. I say “had” because two days after the accident, he actually quit his job. He’s still anxious when in a vehicle. He also gets freaked out when riding his bike. Intersections scare him, and I don’t blame him one bit!

Pictures of the Accident

Here are some more pics of the accident, also taken from the aforementioned person’s Facebook page: Read More

Lisa Jackson Sent Me An Autographed Book!

me holding a book I got from author Lisa Jackson

Lisa Jackson, one of my favorite authors of all time, recently sent me an autographed copy of one of her books! Can you believe it? (Neither can I!)

How I got an autographed copy of Tell Me:

I connected with Lisa Jackson on Twitter last year. On March 7th, 2013, I opened an email to see this:

my tweet from lisa jackson

 

I was pleasantly shocked to see that she actually replied to me.

Yes, at the time, I was new to blogging, new to social media, and a starstruck fan.

I had only had my computer for about three months at that point.

Over a year later, I sent her another Tweet. Of course, this is after connecting with her on Goodreads (as friends), and after commenting on and “liking” several of her Facebook posts.

I sent her this Tweet because I wanted to see what would happen.

I honestly wasn’t sure she would reply. But she did. Positively.

lisa jackson tweets on april 30

 

As it turned out, we began Direct Messaging one another.

And a month later, I had an autographed copy of one of her latest novels in my hands!

Naturally, I was ecstatic! While I don’t want to say that this book is my most prized possession, I have to admit that I am “old-school” and think that having an autographed copy of one of Lisa Jackson’s book is “groovy,” “cool,” “the bees knees,” “simply right on,” “awesome,” and “fabulous!”

I love my book so much that I actually didn’t even want to read it and ruin it’s value. (Ahem, it’s in mint condition!)

So I posted this on Twitter:

screenshot of a tweet to lisa jackson

Yep. I bought a digital version of Tell Me.

I’m reading it now, and I’m thoroughly enjoying it – so far.

I’ll be posting a review of it when I’m finished reading it.

Of course, I have a couple of other book reviews to post, too, but you’ll hear/read about them when the time comes (on Featured Fridays).

For now, I just had to brag a bit at my good fortune. 😉

Call me starstruck. I really don’t care.

I love Lisa Jackson. Well, her writing, anyway…

And now I’m following her on Pinterest, too, as she recently joined this site. 🙂

I love authors

I love learning from other authors, whether traditionally published or self-published.

I think all authors should support one another, even if you don’t particularly like their genre, and to prove this point, I have a special sci-fi author being featured this coming Friday! (I don’t like science fiction; never have, never will…)

But I do like suspense novels and murder mysteries.

And now I have an autographed copy of a book written by one of my favourite authors.

Do you???

Share a story about YOUR most prized possession in the comments please!

(FYI, the other two authors who comprise my top 3 faves of all time are Lisa Gardner and James Patterson – and if either of you care to do what the lovely Lisa Jackson did, I’d gladly hold up my end of the deal of Autographed Copies in Exchange for Reviews? Yes! Yes! Yes!)

 

Getting Back to Basics with This Darn Blog

loudspeaker horse with an announcement

It has come to my attention – actually, it’s always been in the back of my mind – that my new website is not that great.

I agree.

Are you surprised?

Don’t be.

Remember, I’m still a fairly new blogger; even though I have been doing this blogging thing for over a year now, I have only been a website owner for a mere few months!

Truthfully, it’s exhausting, sometimes, too.

Boring, Basic, Blogging Responsibilities

Before I tell you of my plan for getting back to the basics of blogging on this darn blog, I want to point out that there is a lot of boring work involved in maintaining a website. I don’t like these basic responsibilities, I didn’t expect them, and I didn’t think they would annoy me so much when I asked these numerous questions about moving websites.

I don’t like having to deal with the crappy parts blogging brings, like checking my spam folder for comments that are actual comments and NOT spammy comments, constantly updating all of my plugins, trying to improve the speed of my site, fixing broken links (even a plugin doesn’t do the whole job), and. . . the list goes on and on.

It’s a hassle.

Then there’s the whole promotion of my site.

I don’t like being one of those people who use social media to get discovered. Marketing just isn’t my thing. But it’s all a part of blogging, regardless of who you are and what type of blog you have.

My main problems are that I want to be Superwoman, doing everything myself, and I don’t always know how to do it all. I’m not talking about time management issues here; rather, I’m talking about being the owner of a successful site that provides great content and makes money, too.

I haven’t even started with Adsense or Adwords or whatever the heck it’s called right now.

Instead, I have been learning about some of the new SEO (search engine optimization) methods and even some coding (!) to help me become a better blogger.

And now my head is filled with all sorts of geeky knowledge that has turned my brain to gobbledygook.

In recent months (basically, since moving to my own self-hosted site), I have found myself caring about things that never crossed my mind before. PageRank (PR) was not in my lexicon before I owned a computer! I also didn’t care about it, either, when I had a free blog, until my free blog somehow got rated as having a PR of 2. While this is not great, it’s not that bad, either, for someone blogging on a free platform!

The thing is, I’ve lost sight of why I began blogging to begin with. My recent contact and interview with The Productive Superdad made me reconsider my initial reasons, though.

The secret code?

I have even learned some HTML code! Even though I don’t truly understand how it all works, I have to admit that there are certain instances where knowing certain pieces of code comes in handy.
I can highlight text. (You can, too, with this tutorial!)

I can create boxes to put around the text.
I can change the colors of both the highlighted text and also the colors of the boxes, using hex code, and can combine them, too!

I can create page jumps (and did many in both this tutorial post I wrote as well as in my web hosting guide).

Coding, even though I don’t understand it, is not that hard to do if someone gives you the code to do it! I have to give a shout out Greg Narayan (from Dear Blogger) for providing me with such code. (Thanks, Greg!)

I even created an ebook, 20 Blog Post Must-Haves, which talks about the many different parts of a blog post. You can download it for free when you sign up for my newsletter – another thing I had to learn how to do! (I had to figure out how to make it easily accessible and downloadable!)

Back to Basics

But, getting back to the whole reason why I am writing this right now, and why I began blogging in the first place. . .

Why DID I start blogging?

Everyone has a different reason for creating a blog or a website, and my original reason, basically, was to create an author platform.

Essentially, this meant blogging, getting on social media and connecting with others and somehow obtaining a fan base. It’s kind of strange that I am expected to do all of this without even having a book written! (Yes, two are in the works. Still.)

Of course, I did write a book almost 20 years ago, called The Life and Love of Canadian Poetry: An Interpretative View, but I wrote this for a university course and never expected to make money from it. (If you want to see a video I made about this book, you can watch it here!)

Then I learned of The Writer’s Market – a book that lists just about every publisher there is, along with the types of books that each publishes. Generally, each year’s version is about two inches thick! Yikes. That’s a lot of information!

So far, I own three different volumes. Sigh. Heavy stuff! (Metaphorically AND literally!)

In the 2013 edition of The Writer’s Market, there is a lot of advice about what to do to increase your odds of getting published. I have now done a lot of what was suggested. I started a blog on WordPress, I joined several social media sites and spent months connecting with others and gaining a “following,” and then I even went a step further and got my own hosted website.

After I started blogging, I discovered many different things and got swept up in it all.

But I’ve veered off course from my original goal.

And now, some days, I don’t even want to turn on my computer!

This hurts my heart.

I don’t like feeling this way.

Blogging Basics

Q: How many bloggers does it take to change a lightbulb?

A: 100. 1 to change it, and 99 others to tell the first one how it could have been done better.

Giving people what they want is part of blogging. Any blogger will tell you that.

Recently, a discussion I had with Lois (a woman living part of my dream life by taking so many cruises and then blogging about them) revealed to me a few things she didn’t like about my new site.

One of these things was the comment form.

I thought that using the CommentLuv plugin would attract more comments from readers. Ironically, the opposite has happened. Granted, I have never gotten tons of comments on my blog posts like some bloggers I know do, but I did have a lot of interactions with many of my readers.

To rectify this problem, I have now disabled the plugin and am now using the default comment form that is a part of WordPress.

Hopefully, this will make commenting easier!

I have also chosen to moderate comments again so that I can be sure of what is getting posted on my site, and also so that I can ensure I respond to each and every one!

I’m also going to add a more personal touch to my posts and try not to be so serious and informative all the time. Just because I’m a teacher doesn’t mean I should be teaching you things all the time, does it?!?

Naturally, I will share things with you and will still respond to readers’ requests for specific posts – like I did when I wrote the post about how to get free social media buttons for your blog.

I want to help you, too, however I can.

Answering comments and connecting with others is one of my favorite parts of blogging. Some might say, “That’s what social media is for,” (and they are right) but so is writing in a personal blog!

So that’s my plan.

Now, tell me, does this sound good to you?

* * *

P. S. Don’t forget to grab your free ebook: 20 Blog Post Must-Haves. A link will be sent to you once this form has been submitted!

 

Image courtesy of Boians Cho Joo Young / FreeDigitalPhotos.net