Wow! The last few weeks have been a whirlwind! (Silence... Staring... Fingers perched on the keyboard...) That just about says it all... Two exciting things happened the week of July 29. Actually, one was not so exciting. I received my first copies of "No Time to Quit" and found out I have shingles. I'm not going to go into all the gory details of shingles in my head and eye, but suffice it to say, navigating through the details of moving forward with the book was much more difficult. I couldn't even schedule a book launch celebration because of not knowing when the symptoms would be manageable enough for me to function. The shingles did put a damper on the excitement of receiving the first copies of my first book, but I was terribly excited anyway. Holding a book in my had that has my name on it as the author has been a dream of mine since I was a child. The day I found out the book was available online at WestBow Press I was so excited I couldn't think the rest of the day. I was supposed to be working on publicity ideas and writing a press release. Within days, the book also was on the Barnes & Noble website, as well as Amazon. And Mom had been selling so many books … [Read more...]

Decisions have been made, edits are done and the manuscript for "No Time to Quit" has been submitted for formatting! After the last few weeks doing nothing but working, editing the book and basic survival necessities, today was an exciting day! Maybe I should back up a little bit. The manuscript went through an editorial assessment where an editor at Westbow Press looked it over and did a sample edit on a few pages. Then she wrote a report about the manuscript's merits, as well as improvements that could be made to make the book stronger. She used words like "compelling", "inspiring" and "engaging" when describing the book. She also made some valid points and gave me wonderful changes to work on. To be honest, I was nervous about that part of the process. I didn't know how the manuscript would be received, and whether or not someone who is not invested in the story would really like it. The editor's comments pleased me. I put her sample edit next to the original and went over it one sentence at a time. The changes were minor, and they made the book stronger. The next step was getting an estimate for Westbow to provide the content edit she recommended. It was $1,200, and … [Read more...]

Things are progressing with the book publishing, and I am again looking for some input. I have two photos that I am considering for the front cover of the book. Though I have already pretty much made up my mind which I want to use, I would like to know which you would pick up first. Keep in mind the title No Time to Quit with the subtitle Life in a Broken Package.                                         Let me know which you would pick up first, the child or the plant. ?Use the comment section below this post. Thanks!       … [Read more...]

I am finally publishing my book, which has kept me very busy over the last few weeks! Though I never thought I would work with self publishing, that is the direction I am going. I had never wanted my work associated with self publishing, except in the book arts arena. I worked at a small press for a while and some of the self published garbage that came through gave me no respect for the industry. Anyone can publish anything, no matter how bad it is. I felt that self publishing would not lend any respect to my work. But the publishing industry is changing, and I guess I am changing with it. Print on demand is more popular, even with the large publishing houses, and working with authors who self publish also appears to add another dimension to their business. It started with me submitting the manuscript to a Women of Faith writing contest. I was hoping to win a publishing package, but I didn't, so I dismissed the whole thing. Then I got a call from WestBow Press, the company working with Women of Faith on the contest. I said, "Thank you but I'm not interested." A few weeks later, I got a another call while I was sitting in the hospital room with my mother. For some … [Read more...]