It was a lovely day in Aurora. A breeze kept it from being unbearably warm. We had a nice crowd in the morning and another one after lunch. But then the rain came! It was fun while it lasted.
Sarah surprised us with a visit.
It was a wonderful day, we sold a few books and made some new friends and connections!
Don’t forget to join us in Washington at the Turnage Theater, Tuesday, September 26th, 7 pm. I’ll be talking about writing, my books and the community of writers who helped me get there.
As an indie author it is sometimes difficult to take a leap of faith and spend money on ourselves and our careers, especially when we have a limited budget. We tell ourselves it’s a dream or hobby and it’s difficult to believe it’ll ever be anything more.
I put off taking Sarra’s class for a couple of years because I was afraid. I was afraid I wouldn’t be good enough, that spending the money would be a waste of time. That I would never be a success. But learning to believe in myself, is one of the greatest gifts I received from taking Sarra’s classes. Sarra’s Publish and Thrive gave me the tools I needed to build my career and I learned to trust myself with my publishing future.
A brand new round of Publish and Thrive is coming up, starting on July 30th. I know y’all have heard me talk about my adoration for Sarra Cannon and her program. Sarra is a “Feel Good” person. Even on her YouTube channel you see her shining spirit. She does her best to lift up her students and followers. Sometimes I listen to her videos on repeat just to lift my mood.
As a Publish and Thrive student alumni Sarra’s classes are available to me for a lifetime. I can re-take the program whenever she offers it, even when she makes changes like this year. There is so much to learn and do as an indie author, it’s not just about writing a great novel. Sarra helps her students navigate the immense challenges of planning, publishing and marketing our books. She is available for questions and we often learn from each other during the question and answer sessions, and the Facebook group.
Sarra is rerecording the lessons and adding some new features. I can hardly wait to see what she has planned for us. While I am more of a pantser than an outliner, but thanks to Sarra’s programs I’ve learned to plan both my stories and my jobs to be done.
PUBLISH AND THRIVE:
THRIVING AUTHOR BUNDLE:
The course begins with a live kick off call on Saturday, July 30th at 2PM Eastern.
The course has been extended to 6 weeks, so our final live Q&A will take place September 10th.
HB90 will start that following Sunday on September 11th.
Contest Alert! I need your help. If you are a poet or song writer, would you like your work to be featured in my novel? Trent Harrell is a song writer and the main character in Trent’s Melody.
Brief synopsis: Trent is a down-on-his-luck singer/song writer. His band almost made it but lost it all when their band mate overdosed. Trent blames himself for his friend’s death. They were both in love with the same woman. He walked away from Melodie, the band and the promise of his music career.
The author of the song or poem that best fits the story will win a $25 gift card and will be named in the book credits and I will also add in their links.
Send your submissions to the link below with your name and email address. Finalists will be chosen April 24th, 2022.
Not a poet but still want to help me with Trent’s Melody? How are you at naming TV shows? Trent and his brother, Cole are competing in a reality renovation show competition against the all-female construction crew 3Ms of Melodie, Maddie and Morgan, in a men versus women renovation of Main Street, Leeward. They will each have to renovate two stores to help bring good publicity to the town after all the bad news.
$5 gift card, named in book credits and if applicable, a link in my book matter.
To submit your show name, just click on the link below, don’t forget your name and email. Finalists will be chosen April 10th. You can submit as many times as you like but only one title per submission.
If you can touch one life, make a difference for one person then you have led a successful life. I am just one author who has benefited from following Sarra Cannon’s Heart Breathing YouTube channel. I fell in love with her honesty, her openness and her willingness to share the bad as well as the good parts of being a published author. As an indie author, we have to be our own boss, manage our own business, do everything from plan the stories to marketing our books and making sure all the bills get paid. It can be overwhelming. That’s why I am so glad Sarra offers her Publish and Thrive Course. As an alumni, I can take the course for free anytime she offers it. The next round begins Monday, February 7th and I’m going to be front and center. Sarra has some new things she wants to share and I am so excited.
https://heartbreathings.teachable.com/p/publish-and-thrive/?affcode=145068_lea8l-18
I understand that $399 is a huge investment. Sarra allows students to break the payments down in a couple of ways, $75 a month for 6 months or $38 a month for 12. If you can’t afford to take Publish and Thrive at this time, believe me, I understand. I’ve raised six sons and had to do some creative bookkeeping to make ends meet. Check out Sarra’s YouTube channel https://youtu.be/7vMuLBV-TIU
I have been following Sarra’s YouTube channel for several years. It wasn’t until I met her in person at a Heart of Carolina Writers’ Conference that I got brave enough to take a chance on myself. That is what this investment is, it’s about believing in yourself, your craft and doing whatever you can to be the best you can be. I am so thankful for this program and for the chance to take a refresher. There is so much I need to learn, re-learn, be reminded of, and I’ll be honest with working full time, sometimes I have to make a choice on what I’m focusing on this time. Each time I feel like I’ve gain another piece of the puzzle.
Check out her website https://sarracannon.com/
Sarra has touched so many lives, both readers who enjoy her books and authors who have learned from her courses and channel.
https://heartbreathings.teachable.com/p/publish-and-thrive/?affcode=145068_lea8l-18
I keep trying to tell myself that I’ve only been a published author for three years and like any infant I must learn to crawl before I can run. It is difficult not to compare myself to other writers. Like the baby demanding it’s bottle, I want it now. I want to make the sales, to get my name out there, to get a movie deal and retire, but the fruit is sweeter after the climb.
Remembering things my grandmother told me has always given me strength and courage to persevere. She didn’t have an easy life. As a farmer’s wife, a share-cropper’s wife, she knew the hard scrabble of getting by, doing without and learning to make things herself. From her blackberry jam that was both tart and sweet with the taste of summer to selling ladies’ products out of her car down backroads all over eastern North Carolina, my grandmother knew if she wanted a better life, she had to do it herself. My grandfather worked hard. He paid the bills, but anything extra came from what my grandmother could do.
My grandmother led the way for my mother and me. She taught us that we could dream our dreams and make them come true, but no one was going to hand them to us. We had to work for them. I’m proud to come from a long line of hardworking women.
It is sometimes difficult for me to toot my own horn. I grew up believing a true southern lady (which I’ve never been able to be) was humble and quiet. Most people who know me as an adult know I’m a loudmouth with a wicked laugh and sense of humor equal to that of a teenaged boy. But I wasn’t always so vocal. It has taken me years to find my voice. It is often difficult to promote my own books and believe in myself.
Raising six boys taught me to be a little stronger, a little braver, a bit bolder but it has only been in the past few years that I’ve come to believe I might have something worth saying.
When you are promoting your books, you have to first promote yourself. It’s been scary but in the past few months I’ve started a newsletter increasing my readership from the seven original subscribers to 97 in the past four months. I’ve joined a few groups: AllAuthor and Bookfunnel and using their platforms began doing promos for my books. I’ve also bought a couple of ads from Bargain Booksy and joined a couple of free online groups on social media to help promote myself and my books. It’s a lot of work and sometimes a lot of money but I’m hoping that it’ll pay off. I can see steady traffic and that’s a good sign. As my dad would say “scared money don’t make money.” I’m trying to be brave and I’m thankful to all of you who have supported my efforts.
I now have six books out and I’m working on number seven. I’m hoping to finish a novella for an upcoming anthology.
The pandemic has made public appearances difficult. I’d just taken books around to the Brown Library, Riverwalk Art Gallery and The Next Chapter Books and Art Store when the pandemic first hit. I had a book signing at The Next Chapter but there was little traffic in the store that morning. I’m hoping to go back once Janie’s Secrets finally arrives. Covid-19 has messed up a lot of people’s plans but we’re still making progress slowly but surely.
As July ends and August begins, I can’t help but think about grandma’s blackberry jam. It was a lot of hot work to make a few jars but that first taste of sweet, tart jam reminded you that it was worth the effort. Looking at the past 30 days sales and subscribers it may not seem like a lot to someone with thousands of followers but I’m celebrating. Each sale, each new reader, each new subscriber is a blessing and a positive step forward.
Thank you to all of you who repost my promos and try to help me sell my books. Thank you to all of you who leave reviews. Your efforts make a huge difference and I cannot thank you enough. Wishing you all a happy August.
Grandma’s Blackberry Jam with my own twist
4 cups blackberries raw
1 cup sugar, white granulated
2 tablespoons Cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
Mash blackberries in saucepan with potato masher. Stir in sugar until becomes juicy. Take out a little juice and mix with cornstarch in a small bowl, return to blackberries and sugar. Bring to a boil. Stir often until thickened. Approximately 15 minutes. Stir in spices and lemon juice. Remove from heat and let cool. Put into a glass bowl, cover and refrigerate until cold. Fill jars to save.
I’m an alumni of Sarra’s Publish and Thrive Course and a huge fan of her Heart Breathing YouTube Channel. If you are an unpublished author or one who has yet to reach their full potential, you will benefit from taking this program. I did!
The price of the course for this round is $399 if you pay in full. Sarra is also offering a 6-month payment plan of $75/month. It’s worth it! I have learned so much from this program and from following Sarra on YouTube.
I have become an affiliate of Sarra’s Publish and Thrive. If you sign up using my link I’ll be rewarded but if you have been following me on social media you know how much I love Sarra and her methods. I would promote this course with or without the reward.
Sarra Cannon has such an uplifting spirit. She teaches the course in such a way that you will be inspired and I guarantee you will learn something! I wish I’d taken her classes before publishing my first book but even if you have already published and made mistakes, she can help you fix them. Thank goodness!
Since taking Sarra’s course I have increased my sales. I will be auditing the course in August to refresh my thoughts and because I can. Some of the great things about taking this course: Sarra, the Publish and Thrive Facebook group, and the alumni group. Once you take Sarra’s programs, you have the freedom to view the videos at anytime or you will be invited to sit in on the newest version of the course at no extra cost. You get a lifetime of Sarra and Publish and Thrive! Ne do the math!
The course begins with Module 1 on Monday, August 10th, and will run until Friday, September 11th.
The HB90 will start that following Sunday on September 13th. I also took that program and for someone as unorganized as me, that was a major eye-opener!
My Affiliate Link: https://heartbreathings.teachable.com/p/publish-and-thrive/?affcode=145068_lea8l-18
Students also have the option to bundle Publish And Thrive with HB90 in September for a rate of $499 or a payment plan of $90/month for 6 months.
I am a dreamer but I also believe in working for those dreams. Nothing happens without a little work-equity. I have been taking an online class to help me reach my goals of becoming a better author and entrepreneur. If you are a writer or a small business owner I suggest following Sarra Canon’s YouTube videos Heart Breathings or better yet, take her online author course, Publish and Thrive or her HB90 organization course designed to de-clutter your thoughts and help you focus on what is important. What do you truly desire? How can you make it real?
One of the first things Sarra tells us to do is to envision the life we want to have. She instructs us to build a vision board. Above is my dream for the future. Thought in truth, I already have the life I dreamed of. No, I haven’t got a movie deal and I still have to work my “paying” job, but I’m writing and I’m publishing my books.
There was a time not too long ago when I did not believe I would ever be a published author. I was terrified of self-publishing. With good reason, it is a lot of work, and truthfully, the burden of success or failure falls solely on your own shoulders. It is daunting at times. Once I became a published author, I’m no longer just a writer. I’m now a business owner. I am a book designer, book-formatter, cover designer, promoter, marketer, seller, and advertiser. Sometimes I have so many balls in the air I cannot even count them all.
Even after five books there is still so much I do not know. Oh my goodness, five books, really. Wow…I have to just stop and absorb this a minute. Five books. Before I published the first book, I’d written several books but I’d hidden them in spiral notebooks under my bed or in the bottom of my closet. In December of 2017, I published Chrome Pink. Less than two and half years ago I published my first book. Sometimes I feel like I’m moving at a snails pace. I want it all and I want it yesterday. In my haste I have made so many mistakes, some of them costly. Like many other indie writers, I juggle a real job, family and home along with everything that goes along with being a published author. Sometimes the learning curve is a little slower for my foggy old brain but I’m happy I’m still learning. I’m still moving forward. It maybe at the speed of a turtle but I’m still moving.
I appreciate all of you who have been with me since before the first book launched. You saw the seed and have watched it grow. Thanks to you guys, I still believe in the possibilities. I still believe that someday that vision board might come true. But whether I get the dreamed-for movie deal or sell a thousand books, no matter what happens, I’m thankful for the journey and for each of you who have been a part of this dream.
How many mistakes have I made on my journey to becoming a published author?
Hmm, there are too many to name, but I will start with a few lingering ones that will hopefully help someone else when they are looking to get published.
My first mistake was FEAR!
I was afraid of trying to get published. I was scared to let others read my work. I feared I wasn’t good enough. When it came to self-publishing, I was apprehensive about spending money, of taking chances, of failing. I was intimidated by everything.
Confession: I am still afraid. It’s okay to be afraid, but if you allow fear to keep you from doing what you love, you will never do anything. Like the heroes we love to read about and watch, remember we don’t have to be fearless, in fact, people love to cheer for the underdog. Think Rocky! So, swallow your fears and do the scary thing anyway. Be the hero in your own story!
Let me start with FEAR ONE: Not good enough.
Well, this was and is true. I’m not as good as I’d like to be, but I am getting better. Practice makes perfect, or at least makes improvements. Like anything else we do, there are people who like my books and others who do not. That’s okay, it is important to remember that we cannot please everyone, and we should not try. The first person we have to please is ourselves. Do you love what you are doing? If you have a passion for it, whether it is writing, painting, or music, whatever it is, your love and joy will show in your effort.
Grammar mistakes are the bane of my writing! I’m working on relearning all the lessons Mrs. Simpson tried to teach me in high school English class. Thank goodness for all of the editing programs available online nowadays and for friends and family members who are great at proofreading and catching my mistakes.
I have talked with other writers and have been surprised to learn that many of my favorite writers say they doubt their work or their ability. They often fear they will not be as good with the next book. Fear is a very real thing and it can be crippling. I repeat, no matter if you are a writer or a dancer, an artist or a musician, when you put your talent out there for others to critique, it is scary. Some will love you and others will not. The person you have to convince is yourself. Believe in your talent. Fall in love with what you are doing. Let your joy shine through your work and others will feel it too.
#2: Fear of failing. Has anyone in history ever done anything without fear of failure? Failure is a very real part of life. The truth is sometimes you are going to fail but the only sure-fire way to not fail is to not do anything and that in itself is failure. I have never attempted anything important without fear of failure from going out for cheerleading, attending to college, to parenthood and getting married, to writing and publishing. If it means something to you, then yes, there is going to be fear. If you are not at least a little afraid then you’re not risking enough. With great success come great risks. You cannot win if you are not willing to put it all on the line. This is true whether you are talking relationships, athletics or art, if you don’t put your whole heart into it, you will not reap the rewards. When the risks are greater, the success is sweeter.
#3: Afraid of taking chances and spending money. I’m sure there are other authors, perhaps even other creatives, who feel the same way I do… afraid to spend money especially before you start really making money. I’ve always been conservative. While uploading to Kindle Direct Publishing is free, there are other costs that a self-published author has to take on themselves. I was talking to my youngest daughter-in-law recently, I’ve mentioned that she is a photographer, like me, she worries about spending money for her craft/business. We know that there are somethings that we have to put the money into, for a photographer it’s the camera, lens, perhaps some classes. For a writer, it’s a computer, maybe editing, cover design, marketing, and classes. I recently broke down and invested in a class I’ve wanted to take for a couple of years. It’s scary to invest the money not knowing if it will be worth it but as my daddy used to say, “Scared money don’t make money.” Sometimes you have to conquer your fears and take a chance on yourself.
What I’m trying to tell you is what I’m telling myself, believe in yourself and take a chance. Don’t let your fears keep you from making your dreams come true.
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