Author Event
Well, I did it. They confirmed me to be a part of the Summer Reading kickoff at my childhood library. Going into the library to get information and volunteer my time has led to my first event as a published author. I’m so excited. My family and friends and former students are all coming to support me. Reading to the children, giving away a book, and signing a book for one lucky visitor will be my pleasure. It feels good to give back to the community I grew up in. Retiring allowed me to be more generous with my time. … Continue reading Author Event
Podcasting
I haven’t been blogging for a few days because I am working on building my social media presence and working on my podcast. It’s been fun, but it’s also been a lot of work. I am a newbie to social media, so I had to learn how to set it up and how to post pictures, text, and hashtags. Then I decided I wanted to try creating a podcast about the process of retirement and the challenges we face when completing the paperwork, and choices we make to fill our time after retirement. I didn’t realize how much I’d love creating … Continue reading Podcasting
Book Giveaway
Good evening everyone, I am just letting everyone know that I have added my book to the Readers’ Favorite Monthly Book Giveaway Page. If you would liketo enter for a chance to win a copy of my book for Kindle, you can click on the link below. Good Luck Everyone! Continue reading Book Giveaway
Lights, Camera, Action
Yesterday, I had the privilege of visiting the set of a local talk show. I was so excited! Let me backtrack and rewind here for a minute though. At the end of 2018, a cousin introduced me to a friend of hers who is a local talk show host. My cousin asked her to drop me home after the event we were attending. On the ride home, I found that she and I had a lot in common. We’re former affiliates of the Department of Education, living in the same borough, and retired but not done dreaming. So we traded … Continue reading Lights, Camera, Action
My Friends of Corrie Board on Pinterest
Today, I created a “Friends of Corrie” pin on Pinterest. Only I didn’t know how to create a pin. After researching this for an hour, I created a pin, but I could not add a link. So I wrote a … Continue reading My Friends of Corrie Board on Pinterest
Social Media Newbie
Lately, I’ve been learning how to create a social media presence. Therefore, I could not blog. I’ve only got my Twitter and Pinterest pages up and running so far, though. Then I had to research how to connect both to my blog. This has not been an easy task, and I’m still unsure if they connect correctly to my book review page. Now I have Twitter and Pinterest and don’t know what to pin or tweet. I know you all are laughing at me as I try to take on these new-fangled ways of communicating. But I won’t let this challenge defeat me. I will … Continue reading Social Media Newbie
The Review
Early in the morning, on April 18, 2019, I received a text message from a company I submitted my book to for a free review. It announced my book review was ready. They astonished me since the site noted that they received thousands of manuscripts daily. They further noted that it sometimes takes over five months for a manuscript review. So I was content to wait awhile for mine. I quickly retrieved the link from my email and held my breath wondering what kind of review I would find. I hoped the review would be positive since I put my all into this second edition … Continue reading The Review
Podcasts or Apple iBook Store Options?
Today I was thinking about how I could further build my brand and expand my distribution beyond Amazon. Amazon is an amazing powerhouse at selling books worldwide, but I’d like to see my book on different platforms. Apple is a whole different world! Most people I know own Apple products, so they would like to have books on their iBook shelves. However, if I go for it, I may not use the same kindle cover according to representatives at Amazon. So in retrospect, I’m leaving that idea behind for now. I also wanted to do an audible book, but changing covers may cause my … Continue reading Podcasts or Apple iBook Store Options?
Paperback
Here is the cover of my paperback book. Three of the five paperback books I ordered arrived yesterday evening, and I’m quite impressed. The cover was way more impactful than the first edition. The story was deeper and more insightful than the first. All the tinkering and tweaking I’ve done really paid off. This time my dream of writing and publishing a book was more real than surreal. I can envision this product being sold in a bookstore, sitting on a shelf in a library, and then selected by a child eagerly waiting to read my book. Yes, I said … Continue reading Paperback
Promotion and Advertising
Now that I have finished making revisions on my children’s book; I want to promote and advertise it. So I have to decide how much to spend on promotions. Promoting the book for free is also an option. Right now I will start tiny and just give out some bookmarks I designed. Since the book is for younger children, I know younger children will use bookmarks. Later, I can expand my promotion by creating an ad about the book. On the bookmark, I’ll include a link to my Author Central site. The author’s site has links to Amazon, where my … Continue reading Promotion and Advertising
