Tuesday, April 30, 2024

IWSG: Writing versus Distractions, New Release-Mom's Memories and Reflections on Motherhood #IWSGbloghop #jqrose #newbookrelease

 

Insecure Writers Support Group Blog Hop
#IWSGbloghop

What is the Insecure Writer's Support Group?
Founded by author Alex J. Cavanaugh, the Insecure Writer’s Support Group offers support for writers and authors alike. It provides an online database, articles and tips, a monthly blog posting, a Facebook and Instagram group, Twitter, and a monthly newsletter. 
To find out more, click this link:  Insecure Writer’s Support Group

The purpose of the group is 
* to share and encourage. 
* Writers can express doubts and concerns 
without fear of appearing foolish or weak. 
* Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. 
*It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds! 
You're invited to become a member of this supportive group. 
Click here to sign-up and/or to visit the bloggers this week.

Happy IWSG Day!
Happy May!
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Thank you to the awesome co-hosts for the May 1 posting of the IWSG--Victoria Marie Lees, Kim Lajevardi, Nancy Gideon, and Cathrina Constantine!

May 1 Question

 How do you deal with distractions when you are writing? Do they derail you?

Distractions? What distractions? SQUIRREL! 

I like this question. Oh wait a minute. My husband just came in and needs some help in the garage.

I'm back. Got the greenhouse put together.

Now where was I? Oh, distractions. Wait, I have to plug in my second screen. 
GRRR...I still don't have that screen working! Hard to concentrate on my writing because it is sitting right next to me taunting me because I can't figure it out. Guess it's time for a coffee break to cool down and think how I am going to solve this.

Okay. I'm back. Figured out the screen.

Now back to the answer to your question. First I want to wish everyone a marvelous month of May. I love May--so many birthdays, anniversaries, and gorgeous landscapes of flowering trees and spring flowers. Everything is fresh and new, coming alive in Michigan. Now....

Sorry, my daughter called. 

Now about distractions.  Oh, let me throw in a load of laundry before I get into an essay about distractions.

Now about distractions.....The answer is YES they distract me and derail me.

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UPDATE: 
I am thrilled to announce the journal for moms is now available on Amazon! In case you didn't know, I advocate for each person to write their life stories. What a gift to your family when you record life experiences, and surprisingly, it's a gift to yourself. 

Mom's Memories and Reflections on Motherhood: A Guided Journal
J.Q. Rose

Mom’s Memories and Reflections on Motherhood: A Guided Journal is adorned with bright yellow sunflowers and created with pages to journal about mom's unique life experiences, capturing the laughter, tears, and growth that define motherhood. 


Providing a suggested topic, a writing prompt, and an inspiring quote on each page, 
the journal makes writing your stories easy.

The hardcover, premium-color book is divided into three sections for moms to write about the different stages of parenting a child. The Early Years, The Adolescent Years, and Reflections.

One of the sections in the journal

Click here to find out more about Mom's Memories. Thank you.

If you would like the journal in PDF format, please let me know in the comment section below. I have no reviews for the book, yet. I'd appreciate a few sentences left at Amazon when you have time. Thanks.
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GETTING IT RIGHT! I had a difficult time fitting the book cover for Mom's Memories inside the template for KDP. I could see where the words would be cut off on the back cover and a problem with the front cover having words not centered how I wanted them to be placed. So many iterations later, I sent it off to KDP with all the corrections. When I saw the finished product on the sales page, I nearly had a heart attack. 

After all that time spent on the cover, there was ONE typo on the back cover. I had copied and pasted a phrase when re-doing the blurb, so the sentence did not start with a capital letter. What a basic rule--sentences start with capitals....grrr. How did I miss that??

So, once again I had to fix it. The book was originally published on Monday. I corrected the typo on Monday afternoon, and the changes were live the next day!! Kudos to KDP for their quick action. I have since tweaked the manuscript and it was complete with the revisions the next day!

I used Draft2Digital print to publish a different journal in November. I learned later D2D converts the font to 12 point. I must have missed the place to request using my formatted manuscript which is in 14 point. 

After the book is published, D2D does not allow changes for 90 days. After that time, a token is issued to revise the book for free. After using the token, the cost is $25.00 to make later changes. I was amiss for not researching the D2D rules for post-publishing. 

The book interior looked fine, but I did not like the smaller font even if it is the usual size in publishing. However, my readers are older, and I think 14 point is a good size. Large print is considered 16 point.

Have you used KDP or Draft2Digital to publish your books? Please share your experience in the comments below.

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Motherhood

Wishing you a Happy Mother's Day on May 12 in the USA!
 To moms and all who are important in the lives of a child.

Click here to visit more Insecure Writers Support Group  
members participating in this month's IWSG Blog Hop! 
Scroll down the page to find the bloggers' sites.

Click here to link to my new Substack page. It's FREE. The subject of the May 2 article is finding your passion.

Click here to be notified when a new article is posted on the J.Q. Rose blog.

Click here to follow me on Facebook at J.Q. Rose, Author.

Thank you for stopping by today! And for clicking around this post!
















14 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Congratulations and glad you got everything sorted out.
Your answer is really funny!

Natalie Aguirre said...

Congrats on your new book release! And I'm loving the beautiful Michigan weather too. I'm hoping to buy lots of veggie plants today.

Toi Thomas said...

Happy IWSG Day!
Love your take on distractions and how you show it in this blog post.
Congratulations on your release!
Thanks for sharing your formatting issues. It was enlightening. I haven't used Draf2Digital yet but used Smashwords, which they bought, often enough to know their process is a little more complex.

Fundy Blue said...

LOL! Your distractions were hilarious, and so very real, J.Q.! Wishing you success with your new book. It sounds truly helpful! Take care!

Joylene Nowell Butler said...

It's crazy to admit but I wrote my story in 1981. Haha, I hadn't even lived yet. Now the thought of writing it overwhelms me. That's a lot of memories. But you're right, I should. Happy IWSG Day, Janet.

Helena Fairfax said...

Congratulations on release, JQ. I love the cover! And congrats on spotting the typo and getting it sorted - despite the squirrel :)

J.Q. Rose said...

@Alex. Glad you thought the response to the question was funny. I had a good time writing it. All true, kinda...
@Natalie Thank you. Hey, don't get too anxious to plant those plants yet!
@Toi--Thank you. Congrats to you on your new release! And thanks for co-hosting!
@Fundy Hilarious! Wow...thanks I'm glad you got a laugh from the blog post.So true!!! Thanks. I think the journal will be very helpful to get moms started writing and to spark even more memories as she writes.

J.Q. Rose said...

@Joylene Aha, 1984! You can add a lot more in a sequel to your life story. Did you publish your story? Get goin', Girl! Thanks.

J.Q. Rose said...

@Helena Haha. Squirrel indeed. Thank you fir stopping in. I must admit I love sunflowers, so this was a given for the moms.

Victoria Marie Lees said...

LOVED your distractions post. So funny! Bravo for getting your Motherhood journal out. Thank you for sharing your experience with D2D and KDP. I need to figure out what to do with my college memoir. This is very helpful. I wish I knew more about publishing books. Did YOU buy your ISBN or did you use D2D or KDP's ISBNs?

J.Q. Rose said...

@Victoria--Thanks so much. Funny is the word I was hoping someone would say about the post! If you go to KDP at amazon, they have a lot of info on how to publish on amazon. Here's the link to that page.

https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help?ref_=kdp_kdp_BS_D_TN_help

I always use the free ISBN.

Best wishes for success with your writing projects!

Sandra Cox said...

Hi Cuz, Loved your response to the distraction question. So funny, so true for most of us:)

Victoria Marie Lees said...

Thank you so much, JQ, for the KDP info and ISBNs. It's truly appreciated. I'm so nervous about this thing called publishing. All best to you!

Sandra Cox said...

Happy Mom's Day.

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