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Hundreds of people going in different directions.
Many Americans said goodbye and good riddance to their jobs when the pandemic hit.

Twenty million Americans voluntarily left their jobs in the second half of 2021. This occurred because many Americans had time to get off the treadmill long enough to realize that they didn’t want to and didn’t have to work as slave labor to support someone else’s dream. They decided that they wanted to decide for themselves where they wanted to work or whether they wanted to work at all. I am a part of this great migration from working for “the man”.

I Am Part of the Great Resignation

Since March 2020, I have been away from the nine to five grind and living on our acre and half. At first, I was putting the house in order. While I lived in a travel trailer on our property, I had our trailer set up and painted it on the inside. I worked the garden area and canned what I could. I set up shelving to hold our home-canned jars and the store-bought items I bought in bulk. We picked blackberries.

In 2021, while continuing to garden, I started selling my books and several kinds of cookies at the local farmer’s market. I have also been working part-time as a substitute teacher and last September, I started collecting early social security. About the same time, I published another book about gardening and have had some decent success. In September I published my book The Survival Garden. I was surprised at how many sales I was able to make between September and December.

Coming Back from a Small Set Back

The forward motion slowed, however. This past winter, I have started cutting into my savings a little. Between the fact that I have had to spend more on our heating fuel (we heat with wood) and for groceries and gasoline, things have cost me more than I expected. In addition, my computer started falling apart. It happened first in November and then the screen fell apart again in December. I waited for the entire month of January for the repairman to let me know that it was ready, but that never happened. At the beginning of February, I decided to purchase a new computer which is what I am working on now. I probably shouldn’t have waited even that long.

 Now that spring is in the air, I am hopeful about the future. We have already been getting ready for next year’s gardening season. Last fall I planted regular garlic and elephant garlic and it is up and growing. We have planted our potatoes in three different ways and have pepper and tomato plants growing nicely. Soon we’ll be planting onions, peas, and shortly after that corn.

My book sales have also started to grow again after just a few sales in January and February. I have started experimenting with marketing methods and have found some benefits to those methods. I will be giving more later as time goes on.

In March, I finished writing an eBook I call The Four-Seasons Vegetable Garden in which I tell about the various ways that I am developing a vegetable growing system in which I can grow all of my own vegetables throughout the year. Check it out! And while you’re at it, check out my other books-fiction as well as nonfiction at my Author Central Page.

Is Being Part of the Great Resignation Worth It?

It’s not like I couldn’t go back and do what I was doing before the pandemic hit. I still could, but I have decided that I don’t want to go back to the way things were. I like the fact that I don’t have to punch a time clock every day. I like the fact that I can greet the morning on my own terms. That’s not to say that I’m not working. I have probably worked harder over the past two years than any time in my life and I am happy with what I am doing. I love gardening and I love writing. I feel fulfilled and that is a great feeling.

Now It’s Your Turn!

How about you? Did the pandemic make you re-evaluate your life? If so, how has your life changed over the past two years? Feel free to comment below!


For a long time, I have been thinking about starting my own publishing company. I have been thinking about it since I finished writing my first book and while I was in college. I want the business to be author-centric. In other words, I want it to be a company where authors are the owners rather than just a commodity of the publishing business.
Since 2010, I have been learning how to self-publish. I made a lot of mistakes, but I learned from them, and I know I can help others avoid many of the mistakes that I made.

Over a year ago, I started writing a business plan. I decided that it would be best if the business was a corporation and I decided that it would be best if this corporation was an S corporation.
I also thought of a name for the business I decided to call it Jerjoboch Publications.
Then I got stuck. I got stuck because I was too busy writing books to find enough time to learn what I needed to learn about building a business.
I also needed money. You can’t establish a corporation without spending some money. However, I didn’t have the money to invest, nor did I feel that I had enough followers or connections with fellow authors to make this dream come true.
Because I needed to know more about marketing, since the end of NaNoWriMo last November, I have been researching that subject.

I have learned that one of the first things that I need to know is who my customers are. My customers are self-published authors who want to take charge of their own books and earn accordingly.

 

Starting last month, I have been reaching out to fellow self-published authors whose goal is to be in control of their own publishing fate. I am looking for authors who would like to form a corporation where we can work together to build an online self-published author nurturing center, a self-publishing author publishing company, an author PR firm and an author promotions company. In other words a corporation dedicated to helping authors control their own destiny.

Write a Book and Ignite your Business_red

Do you have the dream of self-publishing a book, but you don’t know where to start or what to do next? Contact me at cygnetbrown@gmail.com and we’ll see what we can do to help you. You can also check out the book I wrote about the writing process directed toward business owners who are considering self-publishing as well. Check it out at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076NWLTSP


Thank you so much, Elisabeth Zguta for this guest post. I highly recommend her books. They are quite the page turners. Today Elisabeth is sharing her writing process,

Take it away, Elisabeth’

There’s much to know regarding publishing today. In the past ten years or more new trends have developed. The old way of doing things changed fast, and the familiar has been replaced with newer and better models. Yesterday’s traditional publishing is now more like a ‘vanity press’ today because it doesn’t guarantee anything except the imprint’s name on the inside cover.

Most of the work needs to be done by the author.

To do well in publishing, you must learn your craft and continue to grow as a writer, learn how to market, and you definitely need to invest your time.
No dream of writing a book is wrong unless you think that you don’t have to do the work for it to become a reality. If you anticipate instant gratification—think you can throw some words together, slap it into an eBook, and reap great rewards—well, think again!

hand-pointing-out-rev George Hodan
Photo credit to George Hodan

This is a competitive market. You need to present your best work, not perfect, but the best you can offer at the time. Know this—publishing is a long road. You most probably won’t become famous with your first book, but you are more likely to have an impact with your fourth, and the odds are better still with your tenth . . . it’s a long journey. The great thing about Indie Publishing is the support most indie authors offer each other.

What we all have to do:

• Write a great story for fiction or present an entertaining topic for non-fiction.
• Edit in stages (developmental & context) then perform or hire the final proof editor. Don’t forget to read your work aloud, the best way to know if the story is engaging is to hear it. Better yet, read it with a reader friend.
• Format the work for various platforms: mobi file for KDP, epub file for other digital distributors like Kobo and Apple, pdf file format for POD (print on demand) for print books for physical stores and libraries. (Some authors choose not to publish a printed edition, though I don’t understand why.)
• Design the inside and the outside. Add a call to action to join your email list inside the book. Create or purchase a compelling cover. First impressions are important, the average first glance is seconds . . . So get it right.
• Final proof. Once you load your completed files go over the proof in each format. DO NOT SKIP this part because often there’s a weird quirk on a random page smack in the middle, hiding for your reader! For your digital book proofs, check all the links and make sure the TOC (Table of Content) works for each section.

My writing process is one that suits me, and it may work for you as well.

I write and rewrite as I go.

Recently there was an interesting article about this by Dean Wesley Smith who labeled this as “Cycling and the Art of One Clean draft” rather than rewriting. Read the post and the comments, too. You may agree or disagree, but the main idea is to stay in touch with the creative process or ‘muse’ for lack of a better word.

There are the two schools of writers: pansters and outliners. Some writers preach and prefer to outline first, and I guess I do a slight version of outlining to get myself started. But detailed outlines, in my opinion, interrupts the creative process. A skeletal framework can help to keep yourself on track while letting your free writing have room to roam. (IMO detailed outlining is best saved for non-fiction).

If you want to know what your goal is then use a simple outline as a guide for your first draft.

There are tools available as prescribed by Editor Shawn Coyne. Check out his book and website: The Story Grid There are two tools: the Story Spine and the Foolscap Global Story Grid. The Story Spine is a three-sentence outline that provides direction for when you’re writing the first draft, leaving room for your story to develop organically.
Later on, you could use the Foolscap which is a more detailed method that works best after you’ve completed the first draft. This is used to identify anything you might have missed for the genre you’re writing, basically tying things together suited for the chosen genre specifically.

Back to my beginning writing process: After the simple outline idea is defined, then I write.

Each time I sit to write, I go back a little and go over what’s already on the page and then continue. Every so often, approximately ten chapters or less, I stop and compile my work in progress into a temporary eBook format and open it on my iPad. Reading it aloud, I highlight where to make changes or fix things, then go back to my computer, correct the errors or add the new idea that popped up that may have enhanced a scene, and then I continue on.

axelle b

Photo credit: axelle b

You can do this with any digital device (sometimes I compile and do a quick format into a mobi file and load onto my Kindle device for a change). If you don’t know how to format into digital reader formats, then use Calibre a freeware.
1. First save your document as a pdf file, easy to do in Word (save as pdf) or similar programs.
2. Then load this free software, which is a great digital library organizer to have on your desktop.
3. Upload the saved pdf file to the Calibre Library
4. Then use the option to convert it into mobi and/or epub file.
It’s simple, especially for people who learn hands on. Here’s a quick how-to video that might help. https://calibre-ebook.com/demo
My reason for doing proof reading/editorial review this way is two-fold:
1. First, reading it on a different device helps you see the mistakes that your eye rolls over while working on your computer.
2. Second, it is environmentally friendly, rather than wasting paper.
Some genres are easier to write than others, and each story is unique. One manuscript may need additional guides like time-lines (which need to be updated whenever you make changes). You may have to check back to your research if you can’t recall an important fact (especially if writing historical fiction or something using science as a backdrop). In my experience, it’s easier to verify the info while on that spot rather than relying on your memory to go back and fix it later. It saves time to fix as you go.
I use Scrivener to write. The software helps to make quick work of doing changes using the note card feature (corkboard feature). Also, you can get a quick review of the progress by downloading the worksheet file to see the stats (like word counts per scene, short descriptions of what happens, etc. I fill in brief details as I go). You could do this manually, use index cards, but I’m a software junkie.

Use this tool to check if the scenes are working (by the brief notes about each scene), check if the flow is there to meet the expectations for your genre, and the chapter lengths, etc. Basically, I do the same as the Foolscap but as I go. Anything you deem essential to your story can be checked and tracked.

Here are instructional videos to help you get started if you’re interested. There is a marginal cost, but worth every penny in my opinion.

Do not wait

EZ Indie Design

What you can do to stay inspired while writing:

• Grab photos while you research, use them for inspiration in between writing sprees. This works well to inspire cover ideas, ads, and book trailers later, too.
• Play music that inspires your story theme while writing, or better yet, in between your writing, so it keeps your mind working while doing other things. For example, if you’re writing Sci-fi listen to futuristic music, like the score of Star Wars or Techno music. If you write romance, then listen to more moving themes like the score of Romeo and Juliet. You get my drift.
• Watch movies that have the same story topic to keep your subconscious mind working on your own story. If you’re writing a Western Romance, then watch some John Wayne movies, if writing a historical fiction then tune into the History Channel.
If you haven’t heard this already, it is never too early to market your book. Many successful launches actually begin months before the book is even released. If you can use some of the elements of marketing also to help provide encouragement for you to keep writing, then it’s the best possible scenario.
If you’re into Pinterest this is a great time to use it as a tool. You can begin building some buzz about your book by the boards you create. If you’re writing about elves, add a board about fairytales and elves. Add and search clips to interact with people who also like elves—chances are they will be your perfect target market.
If you’re not into pin boards, then maybe you’d enjoy using YouTube and create a channel. Make quick videos (best to keep them timed to 1 minute or less). Use the ideas from your story to create smart video clips (they can be shared on Facebook, Twitter, MeWe, G+, and Instagram) If you’re writing a gardening book, take pics of your favorite flowers or veggies, add music and voila! Here’s a basic how-to from scratch.

A word of caution: Whenever you create something to share publically using another artist’s work, you must be respectful of the copyrights. You cannot use other people’s photos, music, fonts, etc. without permission unless they are specifically noted as ‘public domain, free to use’ or are labeled ‘may use as long as you give credit (CC) Common License can be partial use like for educational purposes only. Find the boring details here if you have a question: Copyright Law

kai Stachowiak photographer
Photo credit: kai Stachowiak

What you should do to build momentum about the book while writing:
• Talk about your book topic when you’re on social media, give updates on your progress, or say things (without giving away your story) that will peak interest in your book. It’s referred to building the Book BUZZ . . . Read more here at Build Book Buzz blog with Sandra Beckwith
• Create or join a group who’s interested in the topic of your book. You may even get additional inspiration or ideas from other group members to help solidify your characters or plot twists.
• Guest blog for other bloggers who have the same interests as in your book.
• Use social media as a tool to talk up your book and hook potential readers (Highly suggest to stay off hot-button topics that could hurt your reputation or close doors to potential customers)

social-media-icons-markers Animated Heaven

Photo credit: Animated Heaven

It’s easy to wander from your main idea while publishing; there’s a lot of advice and tactics offered, and everyone has an opinion (myself included), and it’s hard to see what works from a waste of time. Find what works best for you.

Each book deserves its own launch, and it is essential to make a plan.

Some can be launched with a direct approach (usually right for non-fiction). Other books may require you to take the scenic route (especially when your genre is very specific). There are silent launches, which is a continuous flow of information to interest potential readers. There are also celebratory launches that involve live events, either on social media or in person, like a book launch party or book launch blog party. It can be as elaborate or as low-key as you want. In person or via social media. The goal is always the same—to get your book out there!

I have to admit, some of the ‘should do’s’ listed above I haven’t done. Everyone has time limits, and it’s important that you discover yours. Use the most effective avenue to fit your schedule and get the biggest bang for your time spent. You should totally do as much as you can—hell, you may have more ideas that you can develop that never made my list. I hope so.

I’m an advocate for self-publishing, believe that the tools are there for us, and you can do it if you have the desire and work ethic to get it done. You can be a publisher.

Use the platforms that work well for you, don’t spread yourself too thin, and make efficient use of the direction you’ve chosen to take.

Focus on your project—it’s essential!
Keep reading – Keep writing!

Thank you, Cygnet Brown, for your guest post spot.

If you’re interested in learning more about Indie Publishing and don’t know where to begin, please visit my website which will point you in the right direction to discover the best publishing information for today. Visit EZ Indie Publishing .com

Elisabeth_Zguta_Author

Elisabeth Zguta
Independent Author

Books by Zguta (1)

EZ Indie Publishing EZ Indie Design

Credits:
Dean Wesley Smith
Shawn Coyne
Sandra Beckwith
Photographers from PublicDomain.net
Calibre software
Scrivener software
Pinterest
You Tube


Advantages to Traditional Publishing

bookshelf

When I first thought about writing a book, I thought the same way that so many other would be authors thought. I imagined getting huge advance and being given the royal treatment when I went into New York City to meet my publisher. I imagined a limousine picking me up at the airport and driving me to an amazing suite where I would stay a week while I hit the circuit of going from television station to radio stations, to other interviews, having my own makeup artist and hairstylist, going shopping in the Fashion District and even seeing a Broadway show while I was there.
After my visit, the publishing company would distribute my book and put it in the front of the store in every major book seller in the country. I would be given a number of copies of my books that I could share with my family and friends, and I would “live the dream”.
Nice dream. Reality was far different. I learned later that advances were seldom given to new authors (although I have met one).

Disadvantages to Traditional Publishing

The first thing that I learned was that when an author signs a contract with a traditional publisher, the contract always benefits the publisher at the expense of the author. The contracts are written in legalese so if the author doesn’t have a lawyer to look over the contract, the author might have to do things that they didn’t realize was not to their benefit. I heard of one author’s contract where she had to pay the expenses for attending book signings in distant cities. She was paid a set amount per book, but the number of books that she was able to sell was not enough to pay for her expenses. I had another friend had to buy copies of his own books so that he could sell them at live events. He made more money selling at the live events than anything that the publisher did for him. In addition, the publisher wouldn’t allow him to sell his books in digital format at all. Both had sold their rights to their publisher so they had no recourse. I have heard of other authors who had sold all their rights to publishers. The author has to make changes in manuscripts, might have to use a title and cover design of the publisher’s choosing. The author might not have any say at all.
I also learned was that the traditional publishing process takes about two years before you ever get your book on the shelves. Afterwards, if you were one of the lucky few who were able to get an advance, you won’t get paid until you sell enough books to pay your advance.

Self-Publishing

While I was learning all about traditional publishing, I started looking into self-publishing. The differences were enlightening. There was no promise of any advance. Before I was ever able to sell a book, I would have to put out money for editing, formatting, and cover design.
Of course, there are other problems with self-publishing. There’s a huge learning curve and expense to self-publishing that doesn’t exist with traditional publishing. I would have to take charge of marketing and book distribution. Getting into major bookstores would be difficult and advertising would be on my own dime as well.
I found however that self-publishing has its advantages. As a self-publisher, I own my own work. I have complete control over the content of my book, editing, formatting and cover design. I have complete control over the creative process. I can decide how I market my books, both on-line and off-line. I can handle my own distribution by working directly with independent book stores. I can determine whether I want to go on a book signing or attend a specific event. I can decide what public relations I want to be a part.
As a self-publisher, I can set my prices and can earn 70 percent or more of the cost of the books that I wrote and designed. As a self-publisher, I am a creative and an entrepreneur.


Reminders All Around

50 lessons

In this post, I  continue the 50 Lessons I Learned From The World’s Greatest Achiever by Vic Johnson, by continuing to focus on the good. When I are working to achieve our goals, I am often confronted by negativity. Therefore in order to keep focused on the good, I need to remind myself of the accomplishments I have already made on my journey in reaching my goals.

In the book, Vic Johnson suggests that I should post Post it Notes all over the house to remind me of my achievements. As I look back over my life, I see numerous accomplishments. Some are directly related to the goals that I am working to accomplish, but the others are just as important.

Taking A Chance

When I was twenty years old, I decided to go to California to pursue my dream of being a writer. I quit the dead end job that I was dong and went out to California by bus, alone and without knowing anyone out there. It was quite the adventure and when I tell about it, people are amazed that I would take such a chance. The adventure only lasted two days, then my money ran out and I returned home. I tried to write from my own bedroom, but my parents insisted that I get a job.

My Military Experience

About two years after I went to California, I joined the US Navy I was on  Active Duty for six years and then ten years as a reservist. I trained as a corpsman, specialized in neuro-psychiatry, and trained as a Field Corpsman who went out with the Marines.

Homesteading Skills

Boniaandanotherkid

My youngest with one of the baby goats we raised.

 

After my active duty military time, I lived in numerous places where I used the gardening skills that I developed as I experimented with various gardening techniques.

In addition, I learned about raising chickens and raising goats.

Helping Children Learn

Some of my accomplishments involve children. I have always loved reading, so one thing that I like to do is teach children how to read. I have taught two of my own children how to read. (I could not teach my older son because he was dyslexic.)My middle son I helped teach the letters and letter sounds, but someone else gets credit for putting it all together.  I also taught two other girls how to read. I taught my daughter how to read before she started kindergarten.

Another thing that I taught all of the children I mentioned above (including my elder son) plus several others is how to tell time. In both teaching both, I learned something very valuable myself. Both reading and telling time involves numerous steps that without mastering any step, the whole process would be lacking.

I home schooled each of my own children for about a year each.

Nursing

I went to nursing school in 2003. I did well in school and graduated with honors. However, I soon learned that nursing had little to do with my passion. The only part of nursing that I like was when I taught others about their diagnosis and their medications. I didn’t like doing procedures or actually giving medications, the things that nurses are normally known for. From this experience, I learned that just because you can learn about something, doesn’t mean that you should make it a career.

What should I do now?

What should I do now?

College

Last July, I graduated  Magna Cum Laude. with my Liberal Arts degree.

Authorship

The theme that is interwoven in all of my goals is the fact that I am developing as a self published author who wants to get more of my books into the hands of more readers. I have published two novels (the third one ready for publication but not published yet) and I have published one non-fiction book.

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Spiritual Achievement

Some things don’t follow a timeline, and my spiritual achievement is one of those that don’t. I have been to numerous types of churches since I was a child.. I read through the Bible the first time when I was twelve years old. I have read through it several times since then. I also have taken numerous Bible courses over the years. A few years ago I got my ordination. Over the past several years I have written about my Biblical experience.

Impressed By My Own Achievements

As I look over this list of things that I have done over my lifetime, I realize that I should never trivialize my achievements. I have made some very impressive contributions. I realize that I need to recognize for myself my achievements and pat myself on my own back. “Good Work!

Adding To The List

This, of course, is not the end. This is simply the beginning. As I make more achievements, I will make Post It Notes with those achievements too.

 

IMG_8330 final copy

Donna Brown is an ordained minister. As Author Cygnet Brown, she  has recently published her first nonfiction book: Simply Vegetable Gardening: Simple Organic Gardening Tips for the Beginning Gardener

She is also the author of historical fiction series The Locket Saga. which includes When God Turned His Head and Soldiers Don’t Cry, the Locket Saga Continues. Her upcoming book A Coward’s Solace will be available soon. Click here for more information about Cygnet Brown and her books.

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