Why I LOVE the GURU Website!!

Posted by - July 26th, 2013

timeworrylateNo knowledge? No Skill? No Time?

a) One of the above?
b) A couple of the above?
c) All of the above?

That’s exactly where I was with two (2) of my websites.

One of the websites has been sitting on my mind for YEARS, and the other website, yeah, a few years too.

They needed to CHANGE!!

Website #1

I had typed up these really specific details for Website #1 which was on the Movable Type platform. When I first started looking for places to put blogs, I thought Movable Type was the best option…until I started working with it. Then I wanted to discard it, but then used it anyway. I kept HURTING myself for no reason! I even mentioned in this blog: WHY did I do this Movable Type AGAIN?!! And I had NO IDEA. Besides, just trying to get something to work that was already created and activated, there was no sense on continuing with it. It was a HEADACHE! So much so that I LOST all my comments on it by accidently deleting the WRONG THING!!! UGGGGGGGGgGggggggghhhhhh!!!!!

I needed Website #1 to be moved from Movable to WordPress, and the information on the internet looked too hard and too time consuming for me to do it myself.


Website #2

I tried to quickly put together a website that was REALLY informative, but use a FREE template website design to create it. All those hours of making How-To videos for Website #2 was just wasted on a very, very, ugly, unsightly, silly looking site.

But I just didn’t have the time to convert Website #2 to a better look and feel.

Da-dada-Daaahhhhhh!!!! GURU to the RESCUE!!!



I don’t know WHY I didn’t do this before! But I was talking to a friend of mine on how he could update a business website, and make it look really professional looking. I gave him the advice to use GURU and FIND someone to do it for him. Well, he decided to use templates and a lot of time to try to fix it himself. I kept telling him to use GURU, and he simply refused–still peddling along trying to do it all himself.

Then it clicked! I’ll SHOW him how EASY it is to just get someone else to do it for him.

WHY DIDN’T I THINK OF THIS BEFORE???!!!!



So, I started off posting a project for Website #2 on Guru with a title: WEBSITE UPDATE. I explained what I needed, and how HORRIBLE my existing website was, and I got over 40 requests with ranges of costs from $100.00 to $2,000.00. The time I would have taken to try to redesign the website myself was placed into the time to go through the suggested cost quotes and resumes of the skilled WebDesign companies and individuals. Actually, it was a lot less time. I simply took my time to go through them.

Guru has change A LOT since I had been on the site and found my Cover Designer and Editor. Using the Web Design category this time, I got quite a slew of requests–mostly from India. Not only did I get so many responses, I also got the same requests sent to my Facebook Page, my LinkedIN, my Twitter, and my personal email!!

MAN! I understand persistance, and trying to stick out from the competitions, but that took the CAKE! They had looked at my website I wanted to redesign, got my contact information from i,t and found me on every platform they could find to send additional contact information on their interest on re-designing my website.

Needless to say, I developed an elimination strategy. Grrrrr!!!

  • Those who called me: Dear Sir (eliminated!..If they would have included “Madam” in the title, I would have left them on the list, but NONE of them did)
  • Those who just sent general “canned” information about their company and nothing specific containing information about my website (eliminated!)
  • Those who just sent two-line sentences that basically said: We can do that project (eliminated!)
  • Those who quoted above the $0-$250 range that I submitted (eliminated!)
  • Those who did not have samples of previously designed websites or references (eliminated!)
  • Those who sent me a list of websites and I couldn’t connect to them (eliminated!)
  • Those whose profiles stated they were based in the United States, but when I went to their websites, they had signs that they were NOT in the U.S. (ELIMINATED! — I don’t like misrepresentation!!)
  • Those who couldn’t reply to my questions in a way I could understand them or replied without answering all of my questions (ELIMINATED!!)

Next, was to rate the quotes of the ones I wanted to take a 2nd or 3rd look over their designs. Then, I took into consideration their price quote. Finally I settled on a designer.

I was so excited about getting my Website #2 redesigned that I remembered Website #1, and how I wanted to changed it to the WordPress platform.

I started another project with the title: Movable Type to WordPress–Blog Website

All-in-all, I paid $250.00 for Website #2 (which I could have gotten done at a lot lower price, but I decided I wanted to work with this particular designer because I liked his designs, and he was going to give me the files, like I wanted, for me to continue updates on my own via Dreamweaver)

I paid $160.00 for Website #1 (which, again, I could have gotten lower, but this designer answered all my questions, wanted to do EXACTLY what I wanted, and got it all done within a DAY!!).


Here is Website #1. Before and After. It doesn’t look like much now because I need to go find a cool skin that I want to put with it, just like the skin on this current blog that you’re reading now.

Before After
oldBlogWebsite NewBlogWebsite
Take a look at the actual Website #1



Here is Website #2. And it looks AWESOME compared to what it looked like before. I’m just SO VERY happy for this update. Also, now, I don’t feel so sheepish when directing people who saw my YouTube video and then went to my website, only to see some silly-looking, amateurish website that wasn’t very easy to navigate. It looks SO VERY PROFESSIONAL… NOW!!

Before After
OldToolsWebsite Mock2
Take a look at the actual Website #2



So, the moral of the story??? Get the extra help when you:
Don’t have the Time.
Don’t have the Skill.
Don’t have the knowledge.

The relief to get something COMPLETED… FINALLY! was one big Awesome SIGH for me!!

…and my friend? Well, I told him my story and showed him the results.

He’s still twiddling with his business website.


Until Next Time!




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When You Don’t Give Up…

Posted by - May 11th, 2013

GoogleAlertMy previous post talked about all the doom and gloom that’s been going around with self-publishing, so I wanted to give a little pick-me-up about what happened to me recently.

As those of you know, I can’t scream and shout about big numbers of sales or how I can even pay a single bill. I get about three (3) sales a month, which, I’ve always stated, is a great steady and wonderful thing for me because I’ve surpassed family friends and I’ve got people buying and reading my stories–without even really marketing, mind you. I always wanted strangers to read me, and that’s what continuously happens with my peanut sales. 🙂

Then there’s those months that might go by when I didn’t get those three (3) buys, or maybe just two (2) or one (1) or none (0)…something happens that makes those down months very uplifting!

See my picture up top? That’s my Google Alerts email. Google Alerts is something that will send you an email based on text someone would type in the search engine. I’ve put my pen name in there–something that was advised to do some time ago when I first started self publishing–just to see when someone is talking about me. Well, an alert popped up doing one of my down months and made my day! It was a Science Fiction website that put my 3rd book of the Calling Series as a suggestion for people to read. I don’t know who looks at this site, but someone took time to post my book’s image on it and it’s a link to something I’ve created.

And That’s Awesome!

Then something else came about. I found out from the Kindle Boards of the Writer’s Cafe that there’s a season where novels sales are really low or where novels aren’t bought at all, and that season is Summer. From Mid-May to Mid-September is that time period where new self-publishers shouldn’t fret about sales, and it’s talked about by an experience author, Dean Wesley Smith. This is knowledge that should be passed on, and that’s what I do with this blog. Because having that extra help of information always creates that sigh of relief.

From one Lone Self-Publisher to another….

Until Next Time!




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Old Ways and New Ways 2

Posted by - April 23rd, 2013

oldnewshoesHave you been hearing the fears in the air? The waves of uncertainty? The talk of what’s not possible anymore?

There’s been talk that the well has run dry. That the gold rush is now over. That it’s not possible to get that surge of eyes on your work of art because all of the ways to get them there have been overused and overdone and no longer work anymore.

It can get disheartening to hear these types of things about self-publishing, and, oh, how it starts to suck you dry of all of your enthusiasms, your hopes, and your dreams.

But you have to remember

At one time, there was a way to publish your book that would take years and years, and possibly NEVER happened. There was a time when you submitted your work and your voice was not heard. There was a time when it seemed like now…hopeless.

But that time could never get you as close to your dream as THIS time.

So, the sales aren’t coming like they use to.
So, you’re not getting as much attention as THAT author over there.
So, you’ve done EVERYTHING and there’s still no eyes coming your way.

But you MUST remember

Your step today is a step higher from yesterday. And you can’t give up even though things look grim. You keep going because if you STOP, then you really did come to…nothing.

If you’re someone who is getting buys, NO MATTER THE NUMBER, they are buys.
If you’re someone who hasn’t received any buys, NO MATTER, there will be buys.
If you’re someone whose buys don’t go up and don’t go down, NO MATTER… THEY ARE BUYS.

The point is, we all wear shoes, Old and NEW, but we do the same in either case.

We Keep Walking…



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Marketing Break! 2

Posted by - March 29th, 2013

FrustratedDoing all the things you hear to do to get your book seen can be overwhelming and become very frustrated. I know the list and the time (Especially the TIME) to do all this marketing is the pits!

However, there may be a way that you can market your book but not feel like you have another job doing it!

I mentioned back in November 2012 that I was testing out some marketing stuff for my book. Well, I think I found out that it works!

I’ve decided to go to websites and be a part of communities that I actually enjoy being a part of. For me, unfortunately, being a part of Goodreads, LibraryThing and Shelfari, as well as constantly posting on blogs and Facebook and Twitter, hasn’t been for me. I don’t have time to read, and I don’t have time to do all the blogging and twittering, so none of that socializing works for me. I don’t write enough for Wattpad and nor have the time to read other’s work. However, other things that I’m interested in DO work for me.

Yahoo! Answers

On my Blogger website that I have for my readers, and which I use as another marketing tool to gain readers, I like to talk a lot about feelings and the matters of the heart and life. I do love to talk about those things, and so what I started testing was Yahoo! Answers. It’s a community where people post questions on what’s on their hearts and minds and people respond with their answers. I found that it’s similar, to me, like Dear Abby where I can be Abby! And I’m actually pretty good at it. I get a lot of 10 points for being accepted as the Best Answer, and that makes me feel good to help someone else out.

I have a steady buy of three (3) books a month, and I found while being on Yahoo! Answers, that keeps that going because I see that the books are being bought much earlier in the month than so slowly throughout the month when I get a lot of Best Answers.

Criticker

The other place that I enjoy is Criticker. I found this website when Netflix, for some reason, stopped allowing people to post their reviews on movies. I needed an outlet to put my 2 cents and my opinion on the films I enjoyed. Netflix now allows people to post reviews again, but I’ve gotten so use to Criticker that I mainly post there now, as well as my ratings of the movies I’ve seen that week on Netflix.

Though I don’t think I get any readers from Criticker, I still enjoy being there, especially being a part of the forums every blue moon. I’ve even got an answer of a movie title I was looking for but I just couldn’t remember what it was, and someone answered it for me! Now that was just a great relief.

FanForum

A third site I would go to frequently but it’s forum just loads WAY too slow for me–FanForum. It’s the best place to subsidize my Criticker site, which is for films only, so that I can talk about TV series I enjoy to my heart’s content. I also lurk to find out all the side information and people’s opinions on my favorite TV series. My only problem is that I watch my series so late, so I can’t join in with the current conversations, but I can participate when I catch up.


In all these places, I don’t post, “Hey! I’m a Writer! Buy my Book!” Plus, you really don’t want to do that. You don’t want to be a Spammer nor a Bug-A-Boo. What you should do is just be your witty and special self, and people will take a look at your profile where you have your website for them to take a looksie.

I’m quite enjoying these sites and, what’s importantly, it’s not like I’m working to market. I’m doing something that I already enjoy doing. Though these places aren’t really after my target audience, I do get an ongoing, steady, buy of my three books a month and sometimes four! LOL!! I know that sounds like chump change but it’s great numbers for me since I don’t put the time in to do much marketing at all, and this goes WAY beyond just family and friends, which is your ultimate goal.

Bottom line, go out there and participate in things that you already enjoy. Because you’ll never know who’s interest you might peek.



Until Next Time!!



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The Book Cover for Tirna Magique is Here!!

Posted by - February 20th, 2013

Where have I been again? Yep, I’ve been busy working on another book. This one is a novella. “What’s a novella?” some might ask, well it’s a bit shorter than an novel. See definitions of the differences below.

Classification Word count
Novel over 40,000 words
Novella 17,500 to 40,000 words
Novelette 7,500 to 17,500 words
Short story under 7,500 words

So back to my novella….

Previously, it was going to part of an anthology, but the project was, unfortunately, unable to be completed. The good news is that when working with anthologies you can take your own work, apart from the others, and have another book for yourself!!

Now, Dah-dah-dah-dah-dahhhhh!!!!!…. to my AMAZING Book Cover Designer.
As you know, she starts of with a sketch.

MAKE SURE TO CLICK ON THE PICTURES TO GET A GREAT VIEW!!


I start with describing what I would like the cover to look like. I wanted: a mermaid, a dragon, four women characters in blue jeans and T-shirts, fairies, a mountain and trees with twisted trunks. Yeah, yeah. I’m a bit detail about my covers, but I love to have them match as close to my stories as possible.

Rough Draft Tirna Magique

After viewing the draft, I needed to have my character with the ponytail have a much longer ponytail because she sits on it accidentally sometimes. So, she made that change and made the first color design.

Tirna Magique 1st Color

Next, we needed to add a few updates. The boulder the mermaid sits on needed to be gold. Also, my 3rd character needed more tightly curly hair. The Pegasus, I wanted the face a bit more updated because my sister said it looked more like a goat. And we needed to add some brightly color fairies flying around.

Tirna Magique 2nd Color

And, of course, I get so very excited when I see such awesome work. So, yeah, I got to say that word again.

COMPLETE AWESOMENESS!!!



This book cover looks like some place I really, really, really want to go to. And I absolutely LOVE that feeling! I already have the book up and ready to buy on Amazon and Smashwords (while waiting patiently for Smashwords to push to Barnes and Noble).

Until Next Time!



See the previous post for Creations’s Book Cover design steps.
See the previous post for Jetta’s Book Cover design steps.
See the previous post for Irid’s Book Cover design steps.
See the previous post for Ruby, Flesh and Heart Cover design steps.
See the previous post for The Made Cover design steps.
See the previous post for The 9th Symbol design steps.



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Happy Happy Happy Year 2013!!!!

Posted by - January 12th, 2013



Happy New Year! Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! Good to be here 2013!!!

I wanted to share a video that was posted on the Kindleboards that I thought would be the best thing to have on your mind for this year. It’s a speech that’s definitely worth listening to for the entire twenty (2) minutes. Yes. Very well worth it.

An inspirational speech that we all need. Enjoy!!

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Is my Book Cover included in the copyright protection of my book?

Posted by - November 24th, 2012

I just went through the CopyRight Office for my last two books, and they are now buckling down on their procedures. Before, I just had to send electronic works, but now, if there’s a paperback version of my work available to buy, I also need to provide two (2) physical proofs of that as well. If my novels were selling in eBook format only, I wouldn’t have to mail the CopyRight Office proof of the work just upload the digital format.

So, then there was this thing about my Book Cover and if I Own it. I had two choices, which they emailed to me and let me know how I should answer.

CHOICE ONE: If I didn’t make the Book Cover, then the registration record must contain an explanation of how I obtained the copyright book cover designer. I can then say it was transferred “By written agreement”.

CHOICE TWO: Alternatively, if the artwork was done on a work-for-hire basis, and that I, the author of the text, was the employer, then I can say that. When a work is made for hire, the employer is considered the author, and not the individual(s) who created the work. I can then authorize the CopyRight office to name me as the author of the “for hire” artwork.

So, if you pay someone to do the cover for you, just let the CopyRight office know that the artwork was “for hire” and that says that you own it and it will also be copyrighted, belonging to you, along with your novel.

Just wanted to pass along that bit of new information. I always learn something new in this business.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

On a personal note…. Yeah, yeah, I haven’t been posting like I used to. I’m working on a novella and as well as a sideline of marketing, which is also fun for me. I’m still doing some testing on this marketing, which I really don’t do much of, or rather very little of–marketing, that is. So, I’ll let you know how it works.


Until Next Time!



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More Book Trailers!

Posted by - September 16th, 2012

YES! It’s ALIVE!!!!

Uh huh. I created more Book Trailers just to spice up my websites. Uh huh. Yes, I did!

I don’t know. I just enjoy making them. For me, it brings more life to my books when they are ready to be read by the masses! And I just so LOVE editing them and putting music to the screens.

Yeah. Yeah. They’re still pictures, but I like it anyway. I ESPECIALLY like it when I can get music that brings out the feeling of the images and words I’m trying to convey. It brings depth to the entire project. It brings it TO LIFE!!

So…check out my Book Trailers for the 2nd and 3rd Books that are available out there to be read and devoured.
Come in…Take A Bite!



Jetta (Book 2)




Creations (Book 3)

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The Book Cover for Creations Is Here!!!

Posted by - August 21st, 2012

Yep! Yep! The Book Cover for the third book of The Calling Series is in. Wanna see some pictures? Hear ya go!

CLICK THE PICTURES TO GET A BETTER VIEW! 🙂



First we have a couple of draft copies. I sent a description of each character I wanted on the front cover and my Book Cover Designer came up with this.

creations_sketch1

I needed a few changes: 1) switch the poses of the two middle characters (because Metz is the sexy one and Vegan is a leader, so their poses had to switch), 2) make the one with the feathers shorter (because Metz is short), and 3) make the first character have more curls in her hair. This was the final draft.

creations_sketch2

So, now to color! Yes! My favorite part!

creations_cover_color1st

Back again to lights. I mention this with Book 2 of this series and my IRID novel. With such darkness, I needed some light or sparkles in the black clothes, and I wanted the last character to have a peak-toe shoe since her pose was just sooo sexy!

creations_coverfinal

Then I went back a third time, some weeks later because I really had an image of one of my characters to have a BIG AFRO! Yep. Alien girl with an Afro. And she came back with this.

AND AGAIN…AWESOMENESS!!! 🙂



I just couldn’t BELIEVE that I finally got books 1-3 of The Calling Series available to look at and to motivate me as I finish up their final polishing for sell. This has been an incredible journey!



See the previous post for Jetta’s Book Cover design steps.
See the previous post for Irid’s Book Cover design steps.
See the previous post for Ruby, Flesh and Heart Cover design steps.
See the previous post for The Made Cover design steps.
See the previous post for The 9th Symbol design steps.

Until Next Time!



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The Book Cover for Jetta Is Here!!!

Posted by - July 31st, 2012

So, yep, I’ve been on hiatus working on my 2nd and 3rd books of The Calling Series, as well as taking vacation and just taking an overall break. And, YES! I’m so Excited!!!! Jetta, Book 2, of The Calling Series has the book cover completed!!! Yes! Yes! Yes! Below are the stages of development.

CLICK THE PICTURES TO GET A BETTER VIEW! 🙂



So, first, there’s the sketch draft….

I needed to move two characters around, placing the smiling one in the middle. She made those change and sent me color.

Jettacoverdraft

The other change was that I had to add the word “Series” to the subtitle and remove the face of the red cloak. And there was also something very else…. I mean, it looked good, but it was missing something… Hmmm… What? What was it missing?

I thought about my other book cover, Irid, and remembered it was missing something too, and the hubby suggested putting some stars in the darkness between the colors and that brought out that book cover and it was amazing! Just that little bit of something…. And then I had it. LIGHTS. I told her rope lights, like back in the 1970s, or something like that, but not too cheezy. Some kind of electricity to make the metal shine. And so she did something better.

Jettacoverfinal

AND IT WAS AWESOME! 🙂

I was so very please with this cover. And I didn’t think I could be so happy about every single one of my covers, but I am.
It’s a wonderful feeling to be very happy about your product and not having to “settle” for something you’re just not quite satisfied with. It’s just wonderful!

I’m done with most of the setup for Jetta to be published, but I had to have one final thing to add. A MAP!

I made a little sketch of a map and sent it to my cover designer and asked for something better.

She came back with a black map that just blew me away! But I also needed a map for the interior of my book. So she made that one too.

Print

calling map book version

And there you have them!
AWESOME and AMAZING!
All these pictures just make me want to sing, I tell ya!

Next is the Book Cover for Creations. I can’t wait!


See the previous post for Irid’s Book Cover design steps.
See previous post for Ruby, Flesh and Heart Cover design steps.
See the previous post for The Made Cover design steps.
See the previous post for The 9th Symbol design steps.

Until Next Time!



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