Hello Dreamers✨
I've been busy these past couple of weeks and not with writing or editing a single word. Instead, I’ve gone down the rabbit hole of marketing research including social media, newsletters, sales platforms, vlogs, and podcasts. I’ve been experimenting in Canva, creating banners, headers, newsletters, and website pages. When I focus on something, I tune out everything else. My poor husband. One of the biggest projects I tackled was setting up my newsletter and figuring out the email service I would use to send it. The two images above are part of that project. The top left image is for the welcome page subscribers receive after signing up, and the top right image is for the monthly newsletter. Each month’s issue will also be uploaded to the newsletter page on my website so visitors can read it, or new subscribers could catch up if they signed up after the scheduled email date. While the one posted on the website may look identical to the emailed, there will be differences. If I do giveaways, offer discounts, or come up with any other brilliant ideas, those will be published on the email that is sent out to my subscribers. It’s often said that one of an author’s greatest tools is their newsletter and their readers. Until recently, I had never had one and wasn’t sure what to include. Then I thought of Dottie. I am contemplating a vlog to discuss the 'ah ha' moment I came up with her. Dottie is an author assistant avatar named Dottie Grimble. Dottie writes the first page of each letter, and I follow with the second. Dottie will help share behind-the-scenes updates and talk things up in a lighthearted way that I hope brings a smile. Short, fun, and hopefully something my subscribers look forward to. I’ll be returning to my writing and editing on Monday. The October issue will go out later this week. My plan is to email the newsletter the first of every month. If you’d like to stay up to date, subscribe to the newsletter and it will arrive in your inbox automatically at the beginning of each month. To sign up, go to the Newsletter page and scroll to the bottom. I hope to hear from you soon!
0 Comments
Hello Dreamers ✨
I've been busy this past week! We hosted a baby shower for my daughter in our back yard this past Saturday. At this time of year, we thought we might have the fire pit going, but it turned out to be too warm. At least it didn't rain. We had plenty of food, friends, and family. It was a wonderful day, and we had a lot of fun. In about a month, my granddaughter will be here. I hope she and her big brother have fun growing up. I will enjoy watching them. On the writing side, I've been diving into research on the publishing world. So much has changed since I was last emersed in it. I've been looking into Kickstarter--it's fascinating to see how authors are using it to connect with readers and offer unique rewards. I've been taking notes and brainstorming ideas for what I might offer backers. I'm also working on something new. A short novella. I have it all in my head and need to put it down on paper (well, on Word first). I draft and polish in Word, then use Google Docs for sharing with my editor before bringing it back to my Word files. My plan is to focus on my big series during the day, then my novella at night. If I don't get it out, the story plots will keep circling, and that drives me crazy! Of course, my challenge is staying focused and not getting lost in research tangents. My novella idea comes from thinking about our time restraints. Sometimes a reader just wants to start and finish a book in one night--a complete story they can slip into and then walk away from satisfied. I'd like to create several shorter works like this. Maybe tomorrow I'll give an update on my writing progress. Hello, Dreamers ✨
My daughter’s baby shower is just two days away. Tomorrow, we’ll be setting up the gazebo and arranging the tables, but today was all about cleaning and welcoming family who came in early. We shared dinner, sat around the table, and talked late into the evening. I didn’t write today. And while I had a good reason, I still felt that familiar twinge of guilt. I’ve been trying to reserve weekends for family and weekdays for writing, but life doesn’t always follow neat schedules. My youngest daughter even took tomorrow off so we can finish preparing together. In between it all, I tried recording a video for TikTok, though the sound came out low and needs work. It’s a reminder of how much effort goes into marketing yourself. This post is more a note to myself: not every day will be a writing day. And that’s okay. Some days are about family, conversation, and simply being present. They matter too.  Hello, Dreamers✨
We’ve had some much-needed rain lately, and during a break this afternoon, two lovelies wandered into our backyard while I was on my lunch break from writing. I locked the dog door to keep the dogs in, though surprisingly, they didn’t even notice the visitors. With the yellow creeping into the leaves, fall is clearly setting in. Maybe the deer were nibbling on leftover pears. They love the apples from the front yard. I was thrilled to see them. My husband teased me: “Haven’t you seen deer before?” Well, yes. But I don’t care—I was still excited. As for writing, I’ve mostly been working on my websites and Linktr.ee page, which I think I’ve finally got where I want them (at least until the books start releasing). I'd like to add a buy a signed copy button. More than Human is still with my editor, and I’m debating formatting choices. Should I label the journal entries at the start of each chapter, or simply roll them into the chapter text? I’ll experiment with it. The rain has been calming. Usually, I light candles and clean when it rains, but today it was just dishes and laundry. That counts, right? Hello, Dreamers ✨ I’m starting my author journey over. My website isn’t live just yet, but I wanted to go ahead and begin blogging. This space will serve as a diary of my experience — the ups, the challenges, and the magic along the way. I’ve taken a long break from writing and marketing. Since October 2019, I’ve been serving as a postmaster (and before that, many years as a USPS supervisor). By the time I’d get home and handle everything that comes with being a single mom, my imagination often went into hiding. On July 30th, I retired — with excited plans to finally step into life as a full-time author. A year ago, a friend reignited my love for writing. I unpublished all three of my books, began fresh edits, and started preparing for relaunch — almost like rebranding myself. I even considered changing my pen name and my book titles, but in the end, I’ve chosen to keep my pen name, B.F. Scott. The final decisions on titles and covers will come once the edits are done. Right now, I’m:
|
RSS Feed