Tag Archives: publishing

It’s Been a Year

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I haven’t posted in a while–2 1/2 months, as I just discovered. Wow…that’s pretty bad, and I can’t believe it’s already October! I meant to post after my 5 year checkup (more on that in a post next week), but I wanted to sit on it for a few days and then things got busy and days turned into weeks, and I never did. I struggle sometimes with posting here consistently if I don’t feel that I have something to actually say that seems worth saying. I don’t want to add to the noise, but then I also know the best way to keep people reading is NOT by posting super infrequently.

Anyway, here we are. It’s October 2nd, and that means it’s a pretty big anniversary for a couple of reasons, so I thought I’d dedicate this post to anniversaries–for today and for my 5 year “cancerversary” (it’s a thing…don’t judge…cancer card).

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Kickstarter Update #10: Some Rewards Are on Their Way!

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Exciting news: some rewards are on their way!!! I was home in Dallas over fall break from graduate school last week which afforded me the time to sort through my first shipment of books, sign some, write thank you notes, and get out the first shipment! I sent about 20 packages, so almost half of you should be getting your books by the start of next week (and some should be there today or Friday!).

Unfortunately, all of the rewards aren’t out yet. I’m waiting for the rest of my books to get in from my publisher in order to send out the rest of the hardcover and paperback books, but once those are in, I can get those out very quickly, so I estimate that those will be out in the next week and a half to two weeks.

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Kickstarter Update #9: Drumroll Please…

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Well, today I held in my hands my very own copy of What in the World Are You Doing with Cancer?!!! I’ve been waiting to do (and say) that for a good part of the past three years! The print quality came out great–no missing pages or cover printed upside down or anything! So, I gave my publisher the go-ahead to send on my initial shipment of books and it should arrive next week!

Some of you may have seen that my book is available on Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com right now, and a couple of my friends said their orders should arrive tomorrow. Today I asked my sales rep at my publisher how that was possible if I hadn’t finished signing off on the print quality yet since I just got my own copy today. He said that each of those companies uses different printers, so my publisher WestBow has me okay the print quality as a courtesy that other companies don’t. So hopefully the copies people bought from Amazon and B&N turn out okay, but if not, that’s a problem for the individual printers those companies use.

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Kickstarter Update #8: The Long Awaited (and Long Overdue!) End Is Finally in Sight!

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Wow. I never imagined it would be October of 2013 when I finally knew that I’d be holding my book within a week. And yet, here we are.

I posted back in April that this had been a patience-testing journey, and since then, the fun hasn’t stopped. I paid the deposit for Wheaton graduate school on the first Friday in May, and later that day, the song licensing for my book finally came through after five months of my persistent phone calls and emails. I’m not saying the two are necessarily linked, but I had been feeling like I was supposed to attend graduate school this fall but couldn’t bring myself to commit and leave Hawaii again, so I do think the timing of my actually paying the online deposit and hours later receiving word that my licensing was in order was poetic. Maybe I should have been obedient with grad school sooner…

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Kickstarter Update #7: Patience Is a Virtue, Right?

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Aloha! Well, it’s April, and as you read this update, the question on most people’s minds is probably: when the heck is this book of Hannah’s coming out? Trust me, it’s my daily question, too.

Here’s where things stand: writing, editing, and endorsements are all finished and submitted. My cover design is planned and ready to put into action with the design team, BUT, we can’t move on until everything dealing with the text is in. I think I mentioned that before when I was waiting on endorsements, but after I submitted the endorsements (a few of which are listed at the bottom of this post), the publisher reviewed my manuscript and said that I can’t move on yet because of licensing.

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Kickstarter Update #6: I’m Sure You’ve Been Wondering

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As I’m sure you’ve noticed, it’s December, and you don’t have a copy of my book in your hands. If you haven’t noticed, please stop reading this right now and continue on your merry way. I tried to come up with some entertaining title for this post or a witty analogy for my update, but I decided against offering up some trite lighthearted excuse.

Instead, here’s why you don’t have a copy of my book in your bookcase or in a stack of stuff on your desk. I was on track to have everything finished and the book printed by November, and then a number of discouraging factors along with a few neutral delays intervened.

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Kickstarter Update #5: As Time Goes By

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Whew! It’s been a busy summer and I have a few more crazy weeks coming up, but a lot of good stuff has happened. I love that this is becoming more and more of a reality! I tend not to get my hopes up about things, so I think maybe the reality that I’m publishing a book hasn’t set in yet. It’ll be good to hold it in my hands this fall!

I’ve paid Westbow 3 of my 4 installments, and my last payment should be the first week of September! I’ve also submitted my manuscript and it’s being reviewed by Westbow as we speak. When they get it back to me soon (this week or next I think), I’ll review what notes and changes they made, I’ll add my parents’ forward and my acknowledgements to the book, and I’ll start working with the design team on the look of my book. I’ve been working on my cover design but haven’t finalized it—it’s a big deal and I don’t want to mess it up! The old adage, “Don’t judge a book by its cover” is around for a reason, so since I realize most of us do look at books based on their covers, I’m not saying “go” until I feel it’s perfect.

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Kickstarter Update #4: It’s Go Time

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First of all, I’m so sorry that it’s been few days since my goal date and I haven’t posted. I got the e-mail from Kickstarter that we’d reached the goal while I was sitting in a bridesmaid luncheon before my cousin Ali’s wedding on Saturday. Needless to say, I was pretty elated.

Once again, thank you all for your overwhelming support! I am so grateful for you and humbled by your generosity. Know that I literally could not be publishing my book without you!

I paid the publisher my first installment on Monday! 🙂 I’m so excited for this to actually be happening. Westbow set me up with my production team, and I talked to Maggie, my “Check-in-Coordinator” on Tuesday. She sent me about seven documents on where we go from here. First of all, I have to submit my manuscript. I have three more chapters that need a final-final edit, and then I need my mom to look over a couple of sections and their wording. By the end of next week I should have my manuscript submitted.

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Time to Kickstart My Book!

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So, “How’s that book coming along?” you might wonder. Well, it’s almost finished! I’m done writing it and now working through final, detailed editing. April was really great for writing and editing. I’m so much better at editing on actual paper—there’s something about being able to physically cross out errors or draw arrows to move paragraphs around that makes my process go much smoother than on a computer. So, when I realized that, the book took off! Hallelujah because it’s been an arduous process.

I’ve told a lot of people about my book and how I’m going about publishing it, but here’s a little more info. Basically, very few companies will publish first-time authors. Now, if you’re like me, you think, “Hmmm, so how does someone ever get published?” and that’s a good question…and one I haven’t mastered yet. But, I’m hoping to work with WestBow Press, which is the independent division of Thomas Nelson. The only issue is that they need money up front, and for those who know me well, I’m broke. Teaching high school in Hawaii didn’t exactly allow my savings account to build up.

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Finishing Strong

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Here’s the truth that’s bombarded me lately: I suck at long-term goals.

I’m really good at setting goals three months at a time. I set new goals each year from January-March, April-June, July-September, and October-December. That’s manageable for me, and I like charting progress over time, but only a short period of time.

Long-term goals, on the other hand, are my nemesis. I start out really well and full of energy, and then, somewhere in the middle, I lose sight of my purpose, get discouraged, and want to bail out. I’ve always known this about myself, but somehow I’m still surprised amidst long-term goal situations when I start muddling through. I have a bracelet that says, “Finish Strong,” and that became my motto one summer during college. I know I need to finish strong, I tell myself to finish strong, and yet, the act of finishing strong isn’t exactly made easier by either of those.

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