My Life and My Writing Life Updates by J.Q. Rose

 

Preparing for my kitchen remodel

My Life and My Writing Life Updates by J.Q. Rose

Hello and welcome! Just a quick stop-over this week to update you on the happenings going on in my life and writing life. 

MY LIFE: 

The photo is my kitchen. Yes, we unloaded all the cabinets so we could tear them out and replace them with new cabinets. Tearing out is the operative expression. What a mess. But oh what fun to have a great project like this. Living through it may be a test for my left-brained tendency. 

This is an important project, not only because it will be quite an improvement to my 15-year-old kitchen, but especially because my hubby, GT, is strong enough to do the job this year. In the past 3 years, he has had a hip replacement, a shoulder replacement, and a do-over on the first hip replacement because it was loose. That recovery was more difficult than the original. 

Last summer he was strong enough to work in the garden. And we had a fantastic year for gardening. That experience really built his muscles and stamina. He was ready to be active in Florida, so here we go ripping out the kitchen.

WRITING LIFE: 

Arranging a Dream: A Memoir
Official launch date January 1
Pre-order and Paperback available December 1

1. I am thrilled to report that I have turned in the ms for my memoir, Arranging a Dream: A Memoir, to my publisher. Now I am working on writing a book description for the sales page and choosing keywords to draw readers to my book. 

Here's the latest book description with help from my friend and memoirist, Nan Sanders Pokerwinski and mystery author, W S Gager:

In 1975, budding entrepreneurs Ted and Janet purchase a floral shop and greenhouses where they plan to grow their dream. Leaving friends and family behind in Illinois and losing the security of two paychecks, they transplant themselves, their one-year-old daughter, and all their belongings to Fremont, Michigan, where they know no one. 

Will the retiring business owners nurture Ted and Janet as they struggle to develop a blooming business, or will they desert the young couple to wither and die in their new environment?

Most of all, can Ted and Janet grow together as they cultivate a loving marriage, juggle parenting with work, and root a thriving business?

This part of the publishing business is the most difficult for me. Writing someone else's description is easier than writing my own. 

Keyword choices are one of the things that drive interest in the book. The other elements needed to make a sale after the book is discovered are an eye-catching book cover and the description sometimes known as the "blurb." Hopefully, these will garner readers who will leave reviews that get amazon's attention.

Your Words, Your Life Story: A Guide for Sharing Memories by J.Q. Rose

This book is a collection of information I use in my Life Storytelling Workshops to begin your life story.

2. I created a how-to book on writing life stories, Your Words,Your Life Story: A Guide for Sharing Memories and published it in December. Now I am following that up with a companion book with topics to spark memories. This journal for life storytellers allows the writer to keep their stories in a safe place.

New book cover for Girls Succeed!
I'm not sure if this is the one. What do you think?

3. Revising, updating and adding new content to my eBook for inspiring girls to dream big, Girls Succeed! Stories Behind the Careers of Successful Women. The chapters are mini-biographies of amazing women who are fantastic role models for girls 10-14 years old. 

Do you see a theme here about life stories--mine, yours, and these wonderful women who trusted me to tell their story?

November is Life Writing Month. I hope you will consider writing down some stories for your family and friends. You can start with how 2020 has affected your life. You are an eyewitness to history and I'm sure there will be all kinds of stories about it. You can tell the truth about this year with your experiences and not let the media spin it the way they reported it.

If you'd like some tips on writing, recording or making a video of your life story, please click here to join my FB group, Telling Your Life Story and Memoirs Circle.

The Rose Courier will be delivered this Friday if you have signed up.
Click here if you wish to keep up-to-date with JQ Rose,
read articles, meet new authors, get freebies and more.

Thank you for stopping in. If you're an author, do you find it difficult to write your book description?
If you're a reader, what helps you decide to buy a book when browsing online or in a brick and mortar store?

New Book Cover Reveal, Changing Book Publishing and Marketing, BWL Frequent Reader Bundle

Hello and welcome!

Girls Succeed! by J.Q. Rose
To inspire and empower girls.

I'm excited to reveal my new book cover for my  non-fiction ebook for girls, Girls Succeed!  Stories Behind the Careers of Successful Women.

New book cover for
Girls Succeed! Stories Behind the Careers of Successful Women
by J.Q. Rose

Girls Succeed! includes interviews with amazing women who dreamed big dreams. Their passion was to be the best in sports, science, entertainment, ministry, education, and more. And their girlhood dreams actually came true. I was honored they trusted me to tell their stories in Girls Succeed!

I have changed the cover for this interactive ebook several times and each time, I believe, I made an improvement to grab reader's attention. The book cover IS the first step in marketing your book. I hired a professional for one, I designed the others. Here's the parade of covers. They are arranged from newer to oldest, dates are approximate.

I updated the information in this edition.
2016-2017

2013-2015

Original--2012

There was no study guide in the first two versions because I published it as a separate ebook for 99 cents. Later I included the guide with the ebook.

Click here to learn more about Girls Succeed! and to look inside.

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Ebook publishing gives authors and publishers a second chance, or third or fourth chance, to make changes to ebooks. A change due to typo(s), updates or a new book cover can easily be done. Just click the upload page and upload the improved file. 

This marvelous world of technology has turned the publishing and marketing industries upside down and inside out. Change has swept the book world and will continue. It's exciting to be a part of the revolution and new ideas. 

JQ Rose loves books, books, books!
Oxford Exchange, Tampa, FL

Reading habits have also changed. With so many choices of formats (paperback, ebook, audiobook) the opportunities are unlimited for readers to enjoy stories at home, in the car, at the dentist office (in the waiting room!!).

Books We Love
Frequent Reader Bundle

If you love reading as much as I do, check out my publisher's fantastic offer--12 books for $10.00! And what's even better you can do it each month with the Frequent Reader Bundle from Books We Love. Click here to check out this amazing offer from BWL.

Are you a frequent reader? How has your reading habit or book publishing changed? I'd appreciate hearing from you. Please leave your comments below. Thank you.

Oh, and please take a minute to Subscribe by Email so you won't miss any blog posts on the J.Q. Rose blog. Lots of things happening this fall/winter and you don't want to miss out!!

What's in the Future for Planes, Cars, Computers, and Books?

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." This quote is one of my favorites. I discovered it when I was looking for quotes to accompany chapters in my inspirational and empowering book for girls, Girls Succeed! Stories Behind the Careers of Successful Women.

Girls Succeed! by J.Q. Rose

Looking to the future is not just for girls, but for everyone no matter their age. I'm excited about what's happening in the future. Recently I've come across some interesting ideas that may happen in the days and years ahead.

✤Airplane pilots will fly planes using no joy stick at all. Instead they will use a laser beam reflected in their eyes, so when they read the instruments (screens), their eyes will direct the instructions to the plane. Some day the plane will talk back to the pilot too!

✤Drivers in the future will not have to drive the roads, but rather just get in the vehicle (who knows what design the cars will have) and give the destination and off they will go. On the ground or in the air. Yes, flying cars are in the works now.

Space flight in the future

✤Space travel will be as common as taking a train or bus to your desired location, but your view out the window will be the galaxy close-up and personal.

✤Computers are always changing. Soon the mechanical hard drive will be a dinosaur. The preference now is the Solid State Drive. Looking into the future, however, nitrogen will take over the job of what we know as hard drives. I must confess I googled this idea and articles came up about it, but frankly, I had no interest in figuring out all the computer-speak terminology to explain it. Check out the link below to this article.

Computer hard drive

Since you're on an author's blog, of course we have to look into the future for books. 

✤According to a Market Watch report entitled Forget e-books, the audiobooks are the future. In fact in an array of genres like romance novels, thrillers, self-help and business books, audio books are out-selling the written word books 4 to 1. The author cites the choice for audiobooks is because readers prefer the audio experience to text. I know when I listened to my first audiobook, it reminded me of the old radio shows people listened to in the heyday of radio like The Green Hornet and Ronald Reagan's General Electric Theater. The experience is like sitting in a seat at a play, but no actors on stage. I especially enjoy imagining the settings and characters like I do when I read a book.

The author pointed out that "text is still king," but in the future?

Remember when Kindle and Nook came out as devices for reading ebooks? They were touted as the future, but now people are reading ebooks and listening to audiobooks on smartphones and tablets. The Nook is practically out of business and amazon is trying to sell Kindle as a tablet style device.

Ebook reading device

Articles also touted a plan similar to Netflix for books. Pay your monthly fee and have unlimited numbers of fictional novels and non-fiction works to read. Going beyond that is the idea of eventually making ebooks available in the cloud storage for anyone to access.

What ideas for the future have you seen either for publishing or for enhancing our lives in the future? It's fun to dream about the possibilities.

Links to articles used in this blog post--
Next Big Future article  --

Grid of nitrogen vacancies created in diamond using femtosecond lasers and grid can make quantum computers or magnetic sensors for imaging magnetic fields

CNet.com  Upgrade to an SSD
IT World Canada Life After the Hard Drive
Buzz Feed Books The Future of the Future of Books
New York Magazine Here's What the Future of Books Looks Like 
Virginia Magazine What's the Future of Books in a Digital World ?
Market Watch Forget e-books 

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Thank you for stopping in today. I know there are many demands on your time and choices to be made on how to use it. I cherish spending a few minutes with you every week on the J.Q. Rose blog. If you have a topic you'd like to see covered here, please let me know.

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Self-publish to KDP Select or All Markets? by J.Q Rose

Hello and welcome to the April meeting of 

the Insecure Writers Support Group(IWSG) blog hop! The sun is shining, spring's around the corner, and we have the opportunity to get-together to discuss all things writerly. 

What a great time to be a writer.

Join us!

Internet Writers Support Group Blog Hop
First Wednesday of every month.

What is IWSG? Founder of the  Insecure Writer’s Support Group and author Alex J Cavanaugh explains the group's purpose 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.

The group blogs the first Wednesday of every month.  The list of bloggers is always available so you can hop around to the author blogs filled with humor, advice, and thought-provoking topics on writing and publishing. You can find the list of participants at Alex's IWSG page. 

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Self-publish to KDP Select or All Markets? by J.Q Rose

Last Friday I revised and re-published my non-fiction e-book for girls, Girls Succeed! Stories Behind the Careers of Successful Women. The first

Girls Succeed! by J.Q. Rose
To inspire and empower girls.

version was published in 2012 when I was just learning about writing and publishing. Now that I have some books behind me both trad and self-pubbed, I'm even more insecure about marketing! 

You know how a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing? Well now that I've dipped not only my toe, but my whole torso into this book business, I know enough to see how many marketing possibilities there are out in the cyberworld AND realize how many books are available for readers to peruse. 

What are the best avenues to get a reader's eyes on a book? Recently I discovered, in a survey run by Smashwords' Mark Coker, a reader chooses books simply by browsing through the online and brick and mortar stores. Word-of-mouth is not the #1 choice. That surprised me.  

Girls Succeed! is at amazon and smashwords so it can be distributed to many booksellers, but with the advent of KDP Select, a huge promotion tool for amazon, I wonder if it is better to yank GS from Smashwords for a few months and try to market it through KDP.  I would appreciate you sharing your experiences or a friend's experience in using KDP Select.

Dream BIG!

The small business person in me fights the idea of amazon becoming a monopoly and squeezing out the other booksellers. But I must reveal that Girls Succeed!, while great for getting coupons to send to readers, has had few sales at Smashwords in the past four years. 

This book is a "heartwork." Maybe it's because I have two daughters and a granddaughter, but I feel the e-book is a wonderful way to inspire and empower girls to dream big. So I want to get it into the hands of readers, not for the money, but for the message.

Thank you in advance for any input you have to help me reduce my insecurity!

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Romance Readers Want to Know series
Every Thursday on the J.Q. Rose blog

Come back tomorrow when we put sweet romance author, Joselyn Vaughn,  in the hot seat to answer questions from readers on the Romance Readers Want to Know series at the J.Q Rose blog. Also a lucky commenter will win her witty and warm romance, Sucker for a Hot Rod.

The Positive Side of Publishing E-books, Tiny Tidbits on Writing and Living,This Week

Girl reading an e-book
Photo courtesy of freedigitalphotos.com by patrisyu

The new technology never ceases to amaze me. I seem to adapt to it well. For instance reading e-books on my Kindle reader has become a part of my daily life.

According to guru Jim Edwards, amazon has the lion's share, 75%, of the sales of e-books in the world market. Every day more and more fiction and non-fiction is loaded into this powerful bookseller.

The e-book was a curiosity when I first self-pubbed my non-fiction e-book for girls in 2012. In fact, I was a bit ahead of the game in 2011 when I included links to the websites of the amazing women I interviewed and to sites about their careers. I didn't realize the technology for making them active links in e-books hadn't been developed yet. In order to visit the website, the reader would have to type it into the browser. I was thrilled when the technology was later developed so I could add hyperlinks to the pages to enrich the reader's experience.

Talk about the Positive Side of Publishing E-books! Being able to change the book and re-publish a better version is the biggest advantage for the publisher. I've done a third version of Girls Succeed! and just released it on Friday. This version has a completely different book cover that illustrates the energy and enthusiasm exuded by 9-14 year old girls, the target audience (and their moms).

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Girls Succeed! Stories Behind the Careers of Successful Women
To inspire and empower girls

I also added new hyperlinks and deleted broken ones. Gurus are suggesting adding videos to ebooks. I loved the idea of a welcoming video at the front of the book, so I added this one to introduce the women interviewed in the book. Okay, the music is pretty spunky, but remember my target audience!!!

In  addition to all these changes, I included a Reader's Guide at the end of the book making it an excellent resource for the home school curriculum and classrooms. 

These "extras" would not be available in a print book. Now you see why I am so positive about e-publishing.

Revising your word doc and uploading it again to the KDP book page is simple. After I uploaded my new doc, the new version was live on amazon within eight hours. Be patient for the new book cover to appear. It took about two days to replace the old cover. While you're at it, take the time to check your copy for the description. Maybe you can improve it to increase the interest in the book. And re-think your price for the book. All these are simple changes--just remember to tick the box to the publishing agreement again and hit PUBLISH!

Have you self-pubbed an e-book? Have you revised and re-published it again with the changes? What was your experience?

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Tidy Tidbits on Writing and Living

• Thank you to Shelley Hitz for this tip--An easy way to create the link for your book on amazon is to use this formula http://amazon.com/dp/ASIN number Here's what the link to Girls Succeed looks like 

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009NY6ZASTry it for your books.

• A simple way to kick up the flavor of ham and bean soup is to add ketchup to the pot.
• Use dryer sheets to wash windows and polish the car.

This Week:

Wednesday, April 6--Join in The Insecure Writers Support Group blog hop. Visit  100's of writers' blogs for inspiration, fun and wise advice.

Romamce Readers Want to Know
Every Thursday on the J.Q. Rose blog

Thursday, April 7--Sweet romance author Joselyn Vaughn answers reader's questions. Come back and ask her about her writing process.

Self-Publishing Perks by J.Q. Rose

Writing is easy...

Writing is easy...I had to laugh when I saw this quote. That's like saying self-publishing is easy. I'm here to say self-publishing isn't easy, but it is gratifying when a writer sees his words actually ready to be put into the hands of a reader either through print or digital formats.

I'm considered a hybrid author because I have traditionally published books (my mysteries) and self-published books (non-fiction.) You can find all my books at my amazon author page or My Books Tag above. Because there is a whole ocean packed with fiction books, I decided to offer my mysteries to a publisher figuring I could be found more easily. An instant network is available when joining a publishing house because authors are so supportive of each other.
Self-publishers have to find and make their own networks and it takes a lot of time to do that.

Here are the perks I found when I self-published.

8 Self-publishing Perks I like:

• Freedom to determine my book cover.
• Set deadlines and release dates.
• Play with pricing.
• Determine sales promotions and dates.
• Get data to discover if the promotions worked or not.
• Change keywords.
• Glam up the book description.
• Add to, correct, or re-write the e-book and have it online the next day

What can you add to this list? If you have a question about a perk, please ask in a comment below.

Thank you.

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I'm running a Back to School Special Pricing promotion right now on my non-fiction e-book for Middle Grade girls, Girls Succeed! Stories Behind the Careers of Successful Women.

To inspire and empower girls

Study guide for Girls Succeed

It was my privilege to interview fifteen successful women who are role models for girls. They share their passion and drive to achieve their careers. Find out the obstacles on their path to their dreams and how they overcame them. Dream big!

Click on the links below to download a sample or to purchase.

Amazon.com  

Smashwords.com 

Kobo Link

Barnes and Noble Link 

Sony Link 

The Study Guide for Girls Succeed! is also available at these booksellers.

It's My Birthday! Celebrate with Me, Giveaways

Welcome to my birthday celebration! I hope you didn't wear your best clothes because we are playing wiffle ball and croquet in the backyard. Corn Hole is set up near the deck. You can't wear your high heels because the ground is so soft from the rain. Oh well, it's okay if you want to go bare foot. The grass is lush and green. 

My daughter, Sara, is serving Texas sheet cake (the official birthday cake) and ice cream on the deck  Be sure to grab the fresh strawberries to garnish your plate. Head on over to the punch bowl for what began the party as Presbyterian punch, but a sneaky guest spiked the punch. Pastor Christine hasn't complained about it though! She and her florist friend, Lacey, have been a big help setting everything up for me. Come to think of it, they made the punch!

My DJ daughter, Lee Ann, is in charge of keeping the party lively with great music. Be sure to request her to play your favorite song. She has everything from the Oldies to Country to Rock. 

Jim and Gloria Hart are here waiting to welcome our friends from Sunshine Boulevard. I am especially anxious to share this beautiful spring day in Michigan with you, my readers.

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Thank you for coming to my party. I hope you didn't bring a present ( but if you did that's okay!) LOL I have gifts for you. Be sure to enter to win prizes after the party. Three winners will be chosen. Deadline to enter is 12:01 Sunday a.m.

The giveaways are:

1. Chocolate!

2. A short story

3. Your choice of an e-book (If you already have my books, then I will send you the first couple chapters of my WIP, a mystery of course, AND when the book is ready for publication, I will send you the ARC)

Here are your choices of books:

Coda to Murder

Pastor Christine Hobbs has been in the pulpit business for over five years. She never imagined herself caring for a flock that includes a pig, a kangaroo, and a murderer. 

Detective Cole Stephens doesn't want the pretty pastor to get away with murdering the church music director. His investigative methods infuriate Christine as much as his deep brown eyes attract her.

Can they find the real killer and build a loving relationship based on trust?

Available at MuseItUp Publishing

Amazon.com, bn.com and major online booksellers.

Sunshine Boulevard

Mysterious deaths upset the Florida retirement community interfering with their seasonal activities and turning up more than dead bodies.

Available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, MuseIt Up Publishing, and major online booksellers.

Girls Succeed! Stories Behind the Careers of Successful Women

An interactive e-book filled with dreams and passion to inspire, entertain, and empower girls. Fifteen remarkable career women in a variety of occupations share their stories in these pages.

Explore careers which include women who have discovered cures to stamp out disease, made people laugh, earned Olympic and Paralympic gold medals, and crossed the country in the cab of an 18 wheeler.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

IWSG Wednesday: Making a Decision

It's the first Wednesday of the month so it must be time for a post from all the folks in the Insecure Writers Support Group. (IWSG) No, you're not dreaming. It's actually the second Wednesday in January. Being the flexible and creative writers we are, Alex, our fearless and thoughtful leader, scheduled a post on January 8 so we could enjoy the New Year's Day holiday on the first Wednesday. Thank you, Alex!

What is IWSG? Author Alex J Cavanaugh explains it this way:

The Insecure Writer’s Support Group

Purpose: 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!

After visiting here, please take time to hop over to other blogs and hear their voices. You can find a list at Alex's IWSG page.  

Alex and I suggest you check out the new IWSG Website.  

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Happy New Year and welcome to the J.Q. Rose blog! 

Making a Decision 

Feeling very very insecure today. I am choosing a new cover for my non-fiction book for girls, Girls Succeed: Stories Behind the Careers of Successful Women, published in October 2012. I am updating all the profiles of the remarkable women I interviewed for the book and adding hyperlinks to their stories.

I'm feeling insecure because I have to decide if it is wise to change the book cover. I feel a different cover will attract more of my target audience. Here is the present cover.

Cover design by Kaytalin Platt

I could change the background color, but I don't know if that would help to attract girls/Moms/Grandmas to the e-book. Here are a few other possibilities. 

Blue

Red

Green

If you have any thoughts on this big change, I would appreciate your comment. Thank you.

Oh, and what kind of writer would I be if I didn't promote the e-book? If you have tween girls in your life, Girls Succeed is available at these booksellers. If you are interested in reviewing the book, I'll gift you a copy when I have it updated. Thanks!

Amazon Link

Kobo Link 

Barnes and Noble Link 

Sony Link
Smashwords Link 

If you have a minute, you're invited to visit the Girls Succeed blog that accompanies the e-book. You can take a peek at one of the floats recognizing the trailblazing WWII Women Airforce Service Pilots at the Rose Parade in Pasadena last week. Yes, that's where I was on January 1. It was an amazing event and a fabulous way to begin 2014!