FINISHED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!: The next step in the Indie Publishing Process

I finally got my typos typed up and sent off to Lori. She's on vacation though, so she'll get to them when she gets back. I feel like a giant weight has been lifted off my shoulders. 

So, next steps...

New Dissected Cover

1. Set sale price and buy UPC code for book. I'm still debating this because I'd like to see a $1 for every book sold go to my favorite charity, Mary Bridge Children's Hospital. But I don't want to set the price so high people won't buy it. It's a little long than NE was, so I think I could set the price at $9.99 and still donate a $1 to MBCH. Or I could donate for awhile and see how it goes I guess? What do you think? Is $9.99 too much for a 216 page book?
2. Upload the new cover and book to Createspace and Lightning Source and get proofs from each.
3. Make sure they look good.
4. Start marketing.

I should be marketing already, but really, I've been so busy with life stuff and I'm suffering from exhaustion, which I'm hoping to take care of in the next couple weeks with a trip to my doctor (she's out of town for another week and a half).
 

Formatting snafus and moving forward

Had a little snag in the formatting of Dissected, Lori has never worked with Createspace, so a couple pages were not being agreeable. As I'm writing this, I'm once again uploading again, so hopefully it's a done deal.

I'm in the process of designing the back cover. What do you think?

Next steps, setting up distribution with lightning source, getting barcodes. I haven't really looked into that yet, but I think it's fairly self explanatory, and setting my sale price. The book is a little longer than Never Eighteen and I'm considering donating a dollar of every sale to Mary Bridge Children's hospital here in Tacoma, so I'm thinking about a $9.99 sale price.

OH YEAH!!!! The book is done uploading and NO ISSUES THIS TIME!!! Woot! Means it's time to move forward.

I also still have to design postcards to send out to connections I made with Never Eighteen, libraries, schools, and indie bookstores, though I can't find my mailing list. knowing me, I wrote it all down by hand and threw it away, because I can be a complete idiot like that. (hopefully not, but yeah, it's been known to happen). I need to design buttons. The book cover makes that a little tricky, but I'll come up with something. And stickers. People like stickers. I also want new business cards.

I've pushed my release date back to August 27th so I can set up a local launch party, for which I need about 6 weeks lead time.

I met up with a bunch of indie writers in Tacoma last week. It was a very cool experience. I know I can learn a lot from that diverse group.

Almost done!!

F³A: Visitors and party!!

Release party number two takes place tomorrow, and my friends Gae and Annmarie are flying in from NY to celebrate with me!!!!

I'm cool and collected for this one. This one is a private party for close friends and family. We'll be eating, drinking, I'm going to play a couple videos. I did a montage of all my Chronicles that shows my journey from beginning to end.

And cookies. Lots of cookies.

This is where I'm doing my raffle to benefit Mary Bridge Children's hospital. I've got donations form me, of course, from my dad's law firm, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, T-Town Apparel, and my family's wine shop, Vino Aquino. I'm going to let my guests drink a little bit first so they spend lots of money. Don't tell them I said that.

I'll do a reading from the book, then sell and sign books. It's going to be fun and relaxed, and a party I'm not going to freak out about.

I'm going to wear a shiny silver shirt. :)

Mostly, I'm excited for Gae and Annmarie to get here. They should be on their plane as we speak, getting ready for take-off.

I almost forgot the Friday Scribbles!!!

I just realized I have no idea where my iPod is, so I'll just have to go with my iTunes for my random song.

Oooh, the random song is very apropos because I wanted to use some of the lyrics on my novel. Sometime Around Midnight by The Airborne Toxic Event (I really wish Blogger would still let us use youtube videos on here without having to do code)


Book of the Week: I am reading a friends YA manuscript tentatively titled The Mark, and I'm liking it a lot. Hopefully this will be the one to get her published.

Netflix of the Week: Gray's Anatomy Season 5. OMG!!!

Quote of the Week: "If it were not for guests all houses would be graves." ~Kahlil Gibran

Tis the season to give to those in need

I swear, I thought this was going to be a nice calm week for me.  Um, not.  My intention was to post about giving all this week, but I've not even really had the chance to blog until today.  So, yeah, go give. 

My mom and I

My mom, she inspires me.  She donates every year to the Hospitality Kitchen in our city.  They are open every day of the year and provide 1,200 meals a day.  A DAY!! My mom doesn't just donate money, she also donates clothing, toiletries, books, coats, blankets, items the people that frequent the kitchen desperately need.  She also urges others to donate as well, and she's teaching her grandchildren the importance of giving by bringing them with her when she takes the donations down to the kitchen.

Hospitality Kitchen is run by Catholic Community Services (CCS).  They do a lot of good in our area.  Aside from the kitchen, they also provide shelter for the homeless, help people find housing, offer services for children and youth, families, seniors, and people with disabilities.

You company can also adopt a family for Thanksgiving and Christmas through CCS, which my day job does every year.

My beautiful Thing Two

There are so many ways to give, not just at Christmas, but throughout the year.  Find something close to your heart.  I'm donating money to Mary Bridge Children's Hospital here in Tacoma.  They saved my daughter's life when she was just five weeks old.  I can't imagine a life without seeing this face every day. *points left*

Also, at one of my release parties, I'm hosting a raffle to benefit the hospital.  Plus, I have my Never Eighteen store at Cafe Press, in which I will be donating every dime I make to the hospital.  You know, if you wanted to buy some Never Eighteen stuff. *hint hint*

Not sure who to donate to?  There are websites that rate charities, like charitynavigator.org , so you can be sure your money is going to someplace worthy.

Try not to forget those in need while making your shopping lists this season.

Happy holidays.

Megan

Tuesday: Blog Tour Continues and other cool stuff (at least I think so)

Yesterday at The Bookish Type was host to an interview from Trevor, Austin's friend in music.

Today at A Good Addiction you'll find my favorite books, recommendations, and what's on my bookshelf.

Tomorrow you'll find a review of never Eighteen at Bookmarked.

One more thing, having to practice my Wordpress skills, I created a website dedicated solely to Never Eighteen.  I talk about the story behind the story, some of the main characters, the places Austin and Kaylee travel, and give you a playlist of songs that inspired me along the way.  Nevereighteen.com.  Check it out and let me know what you think.

And don't forget the Cafe Press Never Eighteen gear, every penny made will be going to Mary Bridge Children's Hospital in Tacoma Washington.  They saved my daughter's life.

Never Eighteen, Mary Bridge Children's Hospital, and saving lives

I already told you I've opened up a Cafe Press store full of Never Eighteen gear.  All the profit will benefit Mary Bridge Children's Hospital in Tacoma, WA. 

I just haven't told you the why, and it doesn't just have to do with Never Eighteen.

The hospital has an awesome staff and  many wonderful programs for children.  They've also won bunches of awards.

This hospital also happened to save my daughter's life, so I hold them close to my heart.  At five weeks old, my younger daughter Rachel contracted RSV ( Respiratory syncytial virus).  This virus can be deadly for infants, and is actually attributed to many SIDS cases.

I noticed one night she wasn't breathing very well.  I took her to her doctor who told me to count her breaths.  If it got below a certain count, I should take her into the ER.  There was no word about "this is really really serious" or "she could die" or anything like that.  I didn't really understand it.

But I counted.

She breathed, but not well.

I finally decided to just take her in.

The ER docs were great.  They said, if they had any beds open they would have admitted her, but they were full (it was winter, lots of sickness going on).  So they told me exactly what she had, what to watch for, and again if her breathing was labored and her reps were down, to bring her back in.

I honestly don't remember if it was the next day or a couple days later, but I continued to watch her breathe.  I was obsessed about it as I'm sure any parent would be. 

I sat and watched.

Her breathing became labored.

Her breaths were shallow.

It came down to her only breathing about once ever few seconds.

My dad took the both of us (Older daughter and husband stayed home) back to the ER. 

She was dying.  They started work on her right away.  They wouldn't let me in the room, they said it's too disturbing for a mother to watch.  My dad went in with her.  I heard her screaming.  I thought I was going to faint or throw up or both.

Someone stayed out with me and explained what they were doing to her.  They had to loosen up the gunk in her lungs and suck it out.

When she was stabilized, they took her to the ICU where the doctor there (I wish I could remember his name) explained what RSV was and what they would need to do to Rachel while she was in the ICU.  He's the one that told me about the RSV/SIDS link.  A nurse, his name was Steve, would come in every couple hours and pound on her chest with a little pink rubber mallet to keep the gunk loose in her chest.  He taught me how to do it, because I would have to continue for weeks afterward.

If I hadn't brought her in that night, I know she would have died.

I couldn't stay the night in the ICU.  They gave me an empty hospital room to sleep in.  After two days they moved her into a regular room, where I was able to sleep with her.  We were there for five days.

I am so grateful for the entire hospital staff.  They not only saved my daughters life, but also attended to my needs as a mother.

I'm sure you understand why I want to give back to them.

So, if you're in the market for some Never Eighteen gear, visit my shop, look around, and know that if you buy something, the profits are going to a very worthy organization.

You can find more information about the hospital here.

Wednesday Weigh in, guest blogging, a new video, and a good cause

I'm six pounds down.  It's been a rough road to get there.  I still want to drop another twenty at least.  My exhaustion has finally passed and I've got off my butt and exercised.  Tortuous Jillian Michaels yoga in the morning, some kind of aerobic activity in the afternoon/evening.  It was nice enough to bridge walk the other day, but weather is changing and I'll probably move to the elliptical (once I superglue the foot back on, the hazards of having a bunch of teenage girls in the house).

I also want to mention that I have a guest post up at the Class of 2k11 today about what they've taught me that I'll take into my debut year.  Look for another post from me on Friday at the Class of 2k11.

I've also opened a Never Eighteen shop at Cafe Press.  All the profits are going to Mary Bridge Children's Hospital in Tacoma.  I thought it apropos with the theme of my book and they saved my daughter's life when she was just 5 weeks old.  I feel like I'll never be able to repay them.

I've posted a new video.  A bunch of random thoughts from me. Watch it here.

One more thing, I have a blog tour starting on Halloween through Teen Book Scene.  The details can be found here.

Have a great Wednesday!

Top 4 Worst Experiences of My Life: # 1 Near Death

There is a quote from Chicken Soup for the Mother's Soul that I will never forget (don't judge me, lol).

"Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body." ~Elizabeth Stone

This is so true. Your children are so susceptible to illness, so vulnerable to harm. You worry about them all the time, especially when they're not with you, especially when they're young.

This brings me to the worst experience of my life, almost losing one of my children. Rachel was born in January, and if you have a child at that time of year, you should not expose them to the outside world for at least six weeks to three months. There is just too many viruses floating around. I didn't know this at the time.

At five weeks old, I noticed she didn't seem to be breathing right. I took her to the doctor. He told me she was sick, that I should just watch her breathing and if it gets worse, to bring her back in. Never, never, never did he say she could die (which is why he wasn't our doctor for very much longer).

A couple days later, her breathing became more labored. I took her into the ER. I brought my dad with me because in his line of work as a personal injury attorney, he is familiar with medical terms, and I, being the worried mother, didn't think I was going to be able to comprehend anything anyway. The doctor explained that she had RSV, which is respiratory syncytial virus. Check it out here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Respiratory_syncytial_virus. He said all the beds at the hospital were full, if they had any, he would have admitted her. He told me to watch her breathe and if her respirations got below a certain amount per minute, (I don't remember the exact number now, it was eleven years ago) I should bring her back in.

Oh my God. All I did for the next day or two was watch that girl breathe. Some time later, I can't tell you exactly, maybe a day, maybe two, her respirations came with an alarmingly long pause between, and it looked as if she were gasping for air, and it pained her to breathe. I called my dad to take us to the ER again. He nearly killed us trying to get there quickly.

They took us in immediately, but told me to wait outside the room because it would be too disturbing to watch. My dad went in with them. I could kind of see through the curtain, they were moving around quickly, working on her, Rachel was screaming, I would find out later they were clearing out her lungs. It happened very quickly. She was admitted and taken up to the ICU.

She looked so fragile hooked up to machines, with tubes sticking out of her every which way. The ICU doctor told me that RSV is deadly for infants. They attribute it to many SIDS cases. He also said if I had let it go that night and not brought her in, she would probably be dead. I stayed with her as long as I could stay awake, watched them work on her. There was a very nice attendant, Steve, who claimed her as his during her stay. He came in every so often and had to pound on her chest with this little pink mallet like thing to clear her lungs. He taught me how to do it, since I would have to once I brought her home.

They gave me a room to sleep in that night, and the next day she was taken out of the ICU. We were at the hospital for five days. I was there around the clock, except for a couple hours when my mother relieved me so I could see my husband, and 18 month old.

When she was released, I had to keep up with the chest pounding, and they gave us a nebulizer, which had to be used on her every few hours for months. I can't remember how long now, maybe up to a year or so. I guess many children with RSV develop asthma later, luckily Rachel was not one of them.

I will always be grateful to the wonderful staff at Mary Bridge Children's hospital for being so clear about Rachel's illness, and the care they have her during her stay. Rachel is now a happy, healthy child because of them.

Thanks for reading my top four worst experience. I appreciate the comments and questions I've received, and also thank you for sharing your own experiences. Next week the top four will not be so dismal. I haven't decided yet, let me know if you have ideas.

Tomorrow is a free for all, come back and check it out.

Kisses,

:*

Megan