I love to write. As a little girl I would write stories, keep journals and read books. Oh my stars I have always had a lot of books. I think my love of writing came from my love of reading. Even back then my Mom and Dad harped at me about how many books I had. They reminded me there was a library where you could borrow a book, read it and give it back. Lol! But its just not the same as having them on hand just in case I wanted to read them again and oh yes I did!
As life went on I still had a lot of books and my love of reading never faded. I was always writing a book about something, started but never finished. Life was busy. Raising kids, working, paying bills, running a house and a hobbie of vanning that had its own busy schedule there was just no time to even really entertain the idea.
As life wound down I began to think about it again. Should I get my pen and paper out and start again? What would I write about. When I started this blog it really was a stepping stone to where I wanted to be and I did not even know it. Funny how life is eh! It was a way for me to do what I loved but still working did not involve the amount of time and concentration that it takes to write a book. My blogs will take me anywhere from 2 – 4 hours depending on length. A normal blog is between 900 and 1500 words. My book is almost 20,000. A little more time needed for that! Lol!
I started writing this book on and off about a year ago. I had a few chapters written before I retired (then rewrote). When I retired I started looking at writing jobs and what I could do to boost my retirement income. Something kept bringing me back to the book. When I went north, not only because I needed a forest fix but I was determined to finish the writing before I came back. Not only did I set the scene for this moment but it was a most excellent adventure!! If you missed it go back a few blogs and come along! It was great fun!
Now that I had the content done how to move it to a book. Now there was a learning curve! There were many days i closed my computer before I threw my computer! Haha! Pheww! Glad I got control. Deciding to self publish, Kindle had the most user friendly program and it also helps Amazon has 80% of the market share. It was then I was going to find out writing the book was easier than publishing it. Lol! When you only think you know the word program! Haha! It took me 4 days and 2 hours with Diane to put page numbers on (that was a throw the computer moment). Ugggg! There was also building the book cover as well as formatting the book and pictures for both the cover and the content. Wow it was overwhelming! But my dream was soooo close!! I could almost taste it. I went to KDP University and after watching many videos, some 2 or 3 times and youtube videos I was able to preview my book. What a moment that was. But wait it is not only the Chapters in the book but the Introduction, the preface and lets not forget the back cover of the book as well as the description on Amazon. The self publishing portion was a lot of work but I will tell you having full control of the publishing rights andnits content I believe is worth it. Also it is darn expensive to hire a publishing firm, now I know why.
The next step is marketing. Now I will tell you I SUCK at marketing! Lol! I could not sell ice to an eskimo never mind promote myself. But I know that my story is a story of inspiration. It can be anyone’s story, after all I am nothing special. Just a woman who had a dream and in such an unexpected way it came true!
I would like to present to you my dream! I am so very proud to present my book From Housewife to Vanlife.
Thank you all so much for sharing my dream with me. For coming along with me on my Chipmunk Adventures. It makes it so much more fun when I know I am bringing my friends along!
Please enjoy the story of my journey and it is my hope that my journey to my dreams inspires you to walk towards yours!
See you on the next Chipmunk Adventure!
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