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Winner of the May “My Gutsy Story” contest

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We have four amazing writers this month who opened up their hearts and shared their inspiring “My Gutsy Story.”

Marcia Sargent

 

Congratulations to Marcia Sargent, the winner of the May “My Gutsy Story” contest.

Marcia Sargent

Sonia Marsh Says: Marcia, your story truly shows how overcoming your difficult childhood brought out the “hero” in you, rather than the liar and a procrastinator of your early childhood days. I admire how you chose to overcome your own fears and doubts about your teaching career, and turned them into a positive way to make children strive to work hard and attain success in life.

Kathleen Pooler

Kathleen Pooler, came in 2nd place with her story about how a mother’s “tough love” saved her son.

Kathleen Pooler

Sonia Marsh Says:  There are many parents who can relate to problem teenagers, even though the severity of the situation varies considerably. You made us realize that “tough love” is often the only approach, and how difficult it is for parents to carry through with this process. Your story reminded me of A Beautiful Boy by David Sheff. I’m sure you read his memoir. I cannot wait to read your memoir when it is published.

 

Teresa Wendel

3rd Place goes to Teresa Wendel.

Teresa Wendel

Sonia Marsh Says: Your story proves that with passion, you can accomplish whatever you’ve set your mind to overcome. I enjoyed your story and admire women who can fix things, whether at home, or with their car. As you said yourself, “Not bad for a woman who won’t push the buttons on a TV clicker, use a cell phone, or connect to the Internet.”

4th place goes to our wonderful Siv Maria Ottem.

 
Siv Maria Ottem

Sonia Marsh Says: A heart-warming story about how a 35-year-old son finds his biological mom through a Facebook search, after an adoption at birth. What a beautiful story with such a happy ending. What amazes me is how Facebook has connected so many people who may never have found each other. Thanks for sharing your personal story which offers hope to those searching for relatives or their adoptive parents.

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You are all WINNERS, with such amazing writing and stories to share. Thank you for participating, and to all VOTERS for taking part.

Our WINNER Marcia Sargent , gets to select his prize from our new list of SPONSORS,

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Do you have a “My Gutsy Story” you’d like to share?

To submit your own, “My Gutsy Story” you can find all the information, and our sponsors on the “My Gutsy Story” contest page. (VIDEO) Submission guidelines here.

Two June stories are up. So far we have Doug Edwards  “My Gutsy Story” and Marla Cerise “My Gutsy Story.”

I hope you enjoy the “My Gutsy Story” series and share with others through the links below. Perhaps you’d like to submit your own. Thanks.

 

“My Gutsy Story” by Marla Cerise

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 Fight, Pray, Love, Laugh, and Cry (Not Always In That Order!

My second husband passed away when I was 38.   My two youngest boys aged 4 and 6 were the only ones with him the night he died in his sleep of cardiac arrest.  I wanted to die then, but my 5 children were my strength and I resolved to make sure I would be there for them in their time of grief.  I put my mourning on the back burner and made it my quest for them to mature into strong, capable young adults.

Four years later we suffered another tragedy when my precious stepdaughter Rene (who was 18 and lived with us), was taken from us in a vehicular accident along with the driver, a close friend, just 9 days after we buried my father.  I prayed for guidance to continue on with my four remaining children, especially my 19 year old daughter Josette, whom was very close to her sister.

Not long after, Josette came to me and told me Rene came to her in a dream with her long shiny dark hair pulled back in a ponytail wearing a glistening long, white dress.  Renee told her it was beautiful where she was and she was very happy!

Josette missed her sister so much!  I tried everything including doctors, antidepressants, and therapy but she was inconsolable.  I travelled to Chicago three months later to help my mother bury my Nona (who died on November 17th) and soon after coming home, just before Christmas we lost our beloved Josette.  She put a pistol to her head in our back yard and again my two youngest boys, George and Geno found her body and called me at work wailing uncontrollably!

It was all I could do to cross over the yellow tape surrounding my house with the help of my loved ones, and walk through my front door that felt like the door to hell!  I held out my arms to my boys and we cried in a big heap standing in front of a Christmas tree yet to be decorated.  Josette’s note begged forgiveness and asked us to pray that she find Rene!

Within days of her death I dreamed I was in a large crowded room and Josette told me she could not find Rene.  I saw Rene in the crowd behind her and told Josette to turn around and look.  When she saw Rene she smiled and hugged me telling me “Thanks Mom” and ran to her sister as I woke up.  I knew then that they were together as they had always been!

After burying our beloved Josette we reluctantly decorated the tree.  In past years I would buy the most special ornament for my husband and wrap it for the children to open on Christmas Eve to hang on the tree.  It was a very special time for us!  This year, sadly we had two more ornaments to add to the collection.  Christmas that year was somber as Josette had already bought us gifts.  We hung their ornaments tearfully as we prayed for strength.

Four years passed and by the hardest we adjusted to our involuntary fate and learned to laugh again.  Then I had a dream in which Josette told me we would all be together again for November 17th which was my oldest son Christopher’s birthday.  I interpreted it that they would be there in spirit and looked forward to his birthday with jubilee!  I shared my dream with my closest friends for their interpretations and they agreed with me.  My dream was March 19th 2005 and on April 19th 2005 my Christopher was diagnosed with Stage 4 Non Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.  We were devastated!

Josette always told me she wanted to be my angel and she was now forewarning me of more trials and tribulations to come but also instilling in my faith that there truly was a hereafter despite my silent and sometimes angry objections.

Christopher was tended to by a highly respected oncologist and I took to the health food stores for alternative aid in keeping my son alive.  By August of 2005 after intense treatments of chemotherapy and vitamin regimen, the Dr. was amazed at Christopher’s progress and felt he would go into remission.  We were elated!

Then, August 29th Hurricane Katrina wielded her evil intent upon New Orleans and all our dreams were dashed.  Christopher was in the hospital to receive possibly his last chemotherapy but Katrina had other intentions as she swept across our city and surrounding suburbs bringing normal life as we knew it to a swift halt!  There was but a skeleton crew of nurses and Dr.’s and an influx of patients from surrounding hospitals that were rendered uninhabitable.  There were no sterile fields for Christopher’s infected portable catheter to be replaced and he succumbed after the cancer had time to become immune to the treatments.

I wrestled with the agonizing decision to remove him from the ventilator as advised by the doctors.  Watching him suffer ripped my heart apart.  My mother was angry with me and in denial when his organs began to shut down and there was nothing else I could do but relieve him of his inevitable pain.  He could not talk but I had to ask him one important question and that was had he seen his sisters and Daddy.  Although in a coma he nodded his head vehemently and I believed his every last ounce of strength that it took him to reassure me!

My November 17th passed away quietly with his loved ones surrounding him on October 17th, 2005 at the tender young age of 24 as the room grew brighter than normal for a brief moment.  I knew then that angels surrounded us in a love that was and is INDESCRIBABLE!

My two remaining sons have grown up wise beyond their age and our Christmas tree is now the TRUE meaning of Christmas!

Marla Cerise's sons, George and Geno

There is so much more to tell but is difficult to explain in compact form.

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How the events changed my life: My children, both alive and deceased have given me strength in more ways than one and the courage to look at life with the wine glass half full!  I hope to inspire those who are dealing with tragedies in a positive light so they know that our loved ones are never far away from us…Love is what it’s all about!

Marla Cerise Bio: I was born in Rockford, Illinois and my family moved to New Orleans when I was five.  My mother is from Sicily and my father’s parents are from Stockholm.  I was a medical office manager for 22 years for an ambulatory surgical unit until Hurricane Katrina forced me into retirement.  I sometimes work on our shrimp boat with my (Knight in Shining Armor) husband Will, who has been my rock of Gibraltar throughout the years!

Marla Cerise and her husband Will

I am in the process of writing a book about my family which includes “Our memories of a Haunting.”  I just finished my first novel The Dark Side of New Orleans and hope it will soon be published!  I am very blessed to have a loving and supporting family and hope to live happily ever after in our 107 year old house in Kentwood, Louisiana!

Marla can be reached via e-mail:

ceriseam@bellsouth.net

 

 

Sonia Says: I cannot even put myself in your place with all the tragedies you’ve been through during your lifetime. I am also thinking of your sons, George and Geno, what they went through and saw during their childhood. You amaze me with your strength to continue and I am grateful that you found a wonderful man, Will, to take care of you and your sons. I wish you all the best, and thank you for being so open to share your life.

Please leave your comments for Marla below. She’ll be over to answer them. Thanks.

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Please VOTE for your favorite May “My Gutsy Story.” The winner will be announced on June 14th. Winner gets to pick their prize from our 14 sponsors.

Good Luck to all of you. Your stories are amazing and inspiring. Please share these stories with friends and fellow writers and bloggers by clicking on the SHARE links below.

***

Do you have a “My Gutsy Story” you’d like to share?

To submit your own, “My Gutsy Story” you can find all the information, and our sponsors on the “My Gutsy Story” contest page. (VIDEO) Submission guidelines here.

Please share the “My Gutsy Story” series with others on Twitter.

Thank you.

 

 

Gutsy Book Buzz: “How Long Will it Take to get My Book Out?”

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Have you thought of indie-publishing your book? Or are you perhaps in the process of publishing your book and need a timeline to guide you?

Let me introduce Amy Collins, book publishing professional from the Cadence Group who is here to help us. (Above photo credit Bethany Brown and Amy Collins from The Cadence Group.)

I met Amy Collins on the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) forum. She was always there to answer my questions, and one day I picked up the phone and called her. After an informative conversation, I asked her if she would be willing to write a post regarding the necessary steps to get an indie-book published. She agreed.

 

HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE?

The biggest mistake new publishers make is thinking that they need to get their book “out there” immediately. Publishing a successful book takes time and attention to detail. Rushing through any step of the process will inevitably harm your end result. You simply cannot rush through the book industry’s set deadlines and prerequisites.

Some of these processes are:

•Getting an ISBN (several weeks if not expedited)

•Registering your book with the Library of Congress (several weeks)

•Adding your book to Amazon.com and other industry databases (two to three weeks)

•Getting signed up for a distributor or wholesale fulfillment partner (two to three months)

•Meeting the presentation deadlines at bookstores for new books (five to six months after you are signed up with the distributor or wholesaler)

•Printing and shipping new books (three to four weeks if no issues or “fixes”)

Setting a realistic timeline will be your first big test as a new publisher. Do this properly and everything else will go more smoothly. This step is where we separate the wheat from the chaff, the mice from the … well, you get the idea.

But what about the other elements? How long does it take to design a cover? Edit a manuscript? Proofread a set of pages? While these things vary, there are some guidelines you can use to start. The following are rules of thumb and only to be used to help you start planning. When you assemble your team, you should discuss your time expectations and include them in the agreements.

•Editing and copy editing (one to two months)

•Getting a good cover designed (four to six weeks)

•Work with designer to layout book (three weeks) •Proofreading (two weeks)

With written commitments from your editors, designers, artists, authors, and proofreaders, you should be able to create a well-published book in eight months from finished manuscript. Some people can do it in less, but if you want good reviews, strong sales possibilities, and an ulcer-free stomach, sit down and map out a schedule starting eight months out from your official pub date.

There are a number of “dates” in this process. Let’s go through them so that there is no confusion. A “print date” is the date that the book comes off the printer’s truck. A “ship date” is the date that the publisher ships the books to its customers to fill waiting orders. This is usually two to three weeks after the print date. A “pub date” is the official date a book is available for ordering or purchasing to the general public. It is usually five to eight weeks after the ship date to give retailers time to order, receive, and shelve the books.

It takes time to get a book from the printer to a warehouse, from a warehouse to a distributor, from a distributor to a wholesaler, from a wholesaler’s receiving dock to its shelves, from a wholesaler’s shelves to a bookstore, and from the back room of a bookstore to the floor.

So what does this mean to your publishing program? It means you need to create a realistic pub date for your book and make sure you can meet it. It means that you need to have a large chunk of the book finished and the publicity and marketing plans created at least six months prior to your pub date. It means that you have to set and adhere to a schedule.

BUILDING YOUR SCHEDULE

As you build your schedule for a book, add a great deal of “cushion” into the schedule. There will be miscommunications, vendor problems, production errors, shipping mishaps—all resulting in delaying your book’s debut to the world. If you build in enough time to deal with the inevitable delays, you will always be “on time.” You will have a lot less stress. And it’s definitely worth it.

Let’s walk through a sample schedule. If you announce that you will be publishing I Was a Teenage Latte Addict in early October, your book should leave the printer no later than early August. Plan accordingly and work up the schedule so you don’t get worked up later.

SAMPLE SCHEDULE:

 

Eight months before publication of I Was a Teenage Latte Addict:

•Editors, pre-production team, and cover designer hired

•Book manuscript is finished and given to the editor

•ISBN is assigned

•Title, subtitle, and tag lines are decided upon

•Decisions on which distributor to use made

•Marketing and sales plan created

•Cover design concept meeting held with designer

 

Seven months before publication of I Was a Teenage Latte Addict:

•Cover design work continues

•Back cover copy written

•One-page book description written

•Page count decided upon

•Hard/soft cover decided upon

•Price decided upon

•Register book with R.R. Bowker and Library of Congress

 

Six months before publication of I Was a Teenage Latte Addict:

•Developmental edit finished and given to copy editor

•Front cover design close to finished

 

Five months before publication of I Was a Teenage Latte Addict:

•Copy edit finished and sample pages

Book specs sent to wholesalers, distributors, and bookstores (including Amazon)

•First pass layout of book done

•Indexing of your final pages done, if necessary

•Proofread PDFs of your book layout

•Proofread PDFs of your book cover

 

Four months before publication of I Was a Teenage Latte Addict:

•Digitally print fifty copies of Advanced Reader’s Copies (ARCs) of your book for marketing purposes and to give your project a “dry run”

•Send copies of the ARCs to reviewers and websites for endorsements and reviews.

Three months before publication of I Was a Teenage Latte Addict:

•“Live with” your ARC for a few weeks

•Do a final proofread and make any final changes and adjustments

•Send final PDFs to the printer

 

Two months before publication of I Was a Teenage Latte Addict:

•Books ship from printer to warehouse

•Send copies of finished book to your entire team with thank-you notes

•Send copies of your finished book to the bookstores and retailers whom you wish to consider stocking your book.

•Send copies of your finished book to stores and contact them about doing an event during your pub month or the month after.

One month before publication of I Was a Teenage Latte Addict:

•Books shipped to wholesalers and retailers that have placed orders.

•Start sending out weekly ideas to newspapers and magazines with ideas of articles they could write (or let you write) that ties in with your book.

Month of Publication of I Was a Teenage Latte Addict:

•Approach Amazon Top Reviewers for reviews

•Send copies of your finished book to the bookstores and retailers whom you wish to consider stocking your book.

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Thank you Amy for helping us out with the timeline for publishing.  You can reach Amy Collins and her business partner Bethany Brown at the Cadence Group, or join on Twitter @thecadencegrp. You can also join Gutsy Indie Publishers, a group I started on Facebook where professionals like Amy Collins helps authors with their questions.

Amy is always willing to help authors and she agreed to be on Jason Matthews’ Indie Author panel on Hangout Networks with AC Cruz.

Below is a video on “How to get book Reviews” which Jason Matthews put together and Amy Collins answered our questions.

Do you have any specific questions for Amy Collins?

Any tips or comments you’d like to share about your own personal publishing journey?

“My Gutsy Story” by Doug Edwards

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Travel… Embrace It Enthusiastically At Any Age

Medical professionals tell us that our most impressionable learning years are between the ages of one and three years.  It is in that early period of our lives that we absorb experiences and teachings without fear, or of any thought or contradiction. We accept with great enthusiasm things that we have been shown or taught.

The reason we don’t show any fear, or question, is of course, we don’t have any life experience at that early age to compare and question. Our young brain simply cannot “work it out”. It has nothing stored… it has no life experience.

So what goes wrong…where does the enthusiasm go?  Nothing goes “wrong”.   We just “grow up”.  We all have personalities that start developing in our infant years and continue through to the adult stages of our lives.

A slow start.  A true story. I was born into a poor working class environment in a town close to London, England.  At the age of two, due to my mother becoming ill and unable to care for me, I was put into the care of a “Legal Guardian”, a form of adoption.  I can remember the day I was “handed over” as if it were yesterday.  At two I had no real idea of what was going on, except to say, a lot of new faces appeared and people paid me attention. It was some years later that I met my mother and father again, but never lived with them.

Things didn’t start falling into place until a few years later when I realized that my situation was different, my background was different.  I would hear comments such as “it’s a pity, he’s such a nice boy’” and “what will become of him.”

Doug Edwards at eleven

At the age of eleven, I decided that I was not going to stay in England.  As loving and caring as my new family was, my young gut feeling told me I needed to make a change.  Yes, at eleven, I already didn’t like what was becoming my life.

I began looking at world maps and wondered what it would be like to visit Asia, Africa, South America.  At school, my favourite class was geography and as luck would have it, an Australian geography teacher from Brisbane took up a post at my school. Little did I know… that a teacher with his black and white home-made movies which he’d brought with him from Oz, showing the fantastic scale and lifestyle of his country, laid the foundation of my dream to live in Australia.  Even though I wasn’t happy, my enthusiasm to change my situation and see the world never wavered.  At age fifteen I knew I wanted to live in Australia and by age twenty-two, here I was.

So what is the point of my life story; the point is that nothing was ever achieved without enthusiasm and determination.  When I said to that wonderful Australian teacher, “I think I would like to live in Australia,” in true Aussie style, he remarked, “Don’t just think about it, sport…just bloody do it.”

That teacher taught me something else (apart from swear words). The three words that control our growth not only in world travel but in life in general are: fear, doubt and worry.  As he pointed out, “it’s not easy but if you can control those three emotions with enthusiasm, the world’s your bloody oyster..mate!”

As I have matured, I have come to the realisation; it doesn’t matter where you start in life, it’s where you finish, and along the way adding value to the lives of others without personal gain. In retrospect I can thank a poor start for giving me the strength to move forward, as the founder of AIV Group Travel and the many contacts that I make.

It’s clear we all have a story.

Doug Edwards Bio:

In the 80s and 90s I ran a Singles Adventure Club in Melbourne, taking the members around a variety of interstate and intrastate getaways.

Lots of friends were made over the years.  I organised regular cocktail parties, dinner parties, and exciting sailing and hot-air ballooning trips, to name a few. I am a travelling man. I have vacationed as a family unit, as a couple, in a group, and alone. Ending up in a hotel alone is the main reason I no longer wish to go solo. Now I am the Owner and Operator of All Inclusive Vacations, a global travel club arranging functions and group travel for people over the ages of 45 or 50.

You can find Doug Edward’s all inclusive travel vacations here and join his Facebook page.

Sonia Marsh Says: 

I cannot imagine what it must have been like for you being a child and hearing adults say, “it’s a pity, he’s such a nice boy” and “what will become of him.”  It amazes me how we can be influenced by adults, including our teachers and mentors. I also love what your Australian teacher said to you,

The three words that control our growth not only in world travel but in life in general are: fear, doubt and worry.  As he pointed out, “it’s not easy but if you can control those three emotions with enthusiasm, the world’s your bloody oyster..mate!”

Thankfully your Australian teacher had such a positive impact on your life.

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Please remember to VOTE for your favorite May “My Gutsy Story.”  The winner will be announced on June 14th. Winner gets to pick their prize from our 14 sponsors.

Good Luck to all of you. Your stories are amazing and inspiring. Please share these stories with friends and fellow writers and bloggers by clicking on the SHARE links below.

***

Do you have a “My Gutsy Story” you’d like to share?

To submit your own, “My Gutsy Story” you can find all the information, and our sponsors on the “My Gutsy Story” contest page. (VIDEO) Submission guidelines here.

Please share the “My Gutsy Story” series with others on Twitter. Thank you for following the series.

Vote for Your Favorite May “My Gutsy Story” + Interview

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From May 31st- June 13th midnight, PST, you can vote for your favorite May 2012, “My Gutsy Story.”

To VOTE, please go to the poll on the right  side of this post. You will find it on the sidebar listing the names of all 4 “My Gutsy Story,” authors.

Here are the 4 stories. Only ONE vote per person.

1). Teresa Wendel

Teresa Wendel

Teresa proves that with passion, you can accomplish whatever you’ve set your mind to overcome. I enjoyed her story and admire women who can fix things, whether at home, or with their car. As she said herself, “Not bad for a woman who won’t push the buttons on a tv clicker, use a cell phone, or connect to the Internet.”

2). Kathleen Pooler

Kathleen Pooler

Kathleen shares her emotional story of the love a mother has for her son, no matter what.  There are many parents who can relate to problem teenagers, even though the severity of the situation varies considerably. Kathleen made us realize that “tough love” is often the only approach, and how difficult it is for parents to carry through with this process.

3). Siv Maria Ottem

Siv wrote a beautiful story with a happy ending. What amazes me is how Facebook has connected so many people who may never have found each other. Her personal story offers hope to those searching for relatives or their adoptive parents.

 

4). Marcia Sargent

Marcia’s story shows how overcoming a difficult childhood brought out the “hero” in her rather than the liar and a procrastinator of her early childhood years. I admire how she chose to overcome her own fears and doubts about teaching, and turned them into a positive way to make children strive to work hard and attain success in life.

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The winner will be announced on June 14th. Winner gets to pick their prize from our 14 sponsors.

Good Luck to all of you. Your stories are amazing and inspiring. Please share these stories with friends and fellow writers and bloggers by clicking on the SHARE links below.

***

Do you have a “My Gutsy Story” you’d like to share?

To submit your own, “My Gutsy Story” you can find all the information, and our sponsors on the “My Gutsy Story” contest page. (VIDEO) Submission guidelines here.

Please share the “My Gutsy Story” series with others on Twitter using the #MyGutsyStory. Thank you.

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SONIA’S PODCAST INTERVIEW ON CASTAWAY AUTHOR

Interview on Felicity Lennie’s blog

Felicity Lennie is from the U.K and she has a fascinating project on her blog. She interviews authors and her theme is “Castaway Author.” You can read her questions and my answers on the link. Felicity interviews authors weekly and if you’re interested, I’m sure she’ll be happy to hear from you.

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