I started the writing process in late September, 2020. My book is a memoir about my journey working with an energy healer. It's based on the notes in my journals from our sessions. The first step was to take all those bullet-pointed notes and turn them into cohesive sentences. That sounded easy enough, but it wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be. Also, I wanted to get through the first draft before my daughter left for Canada in early December. She would be gone for 6 months and I wanted her feedback before she left, so I was feeling a time crunch.
During a session with my healer in November, she told me about a vision she had of a purple and white scarf. It’s soft white that graduates to lavender and then to a deep purple. She referred to it as ‘Regalia’, and that it’s to help me get in touch with my intuition. Until I find this scarf, she suggested I imagine draping it around my shoulders in order to feel more connected with the universe while I write.
About a week before my daughter left for Canada, I finished my first draft and got her feedback. Mission Accomplished!
In February, 2021, I found the perfect scarf! It’s made of silk and Alpaca! Of course it would be the most expensive scarf I could find, but I felt drawn to it. Now I drape it over my shoulders whenever I’m working on my book. It actually does help me find the words I’m searching for.
Also in February, I started feeling overwhelmed about the book. As I've been incorporating the feedback I received from a few different folks, my daughter included, all these questions came to mind. What will I do once I have it finished? How do I find an editor? How do I find a publisher? How do I get it to market? Thankfully the universe stepped in and showed me a FaceBook ad about the Women In Publishing Summit. I checked it out, and it looked like it was exactly what I needed. Best of all, the cost was only 97 dollars if you purchased your ticket before it began in early March. I was going to do that anyway, but I asked the universe for a sign that it was really the right thing for me to do. A few days later, I won 150 dollars on a Super-bowl squares pool! That was my sign from the universe to attend the summit as the cost of the ticket was now covered.
The Women In Publishing Summit was held virtually during the first week of March, 2021. I took the week off of work to attend it and I’m glad I did! There was so much great information presented covering all aspects on the business of being an author. Goodreads was one of the many things Iearned about. It's an online community for those who love books, so you don't need to be a published author to join it. You can join it as a reader, which I did. I can now easily keep track of the books I want to read, leave ratings and comments on books I've read, and see what my friends are reading. In addition to all the other awesome content presented, there also were networking opportunities to meet other authors. A HUGE thank you to Alexa Bigwarfe of Write, Publish, Sell for putting it together!
I'm so excited about my book again after attending the Women In Publishing (WIP) Summit. My healer even said that my soul has been ignited!
So what’s next? Women in Publishing (WIP) School of course! Many of us that attended the summit also signed up for WIP school which runs from April through July.
My procrastination finally paid off, for once! I had been telling myself that I need to create my website, but the task seemed too daunting. So I kept putting it off and putting off. Once again, the universe and Alexa Bigwarfe came through and WIP school held a three hour training session on how to build your website. At the end of session I had the bones of this website together! WOO HOO! Another HUGE thank you to Alexa as well as to Fauzia and John Burke of Pubsite!
One of the big lessons I learned over the past several months is the importance of social media. I had a personal Facebook account, but that’s about it. Trying to figure out how to do a post on Instagram was intimidating for me. So I had my daughter sit with me one night, and side by side she walked me through it. I made my first post on 7/28/21, WOO HOO! Check me out at @rlperryauthor.
It’s now early August, and I just finished the first round of revisions on my manuscript. One of the best pieces of feedback I received on my first draft (which I learned is usually referred to as an SFD, Shitty First Draft) was that I needed to incorporate more of my feelings. I’m not the kind of person who normally digs deep and is in touch with their feelings, or else I would have done that already with the manuscript. This is why it’s taken me 8 months to do a round of revisions, because I had to get in touch with my feelings.
During a session with my healer in November, she told me about a vision she had of a purple and white scarf. It’s soft white that graduates to lavender and then to a deep purple. She referred to it as ‘Regalia’, and that it’s to help me get in touch with my intuition. Until I find this scarf, she suggested I imagine draping it around my shoulders in order to feel more connected with the universe while I write.
About a week before my daughter left for Canada, I finished my first draft and got her feedback. Mission Accomplished!
In February, 2021, I found the perfect scarf! It’s made of silk and Alpaca! Of course it would be the most expensive scarf I could find, but I felt drawn to it. Now I drape it over my shoulders whenever I’m working on my book. It actually does help me find the words I’m searching for.
Also in February, I started feeling overwhelmed about the book. As I've been incorporating the feedback I received from a few different folks, my daughter included, all these questions came to mind. What will I do once I have it finished? How do I find an editor? How do I find a publisher? How do I get it to market? Thankfully the universe stepped in and showed me a FaceBook ad about the Women In Publishing Summit. I checked it out, and it looked like it was exactly what I needed. Best of all, the cost was only 97 dollars if you purchased your ticket before it began in early March. I was going to do that anyway, but I asked the universe for a sign that it was really the right thing for me to do. A few days later, I won 150 dollars on a Super-bowl squares pool! That was my sign from the universe to attend the summit as the cost of the ticket was now covered.
The Women In Publishing Summit was held virtually during the first week of March, 2021. I took the week off of work to attend it and I’m glad I did! There was so much great information presented covering all aspects on the business of being an author. Goodreads was one of the many things Iearned about. It's an online community for those who love books, so you don't need to be a published author to join it. You can join it as a reader, which I did. I can now easily keep track of the books I want to read, leave ratings and comments on books I've read, and see what my friends are reading. In addition to all the other awesome content presented, there also were networking opportunities to meet other authors. A HUGE thank you to Alexa Bigwarfe of Write, Publish, Sell for putting it together!
I'm so excited about my book again after attending the Women In Publishing (WIP) Summit. My healer even said that my soul has been ignited!
So what’s next? Women in Publishing (WIP) School of course! Many of us that attended the summit also signed up for WIP school which runs from April through July.
My procrastination finally paid off, for once! I had been telling myself that I need to create my website, but the task seemed too daunting. So I kept putting it off and putting off. Once again, the universe and Alexa Bigwarfe came through and WIP school held a three hour training session on how to build your website. At the end of session I had the bones of this website together! WOO HOO! Another HUGE thank you to Alexa as well as to Fauzia and John Burke of Pubsite!
One of the big lessons I learned over the past several months is the importance of social media. I had a personal Facebook account, but that’s about it. Trying to figure out how to do a post on Instagram was intimidating for me. So I had my daughter sit with me one night, and side by side she walked me through it. I made my first post on 7/28/21, WOO HOO! Check me out at @rlperryauthor.
It’s now early August, and I just finished the first round of revisions on my manuscript. One of the best pieces of feedback I received on my first draft (which I learned is usually referred to as an SFD, Shitty First Draft) was that I needed to incorporate more of my feelings. I’m not the kind of person who normally digs deep and is in touch with their feelings, or else I would have done that already with the manuscript. This is why it’s taken me 8 months to do a round of revisions, because I had to get in touch with my feelings.