Wednesday, December 16, 2015

That time a TV Producer contacted me...

I finally feel like I can talk about this now that it's all said and done, so let me tell you the story of how a TV producer randomly contacted me one day...

A couple months ago, on October 1st, I received a message through my Youtube channel that said:

"Hi Debbie! My name is ______ I am a producer with the Dr. Oz show. I watched your nurse song video and loved it! I would love to talk to you about a segment that I am working on. Can you please call me at your earliest convenience?" She then left me with her number.

HUH??

My first thought was that this was a scam. This was NOT real. So I googled her name and looked her up on twitter. Turns out she truly was a Dr. Oz producer who had previously worked on other major television productions. This was the real deal. Meanwhile, she also found me on twitter and sent me another message to contact her.

Ah!!!

So unsure of what was happening I called the number she had left me in the first message. And this is what she told me.

The Dr. Oz show was doing a "Nurse Search" competition where they were searching the nation for a nurse to join their team of core experts. Apparently, they had received thousands of video entry submissions from nurses all over the country and so far, they hadn't found what they were looking for yet. So, they took to Youtube to see if they could discover any interesting nurses there.

Well, she told me on her first search of "funny nurses", she came upon my youtube video of a song I wrote in college and performed with my roommate like 7 years ago, and checked out my Youtube channel with my other songs. She told me she thought I would be a great candidate for the nurse search competition and that she wanted me to submit a video singing a song on my guitar about why I would be a great candidate for one of the core experts on the show.

Ok. Wow. ...Well hey! Why the heck not!?  So, long story short, I ended up writing a whole new little jingle about being a nurse and emailed it to her.

A couple days later, I got another call telling me I was going to be on the show that coming Tuesday!  They were going to pay my way up to New York City and my hotel room in Manhattan. They told me they were probably going to have me sing a whole new song that I would come up with on my guitar - that I would sing on NATIONAL TELEVISION as one of the nurse search candidates. AH!! Wait, What?!

Ok, breathe. Juuuuust breathe. My thoughts were this: Terrified, excited, and honestly perplexed as to how I got myself into this situation! I didn't ask for this and to be perfectly honest, I  probably never would have applied to nurse search on my own. But because I was ASKED to do it, I felt like this was a once in a lifetime opportunity that I couldn't pass up! Why not just see what happens, and take things one step at a time? I said to myself.

So immediately I went to work on another song and came up with something for the show.

Well, spoiler alert! This is where the story gets pretty anti-climactic...

I got another call a few days before I was going to go in for the show. They apparently needed more time to prep for it.  I was told there wasn't enough turn around time from the last show.  So they said they would re-schedule me for a couple more weeks.

Well, sadly, that never happened! Of course I could never know exactly what went wrong, but in the end, other candidates and ultimately another nurse core expert was chosen. And that's the end of the story, haha.

 Now that it's all said and done, I have to say, I really am grateful for the experience, even with how it all turned out!  I learned and gained some good things, and like I said, it's not something I ever asked for or even wanted - it was just kind of an amazing opportunity that fell on my lap one day. Which is just crazy!



One thing I did find incredible that I wanted to pass on to you was that if you have your work out there in the universe, you just NEVER know who might see it.  So for all you who have a passion for your craft - if you are doing it anyway, you might as well get it out there!! Submit your writings to agents and publishers, Sell your artwork on Etsy or wherever you can, put your videos on Youtube (as long as they aren't embarrassing Ok (:), share your talents with others! Because who knows? You just might have a producer randomly contact you one day, and give you an opportunity you never would have had otherwise. :) 



Saturday, November 7, 2015

Organizing a Community Author Event

Today I participated in a community author event along with several other wonderful and talented authors. Despite a little rain, I think it turned out to be a success and most important, a positive experience for everyone!

  

Are you an author who would like to organize an event in YOUR community?  

Well after going through the process, now I can tell you how!

1. Go  to a local bookshop and ask if they'd be interested in hosting a local author event. In my case, I went to a bookshop that was already selling my book, so they knew who I was, which helped I think.

2. If the bookshop agrees, ask them: "What dates would be good to hold the event?"  "How many other authors should I invite - is there a max?" "Will there be a fee to pay to you for hosting?"

3. Search out other authors. I did this by visiting the website of a recent book fair and looking up other self-published authors, and contacting them individually. Ask them to tell you a definitive yes or no by a certain date. Remember, the more authors you have, the more people are likely to come to the event.

4. Search among your contacts for people who would be willing to contribute their skills to make the event successful - something that would draw more people in. For us, it was our WONDERFUL artists. We had two amazing ladies who offered free face painting and free caricatures to kids who stopped by. This was SUCH a great way to draw more people in.

4. Once you know who all is coming, pick a date that works well with all the participants as well as the bookshop to hold the event.

5. Now that you know a date, design an eye-catching flyer (our artist, Marie did a wonderful job on ours).

6. Advertise the event! Have each author print out a set number of flyers (we did 100 each) and distribute them among friends, family, neighbors, and local businesses. Spread the word any way you can - facebook, craigslist, radio stations, word-of-mouth. The bookshop who hosted our event put it on their website and spread the word too, which was helpful.

7. On the day of the event, put up signs on busy streets around the bookshop with arrows pointing to the event.

Other helpful ideas DURING your author event:
  • Have a stack of business cards ready to hand out.
  • Be friendly to all the customers. BRING them to you by inviting them over. Don't be afraid to just hand them your book and start explaining what it's about (this is how I got almost all of my sales).
  • Having free stuff to give out to kids (like leftover Halloween candy) is a great way to get customers to your table.
  • Before the event, practice your book "pitch" - a short description of the book that will hopefully make people want to buy it. Mine went something like "This is my book that I wrote and illustrated. It's called Itchy Mitchie and it's about a little boy with itchy feet and how he tries to find a cure. The moral of the book is that positive thinking and engaging in good activities can help us overcome problems, such as itchy feet!"   (PS If I could do it all over again, I think I would have written down and  practiced my pitch a little more).
  • Bring cash with you for customers to make change with. Also, get that "Square" app that allows you to accept credit cards from your phone - I lost a sale from not having one!
  • Keep tally of how many books you sell (just in case you mix up the money you made with the change money you brought).
  •  If you were planning on the event to be outside, ALWAYS have a plan "B" for if it rains! (and a tarp handy).


How grateful I am for the wonderful authors, artists, supporters and community I am so lucky to be a part of! Today could not have been anywhere close to a success if it weren't for them!

And also, how grateful I am for sweet little moments like this...



...when I see a mother reading my book to her kids, I can't help but think to myself, "THAT right there, is my lifelong dream come true." It truly warms my heart!  :)

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Being a twin is pretty special


In light of the new children's book I'm working on, I put together a little video project for anyone out there who is blessed enough to be a twin! Watch it on youtube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxsvT4ZCOOI

Saturday, October 24, 2015

Do YOU want to publish a book?

Ever since I became a published author, I've found out that so many other people around me - friends, family, neighbors, fellow church-goers, and coworkers- have had that same dream as me - a dream of publishing a book. Some of them have written an entire story out, others just have the ideas for a story. But all of them have that burning desire, that feeling I know all too well.

My WHOLE life I have felt that feeling. I have these piles of ideas, these stories - some just in my head, others on paper, that I want so badly to DO something with. It's a nagging feeling. It's an ache. It's a feeling of urgency, almost anxiety. Oh ya, and a little bit of hopelessness, from not being sure what the next step is.


Do YOU feel this way? 

 If you do, first of all, believe me when I say, I have been there! And I know first-hand that the ONLY thing that's keeping you from doing something with your ideas and stories is YOU. It's all up to your will, your determination, your desire, and willingness to motivate yourself. And it's not going to happen unless you invest some time into it, do a little bit of research, find the answers, and kick yourself in the tush to get going!

So here's the great news. I PROMISE that you, yes YOU - even if you are inexperienced, even if you don't feel like an "expert", even if you don't know how to proceed - you CAN accomplish your life-long dreams of publishing a book! And I'm going to tell you how:

Step 1:

DO RESEARCH. What are you trying to write? A novel? A children's book? A self-help book? Who is your target audience? Research how long it should be, what's appropriate, what publishers are looking for, and general guidelines.

Step 2:

FINISH YOUR BOOK. Write the whole thing. FORCE yourself to finish it. Try not to do other hobby projects until you get the dang thing done first- So many people have a dream of writing their book, but most just can't seem to finish it. FINISH it! Make time. Take your project into your own hands. Be proactive. Make a goal for yourself. Say "I'm going to finish this by the end of the year" and then set aside time to do it when you can.

Step 3:

Read your book and then re-read it. And then take a break and re-read it again. Edit it to make sure you are 100% satisfied with it. And then...

Step 4:

Give your book to people you trust to edit it. It's pretty intimidating and a little scary, but it's ESSENTIAL. Have as many people read it as you can. Tell them to be honest because you are trying to make it the best book you can. Take all their comments into consideration. If more than half are all saying the same thing, listen to them. Don't be lazy. Take the time to edit your story, so it's perfect (actually it probably will never feel "perfect", but as good as you feel it possibly can be).

Step 5:

Now that your project is done, you can go two routes for publishing.
  • You can try to go the traditional route - this is the route that every writer dreams of. This is getting picked up by a publishing company who will sell and market your book. This is also where the odds are really working against you. It's extremely competitive and it will probably involve a lot of rejection, but it's not impossible! You will want  to get an agent first. So spend some time googling "how to query literary agents" (look at several different sites to get a good grasp on it). I like "Method 2 of 4: Publishing Your Book with the Help of a Literary Agent" on this WikiHow website: www.wikihow.com/Publish-a-Book. 
  •  If the traditional route isn't for you, you can instead go the "self-publishing" route, which is what I did. And PS I have loved my experience with it! There are a lot of companies that can help you self-publish. Some will even do it for free and print the book on demand. I went with Createspace (now Kindle Direct Publishing or KDP) because they do both those things. Also, after researching many other companies, Createspace seemed to allow the highest amounts of profits with each sell while allowing me to keep the book cost relatively low. I've been very happy with them. If you want to find out more, go to https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/ or call their customer service line and they can give you a run-down of their services. I've also heard excellent things about Ingram Spark and they offer hard cover books unlike KDP. 
Step 6: 

If you've gone the self-publishing route, it's time to market your book! There are infinite ways to do this, but I would say this: create a website, facebook page, and twitter account where you can promote yourself. Make business cards and keep them with you wherever you go. Get involved in the community - work with local book stores and libraries to organize events. And then google more ideas of how you can self-market.

Illustration Considerations: Now if you are just writing a book, that's one thing, but if you want your book to have illustrations, that's another thing. So here's what you need to know about it if you are going the self-publishing route:
  • If YOU plan to create the illustrations, then uploading the illustrations with the text to KDP or other self-pub companies can be tricky. The illustrations have to meet certain technical requirements as well as mesh with the words, and you have to be semi tech-savy to do this. I did NOT feel capable of this, which is why I hired a graphic designer to do it for me. So, there's one expense that you should be aware of. The cost for a graphic designer to format your book properly varies, but can be anywhere between 400 to 1000+ dollars depending on who you go to (Search among your friends/family for someone who could give you a deal.) A lot of other self-publishing companies will offer this service for a similar fee. 
  • If you want someone ELSE to do your illustrations, then it gets even more expensive, because now you have to hire an artist. The price for this also varies. Many self-publishing companies offer this service as well, but at a hefty cost. Like in the thousands..Don't worry though, the dream can still come true! It might just be a very big investment. Which brings me to my next thought... 

Cost/Benefit Considerations: 

As you can see, it CAN be very expensive to publish a book, specifically a self-published book that contains illustrations. Also, no matter where/how you publish your book, there's no guarantee about how successful it will be. A lot of it depends on your marketing techniques and the amount of time/effort you put into it, how much audiences truly like your book, and then there's a lot of luck involved too - or who you know. Picture books are a TOUGH market because it's so saturated right now, but there's always room for a product that people really want and need. (My book about twin boys did better than my first book because it was so specific that people searching on Amazon for a book about twin boys found it pretty easily).

My suggestion would be to weigh the cost/benefit ratio out in your mind. How much do you want your dream to come true? Enough to spend money on it that you very well may never make back? Do you think your book is good enough that you really COULD make the money back in sales? Does making a profit even matter to you? 

Obviously there's no right or wrong answers, it's just important to be realistic and think about what you want out of your published book: To be able to say you fulfilled your dream of being published? To make money? Something else? 


In Conclusion

I  truly hope that if you feel that burning desire to fulfill your dream of publishing a book like I did, you will do what it takes to make that dream a reality. It's all up to you and believe me, if I can do it, I KNOW you can too. So, keep working on it, don't give up, stay determined, keep pushing yourself, and go publish that book of yours!!

Saturday, September 12, 2015

Updates and Good News

Today has been another one of those great news days!

I just found out that all the Itchy Mitchie books I left at a local book shop have sold! That means that more people I don't know are picking out the book among the masses and buying them! I've also sold another copy through the distribution channel this month. Hooray!!

In other news, I'm setting up a local author day with a few other authors in my community coming up soon, so stay tuned. Yay for aspiring authors!!!


Thursday, July 2, 2015

Children's Book Inspiration

It's so funny how inspiration comes at different times. Today, it came as I took my two boys on a walk in the stroller.


There's a feeling of utmost joy, utmost sweetness, that is so precious, so big, so ...hard to explain! But just watching their chubby little faces look at the world, pointing at things, reaching their hands out to feel the bushes as we walk by, their "oooh"s as I point out "our" baby bunny that lives in the front yard, or the squirrels jittering up the trees, or the deer we happened upon rounding a corner next to a grove of trees. Their collecting of rocks as we walk through the grass, the way they laugh and play together going down the slide. It makes my heart feel so big and full, that sometimes I think it could honestly burst. And when that happens, I know I have to write something. I have to record that sweetness, that magic that I feel.


During their nap, I wrote a little children's story, attempting to capture some of that magic from our walk today. Here's just a couple snipits:


...
Flowers, bushes, blossoms, vines,


                Oak trees, Beech trees, Birch trees, Pines.


                                Stick your hand out, feel the leaves


                                                Brissely! Prickley! Ticklely! Sneeze!


Mommy gives us each a stick.


Swish! Swipe! Poke! Flick!


                                Mommy stops, we all get out.


Run! Skip! Giggle! Shout!


Collecting speckley, freckley rocks.


Dirty faces, muddy socks.


                Grass is wet, puddles deep.


                                Splitter! Splash! Stomp! Leap!


...


Mommy tells us Quick! Come here!


Hush now, look, the woods, a deer!


Gentle, graceful, tip toes taking.


Quietly leaving, branches breaking.

Friday, June 5, 2015

Novel Idea

Just as I've wanted to write children's books my whole life, I've also had hopes of writing a novel. I've had a few ideas for novels over the years, and have started a couple, but for some reason, I've never been able to get very far, or create the entire plot/ending in my head. I feel like it has to be something I REALLY feel passionate about, a solid plot, and a great ending. None of my ideas have ever felt like the whole meal deal - only pieces of the complete picture. So, I've just put the novel-writing idea away for a future date when I can devote more time to it...

Perhaps it was inspiration from joining my writing group, or the fact that I published my first children's book and entered the world of other authors, but one morning a month or two ago, I had one of those lightening of inspiration moments.

The boys started crying at 3 something AM, so I sleepily stumbled into their room to settle them down and then wandered back to bed. Then that's when it happened - the lightening of inspiration. I could NOT go back to sleep. For some reason, the random thought came into my brain of an idea I had for a novel several years ago. I never wrote the idea down, I just kept it locked away in my brain, working on it in the back corners of my mind here and there. Well, my head was now racing with ideas about this novel. My characters were developing further, the plot emerged, the twists, the surprises, and even the ending all came together in my head. I ended up staying up that entire morning thinking of all these crazy things! And instead of catching up on my own sleep when the kids went down for their first nap later that day, I typed up a 4,000 word outline for my "novel idea".

Isn't it funny how inspiration comes at the weirdest times? Many times, my inspiration has come late at night, or early in the morning, when it's dark and quiet and I can just be still and THINK.  One thing I've learned is that when these ideas come, it's super important to write them down as soon as I can, so I don't forget about them. I have a whole "Ideas for the future" document in my computer devoted to just that.

So, for the first time in my life, I have a novel idea from start to finish, and even in-between.  I actually have some other big projects that I HAVE to get done before I even think about focusing too much on this novel.  But when I'm ready, my outline will be waiting for me. :)

Monday, April 20, 2015

How To Find Time for Hobbies as a SAHM

I'm not an expert at this in any shape or form. This is all just my own little opinion and tips I've discovered, that when I actually DO them, have worked to open up some free time for hobbies while being a stay-at-home Mom. For those who may be looking to find some free time to do the same, I hope that this can give you some ideas. So here's some tips that have helped me personally, to have time for things like writing, music, and exercise:

1. First, make a to-do list every night for the following day. For me, lists are ESSENTIAL. I have a hard time remembering what it is I'm supposed to be doing in the 5 or 10 minutes the boys are busy building blocks together. When those moments of free time suddenly appear, I can take a look at my list and be like, "Oh ya! I got to make that Dr's appointment!" It's nice to write a list the night before too, because once the kids are awake and going in the morning, I may not have a chance to think straight enough to even make a list for the day.

2. Next, decide which of the things on your list can be done with kids present. Try to get as many things done while the kids are awake as possible.
 Here's some activities I find possible with kids:
*Laundry. I just fold all the clothes on top of the bed so the kids can't get to it, and I block the nightstand with a pack n play so they can't crawl on the bed and throw the laundry everywhere. The kids love handing the clothes up to me, so it's a win/win.
*Exercise... well, depending on what you're trying to do. Just work with what's possible. You can do a quick set of push-ups. If they jump on your back while you are trying to do them, just think, you are going to be even stronger than you were planning :) You can also pick the kiddos up as you would weights and lift them up and down. They are sure to giggle a lot, especially if you blow on their tummy every time they come up, another win/win! Squats, dips using your couch, sit-ups, jumping jacks, pull-ups on a pull-up bar, definitely running outside in a jogging stroller (for me, a jogging stroller is essential)...lots of things are possible. And if all else fails, you can turn on music and dance, because that's definitely exercise and they're definitely going to love it.  Or you can just get a gym membership with childcare, which may be the best option of all.

*Small cleaning projects or tasks around the house. These include getting dinner in the oven, wiping down the kitchen counters, sweeping, dishes, and other quick/simple to-do's.  It may be trickier, but the more you can realistically do while they're awake, the more free time you'll have during naps and when they go to bed, which brings me to the next thing that's helped me have more time for hobbies...

3. Scheduled naps and bedtimes. I am totally a pro-scheduled naps and bedtimes Mom. Before we had our twins, I read "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Twins" by Marc Weissbluth or "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Baby" for the singleton baby Moms. It was the best book I ever could have read to prepare for Motherhood. Our boys get at least one good nap together every day and go to bed really early...6:30pm. Now to some that may seem TOO early, but I'm telling you, it's wonderful. So during those naps and after bedtime, I try to quickly finish up any of the necessary to-do's I couldn't complete while the babes were awake, and then...free time!

4. Another thing I think that helps to find time is organizing craft/writing nights with other women. It gives you a specific time to work on your project and you can't make excuses not to, because other people will be there. I recently joined a little writing group where we share our writing projects and discuss our goals. It has motivated me so much to work on my books and find time to write!

5. Go shopping on Saturday without the kids or as a whole family. If I don't have to go to the store during the week, then I have more free time, plus it's WAY easier than taking the boys by myself.

6. One huge factor that has given me so much more time in the day is cutting out TV. I pretty much stopped watching it almost a year ago and I've had SO much more free time since. It's amazing how much time we waste when there is a television show in the background to distract us. Of course the internet is the mother of all distractions. I have made so many attempts to limit my internet time. When I'm successful at it, my "free time" increases immensely. If you just take those 5 minutes when the kids are busily playing to sweep the floors or unload the dishwasher, instead of browsing facebook, then remember, that's one less thing you have to do later, and you'll have more time to work on being creative.

Now if you're like me, your creative hobbies can start to compete for your attention when you should be putting your priorities elsewhere. Although it' good to find time to work on hobbies, I believe it's also important to limit them. It's a delicate balancing act. I know that God wants me develop myself and my talents, but I also know that Motherhood is my number one priority. And I definitely know that I shouldn't be revolving everything else around my hobby time. There are days that I would really love to work on an idea I have, but I have to realize that if too many things are going on, it will just have to wait. There's that lesson in patience again. You may have a project that you could easily get done in like 4 hours, if only you just had 4 hours straight in peace. But as a SAHM.. you possibly never will. Well, maybe at night, but even then, there's a million other more important things to do...so just remember to be patient. Do what's most important in your life first. It may take awhile to get your creative projects done, but keep working on it little by little, when you can. 

 In summary, I do believe the time for being creative is there, even if it's just a few hours every week. I hope I've given you a few ideas that might help you discover that time in your life, so you can start creating something wonderful! :) 

Monday, March 16, 2015

Welcome!

Hello! Let me introduce myself and tell you why I'm writing. So, I'm Debbie Day or "debbieday". That's my brand name for my websites, youtube channel (debbieday songs) and pen name for my books. A little bit about me: I'm a wife of 7 years, proud Mother of two energetic and silly twin boys, newly published author/illustrator, registered nurse, songwriter, runner, competitive race rookie, and lover of all things adventure!

From a very young age, I've always loved to create songs and stories - especially children's stories. As a little girl, I wrote about fairies and pirates and mermaids fighting and exploring and falling into hidden woods or secret worlds. I loved to draw the pictures of the mean pirates and delicate fairy wings and put it all together into a book to show to my classmates and family. Nothing was more fun! I still feel that same way and continue to LOVE writing. 


Aside from writing books, I also have a passion for writing music. I write songs about being a nurse, my husband, my kids, my pet bunny "Muffin", and life it general. Right now, I'm in the process of getting all my music recorded into decent versions so I can share them. Some of them are up on my youtube channel...

So, why this blog? Well, I want a place to share both my creations, and my journey as an author and "indie" publisher (and maybe a little bit of my other passions here and there).  I hope that I can inspire others to do the things they feel passionate about and give any tips or ideas that have helped me along my journey.

Weather or not a handful or a hundred people will ever read my writings or songs,  it's something I will continue doing forever, because it brings me so much joy. It gives me something to do during the boys' naps besides laundry, dishes, and browsing facebook, and it's just plain fun!

So, if you are reading, thanks so much for stopping in! I hope you enjoy hearing about my journey and most of all, I hope you feel inspired to start working on YOUR creations!