Famous

Most of you know I LOVE to read.

I will read anything.

I like all different kinds of authors, but I've NEVER met one before.  I've never known one PERSONALLY before.

That has all changed.

My cousin Natalie, has written a book, and has had it published!

She's FAMOUS, and I'd like you to know more about her.

So today, she is answering some of the questions you have posed to her.

Read her book.  Help support her.

Thank you.

What was your biggest obstacle in this whole process?

       I really want to say everything, but there are two that stand out the most.

#1 ~ Finding time to write and being able to be creative on a limited about of time. I totally get it now when I heard authors talk about having a writer’s block. Been there, many times! And there was nothing more frustrating when I finally had a couple of quiet hours to write, I sit down…and my creative juices dry up like the desert and I couldn’t make a sentence work if my life depended on it.

#2 ~ Contacting agents and preparing all the material they wanted. Every agent wanted something different, so it would take hours preparing the specified letters, sample chapters, synopsis, proposal, etc. and researching to make sure I got all the information they wanted perfect.

Is your book dedicated to someone? If so, who?

       Yes. My book is dedicated to my children. It reads…

                                      

To my children,

Jarrett, Brayden and Kyla

May you always dream big dreams and pursue them with all your heart.

As my husband and I talk about my book being published we always end up discussing how we hope this book is a great example to our kids to not be afraid to make big goals for their lives. We hope that my experience would show them that our dreams really can come true…but not without hard work, desire, commitment and refusing to give up.

Do you start writing knowing the whole story? Or did you have the beginning, end and middle figured out before you started?

       Before I begin writing I have an entire outline of the book by each chapter and write in order. It helps me to have a good foundation. As I write, new ideas will pop up, so I will go back and change things as well as add chapters along the way.

I have a book that I am trying to get published. I have sent it to Writersedgeservice.com. I received an offer to publish with Deep River Books. It seems to be a combination of regular publishing and self-publishing. They will market and sell 500 books. My question is how would I go about selling at least 1000 books myself? What is a fair price for self-publishing?

                I asked my publisher this question because I really didn’t know how to answer.  This is how he replied. “I checked out the Deep River Books website and they appear to be a Subsidy publisher. That just means that the cost of publication is shared between publisher and author. Personally I wouldn't do this. For someone on a budget I recommend www.createspace.com. They will publish your book in Kindle or print but the catch is you have to prepare and provide print-ready files to them. It's a lot of work, but a better alternative than paying thousands of dollars to have your book published. Keep in mind that print books are now selling less than ebooks. Start with ebooks and then go from there. (www.kdp.com) Keep the initial investment low and watch out for people who want your money.”

                To answer how you would go about selling at least 1000 books, I can only say what I have done. Market and promote your book like crazy. This is totally out of my comfort zone, but very much needed. Work on getting book signings, followers on Facebook and Twitter. Get people to write reviews on Amazon and Goodreads. For a fair price, I can only say again from my experience. The price on the back of my book is $15.95, but the price will fluctuate (usually lower) on Amazon.

Here is a link for you to follow if you want to know more about the book, or to place an order:

 http://www.amazon.com/Rescued-Heart-Romance/dp/1618080733/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1378165764&sr=1-1&keywords=a+rescued+heart

Flying by the seat of my pants

I can't believe I have a minute to sit down and write this...

I might fall asleep on top of this keyboard. 

No joking.

I'm tired. 

I woke up at 4:00am this morning, and while I stayed in bed, I COULDN'T go back to sleep. 

A thousand things were running through my mind.  Including what have I signed up to do?

I guess I need to backtrack a little.

At the end of last year, when Grace's cheer season was done, we were told her cheer coach could no longer be her cheer coach.  She was going back to college. 

The girls who were going to be 8th graders this year were sad, and I was sad.  She was a great coach.

I kept in touch with the Athletic Director's secretary over the summer, and even though the job was posted, no one stepped forward to take it. 

Fast forward to two weeks ago when I registered the kids for school.  At that time, STILL no one had taken the job.

The Athletic Director's secretary told me I should take it.

I know NOTHING about cheering, save for what I watched Grace do during basketball season, and what I've watched her do at home.

I played tennis in high school for pete's sake!

All summer I felt a tug in the back of my being telling me to just do the job, but I fought it off as best as I could.  At orientation, I felt the tug even more. 

I mean, I wanted her to have a cheer season before she tried out for JV at the end of this year. 

I went home, asked Brent what he thought...asked Grace if she would be embarrassed...and then applied for the job.

I didn't think I'd actually get it.  I have had no cheer experience...other than being a mom.

I got a call 2 days later.  I had the job if I wanted it.

I thought of Grace.  I mean, why else would I do it?

I said yes, and it's been a wild roller coaster ride ever since.

I've picked Grace's brain, and then some.

I've went over things in my head a thousand times, and then was thrust into it last Friday with the first round of try-outs.

Ok.   Maybe it would be ok.

All I know is that I HOPE it will be.

Our first game is next Tuesday.  I hope and pray these girls I've chosen are quick learners.

Have you ever taken a leap of faith for your kids...other than on a daily basis?

10 Simple Things

The school year has started for us, and MAN has it started.

Evan's been in either football camp or practice for the last 3 weeks, even though school just started 2 days ago.  No one signed up to be Grace's Junior High Cheerleading coach, so I put in my application...AND I got hired.  Yippee.  Yikes.  Oh boy!

I've worried about Evan's first year in Junior High, getting his locker open each time he tries, getting to class on time, and even how he handles leaving the house in the morning at 7:15, and not getting home till around 6pm at night after practice.

For Grace, Junior High is already old hat.  She's navigated the hallways and made it to class on time (even with time to talk to friends), figured out how to get through the lunch line the quickest, and how to look cool just about every minute of the day, despite having P.E. first period.  She's eager to start Cheer next week, and start tumbling classes the week after that.

I've filled up the van with gas twice in the last week.  It's gonna be a long year.

But, Evan brought home an interesting assignment for English tonight.  He had 10 questions he had to answer, in paragraph form, and then use it as a speech tomorrow.   He could write the answers in any order, and he had to add details.

These were the questions.  I thought I'd try my hand at the assignment as well.

1.  What is your name?
2.  What is your favorite color and why?
3.  What is your favorite food?
4.  What is your most memorable experience?
5.  Who is the most encouraging person you know, or the most encouraging experience you've had in the last year?
6.  What do you want to get out of this class this year?
7.  What is the most valuable lesson you've learned in the last year?
8.  What are your hobbies?
9.  What is your favorite book or movie?
10.  What is the quality you most admire.

     Hi, my name is Lorie Yoder.  I am a wife, mother, sister, daughter, granddaughter and employee.  My favorite color is too hard to pinpoint to one, so I'll list my favorites:  aqua, kelly green, red, gold, and chocolate brown.  I love ALL those colors because they most resemble what I have in my life.  They make me feel calm and comfortable, and they are what I most often pick to wear, or use in my home.  My favorite food isn't just one thing...it's a TYPE of food.  I could eat anything Mexican and be quite happy and satisfied.  It's also the food I like to make the most because it's usually the easiest to make.  I'm all about ease in the kitchen!  The quality I most admire in people is a sense of humor.  People who have this quality are the people I most gravitate to.  I laugh ALOT.  My husband makes me laugh, my kids, and my co-workers.  Nothing makes you feel better than laughing, and I hear it keeps you young, so why not do it more often?
     The most encouraging experience I had in the last year was when I had someone offer me a job.  A job I didn't even know existed until my friend offered it to me and said they thought I would do a good job.  I LOVE this job, and am so glad I decided to pursue it.  It's the perfect mix for me.  In my spare time I like to work on crafts, scrapbook, read, and watch movies.  My favorite books, well, there are too many to list, but my favorite authors are:  Diane Chamberlain, Anita Shreve, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, Kate Morton, Kristin Hannah, Jude Devearux, and many more.  I like all movies.  Action, comedy, drama, suspense and mystery.  I have to supply my habit by having a membership to Netflix.
     The most valuable lesson I've learned in the last year is to watch EVERYTHING my kids do.  Time has FLOWN in the last year, and I feel like if I don't watch more closely, I will miss all the important things.  They have grown so smart, so funny, and so strong in their faith, and I am so proud of them.  My most treasured memory this year...going on vacation with our good friends.  We had an absolute blast, and we'll talk about the memories we made for years to come.  I'm so glad we made it happen.
     As far as what I want to get out of this class...well, I'm just glad I'm done with classes!  School seems like so long ago, but I'm reliving it through my kids, and even through the teachers they have that used to be my teachers.

Wow.  I haven't had an "assignment" like this for awhile.  I hope Evan does well in class tomorrow when he gives his speech.  He did a great job writing it.

How would you tell your story?