Just when you think you've failed...

All it takes is just a little sprig of excitement to elevate the level of motivation for me to work harder.  I was beginning to think that my book had failed in the sense that it didn't reach masses of people in the time frame that I had personally given it.

I confess that I assumed that word of mouth via facebook and other social media, was all it was going to take to get it to spread like wild fire.  Simply not the case, as a self publisher it is very difficult to continue to keep pushing and keep pushing your book.  I am not very savvy with websites and Like buttons and Twitter and or even making this Blog anything special looking for that matter.  So it takes money to make money and although I hate risking my families money to try and get this book flying, I will soon have additional validation of it's worthiness to continue this forward push.

My book has been selected to be reviewed in the Indianapolis Women's Monthly Magazine, May issue !

Although I am on pins and needles waiting to read it to see if it will be a positive review or not, I was given a small portion to go on "an emotional read".  I think it could go up or down from there still, but I feel positive with that thus far.  Enough to get my wheels turning and focus on the push again.

So stay tuned for either tears or joy and hopefully this will generate more exposure, enough to allow me to spend a little more money on help with my marketing.  Royalties are tiny, especially when people buy it on the nook or when Amazon discounts it.  This learning process will definitely help with my next one, if I can convince myself to take on such a challenge again and the feedback is strong enough for readers to want more.

If you are in the website design biz or the marketing industry and will do some minimal work for me for minimal pay, please leave me a comment.  ;D

Or if you are just a kind soul and want to help for free, that works too.

Hope you get a sprig of excitement today!

Thanks y'all

Been there Done that ...

I'm thinking of my Grandfather (Gramps) when using the phrase "been there, done that".  When he had gotten to a certain age, he became one of those grumpy old men that had no desire to attend or see anything that he had already done or seen before.  He had always been this jolly sort of fellow that smiled and laughed when everyone was around, and then it seemed he changed slowly in to this man that seemed forced to be where ever he was and left abruptly when he felt he had put his time in.

My thoughts turn to this,  because I feel myself turning in to a grumpy old man and I am wondering if it is allowed at any particular age and often overlooked due to respect of that said person and the time they have already put in by attending things and or seeing people in the past.  What was once a joy, is now an obligation.

When considering this, and hoping that it will be my turn soon to wave off events because they are nothing new, I ask myself if it is because I don't feel physically well and therefore have to put on a mask and pretend that I am wonderful?  Or if it is purely out of thoughts of boredom while preparing for such tasks, that I sincerely and honestly don't like to repeat things over and over.  I can probably answer that question easily, because as I sit here right now typing, my back is killing me and I have a sinus headache to beat the band and no one really wants to hear that whiny stuff.  So if I am going to have to drug myself up in order to be pleasant, rather than sit here in my misery and drive a gazillion miles to this place that is costing me cash just to get there because my husband chooses to live in the boonies, then I become a grumpy old woman who turns things in to tasks instead of enjoyment.

What brings me joy these days that I can watch over and over?

1.  My son and his father playing basketball together. A goal that is against the barn with gravel as the court and it was hung by his father 6 years ago and my son never wanted to play and he would complain that he couldn't bounce the ball in rocks.  To which my husband would reply "oh get over it, we use to play in grass and weeds and then it finally turned to dirt, which was really bad after it rained"

So even though I liked the looks of this lonely basketball rim and net on the barn, it was still brand new.  Now my son is out there daily and when my husband hears that ball bouncing in the gravel, he comes out of his man cave and joins him in several games of horse or pig depending on any time restraints either may have.

Joy comes in the hopes that your child hits a home run after two failed bunts and you get to jump up and scream and holler. Joy comes in hearing laughter out of a baby that just won't quit. Joy comes in so many forms that can be repeated and yet if you don't show up, you may miss those moments.  So although it may seem like a lot of effort to pull myself together, I show up.  

Right now, I am feeling great joy that my husband is taking the trash out because it smells and I can sit here and type without him bugging me to get ready to leave and go cut down trees in an old lot we still own and very much need to sell.  So I am going to search for the joy today.  I am going to put my grumpy hat on the shelf for just a bit longer and then when and if I feel like it I will pull it out and I will say "sorry, I've already done that, no need to do it again"

What are your joy moments?


I hope you get to see them soon.

Ta Ta for Now,
Jen/Jo