Aspiring Author? Unsure of Your Next Step? It’s Time to Publish!

Are you a writer and hoping to publish but you have no idea where to start? My writing sat on a shelf for almost two years. When I knew I wanted to publish and started to look at options, complicated is the adjective that comes to mind! As a new author in 2017, I was taken aback about how much I did not know. Write, edit and publish a book - shouldn’t it have been that easy? How naive I was!

Four publishing options? How do we decide which one to take? That momentous decision is only one step as we continue to write. I chose to follow the Indie route and hired a consulting company for my first book. It was one of the best decisions I made. Experts were made available to me at each phase of the process, from editing to cover design and publication. Their knowledge and experience guided me as I learned how to navigate this new world. Did I make mistakes? Most certainly, but isn’t that how we all learn?

For my current book, I’ve selected a form of hybrid publishing (there are many different options within this publishing path alone). Beta readers are giving me honest feedback for the final formal edit. The public cover reveal of “Jackson” is on the horizon. It’s a very exciting time for authors - our launch day is within reach! But getting there doesn’t happen overnight. It’ a process.

It’s time to start planning the pre-sale, launch and book signing events. but what does that look like in a pandemic? There are countless options, some quite unique. We’ve all had to find solutions to problems we never imagined possible a few months ago.

There are many tricks of the trade leading to publishing, distribution and promotion. What I offer to aspiring authors is second to none. Time To Publish is a four part series and most importantly, personal and interactive which is why I limit each session to no more than 5 people. It’s driven by your goals, not mine. Save money and time while gaining knowledge and tools. Time to Publish also includes the complete course presentation slides with links to resources, access to Lynn between sessions, a Certificate of Completion as well as a Freedom Writer’s Pledge badge for social media sites. Immediately following the last module, you will be invited to join our exclusive, private Facebook group, a community of writers. Contact me for a free consultation. The next series begins Wednesday, August 12th! You won’t regret it.

“I’m sorry to tell you…”

It was July 13th, 2013, a day that will be forever ingrained in my memory. I was sent to the emergency department immediately following an MRI. Alone, l heard the terrifying words, “I’m sorry to tell you…you have a brain tumour”. A mother of three teenage children at the time, it almost ended my life. I am passionate about helping others not make the same mistakes I did during that year of my life. Crises come to us in many ways. How can we be empowered to survive and find our “new normal”?

It’s Brain Tumour Awareness Month in Canada. Let’s join together to raise awareness!

• This is a list of common symptoms which, alone or combined, can be caused by a brain tumour (malignant or non-malignant). If you, or someone you know is experiencing any of them, consult a doctor. I ignored them for too long!

  • Behavioural changes

  • Cognitive changes

  • Dizziness or unsteadiness

  • Double or blurred vision

  • Frequent headaches

  • Hearing impairment

  • Morning nausea and vomiting

  • Seizures

  • Weakness or paralysis

• Free resources can be ordered by mail from the Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada and supports are available for both patients and caregivers. Youtube also has webinars on a host of topics. There are over 120 different types of brain tumours, making treatment complex.

• Although as many as 60% of children with brain tumours will survive, they are often left with long term side effects.

• In May 2019 the Brain Tumour Registry of Canada was launched with the goal of collecting data on every malignant and non-malignant brain tumour in Canada. The first Canadian Survival Report is now available with excellent information which will drive research. The Foundation is committed to research that is changing treatment options and improving the quality of life for patients.

• Every day 27 Canadians hear the same shocking words I did almost 7 years ago. On Saturday, June 27th Canadians from coast to coast will join together for our virtual community walks. My team, “The Tumour Raiders” is only one of hundreds across Canada.

  “Turn May Grey ” has interesting meaning this year with hair salons closed. Many of us certainly are, in a way we never predicted! There are many ways to support: join or sponsor a team or individual for the walk in June, make a donation, share this information to raise awareness or cheer us on!

My Gift to You - WHO WOULD HAVE IMAGINED?

Six weeks ago, who were you spending time with? What were you doing?

Two of our children were finishing mid-terms in pursuit of their degrees. Our oldest was in the midst of his research, studying for his PHD. Ken and I were ripping out our old kitchen and replacing all the “pieces” step by step.

I was excited to have been a guest speaker at three events at the end of February and beginning of March and looking forward to those booked for the future. My college students had all begun their field placements with success. My podcast series was off and running and second book entering the cover design stage. My husband, a retired police officer, was working part time as a FEDEx driver.

FULL STOP.

We were hearing reports of a virus overseas. We’ve had them before. Wasn’t that too far away to really worry about in Essex County? The Covid-19 journal I began a month ago attests to how quickly things changed… daily if not hourly. Unprecedented, to say the least.

If you’re out of the country, come home.

Your travel insurance will be suspended in 10 days.

The border is closed. Vultures are cleaning out the grocery stores.

Local shops, small business owners are shut down with two days notice.

Schools and childcare centres are closing.

Only essential services remain open.

HOLD ON!

Retired medical practitioners and first responders are being hired back to work. Health care workers are on the front line. We’re searching for masks, face shields, medical gowns and ventilators. Field hospitals are being created. Businesses are re-tooling to make what we desperately need to survive. An entire generation in Italy and Spain have now been taken by this thing. It’s coming our way. One. Ten. Fifty. Almost three hundred…confirmed cases in our county and continuing to grow. People are ill, fighting for their lives. Long term care and retirement homes are locked down. Over one million people in Canada are now without employment.

Today, we say, “We have to flatten the curve.”

Today, nurses, doctors and first responders are staying in hotels or living in trailers to keep their families safe.

Today, we’re checking in on family and friends through online video chats.

Today, elementary, secondary, college and university students and teachers have moved to online learning, including myself and my children.

Today, we line up and wait six feet away from each other to enter a pharmacy or grocery store.

Today, we suffer heartache and can’t visit those in hospitals or palliative care…can’t come together to grieve the loss of a friend or loved one.

This is more than real. It’s incomprehensible. The coming weeks and months will be like nothing we have known before. People we know and love will fall ill. Businesses will close their doors permanently. People will have no job to go back to. Reality is about to smack each of us in the face, if it hasn’t already.

The world is giving us time to re-set in countless ways. Environmentally, we’ve had a drop in global emissions, waterways are running clear, air pollution has dropped substantially in major cities around the world. We have direct evidence of the positive impact we’ve have as human beings on our planet, because we’ve been forced to. We can’t ignore this and go back to the way things were. We have a responsibility to learn and re-envision a new normal with the power to create what that new normal will be - for ourselves, our communities and this world. This time can also be seen as a gift for those of us blessed to be staying home. Time to self-reflect, heal, read, be with our families...Time to find ourselves and what really brings us happiness and fulfillment...Time to take a stance and decide that we’re not going back to the treadmill of “stuff”. We’ll move forward with a new sense of purpose and realization of what really matters. Let’s not settle for anything less.

Today, I’m making masks as my “gift” to people. Who would have ever imagined?