“Frustration is the fuel that can lead to the development of an innovative and useful idea.” Marley Dias

We know we have to be strategic when we decide as INDIE authors what platforms we will sell our books on. Many use their own websites only. Worldwide distribution with the option of running our own author ads was our priority. We uploaded the digital book to KDP (Amazon) directly and the print version to IngramSpark. We can now use the Amazon advertising option and have worldwide distribution. It’s the best of both worlds!

The challenges we faced were with the print books and the wait times for support at IngramSpark, all due to user errors. My errors! I accidentally checked a field titled, “right to left content” which can only be rectified through an email for support. The solution was to duplicate the book, upload it again and delete the “first try”. Onward Bound! What I didn’t know is that once an IngramSpark representative deletes a book, it stays on your account for 180 days.

One problem solved. Another one was created because the book’s ISBN was locked in for 4 months. I logged on to my ISBN Canada account and asked for a new ISBN. It took less than a minute to do. Again, another email to IngramSpark support and a three-day wait to resolve. There were several other glitches and we worked through each one.

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WE'RE ON THE PLANET TEZRA HELPING CHILDREN LEARN TO MANAGE THEIR EMOTIONS ...

Each book introduces emotional vocabulary and includes a guide outlining the strategies children can use and adults can model. This series is particularly topical for parents/guardians who want to be proactive or are looking to teach their children how to cope with worry and anxiety. It is also an excellent resource for early years and primary educators and those who provide early intervention to children experiencing mental health challenges.

Ultimately, by developing our children’s book series, we are offering evidence-based approaches where children will learn to understand, handle and express their emotions appropriately while building social skills, empathy, self-awareness, and self-regulation.

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Have You Considered Gifting an Inscribed Book For the Holidays? It's Easier Than You Might Think!

With the holiday season upon us, it’s the perfect time of year to gift a book to a friend, family member or colleague. As an author, I’m thrilled to offer inscribed copies of both of my published books. Jackson is a #1 Amazon Best-Seller and Steering Through It is a multiple award-winner!

If you would prefer to gift an audiobook or ebook, it’s easy to do! Go to Amazon.ca (or the country you live in) and find the book. Click “give as a gift”. You can choose to e-mail the e-book with a future delivery date, or print out a voucher (which you might love to place in a holiday greeting card.

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How Are You Today?

When is the last time you openly discussed your own mental health and wellness with friends or family members? As a parent, can we speak honestly about our fears when one of our own children is struggling? Can we comfortably talk about it ourselves if we are the ones in crisis?

“I’m fine thanks,” or “Couldn’t be better” are typical answers to the age-old question. But how do we respond if we are in fact, nearing the ledge? We don’t want to burden our family and friends after all. They have enough going on in their own lives, don’t they? Perhaps we are embarrassed and don’t want anyone else to know. Maybe we’re worried we’ll be judged by others or we aren’t aware of the wealth of resources at our fingertips, many of which are outside of traditional counselling and therapy.

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RAISING MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS: WRITING "JACKSON"

When is the last time each of us openly discussed mental illness with friends or family members? As a parent, can we speak honestly about our fears and desperation when one of our own children is living with this debilitating disease? Can we comfortably talk about it ourselves if we are the ones in crisis?

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