The Writer’s Journey – Guest Author, Yecheilyah Ysrayl

Y’all know my schedule, I am off on Saturdays. I’d just like to share my Guest Post and to give a special thank you to Kim for hosting me. Here, I give you three of the biggest lessons I’ve learned so far in my Self-Publishing journey.*Comments disabled here. Please hit me on the other side.*

kimwrtr's avatarKim's Musings

Welcome author, Yecheilyah Ysrayl to THE WRITER’S JOURNEY segment of  Kim’s Author Support Blog. Take it away, Yecheilyah. This is her journey.

fot4ce93 Self-Publishing Lessons I’ve Learned this Year

As we come to the end of another year, this one has been one of self-reflection for me both on a personal as well as a professional level. There’s been ups, downs, doubts, excitement, frustration, and everything in-between.

I’ve come out of my shell a lot this year and have learned to embrace my own vulnerabilities without fear of judgment. I used to be timid and shy about what I did or thought for fear that people wouldn’t understand me. This has caused me to, consequently, shy away from opportunities that could have been of help to me as a writer.

This year I’ve learned to be unapologetically me and to not let anyone bait me out of my character. I think…

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Black History Fun Fact Friday – Free Frank

black-history

This is a man who was free in more ways than one. Welcome back to Black History Fun Fact Friday. Meet, Free Frank.

The first African American to found his own town in the United States, Free Frank was born Frank McWorter on September 7, 1777 as a slave in South Carolina to a West African woman named Juda. Having been abducted and then enslaved it is commonly assumed that his father was the Scots-Irish master George McWhorter. In any event, Frank was leased by McWhorter to neighbors as a laborer. This experience (despite the situation) lead to him gaining entrepreneurial skills and businesses skills being around those he was leased to.

free-frank

He later married an African American woman from another plantation named Lucy.  Together they had four children. The extra money Frank was making gave him the opportunity not only to free himself but also his wife ($800) and oldest son. Earlier in life he’d founded a saltpeter plant which he sold later in exchange for the freedom of Frank Jr. who was a fugitive in Canada. Lucy and Frank also had three more freeborn children.

Free Frank did more than free individuals from slavery but he was also an entrepreneur. Frank and his family moved to Pike County, Illinois in 1830 and in 1836 founded what is now Philadelphia Illinois. Frank built the community on 80 acres of land, but it didn’t stop here. Limited by state statutes, McWorter petitioned the Illinois General Assembly using a legislative loophole, and by 1836 he and his sons owned 600 acres in Hadley Township without restriction. Frank leased plots to both white and black residents.

Although the railroad sliced through Pike County in 1869, there were some parts of the community that remained active until the 1920s and is considered one of the most famous antebellum towns.

The town size grew to approximately 160 people, 29 households, and several craftspeople and merchants by 1865. Frank witnessed that growth until his death in 1854 at the age of 77 years, while Lucy lived to 99 years of age, raising their family until her death in 1870.

Blog Changes

Blog Changes Ahead

As we come to the close of 2016, there will be some changes made to this blog.

The major change is that I will be transitioning from http://www.thepbsblog.wordpress.com to www.thepbsblog.com. I want to give everyone an opportunity to prepare for the transition (please save the new web domain) so I will not be making any moves probably until the end of this month or the beginning of next month. (Special thanks to the commentary that led me to edit this part of the post. I just want to clarify that I am not moving the site. I am simply purchasing the domain for The PBS Blog so its .com instead of .wordpress.com. That is the only change to this site. I am not moving. I would also add that I am not doing anything yet so if there’s anyone with insight into switching over I’d love to hear your thoughts before I make the move. What are your thoughts? Is social media sharing still available? Any technicalities I should know about? Did you switch? Are you liking it so far? Thanks!)

I didn’t want to acquire a domain in the beginning because I already have an author website I’m paying for and I did not always know that I would continue with this blog. There was a time where I did consider hanging it up or just doing it temporarily. As I’ve continued however and have started to put some real hours into nourishing this community and providing value, I have decided to stay for a while longer and for that will finally make that transition to a more professional look, starting with a domain name. (I will probably add a donation widget as well to the slide-side bar once the domain goes up for those who enjoy this blog and would like to see it continue to run).

Other changes are minor, such as updating all the pages and sticking to a more permanent theme. Once I settle on a layout that I feel is right for this blog (I do like this one, but who knows), I’ll be sticking with it.

I am also looking to add more author services to accompany the Book Reviews. I have tried once before to open for Guest Blogging but that did not work out. Instead, I am working on something I can add as a permanent feature for authors. I have not decided what that is yet (Author Interviews, Q&A, Author Promo or what) but I will let you know when I’ve decided. I will say I am leaning toward Author Promo since I already promote books through my email list and book reviews. I will consider adding structure to it as something for 2017. What do you think?

In the meantime, thank you all for your continued support of The PBS Blog! If there is anything you’d like to see more of I would appreciate your feedback. Please do not hesitate to let me know what it is you want. It is truly my pleasure to serve you. I mean that sincerely.

GoReadMe! Campaign – Susan M. Toy’s books

What a most creative idea. A GoReadMe Campaign. I love that it promotes reading and support for authors simultaneously. Be sure to pledge to read at least one of Susan’s books. You have until Jan. 8th.

islandeditions's avatarBooks: Publishing, Reading, Writing

In August this year, I had a great idea … and the very kind Seumas Gallacher allowed me space on his blog to not only write about the GoReadMe! Campaign, but also offered to be the first to have his books promoted using it.

He’s a brave man! While we may not have reached the target of readers we wished to attract within the time period we allowed, there were a fair number of new readers who discovered Gallacher’s books through this promotion, so I was pleased with the response.

I’m back now to do the same for my own writing, since I recently published a new novel in the Bequia Perspectives series. Here’s the background to the idea:

First, let’s go back a little way in time to a blog post I published in March of this year on the perennial subject that’s of interest to all authors…

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The Top 3 Reasons Successful Indie Publishers Have A Business Plan

Quote – “Running a business without a business plan remains one of the biggest mistakes an indie publisher can make. As the indie publishing industry matures, this crucial tool provides a tremendous advantage in a market flooded by self-publishers lacking business experience.”

My Ingredients for a Series – Guest Post…

As I prepare to release another series (The Nora White Story, 2017), I thought I’d share how I decide if a book will be a series or a novel. Short, sweet, and to the point.

*Comments disabled here. Meet me on the other side*

Chris The Story Reading Ape's avatarChris The Story Reading Ape's Blog

Blog Post 3

The Preparation Method

I know right away or before the first book is finished whether or not it’ll be a series. For instance, in “Beyond the Colored Line” (Book 2 in The Stella Trilogy), Joseph and his brother Edward come to blows in their mother’s living room. As a consequence, Jo leaves home.

After I finished writing this scene, with Karen’s voice still screaming her brother’s name as he stumbles down the street, I knew I wanted to explore more deeply Joseph’s story. What happens to him on his journey? Where does he go? What does he do? What kind of thoughts run through his mind? I knew that Book 2 would end, and yet there was still more to explore.

The Ingredient List


a. A pinch of completion
b. A tablespoon of deep plot elements
Most people don’t like having to wait for the next book. This is why…

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How Does Reading Level Matter in Fiction?

This is cool.

Kristen Twardowski's avatarKristen Twardowski

How well do most published authors write? Would you be surprised to hear that Jane Austen wrote at just above a 5th grade level, Stephen King writes at about a 6th grade level, J.R.R. Tolkien wrote at slightly more than a 6th grade level, and Leo Tolstoy wrote at about an 8th grade level?

To find out all of this information, Shane Snow did a readability analysis of the works of different bestselling authors. He based his exploration off of their scores for the Flesch-Kincaid tests, which were developed in 1975 on behalf of the US Navy to assess the difficulty of technical manuals. These tests take into account total words, sentences, and syllables in order to assess a written work’s grade level.

Snow’s analysis found that higher level writing did not necessarily result in successful sales. In fact, the bestselling fiction books that he looked at all fell…

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