Tag: writing

Remember to Back Up Your Content!

Photo by Anna Pou

I logged into my WordPress dashboard this morning, and my last 5-6 posts were gone, including paid book reviews.

Can you hear my heart breaking?

Thankfully, after about thirty minutes, they showed up!

My face after deleting my tweets cause I thought the links were dead.
Photo by MART PRODUCTION

Too bad I had already deleted the tweets to what I thought were now dead links. Way to go, Yecheilyah.

A glitch, maybe, but the scare was real!

Chile, I almost cried.

Then I put my big girl panties on and understood today’s message.

ALWAYS back up your content!

Make sure your photographs, graphics, videos, and articles are stored in a folder on your computer or on a USB drive. Before composing your posts in WordPress, it’s simpler to write them in a Word document (or whichever program you prefer) and save them to your computer.

Never depend on ONE social platform to reach your audience

I have never been a fan of putting all my eggs in one basket, and this experience reemphasized the importance. I am all for monogamy, but cheating on your other social media profiles with a backup plan is okay, lol.

It is not a smart idea to rely only on one platform, whether we’re talking about Instagram bugs or if US companies and content creators will no longer be able to use TiKTok. (Are you following the case with them? Back those videos up!)

Keep your options open and stay as informed of all the developments as you can. Even if we disagree with AI, for instance, it would be a bad idea to ignore how it is affecting the book publishing industry and how authors and publishers create and distribute their works.

Email is still useful

If these social media apps change their policies, having an email list can let you stay in touch with your customers, business partners, and author friends. Twitter and Instagram have already started using paid verified badges. Even further, Twitter claims that those who earned their blue checks will soon have to pay to keep them.

Wait, what??
Photo by Pavel Danilyuk

It is not farfetched to say that we might one day have to pay to use these apps. If that’s not your flavor, you will want to maintain contact with your people somehow.

Blogs are great alternatives to email lists since subscribing to someone’s blog mean you get an email for every update anyway.

If you simply use your blog, however, always refer back to point one and backup your blog content.

After all, we don’t own WordPress either.

Interested in joining my email list for updates you won’t get here or anywhere else?

Click Here!

If you only want updates on poetry contests, be sure to check poetry contest updates only when you get to the form!

Hang in there guys! Chat soon.

Baby Steps Still Move Us Forward

Photo by Juan Pablo Serrano Arenas

I am proud of myself for making it through this week. Since returning from Chicago, I have felt jet lagged because of the time change and have experienced some pain.

For those who don’t know, I live with a steel plate in my right thigh from being hit by a car when I was ten. Occasionally, it causes pain with the weather changes. No worries. It’s not as intense as it used to be. At least now I can predict when it will rain—little ole me, a superhero this whole time.

But as much as I wanted to stay in bed all yesterday, I got my butt up, put something on my stomach, and took my vitamins. I didn’t have it to do my walk so I finished reading a book.

Not only did I finish the book, but I wrote and drafted the review that I am scheduling for next week. (Ya’ll are gonna like this one!)

Next, I edited a video of a podcast I did weeks ago and posted a reel to one of my Instagram pages. I also drafted a post for my second page and drafted this blog post.

After responding to some emails and checking on some clients I closed my laptop, showered, and snuggled up with hubby for a movie.

Moral.

Just because you didn’t do everything on your to-do list or work yourself into an early grave does not mean you are not being productive. All those little things add up.

I fully intended on taking the day off. Instead, I just took baby steps.

Because baby steps still move us forward.

Avoiding Plagiarism

There is a reason why you cannot edit your own book, even if you are an editor. This is because quality editing involves more than fixing spelling and grammar mistakes.

These days, there’s an AI for that.

Professional editors also help you to avoid plagiarism.

Plagiarism – to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one’s own : use (another’s production) without crediting the source; to commit literary theft: present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source.

Most people don’t purposefully copy others works. They do not intend to use another person’s ideas or words as their own.

But this is exactly what occurs without mentioning the source of your material.

You are in danger of plagiarism anytime you present an idea, words, or quotes you got from someone else without citing them.

Suppose your work becomes popular—what we all hope for—and someone discovers that you have purposefully or carelessly used their words without their consent or crediting them. In that case, you could be subject to legal action, ruining your image as a writer.

A professional editor protects against this by noting where a citation is needed in your work.

On social media, this frequently occurs and without repercussion. However, if you do this in your book and then publish it, you can suffer grave consequences.

Solutions

  • Use end notes or footnotes to guide the reader to the back of the book, where you would have a notes section. In this notes section are your sources.
  • Remember that some sources require you to get permission before you print them. If you cannot get permission, consider removing the source altogether.
  • Also remember that nonfiction books intended to teach are not about personal opinion. It is about facts, proving and supporting those facts.

Just because self-publishing makes book publication quicker than traditional publishing, it does not absolve the self-publisher from the penalties associated with committing such literary violations.

Be sure to employ a qualified editor to prevent you from publishing a work rife with typographical, grammatical, and plagiarism errors.

Check Out More Indie Author Basics Here

Indie Author Basics streamlines and simplifies self-publishing so you can publish high-quality books without pulling out your hair.

Rest Fuels Creativity

Novella Tolbert, my late Dad’s mom, aka my 100-year-old Granny!

Last week, I went home to Chicago and saw my dad’s side of the family for the first time in fifteen years. We extravagantly celebrated my grandmother’s 100th birthday in classic Tolbert fashion. I planned to bring my laptop but left it at home. Instead of squeezing in work, I played with babies and reminisced on memories.

Successful entrepreneurs travel a lot, but that travel is usually associated with the business. There is even a thing called work-cation, where you work while on vacation.

That’s all fine and dandy, but it is also not real rest.

Photo by Ihsan Adityawarman

It has been proven that taking frequent short breaks throughout the day improves productivity – but they need to be real breaks.

For example, not posting to social media while taking a social media break also includes not mindlessly scrolling or opening apps.

You must entirely disengage from whatever you are doing for a break to be truly rejuvenating.

Creative moments occur when the mind is relaxed rather than actively working since this is when the brain’s creative centers are most active.

I noticed that while in Chicago, I did not worry about my manuscript or work, even as orders poured in for book reviews.

Much of that has to do with a promise I made to myself at the end of 2022 that 2023 wouldn’t be a year of fatigue and exhaustion. I vowed not to rush the process or take on too much.

Rather than take my laptop and edit, I spent most of the time eating, laughing, sleeping, and basking in my family’s love.

Janiyah (12), and Jamie (4)

I learned that my 12-year-old niece didn’t know who Emmett Till was, so we took her and baby girl with us to the DuSable Museum.

Things are coming to me effortlessly as a result of letting things be. Yesterday, I found out that I am Soul (which is now at 71 reviews on Amazon!) and TWWBE are nearly sold out at Medu (again), identified a location for a future project, and established the groundwork for an event to celebrate National Poetry Month in April.

Have a restful weekend good people!

As the cool air whistles in from my back door, which is open, and the birds chirp their favorite afternoon tunes, I will continue to allow things to flow smoothly as I become a better version of myself.

Let No One Censor You

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio

Your written content
your voice
copy
blog posts
texts, captions
the way you capture feeling on the page
contextualize thought
empower us through emotion
breathe life into the human experience
remind us what it feels like to live
to remember
minister to our memory
and most sacred truths
the way you poet
your words, spoken or written is, power.

A historical document your grandchildren
will one day cherish
resist the urge to withhold words
hold them like you once held your babies
precious and true
their bodies snug in the crook of your arm
and the warmth of your chest
Wrap your arms around this text:
Your intellectual scholarship has merit.

Let it be a legacy for the next generation
Gift them this birthright.
So we may have a right to a better future.
Let no one censor you into silence.

Not even yourself.

Listen to this poem (and others) on TikTok @yecheilyah.

How Much Time Do You Spend with Your Book Before You Self-Publish It?

Denzel Washington stopped eating pork, read the Quran, and went to Fruit of Islam lessons to get ready for his part in Spike Lee’s 1992 biopic Malcolm X. He was in character to the point where he even recognized the specific pair of glasses that Malcolm X was wearing on any given day.

Photo by Lara Jameson

Being on your own timeline is one of the tremendous benefits of self-publishing. The days of waiting ten years for a major publishing house to approve your work are long gone.

But how much time do you spend on your book before you Self-Publish it?

Sure. You can self-publish a book you wrote in two weeks, but is this wise? Has anyone seen the manuscript outside of yourself? Has it been properly edited? Formatted? And how’s that cover looking?

Remember, writing and publishing books are two separate processes.

There’s a reason books take a long time to release in traditional publishing, and while we self-publishers have the privilege of not having to wait as long, we should take our time.

I’m sorry to tell you, but being published on Amazon is not the flex it used to be. The platform is oversaturated with mediocrity. You don’t want your book swimming in this sea.

We can all agree Washington is a phenomenal actor, but exceptional people don’t just happen. Extraordinary people are birthed from hard work, practice, and study.

This is your reminder that you are not running late or behind in today’s immediate gratification society. You don’t have to publish your book right away just to be able to say you did.

Check out more Indie Author Basics Here

Indie Author Basics streamlines and simplifies self-publishing so you can publish high-quality books without pulling out your hair.

Dear Self-Publisher, How Your Book Looks Inside Matters Too: Don’t Forget Typesetting

By now, we know how important it is to have a dope book cover for our Self-Published book.

But it’s not always the book cover that gives a book away that it’s Self-Published. Sometimes, how the book looks inside makes it look homemade.

Typesetting: the spacing between words and letters, the font type & size, the page’s trim size, margin, and overall layout.

Grab a book that has been traditionally published (or professionally Self-Published!) and look over the pages. Take note of how it appears on the inside. Look at how tidy the words are! How are the left and right edges aligned, the typefaces are the same, and the paragraph spacing is perfect?

This is the result of expert typesetting.

Many Self-Publishers skip this stage. We don’t realize it because we submit the Word or PDF file we used to compose the book to our preferred print-on-demand.

But what’s wrong with that?

There is nothing wrong with that, except our manuscripts do not print exactly as we type them in Word, Google Docs, or Scrivener. The document requires proper typesetting and formatting for print and digital devices like Kindles and Tablets.

The cover of your book may suffer from a poorly formatted book. Take a look at book two in The Stella Trilogy, first edition.

I actually like the initial cover image. The problem is with the rest of the book.

Do you notice how the spine is twisted? Because the book was too short to have a spine, this occurred. Giving it one, nonetheless caused it to wrap around and face the front.

I didn’t realize the book needed more pages for a full spine because I’m not a graphic artist or skilled book cover designer.

While this cover image doesn’t pop as well as the first (IMO), the book is professionally bound. The alternate ending made the book long enough for a spine in the revised edition. The book features a more professional cover, professional formatting, and professional editing.

Recommendation. Before having your entire cover designed, wait until your book has been edited and properly typeset. Your graphic artist will require the precise number of pages and trim size to create a cover, back, and spine that perfectly matches the book.

Moral. Before hitting publish, make sure to hire a skilled typesetter to correct the placement of your text on the page.

If you want to try it yourself, here are some sources:

  • Reedsy Book Editor
  • Adobe In-Design
  • Microsoft Publisher
  • Vellum
    *Fiverr. Note: Professional typesetters can be found on websites like Fiverr. Make sure they are typesetting rather than just typography, though. Typefaces and other decorative elements make up typography. That’s not typesetting. Additionally, if they are only using Vellum, you can do it on your own by simply purchasing it.

Click Here to Check out More Indie Author Basics

Indie Author Basics streamlines and simplifies self-publishing so you can publish high-quality books without pulling out your hair.