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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
There is only one way to eat an elephant, according to Desmond Tutu, and that is one mouthful at a time. He meant that everything in life that appears difficult, overpowering, or even impossible may be completed gradually by taking on just a little at a time.
I was stressed when I first got the edits for my black history book back. “This is going to take forever,” I thought.
But that’s because I was looking at the entire book with no system or organization to get it done. It was just one big pile of words that needed to be sorted out. So, what did I do?
I left it alone a couple days.
The time helped me to see how I would attack it. I decided to work on two chapters at a time. And by work on, I mean do everything that needed to be done: revise, add citations, summarize. Using a dope Black history planner I ordered from Black Prints on Instagram, I blocked off the entire month of January and February with the chapters I would do for each day, leaving one day (every Sat) as a rest day where I would not work on the book at all.
It’s so cute!
This changed my outlook immensely!
I find myself looking forward to work instead of dreading it (even the boring stuff like formatting citations). If a chapter is short enough, I could do three in one day. With this system, I am already on chapters six and seven.
Doing less feels like I am getting more done!
Moral: Few people who want to write a book get around to doing it because they are thinking about writing a whole book. But how about just writing a chapter? And if that’s too much, a paragraph?
If you can commit to writing a certain amount a day instead of all at once, you will look up to a finished book in no time.
However, it’s equally important to honor your commitments, or this strategy does not work. That’s the thing about writing, no one can do it for you. If you say you will write a chapter a day, try really hard to write a chapter a day.
I am really not all that organized. I just honor the commitments I make to myself.
I would also recommend staying within schedule. While I do three chapters if the two I have for the day are short, I never go on to four.
The PBS Blog 