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A Life Less Ordinary

Tag: book promo

Two and a Half Years after Publishing Plunge – Losing Steam

June 23, 2023 / / 67 Comments

I try to create a book update biannually, but might change that to annually soon, because not that much is going on anymore with promotion for and hype about Plunge, leading to decreased sales. I published my first travel memoir Plunge – One Woman’s Pursuit of a Life Less Ordinary the end of November 2020 and it has had a nice run, but now I’m getting burned out by the need for constant promotion if I want to keep selling copies. So, I think it’s time to let Plunge ride and fend for itself soon.

Plunge in front of a steam-spewing Volcano Nevado del Ruiz in Colombia

Book news

This is what’s been happening the last six months regarding my promo attempts:

  • Last summer, my friend Christine, who works for Women Offshore and is also their podcast host, recorded an episode with me at her home in Colorado. That podcast went live on the Women Offshore website in December 2022. You can listen to it here.
Women Offshore podcast page
Podcast with Liesbet Collaert
  • In January, renowned artist, author, and writer Alyson Sheldrake featured an author interview with me in her excellent “newsletter that thinks it’s a magazine,” Snapshot. You can find that interview here.
Snapshot overview issue
First page of the interview in Snapshot
  • I was tagged on a lovely shout-out and review for my book on Facebook in January as well.

Incredible and nice mention of Plunge by a new reader

  • Sometime in February, UK podcast host and traveler extraordinaire Ruth Millington of Extreme Holidays, recorded an episode with me. She said she would rename this episode “Extreme Nomad.” She is editing the episode with me right now and it is supposed to air in July 2023.
  • I won a free cover redesign through BookLife. Cover designer Michelle Argyle of Melissa Williams Design came up with this result – and her reasoning.

New cover design with artist notes

Which cover do you like better, the old one with dogs Kali and Darwin or the new, flashy one?

Original Plunge cover
Redesign Plunge cover
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Book & Promo Update June 2022 – Reaching another Milestone

June 24, 2022 / / 34 Comments

Now that my travel/sailing/adventure memoir Plunge – One Woman’s Pursuit of a Life Less Ordinary has been launched more than 1.5 years ago, these book updates, or better, promo updates, will become less frequent. I’m thinking of sharing book news here a few times a year for the following reasons: to update people interested in the journey of an indie author, to inspire/inform fellow authors about my process, successes, and failures, and to – hopefully – entice new blog readers to check out Plunge. This page here provides the blurb, reviews, free chapters, and more. You can find my previous update here.

My book news

Let’s start with the biggest accomplishment… After I published Plunge in November 2020 (on my 45th birthday), I had three quantifiable goals for the first year after publication: 

  1. Make back my investment in the book, which was $2,700. This chunk of money was spent on an editor (two rounds), cover artist, a packet of ten ISBN numbers, and miscellaneous costs related to the publication process.
  2. Gather 100 ratings/reviews for my book on Amazon.
  3. Sell 1,000 copies of Plunge.

I only managed to reach the first two goals by November 2021, one year in.

Eighteen months after publication, I’m happy to report that I achieved my third goal (in May 2022): 1,000 copies sold on Amazon; this is a combination of eBooks and paperbacks. If you add other markets and personal sales to this, the number is slightly higher. While this might not seem like much (it isn’t), all these books have been sold via word of mouth, personal efforts, and free “promo posts” on Facebook. I have yet to pay money for advertising, which I probably have to do soon if I want to keep selling books.

Crossing the 1,000 mark

If you are curious about my actual earnings for these sales (and who isn’t?), here is my royalty statement for those 1,020 books sold above. Don’t forget that $2,700 of this number went to creating Plunge. So far, I’ve made about $1,400 on a book that took five years to write. 🙂

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Writing Update August 2021 – Back to Promo for Plunge & A New Release from Jacqui Murray

August 4, 2021 / / 57 Comments

Every first Wednesday of the month, the IWSG (Insecure Writer’s Support Group) engages writers to share their fears, thoughts, progress, struggles, excitement, encouragement, or anything really, about their writing. A different question is posed each month as a writing prompt. Answering it is optional. For August, the question is: “What is your favorite writing craft book and why?”

This amazing, supportive group of writers was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh. Today, the co-hosts are PK Hrezo, Cathrina Constantine, PJ Colando,Kim Lajevardi, and Sandra Cox. Click on their names to see what they’re up to this month.

My answer to the question – What is your favorite writing craft book and why?

I don’t use writing craft books. In the initial stages of creating my memoir ages ago, I enjoyed and benefitted from Your Life as Story by Tristine Rainer and I did read Mary Karr’s The Art of Memoir.

Authors helping authors

Laws of Nature by Jacqui Murray

I’m excited to announce the recent release of Laws of Nature, written by my supportive, intelligent, organized and creative friend, the versatile blogger and author Jacqui Murray. This is the second book in her prehistoric fiction series Dawn of Humanity. I have not purchased Jacqui’s newest novel yet, but the first two books of her Crossroads Trilogy are eagerly waiting on my Kindle. I am fascinated by the premise, the era, and the setting of these intriguing series.

Here is more information about Laws of Nature:

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Writing Update July 2021 – Book News from Belgium

July 7, 2021 / / 71 Comments

Every first Wednesday of the month, the IWSG (Insecure Writer’s Support Group) engages writers to share their fears, thoughts, progress, struggles, excitement, encouragement, or anything really, about their writing. A different question is posed each month as a writing prompt. Answering it is optional. For July, the question is: “What would make you quit writing?”

This amazing, supportive group of writers was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh. Today, the co-hosts are Pat Garcia, Victoria Marie Lees, and Louise – Fundy Blue. Click on their names to see what they’re up to this month.

My answer to the question – What would make you quit writing?

The answer that makes most sense for me is “Being physically and/or mentally unable to write anymore.” I always write. If nothing else, I still jot down a diary entry every evening (since 1989), which takes between 20 and 40 minutes! Too long, really, especially since I proofread and edit each sentence.

Mark, Liesbet, and Zesty in California

The thing that slows down other writing is my adventurous lifestyle. As I mentioned before, if I had to choose, I’d rather travel than write. In general, I don’t have to choose, but when it comes to bigger writing projects, like a book, I cannot combine my life on the road with a full-time job (which authordom is) behind the computer.  

My promo news

I have been in Belgium visiting family and friends for almost two weeks. Mark joined me last Thursday. Life has been extremely busy and overwhelming. I tried to get press meetings out of the way before Mark arrived, because Dutch became my primary language during that time and because I didn’t want to “waste” the precious, yet short time we have here together.

In June, this happened with my travel memoir Plunge – One Woman’s Pursuit of a Life Less Ordinary: 

Promotion:

  • I put extra effort in Facebook posts for groups where promotion is allowed. I made my blurbs more relevant and compelling to the audience and incorporated a link to my book instead of blatantly sending potential readers to Amazon.
Liveaboard Lifestyle post
All Things Sailing post
  • One of those well-composed posts I put on two big boating group sites with a combined total reach of 100K members (All Things Sailing: 76.2K members; Liveaboard Lifestyle: 39.3K members) and finally had it take off after unsuccessful plugs for Plunge. It led to tons of comments, shares, and extra sales.

Spike in sales due to vigilant (free) promotion on Facebook

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Writing Update June 2021 – Six Months after Publishing & Promoting Plunge

June 2, 2021 / / 61 Comments

Every first Wednesday of the month, the IWSG (Insecure Writer’s Support Group) engages writers to share their fears, thoughts, progress, struggles, excitement, encouragement, or anything really, about their writing. A different question is posed each month as a writing prompt. Answering it is optional. For June, the question is: “For how long do you shelve your first draft, before reading it and re-drafting?”

This amazing, supportive group of writers was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh. Today, the co-hosts are J Lenni Dorner, Sarah Foster, Natalie Aguirre, Lee Lowery, and Rachna Chhabria. Click on their names to see what they’re up to this month.

My answer to the question – How long do you put your first draft aside?

Since I’ve only written one book, I don’t have much experience with shelving first drafts before tackling them again with fresh eyes. This elapsed time period for me – in the past and possibly in the future – is dependent on what I’m doing at that moment. If I’m traveling full-time, I work whenever I can and this might mean the first draft (a good stopping point) might get put aside until the next substantial slot of time becomes available.

I wrote Plunge largely while Mark and I were house and pet sitting throughout the United States (2015-2019). Since my main project then was this book (whenever we were actually living in someone’s house and not in our camper van), I immediately moved from my first draft to the second one and kept improving and condensing whenever I could. I can’t help but edit and reread my existing paragraphs before starting on the next chunk/chapter, so my first draft – which took three years – was in pretty good shape by the time it was finished.

My book news

Can you believe that six months have passed already since I released Plunge – One Woman’s Pursuit of a Life Less Ordinary? In this section, I report on what has happened in the last month, regarding my book news and promotion efforts. If you are interested in an overview of all the marketing methods I have entertained since the publication of Plunge, have a look at my post of last week: “10 Free Ways to Publish Your Book – What Works & What Doesn’t?”

How did April 2021 look like?

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Writing Update May 2021 – Back for Promo Work (in New England)

May 5, 2021 / / 63 Comments

Every first Wednesday of the month, the IWSG (Insecure Writer’s Support Group) engages writers to share their fears, thoughts, progress, struggles, excitement, encouragement, or anything really, about their writing. A different question is posed each month as a writing prompt. Answering it is optional. For May, the question is: “Has any of your readers ever responded to your writing in a way that you didn’t expect? If so, did it surprise you?”

This amazing, supportive group of writers was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh. Today, the co-hosts are Erika Beebe, PJ Colando, Tonja Drecker, Sadira Stone, and Cathrina Constantine. Click on their names to see what they’re up to this month.

Plunge in the local bookstore called Jabberwocky

My answer to the question – Have any of my readers ever surprised me?

That would be “yes.” In different ways. Beta readers made me realize that not everyone has my sense of humor, my comfort level of sharing/learning about relationship intimacies, and my drive to be open, honest, and transparent. All good input! You see your own writing often as the gospel and get carried away within that mindset.

Then there is the (public) feedback. That one-star review of Lisa G. I have hammered on before (here and here), but just yesterday, I noticed two other one-star ratings (no elaborations) pop up, which brings that dismal total to four on Amazon. Those one-star smudges do surprise and bug me. If you don’t like a book, why not give it two or three stars? And I’m pretty sure that my memoir isn’t written poorly or plastered with typos and grammatical errors, “valid” reasons for such a negative verdict…

Reviews Amazon

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Writing Update April 2021 – Baja Bounty

April 7, 2021 / / 49 Comments

Every first Wednesday of the month, the IWSG (Insecure Writer’s Support Group) engages writers to share their fears, thoughts, progress, struggles, excitement, encouragement, or anything really, about their writing. A different question is posed each month as a writing prompt. Answering it is optional. For April, the question is: “Are you a risk-taker when writing? Do you try something radically different in style/POV/etc. or add controversial topics to your work?”

This amazing, supportive group of writers was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh. Today, the co-hosts are PK Hrezo, Pat Garcia, SE White, Lisa Buie Collard, and Diane Burton! Click on their names to see what they are up to this month..

My answer to the question – Do I take risks when writing?

People who have followed this blog for a while know that I am not averse to risk taking. Although I call my swift decisions, adventurous lifestyle, and “going with the flow” attitude “calculated risks.” ???? You only live once, so you better do the things you’re passionate about, and enjoy your precious time on earth. That sometimes involves expanding horizons, nudging comfort levels, taking risks.

I don’t feel like I’m taking big risks with my writing as it reflects my personality and doesn’t push my personal boundaries. That being said, I am aware that my travel memoir Plunge is different and a tad controversial. For starters, the story is set in the present tense, taking the reader along for the ride – physically and emotionally. I don’t cover things up, have no taboos, and touch on the good as well as the bad and the ugly when it comes to my alternative lifestyle and 24/7 relationship with my husband. This makes some readers uncomfortable; they are not used to “brutal honesty” and don’t care for an exposed soul (another aspect that makes my memoir unique).

Based on that – and the fact that this approach led to a one-star review and some criticism – I guess I am a bit of a risk-taker in my writing, too!

Sunrise at the beach

My book news

Mark, Maya, and I spent February and March enjoying our lives in Baja California, Mexico. This was a reward for all the hard work finishing and publishing Plunge last year. I knew that once we arrived on the peninsula, internet would be sparse and unreliable and that my time would be better spent charging my batteries (other than usual work commitments). Therefore, I laid a lot of groundwork spreading the word about my book before we crossed the southern border of the US.

Relaxing and reading

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