Roaming About

A Life Less Ordinary

Tag: memoir writing (page 1 of 2)

Writing Update December 2021 – One Year after Publishing “Plunge” & What I’ve Learned

December 1, 2021 / / 72 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 December, the question is: “In your writing, what stresses you the most? What delights you?”

This amazing, supportive group of writers was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh. Today, the co-hosts are PJ Colando, Diane Burton, Louise – Fundy Blue, Natalie Aguirre, and my online friend Jacqui Murray.

My answer to the question – In your writing, what stresses you? What delights you?

I’ve always had a strange relationship with writing… It comes easy for personal use: diaries, notes, blog posts, emails. But when I have a deadline or an assignment, I find it hard to place my bum in front of a computer. Something is fighting it. Pressure? Yet, from the moment I start, the words flow and by the end I’m usually pleased with the result.

Regarding book writing, I enjoy most of the process, especially the writing and editing steps. Promotion can be fun if my creative juices are flowing and I have time. When I put my mind to anything writing-related, most of it delights me. If I don’t have other priorities or distractions, which usually is the case. What stresses me is the lead-up to events, like in-person/online presentations, interviews, podcasts, meetings, or other performances. Afterwards, I’m always glad I participated, though.

My book news

November was a relatively quiet month for Plunge. Mark and I have had a lot on our minds lately (more about that in a future post), so book promo was not a priority. That being said, I continued posting the occasional content, positive reviews, and a link nudge on different Facebook groups I am a member of.

Fellow author, blogger, and book reviewer Sue Bavey is featuring me this week in her Indie Spotlight on Sue’s Musings. The post went live on November 25th, Thanksgiving Day in the US. Not the best timing, but the interview was fun to do and exposure is always a good thing. You can find our Q&A here.

It is always a delight to hear from readers, known or unknown. When my Facebook notifications showed that someone mentioned Roaming About in a post and I checked it out, this appeared: a wonderful review of my book and a photo. This new reader didn’t post her review on Goodreads or Amazon, but she shared it with her followers and friends on Instagram and Facebook. A wonderful surprise.

Post by Plunge reader Regina
Photo from reader Regina

And my friend Kavita, whom we visited in the suburbs of Chicago a few months ago, brought Plunge on her vacation in Southern Utah, where she posed with it in the amazing scenery. Here she is with my book at Mesa Arch in Canyonlands National Park. It’s one of the photos that she publicly posted about her adventurous trip. Incredible!

Kavita with Plunge in Canyonlands

Three days after Thanksgiving, we celebrated my 46th birthday and Plunge’s 1st birthday in the desert of Arizona. I can barely believe that it has been a year already since I published my travel memoir. The book has come far, but the three of us are still/again in the same place: Southern Arizona.

Liesbet & Plunge in Ironwood NM, Arizona
Liesbet & Plunge in Cactus Forest BLM, Arizona
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Writing Update November 2021 – The Importance of Word of Mouth & Influencers for Book Sales

November 3, 2021 / / 34 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 November, the question is: “What’s harder to do, coming up with your book title or writing the blurb?”

This amazing, supportive group of writers was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh. Today, the co-hosts are Kim Lajevardi, Victoria Marie Lees, Joylene Nowell Butler, Erika Beebe, and Lee Lowery.

My answer to the question – What’s harder to create, your book title or the blurb?

What a great question! I think most authors struggle with both. If not, I envy them. The title (and subtitle) is of the utmost importance and is not easy to change once you commit to one. For Plunge – One Woman’s Pursuit of a Life Less Ordinary, it took me years until the one-word, punchy title popped up. I loved the fact that it was short and catchy and that it described my personality.

The subtitle was a different story – I’d made a list of about one hundred potentials and eventually boiled them down to three or so (at which point, I involved others to “vote”). None of these made it. As I hit “send” on the email with crucial information for my cover designer, I impulsively changed the subtitle to the current one. There was no turning back.

Writing a blurb is hard work; much harder and less fun than coming up with a book title. I did not enjoy this process and was glad to receive help from fellow authors, whom I thanked in my acknowledgements. It was a work in progress. I ran the drafts by many people. While it took less long than eventually creating a title for my book (one month versus years), it certainly involved more focus, frustration, and actual keyboard time to put the final blurb together.

My book news

Mark, Maya, and I have been traveling, exploring, and camping the entire month of October. As expected, not much promotion work has happened for Plunge.

  • I post the occasional promo spiel, when allowed on specific Facebook groups I’m a member of. Once in a while – even though the guidelines indicate promotion is allowed once a week (on Sundays in this case) – I get booted and my post is removed, even before it goes live. Often, these posts have to go through moderation first and either get ignored or go unnoticed. Oh well.

  • I played around with a free quotes program, but haven’t used anything yet for marketing. All Author offers free banners for certain occasions. I’ve posted a few of those in the past; most recently a Halloween one. These are fun but don’t create sales.
Happy Halloween!
  • Talk about fun, look at this email I received in my inbox recently… For a company that keeps a close eye on who reviews your book and blocks/deletes what they think are inappropriate ratings (always 5-star ones), I find this hilarious.

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Writing Update October 2021 – Reducing Promotion Efforts and Book Dedication Soon

October 6, 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 October, the question is: “In your writing, where do you draw the line, with either topics or language?”

This amazing, supportive group of writers was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh. Today, the co-hosts are Jemima Pett, J Lenni Dorner, Cathrina Constantine, Ronel Janse van Vuuren, and Mary Aalgaard.

My answer to the question – In your writing, where do you draw the line, with topics or language?

This is a toughie, especially with memoir, as the idea is to represent the story as truthfully as possible in this genre, even the dialogue parts. That being said, it is easy to omit curse words or swearing. Yet, when the situation allows it or “asks” for it, I am tempted to and I do leave some of these words in the prose, since they are important to the context of those situations. Finding a balance is the solution, I think. You don’t want to put readers off, but you do want to draw them into these real-life scenes.

An author ready for the road…

My book news

Another month has passed. Can you believe it? Even though I swapped my comfortable “home base” in Massachusetts for the confines of a truck camper mid-September, I still managed to get a lot done, book-wise and otherwise.

The goal was to come to a stopping point with a few promotion tasks I still had in mind for my travel memoir Plunge. Once I moved into our new home on wheels, I knew my focus would (and should and did) shift to a life on the road, driving, figuring out our new set-up, sightseeing, hiking, taking it slower, and not being a slave to the internet and the computer anymore. But all that is for a different blog post. This one touches on what I was up to lately, regarding book stuff.

Facebook banner
Blog banner
  • I finally created a book banner for Facebook and my blog, based on my Yankee Homecoming banner, leaving space for default images in the middle.

These are the quotes I decided to pick excerpts from:

Amazon editorial reviews

Here are a few photos that vied for the background:

San Blas Islands
Barbuda beach
Barbuda
Somewhere in the Caribbean
Island in the San Blas
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Writing Update September 2021 – An Eventful Month

September 1, 2021 / / 70 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 September, the question is: “How do you define success as a writer?”

This amazing, supportive group of writers was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh. Today, the co-hosts are Rebecca Douglass, T. Powell Coltrin @Journaling Woman, Natalie Aguirre, Karen Lynn, and C. Lee McKenzie.

My answer to the question – How do you define success as a writer?

This is an excellent question and answers will greatly vary. As a matter of fact, this question is so good and insightful that I could write an entire post as my answer. Don’t worry, I won’t. Being a perfectionist (when it comes to work) with an A-type personality (I think that’s what it’s called), it is very difficult for me to reach what I would define as success. I always want to do better, reach more readers, inspire more people, engage a wider audience.  

Each writer has their own goals. I set mine six months after publishing Plunge and I will revisit those on my first book birthday. In short: success to me as a writer is first to have my work published – in magazines, newspapers, anthologies, or books. Next, it would be to touch/inspire readers. I also aim to get some kind of recognition (positive reviews, write-ups, feature articles, awards, prizes) and – eventually – make a little bit of money with Plunge, once I break even. All this requires a lot of time, effort, and focus.

My book news

August was an incredibly busy month – in life, with our truck and camper projects, a summer-long noisy condo deck project, helping out my in-laws, writing, editing, and translating commitments, and with book stuff! In this post, of course, it’s all about the book action.

  • I finally created a banner for Plunge.

  • In the beginning of August, I did my first in-person “book event” by manning a (shared) booth during the annual Yankee Homecoming Festival in Newburyport, MA. Fellow travel author Marianne Curcio (find her book here) and I split the cost and the space on Craft Fair Day, which is where the organizers thought we’d fit in the best.
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10 Free Ways to Promote Your Book – What Works & What Doesn’t?

May 28, 2021 / / 70 Comments

Exactly six months ago, on November 28th, 2020, I released my first book, Plunge – One Woman’s Pursuit of a Life Less Ordinary. It has been an interesting, fascinating, and disappointing ride all at once. Like real life, being a published author has ups and downs, highs and lows, thrills and anguish.

I write more about those sensations and experiences in my monthly writing updates, every first Wednesday of the month, something I have been doing for many years. Initially, I wanted to touch on the topic of promotion there, next week, but it would make that post too long. Hence, my promotion tips and realizations get their own article.

When you have several marketing attempts going on, it is difficult to point your finger at which method actually created sales that week. Efforts put in motion ages ago might have an impact now or in the future. But certain boosts correlate with certain initiatives, so after six months I have a good idea of what works for me; where to prioritize my undivided attention and precious time. This doesn’t mean you will prefer these methods or that you will reach the same results, though.

A bunch of Plunges

Here are ten promotion approaches I tested, with mixed success:

1. Your Own Channels – Email List, Social Media, Blog

Most authors don’t like to boast about their skills or push their products (books), but to get the word out, you have to start somewhere. Announcing that you just published your book after several years of effort, time, dedication, energy, and anticipation is HUGE. Posting this feat on your blog, Facebook page, Instagram account, and Twitter feed is easy and exhilarating and it will produce positive responses and initial sales. For me, the most in any month to date – the buzz created by putting the eBook on pre-order helped as well.

Facebook Banner

I also sent a group email with my huge Plunge news to all the contacts in my Outlook address book. Not only did this sell a few extra copies (I think), but it was a good time to touch base with people I hadn’t heard from in years.

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“Plunge” in the Ironwood Forest – My Book & I Featured on Make Like An Ape Man

February 13, 2021 / / 0 Comments

My good friend Duwan, a fellow nomad, adventurer, vanlifer, ex-sailor, and frugal spender, wrote a touching and compelling post about me and my travel memoir, Plunge, on her informative and entertaining blog Make Like An Ape Man. I have linked to her posts before, as we’ve been on a similar path and traveled together in the past, but this story of hers had me truly amazed.

Her prose is humbling and flattering and provides a different, more personal side to anything else being published about me (except for my memoir itself :-)). Plus, it has some funny photos! Check it out here. You won’t regret it!

Saguaro cactus in the Ironwood Forest National Monument

November 25 – December 1, 2020.

Towards the end of November three couples and the lovely canine, Maya, converged in Tucson. All ex sailors (except for Maya). All now wandering around on the hard. We had met one of the couples, Scamper Squad, years and years ago after reading their blog and discovering they were working on their boat in the same marina as us in Indiantown, Florida. We were introduced to the other couple, Mark and Liesbet, through their blog after my friend from Scamper Squad suggested that I check it out. Like us, they had sailed, had house sat, and were traveling the country in a van. We eventually met them in person in Arizona a couple of years ago. Now the three wandering couples were in the same place at the same time, and we had big plans.

Gilded Flicker in the Ironwood Forest

We all left Tucson for the Ironwood Forest National Monument – about 25 miles out of the city – and set up camp. Thanksgiving was coming up, and even though it isn’t a holiday Greg and I normally celebrate, we thought it’d be fun to share some good food with our friends. After all, this would be the first Thanksgiving that Liesbet, who is Belgium born, would celebrate as an American citizen. But even better than that, two days later Liesbet would celebrate her 45th birthday and the publication of a project five years in the making, a memoir of her traveling and sailing life during her 30s.

Our camp in the Ironwood Forest National Monument

When Greg and I first set sail a few people told me we should write a book. I thought, OK, but we really hadn’t done anything yet. Any wannabe adventurer can buy a boat and think that they are going to be sailors – lots do. And then after we got on the water there seemed to be so many people doing it. And there were already so many people who’d already written books. I wasn’t sure what I could add to the canon of nautical memoirs.

And at first, I wondered this about Liesbet’s book too. But Liesbet has had a much more interesting traveling life than we have. Since falling in love with travel in her teens, she has hitchhiked in Europe, backpacked in Asia, traveled North America in a truck camper, and sailed through the Caribbean and the South Pacific. She has only lived a few years of her adult life in a traditional dwelling, has traveled in six out of the seven continents (planning to tick that last one, Antarctica, off her list in the coming years), and has visited over 60 countries.

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Q & A with D.G. Kaye, featuring Author Liesbet Collaert and ‘Plunge’

December 6, 2020 / / 0 Comments

Check out my interview with fellow memoir author and blogger Debby Gies, who is one of the most generous, caring, supportive, knowledgeable, and honest people I “virtually” know!

Source: Q & A with D.G. Kaye, featuring Author Liesbet Collaert and ‘Plunge’

When did you realize you wanted to be a writer?

I don’t think there was much of a realization, but more of an “easing into” writing for me. It came naturally. As a child in Belgium, I enjoyed writing, which was done in cursive, in the form of letters to friends and essays at school. In fourth grade, one of our daily assignments was to create a journal. Half of the page in this notebook was filled with words, the other half with a drawing that accompanied the text. This journaling task was my favorite part of the day and I picked up the writing portion again when I was a teenager. Ever since I was fourteen, I’ve written a daily diary!

As I traveled throughout my twenties, I stated: “One day I will write a book.” But who hasn’t said that at some point in their lives? I wrote weekly travel reports to family and friends, first by hand, then via group emails. After a year-long RV journey in Mexico and Central America, I actually started drafting my first book. But, three months after that trip, we dove into the next adventure, and those plans were shelved. No time! New experiences to document!

In 2007, when we changed gears from overland travel to sailing the world, I started blogging. For eight years, I kept up my www.itsirie.com blog about our cruising journey in the Caribbean and the Pacific. During that time, I published articles in magazines and I could finally call myself a writer!

I guess, at some point, I had aspirations to be become a travel writer, but I quickly realized this would take away pleasure from writing and from traveling. It’s hard work, there’s a deadline and a format, your travels have a purpose other than enrichment or excitement. In my opinion, both should be done independently to produce the best results and find the most enjoyment and focus.

D.G. – Love your story about slowly becoming a blossoming writer. And I agree with you, writing about travels is exciting and a great way to document your life, but travel writing specifically, is another ballgame altogether.

Where do your book ideas grow from?

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Submerged in Memoir & Memories – #WordlessWednesday

August 19, 2020 / / 59 Comments

Raiatea – Huahine
Bahamas
Martinique
Bora Bora
San Blas Islands
Barbuda
Puerto Rico
Caribbean

Fatu Hiva
Bahamas
Barbuda
San Blas Islands
Bahamas
Grenada
Grenada
Galapagos Islands

IWSG Writing Update July 2020 – The Idle Co-host

June 30, 2020 / / 110 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: “There have been many industry changes in the last decade, so what are some changes you would like to see happen in the next decade?”

This amazing, supportive group of writers was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh. Today, the awesome co-hosts are Jenni Enzor, Beth Camp, Tyrean Martinson, Sandra Cox, and yours truly (Liesbet @ Roaming About). If you click on their names, a link will bring you to their websites.

My answer to the question about industry changes

I’m a relatively new (book) writer, so the changes in the last decade did not affect me. Being unexperienced, I can’t suggest positive changes, but on a personal level I wish that every agent and publisher would have the decency, respect, and time to acknowledge or reply to queries, even if it’s with a “thanks but no thanks”. In an ideal world, constructive criticism would accompany the rejections. ????

A different question: Do writers ever relax?

Does your mind ever stop spinning, spewing ideas, suggesting outlines, demanding attention? Minds must always be busy. At least, mine is. The only time I don’t think about writing is when I hang out with friends and have a good time. Unless we talk about my travel memoir. There must be a name for this condition. Overthinking? Thought Disorder? Mind Mush? Author’s Obsession? Please enlighten me.

View during a two-week stay in Lincolnville, Maine to help out with home renovations (photo courtesy of Dave Stuhlbarg)

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IWSG Writing Update June 2020 – Hiring an Editor

June 3, 2020 / / 75 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: “Writers have secrets! What are one or two of yours, something readers would never know from your work?”

This amazing, supportive group of writers was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh. Today, the co-hosts are Pat Garcia, J.Q. Rose, and Natalie Aguirre!

My answer to the question (What are your secrets?)

I had to think long and hard about this month’s question. Since I’m so “brutally honest” and transparent about what I do, think, and write, I feel there are no secrets… I can be blunt and it’s difficult for me to hide my emotions or opinions. But the truth is that I hate confrontations, offending people, being unlikeable, and injustice. Another secret: I’m sometimes totally fed up with writing, English, and language in general. Luckily, those moments never last long.

We temporarily “moved” to Maine for a change of scenery and focus.

My book progress

After finishing several drafts, involving beta readers, spending a year contacting agents, and adding another five months looking for a traditional publisher (in vain), my travel memoir has reached the next step: the involvement of a professional editor. An editor is someone who improves your book, which can happen on several levels.

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