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A Life Less Ordinary

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Three Years after Publishing “Plunge” – Where Am I with My Book?

March 2, 2024 / / 46 Comments

It’s been a while since I posted an update about the life and sales of my first – and so far, only – travel memoir, Plunge. That post appeared in June 2023; you can read it here.

The idea was to share a bit more news three years in, but I have been extremely busy with our traveling lifestyle and other blog posts, so this one is a few months late. I published Plunge on November 28th, 2020 (on my 45th birthday and in the midst of the Covid pandemic), which is now three years and three months ago.

As you can imagine, not much exciting is happening this far into the shelf life of my (or any) book. Sales are close to non-existent, reviews have pretty much come to a halt, and I am not putting any effort in promotion and marketing anymore. Not because I’m not motivated, but because I have limited time to work and that time is better spent making “real” money.

In July of 2023, the wonderfully supportive and encouraging author Sally Cronin published an excerpt of Plunge on her website Smorgasbord, which gained some traction. I answered the comments and sold a few books as a result.

The leading story on CNN was about us!
Front page article on another news outlet
Our story on CNN
Still on the front page of CNN
Small mention on the home page of CNN

The biggest and most powerful event in 2023 also took place in July of that year. A CNN article about us, written by Francesca Street for the Chance Encounters series, became very popular and successful. Some of you might have read it – or stumbled upon it – before. You can read that “love story” here. As it was big news at the time, I mentioned the article and reactions previously on my blog here.

We have become world news, haha
Many friends unexpectedly saw us pop up on the news channel of their device
Apparently, we showed up in many forms

Upon my request, Francesca included a link to our blog and – more importantly – my memoir, which jumped off the charts as a result.

My book sales kept rising…
… and rising
July 2023 was an awesome month for book sales!
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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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Two Years after Publishing “Plunge” – Am I Still Selling Books?

December 2, 2022 / / 47 Comments

November 28th, 2022 marked the second book anniversary of my travel memoir Plunge – One Woman’s Pursuit of a Life Less Ordinary. You can read about its one-year anniversary here. It’s been a while since I posted an update about this first book of mine, because not much is going on with it and I don’t want to bore the non-authors amongst you.

It probably doesn’t come as a surprise that the less I focus on book promotion, the less I sell. My goal for this past year was to maintain one sale a day. I failed. Because, how do you achieve this result by ignoring the book’s existence for weeks at the time? To this day, I still haven’t spent a dime on ads and it’s no secret that “to make money, you have to spend money.” So, paid promos and ads might be a thing to consider in 2023. Then again, I am the most frugal person I know. 🙂

Social media posts

Once in a while, I join a free Draft2Digital promo with Plunge, post some news, a new five-star review, or an enticing blurb on Facebook, or lower the book’s purchase price. Usually, this amounts to maybe one or two sales. Occasionally, I get it right (no idea how to predict this) by posting in an attentive, interested social media group or by creating an enticing blurb. In those cases, the correlation between effort and sales is obvious.

And, when that happens, my heart skips a beat, my lips curl upward, and an adrenaline rush improves my wellbeing. Like that time one of my posts on the Sailing Women on Yachts Facebook group took off.

Successful post on the Sailing Women on Yachts Facebook group three months ago
Best sales month since releasing Plunge

If enough sales occur in a day, my status on Amazon goes to #1 bestseller in one or more categories, which, I have to imagine, encourages more sales. And that’s the upshot every author dreams of. Until the spiral spins downward again and sales dry up.

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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 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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Happy 1st Book Anniversary!

November 28, 2021 / / 34 Comments

Today, it’s Plunge’s birthday!

To celebrate my book’s first anniversary, Plunge – One Woman’s Pursuit of a Life Less Ordinary is on sale worldwide for five days, from November 28th through December 2nd, 2021. It’s the perfect time to buy this compelling, inspiring, and adventurous travel memoir if you haven’t yet or if you are looking for an entertaining gift. Or two. 😊

Still not convinced? Check out the blurb, reviews, or free chapters on my website here: https://www.roamingabout.com/about-plunge/

How to support an indie author and lock in this deal?

  • Buy the eBook at your retailer of choice for US$3.99 instead of US$5.99 (or equivalent in your currency)
  • Buy the paperback on Amazon for US$13.99 instead of US$15.99 (or equivalent in your currency)
  • Buy an autographed copy with a personal message from me for US$13.99 instead of US$15.99 (only for US shipping addresses)

Interested? Take the plunge online (https://amzn.to/3jZRrpm) or if you prefer a signed copy, let me know in the comments, via the “contact us” form, or by email.

More Amazon purchase links:

To buy Plunge in the US, click here.

To buy Plunge in Canada, click here. 

To buy Plunge in the UK, click here.

To buy Plunge in Germany, click here. 

To buy Plunge in Australia, click here.

To buy Plunge in Belgium and the Netherlands, click here. 

(The section above contains a few affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases without extra cost to you.)

Happy reading this holiday season!

Plunge – One Woman’s Pursuit of a Life Less Ordinary

Available on Amazon and elsewhere

eBook: US$ 5.99

Paperback: US$ 13.99

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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My Interview with Travel Tales of Life about Being a Nomad

September 25, 2021 / / 1 Comment

A few years ago, Mark and I met Sue and Dave Slaght in Northern California at a pub serving Belgian beer. They’d arrived for a family visit from Calgary, Alberta, where they live close to the amazing Canadian Rockies. Our then house sit was nearby, so after following their informative, entertaining, and attractive travel blog Travel Tales of Life for many years (it was one of the first blogs I ever subscribed to when starting Roaming About, thanks to my sailing friend Lisa Dorenfest). The four of us had loads in common, became instant friends, stayed in touch, and kept following each other’s travels and adventures.

Dave and Sue have traveled pretty much everywhere, are avid bicyclists, and come up with fascinating angles for their blog content. Sue has an engaging writing style, great sense of humor, and an adventurous, can-do spirit, which is reflected in the inspiring and insightful questions she asked me in our interview. Check it out!

Nomadic Living Tips and Truth From an Expert

My sea sickness has finally subsided after being in the middle of the ocean, hanging over the side of the boat next to author Liesbet Collaert. Plunge left me ‘feeling all the feels’ of nomadic living. 

Through 2020, I could not settle my mind to actually read a book. Call it anxiety or being unsettled by a global pandemic, my mind refused to still itself enough to concentrate on more than a page or two.

That is until I began reading Plunge. So intriguing and honest in its telling, for the first time in 10 months I enjoyed reading again.

Looking at the glorious photo cover of turquoise water, white sand beaches and the author swimming blissfully with her dogs, one might assume the book will tell tales of paradise woven together like a mural of travel ecstasy. Instead Liesbet vividly shares the challenges of her insatiable quest for adventure along with the joy and freedom of nomadic life.

I invited Liesbet to tell readers more about the ups and downs of nomadic living.

San Blas Islands

In your book Plunge you are refreshingly honest about relationship challenges while at sea. What suggestions do you have for partners considering a nomadic way of life?

My husband, Mark, and I are in the unique situation of having been together 24/7 pretty much since the moment we chose each other in 2004, because of our lifestyle – sailing, house and pet sitting, camping. Sometimes, I think our partnership comes naturally but other times, the desire for me-time and the curiosity about how we’d do in a settled situation gets the better of me.

To answer your question, there are certainly factors that are important if you want to share a small space and a relatively challenging lifestyle with someone full-time. Compatibility is one of them, but if you have been a pair for years already, I assume that has been figured out. At least in a general sense. While you don’t have to be on the same page with everything, sharing similar interests when on the go is important. This includes agreeing on your travel style, means, duration, and comfort levels.

Liesbet and Mark on board their boat Irie in the Bahamas

Being patient and respectful about your partner’s feelings, thoughts, moods, and priorities, being grateful for his/her abilities, and being flexible when it comes to plans and ideas are other qualities that will make your relationship last. Communicating about each other’s needs is important. Even when you know your partner really well, do not always assume the next step. Talk about your differences and make sure there is enough me-time.

Each month you publish your living expenses which often are under $1,300.00 USD. What are your top five tips for inexpensive nomadic living?

Over the last eighteen years of my nomadic existence, costs have gone up, which I blame on inflation, technology, and the need for more comfort. Our biggest expense has always been maintenance on our floating and rolling homes, which partially contributes to our safety as well. Ever since my husband and I moved aboard in 2007 – and then on the road – our yearly average expenses for two adults and one or two large rescue dogs have been between US$12,000 and USD$20,000 with a steady US$ 16,000 average on land.

…

Continue reading the interview here. And if you’re not subscribed to Travel Tales of Life yet, I highly recommend following along with Dave and Sue’s travels and stories.

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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