State of the Publishing, June 2019

Good morning and month to you all!

I started off writing this in poetry, then paused and decided I didn't want to do that, today. Turns out poetry distracts me a bit—I just realized that, in my Ko-Fi announcements last month, I forgot an important detail (which also happens to be part of what makes Ko-Fi better than Patreon, for me):

Stories released on Ko-Fi will only be available for 30 days.

This means there are only 2 more days to get “Dreams of Choice”, because that'll fall off availability on June 7th.

And I never did give y'all a blurb for that one, did I? I seriously messed up the marketing, there.

Rather than scrabble to repair all that, I'm just facepalming and seeking to do better in the future. In this case, that means I've gotta come up for a blurb for June's story as I'm formatting it, so watch for that on Saturday the 8th.

As things stand right now, First Draft Fridays are going strong on Wattpad again, with A Fistful of Air drafted and the sequel with 2 installments up. I'm trying to do 2k+ words per week there, and there's so far been scenes from the POV of Aidan and Wight. The third installment will come Friday (the 7th).

How're y'all doing?

—Misti

What I'm Thankful For, 2015 Edition

Welp, it’s that time of year, again: the time when it’s standard to review what we’re thankful for.

• I’m thankful for God’s providence and provision. There have been so many events in my life where even a slightly different outcome could’ve resulted in me not being here, today.


• I’m thankful for the Internet and computers, because they let me work from home (and buy things) without having to go anywhere. When I leave the home, it’s to be social, not for some kind of work. I can curl up in my blankets and type away on the code for someone’s website, or edit for someone’s book, or text for someone’s ghostwritten story. I can also come up with my own projects. (I think y’all will like an essay I’m working on that’ll be showing up one of these weeks!)


• I’m thankful for all the folks who put the time and energy into keeping encouraging and educational resources available online, like BibleHub for Bibles and references. (For entrepreneurs, there’s Jeff Walker and Ramit Sethi and MarieTV; for writers, Carol Tice and Bamidele Onibalusi. I’m also finding Tai Lopez’s free calls fun.)


• I’m thankful that I’m making a lot of progress in recognizing and valuing my own expertise, to the point that I’ll be applying more of my skills to my own work, soon. (There’s a lot I’ve known but that I’ve been unable to apply to my own business, for various reasons. Some of which y’all can probably guess.)


• I’m thankful for the ability to cook without anyone sabotaging it, or anyone complaining about the expense of ingredients even when they didn’t purchase them. When I’m feeling down, I know I can make a quick bread or sauce or cookie, and I have half a dozen people who will light up at the opportunity to taste-test it. (Speaking of my cooking, I still have to get the back-end stuff set up for About That Herb to move servers, but in the meantime, check out my recipe for pie spice. I’ll soon be posting an easy way to cook—and use!—winter squash.)


• I’m thankful that eating more is clearing up several of my health quirks, like my cold intolerance and lightheadedness. (My mother eats less than I used to. I can’t help but wonder how much eating more would help her.)


• I’m thankful for the cooling weather (for what may be the first time in my life—I’ve always preferred heat). Interestingly, as it’s gotten cool and some pollens are no longer out, I’m needing less devil’s claw. Might be a correlation rather than causation, but it’s still something that I’m keeping in mind for when I pick where to travel to next.


• I’m thankful for my very affectionate, very sweet cat.


• I’m thankful for my friends, some of whom hang out in IM and remind me when mealtimes hit, since my hunger sensation is still missing more often than it’s present.


• I’m thankful for you, my readers and fans. I feel bad for leaving you hanging so much, but regardless of how long I go quiet, I know that I need to come back…and that, before I can come back on a long-term, regular basis, I have to first take care of myself. Thank you for understanding and for encouraging me to do that.

I’m sure there’s more I’m forgetting right now, but it’s still lovely to be able to experience the season. I’m now off to make some sautéed escarole and beans!

What’re you thankful for? Have any thoughts to share on what I’m thankful for? :-)

Have a great Thanksgiving holiday!

—Misti

The Great INDIE Summer Read Giveaway

See the pretty pink button in my sidebar? I'm a participating author in The Great INDIE Summer Read Giveaway being hosted by Coffee Mugged, which for whatever reason has put "indie" in all-caps. It starts tomorrow, 6/15/11, and will go through 7/31/11.

This is one giveaway to check out. Over a hundred books will be given away, and it isn't US-only. I've seen a draft list of who's participating and what they're offering. You want to sign up for this giveaway.

My offerings? An e-copy each of A Fistful of Fire and Destiny's Kiss.

I'll also be guest posting on what made me come up with those two books. Per the last contact I had with the hostess, my post will go up this Saturday, 6/18/11.

For further news, you might notice that page I have in my navigation bar: "Why I Self Pub". Self publication isn't for everyone, and I chose it for a variety of reasons, some that are perhaps a bit different than you might expect.

I'm also in the process of prepping both Destiny's Kiss for e-publication and A Fistful of Fire for print publication… and I'm working on the sequels to both. I'm currently hoping to have another book ready for release the first week of October, but I'm in no position to set that in stone.

So. What are you still doing here? Go bookmark that giveaway!

—Misti