A.R. Pliley's Blog, page 11
November 2, 2019
October 29, 2019
October 26, 2019
October 20, 2019
October 17, 2019
Next Step: Website Release!
Through the journey so far I have created a few things that I am so proud of. My social media accounts on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest. My business logo - so much pride in this I just can't explain. I was also able to start doing my podcasts through the website called Anchor. It is so much more fun than I ever thought possible. As you can tell from the title of this blog post the next step in this process is releasing this beautiful website that I have spent months designing. I hope you guys love it and that I can keep it up to date for you. So excited to hear what you guys think of this. Always keep fighting. You are enough. Alison
Oh, Book Cover, how much you suck!
So those who have been following my podcasts with know that I have had some crazy situations come up with my book cover. Let me explain. Back in July 2019 I used the application Upwork to find my editor and book cover artist at the same time. The Editor was perfection. Not one complaint. The artist however I could say quite a few unkind ones but I won't. Like any relationship it started out great. She communicated with me perfectly. We asked each other questions so that we understood what we each expected. When asking about time frame I said I do not have an exact time frame, however if she needed 2 to 3 weeks that would be fine. In hindsight I should have been more specific. Once we reached around week 4 I started asking how things were going. She responded asking more questions so I thought things were progressing just fine. I had said a few weeks and it was already over the time, however since I thought things were going great I shouldn't worry about it. Then came the first of her silent periods. I heard nothing else from her at all for almost 3 more weeks. After reaching out myself I received a I had no internet response. And me being the customer service person I am, I was upset but decided not to judge since things can happen and moved on. She apologized and asked more questions. I made sure she received her answers as quickly as possible and then left it in her hands again. Trying to give her the benefit of the doubt I left her to her own devices for almost 3 more weeks. At that point I reached out again asking for an update. Nothing. 3 days later and still no response. I politely stated that if I do not get an update withing a few days I would have to think about other options. Nothing. The time frame selected came and went with still no response so I, against my better judgement, gave her 1 final deadline. Keep in mind this deadline was for anything, contact or time frame or anything. Nothing. It was truly sad that when I came back from our vacation to Vegas a few days ago I made the final call and cancelled our contract. Now I want to go on record and say that I hated having to cancel the contract. Even though I was beyond frustrated and as I said serious choice words crossed my mind. I was using my customer service professional side because if I did not it may have effected my business down the line and I don't want that to be an issue. I gave this lady every chance I could to come through on the contract and I felt like I was more than fair. I just hate feeling like the bad guy. Oh well, that's life I guess. Lesson learned. Always keep fighting. You are enough. Alison
Journey So Far...
For those who are not familiar with my social media accounts or the podcasts I just wanted to post on here what we have achieved so far. Let me start of by saying this journey is not for the faint of heart. Self publishing can be summed up by a few words: Demanding Time Consuming Endless Scheduling Ridiculous Levels of Organizing Customer Service Skills And those are to just name a few. It is also worth it in every was as far as I'm concerned. If I didn't scare you away I know you're here for the real deal and I am nothing if not honest about everything. Step one for me was making the choice. In my very first podcast I go into detail about why I selected this option, the basic reason was in my first blog post. (read it) Step two was deciding if my writing was good enough as it was to be published. Now I could click a few buttons and have my work available within minutes completely free, but instead I focused on the business side of things immediately. - You must recognize your weaknesses and correct them. In my case it was my grammar. Sure I can spin a great tale but my grammar is the death of me. Every. Single. Time. When I realized this and asked myself the question, is it ready? I knew the answer. No. I was lucky and I found a website called Upwork. This website enabled me to find the Editor I was needing and get it professionally polished. This is also where I was able to find someone to work on my book cover. (Long story I will cover in the next blog post) And here we are today. The editing has been completed and I am just waiting on the book cover, which from the drafts so far look amazing. However my work is far from over. With the book cover almost completed I need to start focusing on marketing and a bunch of other fun little things I have going for the book release. So far the self publishing journey has been a monster but you know the rewards have been just out of this world. I know this will all be worth it in the end. Always keep fighting. You are enough Alison
