Live Your Dream

SUCCESS STORY: Denisa Senovsky, aka Katie Cutie

Crystal Stranaghan — Thu, 03 May 2012 17:36:59 +0000

MEET DENISA SENOVSKY:

Denisa, also known as Katie Cutie, has entertained at schools, festivals, and special events across BC and she understands her audience well. After her departure from the children’s entertainment act, The Magical World of Bobby and Katie in 2003, Denisa has come back stronger than ever as a solo artist. Since then, she’s written her first children’s book, The Martian’s House, Where Wishes Do Come True, and recorded the album, Katie Cutie. “It’s been a long time coming, and I’m excited to reconnect with children and perform again.” Denisa’s goal is to continue to inspire, empower, and entertain children through her stories and songs for many years to come.

DENISA’S ONLINE IN THE FOLLOWING PLACES:

WEBSITE/BLOG: http://katiecutie.com

FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/katiecutiekidsclub

YOUTUBE CHANNEL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bjj4RU7Vb2Y

CHATTING WITH DENISA

What was/is your dream or goal?

My goal is to inspire, empower, and entertain children through my stories and songs. The Martian’s House story has allowed me to inspire children to utilize their imaginations and help guide them on the path to their dreams.

What did/do you find most difficult about getting started?

My initial concerns regarding the publishing process were very overwhelming. The key for me was to continue forging ahead regardless of how things appeared on the outside.

What have you found most rewarding about going after your dream?

There has been nothing more gratifying than making my dreams a reality and receiving praise for my work.

Do you feel the process of going after your goals has changed you?

Yes, I feel as though I have become more of whom I’m meant to be.

What have you learned/accomplished so far during this process?

I have come to realize that writing from a playful disposition really brings my stories to life.

What piece(s) of advice would you give to people who are working towards a goal similar to yours?

If there is a story inside of you itching to be told, then I believe it is meant to be heard. Give yourself a permission slip to realize your goal – your deserve it.

Were Crystal and/or Jared helpful to you in some way, and if so how did they help you to get closer to your goal?

Crystal is an excellent accountability partner who assists me to commit to my goals and provides guidance to ensure my success.

You can support Denisa on her quest for success by ordering a book from amazon.com or amazon.ca or purchasing a CD from CDBaby. There is also a wonderful song on her upcoming Katie Cutie CD called the Martian’s House. It is a great companion to the storybook and the tune is inspirational, upbeat with a reggae flavor – yum! Here’s the link for a sneak peek: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bjj4RU7Vb2Y

SUCCESS STORY: Dona Anderson

Crystal Stranaghan — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 19:48:03 +0000

MEET DONA ANDERSON:

Originally from Saskatchewan, Dona Anderson now lives on beautiful Vancouver Island in the province of British Columbia, Canada. She and her husband and fell in love with the island, the ocean, the air, the beach, flowers, forests, mountains, and the people who make this island so friendly and unique. It became the place they wanted to move to for their retirement, and they have lived there since 2002.

DONA’S ONLINE IN THE FOLLOWING PLACES:

WEBSITE/BLOG: www.rootstobreath.blogspot.ca

FACEBOOK: Simply, One Breath At a Time

LINKEDIN: Dona Anderson

CHATTING WITH DONA

What was/is your dream or goal?
My original goal was to learn to be a yoga teacher. I wanted to continue my own healing and learning, and then be able to share the benefits and gifts I had found with others. Later, when I started writing guided relaxations to use, I really found a passion I didn’t know existed.A few years later I decided I wanted to make a wellness book that everyone could use. It would be a book that could go anywhere and help others find a time for relaxation and to let go of stress. We live with such business and so much activity that it is hard to relax and simply breathe for a few moments. The writings also encourage awareness, gratitude, simplicity, our wellbeing, and so much more. All good stuff!

What did/do you find most difficult about getting started?
I really enjoyed the writing and creating part of self publishing, it was afterwards when the most difficult part came. It was my not knowing what to do next. I just wanted to do the book without my knowing and thinking enough about other side of it. I hadn’t really thought about “What do I now do with all these books.” I had done some selling at a market years ago but this is different and requires so much more.

What have you found most rewarding about going after your dream?

I like to share my work with others and I love it when I see people breathe and begin to soften and let go of stress or nod off for a few minutes. I have had people thank me for sharing my beautiful words and that is very rewarding. I really enjoy talking to people at shows and sharing my wellness cards, and I also created my blog which so far has had visitors from 27 countries outside Canada.

Do you feel the process of going after your goals has changed you?

Yes, I’ve changed a lot these past few years, and I often wonder what the heck I am doing. I’ve been enjoying the opening and surprises I’ve found in myself. It would be so easy to just sit around and watch TV which is OK, but I feel it would be a waste of all the hard work I did to get me to this place in my life. I’ve been challenging all my thoughts about my can’t do’s and I’ve opened the door to see what else I can do. The world has so much to offer us and I’d like to see what else I can learn, do, and have fun experiencing.

What piece(s) of advice would you give to people who are working towards a goal similar to yours?

I’d tell them to continue towards a goal that they loved. To learn about all the aspects of the process before and after, to find out how their skills, finances, and availability match the list of to do’s for what is to come. I’d tell them to find trusted supporters and to find out who doesn’t understand or want to help and to be OK with that. If the goal is for a book and it is not published in the end, that’s OK, the writing is the most important part of it, and I found the final knowing of The End was my most proud moment and accomplishment.

Were Crystal and/or Jared helpful to you in some way, and if so how did they help you to get closer to your goal?

I found their two books on self publishing and marketing after the process and they were full of useful information and help. Even the confirmation of what I did right and wrong was great and helped me. Crystal also was so wonderful in talking to me and giving me advice personally and through email. And, I found a distributor through information in their book!

Visit Dona on her blog or her Facebook page to find out more about her book and where you can get a copy!

Congratulations to Oliver Neubert!

Crystal Stranaghan — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 22:58:45 +0000

Congratulations to author Oliver Neubert. His book, The Wind of Life: The Flyers has just received a highly recommended rating and a great review from CM Magazine, and made the cover of CM Magazine!

http://www.umanitoba.ca/outreach/cm/vol18/no24/thewindoftheflyers.html

http://www.umanitoba.ca/cm/

SUCCESS STORY: OLIVER NEUBERT

Crystal Stranaghan — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 16:00:55 +0000

MEET OLIVER NEUBERT:

Oliver Neubert was born in West Germany in 1961 and took a long route to discover his passion for writing the stories that come to life in his vivid imagination. His detours included getting his degree in Psychology and Economics from Simon Fraser University in BC and an MBA from Hariot-Watt University in Scotland; founding his own research company; working for a financial institution; and working in the pulp and paper industry.

As a boy, Oliver loved to play all sorts of sports, soccer, tennis, volleyball, basketball and swimming. Being born a Pisces, it comes as no surprise that he loves to swim!

Oliver lives in Vancouver, BC, and draws inspiration from his natural surroundings and from his wonderful, creative daughter.

OLIVER’S ONLINE IN THE FOLLOWING PLACES:

WEBSITE: www.oliverneubert.com

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/#!/OliverNeubert

FACEBOOK: Oliver Neubert

CHATTING WITH OLIVER

What was/is your dream or goal?

To write fantasy / adventure stories that intrigue the reader and expose them to new worlds and ideas based on some real life issues. I try to engage the reader in being creative and by allowing the reader to add to the story by challenging their imagination. I base my stories on past experiences, past failures and past successes. By introducing fantasy / fable characters I allow my dreams and fears to come alive on paper.

What did/do you find most difficult about getting started?

At the beginning, six years ago, I didn’t realize how much pleasure I would get out of writing and creating new characters, new worlds, and new adventures. I have a very vivid imagination and the stories I want to tell come easily to my mind. When I write, I sometimes drift away from my original idea, but in the end it all comes together. Most difficult for me is to find the time to write. There are so many factors in my life that keep me busy and occupied. Another issue is the publication of my books. It is so difficult to find publishers / agents these days, that it is almost impossible to bring my ideas to the reader. That is why I have decided to self publish my latest trilogy - The Wind of Life.

What have you found most rewarding about going after your dream?

Realizing that there are so many readers / children who like my stories. The interesting questions and feedback that I receive which makes me appreciate the intelligence and individuality of the inquisitive minds who actually take the time and contact me.

Do you feel the process of going after your goals has changed you?

I have become more confident when talking to people about my books and stories, because I am passionate about it. My writing style has changed based on the feedback from my editors and from my readers. It is easier for me to just sit down and focus to write since I have started. I have learned so much about the publishing industry and there is still so much more to learn, but having created books, by starting with the story, designing the cover and getting it printer and distributed is very rewarding.

What have you learned/accomplished so far during this process?

I have published not only paperback books, but also e-books. I have also learned that the most important process is to use professional people, like editors, designers, printers and distributors, because in the end, you are being judged by your readers who are looking for a professional product that they can enjoy.

What piece(s) of advice would you give to people who are working towards a goal similar to yours?

Be patient and professional, but never give up your dream. It takes time and research to find the right balance of what you want to achieve and what you can achieve. Nothing comes easy and nothing is for free so be careful to whom you listen to and follow. Today every writer has to become also a marketing and public relations person, they have to promote themselves and find ways to become noticed. Not an easy task beside writing, editing and publishing.

Were Crystal and/or Jared helpful to you in some way, and if so how did Crystal and/or Jared help you to get closer to your goal?

Without the time, help, input and information from Crystal, I would have never reached my goal so quickly and so successfully. After reading Crystal and Jared’s books: “Self Publishing for Profit” and “Book Marketing Mixology”, I contacted all the suggested resources and had my first book “The Wind of Life – The Flyers” published within nine months, the second book “The Wind of Life – The Wanderers” followed three months later. I am still using Crystal services on a face-to-face bases to keep on track with my marketing plan and strategy.

Oliver will have a book launch on Thursday, February 23 2012 at 7 PM at the Lyceum at 3696 West 8 Ave, Vancouver, B.C. Everybody is welcome to attend and hear the latest about his new books. If you’d like to get in contact with Oliver to give him feedback on his books, you can email him through the contact form on his website at www.oliverneubert.com.

Streamlining your life, and improving productivity

Crystal Stranaghan — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 21:10:02 +0000

Every so often, it’s good to really give your life and your habits a spring cleaning. After several months of never having more than a couple days at a time at home and a series of massive life changes – there comes a time to take stock of where you find yourself and hit the reset button.

There are some really interesting suggestions that we have been implementing in our lives lately that I’m finding to be very successful so I thought that I should share them with you as I know many of you creative types are dealing with the same kinds of frustrations that I do on a daily basis.

Streamlining your life

#1 – Get rid of physical clutter around you. For us this meant mostly books, because we’ve always been bookish folks. Even before the publishing company we collected books just to read, not to sell! Now with most of the classics being available on e-readers for free, we donated to a charity book sale anything that we could get our hands on digitally unless it was a really special edition. 25 cases of books in fact. And we hardly made a dent in the existing collection… but it sure opened the space up and made me feel better.

#2 – Get rid of the mental clutter. We spend an awful lot of time and energy trying to remember the things we need to remember… so I went back to my OMNIFOCUS program to make sure I was acting on the principles from the Getting Things Done book and not trying to keep track of everything in my head. Downloading all those to-do’s helps free up the memory for actually processing things I do need to think about right now.

#3 – Get rid of the to-do’s that are haunting you. You know, like the dental check up you haven’t booked even though it’s 6 months overdue, or your taxes from last year, or the huge stack of thank you cards from your wedding still waiting to be posted (ahem). Whatever you least want to do, should probably be the thing you do first. They don’t get any easier the longer you wait…

#4 – Do a time spent to priority check. Make a list of the priorities in your life, and then assign an estimate to how much of your time per week is being spent on those things. For example:

spending time with husband & daughter 10%
writing 1%
spending time with friends 5%
generating income 84%

Maybe it’s time for a realignment? Or maybe some of those items simply need to get eliminated from your life and scratched right off the list. Within each category you can analyze in more detail what is taking up all your time. For example, what work do you spend most of your time doing and how much of your income does it actually bring in? Can you cut back on those tasks that have the least return on your time invested and then spend that time on things higher up your priority list?

Increasing Productivity

#1 – Don’t check your email until right before lunch. Then don’t check it again until right before you quit for the day. The more emails you send, the more you get. And once you start checking, you are at a serious risk for distraction every time something comes in.

#2 – Decide the night before what your first and most urgent task at work will be the next morning. Start with that, then work your way through your “to do’s” in OmniFocus (or whatever program you use) in order of priority until it’s time to check your email. You’ll be amazed how far you get! And that way, if your email contains something that becomes an urgent priority item, you won’t be distracted and keep pushing the already existing urgent items further down on the agenda!

#3 – If possible, the first thing you do in your day should involve exercise. Walk to work, go to the gym, do some stretches and/or exercises before you sit down to your desk. It’ll get the blood and oxygen flowing to your brain and you’ll be more alert, quicker with all your tasks and feel better about yourself too. Repeat at midday, getting some time away from your desk to run errands, a quick walk over lunch or just do some stretching while you step outside for a quick breath of fresh air.

#4 – Avoid refined sugar and complex carbohydrates (most of the “white” stuff) as much as you can. You’ll be amazed at how tired you don’t feel in the afternoon. Seriously, just give it a week and see how much of a difference it makes!

Something that’s really working for you that I didn’t mention here? Share it with us in the comments section… we’re always looking for more ways to improve our lives!

3 Day Writing Challenge – Oct 5, 6, 7!

Crystal Stranaghan — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 15:40:56 +0000

We have talked about participating in the 3 Day Novel Writing Contest before, but always found that the labour day long weekend was not a good time to carve out 3 days for solid writing and hibernation.

We both struggle with carving out enough time in a regular work week to make any significant headway on our fiction writing, so this year we decided that even though we couldn’t participate in the official event, we would schedule our own 3 days and just have a contest between ourselves.

Although challenging, it certainly did work. Some keys to success that we discovered over the course of the 3 days:

-block off everything else from your calendar

-make some great reheatable meals ahead of time (soup, stew, chili etc.)

-make sure that your story is well outlined in advance to keep the instances of writing yourself into a frustrating corner to a minimum

-disconnect the internet

-turning off your phone

-if you get stir crazy, don’t switch activities – just switch locations. Library, coffee shop, apartment, coffee shop, library…

In fact, the 3 day push worked so well that we’re planning to do it again in October. If you’d like to join us, we’re doing a mid-week one on October 5, 6, 7. Can’t commit to the whole day? What about 4 hours each day? What about 2 hours each day? Decide on something realistic and achievable for yourself, and then check in with us and let us know what your goals are. We’ll keep you posted on how we’re doing too…

Anybody else in?

Are you on Google+ yet?

Crystal Stranaghan — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 16:41:24 +0000

Are any of you out there on Google+ yet? Jared Hunt and Crystal Stranaghan both are, and we’re looking to connect with other people with similar interests. For all you lurkers out there, feel free to add us to your circles! Now that they’ve taken it out of the “invite only” beta phase, all you have to do is go the the Google+ site and click the +you button!

Jared is extremely active on Google+ and has found it does everything he wants in a social media tool all in one place, and I am in the process of seeing how it works for me. Interestingly, the new Facebook updates are a blatant attempt to offer most of the same features (and even the same layouts!) as G+.

Add Jared to your circles:

Add Crystal to your circles:

Want to stay fit in the Vancouver area?

Crystal Stranaghan — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 15:00:44 +0000

As you may have noticed, the posting over the summer on this site has not been nearly as frequent as it had been. We had our wedding reception in July, and followed that up with some time away to enjoy the sunshine that finally arrived and reset some patterns in our lives.

As part of our focus on paying some attention to our physical selves, we started hiking roughly once a week. Having made the decision to not own a car, we’ve been trying out all the hikes we could access by transit, and complete in a single day.

If you are interested in detailed ratings, guidelines and instructions for the various hikes we’ve been on, or just wanting to see some pretty views and hear about someone else’s effort, then you can check them out on Jared’s website.

If you have any recommendations for hikes we should add to our list, please do leave a comment below. Even if they’re not accessible by transit, we do have access to a vehicle when we need one.

InteractBuilder DIY Software for creating interactive children’s book apps

Crystal Stranaghan — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 16:29:48 +0000

I came across this interesting tool/company the other day while looking at programming options for a book app I’m working on for a client. InteractBooks is the app publishing house, and InteractBuilder is the platform they’ve created to let you construct your app and test it while you develop it.

I am currently testing the software, and chatting with the developers about their setup, and will keep you all posted on what I discover. It does allow someone who doesn’t speak the coding language to build an app, although it is quite technically involved from an asset (file) preparation angle and would certainly present some challenges if you’re not technically inclined at all. There are good tutorials though, so as long as you’re clear on what you’re trying to do, and you or your illustrator is clear on using photoshop to prep your files, then you should be able to make some progress.

I’ll be posting a detailed review article once I’ve spent a bit more time working with it, but for those keeners out there who just can’t wait to get started, feel free to check it out directly!

If you find you’re interested in setting up app distribution through them, but don’t want to learn the technical side – let us know. We might be able to help…

If you’ve used this yourself, let us know how you found it.

Guide to the process of publishing your children’s book

Crystal Stranaghan — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 19:58:37 +0000

The diagram below is simplified somewhat, but should hopefully help you to determine the order of the steps you should be taking along the journey to publish your children’s book. Much frustration and heartache (and unnecessary expenses) have come from people not being aware of these steps, or not working through them in the recommended order.

If you have already done some of the steps in the wrong order- don’t panic! We have helped many people “rescue” their books from mistakes and limitations that happen when the steps are completed out of order. Need help with your children’s book project? Get in touch and we’ll see how we can help you!

Book already finished and you wish you could start over? We can help with that too…

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD A PRINTABLE PDF OF THE publishing flow chart.