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I chose December 6th, Saint Nicholas Day, for my book launch, because it’s a special day for me. An homage to my childhood and my roots. A day so full of special memories. It couldn’t be more perfect.
Fransceso, a young man in Italy, made me my book trailer for my birthday. Ira in Ukraine made the book cover. I, a native German/Austrian speaker, wrote a book in English. I guess I could call it a global collaboration, which is right up my alley. This is so me. This is so us. I paid under $100 combined for the trailer and the cover. It felt like stealing at a time when everything is overpriced, and we get less quantity.
“Losing it All” is our story. A memoir about a time in our lives that was full of hardship and heartbreak, a time full of new experiences and adventures. The eBook is already available to all who have Kindle Unlimited.
On Saint Nicholas Day, I will officially become Alexandra Lynn. (I still love the pen name we chose, Alexandra is my middle name, Lynn is my husband’s middle name.)
The paperback will be available on December 6th. The hardback will follow on December 13th.
This is as much excitement as I can take. I will not even try to pretend otherwise. I am over the moon, and I would consider doing cartwheels in our yard if there weren’t so much snow and ice on the ground.
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I had so much help on the way, even from a publisher, whom I decided not to work with, because I don’t have the patience to wait another year to fight editing choices or cover samples. I got one full manuscript read with a literary agent, and a publisher showed interest. It can’t get better than that. I didn’t expect more than that, to be honest, I didn’t expect anything at all. Everything that happened was way above my expectations—which is a healthy stage to be at.
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My husband, our dogs, and I have decided that 10% of the proceeds of my book will be donated to non-profit charity organizations, and the funds will be equally split between animal shelters that offer emergency foster-return-to-owner programs and http://www.isuportthegirls.org. (One can dream, right? Even pennies add up.)
The way I look at it, I (we) owe the universe.
This is so much fun. I wish you could see my face; my smile is more of a grin, and my eyes are sparkling. I act like a kid, and I enjoy the heck out of it. Even a 2-day power outage and a cold house could not cool me down.
“You only have to sleep three more nights, and then Saint Nicolaus will come and visit you if you have been a good girl.” I can still hear my grandma’s voice in my mind, how she was trying to calm me down as a child, and the nuns in boarding school echoed her pleas. It didn’t work then, and it’s not working now.
I am excited~!
Saint Nicholas will be here soon!
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Congratulations!
huge congratulations to you!
That’s very kind of you. Thank you so so much.
I have no illusions, I know my book will drown in an ocean of other self published books, but I started and finished it and learned a lot throughout the process. I gained a friend and by reliving the horror of “Losing it All” I closed this chapter of our lives. I wish you and yours a peaceful and healthy Holiday Seasons. “Keep looking for these glasses.”
I admire anyone who can go through this whole process so best to you as well
Happy book release day! I am so happy for you! I will likely wait until the 13th for the hardback book. Congratulations! 📚📖💳
You are such sweetheart. Thank you, so much. This is very exciting.
You are most welcome.
Bridget! This is so exciting! The trailer is touching and well done and the cover, attractive. Love your pen name, too! Everything is coming together beautifully! 👏🏻
Congratulations. A long journey of experience, writing drafts and revisions, then the moment. Do the cartwheels in the snow. I have been on that journey. Publishing is an ugly process. Meeting with my publisher this afternoon. The contract has been signed, the novel comes out in September. I can also relate to your “homeless” experience. Like you, we lost everthing. We had to send our children to live temporarily with relatives. We don’t have dogs. The road back was a nightmare. This isn’t said for sympathy, but to let you know that your story is relatable, and I am certain your book will do well. Best of luck in marketing and sales. By the way, if you aren’t on The Black List, I suggest that you do. It is worth your time. This is where writers, film makers and others meet.
l am so sorry that you and your family had to experience something similar. It’s a traumatic event, one that changes you forever. Our road back was eventful, which is an understatement.
Congratulations on your contract and good luck with your novel. Enjoy the journey.
I have very low exectations. On Saturday I will become official an author of yet just another indie book. 🙂 I say it with a smile and pride, but also with the realization, that I might not even sell 20 books.
Most readers will go for the free download on Kindle, which I have used myself until now.
This all was a great experience, one that I will never forget.
Good Luck, Charles.
(I will look into The Black List)
Right on, Congratulations🙌.
Thank you so much, Dwight. I appreciate your comment here and on youTube. 🙂
What a Christmas joy for you and pleasure for us! Sincere congratulations! Methinks most of us with a little insight do not like Amazon – unfortunately, where I live, there oft is no choice 🙁 ! Shall be thinking of you and looking forwards to the book!
Thank you so much Eha. I hear you on Amazon, it’s highway robbery. I will write about it. I wasn’t aware of the power KDP (Amazon Kindle) has and used. The publishing world is brutal.
Congratulations!!! How very exciting!!
Thank you, Lisa. Yes, it is exciting.
Congratulations! Finally having your book ready to launch is quite an achievement. The trailer is awesome! Good luck to you, Bridget. 🙂
Awe, you watched the trailer. How sweet of you. Thank you, Nancy.
I love your pen name; it has an authors ring…
The sample available of your book is very enticing. All the best with the launch!
I appreciate that you took your time to look at the sample. That was very kind of you.
Thank you for your kind wishes.
I am so very thrilled for you both (I bet there’s another huge grin across the room!) I wish you huge success with your book, Bridget.
You are right, he is grinning as well.
Thank you for your kind wishes. I have no expectations other than I hope that I will have least one or two sales.
I did it! I started it and I finished it. I am good with that.
Congratulations! Wishing you every success with the book.
Thank you, Lenny. I appreciate the well wishes very much.
Looking forward to reading it, I just downloaded to my kindle! 🙂
That’s very sweet of you. Leave me an HONEST review when you are done, please, even if you didn’t like it. However, I hope you will enjoy it. Thank you.
Yay! Well done Bridget, you did it! 🙂
Well, what can I say. It took a bit longer, and it was a bit more work than I thought it would be. It was an interesting experience. Thank you, Ruth.
congratulations!!! that is very exciting. Where is it available?
thank you for fighting so hard to keep your dogs. that says a great deal about you and your partner as many people wouldn’t. You are true dog people. I’m glad you were able to turn things around.
blessings
It will be available on Amazon on Friday and I think Barnes and Noble next week. Thank you for your interest.
so glad to hear i can get it some place other than amazon since i don’t shop there. Will it be in independent bookstores as well?
The sad truth is that book stores and especially independent bookstores make it very hard to get into. I don’t like Amazon either, for many reasons BUT they have the audience and even then, writers like me, we have to give up our manuscript for free, in the hope to get a few readers interested enough to leave a review, because nobody buys or orders anything without a review or a star-rating. The ‘real’ bookstores only accept our books, when we agree to a 55% discount right from the get-go, before it’s even printed, which is a bit like robbery. Still, they won’t order our books if we don’t agree to accept returns as well, which could be pricey, if for example a bookstore would order 500 books and I get paid for it, and months later I have to give it all back.
What I learned is that writing books and publishing it, is a hobby. None of us will be the next bestseller.
I have no social media presence. If I sell 10 books, I will be thrilled but I am prepared to sell less than that.
KDP (KindleDirectPrint) makes it the easiest for us writers, authors and story tellers.
Now I explained everything you didn’t want to know. Sorry about that.
I wanted to thank you. You made me aware that not everybody likes Amazon and my book is now available on Lulu, an independent bookstore. So, Thank you and Happy Holidays.
Thank you so much for doing that. I wasn’t familiar with the that company but i just got on the site and ordered a copy. I’m very excited to receive it and dive in.
thanks,
jacquie
Congratulations. How exciting!! I can just feel your enthusiasm. The trailer is wonderful too. I will be reading this!
Thank you, Darlene. I appreciate your kindness. You, of all people, know who I feel because you published so many books. I am sure you can remember how the first one felt.
Oh yes, that first book published is such a great feeling. But I have to admit, I still get excited when a new book is published. All the best with this book!
I meant to say I love the pen name too.
Thank you, Darlene.
I’m excited for you, Bridget! Or should I call you Alexandra? It couldn’t happen to a nicer person. I’m so happy for your successful launch and wish you heaps of luck with the sales xx
Thank you, Jo. Sales would be nice, because I assume it must be very depressing to not have any, but in the end, it’s not about that. “I did it.”
As for calling me Alexandra, that’s too cute. I was supposed to be a boy, that’s what the midwife and all the neighbors told my parents, and they had picked the name Alexander. When I didn’t turn out as planned (do I ever?) they made it part of my name and I ended up as Bridget.
I always like my middle name. It’s our book, that I include my husband in the pen name, made him happy. He didn’t say it, but I could see it.
Thank you for your kind wishes.
A wonderful self description. A shame we won’t get to see the cartwheels
That made me laugh out loud. 🤣
Congratulations on your book launch. 👍🏻☺️
It’s such a silly thing to do, after all I am just another self-published book in an ocean full of other self-published books, but I decided to make it special. It was hard work and I will enjoy the heck out of it … can you tell? 😊
It’s your book and your life, you are awesome!
You are very sweet. Thank you, John.
T☺️hanks, have a wonderful day.
I am very jealous of the four dogs. Doesn’t sound at all like you lost it all!
We lost almost everything and fought like crazy to keep our dogs, because that’s the one thing we weren’t willing to let go. We were houseless on the brink of homelessness. Something that we all think could never happen, happened to us (and many, many others) during the last recession. House, money, cars, land, business, all gone.
The dogs ultimately forced us to gamble high. They were the reason why we fought like crazy. We don’t have children, so I assume a therapist would diagnose that the dogs back then (and now) are our ‘babies’.
I know it is a problem for writers and i do understand why they are forced to use amazon. It is an ugly system and is not different than other examples of monopiles out there. I will likely still try to order it through my local bookstore and see if i can get it. Just my little way of pushing back at the system. and if that fails will get from barnes and nobles.
I wish you a successful launch. Please give your pack some biscuits from me
You made me call a local bookstore today. Not the biggest ones, but a smaller one down town and they want to read it.
I am just thrilled that you even consider reading it. Made my day.