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IWSG

#IWSG August 2014: Buyer’s Remorse

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Created and hosted by the Ninja himself, Alex J. Cavanaugh, the Insecure Writers Support Group posts the 1st Wednesday of every month. Click the image to learn more or sign up.

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I can’t imagine what it’s like to buy a home for the first time and the thought of it gives me the willies. I thought I was doing something pretty special a few years back when I bought a .com domain name for my blog, but that was just kid stuff. I’ve recently made the move to self-hosting and I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed. In the cyber world and blogosphere, self-hosting is like buying a home on the web and realizing the upkeep and maintenance that comes with that.

I put it off for as long as I could, but I knew I was limiting myself by not going to self-hosting. It’s not essential to self-host in order to be a great blogger, but for my specific blog needs, self-hosting was my only option and now I’m faced with a whole new reality.

  1. The financial investment. Many people may think that the few dollars a month it costs to host a website these days isn’t a big deal, but when funds are tight, everything little bit matters. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, I’m not poor or struggling to get by, but my family of two lives on a very strict budget and this move to self-hosting has been felt.

  2. The learning curve. I have some many things to learn and unlearn to be able to run my site smoothly. I’m a quick learner, but my execution is a bit slow. I only hope I get a good grasps on thing before I ending doing something damaging in the long run.

  3. Deadlines. I knew I had to make this move and was smart enough to do while I’m on vacation, but my vacation is coming to an end. I want to have a clear handle on things before I go back to work so I don’t become overwhelmed and get backed up.

  4. Editing and coding. I used to love coding, I even studied it in college, but then I quickly lost the thrill. Guess what, I’m back to coding and I’m not sure if I like it or hate it, but I know I’m not going to be stuck in the middle. Like it or not, it’s part of the package. I guess I need to add this to my learning curve and pick up a refresher book on HTML and Java.

  5. All in all, after getting over the initial terror and anxiety, I’m actually excited to see where this will all lead. If I manage things well, perhaps I’ll even be able to find more time to write…in the end that’s what this all boils down to anyway. I’m an author and this is my blog, whether self-hosted or not.

Do any of you self-host? Did you start out that way or was it a transition? I’d seriously love to know.

After listening to me whine, here’s something that you may or may not be interested in and that may put a smile on your face. I’m putting my indie published, sci-fi novella, Legend of the Boy, on sale as an Amazon countdown deal. See my side panel for details. Summer’s coming to an end. Live it up while you can.

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After hanging out with Alex, be sure to stop by and visit this month’s co-hosts: Sarah Foster, Joylene Nowell Butler, Lily Eva, and Rhonda Albom!

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Click here to visit other IWSG blogs and sites to receive and share inspiration and support. (This month, I’m #155).

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords

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IWSG

#IWSG July 2014: Good help is hard to find.

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Created and hosted by the Ninja himself, Alex J. Cavanaugh, the Insecure Writers Support Group posts the 1st Wednesday of every month. Click the image to learn more or sign up.

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I never seem to be at a loss for insecurities, but every so often I do manage to focus on the positive. Unfortunately, this is not one of those times. My current insecurity, well actually it’s more of a worry, is my inability to find interested and reliable persons to help or support me in my pursuits. You may be thinking that this is simply a small and personal problem I need to overcome, but I’m really not asking that much, at least I don’t think I am.

The problem at hand is finding good help. I have stories that are finished to a point that I can do nothing else with them, but they are not ready for publication. I know enough about my process and my skills to know when my work is ready and when it’s not. The problem that I’m currently faced with is finding beta readers. I have a few, but so far they have been M.I.A. I need feedback and have no idea what to do. I’ve paid for beta services before, but that was only in conjunction with final editing fees. When my work is ready, I’ll shell out the money for professional editing, but for now, I just want…no, I need feedback, and can’t get it.

I wish that was my only problem, but of course, there’s more. I need art work. I’m fortunate enough to have some skills with photography and graphic design. I can do a lot of small things on my own, but when it comes to illustrations, I need someone else for that. I, again, have an illustrator, but he works on a time-table that is beyond my understanding. I don’t want to leave him behind and move on, but I may have to…I just wonder how much it’s going to cost me?

Do you have trouble finding good help? How would you go about trying to find new beta readers and possibly an illustrator? I’d seriously love to know.

After listening to me whine, here’s something that you may or may not be interested in and that may put a smile on your face. I’m putting my indie published short story collection, Unexplained on sale as an Amazon countdown deal. See my side panel for details. I hope everyone is having a lovely and relatively stress free summer.

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After hanging out with Alex, be sure to stop by and visit this month’s co-hosts:  Krista McLaughlin, Kim Van Sickler, Heather Gardner, and Hart Johnson!

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Click here to visit other IWSG blogs and sites to receive and share inspiration and support. (This month, I’m #162).

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords

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IWSG

#IWSG June 2014: Summer Magic

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Created and hosted by the Ninja himself, Alex J. Cavanaugh, the Insecure Writers Support Group posts the 1st Wednesday of every month. Click the image to learn more or sign up.

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As some of you may or may not know, I am a teacher by day. That means that summer vacation is quickly approaching. To say that I’m happy or looking forward to this vacation would be a ridiculous understatement. I’ve had a rough term in more ways than I care to try and list now, but with summer on the horizon, I have hope. Summer is a time of magic for me.

For me this summer vacation means:

More time to read leisurely. I haven’t skimmed through a book since college, but sometimes I feel as if I rush more than I’d like to with books because I’m trying to cram in a few precious moments of creative reading into my busy day as a means of relief. While that has worked, over the summer I won’t need to cram in my reading.

More time to write leisurely. For almost the same reason as above, I haven’t been able to write like I want to. I find, from past experiences, that my writing productively increases almost 3 times in the summer, when that’s all I have to focus on. That’s why the idea of being a full-time professional writer is enticing. To not have to work, but to be able to make a living writing would be ideal, but it’s currently not reality.

More time away from things that make me anxious. This means that in the summer, I don’t have to spend a lot of time around people. Some people love being around other people, but for someone who has anxiety just looking at Wal-Mart, going to work every day, surrounded by people, can be hard. I can say that the more time I spend around a set group of people the less the anxiety gets, but even if others think it’s weird, it’s sometimes nice to know that I don’t have to be around more than two people on any given day, in the summer.

More time to worry about myself. I spend of a lot of my time worrying about others and trying to do for others, even if I don’t always pull through. In the summer, there’s enough time for me to be a little selfish and spend some time thinking and doing for myself…I always lose weight in the summer and then gain it back when I return to work.

Needless to say, I’m ready for summer magic to take over my life. Below are some updates and shout outs for any who may be interested.

Are you looking forward to summer? What are your plans?

Happy Birthday to my sister, Tori J. Jones!, Eternal Cause is a Go!, possibly another publication on the way, and I need to get busy with Miss Boop.

After hanging out with Alex, be sure to stop by and visit this month’s co-hosts:  C. Lee McKenzie, Tracy Jo, Melanie Schulz, and LG Keltner!

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Click here to visit other IWSG blogs and sites to receive and share inspiration and support. (This month, I’m #179).

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords