Audio Interview on BookCast

Interview- A memoir of parental love-Sola Olu

Define Your Own Success

Did I tell you I had a blast at the writers conference in Madison? It was well organized, the crowd size was perfect and the networking flowed even more than I envisioned.

So - what does success mean to you? I was happy and honored to be part of the success panel representing my memoir "The Summer Called Angel".

I joined five other writers and we talked about our journey to being published and tips for success for aspiring authors.

My advice is "Hold on to your dreams, and when they do come true, continue to nurture them, because guess what?, that dream is the opening and the start to other dreams and goals, reaching for more and challenging yourself.

Let success be small steps for you - let it be to write a paragraph a day, to get published in an e-zine or a magazine- to finish one book, to publish one book, and then to move from that to the next, and the next...

What does success mean to you?

Upcoming events

I am so excited...the writers conference I've been looking forward to is almost here!! I hope to showcase my children's books (still in progress) but hey I love the adrenaline rush. I have a very positive feeling about this conference, but it could also be that I have an emotional attachment because that is where I made up my mind to get on with it and publish my book "Summer.."
I also like it because it's not a huge conference where newbies like me could feel lost. I love the warmth, coziness and the kindred spirit of being with fellow writers.

Are you new to writing?..If so I would encourage you to find a conference- you learn so many trends, you get so many contacts, and you also get a lot infomation you didn't know was out there.

I'll keep you posted. Feel free to check this out meanwhile:
http://continuingstudies.wisc.edu/lsa/writing/awi/

A new quote for me

Hello there,

I love using quotes, mantras and acclamations to encourage myself and help nurture my dreams. I have so many of them. There was one used by a magazine a while back, it was the title of a column " Dream it, write it down, make it happen" and I had dreams of being featured in that column, but it seems to have been discontinued.

My newest quote is one from Steve Jobs. I'd like you to all take a minute to read it, let it sink in and think about what it means for your life.

·         "...Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

Work in progress

Oh Oh, it seems I reverted to my old ways and haven't blogged in a while. I promised that this week I will write something even if it's just a paragraph.

So what have I been up to?...Nothing much..just enjoying this writer life tremendously.
My blog tour went very well. Please visit solaolu.com anytime to view the interviews and audio.I particularly liked the one with The Bookcast - http://www.thebookcast.com/indie-author-sola-olu-the-summer-called-angel/
I am working hard on my childrens' books and have enrolled my 8 year old daughter to make sure it gets done.She's doing a good job and has even given me a few ideas.

My next to-do is to attend the University of Wisconsin Madison Writers conference. I can't wait because for me this is where it all started.
Here's the link  http://continuingstudies.wisc.edu/lsa/writing/awi/. I hope to have a blast meeting other writers, agents and editors.

See you there!

The Summer Called Angel - Blog Tour

The purpose of lessons learned is to find out what you did well, and what you would do better next time. We live and learn and the day we stop learning, our mind dies.

I am having fun while learning. I will post more specific tips and tricks of the trade as time goes by.

I had a great book launch party attended by friends and co-workers to celebrate my book and currently I am enjoying my blog tour for the Summer Called Angel.

Here are the dates and website information. Please stop by and visit:))

----------Blog Tour Dates




Monday, January 21 @ The Muffin

Stop by for an interview and book giveaway!

http://muffin.wow-womenonwriting.com/



Tuesday, January 22 @ The Book Cast

Have you ever wondered what determination sounds like? Listen to an audio interview with Sola Olu, author of The Summer Called Angel and you'll hear it in her voice.

http://www.thebookcast.com



Wednesday, January 23 @ Thoughts in Progress

Sola Olu, author of The Summer Called Angel, stops by today with some thoughts about premature birth.

http://www.masoncanyon.blogspot.com



Thursday, January 24 @ CMash Loves to Read

Stop by for an introduction to Sola Olu, memoirist, about her family's struggle and triumph over prematurity.

http://www.cmashlovestoread.com



Monday, January 28 @ Read These Books and Use Them!

New mom Margo reviews The Summer Called Angel, a memoir about the challenges a new mom faced.

http://margodill.com/blog



Thursday, January 31 @ Joanna Celeste

Check out a review of a heartwarming memoir: The Summer Called Angel.

http://www.joannaceleste.com



Monday, February 4@ GEO Librarian

Stop by for a visit with Sola Olu, author of the memoir The Summer Called Angel.

http://geolibrarian.blogspot.com



Wednesday, February 6 @ Words by Webb

Don't miss a review of a touching memoir of the survival of a brand new family: The Summer Called Angel.

http://jodiwebb.com



Friday, February 8 @ Capability Mom

Don't miss a guest post by Sola Olu on the healing power of writing.

http://capabilitymom.com



Monday, February 11 @ Tiffany Talks Books

Have you been thinking about love lately? Learn what true love is when you read the review of The Summer Called Angel by Sola Olu. Last chance to win a copy on the tour!

http://tiffanytalksbooks.com



Thursday, February 14 @ Read it Here First

Don't miss today's interview with Sola Olu, the author of the memoir The Summer Called Angel.

http://fromtheauthors.wordpress.com

Lessons learned on my self-publishing trip

I am enjoying my life as an author – fulfilling the purpose of God in my life and doing what I was born to do even though how I became an author was not my original plan, I believe there are no accidents in this writer life.Sola Olu
Below are my lessons learned from my self- publishing project for “The Summer Called Angel”

Lesson 1 – Research, research, research.

Lesson 2 - Would I self-publish again? – Not sure -but I never say never.

Lesson 3 – Don’t grab the first package that comes your way – Even though I spoke with people who had self-published, I guess we didn’t get to the nitty-gritty details. I did not grab the first, but I sure grabbed the third. There are items I would specifically scrap for instance:

- Editing – Instead go with an editor you’re familiar with or by word of mouth. After paying for “editing” services, I made so many revisions I had to get a refund. After that, I worked with three more editors, each one finding more items that needed work.

- Paid reviews – I am not sure the hefty bill warrants this – a good piece of work will speak for itself, and if you’re just beginning in the writer’s world, go with blog reviewers and your target audience.

- Book cover packages – Again research – there are databases out there with tons of free pictures or book cover designers who will do an excellent job at a cheaper price.

- Promotional text or press release packages – Tons out there that in fact bundle other services with it that give more value for your buck.

Lesson 4 - Sales men are sales men – there is never a package that expires today that you have to “lockdown” be ready when you’re ready.

Lesson 5 – Recognize that self-publishing is exactly that – you become your own expert pretty quickly. You have to do the pre-work marketing and the post work marketing which is critical to the success of your book.

Those are my tidbits, they’re not cookie –cutter and I am merely sharing what I learnt which may not be for everyone. For my upcoming work, I plan to try the traditional route for as long as I can, while researching my self-publishing options as a plan B.

My guiding principle this time more than the last is my biggest lessons learned as a debut author – research, research, research – and more research.

Clicking the publish button - finally

So here's how I fulfilled my lifelong ambition of becoming an author:

I contacted a few self-publishing companies. I didn’t go through the traditional route of looking for an agent and getting an editor (I don’t know why) but perhaps I felt that would have been too overwhelming even though I got a lot of positive feedback when showcasing my work to agents the writers conference in Wisconsin.

After my research, I selected Createspace and got one of their best packages (more ablout this in my next post). I work full time, so the whole process still took me 2 years – from 2010 to 2012. In the end I had to choose a target date by selecting a book launch party day, and then started to work aggressively towards it.

I worked with three editors – maybe four including the Createspace one (read more about that in my next post -Lessons learned) who each had their own way of editing, and then had a friend edit it for free – she went through and sat me down and asked the right questions. We were finally ready, or so I thought.

Once the final version was ready, I still kept finding issues here and there, and it seemed the revisions would never stop. I changed the beginning, I changed text in the middle, I changed the ending. I got some very valuable tips from my dad which would further delay the process but helped offer more credibility to the book.

After two years, I finally clicked the "publish my book button" and "The Summer called Angel" was born.

Receiving the initial proof in the mail, with my parents around to see their child’s success is more than what I can describe. I finally understood what it meant when one’s dreams came true, when one’s hope of “what I want to be when I grow up” finally manifests. It was pure satisfying joy!.

Not to bore you with too long a post, the next one will be about the lessons I've learned and still keep learning in this writer life. Thanks for all your support.

Happy New Year - The journey so far

I am so happy and blessed to start anew this year with my blog.

My last post was in February of 2010! on my way to a writers conference. I can't believe so much time has passed!
Well I did go to the conference. I had a blast - I learned that other writers were in my shoes - we write, we doubt, we want to be public, yet we shy away. I learned a lot more - about traditional publishing, querying etc. I felt that I was among family. For writers hoping to one day be authors - I dreamt about it, I wrote down my visions, and I sought after them with all passion. Never give up.


From there, I promised to go ahead and fulfil my life long dream of becoming an author..and I am proud to announce that I did self-publish my memoir "The Summer Called Angel- a story of hope on the journey through prematurity". The book is based on the premature births of my two kids and my hope is that parents going through the NICU journey as well as parents everywhere can know that they are not alone, and that the feelings they go through during these experiences are real and OK and there are ways to support friends going through a difficult time.

The Summer Called Angel is now available on Amazon.com


For more information, please visit my site SolaOlu. Over the next few weeks and months, I will write about my experiences about being an author, the surprises, the thrills, the research and all. Thanks for staying with me.

Writers Conference

I have longed to go for a writers conference since forever. Not sure what's prevented me in the past, probably excuses, excuses, excuses, or simply not taking the time to research.

This year, I promised to do some research and yes I found one. I am looking forward to getting together with other writers, exchanging writing tips, exchanging ideas, and meeting literary agents, just have a good time.

The conference I am attending is the University of Madison Wisconsin one in April.

This conference offers critique services as well as information sessions on various aspects.

 Here's a link to the information in case you're interested:

www.dcs.wisc.edu/LSA/writing/awi/index.html

My family and I will take the weekend off and I will go ahead and have a good time.

Of course when I come back I will share what went well and the things I could have done better.
Can't wait.