Hi everyone! Well I didn’t get a THING done on my double dog dare last night. I was busy ghostwriting. But maybe tonight. I’m slower on my own stuff. I want to do part 4 of the Kindling course review because…well, I’m addicted, like many of you probably understand.

Quick update on my existing Kindle stuff: I don’t think you’re allowed to talk about downloads and all that publicly. But it’s going well today for me not having done much promo. All I did were the day OF tasks – none of the sites where you notify them a week in advance, etc.

I also bought an ad today on a site that promotes Kindle stuff – running 100k impressions for $50. I never usually pay for advertising but I want to test this type of business model out. The ad is supposed to run for 1 week. I’ll let you know how it goes. It starts July 2-July 8. Let’s get to reviewing the Kindling course…

Categories

Again, click on that main page. He explains how many categories you get for each book. This is basically a quick guide for you to see which categories are available. I prefer to look right on Amazon, but this is nice having it here for convenience.

Top 100

Here is a great lesson! He reassures us that you can make a ton of money not being here. And vice versa. I like his take on realism with our expectations, but also the way he explains that we can do fine w/out a scramble to a #1 spot. There’s some text and an audio. I used to not like audio but in here, I DO like it. I can listen as I look at his lesson.

He points out a genre message. I hear you, Geoff! I was shocked by what I heard about The Fifty Shades of Grey talent. (not from Geoff – I’m just saying it goes in line w/what his audio says).

Oh no. This message made me want to abandon what I’m working on now and do something else. I have such an urge and passion for it but it’s something I’m paralyzed with. We’ll see.

Selecting Categories

This is almost a lesson on what to avoid, Good tip. The update is from a common question people have asked him.

Okay Geoff is just feeding my addiction. I want to be mad at him for the next section but I can’t muster up the strength.

Singles

I had missed this and moved on to fiction, but I went back and read about it. Pretty neat idea and something to aim for here!

Fiction Writing

This is the main category page. Click on it. Wait. Let me wipe the drool from my mouth. I want this for myself SO bad but people – I SUCK at it. Seriously. I’m frozen with a fear unlike anything you’ve ever THOUGHT you had with Internet marketing.  But here he is reassuring me.

I don’t believe him. But I want to.

He has us click out to a page about a specific author. He has us download her free book. I did. He says something that shocks me considering her success. I WANT THAT! Ha ha he digs at WSOs and it’s funny. Oh he quoteth something that is aimed at me. He’s spying on me!

I’m whining right now wanting to do this.

Planning

This makes me realize I’m going to need to have a pen name for what I want to do with fiction. No way am I branding this first try out under my own name. LOL!

I’m taking notes about length, etc. He’s grounding me again – and I don’t mean in a bad way. He has this way of calming me down with his instructions, whether I’m too excited or too panicked.  At the same time what he says revs me up.

Oh. My. God. He has a simple way for us to get going. The part that says, “Just ask…” I do that all the time in my real life so why not making this my protocol for a story?

I have to click out for some genre training and then come back to the main page to finish my fiction training.

Fiction Genres

This is actually a page that’s later down in this category but he said to read it now, so I will. And my genre (contemporary fiction) doesn’t fit in the top 10. Uh oh. lol.

Oh cool he gives a gigantic list of fiction genres – some I hadn’t heard of! I could combine that into my contemporary.

No Longer Popular Genres

I go back to the main training again and continue on with the second page. I like the way he helps us find twists.

At This Stage You Are No Longer a Fiction Writer

Page 3 of the main lesson. How funny. I did this the other day on my personal FB wall to my family and childhood friends. It was part of my LOA belief (I only have a tiny belief) where you live life as what you want has already happened.

Ideas: The Seeds of a Story

Page 4. First sentence right off the bat has me freaking out. ACK! Oh I suck so bad. I am on the bottom of the page answering his questions. I have my crisis in mind. When I try to answer what makes it different I’m stuck. Nothing makes it different – or different from what? I like this genre because it’s real life stuff – ordinary real stuff that happens.

Okay I have to move on to see if he can get me UNstuck. I can’t believe how much Kindling is unnerving me in a good way.

Plotting

I’m so glad to be here. Oh gosh he has big red bold numbers 1-10. I’m scared. Y’all don’t usually see me so weak in the knees, do you? I’m usually a bull in a China shop – telling you to just do it, ignore the haters, etc. Well here I am shaking like a leaf!

I am stuck on #4. I don’t know how it’ll get resolved. LMAO Okay my son Shawn was what iffing with me and the plot he came up with is hilarious and so off the wall it’s impossible. That was fun though – took the pressure off for a second. I finally discovered how it was slightly different. Not really, it’s real.

I did it! I stopped and took a bath. I didn’t take a book in with me tonight but instead I stared up at the ceiling. Before getting in the bath I asked my husband and all 3 of my kids about my what if question – how they thought I would react to my what if if I were the character. I wanted to know from them how they thought I would RESOLVE it – since that’s where I was stuck.

They all said the same thing. I wouldn’t. I’d be a zombie (not literally) for life or wind up in prison. LOL! They’re right. So when I took a bath, I went through it. I couldn’t see a way out and then it struck me – take my crisis down a notch! Aha! That did it. Now I have a crisis that, although it would devastate me when it happened, and thankfully it never has (knock on wood), it’s something I WOULD be able to recover from. Whew!

I feel SO good now! You have NO idea.

I got to #5 and plotted out 2 additional people besides my main character.

With #6 I have a neat list – made a simple pros/cons type list right down the middle of the page.

I mapped out #7 – oh my God it’s so easy like this!

#8 – not really. There’s a start of something as friendship which you assume will go further but you’re not told that.

#9 was really cool. I literally did a zig zag across my paper.  Each column zig zagged to the next item across the page.

#10 Love this! I have about 8 main ones and I plan to expand these into sub zig zags when I flesh out my story.

This was SUCH a neat fiction writing segment!!

I want to cry I’m so happy – but I won’t because I’m too happy!

Putting It Together

This section is empty and says coming soon. I know he’s always adding to this membership and I’m so happy about that.

Proofing

I debated whether or not to put this off until I wrote my story but I figured it’s not necessary yet. Good tip here because I am GUILTY as charged.

Oh people – read what he says under the bold “Don’t do that” sentence. HELLO!? How true is THAT little piece of advice? He gives us some advice on a common mistakes issue. Hope I won’t have that.

Ha! Re: it’s a girl thing. Yes it is

I love the “Help them out” advice. Very true – as a reader, I like this advice! Oh my gosh I loved this section.

Promoting

This section? No truer words have ever been spoken. THIS is the place where:

• Most Kindle writers will fail because they don’t do it and…
• Typical scumbag marketers will get busted trying to game the system.

After those tips he tells us he’s extracted promotion for its own section – yea! Love it.

Writing Styles

GREAT tip, people! And this is the same with ALL of your make money online efforts. It’s WHY I convert so high. It’s why you’re reading this long ass blog post. The paragraph that starts with “I have no doubt…” – that’s the way I think about EVERYTHING (except fiction lol – why can’t I have that attitude about fiction? I will try to now).

Okay for the first time I see a promotion for something – software. Because I’m trusting Geoff so much now I may get this.  Well poo they have NO screen shots to show me what it’s all about. Just some sales copy. That stinks. I might research.

I love the heading he’s talking about critics cringing at. I want to cry at that. 30 years of paralyzation because I was taught about traditional editors and agents and publishers.

LOVE the words in between the red arrows. Is anyone else crying when they take this course? I’m a dork. I’m crying. This is a life changing breakthrough for me, this whole section.

Perspective

BAM! Another section speaking to me like it knows what I need. Where he says “Remember this…” that’s me. That’s where these tears come from. 30 years of being handcuffed by that. Love his colorful language on occasion. Especially when he calls someone a sausage. That sounds hilarious – I must use that and confuse my friends here!

I’m done tonight.

I’m going to go to bed on Cloud 9. I feel such relief.  Y’all may think I’m ridiculous, but if you only knew how many times I’ve sat here so sad about not being able to do this process. And tonight I did it.

It’s like I broke free and now I am unstoppable. Just watch me.

I’m going to say on record that even if this was the END of the course, it will have been worth way more than I paid and I would highly recommend it. Even the tips I picked up from before have helped my promo I’m sure!

By the way, I’m #1 in my category, #2 in the sub category, and #163 overall on Kindle free eBooks tonight as my promo winds down – and I ONLY did same day promotion, no advanced planning. Can’t thank Paula enough for that – and for kicking my butt repeatedly to go buy Kindling.

I owe you, girl (if you’re reading this).

Tiff

Find Part 1 Here

Find Part 3 Here

Find Part 5 Here

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