Now available on ibooks for iPhone too.

As of today the iBooks, iTunes issues have been resolved when there was a recent iOS update and my book, Exactly 23 days is now available as an e-reader option on iPad, iPhone, Macbook and iMac gadgets via iTunes and iBook in your web browser. Happy reading and PLEASE, I would love your thoughts on the book. 

Word of the day: Marketing. 

Writing a book is a process divided into three. Writing, publishing and marketing. (I have done my research!) I am so excited to start the final phase of marketing and today I have ordered my business cards and postcards and I have completed my list of 100 influential women to send my book information to, either via email or postcard or for the very influential women on my list, an actual signed copy! I will compile a mens list too asap! 

I have paid for social media advertising and finalised banking details with various companies so that I get paid! (The exciting bit!)I am now going to look for influential media outlets both locally and nationally and invite them to interview me regarding my book, I have two book club talks slotted in my diary and I am finalising my book launch event date and other finer details with the venue events manager (food, drink, estimated numbers etc). I did not set out on this journey to let my writing sit on my laptop, it was ALWAYS going to be sent out there for people to hopefully enjoy reading and to get comfort and reassurance from too, in some cases. That can only be done with a detailed marketing strategy! 

I am new to all this so please feel free to message me with any marketing ideas you may have. 

Exactly 23 days music playlist

This is the complete playlist as featured in the book. 
Enjoy. I would love to hear your comments. 

An Apple a day! Maybe not!

As a new author this has been such a journey. An Apple a day is certainly not always best for keeping the doctor away and certainly not the technical Apples! Using an Apple laptop and inbuilt software I have found the incompatibility with other software on other computers THE single most frustrating time I have ever experienced whilst using computers for the last 16 years or so! I really thought that I had passed the phase of crying at the screen in front of me many many moons ago. Alas I found myself there once again last Saturday as I tried to rectify once again the editorial and typesetting errors presenting themselves to me once more. I have literally lost count of how many times I have edited, re-edited and typeset and re-tyepset this book! I have now completed it again and I hope for the last time and sent it to my publishers AGAIN today for them to once again attempt to 'fine' typeset my typesetting!! Phew. 

I will be partaking in some fruit now as I sit in the garden in the glorious sunshine here in Manchester but it will be not be an apple but from the grape variety and tinged with pink and ice cold in a glass! Cheers! I will keep you all posted re the paperback launch date. 

Word of the day: Persevere!
To continue in a course of action even in the line of difficulty or with little or no indication of succesS.

Note to self: I WILL SUCCEED!

Second note to self: I need to nail exactly which software is best for authors to use which transfers with ease to publishers software!! I feel like I have been playing editorial tennis since mid May, now that is some grand slam tournament! I wonder is there is a Strawberry software company!! 

For sale at last!!

ibooks is now selling my book! What an achievement. 

Follow your dreams, strive for your goals, relish in the euphoria of success!

I have loved getting my dream to this point! My book is for sale world wide as of today in 51 countries. Amazing. I made it happen and it spurs me on to write forever. The paperback version is still a work in progress but the electronic version is now out there for my readers. I am very very proud today. Please share my blog and help to spread the word for me. Thank you. Jayne. 

Download the eversion to iPad, iMac and MacBooks. The iPhones version is apparently a work in progress and news and links to follow. 

I will keep you posted re the paperback release date. Jayne. 

Update: The iPhone version is now active. 

Out in cyberspace at last

I feel the irony of asking the universe to help me when I needed it the most. When I was dead inside of me, numb, had nothing to give and wanted nothing from anybody else. I was reduced to nothing. I prayed to the universe to help me. It was my very last resort and on one particular day when I believed it was impossible to be kicked any lower I had the inspiration to write a novel. Why? I had never done anything like that before. I had written for children. I had written legal document for my job. Why an adult novel? I had no idea but I do know the the CREATIVE ideas enveloped me and within days I was sat at my desk taking notes, researching, compiling plot ideas, character lists, chapter titles and on 31/12/2014 I began and on the 18/2/2015 I finished. As you are aware there were re-writes, edits, re-edits, proof-reading, spell checking, etc etc etc. Then there was the typesetting, re-typesetting and file sharing in various formats. There was the art work to organise and the permissions to seek for product placements and then research and more research for publishing options which is very very difficult in a minefield of unknown territory without the support of agents and publishing houses. I have made huge huge mistakes along the way.I have made dozens of phone calls to Apple and eventually I have finally uploaded my book that I created in ipages, converted to ibooks author and uploaded via iTunes producer to the ibooks store. It is currently being approved by the powers that be and will be available for pre order on 22/06/2015 and available on ibooks from 26/06/2015 (54 years to the day since my mum died!) I had to honour her on that day. She would be so proud and despite the nature of her death she too was an incredibly strong woman. I am in awe of her and I thank her for my strength of character genes. I have dedicated my book to all women and I will soon be asking all my blog, Facebook and Twitter, Instagram and Twitter followers to be my book shop window and help me to sell my book to the world. I plan to spend the next few weeks concentrating on the paperback version, launching and marketing and taking a well deserved holiday but mark my words. There will be many more words when book two begins in September. Anybody out there thinking of writing and feeling apprehensive. Do it, pick up your pen, type away, dictate your words, however you chose to write. Do it. 

If anybody has any interesting tales they would like to share on the topic of kissing and believe me it is a wide ranging topic, then please comment below or email me on jaynelouisehiggins@gmail.com

Word of the day: Thankful. 

I am so very thankful I have been blessed with a love and passion for writing. I thank the universe for helping me when I needed it most and the thing I love the most, my writing, is now making it's way in the universe to be shared with you all. Yes I am very very thankful indeed. 

I was wrong! Okay.

I told you all a couple of weeks ago that I was done with the book and ready to upload it. I did upload it to ibooks author and stumbled across a proofreading tool in there! So I switched it on and there were lots of green markers on page 1 and page 2 and in fact every page and so I set about responding to these green markers in order to improve my book even more! I was astounded just how many times I used the following:
Actually
As soon as
Once again
In fact
In order to
Nice
In relation to
As to how
Once more
In regards to

as well as incorrect ?!,.:""''. Oh dear. What a chore that turned out to be but I did it. Then I did it again and guess what I missed stuff the first time. That just left a final spell check and in the main it was the American versus English spelling dilemma! However, there was the odd green mark still in there that I had missed AGAIN! So I spell checked again and I am now finally satisfied that the text flows beautifully and I can't wait for you to judge that as my readers. 

I await the art work for the cover to be finalised and then it can be loaded to ibooks and I have chosen an amazing company called Completelynovel.com for my print on demand POD paperbacks. 

I have also begun to check out venues for my book launch and I have started to compile my invitations list.

I am in the early stages of the marketing phase and busy researching that on a daily basis and will update my blog when I have significant information to share with you all. 

So to re-cap. I wrote the book, I re-wrote the book, I edited the book, my editor edited the book twice, my co editor read the book and then re-read it as a co-editor, I uploaded the book and discovered proofreading software and I proofread the book, then I proof read it again and then I spellchecked it not once but twice for a final sweep. Phew! You think it's an easy job being a writer. Think again. Brain taxing and back breaking. Will I do it again after this one is published? You bet! I have the bug! 

Word of the day: Exhausted:Yes I know I have already used it but I really am Exhausted!

It is exhilarating to be at this stage, so close to publishing and contemplating having MY book, that I have written, launched but I am truly truly exhausted.Happy but exhausted.  

Who has the final word?

Who has the final word? Well today I completed my line edit and so I really have had the final word!

It has been a mammoth task going through my 100,000 word, 17 chapter novel line by line. A I have said before I am a perfectionist and it will only be good enough to send out to you, my fans when I and my editors are completely satisfied that there is not a grammatical or plot stone unturned! I, as the author feel I can personally do no more to improve this, my first novel. That feels like a huge achievement because as you write, re-write, read and re-read your work you can see the mistakes jumping at you to be corrected. I actually feel I am at the end of this books 'writing' journey and I am now ready to send it on it's publishing and marketing journeys. That feels good. I am itching to get to the same state of 'I can do no more' within those phases too. I really get that getting a book published is a third writing, a third publishing and a third marketing. 

I had a vision and I turned that into a reality and I look forward to what my readers have to say about this, my first novel. It has been a journey in itself. My late nights and early mornings, my liquid lunches as I couldn't bear to prise myself away from my desk, my research, my laughter as I voiced my typing through the software  and watched my laptop type, my tears as I did so, my conversations with my reviewers and my editing team, my changes of plot, my losing the plot! It has been incredible and if I never write another word then I can say that I have written a novel. Is there a possibility that I will not write again. Not a chance!! Books two and three are simmering in the research department of my mind! To all who have shared this amazing journey of words. Thank you.

Word of the day: Dream:

Follow your dream. Just do it. You really can do anything you want to. If your belief in yourself is allowed to grow then you can do it. Nuture that belief in yourself. Whatever it is, grab hold of it and never ever let go until you are satisfied, like I am today that you are ready to share your dream. I knew I could write a novel, I knew I could write a very good novel and I know that my novel will be loved by everybody who reads it. It is sad, it is hilarious, it is relatable and it gives us all faith in finding trust and love.