The Story behind the Story with Tina Lalonde of Ottawa, ON, Canada.

 

 Let’s welcome Tina to the Scribbler.

She is sharing the SBTS for her book and wants to tell us all about it.

Read on my friends.

 

 

 

Hey there and welcome to Done For You Journals. My name is Tina Lalonde. I am an Amazon Publishing Strategist and the owner of Done For You Journals dot com.

I help women in the health and wellness industry such as coaches, counselors, course creators, yoga instructors, and the woo woo’s make passive income creating and self-publishing their own custom branded journal, workbook, or logbook to sell on Amazon for FREE! However, once you learn the process of creating and self-publishing, you will be able to self-publish that book you’ve been procrastinating on. You know the one, it’s on your bucket list😉

 

For those who are curious about me when I’m not working…

·       I play competitive women’s volleyball and Pickleball, while my knees can still take it. lol  If you don’t know what pickleball is, check out Henry Burris on CTV News Ottawa to see what it’s all about.

·       I love to travel to the Caribbean during the winter because well, not a big fan of the cold. My favorite place is St Lucia.

·       My favorite drink is sparkling wine is Segura Viudas Brut Reserva Cava…mmmm soooo good.

·       I live in Ottawa, Ontario with my amazing man who will be referred to as “Bebe”.

·       I like to go second hand shopping, but don’t tell Bebe. He hates when I go there. He says they all have bed bugs. lol

·       I’m a TV show binge watcher. I don’t like to wait for next week. My favorite one is Rizzoli & Isles, and Bosch.

·       Love horseback riding. When the horse gallops, I have this huge smile like a kid.

·       Favorite music is new country, dance music from the year 2000, Socca and I love the song from Shakira “Waka Waka”. I cry every time I hear it.

·       I love playing minute to win it games with my friends. I usually win😉

·       Love to eat ethnic food. My favorite is Vietnamese, then Indian, Thai, and Greek…

·       Like to try new recipes that take less than 30 minutes to make, but I admit I make a mess. So, if you come for dinner, you have to help clean up. Oh and bring BRUT sparkling wine as that’s my favorite.

·       I speak French. Ou est la toilet. Lol. Seriously, I am fluent in French.

·       I did synchronized swimming when I was 10 years old and one 1^st place. I can still hold my breath under water for 45 seconds…maybe 30 seconds now.

·       I wrote 2 books and have a few stories published in other people’s books.

·       I am also working on learning Spanish so that when we retired and travel, I’ll be able to have a conversation.

 

Title: How to Create and Self-Publish Your First Book on Amazon in Less than a Day!

 

Synopsis:  What if I could show you that getting published is not as complicated as people make it out to be, or at least to get on the biggest platform like Amazon!

In this book you will learn the 4 simple things you need to go from dreamer to being published on Amazon!

I’ve been where you are. Wanting to know how to become published, but not sure where to start. Well, this book is a step-by-step instruction for how to create your first book with a project of a journal. Once you get this book project down, the process is the same for any type of book. By the end of reading the book, you WILL be a Published Author on Amazon!

The Story Behind the Story: Have you ever gone to the bookstore like Chapters or Barnes and Nobles and was hoping to find the book you needed? Mine was a book on learning how to rent out your cottage in Canada.  I bought a cottage in 2013 and wanted to rent it out to make extra money when I wasn’t using it.  I loved that little cottage!

I search Chapters, local libraries, and through dozens of online websites and found a few books about owning a cottage, but nothing really on how to rent it, what the rules are, and how to make money from it, where to advertise. After a few months, I didn’t find the book I was looking for.

I really wanted or rather needed to rent my cottage to help pay the mortgage, but the information out there was all over the place and I was getting frustrated.  After doing all the research I thought to myself “if I’m searching for this information, maybe someone else is too?”.  I thought about just creating a website and linking the pages to the rules, where to advertise, etc. so people would be able to find it quickly, but that still meant there was no book out there.  Then, I stumbled on a book that talked about how to get paid for what you know. This gave me the idea to write a book about what I know. And that’s when I decided to write my first book -  Turn Your Cottage Into Money: How to rent your cottage and make a profit in Ontario and Quebec.

However, that was just the first part. Now I needed to learn about getting it published. I searched online on how to publish a book. I didn’t want to go the traditional publishing root because they take longer and they own the rights to my book! Also, they could tell me how to write it and what I could and could not add to the book. No thanks!

I came across a course on creating and self-publish journals and get them on Amazon. I thought “wouldn’t that be the same thing as publishing a book?” I also thought “I am always writing in journals, so why not create my own and make money instead of giving my money away”. So, I signed up to learn about creating journals and self-publishing on Amazon and published my first book in 2003 and then, created my first journal in 2004 and have been creating them for myself and clients ever since. I love creating journals and workbooks! 

 

My goal is to help 1,000 entrepreneurs who have a journal or workbook they want to turn into a book and publish it on Amazon!

 

If you’re a DIY kind of person like me, I create an online course that teaches what’s in the book, plus so much more. I provide templates for the interior and cover. It’s almost like I’m hand holding, but without me being there. My course is called DIY Self-Publishing Bootcamp and you can find it HERE. 

Anyone who messages me to sign up in the next 30 days, I will offer the DIY Self-Publishing Bootcamp to them at 50% OFF, which is $99 (Value $199) plus…they will get a 1 hour coaching session with me (value: priceless).

Quote “ScribblerDIY24”.

Website: Please go HERE.

 

A question before you go, Tina:

 

Scribbler: What is the ideal spot for you when you write your stories? Music in the background or quiet. Coffee or tequila? Messy or neat?



Tina: Wow, well, that’s a good question. When I was first creating the How to book, I would go every morning to Starbucks at 7am on Saturday and Sunday morning because I needed a different space with no distractions. I would order a medium vanilla Bean Latte, sometimes the almond croissant, and I would put a headset on so people wouldn’t talk to me. However, when I needed a break, I would look around and start talking to random strangers. This gave me the distraction I needed, but also the push to get back to work😊

Another way, I love a good glass or 2 of chardonnay or cab sauv wine, and when I need to get shit done, I pour a glass and go up to my office and set a timer for 30 minutes and do the thing I have to do. Sometimes, I have to go back down to fill it again, as I did when writing this bio.

I don’t do well if there’s a lot of people talking, or music because as I’ve gotten older, my brain doesn’t multitask anymore☹. I like seeing people talking or walking, but I need quiet time.



Thank you for being our guest this week, Tina.

We wish you continued success with your writing. 

And a BIG thank you to all out visitors and readers.

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