Month: November 2011

Publishing My Book

On By Michel McDonaldIn Books, eBookLeave a comment

I spent this summer writing my life story into a 289 page e-book.  It took a lot of time to write and it has taken even longer to edit because I am not what most would consider to be a writer.  I barely manage writing a blog, I have a difficult enough time thinking of what to write in a greeting card.

I have already copyrighted (pending) my book (title and unedited contents) so that when I am ready to publish it, I won’t have to worry about waiting for the copyright to kick in.

I have already signed up with Amazon and Barnes & Noble as a self publisher, which was so easy that anyone can do it.  I also wanted to sign up on the Rainbow Ebook website as a self publisher because I want to support them as an e-book store.  It’s nice to give back to my community in any way that I can.

As soon as it is completely edited, I will publish it and start advertising and promoting via here, twitter, Facebook, my space and anywhere else that I can advertise it for free.  I may even pay gay and gay friendly bloggers to advertise it for me.

I am not looking to get rich on this book, in fact I mean to do the opposite.  I can only make so much money per year on top of my disability so I can’t get rich off of it.  I am only going to sell it for $6.99 so that I only profit a few dollars from the sale of each book and 10% of those profits will go to charity.  10% from Amazon, B&N and Rainbow Ebooks combined will be split up to go to the Human Rights Campaign, ChildHelp.org and Cyndi Lauper’s True Colors fund.

My book will hopefully raise awareness to so many issues in our society about the way children are being raised to be as abusive, racist and bigoted as the parents who are raising them.  I feel it’s important not just to tell my story about the trauma I went through, but hope that it will help parents to change their hateful ways and views and know what they are doing to their children when they raise them full of so much hatred.

I wanted to be able to publish it before Christmas but then I got to thinking that it’s not the kind of thing you want to read during a happy time of year.  Instead, I will probably publish it after Christmas or maybe after New Years.  Keep in mind that it is still being edited so it is possible that I won’t have it ready to publish until January.

So until then…

Update: I signed up for the free trial of Grammarly and was shocked to see that they raised the price from $20 to $70.  I thought that I would just go ahead and do the trial and get it done as quick as I could but it was catching too many errors that weren’t even errors.  So screw that, if my grammar checker in Open Office doesn’t show me those errors then they aren’t errors in my opinion.  I will read it one more time and fix any errors I think need to be fixed and then publish it when my copyright goes through or January like I said before.

Create a Holiday Browser Theme and Win an iPad 2.

On By Michel McDonaldIn Ad1 Comment

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of BrandThunder for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Holiday Browser Theme Contest

Would you believe me if I told you that you might win an iPad 2 for 5 minutes of work?  Of course you wouldn’t because it’s crazy.  How could you win something so expensive in 5 minutes?  It’s as simple as creating a browser theme with Brand Thunder, tweeting, emailing then waiting until December 23rd to see if you have won.  It’s 100% free to create your own browser theme with Brand Thunder’s BT: Engage.

I entered the Brand Thunder Holiday Theme Contest by making my own image in Gimp and creating a toolbar for Firefox and Internet Explorer.  I could have used one of the images that came provided but that was too easy, I wanted to create my own original design.

It wasn’t that long ago when I was searching for a way to create my own toolbar.  I wanted to make something that was personal to me instead of having to settle for what other people have made.  I never thought that I might be able to enter a contest to win an iPad 2.  What are the odds right?

The judges will announce the 5 best themes on December 17th and then I guess people can vote.  The winner will get the iPad 2, the others will win a $25 gift card for Amazon.  Hey, it’s something right?  If I am in the top 5, I will blog about it again so you can vote for me.

Visit Sponsor's Site

I Haven’t Blogged in Ages

On By Michel McDonaldIn Daily BlogLeave a comment

I wrote a book and ever since I finished writing it, it seems like I have abandoned my blog.  Well, that just isn’t true.  I just haven’t had anything to blog about.

I would like to give an update on my progress though.  A long time friend of mine volunteered to edit my book but it was taking her way too long. She couldn’t really work on it due to the fact that she is running her own online business and doesn’t have time for my book.

Well, I can’t let my book collect dust while she is too busy with her own stuff so I told her that I would do it myself.  Of course I don’t know what the heck I’m doing so I can’t really do it myself.

I can’t afford to hire someone to do it so I thought I could just do an online course in English grammar but I have a learning disability and ADD.  I am not learning jack squat.

I found a software that I can use called Grammarly.  They charge $20 a month to use their software.  I signed up for their free 7 day trial but closed my account immediately because it wasn’t what I thought it would be.  I thought they were going to tell you what the issues were then you could click the correction.  Instead, they explain what the issue is and YOU have to figure it out.

The reason I closed my account so soon was because I knew I wouldn’t have any time to work own it this week so my free 7 day trial would have just gone to waste and I don’t have the money to pay them after the trial is up so I canceled.

I emailed them telling them what happened but they have a strict policy, you only get one 7-day free trial.  If you cancel then that’s on you.  Which I think is stupid, especially since they knew I canceled after 5 minutes.  They could manually delete my account information to give me the opportunity to try again but they chose not to do that.  I’m pretty sure I could try the trial again with a different email address though.  I won’t know for sure until I try, and you know that I will try lol.

So other than that I’ve been playing Lord of the Rings Online.  Not really much else to report…

Well, see ya when I have something else to blog about.

‎30-40% of Homeless Youth Identify as LGBT

On By Michel McDonaldIn Anti-Gay1 Comment

I saw this link on the Bakersfield Gay and Lesbian Center Facebook page this morning.

Young, Gay And Homeless: Fighting For Resources – NPR

I was a homeless gay teen.  I was kicked out of the house when I was 15 years old for not wanting to visit my mother in the hospital.  I was homeless for 6 months wondering day-to-day when I was going to get my next meal.

I was homeless again when I was 17 years old because my mother rejected me for being gay.  She confronted me about being gay then 2 weeks later kicked me out of the house.  She made me choose between being gay and being her son.

I know what it’s like to be homeless so I understand this story more than anyone in the world.

This article says that there are 3,800 homeless teens in New York City and only 250 beds.  I have a solution if anyone will hear me out.  Anyone who identifies as Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual or Transgendered or even a PFLAG member can invite them into their home to stay with them for a short time.  Help them get their GED (if they didn’t get to graduate high school) and help them find a job.  After 3 months they will have enough money saved up to get their own apartment and it will all be because you helped them.

When I was homeless the second time around, the Salvation Army church helped me but they weren’t allowed to know that I was gay because if they found out, they would have kicked me out.  Being rejected once by your family is one thing but then to be rejected by the church is devastating.  If we are going to tell them that it gets better, we need to prove it by showing them that it gets better by helping them.

Think of it as adopting a child, because they are still children after all.  These children are teenagers but they are still children whose childhood was taken away from them.  Give it back to them by helping them get off the streets.

And you parents, you should be ashamed of yourselves.  Waiting until their 18th birthday to kick out your own child just because they are gay.  Especially around the holidays.  SHAME SHAME SHAME!  You kick them out of the house because your religion says that it’s wrong.  So abandoning them is right?  You think they are going to hell?  So you think that God will approve of how you treated your child?  Think again.

Beard Beanie

On By Michel McDonaldIn Christmas, crafts1 Comment

I saw this on Attack of the Show today. At first I couldn’t stop laughing because of how silly it looks but it occurred to me that maybe it might be a good idea in really cold climates.  Instead of having to wear a ski mask you could wear a beard beanie.  I mean, if someone sees you walking down the street in a ski mask they might think that you’re gonna rob them but if they see this guy, they’re just gonna think he has a beard.

I think it is inventive and I endorse it lol.

Their website is http://beardbeanie.com/ and apparently they started on Etsy.  I’ve never even seen a beard beanie until today and even though I think it’s cool, it’s still a bit silly.  I mean, they sell them for $50, who is going to pay $50 to wear a crocheted beard?

With that in mind, I decided to go on a little pattern hunt since I can crochet.  I found a few websites actually.  Here is my favorite one and it’s a free pattern on Ravelry.  The pattern was written by Jen Spears and I have already made the beard so I know it’s a good pattern.  You can also substitute the yarn for fun fur so it looks more like a beard.

I also found a Santa Hat and Beard pattern on the Red Heart website.  This pattern seems a bit complicated because of the way you have to crochet to the right instead of the left.  I haven’t tried it but I’m sure once I get the hang of it I might find it to work easier.

I was thinking of using the Santa beard pattern with the brown yarn instead of the white and putting that on a regular hat.  I like the Santa beard because it has more texture to it and it looks more believable than the other ones.  Ok so it’s not really believable but you know what I mean.

Then again, when the heck am I ever going to wear one of these?  Probably never so why bother right?  Even though I will probably only wear it once right after I make it then put it in a drawer forever, it would be funny just to see what it would look like on me just once.  And who knows, I might wear the Santa one every year for shits and giggles.

I Finished Writing My Book

On By Michel McDonaldIn BooksLeave a comment

I am happy to report that I finally finished writing my book.  I have edited the hell out of it about 20 or 30 times but it’s finally done.

I sent the file to 2 friends to proof read and send me bug reports if you will lol.  Basically, they are beta testing my book for the lack of a better term lol.

The book in doc format is only 181 pages but in epub format it is 289 pages.  I don’t know why there is a huge difference but there you have it.

I have learned a boatload of stuff about myself while writing this autobiography.  For example, I remembered things that I had blocked because they were too painful.  I don’t know how I remembered them but I’m glad I did.

The timeline of some memories were wrong in my head and it took writing it for me to remember when everything happened.

Well, I am just exhausted from writing.  My eyes are killing me from staring into a white screen for 6 to 8 hours a day.  I can’t even imagine this being my regular job.  I mean blogging is my job but I’m not doing it for 6 to 8 hours non stop day after day.  Some weeks I’m lucky if I have 2 posts written.

To celebrate my victory today I decided to play Lord of the Rings Online.  I finally did an epic quest so I can check that off of the list of things I have to do in the game.

The book won’t be published until my beta testers have read through the whole thing and given me their input.  When they do then I will have to read it one or two more times before I send it out just to make sure it’s right.  Who knows, I may even have more editing lol.

I’m pretty sure that it is finished so I do plan on getting it copyrighted this or next week so that I can sell it through Amazon and Barnes & Noble as ebooks.  If they sell enough copies then I will have it printed for those who don’t have a Kindle or a Nook.

Wish me luck!

RoboStir

On By Michel McDonaldIn Products I LikeLeave a comment

Have you seen this new product advertised on TV?  Well, I’m a huge sucker for new inventions but I didn’t really think that I would have a need for one of these until recently.

I was making some gravy from the packets (because it’s cheaper) and it says in the instructions that you have to stir it constantly.  Well, I have carpal tunnel syndrome so stirring isn’t a great thing for my hands.

Oddly enough my hands and wrists aren’t what is bothering me when I stir, now I have a new pain in my arms just below my elbows.  It’s not just my stirring arm, it’s both arms.

I’m having trouble picking up every day things like the milk carton or the tea jug.  I’ve even had trouble picking up a cup of coffee.  So if I have pain picking things up, then just imagine how much pain I am in when I try to stir things.

So I decided yesterday that I would buy a RoboStir because it was only $9.99 at Albertson’s.  I didn’t use it right away but I did turn it on and it looks hilarious bouncing around the empty pain.

I wanted to try it today so I made some oatmeal for lunch and had this thing stirring while it was cooking and it was hilarious to watch.  I mean, it did a good job, it was just funny to see it in action.

If I had my eyes closed, I could swear that someone put a vibrator in my food.  That’s how funny it sounded to me.

RoboStir did the job it was paid to do and I did not regret for one minute the money I spent on this new toy.  It wasn’t a frivolous purchase because I had thought about buying it ever since my new arm pain started developing.

I totally recommend this for anyone who has any pain in their arms.

*not a paid endorsement

Finishing My Book

On By Michel McDonaldIn BooksLeave a comment

I have been working hard on my autobiography for a couple of years now.  It has taken me so long because I would feel emotionally overwhelmed by the memories that I was forcing myself to recall just to write one chapter.

I had 3 chapters half written last year and gave up.  This year I thought, I am going to write and finish this book and I don’t care how much pain it causes me to do it.

I had written maybe 12 chapters that were anywhere from 10 to 16 pages each when a friend told me that most autobiographies are around 30 chapters even if a chapter is only 4 pages long.  So I decided to take that advice and I’m glad I did.

Those 12 chapters turned into 30 chapters and I still hadn’t finished.  I found it easier to write a chapter with 4 or 5 pages in them after that.

I have finished writing more than 40 chapters.  I have an introduction page, 40 chapters of my life then there is a resources page at the end.

I can’t believe that I am finally finished writing.  Now all I have to do is just proofread it from my Nook and if I see something that needs to be edited which could mean changed, removed or added, then I will hop on my computer and do it there.

I’m doing from my Nook because my eyes can’t take any more staring at my computer screen lol.

Anyway, I am glad that it’s finally written and ready to be edited and then of course sent to a friend to edit before copyrighting it and sending it to a publisher.

It was a lot of work to write this book, especially since I’m not a writer.  My only experience in writing has been my blog which has helped me with the skill of writing since 2007.

By the way, it’s 275 pages on my Nook so it’s going to take me a few days to read it lol.