Can you use BOTH IngramSpark and Createspace to self publish your POD PRINT book? YES – absolutely you can use both at the same time. BUT there are a few things that you’ll need to know in order to make the two distribution channels play nicely with each other. IngramSpark and CreateSpace ISBN Issues Did […]

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A lot has changed since Jared and I first published Self Publishing For Profit in 2010 as a resource for people taking one of our self publishing workshops. You can download the Self Publishing for Profit pdf book  in PDF format from: http://crystalstranaghan.com/a-collection-of-self-publishing-resources/ Below you’ll find some links to my favourite companies that I use […]

The post Self Publishing Resources – The Master Plan 2015 appeared first on Crystal Stranaghan.

Okay everyone, here’s the scoop. Having moved to New West recently, I thought I ought to get involved in some of the local happenings. And since I love to dance, and this event is being organized by some really excellent folks (some I knew, some I didn’t)  it was a no-brainer for me to get […]

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The Surrey International Writers Conference annual writing contest is how you can do that. MORE INFO ON “MY VAN CITY” SITE: CLICK TO READ So fire up those typewriters one and all – the focus is on the Storytellers Award this year, which means it’s you and your imagination for the win! Looking forward to […]

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Technology is always changing, and Google has just thrown down a bit of a gauntlet for anyone on the web. If your site is not mobile-friendly, they’re going to bump your rankings and give priority to those sites set up to look and work great on mobile devices. That statement may spark a few questions […]

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This has been an interesting year. A lot of little changes and adjustments and some milestones too. The biggest changes? Hard to pick a single favourite, but the two biggest ones are: I’m writing again—regularly. My body is no longer a source of daily pain. It’s amazing the difference that those two things can make […]

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Meet author Victoria Miles. I’ve been working with Victoria to help her get her story – A Power Christmas Special – out into the world as an iBook. She is very generously giving it away for free! If you’d like to read it, there are a few different ways to do it. 1. If you […]

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It’s getting to be that time of year – when I’m burning the midnight oil to get everything done before taking a break to start the new year refreshed and ready for new things. Although November and December are generally two of the busiest months of the year for me, they are also really enjoyable. […]

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I often get asked about where to find book packagers to write for. What is a book packager you may be asking? It’s a company that hires writes to produce a book or series of books, then sells those products to a publisher to actually be published. It can be a great way to build […]

The post Looking for a book packager to write for? Here’s one… appeared first on Crystal Stranaghan.

Howdy all! A friend just passed this information along to me, and I thought it might be of interest to some of you who are living in the Victoria, BC area. A great opportunity as I know many of you have had questions about how to get into your local libraries. Hopefully it will go […]

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I’m finding it’s always a constant challenge to work time into the day for everything. Writing, contract work, exercise, cooking healthy meals, time with friends, family time… the list goes on, and the hours just stay the same every day. Lately, I’ve been trying to prioritize three things: being creative for myself, and also connecting […]

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As I was preparing a presentation on blogging and social media for this month’s RWA-GVC meeting, I got to the inevitable slide on copyright and the use of images that you did not create yourself. Because people always seem to struggle with this, I really want to share what you CAN do, not just what […]

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Every year after the Surrey International Writers Conference, I come home totally jazzed up and ready to write. And every year I intend to share some of the most interesting things I learned there, but then suddenly it’s November 1st and NaNoWriMo starts. And then instead of writing blog words, I write NaNo words. But […]

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Who are your people? That question has a different meaning today than it might have had 50 years ago. It doesn’t mean who your biological family is and how far back you can trace your ancestry. What we’re really wanting to know is who do you connect with? Who do you feel like you belong […]

The post Creative energy: the power in finding your “tribe” appeared first on Crystal Stranaghan.

        Being pretty cerebral folks means that most of the time Jared and I pay little or no attention to our surroundings. But every now and then, I find myself feeling a bit scattered of mind and a quick look around reflects that the world around me has also become scattered. This […]

The post Living in your space… appeared first on Crystal Stranaghan.

I find myself wondering if it’s possible to short circuit your brain like you do a computer? The past couple weeks have been interesting in that rather than a couple large projects, I have been working on a myriad of smaller tasks for about a dozen different clients. Web design, ebook creation, publishing coaching, accounting… […]

The post Random tasks and a reason to float… appeared first on Crystal Stranaghan.

What if you could go to a website, plunk in a domain name, and see what amounts to the history of that site since the great interwebs were spawned? Well, you can. I have just finished building a website for author Susin Nielsen, and she was wishing for a way to show people the befores […]

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Exciting times around my world at the moment! I’m doing one of those periodic clean-ups of my business life. Which of course also flows into my person life and my creative life in oh-so-many places. You’ll notice lots of changes wherever we’re connected online. Updates to my profile pictures and headers, and a new look […]

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When We Met by Susan Mallery My rating: 4 of 5 stars Liked it. I really enjoy all the books in this series. It’s an interesting mix of characters, and since I’m working on developing the hometown of a series of romance short stories I’m working on, also great for research purposes! Buy this book. […]

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Yeah, just because I can really. I’m so, so, so excited about my splurging on an annual subscription to Shutterstock.com so that I can rock my various blogs and client websites with images just as cool as the one above. Aren’t you excited!?!

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Okay, I’ll let you in on a little secret. I love FALL! It’s my favourite time of year. The temperature drops just enough to need that blanket on the bed at night, it’s nice enough out to go for a walk, you get to think about wearing your cozy sweaters again – and the leaves […]

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Good news for all your WordPress users! The series of tutorials that Jared and I made about how to build your own wordpress website are back up and running. A previous update “broke” all the screenshots etc. but now we’re back with a new look, some updated content and yep – it’s all still FREE! […]

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For less than the cost of a burger in most restaurants, you can change your dining out experiences forever!Whether you are visiting North America, or a local who is just tired of getting service that doesn’t live up to your expectations, these 124 pages of to-the-point information and fun visuals that will help make all […]

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I met Diane when she came to me for some help in getting her finished manuscript to publication stage. She is a vibrant, energetic lady with a multitude of things on the go at all times. She has  always been interested in other cultures, starting with our own First Nations in Canada and then marrying […]

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