Back again. I know it's been awhile. Gosh. You can feel on top of the world one minute thinking that everything you've visualised is coming to fruition and then... bugger me! It all turns to mush!!
I was so rapt to have a fantastic programme want to do a story about "S000 Over Shakes" They asked me to keep the story exclusive to them which I promised I would do.We filmed the interview and it was going to air in the next few days. Got a call saying it had been postponed. Waited... waited... waited... Followed up with phone calls, and yes it was going to go to air. It had all been cut and edited for the programme I was told.
Well, it's been 12 months now and I'd have to be an absolute idiot to think it's going to be aired now. I have felt very disappointed and because I'd promised to keep the story exclusive to this programme I had not done much marketing to promote "Sooo Over Shakes". When our local TV station wanted to do a story I rang and checked to see if that would be ok and again asked if my story was going to go to air. Again I was reassured that yes it was. So you live and learn in the world of publishing and promoting many, many lessons!!!
The thing is, I believe in this book. I know it works. It's tried and proven. The food gets great results - and after selling 2000 books to the public and getting phenominal feedback gives me the energy and drive to keep on going. If you have something you love in your life and it gives you passion - you may get knock backs and things might not always go well but I believe if your heart sings when you have an idea like mine did when I started on this journey...then GO FOR IT!!
Keep posted because I'm going to give hints and tips on breakfasts and lunches that will help you lose weight and keep it off. Steve (My lov-er-ley partner) and I have given up smoking. Yep. We've been having a great time stuffing food into our mouths to help stop the nicotine cravings. You name it, we've scoffed it!! So needless to say, we've out on weight. I need to lose 5 kilo's and he needs to lose 13 kilo's. In 2 weeks I've lost 3 kilo's and he's done 5. How?? Back to "Sooo Over Shakes"...and it's working.
Until next time, take care and I'll keep you posted on our progress.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Another trip completed
What a long trip I've had. Left mackay and travelled to Rockhampton right through Queensland finshing in Brisbane doing booksignings at the bookstores. Some days were fanastic and others were tedious and disappointing. When you self publish a book you have to work extremely hard and sometimes the bookstores help you and others do buggar all. Even sending press releases to local papers can be disappointing with no replies. After about 40 press releases, I was fortunate to have 2 of them print a story. 6 weeks of travelling can get quite lonely and ooooh when I got home to my own bed and my own pillow I felt like I was wallowing in luxury!!!.
After my last signing I just bawled my eyes out and wondered what on earth more could I do to get "Sooo Over Shakes" out to the public. The people that are using my cookbook have given me phenomenal feedback and I am so passionate about it and to hear they are enjoying the food and losing weight and keeping it off lifts my spirits and keeps me going.
After arriving home I emailed some magazines and all the TV networks. I thought to myself, "Well, I've done everything I can now. There's nothing more I can do. So what will be, will be" The very next day I received a call from A Current Affair from channel 9. They loved "Sooo Over Shakes" and we have just finished filming a segment which will go to air in the very near future. How awesome is that??? I don't think my feet have hit the ground since and we are all very excited and waiting with anticipation for the story to hit Australia wide. Sometimes you may have your back to the wall but you've just got to keep going and if you believe in something with passion, don't give up too soon.
Until next time. Live well and keep at 'em!!!
After my last signing I just bawled my eyes out and wondered what on earth more could I do to get "Sooo Over Shakes" out to the public. The people that are using my cookbook have given me phenomenal feedback and I am so passionate about it and to hear they are enjoying the food and losing weight and keeping it off lifts my spirits and keeps me going.
After arriving home I emailed some magazines and all the TV networks. I thought to myself, "Well, I've done everything I can now. There's nothing more I can do. So what will be, will be" The very next day I received a call from A Current Affair from channel 9. They loved "Sooo Over Shakes" and we have just finished filming a segment which will go to air in the very near future. How awesome is that??? I don't think my feet have hit the ground since and we are all very excited and waiting with anticipation for the story to hit Australia wide. Sometimes you may have your back to the wall but you've just got to keep going and if you believe in something with passion, don't give up too soon.
Until next time. Live well and keep at 'em!!!
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
More news 12th May 2010
Off for booksigning and offering free tasters to the public next week. 21st may in Clermont and then Emerald 22nd. 11.00am - 1.00 pm. The signing in mackay went very well last weekend and I got to meet and chat to some really lovely people.
Had a pretty shaky start though as I was on my way to woolies to pick up some forgotten ingredients and ended up involved in a police chase. A car was trying to get away from them and tried overtaking me from the inside. needless to say, this was a ridiculous thing to try to achieve as he side swiped and wrecked the whole left hand side of my car. Anyway, the twit got caught!! What annoys me is my car won't be on the road for at least 6 weeks so the schedule for booksigning is now delayed. I am most relieved though as if he missed me, he would have sped straight up the road where kids were just leaving the school yard. So maybe we would be talking about a high speed get away which could have involved a schoolchild getting maimed or god forbid - killed. These things happen and apart from a badly dented car, all turned out well in the end. A nice friend said I could borrow his car to take to Clermont so all is well.
Had a pretty shaky start though as I was on my way to woolies to pick up some forgotten ingredients and ended up involved in a police chase. A car was trying to get away from them and tried overtaking me from the inside. needless to say, this was a ridiculous thing to try to achieve as he side swiped and wrecked the whole left hand side of my car. Anyway, the twit got caught!! What annoys me is my car won't be on the road for at least 6 weeks so the schedule for booksigning is now delayed. I am most relieved though as if he missed me, he would have sped straight up the road where kids were just leaving the school yard. So maybe we would be talking about a high speed get away which could have involved a schoolchild getting maimed or god forbid - killed. These things happen and apart from a badly dented car, all turned out well in the end. A nice friend said I could borrow his car to take to Clermont so all is well.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
a catch up about the journey
Sorry it's been a wee while since my last blog. It has been a very busy time. Since my last blog I have been inland to Emerald & Clermont and then travelled up to Cairns and surrounding towns. I was getting a little bit down a few weeks ago and then got some fantastic news. Angus & Robertson have put Sooo Over Shakes on their account at head office.!! I was crying tears of joy and excitement. Now I am visiting every A & R store in Queensland so will be setting off for Brisbane way next week.
Lesson learnt: Sometimes when you believe in something and it doesn't happen the way you envision it,you need to pick yourself up by the bootstraps, slap yourself around a little bit and just keep on working towards your goal because you know what?? You never know whats around the corner!! Yes, we may get down because things aren't going quite the way we would like it to go, but sometimes things take a little bit longer. if we give up our challenge - are we giving up a little too early? Are we giving up before we've rounded that corner?
I thought self publishing a book would become easier after the book was published. No no no! The hard work starts afterward. In promoting Sooo Over Shakes, I have:
Dropped the book into businesses for staff to look through and then gone back later for orders. (One day, Bec & I dropped 66 books off and got 1 order!! Bloody hard work!) Mind you some days were better than others but it's not very succesful in the long run as it is so time consuming and I think it's better to talk to people one on one.
The next thing I did was contact 7 P & C groups in Mackay and offered Sooo Over Shakes as a fundraiser. That was 8 weeks ago. I have received 1 reply - which was a knock back. Ok - Time to come up with another idea!
Attended a ladies evening with about 130 ladies there. - Ok, I got to have a few drinks and a go at Karaoke which was fun. (I think I sung really well - or was it the wine??) 2 booksales there.
Contacted a couple of sportsclubs via email offering a fundraiser - no reply!! (So you can see why I got a little down about it all.)
Dropping Sooo Over Shakes to newsagents and gyms has been quite successful and the bookshops I have approached have been really great so that's the path I am going to keep following. Now Sooo Over Shakes is available from Mackay through to Emerald & Clermont and in every town from Mackay right up to Cairns. So tell your friends they don't have to purchase via website, they can go direct to stores and save postage & handling. If you have friends in Melbourne, tell them to head to Readings. I am really rapt that they are putting Sooo Over Shakes on their shelves.
Until next time - keep on plodding on, try new ideas and believe that if you are passionate about a project and you work at it everyday - something has to change. Take care.
Lesson learnt: Sometimes when you believe in something and it doesn't happen the way you envision it,you need to pick yourself up by the bootstraps, slap yourself around a little bit and just keep on working towards your goal because you know what?? You never know whats around the corner!! Yes, we may get down because things aren't going quite the way we would like it to go, but sometimes things take a little bit longer. if we give up our challenge - are we giving up a little too early? Are we giving up before we've rounded that corner?
I thought self publishing a book would become easier after the book was published. No no no! The hard work starts afterward. In promoting Sooo Over Shakes, I have:
Dropped the book into businesses for staff to look through and then gone back later for orders. (One day, Bec & I dropped 66 books off and got 1 order!! Bloody hard work!) Mind you some days were better than others but it's not very succesful in the long run as it is so time consuming and I think it's better to talk to people one on one.
The next thing I did was contact 7 P & C groups in Mackay and offered Sooo Over Shakes as a fundraiser. That was 8 weeks ago. I have received 1 reply - which was a knock back. Ok - Time to come up with another idea!
Attended a ladies evening with about 130 ladies there. - Ok, I got to have a few drinks and a go at Karaoke which was fun. (I think I sung really well - or was it the wine??) 2 booksales there.
Contacted a couple of sportsclubs via email offering a fundraiser - no reply!! (So you can see why I got a little down about it all.)
Dropping Sooo Over Shakes to newsagents and gyms has been quite successful and the bookshops I have approached have been really great so that's the path I am going to keep following. Now Sooo Over Shakes is available from Mackay through to Emerald & Clermont and in every town from Mackay right up to Cairns. So tell your friends they don't have to purchase via website, they can go direct to stores and save postage & handling. If you have friends in Melbourne, tell them to head to Readings. I am really rapt that they are putting Sooo Over Shakes on their shelves.
Until next time - keep on plodding on, try new ideas and believe that if you are passionate about a project and you work at it everyday - something has to change. Take care.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
The trip continues
Just got back from a promotional trip to Bowen, Ayr and Townsville. Sooo Over Shakes was well received in the communities and once again we met very nice people.
I met a great lady named Lyndell who lost over 86 kilo's in 1 year!!. How awesome is that??? She gave me such inspiration and it really hit home to me the reason "Sooo Over Shakes" was created. Australia has overtaken America making us one of the most obese countries in the world. I don't believe living on shake diets will improve this problem as you can't drink them forever. Lyndell was very impressed with "Sooo Over Shakes" as she has lost the weight and kept it off by eating real food. If you would like to know more about her go to www.lyndellpunshon.com and read about her amazing journey. She has gone from a very large lady to becoming a personal trainer. I am so lucky to have met her as she has the passion to help other people as I do. Maybe in the future we will have the opportunity to help others through community groups and such.
Have a great day.
Regards
Donna
I met a great lady named Lyndell who lost over 86 kilo's in 1 year!!. How awesome is that??? She gave me such inspiration and it really hit home to me the reason "Sooo Over Shakes" was created. Australia has overtaken America making us one of the most obese countries in the world. I don't believe living on shake diets will improve this problem as you can't drink them forever. Lyndell was very impressed with "Sooo Over Shakes" as she has lost the weight and kept it off by eating real food. If you would like to know more about her go to www.lyndellpunshon.com and read about her amazing journey. She has gone from a very large lady to becoming a personal trainer. I am so lucky to have met her as she has the passion to help other people as I do. Maybe in the future we will have the opportunity to help others through community groups and such.
Have a great day.
Regards
Donna
Sunday, January 17, 2010
17January 2010
Well we arrived back in Mackay last Thursday tired but happy with the outcome. Moranbah people are great and treated us really well as well as giving us a few good laughs. The Staff at Target were great and told us the story about Mel (Who we didn't get to meet) She was sooo excited that Sooo Over Shakes was in town she was practically jumping on the spot with joy. "Oh my god oh my god that's the book I saw on TV! is the Author here as well? make sure she signs it for me" Well Mel - if you're reading this, this is the story the girls told us. Enthusiasm and excitement like that will definitely keep us going on the promotional journey.I would have loved to met you and a huge Thankyou.
We stayed at The Drovers Rest which was very well priced for the area. Now we're doing these trips on a shoestring so we need value accommodation so we were rapt there was a toaster there to save on buying breakfasts. The room was very clean and the Staff helpful and friendly. The shops are great in Moranbah. There's some really neat clothes and shoes- (that's my weakness) so make sure you check the Town out if you're ever out that way.
Next trip is Bowen and then on to Townsville which begins on Wednesday 27th January. So if you know of anyone up that way who would like their "Sooo Over Shakes" books signed let us know.
We now have our workshirts to wear with Sooo Over Shakes on it and the website so if you see us around, come and say Hi. We really enjoy meeting and chatting with people about the book.
All the very best until the next blog.
Well we arrived back in Mackay last Thursday tired but happy with the outcome. Moranbah people are great and treated us really well as well as giving us a few good laughs. The Staff at Target were great and told us the story about Mel (Who we didn't get to meet) She was sooo excited that Sooo Over Shakes was in town she was practically jumping on the spot with joy. "Oh my god oh my god that's the book I saw on TV! is the Author here as well? make sure she signs it for me" Well Mel - if you're reading this, this is the story the girls told us. Enthusiasm and excitement like that will definitely keep us going on the promotional journey.I would have loved to met you and a huge Thankyou.
We stayed at The Drovers Rest which was very well priced for the area. Now we're doing these trips on a shoestring so we need value accommodation so we were rapt there was a toaster there to save on buying breakfasts. The room was very clean and the Staff helpful and friendly. The shops are great in Moranbah. There's some really neat clothes and shoes- (that's my weakness) so make sure you check the Town out if you're ever out that way.
Next trip is Bowen and then on to Townsville which begins on Wednesday 27th January. So if you know of anyone up that way who would like their "Sooo Over Shakes" books signed let us know.
We now have our workshirts to wear with Sooo Over Shakes on it and the website so if you see us around, come and say Hi. We really enjoy meeting and chatting with people about the book.
All the very best until the next blog.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
The journey continued...
Well we're on to day 2 of our travels. We are going to finish Dysart today a head to Moranbah to continue promoting later this afternoon and will be there until Thursday. We met some lovely people yesterday and had a great response. I met this lady who has had 2 sets of young twins!!! Amazing!!!! and she seemed quite well adjusted, calm and collected. I take my hat off to her.
My partner Steve (who is very supportive and took all the photo's of the food in "Sooo Over Shakes") rang to check to see how we were going and more or less told us not to come home until all the books were sold. We loaded the car up with 400 books so we'll be working hard and walking miles to achieve this because we need to be back in Mackay by Friday!! Oh well, if we self published then we have to self promote don't we. Alot of people appreciate not having to pay for postage and handling as well. Wish us well today.
My partner Steve (who is very supportive and took all the photo's of the food in "Sooo Over Shakes") rang to check to see how we were going and more or less told us not to come home until all the books were sold. We loaded the car up with 400 books so we'll be working hard and walking miles to achieve this because we need to be back in Mackay by Friday!! Oh well, if we self published then we have to self promote don't we. Alot of people appreciate not having to pay for postage and handling as well. Wish us well today.
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