Tag Archives: reading

Organized Chaos with Lori Caswell, Host of Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours

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I would like to welcome Lori Caswell, Host of Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours to my blog. I met Lori when she hosted Granny on her tour of the Blog World. I remember the first time I heard of guesting on a blog. I was amazed that someone actually arranged a tour for me. And Lori couldn’t have been a better tour guide. I thought my readers might like to know all that happens in putting together a book tour. Thank you Lori for being here.

Dollycas 2I am so honored Julie asked me to guest post on her blog.

She asked me to tell you about the organized chaos that has become my life since I started Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours.

I thought I would start with a little background for those of you that may not already know me. I have done a lot of jobs over my lifetime, accounts payable clerk, office manager, and home builder, just to name a few. In 2001, I was in a motor vehicle accident where my spinal cord was pinched leaving my right side 98% paralyzed. Unable to drive and unable to work a typical job for 8 straight hours I was stuck at home, usually by myself. I did help at my church with the bookkeeping but my job was eliminated in 2009. Upset and depressed an online friend talked me into starting a blog and as they say “the rest was history”.

In the summer of 2013 another blogger contacted me and told me she had to quit blogging for medical reasons. She wanted to know if I would want to take over her Virtual Book Tour business. I quickly agreed. Since then my life has changed in so many ways.

There are two things I have found to be essential for me to stay organized not only for the book tours but my blog too.

  1. A Calendar
  • I use Google’s Calendar but I also export the data into my Microsoft Outlook Calendar each week so if I lose access to one I have a backup. It’s happened so better safe than sorry. My calendar shows my reading/blog schedule and all the tours.
  1. Microsoft Spreadsheets
  • I have a Master Spreadsheet that lists all the tours and has columns laid out to track my progress.
  • Each Tour also has its own spreadsheet with a list of bloggers participating, date they will post, what they are posting. I also use this to track guest posts, interviews and giveaways.
  • For my blog I have a Spreadsheet with my Book List. It tells me the title, author, when I received it, where I received it from, date the book will be released and where it fits in the series if applicable. It also has a column for the date I post my review.
  • I have a Reading Diary on a spreadsheet. This is broken down by months and lists title, author, my rating, where the book is set and any challenges it qualifies for.
  • The last spreadsheet keeps track of my giveaways and winners.

great escape button160Great Escapes hosts 15 – 20 or more tours a month with anywhere from 7 – 30 stops.

Every morning I start out by promoting all the stops for the current tours on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and tsu. When I do this I update the tour pages with direct links to the posts.

Then I tackle my email. This is the biggest task of the day. I try to scroll through and take care of the most urgent matters first and then handle the rest. This leads right into emailing any tour guests posts and interviews to the bloggers or sending interviews to the authors. Some days there are so many I really need to prioritize.

Next I handle other tasks including creating emails to announce new tours and booking blogs for new tours. Checking on my Challenge groups on Facebook. Add any new books that have arrived to my Book List and be sure they are on my calendar.

Then after all the above is completed I start to work on posts for my Escape With new escape button160Dollycas Into A Good Book blog. I try to work 2 – 4 days ahead to give myself a little breathing room. The posts can be memes, guest posts, reviews, spotlights, giveaways or a combination. Posts including a review take the longest because I try to get them just right and include all the facts I can without any spoilers.

When that is complete, I send out final tweets of the day for all the tours that are running or starting soon. I do a final check of my emails and check on personal and family things on Facebook.

That usually brings me to supper time at our house. Time to push away from the computer for some family time. This usually includes a bit of mother/daughter television watching. Of course we both find ourselves reading during the commercials. This usually ends about 10 p.m. Then it is time to get serious about reading. I try to read 3 – 4 books a week and my reading speed has slowed a bit this past year. Most nights the lights go off between 2 and 3 in the morning or when I finish the current book or find a good stopping place.

Weekends are just a little different. Fewer emails and no tours are announced. This leaves me time to make tour pages and set up Rafflecopter giveaways. I also update my reading challenges and my Reading Diary and do any needed blog maintenance and review cross posting. It also allows me to spend time with my family, especially my three grandchildren.

My days are very full and I like it that way.  The side effects of my injuries help to remind me to take breaks during the day. My paralysis causes my bad leg and foot to swell if I sit here at the desk too long so I do have to take time to elevate it when I can or get creative in ways to elevate while sitting at my desk. Typing with just one hand also takes its toll, when typos start to crop up like weeds, I know it is time to get away from the desk even just for a few minutes.

I love what I do, reading, blogging, sharing my thoughts and promoting books. I have always been a bookworm, but I never imagined what a huge impact it would have on my life.

Short Bio

Lori Caswell is married to Jeff.  Mom to Kristopher, Katherine, Elizabeth and Jaymeson. Nana to Kaden, Natalie and Remington. They have two Border Collie/Blue Heeler mixes who are sisters, Oreo and Nera Belle. Lori has been blogging since 2009 and her reviews can be found on Amazon, GoodReads, Barnes and Noble, Midwest Book Review and Powell’s Books.

Links-

Blog – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book and Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/escapewithdollycas/ and https://www.facebook.com/GreatEscapesVirtualBookTours/

Twitter – https://twitter.com/dollycas

Google +  – https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/117330676990722681198/+Escapewithdollycasintoagoodbook/posts

Pinterest – https://www.pinterest.com/dollycas/

Linked In – https://www.linkedin.com/in/lori-caswell-8b204541

Tsu – http://www.tsu.co/Dollycas

GoodReads – https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/4770012-lori-dollycas-caswell

Amazon – http://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/A1FJFLAAQD5WH2

Take time to visit Lori’s site and learn about all the wonderful authors she hosts. Reading her posts makes me tired but she has the skill, expertise and heart for her blog. As an author I know I can represent those she has helped when I say, Lori, we couldn’t do it without you. Thank you.

You’ve Linked to Me, Now What Do I Do?

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joyfullMy world has opened up since my book Granny Hooks a Crook was published and since I started investigating all the social media that is out there. It can get confusing for us older adults that spent most of our lives writing letters and communicating with a phone system that was attached to a wall. I am a dreamer and I love the new technology most of the time. My problem is that I love to explore new programs and new ways to connect with the people and my readers.

You might say that is a good thing, right? Maybe but…. I try too many things too fast so I know a little about a lot and not a lot about a little. Ooh, I have a new Grannyism to add to my Fuchsia, Minnesota cups in my Hermiony store at Zazzle. As you can see, and it happens with many creative minds, mine is scattered here and there with thoughts that randomly pop into my head that have nothing to do with anything I am writing about. Back to the little but not a lot.

A few weeks ago I decided I should have a book trailer for my kids book Whatchamacallit? Thingamajig? What did I do? I tried a new program. It took me days to get my project done because I had to learn a little about this new program that I loved in order to finish my project. The book trailer is kind of cute, not the best, a little long, but it was so much fun.

My scattered mind is now going back to the social media. I joined Linked In, Stumble Upon, Tumbler, Reddit and I probably forgot a few other ones that I thought I needed to join. And I probably didn’t put the correct names because ahh… I can’t remember them all. I already belong to Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook and WordPress. I have started receiving invitations on  Linked In. I wasn’t sure what to do with them. People have recommended me. Recommended me for what? I wasn’t sure and I knew the people that recommended me so it must be the thing to do. I wasn’t sure I needed a Linked In Account because I always thought that was for corporate types not Granny writers. I see it is for more than the corporate suits. But then… I only know a little about the site.

And I can’t forget about Google. It keeps changing and adding and confusing me. But I do love Google at least the parts of it I can figure out.

I don’t accept everyone on some of these media sites. I don’t need to expand my world to solicitations or things that make me feel worse, and I don’t need to have thousands or millions of Twitter followers so I don’t follow people that offer me more followers. I can’t figure out the reason I would want to follow millions of people. I like to read what people post. I only want sincere followers and people I can follow back that expand my world in a positive way.

Social Media is great for writers. I am grateful I can send my writing off to editors that correct my bad grammar since it is not my strong suit. I am grateful for social media because it is crucial for getting the word out on our books. The best part for me is being able to connect with my readers. Also I joined some writers groups on Facebook and have made many new friends. There are so many talented and fun people out there.

I was feeling anxious about joining too many things and not keeping up. It was causing me stress. I felt behind in my knowledge. I was stressing on all I had to learn. I had pieces of this and pieces of that. And then……and then……the thought hit me that I may never put the pieces together just right. I may Stumble, Tumble, Tweet, Pin It and whatever else I want to do. All of these things are perfect for a scattered mind to keep it active, to keep it learning and to keep it interesting.  I will never learn it all because if I did the website will change. And here’s the kicker, no one really cares but me.

A few people recommended me on Linked In. Recommended me for what I wondered. The recommendations were good so recommend away until I find out how and why to recommend someone. It felt good to be recommended and to have someone say something positive about my scattered mind.

As a writer these social media sites are important and so are the groups on Facebook. Outside of that is the fact that I need this expanded world to broaden my vision, my friendships and my life. The people I follow, the people I connect with are inspirational, spiritual, creative and positive. I hope I am that to them.

So Stumble, Tumble, Tweet, and whatever else you want to try. Don’t be scared. Have some fun, be kind to yourself. Connect with those like you. Find balance between online friends and off line friends. Learn about far off places, different cultures. Make friends with those in another country. Connect with old friends. If you are older, don’t give up because you are scared and are afraid you can’t learn. Take your time. Be patient. You can learn and you might be glad you did.

I just have one question, you’ve linked to me, now what do I do?