PUBLISHED!!!

Okay, everybody...it's done! It'll be a couple days before I'm (No Longer) a Mormon is up on amazon, but for the time being it's available for ereaders everywhere! For Kindle, please go here. For every other format - including online reading AND Kindle format! - please visit smashwords; you'll need a free account. I'll put the print book link up the moment it's ready, and once the ebook is available direct from B&N, Kobo, iTunes, etc, those links will appear here, too! Enjoy, and thank you all so much for your support!

Publishing To-Dos

Boy, how quickly we forget! Self-publishing is ROUGH STUFF. All I want is to get my book out there, share my story with the world, and help the unindoctrinated understand the plight of the indoctrinated-leaving-their-indoctrination...and it's taking a bit of time.

That's just fine, of course, but I feel like I've been sitting on this for MONTHS waiting for agents to respond. (That's another blog entry in and of itself.) Now that I know I'm self-publishing, I feel like I have a MOUNTAIN of things to do. What sort of things to do? Well...I'll show you!

1. Re-edit (nearly finished)
2. Re-proof (also nearly finished by my proofer, to whom I send pages as I finish re-editing)
3. Kickstarter...to help cover the costs of my proofer, cover artist, etc.
4. Re-formatting...for createspace, smashwords, KDP, and espressnet
5. Order and wait on a cover
6. Create a facebook page
7. Create a Twitter account
8. Work on this blog
9. Upload to all the places listed in point 4 (and wait for approval)
10. Order and mail out createspace copies for kickstarter contributors
11. Establish giveaways and "share contests" on facebook, twitter, and this blog
12. Market, market, market

Gee whiz, I already feel like I need a nap! Anyway, I'll keep you all updated as the process continues, offer links to kickstarter for those willing to help with the (very sparse) self-pub costs, and links to the book on twitter, facebook, amazon, createspace, kdp, smashwords, b&n, espressnet, kobo, itunes...you name it. Hang tight, and thank you for your patience and support!

Much love, Regina

So Here We Are, Just You and Me, Computer Screen!

Yup. No one knows about this blog yet. No one knows about my BOOK yet, outside of the dozen or so people who have already read it. I'm preparing to self-publish, you see...after being informed by a very publish-heavy book agent that as much as he would love to publish a slap-in-the-face to the Mormon Church, no one - NO ONE - in the publishing world will touch it. He said the Mormons have too much political power to piss them off. If I want to publish, I'll have to do what every other "open up the skeleton closet" ex-member has done, which is to self-publish...but if I DO self-publish, to let him know; he'd buy a copy.

Wow. Okay, then. That places a massive task before me. But why pursue it? Why bother? Because I honestly think that my life's experience (not my "life story", but my experiences as related to the church) demonstrates the psychological damage of Mormonism to an average human being. (Yes, I believe I am THAT screwed up because of the church, and I make no bones about it.) (No, really, THAT screwed up.) (And I have a major guilt complex, but if you've read my book, you'd know that...)

But here I am. Because about a year ago, an uber-liberal upstate New York friend challenged me to find a cause I believed in...and when I started to really, truly question my faith - to realize how important it was to hold my childhood faith up to the same skepticism I showed other beliefs - I had maybe two friends in the world I could talk to about it, and I feared losing them daily. This has required a complete mental and emotional overhaul...30-some years into life. Your reality was, since I was in my mother's womb, my worst fear. Entering reality tears you down in ways you could not have imagined, but buoys you with a remarkable hope for mankind's evolution. I'd say "All are One, Praise God!", but you would likely have NO CLUE what I mean yet. (Not that I find myself a genius by any stretch, but I think Carl Sagan would smile at my meaning.)

So this is my Star Trek-style "continuing mission", but in my case, continuing journey. (Sorry, it's the geek in me.) You'll get regular-ish updates on the weird inner-workings of my head, and I will attempt to read and respond to comments and to make sure ALL posts, pro or con, that are not attacking (either side!) will be approved. That said, I am a wife and mother and don't always have the time, AND I will not approve any posts that attack EITHER side. Please be civil and courteous, and keep your language appropriate.

By the way, I'm interested to see if and when anybody finds me, so if you see this, could you please comment with a "read it!" comment? Much obliged!

More soon, and I sincerely thank you for your understanding and support,
Regina

PS: No, Regina is not my real name. Yes, you could probably figure it out if you tried. Please don't try. There are reasons that this is anonymous, not the least of which is my family. Thank you.