Publication Day! Blue Hydrangeas in Kaleidoscope

Happy day! Pride. Happiness. Honor. And tears, yes, tears of joy. All of these were mine this morning when I opened Issue 71 of Kaleidoscope Magazine and saw an excerpt from Blue Hydrangeas within its pages. This was the forgotten submission I recently wrote about in my blog post "Planting Seeds." Today is publication day and there it is, even made the front page. 

Why does this mean so much to me? Kaleidoscope is an online magazine published twice a year by United Disability Services of Akron, Ohio. It focuses on the experiences of disability through literature and the fine arts from the perspective of individuals, families, friends, healthcare professionals, educators and others. Many of the contributors are disabled. This is my second time published with them. They were the first to publish my short story "Ino's Love" back in 2009, proving to me that my fiction work was publishable. 

In 2009, I was at the worst of my struggle with Thoracic Outlet Syndrome and other repetitive strain injuries, coming to terms with living with a permanent partial disability, and wondering if I would ever write again. Dark days. Seeing this story published in a respected, award-winning journal renewed my faith in myself and my future. It was a green light and I vowed to continue writing in whatever way I could. Now, seeing an excerpt from my novel in its latest edition inspires me to keep moving forward at my own slow pace. Good things do come. 

Please take a moment to discover this journal. The writings are lovely and enlightening. You'll enjoy the artwork. The artists and authors will move you. 

Disability does not have to be an end to one's dreams. 

Here's the link: 

http://www.udsakron.org/kaleidoscope/issues.aspx

###

Don't miss a word. Follow my Adventures in Publishing. 
Subscribe here and receive a free PDF of my Kindle short story "Ino's Love."

A New Adventure: Mailing a Book to Canada

photo by RealPhotoItaly via Dollar Photo Club

A few weeks ago, I shipped a paperback copy of Blue Hydrangeas to a reader in Canada for the first time. It was a bit more complicated and expensive than shipping books to addresses in the U.S. 

My ebooks are sold and delivered to readers all over the world, including Canada, which is a market I'd love to penetrate because they're neighbors and speak and read English. Distributing ebooks globally is a no-brainer because the costs are minimal and delivery is immediate. Print books are  another matter.

First of all, Canada does not have Media Mail, so it cost $10.45 rather than the usual $2.69 (this did not include the cost of shipping materials or my time.)  The book I sent was a review copy so the cost was on me. If I were to sell a paperback book to a Canadian reader I would have to charge them the $10.45 shipping fee and a materials fee of 1.50, bringing the total cost of the book to $23.95. Seems a steep price for a paperback even to me. 

I also had to fill out a Customs Form, something else new. According to the USPS website, you generally need a customs form for all international mail and parcels. Which form you need depends on the service you’re using and the declared value of your package. This was easy: It was a book.

And the mail clerk covered the package with all kinds of stamps, postage and otherwise. He also told me it would take 5-7 days for the package to arrive, which is what it takes for books shipped within the States. I shipped June 26th and received word the package arrived July 10th.

For more info on shipping a book internationally from the USPS please visit their website.

### 

 

Don't miss a word. Follow my Adventures in Publishing. 
Subscribe here and receive a free PDF of my Kindle short story "Ino's Love."