Less Than 10 Minutes to Go...

With less than 10 minutes to go, I am concluding my project on Kickstarter. Time's up and my 35 day funding period will be over soon. I have worked so hard putting up posters, creating contests and giveaways to encourage people to share my project, reaching out to lots of friends and family members, and using every social network I have an account on to try to advertise my project. Ninety percent of my attempts to fund one of my dreams failed and in less than 10 minutes the rest is history.

However, there is a bright side to funding my novel through Kickstarter. A lot of my friends, family members, people I know, and even some of my clients were very supportive through out the whole journey. Although my project was not successfully funded and I did not receive any money towards my novel at all, I learned that there's a time and place for everything and that I will publish my novel, just not this year. I also learned that if you're truly serious about your own work, people will do whatever they can to support and encourage your endeavors.

My novel will hopefully be published next year and I will be sure to keep everyone updated. Also, to those who pledged and selected a reward tier that included a copy of the novel will still be sent a paperback copy of my novel as soon as it's published. Just as a thank you.

You can still check out my novel "Within the Bindings" on Kickstarter, Like the "Within the Bindings" page on Facebook, Tweet me questions or comments with hashtag #WithinTheBindings, and read all about my novel writing journey on my blog.
xoxo,

Share It to Win It: Win a $25 eGift Card to Barnes & Noble!

I have been going insane trying to get the word out on how my novel "Within the Bindings", is being funded through Kickstarter. I have been sending e-mails, handing out posters, and making overseas calls- it's all very hectic. Beyond that, I am trying to focus on writing the novel itself and getting everything in order for it to be published. It's a lot of work to do on my own so I'm asking all my readers and friends to pitch in, hence this Share It to Win It contest!

The Prize
The person who directs the most referrals will win a $25 eGift Card to Barnes & Noble. The eGift card can be used both online and in stores and will be sent to the winner via e-mail on August 25, 2013.

How to Enter
Share my Kickstarter project link (http://kck.st/11kQSYo) for my novel by writing a blog post OR by posting it on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, or Google +.

You can also pin my Kickstarter video (found on Kickstarter) or any of my campaign photos (below) on Pinterest.

E-mail (me) zobia@theeternityjournal.com the link to your blog post or social network posts and the person whose link gets the most referrals (I will be checking through Kickstarter) will win the $25 eGift Card to Barnes & Noble! 

Feel free to use any of the information or photos in this post!   

My Novel's Details
Title: Within the Bindings
Author: Zobia Alvi
To Be Published: Mid-November 2013
Short One Sentence Summary: A novel about family, love, Muslim culture in the United States, and the meaning of life that we're all trying to find.
Full Summary: 
After becoming a successful entrepreneur and living a comfortable lifestyle, Zara Abudallah-Cummings knew she had what she had always prolonged for. She had earned all of her success and changed almost every aspect of her new beautiful life. The only thing Zara never changed about her life was the way she perceived her past. Her past shaped her; it created the person she became. She kept her past in her heart and mind at all times. And every now and then, she would think about the life she lived.Mistakes were made and her dearest were deceived, but Zara never failed to see the light of it all.

  

Her family was clueless as to what secrets she kept from them. Little did she know, she was not the only one with a secret. She believed her past was the wall that stood between her and her family, but as her journey to life continues, she learns it was "the outsiders" that gradually tore her family apart. The more she opened herself up to others, the more detached she became from her family.

Based on some of my personal experiences and all the wonderful people I owe my inspirational soul to. A story about family, true intentions, and loyalty in a generation that has forgotten the value of love and true friendship. A story about Muslim families adjusting to the westernized life in America, while trying to keep the tradition of family alive. Told in the perspective of Zara herself portraying people in her life that have left an imprint on her heart, but had her push away from those whom she truly loves.

Campaign Photos for You to Use





This contest basically consists of getting the most referrals, no one is obligated to pledge. However, please encourage your readers/followers to support the novel! There's only 16 days left and I'm 25% closer to my goal! Every dollar counts! 

Thanks for your support & good luck!
xoxo,

You All Overwhelmed Me...With Joy!

I just recently launched my novel "Within the Bindings" on Kickstarter and I was overwhelmed with the response and feedback I received since then! A lot of my friends showed interest in my work and even some family members from the other side of the world decided to pitch in as well! I was so happy about all of it! The project has only been live on Kickstarter for about a day and I only raised 1 of 100 percent! It may not sound like a lot, but it was to me. I usually never receive responses that fast or that early. It was a great feeling.

My Kickstarter project took a lot of work to put up. The verification process took me about a month. (I blame myself, Kickstarter approved me within a day). Plus, shooting and editing my Kickstarter video was the hardest part. I shot the video twice. The first time I shot it with my phone and it appeared in HD on when played back on the phone, but on my computer it looked as if it were shot on an old flip phone. I could never publish that! The second time, I had my sister, Tabeer help me. She did great and all it took was about 3 hours of editing and staying awake until 5 A.M. to upload it to Kickstarter and send it in for approval.

Watch the video and see for yourself.



All your feedback and pledges mean the world to me! Please don't stop sending them! Be sure to follow my novel's Facebook page for updates and Tweet questions or comments to hashtag #WithinTheBindings!
xoxo,

Journey in Novel Writing + Giveaway Winner Announced!

Most of you that read my blog may already know that I have been writing a novel from my National Novel Writing Month badge or tweets about NaNoWriMo. I entered the novel writing month and achieved writing a novel in that month. The novel is called "Within the Bindings" and it's a very unique novel written in an unusual sequence that falls together once you finish reading. It's hard to explain the sequence, you have to read it yourself to find out. I am actually planning on finishing this novel and then entering it in a contest to possibly get it published! It's going to great! I hope you all as my readers will agree too!
So far it's been a hard working journey, writing almost every hour of everyday, it's quite hectic actually. Plus, I haven't even began editing! Oh what fun that will be! Here's the novel's summary, let me know what you think of it!

A girl named Zara is seen sitting in a parking lot in the middle of the city near where everything in her life seemed to have taken place. Throughout her life she had the urge to know everything, the urge to live every life she had seen, and to understand everything around her. Her open heart and mind allowed her to know everything about anyone's life. As soon as she formed a trusting bond with someone, all their life's experiences, all their feelings, and thoughts became something she had within her fingertips. It wasn't a talent, it wasn't a gift she was born with―Zara was a girl who saw the world naturally and synced her heart and mind into everything to find a natural meaning within. Zara knew everything without knowing a thing. 

Sound lovely enough? Comments are welcome! 

By the way, the winner of the $25 Fragrance Essence Gift Card Giveaway is Amber D. Please e-mail journeytoeternity@yahoo.com for details on how to claim your prize!

Thanks to everyone who participated! The contest had a great turn out! Don't be discouraged if you did not win. Check out FragrancEssence.com for deals that will be sure to make you feel like a winner! 

xoxo, 

Novel Stats

        As you may already know, I've been writing a novel for the NaNoWriMo contest. You may also know that I decided not to submit in my novel because I couldn't finish it in time for the contest deadline. I really wanted to be able to finish it. I was aiming for that huge 50,000 word goal. But, that doesn't mean it's the end of line for the novel. I'm still planning on publishing it! I'm still writing the novel and I'm also looking for a publisher. My current publishing options are PubIt! by Barnes & Nobles (eBook publisher) or Lulu (Self-Publishing). If you have any advice on where to publish a novel, feel free to share. ;]

My novel is going to be about religious views and how the only difference in people is the way they represent their hearts.

Here's the synopsis:
            Zaafira is the daughter of a lovely married couple, Michael and Zahrah. A family that combined two different religions, Islam & Christianity. This beautifully mixed family combines the nationalities of Spain and Saudi Arabia, residing in New York City. Zaafira is a 16 year old girl, going through the wonders of growing up and finding out who she is. Her parents gave her nothing but love, support, and a sense of home. Her friends allowed her to undergo experiences and allowed her to blossom into the person she was meant to be. However, through her teenage years, she begins to question why she had never met her Mother's parents, why her family moved to NYC and never talked about visiting their native countries, and why her Mother would never talk to her or teach her the meaning of being Muslim or Christian. She began to wonder why people didn't accept certain things in society.
           As she gets older, she becomes interested in writing and journalism. While studying for exams, being an intern for the New York Times, and getting ready for College, Zaafira meets an Atheist boy named Aaron. As she gets to know him, she realizes a pattern in her life. Zaafira has always been surrounded by people of different backgrounds, point of views, and ideas. Yet, she's never considered anyone different. In her opinion, everyone was human and the only variation humans had were how they chose to use their minds and how they chose to represent their heart.
I'm really loving the way my novel is turning out. I'm currently writing the second chapter.

Writing this novel has really given me an insight to certain things I come across every day and never really pay attention to. Writing this novel is allowing me to focus on actual details of my life.

        I recently read a few articles on how to be a good author and one of the articles said something that really caught my eye. The article said that in order to be a good fiction author, the best thing to do is write about what you know. This advice made me really think. I was planning to write a complete made up fiction novel without having any relationship to my life at all. Although, after thinking about it and trying it out, I realized how much more feeling I was able to put into the book by using names, experiences, and feelings from my life.

I really can't wait for the novel to be finished and ready to read!

xoxo,

Procrastination at it's Finest!

                       We all procrastinate once in a while. Except when you're me and you procrastinate all the time! I guess it's a natural born quality. This month, I had a lot on my plate and next month I'll have even more. I'm still planning to enter the NaNoWriMo 2011 contest, publishing that novel this year, and gaining more loyal subscribers to my blog. (Thanks to the 11 subscribers I have. You guys are awesome! ) Also, special thanks to the 13 people who subscribed to my technology blog. Anyway, with everything I have to do, I get easily distracted. 

                         For example, when I'm using my laptop to blog or write, I search the topic I'm writing about and find a great blog that posted something similar. After finding the blog, I'd probably scroll down to see comments, pictures, and other posts. Enter a giveaway (if the blog has one), find a sponsor site, or click on the blog of a commenter. When I'm using my phone, one notification can cause me to delay on what I'm doing by far. And even when I don't get a notification, I find myself constantly updating and checking Twitter and Facebook. My point is, I get distracted easily! 

How to cope with procrastination? (Here's what you can do & most likely what I SHOULD do) 

1. Use a task manager- Personally, I'm not a fan of task managing however, I've realized you don't have to schedule every single second of your day and waste all your time scheduling and not leaving time to complete the tasks.
2. Say no, give some things up- For me, THIS IS THE HARDEST THING to do because once I dedicate myself to something, I have to finish it no matter how long it takes or how much it'll stress me out. I need to learn to say no to some things I can't fit in my schedule and give up on things I can't finish on time. There's always next time. (Although, this lesson is still not effect with me because even though I've only written about 2,000 words of my novel, I'm going to do all 50.000 by the end of this month. Wish me luck?)
3. Make time for relaxation- Don't stress yourself out, take a break.
4. Do something fun- Take your mind off a really big project and give yourself a treat by doing something fun whether it's by yourself, with a friend, or your family- go out and do something.
5. Sleep early, Wake up early, & start your day right- (I really got to start doing that) Sleeping early means you'll get the rest you need for another great day. And, when you wake up early, you'll have tons of time to have a great day. 

That's all I had to say for today. Hoped this post was interesting and somewhat helpful! Thanks for reading. :]

xoxo,

NaNoWriMo 2011

For the first time, I signed up for the NaNoWriMo 2011 contest. What does that mean? NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. It's a contest held every year dedicating the month of November to novel writing. Starting November 1st and ending on November 30th, each participant gets exactly 30 days to complete an entire novel. Not just any novel though, a novel consisting of 50,000 words. I found out about this program from a Wordpress newsletter and decided to go for it. I'm currently writing a novel and being the procrastinator I am, I started 2 weeks after the contest had officially started. I got a lot of writing to do, but it'll be worth it in the end. Scroll down to check out my progress and web badge on the right. I'll keep updating the amount of words as I write. I'm really hoping to finish this. Wish me luck!