Do It Myself Blog – Glenda Watson Hyatt

One advantage of being a solopreneur is having flexible “business” hours and days. I have put many late nights into my virtual book tour; this virtually touring requires much more work than I imagined. Yesterday, after recording the internet radio show with Paige, I took the rest of Friday off to sleep! A few more days like that are waiting for me at the end of the tour

The interview with Paige was awesome; everything worked. She will now edit the recording before putting it “on air”. I’ll announce the details once I know them.

For now, I would like to share how I, with cerebral palsy and a significant speech impairment, was able to give my first radio show! It is actually mind-boggling that this “non-verbal” red-head was able to do this.

Here are the steps taken to accomplish this feat:

1. Paige sent me her questions ahead of time.
2. I typed my responses into Microsoft Word.
3. I copied each individual response into my text-to-speech software TextAloud and tweaked the text so that my computerized voice Kate reads it as accurately as possible.
4. I saved each response as a separate wave file.
5. I created one PowerPoint slide with links to each wave file; that way each response is only one mouse click away.
6. In Paige’s online room used for recording, when it was time to give response, I hit the microphone button and then the appropriate link in PowerPoint.
7. Voila…my first radio interview!

Above is a screenshot of the PowerPoint slide. Once the text box for each response was created, action settings were created (Action Settings > Mouse Click > Play Sound > browse for appropriate wav file); this links the wav file to the text box.

Essentially, I created my own customized communicator. Any doubt why I was exhausted!

Feel free to contact me for more information on creating a customized communicator using PowerPoint. This concept is so flexible and is only limited by your imagination!

Amidst all the busy-ness of life, it is important to stop and take time to reflect and to connect with one’s spiritual self, in whatever way that may be. Today, I travel virtually to Kansas City, Missouri, to speak with Reverend Carla Golden. Her own story, “NO DUMB BUNNY: One Woman’s Journey from Playboy to Pulpit,” sounds quite amazing; one that I would like to read.

Typically, I don’t speak openly about my spiritual beliefs. I consider them personal and, in this day, it is easy to offend someone, so I tend to keep them to myself. Thus, in my interview with Carla, I found myself stumbling for a way to articulate my beliefs and how they sustain me through life’s challenges. Despite being tongue tied, I do know that my spiritual beliefs are a driving force in my life. They keep me going when times are tough and they enable me to see beyond the “here and now”. They cal my fears, ease my worries and give me hope to continue to this journey called life. What a journey it is!

Feel free to share how your spiritual beliefs have supported you through your life’s challenges. Perhaps you can articulate it more profoundly than I did.

Chicago is definitely a happening town for bloggers as my virtual book tour takes me there again today. While in Chicago, I have had the pleasure of meeting David, Andy, Wendy, and, next week, Scharlene.

Today, I’m chatting with Liz Strauss, the owner and writer of Successful-Blog. Today’s chat is slightly different from my previous interviews; although we chatted today, Liz will post it as a series of mini interviews next week. I will announce them here once Liz posts them. Thanks Liz!

With all these connections in Chicago, what are the chances one knows a Harpo security guard, janitor or mail clerk who easily slip a copy of I’ll Do It Myself onto Oprah’s desk? Hmmm. Will the Law of Attraction work? Stay tuned!

From: Seattle Sister Cities

With my passport in hand, my virtual book tour finds me heading to Christchurch, New Zealand, to chat with Liz Lewis. For years, she has been saying she wanted to write for a living, but has never really done anything about it. Until now! This is the year Liz is going to make it happen. She is sharing her journey from dream to reality as she works towards becoming a successful freelance writer. Her ultimate goal is to kiss her day job goodbye and to be travel writer. That sounds like fun, Liz! Good luck. And remember, if you can dream, you can achieve it.

In my chat with Liz, I share my life living with cerebral palsy and how the written word is my contribution to society, as well as some advice on getting published. Feel free to leave a comment, sharing a thought or asking a question.

As an interesting side note, a time warp occurred with this interview. Being in New Zealand, Liz is 21 hours ahead of my time. When she posted the interview about noon on Monday here, it was still Sunday morning here. Harmony, a freelance writer from Maple Ridge (mere miles from where I am in Surrey), saw the interview and contacted me. Harmony and I are essentially neighbours, and we meet in New Zealand on Monday, while still enjoying our Sunday. Isn’t the blogoshpere amazing!

Yes, that is right! I am off to Albuquerque, New Mexico, to be interviewed by a dog. But not just any dog. Shadrach the Neo Mastiff is a blogging dog! Shadrach was among the first bloggers to sign up to host an appearance on my virtual book tour. Being interviewed by a dog was definitely a first for me. What else can I say? Enjoy the interview!

After talking with Shadrach about how dogs can help people with disabilities, his mommy Kim Bloomer, coincidentally, did a special edition of her Animal Talk, Naturally! show about how an assistance dog was kicked out of Walmart. In the United States, refusing admittance of a certified service dog is illegal according to the Americans with Disabilities Act. (In Canada, we, unfortunately, do not have nationwide legislation dealing with service dogs in public places.) Please read more about this story of discrimination and see how you can help.

With all this dog talk, my puppy-cat Faith wants to be included, too. She is very much my spoiled baby!

That wraps up week four of my “40 Blogs in 40 (Business) Days” virtual book tour, promoting my autobiography I’ll Do It Myself. Things are beginning to heat up and get exciting! I just landed a “Face Ad”, and on Monday, I am off to New Zealand! Who knows what will happen in the next four weeks – that is the amazing thing about the blogoshpere!

Have a great weekend!