The Ultimate Blog Podcast - From Blogging to Writing a Book: Shaunda Necole’s Path to Becoming an Author

Episode Date: March 4, 2025

Have you ever dreamed of writing a book? For many bloggers, the idea of becoming an author is a natural extension of their love for writing, but sometimes their dreams of getting published stay on a bucket list. In this episode of The Ultimate Blog Podcast, Jennifer and Amy are excited to have Shaunda Necole back on the show to talk about how she actually made it happen. If you haven’t checked out Episode 157, Passion to Profit: How Shaunda Necole Built Her Multi-Blog Business, Shaunda’s first episode on The Ultimate Blog Podcast, be sure to listen to that!🔗 Check out the show notes for episode 168!

Welcome to the Ultimate Blog Podcast. This podcast is the podcast we wish we had when we started blogging. I'm Amy Reinicki. I'm Jennifer Draper. Our episodes dive deep into how to monetize your blog, sharing unique insights and practical tips. We bring you in-depth interviews with successful bloggers and experts who offer valuable, actionable advice.

Our mission is to educate, support, inspire, and empower you in your blogging business. Welcome to the Ultimate Blog Podcast. Today we get to have a repeat guest here on the podcast that we are so excited about. Shonda Nicole is here with us today. She joined us back in December for episode 157 where she talked all about turning her passion into profit. But today she gets to

talk about a new project that she's been working hard on that I know is going to really inspire those of you listening. Shonda has just published a book and she's here today to talk about it with you. So welcome back Shonda. We're so glad to have you. Oh, thank you, Amy. Jennifer, so glad to be back with you. Yes, today is going to be exciting because as we were talking about before hitting record, a lot of bloggers start this journey because they love to write.

And so publishing a book is not something that is so far off of the bucket list or the dream board. And so you have taken that and turned it into something that's actually happened, which first off kudos to you because a lot of times that's on a bucket list that never actually ends up happening. So I would love for you just to talk a little bit about your new book that's out. And then I want to dive into later this journey and what this journey's looked like for you. Absolutely. Well, again, thank you for having me. And I wrote a book, which I still kind of like scream and pinch myself. Yes, it's called 100 Things to Do in Las Vegas Before

You Die. I didn't feel like I had the most amazing publisher repressed during this process. They just keep amazing me each time we talk, and that is not something that I expected in a book writing process. But I wrote 100 Things to Do in Las Vegas Before You Die so that you can easily explore the many attractions in my home city that I just love and adore so much. Viva Las Vegas! We have so much in store for every person and everything someone could like. And for me, I often, I feel like I run around the city

all the time because we get so many new things and I always want to experience it. And I love to bring people here to experience the new, the things that go on here. And so the book was kind of my love letter to the city where I got to compile and curate all of the best of Vegas, especially things that tourists often miss or don't know about.

I say, there's the Vegas you think you know, and then there's this. And I packed that all into one precise 8x5 book or that it's easy when you come to town and to not get overwhelmed and, you know, find the most incredible things to do within the city. That is awesome. And what a resource because there are a million things to do there.

Yes. So narrowing in that down, I feel like would have been a challenge in and of itself. But you started with your blog that's all about Vegas. So VegasRightNow.com. And when you started Vegas Right Now, did you know that you were going to end up writing a book someday? Like what came first? Was it the blog idea? Was it the book idea? Or was it kind of something that you were dreaming about together? Wow. I love that question. Because when I think about the blog transformed into a book and I had no idea that that was going to take shape. So that organically took shape. I used

to say like my social media put me on the map. I really believe that's my blog. But my partnerships and my connections are definitely like kind of what got the word out there for me. And it was a friend that actually introduced me to the publisher. It wasn't even necessarily introduction. It was more of a, hey, I'm considering writing a book

and I'm gonna be working with this publisher. You should think about that too, Shonda. And I was like, yeah, I guess I should. You know, I should think about that also. And so I reached out to the publisher and I met with them. And again, I had no, writing a book wasn't on my radar. In fact, funny, I hadn't even thought about this till you asked, but funny story with that,

I was, I have an agent and each year we meet up all the people that she represents, the boutique agency. So it's a small intimate group of us. And we actually all really get along and are friends. And we meet up to support each other, learn from each other, because everyone's good at something in our blogosphere world here. And we kind of reteach each other what we've learned new.

And so that's where I got the tip from. But part of our retreat that year was we were all coming together to support two of the ladies who had already written books. And so we were going to their book signing. That was the first thing we did on our retreat on day one. And I remember them teasing like, okay, we're both gonna be signing.

Like, Shawna, do you want to jump in and write a book? I'm like, no, I'll be there to support you ladies. And of course I did. We had an amazing time at their signing together. And it was fun because it was a dual signing, two different books. One was a travel book, one was a cookbook. But that's where I got the tip from.

So no, I had no idea that I would be writing a book anytime soon. And when I thought about it, because as we talked about in a previous episode, I have a food blog, and that's my biggest blog is my food blog. So I always thought a book would come in the form of a cookbook first, not a travel book with Las Vegas, because LasVeg because Las Vegas,

VegasRightNow.com is my third website. So in my mind, it's still my baby site. You know, it does very well, but it's still, you know, the baby of the three. So I did not see it happening that way. But it did definitely organically take shape. And it's all the reason why I know you ladies preach it. And I do too from the rooftop that having your own foundation, having that blog and not just social media where you're putting everything is your best resource. So your friend kind of introduced you to this idea or put the idea in your head and you got a chance to talk to the publisher. But you also mentioned having an agent.

Is the agent like just for like your whole business? They're not specifically a book agent I just wanted to kind of understand because I I find that process a little bit confusing like, you know We've talked about self publishing here on the podcast, but we've never talked about like getting a publisher So I'd like to just talk a little bit about what that process looks like which comes first, you know Do you get an agent? Do you get a publisher? Do you pitch your idea? Or do you just pitch yourself? Gotcha. That is such a good question.

And I never knew those answers. So I'm happy to share it because I don't want it to be so mysterious or ambiguous about how that works. So one of my friends that I was just mentioning who wrote her cookbook, she did it a different way. And I think I'm learning that it just evolves very differently. She pitched her idea and also sought an agent,

and she's since written three cookbooks, and they've been that same process where she's used the same agent. And they always are pitching the book idea to the publisher. And so I always kind of thought, just knowing that from her, that that's how it worked. Well, my story unfolded differently than that. So as I mentioned, I have an agent,

she is the agent for any partnerships for my business, but she's not a book agent. In fact, I've even had a conversation with her before about why don't you be a book agent? You know, so I could go down that route, but she's like, you know, I don't have those contacts. That's just not my wheelhouse. That's not what I do.

And so that was years ago, prior to writing this book, that we had that conversation So in this case when my friend mentioned about writing the book and I should reach out to that publisher Here's the cool thing the publisher went directly to my blog saw my writing and on my blog I'm transparent about you know The type of traffic that it gets because of partnerships that we want to acquire And so I imagine that he looked at that and when we had the conversation He you know, it was like you're a great conversation, he was like, you're a great writer. And I was like, thank you so much.

We all want to hear that. And from there, he was just impressed with the amount of expertise and knowledge that I have about Las Vegas and said, we need this book. And so it was kind of from there. So I had to fill out, of course, some things. I don't remember all the forms, but just forms about like how, you know, how do I think I could, you know, market to my audience? And, you know,

because I think publishers at this point, I've always heard that in the age of social media, they do want to know that you have some sort of following who's going to want to buy this book and make their job, you know, somewhat easier in the publishing process. So questions like that were asked. I think I had to write like a sample bio and whatever they were asking, those specifics, which weren't hard, but they did ask

for some things written down. I can say being a blogger made that easier. Whereas like, we have a bio, like I have a bio already written, so it was kind of easy to just, transform that or mold it as needed to, you know, me in this book. And, you know, I already talked about Vegas content. We already have audiences. Even if you don't have social, you have an audience on that blog.

So it was just organically, it kind of unfolded, but it was also the right time. I would much rather have had the Vegas site first because it also gave me inspiration as to what to write about. Like I can even see what are people reading that I should really highlight in this book because my readers like that the most or what are people, what's my most liked video on social? So there are things that of course

I know I wanted to put in there and the hard part is the chopping block where a lot of things didn't get chopped but some things did because I'm a writer, I write a lot. Some things didn't end up making it in because the publisher had an idea of how many pages the book was going to be. So I hope I answered that question

because I really do want to share that, but I think it can be a different process for different people and different types of books. I've been very fortunate that my publisher is a travel series publisher, so they're very niche, just like we always encourage folks to be with their blog. And they're really spot on with the type of support that I need and the type of marketing

to position the book properly and get it out there. So that's been great versus, you know, I don't know actually how it is working with someone who does cookbooks and travel books. But in my situation, that's been just, they've exceeded my expectations in this process. Yeah. I think something that's really interesting about this whole process is if you weren't connected with that group, you likely wouldn't have this opportunity. I agree. Yeah, I agree. And I tell my kids this, I tell my friends this, but anybody, I think it's so important

to be in community for so many reasons. Just for oneself, so you don't feel alone. And especially in our work that I tease that I work with my cat and my dog, and I actually love it. Like, as long as I can make their life as luxurious as possible, I'm doing good. So I tease that a lot, because my kids are all adults at this point,

so they are my babies now. But it also, we do need community. They can't talk back to me. We communicate, but not in the same way that I can with my human companions. And so that is very important. And just for learning new things, I mean, you're spot on, Amy, I agree with you.

That group, it means a lot. And there's so much value that I've given. There's so much that I've definitely gotten back from that type of support. Yeah. I think it's an important part of this line of work. We don't go into a brick and mortar office where you work with hundreds of other employees

and you have those opportunities. So you kind of have to, when you're an online content creator, whether you're a podcaster or a blogger, whether you're just on social media, whatever you're doing, I think it is important to put yourselves in that space where opportunity can be found. And what I love about your story is that you had two people who are like, I think you should do this. And you're like, nah, I'm good.

It's all right. I don't think I want to do that. But that planted a seed in you and then you ended up doing it. Many people who have been long-term listeners of the podcast know that part of Jennifer and I's story too. She said the same thing to me. I started out as her VA and was just sharing on Instagram, like my own story. And Jennifer was the one who kept saying, you should start a blog and just like you, I was like, no, I'm good.

It's fine. Like, but she saw something in me before I saw it in myself. And so sometimes just like surrounding ourselves with people, whether you've started a blog, whether you've started what it is you want to do, but you can easily surround yourself with people who can kind of shoot down your dreams. When you surround yourself with people who are willing to like see what you have to offer in this world, I think that's so powerful.

So I just, I'm so glad that you have that. And I, I hope that for everybody who's listening I just I'm so glad that you have that. And I hope that for everybody who's listening that you can find that somehow. And whether it's, you know, just talking to other people by doing what you're doing, because you just you just never know the opportunities that are literally just one person away. You don't like your connections are not only as far as who you know, it's who they know as well. And I think that that can just expand your reach, it can expand your impact so much.

So I'm just really thankful that you shared that part of your journey, because I think it's a really powerful message that I hope people take from this episode for sure. Thank you. And I'm happy to even, as I say it, to even amplify it more in my own mind, because I couldn't agree with you more.

Yeah, community is so important. And that same group of us, we're going to Mexico together this week coming up. Yeah, so it's an annual thing. Actually, it's been more six months, but we really do learn so much from each other. And again, the power of community and support. I say only quality people, so OQC, surrounding yourself, like you said, I love the part about the lift up,

that people that will help elevate you and see things in you that you might not, that you're like, like you said, oh, now I'm good, or how I said it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, that we'll still see that and cheer lead you on to make that happen, So that is incredible.

And I'm so thankful also. I think people are gonna wanna get behind the scenes here and understand some of the nitty gritty, thinking about, okay, I'm gonna pitch to a publisher, I'm gonna pitch to an agent, or I have talked to somebody and this is in process, but now what is this book going to be? Like, how am I going to use my blog to create a book?

So can you just like share some of the process and the details about like how you decided what was going to be shared in the book? How much of that content maybe already lives on your blog or was inspired by your blog and kind of how it all came together? Yeah, that's such a good question. So the blog was definitely kind of like a foundational point even though the content is actually different. And that was also the fun part.

I used to keep notes and I have self-published e-cookbooks but not a physical cookbook. And so I've always kept like notes for my cookbook that doesn't exist yet, recipes that aren't quite search engine worthy, but would make a great recipe for a cookbook, and I just kind of keep a journal of those over there. So with some of the same concept with the book.

Now, definitely a lot of, there's content that is on the blog, but it's just completely written different, and I may have just different insider tips, which are fun for the book. And I also got to pull, unlike search engine, because I'm such a SEO geek, so we didn't have to operate in the SEO sphere when writing this book.

So we get to really be creative in what I was able to do, because it says 100 things to do, of course. The book is titled 100 Things to Do in Las Vegas, but I've definitely added in, you know, tons of other things. So there's way more than 100 experiences in the book. And the fun part was being able to group things together. So if I'm talking about like my favorite museum, like, so I love the Neon Museum, I think it's a place that everyone should visit when they come to Las Vegas. And I can also share other places in downtown Las Vegas that are similar or

other museums that you should visit, that type of thing. So I kind of get to curate and collect little collections of places in the book and pull those together, or, you know, don't miss eating here or seeing this when you come out of the restaurant, when you go there. So that was really a fun way to kind of play in the book. And then we have catchy titles like, you know,

visit a desert beach, you know, which is like an oxymoron there. So it was fun to also play with the titles of the different experiences in the book. So I got to kind of come out of the SEO nerd zone that I actually really love to be in online and get more into that creative space and, you know, be a little more whimsical and artistic with my

writing in the book. So that was really fun. But to your question, the blog really is helpful in kind of setting up kind of, because we make categories for our blogs. So that was helpful and kind of even just looking through my categories, like, oh, I want to make sure I put that place in there. Oh, I want to make sure I pull that. And then I just kind of made a spreadsheet of all the things.

Like before counting, I just made a spreadsheet, you know, probably starting with a foundation of what's on my blog and made a spreadsheet of all the attractions that I want to see in the book. And I categorize them by like restaurants or entertainment or sports or, you know, that way, and then we did some outreach to those places, add someone on my team who's amazing with just like PR and reach. So pro tip on that, anyone who's really good with pitching themselves, especially for like UGC content, you'd be amazing at pitching yourself to set up times to meet with these people.

So I'll just use the Neon Museum as example. They're one of my favorites in the book and also just favorite to have work with and writing the book. So we reached out to them. I didn't know anyone, you know, just organically. I hadn't met anyone, you know, from their administrative part or their marketing support team from the museum. I was just a regular customer and fan of the museum myself. So we did a ton of outreach from this spreadsheet

and we were able to pull through LinkedIn and like other, I can't even think of the tools, but there are other resources out there because they were like one-off tools that we use to like find these people. But basically like find people tools where you can get the right email address, the right person, the right department.

And so we kept a spreadsheet of that and we would just reach out to people like one of the places in the book, The Magician's Study, like I had a museum with the magician who doesn't reveal himself. So that was like really fun that I had this mysterious meeting and he told me all about the show and like kind of behind the scenes of the show.

And so we did a lot of like another museum I went to and they showed me some things like that. I couldn't record when I was there, but like I got to see him and it was just like a behind the scenes type of thing. So that one made for great social content. So there were just a lot of experiences that I got to have with different businesses in town

that I may have otherwise not known on a no basis. You know, more of me, I'm just a customer or a client coming in. So I got to meet people, which was a great part of the process and understand more about their business and the behind the scenes, which I think we all want to know the behind the scenes and that added more value to the book.

So those are some of the things that aren't on my blog, you know, that are definitely in the book, things that they may have told me from their backstories or what's coming new or what to expect. So that was really, really a fun engagement process. I had a little notebook, so I felt like a reporter on assignment. It was really fun. And so the biggest thing I remember trying to balance in that was just writing and getting the experiences

and trying to balance that all out. Cause some places I even visited where I may have already been there before, but visited again, because I was looking through a new lens of like, okay, where do you find this specific thing when you go there that people are curious about that I, you know, overlooked because I went there just, you know, Ashonda and not someone actually reporting on the experience.

That is fascinating. That would be so fascinating just to see the inner workings of it. And you know that they're going to come with like their A game because they know what's going into a book. And so like you're going to get like white glove service I feel like that you probably got and I bet it just made you fall in love with your city even more. And as you were talking, I was thinking we have so many like travel bloggers now that are part of our of our membership program, the ultimate blog roadmap.

And it would be so cool for travel bloggers to consider something like this with a place that they love to travel to, or if they have a specific area or something that they love. What a neat way to utilize something that you already love doing. Like you already love Vegas, you already have a blog about Vegas,

and like get to really like dive in and see the stories behind. It's so funny that you that you said that part of it just this over the Christmas break. I watched receiver on Netflix with my two sons. I don't know if you guys have watched that but it's all about five NFL receivers and my husband did not watch it with us. Who is a football fan as well and I was watching it. I'm like, I can't believe you're not watch it with us. He was a football fan as well. And I was watching it and I'm like, I can't believe you're not watching this with us.

I love this. Like I love these men now. I am like, like I just, and I hadn't even heard of a couple of them before. I mean, there was a couple of big names like Justin Jefferson and whatever, but there's one Amaron St. Brown that here I am dropping football names now.

But I was listening to their stories, and I said to my husband, I am so inspired by these men now that I know their stories and the stories of the teams. And I was like, how did you not watch this with us? And he's like, I don't wanna know their stories. And I'm like, I can't even imagine not wanting to know somebody's stories. And I'm like, that's, I can't even imagine not wanting to know somebody's stories.

And I think that's what's something that makes us kind of special as bloggers is that we really want to know the stories. Yes. Like we want to know the why, we want to know the inner workings of it, we want to get like all that, all the like kind of nitty gritty

about whatever topic it is. And you took something that you already loved and then you wanted to share a deeper story and now it's in the form of a book and I think that's just really awesome because sure we can absolutely leave a legacy with our blog but think about your family now too that like you get to hand them this work of art and say, I created this and that is really special. Not everybody can say that they did that. And I just, I think that's really inspiring to anybody, anybody listening, because this does not sound

like an easy process. I'm sure looking back now, now that it's out, it just released on March 1st. And so that is so exciting that you can now purchase the book that she's worked so hard on. But like this had to be kind of a labor of love for quite a while. I would love to hear kind of that timeline process.

How long did it take you to do this? To like to actually physically write the book. What did that timeline look like for you? Yeah, so it was, I remember signing, we were in talks the end of, so we're 2025, so the end of 2023, we were in talks about the book. And I think that was like maybe November, December. I remember signing the deal in January of 2024,

and we had a published, or not a published date, sorry, a manuscript turn in date of September 1st. And so I don't know if that's normal, not normal, I have no idea. Like I just know that's the way. Yeah, it went down for me. So I am an inch by inch as a cinch person, and so I just divided it up into like,

okay, I'm gonna write like X number of pages a day. It's how I did that. Or I'm gonna cover X number of pages a day. It's how I did that. Or I'm gonna cover X number of experiences. I think that's how I really broke down my experiences. So I'm gonna cover X number of experiences, you know, per day. And sometimes I would group them by like things. Sometimes I would just simply like,

because it was not always, I think it was, I just enjoyed the process more writing about like various things, because it kind of just broke up the Content in the day and so I'd break it up that way But that's kind of how I managed and I wanted to hit that I wanted to turn it in sooner than later was my goal just because yeah, I'm new to this I don't know what could come up and so I wanted to turn in a couple weeks earlier just in case they were like Oh, this is terrible

in a couple of weeks earlier just in case they were like, oh, this is terrible. You know what I mean? Yeah. Yeah. I don't know. It's so. Do you see it at all? From like January to September, were you turning anything in?

Well, I, oh, that's a good question. So and thank you. I remember I did turn in. So I got a book liaison in the whole process. And so she told me that you can and we encourage you to turn in about five different experiences to your editor before you get too far in just to make sure you're on the right page. And so one of the pieces of feedback, it was actually really good, was the opening story

of the book, and it's one that's near and dear to my heart, is my best friend's mom. And I don't even share stories about other people in the book, but she made it in this story because I just love her dearly and she would never fly ever. And I don't know what made her fly and come to Las Vegas. And this was just before I moved here, but she came and she visited. And then they loved the West so much because I'm from Virginia.

And so I say, I'm an East Coast girl who like came with this wild idea to live in Las Vegas and moved here. And I feel like, you know, this is where I always should have been. These are my people. I love the West. And, and here I am now, like writing a book about my amazing city. So I never lose sight of that, that, you know, I'm from all the way across the country and

here I am and now sharing all these stories about this amazing place. But my girlfriend's mom is also, I grew up with her, I've known her since I was three. But long story short, she comes to Vegas, she has chicken at Lolo's Chicken and Waffles, which is an amazing and awarded soul food restaurant in our city. And there's only one in the Vegas Valley

and it's not uncommon for there to be lines out the door. And so she comes here, she has the chicken, she's like amazed by it. She, and she's a fanatical person, and I am in many ways of collecting things too. So she loves it so much that she packs it in her suitcase and takes them home with her. And so.

And if you knew her, this is so Grandma Pat, that it's just, you know, I had to put this story in there. And so I submitted that as one of them just to make sure that was gonna be okay. And so she loved it. And she said, the first feedback I got was, I wouldn't go far with a lot of stories in first person, but this one's great.

So that one got untouched and left that as is. So it was good to be able to give, you know, a sample of my writing and then get that feedback so that you weren't like I said, like I wasn't turning it in on the day it's due and they're like, oh no, this is all wrong. I mean, I would have just been panicking. Right. I'd have just been totally freaking out. Exactly. So I did not want that. I try as hard as I can always save myself from anxiety moments like that. So that was a good thing. And then I remember it was just like, okay,

so you're writing a book, where do you write it? Like, what do you put it in? You know, like, do you just open up Microsoft Word or do you open up a Google dot? So I had actually researched that, you know, how do you, where do you put this thing, this manuscript that you're writing? So I wrote it in, I think Scrivener,

what was S-C-R-I-V-E-N-E-R, I wrote it there and I also, I kind of want to double check myself on that and I think I'm right about that because I only use it once. So. Yeah. Yeah.

Yes, S-C-R-I-V-E-N-E-R. So I wrote it in Scrivener and it was an amazing resource. It was easy to download it from there. It was easy to set up like chapters and categories and like the preface and index. It was very easy to kind of first I made like set everything up like preface, index, intro, you know, like all the things,

acknowledgement. I set up everything that was going in and then I would just go in and write and fill in those spaces. And then when it was all said and done, I had to upload the finished manuscript. It was very easy to bring it out of Scrivener into a Word doc, which is the way that the publisher wanted it and submit it to them. And so that was a really neat tool that I probably, I gained in the process that I definitely didn't use before and would go back and use again and it had wonderful reviews. And then from there, it's been a series of kind of tool that I gained in the process that I definitely didn't use before and would go back and use again. And it had wonderful reviews.

And then from there, it's been a series of kind of fun. It's like edits where the publisher will give you back the book. You go through edits and a proofreader. So that's been just a very neat process. All of this is new to me, so it was just a very neat process to see how that all unfolds. And one thing that was really time consuming, it was extremely time consuming, was making the index. That like, I think it took, I thought like,

oh, I'll knock this out in about four hours. I think I stayed up more than 24 hours when it came to making the index. And I didn't have any guide as to how you do that. And so afterwards they gave me some tips, but I was already done. But it took me over 24 hours to like go into that book and find every person, place and thing that I had mentioned and set them aside. And you know, and I try to put them as best alphabetical order as I could and submit that with the

book. So I've never even thought about creating the index, but I am sure that that is very time consuming. Neither did I. I never thought of it either. Yeah. So and I have a friend who wrote a book and had a horror story. I mean, it wasn't a bad story, but they had a amend the index. And so I was also kind of conscious of that, like knowing that, okay, I want to get this like really, really right. And really the publisher definitely takes over on that, but I just wanted to make sure that my contribution in that area was also extremely solid in putting that together. Hey there, Ultimate Blog Podcast listeners.

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So you turn in the book, you've done proofreading, edits, updating, and now it's like all in this lovely little package. And when we were talking before we hit record, you mentioned there were some surprising things that happened to you after you had this all wrapped up. You think, oh, the hard part is getting this book written, but there was more things to do once that happened. Can you tell us a little bit about that? I'm curious to know. Yes. So it has been more time consuming with all the things that have to be done after you submit the manuscript.

So I thought, like, OK, September 1, I submit this manuscript, and woo-hoo, kind of like free to go back to blogging and doing all the things I normally do. That has not been the case. So you don't know when edits are going to be asked of you. You don't get like, oh, tomorrow we're gonna send you, the proofreader is gonna be ready tomorrow

and she's gonna send you this to look at, or the picture, this size isn't the right size, or you don't know what's coming your way. So every day it could be something, and it's not really every day, but again, it could be once or twice a week, you don't know what's coming your way. So every day it could be something and it's not really every day but again it could be you know once or twice a week you don't know what's coming your way. And so there's just you want to be so detailed and meticulous about this because it's going in in print. It's not like the blog where like oh oopsie daisy you know made a little mistake here

let me go back in wordpress and just fix that and dynamically update. It doesn't work that way. So I'm just very, and I'm a very detail oriented person. So even when like some things didn't make the cut because just for the way the book is structured and set up and you know, some experiences had to come out and when that happens, so we now we've got to go back in the index and take those, you know, person places up and things out or you know, maybe not because they're mentioned over here also. So there's just a lot of little details and lots of literally I's to dot and T's to cross. There's also the marketing.

I mean, that's the big part about it, which is the very time consuming. So planning book events, getting in touch with, I personally have a publicist, which is probably the most expensive person on my team, and I have a publicist and that's, you know, we get together and you know, she's, she may be sending me updates of, you know, okay, you can, you know, be featured on this podcast or this venue that we reached out to is happy to have you. What date do you want? I mean, there's just so many things. What date do you want to do it? Okay. That

room's not available on that date. Can you do it in this room? Or how do you want to do it? Do you want it to be a bar crawl or just want to sit in there and read? I mean, there's just a lot of things. Then there's materials that you need. So we had to design book, and this is not a had to, but we want it swag. We want a book swag, so bookmarks, book plates.

How to learn what a book plate was, or the author signs that. We did a big step and repeat. You know, there's just all kinds of marketing material that you want to have and that you're going to consider having. And how do you want that to look? So there's just I feel like I'm forgetting things even as I'm trying to list these things for you, but there's a lot that happens in the planning

and organizational part after, you know, okay, the book is written, but now we have to promote the book. And so the first six months of this year, at least like through March, it was definitely, you know, planning for all these things to happen. And then of course, once the book is released, it's now going on book tour. So going to different places.

I think I'm going as far right now as to Savannah, Georgia, this spring to talk about the book. So it's just, you know, it's that I've got a few more, there's always calls with different departments with the publisher from their marketing department. My book, my editor actually gave me a publicist for the book, even though I have a publicist also. So it was a double tag team effort. And then we wanted me to make sure we're not crossing, you know, we're not doing

the same things that we're dividing and conquering our work appropriately. So there's just been a lot more admin and planning beyond what I thought that you just write this book and turn it in. For sure. I'm, I'm so intrigued by all that because it's definitely not something that I think you could do alone since it is going to be a published work that you're going to need that help. And so it's so awesome that you have a team surrounding you that's able to support you because you likely, one, wouldn't have the opportunities to kind of go to some

of those places that you wouldn't otherwise. opportunities to kind of go to some of those places that you wouldn't otherwise. And once again, the power of that community, thinking of the people that you get to connect with now. And who knows, you might be back on the podcast in a year and you get to tell us of a new opportunity that has come to light because of this whole thing, which I think is really, really exciting.

And it goes back to, if you go back and listen to Shonda's first episode with us here, it was episode 157. And she talked about like her journey. I'm not gonna spoil it. I just want you to go back and listen to that. But she talked about where she started and she didn't start by like writing a book and having a publisher and having a publicist.

Like it started very simply, you know, and I think that that is something that's so powerful to anybody listening is that listening to her talk today or you're you might be thinking, oh gosh, there's just no way I'm not cut out for that yet. But she couldn't do what she did today if she wouldn't have started at the beginning and had that dream in her heart in the beginning. And just what you've done and listening to your story and connecting with you, if it's used just, you have just put one foot in front of the other and like as a new opportunity has arose, you've risen to the occasion like, okay, here we go.

Like I guess I'm going to start a blog and I guess I'm going to write a book and I'm going to have more than one blog and now I'm going to go on book tour and this is going to be really exciting and it's just really inspiring to see that a woman who is at home and has started in the online space the growth, the opportunity that can come from something that some just think is just a small thing. Oh my gosh. It's not. Being a blogger think is just a small thing. Oh my gosh. Being a blogger is not just a small thing. There are so many opportunities available to you that are more than just sitting down

and writing a blog post. Oh, absolutely. I love when we get to share that message about how far a blog can take you. I've had countless trips and experiences because of my blog of something that I just really passionately, just like all of us bloggers passionately wanna tell stories about

and the many places that that has carried me to. And I also like to point out with respect to that about our blogs and how valuable they are and how many places and destinations they can carry us to is that I never expect like I'm going to just get like, I hope it happens, but I don't expect to become like a millionaire because I wrote a book by any means. But for me, it's more of a bigger stepping stone that now my name is somewhere else in light. You know, it's, you know, I'm a published author now, you know, so even going back to SEO and that, you know that knowledge graph

that we all want from Google, that helps amplify the knowledge graph by being a published author. And honestly, all the things like you said with my story, things have always for me just kind of organically taken shape, and the blog has paid for that. Like, to have a publisher, which I, or no, excuse me, a publicist, which for me was a big feat when that happened, like, oh my gosh, I can afford this.

Well, that's because of that blog, that food blog that, you know, is still paying the bills around here. That really comes from that. So a lot of these stepping stones are because I am a blogger and that has really built such a solid business that makes wonderful revenue as a business woman and that I can still sit at home in the place that I love with my cat and my dog in the city that I love and do this.

So I just always love to shout out us as bloggers whenever we can because we are probably those folks who are definitely under the radar. I think my mom asked me one time, just out of sheer curiosity, I don't know what we're talking about, but she said, like, I wonder how they get all that stuff on the internet. I was like, it's because of us, bloggers. We put it up there. We answer all your questions.

That's amazing. We are the internet. And so I just like to say that and give us our flowers at all times because we really are the internet. And it is my blog that absolutely allowed me to have a team and to have the type of support that I needed to even step into this role and write this book. That's so inspiring to anybody who's listening who maybe you've had a dream of writing a book or maybe starting a blog. I just, I hope that that encouraged you today.

So Shonda, you've shared everything up to this point. So the book's been out for like, this is day four. All right. And I think something that is really just, I don't know, kind of educational for people to understand is when somebody publishes a book, how can we best support a published author? Like, is there a particular place that it's better to buy the book from? Can you request it at your local library?

Like what would be kind of a call to action for anybody listening today to just help get more eyes on your new book? Right. Thank you so much for asking that. Yes, we want to make this one a bestseller. So yes, purchase it on Amazon 100 things to do in Las Vegas before you die. You can also go, and I encourage everyone once you purchase it on Amazon, and you can even go to my site, VegasRightNow.com. There's it's all over the homepage. So the homepage. It'll take you to my book page. But what I'm also even giving as a gift to anyone that purchases the book is that once you purchase the book on Amazon, come back to my site, there's a simple

form where you drop in your, your name, your, your order number and where you purchased it from, and I will send you a signed book plate free, that story that I was just sharing with you, but the actual full story with the list of places to eat at. I'll send you kind of like a sneak preview from that first entry in the book. And also the fun thing, my Vegas speakeasy maps. Speakeasies are a big thing in Las Vegas now. Different hotels keep popping up and I'm like always on the chase trying to add more, adding them to my map as new hotel experiences pop up and unveil new ones. But they're such a fun place. My I call them my kiddels, the kids because they're grown, but the kiddels were here for the holidays. And we went to a couple of speakeasies. And so even

they're like, you know, they're young, they're like, how do people know about this? And I'm like, well, it's just for us to let you to find. You know, so. From your mama. Yep, from your mama. Yep, good thing I know, yeah. Cause so you're so lucky. So I wrote the book. So I love to tease them with that,

but yeah, speakeasies are a thing here. So I have a map that will guide you through all the speakeasies in Las Vegas and I'll make sure you have that too. So yeah, definitely buy the book on Amazon, come back and buy it this week and then come back. And I'm happy to share all of those goodies with you also to thank you for your support.

Awesome. Well, we will be sure to put a link to purchase A Hundred Things to Do in Las Vegas Before You Die. Shonda's new book that is out now. Purchase that on Amazon. And Shonda, thank you so much for just being here today and sharing this whole process. I think it's so encouraging when other creators are willing to come and just say, hey, this is how I did it. And you're not gatekeeping that information. Like you really do wanna help anybody else in that process.

So thank you so much for sharing that with us. And we wish this book the best of luck and we feel honored that you were willing to come back on and share. And so we can celebrate with you because it's an exciting thing. And we just are really, really proud of you for the work that you've done.

And I'm excited to read the book myself. Oh, thank you. Thank you. I wholeheartedly received that and appreciate that and it really gives me so much joy to know that I can guide someone around this city. I just love it so much. And if you would real quick also, if you want to share where else they can find you, we'll put the book in the show notes, but where else can people connect with you? You've mentioned your food blog and your Vegas blog,

so be sure to share both of those so they can find you there. Yeah, absolutely. So my signature site is my name and it's spelled S-H-A-U-N-D-A and then Nicole is N-E-C-O-L-E. So signature site is shondanicoll.com. On that homepage, it links out to all my other platforms. So Insta, which is also my name, Shonda Nicole, to my food blog, which is thesoullfoodpot.com. And then of course, to my beloved Vegas site, vegasrightnow.com.

So, but yeah, you can get to any of those places from shondanichole.com if that's kind of easy for you. Awesome. Fantastic. Thanks Shonda. Thank you. Thanks for listening. Thanks Shonda. Thank you. Thanks for listening to the Ultimate Blog Podcast. If you'd like to learn more about building your blog,

visit theultimateblogpodcast.com backslash newsletter to get signed up for our email newsletter. If you enjoyed this episode, we'd love for you to share it with a friend, subscribe and leave a rating and review on Apple podcasts. Thanks for tuning in today and we'll see you next time.