Friends and Future Authors, A great way to fund the publication of your book is to find and write grants. But where should you start? My friend, colleague, and co-author @Danielle Desir Corbett has a fantastic platform, Grants for Creators. She curates grants so you don't have to spend dozens of hours searching for them online (and I'm not exaggerating about how many hours you'll spend looking for grants; I have applied for and won 6 technology grants as a STEM teacher in my former life). Here is her most recent article on Substack, with her client's story of how she received $600 for her fiction book. https://open.substack.com/pub/grantsforcreators/p/speculative-fiction-writer-and-podcaster?r=26yiz2&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email Will you win a grant? You definitely won't win if you don't apply!

I just finished building my Website and activated it today, I do not have a book finished to offer, however, I thought I could blog about what I am working on and my progress through my writing journey. https://authors.tertulia.com/joannakasner-draft36or2s It is amateur but I think a good start.

Twelve years ago, I found out I had Celiac disease. It's a disease in which your immune system attacks your small intestine whenever you eat even a tiny amount of gluten. Basically, if an Olympic swimming pool were a loaf of bread, you would only have to eat a crumb the size of a small cooler inside that swimming pool, and you'd be sick...for three weeks. You may be wondering how this relates to writing a book. When I first found out I had Celiac disease, I looked online for how to travel gluten-free. I found a few blogs on "50 GF Restaurants in NY City," but I couldn't find any information on how to pack, fly, cruise, or, really, any practical, useful application advice. So I decided to start my own podcast, Travel Gluten Free, because I knew I wasn't the only person in a world of 8 billion people who was celiac and loved to travel. I was part of an online blog-writing group in 2016. I pitched the idea to the group. The overwhelming response? "Your title is too niche; it's never going to work." I spoke with a friend who was in the podcasting field at the time---this was when podcasting was just coming out of its infancy. I pitched him my topic, and he said, "It's perfect. People know what it is and who it's for." I looked online for books, podcasts, or any content that consistently talked about traveling gluten-free. While there were a few gluten-free platforms and influencers and about four gluten-free podcasts, no one had a platform dedicated to gluten-free travel. So I ran with Travel Gluten Free and launched my podcast in 2018. In one year, I had people asking me to write a book. I published The Guide to Traveling Gluten Free in March of 2020, and despite the pandemic, it made the Amazon Best Seller List. And almost ten years later, there are now 25 more podcasts that talk about gluten-free recipes, how to live gluten-free, how to be gluten-free, but only one that talks about traveling gluten-free - and that's my podcast. And my book? It's still the ONLY comprehensive travel book that teaches you how to travel while being gluten-free. Even after six years on the market, the gluten-free scene is exploding. No one else has written and published a book like this. And now I'm working on my second edition.

Hey, friends and future authors! Our awesome community just hit 100 members! I'm excited about what we've accomplished inside our community, the authors we have supported, and the stories that have been written. A big THANK YOU to each member who is here! Leave a comment and let me know what you've learned or a piece of valuable insight that you've gained while here.

Whether you wrote your first paragraph, nailed your chapter outline, hit publish, or simply showed up to write when you didn't feel like it — this community wants to hear about it. Drop your win below and let’s celebrate YOU :) 📖🦫