Platforms suck… until they don’t (aka: shit takes time).
*In case you need help building your platform, I’m about to share my rock-star resources and the team that’s helped me build a platform that until very recently, I’d only just dared to hope for. And, to see a video I’ve been working on for months—the thing I’m most excited about—click here (or see again at the end of this post). Now, about that platform suckage…
An agent I work with just got her 10th rejection for a memoir written by a friend of mine.
The rejections are glowing, the agent’s undeterred, and it’s no doubt just a matter of time before the “right” editor says a resounding YES.
“You’re in the gap,” I told her. “That limbo place where you can see where you’re headed, but it’s still just outside of your reach.”
“What should I be doing?” she asked.
“Work on building your platform.” Heavy sigh. No one likes this prescription. I know; I used to be chairman of the Complaint Committee. But diving in to further work on her brand and thus increase her platform (her fan base—people who will BUY her book when it’s released) will help take her mind off the wait. Make her feel proactive. And, if she were to garner more “fans” or “opt-ins” for the newsletter she hasn’t yet created or gain subscribers for the blog she only occasionally updates, potential publishers wouldn’t scoff at her efforts.
“All this is easy for you,” she said. “You’re website’s so professional, your marketing’s so smart. You have a team of people helping you. I don’t have the time, money, or team. I’m overwhelmed. In fact… I’m… um, well, totally intimidated by your online presence! It freaks me out.”
What the heck? Easy for me? I was stunned. Until I forced myself to hire a photographer last year, I hadn’t taken a new head shot in nearly a decade! (Flashbacks of my once crooked-toothed smile and zitty skin haunted.) I’d only just figured out my umbrella name (Book Mama) last year after trying all manner of weird, what-the-bleep former names because Sivertsen’s too hard to spell even for my friends—nope, there’s no “L” there. I’d only recently moved all of the info from my disjointed sites (with different names for my blog, tele-courses, retreats, books, and my editing/consulting) onto that hub. Before that, my “platform” seriously lacked cohesion. Is Linda an author? An interviewer? A ghostwriter? A journalist? An editor? An environmentalist? A retreat leader? A blogger? WTF?
I rarely knew where to send prospective clients. “You really need to put all of your services into one place,” a few honest ones couldn’t help but blurt out.
“Yeah, I know. Thanks,” I’d stammer.
(Not to get too far afield, but in case you’re impressed I had all those sites… my first web guy was a family friend who helped out of the goodness of his heart. Telling a Good Samaritan like this that you want change after change is agonizing. The second was a cheaper than cheap college kid who couldn’t spell ball or fart. It took me longer to tell him how to fix a post than it took me to write them in the first place. The third built a beautiful site for a book release, but cost me well over $25,000. No complaints, except the behind-the-scenes tech stuff was beyond my intelligence level and I never did update a single line on my own.)
This relatively new friend had NO idea how I’d wrestled with trying to figure out how to put myself “out there” as a work-for-hire writer + midwife of other people’s stories. She didn’t know about my expensive divorce, or that I was (and am) single handedly putting my son through film school. In that context, she would have understood why paying for bananas and tampons took precedence over finding and hiring “my team.” Team? Are you kidding me? When you’re rebuilding a life in shambles (as any good dumpee knows), your team, if you’re lucky, consists of a crisis therapist and a gym membership.
I’d borrowed money to hire the most bright, sunny assistant (Natalie) to help me expand and get me through the darkest times (miss her… she’s out conquering the film world now, making a documentary to save lives). But even with her massive help, the divorce stress + my ridiculous dating debacles ate up great chunks of our precious time and brainpower, and we struggled to learn online marketing by our overwhelmed little selves. Yes, I’d written a couple of New York Times bestsellers (and helped clients get 6- and even 7-figure book deals) with people who had LARGE platforms. But when it came to my own, my secret motto was: “Platform building SUCKS.”
But then it all started to gel. My meager attempts to communicate with my small “list” (people who’d signed up for my WordPress publishing tips newsletter—maybe you?), started to bring my work to a larger audience, who then bought my products (passive income) and came to my retreats. Those clients—once strangers from the web—became friends + sisters and are now part of my wide extended family whom I can’t imagine living without.
Who knew a “platform” on the Internet could help foster such goodness? A lot of people, apparently. That’s why this topic never goes away.
It seems that the branding I’d done in fits and starts eventually allowed me to hit an effortless kind of stride that has made every aspect of my life easier, giving me back the most precious thing I’d long since given up—my time. Time to sleep at a sane hour each night and read books for pleasure, not just research. Time to take long hikes with my man and our dogs, ride our horses every day, golf, travel, hang out with our grown kids without looking at the clock, and write nearly whenever the spirit moves me (this is a big one for a once harried ghostwriter).
My motto today? “Platform building sucks… until it doesn’t. (aka: shit takes time.) Then it’s positively dreamy, as the above examples reveal.
“Nothing happens, and then nothing happens, and then everything happens.” ~Fay Weldon
So, what did I do? And, who helped me? (Yes, you can hire them to get this platform-building momentum happening in your own career.)
A few humble recommendations that have worked for me…
Photos: Your web presence starts with a great photo so people can see your essence and feel safe working with you. I adore LA-based photographer Michael Higgins (who shot my old and new pics). He’s fun as hell, talented, honest, a bargain, and eye candy too. (What? You don’t want to be bored on your shoot, do you?)
Social proof: While my first sites were nothing to tell the media about, I generated biz by posting testimonials as soon as I had them. Social proof is powerful—people want evidence that your work WORKS. I recommend doing work for free or at wildly reduced rates with the promise that people will give you blurbs if they love your services. A win-win. Soon you won’t have to give anything away.
Domain names: Buy your own name and book title, if you can get them. If the latter’s not available, try adding “thebook” to the end. That’s how my son and I were able to use the name Generation Green (already taken), as in, www.GenerationGreentheBook.com (the only site I didn’t fold into BookMama). I buy my domains for around $12 through GoDaddy.
Website: Whether or not you can afford help with your site, I recommend building it through WordPress. It’s so easy to update that a little kid could do it. I know plenty of folks who make their little kids do it (just kidding)… I mean… built their WordPress site from the ground up, without prior tech knowledge. I update mine regularly.
Video production + SEO (search engine optimization): By summer of last year, I’d been filling my Carmel writing retreats for some time. In a flash of PR moxie, I made a short video about them with my iPhone and posted it on my retreat site. For a nominal investment, I hired Kathy McDevitt (an Emmy-Award-winning producer with CNN) to go behind the scenes and work her magic with tags and key words to help the video rise in the Google search rankings. Soon, my retreats were on page #1 of Google and people were finding me from around the world (as an example, I had a delightful chat yesterday with an Irish woman who called me from her home in Dubai—wow!). Google is your friend. Getting on the first page or two in your genre, especially a crowded one like writing retreats, is platform-building gold.
My publishing tips blog continued bringing in more subscribers, as did PR from a few successful books I’d co-authored. Everything was feeding into everything else. But I still needed an “umbrella name”—a main hub for all things Linda. For years I’d longed to work on my branding, but wasn’t inspired to until I could figure out that dang umbrella name—something people could spell and I’d be happy with for a long time.
Growth anyone?: That’s when Danielle LaPorte called about launching a digital writing course with me. Danielle has a way of forcing you to play in a bigger sand box, thus, finding a name became URGENT. How I came up with BookMama (and secured the domain) is a tale in and of itself, which I’ll share in my next post.
Web design: Once I’d decided on my new name, Danielle referred me to her rock-star site builder, Paul Jarvis of www.twothirty.com. Paul and I mapped out everything I wanted, and while he simultaneously built our “Your Big Beautiful Book Plan” site (the digital writing course Danielle and I were creating), he masterfully made BookMama come to life in a matter of weeks. I’d never had such an effortless technological experience, and kissed the ground over this pattern changer.
Launch time: By then, Danielle and I had finished writing Your Big Beautiful Book Plan, and HER design team became my team (oh, happy day!). They took our words and put them into a design that upped the elegance factor ten fold. Mara Lubell at www.works-progress.com did our stylin’ book design & cover art. Alexandra Franzen worksmithed just the right copy when our brains had turned to mush. Angie Wheeler, Danielle’s Head of Everything, oversaw the entire project (and yet somehow found the time to load my WordPress site with images and teach me how to update it so I didn’t have to read the directions or watch YouTube videos). Jeff Phillips edited our audio clips, while Cassie Oswald & Hillary Weiss transcribed hours of audio. (Hillary also proofed, wordsmithed, and updated images to BookMama in the 11th hour, just as we were about to hit LIVE on both sites.)
Email marketing: Angie had moved my list over to MailChimp, where she also set up a new newsletter that I could send out anytime on my own, and she and Paul connected my old blog posts to my new WordPress site. Phew.
Video marketing: The very talented Madeline Ell took the video I’d shot with RuffHouse Entertainment here in LA, plus the video she’d shot of Danielle in Vancouver and edited them to create our Your Big Beautiful Book Plan video.
Heat: Once the BookMama and Big Beautiful sites were live, I soon got an email from my favorite hotel in Carmel, The Vagabond’s House Bed and Breakfast Inn, wanting to recommend my retreats on their website, just because. I smiled, knowing this famous artist haven for nearly 100 years, in one of the most revered artist communities in the world, wouldn’t have considered endorsing me had I not updated my look. (Build it and they will come? Yep.)
Still, one last issue bugged. “You really need a more professional video about your retreats.” I’d heard this several times. “The one you made on your phone looks sweet, but…” The subtext was “cheap.”
Retreat videos: I’d seen rave reviews for Caroline Harrison’s work. A former BBC producer/cinematographer, Caroline’s mini-documentaries are like nothing I’ve seen in video marketing. I longed for one of Carmel, if nothing else to have as a keepsake for what has become one of the most treasured experiences of my life.
Caroline took 36 hours of film at this years’ April retreat, and somehow whittled it down to less than 7 minutes (+ a few short testimonial videos). It’s taken me a while to get the vids posted (remember, shit takes time!!!), in part because of things I learned I “should” do first. (Who knew that creating a YouTube channel helps with SEO? Ugh!) Thankfully, Annika Martins—marketing consultant and tech know-how gal Friday—rallied to create that for me. She then had the brilliant idea to gather a bunch of tweetables—dear God, does it ever end?—from my blogs to send out bi-weekly as soon as I want to schedule them. With any luck, I might remember to follow up with her on that.
Today, right now… I’m giddiest about the mini-doc Carmel video we created + Q&A vids that delve deeper into the specifics. I’m humbled by the gorgeous testimonial videos several past participants made. After all this w-a-i-t-i-n-g, I can’t wait to share it all with you here. If you want to comment on the videos or share them with your friends, click here or paste this link: http://bit.ly/NeiOHH. If you’ve been to a retreat, I’d love to know if we’ve captured the magic we experienced together, and for those who haven’t come, please share how the videos inspire your own creative expansion.
Mostly, I share these videos with the prayer that what you see in them—the fulfillment of my platform-building dreams (from suckage to serious satisfaction)—validates for you that your life and work are truly a work of art. Something of great value to share with the world.
Yours,
Linda
P.S. Thanks to my platform, all 7 retreats I’ve done this year have completely sold out. I’ve only got 3 spots left until next year. If you think you’d like to join us Sept. 24-28, or Oct. 29-Nov. 2nd, fill out the registration form here and we’ll schedule a phone chat to talk about securing your spot… and delivering your book baby, already! Yay!
Lcharmed@mac.com
661-769-5153
44 Responses to “Platforms suck… until they don’t (aka: shit takes time).”
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Very few things can capture the spirit of the Carmel Writing Retreats – but this video does a wonderful job. As a June 2012 Alumni – I can say that writing went from a distant dream to a tangible reality. Linda is a beautiful soul – who is grounded in business! Which was important to me – because I am more business person than writer! (Because of that, I am a bit nervous about all the writers reading this and assessing my grammar!) This is a great experience that will change everything for you.
I LOVE business, and ADORE your take on it. I can see why you’ve been so successful, and have no doubt your book will be too. Almost time to shop, Rikka. Almost time! I can’t wait. You’re so deserving of being on a larger stage (careful… the world just may want you to do stand up on TV!). xx
Great video, Linda! It really captures the magic of your writing retreats. When I went to Carmel a few years ago, I was overwhelmed by the SUPPORT and HELP (real, usable, practical help) I received, from you and the rest of the women. With your assistance, I became more confident in my writing, finished my proposal, got an agent, got a book deal…and just yesterday, sent my draft manuscript to the publisher. Wow. I’m so elated. And I still feel connected to you and all the sisters who join us in writing from the heart.
I couldn’t have done it without you, dear one. Carry on!
with gratitude and love,
Ana Holub, author of a book about the healing path of forgiveness
(still untitled, but you can be sure I’ll let ya know)
Ana! I still remember reading about your book deal in the trades before you even knew it had been announced! What a great day that was:) Can’t wait to see the finished book. You’re an exceptional writer, with the most worthy topic. Much love. xxx
Linda Mama – I am all chilly-bumps having watched your new video and remembering and re-living the shared times in Carmel… It gave me a push again to just get with it and stop messing around with all the other writing projects that I think I have to do… It’s September and I was supposed to have given you my project in August… I am so glad you’re Mama enough to love us all anyway!! Give Merry a hug for me!
Thank you, Bobbie! Great to hear you’re getting back to your book. It’s so delicious!
Wow—so many great resources! And it’s great to know it’s hard for you too, Linda. :)
Readers, if you didn’t go watch the video—go watch the video! I just got back from this retreat, so this made me all weepy. As magical and wonderful and life-changing as it appears, it is even more than that. I received so much more than I could have imagined, and watched, with honor to be present and with true elation, as my new family of fellow retreaters did the same. For me, this retreat literally cracked my soul open. Linda and my new clan have, and are, changing the trajectory of my life. If you feel the pull to go, honor that. Go.
I don’t even know what to say, Karen. I’m so humbled. You’re so incredibly talented and I feel that I learned just as much from you and your huge talent and even larger heart. Much love! xx
yes everyone thinks it happens … overnight! I know better. I’ve seen you blossom even in the short time I have known you> NICE NICE POST!
I love watching you blossom, too, girl! Thank you:) xx
Hi Linda,
I agree that Paul at twothirty is amazing to work with. Thank you for sharing your process. It’s a human one (for sure!) and we forget that sometimes while we’re waiting for stuff to happen. It also sounds like everything unfolded as it did for the best and that’s important to trust.
Ahhh…. I can see the master handiwork of Mr. Paul Jarvis all over your site. We’re lucky girls! Thanks for writing, Sabrina:)
Hello Linda! The video is a great 7 minute capsule on all the juicy tidbits of spending a week with you and fellow artists. It captures most of the highlights we previous lucky writers have enjoyed in Carmel at your retreat.
I still think August 2011 was really something extra special before your Platform landed squarly where you wanted. Being a part of your raw energy and learning curve taught me so much. You are very special and inspiring!
That’s right… you came before the big beautiful alliance and everything after. I loved sharing the excitement of all that was coming with you and the girls. It’s fun seeing how well it worked out. So grateful! Excited to read your finished book! xx
Linda, your journey reminds me of the Antonio Muchado poem:
“My boat struck something deep.
Nothing happened.
Sounds, silence, waves.
Nothing happened? or perhaps everything has happened.
And I am standing in the middle of my new life.”
Looking forward to working with you when my next book is ready to take flight!
That’s beautiful, Gail. Thank you so much! I hear such great things about your work!!!
I can’t believe how amazingly well this video captures the essence of the retreat… except for the fact that it’s a million times more life changing when you’re actually there. Surrounded by sisters. Being lovingly pushed by Linda to be your best.
I’m so grateful to have been a part of this whole journey of yours, and it is still to this day inspiring my every move. My every keyboard stroke.
Thank you so much Linda for all that you do!
Oh, Nathalie. You’re too kind. Miss you! I don’t know if you noticed the writing at the top of the photo of my assistant (Merry, the poodle), but that was from YOUR video tutorial. I never would have known how to do that without your PicMonkey recommendation. Only took me a few minutes to figure it out. Fun!!! Thank YOU for all you do… too! :)
Thank you for this. Very enlightening and timely.
Thank you, Kelly. So glad to know the timing was good, what with being weeks later than I’d wanted to be. Ha!
Thanks Linda for sharing your resources! As always, you are generous with your knowledge and eager to make the journey easier for others.
Love, Love, Love the videos! They capture the essence of the incredible magic that happens in Carmel. Being a part of the May 2012 retreat has been life changing in many ways! My time there gave me clarity, inspiration, confidence and five beautiful soul sisters for life! I love it when you say, “It doesn’t matter what you’re writing, this is a retreat for creativity.”
I arrived in Carmel uncertain where I was going with my writing, unorganized in my thoughts and ideas, and thinking MAYBE I might have a nonfiction book in me somewhere.
I left with five fiction concepts, a flow of inspiration AND I’m about to complete the first draft of my first novel! All as a result of my time in Carmel with you! I am grateful!
Great job with the videos! They beautifully convey the grace, the authenticity, the spirit of what transpires in that magical space you create at your retreats!
Thank you! Lots of Love to you and Miss Merry! xo
Hey Laura! I hear you’re writing like a fiend over there. Really looking forward to seeing these pages your fellow retreat girls keep talking about. You’ve got more ideas in a week than most people get in a year… very much looking forward to seeing them to completion! Miss your pretty face (how much fun was seeing Shirley MacLaine in Carmel?)… xx
Hey lovely.. love your new site babe… what a great blog piece.. keep rockin’ you’re so inspiring and I’m worked my A off to build my platform too and beginning to see the ‘dreamy’ outcomes… thankfully! I did sleep for almost two weeks recently though…. recovered, energized and a totally new woman! LOVE LOVE, INGRID x
Summer is made for sleep:) Thanks for the love, girl. Adore you! xx
Is it crazy that watching this video made me tear up?! I am so grateful for the whole experience—from the one on one’s with you, to the group reads and feedback, to the delicious and healthy meals by Jen all the way to Miss Merry’s tireless support in the “muse department.” You gave me confidence in my writing, ideas to spark my creativity, practical advice to combine my “vignettes” into a full length novel and the positivity to let me see my dream of becoming a published author a definite reality on my horizon. I am forever blessed and grateful to you Linda the Rock Star! xoxo
Oh, honey. It was easy. Your book and title (omg) are one of the most entertaining I could imagine. Can’t wait to show agents!!!
Fantastic videos! Every woman with a book inside her can benefit from your midwifery, not to mention us book-pregnant men… :)
That’s such a funny visual, Matthew. By my clock, you’ve been pregnant for too long already (like a year overdue). How’s about you get this sucker sold this fall, k? It’s time to deliver, my friend! :)
FAB-U-LOUS! I love the video… it brings me back to those beautiful days of reading, writing, eating, and filming (and then writing some more!) I’m proud and lucky to have been a part of its creation, but far luckier to have YOUR amazing help on my work, Linda. You gave me the confidence to play a much bigger game with your very first comment on the very first morning, and it totally changed my vision of what’s possible. Thank you for believing in me and my project. I’m really happy with my final proposal and I’m so excited for what’s to come. Ever grateful for your support and the support of the amazing women I was on retreat with.
Thank you, also, for revealing the steps in your own journey. It’s so helpful to see how the people who have achieved success got there. It’s rarely by the road we think! Can’t wait to hear the story of how you arrived at BookMama – the most charming name ever. It suits you, doll. Book midwifery at its finest!
So glad you love the video, Mandy! You’re such a big part of it. I couldn’t believe a Stanford grad like yourself didn’t mind strapping the microphone on like we were in a reality show or something. What fun. I will treasure our little film always. Excited to see your finished proposal. You know I’m your biggest fan! xx
OMG… I’m a previous alumni of the Carmel Writing Retreats and this video captures it so well… It’s beautiful, inspiring and the women that get attracted to this retreat are just the kind of women you want to know. I got validation on my voice at this retreat – read something aloud that I was very afraid to read – and was told KEEP GOING – THIS IS YOUR VOICE! And it inspired me… I’ve come back to mine and Linda’s tape recorded sessions, too, just when I need reminding to keep going. Linda is the best :-)
Thanks, Sonya! I miss your spirit. Can’t wait to catch up and see what you’ve been up to! :) xxx
Immense gratitude to you for sharing all of this valuable information on how you’ve built your platform. My two co-creators and I are working hard on our book whilst simultaneously trying to get our heads around building our platform so it is all in place when we are ready to launch. We flit back and forth endlessly over both things. The writing comes naturally as we are passionate about our subject, but the platform thing is mind boggling and any time spent researching that subject is time taken away from the actual writing. Reading your blog today has been an eye opener as I have been in awe over your platform (and Danielle’s) for months. To see how it has unfolded and progressed is fascinating. We love Your Big Beautiful Book Plan (which was our introduction to you both) and want to thank you for keeping us inspired and focused in our project. We live in London and Madrid and fantasise about flying off to attend your writing retreat in Carmel. With young kids and that long journey there and back, it’s out of our realm right now. If you ever want to do a writing retreat in Ibiza let me know and I can help you organise it and fill it up! Ibiza is such a spiritual, special place and I am sure you would love it.
In the meantime, please keep sharing! Big love from Sunny Spain xxx
So glad these details are so helpful, Kelly. It is all mind boggling, so just take it one step at a time. That’s how I deliver books too… break them down into small chunks, and before you know it, the mammoth project is done. While platform-building is never “done,” you’ll be amazed how much momentum you’ll gain, and how far you’ll come. Hugs! xx
Linda, I’ve got goosebumps and tears… What an AWESOME video! It so captures you and your heart. You’re bringing such an amazing gift! When are you bringing the retreat to Bali? ;) xo Liesel
Oh, mama. I’ve never even been to Bali yet! It’s like I’m the last to know what I’m missing out on. I’ll take that as an invite and see what I can do:) Big hugs! xx
Love it!!! I still laugh out loud and get all tingly each time I watch this video. I miss being there! What an amazing retreat. The environment Linda creates is conducive not only to creativity, but to openness and connecting with the other brilliant ladies there. That magical combination makes the whole experience a thousand times more invigorating and productive. I learned so much and gained a ton of confidence. Thank you Linda!! You truly have a gift for this.
P.S. I’m still very much rooted in the “Platforms suck” mentality so it’s nice to hear there’s light on the other side. Thanks for sharing!
Robin, you’re beautiful face and blonde locks makes me smile every time I see the video. You’re like sunshine! Since you’re writing a novel, the platform business is even more complicated. Just keep taking it a step at at time, and remember that the MOST important thing to focus on is writing a KICK ASS book! (Which you are!) xxx
Linda, you a life changer. YOU changed my life. And this retreat is your platform for making these miracles happen. I could watch this video over and over because it brings me back to a place where the most soul touching and beautiful women held space for each other as we went down our own paths – both together and alone – knowing we were connected through this unspoken bond. This IS more than just a writing retreat, it taps into your deepest potential and creativity, then cracks it wide open.
Not only was I able to see that my book is possible, but Linda helped me discover a completely new path, business possibilities, and my life force. I showed up in a vulnerable space, still recovering from a traumatic injury — this was never an issue for Linda. Instead, she made it a positive contribution to and for the whole group. There are truly no words.
Forever grateful. In awe of your most beautiful gifts.
xoxo Kate
And I have to add — it was the Big Beautiful Book Plan that brought me to you in the first place. Such an incredible tool.
Anyone looking to write a book – to get published or to self-publish – or even if you’re just curious about the process, this is an amazing investment! It is so jam packed with content, generosity is the only word that comes to mind. AND it’s organized in such clear sections that you can flip back and forth to the sections you need to focus on or re-read! Wow.
Linda – thank you for this post! You are truly brilliant and have such ease and curiosity. You just make it happen.
xoxo Kate
@kateudurie
Kate! I’m so grateful you and your husband trusted that you’d be safe traveling all that way, and that you’d find the magic and inspiration you were looking for. I’m all about specifics, as you know, and making things happen in the real world (including money!) and am so happy to hear that you’re rocking your new path so profoundly. Btw, your injury was never a problem because it’s been the gift to enable you to see and feel things differently—which inspired us all. Love you! xx
OMG Linda! I am late to this party – but woo hoo! I celebrate you! The video is awesome, this post is right on, I’m stoked for you. Love how the video captures some – just some – of the magic. (Only “just some” because for full effect, you really have to see/feel/be it to believe it!) Thanks again for a wonderful experience, definitely on my top 10 list of brilliant things I’ve done for myself, a majorly powerful “cupcake”, and something I look forward to doing again. Love you madly lady, thanks for being so great, and super happy to see your platform growing so powerfully. Yum. xxxo
Thanks, Anese! So glad you like the video—since you so kindly offered to stay after the retreat to be in it! Incredibly grateful for your friendship… this is the BEST part of my retreats—meeting such amazing women. I went back to Bittner the other day and bought MORE pens and stationary and they skillfully tried to sell me the beautiful one you bought. So much fun! xxx
Hello lovely Linda. Thanks for the shout out & fantastic introductions to the awesomefolk who helped build your platform. I love seeing how the pieces fit!