Blog Events

How To Transfer a WordPress.com Owned Domain to a HostGator Account [FOR DUMMIES]

 in Blog Events by

So I recently moved my blog from an owned domain on wordpress.com to a HostGator account…and to say it was difficult was an understatement. Everyone who posts about it uses technological terms and it becomes difficult to understand. I read so much information from all over the place and it took me weeks to understand it. Also my specific moving was a little difficult to google as well and after everything happened, and hours of customer service help, I finally got it done and set up! So I decided to try and simplify it for those of us out there who aren’t as amazing with technology and need it simplified. 

Why would you need to move? Maybe you want to be able to customize more or maybe, the main reason, is because you want to monetize your site. Please remember that if you are on a WordPress.com site, you cannot monetize it. This means no Google AdSense and no Amazon Associate or anything else! If you do so you can be shut down. So don’t risk it. Why potentially destroy all of your hard work?

Also remember that you cannot transfer a site if the site is younger than 60 days. You need to wait at least that long before you can begin the transfer

I may update this as I come across more useful bits of information or am able to get more screenshots (some parts I can’t get back to currently). 

Otherwise, good luck with your moving and if you don’t understand something, please don’t hesitate to comment or contact me and I will do my best to assist as much as I can!

Step 1: Tell your readers what is going to happen. Just so they know in case something goes wrong that you haven’t left them and to be patient.

Step 2: Download your files from WordPress onto your computer. Go to your Admin Page > Tools > Export > All Content > Download Export File. Then check your email associated with the account where you will find a file which has your information. Save it somewhere that you will be able to find it later. Remember: If you post after this point, your post will not be saved for the new site.

Step 3: Unlock your website. When on wordpress.com find Configure > Domains. Click the domain that you are transferring and then click Transfer Domain. Follow the instructions and shortly you will receive the code to put into WordPress which will unlock it and send another code to your email for later on. When WordPress says that it is unlocked you need to wait 24-48 hours before you’ll be able to complete the next step. Check after 24 hours but if it does not work, then wait a little longer.

Step 4: Log into your HostGator admin page. At the top of the page is a box which has the options of register or transfer. Click transfer and type in your current website (www.myblog.com) and click go. The next page will be what your link is so type in what your transfer site is called (myblog.com (without www.)). Follow the checklist. If you blog says it is still locked, just wait longer. For the Admin Authorization, wait until the blog is unlocked as the email associated with Admin Authorization will be wrong.

Step 5: Once your website is unlocked, click the Admin Authorization and have the code sent to you and then input it. Now you will be able to make your purchase. Do purchase the privacy package as it protects your personal information which can be open to spammers and hackers. It doesn’t make your blog private to search engines.

Step 6: Wait a little bit but keep checking the email associated with the account for a request to put in the authorization code you received during Step 3 (the second code). Once that code is inputted, transferring will begin which can take up to 5 business days. You will receive a second email from WordPress confirming that you are indeed trying to transfer your blog but you don’t need to do anything. Just wait patiently.

Step 7: Once the transfer is complete, you will need to download WordPress on your HostGator site. Go to the QuickInstall market place (or click the “Get Started with WordPress Today” link under Special Offers) and click Install WordPress for free. You don’t need to pay anything here. Choose your website that has transferred (if it doesn’t show up, contact support and they can fix that. It’s sometimes a small glitch. Don’t panic!). Fill out all the information. Install/path/here can generally be ignored unless you want some specific thing after your website name (ex: mylibrarycardworeout.com versus mylibrarycardworeout.com/home…etc). Fill out your email, name of your blog, your username (generally what you may have used before) and your first and last name). Then it will install and you will get an email with your password which you cannot change. Do not loose this email!

Step 8: Once that is done, you are able to log into your new site with the information emailed to you. Now you will go into import and import the files which you downloaded in the beginning. Be patient with this process. It takes time for it all to show up. Give it a few hours. If then, when you check your posts and it is not up to date, you can reload the files as sometimes things can get lost (especially if you have a lot of posts). Eventually it should all show up. Note: all links in posts to personal blog posts will most likely be dead so you may need to fix this.

Step 9: If you need more time to set up your website and don’t want to show your messy blog, you can download a plug in to put up a Coming Soon page. One good one is the Coming Soon Page & Maintenance Mode by SeedProd which you would download (all general plug-ins are free of charge). This is a basic one, however there is also Launcher by MyThemeShop which lets you gain subscribers while you finish setting up.

Step 10: Go back to your old blog on wordpress.com and go to settings and make the blog private so that only you can see it. That way your old content will still be there in case something is missing but no one can see it. If you had been a .wordpress.com, you will need to purchase the redirecting package from WordPress.com. Generally it is agreed you would need it for 2 years maximum. This is just so if sites on the internet have your old .wordpress.com link, it will re-direct to your new location. After a year or two (so 1-2 payments), you will have the search engines know where you are. This is only needed if you had a .wordpress.com for a long time. If you had a personal .com (so you paid wordpress.com to own your name) you don’t generally need to purchase it, unless you see your statistics extremely low then a year purchase wouldn’t be harmful. If you were a new site as well, so less than a 8-12 months and not a large following yet, you won’t need to purchase it either.

Now you will also want to download a few Plug-ins which are essential. If you google some good plug-ins, others will come up but these were a few which you do need. As for all of their uses…I don’t know 100% as I’m not a techie, but I know they’re needed.

  • Aksimet by Automattic (protects against spam)
  • Jetpack by WordPress.com by Automattic (more protection and stats)
  • MOJO Marketplace by Mike Hansen
  • OptinMonster API by Thomas Griffin
  • WP Super Cache by Automattic 
  • Yoast SEO by Team Yoast

Some useful sources:

HostGator Help
WPBeginner (great place!)

As I stated before I am not a techie so a lot of this information is as basic as it gets. However, if you have any issues along the way, feel free to send me a tweet @mlcwo or shoot me an email to mylibrarycardworeout at gmail dot com. I can do my best to assist or point you in the right direction.

Good luck!

Secret Santa!!!

 in Blog Events / Books by

Just as promised, my Secret Santa gift reveal!!

First off, I would really like to thank Abigail Thomas and Cathleen Slagle for hosting this Secret Santa this year. it was so easy and was so much fun!!!! It’s amazing how all these bloggers could come together and do a Secret Santa, and everyone is a different kind of blog niche, so how fun!

Second, I would like to thank my Secret Santa….drumroll please…..

Amber from theamberlynn.blogspot.com.

A little bit about her…

Hello! I’m Amber, a quirky young adult (Key word being young). I love life and what it gives to me. This is my life and I try to live it in the most positive way I can. Join me in all things lifestyle. Just a few examples: Food, fashion, inspiration, music, quotes, family, and friends.

-From her website

Best part is, she’s a college student like me so how exciting!

And don’t forget to check out her TWITTER, PINTEREST and INSTAGRAM!

Now, without further a-do, the really wonderful gifts which she sent my way!

Hmm…wonder what will be inside?

 

OMG!

 

Tea

 

FUZZY SOCKS!!!!

 

And a bling key chain…YES!

 

A tea mug and cat key chain, what’s better?

 

My favorite type of pens and a bookmark!

 

A mini journal! One I’ve wanted to buy, but never can rationalize!

 

Am I the only one seeing the Deathly Hallows as a Christmas Tree? Love it!

 

I LOVE IT! Like a lot!

The Sunshine Blogger Award

 in Blog Events / Books / Fun by

theA while back I reviewed Josie Jaffrey’s book A Bargain in Silver and she nominated me for The Sunshine Blogger Award! Which is so cool! So thank you so much for Josie for that!

Now, what it is…

Essentially the award is given to others who inspiring and aim to spread sunshine through their blogs or social media accounts. So I am definitely honored to have been nominated for this award. Many thanks!

THE RULES

The Sunshine Blogger Award does not operate in an atmosphere of chaos, ergo there are rules as follows:

  • Name drop and link to the blog of the person who nominated you.

  • Answer the eleven questions from the blogger who nominated you.

  • Nominate up to eleven wonderful bloggers and write (or borrow/steal) eleven questions for them to answer.

MY ANSWERS

1.  Who’s your weird celebrity crush and why?

I honestly don’t have a weird celebrity crush. I mean all of my crushes are main stream celebrities like Daniel Craig (maybe he could be weird since he’s a lot older than me), Orlando Bloom, Alexander Skarsgård, The Hemsworth brothers. I mean maybe the weird ones would be the international celebrities I follow, like those who are part of k-pop bands. I have a few secret crushes there. But shhh, my secret.

2.  You can only watch one film, as many times as you like, for the rest of your life.  What do you choose?

This is a disgustingly hard question because I love movies. Like so much! So I’d be torn between 47 Ronin, Constantine and John Wick. I love 47 Ronin because of the story, the fact that it’s about Ronin (masterless Samurai) and the entire story around it. But then Constantine is just epic. It is an older movie but it is still fantastic with an amazing story line and something that I’d definitely suggest that you check out. John Wick, well everyone knows about that one because of the hype about the entire story line. People loved it and I did too. It was just such a great story, quite realistic and amazing overall. Yes, they are all Keanu Reeves’ movies – he’s a great actor! I don’t know which one I’d choose but if I had to, it would be one of those three (I’m really indecisive).

3.  How many of you does it take to change a lightbulb?

Two! One to get the step ladder as the real me is too lazy to get it, and the other to actually put the lightbulb in (totally will admit some of the jokes on that lightbulb page went right over my head).

tea4.  Coffee or tea?

Duh, tea! English over here – our blood is practically tea.

5.  What’s the best gig/play you’ve ever seen?

I still that Phantom of the Opera is the best play that I have ever seen. I love how the chandelier falls and I can’t get enough of the music and costumes. I’ve seen it twice and want to go back again a few more times as I can’t get enough of it!

6.  You can go anywhere in the world, in any time period, with any person (living or dead).  Where, when and with whom would you go?

This is definitely going to be an interesting one, and a weird combination. I really would love to go back to Feudal Japan, maybe 1400-1600. I think I’d love to go with Keanu Reeves. I mean I’ve always loved his movies and he’s a fantastic fighter and after 47 Ronin, I don’t know, I think it would be kind of cool!

7.  What are you reading at the moment and how are you finding it?

I’m reading Shōgun by James Clavell and I think I’ve been reading it for over a year because I can never really just get through it as it’s so long. I love it and want to finish this book. Sometimes it’s a little boring but I will get through it. Even if it takes me a few years.

dragons and knights8.  Dragons or unicorns?

Dragons! ‘Cos that means that Knights who fight the dragons would be also real…right? And who doesn’t want a Knight in shining armor.

9.  If you were a chart-topping recording star, what sort of music would you be making?

Honestly, I’d probably be making K-Pop music, of making a name for J-Pop as that is the stuff that I love to listen to. That or you’d find me singing some smash broadway tunes.

10.  The entire world is shortly to be subjugated by a race of giant mutant ants.  You have twelve hours before you are put to work in their colossal sugar factories.  How do you spend your final hours of freedom?

Eating all of my favorite foods. I mean once you are stuck working you won’t be able to eat and I’m sure stuff like Sushi and Ramen won’t be around anymore. So I’ll be getting fat, in front of my TV enjoying some of my favorite movies, and filling my face with food. I know, I have my priorities straight.

top secret - spy11.  When you were ten, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I definitely wanted to be a spy. Like James Bond but like…Janet Bond or something. Be able to kick butt, fly around the world, kill bad guys and dress as sharp as he does. Like man, can he wear a suit (Daniel Craig I’m referencing here 😉 ). But yeah. Hands down a spy.

MY QUESTIONS

  1. What are you currently reading and why did you choose that book?
  2. When you were a teenager, what did you want to be when you grew up?
  3. There’s a massive asteroid heading your way and it is about to destroy planet Earth and you have 24 hours to live. What would you do for your last 24 hours?
  4. Tea or coffee?
  5. Book or movie?
  6. You can only watch one movie for the rest of your life. What will it be and why?
  7. You find a genie and he says that he can transport you into your favorite book. Forever. What book would it be and why?
  8. What’s your favorite website (any subject)?
  9. If you could meet any celebrity, who would you meet and why?
  10. You can also meet any person from history, who would you choose to meet and for what reason?
  11. You can only study one thing for the rest of your life. What would you choose to study?

THE NOMINATIONS

Writing and Musing

Dab of Darkness 

The Orang-utan Librarian

Avid Reader Musings

Death, Books, and Tea

Fangirl Confessions

I hope you enjoyed and congratulations to those nominated. Pass it on!

I Wish I Could Remember You by L.J Epps Book Tour!!!

 in Blog Events / Books by

I Wish I Could Remember You by L.J. Epps
Author Name: L.J. Epps
Book Title: I Wish I Could Remember You
Author Website/Blog Link: ljeppsauthor.com
Book Genre: Fiction, Romance, Contemporary Women’s
Blub/Synopsis of Book: A story of enduring love as romance goes all wrong and Emily Montgomery struggles to rebuild her life after a terrible accident changes everything.
Emily wants romance in her life—the kind of romance that leads to a perfect marriage. She dreams of having a husband who loves her and treats her with respect, someone she can spend the rest of her life with. She meets—and marries—Steven Montgomery, hoping he will make all of those things come true.
Everything is wonderful, at first; until things start to slowly change. Steven begins to mentally, verbally, and physically abuse Emily. Through it all, Emily tries to be the best wife she can be.
Finally, after so much devastation, Emily leaves Steven, files for divorce, and moves on with her life. Her sister, Monica, introduces her to a wonderful man named Robert. Emily falls in love with him. He is kind, gentle and sweet—all things now missing from her marriage. She is happy, in love again, and well on her way to divorcing Steven.
But, Steven doesn’t want the divorce; and, since he is a savvy lawyer, he tries everything to prevent it. Although Emily still has residual feelings for Steven, she knows that it could never work between them. She wants to move on with the new love of her life, Robert.
After a horrific accident, Emily can no longer remember Robert and all the things he has meant to her, and she can no longer remember all the horrific things Steven has done to her.
Emily has two men professing their love for her. She is confused; she doesn’t know where she belongs or who she should be with. And, she has a hard time deciding who to choose. Emily is being pulled in several different directions by her loved ones. They all mean well, but only Emily knows how she truly feels. She has to decide, on her own, what to do.
All Emily wants is to start over, but that isn’t so easy, since everything in her world is broken, and she isn’t sure how to fix it. All Emily wants is to be happy, healthy, and whole again, but that may not be in the cards for her, either.
Review Quotes: “A fascinating story about who we are and how our memories ultimately guide us in the choices we make.”
Amazon Link: http://amzn.to/1MejKva
Apple Link: http://apple.co/1Vjju1w
Barnes & Nobel Link: http://bit.ly/22pnLig
Kobo Link: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/i-wish-i-could-remember-you

Interview with L.J Epps

What inspired you to write your book?  I had the idea for my book roaming around in my head for years.  When I was growing up I would get different ideas in my head for a book or movie. One of the ideas I had was about a woman going through a messy divorce and losing her memory but only remembering the good years she shared with her husband. Since he claimed he had changed and she could only remember the good in him she had to decide if she was willing to give him a second chance.

Do you have a specific writing style?  I usually write down all of my ideas on paper and then just jump in and start writing the story.  Once I’m well into the story –which would be a couple of chapters in I try to make an outline.  That way I can have some sort of idea where the story will end up as I’m writing.

How did you come up with the title?  Funny but the working title was called Forgotten because I wanted to show that Emily has forgotten all of the bad things her husband has done to her and forgotten her new boyfriend, Robert because of her memory loss.  But as time went on I wanted more of a sad romantic type title.  That’s when I came up with I Wish I Could Remember You.

Do you have any advice for other writers?  My advice is if you love to write you should write as much as possible. Even if you never make any money from your writing, if your proud of it or if one person likes it that makes it all worth it.

What books/authors have influenced your writing?  One of my favorite authors is Nicholas Sparks. When I read his novels I always get emotionally involved.  I’ve shed a few tears reading his novels, and that’s the kind of reaction I would like my novels to get when people read them.  I love novels where I want to jump to the end to see what happens but I don’t because that would ruin the story for me.

What genre do you consider your books?  I write fiction novels.  My first novel is Contemporary Women’s Romance. I also write Young Adult Fantasy and Dystopian.

Do you ever experience writers block?  Yes, I experience writers block sometimes, when that happens I listen to music.  Sometimes music brings ideas flowing to my brain.  I’m not sure why but it does.

Have you ever hated something you wrote?   Yes, I’ve written scenes that I’ve hated so I keep rewriting the scenes until I feel better about them.  I have even gotten rid of entire scenes and started over from scratch.

Where did your love of writing come from?  When I was a child I day dreamed a lot and I had an active imagination.  So I think it started when I was a child. I loved to dream up new worlds and new people and as I grew up I liked to write about them.

Do you write every single day?  I try to write every day. It’s not always easy because sometimes time is limited. Some days I can get a lot written and other days a little.  But as long as I can write down a few words here and there each day I can get my writing goals completed.

Which writers inspire you?  I like Nicholas Sparks, Danielle Steel, J.K. Rowling, Susan Mallery, and Suzanne Collins.

What are you working on at the minute?  I’m finishing up a Young Adult Fantasy-Dystopian novel I’ve been working on.  It should be released in a few months.

What is your favorite theme/genre to write about?   I have two favorites.   I love to write Contemporary Women’s Fiction and I also like to write Fantasy as well.

What is your latest book about?  My latest book is about a woman named Emily. She in her thirties and is going through a terrible divorce.  Her husband, Steven is abusive and controlling and he doesn’t want the divorce.  Emily is trying to move on with her life and during her separation she meets someone new named, Robert.  Before the divorce can take place Emily is in a terrible accident that robs her of some of her short-term memories. She can only remember the good times with her soon to be ex-husband not the bad, and she cannot remember Robert at all.  Both men profess their love for her and she has to decide who she wants to be with. Will she choose the man who claims he has changed even though she has heard about the terrible things he has done to her from her sister, but can’t remember? Or will she choose the man she’s been told she’s in love with now but can’t remember him at all.

Interview Questions Provided By: BookBear

BookBear logo

 

Interview with Jessica Dall

 in Author Interview / Blog Events / Books / Fun by

I recently was asked to read Jessica Dall’s new book Raining Embers (Order and Chaos Book 1) and I absolutely loved it. So of course I totally wanted to interview her and I was so grateful that she was willing to take time out of her clearly busy days to answer my questions.

headshot of Jessica Dall

Courtesy of Jessica Dall

Thank you so much to Jessica Dall and enjoy this fantastic interview. And don’t forget to get the book because it was fantastic!

  1. Why did you start writing? What inspired you to do so?
    My mother can tell you that I’ve always been a bit of a writer. Even before I was actually able to write, i would fill pages with scribbles I would call my stories. There’s just something I’ve always found therapeutic about writing. It continued as a hobby as a child/through high school, and then in college I got an internship at a small press. While there, I realized that writing was really something I wanted to do professionally.

  2. How did you come up with the idea for the Order and Chaos series?
    I was actually at an art lecture years and years ago when the presenter brought up a picture of the Vatican Library. While he was talking about all the lovely art in the room, I got the idea for what is now the first scene of the novel. The characters and plot and everything else has changed quite a bit from that night, but that was certainly the impetus.

  3. Going off the last question, where did you get the idea for personifying Order as well as Chaos?
    I’ve always been very interested in mythology. Rather than sticking to one specific mythology, I thought it would be fun to develop my own creation myth. That led to creating two “old” gods–and who could be better for starting off the universe than Order and Chaos?

  4. What was involved in writing a series like this? Research? Visiting locations? Etc.
    I was very lucky to get the chance to travel to Italy while writing Raining Embers. I have to give my family numerous thanks for allowing me to turn what was mostly a vacation also into a research trip. I have an entire photo file I’m still using while writing the rest of the series when I need references for buildings and everything else like that. Otherwise, fantasy has given me a lot of leeway when it comes to world building, but I have done quite a bit of research on the Renaissance–since it’s what the setting is based around–world mythology, and etymology of all things (I’ve done my very best to keep my terms relatively period appropriate through the manuscript so there aren’t characters suddenly sounding out of place for their world).

  5. Do you know how many books will be in the series? 
    Book 2 is currently in edits with my publisher and should be out late in 2016. Book 3 is currently being written. If there is going to be a Book 4 depends on how far the story gets in Book 3!

  6. How did you create the cover? Such as the ideas behind it?
    The designers my publisher uses, Streetlight Graphics, actually made the cover and did a stunning job as far as I’m concerned! I worked with the marketing department to come up with a few ideas that fit the genre and came up with the idea for a single focus with the fire–since that plays a major role in the story–sort of a less-gritty Game of Thrones meets less sci-fi Hunger Games/Divergent. From there we sent that general idea over to SG, and they came back with something even more stunning than I’d imagined. They certainly knocked it out of the park.

  7. What are some thing you have to do when you write (ex: have a candle, have mints, a special pen, etc.)?
    I’m very lucky in that I’ve always been able to write wherever I am as long as I have a pen and paper/keyboard. I used to write on the train to and from work when I was working a 9-to-5 job, and I’ve been known to pull out a notepad whenever I’m left waiting somewhere for more than a couple of minutes. I do, however, have a favorite pen that I use when I’m home. It’s a fountain pen I actually got as a graduation gift after college. I’m just terrified of losing it, so I don’t tend to carry it with me.

  8. During your average day, what can you be found doing?
    When I’m not writing, I work as an editor and a creative writing teacher, so I can generally be found either with my laptop at home–writing or editing–or in a classroom depending on how many classes I’m teaching any given semester. I can’t say I’m too exciting, but I consider myself very lucky that I get to spend my time around words as the bulk of every day.

  9. What can you currently be found watching on TV?
    Murdoch Mysteries has actually been what my husband and I have been binge watching lately on Netflix (a CBC show we found when we were on our honeymoon in Montreal, actually). We’re getting close to where Netflix leaves off so we’re hoping Season 8 pops up before we get there! Other than that, I’m a big Doctor Who fan and love The Simpsons. I can never seem to remember when things air, however, so my DVR gets a serious work out when I have to catch up on shows.

  10. What’s your favorite movie (or movies if you can’t pick just one)?
    I tend to like character-driven movies, which means a lot of my favorite movies are about people going through personal changes–like Up in the Air and Rachel Getting Married. That said, I can also really get behind big blockbusters and other sillier films, like I loved The Avengers and Pitch Perfect. So, really, my tastes can be all over the place.

  11. What is the weirdest or most exotic food you have ever eaten?
    I’m not a very adventurous eater (and I’m a pescetarian, so that limits things as well) but my last job before I switched to editing and teaching was at a public health marketing firm that did campaigns in developing countries. That meant we did get a lot of interesting things brought back from co-workers trips to Africa/Latin America/Southeast Asia. The one that most sticks out is a candy one woman brought back from Zambia that was chocolate around a type of nut that elephants supposedly will eat to get drunk because they’re minorly alcoholic. That as an interesting one.

  12. If you were stuck on a deserted island and you could have 5 things dropped off to you (not including transportation, and food and shelter was not an issue) what would they be and why?
    First, I’d want my Kindle. I’ve become absolutely addicted to it at this point (and it’s nice to read on something that isn’t a back-lit screen after reading/writing things on my laptop all day. Then my laptop, so I could do all that writing and listen to music. For those, I suppose I’d need some sort of solar charger to run them. For number four, I’d say something crafty I could do while hanging around the island (knitting or crochet, maybe?). For my last thing, I’d either try to cheat and get my husband to come hang out with me (he could use an island vacation too!) or at least get some family pictures so I could feel like I had everyone around.