Bill Ward's Blog, page 2
February 12, 2015
Trafficking now available!
My new thriller Trafficking is now available to pre-order at:
amazon.co.uk/Bill-Ward/e/B00F154DZ2/re
amazon.com/Bill-Ward/e/B00F154DZ2/re
Trafficking is big business and those involved show no remorse, have no mercy, only a deadly intent to protect their income.
Afina is a young Romanian girl with high expectations when she arrives in Brighton but she has been tricked and there is no job, only a life as a sex slave.
Facing a desperate future, Afina tries to escape and a young female police officer, who comes to her aid, is stabbed.
Powell’s life has been torn apart for the second time and he is determined to find the man responsible for his daughter’s death.
Action, violence and sex abound in this taut thriller about one of today’s worst crimes.
amazon.co.uk/Bill-Ward/e/B00F154DZ2/re
amazon.com/Bill-Ward/e/B00F154DZ2/re
Trafficking is big business and those involved show no remorse, have no mercy, only a deadly intent to protect their income.
Afina is a young Romanian girl with high expectations when she arrives in Brighton but she has been tricked and there is no job, only a life as a sex slave.
Facing a desperate future, Afina tries to escape and a young female police officer, who comes to her aid, is stabbed.
Powell’s life has been torn apart for the second time and he is determined to find the man responsible for his daughter’s death.
Action, violence and sex abound in this taut thriller about one of today’s worst crimes.
January 18, 2015
Freedom of Speech!
One of the privileges of the fluke of birth, which led to us being lucky enough to be born in western democracies, is the freedom to say and write pretty much whatever we want. Most of us take that for granted but recent events have served to bring home just how fortunate we are.
Many people have paid the ultimate price to gain us the right to freedom of speech and as we saw recently in Paris, there are people still having to give their lives for what most of us would consider a very basic human right.
When I think of the actions of extremists, I am reminded of the saying we were taught as children, “Sticks and stones can break my bones but words will never hurt me!” Unfortunately, it seems extremists of all types are so threatened by what is said, written or drawn that they turn to guns and bombs.
However, what has motivated me to write this blog is the fate of Raif Badawi who, most of you will know, has been imprisoned for ten years in Saudi Arabia and sentenced to receive 1000 lashes for promoting freedom of speech on his blog. He received the first 50 of those lashes last week. Now what is extra interesting about it being Saudi Arabia acting so extremely is that they are one of the west’s key allies in the Middle East but we seem unable or unwilling to exert sufficient influence to change this terrible injustice.
What isn’t so surprising about it being Saudi Arabia, is that they publicly behead women and have one of the worst human rights records in the world. They are completely intolerant of any form of criticism as has been demonstrated by the way they have treated Raif Badawi.
As I write this blog with the most serious repercussion being some negative comments, I am in awe of Raif Badawi, who fully understood the risk he was taking but was prepared to ignore the danger in order to write something he felt was more important than his personal wellbeing.
As a fellow writer, I felt compelled to show my support by writing this blog. He should be freed and allowed to travel abroad but of course that would allow him to continue his criticism so the Saudi government is not in favour of such a solution. We have to show the Saudi government they would be better off receiving criticism from one person abroad rather than global condemnation by the rest of us.
Please provide your support to Amnesty who have an online petition you can quickly join and if you don’t know Raif’s story then I encourage you to find out more about this remarkable man.
Many people have paid the ultimate price to gain us the right to freedom of speech and as we saw recently in Paris, there are people still having to give their lives for what most of us would consider a very basic human right.
When I think of the actions of extremists, I am reminded of the saying we were taught as children, “Sticks and stones can break my bones but words will never hurt me!” Unfortunately, it seems extremists of all types are so threatened by what is said, written or drawn that they turn to guns and bombs.
However, what has motivated me to write this blog is the fate of Raif Badawi who, most of you will know, has been imprisoned for ten years in Saudi Arabia and sentenced to receive 1000 lashes for promoting freedom of speech on his blog. He received the first 50 of those lashes last week. Now what is extra interesting about it being Saudi Arabia acting so extremely is that they are one of the west’s key allies in the Middle East but we seem unable or unwilling to exert sufficient influence to change this terrible injustice.
What isn’t so surprising about it being Saudi Arabia, is that they publicly behead women and have one of the worst human rights records in the world. They are completely intolerant of any form of criticism as has been demonstrated by the way they have treated Raif Badawi.
As I write this blog with the most serious repercussion being some negative comments, I am in awe of Raif Badawi, who fully understood the risk he was taking but was prepared to ignore the danger in order to write something he felt was more important than his personal wellbeing.
As a fellow writer, I felt compelled to show my support by writing this blog. He should be freed and allowed to travel abroad but of course that would allow him to continue his criticism so the Saudi government is not in favour of such a solution. We have to show the Saudi government they would be better off receiving criticism from one person abroad rather than global condemnation by the rest of us.
Please provide your support to Amnesty who have an online petition you can quickly join and if you don’t know Raif’s story then I encourage you to find out more about this remarkable man.
December 22, 2014
Using Facebook for marketing!
Like many authors before me, when my first book was published, I decided to create a Facebook page. Over time the ‘Likes’ of my page have grown to about 780. However as my ‘Likes’ have grown the reach for my posts has been rapidly diminishing. This is because Facebook makes arbitrary decisions about who can see posts and despite having 780 followers the average recent reach has been less than 30!
Of course, FB is not a charity and they want to make money so they provide the option to boost a post so it will reach a wider audience. I have been sceptical about paying to boost and this was reinforced when I ran a trial boost to all my followers and their friends. There seemed to be no resulting sales and just a few likes of the post.
This made me start to question the value of Facebook but I decided to give it one last try and boost a different post. This was when I properly discovered targeting the post. When I thought about my first post I realised that boosting the post to followers and their friends probably meant I was reaching mostly authors and people who already knew me. What I wanted was to share my exciting news with brand new contacts who might then go buy my book. Well I discovered that FB allows you to target by a wide variety of tags so for my second boost I targeted FB users in the USA who were specifically interested in reading thrillers and a couple of other relevant tags to further refine my audience.
The response was significantly better than my first trial and I reached thousands of new potential readers and saw an immediate impact on sales. Currently I run a boosted post every week and target everything from readers in my home town to people who enjoy certain technology. I should be clear though that I have not yet recouped my investment with the increase in sales but for the time being I am happy to be extending my reach and finding new readers.
I am still refining my posts but going into 2015 will definitely be using FB to help drive sales. I now have almost as many sales each month in the USA as UK which isn’t just down to FB but it has certainly played a significant part.
I am still pissed off that FB don’t share my posts with all my followers and in the past I have had other reasons to be fed up with FB but I thought it worth sharing my experience of boosting posts and the quite granular targeting that is possible.
Of course, FB is not a charity and they want to make money so they provide the option to boost a post so it will reach a wider audience. I have been sceptical about paying to boost and this was reinforced when I ran a trial boost to all my followers and their friends. There seemed to be no resulting sales and just a few likes of the post.
This made me start to question the value of Facebook but I decided to give it one last try and boost a different post. This was when I properly discovered targeting the post. When I thought about my first post I realised that boosting the post to followers and their friends probably meant I was reaching mostly authors and people who already knew me. What I wanted was to share my exciting news with brand new contacts who might then go buy my book. Well I discovered that FB allows you to target by a wide variety of tags so for my second boost I targeted FB users in the USA who were specifically interested in reading thrillers and a couple of other relevant tags to further refine my audience.
The response was significantly better than my first trial and I reached thousands of new potential readers and saw an immediate impact on sales. Currently I run a boosted post every week and target everything from readers in my home town to people who enjoy certain technology. I should be clear though that I have not yet recouped my investment with the increase in sales but for the time being I am happy to be extending my reach and finding new readers.
I am still refining my posts but going into 2015 will definitely be using FB to help drive sales. I now have almost as many sales each month in the USA as UK which isn’t just down to FB but it has certainly played a significant part.
I am still pissed off that FB don’t share my posts with all my followers and in the past I have had other reasons to be fed up with FB but I thought it worth sharing my experience of boosting posts and the quite granular targeting that is possible.
November 16, 2014
The importance of focus!
All through my corporate career I was taught the importance of focus. The need to focus on goals and what is important not just urgent.
I am writing a new thriller, which will be my third and frankly I am impatient to finish it and move on to my fourth and fifth books, since I recently read that for most authors it is the fifth book you write, which is most likely to become a best seller!
After my second book was published in March 2014 I became buried in marketing for six months, in particular trying to build my social media footprint and though I appreciate its importance I can’t say it’s much fun, so I am now very focused on writing and everything else will have to fit around my writing rather than the other way around.
At the beginning of this year I rather ambitiously set 100 books as my reading challenge for the year. I am currently at 78 books read and likely to fall about 10 books short by the end of the year but I still think I have done well. We all know the quote by Stephen King, “If you don't have time to read, you don't have the time (or the tools) to write…”
Looking forwards towards next year my focus for the first six months is going to be on publishing my third and fourth books. I will also continue to read a great deal as it inspires me in my writing and improves my writing skills. My social media footprint can shrink a size or two because while quite important it is not as important as writing.
My blog is just a cautionary note to not be swept along by the urgency of everything but to take time to set goals and focus on them above everything else.
I am writing a new thriller, which will be my third and frankly I am impatient to finish it and move on to my fourth and fifth books, since I recently read that for most authors it is the fifth book you write, which is most likely to become a best seller!
After my second book was published in March 2014 I became buried in marketing for six months, in particular trying to build my social media footprint and though I appreciate its importance I can’t say it’s much fun, so I am now very focused on writing and everything else will have to fit around my writing rather than the other way around.
At the beginning of this year I rather ambitiously set 100 books as my reading challenge for the year. I am currently at 78 books read and likely to fall about 10 books short by the end of the year but I still think I have done well. We all know the quote by Stephen King, “If you don't have time to read, you don't have the time (or the tools) to write…”
Looking forwards towards next year my focus for the first six months is going to be on publishing my third and fourth books. I will also continue to read a great deal as it inspires me in my writing and improves my writing skills. My social media footprint can shrink a size or two because while quite important it is not as important as writing.
My blog is just a cautionary note to not be swept along by the urgency of everything but to take time to set goals and focus on them above everything else.
August 14, 2014
Characters or Plot?
Which is most important?
In reality both need to be good to write a best seller. But I would suggest that after finishing a book we have really enjoyed, it is the characters who remain with us, rather than the details of the plot. We miss spending time with the characters.
When I read books, and I read loads, I sometimes find a clever idea for a story but poorly developed characters. Less often, I also find examples of really interesting characters but very weak stories.
As writers we need to know our characters inside out. We need to know their habits and quirks. I would suggest before we start writing the book, we need to have spent time understanding our main characters, so that during the writing process we know how they will react in any given situation. For me this involves a process of making notes about each character, which I can refer to later.
While writing thrillers, I find the characters can often decide for me how the plot should develop, which may be different from my original thought process. I know the characters well enough that they dictate what should happen next. I rarely change my characters too much to fit the plot but will more often find the characters shaping the plot.
We introduce our characters a little at a time to our readers throughout the book rather than write everything down the first minute we introduce them. We should try to reveal our characters more through their actions rather than just describing their characteristics.
For me it is essential at least some of the main characters are likeable. I have read a couple of books recently where I just didn’t like any of the characters and thus didn’t really care what happened to them.
As we progress in our writing skills we develop the ability to reveal characteristics in less obvious ways. For example, we may have a character who on the surface is a good man and we reveal he thinks of himself in that way but small actions reveal to the reader a different truth.
Bad guys can be particularly fun to bring to life. Often the most memorable bad guys are not obviously so. They may have normal families and love their dogs but there is a motivation that turns them bad. I particularly like writing characters such as this as they are often the main ingredient of the twists that make a great thriller.
So for me it is essential to scope our characters before commencing writing in even more detail than the plot. The essence of a great book is the memory of the characters.
In reality both need to be good to write a best seller. But I would suggest that after finishing a book we have really enjoyed, it is the characters who remain with us, rather than the details of the plot. We miss spending time with the characters.
When I read books, and I read loads, I sometimes find a clever idea for a story but poorly developed characters. Less often, I also find examples of really interesting characters but very weak stories.
As writers we need to know our characters inside out. We need to know their habits and quirks. I would suggest before we start writing the book, we need to have spent time understanding our main characters, so that during the writing process we know how they will react in any given situation. For me this involves a process of making notes about each character, which I can refer to later.
While writing thrillers, I find the characters can often decide for me how the plot should develop, which may be different from my original thought process. I know the characters well enough that they dictate what should happen next. I rarely change my characters too much to fit the plot but will more often find the characters shaping the plot.
We introduce our characters a little at a time to our readers throughout the book rather than write everything down the first minute we introduce them. We should try to reveal our characters more through their actions rather than just describing their characteristics.
For me it is essential at least some of the main characters are likeable. I have read a couple of books recently where I just didn’t like any of the characters and thus didn’t really care what happened to them.
As we progress in our writing skills we develop the ability to reveal characteristics in less obvious ways. For example, we may have a character who on the surface is a good man and we reveal he thinks of himself in that way but small actions reveal to the reader a different truth.
Bad guys can be particularly fun to bring to life. Often the most memorable bad guys are not obviously so. They may have normal families and love their dogs but there is a motivation that turns them bad. I particularly like writing characters such as this as they are often the main ingredient of the twists that make a great thriller.
So for me it is essential to scope our characters before commencing writing in even more detail than the plot. The essence of a great book is the memory of the characters.
June 13, 2014
Perseverance is everything!
What do the following authors all have in common? Apart of course from all in their own way being quite brilliant and hugely successful!
John Grisham, Frank Herbert, Joseph Heller, John Le Carre, J.K. Rowling, Stephen King
Well they all suffered massive rejection, multiple times from Publishers and Agents. It hardly seems credible but I assure you it is true. Obviously, they persisted and eventually, sometimes after fifteen or twenty rejections, they finally saw their book in print.
Had they been publishing today, would they have given up sending their manuscripts to traditional publishers after a few rejections and self-published? I’d love to be able to ask them but my guess is at least some of them would have gone down the Indie route.
The fact they did finally get published shows the self-belief they each had to continue sending off their manuscript despite the increasing pile of rejections.
I would make two points based on the story of these authors.
Firstly, as with many things in life, we need to believe in ourselves. I advise you to grow a thick skin if you want to be a writer. Yes there will be rejections and some bad reviews but if you never give up then you can’t be defeated!
Secondly, I am sure there are a good number of brilliant books written by great Indie authors, which just need to be shown the light of day to receive the recognition they deserve. In fact I have read at least a couple such books.
Perseverance and attitude is everything. I was uncomfortable calling myself an author after I published my first book, somehow thinking I wasn’t deserving of the title with my limited sales success. Then I thought further and realised a footballer calls himself a footballer whether he plays in the Premiership or the lowest leagues. Like any footballer we want to improve our skills and hopefully climb up the leagues.
I am proud to call myself an author. I hope one day to have a best seller. I realise the realities of publishing and I am not delusional but I will not let any inner doubts hold me back and like the famous publishers above, I won’t give up!
John Grisham, Frank Herbert, Joseph Heller, John Le Carre, J.K. Rowling, Stephen King
Well they all suffered massive rejection, multiple times from Publishers and Agents. It hardly seems credible but I assure you it is true. Obviously, they persisted and eventually, sometimes after fifteen or twenty rejections, they finally saw their book in print.
Had they been publishing today, would they have given up sending their manuscripts to traditional publishers after a few rejections and self-published? I’d love to be able to ask them but my guess is at least some of them would have gone down the Indie route.
The fact they did finally get published shows the self-belief they each had to continue sending off their manuscript despite the increasing pile of rejections.
I would make two points based on the story of these authors.
Firstly, as with many things in life, we need to believe in ourselves. I advise you to grow a thick skin if you want to be a writer. Yes there will be rejections and some bad reviews but if you never give up then you can’t be defeated!
Secondly, I am sure there are a good number of brilliant books written by great Indie authors, which just need to be shown the light of day to receive the recognition they deserve. In fact I have read at least a couple such books.
Perseverance and attitude is everything. I was uncomfortable calling myself an author after I published my first book, somehow thinking I wasn’t deserving of the title with my limited sales success. Then I thought further and realised a footballer calls himself a footballer whether he plays in the Premiership or the lowest leagues. Like any footballer we want to improve our skills and hopefully climb up the leagues.
I am proud to call myself an author. I hope one day to have a best seller. I realise the realities of publishing and I am not delusional but I will not let any inner doubts hold me back and like the famous publishers above, I won’t give up!
March 10, 2014
Encryption Giveaway!
February 26, 2014
New thriller Encryption now available!
In a small software engineering company in England, a game changing algorithm for encrypting data has been invented, which will have far reaching consequences for the fight against terrorism. The Security Services of the UK, USA and China all want to control the new software.
The Financial Director has been murdered and his widow turns to her brother-in-law to help discover the truth. But he soon finds himself framed for his brother’s murder.
When the full force of government is brought to bear on one family, they seem to face impossible odds. Is it an abuse of power or does the end justify the means?
Only one man can find the answers but he is being hunted by the same people he once called friends and colleagues.
February 5, 2014
The legacy of books
I have two young girls aged 8 and 9 who are very keen on reading and writing, which is no doubt heavily influenced by my own passion for both.
When I was about 11 I was sent to a Boarding school, which enforced discipline in very old fashioned ways that would never be tolerated today. Looking back I owe so much to my Grandmother for taking me from a very young age to the library every week. By the time I went to school I had read an enormous number of childrens' classics and would consume a couple of books a week. Once at the school, which I didn't particularly enjoy, I always read anything I could get my hands on and as we had a decent school library, I was never without a book.
Reading taught me so much about life and was my escapism from the world I didn't always enjoy. I could become a Musketeer or join the Secret Seven. There was always an adventure in my life!
As I became an adult I still loved reading and in my twenties I started to think about writing my own adventure but a busy career kept getting in the way and it was a long time before I finished writing my first book.
The legacy of my Gran taking me to the library when I was young has been huge. I learned so much about good and bad! About geography and race and religion. About history and about creative thinking. The influence was positive on all my school subjects.
I am finally an author but more importantly what I read has shaped who I am as a human being. Reading has helped me through life's inevitable ups and downs.
My daughters have to complete a reading diary for school every week, which is a wonderful encouragement for them to read, although they are more fortunate than many because we encourage it anyway in our home.
I suspect most people who read this blog will be similar to myself and don't need telling the significance of reading for our children.
It opens their eyes to the bigger world. A world in which all people are born equal and great deeds are possible. It enables them to share experiences of different cultures and hopefully be less likely to be influenced by prejudice.
I decided to write this today because I was speaking to the teacher of one of my girls and he told me a significant minority of the children in his class didn't bother to submit their reading diary regularly or if they did simply wrote one sentence.
None of the parents of those children will read this blog but I still felt compelled to share my thoughts.
Historically, reading or the inability to do so often dictated your class and in extreme circumstances perhaps whether you were a slave or a free man. A man/woman who could read could escape poverty.
Today there are many charities around the world helping children to learn to read in order to better their lives. Supporting such charities can help not only the individuals concerned but benefit us all by reducing the risk of wars and other disasters caused by ignorance. We owe it to future generations to educate all the world's children.
I know I have been preaching to the converted but thanks for the opportunity to get my thoughts off my chest. And most importantly thanks to my Gran, who is no longer with us, but gave me such a great start in life.
When I was about 11 I was sent to a Boarding school, which enforced discipline in very old fashioned ways that would never be tolerated today. Looking back I owe so much to my Grandmother for taking me from a very young age to the library every week. By the time I went to school I had read an enormous number of childrens' classics and would consume a couple of books a week. Once at the school, which I didn't particularly enjoy, I always read anything I could get my hands on and as we had a decent school library, I was never without a book.
Reading taught me so much about life and was my escapism from the world I didn't always enjoy. I could become a Musketeer or join the Secret Seven. There was always an adventure in my life!
As I became an adult I still loved reading and in my twenties I started to think about writing my own adventure but a busy career kept getting in the way and it was a long time before I finished writing my first book.
The legacy of my Gran taking me to the library when I was young has been huge. I learned so much about good and bad! About geography and race and religion. About history and about creative thinking. The influence was positive on all my school subjects.
I am finally an author but more importantly what I read has shaped who I am as a human being. Reading has helped me through life's inevitable ups and downs.
My daughters have to complete a reading diary for school every week, which is a wonderful encouragement for them to read, although they are more fortunate than many because we encourage it anyway in our home.
I suspect most people who read this blog will be similar to myself and don't need telling the significance of reading for our children.
It opens their eyes to the bigger world. A world in which all people are born equal and great deeds are possible. It enables them to share experiences of different cultures and hopefully be less likely to be influenced by prejudice.
I decided to write this today because I was speaking to the teacher of one of my girls and he told me a significant minority of the children in his class didn't bother to submit their reading diary regularly or if they did simply wrote one sentence.
None of the parents of those children will read this blog but I still felt compelled to share my thoughts.
Historically, reading or the inability to do so often dictated your class and in extreme circumstances perhaps whether you were a slave or a free man. A man/woman who could read could escape poverty.
Today there are many charities around the world helping children to learn to read in order to better their lives. Supporting such charities can help not only the individuals concerned but benefit us all by reducing the risk of wars and other disasters caused by ignorance. We owe it to future generations to educate all the world's children.
I know I have been preaching to the converted but thanks for the opportunity to get my thoughts off my chest. And most importantly thanks to my Gran, who is no longer with us, but gave me such a great start in life.
January 7, 2014
Progress Report - 4 months as an Author!
One of the many great things about having committed myself fulltime to writing is that I get to call myself an author! After all, I have a book published and am about 80% done towards my second book. I’m not yet entirely confident answering the question, “What do you do?” with the answer “I’m a new Author” but I do it anyway. I’m not sure if there is any specific measurement of what makes an author and is it any different to being a writer?
I think early on I might have answered once or twice, “I am trying to be an Author” but having given up all the comfort of a significant income, I am truly committed to my new job description. Then again, am I truly an Author or have I become a marketing consultant? I have spent at least as much time marketing as writing over the last 4 months. It is an unavoidable necessity if I am to sell books.
I wish I was about to publish my first book REVENGE, as I would have been better prepared if I had spent 3 months marketing myself prior to launching my first book. Although I knew it wouldn’t be easy, I have to admit I thought it would be a bit easier than the reality. I am still happy with my decision as I would never have a second book in the pipeline so quickly if I was still doing my corporate job. I reckon I can write 2 thrillers a year, which means that in 5 years when I am 65 I will have 12 books hopefully providing me with something equivalent to a pension.
I wish I had started self-publishing years ago but of course I have to remember that it wasn’t possible just a few years ago. Having worked with technology for so many years it is really great to now be reaping the benefits of the technological changes of the last few years.
I have found many other authors to be very supportive and have tried in turn to help them. There can be conflicting advice but that’s okay. You have to adapt what you hear to your particular circumstances. The one important action everyone seems to agree on is to make sure we do something positive to promote our books every day.
I have also become aware of the importance of reviews and after a slow start am now investing time in swapping reviews with other Authors.
There is a real feeling of being part of a community when self-publishing. I have been surprised to still read of the many writers spending money with publishers, in order to get their book published, who don’t seem aware you can do everything yourself without spending a penny. (Other than perhaps for a cover if you don’t have a friend as I do.) The likes of Createspace and Smashwords make it possible for us to get our books published and available for people to read. Then the hard work begins!
Like most things in life this has been a real learning exercise. I feel much better equipped for publishing my second book, which will happen in about three months. I might have done a few things differently but I don’t regret for a moment my decision to self-publish. I have embarked on a great adventure. It’s not an easy ride but it has been great for my soul and I look forward to my first best seller!
I think early on I might have answered once or twice, “I am trying to be an Author” but having given up all the comfort of a significant income, I am truly committed to my new job description. Then again, am I truly an Author or have I become a marketing consultant? I have spent at least as much time marketing as writing over the last 4 months. It is an unavoidable necessity if I am to sell books.
I wish I was about to publish my first book REVENGE, as I would have been better prepared if I had spent 3 months marketing myself prior to launching my first book. Although I knew it wouldn’t be easy, I have to admit I thought it would be a bit easier than the reality. I am still happy with my decision as I would never have a second book in the pipeline so quickly if I was still doing my corporate job. I reckon I can write 2 thrillers a year, which means that in 5 years when I am 65 I will have 12 books hopefully providing me with something equivalent to a pension.
I wish I had started self-publishing years ago but of course I have to remember that it wasn’t possible just a few years ago. Having worked with technology for so many years it is really great to now be reaping the benefits of the technological changes of the last few years.
I have found many other authors to be very supportive and have tried in turn to help them. There can be conflicting advice but that’s okay. You have to adapt what you hear to your particular circumstances. The one important action everyone seems to agree on is to make sure we do something positive to promote our books every day.
I have also become aware of the importance of reviews and after a slow start am now investing time in swapping reviews with other Authors.
There is a real feeling of being part of a community when self-publishing. I have been surprised to still read of the many writers spending money with publishers, in order to get their book published, who don’t seem aware you can do everything yourself without spending a penny. (Other than perhaps for a cover if you don’t have a friend as I do.) The likes of Createspace and Smashwords make it possible for us to get our books published and available for people to read. Then the hard work begins!
Like most things in life this has been a real learning exercise. I feel much better equipped for publishing my second book, which will happen in about three months. I might have done a few things differently but I don’t regret for a moment my decision to self-publish. I have embarked on a great adventure. It’s not an easy ride but it has been great for my soul and I look forward to my first best seller!
