Thank you for stopping by to read this. I am still on a bit of an ecstatic buzz. People sometimes say Self Publishing, is a dead end, but I would say, no. For me, it has been a bit of a life saver, and indeed, a source of the greatest joy and satisfaction.
For me, it isn't about money or making sales, the greatest joy is seeing my work in print upon my bookshelf, next to the Authors I love, such as HP Lovecraft, Fritz Leiber, RE Howard, Terry Practchett, to name a few. I am certainly not claiming to be in their league, but for me, more than any educational qualification, or pile of gold, the idea of being a published Author has been like the Holy Grail.
To top it off, I recently reached number one (8th October 2016) as a free download in the Dystopian section!
I never imagined such a thing to be possible. My first book was also hand picked by Book Hippo, as a featured Author!
These are things I could have never dreamed possible, and I thank Amazon, Createspace, and so on, for the wonderful opportunity they have provided to people like myself, to pass some of the Gate Keepers of this world, and have a chance to be seen and read, by the reading public.
And to think I nearly never even tried.
I started off, writing my first novel, as a challenge. I had just gone through the process of applying for a job, in which, on line, I was asked to say why I was the perfect fit, in 20,000 words or less. On mentioning this to a friend, also online, she suggested I write a book. Six novels later, and almost 400,000 words, I kind of feel grateful to that Job advert, for the motivation, and a new and interesting hobby.
My first novel is my most rewritten! And repackaged. It's first title was The World Unseeing, which I liked, but which turned out to be, a bit vague for many people. So, as I have grown and developed as a writer, I have returned to it, and now it exists in it's sixth edition, also in paperback.
Anyway, if you're keen, dive in while it's on sale at $0.99/£0.99 or local equivalent.
If you enjoy Dragon, why not give A King in Graeffenland a try?
A bit of advice for Authors out there, never worry about reviews, especially when you give away free Ebooks! I say that because there exists a class, a group, a category of people who follow the Free Ebook offerings, and delight in giving out petty reviews, for what ever reasons, however trivial, that they can come up with. What their backgrounds are, as individuals, remain moot, but if you socialise online on various forums, you attract your share of trolls!
The only thing to worry about, is whether readers follow your work further, and each individuals tastes differ.
So don't be put off! Not everyone likes Harry Potter, Star Wars, or James Bond, so remember when handing out Free Candy, some people will spit it out, and blame you!
Above all, if you are a writer, have fun! Be different. Don't write to formula. There must be a million standard storylines, used time and again out there.
If you're a reader, you are living in a Golden Age of free, nearly free, and highly portable libraries. So tuck in.
Index of Links, including books.
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