My New-Found Land has gotten a nice review at The Lulu Book Review! This is my first non-friend/non-acquaintance review!
Although I do keep editing and updating the book as I find errors, I've debated whether it was worth my time and money to get a professional edit and ISBN. Such a step would enable me to place my book in libraries and bookstores where I have connections and perhaps branch out from there. It would mean a lot of work and self-promotion and I'm not sure if it's a path I have time for right now. But it could be rewarding and would at the very least be educational.
This little review gives me confidence to start thinking along those lines again. Funny to think that this road trip story with its origins as serial blog fiction could have potential as a "real" book. It came together so organically on a five-month nightly blog posting binge that I've never treated it very seriously. Meanwhile, the novels that I've written with a deadly serious mindset still wait for me to toss them back on the query-go-round while I stress and angst over every comma and conjunction.
Maybe the secret is to not be too serious? I've certainly had more fun with My New-Found Land than with anything else I've ever written. That alone has made the journey worth my while!
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7 comments:
Hi Ann-
Glad you liked the review, and I hope it helps bring new readers to you. You should definitely invest in the ISBN just to get your book on Amazon, even if you don't have time to self promote right now. Promoting is tough. I'm still not good at it. But 9 out of 10 people are more likely to buy your book on Amazon if you point them there than they will on Lulu. Why? Chances are at least half of them have already bought something from Amazon. And, the other half at least know what Amazon is. It's practically THE trusted household name when it comes to internet book buying. Plus, Amazon gives authors a blog on their site. You could cross post on the site from your blog. Who knows what audience you might reach there alone? Trust me. Buy an ISBN just to get the book on Amazon! It will be worth it!
Best of luck,
Shannon
The Lulu Book Review
Yes, definitely stop stressing. Think about why you write: to have fun. To tell a story. Not to make the best-seller list and churn out a book every six months like a monkey on a treadmill.
Make it fun, make it what it is for YOU.
Does this advice sound familiar, perhaps???
And stop stressing over commas and send the ms. my way. I'll do the comma crap for you.
Just wanted to pipe in to note that I haven't gotten an ISBN for my book and it's done well enough. I might consider one in the future, myself, but for now I'm perfectly happy selling solely using Lulu. Shannon makes some good points, of course, but I'm not certain it makes a great deal of difference.
Yet, anyway.
Congratulations on a very nice review.
I went over to take a look, and your book sounds very intriguing. I was hoping for an excerpt...
:-)
Christine, there is a preview of the book available on Lulu and the story The Afternoon Boyfriend is a tweaked excerpt from the book.
If you (or anyone else) want more, I'd be happy to send something upon request.
What a wonderful feeling that is. *~*~*~*Congratulations*~*~* to you on a great review for a great book!
And I completely agree with having fun. I've done a lot, too, to push and stress and rip my hair out and I am finding, with my latest effort, that it's better to relax and have fun with the story. That's when things really have a way of flowing! :)
I think it would be a great idea for you to get an ISBN so MNFL would be available on Amazon and accessible to libraries and bookstores. But it depends, I guess, on how you want to prioritize. Doing all the promotion work would cut into your writing time for other stories; on the other hand, if you believe strongly in your book and want to get it out there the non-traditional way, then by all means, go for it, and I believe that it could do quite well.
And you would be able to count on me, and other writer friends, to spread the word! :)
I used to work for a very small publishing co-operative. They bought ISBNs by the ten pack.
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