Saturday, June 29, 2013

Guest Post with Wendy Unsworth ~*~ Giveaway ~*~

Today I'm pleased to welcome Wendy Unsworth to Pure Jonel.
Let's see what she has to say about epublications.

This may sound like a little bit of a suck-up but ...

Since the advent of ebooks many authors, like myself, have finally done it; we have self-published. For those who have chosen to take this route, regardless of sales success, I would like to bet that a very large proportion, just like me, have no regrets in taking this decision.

There is no doubt that it is a huge task to complete a full length novel. The fact that the author can be sure, at the end of the endeavor, it will be published, makes a huge difference to the whole experience. Rather than months or years of submissions to agents/publishers with no guarantee of the full work ever even being read at all, much less evaluated, there is now the knowledge that publication can happen.

Of course going it alone puts the onus for every aspect of the book squarely on the shoulders of the author. Not only must they ensure the manuscript is as good as it can be (whether editors and other professionals are employed or not) but there is also the cover, front and end matter and the dreaded formatting to tackle. For me, every step required research and advice. It's a mountain to climb but thousands of determined authors are proving it can be done.

So... Stage one complete. But how many first time authors realize, when they finally finish the herculean task of bringing a book to publication that this is actually just Stage one? I'll bet again, and this time I would say - not too many!

Speaking for myself, my end goal as an aspiring first time author was to publish. I really did not think much about what would happen beyond that point.

Fortunately, though, the writing/reading eworld reaches out, it's arms open wide. There is help at hand. Writer's sites and forums offer good advice: Create a website, a Facebook page, a Twitter presence. Join popular book sites; comment, engage, be part of the community. It all takes work and precious time but, if managed wisely and kept within bounds is well worth the effort. And an added bonus; somewhere in this flurry of activity the uninitiated cannot fail to stumble into the realm of the Book Blogger.

I would like to champion (and I may be accused of that 'creeping' I alluded to in my intro!) the work of book bloggers. Since publishing my first novel 'The Palaver Tree' I have come across so many of them that are willing to be helpful to new authors and 'give them a try.' If they accept a book for review, of course, there is no guarantee that they will give a shiny, five star endorsement but these people read a lot of books, so when they do praise your work it feels very, very good indeed!

Book bloggers, I am sure, come in all sorts of shapes and sizes but one thing they have in common is their incredible energy. They read and review books at an astonishing rate, arrange giveaways, special features and interviews - and all this around their presumably busy and full, offline lives. And apart from opportunities for self - promotion, book blogs are great places to hang around, find out what others are reading, check out their opinions and add one or two titles to the old, 'To Be Read' list.

So, at the risk of preaching to the converted, (after all, you are reading this on a Book Blog!) I would like to say... Thanks to everyone, including authors who help promote self published books. And thank you book bloggers everywhere, great job, keep up the good work. Where would we authors be without you?

A bit about Wendy Unsworth:

Wendy Unsworth was born and raised in Lincolnshire, England; her passions are her family, travel, beautiful gardens and reading and writing stories. Wendy lived in Ndola, Zambia and Nairobi, Kenya throughout the 1980's and early '90's before returning to the U.K. to acclimatise back to the English weather in a Cornish cottage close to Bodmin Moor! She is currently based in the north west of England. The African continent has left a lasting impression; The Palaver Tree, is set in a fictional Central African country and Cornwall. At present Wendy is working on her second novel, Beneathwood, re-introducing cameo characters from The Palaver Tree and telling their own individual story.

Watch for more from Wendy over the next 2 weeks as we run an awesome giveaway for 4 ecopies of her debut novel The Palaver Tree.

And don't forget to enter while you're here.
Entries close at 11:59pm Monday July 15/13.
Winners will be announced Tuesday July 16/13.
Good luck to all!


40 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us!

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  2. Enjoyed reading this post! I know that I have found so many wonderful authors that have self published!

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    1. Me too, Cindy. Since the new advent of self -publishing and ebooks I have certainly broadened my horizons as a reader! I love to enter giveaways and buy most of my books via recommendations and reviews on sites such as this lovely one! I feel much more inclined to 'risk' genres I haven't read in the past and have enjoyed some superb short stories too. It's a win, win situation!

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  3. I've found a great woman to format my ebooks on Elance.com. She charges $40 and does excellent work. Saves time for writing!

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    1. Hi JoAnn, though as I said, we self published authors have to take responsibility for every aspect of the writing and publishing process, it is wonderful when we find people who we totally trust to take up some of the load. If you don't have to think about formatting that sounds great to me! I have two editors who I can rely on to give me a very straight and honest evaluation of my writing and that definitely makes me work harder to get things right! On the other hand I know that I lean on them to not only correct grammar etc but to tell me if there is something in the storyline that I got wrong. I suppose that is why we see so many heartfelt dedications in books because we really do appreciate those that help us make it happen!

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  4. Great conversation, thanks for sharing 8)
    michelle hofacker

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  5. Many thanks to everyone who has commented so far and very special thanks to Jonel, an absolute gem, who has offered me so much help and guidance - I feel honoured to be here amongst so many great authors!

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  6. Great Blog Piece - I look forward to reading your book Wendy :)

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    1. That is very kind of you, thank you so much, Kirstie.

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  7. I loved reading your blog. Your book sounds really good and I look forward to reading it. :)

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    1. Thanks so much, I really appreciate your interest and taking the time to comment!

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  8. Great post, Wendy, and your book sounds intriguing - I'd love to read it!

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    1. Hi Julie and thank you. It is a real boost when people like yourself show interest in my book. I really do appreciate it.

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  9. Can't wait to read and review your book!

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  10. Many thanks, it is always especially appreciated when someone takes the time to post a review.

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  11. Great post. I can only agree, thanks to the Book Bloggers and Book Lovers in general! ;)
    I'm looking forward to reading your book, Wendy.

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  12. I'll add my thanks to yours for all those wonderful and generous book bloggers out there.

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  13. Hi Natalie and Sheila, many thanks for adding to these comments. I know how long it takes me just to have the pleasure of following my favourite blogs and commenting here and there. The people who run them, read at a phenomenal rate and write in-depth reviews are real heroes!

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  14. Thanks Wendy! Book sounds great.

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    1. Thank you, Sophie. I have had such a great response, please let me know your thoughts if you do read The Palaver Tree

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  15. Can't wait to read and review your book, because I am always looking for new author to read.

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  16. thank you for hosting Jonel and thank you very much as well to author Wendy Unsworth for being gracious!

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    1. Aww, thanks! And, of course many thanks to Jonel!

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  17. I love to read new authors too and think this self publishing era is so great for us all. Thank you, I will very much look forward to reading your review.

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  18. Thanks for sharing and good luck to all who entered!

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  19. Great post! I love helping new authors promote their books on my blog. Thanks for the chance to read The Palaver Tree.

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    1. Thanks Nancy, I will be checking out your blog!

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  20. Thanks for having this giveaway! Looking forward to reading your book hopefully!

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    1. Thank you and I love your name - I rather enjoy a little knitting and purling, myself!

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  21. This is so inspiring, I'm currently about to self-publish my book and I'm finding the part that takes the most work is, indeed, promoting a book absolutely no one knows about under a name no one has ever heard off. But it's exciting to see it bloom from something small into (hopefully) something bigger. Congratulations on your success!

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    1. You are right, it is exciting! Good luck with your book and, if you are a Goodreads member, don't forget to let me know when your book is published, I would love to take a look!

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  22. Thanks Wendy for the post. I really enjoyed reading it. :)

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  23. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts, Wendy. And good luck in your writing career.

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    1. Somali and Santy - thank you for your kind comments!

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  24. As this giveaway is coming to an end (even earlier on this side of the Atlantic!) I just wanted to say an extra thank you to everyone who has taken the time to look, comment and check out The Palaver Tree. Very special thanks to Jonel - Super Blogger!
    Best wishes to all
    Wendy.

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  25. Really encouraging post - added your book to my must read list!

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