[Brian Morris]

Mandy Edwards posted this message elsewhere on NZIBS Forum.

Since beginning a children’s writing course 5 years ago here with NZIBS I have written and self published a children’s novel … and it has found its way into schools and libraries. The brave new world of creativity I entered meant I began a personal journey – rediscovering myself through journalling and poetry – with lots of encouragement and support from my Nzibs friends. That lead to self publishing a poetry anthology. My new found courage and desire to be the best me that could be then led me to change careers and work towards a graduate diploma in early childhood education which i completed in a year and am now fully registered. My skills in writing academic essays were well and truly tested! Several blogs later I am now focusing on adult romance fiction and starting a new course here at NZIBS. It is fair to say that my journey with NZIBS has been a life changing one. ☺

[Robyn Welsh]

Brilliant!  You are such an inspiration.  How can I track down your self-published novel?  I’m really keen to read it.  I’ve begun diving into some of my kids’ childhood books, boxes of which have been dusted off as we pack up various rooms for repainting.  Turned up some other gems too, including The Best of Katherine Mansfield’s Short Stories which I’ve been trawling the secondhand bookshops for.  It’s certainly wonderful picking up my children’s books for my own enjoyment and for the chance to reflect on what I’ve learned about creative writing so far.

 

[Mandy Edwards]

Crikey, Brian. That’s a bit embarrassing!

Thank you, Robyn. The ebook is called Mystery at Deadman’s Ridge by Mandy Edwards ..and it is on Amazon. When i find the exact link i will post it on here …but right now i need to go to bed!

>>>>>>>

https://www.amazon.com/Mystery-at-Dead-Mans-Ridge-ebook/dp/B00D3XI33M

 

[Tina Shaw]

Mate, you’re an inspiration! It just goes to show we can do anything if we put our minds to it (and a heck of a lot of hard work).

[Robyn Welsh]

 

 

Brian, thanks for popping this message onto this forum.   Crikey, this deserves a second airing.  What an inspiration. Mandy, your book is down on my list and I’ll check it out.  Good luck with all of your writing.

[Mandy Edwards]

Thank you, Brian for posting the link. I cringed a bit when I saw the question mark after ‘you turd!’ Should have been an exclaimation mark! There are a few mistakes like that in it … it has since been edited again for the hard copy, and again by David and Carolyn, my wonderful NZIBS proofreading friends for an improved Amazon version.But somehow i never got round to re-publishing it on Amazon. I wanted to redo the front cover too … a learning curve that got disrupted by other things. I had a lot of fun writing it and got reaquainted with an ex teaching colleague, Des Hunt, who gave me lots of advice. He has just won a top award in children’s literature. A lovely lovely man. ☺

>>>>>

Reminder to Mandy and other authors. It takes about five minutes to REPLACE the whole text with version 2 on Amazon. You can also change the selling price and change the cover etc. Consider it unfinished business until you do. BM

[Brian Morris]

I’ve been teaching novice writers HOW TO WRITE YOUR FIRST EBOOK for ages.

I summarised my advice into an ebook which is downloadable here: http://www.ebookofKnowledge.com

Anyone can access it there.

TIP: This thought has just occurred to me latterly. Instead of organising an ebook cover for $5 at http://www.fiverr.com  my BETTER IDEA is to instruct 3 different book cover artists (with the same brief) . OK, I’ll spend $15 instead of 5. But I’ll have three designs to select from, instead of Hobson’s Choice. I’ll put that tip into my ebook when I do the SECOND EDITION.

BM

[Mandy Edwards]

Oh! I can replace the text in 5 minutes on Amazon. Okay. Time to take another look.

Thanks, Brian.

>>>>>

Now that I’m retired, I plan to refresh and update my 42 ebooks. That will make each one a SECOND EDITION. I’ll make fresh covers for each. I’ll withdraw the first edition.

Some titles are over 6-7-8 years old, but they still earn royalties for me. It’s a great business to be in. Any NZIBS graduate could do this. Start with one ebook.

Good tips here >  http://www.ebookofknowledge.com

[Brian Morris]

I’ve just banked my May royalty cheque from Amazon. Modest, but that’s OK. This one was from UK Amazon. Such a pleasant surprise as most of my ebook buyers are American.

LESSON. You only need to write the ebook ONCE, but royalties keep coming for 50 years.

TIP: Look for a PROBLEM lots of people have and offer the SIMPLE SOLUTION.

REQUEST: My next ebook has the title “How to talk your way out of a traffic ticket”. If you have achieved this legally, (as I have), please email me your story. Contributors will receive a free ebook with their story in. Thanks. Email: [email protected]     Brian Morris

[Tina Shaw]

Brian, you are an inspiration – even overcoming traffic tickets!