Revisiting My Novel

Did you know that I wrote and published a novel? Yes, I spent about 30 years writing it over and over about 30 times, growing as a writer from all that effort. Then in 1999 when I got my first computer that could go online I was just dying to see if it was true that one could publish online, as I'd heard and read.

I learned to use Google to reseach and sure enough, there was a new thing out - Print on Demand! There were machines out that could print and bind a paperback book in 8 minutes flat. Companies were popping up everywhere that offered to help authors publish their book this way. The books would be sold via a website, and when someone placed an order, it was quickly forwarded to a printing company with these kiosk style printing machines. A book would be printed, bound and sent off to the buyer within 48 hours. (That was to allow for weekends when the printing company would be closed).

So there was no need to print thousand of copies and then pay for storage space in a warehouse while you try to sell them.

I still had a monthly pen pal club back then, so I wrote them and told them of my discovery.

Helen, a dear friend, (wife of a professor), who used to help me with leading a Pioneer Girls Club, phoned me and said, "How much?" I wasn't sure what she was talking about, but when she said it was about publishing my book, I stammered that I had not done enough research yet to choose a printer. She said to go ahead and do that. She would pay for the contract.

I spent another 3 weeks researching about 30 of these new printing/publishing companies. Finally I decided that Booklocker.com had the best deal and seemed the most knowledgeable. They were asking $199 for the contract. Helen sent me the money and I went ahead.

Booklocker listed my book on their website, but notified me that I would have to do the promotional work. "How do I do that?" Build a website around the book's theme, and direct them to Booklocker.com to complete the sale. ...:Um-m.. how do I build a website?"

That part was up to me. So I researched this too, and taught myself to build websites. A really useful skill, by the way! I should really have also organized author tours and book-signings, but I was still broke, and my Dad needed a caregiver at home. So I threw myself mostly into my website about the book. It grew to over 1000 pages.

But when Dad died, and I went to work at Western Tract Mission, I had to put it on the back burner. Meaning that mostly I ignored it to take on many new projects. Many of them were to do with publishing tracts, the bi-monthly newsletter for WTM, and our annual Calendars for a few years.

So just back in 2020 I decided that my best business approach was to rebuild all the sites in my care and see that they all had affiliate links or ebooks to sell so that they would really begin to make money.. As you may recall, it took me 9 months to teach myself Responsive design, and then I started rebuilding my websites in September, BouquetofEnteprises.biz, aloe-vera-and-handy-herbs.com, online-shopping-guides.com, (I paused in December for Christmas), then last year, I started with my genealogy site, agodlyinheritance.com, and that held me up for 5 months because of redoing 4 eBooks to get them up-to-date. So last fall, I got generosity-alive.org mostly done. It still needs my articles from the blog moved to the static site.

I fit that in where I can, as I've finally started on the novel's site, ruthes-secretroses.com - which may well take me half or most of this year!! Last week I was working on the sample first 8 chapters of the book, and as I revisited them, I was flushed with a rush of memories! I used to live in those scenes constantly! Now I've been away from that for about 20 years. Ah, but what a thrill to relive those scenes and people whom I dreamed up for that book.

I almost think of that site as a theme park, with various areas dedicated to certain sub-plots and themes in the novel. I was going to try to trim it down in size, but now I'm not sure I'll have the heart to do that. Hopefully, the maturing I've come through in the last 20 years will help me to improve many parts of the site so they are worth keeping, and that I'll find ways to draw visitors to want to buy and read the book by the droves! The softcover printed edition is still available through booklocker.com/books/642.html, and the eBook through my site, or the direct link to pay 6.99 Cdn is buy.stripe.com

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One Writer to Another - A Review Please?

If you are a writer, or are quite confident that you know how to understand a book and can describe it's positive and negative points, you may be interested in this invitation of mine.

I'm looking for some kind but objective reviews of my book, so that I know what parts or aspects will help others to desire to read my novel. Sometimes people have bought my book, but have never got around to writing up a few paragraphs as a review - sharing what they liked, and what they did not like so much in my book.

Such thoughts would greatly help me to improve the various pages on this big site, so that I can emphasize the parts that you liked - assuming others would also appreciate those parts... I would be willing to give you a free ebook. But to make sure that I do get a review I will only promise to refund the $6.99 after I receive your review. Does this seem fair to you? :)

If you are not sure you would even care to read this book, you may read the first 8 chapters, starting from this page on the site; RSR-index.shtml There will be links to the Preface, and then one chapter after another if you read these pages in sequence.

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