I have published an eBook. I do not really feel it counts towards this goal but it seems like something that has to be done.
I write for pleasure, not for publication. I write a blog because I feel I should but most of my writing is just for me and has been happening since before there were blogs around.
I wrote a humorous book of excerpts from books that do not exist. It is funny and people have told me I should get it published but why should I? I enjoy people who find it sitting around and become engrossed and laugh a lot, but that is pleasure enough.
I wrote most of a book for fathers about stuff they needed to know before the pregnancy. Various people have used that one and I do feel a certain obligation to help people by getting it published. Instead I have joined the NCT trading board to help establish support networks and the like. That is worthy enough and will fulfil the same purpose.
Now I have written a book based on my experiences with child learning that has answers to the question ‘why’ that really help. When asked “why?”, “but why?”, “but why?” interminably people send their kids to come and ask me and I have written a manuscript to help answer properly. As always people have said I should try to get it published but it seems to me that there is very little money in kids publishing and it is a lot of work to try to get things published. That said I do feel, like in the NCT case, a certain obligation. This is the sort of thing that should be out there.
What I have done is take a small piece of the book and turn it into a mini-eBook. If people buy it I will make a series out of the rest of the book and go to a published with something that already sells. In practice no one will buy it because they will not know it exists but trying to advertise it would be expensive, not cost effective and a lot of work.
Have a look at http://amzn.to/UOB1gD and perhaps spend the price of a half pint to buy it? If your child likes it (or if you do) write a comment on here and I will say that this bit was worth doing and publish the whole series.
Rufus

