My Books Are Now In Book Store Shelves!
Ever since I wrote my first Ridge Walker adventure thriller back in 2012, my biggest goal was to see my work displayed on the shelves of real bona fide bookstores.
Very quickly, I came to understand that this goal, as a self-published indie author, was going to be extremely hard to achieve.
Don’t get me wrong. I knew that I could make a genuine living from being a self-published author despite having no illusions about being the next Ian Rankin or J.K. Rowling.
My idea was never to beggar myself trying to get an agent and then a publisher. As a late entrant to the world of book writing, I couldn’t afford to wait 10 years for the gate-keepers to finally deign to accept my manuscript.
In addition to writing Ebooks and self-publishing through Amazon, I also embarked on a career in online marketing and then coaching, all of which has been exciting, unpredictable and a lot of fun.
So, I was happy to publish online.
Apart from one thing.
When friends, family and others who knew me were sceptical about my ‘online activities,’ that was perfectly fine. They couldn’t see my growing bank balance. I didn’t need their accreditation.
But when they thought I was just ‘playing’ at being a writer – that hurt. A lot.
I wanted to be able to walk into Waterstones, which is our biggest UK bookstore and point to my books. My son was around ten years old and I wanted him to see my books and be proud of his old dad.
I appreciate that I won’t be shifting a ton of books through these stores. That’s not what it’s about with me. It’s just good old-fashioned pride and recognition of a job done.
So my goal has been achieved this week. My books are on bookstore shelves. Waterstones now sell my print books and I am doing a book signing even in December. One happy author.
Alex
If you’re looking for some dark and gritty writing then check out my full-length thriller THE DEVIL YOU KNOW.
Not for the faint of heart but it’ll reward you for reading it.
“I would definitely recommend this book if you are looking for something a little bit different.”
“The effort was worth it. More than a story, I recommend this book to readers who appreciate good writing. I am truly impressed and hope to see more books by Alex Breck.”
Have you listened to my Podcast show Alex Breck’s Banter yet?