FOR some time my writing - average though it is - has been languishing on hard drive, memory sticks. Let's face it, yer average Northern Ireland author has enough hassles through paying the mortgage to spend time chasing the dreams of agents and publishers.
Thanks to good friend Mike Thomas, an English musician, teacher and writer of children's books, I discovered that publishing ebooks yourself wasn't that difficult. He pointed me in the direction of a US-run site called Smashwords, and I disted down the stories, freshened them up and hey presto their live!.
Now I have seven short stories online and available to buy via Smashwords and, through Smashwords iBooks, Barnes and Noble, Dieselm, Sony e-reader, Kobo and Diesel.
Yes, it can be a little fiddly to start with, but it is worth the effort.
You can check out my stories here. They are five dark tales, a Belfast romance, and a bit of sword and sorcery nonsense that was escapism for me. Even more important, it has given me the confidence to tackle two ideas for novels that have been nagging me for some time!
While it is gratifying that people can access and buy my stories, like all such ventures the lack of an editor as a critical friend means that you never know whether your prose punches as it should (or spot any typos!). But it perhaps should be regarded as a gateway and the reward? Telling friends and family: "Aye, I'm a published author!"
So if you want to chat about e-publishing put your queries in the comments, or if you enjoyed any of my stories let me know (better still post a review on Smashwords!)
