Here is some great news! This book is FREE through tomorrow! If you have not grabbed a copy for yourself yet, you can do so here.
Here is the description:
Owen Sage is the emblematic college freshman at Easton Falls University. He studies hard, plays hard, and is incredibly charming. With all the worries about his first year in college, he was not prepared for what would happen next. His way of life was flipped upside down when he was drawn into a different world, a world unbeknownst to him. He mysteriously crossed into another dimension, into the beautiful land of Everville. His tragic excitement was abruptly halted when he discovered that there was a darkness forged against both the natural world, which he knew well, and the new land which he discovered, Everville. He must devise a plan to save both worlds while joining forces with the race of Fron and The Keepers, whom both harbor hidden secrets he must learn in order to gain power over the evil that dwells in The Other In Between.
With a race against time to save both worlds, his short time at Easton Falls did not quite prepare him for the evil, dark forces he must fight in order to conquer The Other In Between.–goodreads
I read this book and fell in love with it. Roy Huff has a unique style that makes you feel almost as if you are one of his characters.
I asked him to do a guest post about publishing and why he chose the route he did, and he kindly agreed to do so.
You can find him at http://www.owensage.com
Please welcome him to Readful Things:)
The original idea to write the book Everville: The First Pillar came from the response I received to an English paper written for a college course I had taken. It was the first time, I had seriously thought about writing a book, though I had often flirted with the idea through various stages of my adult life. After I decided to embark on the journey of writing a book, my initial plan was to go the traditional publishing route. My thoughts were that I wanted to be respected in the writing community as well as have a better chance at a commercially viable book. Even though I expected it to be a little more challenging, I thought using the standard method would make the most sense.
Over the next eighteen months, I slowly wrote a page or two in fits and starts, while periodically doing research into literary agents, publishing companies, and what would be the best approach to getting published. It soon became clear that before I even approached a literary agent, I would need to have a polished manuscript. Even then, it would still be difficult to find an agent willing to look at the completed manuscript, and I would likely receive numerous rejections beforehand. If I were fortunate enough find a literary agent who would have been willing to represent me, the manuscript would still need to be sent to publishers for review with no guarantee that it would be accepted. I could have tried to go directly to the publishers, but considering most publishers do not even consider unpublished authors, it seemed unlikely that would have been a good idea.
After writing only thirty pages, I realized that the daunting task of getting represented and published was preventing me from writing the book. I did want the book to be commercially successful, but I also wanted to finish the idea that I had in my head as well as make a contribution to the literary world. I then did a little more research into self-publishing and e-book options, and I eventually decided that it would be the best approach. Once I made the decision to self-publish, through Kindle as well as print, I finished the first draft in three months and took other steps to market the book. I can honestly say, that had I not done that, the book would not have been written.
If only for the purpose of completing the book, self-publishing was clearly the correct choice. There were some mistakes that were made, and the traditional route may still be an option now that the first book in published, but the initial decision has so far seemed like the right one, and it has allowed me to start on a path that I otherwise might not have taken. Whether the book or subsequent books in the series achieve commercial success, remains to be seen, but deciding to take the plunge and self-publish has encouraged me to make connections and contacts in the writing community, as well as research additional ways to improve my writing and market future books. More importantly, has also allowed me the opportunity to get feedback from readers who have already been inspired by my work. That alone has made it all worth it.
Thank you so much Roy for sharing your thoughts with us. I would love to have you back for another visit to tell us more about your series!
You can see my review of Roy’s fantastic book here:
The web of power looks smooth and peaceful — until a new threat looms — in the fifth tale from the Five Kingdoms.
