a notification from a reader.

Morning all.

Just logged on and found this sitting among my e-mails. It would appear we have hit a chord among at least one reader I hope her views are shared by others. Anyway here it is in its entirety .

 Dear sir.

I felt I had to write to you as I have been following your debates about editing and your book on both your blog site and web site. At first I thought your comments were at best  naive at worst irrational. Of course editing is essential and couldn't understand why you even asked the question but then I began to understand what you meant and I took on a different view. You say you are a self-published author, as such you are deemed amateurish by almost the entire book industry. Surely that was the case some years ago but not anymore. Times have moved on and self-publishing is now considered an essential part of the industry.

What, I think, you mean is that the average self-publisher is directed down one of two routes. You either pay a fortune and vanity print, whereby a company will print whatever you send them be it good, bad or brilliant (not I fear too many of those) or you do as you have done find a gifted friend to edit your work and do the best you can. To enable me to see where your problems lay I purchased a copy of your book and was surprised. Why I hear you ask.

Well for many reasons firstly unlike others I thought the front cover intriguing and then self-explanatory. Who needs an explanation with a title like yours and a picture like that. Then the format, yes its needs tidying up, the justification is wrong as is the font size and the book could do with re-sizing, minor matters which can be fixed easily. The grammar and punctuation is a little awry, nothing too drastic and there are a few spelling mistakes which could do with removing. The story is magical, far better than some I have seen churned out by large publishing houses. The characters and place setting is pure heaven, I almost believed I was in Stormouth.

 So what can be done to correct these errors? From what you have stated and what I have now seen posted on your blogsite you are well on the way to achieving near perfection. You will never please everyone no matter how good you are but I believe you will have a book that will be the envy of many an author. More importantly you have engaged with your readers, both those who have purchased an older version and those who will be drawn to you for your honesty. I admire what you have stated, that you will supply a free copy of the book for a few weeks so those who feel slighted can obtain a new version. Well done not many authors would have thought like that.

For my own part I will have no hesitation in recommending this book to my friends, family and business acquaintances. I long to see your name on some prize list in the not too distant future. Your book deserves that at least, as does the author. Well done sir and best wishes.

 Mrs Terresa Kirby. South West, England