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Bulls Fan self-publishes his first e-book...
The road to publishing success has always been a rocky one, many famous authors including JK Rowling tasted rejection along the way, and an increasing number now reach their goals by self-publishing, including Fifty Shades of Grey.
Now a Hereford United fan of more than twenty-five years is making his own way in the industry by self publishing his first e-book through Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing scheme.
32 year old Andy Holmes, who has supported the Bulls since 1987 and was the club’s stadium announcer for eighteen months in their previous spell in non-league football, wrote his first novel Always the DJ four years ago and has spent the time since polishing it up to a point where he’s now ready to release it. Like JK Rowling he’s already faced rejection from literary agents, but isn’t letting that put him off.
“I’ve sent my manuscript to twenty agents out of the hundreds that are out there so far.” Andy reveals “It’s really hard to make an impression in such a competitive marketplace where agents and publishers just don’t have the time to look at the hundreds of drafts they get each week.”
“Like a lot of authors, I’m giving self publishing a go. I don’t expect to get rich, but if this helps me build a platform of interest in my work, then maybe publishers will look again at what I’ve been writing, once they know that there’s a market for it.”
Always the DJ tells the story of a mobile DJ, who is about to turn 30 and is questioning everything about his life, whilst searching for love and happiness and a way to forget about the past.
“A few years ago I wasthat DJ.” Andy explains, “The book draws on my own experiences, how it’s sometimes such a lonely profession, after all who entertains the entertainers in this world? The story also looks at the modern family, mental illness, and the impact of music on our lives.”
Working on the publicity for this book and now being based in Buckinghamshire means Andy hasn’t seen as many matches this season as he’d like but it hasn’t stopped him keeping in touch.
“I’ve seen two live games and watched one on the TV, but the Bulls websites are still a regular port of call every day and thanks to Twitter and texts from my brother I’m always there in spirit on match days.” he says “As I’ve written an e-book, it’s given me the chance to link to United’s Fighting Fund webpage. It may not make much of a difference compared to some of the fantastic efforts other fans are making at present, but fingers crossed it’ll raise awareness of our current plight with readers. I’ve also got my ticket for the Shrewsbury game which should be a cracker!” Always the DJ is available on Amazon to buy here: http://tinyurl.com/99cx99t
