The Guest Who Stayed - The Guest Who Stayed by Roger Penfound - Blog

Visit my new web site.

9/10/2014

I have now moved all book details to my new website www.rogerpenfound.com. This enables me to include details of my latest release 'The Voice Within' as well as the sequel to The Guest Who Stayed which is being published in the Spring of 2016. Please go there now for a sneak preview.

Welcome to askdavid.com readers. Thank-you for finding me on this blog site. Thinking about Reading ‘The Guest Who Stayed? Wondering what you’re in for?
Well it’s an emotional roller coaster which follows one family from the end of world war one to the beginning of the 60’s – a period of enormous social and political change in which traditional expectations were thrown out of the window as new hopes and aspirations took over. It was the start of the ‘me’ culture’ which reached its pinnacle in Britain during the leadership of Margaret Thatcher. She is reputed to have said ‘there is no such thing as society.’ Or as another commentator more adequately puts it.

‘When Thatcher famously stated that “there is no such thing as society”, she was merely reflecting the Consumer greed of the era, announcing a political selfishness; a virtual acknowledgement that community had been usurped by the “loadsamoney” self.

I think that puts it succinctly. So the book is about avarice and greed, but it’s also about seduction and power – so often the two go together – ‘hand in glove.’

Alice is seduced by the sophistication and wealth of her lodger. He fathers her child but within the constrained moral boundaries of the times, her husband Jed, agrees to accept paternity in return for a loan from the lodger to build his business.

And so a ‘devil’s contract’ is forged which binds both this generation and the next to an intractable outcome set amidst the chaos of the second world war.

Here’s what some people have said about ‘The Guest Who Stayed.’

‘This is a well-constructed and beautifully written book, cleverly drawing the characters together in a story of betrayal.’ - Amazon.co.uk review

‘This is a terrific and very compelling book. I did nothing for two days but read it.’ – Goodreads review.

‘Some of the best writing I've ever encountered - not just on Wattpad, anywhere. This was a complete treat.’ – Wattpad review.

Check out the askdavid.com review page you at

http://askdavid.com/reviews/book/historical-fiction/9507

If you enjoy reading The Guest Who Stayed, I’d be very grateful if you would put a short review on askdavid. And why not leave your contact details in the ‘feedback section.’ There’s a sequel coming out soon and you’ll be the first to know when it’s ready.

Sequels to follow.

26/3/2014

I have received some fabulous feedback on The Guest Who Stayed – particularly from Wattpad readers and as a result I have decided to write three sequels to this first story. To help set up the next story I have made a small addition to the last chapter of this first novel which I am reprinting below.

You may recall that Emma, Flora’s daughter, becomes a GI bride after the war and travels to the US to live with Samuel …………………

The Guest Who Stayed: Chapter 23 – August 1960

The swell from the grey sea rocked the liner slowly from side to side as she ploughed through the featureless ocean. Emma stood on the small third class promenade deck. The cold seeped through her coat but it was better than the claustrophobic quarters in which she was forced to make this return trip across the Atlantic.

She thought back to her previous crossing, a ‘bride ship’ they’d called it, with hundreds of other girls like her going to the United States to join their GI husbands and sweethearts. How full of hope and excitement she’d been. How happy to leave a dismal and gloomy Britain at the end of six years of war.

Of course, people had warned her about the dangers of marrying a black GI. But Samuel had said that it would be different after the war. They had fought alongside each other, black and white together – as comrades. People would treat them as equals now – as heroes maybe.

But she was unprepared for the squalor and poverty of the township in Mississippi that was Samuel’s home. A wooden shack shared with three other members of his family. No running water. A filthy shed for a toilet and no privacy. Their relationship never stood a chance.

And people were wary of her – both black and white. The blacks felt that she was an intruder, scornful of their way of life. The whites didn’t know how to treat her – with the disdain they reserved for blacks or with the hatred intended for a turncoat.

Samuel couldn’t find regular work and took to drug dealing. Emma and he drifted further apart. Finally, he was shot by rival dealers and died in Emma’s arms.

Emma couldn’t stay in the township – that was made clear to her. She managed to get work as a maid and it had taken her a year to save up for this return trip. She had thought about it endlessly. She didn’t belong in America. She had no roots. When Evie’s letter arrived, her mind was made up.

She pulled the crumpled letter from her pocket and read the last few lines again.

…' but if fate does ever bring you back to these shores, please visit Peter and Michael to make sure they are well.

You are a strong person Emma and I believe you have a bright future. If you could share a little of that strength with Peter and Michael, it would bring me great comfort.

I wish you every happiness.

Yours forever,

Evie'

Emma pushed the letter back into her pocket and pulled her coat tight. She had come to realise that her destiny lay not in America but back in the small town in England from which she had fled. But she would not be a victim – not like her mother. Her past and her future were intricately bound up with this family and she would find her roots there.

She remembered what Alice had told Evie in her letters, that when she married Jed, it was not for love but for ambition. It was a way out of the poverty and abuse she had known as a child. There was nothing wrong with ambition. It was what created success.

Spray from the cold ocean burst over the ship forcing Emma back into the cramped quarters which she would have to endure for another five days.

Its a slow journey but I'm getting there (diary of a would be international best seller) - day 120

21/3/2014

Remember? I gave myself three years to become a best selling international author. It's now day 120. So how’s the journey going? Slowly but I think I’m consolidating my understanding of the market.

Here are some key thoughts:

Wattpad. I’m a great fan of this site though it tends to have a young membership – very keen on werewolves and the like. However I’ve got some great reviews and it’s good to know that ‘The Guest Who Stayed’ resonates with a young audience. I’ve had over 500,000 (free) downloads and I have over 13,000 followers. My challenge is how to involve these followers in the launch of my next book in late April. My current plan is to serialise it on Wattpad with a suggestion at the end of each chapter to buy from Amazon if the reader can’t wait to find out what happens. That way I’m hoping to get some ‘paid for’ sales.

KDP select. This is the promotion opportunity permitted by Amazon on Kindle sales – usually five free days in any three months. I’ve found this helpful for simply getting the book read. In my current campaign I’ve managed 252 downloads across all markets. I have linked these with’ Kindle Users Forum’ UK book of the day to gain wider distribution – helpful but of course no income.

Fussy Librarian – a selective platform that promotes a small number of books from different genres on any given day. It’s a good idea and is hosted by a very chatty web master – but no sales.

Blog – as you can see I’m keeping it up but no direct correlation to sales. However it is enjoyable to see hits from around the world. Makes you realise what a global community the self-publishing business is.

I have noticed a number of visits from Joanna Penn’s blog site - The Creative Penn (www.thecreativepenn.com) Joanna is a best-selling indie author and provides a wealth of expert advice on self-publishing via her site. Very well worth a visit. I left a comment on her site and it seems to have driven a lot of people to my blog site. (reminds me to leave another comment)

Goodreads: Everything I read tells me that this is the one to go for yet I also read about people who feel they have been persecuted and driven off the site. I’d love to hear about your experiences with Goodreads. I have a presence on the site but have not become actively engaged. I understand that the protocol is to take part in discussions without active promotion of one’s own book. That can be slipped in later.

What I’m going to try next: I’m keen to explore bookbub (www.bookbub.com). This is a paid for service where authors submit their e’ books and if accepted, the site promotes through a genre specific mailing list but charges a fee based on the price of the book. The site also publishes average download stats so that you can work out whether you will be in or out of pocket. Has anyone tried this route and do you have any observations on how successful it is?

Twitter: Still can’t get my head around this. Must try harder

Other News

I went to the London Author fair recently to network and generally find out what was going on. It was a good event, although sometimes difficult to get close enough to speakers to hear what they were saying. I’m not sure I learnt much that I didn’t already know though it’s good to have some of the important messages re enforced sometimes.

The networking however was very good. Determined not to be left standing alone eating my sandwich at lunch time I latched onto another first time author, Jeremy Cook. His book, ‘ Ghost Trader’ has just been published on Amazon and I’m engrossed in it now. It’s a highly absorbing story based in the world of high finance and trading. The main character is bankrupt trader whose life has been destroyed by the near collapse of Lloyds insurers. In hiding he meets up with a widowed trader whose husband committed suicide after financial ruin. At her instigation, they use ‘dubious’ trading tactics to try to recoup losses for their clients and for themselves. But then the story suddenly takes an unexpected turn. Following an accident, the characters suddenly exist in two parallel worlds – suspended between life and death - forced to confront their previous misdeeds. It’s a very well written and challenging story which I would highly recommend.

Finally, I’m now the proud owner of the first paperback editions of ‘The Guest Who Stayed.’ It should soon be available on Amazon and other bookseller sites. My only slight disappointment is the minimum retail price is higher than I would like - £8.99 and I seem to have no options to get it lower.

I would be much happier at £7.99 which I think is a more competitive price. Does anybody else have any thoughts on this?

If you're on the same journey and would like to compare experiences - I'd love to hear from you. Just hit the 'comments' button to respond.

Best Wishes

Roger Penfound

Hey - I've got the paperback version of my book

22/1/2014

Exciting News. I’ve got the paperback version of my book - The Guest Who Stayed. It arrived this morning - published by FeedARead. (www.feedaread.com ) And I have to say I’m really very impressed with the quality. Better in my view than many bookshop paperbacks.

The cover is a beautiful high definition version of the design I commissioned all those many months ago. It has a gloss finish and feels good to the touch. Inside, the quality of the paper is excellent – I have chosen an off white / cream and I can’t fault the quality of the print.

SO – well done FeedARead. I can really recommend you.

OK – so you can tell I’m a bit high on this – cradling my book like a new born infant.

So what’s the point? Why not just leave it as an e’ book?

Well OK – there is some vanity involved. I promise you it’s a great moral booster to see the physical outcome of all that effort. But there’s more to it than that. I think it’s hard selling an e’ book. You’re selling an idea rather than a product and many people like to feel, hold, caress and love. There’s been a limit to how fervently I can sell the idea of visiting my web page on the Amazon Kindle site.

Now however, with my beautiful offspring clutched in my hands, I feel empowered to go out and engage in the raw and harsh world of selling. Why not? I’ve got something I’m proud of.

My resolution this year is to start thinking out of the box. ‘Piff’ to Twitter and ‘bosh’ to Facebook. I’m going to do it ‘my way’ (Sorry Frank Sinatra).

Perhaps my barber (well hairdresser actually) can be persuaded to have a copy on the table – and then a few under the counter that he can sell when the enquiries start.

“Yes, he’s a local author Mrs. Baxter. I can let you have a copy but it’s a bit racey so better keep it out of Mr. Baxter’s way.

Or the local post office – there’s plenty of spare shelf space there. Perhaps I can do a deal.

I shall certainly be visiting East Anglia (where the book is set) and see if I can get some independent booksellers to mount displays.

So you see the arrival of the book on my doorstep this morning has re invigorated my sagging spirits just when it was needed. Now, when I feel hope deserting me I just have to seize hold of my book, caress those beautiful smooth pages and tell myself that it will eventually be alright.

I’ll keep you posted on how my ‘out of the box’ marketing campaign develops.

PS. I don’t think you can actually buy a copy for about six weeks. Sorry.

Confessions of an aspiring self published author: The Fussy Librarian

13/12/2013

N0te: This blog charts my progress from unknown aspiring author to international publishing phenomenon in 3 years (1095 days)

On Tuesday ‘The Guest Who Stayed’ was featured on The Fussy Librarian. I came across this site when reading one of Joanna Penn’s very informative blogs.

The Fussy librarian describes itself as ‘Your Personal Librarian - emails you with the ebooks matching your unique interests and content preferences’

It sets quality thresholds in terms of the number of reviews a book must have received

‘In order to be considered, your ebook should have:•10 reviews and a 4.0 rating on Amazon or Barnes and Noble or 20 reviews and a 3.5 rating. If you have 10 reviews split between Amazon's various stores -- like US and UK -- your book is eligible. •A price of $5.99 or less.’

So I was delighted when The Guest Who Stayed was accepted for the promotion about a week after I had submitted it. Here at last was a site where readers would actually purchase my book rather than gorge themselves on free downloads. I prepared myself for being wealthy.

I was e mailed the day before the promotion with some blurb to paste into my Facebook and twitter accounts. It all seemed very professional.

On the day of the promotion, I sat by my computer waiting for the e mail with the promotion to arrive. It was a long wait. It eventually appeared about lunchtime – getting out of bed time in North America.

I was impressed with the look and impact of the promotion. There were eight books being promoted that day in different genres. Mine was 6th on the list. Each book had its cover image displayed, a description, and the option to purchase from different sources (Amazon, Smash words etc.)

Then within minutes of the promotion appearing, I had 2 sales on Amazon UK. This was amazing. I ran to make a cup of tea so that I could calm my nerves as I saw the sales come tumbling in. When I got back – there were still 2 sales. An hour later there were still two sales. I comforted myself with the thought that the US market was still half asleep. There would be a frenzy of buying in the late afternoon when our American cousins turn to literary pursuits.

I walked the dog. Still only two sales. I got a very nice message via Goodreads from a lady in Canada who had seen the book promoted on Fussy Librarian and had made a mental note to read it later. (buy it now for God’s sake).

It slowly dawned on me that 2 sales plus a nice note from a lady in Canada was going to be my sum total. Am I disappointed? Not really. Two sales is better than no sales and may be better than 98 free downloads (My last KDP Select day). The Fussy Librarian will continue to promote my book for a year so I will continue to follow the site avidly and bring you news. I believe it is still a young site and is still developing its reader base.

Tomorrow is my second free day on Kindle KDP Select linked to a ‘book of the day’ on Kindle Users Forum (UK) Let’s see how many books I can give away then.

Best Wishes

Roger Penfound

Confessions of a self published author: Come on Amazon, let book reviews appear on all your sites.

9/12/2013

Stop Press:

I’ve just discovered that The Guest Who Stayed is being featured on The Fussy Librarian tomorrow for the first time. ( www.thefussylibrarian.com ) Is this the big break through? I’ll report back.

Main Topic.

For new readers of this blog, the purpose is for me to unload my feelings of panic, desperation and occasional euphoria as I travel my three year journey from unknown self-published author to international global phenomenon. This is day 17 of 1095.

My ‘quibble’ today is about the way Amazon treats reviews. I mean a review is a review (good or bad) wherever it comes from. Now I’m in The UK and so my 14 reviews (which are generally great) appear on Amazon.co.uk. But until recently I had no reviews on Amazon.com and understandably no sales. I mean who is going to buy a book that doesn’t have a review – unless it’s your Mum.

However, Amazon.co.uk does provide the option to see the reviews on Amazon .com but not vice versa. I don’t see the point of this as it clearly restricts sales of UK books in the US and after all – everyone is out to maximise sales.

This came to a head recently when I was contacted by an author in Australia (the network is beginning to work). Brian Robertson has published a book called ‘Diggers Story’ – an amazing account of an Australian POWs incarceration by the Japanese in World War Two -providing great insights into the relationship between captor and captive. (highly recommended).

Like me, Brian is a new comer to marketing in the self-publishing environment and so we’ve been swapping tips. We both agree that good reviews are vital. So in the spirit of international fraternity we would read each-others books and post reviews. As I had already purchased a copy of Brian’s book from Amazon.co.uk he agreed to gift me another copy from Amazon .com so I could post a review there. However, Amazon wouldn’t let me accept the gift because it knew I had already purchased the book from Amazon.co.uk. Instead it offered me a gift voucher.

Undaunted, I tried another tack. I have a second e mail address which I used to register on Amazon.com with a pen name. And hey presto it worked. I could accept the gift and can presumably post my review which will be accepted as an ‘Amazon Verified Purchase’.

So I got thinking. It’s not difficult to set up any number of alias e mail accounts………………..do you get my drift?

But wouldn’t it be simpler if Amazon just allowed all reviews to be posted on all sites?

Anyone from Amazon out there listening? …….hello

Check back in a couple of days to see how my ‘Fussy Librarian’ listing went.

Thanks for reading.

Roger Penfound

Confessions of a self published author. The marketing campaign - day 11 (of 1095)

3/12/2013

So yesterday was the beginning of my campaign in that I actually did something. It was one of my free promotion days on Kindle KDP Select for my novel ‘The Guest Who Stayed.’ I combined this with a ‘free book of the day’ advert on Kindle Users Forum (UK edition). It was a good ad – very prominent. My only concern was that it described my category as ‘Romance’ when my Amazon listing is Historical Fiction. I queried this with KUF and was told that they use the information sent to them by Amazon but were in the process of improving the interface

The free KDP listing applied to all markets but the KUF ad applied only to the UK so I was keen to see if the ad bumped up the downloads in the UK.

The results for the day were Amazon.com = 34; Amazon.co.uk = 63; rest of the world = 5

So not stunning. Also bear in mind these are free downloads. I have read that the free KDP promo boosts ‘paid for sales’. I have yet to see any evidence of this.

On the positive side, people are reading the book which is good. My Amazon ranking for free books rose to 473 at one stage in the day but the paid for sales still languish around the 160,000 level.

I’ve got another KUF ‘book of the day’ advert on 14th of December, so I’ll monitor that and report back.

In the meantime I’m about to launch into Michelle Campbell-Scott’s book, ‘Goodreads for Authors’ – about which I’ve heard great things.

So in summary – no break-through yet but I’ve still got 3039 days left.

Marketing diary of a new self-published author day 7 of 1095

29/11/2013

Marketing diary of a new self-published author day 7 of 1095

I’m keeping this diary to monitor my progress and success from self-published author with not many sales to international publishing phenomenon. I am advised by the gurus who I have begun studying that this will take about 3 years (1095 days). This is day 7.

Where am I so far? I am immersing myself in the lessons and good practice of aficionados such as Joanna Penn (How To Market a Book); John Locke (How I sold 1 million e books in 5 months); and Michael Alvear (Make a Killing on Kindle).

I never imagined the community was so large or so well organised with its own etiquette and culture. I’ve learned that ‘you only get out what you put in’ and am busy learning how to tweet and have a presence on Good Reads.

My latest bed time reading is ‘How to Twitter’ by Stacey Myers. I’m beginning my first tentative steps into this rather daunting environment. I have 24 followers already. Apologies followers if you get some odd tweets from me. I may not have the etiquette quire right yet.

I’m excited by Michael Campbell – Scott’s book, ‘Goodreads for Authors’. I signed up for Goodreads almost a year ago but then did nothing. I’ve achieved 2 reviews and 3 ratings (4.33) but could obviously do better. I am now beginning to realise that like most marketing opportunities it needs time and commitment.

In this early stage of my global marketing strategy, I want to do some things that will hopefully make an immediate impact (although understandably small). So I’ve registered with KUF forum and signed up for ‘free book of the day’ on two days in December and two listing highlights in January. OK, so this won’t earn me money. In fact it’s cost me 28 quid (pounds to colleagues from North America). But it would be nice to see some action on those Amazon report pages rather than just ‘greyed out’ ‘no sales to report’ boxes. Any way – very excited about the promotions and will report back on the results.

Good news is that I still get great reviews on Wattpad (418132 downloads and 13,140 followers.) Great for the ego but rubbish for the bank balance.

The other great lesson is to plan my marketing well in advance. I’m launching my second novel at the beginning of April and with the help of all you kind people out there providing guidance and advice, I intend to hit the buffers running. (Perhaps that’s the wrong metaphor)

Best Regards , Roger Penfound

The marketing campaign: Day 3.

25/11/2013

I’m going to treat this marketing campaign as a logistics exercise – set targets – put an action plan into place – review results. From what I’ve read, this should only take me about three years to achieve. So by Christmas 2016, I (1095 days) I should be celebrating joining the ranks of high selling indie authors - or walking under a bus.

Goal 1. To read as much as I can about successful marketing of e books: to immerse myself in the culture and ethos of self-publishing and to make small incremental steps towards my goal.

So what have I done to achieve this?

Well I’ve downloaded three e books onto my Kindle, all of which promise me that their approach will open the flood gates. These are:

‘Make a killing on Kindle’ by Michael Alvear:

‘How I sold a million e books in 5 months’ by John Locke:

‘How to market a book’ by Joanna Penn.

Each of these books takes a different approach. John Locke’s ‘How I sold a million e books’ is really about social media marketing – on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and others. It’s about building friendship groups on line and converting these to sales once you’ve got a following. It’s also about building e mail lists of people you can connect with and update as you publish new material.

Michael Alvear’s ‘Make a killing on Kindle’ takes an opposite approach. He argues that it’s impossible to build a sufficiently big following on social media unless you’re already a celebrity. His preferred route is to understand the way that search engine’s like Amazon operate and manipulate key words and categories so that your book gets pushed to the top of lists where it can be noticed and bought. This is an attractive option at first sight as it seems to involve far less work than the social media route. But having played with my own books key words and categories, I think that the approach is far better suited to non-fiction writing of the ‘how to ‘ genre where key words are much more obvious. My own key words include such overused favourites as passion, deceit, destiny and betrayal. Difficult to distinguish from a host of other fiction books.

The third book - How to market a book by Joanna Penn, falls somewhere between the other two. She takes a fairly comprehensive and no nonsense overview of the whole marketing operation. She makes no promises but what does come across is her incredible enthusiasm and commitment to self-publishing. Joanna not only writes and publishes both fiction and non-fiction, but she also hosts a very useful web site with video and audio podcasts, as well as having a blog, twitter feed etc. In addition to all of this she undertakes public speaking engagements on self-publishing.

What comes across from her material is the need to be involved across a wide range of activities which directly or indirectly bring your book to the attention of potential readers . Joanna has been at it for about five years now and has carved out a very successful niche. And you can’t help admiring her drive and determination. I think I’m going to become a disciple of her approach for a while and see where that takes me.

Look here for future updates.

I think my own feeling is that no single approach that appears to work for someone else is necgoing to work for me. I can usefully learn from these books but ultimately I’ve got to work out my own route.

Any other indie writers out there prepared to share your own thoughts with me on this topic?

'The Guest Who Stayed'. My first year review - lessons and resolutions.

21/11/2013

Amazingly it’s now been over a year since I published The Guest Who Stayed. So how has it done?

I think there are two reasons that a writer publishes a fiction book. The first is to communicate with readers and the second is to make some money.

On the first count I’ve succeeded. The novel is a featured story on wattpad .com and has had over 400,000 downloads. And I’ve had loads of feedback from readers – most of it very positive. I’ve also got over 13,000 followers on wattpad – a group of loyal people who I can communicate with, talk to about new novels, even ask their advice about plots etc. I think wattpad is great for new writers. It provides a very broad cross section of readers, both young and old from countries across the globe. It’s great to get feedback from someone in Singapore or Moscow telling me that they love the characters I created and they miss them now they’ve finished the story.

People often ask me if the story is based on my own experience. The answer is ‘no’ but it is based on people I knew. They are all dead now but the basic plot is real.

So what about making some money! A big no. This is where Amazon, Smashwords and the others come in – platforms for advertising and selling books. Having placed my book on these platforms, I sat back and waited for the money to begin rolling in. And of course it didn’t. I’ve sold to friends, neighbours, relatives, even a few unknown people I got talking to - but I haven’t broken into that elusive ‘global’ market place.

So can it be done? I’ve spent the last few months devouring e books by those people who claim to have made a great success of e book publishing. They broadly fall into two categories – the social media entrepreneurs and the search engine boffins. The first group spend their time communicating in any conceivable way across different social media to build a following . The technical term is an 'author platform’. The second group claim that the key to success is optimising the impact of search engines by choosing winning key words and phrases and choosing strategically good categories in which to place your novel.

I tend to think that what suits one author doesn’t necessarily suit another. I think it’s a lot easier to optimise search engines with a non-fiction book. If you’ve written about breeding long haired guinea pigs – it’s clear what you’re key words will be. If like me, your novel focuses on passion, deceit and ambition – the key phrases alone are not sufficient to drive people to my pages.

So my solution is to try a bit of both approaches. Hence the re inauguration of my blog (yes I know I said the same thing a few months ago but this time I mean it). I will keep you regularly posted as my quest to unlock the secrets of self- publishing begins in earnest. I would be really grateful for any feedback from other self-published authors or any of my amazing wattpad followers. I’ll be honest and open with you. I’d be grateful if you’d do the same for me.

Call by in a couple of days and I’ll have an update.

Very best wishes

Roger Penfound

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