Tag Archives: ebooks

The Rise In Student Prostitution Revisited

On 8 December 2012 I wrote a post entitled The Rise In Student Prostitution (http://newauthoronline.com/2012/12/08/the-rise-in-student-prostitution/). In the article I drew attention to a piece in a student newspaper, The Angle in which the author argues that many of those who enter the world of escorting are naieve (they do not realise that becoming an escort entails the provision of sexual services and by the time the realisation dawns on them it is to late they have, in effect already entered the world of prostitution).

I was interested to hear yesterday (27 February)from a young woman who works as a professional escort to pay for her medical studies in Germany. She discounts the idea that students entering the world of escorting are naieve and describes herself as being sexually liberal and enjoying the company of men (http://newauthoronline.com/2012/12/08/the-rise-in-student-prostitution/). In response to a question from me she states that the other student escorts with whom she is acquainted engage in escorting in order to obtain money (no surprise there then)! She also states that engaging in prostitution entails lieing in order to hide one’s occupation from others.

In my book, The First Time, we meet Becky who enters the world of prostitution, as a professional escort in order to clear her debts and avoid becoming homeless. As with the young lady who commented on my post Becky is far from being naieve. Her friend Julie works as an escort and Becky knows that men who use the services of prostitutes want more than mere company, they do, in the majority of cases expect a full personal service. However understanding what prostitution means at an intellectual level is not the same as grasping the reality of sex work. After her first encounter with a client Becky is violently ill (she feels that she is not a mere receptacle for men to “pour themselves into” and it is this feeling of worthlessness which makes her sick(.

The First Time is the fictional portrayal of two young women’s experience of prostitution. I do not claim that all those who work in the sex industry experience it in the same manner as Becky and Julie, rather The First Time explores a particular set of circumstances which lead Becky to enter sex work and her response to working as an escort. People are individuals and they react to circumstances in diverse and sometimes unexpected ways. I don’t claim to provide an overarching explanation as to why ladies enter prostitution I do, however believe that The First Time represents the lived experience (albeit through fiction) of a section of those engaged in the sex industry.

(For the First Time, by Kevin Morris please visit http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-First-Time-ebook/dp/B00AIK0DD6. For my latest book, Samantha which describes the experiences of a young girl forced into prostitution in the city of Liverpool and her struggle for survival please visit http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samantha-ebook/dp/B00BL3CNHI/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1362087266&sr=1-1).

Thank You – Samantha by K Morris Now Available In The Kindle Store

My book, Samantha is now available in the Amazon Kindle store as an ebook http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BL3CNHI/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_QErlrb12J4Y1K. A big thank you to all of you who encouraged me in writing Samantha both through your comments and by liking the drafts as they appeared here.

 

Kevin

Please Like My Author’s Facebook Page

In order to promote my collection of short stories, The First Time and my forthcoming book, Samantha I have an author’s page on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/newauthoronline). Please like my page on Facebook. Many thanks, Kevin

Editors Wanted

I’m considering employing the services of an editor/proof reader to go through my forthcoming book, Samantha which is currently in draft (unfinished) form on my blog. Once finished I will make further changes to the manuscript and then (very possibly) use the services of an editor. I’d be grateful for any suggestions regarding editors and/or proof readers. Please either comment on this post or, if you prefer send an email to newauthoronline@gmail.com.

Many thanks,

Kevin

The Costs Of Self Publishing

One of the decisions which one faces as a self published author is whether to use the services of a self publishing company or, alternatively to do everything (or most things) oneself. I am currently mulling over this question. My collection of short stories, The First Time was published using the services of a self publishing company. For a little under £400 the company formatted my manuscript, sent the book to various ebook retailers and designed a book cover.

Using the services of the company relieved me of the chore of having to format the book for the various retailers which would, I imagine have taken up a considerable chunk of my time. Again I lack the necessary expertise to design a book cover. However £400 is a considerable chunk of money especially when one considers that it is possible to format your own manuscript and send it to ebook retailers completely free of charge. I am in the process of writing another book, Samantha and I’m considering doing the formatting and distribution myself this time around. I know that this will entail formatting the manuscript to comply with the requirements of the various retailers, however so far as I have been able to ascertain most distributors provide their titles in epub format and Amazon does, for example format the manuscript on the author’s behalf (this does not relieve the writer of the obligation to check for typographical errors etc prior to submitting their work).

If I go down the do-it-yourself route for Samantha I’m still left with the issue of whether to pay someone to design a cover. Amazon and other ebook retailers will provide a generic cover for your book (if you don’t supply your own) and this would mean that my book could be published free of charge. However although you should not judge a book by it’s cover the fact is that an eye catching cover can assist in attracting the attention of purchasers so, on this basis I may pay for the design of a cover.

I would be interested to hear your views.

Google Plus

I am on Googleplus (https://plus.google.com/103288647937368753912/posts). I am just getting to grips with the service, consequently not all of the posts on my other blog (http://newauthoronline.blogspot.co.uk/) may have found their way across to Googleplus. I’ll get there, eventually!

Book Review: In Her Own Words .. Interview With A London Call Girl by Ruth Jacobs

Yesterday I read  “In Her Own Words .. Interview With A London Call Girl”, by Ruth Jacobs. You can find my review here http://www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/B008OALF4S/ref=cm_cr_dp_hist_four/280-6753202-9043007?ie=UTF8&filterBy=addFourStar&showViewpoints=0. To purchase the book please visit http://www.amazon.co.uk/Words-Interview-London-Destruction-ebook/dp/B008OALF4S/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top.

The Rise of the British National Party by Matthew J Goodwin

As with all democracies the United Kingdom has a bewildering variety of extremist political parties on the extreme left and right. The largest far-right party, the British National Party has no representation in the UK parliament, it does, however have two Members of the European Parliament (MEPS) including the party’s leader, Nick Griffin.

As with many parties of the extreme right the BNP has attempted to throw off it’s image as a racist and anti-semitic organisation. The party’s policy of the forceable repatriation of non-white immigrants to what the BNP terms their “homelands” has been abandoned as official party policy, however scratch below the surface of respectability and the organisation remains the same racist and Nazi organisation (witness for example the clips on the internet of prominent party members making racist and anti-semitic comments).

In “New British Fascism: The Rise of the British National Party” Mathew J Goodwin examines the party in detail including in-depth interviews with BNP members and supporters. The book offers a fascinating insight into what makes extremists tick and I’d recommend it to anyone who wishes to understand the disturbing growth of political extremism. For Goodwin’s book please visit http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0053D73WC?ie=UTF8&ref=oce_digital

 

The Disadvantages of self publishing

Self-publishing brings many benefits not least of which is the ability to get one’s work published quickly (indeed for many aspiring authors self-publishing is the only option given that most established publishing houses will not “risk” publishing unknown authors). The purpose of this post is however to deal with some of the downsides associated with self-publishing.

I self-published my collection of short stories, The First Time, using the services of a company which specialises in the field of self-publishing. The company offers a variety of packages ranging from an ebook only option through to the publication of both an ebook and a printed version (Print on Demand or POD). They also offer editorial services, book cover design and a press release service. I plumped for the ebook only option and paid for book cover design as an optional add-on.

One of the advantages of utilising the services of a self-publishing company is that they will arrange for the formatting and distribution of your work. In the case of authorsonline.co.uk (the company I used) they distribute titles to approximately 200 outlets including Amazon and Google Books. As of today (12 January) my book, The First Time is available from around 10 ebook retailers. While it gives me a sense of achievement to Google The First Time and see it displayed on a number of sites the speed at which publishers are adding the title is frustrating. In particular my book has still not yet appeared in Apple’s Ibook Store.

Another disadvantage associated with self-publishing is that you, the author must put a great deal of time and effort into promoting your book. This can (and often is) fun, however it entails a good deal of hard work the benefits of which are not always obvious (I.E. blogging about your book will not, necessarily lead to a take off in sales). One must be patient and keep plugging away.

Many bloggers specialising in the area of writing and publishing will recommend that authors use a variety of sources to promote their work (for example WordPress, Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads). While I’d endorse this advice I’d also caution against spreading oneself to thinly. If one has the time to regularly update multiple social media then all power to your elbow. If, however one has a fulltime job or other commitments the regular updating of several platforms may not be possible. In such instances I’d recommend concentrating on one (maybe two) platforms as it is better to produce quality posts on a limited number of social media than risk imperilling the quality of your writing by attempting to post on a wide variety of platforms.

I’ve often heard it said that one should attempt to post every day in order to keep your blog’s (and your writing’s) profile high up in the ranking of search engines. While this is good advice there may well be occasions when one simply has nothing to say or you are so exhausted that anything which you do post will not show off your writing at it’s best. In such circumstances it is best not to post. In such situations have an early night and your writing will be all the better for it on the following day.

In conclusion self-publishing has much to recommend it, however it does require a great deal of time and effort by you the author.