My book is now published. I really need a supply of books before I can seriously promote it. I hope they will arive in a couple of weeks. I have found several organisations that will accept a copy for their review.
I have been contacting various organisations, TV stations, radio stations, magazines and mental health charities. I have yet to get anything except for a polite automatic reply.
I am upset to see any old celeb pushing their latest book on every tv programme that is going. The stigma associated with my bipolar disorder seems to stretch to the very people who claim to be anti-stigma. I am not very experienced in self promotion or marketing. I don't know much about press releases or such matters. I have dabbled in Facebook adverts and I have used Twitter to announce my book.
The most frustrating aspect is that I can't relate sales to my efforts. My publisher doesn't record sales on my web page until they fulfill the orders. My Facebook advert is yielding clicks but I really have no idea how it translates to sales if any. I must assume that getting clicks is good news. Each click takes the person to my bookstore entry. I have made an effort to ensure the book summary is quite readable and informative.
I would like to appeal to anyone who can guide me through this maze. Do you have any direct contacts within any organisations? I am not driven by sales numbers and I would be delighted to cover my costs. I am just keen that my story and my message are read by as many people as possible. I believe my book has a unique perspective on Bipolar Disorder.
Thanks,
Clive
Tuesday, 21 April 2009
Thursday, 16 April 2009
My Book Finally Arrives
My first book, “My Life as a Mood Swinger” is now available on the Xlibris bookstore website.
http://bit.ly/Ef56T
If you are in the USA, you can order directly from Xlibris for $41.99. The higher price is due to it being a full colour book with almost 40 supporting photos. If you are in the UK, I plan to sell the books myself at a good discount. I have yet to price my copies because of the unknown postage costs. The cost will be lower than retail by a good amount.
I hope to have a supply of books in my hands by the end of May at the latest. There will be a delay in printing and then the shipping time to the UK. Once I have some books, I can explore the various shipping options. I may be able to offer a good price to the US, even after the postage back to the US.
My FaceBook group has more information on my book and associated details:
http://tinyurl.com/cvjhnf
My book is aimed at both bipolars and non-bipolars. I think it will especially help family, friends and interested others. I hope I put a human face on what is a very destructive illness. I don’t seek sympathy. I am hoping people will see me as a relatively normal and intelligent person who has been sidelined from society. I just hope to make a dent in the terrible stigma and debunk bipolar somewhat.
Enjoy the book,
Clive
http://bit.ly/Ef56T
If you are in the USA, you can order directly from Xlibris for $41.99. The higher price is due to it being a full colour book with almost 40 supporting photos. If you are in the UK, I plan to sell the books myself at a good discount. I have yet to price my copies because of the unknown postage costs. The cost will be lower than retail by a good amount.
I hope to have a supply of books in my hands by the end of May at the latest. There will be a delay in printing and then the shipping time to the UK. Once I have some books, I can explore the various shipping options. I may be able to offer a good price to the US, even after the postage back to the US.
My FaceBook group has more information on my book and associated details:
http://tinyurl.com/cvjhnf
My book is aimed at both bipolars and non-bipolars. I think it will especially help family, friends and interested others. I hope I put a human face on what is a very destructive illness. I don’t seek sympathy. I am hoping people will see me as a relatively normal and intelligent person who has been sidelined from society. I just hope to make a dent in the terrible stigma and debunk bipolar somewhat.
Enjoy the book,
Clive
Thursday, 9 April 2009
The Bipolar Personality
A lot has been written about the personality traits of Bipolar people. It usually deals with childhood and the transition to adulthood. I am more concerned with the personality of Bipolars on a day to day basis. I have been largely stable on medication for 24 years. I have only just begun to realize that I have bipolar characteristics all of the time.
On occasions, I can be highly energetic and positive. On other occasions I can be almost non-functional and in the worst of lethargy. I don't consider this to be mood swings. I am reacting to the stimuli which are either exciting or depressing. If I am feeling positive and I begin some interesting work, my energy levels lift and I work longer and faster. If I am feeling negative, everything seems hopeless. This happens more after a period of sleep deprevation. Even a poor night's sleep can leave me in a more positive state.
The worrying thing is that I believe the hopeles feelings even though I know it is a trick of the mind. The same can be true of depression. One day can be as black as it can be. Next morning, you might wake up wondering why you were depressed.
This came to my mind because of experience yesterday evening. I began to feel excrutiatingly lonely. I had not been in touch with many of my online friends and I still find it hard to reach out to friends. I reached such a miserbale state that I went to bed and pulled the covers over. That's what they call a duvet moment. I truly felt hopeless and miserable. I had four hours sleep and I woke up in a much better frame of mind.
I re-applied myself to getting more Twitter followers. I am hoping it will be one means of promoting my book. I talked to an online friend early in the week. He gave me a simple method of gaining followers. It just required time and application. I certainly had plenty of time on my hands. I followed his formula through this week and I have gained over 500 followers from a start point of 400. I have no idea whether this will help to promote my book, but it is worth a try.
I conclude that my bipolar personality can be good for me. It can equally be destructive and can lead to wallowing in despair. This is particularly difficult because I live alone and I have little contact with living breathing people. I know my online friends do both of these things but it is not quite the same.
I would be interested in anyones thoughts on this subject. Maybe we can find ways to alleviate the worst of the feelings. There must be a better solution than diving under the duvet.
Clive Wild (BipolarFella)
On occasions, I can be highly energetic and positive. On other occasions I can be almost non-functional and in the worst of lethargy. I don't consider this to be mood swings. I am reacting to the stimuli which are either exciting or depressing. If I am feeling positive and I begin some interesting work, my energy levels lift and I work longer and faster. If I am feeling negative, everything seems hopeless. This happens more after a period of sleep deprevation. Even a poor night's sleep can leave me in a more positive state.
The worrying thing is that I believe the hopeles feelings even though I know it is a trick of the mind. The same can be true of depression. One day can be as black as it can be. Next morning, you might wake up wondering why you were depressed.
This came to my mind because of experience yesterday evening. I began to feel excrutiatingly lonely. I had not been in touch with many of my online friends and I still find it hard to reach out to friends. I reached such a miserbale state that I went to bed and pulled the covers over. That's what they call a duvet moment. I truly felt hopeless and miserable. I had four hours sleep and I woke up in a much better frame of mind.
I re-applied myself to getting more Twitter followers. I am hoping it will be one means of promoting my book. I talked to an online friend early in the week. He gave me a simple method of gaining followers. It just required time and application. I certainly had plenty of time on my hands. I followed his formula through this week and I have gained over 500 followers from a start point of 400. I have no idea whether this will help to promote my book, but it is worth a try.
I conclude that my bipolar personality can be good for me. It can equally be destructive and can lead to wallowing in despair. This is particularly difficult because I live alone and I have little contact with living breathing people. I know my online friends do both of these things but it is not quite the same.
I would be interested in anyones thoughts on this subject. Maybe we can find ways to alleviate the worst of the feelings. There must be a better solution than diving under the duvet.
Clive Wild (BipolarFella)
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