There are a number of ways people can help. I am asking everyone who buys the book the to send me a photo of themselves with the book for the gallery I have created. This also includes some of the people who are featured in the book. In the photo above there is Horace Panter from The Specials, Olympian Katherine Grainger, Lorraine Kelly from ITV, and vocal coach and from The One Show, Carrie Grant.
Sharing posts on Facebook generates interest or better still writing something original about the book and posting on Facebook which adds that extra personal touch that just might resonate with someone. The same goes for Twitter, and the potential to reach a much bigger audience on Twitter is massive, but to do this I need the help of my fellow Tweeters! :)
Publicity which is kind of like the Holy Grail... I have worked very hard and trying to get the book publicity. I have some success so far. It was featured in the Maidenhead Advertiser a few weeks after publication, and also in the Henley Herald which is an online paper. There was also a brilliant feature in the Maidenhead United football programme on December 28th for the home match against Hemel Hempstead, which sadly ended in a 3-2 home defeat. All these are local to Mum, who lives in Maidenhead and was born in Henley. To date coverage on local radio and TV has eluded me. As far as national media goes I have tried contacting Sunday supplements, book magazines, health magazines for some coverage. I am sure that the more people who come on board and talk about the book the better my chances are of getting some coverage.
I have used videos to promote the book. Some of the people featured in the book have sent me videos to help with this process, and I have been busy creating my own videos which I post on YouTube. It would be fantastic to have a professional video trailer made, but I recently was quoted £500-£1000 for the most basic option which is sadly way out of reach for me. If there is anyone out there who can help with this I would naturally be very grateful.
One of the more recent developements has been contacting independent bookshops to see if they will sell the book for me, and this has been pretty successful with some positive response. Two bookshops are already selling the book, Book Bean & Ice Cream in Kirkham near Preston, Lancs and The Big Green Bookshop in Wood Green, North London. So why not support these bookshops and pick up a copy of the book from them direct?
So I am trying to cover all the bases, but I am sure there will be people who read this who might have some new thoughts and suggestions on what I could try? Please drop me a line timdarv@googlemail.com
So who are the people featured in the book...
- Sir Steve Redgrave CBE
- Katherine Grainger CBE
- Phil Parkes
- Jonathan Agnew
- Lorraine Kelly
- Christopher Biggins
- Matthew Wright
- Freya North
- Ben Richards
- Carrie Grant
- Gail Porter
- Alan Davies
- Shaun Keaveny
- Mike Read
- John Shuttleworth
- Tom Rosenathal
- Antonia Mariconda
- Status Quo
- The Stranglers
- The Alarm
- Clare Grogan
- Mikes Hunt& Erica Nockalls
- Horace Panter
- My Mum!
So many fascinating experiences all put together in one book. Available in paperback, hardback and digital eBook. The Lives & Times can be bought in three different formats. Here is the breakdown on how you can order your copy. Please support this book and every penny I receive is donated to the charity.
Hardback Edition
- Bowel Cancer Fundraising Website. This is the website I have set up. The book costs £26.50 + P&P of which the £8-£10 I receive will be donated to Beating Bowel Cancer.
- Amazon. The book costs £35.00 of which the approx £4.80 I receive will be donated to Beating Bowel Cancer.
- Bowel Cancer Fundraising Website. My website. The book costs £10.25 + P&P of which the £5 I receive will be donated to Beating Bowel Cancer.
- Amazon. The book costs £10.25 of which the approx £2.50 I receive will be donated to Beating Bowel Cancer.
- Amazon. The digital edition for the kindle is only available on Amazon at the moment. There are free kindle apps that can run on your iPads and laptops. The book costs £5 of which the approx £2.50 I receive will be donated to Beating Bowel Cancer.
Worldwide (outside the UK)
- Amazon. Search "Lives & Times Tim Darvell" and you won't go too far wrong.
- Book Depository. Offers free shipping to anywhere in the world so is a brilliant way for buyers living outside the UK to buy the book.
Finally I am quite happy to sell physical copies of the hardback and paperback editions directly bypassing the websites. Please contact me on email me at timdarv@googlemail.com and we can arrange it on there.
In April I had a very successful day at the Beating Bowel Cancer Patient Day 2016 selling copies of the book on stand generously supplied to me by the charity. About £130 was raised on the day with over 20 copies of the book sold. I also got to meet Baroness Floella Benjamin, OBE who is the charity's patron. I would love to try selling the book at a few more events like this.
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| The Kiss by Horace Panter |
I was also recently sent a very limited signed screenprint of The Kiss by artist Horace Panter, who kindly donated the print to help raise funds raising £200 for the charity.
The art news kept getting better as artist Adam Green created an original print based on Lives & Times limited to just 25 selling for just £125 with all proceeds donated to the charity. Not forgetting there is already a lovely painting donated by Cathi Simpson of Mike Peters from The Alarm for sale on the website too.
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| Lives & Times screen print by Adam Green |
I have been supporting Beating Bowel Cancer since 2012, as it was then that my mother was diagnosed with bowel cancer. In September 2012 she had a section of her bowel removed and then at the start of 2013 she underwent two further operations on her lungs where she had a cancerous nodule ,which was a secondary bowel cancer. Mum remained in remission for about 18 months, but unfortunately in November 2014 another cancerous nodule appeared on one of her lungs. She underwent surgery in February 2015 which was successful, and made a fantastic recovery. Unfortunately her CT scan last October revealed that the cancer had come back on her left lung and more bad news followed in November following a seizure when she found out that the cancer had spread to her brain. Mum had "CyberKnife" treatment in January for the brain cancer. In March she had more lung surgery, this time to remove the lower lob of her left lung where the cancer keeps returning to. Sadly the cancer once again has returned to her brain and a recent seizure has virtually paralysed her right side and severely affected her speech. There is no more medical treatment available and the devastating news is that Mum's cancer is now terminal. Following the seizure she spent almost 6 weeks in hospital and has recently moved into a nursing home where she will have the 24/7 care she needs and have the best quality of life possible for the time she has left.
I would like to thank everyone for the encouragement and support given so far. I am hoping people will decide to buy the hardback and paperback editions through me or my website to maximize the profits, but every purchase makes a difference. Please support me on this venture. It took over 18 months to put this book together and it's been fantastic to finally see it come to its fruition.
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