rivers2cross

June 21 was the official publication date of The Record. It has been an incredibly long journey bringing the book together from the decision to do do it shortly after Mum’s death, to its finished state. It’s without doubt one of the best things I’ve ever done, something I feel very proud and passionate about.

The decision to do The Record was pretty straight forward. As Mum’s health declined I knew the book was something I very much wanted to do, and it was really a case on deciding whether there was enough mileage in doing a second book on people. Within days of Mum’s death at the end of August 2016 I began contacting people, and the positive response set me on the path to where I am now.

On a personal level the last two and a half years have been very cathartic. To have such a positive experience out of such sadness has been very good for me. Meeting people and making new friendships really has been life-changing, and I am much the better person for it.

How will I judge the success of the book? I have two ways I think about it. The fact I finished and completed The Record, and can hold something in my hands that is as good as I could possibly have made it is success in itself. Secondly there are the sales figures and raising awareness about bowel cancer. Anything that helps to raise awareness is good full stop, so it will do its job on that score. The fundraising is the biggest challenge. The pre-sale support has been terrific, as was the recent Bowel Cancer UK Patient Day in Manchester. The book is already well on the way to raising £500. I have been wondering whether I have been pushing the charity stuff too hard over the last couple of years, and the impact this will have on sales. I fully appreciate that it’s not fair to keep on asking the same people to keep supporting me in all my ventures. It may be that people need a break from my charity requests? I had thought about delaying publication of The Record until next year, but the biggest problem with that was that people’s stories in the book were changing, and it was becoming possible that it would get out of date, and continuously updating things would take of the spontaneity of the moment that each chapter has. So I’ve gone with my instinct, and I now face the massive challenge of self-promoting and marketing the book. I apologise for the social media avalanche of posts that are happening at the moment. I’d love to get some help with this, and find a way to break the book into the mainstream market, but that is probably just a dream…

So thank you to everyone who has kindly bought The Record so far – I really am truly grateful. Please keep those book photos coming and sharing the rivers2cross.com link far and wide.

I’ve had the most brilliant time writing The Record, and wouldn’t change a thing about it. I’ve no idea what’s next for me. I’m sure I will be putting some thoughts about that down in future blog posts.

The Record is out now on rivers2cross.com and all online book retailing websites. All proceeds I make from sales are donated to Bowel Cancer UK in memory of Mum.