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5-star Review On Amazon For Mental

Fascinating read- I couldn't put it down!

It dealt with sensitive matters in such a different way and the ending was brilliant and it made me very excited to see what would happen.

I would really recommend this book to my friends, I think it is suitable for 11+ as the issues are dealt with very sensitively. The novel is very well written and a great purchase- I couldn't be happier with it. RACHEL LEVY

Mental by Sherry Ashworth - The First Review, & A Lesson Learned

Strong 4-star review on Amazon for Mental.
The reviewer calls the book "impressive" and I'm sure this will be the reaction of other readers, so we look forward to more responses and reviews.

But hey, Bill and I like the indented left-hand margin as used in The Field, and I intend using it again for shorter books.
Oh, and as Sarah knows, she was sent an early reviewers' copy of The Field, which did contain a small number of typos (no grammar errors) that were corrected in the edition eventually published to Kindle.
ACHUKA has learnt its lesson. The digital publishing world has no concept of 'uncorrected proof copy', so we will only be distributing exact replicas of the published Kindle ACHUKAbook in future - as we did in the case of Mental.

If you are a reviewer, and would like to be on ACHUKAbooks' reviewers mailing list, please write to kindleATachuka.co.uk.
Authors considering publishing with ACHUKAbooks should read our FAQ, and then submit to the same address.

Why Submit to ACHUKAbooks? (revised)

Why would I hand over my work to ACHUKA for digital publication rather than seek out a regular publishing deal?
 

• Because there are many types of book that regular publishers simply find too difficult to 'place' on their lists


•  This includes first novels, very short fiction (which is why we were so pleased to be able to publish a novella as our first ACHUKAbook title), books out of kilter with current trends, books by authors who do not have a sufficiently marketable cv, books that do not have an easily definable audience, books that individual commissioning editors may be keen on but do not get past the sales-oriented final-decision meeting


•  As a digital-only publisher ACHUKAbooks will be free to be more adventurous and speculative compared with regular publishing houses


•   Forget the worry that publishing digitally will mean no chance of a future print edition


•   Quite a number of authors have eventually moved on to regular publishing deals following success in the digital media, and we will be very happy to see that happen to titles first published under the ACHUKAbooks imprint

Follow link to the rest of the FAQ.

We are happy to accept submissions of
~fiction for all ages, including short stories & novgellas (especially suited to the digital medium)
~poetry
~essays
~history
~biography
~travel
~memoir
~journalism

The Field Is First Kindle Title Reviewed On Beattie's Book Blog

"I read it on my Kindle, (the first time I have reviewed an e-book by the way)"

Graham Beattie, former Managing Director/Publisher of Penguin Books NZ Ltd., and Scholastic NZ Ltd, and now book blogger and awards judge, makes history by reviewing his first e-Book - ACHUKAbooks' launch title The Field.

Admired children's writer and former librarian Bill Nagelkerke has this time written a work of speculative fiction aimed at upper primary, intermediate and early high school students. I guess you would call it a novella. I read it on my Kindle, (the first time I have reviewed an e-book by the way), in a bit over an hour. It has a strong religious theme,(think Marian apparitions),which might be off-putting for some but it is well written and compelling as you would expect from a writer of this calibre.

Achuka Books is the brainchild of Michael Thorn, a foremost commentator on children's literature, and a highly rated blogger, and I gather this is the first title contracted and published on his newly launched Achuka e-books.

Good Blog Post About Self-Publishing - The Rationale Behind ACHUKAbooks in Three Paragraphs

W

ith more and more authors publishing more and more books, we simply will not find what we want to read anymore. Which brings me to the question: how many bad books will a person have to read before they stop reading all together?

Ok, not all self-published books are bad in the same way as not all self-made bikes are dangerous. But there is a profession who have dedicated their lives to the recognition and promotion of books, of good ideas and writing. Why assume every rejected novel is a bestseller publishers were too short-sighted to pay for? Contrary to popular opinion, self-published authors are not overnight millionaires, and publishers do not exist to screw artists out of money.

Maybe this self-publishing fiasco comes largely from a lack of trust in publishers' judgment. Publishers need to think about not only what they can offer authors that a hunk of software can't (arguably a lot), but also what they can offer readers that a search result can't. I don't mean with marketing campaigns, I mean with publishing choices that credit readers with curiosity and intelligence. Our authors' trust is important; our readers' faith just as much so.

Gatekeepers are only as bad as what they let through the gates. What does that say about self-publishing platforms vs publishers?

Read This If You Are Thinking Of Self-Publishing

Blogger and inide-author Jeff Bennington writes:

You have to face the stark reality that you're not famous, you don't have a cult following, and you're not a New York Times bestseller, yet. One of the biggest obstacles for indie and small press authors to overcome is finding readers. You may have a great book cover, and your prose may be razor sharp, but lets face it, you are one in a million. Hundreds of thousands of books are published every year, and as a new/newer author, it's not likely that readers will search your name or title. Sigh. Depressing isn't it? Well, it can be, if you're subject to resignation. But if you are the type of person who sees an obstacle as an opportunity, you may have what it takes to climb out of the literary abyss and into the public arena. The problem with publishing is that unless you have a platform, or a method to reach out to readers, you are like a grain of sand on the beach. People will walk on you all day long, but never know you're there. If you publish on Amazon, your book is thrown into the ocean of ebooks and will splash around until readers start buying. When they purchase your book, it'll stay close to shore where other readers can see it. But if you don't plan for a beach party upon publication, your book will drift off to sea and eventually end up in the south pacific, stranded on a lifeless island.

And that is precisely why indie authors should give serious thought to submitting their work to ACHUKAbooks. If we select your title, we will do all the promotion and brand-building on your behalf.

Check out our Announcement page...
http://www.achuka.co.uk/achukabooks.php

Kindle Format 8 Announced

The new formatting features announced by Kindle today mean that ACHUKAbooks will be able to accept a wider range of submissions, so it's good news...

All being well, ACHUKAbooks launch title will publish next week.

Keep the submissions coming to [email protected]

ACHUKA Announces ACHUKA Books

From today we are inviting submissions for a new digital imprint, ACHUKA Books.
In the first year we shall be using exclusively the Kindle Direct Publishing program.

There are full details on the Announcement Page and in the accompanying FAQ.