I finally got there… again. On paper, publishing a second edition of a book you have already written should be easy. The reality was quite different and in the end it took me a year to finally put it all together. However, it is done and the second edition of Long Ride for a Pie is now available for purchase on Amazon and various other online shops.
A lot of the feedback I received about the original edition was that it lacked any text on the European portion of the trip. Why? For me, the heart of the trip was in Central Asia in the mountains and deserts of Iran, Pakistan and China. It was here that I experienced cultures and landscapes on a different dimension to what I had been used to before and people who at times were so welcoming and interested in my journey it was if I had been expected. While the experiences I had through these areas often saw me feeling like I was on top of the world (after spending more than three months above an altitude of 3000 m, I literally was on top of the world a lot of the time), they often also tested my courage, stamina, patience and will to complete the trip. What has this to do with chopping out the European text of the initial edition? Well, publishing is a funny world and the original editors sensed where the heart of the journey lay too. Then word counts, book size and economics (such boring and unfortunate considerations) came into it and the European section of the manuscript was lopped off. I hope that by including more on the European leg (without of course cutting out any of the original text) will make the book more complete. Compared to the mountains of Iran and the steep valleys of Pakistan, Europe may not seem that exotic, but perhaps the reader can feel more of an affinity with the journey by reading about places that they too have travelled through.
For the rest of the book, I have also edited text where I saw fit. Some of the text has reverted back to my original manuscript where I wasn’t that happy with the edited product and additional text has been inserted that was culled from the first edition in order to keep the book at the publisher’s prescribed word count. I hope I have done the first edition, and of course the journey justice.
Currently the book is only available in print. I hope to retain the digital rights early in the New Year so if you’re a dedicated e-book reader you will have to wait patiently. To kick off the launch I am offering ten free copies of either Long Ride for a Pie or Me and My Hero. There is a slight catch of course, as there often is with these things. I need reviews, so I am offering the free book to the first ten people to review either Long Ride for a Pie (2nd Edition only) or Me and My Hero on any online or print publication. Send me proof to timmulliner@gmail.com and your preference of book, and I’ll organise one to be sent your way (Please tag ‘Review’ in the subject line). Bribery for reviews? You could say that as reviews sell books; however the offer is not valid to family and friends (sorry).
I’ve also reduced the e-book edition of Me and My Hero to the lowest possible price until the end of 2015. It could be free yes, however only if I give exclusive rights to Amazon to distribute it which I’m not currently prepared to do. It can be purchased at this reduced rate (approximately US$2.99) on Amazon sites and also Smashwords, Kobo, Apple, Barnes and Noble etc. for other e-book formats. And for other e-book readers (ie. Non Kindle formats) you can download it for the bargain price of 99 cents by entering the promotional code KV69L at the checkout on the Smashwords website ( Here).