Stephen Isabirye

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Eddie Muir
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Re: The Famous Five: A Personal Anecdotage

Post by Eddie Muir »

Thank you for your response, Stephen. I feel sure that many forumites would buy a copy of your book if it gets a favourable review from Tony, myself included.
'Go down to the side-shows by the river this afternoon. I'll meet you somewhere in disguise. Bet you won't know me!' wrote Fatty.

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Re: The Famous Five: A Personal Anecdotage

Post by Keith Robinson »

Stephen,

I'd love a review copy too. :wink:

But seriously, not wanting to blow one's own trumpet or anything, EnidBlyton.net pops up to the top of Google when people search on "buy enid blyton books" or even just "enid blyton," so it might be worth your while having a nice book cover image and "buy now" link on the left hand side, as well as in various other places. I'd be willing to do that if I had read your book.

Plus, if it's available on Amazon.co.uk, it could be included in my Amazon aStore, eg:

http://astore.amazon.co.uk/unearthlytal ... F8&node=13

Last quarter I sold 123 books through this store (although most people buy from Navrang). In other words, rather than mention your book in various posts and blogs (which is fine, by the way) you might be better off hobnobbing with Big Important Website Owners Like Tony and Me. :lol:

Factoid: EnidBlyton.net and EnidBlytonSociety.co.uk net around 45,000 visitors a month between them (the split has been almost equal this last month). Also, when I do updates, the email goes out to around 460 subscribers -- ie, fans who WANT to be updated with Enid Blyton news.
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Re: The Famous Five: A Personal Anecdotage

Post by Tony Summerfield »

I think you are being a bit too generous to us in your 'factoid', Keith. EnidBlyton.net has far more visitors worldwide than this website every month. According to Google Analytics you had half as many visitors again, nineteen and a half thousand compared to thirteen thousand. Admittedly we were comfortably ahead with UK visitors, but elsewhere you leave us standing, particularly with visitors from India.

To the best of my knowledge there weren't any book sales through our website at all, even the Society Shop has only sold one book (a Stoney Biography) in the last two months. So whilst it might be a good idea for Stephen to send you a review copy and try to sell his book on your website, it would seem a fairly fruitless gesture to try and sell it through our website. He also has the strong advantage of being able to post to you in America and avoid the expensive post to this country. :cry:
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Re: The Famous Five: A Personal Anecdotage

Post by Eddie Muir »

I should have also mentioned Keith's superb website http://enidblyton.net/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; when I posted two days ago. This is of course the other important Enid Blyton website and it would do Stephen a world of good to send Keith a copy of his book for review purposes. As Tony says, there is the strong advantage of being able to post it to you in America thus avoiding the expense of mailing it to the UK. A favourable mention from Keith would no doubt result in a few sales. :D

Have you considered selling your book through your own website, Stephen? My brother, Andy, who is also a writer has just started his own website to help boost his book sales. You might find it of some interest:

http://www.andrewmuirwriter.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
'Go down to the side-shows by the river this afternoon. I'll meet you somewhere in disguise. Bet you won't know me!' wrote Fatty.

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Re: The Famous Five: A Personal Anecdotage

Post by Moonraker »

Keith wrote:But seriously, not wanting to blow one's own Image or anything, EnidBlyton.net pops up to the top of Google when people search on "buy enid blyton books" or even just "enid blyton,"
I've just been Googling various Blyton phrases. I was surprised in Google Images that neither eb.net or ebsoc appears on the first pages. The Daily Mail, Guardian and Fantasticfiction all appear many times.
Eddie wrote: I should have also mentioned Keith's superb website http://enidblyton.net/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; when I posted the above message two days ago. This is of course the other important Enid Blyton website...
As I see it, there are three main Blyton sites, the Society, EnidBlyton.net and the Yahoo Group - not so much a site as an email group, which many of you would probably think not that important as it has few subscribers and often has quiet spells! Although EnidBlyton.net has a fair amount of reviews, book listings and sections on the main series, it's special attractions currently seem to be the Message Boards and the FanFic section. E.net also seems more popular with younger people and has a large following from the Indian sub-continent. The Society seems favoured with older folk, and mainly from the UK. The Yahoo Group holds its annual Day in a telephone kiosk. :wink:

If serious research and bibliography content (strangely, entering Enid Blyton Bibliography on Google produces no entries for the Society) is what people want, there can be no better site than the Society one, which is constantly being updated. The Cave of Books, Author of Adventure, Secret Passage and so on, contain so much information that can only be found here.

Us Blytonians are indeed fortunate to be amongst such skilled and talented leaders who devote their time for our enjoyment and learning!
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Re: The Famous Five: A Personal Anecdotage

Post by pete9012S »

After my recent success in ordering Eddies brothers new book I have emailed my library to see if they can get Stephens Book for me.
So far they have never failed to get any book I have asked them to get,so I have high expectations of them getting it for me.......
Fingers crossed
:D


(The Famous Five: A Personal Anecdotage...Stephen Isabirye

Paperback: 231 pages
Publisher: Infinity Publishing (October 2, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0741454955
ISBN-13: 978-0741454959 )

Regards
Pete
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- The Christmas Tree Aeroplane -

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Re: The Famous Five: A Personal Anecdotage

Post by pete9012S »

Just had this email back from my library;


Hi Pete
Have placed an order for the book,we will let you know when it becomes
available
Regards
Pat Thompson
Sefton Libraries



Will let you all know if it arrives!!! :D

Regards
Pete
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- The Christmas Tree Aeroplane -

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Re: The Famous Five: A Personal Anecdotage

Post by Enikyoga »

Thanks for the great feedback about my book. you suggestions are great and I will be acting on some of them soon or momentarily. Julie, it not much about my fact in the book being inaccurate much as being susceptible to various interpretations. As Literature is a very philisophical subject, the words or writings for that matter, of a writer are bound to be interpreted differently by each person. For instance, Uncle Quentin's quest to find alternative energy sources to oil, coal, and coke in Five On Kirrin Island Again is very relevant to today's world in light of the great oil spill in The Gulf of Mexico. Yes, Uncle Quentin may have taken a patronizing stand in taking over George's Island, Kirrin Island (though there is no written agreement or document suggesting that the island had been transferred to George from her parents, besides verbal jabs that this would be the case sometime in the future), probably in hindsight Uncle Quentin's presence on the island while working on that project to find alteratives to those three aforementioned leading global pollutants would in an ironic way be a solution that could save Kirrin Island in the future, from say, an "accidental" oil spill. For instance, if an oil spill like the current one in the Gulf of Mexico would spill in Kirrin Bay, all the wildlife on Kirrin Island such as the pelicans, sea gulls, doves, etc would all certainly or immediately perish just as they have almost perished off the Louisiana coast. Yes, Enid Blyton may not have been a Nostradamus, or had a fishbowl to predict future environmental disasters, but credit should be given her to have tried to look at solutions to these impending problems, decades before they were to occur. Eddie, thanks for citing your brother's website. At this time, I have tentatively constructed a blog for my book (http://www.thefamousfiveapersonalanecdo ... ogspot.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;), which I may develop into a full website but in the interim, I may use it to discuss in more depth some issues that I have touched upon my book. The blog is still under construction. I may include in it full payment information for my book. Pete, many thanks for that library connection you made for my book. Keith, it seems that since Enid Blyton is not well known this side of the world, the Internet may be at this moment, the only way I can get my book known to the outside world. So far, I have enjoyed the feedback from the blogs plus social websites like Facebook, Twitter and MySpace that I I have recieved via the Internet. For those in Asia it seems http://www.infibeam.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; carries the book at a less cheaper rate than http://www.flipkart.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; Even http://www.flipkart.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; has reduced its rate. Let us hope that this competitive pricing amongst online bookshops/bookstores will eventually bring the pricing of the book down. So far http://www.infibeam.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; only ships the books to India and Sri Lanka. Let us hope in the future that it will be able to ship books to surrounding countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan and other surrounding countries.
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Eddie Muir
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Re: The Famous Five: A Personal Anecdotage

Post by Eddie Muir »

Enikyoga wrote: Eddie, thanks for citing your brother's website. At this time, I have tentatively constructed a blog for my book (http://www.thefamousfiveapersonalanecdo ... ogspot.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;), which I may develop into a full website but in the interim, I may use it to discuss in more depth some issues that I have touched upon my book. The blog is still under construction. I may include in it full payment information for my book.
Thank you for the information about your blog, Stephen. I shall have a look at it from time to time to see how it is developing.
'Go down to the side-shows by the river this afternoon. I'll meet you somewhere in disguise. Bet you won't know me!' wrote Fatty.

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Re: The Famous Five: A Personal Anecdotage

Post by Enikyoga »

I have just stumbled on a review my book by Mr. Dave Lentcombe at my publisher's very own website at http://www.buybooksontheweb.com/product ... 414-5495-5" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; or http://www.bbotw.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Re: The Famous Five: A Personal Anecdotage

Post by Ming »

Good to have a favourable review, isn't it Stephen? Good luck with your sales! :D
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Re: The Famous Five: A Personal Anecdotage

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

I've read Dave Lentcombe's review but to be honest I was left mystified. Unless I've missed something, it seems to end mid-sentence with "In the second chapter I feel impelled to warn you that it is very".

I wasn't sure either what Dave Lentcombe meant by "Without spoiling anything for you the whole idea of his worldwide promotion and publication of this mans anecdotage is simply as audacious and stunning as the 'The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'!"

I see that he gave the book 5 stars so you must be pleased, Stephen, but (unless I've missed something, as I said before) the review is confusing and incomplete.
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Re: The Famous Five: A Personal Anecdotage

Post by Lucky Star »

I agree Anita, where can we find the rest of the review? And was Blyton really described as "the Muhammed Ali of childrens publishing"? :shock: I've never heard that befoe, nor the ones about the FF and SS being compared to The Beatles and James Bond's crib either. More confusing than enlightening. I'm sure it would be clearer if we could read the whole review but that doesn't seem to be possible from that link.
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Re: The Famous Five: A Personal Anecdotage

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

Lucky Star wrote:And was Blyton really described as "the Muhammed Ali of childrens publishing"? :shock: I've never heard that befoe, nor the ones about the FF and SS being compared to The Beatles and James Bond's crib either. More confusing than enlightening.
I found those comparisons decidedly odd too.
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Re: The Famous Five: A Personal Anecdotage

Post by Moonraker »

Enikyoga wrote:Eforts to replace The Famous Five illustrations with those of Betty Maxey proved to be a miserable flop, thus enabling the comeback of the Eileen Soper illustrations in the Enid Blyton birth centennial editions of 1997
I didn't realise that the Betty Maxey illustrations were that badly thought of. Of course, to me Eileen Soper's originals can't be beaten!
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