Talking helps when promoting your book

Yesterday I gave a talk about my book “Out of a Learner’s Mouth” written as an amusing series of diary entries describing my trials and tribulations of learning Spanish as a mature learner. I gave the talk at the Institute of Education in London – where I completed by PhD. I thought it would be good practice for me, a chance to flog a couple of copies of the book but  little more. However, with Anita Pincas in the chair, her people management skills made it much more than that. She had encouraged a fascinating group of people to attend. I asked them to interrupt if they wished and I am glad that I did for as I chatted my way through a number of these learned people interrupted, supporting my stories with what they knew about how we think and learn from their study and research. I certainly found what they had to say fascinating.

The sweet smell of success – the book is published and people are buying it!

Ah, the sweet smell of success. The book is published and people are buying it! It was worth writing after all and if it brings a smile to the readers or encourages someone to take up learning a language, even in their later years, it has served its purpose.

Success, I hasten to add, is not the NUMBER of people buying the book, it’s the fact that they seem to appreciate the contents. After all, if the number of copies sold is the primary concern, I should have written a steamy sexy large print book about famous people – not my cup of tea.

So far, of course, kind friends have been among the purchasers, but there are others who do not know me, and people who have purchased because of ‘word of mouth’. The international feel is very rewarding too, with orders and positive praise from places as far flung as Australia and Japan.

A tentative press release has been taken up by the Ely Weekly News and this week it is featured in a full sized article with my picture staring back at me. The publication is officially announced! The magazine Cambridgeshire Pride has been making encouraging enquiries and it will probably be included in my old school’s magazine ‘Reflections’. (My old school is St.Michael’s Collegiate School, Hobart Tasmania.) I am hoping Burrows in Ely will take some copies (- watch this space) and you can get a copy at Toppings, Ely.

The most nerve-wracking person I contacted was my ex-tutor for my PhD, Anita Pincas. She really knows her stuff, and I was very nervous awaiting her comments. The book is a light-hearted account of my experiences learning Spanish based on my original diary that was more serious and formed the data for my PhD thesis. My tutor, bless her, passed it to her colleagues at the Institute of Education, London University, who also showed some positive interest -whew. I may be giving a talk on it at the University and I am presenting a workshop at the IATEFL Conference at Harrogate this year (2010).

The book? It is called “Out of a Learner’s Mouth: the trials and tribulations of learning Spanish” and it is a humorous and no holds barred diary of a language learner trying to learn the language in her later years. It is written for similar language learners, people who may want a bit of a laugh before going on holiday to a Spanish-speaking country, teachers who want to gather ideas and share the ups and downs of coping with students, teacher trainers who want to know just how a learner thinks and researchers who can laugh at the difficulties of researching language learning.

It costs £10 (plus £2.75 postage) and is available on eBay or could be purchased by contacting rjwestwell@hotmail.com