I have written six short stories that are published on Amazon. Two of my stories are available to read for free and in full on Wattpad, with one of those stories also available to read in full and for free on Inkitt. The longest story is twelve chapters of a regular length.
I just wanted to let you guys know because you supported me so much in my writing career. You do not need to pay for anything in order to read some of my works. I also have one of my stories, Family Day, available on this blog.
All you guys have to do is sign up to an account on Inkitt and/or Wattpad and read the stories on the below links.
The two available stories are Family Day and Karen, the Misbehaved Girl. Family Day is a story about family separation and the pain of being away from your family. It serves as a political allegory of President Trump’s policy to separate families at the US border. Karen, on the other hand, is a story about misbehaviour and the importance of acting in a proper manner. It’s a folklore tale, kinda like The Boy Who Cried Wolf. Family Day is a work more in the vein of The Crucible by Arthur Miller.
Please read the stories. If you like them, you can find eBook versions of these stories and more on Amazon. Please search for Mahmoud Suleiman Abdi Dualeh on Amazon and you can find my works under my name.
What up WordPress Family, it’s been a long time and Writers in the Family hasn’t had many posts. All that’s about to change, as we in the Dualeh family take a more serious approach to our blog. You’ll here more about the ins and outs of writing literature pieces, the writing industry, blogging, etc.! Please be on the look out for posts. If you’re just as excited as we are, then please give this post a massive like and we’ll get the ball rolling.
Below is a book description of Six Short Stories on Fate, which features all the published stories and tales by me (Mahmoud Suleiman Abdi Dualeh).
“The Noors are painfully experiencing their sad separation; Karen is as naughty as ever; Mersa discovers his energy powers; Rodrick Barrister, the Archaeologist, abandons his unfulfilled life and goes on an adventure of a lifetime; Souhail does not know what is wrong with him and encounters a supernatural realm of Super Beings and Muhsen Ilyes tries to find the solution to terroism left behind by the recently-deceased Hassan Sultan. All these stories are featured in Six Short Stories on Fate. While they cover contrasting genres, from historical fiction to fantasy, folklore and everything in between, these stories are all united by the fact that a) they cover the time-spanning theme of fate and b) they were written by one author (Mahmoud Suleiman Abdi Dualeh). To understand the epic struggles these characters go through, one must dive into their respective worlds.
So much is at stake for each protagonist in the six stories featured in this collection.
Lovers of The Harry Potter series, The Crucible, The Boy Who Cried Wolf, the Robert Langdon series (featuring The Da Vinci Code) and many other classics will want to read Six Short Stories on Fate.”
You can get an idea of all my stories in the above description. If you are interested, then please click the links below to any and all stories you want to get.
I’m sure you have thought about improving your craft in your chosen profession or talent field. You might have even considered a writing career but thought you weren’t any good at writing. That does not have to be the case. Below I list three ways you can improve your writing and become much better, maybe even masterful, at this practice.
Practice
I know they say that practice makes perfect, especially for courses like mathematics. However, practice also helps you hone your writing craft. The more you write, the more you are able to grow in confidence and try out new literary techniques. Your spelling and grammar will also improve, allowing you to look more polished and seasoned. People pay money for books written by experienced authors. In fact, experience sells in any field. The only way to get more experience at something is to practice it.
2. Use What you Learn in Class
People often overlook the fact that they have taken English, or other language, classes/courses before venturing into writing. If this describes you, then try to remember all that you have learnt in those sessions. For example, academic writing stresses that you have an intro, body and conclusion and that you use five-sentence paragraphs as a basic structure. Creative writing involves plot lines, stories and more literary themes and techniques, which you can use at your disposal. Don’t let all your education go to waste. A writing career is the exact time to use all the tools you have in your skill-set.
3. Learn from criticism
A lot of what it takes to be an author is to be able to put up with critical reviews. More importantly, you can learn from them. I had a bad experience once when I did not respond graciously to a critical review. Although I apologized, I wish I had acted differently and learnt from it. Your author brand will suffer greatly if you do not take critical comments on the chin. Please try do develop thick skin, and you will grow immensely as an author.
There you have three ways to improve your writing craft. I hope you found this blog post useful. If you liked it, then you can give this post a like and follow my blog. Leave any questions in the comments section, as well.
A lot of people dream of writing a book. Many of those individuals go on to actually doing it. However, writing a book is only half the battle of gaining a respectable readership. The other half is marketing. In this blog post, you’ll get 11 ways to market your book effectively (in order to increase your sales and readership).
Book Cover
Getting a good book cover is essential for you to match the standard of well-performing books. You can pay for a book cover, and that almost guarantees a boost in cover design quality. Fiverr is a great site to get a good cover at an affordable price. If you cannot pay for a cover, then Canva or Bookbrush offer free alternatives. You can choose a template and design your own cover on those sites, for free!
2. Book description
Let’s say someone liked your book cover and decided to click on the link. The first thing they’re going to do is read the book description. You book description needs to have a strong hook, be well-edited and entice the reader to want to buy the book. Reedsy offers a great format for book descriptions. Please head over the to site and check it out.
3. Price
Another key buying decision is the price of your book. The price of your book should depend on the formats you are selling it in (eBook, paperback, hardcover, audiobook) and the length of the book. Remember, you should be offering good value for money. A short story eBook priced at $9.99 would hardly sell any copies. When marketing, price is key.
4. Keywords
This option is used for Amazon sellers and self-published authors. Traditionally published authors would have to take to their literary house in order to influence what keywords are chosen for the book on Amazon. Keywords drive people to your book link. You have seven words or phrases you could use. Make sure to use categories that are not too broad or too niche. Finding the sweet spot will give you the exposure you need without too much competition.
5. Categories
Categories are similar to keywords, in the sense that you should not choose some that are too competitive or that will not give you enough exposure. Doing research is important here. There are many sites that help you research keywords and categories. Searching for those two fields on Amazon and looking at the ABSR (Amazon Bestseller Rank) will give you an idea on how competitive those entries are. Kindlepreneur is a site which allows you to plug in the ABSR of the number-one entry in a category/keyword search and find out how many books it’s selling. If you think that you can sell more, then plug in that keyword/category.
6. Social media
Social media is a great tool for you too use. Do not try to over self-promote your books, though. You may end up turning off potential readers. Do create a Facebook author page; Amazon author profile on authorcentral.amazon.com and a Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram page. You can even go further and create your own YouTube channel. Try to provide content not related to your books most of the time. Once you grow a bigger following, you can then occasionally post about your releases.
7. Blogs
Create your own blog and that will be a writing exercise that improves your craft, in it’s own right. It also gives you that exposure to go on and sell more copies.
8. Website
A lot of people might have heard that you wrote a book, or may have come across your titles in their social circles. That’s no good if they cannot find you. Having a website gives you central place to link all your online/physical bookstore links/info, in order to create a launchpad for you to attract more readers and make it easier for them to find your works.
9. Media
Radio, tv and other blogs/podcasts/etc. are great mediums to get the word out about your books. If reach out these media outlets and you’ll be surprised how many are interested in hosting you. You can do an author interview, talk about a topical issue you wrote about and many other activities on the media. Local media is a better bet than national, international media when starting out in your career.
10. Reviews
This is one of the most important marketing strategies you can deploy. People look for unbiased information on your book and generally turn to reviews for that info. Amazon stresses, however, that you should not offer free books in exchange for a review or to influence a review. That will disqualify the review and could lead you to being banned. You definitely don’t want that. You could still give out free books without asking for a review in exchange, which leads to the final point.
11. Free Book Promotions and Kindle Countdown Deals
Free book promotions and kindle countdown deals are two ways to offer your book for free or at a discount; thus, spiking book sales. This gives you the exposure that could leave to reviews and ratings on Amazon and increased word-of-mouth. Please remember, these are Amazon features. If you are listing your book elsewhere, then you could still possibly give your book for free or at a discount for a limited period and have a similar effect.
There you have 11 ways to market your book/short story. While this is not a completely exhaustive list of things you can do, it should give you an idea of the workload that is expected of you when marketing your books. If you like what you read, then please give this post a like and follow Writers in the Family.
I got a press release written up by Readers’ Favourite. This was for my second short story collection, titled Four Very Different Short Stories. Please read it below:
For immediate release:
Author’s new book receives a warm literary welcome.
Readers’ Favorite announces the review of the Young Adult – General book “Four Very Different Short Stories” by Mahmoud Suleiman Abdi Dualeh, currently available at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B081Q1JD32.
Readers’ Favorite is one of the largest book review and award contest sites on the Internet. They have earned the respect of renowned publishers like Random House, Simon & Schuster, and Harper Collins, and have received the “Best Websites for Authors” and “Honoring Excellence” awards from the Association of Independent Authors. They are also fully accredited by the BBB (A+ rating), which is a rarity among Book Review and Book Award Contest companies.
“Reviewed By Lit Amri for Readers’ Favorite
In Four Very Different Short Stories by Mahmoud Suleiman Abdi Dualeh, four contemporary tales cover the theme of family, mystery, ethics, and fantasy. After 14 years, a family tries to find a way to reunite with each other in Family Day, a poignant story that starts the collection. It highlights the importance of not giving up on hope and moving on with life. In The Archeologist’s Secret, an archeologist discovers a hidden knowledge of the ancients that he, unfortunately, can’t reveal to the world despite the good it will do for humanity. Karen, The Misbehaved Girl is a story about a girl who takes pleasure in making others take the blame for her mischief until fate intervenes. The fourth and final tale of the collection is Mersa’s Surge of Energy, a story about a boy who discovers his special ability and others who are like him, including the danger they face from a very determined enemy.
Delivered in straightforward prose, the element that connects Mahmoud Suleiman Abdi Dualeh’s Four Very Different Short Stories is the twist of fate that waits for all the characters, whether expected or otherwise. The emotional impacts are light but familiar as interplays between the characters’ past, thoughts, and actions carry the stories, affecting their choices and their circumstances. Depending on readers’ preferences, some of the stories could benefit from a tighter plot and less precipitous conclusions. The Archeologist’s Secret certainly has the potential to be continued, in my opinion. All in all, this collection is a quick read that reflects on both the reality and fantastical facets of society today, pertaining to human needs, desires, and flaws in life.”
You can learn more about Mahmoud Suleiman Abdi Dualeh and “Four Very Different Short Stories” at https://readersfavorite.com/book-review/four-very-different-short-stories where you can read reviews and the author’s biography, as well as connect with the author directly or through their website and social media pages.
Readers’ Favorite LLC Media Relations Louisville, KY 40202 800-RF-REVIEW support@readersfavorite.com https://readersfavorite.com
I am giving away a free copy of my short story collection Six Short Stories on Fate. You can email me on mahmouddualeh10s@gmail.com for your free copy. Please comment that you emailed me or plan to email me.
I would greatly appreciate it if you could leave an honest review on Amazon and/or Goodreads, after your done reading it. All six short stories in the collection are listed separately on Amazon. You can review as many of them as you like.
All readers and reviewers will be greatly appreciated.
Except for the time my 8th grade class assignment, The Hazardous Delivery, was published by The Yemen Times, my works were first released to the public when I self-published Family Day, on Amazon, in July 2018. That was just over three years now, and I have since self-published five more stories and three collections. My journey is still on-going, and I think that, while three years is a long time, I’m still in the early stage of my career. The one word that I would use to describe the process is learning. I have learnt so much more on writing and, especially, marketing. To become a success takes an awful lot; I wanted to share my journey with you.
In 2018-2021, I wrote six stories (as previously mentioned). Those stories are Family Day; Karen, the Misbehaved Girl; Mersa’s Surge of Energy; The Archaeologist’s Secret; Souhail and the Realm of Super Beings and Muhsen Ilyes: Deciphering Terrorism. I also have three short story collections featuring an appropriate number of those stories. They are called Three Short Stories on Fate/ Three Very Different Short Stories and the fourth and sixth versions of the collection series.
The genres I cover span from everything from historical fiction to fantasy/medical fiction. I really believe that a lot of people can try to assess my works, but it is up to the readers to determine whether they are any good.
From a marketing perspective, it is important to know the field of literature promotion and all the tricks of the trade. Basically, you need to know your options. First of all, you need a good cover, description and to use the right keywords and categories if you are self-published on Amazon. The next big thing is to get ratings and review. I’m still working on all this. I have 21 ratings on Goodreads, but only four on Amazon. Moreover, Goodreads says that most books become successful through word-of-mouth spread by family and friends. I tried exploring those options recently, and I hope to get good results from them.
All in all, it is important to follow your dreams. However, making dreams a reality seems to take a lot of work. You have to be willing to put in the hours to become successful at what you are good at and what you want to do. In writing, I think the onus is to put out quality work that is properly marketed and promoted. You can get a traditional publishing contract, but you will still have to be active in both regards. Self-publishing is also an option that has become more affordable with Amazon’s foray into the field. I wish you all great success and I hope to become successful as well.
To check out all my stories in one collection, please click the link below to Six Short Stories on Fate/Six Very Different Short Stories on Amazon:
Hi WordPress Community and Internet World, my name is Mahmoud Suleiman Abdi Dualeh. I am an author/chartered accountant who is looking to make a career in writing and business. I have chosen these paths because I really enjoy them and other people told me that I was good at these fields.
With respect to writing, I would greatly appreciate more reviews of my written works. My stories include Family Day, Muhsen Ilyes: Deciphering Terrorism and four other stories. I also have three collections featuring a number of those works. In short, I haven’t gotten many reviews of my stories. It would be nice if some of you reading this would respond and let me know if they would read my work. You don’t have to give a review if you do not want to and I will never try to harass a reviewer to make share a positive opinion of my work.
If you are interested in reading my works, I can send a free copy of my latest collection containing all six of my stories. The other two collections contain three and four of those stories respectively. So, you will be able to review all the works I have on Amazon by reading this one collection. That is if you choose to.
I know how hard it is to launch a successful writing career from first-hand experience. I have been going at becoming a more successful author for three years now. I know that may not seem like a lot of time, but I am learning everyday how to improve my craft and get better at marketing my work.
Anyways, please let me know what you guys think. Are you interested in reading my stories? You won’t have to pay for your free copy, so what do you have to lose in reading them? In the end, the choice is yours but I know the value of support and I’ll be very grateful for all your backing.
#FamilyDay is a short story dealing with the tragic issue of family separation. Recently, family members were forced to live away from their loved ones due to dreaming of living in the US. This story deals with the subject allegorically, like the Crucible.
The Noor family were separated by a violent storm, personifying Trump. They were apart for 14 grueling years when they decide to do away with their pain and look for each other. What will come of the Noor Family? Find out in the award-nominated Family Day, link below:
Writers in the Dualeh Family 