Glenda Standeven is taking the next big step forward in her career as an author.
Last month her two books, What Men Won’t Talk About… and Women Need to Know: A Woman’s Perspective on Prostate Cancer, and I Am Choosing to Smile, became available on Amazon and Kindle.
“Being on Amazon and Kindle is huge,” says Standeven. “I know we will save lives, and to be part of something you know is going to save a life is a really big deal for me.”
“And all they have to do is read it,” she says, referring to men. “It’s the same thing for women, we need to be aware because men won’t talk about it.”
She’s speaking specifically about her book about prostate cancer. It’s an informative and humorous book which was written after her husband, Rick, was diagnosed with the disease in 2011. The book comes complete with technical information and resources on prostate cancer.
Standeven is an inspirational speaker and cancer survivor herself. She lost her right leg to chondrosarcoma in 1988, a bone cancer that is resistant to chemotherapy and radiation.
After writing I Am Choosing to Smile (a rewritten story about her battle with cancer taken from Choosing to Smile, a book written by Standeven and two friends), she decided to write the book on prostate cancer two years after her husband’s diagnosis.
As a result of a 10-week Western Canada book launch tour in the spring, readers were wanting additional copies of What Men Won’t Talk About… and Women Need to Know to give to their family members and friends.
“People were asking ‘where can I get more?’,” she says.
Even the book stores were calling and asking for more copies. Coles in Cottonwood Mall sold out twice in the spring when it first came out.
That’s when Standeven decided to expand to a much larger audience and sell her books on Amazon and Kindle.
“There’s no way I could reach that many people doing one event at a time,” she says referring to the 30 speaking engagements she did during her spring tour.
Before, the only online option was to purchase the books directly from her website. One by one, Standeven would process each order, sign every book, and then drop them off at the post office. It was a lot of work.
Since her books became so popular so quickly, the most logical answer was to offer them through one of the top online book stores in the world.
With help from her friend and Agassiz author, Wendy Dewar Hughes, all the paperwork and legal forms were completed in the summer. The two books have been available on Amazon and Kindle since the beginning of September.
So far, Standeven has been spreading the news just by word-of-mouth, but soon both books’ online presence will be more noticeable.
Now that her books are going to be accessible to readers around the globe she has to “find a way to market it, so I’m going to have a session with someone who does online marketing,” she says.
What Men Won’t Talk About… and Women Need to Know has a strong message in an easy-to-read format, and at 82 pages, it’s small.
“It’s compact for men so they’re not intimidated by the size, and for women it has the story because women connect toward the emotional side. The men want to read the technical stuff,” says Standeven.
“Talking about sex in a healthy way with your spouse is so important,” she says.
She will be doing a book reading on Oct. 11 during the inaugural Book Lovers' Bucket List Event in honour of World Hospice and Palliative Care Day from 10 a.m. to noon at the Chilliwack Library. Pre-registration is required by calling 604-792-1941.
The Kindle edition of What Men Won’t Talk About… and Women Need to Know: A Woman’s Perspective on Prostate Cancer, is $3 and I Am Choosing to Smile is $5 on Amazon.com. Hard copies of the books are also available for $9.47 and $16.19, respectively.
For more info, go to www.iamchoosingtosmile.com.
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