Please enjoy this guest post by Neill McKee as part of his WOW! Women on Writing blog tour.

As is documented in my travel memoir, My University of the World: Adventures of an International Film & Media Maker, early in my career, I became a filmmaker and later a multimedia producer. I also wrote three books and many articles through specialized academic publishers/journals, focusing on the role of communication for behavior and social change. But after 45 years, in 2013, I decided to turn to creative nonfiction writing. I submitted my first manuscript to about a dozen publishers and finally received two offers from small firms, but when I saw the contract details, I could see they were mainly interested in acquiring new titles and would put few resources into promotion.

Also, despite the fact I had engaged a professional editor, they wanted to start over with that process. So, I decided to hire a professional book designer and self-publish. Either way, it was evident I was going to have to do the promotion myself. Perhaps if I was younger, I would have tried harder to seek an agent and publisher, but at my age, I didn’t think it made sense to wait. I don’t regret my decision because I have since learned that almost all authors, even if they do find a publisher, have to do or pay for most of the promotion themselves. With about 1,000 new titles released every day in North America, in all genres, there is a lot of competition for readers’ attention. Fortunately for me, making money has not been a necessary objective in my new “retirement career.”

I chose to print and distribute through IngramSpark.com (IS), rather than going with Amazon alone. Through IS my books are available in North America and around the world on Amazon and many other platforms. Even independent bookstores and libraries can order copies as long as they subscribe to the Ingram Book Catalog. I publish in paperback and ebook formats, and two of my memoirs have also been produced as audiobooks by Lantern Audio, which distributes very widely on many platforms, as well: Finding Myself in Borneo: Sojourns in Sabah, is a stand-alone prequel to My University of the World, and Kid on the Go! Memoir of My Childhood and Youth is a stand-alone prequel to my Borneo memoir. Readers can enjoy these books in any order.

I promote through a growing email list, blog and review tours, and some social media channel posts (although I don’t put a lot of effort into the latter because it is evident to me that it doesn’t help much with sales, I am somewhat allergic to simple messages, “likes,” and “congratulations,” etc. that have little substance or follow up. I also enter my books into contests. My Borneo book has won three awards and has many five-star and four-star reviews. I also wrote a travel memoir on tracing my ancestors: Guns and Gods in My Genes: A 15,000-mile North American Search Through Four Centuries of History, to the Mayflower and it won two awards, so I must be doing something right.

About Neill McKee

Neill McKee is a creative nonfiction writer based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. My University of the World: Memoir of an International Film & Media Maker is a stand-alone sequel to his first travel memoir, Finding Myself in Borneo: Sojourns in Sabah, which has won three awards. McKee holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Calgary and a master’s degree in Communication from Florida State University. He worked internationally for 45 years, becoming an expert in the field of communication for behavior and social change. He directed and produced a number of award-winning documentary films/videos, popular multimedia initiatives, and has written numerous articles and three books in the field of development communication.

During his international career, McKee was employed by Canadian University Service Overseas (now CUSO International); the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada; UNICEF in Asia and Africa; Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland; the Academy for Educational Development and FHI 360, Washington, D.C. He worked and lived in Malaysia, Bangladesh, Kenya, Uganda, and Russia for a total of 18 years and traveled to over 80 countries on short-term assignments. In 2015, he settled in New Mexico, where he uses his varied experiences, memories, and imagination in creative writing.

Find Neill online:

Author’s website: https://www.neillmckeeauthor.com/my-university-of-the-world

Author's digital library: https://www.neillmckeevideos.com/ (These are most of the film and media projects covered in the memoir – produced by the author from 1970 to 2012.)

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/neill-mckee-b9971b65/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/McKeeNeill/

About My University of the World

Neill McKee takes us on an entertaining journey through the developing world from 1970 to 2012. The story starts when he becomes a “one-man film crew,” documenting the lives of Canadian CUSO volunteers working in Asia and Africa as teachers, medical doctors, nurses, engineers, agriculturalists, foresters, and a biologist. He learns the craft of filmmaking and meets and marries Elizabeth “on the hoof.” The story is enlivened throughout by their challenges and adventures together, and Elizabeth’s growing artistic talent and creations.

Beginning in 1975, the young couple settles in Ottawa and starts a family, while Neill roams the world for Canada’s International Development Research Centre. His award-winning films depict the agency’s philosophy and search for solutions to problems in agriculture, forestry, fisheries, aquaculture, education, health, water and sanitation, and more. Then in 1990, McKee joins UNICEF in Bangladesh, and later in Africa, where he initiates long-lasting multimedia programs for child health, with a focus on empowering girls. In 2001, he moves to Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA, and then to Moscow, Russia, where he oversees similar initiatives. That experience leads him to a memorable last post in Washington, D.C. as director of a large global communication project.

Throughout the short chapters and in a brief epilogue, McKee reflects on the long-term impact of the projects he documented and of his media creations. His memoir is filled with compelling dialog, humorous and poignant incidents, thoughts on world development, vivid descriptions of people and places he visited, and many images, all of which bring readers into his “University of the World.”

ISBN-10: 1732945780

ISBN-13: 978-1732945784

Print Length: 522 Pages

Purchase a copy of My University of the World on Amazon or Bookshop.org. You can also add this to your Goodreads reading list.

Follow the Blog Tour

January 8th @ The Muffin

Join us at The Muffin as we celebrate the launch of Neill's memoir My University of the World. Read an interview with the author and enter to win a copy of his incredible memoir.

https://muffin.wow-womenonwriting.com

January 13th @ Michelle Cornish' blog

Visit Michelle's blog for Neill McKee's guest post about his rationale for self-publishing.

https://www.michellecornish.com/blog

January 13th @ Hasty Book List

Visit Ashley's blog for an interview with memoirist Neill McKee.

https://www.hastybooklist.com/

January 15th @ World of My Imagination

Nicole shares her review of Neill McKee's memoir My University of the World.

https://worldofmyimagination.com

January 18th @ Knotty Needle

Judy shares her thoughts about Neill McKee's My University of the World.