As we’re living in interesting times right now I’d like to let you know where I am at personally and with this website and our publications. But first of all, great thanks to those who have already sent me supportive emails – it means a lot to know you’re thinking of me, and I hope everyone reading this is keeping safe and taking care of one another.

The current pandemic is affecting everyone, but for regular readers of this site there is at least a silver lining – the overall point of this post is that I intend to produce more and better material from ELB, faster than planned, to keep afloat!

 

How Things Have Changed

At the start of 2020, I planned to gradually introduce audio learning material and work on a new book. In recent months, I also started developing ideas to produce video courses and had been looking at getting ELB into more schools and universities – all, essentially to widen my scope beyond Amazon.

These ideas were slowly forming while I kept a heavy focus on writing and promoting my fiction.

However, with dwindling sales on Amazon and the sudden hit of the coronavirus, with the extra strain that’s put on all of us, I am shifting my focus more heavily to the ELB material. This website and these books provide for a much greater audience than my fiction, hence it is here that I feel I can best provide for my family and for others.

And at a time like this, with people confined at home, it’s more important than ever that we have good quality content to share, and ways to keep stimulated.

So I am laying out an array of new opportunities on the horizon, including a system I have already put into place if readers wish to help support ELB (that’s at the bottom!).

What’s Coming for English Lessons Brighton

Last year I updated the website with new software and gave it a redesign, but it’s overdue further updates. With over 200 free articles on here, I intend to review how the articles are displayed, with clearer cataloguing.

I have already redesigned the homepage to make it simpler, so that as I add new material I can make it more engaging.

Right now, I am also committed to at least one new article a month, but I would like to produce at least two free articles or more – with audio and video content when possible.

All of this I intend to do free, and to keep free, for everyone to use.

Changes for ELB Books

I’ve had a good run of success selling books through Amazon, but it’s time to spread my wings. This virus has halted my plans to contact more schools, for now, but I can still make the books available on as many eBook platforms as possible, as well as directly through this website.

This will take a little time to set up, but you can eventually expect to find ELB books in all electronic book stores, with simple links here that will take you to your favourite shop. They are already available on Barnes and Noble and Kobo, and some are available through the educational provider Kortext.

These remain paid, but if my video ideas pick up, and my additional support works (see the bottom!) then I would, in time, like to lower the prices of at least the earlier ELB books.

Oh and when the storm passes I’ll also be increases my efforts to be found in libraries.

Finally for during our current crisis: please be aware that certain sites such as Amazon may struggle to fulfil book orders quickly at the moment. If you order one of my books in paperback, please be aware that there may be delays, but paperback purchasers can also download the Kindle version free through Amazon, so you can read that in the meantime (even without a Kindle, you can get an app for it).

Audio and Visual Content

With the help of my brother, I have started work on producing an audiobook version of our bestselling book, Word Order In English Sentences. Being a short book, this should be ready soon. But I recognise that the audio could be adapted to provide a more discursive exploration of the subject, compared to concise reference points of the book.

With that in mind, I will produce an accompanying video course to expand upon the book. I will make samples of this available free, but it will be a paid course, provisionally with upwards of 8 hours of video content available (available at an affordable price).

I’m also looking at producing an audiobook and accompanying material for Advanced Writing Skills for Students of English, and video courses to explore the English tenses and other topics.

I’d like to be able to make shorter additional videos available free, supported by sales of the books and courses, and possibly through Patreon. Which brings me to my final point:

How You Can Support ELB

The first, best way to support ELB is, as always to share my content – let your friends and fellow students know about articles on this site and my books. But I’m introducing a new way to support the site, if you are able – a Patreon page.

If you are not familiar with Patreon, it is a website that allows people to become patrons by donating small monthly amounts to creators like me. Naturally, this is a difficult time for everyone so I understand this is probably a big ask, but if you give a few pounds here and there, it will go a long way towards me realising all the above without fighting for cans of beans. In return I can promise advance peaks at new material. If everyone who subscribed to the newsletter gave just a little, I could easily make this a full-time focus!

The full details of ELB’s new Patreon, including how you can get involved and where it can take us, are all up on its page here. It offers different tiers of support with different rewards. Please note it may also add tax to the final amount.

But whatever the case, and however bad things get, rest assured I will still be here putting up material on this site, with an aim to help students all over the world.

Be safe and keep learning!