Comments on: A writer’s guide to Self Publishing

By: 57 Links of Awesome Writing Information and Help « Ramblings of a Raconteur

57 Links of Awesome Writing Information and Help « Ramblings of a Raconteur — Mon, 03 May 2010 13:54:17 +0000

[...] http://www.bubblecow.co.uk/2009/10/a-writers-guide-to-self-publishing/ [...]

By: Gary Smailes

Gary Smailes — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 12:30:37 +0000

Wow – love this story. I think the most important aspect of self publishing is that the writer goes into the project with their eye wide open. As you have suggested it is a full time job and can be made to work. I suspect that each writer needs to find the solution that best fits. As for a professional edit, we would of course encourage all writers to take this step. No ‘professionaly’ published book would hit the market without at least one structural edit and one proofread. Thanks for sharing.

By: Miriam Wakerly

Miriam Wakerly — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 10:35:59 +0000

Excellent piece by Gary – with such helpful advice. I guess anyone reading it may have already come across me before! I self-published Gypsies Stop tHere last year on a shoe-string budget and have more than covered my costs. (I offer a few tips on my blog Miriam’s Ramblings.) If I had paid a company to do it all for me I may not be in a state of healthy profit. Not sure.
I am not writing to make a fortune and have waited until my ‘retirement’ for this venture, actually having the book launch the day after my last working day. Neat, yes? But I do need to make enough to justify spending a good part of my life writing, which is what I really enjoy doing.
Maybe my novel could have been further improved with professional help, but nobody has criticised it for bad grammar or typos – yet! (Be the first?) I always welcome feedback as this is the best way to pinpoint failings before print.
I tend to say ‘I set up my own publishing company’ rather than ‘I self-published’. In books on self-publishing the advice is to choose a publishing name that is far-removed from you, the author. Well, I obeyed and chose Strongman Publishing. But in reality, whether on the phone to bookshops or talking to people at signings, I end up saying “Strongman Publishing? Oh yes, well that’s me actually.” Hiding behind a name just did not work for me!
An agent told me yesterday that probably no publisher could do better than I have in marketing and selling my book, with its rather specialised theme. I am unconvinced he is right, as I suspect that having a known, respected publishing name behind me would, in itself, pave the way towards greater sales, but hey! For the sequel I shall carry on with SP, but things may change after that! Who knows?

By: Gary Smailes

Gary Smailes — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:27:21 +0000

Ben – kind words. My worry is that too many people go into self publishing with knowing what they are doing. Publishers reject books for many reasons and one of these is that there is not a big enough market. Writers often mistake a good idea or decent novel for a book that will sell. Publishers reject books everyday simply because they feel the market is too small to support the costs. If a writer then proceeds to self publish they are doomed to lose money…

By: @BenDawe

@BenDawe — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 11:52:30 +0000

Thanks Gary, I agree with you, and not simply because you have a great avatar and a trusted name in this space. “Self-publishing” is really becoming an inadequate description for what is now happening with low-budget DIY books. Its really about become a publisher yourself, in every facet of that business, rather than simply engaging in the production of a book. Readers would be well advised to see how this and other good blogs work to learn how their book can start to buzz.