A Short History of Self-Publishing

Local author describes her journey through the world of self-publishing

by Karen Mancey-Barratt

FIVE UNSURPRISING THINGS ABOUT THE PROCESS OF SELF-PUBLISHING:

- you don't make money

- holding the printed work gives a cosy glow

- books are judged by their covers

- self-publishing companies will try to sell you all sorts of add-ons that you really don't need

- persistence is useful and dogged effort is required

FIVE SURPRISING THINGS ABOUT THE PROCESS OF SELF-PUBLISHING:

- booksellers are fantastically busy people

- most people don't discriminate between self published and conventionally published books

- self publicising and selling your book is sociable and enjoyable as well as onerous and unnerving

- friends are intrigued by the unprecedented chance to peer into your subconscious, impressed by your gall, and eager to help

- plotting publicity is great dinner-time conversation

I wrote The Whitest Woman on the Beach, an intense psychological thriller about youth, desire and damage, a while ago. I found an agent but the agent couldn't interest a publisher: the book was well written and had a great pace but BUT BUT - a middle aged woman writing about a tricky young boy? Could I introduce a cast of characters rather than stick with one voice? Change the beginning? Cut? Add?

When I first considered self-publishing, it was perilously close to 'vanity publishing', a phrase which says it all. The deals were uninviting, prohibitively expensive, with minimal support services - and you had to commit yourself to a one-off 'run' of books. The thought of a back-bedroom stuffed with unsold and slowly decaying copies, a metaphor and a manifestation of failure, was enough to put me off.

Since then something has been silently changing - perhaps the publishing industry has lost its sheen of integrity with its shift from literature to product. There is now such a difference between the phrases vanity publishing and self-publishing. I began to notice good deals cropping up. There were also various improvements, such as (actual, not imaginary) access to customer services and an attractive drop in cost. The pivotal difference for me is the technology that allows print on demand. You pay to set up, then you only pay for the numberof books you want - topping up as necessary.

Eventually I leapt. I probably should admit that the part I enjoyed most was designing the cover - (the shoes, by the way, belonged to my daughter) - although, the company I used included cover design in the set up fee. Golden rule: don't go with any deal until you've seen what they produce. I'd seen what this company produced; and to be fair, the designs weren't dreadful but they did declare - shout, even, scream - SELF PUBLISHED. Your poor little self-published book will be judged, almost entirely by its cover: unless your surname happens to be something like, oh, I don't know, Amis, and your grandfather's name was something like, let's say, Kingsley. So the most important thing of all is that it can sneak, impostor though it is, among all those Penguins and Picadors and sit with an innocent air of belonging.

Once you have the book in your hand, shiny and crisp, pages unturned - then what? Then, you work out what you will wear and you push yourself through doors, gently perspiring, book still in hand, to give it to- whoever will take it. Then, you buy quite a number of padded envelopes and write quite a number of deceptively simply-worded approaches. Then, you enter uncharted territories of self presentation, surprising yourself. Then, you begin.