Individuals

Self-publishing for authors

Authors decide to self-publish for a variety of reasons, but the three most common are shown below.

‘I just want to see my book in print, perhaps for family and friends’

The desire to see your book in print for your own pleasure and maybe to give or sell to family and friends is perfectly legitimate, and you would be part of a rapidly growing group of people. Modern techniques allow us to give you affordable printing prices for the production of your book, in paperback or hardback, and you can have as few as 50 or 100 copies.

‘I would like to publish enough books to cover my costs or make a profit’

We are very keen to be as honest and open with you as possible, so the first point we would like to make is that the publishing of books for sale to the trade is, and has always been, a risky activity. There is a joke within the industry that goes something like this:

Q. How do you make a million pounds in a year?
A. Start with 10 million pounds and go into publishing!

While this does overstate the case it is true to say that it is very easy to lose money publishing a book. That said, there is no denying the pleasure of seeing your work in print, and in some cases a combination of luck and good management can result in a measure of success (very proactive authors can help a great deal). The first thing we will always advise, however, is that you explore the possibility of finding a publisher for your book who will fund its production, then market and sell it for you. This can be a soul destroying exercise but it is definitely worth approaching companies which specialise in your type of book before deciding to fund it yourself.
We believe that anyone considering spending their own money on their book should have realistic expectations and should not be given false hopes. We will give you an honest assessment of the sales of your book and offer advice accordingly on the quantity and specifications, so that you can make an informed decision.

‘I have tried commercial publishers and they say my book is too specialised, or they want to make changes I don’t want to make’

Although we always advise authors to try to find a commercial publisher for their book before deciding to fund it themselves, it can be rather soul destroying. Publishers receive so many approaches that in many cases they will not even have the time to reply to your letter etc. Of those that do reply, in a significant number of cases the response will be positive in terms of the book itelf but not in respect of the market for it. All publishers are becoming increasingly cautious about taking risks and will only publish when they are very sure of the market. In some cases they may agree to publish but only if the book is subtantially altered, which may not be what you the author wants.
Whatever the reason for not following the commercial publisher route, self-publishing is an obvious alternative.

How we can help you

We have a great deal of book publishing and production expertise to offer. Our hardworking team between them can take your book from manuscript to finished books, including picture scanning, page layout, cover/jacket design, ISBNs (if required), printing and binding. They are all very helpful and approachable and you will work closely with the person seeing your book through production.

Once the books are ready, if you would like help with the sales and marketing of them we can provide plenty of advice and support. You can benefit from our many years of experience in the publishing industry in respect of press releases, shops sales, niche markets, distribution etc. Our advice is provided free of charge for anyone whose book we are producing, but you may also decide to ask us to produce posters, leaflets or other promotional material to suit your budget.

Everyone here is friendly, open, and straightforward to deal with, and it is very important to all of us that we do the best job we can for authors. We can advise you at each stage but you will always remain in the driving seat and have the final say about every aspect of your book.

You, the author, will own every copy of the published books and are completely free to sell, market or give away any copies as you see fit.