The Self-Publishing Advice Service - Why?

Well, a short while ago I was participating in a panel debate attended largely by writers. The debate changed as it always does from whatever the original discussion was to ‘how do I get published?’. 

The usual questions, answers and objections were put forward (‘Publishers won’t even look at me without an agent’, ‘Agents never reply when I submit’, ‘How can Jordan have published X,Y,Z for a gazillion pounds when I can’t even publish one? And I can spell!’.) 

But one comment really stood out. It was from a man who had self-published his book, sold a reasonable number of copies but *still* couldn’t find a commercial publisher. The problem he said was that when a self-published book arrived on a publisher’s desk, the assumption was that it was rubbish (he chose slightly stronger wording but you get the idea).

Well that got me thinking. As a ‘traditional’ publisher of quite a few years I have had my fair share of self-published books arrive on my desk and I realised that he is probably right. That is the assumption. And why is that the assumption? Because, quite often, I’m afraid they do look rubbish.

It is the fault (and loss) of a lazy publisher to discount a book on the basis of how it looks but think about how we select books in a bookshop. We pick up those that look nice. That feel nice. That smell nice (If you see someone in a bookshop breathing in the lovely smell of new book it could well be me.) We look at the back. We are teased and intrigued by clever, concise blurbs. We look at the image. We look at the finish.

If a book fails on any of these things (apart from maybe the smell), it goes back on the shelf and that’s it. Sale lost.

In the same way you have one chance to get a publisher (or agent, or bookseller) to notice your book and whether you are presenting it in manuscript form, in book form or in any other form you can think of you owe it to yourself to make it look the best you possibly can.

So there is my chief bugbear with the self-publishing industry. All too often the books that are put out there are just not acceptable quality. The formats are odd, the paper is wrong and the covers shout ‘self-published’.

And why is that? Well I think that in part it is because people who want to see their book in print are often – usually – from outside the industry. It’s hard to know the questions to ask, the companies to trust and the prices to pay when you are coming to it cold and are faced with the huge range of options available.

So that’s where the idea for the Self-Publishing Advice Service came from. A service that will help authors create the best possible book from their work. A service that looks at each individual set of requirements and makes recommendations for the most suitable and cost-effective route to publication depending on those individual requirements. A service that gives authors the information they need to be fully in control of the self-publication of their book – and enjoy it.

And of course the book itself is just one part of it. I’ll be posting a series of articles about the self-publishing process, including how to sell and market your book here, so please do check back from time to time or sign up to the mailing list using the box on the site.

Thanks for visiting!