Although not all writers want to be
published, most do. And they want to be published by one of the Big 5.
I
am no exception.
But is all I want, as a writer, to see my book in print? Isn’t
there more than wanting to hold the book in my hands marveling at the way it
looks, feeling the shiny cover and the smell of new paper? Surely what a writer
really wants are readers?
Stories told round the fire or at bedtime to a child,
only exist if there is a listener and a novel only comes to life when it is read.
Writers want to communicate their story to others.
Throughout my career as a
barrister working in the criminal courts, I have told countless stories to juries.
I would weave the evidence given during the trial into a story about a
character, the defendant, interpreting his behaviour as innocence not guilt. A
jury speech is immediate; the success of the story revealed within hours as the
jury delivers its verdict.
But a novel? The only way I can tell that story is by
making it tangible.
How do I get that to a reader?
The traditional way is to find an agent who likes the
way you write and likes the story enough to want to sell it to a publisher.
They will do that by finding an editor at one of the major publishing houses
who likes the book as much as they do. The author will be offered an advance
and the rights to the novel will be transferred to the publisher.
What they don’t say is that it must also pass a
marketing test. Agents want to earn money, so if they aren’t sure where they
can place your book they will turn it down. Similarly, if the marketing people
at the publishing house say they don’t think they can sell it, they won’t want
the rights to the novel, no matter how well written or compelling the story. In
the current climate the publishing houses are in turmoil, they see their
traditional marketing model being torn to shreds and their only response is to become more and more conservative. Now
they only want to publish sure fire hits, cookery and gardening books,
biographies of musicians and politicians, and novels written by celebrities.
I refused to be discouraged and sent my novel out to
several agents, attended conferences where I got the opportunity to present my
work to agents and publishers. I
received rejection after rejection. They ranged from ‘I like this, but don’t
feel sufficiently engaged,’ ‘You write well, but I am not sure this is for us,’
‘I don’t know where I could place this book,’ ‘We don’t do legal thrillers,’
and finally, ‘We don’t think this will be a best seller.’
Hang on, I thought, I don’t think I’m John Grisham. I
didn’t think I would be a best seller. I just wanted a few hundred, perhaps a
thousand or so, to read my book and enjoy it.
That’s what I want, nothing more.
Today with the advantage of all that lovely
technology, I can go directly to the readers and publish my novel myself. The
problem with that is, I know nothing about how to produce a book and sell it to
the public. I started looking at various websites for advice and soon realised
if my book was to be published I would need the book edited, copy edited, a
cover designed, and a publishing house with a distribution network.
Not
that easy then.
I began by getting the book edited. As the publishing houses have shed staff, a
number of editors are now working freelance and will edit a novel for a fee. A
full edit as opposed to a copy edit is a complex affair. I found that the
editor I used wanted to alter my book to be more like the ones she wrote. I had
to cling on to the fact that it was my story and I didn’t want to make all the
changes she suggested. It may have made it more marketable, but it wouldn’t have
been the book I wrote. She did however make some very good suggestions about enhancing
the main protagonist, so I made those changes.
I then began to
research the various companies who provided packages, and to compare the cost. In
the end I decided to use one which although more expensive offered more by way
of publicity rather than printed copies of my book. They have organised a copy
edit, a great front cover, publication by a company that have a
distribution network, and have formatted it for print on demand and for all
the e-book platforms.
Have you self-published? What were your reasons? Are you happy to just be read by a few hundred fans, or do you want to become a best seller? Why?
Please note: This post reflects the opinions and experiences of the guest author only.
I have just started writing my fifth novel. And for the first time ever, I have my story fully plotted from beginning to end. Usually I plot to about 2/3 of the way through, so that there is still an element of surprise when I write, but this time the ending was screaming at me. So all I have to do, is sit down and write it. I'm 5k in. Feeling proud.
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