Flying SOLO
Going it alone to get your book out is well within your grasp, says writer Linda Fawke as she describes her experience of self-publishing
I am a self-published author of two novels. I say it proudly – there was a time it would have implied I’d paid a vanity publisher to get my books ‘out there’. Things have changed; the publishing world has changed.
Getting an agent and a publisher, while regarded by many as the ultimate goal, is rarely easy. You may have to wait months or even years.
You may wait forever. Publishers are risk-averse and wary of investing time and money in unknown authors. I decided I didn’t want to wait. Selfpublishing is achievable, quick and can cost little or nothing.
Who uses self-publishing? It’s used by authors who want total control over their writing, by those who know there is a narrow market for highly specialised work or by writers who want a book for limited distribution, a family memoir, perhaps. And by folk like me.
There are options available if you choose the self-publishing route. You can do it entirely on your own or you can use a company (like Matador or Amazon) who will do the technical stuff for you. Those are stress-free, reliable options and there are various services available at a wide range of prices. You need to budget from £1,000 upwards – it depends on what you want. Some writing friends told me I’d need to be a computer whizzkid to go it alone. They were wrong. While the process isn’t without its ups and downs, it’s doable with a minimum of computer knowledge.