Guest post on self-publishing by Simon Wilcox, author of MUDLARK RIVER

Simon Wilcox published his first book, MUDLARK RIVER, in October 2014. It tells the story of how, after finding a Victorian map of the Thames in a London antiques shop, he used it as a basis for walking the Thames from source to sea; and how along the way he explored the hidden history of the river. 

Some very prestigious publishers liked the project but in the end he self-published the book. I asked Simon if he'd like to share his thoughts on the experience of self-publishing, and he's contributed this typically eloquent guest blog post. Thank you, Simon - over to you.... 

It is often alone late at night, with a glass of wine in my hand, when an old memory sometime pops into my head. It is of me crossing a finishing line, arms aloft, in the pole position of a race that I shouldn’t have started, let alone win. I was 17 at the time, and pulled in as an eleventh hour replacement to run the 800 metres race for my school in the regional athletics championships. My opponents had no idea who I was; but against all the odds I left them flailing in my wake on the last bend. Overnight I became a school hero, and for about a year afterwards I believed that this was what the rest of my life was going to be like. A series of spectacular dashes to glory.

Unfortunately, it didn’t quite work out like that. Like most people, I’ve had my moments, but I’ve also had my fair share of disappointments. One of the biggest of these was a couple of years ago when a travel book I had written missed out on getting a traditional book publishing deal when at one point things looked hopeful. I had some nice feedback from book editors, Simon has “a rather charming voice” said one, but in the end I didn’t make the cut. At that point, I had to make the painful decision to self-publish.

Yet, self-publishing can bring its own rewards, not least the sense of personal achievement in doing the whole thing yourself. So how did I go about it? Well, at one end of the spectrum are the services of a publishing package provider, and at the other end is the DIY option, and then there is everything in-between.

To take the fully-assisted path first, there are a number of companies – Silverwood and Matador in the UK are among the ones with good reputations – which can take your manuscript, prepare it for publication, publish it and make it available in book stores and through online retailers. This full service comes at a price – Silverwood’s cheapest package starts at £1795 – but, in return, you get a published book for a minimum amount of hassle. Should your budget not stretch that far, though, the same firms can offer tailored one-off services such as copy-editing, ISBN registration, cover design and book promotion.  

These might be of help if you are doing it all yourself, with a little help here and there. The DIY route was the one I chose, mainly for financial reasons. My first port-of-call was getting someone to look over my manuscript and check it for any mistakes in syntax (copy-editing). For this job I took on the services of an editorial contact (or rather a contact of a contact) who promised to give my copy the once over for a fee of £250.

All my words would have been worthless, however, if they had not been pleasing to the eye when they appeared in book format. My next challenge was the typesetting and formatting of my raw text into a particular typographical style – a challenge made doubly difficult by the fact that I was running to a tight budget. Some in my situation would have done it themselves, using a simple layout software; but in the end I decided to turn to Createspace, the assisted self-publishing arm of Amazon. For £140 upwards, depending on which service you choose, their designers based in Charleston in the US will consult with you over fonts and chapter headings and all that sort of thing, and come up with something that looks professional and readable.

The Charleston outfit can do a lot of other stuff for you too, but it was to a local designer near my home in Warwickshire, England, that I looked to for the design of my book cover. This artwork needs to communicate the ethos of your book so choose your graphic designer carefully. You also need to be aware that designing the cover is not only about looking good but also about getting the dimensions right. In order to comply with Createspace specifications, my designer had to think about the ‘trim size’ and ‘bleed’ and things like that, and that bumped up her fees to about £600.

One of the most important features of the cover is the ISBN product number. This is essential if you want bookshops or Internet retailers to order copies of your publication. Registering with Nielsen, the UK’s ISBN agency, for example, puts you on their international bibliographic database, which is used by libraries and booksellers across the world. You can order a single ISBN number from Nielsen for around £75. The bar code, which is created from the ISBN, can then be sourced from a number of suppliers for £25 or so.

With my bar code in place, I was now ready to publish at what I regarded as a reasonable cost. But as I said earlier, there are a number of paths a would-be independent publisher can follow. Mine was just one of them, and another might or might not have saved me more money. For every person who takes the DIY route, there is another who will buy a full package from a self-publishing company. For every Createspace, meanwhile, there is another print-on-demand provider such as Lulu. And for every Kindle Direct Publishing there is another e-book platform such as Kobo, or a distributor like Ingram Spark who can help you reach a lot of different platforms at the same time. If you need more advice then seek out the Alliance of Independent Authors, the professional association for authors who self-publish.

But how did my efforts turn out, I hear you ask. Well, through the Createspace service, I uploaded the print version of my book – Mudlark River – to the Amazon online bookstore, and then shortly afterwards an e-book version of it to Kindle. The uploading was free by the way, but there were a few costs that seemed to appear out of nowhere which served to dampen earnings. With Createspace’s print books you earn 60% royalties, but that’s after you’ve coughed up two printing charges – one, a fixed fee per book, and the other is a charge per page which, though tiny, soon mounts up when you have 343 of them. So, think carefully about pricing. E-book earnings are much better. An author earns 70% royalties with Kindle Publishing and there are no costs to speak of.

So, to sum up, self-publishing is never going to fund a retirement in the Caribbean.

But then I never thought it would. Some writers, I have heard, are making a good living out of self-publishing. These are the people who are beginning to challenge and redefine the rather cloistered, cliquey world of publishing.

But for me, going it alone was always about building a presence for myself. After I published my book, I shelled out £160 to a book publicity firm to pitch particular magazines and newspapers with a press release, and I also built a rudimentary website with the help of a geeky friend, registering my url with a web hosting service for under £50.

Small steps, but progress. In my mind’s eye, I am still running that school race. Self-publishing has given me the legs and the stamina, but what will happen next is anyone’s guess. 

London Book Fair 2015

London Book Fair 2015 was exhausting and energising in equal parts, as always. Looking around and listening to what people have to say, all those thousands of people selling millions of books worldwide, is a healthy reminder that you need to be sharp and dedicated to stay in the game. That’s one reason it’s so important.

When you prepare for a book fair as an agent or rights person, you think you know what your ‘big books’ are. But often you’re taken by surprise. At this fair, people were interested in gift and parenting books for dads: DAD’S WISDOM and the SUPERDAD SPEEDBIBLE were requested over and over again.

There were great tips to be picked up from contacts in various countries. For example, it’s vital to have a good author photo. A particular project didn’t make it into a co-agent’s catalogue because the headshot was poor.

In the UK, independent publishers were upbeat and strong. They may be working harder than before, but their lists look vibrant and the quality is high. They’ve weathered the e-book storm, and now do well in both e- and paper formats.

Our wonderful new Spanish agents, Sandra Bruna Agencia Literaria, were full of good energy. They said too many publishers follow a bandwagon, take on ‘copycat books’ to follow a trend, then wonder why they don’t sell as well as the book that started the trend. Why not set the trend by doing something original? They love to present fresh ideas.

I was inspired by a fellow freelance writer and editor who had also given up a well-paid job to go it alone. She said the challenges, difficulties and continual learning of being a freelancer were something positive, and she was never bored these days.

On the other hand, at another meeting a gentleman from a European publishing company made it explicitly clear that the books I had to offer were not sufficiently best-selling for him even to look at them. Comments like that are the exception rather than the norm at book fairs. Book people are usually supportive people, which is why book fairs are also occasions to meet up with old friends. I was at least cheered when a woman stopped me to compliment me on my white linen dress and ask me where I got it.

For the first time, I found myself stopping to listen to some of the panel discussions for authors, since the venue was conveniently located halfway between the exhibition floor and the rights centre. Representatives from the Daily Mail and the Bookseller magazine as well as a book blog agreed that most self-published book jackets are ‘awful’, and that good covers and beautiful books matter. As reviewers, they spend a little more time with a book if the cover is great, because it’s more likely to end up being a success. They said that co-publishing offers a good opportunity for authors to work with a team who understand what covers and marketing work for the trade.

Another talk mentioned that to make a book successful you need commitment, passion, and a story that makes people jump for joy and want to tell all their friends.

On the evening after my second day at the fair, the lens fell out of my glasses – glasses I need for navigating my way around a big trade show and spotting familiar faces. So thanks most of all to the lovely woman at David Clulow opticians in Hammersmith, where I dashed in at one minute past nine on the second day of the fair, who fixed my glasses. It’s the little things that are sometimes the most important…

Extraordinary, Inspiring Journeys

On 8th April I made a comment on Twitter that marathon season was upon us again (who knew that days later, the world would be shaken by events in Boston?), and directed those who love running marathons to a book I commissioned for Summersdale by author Phil Hewitt called KEEP ON RUNNING - a great book that has kept on selling since it was published a year ago.

Phil, aka @marathon_addict, tweeted in reply: 'Have you got a marathon in you somewhere, Jen?' Shudder - nope, not for me! You may catch me running down the beach with the dog, but rarely much farther than that. To be honest, I'd no sooner run a marathon than ski 'ALONE IN ANTARCTICA' like Felicity Aston, an upcoming Summersdale book I've worked on recently. 

      So why do I love working on these books?

Many of the books I commission and edit for Summersdale are extraordinary journeys - whether it's Phil Harwood's CANOEING THE CONGO, which speaks for itself (ha!), or Emma Woolf's AN APPLE A DAY, her journey of recovery from anorexia. They are memoirs of people who did something extraordinary - in Phil's case, running a heck of a lot of marathons, in Felicity's case, becoming the first woman to ski solo across Antarctica - and can communicate what that experience did to them, what it felt like, and what they learned. They are all inspiring, and we take away something important from each. 

Because I have recently finished working on ALONE IN ANTARCTICA, the message is still with me - I won't give away the ending of the book, but it applies to all of us, whatever trials and tribulations we are facing in life. The week after I finished working on it, I was going through some personal difficulties myself, and I tried to remember her words. 

Do you like to read inspiring journeys? What's the most inspiring journey you've read? Are there any Summersdale books you've found inspiring? I'd love to hear what you, as readers, look for.

Have you made an inspiring journey yourself, and can you write about it?

My Home Office

It's well over a year now since I moved to a little Greek island to set up as a freelance writer and editor in a home office.

For the first year, I divulged my whereabouts only on a need-to-know basis. Thanks to the magic of Gotomypc.com, when I'm doing Summersdale work, it looks like I'm working from an office in Chichester. To a lot of agents, if you're not in London, it doesn't really matter where you are - most London agents (most Londoners, in fact) aren't quite sure where Chichester is.

I'd realised that most of my job was done by email anyway, whether I was dealing with someone in the US or Australia or Manchester. As long as I had a good internet connection, I could work from home. On an island, so that when I was finished at my desk, I could get outside and in ten minutes be walking up a hill, or down to the sea.

I work with people for whom 'normal' is to do something like rowing across the Indian Ocean, or skiing to the South Pole, or paragliding across the Himalayas. They weren't bothered that I was going to live on a Greek island. And in fact, a lot of people in the publishing business shrugged and said, 'Oh yes, I know someone else who did something like that.'

It's important to see people face to face a couple of times a year, and I love my trips back to the UK. But being far away from the UK has also forced me to get more connected with people online and to use social media resources more (which is, I suppose, why I'm writing this).

Last summer, a few months after making the move, I acquired a book called COMMANDO DAD for Summersdale after a series of Skype discussions with the authors; it got lots of attention, to be featured on ITV and in the Guardian and Telegraph: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Commando-Dad-Elite-Carer-Birth/dp/1849532613/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1348515415&sr=8-1. I also acquired UK rights to Torre DeRoche's LOVE WITH A CHANCE OF DROWNING, which would never have happened if I hadn't been spending more time on Facebook: http://www.fearfuladventurer.com/archives/5940.

And two weeks ago, in a cafe in Rhodes, I acquired a wonderful new travel book about Sri Lanka by a British author who was at that point in the Andes. She was very relieved to find out that her not being in the UK wouldn't be a problem.

Rejection

I've been meaning to write a bit more on this blog for a while. Thoughts over a glass of wine at the end of the day, that sort of thing.

An author wrote a very flattering and effective pitch letter to me at Summersdale not long ago, saying how his adventure book would be a perfect fit for our list. The way he described it, it certainly sounded that way. In the end, however, we decided it wasn't for us, and I wrote to let him know. He lashed back with a nasty email saying, among other things:

'I wonder if you didn't find the story compelling because it doesn't have tales of drugs, sex, drunkenness and generally hapless travelling exploits like... most of your other travel publications.' 

It would have been funny if it hadn't been so vicious and mean. The odd thing was, he also said he'd just been taken on by an agent, so he really had no reason to be bitter about the rejection. But if you've ever wondered why publishers often send standard rejection letters, that's one reason why. Still, I like to provide a personal note when I can. 99.9% of authors are grateful for that.

I remember a job I interviewed for back when I was trying to get into publishing in Canada. Well, I don't remember the interview at all, but I remember the rejection letter they sent had a spelling mistake in it (something like 'we recieved a huge number of applicants'). Of course, being young and foolish I had to write back to them and say maybe they should have hired someone who knew how to spell. Ouch. Just as well I didn't end up working in children's publishing, as it's a small world and I'm sure someone wouldn't have let me forget that.

Another author who took my rejection of his manuscript rather bitterly a year or so ago has ended up being a friend. He recently told me he thinks I was right to turn down his first manuscript. I understand how much rejection hurts and niggles - I'm an author, too. But it's part of the process of publishing - it's unusual to find a famous author who hasn't had rejection letters.

Anyway, I wish more of our books had drugs, sex and drunkenness. We'd probably make a lot more money.

Travel Writing Workshop

I'm a travel writer and editor, and I live on an idyllic Greek island. I'm thinking of running a travel writing workshop in 2013, if there is interest.

This would involve coaching new authors on developing your travel notes or manuscript into a narrative travel book or travel memoir (not articles for newspapers or magazines).

I've been publishing this kind of book for more than seven years at Summersdale, and have recently started working for Bradt also on their travel literature list.

I also work directly with authors - feel free to contact me for details.

If we succeed in setting up a workshop on Tilos, participants would need to make their way to Rhodes, and we'd organise transfers, accommodation and meals for the duration.