BOOKS
Many people dream of writing a book but very few budding authors land a publishing deal. Undeterred, a growing number of people are paying to see their work in print. LYNETTE PINCHESS tells their stories
B
UILDING society worker Heather Watson never had any ambitions of becoming a published author. When an idea came to her in a recurring dream, she thought it would be fun to put it down on paper and share it with her family. They were so impressed with the fantasy story that they urged her to get it published. Heather was lucky enough to land a book deal with a publishing company, which signed her up for a trilogy: The Legendary Sidhe Saga. The first novel, Bluebell Cottage, sold around 600 copies but just before the second in the series was due to be published, the company went into receivership and the contract for the other two books became worthless. Having gained a sizeable fan base on
Facebook, she didn’t want to disappoint readers looking forward to the sequel, Thistle Lodge, so she went down the self-publishing route – once known as ‘vanity publishing’ because writers paid for the privilege of getting their name in print.
It cost Heather £1,500 to get the book into print with the help of Matador – the self-publishing arm of Leicester-based company Troubador. Heather, 40, of Keyworth, says: “I’ve never
received any royalties for Bluebell Cottage but it was never about making money. I was so passionate about the story I just wanted to share it.” Heather’s father, former England football captain Dave Watson, has helped both financially by sponsoring the book and with publicity, joining her at book signings in cities including Manchester and Sunderland where he used to play. At signings, unknown self-published authors tend to sell ten to 25 books. Heather, who has a 15-year-old daughter, sold 20 at each event. She says the book stores were pleased with the number since anyone who is not a “big name” wo n ’t have readers queuing round the block. How many of those turned up to see the former England captain or simply to buy the book, Heather doesn’t know. After all the highs and lows, would Heather
have done anything differently? With hindsight she says: “I would still go ahead but I would try to get an agent first.” Unlike Heather, it was Tony Martin’s
childhood ambition to write a book. When he was made redundant from his job as a delivery driver, he thought it might be a way of making some cash.
78 NOTTINGHAMSHIRE TODAY
Right: Tony Martin – childhood ambition. Below: Andy Smart’s book, which raised money for the Royal British Legion.
BOOKED!
He contacted various mainstream publishers with poems he had written as a hobby but they didn’t want to know so he decided to pay to see his work in print. Tony, 63, cashed in a pension giving him £530 for self-publishing company Au t h o r H o u s e ’s most basic package. He was talked through the process on the phone to AuthorHouse and was directed to a website where authors can either pay for or pick a design for the jacket free. To keep costs down, Tony went for a free one. He sent the manuscript via e-mail and it was his responsibility to proof the draft. “I have read the book since and spotted one or two spelling mistakes but they’re not too noticeable,” he confesses. He was tasked with the job of writing the blurb on the back about himself. Describing himself as “full of fun but also very serious about the way politicians run the show,” Tony says: “It’s not easy writing something about yourself so it came out a bit strange.” Three months after his first conversation
Waterstones platform
AS well as playing host to best-selling novelists like Jeffrey Deaver, Jodi Picoult and Irvine Welsh, the Nottingham branch of Waterstones gives a platform to unknown self-published authors. Some have used impressive sales from book signings to approach big publishers. Dr Shane Maxwell-Atkin, Waterstones’ regional events manager says: “At least three authors are now being published or
re-published by major houses.” One of these is Steven Dunne, who toured East Midlands’ bookstores with his grisly Derby-based thrillers. He self-published Reaper in 2007, which was picked up by Harper Collins, who offered him a two book deal to republish it, plus a sequel The Disciple. His third novel Deity – published by Headline, is out on June 21.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148