The stereotypical image of a writer ensconced in a garret, tucked far away from reality so that they can concentrate on creativity is a thing of the past. Whether you decide to publish through the traditional route or publish independently most authors will have to partake in marketing their works from bookshop signings, having a social media presence to school visits.
Now that I am beginning to see my manuscript take shape it saddens me that at the end of all this hard work it might not be made into a book to sit proudly on the shelves of Waterstones or the virtual shelves of Amazon. This made me ask the question: if a publisher doesn’t want to publish my manuscript would I decide to publish …show more content…
However, this could be considered a negative as well. It can be hard for an author to make consistently successful editorial decisions as it can be difficult to take a detached and unemotional choice. Also having to undertake every aspect of the publishing process can be time consuming meaning that some parts may be done badly whereas a publishing house would have a dedicated team. However, an author could outsource areas that they feel they are not able to do such as distribution, formatting and layout of the manuscript or even marketing. In an interview in Writer’s Forum, Rachel Abbott, a top selling author through Amazon’s independent publishing platform tells of her success with independent publishing. She has published 6 bestselling novels and now employs two part-time assistants to help with marketing. Interestingly, one of the reasons that Rachel Abbott became so successful wasn’t simply down to the quality of her writing. Before retiring and becoming a writer her day job was …show more content…
The Guardian published some of the findings from a survey by the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society showing that independent publishing is becoming a more and more attractive route to publication. According to the survey, “writers were investing a mean of £2,470 in publishing their own work, with the median investment at £500, and typically recouping their investment plus 40%.” It also asked if writers who had independently published would do so again and eighty-six percent said that they would, showing that many find it both financially and personally rewarding.
According to Nielsen Books UK, 22 percent of e-book sales in the UK came from digital independently published books. That is a rise of 6 percent from 2014. Which brings me onto the topic of money. Clearly not every writer writes to be rich however many dream of being able to support themselves and their family financially by doing something they love. Even though traditional publishing doesn’t always offer a chance to just write for a living, with the average advance being between £5,000 - £10,000 it does allow you to spend any spare time you have