How to get ahead in self-publishing

As a child growing up in Liverpool, I was lucky enough to have been introduced to books by my mother, who is an avid reader. Since then, I have developed a deep love of literature and, from as far back as I can remember, I’ve always had a rather fertile imagination.

Writing was almost second nature to me, but I started to learn my trade writing short stories in secret and – although I would describe them as embryonic – I have to admit, when I read them now they’re pretty awful.

Thankfully, I am both a determined and stubborn individual, and I never gave up on creative writing – just, I like to think, like my Irish ancestors on my father’s side, who lost their timber yard to a second World War air raid, but fought to keep their business alive.

I encountered numerous obstacles in my attempt to break into the world of traditional publishing and quickly discovered it was very much a closed shop. Unless a writer is extremely lucky or is already a well-known name (or a celebrity with a ghost-writer) it is extremely difficult to make it.

Feeling like I was banging my head against a brick wall, I decided to dip my toes into the world of desktop self-publishing, which enabled me to share my books in both paperback and e-book format with readers all over the world.

I began my journey by publishing my first novel, The Shifting, in Kindle format only, to test the waters (Find out how to go about this at http://www.amazonkdp.com). The Shifting is best described as a fantasy thriller, set in both modern-day and Victorian London. The book begins when a boy, who has been missing for over a decade, resurfaces – having not aged a day in all the time he's been gone.

When it came to choosing a name to write under, I elected to use a family one. The name is in part an homage to my grandfather (on my mother’s side) Angus Mackenzie Brown. He is a character featured in my latest novel, Annie’s War, and is a personal hero of mine. He was a well-educated, yet an extremely modest and dignified man, who was a war hero but never spoke of his exploits to anyone other than me near to the end of his life.

The entire e-publishing process was completely new to me and, I must admit, I had a lot to learn. I worked hard, researching how to format the book myself, and decided to enlist a proof-reader and editor to help with the text.

My next publication, The Book of Souls, was a children’s fantasy novel I’d written years before for my own daughters, which unusually (I’m told) features a girl as the central character.

My real passion, however, is for writing thrillers and my third book, Lost Boys, belongs to this genre. Lost Boys is the first of my novels to be set in Liverpool and follows the hunt for missing children by a once brilliant – now retired and alcoholic – detective who, during the search for his own son, links the child’s disappearance to those of other boys. The book is set in the politically volatile period of the early 1970s – a period I researched thoroughly, but also remember, to some extent, as a child myself.

All of my books are now available in both Kindle and in paperback, and publishing them in the latter format taught me that preparation of a physical book is a completely different procedure. The text is easier to format, but one of the main challenges is to get a cover image fit for purpose.

Despite what we’re led to believe, readers will judge a book by its cover. Therefore, a good cover, even for an e-book, is vital. You can do this yourself if you have some graphic art skills and there are lots of resources available online, but you might also want to consider the many book cover services available for a small cost.

You’ll need some assistance making your book read well. As I discovered with my first novel, a good proof-reader and editor are essential, particularly if you’re expecting people to buy your work. Some people can carry out both functions and there are plenty of freelance editors and proof-readers advertising their services on social media, at relatively inexpensive rates.

It is also important to show your completed manuscript to one or two people you trust before publishing. Honesty is what you’re looking for here and you should embrace a good critique, rather than be constantly on the lookout for compliments. It is better to fix something than risk a poor review from a disappointed reader.

Finally, some self-published authors also set up themselves as a publisher and if you have an accountant, this might be something worth discussing to understand the tax implications and benefits of doing so.

My latest release is a factual work and a bit of a departure for me, but the subject of Annie’s War is one that is close to my heart. It follows the early lives of my maternal grandparents and is set in Liverpool between 1914 and 1945. The story of Annie and Angus is one I always wanted to tell after hearing tales about their lives around the dinner table, or at family gatherings, when I was a boy.

Because it is a true story, I was forced to spend years poring over dusty microfiche machines in libraries, researching my family tree before I could hope to bring the subject to life, in what became a labour of love – but now that it’s published, it at least keeps the family happy.

My grandfather was from the old school, a dignified, well-educated man, who loved literature, coupled with a voracious appetite for reading. He wasn’t a big talker, but was a very private man who kept his own counsel.

My grandmother, on the other hand, was like an open book. She played truant from school and was far from a scholar, but she possessed a heart of pure gold. Despite an inauspicious start to life, she was an incredibly stoic individual and was never one to complain about her lot.

In my opinion, their story deserves to be told and I’m proud to have finally completed a work that is very close to my heart, and I think they’d find it rather amusing that a book had been written about their lives.

Currently, I’m working on a five-part detective series set during 1940s war-torn Liverpool – The Prince of the City series – and with two books in the sequence already published, I’m working on the third: Picture Purr-fect.

I realise I might never become a bestselling author, but there’s nothing quite like the thrill of seeing your work in print, or reading a good review of your book. In the meantime, I’m just happy to keep plugging away, if only for the sense of achievement it gives me as a writer. And there are thousands of people like me out there...

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