As it’s a new year – a new decade, in fact – it seems a good time to look back at the year just gone and reflect. 2019 was a momentous year for me, the one in which my first novel got published. In which a long-held dream came true.

Holding the book in my hand, looking at the cover, flicking through the pages, seeing my words, beautifully typeset, in a proper published work, brought about an indescribable sense of pride and wonder. Almost as if the book was not a thing of my creation but an entity with a life of its own, which, in a sense, it is.

Publication day was definitely a highlight, but there have been low points too, and it’s been a learning curve. So I’ll use this space to share some of the highs and lows and learning points in case it helps others embarking on the same journey.

The highlights

The editing process: I don’t know how it works with a big publisher, but for me bringing the book to publication was very much a two-way process. My publisher, Inspired Quill, are a small indie press, who aim to give their authors the best experience possible. I was consulted on everything from blurb to cover design and had a say in each stage of the process. Small publishers vary a lot but I’ve been impressed with IQ for their professionalism and the quality of their product.

The book itself: After frantic editing and rewriting until the last moment the proof copy arrived on World Book Day. And it did not disappoint. The quality of the book was superb. The cover looked just as stunning on the page as it had on the PDF proofs. The layout was nicely spaced out and easy to read. The paper quality was good and the cover had a lovely, waxy feel – so much so I couldn’t help running my fingers over it. More frantic editing and rewriting followed, taking the process right up to the wire. At one stage I worried there would be no books to launch with, but they arrived with a week to spare, and looked even better in bulk!

Media: The week before the launch saw me rocking up at radio stations to do pre-launch interviews. Having been a journalist myself, I knew about the importance of hooking them in with a human interest angle. I spoke about how being diagnosed with breast cancer focused my mind on writing the book.

Launch day: The event itself was fabulous. Despite it clashing with Mother’s Day, 100 people showed up – perhaps lured by the promise of free prosecco, cake and acoustic guitar sounds from JP my other half.

I had a great team of supporters, with no shortage of volunteers to shift books, set up the room, bake cakes, meet and greet, serve refreshments, take photos, handle the money, shoot video and generally mingle.

I invited some writers from the Maggies Creative Writing group to read too. This gave the launch an inclusive feel and made it not all about me. And despite battling a lurgy which threatened to render me speechless, my voice held out through the readings and Q&A – although after that I couldn’t speak for a week! By the end of the day we’d sold 80 books.

Reviews: The first Amazon review came in a couple of days later, from a US reader I’d never met who gave the book five stars! This was a huge relief as I really had no idea how the book would be received. Since then, most reviews have been resoundingly positive (Amazon average 4.8 starts; Goodreads 4.5). I’ve been blown away by the number of people who’ve contacted me to say they loved the book.

To my astonishment I even got a review in The Hindu, India’s biggest English speaking newspaper. I also got one I’m particularly proud of from Nottingham Unesco City of Literature, who covered me as their featured writer at the end of last year. Here’s an extract.

A debut novel that deftly steps between gritty reality and magic realism with an agility that many more seasoned writers would envy, this is a book that has a beating heart within its fascinating central character

Matt Turpin, Nottingham Unesco City of Literature.

But perhaps the review that touched me the most was from a reader who told me ‘your book helped so much. I totally immersed myself in it… I was in a gloomy place and your story helped me find some much needed light!’

Festivals: Throughout the summer in the east midlands there’s a plethora of literary festivals. I was able to blag a presence at quite a few, either with my publisher or through other organisations I’m connected with. These provide a great opportunity to talk about the book, connect with readers, and catch up with other writers and stallholders. Doing these events helped me hone my one-line-pitch for Blue Tide Riding. Plus I discovered I love talking to people about writing.

The only event that wasn’t worthwhile was one on the embankment in Nottingham which was a total washout due to unseasonable storms. Our flimsy gazebo wasn’t much defence against the horizontal rain so we had to pack the books away to stop them getting wet. The weather also meant nobody came. After a couple of hours we called it a day.

Local support: I live in a part of Nottingham with a strong community spirit and a penchant for the arts. Just round the corner is an art shop and gallery, A Room Full of Butterflies, which sells local art and crafts. Andy, the owner, invited to do a ‘meet the author’ day there, giving me space in the upstairs gallery one Saturday during Sherwood Art Week. It was a delight to engage with readers surrounded by beautiful art!

Five local book groups have now read Blue Tide Rising as their book of the month. The Nottingham Library Service bought 12 copies, all the independent bookshops in the area have been happy to stock the book (us indies look out for each other), and another local shop, Green Emporium, asked for copies to have in stock.

The WH Smith local authors scheme: Fellow IQ author Anne Goodwin told me about this. If you approach WH Smith stores and ask to do a signing they will – hopefully – accommodate you. Coincidentally, one of the people who bought my book at Newark Book Festival happened to be a WH Smith store manager. She said ‘if I like the book we’ll have you in for a signing.’ She did – and she did!

And it doesn’t seem to matter how local you are! So far I’ve done Grantham, Newark and Loughborough and each has been a success. The store manager will suggest the best time and day – usually for three hours on a Saturday morning. They will advertise it a week before with a window display and posters. They set up a table for on the day and away you go! Depending on how well it’s gone – and I’ve typically sold 10 – 13 books in each three hour session – they will keep some back to have in store.

The lowlights

Marketing reach: My publisher is a tiny independent press, which is good in many ways but has its limitations. It’s currently a two-woman band and both have day jobs. This means although intentions are good, resource and time is tight. Being tiny, they simply don’t have the reach bigger publishers have, so most of the sales are ones I’ve orchestrated myself.

One of the most common questions I get asked is ‘how are sales going?’ to which I reply ‘selling well locally.’ Whenever I do an event or an author signing, I sell books, and come away with a feeling of success. But in the wider arena, people aren’t buying it because people don’t know about it.

Waterstones: I naively assumed Waterstones in Nottingham would stock copies of BTR because I had my launch there, and in the past they’ve stocked anthologies I’ve been published in. But – although the local events guy requested copies – the regional buyer overrode him. When I queried this I was told ‘we don’t stock books published by small presses because we don’t think they will sell.’ But that, of course, is a Catch 22. It won’t sell if they won’t stock it! This frustrated me, especially when people who missed the launch kept telling me they’d been into Waterstones to look for a copy.

So it seems unless a book is published by one of the Big Five publishers, it doesn’t get a look in at Waterstones. I’ve since learnt that they charge 65% commission which prices small publishers out of the market. Evidently big publishers take the hit simply for the prestige of having their books visible in Waterstones. Crazy!

Reviews: Because the lead-in to publication got quite fraught, there wasn’t time to send proof copies out ahead of publication, so I missed out on potential reviews in magazines which need copies several months in advance. I’ll know next time to allow longer between sign-off and launch.

It’s an uphill struggle getting reviews. I’m told on average one in a hundred readers will leave a review. I currently have 25 on Amazon and I’m hoping to get to 50 as that is the magic number after which Amazon takes you seriously. So if you’re read Blue Tide Rising , please consider leaving a review! Doesn’t have to be in-depth. A line or two will suffice!

Distribution issues: Distribution is a dark art which I don’t pretend to understand. I leave that to the publisher, but I know at a crucial point in my publication journey there were issues with the distributors that dispatch to bookshops – now, hopefully, resolved – and with Amazon.

I learnt about the Amazon problem when someone messaged me to say ‘I can’t get your book anywhere!’ She’d tried Amazon, been advised there was a two month wait, then when the book didn’t arrive, checked her order to be told it was out of stock. My publisher uses Print on Demand, so technically a book is never out of stock. It gets printed as and when people order it. This concerned me because I wondered how many other people had tried to order it and simply given up. Of course we try and point people towards the publisher’s own website, but many people automatically buy from Amazon because it’s easier.

I know people have bought the book from Amazon recently and it’s been ok, so hopefully the issue, whatever it was, is now sorted.

Top tips for anyone bringing out a book this year

1. Make sure you allow sufficient time between the book being ready and publication date. That will give you time to send review copies out well in advance.
2. Research blogs and publications you could approach to review your book. Line up potential reviewers well in advance and send out copies several months ahead of publication date.
3. Find a human interest angle to hook media in and send a press release out a few weeks before your launch. Then ring round a couple of weeks before to arrange media interviews.
4. Plan your launch well in advance. Enjoy it and treat it like a party! More on how to plan a launch here.
5. Research festivals, book fairs and other events happening in your area throughout the year and see if you can get a presence there.
6. Whenever you engage with readers, ask for feedback and give them a means to contact you. That way you form a connection with them and they are more likely to leave a review.
7. Approach independent shops in your locality – not just book shops, art and craft shops might be happy to stock a book by a local author too.
8. Approach your local library and ask if they’ll buy copies.
9. Research contacts for book clubs and writing groups in your area and offer to go and talk to them.
10. Don’t expect your book to be an overnight sensation. Start small, build steadily and – most importantly – enjoy the journey!

What’s next?

One thing I’ve learnt in the last year is, I love the author’s life. If I could afford to jack in the day job and just write – I would! Unless you’ve very lucky, and hit the jackpot with your novel, writing isn’t a money-spinner. I view it as a hobby that pays me pocket money twice a year when the royalties come in. But the important thing is, I love writing. I want people to read my work, whether they buy the book, get it out of the library or borrow a copy from a friend. And each time I hear that someone’s liked it, I do a little dance of joy.

In the meantime, I’m close to finishing the next one. Watch this space..

If you’ve found this blog post helpful and would like an email alert when I publish a new post, it’s easy to subscribe. Simply hit the subscribe button on the home page.