Off the self

EVERYONE has a book in them, goes the clich. Getting it published is a different matter.

Publishers are notoriously reluctant to take risks on new authors. So however good your book is, chances are you are going to find it difficult.

"Publishers are taking on fewer and fewer books by fewer and fewer authors," says Graham Taylor, the former North Yorkshire vicar turned best-selling author.

So if you've written a book you really believe in, and can't get anyone to publish it, what should you do? Publish it yourself, Graham says.

That is something he knows all about. The former vicar of Cloughton famously sold his beloved motorbike to self-publish 2,500 copies of his first book Shadowmancer in 2002. It was only afterwards that his book was snapped up by Faber and Faber and went on to become in international bestseller. Those first self-published editions are now worth a fortune to collectors.

Not everyone who goes down the self-publishing route is going to hit the jackpot in the way Graham did. But that's not the point, he says. You should, by selling copies to friends and relatives and in your local bookshop, be able to recoup some of the £5,000 or so it is likely to cost. But the important thing is to get your book out there. "That's the key thing - not to worry about whether it will sell. That is not the reason you write. You write for the pleasure of writing. The biggest thrill of my life was that day when those 2,000 books arrived on my doorstep."

So how do you do it? Retired violinist Trevor Woolston, who founded the Swaledale Festival, was repeatedly urged by family and friends to find a publisher for his book Tales For My Great Granddaughter. The book is a vivid account of the 86-year-old's Northamptonshire childhood during the 1920s and 1930s that he wrote for his great granddaughter Jodie.

"Jodie is growing up, and I wanted her to know what my life was about," he said. "My childhood was so different from what hers will be like."

Trevor, who now lives in York, saw an advert for a Darlington-based publisher, Serendipity, and sent off his manuscript. He had to contribute to the cost of publication, but it was worth it, he says. "It looks better in print! It is difficult to describe the satisfaction you feel."

Andrew Brookes, a 22-year-old who works for Norwich Union in York, decided from the outset that he was going to self-publish his novel for teenagers, Joe Tankard: Wrong Un!

"I wanted to be independent from any of the big publishers," he says. "It was the time scale, for a start. It can take up to 18 months just to have your work read, and then they might well reject it."

He chose Write Books, a Ferrybridge-based non-profit making organisation, who printed 100 copies of his book for £700, with an option to print more. It is great to see his work in print, he says.

So what would his advice be to other aspiring writers? Shop around, he says. There are plenty of publishers out there that will print your work for a reasonable fee. "So write off for quotes, specifying how many words it is, and saying what you want in terms of photos, illustrations and so on."

When Jack Everett and David Coles decided to get their book published, they chose a different route, opting to go it alone.

Merlin's Kin, a teenage fantasy about five friends who come under the spell of Merlin, isn't their first published book. In 1982 the pair had a novel, Fantocine, published by Robert Hale.

Since then, however, despite having started about 30 books, the friends have had no luck.

Jack, who used to run the Double Triangle Club in Selby, was inspired to write Merlin's Kin after the death of his son Gavin at the age of 31. When Gavin was young, Jack used to love making up stories to tell him. "And this is just the kind of story I would have invented for our Gaz."

Fed up with rejection, he and David set up their own publisher, Archimedes Presse, to bring out their book, co-written under the pen-name Everett Coles. They hired an Austrian company to print it, and are now considering printing books by other authors.

"I'm sure there are thousands of other potential authors who would like to be published," Jack said. "But if you're not famous, there doesn't seem to be much chance."

Merlin's Kin by Everett Coles is available from Borders in York priced £6.95, or direct from www.merlinskin.org.

Joe Tankard: Wrong Un! by Andrew Brookes is available direct from the author or from andrewbrookes@fsmail.net priced £9.99.

Tales For My Great Grand-daughter by Trevor Woolston is available from Colliergate Post Office or selected local bookshops, including Borders in York, priced £4.95, or direct from Serendipity on 0845 130 2434 priced £4.95 plus £1.50 p&p.

Updated: 09:32 Wednesday, November 24, 2004