Self-Publishing Moves into the Mainstream

The idea that The Bookseller magazine, that venerable trade organ for the traditional publishing process, would dedicate four pages of editorial for a "Flagship Feature" on self-publishing would have been unthinkable even a short time ago, but that is what happened at the end of last week Bookseller. The very suggestion of people publishing their own books has in the past brought forth patronising smirks at best, and howls of derision at worst, from those who believed such things should be left to the professionals.
All that has now changed and leading the charge is Alison Baverstock, (the author of the Bookseller feature), with the publication of her guide to self-publishing The Naked Author.
It would be hard to overstate what a seismic change in attitude this represents. Self-publishing does not in any way threaten the livelihoods of the existing publishing businesses that are able to add value for their customers in matters of packaging, distribution and marketing, but it does mean that a whole new cottage industry has been allowed to spring up and is now thriving thanks to a variety of factors coming together at the same time.
The Naked Author is an absolute milestone in this exciting journey.

The Naked Celebrity

Reflecting upon the simple brilliance of Alison Baverstock’s newly released title “The Naked Author” – I’m beginning to wish that instead of “The Fabulous Dreams of Maggie de Beer” I had suggested “The Naked Celebrity” as a title for Maggie’s frank revelations. It has that lovely film noir ring to it – the sort of thing you might see scrawled on a newspaper vendor’s board. Celebrities like Maggie are so very brave and selfless in baring their souls to their public, but the phrase also conjures up dark images of bodies in the woods and sinister subplots – Marilyn Monroe and Michael Jackson, Hendrix and Hutchence, Morrison and Mansfield, Polanski and Presley – so many vivid images have seeped into our brains from the fabulous, tragic, celebrity circus. http://www.maggiedebeer.com/

Authors Stripped Naked

Intrepid authors are now heading into the future alone, stripped of our protective layers of literary agents, editorial and publicity departments, (deprived also of the joys of rejection letters and remainders piles and saved from the jaws of the pulping machines).

Self publishing and electronic publishing are the future and Alison Baverstock – possibly our nation’s greatest living authority on the worlds of writing and publishing - has created a survival guide for us all in her new book The Naked Author, (published this week, ironically, by A&C Black, a particularly distinguished member of the old style of publishing houses).

I have seen the great Baverstock in action in both the lecture halls of Academe and amongst the denizens of the Society of Authors and the idea of her marching, naked and brave, into the future is a fine one indeed. She is our Lady Godiva. Where Jamie Oliver led, Baverstock will follow, where he opened up the secrets of cooking to everyman, she promises to do the same for publishing.

Amazon author profile

The Naked Author: a guide to self-publishing

The Next Generation of Freelance Writers

I was invited in to Kingston University the other day by Todd Swift - the Canadian poet - to talk to fifty or so students on the creative writing course. Kingston has a good buzz about it, (I had been there just a few weeks before talking to Alison Baverstock's Publishing MA students).

Todd very kindly cajoles all his students to buy my "Freelance Writer's Handbook" and also encouraged them to line up to have their books signed at the end of the session. Talking to some of them individually got me thinking.

It's been forty years since I was setting out like them, arriving in London straight from school, hoping for pavements of gold and all the rest. Then the freelance writer's world was one of manual typewriters and self-addressed envelopes where now it is all emails and attachments, but in essence it is still a gigantic leap of faith into a life where every morning you wake up not knowing if this is going to be the day your big break finally arrives. No doubt they were hoping that I was going to give them some clue as to what the next forty years of their lives are going to be like, but how different will it be by the time these guys are the ones blathering on to another generation of hopefuls?

The only thing I can promise to those who stick it out is that they are in for some grand adventures.

Steffi McBride is in the Shops

“The Overnight Fame of Steffi McBride” is published today, and so far everyone who has read advance copies has been incredibly kind. Below is a lovely review by a young writer called Eliza.

Writers’ Forum magazine has also published an article I wrote about the whole experience of making a promotional film for the book with the actress, Olivia Grodd, playing Steffi, and putting it up on YouTube and on the website www.steffimcbride.com. So far we have had over three thousand viewings of the film, which seems more than healthy considering the book is only out today.

In the same issue of Writers’ Forum there is an article by the great writing guru Alison Baverstock on how all authors have to expect to do their own marketing as publishers just don’t have the time, (I paraphrase but that is the gist and of course she is absolutely right).

Eliza’s Review:

This is a read-it-in-one-sitting modern-day fairytale - princes, villains and ogres included. Bridget Jones put those pants on and move aside! There is no swanky media job here; Steffi is, for most of us, the modern day young woman.

A pot washer from the wrong estate with a junky boyfriend and family who would rather you snort a line than read a book, Steffi has a dream and no one, not even her dad, can stop her.

When talent scouts spot Steffi the ultimate young girl’s dream starts to become a reality. Steffi, a lifelong fan of The Towers, is overjoyed at the chance to work on the infamous soap.

Nothing can prepare her for the tidal wave of fame that hits, but has Steffi too many stars in her eyes to see that the wave is in fact shark-infested?

A truly gripping read, Crofts encapsulates the rocky road of today’s vulnerable celebrity status. A tale we have witnessed so often in the media, told fascinatingly from the other side.

Narrated by Steffi, this story should be a textbook for all budding wannabees. Crofts’ style ensures Steffi is a lovable character, making you love and despair alongside her. You find yourself willing her dreams to come true. Now that I have finished reading the book I feel bereft and cheated that she is not real.

The princes, fairy godmothers and villains are all there just as in every good fairytale. There’s boy band has-been, Luke, a pin up for Steffi since her early teens. And Gerry, every mother’s dream son-in-law, you love him but is he Steffi’s prince or just another knight destined not to get his princess? And we mustn’t forget fairy godmother Dora, the chain-smoking agent - but does Steffi really need another mother?

Enjoy the emotions as Steffi grows from a girl with a boyfriend living in a squat, to the nation’s sweetheart. Live the dream alongside Steffi and experience the highs and lows. Have the tissues to hand, sit back and indulge yourself in a truly beautiful read.

Many thanks Eliza

To purchase a copy of The Overnight Fame of Steffi McBride for a discounted price of £6.00 (inc p&p) please call John Blake Publishing on 0207 381 0666.