Over the course of reading this blog, you might have asked yourself the following question, “Why does Suzi want to be published?”
I used to have three reasons… One, to hold an actual copy of my book in my hand. Two, to go into a bookshop and see my book on the shelves. Three, to see people reading my book on public transport.
For many years, these three reasons have kept me going – the thought that they will one day be true and I can happily spend my time going into every bookshop I pass and just standing in front of my book on the shelf for hours on end. Or is that a bit too weird?
Anyway, a discovery I made a year or two ago has made one of these dreams possible, even for the unknown author – print on demand websites! This is when anyone can get anything printed, either just for themselves or for the general public to purchase, and the results actually look and feel like a real book! The thrill for an undiscovered writer is immeasurable. Written a book that no agent wants to read? Simple! Just visit your nearest print on demand website and put it out there for people to buy. Sure, you might not sell more than a few copies to friends and family, but the thought that people can buy a real book written by you is priceless.
So I published my first book, ‘The Sillow Orb’, on such a site and was thrilled that people actually bought it. I bought a copy myself (available at cost price to authors) and, while reading it through, made notes about changes that could be made. What a great way to edit one’s own book, than to read it in book form!
When I finished the first draft of my latest book, about Route 66, this summer, the thought occurred to me that the easiest way to read it through would be to actually get a book printed… A couple of weeks later, I was holding my own, secret, copy of the book, complete with front cover and dust jacket and all my lovely words inside. It’s not available to the public, such is the joy of the print on demand site! So now I can sit down and enjoy a leisurely read, with pen and paper nearby to note any changes that need to be made. I haven’t spent money on reams of paper and printer ink, I don’t have a thick stack of loose A4 paper and I have the joy of owning my own book in book form!
It really has changed the way I think about my own work. The second and third goals seem that much more attainable, because the first one is so easy to achieve. Reading my own work has never been so thrilling!
