Self-publishing (and why I’ve changed my mind on it)

This post follows on from my previous one, a review of Ya Mum by Ben Tallon…

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As mentioned in my review of Ya Mum, I was excited to read this book. I’ve been a fan of Ben Tallon’s illustration (the work he’s arguably best known for) for some time, had read his excellent Champagne and Wax Crayons (part-memoir, part-survival guide for new creative freelancers), and listen to his Arrest All Mimics podcast, so was intrigued to read this collection.

I’ll admit, I was also intrigued by the process behind the production of Ya Mum.

Tallon has published Ya Mum himself. He has engaged the services of an editor, designer and printer to create a slick looking product, but the promotion and distribution is all - as far as I’m aware - being done by himself.

I wanted to understand the reasons for self-publishing Ya Mum, after conventionally publishing Champagne and Wax Crayons, and Tallon was kind enough to answer my questions in a Twitter conversation. He has also expanded on the subject on his podcast. His reasons make sense:

• Greater control over the creative process, compared to a conventional publishing deal;

• Greater control over the marketing and distribution;

• All of the profit!

Of course, the flip side is also true: You’ve got to do everything yourself and take on all the financial risk. If you can make all that hard work pay off, then it can definitely be worth it.

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Self-publishing is not new, but there is still - rightly or wrongly - a sense in some quarters that it ranks behind the conventional author-to-agent-to-publishing deal approach.

I’ve got a couple of novel drafts on the go and would love to see them in print. I could get them finished and printed myself, but my preference would be to get an agent and secure a publishing deal. Why? Potentially, the novels would reach a wider audience and I might earn more money, but ego also plays a part.

If being honest, all but the most self-secure of us would admit to enjoying the validation that comes from external approval of our work. As a writer, the ultimate judge of whether something is good or bad is the reader, yet agent and publisher approval carries a lot of weight.

Is this search for external validation preventing good work from reaching its audience - because the writer is holding out for the deal that says they’ve ‘made it’? Or, is the conventional publishing process a necessary quality filter that prevents crap work from getting read?

The answer is probably somewhere in the middle, but self-publishing certainly exists as a viable option for good writers who want to reach their audience without the barrier of third party involvement.

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Long-form fiction novels still, for the most part, exist in a market dominated by conventional publishing. It’s the world of book fairs, literary festivals, Richard and Judy reviews, and reading on the beach. Unless an author already has a sizeable following it will be hard for a self-published work to break into that market.

In comparison, A project likeYa Mum - a small, illustrated, short story collection about stuff found on the street - is a niche offering. By going down the self-published route, Tallon has a greater chance of appealing directly to Ya Mum’s target audience. Plus, because he’s not sharing the profit with anyone else, he doesn’t need to sell as many to make money.

In this respect, it feels similar to the approach an artist may take with selling prints of their work through an online shop (like my friend, Nina Fraser, for example):

• Full creative control;

• Responsibility for the production process;

• Direct marketing and sales;

• Money in your pocket with no commission or agent’s fees.

In addition to the novel ideas I mentioned above, I’ve also got a few short stories hiding away in notebooks and Google Docs. Previously, I always thought of them as sketches, or ideas that might find their way into a longer piece. Alternatively, I’ve submitted a couple of them for prizes or journals if the idea has been more fully formed.

Now, having read Ya Mum and learnt about Ben Tallon’s publishing process, I’m now tempted to see if I might be able to work them up into a cohesive collection.

If I do, and if I’m pleased with the results, then I might just decide to self-publish them.

Watch this space…