Self-publishing; an author’s perspective [INTERVIEW]
I was fortunate to meet Fiona Skowronski, author of Smuggler’s Caves, a few weeks ago and loved her experience of self-publishing. Here she shares all:
Why did you choose to self-publish?
I chose to self-publish partly because I don’t want the sheer joy of writing to be tainted by the dread of rejection by publishers, and partly because self-publishing tends to be quick. I write stories based in Hastings – my home, a place I love, so it’s my own niche.
How did you know what to do?
I discovered free print on demand publishing by accident after joining the peer review sites completelynovel and youwriteon. You upload (completelynovel) or email (youwriteon) your novel and cover and they publish it. You can then buy your copies when you need them. Your novel is published exactly as the publisher receives it. It is vital that the font is embedded before you upload or email it, but other than that it is a really simple process which you’re taken through step-by-step on the sites.
What problems might an author experience with self-publishing?
It’s important to realize that if you decide to publish for free you have no comeback if the book or the marketing of the book is not as you expected. But I was pleased with my experience in both cases.
I’ve just started blogging a sequel to The Smugglers’ Caves at theghostlygirl.blogspot.com . I’m blogging it because this time I’d like to respond to comments from people reading it in blog form before I publish it as a paperback.
You can buy The Smugglers’ Caves on Amazon and check out Fiona’s blog here: http://theghostlygirl.blogspot.com/