The Road to Publishing

Why did you decide to write?

I spent my entire career working for an international company in drinks and hospitality. My area of expertise was in sales and marketing. On reflection I realise that most of the time was just storytelling. So, I suppose opting to write a book is not that huge a leap. It is something that I have always wanted to do, to prove to myself that I had the resilience to see it to completion. The book is called The Dogs of Avarice, which I would describe as light-hearted crime fiction. It explores themes around greed and its nastier brother, avarice. 

What was your writing process?

In many ways not being tied to a deadline made it easier for me. You cannot suddenly decide to be creative at a set time in the day. I wrote entirely by hand and then converted in to Word. It sounds laborious, but it worked for me.

I found that I really enjoyed writing on the move, on trains and planes. So much of the book was written, whilst being near the sea. I can recall one moment of rich creativity being thwarted by running out of paper in the middle of nowhere in Andalucia. 

I am indebted to the three first readers of my book. My darling wife, cherished sister and my best friend each gave me the encouragement and determination to see it through. Having finished my first draft, it was my sister who brought me down to earth by telling me it was at best only 50% ready. I cannot emphasis enough the importance of editing many times over. Another funny line is write drunk but edit sober. I also completed a creative writing course with www.writeacadamy.com , which I think gave me some extra layers. 

What was your experience of agents and publishers?

Firstly, it is an incredibly crowded space. Agents receive an avalanche of requests from people who think their own ‘baby’ is the prettiest. It feels like a very stressful environment. How they make decisions based on three-page submissions must be very difficult.

Secondly, I recognised quite early that my demographic doesn’t work for me. Being a middle aged, middle class, white author is not immediately attractive. And you know what I am fine with that. I know that I benefitted from privilege in my previous career, so its fine that others should be given support, especially those trying to make a career out of it. 

The one thing I do have though is determination and dose of impatience, I like being in control of the outcome, so it became clear that I should self-publish. 

How did you decide to publish?

I concluded that in the world of books I was very much alone. In my previous career I had a huge network of contacts who I could reach for support and advice. Now I was trying to navigate the choppy process on my own. So, I needed a partner to help me get published. I chose to partner with Publishing Push. 

I opted for the package that delivers book design, copy-editing, proof reading and the technical support to get to Amazon and Ingram Sparks.  

For cover design they were extremely patient with me, allowing me full creative control, with the ability to have as many revisions as possible before we signed off on a version that I wanted.

Copy-editing was invaluable. I laugh at the thought that I believed my manuscript was ready, only to have 25,000 changes proposed for a book that is 100,000 strong. This was not giving up editorial control but making my story to be polished with grammar and punctuation.

 The real benefit is emotional, you have someone to hold your hand, to be your partner. There was never any such thing as a silly question. You can go at whatever speed suits you. 

Tell us about the financial side?

Again, this is a subject that I knew little about. Clearly this is an area where an author who has an agent and a publisher does have an advantage. Printing costs are an area where you need to pay attention. 

Like many new authors I had daydreams of walking past my local Waterstones and seeing my book in the window. The truth is that I will make three times the amount of profit if I sell all as an e.book versus a paperback.

I also don’t get the whole free book or 99p books out there. I have toiled for more than a year, I don’t see why I should give it away for nothing. 

One of my few regrets is that I made a small compromise to try and be profitable. I reduced the text size in order in order not to lose money. Will I make a profit off the back of this book, I don’t know is the answer. I didn’t really to do it to make money, but I didn’t do it to lose money either. 

What help is out there?

Again, Publishing Push were helpful giving me access to many resources. There are many great communities out there on Facebook that you can find.

I reached out to a published author in my genre, a wonderful author called David F Ross. He generously gave me his time and just talked about the things that I needed to think about.

Post-publication I have joined the Society of Authors and the Crime Writers Association, again both rich in resources. 

How did you decide to promote the book?

This is another area where I have been on a steep learning curve. First up I taught myself how to build my own website ( www.johnnygg.com). I did this by using Squarespace, who I would highly recommend. One tip I would give is try and build up a collection of short stores or blog posts. It will improve your writing skills, but it with a broader catalogue of work, it will give potential readers a reason to engage with you. 

I have had to develop my own social media strategy. I have tried to maximise my connections on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. 

However, the best starting point of them all are the people that really know you – friends, family, colleagues, neighbours. They should be rooting for you, they just need a lot of reminding. 

You will be inundated by people who offer you paid for reviews or marketing campaigns. As its my own money these days every pound is a prisoner. I have decided to partner with BookViral and Kirkus and I know that I will need to review what sort of returns I get from the investment. 

Will you do it again?

You know I have found the whole process to be stimulating and personally fulfilling. I know that I am not likely to make my fortune, but there will be a second book. The next one is well underway, a story of gluttony, a battle between old fashioned restaurant critics and the emerging army of bloggers and TikToker’s.