HOW TO GET YOUR BOOK PUBLISHED

WITH DANIELE WILTON, CO-FOUNDER AND MANAGING DIRECTOR OF SMUDGE PUBLISHING

The good news is, getting published has never been easier. If you think you have a great story, you need to submit it to publishing houses. First, do your homework by visiting a bookstore to see who’s publishing similar books, then put together a list of relevant publishers. Don’t be shy about sending your work overseas either.

You’ll need to send a precis of the plot and two chapters so publishers can see your writing style. If they’re interested, they’ll ask for more of your work. You’ve probably heard of many writers receiving letter after letter of rejection, so don’t let one stop you.

You can self-publish, too. Not by putting your book online, but actually creating a hard copy – this involves asking a publishing house to manage the project for you, from design to print, or finding your own printer and a friend to do the graphic design. This can be expensive, unless you plan to print 1,000 or more books. I would recommend you put all your pennies into printing as many books as you can – it gets exponentially cheaper the more you print. (As much as I hate to admit it, there are many great off-shore printers that can print 1,000 books at the same price as 50 back home.)

Regardless of who publishes your work, publicity is vital. Reach out to newspapers and magazines and submit articles about you, your family, your location, your background – whatever will make for an interesting read. Then refer everything back to your book. Ask if your local library or bookstore can organise a signing event to help you sell more books. Invite all your friends and pop some bubbly!