So, you’ve penned your masterpiece; how do you get it published? Fortunately for members of Ayr Writers, this is a journey a significant number of us have experienced. Marion Husband, Maggie Bolton, Greta Yorke, and Carolyn O’Hara formed tonight’s panel and gave the group an insight into their very different publishing road maps.
Marion Husband explained how she retired after twenty years working in the council but did not want to live a ‘retired lifestyle’. She had always had the ambition to write children’s stories. Her retirement treat to herself was to self-publish her first book, Explore Govan – a guide to the famous Clydeside area of Glasgow. She achieved her goal and produced 500 copies of the book, of which 400 have already sold.
Inspired by her success, she wanted to write more books, and by happenstance, a friend pointed her toward AWC. She joined and saw more success entering competitions in the club and at the Scottish Association of Writers (SAW), where in March 2022, she won the under-sevens competition with her story, Granny came to Visit. A member of the adjudication panel was so impressed that they subsequently offered her a contract. In turn, this led to her second book, The Friendship Bench.
Marion’s passion for writing and getting her work out into the world is evident, and the fact that she published her first book entirely on her own is a testament to her determination and focus. Marion shared, though, that promoting her work has required a great deal of effort. Even after being picked up by a publisher, she has had to invest time in visiting schools, libraries, and book shops. Regardless, her enormous satisfaction with her achievements is evident.
In contrast to Marion’s one-woman approach, Maggie and Greta, members of LiterEight, worked collaboratively to achieve their publishing goals. By combining their skills in writing and editing (the loss of Catherine Lang is still felt keenly by the group) and the costs, they formed a successful partnership which has now produced several books.
They began by writing three anthologies for Kindle Books which later became publications. Greta shared how she had written a story called Witch Hitch which, like Marion, won at SAW. Subsequently, Greta approached a very reluctant Maggie about illustrating it, which Greta eventually persuaded her to do. Further help from within AWC came from Alison Craig’s husband, a graphic designer, who helped to develop the look and feel of the book, which they went on to self-publish. Much like Marion, they have had to work hard at promoting the book, but the advantage is that the total cost of each sale returns to the authors. With encouragement from her family, Greta has created the cover of her latest book, Halloween Quest.
Carolyn O’Hara’s journey to publishing was very different. Carolyn shared the discovery of her Great Grandfather’s scrapbook, which contained hundreds of clips of articles he had written while editor of local newspaper The Ayrshire Post. It inspired her to write a book about his experiences, views, and insights into Victorian life and events at the end of the nineteenth century.
Carolyn initially tried the traditional publishing houses and got close to the book being picked up. Still, in the end, it was another chance encounter with a local publisher called Dane Love, which led to an introduction to Ayr’s local history group, (the Ayrshire Archaeological and Natural History Society), that proved successful. The committee of this group so liked Carolyn’s material that they offered to work with her and publish the book.
Carolyn explained that the support of the Society was invaluable. They provided images, made valuable suggestions and were even able to provide some additional research on the people who were the subject of her Great Grandfather’s articles. The Historical Society covered all the initial publishing costs of their usual print run, and Carolyn had the option to request additional books, the cost of which was shared equally. To date she has sold almost 200 additional copies.
Oculeus (the title of the book and her Great Grandfather’s pseudonym) has proved very successful, garnering interest from around the world. Carolyn reckons she was fortunate to get the support she did and says that this publishing route worked well for her work which might be considered niche.
Self-publishing is an ever more popular route for authors, but it has its pitfalls. Gavin Tudhope told the group about his experience with a large self-publishing company. After writing his first novel, Gavin approached them for a publishing contract and was accepted. He experienced huge frustrations with delays, poor-quality editing and graphic design, and broken promises about promoting the book. Gavin’s advice was clear. Be very careful about what this company offers; it does not provide a route into mainstream publishing. Nigel noted that for authors who just want to see their work in print, with no particular ambition beyond that might, find the company’s service suitable.
Helena Sheridan (also of LiterEight) provided insight into publishing with Amazon KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing). This platform allows authors to create an account, upload and edit manuscripts and images and publish on Amazon. It is yet another way to get your work in front of the buying public.
There are many options for getting your work published. Tonight, we explored self-publishing, approaching traditional publishers (large and small), seeking an agent, vanity (hybrid) publishing, and niche routes to publishing. They all have their pros and cons, and it’s a matter of choosing which one is right for your work.
One thing was clear, though, membership in the club has been pivotal in the journey of many members.
John Eden