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This interview tells the stroy of Miriam Wakerly, author of Gypsies Stop tHere. She decided to skip the traditional route of proposals and rejections and set up her own publishing company. Find out how she established a distribution chain and tried to overcome the biggest hurdle – getting a book into a bookshop.

Tell us a bit about you and your writing.

I write because it is what I love to do. Once I used to write short stories and have them published in magazines like Love Story, True Romance and a few others – so long ago I can’t remember the names of them. I have also had many articles published on a crazy range of subjects, but really it’s the novel that I particularly revel in. A novel gives you freedom to really get to know your characters, and see them grow and develop.

Your route to publication was unusual! Can you explain what happened?

As I explained on The Write Lines, BBC Oxford 22 November, I had wasted so much time, energy and the rest on submitting manuscripts in the past, I decided I could not go through this process again. Many – in fact, most – writers have rejections, but this time, rather than being downhearted and negative the time seemed right to go for the self-publishing option.

I read many books on the process and explored other options, such as lulu.com; ‘service providers’ like Authorhouse; and digital print. I wanted to keep costs to a minimum so I did as much as I could myself. With the help of readers who critiqued the novel I finally prepared the text for the printer and off it went. This was quite a nailbiting time! I did have a few copies produced digitally first which was a useful interim measure.

I am now a publisher – albeit a tiny one – as well as a writer. I set up my own publishing company, Strongman Publishing, but do not plan to publish anything except my own books.

How did you approach the problems of distribution and marketing on a limited budget?

With an ISBN number any book automatically gains a place on the database accessed by booksellers and libraries. It also appears on Amazon rather magically! You can then add ‘product details’. I registered with Nielsen’s the distributor and Gardners the wholesaler. Book signings helped me get orders and sometimes local press coverage. Other shops order the book if someone places an order with them; or if I contact them with some topical or geographical link that might suggest they should get a few copies in. It certainly does not happen automatically! And can be time consuming, when I really want to be writing.

Marketing can be rather hit and miss. I produce flyers and have a website www.strongmanpublishing.com. In recent months I have been quite active on Twitter and have the blog, Miriam’s Ramblings. I should be writing more press articles.

Everyone has to find their own way on this, according to the type of book. I have a niche market I reach in a very personal way: people and organisations connected to my theme. The largely untapped wider reading public are probably unaware of my book, which is where the experience and clout of a large publisher and an agent would undoubtedly help.

Am I correct in saying that getting a book into a book shop is not an automatic process and is rather difficult for smaller publishers and self published writers?

I think this is the biggest hurdle. As I said, my book has been ordered by bookshops for book signings for some other specific reason. There are so many thousands of new books that, even with the enhanced service provided by Nielsen Book Data where the publisher can provide extra details on the database, your book will not necessarily be bought in and stocked.

Marketing is a two-way process – national awareness through media coverage will stimulate interest; demand will encourage booksellers to stock; then its presence in the bookshop will result in more sales. It’s rather a circular thing but difficult to jump onto this roundabout!
Larger publishers, I believe, will have the funds to take a certain amount of financial risk. By this I mean bestsellers may well subsidise investment in a less well-known writer – in paying for the 3 for 2 offers for example, or some other promotion. Someone will correct me if I’m wrong but this is what I have been told.