I’ve been tagged in The Next Big Thing by fellow writer Helen Hollick Website: www.helenhollick.net and main Blog: http://ofhistoryandkings.blogspot.com/ who writes historical fiction and pirate-based adventure. Helen reached the USA Today Bestseller list with her novel The Forever Queen in 2011.

I’m instructed by Helen to tell you all about my next book by answering these questions and then I tag four other authors about their Next Big Thing. So here I go!

What is the working title of your next book?

Princes in Exile

Where did the idea come from for the book?

 Princes in Exile is the third book in my Northern Crown Series. This series is set in the early years of Anglo Saxon England around AD 600 and follows the story of a young boy growing up in these – the darkest years of the dark ages when the Kingdom of Northumbria would rise to power.  The series started in the B.R.A.G medallion winning novel, The Amber Treasure. The third book takes up the story when Cerdic is now 23 and guiding a rag-tag band of refugees across a divided nation looking for allies and a plan for the future.

What genre does your book fall under?

Historical Fiction.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Chris Themsworth  (Thor) would be great for huge tough Eduard, Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy) might do a good Hussa, whislt William Mosely (Peter in the Chronicles of Narnia ) might work for Cerdic himself.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

No land, no crown, no plan …

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

Self published via my own independent publisher – Mercia Books 

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

I am still writing it. I expect the answer will be about 6 months.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

It is a similar style of books to the amazing Bernard Cornwell’s Alfred the Great series (although three hundred years earlier of course).

Who or What inspired you to write this book?

I have always found the Anglo-Saxon period fascinating but whilst the later period has its writers including Bernard Cornwell and Helen Hollick the early period does not have that many writers and many write from the point of view of the Welsh/ British not the English. These times are the birth pangs of the British nations as we know them today and I think there are a lot of stories about this time that should be retold.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

We look back from the vantage point of history and know that England came to exist, thrive and survive. But in AD 597 it was by no means certain that this would be the case. These are dangerous, chaotic, unpredictable times. Journey back with me to a point in history when the future is far from certain.

Here are some lovely authors I’ve tagged to tell you about their Next Big Thing! …..

Jane Brown author of the The Bitti Chai  http://janegray.webs.com/thebittichai.htm

Michelle Gent horror/thriller writer http://www.dmichellegent.co.uk/blog.html

Claire Kinton author of The Dead Game http://www.clairekinton.com/blog.html

Mick Pearson (details coming)

My thanks to Helen Hollick for Tagging me

Facebook: www.facebook.com/helen.hollick

& Twitter: http://twitter.com/HelenHollick

I am a self published writer OR possibly you could describe me as an Indie because I have my own publishing house, Mercia Books.

I have already blogged about how to self publish and how I went about doing it. What I wanted to touch on in this article was what I feel is critical to the self published writer – the need to build up a little team of people that bring their own expertise in order to publish well edited and well presented books.

The roles of the team members are dependant on what you can manage your self and where you need help. But you need to spend time finding the right people you can deal with in the way you want to deal with them. This often comes down to personalities, working habits and hours, ease of communication.

You can’t do it all alone!

What I want to say is that a self published author needs help to make a success out of publishing. If you use a self publishing company much of that might be done for you and providing you are content with the companies choice of cover artist and editor that is fine. However firstly you may prefer to use your own contacts and secondly, dependant on the company you may in fact find that you HAVE to source these your self or would prefer to.

What roles?

What roles am I talking about? Well this now depends on you. As author you have written the book. You have sweated blood over it and made it the best you are able. So you can write. The question is are you able to edit the book? Can you design the cover. How are you at IT? You may have some of these skills but it is unlikely that you have them all and even if you do, can you spare the time to do all of them.

Editing

This is a role that I would argue that you SHOULD NOT do yourself. Obviously as you write the book you will revise it several times and you will in fact undertake a lot of editing in the process. However you reach a point when you need to hand over the manuscript to someone else. There is no harm in bringing in First Readers to give you feedback and spot a glaring anomaly but eventually you need a professional editor to work through, chapter by chapter and scene by scene and help you polish the manuscript to the best it can be. Take a look at my article on the basics of editing fiction for more on this.

I personally use a superb editor called Jo Field (link on my website)

Cover Design

You may be able to do this your self if you possess the skills BUT a good graphic artist will be able to come up with ideas and suggestions to give you a cover that folk will pick up:

There is also more to design than just slapping a few images onto the page. If you are self publishing you may be dealing directly with a printer who will expect print ready files set out to strict specifications. In my case Avalon Graphics can do all that and provide me with a file for uploading to my printers.

Internal Artist and Drawings

In the case of The Last Seal, I engaged a sketch artist – Gill of Helion’s Art to draw the characters of The Last seal. These add interest and value to the book.

Promotional Material

Someone is going to have to design all those bookmarks, postcards etc that you want to be able to give away at Book Fairs, school visits or wherever. Again some folk may possess those skills but a decent graphic artist can manage all that for you.

You Tube Video

Book trailer videos are all the rage these days so finding someone to design and create one should be part of your plan.

Websites and blogs

The website and blog should be the focal point all your promotional material points to. But that means it MUST look good and work well. So bringing in a web designer is a sensible part of the plan.

Marketing Manager

You may decide to bring in a marketing manager to help manage your publicity campaign for you. These are not cheap and you need to weigh up the benefits against the costs.

E-book Maker

Converting doc manuscripts into e-books involves a few stages that some people may find too hard. If you lack the technical ability you may need to employ some-one to do this.

Printer and distributor.

If you are self-publishing via a company you probably do not need to worry about this. In my case, Mercia Books is a publisher and I use Lightning Source to print the books. They have a distribution arrangement with Amazon, the book depository and can ensure the book is listed on line. Getting it into book shops is vastly harder and usually relies on personal contacts or showing enough interest exists in the book.

So those are some of the elements and roles that I use and which provide THEIR expertise to helping produce books for Mercia Books.

Do you have other suggested job that you need to fill as a self published author?

Self-publishing – How I did it at Mercia Books

by Richard Denning

So you have written your book and are looking to get it published. In brief there are several choices of how to do it:

• Mainstream Publisher. Find an agent, impress him or her. They represent you to a publisher who likes your book, offers you a fat advance and takes your book and publishes it and then pays you royalties. You retire to the a sun drenched Island on the proceeds. This is the dream of course BUT it was always very hard to make this a reality and in these difficult times even more so. Put bluntly few publishers are taking on new writers and although it is absolutely sensible to try this route ( Get hold of the Writers and Artists Year Book to find listings of agents) it is very likely that even if you have a very marketable book you will fail to land a book deal. If you DO have a good book you need not give up hope. Read on.
• Small Press Publishers. There are many little publishing houses who offer assisted publishing options. You approach them and they will still need to be impressed by your book and feel it is a marketable option. So even if they think a book is good but they don’t think they can sell it they may reject you. Many of these publish 1 or 2 books a year so do not be surprised if they send you a 3 page rejection letter praising your book but saying it is not for them (I speak from experience here). If they do take you on it will be on the basis of NO ADVANCE payment and reduced Royalties. So only if the book sells with you get much from it. On the other hand they will offer professional services which may include editing and cover design (or you may have to do some of that yourself) and will sort out typesetting, printing and distribution for you and SOME marketing. Small Press Publishers are often interested in a NICHE area eg Welsh Poetry or Italian Romane Novels so research is needed. Check out: http://www.pw.org/small_presses
• Vanity Press (Subsidy Press). The internet abounds with services offering to print your book for you for a upfront fee which is usually substantial.  Quite often there is some offer of editing and cover design thrown in but the quality varies a lot. In many cases you will either have to pay  a lot OR commit to buying say 50  or 100 books, at a cost of (for example: £10 to 20 each). They usually have NO distribution, meaning that they don’t list your books in the ISBN databases NOR do they organise distribution via Amazon etc. They will normally do very little to publicise the books although they will often promise to. The way they make money FROM Authors and NOT from book sales so they don’t  care if you sell any books. The ONLY advantage of these services is that if you have NO IT skills at all you can get a book published but at a high per unit cost, often with limited come back if there are errors and with no support for sales or marketing. It’s just cost you £1000 and you have a box of books, possibly printed upside down and that might well be it. This route is NOT advised.
• Print on Demand. If you have SOME IT skills then a better option is the partial Self Publishing Route of using Lulu.com or Completely Novel or similar services. I used these services in late 2009 and Early 2010 when I was just starting out self-publishing. They offer an online service where you upload your word document (possibly preset to a certain page size) and they convert to the print ready PDF.You can design a cover online using stock art, upload a full cover or engage a cover artist. There may be a small cost per title to set it up but it will only be a few pounds. After that costs are ONLY accrued when you ORDER books from them. They have access to distribution networks (at an additional cost often) and will supply Amazon. The main draw backs are the PER UNIT costs are often high and you will have to sell your books at too high a price to be marketable. So they are a good option for short runs, where you just want a few books to give to friends or sell at clubs etc but not ideal if you are serious about attracting sales. Never the less a good way in to the self publishing buisiness and not a bad way to get copies in order to garner reviews on your books.
• Self Publishing. Full self publishing is when you set yourself up as a Publisher, get your own ISBNs and get the books printed via a printer. There are some printers such as Lightning Source and Anthony Rowe which will ONLY deal with you if you are a Publisher. Once you are they will connect to the distribution networks directly for you. The other option is to get the books printed by any old printer and then handle distribution your self. The term Indie or Independant Publisher applies to small publishing concerns often individuals or small groups publishing just a few titles.

Above:  A Small Press Publisher in 1903.

Mercia Books

A quick guide to becoming an Indie Publisher

So then about February 2010 I decided I was going to SELF PUBLISH. I was going to enter the work of the Independent publisher. How did I go about it. Well it was  bumpy round but here are some pointers to make it easier for you.

1. Before you start publishing anything I strongly recommend engaging the services of a Professional Line editor. These will go through your book and help you polish it into a professional product. Your Aunt Flo does not count as she is A) Not objective and B)Probably not a Professional Editor. You can read about the sorts of skills that an editor brings and the type of errors she will look for here: Helen Hollick and JO Field’s Guide to Polishing your manucsript. Jo is my editor and is superb. You can find a link to her on my website. http://www.richarddenning.co.uk
2. To further enhance the book you need a good cover artist. I use Avalon Graphics. Cathy there also did my websites and publicity material. You CAN judge a book by its cover and we all make our first judgement based on the cover.
3. Go to the Nielsen website and register as a publisher. http://www.isbn.nielsenbook.co.uk/controller.php?page=123 is the New Publisher page there. Nielsen handle registration as a NEW Publisher and also allocate your ISBNs. All books need International Standard Book Numbers if they are to be available on Amazon, show up on various biographical registers etc. For £118 you can become a Publisher and get 10 numbers. Just down load and fill in the forms. I found Nielsen very approachable and the lady I corresponded with really helpful.
4. Now you are a Publisher you need a printer. You can go and talk to local printers OR use a professional book printer. I use Lightning Source. A word of caution here. Lightning source is NOT for novices, You MUST be able to supply Print Ready PDF using Adobe Professional not just a Home version. See http://www.adobe.com. This means you have to be able to FORMAT the word document to size it right. Lightning source will not talk to you if you are not a publisher and even then they will try and persuade you to use Lulu or someone else. But if you convince them that you have the skills and ability to cope then they take you on. You will have to sign contracts to set up payment routes as well as distribution agreements in the UK, UK and Europe.
5. Download and read the extensive notes and guides on the LS site on converting WORD to PDF, how to set up titles etc. Ready to set up a title here we go:

Setting Up  Title

1.Click on Library, set up Title. Select Full Distribution OR Print to Publisher (the first if you want to access Amazon etc). Then fill in this page with books Name, author etc.:

#

2. Go onto the next page where you have to set up the books size and type – paperback or Hardback, choose the price and set up the description and options for where you want it available.

3. When you have done this get onto the cover artists and send them a template. Once you have setup the title LS will generate a cover template with the ISBN in and bar code etc. Send that to the artist.

4. Open your word document. Its probably in A4 size. You need to set the size to match the dimensions of the book you just set up on LS. Set margins to maybe 13mm, make sure you have  a gutter (the wider bit of the page that is always on the side. Make sure that you set up the book with mirror pages. Play around with fonts for your titles, page number styles and location etc.  Make sure the book STARTS on the right hand side and all chapters start on a right side page. make sure the text is Justified – aligned to left and right . Only having text left aligned is a sign of an amateur (my early books did that!!). Then PRINT to PDF but go in and change settings as per the LS instructions on PDF format. This is where you need Adobe Pro. Make sure Fonts are embedded.

5. Upload the PDF and the cover PDF to your title and submit. LS will crunch the files for a couple of days and then the title will show up as Proof Approved assuming there are no issues). Order a proof (£21 cost)and in a few days you have a copy of you book. Approve the title and in 2 weeks it shows up on Amazon but you can immediately order copies from LS. Get started with promotion and linking in Sales buttons on your website (a whole other subject)

How much does it costs to take this approach?

Setting Up costs: Buy cover design off Artist (price ? £100-£400)

Cost of editing by editor (£250 to £500)

(Lets say £500 for above – you CAN get cheaper but have to be sure about quality)

Purchase ISBN c £10

Setup cover cost at LS £21

Setup Book Block cost at LS £21

Keep ISBN on catalogue at Lightning Source £7 (per year)

Get into Ingrams catalogue £20 for UK and same for US = £40

Order Proof x 1 = £21

Setup costs = £620.

Then cost of printing a book would be somewhere between £2 and £8 dependant on the length, type of books and the quantity you order. Offset printing is traditional stype printing. It is VERY cheap per unit if you can sell 2000. But if you can you can print at £2 or so per book.

If you only want say £100 books you might be looking at £4 for a 350 page book.

At first glance you might say “Hang on a minute, 100 books just cost you £1020. Thats the same as that Vanity publisher – what’s the advantage?”

Well a lot of that £1000 I spent via Mercia Books went on a professional edit and a good cover so I am happy that quality is good. I also have full distribution and my books will show up on Amazon and CAN be ordered by book shops if desired. Best of all I am in control. Every aspect of the process I can monitor. If I don’t like the cover I tell Avalon etc

You can see my books via my author page here: http://www.richarddenning.co.uk/

Or Via Mercia Books here: http://www.merciabooks.co.uk/

My spring Newsletter is out now with news on Pre orders for Yesterday’s Treasures, the New edition of The Amber Treasures plus lots of up coming events of interest to lovers of books and games. Go to http://mim.io/5af7f to read it.

The defeat that shook the Victorian World

The Anglo-Zulu war of 1879 started with a great defeat for the British invaders. On the 22nd January 20,000 Zulu’s overwhelmed a force of 1800 British and allies on the plain beneath the mountain of Isandlwana and destroyed it. An entire battalion of British Infantry was wiped out to the last man. It was a defeat that stunned a Victorian Britain which was used to victory and conquest.

This battle, along with the stubborn and heroic defence of Rorke’s Drift the following night by the British garrison there, has always been of interest to me as it seems to exemplify the heights of human heroism (exhibited by both sides) coupled with the depths of folly and horrors that only war can bring.

Background

The origins of the conflict with the Zulus in 1879 have strange parallels with the conflicts in the gulf and the Middle East. In fairly recent times the US and allies’ interventions in the gulf have been seen by some as spurred on by a concern about access to oil. Whether that is true or not the British government in Cape Town back then did not take much interest in the interior of South Africa and much less Zululand until diamonds and other resources were discovered there. Suddenly in the 1870s efforts and policies were introduced aimed towards confederation of the various colonies under a strong British rule.

Amongst the territories brought under the British Crown was Natal and the Boer’s homeland of Transvaal. The Boer’s main enemy and rival was the strong and powerful independent nation that had arisen under Shaka Zulu in the 1830’s. A nation that could put 25,000 warriors in the field was a threat to the security of Transvaal and so ultimately all of South Africa. Or at least THAT is the way that Sir Henry Frere – the British governor – looked at it.

Frere sent Cetshwayo – the Zulu King a series of demands and ultimatums insisting that he disband his army and allow a British governor into his capital Ulundi. Frere knew that Cetshwayo would never agree to that and when the Zulu King declined his demands, the British general Chelmsford was ordered to invade.

Chelmsford’s original plan envisaged splitting his army into 5 columns which would invade and converge on Ulundi. Chelmsford himself accompanied the central columns (II and III). They marched to the mission station at Rorke’s Drift and on 11th January began the invasion. It would have been better to have waited a few weeks as in January there was heavy rain and as a result moving a large army with baggage and artillery would take a long time. However Frere was eager to have the matter resolved and so the British went in. The result was that it took many days for the central column to assemble fully inside Zululand at a base Chelmsford has established beneath an odd shaped mountain called Isandlwana.

What Happened

Cetshwayo heard of the invasion soon after it had begun and on 17th January ordered 24,000 men to move towards Isandlwana, although some 4000 splitt off to move towards Column I. On 21st January the Zulu Impi had arrived near the British camp. Chelmsford’s scouts had seen it approach but could not fix its location precisely so on the 22nd Chelmsford decided to take half his force away on a march to try and locate the enemy.

This left Major Pulliene – a staff officer and administrator in the base with his 1700 men. Chelmsford had refused to order the camp to form into a laager – a reinforced camp with wagons around the outside, trenches and thorn bushes pulled into impede attack. He did not feel it was neccesary and was scathing of threat posed by the Impi.

This mistake would prove to be costly for the Zulu commander had out maneouvered Chelmsford and whilst the British general was chasing around trying to locate him, the Impi moved forward in redinness to fall on Pulleine.

The crunch happened when a patrol of Natal mounted trops attached to the British command moved out of the camp to scout some valleys to the north east. There in a valley within a couple of miles of the camp was the entire Zulu army. As one the zulus rose up and attacked the fleeing horsemen and followed them up and out onto the plain.

Pulleine formed the 24th Foot up into firing lines and the British Infantry began puring volleys from their Martini Henry Rifles into the enemy ranks. The zulus fell in droves but still came on- massing and waiting to charge. Actually the redcoats held the vast numbers away for a long time but then something went wrong.

Around 1.15 pm that day the Natal irregular companies out on the British right wing were outflanked and fell back. More or less at that moment Pulleine was ordering the Regular companies to pull back to shorten their line. There was also a shortage of ammunition reaching the forward companies. There was a vast supply in the camp but for some reason these were not being handed out quickly enough. A combination of these factors meant that the previously pinned Zulu Impi was able to charge the British line.

Gaps appeared in the companies, then the gaps widened as the warriors surged through them. In a matter of fifteen minutes the Zulu army overwhelmed the British and the wings of the Impi swung into deny escape to all save a lucky 80 or so men. The colour party with the regimental and the Queen’s flag wrapped the flags around the chests of two officers who made a bid to reach the Buffalo river. Their bodies were later found in the river, where they had fallen.

It was all over in a flash and the British had suffered a huge defeat.

Aftermath

Cetshwayo had ordered that the Impi should NOT invade Natal and should stop on his side of the border. However a few thousand Zulus who had not fought at Isandlwana decided to attack the British base at the mission station of Rorke’s Drift. Throughout the night of the 22nd to 23rd January they led repeated attacked against a single company of British that fortified it. 11 Victoria crosses would be handed out for the bravery of officers and men on the 24th Foot stationed there. The Zulus broke of the attack in the morning.

Cetshwayo had missed two opportunities to inflict a decisive defeat. His Impi had not attacked the column under Chelmsford, nor captured Rorke’s Drift. As a result, the war was not yet over.

News of the defeat at Isandlwana reached London on 11th February and caused an uproar. It literally stunned the nation and even the Queen demanded to know why her soldiers were fighting the Zulus.  It  is small wonder then that the subsequent news of Rorke’s drift arriving hot on the heels of the disaster was greeted with enthusiasm.

Nevertheless the defeat lead to a calling off of the of the January invasion. It would be June before the British army would be in a state to resume the war and July before the Impi was defeated at the battle of Ulundi. Cetshwayo was captured by the British in August but, perhaps in recognition of the bravery of his army, was treated pretty well, became something of a celebrity in London and was allowed to live on a pension for the rest of his life. His Kingdom, however, was absorbed into the British Territory of South Africa.

So then, a terrible battle and a tragic outcome for a brave warrior people. It remains a dramatic moment in history.

In Tomorrow’s Guardian, Edward Dyson – a officer in the 24th, is believed perished in the battle. Tom and his companion Septimus travel back in time to rescue him and bring him to the present day.

Find out more about Tomorrow’s Guardian as well as listen to an account of the battle and the rescue of Edward here:

http://www.richarddenning.co.uk/tomguard.html

Tom Oakley experiences disturbing episodes of déjà-vu and believes he is going mad.

Then he discovers that he’s a “Walker” – and can transport himself to other times and places.

Tom dreams about other “Walkers” in moments of mortal danger: Edward Dyson killed in a battle in 1879; Mary Brown who perished in the Great Fire of London; and Charlie Hawker, a sailor who drowned on a U-boat in 1943.

Agreeing to travel back in time and rescue them, Tom has three dangerous adventures, before returning to the present day. But Tom’s troubles have only just begun. He finds that he’s drawn the attention of evil individuals who seek to bend history to their will.

Soon, Tom’s family are obliterated and Tom must make a choice between saving them and saving his entire world.

Tomorrow’s Guardian is a Young Adult Fantasy Novel.

Tomorrow’s Guardian Paperback publication date: 27 December 2010
ISBN: 9780956483560 (Hourglass Institute Series Book 1)

Reviews:

What Robert James says about Tomorrow’s Guardian:

‘Richard Denning, … keeps the action fast and furious for the 400 or so pages of the book. Diving in and out of time, and in and out of the Twisted Reality (the other universe), there’s never a dull moment as the inevitable confrontation with the evil Redfeld, villain of the piece, comes closer and closer.’

‘I recommend it to readers around Tom’s age, many of whom I confidently expect to absolutely love it. ‘

Read the full review here: http://thebookbag.co.uk/reviews/index.php?title=Tomorrow’s_Guardian_by_Richard_Denning

I recieved Tomorrows Guardian on Thursday and my youngest James (10) and I are reading it together. It’s causing bedtime issues in that he wants to read more than time allows.

Great story. Sue Rankin

Flamingnet (US Teen Fiction website)

Teens will love this book because they can relate to Tom who is their age and very believable. Since Tom is from another country, the reader has a chance to travel to another place. With Tom’s time traveling, the reader gets taken to a different time too.

Full  review here:
http://www.flamingnet.com/bookreviews/newreviews/newbookreview.cfm?title=Tomorrows%20Guardian&CFID=43812585&CFTOKEN=13523675

Coming spring 2011, The Hourglass Institute book 2: Yesterday’s Treasures

Everyone is searching for pieces of ‘The Crown of Knossos:’ historical artefacts which when assembled allow control over all of history in this and in the Twisted reality. The Hourglass Institute, Redfeld’s masters and even the Directorate are soon in the hunt. One by one the pieces are found but eventually Tom and the others discover who is really after The Crown and what their motivations are.

Then they realise the extent of the danger, for ‘Yesterday’s Treasures’ can mean the destruction of tomorrow.

Find out more: http://www.tomorrowsguardian.com/

The logo for Mercia Books.

Like many many people I have written several novels with more on the way. Also, like many many people, I have tried to get an agent and a publisher with varying levels of success and interest. It is a hard time to get published but there are other options.

Having been writing for 10 years I decided a year ago to take the plunge. I was going to have a go at self publishing.

What followed was a voyage of discovery, errors, disasters and successes in pretty equal measure but I feel that I have learnt quite a lot in this 12 months so I thought I would share some of it.

What I did
Having tried to get published and not hooking an agent I enrolled with a Literary Consultancy in Oxford. What followed was a passing back and forth of a manuscript for The Last Seal. Over the course of 6 months the book improved dramatically from them making comments and suggestions and me redrafting and passing it back to them. The only down side to this is it does cost money. Having a consultant discuss and advise on a manuscript will cost a few hundred pounds. That said I do think I learned quite a bit about writing and the final MS was much better. It was good enough indeed to be sent for by a publisher who although rejecting me did send a 3 page letter discussing its merits and areas of improvement and asking me to send more material.

Most importantly I now felt that I COULD write. I was starting to learn the ropes.

Later I took on an editor and the MS improved even more. Indeed the most important lesson of all is get the MS professionally edited before you send it to agents and publishers and before you publish it. It can transform a book from fair to good to even great.

OK, so I now had a decent MS and I used the same approaches I had learnt from this process to sharpen my other books.

Now what? I researched self publishing. There appeared to be 3 ways to do it:
1) Use a company who would do all the work, even create a book cover design as well as laying the text out. These though can be costly and often do little to promote your book. That said it is the easiest approach if you lack IT skills. An example of such a company are Author House.
2)Use an online self publishing service such as Lulu and Completely Novel. In both cases you upload a work document and the online tool converts it for you. You do have to lay out the text a bit but don’t need to know about PDFs etc. You can design a cover online and use stock images or upload an image. In both cases quality is fair. The problem with Lulu is it is US based and although it can print in the UK any online sales via Lulu are in the states which brings in US Tax issues. Completely Novel are UK based and very helpful and supportive. This approach is a middle way in that you get more control and can keep costs under control  BUT the per volume costs are fairly high and paperbacks are likely to sell on Amazon for at least £12. That is too high IMHO.
3)Become a publisher. I did this in the end. It is actually not that hard. First register via Nielsen and get 10 ISBNs (book numbers). Then approach Lightning Source or Anthony Rowe or even other printers. LS and AR will sort out registering your books with Nielsen. If you go to a printer direct you will need to do that yourself.
You need to register the books so that they appear in the book distribution lists at Bertrams, Gardners etc and so are available to book shops. Then you create a PDF of your book and a PDF of the cover following exacting instructions. This is technical and you will have to read the extensive notes provided by LS (in my case) to learn how. One piece of advice – DO NOT PUBLISH IN HARDBACK. This is costly and a major mistake I made.

Now you order the books. When they arrive you start to market them. This can be done locally at shops, hauling yourself around craft and book fairs and MOST importantly ONLINE (see later). This is HARD work and takes a lot of time and effort but if you chip away at it a little a day you can get some interest.

What I recommend
TAKE YOUR TIME and don’t rush.
Firstly work and work at that manuscript. Polish and polish. Put it to one side. Leave it 2 weeks and then read it fresh. Then when it is as good as can be, get an editor to work on it and polish it. YOU ALL NEED this. Think I am wrong? All published authors have editors. You need one. Believe me.

Then try the agents and publishers. If you cannot hook one it does not mean the stuff is poor. Publishers take on only a minute number of new writers. You don’t fit their list but that does not mean readers wont like it. When you have decided to proceed in self publishing, research around the subject. The Authonomy website has useful advice in its forums. Read up on Lulu, check out self publishing companies. Be careful – there are rogues out there. If in doubt go on Authonomy (a website of authors) and ask about the company.

Find out if you can cope with creating professional book blocks or if you want someone else to do it.
Consider engaging the services of a book cover artist to help there unless you have talent.

MARKET the book.
This is a whole subject in itself and there are hundreds of websites with advice. Be careful you don’t spend too much money on books, courses or guides that promise to tell you the secrets of becoming a best selling author. Much can be done for free.
Get on Facebook and engage with people. Get on Forums in your subject. Blog a bit around your subject.
Create a really cool website. Make Utube videos. Make e-book versions and get them on Kindle. Learn about search engines and how they work. See about doing talks locally. Keep an eye out for clubs, locations etc that might be interested in the book.
I will try and do a longer piece on this BUT YOU MUST MARKET THE BOOK.
If people don’t know about it they wont buy it.

That is it for now. More on this another time.

Richard Denning is a historical fiction and historical fantasy writer. Find out more about his books here:
http://www.richarddenning.co.uk/
He also writes occasional book and board game reviews and online articles on historical and gaming related topics. He owns his own small publishing house Mercia Books and is part of a board game design house Medusa Games.

A keen player of board games and other games Richard is one of the directors of UK Games Expo (the UK’s largest hobby games convention). He is a board game designer and his first Board Game ‘The Great Fire on London 1666’ was published by Medusa Games and Prime Games in October 2010.