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‘A prominent success story is G P Taylor. A self-professed “fat, 43-year-old vicar” he self-published his children’s fantasy novel, Shadowmancer, in 2002, aiming to sell “about 200 copies” through the local independent bookshop. One reader sent a copy to The Times, which declared the book “Hotter than Potter”. Taylor was then snapped up by a publisher, and Shadowmancer topped the British book charts for 15 weeks. Between his book deals (he’s signed up to write 11 books) and film rights, Taylor is set to make £12m.’
‘Self-publishing companies are offering all sorts of packages for the budding author. The likes of Grosvenor House Publishing offer a bespoke service with personal advice on publishing and design during the processing period and include obtaining ISBN numbers and other services.’
‘One other site with a different business model is Grosvenor House Publishing, They offer a bespoke service including add-ons (such as jacket design and marketing) that cost extra with other companies. It looks as though the publishing industry could be in line for a much needed shock. Vanity publishing is dead. Long live print on demand.’
– Today ‘Scribblers are doing it for themselves’
‘It does happen. Look at GP Taylor, author of the children’s novel Shadowmancer, which was bought by Faber in 2003. He now has a £3.5m six-book deal, and a film deal worth millions. The American rights to Shadowmancer were sold for £314,000, rumoured to be more than three times JK Rowling’s cheque for the American publication of the first Harry Potter story.
Taylor, was a 43-year old vicar in Cloughton, North Yorkshire. He was advised that no publisher would touch his tale of good and evil set on the North-East coast in the 18th-century. So he sold his motorbike and published Shadowmancer himself for £3,500. After selling 2,500 copies in a month, largely through word-of-mouth, he was recommended to the agent who signed JK Rowling to Bloomsbury. The rest is a self-publishing dream come true. Self-publishing has come a long way in the last five years or so, once seen suspiciously as another form of vanity publishing, it is now increasingly viewed as a respectable way for authors to get a foot on the publishing ladder.’
The Guildford Magazine
‘…and there are simply aren’t enough eyes to survey them. Authors are waiting months, even years, for their masterpieces to be read. Furthermore, in an industry in which marketing is arguably becoming more important than editorial content, many submissions are rejected simply because they don’t reflect the current trend for bumper, thought-provoking thrillers, overweight ‘chick lit’ heroines or wizarding adolescent boys. A self publishing company called Grosvenor House Publishing charges authors the cost of manufacturing a book, while the author retain the freedom to set their own print run, royalty rates, cover image and title, and are also responsible for marketing their precious words.’