How I became a published author

Hi everyone! Been a bit too busy to update for the last week. Well now you are talking to a published author and I have to say, it feels really great! Since I recieved my first consignment of books from the printers last Tuesday, its been nonstop, I've been such a regular at my little post office that now they know exactly what I'm doing when I appear in there. I've even sent books off to really kind people in the US, Canada, Australia and Germany who have kindly paid the £10 postage to buy a signed copy. I feel really blessed. This is what I've always wanted to do (even when I didnt remember that it was something I wanted to do) all my life. Ive also been delivering them myself in person and have nearly run out of books! I  know that some people are buying through the books on line so I think I'm doing well for the first week. I've been going around with such a big smile on my face that my cheeks ache! Anyway here are a few questions that you might be wanting to ask about my book.
So, who am I published with?  SilverWood books . They are an assisted publishing company and they offer a range fo services with plenty of advice and support for anyone thinking about publishing their work. The Team there are friendly and helpful   Yes, you do pay for the service, but its worth it. It really felt like I was being valued and my concerns and wishes for my book were listened to on every level. I cant thank them enough for the work they've done for me and if anyone is  looking for someone to help them publish their book and are willing to pay for it, I would definitely recommend them.

What is assisted publishing?Elena Ransley gives a good description of the definition of assisted publishing and the difference between the different types of publishing. I dont agree on one point however, becasue as far asI am concerned, I am not self published, I wrote the book, edited and proofread it, obtained my own designer for my images and the lovely people at SilverWoods copy edited and set it for printing. I would rather refer to myself as Indie published because I am not with a main stream publishing company and am free to go wither I desire if I wanted to, not that I would because why would I want to if I am getting a great service from them?

Did I submit to an agent or a mainstream publisher? No, I didnt. I considered it and bought the Writers' and Artists Year Book, however after searching through what looked like a complete nightmare, trying to sort out the chaff from the wheat, I decided that this was going to be a very stressful process and that was something I could really do without. Plus I really couldnt be doing with all that 'suffering for one's art' thing, sending off your hard work to publisher and agent after publisher and agent only to have them rejected if they bothered to reply at all.

Why did I choose to go Assisted Publishing? I found out about SilverWood Books through another well-established writer who had decided to publish with them. When I mentioned to them that I was thinking of self-publishing and asked her what she thought of ****.com, she advised me that if I wanted to do it properly and professionally, try SW books. Because I did want to do it properly and professionally, I approached Helen Hart, the director, and haven't looked back since, although it took me awhile to gather the finances. It was a hard decision because I had always been led to believe that successful authors didnt pay the publishing company, they paid you and I once read an article that you should never pay anything to an agent or a publisher! I've since found out that the world of books is changing. The thing I liked about Assisted Publishing, I get pretty much complete control over my book. Helen and the team  'suggest' things but it was up to me, if I wanted to take their advice, I could but if I didnt, it was okay. I was never pressured into anything. I also had my own artist for the cover images, their Design Team did the rest. Whats more they were very open to my ideas and that's often something you dont always get with mainstream where they tell you what they want taken out of your book, changed or put it. Also, I have been quite out off by some of the historical front covers I've seen with parts of heads missing and a totally inauthentic person dressed in the wrong time period for your book. Maybe that is the re-enactor coming out in me, but it can put me off a book when I see that.

So, for anyone thinking about publishing and is fed up with lack of interest from the big publishing houses and agents, please think carefully about self publishing and how you self publish. There are plenty of self publishing sites out there with templates etc but no proof readers or editors and I've seen some doozies! If you want to get published, look for a company like SilverWoods who offer everything a mainstream publisher would, professionalism, except with SilverWoods, you get a say in what goes in and on your book!

Sons of the Wolf is available here at SilverWood Books and on Amazon, Waterstones and The Book Depository. Soon available on Kindle