How to get into DIY book publishing
Why a book? We think nothing of a band releasing a CD without a record deal. This is seen as evoking the post punk DIY approach of the 70s, taking back control of the music industry, and to a large extent it has worked very well. I wanted to use this same approach with writing and releasing a book. I would keep control of output myself. So going DIY without a publishing contract seemed the way forward. Or is it?
There is so much to know; page layout, ISBN numbers, legal copies to libraries, the list goes on. I managed to weave through all the above tasks, of sorts, with help and advice along the way.
There will be an eBook accompanying my publication. Although not as popular as downloading songs, downloading books is catching on and this will really reinvigorate the writers out there who haven’t got the money to self – publish. Check out Bookbaby, an off shoot of CDbaby. Their service gives everyone the opportunity to create a book very cheaply and anyone can download it, from anywhere. This is liberating. Free from the unseen shackles of multinational companies that publish books on the basis of commercial value and see individual expression as a unit of profit.
My book,’ Sustain your Ability to Satisfy’ will see the light of day this summer. The print on demand market place will support my dream and the dreams of many other emerging writers and artists out there. Your work is always valid, no matter how many people buy it. Your book doesn’t need to be printed in the thousands anymore, a hundred will do fine. And if a hundred people enjoy it, buy it, download it, it will be more than enough.
After taking away the sales element of publishing there is much to be enjoyed in putting a book together. A book I can be proud of is worth a hundred pints and a thousand kisses. We must embrace the DIY approach and not wait to be chosen. We must choose ourselves. We must create and be heard. A voice is still a voice, no matter how quiet or small.
‘Sustain your Ability to Satisfy’; the poems, screenplays and lyrics of Carl Antony Plover by Wasps Vs Humans will be released on Thursday 25th August 2011 with a launch and performance at Firkin Crane Theatre, Cork, Ireland.
590 total views, 1 today
