Peter Finch's Handbook

How To Publish Yourself

advice from Peter Finch's classic handbook on self-publishing
"By far the best guide to self-publishing in print" Writers' Monthly
"thoroughly recommended" Freelance Writing And Photography

The best up-to-the-minute advice for any author on the brink of going it alone. Information on setting yourself up, professional presentation, printing, design, desktop publishing and marketing and promotion, as well as much more. Savour the success stories of Timothy Mo and Jill Paton Walsh, and weigh up the pros and cons of publishing in other media, from CDs to videos to the World Wide Web. This a complete handbook that takes the total beginner from a scruffy manuscript to a finished, marketed and saleable book. If you have the ability to put up a shelf then you can produce the books to go on it. And the costs involved are not necessarily enormous.
Chapters cover:
Why get involved? Should authors publish themselves?
Historical precedents. Famous self-publishers of the past and their stories.
Present day self-publishing practitioners
The publishing scene
How to establish yourself as a publisher
What do books consist of?
How to prepare copy
Printing processes and how they work
Book design, not as arcane as you might think
How to make production cheaper
How to improve on basic print
Can't cope? Advice on where to get advice. There are helpers out there.
Desktop publishing is no such thing. How to use what it actually does
Selling. The most important thin in a book's career
Marketing and promotion
Alternatives to traditional book publication.
Poetry - a special case
If it can go wrong it will. Disaster recovery.
Plus two great appendices:
Organisations of interest (and use) to self-publishers
Book lists - what guide books are available and how can they help. An essential list
What readers said on Amazon:
"This is an excellent and very encouraging book written in a light, accessible style with just the right amount of humour. Every page has a wealth of useful tips and information and, having read it, I feel far more confident about becoming a self-publisher."
"I read this book from start to finish in two days, completely soaking up the information. It provides a guide on all the basics to self-publishing with enough information to explore the concept further. Peter Finch hits exactly the right note of encouragement to do it yourself."
"It is an almost step-by-step introduction that covers all of the important stuff you need to know ...... I wouldn't be without it"

Revised edition is available now
published by Allison & Busby
ISBN 0749003014. Paperback. £8.99ordering information