The catch

You might think, reasonably, that a writer's work ends when he, or she, finishes writing his, or her, book. This was the view of Maggie Gee. So it came as a shock when her editor at HarperCollins turned down her fifth book because not enough people had heard of her and this was an age when "profile" counted. Like many writers, Maggie had shown no special interest in the "literary set". She had concentrated on writing and her home life. Maggie's dismal encounter with her mainstream publisher is told in her new book, My Animal Life, and quoted in the Guardian. She is now published by a small independent publisher. Many writers who now find the world of mainstream publishers impenetrable have done the same. I am among them. The publisher of my new novel, Five Deadly Words, is Solidus. The book is sold either by direct order or though Amazon, which after all is the world's biggest bookshop. I believe the best publicity is by word of mouth. Distribute some copies of your book to people you know to be readers in the hope that they will like the book and recommend it to a friend. It takes time to show results but be patient.