I've written nine books under my own name, seven under other people's. Now I'm publishing another one - Fest, a murder mystery set at a literary festival. Getting it ready for pub day - today, 3 July - is the same old process: check proofs, send them off, wait for finished copies, then get ready to put modesty on the back burner and promote the damn thing. Only this time it isn't quite the same, because I'm self-publishing.
I've set up a small imprint, Prospero Press (named after the street where I live). I also like the fact that it sounds established. "Prospero, ah yes," people say to me, until I point out that this particular firm hasn't published a book before. Then their expressions change. "Ah yes," they repeat, in a slightly different tone. "Self-publishing, I see." Later they may tell me I'm brave.
Of course, on both print and ebook I get no advance, and there are set-up costs. I've paid out for a copy editor, jacket design, typesetting and formatting, though all these things are surprisingly inexpensive (formatting an ebook costs around £60). But it's not all about money. It's also about creative freedom and control. As an agent friend recently pointed out, an author now needs to sell a book six times: to their agent, on to the editor at a publisher, in-house to the sales and marketing guys (who call so many of the shots these days), to the reps, to the bookshops, and finally to the public. Self-publishing skips five of these steps. I am selling here, straight to you. If you're interested in Fest (an excellent summer read, my publishers tell me) two clicks on your mobile will have it on your doorstep by tomorrow lunchtime.