My new book and some thoughts on self-publishing

WORDS BY CHARLIE GLADSTONE
PHOTOS BY RHYS JONES

My new book came out last month.

At the beginning of January, I didn’t know that I was going to write it, but here we are, now it’s done.

This is my third book. The first (written with Caroline) was published by Random House in 2012, and the next one by the Do Book Co a few years ago.

And now I have Real Wild Heaven, 22,000 Years of Glen Dye, which is part historical fiction, part musing on the fleeting nature of life and the importance of family, part memoir of a place, part geography lesson, and part opinion piece on land owning. It includes photos, illustrations and music recommendations.

In some ways I think it’s unlike anything else ever published. This may or may not be a good thing of course. You’ll be the judge of that.

I rarely think that anything I do is any good, which is not an entirely uncommon trait in people who make/build things. I am much better at looking forwards to the next thing or how we improve the last one, than I am at wallowing in the success of what I have done.

But I am happy with this book, and now I am putting myself out there and inviting you all to see what you think. I’m pretty self-confident, and very comfortable in my own skin, but publishing this book makes me a little nervous.

What if the book’s rubbish? Will everyone think I’m vain or thick, self-satisfied or pompous? Will I annoy other landowners (probs), have I been harsh on people I loved?

Well, others will be the judge of that. Let’s see.

Now, back to the book’s inception.

Last year I started working on a book about the importance of objects in my life, from material things to landmarks, clothes to heirlooms. I wrote a fair bit, but it never quite gelled. I kept on chipping away but couldn’t achieve a meaningful take off.

Then in January I read The Wax Child by the esteemed Danish poet and author Olga Ravn, and I understood what I wanted to write; not specifically, but what I wanted it to feel like.

And so off I went. Boom!

For the next six weeks, when I wasn’t working, I was writing or thinking about writing this book. It completely consumed my spare time; weekends, nights, early mornings, dreams; walking, driving, listening. It would be an understatement to say I was obsessed. I think I might have exhausted myself in quite profound ways (don’t worry, bounce back now underway!).

Glen Dye has been deep in my psyche all of my life, so the book has had a long gestation, but the birth was super quick.

Next, I decided to self-publish. Clearly there are both advantages and disadvantages to this. My previous experience of working with esteemed publishers was richly rewarding, but I wanted to do it myself this time for the following reasons.

I was lucky to have contacts with serious editors, a copy editor and designer and a clear vision on what I wanted the book to look and feel like.

And I wasn’t sure anyone else would want it, or at least not a large publisher. I no longer have literary agent and couldn’t be bothered to find one/hawk the book myself.

Then, I wanted to get it out there in case I lost my nerve and decided it isn’t good enough.

Now, some more practical reasons. I was specific about the design and self-publishing gives me a strong element of control in this regard. Then, we do have access to quite a large number of people via our various newsletters; people who are on some level at least interested in what we do.

And the economics are quite tempting; low financial risk, potentially decent rewards. I know for sure that it won’t lose money, and with thousands of guests staying at Glen Dye each year it should carry on selling for some time.

There has been much written about the changing landscape of publishing. It seems to me that the viability of self-publishing is increasing, and should you have a book in mind this is a viable route to getting your work out there.

Finally, some of the economics of publishing are interesting.

We made a really good amount from our first book. My second one sells modestly, and I make a few hundred pounds a year from it. Both have led to other valuable work, both were perfect experiences, and I am lucky to have made any money from my writing.

Someone sent me some reliable figures on what authors make on average a year, but I have now somehow lost that email. Further searches seem to suggest that the median income for authors is about £7000 per annum, which means that 50% of all authors make below that a year and a lot make way below that.

Guys, no one is in this game for the money, but let’s not give up the day job.

However, I think that a self-published book can break even after around 400 sales, and possibly many less if production values are of little importance. Having said that, without distribution, 400 sales isn’t that easy to achieve, despite what people might think. Finding that number of people to buy your book is hard but surely it’s worth a shot.

Anyway, enough from me for today.

Please buy my book and make up your own mind.

All my best and big love.