Another new year, another bunch of resolutions. Kilos to lose, bad habits to cut back, exercise regimes to start and maintain, or even some audacious personal or creative goals, like running a marathon, or writing and publishing a first novel.
Writing a novel always seems a much more attainable goal when I am flopped in a hammock at New Year with some lightweight beach read. Reclining beneath the pohutukawa tree, I've been known to harrumph that if such a cheesy predictable story gets published I might as well have a go myself (all the while knowing that writing any novel is never as simple as it might seem.)
But even if I managed to find the inspiration, time and commitment to write a novel, getting it published is another challenge altogether. The market for New Zealand novels is relatively small and there are many other factors which could determine whether a book makes it into print, such as timing, budgets and other works awaiting publication.
So why not DIY? In recent years an increasing number of would-be authors have turned to self-publishing as a way of ensuring their work is not only published, but they get to keep creative control of the content and design, the publicity and distribution, as well as taking home a greater share of the profits.
What used to be dismissed as "vanity publishing" is becoming increasingly mainstream. Take Waiheke couple Mark and Rowan Sommerset, who self-published their first children's book Cork on the Ocean, distributing it through independent book and gift shops, and taking a stall at the Ostend market. A subsequent book was published by Random House, but the couple have now founded their own publishing company, Dreamboat Books and their book Ba Baa Smart Sheep won the 2011 Children's Choice award at the NZ Post Book Awards.
