13 minute read
Book Club
Book Club
Catching up on independent publishing by Alison Morton
Advertisement
You may not be surprised to learn that reading surged during the last two years’ lockdowns. Readers report reading as having been a release and distraction in troubled times, and people enjoyed having more time to read. Most of the increase has been in fiction, especially classics, romance and crime novels.
Commercially, 2020 and 2021 were good years for selfpublished/indie authors who published online in ebook, paperback and audio formats. The pandemic hit traditional bookselling hard but digital reading, writing and publishing stepped into the vacuum created by closed high-street bookshops.
Two big trends were the accelerated growth of audiobooks and of subscription models such as (well-established) Kindle Unlimited and (new kid on the block) Kobo Plus. One noticeable change since I started writing this column has been the name. The world of the enthusiastic, possibly amateur, approach of early self-publishers has changed massively. The independent authorpublisher (short form ‘indie’) now uses graphics, design and production standards that equal and sometimes exceed traditional publishing ones. Editing is a given as are a professional cover, interior design and marketing plan. And attitudes have changed immensely with indies and trad authors mixing at events, in writing associations, running courses and writing for magazines. There are a few (trad) dinosaurs, but they’re now looking rather lonely.
Some practicalities
The pros of indie-publishing include: keeping all the profits after expenses; control over when to publish, cover design, book design and layout, pricing; ability to upload the ebook version quickly; and most importantly, retaining all the rights to different formats (ebook, hardback, large print, audio, paperback); media (film, television, radio); translated versions, etc.
The author retains all rights as well as copyright. This is extremely important. If you are paying somebody else to do the publishing donkey work for you, on no account should you cede any rights. The only thing you are Some Indie Authors Celebrating Together granting the PSP is a nonexclusive licence to publish your book. And for clarity – this is a service you are buying like accountancy or legal advice, not a ‘book deal’ in the traditional sense. How to find a good PSP? Ask other authors, and consult sites like the excellent The Independent Publishing Magazine (http://www.theindependentpublishingmagazine.com/) which scrutinises all types of independent publishing support. Research books published by PSPs: feel the quality of the paper, is the text tiny or squashed onto the page with no margins? Can you read the back cover blurb? Are the front cover fonts clear and easy to read? Publishing independently means you may have to kiss a few frogs along the way, but I’ve found that there’s a beautiful fairy tale château at the end of the path.
The cons? Tracking down a good editor and skilled cover designer – both essential for a quality book; learning to format; educating yourself about book distribution, ISBNs, registrations; getting print versions stocked in bookshops; running your own marketing campaign.
So where do you start?
When you’ve polished your book to a dazzling shine, you need to think about formats: ebook, printed books, audio, etc. Next, I recommend visiting Kindle Direct Publishing (kdp.amazon.com) which gives you a mountain of information. Best of all is the Alliance of Independent Authors’ resource centre: https://selfpublishingadvice.org/ alli-blog/ If you don’t want to take DIY on board with all the business of assembling your own team, there is another way. Paying a reputable publishing consultant or a publishing services provider (PSP) is like recruiting an invaluable ally. The author pays the PSP to publish the book the the same way as a traditional publisher would, but instead of the (trad) publisher buying all the rights to an author’s work and paying them a 7-10% royalty on sales, by using a PSP, the author retains all his or her rights and profits. Good PSPs will offer a range of packages from the straightforward or economy package to a full tailored service. Many also offer single services such as editing.
Alison has compiled a selection of articles from this column into ‘The 500 Word Writing Buddy’, available on Amazon (click here). Her latest thriller, Double Pursuit, part set in Poitou, is now out.
This Month’s Book Reviews
Tree Sacrifice by Harriet Springbett
Review by Jacqui Brown
My local author selection this month is the third and final part of the Tree Magic trilogy by Poitou-Charentes based Harriet Springbett, Tree Sacrifce. I would recommend reading these books in order, Tree Magic, Tree Slayer and Tree Sacrifice, and losing yourself in a world where those with special gifts can communicate with the trees. The young adult genre might not be your usual read, but I’d encourage you to read this trilogy and share it with the young people in your life. I’d love for these books to become the books to read for teenagers (think Harry Potter but with so much more than just magic), who then go on to set up their own TreeWise associations, following Rainbow’s lead to save our trees and planet.
It was a delight to be back with Rainbow and Eole and their mission to save the trees of France, and fight for a world where humans can live without destroying trees. Many things have changed since we left them in Tree Slayer, for Rainbow, for Eole, and in their lives outside of their special tree partnership. Rainbow needs to learn to prioritise the tasks ahead of her, as well as learn the importance of patience. Eole is struggling to understand where he fits in. Despite nothing seeming to go to plan, Rainbow and Eole are a good team who balance each other well, something that is tested in this book more than in the last book.
This book will make you think about trees and our relationship with them. There was plenty to keep my interest and keep me guessing as to how it would end. It deals well with complex adolescence emotions and relationships, as well as decision making and responsibility, along with an engaging storyline that touched my tree soul.
Château des Corbeaux by Lise McClendon
Review by Jacqui Brown
As Pascal d’Onscon nears his 50th birthday, life is getting him down. He loves his job as wine fraud investigator but detests that he is now more office based than out in the field. The tiny rented flat close to his office in Bordeaux holds no appeal, but neither does the alternative of leaving his American partner Merle alone during the week, in her cottage in a bastide town in the Dordogne. His dream of growing his own grapes and making his own wine seems impossible, but driving between Bordeaux and Merle, he can’t help but be drawn to one vineyard in particular, Château des Corbeaux.
Life is never dull for legal expert Merle and Pascal, there is always something cropping up in their personal lives that overlaps somewhat with Pascal’s work. When trouble hits the British owners of Château des Corbeaux, they might just need Merle and Pascal’s assistance to unravel a mystery, right a wrong and save the vines.
Having read and enjoyed the previous books in the Bennett Sisters series, Pascal and Merle now feel like good friends. I enjoyed every page back in their company, sharing a chilled glass of rosé or a meal cooked by Merle, as well as seeing France through their eyes. I love the little nuances of ‘real’ France and French ways that the author weaves into the storyline, giving her books a rounded sense of place. I feel I am there, with someone who has a deep understanding of how things tick in France. If you enjoy a good mystery with lots of delicious food and wine on the side, I’m sure you would love Château des Corbeaux, or any of the Bennett Sisters books.
Read a good book recently? Why not share your thoughts? Drop us an email to find out how ... info@thedeuxsevresmonthly.fr
ENJOYING FRENCH
by Howard Needs
This will be the last article in my series about reading and enjoying French-language books, not because there are no more to be reported on, but because enough is enough. During the past weeks, I have read a couple of books (in e-book format) originally written in English that are part of a series I had bought years ago as paperbacks in a French translation. After those first two, I wanted to read a little further in the series and found the paperback French version in my library. And so I continued my reading. I found the original English versions more trivial than the French translations, but it has to be said that, although I enjoyed reading it, I was obviously missing some parts of the French. Reading a paper version was irritating insofar that holding the book open was tiresome and pages could not be turned with a flip of one finger. The worst was not having immediate access to the dictionary and Wikipedia (but that irritation applies only to fiction leisure reading, with no illustrations or diagrams; trying to take notes from a reference book while reading it in e-book format is tiresome indeed – so much so that I have stopped buying e-book non-fiction).
The three female authors I am writing about here cover, respectively , the period just before the French Revolution, the middle of the 19th century, and the present day (for a change). All concern detection in one form or another.
Anne Villemin-Sicherman Series “Les enquêtes d'Augustin Duroch”
The author comes from a family of generations of vets, and although she was a gynaecologist in her professional life, her series of books concerns the life and times of a vet (artiste vétérinaire), Augustin Duroch, in Metz during the 20 years running up to the French Revolution. The author uses complex investigations by the vet of real historical situations to give a very vivid impression of life in the border city and the intrigues and types of crime of the times. In the first book, the young Augustin takes over the practice of his four
father, who has just died in an accident. He finds a protector and client in a local official and meets the teenager who will become his wife, as well as various other personages, including a co-investigator in the form of a young woman from a noble family.
As the series progresses, there is more and more involvement in the lives of not only country folk but also the nobility, and in the schism between the two. The last book takes us into the revolutionary days, and I have stopped reading the series for a while because I anticipate the death of some of the characters that I have followed and appreciated through the eight books I’ve read so far. One of Augustin’s protectors has already fled the country, and I am curious how the author has handled the rest of the cast in those troubled and violent days.
Irene Chauvy Series “Les enquêtes d’Hadrien Allonfleur sous le Second Empire”
In June 1859, Lieutenant Hadrien Allonfleur is severely wounded during the battle of Solferino, and while he is being cared for, one of the nurses, Sister Josépina, is brutally murdered. Hadrien applies himself to finding the murderer and, succeeding, finds himself somewhat later falling under the notice of Emperor Napoleon III and being appointed as capitaine of the Centgardes squadron (making him the emperor’s official investigator). From here onwards, there is a series of a further six books of investigations conducted by Hadrien.
Hadrien is not what you might call a typical investigator/ detective – he is boastful, rather proud of his position, and “one for the girls”. However, he is also diligent, honest, and loyal to his emperor, and his character rather grows on you as the series progresses (in fact, he reminds me of Brigadier Gerard in the novel of the same name by Conan Doyle). He has his friends and loves, and there is a mystery in his family background. In his adventures, he is assisted and advised by an old, morose ancien inspecteur de la brigade de Sûreté parisienne called Amboise Martefon, who also harbours a past that is only gradually revealed.
Irene Chauvy Series “Les enquêtes de Jane Cardel sous la IIIe Republique”
There is a prequel to this series – Maudit héritage – that starts in 1356, in the Cévennes, with a mysterious couple found in a charcoal-burners’ hut. The plot then jumps five hundred years, to 1873, with a young woman, Jane Cardel, fleeing from her parental home in the Cévennes and, arriving in Paris, going to live with her uncle. A medallion inherited from her father intrigues her and leads her to investigate its origins. The series starts officially , however, with Divination fatale, which takes place in 1873, starting with the deaths of a young girl and, a bit later, the child’s mother. Jane is drawn to the mystery of these deaths and starts to find out more of the circumstances. While doing this, she makes the acquaintance of l’inspecteur principal Lucius and his deputy, Vougeol – and a bit later, of public prosecutor Nathan Forève. The book proceeds to its inevitable end, that is, the solving of the crime, and leaves the reader waiting for the next in the series . The first book is probably the hardest to read – but all three are enjoyable.
Both of these series by Irene Chauvy deal with political or social situations, and they are both complex in their reading – the Allonfleur one perhaps more so – but that does not detract from the enjoyment.
Irene Chauvy has also written a couple of stand-alones and seems to be starting on a third series.
Florence Clerfeuille Series “Le chat du jeu de quilles”
Originally published in three volumes but now available under one cover, Le chat is a trilogy I really enjoyed. A journalist, 50 and gone, disillusioned with his job, leaves it and is shortly after approached by a young colleague, Manon, who wants his help to solve an old murder case. The adventure takes them to the Aveyron, where they are involved in the village intrigues and encounter a cat that seems to enjoy a game of skittles (as referred to in the title) . A book with light-hearted moments, a romance, and a serious crime being unravelled. I have not given a long résumé of the plot, because I read the books long ago and hesitate to rely on memory; however, the pleasure I had in reading them remains, and so I have included them in this article. While checking the Internet, as I often do when I am writing, I saw that there is a new adventure featuring the protagonists of Le chat du jeu de quilles, and this I shall surely buy.
