investment, which was slightly scary on a
student income!
But I forged ahead. I found a typesetter to
typeset the book and prepare a print ready
format for the printer. The file was delivered
to the printer in October 2014 and I
received a proof copy within 5 days.
And it looked fantastic!
I ordered my first 1000 books and they
arrived within one week. As I was looking
at them I realised it had taken two years
to get here and it was all worth it, I was so
pleased and happy with how it had turned
out and I couldn’t wait to show my friends
and family!
I was also influenced by Dr Seuss and Walt
Disney in the writing of the book and the
creation of the characters. I am a huge fan
of Dr Seuss’ rhymes and, in fact, Bella Boo
and Bloomer Fen finishes with a rhyme at
the end to highlight the moral of the story
in a Dr Seuss style.
Was it easy to get your book published?
I think I would have to say no on that. One
of the key decisions I had to make at the
very beginning was whether I was going
down the route of a traditional publisher or
self-publishing the book.
Early on I researched the traditional
publishing route and found that most of
them required the backing of an agent
in order for them to consider giving the
author an opportunity. I was recommended
to read, ‘’Children’s Writers’ and Artists’
yearbook 2014,’’ which had a list of
agencies highlighting exactly which books
they would be interested in representing,
which was incredibly useful! I sent some
sketches of the characters and the first few
pages of the story to agencies particularly
interested in children’s picture books and
eagerly waited for a reply.
However, only a handful replied and
they politely declined. This was a little
disheartening at first, but in the end it
just made me want to publish my book
even more!
After trying the agencies I did consider
sending my sketches and story outline to
publishers directly, but I had heard horror
stories of people waiting years for their
work to be looked at and more often
than not it would be lost in the dreaded
‘slush pile’.
So I started to look at self-publishing. I
knew nothing about it, but I had heard
many success stories of people selfpublishing their works and having just as
much success if they had gone with a
traditional publisher.
The main point that struck me was that,
a traditional publisher offered a lot of
uncertainty, but with self-publishing offered
more certainty of actually publishing my
book. So, self-publishing it was!
Of course there would be a higher cost
for self-publishing as I would be funding
everything myself and there would be a lot
more work involved which was daunting.
At times throughout the process I thought
the book would never be published.
So then you went to print?
Print?! Absolutely not! When I decided
that the self-publishing route was the only
option available to me, I had researched
a number of self-publishing platforms.
Amazon seemed like a great place to start
and I learned the different stages of putting
a book together, in terms of typesetting,
illustrations, scales and sizes. I also looked
at POD (Print on Demand) options where a
single book can be printed to order.
At this stage I was up to speed on print
terminology such as the 300dpi resolutions
for the images, the 3mm bleed and
different types of binding that would affect
the overall quality and finish of the book.
I really wanted a ‘perfect binding’ finish
to the book. This is where the book is
bound with glue and stitching and has a
noticeable spine and the pages open much
easier; basically all the best made books
are ‘perfect bound’. Unfortunately this
option wasn’t available with the existing
self-publishing options out there.
So I had to find an alternative way to print
my book and via the magic of the World
Wide Web I started looking for printers,
I came across a printing company in
China who could offer exactly what I
wanted! However, this was a radical new
experience and with minimum quantity
orders this would therefore require a large
How do you feel about the success of
the b ook?
I’m delighted with how well Bella Boo and
Bloomer Fen has been received. All the
positive reviews and support are brilliant!
Parents and their children have been
saying that they really enjoyed the book
which makes me very happy.
I launched the book at a local primary
school in Haywards Heath and met with
some of the top writing students for a
writing workshop. I also read the book to
a school assembly with a Q&A session,
followed by a book signing. The school
said the kids really enjoyed it - as did I!
The book has also received glowing
reviews by several local newspapers
across Sussex, such as the Mid Sussex
Times, Crawley Times and West Sussex
County Times. An award winning blogger
also gave Bella Boo and Bloomer Fen a
really fantastic review!
What about the future?
Getting Bella Boo and Bloomer Fen
published was quite a challenge - but then
marketing and selling it is another thing
altogether, but I’m excited for what the
future holds.
The book is already available on Amazon
and online at Waterstone’s, Foyles and
WHSmith and I am organising book
signings and fairs this Christmas at local
schools in Sussex and in retail stores, such
as Clarkes and Lorimers. I want to keep
up my promotional work so eventually the
book will be available in the big bookstores
across the country.
Are you going to write more books?
Definitely. I am developing a series of
picture books for children and I want
to explore opportunities in children’s
television. My ultimate aim is to have my
characters recognised the world over, and
loved through a variety of different media,
such as books, television and films.
But it all starts with creating exceptional
books destined to become classics!
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