The more I thought about it – and thought, and thought, and thought some more – the more appealing the notion of self-publishing became. The statistics helped (source: Alliance of Independent Authors):

1. Like for like, self-published authors earn more revenue than authors who are traditionally published.

2. Younger authors are making self-publishing their first choice.

3. Self-published authors made up over 50% of Kindle’s Top 400 Books for 2023

4. 93% of indie authors asked were somewhat positive, or extremely positive, about self-publishing.

5. Women and LGBTQIA+ authors are more successful in self-publishing than trade publishing.

Now I know statistics can be used to argue two sides of the same point, but my own research backed up point four (above): indie authors are positive about choosing to self-publish. And as soon as I made the decision to produce my own work, from concept to printed book, I got a buzz of excitement, as I knew it would definitely happen. I would be an author, as it was in my hands. Previously, I would have been reluctant to call someone who self-published an author, and I don’t know why? If you have compiled a collection of words, bound it, given it a title, and it can be bought and put on a shelf, you are an author. Adding the logo of a penguin doesn’t confirm that.

A publishing house does do one thing, though: it gives access to a team of professionals to support you. And that was why my second emotion, after excitement, was the feeling of being overwhelmed. How do I get sentences in a Word document on a shelf? And in a professional, polished way. Because that is what publishers bring to the table, in the first instance; they guarantee a front cover that isn’t amateur, pages that are formatted correctly, no spelling mistakes, ISBNs, barcodes, accounts with wholesalers to distribute it… In short, they guarantee that the extra stuff doesn’t let you down so that readers can access your story.

Daunting.

But then, don’t sweat the small stuff, I told myself. Tackle one hurdle at a time.

My first port of call, then, was to get the manuscript ready. For this, I needed an editor. In truth, unless you’ve worked with one, I believe this can be an underrated part of the process (underrated profession). Yes, I’d read my work five million times and performed a structural and line edit already, but skipping this stage, trying to save money, thinking I can get away with it if I have enough beta readers, is not the way to go. In my opinion. And after working with an editor, I will never again entertain the notion of not having their involvement. They view it with a fresh set of unbiased eyes. Professional eyes with a skill set your neighbour, the English teacher, doesn’t. They are trained for this moment in the writing journey, and this moment alone. If you consider that for a minute, the fact someone has dedicated their career to polishing your manuscript at this stage, it is naïve to think you don’t need them. I was almost that naïve person. Because I didn’t have thousands of pounds to spend. My budget was as close to zero as possible. How glad I am that I convinced the Yorkshire in me to not skip this!

In stepped Natalie Franks, and this project went from me writing something I loved to feeling like I was creating a book that someone may hold in their hands and read one day.

How amazing is it when the Universe manifests what you need, as if all you had to do was ask? Without prompt or advertising, Natalie contacted me through social media. She was an editor who worked with indie authors. She followed New2theScene on Instagram, loved how we championed lesser-known authors, and had we considered doing the same for editors and artists, who also needed visibility and people to know which ones were credible and could be trusted, and which weren’t. What a coincidence! I needed an editor, but I didn’t know where to go, who to trust, and what a fair price was. I researched Natalie online. I saw she was ethical and transparent. I read testimonials from authors she’d worked with. I had her edit a sample for free (2000 words) to check what was included. And I felt an instant connection — respect and trust. Thanks Universe!

If you need an editor, like I did, then I highly recommend Natalie. www.clevercrow.co.uk

Apparently, you have to book an editor in advance as their diary fills quickly. That makes sense. Fortunately for me, I had the Universe on my side and dropped lucky in an available slot!

The line edit took Natalie less than two weeks – though the contract stated it could take up to a month. She broke up overlong sentences for readability. She corrected the capitalisation of proper nouns. She made the whole manuscript more appropriate for the age. And she did it through highlights and comments, explaining her choices, and making it easy to disregard a change if I disagreed (rarely). Natalie also commented when paragraphs flowed well, and on parts she enjoyed, which gave me confidence in what I’d written – after all, Natalie was the first person to read this who wasn’t a friend or family member. There were daily updates on progress. A style sheet was created. Choices were made on grammar that I hadn’t considered, leading to consistency. It was an incredibly uplifting process.

Once all the changes were agreed upon, Natalie did a second run through without extra cost. I was so impressed with the result that I booked in a proofread straight away.

It felt like I had a team. Like, in choosing to go solo, I was connecting with people. I know a lot of independent authors have spoken about the indie author community in this way. So inspired was I by this idea, I reached out to an artist friend on the chance he may design a front cover, and he loved the thought of a new challenge. Momentum was gathering. The team was growing. I am self-publishing, but I am not alone. This has been a revelation, this feeling of teamwork and connection. I thought self-publishing meant becoming an expert in everything and doing it yourself, that the main pull of a publisher was the support they offered. But I was learning all the time. Self-publishing involves as much collaboration as traditional publishing, only you control where the support comes from. I was finding my people. And I was starting to glimpse what the goal could look like.