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FAQs

Why Publish

Why Publish your Book
Many writers ask us questions like:

  • Is my book worth publishing?
  • Why publish when I could just print photocopies?
  • How many sales can I expect?

These are good questions — and you need to think about what writing means to you.

Publishing Can Be Both Rewarding and Successful

Self-publishing has opened doors that simply didn’t exist a few years ago. Many of our authors reach wide audiences, sell impressive numbers of copies, or steadily build followings that lead to other opportunities — talks, workshops, teaching, or new commissions. With professional editing, design, and production, a self-published book is every bit as good as one from a major publisher.

At the same time, publishing is not only about sales or financial return. Just as people invest in hobbies, holidays, gardening, or good coffee because those experiences enrich their lives, publishing a book can be one of the most fulfilling and lasting ways to share your expertise and ideas.

It’s also worth remembering that even in the traditional publishing world, many books do not make a profit for the publisher — the industry has always relied on a few best-sellers to balance the many. And every published book contributes something valuable: knowledge, insight, inspiration, or simply the joy of a story well told.

Why Authors Choose to Publish

  • Years of work deserve a finished form – Many authors spend years crafting their manuscript. Publishing gives that work the permanence and respect it deserves.
  • A lasting legacy – A published book can be catalogued in libraries, discovered online, and passed down to future generations in a way photocopies cannot.
  • Reaching readers – Beyond family and friends, publishing makes your words discoverable by people who might enjoy or benefit from them.
  • Gifts and sharing – Many authors enjoy selling or giving copies away at events, to charities, or within their communities. Publishing allows this in a polished, lasting form.
  • Opportunities – A book can open doors to speaking engagements, workshops, and events where authors not only share their knowledge but also distribute copies.
  • Fulfillment – Holding your own professionally published book is the natural completion of the writing journey, an expression of creativity or scholarship that will endure.

Balancing Costs and Goals
Publishing involves costs, and for some writers this can feel daunting after years of effort.
But a book is not just an expense: it’s an investment in yourself, your ideas, and your story’s place in the world.
Whether your aim is to earn income, share knowledge, or simply complete a deeply personal project, publishing ensures your work is given the permanence and reach it deserves.

fiction

Amazonia
Nick Gosman

Published: August 2025
Paperback: 244 pages
Price: £10.99
ISBN: 978-1-915972-98-9
Available from
Amazon
Amazonia
by Nick Gosman

Taking the premise that urgent action to avert climate change and environmental destruction requires radical solutions, the story unfolds around an ancient and secretive company known as the Diadem Corporation. At its head, an unexpected climate champion emerges in the form of its celebrity CEO, Brigitte Fassbender, who, at a stroke, saves the Brazilian Amazon. In return for paying off the country’s crippling national debt, Fassbender secures a ninety nine year lease ending decades long destruction through deforestation and mining.

Unknown even to Fassbender at its head, her announcement to the world that the Amazon has been saved triggers the final stage of an ancient conspiracy hidden within the Diadem Corporation. Deep within the company’s fabric, a mysterious order known as the Fellowship of Dael meets to decide on the fate of humanity itself.

On pain of death, supplicants of the order have worked for successive generations to ensure the Fellowship’s centuries old plans come to fruition resulting in decedents of the Dael, a long-extinct race of beings who first visited Earth in antiquity, take what the order sees as their rightful place as rulers over the morally inferior human race. A closely-guarded secret amongst an influential elite within the Diadem Corporation, the Fellowship’s intentions remain obscure until the dénouement of the story.



Nick Gosman gained an insight into what it takes to survive in the wilderness during his formative years climbing and mountaineering in Scotland and Continental Europe.

Since his early years wondering the world’s empty spaces with family and friends, wild nature has come to hold a deep spiritual resonance with the author, which he attempts to bring to his story-telling.
history

Victims of Circumstance
Alison Brown

Published: AUgust 2025
Paperback: 190 pages
Price: £15.00
ISBN: 978-1-915972-80-4
Available from
Amazon
and
The Geat British Bookshop
Victims of Circumstance
Filicide in Nineteenth-Century Scotland
by Alison L. Brown

Using records of the Scottish criminal justice system, Parliamentary Papers and newspaper articles, Alison Brown explores the lives of men and women who killed their children in nineteenth-century Scotland.

This well researched account challenges the idea that parents who committed filicide were necessarily monstrous, and these moving stories demonstrate how social circumstances could lead to the death of a child.

The book also sheds light on the workings of the Scottish criminal justice system and will be of interest to students of the history of crime and Scottish social history, as well as the interested general reader.



Dr Alison L Brown is an independent researcher with a PhD in Scottish social history, and a postgraduate diploma in archives and records management.

Since retiring from her day job, she has dedicated her time to historical research.

Her interests lie in nineteenth-century Scottish social and criminal history, using the wealth of records created by the Scottish criminal justice system, largely untapped and voluminous Parliamentary Papers, and newspaper articles.
FAQs

Understanding Your Printing Options

Understanding Your Printing Options

When choosing how to print your materials, it helps to know the main differences between Litho printing, Short-run digital printing, and Print-on-demand.
Each method has its own advantages depending on your needs:

Litho Printing (Offset Printing)

  • Best for large quantities (hundreds or thousands of copies).
  • Uses traditional printing plates and ink for high-quality, consistent results.
  • More cost-effective at scale, since the setup cost is spread across many copies.
  • Ideal for brochures, magazines, books, and professional marketing materials.

Short-Run Printing (Digital Printing)

  • Designed for smaller batches (from a few copies up to a few hundred).
  • Faster turnaround because there’s no plate setup—the file goes straight to the printer.
  • Flexible: great for test runs, limited editions, or quick reprints.
  • Typically slightly higher cost per copy than litho, but cheaper overall for small quantities.

Print-on-Demand (POD)

  • Prints only when an order is placed, even a single copy.
  • No need to store stock—each book or item is produced as needed.
  • Perfect for self-publishers, online stores, or products with unpredictable demand.
  • Reduces waste and upfront costs but usually has the highest cost per unit compared to bulk printing.
Summary
  • Litho = best for bulk (high quality, low cost per unit).
  • Short-run = best for small batches (fast, flexible, affordable in low volumes).
  • POD = best for one-off or on-demand sales (no stock, no waste, convenient).
FAQs

Copy Editing vs Proofreading

Copy Editing vs Proofreading

Although the two often get confused,
copy editing and proofreading are different stages of the editing process:

Copy Editing
Goal: to make the writing polished, professional, and ready for typesetting.

Happens before the final layout and typesetting.
Focuses on improving the clarity, flow, and consistency of the text.

Checks for:

  • Grammar, punctuation, and spelling errors.
  • Consistency in style, tone, and formatting.
  • Accuracy of facts, names, and references.
  • Awkward phrasing, repetition, or unclear sentences.

Proofreading
Goal: to ensure the publication is accurate before printing or release.

  • Happens after the text has been typeset/designed (Final check before when it is ready for print).
  • Focuses on catching final errors that slipped through.

Checks for:

  • Typos, punctuation errors, or spelling mistakes.
  • Layout problems (e.g. broken headings, spacing, page numbers).
  • Inconsistent fonts, captions, or formatting in the final version.

Note:
Both copy-editing and proof-reading are very complicated processes
It is almost impossible to catch all of the errors.
Give yourself time for a final read-through.
Don’t panic – if the book is to be printed on demand,
make notes of any changes for an updated version.

Quick summary:

Copy editing = polishing the text for clarity and consistency.
Proofreading = checking the final version for typos and formatting errors.

history, YouCaxton

Chapel Lawn and The Redlake Valley
Patrick Cosgrove

Published: 1st August 2025
Paperback: 133 pages
Price: £10.00
ISBN: 978-1-915972-82-8
Available from
The Great British Bookshop
Chapel Lawn and The Redlake Valley
A social history as told by extracts from the Clun Valley Parochial Magazine 1889 to 1899
by Patrick Cosgrove

These extracts from the Clun Valley Parochial Magazine for St. Mary’s Church, Chapel Lawn, at the time a chapel of ease to Clun Church, provide a fascinating glimpse into 19th century rural life in the Redlake Valley on the border of England and Wales.

The introduction of the magazine must have been very welcome. It not only provided important information about forthcoming church, school, and other social events, but it also enabled people to read news from neighbouring parishes and the wider world.

We must be indebted to the Rev. Charles Warner whose initials are at the end of the introduction to the first issue. It is through his personal efforts, plus encouragement from Rev. Preb. Jellicorse of Clunbury, and through delegation to the various curates who had the good fortune (or bad luck when the weather was inclement) to be attached to Chapel Lawn, that the Magazine was undertaken, and we have this account of life in a quiet rural community in the late 19th Century.

It was with some prescience that in March 1889, Rev. Warner wrote, “The monthly parts will, when bound, make a handsome volume, which will prove interesting, as a record of parish news for future generations.”



Originally from Hampshire, Patrick Cosgrove retired to South Shropshire with his wife, Di, in 2007.

Although not an historian, as he walked, cycled and rode his neighbour’s horse around the lanes of the Redlake Valley, he was struck by a palpable sense of history in the surrounding countryside, amongst the long-standing farming families, and especially by the mixture of English and Welsh place and field-names.

The discovery of a cache of old parish magazines provided the material and inspiration for this book and, Patrick hopes, will encourage others in neighbouring parishes to use the magazines in a similar way now that they are safely stored at Clun Museum.

history

Slates, Zeppelins and Evacuees
Nigel Jepson

Published: June 2025
Hardback: 148 pages
Price: £10.00
ISBN: 978-1-915972-87-3
Available from
Amazon
and
The Geat British Bookshop
Slates, Zeppelins and Evacuees
The Story of Emmanuel Holcombe C.E. Primary School
by Nigel Jepson

Slates, Zeppelins and Evacuees tells the fascinating story of a school which, despite its rural setting, has not always enjoyed complete peace and quiet. Most notably for example, when a German Zeppelin air raid attack created havoc in 1916, inflicting extensive damage on the school building.

In further relation to World War I, the reader is invited to enter into the mind of long-serving Head Teacher Henry Foster. Creating a ‘Roll of Honour’ in his poignant log-book entry of 1914, he respectfully inscribes the names of ex-pupils of the school serving in the nation’s armed forces, all of whom he had taught, adding detail as to the regiments they had joined.

Tragically, many of these same names were fated to appear on the commemorative tribute, erected at the nearby church in honour of those who lost their lives in the conflict. Meanwhile, the onset of World War II brought challenging times again for the school, not least with regard to accommodating evacuee pupils and teachers from Manchester.

Very often described as a ‘true village school’, Holcombe was set to have another rude awakening in more recent times when developments such as Ofsted and SATS came to pose a threat of a different kind to the school’s sense of well-being.

Though sometimes finding it difficult in early stages to adapt to a welter of new Government initiatives, the heartening story is told here of how Holcombe School, whilst very much retaining its character as a ‘true village school,’ has at the same time enjoyed great success in recent times in terms of the achievements of its pupils, staff, governors and parents.

fiction

Finding Clara
Graham Hitchcock

Published: May 2025
Hardback: 414 pages
Price: £14.99
ISBN: 978-1-915972-79-8
Available from
Amazon
and
The Geat British Bookshop
Finding Clara
The Revenant, the Heretic and the Occultist
by Graham Hitchcock

Demoralized academic Tobias Jackson, encounters an enigmatic young woman on snowbound train in the Highlands of Scotland, in the winter of 2011. From that moment onwards, a sequence of unnerving experiences forces him to doubt his core beliefs.

Tobias is supported by Medieval History graduate and former lover Emma Andersson. Emma makes a shattering discovery as she tries to locate the woman on the train. In an attempt to find out the true identity of this woman and achieve some resolution, they embark upon a dangerous and frightening journey into the past of Clair Sinclair.

Travelling in the footsteps of Clair, the journey takes them from Caithness, to the Isle of Mull and Iona, where an unsolved Scottish mystery engulfs Emma. Continuing onto Cathar Country in the Languedoc France, as they encounter people who knew Clair, they try to piece together fragmented clues. Coming face to face with evidence of terrible tragedies, they accept that Clair Sinclair believed she had been here before, as someone called Clara, remorselessly leading them to an unknown endpoint.

Returning to Scotland, Emma begins to unravel a tale of love and faith in a time of medieval inquisition and a remarkable escape story that turns historical orthodoxy on its head. As lost manuscripts and documents, buried history, religious and historical controversies emerge amidst a cast of unforgettable characters, a revenant, a heretic and an occultist collide.

Can Emma Andersson write the story of Clair Sinclair?