My passion for discovering talented Aussie authors who have successfully taken the self publishing or partnership publishing path does not abate – I love finding out each author’s story, especially when they love the path they have taken.
This week I chat with author Debbie Higgs. A degree in French literature from London University combined with a drama degree at the Central School of Speech and Drama, PA to one of the richest men in the world during the late 70′s, a role in sales and marketing at one of the most successful IT companies in the ’90′s are not the only feathers in her cap.
Debbie co-wrote An Eventful Life – Life Stories of Eventing Champion (with Alison Duthie), is the author of The Self-publisher’s Marketing Guide, and more recently has become the publisher of a magazine, Equestrian Life.
But that’s not all! Sorry, no steak knives!
Debbie also works with her husband at Palmer Higgs, an established publishing services company that provides production services to the Australian book publishing industry, corporate clients and self publishing authors. Here Debbie is responsible for providing marketing solutions to the growing number of self-publishing authors using Palmer Higgs Publishing Services for the production, distribution and marketing of printed books and ebooks.
Wow! What a busy woman.
So let’s go on Debbie’s interesting journey.
Welcome Debbie.
Did you always want to be a writer?
How funny – I never think of myself as a writer but I think everything I’ve done in my career revolves around communicating ideas.
When did you start writing?
I’ve written ever since I was young and I have always loved reading, words and languages. I grew up in England and went to London University where I did an honours degree in French Literature and Drama – I graduated with a very poor degree but had a great time! My parents never worried about what ‘job’ I was going to do with this degree (obviously become an actress in Paris) and neither did I. Everything in my student life revolved around writing, authors, novels, plays and language and I think it has just been a part of me ever since.
What genres do you write in/or have written in?
When I was younger, I wrote some fiction and poetry but more recently I’ve written only non-fiction – mainly because I now only write as a part of my job! I decided to publish and co-wrote An Eventful Life – Life Stories of Eventing Champions (with Alison Duthie) because there was a story (or six stories!) which I felt had to be told. I’m also passionate about equestrian sport so it was a subject I love; I had easy access to the five Olympic medalists I wanted to write about; I had a publishing services company – what more did I need?
The Self-publisher’s Marketing Guide started life as a series of notes and then downloadable PDF’s for self-publishing authors so it wasn’t very hard to turn that into the small book it became. Again, obviously non-fiction but quite different in style to An Eventful Life.
More recently I’ve become the publisher of a magazine called Equestrian Life, so now I have another publishing project around my passion for equestrian sport and I write quite a few articles for this. This is a large budget, national magazine so unfortunately I spend a lot of my time in very boring meetings about finance, distribution, advertising revenue and all that sort of stuff but I still get to interview and write about some amazing people which is the bit I really love! I enjoy not only the writing but also putting the whole ‘story’ together – choosing the photographs that really capture what I’m trying to say in words and working with the designer to make sure that the layout also matches the subject matter. It’s a huge learning curve but I find it fascinating.
What writers do you think have influenced you?
Evelyn Waugh, Balzac, Bill Bryson
Is there one person you can think of who has played a significant part in your writing career?
My Latin teacher in the sixth form! Not so much in terms of my writing career but in terms of appreciating the use of language, how to make it come alive and how influential it can be.
Have you had any work published commercially?
I consider both of my books to be commercial enterprises and the magazine is definitely a commercial enterprise! I have also written for several other magazines.
Why did you decide to publish independently? Tell me a little about Palmer Higgs Publishing.
Palmer Higgs is a publishing services company – not a publisher. We have serviced the publishing industry for 17 years, providing major publishers such as Oxford University Press, Pearson (Penguin), Lonely Planet, Thompson Learning with page layout, design, illustrations, permission, editing, photography indexing and many other options. Basically, we get a manuscript and turn it into a book for them – nowadays we do this in many digital formats as well as print.
In 2009 we realised that there was a need for self-publishing authors to be able to access our services – we kept seeing very badly produced books that people were paying a fortune for! We added distribution and marketing services to the production services because very few authors seemed to understand anything about these areas of publishing and they are vital to a book publishing project. We have extended into eBook production and distribution and will be launching our eBook store for self-published authors in August – this will have full Digital Rights Management (DRM) which I think will be the first in Australia.
How did you go about editing your work?
I always write something and then re-visit at least three times with a generous break in between. Then it goes to the sub-editor and is re-read by our proofreader after the layout phase. If it is an article for the magazine it will also be checked by the Editor for equestrian-specific content.
How long did the self-publishing/independent publishing process take place, i.e. from the beginning to the printing of your books?
An Eventful Life took nearly one year from starting the project to print.
The Self-publisher’s Marketing Guide was different as most of the work was done in three separate writing phases but only took a month or so to put together and design as it is a very simple and quite a small book.
What obstacles did you encounter during this process, if any?
None – I did it through a great company who know what they’re doing!
Does Palmer Higgs work with a specific printing company?
No, we work with many different companies in Australia and overseas. My husband, Paul specialises in the production and distribution side and he has 25 years experience in the industry. There are so many options in book printing that you really need to get good advice – sometimes not printing at all is a good option!
What was your print run?
An Eventful Life was an offset print run of 5,000 (294 pages with 92 pages of full colour photographs).
We print The Self-publisher’s Marketing Guide in small print runs (digital print on demand) so it is also quite a different type of publishing project – it also means that I can update the content (if I ever get time!).
Both books are also available as eBooks for all major devices and formats.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of self-publishing/publishing independently?
I think that the most important advantage for self-publishing authors is that they retain control of their content. We are currently working with LG Electronics on a project to provide animated children’s picture books for their new SmartTV Book AppStore being launched in September. This will enable viewers to download animated eBooks and view on their TV screen so there is the need to provide global distribution rights. There are still many issues with global rights for published authors so self-published authors are a much better option for LG right now. In the new world of eBooks and digital distribution, authors need to keep control of not only their copyright but also their distribution rights so that they can distribute through all of the channels becoming available in print and digital format.
I think that the biggest disadvantage for most self-publishing authors is the understanding of the overall business of publishing. The writing and production of a book is only one part of the process – marketing and distribution are key components of the publishing industry which authors need to try and understand. Right now we are in a very ‘fluid’ time with major changes happening in this area and many of the large publishers are struggling themselves to keep up and work out what is best to do. It really is a very exciting time for a self-publisher able to devote the time and energy required.
The huge requirement for time and energy is another disadvantage! If you take your foot off the pedal, sales of your book will slow! I have spent the last six months focusing on the new magazine project and haven’t had the time to devote to marketing my two books and it has had a definite impact. Hopefully I can address that but it just shows that, even with the resources I have available to me, a self-publishing author is the driving force behind his/her project.
What does successful self-publishing/independent publishing mean to you?
Everything in a business sense – it is now the focus of our business to help self-publishing authors achieve their goals.
For me personally it means maintaining control of my content and being responsible for the success of my own work.
What advice would you give other authors who are thinking about self-publishing/publishing independently or setting up their own company?
Do proper research into all areas of the project, prepare a business/marketing plan and show it to a business person (not necessarily in publishing, just someone who has business acumen).
Have your writing independently assessed.
Talk to several people who have self-published.
Read The Self-publisher’s Marketing Guide
Talk to Palmer Higgs!
What attributes do you feel are necessary to be a successful self-publisher, e.g. determination, patience, organisation, sales and marketing experience, self-belief…?
I believe that to be successful at anything in life takes an amazing combination of factors which is not easily identifiable except in hindsight! Bearing that in mind and the fact that there is no hard and fast rule, here are some ideas:
First, success needs to be defined and will vary according to the author and their goals.
Second, the author needs to be self-aware, assess their areas of skill, recognise areas that they need help with and source appropriate skills.
Third, they need to understand that very few books in the Australian market, whether published by large publishers or self-published sell in large quantities. For example, 90% of the titles on offer in 2008 failed to exceed 120 unit sales: 40% sold 6-120 and 50% sold five or less (UMBIS Report 2009).
Therefore self-publishing authors need every attribute they can lay their hands on!
What was your biggest learning curve? Is there anything that you did different in regards to the publishing and release of The Self-publisher’s Marketing Guide in comparison to An Eventful Life?
Ironically, I think that everything that I learnt about self-publishing from An Eventful Life went into the text of The Self-publisher’s Marketing Guide but I didn’t get time to implement it for the second book due to beginning work on the magazine.
Where would you like to be in five year’s time, writing wise?
I’d love to work on a script and production for a movie. In ten years time I would like to be writing only for my own enjoyment.
Would you ever consider publishing with a major publishing house?
It is unlikely. If I had a book that I thought had great potential I would publish it myself. If a book didn’t have potential, neither I nor a publishing house would want to publish it!
What other doors have opened for you since the publication of your books?
The magazine opportunity came to me because of the book An Eventful Life and obviously any books I publish help to promote our business at Palmer Higgs. Following reviews of The Self-publisher’s Marketing Guide I was invited to speak at a couple of functions for the NSW Writers’ Centre.
What projects are you working on now?
The magazine is keeping me pretty busy right now but I do have a manuscript which needs a complete re-write which I may publish next year.
What words best describe you?
On a good day – fun and motivated……..on a bad day – short tempered and unrealistic!
Have you any other words of advice?
Life is short – enjoy it!
And Debbie, just to finish up, could you please complete the following:
At school I was … happy
When I was a child I wanted to be … an Olympic show jumper
I relax by … sleeping
For more information:
website address: www.palmerhiggs.com.au
blog: book reviews at: www.an-eventful-life.com.au
My review:
And if you missed my review of Debbie’s, The Self-publisher’s Marketing Guide please click on:
Thanks Debbie for sharing your journey. And what an exciting journey you have been on. Wishing you every success with the publication of Equestrian Life as well as your other writing projects.
Helen Ross interviews Debbie Higgs 8 August 2011. Helen Ross copyright August 2011
