Firstly - it's good to be back after a long absence!
Secondly - I'm thinking about self-publishing.
Last year, whilst researching an article for The Wildean: A Journal of Oscar Wilde Studies, I was introduced to the wonderful and frequently bizarre world of The Era, Victorian Britain's principal theatrical newspaper. Purely for my own amusement I began to make a collection of the most amusing and interesting bits, most of them taken from the theatrical/music hall gossip columns and the small ads section, but after a while it occurred to me that there might be people out there who would find these offbeat insights into nineteenth-century theatrical life as entertaining as I do. Alas, the three British-based publishers of popular history I've been in touch with so far (all of whom accept unagented submissions) aren't interested - the general feeling seems to be that it's too much of a niche interest.
Rather than waste the time and effort I put into Fairies in Cabs: Comic and Curious Clippings From The Era, 1890-1900, but mindful of the fact that it's in no danger of becoming a bestseller, I'm considering publishing the book though Createspace. However, there are two problems. I live in England, which would mean that even a small number of books ordered from the USA would be horrendously expensive (thanks to shipping costs and import duty); and as an unpaid carer for my elderly father I'm not a taxpayer and am therefore unable to supply Createspace with a Tax ID number. Apparently the latter isn't essential, but if you don't supply one you can wave goodbye to a sizeable chunk of your royalties.
I would appreciate any advice self-pubbed AWers could give me.
Secondly - I'm thinking about self-publishing.
Last year, whilst researching an article for The Wildean: A Journal of Oscar Wilde Studies, I was introduced to the wonderful and frequently bizarre world of The Era, Victorian Britain's principal theatrical newspaper. Purely for my own amusement I began to make a collection of the most amusing and interesting bits, most of them taken from the theatrical/music hall gossip columns and the small ads section, but after a while it occurred to me that there might be people out there who would find these offbeat insights into nineteenth-century theatrical life as entertaining as I do. Alas, the three British-based publishers of popular history I've been in touch with so far (all of whom accept unagented submissions) aren't interested - the general feeling seems to be that it's too much of a niche interest.
Rather than waste the time and effort I put into Fairies in Cabs: Comic and Curious Clippings From The Era, 1890-1900, but mindful of the fact that it's in no danger of becoming a bestseller, I'm considering publishing the book though Createspace. However, there are two problems. I live in England, which would mean that even a small number of books ordered from the USA would be horrendously expensive (thanks to shipping costs and import duty); and as an unpaid carer for my elderly father I'm not a taxpayer and am therefore unable to supply Createspace with a Tax ID number. Apparently the latter isn't essential, but if you don't supply one you can wave goodbye to a sizeable chunk of your royalties.
I would appreciate any advice self-pubbed AWers could give me.
