After being inspired by young indie writer Penelope Fletcher at a writing group talk, Kate Tenbeth made the decision to self-publish The Burly & Grum Tales, a children’s book series she had previously submitted to reader Su Box via the TLC reads scheme. She set up a website, a Facebook page, a blog and a Twitter feed, and after learning about marketing and self-promotion, made her own book trailer. Since then, e-book downloads of her second book, The Secret City, have reached 130,000, and all three books in the series (Beyond the Forest; The Secret City; The Birthday Surprise) are now also available in print format via independent press Great Minds Think Aloud. Explaining why she chose the self-publishing route, Kate said:
‘Why does self-publishing work for me? Because it lets me learn, grow, develop and, rather than wait long weeks for agents and publishers to get back to me, I can submit my books world-wide within seconds. Amazing. To those of you who are thinking about self-publishing I’d say don’t hesitate, just take the plunge and enjoy the ride!’
You can visit the official Burly & Grum website here, and find out more about Penelope Fletcher here.
