I have been writing stories for people of all ages for about 20 years. These have been mainly short stories for magazines and papers, both fact and fiction, but I’ve always had an urge to write full-length novels. Over a period of seven years, I wrote six novels. However, even a courteous reply was a rarity from mainstream publishers and agents.
I joined The Writers’ Bureau to make sure that my approach and presentation was as professional as possible. Afterward, I put all my efforts into writing one particular book, making it as attractive as possible. I enlisted the help of Lorraine Sadler, who is already established in the art world. She designed the cover for me, and produced twelve other excellent illustrations as well. I wanted to create a story that people would want to read. It had to be a subject that was already causing massive public interest.
At the time, fox hunting was causing a public outcry. Riots and demonstrations were going on as the government decided to ban hunting with hounds. Influential groups like the League Against Cruel Sports, the Hunt Saboteur Association, local politicians and hunt supporters had all weighed in on the issue. But no one thought to ask the fox—How did he feel about all of this? After thoroughly researching the subject, I wrote about fox hunting from the foxes' viewpoint and I called my new book Hunted Down.
And after all that work, mainstream publishers still were not interested. One response from an agent even called my book “blatant propaganda.” I was convinced, though, that if Hunted Down was published, it would sell.
When I researched self-publishing firms, AuthorHouse came out top of the list. I noticed straight away that one of their authors was Luke Rhinehart who wrote one of my favourite books The Dice Man. After AuthorHouse published Hunted Down, I invested in the Booksellers Return Programme and threw myself into marketing my newly published book.
I started off by contacting bookshops in my own area and then went gradually further afield. Hunted Down has appeared in bookstores in
I’ll never understand how mainstream publishers make their decisions. In the meantime, I’ve just posted my ‘returnability’ cards off to a dozen more bookshops, and with an average success rate so far of one in three shops ordering my book, I’ll be making a few more sales really soon.
Thanks to AuthorHouse, I’ve found success marketing Hunted Down on my own despite negative response from others in the industry.
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Joe Hartwell is one of AuthorHouse
