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How Not to Self-Publish: The Totally Splendid Hotshot Author's Survival Guide
Rosen Trevithick has threatened to eat celebrities, produced a podcast in which she interviews herself and posed with a gummy triangle stuck to her face – all in the name of marketing. Yet she has somehow managed to shift over a quarter of a million books.
A keen advocate of ‘What works for one probably won't work for the thousands who try to replicate it’, Rosen recommends finding your own path, with a focus on learning from mistakes rather than success stories.
Penned using a combination of her own catastrophic blunders interspersed with wry observations, How Not to Self-Publish provides a light-hearted, informative and sometimes surreal look at selling books in the modern world.
Cover illustration by Katie W. Stewart.
A keen advocate of ‘What works for one probably won't work for the thousands who try to replicate it’, Rosen recommends finding your own path, with a focus on learning from mistakes rather than success stories.
Penned using a combination of her own catastrophic blunders interspersed with wry observations, How Not to Self-Publish provides a light-hearted, informative and sometimes surreal look at selling books in the modern world.
Cover illustration by Katie W. Stewart.
ebook
First published August 6, 2014
2 people are currently reading
25 people want to read
About the author
Rosen Trevithick
32 books275 followersRosen is a British bestselling author, who writes fiction for children and adults.
She was born in Cornwall and grew up on Restronguet Creek. She studied Experimental Psychology at St Catherine's College, Oxford, before moving back to the West Country. She now lives on the south coast of Devon with two imaginary cats, fantasising about getting a real one.
In 2011 Rosen was an aspiring author. Writing was a hobby. The following January sales of her books on Kindle took off, and by October she has sold 27,000 copies and her total download count exceeds 220,000. She now has three books in print: Pompomberry House, Seesaw and The Troll Trap, as well as many digital titles.
Rosen writes in a variety of genres with a strong leaning towards comedy. She has also dabbled with psychological fiction and mystery writing.
She loves wild swimming, mountain biking, interesting boots, quiffs, 'sampling' chocolate and cooking tasty treats. She dislikes house spiders, doing laundry and people putting costumes on their cats.
She was born in Cornwall and grew up on Restronguet Creek. She studied Experimental Psychology at St Catherine's College, Oxford, before moving back to the West Country. She now lives on the south coast of Devon with two imaginary cats, fantasising about getting a real one.
In 2011 Rosen was an aspiring author. Writing was a hobby. The following January sales of her books on Kindle took off, and by October she has sold 27,000 copies and her total download count exceeds 220,000. She now has three books in print: Pompomberry House, Seesaw and The Troll Trap, as well as many digital titles.
Rosen writes in a variety of genres with a strong leaning towards comedy. She has also dabbled with psychological fiction and mystery writing.
She loves wild swimming, mountain biking, interesting boots, quiffs, 'sampling' chocolate and cooking tasty treats. She dislikes house spiders, doing laundry and people putting costumes on their cats.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 29, 2015
This is THE best book I have read on this subject, not only is it informative but it had you laughing from start to finish and back to the start again as now reading it for the second time, yes it is that good! Even if your not a budding author this really is a must read book. Buy it, read it, just remember to cover the floor with pillows for when you fall on the floor laughing. Thanks Rosen this was just the tonic I needed
August 29, 2014
I've enjoyed both the author's children's and adult books and in particular the humour she injects into them. I've found humour can be hit and miss in books and she's one of the few authors who nails it for me. As well as her writing she is also very active in the indie author community supporting other authors. What we have here is a departure from her usual books and is a guide to becoming a totally splendid hotshot author.
This isn't a how to guide in the traditional sense. The book comprises of a series of loosely themed anecdotes and what if scenarios that new authors (especially those who are self published) often encounter. The humour makes this an easy read and a fun one even if you aren't an author. There's some crazy stories in here but there's also some useful tips, so while it might not be a guide in the usual sense I would recommend it to authors old and new. Even with the crazier stories there's an element of issues that all authors will encounter at some stage.
As I say it's also a fun read even if you aren't an author and everyone should know what to do if their laptop is eaten by a crocodile!
This isn't a how to guide in the traditional sense. The book comprises of a series of loosely themed anecdotes and what if scenarios that new authors (especially those who are self published) often encounter. The humour makes this an easy read and a fun one even if you aren't an author. There's some crazy stories in here but there's also some useful tips, so while it might not be a guide in the usual sense I would recommend it to authors old and new. Even with the crazier stories there's an element of issues that all authors will encounter at some stage.
As I say it's also a fun read even if you aren't an author and everyone should know what to do if their laptop is eaten by a crocodile!
February 27, 2015
Witty and fun
Thought provoking scenarios and solutions for self-publishing newbies told with humor. I laughed aloud several times. Great ideas about topics I had not thought of when authoring a book.
Thought provoking scenarios and solutions for self-publishing newbies told with humor. I laughed aloud several times. Great ideas about topics I had not thought of when authoring a book.
September 1, 2014
Excellent - a great laugh, with some good advice cunningly concealed in the mad situations and dodgy characters. And I needed the one about the jealous cat.
January 17, 2015
funny
This book is obviously satire, but that doesn't mean it isn't helpful. Although I think I would the crocodile for my hard drive.
This book is obviously satire, but that doesn't mean it isn't helpful. Although I think I would the crocodile for my hard drive.
July 20, 2018
First off, I'm not and will never be an author. Second off, this is a very funny book that is not just for authors.
Yes, this is a very instructive book for would-be self-publishers, but it's a lot more about what not to do and how not to offend readers.
The book is set out into mini chapters based on potential scenarios, such as "A Reader Notices a Typo", "Your Wallet Hears Erotica Calling", "Your Quote About Dog Turds Goes Viral" and "Another Author Plagiarises Your Zombie Heptathlon". There then follows guidance on how to manage these scenarios.
Since the book is set out in mini chapters it is easy to just read one or two when you have a few minutes. I read this book in 3 goes as it was "just one more", "OK just another". I found it to be very light and funny and quite adult in places.
If you've liked any of this author's more comedic stories, you'll like this, even if you are like me and prefer reading to writing.
Yes, this is a very instructive book for would-be self-publishers, but it's a lot more about what not to do and how not to offend readers.
The book is set out into mini chapters based on potential scenarios, such as "A Reader Notices a Typo", "Your Wallet Hears Erotica Calling", "Your Quote About Dog Turds Goes Viral" and "Another Author Plagiarises Your Zombie Heptathlon". There then follows guidance on how to manage these scenarios.
Since the book is set out in mini chapters it is easy to just read one or two when you have a few minutes. I read this book in 3 goes as it was "just one more", "OK just another". I found it to be very light and funny and quite adult in places.
If you've liked any of this author's more comedic stories, you'll like this, even if you are like me and prefer reading to writing.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews