Publishing Advice


Saving You Money and Making You Money

The Complexities of Book Publishing

Book publishing is a complex industry that is particularly daunting for aspiring authors. Within the mainstream publishing industry most staff specialise in a particular set of skills, such as editing, cover design, page design, traditional media publicity, social media marketing, printing costs, ebook conversion, indexing, bibliographic data, distribution and accounting.

If an aspiring author is signed to a publisher, then all the above functions are usually taken care of by the publisher. I say ‘usually’ because sometimes a publisher lets down an author – who is just one of many contracted to a company that may or may not provide the support an author reasonably expects. When such a problem occurs, numerous published authors have sought Euan’s help because of the broad background he has in the industry.

Drawing on a Breadth and Depth of Experience

This broad background was the reason why the Australian Society of Authors commissioned Euan, from its thousands of members, to write the book that he published in 2014, Your Book Publishing Options: How to Make and Market Ebooks and Print Books. (Many Australian libraries have a copy on their shelves.)

Euan is a published and self-published author of both fiction and non-fiction books. A former senior editor for a major publisher, he holds a PhD in professional/creative writing, and taught writing, editing and publishing at university and TAFE for 18 years before starting his own editing and writing business in 2019.

This breadth and depth of experience means one thing for published and self-published authors: advice that can cut through difficult publishing problems in order to save money and make money. For example, one of the most common questions Euan receives is how to print high-quality paperbacks without spending a small fortune  – no problem, this is easily answered. In short, a few carefully chosen words of advice can save a lot of heartache, confusion, wasted time and costly mistakes.

If you would like to talk with Euan via Zoom or over the phone, then please email him with your request.

Rates and Timing

Consulting rates are (Australian) $90 per hour, for a minimum of one hour. Most initial advice sessions turn out to be 90 to 120 minutes. The writer determines the exact duration.

Be prepared to take lots of notes. Euan’s advice will be tailored to your project. He will provide specific recommendations and give candid opinions on the services provided by various companies and organisations relevant to your book. The aim is to save you money as well as make you money.

These publishing advice sessions can be undertaken during the early stages of your project and/or during the final stages of preparing your book for release to the public.