Simon Cheshire [Self-Publishing Interview Series]

Welcome to the first interview in our series of talks with self-published authors and those involved in the self-publishing process. We hope that sharing the opinions and perspectives of others will benefit us all, not only by better understanding the self-publishing process itself, but also by becoming better acquainted with folks going through the same trials and tribulations as the rest of us.

Today we’re talking with Simon Cheshire, the bestselling children’s author of the Saxby Smart series, who has just self-published one of his backlist titles, Jeremy Brown: Spy. Simon’s unique perspective, having traversed both the traditional publishing and self-publishing worldsmade him a great fit for the series, and we’re so pleased to have him lead things off.  Now, without further ado, on to the interview!

On Publishing

• Was it difficult for you to get your first book published? What was the process like?
  • Very difficult. I was writing for about 15 years before an editor said yes to one of my manuscripts. That was in 1997. I came off the slush pile, something that almost never happens today. I was extremely lucky to get published when I did.
• What’s your experience with self-publishing?
  • I’d had some backlist out of print titles sitting around for a while. My current books were selling quite well, and I asked my agent to shop around and see if a publisher wanted to pick up my earlier stuff. Nobody did. I’d been toying with the idea of self-publishing for quite a while, so I thought to myself, OK, I’ll do it myself. And the first result, “Jeremy Brown: Spy”, is out now.
• In your opinion, what are the three biggest differences between self-publishing and traditional publishing?
  • No advance. I seriously doubt I could self-publish all the time, because there are up-front costs instead of up-front payment.
  • Editorial control. I have it all! (insert maniacal laughter here…) This is a good thing and a bad thing – good because you don’t have an editor holding your hand; bad because… you don’t have an editor holding your hand.
  • I’m not sure there IS a 3 – you have to do all your own publicity etc, but unless you’re an A-lister, you’d do that anyway!
• Based on your experience working in the publishing industry, what’s your best piece of advice for authors interested in self-publishing?
  • Make sure you have a good distributor. Make sure your book will get online bookshop listings, AND be easily available to retail bookshops. Not such an issue for ebooks, but for printed books it’s vital.

On Design, Technology and Marketing

• How involved have you been in the design of your books?
  • Of my traditionally published books, not one little bit. Which is fine by me, I’m happy to leave all that to people who know what they’re doing on that score. My self-published book I did everything on, from choosing text typefaces and laying out pages to designing the jacket and assembling the PDF files ready for a print-on-demand system. And it was fun! Actually, the cover artwork I left to my kids (I’m hopeless at that sort of thing), so now they tell everyone their artwork is all over the net!
• How have social media networks like Twitter helped you as an author?
  • Well, for a start, I wouldn’t be doing this interview if it wasn’t for Twitter! Book marketing relies very heavily on word of mouth, so the more an author can communicate with readers, the better.

On Writing

• Do you get any of your inspiration from the real world or does it all come from your imagination?
  • The real world is at the root of it all, even the wackiest stuff. Especially the wackiest stuff, come to think of it. I’m one of those writers who carries a notebook around with them, to jot down ideas and little snippets of reality, to squirrel away for turning into fiction later on.
• With which of your characters do you most identify?
  • Saxby Smart, brilliant schoolboy detective. He’s kind of the kid I would like to have been at that age. He’s not very good at practical things, but he’s got a sharp mind and he’s very self-confident. I was a painfully shy child, Saxby is the sort of boy I’d have admired when I was eleven or twelve.
• How do you find time in your day to write?
  • Urgh, tell me ’bout it! It’s great being your own boss, but being a freelancer and working from home seems to make people think you have loads of spare time. And you don’t. People get upset if you say ‘sorry, I can’t help repaint your house, I have to finish Chapter Three’. You have to develop iron self-discipline. My self-discipline is made out of mashed potato…
• What do you think is the most challenging part of the writing process?
  • The blank page. The yawning emptiness of the New Project. Once I have a plan worked out, once I have a story and a rough idea of who does what and when, I can make progress. Until then, my brain flaps around between panic and despair. I’ve met writers who can sit down and simply Begin, and see where it takes them. That’s an amazing talent, I couldn’t do that in a million years.
• On your worst day, what motivates you to keep writing?
  • Poverty. Simple as that. I think to myself, if I don’t get this done, the kids have no shoes. Seriously, it’s cynical, but it’s true.
• Other than the obvious ones, what are some of the differences in writing adult books and children’s books?
  • I always think there’s so much more freedom in children’s books. Adult fiction demands an adherance to genre, but in children’s literature you could have a Cold War spy story about a talking mouse and an alien, and it’d still work.
• What are some of your non-writing hobbies?
  • I love fixing old computers. I had a wheezy old Apple Powerbook that I managed to keep going for about fifteen years. I’m having great fun learning about Linux at the moment.
• What was your favorite book as a child?
  • If I had to pick just one, I’d go for The Hobbit. But don’t get me started on favourite books, or you’ll be here ’till next week.
• Do you have any projects in the works now? If so, would you please tell us a bit about them?
  • Right now, I’m working on a non-fiction book for 8-12 year olds, an addition to my Saxby Smart series of detective stories. It’s called Saxby Smart’s Detective Handbook. It’s all about the history of both real-life and fictional detectives, and it’ll be out some time later in 2010. Beyond that, I’ll be doing an adventure story for the schools market, and beyond that I’ve got a project set in Victorian London that I’ve been working on for about five years now and STILL can’t get right. But one day…! And aside from all that, I’m planning to self-publish more of my backlist.

Duolit Details Hot Seat

And now, for a bit of fun, we present the Duolit Details Hot Seat. Here we threw some seemingly random, rapid-fire questions at Simon to learn a little bit more about him outside of his writing career.

• If you could have any superhero power, which would you choose?
  • The ability to stop time. There are never enough hours in the day.
• What’s the most interesting trip you’ve ever taken?
  • Some years ago, I went to China. Amazing place, I’d happily live there.
• Answer the age-old taste bud conundrum: chocolate or vanilla?
  • Chocolate. Every time.
• In the movie of your life, who would play the lead role?
  • Hmm, let’s see, he’d need the looks of Brad Pitt, the brooding intensity of Robert DeNiro, and the teeth of Austin Powers… Actually, Phillip Seymour Hoffman looks quite like me. Or maybe Eddie Izzard?
• Would you rather go on Dancing with the Stars or American Idol?
  • Dancing, definitely! I want to become a celebrity JUST so I can go on that show (Strictly Come Dancing, it’s called over here). Love it.

Thanks again,  Simon! What a wonderful first interview in the series. For more information about Simon, or to purchase any of his books, please visit his website.

Wrapping Up

Do you have any additional questions for Simon? Did he bring up any points you’d like to discuss? Let us know in the comments!

PS – If you’re interested in being interviewed for the series, just let us know in the comments or by contacting us.