I did it. I actually published a book!

OK... somebody explain to me what the hell the bear's doing

We all know how the music and video industries are bypassing traditional publishers. In the digital age any half-brained wanabee can put together their own creative work in their spare room and publish and sell it online, cutting out all the middle men and allowing the artist to retain the rights to their own work. Hurrah!

But what about books?

It is notoriously difficult for first time authors to attract the interest of a literary agent, let alone a publisher. Even J.K. Rowling's first Potter volume was snubbed by the first publishers she approached with it. (Oh how they must rue the day when they fired back their standard rejection letter....)

So when I finished my first novel, which I wanted to dedicate to my husband and children, I thought that rather than starting the long depressing process of submitting the manuscript to one philistine publisher after another, I'd give self-publishing a stab.

Wow - what a minefield!

To start with, I learned you need to look really closely at where those publish-yourself-service guys make their money. They all charge a fee for publishing your work - but both the amount and the service you get varies enormously. Here are some of the things to watch for:

- layout: will your book be laid out by a human or a machine? This makes a huge difference. Basically, if no human is involved, then your book is going to look like a dog's breakfast. The typesetter is the person who checks that a new page doesn't start with a "widow" - a single word left over from the last paragraph of the previous page. That a new chapter starts on a new page. That words are "wrapped" correctly when the break at a line-end... and a dozen other things that you won't realise are important until you see your book in print.

- typeface and fonts: make sure the typeface is a familiar font and a comfortable size to read.

- cover: many of the self publishing houses let you design your own cover by uploading photos and filling in the text. This is trickier than it sounds, unless you use their own supplied stock photography. Getting the picture to exactly align with the text in most of the programmes take some doing. And most of the programmes don't give you much option about where the elements go (title, author's name etc.)

- location: I'm based in Europe - so while some of the US publishers looked like a good bet, once I'd added shipping charges to the price of my books, the cost became prohibitive

- distribution: while most of the publishers will sort out the basics for you, like getting you an ISBN number, sending your required copy off to a library of record and getting you listed on Amazon - some also guarantee you distribution via bookshops.

- reprint costs: this is really important to watch. Many of the publishers will layout and print your first copy very reasonably - but the cost of printing more than one is prohibitive. If you are hoping to sell your book via Amazon and other retailers, it is important that the economics of the whole thing work out. From your sales price you have to deduct any relevant taxes, the bookseller's margin (typically 40%) and the cost of printing and shipping. What is left is your royalty. If the print costs are too high you will either make nothing - or your book will not be competitively priced.

In the end I plumped for a small outfit in the UK - Grosvenor House. Their service included real human text editors, corrections, individual cover design plus a number of marketing extras. And importantly, reprints at a reasonable price.

From receiving my text to having a full layout in my hands to proof took around four days. The cover took a week - though it would have been quicker if I hadn't insisted on changing the fonts. And yesterday - only four weeks after sending off the text, I received a package with my five complimentary copies... and on the same day the book appeared listed on Amazon.

It was such a great feeling taking the published book in my hands for the first time. It looked exactly how I'd hoped. After putting all that work in... I'm just really really thrilled.

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