Gritstone author Mike Padgett on his experience of publishing a novel with the Gritstone Publishing Cooperative
“instead of standing outside the front door listening to strange noises through the letter box, I was invited into the house”
Mike Padgett, Gritstone Author
No apologies – this blog is about my experience of publishing my novel Kicking Off through Gritstone Publishing Co-operative, the company I joined in May last year.
The blog is aimed at writers contemplating self-publishing a book. I’ll tell you how Gritstone differs from the (very good) self-publishing company I used for my previous two books. I’ll tell you what I found unique about Gritstone. And next time I’ll tell you how I got through Gritstone’s selection process.
It worked so why change?
If you’ve finally finished your manuscript and are now riding the highs and lows of self-publishing – whether you’re doing everything yourself, or using Amazon, or a vanity publisher, or one of the good, honest self-publishers out there giving value for money and no false promises – you’ll know how lonely and overwhelming the process can be at times.
Well that’s how it felt to me before I joined Gritstone Publishing Co-operative in 2024. Back in 2021, when I was looking for a publisher for my travel memoir (As Far As We Can), I had no idea what was involved. But I was optimistic. I thought it was just a matter of sending off my manuscript to a handful of the best sounding publishers listed in the Writers and Artists Yearbook and wait for the offers to come in. Have you been there? It’s a bit of a downer when hardly anyone even bothers to respond. Then you get the call and an offer of a contract only to find within minutes, and before you can shout, ‘I’ve made it’, that the offer is from a crafty vanity publisher with eyes on your ego and your money.
But I kept on going with only my partner for encouragement. Then I had some luck. I spotted a good review of a self-publishing company called Grosvenor House Publishing in the Writers and Artists Yearbook. They were open and honest. They accepted my manuscript and yes, they took my money but all the costs were itemised. I had to pay up front (about £800 at the time), follow their rigid guidelines, and in return they committed to producing a quality product. The contract I signed made it very clear that my book would be classed as self-published, all marketing was my responsibility, and I would retain all the rights.
It all went to plan and Grosvenor House certainly delivered a quality product. The paperback looked great and I had that wonderful feeling you get the first time you see your book in print. Grosvenor House arranged for the book to be available through all major retailers and bookshop, they printed copies on demand (POD) so there were no piles of books stacked in my garage, and paid regular royalties. I was so impressed I used Grosvenor House two years later for my second book (Scrap).
When anyone asks how it all worked I tell them I pushed a cheque through an imaginary letter box marked Grosvenor House, swapped a few emails and phone calls with their very friendly staff, listened blindly to various bangs and clatters though the letter box, then a few weeks later out popped my book, all shiny and new. However, the publishing process remained a bit of a mystery, although I did learn some of the technical jargon. If there was a quiz about Metadata, key words, long and short descriptions, ISBN’s and royalty payments, I think I’d do ok.
What’s unique about Gritstone Publishing?
So, if Grosvenor House was so good, why did I switch to Gritstone Publishing, Britain’s first author-run cooperative, for my third book (Kicking Off)? Did Gritstone offer me a six figure sum advance payment? Did they say they’d take care of all the editing, the cover design, printing, distribution, liaising with all the major retailers? Did they say they’d do all the marketing and promotion – the press releases, the newspaper reviews, setting up the interviews on radio and TV, and all I had to do was turn up and smile (nervously) and sign thousands of copies of Kicking Off?
No, Gritstone Publishing offers none of that. It’s still self-publishing. But instead of standing outside the front door listening to strange noises through the letter box, I was invited into the house to sit around the kitchen table. I sat with my seven colleagues at Gritstone, each one a published author with a particular skill and expertise in an aspect of publishing. We communicated daily by email and phone, paired up for a coffee and a chat when I had a specific need, and met up as a full team twice in the year at Hebden Bridge. In between the meetings two members, Eileen and Chiz ran masterclasses in marketing and web design.
Throughout the year my colleagues offered advice, guidance and support but it was ultimately up to me to decide which contractors to employ for each stage of the publishing process. There was no upfront one-off payment (other than a £250 loan to the cooperative). Instead I paid for each individual stage of publishing. As a result the total cost was less than I spent on my previous books. But more importantly, I was in control of how my book would be published and that felt good.
Next time:
How I successfully navigated Gritstone’s selection procedure.
Mike Padgett is the author of Kicking Off, published by Gritstone
