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Self-publishing consultancy launched

15.05.12 | Charlotte Williams

UK self-published author Ben Galley has launched a website advising prospective self-published authors, saying self-publishing should be considered just another “viable route” for authors.

Shelf-Help collects his three blogs, on writing, self-publishing and marketing, and offers consultation services for authors, with a half-an-hour session priced £60.

Galley self-published his first book, The Written, in 2011, and his second, Pale Kings, in February this year.

Galley said the aim of the site is to show others how self-publishing can be done cheaply but to a high standard: "It's a great time to be self-publishing. I think there is a lot of doom and gloom in the publishing industry, but I think it's just change.

"There's so much [content] out there, so much available, and so much demand—the internet has opened up readers all over the world. People are very excited about self-publishing—because it is very possible."

He added he had not tried to go through the traditional publishing route because he "didn't want to wait. Every author is very confident in their work, everybody dreams of being signed by a big name publisher—but when I started researching it, I thought, self-publishing is another viable route.

"I think there's no shame in it, I'm not one of these people who think publishers are evil; I'd love to be signed by a mainstream publisher, but when I had written my first book, I weighed up the options, and the pros outweighed the cons for me at that time."

• Ben Galley
• Charlotte Williams
• publishing
• self-publishing
• Shelf-Help