Publishing with Unbound - again! - Alice Jolly

For the last few months I have been trying to make a decision. I have finished a new book and I need to work out what might be the best way to publish it. Twenty years ago I would really only have had one option. Now there are so many options that it is hard to know which way to go.

Given that my recent memoir 'Dead Babies and Seaside Towns' attracted some amazing publicity, I probably was in a strong position to get my novel published by a mainstream publisher. But finally I decided that I just didn't want to do that. Previous experiences had left a bad taste in my mouth. I didn't feel confident that a mainstream publisher would publish the book in the way I wanted.

And, anyway, crowd funding publisher Unbound had done a great job on my memoir - and I had really enjoyed working with them. So I've decided to go down that route again. It will be hard raising the subscriptions (which I need to do before the book will be published). I know that. What I don't know is whether it will be easier or harder than it was last time.

What I am doing is, frankly, an experiment. People don't generally try and publish literary novels via a crowd funding route. But I feel that I don't have much to lose. And I believe in what Unbound are trying to do. What surprises me is that plenty of other people do as well. When I ask people to subscribe I have a worry that they are thinking, 'Well, if she's any good then why is she crowd funding?' But actually many people seem to understand Unbound and want to support them - which is heartening.

I'm not the only person making this kind of decision. Recently a major writer of non fiction Roman Krznaric turned down a traditional publishing deal to publish his new book (about the concept of Carpe Diem) with Unbound. And Danny Scheinmann has just published 'The Half Life Of Joshua Jones' with Unbound. His first novel was a bestseller but he turned to Unbound when he became disillusioned with the traditional route.

So a small revolution is happening. Will this work out for me? Who knows? I never wanted to be a publishing revolutionary. All this happened to me by accident. I just want my work out there and this seems to be a way I can do it. I'll keep you posted.

The book is called 'Between The Regions Of Kindness.' Details are HERE