How (not) to publish

This is a cautionary tale. It lifts the lid on the immense effort, rollercoaster and learning curve involved in self-publishing: getting a book onto readers' shelves. A book which costs £10. The price of two coffees and a croissant in your average café, a nice bunch of supermarket flowers, a bottle of wine. So, not a huge layout, really.

Anyway.

A bit of background. I'm an academic - I've written a handful of books about dead languages, and I'm a total word nerd. During Covid, all my research collaborations went on hold, so I was casting around for a new project - which then found me. Standing in the queue on my designated blue circle outside the supermarket and reading my list, I was struck by the thought that this was so very much MY list, and parts of it at least would have been incomprehensible to anyone but me and my immediate family. With a bit of time on my hands, and a lot of nervous energy to manage, I embarked on what would become my little book about all things list, Listful.