‘I wanted a quality product that emulated a commercial book’
Michael Williams, author of Born Rebel
I started writing my memoir, which chronicles my early life in Sunderland, during one of the coronavirus lockdowns. One of my friends self-publishes a book every year, and he encouraged me to stop talking about writing and just do it. I started one evening after dinner and found the words flowed. After completing my draft manuscript, I attempted to get an agent, but although I received some encouraging noises, I wasn’t offered a contract and decided to go down the self-publishing route. I talked to several companies and picked Wrate’s Editing Services because Danielle understood exactly what I was looking for, which was a quality product that emulated a commercial book. The design process fully incorporated my views and the test pages provided by Danielle’s designer, Alexa, were excellent. I wanted the books ready for when I gave a talk at the Sunderland Literature Festival, and the work was completed—and the books delivered to my home—well within my deadline. Since publishing my book, I’ve received numerous compliments about how professional it looks, and it’s been stocked in local libraries and bookshops. Some self-published books can look amateurish, but my memoir is clearly a professionally polished product. I was satisfied with the process from start to finish and will be pointing other writers in the direction of Danielle and her team.
