Category: Uncategorized

  • If a picture paints a thousand words… (part three)

    If a picture paints a thousand words… (part three)

    In the last of our three week series, we’re carrying on where we left off last week, continuing to look at the challenges involved in publishing images in your book, and how to manage them. We’re concluding by looking at issues around image quality, and the particular challenges that relate to selecting a cover image.…

  • If a picture paints a thousand words… (part two)

    If a picture paints a thousand words… (part two)

    This week we’re carrying on where we left off last week, continuing to look at the challenges involved with publishing images and how to manage them. If you haven’t already, I’d recommend reading last week’s post first. This week we’re going to look particularly at managing copyright issues: Managing Copyright I won’t go into all…

  • Why do we review book proposals?

    Why do we review book proposals?

    One of the things we’ve had to consider quite carefully at Tithebarn Press, is what the function of reviews is in our publishing and how we go about undertaking them. I’m delighted to say that this has been especially on my mind lately as our first formal book proposals are now coming in. It’s an…

  • How (not) to Write your Book Proposal

    How (not) to Write your Book Proposal

    I’ve written previously about when to propose your book and of course you can always refer to our book proposal form as well as our guidance notes to help you complete it . After last week’s tips on writing your manuscript I thought it would be helpful to highlight some major do’s and don’ts for…

  • Five Tips for Writing your Manuscript

    Five Tips for Writing your Manuscript

    This is in an area where I’ve picked up quite a few tips over the years. As always with such things your mileage may vary and there is no right way to go about writing a manuscript. Getting advice from a publisher about writing is rather like getting advice from a Catholic priest about sustaining…

  • When is the right time to talk to a publisher?

    When is the right time to talk to a publisher?

    For some readers, the answer to this might seem obvious, or irrelevant. At a certain point in your career you can have the confidence that whenever you’re ready to talk to a book publisher they’ll be ready to talk to you. For others, though, I know this can feel like a fraught question. Too early…

  • So, why should I write a book?

    So, why should I write a book?

    This is a question that, as a Commissioning Editor, I was asked with some frequency. It’s easy when your job is to commission books to take it for granted that writing and publishing books is a good thing to do. As a bibliophile my instinct is to see books as a self-evident good. That said,…

  • What exactly are “Rigorous Readable Books”?

    What exactly are “Rigorous Readable Books”?

    When we were first trying to articulate the kind of books we wanted to publish “rigorous” and “readable” was the most succinct form of words we could come up with. As you can see from how often our website and other public facing materials use them, they still are. So what exactly do we mean…

  • What Personalisation Means (to us)

    What Personalisation Means (to us)

    If you’ve read through our brief summary of why you should publish with us, you’ll have seen a reference to our personalised approach to publishing. Sure, that sounds great – who wants an impersonal approach to publishing – but what do we really mean by it? You work one on one with me throughout I…

  • On Seafaring

    On Seafaring

    I’ve long been fascinated by the paradox of the sea – and really this applies to any large body of water, be it a great lake, or a navigable river, as well as the open ocean – that it is at once a barrier and a conduit. From a military point of view, sea borders…