Welcome to Own Your Own Imprint
If you are interested in independent publishing, read on...
Hello creatives
Thank you for dropping by.
If you’re reading this, you are probably curious about independent publishing.
I don’t blame you.
These are exciting times for creatives, especially those with an interest in the business side of things. In the 25 years I’ve been in the media, first as a magazine editor, then as a bestselling novelist, the landscape has changed beyond all recognition.
Hello - I’m Tasmina. Former lawyer, magazine editor, Sunday Times bestselling novelist and publisher. Read a little bit more about my career here.
The career path of a writer used to be quite straightforward.
You created something – a novel, a poem, a non-fiction book and found an agent to get you in front of editors who would give you an advance on book sales.
Occasionally a writer might do it themselves, but this was called vanity publishing and very much sniffed at until tech came along and made it easy to connect directly with audiences.
By the 2010s, Instagram was awash with poets with gigantic followings, whilst some authors who were independently publishing through Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing platform were making seven figures a year
My great friend, Bella Andre was one of them. For years, Bella had been encouraging me to pivot into independent publishing. But despite seeing Bella’s remarkable success, I resisted, too comfortable in traditional publishing to take the plunge.
Until lockdown happened. That caused a bottle-neck at the publishing companies and retailers and when the launch of my latest book was delayed - and put back again - I decided to take out a novel I had in a bottom drawer and publish it myself.
That book The Singles Table went into the Amazon top 100 charts and stayed there for nearly three months. Instead of giving my next book to a traditional publisher, I decided to indie-publish again. I took out a lease on a little riverside office and set up my own digital imprint, determined to do it properly. Working alongside my husband, a former commercial publisher who is as excited about the creator economy as I am, we did a deep dive into marketing, advertising and the business of digital bestsellers, releasing new Tasmina Perry books as soon as I could write them.
Life by the river!
It’s been a wild ride. I’ve relaunched my backlist in the US, created a new mystery series about an investigative reporter called Lara Stone, released a charity anthology to support humanitarian relief in Ukraine and taken on more authors. I have my latest novel out on submission with various LA production companies for their consideration. They don’t care who’s published my book - Penguin Random House, Sunflower & Co or the Man in the Moon, they only care if it’s a great story and works for adaptation.
Some of Sunflower & Co’s titles
It’s hard work but exhilarating. As a traditionally published author I’ve had multiple Sunday Times bestsellers and got a thrill seeing my name on the list every time.
But nothing beats the sense of controlling your own career.
Unattached to a publishing company’s release schedule you can get projects out there almost as soon as you create them. Cutting out a chain of middle-men means you can keep prices lower for your consumer and quickly make revenue for yourself. You no longer need permission to do anything. You can just create and go, using platforms like YouTube, KDP, Apple or Kobo.
Smashing it in indie-publishing. Multi-million copy selling Bella Andre, former Silent Witness screenwriter Simon McCleave, Lucy Score (who sold her self-published series to Simon and Schuster) and LJ Ross
Over the past three years, the question I’ve been asked the most is this:
How do you do it?
The actual mechanics of self-publishing.
So many different people want to know.
Established, traditionally published authors with one eye on the future or those who have kept the rights to publish in other countries. They like the idea of having their own publishing imprint and having more control over their careers.
Other authors have been interested in a hybrid model - writing books for trad publishing but releasing novellas or books under a pseudonym themselves.
Writers that have been knocked back by the gatekeepers - agents and publishers - but still believe in their projects and want to get their books to market another way.
Or people who have yet to start writing but want to know all their publishing options before they begin.
I’m here to help everyone
I want build a place where I can share all my indie-publishing knowledge, as well as everything I’ve learned from 25 years in book and magazine publishing. The importance of covers on the newsstand, the colour palettes to avoid, the universal beats that underpin bestsellers whether they are traditionally published or self-published, words and ideas that grab people’s attention and convert readers into fans.
I want to share everything I know about this creative, brilliant, fast-moving and sometimes frustrating business. I want to do it in a fun and encouraging way. And I want you to start earning seven-figures from your writing, like I have.
It could be that after doing your own deep dive into independent publishing, you decide to take a traditional publishing deal.
But subscribing to Own Your Own Imprint isn’t about the old-way or the new way, it’s about the different, flexible routes you can take to make a living as a creative.
It’s about choice and giving you the tools to make strategic, informed decisions about your career.
So let’s go!
There are a number of options on Own Your Own Imprint.
Free subscribers
Every month you’ll get something from me about independent publishing, perhaps an interview with someone who is smashing it or thoughts on creative business. I’m keeping up with developments in the media industry so you don’t have to.
Paid membership
If you are serious about independent publishing, I’ll tell you all you need to know to give your imprint every chance of success.
You’ll get weekly essays and regular tips on everything from craft to marketing and promotion to foreign translations and film and TV options.
I’ll be interviewing some of the industry’s leading creators.
Paid members will get 50% off my Self-publishing Intensive Masterclass, which will be a visual walk through of the entire independent publishing process, with over 20+ hours of video content. (Coming in Spring 2025)
I’ve tried to make this course as competitively priced as possible and with the paid subscribers discount it’s even better value.
(Regular price of the course is £199. Paid subscribers of OYOI can get it for £99).
You will also receive 10% of any IRL courses and supper clubs which will cover writing and publishing. I’d love to build an engaged community of independent creators and think that in-person events is a key way to do it.
Founder memberships
They’ll be a very limited amount of these. You’ll get two 35 minute phone call/zoom calls with me to discuss your creative project or to ask specific advice about the indie-publishing process. This will cost £250 and of course, gives you access to all the above paid benefits as well. If you think you might need extra coaching to help kick-start your own publishing imprint - this might also be for you.
See you there
Tasmina x