Troubador Publishing
Alex Thompson, explains how Troubador helps writers to achieve their dreams, with one of their titles now adapted for the big screen starring Helena Bonham Carter and Anthony Hopkins.
|
The rise in popularity of self-publishing has seen a slew of new authors taking the non-traditional route to print. Troubador Publishing’s business development manager, Alex Thompson, spoke to MaHa about crushing stigma and creating titles to be proud of.
Established in the 1980s, Troubador started life as a publishing company, run out of Jeremy Thompson’s garage in Clipston. In 1996, Jeremy (Alex’s father) spotted a growing trend in self-publishing and decided to set up a business to help authors realise their dream of a professionally published book. ‘Our founder, Jeremy Thompson, recognised that there was an increasing demand for high-quality books in the self publishing space,’ explains Alex. ‘At the time, options for self-publishing were more limited than they are today, with a larger stigma around the practice. Thankfully this has changed over the past 25 years!’ With offices in Manor Walk and Kibworth behind them, Troubador moved to their impressive new office and distribution space at the Airfield Business Park in December 2021, as part of a £400k investment. Despite it’s growth over the past 40 years, Troubador remains an independent family-owned business, determined to give their customers the best service. ‘Self-publishing is essentially the publication of a book by an author, without the involvement of a traditional publisher,’ explains Alex. ‘The cost of publishing is funded by the author and the author gets final say in how their book is created.’ Troubador offer a variety of services for those wishing to bring their book idea to life; with copyediting, cover design and even accompanying websites. To be involved in every stage of the creation of a book is something many writers find attractive. ‘There are many reasons why an author may choose to self-publish, whether that is for commercial gain, personal satisfaction or to tie in with a business launch or fundraising venture,’ says Alex. ‘We don’t accept everything that is submitted to us, as we want to make sure everything we put our name to is a quality product. ‘We are known for the professionalism of our service and honest advice, and offer end-to-end publishing services. These include; editorial, typesetting, cover design, ebook and audiobook conversion, active marketing to the trade, publicity and distribution. When we send the finished book off to print, we use the same printers that are used by traditional publishers.’ Troubador are also in the unique position of being the only self-publishing provider in the UK that distribute directly to high-street bookshops. ‘Many other providers specialise in online retailers such as Amazon,’ explains Alex. ‘However, our systems, knowledge and relationships gives us the ability to pitch and sell books into bookshops, giving a self-published author the best possible chance of seeing their book on bookshop shelves.’ Authors come to Troubador for many different reasons. Some may only want a small print run to pass on their books to friends and family, while others believe their book could be the next top seller. Troubador’s list of successes is impressive, including The Letter by Kathryn Hughes (2013) which was signed up by Headline (part of Hachette) after making over 150,000 ebook sales. Close Quarters by Angus McAllister (2017) was picked up by Waterstones Scotland and made Book of the Year. In January 2024, the film adaptation of If It’s Not Impossible... The Life of Sir Nicholas Winton by Barbara Winton, will be released. The book documents the life of Sir Nicholas Winton who helped to rescue Jewish children from Czechoslovakia – the Kindertransport – ahead of World War II and was first published by Troubador in 2014. The adaptation One Life stars Anthony Hopkins, Helena Bonham Carter and Jonathan Pryce. With some fantastic successes under its belt, and a warehouse full of books ready to be released into the world, what stories stand out for Alex and the team? ‘One book that will always be memorable is Big-Hearted Man by Kate Boydell, which we published in 2003,’ says Alex. ‘Kate was widowed at thirty-seven with two small children after her husband, Charlie, died of a heart condition. She contracted us to produce a book documenting their lives and the events around Charlie’s tragic death. At the time, we were still based in Manor Walk, and this book was the largest print run we had done at that stage as well as our first dual edition (hardback and paperback). Kate had an incredibly successful interview with Simon Mayo on his drivetime show and, not long after Kate went on air, our phone started ringing off the hook. We took 180 orders in ten minutes and sales continued to be incredibly strong for weeks afterwards. As this was long before we had our warehouse, we had to package up and take all the orders to the post office ourselves! For many people, the dream of writing a book is something unattainable. However, Troubador are bringing the reality of becoming a published author closer. ‘My advice to anyone who feels they have a book inside them is to write it and get it out there!’ says Alex. ‘There have never been more ways to bring a book to market with options available to authors with all goals and budgets. We love nothing more than seeing an author’s book go from a manuscript to a beautifully printed copy on a bookshop shelf.’ |
Issue 20
|