‘There’s a book in all of us’ says author who self-published his

Síofra Grant

The sun was beating through the tall windows of the small meeting room in the Mullingar Library on Saturday July 4. Chairs were arranged around the table in a semi-circle facing the board at the top of the room beside which stood Anthony Viney.

As guests poured in, notebooks at the ready, they greeted the author and took their seats.

They’re there for Anthony’s self publishing workshop as part of the Mullingar Literary Festival.

The festival is just another feather in Westmeath’s literary cap and this year it was hailed as another massive success for the town.

The county, and the county town itself, have a long and rich history of literary accomplishments stretching back all the way to the myths and legends of this little island. Celebrated authors have been connected to Mullingar and the surrounding areas. Names like Oliver Goldsmith, Jonathan Swift, and James Joyce have all drawn inspiration from the beauty of Mullingar.

Now, groups like Inklings contribute to the rich tapestry of writers the town boasts. One of these writers is Anthony Viney, a member of Inklings and a published author.

His book, On the Road to Damascus, a thriller inspired by a trip to Syria in 2011 was released three years ago; Anthony decided to self publish and his experience was the premise of this workshop and the room was buzzing with interest in his story and his advice.

“In terms of my own sort of publishing, I visited Syria in 2011 during the early part of the conflict. I managed to persuade a driver to take me in from Beirut and spent a while there,” he told the audience. Coming back I thought well, maybe there’s a story in this. So I turned my experience into a thriller called On the Road to Damascus. It’s self published, so I’ve been through that technical journey of trying to get something out.”

Anthony began by listing out the pros and cons of traditional publishing and how self publishing differs in terms of cost and workload: “Compared to self publishing, a smaller percentage of the money goes back to the writer,” he explained.

“It’s also time consuming, sending extracts or submissions to agents and you have to wait for them to reply. You get turned down, you go to another one, you get turned down again, and so it goes on.

“So even though you’re itching to get this thing published, it could be months or longer before you hear something,” Anthony said.

The workshop also touched on the focus publishers have put on having a social media presence. Anthony highlighted some of the benefits of a traditional publisher; It doesn’t cost you anything, you can get an advance on your sales, the editing is free, the marketing is free, and the cover art is free.

But how does that compare with the benefits of self publishing?

“First, you have control of your product, nobody is telling you what to write and what to change. You’re not bound by fashion or trends or genres.

“Many publishers work with specific genres and if you’re going to submit to a publisher or agent, then you need to check and it can be checked quite easily what genre they deal with,” he said.

“The other thing is, in self publishing a larger proportion of the money goes to the author. So you get more money if you make the sales.”

However, Anthony also warned of some bad actors in the publishing world such as “vanity publishers,” and “hybrid publishers” who ask for money to publish the book.

According to Anthony, the product is often sub-standard: “You can also write what you’re really passionate about so you can self publish nonsense if you want – at least it’s authentic nonsense.

“And you’re left with a book that is a legacy. You’ve got a book you’re proud of.”

But what does publishing your own book entail?

Once you’ve written the book, and got it all out, you have to let people read it before going any further. Anthony listed examples of who you should get to read over the finished piece and essentially pick it apart.

“Family and friends, and I’ll put a question mark there. Some family members will be inclined to say that’s brilliant, that’s great, best thing I’ve ever seen.

“Or it’s the opposite, which I experienced with my wife. I had written a short story and I read it to her and she was doubtful.

“I asked, well what does it need? And she said a match.”

This elicited a laugh from the room, and a few gasps but Anthony clarified that his wife was in fact correct and it pushed him to do better: “She read my book, which she hadn’t seen drafts of, and said that’s good.”

Anthony then brought up the concept of Beta readers: “You might know them, you might google them, they may be in your writers group.

“They’re people who will read your work and give an opinion on it. They don’t edit but they’ll give an opinion on whether they liked it, whether there were plot holes in it, whether the characters were believable.”

Anthony explains that depending on who the beta reader is, they may do it for free, for a fee or in exchange for you reading their work. He also advised that if you struggle with technology and formatting, you can hire someone to take care of that for you.

“The cover,” continued Anthony, “some people think ‘oh whatever, AI can do that’, but you have to be wary as with AI, there are some real issues to look out for.”

You could employ a graphic designer to do the cover for you: “I had a local artist do the falcon on mine, she painted it, then I passed it on to the IT person.”

Then Anthony got into the importance of the blurb, the International Standard Book Number (ISBN) and the author’s bio: “In On the Road to Damascus I had, at the end, an ‘about the author’. “I was a bit naughty because to write it, I went to meet the journalist Robert Fisk. I met him in Beirut while I was writing the novel and I was standing in a cafe in Beirut and I thought let’s put Robert in the photo.”

Literary Festival

Anthony’s workshop was just one of the excellent events that took place over the weekend. Mullingar Literary Festival created moments of reflection, laughter, emotion, and inspiration, while also giving local and visiting writers a platform to connect directly with readers.

A standout moment of the weekend came on the Saturday evening, when Niall Breslin appeared in conversation with John Geoghegan before delivering a memorable piano performance.

Laurence Meehan, chair of the event, was delighted with the result: “Across the weekend, we saw stories shared, voices lifted, memories made, and a community come together around words, music, poetry, conversation, and creativity. That is what Mullingar Literary Festival is all about.”

An estimated 2,500 people attended over the three days, hundreds of adults and children entered the writing competitions – almost double on last year’s figures.

The Mullingar Literary Festival is establishing itself as an important cultural event, bringing people into the heart of Mullingar and showcasing it as a place of creativity, hospitality, and community spirit.

Anthony Viney’s book, ‘On the Road to Damascus’, is available on Amazon.