Lyrical venture

Although it meant taking direct responsibility for writing, production, marketing and sales of her book, and that she would have to fund it herself, Beverly Maiden was undettered in self-publishing her debut poetry collection.

She was spurred on by reading David St John Thomas's recent series of monthly articles on the topic in Writing Magazine. 'I was self-publishing for pleasure and enjoyment, for family, my friends and myself, and that was enough,' she says. 'I believed that my collection of poetry, Lyrical, written whilst in recovery from life-threatening surgery to remove a pituitary tumour at the base of the brain, would have a readily accessible market, and knowing that I would make a small loss, the venture still seemed worthwhile because it was just something I needed to do.'