Why did you choose to self-publish?

I spent a great deal of time attempting to get published in the conventional manner. After two years, the penny was beginning to drop that normal publication for an unknown author is virtually impossible. The return of just a few of the manuscripts in surprisingly pristine condition led this retired police detective to suspect its pages had never even been "thumbed". The few replies I did get all included a stock phrase - "not for us".

A birthday present of a Kindle set me thinking and so I began to look into independent publishing this way; it seemed fairly simple and there did appear to be some workable methods of promoting the book. The snag, of course, being that all the publicity would be down to me. I was confident that anyone who actually read my book would enjoy it but realised that it would still be an almighty task to get the general public to notice. I was fortunate to meet up with successful Stoke-on-Trent author Mel Sherratt (Taunting the Dead). Mel talked me through how she had used the Kindle route and how it had rocketed her to the bestseller charts. She went on to explain how useful Facebook and Twitter had been to her.

Cathedral of Lies was up and running on Kindle in a few weeks. Within a few months Cathedral of Lies had sold hundreds of copies and attained dozens of five-star Amazon reviews with several customers asking for a sequel.

Tell us a bit about the books

Cathedral of Lies is a crime thriller with action from the very first line. A violent drug dealer makes a gunpoint escape from his trial at Exeter Crown Court. Events quickly move north to a Staffordshire beauty spot with the discovery of a charred and mutilated body. The corpse is found to have a bizarre history attached to it, but the events appear unrelated until another body is found in a burnt out car at exactly the same spot.

Even after the story has ended with a final twist, the experience continues as each reader is supplied with a code that opens secret pages on a website. This reveals photographs of the book's real-life locations and full details of the true unsolved crime upon which the story was based.

"The Vampire of The Villas" (also on Kindle) is a short, true story about a case which I dealt with as a young police officer in 1972. I. It concerns the only death in British history recorded as being caused through a belief in vampires.

What are the advantages of self-publishing?

The fact that I am actually published must rate as the main benefit and this coupled with the fact that I immediately acquired a worldwide audience (through the different international Amazon sites). I am in control of my book, I can change the price, change the cover and the content if the need occurs. I can view my sales hour by hour (if I have the time!)

When selling through Amazon your book will accrue reader reviewsand can help the selling process no end.

The disadvantages?

Most self-published authors will agree that marketing is the biggest headache. Doing your own marketing is a stressful, never-ending task. Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads and more, are things you'll have to get up to speed with as well as approaches to local newspapers, magazines and radio stations. I found that I was spending more time on this than I had done actually writing the book.

Would you do it again?

Absolutely yes. Almost every printed book is now also available as an ebook, so why hang about waiting for a publisher to realise how good you are? Get your book on Kindle and if a publisher comes along later with an offer (and the hindsight of seeing how popular your book is) then maybe you can sit down and talk. I have already published my second book on Kindle (albeit a short story) and I'm working on a sequel to Cathedral of Lies, also for Kindle.

Have you worked with an editor or designer?

It is hugely important that your own style of writing comes through to the reader. To achieve such a goal would require the services of an editor capable of adjusting to your mind-set and whose services would be available to you over several drafts.Only the most successful of authors can afford this.

I made the costly mistake of working with an editor at a very early stage. None of the original editing now exists but the cost still shows as a sizeable hole in my pocket.

From that point onward I chose to use my own skills coupled with the grammatical knowledge of my wife and friends. With regard to design, I was very lucky as I have friend who is involved in graphic design and was able to create wonderful book covers for both books.

Do you think this is important?

Diligent editing and proof-reading are vital if a book is to be considered as a worthwhile read. You must, however, cut your cloth accordingly and if running on a tight budget seek the help of bookworm friends (we all have some).

I did not understand the full worth of cover design until after publication. Most people are attracted to a book by its cover – the adage "you can't tell a book by its cover" is not necessarily incorrect.

Talk us through how you're publishing (ebook/print, digital rights management). How are you pricing your book?

I would consider printed books if a publisher approached me. With regard to digital rights management (DRM), Kindle has this aspect catered for. Some people have suggested problem areas with accepting Kindle's opting in or out of their DRM scheme but I cannot see that it affects me much either way. What Kindle's DRM tries to do is protect your book from being stolen via illegal downloads.

The maximum royalty you can collect with a Kindle book is 70% of the sale price, but that only applies to books priced over £1.49. You must try to strike a happy medium and if you want that higher royalty of 70% it should be for a price which you consider a reader will be happy to take a gamble on for an unknown author.

I weighed up the pros and cons and decided on £2.99 as low enough to remain interesting to potential readers and still supply a small profit.

If, of course, you wanted to go down to a lower price you must be happy to accept the 35% royalty of less than £1.49 (not much!). I recently reduced my short story The Vampire of The Villasto 98p as an advert for Cathedral of Lies. Hopefully readers may be interested in another John Pye.

A short passage from Cathedral of Lies

The tinder dry grass and bracken had been reduced to a thick carpet of grey and black ash. Two sets of well-defined footprints belonging to Warburton and the police sergeant led towards the centre.

The body lay stretched out on its back. The head appeared to have imploded. A hole existed where the jaw should have been, fragments of teeth and shards of blackened skull on show. The rest of the body in contrast was still recognisable as a male and, despite its roasted appearance most of the flesh appeared to remain. Clothing still adhered to the body where it rested on the ground and some remnants even clung to the torso and legs.

The crime scene investigation would go on for several hours and involve a meticulous in situ examination of the body along with a thorough combing of the surrounding area. When this painstaking work was completed, the body was carefully lifted, amidst a welter of camera flashes and installed into a black body bag.

The sound of the heavy duty zipper being drawn along its length finally signalled the end of a long day for Taylor and Deakin.

Other self-published titles I would recommend

Taunting the Dead Mel Sherratt, The Red Church Scott Nicholson