Books by self-publishing authors

(Autobiography) This author decided at 91 that it was time write up the short version of a long life lived well - for her children, numerous grandchildren, friends and wider family. For a woman raised in a children's home in Palmerston North from the age of 5 years, she went on to find and reconcile with her mother 44 years later, reunite with her siblings, raise a family of 5, find God, traipse round the country in a convoy of trucks, tents and caravans for 10 years preaching the gospel in remote Maori villages; marry a man she loved to the end, survive illness and accident and learn the keyboard in her 80s. "The view from the top is terrific," she says. Just 50 copies to test the waters and further print runs to meet demand. 100 pages with photographs, printed by CopyPress, Nelson.

Autobiography: The desire to leave a written record of one's life is a strong motive behind the writing of autobiographies. This book came out of several personal tragedies in which the author came to the growing realisation that God had been present through it all and that she was a pearl of great price. She also called her book Pearl of Great Price because Jesus Christ referred to himself as such a pearl, and because the fabulous blue pearl is cultured through processes painful to the marine shellfish. The life-history of the blue pearl runs alongside the author's own story. The author printed 200 copies for distribution to friends, family and interested networks. Books are available both from RealNZ Books online and from the author by email. The book is reflective with plenty of breathing space for illustrations and photos. 100 pages, Layout and cover design by Briar's Books, using author and designer art and photos.100 pages.

Fiction -300 pages

All sorts of capable and imaginative readers are hiding in the suburbs. This is a local novelist's 300-page sequel to an earlier book - The Tarnished Necklace. Cover design by a friend. Briar's Books took the book to print-ready stages. The earlier book pleased its readers so much that they begged for a sequel. This one set in 19th Century England and Wyoming, explores the tricky reconcilation between a pompous, aristocratic father and his estranged son in way that reflects the period and is authentic. Father gets his come-uppance in a way that delights the reader's sense of fair play. The type face was selected to reflect the period. Trish Duffin is a pseudonym. The book is credible and imaginative. A good read. 

The first of a trilogy

This Whanganui writer, already the author of a traditionally and internationally published historic fiction trilogy, is self-publishing her next trilogy, and this book, When this Day Comes, is the first book in the series, set in the fledgling city of Wellington about 1866. The author, Julianne Jones is carefully true to the period and writes easily and convincingly of the struggles of her heroine, a young woman finding her way towards independence and maturity while staying true to cherished values. The book moves between Australia and NZ and hints at an aristocratic heritage. Christian fiction, 294 pages. Cover design, layout and editing by BriarsBooks. Also made into an e-book for digital bookstores.

Fantasy

Meg, Papa's favourite singer in the Kingdom, wants to visit the Other Realm to see what the Shining Ones - who have already been there and returned - are talking about. Meg also wants to be a Shining One because she knows they make Papa happy. Permission is granted and Papa proposes a preliminary tour. Meg's adventures - often amusing - give her an introduction to life in the Other Realm. The question is, will she decide to go there for real and become a Shining One herself. 86 pages with questions for readers. Cover design by BriarsBooks. Track the book down at torupatiki@gmail.com or buy it online at Real NZ Books

Looking death in the face....

An autobiographical account of what it's like to face death. This book was edited and prepared as an ebook for the author, a Christian leader in the USA who found his faith was unexpectedly deeply tested when he was suddenly faced with a perilous sextuple heart bypass operation. Full of insight and "bon mots" from others who have had to look death in the face and lived - or not! Cover design by Briar's Books. Two digital formats, a pdf for a website and an epub for submission to digital bookstores

Man with a message

From a first time author. This NZ writer - a retired former senior manager - believes God is radically restructuring the western church into something much more relevant and powerful - by which he doesn't mean new buildings and institutions. 80 pages. Cover design by Briar's Books. The author expects the book to be controversial and will distribute it using his own channels.

Tribute to a distinguished friend

A literary 220 page tribute to a Scottish man by a friend now living in NZ - both men Gaelic speakers. This book found its way onto a BBC program celebrating authors from the Isle of Skye. The subject of the book had not only distinguished himself in education, but was also a decorated Gaelic speaker, poet and singer of traditional Gaelic songs. The book was an international effort: family, colleagues and friends - living in Scotland and Downunder - provided content and photos, the cover was conceptualised in Skye, the book layed out and designed in New Zealand. Given its specialist nature and audience the decision was made to print in Wellington and freight to Britain. The book invited a larger coffee-table format with spacious margins. About 45 colour and grayscale photos throughout. (His Gaelic songs and ballads - all recorded years ago - were converted to mp3s and uploaded to a private server on the Isle of Skye, with a link in the book. A fine and careful tribute to a close and distinguished friend.

Staying free

An experienced counsellor's handbook for her clients about how to get free and how to stay free, drawn from 40 years of counselling practice. 75 pages. Cover Design by Briar's Books. An A5 format suited this book, and because its style was warm and informal we moved away from the academic "serif" font to a non-serif and gave it an accessible and spacious layout.

Genealogy

This author - a retired psychiatrist - lives on the East Coast of the USA. He was impressed by work done by Briar's Books on a large genealogy for relatives living in New Zealand - Four Sons of Skye, see below - and wanted BriarsBooks to design and produce his own. Tolme Tales is 128 pages of text, with photos - all needing rescuing to work in print. The cover shows 7 generations of his family line. Though the book was produced and printed in NZ, at only 50 copies including postage, he was satisfied that costs were comparable to getting the job done on the U.S. East Coast. He has another book in the works and plans to use Briar's Books again. 

Beware! - the Elite

500 copies, written by a NZ scientist and academic inveighing against the rise of an elite class of people - megaphone in hand - who refuse to engage with policy makers having views other than their own. (Prescient as it happens.) 128pages. Cover (by Briar's Books) was intended to be humorous and satirical. The author drew on his experience in economics, science policy, business and management to present his views. Significant changes were needed in layout and style. After considering traditional publishing routes, the author chose to self-publish and do his own publicity and distribution.

Academic

An academic observes and recounts her experience over several years of teaching science in an indigenous school in New Zealand, in which the curriculum deferred to Maori worldviews and perceptions in the teaching of the scientific method. The author was a retiring university professor. Cover design by Briar's Books. 102 pages: She made the time-consuming mistake - as many do who self-publish - of providing images taken from the web or on a camera at very small sizes. These are unusable in commercial print and always have to be replaced - a frustrating process both for the designer and the author. This author had also prepared tables but submitted them as small images - so that the text was illegible. She had no original backups and all the tables had to be redone. It's hard to know how to prepare authors for this before they bring their material to the process. This author also wanted a digital edition of the book for online viewing.

A 126-page national anthology of haiku poetry on textured cream paper. Haiku are fastidiously crafted 3-line poems using extreme economy with words that capture a universal "Aha!" moment that works for any reader in any culture. The clients were so pleased with the finished book that they nominated it for a design award. Briar's Books was able to get calligraphers in Japan to create the kanji characters used on the cover. The characters read "Haiku Collection". As Japanese unfamiliar with haiku written by western poets the calligraphers spent an entire week looking for the most appropriate kanji, rejecting "masters of the haiku" for a phrase meaning "a group of haiku poets who are friends."The book was an exercise in balancing shapes against each other in pleasing and different ways on each double-page. I felt like an artist rather than a layout operator getting a book to print. Because we were using paper and card stock a bit outside the usual range special care had to be taken to make sure the cover colours remained true and that it all worked well together.

A NZ haiku poetry anthology

76 pages of poems and prose poems from the pen of one of NZ's most prolific writers of haiku and haibun poetry, Nola Borrell. Nola wanted this book illustrated with 12 full-page photographs. Fortunately one in my own collection suited the cover nicely and complemented her own in other parts of the book. We chose a lightly textured paper for this book and a satin finish to the cover. The usual detailed attention went into choosing and finely balancing the verses to best visual effect

The Science of homosexuality

This academic book of almost 300 pages has a complex index and long chapter references, numerous diagrams and footnotes.It has had multiple print runs and also been converted into e-books for sale on Amazon and international download from the author's website. It has also been translated into seven languages, most recently Arabic and Turkish. Conclusion: Homosexuality not genetic. Author chose self-publishing after traditional publishers began refusing the book.

Understanding homosexuality

This book has been translated into Korean and Turkish and is currently being translated into Thai. Over 300 pages with some diagrams but mainly text. Recognised as a classic among those who want out of homosexuality and people who want to understand what homosexuality actually is. The book was dropped by traditional UK publishers after two print runs and the author decided to self-publish. Found here: https://cravingforlove.nz It was also turned into a kindle e-book. This is a third edition to meet demand and was given a change of cover for the occasion.

Life lessons

2000 copies, 68 pages with colour and b/w illustrations. A former surfie and drug user turned believer, reflecting on life. The writer didn't realise that the illustrations he wanted to use were copyright-protected, so alternatives had to be found. Because he wanted the book out quickly and realised traditional publishers wouldn't be interested he decided to self-publish. He was a friendly type who conversed easily and could freely distribute the book himself. The supplied cover didn't help the book so BriarsBooks created one. The book had about a dozen illustrations but because few were in colour we went with cheaper uncoated paper.

On the sustainability theme

;A colouring in book with a difference!! for senior secondary school students selected for a Young Enterprise Award scheme. The students had decided to create a children's colouring book on the sustainability theme, using recycled materials, crayons made from beeswax and natural dyes, and using local skills. They collaborated with Zealandia, Wellington Zoo and Staglands to source photos that could be converted to line art that could be coloured in by primary school children and be FUN and EDUCATIONAL. They found BriarsBooks online and asked her to design an attractive colouring book and create the line art.

The restoration of people and property

An autobiography of 176 pages about an adventurous South Island kiwi couple who invested everything they had into a former TB Sanitorium in Central Otago and have spent years restoring it and turning it into a Christian rehabilitation, retreat and conference centre. The book needed heavy editing to remove jargon. Photos were also in a bad way so I put filters over them to stylise away difficult blemishes. The cover shows the superintendent's house in the 1920s compared with the house after they had restored it. It was meant to convey the heart of their project- the rehabilitation of buildings and people. A couple of thousand copies of this book have been printed and sold or given away to the hundreds of people who visit the sanitorium each year privately or in busloads.

A genealogy

This book was a challenge that ultimately took me 4 years. A 328-page genealogy, with 160 photos, genealogical charts and maps, appendices, bibliography and index. 400 copies. The author was meticulous in her research and checking. Every chart was provided hand-drawn and had to be recreated digitally. Old maps needed rescuing or redrawing. All photos needed editing and tonal adjustments. The cover was a combination of a black and white photo of the old family home and a coloured photo of a Scottish landscape that worked together. The clan tartan was placed along the cover, front and back. This book hit problems half way through with software incompatibilities - very trying for both client and designer. There were so many additions and corrections to this book it was a challenge keeping track of them all. It was an expensive book to print, but demand was strong within the clan internationally and interest was shown from libraries. The book had 3 reprints.,

Everyday miracles

88 pages, A5. 24 short stories of little miracles in the lives of everyday people - hence the title, Bread and Butter Miracles. Cover design by Tania Lee. This book was quick and easy to do. The author - a local senior citizen - was tired of hearing about miracles that only happened overseas and had wanted for years to write a book of authentic home-grown kiwi miracles. She was delighted to have achieved her dream and the book had 2 print runs before she died several years later.

Traveller's Tales

A5 book of 118 pages with 30 graphite illustrations. 400 copies. Traveller's tales by a Christian woman who visits many countries having supernatural adventures. The cover and illustrations were done by a local artist and it was a balancing act protecting the soft texture of the illustrations while removing inevitable smudges -  scanning and printing pick up the slightest smudges. Unfortunately the cover illustration had not been done with the ratio of an A5 book in mind so part of it had to be sacrificed to the process. The book needed editing to minimise jargon. This active author has already ordered another print run and files have been sent overseas to be used in a European edition

Buddhist becomes fiery Christian

A Malaysian Buddhist became a Christian but lived a ho-hum life until he was powerfully encountered several years ago by God in a "baptism of Fire." He and his wife, Chooi, now travel and minister this "baptism of Fire" in NZ and Asia. He wrote Empowering by Fire to introduce and explain the ministry. The book mostly comprises 45 daily meditative readings about the nature of this fire. The author self-published 100 copies in NZ but hopes to print further copies in Asia where costs are much lower.