Beverley Raw's Telling Tales, courtesy of UKUnpublished

by Suzan Abrams

Should I say that self-publisher David Buttle's vision is a cool one? As cool as frosted ice on a cream cake? I'd be lying if I didn't.

At first, it just sounded too good to be true. Buttle who opened UK Unpublished for writers who wanted to see their work in print on a low string budget - and he explains how this miracle is possible on his well-laid out website - said he sourced his ideas all of 2006 and 2007 before volunteering to help publish a writer's book for as low as say, £200 (the average estimate) and if you wanted a design cover he knew just the right person - but add on another £100 and well...the fee may hover a bit up and down the stakes but depending on the number of pages...and not a total sum that would invite disgruntlement.

In the meantime, Buttle would secure you an ISBN code for those necessary online & bookstore retailers/databases and the rest would be up to you...

Of course, if you were wise, you would have your manuscript seriously edited and proof-read beforehand...

Well, to-date Buttle has successfully catered for three authors - he published them in March/April 2009 and there's always room for more.

I decided to order Beverley Raw's 188-page paperback, Telling Tales from Waterstone's Dublin without ado. I haven't yet read her collection of short stories but excerpts from Telling Tales, The Looking Glass, Old Beaky, Rendezvous and Daddy's Little Camper don't disappoint. There is a free-spirited Woodstock tone about the lot...and I am reminded of a Lynne Reid Banks' classic; The L-Shaped Room.

Raw is an artist and jeweller, living in East Devon and clearly over the moon with her discovery of writing joys in later years.

Well...she has good reason to be proud. The book is so beautifully produced and with such an enticing cover that it quite took my breath away.

Buttle made the right decision in using Lightning Source, currently the UK's foremost Print-n-Demand expert; also a faithful companion to Salt Publishing and YouWriteOn.com

What a glossy neat finish to the cover, a tidy, pleasant template to the interior and overall, a sharp, snazzy look. Beverley Raw has herself a gorgeous paperback with Telling Tales if only she would go to town a little on her promotions.

Together with Lightning Source as his choice of printer, Buttle shows up a thoughtful sophisitcated result that would triumph over many mainstream publishers of traditional print in Malaysia and Singapore alone. In this vein, I'll exclude Silverfish Books Kuala Lumpur and Monsoon Books Singapore for a superb quality that currently shape their respective title lists.