Why I chose to publish my next book myself

my self-published memoir comes out in the new year

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This isn’t a ‘how-to’ post, this is just me writing about my creative experiments. Not every author wants to be entrepreneurial—they just want to write the damn thing. I’ve always enjoyed experimenting and I want to know the nuts and bolts of what goes into publishing my books.

A decade in, I’ve realised I want way more creative control. I want to be closer to briefing the cover designs. I want to know exactly how many books I’ve sold. I want to have access to all my data. I want payments to come in regularly, not sporadically. I want to be very involved with the PR and marketing plans. I want to use the platform I’ve built. I am very hands-on with planning my book tours anyway, so I want to ramp up my involvement in what events look like and invest in these even more.

So I thought: what if I attempt to do it myself this time round?
What if I treated this as an experiment?
What if I re-release A Year of Nothing, my story of burnout, totally on my own terms?

(This doesn’t mean I’m ‘leaving’ the industry. Far from it. I’m speaking at the London Book Fair next year, etc. Plus I have a new traditionally published book in the pipeline, but I will continue to experiment because being an author in 2025 is not straightforward.)

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A bit about the book: A Year of Nothing follows my quiet rebellion against the cult of doing. Over four seasons, I step away from the noise and rediscover joy in life’s simplest pleasures, from dog borrowing and dopamine dressing to relearning how to swim and embracing a child-free life.

‘Emma Gannon’s honesty and willingness to be vulnerable lays out a path for her readers to follow.’ - Julia Cameron, author of The Artist’s Way

‘Not sure I’ve ever needed a book more.’ — Fearne Cotton

‘[Gannon] is determined to carry the lessons from her burnout, and her recovery, into a slower, more spacious life.’ — BBC Culture

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Highlights and learnings so far! ✨