Lockdown business is a bestseller

A Stoke-on-Trent couple are helping authors to publish their books after they set up new business ‘Author Help’ during the pandemic.

Robin and Jen Phillips, (pictured) from Burslem, have set up ‘Author Help’ to help writers publish the books they’ve written during lockdown.

Robin, 50, had already self-published nearly a dozen of his own military history books, so was in an ideal position to guide others through the same process. Jen, 42, joined the business after being furloughed then made redundant from her role as a technical author and software tester.

Robin said: “I was made redundant and didn’t need to find a new job straight away as Jen was in a stable job at that point. So I took a leap into the unknown and set up the business. We tried it and it has worked and grown nicely. It’s bringing in moderate money at the moment.”

Jen added: “When I was made redundant too I had a complimentary skillset to Robin. I didn’t know about publishing but I did know about quality assurance, technical writing and related disciplines.

“The more we thought about it, the more we thought it looked more viable than going out and finding a job. For a start it’s safer as we can do it all remotely. We’ve turned a negative into a positive.”

The couple have so far helped 44 authors to publish books, including authors from as far afield as Scandinavia, Greece and Singapore. Genres have included autobiographies, self-help, novels and a sci-fi epic. They can help writers to navigate the entire process, turning a manuscript into a fully-fledged book.

“It can be a very satisfying process,” added Jen. “People put their soul into their writing and that comes through.”

To find out more visit authorhelp.uk

(Main image Martin Brough.)

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