Author Nick Spalding's top 10 self-publishing tips

By Alison Feeney-Hart.  BBC News

Nick Spalding is the bestselling self-published author in the UK. He recently signed a six-figure book deal.

His romantic comedies Love... From Both Sides and Love... And Sleepless Nights were the first and third-best selling self-published e-books in 2012.
With Amazon saying 15% of Kindle sales come from authors with no book deal, here are his top 10 tips to succeeding in a crowded field.

1. Don't give up the day job

I was a media officer for the police. It did help a bit - knowing how to write a press release, but it didn't help so much with writing the book! I didn't give up my day job until I'd signed a contract with Hodder & Stoughton.
It is such an up and down industry - you can be flavour of the month one minute and nothing the next, even when you have had a certain level of success. Until you've got enough money coming in to be able to justify it to yourself, don't give up the day job.
Everyone wants to live the dream and write full time, but it is a very difficult industry to get into and a very difficult industry to stay in. Learn to write around your day job in the beginning, that's what I did. Frankly it's what almost every successful author in history had to do with only a few exceptions.

2. Be yourself

You have to be yourself in your writing. You have to pick a genre that suits you as a person and you as a writer. If you are a happy go lucky person it might not be best to write about a serial killer or vice versa.

There are enough obstacles for a new author, don't create more for yourself, write in a style you are comfortable with. If you are not enjoying writing it, if you are not comfortable writing it, nobody is going to enjoy reading it. 
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