University launches self-publishing MA

03.02.14 | Sarah Shaffi - The Bookseller

The University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) will launch the country’s first MA in self-publishing this year to help writers gain the skills they need to “become the next E L James”.

Course leader Debbie Williams said the MA would also help those “put off by the traditional publishing model”.

The course is being billed as a “one stop-shop providing a real toolkit for students wishing to learn all the skills they need to succeed as a self-published author”. It will cover handling finance and sales, digital e-book publishing options, marketing, self-editing and production, and layout and design.

Williams said that new technology was contributing to the “astonishing growth” in self-publishing, but so were the “exorbitant charges being levied by some traditional publishing houses who can charge aspiring writers as much as £15,000 to work with them”.

She continued: “Everyone has a book in them – and many of us have a manuscript sitting in the drawer, unsure what to do with it. Think of all the literary treasures that have never had the chance to see the light of day because their authors were put off by the traditional publishing model.
“Our new MA will help guide these individuals through the process to help them realise the dream of seeing their book in print.”
UCLan is the former university of self-published author Kerry Wilkinson, whose novel Locked In claimed the top spot in the Kindle bestseller chart in the last quarter of 2011.

Wilkinson now has a deal with Pan Macmillan.

UCLan’s MA in self-publishing launches in September 2014.