My first doubts about my Publisher - Mr Harry Taylor, of Kinglake Publishing Ltd

I was beginning to have a few concerns about Mr Taylor.

I was told that my book would be available in book stores.  I had been in a few book stores locally to where I live and it was not to be seen.  I even asked in a couple of Waterstones Book Stores and was told it was only available to order.

I mentioned my concerns about this to Mr Taylor via email, but he managed to waffle around the subject.

It was the same when I asked about the other book signings he said he was arranging for me.  They never happened.

Mr Taylor then offered me a contract for my second book, Andrew’s Destiny.  This was for me to pay less money, but for the same deal as before.  He said that he would like it published before the 3^rd November when I was having my book signing.  This did not happen; he came up with some excuse about the shop not wanting me to be promoting two books as the same time.

I then spent the next few months trying to get the editing/corrections done on my book.

I sent pages and pages of things that were not correct – some silly little things, some quite important.  Most were because Mr Taylor said my book was far too long and he had cut out large chunks and told me not to bother and put them back.  He said they were superfluous to the story.

Now as he was the publisher I assumed he knew what he was talking about.

Unfortunately he cut out things that made subjects further on in the story senseless without some sort of explanation.

Mr Taylor even told me I was causing him too much work because I had put in a ‘carriage return’ after every line which he had to remove individually.  Now I use a computer, the term of ‘carriage return’ is only used as far as I am aware, when you are typing on a manual/old typewriter.  All I can assume is that the double spaced word document, which was how he had asked for my manuscript to be formatted, he was unable to convert back to single spacing.

He then told me to read some Graham Green books, he suggested a couple – I did buy one and read one, I thought I would try and see what he was trying to say/imply.  Having read this book that had been written in the middle forties I found it of no use whatsoever – it was very outdated.

Then on the 2^nd December I again wrote and asked Mr Taylor if the edits/corrections had been completed.  I had no reply.  I sent another email a few days later, and was told by his ‘secretary’ that he was away on business.  By now I was getting concerned, because he had told me that he wanted to get the book out in the 'shops' before Christmas.

I then had an email to say my book Andrew’s Destiny was published and I would receive my books shortly.