Business student self-publishes novels during lockdown
| Business
Level 3 Business student, Byron Griffin, has taken the lockdown period in his stride by self-publishing a number of his own novels.
Byron was home-schooled before coming to College, which sparked his interest in creative writing. He was inspired to start writing stories in the horror genre through listening to various narrations on YouTube, as well as his interest in gothic novels, including H.P Lovecraft and Anne Rice. “Music also inspires me”, commented Byron. “I listen to things like dark ambient music that fits the mood of the story or scene I want to write, so I can find myself more able to envision it.”
“I’ve used knowledge of pricing strategies when publishing to set the books’ price.”
Like lots of people, being in lockdown has allowed Byron more time to do what he loves and has helped with his writing. “The pandemic itself inspired my story, Prince of Physicians, being set in a town afflicted by a strange and new pestilence which grows unchecked thanks to the local Government’s inaction.”
Byron’s other stories have drawn inspiration from video games, mice experiments and even the Bible. “The way I come up with my concepts and stories involves the basic inspirations: what I mean is that I will get some very basic idea in my head from, a quote, a story, etc and then I will start thinking of how I could make a story from that”, commented Byron.
Studying Business at College has helped Byron with the process of publishing and pricing his work. “I’ve used knowledge of pricing strategies when publishing to set the books’ price and when it comes to promoting them, both college and my work experience placement have helped me try to promote my books. Having learned about things like the 7 Ps has been useful in guiding my decisions, without them, I would not have had any ideas as to how to begin.” Byron has also used his knowledge of taxes to help him with the publishing and payment process.
“If you want to start writing or are thinking about self-publishing your books, my advice to you would be to read any and all books”, explained Byron. “It really will help you understand what to do better but don’t let yourself fall into the trap of thinking there are correct ways to do it, write whatever you want or else you might stop enjoying it.”
You can find Byron’s published work here.