Local editor dispels myth about self-published authors

Article featured in the Monthly Chronicle

Somehow, Tanya Natalie and her father have crammed 35,000 books into their store, The Bookplate, to sell.

It’s a number competing with the amount of books in Dymocks in Sydney, which was reviewed as the largest bookstore in Australia.

While managing a weekly newsletter, the other 15,000 books that are “in storage”, and a catalogue of all the books in the shop, Tanya astonishingly also runs a freelance editing business and has been mentoring authors since 2004.

“There are many myths about self-publishing that I disagree with,” she said.

“I want local authors to embrace that even if they’re not published with a big brand, they have still produced a work of art, which is something to be incredibly proud of.’’

“I’m in awe of the works I’ve been lucky enough to edit by local and global writers, there is serious talent out there.”

Tanya is currently in the middle of editing a local writer’s romance novel and said the emotional vulnerability a writer exposes when they share their work with her is admirable.

“Writing is very personal, and when self-publishing, a writer has an element of control over their work, which they may not be afforded as much by traditional publishing houses.”

Iconic self-published novels include The Tale of Peter Rabbit, Eragon, The Martian, and Ulysses.

The Bookplate opens every day from 11am, closing at 6pm (5pm on weekends) and several reading chairs are available for bookworms to take their time when choosing a book to buy.

For more information visit https://tanyanatalie.com.au/.

Tanya has a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature from the University of Sydney and a Diploma of Book Editing & Publishing from Macleay College.

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Recommended Reading List

Recommended Reading List

1] The Art of Happiness – Dalai Lama & Howard C. Cutler

2] Of Love & Other Demons – Gabriel Garcia Marquez

3] Jitterbug Perfume – Tom Robbins

4] Tales of The Night – Peter Hoeg

5] Losing My Virginity – Richard Branson

6] Catch 22 – Joseph Heller

7] i, Lucifer – Glen Duncan

8] Q & A – Vikas Swarup

9] A Scanner Darkly – Philip K Dick

10] Little Women – Louisa May Alcott

11] The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-time – Mark Haddon

12] The Secret History – Donna Tartt

13] Princess – Jean Sasson

14] Calvin & Hobbes – Bill Watterson

15] Fairy Tales – Hans Christian Anderson

16] The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo trilogy – Stieg Larrson

17] A Heartbreaking Work Of Staggering Genius – Dave Eggers

18] Running With Scissors – Augusten Burroughs

19] Lorna Doone – R. D. Blackmore

20] An Unquiet Mind – Kay Redfield Jamison

21] The Little Prince – Antoine St Exupery

22] 1984 – George Orwell

23] You Shall Know Our Velocity – Dave Eggers

24] Girl With A Pearl Earring – Tracy Chevalier

25] The Bell Jar – Sylvia Plath

26] The Perks Of Being A Wallflower – Stephen Chbosky

27] The Surgeon of Crowthorne – Simon Winchester

28] Bedlam – Dominic Bosco

29] Go Ask Alice – Anonymous

30] Lord of The Flies – William Golding

31] The Virgin Suicides – Jeffrey Eugenides

32] Interview with The Vampire – Anne Rice

33] The Tao of Pooh & The Te of Piglet – Benjamin Hoff

34] Misery – Stephen King

35] Othello – Shakespeare

36] The Hitchhikers’ Guide To The Galaxy series – Douglas Adams

37] The Hunger Games trilogy – Suzanne Collins

38] Daughters Of The Vicar – D.H. Lawrence

39] The Peter Principle – Peter & Hull

40] Harry Potter series – J. K. Rowling

41] The Time Traveler’s Wife – Audrey Niffenegger

42] Alice in Wonderland – C. S. Lewis

43] The Magic Faraway Tree – Enid Blyton

44] Watchmen – Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons

45] Rabbit-proof Fence – Doris Pilkington

46] The Other Hand – Chris Cleave

47] The Witches – Roald Dahl

48] Geek Love – Katherine Dunn

49] The Blue Bedspread – Raj Khamal Jha

50] Blink – Malcolm Gladwell

51] The Point of Rescue – Sophie Hannah

52] Miss Smilla’s Feeling for Snow – Peter Hoeg

53] The Woman & The Ape – Peter Hoeg

54] The Wasp Factory – Iain Banks

55] The Dice Man – Luke Rhinehart

56] The First Stone – Helen Garner

57] Joe Cinque’s Consolation – Helen Garner

58] A Short History of Nearly Everything – Bill Bryson

59] Hurry Down Sunshine – Michael Greenberg

60] Tell Me I’m Here – Anne Deveson

61] My Lobotomy – Howard Dully

62] King Lear – Shakespeare

63] Nausea – Jean-Paul Sartre

64] Rosie Little’s Cautionary Tales for Girls – Danielle Wood

65] Prozac Nation – Elizabeth Wurtzel

66] The Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini

67] We Need To Talk About Kevin – Lionel Shriver

68] Magical Thinking – Augusten Burroughs

69] The Trial of True Love – William Nicholson

70] Leila’s Secret – Kooshyar Karimi

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