04/11/23

Meet 'A Tapestry of Poetry' by members of the Suffolk Writers Group and edited by Gary Milsom. It's officially launched on December 13th and we're excited to be sponsoring the sold-out launch event!

20/10/23

Recently published author of 'Gran's Guide to Good Guts', Hazel Gaydon, has just recently been invited to give a series of talks about gut health at Bethlem Royal Hospital with Sir Norman Lamb. Her book carries an entertaining but important message for children and is available on Waterstones now. Congratulations, Hazel!

19/09/23

We were delighted to attend London's prestigious Royal Geographical Society to support Polar researcher and author, Brad Borkan, who was invited to speak about three inspiring individuals from the past, and their relevance in today's world. For more on Brad's writing, tap the button below and follow him on social media @PolarDecisions.

14/08/23

​We're proud and excited to be sponsoring the inaugural Foreword Festival, taking place in Bury St Edmunds this October! With workshops, speaking events, and even a Flash Fiction competition, this is a weekend not to be missed.

19/07/23

Local poet, Gary Milsom is collating a new anthology of poetry by Suffolk poets. The deadline is looming so if you're interested, tap the link to his website below!

26/06/23

We are super excited to be launching a new service that provides a high-quality alternative to Amazon print-on-demand, that offers high returns to authors, as well as making printing and distribution a breeze! Tap the link below to learn more.

05/06/23

We were saddened to hear of the fire at a Bristol infant school last week, so when we saw the opportunity to donate some books to help rebuild their library, we jumped at the chance to help!

09/05/23

Congratulations to playwright and Founding Artistic Director of The Anthropologists, Melissa Moschitto, on the publishing of her latest play, pictured here in the New York Public Library. We were honoured to work on this moving story of immigrant women in New York.

19/04/23

Don't go looking for us at the London Book Fair this year - we're not there! However we're always available to talk to you about your book. Arrange your free 1-2-1 consultation today.

26/03/23

What a great day we had at the Mid-Suffolk Business Exhibition! Lots of interesting chats with budding authors and fellow businesses. Remember, you can talk to us any day, not just at an event! Book your free publishing consultation below.

03/03/23

Along with our friends at West View IT, we were happy to welcome Stowmarket Chamber of Commerce to our offices for a spot of informal business networking over coffee. Lots of interesting connections made!

08/03/23

A new book by Dawn Jarvis has just been launched in time for this year's International Women's Day. It is a collection of real stories from real women who share the turning points that shaped their lives. Thank you, Dawn, for entrusting us with this fantastic book!

08/02/23

We are so excited for Maddy who has just been nominated as a finalist for the FSB (Federation of Small Businesses) Awards. She'll be attending the awards ceremony on March 17th where we wish her the very best of luck. It is a much deserved accolade and we're all very proud of her.

25/01/23

Heard of ChatGPT? If you haven't, you will soon. It's the brand new A.I. tool that is taking the world by storm. But is it something that poses a threat to writers or is it actually a useful tool? We had a LIVE discussion today with our friends at West View IT. Watch it again by tapping the link below.

16/12/22

We've put together a few of our highlights from 2022 along with some features of just some of the excellent projects we've been working on. Tap the link below to have a read with over a glass of sherry and a carrot - no, wait, that's for Santa. Merry Christmas!

08/11/22

A fantastic new resource from autism coach, Nicky Collins, has been published that draws on true stories from ten women from around the world. This is an inspirational read for anyone looking for advice on how to live their life in their own way and we've enjoyed guiding it through the whole publishing process. Congratulations, Nicky!

12/09/22

We were deeply saddened by the death of Queen Elizabeth II. We were subsequently asked by many of our clients on how they should use social media in the lead up to the funeral. Our thoughts and recommendations are here.

08/12/22

Maddy spent another day with a team of writing practitioners from the East of England at the National Centre for Writing in Norwich. We're fortunate to have this resource so close to us and we're looking forward to developing our links with them in 2023.

28/07/22

What a fantastic we enjoyed at the Market Cross in Bury St Edmunds, where 5 proudly independent authors spoke about their writing journeys in front of a supportive audience. It was also the launch of Maddy's new book! Click the link to find out more.

14/07/22

We've been privileged to help produce a new picture book by children's authors, Harry & Margaret Elson, that will be sold to raise money for koala rescue in Australia. Follow the adventures of Pocket & Patch on their Instagram!

07/06/22

We're delighted to be bringing our inaugural Writers Showcase to Bury St Edmunds on July 27th at 7pm. Come and join 5 fabulous local female authors as they talk about their writing and their self-publishing journey. In aid of Suffolk Libraries.

03/05/22

Places are being booked up for our new series of creative writing and self-publishing courses which start on May 17th! Find more information by visiting our website, where you can also book your place. 

06/04/22

We were really pleased to find so many Suffolk authors represented at The Market Cross in Bury this week, including our very own MJ Glenn! It's a beautiful place to read and eat cake. Go enjoy!

07/03/22

Over 60 authors from around the world gathered on March 5th for our self-publishing workshop in preparation for Atlanta Writers Club inaugural self-publishing conference in April. We loved meeting you all!

17/02/22

It's been a particularly busy few weeks at Softwood HQ, and we were delighted to have Lizzie, our intern, able to be working alongside us in person instead of on Zoom! We've also suffered from some staff absence due to illness, but all are on the mend now.

11/01/22

If you're looking for local tales by local writers, tune into BBC Radio Suffolk on January 11th for 'Transformation Myths' at 6pm (available afterwards on BBC Sounds), featuring our very own Maddy Glenn.

08/11/21

Congratulations to our client, Esme, for appearing on BBC Radio 1's 'Minute of Me' talking about her environmental children's book, Through the Eyes of a Tree. Available now on Etsy!

19/04/22

At 4pm on Wednesday 20th April, Lesley Dolphin will be in conversation with Maddy Glenn, discussing all things self-publishing and our new creative writing workshops in Needham Market's library.

8/9/21

Tickets are now on sale for our 2-hr workshop via Zoom, hosted by Guildford Book Festival. 

Click the link to find out what else they have going on in our former home-town!

21/7/21

We're delighted to welcome Lizzie to our team. Lizzie is an English graduate and is currently working towards her MA. She is particularly interested in historical, Victorian and children’s literature. 

1/7/21

We'll be at The Mix in Stowmarket, Suffolk, this Sunday morning. Come say hello to the team from 10am till 1.30pm.

10/6/21

We're really enjoying working on and promoting some amazing manuscripts by our LGBTQ+ clients this month!

1/6/21

We're delighted to be now able to offer short runs of colour paperbacks suitable for children's picture books!

25/5/21

Read our interview with Emma Jacobs on what steps to take when starting out self-publishing.

2/2/21

We're delighted to be featured in Surrey's latest edition of the Round and About magazine.

13/1/21

Thank you to the Guildford Dragon for featuring our CEO's brand new novel!

1/8/20

Check out this brand new series entitled 'The Immortal Pirates', by C.R. Pugh. So happy to have been involved with this!

26/10/23

We love what we do and are passionate about promoting excellence in independent publishing, so we're thrilled to have been nominated for the Suffolk Small Business Awards 2023/24!

09/10/23

Wow, what a great weekend in Bury St Edmunds at the inaugural Foreword Festival. Attracting authors from a wide variety of genres, the festival was a chance to network, sell some books, and learn about recent developments in the world of publishing. Will there be another festival next year? Watch this space!

12/09/23

It is a fact that there is still a struggle for equality for women in the music industry. Consequently, we've been very pleased to support celebrated author, Sammy Stein, in the publishing of a significant addition to the quest for appreciation and equality. This remarkable book shares the triumphs, challenges, and inspiring journeys of 21 amazing women in music.

07/08/23

We've really enjoyed having two interns working in Softwood's office over the summer. It's been a great experience for all of us and we wish them well as they receive their A Level results this week!

15/07/23

If you find yourself in Bury St Edmunds, pop into The Bay Tree Cafe on St John's Street. There, you can choose from over 50 books by 30 Suffolk authors, all free to read whilst sipping your coffee. But don't take them away with you - they want to share them with all their visitors!

21/06/23

It was great to see so many celebrations this week to mark Suffolk Day! We really love our fabulous county and this warm weather makes it even better!

02/06/23

Some of the Softwood team were celebrating 5 years of our fantastic accountants last night. We love being part of such a vibrant and progressive business community!

26/04/23

We're thrilled to have been recognized by Double The Books magazine as a standout publishing business in their most recent edition! Take a read of our interview by tapping the link below.

18/04/23

New research by the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi) claims authors who self-publish currently earn more than traditionally published authors. Interesting, huh? Read the article below.

20/03/23

Softwood recently joined businesses from across the East of England at the FSB Awards, celebrating individual and company success. Huge congratulations to our Maddy for being a proud finalist for the Young Entrepreneur of the Year!

02/03/23

We're delighted to announce on #WorldBookDay2023 that we've been named 'Self-Publishing Specialists of the Year' in London and the South-East for a second year running!

14/02/23

Bookshop.org launched in late 2020 but how accessible is it for authors and how exactly does it work? This excellent article by Ben Hardman is worth a read if you want to find out more!

05/02/23

Wharfside House recently hosted Stowmarket's Chamber of Commerce morning networking, with fabulous coffee supplied by Combat2Coffee. Nigel and his team do a great job in supporting veterans through his venture  - you can find out more information by clicking the tab below.

20/01/23

Whether you are new to veganism or not, Sadie Jade's new 'Vegan Lifestyle Journal' is the complete interactive guide to living an ethical and sustainable life, (beautifully designed and printed by Softwood!). Pictured above are Maddy and Sadie at its launch.

24/11/22

If you're passing Stowmarket Library before January 3rd, pop in to see the Softwood Self-Publishing Christmas Tree! We're really excited to be a part of the town's Christmas Tree Festival and you might just recognise some of the 50 handmade decorations on our tree...

26/10/22

When leadership coach, Dawn Jarvis, met indigenous artist, Munu Wuthuga Dardakiin, she knew she'd found the perfect way of illustrating her new leadership model. Based on the concept of leadership through ancient wisdom, we're delighted to have seen Dawn's book through the publishing journey.

07/09/22

Maddy was talking again on BBC Radio Suffolk on Monday, this time responding to the news article that shone a light on various marketing practices surrounding that shelf marked 'bestsellers'. Take a listen here and all will be revealed!

14/08/22

From August 22nd, Softwood will be working from a brand new office close to the train station in Stowmarket. Fun fact, the Queen has twice visited Stowmarket, most recently in 2002 for her Golden Jubilee!

27/06/22

We're delighted that Maddy Glenn will be offering a self-publishing surgery at the forthcoming PrimaDonna Festival in Stowmarket in July. A steller line-up of guests are promised at this year's festival including Kit de Waal, Joanne Harris, and La Roux. Get your tickets by following this link!

23/06/22

Softwood is thrilled to announce we have been awarded 'Self-Publishing Specialists of the Year' in London and the South East 2022! This is an incredibly exciting accolade from the Prestige Awards and we look forward to sharing more news with you next month!

25/06/22

BBC Radio recently broadcast an interesting discussion on the pros and cons of self-publishing. It was great to hear this coverage and Maddy has written an article responding to the issues raised. Tap the link to hear the programme again and to read her response.

06/06/22

Softwood director, Maddy Glenn today reveals the cover design of her next installment in the Dwelling Hunter series, In the Dark, which is due to be released at a special event in July. More details soon!

24/03/22

Softwood is excited to announce the dates for our new creative writing and self-publishing workshops. They'll take place in the beautiful new library in our home town of Needham Market!

02/03/22

We love our clients! Feedback is really important to us and it's particularly lovely when we get a great review on Google. Tap the button below to read our latest feedback.

02/02/22

Yes, we've joined #booktok! Give us a follow on @swspublishing and see a bit more of what we do behind the scenes. We'll also be highlighting some of the fantastic self-published authors who we work with. Not on TikTok yet? Be warned, you'll be hooked!

06/01/22

With today's release of the UK 1921 census, you might be inspired to write up your family's history into a book. If you want to find out more about self-publishing, request your free Zoom publishing consultation today!

15/10/21

We had a fabulous time leading creative writing and self-publishing workshops at the Appledore Book Festival, we thought you'd like to see some behind-the-scenes of our trip to Devon!

21/09/21

Due to reasons beyond our control, our self-publishing and creative writing workshops at Appledore Book Festival will now take place on October 13th, 10am-11am, 11.45am- 2.45pm. We're looking forward to seeing you then!

16/8/21

Tune into BBC Radio Suffolk to hear our Director, Maddy, discuss her latest book and all things self-publishing with Jon Wright.

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Click the link below to listen again to 'The 8pm Club'.

20/7/21

We're celebrating 5 years of supporting and promoting self-published authors in the UK, USA, and the world!

22/6/21

How did you celebrate #SuffolkDay? We enjoyed connecting with more local businesses as we settle into our new county!

8/6/21

Meet us in person at the Stowmarket Craft Market at The Mix (IP14 1BB) on July 4th, from 10am - 1.30pm.

June 13th via Zoom

Join us at Essex Book Festival for an interactive workshop exploring self-editing and the benefits of self-publishing. 

26/4/21

Our Ipswich office is now up and running, ready to provide continued excellent customer service for our global network of clients.

22/1/21

Subscribe to this brand new podcast that discusses all things creative writing and self-publishing.

4/1/21

Self-published authors can now upload their book's details for free promotion on our library page!

25/10/23

We believe every story deserves to be told and we're proud to champion a more inclusive, vibrant literary landscape. On #DwarfismAwarenessDay we're highlighting one such book we've been working on that tells Josh's story.

28/09/23

The drum-playing Gorilla advertising chocolate? That was the brain-child of David Meikle, author of 'Tuning Up', in which he explains how to create harmonious relationships by balancing levels of control and responsibility to achieve better performance, staff satisfaction and motivation. This has been a fantastic book to work on and we're so pleased the launch was such a success!

30/08/23

We've done it again! For the second year in a row, Softwood have been awarded 'Self-Publishing Specialists of the Year in London and the South-East'! This week, the team were awarded the trophy at a glamorous event at a London hotel. Thank you to all our wonderful clients for their support as we continue to grow and develop.

20/07/23

If you ever listened to Radio Caroline or Luxemburg, you will be familiar with the voice of Roger "Twiggy" Day, the original 'Pirate Radio' DJ! We were thrilled to work with Roger on producing his autobiography has now been released!

05/07/23

It's always a thrill to see our authors' books out in the big wide world, so when we popped into Woodbridge Books last weekend, we couldn't resist taking a picture of this charming children's picture book by Suffolk author, Gary Milsom. A lovely book in a beautiful bookshop!

20/06/23

Thanks so much for beststartup.co.uk for featuring Softwood as an example of a successful small business! You can read the interview with Maddy by tapping the link below.

01/06/23

Whilst it's important to continually acknowledge and honour the diversity of our workplace and the wonderful authors we work with, we're taking the opportunity to particularly highlight their successes for Pride Month

24/04/23

The author of this fantastic children's picture book (which we helped through the self-publishing journey) has sent us this picture of Mandla meeting lions in Kruger National Park. How cool is that?!

06/04/23

Our office is closed over the long Easter weekend and will re-open on Tuesday 11th April. In the meantime, we wish you all an egg-cellent Easter!

04/03/23

Suffolk-born Jake Andrade was diagnosed with leukaemia in his early teens and kept a journal of his treatment and subsequent road to recovery. We've been privileged to support Jake through his publishing journey and his book that tells his remarkable story is now launched! 

02/03/23

Maddy was a guest on the ChatBox Business Breakfast Show this morning, discussing how networking has benefited not only her business, but her confidence. There were some great discussion points- take a watch in the link below!

16/02/23

It's always good to hear from others that you're doing 'the right thing'. Maddy and Nathan recently attended the University of Suffolk to hear current thoughts and trends on marketing, from which our clients are already benefitting from!

30/01/23

Held at Royal Hospital School, Holbrook, Saturday's charity fundraising dinner was hosted by Babergh Council Chairman, Councillor Kathryn Grandon. We were proud to donate a lovely bundle of books to the raffle, raising money for our local hospital's Blossom Appeal.

09/01/23

With listeners across the UK and USA, Maddy spent last Friday afternoon as a guest on Felixstowe Radio where she talked about her personal journey as an author and her passion for encouraging and enabling authors to self-publish.

21/11/22

If you're looking to start your Christmas shopping by supporting independent authors, creatives, and businesses, search out the hashtag #JACIndieWeek, run by the excellent folk at Just A Card. Tap the link below or search our library page for our suggestions!

20/10/22

We were thrilled to be a finalist for the Shooting Star award at this year's Mid Suffolk & Babergh District Council's Innovation Awards. Congratulations to all our fellow finalists, including our neighbours, West View IT. 

25/08/22

If you're about to embark on a journey through publishing your book, this fantastic volume is a valuable resource, and for the first time, Softwood is listed! Turn to page 645 for more information...

01/08/22

Our first ever workshop at the beautiful PrimaDonna Festival took place on the last day of July, to a packed audience! It was great to hear everyone's writing journeys so far and to be able to suggest routes to publishing and marketing that could work for them. Control is the buzzword!

16/08/22

We were delighted to recently attend the Prestige Awards ceremony in London where we received our trophy for Self-Publishing Specialists of the Year, London & the South-East! It was great to have our former intern, Lizzie, with us to share our success. Onwards and upwards!

16/06/22

Congratulations to genealogist, Abi Pullen-Game on publishing her fascinating volume of true stories from the distant and not so distant history of East Anglia. It's been a pleasure to work on this fascinating and important book.

09/05/22

Nathan and Jessica today attended the launch of Google's Digital Garage training tour, along with the Chancellor, the Rt Hon Rishi Sunak, Vice President and MD of Google UK & Ireland, Ronan Harris, and Dragons' Den legend, Levi Roots!

08/04/22

We're so excited to see the release of this beautiful new guidebook by Michele Facer. It's been a joyous project to work on and the photos are particularly stunning. Find out more by tapping this link.

10/03/22

We're delighted to be supporting Abi through her self-publishing journey! Her latest book on local history gets a mention in today's East Anglian Daily Times (as do we) and you can pre-order your copy by joining her Facebook group today.

24/02/22

We're really excited to be providing an online self-publishing workshop in association with Atlanta Writers Club. You can book you place on eventbrite now and we'll see you on March 5th!

17/01/22

If you're looking to beat #BlueMonday with a new read, check out our listings of exclusively self-published books - or add your own independently published book as a free advert! Click the link below for more information.

14/12/21

We've had a great time putting together our 2021 highlights for this year's Christmas newsletter. Click on the link below to read it for yourself. We wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year!

01/10/21

This campaign is targeting the forthcoming Climate Change Conference (Cop26) to get #CliFi as a separate recognised genre in the publishing industry. Do you write #CliFi? Join the campaign.

9/9/21

With the news that Instagram is going head-to-head with TikTok by prioritising video content, how is your social media strategy going to adapt to best support your brand as an author? Let us help?

29/7/21

We're really looking forward to supporting local businesses (and having a go on the fairground rides) at Needham! Come say hello and find literary quizzes and puzzles on our stall on 7th August 11am-5pm.

15/7/21

Have you caught up with us in Suffolk yet? We're looking forward to playing our part at Needham Market's Bounce Back on Aug 7th.

15/6/21

Thank you to everyone who attended our self-publishing Zoom workshop on Sunday. Great to meet you all!

2/6/21

Thank you to In Touch for their feature on us and our CEO, Maddy, in June's edition. 

26/5/21

Why self-publishing may be the answer to shakeups in the book world amid COVID-19.

18/4/21

We're really looking forward to meeting more indie authors at book festivals across the UK this year. Join us at Essex, Guildford, and Appledore festivals!

18/1/21

The perfect way of building anticipation towards your book's release, a video trailer is an effective promotional tool.

10/8/20

We were really proud to work on this great new book by American playwright and author, Towonda Kilpatrick.