The 'Oh dear' moments that led to my self-publishing Part One

In 2015 I launched 'my' first book (my grandfather's long-awaited autobiography on civil engineering exploits of international significance). The original plan had been to seek out a publisher to take it on, and in spite of achieving this goal to begin with, the journey hit a series of stumbling blocks.

I'm telling this tale in two parts as some of the issues that I faced may help others trying to work out how to manage their own manuscripts. Part Two will address some of the real 'oh dear' moments that come when the decision has been made, Part One addresses what happened to make my mind up about how to move forwards. In some ways I was lucky, in others arguably foolhardy, but in a reference to Simon the Sorcerer at the end, all learning, under whatever circumstances, can be of benefit, even when it is a cyclist planning to cross the Atacama Desert...