Books are my business: Online publisher Rachel Drury

Drury  set up buythebook.ie so Irish authors could easily access an online solution for selling their book without large upfront costs or needing any technical skills

Rachel Drury, founder of buythebook.ie, says 'self-published books are and can be as good as traditionally published books'.

Rachel Drury is based in Sligo, and is founder of buythebook.ie an online marketplace for self-published authors.

How did you get into publishing?

I qualified as an engineer, then moved to Australia. I went through a period of ill health and had to step back from the corporate world. 

When I returned to Ireland, I had a couple of years when I wasn’t working and I took the opportunity to write my first book, Powered to Fall, Empowered to Rise, which I self-published in 2020. 

It was a mixture of my own story and also a self-help book, about gaining a new perspective through illness. 

As a self-published author, I was surprised that the options to sell my book were so limited and I found it difficult accessing distribution in Ireland.

I decided to set up buythebook.ie so Irish authors could easily access an online solution for selling their book without large upfront costs or needing any technical skills.

My husband, Des, is a software engineer, so he did the website for me. People sign up and manage the page themselves, so it is like having their own website. 

Someone who is non-technical can come along and have their book online in half an hour.

What does your role involve?

A bit of everything; we are passionate about promoting Irish authors, so I spend time on social media and creating content for our newsletter, which provides our authors with information on upcoming classes and opportunities they might be interested in. 

I also monitor activity on the website to make sure all is happening as it is meant to; we aim to respond to and resolve to all customer queries within 24 hours which is a record we are really proud of. 

All of our technical support is based in-house which I think gives authors a really good experience in dealing with us.

We recently had our first bestseller with I am Brigid by Emma-Jane Leeson, and we are heading in the direction of more in the future. 

We are saying that self-published books are and can be as good as traditionally published books. 

If people have built their own audience, and they can sell directly to that audience, they can do the volumes.

What do you like most about your job?

All the people I have met along the way and our online community, which is really supportive and welcoming. 

It means a lot to be part of something that is having a positive impact on bookselling in Ireland for authors. 

We are in close contact with our customers so that gives us the opportunity to listen to them and we try our best to take on board their feedback to improve our service. 

We are flexible and adaptable to their needs; that is exactly what Amazon are not and never will be. We are all about the author and always have been.

What do you like least about it?

Running your own business means keeping track of everything and sometimes you can get overloaded with admin which can take you away from the creative part of the business but it has to be done.

Any memorable books you have worked on?

I was fortunate enough to have met and worked with Liam Cahill who sadly passed away two years ago; he was a great friend and a mentor. 

He decided to launch his second book, From Suir to Jarama, with me back in 2021 and it was a real confidence boost for me and the business.

From working with Liam, I learned so much about self-publishing and the promotion of books. 

He was always so kind and willing to give me advice and really supported my vision for the business. His book was a big success, and I am so glad that I was a part of that.

What three bookswould you bring to adesert island?

I am Brigid by Emma-Jane Leeson, which is a beautiful book about our treasured saint, and a captivating read.

Where the Faeries Dwell by Mary Rose Flora is a collection of short stories that her grandmother told her; I could read them over and over again.

Ever Ancient Ever New: Celtic Spirituality in the 21st Century by Dolores Whelan is about how Celtic spirituality and wisdom can form the basis of a value system on which a new society can be built.

It brings to light a new way for humankind to be in the world.