The first collection of poetry Lord Byron wrote was published in London and met with scathing reviews. In consequence, it was unlikely any other publishing house would be prepared to waste money on subsequent works written by this newly emerging poet. Therefore, after being rejected by another publisher, Byron decided: ‘I will publish it myself.’
After paying a printer to produce copies of his latest poems, he gave the books to a bookseller in London to sell them. When he visited the shop he was disappointed to see only one copy on the shelf but this was because his books had sold like hot-cakes – the entire first-edition of 1000 copies sold out in three weeks.
A beautifully written account of this segment of the extraordinary life of Lord Byron is told by Gretta Curran Browne in her novel: ‘A Strange Beginning’ Book 1 in a 4 part series.
While today, some new authors struggle to find a publisher and others scoff at the idea of self-publishing, give a thought to a poet who became accepted as the most famous poet of the ‘Romantic’ era.
If you haven’t read the life of the wild, bad, and beautiful Byron, I recommend this book.
https://www.amazon.com/STRANGE-BEGINNING-Novel-Book-Byron-ebook/dp/B0167O70TG/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1493083601&sr=1-1&keywords=a+strange+beginning
