You achieved the dream of many a would-be author when you were signed up by HarperCollins. Why are you self-publishing your new book?

When I signed with HarperCollins, I thought "Great! This is the golden ticket I've been waiting for!" I thought it would be a great collaboration between me and the publisher, given my success self-publishing my first two novels. The reality was a big disappointment. The publisher seemed intent on pushing my books into pre-existing moulds ("misery lit", "chick lit") that didn't reflect

the contents.

"Brand Polly Courtney" was increasingly muddled, leading to confusion for readers. It turned out that my editor hadn't actually read my first two books. There was no marketing budget, which meant that it was up to me to promote each book. This wasn't a problem per se, but my job was made hard by the frivolous book covers and titles assigned to them. I actually felt ashamed of the product. Now I'm back to self-publishing, I've regained control.

Tell us a bit about Feral Youth.

Feral Youth is a fictionalised account of the summer leading up to the 2011 riots. It's written from the perspective of Alesha, a 15-year-old girl who's had a bad start in life, and (I hope) it can be read on many different levels. It's definitely fast-paced and plot-driven, but I also wanted to open up people's minds - to make them think about why so many young people took to the streets and threaten to do so again. Are they really "feral", or is that just an excuse that keeps us from thinking about the problems?

Have you worked with an editor or designer on the novel?

I have a brilliant editor called Joy, whom I came across during the research for my last book. I also have an amazing jacket designer, Sinem, whom I sought out by going round Waterstones and noting down cover designers of the books that were aligned to my style. They are both passionate, smart, efficient and most importantly, they understand what I'm trying to achieve with my books.

Do you think this is important?

The term "self-publishing" is a misnomer; it doesn't mean that the author takes on all the parts of the publishing process as well as the writing. The author orchestrates the editing, cover design, production, distribution and promotion, but doesn't need to do all of them. In fact, there are certain things that a self-publisher shouldn't do: namely editing and cover design. What I love about self-publishing is the ability to carefully choose those third parties and to work directly with them, instead of being at the end of a long chain of faceless entities in a publishing house, many of whom have not read your work. It has been a really fulfilling experience, liaising with both my editor and my designer to craft something we're all proud of.

Can you talk us through how you're publishing - print and ebook? DRM or no DRM? How you are pricing it?

My main goal is to have the book read and enjoyed by as many people as possible – not necessarily to make the most money. Given that my readers are diverse in terms of demographic and technological aptitude, I've opted to tick all the boxes in terms of format and distribution. Feral Youth will be available as a paperback (RRP £8.99) as well as ebook (£1.99 or whatever I choose; I can flex it in real-time) across all devices. I am, however, delaying the release of the non-Kindle ebooks so that I can take advantage of Amazon's Kindle Select programme (which requires exclusivity for at least three months). Particularly with this book, I'd hate to find out that there are potential readers who can't afford to get their hands on a copy.

Has it been an eye-opener making all these decisions yourself?

It's been enlightening, but mainly it's been empowering. It's also been great to have a sense of teamwork and collaboration with all the other people involved, as this was what I found to be lacking in my time with HarperCollins.

What are the positives of self-publishing?

The main benefit for me is the ability to fulfil the vision you have for a book, from how it's worded right through to how it's sold and promoted. You can make things happen – and not just via traditional means. I've had the chance to experiment, testing cover designs on a pool of collaborators, opening up my first draft to self-selected 'editors' from social media and making a film-style trailer for the book. I'll also be able to play with the ebook pricing when it comes out.

And the negatives?

The problem with self-publishing is that it's very easy to do badly. Too many authors miss out important steps like editing, cover design and promotion, which gives self-publishing a bad name. Right now, it's hard for readers to find decent content without resorting to traditional filters (book store "charts", prize winners, newspaper reviews), which are mainly served by the big publishing houses with existing big-name authors. To get yourself heard above all the white noise is increasingly difficult and coupled with that is the issue that readerships are fragmenting, so you have to work harder to reach an ever-smaller audience. But that's the challenge. I love a challenge.

Would you do it again?

Every time. It's like the difference between owning a small business and working for a large PLC. It's higher risk and you have to be a jack of all trades, but the rewards are potentially massive – not just in terms of money but fulfilment. Getting positive feedback directly from readers is what makes it all worthwhile.

How would you advise readers keen to find self-published gems to

negotiate the thousands of self-published books out there?

Reading community sites like Goodreads are getting smarter and smarter at recommending books, both traditionally and self-published. Sign up, put in a few books you've read and enjoyed, and hopefully it'll give you a varied list of new books to try. You may not even know they're self-published. That's the beauty of it: readers don't usually care, as long as the quality's good.

Give us a taster.

Reggie Bell is dead. He was seventeen. JJ says we saw him get shanked last night, but really and truly, I didn't see nothing. It was all just a blur of hoods – a mad whoosh in the darkness.

I heard it, though. Reckon half of South heard Reggie Bell die. It was the kind of noise a cat would make if it got stretched and stretched 'til it snapped. Then nothing. JJ says that's when Reggie died. JJ knows about things like that. He learnt more stuff in the Young Offenders' than I learnt in the whole of year 10. 'Alesha?' Mrs Page stares at me, her head sticking out like she's one of them long-necked birds. 'Do you know who George and Lennie are? Have you actually read this book?'

'Yeah,' I lie. Truth is, I don't see how this book is gonna help me live my life. Is it gonna get me a flat? Is it gonna bring in the p's so JJ don't have to go thieving wallets for our food at night? What's the point in talking about made-up killings when there's real ones going on down the road? Mrs Page don't know nothing about blood and shootings. Reggie Bell's lying dead on a slab right now, bled dry through a slit in his neck. Knowing why George shot Lennie ain't top of my priority list.

What other self-published title would you recommend?

I read and really enjoyed Killing Cupid by Mark Edwards a while ago, then met him at a few events. He (along with his co-writer, Louise Voss) has an interesting story on the publishing front. HarperCollins is involved. I'll let him explain...

Polly Courtney's self-published novel, Feral Youth, is out on 26 June

Next week: Mark Edwards on his thriller, Killing Cupid