I first came across Three Shires Publishing and it's owner Mary Matthews when I answered an advertisement offering assistance to those with written work that they were unable for one reason or another to get published. I had a script of a novel I had written, " Mary Knighton", for which I had been trying to get an agent and subsequently a publisher, but had had 31 rejections and was at a loss as to where to go next. I had been advised that self publishing was the way to go but found the process far too complicated and required skills that I did not possess. Three Shires Publishing run seminars on self publishing but I was unable to attend the first one, so I was given a quote for Mary to read the script and given her opinion. I was advised that the work had sufficient merit to warrant self publication and I engaged the services of Three Shires Publishing to complete all the tasks in the process that I was unable to do myself. Many steps were involved and firstly Mary read the text and made alterations and then handed it back to me to do the same. She then advised on the appointment of a cover designer and also a final independent proof reader. When the novel was in the best state we could get it Mary contacted Amazon with a view to publishing as soon as possible. This involved KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) and Ingram Spark. The result of all this work was that in April 2017, just under a year after I had answered the advertisement, "Mary Knighton" went on the Amazon web site to either be down loaded onto a Kindle, or as a print on demand paperback. At the same time, I had 240 copies of the book printed and are selling those myself. I organised a book launch for the novel in early June and am now in the process of promoting the sales. I have found the assistance that Mary gave through the whole process invaluable and would have never been able to do it myself. She kept the ball rolling without being too pushy and was extremely efficient throughout. Her attention to detail especially with the lay out the book was eye opening to someone who did not appreciation how much work went into the publication of a novel. I would not hesitate to recommend her to others in the same position as myself.

'I would recommend individual or one to one training for anyone wishing to make rapid progress in self-publishing. The trainer was very helpful in terms of the different routes that could be taken and ways in which to get good quality with targeted expenditure.' Mrs R, St Ives

'Thanks Mary! You really know your stuff about publishing and have put me on the straight and narrow. I have alienated potential agents by reproducing song lyrics in my memoirs and thus raising their concerns about the thorny (and potentially expensive) problem of paying for permissions. It was only after following up on your advice and suggested online links that I was convinced that the lyrics had to go and started to delete them. Deleting them has not been as difficult as I imagined and I am reassured that I can retain song titles as the titles of chapters whilst representing a strong sense of the music in my own prose. It's a relief to find a solution to the permissions problem that will apply whether I self-publish or publish with traditional publishers.' Mrs N, Needingworth

'I thoroughly enjoyed the workshop on self-publishing and I now feel much more inspired and optimistic about being able to publish my own work in the future. Thank you!' Mrs O, Needingworth

'Found the workshop inspirational, after several rejections, I might dust myself off and give it a go' Mrs G, Needingworth

'With the exception of the editing and proof reading processes, I walked into Mary’s workshop completely clueless about self-publishing. I left very excited, confident that I can produce and market top quality books and itching to get started. If you’re looking to self-publish but you’re unsure where to start, I would recommend Mary’s workshops without hesitation as they’re likely to save you a lot of money – I was going to pay someone to upload my books, now I know I can do it myself absolutely free.' Ms J, Cambridge.

'I would recommend it to anyone. I wish I had brought my friend who is in her nineties and a prolific writer. She is interested in this approach to publishing her work.' Mrs R, St Ives.