16 September 2025
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Yvonne's emotional memoir was made possible thanks to the support of York Publishing Services
When Yvonne Pearson wrote her memoir about her daughter’s cancer, the emotional process of putting the words on the page was followed by the search for a self-publisher who would create a book that would do justice to the story. Discover more about how self publishing helped her tell this poignant, emotional story.
After writing a book, the technical side of publishing and distributing it is the easy part, whatever you as an author may think, writes Cathi Poole from York Publishing Services.
All you do is hand over your manuscript to people like us at YPS and we do the rest – everything from organising proofreading, isbn numbers, design and layout, through to getting the final book to readers and shops through our distribution service. The most you’ll have to do is check proofs and decide which of the covers Clare, our designer, has done that you prefer most.
Then I started thinking about not just the services we offer, but the actual authors and books that we have published this last year. As writers and authors, that is the bit you probably want to hear about most... the hard bit, writing.
One of our authors immediately stood out – her book and her story affected all of us in the office really deeply. So, I am going to hand over to Yvonne Pearson, author of Dying To Talk. I hope that her publishing story inspires you.
A long-dreamed-of memoir
After many years of writing and noting my memories of the nine months of my daughter’s excruciating and devastating battle with tongue cancer, I finally pieced it all together and began writing a long-dreamed-of memoir telling our story.
I had spent many years picturing the book in my head – how I wanted it to look, what I wanted to write. I wanted people to understand the intimate, educational look into the realities of cancer, caregiving, and the courage it takes to say goodbye, telling it with humour, humanity, and heart, as well as raising awareness of a much misunderstood and overlooked cancer.
Following Cath’s shocking diagnosis, both she and I established immediately that we wanted to write a book together.
None of our family had heard of tongue cancer, we were all in total shock. Cath was particularly keen to raise awareness of this gruesome and brutal disease that seemingly came from an innocent tongue ulcer and ultimately took her voice.
Her decline was so rapid we never got the chance to write together. Cath became unable to eat, drink, or speak and we were left with our mother and daughter bond, and only love as a means of communication.
We did, however, discuss the format of the book being written in dual chapters, one from Cath’s perspective as the patient, and one from my perspective as her mother and carer. In addition, we also took a photograph of our ‘holding hands’ to go on the front the book after doing so for so many nights as I sat by her side in numerous hospital and care beds.
I had a clear picture in my mind of how my book, Dying To Talk, would look and what I wanted to say, but I had not a single clue as to where to start.
As a total novice, with not a lot of confidence in my writing skills, I just dove straight in and just kept on writing. I mean, who, with no experience whatsoever, starts to write a book! |I had no idea and didn’t even tell people that I was writing it.
I felt embarrassed and afraid that people wouldn’t take me seriously anyway, whilst deep within my heart I knew how much I wanted to write the story. For Cath, and also for many other reasons that had arisen over the last few years, including a lot of people asking me about details of Cath’s journey, her care and her death.
It just pushed me more and more to thinking I really must do it I wanted my story to reach other families navigating illness or grief so they would feel seen, supported and less alone.
I just wasn’t confident I would ever finish it. It felt like a mammoth task and I often felt overwhelmed with the disbelief that I would ever get to the finishing point, let alone my enduring the pain and heartache of revisiting and reliving the painful events and stages that we both went through together.
How many people say they would love to, or are going to, write a book and are never taken seriously, largely because more often than not they don’t actually complete it?
So I was well aware no one would take me seriously given that I had never ever written a book before in my life.
The only person who knew I was writing it was my partner, now husband, whose unwavering encouragement I could not have done without. I requested and reviewed all Cath’s medical notes to cross check my facts and my own timeline and the more I wrote, the bigger it got. And the bigger it got, the harder it became.
Reviewing and re-reading the growing pages and chapters became incredibly overwhelming, but I just kept going.
As I approached the latter stages of my book I began researching self-publishing.
Another mammoth task which, in the end, I realise I could have actually saved myself so much time and worry. However, I was writing in isolation, I had to start somewhere and the breaks from writing to do some researching became welcome breathers.
The big deep dark hole of the internet however was not. With the fear of hard selling and high costs and not really understanding what the outcome would likely be, it was extremely daunting. I just did not have enough knowledge to know where to start or whom to trust.
A cautious start to self publishing
I am useless with ‘tech’ and very old school in that I like to touch and feel when I am shopping, and chat with humans. I wasn’t about to post all my hard work in a manuscript down the internet channels to someone I didn’t even know.
I lost count of the places and people I found that would be happy to take my money to show me how. As I delved deeper and deeper into the research, I discovered how easy it would be lose a whole load of money for no, or very poor, results. Promises and more promises, followed by reading and discovering nightmare stories, meant that I became very disheartened.
ISBNs, the different types of editing services I didn’t even know existed, the digital side of things like Kindle and iBooks etc – it was all mind blowing. I expected and did not mind that it was going to cost me money. I just wanted to spend it wisely. In my head I was always happy to pay a thousand or two for a quick holiday in the sunshine in Europe, so if it cost me that much I would be happy.
"Their website was … not only transparent, it explained very clearly all the stages of what is involved in getting your book from manuscript to print, which was exactly what I wanted."
I knew the cost of the ISBNs and after my research I knew with my word count that publishing it was all possible for under the price of a week’s holiday in the sun. Sounds a little odd to say that, I know, but we soon forget the money that we have spent on a little holiday abroad, so that theory fit my brain. I wasn’t in this to make money as such, but covering the costs would be nice.
A Yorkshire girl at heart, I just didn’t want to be ripped off.
I didn’t want someone to show me ‘how’ to self-publish.
I was already washed out writing the book in the first place!
I didn’t want to start learning a load of technical skills and legal jargon, my brain couldn’t take anymore!
I just wanted the book structure putting together and to get designed and printed by someone who knew what they were talking about, had proven history, and was going to give me value for money. They had to be happy for me to just hand it over to them to get on with. To me that’s a service well worth paying for.
After many many hours of research, I decided to look closer to home and that was when I discovered York Publishing Services, almost on my doorstep! If only I had just done this in the first place!
The stages of self publishing
The first thing that struck me about their website was that it was not only transparent, it explained very clearly all the stages of what is involved in getting your book from manuscript to print, which was exactly what I wanted. Not only that, there was no hard sell stuff going on, like... ‘ring us now’ and ‘send your manuscript now’ and ‘we will tell you if we think your book is good enough’ or ‘ring this number for a quote today’.
YPS clearly and transparently outlined their prices for the different services they provide.
Yes, you could take any element you wished, you didn’t have to sign up to a whole load of things you didn’t need or want, you literally could use whichever part of the process you needed. I read all their background story and about their history.
They invited anyone in for a cuppa and a chat so that is exactly what I did. I went through and met the team and had a really good look around the premises too. They were so friendly I felt like I had known them years. That human touch for me was perfect.
Cathi and Paula very respectfully and patiently took my manuscript through every step of the process, responding to my every query or question professionally and efficiently and were always friendly.
Their knowledge of their business was incredible and they went above and beyond to share that with me.
I later met with Clare who designed the layout and cover of the book, giving me lots of choice of different styles of text and layout. After I gave Clare my ideas for the cover of the book, she designed and produced it in such a way that I can only describe it as if as she must have been able to see into my head!
The first time round it was just perfect and beautifully designed in the way I wanted and had imagined in my mind. I was speechless and yes, very emotional. We become very attached to our stories and she totally nailed for it for me.
Welcome, friendly support
I made many edits within the text and story and Clare’s patience was astounding.
I had never written a book before and my confidence wasn’t great, but I was never ever made to feel bad or silly about all the changes I made along the way. If you are writing a book now, you will absolutely know and understand how much you go back and think of something else to either say or change.
It really is a challenge at times but getting it just how you want it is so important. Absolutely nothing was too much for any of them. My desired timeframe, due to my own edits and inexperience, was extremely tight, but they did it! On time and with flawless quality!
I had already bought books from Amazon that had been processed through Amazon and YPS’s quality blew them totally out of the window. I was only going to do this once and I wanted to get it right. YPS made it happen.
I basically handed it all over to them.
They did the work at every stage and got my book onto the digital as well as printed markets. I simply leave the distribution with them I sit back and wait for statements to come each month and have no worries about times I am away and physically having to go to the post office to send out copies.
To new, inexperienced and experienced authors, I cannot recommend YPS highly enough. You will not regret using their services – I certainly haven’t!
Sense of achievement
When I finally received my actual book, right in my hand, I cannot tell you how proud I felt – the sense of achievement was one of my life’s greatest things. I know my Cath would not only be very, very proud, she would be ecstatic at the amount of help and comfort it is to others. I spend my time these days raising awareness of the signs and symptoms of mouth cancer on social media. People still to this day tell me they had never heard of it and ask me questions.
The day I announced to the world I had written a book and was about to launch it was one of the scariest days ever! Hitting that button on social media took me ages. I did it and you know what? I received so much respect, admiration and many congratulations from lots of lovely people, I really need not have worried and fretted so much.
So, don’t procrastinate, get that book out there!
![York Publishing Services]()
YPS – Publishing Services
Publishing services for Self Publishers, independent publishers and established publishers
64 Hallfield Road, Layerthorpe, York, YO31 7ZQ
Tel: 01904 431213
Email: enqs@yps-publishing.co.uk
For distribution and ebook advice, email Paula on pcharles@yps-publishing.co.uk
For publishing advice or a quote, email Cathi on cpoole@yps-publishing.co.uk
www.yps-publishing.co.uk