The Stowmarket specialists who are helping authors across the world fulfil their dreams
It was 2017 and Maddy Glenn was sitting on the sofa in her tiny flat with her ancient laptop on her knee wondering how she was going to earn a living.
With no prospect of work Maddy, who had run a student magazine at university, decided to set herself up as a freelance editor. “I couldn’t find a job so I had to make my own,” she says.
From its modest start the venture took off and today she is an award-winning publisher helping authors across the world to fulfil their dreams.
The company she founded produces a huge variety of books that can range from local interest to high profile celebrities penning a debut novel.
In a world where getting published in the conventional way is becoming ever harder Softwood Books - now based in Suffolk - gives them the often longed-for chance to get their work seen and read.
Recent clients include a big name DJ revealing the inside story of life in pirate radio, a renowned Hollywood composer, and a couple producing a children’s book to raise money to save koalas in Australia.
Meanwhile local books hot off the press include 'Little Pat' by Darren Norton - the true story of the murder of a young evacuee near Thetford during World War Two - and 'Control Tower Calling' by Nigel Morter, the history of RAF North Creake in Norfolk and the restoration of its control tower.
“We are an independent publisher. We provide the services for authors to publish their own books,” says Maddy who now runs the business with her husband Nathan James.
“It’s different from traditional publishing, because we don’t own the copyright or royalties. We offer the entire range of services anyone could need - editing, design, marketing, printing.”
Sussex-born Maddy studied philosophy and English literature at Reading University where she led a busy life including singing in a folk band and working to raise money to go travelling when she graduated.
“At university there wasn’t a great functioning magazine, so me and my friends decided to start one. We did interviews, and a creative writing section and I knew from there I could lead a team of editors and manage a team of student writers - it was exciting and great fun.
“I came out of university having worked in multiple jobs and run a magazine with a plan to move into a job in Sheffield. I got a two-room flat with my ex-partner. We had nothing really.
“I’d had interviews for things like reception work which I didn’t really want. I couldn’t find a job so I had to make my own. I knew I could write and edit. I started it from a sofa on my very old laptop that was really slow. I didn’t have a table.”
She then moved to Guildford to do an MA in English literature at Surrey University, and met Nathan when they were introduced by her mum, Linda, who worked with him.
They moved in together and Maddy continued with her editing work, “Then the pandemic happened and I ended up being the only one in the family earning any money.
“So Nathan, who had marketing experience, began to work for us doing project management and development. By 2021 we were working with printers and had a designer on board.
“In 2022 Nathan and I married and from then on it has been growing. We finished up in Suffolk because Nathan’s boys lived with their mum in Norfolk. After the pandemic we chose to move closer to them.”
Maddy and Nathan now live in Stowmarket within walking distance of their office close to the town’s train station. Softwood - the name was chosen because soft wood is what books are made from - is now recognised as one of the leading small businesses in its field.
Maddy is a director and editor, while Nathan has the role of creative director. They work with a team of Suffolk-based freelances, and printers in Eastbourne, Milton Keynes and Cornwall, as well as Gipping Press in Needham Market.
“Getting a book published in the traditional way is a bit like a lottery, it gets harder and harder, she says. “And you can get to the point where you find they have changed everything.
“We have helped a lot of authors do it their way. We support them to do it in the best way possible. They have control over their book.
“We try and give our professional guidance but it’s up to them whether they listen to us or not - although possibly their book might not sell as well if they don’t.
“Every service is bespoke, and includes coaching for writers. “There is no gatekeeping here … no ‘you can’t publish that because we already have a fantasy novel’.
Editing services include critiquing where the author does it themselves, and more in depth involvement with advice on things like grammar, style and clarity. Attracting worldwide attention, they have edited a Mexican author, and translated into Japanese.
Good design is crucial to catching the eye of potential readers and Softwood does the full range of cover and interior design. Books can be published as paperback, hardback, e-books, and audio books.
They also do foiling, and embossed types, while publishing assistant Holly Nicoll is a talented artist who specialises in hand-painted book edges.
A new way to make life easier for authors was introduced last year. “Our distribution service is essentially printing on demand,” said Maddy. “The author can be listed by 20,000 retailers around the world.
“When you go to a traditional printer, and they only do print runs of 100, the author would have to store them and package them. We print on demand, and they don’t touch the book.”
While the unit price for printing on demand is higher the author avoids paying hundreds of pounds upfront
Softwood also handles publicity including marketing on social media, press, and PR. “If it’s, say, a children’s book we’d publicise it to schools and libraries.”
Maddy is well placed to know what authors need because she has written two books herself. She started developing the ideas for her young adult fantasy trilogy, The Dwelling Hunters, with her brother as a teenager, and published the first 'On The Edge' in 2020.
'In The Dark' followed two years later and she is currently finishing book three. The plot revolves around Ebony Wick, a young highwaywoman evading capture in a forest surrounded by fae and haunting spirits.
"Publishing my first two books gave me valuable insight into the independent publishing world and I found that being able to share these experiences with fellow authors in the early days of my business enabled me to empathise with many of the issues they were facing.
“Six years and many books later, I've been able to find and develop innovative solutions and successful processes that make the independent publishing route far more navigable and approachable.
“Now it's just the small task of finishing the last book in my own trilogy... but the day job comes first!"
Maddy’s family history also contains a distinguished literary link - a cousin on her mother’s side was married to Bram Stoker, author of Dracula.
Softwood has amassed a clutch of awards and nominations including in the Mid Suffolk and Babergh District Council Innovation Awards, and the Suffolk Small Business Awards.
In 2022 and 2023, they won Self-Publishing Specialists of the Year in London and the South-East from the Prestige Awards
Best-selling US fantasy writer Helen Garraway called on Maddy’s editing skills for her award-winning 'Sentinal' series, while another client, Irish author Mary Heeran White, was nominated for the Carousel Aware Prize For Independent Authors for 'Wild Atlantic Anthology'.
Nathan says: “It's so lovely for Maddy to be recognised for her tenacity and commitment to the business and to be celebrated for how far Softwood has come in just a few short years. I've always said, she's the successful business woman, I'm just the cheerleader.”
Softwood’s fame as a publisher is spreading and they are currently working with actor and presenter Larry Lamb on his first novel.
Larry, whose starring roles include Gavin’s dad Mick in much-loved comedy Gavin and Stacey, and EastEnders villain Archie Mitchell, announced he was writing the book when he recently appeared on Loose Women. ”It’s a great read,” says Maddy.
Last year a legendary name in the world of radio - Roger ‘Twiggy’ Day - chose them to publish ‘Pirates of the Airwaves’, revealing what really went on aboard the pirate radio ships where he first found fame.
Now with Boom Radio, his voice was heard on Swinging Radio England, Radio Caroline and Radio Northsea International before he came ashore hosting shows on independent radio and the BBC.
The company’s international renown has now reached Hollywood, with the recent release of ‘Working as a Film Composer’ by Bill Brown, best known for scoring all nine seasons of the hit CBS series 'CSI: NY, and epic scores for numerous games including Captain America: Super Soldier.
The award-winning Hollywood composer aims to inspire the next generation by drawing on his own career plus contributions from other icons of the industry including double Oscar winner Hans Zimmer.
Bill Brown’s other credits include the sci-fi film series Dominion and games 'Wolfenstein', 'Lineage II', 'and Tom Clancy's 'Rainbow Six.
'Maddy says: "We're thrilled to have been selected by Bill Brown to produce and distribute his book which will be of huge benefit to students at schools, colleges, and universities around the world.”
"We're so happy to be making Stowmarket recognised for publishing expertise and we have a great team of staff drawn from local creative talent, all of which means we can provide world-class independent publishing services."
For more information, and to sign up for regular updates from the free monthly Softwood newsletter, go to softwoodbooks.com/newsletter
