About Us
The Beginning…
Half Acre Publishing came to life over lunch with nothing to write on but a napkin. We had decided to self-publish our first book and found a printer to work with right away. When we went to the bank to open a business account we were told we had to have a Business Number (BN). In order to get that,
we had to have a company name. A quick look a Books in Print at our local library showed that all Anderson company name derivatives were taken so we went out for lunch and started to brainstorm. Half Acre Publishing came out of the fact that our property was half an acre in size. We thought
it was interesting enough but still sounded professional.
Learning to self-publish…
Being thorough folk, we read all the books we could find about how to self-publish. There was only one small book for Canada. We discovered that the best Canadian resource section was in a very good American book. We thought there should be a comprehensive book for Canadians too… and that
became our next project. We made our share of mistakes with our first book and learned from them. We also started taking courses on writing and publishing, and we continue that practice today.
Self Publishing in Canada…
We spent 3 years researching and writing Self Publishing in Canada: A complete guide to writing, designing and selling your book. Before it was ready, we snagged www.selfpublishing.ca when the .ca first came out. When the first print run was done,
we took the book to Book Expo Canada in Toronto and The Word OnThe Street in Vancouver to introduce it to the many self-publishers out there.
Reaching out to others…
The book is in its second printing and we are writing a new updated edition. Suzanne found a great way to help others was to teach them and facilitates workshops on self-publishing at Simon Fraser University and Vancouver Island University. She is often asked to be a guest speaker for festivals
and organizations.
We hope you benefit from our knowledge and experience. Maybe one day, your book will be listed in our Success Stories chapter.
Bob and Suzanne Anderson
Half Acre Publishing
Duncan, BC
