Self-publishing has grown exponentially in the past few years and now offers writers a chance to get their books out there for readers to enjoy, without the laborious and possibly hopeless task of landing an agent or publisher.

There is still a bit of stigma around self-publishing but it is absolutely the best path to tread for a first-time novelist. Here are five reasons why.

1. Control - self-publishing allows you total control over your novel. You can publish whatever you want, regardless of whether it has a target market or sales potential. If you want to write a Doctor Who/Pokemon crossover then go for it! And if you do, please let me know because I would totally buy it. You have the final say regarding artwork, the title and the length, all of which would be dictated if you are lucky enough to land a traditional publishing deal. 

Length is an important area in which to have free reign. My novel, The Sheriff, is around 50,000 words and would be unlikely to appeal to a publisher because most novels are between 80,000 and 120,000 words. However, with self-publishing, you can finish your story whenever you want. If all plot threads are wrapped up after 50,000 words then you can end it there. 

Equally, if you want to ramble on and on then you can. There is no pressure to streamline your novel with self-publishing, nor will there be an editor chopping paragraphs on your behalf. Self-publishing allows you to produce the novel that you set out to write.

2. Speed - I finished the first draft of The Sheriff on the 30th November 2013 and it was available on Amazon on the 5th March 2014. If I had sought an agent and a traditional publisher then I am confident my novel would have sat in my Dropbox for years without ever being read. 

However, thanks to self-publishing, my novel is live on Amazon, Kobo, Apple and Barnes & Noble, and people are actually starting to read it. This means I am gaining reviews, feedback and a following, none of which would be happening if my manuscript was sat in an agent's overflowing in-tray.

3. Money! - one of the beauties of self-publishing is the profit share. You will typically get 75% of the profits from a Kindle sale on Amazon, whereas a traditional publishing contract would only give you 5% or less for each book sold. 

Obviously, you would sell a lot more with a big publisher, at least in theory, because they would boost your sales through their marketing department. However, this is not a guarantee - plenty of big publishers fail to sell books and pulp their leftover stock - and it would still require you to land a publishing contract in the first place which is no small challenge.

At least with self-publishing you would stand to make some small income, which is better than no income. Better yet, it would be paid directly into your account the following month. Plus, all of your earnings would be profit because there are no overheads: publishing on Amazon is free, publishing on Kobo is free, publishing on CreateSpace is free, you can start a free author platform on Weebly, you can start a free mailing list on Mail Chimp, you can then promote your book via a free Facebook page and a free Twitter account.

Being an author is certainly no route to earning millions - you would have better odds of winning the lottery - but a couple of dollars here and there is a welcome bonus when doing what you love. Self-publishing will make that happen.

4. Increase Your Chances of Landing a Traditional Publisher - admittedly, despite all of my above comments, the ultimate goal for a writer is to land a traditional publishing contract with a big publisher. They will put a marketing machine behind you, get you in Waterstone's and bag you reviews in national magazines.

However, you have a limited chance of landing a publisher nowadays unless you already have a readership. After all, why should a publisher invest in your book if you cannot sell a few copies yourself on Amazon? Self-publishing allows you to provide evidence that people want to read your book and will give publishers more confidence in green-lighting your novel. 

Publishers were once picky about 'first publishing rights' which meant they would not consider endorsing a manuscript that had already appeared online. That philosophy went out the window thanks to Fifty Shades of Grey, which began life as self-published fan fiction, only to be picked up by a publisher at a later date and consequently make billions of dollars.

Publishers will also like you better if you have a fan base, whether it be the beginnings of a mailing list or a handful of Amazon reviews. It all helps. After all, the publishers are investing in the writer as much as the novel.

And, of course, it is highly unlikely that your first novel is going to be your best novel. Therefore, why not self-publish for a few years? Hone your craft, learn from your reviews, then write your masterpiece. Don't bother with agents and publishers until you are writing at the top of your game.

5. Joy! - the primary reason for self-publishing is the sheer joy of getting your novel out there in the world. It is no fun holding your novel back whilst you search for agents and publishers and that elusive million-dollar book deal. Get your novel out there and into readers' hands! Don't waste a second. 

Believe me, there is no greater feeling than seeing your book on Amazon. I search for it every day and beam with pride. Equally great is that moment when a work colleague tells you they enjoyed reading your book. Hearing friends argue about the fate of your characters is a wonderful experience. It means that you made them care about figments of your imagination! There is no firmer proof that you have made it as a writer!

Of course, none of this would be possible if your work was not out there and available to buy. Self-publishing will kick-start your writing career. Don't delay. Self-publish today!

Professor Sedgewick and Cadwallander return in their second novelette, The Pearl of Tharsis.

Those who enjoyed their first steampunk outing, The Angels of the Abyss, will not be disappointed. Iain Grant's mastery of the steampunk tone has returned with the adventure once again narrated by Cadwallander. A typical Victorian gentleman, Cadwallander is pompous, prudish and very un-PC but ultimately loyal, lovable and unintentionally hilarious. Also, fans of the first novelette will finally learn the fate of Cadwallander who was left in a precarious situation at the climax of the original. The resolution is very satisfying and offers a further dalliance with the steampunk setting.

This is not just more of the same and Grant happily ups the ante, as you would hope from a follow-up. The action is relocated to an alien planet, Mars, which offers a change of scenery from the spaceship of the original. Instead of a battle against alien forces, the action here is a battle of words against an alien diety which presides over an eternal party beneath the Martian surface.

There are also new characters to meet, such as Chioa Khan, a reference to English occultist Aleister Crowley, and most importantly we are introduced to Mina Saxena. In my review of its predecessor, I referred to Professor Sedgewick as a Doctor Who figure, which would make Mina Saxena the River Song of this series: a brave, beautiful and brash adventurer, both a foil and equal to Sedgewick himself.

The description of the Martian party is ominous, chilling and grotesque, and Grant's experience as a horror writer is put to good use. The diety figure of Aiwass is similarly unnerving, described expertly as bestial, aristocratic, pious, all at the same time: "Like a spinning thaumatrope, like the flickering image in the corner of a picture flip book, like the multitude of names and titles Chioa Khan had piled on his master, Aiwass was all of these things at once."

The Pearl of Tharsis is an accomplished second instalment in this steampunk series and fans will be pleased to hear that the third novelette will be released in July 2014. 

Expect big things from this franchise. The Pearl of Tharsis, like its namesake, is a hidden gem worthy of discovery.

The Khalifah's Mirror is Andrew Killeen's follow-up to his superb Arabian adventure, The Father of Locks.

Abu Nuwas, the titular Father of Locks, was a character befitting his own franchise and the follow-up allows Killeen to explore the life and adventures of his hero. The novel is structured around an episodic series of flashbacks, as both Abu Nuwas and his story-telling protege, Ismail, recount the former's life story. 

This is a fantastic narrative approach because it effectively turns the novel into a series of novelettes, each of which can be devoured as a standalone adventure. These adventures revisit Abu Nuwas at different stages of his life, both before and after the events of The Father of Locks, meaning that The Khalifah's Mirror is both prequel and sequel, providing an origin story for the dashing Arabian poet but also offering catch-ups with characters who we knew and loved from the original novel.

The flashback novelettes are rich and diverse, spanning the globe and therefore broadening Killeen's historical world which was established in The Father of Locks. Killeen provides Abu Nuwas with plenty of great escapades: he extracts a terrorist from rival desert tribes, romances a Sri Lankan princess committed to a forced marriage, searches for a lost treaty by following Da Vinci Code style clues, infiltrates a forbidden city and hunts a faceless Roman assassin called al-Sifr, the Void. 

The pursuit of al-Sifr is a reoccurring theme across the majority of the flashbacks and provides Abu Nuwas with a nemesis, a prerequisite for all great heroes. Abu Nuwas is equal parts James Bond, Aladdin, Captain Jack Sparrow and Sherlock Holmes, which would make al-Sifr his Moriarty, a mysterious and anonymous threat that plagues Abu Nuwas' adventures. The enigma of al-Sifr is a gripping page-turning device and culminates in a shocking revelation, which will not disappoint.

As I said in my review for The Father of Locks, this is no ordinary historical fiction. This is One Thousand and One Nights with an R rating. There is plenty of old school adventuring to enjoy, such as sword fights, romance treasure trails, palace conspiracies and exotic destinations, but there is also a good deal of sex, violence and swearing to satisfy the Game of Thrones generation. As such, The Khalifah's Mirror is ridiculously entertaining and deserves to attract a mainstream audience.

I recommend this novel without hesitation.

A Gateway Made of Bone is a great way to ease yourself into sci-fi, steam-punk fantasy. 

It offers all the motifs that genre fans expect (superbly-detailed worlds, an endless cast, intelligent concepts) whilst delivering enough to satisfy mainstream readers and newcomers alike (humour, lovable characters, snappy dialogue, action and more). This is a difficult balance to achieve but Iain Grant treads the fine line without slipping.

The plot may feel familiar to those who have read Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials: a young girl with a particular talent and famous parents must travel between worlds with eclectic companions to achieve her destiny, whilst fleeing a totalitarian power. However, being compared to Pullman's award-winning trilogy is by no means a bad thing and it will be interesting to see how Grant develops this into a trilogy over the next few years.

Where Grant excels is the sheer generosity of his writing. A lesser writer may have held back some of the great ideas on offer here for a future book. Instead, Grant provides high quality concepts at a dizzying rate. The pages are packed with memorable characters, moments, one-liners and twists. The reader will be rewarded with Tolkien-esque detail. Each world is drawn with its own religions, histories, environments and people, although thankfully Grant is more concise in his description than Tolkien.

Going into specifics would detract from the constant surprises of the tale but, suffice it to say, this is a novel of demons and krakens, of circus assassins and clones, of dying worlds and hidden worlds. There is a Library the size of a city housing sentient books and a world covered in garbage harbouring a missing pirate ship. Best of all, there is an army of killer toy dolls named the Penny Dreadfuls which appear just in time for the novel's climatic battle.

The revelations towards the end offer much reward for the reader and you will certainly be left wanting more.

Blue Eye is the debut novel from author Tracy Elner and provides a fresh spin on the thriller genre.

It tells the story of Scott Carty, a derivatives trader plagued by vivid dreams. Carty is asked to deliver a locked briefcase to an energy conference in Eastern Europe and becomes embroiled in the sinister dealings of his boss. Soon after, Carty is a wanted man hiding out in the Siberian forest, where he discovers he is not the only one seeking solace there.

All of the trademark thriller motifs are correct and present: conspiracy, globe-trotting, murder, beautiful women and long-kept secrets. However, Blue Eye is a new type of thriller, abandoning the usual detective and crime sub-genres to instead focus on alternative energy and harnessing the power of the subconscious.

It is unique to find a thriller where the action is rarely conveyed through fistfights, instead opting for debate, corporate fraud investigations and psychoanalysis. This may sound dry but it is testament to Elner's direct writing style that you will be turning the pages as quickly as  if this were a Lee Child novel.

Elner's protagonist, Scott Carty, is an equally unconventional leading man. Carty is not a detective or an ex-military man. He cannot fend off attacks from multiple adversaries like Harry Hole or Jack Reacher. Instead, Carty is an everyman who works in finance. His special abilities are a knowledge of renewable energy and an increasing respect of Jungian theory. He would rather rely on the I Ching than his fists. Carty's ordinary nature is what makes his adventures so extraordinary and Elner proves that any character, if written well, can make for an engaging leading man.

Much of these extraordinary adventures are set in the Siberian forest, the taiga, around Lake Baikal, the Blue Eye of the title. It is a fascinating backdrop for a thriller, providing an intriguing second act where Carty can learn more about energy. Boris the Buryat teaches him about qi life energy, whilst scientist Lubimov makes Carty aware of impossible advancements in renewable energy. Both Boris and Lubimov are brilliant additions to the novel.

Ultimately, this is a fascinating read, packed with well-researched information about its subject matter and unafraid to tread new ground. This may well be the first energy thriller ever written.

Elner's next novel, the follow-up Green Eye, is currently being written. Based on the strengths of Blue Eye, expect this to be a very successful series. Keep an eye on Elner.

Blue Eye is available on Kindle and paperback.