£700 to put your book on sale

Becoming a published novelist with your work on display on the high street is a fantasy cherished by hundreds of thousands of Britons.

The literary dream, however, is one that rarely comes true. Around 98 per cent of manuscripts submitted to agents and publishers are spurned and returned to their devastated authors.

But now there is fresh hope for that opus lying near-forgotten in the bottom drawer: for £700 you can see your book printed, published and on sale at Waterstone's flagship branch in Oxford Street.

The new scheme guarantees something even major literary publishers such as Bloomsbury and Penguin cannot - that once you are published you will go on sale.

Scott Pack, the buying manager for Waterstone's, insists that the self-published books will not just be shoved into an obscure corner of the store. In fact, he will encourage his team of scouts to read the works and identify fresh new talent to champion.

"Big publishers do not have the monopoly on good books," he said.

"Some of the most exciting books we see nowadays are from small, independent publishers or self-published authors."