Self-Published Books Are All Crap

Rachel Thompson

Author • Poet • Advocate

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Self-Published Books Are All Crap

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Self-Published Books Are All CrapSelf Published Books are all crap

Grrrr.

This is what someone just told me on social media.

 

  • A traditionally published friend, Gabe Berman, has written a wonderful guide on how to get people to love your work. I couldn’t be more pleased for him. I read it and it’s fabulous. This is his second book. His first was traditionally published. This one is not.

Someone questioned the premise of the book, assuming he’s self-published and therefore…what? Has no right to share his opinions, successes, and failures – essentially his experiences. I put the question to both my Twitter and Facebook followers today. Some of the conversation went like this:

‘Self published certainly “counts,” but I’ll be candid. It doesn’t count as much…yet. Until someone figures out a way to replace the traditional gatekeepers, SP will still attract poor writers who will continue to reflect poorly on the many very good SP writers. Unfortunately, far too many self published writers did so because they couldn’t publish in the current model. They publish not because they should but because they can.’

‘It is filtering. There are just a whole heck of a lot more SP authors than authors published by the mainstream… and the ones with the right stuff rise to the top just as in the mainstream. And I do believe that readers will be the judge. I personally despise 50 Shades of Grey–but it was self pubbed and readers loved it and asked for more and so it became accepted. There’s dreck wherever you turn.’

  • This begs the question: do self-published writers NOT have the right to share our ‘how-to’s’ and what has worked (and not worked) for us?

I personally consider that a ridiculous question, given that I currently sell about 50 eBooks per day (sometimes more, sometimes less). All three of my books have hit #1 on the Kindle Paid rankings. My latest Broken Pieces has about 90 reviews, the majority overwhelmingly 5-star — from Midwest Book Review, two Amazon Top 10 Hall of Fame reviewers, and tons of reader reviews. And I’m thrilled to announce I just received a nomination for the Global eBook Awards for Nonfiction/Women’s Studies.   Agents and publishers have approached me and I’m currently in discussions about paperback versions of all three of my books.

  • But this isn’t about me. There are many incredibly talented self-published writers out there who are far more successful than I, who sell hundreds if not thousands of books daily. And I couldn’t be more thrilled for them.

Is the same green money in our bank accounts devalued somehow because we have chosen the indie route? (And, for the record, I simply adore this discussion because we are talking about creating ART. How awesome is that?) Gabes Book

Let’s deconstruct.

PRODUCT

I liken self-published authors to blue collar workers because we do all the hard, icky stuff ourselves. We’re not only writers, we’re project managers. I’ve written previously about product being the most important part of any author’s platform. If your book sucks, you’ll not sell.   Every indie client I work with (and I have both traditionally published and indie published clients) work with critique groups, betareaders, professional editors, proofreaders, graphic designers, formatters, etc. Writing is our job, not some hobby where we copy and paste stuff together and call it a book.

The bias has existed for years (and still does, clearly), that self-published authors couldn’t make it in the real publishing world. In some cases, that may be true. In others – like mine – I bypassed that route completely, based on the financial model: I invest in my work up front (using professional services like editing, proofreading, graphics, formatting), and make 70% on each sale — as opposed to the 10% I would make with a traditional publisher IF I were lucky.

You do the math.

DISTRIBUTION and MARKETING

Many authors feel that going the traditional route gives them a pass on doing their own marketing, which is laughable. Why do you think consistent bestsellers like Anne Rice, Margaret Atwood, and even indie star Hugh Howey are on Twitter? Because they’re bored and have nothing else to do?

No.

Sure, you will get better paperback distribution with a traditional publisher – though I encourage you to investigate CreateSpace and Lightning Source for expanded distribution options. But that doesn’t mean you don’t have to be out there: blogging, optimized website, active and interactive social media, interviews, guest posts, blog tours, advertising. ALL incredibly important and essential for success.

TARGETING

Who do you want to read your book? Other authors? No.

I mean, sure, some of my very best friends in real life are authors and I love it when they read my books and I read theirs. However, your target audience is not other authors! Too many newbies (again, no matter if you’re traditionally or indie published) make the mistake of asking others to review their work.   Don’t.   In social media, target readers, reviewers, book bloggers. There are thousands upon thousands out there. And there are many extraordinarily easy ways to hook up with reviewers: people who actually review books, as opposed to authors who write the books. It’s like asking a cardiologist to do your hysterectomy. Just, no.

Check out the BookBloggerList.com for one option. Another is doing a review tour with OrangeBerry Book Tours (no guarantee of a positive review so keep that in mind).

My advice, take it or leave it: avoid the bias that ‘all indies are crap’ by proving them wrong. Use professional editor/proofreader/graphics/formatting. I do for every book. Crit groups and betareaders are your best way to find out if the book cuts it or not. Don’t rush it out — take your time to write THEN dedicate yourself to sharing it and accepting the criticism to make it absolutely amazing via edits/rewrites.

So ask yourself this question: does sharing all this information mean it’s somehow bogus or devalued because I’m self-published?

Please leave your comments below.

 

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Comments

    • I’m doing indie publishing simply because I want to. Meanwhile, I hope what I write is not crap, and I have many indications that it’s not. But because it’s all on me, and I got ahead of myself and was bitten in the ass as a result once before, I’m going slow and making sure that I do it right this time, or at least I’m doing it as well as I possibly can. Of course, the definition of “what is good writing?” is debatable to the end of time, and I’m willing to bet that some of my favorite books, classics like “Lolita” or “Neuromancer” to name a few, wouldn’t pass the approval of most of today’s professional editors.

      Should I get less respect because I publish indie? NO, but I understand why I would. If I had the marketing machine of Harper Collins behind me, I could write jibberish and it would hit the best seller list. It’s all about influence, which creates a perception, and I don’t have $100 million budget to convince you that I am a good writer and produce quality books. I just have me.

      Reply

      • All excellent points.

        We’ve been having this discussion over on my Facebook wall also and what it comes down to (in my experience w/ three books) is this: pay the money up front to work w/ an editor, proofreader, graphic artist, and formatter. And like I said in the article, run it by as many readers as possible before it ever sees the light of day..

        It’s easy for people to discount SP as easy — creating good work is never, ever easy. Nor should it be.

        Reply

  2. So glad that there is someone out there who understands that it is talent and persistence that count just as much as being lucky enough to find a publishing company willing to accept your work because it happens to be what they are looking for at the moment.

    Reply

    • Thanks, Barbara! Thanks for your reply.

      I’m working on my fourth and fifth indie books now, having just released my last in December. My feeling is that there is a lot of vetting that happens before a book sees the light of day, if an author is serious about creating a career from this.

      We all create our own luck, IMHO.

      Reply

  3. I didn’t indie-publish because I couldn’t publish traditionally. I COULD have spent months and years trying to query agents, but that’s exhausting and does it always pay off? No. I sent a total of five queries before I gave up and decided to keep writing and eventually publish on my own. I worked in the publishing industry prior to that decision and I know what contracts look like and unlike many others, I understand how advances work and how a publisher makes money on authors. Anyway, life IS too short to hang my dreams on whether or not an agent will pay attention to my work. Agents are high maintenance. They want every query letter to be tailored to them. That takes time and research–time I’d rather be writing.

    Great post, Rachel. I always love your stuff!

    Reply

    • Thanks so much, Nicole — I love hearing your learned perspective having worked in the industry.

      I’ve met w/ some agents and while they’re brimming with ideas and helpful suggestions, it either hasn’t worked out or I haven’t taken the deal. And I couldn’t be happier to take my 70% of each 5.99 sale instead of 10%.

      When it comes down to a smart business decision, I’m happily indie. Not only that, my own expectations of my work are extremely high. I won’t put it out there until it’s already been ‘vetted’ by editor, proofed, betareaders, crit group etc. We as indies must make that effort or it’s all for naught.

      Reply

    • It’s a brave action, but I agree. The traditional publishing process is geared toward a high-level product, but too much slips through that is worth publishing, but which doesn’t pass one or another test.
      I would also argue that the best arbiter of what a person likes is that person. To use a much-bloodied example, Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight series is tremendously popular. Literary merit or lack of such aside, if a story resonates with someone, then it’s a success. Unless I’m mistaken, we’re supposed to read for enjoyment.

      Reply

  9. Okay, first, love your blog, been meaning to comment on it for a long time.

    Second, I might go with the self published books are all crap (after all, I was a newspaper reporter, and got my share of vanity press books that really, really were crappy) EXCEPT for two things….
    …. There is simply too much evidence of great books that had been rejected by traditional publishers. The Firm had been rejected a ton—so had Twilight and others. I also heard this story—though I do not have the sources to verify it— that as a part of an experiment, some writer took Moby Dick, changed the names, and submitted it to various publishing houses. Not only was it rejected, but only one publisher wrote him saying “Dude, this is Moby Dick.”
    —Also, there is too much evidence of traditionally published books that are crap. Now, I confess, I haven’t read Snookie’s book. She may be the next Faulkner for all I know. But I’m willing to go head to head with her on the book thing. If you like hers better than mine, I’ll buy you a steak.

    Rock on, Rachel.
    Dawn
    http://www.dawndeannawilson.com

    Reply

    • Thank you, Dawn, for such a thoughtful response.

      I’ve focused on reading many indie authors this past year and I couldn’t be happier with the quality (save one, which I returned). The issue w/ the argument (all indies are crap) is that sweeping generalizations are rarely true. Now that many of us have made writing professionally our career, we understand the importance of structural and content edits by a professional, as well as proofreading, graphic design, and formatting.

      I think what it comes down to is this: people are afraid of change. The ‘digital revolution’ has changed the rules and will continue to do so in ways we probably can’t even imagine.

      Reply

  10. I feel like, as a blogger, I get some form of this from people who publish “legitimately” in print journals. I put a particularly well-written piece of hate mail on my blog today, in fact.

    Reply

    • I think, for many of us, no matter WHAT or WHERE we write, there will be critics. The key is not to take it personally (as I’ve written about before).

      Sure, this bias is annoying, but it doesn’t mean we have to buy into it. I understand both sides: I recently returned an eBook (first time ever) that was so incredibly bad — grammar, sentence structure, story structure, but mostly formatting errors — and it was SP. I also stopped reading a highly touted, award-winning trad’l pub’d book last month because I was bored out of my mind — and I’ll read cereal boxes.

      Again, this discussion is about creativity and art — both wonderful things to argue about. 🙂

      Reply

  12. How sad for that person who said all SP books are crap! They’re going to miss out on some great books because of their elitism. I’ve seen similar posts online. Some people seem desperate to draw lines of demarcation, defining who is a “real” author based on association, not the quality of the work.

    When I was at my publisher’s booth at the Texas Book Festival, a woman and her husband came into our tent. He headed for our booth and she grabbed his arm while scowling in our direction. “That’s SELF PUBLISHING!” she said scathingly.

    I stepped forward and said we were from a small, independent publishing house, not SP. Her expression instantly changed and they came into our booth, leaving with a few purchases, books she never would have considered if they had come from the dread realm of the self-published.

    The simple fact of the matter is the world of publishing is changing and those who insist on the old model as the only legitimate source of fiction are like people clinging to the deck chairs on the Titanic. In this instance, the ship may not sink entirely, but it will no longer be the luxurious, exclusive accommodation it once was. They may find themselves sharing space with the third-class passengers, and may end up seeing those below-the-deck sorts become even more successful than they.

    Reply

    • Thank you for sharing that, Lissa. What a powerful story and I love your Titanic example at the end. Bravo!

      I read everything — SP, TP, small press — because I love to read. To me, it doesn’t matter where the story comes from.

      If you look at indie movies, they fought the same battles until some incredible work started winning awards. Or the recording industry — same thing.

      Not sure why publishing is so steadfastly clinging to the old ways (though some major changes are afoot, finally). I love knowing that indies/SP are getting recognition as they should.

      Reply

    • Well said Lissa! When those who are in power feel threatened, their first reaction is to belittle those of whom they fear. Some publishers are quite knowledgeable, but others have been able to rise to the top with luck or influence. New technology and world wide markets should allow room for everyone who has the talent and the willpower to succeed.

      Reply

  14. Uncanny, I posted something along a similar vein today…

    The idea of gatekeepers wrongly assumes 1) that readers cannot make their own informed choices and 2) that the gatekeepers have the right to control what is available.

    Technology has advanced such that informed choices by readers are possible, and the success of many self published works casts serious doubt on whether gatekeepers really know what has worth and what does not.

    I’d submit that traditional publishing does *not* have intrinsic value just because it was the status quo for so long, to assume it does is depressingly short sighted. There are lots of great indie authors out there producing excellent work and making more than some traditionally published ones. (End rant).

    Reply

    • Not ranty at all — I wish I had included similar thoughts in my post — thank you!

      I SO with your point about readers. Readers are consumers. Consumers buy shit products all the time — and we bitch, return them, or begrudgingly toss them. I’ve listened to some horrible music, watched some horrible movies and read some reallly bad books. Did I once whine about the state of the movie or music industry? Nope. I moved on.

      Technology allows anyone to publish — very true. But we, the poor helpless readers, will somehow bump along without the aid of those geniuses in NYC who feed us 50 Shades and Twilight, and determine for ourselves what is amazing and what gets tossed begrudgingly in the virtual trash.

      Reply

      • Couldn’t agree more! One of the many reasons I like your blog so much, I think, is that I can often relate to the way you see things. Thanks for the response (and for reading my post).

        Reply

  16. I love being self-published, and where that lead. The stigma of self-publishing is alive and well, but the good will always rise. Wonderful post, Rachel.

    Reply

  17. I just read “Treadwell” by Dana Joy Wyzard (self-published). I couldn’t put it down. I think I’ve loved every self-published book I’ve ever read. Pay Conroy paid a vanity press to publish his first book. He doesn’t do that anymore, but he certainly works to promote his writing.

    Love,
    Janie

    Reply

    • Great points, Janie.

      I so adore Pat Conroy — his books are like love letters to what writing should be.

      If a book is great, it’s great. I personally don’t care how it got to be there. But clearly, people do.

      Reply

    • thank you so much, Joseph! I so appreciate your kind comments.

      This argument is years old, but it reared its head yesterday on my Facebook page and I got just a tad fired up. 😉

      Reply

  21. I’m going the self-publishing route myself not because I think I won’t make the traditional route, but because I want readers judging me because they’re the ones the material is made for. Plus, I have the know-how to do stuff myself and the money, so why not?

    I think the SP market and traditional market are leveling out. I see crap books in both, and they’re about equal. I read lots of SP books now because the traditional market is starved for original material, especially in the YA genre, which is what I primarily read. It is all these amazing SP books that I’m reading that have encouraged me to go this route, and I find myself excited every step of the way. It’s about time I took control of my own dream rather than waiting for someone else to make it come true. But the stigma is dying. I mean traditional publishes going after SP books says something about the market in general, does it not?

    Reply

  25. I went to a writer’s conference last March to hone my writing just prior to completing my novel. I was astounded by the blatant disregard for SP authors and their work. Bottom line…just because you have been snagged by a publishing house, doesn’t mean you are a better anything. It means you are fortunate, your timing is right, the right people were looking, or Mars is perfectly aligned with Uranus….heehee!

    The beauty of the Indie community is that we all understand that there are enough readers out there to go around…I mean come on, I can read a “good book” in two days, a great book in one, then on to the next one…my book isn’t in direct competition with another book and I’m not competing against another author. We are trying to give our community validity. When one of us succeeds, the whole community succeeds.

    I was forced to SP because of subject matter. No one would touch my “taboo” novel. Rather than let it defeat me, it galvanized me to let the reader decide. They have…I have received 99~5 star reviews for my debut novel, virtually all commenting on how well it is written. To the standard publishing houses I say, “doesn’t that just blow your dress up?”

    Great post Rachel…thanks for the links!
    Taylor Fulks

    Reply

    • Thank you, Taylor, for sharing your experiences.

      I agree — reading is for enjoyment. Those of us who invest the time and money to create a quality product reap the benefits of great sales and reviews. Readers are smart. This whole ‘we must look out for the poor reader’ attitude is flimsy at best. If a reader doesn’t like a book (for whatever reason), they will use the forums to let people know. Same if they like it.

      Authors are a wonderful community (save a few bad apples but we’ll ignore them). I’m thrilled to be part of it.

      Reply

  35. I read Gabe’s book last night, because you recommended it in your tweets, and was blown away. It’s changed the way I view everything and intend to blog about it on a blog I thought I’d shut down. It’s that important. It’s that good.

    And there are that many bad books self-published. I don’t think the problem is the lack of gatekeepers, or filtering, but the temptation of instant gratification. Push the button and you’re a published writer. It’s hard to follow your very good advice of taking time, testing the book, absorbing the feedback, and approaching this with professionalism. Go ahead, just push the button. It’s that easy. Gather friends, family, and fellow authors who play the you-review-me-I’ll-review-you game and you’re on your way.

    You, Rachel, can share your excellent advice until you’re blue in the face, but people will hear what they want to hear, do as they want to do, spend ridiculous amounts of money and figure that covers the bad storytelling. Note I say storytelling, not writing. There’s a difference between the two I’ll go into another day in a different place. Until then, I’ll agree that there are a LOT of bad writers crowding the brilliant storytellers out of the picture. That will change with time as the storytellers come to the surface. There’s no way to stop that rise – it’s as old as humanity. We’re in a period of transition, and that is always tumultuous but well worth the struggle. There are a LOT of brilliant writers out there building steam and ready to bust out, shake it up, and wake up readers we lost during the era of the Big Six gatekeepers. There’s never been a better time to be a storyteller, and never a better time for emerging readers.

    Reply

    • Great comment, Cyd and thank you so much for sharing your point of view.

      Gabe IS a talent and I love that he’s experienced both traditional and self-published options. I’ve read both his books (and loved them also) and what I enjoy most is that he’s a terrific writer — I don’t look at who published him. As a reader, I just want to read his stuff.

      There’s no right or wrong here — but for those authors who treat this AS a career, a long-term strategy to stay in the game will win out. Rushing to publish IS a common mistake, but guess what? Those folks learn that lesson when their books don’t sell.

      As for reviews from family, friends, etc — many authors will tell you that it’s practically impossible to get family or friends to review our books! It’s a common misperception. It’s an odd dynamic, but those closest to us rarely read our work. Ask any author — but that’s another blog post. 😉

      I so appreciate your comments!

      Reply

    • I agree there’s never been a better time to be a reader or writer.

      We have a chance here at a true meritocracy. The ebook field has been leveled, open to all, not just for those who have the backing of a major publisher’s wallet. The publishers still have the advantage in publicity, but that’s fading as budgets are cut, especially for mid-list authors.

      As for the fact there are many bad books on the market… I don’t see where much has changed except the numbers themselves have increased, though I’d gander to say not the ratio. Publishers have always put out their share of bad, forgettable books. Go to any yard sale and you’ll find boxes of them. Go to an estate sale, and you might be able to get a box of 19th century “disposable” literature for a couple of dollars. The grammar and spelling may be better than some writers who decide to “go it alone,” but the stories themselves aren’t.

      I’ve noticed something interesting along these lines. A good number of self-published books have reviewers who make a point of noting any mistakes; rarely do you see mistakes noted in books by mainstream authors. And that’s not because there aren’t any. Paradoxically, people seem to have higher standards for self-published works, or they’re alert to look for errors they’d miss in a Big Six produced novel.

      Reply

  41. Okay dudes, this is something that happened to me that was very interesting and I think it brings a good point to this post.

    I got an e-mail from a major play publisher (that will remain nameless for the sake of this post—suffice it to say it’s not some mom and pop operation.)

    They accepted my one-act for inclusion in their catalog (thank you, Jesus!) Needless to say, I’m thrilled. They needed an updated address to send me the contract.

    The interesting thing?

    I submitted this play 12 YEARS AGO.

    The editor even told me “this has been in the slush pile for 12 YEARS. ” She said they wanted to use it, but didn’t have a place to place it yet, etc. etc. etc. She was very nice about it and recognized that this was a long time. I told her the slush pile is better than the rejection pile.

    Personally, I’m just thrilled to have it accepted. I’m just using this to illustrate that this is a traditional route, that it was accepted—but lingered for 12YEARS.

    If you take this as an illustration for self-publishing, were it a book, that is 12 YEARS I could have gotten royalties for it. (as far as I know, plays aren’t really viable on Kindle…or are they?)
    So, assuming I sold 2 books a month and got $3 for each one sold:
    (and follow my math as I’m a liberal arts major)
    2×3= 6
    For 12 months = 6×12= 72 per year.
    72 x 12 = (calculator please?) $864

    Now that is assuming two sales a month…which is pretty low.

    This is NOT a complaint at all–to be honest, I only vaguely remember the play I wrote–
    We all know that when you get published traditionally, it is a gift…
    …I’m just illustrating my point.

    Reply

    • Your point is well taken. I am already retired and have just begun writing children’s books. So twelve years would be a long time to wait. I feel that I have something to contribute and I want to get my product out there so that I can see the results. Therefore, I have chosen not to go the traditional route and self publish.

      Reply

    • well, first — CONGRATS!

      second, given your obvious talent, you’d make MUCH more than that 🙂 … but I see your very well illustrated point.

      (BTW, that story is a book in itself lol).

      So happy for you and hope you continue to publish — whatever, however!

      Reply

  53. Personally I’ve seen almost as many bad “traditionally” published books as self-published. Self publishing obviously opens doors that mainstream publishing keeps locked up with dusty dead bolts, but to pigeon hole all sp books is a little ridiculous. Thanks for helping to shine a little light on this subject. More need to do so. Eventually the perception will change, hopefully faster than this dated publishing model has.

    Reply

    • Thanks, Jason.

      It’s interesting how adamantly people hang on to that old model, and the generalizations they make. Listen, just because nobody bought his paintings didn’t make Van Gogh stop painting. Not that all authors are brilliant — but I have to believe most of us do our best as we possibly can, and then hopefully ask for educated input. And those who don’t? Maybe they ARE brilliant but my guess is they too can benefit from professional editing and such.

      It’s all about our vision and how we get there.

      Reply

  54. Well, since I’ve already said my peace on the book of faces, I will just make another observation here.

    When these big names make it to the publishing world after all this hard work of being an indie author, the company isn’t taking them on to be an author. They are buying out the author’s publishing company.

    The number one goal of business (and an incorrect model, I will admit) is grow or die. The large companies go out to absorb the smaller ones, taking from them the key pieces to make their bottom line grow for another quarter. They don’t care one bit about the actual writer, and they might even be happy when they fail so they can say “See, we gave them the chance and it didn’t work.”

    Also, when you wear so many hats, you damage the value of your overall product. Since it is a small business, you either have to evaluate what you do well and let others do the stuff you don’t want to do in order to keep the business afloat, or you cut corners. When you cut corners, you start ignoring things like story structure, formatting, editing, and other things because the mindset is (as I said on FB) “You will get them on the next version of the same book.”

    Go out there and look at the marketers who tell their customers that. I’ve heard some top tier marketers (6 figure a month kind) tell writers don’t even worry about things like this because people just want what you have. These people take that mindset and use it to publish horrible stuff. You and I know thousands of writers that are horrible, but we hold our tongues because we don’t want to upset them.

    Do you see where the dreck thought comes from?

    Reply

  55. Rachel,
    Just found you through Twitter. I have to say, I really like your perspective here. I have another thought to add to the conversation as well. There are horrible books in both the self-published and traditional published book realms. I mean, all you have to do is walk through Barnes & Noble. There are literally bookshelves worth of badly written, meaningless, unhelpful, uninspired books of gibberish. Good content is good content, regardless of how it’s published.

    Reply

    • Thank you, Chris!

      If you look at the commenters below, they feel their bias is justified. Like you and many others, we’ve all read horrible books. As for my process, I’ve had good success making sure I hire great people to edit, proof, format and design, something all indies must do. But it still comes down to writing a great book. Product must be good or the rest is just pretty packaging.

      Reply

      • I have certainly read more self-published books that are just plain bad. I do wonder about blogs and articles I read that say things like, “Everyone has at least one book in them.” I am not sure that is true, or at least not a good book without help.

        If self-published means self-everything, then the book will suffer. I am in the process of writing a memoir that will likely end up self-published for the same reasons you mention. I’d rather invest and keep more of the rewards than anything else. But many don’t seem to take the art of writing seriously in the self-published market, sadly.

        Reply

  56. I read the article. Has this man ever read Harlequin romances or Danielle Steel? Traditionally published, but certainly not great writing. Bookstores are full of examples of mediocre writing. But it is all about the market. Danielle Steel makes millions because not every reader wants to read GREAT LITERATURE. Writers appeal to all levels of the reading public, and there has to be something for everyone. The premise that “crap” shouldn’t be available is ludicrous. The man who wrote that article should be so lucky as Hugh Howey or Amanda Hocking!

    Reply

    • Gosh, no idea, Molly. When he started attacking me personally, I backed away from the crazy.

      You make really good points. Truth is, people have been self-publishing their own work for YEARS (what are artists, after all, but purveyors of our own art)? These types of arguments, without fair balance, do nothing to add to the belief that one particular way of publishing is better than another. Yes, we owe it to the buying public to write amazing books. All writers do.

      The means it gets into their hands doesn’t make a whit of difference.

      hugs!

      Reply

      • Everyone has their own taste. Readers don’t necessarily want to read what the agents in the publishing companies choose to publish and distribute.

        Reply

  57. Years ago, I played submission roulette. I got letters back that praised my work, genuine praise, then said they were wary of taking a chance on an unknown and they weren’t quite sure enough of my success to come for them to invest in me. The letters often ended with an exhortation to send them whatever I wrote next and wishing me well. Some even suggested getting in touch with certain people in other publishing houses, or agents. I even had an agent. It’s a long, long haul to keep going with the whole *close but no cigar* thing, book after book after book. I’m glad I did, now, because I do have that to look back on and assure myself I am good enough as a writer.
    But I’m also glad self publishing came along. It allows us the freedom to explore, innovate and create without the whole market economy being a factor. I’m not a big best seller, but my books have been consistently in various top 100 charts for their niches, and I get emails and messages from readers telling me not only how much they enjoyed the books but how much they were helped by them.
    I do think it’ll take time but in the end, the gatekeepers will be the consumers, and finding the right niche for your work means that you CAN find readers. Books gathering dust in desk drawers or rotting on hard drives will never do that.
    Great article; thank you.

    Reply

  58. Here’s some facts for anyone who’s considering using Amazon, Kobo, Lulu (loud guffaw), or anyone else as a portal for their own productions.

    1. The only real winners are the aggregates. They don’t really do much for hosting your product and creaming off their percentage, which is quite a chunk considering how little they do for it. Sure, they have to pay their “quality control” team to ensure that your book matches their cacky terms and conditions, but that’s about it. Considering their quality control team are willing to pass any old shite as long as it fits into their remit, that isn’t saying much.

    2. If you can write complete and utter pointless asinine drivel – such as the dross churned out by Barbara Cartland for Mills and Boon – I’m sure you’ll do fine and Amazon will look upon you very favourably. But whatever you do, don’t write anything with any poignant socio-politico metaphor in it. Amazon will certainly frown upon that. After all, it may offend certain readers and that would hamper their customer base relations. Just as well that Eric Blair (George Orwell) wasn’t alive today. He’d been totally screwed, finding his “1984” and “Animal Farm” completely sidelined and invisible in the search results. Yes, if they don’t want a certain book visible, they can just hide it from the results and you’ll never get to see it.

    3. If you really believe that you’re likely to make any money of note, forget it. I took the trouble to purchase a Kindle book – something about “Illustrating Childrens Books for Kindle” – and the author informs the reader that you’re lucky if you make £100 per book over the course of a year. Well, £100 would essentially equate to nothing more than half a title page, so I’m guessing you’re looking at a very short book if that’s the kind of income you’re hoping to attain per book. Unless you want to be working 24/7, like some comic artists, for a pittance.

    4. I see that some people advocate identifying niches and cobbling together a load of information off the internet and tossing it together into a book, like they really care for that subject. I love that cynical approach to creativity. Strange. I always had the idea that a book (particularly a work of fiction) is something which is carefully crafted over a long period of time and ultimately has a an important statement to make about something. I guess that’s why there’s such a load of crap on Amazon and Kobo. Just a load of rubbish tossed together. But it keeps Amazon laughing, watching the pennies roll in.

    So if you’re happy to be a slave to the aggregates, you jump right in there, and you’ll find out if you make it or not. I’m willing to bet that after you’ve sweated for months over a book, you’ll probably be lucky to pull in a couple of hundred quid, after you’ve wasted your time with a load of marketing on web pages and blogs and stuff, and sucked up to everyone on Facebook and Twitter to take a peek at your offering.

    Not for me, I’m afraid. The proof of the pudding lies in the book itself. That is where the real satisfaction is gained. Not in courting attention and relying upon hype to promote your work.

    Reply

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  65. “Agents and publishers have approached me and I’m currently in discussions about paperback versions of all three of my books.”

    Congratulations. You may someday have stuff out worth my taking a chance on.

    Meanwhile, selfies ARE NOT WORTH MY TIME. I don’t have time to search for a one-carat diamond in a swimming pool full of shit.

    Reply

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