Peg Herring's Blog - Posts Tagged "self-publishing"
Proud Words and Self-Publishing
Look out how you use proud words.
When you let proud words go, it is not easy to call them back.
They wear long boots, hard boots; they walk off proud; they can't hear you calling—
Look out how you use proud words.
—Carl Sandburg, American poet and essayist, Primer Lesson, 1922
The same can be said for self-publishing.
I went to a book-selling event last week, and of seven authors in attendance, two were traditionally published. As we chatted, all five of the self-pubbed authors admitted to me privately there were mistakes in their books they wish could be fixed.
That is what's wrong with self-publishing.
To be fair, it can be done and done well. But in too many cases, self-publishing equates to impatience, and we all know the adage about haste making waste.
Sometimes it's just plain ignorance, like the author who kept informing prospective customers that her book was a "fiction novel". Sometimes it's frustration, like the man who tried for seven years to get the attention of The Machine and could not. Often it's lack of study of the industry, a lack of awareness of consequences. And sometimes--perhaps more so of late when e-publishing has begun to take off--it's a conscious decision. The writer understands that she will be doing her own promotion; she gets help with editing and formatting; she carves out her niche and works to make it as attractive and visible as possible. She keeps in mind that if people read a book with her name on it that is badly produced, full of errors and weak elements, they are unlikely to repeat the experience.
So take Sandburg's warning to heart. Like proud words, self-published books cannot be taken back once they are out there. Writers should send them out only under carefully considered circumstances. Every collection of words you offer the world should be words that make you proud.
When you let proud words go, it is not easy to call them back.
They wear long boots, hard boots; they walk off proud; they can't hear you calling—
Look out how you use proud words.
—Carl Sandburg, American poet and essayist, Primer Lesson, 1922
The same can be said for self-publishing.
I went to a book-selling event last week, and of seven authors in attendance, two were traditionally published. As we chatted, all five of the self-pubbed authors admitted to me privately there were mistakes in their books they wish could be fixed.
That is what's wrong with self-publishing.
To be fair, it can be done and done well. But in too many cases, self-publishing equates to impatience, and we all know the adage about haste making waste.
Sometimes it's just plain ignorance, like the author who kept informing prospective customers that her book was a "fiction novel". Sometimes it's frustration, like the man who tried for seven years to get the attention of The Machine and could not. Often it's lack of study of the industry, a lack of awareness of consequences. And sometimes--perhaps more so of late when e-publishing has begun to take off--it's a conscious decision. The writer understands that she will be doing her own promotion; she gets help with editing and formatting; she carves out her niche and works to make it as attractive and visible as possible. She keeps in mind that if people read a book with her name on it that is badly produced, full of errors and weak elements, they are unlikely to repeat the experience.
So take Sandburg's warning to heart. Like proud words, self-published books cannot be taken back once they are out there. Writers should send them out only under carefully considered circumstances. Every collection of words you offer the world should be words that make you proud.
Why Are Self-Published Books Bad?
Trick question. They're not, or at least they don't have to be. Some people I know have self-published, AFTER they thought about it for a long time. They paid an editor to find the errors they missed. They paid an artist to do a classy cover. They even paid a computer geek to make sure the formatting is clean, correct, and friendly to whatever e-reader would be used. Then and only then did they self-publish. Yay for them.
On the other hand, there are people who are too anxious, too egotistical, or too clueless to make their books the best they can be. I heard a (supposed) author say not too long ago, "I never edit. I just put it out there." Yeah, I'll bet that's what it is: out there.
The industry is changing--has changed. Authors can make their work available for sale to the public without waiting for an agent, an editor, or a publisher to deem it suitable. But that's a double-edged sword. Yes, it makes for variety, avoiding the "this is what sold well last time" mentality that many publishers exhibit. But unless a person is open to help and advice, quality suffers. Somebody has to tell an author when it isn't working. Somebody has to correct his or her mistakes in plotting, in syntax, and in spelling.
If you're going to be a self-published author, the responsibility falls on you. You have to do what a "real" publisher would do and submit your work to lots of people for criticism and suggestions. Don't want to put out a bad book? Then don't let your love affair with your own creative genius blind you to the possibility that without help from others, your book might be, indeed, really bad.
On the other hand, there are people who are too anxious, too egotistical, or too clueless to make their books the best they can be. I heard a (supposed) author say not too long ago, "I never edit. I just put it out there." Yeah, I'll bet that's what it is: out there.
The industry is changing--has changed. Authors can make their work available for sale to the public without waiting for an agent, an editor, or a publisher to deem it suitable. But that's a double-edged sword. Yes, it makes for variety, avoiding the "this is what sold well last time" mentality that many publishers exhibit. But unless a person is open to help and advice, quality suffers. Somebody has to tell an author when it isn't working. Somebody has to correct his or her mistakes in plotting, in syntax, and in spelling.
If you're going to be a self-published author, the responsibility falls on you. You have to do what a "real" publisher would do and submit your work to lots of people for criticism and suggestions. Don't want to put out a bad book? Then don't let your love affair with your own creative genius blind you to the possibility that without help from others, your book might be, indeed, really bad.
