What About Home-grown Books?

A writer friend raised the issue that people go to crafts shows and buy homemade jewelry, hand-knitted sweaters, original paintings, believing them to be real treasures-- one of a kind. So why are people suspicious of self-published books and refuse to buy them if "home grown" is better? Is it true that there is a bias against self-published books and e-books?

For this blog I am looking into the matter regarding self-published print books and will cover e-books in my next blog post. I have queried 5 readers and 8 writers (who are also readers). Here is the consensus, with a few variations:

It is not so much that readers ignore self-published works per se, as publisher credentials are not always clear, nor do readers check those first. There are traditional publishers we’ve heard of, branches of these publishers that sometimes specialize in genres, small independent presses, self-publishing companies, imprints created by authors looking to avoid the “stigma” of self-publishing, and obvious author-published titles. Readers have various reasons to shy away from self-published (or any) books regardless of publisher:

“Have I heard of you?” a shopper might ask an author seated with her books at a holiday fair. If the author is selling travel, history, cookbooks, or other non-fiction, the shopper might quickly assess the interest level or quality of the book. However, a book of fiction or a memoir is not easily appraised without reading. If the book at hand is part of a series, such as “Chicken Soup,” it has a familiar ring and can be more quickly judged. One reader, though, said meeting the author and having a signed book might attract him.

Choosing to buy a book is not a decision that can be made as instantly as selecting an item such as a piece of jewelry or a sweater. Buying a book takes more time and a future commitment—to read it! Reviews inside the book, blurbs on the back cover or book jacket can persuade the reader to buy a book. Traditional publishers do a better job on these aspects by obtaining quotes from writers in the same genre, whose works might be familiar. An enticing cover and well-designed book with easy-to-read fonts and nice paper reveal high quality and persuade readers.

“Word of mouth is the ultimate marketing campaign,” says one author. Readers seem to agree that they would buy a self-published book written by a friend or one recommended by friends, librarians, or trusted readers. Book buying is also subject to trends, such as the vampire novel phenomenon a few years ago.

Readers say they might be wary of a self-published book, assuming the writer would have tried to publish in the traditional way in order to reach a larger audience and make more money. Therefore the reader might judge that the book wasn’t “good enough” to be published and that it had not been professionally approved, edited, or “vetted” before going to press. A reader has no way to know whether a self-published book has been well edited or is a just a “vanity” piece.

A reader pointed out that “there are some self-published books that are excellent and. . . some from well-known authors that aren’t good at all—their names are just being used to sell copies.” One of the authors who responded to my query publishes e-books through a traditional publisher, but said she is considering self-publishing in the future. (Why? See my next blog post in a couple weeks.)

The majority of self-published authors I questioned say they have low to moderate sales. This fact is not necessarily discouraging because they are satisfied to have reached some readers, and they love to write. Others say that sales are “never satisfactory” and are looking for ways to increase their sales. On the other hand, one author has sold almost 3,000 books in about 5 years!

Marketing and book promotion certainly factor into the selling of self-published books, which I will cover in a future blog post. Reviewers and bookstores generally avoid self-published books, possibly on the belief that the works are likely not professionally approved and edited. I wonder if bookstore rules and reviewer guidelines are so strict as to never take a chance on self-published works. In future research I will attempt to query reviewers and bookstore buyers on this topic. (Meanwhile, Amazon and other booksellers with online presence sell self-published books and e-books that have ISBN numbers.)

I send a big thank you to my reader-responders: Colleen Hamilton, Charlie Luckett, J.A. Murphy, Jaye Stefani, and Mary Ann Zechmann.

I am grateful also to the authors who responded (and I provide their most recent book titles)—now you’ve heard of them:
Sheila Deeth, “Infinite Sum”; James Elstad, “Comes the Southern Revolution”; Sarah Hall (aka Sarah Hawthorne), “Enforcer’s Price” (e-book only); Carolyn Martin, “The Way A Woman Knows”; Walt Socha, “Conflict” (e-book only); Jim Stewart, “Ochoco Reach”; Steve Theme, “Asphalt Asylum, The Dark Roads to Light”; and Louise Young, “Seducing the Spirits.”