On Typos--

Saw a great post on Twitter: @CalixofCoffee wrote, "Shout-out to the typos that made it through three rounds of content edits, copyedits, and two rounds of proofreading. I am inspired by your dedication and tenacity."

Ain't that the truth?

One of the things that really bothers me is when people review indie books and complain about typos. I don't think any author purposely puts out error-filled books. We all want our product to be the best it can be. But, the old adage "If you can't afford an editor, you can't afford to put out your book" may not be practical. Most book editing costs around $500/book, maybe more. The average indie book will never even make its author $500 over the course of its lifetime. Sad, but true.

I consider myself very lucky. In the grand scheme of things, I have done extremely well for someone who does not spend money on promotion or marketing. AFTER EVERYONE DIED got lucky. It's been downloaded a lot. More than I probably deserved. The dropoff for LONG EMPTY ROADS has been huge, though. Less than a quarter of everyone who has bought or read AED has followed through to read LER. It really makes me worry about what will happen when ALL WE HAVE comes out. (Soon, I hope--Paige Krogwoldis still working on the cover--she's been really busy.)

What people need to understand is that publishing is just like the music industry. Indie authors are punk rock. Books kicked out by the large publishers are the studio albums. Punk rock is imperfect. It's done by people who can't afford the best equipment, tons of studio time, great engineers, or perfect mastering. It's done with a DIY attitude and hope. That's it.

Same with indie authors. We don't have a ton of help out there. Most of the time when I send out early copies of books for beta-reads, I don't get much feedback, if any at all. I do most of my own editing, and I go over the books dozens of times. I want them to be as good as I can make them, but financially speaking, I can't afford to take a loss on books, and paying for editing, most likely, would be a loss. Sad, but true.

I also don't want to be someone who begs people for help. I always say that if I ever make decent profit on a book, I'll pay it back. But, that hasn't happened, yet. I do try to do something for those that help out in the process, but I'm a broke educator with a writing habit. I still have a ton of student load debt almost twenty years after graduating with my M.A. Life is hard.

It would be great to have the major label support. It would be great to get slick, professional covers with blurbs from other writers. It would be great to get the internal support of editors and copy editors, but c'mon. There can only be so many major books. Just like there can only be so many major albums. A TON of books released by major houses don't make money, so what chance do indie books have? Hitting the best-seller lists is akin to winning the lottery.

I do what I can do, and I try to do it as best I can, and I just hope people understand that I'm out here with three chords and the Truth, trying to turn myself into U2. But, like most punk bands, I'm lucky if I can make it out of the garage.

When I was in high school and college, most of my favorite bands were punk rock bands, especially the ones that haunted the Minneapolis scene. Bands like #HouseofLargeSizes, or #MarkMallman, or #Chixdiggit or #TheGroovieGhoulies--bands that were out there with almost no support, just trying to build an audience. Every band has to start somewhere. Even Rush used to play to less than ten people in a makeshift youth center in the basement of a church. You gotta walk before you can fly.

The nice thing about doing things this way, is that I publish books that I want to read without kowtowing to editors and publishers who won't get it. When I first tried to publish AED, I sent it off to a bunch of editors who all wanted more characters and more action--which would have defeated the whole point of the book. Same thing with the music industry: If all bands are major label bands, then you never get bands like Black Flag, the Sex Pistols, or the Ramones. You have to have people who are willing to do what they want, regardless of what the major corporations want.

Also, with indie writers, you get a chance to watch someone develop as a writer far more than you do when you have a series of editors polish their work. My first book was as good as I could write twelve years ago. Now, as I've learned the process better, and I've gotten better with my tools, I'm putting out better product. If you read my books in order, you can hear the progression. Same thing with punk rock bands that hit it big. You can listen to their records chronologically and hear them develop as musicians and songwriters. It's nice.

But, you just have to understand that mistakes, typos, and missed corrections are part of the game.

I hate them. Believe me, I hate them more than you. But, that's just part of the game.