Where There Is A Will
Earlier today, I fear I may have inadvertently drawn blood when I criticized a close writer friend of mine and her publisher. The criticism was meant as an observation and was inquirious (not a word, but it does sound like it should be) in nature, but came off a bit rough. The author, and her publisher, will remain unnamed. It did get me thinking about the state of affairs for the 99% of authors lucky enough to find someone who believe enough in the work to put it in print.
The complaint revolved about PR—or the lack there of—provided to the authors by the publisher. The author, we'll call her Beatrice, has been hard at work blogging, tweeting, and generally getting involved as her first published novel(la) is birthed. She's had interviews with other authors, been interviewed by other authors, and had more than a few guest posts. As I traveled to blogs of these other authors, I discovered they too had been conducting interviews, been the focus of interviews, and welcomed the odd guest or two. I was piqued. Was this the new method of unknown authors? The latest in self-PR technology? Then, as I delved deeper into the murky waters of the blogosphere, I realized they all had one thing in common: the publisher.
I suppose I should disclose that I've never had anything other than flash fiction published (which you can find here and here). I don't have an agent, a publisher, or even a completely manuscript, for that matter. So why should you care what I think? Honestly, I have no clue, but, as I am human, I have an opinion. I also earned BSM—mostly though BS-ing—so I'd like to think I may have some insight or something I can pretend comes off as intelligible.
The publishing world is a cake walk for the likes of Stephen King and JK Rowling because they are established. When the press gets the slightest of whispers, they appear in ravenous hordes, demanding interviews, blogging, tweeting, etc, which drums up hype and intrigue for something that may not even exist. But what about the rest of us? What about the authors who haven't landed that star agent or dream contract because the world has never heard of them? What do they do so their book reaches the audience it's intended for?
Over the next few weeks, I hope to answer that question. Please join me as I dive head first into the world of self-publishing, mom-n- pop presses, and the gigantic task of being a self-PR machine most writers will have to metamorphosis into if they wish to have success. It should be an interesting ride.
