Artisanal

 have a love hate relationship with this whole concept of calling self publishing artisanal publishing. It’s pretty and maybe it would get some people to read an otherwise likely unreadable book but let’s be real here, while quite a few authors may put a great deal of work into it, the same cannot be said of all authors. The question of “Would you rather have an artisanal book or a mass produced book” as was asked by Guy Kawasaki sounds in theory like a no brainer. Artisanal looks beautiful on paper, you could even find a graphic designer with amazing Illustrator skills to write that all scripty with swirls and it would actually be quite a designer piece. The reality however tells a different story. The author having a heavy hand in the design process is wonderful in theory, and frankly maybe publishers could allow authors more contribution, but here’s the deal, most authors are not studied in design. They haven’t spent years as a design student and even if they have they likely haven’t done anything like designed the interior of a book. Believe me, I have done it myself, it’s ridiculously difficult. It’s a little easier when you have an older file to work off of, but even then, it’s tedious and often times exhausting work which makes you want to scream at the best of times. Designing your book in Word does not a professional make. Sure ebooks are fairly boring usually so in that respect you might be fine, but overall? You still have to design a cover that is both interesting, original and appealing. It should be simple if at all possible and yet convey instantly what the book is about (admittedly I do wonder sometimes if Goddess of Carnage‘s cover isn’t too simple).

Then of course there’s the editing aspect which is entirely different altogether and yet, probably more important because as much as a bad cover can completely destroy any potential sales you may have, a bad book can do just as much damage if not worse. I’m not saying a publishing house is in anyway perfect or that you won’t still have screw ups and problems, after all we’re all human, but they’ve been doing this a long time. Self publishing is a great way to get your name out there and it’s certainly a great way to get a story out that for a lot of reasons is merely easier to tell this way, but the truth of the matter is, we’re a long way from ‘artisanal’ self publishing.

It’s worth noting, that he does express the importance of having a professional cover design, and copyeditor, at least according to this article at Fast Company. The problem of course is, given the ease of use for self publishing the market has become so flooded with authors who just want to get themselves out there that even when you do take your time it’s hard to get noticed. It’s definitely an interesting article worth a read.