Success, Change, and Choice
Since I did IndieReCon last month and generally came out to the public about my self publishing intentions, (Nice Dragons come out in July!) I've been hearing from a lot of other writers asking for advice if they should try self publishing or start querying for traditional publishing. To these people, I always say the same thing: what's right for you depends on your definition of success.
Warning: lengthy discussion about the nuances of the self publishing/traditional publishing choice ahead! If that's your thing, then dive right in. If not, here's a picture of a baby turtle eating a strawberry as an apology for wasting your time.
Let's say your definition of success is to see your book on shelves in a bookstore. This is a classic author dream, and if this is your goal, then traditional publishing is the obvious choice. Now, let's say your dream is to quit your job and make a living off your books. This is also a very classic writing success story. Who doesn't want to quit the day job? For this person, I would suggest self publishing, because for a little bit up cash upfront, you can get up more books more quickly and earn a decent living on far fewer sales thanks to self publishing's elevated royalty rates.
Again, I'm not trying to make an argument one way or another. No one's dream of success is better or more valid than anyone else's, and there are horror stories and great ballads of triumph on both sides of the publishing fence. My concern is author happiness. Because just as everyone writes differently, everyone has different dreams for their careers. Telling the author whose great dream is to see her books on shelves that she can make more money per sale via Amazon isn't actually helping her get what she wants. Likewise, gushing that your publisher set up an interview for you with Elizabeth Moon (I DID THAT! COMING SOON OMG OMG OMG!) isn't going to mean as much to the author who's great dream is to make a living doing what she loves.
(And for the record, there is absolutely nothing wrong with doing this for the money. I would not write if I was not getting paid. Writers have families to support just like everyone else, and anyone who says we're greedy hacks for wanting to be paid fairly for our work doesn't understand how this whole selling books thing works.)
All of this is a very long winded way to say that the answer to the question of whether you should choose traditional or self publishing is one of personal preference. If your dreams of success involve widespread professional acknowledgement, calls from your editor, guest spots at conventions, and finding your book at the mall bookstore, then self publishing would probably be a very frustrating path. On the other hand, if you're someone who is entrepreneurial, has a firm idea how your book should be presented and marketed, cares very much about the difference between an ebook royalty that is 25% of net and one that's 70% of cover price, hates having other people make decisions for them, and is bothered by the idea of waiting upwards of a year and a half for your books to come out after you turn them in, then traditional publishing will probably drive you crazy. And if you're like me, and you care about all of these things, then you can always try being a hybrid who does some books traditionally and self publishes others (which is a whole other kettle of fish).
I've been a full time professional writer since 2009, and in that time, I've seen enormous change sweep through our industry. If I was a brand new author who'd just finished polishing her first book today, I don't actually know which path I'd choose, because while I love the modern idea of self publishing, the writer I am today was enormously and very positively shaped by the traditional publishing system. Specifically, I am a much better writer because my agent and editor had the leverage to demand changes that I did not want to make at the time, changes that ended up making my books, and me, fantastically better. Could I have achieved that sort of growth with an editor I'd hired? I honestly don't know.
What I do know, though, is that the question of whether an author should self publish or stick to the old ways isn't a simple one. It's a complex business decision that requires a lot of research and personal thought and should be approached with maximum caution, because once you hit self publish on that sucker, it's very hard to impossible to change your mind, take it down, and try to resell it to a publisher. Similarly, if you sign a book deal and then decide you'd be better off on your own, tough luck. You're stuck now.
This sort of thing is why, when I see people like Joe Konrath saying "Write, Edit, Self Publish, Repeat," I get a little ticked off, because that sort of reductionist phrasing doesn't take into account differences in writer temperament. Similarly, I get pissed when I see people in traditional publishing openly bashing those who choose to self publish as losers who couldn't cut it in "real publishing," because it's not like that, and saying it is only reinforces the stereotype that people in traditional publishing are all entitled snobs who can't see the waves of change coming even when they're already washing the foundations out from under their feet.
So if you're a writer of any stripe and you're wondering which way to go, good for you. You should be wondering and asking and thinking and doing research on that question, because not only is it going to be one of the defining choices of your career, but the opportunity costs of going one way or the other are literally changing every day. Any way you decide--total self pub, total traditional, or trying to do both as a hybrid--will have frustrations and pitfalls and things you'll have to give up, and it's up to you to decide which of the upsides will make the downsides most bearable for you.
I know this post has been kind of a downer, but the point of this blog has always been to give you a look at what it's like to be a professional working writer, and these are the issues that I worry about on a daily basis. Ideally, the choice of what you do with your book shouldn't even be one of public notice, but with so much anger and investment currently surrounding the traditional vs. self pub debate (and let's be honest, there's a LOT of anger going on here on both sides), I feel that it's more important than ever to step back from the hype and really think about what you want out of your career Because it's your future, your money, and your happiness on the line here, and that, not what someone on the internet thinks you should have done, is what truly matters.
Warning: lengthy discussion about the nuances of the self publishing/traditional publishing choice ahead! If that's your thing, then dive right in. If not, here's a picture of a baby turtle eating a strawberry as an apology for wasting your time.
Let's say your definition of success is to see your book on shelves in a bookstore. This is a classic author dream, and if this is your goal, then traditional publishing is the obvious choice. Now, let's say your dream is to quit your job and make a living off your books. This is also a very classic writing success story. Who doesn't want to quit the day job? For this person, I would suggest self publishing, because for a little bit up cash upfront, you can get up more books more quickly and earn a decent living on far fewer sales thanks to self publishing's elevated royalty rates.
Again, I'm not trying to make an argument one way or another. No one's dream of success is better or more valid than anyone else's, and there are horror stories and great ballads of triumph on both sides of the publishing fence. My concern is author happiness. Because just as everyone writes differently, everyone has different dreams for their careers. Telling the author whose great dream is to see her books on shelves that she can make more money per sale via Amazon isn't actually helping her get what she wants. Likewise, gushing that your publisher set up an interview for you with Elizabeth Moon (I DID THAT! COMING SOON OMG OMG OMG!) isn't going to mean as much to the author who's great dream is to make a living doing what she loves.
(And for the record, there is absolutely nothing wrong with doing this for the money. I would not write if I was not getting paid. Writers have families to support just like everyone else, and anyone who says we're greedy hacks for wanting to be paid fairly for our work doesn't understand how this whole selling books thing works.)
All of this is a very long winded way to say that the answer to the question of whether you should choose traditional or self publishing is one of personal preference. If your dreams of success involve widespread professional acknowledgement, calls from your editor, guest spots at conventions, and finding your book at the mall bookstore, then self publishing would probably be a very frustrating path. On the other hand, if you're someone who is entrepreneurial, has a firm idea how your book should be presented and marketed, cares very much about the difference between an ebook royalty that is 25% of net and one that's 70% of cover price, hates having other people make decisions for them, and is bothered by the idea of waiting upwards of a year and a half for your books to come out after you turn them in, then traditional publishing will probably drive you crazy. And if you're like me, and you care about all of these things, then you can always try being a hybrid who does some books traditionally and self publishes others (which is a whole other kettle of fish).
I've been a full time professional writer since 2009, and in that time, I've seen enormous change sweep through our industry. If I was a brand new author who'd just finished polishing her first book today, I don't actually know which path I'd choose, because while I love the modern idea of self publishing, the writer I am today was enormously and very positively shaped by the traditional publishing system. Specifically, I am a much better writer because my agent and editor had the leverage to demand changes that I did not want to make at the time, changes that ended up making my books, and me, fantastically better. Could I have achieved that sort of growth with an editor I'd hired? I honestly don't know.
What I do know, though, is that the question of whether an author should self publish or stick to the old ways isn't a simple one. It's a complex business decision that requires a lot of research and personal thought and should be approached with maximum caution, because once you hit self publish on that sucker, it's very hard to impossible to change your mind, take it down, and try to resell it to a publisher. Similarly, if you sign a book deal and then decide you'd be better off on your own, tough luck. You're stuck now.
This sort of thing is why, when I see people like Joe Konrath saying "Write, Edit, Self Publish, Repeat," I get a little ticked off, because that sort of reductionist phrasing doesn't take into account differences in writer temperament. Similarly, I get pissed when I see people in traditional publishing openly bashing those who choose to self publish as losers who couldn't cut it in "real publishing," because it's not like that, and saying it is only reinforces the stereotype that people in traditional publishing are all entitled snobs who can't see the waves of change coming even when they're already washing the foundations out from under their feet.
So if you're a writer of any stripe and you're wondering which way to go, good for you. You should be wondering and asking and thinking and doing research on that question, because not only is it going to be one of the defining choices of your career, but the opportunity costs of going one way or the other are literally changing every day. Any way you decide--total self pub, total traditional, or trying to do both as a hybrid--will have frustrations and pitfalls and things you'll have to give up, and it's up to you to decide which of the upsides will make the downsides most bearable for you.
I know this post has been kind of a downer, but the point of this blog has always been to give you a look at what it's like to be a professional working writer, and these are the issues that I worry about on a daily basis. Ideally, the choice of what you do with your book shouldn't even be one of public notice, but with so much anger and investment currently surrounding the traditional vs. self pub debate (and let's be honest, there's a LOT of anger going on here on both sides), I feel that it's more important than ever to step back from the hype and really think about what you want out of your career Because it's your future, your money, and your happiness on the line here, and that, not what someone on the internet thinks you should have done, is what truly matters.
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