The Pendulum Effect and the Value of the Right Cover

Over the past few years the publishing business has been altered radically. A handful of very successful independently published authors have trail-blazed a different and better way of writing for a living.

Not only have they proven that some authors do not need an agent or a publisher to sell a lot of books, but they have also changed the way indie authors do business with mainstream publishers and agents.

A few authors have been able to sign publishing deals for hardcover and paperback book rights while keeping the ebook rights all to themselves. This was unheard of a few years ago. Hell, when I finished the first draft of my novel six years ago the standard advice was to not self publish. If the book didn't sell well, and even if it did I was told, a mainstream agent or publisher would not touch you or the book.

So the success of these indie authors is great news for all authors, some of whom are relinquishing their traditional publishing contracts in exchange for the control and freedom to publish their entire catalogs in perpetuity.

But what I find interesting, if not a little disturbing, is the focus on marketing, not writing.

I read a lot of blogs, websites, newsletters and watch videos published by indie authors. I want to know what works so I can market my books effectively. It is a necessary evil. But we all need to know how to do it.

I also read a lot of books. I download a lot of samples to my Kindle before I buy. Many indie authors are writing and publishing a lot of books. Some seem to believe the secret to success is to publish a lot of books as fast as possible.

Some of them are selling their books too. More books than I am in many cases. But when I read them, often just the sample, I am amazed at how poorly written so many of them are.

But when an industry changes as fast as the publishing industry has this kind of phenomenon is anticipated. It is not new, nor is it relegated to the book publishing industry. Frankly it can be witnessed throughout history.

The pendulum effect I speak of is this un-tethering of an industry from long held practices which opens the door, the prior "barrier to entry" as in the query letter process, to any and everyone who ever thought they might someday want to write a book.

So I am conflicted when I think about it, and I am as I write this post. As an author I am ecstatic that things have changed thus. When I finished Pilgrimage I sent out dozens of query letters. I got not one indication of interest.

I put Pilgrimage in the proverbial drawer (I just didn't open the Word document) for more than four years. It wasn't until I began reading about the breakout success of authors like John Locke, Colleen Hoover and Hugh Howey that I started thinking seriously that maybe I should self-publish also.

The problem I see is the tremendous amount of poorly written books. Now I haven't read John Locke or Colleen Hoover, but I have Mr. Howey, and I thought at first that Hugh was a great marketer so I watched him from afar to learn his secrets for months without reading anything he had written.

Eventually I did read the original Wool story, because I got it for free, and after which I paid for and read the whole Wool Omnibus. But that purchase only occurred because Hugh writes well. I'm not saying he is the next Hemingway, nor am I, but he cares about writing well.

But too many samples I download, by authors with decent rankings and seemingly genuine reviews, are quite poorly written.

And that is where the pendulum comes in. I suspect this publishing industry transformation is near the peak of the "writer as marketer" emphasis. I mean, I have watched podcasts and read interviews where the writers talk nothing about writing and all about giveaways and social media and other stuff. Yes, we all need to understand how to market our selves and our books but it should be secondary to the craft of storytelling.

I think the general reading public, not those of us who are both readers and writers, will begin to tire of low quality offerings and more and more book sales will begin to concentrate around the indie authors who have established a reputation for quality, not just quantity or effective marketing skills

The appeal of getting a book for free is fantastic. But if I have to spend hours of my life reading something that sucks the cost to me is far greater. I'd rather spend $10.00 for a great book than $3.00 for a mediocre one or $0.00 for a piece of garbage.

Speaking of $3.00 books, over the last month I've experienced a large increase in sales. For me that means selling books every day where in the past I could go weeks without a single sale.

Part of the influence is, I hope, the result of my book's reviews. I don't have many but they are all good, mostly 5 star, and all real.

I think, however, this recent increase in sales can be traced back almost to the day that I changed the cover for the third time.

One of my recent reviews was by a fellow Goodreads author who liked the book but hated the cover. He said the cover was boring and wasn't indicative of the story inside.

I already suspected that but his words motivated me to take action and change the cover again. I do all my own cover work, and it takes time, but I got a cover together and I am happy with it. And I think it has made a difference.

I am curious to hear from other authors who have had similar experience. Has the cover been that influential to your success? And what about quality versus quantity in indie publishing? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Steve