On the importance of Love
I'm not a judgmental guy. I don't like to sit around and point fingers. Part of that is probably out of fear, so often what you're criticizing others for is something you're guilty of yourself.
Then I read some of the books that are being self-published on the internet, and I realize that I can't keep my big mouth shut.
I'm not going to name any titles or authors, but if you've read even a handful of self-published books you know what I'm talking about.
Imitation is inevitable in all forms of media (there's a reason why Deep Impact and Armageddon came out in the same year) and publishing is no exception. Twilight was popular and vampires abound, 50 Shades of Grey sold roughly a trillion copies and erotica is the next hot thing. Traditional publishing is far from immune to this disease (it is, in fact, patient zero) but self-publishing is dying from it.
Imitation is holding back self-publishing. We live in an age of independent productions, a myriad of voices and free artistic expression. Self-publishing is poised to not destroy, but rather, hold hands with traditional publishing to usher in a new age of literature. But that can't happen, unless writers are serious about writing.
I see the flood of romance and dystopia and I can only conclude one thing: these writers are looking at self-publishing as a get-rich-quick scheme. Writing is not a get-rich-quick scheme. Writing isn't a get-rich-very-very-very-slowly scheme either, unless you're one of the fewer than one percent of writers who consistently sell millions of copies of their books. Now this is certainly not an attack on all self-published writers. That would be foolish and wrong-headed. I am speaking about people who are trying to jump on "the next big thing". Maybe they read Harry Potter, or Twilight, or Divergent and think, "I can do that."
You can't. Stop trying.
I know that sounds harsh, but there are people out there, armed with a computer and a thesaurus who think they can cram a lifetime of reading and writing into a few weeks pecking at their keyboard. This angers me because it's more than dishonest, it's an insult to the craft of writing and the joy of reading. Writers need time to find their voice, they need time to grow and mature, they must study their craft, they must read in their spare time. Writers who are serious are willing to put in the work, because there are no shortcuts to good writing. There is no magic formula. You can't imitate a writer's voice and work in the same genre, with the same themes and expect to become successful.
Seventeen years ago, I sat down in front of a computer for the first time with the idea that I should write a novel. I was eighteen-years-old and full of brash, eighteen-year-old confidence. There was no question of whether or not I could actually write a book (after all I'd been writing short stories for about five years) the only question was how much money was I going to make on the book.
The book was bad. You probably guessed that. Only, I didn't know that at the time. I read the book about a week after I wrote it and I thought it was just the most enchanting thing I'd ever seen. I loved that book. I had read so many books over the years and I just intuitively knew how to write. That's what I thought at the time. I was wrong.
I learned how wrong I was when I looked at the manuscript years later. This was after I'd written six more novels, none of them published. The amateur nature of the writing was clear when I read it again, because I had grown as a writer. I had read more and wrote more, and that was part of it, but I had also learned to use a more critical eye with my own work. That's another lesson that comes with time and is invaluable.
None of my early novels will ever make an appearance on Amazon or Barnes and Nobel or Kobo. I love my early work because it was part of a learning process that helped me hone my skill, but they are not worthy to be published. Put simply, they just aren't any good.
I shudder to think what would have happened if self-publishing on the internet had been a possibility (remember this was the dark days of dial-up) and if I would have become one of the authors I'm talking about. I fear the answer to that question is yes. And that's part of what's happening, I believe. Writers are self-publishing the first things they've ever written, and it shows.
Your first attempts are always pale imitations of the writers you like to read, and that's okay, that's part of the process. The problem is, no one but your best friends should ever see these books. They aren't ready, you're not ready. Everyone thinks they can be Christopher Paolini or S.E. Hinton. You can't be. They are freaks of nature. Most people need time to mature and time to develop skills as a writer.
If you love the craft of writing, you will take writing seriously and while you may think of the money you can make from writing, money won't be your number one goal. Your number one goal will be love. The love of the written word and a desire to put your own stamp on it.
The reason that the imitators are so dangerous is because they weigh serious self-published writers down. They flood the market with tripe and poison the minds of would-be customers. Imitation is the reason why the USFL and the XFL failed. People didn't watch because it was viewed as a less-talented imitation of the NFL, and that observation was correct for the most part. Yet there was talent there. He Hate Me (Rod Smart) got a shot in the NFL and even played in the Super Bowl. Steve Young started his career in the USFL and did pretty well when he made the move to the NFL.
Likewise, there is talent in the self-publishing pool. A lot of talent, actually, but it's being held back by the imitators-the writers who aren't good enough or aren't ready to be published.
Just because something is easy, doesn't mean you should do it. Just because the internet gives you an opportunity, it doesn't mean you should take it.
Don't do it for the money (or not only for the money, anyway) do it for the love. Besides, it's a good bet the money isn't coming. Fan love? It won't buy you a new car, but it's better than any car you could buy anyway. Cars break down, get old. Fan love never does.
Then I read some of the books that are being self-published on the internet, and I realize that I can't keep my big mouth shut.
I'm not going to name any titles or authors, but if you've read even a handful of self-published books you know what I'm talking about.
Imitation is inevitable in all forms of media (there's a reason why Deep Impact and Armageddon came out in the same year) and publishing is no exception. Twilight was popular and vampires abound, 50 Shades of Grey sold roughly a trillion copies and erotica is the next hot thing. Traditional publishing is far from immune to this disease (it is, in fact, patient zero) but self-publishing is dying from it.
Imitation is holding back self-publishing. We live in an age of independent productions, a myriad of voices and free artistic expression. Self-publishing is poised to not destroy, but rather, hold hands with traditional publishing to usher in a new age of literature. But that can't happen, unless writers are serious about writing.
I see the flood of romance and dystopia and I can only conclude one thing: these writers are looking at self-publishing as a get-rich-quick scheme. Writing is not a get-rich-quick scheme. Writing isn't a get-rich-very-very-very-slowly scheme either, unless you're one of the fewer than one percent of writers who consistently sell millions of copies of their books. Now this is certainly not an attack on all self-published writers. That would be foolish and wrong-headed. I am speaking about people who are trying to jump on "the next big thing". Maybe they read Harry Potter, or Twilight, or Divergent and think, "I can do that."
You can't. Stop trying.
I know that sounds harsh, but there are people out there, armed with a computer and a thesaurus who think they can cram a lifetime of reading and writing into a few weeks pecking at their keyboard. This angers me because it's more than dishonest, it's an insult to the craft of writing and the joy of reading. Writers need time to find their voice, they need time to grow and mature, they must study their craft, they must read in their spare time. Writers who are serious are willing to put in the work, because there are no shortcuts to good writing. There is no magic formula. You can't imitate a writer's voice and work in the same genre, with the same themes and expect to become successful.
Seventeen years ago, I sat down in front of a computer for the first time with the idea that I should write a novel. I was eighteen-years-old and full of brash, eighteen-year-old confidence. There was no question of whether or not I could actually write a book (after all I'd been writing short stories for about five years) the only question was how much money was I going to make on the book.
The book was bad. You probably guessed that. Only, I didn't know that at the time. I read the book about a week after I wrote it and I thought it was just the most enchanting thing I'd ever seen. I loved that book. I had read so many books over the years and I just intuitively knew how to write. That's what I thought at the time. I was wrong.
I learned how wrong I was when I looked at the manuscript years later. This was after I'd written six more novels, none of them published. The amateur nature of the writing was clear when I read it again, because I had grown as a writer. I had read more and wrote more, and that was part of it, but I had also learned to use a more critical eye with my own work. That's another lesson that comes with time and is invaluable.
None of my early novels will ever make an appearance on Amazon or Barnes and Nobel or Kobo. I love my early work because it was part of a learning process that helped me hone my skill, but they are not worthy to be published. Put simply, they just aren't any good.
I shudder to think what would have happened if self-publishing on the internet had been a possibility (remember this was the dark days of dial-up) and if I would have become one of the authors I'm talking about. I fear the answer to that question is yes. And that's part of what's happening, I believe. Writers are self-publishing the first things they've ever written, and it shows.
Your first attempts are always pale imitations of the writers you like to read, and that's okay, that's part of the process. The problem is, no one but your best friends should ever see these books. They aren't ready, you're not ready. Everyone thinks they can be Christopher Paolini or S.E. Hinton. You can't be. They are freaks of nature. Most people need time to mature and time to develop skills as a writer.
If you love the craft of writing, you will take writing seriously and while you may think of the money you can make from writing, money won't be your number one goal. Your number one goal will be love. The love of the written word and a desire to put your own stamp on it.
The reason that the imitators are so dangerous is because they weigh serious self-published writers down. They flood the market with tripe and poison the minds of would-be customers. Imitation is the reason why the USFL and the XFL failed. People didn't watch because it was viewed as a less-talented imitation of the NFL, and that observation was correct for the most part. Yet there was talent there. He Hate Me (Rod Smart) got a shot in the NFL and even played in the Super Bowl. Steve Young started his career in the USFL and did pretty well when he made the move to the NFL.
Likewise, there is talent in the self-publishing pool. A lot of talent, actually, but it's being held back by the imitators-the writers who aren't good enough or aren't ready to be published.
Just because something is easy, doesn't mean you should do it. Just because the internet gives you an opportunity, it doesn't mean you should take it.
Don't do it for the money (or not only for the money, anyway) do it for the love. Besides, it's a good bet the money isn't coming. Fan love? It won't buy you a new car, but it's better than any car you could buy anyway. Cars break down, get old. Fan love never does.
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