Trusting Our Readers to Navigate the Seas of Publishing

Not too long ago, I read a comment by an individual who suggested that we need traditional publishers to tell us which books are worth reading. While traditional publishers may know a lot about what makes for good story and good writing, I find the idea that we should put all our faith, our decision-making about books, in the hands of gatekeepers, a bit appalling. My aversion to someone else deciding what books I should read is akin to how I feel about having someone else order for me in a restaurant. It’s a novel experience once in a while, but I wouldn’t want it as a steady diet.

Traditional publishing has served as the gatekeeping regime between writers and readers since we moved from the origination of self-publishing (click here for a list of famous self-published books and authors) and individual patrons to what is currently known as “traditional publishing.” At some point, access became limited in both directions by publishers and editors. Writers, in order to get published, had to convince an editor not only that their work was worthy, but that it would be monetarily worth their while. Readers were only able to select reading material from what the publishers deemed worth publishing.

For many years, there was almost no other way for writers to get their work into the hands of readers, except by investing small fortunes in self-publishing or photocopying and stapling together small portions and selling them as chapbooks.

Since their inception, traditional publishers have grown into huge conglomerates. Publishing is now a huge business with a bottom line and investors that need to be satisfied.

As an artist, one can say that there are a lot of things wrong with treating books as a commodity. However, authors cannot make a living by giving away their art. That is why book publishers and book sellers exist. The system was created to provide a way for books to reach more readers. Some writers may not like the way that process has changed over time, but in publishing, as in life, change is inevitable.

As an author of what was called by traditional publishers as “too quiet” a book to invest in, but that is now growing a lovely following of fans due to the boon that digital (POD) publishing has provided for independent authors and small presses, I have personally gained from the changing landscape of publishing. While my publisher is small and does not have the reach of a larger so-called traditional publisher, my books continue to gain fans and my audience base continues to grow.

There is an inherent risk for artists in not trusting our audience. I believe that most readers understand the difference between “junk food” reading and really good books. Just as I choose to eat healthy, I can choose to read what I determine for myself are really good books. But sometimes we just want that fast food morsel. And that’s okay, too. (And, if that is the chosen steady diet of an individual, at least they’re reading.) Additionally, because of the inherent subjectivity of art, to twist an old adage to my own purposes, often one reader’s junk is another reader’s treasured story.

I trust my readers to decide for themselves what to read. How about you?

 

 

 

 

 

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