Are you stuck on traditionally publishing your book?

[Quantum]

Do you know writers who consider self-publishing to be less prestigious than being published by a publishing company (be they a small, mid-sized or big five publisher)?

I thought the article traveled over some well-worn ground, but, nevertheless, a few snippets from the article are food for thought.

(Side note: One might be cautioned that if a contract presents itself, a self-published or unpublished writer might do well not to dismiss it out of hand. ^_^)

"Self-publishing" has been around for a while.

We didn’t discuss self-publishing. Virginia Woolf wasn’t “self-published”; she, with her husband, “created a publishing press.” (Cool then, not cool now. Or maybe only cool if you’re Virginia Woolf.)

Slush piles are still alive and well.

In an interview I conducted with Cruel, Beautiful World author Caroline Leavitt, I asked her why she’d said she would put a (hypothetically) rejected manuscript in a drawer with so many options available.

“Because a lot of wonderful books sit in drawers,” she replied.

Too many good writers attempt or navigate the traditional route, and then give up on their books completely if, for example, the hard-to-find accepting agent quits, or the hard-to-find accepting editor at a publishing house leaves his or her job, killing the deal. “It’ll never happen for me, I guess,” the writers think, and they bury—forever!—the perfectly good manuscript in a computer, the file name an epitaph reading, “Traditional or Death.” I feel genuinely sad for the readers who might never get the opportunity to enjoy what each of those writers has to offer.

It also makes me feel anxious, rather than hopeful, to read a writer’s success story about finding a publisher after five, ten, fifteen years of trying. Do you know what can happen to a person in ten years? Death. And no one will read you if you die before you release your writing. That, I can tell you. Believe me.

(https://www.janefriedman.com/why-publ...)

[Matthew]

That's a tough one. While I've always liked the idea of independent publishing allowing authors to circumvent the gatekeeper, and because publishers have apparently become a lot less daring and audacious in recent years, I feel indie publishing suffers from much the same problems of quantity, quality, and originality.

Right now, the tendency of publishers is to produce books that read like movies and will likely be adapted. The goal is not to take on challenging new material and explore new ideas, but to spit out the same old cash cows which are currently popular. They also seem very determined to pigeonhole books based on popular genres, which makes them easier to market.

But to know that so many indie writers are following this trend, rather than trying to diverge from it, is quite the letdown. It seems that with every popular fad - be it witches, zombies, dystopia, "gifted" people, erotica, YA contemporary fiction - there's no shortage of imitators trying to cash in on the craze. And of course, the quality of these books is often marred by the fact that it does not have a proper editor. On top of that, there are so many people desperately trying to get you to read what they wrote. How do you separate the wheat from the chaff?

I sound bitter, I know, but it comes down to the years of experience I had being an indie. I was very excited to become one in 2010 and get around the whole "hurry up and wait" of traditional publishing. But as I began reading what others wrote, I realized I was one of millions, and so many of them were just trying to write their own version of Hunger Games, Fifty Shades, Ready Player One, or some other popular novel.

Which is why I'm kind of relieved to be going the traditional route again. I feel like I have a stamp of approval that separates me from others. As shallow as that is, it is encouraging.

[[deleted user]]

I wish that I could have gone the traditional publishing route when I first started to write, but that hunt ended being a few years of pure frustration, with platonic negative answers received from publishers after months of waiting. That was when I decided to forget about the dreams of riches and fame and write strictly for my own enjoymenbt, as a hobby. After five years of self-publishing online (Goodreads.com and Free-ebooks.net) I now have a fair and loyal following and am plenty happy (while writing more books). No traditional publishing for me, thank you!

[Aiden]

I think in five to ten years it will switch. Self-publishing authors who are successful will be seen as the pinnacle that everyone will strive to be like.

[Ian]

Matthew notes that the trad publishers are busy following fads and the Indies are following that line too. I don't know for sure about the trad publishes because what we now see is that bookshops only seem to stock the fads. Either way, the Indie route was more or less forced on me because what I write seems to be different in many ways from what is popular. Of course, that also makes sales a problem too. On the other hand, when i was a grad student I took music courses, including in composition, because that was one of my fads then, and I still recall what one of the lecturers said - if it isn't ever played, it is not a composition - it is merely marks on paper. I think the same applies to books, except now I don't even put marks on paper - it is a whole lot of switches thrown!

I started self-publishing with some scientific stuff. Elsevier had approached me and asked for a book proposal. Now, at that stage I was on the Editorial Board of a scientific journal, so I know what they expected, but to get rid of them, I proposed a book on "how to form theories". To my surprise, they accepted, which meant I had to start writing. My problem was, I was too slow for them (it was a lot harder than I expected) and when I finally had a first draft ready, they lost interest, particularly when they found to their shock and horror I was not an academic and did not have lots of students I could force to buy the thing. But I persisted, on the basis it was a sunk cost but still an opportunity. In retrospect, it is interesting, but it has all the hall marks of ending up a worst seller. However, having gone through the trouble of learning "how to self-publish" - at least ebooks - I have persisted.

I don't have any expectations of being a best seller, but I know, (a) my fiction is different from anyone else's so at least I am offering a choice, and maybe some will be be happy with it, and (b) my later scientific ebooks at least archive some original theory that at least nobody has found to be wrong in any way. Better to have them out there than not.

[J.N.]

My prevailing [conspiracy] theory is that those who get trad pub contracts are those that have insider friends to vouch for them.

Meritocracy died a long time ago. It's all about who you know or who you bribed.

Give me hope. Prove me wrong.

[Matthew]

J.N. wrote: "My prevailing [conspiracy] theory is that those who get trad pub contracts are those that have insider friends to vouch for them.

Meritocracy died a long time ago. It's all about who you know or w..."

I can safely say I have no friends on the inside. I was approached by a publisher because they had the good sense to cruise writer forums looking for new people.

Better? :)

[Ian]

Well done, Matthew

[Sarah]

I feel...the epicenter is "Writing"

If the write-up is thought provoking, beautifully crafted, flows purely and is able to connect with different people or rather I would say, a challenging way would be if it connects even people who have not been acquainted with the genre and our book is the first of the kind to them and if one is confident of their work - self publishing is the definite choice provided they have done the homework of the market trends and finances beforehand.

Traditional publishing if from a very renowned publisher gives one a sort of worthy avenue but one will have to part with their work.

So, I feel the choice needs to be carefully weighed..

[Matthew]

Ian wrote: "Well done, Matthew"

Thanks! :) I would highly recommend joining FB writer's groups. Get in there and talk up your books, and be sure to include images!

[Ian]

Matthew, are any groups better than others?

[Matthew]

I suppose, though it does depend on your preferred genre. For me, and you since you also write SF and thrillers, Space Opera, Space Opera: Writers and Fantasy and SF Writers would be good. Roughly 20,000 members between them, no waiting! :)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/75687...
https://www.facebook.com/groups/Space...
https://www.facebook.com/groups/fsfwi...

[Nik]

My Kingdom for a ... publishing deal -:)

[Ian]

Nik, your kingdom is what???

[Ian]

Matthew wrote: "I suppose, though it does depend on your preferred genre. For me, and you since you also write SF and thrillers, Space Opera, Space Opera: Writers and Fantasy and SF Writers would be good. Roughly ..."

Thanks for the links, Matthew.

[Nik]

Can think of only www, but wouldn't trade it, so I've nothing to offer and they - to reciprocate -:)

[Matthew]

Nik wrote: "Can think of only www, but wouldn't trade it, so I've nothing to offer and they - to reciprocate -:)"

Lol, that's just fine. We all certainly appreciate what a resource this is. Somewhere in here, someone's got to perusing the stacks, wondering who the next author is.

[Leonie]

Thanks for those links, Matthew. I was a member of one of the groups already, and have just sent my joining info to the other two,

[Matthew]

Leonie wrote: "Thanks for those links, Matthew. I was a member of one of the groups already, and have just sent my joining info to the other two,"

Happy to help, hope they prove to be useful :)