Advice/input from the "been there"s

[Chris]

Beyond the technical questions about writing, I think a lot of writers (myself included) have questions, or are curious, about the experiences of those who have been publishing for a while. Things like whether the fear of failure ever goes away, what has worked for them marketing-wise, what they hate most about marketing, why those who went from trad-to-self pubbing made that choice, etc.

If you're interested in what they have to say, a Q&A series I run called "5 On" asks authors (and soon others in the book world) five questions about writing (their writing life and their writing,itself) and five about their experiences with publishing (includes marketing, revisions, promotion, and their involvement with agents and publishers). http://chrisjane.net/category/5-on/

Only two author interviews have posted so far (it's still new): Timothy Gager (The Thursday Appointments of Bill Sloan) and Russell Rowland (In Open Spaces). But if you follow the blog you'll see upcoming interviews with authors who include Caroline Leavitt (Pictures of You), Rick Shefchick (Rather See You Dead), David Abrams (Fobbit), Kris Saknussemm (Zanesville), and more.

The topics can seem mundane until you read the authors' answers. They talk about everything from how they feel about competition among authors to setbacks they've experienced to how they break through a tough scene to how they feel about book signings.

I hope you check it out!

[Thaddeus]

Let me know if you have any good marketing tips.

Advantages and disadvantages seem to be:
Self-publishing gets you control, more cash per sale and greater freedom. Traditional publishing gets you more kudos, and something handy to put on your submission if you want something published by a one of the big six (or however many there are now).

[Chris]

It's hard to say what will be good universal marketing tips, I think - but followers will get to read from the authors interviewed what worked for them and determine whether it's something they can use. (They have so much to say, and all of it is intended to be useful, somehow, that I would basically end up copying and pasting all the interviews here. They'll show up on my Goodreads blog feed, though, which makes it somewhat simpler.)

[J.D.]

Thanks for the link! It looks like it will be a good series of interviews.

[Chris]

For those interested, the latest 5 On interview has posted, this one with mystery/thriller writer Rick Shefchick, who discusses his plotting, the author who inspired him to write crime novels, and how he feels about self-promotion (& more).

"I'm proud of every book I've written, I've become a better writer, and I have enough money that I can pay my mortgage. Financial success would be great, but I've found it doesn't dictate my satisfaction." - Rick Shefchick, on leaving his job to write novels and not making the income he'd hoped for

[Chris]

Here's a link to the schedule page so you can check in to see which authors are being interviewed, when (in case there's one in particular you're interested in): http://chrisjane.net/5-on-schedule/

[Chris]

In this 5 On interview, NYT besteller Caroline Leavitt talks about the effects of having a hit debut novel, the nightmare publishing scenario that followed, what works best for her marketing-wise, and what she won’t write about. (And much more. Not to be missed.) http://chrisjane.net/2014/12/22/5-on-...

[Chris]

The 5 On series has moved and will appear on Jane Friedman's website (http://janefriedman.com) starting Wednesday, Jan. 14.

[SolaFide Publishing]

There does seem to be a lot of perks to traditional publishing (publishers have an entire staff of editors, designers, marketer working for your novel), but it does come at a cost. Typical publishing agreements leaves you with about 10% of your royalties (and that's an agreement that is already very favorable). Moreover, at the point that you're working with a publisher, you've probably spent well over 100 hours querying agents and publishers. And after they've assessed that your book will fit into your project profit margins in a niche that is the "trend" right now. Not sure how much you get paid an hour for your day job, but 100+ hours is still a lot of money. A lot of people tends to overlook this cost.

[Thaddeus]

There's also the kudos that's still attached to traditional publishing.

Ironically, the very openness and accessibility of self-publishing means it's seen by some as being used by those unable to get publishing deals [which is true, in some cases, and sometimes that's just because a book doesn't fit the current trends rather than because it isn't well-written].