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Self-publishing: is there too much cheerleading going on?

5/31/2012

9 Comments

 
OK, so we have all heard about the horrors of traditional publishing and the reasons you are better off self-publishing. If you want to read yet another post about it, see this recent one by Robert Bidinotto. Here let me state that I agree with this author, and not only have I self-published, but I have also written in this blog several post in favor of self-publishing. However, I have likewise written a few posts about the harsh realities of self-publishing. Yes, there are many success stories. We all know about John Locke, Amanda Hocking, Joe Konrath, Barry Eisler and so forth. I have even mentioned in my blog less known authors like Hugh Howey whose self-published book “Wool” will be turned into a movie. But one of my concerns is that there is too much cheerleading going on. Are we, with all our enthusiasm, encouraging would-be authors to walk away with the notion that self-publishing is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow?

The truth is that the majority of new authors who self-publish find that after all their friends have bought their book something happens: nothing. Their book starts plummeting in the ranks. The authors work their social media, send e-mails, and get reviews. People retweet their tweets, and like their Facebook posts, and leave nice comments on their blogs; but few buy. The majority of new authors come to the realization that they are one among tens of thousands of other authors and their book is one among millions of other books. Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezos revealed this April that more than one thousand authors sell 1000 copies of their book each month on Amazon. But the flipside, of course, is that fewer than 2,000 authors sell 1,000 or more copies of their book per month. In a recent survey of a group of self-published authors it was found that half made less than $500 a year. A sizeable number probably make much less.

I don’t want to be a sourpuss. I am enthusiastic about self-publishing However, I feel that there is a lot of enthusiasm and very little in depth analysis of the realities of self-publishing. When you self-publish you are in charge of doing everything yourself, and even if you do it well and put out a great book with a great cover (and many authors don’t), the truth is your work has just begun. Now comes the part about promotion, and let me tell you something: book promotion is a female dog. The most common complaint I read from authors is that they can’t get their books to sell well. Amazon’s KDP Select program which allows authors to do free giveaways has increased the promotion power of self-published authors and their ability to sell, but Amazon has recently changed the algorithms that control the program. Now free titles and lower priced books are not rewarded with as much exposure as before. This means the odds have been stacked against self-published authors.

Finally let me address the dream that the vast majority of authors have. This is the dream that they will do so well that they will be able to quit their day jobs and live off their writing. The truth is that for most authors this isn’t going to happen (repeat after me: this isn’t going to happen). Sure there will be exceptions, but everyone thinks THEY will be the exception, and that is simply not true.

So please join us in the self-publishing revolution, write great books, and let’s all help and promote each other. But be realistic in your future financial plans and the role that your publishing will have in said plans. Dreams are important and they do come true; for some. Go ahead and soar with your dreams but keep your feet on the ground.


                                    ***
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Why the Hostility towards Traditional Publishing?

5/25/2012

4 Comments

 
The Graveyard Shift, which is a blog published by Lee Lofland, posted an article from the folks at “accreditedonlinecolleges.com” entitled “9 Signs Self-Publishing Is Out of Control: Opinion, or Fact?” I won’t bother you with a point by point analysis. You can click on the link to read it. I want to focus today on Mr. Lofland’s experience with posting the article. He basically encountered a lot of hostility and that surprised him. In one of his comments he writes:

“…there’s certainly no need for hostility. The title of the piece asks a question…is it opinion or fact that self-publishing is out of control? I just don’t understand the anger that’s been generated by this article. Not at all.”

He had to clarify several times that he was not the author of the article (even thought that was stated at the end), and that he did not necessarily agree with the opinion. He writes:

“These folks sent me an article that I thought was an interesting viewpoint. I may not agree with everything in it, but nonetheless found it to be controversial, to say the least. And that makes for good conversation and debate…normally.”

He ends the comment by stating:

“My plan was to debunk this article by following up with success stories from those who’ve enjoyed self-publishing. However, I think I’ll pass. It’s much safer dealing with robbers and serial killers than it is to deal with angry authors.”

I want to say that I understand Mr. Lofland’s experience. I once published a post here entitled: “Indie authors are rude, pushy, completely self-absorbed, and their books suck.” I stated this was something I did not write but rather something I read in a post by somebody else. However, some readers thought I had written it myself. A few commenters started using insults, and I had to remind people to keep the debate civil. Although the title of my post was much more inflammatory than the one in Mr. Lofland’s website, you see this phenomenon quite often. Publish a post critical of self-publishing, or of Indies, or a post defending traditional publishing, and you will have a horde of angry people overrunning your comments section. Why is this?

I think part of the explanation is that there is a lot of resentment “out there.” I have been frequenting the world of blogs for about a year and I have already read dozens of horror stories of bad experiences writers have had with agents and publishers. When many of these authors read anything resembling a defense of the old order they seethe. However, even among writers who have not had outright bad experiences with traditional publishing there is a growing awareness of the rotten deal that they really got when they signed their contracts. If you are (or were) traditionally published and you still don’t feel this way, check out Joe Konrath’s posts on this matter (Exploited writers in an unfair industry, Pricing books and e-books, and Unconscionability). He is a bit intense, but he puts forth some very good arguments.

Another part of the explanation is that the POD and e-book revolution has meant emancipation for writers. We are no longer stuck with having to bow our heads before the publishing establishment. We don’t have to work for them anymore accepting meager royalties, lopsided contracts, or their assessment of whether we are “good enough” to be published. We have tasted the freedom of independence, and we like it. So when someone comes along suggesting that there was something good about the old system and there are some things wrong with the new system, the reaction is predictable. If self-publishing is “out of control” then who is supposed to control it? Nudge, nudge, wink, wink, hint, hint… Any suggestion that remotely resembles giving any measure of power back to the old masters will be met with derision.

That is why many self-published authors are often perceived, in the words of a recent post by Nathan Bransford, to have a “chip on their shoulders.” Although I am all for being nice, I think it is perfectly understandable.

                                  ***
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4 Comments

Spotlight on Successful Indie Writers (Hugh Howey)

5/19/2012

0 Comments

 
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Author Hugh C. Howey self-published his science fiction short story “Wool” on July 30 2011. The reader response was so enthusiastic that during the next few months he wrote more follow up stories of this saga that takes place in a dystopian future. According to the author:

“This is the story of mankind clawing for survival, of mankind on the edge. The world outside has grown unkind, the view of it limited, talk of it forbidden. But there are always those who hope, who dream. These are the dangerous people, the residents who infect others with their optimism. Their punishment is simple. They are given the very thing they profess to want: They are allowed outside.”



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But there is more. “Wool” will be turned into a movie! Recently Twentieth Century Fox, director Ridley Scott (Alien, Blade Runner, Black Hawk Down, and Prometheus), and producer Steve Zaillian (Schindler’s List) teamed up to successfully buy the rights after a bidding war that involved several other major players. And finally the rights to produce print books of “Wool” in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand have been secured by Random House. Howey will be able to remain an Indie here at home (the U.S.) while publishing print books elsewhere.

This is yet another example of what can be achieved with self-publishing. Of course, the majority of writers will not be as successful as Howey, but his success and that of others serves as an inspiration for all of us.



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