The Evolution of ePublishing
There has always been some sort of stigma attached to self publishing. It has even been given a derogatory label of “vanity” publishing, suggesting that the writer’s ego was so big that they could not handle not being published via the traditional route, so they self-published instead. The criticisms were both rife and universal: you could tell a self-published book a mile away simply by its amateur-ish cover; like the no-name brand box of rip off cereal. The other blanket assertion was that if it was rejected by traditional publishers, then it must be crap. (In response to that particular criticism, I must admit that I have read “runaway” bestsellers and a couple of books that have been “short-listed” and have scratched my head and wondered how on earth they were published in the first place).
But as we venture into the world of electronic publishing one would have to wonder if that general perception of self publishing may be turned on its ear.
The advent of the Kindle (Amazon) and the Nook (Barnes & Noble) as well as other electronic reading devices has revolutionized the very act of reading alone. Kindle has become Amazon’s best selling product of all time. And both the Kindle and the Nook account for more than 20% of book sales today.
Print publishing will never go the way of the dinosaur because there are too many people–myself included–who prefer the physical aspect of reading: the feel of the book in your hands as well as the smell of the pages of a new book.
Thanks for the article and the pointing out that the publishing/self-publishing field IS changing….
I went straight for self-publishing. Why? Because I worked in the publishing industry way long time ago and — I’m not impressed. 🙂 In the self-help category, I’m not sure they employ publicists anymore. Your proposal has to have a Platform. You have to prove that you can sell the book yourself. For minuscule royalties, this one boggles my mind.
25 years ago my dad said he would personally finance me “publishing” a book of poetry. We’re talking the potential cost at the time of tens of thousands of dollars. I never did it — no way. I made a self-made 40-page pamphlet, even hand-stitched some of them. And I let it rest at that.
Finally, I self-published a mixed poetry/autobiography book 2 years ago by myself. I’m a web designer and I’ve done lots of typesetting (this time in LaTeX) I created the cover, the interior art, the typesetting, etc. Published through CreateSpace, it’s on Amazon, and I sold my first 50 on-hand copies (most pre-sold actually) and ordered more. Best of all: no wasted trees, and I didn’t owe my dad any thanks for publishing me. Free & clear.
Had I tried conventional publishing, I’d still be looking for someone to take it. In fact, I’m sure no one would — not because it’s a bad book. But because it’s unconventional. Because it’s DIFFERENT. It’s racy, challenging, etc. It’s VERY hard to publish anything that breaks the mould nowadays. And Kirkus Discoveries review said some of my poems are klunkers LOL Yes, but they’re part of the story of my life. An important part of it.
In that book I came out as someone with Multiple Personality Disorder. In addition to details about my life (without dragging people through the abuse) I profiled 18 people from my system in the book, including their poems (and the hand-drawn comics of one).
And frankly, if it weren’t for that book, I wouldn’t be here on BIW and I wouldn’t be considering publishing any other books. I was “stuck” on needing my first book to be a poetry book. It’s done, and it’s out there if people want or need it.
My second self-published book — another unconventional — is a self-help book. I pre-sold about 41 I think. Enough to pay for all printing expenses & getting all my proof copies, etc. You could call it a “calling card” book, if need be, but it’s got the meat in it and I’m not ashamed to have my name on either book.
That said, I’m not afraid to submit manuscripts & proposals to big companies. I just haven’t really figured out what they’re going to do for me on these smaller niche/unconventional titles. Not much other than cost me time and mailing expenses. And if I were accepted, I’d have my books in big bookstores and most would be returned with their cover ripped off to the (hopefully) recycling pile. Why do that to all those trees? They needed to be written, but I’m not feeling the itch to world-tour and drag myself through the media machine to sell them. Several people have gotten something from them, and touching lives is what’s important. I don’t need to aim for the NY Time Bestseller List. Frankly, I was aiming for my bucket list!
So next up, yeah I might try fiction through conventional publishing. No book tours, email lists of a gazillion people, well-known name, interviews on Oprah required. 🙂 If I was going to go through all that trouble to sell a book, I think I’d die of mal-creativation. I’m not the type to seek the limelight. I want to help people, and I want to be creative about it.
So rather than knocking the self-publishing authors, consider that not everyone’s goals are the same, not everyone has the patience or means to wait years to get accepted or find the person willing to give them a shot for trying something different. And publishing in different genres varies. If you have to be your own publicist, why go to a publishing house? i.e. in self-help, if you already have 30,000+ people on your email list and lots of joint venture partners and your goal is money, sell to your own mailing list. The time you save may be worth it. Self-help publishing, as far as I can tell (please prove me wrong!) is an enormous headache. Occasionally you get a 4-Hour Workweek, or a 7Habits, but most don’t do that well.
I know I’m being defensive and opinionated 🙂 heh — but I learned so much self-publishing my books, and I would seriously still consider self-publishing even fiction works that might pass muster as good “big house” fodder. I’m currently writing a very publishable and probably salable fiction work aimed at teens in High School — but the main character is gay, and I’m not changing that fact to make a sale. I guess I’ll never learn, right? 🙂
I could sing like Barry Manilow: “I write the books that make publishers scream…” I could always tell them if they have a problem with it they can take it up with my Muse. My book could win LGBTQ awards, and be a runaway hit, but it won’t sit on the shelf next to Twilight & Harry Potter in most bookstores.
*sigh*
Criss(es)
http://thecrissinglink.com
http://surrendertopassion.com
Criss, thanks for sharing your self publishing experience. Luckily with the advent of the Kindle and such, self publishing is slowly evolving into a more respectable medium and that gives us writers two things: more options and more control. As I research it more, I’m seriously considering it for myself.
The stigma attached to self-publishing is all but gone. Today I joined a reading list on Murder Must Advertise in which we’ll discuss John Locke’s e-book about self-published e-books and how to make money at it. My Blood-Red Pencil blog shares the story of how member blogger Maryann Miller sold foreign rights in Turkey because her e-book was on an amazon top seller and top giveaway list. I know more than a few authors trying to get out of contracts early and leaving with their e-book rights so they can reap more of the profits. No, I think the concept of vanity presses is soon to be ancient history.
The term vanity publishing is archaic- e publishing has definitely revolutionized the world of publishing, especially self-publishing. It’s nice to be around at the start of something, instead of always behind the curve. The other thing that’s a positive about ePublishing is that if you are writing in a genre that’s trending right now, you don’t have to wait 18 months with your traditional publisher for your book to come out with the chance that the trend might be over by the time you are published.