The question nowadays – with any author trying to get something published – is whether or not traditional publishing is truly the best method anymore.
With enough patience, information and very little money (relatively speaking), an author can literally have their work selling on Amazon in a few short months. If they choose e-publishing, their work could be ‘out there’ within days. Of course, there isn’t the exposure or status that goes along with a big-name publisher, but there isn’t the loss of percentage either. Nor is there the inevitable wait to see something in print. Many, many options exist today between big-name publishers and e-publishing.
So…how does today’s author make that decision?
Many authors opt to assume all the risk themselves the moment their manuscript is complete. There are others that do so only after the arduous ‘query’ journey. What separates the two groups?
An author’s most difficult task is the promotion after a book is in print. The task of promotion exists no matter the route, so what makes an author choose one versus the other? Does it come down to ego? A balance-sheet sensibility? Or is it a case of allowing success or failure with big-name publishers to determine one’s path?
Is the real goal of every author to publish with, say, a Simon and Schuster and only when that fails do they go another route? Or is the industry changing so much and technology making things so much easier that the other options are now the only ones that make any real sense?
This inquiring mind would love to hear your thoughts.
Robin, the big thing is distribution. 80% of all books sold are still sold in bookstores. So, to get the sales, you’ve got to get in the stores. Trad publisher is the only way to make that happen, so far.
The business IS changing. Digital is growing like crazy and will someday (probably) be the main outlet. A new world is a-comin’.
Right now, the problem with self-pub is quality. There is no vetting process. 95% of self-pubbed books aren’t worth reading. 4% could have been great with some more editing. The 1% that is wonderful, gets lost in the flood of garbage.
Once we find a way to insure the quality of self-pubbed books, things will change again. Until then, we have to find ways to work within the system.
Hello Robin;
A storm is rolling in. Before I unplug, I agree with Audrey, however –
There are times when self publishing and promotion are (is) the best choice. The Christie Family has a rather thick volume of ancestry, who married who and had what baby. This would not intrest a casual reader. I’ve bought a few cook books. Some books for children with orphan diseases. Books by professors. (No offence intended to anyone who did it themselves.)
For the most part, in my humble opinon, given for free, worth exactly what I made you pay, lol, if a book doesn’t find its way to the bookstore it becomes a journal or a hobby.
I am wishing you major publication and can hardly wait to hunt you down to sign a copy!
B*B
Sally
Hi Robin
My plan is to find a publisher but I am still toying with offering my book as an ebook instead. Perhaps if I don’t get any offers I will do the self pub route and try to promote it locally. I’m getting a following with my Blog and FB so that will help. I also plan to visit schools. These are my ideas so far. Currently, I’ve hired an editor that is helping me to get my book publishable.
Good luck with your book!
Shelley
Robin, How did you get the Networked Blogs widget on your side bar? I have been trying to do that all afternoon and can’t seem to find the menu bar to Design>Widget>add text widget to my blog.
Thanks,
Shelley
I am firmly on the e-book side of this question. I have written and published 9 books. I have been a small press trade publisher, and I am now firmly entrenched (maybe not the right word for an open-minded person) in e-book trade.
Truth is that I see all this changing so fast that I cannot keep up with it.
Store sales depend on two things: promotion (not much given these days by large commercial presses to lesser known authors) and position (which is largely bought and paid for by large commercial publishers). Without these two drivers, a books is shelved spine out in chain stores and becomes little more than window dressing (they do have to fill those big barns with 100,000 titles). Ultimately, those books are inventory scanned and shipped back to wholesalers within a matter of weeks, after which they are shipped back to publishers (who end up taking the loss) when they are finally relegated to remainder dealers and lastly the landfill. I’ve been through it all.
The large publishers, to my perspective, are way behind the curve. I recently saw a promo video showing two just-out-of-college novices hired by Random House to (explore) social media. Can you even imagine that? Explore???
Meanwhile, many grass roots writers and publishers are hard at work cutivating their niche audience. While it is true that open source publishing will attract work that is less than stellar, it seems to me that in the world of big commercial publishing that is no less true. Bean counters, not editors, rule that domain. Some houses have literally fired all the editors. So where is the quality? Anyone who has been around for awhile can plainly see that quality is not the primary criteria for big commercial publishers, it’s sales, sales, sales. And, by the way, most are in deep trouble in that regard.
My advice: get started now. Don’t wait. E-publishing is here to stay. Just look at all the 100-year-old newspapers going bust. This is a revolution in production and distribution that will make the printing press into a relic, a quaint museum exhibit. And maybe it already has for those in the know.
Undoubtedly, there will be many side effects from this revolution. The notion of copyright might become extinct. Prices will surely fall. We will hear the insights (as well as the BS) from many, many more writers. Niche audience will become crucial. Revenues will be derived from multiple sources. Borders (and I don’t necessarily mean the retailer, though that may happen too) will come down. Traditional bookstores will become fewer and smaller. But, best of all, we will no longer have to lug boxes full of heavy, yellowing paper every time we move house.
Thanks for the space for my say in this ever intriguing question.
David A. Ross
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