Writing Biz Knowlege Input Needed

[aeriedraconia]

Dear FList,

I need your collective advice in response to a post in a community I maintain  that someone is being published by Author House and that they recommend going the self publishing route  if the regular publishers were too elusive.

In good conscience I thought I'd point to writer_beware for starters.  What would you say to the people possibly

Comments

[heleninwales]

Just wanted to second what the others have said really. There is a definite place for self-publishing, but it is not the route to a career as a professional novelist.

Situations where self-publishing can work is where there is a small niche market for the book, for example someone has written a murder mystery set in a small town that gets a lot of tourists. The book may well be good enough to sell well to both locals and visitors, but not be high-powered enough to attract a national publisher.

Self-publishing is also good for poetry collections or local or family history. (But you're not likely to make money, you'll be doing well if you break even!) In fact for non-fiction self-publishing is a perfectly valid way of proceeding. Back in the 80s, before the Web, we ran a small publishing company which produced several geology booklets and a history of a local slate mine. If we were to do something similar again, we'd use one of the print-on-demand self-publishing options.

However for fiction, someone who self-publishes is not going to sell more than the occasional copy. The very few people who've made a reasonable return on their outlay have been experienced in sales and marketing and have had day jobs that enable them to travel widely and place the book in appropriate outlets.

As an example of a self-published book that has sunk without trace, can I refer you to a post of mine from last August? Checking on the book now in Amazon, it has been given 1 review (2 stars) and is currently lying at 30,596 in the Amazon ranking. And this woman had extensive coverage in the national UK media when the book came out. Yet even with all that free advertising, it isn't selling.

The issue of reviews is something else that the would-be published writer needs to bear in mind. Once something is published, it's fair game for reviewers, both professional and amateur. You've probably seen the numerous reviews and blog posts shredding the awful vampire porn Mary-Sue thing. There was a point where the attacks became so vicious and gleeful that I almost felt sorry for the poor woman who had written it. I doubt that the person you're talking about having is going to be attacked to this extent, but how thick-skinned is she?

Otherwise, as far as I know, AuthorHouse seem to be legit. They make it clear that you are paying them to be published and they offer editorial packages etc. But it's not "being published" in the way that most writers want.

[aeriedraconia]

"There is a definite place for self-publishing, but it is not the route to a career as a professional novelist."

That's a biggie.

Oh hey, I like the examples you've given for what works well as a self-publishing venture and what doesn't. Thanks.

[heleninwales]

Some people just condemn self-publishing out of hand, but that's almost as bad as saying it's wonderful and everyone should go down that route if a publisher doesn't snap up their novel right away. There are circumstances where it's the way to go.

Another downside of self-publishing novels that I didn't mention is that sometimes you need to be saved from yourself. Putting out a bad or even just a mediocre book now might come back to haunt her should she improve as a writer and get a professional contract in the future.

[aeriedraconia]

My first instinct was, "No, don't do it!". Then, I realized that I was thinking in terms of MY publishing goals and that those goals might not be the same as everyone elses.

Yes, Save us from ourselves! When I look back (eight years ago) at the very first draft of my very first attempt at a novel, I cringe. At the time I thought I was doing a pretty good job. I DID know it wasn't perfect but I still thought it was pretty good. Thankfully, I never considered self-publishing an option because, to me, it wouldn't have counted as really being published. So, I never inflicted my horrible creation on anyone but two good friends of mine who had to read it. ;-)

[green_knight]

This story proves once more that ultimately, readers want *something* from a story. Sometimes - as is the case with Twilight or the DaVinci Code - that 'something' does not equal what I would class as 'good writing' but if people are entertained by it and don't mind the flaws, that's fine.

If a book does not deliver any of those things, then people won't buy it and won't reccommend it to their freidns. This includes people who get sent a copy in order to review it - and no reviewer is going to *buy* a book so they can publicise it. People who review books for the love of it tend to want to say either that it's rotten or fantastic - and most self-published books tend to be at the lower end of the spectrum.