Slush, it's never pretty.

[andpuff]

Terrific article by Laura Miller in Salon on the future of publishing. Or, more accurately, the future of reading.

When anyone can be a published author -- How do you find something good to read in a brave new self-published world?

Comments

[spiderorchid81]

Interesting article - she has a point. But I have to agree with the post above, people who are really interested in good books already know what it's like to look for something good. Even with the worst trash sorted out by editors, a lot of what's on the market is pretty terrible (and one wonders why the h*** it got published in the first place),so one has to find her or his own criteria of quality. It's most of the time trial and error for me but I've found that the 'first few pages / first few paragraphs' method usually works.
One thought: it may be that anyone can (e-)publish now, but will they be able to make an living out of it? Perhaps the self-publish craze will burn itself out shortly anyway when people realize that being published doesn't automatically mean that the book will sell...

[wiliqueen]

when people realize that being published doesn't automatically mean that the book will sell...

This, I think, will be the interesting test of whether things get as bad for readers as she thinks. Unless the big online outlets drastically change the way search results come up, an order-of-magnitude increase in the number of self-published offerings isn't going to change much of what readers see when shopping. There'll just be many, many more pages of results they never bother to look at, under the ones that come up first for the same reasons they do now.

We have the option of braving the free-market slush pile if we so choose, but it will be just as easy to ignore it. My hunch at this point is that it's not going to be as radical a change for anyone as some people are projecting.

[spiderorchid81]

Agreed. The market is already huge and I suppose that self-published works will be more like one drop more in the bucket than a revolution.

[haikujaguar]

I think it's an overlooked question to ask whether even normal authors can make a living at it. I don't know a lot of authors who can survive off the money they make publishing. Some do, but it's far more common to hear about authors having day jobs, or partners, and without the extra income they'd be in trouble.

The typical advance a genre author gets is not enough to live off of. :)

[spiderorchid81]

Yes, I know. That's why I wonder if people will go through all the work necessary to self-publish (including doing your own marketing etc.) when there's not enough profit.

[haikujaguar]

I find myself asking more and more what's at stake here. The bestselling authors with their million dollar advances are rarities; when I see these discussions about the brave new world of publishing, it's usually an argument between someone making $1000-$2000 a year self-publishing and someone making $10,000-$15,000 a year traditionally-publishing. Roundabouts. The difference in degree really isn't that much, monetarily. So why the need to continue to draw the distinction? Are authors really that worried about readers? I think readers will find something to read (or not) whether authors are worried about them or not, and debating the literary merits of the work consumed by a hypothetical Joe or Jane at the airport feels a little condescending

[spiderorchid81]

I think I understand what you mean. In my opinion, everybody should try to do what they want most in life, and if self-publishing is the way to do it, then go for it. What I find strange is the sudden hype about it, that is perhaps coming less from the authors and more from the publishing houses...

Personally, I think the whole 'problem' is just en vogue right now and we'll see if increasing self-publishing will really make a big difference over the years. Which I doubt.

[haikujaguar]

I doubt it too. The only things I care about as a reader are having diverting things to read and being able to compensate the author for them. The only things I care about as an author are having a way to reach an audience and having a way to be compensated, if I so care about it.

The Internet and the way the market is evolving is making it easier to do all these things, in many niches and levels. I am content, thus.

[spiderorchid81]

Exactly. Im think it's wonderful that the internet makes it possible to get practically every book you want - be it traditionally published or self-published - regardless of where it's been published and by whom (I remember the frustrating times when you had to order foreign language titles from local bookstores which almost never worked...).

E-books haven't replaced normal books so far - self-publishing won't replace publishing houses. Today, there are just more different ways to do things.

[haikujaguar]

*thumbs-up*

[jenna_thorn]

the frustrating times when you had to order foreign language titles from local bookstores which almost never worked...).

Oh gracious, yes. Although trying to order outside the local demographic's perceived market lead to one really funny adventure when I was a late teen. Someone in my very conservative semi-rural hometown ordered A.N. Rolequaire's Sleeping Beauty series (Anne Rice, using a false name because the books are/were essentially dom/sub porn) through our local Waldenbooks at the mall.

Whoever it was never picked them up. Bet they really appreciate Amazon's home delivery these days.