Hmm looks like we walked the same path to our keyboards today. The article I've got coming up at some time today is at the stage before publishing; starting the editting process.

I've yet to experience the hitting the forehead against the door process that you have had to endure already, but I'd already made the same decision that you came to of foregoing the agent and just submitting directly to publishers.

Like you I loath the promotional game, mainly because I use to do promotional work my small independant theatre company. It was so thankless: if no one has heard of you they don't want to hear of you...You send out your press release six weeks before you open, you follow up with a phone call two weeks latter to see if you can generate any interest...then you start the begging for a review...

The though of having to go through all that on my own again makes me cringe. I look at the so-called promotional packages and ideas offered by the pulish on demand folk and I have to laugh...links on your web site? how do you get people to your web site in the first place? Then they tell you all about press releases and that's about where my eyes glazed over...

An established author friend of mine was trying to figure out a way he could get copies of a book out to markets where publishers weren't going publish but he knew people wanted to purchase. He checked out Lulu who have the best rates on the net for publish on demand as far as their cut goes and how much it raises the price, and once he factored in shipping and him making enough money to make it worthwhile, plus any duties and tarrifs from crossing borders...the books would be so expensive no one would buy them...

Perhaps an online author's co-operative publish on demand site could be made to work, but how? It's always going to be a matter of people finding out about books, and the influence behind the book so that the media will tell people about them.

That's the nut we have to crack, getting people to pay attention to something that doesn't come form Random House or bear the Oprah seal of approval...

I'm not really saying anything that you didn't I guess, and that's the scary part. The industry is in the hands of those few people and they are not about to let anyone wrest controll from them easily.

The bookstores buy from the publishers, the publishers are bought lunch by the agents, and the author sits at home and watches the paint peel and keeps writing because that's what he or she know how to do...

There is not time enough in a day to become a full time marketer and be a full time writer at the same time. Even taking the time write this feels like I'm stealing pressious minutes and words from my writing...silly but true.

Does this all sound sort of defeatest and giving up before we start? I hope not, because I intend to follow this space with great interest, and try to contribute positively when and where I can.

It's a great idea and you are right there has to be a way to utilize the power of open source thinking for writers.

cheers gypsyman

Thanks gypsyman. I hope there are others who are willing to chime in. I plan on doing 3-4 initial posts to set the stage and I have a few ideas that I'll throw out along the way. If people respond then I will continue, but mainly to be a clearinghouse for ideas and an organizer of the thoughts.

John

Your article is so important, especially for writers who are book lovers. After several years of research, I finally found a situation which allowed me to both design a beautiful book, write and publish it at a price that is affordable and then sell it at a profit - Instant Publishers. This book business gave me the package I kept searching for which is the full color, hard back, or paperback with several binding choices, page sizes, and best of all a downloadable process and manuscript direction I could understand. I do have background in public relations, T.V, radio etc. so I also know how challenging the marketing and distribution will be. In preparation for this I have been for the past two years setting up a web page and product offerings in order to create the foundation for the books. I did this through webspawner.com and cafepress.com. Taking this approach has put both products and web page in the top ten of nearly all the major search engines; a good link to when the books are on the market. I think self publishers need to be as innovative and enthusiastic with the promotion of their books as they are in writing them. If not, linking up to people who are experts in the process would be my recommendation. Thank you again for your information, I look forward to ordering your book and seeing your continued comments in this area of concern for writers who seek to self publish.
Amber Silverstar - The Angel Writing Company

Listen, I have been writing for years. I have sold screenplays, and I have had short stories printed. But the game of publishing is one of the most vile and corrupt I have ever met.

No agent will touch you unless you're already making money. Second, no publisher worth their salt will look at your work unless you have an agent. I call it the circle of hell.

Even with my progress, I still am unrepresented. Sure I had an agent for my screen deal, but a month later when i needed them to push a new script, they didn't have the time. I was let go after not long after I gave up on them.

The problem with self publishing is that anyone--I mean anyone--can put a book out there. So, unlike music which is much more accessible, and more easily deemed good or bad, a book takes time to read and digest. People are afraid to put so much time aside to a new author--not to mention the hours it would take to search through the garbage to find a truly talented writer.

Not everyone who writes should be a writer. The process of selection through traditional means used to be a way to separate the wheat from the chaff, now I feel the system is corrupt. So what are we to do?

Well, I think we need to follow the lines of evolution. Sure we can self publish, but I feel real writers should separate themselves from the masses, and put forth a legitimate source for writers who have talent. Lets let the weaker ones die off, lets let those self publishers who are out to make a buck die off, and lets purify the waters that have been so muddied by hacks.

This may sound harsh, but writers are considered a joke because everyone thinks they can write. Just look at the millions of blogs by people who write about nothing...it is horrific. But they all feel that they are worthy of a book deal, just ask them.

So to make something respected, there has to be a clear example of what it means to be a writer and a guideline as to what constitutes legitimate work.

Sorry for the longwinded speech but this topic is sensitive with me...keep up the posts!

fantastic article john. looking forward to the rest as this is definitely an area needing further attention.

T-
Yeh, we need a system to sort it all out, but I think we'll have to create it. Look around. Who else will? Thanks.

Mark-
thanks

John:

maybe creating a site, like this one, but solely as a source to promote those writers worthy of such mention.

It could just be for independants or self publishers. Someone would have to select, read, and review, but at lease there would be rules and guidelines that would be followed to make sure the sites visitors would be only given the best of the best.

Just a thought

T-

Something along those lines. We have to see if BC wants to get behind something like that. I could see having a writer of the month and a page showing all of the honorees with links to reviews. Also there could be a page devoted to reviews with some uniform rating scale. It would mean that reviewers would have to really be on their game so that readers could trust the ratings. Guidelines (even about the cover quality) are important so that writers know to what standard to hew. But, I get ahead of myself.

js

Last year I self published my memories of almost 40 years of sailing the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic coast, including many cruises to the Bahamas. After looking at many publishers, I chose iUniverse.com. The finished product was better than I could have hoped for. My family has a lasting record of how I managed to waste so much of my life, with a full color cover to keep the pages from turning yellow. The fact that only a few hundred books have been sold doesn't bother me at all.

I have written two novels about sailing and failed to get any publisher to read a line. Admittedly it is an area of little interest to the masses, but the tales are awfully good, if I may brag. I would not consider self publishing those novels; the promotion is beyond me. Nor does my self esteem require a $1,000 bill to keep it afloat.

Fortunately, I am retired (since 1985) and all my writing is for my pleasure. I suggest all writers need a similar attitude. To fail to be published is a disapointment, but the fun of writing can't be taken away. Since I no longer am able to sail, I get my "sailing kicks" with a vivid imagination put into my computer's memory. The compensation is being able to live a dream. I'm satisfied.

I would be pleased to be included in any group of infant writers who share a common dislike for commercial publishers who have no appreciation of talent.

Howard

There's some myth here about the publishing business. I'm wary of writers who say "the publishing world don't want new authors..." I just published -- a small publisher, but a real, traditional press nonetheless. It's not impossible. First-time authors get published every day -- just read the trade journals and you will see. A friend of mine, a new author as well, is repped by a major agent and just got a 6-book deal from St. Martin's. It happens, folks.

Self-publishing has its place, of course, and you CAN make money if you have a good niche market. But you must know what you're doing -- writing, book design, editing, marketing, distribution, etc. It's not for the faint of heart. I'd rather writers focus on writing and let publishers worry about the rest of the business -- that's why I went with a publisher, instead of self-pub. Then again, I write fiction, so self-pub is not a viable solution for me. Non-fiction with a solid niche would fare better with self-publication.

And you don't have to be with Random House or go on Oprah to get noticed. Serious, guys, that's a myth. I'm with a small press and I'm an "unknown" but I have been on radio four times already, and had 3 newspapers articles written about me. My books are in libraries and on store shelves. Publisher's Weekly just did a review on my book.

I'm not bragging, just trying to make a point: that it is possible for an unknown, first-time author like me to get published and noticed. Every writer -- from Stephen King to John Grisham to J K Rowling -- was an unknown, first-timer at one point. Publishers want fresh voices and new ideas all the time. So keep writing brilliant stories and you will get there. If I could do it, so can you.

If you do want to go the self-pub, make sure you know what you're getting into. Quality still counts. Just because you "can" doesn't mean you "should." The reason why vanity/POD or self-pub gets a bad name is that "anybody can do it" -- there's no quality control. I've seen self-pubbed books that are poorly written, poorly edited, and poorly produced. Obviously, there are good ones, too. So whether you want to stick with the traditional publishing game, or you want to publish your own books, quality is the key. If you keep that in mind -- writing, editing, production, marketing -- than you may very well succeed. Otherwise, the self-pub world is just as brutal, if not more so, than the traditional publishing world.

Cheers.

Great success story, Ray. Just how did you find this small press? You're right on the fear of self publishing disasters. We've all seen them. I lucked out with iUniverse.com since I was flying blind. This site could be helpful to writers who wish to self publish by guidance to a better outfit.

I was astounded at how quickly iUniverse cut the strings after publication. Their only response to my request for help in promotion of the book was the offer for me to pay them from hundreds to thousands of dollars to join other published writers in a joint ad in magazines or New York Times promoting their self publishing ctivities. Bad idea for my book.

Howard

I found my publisher through the normal process: by querying and submitting mss. My book is semi-literary and not a commercial genre so I thought a small press was a better fit. My feeling, though, is that if I've spent 2 years writing the book, then I should be willing to spend at least 2 years marketing it. I think a lot of writers get frustrated because they are not willing to wait. They think someone should snap the ms. up immediately -- it just doesn't happen that way. 100 rejections is nothing, if you consider there are over 300 legit agents out there, and many more publishers out there. We just need to do our research and target the right people. But some people spend 10 years writing their masterpiece, then quit submitting after getting a few rejections. To me, that's a waste. Perseverance is key, here.

As for iUniverse, they're not a bad outfit, but the truth is, they're in to make money offering "publishing" services. The more people buying their services, the more money they make. Meaning, unlike traditional publishers, they don't make money selling books -- they make money selling the process of getting your book printed and bound. I think that's something everyone should be aware of -- iUniverse, Lulu, etc. are POD. They print books. They don't promote them. They don't "sell" them for you. They don't put them on store shelves. They don't publicize the books. Once the books are printed, they're done with their part of the deal. If you want more, you'll have to pay more. Meanwhile, you don't pay a dime with traditional publishers -- because they make money actually selling books. If your books don't sell, they don't make money, so they'd have to promote the books.

I think we need to get the terminology straight here. I see iUniverse and Lulu, etc. as POD/subsidary. What Dan Boynter, et el are talking about w.r.t. self-publishing is actually operating a traditional press out of your own home office. What does it mean?

It means that you don't simply hire a company like Lulu to print your books. You're not just a writer. When you self-pub (as Poynter describes it), you ARE the publisher. You will have your own business name, a business plan, you will own your own ISBNs, you will have to professionally edit and design your books, and you will have to market and promote the books, just as any traditional press would. You'll need capital, too -- tens of thousands of $$. That's what I said, it's not for the faint of heart. But if you have that gumption, the business skills, and the drive, and the market, it could be a very nice business. But then, you're really more of a business than a writer.

I could have self-pubbed if I wanted to, what with my business background and capital, but I decided that I just wanted to be the writer, that I didn't want to become a businessman. That's why I kept submitting to agents and small publishers (which did not require agents), while I kept on writing my second book. Now that my book is out, I will have to help doing some promotion such as book signing, reading, interviews and speaking engagement -- whether you're self-pubbed or with Random House, you still have to do that stuff. What I don't have to do, however, is to deal with printers and distribution and selling. I can focus on my writing.

Also, there's the kind of "legitimacy" T was talking about. Anybody can "write" -- just look at the number of blogs out there. But how do you make sure you have good quality control, that people know that you're "legit"? Even here, on BlogCritics, they have a system to weed out the writer wannabes, and they have an editing staff to make sure that what goes out is not crap. What's good about iUniverse is that at least they offer professional editing services (for a fee, of course). There's no such thing on Lulu or CafePress so really, you can type the same thing 100,000 times over and still publish a book with them -- Lulu and CafePress are printers, not publishers, IMHO.

And another thing -- reality. This is something every writer should know. Reviewers such as Publishers Weekly do not review POD books. Book stores do not stock POD books because they're not returnable. Wholesalers like Ingram has started to refuse POD books. So the odds against PODs are becoming worse. You can promote your books all you want, but the only way you can see them are either from your trunks or through websites -- that's really tough, man. How many people actually buy books from someone's website, someone you don't even know?

That's something we should all consider when we weigh the pros and cons of self-publishing. Also, there are many flavors of self-publishing. Read Poynter's book. Educate yourself. Then make an informed decision.

Great piece, John. I'll be reading and lurking to see what ideas you come up with. While I've written
more than 10,000 newsaperp; articles I've not written a book... yet

You said: "I love books. I always have. It pained me to teach so many students who dreaded books. I love the play of imagination

that books afford me. I will loll on a page with no thought for speed, reread a certain phrase "

Do you still teach? What grade? I'm a reporter-turned-educator and
will start teaching in the fall after getting my masters in June.
I look forward to trying to get students to not dread books but as you say
that will pain me, I'm sure.

Thanks for your comments everyone. I hope you keep coming back.
Ray-
I am doing the traditional self-publishing route, not POD. I researched all the publishers and pinpointed those who I felt would afford me the best chance for acceptance. That didn't happen. I would rather just be writing for sure. Regardless of whether I self-publish or am published by another house, the book business is broken. There is more to follow around all this.

Scott-
I taught eighth grade math and was head of department. I have to decide whether to go back next year. It's funny to be a math teacher extolling the virtues of reading. The thing about all this is that I taught at a school that works. Kids loved being at school. I will probably soon post an article about my experience. I think the experience will somehow be the core of my next book. I would love to sell this idea so I can write and then have people come back this present book.

Good luck. I'll keep my eye out for you.

John, I related so much to the epiphany you had on the top of Moro Rock. Sometimes it just all comes together and you realize that you are a writer and that you must write--that it's your passion and your calling.

I also loved the way you described the experience of reading. There truly is nothing else like it. I find that good writing makes me feel like I am directly linked to the writer's thought process--as if I can connect with their very synapses and journey along with them into their private world.

Thanks for this great post. Can't wait to see the next installment!