Regardless, the market will find the worthy books in print. Now, readers have far more options to choose from. The one to three books that earned a profit for the large New York houses and subsidized the seven to nine books that didn't make a profit may no longer be sustainable as a business model. Expect to hear more rantings of how sub par self published titles are diluting the market for traditionally published books. The response to that: "Yeah, you're right." But just because someone is encroaching on your turf is not a reason to cry "foul."
It will be interesting to see what the future holds for the publishing world. A few things seem certain.
1. Self published books are here to stay.
2. There is a class arising from the self published ranks that hold themselves and their craft to the the highest standards and will continue to put out quality, marketable books that compete with the traditionally published books.
3. The reading public will continue to find the literary self published diamonds and tell others about them.
4. The endless cries from the traditional publishers and authors will continue even as they become drown out by the cha-chings of dollars that used to go to them now going to the worthy self-published authors.
But as was stated earlier, time will tell.
Article comments
1 - roger nowosielski
The main stumbling block, Tony, is the amount of time and energy one'd have to devote to having their stuff published; in my experience, it's just antithetical to all truly creative people.
If there was a way of getting around that, I'd give it a shot. Have two novels under my belt. But I am not going to devote any considerable time to self-public, just to see my books in print.
2 - Tony Eldridge
You are absolutely correct in that, Roger. Self publishing does take a considerable amount of time and energy to make it work. If an author is not willing to put in the time and energy, then self publishing may not be the way to go.
The big plus in favor of being traditionally published is the great distribution model they have in place. It can take the lion's share of an author's time to match that, if they can do it at all.
One of the reasons I chose the self publisher I chose came down to your point. I didn't want to devote the energy to doing all of the things that a pure self published author has to do. I found a company that would handle the things I didn't want to handle and focused on what I was good at-- the marketing.
Great point, Roger, and one that needs to be considered by any author as he or she makes the publishing choices they make.
Congrats on having two books under your belt!
3 - roger nowosielski
Well, Tony. Perhaps you can share your find with me.
My email is listed in the navigation bar, the top of my weblog.
I do have two good products, and I'd hate to see all that work go to waste. Three years of my life.
Roger
4 - Tony Eldridge
Roger, I shot you a quick e-mail. Let me know if there is anything--good or bad--in our conversations you feel merits mentioning in these comments for others to read.
5 - Steve Weber
Good article, Tony!
Roger, I agree that publishing yourself can be a confusing, maddening, mystifying process. Likewise for new authors seeking a traditional publisher.
It is possible, though, to get some satisfaction from the tasks involved in publishing. For example, I began designing my own book covers a few years ago when the cover designer I had hired didn't produce something I was satisfied with. It was a pain in the rear to learn how to do it myself, but I'm glad I did.
6 - roger nowosielski
Well, Steve,
The main problem for me, I don't want to lower myself to trying to peddle my own work. I believe it's good, and that's what the publishing industry should be about.
Long time ago, during the Industrial Revolution, Shelley and other poets were very adamant about the new trend as regards works of art about to become subject to the forces of the market place. I find their complaint as a prophesy come true.
Even parts of Jane Austen's works, submitted incognito to a literary agent who was responsible for the "Harry Potter" series, were dismissed offhand for not commanding sufficient interest. So you tell me what the odds are for a new author getting published.
The days of the Medicis and the patrons of the arts look better and better.
7 - Tony Eldridge
No doubt that a lot of literary works of art would never make it past the agents and gatekeepers of today. Like it or not, people will write and publish what readers will buy. We can talk philosophy all day long, but when the sun goes down, that truth still holds true.
I may have some bad news to break to you- unless you are a NY Times best selling author (whose works probably can be characterized as very commercial) even if you go the traditional route, you will have to "peddle your own work." Marketing dollars are growing more and more scarce in the traditional publishing houses. I have a lot of friends who are published traditionally and they say that one of the biggest surprises they had was how much of the marketing was up to them. Marketing your own book seems to be one of the few common denominators that self published and traditionally published authors share.
But, as a writer, I can appreciate your longings for the days of patrons. It would be nice if we could all find our Medicis and be free to just write.