On Self-Publishing

On Self-Publishing

I get a lot of questions in my day job about self-publishing. People increasingly see it as a means of getting around the traditional big publishing companies. In a lot of cases it can mean taking advantage of technology to get your book out there. You may go to a print outlet or use a digital publishing solution such as using Lulu.com or Amazon.com.

It can provide a great opportunity for some people: if what you’re writing is of interest to a small group only (e.g. like a family history, or a really, really narrow niche subject like knitting with goat belly button lint), or if you can see a hole in the market that no publisher is willing or currently able to fill. Or maybe you’ve already got a respectable publication record and want to put your work together in a single tome, but can’t convince a publisher to help you out.

Before you go ahead you need to ask yourself what are you hoping to get out of the exercise? If it’s making the big bucks, you might want to re-think that. If it’s to make yourself heard, then sure but make sure you do it right – have a marketing plan, have a distribution plan (books don’t walk themselves into bookstores), know how to sell your product. One of the problems with self-publishing is that it is increasingly being used as a means of getting around a lot of quality assurance mechanisms like editing and proofreading.

And so, a few random thoughts:

Sometimes There’s a Reason for Rejection
Some days it’s not just people being mean. Sometimes there’s a good reason why your 300,000 word re-working of Tolkien-with-vampires is getting rejected by the major companies. Because – and I’m sorry if this hurts – it may well simply be bad. It may well also be not bad, but requires some judicious editing. I do know of folk who’ve gotten “good” rejections – ones that suggest editorial changes and an offer to look at an amended manuscript (this, by the way, is a dream scenario), and they’ve refused to consider any changes. This is not very bright. Do not take offence at it. Do not focus on the negative aspect of this. Do not shriek “Change my book? Change MY book!?” Try not to be crazy.

If you cannot take any editorial feedback, and you choose the route of self-publishing, then be prepared for all the consequences. It is seldom that a self-published book will be picked up by a major publisher – Christopher Paolini’s Eragon, Matthew Reilly’s Contest, these are rare exceptions.

A book from a major publisher will, hopefully, be subjected to a gamut of structural and copy editing, proofreading, readers’ reports, etc, all with the intention of making the book the best it can possibly be.  The thing that sets a traditionally published book apart from a self-published book is generally the quality of product. I don’t just mean simply in terms of the book’s content, but also in terms of its physical appearance – you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression. A self-published book should be indistinguishable from a book produced by Penguin or Hachette or any of the biggies.

But Are There Some Success Stories?
Yes, Virginia, there are. There are some self-publishing success stories, certainly – the 4 Ingredients cookbooks are an excellent example. But keep in mind that the authors behind these had a background in marketing. Both Kelly Link and Jeff VanderMeer produced beautiful books under their own steam – again, keep in mind that they are genius writers and both had respectable publication records.

The appearance of the book is so important and I repeat: a self-published book should be should be indistinguishable from a mass market produced book.

Do I see any self-published books that look like real books? Yes. Graham Park is a gentleman who wanted to write a book to act as a companion to his business – Seven Secrets the Weightloss Industry Will Never Tell You is a great little book because Graham very carefully researched what he wanted and needed to do (Disclaimer: I did the editing on this particular tome and am so proud of the end result. Graham did all the work he needed to do to make it a success – he was an informed writer). He also fits into the niche market of someone with a topic that big publishers weren’t covering. He selected people whose work he knew and liked, and people he knew he could rely upon and produced something that not only looks like a real book, but is a real book. Cover, typesetting, etc, all do this book credit http://www.7weightlosssecrets.com/7-secrets-the-weight-loss-industry-will-never-tell-you-.html. This is the standard for which you should aim.

A typical self-published book in the spec-fic genre looks awful. I see a lot of them, and I cringe. People schlep them around to bookstores, trying to get the booksellers to put these abominations on their shelves. Unfortunately, they are generally badly typeset, margins are too wide or too narrow; there’s double-spacing between lines, the kerning is off; the celloglaze on the cover is often peeling by the time it reaches the author; ill-chosen stock images can make covers look like Conan knock-offs; the spelling and grammar leave a lot to be desired; without editorial feedback you end up with plot holes and logic failures that a good editor would have picked up. In short, you end up with a serious case of BOOK FAIL. You cannot honestly expect a bookseller to put something that looks like it came out of amateur hour on display. These people are professionals. Their stock shows their quality and taste.

Getting a book with your name on the cover can be like a shot of strong alcohol. It can be dizzying, but don’t let this make you so drunk that you cannot recognise whether your book looks like the professionally published books in the bookstores. Once again: you do not get a second chance to make a first impression. A beautifully bound, perfectly printed book or something that looks like someone’s third grade English assignment? What are you going to choose?

Which Leads Me To … Don’t Annoy the Bookseller
Indeed, if you’re an author peddling your own wares, do try not to piss off the bookseller. Like publishers and agents, these people have generally been in the business for a long time. They know everyone. They have often previously worked in publishing. They can be your best friend or your worst enemy – the choice is yours.

They are not obliged to take your self-published book. You may ask nicely, but they do not have to say yes. In the unlikely event that they say ‘yes’, then be grateful. In the more than likely event they say ‘no’, then for the love of all that’s holy, be gracious and bow out of the shop with a ‘thanks for your time’.

Why? Because one day you may have a book that’s not self-published. One day you may want to hold a book launch in that person’s store. One day you may want that person to be promoting your book to their customers – particularly if it’s a specialist bookseller. Your sales can have a huge difference made to them due to word of mouth from the person behind the counter in the book shop. Customers look for recommendations – they don’t tend to get them in the big chains, but in the specialist bookstores, they know the person working there is a fan, that s/he reads as passionately as the customers, and that person’s opinion is likely to be informed.

‘I’m looking for something new … a new series. What do you recommend?’ Wouldn’t you like the next book they recommend to be yours? However, say you have at some point been rude to the bookseller … what do you think your chances are?

Not so good.

Sharks in the Water Always Smell Blood
One of the downsides of the new marketplace that’s opened up as a result of the availability of self-publishing options, is the corresponding increase in the number of sharks in the water. There’s a breed of vanity press whose sole aim in life is not to sell your books to readers, but to make their money by having you buy your own book from them. Alas, there is no law that makes it a rule for these folk to wear parrots on their shoulders and peg-legs, but there should be. They are pirates. They are sharks. Learn to recognise them. Don’t throw your money away on a vain dream of glory.

What Do I Need to Know?
I’d recommend going and having a look at the QWC site’s Resources page, which has a Resource Sheet on things you need to know about self-publishing http://www.qwc.asn.au/WritersResources/ResourcesFAQs.aspx and also an article (which I co-authored with the knowledgeable Katherine Lyall-Watson) about the things to look out for if you’re determined to self-publish http://www.qwc.asn.au/WritersResources/ResourcesFAQs.aspx. At the very least, if you self-publish you need to work out who is going to edit and proofread your work, who will typeset it, design your cover, how will you market it, how will you sell it, get it into stores, where will you store your 20,000 copies of your Tolkien re-write.

It’s not an easy solution: if you self-publish you take all the risk and all the responsibility. If you make it big like the 4 Ingredients authors and publishers are suddenly beating a path to your door, then you win. But you need to be realistic about your chances. More than likely, you’re not going to sell a motza. More than likely, a self-published book isn’t going to enthuse a big publisher to buy it and release it under their own banner as a trade paperback. If you have taken then chance and put the work out there and it doesn’t pay off, then please don’t whinge about how the universe has done you wrong and how publishing is an unfair industry. It is what it is, so work within the existing structures. Work out how to bring it down from the inside *ooops, did I say that out loud*. Behave like a grown-up.

Oh, and another point: Yes, Lulu and Amazon as self-publishing vehicles made more money than the traditional publishers last year. But, who is the customer? Not so much readers, but (as with other vanity presses) writers who are paying to have their own works published. It’s a new economy – don’t be fooled. These writers don’t necessarily have heaps of readers – they may simply be buying their own books. Whether they are then able to on-sell into the market – i.e. to actual living, breathing sentient readers – is another matter.

As always with these posts I urge humility, rationality, be sensible, be realistic, be informed. Be a smart writer. Don’t whine.

PS: And many thanks to Kate Eltham and her four brains for thinking and focusing my poor single brain.