Well folks, it’s been a good run, but it’s time to pack it in. This whole self published author thing isn’t working out for me. I published well before I was ready to do so, and only now do I have to perspective to sit down and admit it. Trying to run a business on a shoestring budget (which is code for no budget whatsoever) is not the way to go about it. My books were nowhere near where they should have been in terms of quality when I published them (although I thank all of you who gave me such kind reviews!) and I was in severe need of an editor but unwilling (and now unable) to pay for the services of one. I was embarrassed by my own work, which should have been a hint that I wasn’t going about things the right way. It’s been a painful decision to make, but I think it is the right one. Clicking unpublish gave me a sense of relief, like a proverbial albatross fell off my neck.
Now that the depressing part is over, let’s get to the good stuff, shall we? You might be thinking that I’m giving up on the writing game for good. You would be mistaken, my friend. This all started when I finished draft one of my fantasy novel Aral-Kahn. I got to thinking that a work of that length would require extensive editing, and that it wouldn’t be something I could do myself (not that you should ever try to go it alone where editing/copy editing is concerned). Freelance editors of any quality are well outside my price range at the moment, being unemployed and all, and even if I did find work I’m not sure it would make good economic sense to stake that much money on a maybe. Plus, I’ve always had this dream of being a big fantasy author published by Tor, alongside the likes of Terry Brooks, Terry Goodkind, and Robert Jordan (my love of writing the horror genre is a relatively recent development). My dad decided, what the hell, he was going to give submitting his manuscript to Tor a shot. That put the idea back in my head, where it has festered for months now.
Are there difficulties in traditional publishing? Of course. Self pub and trad pub are both difficult, just in different ways. Writing is a difficult industry all the way around. I’ve put a great deal of thought into the matter, and I have decided that I will try to pursue the traditional publishing route. Will I succeed? It depends how you measure success. I personally expect a whole pile of rejection slips, because the gates barring entry into the trad pub realm are so high (which is why self pub is so popular). But if you have a hard head and keep smashing it against said gates for long enough, you just might break through. That’s a success in and of itself. Not that breaking through and getting a book published really means much from a monetary perspective (for those who measure success in dollars earned), since most books by new authors don’t sell out their advances.
That’s simply the reality–self pub isn’t any better, as most books sell only a handful of copies and then get lost in the sea of poorly edited, crudely constructed crap flooding Amazon. Trust my personal experience on that. Neither option is a magical panacea that will pour heaps of gold coins and scantily clad women (or men, if that’s your preference) into your lap. Whoever tells you that is lying through his/her teeth and you should punch them in the throat (Note–this author does not condone violence…maybe send them a strongly worded letter or something instead).
The fact is you don’t usually make it big by publishing one book or series, the Stephanie Meyers of the world notwithstanding. Most don’t make it big at all, but if you want to make a living off your writing, which is nearly as remote as making it big, you have to keep cranking out books. Your first book probably won’t make bank, but your tenth might net some return. Or not. But then we writers don’t write for the money, do we? I don’t know about you, but I’d be scribbling silly stories whether I got paid or not. Unless you can say that with complete and total honesty, you have no business trying to publish by any means, traditional or otherwise. For a writer, craft is king. Business is something that maybe, hopefully gets your word out to others. Money is just a nice side effect (for people like Stephen King and Stephanie Meyers, a REALLY nice side effect).
So, I’ll make a go of it. How it turns out, I have no clue. It’ll be an adventure, won’t it?
I agree with a lot of what you said, but there are those diamonds among the crap that keep me reading indie authors. I must be lucky picking them, because I have been very pleasantly surprised for the most part. I love your persistence and wish you the best. I’ll be looking for you.
Thanks! Yeah, there are some diamonds in the rough, that is for sure. And there are some really bad authors that slip through the traditional methods, as well. I think though that traditional publishing generally has higher quality than self pub just by virtue of the fact that the bar for entry is fairly high. Some of the self pubbers who are “bad” don’t necessarily write bad stories, it’s just they can’t or won’t get a professional to give the story a nice polish before clicking “upload”.
How about Kickstarter for getting together the money for editing — and possibly other aspects of self-publishing and marketing it? Or at least to pay for the editor and the pre-publication sales figures that make agents and publishers sit up?
I hadn’t thought about Kickstarter, actually. It is still possible I’ll eventually self publish again (if this traditional pub thing doesn’t work out) and I will keep all that in mind! I’m going to try querying agents when I’ve finished polishing up my fantasy novel (or, as I call it, slathering lipstick on the pig). Thanks for the suggestion!
I really appreciate the honesty of this post!!! I have hesitated for all the same reasons to publish my books even though I have three finished stories. I’m not putting them out there until I can get them edited, critiqued, and a good cover story! Thanks for sharing and have fun storming the castle!!
It is hard to make the decision, that is for sure! Are you looking to self publish, then? I’ve seen a lot of advice on the matter, but some advice from Bob Mayer keeps sticking in my head–at least TRY traditional publishing first. He says that because it can give you an idea of what is selling in the market, and (if you’re doing it right) you learn the ins and outs of the publishing business in the mean time. That can help you know the lay of the land and make the correct decision either way. Plus, doing one does not exclude the other–many will self publish their back log once the rights revert to them. Some get their start in self pub and get picked up by a publisher, while others start in trad pub and end up in self pub. Really, it’s just a matter of trying things and seeing what works for you :)
Exactly. I have a good editor who is going to help me figure out if I should go the indie route or the traditional way. I haven’t decided. THere is something about having a traditional publisher pick up your book which feels good. I’ll keep the world posted!