I recently came upon a blog post on Cafe Lopez arguing for the end of traditional publishing as we know it and heralding the rise of "enterprise authors" (the writer's term for a self-publisher). The article characterizes publishers as the enemy. And it pointedly asks: "What is the publisher doing for me that I can't already do for myself?"
I'll agree with the argument on one point-when it says a self-publisher should be:
...a person who has invested time, energy, and hard work into cultivating a product that should ultimately generate a sustainable income.
I'm a planner. Perhaps to my detriment. There's nothing sexy about creating a plan for everything you do. Ask my wife. (To my credit, I did walk into the pet store the other day looking for an aquarium plant and came out with a puppy.) But when it comes to something as important (both for personal fulfillment and for your pocketbook) as publishing a book, planning is vital. I'd suggest that all authors (and publishers) should approach the writing and publication of a book as someone starting his own business. Someone with a plan that analyzes at least these factors:
- customer/reader demographics
- the competition
- the marketing strategy
- the personnel required
- the financial/time commitment
These are the essential elements of a sound business plan. Unfortunately, too many self-publishers jump into the game head first without a plan. As a result, the market is now flooded with books written by people who ventured into publishing without the proper consideration of what it entails.
And why is that? Because your novel, your screenplay, your poetry collection, or anything else you've written is your baby. I'm well-acquainted with the euphoria that comes with the completion of a written work. But because of this euphoria, writers are ill-advised to adopt Café Lopez's mentality that the publishing industry is out to get you.
Embrace Rejection
The post suggests that writers don't need the objective filter that publishers can provide.
Any ambitious professional can now reach out to and collaborate with peers in his industry for a cost no greater than selflessness. As I write this post, people I have never personally met are reading and critiquing my book simply because we share a vested interest in cooperative competitiveness. These communities of support have successfully nationalized peer review.
Sure, the Internet has made it easier to get valuable feedback from other writers. But are these peers the best editors? Do they know what will sell and what won't? Are they going to tell you your work is unpublishable or will they temper their opinions with "this needs some work" or "you're almost there," thereby costing you countless hours of revision time on something that should never leave your desk drawer?
Granted, serious writers are going to resist any rejection with every ounce of their beings. But rejection is an important motivator and a powerful teacher. If writers aren't getting that kind of tough feedback from trained professionals, then God help book lovers everywhere. Who's going to sift through the ever-increasing mounds of garbage for us? Are we going to trust Amazon.com reviewers to do this for us?
You Get What You Pay For
Café Lopez also suggests that hiring your own staff of freelance editors and designers is a better investment than trusting the expertise of a traditional publisher. Sure, there are bad editors in many publishing houses, and there are plenty of out-of-work-turned-freelancer types available for hire now, but beware when Café Lopez claims that:
...countless resources exist online to engage free-lance editors/artists/designers who would happily work for competitive fees and/or the opportunity for exposure. The notion that they are prohibitively expensive simply does not hold water.
Is it my imagination or is Café Lopez suggesting that you employ an editor/designer who will work on spec? Or for pennies! No, sorry. You get what you pay for. And any bibliophile can spot a book assembled by an amateur in two seconds. Good luck getting readers to cover your overhead if one of your operation costs is heating your garage.
Now maybe you'll get lucky. Throw something out there as cheaply as possible, sell it for a loss, and if the writing appeals to a particular audience, word of mouth just might earn you a tiny bit of profit (or a publishing contract with the "enemy"). But that's not a good business model in my opinion. That's taking a considerable risk...going all in with a pair of threes. Going in without a solid plan.
Should You Go It Alone?
In my own efforts to publish a book, I seriously researched the prospect of doing it all myself. After all, I'm also an editor. I know how books are made inside and out. So I bought a bunch of how-to books including a very good one by Peter Bowerman (The Well-Fed Self-Publisher). But when I ran the numbers, considered the price point, and weighed the potential market demand, I thought better of it. I didn't have that kind of capital. (In my experience, the production of a typical hardback book can cost a publisher at least $25,000.)
Writing is a business as Café Lopez maintains, but with any business, if the person in charge thinks she can do it all, it's going to fail. Editing is hard. Designing book jackets is hard. Writing marketing copy is hard. They're all professional specialized skills. If you don't know what you're doing, you're going to look like a hack.
The publishing industry isn't the enemy. Try to make it your partner.
About this Author
Wolf Hoelscher, the founder and owner of Pubmission, has 13 years of experience in the publishing industry, most of it as a senior editor or acquisitions editor at both print- and web-based companies. He's also a writer well-acquainted with the challenges posed by the submission process. As he has been on both ends of the slush pile, he is well-aware of how inefficient, unfair, and frustrating manuscript submissions are for writers, agents, and editors.
Check out http://www.pubmission.com to see how the future of the slush pile and manuscript submissions will look.
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