Self published books. They are a blessing and curse to the book business. In a recent article by Laura Miller, senior writer at Salon.com, Ms. Miller writes about the changes going on in the publishing and self-publishing worlds and how this will effect readers.
The article is called: The democratization of slush: How do you find something good to read in the brave new self-published world.
Here’s a taste:
When their former dictator, Augusto Pinochet, died four years ago, thousands of Chileans poured into the streets to celebrate — but that’s small potatoes compared to the crowds lining up to dance on the grave of traditional book publishing. The industry, we’re forever being told, is antiquated and hidebound; it doesn’t know how to spot great books or how to deliver them to readers. Fortunately, a tsunami of sparkling new technology is just about to hit those old fogies, washing them from the face of the earth so that the people who know what they’re doing can finally take over.
If you have any contact with the publishing world, you probably hear some version of the story above every day. What’s most striking, however, about the many, many conversations I’ve had about e-books, innovations in self-publishing and the emergence of publicity venues like social networking is how difficult it is to stayed focused on what all of this means for readers. No matter how hard you try, within five minutes the talk turns inexorably back to how agents, editors and publishers will suffer in the coming cataclysmic change — and, above all, how gloriously liberating it will be for authors.
Click here to read the entire article by Laura Miller.
What do you think? Has the self-publishing world opened up a Pandora’s box for readers?
Are you concerned about how we, as readers, will find the books worth reading, if the traditional publishing industry and literary agents aren’t the gatekeepers telling us what is good?
I’d love to hear from you.
P.S. My latest book got a starred review on Kirkus as a “book of remarkable merit.”
Read the Kirkus Review of THE SECRET SENSE OF WILDFLOWER here. In this novel, life turns toward a dark horizon for a precocious adolescent grieving for her father in 1941 Tennessee. “A quietly powerful novel, at times harrowing, but ultimately a joy to read.” –Starred review.
I don’t like anyone “gatekeeping” for me. Indie publishing (I prefer that to self-publishing), in my opinion, will at least give the author an opportunity to get his words into the hands of readers. Savvy readers who keep up with blogs, online forums and networking will know of and hear of, good authors. They won’t need to go through any such “slush pile.” The negative words and ideas expressed by agents and acquisition editors are responses of panic and fear for their jobs and changes that might leave them in the cold. And in truth, I believe story editors will become more in demand. Instead of the agent or publisher, the editor will be the one to search for. Authors know their books can become works of art in the hands of a good editor. Instead of gate keepers, editors will be the ones polishing the rough drafts for publication. Sure, there will be books so horrible, no one will want to read them. There will be authors, who in their eagerness to share their words, won’t think of editing. Sure, those books will see the light of day. But those readers who keep up will know about these via networking. The Internet and author and reader sites and forums will be even more important and vital to the success or bust of a book. Readers who may not have access to the Internet can continue to buy their books at bookstores and of course, make use of the library. Let’s not forget the worth of the library.
We don’t need gatekeepers. What we need are good authors with a worthy story to tell and the gift of telling it. We need authors that care enough about their books and their careers to get editing and producing a book as good as any bestseller. Those authors will indeed, finally, be given a chance to be read. Thank God for opening the gates.
I like the look of the future of publishing. It feels like the bursting through of the sun after a long, rainy and cloudy day.
I love your comment, Patty! And I love your idea that indie publishing is the “bursting through of the sun after a long, rainy and cloudy day.” I have this kind of hope about it, too.
Thanks for your thoughts!
More news about an indie published book:
“When Suzy Witten began her quest to publish her 440 page historical manuscript, The Afflicted Girls, in 2009, she never imagined creating her own Publishing company or that her journey would lead her to Lightning Source and ultimately winning an IPPY Award. After working her way through the Publishing Industry and facing let downs by several editors, Suzy decided to take a different path and explore POD. In the fall of 2009, Suzy partnered with Lightning Source, started her publishing company, Dreamwand, and published her first book in late November 2009. Now, six months after her first novel debuted, she won the 2010 IPPY Silver Medal award for Historical/Military Fiction. Suzy was presented the award at this year’s BEA in New York City.”
Congratulations Suzy!
An email exchange from one of my wonderful subscribers:
Reader: I didn’t want to post this on your blog, in case you didn’t want to answer publicly, but if it were the last resort, would you self-publish one of your novels?
Just curious your take on it all. I couldn’t get much of a barometer from the article itself.
Me: Thanks for your question! I was intentionally neutral to see what kind of comments I got. I appreciate your sensitivity over what I might not want to answer publicly, but it would have been okay to post this on the blog. In fact, I’ll probably post it myself.
Best-case scenario: I think self-publishing/indie publishing is an amazing development and helps writers get books out there. I think it can be empowering to some writers to take matters into their own hands and not be at the effect of publishers/agents.
But like everything cutting edge, I think it also has its drawbacks. For instance, some writers take a hit to the ego because,in the past, self-publishing was an act of desperation. Who wants to be seen as desperate? “Legitimate” writers didn’t take this route. And, of course, if you indie publish, you have to do all the marketing and promotion yourself (though most mainstream publishers expect this, too, these days).
All-in-all, self-publishing just doesn’t carry the stigma it once did. I have friends who are established writers, (i.e. they’ve been published traditionally, in some cases, many times over) who are turning to this as a way to keep books in print once they go out of print, as well as, get books out there that have gotten good feedback from editors and agents during the submission process, but for one reason or another didn’t get picked up.
The bottom line is: if it’s a good story, a good book, readers could care less who published it.
How’s that for my 2 cents?
All the best,
Susan
Hi, I just finished reading “Seeking Sara Summers” and I really enjoyed it. Next thing I knew, I found myself here on your blog pretty quickly and easily. 🙂
To respond to your post, I’m interested to see how and if self-publishing grows. I’m sure everyone has experienced buying a book and thinking it is not very good, so it’s not as if the long process a book goes through to get traditionally published guarantees a high quality product. That being said, the slush pile has its name for a reason. There’s plenty of crap out there that I’ve been spared because of agents and publishers. Then again, there’s likely a number of books that never made it out the slush pile that I would have loved to read.
I guess I see self-publishing as a way to shift who is in charge of the slush pile. To be honest, I don’t want to wade through it myself. But as Patty pointed out in her comment, “The Internet and author and reader sites and forums will be even more important and vital to the success or bust of a book.” To me, this is essentially moving the slush pile from unknown agents and publishers to the internet sites that an individual consumer has come to know and trust.
Thanks for your thoughtful comment, Sonja. You make some very good points. I don’t like the thought of wading through “slush” either. I really like it when author’s offer a chapter or two of the book on their website to read. (I do this on my website, btw.) This, to me, is like browsing through the first few pages in a bricks and mortal bookstore. And it helps me weed some books out.
I’m glad you found the blog. I’m also very glad to hear that you enjoyed the book! I hope you’ll stop by again.
All the best,
Susan