Tag Archives: traditional publishing

I’ve seen the future and it’s the independent artist: self-publishing

Well, it’s only fair that this blog post should come out on the heels of a previous one which lamented the awful state of book author compensation.

Hugh Howey, the science fiction writer, wrote this piece for Salon which is about as positive on the state and potential of self-publishing as the previous one was negative (also for Salon). (Although that book, “Broken Piano for President,” was published by a small independent, not self-published.)

Howey’s had great self-published success (the “Wool” series, among others) and offers several similar stories. But the real thing that I loved about this piece is that he sees the bigger trend which transcends individual successes, and bodes well for writers in general as well as readers.

He reminds us that “the slush pile is made available to readers.” What that means is that in traditional publishing, it might be only that 1% of manuscripts that make it through the fickle editorial/marketing gauntlet. With self-publishing, other gems are out there waiting for readers to find them.

Aside from tadalafil cialis generika making your articles pretty simple to understand, it would also help if you write using conversational tone. Even, habitual tadalafil tab factors like alcoholism can lead to the development of water loss and brain swelling. They are mainly high blood pressure, obesity, high cholesterol etc. purchase levitra online A very essential order generic viagra http://mouthsofthesouth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/MOTS-05.12.18-Williams.pdf component which is present in silagra is sildenafil citrate that improves the functioning of the network. Of course, there’s a lot of dreck too, even most of it, probably. But still, “those who take their writing seriously, who publish more than one title a year and do this year after year, are finding real success with their art.” Or at least some of them are.

Howey contrasts the tired, old style route to literary success with the new paradigm of self-publishing by comparing it to the music business. Why is it we celebrate the hardscrabble musicians and their antics but not the writers who do analogous things? I believe there’s that persistent (and false and misplaced) myth that anybody can do it – anybody can write a book – if they just have the time to sit down and do it. Really? Kind of like that classic piece of modern art that your kid still hasn’t produced, right?

Self-Publishing Definitions

Here’s a quick definition of ten terms found in the self-publishing business put through the unique filter of Jim Arnold Communications.

Print-on-Demand or P.O.D.

Simple definition: A method of book printing where digital files are accessed at the time when a book is ordered and paid for and the copy is printed then and only then.

Pro/Con: This method frees the seller of a book, whether it’s an individual or a company, from having to have masses of inventory on hand, thereby making the printing process less expensive. It also greatly simplifies making changes to the book copy.

E-book

Simple Definition: Any way of manipulating the text of a book so that it can be transferred digitally to some kind of reading device other than a traditional paper-bound book. This includes your computer screen, e-book readers such as Kindle or Nook, and mobile devices like your smart phone.

Pro/Con: The popularity of e-books is growing at leaps and bounds. The technology makes the time to publication and cost of distribution almost zero, after initial formatting and piracy protection.

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The Skinny on Author Advances

Irene Watson’s (Reader Views) post on author advances is worthy of your study.
Irene lays it out in terms easy to comprehend, exactly what the definitions are of the traditional publishing writer’s advance model, giving a look into the real story of the “myth” of the wealthy fiction writer (unless, as she suggests, your last name is King. or Rowling. or Grisham, etc).
Traditional publishing houses have less and less to spend on marketing budgets, hence the author is expected to kick in their own bucks – whether from the advance itself or from elsewhere – to pay for publicity, tours and so forth.

So the takeaway is – you will do a large part of the marketing yourself, whether you are a self-published author or are published traditionally with an advance – and, so, of course, don’t quit that day job. At least not yet.

Oh, and speaking of day jobs, I’ve always loved this quote from Julia Cameron, author of The Artist’s Way: Continue reading →