I’ve been talking a lot on TIPM recently about The
Rise of The Self-Publishing Experts in the self-publishing field and the
need for authors to have an eyes-wide-open approach before embarking down any
publishing path. As a publishing consultant, far too often, I talk to authors after
they have already made critical decisions about the right publishing path to
take and sometimes their books are tied up with poor self-publishing service
providers, or they are disillusioned and frustrated with constant rejections
from agents and publishing houses. It is not always easy to fix a bad situation
or change the mindset of an author after some decisions have been made or certain
actions taken.
What am I doing
wrong?
It’s a desperate cry I hear a lot from authors. The modern
author has learned to be pretty adaptable, robust, thick-skinned, resourceful,
and driven by a never-say-never approach in the world of publishing and selling
books. Often, they are doing more things right than wrong. A closer look at the
path and early decisions a writer takes will usually reveal a great deal about
the point where they will flounder, give up, or accept the limitations and
consequences of those early decisions. As a writer, before you become an
author, if those first few steps are misplaced, it can be hard to accept that
you may have to do a great deal of backtracking in order to make the next step
forward count.
The two most common words I find myself uttering to writers
are STOP and BE PATIENT.
For writers pursuing a traditional publishing contract:
STOP
… sending manuscripts out to agents and publishers which
have not been through some form of professional or peer critique system, whether
that is a group of trusted beta readers, a writing workshop group, or a
professional assessment service.
… sending manuscripts out to agents and publishers who do
not deal with the appropriate genre of work you write in. As a writer, like it
or not, you need to understand the marketplace of the publishing industry, as
well as the readership marketplace. If you don’t, you are wasting their time as
well as your own.
… sending query letters to agents and publishers which don’t
finitely explain what your book is about, why it is good, and who you are.
BE PATIENT
The traditional publishing business remains, at times, slow
and antiquated. If you have written a good book, a strong query letter, sent it
to the right agents and publishers, you stand a stronger chance of getting a
positive response. Concentrate on agents and publishers who allow email
submissions rather than snail mail. It is likely these ones are far more
progressive and in tune with the pace of change in the modern industry. Use
your time wisely while submitting and go and write an even better book. Agents
and publishers look favourably on writers who have built up a body of work
rather than just a one-off book. It shows you are serious about your work as an
author.
For writers investigating self-publishing service providers:
STOP
… and do your research before submitting your book to any
service provider. Don’t just use Google as a method to find out about a company
or service. Yes, there are good online resources and experts in this field.
Take a look at the extensive review section on TIPM and our RESOURCE links. Try
and contact other authors who may have used the providers you are
investigating.
… and understand YOUR needs as an author and what
makes a reputable self-publishing service provider.
… and understand that self-publishing is not the poor
relation of traditional publishing. It’s a business, and whether you use a
self-publishing provider or set up your own imprint and contract out individual
services with freelancers, your book will become a product for sale to the
reading public. It needs to be professionally edited, designed, distributed and
marketed.
BE PATIENT
It takes time as a self-published author to understand how
publishing works. Even using DIY self-publishing services like CreateSpace or
Lulu require certain skills. If you don’t have these skills then seek out
professionals. DIY self-publishing is not about banging up an unedited book
file to an online retailer like Amazon or a self-publishing platform like
Smashwords. Never succumb to impatience and the NEED to have your book out
there with the public as quickly as possible. There are many good reasons why
traditionally published books take longer to reach sales channels, and while I
believe traditional publishers need to improve the turnaround time of
pre-production, it should never be an excuse for self-published authors to
leave out critical pre-production stages like good editing, design and a robust
marketing plan.
An author emailed me recently and asked why some of the
articles over the past few months in TIPM were ‘beating up’ on self-publishing
experts while I appeared at the same time to be presenting myself as a self-publishing
expert and the services my company provides to authors. It is a fair
observation, but my core argument over recent months is that I am a publishing
consultant and there are now far too many experts in the field of
self-publishing offering a
deliberate bias towards DIY self-publishing services, as if it were the
only legitimate and valid way to self-publish.
DIY self-publishing is a very specific approach to
publishing and requires authors to have an understanding of good formatting and
design, a skill set to undertake this, or the ability to contract and manage
all aspects of a publishing project. It is not a path for every author, no
matter how easy, quick or cheap this option is presented to an author by an
expert. In fact, the DIY self-publishing options are often presented as the ONLY or RIGHT way to go. This flies in the face of reality because most
authors I meet want to primarily write and they don’t want to become full time
publishers and authors. Traditional publishing remains the ideal path for many
writers and there is a great deal of benefit to be gained starting out at this
point for an author and their craft before ever embarking on the
self-publishing path. Too many self-publishing experts present the traditional
world in a very grim manner. The result of bias towards the DIY model of
self-publishing is also that good self-publishing service providers (and they
do exist) end up getting tarred with the same brush as all vanity and
publishing service scams.
First and foremost, I’m an advocate for authors and
publishers, not just self-published authors. It is the fundamental reason I set
up The Independent Publishing Magazine five years ago and became a publishing
consultant. Whatever you believe about the history and folklore of
self-publishing; it is now a part of the wider publishing industry and the same
standards must still apply to the published book—reading tastes aside. More
than half my author clients are traditionally published and too many
self-published authors publish books for the wrong reasons without carrying out
even the most basic research.
So, remember… STOP;
do your research as an author whatever publishing path you choose. By all means
get advice and contract the service of experts and professionals. Consider if
their advice feels RIGHT for YOU, but above all, BE PATIENT, doing something the RIGHT way for YOU takes time.
Mick Rooney – Publishing Consultant
If you found this review or article helpful, but you’re still looking for a suitable self-publishing provider to fit your needs as an author, then I’m sure I can help. As a publishing consultant and editor of this magazine, I’ve reviewed and examined in detail more than 150 providers throughout the world like the one above. As a self-published and traditionally published author of nine books, I understand your needs on the path to publication and beyond. So, before you spend hundreds or thousands, and a great deal of your time, why not book one of my personally tailored and affordable consultation sessions today? Click here for more details.
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