Hi Dr Reames I love your books so mutch is self publishing not a good option ?
Why self-publishing is not (right now) on my docket
There are many perks to self-publishing, if you’re an established author. And by “established,” I mean more than a couple novels. E.g., you have A Following. And also know a thing or three about the ins and outs of the business.
If you’d like to know more about the business end, I highly recommend the blog of Kristine Kathryn Rusch, well known SFF editor, author, and business person: Kris Writes
Today in publishing, even for the Big Five, authors are expected to do a lot of their own legwork. Write for “blog tours,” keep up with social media, and advertise ourselves, etc. With a few exceptions, most of us are NOT comfortable with the self-promotion side of publishing.
BUT most authors don’t have (easy) access to a lot of the “machinery” of advertising. This includes getting the book under the nose of reviewers such as Publisher’s Weekly or (for SF) Locus. It’s also much harder to GET those blog tours (even if they may not have a great deal of impact). And it’s harder to get featured on marketing tools such as Bookbub. One must make one’s own entry in Goodreads, etc.
A never-published author has a lot, and I mean A LOT of research to do, to know how to market one’s own books.
There’s also the front-loaded expense: editing, cover art, and formatting (conversion of one’s book into the necessary ebook formats). This can be a MAJOR outlay before even a dime is earned. Never mind the impossibility of ever being picked up by Ingram for distribution to bookstores. In this age of internet streaming and download, that’s less of an issue than it used to be, but all the BIG books have print releases too. Still.
And ALL of that requires TIME. Lots and lots of time.
I don’t have that time.
There’s also the stigma—yes, still—of being self-published if one has never been optioned by any publisher.
As I noted, for established authors, especially reissuing old titles now out-of-print, self-publishing is an advantage, earning a little something on works no longer available beyond used. Established authors with a following can even make more money, if they have the time to put in and have the proper contacts. But even they will miss some of the perks a professional publisher can get, via marketing.
For a complete newbie?
Honestly, self-publishing for previously unpublished authors is like reading a publishing house slushpile. Quoting Sturgeon’s Law: “90% of everything is crud.” And for certain “niche” topics, that may be closer to 98%. It brings out the weird and poorly written.
There’s a reason for those layers of editors at professional publishing houses: developmental editors, line editors, copy editors…. Even experienced writers need editors. Beginning authors REALLY need them. I’m not (actually) a beginning author, but I was very grateful for the input of my awesome editor, May Peterson, who I got on with. She’s no longer with Riptide, but I’d work with her again in a heartbeat, and if I were self-publishing, I’d hire her as my editor. But she’s good, so she’s moderately expensive. Frankly, right now, I can’t afford her.
That’s why authors need publishing houses to foot those bills for the good people.
Also, going in, most beginning writers don’t have the contacts to know who’s worth your time and cold, hard cash. A poor editor can be a disaster. Also, unfortunately, too many first-time authors don’t seem to realize they do need all those layers of editors and think a copy-editor is enough (if that). Or they just can’t afford more, honestly.
But trust me, if you want to self-publish, hire a REAL editor. Expect to pay $30-50 an hour. Or more.
Then there’s the book COVER. The number of unfortunate book covers in self-publishing is legion. Again, most beginning authors just can’t afford to hire top-level artists that a publishing house can afford. And while some may not like the faces covers on Dancing with the Lion, they do look professional…more so, imo, than the statue covers.
Covers sell (or don’t sell) books.
So that’s the MONEY side of it. Then we have the TIME side of it—and contacts. Even a boutique publisher such as Riptide has contacts a (beginning) author just doesn’t have. The number of authors who try to get attention for their (very bad) novels means that most reviews of books won’t consider them.
It matters that somebody other than you (the author) thought the novel worth investing in.
That’s the bottom line.
Again, established authors can go the self-publishing route much more successfully. And there are always the one-off breakout stars such as The Shack. But it’s a unicorn.
Self-publishing is no longer the kiss of death—“vanity” publishing—especially in some genre/sub-genres such as Romance, religion, self-help, etc., but it requires time, money, and effort most of us just don’t have. Even professional authors don’t make enough to live on, with a few exceptions. And they are not (for the most part) paying for edits, book covers, etc. Most authors have a “day job.” The only ones able to write full time (who are not best-sellers) usually have a partner bringing home the bacon. A “regular” (not best-selling) author needs quite a portfolio before getting enough from royalties to pay even modest bills. Yet to successfully self-publish, it must BECOME one’s career: all that time for marketing, design, promotion, etc.
I don’t have that time. I barely have time to write the books themselves. Ergo, I’ll seek professional publishing houses to do the work I can’t/don’t want/can’t afford to do. I know it means I make ridiculously less, but that’s the reality for most authors. Still.
There is much (bad) to say about how publishers treat authors, but for most of us, we don't have other options. Not and make enough to eat.
