For all you writers, some advice
from someone who runs a bookshop and interacts with authors who are trying to market their books every. single. day.
IT IS WORSE TO BE PUBLISHED BADLY THAN NEVER PUBLISHED AT ALL.
Please understand. I know that big publishing is half about connections, and that it advantages some writers over others.
But don't fall for these predatory junk publishers or self-publishing schemes.
I've seen self publishing work for exactly one author I know, and that's because she is crazy talented but also because she's
Employed at a bookshop, where she has a writing community and booksellers invested in her success
A nationally ranked competitive slam poet, who has a built-in audience for book sales
Because if you don't have a way to widely market your books, self publishing is a bad idea.
The main advantage of being published by a press is it gives you a team of professionals to design, market, and distribute your book. If you choose to self publish, all that is completely on you.
Being a great writer doesn't mean you're a good type setter, or a good artist for a cover that will grab readers, or a good editor. So it will serve you best to pay other professionals to do those things, and between that and the actual cost of self publishing, you're going to have to sink some serious cash to get a sellable book.
Then there's the matter of distribution. Publishers have sales reps whose entire job is getting bookstore to carry your book. Unless you have a ton of resources at your disposal you're going to be fighting an uphill battle on that front.
Because of the cost of self publishing, authors can't sell their books at much discount to recoup any profit, which means bookstores in turn don't make money selling them. Between that and the fact that most self published authors don't have reliable distribution at their disposal, it is often a bad business decision for bookshops to carry self published books.
Which brings up...if you do choose to self publish, DO NOT USE CREATESPACE. They are owned by Amazon, and Amazon does not care if you sell your book, ever. Their model is designed to only sell on Amazon, where your book will get buried in a sea of horrible books. Createspace's model actually means that indie bookshops LOSE money buying their books, because we have to sell them at cost and they are nonreturnable if they don't sell.
I HATE how often I have to explain this to hopeful self published authors who reach out to us with their books. Booksellers are among the kindest, most generous people I know, but we're still running businesses, and we can't afford to carry largely cheap-looking books that we have to sell at cost.
Im not saying all this to break your hearts or discourage you. I just don't want to see you crushed the way I've seen other authors destroyed because they signed the rights to their babies away to predatory junk publishers or lost their dream to obscurity by self publishing. And once your book has been badly published, no major houses will touch you.
If you really want to publish and can't seem to break through in the big five, research small presses who publish the types of books you write. They have the things you need to make your book a success without as much gatekeeping.
I would also strongly encourage you to get intimate with your local writing and bookselling communities. Go to readings at your local store. Go to book fests and join writing workshops. This is where you'll meet people who will support you and offer you resources to make it if they are able (not to mention they're mostly just lovely humans to get to know.)
Keep writing. Research publishing and the advantages and disadvantages of large and small presses. Go after your dream. I want you all to succeed so badly.
2087
vaporwave
annaxmalina
theartofmadeline
areudirty
turnnoffyourmind
gummygunk
janainaart
